Family Dinner 5: Stuffed Grilled Tomatoes

Okay, I swear I am not working for Bobby Flay. It's just that hubby got his new grill for Father's Day and when he's into something he's into something, and the only grilling cookbook I have is Flay's Cooking for Life. I know, a trip to Borders is in order.

My husband and Awesome Stepkid R. are wing dudes. They love 'em. Boneless, Bone-in, BBQ'ed--they're in. Me, not so much. I have several issues with wings. a) they involve skin and bone, and both sorta give me the heebie-jeebies. b) they're messy and c) they're fried and fattening and I don't want my ass Super-sized.

I came across this recipe for Grilled Chicken Tenders with Spicy Chipotle Sauce and Blue Cheese-Yogurt Sauce in The Book, and thought, Yeah! Healthy (moderately) wing-tasting chicken! Without frying and skin and bones. Definitely a must-try.



***a small digression here. Memo to Bobby Flay: why must you give your recipes such long-ass, high-falutin' names? Can't you just call this Buffalo Bites Flay Way, or something? Just sayin'.

Anyways, here's the recipe. It's not difficult but it's long, so I'm going to have you go here.

The part of the dinner I was really excited about was the side dish: Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes. And sorry Bobby Boy, this ain't your recipe. I used Pat and Gina Neely's recipe which I found on the Food Network website . It sounded so delicious that I almost forgot about the chicken.

Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes
recipe courtesy of The Neely's
serves 6

6 large tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
6 ounces goat cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked orzo
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan

Preheat the grill to medium heat.

Cut the tomatoes and core them, removing all the seeds and juices.

In a medium bowl add the onions, basil, and goat cheese. Mix and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add cooked orzo and combine. Stuff the tomatoes with the mixture. Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes. Top the tomatoes with parmesan.

Even un-grilled, these guys looked good enough to eat.



Place the tomatoes directly on the grill with the cover closed and cook for 10 minutes. The juices will begin to run. Remove from grill and place on platter.


The Verdict:

The Buffalo Chicken Tenders were out-of-this-world delicious. The sauce was flavorful and spicy but not tongue-searing. We were fighting each other for the last piece. (I left the sauce off of the girls' chicken and they dunked them in ketchup). The dipping sauce tasted like the real deal, too.

The Stuffed Grilled Tomatoes were as delectable as they looked. I used Haystack Mountain Herbed Goat Cheese and I think using an herbed cheese was the way to go. I think the dish might be a little bland without the herbs. The girls ate the orzo and even a few bites of tomato, so I was a happy momma.

Both dishes are going to end up on our plates a lot this summer. Try 'em, you'll like 'em.