Cogito Ergo Nom

The Easiest Vodka Sauce Ever.

2012-02-01T15:00:00.000-05:00

Guess what? This was one of the very first recipes I ever made on my own! This was back in a time where I couldn't handle much more than boiling water for pasta or putting some chicken in the oven to bake, so the first time I made my own sauce was a pretty big deal.

I got a craving for vodka sauce one day and went recipe hunting. The one I found, on AllRecipes, was so amazingly simple I would be crazy NOT to do it! The only thing I was missing was the vodka. So, I took a drive to Bottle King and picked up the biggest, cheapest plastic bottle of vodka I could find.

Yeah, I know, vodka in a plastic bottle. That's what we call "klassy". I was young and naive, alright? All I knew was that it was only $9 and vodka doesn't expire, so what does it matter? It wasn't like we were ever going to drink it (Matt likes his scotch and do I really need to re-declare my love for Arbor Mist?).

Shut up.

Anyway...I got my cheap-ass vodka (which smells more like paint thinner than vodka, might I add) and proceeded to make the most delicious sauce we'd have ever tasted. Every time I make it, Matt declares, "I can't believe that you can take the worst vodka in the world and make it in to the most awesome sauce!"

I figured it was time to share this recipe, since I think vodka sauce is something that is just so easy to make and just so delicious. Fun fact - did you know? The reason why there are no other seasonings in this sauce other than onion is because the point of the vodka is to draw out flavors from the tomatoes that could not otherwise be accessed.

Cool, right?

EASY VODKA SAUCE, courtesy of AllRecipes.com
Makes ~10 servings
YOU WILL NEED:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 onion, diced
1 cup vodka
2 (28oz) cans crushed tomatoes
1 pint heavy cream

You will also need a pot, like a Dutch oven, to cook your sauce in, as well as some pasta or tortellini or ravioli so that you have something to put this sauce on! But to be honest, it's so delicious, you might just want to eat it by itself with a piece of bread!

1. In a pot over medium heat, saute onion in butter until slightly brown and soft.

2. Pour in vodka; let cook for 10 minutes.

3. Mix in crushed tomatoes and cook for 30 minutes.

4. Pour in heavy cream and cook for another 30 minutes (if you are making any sort of pasta, you might want to start it at this time as well).

5. Spoon over your choice of pasta and enjoy!

I made pipette pasta with sauteed sausage to enjoy with the vodka sauce. I always like to add a little bit of meat or veggies whenever I'm making pasta. That way I don't feel so bad about eating so much pasta.

I'm labeling this as "lots of leftovers" and "pot luck". Because this sauce makes a big batch, it's perfect when you're feeding a lot of people! Plus this sauce freezes really well, so don't be hesitant about making the whole batch, even if you're not feeding a crowd!

Until next time: eat, drink and be merry!

White Bean and Chicken Chili

2012-01-28T17:56:00.000-05:00

The first time I made this recipe was the night of the Great Halloween Blizzard of 2011. I will never forget that night! All week, the weatherdudes on the news are like, "GUYS, THERE IS SNOW COMING THIS WEEKEND I'M NOT KIDDING THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN." Meanwhile, everyone else was like:

And then ... for once ... the weatherpeople were RIGHT!!!! Matt was at work on Saturday, October 29, when it started snowing. It was pretty light at first, no one really made too much of it. "This will pass," we said. "A dusting, a flurry. No big deal." But the snow. Did not. Stop. It was madness! My sweet next door neighbor advised me not to go out unless I had to. I said, "I'm sure I'll be fine!" But it wasn't fine. I didn't even make it out of my complex because the roads were all slushy and slick. The roads weren't plowed or salted because no one planned on having plows at the ready two days before Halloween. And then everyone was all:

We were supposed to go to a Halloween party that night, and the host sent out a mass text message that pretty much told us that the weather was not pretty and the party would take place next week. Later, Matt called me and said that his coworker Dan's car was stuck in the snow and they couldn't dig him out. Could Dan come spend the night at our place? Sure, no problem! Dan came over, then Colleen came over, we were all hanging out, having a good time, making fun of the snow, I made white bean & chicken chili, we were about 20 minutes into Clerks when....the power went out. And it stayed out. For the next 9 hours. Bummer.

And that's pretty much it.

So, I really hoped the next time I planned on making this, it didn't snow, otherwise I'd never be able to make this dish again unless it was in the dead of summer.

Anyway, this is a great chili recipe with a lot of spicy kick to it and a great flavor! And, because it too comes from "Desperation Dinners", it only takes 20 minutes to make! This is another great cold-weather stew to make when you don't feel like putting too much effort into a filling meal!

WHITE BEAN & CHICKEN CHILI, courtesy of "Desperation Dinners"
Makes 4 servings
YOU WILL NEED:
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (for about 1 pound total), fresh or frozen
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 large onion (for 1 cup chopped)
1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic
1 (15 oz) can Great Northen white beans
1 (19 oz) can cannellini beans
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chilies
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon pepper, preferably white
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (14.5 oz) can fat-free chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup already-shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional)
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream (optional)

You will also need a Dutch oven or soup pot (at least 5 quarts). This is a great one-pot meal!

I had extra-large skinless/boneless chicken breasts at my disposal, so I only needed two as opposed to three. I even weighed them on my food scale to make sure I had about 1 pound. I did not have any white pepper, as the recipe suggests, but there is no reason at all why you can't make it with regular black pepper. The only difference is that black pepper is made from the unripe fruits of a pepper plant, and white pepper is made from the seeds of the pepper plant itself. Also, white pepper is more commonly used in dishes like potatoes, light sauces and salads, where the black pepper would stand out. With this recipe, I really don't see the difference between the black and the white, so use whichever!

1. Defrost the chicken if it is still frozen. Meanwhile heat the oil on medium heat in a Dutch oven or soup pot. Peel or coarsely chop the onion, adding it to the pot as you chop. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

2. Cut the chicken (fresh or partially defrosted) into bite-sized chunks, add them to the pot and stir occasionally. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring occasionally.

3. While the chicken cooks, drain and rinse both of the cans of beans, and drain the chilies. Add the chilies to the pot, along with the cumin, pepper and cayenne pepper. Raise the heat to high and add the chicken broth and the drained beans. Cover the pot and bring the chili to a boil.

4. Meanwhile, combine the cornstarch and the water in a small container that has a lid. Shake well to remove any lumps. (Alternatively, you can do what I did, and combine them in a container and whisk them together)

5. When the chili boils, the chicken should be cooked through (even if you began with partially defrosted). Add the cornstarch mixture a little at a time, stirring constantly. Continue to boil until the chili reaches desired thickness.

6. Remove from the heat and serve, or let the chili rest until you're ready to eat. Garnish with cheese and sour cream if desired.

What's great about this chili is that you can clearly see every single ingredient that's in there - the onions, the beans, the chilies, and, of course, the chicken! It's really spicy, spicier than you'd think it would be, thanks in part to the green chilies and the pepper and the cayenne pepper. But if you add a dollop of sour cream when you serve it, it sort of helps "cool the burn", so to speak!

That's it for this entry! I think I'm much better at this blogging thing when I'm not pressuring myself to do it every night or even 3 times a night. I'm much happier blogging and posting at a slower pace, it seems like. As long as the readers keep reading, I will keep blogging.

I'm going to actually start cooking tonight's dinner soon, that I fully intend on blogging - but you'll have to wait to find out what it is!

Eat, drink and be merry, folks!

Sizzled Chicken Schnitzel

2012-01-22T15:42:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, Matt's friend Abe came over for dinner. OK, so it wasn't actually "for dinner", but he came to hang out and it kind of spilled into dinnertime. This was totally fine with me, but I hadn't planned on feeding a third person for dinner that night, but as it so happens, I had defrosted a 4-pack of skinless, boneless chicken breasts the night before. I could easily feed three tonight instead of two.

I quickly flipped through my lovely new cookbook, "Desperation Dinners" to find something that would be easy, something that wouldn't be too complicated, and, most importantly, contained ingredients I had already in my cabinet. That is what lead me to Sizzled Chicken Schnitzel.

Schnitzel is a simple dish that is popular all over the world! It is most known as a staple in German and Austrian cuisine and often made with pork or veal. In Vienna, when it is made of veal, it is referred to as Wienerschnitzel.

Many different countries have their own version of schnitzel. For example, in Israel, their version is made with turkey and it is often referred to as their "national dish". In Italy, cotoletta alla milanese is very similar to Wienerschintzel. In Japan, the dish is made using Panko crumbs. The dish also became popular in Namibia thanks to its German colonial history, and they serve it with a fried egg on top.

Chicken schnitzel is the most popular in Germany because it's lower in fat and cholesterol than veal or pork, and it is the basis of their own version of chicken Parmesan - they make the schnitzel and top it with tomato sauce and Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.

Regardless of what meat it is made from, schnitzel is always made from a meat that is pounded flat, coated in flour and then breaded and subsequently pan-fried. This version from "Desperation Dinners" uses a small amount of olive oil to cut down the calories.

SIZZLED CHICKEN SCHNITZEL, courtesy of "Desperation Dinners"
Makes 4 servings
YOU WILL NEED:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts, defrosted if frozen
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
1 large egg

You will also need a large skillet or saute pan.

1. Combine the flour, basil, salt and pepper in a large zipper-top plastic bag.

2. Place the chicken breasts, one at a time, between two sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap. Pound the breasts with several whacks of a meat mallet or rolling pin to thin them evenly to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. Peel off the paper and add the breasts to the bag of with the flour mixture. Shake evenly to coat.

3. Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, spread the bread crumbs on a plate and beat the egg in a small bowl, using a fork or whisk. Dip the chicken breasts, one at a time, first into the egg and then into the bread crumbs to coat on both sides. Shake off excess crumbs. Add the breasts to the skillet as you coat them (I used a bowl to avoid breadcrumb messes!)

4. Cook the breasts until the chicken is cooked through with a golden brown crust, 3 to 4 minutes on each side. If the crumb coating begins to overbrown, reduce the heat to medium.

5. Place each breast on a serving plate and enjoy!

Yeah, I overbrowned just a little, but you know what? It tasted awesome just the same!

What's great about this dish is that you can pair it with anything and it will compliment it nicely! I served with pasta and peas, but you can go with mashed potatoes, rice or even a potato salad.

Anyway...this was a quick and easy chicken recipe that pleased everyone! I totally did not plan on making this recipe at all, let alone blogging about it, but I decided to document the process anyway - just in case. Turns out, the reception was four big thumbs up! The crust of breadcrumbs made for a nice crunch. Abe said it was the moistest chicken he'd ever had, and Matt devoured his in seconds. It was so easy to make and I had everything to make it right in my cabinets - no special ingredients required! Flour, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, pepper and dried basil are all staples that I'm sure nearly everyone has already, and it's a quick dinner fix when you're in a rush or you're at a loss for what to do for dinner. This was an A-plus all the way!

Coming up in a few days, I have recipes for Cajun Rice & Beans and White Bean & Chicken Chili - two good recipes for cold winter nights!

Sloppy Janes

2012-01-17T17:00:00.000-05:00

My favorite place to find cookbooks is garage/rummage sales. There's a great one that happens twice a year (in the spring and fall) called the B.A.R.K.S. Garage Sale. It's HUGE, and all proceeds go towards B.A.R.K.S., which is a local animal rescue.

People just kind of show up at this abandoned amusement park, dump the junk they want to get rid of, and then other people show up and pick through it. It's a mess. Everything is kind of jumbled together in a really vague sense of order (furniture is here, clothes/shoes are there, books are there, etc). There's like, NO supervision (except for the area where the really expensive stuff, like crystal and jewelry and collectibles) and people bring their dogs all the time, many of which are B.A.R.K.S. rescues. Anyway, the best part of going to the B.A.R.K.S. Garage Sale is that everything is dirt cheap. You show up with your own bags, go to town (with me, it's the books), and then at the exit, a little old lady peeks into your bag and says, "How about $5?"

Ummm, yes. Yes, that is quite fine.

How I feel on the inside...

So, yup. This is where I find a treasure trove of used cookbooks. YAY! This fall, I came out with about three new cookbooks, one of which has become my New Favorite:

This is "Desperation Dinners" by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross - two busy journalists and moms who were overworked and underfed and desperate for fast, easy recipes that would satisfy their picky kids and finicky husbands. Holy shit, this is the best recipe book I have EVER encountered. Every recipe in this book - every. Single. One. - takes TWENTY MINUTES or LESS!

Do I seem overly excited by this? Yes, I am. I have raved about this book for so long and so much that my boss actually ordered it from Amazon while I was sitting next to her. But seriously - when you come home from work and you've had a rough commute, the very last thing you want to do is think about what the heck you are going to do for dinner.

I like this cookbook because they are true to their word - they are simple, nutritious meals and they have already done the "healthified" replacements so you don't have to worry about the taste being modified by fat-free or low-sodium substitutions.

According to Ross and Mills: "Sloppy Joes were a favorite childhood treat for both of us, and since we thought they'd be an effortless meal, we started sampling the major brands of commercially prepared mixes. We were sadly disappointed. They're quick, but we're spoiled. The reality of those cans and packages just wasn't as wonderful as we remembered. So, we decided to create our own perfect sauce - just the right vinegar pucker; thick and rich with tomatoes, with a hint of garlic and onion. The result was so flavorful, we thought our sandwiches deserved something to set them apart. Hence the name: Sloppy Janes."

Matthew also loves Sloppy Joes, and the first time I attempted a similar recipe, it was done in the crock pot and took 6 hours. The result was great, but it just took too damn long to make again. When I saw this recipe, I knew that I had to try it. The first attempt was a success; and since it's such a popular, homey favorite, I am revisiting it for blogging purposes.

SLOPPY JANES, courtesy of Desperation Dinners

Makes 6 servings

YOU WILL NEED:

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds of extra lean ground beef

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 large onion (for 1 cup chopped)

1/2 medium green or red bell pepper (for 1/2 cup chopped)

1 tablespoon dark or light brown sugar, firmly packed

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar or cider vinegar

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

Salt and black pepper, to taste

12 slices of bread, preferably French bread

Miller and Ross suggest French bread because it "elevates these sandwiches to a slightly more sophisticated level", but assure us that any old bread or bun or roll will do. I used potato bread, because that's all I had.

Let's get sloppy!

1. Turn on the broiler. Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Peel and coarsely chop the onion, adding it to the skillet as you chop.

2. Add the beef (fresh or partially defrosted) to the skillet and raise the heat to high. Cook, turning and breaking up the meat occasionally, until it's crumbled and browned, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, seed and chop the bell pepper, and add it to the skillet.

3. Add the brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire, and garlic, then stir in the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook 5 minutes more, stirring until all of the tomato sauce is incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. While the mixture simmers, place the bread slices on a large baking sheet and toast in the broiler on both sides until crisp, about 2 minutes per side. Place two pieces of toast on each serving plate, spoon the meat mixture on top, and serve.

....and enjoy!

Now, of course, you can eat this on a bun and I gotta say, it tastes damn good spooned over mashed potatoes too! This is a really fast and easy way to remake an old classic.

Hope you all enjoyed this quick and easy meal. I'm going to be featuring quite a few recipes from "Desperation Dinners", so if you liked this one, keep a lookout!

Eat, drink and be merry!

Classic Crock Pot Chili

2012-01-14T22:12:00.000-05:00

I find myself on a quiet Saturday night, drinking Arbor Mist and watching a marathon of "Glee" reruns on the Oxygen channel, with little to do (other than keep my friend Tarra occupied at a boring party by being her texting/Words with Friends lifeline). I wandered into the kitchen to refresh my glass when I opened up the fridge and saw some leftovers staring me in the face. That's when I realized I totally forgot to blog this recipe. Well, looks like I'm migrating from the couch to the computer...

Even though it's January, it finally feels like winter is here. We went through November and December with the temperatures in the 40's, 50's and 60's. We got a huge dumping of snow a few days before Halloween, which melted days later, and then suddenly it was like early spring again. Weird. But now, all of a sudden, the temperature drops, the wind chill picks up and those cardboard boxes that have been sitting on my balcony for the past few weeks are now frozen to the wood.

Oh hey, and look at that: it just started snowing!

Wait...fuck.

I have talked before about my favorite dinners for the winter: soups and stews! But there's something else that is added to that mix - chilis! YUM!!! When it's chilly, I like me some chili!

I have actually TWO chili recipes I'm going to feature - one right now, and another coming up in a week or so. They are two opposite sides of the chili spectrum. This one is a classic beef chili that is made in the crock pot; the other one will be a chunky chicken chili that is done in 20 minutes on the stove. But more about that later.

This chili recipe comes from my favorite Crock Pot Recipe Collection. I love it because it takes like, no time to make and it's a great set-it-and-forget-it type of deal. It fits into almost any time frame. You can either make it on high for 4 hours or low for up to 10 hours!

I was also really excited about this recipe because I got to use my new deep dish 12" skillet. YAY I LOVE IT SO MUCH IT'S SO PRETTY!!!

Thanks for the Hanukkah gift, Uncle Billy!!!

I really wanted to make a really simple run-of-the-mill chili and this recipe was EXACTLY what I wanted! Here's what you do to make a great hearty dinner on a cold wintery night:

CLASSIC CHILI, from the Crock Pot Recipe Collection

Makes 6 servings

YOU WILL NEED:

1.5lbs ground beef

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 (15 oz) cans dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder

1 to 2 teaspoons dry hot mustard

3/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 to 2 dried hot chili peppers (optional)

I did not use the dried hot chili peppers. Nor did I have dry hot mustard. What I did have was ground mustard, which I mixed with chipotle chili powder, and I increased the amount of chili powder to make up for the heat the dry hot mustard might have provided.

Damn, that's a lot of cans

My mise-en-place is amazing, guys. Oh, and a quick note - don't forget to rinse and drain your red beans! And when you do, rinse with COLD water. If you use hot, it will start to cook the beans. You want them to be firm before you throw them in the slow cooker!

Here's another reason why I like this recipe: there are only THREE steps! So, here is what you do:

1. Cook and stir the ground beef, onion, bell pepper and garlic in a large skillet until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain fat and discard. Transfer mixture to slow cooker.

2. Add beans, tomato sauce, tomatoes with juice, chili powder, mustasrd, basil, black pepper and dried chili peppers (if desired). Mix well. Cover; cook on LOW 8 to 10 HOURS or HIGH 4 to 5 HOURS.

3. Remove chili peppers before serving.

MMmmmMMMMmmmmMMMMMMmmmmm!!!!

The chili came out PERFECT! The beans kept their firmness, the flavor of the chili was spot-on. It was spicy in a way that it left a slow burn on your tongue, but I didn't feel the urge to drink any more than usual and it didn't have that nasal cleaning power. It was just a really good kick.

I ate it spooned over a piece of toast, but I bet this is the perfect kind of chili to eat with mashed potatoes or even on a hot dog. It reheats really well so it is very leftover friendly. I have zero complaints about this recipe!

