Garlicky Shrimp

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2012. I know I have not been updating as frequently lately, and I apologize for that, but I think it's going to continue for the time being. Lately the blog has taken a bit of a back seat to some other projects and for the time being that is going to continue. Don't worry, I am still cooking and I will still be updating as often as I can, probably about once or twice a week, so keep reading and keep eating. To start off the year I have some delicious buttery-garlicky shrimp for you. Enjoy!

Garlic Shrimp:
2 lbs of shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
1 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of salted butter
lemon

Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees, with a rack in the upper third of the oven. Put shrimp in a glass baking dish and pour olive oil over. Pass the garlic through a garlic press (or mince) and add to the shrimp and oil. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, stir to combine everything. Chop butter into pieces and place on top of the shrimp. Cook until shrimp are pink throughout, stirring the shrimp occasionally, about 6-8 minutes depending on the shrimp size. Serve shrimp with the sauce spooned over it, and finish with a squeeze of lemon

Happy Eating.

Broccoli Sausage Bake

I have an insatiable and unholy love for stuffing. It might be my favorite food ever. In college I used to buy the boxed stuff and make it in the microwave. So this casserole is my new favorite thing ever, because it tastes like stuffing, but is a fairly healthy and well balanced meal. It's full of whole grain (rye), veggies, and lean protein, and it tastes like stuffing, but cheesier. So ya, try and resist this easy and healthy casserole.

Broccoli Sausage Bake:
1/2 loaf of rye bread, about 9 oz
1 head of broccoli
1 onion
5 cloves of garlic
8 oz of turkey sausage, without casing, prefiribley spicy
3/4 cup of 2% mozzarella cheese, shredded
1.5 oz of sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 cups of chicken broth

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Lightly toast bread until crisp. Chop broccoli, onion, and garlic, and place on cookie sheet. Roast until broccoli is tender, and onions are slightly browned, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and lower heat to 350. Cut or tear bread into small chunks, in a 9 by 13" casserole dish, lightly sprayed with non-stick, stir together bread, broccoli, onion, garlic, sausage, and cheese. Mix together the chicken broth and spices, then pour over the bread/broccoli mixture. Bake until liquid is absorbed and top is browned, about 20 minutes.

Happy Eating.

Penne ala Vodka

Vodka sauce is something that I always thought of as being ridiculously heavy, but a little cream goes a long way, to make this delicious sauce smooth and creamy without feeling like you are eating a stick of butter. The spiciness of the red pepper and the sausage go so perfectly with the creamy texture, on bite made me forget I was ever afraid of this sauce. This is a perfect way to "winter" up pasta night, something about the cream and spice just warms you inside out. Enjoy.

Penne ala Vodka:
1/2 lb of penne pasta
1 tbsp of olive oil
3 links of Hot Italian Sausage (optional)
1 small onion
1 29 oz can of tomato sauce
1 tomato
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup of vodka
1/2 cup of heavy cream
salt, pepper

Make pasta according to package directions. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown sausage on all sides then remove from pan, and slice, add back to the pan. Dice onions and add to oil, cook stirring occasionally until onions soften about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Dice tomato and garlic and add to sauce, and oregano and red pepper and cook and bring to a boil. Add vodka and stir, then reduce to a low simmer. Simmer sauce until pasta is cooked, then turn off heat and stir in heavy cream. Pour cooked pasta into the pan, and stir until pasta is coated. Enjoy.

Happy Eating.

Wine Roasted Lamb

I don't just eat potatoes for dinner, I promise. So here is the other half of my Sunday night fall roasting extravaganza. Leg of lamb!! I love leg of lamb, but I don't often by it, because they are so large, what are two people going to do with 7 pounds of meat?! So I was delighted when Whole Foods had half legs of lamb, still with the bone in, and a much more manageable 2 1/2 lbs (which was still enough to provide 2 dinners for 2 people, the leftovers became lamb fried rice, yum). The wine in this recipe soaks into the onions making them totally drunk and irresistible (yes, I called my onions drunk) and goes perfect with the richness of the lamb. A perfect Sunday evening.

Wine Roasted Lamb:
1 semi-boneless half leg of lamb, about 2 1/2-3 lbs
1 tbsp of olive oil
3 small onions
1 shallot
4 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of pepper
1 tbsp of salt
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup of red wine, drinking quality

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Rub the lamb with the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, then drizzle with olive oil. Put lamb in a 9 by 13 casserole dish. Chop onions, shallots and garlic and put them in the dish around the lamb. Cook for 25 minutes, reduce heat to 325 and pour wine over lamb and onions. Let cook until a thermomater inserted in the lamb registers 140 (for medium rare), about 30 minutes more depending on weight. Let rest 10 minutes before serving. Serve lamb with onions and wine drippings. Enjoy.

