Vegetables | onedadskitchen

Flip Flopping Days & Making Roast Chicken

I had intended to make a pork loin for dinner tonight until I realized this morning that I didn’t have all the necessary ingredients for the stuffing, so I have flipped the pork loin until tomorrow and am making a roast chicken recipe instead. I have made roast chicken before, but this recipe is a little different. I got this one from Bon Appetit. They are running on article called 5 Dinners For Under $100 and this is the first dinner they mentioned. It’s a very inexpensive meal of roast chicken with a warm parsley sauce, oven glazed carrots and I am making some rice to go with it. The chicken itself only cost me $4.50 ($9.00 actually, since they were packaged as 2 whole chickens, about 3 pounds each), and everything else in the recipes I already had in the house, so it’s easy and cheap!

Roasted Chicken with Warm Parsley Sauce and Oven Glazed Carrots

1 whole 3-3 1/2 pounds chicken, giblets reserved for another use (think stock)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 garlic cloves, 1 halved, 1 minced

1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 teaspoon honey

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Generously season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large cast iron or other ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the pan, breast side up, and cook until the skin is brown, about 6-8 minutes. Tip the pan to one side to gather the accumulated fat and juices and baste the top of the chicken. Return the pan to the oven and cook the chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees, about 50-55 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a carving board, rib with the garlic halves, and let rest for at least 10 minutes before carving. Pour off the fat and juices from the skillet, leaving the browned bits in the pan; set the skillet aside.

Meanwhile, combine the carrots, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, honey,and cayenne in a small bowl; toss to coat. Place the carrots on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and bake until the bottoms of the carrots are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir and cook until the carrots are tender and brown, about 5 minutes longer.

Whisk the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil, minced garlic, parsley and lemon zest in a small bowl. Heat the reserved skillet over medium heat. Pour in the parsley oil and cook, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until heated through. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and swirl the pan to mix. Season the sauce to taste with salt and more lemon juice, if desired. Serve warm parsley sauce alongside of the chicken and carrots.

I added some rice to the dish to complete the meal, but it was very easy to make overall. Tomorrow night, I promise, is the Apple and Prune Stuffed Pork Loin. It’s a little more labor intensive than tonight’s meal, but we have had it before and we loved it. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on April 12, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry, Vegetables

Tags: oven glazed carrots, parsley sauce, roast chicken, roast chicken recipe

A Sunday Marinated London Broil

01 Apr

It’s Sunday, when I usually make a more complex meal for the week because I have the time to do it. This week’s been a little crazy between illnesses, Michelle’s work schedule, planning and packing for our trip down to Charlotte, and such, so I am trying to keep things simple for dinner today. I saw a nice London broil in the store yesterday so I decided to make a simple London broil for dinner tonight. I am also going to make some pierogies to go along with it. Michelle and Sean love pierogies and I saw in a blog that I follow, The Ranting Chef, that he was making them in a meal and they were also on sale at the store yesterday, so I bought some to make as well.

London broil is one of those cuts of beef that cries out to be marinated in some way. It takes on the flavors you add nicely, so just about any combination you want of an oil and an acid will work well. I am using a marinade that I often use for London broil. It’s quick, easy, and tastes great.

Marinated London Broil

1/3 cup minced shallots
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh thyme
Big dash hot sauce
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 pounds London broil

Mix the shallots, soy sauce, olive oil, thyme, hot sauce and lemon juice together in a glass pie plate, glass bowl or broiling pan. Score the steak, place it in the pan and turn in the marinade. Marinate for at least 2 hours at room temperature or up to 24 hours refrigerated. If refrigerated, turn the steak in the marinade occasionally.

Drain off marinade and put it into a saucepan. Place the steak under the broiler at 1 inch from the heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side for rare or for 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium. Leave the broiler door slightly ajar, so the heat stays on and air circulates. Meanwhile, bring the marinade to a boil. Remove the marinade from heat. Carve the meat in thin diagonal slices across the grain. Arrange the slices on a warm platter. Pour the carving juices and the marinade over the meat.

It’s fast and easy and tastes wonderful. The pierogies are just as easy. I bought frozen pierogies, so you can simply follow the directions on the box. I typically boil the pierogies until they float, about 4 or 5 minutes, then remove them from the water and drain them. I then saute them in a skillet with some melted butter and sliced onions until the pierogies are browned and the onions begin to caramelize, about 5 or 6 minutes. You can then add sour cream to them when you serve them if you wish.

