Restaurant Style Steak

Over at Tastebook I found a recipe that told us how to make fillet mignon that tastes just like what you would find in a restaurant. I altered it slightly to what I had handy in my kitchen - which meant rib eye.  The family liked it even though we always feel you need more garlic. 

Ingredients:

• rib eye - 2 - 8 ounce steaks
• kosher salt - 4 teaspoons
• freshly cracked pepper - 4 teaspoons
• butter - 1 stick
• olive oil - 1 tablespoon
• garlic - 2 cloves, chopped
• parsley - 1 tablespoon, chopped
• thyme - 1 tablespoon, chopped
• lemon zest - 1 teaspoon

Instructions:

Take 1/2 stick of butter, softened, and mix well with the peeled, chopped garlic, the chopped herbs, and the lemon zest.  
Form into a log and refrigerate.  
Generously season the filet's with salt and pepper, approximately 1 teaspoon of seasoning per side. Heat the remainder of the butter (1/2 stick) and the olive oil in a cast iron skillet to a screaming hot temperature.  
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.   
Sear the steak in a screaming hot pan for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until a nice brown crust has formed. 
While the steak is searing, continue to spoon the residual butter in the pan on top of the meat while it's cooking.  
Once both sides are seared, place in the center of the oven for about 6-8 minutes, depending upon how thick your steak is.  
In the last minute of cooking, take the log of compound butter and slice a nice thick piece to place on top. 
Your steak will be ready when it is approximately 135 degrees in the center, or when you push lightly on the top center of the steak and it gently and slowly bounces back.  (Note, this is medium rare. Some people don't like to eat cows while they are mooing, so clearly you can cook longer if your afraid of the pink.)

DISCLAIMER: The reason this dish is so amazing is due mostly in part to having the very best, most fresh ingredients possible.  That means high grade salt, it means pepper ground right in front of you by a pepper mill.  It means fresh herbs and it means REAL BUTTER.

Indonesian Chicken Recipe - for the slow-cooker

This was a week of recipe testing.   I found this one over at A Year of Slow Cooking . I wasn't sure it was an authentic Indonesian dish so I decided to put it here on our family favourites blog instead of over at Our Roots In Food. 

I followed the tweak suggestions and it turned out delicious!

Ingredients:
--2 T soy sauce (La Choy and Tamari wheat-free are GF)

--2 chopped cloves of garlic

--1 1/2 t sesame oil

--1/4 t cayenne pepper

--1/3 cup peanut butter

--1/2 t ground ginger
--2 T sugar
--sprinkle with red chili flakes

--garnish with sesame seeds and lime wedges; optional

Directions.

--put the peanut butter into your crockpot and turn it to high so it can begin to melt

--add the other sauce ingredients

--stir to mix

---Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5. This is done when the chicken is cooked through and has reached desired tenderness. The longer you cook it, the more tender it will become, but it may fall off the bone if you cook too long.

Tip:
If your crockpot isn't at least 2/3 full, keep an eye on it so the peanut butter doesn't burn. You may need to stir a few times.

Schweineschnitzel

Today is my Mom's birthday.  Can you believe she would have been 93  Wow!  Yes, I was an afterthought.  In honour of my German Mom's day I thought I would post this recipe for Schweineschnitzel that I had posted in my other food blog.  We made it a couple of days ago for Octoberfest. No beer, sorry. Too many minors. 

Most of you are familiar with weinerschnitzel (breaded veal cutlet) but I'm not a fan of veal so I decided on this pork variation.

I turned out delicious!

Ingredients:

4 thin boneless pork chops (substitute veal chops, if desired)

1/2 c. oil (I use olive oil)

3/4 c. fine bread crumbs

2 eggs

salt & pepper

2 lemons

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet at medium high heat.  
2. Place each chop between two sheets of plastic and pound with the smooth side of a meat tenderizer until thin (1/4" - 3/8").  
3. Beat the two eggs in a bowl that is wide enough to dip the meat into.  
4. Spread the bread crumbs onto a plate or flat surface.  
5. Take each cutlet, season with salt and pepper and dip both sides of meat into eggs to coat.  
6. Then coat the entire cutlet with the bread crumbs.  
7. Place in hot oil and cook on both sides until golden brown.  It only takes about 1-2 minutes per side.  
8. Serve each cutlet with half a lemon on the side.  Some people go ahead and squeeze the lemon onto the schnitzel before serving.  

Serves 4

Tip: We served it with homemade fries. 

Pasta in Clam Sauce

I saw this recipe in It's Yummilicious! and just had to make this.  It was just as delicious as it looked.  We served it with Garlic Bread (which we cooked on the grill) and my seafood haters gave me their clams so all was good. 