Happy Eating.

Chicken Curry

I am leaving for a trip to San Antonio today, so I won't be posting the rest of the week. But before I go... Enjoy some delicious lightened up chicken curry. I had been planning on making fried rice, but was just so in the mood for rice that was soaked in sauce (yum) and I happened to have a can of light coconut milk on hand, so this delicious spiced (but not spicy) curry was born. With enough delicious sauce to drown a huge bowl of rice. Have a great week, see you all Monday!

Chicken Curry:
1 tbsp of coconut oil
2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp of flour
2 onions
1 parsnip
1 bell pepper
2 tbsp of curry powder
1/2 tsp of ginger
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp mustard
1 tsp of Garam masala
1 tsp of chili powder
1 Bay leaf
2 tbsp of brown sugar
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1/2 cup of light coconut milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Cut the chicken breast into 1 inch pieces and season with salt and pepper. Toss the breasts with the flour to coat. Add to the hot pan and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes then flip. Chop the onions, parsnips, and pepper and add to the pan. Cook until onions soften slightly, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add spices, sugar, stock and coconut milk, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until chicken is cooked through and the veggies are soft, about 20 minutes. Serve over rice.

Happy Eating.

My Favorite Roast Chicken

First, a little business. Congrats to Claire on winning the jar of Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter! Enjoy!

In my September DC post, I mentioned that I made a roast chicken, and used the leftovers from that to make my stock. Not only did I make a roast chicken, but I made my favorite roast chicken. I shared this once before, but it was so long ago, I wasn't even putting pictures on my blog then, so I decided I needed to re-post it. This chicken is absolutely magical, and very easy to make, it's been made so many times over the years, and tweaked slightly from time to time (usually depending on what herbs I have), but it's always delicious.

Roast Chicken:
1 whole chicken, giblits removed
3 cloves of garlic
2 large yellow onion
2 lemons
Fresh Thyme
Fresh Rosemary
Fresh Parsley
Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper
1-2 cups Chicken Stock

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Chop the onions, reserving 1/4 of an onion, and put in the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Wash the chicken inside and out and pat dry. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and inside the cavity. Put in the dish breast side up. Smash the garlic cloves and put inside the chicken, put the reserved onion in the chicken as well. Quater one of the lemons. Put one quarter inside the chicken, unsqueezed. Use another quarter to squeeze the juice all over the chicken. Chop the remaining 1 and 1/2 lemons and add to the dish with the onions. Stuff a handful thyme, rosemary, and parsley into the chicken. Rub olive oil over the exposed chicken skin, and drizzle a little into the onions as well. Tuck the wings in and tie the drumstick together with kitchen twine (truss). Bake for 25 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and add some stock to baste. Bake until the internal temperature is 165 in the thigh, or the little ready thermometer pops, about 20 minutes per pound, stirring the onions and basting with stock occasionally. Let stand for 10 minutes before carving. The lemons (rind and all) in the pan with the onions are completely edible, and taste really good. Enjoy!

Happy Eating.

Sesame Chicken

One of my least favorite things about moving is having to figure out new take out places. You have your go to pizza place, and your never fail Chinese after trying every single place in a 5 mile radius, and then all of the sudden you move and you have to start over. We moved in May, and while we have the pizza situation under control, we are still working out the Chinese. So after a handful of disappointments, I decided to take matters into my own hands. This was delicious! Better than any of the take out places we've tried. I'm sure we will continuing questing for that perfect Chinese takeout (I haven't mastered lo mein yet), but in the meantime this is a pretty delicious (and much lighter) substitution.

PS: Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a 32 oz jar of Virgin Coconut Oil.

Sesame Chicken:
1 lb of boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 egg whites
1/4 cup of corn starch
3 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of honey
1 tbsp of rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp of sesame seeds
salt, pepper
Canola oil
Heat a large skillet over high heat, and lightly coat the bottom with canola oil. Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces and season with salt and pepper. Whisk together the eggs and corn starch in a medium bowl. When smooth, add chicken in and stir to coat. Pan fry chicken, in a few batches being careful not to over crowd the pan. Flip chicken occasionally, until golden all around and opaque throughout, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cook remaining chicken. Meanwhile, make the sauce by stirring together the soy sauce, honey, and vinegar. When all the chicken is cooked return it to the pan and stir in the sauce. Cook until the chicken has rewarmed and sauce is distributed, about 1 minute. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with rice or veggies (or both). (adapted from Martha)

Happy Eating.

