So even I don't make stuff from scratch 100% of the time. The only leftovers for me to have for supper tonight were fajita leftovers... with two pieces of meat that combined to be the size of a stick of gum, just a bit thicker. So I was rummaging for a snacky-meal and came up with either a bowl of mushroom flavored rice noodle soup (just add water) or a can of low fat corned beef hash.
Hash won! Already ate veggies and some protein would be good. So cooked 1/2 the can (1 serving) with some Chipotle hot sauce and fresh ground pepper (though I think there are a few flakes of crushed red pepper from the last time I used the top of the grinder for some crushed red pepper flakes in an arrabiata sauce.
And I'm picky about my pepper - I mix it so it's half tellicherry pepper and half a blend called Pepper Supreme. Good blend of flavor and spice. YUM!
Well, I'm going to go now and get back to the last half of the hash still sitting in my plate!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Mmmm - a very French dinner... almost
Made some roasted ratatouille tonight with some chicken breast seasoned with some herbes de provence and served it alongside couscous. But not the French style couscous, the Israeli style. It was still quite tasty, though not (quite) 100% French. I do like the extra flavor you can get from the larger grains and the ability to toast them up in some butter before cooking them in stock. (Chicken tonight since it was served with chicken, but I've made it with beef stock when serving it with a beef entree.)
Plans for tomorrow night - not sure. It's Friday so that means it's most likely leftovers since Bryan works so late. Oh well. My new quest - perfecting a recipe for a 'golden butter' cupcake that I can divide up so that I can make a normal amount at once rather than 2 dozen cupcakes at a time. (I can't eat that many at once so it's silly to make a whole cake-sized batch when I'm not bringing them to a party.) That combo with the awesome coconut-blue agave ganache was so awesome I want to make it again and again and again. (While working out in between.)
Plans for tomorrow night - not sure. It's Friday so that means it's most likely leftovers since Bryan works so late. Oh well. My new quest - perfecting a recipe for a 'golden butter' cupcake that I can divide up so that I can make a normal amount at once rather than 2 dozen cupcakes at a time. (I can't eat that many at once so it's silly to make a whole cake-sized batch when I'm not bringing them to a party.) That combo with the awesome coconut-blue agave ganache was so awesome I want to make it again and again and again. (While working out in between.)
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Chopped (weird one)
This week's episode of chopped had weirder ingredient combos than usual.
App - watermelon, zucchini, pepper jack cheese and canned sardines
Entree - beef shoulder, yuca, raisins, ancho chile, dill pickles
Dessert - prosecco, canadian bacon, chestnuts, tortillas
App - a summer garden inspired mini-pizza & watermelon fizzy float. English muffin pizzas with a sauce made from fresh tomatoes (crushed, seasoned and sauteed with some olive oil) and zucchini and small pcs of sardine and pepper jack cheese to top it. A watermelon cooler with fresh watermelon blended with some seltzer water and vanilla ice cream.
Entree - slice beef fairly thin, season with salt, pepper, garlic, lime & cilantro. (Let lime help tenderize it for a while before cooking) Saute meat quickly & slice on a diagonal. Use beef stock to cook up fond at bottom of pan, and plump raisins in it. reduce and finish with a pat of butter. shred the yuca and combine with salt, pepper and some ancho chile to make a yuca pancake/hashbrown. Use finely diced dill pickle, and other pickled vegetables as a quick relish. Plate the hashbrown first, meat slices on top of the hashbrown with some raisins and pan sauce over it and (after tasting outcome) decide whether to plate relish on top of meat or in a couple small piles around the plate. My guess is I would go for three small spots of the relish around the plate rather than piling it on.
Dessert - a sweet and savory strata. Maybe a brioche and the tortillas sliced up for the bread and get a quick 'custard' mix of eggs, cream, prosecco, & almond extract over the bread for it to soak. thinly slice canadian bacon, roughly chop chestnuts, walnuts and pecans. Mix into the bread and custard combo. Take out small, individual ramekins & butter. spoon a little of the strata mix into the ramekin using a slotted spoon to not get too much custard (there are only 30 mins per round here...), sprinkle a little brown sugar and top with a little more of the strata mix. While individual stratas are baking, start whipping some cream. When soft peaks form, add some powdered sugar and prosecco to flavor the cream. Continue to whip to stiff peaks. Serve hot ramekin on a plate with the whipped cream on the side (so that it doesn't melt INTO the strata before the judges get to eat it.)
I think that's it for Chopped.
