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Category Archives: Dinner

A Classic Steakhouse Meal – Steak with Maitre D’Hotel Butter and Mock Frites

I would love to have a great steakhouse meal now and then, but the steakhouses in New York City (which is about 45 miles away from us) are just too expensive and there just are not very many quality steakhouses in the area that we live that are affordable to the average family anymore. Sure, it’s a treat to go out and have a nice dinner once in a while, but it is also great if you make something similar to that experience all on your own at home and without the benefit of having a gas or charcoal grill to use. Even with a good grill, you never are really going to get the same type of steak you get at a good steakhouse unless you are spending a fortune for some quality aged beef and have a professional-grade oven that can get the heat cranked up to 800 degrees to get that great sear you need. So for the rest of us, there are still options to get a great meal for yourself. The New York Times recently had an article in their dining section regarding making a good steak at home and it can be a lot easier than you think with this recipe. It just takes some time and paying attention and you can make your own great steak and potato meal.

Steak with Maitre D’Hotel Butter and Mock Frites

For the Potatoes:

Kosher salt

8-12 new or baby potatoes

3 tablespoons canola oil

For the Maitre D’Hotel Butter:

6 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, minced

1 small shallot, peeled and minced

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Splash of Champagne or white wine vinegar

For the Steak:

2 pounds beef steak, such as boneless rib-eye, approximately 1-inch thick

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon canola oil

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Set a large pot filled with salted water on the stove. Add the potatoes, turn the heat to high and cook, gently boiling, until the potatoes are softened, about 12 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and dry them well.

Oil a sheet pan with half of the canola oil and put the potatoes in the pan in a single layer. Using a potato masher or the bottom of a heavy glass, gently smash each potato, pressing it down to a thickness of less than 1 inch. Drizzle the rest of the canola oil over the smashed potatoes and place the sheet pan on the top rack in the oven and allow them to roast until the exteriors are golden and crunchy, about 20 to 25 minutes. Add salt to taste.

For the butter, place the butter on a cutting board and, using a fork, cut the thyme, shallot, lemon juice and vinegar into the butter until the butter is creamy and smooth. Scrape the butter together with a chef’s knife and form it into a rough log. Roll the butter tightly into a sheet of plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to use it.

As the potatoes finish crisping, make the steaks. Set a heavy-bottomed skillet (or 2 if your steaks are very large) over high heat and let the skillet sit for a few minutes until it gets very hot.Pat the steaks dry with paper towels to absorb any exterior moisture. Shower the steaks aggressively with salt and pepper on both sides. Add the canola oil to the pan and shake the pan to distribute the oil evenly. The oil should almost immediately begin to smoke to let you know the pan is ready. Place the steaks in the skillet and allow them to sear, unattended, for 4 minutes, until they have developed a good crust on one side. Turn the steaks over and cook for an additional 3 to 6 minutes for medium-rare. Remove the steaks to a warm platter to rest. Top each steak with a tablespoon of the compound butter.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and season them with salt and pepper to taste. Place 2 or 3 potatoes on each plate alongside a steak. Top each steak with pats of the butter and serve.

You really need to make sure your pan is very hot before you put the steaks in to make sure you can get a good crust. You also want to make sure you have gotten rid of any surface moisture from the steaks so they are not just steaming in the skillet but cooking to get a good sear. The steaks came out perfectly (of course you can always cook them longer to your particular liking, just keep a close eye on them so they don’t overcook) and the potatoes were perfect, crisp and crunchy just the way I like them. I used New York strip steaks since that is what was on sale when I got steaks and they worked out well. You can serve this with any traditional steakhouse recipe, like creamed spinach or asparagus, and having some nice bread to go along with it or some dinner rolls can really round it out for you. I made some corn on the cob and sautéed some mushrooms and onions to go along with the meal and used some of the steakhouse bread I had in the freezer. The butter is great not just on the steaks but on everything else you might serve as well.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on May 27, 2014 in Beef, Breads, Cooking, Dinner, Potatoes, Side Dishes

Tags: compound butter with shallots, mock frites, new york times, smashed potatoes, smashed potatoes and steak, steak cooking tips, steak with Maitre D'Hotel butter and mock frites