Papas con Chorizo

This was a delicious meal. It was hearty and satisfying, yet unmistakably summer. And the best part? Almost all of the vegetables came from my small garden! Beautiful and plump orange cherry tomatoes, a delicious and gigantic zucchini, a few small, but tasty peppers, and they were all grown right in my back yard. It's summer time and local eating at it's best! There is something immensely satisfying about eating something you grew. It's like using chopsticks for Chinese food, it just makes it taste better. Even if your backyard isn't overflowing with tomatoes, this delicious concoction is still worth whipping up, for a fast and delicious summer dinner.

Papas con Chorizo
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 large russet potato (about 2 cups diced)
1 medium yellow onion
1 zucchini
1 bell pepper
1 small jalapeno
2 chorizo style sausages
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1/2 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp of paprika
1/4 tsp of chili powder
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 clove of garlic
Salt
Avocado and cheddar cheese for serving

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, over medium-high heat. Chop the potato into small pieces, about 1/2 inch. Add to the oil and stir. Let potatoes brown slightly, while you chop the other vegetables, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Chop the onion, zucchini, and bell pepper into roughly the same size pieces as the potatoes. Add to the pan and stir. Dice the jalapeno and add. Squeeze the Chorizo from it's casings into the pan and break up with a wooden spoon, while the chorizo is browning. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender. Add the stock, pepper, paprika, and chili powder. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until all the liquid is gone. Chop the tomatoes into halves or quaters and mince the garlic, stir into the pan and cook 1-2 minutes more until tomatoes are warm. Add salt to taste. Serve topped with chopped avocado and cheese.

Happy Eating.

Turkey Roulade

Do you ever just feel fancy? Like you need a truffle instead of a handful of chocolate chips? Like you want to get dressed up for no good reason and just be fancy? Well, I have the dinner for you. It's called a roulade, and it is the perfect way to take an every day fancy-free meat, and turn it into a show stopper. Basically, you pound it out, stuff it, and roll it up. It's easy to do and looks absolutely marvelous and oh so impressive. So next time your feeling the need to impress, grab your favorite meat mallet and check out this turkey roulade.

Turkey roulade:
1/4 cup of bulgur wheat
1 3/4 cup of chicken stock, divided
Olive oil for cooking
2 medium shallots
1 cup of shitakes
2 tbsp of sherry wine
2 cup of collard greens (or other greens)
1 split turkey breast boneless, with skin
2 tbsp of Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper

Make the filling: Bring 3/4 cups of chicken stock to a boil in a small pot. Add bulgur and reduce to simmer, cook until liquid has absorbed and bulgur is tender, about 10-12 minutes. In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat the bottom of a skillet in a thin layer of olive oil and heat over medium heat. Chop shallots and add to the pan when hot, cook until shallots begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Chop shitakes and add to the pan, cook until mushrooms soften and brown, about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sherry, and cook until liquid has absoarbed. Chop collard greens and add to the pan, stirring until the greens wilt. Mix in cooked bulgur.

Prep the turkey: Split breast open, removing the rib bone if there is one (after the rib is removed the breast will split naturally). Using a meat mallet pound turkey, on the non-skin side, until flattened and uniform. Season the non-skin side with salt and pepper. Spread the filling over the turkey breast and then sprinkle with cheese. Starting from the end that has less or no skin on the back (the skin is touching the cutting board) roll the turkey breast and the filling jelly roll style. Tie the turkey breast in the roulade shape with kitchen twine (I used 3 pieces to tie the roast).

Cook the turkey: Add a little more oil to the skillet and raise heat to medium high. Sear the turkey, begining with the seam (where the filling looks like it's coming out) side up, for about 2-3 minutes until skin goldens. Repeat on remaining 3 sides, until skin is mostly to all crispied. Fill a small baking dish with the remaining stock and put seared breast in the stock, seam side up. Bake at 350, until a meat thermomater registers 160 degrees in the center, about an hour, but varies depending on the size of the breast and how thick it's rolled. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing. To serve, remove ties and cut thick slices.

Happy Eating.

Ready, Set, Blog!

When I first read this first challenge, the very wide question, "What defines you as a food blogger?" my mind immediately set off in a million different directions, spinning completely out of control. What defines me, Am I a home chef? A foodie? A kid playing house? Someone with a little too much free time? Well, I guess I am a little bit of all of those things. Simply, I am a girl who loves food and loves sharing (I learned my kindergarten lessons well). So, while I cannot physically feed you all, and believe me I wish I could, I can share my creations, my recipes, and my meals with you. I could write you a novel on how much I love food, and how much joy this blog brings me, and maybe you would start to understand why I cook, why I blog, what makes me as a food blogger, and why I want to be the next Food Blogging Star. But instead I want to show you, so allow me to invite you to dinner...



