RSS

Category Archives: Dinner

Time to Get Your Grill On

It’s a beautiful day here in New York and it seemed like a good time to do some grilling. I have a boneless turkey breast, and I thought that would be great on the grill with some potato packets and some grilled asparagus, So let’s go for it!

Grilled Turkey London Broil

2 pounds turkey London broil (this is just one boneless turkey breast)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons Montreal Chicken Seasoning

1/4 cup white wine

1 teaspoon honey

Mix all the ingredients together for the marinade and whisk until well blended. In a large plastic storage bag, place the turkey and then cover with the marinade. Close the bag tightly, letting the air out, and mix so the marinade covers the turkey. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Heat a grill until medium-warm. Remove the turkey from the bag and reserve the marinade. Place the turkey and the grill and cover the grill. Cook for approximately 30 minutes per pound brushing often with the marinade (turkey can get dry, so you need to do this) and turning often. The turkey is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees. Allow to rest after removing it from the grill before slicing and serving.

I like to use the Montreal chicken seasoning with turkey. It’s a nice blend of spices and gives some good flavor. I use it with ground turkey all the time when making chili or turkey burgers.

The potato packets are pretty easy too. My Dad used to make these all the time, and God bless him, he tried, but he inevitably burned these a lot, but Dad also never used an oil or anything inside the packets to help with the cooking. They come out fine with some oil or butter. I only make this to serve the three of us, so you can adjust the recipe for more or less people.

Grilled Potato Packets

3 medium potatoes, scrubbed and sliced

3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

1/2 onion, diced

Salt and pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons butter, sliced into 3 slices and then cubed

Cooking spray

Tear off three large sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Spray each sheet with cooking spray. Using 1 potato, place a layer of potatoes in the middle of each sheet (try to keep it to one layer if you can). Cover the potato with one of the sliced carrots and then sprinkle with some onion. Season with salt and pepper. Place one of the cubed slices on top of the vegetables, spreading out the cubes over so they will melt into the vegetables when cooking. Wrap the potato tightly in the foil, folding it over the potato so the packet is thin (if it’s too thick it will take longer to cook). Repeat the process with the remaining potatoes. Place the packets on the hot grill, cover the grill and cook, turning about every 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve.

I tried to keep the vegetable simple to by just using grilled asparagus. Nice and easy and only take about 5 minutes.

Grilled Asparagus

1 pound asparagus, the tough ends cut trimmed off

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Toss the asparagus with the olive oil to coat the asparagus. Season with salt and pepper. Place the asparagus on the grill in a single layer over medium-high heat. Grill, turning often, until the asparagus are bright green and tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve.

That’s all there is to it. A pretty simple, grilled meal on a nice evening. You can sit outside, enjoy the meal, have a nice glass of wine and enjoy. Until next time, enjoy your evening, and enjoy your meal!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on May 18, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Grilling, Potatoes, Turkey, Vegetables

Tags: boneless turkey breast, grilled asparagus, grilling turkey breast, potato packets, turkey london broil

Quick Pan Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

15 May

I’ve been working really hard lately doing lots of articles, so I haven’t had much fun time for writing, like taking care of my blogs (I have another blog at www.thoeofficeofiguanaflats.com if you want to check it out) and I haven’t had a lot of time for cooking either. Yesterday I made some meatloaf and mashed potatoes, which I have made before and posted the recipes for on here earlier if you would like them (they are very tasty!). Today I needed something quick and happened to have a whole chicken breast in the fridge to make, so I decided to make a quick pan roasted chicken and potatoes, some asparagus, and I had some all-purpose gravy I made for the meatloaf that we can use as well. Ever since the Ranting Chef did a post on his blog a while back about his cast iron pan, I have been using mine a lot (it always sits out on the stove now) and this dish is perfect for that since I can throw everything in there and then put it right in the stove. Saves time and clean up! This is a super-fast meal that you can throw together pretty quickly and even use boneless chicken breasts if you don’t have the bone-in breasts. You could even just use chicken parts like legs and thighs instead if that’s what you have around.