Huh. The snow looks like it is still coming down.

The next recipe will be a variation of sloppy joes called ... well, "sloppy janes", which doesn't sound right to me, but whatever. I'm also going to talk about my new favorite cookbook.

Until next time - eat, drink and be merry! =D

Greek Turkey Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce

2012-01-07T19:06:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it's 2012! I hope everyone had a great holiday and a safe new year. I provided another 7 Layer Dip but due to lack of time and money, I did not prepare my own guacamole or make my own chips. I will say that over the past year, I discovered the ultimate time saver. While I do enjoy making my own guacamole, I can't think of a better store-bought brand than Wholly Guacamole!

I was making a 7 Layer Dip to enjoy while we were holding a garage sale and absolutely none of the avocados were ripe, nor would they be ripe in time for me to make the dip, so I had to resort to buying it pre-made. I thought pre-made guacamole was going to be mushy and taste like plastic but on the contrary, it was creamy, rich, well-seasoned and had big chunks of avocado in it! I was so impressed by it that I now keep a couple of packages of it in my freezer for emergencies (you just never know when someone is going to drop by unannounced with an extra large bag of potato chips...or when Pringles are on sale).

OK, so let's get down to this awesome recipe I have for you. I found this recipe over the summer while I was looking for something really simple, and something to do with a pound of ground turkey that I had in the freezer, but also something really different. Burgers are a very "summer" type of meal and this is kind of a "summer" recipe, but that doesn't stop me from making it as much as I can. Matt absolutely LOVES this recipe and he gets super excited when I mention that this is going to be for dinner.

I have to add that I looooooove Greek food. It's probably one of my favorites, tied for first with Italian and Mexican. I don't know what it is I love about it - the tangy tastes of feta, lemon and olives, strong herbs, hearty meats...just delectable! Taramosalata, pastitsio, gyros, souvlaki, spanakopita, the list goes on! Gyro night was a popular dinner night when I lived at home, and everyone loved my mom's homemade tzatziki sauce. Tzatziki sauce is a cucumber and yogurt sauce that is flavored with herbs, lemon juice, and/or olive oil. There are many different ways to make it, but I have never met a tzatziki I haven't liked. It is commonly served on gyros, or as an appetizer with some pita bread.

Now, this recipe isn't exactly the most Greek of Greek recipes; it's more Greek-inspired. But to be honest, this burger reminds me of eating a gyro - except on a bun instead of a pita.

GREEK TURKEY BURGERS WITH TZATZIKI SAUCE, from BettyCrocker.com
Makes 4 burgers
YOU WILL NEED...

for the TZATZIKI SAUCE:

1 (6 oz) container of Greek yogurt (I like Fage 2% the best!)

1/4 cup chopped cucumber

2 tablespoons chopped red onion

1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

for the BURGERS:

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 cup (approx. 4 oz) crumbled feta cheese

1/3 cup chopped red onion

1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

4 burger buns, split

1 medium tomato, sliced (optional)

I was stupid and totally forgot to buy red onion at the supermarket! All I had was yellow, but it didn't really make a difference in the way the burgers or the sauce tasted. As long as you have a sweet onion on hand, I don't think red or white really matters.

Here is my mise-en-place!

I love fresh dill. It is so delicious and tangy and when I buy a bunch, it doesn't go to waste because my rabbit loves to eat dill too. Whatever I don't use for cooking or nibble on myself, I chop up and give to the bunny.

For this recipe, you will also need some mixing bowls on hand, as well as a skillet to cook the burgers (unless you are using a grill).

Here's what you do!

1. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup of the yogurt and all other sauce ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. Heat gas or charcoal grill. Alternatively, heat a large skillet on the stove over medium heat. In a medium bowl, mix all burger ingredients and remaining yogurt. Shape mixture into 4 patties, about 1/2 inch thick.

3. Place patties on grill over medium heat. Cover grill, if using. Cook 8 to 10 minutes turning after 5 minutes, until meat thermometer inserted in center of patties reads 160 degrees F.

4. Place burgers on buns; top with tzatziki sauce and tomato, if using.

There's the glamour shot right there! What a good looking burger. I did not have any tomato, so I topped the burger with some sliced leftover onion and some cucumber slices, which enhanced the flavor of the burger and the sauce.

I love, love, love this recipe and I could make it every week and not get tired of it. The feta gives the burger texture, and the dill and onion cooked into the burger make for a great surprise "crunch". The tzatziki is delicious and cool, with a great flavor. With this meal, I made some roasted potatoes, and put some of the tzatziki sauce on those too. YUM!!!

I'm really starting to get back into the swing of things with this cooking blog thing. I hope you guys keep checking in and letting me know your feedback! Here are some recipes that will be featured soon:

Cajun Red Beans & Rice

Chicken & White Bean Chili

Sloppy Janes

"Thunder Thighs", an original recipe by me!!

Bayou Stroganoff

I'm still trying to decide what else, but those are definite future features.

Until next time ... eat, drink and be merry!!!

I'm Back!!! + Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

2011-12-26T18:00:00.001-05:00

My God. This has been one of the most god-f*cking-awful years ever. I thought 2011 was going to mean big changes. Changes for the better. I got my changes alright, but it was not for the better. Without going into to9o much detail, let's just say that if life is an amusement park, this past year was the sketchiest, rickety-est wooden roller coaster at the back, the one where the line is really short because people would rather step on the active electrocuted floor of the bumper cars with bare feet than put their lives in the hands of an operator who's had one too many bong hits.

I'm on the job hunt hunt again. But this now leaves me with more time to return to the thing that kept me sane the last time around - blogging. I know that this will give me the motivation to keep my wits and my sanity. I'm going to tone it down from last time, with less expensive and more left over-friendly recipes.

I got this great magazine a few weeks ago that is just a bunch of recipes taken from a dozen other magazines. It's pretty awesome, and I've already cooked two recipes from it!

I've previously explained my dislike for the word casserole, but this time there is kind of no way around it. It truly is a casserole - but at least it sounds a hell of a lot better than any other casserole I've encountered. My friend Colleen suggested that instead of saying "casserole", I should start saying "pie". Which is a way, way, way better word. What the hell is better than pie?!

LOADED BAKED POTATO ~~CASSEROLE~~ PIE, courtesy of Campbell's
Makes 8 servings
1 (32 oz) bag southern-style hash browned potatoes, thawed (approx 7 1/2 cups)
1 (6 oz) can of French fried onions
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 (10 3/4 oz) cans of Campbell's regular or fat free cream of celery soup
1 cup milk

The return of mise-en-place

You will also need a 3-quart baking dish (about 9"x13").

Here's how you do it!

1. In a 3 quart shallow baking dish, combine potatoes, peas, cheese, bacon and 1 1/3 cup cups of the onions. In a medium bowl, combine soup and milk. Pour soup and mixture over potato mixture. Cover.

2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until heated through. Stir.

3. Sprinkle with the remaining onions. Bake for 5 minutes more, or until the onions are golden brown.

Pretty simple!

Can I just say that I LOVE microwaved bacon!!! It's the easiest thing in the world - 25 seconds and you can make crunchy, tasty bacon in the microwave. I really dislike making bacon the old-fashioned way. I'm too impatient.

However, I have a few issues with this recipe. While the bacon and French fried onions provided plenty of salt, there's not much by way of seasonings. I suppose the cream of celery soup provides some, but you know, it's kind of a misplaced flavor. I don't really care of the taste of cream of celery soup. Also, I thought it didn't have enough cheese. I ended up sprinkling extra cheese on top of my portion. Matt and Colleen also agreed that it also could have used a dollop of sour cream. I thought it tasted pretty good with ketchup too, but I think everything tastes better with ketchup.

Anyway, I thought this would be a good recipe to come back with considering that there's not a whole lot of effort involved and there are only 3 steps. It was easy, but I don't think I'll make it again. It just wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be.

I've done so many recipes between this entry and the last, ones I'm going to do again and post on here. Over the summer, we fell upon some hard financial times and I really learned how to squeeze blood from a stone. I need to kind of ease myself back into this, not throw myself in headfirst, so the entries are going to be slow-going at first. Just be patient, folks. I'm coming back!

Huevos Rancheros

2011-03-29T00:04:00.001-04:00

"To hand-crafted beers made in local breweries

To yoga, to yogurt, to rice and beans and cheese

To leather, to dildos, to curry Vindaloo

To Huevos Rancheros and Maya Angelou!"

--Rent

photo: Rent-SoCo.com

In Jonathan Larson's rock opera Rent, the last number of Act One is "La Vie Boheme", a love letter to all things bohemian. Handcrafted beers from local breweries, I can understand - but what exactly is bohemian about leather and dildos? I don't think real bohemians would even wear leather. Actually, now that I think of it, I can't figure out what's bohemian about half of what's mentioned in that song (Pee Wee Herman? Really?).

Anyway, whenever I hear anything that's mentioned in that song, I have the overwhelming urge to sing it. I never do, of course, but it does take out the seriousness of certain situations (for me).

Professor: "Today, we are going to watch a film by Kurasawa!"
My brain: "ANTONIONI, BERTOLUCCI, KURASAWA! CARMINA BURANA!"

Bartender: "What type of vodka would you like?"
Me: "What do you have?"
Bartender: "Well, we have Grey Goose, Stoli, Absolut..."
My brain: "TO FRUITS, TO NO ABSOLUTES! TO ABSOLUT! TO CHOICE! TO THE VILLAGE VOICE!"

Friend: "Boy, do I enjoy the musical stylings of Bob Dylan."
My brain: "GINSBURG, DYLAN, CUNNINGHAM AND CAGE! LENNY BRUCE! LANGSTON HUGHES! TO THE STAGE!"

Does it get annoying? Yes. That song never leaves my frickin' head. And now it's probably in yours.

Let's make some Huevos Rancheros!

HUEVOS RANCHEROS, courtesy of "Cook This, Not That"
YOU WILL NEED:
1 (16oz) can of whole peeled tomatoes, with juice
½ small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp chopped chipotle pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 (16oz) can black beans
Pinch of ground cumin
8 eggs
8 corn tortillas

mise-en-place

I couldn't find chipotle peppers for the life of me (I probably wasn't even looking in the right place), so I'm simply omitting them, and adding a half a teaspoon of chipotle pepper powder to the tomatoes instead.

1. Combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, chipotle cilantro, and half of the lime juice in a food processor and pulse until well blended but still slightly chunky. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Mix the black beans, cumin and remaining lime juice in a bowl; season with salt and pepper. Use the back of a fork to lightly mash the beans, adding a splash of warm water if neccesary (I found that a spoon was way more effective for mashing).

3. Coat a large nonstick skillet or saute pan with nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Break the eggs into the skillet; cook until the whites have set but the yolks are still loose and runny.

4. On a seperate burner, heat a medium skillet over medium heat and add the tortillas, 2 at a time; cook for 1 minute on each side, until lightly toasted.

5. To assemble the dish, spread the tortillas with the beans, top with the eggs, and top the eggs with the salsa. Garnish with more cilantro if desired. Serve immediately.

¡Olé!

A beautiful plate, if I do say so myself. I was incredibly pleased with the end result. The chipotle powder did its job, which was provide some smoky heat to the eggs. Once the yolk was broken and it oozed onto the salsa, it was just incredible. The tortillas were absorbant enough to not make the dish into a runny mess.

The addition of the chipotle powder gave the salsa a little kick, but if you don't like spicy, or you're making it kid-friendly, it's fine to omit the spice (or the pepper, if you can find them).

Breakfast for dinner doesn't get any better than this! This is also a great meal to serve for brunch, or a late breakfast with close friends. It's easily multiplied to feed more than 4 people and takes very little time. Can I also add that the salsa tastes amazing on some Wheat Thins? All in all, this was one of my favorite meals that I've ever made.

Keep your eyes peeled for another dessert recipe: Margarita Cupcakes!

Until next time - eat, drink and be merry!

Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas

2011-03-28T01:51:00.029-04:00

So, on Thursday night, my fiance and three of his friends are going to a Johnnie Walker tasting event. I'm taking this opportunity to invite a group of friends over for a Mexican-themed fiesta para chicas. I'm pulling out all the stops: homemade tortilla chips with fresh guacamole, nachos, Quesadilla Casserole, arroz amarillo, black-bean stuffed peppers (for my vegetarian friend), and, to top it all of, margarita cupcakes! To go with the theme, I've also got a pitcher of Spanish sangria brewing in the fridge.

I know this is going to push back the much anticipated Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe, but I thought it would be fun to do a group of Mexican-cuisine inspired recipes leading up to my party. I'm going to post the recipes I have for the black-bean stuffed peppers and the margarita cupcakes, and a recipe for Huevos Rancheros. And, of course, this one that you're reading right now: Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas.

Also, this recipe incorporates one of my most favorite little kitchen helpers: McCormick Recipe Inspirations (I've used them in two prior recipes and I'm eventually going to try all of them). As I've said before, I love citrus in my foods. Lime, lemon, orange - it's all good. Garlic is also a love of mine (the more the better and damn the consequences! That's why breath mints were invented right?).

GARLIC LIME CHICKEN FAJITAS, courtesy of McCormick Recipe Inspirations

Makes 8 servings

YOU WILL NEED:

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips.

1 medium green or red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

8 flour tortillas (8-inch)

1 tsp minced garlic*

1 tsp minced onions*

3/4 tsp ground cumin*

3/4 tsp oregano*

1/2 tsp cilantro*

1/2 tsp black pepper*

*included in Spice Pack

mise-en-place

I almost could not fit all of these ingredients in one picture. It took a lot of strategic placement. You will also need a large skillet, a small mixing bowl, and either a large zip-close bag or a bowl with a fitted lid.

1. Mix lime and orange juices, oil, all of the spices and salt in a small bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade. Place the chicken strips in the plastic bag or in a bowl with a fitted lid. Add the remaining marinade; turn to coat the chicken well. Refrigerate 30 minutes or longer for extra flavor.

2. Cook and stir chicken in large heated skillet on medium-high heat 3 minutes or until lightly browned.

3. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Add bell pepper, onion and the reserved 1/4 cup of marinade. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until tender.

4. Return chicken to skillet. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through.

5. Spoon chicken minutes into warmed tortillas. Serve with assorted toppings, if desired.

And there you go! Yeah, yeah - paper plates. I copped out. I was feeling lazy, what of it?

Man, I really need a bigger skillet. I think it's time I go and buy one bigger than 10" (insert sexual innuendo joke here).

This was a great recipe to make for having friends over. If I had thought more ahead of time, I probably would have had sour cream and cheese to add onto these fajitas, but I decided to make them at the last minute and kind of, well, forgot. But they were delicious anyway, even without added toppings. Omnom!

You know what I realized? This recipe would totally be awesome using strips of steak instead of chicken. Man, I can't wait to try that out!

Okay, the next entry is Huevos Rancheros - traditionally a breakfast dish, but there's nothing wrong with having it for dinner either! Then, I'm going to be making margarita cupcakes, and then Black Bean Stuffed Peppers (made in the crock pot)!

Until next time: ¡coma, beba y sea alegre!

Tomato & White Bean Pasta

2011-03-26T12:51:00.000-04:00

You really can find recipes anywhere, not just in cookbooks. Magazines, for example, are always printing recipes for this diet fad or that, or for holidays and special events and get-togethers, for kids and for teenagers, for beginner and advanced cooks.

I don't subscribe to any magazines, but in your daily life, magazines can be found everywhere. On line at the supermarket, who doesn't pluck up a magazine while the person in front of you pays in pennies? Waiting for the doctor or the mechanic, there are always a ton of magazines laying around. More often than not, those magazines have been sitting there for weeks. If you find a recipe that you particularly like and want to remember and you do not have a pen and paper to copy it down with, ask the receptionist if you can take the magazine home.

This recipe came from a magazine. I can't remember when I found it or what magazine it came from. All I know is that I'd copied this recipe down some time ago, probably while I was still in college (it was found in an old notebook of mine with "Film as a Medium" written on the cover, which was a class I'd taken). I know I said it would be awhile before I posted another pasta recipe, but this was requested by none other than the fiance. It's one of his favorite pasta dishes and rightly so. It's a relatively healthy one, and vegetarian to boot!

TOMATO & WHITE BEAN PASTA (origins unknown)

YOU WILL NEED:

1 box of tri-color pasta

4 Roma tomatoes

1 tbsp olie oil

3-4 peeled garlic cloves

1 can white beans (white kidney, cannellini, etc.)

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

salt and pepper to taste

mise-en-place

You will also need a large or medium skillet and a pasta pot. Also - return of the basil plant! This one is holding up quite well so far, as opposed to the last one that only lasted two weeks.

1. Cook the pasta in salted water. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Cover to keep warm.

2. Cut the tomtoes in half, scrape out the seeds with a spoon and cut into 1-inch pieces.

3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the tomatoes and garlic cloves. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes. Remove garlic and set aside.

4. Drain and rinse the beans, Add them to the skillet and then remove from heat. Smash the reserved garlic with a fork and add to drained pasta.

5. Add the tomatoes, beans and basil. Stir well, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

The end!

This pasta dish makes a great weeknight meal that's healthy and causes very little fuss. The garlic gives the tomatoes a great flavor and the beans are still firm to the bite. Of course, the tri-color pasta gives added nutrition, but if you can find the whole grain tri-color pasta, that's even better. Otherwise, it doesn't get any better than this!

Sorry for the delay in posting, we've had a crazy few days here. But I promise there will be more to come! Until next time: eat, drink and be merry!

Super Sidekicks: Chunky Ranch Potatoes

2011-03-23T16:45:00.000-04:00

In an earlier entry, I mentioned that I had compiled all of my recipes into a spreadsheet so that I would be able to keep track of which ones I've done. Turns out this actuallly complicates the What's-For-Dinner process. I would just stare at that recipe list for several minutes, flipping through its pages, trying to decide what to make. So, now what happens is, every other week or so I pull the pages off the refrigerator, hand them over to Matt and tell him, "Pick three or four things off this list and I will make them."

So, that's what's been going on. This time around, Matt pointed out that I hadn't made any side dishes or desserts lately. I realized he was right! My last side dish was months ago and the last dessert was on Superbowl Sunday. I asked him to pick a few side dishes for me to make, and this was one of them! I was really craving some meat loaf, so this side dish was made to accopany that. But I think it would be great with some pork chops or even a nice steak.

CHUNKY RANCH POTATOES

YOU WILL NEED:

3 pounds medium red potatoes, unpeeled and quartered

1 cup water

1/2 cup prepared ranch dressing

1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Cheddar cheese (optional)

1/4 cup minced chives

mise-en-place

You will also need your crock pot. That's it!

You can find chives in the produce section of your supermarket. They are supr easy to mince. Just grab a handful and have at it with your knife!

Don't forget that you must wash your potatoes and dig out any eyes before you place them in your crock pot. Make sure you give them a good rinse in some cold water after they're quartered too!

1. Place potatoes in crock pot. Add water. Cover; cook on LOW 7 to 9 HOURS or HIGH 4 to 6 HOURS, or until the potatoes are tender.

