grilled, grilled and chilled

Yesterday brought refreshingly cool weather and with it, I think, a reminder that summer isn't sticking around forever. I don't know how else to explain why Sunday night dinner was so grill-centric. I also think that the impending change of season explains why my dad and I impulsively went ingredient-shopping at our town's farmers' market--for the first time ever. Among our purchases: two pristine white eggplants, one gorgeous heirloom bell pepper (very regrettably not pictured), and a pint of the suh-weetest cherry tomatoes.

The grillfest began with an eggplant salad recipe that I clipped from the NYT probably a year or two ago. Because we bought them before deciding how to use them, and because it never occurred to me that I might not have the proper amount for the recipe, the eggplant-to-everything-else ratio may have been a little off. (In other words, the salad ended up being very oniony and very yogurty. Neither was such a bad thing, but the eggplant was a little lost.)

Next up: grilled chicken with honey and cumin, aka yet more proof that Mark Bittman is a master of simple, delicious and creative food.

And with all that time spent before the grill, we wanted something cool and easy to balance things out. Tabbouleh out of a box fit the bill--and I know, homemade wouldn't have been very difficult, but there was a baseball game keeping me from spending my whole afternoon and evening in the kitchen.

Below, the recipes!

eggplant, post-grilling but pre-everything else

Grilled eggplant salad with yogurt
From Mark Bittman
Time: About 40 minutes
Serves 4

1 lb. eggplants, preferably small light purple ones
1 medium onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 c. plain whole milk yogurt
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pinch cayenne or Aleppo pepper or other mild ground chili powder
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley or mint

1. Start a charcoal grill or wood fire or preheat a gas grill or broiler; rack should be no more than 4 inches from heat source. Cut eggplants in half lengthwise up to stem, but do not cut through. Spread about 2/3 of onion and garlic between eggplant halves, and press two sides back together.

2. Grill eggplants, turning once or twice, until they are blackened and collapsed, 10 to 15 minutes. Do not worry if skin burns a bit. Meanwhile, mix remaining onion and garlic with yogurt; season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne.

3. When cooked, let eggplants cool a bit, then peel off skins and let cool further. Roughly chop eggplants, then mix with yogurt dressing. Serve at room temperature or chill if you like; in either case, garnish with parsley or mint.




Grilled chicken cutlets with honey and cumin
Adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
Time: 20 minutes, plus time to preheat grill
Serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets (2 whole breasts, split), 1 to 1 1/2 lbs., rinsed and patted dry with paper towels
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Start a charcoal grill or wood fire or preheat a gas grill or broiler; rack should be no more than 4 inches from heat source. If necessary, you can pound chicken pieces lightly between two sheets of waxed paper so that they are of uniform thickness.

2. Rub chicken with oil. Combine honey, orange juice, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper.

3. Grill or broil the chicken very quickly (it should take no more than 3 or 4 minutes per side), brushing once or twice through cooking with the honey-cumin mixture. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Note: MB includes this as a variation to another recipe, and in the variation it's unclear whether the chicken should be brushed with honey-cumin mixture prior to hitting the grill. I decided not to brush it until it was already cooking, worrying that the honey might burn. It was absolutely delicious done this way, but I'm still not sure if this was how Mark had intended it.