Pan Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

4 split bone-in chicken breasts (or whatever parts you want to use)

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, cut into 1-inch wedges

1 onion, cut into wedges

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves

Pinch red pepper flakes

Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown the chicken well on the skin side, about 5 minutes.

While the chicken browns, toss the potatoes and onion with 1 tablespoon of the oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a microwave safe bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high until the potatoes begin to soften, about 5 to 10 minutes, shaking the bowl (without removing the plastic) halfway through cooking.

Remove the chicken and place back down in the skillet skin side up. Add the potatoes and onions and transfer to the oven and bake until the thickest part of the breast registers 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Whisk the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes together. Drizzle over the chicken and potatoes before serving.

Nice and simple for a weeknight meal and the potatoes and chicken are nicely browned in the cast iron pan (don’t forget to season your pan after you wash it; it will last forever if you take care of it).

That’s all I have for tonight. Tomorrow night Sean and I are off to the Mets game so there’s no meal tomorrow night, just hot dogs at the ballpark. I’ll get back to the blog on Thursday. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on May 15, 2012 in Cookbooks, Dinner, Poultry

Tags: cast iron pan, pan roasted asparagus, pan roasted chicken, pan roasted potatoes

A Fez Style Fish For Mother’s Day

13 May

We’re going out for Mother’s Day today and I am making the fish portion of the meal for those that don’t eat red meat. I was wondering what to make earlier in the week, when luckily I came across this recipe in the New York Times on Wednesday and it sounded perfect. It’s from a restaurant in Marrakesh at a hotel called La Mamounia and it’s a simple, all in one baked fish. it sounded light enough and easy to make and it will make a great summer dish. I went off the board a little bit with the fish. The recipe calls for sea bass or fluke, but when I went shopping yesterday the halibut looked the best so I am going with that.

Baked Fish, Fez Style

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves

1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1 pinch saffron threads, crushed

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 1/2 pounds fish fillets (4 fillets): sea bass, fluke, hake or halibut

1 pound large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, in 1/2-inch thick slices

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 red bell pepper, cored and slivered

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives

Combine the garlic, parsley, cilantro, cumin, paprika and saffron in a dish big enough for the fish. Mix the vinegar, lemon juice and tomato paste in a small bowl. Add to the dish and mix. Place the fillets in the dish, turning to coat the fillets, cover and set them aside to marinate, 2 hours at room temperature or 3 if refrigerated.

Place the potatoes in a saucepan, add water to cover, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain.

Brush a baking dish that can go to the table and will hold the fish in a single layer with a little of the oil. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the potatoes in the dish, season with salt and pepper, and place the fish fillets on top of the potatoes. Scatter the peppers and tomatoes over the fish. Add a little more salt and pepper. Spoon any excess marinade over the fish, strew with the olives, drizzle the remaining oil and bake about 30 minutes, until the fish is just cooked through. Serve.

I think it will be a very nice meal and everything is made and served in one dish, which it makes it even better. I’ll add some pictures later as I put it all together. I hope to actually have some recipes this week to post. It’s been a little crazy around the house the last few weeks. Michelle has been working a lot, I have been working a lot and Sean has been studying for tests so we haven’t had a lot of time to put into meal planning, but hopefully we’ll do that. I know I have the makings for a meat loaf and I bought some chicken breast so we’ll be doing something with it this week. Stay tuned to find out. I hope everyone out there has a wonderful Mother’s Day and all the Moms out there should enjoy their day and enjoy your meal!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on May 13, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Seafood

Tags: baked fish, baked fish fez style, halibut, yukon gold potatoes

Crashing Computers, a Busy Sunday, And a Week’s Worth of Recipes

07 May

Well my computer up and died on me last week and I haven’t been able to do much until today. I am back on my feet now with a new laptop and can get back to working and blogging. We had a very busy day yesterday that included a very extensive meal. It was busy and I was cooking for hours, but it was very enjoyable and the meal turned out quite well. So well in fact, that it gave me recipes to use for the entire week! This is what we have to look forward to as far as posts:

Monday (today): Smoked Barbecued Pulled Pork

Tuesday: Barbecued Baked Beans in the slow cooker

Wednesday: German Potato Salad

Thursday: Homemade Salsa, Guacamole, Nachos and Ranch Dressing,

Friday: Easy Blueberry Pie

I made a lot of things yesterday when we had some guests over and started cooking at 8 AM so I could get everything done in time. The centerpiece of the meal was pulled pork. I have made pulled pork before, but the weather is getting nicer, so I decided I was going to incorporate the grill into this meal and use it for the pork. This is not a difficult recipe, but I did have to make a few adjustments. Since we live in a condo, here in New York you are not allowed to have a gas or charcoal grill near the structure, so we do have a nice sized electric grill that I use. It does affect the cooking, and I would rather use a gas grill, but the law’s the law and I have to go with it so we use the electric. It’s harder to control the heat since you can’t control heat distribution, so if you have gas or charcoal I think this will work better for you, but I was able to make it work with electric. The recipe itself, from America’s Test Kitchen, is written to use on a gas grill.

Barbecued Pulled Pork

1 (6 to 8 pound) Boston Pork Butt

1/2 cup chili powder

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup salt

2 tablespoons black pepper

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

4 cups wood chips, soaked and drained

Vegetable oil

2 cups barbecue sauce

Mix the chili powder, brown sugar, salt black pepper and cayenne pepper until well combined. Massage the pork all over with the rub and let it stand at room temperature, covered loosely with plastic wrap, for 1 hour.

Place the wood chips in a disposable tray and rest the tray directly on top of the primary burner. Turn all the burners to high, close the lid and heat the grill until very hot and the chips are smoking, about 15 minutes. Clean and oil the grill. Turn the primary burner down to medium and turn off the other burners.

Place the pork in an aluminum roasting pan and position the pan over the cooler part of the grill. Barbecue, covered, for 4 hours, flipping and rotating the meat every hour. (The temperature inside the grill should remain between 275 and 300 degrees,)

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove the pan of pork from the grill, wrap tightly with heavy-duty foil, and transfer to the oven. Continue to cook in the oven until the meat is for tender, 1 to 2 hours. Remove the roast from the oven and let rest (without removing the foil) for 30 minutes.

Transfer the roast to a carving board and, when cool enough to handle, “pull” the pork by tearing the meat into thin shreds with your fingers (I used two forks to shred it myself), Place the shredded meat in a large bowl. Toss with 1 cup of the barbecue sauce, adding more to taste. Serve, passing the remaining sauce separately.

A couple of notes about the recipe. I was still able to use the wood chips, putting some in a cast iron smoker box I have and laying that under the heating element of the grill. It did create enough smoke to do the job. I also tried to keep the pork in the pan toward the outer edge of the grill surface since the electrical element of the grill is right in the center. I think this helped keep it on the cooler part of the grill. I think you could easily do the whole recipe on the grill, leaving it on the grill for the extra 1 to 2 hours instead of transferring to the oven, if that’s what you wanted to do, and it will turn out fine. The recipe recommends that you serve the pork with plain white bread, but I went with small rolls instead. I’m not a big fan of white bread, but use what you like best. Of course, I did serve it with pickle chips and the pickles do add a nice flavor to the sandwich if that’s the way you want to eat it. I also dressed the pork with a little less barbecue sauce and let people add their own to it if they wanted it. To me, this way if you would rather taste the smoke and the flavor of the rub over the sauce you could.

I wish I had taken pictures of the whole meal, but with my computer not working and all the time in the kitchen, by the time I thought of it, it was too late. Everyone took some leftovers home with them and we have enough left here for another meal for Michelle, Sean and myself. Tomorrow I will provide the recipe for one of the side dishes we had, which was barbecued baked beans done in the slow cooker. Until then, enjoy your day and enjoy your meal!

4 Comments

Posted by MikeG on May 7, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Grilling, Pork

Tags: barbecued pulled pork, dry rub for pulled pork, german potato salad, grilling, pulled pork, wood chips

Here Chicken, Chicken, Chicken Fried Steak!

01 May

I haven’t had chicken fried steak in a long time, and I have never tried to make it myself, so this will be a good experiment. I looked at a bunch of different recipes and this one from America’s Test Kitchen seemed to be the easiest and best one to try, so here we go.

Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy

Steak

3 cups all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

6 cube steaks (5 ounces each) pounded 1/4 inch thick

4 to 5 cups vegetable oil

Cream Gravy

1 onion, minced

1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 cups milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Pinch cayenne pepper

For the steak: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Toss the flour, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, and the cayenne together in a shallow dish. In a second dish, beat the buttermilk, egg, baking powder and baking soda together (it will get foamy).

Pat the steaks dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Dredge the steaks through the flour, then coat with the buttermilk mixture, then coat again with the flour. Lay the battered steaks on a wire rack.

Pour the oil into a large Dutch oven until it measures one inch. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 375 degrees. Fry 3 of the steaks until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Return the oil to 375 degrees and repeat with the remaining steaks. Transfer the steaks to a clean wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.

For the gravy: Carefully strain the oil through a fine mesh strainer into a medium pot. Return any browned bits from the strainer along with 2 tablespoons of the frying oil to the Dutch oven. Return the Dutch oven to medium heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the onion and thyme and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth, scraping up any browned bits. Whisk in the milk, salt, pepper and cayenne and simmer until the gravy has thickened, about 5 minutes. Spoon the gravy over the steaks before serving.

Try to maintain a consistent oil temperature while cooking. Give the oil a chance to get back up to temperature before starting the second batch of steaks so they don’t become greasy and they cook all the way through. I making mashed potatoes with this, that seems like the side dish we should have to go with the steak and the gravy. You can find my recipe for mashed potatoes here. I’ll also just be steaming some green beans as our side dish.

I had planned to cook this last night, but I just started a new pain medication for my feet and it really knocked me for a loop, so everything got pushed back a bit. I’ll add some pictures so you can see how the steak turned out. Tomorrow, Sean would like breakfast for dinner, so we’ll be making pancakes, but I am going to post a recipe that I use for some homemade turkey sausage patties that turn out quite delicious. Check back tomorrow for that one. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

Last minute substitution with the peas for the green beans, but other than that, I think they turned out really well. The steak was nice and crispy and the gravy came out good as well.

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on May 1, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Potatoes

Tags: chicken fried steak, cream gravy, green beans

Who Wants Chicken and Rice?

26 Apr

Well that’s what I decided to make tonight for dinner. I have a pack of chicken thighs to use and I am going for a version of arroz con pollo that I got from Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything.” It’s a very straightforward recipe, cooks all in one pot, and promises to taste delicious. Add a little vegetable or a salad, and you are all set for dinner tonight.

Arroz Con Pollo

3 cups chicken stock

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups white rice

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 chopped bell pepper (your choice of color)

1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped

Pinch of ground allspice

1 bay leaf

Pinch of saffron threads (optional)

1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 8 pieces, or any combination of parts (I am using just thighs, since that is what I have)

1 cup frozen peas

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Warm the stock while you cook the onions. put the olive oil in a large skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the onions and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened and become translucent, 5 to 10 minutes.

Add the rice to the onions and stir until its coated with oil, a minute or two; add garlic, pepper, tomato, allspice, bay leaf and sprinkle with the saffron, if using, and stir again. Nestle the chicken pieces in the rice, add a little more salt and pepper, and pour in the warmed stock. Bring the mixture to a boil; adjust the heat so that the mixture bubbles gently but steadily. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, then add the peas. Cook for another 10 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and the chicken is cooked through; the chicken is done when an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 155-165 degrees. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Just a couple of quick notes on this recipe. I am using the saffron because I have some on hand. it’s not something most people have around, and it’s super expensive as far as spices go. If you just want the yellow coloring that saffron will give to the dish, you can use turmeric instead, which is much cheaper and will give you the color you want. Secondly, I am using homemade stock (I always do if I have it) but you could also just use water here if you don’t have any stock to use. The stock works with the chicken to give a really nice flavor to the dish that you might miss out on if you just use water. Finally, all the extras, like the garlic, pepper, tomato and the seasonings aren’t essential to the dish You can just make a stripped down version and use the onion, chicken and rice and it would be great. You can’t go wrong with this one either way.

