Grilled Peach and Arugula Salad with Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Toasted Pinenuts

This is a perfect salad for summer. I love the contrasts in this salad... Sweet peaches, salty prosciutto, slightly bitter arugula with creamy fresh mozzarella. Peppery olive oil with sweet balsamic vinegar. It's one of my new favorites.

Ingredients
2 large peaches (not too ripe or they'll fall apart on the grill)
2 cups arugula
1 oz prosciutto
2 table spoons pine nuts
1 oz fresh mozzarella cheese (don't use the plasticy stuff... it should come in liquid)
1-2 oz. good olive oil
balsamic vinegar
sea salt & fresh black pepper

Heat BBQ to medium-high. Brush peach halves with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Place on Grill cut side down for about a minute to burn grill marks into the flesh. Turn peach 1/4 turn to get the diamond pattern of the grill marks. Grill for another minute before removing them from the BBQ. Plate the salad by laying down a layer of prosciutto. Toss the arugula with the peaches, mozzarella and pine nuts and pile on top of the prosciutto. Drizzle with olive oil and some good quality balsamic vinegar. Add a pinch of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper and you're done... It's one of my favorites.

Rosemary Pork Tenderloin with Red Lentils

Things have been a bit crazy at the Konold household I we haven't had a lot of time to do keep up on the blog. With our kids getting busier and busier with sports, school and friends we find that if we want to have dinner together as a family, we have a short 30-45 minute window from when I get home from work to the time we have to leave for the first round of swim practice. So our dinners tend to be quick and easy, but still very tasty. We love steaming fish serving it with a sprinkling of sea salt and a drizzle of good olive oil along side steamed veggies and a quick salad. We can knock that dinner out in about 15 minutes and we then have 30 minutes to enjoy dinner together.

This Sunday after conference sessions we decided on rosemary pork tenderloin with red lentils. This was due to a lack of planning on my part Saturday night. These small tenderloins thaw quickly so it was an easy choice after two conference sessions. We have a ton of rosemary growing in our garden and the kids love going out and bringing me back a handful. With a mortar and pestle, you can make a quick marinade that is perfect with pork. The lentils cook quickly, so this is another easy quick meal that is a great stand in for Sunday dinner.

Ingredients
1 pork tenderloin 2-3 lbs
3 cloves garlic (sliced)
handful of fresh rosemary (roughly chopped)
sea salt black pepper corns
1/3 cup oil oil

Lentils
1 1/2 cups dry red lentils
2 carrots (1/8" dice)
1 clove garlic (pressed)
medium white onion (1/8" dice)
chicken stock 2-3 cups
2 sprigs thyme
salt to taste

For the Pork
in a mortar combine the garlic and a few pinches of sea salt. (You can do this in a food processor, but the mortar and pestle work best to bash out the oils in the rosemary). Bash the garlic until in forms a paste with the salt. Add the peppercorns (10-15). The garlic paste will keep the pepper from flying all over the kitchen when you bash it up. Pound the pepper corns until all have been crushed. Add the chopped rosemary and really bang it up to release the wonderful oils. Drizzle the oil oil until you have a nice thick rosemary garlic paste. Rub this all over the pork and allow to sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place an oven proof pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of oil oil and when shimmering add the pork and sear all sides. Transfer to the oven and cook for about 20 minutes or until a thermometer reads 145-150. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.

For the Lentils
Saute the garlic, onion and carrots in a little olive oil and salt until the onions are translucent. Add the lentils and saute until the lentils have been coated with sauteed veggies. Cover with chicken stock and reduce heat to medium low. Allow to simmer for about 6-8 minutes. Just watch and keep tasting. (if you need to add more stock, do so in 1/2 cup increments). Once the lentils are soft, season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. Keep warm until ready to plate. In the center of a large place, place about 1/2 cup of the lentils. Top with 1-2 1/2" slices of the pork tenderloin. Drizzle with some of the pork pan juices and season with black pepper. Add a sprig of thyme and you are done...

Foil Dinners Cooked on an Open Fire

We're taking the scouts camping tomorrow night and each of the boys is required to prepare his own foil dinner. Nothing beats opening up that foil pouch after it's been sitting on smoldering coals for about 15 minutes. I love the steam and the aromas as you rip into that package. Doing it at home wouldn't taste as good. There's something great about eating outside something that you've just pulled from the fire.

I've seen some scary foil dinners on some camp outs. Foil dinners do not HAVE to be ground beef and canned corn. Jon Billings likes Italian sausage with new potatoes and apples. Brennan loves tilapia with shaved fennel, golden yukons and onions. Fin loves tri tip with rosemary and garlic with sliced potatoes. I decided to go with salmon for tomorrows dinner. I can't wait... You should try this one.

Ingredients
6oz salmon filet
1 russet potato sliced into 1/4" thick rounds
1 carrot Julienned
2 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic,pressed
12 shrimp
6 asparagus spears
1/2 white onion (thinly sliced)
olive oil
sea salt/fresh pepper

Lay out an 18" piece of foil. Top with a wet paper towel and then another piece of foil. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, garlic and rosemary Layout your potatoes and sliced carrots. Drizzle with more olive oil. Top with the asparagus and sliced onions. Add the shrimp and salmon and top with a lemon slice and a sprig of rosemary. Wrap it all tightly in the foil and cook over coals for about 15 minutes. You'll love this one.