Wednesday, July 9, 2008

4th of July=Grilling fun time!

This past weekend, I went down to Los Angeles to visit my friend Ethan; as it was the 4th of July weekend, and Ethan lives in a home with a great backyard equipped with a grill, I had fun 'q-ing my way through my dinner...

Saturday morning (Ethan's bbq was on on the 5th), Ethan and I went to the Silver Lake farmer's market; while slightly smaller than the Saturday Ferry Terminal market, I was vastly impressed with the quality of the foods I was able to find. Most notably, the peaches, golden raspberries, and shrimpies I bought were especially encouraging of the salivary glands.

So, early in the afternoon, it was grilling time. First up, I grilled the peaches, both white and yellow--make sure they are free stone!--that I had bought at the farmer's market. Grilled peaches have a wonderful smoky flavor coupled with a caramelized exterior. I then added the grilled peaches (still warm) to sliced buffalo mozzarella. The combination of the slightly acidic peaches with the creamy mozzarella is amazing; the cheese cutting through the slight bite of the fruit. I then sprinkled the peaches and mozzarella with crushed walnut pieces, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
I then went on to grill the amazing shrimp I bought. Having cleaned a lot of shrimp lately, and been slightly grossed out about how dirty the animals I was about to eat actually are, these shrimp were a rare treat. Apparently fished (if that's the right word) the day before I bought them and never frozen, they were easy to clean and the meat seemed crisp, if that word can even be applied to shrimp. Anyways, I marinated the little guys in olive oil, cilantro, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, garlic, and ginger, and let them sit for a while. They were pretty tasty, although the red pepper flakes I used (from Trader Joe's) were not as potent as I had hoped...Still, fresh shrimp is pretty awesome. I would recommend.

1 comment:

chelsi said...

Red peppers not as potent as you'd hoped? Are you kidding me? This coming from the girl who couldn't eat the mild salad dressing? Hahaha.

Thanks for this, now I'm totally starving.

And shrimpies is my new favorite word. =P