Green Curry Shrimp

I was going to make Green Curry Chicken, but decided to use shrimp instead and then a trip to the Asian Market totally changed the ingredients. This took more prep than the chicken dish, and whereas that dish has you throw all the meat and veggies in the sauce and just let it simmer for 10 minutes; for this one I sautéed a bunch of the ingredients up front. So if you want an easier recipe, try that one!

Note: I've adapted this over the years, but it orginally started with this Thai Kitchen recipe.

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• 1lb raw shrimp
• Olive Oil
• 1/2 med onion julienne
• 2 garlic cloves finely sliced
• 2 slices ginger, about 1" x 2", julienne
• fresno pepper, sliced in 1/4 length-ways, seeded and deveined, then minced
• 1 C vegetable broth
• 2 tsp Thai Kitchen green curry paste
• 2 tsp yellow curry powder
• ~14 oz coconut milk
• 2 Philippine eggplants, cut in 1" pieces
• 8 oz bamboo shoots
• 1 head sweet bok choy, cut in 1" pieces. Separate the stems from the leaves. Just rough cut.
• 8 oz Brown Beech mushrooms, bottom cut off and then mushroom left whole
• 10 cherry tomatoes cut in half
• 5 springs Thai Basil
• salt to taste
• Sweet and Sour pickled Mango

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You can start sweating the onions and garlic first. I use a french chef pan because it's easy to sauté in as well as simmer all the ingredients in the sauce. Put about a tbs of olive oil in the pan and start sautéing the onions and garlic. Do this on a low heat so they do not brown.

Prep the ginger and fresno pepper and then add them to the onions and garlic and keep them on low heat. Then prep the shrimp. You can get shrimp that is already cleaned; but I did not. It was headless, but it still took me about 20 minutes to clean it and devien it. Remove most of the onion mixture from the pan and set aside. Sauté the shrimp for a few minutes till it is mostly done. Remove the shrimp and set aside. Add the eggplant, bok choy stems, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots. Add each one at a time, stirring for a minute or two to sauté them a bit, then remove all of this vegetable mixture. Deglaze the pan with the vet able broth. Add the curry paste and power and simmer for a few minutes along with the original onion mixture that you set aside. Add the coconut milk and simmer this liquid for 5 minutes to let the flavors mix before you add the vegetables back in.

Add the vegetables and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. At this point it is almost done. Salt to taste. Add the bok choy leaves, thai basil, shrimp, and cherry tomatoes and simmer till the greens are cooked and the other shrimp and tomatoes are warm. This should just take a few minutes.

Plating: Traditionally this would be served over rice. I used ramen noodles. While the curry was simmering at the end, I cooked the ramen noodles for 3 minutes then pulled them from the liquid and put them on the plate, kind of like spaghetti. I then added some sweet and sour mango on the side.

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A note on Heat: I have to admit, as I'm getting whimpy with respect to spicyness. This has a little bit of heat to it, but not much. If you like your food hotter, use more curry paste and use more chilies. Rather than one fresno pepper you could add two, or a hotter chili such a serano. As with all my recipies, play with it and see what works for you!

Alternatives: Most of the veggies I used were because I had gone to the Asian market. I usually can't get all of these at say a Safeway or King Soopers. Some of these I had never had before, but they looked cool. I like to use eggplant in thai curry, but not traditional Italian eggplant. My preferred choices in order are: Thai, Philippine, Japanese. If I use Thai I quarter it.
Other non-protein ingredients I frequently use:

• Chick peas/garbanzo beans
• Fresh green beans cut in 1.5 inch pieces
• Red Bell pepper julienne
• Baby zucchini
• Other small mushrooms, such as enoki

I like round vegetables like baby zucchini, Philippine/Japanese eggplant, green beans; that I can cut across the vegetable and leave in whole chunks. But again, play with it and use whatever veggies you think would be good in a curry!
And finally, here are some other pics of the vegetable ingredients, whole or prepped.

Chunky Beef Burritos

This is a dish we made at the Firepit in Big Timber, MT. I've made it a few times a year, ever since I left there (35 or so years ago... wow) and it is something that both my girls always ask for. I've never written it down before... so this is probably an approximation. Perhaps I'll try to get the exact amounts next time I make it, lol. This is cooked in a slow cooker (or similar slow cooking method for a long period of time) and amounts are based on how much you want. In other words, if you use 1 lb of meat, then you'd use less of everything else, 3 lbs of meat you'd use more.
Also... while this is "Mexican", it doesn't have a super strong chili powder taste. It is more of a deep beef flavor from the gravy. It does have a chili powder taste, but not as strong as say a red chili. Also, if you like it hotter, you can dice some chilies and add them... to taste.

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• Chunky Beef
  • 1 lb to 2 lb of beef: A bottom round "steak", a London broil, some kind of roast. Diced to "bite size" chunks
  • One onion, yellow or white, diced in about 1" chunks.
  • One green bell pepper, diced in about 1" chunks
  • A small can of diced tomatoes
  • A large can of tomato sauce
  • Chili Powder. Umm... sprinkle it all over the top... Maybe 1/2 C?
  • Lawry's Seasoned Salt
  • Brown Gravy Mix. I'd use a big container that you can get from Sams... but if you are using packets, then probably 2 or 3.
  • minced or small sliced chilies to taste. We didn't do this at the Firepit, but I occasionally will add some Red Fresno Chilies or whatever.
• Condiments, etc
  • Shredded Cheddar Cheese
  • Flour Tortillas
  • Cilantro, optional
  • Sour Cream, optional
  • sliced Black Olives, optional
  • sliced Green Onions, optional

