Black-Eyed Pea Salad

Yes, I've been on hiatus. A week of vacation turned into full weekends booked or trying to get back on track.  But I have been cooking...

I asked facebook a few days ago what in the WORLD to cook in this seemingly endless heat. A suggestion from my illustrious and fabulous cousin turned into a great idea.

Black-Eyed Pea Summer Salad

2 cans of black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 corn on the cob, lightly grilled and cut off the cob
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/4 red onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 - 1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients. Chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Harissa Fettuchini with Caramelized Red Onions, Fresh Peas and Corn

Does your farmer's market have a pasta booth? Pappardelle's makes their rounds... I've seen them at farmer's markets in several states now, but if yours doesn't, you can always order on-line.  They have some amazingly creative pastas.  I've seen the Tunisian Harissa Fettuchini twice now and finally gave in to my need to try it. Harissa is this hot chili paste that I haven't played around with much but new enough to know that it would make a spicy background for some fresh summer veggies.  As usual, I use what I've got; this week that happened to be sweet corn and more English peas. (I learned at the farmer's market that English peas are the one's you shell and eat the sweet peas inside, as opposed to sugar snaps where you eat the pod and all.)

Harissa Fettuchini with Caramelized Red Onions, Fresh Peas and Corn

1/4 red onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/2 cup peas, preferably fresh, frozen is fine
1 small ear of sweet corn, kernels cut off
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 cup cream or half and half
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 lb Tunisian Harissa Fettuchini (or anything you like!)

Heat a splash of olive oil over medium low heat and add onions. Caramelizing onions is like BBQ; low and slow.  Toss or stir the onions every 2-3 minutes for 10-15 minutes.  Add garlic and leave for another minute or two.  Start pasta in salted water.  Add corn and peas to the onions and turn up the heat to medium.  Toss / stir every few minutes to give the veggies some color.  Add 1/2 the cream, stir to combine.  When the pasta is done, drain and put the pasta back in the pot. Add veggies and cream mixture to the pasta with the parsley, and half the cheese. Toss. If it looks too dry to you, add another splash of the cream and add until the consistency is to your liking.  Plate and top with the remaining cheese.

The pasta really did have a spice to it, but not painful heat, just a good background spice.  I'll get more!

Apple Wood Smoked Chevre and Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken

There's a local goat cheese company, Haystack. They make a wonderful variety of fresh chevre.  The Chief Mess Cleaner Upper and I picked up some of their apple wood smoked chevre at the farmer's market last week and I had some prosciutto around... the perfect combination to disguise a few chicken breasts.  Chevre is the most wonderful, tangy, creamy goat cheese.

Apple wood Smoked Chevre and Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken

1/2 small log of apple wood smoked (or any other) chevre
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
pinch of salt
4 slices prosciutto
2 boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness

Combine first 4 ingredients, set aside. Preheat oven to 350. Lay out each chicken breast and add 2 slices of prosciutto and half of the chevre mixture. Roll up and toothpick each chicken breast.  Sear in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. After the first turn, place pan in oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, de-toothpick and slice chicken. Serve with a green salad.

Greek Kebabs with Tzatziki and Zucchini Cakes

It's been hot. Summer hot. Summer hot makes me want to eat cool.  Tzatziki may be the perfect Greek definition of 'cool'. 

And remember a few recipes ago I said I would talk about fresh herbs? Fresh herbs are expensive, so I grow 'em!  I have a great back-yard garden, one whole row of which is always dedicated to herbs- basil (always more than one), oregano, dill, savory, rosemary, thyme, chives, parsley and sage.  Don't have a yard? Do you have a patio? Or counter space? I've had a thyme plant growing in a pot that I move in and out-doors with the seasons for going on 3 years now and chives are perennial; they'll come back every year!  Heck, you could put ALL those herbs in one pot to save space!  And most garden centers or even grocery stores sell pre-planted herb pots now.  Do yourself this one favor, get one. You'll save money and just those few fresh herbs make ALL the difference in any recipe. They make an otherwise boring salad zing, an otherwise boring spaghetti dinner special and you start to learn your own tastes... I'm not a big fan of rosemary but lamb and potatoes seem, to me, to require it.  I'm equally complacent about sage but fall squash soups without sage just lack that 'something' they need to be elevated from just some soup to everything that tastes so essentially fall.