Obviously on Monday we did the fajita thing for dinner if I didn't already post about that. Tuesday was leftover night since Bryan worked late and tonight was chicken pot pie night. I think I got just the right ratio of everything. 2.5 chicken breasts, 3/4 of a HUGE parsnip, about 1/3 bag of baby carrots, can of green beans, 1 cup of stock and a deep dish pie plate. Came out SUPER delicious! Could have used another few mins in the oven for extra browning of the top crust, but it still tasted GREAT!
Tomorrow night I'm going to try a new (invented) ratatouille recipe that I'll just sort of make off the top of my head. I have a whole bunch of produce just sitting in my fridge waiting. Eggplant, summer squash, & zucchini, though I think I'll use some canned tomatoes. Maybe throw a few fresh in for a different texture?? I'll have to keep an eye out for some when i go shopping tomorrow. I'm going to bake this one in the oven rather than cooking on the stovetop and finishing in the oven. This means I'll get to play with my enameled cast iron dutch oven from IKEA. (For any strapped-for-cash cooks out there, IKEA makes an enameled cast iron dutch oven that probably costs a quarter of what the fancy French brand costs. And I don't see any durability issues. No problems whatsoever with this pan!)
Okay - time to get back to trying to remove a stubborn virus from my husband's PC. I'll let you know how the ratatouille comes out!
App - watermelon, zucchini, pepper jack cheese and canned sardines
Entree - beef shoulder, yuca, raisins, ancho chile, dill pickles
Dessert - prosecco, canadian bacon, chestnuts, tortillas
App - a summer garden inspired mini-pizza & watermelon fizzy float. English muffin pizzas with a sauce made from fresh tomatoes (crushed, seasoned and sauteed with some olive oil) and zucchini and small pcs of sardine and pepper jack cheese to top it. A watermelon cooler with fresh watermelon blended with some seltzer water and vanilla ice cream.
Entree - slice beef fairly thin, season with salt, pepper, garlic, lime & cilantro. (Let lime help tenderize it for a while before cooking) Saute meat quickly & slice on a diagonal. Use beef stock to cook up fond at bottom of pan, and plump raisins in it. reduce and finish with a pat of butter. shred the yuca and combine with salt, pepper and some ancho chile to make a yuca pancake/hashbrown. Use finely diced dill pickle, and other pickled vegetables as a quick relish. Plate the hashbrown first, meat slices on top of the hashbrown with some raisins and pan sauce over it and (after tasting outcome) decide whether to plate relish on top of meat or in a couple small piles around the plate. My guess is I would go for three small spots of the relish around the plate rather than piling it on.
Dessert - a sweet and savory strata. Maybe a brioche and the tortillas sliced up for the bread and get a quick 'custard' mix of eggs, cream, prosecco, & almond extract over the bread for it to soak. thinly slice canadian bacon, roughly chop chestnuts, walnuts and pecans. Mix into the bread and custard combo. Take out small, individual ramekins & butter. spoon a little of the strata mix into the ramekin using a slotted spoon to not get too much custard (there are only 30 mins per round here...), sprinkle a little brown sugar and top with a little more of the strata mix. While individual stratas are baking, start whipping some cream. When soft peaks form, add some powdered sugar and prosecco to flavor the cream. Continue to whip to stiff peaks. Serve hot ramekin on a plate with the whipped cream on the side (so that it doesn't melt INTO the strata before the judges get to eat it.)
I think that's it for Chopped.
Obviously on Monday we did the fajita thing for dinner if I didn't already post about that. Tuesday was leftover night since Bryan worked late and tonight was chicken pot pie night. I think I got just the right ratio of everything. 2.5 chicken breasts, 3/4 of a HUGE parsnip, about 1/3 bag of baby carrots, can of green beans, 1 cup of stock and a deep dish pie plate. Came out SUPER delicious! Could have used another few mins in the oven for extra browning of the top crust, but it still tasted GREAT!
Tomorrow night I'm going to try a new (invented) ratatouille recipe that I'll just sort of make off the top of my head. I have a whole bunch of produce just sitting in my fridge waiting. Eggplant, summer squash, & zucchini, though I think I'll use some canned tomatoes. Maybe throw a few fresh in for a different texture?? I'll have to keep an eye out for some when i go shopping tomorrow. I'm going to bake this one in the oven rather than cooking on the stovetop and finishing in the oven. This means I'll get to play with my enameled cast iron dutch oven from IKEA. (For any strapped-for-cash cooks out there, IKEA makes an enameled cast iron dutch oven that probably costs a quarter of what the fancy French brand costs. And I don't see any durability issues. No problems whatsoever with this pan!)
Okay - time to get back to trying to remove a stubborn virus from my husband's PC. I'll let you know how the ratatouille comes out!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
"Chopped" from last week
Almost forgot this. Caught the episode on repeat at midnight while I should have been sleeping.