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Prep all the Chunky Beef ingredients. Put the meat, green pepper, and onion in the crock pot. Season and stir. You do not have to brown the meat or any of the veggies. Drain the tomatoes into a small sauce pan, add the gravy mix, heat. This should be very thick, like a paste. Pour the tomatoes and the tomato sauce in the crock pot. Add the gravy. If it isn't thick, then make some more gravy and add it. The vegetables are going to release water while cooking, so you want it kind of thick. Since there isn't that much sauce, it's a bit hard to tell how thick it will be; that is fine. Let this cook on high initially, then turn to low and it can cook all day. If you are prepping it in the morning and going to work all day, just starting it on low is fine. Or if you are going to be home and you don't have all day, you can leave it on high. Basically you are giving the meat a chance to get really tender.
An hour (or half hour if you don't have enough time, or whatever) before you are going to serve it, check and see how thick it is. You can tell how thick it should be by looking at the picture. In general, like a thick stew. Taste it as well. Adjust by adding more chili power, seasoned salt, gravy (if it is too thin). You can make the gravy at this point by ladling some liquid out of the crock pot into a small sauce pan and making more thick gravy paste. This is why I like the big container vs a packet, because I'm going to keep adjusting and I'm not sure how much it will need.
While the meat is finishing you can prep your condiments: shred your cheese (because you never buy the pre-shredded kind that has junk in it... right?), slice olives and green onions, etc.

Plating Micro-wave a flour tortilla so that it is pliable. Make a rolled burrito (you don't have to close the ends) by putting some meat on the tortilla, then sprinkle some optional green onions, some cheese and roll it all up. Then cover it (or two of them) with sauce, some cheese and microwave it to heat it all up and melt the cheese. Then when you take it out, spoon a bit of sour cream on it, with some cilantro, black olives, etc. This is great served with Isabel Rita's re-fried beans! (Which would require a second crock pot or making them a day ahead!)

Crockpot Chicken ala King - II

I already had a previous post on Chicken ala King, but lately I've been making it a bit different, so figured I'd post an update here. Plus, Frankie was asking for the recipe and the original one was different enough that I figured I'd post this.

• 2 or 3 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 stalks of celery, sliced about 1 inch, cut slice in 1/2 if too wide
• 1/2 an onion, diced in 1 inch sections
• about 8 mushrooms, probably quartered
• small package of frozen green peas - save these till the end
• A large and a small can of Cream of Chicken soup
• optional: one carrot, 1/2 inch slices
• savory salt (Lawry's Season Salt)
• pepper

 There are two approaches:

• fast - but maybe not as much flavor
• about 30 minutes of prep, more flavor

If you are going for fast, skip the next section on prepping stuff and just go to the "put it into the crock pot" section.

I like to saute all the vegetables. Basically put some butter or olive oil in a saute pan and then saute the mushrooms first. Yeah, the cook the fastest, but better to give them some room and cook some moisture out of them, letting them caramelize a bit. Once that happens, you can take them out (if you don't have much room in the pan) or leave them in. Add the onions and saute them until they start to become a bit translucent, then add the celery and cook it till it picks up some color as well. You can add the carrots too, but they won't soften much (you don't want to cook it that long).

Add everything (except the peas) to the crock pot. Put a layer of vegetables on the bottom. I used to put the chicken on the bottom, but then the chicken would tend to stick some. Then put the chicken, season it with some savory salt and pepper, then the rest of the vegetables. Then cover this with the soup. Pour the soup on top and spread it out with a spatula or spoon. The idea is to kind of seal in everything else. The liquid that comes out of the vegetables will sink to the bottom and the soup will either make a seal or might start to drip down there and mix in. Either works.

Cool this on low for the day. When you are close to getting ready to eat, make noodles, rice, maybe some mashed potatoes.... whatever you want to put this on or serve it with. At that time microwave the peas for a few minutes so they aren't frozen, then pour them on top of stuff in the crock pot and stir it all up. Cover it and let it sit for 5 minutes or so till the peas are hot. This mixes everything up, and also makes sure the peas are fresh tasting. (I'm not a fan of all day cooked can/grey peas!)

That's basically it. As always, experiment according to your taste. You could add canned potatoes, green beans, maybe even some corn at the end. Adjust based on what kind of veggies you like!

Grandpa's chili

My dad's dad died when I was pretty little. There are two things I mostly remeber about him. Crawling up into his lap with his work shirt on that had his name tag on it, and his chili. This isn't his recipie, but it is inspired by it. I bet he didn't use actually peppers in it... But the base idea is there, and it always makes me think of him. As with a lot of my recipes, I have no idea about quantities of spices... So you are just going to have to play with it. There are two ways to make this... The faster to make, slow it all in a crock pot and let it simmer all day, and the more prep time sauté everything. I usually do the faster unless it's the weekend and I feel like cooking! Ingredients are the same either way.

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• 1.5 lbs burger. I use 90% or 93% lean
• 2 medium white onions
• 5 stalks celery
• 2 green peppers
• 2 jalapeño peppers
• 1 Fresno pepper
• 1 Anaheim chili
• 1 banana pepper
• 6 to 8 tomatillos. 8 if they are all small. 
• 1 can black beans, the smaller normal size can, um... 18 oz or so?
• 1 can red kidney beans, same size
• 1 can pinto beans, same size
• 2 lrg cans tomatoe sauce 28oz or 32 oz size... I forget
• 1 lrg can diced tomatoe, that same size
• Lowrys seasoned salt
• Black pepper
• Chili powder... Maybe 1/2 a cup?

