The Best Steak EVER

So, by special request, I made a steak tonight. A friend of mine from the IRC (Hi, podman405!!) asked me if I wanted to make a steak tonight for dinner and he would follow the same recipe. At the end of the night, we would see whose steak looked better. I don’t mean to toot my own horn but damn that steak was good.

My steak was a .72lbs NY Strip. It was the second smallest one in the case. We followed the directions on the food network’s bastard child website http://www.food2.com for the Perfect Steak in a Skillet.

Ingredients:

New York strip steak, room temperature
Fresh ground pepper (not too fine)
Sea salt or kosher salt
Canola oil (I used about 3 Tbsp)
1 tablespoon butter
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
A few sprigs fresh thyme
Special Equipment: seasoned cast iron skillet (10 inches in diameter)
*Instead of salt and pepper I used Montreal Steak Seasoning. I know this is a dangerous thing because the garlic and other spices in the mix can burn fast but it worked out for me this time*

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Coat the steak with pepper and then with a heavy sprinkling of salt. Heat the cast iron skillet until extremely hot (approximately 10 minutes). Add oil to the pan. Sear the steak on the first side 1 to 2 minutes until it develops a nice crust. Flip it, baste it with the oil, top with butter, garlic and thyme and place in the oven. Check every 2 minutes; cook to desired temperature *I cooked mine in the oven for 3 minutes total and it was PERFECT* Let the meat rest until the juices redistribute and slice across the grain on a slight bias. *About 5 minutes resting time*

Chef’s Note: “Warning: Please heat your pan cautiously. 10 minutes or under will suffice. Any longer and the oil could catch fire! Have a fire extinguisher ready, just in case.” <—-This is good advice!! It tends to smoke a little.

I also made my garlic mushrooms and a salad to go along with it. OK! Pics!

Pics of podman405’s steak can be found here: STEAKS!

Brownies for Aussies

I promised TastyWheat I would make him and CoRDS some brownies for their trip to the USA next week so I thought I should do a practice run. I used a new recipe AND a new pan!! Both turned out to be awesome. The recipe is from good ole Alton Brown. I added one Rolo candy to each brownie before I baked it. I totally tried to sift the brown sugar but it was not working with me. In the end, I just threw it in. I haven’t tasted them yet but they sure do look good.

Cocoa Brownies
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Cook Time:
1 hr 0 min

Serves:
16 brownies

Ingredients
* Soft butter, for greasing the pan
* Flour, for dusting the buttered pan
* 4 large eggs
* 1 cup sugar, sifted
* 1 cup brown sugar, sifted
* 8 ounces melted butter
* 11/4 cups cocoa, sifted
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup flour, sifted
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square pan.

In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars. Add remaining ingredients, and mix to combine.

Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8-inch square pan and bake for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with the tried-and-true toothpick method: a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan should come out clean. When it’s done, remove to a rack to cool. Resist the temptation to cut into it until it’s mostly cool.

Pics!

Mac and cheese

So, I made mac and cheese tonight. Alton Brown’s version. I used more cheese than he called for and different ones too. I did not add butter to the Panko topping either. It was not as brown as it probably would have been with butter but it was just as crunchy and good!! I added pepper jack, colby jack, swiss, and medium cheddar to the white sauce instead of using extra sharp cheddar. It was really, really good but the sauce broke before I mixed it with the pasta. I am not sure why. It still tasted awesome but I must be doing something wrong with the cheese sauce. Anyways! Here is the recipe!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 45 min
Serves: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients
* 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 3 tablespoons flour
* 1 tablespoon powdered mustard
* 3 cups milk
* 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
* 1 bay leaf
* 1/2 teaspoon paprika
* 1 large egg
* 12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* Fresh black pepper

Topping:
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it’s free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Remember to save leftovers for fried Macaroni and Cheese.

It was fabulous and there is more than half of it still left!