App - bananas, ground beef, wonton wrappers, cream of mushroom soup
Entree - sea scallops, collard greens, sour cream, anchovy
Dessert - quick cooking grits, some kind of small plum, walnuts, almond butter, maple syrup
App idea - some kind of banana dipping sauce or side with beef/cream of mushroom wontons. Mix beef and soup and seasonings and put into wonton wrappers. Steam, then grill. Maybe actually grill the bananas and serve as wonton - banana - wonton with a dipping sauce that would complement both.
Entree - Scallop and wilted caesar salad. Use anchovy, sour cream, dijon mustard, grated parm-reggiano to make a pseudo caesar dressing. Cook cut collards in salted water and shock with water bath when done. Toss with some baby spinach and romaine and dressing for main salad. Use a grill pan if available to grill scallops with simple salt, pepper and a hint of smoked paprika . If not - use saute pan. Top salad with grilled scallops rather than croutons.
Dessert - Make a thick polenta using the grits and put in fridge to firm up. Slice the plums and saute with butter and maple syrup, then toss in walnuts. Take cold & firm polenta from fridge, cut triangles of polenta. Plate a triangle of polenta, top with almond butter and then the plum, maple syrup and walnut topping that's still warm or hot.
As usual - haven't tried these yet, but if I had to choose one and make it soon, it would be dessert because it sounds quite tasty!
App - bananas, ground beef, wonton wrappers, cream of mushroom soup
Entree - sea scallops, collard greens, sour cream, anchovy
Dessert - quick cooking grits, some kind of small plum, walnuts, almond butter, maple syrup
App idea - some kind of banana dipping sauce or side with beef/cream of mushroom wontons. Mix beef and soup and seasonings and put into wonton wrappers. Steam, then grill. Maybe actually grill the bananas and serve as wonton - banana - wonton with a dipping sauce that would complement both.
Entree - Scallop and wilted caesar salad. Use anchovy, sour cream, dijon mustard, grated parm-reggiano to make a pseudo caesar dressing. Cook cut collards in salted water and shock with water bath when done. Toss with some baby spinach and romaine and dressing for main salad. Use a grill pan if available to grill scallops with simple salt, pepper and a hint of smoked paprika . If not - use saute pan. Top salad with grilled scallops rather than croutons.
Dessert - Make a thick polenta using the grits and put in fridge to firm up. Slice the plums and saute with butter and maple syrup, then toss in walnuts. Take cold & firm polenta from fridge, cut triangles of polenta. Plate a triangle of polenta, top with almond butter and then the plum, maple syrup and walnut topping that's still warm or hot.
As usual - haven't tried these yet, but if I had to choose one and make it soon, it would be dessert because it sounds quite tasty!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
We did it! - Again!
Following this season's tradition, which started accidentally, I made fajitas again last night to go along with our weekly viewing of 24.
Went with chicken fajitas since chicken absorbs the flavors more easily and went with the traditional cremini mushrooms, onions, green peppers, homemade guacamole, salsa, sour cream and a blend of shredded cheeses. We even tried a whole wheat wrap which was decent. Not as grainy as previous whole wheat wraps I've tried but also not as smooth and delicious as a traditional plain flour tortilla - and about 2.5 times more expensive too. Although part of the selection criteria was that it also had to have fewer than 120 calories (hubby's decision, not mine!). So there were plenty of whole wheat ones that were just as many calories (or more calories) than the generic store brand I've come to know and love. (And easily afford as I'm still looking for a full time job).
Only other thing I wanted to pass along was my very successful guacamole recipe. 1 avocado, sprinkles of lime juice to prevent browning, 1 smallish shallot diced very small, 1/4 of a small red jalapeno diced VERY fine, a pinch of salt, and about 7 cherry or grape tomatoes quartered and sliced fairly small. Mix it all together and enjoy!
Went with chicken fajitas since chicken absorbs the flavors more easily and went with the traditional cremini mushrooms, onions, green peppers, homemade guacamole, salsa, sour cream and a blend of shredded cheeses. We even tried a whole wheat wrap which was decent. Not as grainy as previous whole wheat wraps I've tried but also not as smooth and delicious as a traditional plain flour tortilla - and about 2.5 times more expensive too. Although part of the selection criteria was that it also had to have fewer than 120 calories (hubby's decision, not mine!). So there were plenty of whole wheat ones that were just as many calories (or more calories) than the generic store brand I've come to know and love. (And easily afford as I'm still looking for a full time job).
