Well-seasoned cuisine – Santa Maria tri-tip and grilled vegetables

Mom celebrated with a backyard barbecue
My family has a mother’s day tradition of a Sunday brunch, but
since my sister had to work until late afternoon this year we
decided to use the nice weather as an excuse to have the first
barbecue of the season.
Everyone in my family is a fan of grilling and we had a new
Weber charcoal grill to try out so it seemed like a perfect
opportunity. For the meal, we opted for a braciole appetizer of
flank steak stuffed with a parmesan cheese mixture and marinated in
teriyaki sauce, a spinach dip made with fresh garlic and baked
brie.
Mom celebrated with a backyard barbecue

My family has a mother’s day tradition of a Sunday brunch, but since my sister had to work until late afternoon this year we decided to use the nice weather as an excuse to have the first barbecue of the season.

Everyone in my family is a fan of grilling and we had a new Weber charcoal grill to try out so it seemed like a perfect opportunity. For the meal, we opted for a braciole appetizer of flank steak stuffed with a parmesan cheese mixture and marinated in teriyaki sauce, a spinach dip made with fresh garlic and baked brie.

For the main meal, I found a grilled vegetable recipe that works well with eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers and other veggies. The vegetables can be served hot off the grill or at room temperature. We cooked the vegetables first, and then served them room temperature with the balsamic vinaigrette.

For the tri-tip, I decided to try a Santa Maria-style recipe. The recipe calls for a dry rub to rest on the meat for about 30 minutes, before it is put over low heat. The tri-tips are basted with a red wine vinegar and olive oil mixture, until they are done. The meat was tasty, though the rub was a little salty for my taste. In the future, I would use less salt and more of the other seasonings. Of course, we had to cook up some garlic bread to go with the tri-tip, as seems to be the tradition in these parts.

For drinks, we made a Georgia Peach Sangria we’ve tried in the past that is perfect for warm weather. The braciole and sangria recipe can be found online at www.pinnaclenews.com/life, but read on to see the grilled vegetable and Santa Maria-style tri tip below.

Grilled vegetables

Recipe courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis

3 red bell peppers, seeded and halved

3 yellow squash (about 1 pound total), sliced lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick rectangles

3 zucchini (about 12 ounces total), sliced lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick rectangles

3 Japanese eggplant (12 ounces total), sliced lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick rectangles

12 cremini mushrooms

1 bunch (1-pound) asparagus, trimmed

12 green onions, roots cut off

1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

1 tsp. chopped fresh basil leaves

1/2 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or prepare the barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush the vegetables with 1/4 cup of the oil to coat lightly. Sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper. Working in batches, grill the vegetables until tender and lightly charred all over, about 8 to 10 minutes for the bell peppers; 7 minutes for the yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, and mushrooms; 4 minutes for the asparagus and green onions. Arrange the vegetables on a platter. The key to getting those great grill marks is to not shift the vegetables too frequently once they’ve been placed on the hot grill.

Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, parsley, basil, and rosemary in a small bowl to blend. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle the herb mixture over the vegetables. Serve the vegetables, warm or at room temperature.

Santa Maria-Style BBQ Oakwood Grilled Tri-tip

Recipe courtesy of Frank Ostini

2 (3-pound) tri-tip roasts

Basting Sauce, recipe follows

Seasoning Salt Mixture, recipe follows

Heat a grill to low.

Coat both sides of the tri-tips with half of the seasoning mixture, rubbing it in as you would a dry rub. Let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Place the tri-tips over a low temperature fire, 1 with fat side up, and the other with fat side down. Turn as the first side gets crispy, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Be careful of flare-ups, as the dripping fat will fuel the fire. Turn the tri-tips before the heat pushes juices out the top, and continue to turn using this timing method throughout the cooking process. After turning, baste with sauce and season lightly, 4 times per side. Continue turning until the tri-tips are cooked to your liking. Remove from fire and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting into 1/2-inch slices against the grain.

Seasoning Salt Mixture:

2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. white pepper

2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. onion powder

4 tbsp. granulated garlic

6 tbsp. salt

Mix together all ingredients in a small bowl.

Basting Sauce:

1/2 c. red wine vinegar

1/2 c. garlic-infused vegetable oil

Whisk together vinegar and oil in a small bowl.