Yesterday we had a Memorial Day celebration at Jim’s cousin’s house. I took a tortellini and sundried tomato dish. It is so simple, Jim could make it. But when a dish is simple to make it delicious, you must use very good products. The Cheese Filled Tortellini by Di Amante came from Costco. You open the bag and you know by the smell that you have great cheese filled tortellini. They are dried and it takes 14 minutes to cook. The sun dried julienne cut tomatoes packed in EVOO were also from Costco, by Bella Sun Luci. The recipe also came from Costco. You know how when you walk around there are offers to taste. I tasted it and was sold. The portions are simple. I used half the jar of sun dried tomatoes and half the pasta. I was feeding ten, with a lot more dishes. We have a small amount left over for tonight. We are having a late dinner as we drove all over the countryside looking for a suitable kennel for Max. We are flying to PA for Erin’s engagement party. If it was great, they were booked for the summer. Finally we called our vet and he had room. He only takes clients. The kennel is cute and you could eat off the floor, but no indoor /outdoor kennels. They walk the dogs four times a day in a large lot, but no fence. I am worried, but we are now warned. There are not enough good kennels around and if school is out, they are booked. The one we liked the best is already half full for Christmas.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Fillet with a great Wine
Last night’s dinner was simple but good. We were alerted that the fillets at Aldies were very good. I thought they were perfect and Jim grilled them perfectly. Jim said to buy him two from now on. With this I made a salad and used last night’s dressing. Yes, that dressing is great on any salad. We had an unusual rice dish that I bought at Costco. I thought it was something that I had to make, but it is premade and just needed heated in the microwave. It was good with the steak and would be a great accompaniment to chicken. It is called Seeds of Change Uzuni , Quinoa & whole Grain Brown Rice with Garlic. With the Quinoa and brown rice it couldn’t be better for you. Jim served an excellent Chateau La Violette Pomerol, 1998. I don’t see any reason for food if you can have wine like this.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Seminole Crunch Salad with Grilled Chicken
This recipe comes from “Our Club” magazine, Chef Tim Drown of the University Center Club in Tallahassee, FL. It serves 6, very generously. I cut it in thirds and we had leftovers for one lunch today. This is the first salad meal that I have ever served Jim that I got no complaints. The dressing recipe is also very generous. You know how when you order dressing on the side and they bring enough for 4 salads, I think this is what this recipe is based on. But it is the most delicious dressing I have ever tasted and I will be happy to dress a few more salads with it.
Salad Ingredients:
6 C spring salad mix
3 Granny Smith Apples, cored, cut in ½” cubes. (I used GALA, I detest Granny Smith Apples)
1C dried tart cherries
1 C frozen peas, defrosted
1 C celery, thinly sliced
2 C blue cheese, crumbled
4 Chicken breast halves, grilled, cooled and cut into ½” dice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 C walnut halves, toasted
Vermont Maple Dressing
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, toss all ingredients with the dressing.
Vermont Maple Dressing Ingredients:
1 C mayonnaise
1 C Vermont pure maple syrup
½ C Champagne Vinegar
¼ C EVOO
Directions:
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Add the amount desired to the salad ingredients.
Like I stated earlier, the guy who detests vegetables, had two very large helpings and pronounced it great, for salad. This would be a great ladies luncheon main course.
Salad Ingredients:
6 C spring salad mix
3 Granny Smith Apples, cored, cut in ½” cubes. (I used GALA, I detest Granny Smith Apples)
1C dried tart cherries
1 C frozen peas, defrosted
1 C celery, thinly sliced
2 C blue cheese, crumbled
4 Chicken breast halves, grilled, cooled and cut into ½” dice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 C walnut halves, toasted
Vermont Maple Dressing
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, toss all ingredients with the dressing.
Vermont Maple Dressing Ingredients:
1 C mayonnaise
1 C Vermont pure maple syrup
½ C Champagne Vinegar
¼ C EVOO
Directions:
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Add the amount desired to the salad ingredients.
Like I stated earlier, the guy who detests vegetables, had two very large helpings and pronounced it great, for salad. This would be a great ladies luncheon main course.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Grilled Pork with Black-Eyed Pea Salad
This was actually Thursday night dinner. After golf, we stopped in the grille and ordered drinks and appetizers. So we did not have appetizers at home. We went straight to dinner. This recipe comes from Everyday Food on PBS. Roasted Pork and Black-Eyed Pea Salad. It serves 4. I used the rub, but wished I had just used Penzeys BBQ America or 3000 rub.
Ingredients for Pork:
1T Paprika
1t dried thyme
¼ t cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and pepper
2 pork tenderloins (10-12 oz. each)
1 T EVOO
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven or heat a grille to 450 degrees. We used the grille.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Cut the silver skin from the pork. Rub the pork with EVOO and sprinkle with the herbs.
3. Grill until the thickest part of the meat is 150 degrees.
Black Eyed Pea Salad
Ingredients:
1 t Dijon mustard
2T Cider vinegar
1 T EVOO
1 (15 oz.)can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
10 oz. frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whish mustard, vinegar, and EVOO. Add all vegetables. Season with salt and pepper, toss to combine.
I served this with Jiffy corn muffins. I was going to make Sweet potato muffins, but it was getting late and the jiffy mix was easier.
We forgot dessert. I liked the salad, but thought the pork was overdone for my taste.
