Stroganoff and Lasagna

So, we've been trying a lot of new things from the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook and love it. We recently made the Crockpot Curried Chicken, the Vegetable Lasagna with Mushrooms and Spinach, and the Beef Stroganoff. The Lasagna and Stroganoff were faboulous and the crockpot chicken (my first crockpot recipe) was pretty good as well. The Stroganoff calls for Filet Mignon, which was a little pricey, but it only calls for a little, so it's not that bad and it was DELICIOUS! A far cry from the very heavy, ground-beef Stroganoff I remember growing up. I've been looking for a long time for a good lasagna recipe, and we loved this one--it calls for fresh basil and the tomato sauce that they have you make is quite tasty. We froze half of it after baking as well and it reheated perfectly---I didn't notice any texture differences. Anyway, if anyone doesn't have that cookbook and would like the recipes, I'm happy to post, but wanted to let you know that they were successes.

Paella

We had a few friends over the other night to make a Paella! We, also, had bunuellos and a platter with crusty bread, fig jam, dates and manchego cheese to keep with our Spanish theme. The Paella was from the "Best International foods" cookbook--the one you should all have. We made it with Chorizo, Shrimp, and chicken and it was lovely. We decided to skip the mussels since they were expensive and a little chewy for our taste. The crust turned out beautifully in the oven. A nice dish and not too complicated to make.

Flank Steak Marinades

Flank Steak Marinades

Mediterranean Marinade:

Smash 4 garlic cloves with the leaves of 4 rosemary sprigs,
1 tsp salt, and plenty of pepper. Mix in 5 tablepoons extra-virgin olive oil,
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar, and 1 tsp sugar

Latin Marinade:

Smash 4 garlic cloves with 2-3 tablespoons fresh oregano, 1 tsp salt,
and plenty of pepper. Mix in 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 c lime juice (from 4 limes)
and 1 tsp sugar

Marinate steak in resealable bag, refrigerated, for four to 24 hours. Flip the bag occasionally.

Preheat grill, broiler, or stove-top grill pan to high. Cook steak, flipping once, to desires doneness (preferably medium-rare); total cooking time ranges from six to 10 minutes, with an average of four minutes per side. Let meat rest for about four minutes before cutting across the grain into thin slices. Each pound of meat serves about 4 people with sides.

We haven't tried the Mediterranean marinade, but the Latin one was fabulous! Enjoy!

Chicken Saltimbocca

Tried this chicken marsala recipe today out of the New Best Recipe family cookbook. Great dish, and quite a bit easier than the chicken marsala recipe we posted earlier. The trick is finding good proscuitto. We used the stuff from Costco, which is a bit of a splurge ($12 for 12 oz; the recipe uses 4-6 oz.) Also helps to have huge fresh sage leaves from the garden, which we have in abundance.

Won't repost the recipe, since I assume you all own that cookbook. We varied the recipe a bit by adding fried mushrooms and a little more fresh sage right to the reduction right at the end. The chicken plus proscuitto plus sage is da bomb, though. Make sure it browns well, which makes the proscuitto and sage a bit crispy. Yum.

Roasted Portobello Caprese Salad

From Martha Stewart Living
Makes 4 servings
We made this a while back and are making it again tonight. Super tasty vegetarian option. We really enjoyed it!

8 portobello mushroom caps
2 garlic cloves, halved
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 medium tomatoes, sliced 3/4 inch thick (8 slices total)
1 bunch fresh basil
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/2 inch thick (4 slices total)
4 cups arugula
Toasted bread, for serving (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place mushrooms and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet; coat with oil and vinegar. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, and season with pepper. Roast, shaking sheet occasionally, for 20 minutes. Flip mushrooms and garlic to recoat with oil. Add tomatoes; flip to coat in oil, sprinkle with remaining teaspoon salt, and season with pepper. Roast until mushrooms are tender and tomatoes are soft, 20 minutes more.

Rub softened garlic onto mushrooms. Place 1 mushroom on each of 4 plates, and top each with some basil. Stack another mushroom and 1 mozzarella slice onto each. Layer more basil, 1 tomato slice, more basil, then another tomato onto each. Divide arugula among plates, and drizzle with pan juices. Serve with bread if desired.

Chicken Marsala

We tried this recipe from Epicurious.com today. Prep time was long, but the result was excellent. Similar to the traditional pork tenderloin recipe we all know and love, though the sauce--if possible--is even better. Be sure the chicken is browned well, and that you use either low sodium or no sodium chicken broth. (Also, though this likely goes without saying, under no circumstances should you ever use "House" or any other brand "cooking wine" in a reduction--except possibly, to add flavor at the very end when you have no other options--as it will concentrate the salt until it's unpalatable or nearly so. We say that from long and sad experience.) I'm sure you could use this sauce and the pork tenderloin just fine. I like the addition of sage and lemon.

Ingredients

1 and 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 fl oz)
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 oz mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 and 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (2 lb total)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry Marsala wine
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 200°F.

Bring broth to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over high heat, then boil, uncovered, until reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes.

