He Said : She Said

An Old Favorite

2010-10-16T19:23:00.002-04:00

Tonight, we're having an old favorite of mine - Koru Ragu or Swedish Sausage Stew. It's from a book I got from my former mother-in-law many, many years ago called "Complete Meals in One Dish". This meal is so easy and delicious - perfect for a weeknight meal.

Koru Ragu

1 pound sausages (I've made this with sliced up smoked sausages and smoked kielbasa)
3 tablespoons butter
½ cup diced onions
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup beef broth
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups sliced carrots
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf

Brown the sausages in a heavy skillet. Drain and reserve sausages. Melt butter in the same skillet and saute onions for about 5 minutes, until soft. Blend in the flour and then add the beef broth. Bring to a boil. Return sausages to pan. Add carrots, potatoes, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes (add more beef broth, if necessary).

That's it. Easy as pie and quite delicious! Make it with your favorite kind of sausages and I'm sure it will be a hit. It's a great cold night meal. Yum!

Is this thing on?

2010-09-12T12:30:00.005-04:00

I'm wondering if this still works since I have abandoned it so completely over the last month or so. I would like to say that, even though I haven't been posting, we've still been cooking up a storm but, sadly, it is not true. We have ground to a halt. I'm not sure when I've eaten so much pizza or so many hot dogs.

We did manage two new recipes recently that I will label "from the ridiculous to the sublime".

First the ridiculous. This is from a small Taste of Home cookbook that I picked up as a joke. You see, it's the BACON recipe card edition. And while most of the recipes look like coronary artery disease on a plate, we did actually make one and it was really quite tasty! I give you the

BLT Salad

1 pound sliced bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
¼ cup butter, cubed
4 slices white bread, crusts removed and cut into 1-inch cubes
½ cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons minced fresh basil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon minced garlic
6 cups torn romaine
1½ cups grape tomatoes

1. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels; drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings. Set bacon and drippings aside.

2. In another large skillet, melt butter. Add bread cubes, cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Remove to paper towels; cool.

3. For dressing, in a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, basil, vinegar, pepper, garlic and reserved drippings. In a large bowl, combine the romaine, tomatoes and bacon. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Top with croutons.

We've made this twice and it's really delicious! The ingredients listed reflect the modifications that we made to the original recipe and we like it better this way. It's a nice summer dinner. And it's quick and easy, which is a definite plus these days!

And now the sublime. This is from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook. This is another really fast and delicious meal that's great for the summer, especially how we paired it.

Tagliarelle with Truffle Butter

Kosher salt
½ cup heavy cream
3 ounces white truffle butter
Freshly ground black pepper
1 (8.82-ounce) package Cipriani tagliarelle dried pasta or other egg fettuccine
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
3 ounces Parmesan, shaved thin with a vegetable peeler

Add 1 tablespoon salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a large (12-inch) sauté pan, heat the cream over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Add the truffle butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper; lower the heat to very low, and swirl the butter until it melts. Keep warm over very low heat.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, exactly. (If you're not using Cipriani pasta, follow the directions on the package.) When the pasta is cooked, reserve ½ cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta. Add the drained pasta to the sauté pan and toss it with the truffle-cream mixture. As the pasta absorbs the sauce, add as much of the reserved cooking water as necessary to keep the pasta very creamy.
Serve the pasta in shallow bowls and garnish each serving with a generous sprinkling of chives and shaved Parmesan.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve at once.

Ina's description of this dish starts with "OMG", which busts me up, but it's, in fact, the right reaction. This meal is unbelievable! And it's ridiculously easy to make. Perfect for those rushed nights when you're home late from work and you just can't face another pizza! We did not find Cipriani pasta but we did find premium tagliatelle egg pasta that is simply amazing. We also have difficulty finding the truffle butter on a regular basis. We've only actually found it once but we check in the store every single time we go because we will buy this tiny pot of butter for $12 every time we see it. Yes, we will.

As an alternative, we did try a 3-ounce container of garlic finishing butter and it wasn't the same by far (and not close to $12) but it was still quite tasty.

And now the surprise for me with this dish. We served it with a plain baby arugula mix from the grocery store and some freshly made Good Seasons Italian dressing. That's it. I cannot tell you how fantastic this pairing was! And served with a good Italian wine - it's other-worldly!

I'm going to count these two since they were new recipes for us and we actually did cook, so in the newly designed Our Own Julie/Julia Project, these are the latest two entries.

Days 155 and 164/365:Recipes 42 and 43/175

Our Own Julie/Julia Project - Redefined

2010-08-09T13:25:00.004-04:00

She Said:

Well, we worked on our own Julie/Julia Project for several months and what we discovered is that all of the food started tasting the same, as will sometimes happen even when you eat at the same restaurant repeatedly for a long time. We're not ones to continue something just for the sake of continuing it. If it's not working, we move on. And that's what we're doing now.

We completed 41 recipes (including the one below) from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman and we will still cook from that book but not exclusively. And we will count the other things we make as part of our Julie/Julia Project and just see how many new recipes we can do in this year.

This recipe we made as accompaniment to a grilling dinner. We had some great grilled salmon and these potatoes, which were fabulous!

Spicy Skillet Potatoes

1½ pounds potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces (we used Yukon gold)
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, diced (from our garden)
1 red or green bell pepper, diced (from our garden)
1 jalapeño or other chile, seeded and diced

1. Put the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water begins to boil, drain the potatoes.

2. Preheat the oven to 300℉.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the potatoes to fit in a single layer in the skillet. Season with ½ teaspoon of the cumin, ½ teaspoon of the paprika, a generous pinch or two of salt, and several grinds of pepper. Cook until the bottom sides of the potatoes are brown, 3 to 5 minutes, the turn the potatoes and brown on another side, without stirring, 3 to 5 minutes. Repeat until all sides are browned. New potatoes will brown more quickly than mature potatoes. Remove the potatoes from the skillet with a slotted spoon and spread out in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Keep warm in the oven.

4. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet and cook the second half of the potatoes as you did the first half. Remove from the skillet and add to the potatoes in the oven.

5. Add the onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño to the skillet and sauté until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and mix gently. Season with more salt and pepper, if desired, and serve immediately.

The jalapeño really added a kick to this dish but it was so tasty! And I even overcooked both the potatoes and the onion/pepper mixture! This is a good side dish to have in your back pocket for those times when you are tired of mashed potatoes or rice.

Day 115/365:Recipe 41/175

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

2010-08-05T18:02:00.009-04:00

He Said:

Well, we did it. Yesterday, She and I launched into Julia Child's (in)famous recipe for boeuf bourguignon. It was a little intimidating at first but together we overcame our unreasonable fears and forged ahead. First order of business, I contacted our butcher to find out if they had any chunk bacon with the rind on it as this has been impossible to find. They did! So off I went to the butcher to get some yummy bacon. We had a bunch of stuff to do and didn't get around to cooking until about 3:00 which made me a little nervous just because this meal takes so long to make. It turned out that our timing was perfect. Our techniques were also perfect. Our ingredients were perfect. We paid close attention to everything, including the extra recipes needed for the small onions (harvested from our backyard, thankyouverymuch) and the mushrooms (harvested.....well, somewhere else, thank god). Thus the onions and the mushrooms turned out perfect. We boiled and braised and baked and sauteed for about four hours. Then, we tasted.

Perfect.

I mean, really perfect. This meal is succulent. It is a warming, simple, comforting meal that just snuggles up to you and sings softly in your ear. Ok, maybe that's a bit much, but dayumm! This meal is SO delicious! And since She and I worked on it together it was really fun to make. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I would put the recipe here but it is really long and besides, it can be found all over the interwebs.

I have always heard people having a rough time with this recipe and I think I now know why. There is a fair amount of wait time with this recipe and I think people are using that as nap time. That is a big mistake! Do NOT go to sleep! Even while you are waiting you can work on the onions or the mushrooms or some side dish or set the table or a million other things. Just don't nap. You will regret it!

Oh, we also served this with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, some buttered peas and a great French Bordeaux. Fantastic! Deeelish! Scrumpdillicious! What's that other word I'm looking for? Oh, I know....

Perfect.

Days Eighty-Nine and Ninety-Eight

2010-07-12T09:52:00.004-04:00

She Said:

Well, we have definitely slowed the pace on our own Julie/Julia Project. Maybe we need to rewatch the movie to get reinspired. We have just been so ridiculously busy that we haven't been wanting to cook much. We've been filling in with other things, things we already know how to make and the like. But we do have two recipes to share from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman and they both count. So here we go.

This recipe (for Day 89) couldn't decide what it wanted to be when it grew up so it actually tasted like two meals in one. We won't be making this again.

Thai-Style Asparagus and Crab Salad

Salad
1½ pounds asparagus (about 30 medium-thick spears), trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 1½-inch lengths
1 package (3.75 ounces) bean threads or cellophane noodles
1 pound crabmeat, picked over
1 carrot, grated
2 scallions, white and tender green parts, trimmed and chopped
4 cups arugula leaves or watercress
4 cups mesclun or baby lettuce
½ cup cilantro leaves
½ cup mint leaves
⅓ cup chopped peanuts, toasted

Dressing
¾ cup fresh lime juice (approximately 6 limes)
½ cup fish sauce
⅓ cup sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 jalapeño chilies, minced
1 tablespoons minced peeled ginger
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Steam the asparagus over boiling water until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain; plunge into cold water to stop the cooking; drain.

2. Soak the noodles in hot tap water to cover for about 5 minutes. Drain.

3. To make the dressing, combine the lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar in a medium bowl, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Mix in the garlic, chile, ginger, and pepper to taste.

4. Pour about ½ cup of the dressing over the noodles. Toss to mix and set aside.

5. In a large bowl, combine the crab, carrot, and scallions. Add about ½ cup of the dressing. Toss to mix. Set aside to allow the flavors to blend, at least 15 minutes, or longer in the refrigerator.

6. Just before serving, toss the arugula, mesclun, cilantro, and mint in a large bowl. Add a few tablespoons of the remaining dressing and toss to mix. Add more dressing if desired.

7. To serve, line a platter or individual plates with the greens mix. Top with the noodles, then the crab mixture, and finally the asparagus. Sprinkle on the peanuts and serve, passing the remaining dressing at the table.

This could have been a good noodle salad or a good greens salad, but not both. The crab got completely lost in the noise of the dish. The dressing was tasty, though.

This was a better recipe (for Day 98). It was really a snack and we made a meal of this plus some grilled shrimp cocktail. That was a nice summer meal.

Breaded Asparagus Sticks

2 eggs
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup freshly ground Parmesan
¾ cup panko or other dried bread crumbs
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1-1½ pounds asparagus (20-30 medium-thick spears), bottoms trimmed

1. Preheat the oven to 400℉. Lightly grease a baking sheet with olive oil.

2. In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs with the mustard. Season with a generous pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. In a second bowl, combine the Parmesan and panko and mix well. Dip each asparagus spear first in the eggs to coat, then in the crumb mixture. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Continue until all the asparagus is coated.

3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden on the bottom. Turn the asparagus over and bake for another 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.

4. Arrange on a platter with the lemon wedges. Serve hot or at room temperature.

We liked this but I doubt that we'll make it again. It's hard to come up with a time to make appetizers for ourselves and I didn't like them enough for company.

Days 89 and 98/365:Recipes 39 and 40/175

Day Eighty-Three

2010-06-25T09:38:00.005-04:00

She Said:

This was a wonderful addition to our own Julie/Julia project. Absolutely delicious - but one word of caution - make sure those threads are removed from your snow peas, no matter how fine they seem!

This is from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Stir-Fried Shrimp and Snow Peas in Black Bean Sauce

Shrimp and Marinade
1½ pounds medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry (we used sherry)
2 thin slices fresh ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt

Sauce
½ cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon sugar

Stir-Fry
4½ tablespoons peanut or canola oil
1 pound snow peas, tails and strings removed
2 teaspoons Chinese fermented black beans, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 scallion, minced
Hot cooked rice

1. Rinse the shrimp and pat dry. Place in a medium bowl. To prepare the marinade, add the wine, ginger, sesame oil, and salt to the bowl. Toss several times. Set aside for 20 minutes to marinate.

2. To prepare the sauce, combine the broth, soy sauce, wine, cornstarch, and sugar. Mix well. Set aside.

3. When you are ready to cook, heat a large wok over high heat. Add 1½ tablespoons of the oil and heat for a few minutes. Add half the shrimp to the wok and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until the shrimp change color. Remove from the wok and set aside in a bowl to keep warm. Add another 1½ tablespoons oil, heat, and repeat. Add the shrimp to the bowl with the other shrimp and wipe out the wok.

4. Add the remaining 1½ tablespoons oil to the wok and heat until very hot. Add the snow peas and stir-fry until almost tender, about 1 minute. Make a well in the center of the peas and add the black beans, garlic, ginger, and scallion. Stir-fry until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Stir into the peas. Add the shrimp and stir-fry for 1 minute until heated through. Add the sauce and stir-fry until the sauce thickens and clears, about 2 minutes longer.

5. Serve hot over rice.

This was really, really good, but somewhat tainted by my snow-pea-thread ordeal (read about it here). I would love to try it again. And, given the fact that we couldn't find the fermented black beans in the store and I ordered a life-time supply from Amazon, we should make it again. But I will be sure to clean my snow peas better! (Let me know if you need any fermented black beans - I'd be happy to share!)

Day 83/365:Recipe 38/175

Casserole Time

2010-06-20T09:13:00.005-04:00

She Said:

I was looking for something to take to work for lunches last weekend. Casseroles are always wonderful and easy to prep for the week - make them on the weekend and dole them out to individual containers to stick in the fridge. Then each morning, grab 'n' go.

The problem is that we always default to tomato-based casseroles when we think of them, and I can't really eat tomatoes, so I was on the hunt for something that had nothing tomatoey about it and stumbled upon something on Allrecipes.com. It has seen us through this week and there are STILL more leftovers that now need to be frozen or tossed.

The best part of this casserole was the portion size. There is no nutritional information on it and I'm sure it's pretty hefty in the fat and calories, but I stuck to doling out the portions as the recipe stated. It was not a lot of food and I actually lost a few pounds this week. I was hungry, too, but the end result is better. A happy little side-effect!

You can't beat how easy this was to make and we'll be claiming this as one of our own and modifying it to our liking in the years ahead.

Mom's Ground Beef Casserole

2 pounds ground beef (I used one pound 80/20 and one pound 90/10)
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
9 cups cooked wide-egg noodles (I had to do some calculating at the store - the end result is that this is one regular large bag of noodles)
1 pound processed American cheese, cubed (well, we used about 4 ounces of Velveeta, a couple of slices of Muenster cheese, and a couple of slices of Swiss - it's what we had in the house)
1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken and rice soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
½ cup milk (we used skim)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

(They never remind you to cook the noodles or pasta, so I'm adding it here.) Cook noodles according to package directions. Set aside but do not drain until you're ready to use them. (They'll become one big noodle clump if you drain them ahead of time.)

In a Dutch oven, cook beef, green pepper, and onion until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are tender; drain. Remove from heat, stir in remaining ingredients. Transfer to two greased 2-½ qt. baking dishes. (We used one 3-qt. and one 2-qt. and did not grease them.) Cover and bake at 350℉ for 45-50 minutes or until bubbly. (It took 45 minutes for us.)

Simple, simple, simple and really delicious. It gets better the longer it sits in the fridge. In my mind, this casserole could benefit nicely by adding some sauteéd mushrooms, some garlic, maybe some peas or some chopped up asparagus, and maybe throw some Parmesan cheese in there somewhere, too. I think it can stand up to mostly any additions. It's a casserole, after all, and isn't that where you should be using up all of your leftovers?

Day Eighty

2010-06-19T08:17:00.004-04:00

She Said:

Again, we are forcing ourselves to cook. Energy levels are at an all-time low. But we press on. Mostly 'cause I went shopping and we have fresh veggies we need to use up. Certainly not because we feel like cooking!

This one counts toward our own Julie/Julia Project and it's from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Pasta With Green Clam Sauce

1½-2 pounds fresh spinach, tough stems removed (we used baby spinach)
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 bottle (8 ounces) clam juice
1 cup chicken broth (or substitute another 8-ounce bottle of clam juice)
2 cans (6 ounces each) chopped clams in clam juice
½ cup dried bread crumbs
1 pound vermicelli
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 30 seconds. Remove from the water with tongs or a slotted spoon and let drain in a colander. Let the water return to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Add the clam juice and broth. Strain the clam juice from the cans of clams into the saucepan. Add the bread crumbs and let simmer. (At this point, we said "What?? Add the bread crumbs to that much liquid?" But we did. We think it's just for thickening but I've never used bread crumbs to thicken a sauce before.)

3. Squeeze the excess water from the spinach. Transfer to a cutting board and coarsely chop.

4. When the water returns to a boil, cook the pasta until just al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta-cooking water.

5. Return the pasta to the pot. Add the clams, spinach, and simmering sauce. Toss to mix. Add enough of the reserved pasta cooking water to make the pasta very moist. Season lightly with salt and very generously with black pepper. Serve at once.

We didn't need the reserved pasta water for the initial meal but I saved it and when we were packing up the leftovers, I threw it in then. After having the leftovers last night, I should have only thrown in about half of it. I think there was a lot of clam juice in the canned clams we used.

This meal was really good. I thought the first bite was odd but I think I was expecting linguine with white clam sauce and this definitely has spinach in it. After my first bite, I ended up shoveling this into my mouth. We all loved it. Oh, and we topped it with some fresh grated Parmesan, 'cause you hafta, right?

Easy, easy meal - quick and delicious. I recommend it!

Day 80/365:Recipe 37/175

Day Seventy-One

2010-06-10T07:41:00.004-04:00

She Said:

Another tired day but we need to stop eating the fast food and get back to some healthy eating. So, we cooked last night. It was another dish that counts toward our own Julie/Julia Project and it was from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

This meal was dynamite! A one-dish affair that made me ask He to go make it again as soon as I was done eating it the first time. Absolutely delicious!

