Blog Archives
Mmm… sticky chicken
I did something similar not too long ago. The wings were cooked in a crockpot that time but that was overkill so I roasted these in a similar marinade in my trusty toaster oven. I finished the thighs I used this time on the stove top in a non stick pan after separating the fat from the marinade and cooking juices. 
These spent some time in the pan over medium low heat but they never got to the sticky as glue stage. I decided I wanted sauce more than a crusted glaze so I added some stock with a bit more soy and oyster sauces along with more grated ginger root and minced garlic. Yummy stuff. Made fried rice to accompany the chicken.
Super Bowl Recipes: Quick and Easy Chili
I’m nursing a cold, so I put together a spicy chicken soup and let it slow cook all day. It was the perfect dinner when I returned from work. That was not the first recipe I was going to try. I was going to try one of the many recipes I’ve stumbled on since I bought the new crock-pot. It seems I have under estimated the usefulness of slow cookers and am now going to really explore some new ideas like meatloaf and scalloped potatoes – both favorite dishes that take too long for week nights when baked in the oven. If you have any favorite slow cooker recipes, hit the comments, I’d love to hear them.
But until then, I put out a request on facebook for favorite Super Bowl recipes. I was rewarded with some great ideas. Well start with my oldest brother’s chili, including stove top and slow cooker instructions.
Chili layered with fritos and shredded cheese Photo fom Fritos.com
From Gary:
Quick and Easy Chili
- 1 lb ground beef
- 3-5 Jalapenos finely chopped (depending on heat)
- 1/2 green pepper chopped
- 1/2 sweet onion chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic crushed and chopped
- Lg. can V8 Juice
- 2 cans kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 can Original Ro-Tel
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tsp cumin
- 1/2 Tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
Brown ground beef and drain. Saute jalapenos, green pepper, onion and garlic. In large pot combine all ingredients bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered for at least 30 minutes.
In my house we serve chili with fritos and shredded cheddar, layered in a bowl – fritos, chili, cheese and more fritos.
Slow Cooker instructions: Following instructions above, add everything to slow cooker, cook on high for 15 minutes, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 6 to 8 hours.
Also, if you are serving at a party, you can cook in large pot above for 30 minutes and then transfer to slow cooker on low or warm to keep it hot during the festivities.
Thursday Night Recipe Exchange: Spinach Recipes
Recipe Exchange cross-posted at Balloon-Juice.
I thought last week went really well. Thanks for playing along. This week we delve into spinach recipes. I used to hate spinach. This is probably because I am a child of the 70′s and the only spinach I ever saw was canned or frozen, with the consistency of slime. As an adult I discovered fresh, baby spinach and I never looked back. One of my favorite spinach recipes is Spinach Lasagna.
JeffreyW's stuffed manicotti with spinach
To get us started:
Spinach Lasagna
This is one of my most requested recipes. Every time I make it, someone wants the recipe. Since the prep time is long, I usually only break it out for special occasions. It freezes well, so you can make a double batch and freeze two 8×8 pans of uncooked lasagna for two more meals. Thaw the night before (in the refrigerator) and cook until heated through, about 45 minutes to an hour. This recipe is great vegetarian, or you can add ground beef and sausage if desired.
This recipe takes about an hour to prepare and another hour to cook. It easily serves 6 – 8
Sauce:
- 3-15 oz cans tomato sauce
- 2-6 oz cans tomato paste
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp oregano, crushed
- 3 tsp basil, crushed
- 3 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 medium carrot, peeled & finely grated
- pinch of sugar (reduces acidity of the tomatoes)
- Optional: ½ lb ground beef and ½ spicy Italian sausage, browned
Saucepan
Add all ingredients to saucepan on medium-high, stirring constantly until it begins to boil lightly. Turn to low and let simmer while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Lasagna:
- 1 pkg lasagna noodles (16 oz), cooked and placed in cool water until layering*
- 16 oz ricotta cheese
- 8 oz fresh baby spinach, washed and dried and chopped
- 1 egg
- 12 oz sliced mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
13×9 baking dish (I prefer glass), lightly oiled
To prepare: Mix ricotta, spinach and egg until well blended. Ladle a layer of sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Cover in a single layer of noodles. Ladle sauce over noodles. Spoon ½ of the ricotta mixture evenly (if you place large dollops evenly like putting cookie dough on a baking sheet, fairly close together, it will spread as it cooks, no need to smooth it). Layer 1/3 of the mozzarella over the ricotta. Repeat: noodles, sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, noodles. On top of the last layer of noodles, add remaining sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, uncovered – I like to place the baking dish on a baking sheet to catch any spills as it bubbles. Place knife through the center, if it comes out heated through, remove and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. If it needs more cooking time, you can cover with foil to keep the cheese from burning and cook 10 more minutes. Let stand uncovered before serving.
*if you’d like to make your own noodles, here is the recipe I use:
Lasagna Noodles
When I do make the pasta, I make three, pan-sized noodles, rolled very, very thin. I place them uncooked in the dish, so they absorbed much of the sauce. I usually make a bit extra sauce to serve on the side with the lasagna.
- 3 cups unbleached flour
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup water
In a large bowl, add flour. Make a well in the center and add egg yolks, eggs and salt. Mix well with a fork. Mix in water, 1 tbsp at a time until dough forms a ball. Turn out onto a well floured board or pastry sheet. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Roll one ball out as thin as possible (I use a marble rolling pin, you can also use a pasta machine). Make sure to cover remaining balls with a damp towel until ready to use. Cut to fit pan. Repeat with remaining dough until you have 3 pan sized noodles. DO NOT COOK homemade noodles before putting lasagna together. Follow directions above for putting lasagna together.