2. Stir in ranch dressing, cheese (if desired) and chives. Use a spoon to break potatoes into chunks. Serve hot or cold!

And they're done! This ain't your mama's meat and potatoes! I thought that the water that was used to steam the potatoes would make the ranch dressing very runny. However, I found the opposite was true - the water worked with the ranch and the cheese to make a thick, creamy sauce

Now, I'm usually skeptical of recipes that say "serve hot or cold", because it's not always true. But, this afternoon, as I was heating up some potatoes and meatloaf for lunch, I took a taste of the cold potatoes - WOW! They are rockin' when cold! I could definitely see this being served at an outdoor picnic alongside hot dogs and hamburgers.

Well, as for that dessert entry, that should be posted tomorrow! Chocolate pecan pie courtesy of Paula Deen, y'all!

Until next time, eat drink and be merry!

New England Clam Chowder

2011-03-22T10:53:00.001-04:00

...or, as my fiance describes it, "the only thing that New England does better than Manhattan!" I'm inclined to agree.

Nice little break I've taken here. I had one week of no cooking and I did a little side job so I made extra income. Which means I'm going food shopping soon! Also, I think I've finally found a career path that I'm psyched about and currently actively persuing. But I don't want to talk too much about it lest I jinx it. But in any case, cross your fingers for me!

Okay. Let's get down to business. The business of soups. Soups are the easiest type of meal to make - they can include several food groups in one bowl, they don't take much time or effort and there are countless amalgamations. This particular recipe delivers creamy New England clam chowder in only THREE easy steps! And, if you use low-sodium bacon and fat-free evaporated milk, you can really cut your calorie count, making this a healthy option!

A quick tip from the cookbook, "The Crock Pot Recipe Collection": Shellfish and mollusks are delicate. They should be aded to the crock pot during the last 15 to 30 minutes of cooking time if you're on the high heat setting, and during the last 30 to 45 minutes if you're on the low heat setting. This type of seafood overcooks easily, becoming tough and rubbery, so watch your cooking times and cook only long enough for foods be done.

Wise words for us noobs! Now, unfortunately, during picture uploading, some of the files were corrupted and I have some snapshots missing. But I think the ideas will still get across.

NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER, courtesy of the Crock Pot Recipe Collection

makes 6-8 servings

YOU WILL NEED:

6 slices of bacon, diced

2 onions, chopped

5 cans (6.5oz each) clams, drained and liquid reserved

6 medium red potatoes, cubed

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 cans (12oz each) evaporated milk

Salt, to taste

mise-en-place

You will also need a crock pot, at least 4.5 quarts, and a medium skillet. If you can't find whole clams in the can, you can get them chopped or minced. They aren't too small or too large, easier to eat. I used a combination of both.

1. Cook and stir bacon and onion in medium skillet until onions are tender. Place in crock pot.

2. Add enough water to reserved clam liquid to make 3 cups (put the clams in a plastic bowl with a cover and refrigerate until ready to use). Pour into crock pot, add potatoes, garlic and black pepper. Cover; cook on LOW 5 to 8 hours or HIGH 1 to 3 hours.

3. Stir in reserved clams and milk. Cover; cook on LOW 1 hour. Adjust seasoning, if necessary.

YUM. This soup had such a great flavor to it, but I was slightly disappointed. I think the usage of fat-free as opposed to whole evaporated milk made the soup come out thinner rather than the thick, creamy New England clam chowder we know and love. Also, instead of white, the soup had a beige tint to it. I think that was also a result of the fat-free milk. Next time around, I'll use whole milk and see if there's a difference.

The worst part of this recipe was trying to dice the raw bacon. Ew. Slimy. I love bacon, but only after it's been cooked. Otherwise, I don't like handling it, especially since I was out of my trusty rubber food-handling gloves. I found it was easiest to dice when I piled the 6 slices on top of one another, cut them in half and then diced. It's not easy to do this, so please be careful and take your time.

Well, that was a nice long break I took from cooking! I also decided that I will only be posting three times a week. That way I can strech out my recipe collection and I don't make myself nuts with trying to post nearly every night. Also, I will be featuring only one (if any) crock pot recipe a week. I just have so many of those recipes and I know not everyone who reads this has a crock pot.

So, on that note: what's coming up this week? Chicken cordon bleu (in the crock pot), huevos rancheros (a delicious healthy egg dish - I love breakfast for dinner!), tomato & white bean pasta and my second ever dessert post: chocolate pecan pie! I was craving some chocolate pecan pie a few weeks ago and, of course, instead of buying one, I sought out a recipe (it's always healthier and sometimes cheaper to make it yourself).

Keep your eyes peeled. By the way, have I mentioned I love getting comments? ;-)

Eat, drink and be merry!

Chicken Piccata with Lemon Orzo

2011-03-13T16:56:00.000-04:00

Piccata. I like that word. Piccata. Rhymes with hotta...or the Spanish Armada.

"House Bunny" anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Forget you. "The House Bunny" is one of the funniest movies ever.

I have noticed, as I get older and my taste buds evolve over and over again, that I really love citrus in my foods, especially in my entrees. I love a strong, lemony flavor. Lemon over pasta, over fish, over calamari, over chicken - especially over chicken. I have TWO containers of lemon pepper seasoning. Chicken piccata definitely quenches my desire for lemony foods - paired with a great dry white wine and capers, it pleases my taste buds.

Usually chicken piccata is prepared with the chicken dredged in flour before its sauteed, but this is actually a healthy version of the dish - minus the flour and using low-sodium chicken broth in the sauce. It tastes just as good without it, I promise!

CHICKEN PICCATA WITH LEMON ORZO, courtesy of MyRecipes.com

Serves 4

YOU WILL NEED:

1 cup uncooked orzo

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

4 (4oz) chicken cutlets (thin boneless/skinless breasts will also do)

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup white wine (a dry white wine, like a Chardonnay or a Pinot is preferable)

1/2 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon chilled butter, cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon capers

mise-en-place

I don't have any parsley, so I just did without. No big deal. You will also need a large skillet and a pasta pot. You will also need a wooden spoon or any other cooking instrument good for stirring in a hot pan (nothing that will melt or scrape the Teflon in a nonstick pan).

Orzo is a delicious little type of pasta, shaped like grains of rice (orzo actually means "barley" in Italian). It's usually used in casseroles or soups. It's not hard to find, a lot of pasta companies make orzo. Fun fact: "piccata", in Italian, means "pounded flat". Traditionally, the chicken breast would be pounded flat efore being cooked. However, by using thinly sliced chicken instead, it is unneccesary.

Quick note: zesting (or grating) a lemon is a pain in the @$$ process. It's a lot of work for very little rind. It's a good thing that the recipe only calls for two teaspoons of rind, because that's about all you can get from an average sized lemon. Just make sure you don't grate the white part underneath the zest - that's the most bitter part. So bitter it doesn't even taste good.

In my opinion, before you do anything else, zest your lemon. You'll thank me later.

1. Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain. Stir in lemon rind.

2. While orzo cooks, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

3. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan.

4. Keep pan warm. Add wine; cook 1 minute or until liquid almost evaporates, scraping the pan to loosen browned bits.

5. Add chicken broth and lemon juice; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes for until reduced to 1/2 cup.

6. Remove from heat; add butter, stirring until butter melts.

7. Stir in parsley and capers. Serve over orzo, topped with sauce.

Done and done! I served cauliflower and broccoli on the side.

This is my second time making this recipe. Last time, I was happy with the chicken but not with the sauce. This time, it was the other way around. I thought the chicken tasted dry and overcooked, but my fiance disagreed and said it was perfect. I am my own harshest critic after all. I don't think my chicken was flat enough to be cooked properly, my bad. I also forgot what a true pain this recipe is. I'll cook it again just one more time in the future, just to see if I can get it 100% right (to my standards), and if I can't, I'm going to look out for another piccata recipe - which I will, of course share.

I've got only one more recipe to post before I'm gone for a week - New England clam chowder, from the crock pot! It's actually in the crock pot as we speak and I'll post the recipe tomorrow.

Until next time - eat, drink and be merry!

Homemade Fried Chicken & Mashed Potatoes

2011-03-11T19:44:00.000-05:00

I used to live in a small town where the height of weekend entertainment was hanging out at Pathmark and going to the movies (back before tickets were 11 bucks a pop). To go anywhere exciting, you needed two things: a car (or someone with a car) and to drive at least thirty minutes down the highway. We didn't even have a Starbuck's anywhere remotely close. A few years ago, when a Sonic opened up, it was such a big deal that for weeks you couldn't go anywhere near it because the drive-thru lines were so monstrous. My brother once waited for almost two hours to get service from the roller skating waitstaff.

Recently, I moved (thank God). I moved to a town with a main road that's been affectionately dubbed Junk Food Alley. Nearly every conceivable fast food chain is located only 5 minutes away. Well, there's no Taco Bell. A great travesty.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is, when fast food is so easily within arm;s reach, it's tempting to make the wrong decisions when it comes to making food choices.

Other than Taco Bell, my biggest fast food weakness is KFC.

Yesterday, tomorrow, and forever!

One day - actually, for several days - I was jonesing real bad for some KFC. It was all I could think about eating. But I really didn't want to spend money on fast food; it's just so bad for you, and my body's not really the type that can handle fast food. Every so often I'll cave and go to Taco Bell or Wendy's, but at KFC, I can really do some damage. So, what was my solution? Make it myself! Google is a marvelous tool for curious, novice cooks!

Frying is a technique that I had been tentative about trying, especially when I first attempted to make English-Style Fish & Chips. I thought it would be a dreadfully messy venture, sure to leave me with horrific scars from splattering oil. But, as it turns out, like most of my culinary assumptions, I was wrong! If you've got a deep enough stockpot, you can fry.

This recipe is not exactly the Colonel's 11 herbs and spices, but it's just as good. It comes from the Food Network's website, courtesy of Ina Garten, aka the Barefoot Contessa. I decided at the last minute to make homemade mashed potatoes and didn't think to take pictures of the process. However, I will include the recipe so that you can have a good old Southern family dinner!

Please note: the chicken needs to be prepped OVERNIGHT!

OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN, courtesy of the Food Network & Ina Garten
YOU WILL NEED:
2 (3 lb) chickens, cut into 8 serving pieces
1 quart buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablesppon kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
Vegetable oil or vegetable shortening

mise-en-place

Oh, buttermilk - my arch nemesis. We meet again. Luckily, this time I was in need of an entire quart and it did not go to waste! Huzzah! It is, however, still gross.

As you're probably well aware, I am all for shortcuts. Instead of getting two 3-pound chickens that I had to dismember myself, I found in the meat department, the most glorious thing: a whole chicken already cut up, by Perdue! AH! It was about one dollar more expensive than buying a pre-dismembered chicken, but you know what? If I don't have to do it, I'm going to pay that extra dollar. So, if you know how to take apart a chicken, disregard this shortcut. But if you're a little too nervous to attempt it yourself, Perdue's whole cut up chicken is right up your alley. Be forewarned, the breast pieces are monstrous! I had to to fry them one at a time because my stockpot simply was not big enough.

Alright, let's make some finger-lickin' fried chicken in your very own kitchen!

1. Place all the chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and coat each piece thoroughly with the flour mixture (if your bowl has a lid, it's much simpler if you cover the bowl and shake it to coat the chicken pieces).

3. Pour oil into a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot to a depth of 1 inch and heat to 360 degrees F on a thermometer. Working in batches, carefully place several pieces of chicken in the oil and fry for about 3 minutes on each side until the coating is a light golden brown (it will continue to brown in the oven). Don't crowd the pieces.

5. Remove the chicken from the oil and place each piece on a metal baking rack set on a sheet pan (if you do not have a metal baking rack, it is perfectly okay). Allow the oil to return to 360 degrees F before frying the next batch.

6. When all the chicken is fried, bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink on the inside. Serve hot.

Now, like I said, I decided at the last minute to make homemade mashed potatoes. I know I said in the Costolette alla Pizzaiola entry that there's nothing wrong with instant mashed - and there isn't. But I was craving a chunky type of side dish. Not quite instant mashed, and not quite baked potatoes. Homemade mashed potatoes are, in my opinion, that perfect compromise.

TRADITIONAL MASHED POTATOES, courtesy of Allrecipes.com
YOU WILL NEED:
6 medium potatoes, cubed (russet or red or a combination of both will do)
1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper, to taste.

You will also need a large saucepan or stockpot, and a large ore medium-sized mixing bowl.

1. Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Cover, and bring to a boil.
2. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the potatoes are very tender.
3. Drain well, place potatoes in a mixing bowl. Add milk, butter, salt and pepper.
4. Mash and serve!

If you don't have a potato masher, any broad type of spoon will do. I like it a little chunky so I didn't have to do a lot of mashing.

Anyway, there you have it! This chicken was perfect. It was easy, despite the frying. My only gripe was that it took just so long to make. But then again, I started cooking late and maybe I was just impatient.

I'm tagging this as EASY and SIDE DISH. Both the chicken and potatoes are easy. If you've never tried to fry before, I'd say this is the perfect recipe to try it out on. I don't think I'll ever buy fast food fried chicken ever again! By the way, it tastes DELICIOUS cold - just like good fried chicken should!

Well, tonight is leftovers night. Tomorrow is chicken piccata and Sunday is homemade New England clam chowder! YUM! Then I'll be gone for a few days. Can you stand it?

Until next time - eat, drink and be merry! Happy Friday!

"Everyone's Favorite" Lasagna

2011-03-10T18:58:00.000-05:00

Lasagna has to be one of the most comforting comfort foods ever. I know I say that a lot, but I really think lasagna tops the list every single time. It's got pasta, which is my favorite food. It's got tomato sauce - full of antioxidants and lycopene, which is a carotene that has been medically proven to reduce cancer risks. And, it's got ricotta cheese, which is a thick, creamy Italian cheese that's usually made from sheep's milk and is incredibly versatile, used in many Italian dishes from calzones to cannolis.

Everyone has their own way of making lasagna, and they're all right. Some used pre-shredded mozzarella, others prefer to use slices. Some used homemade sauce, like this one. Others use jarred sauce - which is okay, but I don't think it's as good as making it yourself, which is just as easy and a little cheaper than buying it ready-made. This version is very basic and 100% delicious and comes from my favorite cookbook!

"EVERYONE'S FAVORITE LASAGNA", courtesy of "365 Ways to Cook Pasta"
YOU WILL NEED:
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 (28oz) cans Italian-style plum tomatoes, drained with juices
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6oz) can tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
15 plain or spinach lasagna noodles
1 (15oz) container ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
1 egg, beaten
1 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced thin or shredded

mise-en-place

You will also need a large wide saucepan, a pasta pot, a medium mixing bowl and a 9x13-inch baking dish.

....My God that's a lot of ingredients. I nearly gave up trying to get my mise-en-place together, it was never ending! But it's not like any of these ingredients are hard to get a hold of, and everything is used. Also, it turns out that my container of flat-leaf parsley went bad before I could use what was left, so I simply substituted dried parsley flakes.

If you've never cooked lasagna noodles before, here's a hint: if a recipe calls for 15 noodles, cook at least 17 or even 18. It never hurts to have extras if something happens during cooking and the noodles break or rip beyond usage (and how else are you going to know if it's done unless you take a bite?).

Please note: though this recipe is easy, it is not a quick fix. The sauce needs to simmer for a minimum of 90 minutes before it can be used and the lasagna itself cooks for nearly an hour before resting about 15 minutes before cutting into it.

Let's cook!

1. Heat the olive oil in a large wide saucepan; add the ground beef, onion, and garlic. Saute, stirring, over medium heat until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce and paste, basil and oregano. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until the sauce is cooked down and thickened, 1 1/2 to 2 hours (there should be 4 cups of sauce left). Season with salt and pepper (NOTE: If the tomatoes do not break down on their own during the cooking process, break them up using the back of a wooden spoon).

3. Cook the lasagna noodles in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente, about 12 minutes; drain. Let noodles sit in a bowl of cool water until ready to use.

4. Beat the ricotta, Parmesan cheese, parsley and egg together; set aside (I prefer to use my hands to mix it together).

5. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Select a 9x13 shallow baking dish. Add about 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce to the bottom of the dish. Lift the noodles from the water individually and blot dry on paper towels. Arrange a slightly overlapping layer of 5 noodles on the bottom of the dish.

6. Dot the noodles with half the ricotta mixture (or use a rubber spatula to lightly spread it around); add about a third of the remaining sauce and arrange a layer of a third of the mozzarella slices (or shreds) on top. Arrange a second layer of 5 slightly overlapping lasagna noodles. Dot with the remaining ricotta, half of the remaining tomato sauce and half the remaining mozzarella.

...and so on and so on

7. Top with the 5 remaining lasagna noodles in a slightly overlapping layer; add the remaining sauce and a layer of the remaining mozzarella.

8. Bake until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbly, about 50 minutes. Let stand at least 15 minutes before serving.

Whew. This dish is just exhausting to make. But the reward is worth it! Wednesday night is, as always, "Face Off", and we had our friends over. Lasagna is a perfect dish to make when feeding a lot of people - who doesn't like lasagna? Needless to say, the entire pan was gone after feeding five people. I kind of wish I had made TWO pans so that there would be plenty left over!

I hope you guys enjoyed this recipe. I know a lot of the recipes I post seem advanced to those who are afraid of the kitchen, so every so often I enjoy posting simple ones like this. I think everyone needs to know how to make a decent lasagna!

Coming up next: finger lickin' fried chicken! And until next time: eat, drink and be merry!

Costolette alla Pizzaiola

2011-03-09T18:03:00.000-05:00

Or, "pork chops with tomato sauce". I like being all fancy. I know, you probably thought you were getting some kind of pizza dish, huh? Sorry to disappoint you, but "pizzaiola" is just a fancy way of saying "tomato sauce". When a dish is cooked "alla pizzaiola", it means the tomato sauce was used to tenderize the meat.

So, howdy there! I hope you're ready, because I'm going away for a week and not cooking. My fiance is going to be on his own for FIVE DAYS! ZOMG, I better unplug every single appliance and put a lock on the microwave and only give Colleen the key.

No, I'm kidding. My fiance has the ability to cook, he just chooses not to because now he has me to do it ;-)

Anyway, because I'm not going to be home or cooking, I'm going to be posting up a storm over the next few days! I've got FOUR - count 'em, FOUR - recipes coming up! I'll tell you what they are later!

This recipe, at first glance, looked incredibly difficult. Turns out, it's really not! I was so excited to discover this! This is an impressive recipe. It just needs to be broken down in a way so that it's not overwhelming.