PASTA WITH CLAM SAUCE

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons olive oil

3 large cloves garlic, minced (more or less, according to taste)

1 medium onion, diced

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1 tablespoon dried

2 cans (12-ounces each) chopped clams

1/2 cup dry white wine (for alcohol-free cooking, substitute with fish stock)

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 pound quinoa spaghetti (or your favorite variety and shape of pasta)

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium-low heat. 
2. Add garlic and onion and sauté until translucent, but not browned. 
3. Add clams with the liquid, wine, parsley, and oregano. 
4. Bring to a boil and simmer until liquids are reduced, about 10 minutes.

1. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions for al dente. 
2. Drain, reserving some of the cooking water. 
3. Add the pasta to the sauce. 
4. Add the butter and toss well, then cook about one minute, adding some of the reserved water if needed to loosen the mixture.

If desired, add a little more fresh parsley for color. Serve, offering the Parmesan cheese separately.

Sausage Breakfast Casserole

I made this recipe when the boyfriend of my oldest daughter, and his Mom, came to our house so that the kids could go to the prom together. They live six hours apart - across the state from one another and had never met before in the 1 1/2 years of their relationship. (If you want to read their story, you can find it in my family blog.)  

Since they drove through the night and arrived at breakfast time I had planned to have this ready when they arrived. But I doubled the bread and it took forever to bake - although it was still yummy. 

Borrowed photo

Ingredients

• 1 lb of Italian pork sausage, (then cooked, drained, crumbled)
• 4 1/2 cups cubed day old bread
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 10 eggs slightly beaten
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 1/2 cup peeled, chopped tomatoes (optional)

Directions

1 - Heat a skillet on medium high. Break up the sausage into chunks and cook, working in batches if need be, until browned all around. Make sure the chunks of sausage have some space around them or your meat will steam and not brown. Remove the cooked sausage from the pan and let sit on some paper towels on a plate to soak up the excess fat. Crumble into smaller pieces.

2 - Place bread in a well buttered 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with cheese. Combine the eggs, milk, dry mustard, onion powder and pepper. Pour evenly over the bread and cheese. Sprinkle sausage and optional ingredients over the top.

3 At this stage you can cover and chill overnight, if you want to prepare ahead. If not, let sit for 10 minutes before putting in the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake uncovered for about one hour. Tent with foil if top begins to brown too quickly.

Serves 6-8.

Mini Queso Burgers On Pretzel Buns

I found this recipe over in the Land of All Things Great and Wonderful, also known as Pinterest.  We actually had these way back during the Super Bowl and the blog sat in my drafts just waiting...

So here is it's turn to shine!  These are really good and, like in the photo from pinterest (they didn't make it to pose for pictures), we topped it with a small piece of bacon ... Perfect!

Mini Queso Burgers

1-1/2 lb. ground sirloin
1 lb. (16 oz.) VELVEETA^®, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 can (10 oz.) RO*TEL^® Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained
12 hamburger buns (I like to use pretzel bread)
12 pieces leaf lettuce
1 large tomato, cut into 6 slices (for the minis, I use roma tomatoes)

• Heat skillet to medium heat.
• Shape meat into 12 patties.
• Cook 3 minutes on each side or until done (160ºF).
• Meanwhile, microwave VELVEETA^® and RO*TEL^® in microwaveable bowl on high 5 minutes or until VELVEETA^® is completely melted, stirring after 3 minutes.
• Cover bottom halves of buns with lettuce, tomatoes and burgers. Top each burger with 1 Tbsp. VELVEETA^® dip. Cover with tops of buns.

Stampot Sla

I thought I had  posted this already, but here it was in my drafts.  Stampot is literally "mash pot". a traditional Dutch dish of potatoes mashed with other vegetables, while sla translates to lettuce. Hence, the name of this dish.  Stampot Sla is an excellent summer dish, super easy to make and loved by my family - including the fussy eater.

Stampot Sla

    Prep Time: 10 minutes

    Cook Time: 20 minutes

    Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:    

              2 lb Potatoes, peeled and halved

              1 Vegetable stock cube

              1 Head Butter Lettuce

              5 Egg

              1 Tbsp Butter

              1 Tbsp Hand-hot cream (or milk)

              Salt and White Pepper, to taste

Preparation:

In a large soup pot, cover the potatoes with water.  Add a stock cube and bring to a boil.  Meanwhile, wash the lettuce thoroughly, spin dry and slice the individual leaves into strips.  When the potatoes are soft, drain them well. Pat them dry and give them a shake in the pot. Mash with a potato masher or ricer. Add an egg, the butter and cream (or milk). Now fry the four eggs in a frying pan, but be careful to leave the yolks runny and intact.  Add some lettuce to the mash and mix it in using a wooden spoon. Season to taste.  

Serve the stamppot on a bed of sliced lettuce with an egg on top.  Pierce the yolk and allow the runny liquid to dribble down the mound. 

Serves 4

Note: I didn't use salt or pepper and the potatoes were delicious.  The vegetable stock seemed to season the potatoes perfectly. 

