Friday, December 16, 2011
12/16/11- Our First Friday Dinner as an ENGAGED couple
Zucchini Au Gratin
Olive Oil for sauteeing, plus some Veg oil for suateeing, and a tiny bit of butter
1 yellow onion, cut in 1/2 and sliced
3.5 zucchini, sliced 1/4-inch thick or so-ish
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground paprika
1 cup milk
bread crumbs
1.5 cup grated Gruyere
Add the olive oil to the pan and saute the onions. Cut the zucchini into about 1/4 inches and cover in Vegetable oil (John's idea). Add the zucchini to the onions and saute for a few more minutes (until they look soft). Add half the shredded gruyere, milk, paprika, salt and pepper and cook in the pan. Transfer to a casserole dish, adding the bread crumbs, a little butter and the rest of the cheese to the top and bake at 350 while you make the lamb, leaving it in for more time while your handsome fiance cleans the kitchen. If you don't have a handsome fiance, good luck figuring out how long this is :)
Rosemary and Sweet Potato Lamb
2 garlic cloves
Homemade sweet potato bread crumbs
Dried rosemary
olive oil
Safflower oil
lamb chops
Place the garlic, bread crumbs, and rosemary in a bowl with olive oil. Press into one side of the lamb chops and cook in the safflower oil. While cooking, add the mixture to the other side. Place in a casserole dish, and bake for clean up time.
Caramelized Bananas and Vanilla Ice Cream
bananas
brown sugar
butter
Caramelize and serve with ice cream.
Review of Grilled Cheese
A few weeks ago, we had grilled cheese and caramelized shallots. The review is a little delayed, as was the dinner. The night of dinner we were busy building a photobooth for Jen and Tim's wedding. Who knows? Maybe we can get more use out of it :)
The reused ingredient was shallots.
Dinner will be judged on the following:
Homemade Skills: A +
John made no knead bread. The bread had to sit overnight and then took some more time the next day. As soon as the bread came out of the oven (we were pretty darn hungry, it was really late) we chowed down a little. The bread was excellent. We may have not been able to wait to eat before we took the picture.
Tastiness: B
The flavors of the grilled cheese were fantastic. It was a little hard to eat, the bread slices were a little thick. The shallots were a little too much of the same and a strong flavor.
Other things accomplished: 110%
John and I with the amazing help of his parents finished the photobooth! Curtains, software, hardware and more came together, then back apart to be loaded into the truck. It might have taken a little bit longer than the 15 minutes per curtain I anticipated and maybe a little more fabric then we actually bought, but overall it turned out great.
The finished set up product:
The reused ingredient was shallots.
Dinner will be judged on the following:
- Homemade Skills
- Tastiness
- Other things accomplished
Homemade Skills: A +
John made no knead bread. The bread had to sit overnight and then took some more time the next day. As soon as the bread came out of the oven (we were pretty darn hungry, it was really late) we chowed down a little. The bread was excellent. We may have not been able to wait to eat before we took the picture.
Tastiness: B
The flavors of the grilled cheese were fantastic. It was a little hard to eat, the bread slices were a little thick. The shallots were a little too much of the same and a strong flavor.
Other things accomplished: 110%
John and I with the amazing help of his parents finished the photobooth! Curtains, software, hardware and more came together, then back apart to be loaded into the truck. It might have taken a little bit longer than the 15 minutes per curtain I anticipated and maybe a little more fabric then we actually bought, but overall it turned out great.
