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!