Tracy wanted hamburgers for Easter dinner (go figure) so I was gonna do steaks on Saturday. She asked that we flip those dinners and do a nice steak dinner for Easter instead of the burgers. No problem at all but I wanted to do something other than the steak, salad, and potato dinner that has become very common around here. Looked through the pantry for some inspiration and saw a package of Orzo that was bought for a different dinner and the cogs started turning. Never cooked it before so did a little reading and found out that it is a very versatile dish. Being that temps were well into the 90's yesterday I wanted a cool element with dinner so decided to do a chilled Orzo salad.
Did the Orzo in a skillet with 1 part Orzo and 2 parts liquid and used vegetable stock instead of water. Simmered till the liquid was absorbed, added some butter, and toasted till a golden wheat color. Thought this might add some color, texture, and enhance the flavor a bit.
Chill the Orzo and add tomatoes, celery, and onions
Greek yogurt, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, Rosemary, grated Parmesan cheese, and a small squirt of lemon juice.
Mix it all up till it's ugly as homemade sin. Did this early in the day so the flavors would meld
Two nice NY Strips defrosted
Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
Four nice big slices of eggplant brushed with my homemade garlic EVOO and seasoned with salt, pepper, and dill
Y'all know what time it is now
Steaks onto the hybrid Santa Maria....again. I'm really loving this little grill
A few minutes then flip. I'm liking the way these look so far
Steaks done and into the house to rest. Looking nice and juicy.
Time to get the eggplant on the grill while the steaks are resting
Just a couple minutes and flip
Eggplant done. Nice light char and a little bit of textural crunch
Dinner plated. Brushed the eggplant with a bit of melted butter
Out to the patio of course. Money shot.
Close up. I am happy
Not a sophisticated or complicated meal but it was very, very good. I loved mixing things up and doing something different. The Orzo salad was totally shoot from the hip. Never seen anything like this before but it just seemed like it'd work so I went with it....and was not at all disappointed. The salad was outstanding and very refreshing with bright and vibrant flavors. Eggplant was off the charts good. Tracy set her steak aside after eating about 1/3 of it and finished off the eggplant. The steaks were excellent as are the CPB products on a consistent basis. All in all a gratifying meal that I have to give thanks to John (
BandCollector
) for inspiring. His Greek themed meals of late have just been excellent. Can't say whether or not this would be considered "traditional" Greek but the flavor profile was spot on.
Oh well, gonna wrap this one up. It's gone on long enough See y'all soon.
Robert
Did the Orzo in a skillet with 1 part Orzo and 2 parts liquid and used vegetable stock instead of water. Simmered till the liquid was absorbed, added some butter, and toasted till a golden wheat color. Thought this might add some color, texture, and enhance the flavor a bit.
Chill the Orzo and add tomatoes, celery, and onions
Greek yogurt, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, Rosemary, grated Parmesan cheese, and a small squirt of lemon juice.
Mix it all up till it's ugly as homemade sin. Did this early in the day so the flavors would meld
Two nice NY Strips defrosted
Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
Four nice big slices of eggplant brushed with my homemade garlic EVOO and seasoned with salt, pepper, and dill
Y'all know what time it is now
Steaks onto the hybrid Santa Maria....again. I'm really loving this little grill
A few minutes then flip. I'm liking the way these look so far
Steaks done and into the house to rest. Looking nice and juicy.
Time to get the eggplant on the grill while the steaks are resting
Just a couple minutes and flip
Eggplant done. Nice light char and a little bit of textural crunch
Dinner plated. Brushed the eggplant with a bit of melted butter
Out to the patio of course. Money shot.
Close up. I am happy
Not a sophisticated or complicated meal but it was very, very good. I loved mixing things up and doing something different. The Orzo salad was totally shoot from the hip. Never seen anything like this before but it just seemed like it'd work so I went with it....and was not at all disappointed. The salad was outstanding and very refreshing with bright and vibrant flavors. Eggplant was off the charts good. Tracy set her steak aside after eating about 1/3 of it and finished off the eggplant. The steaks were excellent as are the CPB products on a consistent basis. All in all a gratifying meal that I have to give thanks to John (
BandCollector
) for inspiring. His Greek themed meals of late have just been excellent. Can't say whether or not this would be considered "traditional" Greek but the flavor profile was spot on.Oh well, gonna wrap this one up. It's gone on long enough
See y'all soon.Robert
