Day two of the “Aghadoe” shoot brought on a challenge...surprise we need an extra meal for 15! No matter how many times I asked Andrew (Director) if we needed a meal for the so-called “lighter” day of shooting, I felt like he was going to change his mind. So there I am hanging out on set the first day and I'm told “hey Danielle, so I think we’re going to need lunch after all!” Yes of course, leave it to me. I figured a big pasta salad. Most everything can be chopped in the time it takes to boil pasta so making a large batch would be great. Also when you add in a protein it turns into a main dish rather than a side which is what they are known for on many a summer bbq's paper plate. This was also easy to turn vegan by simply not adding chicken. Then again for the glutard...all I did was save a portion of the veggies and chicken from the main salad and cook a 1/4 lb of rice shell-shaped pasta. Toss and serve. There I had it, a pasta salad for everyone.
Living in an apartment with a small patio doesn’t exactly allow me to own and operate a gas or charcoal grill, but I have found that my cast iron grill pan with lid, works as an amazing replacement. Everything I squish between that hot greased cast iron inevitably turns every food into a moist flavorful and slightly charred wonder food. Obviously I highly recommend finding one of these for your kitchen, and if treated with care will last you a lifetime.
With that said, that is how I grill, now here is the recipe...
Grilled Chicken and Veggie Pasta Salad
- 1 1b. boneless chicken thighs
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp Canadian steak seasoning (If you dont have it, a little garlic salt works great too)
- 1 1b. of your favorite shaped pasta, (I like short rigatoni, farfalle and rotelle)
- 1 large yellow squash; cut the long way into thin flat strips
- 1 large zucchini; cut the long way into thin flat strips
- 10 mini yellow/red/orange bell peppers; with stems removed (two regular bell peppers quartered works too if the minis aren’t available)
- 1 small red onion, chopped into small pieces
- 1 bunch green onions, sliced thinly (I like slicing on the diagonal for longer pieces)
- 1 small 12-16 oz. bag of baby spinach
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch or two of salt to taste
2.) In a large pot of salted water cook pasta until al dente. When cooked, rinse pasta under cold water to prevent over-cooking, set aside.
3.) Grill seasoned chicken until thoroughly cooked and slightly charred. Set aside on a plate for at least 10 minutes before cutting, meat always needs a rest after its cooked.
4.) Grill squash, zucchini, and peppers until they become pliable and charred a bit. (Depending on your grill size, this may take a few rounds of grilling.) Set aside to cool.
5.) Chop chicken as well as squash, zucchini and peppers into bite size bits.
6.) In a large bowl combine pasta, chicken, squash, zucchini, red onion, green onion, and bag of baby spinach. Toss to combine.
7.) Overtop the salad, pour on the lemon juice and olive oil. Then add in salt and pepper.
8.) Toss again to evenly cover your salad with oily goodness.
9.) Serve and Enjoy!
*Note that spinach will wilt with time, I prefer it more wilted so I let the salad sit in a fridge for a few hours before I dig in.
* For the shoot, I tripled this recipe
Holy Moly I Made a lot of Guacamole...
Part two of the quick-throw-together-a-lunch-for-15 came together when I found one of the prop food bags, it had about 6 giant avocados in it. I don’t really know why Andrew thought 6 avos were a good idea for munchies for the picnic scene in the music video, but there they were. I do truly hate wasted food so I decided to make a whopping batch of guac. Another reason why I made it was that Dom Cortese, the drummer for Julia Massey and the FFD was making his first appearance on set and I know of his passionate love affair with the avocado. What can I say, I aim to please. Then I added in another twist to chips and dip and made my smokey chipotle sour cream to go alongside the guac. I know the lactards couldn’t enjoy it but everyone else would...learning the balance with food restrictions is something I’ve been getting better at through all this for sure.
Guacamole
- 3 large avocados
- 1 bunch cilantro, stems removed and leaves chopped slightly but not fine
- 2 roma tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped into small pieces
- 1/2 of a medium sized red onion, chopped into small pieces
- 1 bunch green onions, sliced into small pieces
- 1 medium jalapeno, chopped into small pieces (if your crowd is sensitive to heat, remove the seeds)
- 1 small red chili pepper (looks just like a jalapeno but red), chopped into small pieces
- 1 small yellow chili pepper (looks like the other two but yellow), chopped into small pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped fine
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- a few hefty cranks of a pepper mill
1.) In a large bowl slightly mash avocados with a fork until it is mostly smooth with chunks of avo still intact.
2.) To the bowl add cilantro, tomato, red onion, jalapeno, red and yellow chilies, green onion, garlic cloves, lime, olive oil, salt and pepper.
3.) Blend with a wooden spoon until every ingredient is thoroughly combined.
4.) Enjoy with chips or tacos or my smokey chipotle sour cream!
*If you are not using this right away, place plastic wrap right onto the guac (not the bowl's rim) before too much oxidation occurs and your green guac turns brown.
*For the shoot I doubled this recipe and added two additional avos.
Smokey Chipotle Sour Cream
- 1 16 oz. tub of sour cream (I prefer a cultured or “European” variety like Wallaby)
- 1 7 oz. can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (Chipotles are roasted jalapenos that are canned in an “adobo” sauce which is typically made from a blend of oregano, paprika, garlic, salt and vinegar.)
- Kosher salt to taste
1.) With lid of chipotles removed, use lid to press down onto chilies so to squeeze out the sauce into a medium sized mixing bowl.
2.) Pull out about half of the actual peppers from the can. Lay each on a cutting board and with a knife split in half, then scrape most of the seeds from the chilies. After your heat preference of seeds is removed, chop chilies into small bits.
3.) Add sour cream to the sauce in you mixing bowl and blend. Add in a few bits of chipotles to the sauce at a time and continue this until you taste that it has reached your desired heat level.
4.) Salt to taste and serve!
*Know that the longer this dip sits, the hotter it will become.
*Okay isn’t the lady on the can amazing? I never want to buy another brand now without her face on it!
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