Recipes for easy to fix gourmet meals?

I really hate to admit that I'm getting tired of eating out when we're timesharing. I'm looking for some easy to fix gourmet meals i.e. not too long to prepare, easy to find ingredients, not too fattening (is that possible?). Please share any suggestions you might have.

I don't know about gourmet meals, but we usually stop by Costco &/or local grocery store and pickup a couple steaks and some chicken, as well as some tortillas, some marinade & salsa & can of refried beans.

This usually allows for 2 nights of steaks, a night of chicken, some taco's or burittos. I'm also about easy so hamburger can be pressed into service for burgers one night & any multitudes of casseroles.

The point while to have good food is not to need to spend more than 30 minutes or so making the whole thing or else you won't feel like you are on vacation.

One reason we really like the grill areas of the resorts is because you can usually find fresh seafood locally. Cooking it on the grill is simple and doesn't leave that "fishy" smell in your unit.

You can try this with any fish filets/steaks all the way from light tilapia to heavy bluefish or swordfish, as well as oysters, shrimp, mussels, clams, etc. Choose your own seasoning to complement whatever seafood you're using, or rely on the old standby that works with everything - Old Bay Seasoning.

Lay out a double thickness sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil, a little more than double the length of your longest piece of fish. Lightly spray it with PAM. Layer fish, thin lemon slices, tomato chunks (okay to use canned diced) and whatever else you think sounds good, like onions, peppers and garlic with the shellfish. Sprinkle a teaspoon of any flavored oil over the top along with salt, pepper and your seasoning. Close up the foil packet and steam on the grill until done - about 15 minutes for a light fish filet or shrimp to 30 minutes for a swordfish steak to 45 minutes for a big bundle of clams or mussels. It's okay to open up while cooking to test, but close completely if it's staying on the grill.

Add a side of lightly seasoned rice and a fresh veggie, and serve sherbet for dessert. It's light, filling, tasty and it cleans up easy. Enjoy.

I love to cook while vacationing, which makes timeshare so attractive to me.

First of all, assume that the cooking supplies in the room will be substandard. The non-stick pans aren't. The knives are dull. The bakeware is crap. I have a small cooler labeled "timeshare" that I bring on each vacation. It includes:

A small cheap non-stick pan from Marshall's/TJ Maxx (which I often leave at the resort with the maid's tip money in it -- if I need the room when packing for the return trip)
A good santoku knife (obviously removed for international trips)
An instant-read digital thermometer (salmonella is never fun on vacation)
A 1/2 liter drip proof plastic bottle, which I fill with good olive oil prior to leaving (unless I'm going to a place known for it's olive oil)
Plastic 35mm film canisters with my favorite spices (and flour for sauces)
Sheets of aluminum foil folded to save space
Coffee filters
Coffee, preground before we leave
"Fast food" packets of ketchup, soy sauce, dijon mustard, etc.
A small Brita filter (the one liter variety) just in case the local water tastes bad
Neosporin and band-aids (kitchen accidents happen on vacation, too)
Chopsticks -- the all-in-one kitchen utensil. You can turn bacon with them, use them as skewers, scramble eggs, etc.

I bring this even if the resort doesn't have a kitchen -- they almost always have a grill.

As far as ingredients, I go to the local market and get what's fresh. This is the one time I'll buy "pre-marinaded" meats at the store. They save a lot of time.

Chicken is always a good bet. It cooks up quick and is versatile.


As for recipes? I've found they're nearly useless because of the variations of available equipment, ingredients and time.

Knowing how to braise meats will always serve you well when heading to an unknown kitchen. Making a roux with butter and flour will build a great sauce with whatever liquid lends itself (wine, cans of stock, dairy, etc.)

A typical meal for us is grilled/braised chicken in a red/white wine sauce over rice/pasta with a side of steamed whatever is fresh at the moment.