Chinese Beef and Broccoli

1 pound beef, preferably flank steak or top sirloin roast, cut into matchsticks (we used buffalo flank steak from the farmer's market and the strips were a bit larger than matchsticks - see prior mention of being tired)
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry, divided (we used sherry)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large heads broccoli (2 pounds), stems sliced and florets roughly chopped (12 cups)
⅓ cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
Hot cooked white rice

1. Combine the beef, oyster sauce, 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of the wine, sugar, sesame oil, and pepper in a medium bowl and set aside to marinate.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli and blanch for 3 minutes, until the broccoli is barely tender and bright green. Drain, plunge into cold water to stop the cooking, and set aside to drain. (This last step seems to be important because we skipped it and we got broccoli mush.)

3. To make the sauce, combine the broth, remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, remaining 1 tablespoon wine, and cornstarch. Whisk until thoroughly combined.

4. Heat a large wok or skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat until very hot. Add half the beef and marinade and stir-fry, stirring constantly, until well browned, about 4 minutes. Use a heatproof rubber spatula to scrape the beef into a medium bowl and keep warm. Return the wok to high heat. Repeat with another 1 tablespoon of the oil and the remaining beef and marinade. Transfer the beef and marinade to the bowl and wipe out the wok. (We found this to be impossible because the marinade contains sugar and the wok could not simply be wiped out. For one thing, it was REALLY hot. For another, the sugar had begun to burn, so we let it cool down for a little while and then washed and dried it.)

5. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over high heat until very hot. Add the broccoli and stir-fry, stirring constantly, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Push the broccoli to the sides of the pan and add the ginger and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Toss with the broccoli.

6. Return the beef to the wok. Whisk the sauce and pour into the wok. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and evenly coats the beef and broccoli, about 1 minute.

7. Serve immediately with the hot rice.

Seriously delicious meal!

Day 71/375:Recipe 36/175

Day Sixty-Six

2010-06-08T19:12:00.005-04:00

She Said:

Boy, I'm tired. Too tired to cook right now, that's for sure. So I'll tell you about the one dish that we made last week that I neglected to post about. This counts toward our own Julie/Julia Project and it's from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.
This dish used up the rest of the peas from our garden and so the rest of the pea dishes in this section will have to be made with frozen or possibly farmer's market peas. It was really good and I'm happy to have made it. But, the recipe was oddly written, so I'm going to interpret for you.

Shells with Peas and Prosciutto

8 oz. small-cut pasta (like medium shells, elbows, etc. - we used Orecchiette which was absolutely perfect)
2 cups peas (about 2 pounds in pods)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces prosciutto, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus extra for serving
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions, until just al dente. Bring a second medium pot of salted water to boil and add the peas. Boil just until tender, 3 to 5 minutes, depending on their age. Drain well.

2. In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the prosciutto and onion and sauté until the onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to very low and stir in the peas.

3. Reserve a cup of the pasta liquid and drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the pea mixture and toss to coat. Add the cheese and toss well. Add the reserved pasta water as needed to moisten the pasta (we ended up using all of it). Season generously with salt and pepper.

4. Serve at once, passing additional cheese on the side.

This was quite tasty, as I said, and I think we will make it again. It can really be a standalone meal but we paired it with some sauteéd scallops and chorizo, which ended up being a bad combination. I ate both of my meal components separately. They were both delicious but they were not a good couple!

Day 66/375:Recipe 35/175

Catching Up!

2010-06-01T22:07:00.003-04:00

She Said:

I have some serious catching up to do. I have three recipes that we made that count toward our own Julie/Julia Project. They are all from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Day 61 - Arroz Con Pollo with Peas

2 cups long-grain white rice
2½ cups chicken broth
½ cup dry sherry
¼ teaspoon crushed saffron threads
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups fresh peas (about 2 pounds in the shell)
1 roasted red pepper, diced
20 pimiento stuffed green olives, sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the rice in a sieve and set in a bowl. Run cold tap water over the rice until the rinse water runs clear. Drain well. Set aside. (This step is optional. It does wash away vitamins that have been sprayed onto the rice, but it greatly improves the texture of the final dish.)

2. Combine the broth, sherry, and saffron in a small saucepan and warm gently over low heat.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sauté for 2 minutes, until the chicken is partially cooked. Add the onion and garlic and continue to sauté until the chicken is white and firm, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the rice and sauté until the rice appears toasted, about 3 minutes.

4. Stir the chicken broth mixture into the rice. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle boil. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the peas to the skillet (do not stir) and continue to cook until the liquid is absorbed and the peas are tender, about 10 minutes. (if your peas are "mature", they may take a few minutes longer.)

5. Fluff the rice with a fork. Stir in the red pepper, olives, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Serve at once.

This was just OK. I even thought it might get better having sat overnight in the fridge and reheated. But it wasn't. It was just OK.

Day 62 - German Potato Salad

2 pounds waxy potatoes, scrubbed, halved, and sliced ¼ inch thick
4 ounces bacon, diced
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons white wine or red wine vinegar (we only used 3½ tablespoons of white wine vinegar)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 celery stalks, diced
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine the potatoes with 6 cups salted water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup of the cooking liquid and drain. Transfer the potatoes to a large mixing bowl and keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and transfer to the bowl with the potatoes. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease.

3. Add the shallot to the skillet and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the reserved cooking liquid, oil, vinegar, and sugar. Bring to a boil. Pour the mixture over the potatoes and toss to coat. Add the celery, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Serve immediately.

This was not what we were expecting from potato salad but it was quite good. The real test was taking it to work the next day when it was cold. It held up even then. Good recipe!

Day 63 - Carrot Muffins

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1½ cups firmly packed grated carrots
¼ cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup sour cream or yogurt (we used sour cream)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping
½ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease 16 regular-size muffin cups.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.

3. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the carrots, maple syrup, sour cream, and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture until smooth.

4. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. The batter will be stiff; an ice-cream scoop does a great job of distributing int.

5. Bake the muffins for 25 to 30 minutes, until they have risen and a knife inserted in the center of one comes out clean.

6. Let the muffins cool in the pan on a wire rack for a few minutes.

7. To make the topping, mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. When the muffins are just cool enough to handle, one at a time dip the tops into the melted butter, then into the sugar and cinnamon mixture, covering the tops completely. Let cool before serving.

I was worried about the cinnamon and sugar topping for these. I thought that they would need a cream cheese frosting or something like that. Admittedly, they were a little dry but really tasty and just right to have with your morning coffee or tea. I really enjoyed these!

Days 61, 62 & 63/365:Recipes 32, 33 & 34/175

Fun with Cast Iron

2010-05-31T08:29:00.005-04:00

He Said:

I have been psyched to make this recipe for quite some time now. First of all, it's a Pineapple-Coconut Upside-Down Cake? How can that not sound good? Secondly, it is all made in a cast iron skillet. Fun, right? Right. So off I went to make this sucker. Here's how it looked when I started. Not too exciting (although...is that a bottle of coconut rum that I see off to the right?).

And here's how it looked after. Man, this is some GOOD cake! Give it a try. Go on, you know you want to. The recipe is below.

This recipe can be found in the wonderful book "Cast Iron Cooking" by Dwayne Ridgaway.

Pineapple-Coconut Skillet Upside-Down Cake

For Topping:
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 Cup packed light brown sugar
1 15 oz can sliced pineapple

For Batter:
1/2 Cup unsalted butter, softened
1 Cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon coconut-flavored rum (ah, there it is!)
1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1/4 Cup toasted coconut flakes mixed with 1/4 Cup untoasted coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

[For topping]
Melt the butter in a well seasoned cast iron skillet (I used a 10 1/2" skillet) over medium high heat. Add the brown sugar and melt, stirring constantly, until bubbling, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat, add pineapple rings in one even layer and set aside.

[For batter]
Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and coconut rum. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cardamom, baking powder and salt. Add half of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Add the pineapple juice and beat on low to incorporate. Add remaining flour mixture, beating on low until just incorporated. Spoon the batter over the pineapple, smoothing the top evenly. Bake on the center rack of the oven until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes.

[The tricky part]
To remove from the skillet, run a sharp knife around the edge to release the sides. Invert a plate over the skillet and invert the cake onto the plate, keeping pan and plate firmly pressed together, The cake should drop from the skillet onto the plate. Drizzle the cake with some additional coconut rum, top with coconut flakes and serve.

Day Fifty-Nine

2010-05-28T19:42:00.005-04:00

She Said:

Another successful entry to our own Julie/Julia Project. This is from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Corn Risotto

1 cup water
Kernels from 3 ears corn
3½ cups vegetable or chicken broth
½ cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups Arborio rice
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 shallots, minced
¼ pound smoked turkey breast, diced (we went without this)
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the kernels from two ears of the corn, cover, and cook until quite tender, 2 to 3 minutes. (We went about 5 or 6 minutes.) Let cool slightly. Pour into a blender and purée.

2. Return the corn purée to the saucepan and add the chicken broth, wine, sugar, and turmeric. Heat to boiling, then reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the rice, bell pepper, and shallots and sauté until the rice looks dry, 4 to 5 minutes.

4. Add 1 cup of the corn-broth mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding more of the mixture, 1 cup at a time, cooking and stirring after each addition. The liquid should be mostly absorbed before you add the next cup. (We ended up adding some more chicken broth and cooking longer to soften the rice.)

5. When all the broth has been added, remove from the heat. Stir in the turkey, the remaining corn, and the basil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let heat through for about 1 minute. Serve immediately.

I'm learning all about spices! I had no idea that turmeric was so much the flavor of your standard curry powder. This tasted very much like a curry dish to me and it was really good!

Tedious to make, but it was really good.

Day 59/365:Recipe 31/175

Day Fifty-Seven

2010-05-26T06:43:00.004-04:00

She Said:

I have been waiting for this day since March 31st. That was the day we started our own Julie/Julia project and also 10 days after we had planted a boatload of sweet pea plants.

When I was going through Serving Up the Harvest (by Andrea Chesman) and saw this recipe, I knew that spring couldn't get here soon enough. Well, it finally arrived.

Last night after work, we trudged down to the garden and picked a bowlful of pea pods. Then spent the next 10 minutes or so shelling the peas. When all was said and done, we didn't have quite enough for the recipe so we filled in with some frozen peas but the experience was great. And there are so many more pods on the vines that I know we will have plenty for our other "pea" recipes.

Risi e Bisi

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, diced
¾ cup uncooked medium-grain or arborio rice (I used long-grain rice but should have used arborio)
Salt (optional)
2 cups fresh shelled peas (we had 1¼ cups and used ¾ cup frozen)
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the broth to simmering in a saucepan on top of the stove or in a heatproof container in the microwave.

2. In a large saucepan, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the hot broth and rice, stir well, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until the rice is just tender, 15 minutes. (We actually let this go for about 20 minutes.)

3. Taste and add salt if desired. (We didn't.) Stir in the peas and cook gently until the peas are done enough to suit you, about 5 minutes for fresh peas (less for frozen peas). Stir in the Parmesan and season with pepper. Serve at once.

This was so good! But, really, we should have used arborio rice - and will next time. This was our main dish (we had some cheese and wine prior to dinner) but it would make an excellent side dish for some nice grilled salmon or other fish. The flavor was just delicious. We will make this again!

Day 57/365:Recipe 30/175

Day Fifty-One

2010-05-20T08:53:00.003-04:00

She Said:

I'm going to file this one under "Think of a Better Name for This Recipe!" It's a bad name, but a delicious dish. This counts toward our own Julie/Julia Project and it's from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Spinach Cheese Custard

1½-2 pounds fresh spinach, tough stems removed (we got ours from the farmer's market)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 eggs
1½ cups milk
1 cup grated Gruyère
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 30 seconds. Drain well. Press out the excess moisture. Transfer to a cutting board and finely chop.

2. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until fragrant and softened, about 2 minutes. (I actually let this go longer until they were sweet and carmelized.)

3. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Lightly grease a 7- by 11-inch baking dish with oil.

4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until smooth. Add the spinach, onions, milk, and Gruyère. Season with the salt and pepper to taste. Pour into the baking dish. Top with the Parmesan.

5. Bake until the custard is set and a knife inserted comes out clean, about 30 minutes. (Ours took closer to an hour.)

6. Let sit for at least 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

We had this as our entire dinner. It wasn't a lot of food but it was really, really good.

Day 51/365:Recipe 29/175

Day Fifty

2010-05-19T14:14:00.006-04:00

She Said:

We have sort of been out of synch with our own Julie/Julia Project. Things have gotten in the way of our cooking but we did do a tiny bit last night. After all, we had gone to the farmer's market on Saturday and had fresh things we needed to use. So we did.

We had a couple of buffalo hot dogs, just cut up on the plate. We got them from the farmer's market, of course. They did not taste like hot dogs. They tasted more like summer sausage, and that's not bad. I made up a side dish of Rice-a-Roni Rice Pilaf, which is always good. And then came the scary part.

This is from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Warm Mushroom Salad

8 cups arugula leaves (we got this from the farmer's market)
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound mixed mushrooms, quartered or cut into wedges (we had a half pound each of crimini and dried morel mushrooms from the farmer's market - we reconstituted the morels before cooking, naturally!)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried (it was raining and I was tired so I didn't go out to pick fresh thyme - I used dried)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Freshly shaved Parmesan

1. Put the arugula in a large salad bowl. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the lemon juice. Toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide among four salad plates or arrange on a large platter.

2. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and let cook undisturbed until golden on the bottoms, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme, stir, and continue to cook until the mushrooms are tender throughout, about 4 minutes longer.

3. Stir in the vinegar and let cook until the vinegar is mostly absorbed. Season to taste with more salt and pepper.

4. Spoon the mushroom mixture over the arugula. Top with a few curls of shaved Parmesan. Serve at once.

I knew that this was going to be awful for me. I am iffy on mushrooms and they really can't be the star of the show for me to eat them. But I gave it the old college try. And you know what? It was pretty damn good. This was my first taste of morel mushrooms and, oh yes, I will be back! They are fantastic!

(But I learned that you mustn't eat them raw - be sure to cook your morels!)

I doubt that I would ever suggest that we make this again but He might want it again some day and I will be happy to partake.

Oh, and this was also our first taste of arugula. (I know, where have we been living? Under a rock??) Wow - what a flavor! I wouldn't have thought you could get that much distance between a plain lettuce like iceberg and a powerful green like arugula, but there you have it. Distance with a capital D! It was quite tasty.

Day 50/365:Recipe 28/175

Days Forty-Three and Forty-Six, Or, I Will Never Eat Canned Spinach Again!

2010-05-15T12:25:00.004-04:00

She Said:

It's been a busy week but we managed to get some cooking in and we did make two more recipes that count toward our own Julie/Julia Project.

On Tuesday night, we realized that we hadn't marinated the swordfish like we meant to, so we went with Plan B. Sort of. Plan B involved grilling outside but there ended up being a hella storm at dinner time so we kept it inside. Plus, we were supposed to grill asparagus and only at dinner time remembered that they were out of asparagus at the store so we didn't have any. Once we got it all together, we had a delicious and healthy meal.

We marinated a pork tenderloin (from the farmer's market) in a teriyaki marinade and ended up roasting it. It was delicious! I made some organic Yukon gold mashed potatoes, nothing special but we are loving the Yukon gold for the mashed potatoes! That was my choice because I love mashed potatoes with pork tenderloin, regardless of the marinade or rub.

Then instead of that grilled asparagus we were supposed to have, we peeked in the fridge and saw a bag of spinach from the farmer's market and decided on this recipe from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Creamed Spinach

2 tablespoons butter
1 large shallot, minced
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1½ pounds spinach, tough stems removed

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté until soft, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the flour until you have a paste. Increase the heat, pour in the milk, and whisk to combine. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to low.

3. Add the spinach to the boiling water and cook long enough to wilt, about 30 seconds. Drain well. Place the spinach on a cutting board and roughly chop.

4. Add the spinach to the cream sauce and stir to thoroughly combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot.

I loved, loved, loved this recipe. I am a huge creamed spinach fan anyway but this tasted NOTHING like the creamed spinach I've had in my life. I'm convinced that none of the places I've ever had it made it with fresh spinach. It was like a whole different dish. Wonderful! So wonderful, in fact, that we made it again the next night, but we added some chopped garlic to the cream sauce, making it even better!

Last night, we were using up some of those things we've had around that are not recipe ingredients. We had two frozen salmon pieces in lemon butter so we cooked them up. Then He made roasted baby potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic powder and fresh rosemary. Fabulous!!

But, once again, the side dish stole the show. I was afraid of this one for some reason but, oh ho, this will become a staple in our house. It was stellar! This is also from Serving Up the Harvest.

Wilted Spinach Salad with Chickpeas

1½-2 pounds spinach, tough stems removed
1½ cups cooked chickpeas or 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 small red onion, halved and sliced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, 30 to 60 seconds. Drain well. Press out the excess moisture. Transfer to a cutting board and chop.

2. Combine the spinach, chickpeas, and onion in a large bowl. Toss to mix.

3. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Pour over the spinach mixture and toss to mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve at once.

I can't begin to describe how well the flavors of the red wine vinegar, red onion, chickpeas and spinach went together. This could be the best salad I have ever had. (So far.) It was truly fabulous and I can't wait to make it again!

Days 43 and 46/365:Recipes 26 and 27/175

Day Forty-Two

2010-05-11T07:25:00.003-04:00

She Said:

And we're back! It's been a while since we did any cooking that counts toward our own Julie/Julia Project, but we did a little last night. We were supposed to have this dinner on Sunday for Mother's Day but we ran around alllllll day long and we were exhausted by the time we got home so we had wine for dinner on Sunday instead! :)

We had a little more energy last night and He pan-grilled some organic grass-fed filet mignon steaks, we baked up some pre-made crab cakes from Wegmans, and made this side dish from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-1½ pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (6 cups)
Coarse sea salt or kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 425℉. Lightly grease a baking pan with oil.

2. Drizzle the oil over the Brussels sprouts in a large bowl and toss gently to coat. Arrange the sprouts in a single, uncrowded layer on the prepared pan.

3. Roast for about 15 minutes, or until the sprouts are tender and lightly browned, shaking the pan occasionally for even cooking.

4. Transfer the sprouts to a serving bowl and sprinkle with salt. Serve immediately.

In our normal fashion, we overcooked the vegetables. But they were still delicious. And we added some freshly ground black pepper to them as well as a little dollop of butter.

Day 42/365:Recipe 25/175

Tea for One

2010-05-08T14:41:00.003-04:00

She Said:

I received a lovely set of teas and accessories from my oldest son for Mother's Day. There was a single cup teapot, a jumbo tea cup, a jar of tea honey, a bottle of iced jasmine tea and two flavors of these really cool tea blooms. They are strands of tea handwoven into a ball with a flower blossom tucked inside. You place it at the bottom of your cup and pour hot water over it and it gradually blossoms in your cup into a beautiful display.

