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Category Archives: Cooking

Oven Roasted Rack of Pork

This week was mostly a week of meals I had already posted recipes for, so I really didn’t have anything new to write about other than this one meal that I made. I had gone shopping at Adam’s last week and they had a center cut rack of pork on sale for a really good price. I had never made one before, the rack only cost about $5.00 and would more than feed the three of us, so I figured what the heck and I bought one. Then I had to try to find a recipe to use to make it. I looked around at all the usual places I got on the Internet for recipes, but I didn’t really see what I liked, so I put my faith in Google and went looking there. That is where I turned up this recipe, on a website called A Culinary Journey With Chef Dennis. The recipe sounded good, it was easy, and I had all the ingredients, so it was the winner.

Oven Roasted Rack of Pork

1 8 bone center cut rack of pork, frenched

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons Montreal Steak Seasoning

2 carrots, chopped roughly

1 onion, chopped roughly

2 stalks of celery, chopped roughly

6 cloves of garlic, peeled

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a roasting pan, add the rough cut vegetables. Rinse the rack of pork and pat it dry with paper towels. Place the rack, fat side up, on top of the vegetables in the pan. Apply a liberal amount of olive oil to the pork, rubbing it into the meat. Sprinkle the entire rack with salt and pepper, and then coat with the Montreal Steak Seasoning (use more if you want more of coating to form a crust). Place the pan in the oven and roast for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and continue roasting for approximately 2 hours or until the internal temperature on the outside of the rack has reached 160 degrees. This will ensure that the outside of the pork is well done while the center cuts are not quite as cooked.

Remove the rack from the oven and place it on a cutting board and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Allow the pork to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. While the rack is resting, place 2 cups of water in the roasting pan and place on the stovetop over medium-high heat. With a spoon, loosen all the baked meat scraps from the pan to help make a pan gravy. Allow to cook and reduce for 10 minutes. Strain out all the vegetable pieces.

Cut the rack along the bones, making even portions of pork and serve with the pan gravy.

It was very simple and made for a nice, elegant meal. This one might be better served for a weekend  when you have more time to cook it instead of a weeknight meal, but it is quite delicious. I served it with some wild rice and brussels sprouts and it was all very good and looked great on the plate.

Another easy meal for your arsenal! We’re going shopping so I still haven’t planned out the meals for next week yet, so we’ll have to see what comes along and is on sale for next week to make. Check back and see what I can come up with. Until next time, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by on January 18, 2013 in Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dinner, Pork

 

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Quick Skillet Salmon

Since Michelle and I both have pretty busy schedules, I am always looking for meals that can be prepared easily and quickly. One of the cookbooks I got this Christmas is from America’s Test Kitchen called the “Quick Family Cookbook,” with recipes that can be prepared in under 45 minutes and are perfect for families who need some weeknight meals without having a lot of unusual ingredients that you may not typically have around the house. It seems like a really good book and since I love the cookbooks from them I am sure I will use it a lot.

That being said, this recipe for Skillet Salmon is actually from the Food Network. I came across it a few days ago and we just happened to pick up some wild salmon, which was on sale for a really good price. Michelle only likes the wild salmon as the farm-raised often does not have the same good flavor that you get with wild salmon. Wild salmon, on the other hand, is often pretty expensive, except this time of year when you can often find it for a good price. I got mine here at Adams Farms for $9.99 a pound. Still pricey, but much cheaper for wild salmon. Anyway, I had everything else on hand for this recipe, so it was quick and easy.

Hoisin Skillet Salmon

One 15.5 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed (I actually used dried beans instead of canned and did a quick soak to get them ready)

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 cloves garlic, crushed

4 cups broccoli florets

Four 5-ounce salmon fillets, skin removed

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh cilantro, optional

Kosher salt

Combine the beans, 3/4 cup of water, hoisin sauce, red pepper flakes and garlic in a large skillet. Top with the broccoli and nestle the salmon into the broccoli. Bring the skillet to a simmer over medium heat. Once it is simmering, cover the skillet and cook until the salmon is flaky and just cooked through and the broccoli is crisp-tender, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with cilantro, if using (I skipped the cilantro, my family are not big fans of it). Add salt to taste and serve.

That’s all there was to it. I did add some white rice to the meal to round it out, but you don’t really need it with the black beans. I particularly love quick meals you can do all in one pot. It makes for super easy clean up when all is done.

Just a quick recipe for today. I do have a pork tenderloin I am cooking tonight, beef stew tomorrow, and then a frenched pork roast on Thursday, so I’ll be posting some recipes for those things along the way the rest of the week. I am also scouting around for some new lunch recipes as Michelle is looking  for different things to bring for lunch that are quick and healthy without using any bread, We’ll see how it goes and what I can find. If you have any suggestions, please pass them along. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal today!

