cooking meat and vegetables with olive oil, balsamic, and herbs

[Anonymous]

So my husband was on a bit of a quest to make Zoe's chicken kabobs. He uses this recipe but adds yogurt to the marinade. To me it is same or better!

http://www.imadedinner.net/2011/04/04/grecian-delight/

[Anonymous]

OP here. Wow, thanks! I feel like I hit the jackpot

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I finally figured out that when I make my basic balsamic vinaigrette, if I make a bunch of it to have around on hand, it can also serve as a go-to quickie marinade or dressing for just about anything.

I go with one part olive oil to two parts balsamic, and then depending on mood and what I'm making I'll add one or more of: garlic, shallots, black pepper, dried herbs (most often basil), or sometimes a little bit of a good mustard, or reduce it with some red wine for a pan sauce (whisking in a little butter right at the end).



OP here again. These tips are great! Thank you for responding to my vague question

PP, this recipe sounds delicious. How long can it keep in the fridge? A few days?

I don't keep it in the fridge; I keep it on the counter. The acid in the vinegar keeps it from going bad. Since it's olive oil, if it went in the fridge it would get sludgy.
Since the balsamic vinegar also has some sugar in it as well as the acid, you can't keep it forever, but you can keep it for several weeks, maybe a month. I've never had a problem, I always use it up in that time.
When you make it, you want the oil to emulsify in the vinegar--that is, to reduce the oil to drops tiny enough that they blend in smooth and don't separate themselves back out. The traditional way to do that is to whisk the vinegar in a bowl, pretty fast, while drizzling in the olive oil slowly. This takes some practice. The easy way is to whirl it in the food processor instead. Same approach--start with the vinegar, drizzle the oil in slowly.
The good news is that if it doesn't emulsify all that will happen is it will separate on the counter--you'll notice the oil floating on top of the vinegar. If that happens, just whisk it or whirl it in the food processor again before using. It's still fine to eat.
I keep mine in a plastic squeeze bottle I bought at the kitchen store for $0.69. If mine separates, I just cover the bottle hole with a finger and shake it up like a cocktail shaker, works fine.
I keep the basic oil/vinegar mix that way and then add the other stuff when I decide what I'm doing with it--making a marinade or dressing or whatever.

[Anonymous]

BTW one of my favorite applications is to use it for making crispy kale. Massage the kale in a bowl with the oil and balsamic, then bake on a cookie sheet at 300 until crisp (about 20 minutes), flipping several times in between to avoid burning. Salt it lightly when it comes out.

Most people do crispy kale with just the olive oil and salt, which is fine, but we like the flavor the balsamic gives to it.

[Anonymous]

OP here. 11:39, thanks so much for your detailed advice. It is so helpful!

[Anonymous]

Happy to help!

BTW if you're new to crispy kale, you'll want to remove the stems/ribs from the kale first.
If it's dino (lacinato or Tuscan) kale, you remove the central rib from each leaf, and cut the rest of the way up the middle to the top of the leaf, leaving two long leaf halves, which you can crisp up whole.
If it's curly kale, you remove the stems, then rip the rest into bite-size pieces.
Either way, massage the leaves in the oil and vinegar, which softens them up, before laying them out on the baking sheet. For easy cleanup, line the baking sheet with parchment paper first.