Break Out the Slow Cooker for These Slow Cooker Asian Barbecue Ribs

23 May

Since I don’t have the advantages of having a charcoal or gas grill it sometimes feels like it can really limit some of the things I can cook, particularly when it comes to making ribs. I have been able to find some great recipes for making ribs in the oven and they have turned out well, but I am always looking to see if there is something new I can try to get even greater flavor out of a meal of ribs. I came across this recipe awhile back from Kelsey Nixon on the Cooking Channel for Asian barbecue ribs that are made in the slow cooker, which makes them perfect for you to try for a weeknight meal when you want something ready for you when you get home from work. These are very easy to make, with just a few ingredients that go a long way to giving you some great flavor.

Slow Cooker Asian Barbecue Ribs

1/4 cup sesame oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 bunch green onions, white and green parts, chopped

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup chili sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup honey

2 racks pork baby back ribs (4 to 5 pounds)

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Heat the sesame oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the ginger, garlic and green onions until all are fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar, chili sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey and 1/2 cup of water. Whisk the mixture until everything is fully incorporated. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow it to cool.

Sprinkle the ribs generously with salt and pepper and place the ribs in an upright position in the slow cooker. The meaty side of the ribs should be facing outwards. Spoon the sauce over the ribs and cover the slow cooker. Cook the ribs in the slow cooker on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Strain the sauce from the slow cooker into a saucepan and remove any accumulated grease from the top of the sauce. Combine 1 tablespoon of water with the 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and whisk them together in a small bowl. Add the cornstarch mixture to the saucepan and bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the sauce until it has thickened and serve it with the ribs.

I actually added one more step to this recipe at this point. When I removed the ribs from the slow cooker, I put some of the reduced and thickened sauce onto the ribs and then placed the ribs under the broiler for about 2 minutes to really get a nice glaze and crisp up the ribs some more. I think this made a big difference as far as flavor, texture and look of the ribs and I would do that again with this recipe. The sauce was great, giving a nice Asian flavor and flair to the dish with the ginger, soy sauce and honey. The ribs were very tender inside and crisp on the outside just the way I like them. I would definitely make this one again.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on May 23, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Pork, Slow Cooker Meals

Tags: Asian barbecue ribs in the slow cooker, Asian BBQ ribs, baby back ribs, barbecue ribs, Cooking Channel, Kelsey Nixon, slow cooker, slow cooker Asian barbecue ribs, slow cooker Asian BBQ ribs

A Weeknight, One Pot Meal – Skillet Pork Chops and Rice

22 May

It is hard to resist making a one pot meal when you come across one. Not only does it help you significantly when it comes time to clean up (which is especially important when you are having one of those hectic weeknights) but it also gives you a great chance to really meld some flavors of your protein, starch and vegetables all in one so that everything tastes great. One pot meals work well with anything – beef, chicken, fish, vegetables – but I find they work really well with pork chops. Pork chops on their own need some seasoning and flavor to really make them explode, and when you combine them with a great sauce, some vegetables and a starch you can get a great meal without it having to take a long time to cook. this recipe, from Cook’s Country, is the perfect example of that, making a simple skillet pork chops and rice.

Skillet Pork Chops and Rice

4 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

2 /4 cups chicken broth

1 cup long-grain white rice

4 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless pork chops, 3/4 to 1-inch thick, trimmed

Salt and pepper

1 onion, chopped fine

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Combine 2 tablespoons of the butter and the parsley together in a small bowl; reserve. Microwave 1 cup of the chicken broth and the rice in a covered large bowl until the liquid is absorbed, about 6 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, pat the pork chops dry with paper towels and season them with salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Brown the pork chops, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the pork chops to a plate and tent them loosely with aluminum foil. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter on the now-empty skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onion until it is softened and browned, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and the dried thyme and cook until they are fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the parcooked rice and the remaining 11/4 cups of chicken broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Return the pork chops and any accumulated juices to the skillet and cook, covered, over medium-low heat until the pork chops register 145 degrees on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chop and the rice is tender, about 12 to 15 minutes. Serve the pork with the reserved parsley butter.

