Grilled Veggie-Stuffed Tomatoes

My husband and I first started making these tomatoes a few years ago after seeing a similar recipe in one of the Weber cookbooks. My husband says they're "a cornucopia of flavors." Grilled veggies are combined with basil, balsamic vinegar, and cheese, stuffed inside tomatoes, and then the tomatoes are grilled until they start to soften. The whole mixture kind of smooshes together (yes, that's the technical term) and tastes like summer in a dish.

A grill wok or pan comes in handy with the recipe, both for grilling the veggies and the tomatoes themselves. It's easier to move the potatoes to and from the pan, and if they get too soft and things start to fall apart, the grill pan helps minimize the collateral damage. Not that I know this from experience.

Grilled Veggie-Stuffed Tomatoes
Serves 4

4 large tomatoes
1 medium zucchini, cut in planks
1 red onion, cut in thick slices
1 red or green bell pepper, cut in large strips
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
12 fresh basil leaves
Balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Using a serrated knife, slice the top 1/2" off each tomato. Using a spoon or melon baller, gently scoop the pulp out of the tomatoes, discarding or reserving for another use. Leave about a 1/4" shell in each tomato. Sprinkle tomatoes with salt and lay upside down on paper towels for about 10 minutes to allow juices to drain out.

2. Drizzle olive oil over zucchini, onion, and pepper, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill veggies, preferably in grill work or pan, over medium heat until lightly charred, about 10 minutes. Remove from grill.

3. Chop the veggies into bite-sized chunks and add to a bowl. Tightly roll the basil and slice in thin ribbons, or chiffonade, and add to the veggies. Drizzle with a tablespoon or so of balsamic vinegar, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stir in the cheese.

4. Fill each tomato cup with veggie mixture.

5. Add the tomatoes to the grill wok or pan. Cook until tomatoes start to soften, about 8-10 minutes. Gently remove from the grill and serve immediately.

Italian Pork Steaks

It's been a rather lazy Saturday for me, and supper tonight was an unplanned adventure. I scoped out the freezer and pulled out some pork steaks, poked my head outside and nearly lost a contact lens in a wind gust, and decided a stovetop meal was just the thing.

After I thawed the pork, I just did a quick room-temperature marinade and sauteed the steaks, deglazing the pan occasionally with white wine. The pork braised in the pan juices and stayed very tender.

I took some shortcuts with the side dishes. I threw together a caprese pasta salad (just some cooked pasta, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper). I was craving potatoes, and luckily had some leftover mashed potatoes in the fridge. I combined them with herbs and cheese, formed the mixture into patties, coated them in Italian-seasoned bread crumbs, and pan-fried them until they were crunchy on the outside. Yum, yum, yum. They're my new favorite potatoes.

Italian Pork Steaks
Serves 2 humans and 2 hungry puppies

2 pork steaks, about 8 oz. each

Marinade
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped
1 large sprig fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. steak seasoning (preferably Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp. olive oil
White wine, for deglazing the pan

1. Place the pork in a dish and sprinkle with half the marinade ingredients. Flip steaks and sprinkle with remaining marinade ingredients.

2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and sear until brown, then flip and sear the other side. Add a few tablespoons of wine to the pan and stir up any bits that are stuck to the pan.

3. Lower the heat to medium and continue cooking the pork until done, about 15 minutes, deglazing the pan a few more times.