I had some time to sit this morning, so I sat down with a lovely cup of red bloom tea, lightly sweetened with the tea honey, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Thank you, Jesse!

A Cut Above

2010-05-06T14:46:00.009-04:00

She and I cook. A lot. That means we cut. A lot! And since we cut so much, I have really been jonesing for a new knife. The knives that we have are fine, but, you know, not outstanding. I was thinking that a shiny new professional grade 8" Chef knife would fit the bill nicely. So when I heard that a new Sur La Table had just opened up in King of Prussia, I practically flew over there. Once I was in the store and scoping out the knife selection, a nice fella named Adam or Alan or Adamantium (sorry, I can't quite remember) asked if he could show me a few of them. Absolutely, Amandalin, show away! Man, were they nice! I was testing this one and that one and then, as if in a dream, he said "Let me show you one that I think you will like." Then with just the smallest of flourishes he puts before me the holy grail. Seriously, clouds parted, the sun shone through and angels started singing. There, lying in front of me, right on his cutting board was the Shun 8" Hollow Ground Chef's Knife.

"Here", AdamAnt says to me, "cut this carrot." He had an odd smile on his face as he said this, as if he knew something that I did not. He did. I picked up the knife. It felt good. I weighed it in my hand. Perfect. I looked at the markings on the steel. Beautiful.

I cut the carrot.

My response to that simple cut is difficult to put into words. First, I sort of giggled. Then AlanFunt giggled too. We were both suddenly in the same club. We both knew. This knife was different.

Folks, make no mistake, this is a razor blade with a handle. I have NEVER before cut with anything that sharp, that balanced, that comfortable in my hand. Suddenly price was no object. It must be mine. And, happily for me, about 10 minutes later, it was.

I'm in love. Check it out. Is it not a beauty? I'd talk a bit more about it but I really must go cut something. Anything. I'm in a cutting place right now.

(click to embiggen)

Day Thirty-Five

2010-05-04T19:07:00.003-04:00

She Said:

We had a nice dinner last night but it wasn't knock-your-socks-off, like I'd hoped. We had filet mignon, which is always great, but we made a shallot-anchovy-butter sauce for it and that was sort of meh. We also had roasted potatoes (a little olive oil, salt and pepper) and they were also just meh. The star of the show was the vegetable. And it also counts toward our own Julie/Julia Project, which is sweet!

This is from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Sauteéd Broccoli

3 head broccoli (2-3½ pounds), trimmed and cut into long spears
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli and boil until just tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process. (I didn't plunge.)

2. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant and pale gold, about 1 minute. Add the broccoli and parsley and sauté just until the broccoli is heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once.

Simple and really delicious! I will make this again and again. (Plus, I really love broccoli so it's special to find yet another way to prepare it.)

Day 35/365:Recipe 24/175

Sing a song of mustard.

2010-05-03T12:21:00.005-04:00

She Said:

I have been making my own mustard for a few years now. Ever since I joined the One Local Summer Challenge (sponsored by Farm to Philly) in 2008 and I needed some mustard for a meal I was making. I couldn't find locally prepared mustard, so I made my own Dijon with local wine. That one wasn't my favorite, but at least it was locally prepared - in my own kitchen!

Since then, I have experimented with different acids and spices. I believe I made my two best so far last week. Here are my recipes.

Yellow Mustard

2 tbsp. yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp. organic spicy brown mustard seeds
1½ tbsp. water

Grind mustard seeds in a coffee grinder as fine as you want them. Mix with water to make a paste. Let sit for 10 minutes.

2 tbsp. citrus champagne vinegar
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. turmeric

Mix together. Let sit, covered, on the counter for as long as it takes to mellow to your liking.

Spicy Brown Mustard

2 tbsp. yellow mustard seeds
2 tbsp. organic spicy brown mustard seeds
2 tbsp. water

Grind mustard seeds in a coffee grinder as fine as you want them. Mix with water to make a paste. Let sit for 10 minutes.

2 tbsp. red raspberry vinegar
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ginger
¼ tsp. black pepper

Mix together. Let sit, covered, on the counter for as long as it takes to mellow to your liking.

I let these both sit for about 5 days, but it can take up to 10 days or so to mellow. I also added more vinegar to the yellow mustard on day 4 because it was too thick and pasty. Once the mustard is to your taste, you put them in the refrigerator to stop the process. They keep for a long, long time (as mustards do) but we find it difficult to not run out of them quickly. We usually find recipes that call for mustard just so we can keep enjoying them in different ways.

Next time, I think I'll experiment with mixing different kinds of vinegar. Should be fun!

I believe I have died and gone to heaven.

2010-05-02T11:40:00.003-04:00

She Said:

I just can't wait to post about this. He chose another recipe from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook for breakfast (which turned out to be an early lunch) and I believe I have now eaten the greatest food on earth.

Creamy Cheddar Grits

2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup fine quick-cooking grits (not instant)
1¼ cups half-and-half
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1½ cups aged sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (4 ounces)
½ cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (4 scallions)
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Grated Cheddar and chopped scallions, for garnish

Bring 4 cups of water to boil in a heavy 4-quart saucepan. Add the salt, then slowly add the grits in a thin, steady stream, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the grits thicken, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the half-and-half and butter to the grits and stir. The mixture will seem thin but it will thicken as it cooks. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally for 45 minutes, until very smooth and creamy. Off the heat, stir in the Cheddar, scallions, and pepper. Season to taste and serve hot with a sprinkle of grated cheese and scallions.

He made some very delicious fried eggs to go with this and I just kept saying how unbelievable the meal was. Truly unbelievable. I haven't had a whole lot of grits in my life but these are hands-down the best I have ever had!

Day Thirty-Three

2010-05-02T07:28:00.003-04:00

She Said:

We're both on vacation for a few days, so dinner was a little fancier last night. We did manage to include another recipe from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman that counts toward our own Julie/Julia Project, but there was more!

We started out with a very yummy cocktail (or two!). This recipe (and the next) come from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook.

Pomegranate Cosmopolitans

2 cups good vodka, such as Grey Goose or Finlandia (we had Absolut on hand and that's good enough, I think)
1 cup Cointreau (we only had a ½ cup so we also used a ½ cup of Grand Marnier - poor us!)
1 cup cranberry juice cocktail, such as Ocean Spray (interestingly, we only had pure cranberry juice, so that's what we used)
½ cup Pom Wonderful bottled pomegranate juice (yes, we had this and that's what we used)
½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4 limes)
Thinly sliced limes, for garnish

Combine the vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, and lime juice in a large pitcher. Fill a cocktail shaker half full with ice, pour the cocktail mixture in, and shake for a full 30 seconds. Pour into martini glasses, garnish with a slice of lime, and serve immediately.

These were so good. I love the addition of pomegranate juice to the cosmo. Nice sweet difference! The fresh lime juice is key, too. We sat down and relaxed with our first one and then, feeling it a little already, we decided to make dinner. However, we needed room temperature butter, which we didn't have, so I took out a stick and, since it was almost 90℉ outside (and, logically then inside as well since the air conditioner wasn't on), figured it would soften up soon enough. So we had another cocktail! And we were still fine to cook later on.

Here's what we cooked.

Bay Scallop Gratins

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 medium shallot, minced
1 ounce thinly sliced prosciutto di Parma, minced (we actually found this - I was very pleased)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, plus extra for garnish
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon Pernod (we didn't have Pernod, so we used a ½ tablespoon of Sambuca and a ½ tablespoon of water)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons good olive oil
¼ cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
3 tablespoons dry white wine
1 pound fresh bay scallops
Lemon, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425℉. Place 3 (6-inch round) gratin dishes on a sheet pan. (We had JUST bought four gratin dishes at Crate and Barrel that same day - yay!)
To make the topping, place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (you can also use a hand mixer). With the mixer on low speed, add the garlic, shallot, prosciutto, parsley, lemon juice, Pernod, salt, and pepper and mix until combined. With the mixer still on low, add the olive oil slowly as though making mayonnaise, until combined. Fold the panko in with a rubber spatula and set aside.
Preheat the broiler, if it's separate from your oven.
Place 1 tablespoon of the wine in the bottom of each gratin dish. With a small sharp knife, remove the white muscle and membrane from the side of each scallop and discard. Pat the scallops dry with paper towels and distribute them among the 3 dishes. Spoon the garlic butter evenly over the top of the scallops. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the topping is golden and sizzling and the scallops are barely done. If you want the top crustier, place the dishes under the broiler for 2 minutes, until browned. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a sprinkling of chopped parsley and serve immediately with crusty French bread.

We actually found small French rolls and had two each with this meal. I think you have to have the bread to soak up the sauce. It's quite a sophisticated flavor, in my opinion. Quite delicious, but not something I would want every day. I think my palate is simpler than that. But this was really delicious!

And to give us our veggies, here's what we made on the side from Serving Up the Harvest.

Sauteéd Spinach with Garlic and Pine Nuts

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup pine nuts
1½-2 pounds spinach, tough stems removed and large leaves chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large wok or Dutch oven. Add the garlic and pine nuts and sauté until the garlic begins to smell fragrant and color, about 1 minute.

2. Add the spinach, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes. Uncover, season with the salt and pepper to taste, stir well, and continue to cook until the liquid evaporates, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve hot.

OK, we purchased our spinach and it's already prewashed so we didn't have to wash it. One of the things that is mentioned in the notes of this recipe is that "the water clinging to the leaves of the freshly washed spinach is all the liquid necessary." That's crucial. We didn't see that note right away and didn't know how this spinach was going to wilt. So once we saw the note, we threw in a little water and all was right with the world.

I really like the spinach prepared this way, but I am a really big fan of garlic and pine nuts, so it really couldn't lose!

Day 33/365:Recipe 23/175

Day Thirty-Two

2010-05-01T06:22:00.005-04:00

She Said:

Continuing on with our own Julie/Julia Project, here's what we made from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Chicken Curry with Green Beans

1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½-inch strips
1½ cups fresh or canned diced tomatoes (we used fresh)
1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (we used flat-leaf parsley - my life will be much better if I just skip cilantro for the most part)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cayenne
Hot cooked basmati rice, to serve

1. Blanch the green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the onion and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, jalapeño, ginger, and curry powder. Sauté until the onion is tender and the spices are fragrant, stirring frequently, 2 to 3 minutes longer.

3. Add the chicken and sauté, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, and green beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the cilantro and basil. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Add the cayenne to taste, starting with just a pinch and adding more, depending on how hot you enjoy your curries. Simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Serve hot over a bed of rice.

I don't know what it is about the flavor of curry powder and we've only made four or five curry dishes in our lives but the flavor just gets into my head to where I start to crave it. I was so happy to have this last night. It was really delicious, healthy, and had a really nice heat. We do like things hot so we went a little heavy on the cayenne and I think it was just right.

Normally, I like this kind of spicy food with a good dry Riesling. So we opened a good dry Riesling. Before taking a bite of dinner, the wine was just wonderful - fruity, slightly sweet, perfect for a warm day. But then it just did not pair well with the food. It wasn't horrible but we did it no favors by pairing it with this dish. Maybe we needed a Riesling that wasn't quite so dry, who knows. But after dinner, we finished the bottle and it was quite good again. Weird.

Day 32/365:Recipe 22/175

Day Thirty

2010-04-30T10:18:00.005-04:00

She Said:

Well, we have been at our own Julie/Julia Project for one month. How exciting! We are totally loving this project, even though sometimes we just don't feel like cooking. Thank goodness we have our traditional Thursday pizza-and-a-movie night (see prior post) to break things up a little. And we don't cook every single day, obviously, but we're in the kitchen a whole lot more than we used to be!

Anyway, another recipe from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman and this one was a TOTAL winner! I could eat this every night, I think. Actually, since I'm supposed to stay away from tomatoes, I wouldn't but it is just that good! We made some regular old mashed potatoes to accompany this meal and it was perfect. (Actually, the potatoes were tremendous - Yukon gold potatoes with just a tiny splash of whole milk, some butter, salt and lots of pepper. Delicious!)

Chicken Breast Niçoise

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups seeded and diced tomatoes
1 cup cured pitted black olives, such as niçoise or Kalamata (we used your standard Black Pearls, sliced in half)
½ cup chicken broth
½ cup dry white wine (we were actually having red wine with dinner and didn't open a bottle of white just for this, so I just doubled the chicken broth)
1 tablespoon dried herbes de Provence (this is critical to this dish!)

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts, season with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper, and cook until well browned on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Turn the breasts over, season the second side, and cook until well browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside to keep warm.

2. Sauté the onion in the skillet until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, olives, broth, wine and herbs. Cook until the tomatoes are broken down and the sauce is somewhat thickened, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

3. Return the chicken to the skillet (we sliced it up before doing this), reduce the heat, and continue cooking until the chicken is heated through and no longer pink in the middle, about 5 minutes. Serve hot.

I can't say enough about how good this meal was. He chose this recipe because it's in the tomato section and we have to spread those out through the year because I don't particularly care for uncooked tomatoes and I'm not supposed to be eating them anyway. But the way these were cooked was fantastic! And I have to say that I was never a black olive fan. I'm OK with kalamata olives but never your standard black olives. If they were in something highly seasoned (like nachos), I could eat them.

But the olives absolutely made this dish. It made such an impression on me that the pizza we ordered last night had black olives on it and I loved it. I guess it's something about the combination of the tomatoes and the black olives. Delicious!!

Oh and do not skip the herbes de Provence. When you get to the point in the recipe where it says to taste and adjust the seasoning, the herbs will be right there at the front and it's quite an experience.

I guess I really liked this one!

Day 30/365:Recipe 21/175

Viva la California!

2010-04-30T08:37:00.004-04:00

He Said:

Every Thursday night, She and I (try to) have a 'pizza, wine and a movie' night. Last night was no exception. The pizza that we had was fantastic (Vince and Tony's, sausage, ground beef, black olives and extra cheese) and the wine was very good (can't remember offhand what it was, though) but that's not what I am here to talk about. I'm here to talk about the movie that we watched.

Bottle Shock.

I knew that I would like the story and I really wanted to love the movie. It had some really good actors and a very interesting story to tell. It's the story behind the (now) famous blind taste test between French wines and new upstart California wines held in Paris in 1976. The results shocked the world and changed the global world map forever. Well, I ended up loving the story and sort of, mostly liking the movie. I found the movie to be a little slow moving and very (if you'll pardon the pun) dry. I had hoped for better from Alan Rickman and wanted more of Eliza Dushku. My favorite character was actually Dennis Farina, in a non-gangster role. Go figure.

While it was certainly not my favorite movie in the world, I still recommend that you see it. The story really is wonderful and there are some funny, dramatic and heartwarming moments that are certainly worth the price of a rental.

Bottle Shock. One thumb up. Easy, enjoyable fare. Well not, perhaps, if you're French. In that case, perhaps Belle de Jour would be a better choice.

Cheers!

--------------------------------

She Said:

I think that I enjoyed the movie more than He did, mostly because I was guzzling the wine we were drinking! (I'm on vacation today and I wasn't about to slow down!)

My favorite character was Gustavo. Loved him! And our friends actually met the guy that the character was based on, so we're like two degrees of ~~Kevin Bacon~~ Gustavo. I'm sure he wants us to come over for dinner.

I digress. The movie made me really want to learn more about wine - not to mention sample some of the Chateau Montelena and Gustavo Thrace wine!

(Belle de Jour? The first (and last) movie I have ever wanted to get up and leave. And now I know why. I'm not French!)

Day Twenty-Seven

2010-04-26T09:35:00.004-04:00

She Said:

We skipped Day Twenty-Six due to overindulgence on Day Twenty-Five. Booze, not food. So, we picked back up on Day Twenty-Seven. Two recipes to count toward our own Julie/Julia Project. These are both from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Creamy Asparagus Fettucine

1 pound asparagus (about 20 medium-thick spears)
1 pound fettucine
1 large red bell pepper, roasted and cut into strips (we used jarred, since we had it on hand)
1 pound ricotta cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
⅓ cup chopped fresh chives, garlic chives, or scallions (we used scallions)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Begin heating a large pot of salted water.

2. Snap off and discard the woody ends of the asparagus. Cut off the tips of the asparagus spears and reserve. Cut the spears into 1½-inch lengths.

3. When the water comes to a boil, add the asparagus and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tips and cook until the asparagus is just tender, about 2 minutes longer. Using a large skimmer or slotted spoon, remove the asparagus and transfer to a bowl. Cover and keep warm.

4. Cook the fettucine in the water until al dente. Remove ½ cup of the cooking water. Briefly drain the fettucine in a colander and return it to the pot, along with the asparagus.

5. Add the roasted pepper, ricotta, Parmesan, and chives. Toss well, adding the reserved cooking water as needed to make a creamy sauce. Season generously with salt and pepper.

6. Serve hot, passing additional Parmesan at the table.

I think this recipe has potential, but the way we ended up making it, it was like noodles coated with kindergarten paste. I think we could tweak it to make it better - add some chicken or vegetable broth, maybe, and use low-fat ricotta instead of the full-fat variety that we used. It was quite tasty - just way too thick and gummy.

The other recipe He made was for lunches this week. I haven't had any yet (as I'm feeling quite under the weather) but I'm sure I will.

Classic Potato Salad

2½ pounds waxy or all-purpose potatoes
3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
2 large celery stalks, finely chopped
½ red bell pepper, finely chopped
½ large sweet onion or small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 cup boiled salad dressing, such as Miracle Whip, or more to taste
2 tablespoons chopped dill pickle or sweet pickle relish, or more to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Paprika, to garnish

1. Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and fill with enough cold water to cover the potatoes by 1 inch. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size. Don't overcook. Drain well and let cool.

2. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and slice them into ½-inch cubes.

3. Combine the potatoes, eggs, celery, bell pepper, and onion in a large mixing bowl. Add the dressing and pickles. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Add more dressing if the salad seems dry. Adjust the flavor with additional pickles and salt and pepper, if desired. Chill well. The salad will develop flavor as it sits.

