Nachos

                       So this is not the most glamorous of dishes, but it can be such satisfying munchie food.  I started by sauteing a green pepper, an onion, a yellow pepper and chicken in a pan.  I then added taco seasoning, hot sauce and about a quarter cup of premium salsa to the pan to reduce to a thick sauce.  I built my nachos in a deep baking pan. A layer of whole grain tortilla chips, a layer of the chicken/pepper/onion combo, then dollops of refried beans and shredded Mexican cheese blend and repeated til out of ingredients.  The top was a layer of cheese and finely sliced jalapenos. 
                       I baked them for 18 minutes....served them with premium salsa, sour cream and FRESH guacamole, which I made with 2 fresh creamy avocados, salt and pepper, fresh squeezed lime juice and olive oil.  I served Mango Margaritas made with Mango nectar to go with the dish.  They were sooooooo good!

Homemade Mac and Cheese

                I am very proud of this one. True to form, no recipe was used in the making of this dish.  I was craving mac and cheese and wanted a side for the leftover turkey from last night, so I stopped on my way home from work to pick up the ingredients I needed. I boiled elbow macaroni to al dente and put aside. In a pot, I brought a half pint of heavy cream and about 2 cups of 2% milk to a simmer. I added a roux (just flour and softened butter) until it the milk thickened (approx 2 tablespoons). I then added approx 10 ozs. shredded white cheddar and approx 16 ozs. shredded orange cheddar until melted and creamy. I added salt and cracked black pepper and about a tablespoon of dijon mustard and stirred. I then added the macaroni.  I poured the cheesy mixture into a buttered 9x12 pan and topped with shredded parmesan, bread crumbs and more cheddar cheese. I baked it at 375 for about 45 minutes. I let it sit for approx 10 minutes to set before serving and........... IT WAS SOOOO GOOD.

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.