Tri-colour Rotini Salad

Having a houseful of teens, I don't always cook from scratch.  I do sometimes use "cheats" to prepare dishes. Sunday was one of those days.  

I decided we would have some pasta salad for a side with supper.  Since we had picked up some Gia Russo Dressing for Pasta Salad from our local grocery store after church last week, I thought it would be a good time to try it. 

The recipe called for one bottle for every 14 ounces of pasta.  It was a big hit!  I recommend you try it if it's available in your area.

Bulgolgi

I have loved bulgolgi for the last 25 years.  Ever since I lived at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque and the new neighbours moved in.  He had been stationed in Korea and his wife managed to get herself and their son there during his tour so they could be with him during his "remote" tour. When they moved to our close-knit neighbourhood, they learned we loved block parties!  She shared with us this traditional Korean dish and it became the featured menu item at all of our parties. 

Her version was lost in my divorce but I was able to find, and tweak, this one from World Food and Drink. Bulgolgi is a sweet dish but, if you are brave, you'll go for the burn and spread some bean paste on the chard before adding the meat.

Ingredients:

2 pounds beef sirloin, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
3 scallions, minced
1 onion, minced
1/3 cup, plus 2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons honey
Black pepper to taste

Paste Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon bean paste
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 head of chard

Directions:

1. Beat sirloin until tender
2. Combine remaining ingredients.  The mixture should be thick.
3. Pour the marinade onto the meat and coat by hand. Make sure the meat has all been coated with the marinade.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour.
5. Cook the meat in one layer on the grill. The inside should be cooked thoroughly with the outside caramelized.

Paste mix:

1. In a different bowl, combine the sugar and bean paste.
2. Add sesame oil and mix well.

Spread paste on chard leaves and top with marinated meat, onions and bell peppers.

Note: I prefer to use chard leaves since they are more pliable.

                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you can't find bean paste in your area, then you can substitute it with a Homemade Chili Paste.  It won't taste the same but will still work.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon soybean paste (can be omitted, but will alter the taste)

3 tablespoons finely ground red chili pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

3 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon Korean rice wine or cooking wine

1 teaspoon sesame oil

water, as needed

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix all ingredients except sesame oil, adding just enough water to form a thick paste.
2. Allow to sit at room temperature for at lest 1/2 hour.
3. Add sesame oil (and more water, if needed), mix well and let sit another 10 minutes.
4. Refrigerate until use.

Cah Kangkung Udang

I want to apologize.  I can't believe it's been so long since I did a food blog.  I promise I will try not to have the blogs so few and far between anymore.

Doesn't this look amazing?

My Aspie son, William, saw this on my other food blog, Our Roots in Food, and wanted to make it on his night to cook.  He did an awesome job with just a little help from me.  It was delicious!

Cah Kangkung Udang is an Indonesian dish and those who know me know that my Sweetheart is a Dutch-Indo so I am partial to foods cooked in his Mom's native Indonesia. 

Enjoy!

• Ingredients:
• 
  
• 10 ounces spinach
• 7 ounces large shrimp
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 chilies, or adjust to taste
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce

Directions:

• Wash spinach and cut to size. 
• Finely chop onion and garlic.   
• Seed and chop the chilies elongated, as in the picture.   
• Heat the butter. 
• Put chopped onions, garlic and chilies in the hot butter.  
• Saute until fragrant. 
• Add the shrimp.  
• Stir well. 
• Add soy sauce, sesame oil and oyster sauce.  
• Cook briefly (1-2 minutes). 
• Add the spinach. 
• Stir fry briefly until the leaves are flaccid.

Serve with hot rice.

Serves 3-5.

                                    

We made this delicious burger for Memorial Day.  The recipe looks pretty simple but sometimes there are additional steps needed in order to properly prepare a dish.

In our case it involved covering the grates with foil to minimize drippage and grease fires.  Which, of course led to the grill over-heating and the grill cover in the cabinet below catching fire. The next step was the use of a fire extinguisher and the cleaning of the grill. Followed by airing out the house of the acrid smoke.

When the grill was cleaned off we continued bar-be-que-ing.  The end result was these perfect burgers.  

I'm sure you can probably get the same results without the fire.

Bacon Gouda Patties

Ingredients

• Filling:
• 8 slices bacon
• 3 cups shredded Gouda cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
•  
• Burgers:
• 4 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 4 egg
• 12 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
•  
• 8 hamburger buns, split and toasted

Directions

1. Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Cool and crumble into a bowl. Stir in the gouda cheese, parsley, and Dijon mustard. Set aside.
2. Place the ground beef into a mixing bowl with the bread crumbs, egg, chopped garlic, and garlic powder. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Mix until evenly blended, and form into very thin patties.
3. Divide the Gouda cheese filling between two of the patties, then place the remaining patties on top.  
4. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate.
5. Cook on the preheated grill until the patties are cooked to your desired degree of doneness, about 3 minutes per side for well done. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Serve on hamburger buns.