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Category Archives: Cooking

Monday’s Simple Stir Fry

For most people, Monday turns out to be the one day of the week where you really don’t want to do any cooking. It’s back to the weekly routine of school, work, after school activities and by the end of the day, you’re too exhausted to even think about having to cook something for dinner. That’s why Monday makes the perfect day to do something like a stir-fry It’s quick, easy and gives you the chance to use either leftovers or any abundance of vegetables that you may have lying around the house. For me, yesterday turned out to be one of those days. I happen to have just a small package of beef in the freezer so it lent itself perfectly to this stir-fry recipe I found at America’s Test Kitchen for stir-fried beef and broccoli with oyster sauce.

Stir – Fried Beef and Broccoli With Oyster Sauce

1 pound flank steak, cut into 2 inch wide strips with the grain, then sliced across the grain into 1/8 inch thick slices
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
2 tablespoons chicken broth
5 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch
6 medium cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press or minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 inch piece fresh ginger, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/4 pounds broccoli, florets cut into bite-size pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut on diagonal into 1/8 inch thick slices
1/3 cup water
1 small red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
3 medium scallions, sliced half-inch thick on diagonal

Combined the beef and the soy sauce in a medium bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least ten minutes or up to one hour, stirring once. Meanwhile, whisk the sherry, chicken broth, oyster sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a measuring cup. Combine the garlic, ginger, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a small bowl.

Drain the beef and discard the liquid. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat until smoking. Add half of the beef to the skillet and break up any clumps; cook, without stirring, for one minute, then stir and cook until the beef is browned around the edges, about thirty seconds. Transfer the beef to a medium bowl. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of the vegetable oil in a skillet, and repeat with the remaining beef.

Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the now empty skillet; heat until just smoking. Add the broccoli and cook for thirty seconds; and the water, cover the pan, and lower the heat to medium. Steam the broccoli until tender – crisp, about two minutes; transfer to a paper towel – lined plate. Add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of vegetable oil to the skillet; increase the heat to high and heat until just smoking. Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until spotty brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. Clear the center of the skillet; add the garlic and ginger to the clearing and cook, mashing the mixture with the spoon, until fragrant, about 15 to 20 seconds, then stir the mixture into the peppers. Return the beef and broccoli to the skillet and toss to combine. Whisk the sauce to recombine, then add it to the skillet; cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and evenly distributed over the beef and broccoli, about thirty seconds. Transfer to a serving platter, and sprinkle with scallions and serve.

As with most stir-fried dishes, I served this one with white rice. Of course you could easily substitute brown rice for the white if that is what you prefer. Also, I did not have any fresh broccoli on hand; however, I did have a package of mixed frozen vegetables in the freezer which were ideal for a stir-fry I try to keep one of these on hand to make a quick stir-fry whenever we need an easy meal and it worked last night. This bag in particular had broccoli, water chestnuts, snap peas, and carrots. It was a very simple meal, the sauce tasted great and I was all done with the cooking within fifteen minutes. It is a perfect meal for a day on the run.

That’s the only recipe for today. Tonight I have the fish tacos planned, which I have posted on here before. If you want to check the recipe for that, you can always check out the previous post I did. I do have a couple of other meals planned for later on in the week, including one for a fried chicken sandwich with spicy slaw and mayonnaise. We are also planning on having some chicken salad sandwiches later on in the week and I am looking to see if there is something new like can do with them or something new and interesting for a side dish. We’ll have to see what I can come up with. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on April 23, 2013 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Vegetables

Tags: americas test kitchen, beef and broccoli stir fry, stir fry, stir-fried beef and broccoli with oyster sauce

Sunday Chicken and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

22 Apr

I decided to get back to making a regular Sunday dinner and this week as I hadn’t done it a couple of weeks. I had picked up some chicken earlier in the week and a whole chicken makes great Sunday meal. I wanted to find a recipe that would make things a little different and I had seen this one on the Food Network about a week or so ago and thought I would give it a try. It is Garlic Chicken with Israeli Couscous. I had never made it before and it looked good on the TV so we figured what the head lets give it a try.

Garlic Chicken with Israeli Couscous

For the Chicken:
2 whole garlic bulbs
1 lemon, zest stayed and juice
1 large bunch fresh thyme, leaves only
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
Extra virgin olive oil
1 4 to 5 pound chicken, cut into eight parts

Couscous:
Kosher salt
2 cups medium size Israeli couscous
Extra virgin olive oil
3 ribs celery, sliced thin
1 large onion, sliced
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
3 tablespoons tomato paste
Large pinch saffron
2 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 to 3 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted (optional)
3 scallions, white and green, sliced thin

For the garlic chicken: preheat the oven to 350°. Put the garlic bulbs straight on the oven rack and roast them until they are soft when squeezed, about thirty minutes. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool. Turn the oven up to 375°.