But we're not in fall, we're in the dead heat of summer which brings me back to that tzatziki and the herbs.  I usually have bad luck with dill but so far this year, it's hanging in there.  So I knew I wanted tzatziki and had the dill and a whole bunch of oregano so Greek was an easy palate to work with.

Tzatziki

1 7 oz tub of Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons chopped dill
1/2 teaspoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon chopped chives
2-3 tablespoons finely chopped cucumber
2 cloves of garlic, grated or crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients, cover and chill until dinner's ready

Greek Pork Kebabs

2 boneless pork chops, cubed
1/2 lemon, juiced
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon chopped thyme (I have lemon thyme... it's amazing)
2 tablespoons chopped oregano

Combine all ingredients and marinade for at least half an hour, 1 or more hours preferred.

When the grill is ready, assemble kebabs with

Marinaded pork cubes
red onion
tomatoes
green bell pepper

Grill kebabs, serve with Tzatziki and zucchini cakes. Zucchini recipe for another time... I usually don't get it QUITE right the first time I make it each summer and this was the first. Maybe if I start writing these things down I'll remember what works...

Monday Night Spaghetti

Most Mondays are rough around the edges, and not generally the day I want to go way outside the box and cook something new or exceedingly creative.  Once a month or so, I pull out the easiest meal ever; Spaghetti.  I'm not a big fan of meatballs but the Chief Mess Cleaner-Upper made it clear to me years ago that "It's not dinner if there's not meat in it." So I spruce up a jar of spaghetti sauce...

Spaghetti Sauce

1/2 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 lb ground meat (I generally use beef or turkey)
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 splash (about 1 tablespoon) olive oil
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of your favorite chopped fresh herbs
Freshly shaved Parmesan

Warm olive oil over medium heat while you chop the onion. Add onion and chili flakes to warmed pan and saute until they just begin to take on color. Add garlic, stir and let the garlic cook for about two minutes.  Add ground meat and stir regularly to combine ingredients and thoroughly brown meat.  Turn down heat and add the spaghetti sauce. Stir to combine, put a lid on the sauce, turn off heat and let sit to combine flavors while you cook the spaghetti.

When the spaghetti is done to your taste, spoon sauce over the noodles, sprinkle with herbs and shave or grate Parmesan over.  Serve with salad and garlic bread.

Fresh herbs make an easy and not so special dinner something really special... and pretty! More on herbs later...

Flatiron Steak Salad

We have a lot of salads, but this one's my favorite. There are a bazillion variations of salads, each little change mades a big difference; dressing, roasted nuts, different cheeses, fruits... Just because we have a lot of salads doesn't mean any two are ever the same. Lightly toast a handful of nuts; slice or chop veggies differently to create some textural difference; make a homemade dressing; add a little fruit... Salads are nothing but a creative canvas to play with.

A little shopping tip - my grocery store has a great cheese bar/department. They always have a basket of little bits and pieces that are $5 or less which lets me get great cheese and try new ones without breaking the bank.  Check out your grocery store and see if they don't have something similar.

This one I started with a marinaded flatiron steak.  It was basically the same marinade as the 'Three Gorges Steak'.  Then I went to the garden to see what I had to play with... a few gorgeous radishes, fresh herbs and nasturtiums.  Have you ever grown, or eaten, nasturtiums? They're not only beautiful but they're edible! And taste like spicy pepper.  Who doesn't want flower petals in their salad?