4. Just before serving, taste and adjust the seasoning. Sprinkle paprika on top to garnish.

The funny thing is that I grew up on Miracle Whip. My mother never had real mayonnaise in the house and the first time I tried mayonnaise, I hated it! But since I've been out of my parents' house, I've used mayonnaise almost exclusively and it was actually a nice reminiscence to go buy a jar of Miracle Whip. I plan to use it and relive those younger years. (I swear, when I was little, I could eat that stuff by the spoonful. My mom used to put out a platter of sliced tomatoes and iceberg lettuce with a bowl of Miracle Whip in the center. Since I couldn't stand tomatoes, I used to just slather Miracle Whip on the almost-tasteless iceberg lettuce and truly, truly enjoy myself. And that's about as close to eating it by the spoonful as you can get without actually doing the deed. Mmmm...Miracle Whip!)

Day 27/365:Recipes 19 and 20/175

Day Twenty-Five

2010-04-25T08:44:00.004-04:00

She Said:

We made a side dish with our dinner with friends on Friday and it counts toward our own Julie/Julia Project. This is from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Scalloped Green Beans

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ cups milke
1½ cups grated sharp Cheddar
2 pounds green or wax beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces (7 to 8 cups)
1 onion, halved and sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup dried bread crumbs, or ½ cup fresh (we used fresh)

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease a 9- by 13-inch baking dish with butter.

2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon to make a smooth paste. Stir in the milk and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and stir in the cheese. Cook, stirring constantly, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth, about 3 minutes.

3. Layer the beans and onion in the baking dish, generously sprinkling with the salt and pepper as you layer. Cover with the cheese sauce. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the dish.

4. Bake for 60 minutes.

5. Serve hot.

This was a pretty easy and tasty side dish. However, given the choice, I think I'd just go with plain old oven-roasted green beans. You just can't go wrong with that.

Oh, and in the course of looking through the cookbook, we discovered that we had inadvertently made another recipe back on Day Nineteen. It is this:

Herbed New Potatoes

2 pounds new potatoes, scrubbed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (dill, oregano, chives, savory, chervil, tarragon, parsley, marjoram, alone or in any combination)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring about an inch of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the potatoes in a steaming basket, cover, and steam for 25 to 35 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife.

2. Transfer the potatoes to a warmed serving bowl. Pour in the butter, and sprinkle the herbs and salt and pepper over the butter. Toss gently. Serve immediately.

The only difference between this recipe and what we did on Day Nineteen was that we didn't melt the butter. Pretty good for making it up on the fly! Anyway, this way of making new potatoes is divine. I heartily recommend it!

Day 25:365/Recipes 17 and 18:175

Days Twenty-One through Twenty-Four

2010-04-23T08:18:00.005-04:00

She Said:

Another glut of leftovers plus our traditional Thursday pizza-and-a-movie night meant that we have not been cooking for the last four days. We are having friends over for dinner tonight and we're planning on Spaghetti Carbonara (see Day Twelve) and a copycat recipe of Olive Garden's salad and dressing (which are fabulous!). That's all we were going to have but I know that our friends like green beans, so I'm going to throw in a recipe that will count toward our own Julie/Julia Project, which is always a good thing!

Recipe to come later.

Day Twenty

2010-04-18T19:10:00.003-04:00

She Said:

We had a fabulous dinner tonight! Excellent all the way around. He wanted to continue his venture into cast iron cooking and so the main meal came from Cast Iron Cooking by Dwayne Ridgaway.

Blackened Beef Tenderloin with Gorgonzola-Chive Potatoes

6 6-8 ounce beef center-cut tenderloin steaks
½ cup teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
2 tablespoons blackening seasoning
¼ cup vegetable oil

For the Potatoes:
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, cut into large chunks
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
⅓ cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (we went with Buttermilk Blue on the advice of the cheese expert at Wegmans)
¼ cup chopped fresh chives

In a large bowl combine the teriyaki sauce with the Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, soy sauce, and black pepper. Place the tenderloin steaks fully submerged in the marinade; cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Place the potatoes in a large pot filled with water. Bring to a boil, then cook potatoes until tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes, leaving them behind in the pot, and add the butter, heavy cream, salt, and pepper. Using a potato masher, mash to a thick puree. Add Gorgonzola cheese and chives, stirring to combine and melt the cheese, cover, and set aside, keeping warm.
Remove the steaks from the marinade and pat dry. Coat evenly and generously with blackened seasoning. Heat vegetable oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the steaks in one even layer, searing for 7 minutes per side (for medium rare), 10 minutes per side for medium and 12 minutes per side for well done. If you like your steaks medium or well done, reduce the heat to medium so as not to burn them. Transfer to serving plates with the mashed potatoes.

Please don't eat your steaks well-done!!

On the side, we had another recipe from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman, adding another notch in our lipstick case in our own Julie/Julia project!

Lemony Grilled Asparagus

1½ pounds asparagus (about 30 medium-thick spears), bottoms trimmed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ lemon

1. Prepare a medium fire in a gas or charcoal grill.

2. Place the asparagus in a shallow dish. Drizzle the oil over the spears and toss to coat.

3. Grill the asparagus, turning occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes.

4. Arrange the asparagus on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper to taste, squeeze the lemon over the spears, and serve.

Simple and delicious! I even did some of the grilling - asparagus I can handle!

Day 20/365:Recipe 16/175

...sometimes the bear eats you.

2010-04-18T11:27:00.004-04:00

He Said:

Most of the food that we have been cooking for this project has been 'very good' to 'pretty darn great'. Note the word 'most'. Yesterday morning I decided to make an additional dish while I waited for the rest of the day's ingredients to show up. With much anticipation, I chose to make Skillet Scallion Biscuits from 'Cast Iron Cooking' by Dwayne Ridgeway. I was really excited about making these. First, skillet? Scallion? Biscuits? Hello??? How great does that sound? Second, I have been really stoked to improve my cast iron skillet-ing. Third, the picture in the book looks absolutely scrumpdillyicious. These must be super-great! So I pulled out my favorite 10 incher (Oh, stop giggling. It's a skillet, you perv) and began preparing what I knew were going to be awesome biscuits.

They weren't.

Maybe I messed something up. Too much flour? Too little baking powder? I don't know. I do know that I cooked them a little too long. And in the end, they were flat, hard, overcooked, tasteless little hockey pucks. I mean, I still ate one or two but that was just because I didn't want to hurt my own feelings. You know how I get. I'd give you the recipe but I don't want you to actually make them and then get mad at me. I'll spare us both the humiliation.

You're welcome.

Day Nineteen

2010-04-17T20:16:00.004-04:00

She Said:

Much cooking and prep work was done today. Mostly by He. I was sort of a slug. I did the shopping this morning and then I had to run around to a few other places (including a butcher) to get the things I couldn't find at Wegman's.

Did you know that beef shoulder is bolar roast? I didn't but I learnt that at the butcher today. Interesting!

So, Day Nineteen of our own Julie/Julia Project consisted of two recipes from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman and one from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics by Ina Garten. All were delicious!

First, the ones that count toward our project.

Tzatziki

6 cups quartered and thinly sliced cucumbers (peeled and seeded if desired) - we actually diced them, as we expect for tzatziki
1 teaspoon salt, or more as needed
2 cups Greek yogurt or sour cream (we went with the Greek yogurt)
2 garlic cloves, minced
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine the cucumbers and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a colander and toss to mix. Let drain for 30 to 60 minutes. Transfer the cucumbers to a clean kitchen towel and pat dry.

2. Combine the cucumbers, yogurt, and garlic in a large bowl. Season generously with the pepper and more salt, if desired.

3. Set aside at room temperature to allow the flavors to develop for at least 30 minutes before serving.

That last step is essential. You truly need to marry these flavors to get the full enjoyment of this dish. We sampled it today but plan on snacking on it tomorrow with some fresh naan. We LOVE naan!!

And now the second recipe from Serving Up the Harvest.

Roasted Green Beans

2 pounds green beans, trimmed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse-grained sea salt or kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 450℉. Lightly grease a large sheet pan or shallow roasting pan with oil.

2. Arrange the green beans in a single, uncrowded layer on the prepared pan. Drizzle the oil over the beans and roll the beans until they are evenly coated.

3. Roast for about 15 minutes, or until the beans are well browned, shaking the pan occasionally for even cooking.

4. Transfer the beans to a shallow serving bowl or platter and sprinkle with the salt. Serve immediately.

These beans were a side dish to the recipe that we made from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, which was this recipe.

Mustard-Roasted Fish

4 8-ounce fish fillets such as red snapper (we halved this recipe and used the two halibut fillets we had in the freezer)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces crème fraîche
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 teaspoons drained capers

Preheat the oven to 425℉. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. (You can also use an ovenproof baking dish.) Place the fish fillets skin side down on the sheet pan. Sprinkle generously with the salt and pepper.
Combine the crème fraîche, two mustards, shallots, capers, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoons pepper in a small bowl. Spoon the sauce evenly over the fish fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until it's barely done. (The fish will flake easily at the thickest part when it's done.) Be sure not to overcook it! Serve hot or at room temperature with the sauce from the pan spooned over the top.

This was delicious! A wonderful sauce for any kind of fish or even chicken. And, following Ina's suggestion, we served the fish with steamed new potatoes and the above green beans. We tossed the potatoes with a little butter, kosher salt, and chopped fresh chives. Excellent meal!

Day 19/365:Recipes 14 and 15/175

Day Eighteen

2010-04-16T19:08:00.003-04:00

She Said:

Day Seventeen was another day of leftovers. That seems to be an issue with us. I guess we should start taking the leftovers to work the next day or something.

But anyway, we're back at it for Day Eighteen of our own Julie/Julia Project. This recipe, as usual, comes from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman and it was a hit - just delicious!

Chicken with Creamy Corn Sauce

¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, plus additional thyme leaves to garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kernels from 4 ears fresh corn
2 scallions, white and tender green parts, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons white wine
1½ cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Garlic Mashed Potatoes (see Day Sixteen)

1. Combine the flour, thyme, a generous pinch of salt, and a few grinds of pepper in a shallow bowl. Dredge the chicken in the flour, turning to coat on all sides.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Shake off any excess flour on the chicken and place the chicken in the skillet. Cook until well browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.

3. Sauté the corn, scallions, and garlic in the skillet until the scallions are wilted, about 1 minute. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, stirring well and cooking until all the wine is evaporated. Add the broth and boil until reduced by about a third. Whisk in the cream. Season with more salt and pepper. Return the chicken to the pan just long enough to heat through, 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Serve the chicken and mashed potatoes on plates, spooning the corn sauce over both. Garnish with a sprinkling of thyme leaves.

I thought this dish was so tasty! And I arranged it so I had potatoes and corn left and mixed them all up together. Yum! I think we'll be making this again, especially when the corn comes into season. We did find fresh corn on the cob but I don't know where it came from. We have a fabulous farm about 1 mile from our house that sells fantastic produce during the summer but the star of their show is their corn - it's amazing! Can't wait to try that in this recipe.

Day 18/365:Recipe 13/175

Day Sixteen

2010-04-16T08:33:00.003-04:00

She Said:

We finally got our internet back again - yay!! So now I can tell you about what came next in our own Julie/Julia Project.

This is from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Chicken and Broccoli in Mornay Sauce

3 large heads (1½ pounds) broccoli, stems sliced and florets broken into small pieces (12 cups)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
¾ cup grated Gruyère cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli and blanch for 3 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into cold water to stop the cooking. Drain well. Transfer the broccoli to a clean towel and pat dry.

2. Put ¾ cup of the flour in a shallow bowl. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour and add to the skillet in a single layer. Sauté the chicken on both sides until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the chicken to a bowl to keep warm while you prepare the sauce.

4. Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the garlic. Sprinkle in the remaining ¼ cup flour and whisk until smooth. Stir in the broth and milk and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in ½ cup of the cheese. Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired.

5. To assemble the casserole, arrange the broccoli in the baking dish. Pour half the sauce over the broccoli. Arrange the chicken on top. Cover with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup cheese over all.

6. Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbling and browned.

7. Serve hot.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

3 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
¾ cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Cover the potatoes and garlic with cold salted water in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Partially remove the lid and boil until the potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan until steaming.

2. Drain the potatoes. Mash the potatoes in a mixing bowl or pass through a potato ricer into a mixing bowl. Beat the potatoes as you pour in the heated milk mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

This was a relatively easy meal to make and it was quite tasty. We even have leftover mashed potatoes to go with tonight's meal!

Day 16/365:Recipes 11 and 12/175

Posting while the internet is still here!!

2010-04-14T17:51:00.004-04:00

She Said:

Day Fourteen of our own Julie/Julia Project was a left-overs day, so no new cooking. But we did pick up again last night. This is from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Day Fifteen

Snapper on a Bed of Leeks, Provençal-Style

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4-6 large leeks, white part only, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups seeded, peeled and diced fresh or canned tomatoes (we used canned)
2 teaspoons dried herbes de Provence
1½ pounds snapper or other firm white-fleshed fish (we went with halibut)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup niçoise or other black olives, pitted (we just used your standard black olives and rough-chopped them)
1/2 cup dry white wine
Hot cooked rice, to serve (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425℉. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish or large casserole dish with oil.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the leeks in the oil until slightly tender, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute longer. Add the tomatoes and herbs and simmer while you prepare the fish.

3. Wash and pat dry the fish. Season the fish on both sides with a generous sprinkling of salt and a few grinds of pepper.

4. Transfer the leek mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with the fish, arranged in a single layer. Sprinkle the olives over the fish. Pour in the wine over the olives.

5. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the fish flakes easily.

6. Serve hot on a bed of rice.

This was such a delicately flavored meal - really light and healthy-tasting. I was planning to serve this with a salad of just spring mix and a classic vinaigrette, but I'm feeling a bit under the weather and didn't feel up to making the dressing. So we just went with the recipe as it was. Really nice!

Day 15/365:Recipe 10/175

Panic at the Computer!

2010-04-14T16:06:00.001-04:00

Folks, we have had an awful time with our cable modem lately. We can only get it to stay connected for about a minute at a time. And it takes longer than a minute to get it reconnected.

So, needless to say, we've been living internet-free for a couple of days. It's been weird and sort of panicky.

But we're still cooking! We had a great meal last night and I'll get around to posting it just as soon as we are able to get our internet connection stabilized.

In the meantime, bon appétit!

Day Thirteen

2010-04-12T22:59:00.003-04:00

She Said:

Day Thirteen of our own Julie/Julia Project was limited. He was not home all day so I did the only cooking done, which wasn't really cooking at all.

But what I made was from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman, and so it counts!

Celery Stuffed with Herbed Cheese

1 garlic clove, peeled
8 large basil leaves
2 tablespoons dill leaves
2 tablespoons parsley leaves
8-12 chive stems
2 tablespoons summer savory, oregano, mint, thyme, or sage leaves (I used sage)
8 ounces Neufchâtel cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 bunches celery, trimmed and cut into 4-inch lengths

1. Combine the garlic, basil, dill, parsley, chives, and summer savory in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the cream cheese, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Process until well blended. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

2. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, to blend the flavors.

3. Spread on the celery sticks and serve.

We had this as an appetizer before we ate something wonderful that He had made on Saturday (more on that later, perhaps). It was really tasty and I feel like it would make a better dip for other vegetables than a spread for celery. Thinking of this with sliced cucumber or slices of red pepper makes me happy!

Also, I didn't have enough sage (should have added some thyme, since I had some on hand) and I went a little heavy on the parsley. But I wasn't overwhelmed by the lemon as I usually fear, so that was nice!

This is a pleasant appetizer and one I'll keep in my back pocket, just in case I'm looking for something a little different down the line.

Day 13/365:Recipe 9/175

Day Twelve

2010-04-10T22:21:00.005-04:00

She Said:

Day Twelve of our own Julie/Julia Project was a rousing success!! We made one thing from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman and one surprise!

First, the item from Serving Up the Harvest. We wanted a salad to go along with our surprise dinner, so I picked up some fresh organic spring mix and served that simply with this salad dressing.

Black & Green Olive Vinaigrette

1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
¼ cup pitted black olives
¼ cup pitted green olives
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a blender or food processor, process the garlic and oregano until finely chopped. Add the black and green olives and process to finely chop. Scrape down the sides of the container, pour in the vinegar, and process until mixed.

2. With the motor running, slowly pour in the oil and process until the mixture is thick and smooth. Season to taste with the pepper.

3. Serve immediately or store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to a week. It will need remixing before serving.

Now we LOVE olives! So this was a perfect dressing for us. Although, once you get the vinegar and pepper and oregano and garlic in there, it's really only reminiscent of olives. It's not an in-your-face olive flavor. Still quite delicious! And perfect for the simple salad.

Now the surprise. We picked up another couple of cookbooks to use during our own Julie/Julia Project to make things a little more challenging when we had the time. This recipe is from Tyler's Ultimate by Tyler Florence.

The Ultimate Spaghetti Carbonara

Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
8 bacon slices, cut crosswise into thin strips
1 onion, chopped
4 large eggs
6 tablespoons heavy cream
¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 pound spaghetti
Cracked black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil for the spaghetti.

Heat a 3-count of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and onion and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, until the onion is caramelized and the bacon is crisp. While that's going, crack the eggs into a big serving bowl. Add the cream and cheese and whisk. Scrape the bacon and onion into the bowl along with the cooking fat.

By now your pasta water has come to a boil. Throw in the spaghetti and give it a stir to separate the strands; cook for 8 to 9 minutes, until al dente. Scoop out about ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water and add that to the bowl with the bacon and eggs. Then drain the spaghetti, add it to the bowl, and give everything a toss. Invert a plate on top of the bowl to hold in the heat and let the pasta set for 5 minutes. Remove the plate, toss in some salt and lots of cracked black pepper and the parsley, and boom: You've got spaghetti carbonara!

Now, I've only had spaghetti carbonara one other time and it was in an "authentic" Italian restaurant. And I didn't like it. I only ate a little of it and didn't take home the leftovers. So I was a bit nervous about this recipe. But my fears have been allayed! This is one truly delicious meal! I actually made yummy noises all the way through dinner. Fabulous!

He Said:

Day Twelve, indeed! Now that was a great cooking day. The salad dressing that She talks about above was as good a dressing as I've ever had. Seriously. Rich, earthy and savory. The spaghetti carbonara exceeded my expectations. And my expectations were actually pretty high. Such a great meal. In fact, 12 hours later (at work, grrrr) I find that I am craving that meal again. Hmmmmm. I wonder if I could get She to bring some over for me. Just kidding, honey. I know you would but I think I can wait.