While the garlic is roasting, prepare the chicken. In a food processor or bowl, add the lemon zest and juice and set aside. When the garlic bulbs are cool, slice the tops off and squeeze out the roasted garlic into the bowl or food processor along with the thyme, cumin, crushed red pepper and salt to taste. Add a little olive oil and purée or mash into a loose paste. Massage the mixture all over the chicken pieces and allow it to sit for at least one hour.

For the couscous: bring a pot of well salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add the couscous and cook until it is about two-thirds of the way cooked through, approximately 5 to 6 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and brown it on all sides. Remove it to a plate, drain the fat and add the celery and onions. Season with salt and crushed red pepper. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up all the bits on the bottom of the pan, and cook for 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another two minutes. Add in the saffron, zucchini, cooked couscous and chicken stock. Stir well to combine, and then taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.

Transfer the mix to a ovenproof dish. Nestle the chicken, skin side up, in the couscous and add some more chicken stock, if needed, to keep things moist and cover the pan with foil. Add some more chicken stock to keep everything moist. Sprinkle with pine nuts, if using, and cover the pan with foil. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan. Roast the chicken for approximately 20 minutes, and then remove the foil and roast for another 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and top with this scallions before serving.

The chicken came out very moist and had a nice flavor to it because of the garlic paste that was used. I had never made couscous before, so it was little different for me, but I think it came out okay. I don’t think I put enough salt in the water when I was preparing it initially because it tasted like it could use a little more seasoning. Use your best judgment and see what works well for you. I also did not use the pine nuts as they are quite expensive and not something I normally use at all so I just left them out of the recipe. Overall I think it turned out pretty well and if you didn’t want to use couscous I think you could easily substitute white rice or brown rice and this recipe and it would turn out just fine.

Earlier in the week, Sean had asked me to get some strawberries and make something for dessert with them. Of course, this time of year the first thing I thought of was strawberry rhubarb pie. I love the taste of the fresh strawberries with the rhubarb and I hadn’t made this pie before so I had to scour around for a recipe to use. I found one at Williams – Sonoma and I also found one through America’s Test Kitchen. I liked aspects of each one, although the one from America’s Test Kitchen did not include any rhubarb so I sort of combine the two recipes and used the best of both to see how it would come out.

Strawberry – Rhubarb Pie

Two rolled out rounds of basic pie dough, or store-bought pie dough
4 pints (about 3 pounds) fresh strawberries, gently rinsed and dried, hulled and quartered lengthwise
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons low sugar or no sugar pectin
Generous pinch table salt
1 tablespoon juice from one lemon
3 cups rhubarb, trimmed and sliced half-inch thick (four or five stalks)
1 tablespoon cold butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 350°.

For the filling: Select 6 ounces misshapen, underripe or otherwise unattractive strawberries, halving those that are large; you should have about 1 1/2 cups. In a food processor, process the berries until they are a smooth purée, about 20 to 30 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. You should have about 3/4 cup of purée when you are done.

Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, pectin, and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir in the berry purée, making sure to scrape the corners of the pan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof rubber spatula, and bring to a full boil. Boil, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan to prevent scorching, for two minutes to ensure that the cornstarch is fully cooked (the mixture will appear frothy when it first reaches a boil, then will darken and thicken with further cooking). Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the lemon juice. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, pick over the remaining strawberries and halve any that are still large. Mix the berries and the rhubarb into the bowl with the glaze and fold gently with a rubber spatula until everything is coated evenly. Place one dough round in the bottom of the pie plate and pat it firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Transfer the berry mixture to the dough-lined pan. Dot the fruit mixture with the butter. Place the second dough round carefully over the top of the filled pie. Trim the edges neatly, leaving a slight overhang and crimp the edges to seal the pie. Brush the top crust with one lightly beaten egg. Using a small knife, cut five or six slits into the top crust to allow steam to escape during baking.

Place the pie in the oven and bake until the crust is golden and the filling is thick and bubbling, approximately 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow the pie to cool completely to set. Serve at room temperature or re-warm in a 350° oven for 10 to 15 minutes just before serving.

I think the pie turned out great myself. It was still just a little bit runny but not much. I think using the pectin instead of tapioca did seem to really help, and it gave the strawberry pie a nice strawberry jam-like flavor to it. I think once it has been sitting in the refrigerator overnight it will have set up even more and taste even better. Of course, you want to serve this with fresh whipped cream or ice cream on the side.