Only other thing I wanted to pass along was my very successful guacamole recipe. 1 avocado, sprinkles of lime juice to prevent browning, 1 smallish shallot diced very small, 1/4 of a small red jalapeno diced VERY fine, a pinch of salt, and about 7 cherry or grape tomatoes quartered and sliced fairly small. Mix it all together and enjoy!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Superbowl Sunday
Let's not talk about the game, the mean things I said and the many things I wanted to throw at the TV tonight.
Focus on food :)
Made a quick frozen pizza at my husband's request - not bad. They made a pretty decent thin crust margarita pizza. Had some Coke and Cherry Coke and LOVED the new Coke commercial (well, Coke Zero) during the 2nd half. If you didn't see it, shame on you! It was a slick twist on the "Mean Joe Greene" commercial from Superbowl in '79 with current Steeler Troy Polamalu in his place. After the game as a "pre-freelancing work snack" I had some leftover chicken and rice.
Took the idea from my friend Sharon. Put some rice and salt in the bottom of the pan, mixed it up a bit, sliced some carrots on top, stuck some chicken breast on top, water, some chicken seasoning blend and baked for about an hour. YUM!
I am actually saving the last golden butter cupcake with the coconut-blue agave ganache for tomorrow night... or maybe even a mid-day snack if the urge strikes. For now, maybe a handful of honey nut cheerios (dry) and bed.
Here's to a better Pro-Bowl next Sunday and a better year for the Patriots next year despite losing two biggies from the coaching staff. (GO PATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Focus on food :)
Made a quick frozen pizza at my husband's request - not bad. They made a pretty decent thin crust margarita pizza. Had some Coke and Cherry Coke and LOVED the new Coke commercial (well, Coke Zero) during the 2nd half. If you didn't see it, shame on you! It was a slick twist on the "Mean Joe Greene" commercial from Superbowl in '79 with current Steeler Troy Polamalu in his place. After the game as a "pre-freelancing work snack" I had some leftover chicken and rice.
Took the idea from my friend Sharon. Put some rice and salt in the bottom of the pan, mixed it up a bit, sliced some carrots on top, stuck some chicken breast on top, water, some chicken seasoning blend and baked for about an hour. YUM!
I am actually saving the last golden butter cupcake with the coconut-blue agave ganache for tomorrow night... or maybe even a mid-day snack if the urge strikes. For now, maybe a handful of honey nut cheerios (dry) and bed.
Here's to a better Pro-Bowl next Sunday and a better year for the Patriots next year despite losing two biggies from the coaching staff. (GO PATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Roast! Finally!
So - finally made the roast last night (well yesterday afternoon so it would be ready when Bryan left for work). I cut up about 4 Maine potatoes and 4 carrots to act as an edible rack for the roast (the store had a coupon for free 5 lb bag of Maine potatoes, 2 lb bag of onions and 1 lb bag of carrots when you bought a roast weighing 3 lbs or more). Then I sprinkled the veggies with "Sarah's Special Seasoning Blend" which I made as an all-purpose blend of spices for my sister who's allergic to onions. Also rubbed that all over the round tip roast, placed the rubbed roast on top of the carrots and potatoes, gave it a little extra sprinkle on the top of the roast and then stuck it in a 350 oven till it was about 148 or so internal temp. Took it out, let it rest and sent my husband to work with one potato worth of potato chunks, two carrots and a good half pound of sliced roast. The container came back empty so I think it was a success! I also had a little bit of the roast and veggies after I came back from a party I went to and before I went to watch Bryan play hockey at 10:40 at night.
On a parallel note of sorts, my 'admission' to the party was a dessert. So I made some golden butter cupcakes (that batter was so thick and creamy it looked like heaven) and then topped them with what I'm calling a coconut-blue agave ganache. I used coconut milk (I had refrigerated a partial can and drained off the excess watery stuff that separated from the creamier parts) and 72% dark chocolate. Then I mixed in some Blue Agave sweetener, some 1% milk and some almond extract. I like the little extra sweetness and richness the real milk added and the almond just puts ganache over the top.
The cupcakes literally came out of the oven about 1 minute before I needed to leave (was catching a ride with neighbors to the party) and I just took the bowl of ganache with me along with the container of cupcakes. Dipped them during the party and put them out to rave reviews from the guys that pounced on them as soon as they were on the table. When we got back from the party, one of my neighbors hadn't had a cupcake so I had her come in and dunked two more cupcakes (one for her and one for her daughter) and she loved the ganache she sampled off the top of her cupcake before she walked out of the house! I finished dunking the last 7 on the counter and brought three to hockey. One for the rink guy who's been known to save me a Coke and some chips (the rink only sells pepsi products and I'm a Coke girl) and one for a friend who was supposed to be there. I'm not used to there being many people watching mens' league games so I was surprised to walk into a full room of guys all ogling the cupcakes. Then my friend didn't show up.... so after a couple attempts at being bribed to trade cupcakes for liquor or beer I set the cupcakes on another table and said they were up for grabs. They went over well to say the least. One guy said they looked so perfect he never would have thought they were real and everyone who tried them were amazed I made them. So it's all happy in the end. :)
On a parallel note of sorts, my 'admission' to the party was a dessert. So I made some golden butter cupcakes (that batter was so thick and creamy it looked like heaven) and then topped them with what I'm calling a coconut-blue agave ganache. I used coconut milk (I had refrigerated a partial can and drained off the excess watery stuff that separated from the creamier parts) and 72% dark chocolate. Then I mixed in some Blue Agave sweetener, some 1% milk and some almond extract. I like the little extra sweetness and richness the real milk added and the almond just puts ganache over the top.
