Grilled Focaccia with chicken and vegetables

You can have a lot of fun customizing this great sandwich for a group. Use any kind of meat, cheese and combination of toppings. This favourite is just one variation.


Ingredients

  • 2 large chicken breast halves, boned and skinned
  • 1 medium onion, thickly sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 large portobello mushroom
  • 1 small zucchini, sliced diagonally
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp pesto sauce
  • 1/4 lb goat cheese, softened
  • 4 sun-dried tomatoes, slivered
  • 2 artichoke hearts, sliced
  • 1 cup alfalfa sprouts
     

Directions

Advance Preparation: Preheat barbecue on HIGH. Lay the whole red pepper on the grill during preheating stage and continue turning until the skin is charred all over. Remove from heat, cool and peel off the charred skin. Remove seeds, ribs and stems and chop coarsely.

  1. Meanwhile, lightly brush the remaining vegetables and then the chicken breasts with olive oil. Reduce heat to LOW, brush grids with olive oil, and place the prepared food on the barbecue. Cook chicken 5 minutes per side or until it just loses any internal pinkness, and grill the vegetables until tender crisp. Remove to a cutting board and let cool. (May be prepared one day in advance to this point).
  2. Slice the chicken into thin slices on the diagonal. Slice the portobello mushrooms, and roughly chop the zucchini. Separate the onion slices into rings. Slice the foccacia bread in half horizontally. Spread the inside of one half with pesto, and the other with the softened goat cheese. Lay the slices of chicken over the pesto, then layer with the grilled vegetables and then the sun-dried tomatoes and the artichokes.
  3. Preheat the barbecue on LOW. Lightly brush the cooking grids with oil, then place the focaccia on the barbecue, turning once after 4 minutes, or until there are light grill marks and the bread is light golden brown. Remove from heat, open the sandwich and sprinkle with alfalfa sprouts. Reassemble and cut into 8 wedges.

Porchetta

Ingredients SERVINGS: 12-15

  • 1 6–8-pound piece fresh pork butt or shoulder (butter flied) - skin optional
  • 2 tablespoons crushed toasted fennel seeds
  • 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh sage
  • 2 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
  • 10 garlic cloves, minced or 4 tablespoons garlic powder
  • Kosher salt
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 3 dried basil, oregano, parsley mix
  • 2 Onion flakes
  • 4 bay leaves

Preparation

  • Put skin side down; arrange meat in center.
  • Toast fennel seeds in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Place  into a bowl; let cool. Finely grind fennel and red pepper flakes in a spice mill and transfer to a small bowl, along with the sage, bay leaves, rosemary, basil, oregano, parsley and garlic; set fennel mixture aside.
  • Roll skin around meat so the skin cover the whole piece of meat. If any of the meat overhangs, trim meat. Unroll; set meat inside.
     

Assemble Porchetta - HOW TO ASSEMBLE

  1. Set skin side down. Using a knife, score the skin in a checkerboard pattern 1/3" deep so porchetta will cook evenly.
  2. Flip skin side up. Using a paring knife, poke dozens of holes through skin all over belly. Don't be gentle! Keep poking.
  3. Generously salt meat; rub with fennel mixture and all spices. Arrange meat down middle of skin.
  4. Roll skin around meat; tie crosswise with kitchen twine at 1/2" intervals. Trim twine.


Transfer porchetta to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate porchetta, uncovered, for

     1-2 days to allow skin to air-dry; pat occasionally with paper towels.
 

  • Let porchetta sit at room temperature for 2 hours. Preheat grill or prepare the Broil King Keg and set to cook at 275-300°F max. Season skin with salt. Gently spray with canola oil, using a spray mister. Place the porchetta on the grill or in the Broil King Keg, and cook until the internal temperature reaches 175°F, about 6 hours.
  • Prepare to wrap the roasts by tearing off 4 large sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil and laying them over a large baking tray. Remove the porchetta from the Keg and place it on the foil in the pan. One sheet at a time, wrap the roasts and crimp the foil to seal them tightly. and leave until the internal temperature reaches 190°F, approximately 1/2 to 1 hour more. By this point, the pork will be very tender.
  • Using a serrated knife, slice into 1/2" rounds.
  • Mix your favourite barbecue sauce (mine is the Southwestern BBQ Sauce from Broil King) with some Sambal Oelek (a chili paste) and serve on soft buns with a dollop of mixed sauce.
  • If skin is not yet deep brown and crisp, increase heat to 500° and roast skin for 10 minutes more to make it crispy.
  • NOTE: Rapini or Sautéed Spinach, Dill pickles and hot pickled peppers make nice garnishes!

Porchetta [pronounced porˈketta] is a savory, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast of Italian culinary tradition. Meat of a pig, is arranged carefully/layered (meat, fat, and skin) then rolled and roasted, traditionally over wood. Porchetta is usually heavily salted in addition to being stuffed with garlic, rosemary, fennel, or other herbs.  It is considered a celebratory dish, especially during public displays or holidays, and it can be served in a Panino (sandwich).

 Porchetta was introduced to the North Americans by Italian immigrants of the early 20th century, and is sometimes referred to as "Italian pulled pork," "roast pork," or "Italian roast pork." It is, in many places, served on a sandwich with greens (rapini or spinach) . The term "porchetta" is widely used by Italian-Canadians, instead of simply "roast pork".

BAKED BRIE WITH Grilled Garlic and Sweet Peppers PRESERVES AND GRILLED BAGUETTE

Ingredients

  • 1 – 5" to 6" Wheel of brie cheese
  • 1/4 cup Sweet Mini Peppers (or Sweet Pepper Jelly preserves)
  • 2 whole garlic bunches
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 Baguette, sliced
  • cedar plank

Directions

  1. Cut tops of Garlic, place on Aluminum foil and drizzle with Olive Oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. Fold top and roast on grill for 20-30 minutes at medium temp 350-400 degrees. Remove from grill and set aside.
  2. Soak plank in water for 20-30 minutes. Remove from water and pat dry.
  3. Place the brie on the plank, top it with the roasted garlic and sweet peppers and set it on a preheated barbecue on MEDIUM/LOW until the cheese is soft and melty - about 10–15 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, grill the baguette slices until toasted on both sides. To serve, lay the cheese and toasts on a wooden serving platter.