COSTOLETTE ALLA PIZZAIOLA (Pork Chops with Tomato Sauce), courtesy of "Basic Italian"

YOU WILL NEED:

4 pork chops, not too thick (cutlets will also work)

Salt, freshly ground black pepper

4 sprigs fresh marjoram or oregano

4 cloves garlic

1 (14oz) can peeled tomatoes

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine

1 tablesppon tomato paste

1 tablespoon capers (optional)

mise-en-place

You will also need a large skillet. I did not have fresh oregano or marjoram, and there's absolutely no harm in using dried herbs. It doesn't make you a bad cook, it doesn't make you a cheater. Especially if it's an herb you don't use very often. I rarely if ever cook with oregano, so I stick to the dried stuff. I love rosemary (especially on potatoes!), so I always make sure I have fresh on hand.

A quick note about cooking with wine: I am not a vino whatsoever. I mean, I drink Arbor Mist, okay?! AND IT'S DELICIOUS. But when it comes to the real stuff, I haven't a clue. However, the best rule of thumb is, if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it. NEVER buy "cooking sherry" or "cooking wine". Spend a little extra and get the good stuff.

Now, if you're an idiot when it comes to wines, like myself, when in doubt, ask an expert. I happen to have a Bottle King right by my apartment, but if you go into pretty much any liquor store, they usually know their stuff. Explain that you need a good red wine (or white or sherry, or whatever) that is suitable to drink and cook with, preferably for under ten or fifteen dollars (depending on your budget) For example, when I made French Pot Roast, I needed a dry red wine. I explained to the salesperson what I needed, and he was very knowledgeable - he led me to a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon that only cost $10, and not only have I used it in several recipes, I've even had a glass or two. It turns out, I'm learning to love wine!

Put down your glass and let's cook, okay?

1. Pat chops dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Rinse and dry herbs, strip off leaves and tear in half any large leaves (if using fresh).

2. Peel garlic, cut in half and then slice thinly. Chop tomatoes and reserve the juice from the can.

3. In a pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil. Saute chops on both sides at high heat until lightly browned; remove and transfer to a plate.

4. Pour remaining oil into pan. Stir in garlic and saute briefly. Add herbs, tomatoes with their juice, wine and tomato paste; season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit.

5. Place chops in the sauce and spoon a little sauce over the top. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.

6. Garnish with capers if desired, and serve!

YUM! The pork chops came out GREAT! They were moist and flavorful and the sauce had a great tang to it thanks to the red wine. In fact, I was thinking that this would make a great pasta sauce. A little pizzaiola sauce, a little Italian sausage over linguine - fuhgeddaboudit!

I was going to make roasted potatoes to go alongside this dish, but I didn't have the energy. There's nothing wrong with instant mashed potatoes! A little peas and pearl onions and I had a meal that I was proud to serve! This is a great recipe to serve if you're having a special gathering of extra-special people. It looks and tastes impressive but the work is minimal (and cleanup is a breeze, by the way, considering everything is done in one pan).

Okay, so I've got some great recipes coming up this week: a great lasagna recipe, an easy chicken piccata and an even easier fried chicken recipe, and, as a grand finale: homemade New England clam chowder! I'm particularly excited about that. It's yet another crock pot recipe, so you know what that means - tons of leftovers!

By the way, I want to thank my readers who have been so excited to try the recipes featured here! There are only two that I know of, but if there are more of you out there, let me know! What did you try? Did you like it? What was hard or easy about it? If you haven't, do you want to try any of them? Talky, talky! =)

Until next time - eat, drink and be merry!

Chicken Creole with Turkey Kielbasa

2011-03-06T15:35:00.000-05:00

It feels like forever since I blogged, but in reality it's been less than a week! I think it's because this week I actually skipped out on post! I'm so ashamed by this this that it borders on ridiculousity.

Wednesday afternoon, my fiance and I decided, completely out of the blue, to drive to Pennsylvania to go to Borders. As in, the bookstore. Now, we have not one but TWO bookstores within a half hour drive of our apartment. But it went like this: while we were out running errands, we decided to swing by a local bookstore that we knew was going out of business. However, when we pulled into the parking lot, we were just in time to see a bunch of dudes loading shelves into the back of a truck. Well, crap.

So, we decided that we were going to just go to Borders in the mall in the next town over. But, after driving for about 20 minutes, I found out there was no Borders in that mall. Where's the closest one, from where we are now? Pennsylvania. Alrighty, then.

What I totally forgot about was dinner - Sloppy Joes for "Face Off" night. The recipe I had took a whopping 6 to 8 hours in the crock pot. We have a terrible habit of eating very late at night on "Face Off" night. If we were going to eat by a decent hour, everything had to be in the crock pot by 1:30, at the latest, and only if I cooked it for 6 hours instead of 8. But where was I at 1:30? Pennsylvania.

Okay, I thought. I think I can fudge this a little. If I can make it by 3:30, it will still be okay. This was not the case. We didn't get home until after 4pm, and by that time I was so frazzled and stressed about getting everything done on time that I just wanted to bang it out and get it in the crock pot. We didn't eat until a quarter after 10, by the way.

The Sloppy Joes came out awesome, though. Just saying. Despite the fact that it was an undeniably easy recipe, I just didn't have the patience to photograph and post. I'll make sure to post a similar recipe in the future.

This recipe was definitely not the easiest one I have attempted. Not because it was difficult - it wasn't. However, it involves a lot of time-consuming chopping that makes this a little bit more of a weekend type recipe, one that you prepare on a Saturday or Sunday morning so that you can enjoy the day out with your family or friends or significant others and come home to a relaxing dinner!

I'm making this recipe in honor of my recent trip to St. Lucia, where the Caribbean cuisine is heavily influenced by Creole culture. Lots of spices and stews! The original title of this recipe, from the "Crock Pot Recipe Collection", is "Cajun Chicken & Shrimp Creole". However, I was strapped for cash and did not want to spend money on buying the amount of shrimp the recipe requires. So, while I will provide the recipe as it is printed (don't I always?), I'll show you how to make proper substitutions that are good for you and your wallet!

CHICKEN CREOLE WITH TURKEY KIELBASA

(or, Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Creole)

Makes about 6 servings

YOU WILL NEED:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 (15oz) can stewed tomatoes, un-drained and chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and cleaned

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Louisiana-style hot sauce, to taste

Hot cooked rice

mise en place

So...many...ingredients.

The only equipment you will need is at least a 4.5-quart crock pot. However: if you have a 5-, 6-, or 7-quart crock pot, you must double all your ingredients. My crock pot happens to be 6 quarts, so I had to double. See why I didn't want to use shrimp? Two pounds of it would easily cost me about $20.

This is something I learned from my mom: when cooking in a crock pot, if you omit something (like how I omitted the shrimp), you must make up for it. Otherwise, your liquid-to-solid ratio is going to be off, and the recipe might not come out as good.

You do not have to replace the shrimp with turkey kielbasa. You can use regular kielbasa, or andouille sausage, or even sub an extra pound (or two) of chicken. Make sure you buy the kielbasa already fully cooked. As long as you have 2 or 4 pounds of meat/protein (depending on if you're doubling), the possibilities are limitless and delicious. In this recipe, I used three pounds of chicken and one pound of kielbasa.

Here is the recipe as written, with my comments/substitutions in italics.

1. Place the chicken thighs at the bottom of the crock pot

2. Add chopped bell pepper, chopped onion, diced celery, tomatoes with the juice, minced garlic, sugar, paprika, Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper. Cover; cook on LOW 7 to 9 hours or HIGH 3 to 4 hours (the longer the cook, the more tender your chicken will be).

give it a good mix to evenly distribute spices.

3. Add shrimp (or kielbasa, if using), lemon juice and hot sauce. Cover; cook on LOW 45 minutes to 1 hour (or until shrimp are done).

4. Serve over hot cooked rice!

A beautiful dish, if I do say so myself! The recipe says that it feeds 6, but when doubled it could easily feed at least 8. It could quite possibly feed up to 12 people! Therefore, I am labeling this Pot-Luck, because it is a perfect dish to bring to a dinner party or any type of gathering where food would be welcomed and appreciated. Don't forget to bring some extra hot sauce for those who love the spice.

I love very savory foods, and the finished dish didn't have enough "kick" for me. So, instead of two tablespoons of lemon juice, I added as much juice as I could squeeze out of the thing. Also, I added extra sprinklings of salt, pepper and lots more Cholula - which isn't exactly Louisiana-style hot sauce, but it did the trick. Of course, you are free to adjust the spices and flavors as you wish and make it truly your own!

Upcoming recipes are TBD...short way of saying "I have to freaking clue". But until next time - eat, drink and be merry!!

PS: Guess what I saw a commercial for today? McCormick Recipe Inspirations!!! Remember, I used them here and here? Finally, some recognition for an awesome product!

PPS: New tag for this and other recipes: Lots of Leftovers! Meaning, this dish will not only feed you for one meal, but it guarantees more.

PPPS: I've added ads to the site to help me generate a bit of revenue. So if you love me, click on some ads and help me make a little extra money! =)

Garlicky Tortellini and Spinach Tomato Soup

2011-03-02T00:21:00.000-05:00

March has finally arrived, and spring is at our heels. Every day I'm seeing more and more grass in my courtyard and the days are getting warmer and warmer! Pretty soon we'll be leaving our jackets at home and it won't be getting dark until way after 8 o'clock at night.

Despite the fact that the temperature is steadily rising during the day, the nights are still pretty cold and miserable. My favorite thing to have at dinnertime on a cold night is a chunky, flavorful soup.

For about 9 years, my mother owned her own restaurant where she became famous for her soups. She had over one hundred recipes and they were all delicious. She even had a soup-call list: you gave the waitress your name and phone number, and someone would call you the day your favorite soup was being served! That's basically like having your favorite clothing store call you the day before they have a blowout sale and telling you that you can be the first person in the store that day. One of Mom's customers once referred to her as the Soup Nazi!

But, being Jewish, she politely refused to be called that. Thus she became known as the Soup Goddess, and held that title for several years. She even served chilled fruit soup in the summer!

If it's one thing I miss from my mom's restaurant, it's the endless soup supply. I've spent several years living in the shadow of the illustrious Soup Goddess, but now it's my time to shine! This filling soup recipe comes from The Nest, one of my favorite lifestyle websites!

GARLICKY TORTELLINI AND SPINACH TOMATO SOUP, courtesy of TheNest.com

Serves 2-3
YOU WILL NEED:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 to 8 cloves garlic, chopped

4 cups homemade or low-salt chicken broth

6 oz. fresh or frozen cheese tortellini

14 oz canned diced tomatoes with their liquid

10 ounces fresh spinach, washed and stemmed; coarsely chopped if large

8 to 10 leaves basil, coarsely chopped

Grated Parmesan

mise-en-place

You will also need at least a 5 qt saucepan. I made no ingredient substitutions, though I did buy whole wheat tortellini as opposed to regular. I really wanted to get spinach tortellini, but my supermarket only sold it in big packets, and I didn't want to buy that much. I actually had to buy a packet of basil this time. My first basil plant was stripped clean; and the second one didn't last as long. I got maybe one use out of it before it wilted and nothing I did could save it. Well...it was good while it lasted.

Let's make soup!

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat

2. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes

3. Add the broth and bring to a boil

4. Add the tortellini and cook halfway, about 5 minutes for frozen pasta; less if using fresh.

5. Add the tomatoes and their liquid, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook just until the pasta is tender

6. Stir in the spinach and basil and cook until wilted, about 1-2 minutes

7. Serve sprinkled with grated cheese

A nice and simple soup for a cold winter night in about 15 minutes! It was a meal in itself. I couldn't believe how easy it was to make, for someone who hasn't really made soup before. I mean, I have made soup before, but only once and it was far more complicated. I'll most likely revisit the recipe for posting purposes.

In the tags, I've labeled this as vegetarian, despite the fact that chicken broth is used. There's no harm in subbing vegetable broth. Also, there's now a soup tag! I have more soup recipes planned for the future, so I might as well add it.

Tomorrow is Wednesday, so that means "Face Off" night! I'll be making crock-pot Sloppy Joes. Thursday night, I'm not cooking, since Colleen has invited us over for taco night! Saturday is a special night - a friend of ours is visiting from Brooklyn, so I have a nice Chicken Creole recipe planned. At some point, I'm embarking on a great Italian recipe: costolette alla pizzaiola, or, pork chops with tomato sauce. YUM!!!

Until next time: eat, drink and be merry!

Patty Melts

2011-02-25T14:13:00.000-05:00

What's this? An entry without ANY pasta in it?! That must mean I went food shopping!

Let me tell you a story. Ten days before we went on vacation, I stopped shopping. We basically ate what was already in the fridge and then scraped together meals from remnants in the cabinets and freezer slowly but surely until there was nothing of excess left to spoil while we were on vacation. We came home on Tuesday; I made a box of pasta. Last night was "Face Off" night (and my best friend Meredith of On The Wire joined us!) and, shamefully, I made yet another box of pasta. I made another sauce to go with it, but I'm not going to post it - I think you, the audience, has had enough pasta for now. Anyway, I went food shopping on Thursday night after some hilarious (not really) credit card issues and I think ... I think I've bought enough food to last Fiance and I about two weeks.

There's a wonderful movie from 1968 - one of my absolute favorites - starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, called "Yours, Mine & Ours".

It's about a widowed nurse with 8 children who marries a widower with 10 children. Hilarity ensues. Lucille is at her height in this film and Henry is just as cute as could be. Anyway, every time I do my weekly food shop, I think of this great scene from the film: Frank and Helen (Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, respectively) are going to the supermarket to feed their newly blended family of 20.

Three shopping carts later, the cashier rings them up (manually, might I add; this is 1968) and then hands them the very, very long receipt ... that totals $100.

Honestly, if my grocery receipt totals $100, that's a good day. Also, for the amount of food I buy, if my receipt totals $100, that grocery store is probably going out of business and everything is marked 99-cents.

Anyway, Fiance and I are suffering from colds thanks to all that airplane travel and I'm trying to kill it with fire. We needed some red meat in our systems but I was also super tired and feeling icky. I needed something easy, and healthy. Well, that's when I turn to "Cook This, Not That." Patty melts are essentially burgers sauteed in onions with Swiss cheese melted on top. It's very basic, but extremely satisfying.

PATTY MELTS, courtesy of "Cook This, Not That"
YOU WILL NEED:
1 lb ground sirloin, ground lean beef or ground turkey
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp canola oil
1 large red onion, diced
4 slices Swiss cheese
8 slices of rye bread, toasted

mise-en-place

You will also need a large or medium skillet. I made no substitutions to the actual recipe, except I used pumpernickel bread (dark rye) as opposed to regular rye.

1. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Form into 4 large, thin patties.

2. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the patties and scatter the onion around the burgers. Stir the onion from time to time to keep them from burning.

3. Cook the burgers for 3 to 4 minutes, then flip and immediately cover each with a slice of Swiss cheese. Continue cooking until the burgers are cooked all the way through, about another 3 minutes.

4. Remove, place on top of the toasted rye, cover with sauteed onions and top with the other slice of rye.

YUMMY. Check out that delicious sandwich! I cooked them off two at a time, as you can see from the photos. I knew we weren't going to eat two each. Also, I just realized that the photographs above are two different plates, haha! Well, it still looks good.

As you can see, I served it with oven fries and broccoli. A good, well rounded dinner. This recipe only took me 15 minutes or so, so it makes for a perfect weeknight meal. I'm tagging this recipe as both BEEF and TURKEY because it can be made with either one, as well as KID-FRIENDLY. I mean, what kid doesn't love burgers?

Coming up this week, I have some GREAT recipes - including not one but two crock-pot meals! YAY! Tonight's dinner will be a soup recipe. Soups are easier than most people think, and, being sick, soup seems to be the best option for me and Fiance right now.

Until next time: Eat, drink and be merry!

Spaghetti with Basil Cream Sauce

2011-02-23T18:41:00.000-05:00

I'm baaa-aaack!

Well, this is a surprise - left for St. Lucia on Wednesday and arrived home last night to find 5" of snow in my backyard. Talk about a complete 180. We went from bathing suits on the beach to scarves and jackets in a matter of 12 hours.

It was an amazing vacation; I sampled a ton of local cuisine and discovered the deliciousness of Creole sauce (which I am actively searching for a recipe for) and I ate way more Creole bread than I probably should have. I had a johnny cake for the first time. Being an island, there was an abundance of fresh fish to be had: parrotfish, mahi mahi, kingfish, tuna and cod, plus fresh mussels and prawns.

Fiance and I were down there for several days to celebrate and witness his big sister's marriage. She was wed on the beaches of St. Lucia, facing the Piton mountains just as the sun was setting - a true storybook wedding! Congrats to my future sister-in-law and her new husband!

Okay, so before I left I posted another pasta-related entry. I've come to find that I turn to pasta when I'm feeling really tired or lazy. Well, we didn't return home until 3am on Tuesday, so that night's dinner had to be incredibly simple. To my favorite book!:

SPAGHETTI WITH BASIL CREAM SAUCE, courtesy of 365 Ways to Cook Pasta

YOU WILL NEED:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons julienned basil leaves

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Pinch of salt

12 oz spaghetti (or any long noodle, i.e. vermacelli or capellini)

Just so you know - to "julienne" something simply means to cut it into long, thin strips (ever hear of julienne fries?). Also, I happened to have spaghetti in my pantry.

mise-en-place

Ah, my trusty basil plant. Unfortunately, it's coming to the end of its productive life, and I'll have to pick up another one soon. But it's lasted me nearly an entire month!

This sauce was as easy as 1-2-3.

1. In a saucepan, gently boil the cream until it is reduced by half (about 10 minutes).

2. Stir in the basil, lemon juice and salt.

3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and toss with the cream sauce and serve at once.

All done! Told you it was easy. This was an excellent sauce. It was very light and creamy, and the basil flavor was not overpowering (surprising, since I added in an extra half-tablespoon of basil).

To add a little extra protein I cut up some BLSL (boneless/skinless) chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, coated them in salt and pepper, and sauteed them in olive oil for about 5-6 minutes. Then I tossed it with the pasta and sauce.

Of course, if you're going vegetarian with this recipe, simply omit the chicken and maybe add a few fresh veggies!

Tonight's dinner is more pasta, just because I didn't get to go food shopping yet. I know, it's not good to have even more pasta, but I promise I'll be back to my regularly scheduled deliciousness as soon as I can get my tired butt over to the supermarket. I'm planning on making some kind of Creole recipe to honor the beautiful country I just visited.

Until next time, eat, drink and be merry!!

Pasta with Sausage Sauce

2011-02-16T15:27:00.000-05:00

Surprise! New look for the blog! What do you think? I needed something a little darker, a little more sultry. I love the new background and the greens and browns are far more pleasing to the eye than the oranges and purples I'd been using.

Today's my last entry for awhile! I'm going on vacation and I'm looking forward to doing a lot more eating than cooking! Last night was the last meal I prepared until we get home, and I wanted something simple, something that I didn't have to go out and buy anything special.

Well, what's easier than pasta? But not just pasta - it needs a nice, chunky sauce to go along with it. I turned to my two favorite pasta books for some nice tasty sauce recipes and "Basic Italian" won out with its recipe for sausage sauce (sorry, "365 Ways to Cook Pasta", but your olive sauce is just a little too complicated for now).