Salads are also a great way for me to clear out any bits and pieces of veggies before my next veggie box arrives.  So use what you've got... here's what I had:

1/2 head of red leaf lettuce, washed, dried and cut into salad-sized pieces
2 tablespoons chopped sugar-snap peas
2 tablespoons chopped bell pepper
2 radishes, thinly sliced.
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chopped dill
2-3 nasturtium flowers and 2-3 leaves, chopped
2-3 tablespoons shredded cheese (I had Reypenaer)

Assemble salad, layer thinly sliced steak over, sprinkle with cheese and salad dressing (I used Caesar).

Smoked Tuna Melt

I was too tired to deal with dinner... but managed to pull off a pretty good tuna melt.  In keeping with the premise of 'using what I've got', my dad gave us this bizarre food package a while back with a bunch of smoked salmon, pre-made seafood soups and a can or two of smoked tuna.  I'm not a big fish person... that's what made the gift a little bizarre.  But last night, that can of smoked tuna came in handy.  If you can find it, I would recommend using it with this recipe. I thought it was a good flavor 'foil' for the sweetness of the grapes I had left over from a party we had this weekend. If you can't find it, regular tuna would be just as good.

The grapes were handy and reminded me of my momma's tuna salad.  She always put chopped apples in ours and the sweetness was such a great little 'zing'.  I put a good bit of celery in my tuna 'cuz I love it and the extra crunch it lends to an otherwise bland texture.

If nothing else, the pictures came out better than anything else so far...

Smoked Tuna Salad

1 can smoked tuna
2-4 tablespoons mayo (depends on your personal mayo preference)
1 teaspoon Coleman's English Mustard
1/4 cup chopped red grapes
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon pecans, chopped
1 teaspoon chives, chopped

Combine all ingredents.

Smoked Tuna Melt

@ 2 tablespoons butter, softened
4 slices of bread, preferably good grainy wheat bread
4 slices munster cheese
Smoked tuna salad
2 tablespoons mayo
4 pieces of lettuce, preferably red leaf

Preheat an iron skillet on medium, low. Lightly butter both sides of each slice of bread. Griddle bread in iron skillet lightly on each side.  Set 2 slices aside. Turn off skillet.  Place two slices each of munster cheese on 2 slices of bread, put back in skillet, lid on. The residual heat will melt the cheese.
Meanwhile, mayo the other two slices of bread and arrange the lettuce then top with your preferred helping of tuna salad.  When those halfs are assembled, lay on the cheesy side.  Slice diagonally (as required by certain sandwiches) and enjoy!

Herb Roasted Chicken and English Pea Cous-Cous

I told y'all I got some peas in my veggie box this week... peas, a green bell pepper, a little onion and that might just make for a combo starch-and-veggie side.  Keeping it simple with a roasted chicken breast and I had dinner in an hour.

I've started using skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts for three reasons: they're cheaper, they taste better, and I can take the skin off if I REALLY wanted to and save the extra calories. 

The Chief Mess Cleaner Upper is not all that partial to chicken. Too bad. But I tried to mitigate the expected "Aw, man" when I said chicken was for dinner by doing something a little different with it.  And he LOVES this cous-cous I found.  It's a good substitute since I cannot, for the life of me, cook rice. Thank the Lord he thinks it's great.

Herb Roasted Chicken

2 (or more... how many are you feeding?) bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons mixed, chopped fresh herbs (I used chives, parsley, savory and lemon thyme)
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or pulverized
Spritz of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.  Mix garlic and herbs into softened butter.  Stuff about a tablespoon of the herb-garlic butter under the skin of the chicken breast. Under the skin means the butter will baste the chicken and keep it moist while protecting the herbs from burning AND the skin will still crisp. 'Cus that's the best part, right? Lightly spritz the chicken with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. 

Place chicken breasts on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for 40 minutes. 

Meanwhile....