That’s all there is for today. I do have a few recipes planned out for the week, so we’ll see what we can get to as far as what we want to put up here. I do know I am making fish tacos this week at some point and I have posted a couple of different recipes for them on the air, so it is likely I’ll be using one of those if you want to check out and see what the recipe is like. I do also have a recipe I want to try this week for chicken sandwiches and will have to see what else comes along during the week. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

I forgot to take a picture of the chicken to go along with this. Sorry about that 🙂

6 Comments

Posted by MikeG on April 22, 2013 in Cooking, Dessert, Dinner, Pasta, Pie, Poultry

Tags: americas test kitchen, couscous, food network, garlic chicken, garlic chicken with israeli couscous, Israeli couscous, strawberry pie, strawberry rhubarb pie, williams-sonoma

Asparagus and Chicken Stir Fry

17 Apr

Since it is spring and asparagus has been in abundance lately, I have been buying a lot of it. It is a vegetable we all like in my family and in a variety of ways. I have had a lot of it around the house this week and decided last night to make some use of it with this chicken and asparagus stir fry recipe I found at Food Network. It’s light and easy, only taking me about fifteen minutes to prepare, just enough time to cook up some rice to go along with it.

Asparagus and Chicken Stir Fry

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (2-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, cut into thin matchsticks

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch plus one teaspoon

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon dry sherry

3/4 cup chicken broth or water

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 bunches medium asparagus (about 2 pounds), woody stems trimmed, sliced into 1-inch pieces

1 bunch scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced

Freeze the chicken breasts for 20 to 30 minutes and then thinly slice the chicken against the grain into strips. Toss the strips with 1 clove of the garlic and about half the ginger, the soy sauce, sugar, 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch, 1 teaspoon of the salt and the sherry in a bowl. Marinate at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Mix the remaining corn starch with the chicken broth or water.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the asparagus, scallions, remaining garlic, remaining ginger, 1/4 cup of water and season with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir-fry until the asparagus is bright green but still crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Heat the same skillet until very hot and then add the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the chicken and stir-fry until it loses its raw color and gets a little brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Return the asparagus to the pan and toss to heat through. Stir in the reserved cornstarch mixture and bring to a full boil to thicken. Mound the stir-fry on a serving platter and serve with white or brown rice.

The great thing about any stir fry is that you can add whatever you like to it. There are many other spring vegetables you could add to the mix right now, like fresh peas, or you can go with any of your favorites, like mushrooms, onions, carrots, green beans, sprouts, broccoli… the list can go on and on. You could also substitute for the chicken and use shrimp, pork, beef or no meat at all and just go with the vegetables if that is what you are looking for. I think any of the options are good, but I really liked this recipe as it is. The asparagus was nice and crispy and the chicken tasted great from the marinade. I think the fresh ginger really made the dish and the cornstarch mixture put a nice glaze on the chicken.

Nice and simple for today. Today being Wednesday and usually a busy day around here, I don’t often cook anything new. We either have leftovers or something equally as simple, like burgers. I do have another chicken recipe I will be using later this week as well as the recipe for strawberry rhubarb pie, so check back for those towards the end of the week. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on April 17, 2013 in Cooking, Poultry, Vegetables

Tags: asparagus, asparagus and chicken stir fry, chicken stir fry, food network

Grilled New York Strip Steaks and Sweet Pea Risotto

16 Apr

As promised, I did try a couple of new recipes last night for dinner. The first was from Williams – Sonoma and covered the main entrée for the evening, which was grilled steaks with cherry tomatoes and basil. It was pretty easy to make, although using the indoor grill pan always causes a problem around here with the smoke detector. After a few minutes of wrangling with this smoke detector, everything else was just fine.

Grilled Steaks with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more, to taste
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more, to taste
2 New York strip steaks, each about 1 1/4 pound and 1 1/2 inches thick
8 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Brush a cast-iron grill pan with the oil and heat over medium high heat until hot. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, oregano, the 1/4 teaspoon pepper and the 2 teaspoons of salt. Rub the spice mixture evenly onto both sides of the steaks. In another bowl, combine that tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the steaks on the grill pan and cook, turning once, until nicely grill marked, approximately 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium rare, or a grill in till they are done to your specific liking. Add the tomato mixture to the pan during the last two minutes of cooking. Transfer the steaks to a carving board and let rest for five minutes. Transfer of the tomatoes to what warmed platter. Cut the steak crosswise into 1/4 inch strips and arrange on the platter with that tomatoes.

This would be a good meal for you to cook on your outdoor grill as well. If you have the proper tools to cook that tomatoes right on the grill you can do them outside as well. I cooked the steaks to him about medium, which is the way we prefer to have it. These spice rub that is applied to the steaks adds great flavor and seems to go very well with the tomatoes and basil.

As a side dish, I decided I wanted to make some risotto. I looked around for a few different recipes, and I wanted to try to find one that would make good use of some of the spring vegetables that are around right now. The best one I found came from Marcus Samuelsson on his website at Food Republic. It was for a spring peak risotto and sounded really good.