PASTA AL SUGO DI SALSICCE (Pasta with Sausage Sauce), courtesy of "Basic Italian"
YOU WILL NEED:
2-3 Italian pork sausage links (about 10-12oz total)
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 (14oz) can peeled tomatoes
Salt & black pepper (or chili powder) to taste
1 lb pasta (preferably penne, rigatoni or anything long and hollow)
1 cup arugula leaves.

mise-en-place

You can use any sausage. We prefer the Johnsonville sweet Italian, but you can use spicy sausage or andouille or turkey or chicken sausage if that's what you prefer! You will also need a large skillet or sauce pan. The recipe calls for using arugula, but since I didn't want to go buy it, I'm substituting basil instead. Also, I looked ahead in the recipe and discovered I didn't need peeled tomatoes because the recipe wants you to cut them up anyway! So I used a can of diced tomatoes instead.

1. Peel onion and garlic; chop both finely. Squeeze sausage out of the skins and crumble into small bits.

Use the tip of your knife to make an incision down the length of the sausage

...and peel the skin off!

2. Heat the oil in a skillet and brown the sausage well. Add onion, garlic and fennel seeds and saute briefly.

3. Chop the tomatoes and add along with their juice to the sausage - salt to taste; spice with black pepper or chili powder. Simmer uncovered on low for 20 minutes or more. (See why using diced tomatoes is easier?)

4. In the meantime, cook pasta until al dente. Then, rinse arugula (or basil, in my case), remove any tough stems and chop rest. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper and/or chili powder. Stir in arugula (or basil).

5. Drain pasta, distribute in wide pasta bowls and top with sauce. Serve with crusty Italian bread!

I love it when I can see the steam coming up from the dish in the pictures! Mmmm.

The sauced was great, pretty zesty, but I felt like it was lacking something. The basil made it taste sweet, which is what I was totally feeling (especially after several spicy recipes!), but I wish there was more tomato in the recipe to make it more of a sauce. Maybe next time I'll add some to the saute pan. Recipes are not written in stone, remember?

I still got some packing to do, so I hope you guys enjoy these recipes until I come back! I'm planning something super special. Don't exactly know what yet, but I promise it'll be good!

Until then - eat, drink and be merry!!!

Shrimp Scampi

2011-02-14T13:51:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! My gift to myself? I'm not cooking! Instead, my man is buying me a pizza!

But that doesn't mean you can't create a special meal for that special someone!

Okay, so I know I said I would give a tutorial on how to peel and de-vein shrimp, but I totally forgot. I was going to wait for my fiance to come home so that he could take pictures while I went through the steps, but I got home kind of late. I just kind of sat down, started cleaning the shrimp and before I knew it, they were all done and I hadn't saved any for him to take pictures of. Crap.

I can write out the steps easily, but I feel like they're missing something without pictures.

Anyway, this recipe comes from "Cook This, Not That" again. I'm going to quote the book since they do a much better job of describing this dish than I ever could:

"In restaurant-speak, 'scampi' is code for 'buckets of butter'', a distressing translation for the discerning diner. The rich flavors in this version don't derive from fat; they come from garlic, chiles and fresh chopped herbs."

Be forewarned - it's also quite a spicy dish, thanks to the crushed red pepper! Of course, depending on your tastes, you could add anywhere from one-eighth of a teaspoon to half a teaspoon to a whole tablespoon for all I care! It's all about what you like. Recipes aren't written in stone, remember?

SHRIMP SCAMPI, courtesy of Cook This, Not That
YOU WILL NEED:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Red pepper flakes
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 lb medium-sized shrimp, peeled and de-veined
Salt and black pepper to taste
Chopped flat-leaf parsley
Zest and juice from 1 lemon
Pasta, couscous or quinoa, for serving

mise-en-place

You will need a medium/large skillet. It may look like a very small mise-en-place, but the shrimp is missing from the photo. They were in the sink, soaking in a bowl of cold water. Also missing was the pasta. The recipe calls for a small onion, but the only onion I had on hand was ginormous, like, softball ginormous, so I simply cut it in half. It was more than enough!

Okay, before we get into the recipe, here's a quick step-by-step (minus pictures, sorry!) on peeling and de-veining shrimp.

Now, you can easily buy frozen shrimp that are already peeled and de-veined, but guess what? You're probably going to pay up to TWO TIMES more than if you bought fresh shrimp from your supermarket's seafood department. I paid a little less than $8 for a pound of fresh shrimp, while the package would have cost me about $14. This may vary depending on where you live, but why waste money on frozen shrimp when you can buy the good fresh stuff and just clean it yourself?

What's important about removing the dark vein in the back of the shrimp is, it's is actually the shrimp's digestive tract. Gross, right?

1. Peel off the shell and remove the tail.
2. Using a sharp knife, make a shallow incision along the back of the shrimp.
3. Remove the vein using the tip of the knife. Discard.

That's it! Seriously, that's it. It's a slow and tedious process, but it's got to be done. After I remove the veins of the shrimp, I toss them in a bowl of water for an extra rinse-off.

Now that your shrimp are cleaned, let's cook!

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and pepper flakes until the garlic is light brown (about 30 seconds). Add the onion and continue cooking until it is translucent.

2.Season the shrimp with a pinch of salt and add to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are pink and lightly caramelized (if making pasta, start this now).

tri-color fettuccine!

3. Remove from heat, stir in the parsley, lemon juice and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper. Serve as is, or on top a portion of buttered pasta, quinoa or couscous!

Thanks to our friend Ben for modeling this bowl =)

Now, I have to admit this dish was not perfect the first time around. The first time I went to cook the garlic and pepper in the oil, I left it on the stove too long and the fumes from the burning chilies nearly choked all of us to death. Then, the second time around, I added waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much red pepper into the pan. That was just my stupidity. However, my fiance and our friends that partook of the meal insisted that the intense spice was perfectly fine.

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you "celebrating" out there. Just remember: Love is all about whistles.

Love Is... - Bo Burnham

Fiery Buffalo Wings

2011-02-11T13:03:00.000-05:00

Surprise quick entry!!!

On Superbowl Sunday, my fiance's mom bought about 2 pounds of chicken wings, and then decided she didn't want them. Well, we happened to be at the right place at the right time and she handed the wings over to us! We didn't end up eating them on Sunday (my 7 layer dip was just way too filling), so they sat in the fridge until I decided what to do with them.

I finally decided! On Thursday night, I made fiery buffalo wings.

I haven't mentioned my favorite book Cook This, Not That! in awhile. I think the last recipe I pulled from it was the French pot roast. Anyway, this book's expertise lies in taking popular fast-food or chain restaurant menu items and creating healthier, cheaper alternatives. This recipe is based off of Hooter's wings (because why else would you go to Hooters?!). If you follow this recipe, according to the book, you will save yourself about 700 calories! You can't beat that!

FIERY BUFFALO WINGS, courtesy of Cook This, Not That!

YOU WILL NEED:

2 lbs chicken wings (preferably a mix of wing segments and drummettes)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper
1 tsp chili powder

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot or Cholula work best)

Juice of 1 lemon
Celery sticks (optional)

mise-en-place

You will also need a baking sheet and a medium or large skillet.

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Toss the chicken with the salt, pepper and chili powder (using a gallon-sized zip-closed bag is the easiest way) and arrange on a baking sheet. Roast until the skin is lightly blistered and the meat is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

2. Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet or saute pan. Add the hot sauce and the lemon juice. Remove the wings from the oven and add directly to the hot pan, tossing thoroughly to coat every piece in the sauce.

3. Serve the wings with celery sticks on the side and blue cheese dressing.

I asked my fiance what he wanted with the wings, and he requested jasmine rice and peas. Ask and you shall receive!

Now, I didn't have the ingredients to make blue cheese dressing, but here's a quick way of doing it:

Mix 1 cup plain Greek-style yogurt (like Fage 2%) with 2 tbsp crumbled blue cheese and about 2 tbsp lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste!

I have made the dressing before and it is very light and refreshing, and the taste is not overpowering like bottled dressing is. It's quite pleasant.

Wow, this really was a super short entry. Well, tonight's recipe will be posted tomorrow and it will make up for it: it's shrimp scampi night! I swear, you will be so impressed with how easy this is. I am pretty excited! The shrimp in my fridge are calling to me. And yes, you will learn how to peel and de-vein shrimp!

Stay tuned, eaters.

Stuffed Tomatoes & Asparagus Risotto

2011-02-10T12:10:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to post Wednesdays recipes that I barely have enough words to describe how excited I am.

My fiance's parents love to go to garage sales and when we were in the process of moving in to our new apartment, they always thought of us and what sort of little knickknacks - cute and silly things that we never thought of, like a spoon rest or salt-and-pepper shakers. One time they brought us a gigantic bag of hangers. Another time, they brought us this cookbook:

Fiance's mom sheepishly admitted she tried one of the recipes before handing it over - but who can blame her? (The recipe she tried, by the way, was saffron risotto and it kicked butt)

I have a deep reverence for the Italians and their food. I think I might have been Italian in another life. But then again, the Jews and the Italians are practically the same culture: massive amounts of unbelievably delicious food, overbearing mothers, emphatic gesturing, grandparents who feed first and ask questions later. I also realized once I befriended someone who is Greek that the Greeks also fall under this category (the category being AWESOMENESS).

Anyway. Italian cuisine is probably my favorite (or have you forgotten my obsession with pasta?). So of course a cookbook titled "Basic Italian" (by Cornelia Schinharl, Sebastian Dickhaut & Kelsey Lane) would be right up my alley. I've tried two recipes from this book so far (which I promise to revisit sometime in the future for review on this blog) and I'm about to embark on two more.

I was totally intrigued by this recipe for Pomodori ripieni (stuffed tomatoes), but I had no idea what to serve them with. Would they be too filling if I served them on the side with an actual entree? Or are they hearty enough to stand on their own? Thankfully, this is one of those cookbooks that gives you suggestions. At the bottom of each recipe, it offers ideas as to what will go with what. It turns out that these stuffed tomatoes are "delicious with grilled fish or meat; or, as a main dish with bread or risotto".

Risotto! A staple side in Italian cuisine. The book calls it "the best dish rice could ever aspire to" and I'm inclined to agree.

Did anyone ever watch the reality show "Hell's Kitchen"? This is one of those shows that fall into the category of "it seemed like a good idea at the time". For those who missed it, it was a cooking competition show hosted by Gordon Ramsey and was the American version of his similar UK show "Boiling Points".

My parents, chefs both, used to love this show, and would often scoff when the so-called "professional" contestants failed to produce a simple risotto. "Risotto is like culinary one-oh-one!" they would laugh. "How can they be a professional and not be able to make a risotto?!"

I may be a n00b when it comes to cooking, but I'm 99% sure even I can whip up a risotto better than the contestants on "Hell's Kitchen". Hopefully, you'll be able to too!

Because it takes less attention, I'm going to start with the tomatoes. Here we go!

POMODORI RIPIENI (Stuffed Tomatoes), courtesy of "Basic Italian"

Feeds 4

YOU WILL NEED:

4 large or 8 medium tomatoes

1 (3.5oz) can oil-packed sardines

2 tablespoons black black olives (kalamata or Nicoise)

1/2 cup fresh parsley sprigs

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

mise-en-place!

As for equipment, you will be needing a large baking dish (9x13 is suitable), a medium skillet and, if you're trying to save time, a food processor. A quick note about the tomatoes - because I went food shopping on Saturday, so far in advance for this recipe, I purposefully picked tomatoes that were slightly under ripe. By the time I was ready to use them on Wednesday night, they were perfect.

1. Rinse tomatoes and cut top off each one - scoop out the contents (reserve). Discard the seeds and chop the rest of the contents finely. Drain the outer shell of tomatoes upside down on paper towels (to be stuffed later).

2. Drain sardines and chop. Dice pitted olives finely. Rinse parsley, pull off leaves and chop finely. Peel onion and garlic; chop both finely (here's where the food processor is useful).

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add and saute the onion and garlic. Stir in chopped tomato and parsley and cook uncovered over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

4. Stir in olives and sardines. Remove pan from heat and let cool slightly, then add bread crumbs, Parmesan, lemon juice and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Stuff the whole tomato shells by filling generously with the tomato-Parmesan--bread crumb mixture (overflowing is desirable). Arrange tomatoes side-by-side in a greased baking dish and sprinkle with remaining oil.

6. Bake tomatoes on the middle rack for about 30 minutes until the tops are nicely browned.

Delicious! And, might I add, they smelled fantastic!

Now onto the risotto...

RISOTTO AGLI ASPARAGLI (Asparagus Risotto), courtesy of "Basic Italian"

Feeds 4-6

YOU WILL NEED:

1 lb green asparagus

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons butter

2 cups risotto rice (arborio or vialone)

3 1/4 cups stock (veal is preferable, but beef will also work or even vegetable, if making vegetarian)

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 to 1 lemon

A few sprigs basil

3 1/2 oz fontina cheese (Parmesan or fontinella will also work)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

All you will need for this recipe is at least a 5-qt pot. Also, I want to add that you can find risotto in the pasta aisle of your grocery store. I almost had a little panic attack when I couldn't find it. Another thing: the recipe calls for fontina cheese, but in a pinch, fontinella cheese will do the trick. In my case, it was almost $1 cheaper to buy fontinella instead.

1. Rinse asparagus and trim off tough ends. Cut off the tips as well (about 1"), because you won't add them to the pot until later. Cut the rest into 1/2" pieces. Peel the onion and garlic; chop both finely.

2. Melt half the butter but don't brown. Briefly saute onion, garlic and asparagus in it while stirring constantly. Add rice and stir until the grains are shiny. Heat stock to a gentle boil.

3. Add wine and let evaporate over high heat while stirring. Then add 1 ladle stock and switch risotto pot to medium heat. Keep stirring diligently while gradually adding the hot stock. After 10 minutes, add the asparagus tips and after another 10 minutes, do a taste test. The grains should be easy to chew but not entirely soft.

4. Rinse lemon, pat dry and grate off a thin layer of zest - without the white part, which would impart a bitter taste to the risotto. Lemon zest should be in fine strips: if not, chop. Remove basil leaves and cut into narrow strips. Dice fontina cheese.

5. Add cheese, lemon zest, basil and remaining butter to the pot and stir only until the cheese has melted in the hot rice mixture. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy the delicious finale!

And the final plate!!!

Whew!! What an arduous recipe this was. Definitely do not attempt if you have weak arm muscles. You literally are stirring the risotto dish for about twenty solid minutes.

I cooked this for friends who came over for our weekly viewing of "Face Off" and all I had to do was blink and the plates were clean! I was given a round of thumbs up and Fiance asked me to cook this again.

You might have noticed that on the right hand side of the blog I have added tags! YAY! What are tags? Well, say you want a chicken recipe. You can click on the "chicken" tag and it will show you all my entries that have chicken in them!

I'm labeling this recipe as both Fish and Vegetarian. The tomatoes have sardines in them, so that's the fish. However, to make both recipes vegetarian, simply omit the sardines from the tomato recipe and use vegetable stock in the risotto instead of beef or veal. Simple, yes? Also, it's tagged as Side Dish because separately, they are two side dishes coming together to make one entree.

Keep your eyes peeled for a shrimp scampi recipe! Also, surprise - I have a great weeknight recipe for spicy chicken wings that is sure to set your mouth on fire with its deliciousness!

Until next time - eat, drink and be merry!

Glazed Orange Poppy Seed Cake

2011-02-07T16:48:00.000-05:00

Question: What. Is better. Than cake?!

Answer: Nothing.

Christmas? Overrated. World peace? Never going to happen. Winning the lottery? There's a better shot of world peace.

Cake is certainty.


Hyperbole and a Half

Welcome to the very first dessert-themed entry of Cogito Ergo Nom! Usually I don't like making desserts because they're a serious pain in the butt. But this one was so simple I couldn't not try it.

That being said, yesterday was full of food. I made a 7 Layer Dip and Fiance whipped up some chicken drumsticks with our favorite Cholula hot sauce (we jokingly call it "Cthulu sauce", after a hilarious mispronunciation during a visit to IHOP).

Anyway. I also made this cake.

I mentioned a few entries ago that it's entirely possible to make a cake in a crock pot. I'm confirming this. I made a cake in the crock pot. I was originally going to make this cake a couple of weeks ago to bring to Shabbat service, but I was so sick that week we didn't end up going. The ingredients and the recipe were calling to me, just waiting to be whipped up. Finally, last night, Superbowl Sunday, I gave in and I made the cake. We had a few friends over not necessarily to watch the football game, but to watch the commercials and wait around for the new episode of "Glee" (which was awesome. The mash-up between "Thriller" and "Heads Will Roll" was epic, and the show's hair/makeup/costume people had their work cut out for them).

Here's how to make this cake - super easy and it tasted amazing!

GLAZED ORANGE POPPY SEED CAKE, courtesy of the Crock Pot Recipe Collection
YOU WILL NEED:
FOR THE BATTER:
1 1/2 cups buscuit baking mix
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons grated orange peel

FOR THE GLAZE:
1/4 cup orange juice
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons poppy seeds

NOTE: I did not have any orange juice but I did juice the orange that I'd grated the zest from. Smart, yes?! I also just realized that I forgot to put the powdered sugar in the mise-en-place. D'oh! By the way, for all you n00bs like me out there, "powdered sugar" is the same thing as "confectioner's sugar". Just so you know. 'Cus I didn't at first. Also, I was out of milk so I used half-and-half. It's half milk. So....it works, right? (Right)

Other than a crock pot, you will need two medium-sized mixing bowls and a whisk. A spatula is desired, not required.

1. Coat the inside of a crock pot with nonstick cooking spray. Cut waxed paper into a circle to fit the bottom of the crock pot (trace the insert bottom and cut slightly smaller to fit). Spray bottom with cooking spray.


Thank you to Colleen who did this part for me because I didn't feel like it.

2. Whisk together baking mix, sugar and poppy seeds in a medium-sized bowl; set aside. In another bowl, blend sour cream, egg, milk, vanilla and orange peel. Whisk wet ingredients into dry mixture until thoroughly blended.

3. Spoon batter into crock pot and smooth the top (here's where a spatula would come in handy). Place a paper towel under lid, then cover. Cook on HIGH for 1 1/2 HOURS. Cake is done when top is no longer shiny and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

4. Invert the cake onto cooking rack, peel off wax paper and allow to cool right-side-up on cooling rack.

It's shaped weird because my crock pot is in the shape of an oval, not circular. Also, as I'm' sure you can see, the cake got just a little burned. My crock pot does not have a manual time setting - only 4, 6, 8 or 10 hours. So, to bake this for only 90 minutes, I had to set it to 4 hours, then set my microwave timer. During halftime, we decided our ears had been damaged by the Black Eyed Peas, so my fiance decided to blast Five Finger Death Punch to "cure" us. It must have been during that time that my microwave timer went off. Good thing I meandered into the kitchen a short while later and realized that the timer was no longer counting down. The damage, however, was minimal. I'm told it didn't taste burned at all. Huzzah!