The cupcakes literally came out of the oven about 1 minute before I needed to leave (was catching a ride with neighbors to the party) and I just took the bowl of ganache with me along with the container of cupcakes. Dipped them during the party and put them out to rave reviews from the guys that pounced on them as soon as they were on the table. When we got back from the party, one of my neighbors hadn't had a cupcake so I had her come in and dunked two more cupcakes (one for her and one for her daughter) and she loved the ganache she sampled off the top of her cupcake before she walked out of the house! I finished dunking the last 7 on the counter and brought three to hockey. One for the rink guy who's been known to save me a Coke and some chips (the rink only sells pepsi products and I'm a Coke girl) and one for a friend who was supposed to be there. I'm not used to there being many people watching mens' league games so I was surprised to walk into a full room of guys all ogling the cupcakes. Then my friend didn't show up.... so after a couple attempts at being bribed to trade cupcakes for liquor or beer I set the cupcakes on another table and said they were up for grabs. They went over well to say the least. One guy said they looked so perfect he never would have thought they were real and everyone who tried them were amazed I made them. So it's all happy in the end. :)
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Okay - I failed
Started running errands at 3:15 and didn't have enough time to make the roast. Roast is tomorrow night now. I ended up throwing together a quick spinach, dried cranberry and pecan salad with warm bacon vinaigrette and having that as an app before my dinner of leftover pasta with some garlic bread.
I'll be starting the roast early tomorrow so it's ready for Bryan to take with him when he's getting ready to go to the Y since he'll eat dinner at work tomorrow.
I'll be starting the roast early tomorrow so it's ready for Bryan to take with him when he's getting ready to go to the Y since he'll eat dinner at work tomorrow.
working up an appetite
Just finished working up an appetite playing Rock Band. It all started when we found a guitar for the ps3 for $5... yes, that's FIVE US Dollars! So we did what any reasonable person would do. We bought two. Don't have rock band or guitar hero at this point, but for 5 bucks (well a total of 10) it's worth starting the investing now. Then we waltz into another store that has a mis-tagged (though we didn't know it at the time) Rock Band set for PS3 with the game, guitar, drums, mic, cords and usb hub for 100... rather than the 140-190 that it's supposed to go for. Then we did a little modifying by buying a few additional songs off the ps3 store. Found out I'm way better on drums than guitar. So I worked up an appetite then dug into some leftover chilli and cornbread which tasted (as with all stews) better than it did last night.
So I'm off to run some errands and then back home to cook. I think it's going to be a beef roast. I have a round tip roast that I think I'm going to season and cook almost like a prime rib. Maybe... Could do a pot roast with it too. Thinking more along the lines of a bed of potatoes, carrots and onions holding the roast off the bottom of the pan (and to absorb any yummy juices) and then stick a well-seasoned chunk of meat on top and roast away till we're at a medium-doneness in the center since I like mine a tiny bit more than medium (and I like the crusty edges) and Bry likes his medium from the center. Till then be warned - once you start with Rock Band and I'm sure Guitar Hero is the same, you won't want to stop... unless you're hungry.
So I'm off to run some errands and then back home to cook. I think it's going to be a beef roast. I have a round tip roast that I think I'm going to season and cook almost like a prime rib. Maybe... Could do a pot roast with it too. Thinking more along the lines of a bed of potatoes, carrots and onions holding the roast off the bottom of the pan (and to absorb any yummy juices) and then stick a well-seasoned chunk of meat on top and roast away till we're at a medium-doneness in the center since I like mine a tiny bit more than medium (and I like the crusty edges) and Bry likes his medium from the center. Till then be warned - once you start with Rock Band and I'm sure Guitar Hero is the same, you won't want to stop... unless you're hungry.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
More new stuff... Chopped, new pan, chili and cornbread
Saw chopped last night - the ingredients were...