Ingredients for Pork:
1T Paprika
1t dried thyme
¼ t cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and pepper
2 pork tenderloins (10-12 oz. each)
1 T EVOO
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven or heat a grille to 450 degrees. We used the grille.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Cut the silver skin from the pork. Rub the pork with EVOO and sprinkle with the herbs.
3. Grill until the thickest part of the meat is 150 degrees.
Black Eyed Pea Salad
Ingredients:
1 t Dijon mustard
2T Cider vinegar
1 T EVOO
1 (15 oz.)can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
10 oz. frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whish mustard, vinegar, and EVOO. Add all vegetables. Season with salt and pepper, toss to combine.
I served this with Jiffy corn muffins. I was going to make Sweet potato muffins, but it was getting late and the jiffy mix was easier.
We forgot dessert. I liked the salad, but thought the pork was overdone for my taste.
Breakfast before Golf
When guests stay overnight, I really enjoy planning breakfast. I made this recipe in 2007, so I know I have not entered it on my blog. It is from Rachael Ray on the Food Channel. Yields: 4 servings.
Rosemary and Ham Scones
Ingredients:
1 box Jiffy biscuit mix (If they do not sell small boxes of Jiffy in your area, use 8>5 ox from the large box of Jiffy baking (biscuit) mix.
3T finely chopped rosemary, 4 small stems
½ C cream
A couple pinches f salt
1/8# smoked ham
1T orange zest
2 t sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix together all ingredients.
3. Pile in 4 large or 8 small mounds. I used a silicone sheet under them. Sprinkle with a little sugar and bake. Bake 10-12 for large and 7-8 for small
This time I added too much ham as I had it, made them hard to eat. I served them with scrambled eggs, juice and coffee. I like these scones.
Rosemary and Ham Scones
Ingredients:
1 box Jiffy biscuit mix (If they do not sell small boxes of Jiffy in your area, use 8>5 ox from the large box of Jiffy baking (biscuit) mix.
3T finely chopped rosemary, 4 small stems
½ C cream
A couple pinches f salt
1/8# smoked ham
1T orange zest
2 t sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix together all ingredients.
3. Pile in 4 large or 8 small mounds. I used a silicone sheet under them. Sprinkle with a little sugar and bake. Bake 10-12 for large and 7-8 for small
This time I added too much ham as I had it, made them hard to eat. I served them with scrambled eggs, juice and coffee. I like these scones.
Shrimp and Spaghetti Dinner
We have had our first overnight company. Our friends from VA, Linda and Mike, came for a couple days. The day they arrived I had Jim’s cousin and her husband over to meet them as both had heard about each other. I made appetizers real easy. I had 2 cheeses, brie and manchego, Panetini, strawberries, olives stuffed with blue cheese and nuts. I got our first course from the Deen Brothers Cookbook. It served 4, but was very easy to increase to 6. I thought it was wonderful.
Prosciutto, Carpaccio-Style
Ingredients:
8 oz sliced prosciutto
3 oz baby arugula
2T EVOO
1 ½ t red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
4 large plum tomatoes, cored, seeded and chopped
Directions:
1. Divided the prosciutto among 4 plates. Top each with and equal amount of arugula and drizzle each with ½ t EVOO.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together 2t EVOO, the vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomatoes, toss to coat. (I did the tomatoes early in the day>) Spoon the tomato salad onto the center of each plate.
For the main course we had Shrimp Spaghetti. I have no idea what magazine I got it from but credit is given to May Howell of Brandon, MS. It was a pretty dish and tasted good, but it has a ton of butter in it and was a little difficult to serve. It serves 8 to 10 easily
Ingredients:
1 ½ C butter
1 C chopped onion
1T dried parsley flakes
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t salt
1 t ground black pepper
½ t dried basil
½ t dried thyme
¼ t garlic powder
3 # medium fresh shrimp peeled and deveined, I used frozen uncooked easy peel shrimp and shelled them. Their shells were split and they were deveined.
1 (12 oz.) package thin spaghetti cooked and drained. I used whole wheat.
1 (8oz.) package processed cheese, cut into ½” pieces. I had no idea what this meant, so I shredded Asiago, Romano, and parmesan cheese together.
Directions:
1. I made the spaghetti ahead of time. Cook in boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain and toss with a small amount of EVOO. Store in a zip-top bag or plastic container. Reheat in microwave on high for 1-3 minutes before using in the recipe.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat.
4. Add onion; cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in all the dried herbs, salt and pepper. Pour mixture into a 13x 9 baking pan that is pretty enough to serve in. Add shrimp, tossing gently to coat. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Remove from oven stir in spaghetti and cheese. Mix to incorporate the spaghetti and shrimp. Return to oven and bake an additional 5 minutes.
This received rave reviews. But I bet no one dreamed how much butter was in it.
For the dessert, I served my neighbors chocolate cherry cake that I blogged about previously with vanilla ice cream.
Prosciutto, Carpaccio-Style
Ingredients:
8 oz sliced prosciutto
3 oz baby arugula
2T EVOO
1 ½ t red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
4 large plum tomatoes, cored, seeded and chopped
Directions:
1. Divided the prosciutto among 4 plates. Top each with and equal amount of arugula and drizzle each with ½ t EVOO.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together 2t EVOO, the vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomatoes, toss to coat. (I did the tomatoes early in the day>) Spoon the tomato salad onto the center of each plate.
