Sharing my favorite recipes on a warm, summer afternoon

It’s that time again for “cleaning up” my database of recipes on my computer that I had wanted to share but hadn’t for one reason or another. Usually I try to follow a theme for the week, but occasionally some recipes either don’t fit into a particular category or I just haven’t enough space to include them.

So as I sit on my porch on a warm, summer afternoon, I decided to share a few of these recipes that would be perfect for either a lunch or an evening meal.

For a casual dinner at home, Southwestern Steak with Black Beans and Salsa is an extremely flavorful steak dish that is ready in about 20 minutes. It can be prepared on the grill or in a grill pan on the stove.

New Potato Salad with Asparagus and Eggs is a tasty combination of new red potatoes tossed with a mustard-dill dressing and served over a bed of tender asparagus spears and then topped with quartered hardboiled eggs and fresh dill.

The overnight marinating of chicken thighs combined with garlic, oregano, pepper, salt, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives and capers is essential to the moistness of the Chicken Marbella. 

With plenty of tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden, just toss in some red onions, olives, feta cheese and a few herbs, along with some olive oil and vinegar, and the result is a cool and refreshing Greek Salad.

Southwestern Steak with Black Beans and Salsa

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 pound boneless sirloin steak, trimmed

1 tsp. vegetable oil

1 cup diced red bell pepper

1/2 cup chunky salsa

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine garlic salt, cumin and cayenne pepper. Remove 1 teaspoon of mixture and set aside. Sprinkle remaining mixture evenly over the steak. Lightly coat the steak with cooking spray. Place steak on the grill or in grill pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove and let stand for five minutes. Cut into thin slices.

While steak cooks, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and sauté about 3-4 minutes or until tender; add reserved cumin mixture, 1/4 cup salsa and black beans. Cook another minute or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly.

Place bean mixture on each of 4 plates. Divide sliced beef evenly over bean mixture. Top each serving with remaining salsa and chopped cilantro. Makes 4 servings.

New Potato Salad with Asparagus and Eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup minced red onion

1 Tbsp. dry dill weed

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

2 pounds small red potatoes; unpeeled 

2 pounds fresh asparagus spears

3-4 hard-boiled eggs, quartered

Fresh dill for garnish

Cook potatoes until just tender; cool and slice. Cook asparagus spears until crisp tender.

In a medium bowl or jar, combine oil, vinegar, onion, dill, mustard, salt and pepper; shake or mix well. Place potatoes in a large bowl and toss gently with dressing. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

To serve, arrange asparagus spears on a large platter in a spoke pattern. Remove potatoes from dressing with a slotted spoon and mound in center of asparagus. Pour remaining dressing over asparagus and serve with quartered eggs. Garnish with fresh dill. Makes 6 servings.

Chicken Marbella

(Courtesy Connie Horton of Ocean Isle Beach)

8-10 chicken thighs, excess skin removed

3 Tbsps. minced garlic

3 Tbsps. dried oregano

3/4 cup red wine vinegar

3/4 cup olive oil

2 cups pitted prunes 

1 cup pitted Spanish green olives

1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice

6 bay leaves

Coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white wine

1 cup Italian parsley or cilantro, finely chopped

In a large bowl, combine garlic, oregano, pepper, salt, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice and bay leaves. Place chicken thighs in a large (9x13) shallow baking pan. Pour mixture over chicken thighs, spreading evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and marinade, refrigerated, overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour. Chicken is done when thigh pieces, pricked with a fork at their thickest, yield clear yellow (rather than pink) juice.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken, prunes, olives and capers to a serving platter and sprinkle generously with parsley or cilantro. Makes 8-10 servings.

Greek Salad

6 Tbsps. extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbsps. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. fresh chopped garlic

1 tsp. red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. dill weed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3 large plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped

1/2 red onion, peeled, chopped

1/2 cup pitted black olives, coarsely chopped

Feta cheese, as much as you like

In a medium bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, vinegar, oregano and dill weed together until blended. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

 Combine the tomatoes, cucumber, onion and olives in a bowl; toss well with dressing. Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve. Makes 6 servings.