5. To make the glaze, whisk orange juice into powdered sugar.

6. Cut the cake into wedges and place on cooling rack with a tray underneath to catch the drips. With a small spatula or knife, spread glaze over top and cut sides of each wedge. Sprinkle poppy seeds over top and allow glaze to set.

Yummy!

Be forewarned - the glaze all by itself is REALLY, REALLY SWEET. I mean, it's 90% powdered sugar for goodness sake. But when it's set into the cake - dear God. It's delicious! I was afraid that the orange flavor in both the cake and the glaze would be too overpowering, but I was wrong (as usual).

Coming up this week, two recipes I've never tried before, and one "repeat offender" that I cannot wait to share and try again! Wednesday night I'll be making Roasted Stuffed Tomatoes & Asparagus Risotto. Thursday I will be making shrimp scampi - but be forewarned, this is a healthier version, one that is not drowning in butter. But I promise, it is still delicious!!!

Until next time - eat, drink and be merry!

Oven-Fried Chicken Tenders

2011-02-05T15:50:00.000-05:00

As I rummaged through my refrigerator yesterday, trying to decide what do to for dinner, I spotted a package of recently defrosted chicken breasts resting on the bottom shelf. Perfect, I thought. I'll whip up something nice and easy. Then, as my eyes wandered up from the bottom to the top shelf, I saw it. Gazing me hatefully in the face. My bane. My enemy.

Buttermilk.

Then I remembered what the chicken breasts were for.

I don't know what buttermilk consists of, and frankly, I don't want to know. I've never tasted it. I don't know anyone who has. I had a professor in college who decided we all needed to try buttermilk and actually brought a carton of it in to class one day - along with plastic cups - and demanded that everyone have some. I managed to fake my way through it by bringing the cup to my lips and pretending to take a swallow, then just shaking my head "no" emphatically when the professor asked me if I liked it.

I never forgave that professor for putting me through that, but I did well in the class at least (which was Experimental Fiction, for those who care).

This recipe calls for only a half cup of buttermilk, yet when I went to the supermarket, hoping to find at least a pint or half-pint, like they sold heavy cream, I was told by the very nice man in the dairy department that this did not exist. I would have to settle for a FULL QUART. I expressed my disappointment, explaining to the dairy man that I only needed four ounces, to cook with, and made it perfectly clear that despite my complaints, it wasn't his fault. He just said, "You're not the first one to complain. A lot of people ask me if we stock small containers because they also need it to cook with. It's such a waste that people have to buy a full quart and then have it go to waste." Before I left, he told me he was going to file a request with their distributor to provide smaller containers of buttermilk because he'd had so many complaints.

One step at a time, right? Maybe by the next time I decide to make this recipe, there will be smaller containers to be had. But for now, I have a quart of buttermilk that is slowly curdling in my fridge because I have no idea what to do with it.

This recipe is a fresh new take on chicken tenders. It is usually cooked in a toaster oven, but I had too much chicken and not enough space in the toaster oven, so I decided to cook it in a conventional oven. It is surprisingly filling for a meal, or you can always double (or even triple) the recipe if you're entertaining.

OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN TENDERS, courtesy of TheNest.com

Yields ~12 tenders

YOU WILL NEED:

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon oil

1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves or rosemary needles

Olive oil spray (optional)

mise-en-place

You will also need a mixing bowl and a food processor.

Yes, that is in fact a basil plant all the way to the left. I found it at the supermarket. I couldn't find a little plastic container of it, so I settled for this - and realized a few days later, I didn't "settle" at all! It's the best thing ever. It was in the produce section and it came in a little plastic pouch. The ball of roots is in tact and all you need to keep it alive is water. I bought this almost 2 weeks ago and it is still thriving. Plus my kitchen smells like fresh basil 24/7. What's better than that?

Also, the recipe suggests that you prep overnight to let the chicken marinate. However, I marinated for about 10 hours and it still came out kick-ass.

1. In a shallow dish, mix together the buttermilk, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and oil. Place the chicken pieces in the buttermilk mixture and coat them thoroughly. Marinate the chicken in the buttermilk mixture overnight in the refrigerator.

2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (or the toaster oven to 425 F). In a food processor, mix the oats, red pepper flakes, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, Parmesan and basil. Pulse until the oats are partially powdered. Alternatively, mix the ingredients together in a bowl with a wooden spoon.

3. Spread the oat mixture on a plate. Shake any excess buttermilk off the chicken and dredge to coat each piece thoroughly.

4. Place the chicken pieces on a tray lined with foil and sprayed with no-stick oil (if using a toaster oven, check your manufacturer's instructions for any cautions against using foil), so that they are not touching one another. If using, spray the chicken pieces lightly with oil. Bake for about 20-30 minutes in the oven (10 to 15 minutes in the toaster oven), depending on the thickness of the meat, until the crust is golden brown and crispy.

5. Remove the chicken from the oven and serve hot, or refrigerate and serve cold over a salad.

Yummy! I served them hot, obviously, with a side of brown rice and a salad. The coating was crispy and the red pepper gave it a little kick while the basil and Parmesan gave it bold flavor. This definitely is going to be repeat recipe. It was so easy and we devoured them. Next time I'm going to mix it up a little, use herbs other than basil, or maybe mix the basil with rosemary and oregano and possibly some more garlic. They could have been more garlicky. The possibilities are endless!

So tomorrow is Superbowl Sunday. We don't have anything special planned; just having a few friends over. I'm making 7 layer dip as well as what I'm featuring tomorrow: a glazed Orange Poppy Seed Cake. It's another crock pot recipe. Yes, a cake in the crock pot! How cool is that?

Okay, time to finish cleaning my apartment and watch some more of the "Glee" marathon. Until next time: eat, drink and be merry!

Hot Beef Sandwiches Au Jus

2011-02-04T12:19:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted! But I promise, I have a legitimate excuse! Firstly, I was sick for about 4 and a half days. I didn't even want to attempt cooking anything. I won't go into any details. Saturday night I was hanging out with my mom. Sunday, we were supposed to have friends over but it didn't happen. So, leftovers. Monday was the day I was going to go shopping and prepare for the upcoming week. But a small emergency arose and Fiance had to take a whirlwind trip to Brooklyn, which left me solo for the night.

On Tuesday, we went to go see one of our favorite bands, Panic at the Disco, perform in NYC. It was amazing; their first performance in the United States in roughly two years. It was a very small venue, 500 people tops. I was among the first people on line waiting to get inside, so I was pushed right up against the stage for the whole show. It was...transcendent. It made me 10x more excited for their new album.

BONUS: Here's a video of lead singer Brendon Urie performing "Science Fiction/Double Feature" from Rocky Horror Picture Show, and my Fiance and I making him laugh so hard he had to stop playing piano.

Thanks to my sister-friend Stephanie for the video!

Anyway...we were so exhausted from the concert and traveling back from Manhattan that we didn't even make it back to our apartment, and instead slept on my mom's couch. The weather had taken a turn for the worse and by morning, everything was iced over. We slept til way past noon and just couldn't muster up the energy to drive home. By the time we did, all I could do was whip up a meatloaf before friends came over to watch "Face Off."

One of the best new shows on TV right now, kid you not!

But -- I'm back on the cooking horse now!

A few weeks ago, Fiance brought home a present for me. One of the best ever. The complete Crock-Pot Recipe Collection.

Over 500 pages of nothing but crock-pot recipes. I nearly had an aneurysm from the excitement. I immediately sat down with a stack of Post-Its and began my ritual that I perform with every new cookbook - marking recipes that I want to try. By the end of this process, there was a Post-It on nearly every single page. When it came time to choose my first recipe from this book, I couldn't even begin to decide. So, I brought the book to my fiance and asked him to open up to a random page and pick a recipe. And he did. That's how he landed on:

HOT BEEF SANDWICHES AU JUS, courtesy of the Crock Pot Recipe Collection
YOU WILL NEED:
4 pounds of beef rump roast
2 envelopes (1 oz each) onion-flavor dry soup mix
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cans (10.5 oz each) beef broth
1 bottle (12 oz) beer
Crusty rolls, sliced in half (I used Portuguese rolls!)

You will also need, other than a slow-cooker, a medium or large mixing bowl.

Please be advised, this recipe takes 6 to 8 HOURS! So if you're planning on whipping this up for Superbowl Sunday, prepare well in advance!

1. Trim excess fat from beef and discard (the butcher at my supermarket was very nice and trimmed the excess fat off the beef for me, yay!). Place beef in the slow cooker.

2. Combine soup mix, sugar, oregano, garlic, broth, and beer in a mixing bowl. Pour mixture over the beef.

3. Cook on HIGH 6 TO 8 HOURS, or until the beef is fork-tender.

4. Remove the beef from the crock pot. Shred beef with two forks. Return beef to cooking liquid; mix well. Serve on crusty rolls with extra cooking liquid ("au jus") on the side!

Luckily we had friends over last night or else ALL OF THIS BEEF would go to waste (not really). But I'm glad - it was so much food and I had three other people to feed, and everyone was happy. The beef was perfectly tender and the au jus was flavored well. We all had a hell of a time trying to keep the sandwiches from falling apart because the au jus seeped so fast through the bread! It was worth the minimal struggle. As you can see, I served it with onion rings on the side. I thought it was a good combo, and so did everyone else!

Remember when I talked about marking up all my cookbooks with Post-Its? I'm not kidding. While I was sick in bed (okay, "on couch"), I gathered my cookbooks and wrote down every single recipe I'd earmarked with a Post-It, along with what book it came from and the corresponding page number. Then, I transferred them from my notebook to a giant Excel spreadsheet. After minor crisis as to how to organize this giant clusterf*ck of recipes, I arranged them by what type of recipe they were (Appetizer, Bread, Breakfast, Entree, Desserts, Sauces, and Side Dishes), and then alphabetically within that category. It took me four hours.

The result? Beauty. Six pages - four of which are entrees alone - of meals I have never tried before, meals I will make and eventually feature on this blog. I have enough entrees to make 2 new dinners a week for an entire meal and ever have the same thing twice. Of course, I'm going to feature more side dishes and desserts (the first dessert entry will be on Superbowl Sunday!), and this week I'm preparing two side dishes to make one meal - Roasted Stuffed Tomatoes with Asparagus Risotto! Also planned is a healthy version of Shrimp Scampi. I promise, as always, these recipes are way easier than they sound!

Also, look out for tags/labels coming soon. I think I have enough entries that I can tag them for search functions. I have so many recipes coming up soon that I think the tags might be necessary in the future!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some cleaning to do!

Until next time....eat, drink and be merry!

Parmesan-Sage Pork Loin

2011-01-26T22:10:00.000-05:00

Arrgghh. This blog is a full 24 hours late. I made the dinner last night but I got super involved in watching the season premiere of "RuPaul's Drag Race" and blogging fell to the wayside.

I f*cking love this show.

Then I woke up this morning with a horrendous cold that is threatening to ruin everything. I'm trying extra hard to get rid of it by Friday.

Remember when I said it took me 7 months to even attempt cooking pork? I am happy to say that that was the day I overcame my fear. It was not without mishaps, oh no. There were plenty of those. The biggest one being that I hadn't allowed enough time to defrost the pork and foolishly guessed that cooking it at the suggested time and temperature would take care of the rest of the defrosting. Nope. That resulted in a beautifully cooked pork roast that wasn't edible until nearly midnight (we ended up ordering a pizza for dinner, to say the least).

Now, I know better. This time I'm letting my slow cooker do the work. Luckily, this recipe is awesome because it gives you the option of doing it in the oven or in a slow cooker. So for those of you who still haven't gotten their hands on a crock pot, there is still hope!

If you do decide to do this recipe in the slow cooker, be advised it takes 6 to 8 hours. In the oven, it's only 45 minutes.

PARMESAN-SAGE PORK LOIN, courtesy of TheNest.com
YOU WILL NEED:
2 lbs pork tenderloin, trimmed of silverskin
2 cups diced red potatoes, unpeeled
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry sherry
2 tablespoons dried sage
1 tablespoon salt-fee garlic-and-herb seasoning
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and black pepper to taste

Mise en Place

I didn't have any garlic-and-herb seasoning, so I used plain old garlic powder.Of course, the potatoes were soaking in cold water. Because I forgot to do it the night before, I simply added a dozen ice cubes to a bowl of super cold water and let them sit for about 3 hours.

1. Arrange potatoes, onion, celery, and carrots at the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour the sherry and broth over them.

2. Season the pork all over with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with the sage and garlic-and-herb seasoning.

3. Place the pork on top of the vegetables and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese (press it into the meat). Cover and cook in crock pot on LOW for 6 to 8 hours (alternatively, follow the directions above, except arranging the ingredients in a large roasting pan. Roast at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes).

4. Let the pork rest for 10 minutes before serving. Cut crosswise in 1/2-inch thick slices and serve with the vegetables and brothy sauce

Well, what can I say about this recipe other than I LOVE MY CROCK POT?! Seriously. I spent about 30 minutes in preparation and threw it all in a crock pot for an entire day. The pork was flavorful and the cheese was not overpowering. fell apart when cut with a fork, and the vegetables were well-flavored. As you can see, I served it also with some steamed broccoli. It was a well-balanced meal.

Overall, it was delicious, but I wasn't truly excited by it. I don't know why. I don't think I will be making this recipe again. However, the other two people who ate it - my fiance and our friend Colleen - could not get enough of it, and polished most of it off.

Coming up next week, I have two meals planned: Shredded Beef Sandwiches with Au Jus and a "healthified" version of Shrimp Scampi. Fiance surprised me with a gigantic cookbook of nothing but crock pot recipes, so expect to see way more of those on here!

Quesadilla Casserole

2011-01-24T12:36:00.000-05:00

Normally, I am wary of any dish with the word "casserole" in the title. I don't know why. I don't associate it with anything particularly negative. Maybe it's the actual word itself. It's not a great word. "Casserole". "Casserole". "Casserole." Say it over and over again, and you might choke on it.

Okay, I don't want any negative connotation involving this dish. It was undeniably delicious; I just wish it didn't have the word "casserole" on it. Let's think of it as a lasagna, okay? Quesadilla Lasagna.

The recipe once again comes from the fine folks at McCormick and their lovely little spice packets. I mentioned the McCormick Recipe Inspirations on the Chicken Tikka Masala blog, but if you don't feel like clicking over there, I'll reiterate.

McCormick Recipe Inspirations are little packets of spices that come with a recipe for you to use those spices in. They look like this:

and they can be found in your supermarket's spice aisle. The recipes are on the back of the packets. They list not only the spices that are included in the pack, but any other ingredients you will need to complete the dish, and are detachable so you can reuse them again and again.The recipes are easy to follow and they help beginner cooks get acquainted with their spices.

Apparently my area is supposed to get hit with snow sometime this week so I did a major, major grocery shop yesterday. I have dinners planned out for the week, two of which are left-over friendly. This is one of them. There was plenty Quesadilla Lasagna to go around, and eating it kind of eased the pain of watching the Jets go into a tailspin last night.

QUESADILLA CASSEROLE (or Lasagna), courtesy of McCormick Recipe Inspirations
YOU WILL NEED:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cans (8oz each) tomato sauce
1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8 3/4 oz) can whole kernel corn, undrained
1 (4.5oz) can chopped green chiles, undrained
6 flour tortillas, 8" in diameter
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tsp chili powder*
1 tsp ground cumin*
1 tsp minced garlic*
1/2 tsp oregano leaves*
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper*

*included in spice packet

Mise-en-Place

You will also need a 13x9 baking dish and a large skillet. Also, as you can see, I did not use plain flour tortillas. I found these in my supermarket; they're jalapeno and cilantro-flavored tortillas. I thought it would add a nice flavor to the dish and make it a little interesting. They were slightly green, as expected, but once they were cooked into the dish it didn't matter.

On the side I made Spanish rice (arroz amarillo); I don't know why I included it in the mise-en-place.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brown the beef and onion in a large skillet on medium-high heat; drain. Add tomato sauce, beans, corn, and green chiles. Mix well. Stir in all the spices except crushed red pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer for 5 minutes. Add red pepper to taste, if desired.

2. Spread 1/2 cup of beef mixture onto the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish that's been sprayed with no-stick cooking spray (NOTE: I discovered that a 1/2 cup was not enough beef to cover the entire bottom of the baking dish. I ended up using 2 cups for each layer). Top with 3 tortillas, overlapping as needed.

3. Layer with 1/2 of the remaining beef mixture and 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat with remaining tortillas, beef mixture and cheese.

4. Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Lovely! It came out just as good as I had hoped. I was worried about the tortillas, that they would come out too chewy, but no - they were soft and easy to cut through with the side of a fork. The cheese was perfectly melted and the beef was spiced well. Also, it wasn't until after I had put the dish in the oven that I realized I didn't add in the crushed red pepper! I was slightly disappointed, but the spice was optional and it couldn't have tasted any better than if I had added it. So, I opened the packet and emptied it into my bigger bottle of crushed red pepper. No waste!

Okay, so I know my Jersey peeps are bummed about the Jets, but there's always next year, right? There's always next year. Everyone else - enjoy the Superbowl, no matter who you're rooting for. I'm looking forward to only one thing: the first episode of part 2, season 2 of "Glee", which airs directly after the game! =)

Yes, I am fully aware as to how lame I am.

This week I have two new recipes I am trying out: herb oven-fried chicken and slow-cooker Parmesan-and-sage pork. Apparently we're in for more snow, so this is sure to keep our tummies warm.

Stay safe out there! <3

Super Sidekicks: Tubettini with Peas & Cream

2011-01-21T01:09:00.000-05:00

I thought I would do a quick little post here.

Not all side dishes are created equal! It doesn't always have to be meat, potatoes, vegetables. Boring. Ho-hum. Let's zazz up some side dishes, shall we? I'm going to start introducing Super Sidekicks. Impressive, easy and above all tasty ways to pick up a meal.

Tonight I simply did not have the energy to make the chicken thighs in my freezer exciting. My brain was not working at full capacity. My fiance requested I simply use some lemon-pepper seasoning and be done with it.

"But that's boring!" I objected.
"I don't care if it's boring!" he insisted.

(For the record, I not only used the lemon pepper, but olive oil, crushed red pepper and minced garlic. I coated all the chicken thighs in this, then baked at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes)

Of course, I had to serve something alongside the chicken, so I rummaged around in my pantry and found tubettini: tiny tube-shaped pasta. Of course, I ran to my copy of 365 Ways to Cook Pasta (man, it's getting a lot of press lately!) and flipped to the chapter on tiny pasta shapes (yes, there is an entire chapter on tiny pasta shapes).

This recipe calls for farfalline (tiny butterfly shapes), but I don't see any harm in using tubettini instead.

