Some nights there just isn't anything on television. Last night that happened, and we did the unthinkable....we turned it off and went to bed. Most nights though, we find something palatable and stay up anyway.
On one of those "nothing good on TV nights" Brian found "America's Test Kitchen" on PBS. (I know! PBS has good kids' stuff and the occasional concert or documentary, but other stuff too!) This is a show where they put recipes to the test, making them many times to decide the "best" way. They also have segments on testing out kitchen gadgets too. And it's produced and filmed in Boston, so there's the local flair of it too. Brian's put a bunch of them on our DVR and we've found some delicious things.
The first one? Shepherd's Pie. I've been making it for years, using the recipe in the cookbook from the campground that Brian's family has been going to since he was a kid. It's good....but nothing dynamite. Ground beef sauteed with onion, add a can of drained corn, some flour to thicken it up, then put in an oven-safe pan and cover with mashed potatoes. To make it more flavorful we added a layer of shredded cheddar between the potatoes and meat, and like it with steak sauce dolloped on top of the individual servings.
Yep.....ATK found a way to improve all of that. Last night's shepherd's pie omitted the corn and added mushrooms, peas and carrots. They used baking soda as a tenderizer for the meat, and the potatoes got "chived." The whole thing was cooked in a cast iron skillet (ease from stovetop to oven) so it was truly a one-pan recipe. And the scalloped top of the casserole with the potatoes perfectly browned? I bow down to you, America's Test Kitchen. This was a delightful Sunday dinner.
The only problem is, theirs takes like two hours to prepare. So obviously, this is NOT a weeknight dinner for sure. But it makes a ton of leftovers, so I know what's for lunch almost every day this week. No steak sauce required. :)
Monday, March 4, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Best of the Week
We had a week of crappy dinners. Lots of hustle and bustle tends to do that, so it was meals made of boring chicken and ho-hum canned veggies. One night even featured a skillet meal from the freezer section, something that we used to rely heavily upon. I'm glad we've gotten away from that stuff!
I know that we are going to have a lot of meals in the next couple of months that have "quick" and "convenient" ingredients. Neither one of us likes it, though. , This week Brian wrote a menu that put that stuff to shame. Lemony Zucchini Risotto on Thursday night, served with a poached egg on top. We've made that one a few times now, and I still love it just as much, and ALWAYS have the leftovers for breakfast the next day!! I am kind of in love with risotto, and will definitely be happy to try some more versions.
The most intriguing meal? Roasted chicken and kimchi-smashed potatoes.
This one comes courtesy of Epicurious....which has never produced a bad meal in our kitchen. This one didn't disappoint, either. Kimchi is not something I thought that I'd want to try, nor did I think that my husband would MAKE kimchi. For those who don't know, kimchi is a fermented cabbage dish from Korea. Authentic kimchi is mixed up in glass jars and left to ferment for some time. I had a boyfriend in high school whose mother was Korean, and she used to make it and leave the jars on their back deck.
Anyway, the recipe called for store-bought jarred kimchi. Our local market didn't have it, and I was shocked (shocked!) not to find it at Wegman's. So we found some cabbage/slaw mix in the produce aisle and decided to give it a whirl. The spices are more authentic, but the cabbage blend was more "pickled" than fermented. Looked pretty authentic!
First of all, I have to admit. Kimchi does not look appetizing. But this meal was actually pretty great. The chicken thighs were spicy and quite crispy, with the perfect blend of sririacha and fresh garlic. The kimchi was good, and the dandelion greens were bitter but worked in the dish. I don't know if this is something I'd eat again, but I was pleasantly surprised!
I know that we are going to have a lot of meals in the next couple of months that have "quick" and "convenient" ingredients. Neither one of us likes it, though. , This week Brian wrote a menu that put that stuff to shame. Lemony Zucchini Risotto on Thursday night, served with a poached egg on top. We've made that one a few times now, and I still love it just as much, and ALWAYS have the leftovers for breakfast the next day!! I am kind of in love with risotto, and will definitely be happy to try some more versions.
The most intriguing meal? Roasted chicken and kimchi-smashed potatoes.