Spring Pea Risotto

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
5 to 6 cups chicken stock
1 large shallot, minced
1/2 bunch asparagus stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup fresh peas, shelled
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a small sauce pan, heat the chicken stock to a warmed simmer. In a large stock pot, or any heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter and olive oil over medium low heat. Add the minced shallots and a pinch of salt, and sauté until the shallots are translucent. Add the rice, stir for about one minute until the grains begin to become translucent around the edges.

Pour in the wine and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Add one ladle of stock at a time, stirring frequently until all the liquid is absorbed. Add another ladle of stock, and stir frequently until liquid is absorbed again. Repeat this process until almost all the stock has been used in the rice is cooked but still al–dente. The entire process should take about twenty minutes.

About five minutes before the rice is done cooking, stir in the asparagus and the peas. Add more chicken stock as necessary to continue cooking the rice. Once the rice has achieved the desired texture, stir in the Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and fresh mint. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Admittedly, making risotto is a lot of work. It requires constant attention and stirring on the stove. While it can be taxing, it is certainly worth the work that you put into it. I especially liked this recipe because of the fresh peas and asparagus that are used. It is the perfect time of year to try to incorporate some of the your spring vegetables into a dish like this and they tasted great. I would certainly make this dish again.

Those of the recipes for today. Tonight, I do plan to make some type of chicken and I have a couple of different recipes to choose from. Check back tomorrow and see which one I have decided to go with and see if you like the recipe yourself. I do have a couple of recipes for later on in the week that I plan to make. One is for another chicken dish, the other is for a strawberry rhubarb pie. I think both will be pretty good. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

2 Comments

Posted by MikeG on April 16, 2013 in Beef, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dinner, Grilling, Rice, Vegetables

Tags: Food Republic, Marcus Samuelsson, risotto

Simple Margherita Pizza

15 Apr

We were all feeling kind of lazy yesterday. I normally cook a big meal on Sunday for dinner but I just didn’t feel up to it yesterday so we were looking for something simple. Sean actually suggested Margherita pizza, which I had not made before but it sounded like a good idea so I decided to go for it. I looked around for a good recipe and I found this simple one online at Food.com so I decided to go with this one.

Margherita Pizza

1 12-inch thin pizza crust

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3-4 large basil leaves,cut into strips

2 small tomatoes, cut thinly

4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle the olive oil over the pizza crust. Use a brush to spread it around evenly to make sure it covers all of the crust. Disperse the finely chopped garlic evenly over the crust. Spread the mozzarella cheese throughout the top of the crust, trying to keep the layers of cheese as thin as possible. Place the thinly sliced tomatoes across the entire pizza. Lightly salt and pepper the tomatoes. Spread the fresh basil leaves over the pizza crust, making sure to cover some of the tomatoes and some on just the cheese itself. Cook the pizza in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until crispy and the cheese is melted to your specific liking. Add the Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper, if using. Slice and serve.

Just a few things about this recipe. I used Boboli crust since one, I had some on hand, and two, I don’t usually make my own pizza dough. You could easily substitute your own pizza dough or any store-bought dough in this recipe if that is what you prefer. I also put mine on a pizza stone in the oven and I really think it makes a big difference. The crust comes out much crisper, which I personally prefer. We also made a sausage pizza to go along with this one and had a side salad to round out the meal.

You can’t get much simpler than that and it does taste great. The fresh tomatoes, the olive oil, the garlic and fresh basil really made it for me. I just love the smell of fresh basil and the kitchen smelled great while it was cooking. Using a really good olive oil seemed to make a good difference too, so if you have a good one, this is a good recipe to use it on.

I do have a few recipes planned out for this week, including the one I am making tonight of indoor grilled steaks with tomato and basil and some sweet pea risotto. Check back tomorrow to see the recipes and how they came out. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

4 Comments

Posted by MikeG on April 15, 2013 in Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dinner, Pizza

Tags: Food.com, margherita pizza, margherita pizza recipe

A Star’s Brownies with a Side of Cole Slaw

13 Apr

I thought I would just post a few simple recipes that I’ve made in the past week for today. The first is one that I came across in The New York Times and it is a recipe that I’ve seen in other places on the Internet. I am sure many people are familiar with Katherine Hepburn’s brownie recipe and may have seen it in other places. I thought it would be a nice simple dessert to make for one evening so we gave it a try.

Katherine Hepburn’s Brownies

1/2 cup cocoa
1 stick butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 325°. Melt the butter in a saucepan with the cocoa and stir until smooth. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time. Add the sugar, flour, nuts (if using), vanilla and salt. Pour the mixture into a greased 8 x 8 square pan. Bake for forty minutes. Do not overbake as the brownies should be gooey on the inside. Let the brownies cool completely and cut into bars.

It was a very simple recipe that took no time at all to prepare. This makes it great as an option to make for a quick dessert as you may have the items around the house had any time. I am not a big brownie fan myself, but I have to admit that they came out quite nice. They were nice and crisp on the top and soft and chewy on the inside. You could serve them with a bit of vanilla ice cream on the side or just some simple homemade whipped cream and you have a complete dessert in no time at all.