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• Seed and devein all the chilis and peppers. 
• Chop the onion, celery and green bell peppers into about 1/2 inch, bite size pieces. 
• Chop the tomatillos into 8 pieces or so
• Mince the other chilis/peppers
• Drain the beans and rinse them

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Brown the hamburger and season with seasoned salt, pepper and about 1/2 the chili powder. Basically sprinkle across the meat. You'll just have to taste it when it's cooked.
 At this point you can out everything in a crock pot and just let it cook, or you can sauté the rest of the stuff and then leave it on the stove on a low simmer or move it to a crock pot. So if you are doing the faster prep, you are done now, otherwise continue.

Move the burger that you sautéed to whatever pot you are going to continue cooking this in (pot on the stove on medium or crock pot).  Put some olive oil in a pan and start sautéing the onion. When it starts to get a bit translucent, add the bell peppers and celery and cook till have sautéed a bit. They don't have to be all the way done, as they will simmer in the chili. Add this to the pot. Sauté the tomatillos for a bit... till they start to break down some; and add the rest of the chilis and peppers. Add those to pot. Add in the beans and tomatoes and sauce along with the rest of the chili powder. Stir it all up and let it cook till it starts bubbling. Taste. At this point you may have to add more salt and/or chili powder. Turn crockpot or burner to low.

A little while before its time to eat (either you get home from work or you are hanging out) taste and add more chili powder or salt, let finish for another 30 minutes for any seasoning adjustment to take hold... and there ya go!

Beef Medallions with Mushrooms and Onions on a bed of Spinach with a Beef and Butter Sauce

Yeah... I've never been too clever about coming up with short names for dishes; so the names are pretty much what is in them. Sorry about that!

I did not make this with blogging it in mind; so I didn't measure stuff. So the following is pretty much a total guess... so just flow with it. Basically seasoned some flour; so just sprinkle the stuff in it; and added "about the right amount" of butter... but the amounts should be close.

I wanted something fast and easy, but having spent several days in Baltimore eating good food; I was in the cooking mood. Decided on some sort of steak with mushrooms and onions; saw some thin cut Eye of Round steaks and the whole "medallions"thing took form.

Because of the onions, beef stock and butter; this had a very French Onion Soup flavor to it, and the floured medallions had a veal scallopini feel. Turned out very good. Probably took less than 30 minutes total.

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• pack of thin cut Eye of Round steaks (there were 7 of them)
• 1 medium onion, slivered (thin vertical cuts)
• 5 Crimini Mushrooms, about 5 slices per mushroom
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 Tbs Olive Oil
• 1/3 C flour
• 1 tsp Savory Salt
• Fresh ground Pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp ground Thyme
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• 1 Egg
• 1.5 C Beef Broth
• 1 Tbs Butter
• 1 bunch (or 1 pkg frozen) Spinach

Prep the onions and mushrooms, add the olive oil to a skillet and then saute then with the garlic, until the mushrooms are a bit caramelized and the onions are wilted. Remove and set aside. Add some more olive oil to the skillet if the mushrooms soaked it all up.

Beat the egg for an egg wash and put on a plate, put the flour on a separate plate and stir in all the ingredients with a fork. (You can do this while the onions/mushrooms are cooking)

Dip a steak in the egg wash, then in the seasoned flour and then place in the skillet. On medium heat. I fit 4 steaks in the skillet, so had to do two batches. Because they are so thin you aren't really cooking until "done" as much as cooking till they are somewhat browned on each side. You may have to add more oil when you flip them so the one side doesn't stick.

Brown, then remove and set aside and do the second batch. Once all done, deglaze the skillet with the beef stock and add the butter, cut in thin slices (so it melts faster) and turn the temp up a little higher. Add in the mushrooms/onions and stir around; then slide in the steaks and spoon the sauce and mushrooms/onions on top. Turn down and let simmer for about 5 minutes; just so that the sauce reduces some and all the flavors combine.

Cook the spinach (wilt it in a pan or microwave if frozen), arrange on a plate,. add a few medallions on top and cover with the mushrooms/onions and spoon on some sauce!

Rosemary Pork Chops

A pretty easy, savory and fast pork chop dish, made with rosemary, mushrooms, mirepoix, garlic and gravy.

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, cut in 1/2 top to botton, cut side down and then sliced top to bottom
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 3 ribs celery, sliced 1/4 across the rib
• 1 small carrot cut in 1/2 and then in 1/2 down the middle
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 pork chops
•  Savory salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 4 medium mushrooms, sliced
• 1 jar of pork gravy
• 1 sprig of rosemary, leaves removed and rough chopped

 I live the flavor that mirepoix adds to a dish, but I'm not a big carrot fan, so I cut the carrot in 4 big pieces. I could then saute it in the dish and get the flavor, but big enough so I could easily remove it and not eat it.

Seeing as I was trying to go for "fast" (get home late from work and cook up something good for dinner but not take all night) I used a jar of gravy from the store. But feel free to make you own! You can prep everything ahead, or cut as you go.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat and add the onion and start wilting it; while that is happening mince the garlic and throw it in, stirring it around. Cut the carrot and add it in, then chop the celery and add it. Sprinkle some kosher salt on the veggies. Let the onions and mirepoix saute till they are "mostly done". You want them to flavor the oil and get wilted/caramelized some, but they don't have to be cooked all the way. Remove them to a plate for later, hopefully leaving some flavored oil behind. Turn the heat up and get the skillet hot and then add the pork chops and brown them on both sides. When you add them sprinkle savory salt and pepper (to taste) on them while they are cooking. They don't have to be cooked all the way, but should be close. Probably 5 minutes or so on each side. Move them around if the skillet starts getting two browned. Remove the pork chops, add another tbls of olive oil and saute the mushrooms, getting them a bit browned if you like. Remove the mushrooms and deglaze the skillet with the gravy and add the rosemary. Add all the ingredients back into the skillet and spoon the gravy back on top. Simmer in the gravy for 10 or 15 minutes. Serve.