Trout with Crispy Shallots:
1 lb of trout fillets, 3-4 fillets
1 lemon, plus additional lemon for serving if desired.
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 medium shallot
2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt, pepper

Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Slice and separate shallots so that they form small rings. Cut a few slices out of the center of the lemon, and quarter the rest for juicing. Put the shallots and the lemon slices in the oil. While they are in, salt and pepper the trout on the non-skin side, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper each (or to taste), Squeeze the lemon juice over the trout. Put in the pan skin side down (the shallots should already be a bit crispy at this point). Cook for 4 minutes then flip over, and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Serve with fresh lemon and the crispy shallots from the pan.




Truffled Asparagus:
1 bunch fresh asparagus
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh goat cheese
1 egg
salt, pepper
A few fresh shavings of Parmesan cheese
1-2 tsp of truffle oil

Pre-heat oven to 400. Salt and pepper asparagus and drizzle with the olive oil. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the asparagus are tender and the ends are crispy. Poach the egg: In a small sauce pan, boil some water and then reduce to a simmer, crack an egg into the water. Maintain a constant simmer and cook egg for a few minutes until the white is set. Top asparagus with the goat cheese, then the egg, then the fresh Parmesan.



Quiona
1 cup red quinoa
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup of white wine
2 medium shallots
1/4 cup of dried fruit, I used raisins and apricots
1/4 cup of pine nuts
1 tbsp of olive oil
Salt, pepper

Heat the olive oil in a small pan, over medium-low heat. Dice the shallots and add to the oil. When they begin to stick add the white wine and the fruit, allow to simmer until the wine is reduced and almost evaporated. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Salt and pepper broth to taste. Add the quiona, cover pot and reduce heat to low. Cook covered until the visible liquid is gone and the grains look split, about 30 minutes (My box of quinoa says it cooks in 15 minutes, but it does not, not even close). In a small pan toast the pine nuts over medium heat, stiring frequently. This could also be done in an oven, just be careful not to burn them. Stir pine nuts into quinoa.



Happy Eating.

Lazy Sundays

So this weekend, I broke my cardinal rule of baking. I baked healthy. I love healthy food, I am all about fruits and veggies, whole grains, low fat and fat free. But not in baking, generally I feel baking is in the indulgence zone. Butter makes it better. It's not supposed to be good for you, it's supposed to be a treat. However, I trust Martha Stewart with life (and my taste buds) and if she has a butter-free muffin recipe, well all right then. Here is Martha's recipe for Banana-Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins. They are from the "Whole Living" section of her website, which I love. The muffins were fantastic. They are the best healthy muffins I have ever had. Mashed up bananas take the place of butter (and most of the sugar, with a little bonus honey). Plus they combine 2 of my current obsessions, blueberries and cornmeal. They were easy to make, and definitely a guilt free treat (so much healthier than eating pie for breakfast).



That was my Sunday morning breakfast. For dinner I was far less adventurous (but no less delicious). I stuck to my Sunday usual, roasting. I did a one pot wonder of pork tenderloin with onions and green beans. I love a one pot dinner, so much easier to clean up, plus the flavors all meld together. This was a spicy delicious way to end the weekend.



Spice-Rubbed Pork with Green Beans
1 pork tenderloin, about 1 lb
2 medium yellow onions
4 cloves of garlic
1 package of green beans (as much as you want really)
3 Tbsp of Brown sugar
1 Tbsp of Cumin
2 Tsp of chili powder
Salt, Pepper, and red pepper flakes
3 Tbsp of olive oil

Pre-Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Give onions a rough chop and put in the bottom of a glass baking dish. Salt and pepper the onions and toss with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Cut the ends of the green beans and toss in the dish. Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Mix together the sugar, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Feel free to adjust the amounts of the seasonings. You should be able to eat the rub, and go yum. It should not burn your mouth or taste bland. Dice the garlic. Rub the mixed spices all over the pork so that it is coated and a reddish color. Sprinkle garlic on pork and in the pan. Sprinkle remaining olive oil on pork and green beans. Roast for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350, continue cooking another 15-20 minutes (tenderloin roasts for about 25 minutes a pound, so you can calculate based on size). Stir occasionally while cooking so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Serve and enjoy.

Happy Eating.