It is very simple and gives you juicy and tender pork chops along with great tasting rice. This recipe uses white rice, but I actually made some brown rice, using this method to cook it and taking it out of the oven 45 minutes into cooking, when the brown rice was mostly done, and the adding it to the skillet with the pork chops to finish up the dish. I thought it turned out really well, but you could use whatever type of rice or grain that you really like. Getting the rice started in the microwave is a great way to save yourself some cooking time to make sure everything is done all at once. This is the perfect meal for a weeknight dinner when you want something that tastes great but does not take a long time to put together, prepare and cook.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

2 Comments

Posted by MikeG on May 22, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Pork, Rice

Tags: brown rice, Cook's Country skillet pork chops and rice, one pot meal, pork chops, pork chops recipe, skillet pork chops, skillet pork chops and rice

A Treat for the Whole Family – Baked Honey Barbecue Chicken Fingers

21 May

For many adults, just hearing the words “chicken fingers” is enough to make them cringe. They immediately think back to the days when the only things their young children would eat were chicken fingers, tenders, McNuggets or whatever else that happened to be called that are sold in the frozen food aisle of your grocery store, at the local fast food restaurant or any of the dozens of family style convenience restaurants around today. While you may not be thrilled with the notion of what you get in those frozen bags, there are plenty of alternatives out there that you can try making on your own that taste good so that everyone in the family will enjoy them. This particular recipe, that I picked up from Sally’s Baking Addiction, covers just that, giving you a tasty chicken fingers alternative that get away from the frying and offer you a baked alternative that tastes great.

Baked Honey Barbecue Chicken Fingers

3/4 cup barbecue sauce (whatever your favorite may be)

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup whole wheat or all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs (or more, if needed)

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenders

Nonstick cooking spray

Combine the barbecue sauce and the honey in a large bowl. If you are using chicken breasts, pound the chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap to 1/4-inch thickness and cut the breasts into strips. If you are using chicken tenders, cut them in half lengthwise. Add the chicken strips to the bowl with the barbecue sauce and honey and stir so all of the chicken is evenly coated. Cover the bowl tightly and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 6 hours. The longer you marinade, the more flavorful the chicken will be.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat or coat the sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine the flour. salt, pepper and the smoked paprika in a shallow dish. Pour the beaten eggs into another shallow dish. Pour the panko breadcrumbs into a third shallow dish. Coat each chicken strip with flour, shaking off any excess. Next. dip the floured chicken in the egg and allow any excess egg to drip off. Then roll the chicken strip in the panko breadcrumbs, coating completely before shaking off any excess. Place the chicken strips on the prepared baking sheet and repeat the process until all of the chicken has been coated. Spray each chicken strip with the nonstick cooking spray to help seal the breading to the chicken, preventing the breading from staying raw and allowing it to bake into the chicken strips.

Bake the chicken fingers in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Turn each piece over and continue baking until the outside of the chicken is crisp and the centers of the chicken pieces are cooked through, about another 10 to 12 minutes. Serve the chicken fingers with extra barbecue sauce for dipping.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can make a large batch and freeze any extras that you may have to use when you need a quick dinner for the kids or yourself or just want an easy snack. These are perfect for a meal any night with some homemade fries (I made some homemade baked sweet potato fries with ours) or you can use these for any type of buffet when you are having a party and you know kids may be around. They are also great snacks for watching the game or when you have a crowd over. You get good crunch from the breadcrumb mixture and underneath is great flavor from the barbecue sauce and the honey. This is definitely one to remember and you can experiment with this also, perhaps making the chicken fingers ranch flavored instead of barbecue with some spices, or maybe even adding some Parmesan to the breadcrumbs, eliminating the barbecue sauce and substituting tomato sauce to have an Italian-style chicken fingers. There’s lots of room to use your imagination with this one and the best part is you have control over the ingredients so you know what goes into each one, and they are baked, making them a better choice for you.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on May 21, 2014 in Appetizers, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dinner, Lunch, Poultry, Snacks

Tags: baked chicken fingers, baked honey barbecue chicken fingers, baked honey bbq chicken fingers, chicken fingers, chicken fingers recipe, chicken strips, chicken tenders, Sally's Baking Addiction

Keeping On With Chicken – Soy-Glazed Chicken with Asparagus and Scallions

20 May

In keeping up with the trend of a number of the chicken recipes that I have tried lately, this one was one of my personal favorites. I had seen this recipe in the last issue of Bon Appetit magazine and it sounded so delicious and made use of some great ingredients that I absolutely had to give it a try. While the original recipe calls for just using chicken thighs, I had a mix of thighs and drumsticks available to use so I made a little bit of both for us to have for dinner that night. This recipe for sot-glazed chicken with asparagus and scallions is easy enough to make for a weeknight meal and elegant enough for whenever you might be entertaining or want a meal that looks as great as it tastes.