The best meal I ever made was braised rabbit with a saffron cava sauce. We were in a timeshare in Spain that had a outdated, tiny kitchen with a barely-working electric range. People were lining up for rabbits at the market, so we figured that's what we'd have, too. I'd already bought the wine and saffron, because that's two things Spain is known for.

The way I see it, worst case scenario is the meal is a disaster, and we go out. That's happened, too.

SueDonJ - I had to show DH your post (he is the grill Master.) We have to try that on vacation with some fresh sea food!

ScoopLV - Great post! Are you a chef, or is cooking a hobby for you?

Just to add to the other great ideas - I love to make salads with fresh local ingredients, and in a hot, tropical location, I think salads are more appealing that a hot vegetable. I love both green salads and fruit salads in Hawaii!

DeniseM said:

ScoopLV - Great post! Are you a chef, or is cooking a hobby for you?

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A fairly serious hobby. LOML and I were talking about hobbies for some reason about 10 years ago, we decided that "gourmet cuisine" was one of the best hobbies out there, because it pays instant dividends. You get to eat great food for the rest of your life just by learning a few techniques.

There are some very good cooking shows on PBS. They're not as slick as what you'll find on the Food Network, but you'll learn more. (I do watch Alton Brown on the Food Network, though. I think his show is excellent.) If you can find re-runs of Molto Mario, that's a good show also.

Since I enjoy cooking so much, I'd never do it as a vocation. I don't want cooking to ever be "work." Same thing with SCUBA.

When I'm on vacation, I don't really care about the length of time a dish takes. I care about the amount of work it takes. Braising is dead simple -- cut meat into pieces, sear, add liquid and aromatics, then simmer for an hour. I don't have to watch the pot. I can drink wine on the balcony while Isaac Newton does the work for me.

Making a quiche on the other hand, takes less time but is incredibly labor intensive. I'll grill if I have to, but grilling requires being near the grill throughout the cooking process. That often means standing in the sun in 90-degree weather.

We usually make breakfast and dinner in the room, and eat lunch out (so we can enjoy the local dishes). Lunch is always the best bet for a high-quality, low-cost restaurant meal.

ScoopLV-- I have a rubbermaid container I use similarly but I'm going to modify what it holds just a bit after your great post. I gave myself a big "doh!" headslap over the flour--so simple and obvious, but not included in my box of tricks (until now).

If we're driving (which we usually are) I try to make at least two meals ahead and freeze them to bring along--baked pasta dishes and a meatloaf, for example, then I buy fresh salad ingredients when we arrive.

On our last trip, my 12 year-old picked up a package of refrigerated cookie dough in the grocery store. Got back to the unit and there was not a single thing in the kitchen that would work as a baking sheet -- I put the dough on a double layer of foil and hoped for the best. It worked, kind of, lol. I've never tried to grill cookies--I wonder . . .

Homemade pizza is another quick and easy one--by the toppings you choose, you control the healthy-ness!

If I am driving I love to bring along my crockpot. It makes cooking so easy. I use it a lot at home as well.

Here's a recipe for Chicken Burritos that has been a hit at our house after "stealing" it from a relative when we stayed the weekend.

You can make a GIANT batch of it, and reheat a portion to just fill one or several tortillas. Teens can easily do this reheat-meal on their own --- or just when they need a snack.

Check out the reviews, as you can easily pick-and-choose ingredients to change it around to the family's liking....

FlyerBobcat said:

Here's a recipe for Chicken Burritos that has been a hit at our house after "stealing" it from a relative when we stayed the weekend.

You can make a GIANT batch of it, and reheat a portion to just fill one or several tortillas. Teens can easily do this reheat meal on their own --- or just when they need a snack.

Check out the reviews, as you can easily pick-and-choose ingredients to change it around to the family's liking....

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Thanks for sharing your recipe! It sounds delicious!