The last part of our meal tonight is a staple in our diet, broccoli. I get a little tired of steamed broccoli so tonight I am going to try pan roasting it. Broccoli doesn’t take to well to pan roasting if you don’t watch it carefully, it can easily burn and get too dry. Trying to keep it tender and bright green can be tricky, but if you trim the broccoli to uniform size and cook the stems and the florets at separate times, it seems to work out pretty well. I’ve tried using this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen and it has worked pretty well for me.

Pan-Roasted Broccoli

3 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 pound broccoli , florets cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut on bias into 1/4-inch-thick slices about 1 1/2 inches long (about 5 cups florets and 3/4 cup stems)

Stir the water, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl until the salt dissolves; set aside. In a large, nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat until just beginning to smoke. Add broccoli stems in an even layer and cook, without stirring, until browned on the bottoms, about 2 minutes. Add the florets to the skillet and toss to combine; cook, without stirring, until the bottoms of the florets just begin to brown, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Add the water mixture and cover the skillet; cook until the broccoli is bright green but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until the water has evaporated, the broccoli stems are tender, and the florets are tender-crisp, about 2 minutes more.

A simple meal in very little time with not a lot of effort – just what you need on a busy day. I am just cooking a simple meal of burgers tomorrow night since I didn’t do any food shopping since we are leaving for vacation, but I do plan to do some posting once we get to Charlotte of some ideas and recipes that I like to make. Maybe I’ll do some Easter ideas and some simple party recipes. We’ll see how it goes. Until then, have a great day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on April 1, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Vegetables

Tags: broccoli, london broil, marinated london broil, pan roasted broccoli, pierogies

A Kid’s Delight – Chicken Fingers & Tater Tots, Homemade

27 Mar

Tonight’s recipes are a kid’s delight (well, my kid’s anyway). Sean likes to get chicken fingers when we got out, and adding tater tots to the meal is just icing on the cake for him. Chicken fingers themselves are pretty easy to make. Some recipes call for frying them, but I have decided to go with one that bakes the chicken to make it a little healthier. It’;s a very simple recipe with not many ingredients.

Chicken Fingers

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Salt

2 cups breadcrumbs

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1-inch-wide strips

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Set a rack on a baking sheet and mist with cooking spray. Whisk the eggs, mustard and 1 teaspoon of salt in a shallow bowl. Place the breadcrumbs in a second shallow bowl. Dip the chicken strips in the egg mixture, letting the excess drip off, then coat with the breadcrumbs. Place the chicken on the rack and bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes.

A few notes about the chicken fingers. Placing them on a rack over the baking sheet is key, since it lets air circulate around the whole piece of chicken, allowing it to crisp up all over. You can buy chicken tenders pre-cut already, but they seem to be more expensive than just buying boneless chicken and cutting it yourself. Lastly, you could use any breadcrumbs you choose for this recipe; I am using homemade breadcrumbs, but if I went for store-bought, I would use panko to give you a little extra crunch.

Now on to the tater tots. As I have said, I’ve never made these before. I looked at a bunch of recipes and each one seemed to have both good and bad results, so I wasn’t really sure which one to go for until I found this one from Cook’s Country. It seems simple, basic and looks like it will taste good, so let’s go for it!

Tater Tots

1 cup water

2 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

4 cups peanut oil or vegetable oil

In a small bowl, whisk the water and salt together until the salt dissolves. Transfer the salt water and potatoes to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until coarsely ground, 10 to 12 pulses, stirring occasionally.

Drain the potato mixture in a fine-mesh strainer, pressing the potatoes with a spoon until dry (the liquid should measure about 1½ cups); discard liquid. Transfer the potatoes to a microwave safe bowl and microwave, uncovered, until dry and sticky, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.

Stir the flour, black pepper and cayenne pepper into the potatoes. Spread the potato mixture into a thin layer over a large sheet of aluminum foil and let it cool for 10 minutes. Push the potatoes to the center of the foil and place the foil and potatoes in an 8-inch square baking pan. Push the foil into the corners and up the sides of the pan, smoothing it flush to the pan. Press the potato mixture tightly and evenly into the pan. Freeze, uncovered, until firm, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet; set aside. Heat the oil in a saucepan over high heat until 375 degrees. Using the foil overhang, lift potatoes from pan and cut into 1¼ by 1-inch pieces (6 cuts in 1 direction and 8 in other). Fry half of the potato tots, until golden brown and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally once they begin to brown. Drain the prepared baking sheet, season to taste and place in oven. Bring the oil back to 375 degrees and repeat with the remaining potato tots. Serve warm.