Appetizer - bran cereal, lump crab, red grapefruit & dried shiitake mushrooms
Entree - grape jelly, ground beef, tahini, cannelloni beans
Dessert - Brioche, cantaloupe, avocado, pecans
My ideas were:
App - use lump crab, mayo, bran cereal crumbs, shallot for a lump crab cake and serve with a micro green salad with a red grapefruit vinaigrette and supremes of the grapefruit. Simmer dried mush in water to plump them up, make a quick roux and add simmering liquid from mush to make a sauce and dice mushrooms and add to sauce. Plate sauce first with an artful puddle and streak of the sauce arcing along one side of the plate, add the crab cake in the center and plate micro green salad either on top or along side (I would make a mini cake and some extra salad so that I could test if it would be better on top of the crab cake or along side.)
Entree - make a minestrone of sorts. Brown pureed mirepoix, add beef and brown, add tomato paste and brown, add grape jelly and cook for a couple minutes keeping a close eye on it so the sugars don't burn. Add some beef stock and a can of diced tomatoes and most of the cannelloni beans. Make some bruschetta using reserved cannelloni, chickpeas and tahini with parsley and lemon. Serve soup in bowl on top of plate - plate holds a few pcs of bruschetta around the bowl.
Dessert - A quick trifle. Cube the brioche and sprinkle with some kind of fruit juice - preferably a combo of orange and raspberry. Dice cantaloupe. Puree avocado and mix with heavy cream and whip. Toast pecans. Layer soaked brioche, diced cantaloupe, avocado whipped cream in individual dishes, then chop half the pecans & layer those in. Repeat brioche, cantaloupe and avocado whip layers once more and finish tops with 5 pecans in star pattern.
So now for my new pan. My old 12" deep saute pan died. It was a slow but annoying death for the pan. Partially to blame is probably the fact that I think I found the entire set of pans on clearance (about 12 pcs) for something silly like 35 bucks. But to say the saute put up with at least every other day cooking or every third day cooking for almost three years, it's not that bad. So I went out and spent 40 bucks on a "Green Pan" to replace the cheap, warped, wrecked one that I used to have. It's green because the factories don't produce harmful gasses and neither do the pans if they are heated while empty. They're also oven safe to 800 degrees! Dishwasher safe though they recommend hand washing. So I had to play with it today, you know. Twice.
Browned about 3 lbs of beef for some chilli (what's a better meal after the snow and rain and sleet we had today?) and then when the meat, onion, garlic, seasoning mix and flour combo was transferred to the stock pan with the diced tomatoes and tomato paste, I simply wiped the pan with a piece of paper towel, mixed up a batch of cornbread and poured my batter right into the pan and shoved it in a 400 degree oven. 10-11 minutes later I had a WONDERFUL looking cornbread. The trick would be to see if it came out of the pan easily as I hadn't added any additional fat after wiping out the chilli-beef mixture. I used the testing toothpick to quickly poke around the edges and then just inverted the pan over my cutting board. Plop! It all came out in one glorious, steamy round of delicious cornbread! This is now my new favorite pan in the world and any other pans I need to replace will be replaced with green pans. (Did I mention that this pan browns fairly well even though it's a new kind of non-stick coating? Hence the ability to make the cornbread as I did.) Overall, the pan rocks and anyone looking for them should go to http://www.green-pan.com/ to check them out. (I bought mine at Target and they also had a couple saucepans for sale on an individual basis and two different sized box sets.)
Well - that's probably enough excitement for one blog post. I'll see how many times I can use the new pan tomorrow and maybe blog some more!!!
Appetizer - bran cereal, lump crab, red grapefruit & dried shiitake mushrooms
Entree - grape jelly, ground beef, tahini, cannelloni beans
Dessert - Brioche, cantaloupe, avocado, pecans
My ideas were:
App - use lump crab, mayo, bran cereal crumbs, shallot for a lump crab cake and serve with a micro green salad with a red grapefruit vinaigrette and supremes of the grapefruit. Simmer dried mush in water to plump them up, make a quick roux and add simmering liquid from mush to make a sauce and dice mushrooms and add to sauce. Plate sauce first with an artful puddle and streak of the sauce arcing along one side of the plate, add the crab cake in the center and plate micro green salad either on top or along side (I would make a mini cake and some extra salad so that I could test if it would be better on top of the crab cake or along side.)
Entree - make a minestrone of sorts. Brown pureed mirepoix, add beef and brown, add tomato paste and brown, add grape jelly and cook for a couple minutes keeping a close eye on it so the sugars don't burn. Add some beef stock and a can of diced tomatoes and most of the cannelloni beans. Make some bruschetta using reserved cannelloni, chickpeas and tahini with parsley and lemon. Serve soup in bowl on top of plate - plate holds a few pcs of bruschetta around the bowl.