For the main course we had Shrimp Spaghetti. I have no idea what magazine I got it from but credit is given to May Howell of Brandon, MS. It was a pretty dish and tasted good, but it has a ton of butter in it and was a little difficult to serve. It serves 8 to 10 easily
Ingredients:
1 ½ C butter
1 C chopped onion
1T dried parsley flakes
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t salt
1 t ground black pepper
½ t dried basil
½ t dried thyme
¼ t garlic powder
3 # medium fresh shrimp peeled and deveined, I used frozen uncooked easy peel shrimp and shelled them. Their shells were split and they were deveined.
1 (12 oz.) package thin spaghetti cooked and drained. I used whole wheat.
1 (8oz.) package processed cheese, cut into ½” pieces. I had no idea what this meant, so I shredded Asiago, Romano, and parmesan cheese together.
Directions:
1. I made the spaghetti ahead of time. Cook in boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain and toss with a small amount of EVOO. Store in a zip-top bag or plastic container. Reheat in microwave on high for 1-3 minutes before using in the recipe.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat.
4. Add onion; cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in all the dried herbs, salt and pepper. Pour mixture into a 13x 9 baking pan that is pretty enough to serve in. Add shrimp, tossing gently to coat. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Remove from oven stir in spaghetti and cheese. Mix to incorporate the spaghetti and shrimp. Return to oven and bake an additional 5 minutes.
This received rave reviews. But I bet no one dreamed how much butter was in it.
For the dessert, I served my neighbors chocolate cherry cake that I blogged about previously with vanilla ice cream.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Chili-rubbed Flank Steak with Cbbage Salad and Polenta Rounds
Today was unloading the climate controlled storage unit. It mostly had Jim’s wine, but it also had my pastels and other artwork. We also got rid of the beautiful but small bed I bought at Conrad’s a long time ago. The charity we took it to here in TN told Jim, “We will have no trouble selling this.” We are having company on Wednesday from VA, so I will probably be blogging my meals after the fact.
Tonight’s meal was really good. Jim was doubtful, but liked it. It was flank steak, polenta and cabbage salad from Martha’s Food TV.
Ingredients:
2T cider vinegar
4 t plus ¼ C EVOO
6 C shredded red cabbage (I used the smallest shredder on the food processor, like KFC slaw, not the linear shredder. My friend Susan in VA told me that what makes KFC coleslaw so good is the shredding size.)
Coarse salt and pepper
1 tube, 18oz, prepared plain polenta
1 T chili powder
1T sugar
1 ½ # flank steak
Directions:
1. Heat the grille.
2. Shred the cabbage. Place vinegar, 3t EVOO and salt and pepper in a large salad bowl. Add the cabbage and mix well. Set on the table.
3. Cut polenta crosswise into 8 equal slices. Heat ¼ C EVOO in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add polenta slices and cook until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate, season with salt and pepper. (After the fact, you could use 2T) The skillet was really hot so the polenta did not absorb, just crisped.
4. Combine the chili powder, sugar, 1t salt and ¼ t pepper. Coat steak on both sides with the remaining 1t EVOO and coat both sides with the spice mixture. Grille for 10 minutes and let rest for 5. Slice thinly on the diagonal.
I highly recommend this meal. Easy to make and very tasty.
Tonight’s meal was really good. Jim was doubtful, but liked it. It was flank steak, polenta and cabbage salad from Martha’s Food TV.
Ingredients:
2T cider vinegar
4 t plus ¼ C EVOO
6 C shredded red cabbage (I used the smallest shredder on the food processor, like KFC slaw, not the linear shredder. My friend Susan in VA told me that what makes KFC coleslaw so good is the shredding size.)
Coarse salt and pepper
1 tube, 18oz, prepared plain polenta
1 T chili powder
1T sugar
1 ½ # flank steak
Directions:
1. Heat the grille.
2. Shred the cabbage. Place vinegar, 3t EVOO and salt and pepper in a large salad bowl. Add the cabbage and mix well. Set on the table.
3. Cut polenta crosswise into 8 equal slices. Heat ¼ C EVOO in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add polenta slices and cook until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate, season with salt and pepper. (After the fact, you could use 2T) The skillet was really hot so the polenta did not absorb, just crisped.
4. Combine the chili powder, sugar, 1t salt and ¼ t pepper. Coat steak on both sides with the remaining 1t EVOO and coat both sides with the spice mixture. Grille for 10 minutes and let rest for 5. Slice thinly on the diagonal.
I highly recommend this meal. Easy to make and very tasty.
Tuna, Risotto and Chocolate Cherry Cake
Last night we went to our golf club for dinner. We had a good time, but did not find service spectacular. There was a wedding in progress in the other part of the club and that could have been the problem. Today was a cleaning and clearing day and I spent the day sweating, repacking, finding stuff and cleaning. In the middle, I made a cake and we had a wonderful meal of tuna and Asiago and Corn Risotto.
I made everything backwards to get it all done for dinner. First I made the cake. This recipe was given to me by my favorite neighbor Elaine in Gainesville, VA. It is so easy that it should be in everyone’s repertoire.
Cherry Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
1 pkg. chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling
1 (8oz.) bag of chocolate chips.
Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine cake mix, eggs, pie filling. Mix until well blended and then add chocolate chips.