You could take the easy way out and just make a frozen bag of tater tots, but showing off to your kids that you can make them at home is pretty cool on its own :). I am just making some simple steamed broccoli as a vegetable, since it is Sean’s favorite vegetable and this is his meal.

That’s it for tonight. Follow the recipes and you’ll be the hero of the day for the kids. Tomorrow I’ll be making Meatloaf for dinner, which is one of my all time favorites. I have made it before, but it’s a family favorite and turns up on here once in a while. I may vary the recipe a little tomorrow, so check back and see how what’s up. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on March 27, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Potatoes, Poultry, Vegetables

Tags: broccoli, chicken fingers, homemade chicken fingers, homemade tater tots, tater tots

It’s a Baked Fish Friday!

23 Mar

It’s Friday, so that means it’s time for our seafood meal for the week. it doesn’t get much easier than this one. i am making a very simple Baked Tilapia, with Brown Rice and a nice veggie dish of Sautéed Snap Peas, Asparagus and Peas with Herbs. First, the fish dish. There’s very little to do with this one, so it can be done quickly.

Baked Tilapia

7 tablespoons butter

4 (6 to 8 ounce) tilapia filets

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lime, finely grated zest and juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large cast iron pan, Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat. Rinse the fish and pat it dry; season the fish with salt, pepper, lime zest and lime juice. Add the fish to the cast iron pan and place 1 tablespoon of butter on each filet. Cook the fish in the oven until tender, about 8 to 12 minutes.

For the side dishes, they are both pretty easy to make. The first is Brown Rice. You can substitute brown rice for white rice in just about any recipe, just keep in mind that brown rice takes longer to cook the white rice. To me, tastewise, it isn’t any better or worse than white rice, just a little different, and it has much more nutrition than white rice, so I am trying to introduce it more into our diet. This is just a simple recipe on the stove top for the brown rice.

Brown Rice

1 1/2 cups brown rice

Large pinch of salt

Put the rice in a small saucepan with water to cover by about 1 inch. Add the salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then adjust the heat so the mixture simmers gently. Cover and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, checking occasionally to make the sure the water is not evaporating too quickly. When the liquid has been absorbed, taste and see if the rice is tender or nearly so. If not, add about 1/2 cup more of liquid and continue to cook covered.

When the rice is tender, you can serve it or turn the heat off, or keep it at an absolute minimum, and let it sit for 15-30 minutes, during which time it will become a bit drier. There are a lot of things you can add to the rice at this point, like a little butter or extra virgin olive oil, some fresh herbs, grated cheese, some shrimp, or instead of cooking in water, cook in some kind of stock. Once the brown rice is cooked, you can use it as a substitute for white rice in recipes like pilaf.

Now on to the vegetables. This is a recipe that I literally picked up at Willams Sonoma. They had a recipe card on the counter for it and it looked really good, so I thought I would try it. It is Sautéed Snap Peas, Asparagus, and Peas with Spring Herbs and Salt. It’s a great showcase for some spring vegetables.

Sautéed Snap Peas, Asparagus and Peas with Spring Herbs and Salt

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 small leek, white and light green portions, thinly sliced

3/4 pound sugar snap peas, cut in half

1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed, spears thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups fresh shelled peas (you can use frozen if you can’t find fresh)

1/4 cup water

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as chives or parsley, or a combination

In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, warm the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the leek and cook, stirring, until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar snap peas, asparagus and shelled peas and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are evenly coated with the oil, about 1 minute. Add the water and cook, stirring the vegetables occasionally, until the water has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and remove the pan from the heat. Add the lemon zest and herbs and stir until evenly distributed. Transfer the vegetables to a serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Serve immediately.

Yummy, yummy! It’s a pretty easy meal to put together. If you’re looking to save some time, you can always use white rice instead of the brown, but I think it goes nicely with the fish.

I have no plans for dinner tomorrow since we have plans for the evening, but I do hope to have our menu plan for next week set for tomorrow, so I will be posting that. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on March 23, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Rice, Seafood, Vegetables

Tags: asparagus, baked tilapia, brown rice, sauteed snow peas, tilapia

Back to the Kitchen For Some Fried Chicken

22 Mar

Hectic schedules, homework, late work days, you name it and it has a way of interfering with life in general, including cooking dinner. We ended up having leftovers the last 2 nights because of crazy schedules, doctor’s appointments and everyday life, but today I am going to get back in the kitchen and I am going to make some fried chicken.