Soy-Glazed Chicken with Asparagus and Scallions

2 teaspoons aniseed

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons honey

8 chicken thighs (about 4 pounds)

1 bunch asparagus (about 3/4 pound), trimmed

2 bunches scallions, trimmed

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems

Toast the aniseed in a small dry skillet over medium heat, tossing frequently and watching to make sure it does not burn, until the aniseed is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Let the aniseed cool and then finely chop it.

Whisk the garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, honey and the chopped aniseed together in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces and toss the mixture to coat the chicken well. Allow the chicken to sit in the marinade for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Transfer the chicken and the marinade to a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet, making sure to place the chicken skin side down on the foil. Roast the chicken until the fat begins to render, about 15 to 20 minutes. Turn the chicken skin side up and continue to roast it, basting the chicken occasionally with the pan drippings, until the chicken is cooked through and deeply browned, about 15 to 20 minutes longer.

After turning the chicken, toss the asparagus and the scallions with the vegetable oil on another rimmed baking sheet. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Roast the vegetables, shaking the pan about halfway through the cooking process, until the vegetables are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. If you have thinner stalks of asparagus or scallions, they will cook more quickly and will be done faster.

Transfer the chicken to a platter. Pour any pan juices into a glass measuring cup. Let the juices sit for a few minutes and then spoon the fat from the surface of the juices. Spoon the pan juices over the chicken and serve the chicken with the asparagus, scallions, cilantro and lime wedges.

You can always begin marinating the chicken a day ahead and simply cover the bowl and store it in the refrigerator until the next day if you want even deeper flavors. I did not have aniseed on hand but substituted fennel seed instead and got that licorice flavor that you get from either herb, so I think it worked well.The marinade is wonderful and imparts incredible flavor to the chicken thanks to the combination of the soy sauce, honey, aniseed and lime juice. I love roasted asparagus as well and with the scallions together they just seem to go really well with the chicken. It’s a great dinner that you can do in just over an hour and you get this deep brown chicken with amazing flavor and the house smells great while it is cooking.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on May 20, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry, Vegetables

Tags: asparagus, bon appetit, Bon Appetit soy-glazed chicken, chicken recipes, chicken thighs, scallions, soy-glazed chicken, soy-glazed chicken with asparagus and scallions

A Honey of a Recipe – Honey Chili Beer Chicken

19 May

With the prices of just about everything else going up at the grocery stores, chicken is one of the few things that has remained reasonable for some of the pieces. Boneless chicken breasts remain high-priced, in my opinion, but you can get legs and thighs for a very good price, bone-in breasts are reasonable, and you can always get a whole chicken and cut it up yourself to get several meals out of it and then some stock as well. In any case, I have been stocking up on legs and thighs lately so I have also been scouring around looking for new recipes to try to get some different tastes and flavors so it doesn’t seem like we are eating the same thing several times a week. I cam across this recipe on the Internet not long ago from The Beeroness for a honey chili beer chicken that looked great, so I thought I would give it a try.

Honey Chili Beer Chicken

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup sliced onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup brown ale, divided in half

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon red chili sauce (such as Sriracha), plus additional if desired

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the onions and caramelize the onions over medium heat, mixing occasionally, until the onions are a nice golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and then add 1/2 cup of the brown ale, the balsamic vinegar, the honey and the chili sauce. Simmer the mixture until it is reduced and thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the sauce from the pan and set the sauce aside.

Sprinkle the chicken thighs on all sides with the salt, pepper and all-purpose flour to coat the thighs well. Increase the heat of the stovetop to medium-high, place the chicken thighs in the now-empty cast iron skillet and cook the chicken thighs until they are browned on all sides, about 3 minutes per side.