This one comes courtesy of Epicurious....which has never produced a bad meal in our kitchen. This one didn't disappoint, either. Kimchi is not something I thought that I'd want to try, nor did I think that my husband would MAKE kimchi. For those who don't know, kimchi is a fermented cabbage dish from Korea. Authentic kimchi is mixed up in glass jars and left to ferment for some time. I had a boyfriend in high school whose mother was Korean, and she used to make it and leave the jars on their back deck.
Anyway, the recipe called for store-bought jarred kimchi. Our local market didn't have it, and I was shocked (shocked!) not to find it at Wegman's. So we found some cabbage/slaw mix in the produce aisle and decided to give it a whirl. The spices are more authentic, but the cabbage blend was more "pickled" than fermented. Looked pretty authentic!
First of all, I have to admit. Kimchi does not look appetizing. But this meal was actually pretty great. The chicken thighs were spicy and quite crispy, with the perfect blend of sririacha and fresh garlic. The kimchi was good, and the dandelion greens were bitter but worked in the dish. I don't know if this is something I'd eat again, but I was pleasantly surprised!
Monday, February 18, 2013
Company's Coming
...or maybe that should be company came, but whatever.
I had a few of my knitting group friends over for dinner the other night. Brian offered to cook us dinner instead of ordering out, and I gladly took him up on it. He asked a friend at work, "What do you cook four women?" His friend replied "I'm sure they'll appreciate whatever you make, because they didn't have to cook it!"
Roasted cranberry chicken, lemon and thyme quinoa, sauteed green beans. Damn! Brian even did the "Iron Chef" description of what he did as we started to eat, but I'm not sure anyone but me heard him. We were already busily scarfing down the deliciousness. Lots of leftovers too. Oh, and I haven't been a big believer in quinoa in the past, but this recipe from America's Test Kitchen has made me a raving fan. Into the notebook it goes!
The next day, we roasted a turkey. One of my tenants asked if I'd like to have a frozen turkey that she wasn't going to use so of course I said yes. We had my brother and SIL over, and it was a fun night. lots of leftovers from that too, despite sending them home with some.
And then last night, my next door neighbor brought over a baked ziti casserole as a thank you for helping clear her driveway last week during Snowpocalpyse '13. Had that for dinner the past two nights, and there's STILL three helpings left for lunch(es). Talk about a very good weekend!
I had a few of my knitting group friends over for dinner the other night. Brian offered to cook us dinner instead of ordering out, and I gladly took him up on it. He asked a friend at work, "What do you cook four women?" His friend replied "I'm sure they'll appreciate whatever you make, because they didn't have to cook it!"
Roasted cranberry chicken, lemon and thyme quinoa, sauteed green beans. Damn! Brian even did the "Iron Chef" description of what he did as we started to eat, but I'm not sure anyone but me heard him. We were already busily scarfing down the deliciousness. Lots of leftovers too. Oh, and I haven't been a big believer in quinoa in the past, but this recipe from America's Test Kitchen has made me a raving fan. Into the notebook it goes!
The next day, we roasted a turkey. One of my tenants asked if I'd like to have a frozen turkey that she wasn't going to use so of course I said yes. We had my brother and SIL over, and it was a fun night. lots of leftovers from that too, despite sending them home with some.
And then last night, my next door neighbor brought over a baked ziti casserole as a thank you for helping clear her driveway last week during Snowpocalpyse '13. Had that for dinner the past two nights, and there's STILL three helpings left for lunch(es). Talk about a very good weekend!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
No Cheese Necessary?!
As stated before, I love "stuff on toast." My favorite sandwich in the world is probably hot turkey and gravy on toast. Which I don't eat very often. So when I saw a recipe for Steak and Onion Sandwiches, I knew it was only a matter of time. Fridays are tough dinner nights at our house because quite often after five days of working, neither one of us feels like cooking.
Meet last Friday's dinner. Rib-eye steak, caramelized onions over crusty rosemary bread. (The recipe called for sourdough...we couldn't find it at two grocery stores.) Served with frozen sweet potato fries. Awesome!!
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Note: We ate this sometime in January, I believe. No idea why it is posting NOW, but let's just roll with it! :)
Meet last Friday's dinner. Rib-eye steak, caramelized onions over crusty rosemary bread. (The recipe called for sourdough...we couldn't find it at two grocery stores.) Served with frozen sweet potato fries. Awesome!!