I don’t make fried chicken too often, and when I do I usually oven fry it to cut down on the mess and all the oil needed, but tonight I think I am going to really fry it. I could use the deep fryer, but I am going to do it on the stove this time, and I am going to try a different recipe tonight, one I got from America’s Test Kitchen.

Fried Chicken

1 quart buttermilk

3 tablespoons salt

4 pounds bone in chicken pieces (halved split breasts, thighs, and/or drumsticks)

5 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

5 to 6 cups vegetable oil

Whisk 3 1/4 cups of the buttermilk and the salt together in a large bowl until the salt dissolves. Add the chicken and coat thoroughly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour (Don’t let the chicken soak much longer or it will become too salty).

Whisk the flour, baking powder, thyme, pepper, and garlic powder together in a large bowl. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of buttermilk and rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse wet sand. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk soak and then coat thoroughly with the flour mixture and lay it on a wire rack set over a baking sheet while the oil heats.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Pour 1 inch of the oil into a large Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. Add half of the chicken, skin-side down. Cover and cook until deep golden brown on the first side, about 10 minutes (After the first 4 minutes, re-arrange the pieces if some are browning faster than others).

Turn the chicken pieces over. Continue to fry, uncovered and maintaining an oil temperature of 315 degrees, until the chicken pieces are a deep golden on the second side, about 7 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate to drain for 5 minutes, then lay on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Add additional oil to the pot as needed to maintain a depth of 1 inch and return it to 375 degrees before frying the remaining chicken.

With the fried chicken, I am going to serve mashed potatoes and gravy. I have made mashed potatoes many times in the meal plan, and if you would like to see the method I use for the potatoes, you can check an earlier blog posting here. You definitely need to have some gravy with this one as well. I have posted a quick chicken gravy recipe before, but since I don’t have any pan drippings to use, I am going to use the all purpose gravy recipe that I have used in the past.

All Purpose Gravy

3 tablespoons butter

1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine

1 rib celery, chopped fine

1 onion, minced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups beef broth

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme, or 1/4 teaspoon dried

5 whole black peppercorns

Salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and cook until softened and well browned, about 9 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly browned, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in the broths and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaf, thyme, and peppercorns and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20-25 minutes, skimming off any foam that forms on the surface.

Pour the gravy through a fine-mesh strainer (or gravy separator) into a clean saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids. Season the gravy with salt and pepper to taste.

I’ll be serving all this with some simple steamed green beans. It’s just a pound of green beans (stem ends trimmed) in a steaming rack in a large pot of boiling water just touching the rack. I cover and steam the green beans for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the beans are crisp-tender.

If there are any leftovers, there’s nothing like some cold fried chicken with some potato salad for a nice lunch or dinner the next day. Tomorrow is Friday, which means we’ll be having fish. I picked up some tilapia this morning so we’ll be having a nice simple baked tilapia with some brown rice and asparagus tomorrow. Check out the blog tomorrow so you can see how it goes. Until then, enjoy your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on March 22, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Potatoes, Poultry, Vegetables

Tags: all purpose gravy, chicken, fried chicken, gravy, green beans, mashed potatoes

A Shrimp Dinner to End the Week

16 Mar

For the last meal of the week, we turn to our seafood meal. I decided to try something a little different this week; it’s always risky to be different with a seafood meal when cooking for a pre-teen, but I thought I would give it a shot anyway. Sean likes shrimp, but he’s never had artichokes and is not a big fan of olives, so we’ll have to see how this one goes. Tonight I am making Artichokes with Potatoes, Garlic, Olives and Shrimp. It’s a hearty, one pot meal, something we have made a lot of lately, but it struck me as something that looked good to try. If you can’t find fresh artichokes, you can use artichokes hearts instead.

Artichokes with Potatoes, Garlic, Olives and Shrimp

1 to 1/2 pounds fresh artichokes

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 pound waxy potatoes, peeled and cut, if necessary, into 1-inch chunks

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

1/2 cup dry white wine, stock, or water

1 cup small black olives, pitted

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Prepare the artichokes by trimming the stem, cutting off the pointed tips, removing the tough leaves and cutting in half; remove the choke if necessary. As each is finished, drop it into a bowl of cold water with about 10 percent vinegar or lemon juice.