Dessert - A quick trifle. Cube the brioche and sprinkle with some kind of fruit juice - preferably a combo of orange and raspberry. Dice cantaloupe. Puree avocado and mix with heavy cream and whip. Toast pecans. Layer soaked brioche, diced cantaloupe, avocado whipped cream in individual dishes, then chop half the pecans & layer those in. Repeat brioche, cantaloupe and avocado whip layers once more and finish tops with 5 pecans in star pattern.
So now for my new pan. My old 12" deep saute pan died. It was a slow but annoying death for the pan. Partially to blame is probably the fact that I think I found the entire set of pans on clearance (about 12 pcs) for something silly like 35 bucks. But to say the saute put up with at least every other day cooking or every third day cooking for almost three years, it's not that bad. So I went out and spent 40 bucks on a "Green Pan" to replace the cheap, warped, wrecked one that I used to have. It's green because the factories don't produce harmful gasses and neither do the pans if they are heated while empty. They're also oven safe to 800 degrees! Dishwasher safe though they recommend hand washing. So I had to play with it today, you know. Twice.
Browned about 3 lbs of beef for some chilli (what's a better meal after the snow and rain and sleet we had today?) and then when the meat, onion, garlic, seasoning mix and flour combo was transferred to the stock pan with the diced tomatoes and tomato paste, I simply wiped the pan with a piece of paper towel, mixed up a batch of cornbread and poured my batter right into the pan and shoved it in a 400 degree oven. 10-11 minutes later I had a WONDERFUL looking cornbread. The trick would be to see if it came out of the pan easily as I hadn't added any additional fat after wiping out the chilli-beef mixture. I used the testing toothpick to quickly poke around the edges and then just inverted the pan over my cutting board. Plop! It all came out in one glorious, steamy round of delicious cornbread! This is now my new favorite pan in the world and any other pans I need to replace will be replaced with green pans. (Did I mention that this pan browns fairly well even though it's a new kind of non-stick coating? Hence the ability to make the cornbread as I did.) Overall, the pan rocks and anyone looking for them should go to http://www.green-pan.com/ to check them out. (I bought mine at Target and they also had a couple saucepans for sale on an individual basis and two different sized box sets.)
Well - that's probably enough excitement for one blog post. I'll see how many times I can use the new pan tomorrow and maybe blog some more!!!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
"Chopped"
Watched my first full episode of Chopped last night on Food Network. I thought it was quite interesting. Almost an Iron Chef-like experience but starts with 4 regular chefs (no Pro vs Amateur type setup) and they're given different ingredients for each round.
Round 1 was an appetizer and the ingredients were tomato paste, tofu and proscuitto. My gut reaction would to be immediately open, drain, filet & press the tofu for 5 mins then cube it and marinate in maybe a balsamic/EVOO marinade, possibly with some herbs. Then crisp up the proscuitto. Make a salad dressing using the tomato paste, maybe some red wine vinegar, garlic and some dried oregano. Saute the cubes of tofu and make a spinach & fresh herb salad to pick up what was used in the marinade and the oregano in the dressing. One contestant actually did make a salad but I didn't like her use of the proscuitto or tofu.
Round 2 - Entree. Ingredients were thai chiles, pork loin, Napa cabbage, oysters and daikon. Here we have some ingredients I haven't used and/or don't like... so hmmm. First thing to tackle has to be the pork loin because you need to get it cooked through before the end of your 30 minutes. First of all, do something to make it smaller so that it will cook in the 30 mins. I'm thinking that you could keep the entire length but cut it length wise so it's thinner. Throw a rub on it - salt, pepper, dried mustard, cumin, paprika. While you're prepping this, put a pan over low heat with oil and the diced thai chili. Cook the pork in the infused oil - sear on stove top, finish in oven.
I'd have to taste the cabbage and daikon together (need to taste daikon, period since I don't know what it tastes like) and maybe make a cabbage/daikon slaw as a bed for the pork. The oyster is hard to incorporate in this plan, though. As I was typing and realizing I needed to incorporate the oyster, I thought of taking some of the pork I trimmed off to make the pork cookable in 30 and sort of make an impromptu stuffie (for non-RI'ers, that would be an oyster equivalent of a stuffed quahog).
I'd do a very fine dice on a bit of the pork - almost like a chunky grind - and dice up the oysters and add in. Some crusty bread, and egg, thai chile, salt and pepper, a little shallot and stuff the mix into the shells and bake. Since the oyster shells are much smaller than a quahog shell it should cook in the alloted time.
