I am so proud of this dinner 🙂 My brainpower + Matt’s grillmastering
Karen brought over this delightful basket of local strawberries she bought from a roadside stand in SC today. I dove in! They were soooo good. Perfectly sunkissed. I probably had about 10 throughout the afternoon.
I also added this pile of nuts (in a 2 tbsp bowl?) because I had to tide hunger through a Summit conference call and knew I needed some sustenance.
I bought a few grillable veggies on Sunday to have for tonight since I knew the weather would be nice, but we had no clue what to have with them. I’m hosting my sister and her girlfriends for lunch tomorrow and decided on grilled chicken salads, so I picked up some chicken while running errands today. I have lab until noon and knew I couldn’t grill them tomorrow, so we grilled them tonight and made that part of dinner. When brainstorming seasoning, I remembered the cilantro in the veggie drawer: PESTO!
This time we added lemon juice (loved it) and replaced the parmesan with feta because that’s all we had. It worked perfectly!
It went on the chicken and eggplant as a marinade –
Eggplants + squash
Then I started making layers with a very thin schmear of pesto glue (our pesto is lighter than store-bought because we use much less oil, so I use it more liberally than I would some from a jar)
Stackage
The chicken was awesome too! I always get tenders because I think they are easier to cook than breasts. And they are smaller too so you can have 1 or 5 depending on what you’re in the mood for.
With a grilled hunk of sun-dried tomato fennel bread from Great Harvest.
Matt opened his mead today and saved a taste for me. It’s quite good! But I only had 2 sips – it was strong!
All Mixed Up
500+ comments – nice work guys!!!
Congrats to Alison!
But just so you know, you can get $3 off a granola mix if you enter KATHEATS at checkout. I would highly recommend something with dried raspberries + blackberries!
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54
54. Alison | April 23rd, 2009 at 8:25 am
I LOVE when you turn us on to new products like this that I might not find on my own!
I would pick the organic granola, dried blackberries, dried apricots, pecans, amaranth seeds and organic coconut shreds! YUMMMM
***
Swiffer Duster gets a thumbs up!! It’s much easier to use and control than a broom. I still have to dust-bust up the bigger crumbs, but I wasn’t expecting magic!
I’m ALMOST done with my earth-hating posterboard. I just have to glue on all my slides.
Tomorrow in lab I just get to be a taste tester while the other half of the class does their experiments. I hear we’re tasting chocolate cake, ice cream, toffee, pudding, jello…. I’m going to keep breakfast small (with strawberries!) but that’s a LOT of sugar. It’s funny how everyone wants to cook sweets for their experiments! No one wanted to study chlorophyll or vegetables 🙂
Nite!
Erika says
Kath!
2 thumbs up for that dinner! Thta veggie ‘stack’ looks fabulous!! And with the pesto?? My mouth is droolin’!
I’ve been lucky enough to try mix my granola before, and it’s so fun and tastes great! glad you had the chance to make your own, too!!
Good luck with the poster 🙂
~Erika
zestycook says
Kath – Wicked Dinner – the only part I am wishing for is that I was there to eat it 🙂
zest!
Casey says
I LOVE grilled veggies! Yum-o! I wish we had a grill, but no yard = no grill! Whenever I get a new cast iron pot I will be grilling some veggies!
Christina says
there’s nothing better than grilled eggplant and that pesto is definitely going on my list of things to make!
Love your fancy food displays. You could be a photog!
Sarah (Tales of Expansion) says
it’s always summer in your world! i love that dinner. enjoy dessert lab tomorrow 🙂
polly says
I would totally make green oatmeal with you for our experiment, Kath! Love your blog as always and of course the amazing creative foods!!
XOXO my Carolina friend. 😉 We finally are gonna get some HEAT up here!
Mara @ What's For Dinner? says
Kath that dinner is beautiful!! I can’t wait to start grilling every night and eating outside!
Michelle Hisae says
Great score on the granola coupon! And that dinner looks divinely like summer. 🙂
Bec says
your dinner looks pretty and delic!
Sharon says
Love the dinner!
Help Meghan Run says
I’m trying to take inspiration from your food photography, as well as that tasty grilled veggie dish!
Check out my blog as I run with Team in Training and raise money for blood cancers!
www. HelpMeghanRun .com
Niki says
Yum! Your dinner looks great! Have fun being the taste tester tomorrow!
Sarah says
wow, your dinner looks fab! I’ve never thought about using pesto as a marinade. And YAY for $3 off granola!!!
Kristin @ Iowa Girl Eats says
Beautiful dinner! Homeade pesto is the best, I’ve never boughten pre-made since I’ve started making my own!
Heather says
Now that’s a creative way of grilling! I love how you find the most interesting foods to put together and create such yummy results!