Pour the sauce back into the cast iron skillet with the chicken along with the remaining 1/2 cup of the brown ale. Cover the skillet loosely with a lid, lower the heat of the stovetop to maintain a simmer in the skillet and allow the chicken to cook until the chicken thighs are cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes, turning the chicken once during the cooking process. Remove the chicken and sauce to a platter and serve.

The sauce that you make with this chicken is really good. You get a great combination of flavors from the brown ale, the balsamic and the honey and a little bit of heat from the chili sauce to round it all out. Add in the sweetness of the caramelized onions and it seems just perfect. I am sure you could do this meal with boneless chicken breasts if you wanted to or even just make the sauce to use over something like chicken wings or drumsticks and get the same great results. The sauce might even go well with some pork chops if you wanted to give that a try as well. It was a quick, easy way to make good use of chicken and gives you some great options when you are looking for something different to try for your meal. I used a lighter ale than the recipe called for, Smithwick’s, because that is what I had on hand, but I think you could use just about any type of ale and it would work well here.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. I have lots of things I have tried lately, including a bunch of chicken recipes, and I just got the latest issue of Cook’s Country (my personal favorite cooking magazine) and it has some great chicken recipes to try along with some other great options, so I will be giving a bunch of those a shot as well. until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

2 Comments

Posted by MikeG on May 19, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry, Sauce

Tags: chicken recipes, chicken thigh recipes, chicken thighs, honey chili beer chicken, honey chili beer sauce, The Beeroness honey chili beer chicken

An Easy Almost Chicago-Style Deep Dish Sausage Pizza

18 May

Very often around here Friday night’s are pizza night and more often than not I make my own pizza. It seems just as easy, doesn’t take a lot of time to make, and costs less than buying 2 pizzas from our favorite pizza place nearby. I have nothing against getting a pizza now and then; we do it ourselves on nights where no one has the energy to cook,but I just think for the minimum effort it takes to make the dough or even buy the pizza dough (most times a pound of dough is only about a dollar), you can make a pretty good pizza on your own. Sean had been asking me to try making a deep dish pizza because he wanted it, and I found a pretty easy recipe on the Cooking Channel website that was a good one to try.

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Sausage Pizza

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, sliced into thin rounds or removed from the casing and crumbled

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 pound pizza dough, at room temperature, or 1 serving of Food Processor Pizza Dough, at room temperature

10 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded or thinly sliced

1 cup of your favorite marinara sauce or 1 1/2 cups crushed and strained tomatoes

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Cook the sausage until the sausage is nicely browned and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Grease the inside of a 12-inch cast-iron skillet with the softened butter. Place the pizza dough in the center of the skillet and spread the dough evenly towards the bottom edge and 1 1/2 inches up the sides.

Begin layering the ingredients on your pizza crust by evenly laying the sausage on the dough, followed by the mozzarella cheese and then by the tomato sauce or the tomatoes, whichever you happen to be using. Sprinkle the garlic and the dried oregano on top of the cheese and sauce. Finish the topping by adding the Parmesan cheese on top and drizzle the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.

Place the cast-iron skillet on the bottom rack of the oven and cook the pizza until the edge of the crust is golden brown and crusty, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and allow the pizza to rest for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Just a couple of quick notes about my experience with this recipe. First, you should preheat the oven for about 20 minutes or so to make sure the temperature is nice and hot before you put the pizza in. This seemed to make a big difference for me. Secondly, I didn’t get the pizza as “deep dish” as I would have liked it since I did not have quite enough dough to fully go up the sides of the pan. I had split the dough in half to make two pizzas and kind of short-changed myself, so make sure you have enough dough if you really want that deep, crispy crust. Thirdly, the sequence in the layering does seem to make a difference in getting the crisp bottom that you want. Putting the sausage on the bottom does make a difference here and helps to crisp the crust. You could, of course, use any toppings that you like for your pizza, but since we all like sausage pizza it worked well for us. This recipe is a very easy one that is perfect when you want the crunchy, deep-dish style pizza.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on May 18, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Pizza