Cook shallot in 3 tablespoons butter in an 8- to 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until shallot begins to turn golden, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms, 1 teaspoon sage, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat.

Put flour in a wide shallow bowl. Gently pound chicken to 1/4 inch thick between 2 sheets of plastic wrap using the flat side of a meat pounder or a rolling pin.

Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour, 1 piece at a time, shaking off excess. Transfer to sheets of wax paper, arranging chicken in 1 layer.

Heat 1 tablespoon each of oil and butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté half of chicken, turning over once, until golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes total. Transfer cooked chicken to a large heatproof platter, arranging in 1 layer, then put platter in oven to keep warm. Wipe out skillet with paper towels and cook remaining chicken in same manner, then transfer to oven, arranging in 1 layer.

Add 1/2 cup wine to skillet and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, about 30 seconds. Add reduced broth, cream, and mushrooms, then simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add lemon juice and remaining 2 tablespoons wine and 1/2 teaspoon sage.

Serve chicken with sauce.

Mom's Enchiladas

Pete asked me for this, so I thought I'd post in case anyone else is in need:

2 c + liquid (I prefer the sauce on the thinner side), broth or water
4 T flour or cornmeal (or combination)
3/4 t salt
3 T chili powder
1 t new mexico chili powder (or 1/4 t cayenne)
1 t cumin

Mix dry ingredients. Make a paste with about 1/4 c of the liquid. Add remaining liquid and whisk, stirring frequently, until thickened. Season meat of your choice well with salt, pepper, and desired seasonings and saute. Fill tortillas w/ meat, sauce, and cheese. Top with sauce and sprinkled cheese. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, or until warmed through and cheese is melted.

A few notes: because chili powders vary so widely, I always have to taste and adjust the seasonings. For the chili powder I currently have, 1/2 t salt is better. I've also started doubling the recipe, stopped dipping the tortillas before I fill them, and just ladling the sauce inside and over the casserole before baking. Call me lazy, but it cuts down on time and mess *hugely*. I'm much more prone to make them now. 1 and 1/2 recipes would be perfect, really (1 is too little, 2 is too much). Enjoy!

Pasta with Carmelized Onion Sauce

Pasta with Carmelized Onion Sauce

From the New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

The proportions of ingredients in this recipe are somewhat flexible. You can play with the amounts of onions and greens, and you can substitute other leafy greens (collard, escarole, mustard, etc.) for the arugula or spinach. Other soft pungent cheeses can be substituted for the feta or blue cheese.

½ c olive oil

4 to 6 large onions (however many you have the patience to slice), thinly sliced (abt 6-8 cups)

½ tsp salt

½-1 cup dry white wine

1 medium bunch arugula or spinach, stemmed and minced

1 cup crumbled feta or blue cheese

¾ lb pasta ( a short, shapely variety, like penne or fussili)

1 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

Parmesan cheese

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or sauté pan. Add onions and sauté over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Add salt, lower heat, and continue to cook for at least another 10 minutes (and up to an hour for really deliciously well-done onions)
2. Add white wine, turn heat back up to medium, and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes. At this point the sauce can be set aside until you are ready to cook the pasta.
3. Turn the heat back on under the sauce when you are ready to cook the pasta. When the onions are hot, add the chopped greens, stir, and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the crumbled cheese, and turn heat to low while cooking pasta.
4. After the cooked pasta is drained, add it to the sauce, and stir briefly in the pan before serving. Sprinkle with walnuts and parmesan, and serve.

COOK’S NOTES: I used the max amount of onions and cooked them for the max amount of time. They were fabulous! I highly recommend using some sort of a mandolin slicer like a V-Slicer if you are going to make the recipe. It speeds up the onion slicing significantly and gives you evenly thin slices. Also light a candle nearby to help quench the tears. I used spinach and blue cheese and loved it. I have not tried any of the other variations yet, but I’m sure they would be tasty as well. The white wine I used was Savignon Blanc. It is a nice dry white wine that I’m told is not too sweet. I have yet to learn the in’s and out’s of wines and their use in cooking. I usually just get what’s recommended to me and this was great. The sauce clumped together when I added the pasta, so I might recommend serving the sauce over individual portions, if you want to try and avoid that. Also, sprinkle the walnuts and parmesan to taste over each portion. They really add to the overall flavor of the dish. We loved it. Very different and delicious!

So, I tried it with the feta and LOVED it. If you're not a complete fan of blue cheese, the feta is fabulous. Van and I both think we liked it more. The taste between the two is very different, but what we liked about both versions is the complete difference from any other pasta dish we usually eat. It awakens an otherwise bored palate. :) hope you try and enjoy soon.

Quick simple terriyaki shiskabobs

OK, so I don't know how to spell it, but I marinated baby portabellos, green and red peppers, large garlic cloves, and onions for about an hour in:

1/4 C Soy
1/4 C sherry
1/4 C olive oil
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T brown sugar

Served it up with steamed fresh spinach and brown rice. Mmmmm....the kids loved it too!