Raviolis with a cool sauce

I watched Giada De Laurentiis make this recipe this morning on her show on the food network. I made a couple of minor changes to the recipe but for the most part, it is the same. I also wrote a review on the food network for it!! I used Wild Mushroom Angliotti ravioli from Buitoni for my ravioli. I couldn’t find arugula at the market so I used Spinach. Also, I used fresh tomatoes that I had sitting around instead of diced canned. I added 2 cloves of garlic to the recipe as well. It was slightly salty but that could have been from the pancetta I used.. Who knows. I only used half the amount of pancetta the recipe called for though because I only bought one package… I didn’t realize that it was supposed to be 6oz! XD

Ravioli with Arugula, Tomatoes and Pancetta
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Show: Giada at Home Episode: Busy Day Menu
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Cook: 20 min
Total: 30 min

Ingredients
* 1 pound cheese ravioli
* 6 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
* 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
* 3 cups arugula
* 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves, divided
* 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the ravioli and cook for 7 to 9 minutes until tender. Drain.

In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, add the pancetta and cook stirring frequently, until crispy, about 8 minutes. Remove to paper towels to drain. Add the tomatoes, olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook for 2 minutes until tender. Add the arugula and 1/4 cup basil and cook until wilted, about 30 seconds. Stir in the butter and melt. Add the ravioli and cooked pancetta and toss until coated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the ravioli to a large serving bowl. Garnish with the remaining basil and serve.

PICS (since I did it on the webcam, I totally didn’t take pics of the steps but I got final plating ones.)!

Wow, Blurry.

Shrimp Rolls

I was dog sitting for a friend of my mother-in-law the other day and I was reading her Gourmet Magazine. I found a recipe for Lobster Rolls with Lemon Vinaigrette and Garlic Butter and thought it would be tasty with shrimp instead. I modified the recipe quite a bit but it still came out awesome.

Serves 2-4

1 pound shrimp (for 4 people)
3 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 sliced scallions
3 ribs thinly sliced celery with leaves
Handful of flat parsley leaves, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, pressed
2 tbsp butter
Hot dog buns (however many people you have)

Peel and devein the shrimp. Mix in a small bowl with a tablespoon or so of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and 2 cloves of garlic pressed. Set them aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil until it emulsifies. Whisk in the scallions, celery and parsley. Saute the shrimp in a skillet until cooked through (about 3 minutes per side) Add the shrimp to the dressing and mix together. Combine 2 tbsp butter with 2 cloves of pressed garlic. Spread on the hot dog buns and toast until lightly browned. Place shrimp mixture on top of the bun and serve! I served mine with fries.

This dish was really fantastic and super simple to make!

Salad Swords and Chicken Pizzas

I made some awesome pizza and salad for dinner tonight! My friends all loved it and thought it was pretty creative. I got the recipes from my Rachael Ray 2,4,6,8 Great Meals for Couples and Crowds cookbook. A word of warning tho: The skewers will most likely be used as swords for most of the dinner! XD

Salad on a Stick
Serves 4

1/2 cup Heavy Cream (some 2% milk to thin it out)
1 5.2oz container of garlic and herb cheese (I used Boursin)
Salt and Pepper
1 green or red bell pepper, cubed
1 english cucumber, cubed
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
4 ribs of celery, cut into 1inch pieces
2 1-inch thick pieces of Genoa salami, cubed
4 wooden skewers (one per person)

Blend together the cream and boursin cheese. Pour into dipping dish and season the dressing with salt and pepper. (if necessary, thin the dressing with some milk – I needed to so that it would be the consistency of Ranch dressing) Place the dip on the platter. Arrange the veggies and salami on the platter with 4 bamboo skewers. Use the skewers to spear the salami and veggies, stacking them up one mouthful at a time. Dip each skewer in the dressing as you eat, but don’t double dip, please!