The second recipe I have for today is one I am made when I had made Sloppy Joes was earlier in the week. I wanted to make a side dish to go along with them and I felt like having some coleslaw, but I wanted to try a little bit of a different recipe. I found this one through Williams – Sonoma on their website and it sounded pretty good to me. I try not to make a lot of coleslaw recipes that use mayonnaise, only because it seems to me that they tend to use a lot of it and it waters down the side dish. This one doesn’t used to much, and I actually cut down the amount in the recipe itself anyway.

Williams – Sonoma Coleslaw

1 head green cabbage, cored, quartered and thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more, to taste
half cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 carrots, peeled and julienned

Place the cabbage in a large bowl, sprinkle with the 1 1/2 tablespoons of kosher salt and toss well. Transfer the cabbage to a colander and let drain for thirty minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, granulated sugar, lemon juice, celery seed and vinegar, and season with the salt and black pepper. Add the drained cabbage and carrots and toss to coat them evenly with the dressing. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours before serving.

As I said, I have made a few adjustments to this recipe. First, I used a bag of coleslaw mix that included the green cabbage, red cabbage and julienned carrots already done so I did not have to deal with the slicing. However, I did salt the cabbage ahead of time to help draw out some of the moisture. Instead of using the half cup of mayonnaise, I only used a quarter cup and I think the recipe turned out just fine. I liked it a lot better without all the mayonnaise and it does cut down on some of the fat involved in the recipe itself. It makes great side dish for nearly anything, such as hamburgers, hot dogs, barbecued spare ribs, chicken, pulled pork or any type of sandwich that you may be making.

That’s all there is to the recipes I have for today. I do plan to go shopping this weekend to get some things in for some new recipes I would like to try this week. I have picked up some recipes from The New York Times, Williams – Sonoma, Cook’s Illustrated, America’s Test Kitchen, The Food Network and some others sources, so I have a lot to draw from right now of meals that we can choose. I do hope to get some new things up but more blog within the coming days. Check back and see what’s going on and see if there’s anything that you like. As always, if there is anything you would like to see, or have any requests of recipes, just drop me a note in the comments section or you can send me an email and I’ll be happy to get back to you. Until then, enjoy the rest of your spring weekend and enjoy your meal!

3 Comments

Posted by MikeG on April 13, 2013 in Cooking, Dessert, Salad, Side Dishes

Tags: americas test kitchen, brownies, cole slaw, coleslaw, coleslaw recipes, cook's illustrated, Katherine Hepburn brownies, The Food Network, The NewYork Times, williams-sonoma

Whole Chicken Is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts – NYTimes.com

10 Apr

Whole Chicken Is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts – NYTimes.com.

I came across this article on the New York Times website about using and cutting up a whole chicken. I do this myself quite often and it not only provides us with several great meals, but then you have excellent parts to make your own chicken stock, which I highly encourage and is a thousand times better than anything you can buy in the stores. The article also provides a video on how to cut up the chicken if you have never done it before. Trust me, it’s not that hard to do and is certainly worth the effort. Check it out!

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Posted by MikeG on April 10, 2013 in Cooking, Cooking Tips, Cooking Websites

Tags: cutting up a whole chicken, making chicken stock, new york times, using a whole chicken

Butterflied Leg of Lamb and Braised Potatoes

09 Apr

So last night for dinner I made something I typically do not make during the week. We had got a leg of lamb before Easter when the prices were quite reasonable and I decided to make it last night for dinner. I wanted to try something a little different with it as I have made it a couple of different ways before and we felt like trying something new. I found this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated and it sounded like something that was pretty easy to do and like it would be worth giving a try. The only part of it I was a little reluctant with was actually butterflying the leg of lamb, which I had never really done before. I think it turned out pretty well though all things considered.

Roast Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Coriander, Cumin, and Mustard Seeds

1 (6 to 8 pound) butterflied leg of lamb
Kosher salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 shallots, sliced thin
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1(1 inch) piece ginger, sliced into half-inch thick rounds and smashed
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
3 bay leaves
2 (2 inch) strips lemon zest
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the lamb, place the lamb on a cutting board with the fat Facing down. Using a sharp knife, trim any pockets of fat and connective tissue from the underside of the lamb. Flip the lamb over, and trim the fat cap so it is between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. Pound the roast to an even 1 inch thickness. Cut slits, spaced a half-inch apart, in the fat In a crosshatch pattern, being careful to cut down but not into the meat. Rub 2 tablespoons of salt over the entire roast and into the slits. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature for one hour.

Meanwhile, adjust the oven racks 4 to 5 inches from the broiler element and to the lower middle position and heat the oven to 250°. Stir together the oil, shallots, garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, bay leaves, and lemon zest on a rimmed baking sheet and bake on the lower middle rack until the spices are softened and fragrant and the shallots and garlic turn golden, about one hour. Remove the sheet from the oven and discard the bay leaves.