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Note: We ate this sometime in January, I believe. No idea why it is posting NOW, but let's just roll with it! :)
Sunday Surprise
Brian felt so sorry for my Florida trip getting trumped by Snowstorm Nemo, he cooked me Eggs Benedict. :)
Sassy/Saucy
Monday Night, 5:40pm. I'm starving.
Brian's clearing the driveway a bit more after this past weekend's blizzard, so I decide that I am going to cook a fast, simple dinner. Defrosted pork chops in the fridge, waiting to be dropped into a hot skillet. To make it friendly to all household members and FAST, I add a box of Kraft Mac n Cheese and a can of green beans. I just don't want the complaints tonight and when we all eat the same dinner, everyone wins.
Then my wheels start turning and I decide to improvise a sauce for the pork. This is what I came up with, and it was delicious! Note: this isn't quite a recipe, as I don't have exact measurements of every ingredient, nor how long I cooked this. It's very much make-it-up-as-you-go-along, or MIUAYGA :)
Honey-Mustard Sauce
1 cup yellow mustard
1/2 cup honey
2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped fine
couple of shakes of dried rosemary and dried sage (I really have no idea how much, but not a lot.)
Salt and pepper to taste.
chicken broth, to thin the sauce towards the end
I sauteed the garlic, then added the honey, mustard and spices to the saucepan. After this got a bit bubbly, I added it to the pan drippings from the pork chops. It got a bit thick, so I added chicken broth to thin it out a bit. Two of the three pork chops were added back to the pan (the boys probably wouldn't eat this and barely are the last pork chop split between them) to coat. Simple, yet divine. And pretty fast on a Monday night, as dinner was on the table at quarter past six! You have to love that.
Brian's clearing the driveway a bit more after this past weekend's blizzard, so I decide that I am going to cook a fast, simple dinner. Defrosted pork chops in the fridge, waiting to be dropped into a hot skillet. To make it friendly to all household members and FAST, I add a box of Kraft Mac n Cheese and a can of green beans. I just don't want the complaints tonight and when we all eat the same dinner, everyone wins.
Then my wheels start turning and I decide to improvise a sauce for the pork. This is what I came up with, and it was delicious! Note: this isn't quite a recipe, as I don't have exact measurements of every ingredient, nor how long I cooked this. It's very much make-it-up-as-you-go-along, or MIUAYGA :)
Honey-Mustard Sauce
1 cup yellow mustard
1/2 cup honey
2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped fine
couple of shakes of dried rosemary and dried sage (I really have no idea how much, but not a lot.)
Salt and pepper to taste.
chicken broth, to thin the sauce towards the end
I sauteed the garlic, then added the honey, mustard and spices to the saucepan. After this got a bit bubbly, I added it to the pan drippings from the pork chops. It got a bit thick, so I added chicken broth to thin it out a bit. Two of the three pork chops were added back to the pan (the boys probably wouldn't eat this and barely are the last pork chop split between them) to coat. Simple, yet divine. And pretty fast on a Monday night, as dinner was on the table at quarter past six! You have to love that.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Super Meatloaf
In honor of the Superbowl (not that anyone was really caring in our house, since neither of our teams was in it) we made a Super Meatloaf. I'm not usually a big fan of meatloaf, but this was an exception: bacon.
Because bacon-wrapped meatloaf has GOT to be delicious, right? Three of the four family members agree....it indeed was SUPER! The fourth didn't like it but didn't make gagging noises at it AND was running a fever, so if that wasn't going on I conclude that he would've liked it. It had two of his favorite things making a joint appearance: burger and bacon. What's not to like?
Recipe from Epicurious. I got a lot of Facebook comments on it...one person asked if I had stuffed it with cheese as well, as her mother-in-law prepares it. Well, I didn't, but I know what to strive for next time!
Because bacon-wrapped meatloaf has GOT to be delicious, right? Three of the four family members agree....it indeed was SUPER! The fourth didn't like it but didn't make gagging noises at it AND was running a fever, so if that wasn't going on I conclude that he would've liked it. It had two of his favorite things making a joint appearance: burger and bacon. What's not to like?
Recipe from Epicurious. I got a lot of Facebook comments on it...one person asked if I had stuffed it with cheese as well, as her mother-in-law prepares it. Well, I didn't, but I know what to strive for next time!
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