3. DO NOT add any oil or water etc., just the ingredients mentioned.
4. Pour into the pan of your choice. I used a Bundt pan.
5. Time for a 9 x 13 is 35-40 minutes. For my Bundt pan it took one hour and 15 minutes.
6. When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar. The Bundt cake looked amazing.
This is a very good cake. Jim had two pieces. Have to retain enough to bribe my architect on Tuesday.
Asiago and Corn Risotto, from the Washington Post in 2010. Bonnie Benwick copied it from “The Great Big Cheese Cookbook”.
I made this next as I wanted to finish it before the tuna was grilled. I cut this recipe in half and still had leftovers. Whole recip serves 4-6.
Ingredients:
30 oz. vegetable broth, preferably low-sodium
1 C carrot juice, I had to use my juicer as I could not find plain carrot juice.
3 medium garlic cloves
1 medium onion
16 oz or 2 cups of corn
Leaves of ¼ bunch flat-leaf parsley
Leaves from 4-6 stems of thyme (used about ¼ t dried thyme leaves)
2 oz Pecorino Romano cheese
2 oz parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 oz block Asiago cheese
About 10 long chive stems
2 T EVOO
1 C uncooked Arborio rice
½ t freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Heat the vegetable broth and carrot juice in a large saucepan over medium heat. Or, I just put the measuring cup in the microwave to heat it.
2. Meanwhile, mince the garlic. Cut the onion into small dice. Thaw the corn and finely chop the parsley and thyme together to yield ¼ C. Grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano cheese together to yield 1 C. Shave the Asiago cheese to yield 1 C. Snip chives to yield 2 t.
3. Heat oil in a ditch oven over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and rice, stirring to coat evenly and heat through. Add 1 C of hot broth stirring constantly for a few minutes. Keep adding broth in ½ C increments and stirring over the course of 20 minutes.
4. When you are down to ½ C or so of the broth mixture, add the corn along with it. Cook until heated through and the kernels look slightly plump. Then add the Parmesan and Romano cheeses, parsley and herbs, stirring to incorporate. The risotto should look creamy and the rice should be tender.
This was a very calming recipe for me. The pre prep made everything go smoothly and it was relaxing to just stir. It was a very good recipe and went very well with the Grilled Tuna.
Grilled Tuna with Basil Pesto is from Giada De Laurentis, serves 4
I did not make the pesto, I bought it.
Ingredients:
2 -2” thick tuna steaks
Salt and pepper
Jar of basil pesto
Lemon juice
Directions:
1. Preheat grill to 400 degrees.
2. Wash and pat dry the tuna steaks. Brush both sides with EVOO and sprinkle on salt and pepper.
3. Place tuna on hot grill and sear each side for 2 minutes for rare. If you prefer well done, cook the tuna an additional 2-3 minutes per side. Remove and let rest.
4. Slice the Tuna in ½” slices and drizzle with lemon juice. Sauce tuna with pesto.
We have half of my tuna left which means that it really does serve 4 if not feeding Jim.
I made everything backwards to get it all done for dinner. First I made the cake. This recipe was given to me by my favorite neighbor Elaine in Gainesville, VA. It is so easy that it should be in everyone’s repertoire.
Cherry Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
1 pkg. chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling
1 (8oz.) bag of chocolate chips.
Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine cake mix, eggs, pie filling. Mix until well blended and then add chocolate chips.
3. DO NOT add any oil or water etc., just the ingredients mentioned.
4. Pour into the pan of your choice. I used a Bundt pan.
5. Time for a 9 x 13 is 35-40 minutes. For my Bundt pan it took one hour and 15 minutes.
6. When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar. The Bundt cake looked amazing.
This is a very good cake. Jim had two pieces. Have to retain enough to bribe my architect on Tuesday.
Asiago and Corn Risotto, from the Washington Post in 2010. Bonnie Benwick copied it from “The Great Big Cheese Cookbook”.
I made this next as I wanted to finish it before the tuna was grilled. I cut this recipe in half and still had leftovers. Whole recip serves 4-6.
Ingredients:
30 oz. vegetable broth, preferably low-sodium
1 C carrot juice, I had to use my juicer as I could not find plain carrot juice.
3 medium garlic cloves
1 medium onion
16 oz or 2 cups of corn
Leaves of ¼ bunch flat-leaf parsley
Leaves from 4-6 stems of thyme (used about ¼ t dried thyme leaves)
2 oz Pecorino Romano cheese
2 oz parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 oz block Asiago cheese
About 10 long chive stems
2 T EVOO
1 C uncooked Arborio rice
½ t freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Heat the vegetable broth and carrot juice in a large saucepan over medium heat. Or, I just put the measuring cup in the microwave to heat it.
2. Meanwhile, mince the garlic. Cut the onion into small dice. Thaw the corn and finely chop the parsley and thyme together to yield ¼ C. Grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano cheese together to yield 1 C. Shave the Asiago cheese to yield 1 C. Snip chives to yield 2 t.
3. Heat oil in a ditch oven over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and rice, stirring to coat evenly and heat through. Add 1 C of hot broth stirring constantly for a few minutes. Keep adding broth in ½ C increments and stirring over the course of 20 minutes.
4. When you are down to ½ C or so of the broth mixture, add the corn along with it. Cook until heated through and the kernels look slightly plump. Then add the Parmesan and Romano cheeses, parsley and herbs, stirring to incorporate. The risotto should look creamy and the rice should be tender.