Put 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain the artichokes and add them to the skillet, along with the potatoes. Cook until they’re glossy and beginning to soften; do not brown. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then add the thyme and the liquid. Bring to a boil, cover and adjust the heat so the mixture just simmers. Cook just until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes, then uncover and raise the heat again. Stir in the remaining olive oil, olives, shrimp and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are pink, about 3 to 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then garnish with the parsley and serve hot or warm.

If you have never prepared whole artichokes before, it can be a little tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it it’s pretty easy. It’s really just a matter of getting rid any spiky tips and outer leaves and removing the furry, needlelike choke. You can steam the artichokes whole and eat the leaves one by one, scraping off the meat of each leaf using your front teeth. The closer you get to the center, the more tender the leaves, and the soft, inner leaves can be eaten whole. Just make sure to spoon out the choke before you eat the heart. Fresh tastes a lot better than canned or jarred, in my opinion, but if you are using the artichokes in a recipe, you can get away with using canned or jarred artichoke hearts.

Tomorrow is, of course, St. Patrick’s Day, and I have a great feast scheduled to cook. I’ll be posting my recipes for Corned Beef and Cabbage (I’ll be cooking it two ways),Boiled Potatoes, Colcannon, Grasshopper Pie, and of course, some Irish Coffee and Black and Tans. Check in tomorrow to check out the feast. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on March 16, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Potatoes, Seafood, Vegetables

Tags: artichokes, dinner, olives, potatoes, preparing artichokes, shrimp

What a Crock (of Cream of Broccoli Soup)!

15 Mar

Well not quite a crock, but at least it’s a nice pot of cream of broccoli soup. There are lots of recipes for different cream of vegetable soups, and they all seem pretty much the same to me. You basically cook the vegetables you want until they are done, puree it and re-heat it with some cream. This recipe, which I got from Mark Bittman, does a slight variation that seems to taste better to me. He uses a little more cream and adds either some white rice or a potato to the soup to help make it thicker and creamier. You can choose to leave the rice or potato out of the recipe if your like your soup with a thinner consistency; I personally prefer to have it thicker.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

4 cups broccoli florets

1/2 cup white rice or 1 medium baking potato, peeled and cut into quarters

4 cups chicken, beef or vegetable stock, or water

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups cream or half-and-half

Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Combine the broccoli, rice (or potato) and stock in a large, deep pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium and cook until the broccoli is very tender, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly, then puree through a food mill, blender or food processor. (At this point, you may refrigerate the soup, covered, for up to 2 days; re-heat before proceeding).

Return the soup to the pot and re-heat over medium-low heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then add the cream. Heat through again, garnish, and serve.

Just a couple of notes about this soup. I am using homemade chicken broth, but any broth or even water will do nicely. For a soup like this, homemade broth doesn’t really make a huge difference since it’s not really the star of the meal, and if you’re going with a vegetarian meal, use vegetable stock or water. As far as pureeing soup, I think the blender probably works best of all your options. It reduces chunky ingredients into a smooth consistency very quickly. I often use the food processor myself for this, but be sure you only fill the food processor half-way to prevent the soup from leaking out of the bowl. Food processors don’t usually have a watertight seal like a blender, so be careful. Another option for this would be to use the immersion blender, which I also use often for soups. You can place it right in the pot, eliminating the mess created by using the blender or food processor. The only downside to this method is that the immersion blender doesn’t give you quite as smooth of a puree as a blender or food processor.

I’ll be serving a crunchy loaf of bread I got at Adams Farms this morning, and that’s all we have for this meal. Tomorrow’s meal is another one pot meal that I’ll be doing. It is Artichokes, Potatoes, Garlic, Olives and Shrimp. It’s something different, our seafood meal of the week, and cooks like a stew. It should be a good one. Check back tomorrow to see what it’s all about. Until then, enjoy your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on March 15, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Equipment, Soups & Stews, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Tags: blender, broccoli soup, cream of broccoli soup, food processor, immersion blender, vegetarian

Making Monkfish on a Friday

09 Mar

Well it’s Friday and time for the seafood meal of the week, although the trout I had last night was delicious while Michelle and Sean had fettuccine. Monkfish was on sale so that’s what I decided to cook with tonight. Monkfish is pretty creepy looking if you saw one in the ocean, an aquarium or even a whole one at a fish market:

Not the prettiest one in the ocean, but it tastes great. It’s sometimes referred to as “the poor man’s lobster” because the tail meat is very similar in texture to a lobster, although with seafood costs the way they are, it’s not really a poor man’s fish. Anyway, I really enjoy the flavor of it and found this recipe for a Bacon Wrapped Monkfish with Beurre Rouge (basically a red butter sauce)