That’s today’s meal. Tomorrow is Friday and we haven’t done a pizza Friday in a while, so I think we’ll do that and then I’ll go shopping this weekend for next week’s meals. I know Sean wants to do a breakfast for dinner this weekend, so we’ll be doing that one day, and probably a roasted chicken recipe as well since I could stand to make some more stock. The rest of the week I am not too sure about yet. Any suggestions? I’d be happy to try something out. Let me know! Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on April 26, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry

Tags: arroz con pollo, chicken and rice, saffron

Orange You Glad I Did Two Posts Today?

25 Apr

Okay, that was a bad pun, but I was trying to think of something funny to start out about the dinner I made last night. I wanted to make something simple and use what I already had in the house, and I came across this recipe from Bon Appetit for Orange Broccoli, Beef and Mushrooms. It was quite a simple stir fry with a nice refreshing flavor. The orange taste didn’t overpower anything (as a matter of fact, Sean didn’t even know it was in the recipe) and gave the stir fry a different twist to it.

Orange Broccoli, Beef, and Mushrooms

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

5 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon grated, peeled ginger plus 2 1/2-inch pieces peeled ginger, julienned

4 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil, divided

1 bunch of broccoli, cut into small florets

1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/2 pound flank steak

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large shallot, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 ounces shiitake or other mushrooms, stems removed, caps quartered

Steamed white or brown rice

Stir the orange juice, soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of the grated ginger in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Place a large plate or platter on the work surface near the skillet. Stir the julienned ginger into the oil; add the broccoli and cook, tossing to coat, for 1 minute. Stir in 1 teaspoon of salt and the sugar; add 1/4 cup of water and cover. Steam, lifting the cover and stirring once, until the broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer the broccoli mixture to the plate and set aside.

Wipe out the skillet, then heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Season the flank steak with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes; turn and cook for 1 1/2 minutes longer. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let it rest for 3 minutes. Slice the steak against the grain into 1/4 inch slices.

Wipe out the skillet, then heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt; cook stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes. Add the reserved broccoli and the orange juice mixture; increase the heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pan is almost dry, about 1 minute. Add the flank steak slices and remove the skillet from the heat. Season with additional soy sauce, if desired, and serve with steamed rice.

I used the leftover rice we had from Sunday’s duck dinner, but you can easily make a fresh pot of rice to go with the dinner. I think you’ll really enjoy the flavor of this one and it takes almost no time at all to cook, which is perfect for a weeknight meal.

Tomorrow night, I am thinking chicken. i have some boneless chicken thighs and haven’t decided what to do with them yet, but I will come up with something (and hopefully it will be delicious!). Until tomorrow, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on April 25, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner

Tags: beef stir fry, orange broccoli beef and mushrooms

Feeling Ducky This Weekend

22 Apr

Every once in a while, I like to go overboard and cook a really elaborate meal. While this meal wasn’t really elaborate, it was very tasty. I wish I had taken pictures of it, because everything turned out perfectly and tasted great. I had decided early in the week that I wanted to make a roast duck for dinner this weekend and began gathering recipes early in the week and reading them over. When I finally settled on one, then I needed to add some side dishes. Through the world of Twitter, I asked some renowned chefs what they would recommend to make with the duck. Geoffrey Zakarian replied back with what they make at his restaurant, The Lamb’s Club, in NYC:

RT @IguanaFlats: “@gzchef Roast duck this weekend. Suggestions for side dishes?” Served at @thelambsclub w/French Prune, Pistachio, Madeira

Well I looked up his menu online and it was little more work than I wanted to get into, so I waited to see if anyone else would reply. Christopher Kimball, founder of America’s Test Kitchen, came back with this answer:

@IguanaFlats The French love lentils with duck — we have a few very good lentil salads at Cook’s.

So I looked up the recipes at Cook’s Illustrated and found one that I really liked and went with it. I was glad I even got a few responses as I wasn’t sure I would hear back from anyone at all. I then found a roast duck recipe I liked through the New York Times and I had my meal. First, I had to make some appetizers and I had been promising Sean I would make homemade mozzarella sticks for a while, so I knew I had to make them. I am not a cheese eater, but these actually turned out pretty good and they weren’t hard to make. This recipe, from Giada De Laurentiis, makes a lot of mozzarella sticks, so I cut it in half.