English Pea Cous-Cous

1 box of Near East Garlic and Olive Oil Cous Cous
1/2 cup freshly shelled peas
4 tablespoons chopped green bell pepper
4 tablespoons chopped onion
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil

Olive oil in a small saute pan on low.  Add onion and caramalize slowly, low to medium heat. When the onions start to take on color, add the bell pepper and garlic. When the bell pepper starts to take on color, remove from heat and set aside.  Follow instructions for cous cous.  When the cous cous is done per instructions, cover and remove from heat. When you've got 8 minutes left on the chicken, return onion and bell pepper to a medium flame, add peas and toss regularly. When the peas have just a bit of color on all sides and the chicken is done, add the veggie mix to the cous cous, fluff with a fork to combine, cover and set aside until you serve.

Pan Roasted New Potatoes

Have I said enough wonderful things about my veggie box? I LOVE IT! Even in the summer when my own garden starts to produce, I can switch out things in my box that I'm growing for things I can't grow myself.  And I always find something new... like parsnips and English peas.  More on those peas later.

This week I got a pile of gorgeous, tender new potatoes.  There's nothing I like better than crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside potato wedges.  Especially when I've got a garden full of herbs I can sprinkle over the potatoes and make them a little different each time.  Chives, basil, rosemary, dill, savory, parsley, oregano or any combination there-of. I've finally figured out how to get the perfect balance without having to turn on the oven in the summer heat or sacrificing either requirement.  This technique takes a medium to large saucepan with a lid, preferably glass so you can see what's happening in there without having to open the lid and check.

Pan Roasted New Potatoes

1-2 teaspoons olive oil
1-2 teaspoons butter
(these two ratios depends on how many 'taters you have and how big your pan is.  You want just enough grease to create a crust, but not so much that you're frying the potatoes)
3 small new potatoes, cut into wedges
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 teaspoons chopped herb or herbs of choice

Melt butter in olive oil over low heat.  Add garlic and let it steep in the oil for a few minutes.  Arrange potatoes in pan, season with salt and pepper, close the lid and let steam for 10 minutes or so.  You're not looking for color yet so keep the heat pretty low. This is the 'creamy on the inside' step of the process.

Turn potatoes, lid on, another 10 minutes.  Take lid off, turn heat up to medium high and from here it's all watching the potatoes. You steamed 'em pretty good already, now you're giving them a crust. When you get one side good and golden brown, turn 'em  and let the other sides get brown. I stop being particular at this point about turning each potato; I just toss them around the pan until all sides look nice a golden.
Remove from pan (and don't forget those gorgeous crunchy garlic bits!) and sprinkle with chopped herbs.  When I use rosemary I add it to the pan and give the rosemary just a minute to release it's oils into the pan and really coat the potatoes.

Served with the Coffee Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

Coffee Rubbed Pork Tenderloin, and Grilled Zucchini

I was looking for something different with a pork tenderloin.  In searching around for ideas I found something that sparked a memory... a few years ago I had dinner at the fabulous Med in Boulder and chose a coffee crusted steak.  It was so out there to me that I just had to try it.  Not only did I LOVE it but I've done something similar with steaks since.  So why couldn't it work with a pork tenderloin and a few more spices to round out full rub?  I combined this new idea with the gorgeous little zucchinis and sweet baby potatoes fresh from my bi-weekly veggie box.

I'm starting to play with acid and how well it balances out flavors.  I got a few lemons in the veggie box this week so I cut up a few, grilled 'em with everything else and finished off the plate with a squeeze of grilled lemon.

Coffee Rub

3 tablespoons coffee grounds
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander

Combine all spices.  Pat the pork tenderloin dry and rub the spice mixture all over the pork. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it sit for 2-4 hours.  Unwrap and grill over medium high heat about 4-5 minutes on each side. 


