It was delicious and I got to share it with a couple of wonderful women last Friday night.
Yummm. Need I say more?
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Friday night Sushi
I don't know if this would inspire anyone to make sushi.
It was delicious and I got to share it with a couple of wonderful women last Friday night.
Yummm. Need I say more?
It was delicious and I got to share it with a couple of wonderful women last Friday night.
Yummm. Need I say more?
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wine and Garlic Pot Roast
This is an extremely easy stove top recipe for a flavorful pot roast. I've been making this for years, and it's always a pleaser!
Serves 6 hungry people, or 2 with plenty of leftovers.
Ingredients:
1 top, bottom or round roast between 3 - 4 pounds, this is a longer cooking method, so a more expensive cut would not make sense. (Don't use a chuck roast or your broth will be super fatty)
1 750ml bottle of red wine like a merlot or shiraz (it must be a drinkable wine, no rot gut!)
6 yellow or white potatoes medium sized
4-6 carrots - trimmed, peeled and cut in two
1 large vidalia (or sweet spanish) onion - cut up into six wedges
1 small yellow onion - diced
2 heads of garlic (yeah, I said two heads) - 3 cloves mangled and the rest of the cloves nicely peeled, kept whole
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
About 1 cup of fresh water
flour for dredging the meat
Olive oil
On to the cooking:
Preheat a heavy bottomed pot on the stove to medium, and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.
Cut the roast against the grain into three pieces. Season with salt and pepper and dredge in flour (shake off the excess flour.) Brown the cut up roast in the olive oil on all sides. Don't crowd the pan, if you need to brown each piece separately, do that. Remove the meat to a plate.
Toss in the 3 mangled cloves of garlic and the diced onions, season with a little salt and pepper. Add the thyme, and the tomato paste. Cook for a couple of minutes stirring occasionally.
By now, the bottom of your pot should look a mess. Some almost burnt spots, crusties from the meat and the dried out tomato paste with the spices and aromatics....now is the time to add the wine. Add it slowly at first, a little by little, scraping up all the goodness and mixing it around. When all the fond is scrapped up and incorporated, you can dump the rest of the bottle of wine in there. Toss in the bay leaves now.
Bring the wine sauce (not really a sauce yet) up to simmering, lower the heat, and put the meat down in the wine. If the meat is sticking out more than an inch, add a cup or so of water. Let this simmer covered for about 1 1/2 hours, checking it occasionally and turning the meat around each time.
After 1 1/2 hours, add the whole potatoes, halved carrots, wedged onions, and the 30 or 40 cloves of garlic you have meticulously peeled without marring. Cover and bring to a hard simmer. Lower the heat again, and simmer covered for another hour checking it occasionally.
From this point, I usually keep testing the meat with tongs to see if it just pulls apart. When the meat pulls without effort, and the veggies are tender, it is done.
Look at that beautiful garlic!
To serve:
Place portions of meat, one potato, a couple of carrot pieces, onion and garlic cloves in a large bowl. Ladle the broth/sauce on top. Serve with crusty bread for dunking!
An option that I meant to add tonight (and I usually do) is to add green beans during the last 10-15 minutes of cooking. I forgot this time. Oh well. I am too stuffed to care right now.
Serves 6 hungry people, or 2 with plenty of leftovers.
Ingredients:
1 top, bottom or round roast between 3 - 4 pounds, this is a longer cooking method, so a more expensive cut would not make sense. (Don't use a chuck roast or your broth will be super fatty)
1 750ml bottle of red wine like a merlot or shiraz (it must be a drinkable wine, no rot gut!)
6 yellow or white potatoes medium sized
4-6 carrots - trimmed, peeled and cut in two
1 large vidalia (or sweet spanish) onion - cut up into six wedges
1 small yellow onion - diced
2 heads of garlic (yeah, I said two heads) - 3 cloves mangled and the rest of the cloves nicely peeled, kept whole
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
About 1 cup of fresh water
flour for dredging the meat
Olive oil
On to the cooking:
Preheat a heavy bottomed pot on the stove to medium, and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.