Chicken Parm Pizza
Serves 4

Flour or cornmeal for handling the dough
1 pizza dough, store bought or from your favorite pizzeria (I got mine from Fresh&Easy)
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 pound ground chicken ( I bought 20oz of Ground Turkey because it was the same price for more at the store – this allowed me to make 2 pizzas)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
Salt and black pepper
Handful fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
A couple pinches of red pepper flakes
A couple pinches of dried oregano
1 8oz can tomato sauce (I used a 15oz can + an 8oz can in mine)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups Provolone cheese (I bought already grated mozzarella cheese – 4 cups and used about 3)
5-6 fresh basil leaves, torn

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Coat your hands and the work surface in flour or cornmeal. Using your hands, form a pizza shape with the dough. Place the pizza on a pizza baking tray and prick the dough with a fork in several spots. Drizzle a little bit of EVOO over the dough and place in the oven for 10 minutes. (I put it on the back side of a cookie sheet and baked it on that so it would be easy to slide off)

Meanwhile, heat a deep skillet over medium high heat with the 2 tablespoons of EVOO. Add the meat and brown it, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. To the browned meat, add the garlic and onions and season them with salt and pepper. Cook them together for 5-6 minutes, then add the parsley, red pepper flakes, oregano, and tomato sauce. Heat the sauce through.

Remove the pizza from the oven after 10 minutes and top it with the meat sauce and then scatter the cheeses over it. Return it to the oven until the cheese is bubbly, another 10 minutes or so. Top the pizza with shredded basil, cut and serve.

PICS!!

I hope you guys try this one. It is pretty easy and ohh so tasty!

Bonus Pic of the cherry cupcakes I made for a friend of Carter’s:

Enchiladas!

It took me a good 2 hours to decide what I wanted to make for dinner tonight. I had decided on tacos and gone to Sequoia to pick up my roast beef sandwich at lunch time when I realized that I could totally make chicken enchiladas with green sauce! I got back to the house, ate my lunch, and then found a recipe for the enchiladas. It is a Tyler Florence recipe. I don’t use his recipes very often but this is really incredible. The salsa seems like it will be too spicy if you eat it by itself but when it is blended with the other ingredients, it works out really well. I made the rice and I modified the beans. I used Pinto beans instead of black beans… also, I used canned beans and left out the jalapeno.

Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Prep Time:15 min (it took me at least an hour to get everything prepped)
Cook Time: 45 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 8

Ingredients
Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa:
* 1 pound tomatillos, husked
* 1 white onion, peeled, sliced, quartered or whole
* 4 garlic cloves
* 2 jalapenos
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
* 1/2 lime, juiced

Enchiladas:
* Extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/2 medium onion, diced
* 3 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 cups chicken stock, store bought
* Chopped cilantro leaves
* 1 deli roasted chicken (about 3 pounds), boned, meat shredded
* Salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 10 large flour tortillas
* 1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
* 2 cups sour cream
* Chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves, for garnish
* Spicy Black Beans, recipe follows
* Yellow Rice, recipe follows
* Guacamole, optional

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For the salsa:
On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.
Enchiladas:

Meanwhile heat a 2 count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized – this should take 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn’t burn then gradually add the chicken stock to make a veloute. Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa, some additional fresh chopped cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F and begin assembling the dish. Take a large baking dish and smear the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa. Now take the flour tortillas and briefly flash them over the stove-top flame (or put them briefly under the broiler if using an electric stove). Using a shallow bowl, coat each tortilla lightly with the reserved salsa mix. Put a scoop of the shredded chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Using a spatula place the tortillas in the baking dish and continue to do the same with all the tortillas. Finally pour over some more of the salsa and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top. Garnish, cilantro and tomato.

Serve hot with Spicy Black Beans and Yellow Rice, the remaining tomatillo salsa, sour cream and fresh guacamole, if desired.

Spicy Black Beans:
* 2 cups (about 1 pound) dried black beans, picked over, soaked overnight
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/2 medium onion, diced
* 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, chopped
* 1 bay leaf
* Kosher salt
* freshly ground black pepper

In a large pot, soak beans overnight covered in water by 2 inches. Drain and set aside.

In the same pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, jalapeno pepper, garlic, and bay leaf and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and cover with water by about 1-inch. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are tender. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Taste the beans and season with salt and pepper.

Yellow Rice:
* 2 cups long-grain rice
* 4 cups water
* 2 cloves garlic, smashed
* 1 tablespoon turmeric
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 bay leaf

Put all the ingredients into a heavy-bottomed pot, stir well, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook over low heat until the rice has absorbed the water, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Discard the garlic and bay leaf, fluff with a fork, and serve.

The whole dish!

Rice and Beans!

Enchilada!