I wouldn't call it gourmet, but one very simple thing to prepare on vacation is baby back ribs. You can do them in the oven, or on the grill or start in the oven and finish on the grill (my preference). Serve along side some fresh corn on the cob and homemade coleslaw. Very simple, and very good.

I love to cook, and even more so when on vacation because it's one of the few opportunities to take the time to cook the things I want the way I want.

Jim

ctreelmom said:

ScoopLV-- I have a rubbermaid container I use similarly but I'm going to modify what it holds just a bit after your great post. I gave myself a big "doh!" headslap over the flour--so simple and obvious, but not included in my box of tricks (until now).

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Go with the small cooler instead of the rubbermaid -- Once you've unpacked, you can take the cooler with you to the grocery store and keep your purchases cold.

Another thing I'll do is buy cooking gear on vacation and bring it home with me. That's how I got my paella pan -- bought it in Spain, used the the entire trip, then cleaned it and brought it home.

This year we're doing Napa for Christmas (first time I've ever gone back to a resort). I'll be adding a copper pan and a copper pot to the list, more spices, and a stick blender (with mini food processor).

We really enjoyed cooking in Napa -- great amazing local produce, expensive local restaurants, and a desire to avoid DUI make the "perfect storm" for why it makes more sense to use the kitchen than restaurants.

itchyfeet said:

I really hate to admit that I'm getting tired of eating out when we're timesharing. I'm looking for some easy to fix gourmet meals i.e. not too long to prepare, easy to find ingredients, not too fattening (is that possible?). Please share any suggestions you might have.

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You might want to get one of the NY Times Minimalist's cookbooks. This guy is great.

His name is Mark Bittman, and he has several books out there. His stuff is always good, made with good ingredients, and very easy to make.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/features/diningandwine/columns/the_minimalist/index.html

-David

ScoopLV said:

Go with the small cooler instead of the rubbermaid -- Once you've unpacked, you can take the cooler with you to the grocery store and keep your purchases cold.

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Great suggestion, but it's a BIG Rubbermaid, so I'd need the BIG cooler, lol! We bring that too, filled with cold drinks and snacks for the ride, and use the aforementioned frozen entrees as our "ice."

simple meals

Someone folks love her or hate her, but the recipes of Sandra Lee from the FoodNetwork are verygood. She uses items that are quick and easy and when combined together are very tastey! With two boys in the prime of Little League season these recipes are great and would carry over well to timeshare cooking. We enjoy the pasta recipes along with some of the burgers she puts together (not to mention the beer margaritas!). Sometimes the ingredients listed are not worth the time (spices), but again quick, easy and good tasting!

The chicken burritos recipe is from a website I like a lot - epicurious.com. It's the recipe site for Bon Appetit, Gourmet and another magazine from the same publisher (Shape?). While some of the recipes are too involved with complicated ingredients, many are quick and convenient yet have a much more interesting taste than other sources. It's where I start first when I'm looking online for a recipe, although I also have some success with allrecipes.com

stmartinfan said:

a website I like a lot - epicurious.com....I also have some success with allrecipes.com

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If you can score an invitation to egullet.org, their restaurant reviews are absolutely top notch. The place is filled with chefs, restaurant critics, restaurateurs, and other foodie types. I think their information is 10 out of 10.

stmartinfan said:

The chicken burritos recipe is from a website I like a lot - epicurious.com. It's the recipe site for Bon Appetit, Gourmet and another magazine from the same publisher (Shape?). While some of the recipes are too involved with complicated ingredients, many are quick and convenient yet have a much more interesting taste than other sources. It's where I start first when I'm looking online for a recipe, although I also have some success with allrecipes.com

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I love allrecipes.com!

I usually go to foodnetwork.com for recipes. I TiVo Alto Brown's "Good Eats" and Tyler Florence's "Tyler's Ultimate". Love to watch both of those guys cook -- Alton because he explains the science behind the cooking, and Tyler because he has such a laid back style to his cooking.

Jim