Tags: Chicago-style deep dish pizza, Chicago-style deep dish sausage pizza, Cooking Channel, deep dish pizza, deep dish pizza recipe, food processor pizza dough, pizza dough, pizza dough recipe, pizza recipe, sausage pizza

Summer’s Coming! Make This Simple Creamy Cucumber Salad

16 May

It seems like summer is never going to get here. after a particularly long, cold and snowy winter here in New York, Spring has been pretty dreary with lots of rain and clouds. This can all be pretty depressing, but summer is only a little more than a month away and I cannot wait for it to get here. Summer means warmer weather, sunshine and the chance to make some great summer dishes. While I don’t so a lot of cooking out myself since we can’t have a good grill here at the condo, I do make a lot of different types of salads all summer long. I try to make salads that don’t use a lot of lettuce since Michelle is not a big fan of most lettuce, or at least a lot of lettuce. I had bought some English cucumbers last week and they were quite large, so I needed to try to come up with something great to make with them besides just slicing some up with some lettuce. I saw Ina Garten make this recipe on the Food Network one day and knew it was one I had to try. It is simple, easy, uses only a few ingredients, and tastes very refreshing. This recipe makes a large quantity, so I actually cut it in half when I made it but I am posting the original recipe here.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

4 hothouse cucumbers, thinly sliced (about 3 to 4 pounds of cucumbers)

2 small red onions, thinly sliced

Kosher salt

4 cups (32 ounces) plain whole-milk yogurt

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

1/2 cup minced fresh dill

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Mix the sliced cucumbers, sliced red onions and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the kosher salt in a large bowl. pour the vegetables into a colander and suspend it over a bowl. Wrap the bowl and the colander with plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator to drain. Leave in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to overnight. Discard any of the liquid that accumulates in the bowl.

Pour the yogurt into a fine mesh sieve lined with a paper towel or with cheesecloth and suspend the sieve over another bowl. Wrap the bowl and the sieve in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 4 hours and up to overnight so the yogurt can drain and thicken. Discard the liquid that accumulates in the second bowl.

When the cucumbers are ready, roll them up in paper towels or a dry kitchen towel and press the towel lightly to remove most of the liquid from the vegetables. Place the cucumbers and the drained yogurt together in a large bowl with the sour cream, the vinegar, fresh dill, 2 teaspoons of salt and the black pepper. Toss the mixture well and refrigerate the salad for a few hours to allow all of the flavors to blend together. Sprinkle the salad with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and serve it chilled.

Granted, it may take up a lot of refrigerator space while everything drains (at least it did in my small refrigerator) but it is worth it. You will be surprised just how much moisture comes out of both the salted vegetables and the yogurt. The yogurt comes out nice and thick and creamy. Pressing the cucumbers in a towel removes even more liquid to help keep them from getting too soggy. The yogurt and cucumbers and red onions go so nicely together and it may even remind you a bit of tzatziki sauce from Greek food. It is a great salad that will be perfect for summer parties and barbecues to give you something different from the typical coleslaw or potato salad. This is a great side dish that goes really well with chicken, ribs, pork or beef so you can use it for all kinds of meals.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on May 16, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Lunch, Salad, Side Dishes

Tags: creamy cucumber salad, cucumber salad, food network, Ina Garten, Ina Garten creamy cucumber salad

Ahoy! A Simple Catfish Dinner

14 May

As much as I love seafood, the price of it most of the time is a bit too much for many families so don’t get to eat it that much at home unless I can find something that is on sale at the fish market. I did happen to stumble across some catfish when I was there last and decided to pick some up since it was such a good deal. I have made catfish before and posted catfish recipes here, but I had come across one from Robert Irvine a while back and had been waiting for the right opportunity to give it a try. It is a very simple fried catfish with a nice little sauce to go with it and it only takes about twenty minutes to make the whole meal.

Catfish Dinner

For the Catfish:

4 catfish fillets
2 cups buttermilk
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 to 2 cups cornmeal
Salt and ground pepper
1 to 2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten for egg wash

For the Sauce:
1/4 pound (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup minced red onion
1/2 cup minced bell pepper
2 ribs celery, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 cups heavy cream
1 pound Louisiana crawfish tails or small shrimp
2 cups cooked grits or polenta, for serving
Chopped green onions or chives, for garnish

To prepare the catfish: marinate the catfish by placing the fillets and buttermilk in a flat-bottomed container. Allow the catfish to marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 1 day.