The rice was kinda meh. I would make it with chicken stock instead of water. I halved the amount of rice and water the recipe called for but put the same amount of spices and stuff in and I still ended up with bland rice. The beans were a disaster if compared to the recipe. I fried up some onion and garlic and bell pepper I had. Then I added the beans but I didn’t drain them of all their liquid. It made them a little watery and I was worried that the liquid would be really salty so I added a cup of water to them. We just scooped the beans out with a slotted spoon and they ended up being pretty tasty. I had a total of 10 enchiladas by the time I finished making them. I served it with chopped tomatoes, cilantro, and sour cream. The Enchiladas actually were freakin awesome. I added a 12oz container of baby bella mushrooms diced and sauteed up with the onion and garlic for the enchilada filling. I will definitely make this again. I did it in front of the web cam, which is why I haven’t been posting much about cooking lately. I have been doing it live on the web cam for my friends instead! I am going to have to try to remember to take pics as I go along, even if I have the web cam on.

Melon salad

Melon Salad with Sweet Sesame Dressing
Recipe courtesy the Better Homes and Gardens Magazine and Grace A. Eckstorm (winner of the Melon Magic Category)

Makes 6 Servings

1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 Tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. sesame seeds, toasted
1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
Dash cayenne pepper
Lettuce leaves
2 cups seedless watermelon, cut up
2 cups cantaloupe, cut up
2 cups honeydew, cut up
1 cup seedless English cucumber, sliced
Snipped fresh cilantro
Crisp cooked bacon, drained and crumbled (optional)

1. For sweet sesame dressing, in a small saucepan combine sugar, vinegar, salt and ginger. Stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and transfer to a medium bowl. In a thin steady stream, slowly add the vegetable oil and olive oil to the mixture whisking constantly until thickened. Stir in sesame seeds, sesame oil, and cayenne pepper, set aside.
2. Line salad bowls or platter with lettuce, top with watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, and cucumber. Drizzle with some of the dressing (about 1/2 cup). Sprinkle with cilantro and bacon; pass the remaining dressing around the table.

Peach Grilled Chicken

Sorry, no pics for this one right now… If you buy a Better Homes and Gardens magazine, there is a picture in there! Tomorrow we are doing Melon Salad with Sweet Sesame Dressing from the same issue! I will get pictures of it tonight because it looks like it will be pretty!

Golden Grilled Chicken Thighs with Apricots

Makes 4 servings

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1/2 cup apricot (peach)nectar
6 Tbsp. apricot (peach) preserves
1/4 cup snipped fresh mint
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar
1/2 tsp. Curry powder
1 clove garlic, minced
4 medium apricots (peaches), halved and pitted
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and black pepper. Place in large resealable bag set in a shallow dish. For marinade, in bowl, combine half the nectar (1/4 cup), 2 Tbsp of the preserves, half the mint, 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil, the sherry vinegar, curry powder, and the garlic. Pour over the chicken and seal the bag. Turn the chicken to coat and refrigerate for 2-4 hours. (Marinate overnight if possible)

2. Remove the chicken from marinade and discard the marinade. Cook over medium heat turning once halfway through, for 12-15 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees. Place the apricots (peaches) cut side down on the grill for the last five minutes of the chicken’s cooking time.

3. For sauce, in a bowl, combine the remaining nectar, preserves, mint, olive oil, the chopped green onions, pistachios, mustard and mustard seeds and 1/4 teaspoon salt. To serve, drizzle the chicken and apricots (peaches) with the sauce.

** We substituted peaches for apricots and this dish was amazing. We made the marinade and the sauce the night before we cooked it and it turned out fabulous. Highly recommended!
*The recipe came from the Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. It was made by a woman named Roxanne Chan from California and she won the Chicken on the Grill category for the magazine.

Easter Bunnies

Carter and I made Easter Bunnies today!! They are adorable. Made of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, some robin eggs, jelly beans, Easter Basket Eggs, and chocolate covered sunflower seeds. We were supposed to use White Circus Peanuts for the feet but we could only find orange here. We decided to use the easter basket eggs and boy, was that hard to do. In the end, they came out adorable tho.

We haven’t eaten any yet but they are sure to be delicious!