Have fun in class tomorrow. Sounds like quite the sugar-rush! 😉
Kerri says
Yum..griled mixed veggies are the best. I think you just gave me an idea for my cilantro.
Foodie (Fab and Delicious Food) says
Great dinner!
Gena says
What a beautiful dinner, Kath!
Marissa says
Love the display!
Run Sarah says
What a gorgeous display — definitely should submit it a food magazine.
Angie says
Absolutely beautiful dinner! Good luck with the rest of the posterboard!
Jessica says
Wow what a creative set up! Don’t you just love grilling season- so easy and yummy!
Michelle says
I’ve said this PLENTY of times, but how I would LOOOOOVE to go to Kath’s restaurant!!! your ingenious ideas and crazy cooking skills makes you a pro chef. I’d like to see you on food network!! OMG they’d make SO much money with you on the show!!! 🙂 yummmy dinner. hahha
life coach jen says
Your dinner looked simply beautiful! You guys should open your own restaurant in your house and host small food parties or something!
Kim says
Eek. I detest cilantro, so imagining it in one of my favorite dishes is sort of traumatizing…. BUT, to the unbiased palate, I bet it’d taste amazing! 🙂 Beautiful veggies.
elizabeth says
Crazy! Great minds do think alike, apparently. I just made a batch of parsley pesto tonight and thought I’d stop by here to revisit your cilantro pesto recipe and compare.
And lo and behold, I didn’t even have to click over to the recipe page.
Beautiful stackage, too. The artist in me approves. 🙂
Rose says
That is the most beautiful dinner, Kath.
Hangry Pants says
I love the stackage. Truly.
Naturallycheryl says
Those strawberries came from McLeod Farms, I recognize the basket! I used to live near there and miss it! You should check out their peaches (and peach festival) in the summer!
Grilled veggies, yum!
Danica says
I AM Soooo impressed with your combined culinary skills tonight 😀 Your dinner not only looks fabulous but it seriously is drool worthy. Yum!
Caroline says
That stackage is such a work of art!
Sccop says
Congrats to you on hitting 500!
sue says
nothing beats road stand strawberries…i’ve suffered many a tummyache from overdosing on those 🙂
Lyn says
I looove grilled veggies! Whenever I do burgers on the grill for the kids, I do veggies for me. Great on a bun with avocado and feta. YUMMY… better than a burger!
Jessica says
What a gorgeous dinner!!
So glad that summer is the season for strawberries….and watermelon! 🙂
Shannon (The Daily Balance) says
Beautiful dinner!!! 😉 Lovin the stack!
Danielle says
Oh wow, that is beautiful! And it sounds equally if not more delicious. I am trying this out ASAP, thanks for the inspiration!
Sidi says
What a great idea for the arrangement!!!
Erica says
Hey Kath! First of all- dinner looks great. Second- are those strawberries from Boone’s Hall Farm?
Leanne says
Love the pesto vegetables! I really need to make some because when I have it on hand, I put it on everything!
Lauren says
Gorgeous griller stack! Cilantro works awesome in a pesto – and feta is a great idea.
There’s nothing like local, freshly picked produce. I can’t wait for farmers market season in Boston!
Christina says
I voted for you for Best Food Blog…you’re up to 124!!
Courtney (The Hungry Yogini) says
What a gorgeous meal!!
JENNA says
your dinner looks so good!
Danielle says
What a perfect warm weather meal!
With all this warm weather I need to plan on some good bbq this weekend.
Enjoy your Friday Kath!
brandi says
great looking veggies! I love grilling vegetables.
congrats to alison!
Jodi says
We use a Swiffer Vac and it’s awesome! It dusts like the swiffer and vacuums the larger crumbs at the same time. We’ve had ours for 3+ years and it still works like a charm.
Love your blog!
Alison says
I won!!! I am so excited…like I won a million dollars or something. hahaha
Thanks so much!
Leila says
the grilled veggies look incredible!
Kath says
Thanks guys!!
Erica,
I have no idea since I didn’t buy them.
Christina ,
Thank you!
Jodi,
I debated that one!! Do you think I should get it?? Does it REALLY pick up the crumbs? Would it be worth the $28 investment when I already have a hand-vac and sweeper?
Kath
Kara says
Ooooh making me so excited for summer!
Kaley says
I feel like cilantro is a polarizing food. I love it and will chop it up to eat in salads, but I know maaaaany people who despise it.
EatingRD says
so jealous of the NC strawberries! They are the best, tiny and juicy, not the hard bland ones we get here. My mom lives next to a strawberry patch and you can go pick your own, so fun!
-kristen
Jodi says
The swiffer vac totally sucks up crumbs. All our floors are hardwood and tile and it works great and Saves so much time. Not sure if you should/shouldnt make the investment, I can only say that we use it everyday and couldn’t live without it.
Kath says
Thanks Jodi! Sounds like we should 🙂