The finished set up product:
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
French Onion Soup
Chef: John
So there is no special dinner this went with, but I wanted to share the recipe
French Onion Soup
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup red wine, about 1/2 bottle
3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 quarts beef broth
1 baguette, sliced
1/2 pound grated cheese (swiss, grueyere, or jarlsberg)
So there is no special dinner this went with, but I wanted to share the recipe
French Onion Soup
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup red wine, about 1/2 bottle
3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 quarts beef broth
1 baguette, sliced
1/2 pound grated cheese (swiss, grueyere, or jarlsberg)
Directions:
Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Ladle the soup into bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls into the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.(You can use the no-knead bread from earlier)
10/15/11
Chef: John
Reused ingredient: Turkey/Shallots
Meal: Grilled turkey and cheese with caramelized shallots
No knead Bread:
Carmalized Shallots:
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
2 pounds fresh shallots, peeled, with roots intact
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons good red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Directions:
Reused ingredient: Turkey/Shallots
Meal: Grilled turkey and cheese with caramelized shallots
No knead Bread:
3 cups bread flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon fine table salt (or 3/4 tablespoon of kosher salt)
1 1/2 cups warm waterCovered pot (five-quart or larger cast iron, Pyrex, ceramic, enamel...something that can go into a 450F oven.)
Directions:
From there I am pretty sure you can make a grilled cheese.1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon fine table salt (or 3/4 tablespoon of kosher salt)
1 1/2 cups warm waterCovered pot (five-quart or larger cast iron, Pyrex, ceramic, enamel...something that can go into a 450F oven.)
Directions:
1. Mix dough: The night before, combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together. It will be a shaggy, doughy mess. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on countertop.
2. Shape & preheat: The dough will now be wet, sticky and bubbly. With a wet spatula, dump the dough on a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape. You can use your hands if you like, just keep your hands wet so that the dough does not stick. Generously dust a cotton towel (not terrycloth) with flour. Set dough seam side down on top of towel. Fold towel over the dough. Let it nap for 2 hours. When you've got about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to 450F.
3. Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven. Holding towel, turn over and dump wobbly dough into pot, using your hands to get the dough off the towel. Doesn't matter which way it lands. Shake to even dough out. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15-20 minutes or until the crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210F. Remove and let cool on wired rack. If not eating right away, you can re-crisp crust in 350F oven for 10 minutes. Best way to eat it? Smear a warm slice with some good butter (Kerrygold and Lurpac are both found in your grocery stores, usually on top shelf)
Carmalized Shallots:
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
2 pounds fresh shallots, peeled, with roots intact
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons good red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Directions:
Melt the butter in a 12-inch ovenproof saute pan, add the shallots and sugar, and toss to coat. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the shallots start to brown. Add the vinegar, salt, and pepper and toss well.
Place the saute pan in the oven and roast for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the shallots, until they are tender. Season to taste, sprinkle with parsley, and serve hot.
10/8/11 Dinner Review
Turkey Pie as I would call it. This was a wonderful dish, somewhat like Shepard's Pie, slightly better for you though :). Plus it was easy to remember as I am writing this post 1 month late.
This dinner can be rated on the following criteria:1) Use of ingredients
2) Awesomeness of comfort food level
3) Presentation
First off this dish reused the Red Potatoes. You can neve
r go wrong with Red Mashed Potatoes in my book. The flavor, texture, etc... does not even compare to regular potatoes at all.
Rating: A+
The presentation was a little difficult though. This dish looked like a melted container of icecream left on your counter. Not much you can do, but it is not the prettiest of dishes, unless you cooked it in an individual container (which we didn't get until next week).
The presentation was a little difficult though. This dish looked like a melted container of icecream left on your counter. Not much you can do, but it is not the prettiest of dishes, unless you cooked it in an individual container (which we didn't get until next week).
Rating: Functional
Overall, I would definitely make this dish again, but using individual bowls would make this the ultimate to come home to from a road trip.At least I know one of us had fun:
Monday, October 10, 2011
10/8/11
Chef: Wyetta
Reused ingredient: Red Potatoes
Meal: Turkey and Mashed Potato Casserole, Asparagus, and Baked Apples
Turkey and Mashed Potato Casserole:
Ingredients:
Ground Turkey
Ground Red Pepper and Italian Seasoning
2 cans of diced tomatoes
Shallots
Some basil and parsley
Fennel Seeds
Oregano
Garlic
Red Potatoes
Italian Seasoning
Milk
Italian 4 cheese blend
Directions:
Cook the turkey with garlic, red pepper and Italian seasoning, when it's almost done drain then add the tomatoes, shallots, basil, parsley, and other spices. In the meantime, boil the potatoes. Let the meat mixture simmer and mash the potatoes with the milk, seasoning and cheese. Place the meat mixture in a casserole dish and top with the mashed potatoes. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.