Given I didn't prep it all ahead, it probably took about 20 to 30 minutes to get it to the point where I let it simmer for 10 minutes. I think simmering for 15 would be good, but 10 works and I was hungry. :)

I ate this by itself, but it would go good with mashed potatoes or noodles, and another veggie if desired like brussel sprouts, cooked cabbage, etc. The recipe can be easily adjusted based on how many people you want it to serve. Just add more pork chops and other ingredients appropriately. If you add more than two pork chops, i.e., if you get the skillet pretty full, you might want to pour the gravy off after putting in the rosemary for a minute or two, and then put everything back in and pour the gravy over the top. Or if too many pork chops to do in one batch, you could put the pork chops in a bake pan (9x13, etc.), put the veggies on top, and then pour the gravy over all of it and simmer in the oven at 350 for the 10 or 15 minutes. Everything should be "mostly done" so you are just simmering to let all the flavors mix.

Chicken Jaime

Jaime, Ben and I ate at Carrabba's last night and Jaime got Chicken Bryan, one of her favorite chicken dishes. Sounded so good that tonight I whipped up something like it - but wasn't following any recipe... so I'll just call it Chicken Jaime :)

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• 2 boneless/skinless Chicken Breasts
  
• 2 shallots, cut in half and sliced very thin
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 6 sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
  
• 2 Tbs Capers
  
• 1/2 a lemon
  
• 2 Tbs Olive Oil
  
• Salt to taste
  
• 1 Cup Chicken Stock
  
• 2 Tbs alouette Garlic & Herbs soft cheese. (Or Boursin or something similar)

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• Heat oil in a skillet or french cook pan that can be covered
  
• Add shallots and wilt
  
• Add garlic, 1/2 the capers and the garlic, stir for a minute or two
  
• Move the mixture to the side and brown the chicken in the oil in the middle, on both sides.
  
• Add in the chicken stock, juice of 1/2 a lemon and the remaining capers and cover and simmer for 6 minutes.
  
• Flip the chicken and simmer for a few more minutes.

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At this point the chicken should still be moist but cooked all the way through and somewhat brown from simmering in the liquid. The other ingredients will have mostly reduced such that there is little liquid at this point.

Plate the chicken, spoon a Tbs of the cheese on top, spreading it a little; then cover with half of the other ingredients. This melts the cheese and it should run down the sides a little bit.

Nice moist chicken, rich sauce from the combination of the melted cheese (almost like a thick spiced cream) and the rich shallots and sun-dried tomatoes with some acid from the lemon juice and capers.

I served this with mashed sweet potatoes on the side, probably would have also done asparagus or something like that if it was more than just me or if I had been hungrier. One breast is a serving, warming the other one up tomorrow night. :)

Beef Stroganoff

This is a very simple, not everything from scratch, recipe. It can be finished in the slow cooker or left in an electric skillet for a few hours.

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• 1.5 to 2lb beef w/o much fat: london broil, flat steak, top round roast
  
• 1 lb mushrooms
  
• 1 large and 1 small can Cream of Mushroom Soup
  
• 1/2 C Sour Cream
  
• Nutmeg
  
• Egg Noodles
  
• Lawry's Seasoned Salt
  
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper

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• Slice beef in 1/8" (pretty thin) by 1/2" by 2" or so, strips
  
• Put beef in electric skillet at 350 degrees so that it can brown, season with seasoned salt and pepper.
  
• Clean mushrooms and slice each one in 4 or 5 slices (not quarters, but lengthwise). Add to beef as soon as they are sliced
  
• Once beef is browned, add Cream of Mushroom Soup and Sour Cream. I'm not sure if its 1/2 a cup or not. You just have to taste it and add enough till it doesn't taste like straight Cream of Mushroom soup and is sour enough. :) - But I think for that much soup, about 1/2 a cup should do.
  
• Add nutmeg... Maybe 1/2 tsp or so? I use fresh and just grate "some" on it.

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At this point you can cover it in the electric skillet and let it simmer for a few hours; or if you're making this first thing in the morning then put in a slow cooker and leave it on low all day. The meat will be very tender by dinner time!

Server with egg noodles and some kind of veggie or salad!

Cream of Onion/Celery w/ Chipped Beef Soup

Wanted a simple cream soup, maybe celery... hmm and onions. But need some meat - hmm... chipped beef. Yeah!

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• 1/2 medium onion, diced
  
• 2 stalks celery, diced
  
• 1/4 cup butter + 1 Tbs butter
  
• 1/5 cup flour
  
• 2 to 4 cups milk
  
• 10 rounds of dried beef
  
• Savory Salt
  
• Fresh ground Black Pepper

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• Melt the butter and add the flour to make a roux, over med heat
  
• Season with Salt and Pepper - go light on the salt because the beef is salty
  
• Cook on low for about 5 minutes
  
• Add the mile, about 1/2 a cup at a time till the right consistency (it will thicken a little as you cook it)
  
• At the same time, in another pan, melt 1 Tbs butter and add the celery and onion
  
• Saute until wilted but not browned
  
• Add to the cream soup
  
• Soak the beef in warm water for a few minutes and then drain, rip into pieces and add to the soup

This is my standard base for a cream soup and I've made quite a few different soups with it. This one turned out pretty good!

Asian Shrimp Cocktail

This is similar to my other shrimp cocktail recipe, but this is kicked up another notch. :) I added in Sriracha to spicy it up a bit, and then had some lemongrass and thought "what the heck" and added that as well. Took it to a cookout this afternoon and everyone seemed to like it, including a few who asked for the recipe. So this is my new style of making it, as I'll probably do it like this from now on. :)

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• 2 lbs peeled and cooked 51/60 shrimp - remove the tails and cut across them in half.
  