Or can I?

*wink*

Day 12/365:Recipe 8/175

Days Seven through Eleven - Hiatus

2010-04-10T13:14:00.009-04:00

She Said:

As predicted, we didn't make any new recipes for our own Julie/Julia Project while we were in the process of using up Easter and the first week's leftovers. (Plus, we wanted to have our normal Thursday pizza-and-a-movie night this week. We like them.) We're gearing up to get back in the game today, though, so we'll be back with more of what we are doing as we cook our way through Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman (and a surprise entry, too!).

I will share one recipe with you, though, that we made on Easter and then again last night.

This came from the November 2008 issue of Family Circle and it's a definite keeper! (Don't make this if you're on a diet, though. It's high in calories and you won't be able to stop eating it.)

Whipped-Potato Casserole

5 pounds all-purpose potatoes, peeled and quartered
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1¼ cups half-and-half
1 tub (8 ounces) whipped cream cheese with chives (or 1 tub plain mixed with 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives)
1 teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon grouns nutmeg (we omitted this)
1 cup sliced almonds (we omitted these, too)
Fresh chives for garnish, optional

1. Heat oven to 350℉. Coat 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Place potatoes in a large pot with enough water to cover. Lightly salt and bring to a boil. Lower to simmering; cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until fork-tender. Drain.

3. In large bowl, mash potatoes with hand mixer. Add butter, half-and-half, cream cheese, garlic salt and nutmeg. With mixer, beat potatoes on medium-high speed until very smooth. Spoon into prepared dish.

4. Bake at 350℉, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Sprinkle sliced almonds over casserole; bake an additional 15 minutes, uncovered, until lightly browned.

5. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped chives, if desired.

Do-ahead: Proceed through step 3 and allow to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days. When ready to serve, unwrap and allow to stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Begin with step 4 and bake until internal temperature registers 140℉ on an instant-read thermometer.

These are sooooo good! For Easter, we took the do-ahead tip and made them the day before. They baked up perfectly the next day. I can really recommend these.

But make sure you have a full 5 pounds of potatoes or else they'll be runny. (We found that out the hard way last night when I had to sacrifice a lot of my potatoes because they were not particularly nice. And I had just bought them that day! Not cool. I can't wait until we can start harvesting the potatoes from our garden - yeah, baby!!

He Said:

Yes, I agree. These were great. Really great. But I'm not sure that they weren't even better the next morning. Just pat some of these leftover babies (if there are any) into 5" pancakes and cook in a cast iron skillet coated with Olive Oil and Butter. Fry them up at medium high heat for about 8 minutes/side or until they are nicely browned. No, nicer and browner than that. Patience is key here. Eat with a few fried eggs with nice runny yolks and you, my friend, are in breakfast heaven.

You're welcome.

Day Six - Easter Dinner!

2010-04-04T18:17:00.004-04:00

She Said:

I will not go into details about what we had for Easter dinner - suffice it to say that we had 16 people and lots of food (except we did run out of potatoes - note for future - 5 pounds of potatoes is not enough for 16 people!)

But, we did do one recipe (multiplied by seven) from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman and that counts toward our own Julie/Julia Project.

Day Six

Maple-Roasted Carrots

1 pound carrots, cut into thin 3-inch spears
1 tablespoon canola oil
Salt
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Chopped fresh parsley or cilantro, for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 425℉. Lightly grease with oil a baking sheet just large enough to hold the carrots in a single layer.

2. Put the carrots on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil and toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer.

3. Roast for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in the maple syrup on top of the stove or in a microwave.

4. Drizzle the maple syrup mixture over the carrots. With a metal spatula, turn the carrots over. Roast for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the carrots are lightly browned and easily pierced with a fork. Stir with the spatula to coat the carrots with the glaze on the bottom of the pan and transfer to a serving dish.

5. Garnish with the parsley. Serve hot.

I thought these were delicious. Nicely sweet and rich-tasting. I did forget about the garnish, though, so ours were parsley-free. I didn't miss it.

Day 6/365:Recipe 7/175.

Oh, we will be taking a break from our own Julie/Julia Project while we endeavor to put a hurtin' on all of the leftovers we have in the refrigerator from the last six days plus Easter. We'll be eating well for a while!

Day Five

2010-04-04T06:52:00.006-04:00

She Said:

Proceeding on with our own Julie/Julia Project, we again were cleaning out the freezer and pantry to use up some of those "non-recipe-ingredient" things we have. So we opted for a side dish from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Day Five

Garlic-and-Cheese-Crumbed Cauliflower

1 large head cauliflower, broken into florets
¼ cup butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (see Note)
½ cup grated Gruyère
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the cauliflower and boil until tender, about 6 minutes. Drain well.

2. Preheat the oven to 375℉. Grease a 1½-quart baking dish with butter.

3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and parsley and simmer just until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

4. Toss together the bread crumbs, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl.

5. Arrange the cauliflower in the prepared baking dish. Top with the crumb mixture. Drizzle the butter and garlic mixture over the top. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the cauliflower is hot and the crumbs are golden. Serve hot.

NOTE: Two to three slices of whole wheat sandwich bread whirled in a food processor will make 1 cup of fresh bread crumbs, perfect for this dish.

This dish was, in a word, sensational. The flavors worked so well together and even worked really well with our "store-bought" rest of the meal - a box of Nature's Way Long Grain and Wild Rice Rice-a-Roni and frozen grilled salmon fillets with lemon butter.

Absolutely delicious. This one is definitely a keeper!

He Said:

At first sniff, I had my doubts about this side dish. It smelled an awful lot like feet. She said that I shouldn't worry and that feet smell was a good thing. Well, as usual, She was right. The flavors married perfectly and it tasted nothing like feet after all. Whew!

I really loved the texture of this dish, too. The soft cauliflower juxtaposed against the crunchy-ness of the cheese crumble was wonderful. I forget sometimes that texture can make or break a dish. This was a good reminder of that.

This is a dish that I wouldn't hesitate to make again. And again. And then, after that? Again.

Day 5/365:Recipe 6/175

Day Four

2010-04-03T05:43:00.005-04:00

She Said:

Day Four of our own Julie/Julia Project worked out much better than Day Three, that's for sure! Dinner was really delicious and another easy meal to make.

This is from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Strips with Sesame Spinach

Marinade
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 piece (1 inch long) fresh ginger, peeled
1/2 cup tamari
1/4 cup sake or dry sherry
3 tablespoons dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Chicken and Vegetables
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch strips
1 1/2 pounds fresh spinach, tough stems removed (we used baby spinach)
1 large carrot, grated
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Hot cooked white rice
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

1. To make the marinade, mince the garlic and ginger together in a blender or food processor. Add the tamari, sherry, oil, and brown sugar and process until well mixed. Alternatively, mince the garlic and ginger. Mix in a small bowl with the tamari, sherry, oil, and brown sugar.

2. Place the chicken in a nonreactive bowl. Add half the marinade and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the rest of the dinner, or up to 2 hours.

3. Wash the spinach and place in a large pot. Add an inch or so of water. Cook over high heat until the spinach is completely wilted, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. Drain well. Transfer the spinach to a medium bowl and add the carrot. Toss to combine.

4. Stir the vinegar into the remaining marinade. Add to the spinach and toss lightly. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

5. Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill and let the coals burn down until they are covered with white ash, or preheat a gas grill on high. (We went with Option B since we don't have a charcoal grill!)

6. Grill the chicken for 4 to 6 minutes, until tender and no longer pink, turning once.

7. To serve, place a bed of rice in the center of a platter or on individual plates. Arrange the spinach over half the rice. Place the chicken on the other half, sprinkle the sesame seeds over all, and serve at once.

This meal was really, really delicious but for the life of me, I don't understand the cold sides. Our spinach was still a little warm when we served it because we were cooking the chicken while the spinach was still being assembled and, truly, it was delicious. I don't think it needs to be cold or even cool. There's nothing wrong with hot spinach! It's quite good!

So, the leftovers are living happily in one plastic container in the refrigerator. And they'll be heated up all together when we go to eat them.

That's the only objection I had to this meal. The flavors were wonderful and it was easy to make, although it did use quite a few bowls and pots.

Day 4/365:Recipe 5/175.

Disappointing Day Three

2010-04-02T10:47:00.005-04:00

She Said:

Well, we made two recipes for dinner last night and didn't particularly care for either of them. I think it may have been the cilantro (not really a fan) but I don't know. I'll put the recipes here in case anyone would ever want to try them. When you read the recipes, you'll think that they should be fabulous but it just didn't work out that way.

These are both from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman and are part of our own Julie/Julia Project.

Day Three

Oven-Steamed Chinese-Style Fish With Scallions

6-8 scallions, julienned
1 piece fresh ginger, 2 inches long, julienned
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine (I misread this before I went shopping and thought it said rice wine vinegar, so we used mirin since we didn't have rice wine)
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 1/2-2 pounds firm white fish fillets, such as cod, halibut, tilapia (we used tilapia)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 450℉.

2. Scatter half the scallions, ginger, and garlic in a shallow roasting pan.

3. Stir together the soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, sugar, and black pepper in a small bowl. Pour half into the roasting pan.

4. Arrange the fish fillets in the pan. Cover with the remaining scallions, ginger, and garlic. Pour the remaining steaming liquid over the top. Seal the pan with aluminum foil.

5. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the fish flakes readily with a fork.

6. Scatter the cilantro on top and serve hot.

Sesame Broccoli Noodle Salad

Salad
1 pound fresh Chinese noodles or 3/4 pound angel-hair pasta (we used dried Chinese noodles)
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 pound broccoli (1 large head), stem peeled and diced and florets broken into small pieces (about 6 cups)
1 cup julienned baby carrots or 1 red bell pepper, julienned (we chose the pepper)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Sweet Soy Dressing
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry or Chinese rice wine (we used sherry)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

1. To make the salad, cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until just done. Drain and rinse well to cool. Transfer the noodles to a large salad bowl and toss with the sesame oil.

2. Steam the broccoli over boiling water until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain, plunge into cold water to stop the cooking, and drain again.

3. Add the broccoli and carrots (or pepper) to the noodles and toss again.

4. To make the dressing, combine the vinegar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sherry, cilantro, if using, garlic, and ginger in a small bowl. Whisk in the sesame oil until well combined.

5. Pour the dressing over the noodles and vegetables and toss. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the salad and serve.

The fish cooked quite nicely by using this method and I don't think it's a bad technique to have in your back pocket. But the flavors just didn't mesh well. I'm not quite ready to give up on the noodles yet. They were cold - VERY cold. I think I would have liked them better if they were warm. And, since we have about a ton left over, I'm going to try heating them up for lunch and see how that goes.

But these are two recipes we probably won't be making again, sadly.

Day 3/365:Recipes 3 and 4/175

Day Two

2010-04-01T07:17:00.006-04:00

She Said:

Day Two of our own Julie/Julia Project. We made something completely different for us and we really liked it! The star ingredient was spinach, a spring recipe from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Curried Spinach and Shrimp

1 1/2-2 pounds spinach, washed and trimmed (we used 22 oz. of baby spinach)
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 onions, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 fresh or canned green chiles, minced (we used 3 tablespoons of canned mild chiles)
1 piece fresh ginger (1 1/2 inches long), peeled and minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (I couldn't find whole seeds so we used ground)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, shelled and deveined (I could only find large shrimp - which was fine!)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Salt
Cayenne (optional)
Hot cooked rice

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spinach and cook about 30 seconds. Drain well and roughly chop. (Since we used baby spinach, we didn't chop it.)

2. Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large saucepan. Add the onions, garlic, chiles, ginger, curry powder, cumin, fenugreek, and coriander. Sauté until the onions are golden, about 10 minutes. Do not let the mixture burn, or you might as well start over.

3. Stir in the shrimp, increase the heat to medium-high and cook until the shrimp are just white and firm, about 5 minutes.

4. Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the buttermilk and spinach. Season with salt. Add cayenne to taste. Cook over low heat until the spinach is heated through. Serve hot over rice.

We didn't add enough salt at the end, or maybe we should have added some to the rice, I don't know. But either way, it needed salt but it was delicious!! Plus, the house smelled incredible from the curry and cumin and coriander. These are not standard scents we get from our cooking.

Really, really good dinner!

Day 2/365:Recipe 2/175

Starting something new...

2010-03-31T06:22:00.010-04:00

She Said:

Taking a page from the "Julie/Julia Project" and its inspiring and delightful movie version, "Julie and Julia", we have launched into a project to cook our way through someone else's cookbook in one year. This was a tough decision for us. Seeing as we both have truly exhausting full-time jobs, neither one of us is inspired to do a lot of hard cooking at day's end, certainly nothing approaching Julia Child's cookbook!

So we settled on a fairly easy cookbook for our daily meals (and we'll probably go with something more complex for our weekend meals) and last night was the first try. So exciting!!

We chose Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman for our weeknight meals. There are 175 recipes in this cookbook and I think we can handle that in one year. The really great part of this book is that it is a book that takes you, season-by-season, through various recipes based on what's in season at that time. We're sort of still borderline between winter and spring, but we started with a spring recipe.

Away we go!

Day One

Roasted Asparagus Vinaigrette

1 1/2 pounds asparagus (about 30 medium-thick spears), bottoms trimmed
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450℉. Lightly grease a large shallow roasting pan or half sheet pan with oil.

2. Arrange the asparagus in a single uncrowded layer in the prepared pan. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the oil over the asparagus and roll to coat evenly.

3. Roast the asparagus for about 15 minutes, until the asparagus is lightly browned, shaking the pan occasionally for even cooking.

4. Meanwhile, combine the garlic and vinegar in a small bowl. Whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons oil until it is fully incorporated. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

5. When the asparagus is done, transfer to a serving platter. Drizzle with the vinaigrette. Sprinkle with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Set aside for at least 30 minutes to blend the flavors.

6. Serve at room temperature.

Our goal is to follow these recipes exactly and not put our own spin on them, like we normally do. Thank goodness we did stick to the real recipe. This was really, really delicious and addictive. We used pencil-thin asparagus which really should have cooked for less time but it was still fab.

Trying to use up everything on hand that is not a recipe ingredient, we served this with two almond-crusted flounder filets that we had in the freezer and prepared a box of Whole Grain Roasted Garlic Italiano Rice-a-Roni. It's not a meal that tasted like something we normally make but that's OK. We're trying to get out of our rut!

I can't wait for tonight's dinner!

Day 1/365:Recipe 1/175

"Egg-cellent" Egg Salad

2010-03-30T12:40:00.003-04:00

She Said:

I was trying to come up with a really easy thing to take for lunches this week and I remembered egg salad. I love egg salad! It's one of those comforting foods, ya know?

I particularly love MY egg salad - is that rude to say? I hope not. Here's what I do.

Pat's Egg-cellent Egg Salad

6 hard-boiled eggs
1/2 cup light mayonnaise (I use the olive oil kind)
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard (Gulden's is the best)
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4-1/2 cup India relish (to taste)
Fresh ground black pepper

Dice up the hard-boiled eggs and place into a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Adjust seasonings as desired.

Serve on your favorite bread or wrap.

That's it. It took us all of 10 minutes to assemble this last night, including peeling the eggs! It's really easy, it's really delicious and it's CHEAP!

I really enjoyed my lunch today.

Editor's Note - 8/22/10 - I have changed my recipe. Now I add a lot more onion powder (I'm thinking like almost 2 teaspoons and I don't add the mustard. It is so much better!!

White Cheese Chicken Lasagna

2010-03-27T07:58:00.007-04:00

She Said:

I have been very remiss in updating over here at He Said:She Said. It's been a really busy time! We did not cook much last weekend (read: I did the cooking) but we did cook the weekend before. And actually, I did the cooking then, too. Hmm...I see why I haven't been updating!

I was looking for something specifically to take as "leftovers" to work for lunches. I get tired of soups so fast it's not even funny. And I can't for the life of me think of any type of sandwiches to make that I'll appreciate so I try to go with something casserole-y. (See prior post.)

I went a little out of the ordinary and found a white cheese chicken lasagna. I made it pretty much like the recipe lays it out except that I added more cheese, of course, and chicken and didn't have any fresh parsley so I used dried. It's fabulous and not at all figure-friendly. I can heartily recommend it!

Here's where the recipe comes from.

White Cheese Chicken Lasagna

9 lasagna noodles
1/2 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk (I used skim)
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided (I used regular - not low-fat)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups ricotta cheese (I just had a huge container of ricotta and eye-balled it as I was assembling)
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat (I had more than 2 cups of chicken)
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse with cold water.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and salt, and simmer until bubbly. Mix in the broth and milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Season with the basil, oregano, and ground black pepper. Remove from heat, and set aside.

Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer with 1/3 of the noodles, the ricotta, and the chicken. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the chicken, and layer with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, spinach, and the remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Arrange remaining noodles over cheese, and spread remaining sauce evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.

Now, if I had it to do over again, which I do as long as I'm still on this earth, I would have combined the chicken and spinach together and split them between the layers so that I didn't have one layer of nothing but chicken and one layer of nothing but spinach. But, as it is, I cut the whole thing up into 12 portions and packed it up for lunches so when we reheat, we just chop it all up and mix well before eating anyway.

I must make mention of the cheese sauce. Now I had revealed my awesome macaroni and cheese recipe a while back. The cheese sauce there is quite good. But the cheese sauce from this recipe knocked my socks off. The seasonings and Parmesan cheese in it plus the delicate flavor of the mozzarella cheese and the chicken broth/milk mixture is an incredible combination. I will make this cheese sauce again for a simple pasta side dish with some breaded chicken breasts or broiled fish for dinner one night. It's just that good.

Ham Casserole

2010-03-09T11:25:00.004-05:00

She Said:

He cooked up several things this past weekend but there was one clear winner amongst the crowd. We actually made it only to take with us this week for lunch and, let me tell you, this thing gets better and better as it sits in the fridge.

The recipe is largely based on this one but we made adjustments, as usual.

Ham Casserole

3 cups potatoes, cubed
3 cups cooked ham, cubed (we used a small canned ham)
2 11-oz. cans of white shoepeg corn
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup diced celery
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups skim milk
Freshly ground black pepper
8 oz. shredded Colby Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350℉.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool.

Combine potatoes, ham, corn and parsley; set aside.

In a saucepan, saute the onions, celery and garlic in butter for 2 minutes. Stir in flour until blended well. Add the pepper. Gradually add the milk; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour over the ham mixture and stir to mix well.