Preheat a deep fryer, large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven to 350 degrees with vegetable oil. Before frying, remove the catfish from the marinade and allow any excess buttermilk to drip off. In separate bowls, place the cornmeal, seasoned with salt and pepper, the flour, and the beaten eggs to set up dredging stations. Coat a catfish fillet by dipping it into the flour, shaking off any excess, then dipping it in the egg wash, allowing any excess to drip off, and then dipping it in the seasoned cornmeal and repeat the process with the remaining fillets before frying. Fry the fist until the catfish reaches 145 degrees and is golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the fish from the frying oil and allow it to drain any excess oil on a plate with paper towels.

For the sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and melt it. Next, add the onions, peppers and celery and sweat the vegetables until they are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the flour, seafood seasoning and garlic to thicken the butter. This will take 1 to 2 minutes.

Next, add the cream and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook the mixture until the cream sets. Finally, add the crawfish or shrimp, if using, and whisk to blend, cooking for the final 2 minutes.

To serve the fish, place 1/2 cup of grits or polenta on the plate, then a quarter of the prepared sauce and top with a crisp cooked catfish fillet. Finish the dish with green onions or chives.

Of course, finding crawfish tails in my neck of the woods is next to impossible, and I didn’t have any tiny shrimp on hand either, so I omitted them from the recipe, but I think they would really round things out nicely. The flavor from the sauce mixed with the catfish was fantastic and I served the meal with some polenta. The combination was great and it was all very simple to make. You could try the same dish with other types of fish if your prefer, such as flounder or tilapia.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on May 14, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Sauce, Seafood

Tags: catfish dinner, catfish recipes, catfish with sauce, crawfish sauce, food network, fried catfish, Robert Irvine, Robert Irvine catfish dinner

Fiesta Week Part 2 – Chicken Tacos

06 May

To go along with the chorizo tacos and the beef tacos I had made on Sunday I also wanted to make some chicken tacos. I didn’t want to do something with just shredded chicken, which would have been easy to do with some chicken, but I wanted something a little different with some nice sauce to go along with it. I had looked at a few different recipes I found on the Internet, but then I came upon this one from Michael Chiarello on the Food Network for a chicken taco filling. It looked pretty easy to make, only used a few ingredients and I could get it done along with all over the other things I was making that day. The original recipe is for a pretty large quantity, so I ended up scaling it down quite a bit to fit my crowd and I still had a lot left over, so you could make it even smaller if you only have a couple of people to feed. The recipe shown here is in the amounts that I actually used. If you want the larger quantities, all you need to do is double this recipe.

Chicken Tacos

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

5 garlic cloves, minced

2-3 onions, minced

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1/2-inch chunks

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 Serrano pepper or jalapeno pepper, sliced thin

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground oregano

2-3 cups chicken broth or water

For the Tacos:

Red onion, sliced thin

Lettuce, shredded

Radishes, sliced thin

Salsa (homemade or store-bought)

Guacamole (homemade or store-bought)

Flour or corn tortillas

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and pour in enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic and onions and cook until the vegetables are soft and nicely caramelized, about 10 to 12 minutes.

In the meantime, season the chicken breast pieces with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the flour over the chicken pieces and toss the chicken to coat it well. Heat another large saute pan over medium-high heat and add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Cook the chicken until it is lightly browned, about 6 to 8 minutes.

Once the onion mixture is caramelized and softened, add the chile peppers, sweet paprika, smoked paprika, cumin and oregano. When the chicken is done, transfer it to the pan with the onions. Pour in the broth or water and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is thickened, about 20 minutes. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve the tacos, place all of your chosen toppings and the chicken filling in separate bowls along with the warmed tortillas so people can construct their own tacos.

This was a simple recipe for the chicken that yielded some great flavor thanks to the spices used. You could certainly substitute some rotisserie chicken and just heat it up with the onion mixture and spices if you have left over chicken from another meal or do not want to cook the chicken yourself. The sauce is nice and thick and clings nicely to the chicken to add another level of flavor to the dish. I would choose to make chicken tacos this way every time.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!