• 1 yellow bell pepper, small dice
  
• 1/2 red onion, small dice
  
• 4 stalks celery, small dice
  
• 2 avocados, medium dice, not too ripe!
  
• 2 limes
  
• 2 tsp Sriracha
  
• 1 12 oz jar Heinz Chile Sauce (Chili sauce! not Cocktail Sauce)
  
• 3 "stems" lemongrass, minced
  

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Prepare the shrimp and cover with juice of one lime and let sit while prepping other things.

Dice the avocado and cover with juice of other lime.

Prep all the other veggies and when almost done put the shrimp and avocado in a colander and let the excess lime juice drain. If you don't do this the "salad" will end up being kind of souping and will "bleed" after it sits for a bit.

Mix the Chile Sauce and Sriracha. Actually I don't know how much I used... I just squeezed some in... but I *think* it was about 2 tsps. Put some in, taste it and see if the flavor (spicy, heat, etc.) is right for you.

Put everything into a bowl and stir. Stir enough to coat but don't stir too much. You don't want the avocado getting mushy.

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That's it! Its important to use chili sauce because it is sweet and not spicy. The sriracha then gets it some heat, but its a Vietnamese/Korean kind of heat, rather than a horseradish flavor.

Vietnamese Grilled Pork/Beef

I used this marinated both on pork chops and on grilled steak. Adapted from a recipe I found on the web.

• Meat (see below)
  
• 2 Tbs minced lemongrass
  
• 3 cloves pressed garlic
  
• 1/2 Tbs grated fresh ginger
  
• 3 Tbs honey
  
• 1 Tbs soy sauce
  
• Juice of 1 lime
  
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1 tsp Sriracha
  

I made the marinade, put it into a gallon size zip-lock bag and then added the meat and let it marinade for about 30 minutes.

One night I used 2 inch thick pork chops. The other night I used 6 round steaks that were sliced very thin. They come 3 to a pack at King Soopers.

The pork chops I grilled for 5 minutes on the first side on high, turned the heat down and grilled them for 10 more minutes on the other side, then flipped them over again and finished them off. I basted them multiple times.

The steak I through on a hot grill and grilled them for about 2 minutes or less per side. They cooked very fast. Once done I sliced them into strips. I think I doubled the amount of marinade for the steak.

The fresh lemongrass, garlic and ginger are a nice combination and you bite into bits of them because they are minced. Might be nice to reduce the marinade a bit or add more honey; to get a sweeter/thicker glaze.

Italian Chicken/Sausage Stew

• 1 lb Johnsonville Mild Italian Sausage, bulk (not brat style)
  
• 3 chicken breasts (single breasts), diced in bite size pieces
  
• 2 tbs olive oil
  
• 1/2 eggplant, cut in bite size cubes
  
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
  
• 1 medium onion, diced
  
• 1 19 oz can cannellini (white kidney beans)
  
• 2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
  
• 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
  
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  
• 2 tbs basil
  
• 1 tbs oregano
  
• 1 tbs italian seasoning
  
• fresh ground pepper
  
• 1 tsp or so of Savory Salt
  

I used Johnsonville Mild Italian Sausage because it really produces a nice flavor. You could use hot or sweet, or any Italian sausage whose flavor you really like.

Cook in a large soup pan over medium high heat. Break the sausage up and saute it until cooked, continuing to break up so that there are no chunks. Add chicken and cook until done. If there isn't much fat left from the sausage; add a few tablespoons of olive oil so that there is enough to cook the chicken. As the chicken is cooking, cut up the eggplant and add it; then cut up the onion and add it, then cut up the green pepper and add it. Cook until the veggies are mostly cooked.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic and spices. Reduce heat and simmer until... done.

I've made this before, putting it all together and serving it as soon as the tomatoes were hot. This time when I made it for a church I let it simmer for about 1.5 hours, then took it to church and cooked on high in a crock pot for 2 hours. The flavors simmered together very well. So if you have time; let it simmer or crock pot for a while. But if not - you can serve it as soon as you need to.

Also - seasonings are approximate. I just "sprinkle it on till it looks right". :) - So play with them; but I think the above should work. You can add more chicken. I bought a pack of 4 breasts, but needed one for another meal. And you can play with the veggies. I thought about adding zucchini and yellow squash. I would have added just one of each. And mushrooms would have worked. But I was trying to keep it pretty simple because of a church potluck and not everyone likes mushrooms; etc. So basically - add whatever Italian style veggies you and your family like.

Curry Asparagus/Mushroom Risotto

I've been doing a 3 week vegan thing and so tonight I had some cooked rice and some veggies laying around. Threw this together - and then added the curry as it needed some extra flavor. This isn't *really* a risotto, as I made it with cooked rice, but it kind of has the feel. And it could be made as a risotto. Anyway, turned out pretty good and Tif asked for the "recipe", so here it is.

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• 1/3 bunch of asparagus, cut into 3rds - about 2 inches long
  
• 8 mushrooms sliced into about 4 slices (fairly thick)
  
• 1 stalk of celery minced
  
• 2 green onions sliced thin
  
• 2 cups cooked rice
  
• 2 cups vegetable stock
  
• 1 tbs curry powder
  
• kosher salt and pepper to taste
  
• 2 tbs olive oil
  

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Saute the veggies in the olive oil for a few minutes along with salt and pepper. You want them to start to cook but not get to well done; just enough to let the flavors blend. Add enough stock to cover and let them cook a few minutes more. Add in the rice and some of the stock. At this point cook it like a risotto... Add some stock, let it cook off, then add some more. Do this until it gets "right". :) - You want it like a risotto. Not too soupy, but don't let all the stock reduce and the rice start to fry. I think I did this about 3 times. The 3rd time I added the curry powder, let it simmer for about 5 more minutes and then served it.