 

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Posted by on January 8, 2013 in Cookbooks, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dinner, Seafood

 

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Happy New Year and a Bazinga! Recipe

I hope everyone had a great holiday and is ready to start the new year off right. Between the holidays and coming down with a bad cold, I just didn’t have the time or energy to do any blogging, but now it is time to try to get back to it. For my first recipe of the new year, I decided to try something that we hear Sheldon from the “Big Bang Theory” television show talk about all the time from their Chinese restaurant. It took a little bit of searching around, but I was able to finally find a recipe for Tangerine Chicken that the whole family would like. I found this one on Epicurious and modified it slightly by adding a couple of things to it.

Sweet-And-Sour Tangerine Chicken Stir Fry

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick strips

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons cream Sherry

1 tablespoon grated tangerine peel

1/2 cup fresh tangerine juice

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons peanut oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 red bell pepper, cut into matchstick-size strips

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into matchstick-size strips

15 snow peas, trimmed

1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained

4 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 green onion, chopped

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Whisk the tangerine juice, vinegar and cornstarch in a medium bowl until blended. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger and cayenne; saute for 15 seconds. Add the chicken mixture; stir-fry until just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Add the bell peppers, snow peas, water chestnuts, mushrooms and green onion to the same skillet. Stir-fry until the vegetables are crisp-tender,about 3 minutes. Return the chicken to the skillet. Stir the juice mixture to re-combine and add it to the skillet. Simmer until the sauce thickens, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and serve with white rice.

I made some white rice to serve it over and I have to say the flavor was perfect. I was a little afraid the tangerine would overpower the dish, but it added some great refreshing flavor to the chicken and the sauce was great. We hardly had any leftovers at all, although there was enough for Michelle to pack some for lunch tomorrow.

I did get some new toys and gadgets for the kitchen for Christmas, including a meat grinder attachment for the Kitchen Aid, a couple of pots, a new pizza stone, a new salad spinner and a couple of new cookbooks, so there will be plenty of great new things to try in the coming days, weeks and months for us and for all of you wonderful readers. I have to say that the blog has done very well and I have had many more visitors than I could have imagined and I thank you all for following along. Tune in next time to see what we have cooked for dinner. Until then, have a wonderful evening, stay warm (it is frigid here in New York) and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by on January 3, 2013 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry

 

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Food Republic’s Top 25 Recipes Of 2012 | Food Republic

Food Republic’s Top 25 Recipes Of 2012 | Food Republic.

Here are 25 great recipes to help round out your year from Food Republic. These were the 25 most popular on their site this year, and they all look pretty tasty to try. Check it out!

 
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Posted by on December 27, 2012 in Cooking, Cooking Websites

 

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32 Comfort Food Dishes From Around The World | Food Republic

32 Comfort Food Dishes From Around The World | Food Republic.

As the year begins to draw to a close, here are 32 recipes from Food Republic from around the world that you may want to try before you start to eat healthy in the next year. That’s my goal at least, although I will still be posting recipes I try and like that maybe aren’t always the healthiest choices. I did get some nice new toys for the kitchen for Christmas and a new cookbook, so I’ll be trying some different things and posting all about them. The holidays have slowed me down on having  time to blog, but I am going to get back to it regularly next week. I hope you all had a great Christmas and look forward to a wonderful new year!

 
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Posted by on December 26, 2012 in Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dinner

 

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How to Make the Best Pork Chops – How to Cook – Cook’s Country

How to Make the Best Pork Chops – How to Cook – Cook’s Country.

Pork Chops seem to be a staple in every home. We all make them one way or another, but a lot of people are afraid of cooking them because they fear under-cooking or overcooking them. They can also be very dry just on their own if they aren’t done right and don’t have a little sauce to go with them. The folks at Cook’s Country give you some great techniques here on the best methods to cook pork chops, some recipes and some sauces to go along with them. Check it out and the next time you make pork chops you’ll be much happier with the results!

 
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Posted by on December 7, 2012 in Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dinner, Pork, Sauce

 

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Classic Christmas Recipes from Bon Appetit Editors: BA Daily: bonappetit.com

Classic Christmas Recipes from Bon Appetit Editors: BA Daily: bonappetit.com.

It’s not too early to start planning your Christmas meal out. I like to have a good idea of what I am going to make well in advance when I am hosting Christmas. This blog post from Bon Appetit features 6 great recipes of some dishes you would love to have on your holiday table. Check it out and see if there is anything you like.

 

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Spicing Up a Dreary Tuesday with Chicken, Red Beans and Andouille

Ever since I saw this recipe in the New York Times last week I have wanted to try it, and I finally got to the store and got the red beans and some Andouille sausage to make it. It’s a pretty simple recipe and I think you could probably even adapt it to be made in the slow cooker if you wanted to do it that way so it would be ready for you when you got home from work.

Spicy Red Beans with Chicken Thighs and Andouille

1 pound red beans, soaked overnight or quick-soaked, then drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 bone-in chicken thighs

1 pound andouille sausage (or linguica, or other sausage you like), sliced 1/2-inch thick

1 onion, sliced

1/2 bell pepper (your choice of color), seeded and roughly chopped

2 stalks celery, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons file powder (optional)

2 to 3 teaspoons red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Drain and rinse the soaked beans. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot over medium-high heat until the oil is hot but not smoking. Add the chicken thighs and brown well, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the thighs, add the sausage to the pot and brown well, another 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the sausage from the pot. Add the onion, bell pepper and celery and saute, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the garlic and saute, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Add the thighs and sausage back into the pot along with the beans, the file powder (if using), the red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and enough water to cover everything. Stir well and bring the mixture to a simmer.