Pour into greased 13x9 baking dish. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese, and bake an additional 10 minutes until cheese melts. Place under the broiler for 2 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

I am so hungry thinking about this. There are leftovers in the fridge and that is exactly what I'm going to have for lunch. Yum!!

Runzas, Our Way

2010-03-01T21:33:00.004-05:00

She Said:

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the store and for some unknown reason, bought six pounds of ground beef. We used one pound the day I bought it and froze the rest.

I challenged Him to make something with some of the ground beef that He's never made before. And this is what He came up with.

Based on this recipe, we definitely took it to a whole different place.

Runzas, Our Way

3 lbs. frozen white bread dough, thawed
2 pounds ground beef
1 medium head cabbage, finely shredded
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 pound Swiss cheese
1/4 pound American cheese
2 medium onions, diced
3 cloves garlic
Crushed red pepper flakes (from our garden last year)
Seasoned salt (we use Nature's Season)
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
8 oz. sour cream
4 tablespoons prepared horseradish, more or less to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350℉.

2. Cut each roll of the thawed bread dough into 3 pieces and set aside. In a large skillet, brown the beef; season with red pepper flakes, Nature's Season, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste; drain if necessary. In another large skillet, sweat the onions and garlic for a few minutes, then add the shredded cabbage and saute for a couple of minutes more. Combine the beef and vegetables.

3. Roll out the bread dough into rough squares. Place a heaping spoonful of the beef/cabbage mixture onto the center of each dough square. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top, place a half slice of Swiss cheese and a half slice of American cheese over the mozzarella; fold dough over and pinch sides to seal. Place seam side down onto a parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet. Brush a bit of olive oil on the outside of each pastry.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

5. While the pastries are baking, combine sour cream and horseradish to make a dipping sauce. Serve pastries with dipping sauce.

Delish!! And quite different from anything we've ever had before. I was worried that there might be too much bread around the filling and that it would be dry. But it was anything but. It was light and crispy and really good.

Another winner!

And I suspect that this could be done with any type of ground meat or shredded pork or chicken and your choice of seasonings and vegetables. I think it's a good sound basis for lots of potential easy-to-eat meals.

Oh, by the way, this is a huge recipe. It makes 9 runzas - one is PLENTY to eat at a meal. So you will have lots of leftovers!

Heavenly Twice-Baked Potatoes

2010-02-25T16:27:00.005-05:00

She Said:

I wrote in my last post about these heavenly twice-baked potatoes that we had on Valentine's Day. Well, He made them again and we had them plus steamed broccoli and red peppers for dinner last night. Oh, good grief! These things are SOOO good! (And almost vegetarian - you can tweak as you wish.)

Twice-Baked Potatoes

2 medium baking potatoes
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 oz. cream cheese, cubed
3 tablespoons sour cream
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 green onions, sliced

1. Pierce potatoes and bake at 375℉ for 1 hour or until tender. Cool.
2. Cut a thin slice off the top of each potato. Scoop out the pulp and place in a mixing bowl. Add butter, milk and salt. Beat until fluffy. Beat in cream cheese and sour cream. Add crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, and green onions and mix well.
3. Spoon mixture back into potato shells. Place potatoes on a baking sheet. Bake at 350℉ for 20-25 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

We actually made three potatoes last night and split the leftover one for lunch today. We chopped it up and reheated in the microwave. Still really, really delicious! I can really recommend these!

Valentine's Day Dinner

2010-02-15T11:10:00.009-05:00

She Said:

In years past, we have gone out to a restaurant for Valentine's Day and in other years past, it simply wasn't important. Valentine's Day is really one of those made-up holidays and we don't normally fall into the whole cards-flowers-chocolate thing. But we do try to get a nice meal out of it!

Last night, we decided to stay home and cook, which is really becoming more and more prevalent in our lives. We do like our home-cooked meals! But we had been running around like crazy people all day so we sort of took a few short cuts. But not completely.

Our meal started with some baked clams (already prepared and ready to cook from Wegmans, our favorite grocery store - ever!) and Champagne. We went with our standard, Moet & Chandon White Star. It's tried and true.

For dinner, we had a twice-baked potato - absolutely heavenly with green onions, bacon, and Cheddar cheese - a small Spring mix salad with a tarragon vinaigrette, and a crab cake (also, already prepared and ready to cook from Wegmans). While Wegmans' crab cakes are only second on the list of best crab cakes (the ones we make are the best), they were still really, really good. We complemented the dinner very nicely with a Gary Farrell Sauvignon Blanc.

For dessert, we had some pre-made individual trifles (yes, from Wegmans). He had a chocolate/strawberry trifle and I had a vanilla/raspberry/white chocolate trifle. We paired them with a Stump Jump Sticky Chardonnay, which, admittedly, went better with my vanilla trifle than with His chocolate trifle. His would have been better with a glass of port, I think.

All-in-all, a fabulous dinner and remarkably well put-together for as little time as we spent planning it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My-jadurrah

2010-02-12T22:31:00.004-05:00

She Said:

Years ago, I got a recipe from Cassie-B for some grey food. I was not afraid. I can handle grey food!

And I was right.

The recipe I got was for some simple muhjadurrah. And I made it many times over the years. It's wonderful! But I started to wonder if I couldn't push it to the next level. Tonight, I did. Here's my recipe.

My-jadurrah

2 onions, diced
1 red pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup green lentils
1 cup white rice
1 quart water
1 tsp. sea salt
4 pocket pitas

In a medium skillet, cook the onions, pepper and garlic over medium high heat in the olive oil until the vegetables are tender. Transfer the vegetables to a 2-quart saucepan. Add the lentils, water and salt. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the rice and more water, as necessary. Cover and simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the rice and lentils are soft. The mixture should be thick. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Serve with or in the pita pockets.

That's it. A delicious and nutritious vegetarian meal.

Now, to take it out of the realm of vegetarianism, next time, I'm going to saute up some bulk sausage or grill some chicken and throw that into the mixture. It should be spectacular!

My Specialty

2010-02-06T16:10:00.004-05:00

She Said:

I watched the first season of "Worst Cooks in America". I wasn't going to. I don't like reality shows - at all! - but I thought that I might be able to pick up a few pointers. I missed the first episode the first time around but caught it in a rerun. The contestants had to cook something for the two chefs on the show. It was supposed to be their specialty. I wondered what I would make, put into that same situation. I'm not good without a recipe but there are two things that I can make in my sleep - with my eyes closed. This is one of them.

Pat's Macaroni and Cheese

8 oz. short cut pasta (elbows, penne, rigatoni, shells, farfalle, anything like that)
1/2 stick butter
1 small onion (or half of a large onion), diced
1/2 tsp. salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 3/4 cups skim milk
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

Cook macaroni according to package directions.

Preheat oven to 375℉.

In a saucepan, cook the onion over medium-high heat in the butter, salt and pepper until the onion is soft. Turn heat to low and add in flour. Cook and stir for a few minutes until bubbly and smooth (well, as smooth as it can be with bits of onion in it). Turn heat back up to medium-high and slowly add milk. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to bubble (I usually give it a burst of high heat to get it going). Continue to cook and stir constantly over medium-high heat for one minute until thickened. Turn off heat. Add 2 cups of Cheddar cheese and stir until melted.

Combine the cooked macaroni and the cheese sauce and the pour into a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake at 375℉ for 30 minutes until golden and bubbly.

And now my secret is out. You can throw all kinds of things in this: sliced and sauteed hot dogs, tuna and sweet peas, whatever you think will go in a tuna casserole. Use your imagination! We had it last night for dinner and just had steamed broccoli on the side. That was good, too!

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

2010-02-02T17:31:00.005-05:00

She Said:

One thing I really love is a good pepper steak, be it the Chinese type or just beef and peppers. So when He said that He was going to be making Pepper Steak, I was delighted! And done in the slow cooker? Even better! But as it was cooking, I began to worry. You see, I'm not a tomato lover. (And the feeling is mutual, actually.) But I have to say that when we sat down to eat this last night, I started slowly but eventually ended up shoveling it into my mouth and even went back for seconds. It's REALLY good! Be sure to use sirloin - it's fabulous!

Recipe is here.

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

2 lbs. beef sirloin, cut into 2-inch strips (we happened to have 2 Omaha sirloin steaks in the freezer - they worked quite nicely with the sirloin strips - pre-cut! - that He found at Wegmans)
Garlic powder to taste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cube beef bouillon
1/4 cup hot water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 large green peppers, roughly chopped (we used one fresh and half a bag of frozen pepper strips - also on hand)
1 (14.5 ounce) stewed tomatoes with liquid
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Sprinkle strips of sirloin with garlic powder to taste. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the vegetable oil and brown the seasoned strips. Transfer to a slow cooker.
Mix bouillon cube with water until dissolved, then mix in cornstarch until dissolved. Pour into the slow cooker with the meat. Stir in onion, green peppers, stewed tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar and salt.
Cover and cook on high 3 to 4 hours, or on low for 6 to 8 hours.

We served ours over rice that had been cooked in chicken broth and it was just delicious!

Healthy Cookies. No, Really!

2010-02-01T07:34:00.005-05:00

She Said:

I have been on the hunt for some tasty healthy cookies for a while now and I think I've found them. I have bought different kinds of pre-packaged organic and natural cookies but they all fell short. So yesterday I tried this recipe and they are actually really tasty! I followed the recipe almost exactly. Here's what I did:

Healthy Honey Oatmeal Cookies

3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350℉. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Using a mixer with paddle attachment, mix together the butter, brown sugar, honey, egg and water thoroughly. Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda and then stir in the oats. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix. Add in the chocolate chips. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

A couple of things that I learned. 1) Do not spray the cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray - it just burns. I'll use parchment paper or a Silpat next time. 2) I would have preferred raisins to the chocolate chips. Or along with. These cookies just needed raisins.

That's it, though. They're quite tasty, still soft the next day, and, yep, even relatively healthy. I will use more organic and/or natural ingredients next time. I just had the standard stuff on hand this time. Why buy the expensive stuff if you don't know whether or a not a recipe is good, right?

Oh, also, I think I would do a light drizzle of a white chocolate glaze over the top next time, too. They could use a little punch of sweetness on the top.

¡Awesome Enchiladas!

2010-01-25T07:41:00.004-05:00

She Said:

He chose this recipe for enchiladas because we haven't had anything remotely Mexican for a long time. And while these are hardly authenticly Mexican, they are, absolutely, awesome! Just like the name of the recipe. Found over at www.allrecipes.com.

Angela's Awesome Enchiladas

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
1 (1.25 ounce) package mild taco seasoning mix
1 bunch green onions, chopped, divided
1 cup water
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
5 (12 inch) flour tortillas
3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives

Place the chicken in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken pieces are no longer pink, about 20 minutes. Shred chicken by placing two forks back to back and pulling meat apart. Set the shredded chicken aside. Meanwhile, combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and chili powder in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, chopped green chilies, taco seasoning, half of the bunch of chopped green onion, and water. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the lime juice, onion powder, and garlic powder; simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stir 1 cup of the soup mixture into the skillet with the chicken mixture. Spread the remaining soup mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese over the chicken filling before folding the tortillas, reserving half of the shredded cheese for topping the enchiladas. Fold tortillas over the filling and place seam-side down in the prepared pan.
Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the enchiladas. Cover with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of Cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the reserved chopped green onions and the sliced olives on top of the cheese. Bake in the preheated oven until filling is heated through and the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 25 minutes.

You must make these. You must!

The Whip Tavern

2010-01-09T15:09:00.007-05:00

1383 North Chatham Road
Coatesville, PA
$39 for two pints, one appetizer and two entrees

She Said:

He took me on a date today - sweet! We took an hour drive out to the rural part of Coatesville, PA, taking in all the scenery and rusticity (is that a word??), and stopped for lunch at The Whip Tavern.

It's in an old building full of charm. There was a big fireplace when we walked in and open beams on the ceiling. The decor is all fox hounds and hunting horses. The fare is mostly from the British Isles, which I simply love.

We both started with a draught Tetley pint. This is a great ale and a safe bet if you're faced with a list of regional beers that you don't know. In hindsight, I should have gotten a Guiness. It would have fit better. Next time.

We split an appetizer of Welsh rarebit. It was my first time having that little treat. English Cheddar and Stilton cheeses blended with Smithwick's Irish Ale (another great ale) and served with toasted crostini. It was really, really delicious and I am bound and determined now to make it at home.

For the main part of the meal, I had their Beef on Weck. It's close to what you might think of as a French dip but much heartier. Thinly sliced beef served on a Kummelweck roll, served with au jus and horseradish. And chips, of course. I never heard of a Kummelweck roll but I am very glad that I tried it. It's a soft roll with a thin crust and it's just covered with caraway seeds. More seeds than you can possibly imagine. (When we were done, there were caraway seeds EVERYWHERE!) In looking up this sandwich, it turns out that it's German in origin, rather than from the British Isles. Still, it was delicious!

We were too stuffed for dessert but we heard that the sticky pudding was amazing! Again, next time.

Bangers and Mash - Lightened Up (Accidentally)

2010-01-07T07:13:00.010-05:00

She Said:

I was trying to plan dinner yesterday and I looked in the freezer for some sort of protein. I pulled out a package of chicken & turkey mild Italian sausage. And that became my starting point. After looking around for recipes that had only ingredients that I already had on hand, this is what I found. Naturally, as I always do, I tweaked it a little.

Not-So-Classic Bangers and Mash

Makes 2 servings.

4 Russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 package very low sodium chicken instant broth & seasoning
1/2 cup warm milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
Olive oil
4 links chicken & turkey sausage
1/2 large onion, sliced and separated into rings
About 2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano

Get the potatoes started in water as you would for regular mashed potatoes. Boil for 20 minutes or so. Drain, leaving the potatoes in the pan.

At the same time, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Prick the sausages in a few places with a fork, and place them into the skillet. Cook, turning often, until golden brown and juices run clear. This should take about 20 minutes. Internal temperature should be 165º.

While the potatoes and sausages are cooking, start the gravy. Melt together 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour to make a roux. Cook for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of the beef broth and whisk until smooth. Heat to boiling; boil and stir for 1 minute. Leave on a low heat to keep warm and add more beef broth as needed for the consistency desired. You can season to taste, if you wish.

Heat up the milk in a microwave or saucepan. Stir the instant broth into the milk until dissolved. Stir the milk mixture and melted butter into the cooked potatoes. Mash or whip the potatoes until smooth and creamy.

When the sausages are done, take them out of the skillet and place onto paper towels on a plate. In the same skillet, add the onion rings. Cook and stir over medium heat until the onions are golden and wilted, about 5 minutes.

To serve, scoop the potatoes onto the plate, arrange the sausages over the potatoes, top with the onions, drizzle with the gravy and sprinkle with oregano.

This was such a fun meal to eat and it was delicious! I was really surprised that I liked it as much as I did. I love that it was all made with things we had on hand. And did you notice? Almost no salt whatsoever. I don't know what's happening but we rarely use salt any more in our cooking and eating. It's just not that appealing any more. Go figure!

We had leftover potatoes, so they will be part of tonight's dinner. There is no wasting of mashed potatoes in this house!

Oh, the recipe said to pair this with a syrah. I didn't know if it would still work because it wasn't pork sausage, but that's what we had. And it worked beautifully!

The wine we had was a 2005 Penfolds Bin 128 Shiraz. It's a little pricey for a mid-week wine (at around $23) but we're running low on the cheaper stuff, so what choice did we have? :-)

Dijon Chicken Salad

2010-01-04T17:04:00.007-05:00

She Said:

We could call this a New Year's resolution, but we won't. He has decided that He is going to be making something that He has never made before, once a week. He outdid Himself yesterday. He made three things that He's never made before.

The first one I'm going to talk about is the Dijon Chicken Salad. Based on this recipe, we made it our own. Here's what we did:

Dijon Chicken Salad

1 lb. chicken breast tenders, cooked
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup halved green grapes
1/2 cup halved red grapes
1 cup very roughly chopped walnuts (you can leave these as halved walnuts, depending on how much you like walnuts!)
2 teaspoons dried chives
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3/4 cup light mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together the chicken, celery, grapes, walnuts and chives in a bowl. Whisk together the honey, mustard, mayonnaise, salt and pepper in a separate bowl. Add the mustard mixture to the chicken mixture and stir to coat.

I absolutely loved this recipe and it was really, really easy!

Almost a New Year

2009-12-28T18:25:00.008-05:00

She Said:

Well, hello! It was my intention to pick up on 12/27, seeming like I hadn't missed a day since 12/26 (of last year!) but that didn't happen. The cooking hasn't been plentiful around here, owing largely to the busyness of the holiday season and our various physical ailments.

Yesterday, however, I did make a good beef stew. It's the one I've been making for 25 years or more and it's still great. It's largely based on a Betty Crocker recipe with just a few tweaks to make it all my own.

Betty's and My Beef Stew

1 lb. stew beef, trimmed of the outside fat
1 tbsp. vegetable shortening
1 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 cups hot water
2 large potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 rib of celery, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped (although, I had a half of a green and half of a red leftover so that's what I used)
1 beef bouillon cube
1 bay leaf

Cook and stir beef in shortening in a Dutch oven until the beef is brown, about 15 minutes. Drain off the fat. Add 3 cups of hot water, 1/2 tsp. salt and the pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until beef is almost tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Stir in potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, green pepper, 1 tsp. salt, the bouillon cube and the bay leaf. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Serve with a fresh, crusty bread.

Delish!

----------------------------------------

He Said:

This meal was actually prepared at my request. I don't actually request specific meals very often but, seriously, a man should only have to go so long without eating this stew. It is, in a word, fantabulous! Wait, I'm not sure that's actually a word. Anyway, you get my drift.

If you find yourself hunkered down at home and it's just too cold to venture out, do yourself a large and make this stew. You can hug me later.

Holiday Shortcuts

2008-12-26T15:36:00.004-05:00

We have had a very busy but nice holiday season so far. It's still going on!
I wanted to share a couple of shortcut recipes that really worked out well for us.
The first is a breakfast casserole. It has all of the standard breakfast casserole ingredients but it's not done overnight, like most of the ones I've seen. This is a Pillsbury recipe. They call it their Holiday Breakfast Bake. Here's the recipe:

12 oz. bulk pork sausage
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
1/3 cup chopped red pepper
10 eggs
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 can Pillsbury Grands! Flaky Layers biscuits

1. Heat oven to 375℉. Spray 13x9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 10-inch skillet, brown the sausage, onion and bell peppers; drain well. (I actually did this the day before and refrigerated the meat mix until the next morning, when I microwaved it just for a minute to rewarm.)