Dessert - filo, blueberries, dried pineapple and gorgonzola cheese. Not even slightly happy with the cheese. I just have a problem eating something that has MOLD in it. I throw that away when I find it in my fridge - why is it okay on some cheese?
Time-wise start on the filo - layer away and put it in individual sized tart pans. Then make sort of a custard base with eggs, cream, sugar, vanilla, and mix in the blueberries and diced dried pineapple. Mix in little bits of cheese, pour in the waiting filo shells, bake. (Is this possible in 30? not sure but I'd try.)
Well - if I ever try any of these theories, I will let you know. Otherwise I'll post again when I see another episode of Chopped. :)
Round 1 was an appetizer and the ingredients were tomato paste, tofu and proscuitto. My gut reaction would to be immediately open, drain, filet & press the tofu for 5 mins then cube it and marinate in maybe a balsamic/EVOO marinade, possibly with some herbs. Then crisp up the proscuitto. Make a salad dressing using the tomato paste, maybe some red wine vinegar, garlic and some dried oregano. Saute the cubes of tofu and make a spinach & fresh herb salad to pick up what was used in the marinade and the oregano in the dressing. One contestant actually did make a salad but I didn't like her use of the proscuitto or tofu.
Round 2 - Entree. Ingredients were thai chiles, pork loin, Napa cabbage, oysters and daikon. Here we have some ingredients I haven't used and/or don't like... so hmmm. First thing to tackle has to be the pork loin because you need to get it cooked through before the end of your 30 minutes. First of all, do something to make it smaller so that it will cook in the 30 mins. I'm thinking that you could keep the entire length but cut it length wise so it's thinner. Throw a rub on it - salt, pepper, dried mustard, cumin, paprika. While you're prepping this, put a pan over low heat with oil and the diced thai chili. Cook the pork in the infused oil - sear on stove top, finish in oven.
I'd have to taste the cabbage and daikon together (need to taste daikon, period since I don't know what it tastes like) and maybe make a cabbage/daikon slaw as a bed for the pork. The oyster is hard to incorporate in this plan, though. As I was typing and realizing I needed to incorporate the oyster, I thought of taking some of the pork I trimmed off to make the pork cookable in 30 and sort of make an impromptu stuffie (for non-RI'ers, that would be an oyster equivalent of a stuffed quahog).
I'd do a very fine dice on a bit of the pork - almost like a chunky grind - and dice up the oysters and add in. Some crusty bread, and egg, thai chile, salt and pepper, a little shallot and stuff the mix into the shells and bake. Since the oyster shells are much smaller than a quahog shell it should cook in the alloted time.
Dessert - filo, blueberries, dried pineapple and gorgonzola cheese. Not even slightly happy with the cheese. I just have a problem eating something that has MOLD in it. I throw that away when I find it in my fridge - why is it okay on some cheese?
Time-wise start on the filo - layer away and put it in individual sized tart pans. Then make sort of a custard base with eggs, cream, sugar, vanilla, and mix in the blueberries and diced dried pineapple. Mix in little bits of cheese, pour in the waiting filo shells, bake. (Is this possible in 30? not sure but I'd try.)
Well - if I ever try any of these theories, I will let you know. Otherwise I'll post again when I see another episode of Chopped. :)
Wow - Have I been MIA
It's been a while. My full time job had me working on a business proposal for a blog and potential articles and POOF! I disappeared from my own blog. Bad me!
Anyway, I'm back now. I've had some fun with fajitas and quinoa and couscous and more since I've been gone. I think I've mastered fajitas at home which is very nice. We had fajitas for the special 4-hour season opener for 24 last week and fajitas again (purely accidental timing) this Monday for the 5th episode of the season. What can I say - avocados were on sale and I thought it would be great to add sliced avocado to the fajitas as they were being built. Mixed with the salsa we always add to our fajitas, it was like a guacamole/salsa blend. And it turned out very delicious in my opinion.
Well, I'm getting ready to have some lunch now, but later on maybe I'll post about my pear-berry sorbet, my spur of the moment apple crisp or any of the other wild things dancing through my head.
Anyway, I'm back now. I've had some fun with fajitas and quinoa and couscous and more since I've been gone. I think I've mastered fajitas at home which is very nice. We had fajitas for the special 4-hour season opener for 24 last week and fajitas again (purely accidental timing) this Monday for the 5th episode of the season. What can I say - avocados were on sale and I thought it would be great to add sliced avocado to the fajitas as they were being built. Mixed with the salsa we always add to our fajitas, it was like a guacamole/salsa blend. And it turned out very delicious in my opinion.
Well, I'm getting ready to have some lunch now, but later on maybe I'll post about my pear-berry sorbet, my spur of the moment apple crisp or any of the other wild things dancing through my head.
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