Transfer the pot to the oven and bake until the beans are tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours, checking every 30 minutes or so after the first hour and adding water as needed if all the liquid has been absorbed.

That’s all there is to it. It has a nice, spicy, fragrant smell and the chicken and sausage go great with the beans. You could easily add some rice to this dish to round it all out. Throw in a side vegetable or a salad, and you are all good to go.

It’s just a quick little recipe for today. I have a few other recipes lined to try later in the week, including a new recipe for a banana cream pie, some banana cupcakes, and of course a few entrees along the way. I have lots of fish in the freezer right now, so I’ll be doing some fish recipes in the very near future if you want to check back for that. I also have a couple of special recipes for my own upcoming birthday meal next week if you want to see what we’ll be making for that. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by on December 4, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry, Sausage

 

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Some Things We Did with Leftover Turkey

I haven’t had much free time to do any posts since Thanksgiving so I didn’t get a chance to post some of the things we did with the leftover turkey. I actually was able to make three different things with the leftover turkey. The first one we made was a Turkey Barley soup. I used the turkey carcass to make some turkey stock to use for the soup. The rest of it was very easy to do and took no time at all.

Turkey Barley Soup

8 cups turkey stock made from leftover turkey carcass 
1 tablespoon olive oil 
1 onion, diced 
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
black pepper to taste
4 cups diced leftover turkey
4 cups water
3/4 cup pearl barley
1 cup frozen peas

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil, add the onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, and pepper and saute about 5 minutes more.

While the vegetables are cooking, bring the turkey stock to a boil in a large soup pot. Add the vegetables and the turkey, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the water, bring the soup back to a simmer, then add the barley and simmer until the barley is soft, at least 30 minutes.
When the barley is cooked, taste the soup for seasoning, and add additional salt or pepper if needed. Simmer  for 10 minutes more then serve hot.

This makes plenty of soup and the barley actually absorbs a lot of the liquid, so it is almost like a stew if you like it that way. If you prefer it to be more like soup, you can always add more water or some chicken stock to thin it out.
We also made some Turkey Paninis for dinner one night. This was a great way to not only use the turkey but some of the other leftovers from Thanksgiving as well
Thanksgiving Leftovers Panini
8 slices of ciabatta bread or 4 ciabatta rolls, sliced in half
1/2 pound (or more) of sliced turkey
1 cup leftover turkey gravy
1 cup leftover sweet potato casserole
1 cup leftover cranberry relish
Build the sandwich – Take one slice of bread or the bottom of the roll and layer it with the turkey. Cover the turkey with some of the sweet potato casserole, some of the cranberry relish, some of the stuffing and top with the gravy. Place another piece of bread or the top of the roll on the sandwich. Continue making the rest of the sandwiches.
Heat the panini maker to 350 degrees. When the maker is hot enough, place a sandwich in the maker and press the top down. Allow the sandwich to heat until heated through, about 3 or 4 minutes. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches.
The great thing about the paninis is that you can add whatever you want to the sandwiches. You could include some sliced ham, any type of cheese that you might like, some sliced onions, roasted red peppers, really anything that you can come up with would be suitable. We actually served the sandwiches with some potato pancakes we made with some of the leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving as well.
Finally, one of the last things I made with the turkey is one of my all-time favorites – Turkey Salad. I am a big sandwich fan and I love salads like this. It’s always been one of my favorite things to have after Thanksgiving.
Turkey Salad Sandwiches
1 cup leftover cooked turkey, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
4 hard rolls, or 8 slices of the bread of your choice
1 tomato, sliced
4 leaves of romaine lettuce
Mix the turkey with the celery and mayonnaise until well blended. Place slices of tomato on the roll or a slice of bread, cover with the turkey mixture, place a slice of lettuce over the turkey and cover with the top of the roll or another piece of bread.
There’s nothing quite like a turkey salad sandwich to top things off with your Thanksgiving leftovers.
Well it’s back to regular meals and cooking with the next post. I have several recipes that I have made in the last few weeks that I can post and a few more that I have yet to try but sound pretty good so I am looking forward to those. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your evening!
 
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Posted by on November 29, 2012 in Cooking, Leftovers, Sandwiches, Turkey

 

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7 Ideas For Dinner Tonight, Starring Caramelized Onions | Food Republic

7 Ideas For Dinner Tonight, Starring Caramelized Onions | Food Republic.

We love caramelized onions in this house. They can add so much flavor to nearly add dish that you want to add them to, as evidenced here in this blog post from Food Republic with 7 different ideas for using caramelized onions in your dinner. They really can go with anything. I personally love them as a side with any steak or burger, they can mix nicely in with potatoes, rice or polenta and can go with any entree. Check it out and see if you like anything.

 
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Posted by on November 27, 2012 in Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dinner, Vegetables

 

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