Baked Turkey with Blue Cheese Broccoli Slaw

                  My husband was in the mood for Turkey. He bought 2 large breasts with intentions of grilling them, but due to the freezing temps and a long day, I offered to bake the turkey. I simply rubbed them with olive oil then coated them in a blend of bread crumbs, and seasonings and baked them for an hour. I made my blue cheese broccoli slaw again (as described in last Saturday's steak post) to serve on the side. It was a very simple and filling meal to end our weekend.

1st Attempt at Homemade Meatballs

                 I have never made meatballs before, so this was a challenge. I know, very simple to make, yet intimidating due to it's "grandma makes the best" connotation. Seems like a specialty left to Italian grandmothers.  Well, this Irish-German girl took a stab at making them. I used a meatloaf mix (ground veal, pork and beef) and 85% hamburger meat. I mixed in 1 egg, finely chopped mushrooms, green peppers, onion and garlic. I added breadcrumbs, crushed red pepper flakes, s&p, basil, bayou seasoning, season salt and black pepper.I formed them into 3 inch balls and baked on a cookie sheet for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees. I served them with red pasta sauce over thin spaghetti. 

                 They were very tasty, but I think there were a few things I could have done better. Next time I will add fresh bread crumbs soaked in milk. I will also put the meat through a fine shredder. I will then, after baking, let them cook in sauce for an additional 30 minutes. My meatballs, on 1st attempt, were good, and very tasty, but reminiscent of a gourmet burger. They were lacking the moist, dense consistency associated with a meatball. I will try again, but this was a very good 1st attempt.

Stuffed Green Bell Peppers

               I have never made stuffed peppers before but gave it a whirl tonight. I used a combo of ground beef, ground pork and ground veal as a base. I sauteed onions, mushrooms, cabbage, and garlic into a pan with the meat. I then added tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, grated parm, a little hot sauce, red pepper flakes, s&p, basil and bread crumbs. I hollowed out 4 large green bell peppers and stuffed them with the mixture. I topped them with lots of grated parmasean cheese and baked them for about 40 minutes. They were delicious! 

              I remember liking stuffed peppers but always remembered them being very dry. I added the ricotta and tomato sauce to add moisture to the stuffing.  I also made sure to slightly under cook the peppers as I also remember not liking the mushy gray consistency of the peppers I've had in the past. This dish was simple and filling and definitely comfort food.

Coconut Peanut Chicken with Vegetables over Jasmine rice

            I really enjoy Thai food.  It has proven to be difficult to recreate the flavors so popular in their cooking.  I have been tying to perfect a dish that I feel captures the flavors that I enjoy most in Thai cooking. Tonight, I attempted once again to create a homemade dish that satisfies my craving for this ethnic dish.

            I sliced chicken tenderloins and sauteed them in a pan with olive oil and s&p. I diced one red bell pepper, one yellow bell pepper and one sweet onion and tossed them in with the chicken.  I made a "kitchen sink" dressing of Asian sesame salad dressing, chunky peanut butter, soy sauce, fresh squeezed lime juice, Sriracha sauce, s&p, freshly grated ginger, minced fresh garlic and coconut milk. Yum! I poured this sauce into the pan over the chicken and veggies. I let it all simmer together until the sauce was thick. I made 2 bags of quick cooking Jasmine rice to put over my concoction.  I plated my dish up with jasmine rice on the bottom, the veggies and chicken over it and topped it with crushed peanuts and a couple sprigs of fresh parsley.  I served a cold California Viognier wine with this dish and the crisp citrus and apricot flavors really complimented it.

             This was my best attempt yet at a homemade Thai dish and I was very happy with the overall flavor and presentation. I encourage everyone to try their hand at an ethnic dish.  It may seem difficult to replicate, but by using your palate and your eyes, you can come pretty close.  Enjoy!

Steaks on the Grill

                I should have had my husband take a picture to post of the meal we made last night, but we were entertaining and enjoying, so I decided just to write. My husband and I have been craving New York Strips on the grill, so we had friends of ours over to share our evening.

                I started out with selecting 4 juicy strip steaks and seasoned them with a blend of Montreal steak seasoning (regular and spicy), black pepper and bayou seasoning. I left them out to get to room temp because experience has taught me that it is harder to cook steaks evenly when they are too cold to start with.  My husband threw them on a med heat grill for about 6 minutes a side to a perfect med/rare doneness.  For my potato, I quartered about 12 small red skin potatoes and tossed them in a baking pan with a chopped whole onion and tossed with kosher salt, rosemary and olive oil. I love roasted garlic, and I had 2 heads that needed used, so I sliced the top third off of each of them, drizzled them with olive oil and tossed them in to bake as well. We enjoy mushrooms with steak so I tossed a package of sliced button mushrooms in a pan with s&p, butter and a 1/4 cup of red wine and cooked them off to top the steaks. I like to serve a veggie, but instead of hot, I went with a cold salad. I used a bag of store bought broccoli slaw and chopped up a couple stalks of celery and sliced some grape tomatoes in half to add to it. I made a simple dressing of mayo, Dijon mustard, lots of fresh cracked black pepper, crumbled blue cheese and a bit of blue cheese dressing and tossed that with the veggies. It was sort of a spin on the traditional Cole slaw and turned out to be a great compliment to the main meal. Our friends brought along some artisan bread that we heated up and served on  the side.  