Thoroughly pat the lamb dry with paper towels and transfer, fat side up, to the sheet directly on top of the spices. Roast on the lower middle rack until the lamb registers 120°, approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and heat the broiler. Broil the lamb on the upper rack until the surface is well browned and charred in spots and the lamb registers 125°, approximately 3 to 8 minutes for medium rare. Remove the sheet from the oven and, using two pairs of tongs, transfer the lamb to a carving board. Some spices will cling to the bottom of the roast. Tent loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for twenty minutes.

Meanwhile, carefully pour pan juices through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard the solids. Stir in the mint, cilantro, shallot and lemon juice. Add any other accumulated lamb juices to the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.

With the long side facing you, sliced lamb with the grain into three equal pieces. Turn each piece and slice across the grain into 1/4 inch thick slices. Serve with the sauce.

Admittedly, I looked at a couple of videos online to see what the best way would be to butterflied leg of lamb. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be and the bones actually remove quite easily. You can then trim up the roast by eliminating any excess fat that you find. If you like to meet more well done, you could roast the lamb at a higher temperature does start with and then simply broil for the last couple of minutes to get the nice crust on the outside. I thought that the lamb itself came out quite nicely and you get a very good flavor from all the spices that have bloomed in the oven before you added the lamb.

To go along with the lamb, I wanted to make some potatoes but I didn’t want to just serve the basic roast potatoes were boiled potatoes. Luckily, my new issue of Cook’s Illustrated happened to arrive yesterday morning, and they even had a new recipe in there for braised potatoes.

Braised Red Potatoes with Lemon and Chives

1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, unpeeled, halved
2 cups water
3 tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Arrange the potatoes in a single layer, cut side down, in a large nonstick skillet. Add the water, butter, garlic, thyme and salt and bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about fifteen minutes.

Remove the lid and use a slotted spoon to transfer the garlic to a cutting board; discard the thyme sprigs. Increase the heat to medium-high and vigorously simmer, swirling the pan occasionally, until the water evaporates and the butter starts to sizzle, about 15 to 20 minutes. When it is cool enough to handle, mince the garlic to a paste. Transferred the paste to a bowl and stir in the lemon juice and the pepper.

Continue to cook the potatoes, swirling the pan frequently, until the butter browns and the cut sides of the potatoes turn spotty brown, about 4 to 6 minutes longer. Off they heat add the garlic mixture and that chives and tossed to thoroughly coat.

I thought the potatoes turned out great. You do have to keep a close eye on them once the water evaporates to make sure that they do not burn or stick to the pan. Using a nonstick pan for this is really a pretty good idea. They also have a variation where you can substitute 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard for the lemon juice and used tarragon instead of chives if you want a little bit of a different flavor. I think in banks a pretty good side – and a nice variation for potatoes, giving you that roasted feel without having to roast them.

That’s all I have for today as far as recipe ideas. Tonight I think we are having Sloppy Joe’s for dinner tonight. I have posted a recipe for this before if they want to check it out and see what it’s like. I did add something new to it this time with a new recipe for coleslaw that I tried. I may post that recipe tomorrow along with one Michelle used for brownies that she made this weekend which everyone seemed to love. Check back tomorrow and see what we have. Until then, enjoy this beautiful spring day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on April 9, 2013 in Cooking, Dinner, Lamb, Potatoes

Tags: Braised red potatoes with lemon and chives, butterflied leg of lamb with coriander cumin and mustard seeds, cook's illustrated, roasted leg of lamb

Fish Sticks and Sweet Potato Fries

08 Apr

I know it’s been a while since I’ve done a post on this blog, and my other blog as well. I apologize for the lapse in time but life has a way of getting in the way more often than I would like some times and had just haven’t had the time and energy to keep up with the blogs is much as I would like to. Anyway, I am going to make a concerted effort to try to do better as far as posting recipes on here and other posts on by personal blog if you follow that one as well. For now I’ll try to go back and cover some recipes that I’ve done in the past few weeks that I haven’t had a chance to write about on here. We’ll start off with a nice easy recipe that I tried not that long ago that I picked up from Cooks Country. It’s a recipe for fish sticks with tartar sauce.

Fish Sticks with Tartar Sauce

4 slices of white bread, torn into large pieces
16 Saltine crackers
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 cup mayonnaise
2 pounds skinless cod or other thick white fish, cut into 1 inch thick strips
1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickles, plus 1 tablespoon pickle juice
1 tablespoon capers, minced
1 cup vegetable oil

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200°. Pulse the bread and the saltines in a food processor until they are fine crumbs; transfer the mixture to a shallow dish Place the flour in a second shallow dish. Beat the eggs with 1/4 cup of the mayonnaise in a third shallow dish.