I know - like most of my recipes, pretty vague. Basically I sauteed some veggies, simmered some rice in it and threw in some curry powder. Had a nice flavor. The onion and celery were minced; with the asparagus and mushrooms being thicker because they were the "stars" of the dish. Also - given the amount of veggies and rice; this wasn't so much a rice with some veggies for accent; but really a dish with quite a bit of veggies and some rice. But simmering it like I did (probably about 15 to 20 minutes total), let it all blend together and still be very much a rice dish.

As always - if interested, give it a try and then adjust over time till it gets to be what you like! :)

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As an aside... The way I picture being a big chef and working for say foodtv or something... is that you get to come up with cool stuff like this; without really measuring or anything. You just make some really cool food and then your staff says "OK... we need to figure out the measurements, cooking times, etc. to get it to turn out like that." You just get to make cool stuff and someone else has to figure out how to put it into a cookbook. Would be sweet. LOL

Garlic/Green Onion Roasted Potatoes and Pork Chops

Recipe adapted from Ashleigh Bennett's FB post of "is making baked pork chops with green onions and garlic and roasted potatoes".

Home sick, not feeling well, nothing to eat. Read the above post and decided it sounded good. OMG it was very good. :)

I turned the oven on to 350, peeled and cut up (about 1 in thick) 2 potatoes, spritz them with olive oil and added sprinkled on some savory salt and pepper, through them in the oven and head to the store...

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• 2 Medium Potatoes, cubed about 1 inch thick
  
• Olive Oil
  
• Savory Salt
  
• Pepper
  
• Rosemary
  
• 2 Pork Chops - about medium thickness
  
• 2 Green Onions, sliced
  
• 2 Clovers Garlic, sliced
  
• 2 Tbs butter

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Start the potatoes:

• Set oven at 350
  
• Put tinfoil on a bake pan
  
• Spread potatoes evenly
  
• Spray with olive oil (if you have a mister, or baste, etc.)
  
• Sprinkle with Savory Salt, Rosemary and Pepper

Bake for 30 minutes and then start the pork chops:

• Turn potatoes (they make stick) and group together, misting with some more olive oil
  
• Add pork chops, sprinkle with savory salt and pepper.

Bake for 30 minutes then turn:

• Slice garlic and onions. Do the onions in 2 batches, lower parts and upper parts.
  
• Turn the potatoes again and spritz with olive oil
  
• Turn the pork chops
  
• Spread the garlic and the bottoms slices of green onion over the potatoes and chops

Bake for 30 minutes then turn again. At this point the chops had been cooking for an hour.

• Turn the potatoes again.
  
• Remove the garlic and onion from the chops (just push it onto the pan) and flip them.
  
• Put the onions and garlic back on the top of the chops.
  
• Cut a few tablespoons of butter into little chunks and sprinkle around on the potatoes.
  
• Sprinkle the potatoes with the rest of the onion

Cook for another 15 minutes or so.

At this point the chops were done, the potatoes were nicely golden with a crunchy outside but tender inside and the garlic and onions were cooked into everything. I plated them and then added a tablespoon or two of sour cream to the top of the potatoes.

The green onion / garlic added a great flavor to everything; and the rosemary on the potatoes along with the sour cream really finished it off nicely. Not sure if it was just because I was sick or what, but wow - the first bite was awesome. :)

Italian Rustic Chicken Dinner

I made the following in 25 minutes; from the first slice of the tomato until I plated it. Fast, easy and very good. This does not have too much in the way of subtle flavors - its just a great tomato, garlic, olive oil and basil flavored dish. This makes a large serving for one of a Sauteed Chicken Breast, Fresh Tomato Sauce, Sauteed Italian Vegetables and Pasta.

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• 1 Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast, pounded to about 1/4 an inch (buy at WholeFoods or make yourself)
  
• 4 Medium ripe Tomatoes, cut in half
  
• 1/2 a White Onion, julienned
  
• 1 small Italian Eggplant, sliced thin
  
• 1 small Zucchini, sliced thin
  
• 1/2 a Red Bell Pepper, julienned and cut in thirds
  
• 3 cloves of Garlic
  
• 5 Basil leaves, chopped
  
• Kosher Salt
  
• Black Pepper
  
• Fresh Pasta
  
• Parmesan Cheese - 1/4 cup or so

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There are four separate dishes that are all cooked at the same time.

• Preheat the oven to 325
  
• Melt 1 tbs of butter in a skillet and saute the Chicken Breast on both sides, just until it is golden brown.
  
• Cut the Tomatoes in half, top half and bottom half and place in a french chef pan or another skillet and start cooking on medium high heat.
  
• Prep the Vegetables
  
• By this time the Chicken should be done; move it to a pan and place in the oven to finish cooking
  
• Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet the chicken was cooked in and start sauteing the Onion.
  
• By now the Tomatoes should be starting to break down; mash a bit with a potato masher right in the pan, turn them down to medium and let them continue to cook.
  
• Add the Eggplant to the skillet with the Onion and let them saute
  
• Add a few pinches of salt to the Tomatoes and two or three tablespoons of olive oil.
  
• Stir the Vegetables and let them saute until the onions start to caramelize. You should flip the eggplant so it cooks on both sides.
  
• Smash the garlic to remove the skins and throw the broken garlic into the Tomatoes.
  
• Add the zucchini and red bell pepper to the Vegetable mixture and continue to saute. Sprinkle with a teaspoon or so of kosher salt and some fresh black pepper.
  
• Stir the Tomatoes and add more olive oil if needed - if too much liquid has cooked out.
  
• Start a pan of boiling water for the Pasta. The pasta I had only took 1 1/2 minutes to cook. So I added it near the end.
  