Grilled Zucchini

2 small or 1 large zucchini, sliced about 1/2 inch on a bias
spritz of olive oil (do you have a Misto yet?)
pinch of salt and pepper
2 teaspoons fresh chives, chopped
1/2 lemon
1 - 2 teaspoon freshly grated Parmesan

Lightly spray or brush zucchini on both sides, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Start grilling zucchini and the lemon when you've got about 5 minutes left on the pork tenderloin (at it's last turn on the grill).  After 5 minutes on the grill and flip the zucchini slices, check the lemon, remove pork to rest.  Leave zucchini another 5 then remove from grill. Slice the pork and when you plate the zucchini squeeze the lemon over zucchini and pork, sprinkle the chives over both and the Parmesan over the zucchini.

I served these with pan roasted new potatoes... but that recipe's for another day.

The Perfect Grilled Steak

(next time I'll clean up the plate and give y'all some sliced shots.  Working on this pictures thing...)

I used to buy New York Strip steaks. Until I tried a ribeye.  Sold on the ribeye.  One is enough for me and The Chief-Mess-Cleaner-Upper to split. Sometimes I top it with crumbled blue cheese, sometimes I'm a purist.  Tonight I'm a pureist. 

A few tips for grilling steaks.

• I always start with a room temperature steaks. I find it's easier to control done-ness if the meat is room temperature and not cold in the middle.  If you tend to overcook a steak, perhaps a cold center would help you.  I also used to prefer mine DONE but have evolved to appreciate the fabulousness that is a perfectly cooked medium rare.
• Never, never, never, NEVER poke your steak, cut it, stick it with a fork or otherwise compromise the integrity of the crust you create by grilling to check for doneness.  You poke that steak and all those steak juices are going to flow right out of the hole you poked and you're going to end up with a dry steak. Invest in a good, large grill spatula and learn the touch technique to check for doneness. 

I tried to search for 'touch for doneness' and came up with other stuff.  I learned it as the fleshy part of your hand between your forefinger and your thumb.  When your hand is relaxed and slack, poke that little fleshy area. That's rare. 
Now strech your forefinger to show about an inch and a half.  That fleshy part of your hand is more taut, that's medium rare. 

Now make an 'L' with your finger and thumb.  That's well done. 
To test your steak for doneness, poke the middle of your steak with your own finger to 'feel' for doneness.  If you poke your steak with thermometers and forks, I can't help you.

• High Heat.  It is nothing short of a miracle that my dad hasn't burned down a number of houses with his grill fires.  But he's on to something.  I like to drop my steak on a grill when the coals are right (I don't do gas grills) and the grill grate has been over the coals for at least 10 minutes (I also use a chimney for coals). Hot coals + hot grate = perfect steak in no time.  All that being said, I proved my steak awesomeness a few weeks ago during a wicked wind storm.  We were hesitant to light any open fires what with the wind and the dry season and what-have-you so I applied the same knowledge to a screaming hot cast iron skillet.  Heat skillet ahead of time, preheat oven to about 450. Sear steak on one side (3-5 minutes) turn and throw in the hot oven.  A hot oven and a hotter skillet will create the same environment as a grill with the lid on.
• Pat your steak dry then season with salt and pepper only.  I used to marinate steaks but I generally reserve this for flank or flatiron steaks now.  If I'm going to buy a gorgeous ribeye then I want to taste steak, not worchestershire or garlic or some other nonscense.  Steak is steak. Enjoy a steak when you splurge on the purchase.
• Second most important to not poking is resting.  REST YOUR MEAT.  I always balked at this and thought it would result in a cold steak. It doesn't. What is DOES is ensure that your juicy steak doesn't juice all over your plate when you cut into it. Resting your meat keeps a juicy anything, juicy.  Dry meat sucks; Don't do it.

Stuffed Chicken, take 1

We went out to dinner for my birthday and shared a steak thus, I wanted to make something 'lighter' and use up a few of the veggie-box items I had left over from last week's delivery PLUS play with the goodies I came home with from Seattle.

Every time I go to Seattle I go by Sotto Voce to pick up another bottle of their spicy  balsamic vinegar.  'Cuz it's SO GOOD!  I usually go for their Basil Olive Oil but since I went on a business trip by myself, The Chief Mess-Cleaner-Upper requested their Mushroom Olive Oil.  I had no choice but to comply since he was left behind to ensure the proper installation of new carpet... Mushroom Olive Oil it is...