Pat the fish dry with paper towels and season well with salt and pepper. Taking one piece at a time, coat the fish strips lightly with the flour, then into the egg mixture, and then dredge in the crumbs, pressing on both sides to make sure the crumbs adhere properly. Transfer the breaded fish to a clean plate. Combine the remaining mayonnaise, pickles, pickle juice, and capers in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat 1/2 cup of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Fry half of the fish strips until a deep golden brown and crisp, about two minutes per side. Drain the fish on a paper towel lined plate and transfer them to the oven to keep them warm. Discard the oil, wipe out the skillet, and repeat the process with the remaining oil and fish. Serve with that tartar sauce on the side.

I have to admit I was a little skeptical whether or not Sean and Michelle would like this particular recipe. Fish sticks are not always the most popular thing in any home. I think too many of us are used to growing up with what would come out of the box in the freezer and the taste that went along with these particular fish sticks. I can remember most of the time that they weren’t that great, but this recipe using the fresh fish and the saltines in the breadcrumbs really seem to come out nice crunchy and have great flavor. If you are not a big fan of tartar sauce, you can always eliminate that or make a simple cocktail sauce with some ketchup and with horseradish if that is something you prefer.

The next recipe is also quite a simple one. I got this one from the March issue of Bon Appétit magazine. They have a bunch of recipes in there that are great for family dinners, including the one I posted a while back for a shrimp fried rice. This one in particular is for sweet potato wedges with lime mayonnaise, although I did not make the lime mayonnaise as it didn’t seem like something the rest of the family would go for.

Sweet Potato Wedges with Lime Mayo

3 sweet potatoes, peeled, each cut lengthwise into eight wedges
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
Chopped fresh cilantro (for serving)

Preheat the oven to 450°. Toss the sweet potatoes and oil on a foil lined large rimmed baking sheet; season the potatoes with salt and pepper to taste. Roast the potatoes, turning once, until golden brown and crisp, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the mayonnaise, lime zest, and juice in a small bowl. Season the fries with salt, top with those cilantro, and serve with the lime Mayo for dipping.

I think the fries tasted just fine without the lime mayo, and we used ketchup as a replacement without any problem at all. All you need to round out this meal is a fresh vegetable to complete the meal, such as broccoli, asparagus, or some roasted carrots. You could even just go with a nice side salad and I think everything would be fine.

That’s the recipe for today. I am planning on making a lamb tonight. I should be able to get the recipe up for that either tonight or tomorrow. I have posted lamb recipes before, but I think I’m going to try something new as I have gotten a couple of new recipes lately for a few different things. I also have some other recipes that we have done in the last few weeks that I think would be good to post. Unfortunately I do not have pictures of a lot of the things I have made lately, but I hope to get back into that tonight with the lamb and keep going from there. Thanks for stopping by and checking out the blog and sticking with it. I hope you enjoy the recipes and get to try out some things on your own. If you ever have any recipes you would like to share, please feel free to leave a note in the comments section below with your email address and I would be happy to get back to you about posting the recipe or even doing a guest blog post on your own if you would like to do that. Thanks again, enjoy the rest of your day, and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on April 8, 2013 in Cooking, Dinner, Potatoes, Seafood

Tags: bon appetit, fish sticks, lime mayo, lime mayonnaise, sweet potato fries

Irish Onion Soup and a Couple of Desserts

17 Mar

Yesterday we decided to make our St. Patrick’s Day dinner instead of doing it today. With that in mind I have posted recipes before for corned beef, colcannon, Irish coffee, Shamrock shakes and other recipes that I picked up while we were in Dublin last year. I did make corned beef and cabbage and boiled potatoes yesterday for them to dinner but I also added a few other items to the meal. One that stands out the most was an Irish onion soup that we made. It was pretty simple to make, didn’t take much longer than an hour to assemble and cook and it tasted great. The recipe itself is pretty simple and you could really make this any time of year not just for St. Patrick’s Day.

Irish Onion Soup

2 tablespoons butter
2 medium yellow onions, have lengthwise and sliced into pieces
3 tablespoons Irish whiskey
1 tablespoon granulated it sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus a pinch
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup dark Irish beer, such as Guinness
6 1/2 cups beef stock or broth
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Day-old baguette, sliced into 3/4- inch slices
Irish cheddar cheese, sliced into 1/4- inch thick slices

in a large skillet set over medium heat melt the butter. Once the butter is melted and the white foam subsides add the sliced onions. Cook using a wooden spoon to stir occasionally, until the onions are soft and gold in about 20 minutes. Add the Irish whiskey. If you have a gas burner, carefully till the pan toward the flame to flambé the onion of whiskey mixture. If you have that electric cooktop, use a long match to flambé the whiskey or you can skip the flambé altogether. Stir in the granulated sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions turn darker shade of brown, approximately 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the pinch of kosher salt, the all-purpose flour, and the finely chopped garlic. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about two minutes. While stirring pour in the Irish beer. Simmer, stirring occasionally until the beer is reduced by 1/3, about five minutes. Add the beef stock, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Bring the soup to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 20 minutes.