2. In large bowl, beat eggs. Stir in cheese and sausage mixture. Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Press biscuits into bottom of baking dish. Pour sausage mixture over biscuit crust.

3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until egg mixture is set and crust is deep golden brown. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

We had several of our kids stop by on Christmas morning and this was great to have available for whenever they showed up. It also reheats well in the microwave. And it's really delicious!

The second thing we made was also a Pillsbury recipe. It's their Maple-Cinnamon-Pecan Pull-Aparts. These are sinfully delicious as they start with Grands Cinnamon rolls. It only gets better! Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon maple flavoring or vanilla (I used vanilla)
1 can Pillsbury Grands! Flaky Supreme refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing

1. Heat oven to 350℉. Spray 8x4-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. In large bown, mix all ingredients except cinnamon rolls with icing.

2. Separate dough into 5 rolls; set icing aside. Cut each roll into quarters; add to pecan mixture, tossing to coat. Spoon roll mixture into pan.

3. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving platter. Spread with icing. Serve warm.

These were fabulous and fun! Again, they reheat well in the microwave (just enough to take the chill off).

So for our semi-homemade Christmas morning, I think we came up with two winners! And there was no stress to be found anywhere at all!

Scallop Stir-Fry, Take 2

2008-10-17T11:23:00.009-04:00

She Said:

Hey - long time, no see! Well, we have been very busy over the last few months but now things are finally starting to settle down a bit.

This is about a meal that we made last night. Our priorities have shifted since the economic woes of this country made us stop to think about our wild and crazy spending habits. So now, we are stretching that food dollar just as far as it can go! This is difficult to do when entertaining, which we did for the last two weekends, but it netted us some nifty little leftover situations. Last night's dinner was pretty much the end of the leftovers but I think it may have been the best meal we've made in a long time.

Last weekend, I went to the store and bought a pound of petite sea scallops, which were on sale. I popped them in the freezer until yesterday. Then I started to scrounge around for stir-fry ingredients and found a huge number of veggies to use. Here's how it all ended up.

Scallop Stir-Fry

1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 lb. petite sea or bay scallops
1 medium onion, sliced
2 Italian frying peppers, seeded (from our garden!)
1 small red bell pepper, seeded (from our garden!)
1 small broccoli crown
2 stalks celery
10 baby carrots
1 pint yellow wax beans, parboiled (from our garden!)
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon low-sodium tamari (soy sauce)
1 teaspoon corn starch
Fresh ginger
Canola oil
Sesame oil

Cook the brown rice according to package directions. That usually takes 45 minutes or so, so you have some time to do the rest of the prep work.

Chop up the peppers, broccoli, celery and carrots into the size you prefer. I usually go for smallish bite-size. Throw all of the chopped up veggies into a bowl and grate a couple of teaspoons of fresh ginger onto the top. Set aside.

Rinse the scallops and pat them dry. Grate about a teaspoon of fresh ginger over the top of the scallops. Heat a couple of tablespoons of canola oil and about two teaspoons of sesame oil in a large wok over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the scallops and cook them for about three or four minutes, stirring constantly. When the scallops are cooked, remove them from the wok and set aside.

Add more oil, if necessary. Add the garlic to the wok and cook until golden. Add the vegetables to the wok and cook, stirring constantly, until the veggies are as tender as you want them. I like them soft so I let them go for a while. Add the scallops back in and mix well until scallops are heated through.

In a small bowl, combine the sherry, tamari, and cornstarch. Add to the wok and mix well. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until golden.

Serve over rice, sprinked with the toasted sesame seeds, and enjoy! We sure did!

P.S. I would have thrown some mushrooms into this mix but ours were past their prime, to put it lightly. Ew!

________________________________________

He Said:

There are certain words that just get my culinary juices excited. "Scallops" and "Stir-Fry" are most definitely right up there at the top of that list. So when She said "Hey, would you be interested in a scallop stir-fry tonight?" my heart (ok, my belly) just went all a-flutter.

This is such a great meal. It's easy and, dare I say, fun to make (lots of action, noise and smells). And best of all, it is so ding-dang delicious! In my opinion, this is a great weekday, after work meal that you can whip up in almost no time. Plus, have I mentioned the leftovers? Mmmmm......leftovers..........

OLS Wrap-Up

2008-08-31T07:04:00.008-04:00

I have really been remiss! I missed three postings for the One Local Summer Challenge. And now it's over. So, without further ado, these are the things that we made for the last three weeks.

Week 11 - Sausage, Peppers and Onions

Week 12 - Meatballs and Beets

Week 13 - Bison and Pepper Rice

That last one was one of my absolute favorites this whole summer - and one of the easiest to make! It's a crock-pot meal, for goodness sake! It definitely goes into the permanent rotation.

One Local Summer, Week 10

2008-08-09T13:55:00.005-04:00

We are winding down the One Local Summer Challenge! It's been fun and exciting. Just a couple more weeks to go and we'll have made it all the way through. W00t!

This week, we made Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary-Plum Coulis.

And He made a blazing hot sauce with our very own peppers.

That's it for this week. We'll be back next week, I'm sure!

One Local Summer, Week 9

2008-07-30T12:31:00.006-04:00

We've already got a couple of dishes for Week 9 of the One Local Summer Challenge. We made something that we ate for breakfast. It was really hearty and substantial. We both really liked it.

Peach Crisp

Then we made a wonderful chili full of all sorts of yumminess. And the leftovers were even better!

Chili

One Local Summer, Week 8

2008-07-29T10:32:00.008-04:00

I forgot to post either of the meals from last week, so here they are.

Minute Steak Sandwiches with some very pink Beet and Potato Salad

Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans

One Local Summer, Week 7

2008-07-20T18:00:00.004-04:00

Just some plain old food - spaghetti with meat sauce. The sauce was great (the pasta, not so much). We made a casserole from the leftover sauce and it was goooood!

One Local Summer, Week 7

2008-07-17T07:21:00.002-04:00

This may be the only local meal we do this week. I am totally uninspired! This is turkey cutlets with cool pepper sauce, served with smashed potatoes and carrots.

One Local Summer, Week 6

2008-07-10T20:19:00.002-04:00

Quick post. Here's the latest - spaghetti casserole. Mmmm!

One Local Summer, Week 6

2008-07-08T16:39:00.003-04:00

This was our dessert last night. It's a plum and blueberry cobbler. It was good enough but the blueberries were much sourer than I had anticipated. The plums we used were incredible!

One Local Summer, Week 6

2008-07-06T16:12:00.002-04:00

This is our first entry for Week 6 of the One Local Summer Challenge. It is pot roast with roasted vegetables.

Simple and quite delicious!

One Local Summer, Week 5 Ends

2008-07-05T20:37:00.002-04:00

This was our last meal for the week and it was a nice local meal. We love these! I've been very anxious for the sweet corn to hit the farmer's markets and it finally did!

Creamy Corn and Chorizo-Stuffed Mushrooms

One Local Summer, Week 5

2008-07-05T08:41:00.004-04:00

I realized that I never posted this meal we had this week. This is grilled London broil with sauteed zucchini and smashed potatoes. The veggies were delicious!!

One Local Summer, Week 5

2008-06-29T15:21:00.003-04:00

More comfort food! This is an old recipe that I've made many, many times. It never fails.

Chicken Noodle Soup

One Local Summer, Week 5 Begins!

2008-06-29T10:35:00.003-04:00

Week 5 of the One Local Summer Challenge begins with breakfast. While we weren't wowed by the whole breakfast, we really did enjoy these little sweet biscuits.

Maple Sugar Ragamuffins

One Local Summer, Week 4 Wrap-Up

2008-06-29T10:33:00.004-04:00

This was the last of our dishes for Week 4 of the One Local Summer Challenge. This was really quite delicious!

Broccoli with Cheesy Mushroom Sauce

One Local Summer, Week 4

2008-06-26T08:59:00.003-04:00

And how about some dessert to top it all off?

Ricotta with Strawberries and Honey

One Local Summer, Week 4

2008-06-25T13:16:00.011-04:00

I have not been keeping up! I've been on vacation so I've been cooking up a storm. Here are three entries I forgot to post here:

Cucumber Sala d (we've reviewed this recipe before but here it is made locally)

Chicken Pot Pie

Cream of Asparagus Soup

This was a good batch. Everything was quite tasty!

One Local Summer, Week 4

2008-06-23T05:59:00.004-04:00

Dinner last night was really tasty! It was pork medallions and cherries. I think we will make this one again (if I can find fresh cherries, that is!).

Here's the link and a picture. Mmmm!

One Local Summer, Week 3 Continued Some More

2008-06-19T18:48:00.006-04:00

We made buffalo burgers on the grill tonight! (And when I say "we", I mean "He".) They were quite yummy and the whole meal was local. So, yet another meal for Week 3 of the Challenge.

Here's a link to the description.

One Local Summer, Week 3 Continued

2008-06-18T19:44:00.006-04:00

I'm very sleepy tonight! I took a sleeping pill but I'm trying to get this posted before I (hopefully) zonk out. Oh, the life of an insomniac!

Anyway, here is tonight's very yummy dinner - Buffalo Stew - our version.

Find the write-up over on Flickr here. I didn't even bother with the recipe! It's stew - how can you get it wrong??

One Local Summer, Week 3

2008-06-16T18:37:00.004-04:00

Tonight's meal was not so good. I may try it again some time with a few modifications. But it qualifies for the One Local Summer challenge and that's good.

Onion and Pepper Turkey Sausage with Braised Broccoli - find the post on Flickr here.

For some reason, the picture won't upload so you'll have to see it over on Flickr.

One Local Summer, Week 2 Continued

2008-06-12T21:39:00.004-04:00

I'm finding that all I want to do is direct you to my Flickr page for these meals. It takes a lot for me to spell out where everything comes from and by the time I get to this site, I'm about done with the describing!

So, tonight's meal was Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary and Thyme, served with beets. All of the info is here.

One Local Summer, Week 2

2008-06-09T20:36:00.004-04:00

This is our next entry in the One Local Summer Challenge. This is Beefaloaf and Roasted Veggies. I thought this was a really delicious meatloaf! You can pop on over to my Flickr site for the recipe and list of where the ingredients came from.

I can heartily recommend buffalo. This is the third time I've had it and I thoroughly enjoyed it every single time. I'm convinced!

Easy Summer Meal

2008-06-09T07:47:00.003-04:00

She Said:

We made a really nice and easy summer meal this past weekend. It was delicious and quite nutritious.

We started by preparing some fresh veggies - whatever's on hand will do. We had some carrots that we just got from the farmer's market that morning, two onions, a bag of frozen asparagus, and some fresh green beans from the grocery store. They were all prepared the same way - dumped into a roasting pan, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper and roasted in a 450 degree oven for about 40 minutes or so.

While the veggies were roasting, I prepared some Rice-a-Roni Nature's Way Parmesan and Romano flavor. I love that Rice-a-Roni came out with all natural rice, no preservatives or artificial flavorings and you make it with olive oil instead of butter. (Not that I have a problem with butter - olive oil is just healthier for you.) This rice is really delicious!

Then He prepared the salmon. A huge fillet from the grocery store. He poured a bottle of Lawry's lemon pepper marinade over it while He prepared the grill. Once the grill was ready, He used a technique we learned from step-Dad-in-law - He made a little pan of aluminum foil, sprayed that with cooking spray, put the salmon (skin side up) on the hot grill and let it go for about 5 minutes. He then easily peeled off the skin and flipped the salmon over for another 3 minutes.

That's it! Easy, delicious, nutritious - it does not get any better than that!

_________________________

He Said:

Ok, fine! I admit it. I have, in the past, been a little (read: a lot) intimidated of grilling salmon. You know, on the grill. With the skin. Salmon. Yikes! Well, folks, I am here to tell you that I am intimidated no more. You got salmon? I say 'Bring It On!'. Yep, I finally learnt how to cook salmon on the grill and, who knew?, it is super easy. She describes the technique up above and I highly recommend that you try it yourself. It's easy, delicious and very healthy. What more could anyone ask?

No, I mean besides winning the lottery. Sheesh!

One Local Summer, Week 1 Continued

2008-06-05T19:43:00.016-04:00

Breakfast for dinner tonight! We had eggs, scrapple, toast and milk. Delish!

The entry on Flickr is here and here's the lowdown:

Eggs from Jack's Farm - 13.8 miles

Butter from Liberty Bell Butter - approx. 30 miles

Scrapple from Country Time Farm - 53.7 miles

Cracked wheat toast from St. Peter's Bakery (the sign at the whole food market said that this bread was made from all local ingredients) - approx. 14 miles

Milk from Merrymead Farm - 12.5 miles

The only things that weren't local were the salt and pepper on the eggs.

One Local Summer, Week 1

2008-06-03T19:48:00.011-04:00

Today began our foray into the One Local Summer Challenge. I decided to keep the pictures in a set on my Flickr account, but we'll also be posting them here, along with the recipes.

Here is our first week's entry, made with all local ingredients.

Chicken Florentine Sausage Frittata

1 lb. chicken florentine sausage, cut into 1/2" slices

1 tbsp. butter
6 eggs
1/4 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup swiss cheese, shredded

Saute sausage pieces in oven-safe skillet until browned. Remove sausage from pan and cool slightly. Wipe skillet dry. When sausage is cool, chop sausage into bite size pieces. In a bowl, combine eggs, half-and-half, chives and parsley. Melt butter in original skillet. Return cooled sausage to pan and saute slightly until browned all over. Pour egg mixture over sausage in skillet. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes until the eggs are set. Remove cover. Sprinkle cheese over top. Broil uncovered until cheese is melted and slightly browned. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Sausage from Mountain View Poultry Farm - 55.9 miles

Butter from Liberty Bell Butter - approx. 30 miles

Eggs from Jack's Farm - 13.8 miles

Half-and-half from Merrymead Farm - 12.5 miles

Chives from our garden - 0 miles

Parsley from our garden - 0 miles

Swiss cheese (Highland Alpine) from Birchrun Hills Farm - 11.5 miles

Stuffed Mushrooms

2008-05-23T18:55:00.009-04:00

$4.19 for two mushrooms

She Said:

I don't like going to the Giant supermarket here any more. It's always so crowded and I'm old and I get anxious in a crowded store. Plus, I'm bound to punch someone right in the throat if they annoy me too much, so it's best if I stay away from the crowds, no? But, the Giant was the closest store tonight and we went in for salmon.

While we were shopping for the salmon, I spied their famous stuffed mushrooms. They stuff them with crab imperial and they are absolutely fantastic. They're just about the same size as my head, too, so that's nice. We got two of them.

We brought the salmon home and gave it a coating of some ancho pepper dry rub and stuck it in the fridge to season. In the meantime, we indulged in these stuffed mushrooms. Hello! They were just amazing. And quite enough for a meal!

We left the salmon in the fridge for an early dinner tomorrow night.

___________________________

He Said:

Back in the day, if you bought pre-made food stuff from the grocery store you were really going out on a limb. The quality was a little, let's say, sketchy. Not to mention, risky. These days, however, it's quite another story. These days you can actually buy some pretty great stuff at the grocery store. I put the stuffed mushrooms from Giant in that 'pretty great' category. Simply pick up a couple of those overstuffed babies, stick 'em in a hot oven for 15 - 20 minutes and voilà! You are now an appetizer hero.

Bask in the glory, my friends. Bask in the glory.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

2008-05-08T21:17:00.012-04:00

She Said:

I'm going to have to file this one under comfort food, for sure. Our youngest was visiting this afternoon and I asked him to open the pantry and tell me what he would make for dinner with the things we had in there. Between what he suggested and what I suggested, we came up with a really yummy tuna noodle casserole. Here's the recipe.

8 oz. spaghetti noodles

Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions.

1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 stick butter

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat, add the onion, salt and pepper and cook until onions are soft.

1/4 cup flour

Mix in flour and stir until smooth and bubbly.

1 3/4 cups skim milk

Slowly add in milk and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Once the mixture starts to boil, stir constantly for 1 minute. Then turn off heat.

8 oz. Velveeta, diced
1 cup shredded cheese (most any kind will do - I use reduced fat 4-cheese Mexican or reduced fat 4-cheese Italian)

Add the cheese to the milk mixture and stir until the cheese is melted.

2 6-oz. cans chunk light tuna in water, drained
1 12-oz. can sweet baby peas, drained

Mix together cooked spaghetti, cheese sauce, tuna and peas. Place into 1-1/2 quart casserole.

1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup shredded cheese

Top casserole with bread crumbs and shredded cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbly. Makes 4 hearty servings.

I totally loved this meal tonight! A winner if you're looking for something quick, easy, cheap and satisfying. Yum!

P.S. No one ever got fired for adding mushrooms to a casserole like this. Just sayin'...

____________________________

He Said:

Going out to restaurants or whipping up some award winning recipe are both great things to do but let's face it, more often than not we spend our evenings thinking "Hmmmm...I wonder what we should have for dinner." It's often from that moment of wondering-ment-ness that the best ideas spring forth. Last night, for example. She and our youngest banged their heads together for a minute or two and came up with this wonderfully comforting tuna noodle casserole with stuff that was just lying around waiting to be ett up. Healthy? Nope. Nutritious? Maybe a little bit still...not so much.

Delicious and all happy-making? You betcha!

Charlie's

2008-04-28T07:20:00.006-04:00

336 Kedron Ave
Folsom, PA
$13 for 2 singles, 2 specials and 1 black-and-white shake

He Said:

There are some unbelievable dining experiences in this world that everyone should try at least once. Let's see, there's Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia, PA, El Bulli in Spain, Chez Panisse in Berkely, CA, and Noma in Copenhagen, just to name a few. And while these are, indeed, fine eating establishments, I think that it's high time that an oft-overlooked gem gets added to this list. That restaurant is, of course, Charlie's Hamburgers in Folsom, PA.

Ok, maybe Charlie's doesn't have the same snooty ambience as those other places, and maybe if you don't order quite right you might get yelled at, and maybe the buns are just a tad greasy, but when you take your first (and second and third and fourth) bite of that skinny little burger with super creamy cheese (I suspect that it's Velveeta) you just can't help but to let out a little moan. Mmmmmmm. That's some damn good eatin'!