Bacon-Wrapped Monkfish with Beurre Rouge

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup minced shallots

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

4 (6-ounce) monkfish fillets

Salt and pepper

8 thin bacon slices

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 stick butter, cut into 10 pieces

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

In a small, heavy saucepan, combine the vinegar, wine, shallots and peppercorns. Bring to a boil over high heat, and cook until it is reduced to about 1/2 cup in volume, about 10 to 15 minutes. Strain into a clean saucepan. Season the monkfish lightly on both sides with the salt and pepper. Place 2 slices of bacon on a flat surface. Lay 1 fillet on top, skin-side down, and wrap the bacon completely around the fish. Secure with toothpicks, and repeat with the remaining fish and bacon. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the fillets, skin-side down, and cook for 5 minutes on the first side. Turn the fillets and cook for an additional 5 minutes on the second side. Remove the fish to a platter and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm. Bring the wine reduction to a simmer over medium-low heat. Whisk in the butter, one piece at a time, allowing each piece to become completely incorporated before adding the next piece. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon 1 tablespoon of sauce on the bottom of 4 serving plates, and place 1 bacon-wrapped monkfish fillet on top. Spoon the remaining sauce over the fish, and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

It’s not a difficult dish to make and doesn’t take long at all. I’ll be serving this dish with some white rice and green beans, but a green salad would go nicely with this dish as well, or this recipe I found, which is for Seared Baby Bok Choy with a Bacon Vinaigrette.

Seared Baby Bok Choy with Bacon Vinaigrette

1 1/2 to 2 pounds baby Bok choy, parboiled and shocked

4 slices of bacon, finely chopped

3 tablespoons sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

5 tablespoons vegetable or corn oil

Cut the bok choy in half lengthwise and put the cut side down on paper towels to drain. Meanwhile. put the bacon in a small pan over medium-high heat. When it starts to sizzle, reduce the heat to medium and cook until crisp and the fat is rendered, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the vinegar, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and then whisk in 3 tablespoons of the oil. Set aside.

Put a large skillet over high heat. When it’s very hot, add the remaining oil and put a few pieces of bok choy, cut side down, in the pan (it will spatter, so be careful!). Do not overcrowd the pan; you want at least one inch on all sides between the pieces. Cook the bok choy without moving it until the cut side is dark brown and slightly charred. Continue cooking the bok choy in batches. Pile the seared bok choy on a platter in a serving bowl; give the bacon vinaigrette a stir and drizzle it over the bok choy. Serve warm or at room temperature.

You could substitute Napa cabbage, endive or radicchio for the bok choy if it’s easier to get one of those vegetables. As far as the “shocking” that is mentioned in the recipe, it’s quite a simple process and produces, nice, vibrant vegetables. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt it well. Set up a large bowl of water with lots of ice cubes. Drop the vegetables into the boiling water. After about 30 seconds, start testing – you can poke with a thin-bladed knife or taste; you’re looking for the vegetable to be just about tender, but not quite. When that happens, take the vegetables out with a strainer, tongs or slotted spoon and put them in the bowl of ice water for a minute or two. When they’ve cooled down, remove them from the ice bath and drain in a colander. Squeeze the drained greens tightly to remove as much water as possible then chop, slice or cook the vegetables according to the recipe you are using.

That’s all there is for tonight. We didn’t really get to talk about next week’s menu yet, other than the St. Patrick’s Day meal for next Saturday, but hopefully I will have everything to post for tomorrow’s blog entry. As always, all questions and comments are welcome. If you are looking for a recipe for something, let me know, I may be able to find one for you. Until tomorrow, enjoy your meal!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on March 9, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Seafood, Vegetables

Tags: bacon vinaigrette, bacon-wrapped monkfish, beurre rouge, bok choy, monkfish, red wine vinegar, seafood meal

There’s Nothing Like a Burger…

07 Mar

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

Oven-Fried Onion Rings

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

30 saltines

4 cups kettle-cooked potato chips

2 large yellow onions cut into 24 large rings

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 Comment

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

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

A Couple of Meat-Free Meals

01 Mar

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

Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions

3 tablespoons olive oil

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

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups lentils, washed and picked over

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

1 cup long-grain rice

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

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

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

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

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

Browned Cabbage and Noodles

3 pounds cabbage

1 tablespoon salt

1 1/2 sticks butter

3 tablespoons grated onion

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound broad noodles, cooked and drained

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

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

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

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