Asparagus:
Ingredients:
Olive Oil
Asparagus
Shallots
Salt
Pepper
Italian dressing
Directions:
Cook everything in a pan on the stove.
Baked Apples:
Ingredients:
Fuji apples
Butter
Dried Cranberries
Almonds
Brown sugar
Directions:
Chop the apples, mix the rest together and bake at 350.
Reused ingredient: Red Potatoes
Meal: Turkey and Mashed Potato Casserole, Asparagus, and Baked Apples
Turkey and Mashed Potato Casserole:
Ingredients:
Ground Turkey
Ground Red Pepper and Italian Seasoning
2 cans of diced tomatoes
Shallots
Some basil and parsley
Fennel Seeds
Oregano
Garlic
Red Potatoes
Italian Seasoning
Milk
Italian 4 cheese blend
Directions:
Cook the turkey with garlic, red pepper and Italian seasoning, when it's almost done drain then add the tomatoes, shallots, basil, parsley, and other spices. In the meantime, boil the potatoes. Let the meat mixture simmer and mash the potatoes with the milk, seasoning and cheese. Place the meat mixture in a casserole dish and top with the mashed potatoes. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.
Asparagus:
Ingredients:
Olive Oil
Asparagus
Shallots
Salt
Pepper
Italian dressing
Directions:
Cook everything in a pan on the stove.
Baked Apples:
Ingredients:
Fuji apples
Butter
Dried Cranberries
Almonds
Brown sugar
Directions:
Chop the apples, mix the rest together and bake at 350.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
9/24 Dinner Review
This week, we'll look at the following categories:
John made a creamy lemon dressing. It was a great dressing for a wedge salad, but we put it on a little thick. And once it was on there, it was stuck. I would definitely make it again.
Pre-dinner Activity: 15-12
John and I watched football on the porch, drank some beer and let the briscit cook in the slow cooker. We had classic football food and cheered the Irish on to a victory!
Flavor Combination: A
Seriously, everything went together very well. I mean, I guess meat, potatoes and salad is pretty standard, but the homemade salad dressing and the special potato topping and everything covered in bacon. It's hard to go wrong covering everything in bacon.
Dessert: B
Believe it or not, the chocolate cake was a little rich. Yep, I said it. Without the ice cream, it might have actually been to rich for me to finish (the red wine helped with that too). Don't worry - ice cream saved the day.
Other fun stuff? This definitely made up for the lamb fire disaster. Oh, and I got to eat dinner with this guy:
- Reused Ingredient
- Pre-dinner Activity
- Flavor combination
- Dessert
Reused Ingredient: 4 stars
John made a creamy lemon dressing. It was a great dressing for a wedge salad, but we put it on a little thick. And once it was on there, it was stuck. I would definitely make it again.
Pre-dinner Activity: 15-12
John and I watched football on the porch, drank some beer and let the briscit cook in the slow cooker. We had classic football food and cheered the Irish on to a victory!
Image from urbanmediatoday.com
Seriously, everything went together very well. I mean, I guess meat, potatoes and salad is pretty standard, but the homemade salad dressing and the special potato topping and everything covered in bacon. It's hard to go wrong covering everything in bacon.
Dessert: B
Believe it or not, the chocolate cake was a little rich. Yep, I said it. Without the ice cream, it might have actually been to rich for me to finish (the red wine helped with that too). Don't worry - ice cream saved the day.
Other fun stuff? This definitely made up for the lamb fire disaster. Oh, and I got to eat dinner with this guy:
9/24 Dinner
Once again we have pushed dinner to Saturday night, this is because it would have been a little heavy to be running on.