TUBETTINI (FARFALLINE) WITH PEAS AND CREAM, courtesy of 365 Ways to Cook Pasta
YOU WILL NEED:
1 cup farfalline
1 cup frozen peas
2/3 cup heavy cream (or more as needed)
Grated Parmesan cheese
pinch of salt

mise-en-place

Please excuse any poor lighting, the bulb in my kitchen blew and I'm not tall enough to change it. I had to wait until my fiance came home!

You will also need at least a 2-quart saucepan for the sauce as well as a pot to cook the pasta in.

1. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente, about 8-10 minutes. Drain.

2. Combine the peas and heavy cream in a saucepan; heat to boiling.

3. Stir in the pasta with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until the pasta absorbs most of the cream, about 2 minutes.

4. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top; serve alongside your meal!

There you go - an easy and nutritious side dish, something different for a weeknight meal!

What do you think? Is this something I should continue doing? I figure every so often I'll feature a special side dish, and maybe even branch out into desserts eventually! How does that sound?

Feedback is appreciated, as always.

For my brethren on the East coast, have fun with the snow tomorrow. I surely won't.

Peace!

Pesto Salmon with Black Bean & Corn Salsa

2011-01-20T12:57:00.000-05:00

Wow, I'm late in posting this. My laptop was misbehaving last night and I got so frustrated I decided to postpone posting Wednesday night's recipe until this morning and watch "American Idol" instead. After last season's disappointing finale and the departure of my favorite cranky Brit, I'm not watching for any other reason than Steven Tyler.

Meanwhile, J. Lo can jump off a cliff.

Anyway ... I think this is the week for some good home cooking! Nothing fancy, but every bit delicious. Tuesday night was Mom's turkey meatloaf. Last night, a very excellent recipe courtesy of a lovely lady named Cate Doyle.

Cate and I know each other from a message board that we both frequent, on which members often share recipes. When Cate posted this, I could not wait to try it. It incorporated so many of my favorite foods - salmon, pesto, black beans - into one easy dish.

Cate, who got the recipe from her mother, who got it from a friend, calls it "quick gourmet":

"...It seems so fancy to serve to people, sounds impressive, but is incredibly easy and 'beginner cook' friendly."

I tried this "quick gourmet" recipe and immediately told her how much we had enjoyed it. Two more girls then sampled it and also sang its praises! Now, with Cate's permission, I am bringing it to Cogito Ergo Nom.

As a lot of you know, I link the most recent blog post on Facebook. When I posted my fish and chips recipe, a friend of mine from high school commented on the post, telling me that she had only recently started enjoying fish. I promised her that there would be more fish recipes on the way, and I kept my promise!

Many novice cooks are apprehensive about cooking fish, but I guarantee this is so easy it will help you overcome your fears!

Salmon is my favorite fish ever. Not only is it a great color (it's the new black), but it's high in protein, vitamin D and Omega-3 fatty acids. Don't let the word "fatty" make you backpedal! Omega-3 fatty acids are extracted from the tissues of oily fish and they have tremendous health benefits. It can improve your immune system, lower the risk of breast, prostate and colon cancers and reduce depression and anxiety. Also, regular intake of fish oil may even reduce the risk of heart attacks.

Plus it tastes amazing on a bagel with some shmear.

Yum yum yum.

Paired with hearty black beans, refreshing pesto and tangy salsa and lime, this dish is definitely one to impress your friends with.

This dish is topped with pesto. Pesto is one of my favorite condiments ever. It is an Italian sauce that is traditionally made from ground-up basil, pine nuts, garlic and Parmesan cheese. It tastes amazing on pasta (which is called "pasta alla genovese"). Unfortunately, I did not have any basil on hand. Fortunately, however, I have a fantastic recipe courtesy of Marie Simmons (author of my favorite cookbook, 365 Ways To Cook Pasta) for parsley pesto.

CATE'S PESTO SALMON WITH BLACK BEAN & CORN SALSA
YOU WILL NEED:
Salmon (1 pound is enough for 2 people)
Pesto
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans
1 container of your favorite salsa
Cilantro
1 lime

mise-e-n-place

In terms of equipment, all you will need is a mixing bowl and a 9x13 casserole dish.

If you have a blender, I strongly recommend making your own pesto. You can purchase it ready-made from the grocery store, but it can get a little expensive. Plus there is nothing better than making it fresh. Try making it yourself once and you will never go back.

Simmons' parsley pesto recipe makes one cup (8oz) of pesto, but if you decide to make a bigger batch, it can be frozen for future usage. However, once you defrost pesto, do not attempt to refreeze it. Use it all up once you unfreeze it or else it will oxidize.

PARSLEY PESTO, courtesy of 365 Ways To Cook Pasta
YOU WILL NEED:
2 cups of packed Italian flat-leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1. Chop the parsley and the garlic in the blender or food processor. Add the salt and the pine nuts and process until finely chopped.

2. Add the oil, blend until well mixed.

3. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze.

Now you know how to make delicious, fresh pesto and you will never have to waste money on it at the supermarket again! YAY!

Onto our main course! If your salmon has skin, it would be imperative to remove it. Don't worry, this is easier than it sounds. Put the salmon meat-side down on a clean cutting board. Take the tip of a very sharp knife and run it under the skin.

You can either use the knife the entire way, or sometimes the knife can aid in peeling off the skin. Try not to take any of the meat with it! But be forewarned, this is a slow process. Take your time.

Once you've got your salmon skinned, you can get on with preparing the actual recipe!

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Drain corn and black beans, mix with salsa and pour over the bottom of a deep baking dish.

2. Lay the piece of salmon over the top, cover it with a a decent layer of pesto. Squeeze lime juice over the whole thing; top with a sprinkling of cilantro.

3. Bake for 45 minutes or until the fish flakes easily.

And there you have it: "quick gourmet"! A great fish recipe for beginners! Tasty, healthy and, most importantly, simple but impressive! Thank you for sharing this recipe, Cate - it is much loved here, and hopefully in homes everywhere else!

I was planning on not being home for most of this week, but that turned out to fall through. So, I think...I THINK...there might be one more recipe to be had. Someone recently shared a recipe for Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken that I am intrigued by, but I'm not entirely sure I have the energy to cook it. I'm not having a great week. I think I'm calling a leftovers night.

Until next time...eat well, friends!

Mom's Turkey Meatloaf with Roasted Garlic-Rosemary Potatoes

2011-01-18T22:12:00.000-05:00

I am all about comfort food, as I mentioned in the French Pot Roast entry. The best and most ultimate comfort food is something that was just like Mommy (or Grandma or Dad) used to make. It's like in one of my favorite movies, Ratatouille ... I hope I'm not spoiling anything, but there is a scene where the harsh food critic Anton Ego is served the title dish and he immediately flashes back to his childhood. He skinned his knee on his bike and went home to his mommy, where she kissed him and served him a big bowl of his favorite food.

Do you know why comfort food is referred to as comfort food? There really is a scientific reason why. Not only can they remind you of happy times, but a lot of comfort foods like mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese contain carbohydrates. Carbohydrates can stimulate neurotransmitters to adjust the chemical balance of our brains to release serotonin. Serotonin helps us relax and feel calm (Source: HealthMad).

So that's why when someone is having a crappy day, don't berate them when they pound down the pasta and then scoff when they claim it's helping them feel better. It's serious business.

That being said, I've been kind of down lately and I am totally a comfort-eater. Shocking, right? Anyway, what is a better pick-me-up than a dinner that reminds you of home? Especially on a night where it looks like a dirty, gray Slushie has been poured all over the courtyard of your apartment complex.

This recipe really belongs to my father and originally dubbed "Ketchup In, Ketchup On Meatloaf." It was made with ground beef and topped with bacon and ketchup. When my mother opened her vegetarian-friendly restaurant, she modified the recipe slightly to appeal to those who did not eat red meat. She changed the beef to ground turkey and omitted the bacon.

I first made this recipe while I was vacationing in Seaside Heights with my fiance and some friends. We rent a small townhouse there and discovered that it was way more cost effective if we stayed in and cooked for ourselves at night, instead of indulging in the overpriced, deep-fried, so-bad-it's-good boardwalk fare. My very first attempt was not necessarily a bad one, just not a great one. Now, I think I have this recipe down to somewhat of a science.

Along with the meatloaf, I will be making some rosemary-garlic roasted potatoes. I usually do not dress my roasted potatoes - I don't think they particularly need it - but I had some fresh rosemary in the fridge and thought it would be a nice touch. Ironically, my mother cannot stand rosemary and will most likely cringe to read that I even allowed her most hated herb to come into contact with her meatloaf!

MOM'S TURKEY MEATLOAF
YOU WILL NEED:
3 lbs ground turkey
2-3 stalks of celery
1 red or green bell pepper
1 red or white onion
2 eggs
1 cup dry oatmeal
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp dried thyme

ROSEMARY-GARLIC POTATOES
YOU WILL NEED:
1 lb Yukon gold or red potatoes, cut into quarters
1 1/2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

mise-en-place

As you can see, potatoes are missing. See, I thought I was going to be making this for dinner last night, so as soon as I woke up on Monday, I was in the kitchen cutting up potatoes. I threw them in an ice-water bath and stuck them in the fridge (refresher: soak potatoes in cold water prior to frying/baking to draw out the starch and therefore have crispier potatoes as an end result).

As it so happens, we decided to go out to lunch with Colleen and overdosed on sushi and udon. So we didn't even feel hungry until almost ten o'clock at night. We decided to order in from a pizza place instead. The potatoes have now been soaking in ice water for an astonishing 36 hours. Can't wait to see how they come out.

In terms of equipment, you will need a 9x13 casserole dish, a medium or large skillet, a large mixing bowl and a 10x15 baking sheet.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Dice the onion, pepper and celery. Saute in olive oil and thyme until soft.

2. Mix ground turkey, vegetables, eggs, oatmeal and ketchup in a large bowl (If for any reason the mix is too wet, add more oatmeal. If it is too dry, add more ketchup).

I prefer do this with my hands, that way I know everything is evenly mixed.

3. Form it into a greased 9x13 loaf pan. Top with ketchup if desired.

4. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour!

Now for the potatoes...
1. In a large mixing bowl, pour olive oil over the potatoes. Add the rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper.

2. Mix well until the potatoes are coated.

3. Spread in a single layer on a tinfoil-covered, greased baking sheet.

4. Bake at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes (but because I am making it with the meatloaf, I am baking them at 350F for an hour).

The smells coming from my oven were heavenly and I could not stop the tummy grumbles. Of course, the end result was just as I had hoped. Sort of. The potatoes weren't done at the same time as the meatloaf. So I took the meat loaf out of the oven, cranked up the heat to 450F and let the potatoes cook for another five minutes and they were perfect!

Nothing is better than eating your favorite food when you're feeling down. I really needed this sort of pick me up, and the science doesn't lie - it really did make me feel better.

Coming up this week I will hopefully have either a salmon dish or a chicken dish. I am thinking I'll go with salmon, because I have only covered one fish dish so far. I know a lot of beginner cooks are apprehensive about cooking with fish, but trust me - your fears will float away once you get a load of Pesto Salmon with Black Bean & Corn Salsa!

Until next time...stay safe.

Chicken Tikka Masala

2011-01-15T22:17:00.000-05:00

Last night I saw "Green Hornet" and IT WAS AWESOME. I loved it. So much. Cannot wait to get my hands on the DVD. Seth Rogan was perfect. Jay Chou was perfect.

Christoph Waltz? *swoon* Perfect.

My only gripe was their choice of Cameron Diaz as Casey. Her skin looks like fruit leather.

Of course, that's an insult to the fruit leather.

Anyway, go see "Green Hornet" and have a good time. Especially if you were a fan of the original. It was a great homage.

Oh, before I start tonight's recipe, I just want to say thank you to the readers. I know that this blog is still in its fledgling stages, but I have received overwhelming praise and encouragement, friends coming out of the woodwork telling me how much they enjoy reading it, and it makes me so incredibly happy! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I hope I can continue living up to your expectations!

That being said, I cannot wait to share this with you. I'm going to call it your supermarket's best kept secret. Because, well, I don't really know anyone who knows they exist and they're always kind of tucked away on grocery store shelves.

I give you: McCormick Recipe Inspirations!

These little packets of joy not only provide you with a full-scale recipe, but the exact amount of spices required to complete the dish! For amateur chefs who aren't very knowledgeable regarding their spice rack, this is one of the most useful tools. You don't have to spend extra cash on a bottle of spices you might not use again, especially if you discover you don't like them. It allows you to broaden your tastes a little. If you've never had cumin or you don't know how to use fennel, here's a tablespoon! The spice packs usually run about $2 and can be found in the spice aisle.

The moneymaker is the recipe card. It pulls right off the back of the spice packet, providing you with the list of spices and the list of grocery store item you need, so you can use it again and again. The funny thing is, a lot of the spices that are used in most of these recipes I do own - what I just really want is the card! It's like a little cheat-sheet!

If you're a little more advanced and even more adventurous, you might already have some of these spices at hand, and/or willing to go purchase what you don't.

Chicken Tikka Masala is an Indian curry dish that has disputed origins. Some say that the dish originated in Punjab. Others say it originated in London. I have even heard that it was created in India to appeal to British tastes during the Empire. There is also one story that claims an Indian chef living in Glasgow, Scotland invented it in the 1970s. It apparently is so popular in the UK that in 2002, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook declared chicken tikka masala to be "Britain's true national dish"! According to a survey done by the BBC in 2007, it has FORTY EIGHT different variations! (Source: BBC News E-Cyclopedia) The only common ingredient in these 48 variations? Chicken!

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA, courtesy of McCormick Recipe Inspirations
Serves: 6
YOU WILL NEED:
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes, undraind
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika*
1 tsp dried minced garlic*
1 tsp garam masala*
1/2 tsp ground cumin*
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper* (optional)
*included in spice pack

Garam masala (which means, literally, "hot mixture" in Hindi) is a blend of spices that are common in Indian cuisine, which include but are not limited to coriander, black pepper, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, and so much more!

Traditionally, you serve this dish with rice and/or Naan bread. I've kind of OD'ed on rice lately, so I'm changing things up a bit, mixing cuisines and serving it over couscous and also preparing a salad. I plan on making a plain couscous so as not to disrupt the flavor of the sauce.

Mise en Place

You will also need a very large skillet. I thought my 10" skillet wouldn't be big enough but it actually was! YAY!

LET'S COOK!

1. Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add the chicken, onion and lemon juice; cook and stir 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Add all the spices except the red pepper. Cook and stir for 1 minute.

2. Stir in tomatoes until well mixed.

3. Stir cream into cornstarch and salt until smooth. Gradually stir into skillet.

4. Stir in red pepper to taste, if desired (I do so desire!). Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; stirring frequently. Simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.

5. Serve with cooked rice, cous cous and/or Naan bread, if desired.

Final verdict? OH. MY. GOD. This dish was just ... it was so ... oh my God ... so good. So delicious. Seriously, if someone was walking by our apartment and could only hear what was going on inside, it probably sounded like we were either having an orgy or eating something mind-blowingly delicious. In this case, it was the latter.

The sauce was creamy and flavorful. The chicken was juicy. The onions retained a little crunch. It wasn't even too spicy! I think this has to be one of my favorite things I have ever cooked, hands down, no contest. I have filed this recipe away for future usage.

Next week I don't know, as always. I will be sharing my (or my Mom's) meat loaf recipe, which is an instant hit here. We devour it at least twice monthly because it is easy, delicious and irresistible, and the leftovers are a plus. But otherwise, I have no clue. Tonight I'm making a project out of going through all of my cookbooks and my collection of computer printout recipes and trying to determine what I could make not only for myself but to feature on the blog. So keep your eyes open for new and interesting dishes!

Hope you all enjoy your 3-day weekend!

Pasta Puttanesca

2011-01-13T01:00:00.000-05:00

Guys, I'm going to admit something. It might come as a bit of a shock, but I feel like I can't keep it a secret any longer. I....

I love pasta. I really love pasta. I could probably eat pasta every day, all day, for breakfast and lunch and dinner. I love linguine, I love bowties, I love shells. I love angel hair and ziti and orzo and fiore. I love pasta. Pasta is like the blank card of foods. You can make anything in the world using pasta and it will be delicious. Seriously. I have a cookbook called "365 Ways to Cook Pasta", by Marie Simmons, and one day I will try every single recipe in the book.

Oh yeah, this is happening for real

This recipe is not exactly from this book, it's from a website, but the two have only slight differences. The one in the book uses anchovies and oregano; this one I'm making uses sugar and chopped onion. Either way, they both rely on capers, black olives and crushed red pepper for bold flavor.

I've been absolutely dying to try this Pasta Puttanesca, and I'm super excited. If the name sounds dirty, it's because it kind of is. "Puttanesca" comes from the Italian word puttana, meaning prostitute or whore. So this dish, which is also sometimes called Pasta (or Spaghetti) alla Puttanesca means "pasta in the style of the prostitute" or "pasta the way prostitute would make it" or any variation thereof. Why is it called this? There doesn't seem to be any definite reason. I've heard that this spicy meal was made by prostitutes to lure in potential customers, or that the dish was popular with prostitutes as a "fast snack" between entertaining clients. I've also heard that the strong, gutsy smells of the dish made it smell "like a whore".

Well, now that I've put that image into your head, let's get cooking.

PASTA PUTTANESCA, courtesy of TheNest.com
YOU WILL NEED:
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
1 (14.5 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup chopped oil-marinated sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1 (5.75 ox) can pitted black olives, drained and chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped capers
8-12 oz pasta (spaghetti, thin spaghetti or linguine)

Mise-en-place!

You will also need at least a 2-quart saucepan. In terms of the recipe itself, I made zero substitutions on this recipe; it was perfect just the way it was! Well, for me, at least! Let's cook!

1. In a 2 quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until softened, for about two minutes.

2. Add the whole tomatoes, with liquid, then break them up with the back of a spoon.

3. Stir in the water, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil.

4. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in the olives, parsley, and capers; cook until heated through for 2 minutes or longer.

5. Cook the pasta according to directions. Drain and serve tossed in sauce!

Mmmmmm!!! Spicy and delicious!!! I do love a good spicy dish every once and awhile. This has probably been one of my favorites. The chunky sauce made it a bigger meal than I thought. I was totally stuffed when all was said and done, and then Fiance did the dishes for me! Even better than dessert! Which, by the way, was half of a dark chocolate Milky Way bar.

Tomorrow, the two of us will not be home because we got some important, grown-up stuff to do. We didn't get snowed in by the way; our apartment complex was totally taken care of, and I'm pretty sure they didn't even close schools in our area. In any case, dinner will most likely not be an event.

Friday night I won't be cooking either because - wait for it - we're going to see The Green Hornet! HELL TO THE YES. One Seth-Rogan-and-Christoph-Waltz sandwich, please! We were going to get tickets for the midnight showing on Thursday night but the only one we could find within 30 miles of us was only showing it in 3-D and I have grown to dislike 3-D. It just doesn't really seem worth the extra money. Anyway, Fiance doesn't get out of work until 8, and the earliest showing we could see was after 9pm.

