Weekend cookout!

Well, the last typhoon just missed us. So after the rains were gone we had a really nice sunshiney weekend! I really needed this sun... I mean really.. Growing up in Texas, we BBQ at every opportunity we get. When I got married and moved to Japan, that came to an end.. my husband was not much of a griller...until now... a little Texan rubbed off on him (even though he probably won't admit it). I whinned for a couple years about how I missed the food especially the BBQ from back home... I learned it takes a bit of skill and experience with the 'pit' but after about 2 1/2 years of whinning about BBQ...
  he actually suggested to grill himself! wow that's a huge deal over here. If you notice I use BBQ and 'grill' interchangeably. That's because where I come from, everything cooking on an outdoor pit is "BBQ" but for other San Diego-ans it is called grilled. So I adapted. Anyway here's the recipe for Shrimp Kabobs:

Ingredients:

• 2 limes, juiced and zested
• ¹/₂ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 lbs. large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails intact
• Spicy Hass Avocado Puree (see make-ahead recipe below)
• Fresh sprigs cilantro, for garnish

Spicy Hass Avocado Puree

• 3 ripe, Fresh Hass Avocados, peeled, seeded and scooped out
• 3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• ³/₄ cup sour cream
• 1 green jalapeño, seeded and chopped
• Salt, to taste

Instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the lime juice and zest, cilantro, cumin and oil and whisk well.
2. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Do not marinate shrimp longer than 5 minutes or the lime juice will begin cooking the shrimp.
3. Preheat a barbecue or grill pan to medium-high heat.
4. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper to taste and grill for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until lightly charred and cooked through, making sure not to overcook the shrimp.
5. Remove the cooked shrimp from the grill and place on a serving platter, with a small serving bowl of the Spicy Hass Avocado Puree. Garnish the shrimp with fresh sprigs of cilantro and serve.

Spicy Hass Avocado Puree

1. Add the avocado, lime juice, sour cream and jalapeño to a blender and puree until smooth, scraping the sides of the blender as needed. (I didn't have fresh jalapeno so I used 1 pickled jalapeno and some of the canned juices)
2. Season puree with salt to taste.
3. Place in a covered airtight container and refrigerate until serving.

There was also some awesome potatoes that we threw on the electric grill meantime but we were so hungry I forgot to take a pic of those!  ... I am definitely making those again... here's the recipe for those:

Ingredients:

• 2-4 medium sized potatoes
• 1 onion
• salt & pepper
• chives (I didn't have fresh so I used dried)
• butter
• foil (heavy duty is better)

Instructions:

1. Slice potatoes into potatoe chip shaped, the thinner you slice, the faster they will cook
2. salt and pepper the potatoes
3. chop onion into med-large pieces and place on top of sliced potatoes
4. sprinkle with chives and add a few dollops of butter 
5. shape foil into boxes and leave the seam on the top completely enclosing the potatoes
6. poke a few small holes in the top to vent steam
7. place 4-6 in from heat using med heat and cook for 45 min or until soft and tender

We cant have a cookout with smores! I talk a bit about Jaden's Summertime Bucket list on this blog, and eating smores is one his to do things. 

yum! I love a toasted black marshmallow. 

 Have you ever tried smores with Reeses Peanut Butter Cups? Jaden loved them!

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