None-the-less, steak for dinner, eating out on a field trip and a veggie box that had to be utilized and I have yet another dinner challenge on my hands.

It had to be chicken. I had spinach. I wanted to use some of the Mushroom Olive Oil.  Dinner drifted towards some version of spinach stuffed chicken.  Stuffing chicken is kind of a pain but it's always worth it.

I ended up with...

Spinach Stuffed Chicken, Take 1

Chicken Stuffing

1/2 small onion,  chopped
1 teaspoon mushroom olive oil
Pinch each, salt n' peppa
2 bunches or @ 2 cups fresh spinach, rinsed, chopped
Pinch (1/4 teaspoon or less) chili flakes

Heat Olive oil in medium, oven proof pan.  Saute onions until soft.  Add a pinch of salt, pepper, chili flakes and spinach.  Toss spinach and cook until bright green and just barely pliable. You don't want to cook all the good stuff out of it before you get it into the chicken.

Chicken

1 large chicken breast, cut in half, horizontally, pounded thin
2 slices of Provolone Cheese
10 toothpicks
1-2 teaspoons mushroom olive oil (or whatever olive oil you have)
Pre-heat oven to 425.
Slice chicken in half, horizontally.  Pound each chicken breast flat.  Cut each slice of cheese in half, lay on to chicken breast.  Layer cooled spinach mixture over cheese, roll up chicken breast, toothpick in place. Heat olive oil in an oven proof pan, seam/toothpick side down.  Let chicken brown for 3-5 minutes, turn breasts and repeat until most sides have some color. On the last side, place pan in oven and let roast for 10 minutes. 
After 10 minutes, remove pan from oven and remove chicken from pan. Set aside to cool. After chicken has cooled 4-5 minutes, remove toothpicks and slice chicken into 1/2 inch slices so you can see all the cheesy spinach goodness inside.

I served with a simple green salad and some Italian pugelese bread, sliced with a little dipping bowl for the mushroom olive oil.

Italian White Beans

I've been out of town for a few days and tomorrow's my birthday so I've not done a lot of cooking these past few days.  This one's for Miss Em, by request.

1 can white beans (great northern or white (kidney) cannelleni beans), drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2-3 slices of prosciutto, chopped (optional)
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil, medium-low. Add garlic and watch closely. When garlic JUST starts to take on a golden color, crank up the heat to medium-high and add the beans.  I like to give the beans a little crunch so leave them for about 3-5 minutes, add the rosemary and and stir.  Give them another 3-5, stir again.  If the garlic's looking too brown, you're done.  If the garlic's hanging in there, give the beans another few minutes.

Plate and if you have it, top with the chopped prosciutto. 

Next time I make these, I'll add a pic.  It's YUMMY!

Heavy Veggie Ceasar Salad with Super Crostini

Yesterday morning I was already thinking about dinner and the veggie box I have coming Monday from Denver Door to Door Organics.  I needed to clean out some stuff to make room for the new veggies.

So I had a good head of romaine, a whole red bell pepper, half a cucumber, a few radishes and a bag of baby carrots. Chop, dice, slice and that's a good salad.  But The Chief Mess Cleaner-Upper is not partial to salad for dinner so I needed to find something a little more robust.  I found about half a bag of frozen un-cooked shrimp and thought I could roast the whole bell pepper rather than just including it with all the other veggies already in the salad. So before I ran to the grocery for the usual Sunday, paper towel, milk and assorted staples run, I was already thinking about some prosciutto and putting together a Super Crostini with that bell pepper to make up for a really big salad for dinner.

The plan started to come together. Big salad and Caesar dressing, I have.  Shrimp for crostini, check.  I picked up some prosciutto and a demi-bagette of semolina bread.