Mozzarella Sticks

1 1/2 cups dried breadcrumbs ( I used homemade and added a little bit of Italian seasoning; I think homemade makes a big difference here.)

1 1/3 cups freshly grated Parmesan

1 teaspoon salt

2 (16-ounce) blocks of pasteurized mozzarella cut into 4 by 1/2-inch sticks

4 large eggs, beaten to blend

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

Stir the bread crumbs, 1 cup of Parmesan and 1 teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl to blend. Dip the cheese in the eggs to coat them completely and allow the excess egg to drip back into the bowl. Coat the cheese in the breadcrumb mixture, patting to adhere and coat completely. Repeat dipping the cheese sticks in the egg and breadcrumb mixture to coat a second time. Place the cheese sticks on a baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet and freeze until frozen, about 2 hours and up to 2 days. (I did it for about 4 hours and they were well frozen)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, fry the cheese until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Transfer the fried cheese to plates. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and serve with marinara sauce.

I served the mozzarella sticks and some calamari as appetizers (I have made the calamari before, and you can get the recipe here). Then it was on to making the main course. I can tell you, I was cooking most of the day, so it was some work, but it was worth it for the dinner.

Roast Duck With Blueberry Sauce

1 Granny Smith apple

1/2 onion, peeled

2 cups blueberries

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

2 whole star anise or 1/2 teaspoon ground star anise

Grated zest of 1 lime

Grated zest of 1 orange

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

2 whole ducks, trimmed of excess fat, giblets removed

Prepare the blueberry sauce: Peel, quarter and core the apple. Place the apple in a food processor with the onion and finely chop. Place in a saucepan with the blueberries, sugars, star anise, zests and vinegar. Place the mixture over high heat to bring it to a boil, then simmer until pulpy and beginning to thicken, about 30 minutes. (The mixture will be quite liquid after about 20 minutes, but begins to thicken up by 30 minutes, and will thicken even more once cold.) If whole star anise was used, remove and discard them. Transfer the sauce to a container, cover and allow to cool. For the best flavor, allow it to rest one day before serving (I just served it and it tasted fine to me).

Prepare the ducks: Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Score the duck skin all over to help fat drain off while cooking. Place the ducks on a rack in a roasting pan. Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours, periodically draining off the fat. Raise the heat to 400 degrees and roast an additional 30 minutes to crisp the skin. Remove the ducks from the oven and place on a carving board. Cut each duck into 4 pieces. Cut away the meat from the rib cage, discarding the rib bones. Arrange on a serving platter, crispy skin side up. Serve with the blueberry sauce.

I made three side dishes with the meal: some jasmine rice, the lentil salad and sautéed carrots and parsnips. Here’s the recipe for the lentil salad recommended by Christopher Kimball.

Lentil Salad with Olives and Mint

1 cup lentils, rinsed

8 cups water

5 cloves of garlic, lightly crushed and peeled

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/2 cup (roughly 10) coarsely chopped, pitted Kalamata olives

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped 1 ounce feta cheese, crumbled (optional)

In a bowl, place the lentils and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cover with 4 cups of warm water and soak for 1 hour. Drain.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the lentils in a heavy pan with water to cover by about 2 inches, garlic, bay leaf and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cover and bake for 40 to 60 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Drain the lentils. Whisk the oil and vinegar together in a large bowl. Add the drained lentils, olives, mint and feta (if using) and toss. Serve, topping with salt and pepper to taste.

These lentils turned out delicious. They were tender and had great flavor, and complimented the duck very nicely. Now for the carrots and parsnips.

Sautéed Parsnips and Carrots with Honey

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 pound carrots (about 4 large), peeled and cut into sticks

1 pound parsnips, peeled, halved lengthwise, cored and cut into sticks

Salt

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (optional)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and parsnips. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until the vegetables are beginning to brown at the edges, about 12 minutes. Add the butter, honey and rosemary, if using. Toss over medium heat until heated through and the vegetables are glazed, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if desired.