Cut the roast against the grain into three pieces. Season with salt and pepper and dredge in flour (shake off the excess flour.) Brown the cut up roast in the olive oil on all sides. Don't crowd the pan, if you need to brown each piece separately, do that. Remove the meat to a plate.
Toss in the 3 mangled cloves of garlic and the diced onions, season with a little salt and pepper. Add the thyme, and the tomato paste. Cook for a couple of minutes stirring occasionally.
By now, the bottom of your pot should look a mess. Some almost burnt spots, crusties from the meat and the dried out tomato paste with the spices and aromatics....now is the time to add the wine. Add it slowly at first, a little by little, scraping up all the goodness and mixing it around. When all the fond is scrapped up and incorporated, you can dump the rest of the bottle of wine in there. Toss in the bay leaves now.
Bring the wine sauce (not really a sauce yet) up to simmering, lower the heat, and put the meat down in the wine. If the meat is sticking out more than an inch, add a cup or so of water. Let this simmer covered for about 1 1/2 hours, checking it occasionally and turning the meat around each time.
After 1 1/2 hours, add the whole potatoes, halved carrots, wedged onions, and the 30 or 40 cloves of garlic you have meticulously peeled without marring. Cover and bring to a hard simmer. Lower the heat again, and simmer covered for another hour checking it occasionally.
From this point, I usually keep testing the meat with tongs to see if it just pulls apart. When the meat pulls without effort, and the veggies are tender, it is done.
Look at that beautiful garlic!
To serve:
Place portions of meat, one potato, a couple of carrot pieces, onion and garlic cloves in a large bowl. Ladle the broth/sauce on top. Serve with crusty bread for dunking!
An option that I meant to add tonight (and I usually do) is to add green beans during the last 10-15 minutes of cooking. I forgot this time. Oh well. I am too stuffed to care right now.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Too Hot to Cook!
Sometimes it's just gross out. Humid, hot, and painful to even turn on the stove. That was my problem tonight.
So I got together a salad of some lettuce, spinach, a half cup of chick peas, a 2.5 ounce bag of tuna, a handful of grape tomatoes, some raw broccoli and Ken's Italian dressing. Love Ken's!
Throw it all together, and you have a great light meal for the hottest, most humid evening.
Figures after I ate, rainshowers started and cooled off the outside air. Too bad for me that the hot is still inside. Open windows and a ceiling fan are trying, but it's still super hot in here.
So I got together a salad of some lettuce, spinach, a half cup of chick peas, a 2.5 ounce bag of tuna, a handful of grape tomatoes, some raw broccoli and Ken's Italian dressing. Love Ken's!
Throw it all together, and you have a great light meal for the hottest, most humid evening.
Figures after I ate, rainshowers started and cooled off the outside air. Too bad for me that the hot is still inside. Open windows and a ceiling fan are trying, but it's still super hot in here.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Chicken Wontons
Traditionally called Gyoza, I have cooked and eaten these delicious morsels from early High School until last night. Not really until last night, but last night was the last time I made them. Certainly not the LAST time I WILL make them. This is one of my favorite dishes!
When I was in High School, my step mother and I would stuff these little squares together, sometimes they were rounds, but stuffed with an equal amount of care. I got pretty good at wrapping. She was always in charge of the filling, which has changed over the years. The traditional wontons I once had are a thing of the past (although I would like to bring them back), they were filled with pork, cabbage, green onions, garlic and ginger...with some extra flavorings mixed in. The wontons I make now, are filled with Chicken, cabbage, green onions, carrots, garlic and pine nuts. Whatever you decide to add, as long as it is a savory ingredient will most likely be delicious. I've made these vegetarian using quorn product with an egg for binding, really anything works as long as it sticks together and the flavors go well together. I also have to add that this recipe is not really a recipe, it's more of a technique that actually changes a little every time I make it. So have fun.
The simpler you keep the ingredients the better they are.