Next time I would put the shrimp UNDER the cheese just to hold them onto the bread a little better.  Either way, this turned out pretty well.

Heavy on the Veggie Caesar Salad

1/2 head Romaine Lettuce, chopped
2 radishes, sliced into matchsticks
4 baby carrots, sliced thin on the diagonal
1/2 Cucumber, sliced thin
Caesar dressing

Lay out lettuce on a plate and sprinkle veggies over. Drizzle lightly with Caesar Dressing.

Quick Shrimp Scampi

1/2 bag of frozen, uncooked shrimp, thawed, shelled and dried
3 cloves garlic, chopped
pinch of chili flakes
1 tsp butter
1 tsp olive oil

Melt butter in small saucepan with olive oil on medium heat. Add garlic and chili flakes. When garlic begins to brown add shrimp.  Toss every minute or so until shrimp is just cooked through. Remove from heat.

Super Crostini

1 Semolia demi bagette, sliced
1 clove of garlic, peeled, whole
1 bell pepper, roasted, blackened skin removed and sliced
4-5 slices of prosciutto
1 tomato, thinly sliced
shrimp scampi
3 slices provolone cheese

Place bread on baking sheet and spray with olive oil (I love and use my Misto sprayer EVERY DAY). Lightly broil for 2-3 minutes, flip bread and repeat.

Rub each crostini with the clove of garlic then top with a slice of roasted pepper, a slice of tomato, a slice of prosciutto and a half slice of provolone cheese.  Return crostinis to the broiler until cheese has melted. Top each crostini with 2-3 shrimps.

I made it with the shrimp topping this combo but would make it again with the shrimp UNDER the cheese to keep the little shrimpies in place.

Arrange crostini around salad and call it dinner!

I wanted something mexican

So my Big Brother is coming down the mountain for a wedding so we offered to feed and house him for the night. Had I not made the flank steak for dinner LAST night, it would have been perfect for tonight. I don't want to deal with tacos or enchiladas but I'm craving Mexican.

I went looking for ideas that were easy (it is Friday, afterall), could feed two men and would use up a few things I had lying around.

I have brocolli, that's gotta get eaten and is fine as a side. I found this great grilling basket gadget from Williams Sonoma last year that's perfect for grilling wierd stuff like brocolli.  One vegetable covered.

I was thinking about doing chicken thighs since, The Chief Mess Cleaner-Upper loves 'em and they come about 5 in a package... perfect manly meal.  But I usually do asian or italian marinades for chicken thighs. Then it dawned on me... I could pull out a bag of frozen roasted pablano's I have from the last farmer's market of 2010 and I've got some pepper-jack cheese... this could work.

Green Chili Grilled Chicken

Marinade

1 can of rotel (I used hot. We like it hot but beware, it's REALLY hot). Empty can into a gallon ziplock, close bag and crush tomatoes by hand.  Nice for a Friday stress reliever. 
Add 1 package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs and refridgerate for an hour or more.

Chicken

1 can of whole roasted chilis (anahiems) or 2 - 3 roasted poblanos
4-5 slices of pepper jack cheese

Grill chicken thighs. After first turn lay a piece of roasted chili over the chicken thigh and cover with a slice of pepper jack cheese.  Close lid on grill, give it 5 and the cheese should be all melty and the chicken ready.

I served with the aforementioned grilled brocolli and grilled corn on the cob with herb butter.  For fun...

Herb Butter

2-3 Tablespoons butter, softened
1-2 Tablespoons of any chopped fresh herb or combination of herbs you have. It's late spring and my herbs are just barely able to give up a few sprigs, but I coax 'em out of it.
salt and pepper

Mix butter with herbs and slather over grilled corn.

I like parsley and chives, summer savory if I have it.  Basil is great but it won't go so well with the mexican feast.

I'll get better at this taking pictures thing...

I already have a request - The Sauce

To be fair, this is not my recipe.  It's not even 'owned' by the lovely gentleman I got it from.

