March | 2012 | onedadskitchen

Flipping Over Some Fettuccine Alfredo (Or Some Crab-Stuffed Trout)

Today’s dinner is the meat free meal of the week. Sean Michelle are going totally meat free by having Fettuccine Alfredo. I, on the other hand, not being a fan of pasta or cheese, am making a Crab-Stuffed Trout for myself for dinner with some white rice and cauliflower. First, the fettuccine. If I had the space to do it, I would like to make my own pasta.Unfortunately, our kitchen is the size of a closet and we only have 1 counter to do any work on, so I can’t do it. I did buy some fresh pasta from the store though, so it should taste better than the stuff in a box.

Fettuccine Alfredo

2 cups heavy cream

Salt

1 pound fettuccine

2 tablespoons butter

2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)

Pinch nutmeg

Pepper

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot for the fettuccine. Meanwhile, simmer the cream in a large skillet over medium heat until it has thickened slightly and measures roughly 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. Cover and keep warm off the heat.

When the water is boiling, stir in 1 tablespoon of salt and the fettuccine. Cook, stirring often, until the pasta is almost tender but still a little firm to the bite. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the fettuccine and return it to the pot.

Whisk the butter, Parmesan, and nutmeg into the cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss to coat. Add the reserved cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce before serving.

Michelle and Sean will be having some crunchy bread with their pasta and some of the cauliflower as well. It’s a simple dinner and only takes 20 minutes to make.

For the trout, I’ll be using a whole trout, with the head and tail cut off. If you’re stuffing the trout yourself, make sure you check the trout for any pin bones on the flesh before you stuff and cook it. I scaled this recipe back since I am only making 1 trout, so adjust it accordingly for your own use.

Crab-Stuffed Trout

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup celery, diced

1/4 cup onion, diced

1/4 cup mushrooms, diced

1/2 cup lump crabmeat

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 fresh trout, cleaned and de-boned

1 lemon, cut in wedges

Parsley, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Melt 1/4 cup of the butter in a heavy, non-stick skillet over
medium heat. Sauté celery and onions about 5 minutes or until celery the is soft. Add mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes. Stir in the crabmeat and breadcrumbs. Mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper to taste.Remove the mixture from the heat. Using a spoon, fill each trout with the mixture so that both sides of the trout almost come together. Place the trout on a buttered cookie sheet. Dot the top of each trout with the remaining butter. Bake about 20 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve with lemon wedges and garnish with the parsley.

As I said before, I am serving this white rice and cauliflower, but this would also go nicely with some wild rice. For tomorrow, it will be fish for all of us for dinner on our fish Friday. I’ll have to check out what looks good at Adam’s Farms to determine what the fish will be, so check back tomorrow to see what I’ll be cooking. Also, I hope to have next week’s menu in place so I can share it on here tomorrow. Until then, enjoy this beautiful, warm day if you are here in New York and for everyone else, just enjoy your day!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on March 8, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Pasta, Seafood, Vegetarian

Tags: crab-stuffed trout, fettuccine, fettuccine alfredo, pasta, stuffed trout, trout

There’s Nothing Like a Burger…

07 Mar

Sean wanted hamburgers tonight, so I decided I would make them for dinner. I also made oven fries again, which were delicious. They were nice and crunchy on the outside and creamy in the center, like fries should be made. I also made some oven-fried onion rings. I hadn’t made these before, but I have to say they came out nicely. I have posted the recipes I use for hamburgers and oven fries before, but if you would like to check them out, you can simply click here and go to that day’s blog. I will post the onion ring recipe I used.

Oven-Fried Onion Rings

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

30 saltines

4 cups kettle-cooked potato chips

2 large yellow onions cut into 24 large rings

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and upper-middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees. Place 1/4 cup of flour in a shallow baking dish. Beat egg and buttermilk together in a medium bowl. Whisk the remaining 1/4 cup of flour, cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper into the buttermilk mixture. Pulse the saltines and the chips together in a food processor until they are finely ground and place in a separate shallow baking dish.