This was a very calming recipe for me. The pre prep made everything go smoothly and it was relaxing to just stir. It was a very good recipe and went very well with the Grilled Tuna.
Grilled Tuna with Basil Pesto is from Giada De Laurentis, serves 4
I did not make the pesto, I bought it.
Ingredients:
2 -2” thick tuna steaks
Salt and pepper
Jar of basil pesto
Lemon juice
Directions:
1. Preheat grill to 400 degrees.
2. Wash and pat dry the tuna steaks. Brush both sides with EVOO and sprinkle on salt and pepper.
3. Place tuna on hot grill and sear each side for 2 minutes for rare. If you prefer well done, cook the tuna an additional 2-3 minutes per side. Remove and let rest.
4. Slice the Tuna in ½” slices and drizzle with lemon juice. Sauce tuna with pesto.
We have half of my tuna left which means that it really does serve 4 if not feeding Jim.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Greek Turkey Burgers
I was sort of embarrassed to report on what we had for dinner on Thursday, but as it turned out is was better than what we had on Friday.
Thursday:
I took a jar of Paul Newman marinara sauce and warmed it up with Aidells Italian sausage in it. I cooked whole wheat penne and made a salad. We loved this dinner. We served it with Macaroni Grille brand Chianti.
Friday is a whole different story. I think the fault was the texture of the turkey burger. Here they grind turkey like meat left in the food processor too long. We are used to turkey that comes through a meat grinder. Because of the texture of the turkey these burgers were hard to shape and impossible to grille. Jim took my flat griddle out on the grille to cook them. This recipe is called My Big Fat Greek Burgers by Ellie Krieger.
Ingredients:
For the yogurt sauce:
½ C nonfat Greek style yoghurt
2 t EVOO
2 t lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t chopped fresh dill leaves
1/8 t salt
Pinch of pepper
For the burgers:
2 t EVOO
½ small onion, chopped
2 C lightly packed baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
¼ C crumbled feta cheese
1T chopped fresh dill or 1 t dried
½ t black pepper
1 1/4 # lean ground turkey breast
¼ t salt
Finishes:
4 whole wheat burger buns
¼ English cucumber, thinly sliced
4 small leaves romaine lettuce
Directions:
1. In a small bowl, stir together all the ingredients for the yoghurt sauce.
2. Heat 2 t of EVOO in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent about 3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and add the feta cheese, dill and ¼ t black pepper. Stir to combine.
4. Divided the turkey into 4 equal sized rounds. Make 2 equal sized patties out of each round so you have 8 patties total.
5. Put 2 T of the spinach-feta mixture onto half of the patties. Top with remaining patties working the turkey around the edges to seal burgers closed.
6. Season the burgers on both sides with salt and pepper
7. Prepare the grill. Grill the patties until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
8. To serve, place a burger on the bottom half of each bun, top with about 2T of yoghurt sauce, then 2-3 slices of cucumber and a lettuce leaf. Top with the bun and serve.
I served sweet potato fries and a salad.
Thursday:
I took a jar of Paul Newman marinara sauce and warmed it up with Aidells Italian sausage in it. I cooked whole wheat penne and made a salad. We loved this dinner. We served it with Macaroni Grille brand Chianti.
Friday is a whole different story. I think the fault was the texture of the turkey burger. Here they grind turkey like meat left in the food processor too long. We are used to turkey that comes through a meat grinder. Because of the texture of the turkey these burgers were hard to shape and impossible to grille. Jim took my flat griddle out on the grille to cook them. This recipe is called My Big Fat Greek Burgers by Ellie Krieger.
Ingredients:
For the yogurt sauce:
½ C nonfat Greek style yoghurt
2 t EVOO
2 t lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t chopped fresh dill leaves
1/8 t salt
Pinch of pepper
For the burgers:
2 t EVOO
½ small onion, chopped
2 C lightly packed baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
¼ C crumbled feta cheese
1T chopped fresh dill or 1 t dried
½ t black pepper
1 1/4 # lean ground turkey breast
¼ t salt
Finishes:
4 whole wheat burger buns
¼ English cucumber, thinly sliced
4 small leaves romaine lettuce
Directions:
1. In a small bowl, stir together all the ingredients for the yoghurt sauce.
2. Heat 2 t of EVOO in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent about 3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and add the feta cheese, dill and ¼ t black pepper. Stir to combine.
4. Divided the turkey into 4 equal sized rounds. Make 2 equal sized patties out of each round so you have 8 patties total.
5. Put 2 T of the spinach-feta mixture onto half of the patties. Top with remaining patties working the turkey around the edges to seal burgers closed.
6. Season the burgers on both sides with salt and pepper
7. Prepare the grill. Grill the patties until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
8. To serve, place a burger on the bottom half of each bun, top with about 2T of yoghurt sauce, then 2-3 slices of cucumber and a lettuce leaf. Top with the bun and serve.
I served sweet potato fries and a salad.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi
Jim is now cleaning up the mess I made tonight. When I asked him how he liked the meal, he said this is really good, but it took all those dishes to make this? Well, it did, as I use different plastic tops on my butcher block depending on what I am chopping and you had to remove the shrimp to a container while you were cooking the garlic and then adding it back. We also had a larger dishwasher in the old house, so I could dump in dishes as they were used. Not working here, anyway good meal, from Cooking Light Magazine, March 2009. This yields 4 servings, but I did half the shrimp and all the rest of the recipe for the two of us.