Tonights dinner includes:
Brisket, iceberg wedges, healthy margheritas, gluten free chocolate lava cake and smashed potatoes
The ingredient of reuse:
Lemon
The shopping list includes:
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
salt
pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
1 head iceberg lettuce (quartered)
2 -3 lbs fresh beef brisket
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup catsup
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 bag Red potatoes
2 Chives
1 package Bacon
1 container sour cream
1 packet hidden valley ranch seasoning (mix with sour cream)
3/4 cup Sierra Mist Free (or Diet Sprite Zero, or your other fave no-cal lemon-lime soda)
1.5 oz. tequila
1 packet (two 5-calorie servings) sugar-free powdered drink mix, lemonade (like the one by Crystal Light)
2 tbsp. lime juice
Optional: club soda
2 regular size dark chocolate bars with 75% cocoa
1/2 bag of chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 tsp suar
2 tbs butter shopping
2 medium sized baking containers (we used the nice little white french onion soup sized bowls)
orange Slice ( optional for serving)
How to:
For Brisket
1) Trim fat from brisket. If necessary, cut to fit into crock pot.
2) Sear the brisket in a pan for 2-3 minutes on either side
3) Combine chili powder, garlic powder, celery seed and pepper; rub evenly over meat. Place meat in a 3 1/2-5 quart crock pot.
4) For sauce, combine catsup, chili sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke and dry mustard. Pour over brisket.
5) Cover; cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours. Remove meat from cooker. Cut the brisket into thin slices across the grain. Skim fat off juices in cooker; serve juices with meat.
For smashed potatoes:
Combine hidden valley ranch mix and sour cream in a bowl (to taste)
Boil potatoes as you would for mashed potatoes
Take the potatoes out and put them onto a non-stick pan
Take a potatoe masher and push down on them once, just to break them up, but keep them together like a little patty
Put all toppings on top, except sour cream (rosemary, bacon, cheese, etc...)
Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes
Take and top with sour cream
For iceberg wedges:
Cut wedges out of iceberg head
Combine the grated lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, salt, pepper, mayonnaise and top wedges.
For gluten free lava cake:
Melt all chocolate except two squares in a double broiler
When melted add sugar and eggs
Pour mixture into baking dishes
Insert the reamaining 2 squares into the center
Let this cool for 15 minutes
Preheat over to 400 degrees
Bake for 10 minutes
Serve with orange slice
For the Margaritas:
Mix all ingredients together. Pour over 1 cup of crushed ice (these are 100 calories a piece). We actually put a little club soda in place of some of the soda, it cut down on the sweetness and made it a little bit easier to drink a few more :).
Have a great and wonderful time making these recipes
Tonights dinner includes:
Brisket, iceberg wedges, healthy margheritas, gluten free chocolate lava cake and smashed potatoes
The ingredient of reuse:
Lemon
The shopping list includes:
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
salt
pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
1 head iceberg lettuce (quartered)
2 -3 lbs fresh beef brisket
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup catsup
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 bag Red potatoes
2 Chives
1 package Bacon
1 container sour cream
1 packet hidden valley ranch seasoning (mix with sour cream)
3/4 cup Sierra Mist Free (or Diet Sprite Zero, or your other fave no-cal lemon-lime soda)
1.5 oz. tequila
1 packet (two 5-calorie servings) sugar-free powdered drink mix, lemonade (like the one by Crystal Light)
2 tbsp. lime juice
Optional: club soda
2 regular size dark chocolate bars with 75% cocoa
1/2 bag of chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 tsp suar
2 tbs butter shopping
2 medium sized baking containers (we used the nice little white french onion soup sized bowls)
orange Slice ( optional for serving)
How to:
For Brisket
1) Trim fat from brisket. If necessary, cut to fit into crock pot.
2) Sear the brisket in a pan for 2-3 minutes on either side
3) Combine chili powder, garlic powder, celery seed and pepper; rub evenly over meat. Place meat in a 3 1/2-5 quart crock pot.