Pull apart the rings of onion in each round, discarding any that are less than 2 inches in diameter. Working one at a time, dredge each onion ring in flour, shaking off the excess. Dip the onion ring in the buttermilk mixture, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl, then drop the ring into the crumb coating, turning the ring to coat evenly. Transfer the ring to a large plate and repeat the process with the remaining onion rings.

Pour 3 tablespoons of oil onto each of the two rimmed baking sheets. Place in the oven and heat until just smoking, about 8 minutes. Carefully tilt the heated baking sheets to coat them evenly with oil, then arrange the onion rings on the sheets. Bake, flipping the onion rings over and switching and rotating the positions of the baking sheets halfway through baking, until they are golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes. Transfer the onion rings to plates lined with paper towels to drain briefly. Serve immediately.

You can bread the onion rings ahead of time refrigerate them for up to an hour. Let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking; if you bake them straight from the fridge, the onions will not soften properly and will remain crunchy.

These onion rings turn out very crisp and crunchy, almost like they were fried. Using the kettle chips helps produce a golden crust that makes the crust seem deep-fried. Adding the saltines add some saltiness to the mix and helps to absorb the excess grease from the potato chips. Definitely give them a try if you get the chance; we loved having them with the burgers tonight.

Tomorrow night is a meat-free meal night; well, not completely meat-free but pretty close. I am making Fettuccine Alfredo for Michelle and Sean for dinner, but since I am not too keen on pasta or cheese, I am having a crab stuffed rainbow trout for myself. I’ll be posting both recipes so you can check them out tomorrow night. Until then, enjoy your meal and enjoy your evening!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on March 7, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Potatoes, Vegetables

Tags: fried onion rings, hamburgers, onion ring recipe, onion rings, oven fries, oven-fried onion rings

A Tuesday Trinidadian Chicken Stew

06 Mar

Today’s dinner is a simple, one pot dinner I saw on the Food Network. Giada De Laurentiis made this on her show, and it looked pretty tasty and very easy to make, so I thought I would give it a try. There aren’t a lot of ingredients to this one, so you might be able to make this with what you already have in the house.

Trinidadian Chicken Stew

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, halved

4 small, skinless bone-in chicken thighs

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning

4 whole peeled canned tomatoes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

3 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups water

In a heavy bottomed 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sugar and cook, stirring occasionally until very dark, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken pieces, ginger, 1 teaspoon of salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until the chicken is brown, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and break up with a wooden spoon. Add the thyme, 2 tablespoons of parsley, carrots, potatoes and hot water. Cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, about 40 to 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to serving bowls and garnish with the remaining parsley.

And that’s all there is to it. I can tell you it smells wonderful as it is cooking (it’s cooking right now actually). It also makes for easy clean up, which I love, and good leftovers for lunch the next day.

It’s a quick post today since it’s a quick dinner. Tomorrow I’ll be making hamburgers, at Sean’s request. I’ve made them before and posted my method for making them, but I’ll do it again. This time we are making some Oven Fries and Oven-Fried Onion Rings with the burgers, so check back tomorrow to see the recipes for everything. Until then, have a great evening and enjoy your meal!

Oven Barbecued Ribs, Broccoli Slaw, Slow Cooker Pork Chops and a Meal Plan Menu

05 Mar

I took the weekend off to spend some time with the family, but now it’s back to the blog. Yesterday, we had a nice meal of Oven Barbecued Baby Back Ribs and Broccoli Slaw. It made us all think about summer coming fast since the weather has been so mild this winter. Oven Barbecue Ribs are great to make any time of the year. You can use any store-bought sauce that you like, or a dry rub, or make your own sauce. I often use a dry rub or make me own sauce, and I’ll post those recipes as we get into the warmer weather. Yesterday I just used Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce, which is our sauce of choice. There’s not much to oven barbecuing ribs, so the recipe is quite quick.