Ingredients:
1 C uncooked orzo, I used Israeli
2 T chopped fresh parsley
½ t salt, divided
7 t unsalted butter, divided
1 ½ # peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp, I used frozen uncooked in the shell and defrosted.
2 t bottled minced garlic
2 T fresh lemon juice
¼ t black pepper
Directions:
1. Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. However spray your pan with Pam as it sticks like glue to the pan and you lose half your orzo. I turned it to low about half way through the cooking and added the ¼ t of salt and the parsley at the end and just recovered until I was done with the shrimp.
2. While orzo cooks, melt 2 T of butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with remaining ¼ t salt. Add the shrimp and sauté until almost done, 2 minutes. Remove to a plate. Melt 1t butter in the pan. Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in shrimp, juice, and pepper; cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done.
3. Place orzo in a bowl and pour the shrimp and garlic butter over.
I served with asparagus done in a microwave that does not tell me by weight when it is done. I did it as usual with orange EVOO, salt and pepper. It took 6 minutes, but I felt the asparagus was tough and should have been peeled.
Ingredients:
1 C uncooked orzo, I used Israeli
2 T chopped fresh parsley
½ t salt, divided
7 t unsalted butter, divided
1 ½ # peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp, I used frozen uncooked in the shell and defrosted.
2 t bottled minced garlic
2 T fresh lemon juice
¼ t black pepper
Directions:
1. Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. However spray your pan with Pam as it sticks like glue to the pan and you lose half your orzo. I turned it to low about half way through the cooking and added the ¼ t of salt and the parsley at the end and just recovered until I was done with the shrimp.
2. While orzo cooks, melt 2 T of butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with remaining ¼ t salt. Add the shrimp and sauté until almost done, 2 minutes. Remove to a plate. Melt 1t butter in the pan. Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in shrimp, juice, and pepper; cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done.
3. Place orzo in a bowl and pour the shrimp and garlic butter over.
I served with asparagus done in a microwave that does not tell me by weight when it is done. I did it as usual with orange EVOO, salt and pepper. It took 6 minutes, but I felt the asparagus was tough and should have been peeled.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Elise's Sesame Noodles
Tonight’s recipe comes from Kitchendaily.com, by way of EatingWell.com. It is basically an oriental dish. Jim was real excited when he learned that Max was having leftover steak from our night out and he was eating noodles.
Ingredients:
1# whole-wheat spaghetti
½ C reduced-sodium soy sauce
2T sesame oil
2T canola oil
2T rice-wine vinegar
1 ½ t crushed red pepper (I used half, but my crushed red pepper is really strong)
1 bunch scallions, sliced, divided
¼ C chopped fresh cilantro, divided
4 C snow peas, trimmed and sliced on the bias (this did not work. All the snow peas went to the bottom and did not incorporate, if anything, I would cut in half lengthwise or leave whole to better intermingle with the pasta)
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
½ C sesame seeds
Directions:
1. Start the pasta water and be sure to add salt. I use about 2t.
2. Whisk soy sauce, sesame oil, canola, oil, vinegar, crushed red pepper, ¼ C scallions and 2 T cilantro in a 1 C measuring cup.
3. Cook spaghetti until just tender, about 8 minutes. Follow package directions.
4. Mix pasta with the cup of liquid, snow peas and bell pepper. Mix in the sesame seeds and garnish with remaining scallions and cilantro.
This recipe does not tell how many it serves. Jim ate three big helpings. We have enough left over for lunch; I will add the leftover chicken from the other night. This took, no time to prepare.
Ingredients:
1# whole-wheat spaghetti
½ C reduced-sodium soy sauce
2T sesame oil
2T canola oil
2T rice-wine vinegar
1 ½ t crushed red pepper (I used half, but my crushed red pepper is really strong)
1 bunch scallions, sliced, divided
¼ C chopped fresh cilantro, divided
4 C snow peas, trimmed and sliced on the bias (this did not work. All the snow peas went to the bottom and did not incorporate, if anything, I would cut in half lengthwise or leave whole to better intermingle with the pasta)
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
½ C sesame seeds
Directions:
1. Start the pasta water and be sure to add salt. I use about 2t.
2. Whisk soy sauce, sesame oil, canola, oil, vinegar, crushed red pepper, ¼ C scallions and 2 T cilantro in a 1 C measuring cup.
3. Cook spaghetti until just tender, about 8 minutes. Follow package directions.
4. Mix pasta with the cup of liquid, snow peas and bell pepper. Mix in the sesame seeds and garnish with remaining scallions and cilantro.
This recipe does not tell how many it serves. Jim ate three big helpings. We have enough left over for lunch; I will add the leftover chicken from the other night. This took, no time to prepare.
Pork Chops and Sweet Potatoes
Happy days, I found my measuring spoons and the butter dish. A few other things I needed but not as important as those. Tonight’s dish was yummy. It really does feed 4. I copied this recipe off of aol.Food.com, but I changed it to an outdoor grilling recipe. We have a glass top stove and my indoor grilling pan is too rough and I am afraid of breaking the edge or scratching the surface. The marinade flavored the meat very nicely. I let the pork rest and poured the juice from the resting platter on the watercress. The bitterness of the watercress and the sweetness of the potatoes was really a good match.