4) For sauce, combine catsup, chili sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke and dry mustard. Pour over brisket.
5) Cover; cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours. Remove meat from cooker. Cut the brisket into thin slices across the grain. Skim fat off juices in cooker; serve juices with meat.
For smashed potatoes:
Combine hidden valley ranch mix and sour cream in a bowl (to taste)
Boil potatoes as you would for mashed potatoes
Take the potatoes out and put them onto a non-stick pan
Take a potatoe masher and push down on them once, just to break them up, but keep them together like a little patty
Put all toppings on top, except sour cream (rosemary, bacon, cheese, etc...)
Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes
Take and top with sour cream
For iceberg wedges:
Cut wedges out of iceberg head
Combine the grated lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, salt, pepper, mayonnaise and top wedges.
For gluten free lava cake:
Melt all chocolate except two squares in a double broiler
When melted add sugar and eggs
Pour mixture into baking dishes
Insert the reamaining 2 squares into the center
Let this cool for 15 minutes
Preheat over to 400 degrees
Bake for 10 minutes
Serve with orange slice
For the Margaritas:
Mix all ingredients together. Pour over 1 cup of crushed ice (these are 100 calories a piece). We actually put a little club soda in place of some of the soda, it cut down on the sweetness and made it a little bit easier to drink a few more :).
Have a great and wonderful time making these recipes
9/17 Dinner Review
This week's dinner will be ranked on the following categories:
The wine we had was a nice, cold, and drinkable. I would not necessarily put it as my favorite white wine.
Approach to Appetizers: Novel to say the least
Much like all past friday night dinners, this one got started a little late. We went to a part before hand (yes, I said it, a party!!!). So we had to have appetizers. Sure enough, we had some, which would later be used for breading (we will get into that). About 1/2 a bag of sweet potato veggie chips. You can see the result of our hunger.
Yes, we were lucky we had enough for the rest of the evening.
Presentation: π of 5 stars
The salmon looked a little rough, the saving grace was the desert. The desert looked like a smorgasbord of fruit delight. The salmon, not so much. It looked a little like an overcooked cheesestick. (Not that it tasted bad).
So as you can see, some more traditional salmon dishes look a little more "palatable".
Ingenious ways to make it gluten free: Perfection
Talk about a great and ingenious breading, veggie chips. The original recipe was with crackers, but I think the veggie chips added a wonderful sweetness tothe salmon. It was very tasty! We will be having the breading again. It may not look good, but it tastes wonderful.
Taste: 4 out of 5
The salmon was a 5 of 5 in terms of taste.
The desert was a 6 out of 5. It is always wonderful to have such a simple, but tasty desert. Refreshing and simple is the best way to describe it.
The brocolli: 3 out of 5. I would say it was a little heavy on the lemon, and it dried out a little in the oven. However, it is a wonderful recipe to use as a starting point. We need to make it our own and start modifying it slightly.
Romance: A dozen roses
Well as you can see, nothing is more cute than the 2 of us, I mean look how happy Wyetta looks.
Overall, it was a wonderful Saturday night for dinner and some great lessons were learned.
- Ingenious ways to make it gluten free
- Approach to Appetizers
- Presentation
- Taste
- Wine
- Romance
The wine we had was a nice, cold, and drinkable. I would not necessarily put it as my favorite white wine.
Approach to Appetizers: Novel to say the least
Much like all past friday night dinners, this one got started a little late. We went to a part before hand (yes, I said it, a party!!!). So we had to have appetizers. Sure enough, we had some, which would later be used for breading (we will get into that). About 1/2 a bag of sweet potato veggie chips. You can see the result of our hunger.
Presentation: π of 5 stars
The salmon looked a little rough, the saving grace was the desert. The desert looked like a smorgasbord of fruit delight. The salmon, not so much. It looked a little like an overcooked cheesestick. (Not that it tasted bad).
Ingenious ways to make it gluten free: Perfection
Talk about a great and ingenious breading, veggie chips. The original recipe was with crackers, but I think the veggie chips added a wonderful sweetness tothe salmon. It was very tasty! We will be having the breading again. It may not look good, but it tastes wonderful.