Oven Barbecued Baby Back Ribs

1-2 racks pork loin baby back ribs (about 2-3 pounds each rack)

1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce, homemade or store-bought

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Lay the ribs, meaty side up, on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Wrap the pan tightly with foil. Roast for 2 hours. Remove the foil and brush the meaty side of the ribs with barbecue sauce. Continue to roast, uncovered, until the bones have separated from the meat, about 1 hour longer.

That’s all there is to it. You can do the same with spareribs if you prefer them; I like the taste of the baby back ribs better myself. I served this with a nice broccoli slaw. This slaw has a little kick to it, but you can eliminate the red pepper flakes from the recipe if you prefer something milder.

Broccoli Slaw

1 cup shredded carrots

2 cups shredded broccoli slaw

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 lime, zested and juiced

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, combine the carrots, broccoli slaw and red onion. Set aside. In a small saucepan, add the vinegar, lime zest, lime juice, salt, sugar, red pepper flakes and the black pepper. Bring to a light boil over low heat. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Add the olive oil to the vinegar mixture, pour over the vegetables and toss together to combine. Refrigerate until serving.

It made for a nice, refreshing dinner. Tonight’s dinner, following along with my schedule, is a slow cooker meal. Tonight I am making Slow Cooker Pepper Pork Chops. This is a recipe I got from Alton Brown of the Food Network. It takes a little prep work as the pork chops need to be brined overnight, but it’s definitely worth it.

Slow Cooker Pepper Pork Chops

2 cups vegetable broth or water

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons black peppercorns, slightly crushed

1 pound ice

4 (1 to 1 1/2 inch thick) bone-in pork chops

2 teaspoons salt

3 apples, cored and sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, julienned

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Combine the vegetable broth or water, 1/2 cup salt, brown sugar and peppercorns in a medium saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Cook just until the salt and sugar dissolve, then remove from the heat and add the ice. Place the pork chops into a gallon zip-top bag along with the mixture and seal. Place in a plastic container and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the chops from the brine, rinse, and pat dry. Season on both sides with salt and set aside. Place the apples in the slow cooker. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the pork chops on both sides until golden brown, approximately 5 to 6 minutes per side. Once browned, place the pork chops into the slow cooker atop the apples.

Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan followed by the onions and saute until they begin to brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth to the pan to deglaze. Add the black pepper and the thyme and stir to combine. Transfer this to the slow cooker, set to high, and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Decrease the heat to low and continue cooking for another 4 1/2 hours, or until the pork is tender and falling away from the bone.

If you want to leave the slow cooker in the morning and not have to turn anything down, you can leave the pork chops on low the whole time and cook for 8 hours. I am serving this meal simply, with some white rice and steamed vegetables (cauliflower and broccoli).

As for the meal plan for this week, here is what I am making:

Monday: Slow Cooker Pepper Pork Chops, White Rice, Steamed Vegetables

Tuesday: Trinidadian Chicken Stew

Wednesday: Hamburgers, Oven Fries, Oven-Fried Onion Rings

Thursday: Fettuccine Alfredo

Friday: Monkfish ( I haven’t decided how I am cooking it, but I did buy it and freeze it).

They are all simple, tasty meals. By the way, I won’t be eating the fettuccine, I’ll be having crab-stuffed trout that day, so I’ll post both recipes, but they will both be delicious :). I think that covers everything for tonight. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave a note and say hi. Until tomorrow, enjoy your meal!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on March 5, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Meal Plan Menu, Pork, Salad, Slow Cooker Meals

Tags: Alton Brown, baby back ribs, barbecue ribs, broccoli slaw, oven barbecue ribs, slow cooker, slow cooker meal, slow cooker pork chops