• Add the chopped basil to the Tomatoes.
  
• Basically you are now stirring both the Tomato Sauce and the Vegetables - breaking down the tomatoes and forming a nice sauce, and sauteing the vegetables until they are done.
  
• At the end (this was about 20 minutes from start); put a few spoonfuls of the tomato sauce into the Vegetables and stir them around a bit to get some tomato and garlic flavor on them.

At this point everything should be done and you just have to plate.

• Pour the pasta into a strainer
  
• Spoon a few tablespoons of sauce onto a plate
  
• Place the chicken on the sauce and add some pasta next to it.
  
• Spoon sauce on top of the pasta and chicken
  
• Add vegetables to the plate
  
• If there is any sauce left spoon some on top of the vegetables
  
• Sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese and serve!

Savory Butternut Squash Soup

I made this for a Thanksgiving Potluck at work last week. I've made it a few times; but this time it turned out really well. Turns out this is vegan, without really trying. I used olive oil instead of butter (because I frequently do) and I used vegetable stock rather than a chicken stock because I didn't want the squash to get overshadowed by a meat stock. Not that vegan matters to me; but if you have vegan friends over for dinner; just another good reason to make this soup!

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• 3 medium butternut squash
  
• 4 stalks of celery
  
• 4 shallots
  
• 1 carrot
  
• 1 gala apple
  
• 1 box of vegetable stock. I forget the size... its the box :) - maybe a quart or so? And I forget the brand - but the ingredients were vegetables, seasonings and water. That was it. No MSG, etc.
  
• olive oil
  
• kosher salt
  
• white pepper
  

Salt and pepper are to taste... I never measure (just sprinkle some around) - but I *probably* used about a tablespoon of salt and maybe a few teaspoons of pepper. Its good to use white pepper both because of the flavor; but also that way you don't have any black flecks of pepper in the soup.

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Make a Mirepoix by dicing the celery, shallots (or onion) and carrots very small and the sweating in a few table spoons of olive oil in a soup pot. Basically you are sauteing them until they become translucent, but not browned. Add in the apple (skin removed and diced small) and saute it as well. Stir occasionally and once it starts getting a little soft add in the salt and pepper.

Cut several slits in the squash - just stab them with a knife a 3 or 4 times, cut the steam off and microwave them for about 15 minutes. Cut them in half and the flesh should be fairly soft. If it isn't; microwave them some more. All 3 may not fit at once so you may have to do one or two at a time. Remove the seeds and discard, and then scoop out the flesh into a bowl and mash with a potato masher. This is just to break it up some. Mashing with a fork or whatever would work as well.

While the squash is microwaving the Mirepoix/apple should have cooked enough. You don't want it to brown or stick, so once it is translucent/soft; you'll add in some of the vegetable stock. Just enough so its not quite covered. You then use an immersion blender to blend up the mixture and let it continue to simmer, adding stock once in a while to keep it a liquid and not drying out, sticking, etc.

As the squash gets down, mash it up and then add it into the soup base, blending it up and adding vegetable stock as needed. Once all the squash is added you'll have blended it several times and you'll also have used up all of the stock and need to add some water to get the right consistency.

I made the soup the night before, let it cool and refrigerated it. The next morning I put it back on the stove; warmed it up (blending it one final time) and then put it in a crock pot on low for several hours before the potluck. You don't want it in the crock pot all day or over night; because it will dry out around the edges, which will turn brown, and that will darken the soup.

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A few final comments.

• As noted, you don't have to use shallots, you can use a large onion
  
• Better to under season in the beginning; taste after its cooked for a bit and season some more if needed. I probably cooked this 2 hours before putting in the fridge, then another hour in the morning. Plenty of time to adjust the seasoning.
  
• I made this the night before, but I've also made it the same day and served it. This is the best its ever turned out; but I think that is probably more the marepoix (I didn't use carrot in the past I don't think) then letting sit over night
  
• You don't *have* to use an immersion blender if you don't have one. Using a blender or a food processor would work as well. I just do it in multiple stages, so an immersion blender works better. But you could make the marepoix, food process it; then food processor the squash as it is done and add it as well. Which might make it all "smooth" enough w/o having to do it multiple times. I just like to play while I cook. :)
  
• The texture is a personal choice thing. The immersion blender doesn't make it a total liquid. There is a bit of texture left. I blend it numerous times to get it very soft; but I've also made it with a little more texture, etc. So blend it, or food processor it; until it gets to the consistency that you think is right.
  

While it does take some amount of time to make this soup, it really isn't technically hard; and it has a very good flavor. Well worth the effort; plus the color is very cool at the Halloweeen/Thanksgiving time of year.

Steak Diane - of a sorts

I was feeling like a steak dish - having just watched Alton Brown do an episode of Good Eats on sauces. I remembered a steak dish that Tina's brother Tony used to make. Basically sauteed steak with mushrooms and bell peppers. He called it Steak Diane. So I looked the dish up and found a version by Emril Lagasse. Totally different. This is a dish made with filet mignon medallions, quick seared on each side and then served with a sauce quickly made. This is many times cooked to order table side in good restaurants. Well I didn't want to use filet, I wanted to use the much cheaper (and tougher) eye of round steaks which were on sale. And to use that I figured I'd need to let it simmer for a bit to get it a bit more tender. Following is what I came up with - quite a bit different; but probably similar taste. I made extra sauce, so that I could let it simmer for a while and also because I served it with angel hair pasta and wanted some sauce to put on the pasta. As always - all amounts are approximations.

