Turkish Chicken Shish Ka Bobs

There's nothing like eating chunks of delicious charred meat and veggies off of a stick, nah mean?

Pair it with some turmeric-basil-lemon rice and a spiced yogurt sauce, and you have one fine Turkish-inspired meal. This is super easy with minimal clean-up and it tastes incredible. Perfect for a summer bbq!

Turkish Chicken Shish Ka Bobs Recipe:

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cayenne pepper, diced
• 1 cup yogurt
• 2 tsp ground cayenne pepper  
• 2 tsp cinnamon 
• 1 tsp cumin
• generous salt and black pepper
• 1/2 lemon, juice+zest
• 2 tsp Greek oregano
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 1 tsp roasted garlic powder (optional)

• 2 chicken breasts, cubed
• 1 green bell pepper, cubed
• 1/2 red onion, cubed (see a pattern here?)
• 1 zucchini, sliced into thick circles (or cubed)
• 2 Roma tomatoes, quartered
• 2 cups Jasmine rice
• 3 cups water
• 2 tsp turmeric 
• salt and cayenne pepper  
• 3 tbsp fresh basil, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 1 lemon, juice+zest

Combine the first set of ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour half of the sauce in a gallon ziplock bag, add the chicken and coat well. Set in fridge for a few hours, at least. Cover the remaining yogurt sauce and reserve for later.

When ready to grill, assemble skewers with marinated meat and assorted veggies. This recipe makes 3 large skewers. While the shish ka bobs cook, add the rice and remaining ingredients in a rice cooker (is that cheating? oh well!). Serve with leftover yogurt sauce and enjoy!

Pre-grill

Post-grill. Mmm, look at that char!

Grilled Steak and Pasta Salad

The sun is shining, the weather's warmer and spring has sprung.

I don't know about you, but that just makes me want to sip a cold beer and grill somethin'.

I live in an apartment and don't have a grill, which makes this a little more difficult, but luckily the complex has a relatively nice brick charcoal grill. Yesterday was my first attempt at starting a charcoal fire myself and after about 30 minutes, it worked.

Threw on my favorite steak (sirloin) and paired with a cold pasta salad that I made earlier that day. Fast and no post-dinner dishes. Win.

Grilled Steak and Pasta Salad Recipe:

• MEAT (I used 2 sirloin steaks, but grilling possibilities are endless)
• salt, pepper, olive oil
• 1 pkg Farfalle pasta
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/3 cup green peas
  
• 1 tomato, diced
• 2 cups spinach, chopped
• 2 green onions, diced
• 1/3 cup assorted olives, sliced
• 2 pepperoncinis, sliced (reserve juice for pasta)
• fresh basil
• salt, garlic powder, black and cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes
  
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• feta cheese

First, prepare your grill. If you have a gas grill, even better. If you're doing charcoal, place the coals in a pyramid stack, douse with lighter fluid, wait a minute to soak and then light. Ideally you want to light from the bottom to let the coals burn more evenly. I didn't really know what I was doing so I just added more lighter fluid here and there until the coals started turning grey. When they're smoldering, throw on your steaks. I just like salt and pepper on mine; my boyfriend adds some olive oil. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side (for rare).

Now for the even easier dish: pasta salad. Cook the pasta according to directions. Drain, pour into large bowl with a touch of olive oil to prevent sticking and let sit.

Saute the shallots in a little olive oil with some salt, pepper and red pepper flakes until caramelized. Remove from heat and toss into pasta. Add more salt and black pepper to taste, along with cayenne and garlic powder. Place in fridge for about 20 minutes to let cool. Then add the remaining ingredients and put back into fridge until ready to serve. BAM. Done.