Grilled Veggie Pillow

It feels like my first recipe post was yesterday, so it’s a little surreal when I see that this one is my 100th! For a milestone post, it only seems fitting to share with you a staple from my childhood. My mom loved to grill…and (like postal carriers), no weather would stop her. If it was raining or snowing, she’d just throw on her LLBean Anorak and proudly exclaim, “All weather is grilling weather!” as she left for the deck. In fact, I can only remember two things that ever thwarted her grilling spirit.

1. Running out of Propane (who among us hasn’t had that happen?)
2. The neighborhood squirrels who would chew through the propane connector hose, rendering it useless. **Over time, she built a contraption out of milk crates to protect the hose from those blasted rodents, and she always had a replacement hose stashed away in the closet just in case, so this setback was thereby rendered neutral moving forward**

Anyway, she would grill duck, burgers, turkey cutlets, fish, steak, pork…pretty much anything! That said, it’s hard to (wo)man a grill and cook veggies inside at the same time due to the physics of being in two places at the same time. That plus the fact that not all veggies grill all that well (and/or take up a lot of space on the grill in the case of sliced zuchini), and she came up with a great solution. The veggie pillow. Essentially, you wrap all your veggies in foil with some seasonings, and let them steam/grill together in a nice little package of awesomeness. The end result is customizable magic!

We served this with a Grilled NY Strip Steak and Grill Bread, but it would pair well with any grilled meat! Give it a try!

Time: 35 Minutes

Ingredients:

• Your desired veggies. A few that I’ve used that work really well are:
  • Potatoes (pre-softened a bit in the microwave)
  • Cauliflower
  • Red Peppers
  • Green Peppers
  • Carrots
  • Corn (and baby corn)
  • Red Onion
  • Summer Squash
  • Asparagus
  • Green Beans
• Butter
• Seasonings (salt and pepper are a great way to keep it simple and let the veggies shine through)

Method:

• Start heating your grill (or oven…oven will take a little longer, but it will do the trick)
• Place two large sheets of foil in a plus shape on your counter
• Cut up your veggies, and place them on the top layer of foil.
• Add your butter and seasonings.
• Fold the top layer to cover the veggies. Then fold the bottom layer over that to make your pillow.
• Throw the whole thing on the grill or in the oven for 30 or so minutes.
• Remove the pillow from the grill, and carefully open the foil watch out for steam…either use heat resistant gloves or tongs to open.
• Plate, devour, and enjoy!