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• 6 eye of round steaks - 2.5 lbs in the family pack
  
• salt and fresh *coarse* ground pepper to taste
  
• 1/2 stick butter
  
• 1/2 a Leek - some from both ends
  
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
  
• about 8 mushrooms slice
  
• 1/4 C brandy
  
• 1/2 C heavy cream
  
• 3 tsp deli mustard (Batampte from the Broadway Deli here in the Springs rocks!)
  
• 3 or 4 "dashes" of Worcestershire sauce
  
• 1 C beef broth
  
• 1/4 stick butter
  

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We have a pepper grinder that is really coarse. This is great, if you like pepper, because the sauce ends up with chunks and almost has a peppercorn sauce type feel to it.

Melt the butter and saute the steaks until they are slightly browned. Move them to the edge and saute the leeks until wilted then add the garlic for a minute or two then the mushrooms until they are cooked.

Remove the meat and veggies and deglaze the pan with the brandy. (I tried to burn it off like Emril said; but I think the pan was hot enough and there was enough butter left that it didn't light. It was fine). Add in the cream, mustard and Worcestershire and whisk until smooth - let simmer for a minute or so. Add in the beef stock, whisk and reduce for maybe 10 minutes. This is similar to doing a Marsala sauce - just letting it thicken a bit.

Add the meat back in; cover with the veggies and let cook for 15 minutes or so. The idea here is to let the meat tenderize a bit and for the sauce to thicken even more.

Right before serving take the meat and veggies out; add the rest of the butter and whisk till melted. Serve the steaks with veggies on the top and side and then spoon some of the sauce on the top and across the pasta (if you serve it with pasta).

To me it didn't have a *strong* mustard or brandy taste; just a really nice rich cream sauce. All in all a pretty simple dish that was very tasty.

Clam Chowder

Snow storm yesterday; so good day for a cream soup and I decided on Clam Chowder.

I make all of my cream soups with the same base; a roux. While a roux is usually made with equal amounts of butter and flour; I usually use more flour as it makes it thicker. As the link above states; it is cooked till it no longer has a flour taste. Once I have the roux I can add broccoli, or potatoes and cheese, or corn and bacon for a corn chowder; or in this case potatoes, celery and clams for clam chowder.

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• 1 stick butter (1/4 cup)
  
• 1/3 cup flour
  
• 1 quart mile
  
• 1 small potato diced small
  
• 2 ribs celery diced small
  
• 2 cans minced clams
  
• savory salt and pepper to taste

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• Melt the butter and then add the flour, stiring into a paste and simmer until the flour taste is gone.
  
• Slowly add the milk. At first it will thicken quite a bit, and then as you add more milk and continue to stir it will get thinner. It will slowly thicken back up as it reduces.
  
• At the same time boil the potatoes and celery until the potatoes are cooked. Pour off the excess liquid; but you don't have to strain it as having a little extra liquid as fine.
  
• Once the roux is a little thicker than you want the soup, add the clams including the juice; and then add the potatoes and celery with a little of the liquid. This should get it to about the consistency you want for soup. It will thicken a little as it cooks.
  
• Let it simmer over low heat until it thickens and to allow time for the flavors to mix. This can cook in a slow cooker for a few hours; or on the stove over low for 15 to 30 minutes

You can pretty much adjust any part of this for own taste. And once you have this; you can use it for many other cream soups.

Crock Pot Pork Roast w/ Cabbage

This took me 5 minutes to make and turned out really well.

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• 1.5# Pork Loin - don't trim the fat
  
• Savory Salt
  
• Pepper
  
• 1/2 Head of cabbage cut into 4 wedges
  
• 1 Can Green Beans
  
• 1 Onion Chopped in about 1 inch pieces
  
• 1 Family Size can of Cream of Mushroom Soup

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• Put Pork Loin in bottom of the crock pot, fat side up, and season with savory salt and pepper.
  
• Add cabbage wedges around the pork
  
• Put onion and green beans on top
  
• Cover with soup straight from the can, i.e, don't add any water/milk. In our crock pot I am able to cover the ingredients and have the soup form sort of a seal. This traps in the heat and keeps everything moist.
  
• Cook "all day" - This is usually about 10 hours for us

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This turned out really well. The fat all "melted off" and because none of the veggies put off that much liquid, the soup/sauce was actually still pretty creamy. The pork was very tender.

Italian Stir Fry w/ Whole Wheat Cheese Tortellini

As usual - amounts are approximate as I just throw stuff together. This is one of Jaime's favorite things, except we usually put it on spaghetti; but based on something Tif said to me the other day I decided to go with a different pasta. I was looking for something whole wheat and saw fresh whole wheat three cheese tortellini and it worked out great.

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• 1/2 white onion, julienne
  
• 1/2 green bell pepper and 1/2 red bell pepper, julienne
  
• one stalk celery sliced thin
  
• Small "stalk" of broccoli, flowers chopped a few time snd stalk sliced thin
  
• 5 cloves of garlic sliced thin
  
• 1/2 cup snap peas diced
  
• 5 mushrooms sliced - each one about 4 slices
  
• 2 boneless/skinless chicken breast; sliced thin and about 1 inch long
  
• olive oil
  
• 1/2 tomato diced
  
• 1 small can tomato paste
  
• 2 tsp oregano
  
• 1 tbs basil
  
• 1 package tortellini

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• Boil water for the tortellini and add the pasta once the water is boiling, cooking according to directions while cooking the veggies - then drain until ready to add to sauce.
  
• Turn electric skillet onto 350, add a few tablespoons of oil and heat.
  
• Start preping veggies and add them as you prep them; stirring them in the oil as you add each one.
  
• Add herbs and garlic
  
• Add the chicken and stir-fry with the tomatoes until the chicken is browned and cooked through.
  
• Just before done add in the tomato paste and thoroughly mix until combined.
  
• When ready to server add in the pasta, combine and put into a large pasta dish for family style serving.