Usually referred to in our house as "Emma's Dad's Sauce" or, by the Chief Mess Cleaner-Upper, "Crack Sauce."

Originally it was to go over salmon but over the years I've put it on everything from steak to chicken. It makes a boring chicken breast a fabulous dinner worthy of company.

The last time I set out to make it I found that both of my local grocery stores had stopped selling green peppercorns in brine.  It took a bit of looking to find and when I did, I bought all the jars they had just so that I didn't have to freak out and run all over town the next time I want The Sauce.  Because believe me, once you've had The Sauce, you're going to have to have it again.

So, for Jay...

The Sauce

1 pat of butter (@ 1 teaspoon)
1 large shallot, chopped
1 airplane bottle (about 1 1/2 oz) Brandy or Cognac
1 chicken bouillon cube, crushed
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 a jar (about 2 Tablespoons) brined green peppercorns, chopped
1 cup cream

In a saucepan melt butter and, on medium heat, saute shallot.  Once shallot has just begun to brown, remove the pan from the heat and add the liquor.  BE CAREFUL with this step - both Brandy and Cognac are highly flammable and could light on fire. It's ok if it does, just keep your eyebrows!

Put sauce back on heat and let reduce by about half. Add bouillon cube, mustard and peppercorns.  Stir well and add the cream.  Reduce heat to a simmer and let sauce reduce for about half an hour, stirring regularly. If you're feeling particularly decadent, add another pat of butter at the very end... makes for a smooth and glossy sauce.

Pour over broiled salmon, grilled chicken or your best steak. Yum.

Momma said 'write it down!'

I have the most fun, and my husband (The Chief Mess Cleaner-Upper) says I cook the best, when I don't really have a plan. When I have odds and ends and they need to go into dinner like, tonight, or they're gonna be no good tomorrow.

Things like a quarter of a red bell pepper or a mango or a frozen flank steak.  That's where tonight's dinner started. That and my usual search for ideas. Google and Fine Cooking searches for Flat Iron Steak, Steak Rubs, Grilled Steak butters when I found something from Wolfgang Puck that was close enough to make work with what I had.

Three Gorges 'cus it's kinda Chinese, kinda Indonesian and kinda Southwestern.  I figured, the Rio Grande is a gorge too... right?

Three Gorges Flatiron Steak

Marinade

¼ C Worcestershire

½ C Soy Sauce

½ Teaspoon Sesame Oil

1 Tablespoon Ginger, chopped

3 Cloves Garlic, copped

2 Tablespoon Brown Sugar

¼ -1/2 C Sriracha or chili paste, heat to taste

½ Teaspoon Pepper

1 Teaspoon Agave Nectar

Mango Salsa

1 Mango, chopped

1 Tablespoon green onion, thinly sliced

1 Tablespoon Cucumber, chopped

2 Tablespoon Red Bell Pepper, chopped

¼ Teaspoon Jalapeno, finely chopped

½ Teaspoon Lemon Juice

(I happened to have about 5 good raspberries and threw those in for good measure.  Bet a strawberry would be good too.)

Crèma

3 Tablespoon Sour Cream

Dash of each: Salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, lemon juice

¼ tsp Ancho Chili Powder

Mix all marinade ingredients and throw in the steak. Refrigerate for at least one hour.  Mix all salsa ingredients, cover and refrigerate, half an hour or more.

Fire up the grill.

Mix Crèma ingredients, set aside.

Grill flank steak, medium rare.  I let it go about two minutes, uncovered. Rotated 45 degrees, basted with marinade and another 2 minutes, this time covered. Flip it over, baste again, 3 minutes, covered. Rotated 45 degrees and another 2 minutes, uncovered.

Remove from grill and let rest, 5-8 minutes.

To plate, slice steak thinly and arrange in a yin, add mango salsa in a yang.  Dot Steak with a teaspoon or two of the Crèma.

Next time I'll take a picture, I promise.  It was just so good I had to start a blog!