Ingredients:
2 skinless boneless chicken breasts cut into cubes
1/3 - 1/2 head napa cabbage cut into cubes (to fit processor)
2 carrots grated or julienned
3 cloves garlic, crushed with the side of a knife, then chopped up a bit
3 scallions, sliced
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
salt and pepper
1 package of wonton wrappers
Dipping sauce:
Equal parts soy sauce and rice vinegar with a dash of hot sesame oil if you like.
Serves: 4-6 or 2 with lots of leftovers for late night snacks, lunch tomorrow, etc.
Preparation:
Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan at low/medium heat until fragrant and toasty colored. Don't turn your head from the pan! They will burn quickly if you do. Toss them into a large mixing bowl.
Pulse process one chicken breast at a time in a food processor until it comes together in a ball. With the first batch, I add the garlic. Toss into the mixing bowl. Pulse process the other chicken breast alone, toss into the mixing bowl. Process the cubed up cabbage with the grated or julienned carrots and toss in the mixing bowl, don't over process the cabbage. Finely slice the scallions and add to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Now, use your meticulously clean hands to mix the contents of the bowl into a well homogenized loaf. There should be a nice consistency of small chunks of stuff with smooth stuff. It looks at this point like you could make a meatloaf out of it, but this is NO meatloaf! Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and compose yourself for 1/2 hour while the by-now room temperature chicken mixture cools down for a spell.
You can learn to wrap the wontons during this time by watching this short video a thousand times in a row...mind my chunky flour stained fingers...I've been wrapping a 'few' by this point...
This is the traditional three pleats per side technique, but I must say that they taste just as good anyway you can successfully get them closed and sealed without any air in them. Just make sure to pinch all the edges closed.
Use a teaspoon sized portion in each, and your wontons will be consistently the same size with no loss of filling. Before you place your teaspoon sized lump of goodness into the center of your wonton wrapper, moisten the edges of the wrapper with water so that a tight seal can be accomplished. You don't want these things opening up during cooking. Make sure to pinch all edges, too!
Now that you are a pro at wrapping, you can wrap all the wontons you care to eat (or have company for) and line them all up on a nice plate to get ready for the frying and steaming.
I use a copper bottomed stainless steel pan with a tight fitting lid, but my step mother and sister use a non-stick electric skillet (I don't really care for them... the electric skillets, not the people) I like to use the gas stove since I feel that the control of heat is key to a nicely browned and steamed wonton.
To cook:
Turn the skillet on medium heat and add a tablespoon or so of toasted sesame oil. Heat that up to almost smoking, and add some wontons carefully one by one, don't crowd the pan, you will be cooking multiple batches. Let the wontons cook on their bottoms until they are browned but not burned, keep checking them. When they are nice, turn them on their side and brown that, too. Now turn the heat up for a few seconds to get the bottom of the pan nice and hot, and toss in a 1/4 cup or so of water and place the lid on really fast to capture the steam, then turn the heat down to medium low. Leave the lid on and don't look for about 3-4 minutes. Finally, check the wontons, and shake the pan so that they don't stick, and let the remaining water evaporate. Evacuate the lovelies into a bowl with a tinfoil lid to keep them warm while you cook the rest of the batches. Sometimes all you need is a paper towel to clean the pan, and other times there will be stickies that you need to wash out before you start the next round. Now, repeat from the top for the next batch, and so on. They will stay hot enough if you keep them in a bowl covered with tinfoil until you are ready to eat them.
You can either serve them fancy on a plate with 5 or 6 and a bit of dipping sauce, or serve them as I like to, in a big bowl covered with tinfoil to keep them warm and let your eating companions take what they want and go back for more.
I actually really love these cold straight from the fridge as a snack, too. I think that's why I always make too many. I always want leftovers!
When I was in High School, my step mother and I would stuff these little squares together, sometimes they were rounds, but stuffed with an equal amount of care. I got pretty good at wrapping. She was always in charge of the filling, which has changed over the years. The traditional wontons I once had are a thing of the past (although I would like to bring them back), they were filled with pork, cabbage, green onions, garlic and ginger...with some extra flavorings mixed in. The wontons I make now, are filled with Chicken, cabbage, green onions, carrots, garlic and pine nuts. Whatever you decide to add, as long as it is a savory ingredient will most likely be delicious. I've made these vegetarian using quorn product with an egg for binding, really anything works as long as it sticks together and the flavors go well together. I also have to add that this recipe is not really a recipe, it's more of a technique that actually changes a little every time I make it. So have fun.
