Saturday Dinner

Well we ended up eating left overs on Sunday because my Mom came down to celebrate Winters birthday early. I ended up cooking her a homemade pizza with hot wings. Nothing to fancy but easy to to prepare on a busy weekend schedule. No pictures but the food turned out pretty good. I ended up trying a new olive oil dough which Lisa loved and now just needs to tweak the pizza toppings to make it perfect. The wings turned out great even though they are nothing special. Winter was a great help and she actually made her own pizza and helped make the adults pizza. The kids ate the entire pizza which was a first for them. Us adults pigged out and hate all the wings and a few pieces of pizza. It was a nice change to have a big meal with my Mom on a Saturday. This left us with an easy meal to reheat on Sunday.

Burgers and more

We decided to use a few left overs from our Saturday game day/night party to make this weeks Sunday dinner. Not only was the food great but it was nice not having to spend a lot of time making it.

We have a bacon cheeseburger with sauteed mushrooms and a side of spicy corn casserole.

Soup & Steak

Today we went with something a little easier to make since we were going to be busy for most of the day. Lisa and I, love french onion soup, so why not try and make it from scratch. To add to the meal we grilled up a nice peice of flank steak. The left over steak will work great for quesadillas or even fajitas later this week. I (kids) woke me up this morning to eat breakfast so instead of laying around being a bum I went ahead and made the soup. That way all we had to do later was reheat the soup and grill the steak. The end result was a hearty meal that could be made any time of the year.

Main dish was the french onion soup with homemade croutons and melted mozzarella cheese. For the sides we had grilled mushrooms and flank steak. To wash everything down we had some nice 2-buck-chuck wine.

Appetizer Night

Tonight we decided to have a appetizer dinner. Some of our favorite things all on one plate. Most of the items are repeats but several food items are new. The jalapeño poppers were the one thing that I haven't made before at home. Everything turned out great.

On the tray you can see asparagus, the bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers, stuffed mushrooms and some plain mushrooms. Everything was grilled on the charcoal grill along with some chicken breasts that are not shown.

Here is a picture of the grilled food. Ended up using the chicken breasts to make a batch of chicken chili.

Finished plate with fried onion rings, french fries, jalapeño poppers, stuffed mushrooms and spicy buffalo boneless wings. Everything was made at home and either grilled or fried.

French Dip

Decided to put the grill to the test this weekend by smoking a nice piece of meat and having french dip sandwiches for Sunday dinner. I started on Friday by giving the piece of meat a over night marinade to help tenderize it. Then on Saturday I smoked it for 4 hours on the grill. This happened to be my first real BBQ meat and it turned out great. I was very happy with how easy it was to keep the temperature between 275 and 325. Once done I put it in the fridge to cool until we were ready to eat on Sunday. On Sunday I made a nice au jus and placed the sliced meat into the au jus to warm back up. I used nice deli rolls with provolone cheese and some grilled onions to finish off the sandwich.

Chile Relleno

One of Lisa's favorite Mexican dishes is a Chile Relleno. Although mine didn't turn out as tasty as Bobby Flay's, it was still a good first try.

First you need to roast and peel your peppers. Not sure but I think I let the peppers sit to long in the plastic bag to sweat after roasting them. They ended up being super soft and not willing to stay together. Next time I will let them sweat for 3-5 minutes not the 20 minutes like I did this time.

This picture shows the peppers stuffed with cheese. You can use any good melting cheese that you wish.
Went with the classic egg white batter and it turned out great. I used 3 egg whites, 1 egg yolk, 3 tablespoons of AP flour and a pinch of salt. If I made this batter again I would try some seasoning in the batter since it tasted bland.
Finished plate consisted of 1 Chile Relleno with red sauce, Mexican rice and some re-fried beans with jack cheese.
Red Sauce
1 can stewed Mexican tomatoes.
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Puree tomatoes, onion, garlic, chicken broth and herbs to the consistency that you want. Heat oil over medium heat and add puree mixture to the hot oil. Simmer on low until you are ready to serve.

Batter
3 egg whites
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Beat egg whites to a stiff peak then add remaining ingredients.

Mexican Rice
To busy and cheap to make my own. Purchase box of rice and follow directions.

Re-fried Beans
Look for a can near you. Add cheese if you like.

Winter and I

Winter and I this week so no new meals for me to cook. Winter ended up eating a peanut butter sandwich and a cupcake for dinner. I had left a few pieces of left over pizza from the wedding. Still good food just nothing new.

Grilled Pizza

This Sunday Lisa wanted me to mix two of our favorite foods together; naan bread and pizza. We also wanted to try grilled pizzas since we hadn't tried it yet. I soon learned that making grilled pizzas was harder then I thought. The naan bread cooks so fast that you had to move quickly to avoid burning the bottom side of the pizza. For the toppings we kept them pretty safe. Lisa went with chicken, onions and mushrooms. I had chicken and onions and the kids had cheese. I am fairly happy with how things turned with it being my first try at grilled pizza.