It’s a Calamari Friday

02 Mar

Okay, admittedly, a lot of people don’t care for calamari. I think the biggest problem is that in a lot places, it’s not cooked correctly. If you’re served overcooked calamari, you may as well eat a plate of pencil erasers, because the taste is just about the same. So many places give you rubbery pieces that I can understand why people don’t like it. However, if you cook it correctly, it is incredibly tasty and a great treat. Heck, if my 11-year-old likes it, anybody will eat it. Here’s the rule I learned about squid – you either cook it for 2 minutes or 2 hours. Squid has to be cooked really quickly (it’s nearly impossible to undercook it) or it needs to braised for a longer period of time to make it tender.This is a great recipe that I came across in the New York Times yesterday that will make a great meal, and it doesn’t take long to cook at all. The polenta actually takes longer than the rest of the meal, but you can also use the quick-cook polenta, and that can be done is a little as 5 minutes.

Calamari With Herbs And Polenta

FOR THE POLENTA:

Salt to taste

1 cup cornmeal

2 tablespoons butter, optional

Freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE CALAMARI:

1 1/2 pounds cleaned squid

Salt and pepper

4 tablespoons olive oil

3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon chopped marjoram

2 tablespoons chopped mint

A splash of white wine, about 2 tablespoons

1/2 cup chopped parsley

3 tablespoons chopped scallions

Lemon wedges, optional

Cook the polenta. Bring 5 cups salted water to a boil in a small pot. Pour in the cornmeal, stirring with a whisk or wooden spoon until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Turn the flame to low and cook for 40 to 45 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter, if using, and a little freshly ground pepper. Serve warm from the pot, or pour into a pan, allow to firm up and cut into wedges(this is what I am doing). Re-heat for 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Cut the squid bodies into 1/2-inch rings. Cut the tentacles in pieces or leave whole if small. Rinse, pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat until the oil looks wavy. Carefully add the squid (it will spatter) and stir to coat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, marjoram and mint and cook, stirring all the while, for 1 minute, until the squid rings have puffed up and look opaque. Add the wine and cook for 1 minute more. Turn off the heat. Add the parsley and scallions and serve immediately with the accumulated pan juices and lemon wedges if desired.

If you don’t want to serve this with polenta, pasta or rice will go just as well with this dish. I would also serve this with some garlic bread and perhaps some sautéed spinach to round out the meal.

I had hoped to have next week’s meal plan in place already to post, but we’re still trying to decide on meals for a couple of the days, so I should have that tomorrow to post along with tomorrow’s dinner. I am planning to make a roast chicken, but I will vary the recipe a little from the one I have posted previously. If you would like to see the previous recipe for roast chicken, you can find it here. Also, if you would to make your own meal plan you can use this file:family_meal_planner. As always, if you have any questions, comments or recipes you would like to see, just let me know. Until tomorrow, enjoy your meal!

3 Comments

Posted by MikeG on March 2, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Seafood

Tags: calamari, new york times recipes, polenta, squid

Open Sesame (Chicken)

01 Mar

Tonight’s dinner is a take on one of my favorite take out dinners, Sesame Chicken. It’s one of my favorite from Chinese takeout and I have tried to duplicate it, but this recipe seems to do it the best. This recipe calls for deep-frying the chicken, but I put it in the oven instead and cook it to try it make it a little healthier. it comes out with just as good results as deep-frying, if you ask me.

Sesame Chicken

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon dry sherry

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 dash sesame oil

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat – cubed

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon chile paste

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup water

1 quart oil for frying

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Sift flour, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder into a bowl. Pour in low-sodium soy sauce, sherry, 2 tablespoons water, vegetable oil, and a dash of sesame oil; stir until smooth. Stir in chicken until coated with the batter, then cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring chicken broth, sugar, vinegar, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, chile paste, and garlic to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Dissolve 1/4 cup cornstarch into 1/2 cup of water, and stir into boiling sauce. Simmer until the sauce thickens and turns clear, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and keep sauce warm.

Heat olive oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan to a temperature of 375 degrees. Drop in the battered chicken pieces, a few at a time, and fry until they turn golden brown and float to the top of the oil, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on a paper towel lined plate. To serve, place fried chicken pieces onto a serving platter, and pour the hot sauce over top. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds to garnish.