The simpler you keep the ingredients the better they are.
Ingredients:
2 skinless boneless chicken breasts cut into cubes
1/3 - 1/2 head napa cabbage cut into cubes (to fit processor)
2 carrots grated or julienned
3 cloves garlic, crushed with the side of a knife, then chopped up a bit
3 scallions, sliced
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
salt and pepper
1 package of wonton wrappers
Dipping sauce:
Equal parts soy sauce and rice vinegar with a dash of hot sesame oil if you like.
Serves: 4-6 or 2 with lots of leftovers for late night snacks, lunch tomorrow, etc.
Preparation:
Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan at low/medium heat until fragrant and toasty colored. Don't turn your head from the pan! They will burn quickly if you do. Toss them into a large mixing bowl.
Pulse process one chicken breast at a time in a food processor until it comes together in a ball. With the first batch, I add the garlic. Toss into the mixing bowl. Pulse process the other chicken breast alone, toss into the mixing bowl. Process the cubed up cabbage with the grated or julienned carrots and toss in the mixing bowl, don't over process the cabbage. Finely slice the scallions and add to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Now, use your meticulously clean hands to mix the contents of the bowl into a well homogenized loaf. There should be a nice consistency of small chunks of stuff with smooth stuff. It looks at this point like you could make a meatloaf out of it, but this is NO meatloaf! Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and compose yourself for 1/2 hour while the by-now room temperature chicken mixture cools down for a spell.
You can learn to wrap the wontons during this time by watching this short video a thousand times in a row...mind my chunky flour stained fingers...I've been wrapping a 'few' by this point...
This is the traditional three pleats per side technique, but I must say that they taste just as good anyway you can successfully get them closed and sealed without any air in them. Just make sure to pinch all the edges closed.
Use a teaspoon sized portion in each, and your wontons will be consistently the same size with no loss of filling. Before you place your teaspoon sized lump of goodness into the center of your wonton wrapper, moisten the edges of the wrapper with water so that a tight seal can be accomplished. You don't want these things opening up during cooking. Make sure to pinch all edges, too!
Now that you are a pro at wrapping, you can wrap all the wontons you care to eat (or have company for) and line them all up on a nice plate to get ready for the frying and steaming.
I use a copper bottomed stainless steel pan with a tight fitting lid, but my step mother and sister use a non-stick electric skillet (I don't really care for them... the electric skillets, not the people) I like to use the gas stove since I feel that the control of heat is key to a nicely browned and steamed wonton.
To cook:
Turn the skillet on medium heat and add a tablespoon or so of toasted sesame oil. Heat that up to almost smoking, and add some wontons carefully one by one, don't crowd the pan, you will be cooking multiple batches. Let the wontons cook on their bottoms until they are browned but not burned, keep checking them. When they are nice, turn them on their side and brown that, too. Now turn the heat up for a few seconds to get the bottom of the pan nice and hot, and toss in a 1/4 cup or so of water and place the lid on really fast to capture the steam, then turn the heat down to medium low. Leave the lid on and don't look for about 3-4 minutes. Finally, check the wontons, and shake the pan so that they don't stick, and let the remaining water evaporate. Evacuate the lovelies into a bowl with a tinfoil lid to keep them warm while you cook the rest of the batches. Sometimes all you need is a paper towel to clean the pan, and other times there will be stickies that you need to wash out before you start the next round. Now, repeat from the top for the next batch, and so on. They will stay hot enough if you keep them in a bowl covered with tinfoil until you are ready to eat them.
You can either serve them fancy on a plate with 5 or 6 and a bit of dipping sauce, or serve them as I like to, in a big bowl covered with tinfoil to keep them warm and let your eating companions take what they want and go back for more.