              We chose to serve an Argentinian Malbec and a Califonia Red Zinfandel with our meal. Both were very tasty and stood up well to all of the flavors. Our guests brought individual homemade chocolate souflees that they made to top off our meal. They were so rich and chocolaty and hot, oh, they were to die for.  The entire meal was just wonderful, the company was fantastic, the wine was delicious and it was great to have the grill fired up in January.

Blushing Penne Bake

                    So tonight I felt like pasta. I love pasta, and you really can't ever go wrong with it. I enjoy baking my pasta in a pan,  sort of as a pseudo-lasagna or variation there of. I made this dish by boiling penne pasta to the firm side of al dente (to finish during the baking process). In a separate pan I cooked off a quarter pound of bacon to about half way done, not crispy. I made my sauce by sauteing sweet onion, red pepper, garlic, and fresh spinach. I then added a jar of  store bought Vodka sauce and to that, ricotta and parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, basil, red pepper flakes, chopped black olives and the bacon.  Don't be afraid to use heat in this dish, extra garlic, extra crushed red pepper, even a couple dashes of hot sauce will compliment the rich cheesiness. I tossed all of the ingredients together into a 9x12 pan, topped it with cracked black pepper and lots of shredded parm and tossed it into the oven for 40 minutes. Delicious! 

                    Baking the pasta adds an element of crusty cheesiness that you can't quite achieve on the stove top. It's a rustic dish, when baked and served with a simple salad is filling and delicious. Pasta is definitely not an everyday meal, but when done right, you wish it were. This dish would be complemented by a spicy, full, Pinot Noir. 

Grilled Ranchera Steak and Polenta

              If you ask my husband who makes the best nachos...he'd definitely tell you, me. But that's for another night. Tonight, I decided to take a different spin on Mexican and instead of the usual nachos, tacos, fajitas or enchiladas, I created my own spin on blending the classic flavors of spicy grilled steak and creamy polenta.  

              I marinated pieces of skirt steak in a sauce of ranchera salsa, sugar, adobo seasoning, hot sauce and lime juice. I then grilled it just 2  minutes on each side. I put this over pan fried polenta (store bought) seasoned simply with salt and pepper and a bit of olive oil. I topped the polenta with ricotta cheese that I had mixed with chopped green onion, salt, pepper and chili powder. After layering this concoction,  I spooned a simple salad of diced avocado (a steal this time of year, and ripe!), sweet red bell pepper and vidalia onion tossed with salt, pepper, lime juice and olive oil as a  side. 

               This was a very simple, budget-friendly and flavorful dish. I made delicious Gold Guava Margaritas to accompany our dinner. What would a home made Mexican meal be without one?

Chicken Cauliflower Au Gratin

              It was a long day at work, so I was in the mood for something satisfying. I was also in the mood to challenge myself. I decided to make, from scratch, my very 1st cheese sauce.  I have long been intimidated by this finicky sauce so I have reserved my indulgence for this when out to eat at a restaurant, to be made by professionals. My first insight to share about my style of cooking is that I do not use recipes. In fact, the only recipes I own are for baking. I prefer to follow my sense of taste, my knowledge of food preparation and what I have seen others prepare. 

            Cream sauce (cheese sauce, white sauce), though I have seen it prepared, I have tasted it and I have a basic knowledge of how to prepare it, I have avoided making. Well tonight, I can chalk one up for myself. With heavy cream, 2% milk, roux, grated parmesan, shredded white sharp cheddar, salt and freshly grated black pepper, I created a cream sauce. Not an oily, broken, fatty sauce. Not a thin, milky flavorless sauce.  No my worst fears didn't come true. After a brief but tense period of watching, stirring and waiting, a creamy, well emulsified, rich, cheesy white sauce emerged in my pot. So what could I do with it? I sauteed some chicken, fresh garlic, button mushrooms and sweet onions in a pan. I steamed 1/2 a head of cauliflower and picked it into florets. I combined this mixture into a baking dish, poured the sauce over it, grated more cheese on top and finished it with panco bread crumbs. I baked it for 20 minutes at 375 to get a nice golden crust.  I proudly served this concoction to my husband with a cold glass of Australian Sauvignon Blanc and neither of us made a peep until our forks hit our empty plates. 

 

             So I've accomplished 2 things  tonight, I've overcome my fear of one of the "mother sauces" and I created a delicious satisfying meal after a hard days work. This may sound like a lot of trouble to go through for some, but another insight about my cooking is that I love it, it's a release and a creative outlet for me and I am proud of what I create and serve.

Introduction

This being my very first blog post, I will keep it simple. I am excited to start sharing my adventures in the kitchen.  My hope is not only to document some of my creations and experiences but to also inspire those with a passion for food and wine to begin their own quest to fulfill their culinary curiosities.