Taste: 4 out of 5
The salmon was a 5 of 5 in terms of taste.
The desert was a 6 out of 5. It is always wonderful to have such a simple, but tasty desert. Refreshing and simple is the best way to describe it.
The brocolli: 3 out of 5. I would say it was a little heavy on the lemon, and it dried out a little in the oven. However, it is a wonderful recipe to use as a starting point. We need to make it our own and start modifying it slightly.
Romance: A dozen roses
Well as you can see, nothing is more cute than the 2 of us, I mean look how happy Wyetta looks.
Overall, it was a wonderful Saturday night for dinner and some great lessons were learned.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Garden Mishap
John gave me 3 cayenne peppers from his garden while I was making chili. Apparently, he didn't mean for all 3 to go in the chili, he meant for 2 of them to go in the cornbread we were making and just discussing.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Dinner 9/17
This week's Friday dinner was postponed for a roommate dinner last night. John cooked amazing chicken tacos, and they definitely made up for last week's dinner debacle
This week:
Chef: Wyetta
Secret ingredient: Broccoli
Meal: A twist on Ina Garten's Parmesan Roasted Broccoli, Crusted Salmon with Wine-Mustard Sauce (from yummly.com but with lots of changes) with brown rice and an ice cream fruit medley for dessert.
Parmesan Roasted Broccoli:
Directions
Bread the salmon with the chips, parmesan using the milk as the adhesive part.
This week:
Chef: Wyetta
Secret ingredient: Broccoli
Meal: A twist on Ina Garten's Parmesan Roasted Broccoli, Crusted Salmon with Wine-Mustard Sauce (from yummly.com but with lots of changes) with brown rice and an ice cream fruit medley for dessert.
Parmesan Roasted Broccoli:
Ingredients
4 to 5 poundsbroccoli (2 bunches)- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced (some)
- Good olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons
koshersea salt - 1/2 teaspoon
freshly groundblack pepper - 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toastedAlmonds- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons julienned fresh
basil leaves (about 12 leaves)Parsley (we have a basilplanttree at John's but the ND game was on and I went to the grocery store at half time, so obviously I couldn't take the extra 7ish minutes to swing by his place and pick it up.) - DirectionsPreheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Cut the broccoli, put it, the garlic and some olive oil in a ziplock and shake it. Shake it like a polaroid picture. Place it on a pan in a single layer. Add salt and pepper and roast for 20ish minutes. Toss with more olive oil, lemon zest and juice, nut, cheese and parsley.
Crusted Salmon:
Ingredients
3/4 cup vegetable crackers crumbled (I have chips, this could be awful)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup milk
2 salmon filets
olive oil
butter
white wine
1tbsp dijon mustard
2 salmon filets
olive oil
butter
white wine
1tbsp dijon mustard
regular mustard
dried mustard
salt and pepper
Bread the salmon with the chips, parmesan using the milk as the adhesive part.
Make some white wine sauce with the mustards and wine. (pinot grigio, dijon mustard, white pepper, salt, lemon juice, lots of sugar... more sugar, flour, honey)
Thursday, September 15, 2011
9/9 Dinner Review
This week's dinner will be ranked on the following categories:
- Wine
- Hilarity
- Presentation
- Flavor
- Edibility
- What we did with the leftovers
Wine - 4 out of 5 stars
Pretty much the wine was awesome. It was a Pinot Noir, and I liked it so much we took a picture of the label so we could remember it.
Hilarity: A+
The preparation started as any normal Friday night dinner. Finally getting to see what we were having, a glass of wine, and starting the first course. As I was inside doing who knows what, I get the first call. "Wyetta, you HAVE to come see this. Now." As I meander out to the grill, John is standing there, holding a work glove, but it has a strange orange glow. The glove was on fire!! I take it into the house to run under the sink while John kept grilling. We keep going along, I'm prepping more inside, when John calls me out again. And I see this.
