An Inspired Cook

Summer is finally here, yay!  I love this time of year when I can go outside and grill.  The grill is set up under the shade of my favorite tree and although it can get hot it’s not all that bad. There’s such a satisfaction about cooking outdoors with the heat and aroma filling the air, Everything always tastes so good and the clean-up is easy.  I love grilled veggies and make them often during the season.  Usually I cook them on a grill pan and meticulously stand over it turning them and grilling in batches.  This time I tried wrapping the veggies in aluminum foil where they steamed to perfection.  When I opened up the foil packet the veggies were fork tender with bits of char on the bottom.  I ladled everything onto a platter and melted some herb butter over top so that every veggie and every bite of steak was slathered with the flavors of buttery herbs, citrus and roasted garlic.

Starting with the butter . . . I only had unsalted butter on hand so I needed to add salt but use either one and salt to your taste buds.  So here’s the ingredients for the butter.  2 sticks of butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper, crushed red pepper, roasted garlic, chives, parsley and cilantro. You can sub in any herb you want, these are just what sounded good to me.

Place your herbs and garlic into a food processor and pulse until you have everything blended and chopped fine.

I set the butter out to soften before adding in with the fresh herbs.  I didn’t want it melted but soft enough to blend easily. Now it’s time to add the juice of 1/2 lemon.

Season with the red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

Taste test to see if you need any additional seasoning.

I placed the butter on a large piece of plastic wrap and gently rolled it into a log.

Twist the ends of the wrap and tuck underneath.  Place back into the refrigerator so it will harden.  You will slice off the amounts you want to use on the hot steak and veggies.  It’s up to you how much or little you want to use.  This can be refrigerated or frozen for future grilling endeavors.

Since you have so much butter you can use any amount of veggies you need.  For my foil pack I included new potatoes, carrots, zucchini, onion, mushrooms, red bells, and corn snapped into smaller pieces.  But really it’s up to you which veggies to pick for the grill.  I drizzled them with olive oil but did not add salt.  Salt tends to draw out the juices from the veggies which results with a packet full of liquid.  I find it’s better to add salt later if needed.

Heavy duty aluminum foil works best for the grill.  Form a tent around the veggies and crimp the edges so that no steam will escape.

I have made these twice with different results.  I found that cooking the veggies in the foil packet over high heat (between 400 – 450 degrees) tends to work best, the veggies steam in 15 – 20 minutes with the veggies slightly charred which gives them such great flavor.  But one time I cooked chicken on the grill which needed to cook lower and slower.  The veggies didn’t cook through and they didn’t char so if possible cook them over high heat for best results.  The steak was seasoned with salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes.  We like them medium rare so they were set on a few minutes after the veggies.

Don’t they look good!

I set the steaks out to rest for a couple minutes while I ladled the veggies onto a platter.  Slice off a couple pats of the butter and let it melt over the veggies.  Add the steaks to the plate and give them a pat of butter too.  Serve hot.





Foil Packed Veggies with Steak and Citrus Garlic Herb Butter

Veggies of Choice, (I used new potatoes, carrots, red bell pepper, zucchini, onion, mushrooms and corn on the cob)
Steak of Choice (I grilled 2 Sirloin steaks over high heat approximately 4 minutes on each side)

Citrus Garlic Herb Butter

2 sticks Butter, softened
1/2 cup Herbs, (I used Parsley, Cilantro and Chives)
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
2 cloves Garlic, roasted
1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1/8 teaspoon Black Pepper
Salt to taste

Pack herbs and roasted garlic into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped and well blended.  Add the butter and lemon juice.  Pulse to blend.  Season with red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt to taste.  Set the butter onto a big sheet of plastic wrap.  Wrap the butter into a log, twist the edges and tuck underneath.  Set the butter into the fridge to harden.  Slice the desired amount of butter into pats to melt over veggies and steak.

Cut up veggies into smaller pieces and place into a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil. Drizzle the veggies with olive oil and place another foil sheet over top to make a tent and crimp the edges so that no steam can escape.  Grill over high heat (400 – 450 degrees) for 15 – 20 minutes.

Grill steaks separately on the grill.  For information on grilling steaks check out The Reluctant Gourmet.

Open the foil packet carefully as the steam can burn you as you open it up.  Veggies should be fork tender with a slight char on the bottom.  Remove from packet along with the steak onto a plate or platter.  Slice pats of butter to melt over the veggies and steak.  Salt to taste.  Wrap up any unused butter and refrigerate or freeze for any future grilling endeavors.