Magic Grill Pockets!

I can't take credit for these nifty little packets -- except to trumpet my scary ability to remember often useless tidbits of advice from magazines. (Want to know how to trim your bangs with nail scissors, or tone your tummy in 5 minutes a day, according to Seventeen magazine, circa 1982? Just ask.)

I think it was Cookie magazine that suggested making individual dinners for kids -- you can put cut up veggies and fish or chicken or shrimp, with a dash of olive oil or butter and a pinch of salt. Seal up the foil and set on grill for 20 minutes.

We were already grilling whole mackerel, with olives and lemon, a recipe from epicurious.com. So I asked my kids to help make individual (and a few group-version) veggie packets.

We used every last veggie we had on hand: diced potatoes, butternut squash, frozen edamame, broccoli and garlic. A sprig of rosemary from the garden, just for the hell of it, because I like sending my kids out in the yard with the scissors.

I gave them each a square of foil and told them to go wild. Pick out your own veggies, kids, from this bounteous platter of choices!



This was daughter's selection. Wow, is she living large, or what?



Then, because I've worked in Japanese restaurants and am remarkably facile with a square of foil, we made the packets into birds. Of course, like thousands of children across the U.S. taking home their teriyaki leftovers, they LOVED this.




This is the fish, strung up with lemon slices as outlined on epicurious. I threw in the halved yukon gold potatoes because I figured I'd roast everything I could, as long as the grill was going to be fired up.


Here it is, in its moment of grilling glory.

It was all good. The fish: amazing. The veggie packs: a little on the steamed side, having been... steamed. I'm not crazy about steamed veggies, but they were tasty. My kids weren't so thrilled. They had some potatoes and broccoli, but wouldn't touch the edamame.

The best part was the roasted potatoes, thrown straight on the grill, no oil or anything. They were awesome, and we had hash browns the next morning.

Next time I'll use more garlic, and leave them on the grill for a shorter time. (No need for no 20 minutes, when all I'm cooking is veggies.) The kids really loved the packing part, so it's worth another shot.