Ingredients for the pizza.: tomato sauce, naan bread, and grilled chicken and vegetables.
Weston snacking on the grilled chicken and mushrooms.
Not the best picture but here is what a piece of Lisa's pizza looked like.

Juicy Lucy

We decided to try and make some Juicy Lucy's on the grill tonight for the main dish. They came out pretty good for our first try. For the cheese we used pepper jack. Maybe not the ooziest cheese but we like the taste. Maybe next time we will go with American and just add some red pepper to the meat. We also grilled up some nice pork loins, chicken, corn, mushrooms, potatoes and some asparagus. We didn't eat it all but rather cooked it up ahead of time for dinners this week. Makes it a ton easier to prepare meals later in the week when the protein is already cooked.

Juicy Lucy patters
Tray of veggies to be grilled.
Tray full of grilled food.
Tonight's dinner on a plate. Juicy Lucy with potatoes and a ear of corn. Once again Weston did a wonderful job of trying new foods. He ate asparagus, corn and even had some of the Juicy Lucy. Winter did eat a bunch of corn and that is all she was willing to eat of the tray of food.

Sunday, Spetember 4, 2011

No Sunday dinner this week. We actually got to eat some great food at my step-cousin's wedding which was held at the Durham Museum in Omaha, Nebraska.

Going to India

Tonight we went across the world and tried our hand at making some good Indian food. The main dish tonight was Chicken Tikka Masala with rice. For a side dish we went with some nice grilled Naan. For desert I made a chocolate fudge cake with a chocolate ganache and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Weston ended up eating some of the chicken and taking one bite of the Naan. Winter refused the chicken but took a nibble of the Naan and then told us it tasted like "pizza". They both finished there own meals, so they got a treat of vanilla ice cream with sprinkles.

Everything turned out great but the Naan was the star tonight. I will say this was one of the most labor intensified meals I have made so far. Now on to the pictures and recipes.
Chicken Tikka Masala

Marinade
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cardamon
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp black pepper

Sauce
1 tbsp butter
1/2 onion - finely diced
1 clove garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
8oz. tomato puree
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt to taste

Directions

1. Prepare the marinade: In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt, ginger, cumin, cardamom, cayenne, and black pepper. Pour the marinade mixture over the chicken and rub it all over the meat. Cover with plastic and let sit in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.

2. When you’re ready to cook the chicken, position the top oven rack about 6 inches from the broiler (the second rung from the top in conventional ovens). Preheat the broiler.

3. Cover the inside of a baking dish with tin foil or parchment paper, making sure the liner goes up along the sides. Transfer the chicken to the backing dish, wiping off as much marinade as possible (or else the chicken ends up steaming instead of broiling). Broil for 15 to 20 (depending on how big your chicken thighs are), flipping your chicken over halfway through the cooking time. The chicken should be cooked through and have some black/brown spots on the outside. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cutting board to cool.

6. While the chicken is cooling, heat a Dutch oven or large sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add the butter and swirl to coat the bottom. Add the onions and cook gently cook until golden, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, ground cumin, and paprika and cook for another minute. Stir in the tomato puree, scraping the bottom of the pan or pot to release any brown bits. Allow the sauce to simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

4. While the sauce is simmering, and after the chicken has cooled enough to touch, cut each piece into large bite-sized pieces.

5. After the sauce has thickened, stir in the heavy cream and bring the sauce back to a simmer. Adjust the seasoning with salt, if needed. Add the chicken and stir to coat with the sauce. Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle chopped cilantro on top, and serve with basmati rice.

Naan

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup white sugar
3 tbsp milk
1 egg (beaten)
2 tsp salt
4.5 cups bread flour (used AP)
2 tsp garlic (used garlic salt)
oil or butter - grill

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. 2. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
3. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. 4. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
5. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
6. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.



Chocolate Fudge Cake with Chocolate Ganache

1 cup AP flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1.25 cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup warm water

Ganache

8oz. chocolate chips - we use semi sweet
1 cup heavy cream

Directions

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 350 F. Grease the bottom of an 8x2- or 9x2-inch round cake pan or line it with parchment.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Sift only if the cocoa remains lumpy after whisking. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and brown sugar with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Add the eggs and vanilla; stir until well blended. Add the flour mixture all at once and stir just until all the flour is moistened. Pour the hot water over the batter; stir just until it’s incorporated and the batter is smooth. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes for a 9-inch pan; 35 to 40 min. for an 8-inch pan. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 min. Run a thin knife around the edge and invert the cake (peel off the parchment if necessary). Invert it again onto the rack and let cool completely.