Adjust an oven rack to the upper middle position and heat the broiler to high. Divide the soup among oven-safe bowls and set them on a rimmed baking sheet. To each bowl add two bread slices. Cover each slice of bread with two pieces of the Irish cheddar. Set the rimmed baking sheet on the upper middle oven rack and broil until the cheese is melted, golden and bubbling, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

You could certainly use a different type of cheese if you prefer not to go with the Irish cheddar. Personally, I didn’t put any cheese on mine and just had the onion soup itself. The recipe itself makes enough for four servings, but I had a little bit more so we can make it for six people. There were no leftovers it off from what I made.

Michelle made two different cakes for dessert. We actually got the recipes from two different sources. We had seen the recipe for the Fallen Chocolate Cake in the recent Bon Appétit magazine. It sounded really good and it’s basically a flourless cake, so we thought we would give it a try.

Fallen Chocolate Cake

1/2 cup (one stick) butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, plus more, room temperature, for the pan
3/4 cup +2 tablespoons sugar, divided, plus more for the pan
10 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 large eggs
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup chilled heavy cream
1/2 cup marscarpone
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly butter a springform pan and dust with sugar, tapping out any excess. Combine the chocolate, oil, and half cup of butter in a large heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of slow simmering water and heat, stirring often, until melted. Remove the bowl from the sauce pan.

Separate 4 eggs, placing the whites and the yolks in separate medium bowls. Add the cocoa powder, the vanilla, salt, 1/4 cup of sugar, and the remaining two eggs to the bowl with the yolks and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Gradually whisk the yolk mixture into the chocolate mixture, blending well. Using an electric mixer on high-speed, beat the egg whites until frothy. With the mixer running, gradually beat in 1/2 cup of sugar; beat until firm peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in 2 additions, folding just until they are incorporated between additions. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Bake until the top is puffed and starting to crack and the cake is pulling away from the edge of the pan, about 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the cake cool completely in the pan. The cake will collapse in the center and crack further as it cools.

For the topping, use an electric mixer on medium high-speed to beat the heavy cream, marscarpone, and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Remove the sides of the springform pan from the cake and mound the whipped cream mixture into the center of the cake.

We found that the cake itself seems to taste awful lot like a really good, thick brownie. The cream used on the top was really great it combined with the cake itself. We were little worried as to how this one would turn out, which is why we decided to make a second cake along with it. For the second cake, we opted to make a Dark Chocolate Guinness Cake with Bailey’s Buttercream Frosting. I saw a bunch of recipes on the Internet, but opted to go with this one that I saw at The Procrastobaker. This one is a more traditional cake, besides the addition of the alcohol.

Dark Chocolate Guinness Cake with Bailey’s Buttercream Frosting

1 1/2 sticks butter
1 cup Guinness Extra Stout
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs

3 sticks butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 to 4 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur

Preheat the oven to 350°. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan and remove from the heat and whisk in the Guinness, the vanilla and cocoa powder. While the mixture cools slightly, grease and line 2 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Whisk together the sugar, flour and baking soda in a large bowl. Pour the Guinness mixture into the flour mixture and then whisk in the two eggs. When the batter is completely smooth, divide the batter between the two cake pans. Place the cake pans in the oven and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Leave the cakes in the pans to cool.

To make the buttercream frosting, whip together the butter and sugar until very pale, adding in enough Bailey’s for it to be loose and fluffy. To assemble the cake, level off the cake layers if needed using a serrated knife. Spread roughly 1/3 of the buttercream frosting on the bottom layer of the cake. Top with the second cake layer and wiggle it until the line up correctly. If you wish, you can do a crumb coat by using another 1/3 of the buttercream and spreading a thin layer all over the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate to set the frosting, for a few hours or overnight if you wish. Once the crumb coat is firm to the touch, spoon the final one 1/3 of the frosting on top of the cake and spread evenly all over.

Everyone loves the taste of this cake, although we seem split on which cake everyone seemed to enjoy better. For me personally, I preferred the Guinness cake. I like the taste of the buttercream frosting and the cake itself had an awesome flavor to it. Just my personal preference, as I’m not always a big fan of the brownie and the fallen cake seemed to taste more like that to me. However, if you are looking for a gluten-free alternative, the fallen cake is a pretty good choice.

That’s all I have for today. I hope everyone enjoys their St. Patrick’s Day if you are celebrating and have a good time while staying safe. I’ll be posting some of the recipes this week, including one of fish sticks and sweet potato fries that I made. Check back that this week for other recipes. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!