Yep, a genuine grill fire. Of course neither of us have any idea how to put it out - but google and a box of baking soda came to our rescue. Definitely the most entertaining prep so far.
Yep, a genuine grill fire. Of course neither of us have any idea how to put it out - but google and a box of baking soda came to our rescue. Definitely the most entertaining prep so far.
Presentation: N= Needs time, help and practice to improve
It almost was a good effort. The egg rolls and sauce looked pretty nice, and we tried to cover up the burn marks on the lamb, but then the sesame seeds went out of control. And then... I saw a picture of what the noodles were supposed to look like. There is no telling what we actually did wrong, but it was definitely something (and I don't mean the fire).
Flavor: 63%
The inside of the turkey eggrolls with some of the red dipping sauce had a nice flavor. In fact, I'd even put these on the "let's give the inside mix another try" list.
The lamb also had some great flavor, when you got around the "crust." I also ate the broccoli, bok choy and rice noodles. But we didn't save the left overs.
Edibility: Grill: 1, Us: 0
The eggrolls were really hard to eat and made a mess. I tried to eat them with my fork, that also failed. I was able to pick around the crust of the lamb to get some good meat, but I think we might have a lost a bit to the grill.
What we did with the leftovers: 8/10
I gave this an 8/10, because we at least made the wise decision of not keeping them. We tried to give them to Blue. And eventually he at the broccoli we gave him, but he did spit it out and really reconsider first.
Overall, the best part of dinner was spending an awesome Friday night putting out fires and not killing bats.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Dinner for 09/09/2011
Chef: John
Seared Lamb Chops with Rice Noodles, Broccoli, and Chinese Spiced Broth:
Combine:
1 pint chicken stock
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 chilis
1 clove garlic
1 tsp crushed fresh ginger
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp nutmeg/cinnamon mix
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp 5 spice powder
Add this mixture to a pot or wok
Steam broccoli above the mixture until softened (10 minutes)
Add softened rice noodles to mixture after 5 minutes of cooking
In a food process combine:
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Pinch cayenne pepper
Coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Rub paste on lamb chops
Turn grill to high and heat a non-stick grill pan until smoking
Cook lambchops for 3-5 minutes per side
Put lambchops over rice noodles and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds
For spring rolls:
1 Turkey Burger
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp ginger
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups coleslaw mix
Cook turkey burger, chopping to get ground turkey, with salt, ginger, olive oil, and sesame oil
Drain slightly and sautee the coleslaw mix
Moisten rice paper
Fill with coleslaw/turkey mix
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes
For spring roll dipping sauce:
Combine:
3 tablespoons (3 splashes) rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup dark tamari soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 scallion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, a drizzle
Combine all ingredients
Seared Lamb Chops with Rice Noodles, Broccoli, and Chinese Spiced Broth:
Combine:
1 pint chicken stock
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 chilis
1 clove garlic
1 tsp crushed fresh ginger
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp nutmeg/cinnamon mix
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp 5 spice powder
Add this mixture to a pot or wok
Steam broccoli above the mixture until softened (10 minutes)
Add softened rice noodles to mixture after 5 minutes of cooking
In a food process combine:
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Pinch cayenne pepper
Coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Rub paste on lamb chops
Turn grill to high and heat a non-stick grill pan until smoking
Cook lambchops for 3-5 minutes per side
Put lambchops over rice noodles and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds
For spring rolls:
1 Turkey Burger
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp ginger
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups coleslaw mix
Cook turkey burger, chopping to get ground turkey, with salt, ginger, olive oil, and sesame oil
Drain slightly and sautee the coleslaw mix
Moisten rice paper
Fill with coleslaw/turkey mix
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes
For spring roll dipping sauce:
Combine:
3 tablespoons (3 splashes) rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup dark tamari soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 scallion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, a drizzle
Combine all ingredients
Friday Night Dinners
This blog is to cronicle our Friday Night Dinners. Pictures, Recipes, and reactions.
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