If you want to bake the chicken instead of frying, follow all the steps of the recipe except when it comes time to put them in the oil, put them in a baking pan with all the marinade (which made for a nice breading), drizzle 1/4 cup of oil over top, and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.Turn the chicken half way through baking so it crisps up all over.

I am serving this with fried rice, which I have made before and blogged about here. If you would like my method for making fried rice, you can check it out right here. I am also serving steamed broccoli with the meal, since it seems to go well and does come with a lot of Chinese take out meals.

That’s all there is to this meal. The cooking time is a little longer if you want to bake instead of fry, but I didn’t want all the fat from the oil in this meal so it was a good way to go for us. Tomorrow is Friday, so it will be a fish meal tomorrow night. I’ll have to see what looks good at the market in the morning, but I already have a really good idea of what I want to cook. There was a great recipe in the New York Times yesterday for Calamari with Herbs and Polenta, so I think that is what I am going to cook. You’ll have to check back tomorrow to see if that’s what I got. I am also going to show next week’s meal plan if you want to see what I’ll be making next week. If you want to use your own meal plan, you can click family_meal_planner to follow the sheet I use each week. Until then, have a great evening and enjoy your meal!

A Couple of Meat-Free Meals

01 Mar

Yesterday was our meat-free meal day, and we actually had two ideas for the meal, one I had planned, and then one my sister-in-law had suggested that sounded really good as well. My idea was Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions. it’s a great one pot meal, completely vegetarian if that’s what you are looking for, and very filling and satisfying.

Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped, plus 1 large or 2 medium onions, halved and sliced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups lentils, washed and picked over

6 cups water, vegetable, chicken or beef stock (your preference), warmed

1 cup long-grain rice

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Put 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the chopped onion and cook until it begins to become tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and some salt and pepper and cook for 3 minutes more. Add the lentils, stir, and add 4 cups of liquid. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils begin to soften, about 20 minutes. Add enough of the stock or water so that the lentils are covered by about an inch of liquid. Stir in the rice. Cover and turn the heat to low.

Meanwhile, put the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, cook the onion slices, stirring frequently, until they are dark brown but not burned, about 15 minutes. Scoop out the onions and let them drain on paper towels while you finish cooking the lentils and rice.

Check the rice and lentils after 20 minutes. When both are tender and the liquid is absorbed, the dish is ready. If the lentils and rice are not tender, add more liquid, cover, and cook for a few more minutes. If the rice and lentils are soft and there is much liquid remaining, raise the heat a bit and cook, uncovered, stirring, until it evaporates. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary and serve, garnished with the caramelized onions and parsley.

The lentils and rice make for a very hearty meal. The second meal for meat-free night is Browned Cabbage and Noodles. Michelle loved the sound of this one so we thought we would give it a try.

Browned Cabbage and Noodles

3 pounds cabbage

1 tablespoon salt

1 1/2 sticks butter

3 tablespoons grated onion

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound broad noodles, cooked and drained

Wash the cabbage and grate very fine. Mix in the salt and let stand for 2 hours. Rinse, drain and dry the cabbage (you could skip this step if you wanted and just go straight to cooking).

Melt half the butter in a deep large skillet or Dutch oven. Mix in the cabbage, onions, sugar and pepper. Cook over low heat for 1 1/4 hours, stirring frequently. Add the remaining butter after 1 hour. Toss in the cooked noodles until thoroughly mixed with the cabbage. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes.

This recipe serves 6 to 8, so you can adjust the recipe down a bot if you are cooking for a smaller crowd, like I do. There’s not many ingredients in this one, but it does take some time to make it. It’s also a great one pot dish, and I really like those as it cuts down on the clean up afterwards.

So that was Wednesday’s meal, nice and easy. Check back later today for tonight’s meal of Sesame Chicken Stir Fry with Fried Rice and Steamed Vegetables. It promises to be quite tasty. See you later!