Once cool, set the rack over a baking sheet or foil. Pour the warm ganache over the cake and use an icing spatula to spread it over the top of the cake and down the sides. Let set for about an hour before serving.

August 21, 2011

Tonight we headed to the south for some home style fried chicken. Lisa has been wanting me to try making fried chicken for a while. So why not give it a shot and make some easy sides to go with it. First thing was to break down a whole chicken. Now I will say it was my first time doing this and I thought the end result was pretty good. Takes 5-10 minutes to do but for the price it is worth it. We paid just under $5 for a whole chicken which is for the chicken pictured is less then $1 a pound. Ended up getting 2 wings, 2 drums, 2 thighs and 2 very nice breasts. The skin can be left on or taken off and we choose to try it both ways for this meal. End result was that it really didn't seem to make that big of a difference in taste. The pot on the left is a brine which is made with 1/4 cup salt, 1/4 sugar and ice cold water. Once the chicken was cut up I placed the cleaned pieces into the brine and put it in the fridge overnight. Now it was time to prepare the chicken for a nice crispy crust. In one pan we have 3 large eggs beaten. In the other pan we have 2 cups AP flour, salt, pepper and some paprika. If you like a little heat then add some cayenne to the flour. Simply two coat crust which means flour, then egg then back into flour.
This is what it should look like. The key is to let the chicken sit like this for 15-30 minutes so when you cook the chicken all the coating doesn't fall off.
This is what 20 minutes in 325-375 degree oil gives you. A crispy juicy fried chicken dinner. Sides on this plate are homemade mash potatoes and a drop biscuit. We thought next time some fresh green beans would accompany it nicely.
Bonus item this week was I got to make real chicken stock using the chicken carcass. Pretty simply deal and it will get you around 1 gallon worth of good stock for future meals. One chicken carcass (bag), one onion, 4 stalks of celery, 2-4 carrots (handful of mini since I had them), tyme, bay leeves, pepper corns, garlic and 2 gallons of water. Put everything in a large 8+quart stock pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 6-8 hours. Place in fridge and skim of fat the next day. Either use the stock or freeze up to 3 months.

New Grill

New to me that is. It actual is a craigslist find that I picked up today. I paid $40 for this Weber grill and I am super excited to have it. I have wanted a charcoal grill for some time now but never wanted to fork over the big money for a Weber. Well today I got one and you can see by the picture that it is in great shape. I can't wait to use it and see what kind of flavors I can get out of a charcoal grill.

Recipes from Sunday

So I had a few requests for the recipes to be posted with the pictures. So listed below is the recipes for this past Sunday dinner.

Guacamole Dip
3 ripe avocados
1 small red onion (1/4 cup)
2 cloves garlic
cilantro to taste
1 jalapeno (or pepper of choice)
1 large tomato
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in bowl and place in refrigerator. Serve when ready to eat. You can mash the avocados or cut into chunks depending on how you like yours.

Mozzarella Sticks
12 prepackaged cheese sticks or cut fresh low moisture mozzarella into strips
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs (Lisa did not care for the panko, will grind into a finer crumb next time.)
4 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
4 eggs
1 cup AP flour
3 pie tins

1st tin - bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
2nd tin - eggs
3rd tin - flour

Roll cheese sticks into flour, then in egg, then in bread crumb mixture. Then once all 12 sticks are coated start back with the egg, then bread crumb to add a 2nd layer. This will ensure a good coating so that when you fry they will not leak. Once the coatings are done place on a pan in place in freeze for 2 hours. When ready to cook you can bake them or fry 3-5 minutes in 350 degree oil.

Pizza Sauce
28 oz crushed tomatoes (diced if you want a chunky sauce)
8 oz tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
black pepper to taste
*added a small amount of red pepper flake to give it some heat.

Mix all ingredients in a pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for 15-30 minutes.

For the pizza I purchased a pre-made dough and added pizza sauce, onions, fresh mozzarella and pepperoni. I have made my own pizza dough but to get the best results it needs a day or two in the refrigerator to set up. So with short notice we ended up just buying one already made. That's it for this weeks recipes. If you have any questions let me know.

Italian Night

For the past couple of Sundays I have been cooking new recipes for the family to try. I decided to start a blog to show what we tried and hopefully what everyone in the family will eat. As some of you know, Winter, is pickiest of the family. I was this same way when I was her age. I hope she will broaden her food palate and try some of the new things we cook. So here is just a few things that we made today.

Started off with some homemade sauce. This was going to be used for the pizza and dipping sauce for the mozzarella sticks. Made enough that we froze some for future dinners.
Mozzarella SticksPizza - Fresh Mozzarella, Pepperoni and Red Onions (cheese portion was for Winter)


OFF TOPIC

Lisa has been on a kick for good Guacamole dip. So I thought I would give it a try. It came out pretty good and we have enough for the whole week now.