I actually really love these cold straight from the fridge as a snack, too. I think that's why I always make too many. I always want leftovers!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Steamed Salmon and Broccoli
Since I just now made this blog to share all my favorite recipes, I thought I would start with the easiest one in the bunch! Plus, this is what I had for dinner tonight, so I took some pictures...the lighting is horrible, hopefully I will get better at food photography.
I love this dish, but I only get to eat it when I am on my own for dinner. Scott openly dislikes Salmon (and broccoli for that matter), so I can never assault him with a meal like this.
Start to finish:
about 20 minutes (cooks in about 10 minutes)
Ingredients:
1 Salmon filet, no bones!
as much broccoli as you care to eat
2 lemons
salt
pepper
Bamboo steamer, or some kind of steamer
Wax paper for easy clean up
Serves: 1
Fill a skillet big enough for the bamboo steamer to sit in with about 3/4" of water.
Rinse Salmon filet and pat dry. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Slice one lemon into 1/4 inch slices. Cover the filet with a few slices of lemon, and squeeze the rest into the water and drop them in there. Make sure to use the ends of the lemon by turning the rind side to the pan and squeezing the oils into the water, this will make the lemon flavor permeate into the fish and broccoli.
Place the bamboo steamer into the pan, on top of the lemon and water. Make sure that the water is not coming up through the steamer. Can you see the lemon down in there?
Turn on the heat, place the bamboo lid on, and wait for the water to come to boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer. Place the filet on a piece of folded wax paper (easy clean up!) and put it into the steamer, replace the lid. Time it for about 5 minutes. Place the broccoli on a piece of folded wax paper, and put it next to the salmon when the first 5 minutes is up. Time it for 5 more minutes. Done! The ten minutes for the salmon and 5 minutes for the broccoli will give you medium- medium rare salmon and broccoli that still has crunch.
Cut the other lemon into wedges to serve along side your salmon and broccoli. I like to squeeze it on both!
Do not overcook the salmon! If you overcook salmon, you may as well have opened a can of tuna.
Enjoy!!
I love this dish, but I only get to eat it when I am on my own for dinner. Scott openly dislikes Salmon (and broccoli for that matter), so I can never assault him with a meal like this.
Start to finish:
about 20 minutes (cooks in about 10 minutes)
Ingredients:
1 Salmon filet, no bones!
as much broccoli as you care to eat
2 lemons
salt
pepper
Bamboo steamer, or some kind of steamer
Wax paper for easy clean up
Serves: 1
Fill a skillet big enough for the bamboo steamer to sit in with about 3/4" of water.
Rinse Salmon filet and pat dry. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Slice one lemon into 1/4 inch slices. Cover the filet with a few slices of lemon, and squeeze the rest into the water and drop them in there. Make sure to use the ends of the lemon by turning the rind side to the pan and squeezing the oils into the water, this will make the lemon flavor permeate into the fish and broccoli.
Place the bamboo steamer into the pan, on top of the lemon and water. Make sure that the water is not coming up through the steamer. Can you see the lemon down in there?
Turn on the heat, place the bamboo lid on, and wait for the water to come to boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer. Place the filet on a piece of folded wax paper (easy clean up!) and put it into the steamer, replace the lid. Time it for about 5 minutes. Place the broccoli on a piece of folded wax paper, and put it next to the salmon when the first 5 minutes is up. Time it for 5 more minutes. Done! The ten minutes for the salmon and 5 minutes for the broccoli will give you medium- medium rare salmon and broccoli that still has crunch.
Cut the other lemon into wedges to serve along side your salmon and broccoli. I like to squeeze it on both!
Do not overcook the salmon! If you overcook salmon, you may as well have opened a can of tuna.
Enjoy!!
Welcome to my recipe blog!
My soap making friend DeShawn Marie started a food blog called The Hungry Gourmet where she is sharing recipes. Check it out, it's awesome! I have always thought about starting a blog about food, what I like to cook, tips, techniques and whatnots. So, taking her lead, this is my food blog.
I hope you enjoy what you see here, and if you try some recipes, please let me know what you think!
I hope you enjoy what you see here, and if you try some recipes, please let me know what you think!
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