Next Week: Favorite Super Bowl Food
Some post-holiday snow
Not quite in time for the holiday, and it looks like it will melt soon enough to not be a bother.
I don’t think I bothered to turn the clock in the camera back at the end of DST, so the time is an hour ahead of the clocks here in the house.
Looks like an entire holiday meal has gone by and I haven’t mentioned it here. Just this one photo:
I roasted a small chunk of lamb (~3lbs) after an overnight marinade in lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and rosemary. A couple of tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary were rubbed over it and it cooked at 350 for just over an hour, to an internal temp of ~150. It sat out with a loose tent of foil as it rested and I did my last minute flurry of table setting. There was enough well done to satisfy Mrs J and the rest was rare enough to suit me.
I cooked some white potatoes with a diced parsnip in cream and butter and a couple of cloves of garlic. They were great. The gravy was made from turkey necks and chicken giblets with some home made chicken stock and with lamb drippings stirred in. Also on the plate are some sprouts roasted with garlic and olive oil. Serious good veggies even if you don’t care for steamed or boiled sprouts – these are just not the same thing. Let them brown a bit, you will love them.
The little bowl in the background is a dipping sauce for the lamb, and it was good on the sprouts too. I reduced the juice of half a lemon and a quarter cup of white wine with some minced onion and garlic and chopped fresh rosemary, then stirred in a stick of cold butter a pat at a time. A final touch was a good squirt of Dijon mustard. Yummy
Christmas Eve: Turkey Dinner with Traditional Side Dishes
Bald Eagle from my hike the other day. Wish I had my camera, not just my cell phone
Would we still have turkey if it had become our national bird instead of the Bald Eagle?
The menu is set for Saturday. I’m doing an Orange Glazed Turkey. The sides will be Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Oven Baked Stuffing, Green Beans with Bacon and Onions, Spinach-Raspberry-Walnut Salad and Homemade Cranberry Sauce. Appetizers will be Tomato-Basil Crostini, Chips w/Dip and a Raw Vegetable tray. Dessert will be a Dark Chocolate Torte with a Dark Chocolate Ganache (this recipe with a chocolate ganache* instead of confectioner’s sugar) and Fruit Pie Cookies.
I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to mull cider or not.
I’ll add more recipes as I go along.
==========================
*Chocolate Ganache
- 6 oz dark chocolate
- 6 oz heavy cream
Double boiler (I use a metal bowl over a saucepan with about an 1 inch of water)
Place chocolate and cream in top of boiler, bring water in bottom half to a boil, reduce heat to med-high and let chocolate melt, stirring occasionally. When completely melted, remove from heat and stir until cream and chocolate are completely mixed. Let cool and pour over cooled cake.
Cracked Pepper Garlic Roast
After a long talk with my local butcher Friday, I decided to try a recipe I’ve been wanting to try for a while. A garlic and pepper butter spread used on an inexpensive cut of beef.
The butcher kindly picked out a nice sized roast he thought would be good for what I was trying to do. It was about 5.5 lbs, enough to feed 4, with leftovers.
It was pretty simple and the results were incredibly tender, juicy and flavorful. The menu was simple, as well, I made garlic mashed potatoes, trying something new, I sautéed the garlic in the butter while the potatoes steamed, added milk and let the whole mixture get good and hot before adding to the well drained potatoes. They mashed up nice and fluffy while staying nice and hot. The gravy was simply roast drippings made into a quick roux and added enough water to make a nice thick gravy. We all wished I’d made more. Alton (not that one) made green beans with bacon and sun-dried tomatoes, which were excellent.
Here’s the recipe for the roast:
Cracked Pepper Garlic Roast
- 5 lbs or more of tri-tip or similar roast
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 4 tbsp cracked pepper
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
roasting pan
The roast I had was three pieces held together by connective tissue and fat. It was well-trimmed, so I didn’t need to trim. Mix together butter, pepper and garlic, spread 1/2 in between the layers. Then coat the top of the roast with the remaining mixture. Tie together or skewer the roast. Let sit for at least an hour at room temperature. You can make it the night before and store in the refrigerator, lightly covered in plastic. Remove and bring to room temperature before cooking.
Pre-heat over to 475 degrees (a bit lower than the technique Kirk Spencer taught me) because I didn’t want the butter to burn. Place roast in the oven at this temperature for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and roast until it reaches an internal temperature of 130 degrees. You want it to be about 130 degrees when you remove it because it’s going to rest for 15 minutes, at which time it will reach about 145 degrees. This will give you a medium rare roast in the center and the outer ends will be more medium. If you prefer a rare roast, pull it out at 125 degrees. It will reach about 140 degrees after resting.
More Thanksgiving leftovers
Well, sorta leftover from thanksgiving. I bought a package of Italian sausage with the thought in the back of my head that I would make sausage dressing out of it but I didn’t. So it was still in the fridge when I rummaged around today for something “not turkey”.
Meatballs! I mixed Parmesan and bread crumbs with an egg and the sausage, added half an onion and fresh parsley and oregano that survived the frost last night along with some thyme that didn’t. Browned golf ball sized meatballs in olive oil and then simmered them in tomato sauce. Made a most excellent sandwich.
Added fresh mozzarella and a few of those roasted red peppers and chowed down. Delicious!
TaMara
jeffreyww
LFern7
indylib