Ingredients:
2.5 # red skinned sweet potatoes, peeled can cut into 2” chunks.
3 T EVOO
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
½ C pure maple syrup
4, 8 oz center-cut bone-in pork loin chops each ¾” thick. (Neither here or VA can I find bone in thick pork chops. When you find them they are stuffed with something unknown).
2T fresh marjoram leaves, I used 2 t dried
¾ C dry white wine
1 bunch watercress, thick stalks removed
Instructions:
1. Take the EVOO, salt, pepper, marjoram leaves, and wine and put in a sealable plastic bag. Mix all ingredients well and add the pork chops. Seal well and place on a plate in the refrigerator.
2. When ready to grille, peal the sweet potatoes and place on a baking pan that I lined with non-stick aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt and peppy. Place in the oven and cook at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Add the maple syrup and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Keep warm in the oven until the pork chops are done.
3. Grille the pork chops until they reach 160 degrees.
4. Divide the watercress on 4 plates. Arrange the yams alongside the watercress. Place pork chop on each plate and pour sauce over, if you used a grille pan.
Ingredients:
2.5 # red skinned sweet potatoes, peeled can cut into 2” chunks.
3 T EVOO
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
½ C pure maple syrup
4, 8 oz center-cut bone-in pork loin chops each ¾” thick. (Neither here or VA can I find bone in thick pork chops. When you find them they are stuffed with something unknown).
2T fresh marjoram leaves, I used 2 t dried
¾ C dry white wine
1 bunch watercress, thick stalks removed
Instructions:
1. Take the EVOO, salt, pepper, marjoram leaves, and wine and put in a sealable plastic bag. Mix all ingredients well and add the pork chops. Seal well and place on a plate in the refrigerator.
2. When ready to grille, peal the sweet potatoes and place on a baking pan that I lined with non-stick aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt and peppy. Place in the oven and cook at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Add the maple syrup and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Keep warm in the oven until the pork chops are done.
3. Grille the pork chops until they reach 160 degrees.
4. Divide the watercress on 4 plates. Arrange the yams alongside the watercress. Place pork chop on each plate and pour sauce over, if you used a grille pan.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad
This is a keeper for entertaining this summer. It tastes great, it is easy and it looks spectacular.
Serves 4. This was easy to prepare and I will serve it again. Martha’s Everyday Food Network.
Ingredients:
6 bacon slices, cut in 1” wide pieces
1 medium head romaine lettuce, (12 oz) cut crosswise into ½” pieces
2-3 T Vinaigrette, I had a low fat Balsamic one.
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled (1 C)
2 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise, ½” thick
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled. Thinly sliced and cut into 2” pieces
Coarse salt and pepper( I never used any salt or pepper and Jim did not add any)
*Garlic Marinated Chicken Cutlets, thinly sliced crosswise
Directions:
1. Marinate the chicken in the recipe below. I did it earlier in the day, in the refrigerator, as I could not find cutlets. I should have cut the breasts I bought horizontally, but I just marinated the entire breasts. For the two of us, I also just bought half the amount. The reason it is asking for so much is because this comes from a show where you cook once and then have the leftovers in this salad.
2. In a medium skillet, cook bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 5-8 minutes.
3. I washed the lettuce, sliced the tomato and opened the avocado while Jim was grilling the chicken.
4. After the chicken was done, I added the vinaigrette to the romaine. I spread it on a large tray. I lined the tomatoes down the center. Next I put the Feta in a line next to the tomatoes. The avocado was lined up next and finally the bacon on the left.
5. I sliced half the chicken and placed it to the right of the tomatoes.
This was so good looking and it tasted great.
*Garlic-Marinated Chicken Cutlets
Ingredients:
2TEVOO
6 garlic cloves, minced
¼ C white wine vinegar
3 T fresh thyme leaves (I used 1T dried)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3# chicken cutlets (about 12)
Directions:
1. Make marinade, in a small bowl. Put chicken in a plastic bag and pour the marinate over the chicken. Squish around and take the air out and seal the bag. Place the chicken back in the refrigerator. You can do the day before. I did it in the am, and took it out 30 minutes before grilling.
2. Grille until it reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees.
Serves 4. This was easy to prepare and I will serve it again. Martha’s Everyday Food Network.
Ingredients:
6 bacon slices, cut in 1” wide pieces
1 medium head romaine lettuce, (12 oz) cut crosswise into ½” pieces
2-3 T Vinaigrette, I had a low fat Balsamic one.
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled (1 C)
2 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise, ½” thick
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled. Thinly sliced and cut into 2” pieces
Coarse salt and pepper( I never used any salt or pepper and Jim did not add any)
*Garlic Marinated Chicken Cutlets, thinly sliced crosswise
Directions:
1. Marinate the chicken in the recipe below. I did it earlier in the day, in the refrigerator, as I could not find cutlets. I should have cut the breasts I bought horizontally, but I just marinated the entire breasts. For the two of us, I also just bought half the amount. The reason it is asking for so much is because this comes from a show where you cook once and then have the leftovers in this salad.
2. In a medium skillet, cook bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 5-8 minutes.
3. I washed the lettuce, sliced the tomato and opened the avocado while Jim was grilling the chicken.
4. After the chicken was done, I added the vinaigrette to the romaine. I spread it on a large tray. I lined the tomatoes down the center. Next I put the Feta in a line next to the tomatoes. The avocado was lined up next and finally the bacon on the left.
