<p>In early summer, before it got too hot to grill (high 90s & very humid), dh would sear a beef tenderloin on the grill the night before, then we’d chill it & slice it thin to serve with a horseradish sauce, potato salad (made w/ colorful new potatoes), tossed baby greens, and watermelon (splashed with citrus vodka.) </p>
<p>To avoid grilling or heating up the kitchen in this weather, I get jumbo shrimp steamed at Publix (w/ cajun seasoning) and serve it with Silver Queen corn, red potato salad (Publix deli - slightly doctored), bakery rolls or croissants, and fruit salad (or just strawberries & blueberries w/ a little Cointreau sauce.)</p>
<p>It’s not a good dinner for dh unless there’s some sort of chocolate dessert. Peanut butter icebox pie is one of his favorites (Oreo crust & melted Lindt truffles drizzled over the top provide the chocolate.) I usually bake several chocolate pound cakes in the late spring that are soaked with Amaretto or Cointreau, wrapped well and frozen for serving in the summer topped with ice cream. </p>
<p>If it’s something last minute and we don’t have anything on hand, I’ll buy Edward’s pies (Key lime, Turtle, & Chocolate Silk are favorites.)</p>
<p>In the summer it’s a no-brainer. I have an outdoor kitchen built around a wood-fired pizza oven. It’s make your own pizza night. Guests bring their favorite toppings. We make the dough. Everyone makes their own pizza. If I get the fire high enough pizzas cook in 2 minutes. It’s a fun activity dinner.</p>
<p>I would second a flank steak. Pretty cheap piece of meat. Marinate it a day or two. Seven minutes a side on the grill (or under a broiler) usually does us. Slice very thinly diagonally. For veggies we often grill big chunks of sweet peppers/onions. Another easy (but I can’t say healthy) veggie is haricots verts (those skinny french green beans) sauteed in butter with a bit of salt and a lot of pepper. I kind of cook them to death–like til they start to turn brown–but everybody loves them. Did the same thing with asparagus last weekend and the kids said it was the best they’d ever had. If you’re grilling, can also do little potatoes with a bit of butter in a foil bag (although we usually forget to throw them on early enough so we have to finish them in the microwave). Another super simple thing I r-e-a-l-l-y like is a box of those grape tomatoes in a foil bag on the grill. Don’t add a thing. If you cook them long enough, they’ll caramelize a bit. Yummy!</p>
<p>I tend to grill. Marinate the meat ahead and just grill them with grill vegetables. Chicken, flank steak marinated in rich herbed sauce with balsamic vinegar and oil. For lamb chops, just salt and pepper. Dessert would be tiramisu, creme brulee.</p>
<p>Yes, tonight we do. We have steaks - 13 minutes on electiric grill (inside), frozen sweet potato french fries (never tried, hopefully good) and various salads from Costco (cuscus, and others that I am not sure what they are), tons of various fruits. I believe I have nothing to worry about, it should do. Costco steaks are usually pretty good as long as you do not overcook them, got be soft and dripping blood. We also have many snacky foods (smoked slamon, special cheeses, all kinds of nuts and dried fruits, great bread, bagels for people who do not care about having steaks, but usually they are good). We do not add anything to our steak, no recipe, just fork them from store foam tray onto the grill and make sure to remove them after 13 min.</p>
<p>Class of 2015: the great thing about tenderloin is that it’s really really hard to screw up, BION. I rub the meat with a salt/pepper/seasonings blend. Then,I use the meat thermometer/sensor setting in my oven. I set it to 145 degrees (internal temp) and turn the oven to 350 and take the tenderloin out when it’s done (usually about 15-20 min a pound). I let it sit 10 or 15 minutes before slicing and serving. That’s pretty rare but I take the ends (I like my beef well-done) and everyone else likes it rare.</p>
<p>Here in upstate NY, we use a chicken marinade developed by a the late Robert C. Baker, Professor of Poultry Science and Food Science at Cornell.</p>
<p>Marinade:
2 cups vinegar
1 cup oil
1 egg
2-3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
Pepper
6 to 8 chicken breasts</p>
<p>Whisk together the ingredients; pour over chicken (I do this in a zip lock bag); marinate overnight. </p>
<p>Remove chicken from marinade and grill the chicken; serve with salt potatoes, a fruit salad or watermelon, and corn on the cob. It’s a summer dinner from the 50’s - 60’s. I can remember having this at family picnics as a kid.</p>
<p>It’s obvious, UCDAlum82, that you and I do not live in the same part of the country…wood fired pizza oven hot enough to do the job in 2 minutes? And my guests would want to come outside where it’s 105 to stand near a furnace? Jeez, I wish I could come to your place for the summer!</p>
<p>Dragonmom: I use a pizza stone in my gas grill. It doesn’t cook the pizza in 2 minutes, more like 5, but it’s a lot easier to clean up and a lot cooler to operate. The nice thing about cooking outside, of course, is that it doesn’t heat up the house.</p>
<p>I cook dinner for my extended family once a month. We rotate weekly. I try to make something different although sometimes they have requests if it’s been awhile. Family favorites: shells stuffed with cheese spinach and sausage, moussakka, stuffed zuchini, parmesan chicken (NOT chicken parmesan), chicken stew, ribs, and lamb chops. Their favorite of all time, however, was beef wellington. May make that one a holiday special.</p>
<p>Tomorrow I’m serving turkey and I may use dg5052’s recipe, but of course modified since this turkey weighs way more than 3 lbs.</p>
<p>Well I made a 2 lb. sirloin steak last night for 4 people. I made it on the grill and it was delicious. It is a tender cut so you don’t need to marinate, but I wanted to use a marinade. I marinaded it for a couple of hours in: soy sauce, honey, balsamic vinegar, lemon, and olive oil. Then I preheated the grill to 500 degrees. I threw it on the grill on a high heat to sear the steak and then I turned down the heat a little (did not want to over cook). After 5 minutes I flipped it and continued to grill for another 4-5 minutes. I then let it rest and sliced it. It was very good. Served with sweet potatoes and a salad.</p>
<p>toledo, don’t know if your post is about sirloin steak, chicken, turkey, etc., but marinating the steak (the butcher suggested not marinating) really made it so good! I will make it again at least once before the end of summer. Sirloin is not a cut I usually buy, but since that is what was the best deal in the store I decided to give it a try.</p>
<p>Classof2015 - Here is how I do my tenderloin for medium rare. I do not sear it because I would be afraid to mess it up! First I tie butcher’s string around it and then rub with spices and let it warm up a bit on the counter. Bake at 450 for 20-22 minutes (internal temp of 135 degrees) and then let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes. </p>
<p>I serve it with bernaise sauce or a sour cream/ horseradish sauce.</p>
<p>If you are serving bread, have the store pre slice it for you.</p>
<p>My butcher says the amount of time you bake depends on the circumference of the tenderloin and whether you are baking at a high temp for short amount of time or a low temp for a longer time. My recipe works for 4 lbs that is about the circum. of an average filet mignon. If you call 10 different butchers, you will most likely get 10 different answers. And don’t forget to also rub it with olive oil before you put on the spices.</p>
<p>I guess I would do a trial run with a smaller length for just the family.</p>