So this means that Saturday night will be the night for Chicken Tikka Masala - an Indian dish that I have been dying to cook for myself and finally found a simple enough recipe for. Excited? You bet your basmati!

See you then, eaters and readers!

Greek Salad Pizza

2011-01-11T22:08:00.000-05:00

I was going to whip up this dish last night, but I was still feeling icky from eating so much fondue. It's not that it was bad fondue, because it totally wasn't, I just ate waaaaay too much of it. I had a stomachache almost all day on Monday and eating a delectable, greasy diner breakfast sure as hell didn't help my cause. So last night I just took it easy and made a salad for dinner.

But tonight I am going to prepare the Greek Salad Pizza. I found this recipe when I decided to try some vegetarian dishes. I noticed we weren't getting enough veggies in our diet.

At first glance, you might look at this recipe and think, there is NO WAY this is a filling meal. But I beg to differ. This is a simple weeknight meal that is thrown together in a matter of minutes. I'll admit that I got a bit of a late start because I was too distracted by the "Green Hornet" marathon that's been on the SyFy channel all day.

Has anyone been watching that?! I've been catching episodes here and there and it took me right back to my childhood. I remember my parents always getting super excited when it was on TV, and I love a good kick ass hero show. Also, Bruce Lee was the man!

No, District Attorney Frank P. Scanlon, you're the man!

I'm pretty stoked for the movie come out on Friday. I might have to go see that ASAP - if I'm not snowed in of course. They're predicting 12" of snow by me!

Okay, let's roll Kato...

GREEK SALAD PIZZA, courtesy of Allrecipes.com
YOU WILL NEED:
1 (8oz) can of Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
3/4 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2/3 cup plain hummus
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup Greek olives, halved
3 slices of red onion, quartered
1 tablespoon olive oil

You will also need a 15x10 baking pan and a rolling pin, if you have one. The only adjustment I made to this recipe was I used my favorite Greek olive hummus instead of plain.

1. Unroll the dough and press into an ungreased pan; press perforations to seal (here's where the rolling pin would come in handy!). Sprinkle with rosemary and salt. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

2. Spread hummus over the crust (using a rubber spatula makes this step a breeze).

3. Top with cheese, tomatoes, olives and onion. Drizzle with oil.

4. Cut and serve!

Easy, sure to please, and overall healthy. The crescent rolls make for a crispy, flaky crust. This is a good recipe to make if you need something fast and filling and you don't have the energy to whip up an entire meal. It could also serve well as a lunch recipe, especially if you're entertaining.

To be honest, the crescent rolls work so well as a crust that you could probably make any type of pizza using this. Actually .... challenge accepted. I'm going to try it one day. I'll let you know how that turns out.

I know it's a supershort blog tonight but it was a supershort recipe! Coming up this week, I have Chicken Tikka Masala and Pasta Puttanesca - both of which are way easier than they sound - as well as reveal one of your supermarket's best kept secrets. I was also planning on making a slow-cooker salmon recipe, but salmon was almost $10 a pound at my supermarket. Way too expensive. I'll wait for the price to come down before attempting it. But these other two recipes coming up are new for me and I am so excited about trying them; I hope you're excited about seeing them!

For all you New York and New Jersey residents who are gearing up for snow, stay safe! I know for a fact I won't be able to go anywhere tomorrow and the day will be spent Rock Banding, especially since Fiance has the day off. Everyone else, I'll see you on the internet!

To the Black Beauty, Kato!

Parmesan-Dijon Chicken

2011-01-06T23:33:00.000-05:00

As much as I am learning to love cooking, I have to say, taking a "night off" last night felt pretty damn good. We polished off the French pot roast and I made a big fat salad with tomatoes, red onion and sliced hard boiled egg (using the egg slicer from Fiance's mom! Isn't it cute?)

Then we stayed up until almost two in the morning playing Rock Band. I'm slowly getting better at slappin' da bass, and hit my first 100% on "Fat Bottomed Girls"! I had to do a victory lap around the apartment.

Lego Rock Band Freddie Mercury approves.

But now that the fridge is nearly empty, I've got to get back on the horse so we can, you know, sustain ourselves. Tonight, I wanted something easy and delicious, but something very different. So I clicked around on the web until I found tonight's recipe.

I have a few go-to recipe websites that I turn to in my times of need... thenest.com or allrecipes.com, for example ... but my mom (who else?) introduced me to Betty Crocker's website. I have to hand it to their web developers; they made a very well-organized website. It's never hard to find anything on there, and their search engines (unlike some too-rigid recipe sites) are complacent.

When Leslie came over on Saturday to make us dinner, she left us a package of boneless skinless chicken breasts - perhaps one of my most favorite and versatile items to cook with. I needed to use them tonight before they went bad, so I went on the Betty Crocker website and searched for easy meals using the BLSL (boneless/skinless) chicken. My only criteria was, I wanted to use everything I already had in my own kitchen - or only have to go out and buy one item. I stumbled across this recipe for Parmesan-Dijon Chicken and was sold. Everything for this recipe was already in my pantry or fridge and it sounded delicious.

YOU WILL NEED:
1/4 cup of butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 3/4 pounds)

As far as equipment goes, you will also be needing a shallow dish, a large plastic zip-close bag and a 9x13 serving pan.

Surprisingly small mise-en-place!

For my version of this recipe, I will be using Panko breadcrumbs - perhaps the best breadcrumbs ever. They're Japanese breadcrumbs usually used for frying, and they are coarser and flatter than what we use here in the States, making for a crunchier crunch.

On the left: regular bread crumbs. On the right: Panko

Also, I'm going to use a four-cheese blend instead of straight Parmesan. On the side I will be making frozen peas and jasmine rice.

Jasmine rice is one of my favorite side dishes. I had gallbladder removal surgery in May of last year and jasmine rice was one of the few foods I could eat post-op. After five days of nothing but Jell-O (that is not an exaggeration), jasmine rice was a welcomed change.

If you don't know what it is, jasmine rice a white sticky rice from Thailand, also called "fragrant rice" or "scented rice" It doesn't smell exactly like jasmine, but it's still a pretty yummy scent. It is a staple food in Thai cuisine, high in fiber, and is a source of iron, protein, calcium, vitamins B1 and B2, phosphorous and a nifty little compound called niacin (source: Bangkok Companies).

To be quite honest, I out of all of those, I had never heard of niacin, so I decided to look it up. Turns out, niacin is a B-complex vitamin, used to reduce the amount of cholesterol and "fatty substances" in your blood. It's also used to treat a deficiency disease known as pellagra. Fancy that! (source: PubMed Health)

Well, enough about the mystical properties of jasmine rice, let's get cooking.

1. Heat oven to 375. Mix melted butter and mustard in a shallow dish until well-mixed. Mix the bread crumbs and cheese in a large plastic bag (I added thyme and oregano to my breadcrumbs mixture).

2. Dip one piece of chicken at a time into the butter mixture, coating all sides. Then place in bag of bread crumbs, seal bag, and shake to coat.

3. Place chicken in single layer in ungreased 9x13 pan

4. Bake uncovered 20-30 minutes, turning once, until the juice of the chicken is no longer pink when centers of the thickest pieces are cut.

5. Serve and enjoy!

That was by far one of the easiest quick meals I've ever done and it took so little effort! There were so few ingredients and it came out phenomenal. My only gripe was my own fault. I forgot to turn the chicken halfway through, so the bottom Panko crumbs were a bit mushy. This is a dish I will definitely be making again (next time remembering to turn the chicken).

I have NO CLUE what's on next week's docket. All I know is that on Sunday I'm getting together with a group of old friends for some good old-fashioned fondue. Sometime over the weekend though I gotta go food shopping and prepare for another week's worth of dinners to present to you. I have some old favorites and stand-bys I'm looking forward to sharing, as well as trying out some great new recipes!

Until next time, you hot stuffs you ;-)

English-Style Fish & Chips!

2011-01-04T21:40:00.000-05:00

Good evening, mates! Tonight we're going on the razzle and cooking up something scrummy! You might be au fait with this one, and it comes from my favourite country in the world!

Aaaaah, England! Also known as John Bull! Or Old Blighty! Or the Little Continent! Or Albion! A beautiful, culture-rich island, home of...

London Bridge!

Stonehenge!


Cranky monarchs!

The Sex Pistols!

Eddie Izzard!

Big Ben!

Neil Gaiman! (grrrrrowl!)

Harry Potter!

aaaaaaaaaaaand one of my favoritest favorite foods ever: Fish & Chips!

I'm so excited I might cry. Just warning you. I tend to get excited about a lot of recipes, but this one tops the list.

I went to England for ten days in 2005 - two teacher-chaperons, nineteen high school students and one British tour guide. It was a beautiful, meaningful learning experience, ample with history. I also searched almost the entire time for a Fish & Chip Shop. When I finally found one on the grounds of Castle Warwick, on my sixth (?) day there, I almost dropped to my knees in awe. I spotted it in the distance and practically ran towards it. I ordered a basket from a blue-eyed British teenage boy in a red apron and wolfed it down at a picnic table before it had a chance to cool down. It was not one of my proudest moments, but they give you tiny packets of malt vinegar, for goodness sake!

My mom made some damn good fish and chips, but now that I'm living on my own, I'm left to my own devices, right? Like everything else. So, cravings took me shopping one day and I gathered up all the ingredients necessary to cook up my own English-style fish & chips.

Now, most people snub their noses at English cuisine and a lot of jokes are made at its expense, and I'm here to tell you as an Anglophile and a foodie, that most of it is false. I could not get enough of English food when I was there, and it was also the only time I've ever enjoyed beer (they serve it at room temperature). I inhaled pasties and baguettes and scones with clotted cream. My only gripe that I can remember was that they love salt (also, their pizza sucks - don't worry, I didn't seek it out; the tour guide took our group to a pizza place in London and I was less than impressed. If it were up to me, I would have found a place where we could get shepherd's pie).

This recipe comes from the Food Network's website, courtesy of Tyler Florence, but I slightly modified it to make it more accessible and easy to follow.

Check out this wicked mise-en-place:

Missing from photo: potatoes

The reason why, the Yukon gold potatoes were currently in a bowl of cold water in the refrigerator, already sliced into quarters and ready to go. One of the best pieces of cooking advice I have received (or can give) is, if you're planning on roasting or frying potatoes, slice/cut them up and give them an ice-water bath. The longer you leave your potatoes in cold water, the crispier they will be. Why? Because cold water draws out the starch, making for crunchier, tastier and healthier potatoes (healthier especially if you don't peel the potatoes - most the nutrients are in the skin).

YOU WILL NEED...
Vegetable oil (for frying)
4 large russet potatoes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (plus more for seasoning)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (plus more for seasoning)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 (12 oz) can of soda water
1/2 cup cornstarch, for dredgin
1 (8 oz) cod or haddock fillets, cut in half on an angle
Malt vinegar, for serving

A few notes before I get into the recipe: instead of russet potatoes, I used Yukon gold (as mentioned above). You could also use small red potatoes as well. Also, the recipe originally calls for rice flour, but cornstarch is a cheaper alternative. Finally, you do not have to use haddock or cod. For this recipe, I used catfish. Any flaky white fish - swai or sole, for example - will work for this recipe. It's a matter of taste.

Alright. Let's goooooooooooo.

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and egg. Pour in the soda water and whisk to a smooth batter (it will be thick!)

2. Spread cornstarch on a plate. Dredge the fish pieces in the cornstarch and then dip them in the batter, letting the excess drip off (I highly recommend spreading a towel underneath your workspace. It makes for easier cleanup)

3. Heat 3 inches of vegetable oil in a deep pot. When it's hot (about 325 degrees), put the potatoes in the oil. Fry the chips for 2 to 3 minutes; they should not be fully cooked or crisp at this point. Remove the chips with a spider strainer or a slotted spoon, to a paper towel-lined platter to drain (It's easier to do this in medium-sized batches)

4. Once the potatoes are drained of excess oil, carefully submerge them again into the hot oil. Carefully wave the battered fish into the bubbling oil before dropping them in on top of the chips (that means, lower them in SLOWLY and CAREFULLY, don't just drop them in)


I did get splattered =(

5. Fry the fish and chips for 4 to 5 minutes, until crispy and brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain the fish and chips on paper towels. Season lightly with salt.

6. Serve with malt vinegar and/or tartar sauce!

And there you go! English-style fish and chips, easy and delicious. Flaky, crunchy catfish with salty crispy chips and tangy sweet malt vinegar to top it off. British cuisine at its finest! I had very little snafus with this dish - except a gnarly oil burn on my forearm. I was lowering potatoes from the slotted spoon into the oil, and one of them toppled off, splashing hot oil up onto my skin. Fun! Also, really remember to shake off the excess batter. I don't think I did it as well as I thought and the skin was just a bit too mushy. Otherwise, it was yet another belly-filling meal!

Well, you won't hear from me tomorrow night, as we have to clean out the refrigerator (read: leftovers for dinner), but I hope you've been having fun with these recipes so far!

Cheerio and the best of British in your own kitchen, chums!

Anarchy in the UK!

French Pot Roast

2011-01-04T00:06:00.000-05:00

Hello, friends. I hope your hangovers have dissipated by now. Also, can I just say - my 7 Layer Dip is officially gone! I took it home from the New Year's party, though it was half-gone already. We ate some of it before dinner on New Year's Day and then we polished it off last night. Fiance asked me to make it again last night, and even went so far as to almost fork over some cash so that I could make it right then and there. But it's his loss, right?

Let's get down to kitchen business, huh?

Good news: I have not one but TWO job interviews this week! WHOO!
Great news: the chuck roast defrosted! WHOOOOOO!!!!!

You know what that means? It's French pot roast night!

Aaah, pot roast. In France, it's boeuf bourguignon (or beef Burgundy). The Japanese call their version nikujaga. In Germany, their version is Saurbraten. Across the pond in jolly old England, they call it a Lancashire hotpot. Your Jewish bubbe (or your mameleh!) might call it a brisket.

Whatever you call it, it's meat and veggies in a savory broth, usually served over noodles or mashed potatoes. Is there a more comforting, tummy-warming, snuggly-pajama wearing, cold weather blowing, stick-to-your-ribs type dish? To me, this dish is best served while there's a blizzard outside, in front of a fireplace. Unfortunately, all my snow has melted already and I don't own a fireplace - but that sure as heck won't stop me from cooking the ultimate comfort food!

This dish is done in a crock pot. If you don't own one, why not? They are pretty much the best thing ever invented. They range anywhere from $16 to $130 on Crock-Pot.com, or you can find one at any home goods store. Slow cooker recipes can take anywhere from 2 to 10 hours to cook. So it's entirely possible to spend 10-30 minutes in the morning before you go to work in the morning to prepare your meal, and then you can come home to a hearty dinner without lifting a finger! There are endless possibilities when using a crock pot. Hell, I even made a CAKE in my crock pot once! That's a recipe for another entry, though...

This recipe takes about 4 hours to cook, which is perfect for me. I prepared it starting at 3pm and threw it all in the crock pot at 4pm, before I went to the gym (I like to watch Ellen DeGeneres while I'm on the elliptical). It was ready to eat by 8, which is shortly before Fiance comes home from work.

Here we go!

FRENCH POT ROAST
courtesy of Cook This, Not That

YOU WILL NEED...
2 strips of bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/4 cup of flour
salt and black pepper to taste
2 lb chuck roast, excess fat removed, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 bottle dry red wine (a Cabernet or a Merlot is preferable)
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 bay leaves
2 cups frozen pearl onions
1/2 lb button mushrooms, stems removed
1 cup frozen peas

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's my mise en place!

I know, right? Mushrooms! But Fiance loves them, and who am I to deny him of this? Besides, mushrooms are also there to add flavor. So I bit the bullet and bought some mushrooms for the first time ever.

Pretty simple. That bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon ran me only $10 at Bottle King. A quick note, though. See that little jar with the black lid, to the left of the salt? That would be a great product called Better Than Bouillon. It's a delicious little base used to make broths. It's a lot less cumbersome than those freeze-dried cubes and way lower in sodium. They come in a bajillion different flavors - beef, chicken, vegetable, lobster, even mushroom! One teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon + 8 ounces boiling water = delicious broth!

Oh, and if you don't know, the fat is the white part of the meat. Just remove it with your knife, like so. You don't have to remove all the fat, just the bigger chunks of it.

Also, they don't have to be exactly 1", just as long as you make sure your chunks of meat are bite-sized.

1. Preheat a large skillet or nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook the bacon until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; set aside. Leave the pan on heat.

2. Combine the flour and plenty of salt and pepper in a sealable plastic bag. Working in batches, add the beef and shake until the pieces are lightly covered; remove the beef and shake off the excess flour.

3. Add the piece of beef to the hot pan and cook until all sides are golden brown.

4. Remove the beef and add to the slow cooker. When all the beef has been browned, add 1 cup of wine to the hot pan and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon.
(I do not have a picture for this step. It had to be done quickly and it was very hard to do it and take a picture all by myself. But trust me, it's easy. Also, red wine smells delicious when it's hot!)

5. Pour over the beef, along with the rest of the wine, the tomato paste, the beef broth, bay leaves and bacon pieces.

6. Set the slow cooker on high and cook for 4 hours, until the beef is tender and falls apart with a fork (during these four hours, it would be smart to cook the pasta, if using)

7. In the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the pearl onions and mushrooms. Right before serving, add the peas. Simmer for a few minutes to cook through. Discard the bay leaves.

8. Serve the stew by itself or over buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes, with a good ladle of the cooking broth.

To quote Julia Child, bon apetit! I threw together a quick, simple salad and we had an amazing easy weeknight meal.

IT. WAS. DELICIOUS. Let me tell you, they don't call this kind of dish stick-to-your ribs for nothing. I think this is the first time I've ever cooked something and didn't go back for seconds! Talk about a filling dinner!

First of all, the four-hour cook time is awesome. I don't have to worry about remembering to check on it or stir or flip over. I actually left for an hour and a half to go to the gym and came back to an apartment that smelled like red wine and beef. Yum. I love my crock pot, have I mentioned this? It's amazing. Thanks to my future sister-in-law, I am never far away from a simple but delicious meal.

I have only one gripe about the actual recipe. It advises you to cook the bacon, leave the pan on, and then coat the beef cubes in flour/salt/pepper. Luckily, I read the whole recipe beforehand and noticed this. To me, it made more sense to coat the beef first, then cook the bacon. This way you don't leave a hot skillet on the stove while you prepare the beef.

Tomorrow is up in the air for dinner. I'm planning on making fish & chips sometime this week. I also have a recipe for Parmesan-Dijon chicken that I found just today, actually. I don't know if I want to make fish & chips tomorrow, but I should probably use the catfish sooner rather than later. As of right now, the catfish is in the refrigerator, but still frozen. Hopefully it can hold off until Wednesday. Tomorrow I think we'll either do the chicken or graze on leftovers. Both sound good right now.

Stay tuned for more delicious recipes!

Love!