5. I sliced half the chicken and placed it to the right of the tomatoes.
This was so good looking and it tasted great.
*Garlic-Marinated Chicken Cutlets
Ingredients:
2TEVOO
6 garlic cloves, minced
¼ C white wine vinegar
3 T fresh thyme leaves (I used 1T dried)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3# chicken cutlets (about 12)
Directions:
1. Make marinade, in a small bowl. Put chicken in a plastic bag and pour the marinate over the chicken. Squish around and take the air out and seal the bag. Place the chicken back in the refrigerator. You can do the day before. I did it in the am, and took it out 30 minutes before grilling.
2. Grille until it reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees.
Roasted Salmon with Brussels Sprouts
Tonight’s meal is very simple. It comes from Martha’s Everyday food program on PBS, Serves 4.
Ingredients:
1#Brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise. (I used frozen as they are not out at this time of year.)
2 T EVOO
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 skinless salmon fillets (about 1 ½ #)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss Brussels sprouts with EVOO. Season with ½ t coarse salt and ¼ t ground pepper. Spread in a single layer. Roast, tossing occasionally, until sprouts are browned, 10-15 minutes. I did not thaw the sprouts and they did fine. I also did not cut them in half.
2. Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Place in cent of baking sheet (push sprouts to sides). Roast until salmon is opaque throughout and sprouts are tender, about 10 minutes more.
I started everything frozen. While the sprouts were cooking I microwaved on defrost the salmon. I also accompanied this meal with Annie’s Mac & cheese. I added truffle oil to make it taste a little better.
We are still digging. Found my shoes today so we are about to put in my closet. We have 5 small rooms at the end of the house that are becoming our bedroom/laundry/dressing room/art room. Fun times.
Ingredients:
1#Brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise. (I used frozen as they are not out at this time of year.)
2 T EVOO
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 skinless salmon fillets (about 1 ½ #)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss Brussels sprouts with EVOO. Season with ½ t coarse salt and ¼ t ground pepper. Spread in a single layer. Roast, tossing occasionally, until sprouts are browned, 10-15 minutes. I did not thaw the sprouts and they did fine. I also did not cut them in half.
2. Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Place in cent of baking sheet (push sprouts to sides). Roast until salmon is opaque throughout and sprouts are tender, about 10 minutes more.
I started everything frozen. While the sprouts were cooking I microwaved on defrost the salmon. I also accompanied this meal with Annie’s Mac & cheese. I added truffle oil to make it taste a little better.
We are still digging. Found my shoes today so we are about to put in my closet. We have 5 small rooms at the end of the house that are becoming our bedroom/laundry/dressing room/art room. Fun times.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
In TN surrounded by Boxes
We are finally getting close to setting up the kitchen. Don’t want to unpack too much as we just will have to repack when the new house is done, but it is at least a year so I want to be able to cook. I am using the guest room closet as kitchen backup. The first time we had other than frozen food at home, Jim grilled and I made a salad, nothing fancy. Next was Sunday and we were dead tired from unpacking. I looked in the pantry and found a can of salmon and black beans. Jim’s cousin had sent me home with her delicious broccoli salad. I combined all this, draining the salmon and beans, with a little Caesar dressing. This was served on Romaine. It was delicious. I will get the broccoli salad recipe for you. We just finished it up for lunch today.
Last night I did Salt and Pepper Shrimp.
Ingredients:
Salt
Pepper
Shrimp
Directions:
1. Use the largest shrimp you can find. They must have the shells on. Drain and pepper them generously.
2. In an iron skillet, cover the bottom about ¼” deep with kosher salt. Put on the burner on high and wait until it is sizzling hot.
3. Call husband to dinner before you start the cooking. Make sure he is seated before starting cooking.
4. Set timer for 1 ½ minute and start putting the shrimp in the skillet. When it rings, set again for 1 ½ minutes and start turning the shrimp quickly. When it rings the shrimp should look pink. Turn off the burner and place the shrimp on the platter.
Have lots of napkins available. I like this meal for two reasons, you peel what you eat and it is very good. Do not overcook the shrimp. I served this with a spinach and fruit salad. We usually add rice, but we haven’t found it yet. I think I first heard of this meal from Martha on the internet. Be sure and use an iron skillet as the salt and temperture will wreck most skillets.
Last night I did Salt and Pepper Shrimp.
Ingredients:
Salt
Pepper
Shrimp
Directions:
1. Use the largest shrimp you can find. They must have the shells on. Drain and pepper them generously.
2. In an iron skillet, cover the bottom about ¼” deep with kosher salt. Put on the burner on high and wait until it is sizzling hot.
3. Call husband to dinner before you start the cooking. Make sure he is seated before starting cooking.
4. Set timer for 1 ½ minute and start putting the shrimp in the skillet. When it rings, set again for 1 ½ minutes and start turning the shrimp quickly. When it rings the shrimp should look pink. Turn off the burner and place the shrimp on the platter.
Have lots of napkins available. I like this meal for two reasons, you peel what you eat and it is very good. Do not overcook the shrimp. I served this with a spinach and fruit salad. We usually add rice, but we haven’t found it yet. I think I first heard of this meal from Martha on the internet. Be sure and use an iron skillet as the salt and temperture will wreck most skillets.
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