Now, I do understand that it may be a little intimidating to order at first if you don't know the rules so I am here to help you out. Here's an example of a perfect order:

"Hi. I'll have two double cheese loaded, one special, two bags of chips and two black and whites for here." Then you go sit at the counter. Or the window bar. There are no tables.

See? Simple really. Just remember a few basic facts and you are good to go.

One: No fries. You will definitely get yelled at if you order fries. This ain't no Burger King!
Two: No bacon, lettuce, mushrooms, guacomole or anything else weird.
Three: Charlie's is not open on Tuesdays. Never has been, never will be.
And four: If you go, please pick up a few burgers for me. I am always in the mood for Charlie's!

__________________________________________________________

She Said:

Charlie's. Just the name makes me drool. No, I'm serious. I now have to go clean up my keyboard.

OK, sorry, that was a bit gross. But, oh my ever-lovin' goodness, these are the best hamburgers on the planet! We get to go once, maybe twice, a year. We're actually starting to try and calculate whether or not it's worth the drive just for the heck of it. I'm thinking it is.

These burgers are yum-inspiring. There is no speaking for me while eating one of these, unless it is to proclaim my disbelief at how good they are. I was introduced to Charlie's years ago when I lived closer than I do now. The ride was about 15 minutes and, looking back, I don't understand why I didn't get there more often. My kids loved it, I loved it - everyone loved it! Now it's about an hour away - I missed my opportunities!

While I'm still a little frightened when approaching the ordering counter, I hold my head up high and order two singles with everything (or maybe I should be saying "loaded" - I don't know) and a black-and-white milkshake (they're big enough to split with your loving husband and made with some of the best-tasting ice cream I've ever had).

Sidle up to the counter, order yourself some of this goodness, and enjoy the ride! It's a pleasure worth seeking again and again.

Maybe I'll see you there this afternoon!

Lobster Mac-n-Cheese

2008-04-14T07:55:00.007-04:00

She Said:

Spur of the moment decision on Saturday. We had been out running around ALL.DAY and decided to head out to the Black Lab Bistro for dinner. (I will NEVER think that this is a bad decision!) This review is going to concentrate on our appetizer, rather than the whole meal.

We had Lobster Mac-n-Cheese as an appetizer. Wow! It was so creamy and decadent! And the crumb topping was bursting with flavors of fresh herbs and garlic. This dish is available as an appetizer or as a meal with half- or full portions. We split the appetizer and, honestly, that was enough for me. It was soooooo rich that I don't think I could have it as my meal.

Although, if that's what was laid in front of me as my meal, I'd give it the old college try! It was fabulous.

____________________________________________________

He Said:

Lobster Mac and Cheese from The Black Lab Bistro? Three words:
Yes, yes and yes.

Man, that's some serious good stuff right there. Hey, let's dissect this meal and see if we can figure out why it's so tasty. Let's see:

Mac - good
Cheese - better
Lobster - best

Ok, I think that 'bout sums it up. Pretty simple, eh?

Seven Stars Inn

2008-03-18T19:00:00.020-04:00

263 Hoffecker Rd, Phoenixville, PA 19460
$89 for one appetizer and two entrees, no beverages

She Said:

This one was a poll winner a while back and we never went because, well, because we started eating sensibly and losing a little weight. But, I logged onto their website yesterday and found out that Tuesdays are BYO night! Huzzah!! So I made an early reservation and we headed out tonight. We brought a bottle of Ridge Zinfandel with us (around $28).

Um, I'm going to tell you that the amount of food you get is enough to choke a horse - especially if you get one of the steaks! I didn't get one of the steaks - this time - but what I did have stuffed me full to the brim. Here's how the food went:

1. There was a bowl of cheese and crackers on the table. How fun! We each had one (we knew we were in for a big dinner).

2. We split an appetizer that wasn't even on the menu (the waitress suggested it) - it was a jumbo lump crabmeat cocktail. Simply delicious! It was chunky crab but delicate and very flavorful - plus their cocktail sauce was excellent.

3. The warm sourdough bread that they served with perfectly softened butter was splendid. So light and delicious - great!

4. The dinner came with a tossed salad, your choice of dressing. I went with Russian, since I haven't had it for quite a while. The salad ingredients were very fresh and crisp - well done!

5. As an entree, I had the Sautéed Lobster, Shrimp, Scallops, Crabmeat in wine and cream sauce. The scallops stole the show - they were sublime! Truly sublime! And that huge piece of lobster tail in there? That was no slouch either! The sauce was wonderful - decadent and scrumptious.

And that's all she wrote. (I'll let "He" tell you about his dinner.) Oh, the dinner came with 2 veggies, which were fine. I had the pickled red beets and creamed peas. Those were not really anything to write home about but who goes to Seven Stars for the veggies?? I could not get over the price. If you don't pay for beverages and can't possibly eat dessert, it turns out that, even if you pay $34 for an entree, it just doesn't cost that much for 2 people to eat there. An incredible surprise!

We will be back. Probably next Tuesday night. To have dinner with our new friends, Mr. & Mrs. Very Rich (we want them to adopt us). Great meal - great dinner companion (as always). I'm very glad we went.

____________________________________

He Said

Last night She and I finally got over to the Seven Stars Inn located in the beautiful outskirts of Phoenixville, PA, and I must say that I was very impressed. The first thing that I noticed was the building itself. Chock-a-Block full of history and charm. Fancy-ish but comfortable. I believe that the restaurant was established in 1736 or 1492 or 10,000 B.C. or something old like that. Nice place. Really nice. The next thing that I noticed was the service. Everyone there was very nice and actually seemed pleased that we decided to grace them with our presence. We were about to be seated at a table when the hostess noticed a tiny stain on the tablecloth. She was not happy. She sat us at a different table and proceeded to get someone to change that tablecloth. I liked that.

Then there's the food.

I ordered the House specialty which is Prime Rib. You know that giant slab of meat that flips Fred Flinstone's car on its side? Yeah, that's what I had. This thing was GI-NORMOUS! It was 32oz or 40oz or 10,000 B.C. or something huge like that and was absolutely delicious! Perfectly seasoned, well cooked and, did I mention, GI-NORMOUS! I also had some side dishes which were all fine, but the star of the show was definitely that steak.

Top off all this greatness with the fact that Tuesday's are BYOB nights (making our huge dinner less than $90 for two!) and you've got yourself some regulars, my friends. Plus, the Inn is only about 10 minutes from our house. Sweet!

St. Peter's Cream Stout

2008-03-14T07:27:00.005-04:00

She Said:

Hey, look - it's a beer post! How fun! I don't drink as much beer as I do wine - beer makes me very full and I'm not usually in the mood for that. However, during yesterday's chili- and jerky-making time, beer seemed to be the right thing for the moment. And we happen to have a couple of very interesting ones in the house.

The first one we had was the best, in my opinion. It was an imperial pint bottle (20 oz.), so we split it. It was called St. Peter's Cream Stout. And, boy, was that good!

Creamy, strong flavors of coffee and toasted grains - this was a winner in my book. And a gorgeous color to boot! Very, very dark - almost black. Served up in one of our brand new Guinness pub glasses, it was perfect. Highly recommended!

And go browse around their website. It's quite an interesting read. Lots of history there! Imagine - history at an English brewery!

_____________________________________

He Said:

Let's see. How would I describe St. Peter's Cream Stout in one word or less? I'd have to go with "yumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyumyum". Yeah, that about sums it up. I really loved this beer. Not the beer I would want after mowing the lawn and needing something super-thirst-quenching but perfect for those times when you're looking for a smooth, creamy, aromatic experience (which came out sounding much dirtier than I intended!). Oh, and it comes in a pretty cool bottle, too.

If you like English ales (and I don't understand you if you don't), I think that you will really enjoy this one. Bottoms up!

Spice (Rack) of Life

2008-03-11T11:29:00.015-04:00

He Said:

For a very long time I have been trying to figure out the best way to store (and retrieve) the myriad of spices that have accumulated in our kitchen. We've tried a million different things. Spice racks that fit in drawers; spice racks that stack and spin; spice racks on a lazy susan (that wasn't too bad, actually) but I was never satisfied. Surely there's a better way.

Well, I think that we've finally found it.

About two months ago we purchased a custom magnetic spice rack from a neat little company called, ironically enough, Custom Magnetic Spice Rack. The tins we bought were a mixture of round 2.5 oz, 4 oz, and 8 oz tins. They also sent enough magnetic strip to cover the number of tins that we bought. The tins have clear lids so that you can see when you're getting low on something (like cumin - man, we are always running out of cumin!) and we bought the labels that the company sells which covered most of the spices that we wanted to store. These things are great! As you can see from the pictures, they are handy and yet out of the way. I've always loved to cook and these tins make the experience that much better. The only drawback that I've found so far is that there are a few that have extremely tight lids and it can be a real bitch getting them off. Maybe I'll try switching a few lids around and see if that helps.

Anyway, if you're like me and looking for a way to store your spices in an easy, attractive (I think) and handy fashion, you might give these a try. I highly recommend them.

___________________________________

She Said:

I am not the cook in the house. I'll gladly help out, I'll pick out recipes, I'll chop and prepare, but I don't really like to do the actual cooking. (Or cleaning up, but that's a whole other post!)

So, when we are in the kitchen preparing meals together (which is how we like it), and I'm reading the recipe and pulling out the necessary ingredients, it is so nice to be able to just swing the cabinet doors open (I find that we generally leave them open the entire time the meal is being prepared) and find what I need - fast and easy!

Plus, I'm about 5-foot-nothing and it was always difficult for me to find the spices that seemed to propagate on those shelves! This is such a great solution to a problem that has vexed us for years. And we regained counter space to boot - and who couldn't use a little more counter space, honestly??

How Sweet It Is!

2008-02-17T23:16:00.010-05:00

Three Rivers Late Harvest Gewürztraminer, $18 for 375 ml bottle

She Said:

I had my first sweet wine when I was about 20 years old. I was sipping port in front of a crackling fireplace, listening to Ella Fitzgerald. My next sweet wine was the sherry that I sipped sitting in front of a huge window that overlooked a beautiful marina in St. Michael's, MD many years later. The next time I had sweet wine was a bottle of port that He and I drank while listening to classical music and opera at the best B&B in the world in Eaton Center, NH.

I was totally hooked from the very start.

Sweet wines, for me, though, are rather situational. I wouldn't want to drink them on a regular basis for fear of them losing their "special." And they are special.

We are members of three monthly wine clubs here in Pennsylvania. They are three different levels of price but every month the themes are similar. This past month it was celebratory wines. We got three sweet wines to try. Last night, we finished the bottle of Three Rivers Late Harvest Gewürztraminer. We drank it over two nights. The first night was amazing because of the situation. We had had our Valentine's Day dinner and the Gewürztraminer was dessert. It was the perfect ending of the perfect meal. Last night was good, too, but not like that first night.

I do love those special occasions where I get to sit and drink in the wine and the wonder all around me. Sweet wines put the exclamation point on a great time for me. Whether it's port or sherry or ice wine or a late harvest anything, it's simply lovely.

_________________________________

He Said:

Seriously, you had me at "Late Harvest". We had the opportunity to try Three Rivers Late Harvest Gewürztraminer the other night and man, that is some tasty drinkin' right there. Sweet, thick and just right when you're looking for just a little sump'n sump'n after a fine meal. It's not for everyday drinking but if you haven't tried a late harvest sweet wine on a nice, quiet evening with your significant other then you just haven't lived. So go grab some Billie Holiday, lower the lights, pour a little of this sweet nectar into your glass and share it with someone you love. Now that's a recipe we can all enjoy!

Veggie Burger Extraordinaire (a.k.a. My House Smells Incredible!)

2008-02-06T21:14:00.000-05:00

She Said:

OK, folks, this just ain't right. There is no way that a "burger" made from lentils should make me swoon. But swoon, I did.

These things are fabulous! (Of course, it did not hurt that we grilled the whole wheat hamburger rolls in just a touch of butter before grilling the "burgers" in the same pan. One must do what one must do!)

We did not have the arugula or tomatoes on hand so these were served with just a good ol' fashioned grainy mustard (plenty of it, I might add) and they were just wonderful! Oh, and I didn't have smoked cheddar, so I used smoked gouda.

I heartily recommend!!!

(7 WW points per serving, including the roll - not bad at all!)

_____________________________________

He Said:

Alright, now I'm really miffed. See, I have been very happy my entire life with the "Veggie Burgers? Blech!! No Way!!" stance. I mean, seriously, those are disgusting, right? I would now like to change my answer to B) Wrong.

We had these lentil burgers a couple of nights ago and I am (still!) surprised to report back that they were really (read: really really) good. They, of course, did not taste like a hamburger (mmmmm...hamburger...drool..) but I don't believe that that's the point. They were tasty and crunchy and lentil-y and the toasted roll was pretty darn good too.

If you can get past the "Veggie Burgers? Are you kidding me?" phase, I totally recommend these. Delicious and healthy. Who'd a thunk it? Not me, that's for sure.

Cookies without the guilt

2008-02-05T06:55:00.000-05:00

He Said:

You know how you really love love love cookies but you try, usually unsuccessfully, to avoid them because you're really trying to be healthy? Yeah, I know that feeling, too. Fortunately for you (and by "you", I clearly mean "me"), I found this great recipe over on the Eating Well site called "One Nutty Date" that is absolutely mah-velous. They are healthy and, equally as important, easy to make. Oh, and I discovered that today's "Natural" peanut butter is not the same as that "Natural" peanut butter from days of yore. Today's actually tastes like peanut butter. How cool is that? Anyway, here's the recipe.

Enjoy.

_____________________________________________________________

She Said:

Well, there's peanut butter. Right off the bat, I'm sold. Although, I do have to say that I'm not normally a "peanut butter cookie" fan so much, but these have so much more going for them - plus that great taste of peanut butter - they were an instant hit with me.

They have dates. Dates. I'm not sure I've ever even had dates before. But you know what? I like 'em! In fact, they're mostly texture - not a whole lot of overwhelming flavor.

I wasn't sure I was going to like the cinnamon with the peanut butter but all of these separate flavors all work very well together. The white chocolate drizzle is a must. (We, ignorantly, used those things they call "white chocolate morsels", 'cause the recipe called for white chocolate chips - silly us - and then found out later that they are actually pseudo-white-chocolate and we'd have been better off chopping up some real white chocolate to use, but, oh well - it tasted good anyway!)

Based on Weight Watchers standards, these puppies are 2 points each but they are delicious and satisfying and you will probably be able to stop at one or two (at a sitting, that is!). You will be back for more later, though. I promise.

Really Basic - Shrimp with Garlic

2008-01-18T23:20:00.001-05:00

She Said:

Tonight, we made some simple shrimp - a recipe we got from Andrea Immer-Robinson's Pairings show. It's a Spanish dish, but really basic. And delicious!

Gambas Con Ajillo

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, thawed if frozen
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
chopped parsley for garnish, optional

Instructions:

1. In a cast iron skillet, heat olive oil to medium/high.
2. Add garlic and cook stirring until garlic is fragrant.
3. Increase heat to high and add shrimp.Cook stirring until garlic is beginning to brown
and shrimp are cooked through.
4. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with parsley if
using.

We didn't use the parsley, mostly because we don't happen to have any on hand at the moment. But it was just great. Try it - really easy and really yummy.

_____________________________________________________

He Said:

You know how, sometimes, when you get home from a long hard day in the mines and you're all hungry and yet too tired to make anything too elaborate but still wish that you could have something delicious and not the same old tuna fish sandwich even though you really do love a nice tuna fish sandwich every now and then but for right now you'd rather have something that seems a little more special?

Yeah, me too.

Fortunately, She and I are here to help. We had the easiest shrimp dinner last night that I have ever made. It took all of 10 minutes from start to finish. And was it good? Oh yeah. It was, as my friends in Belgium say, shrimp-tastic!

Actually, it might be Bolivia that they say that.

Bourbon-Glazed Salmon

2008-01-10T06:59:00.000-05:00

He Said:

Ok, this one hurt a little. I mean, I really like salmon. And I really like bourbon. I like soy sauce, ginger, sesame seeds, garlic and green onions. I like all of these things. But ohmygreatgolly, put them together and WOW! This was fantastic! And super-easy to make. No really. Super-easy. And it's from Cooking Light, so it's got to be healthy, right? The only change I might make next time is to double the amount of glaze. It's just so good!

The salmon cooked up nice and flaky and the glaze had just the right amount of zingy. We had this with steamed veggies and I felt like we were eating fine restaurant food. I would have to give this recipe two enthusiastic thumbs up. And, you know, if I had a third thumb, it would be up as well.

Wow, that last sentence was sort of weird, wasn't it?

Ingredients
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets
Cooking spray
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

Preparation
Combine first 7 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add fish to bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 1 1/2 hours, turning occasionally.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add fish and marinade to pan; cook fish 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Place 1 fillet on each of 4 plates; drizzle each serving with about 2 teaspoons sauce. Sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon green onions and 3/4 teaspoon sesame seeds.

Yield
4 servings

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 353(36% from fat); FAT 14.1g (sat 3.2g,mono 6g,poly 3.6g); PROTEIN 37.4g; CHOLESTEROL 87mg; CALCIUM 41mg; SODIUM 281mg; FIBER 0.3g; IRON 4.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 13g

Esther Maples, Harlem, Georgia ,
Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2007

____________________________________

She Said:

I am new on the salmon bandwagon, but when I finally jumped aboard, I did so with both feet. I love me some good salmon and this recipe is fantastic!

The glaze was so scrumptious and I love, love, love the sesame seeds and green onions on the top. Such a great combination of flavors! (Oh, to have been drinking something equally as delicious with it - a really nice riesling or a good Gewurztraminer - but, alas, no drinking during the week! Makes me think that we should try this recipe again on the weekend so I can experiment with some pairings!)

We chose not to include any carbs in this meal (simply because I'm trying to cut down on calories) but I did not miss them in the least. With my heaping helping of steamed veggies (cauliflower, broccoli and carrots), I drizzled just the tiniest bit of an oriental vinaigrette that I had made over the top, sprinkled the veggies with some toasted sesame seeds and felt myself transported to Nirvana.

Gotta say - this is one of the best "diet" meals I have ever had! Bursting with flavor, color and textures - it was excellent!