It was a lot of cooking but it was very good. Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal and we were all full afterwards. However, I did make dessert too! I know, I am not a baker, and not a dessert person, but I did make a couple of things yesterday. I promise to post the desserts I made a little later on today since this post already is quite long. I will say they are both quick and easy desserts and only one of them involved actually baking. I will be back later to tell you about them, so until then, enjoy your day!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on April 22, 2012 in Appetizers, Cooking, Dinner, Poultry, Rice, Vegetables

Tags: lentil salad, mozzarella sticks, roast duck, roast duck recipe, roast duck with blueberry sauce, sauteed carrots and parsnips

Face to (Open) Face With Leftovers

19 Apr

So I have some leftover turkey from a few nights ago and some leftover roast beef from the other night, so what to do with them? Well we decided a good option would be to make open-faced sandwiches for dinner tonight. We can use the turkey, use the roast beef, use the gravy, the stuffing and the mashed potatoes and get rid of all the leftovers in the fridge. There’s not much to these recipes so they are pretty easy to follow, but I think you could pretty much wing them if you wanted to.

Open-Faced Roast Beef Sandwiches

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 medium onion, sliced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups leftover au jus

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

4 slices bread (your choice as to what you like best)

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (optional)

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish (optional)

Leftover roast beef, sliced thin

Salt and pepper

Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook until slightly brown. Gradually whisk in the au jus until smooth. Whisk in the Worcestershire sauce and simmer until thick, about 3 minutes.

Toast the bread under the broiler, about 1 minute. Spread the mustard and horseradish, if using, on the toasts; place each on a plate. Pour some gravy over the toast; top with the roast beef and then more gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the sandwiches with the leftover mashed potatoes.

Some people like to melt some cheese over their sandwich; it’s not my thing, but hey, if you like it, go for it. put the cheese on top and place the sandwich under the broiler for a minute, and you’re all set.The open-faced turkey sandwiches are just as easy:

Open-Faced Turkey Sandwiches

Leftover turkey meat, sliced

Leftover turkey gravy (if you don’t have any, you can make this quick gravy recipe)

Leftover stuffing (I have some leftover Stove Top I’ll be using; you can always make Stove Top quickly, or use your own recipe for stuffing if you have one. I haven’t posted one, but I will soon 🙂 )

Slices of bread (again, use what you like)

Salt and pepper

Heat the gravy in a large skillet until bubbly (if the gravy is too thick for your liking, you can thin it out with some stock or water). Add pieces of sliced turkey to the gravy and heat through, about 1 minute. Re-heat the leftover stuffing in either a small saucepan or the microwave (I did it in the microwave for 1 minute). Toast the bread under the broiler, about 1 minute. Remove the toast from the oven, place on a plate, and cover the toast with gravy. Place some turkey slices on top of the gravy. Scoop some stuffing on top of the turkey slices; cover on top with some more gravy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

With the sandwiches and the leftover mashed potatoes, you’re just about all set. If you have any leftover veggies (and we do, so I am using them) add them to the meal, or make some fresh veggies as a side dish, or make a small salad and you are all set. You’ll have used up the leftovers for the week, which is a beautiful thing.

I’m not sure what I am making for dinner tomorrow. I am heading over to Adams Farms in Newburgh to shop tomorrow, and to pick up a $50.00 gift card I won from them (it pays to follow places on Facebook and Twitter!), so I hope to find something there to make for dinner tomorrow night in the seafood department. Tune in tomorrow to see what I was able to get. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on April 19, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Leftovers, Potatoes, Poultry, Sandwiches, Turkey

Tags: gravy, leftover roast beef, leftovers, mashed potatoes, open faced roast beef sandwich, open faced turkey sandwich, roast beef sandwiches, using leftovers

Finally, a Roast Beef Dinner to Write About!

17 Apr

Well I have finally gotten around to making the roast beef dinner I have been threatening to make for days. I had seen an episode of America’s Test Kitchen entitled “Resurrecting the Roast Beef Dinner” and decided to try their method of slow roasting the beef. It’s a little more time-consuming, but the results will be worth it. The idea is to take traditionally tougher cuts of beef that the supermarkets sell for oven roasts and make them as tender as possible. I can tell you just from the salting alone, the meat was more tender than when I first bought it. They recommend using an eye round for this recipe, since most eye rounds have a uniform shape to them that lets you have nice slices of beef.

Slow-Roasted Beef

1 boneless eye round roast (3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds)

4 teaspoons kosher salt or 2 tablespoons table salt

2 teaspoons vegetable oil plus 1 tablespoon

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Sprinkle all sides of the roast evenly with the salt. Wrap the roast in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 225 degrees. Pat the roast dry with paper towels and rub with teaspoons of the oil and sprinkle all sides evenly with pepper. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until starting to smoke. Sear the roast until browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the roast to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. Roast the meat until an instant read thermometer inserted in the center of the roast registers 115 degrees for medium rare, 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 hours, or 125 degrees for medium, 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 hours.

Turn the oven off; leave the roast in the oven, without opening the door, until an instant read thermometer inserted in the center of the roast registers 130 degrees for medium-rare or 140 degrees for medium, 30 to 50 minutes longer. Transfer the roast to a carving board and let rest for 15 minutes. Slice the meat crosswise as thinly as possible and serve.

It’s worth the time you have to wait for this roast. Along side the roast beef, of course, you should have mashed potatoes. We eat a lot of mashed potatoes in this house (probably more than we should) so I was hoping for a variation on them for tonight since we just had them last night. Luckily for me, this episode of America’s Test Kitchen provided that as well.

Mashed Potatoes and Root Vegetables

4 tablespoons butter

8 ounces carrots, parsnips, turnips, or celery root, peeled; carrots or parsnips cut into 1/4-inch thick half-moons; turnips or celery root cut into 1/2-inch dice (I only had carrots and parsnips on hand)

1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices; rinsed well in 3 or 4 changes of cold water and drained well

1/3 cup chicken broth

Salt

3/4 cup half-and-half, warmed

3 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add the root vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter is browned and the vegetables are dark brown and caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes.

Add the potatoes, broth and 3/4 teaspoon of salt and stir to combine. Cook, covered, on low heat (the broth should simmer gently; do not boil), stirring occasionally, until the potatoes fall apart easily when poked with a fork and all liquid has been absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat; remove the lid and allow the steam to escape for 2 minutes.

Gently mash the potatoes and root vegetables in the saucepan with a potato masher (do not mash too vigorously). Gently fold in the warm half-and-half and the chives. Season with salt and pepper to taste; serve immediately.

Rinsing the peeled and sliced potatoes several times will help you remove the excess starch and keep them from getting gummy once the potatoes have been cooked and mashed. try to keep all the vegetables a uniform size also, so everything cooks at the same speed.

Finally tonight, my sister had asked me that when I do the recipe for roast beef if I could put a recipe for au jus along with it. One thing I have noticed is that I don’t really use a recipe for au jus, it’s more of something I just make based on how much juice I have in the pan from the meat, plus any juice from slicing. and then it really depends on how many people I am serving as to how much beef broth and wine I add to it. Remember au jus isn’t like gravy; it shouldn’t be thick, it’s really just a juice. So here’s what I do. if anyone has a better method or recipe, please post here so we can all share.

Roast Beef Au Jus

Beef juices accumulated in the pan from the roast beef

Beef broth

Red wine

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat (leaving the beef juices in the pan) from the roasting pan and discard the remaining fat. Place the roasting pan on the stove over medium heat. Add the beef stock and stir to release any browned bits in the pan. Add the red wine of your choice. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the stock is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve alongside the roast beef.

As I said, I have no set amounts of broth and wine to use; you really just have to eyeball it based on how much you want to make. Also, the au jus will only be as good as the beef broth and red wine that you use. If you use homemade broth and a good red wine, it will be great. I personally use beef broth in the rectangular “foil” containers because I rarely have homemade beef broth around. I would stay away from bouillon cubes myself; I find them way too salty and not very flavorful.

So that’s it for tonight. Tomorrow night is Chicken Fajitas for dinner around here, a recipe I have posted here before, so I am not sure if I’ll having anything to post tomorrow or not. Wednesday’s tend to be a little hectic anyway, so we’ll see how it goes. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!