Dinner Party

Yesterday we did a  progressive style dinner with a couple up the street. Appetizers at our house, main course and sides at theirs, and dessert with after dinner cocktails at ours again. Sally says that next time she wants appetizers. I'm good with that, it's always fun to switch things up.

First up, appetizers! I knew we were having steak for dinner so I wanted appetizers that wouldn't leave us too full to enjoy the meat and sides. I also wanted the appetizers to complement the main dish, not compete with it. After a good deal of contemplating and searching, I decided on bruschetta and Thai shrimp bites.

There are a zillion bruschetta recipes on the web, but my favorite came from the Pioneer Woman. She slices her baguette and toasts the pieces on the stove top in butter. We (and by we I mean my niece) sliced our loaf as you would for garlic bread, brushed it with olive oil and toasted it on the grill. Not what I planned, but with delicious results.

Bruschetta

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

5 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced

1 pint Red Grape Tomatoes, Halved Lengthwise

1 pint Yellow Grape Tomatoes, Halved Lengthwise

1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

16 whole Basil Leaves (chiffonade)

Salt And Pepper To Taste

1 whole Baguette

8 Tablespoons Butter for stove top toasting, or olive oil to brush on for grill toasting

1. To chiffonade the basil: Pile the basil leaves on top of each other, roll up and slice. You end up with nice long thin strings of basil. Pretty cool.
2. Put the tomatoes, basil, and balsamic vinegar in a large bowl
3. Saute the minced garlic in olive oil until golden. Be careful not to overdo this, burned garlic is bitter and not what you want.
4. Add the garlic to the bowl and toss well. I also added the oil the garlic was sauteed in, but not until after it cooled. At this point I set it aside for a couple of hours to let the flavors develop. However, it can be served right away.
5. When you're ready to serve, slice the bread lengthwise, brush with olive oil and toast on the grill. Then slice into pieces large enough to support the tomatoes.
6. Take the topping out of the refrigerator and spoon on to bread. If you have any of the balsamic still in the bowl, drizzle it over the bread and serve.

Thai Shrimp Bites

• 1 pkg fillo mini shells
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 pound peeled deveined shrimp, tails removed - chopped in small pieces (so it will fit the shells)
• 2 leaves from a head of baby bok choy - finely chopped
• 2 layers from a piece of lemongrass - finely chopped
• 1/2 sm. red bell pepper - finely chopped
• 2 good sized cloves garlic - finely chopped (use more if you like, our cloves were tiny. So we used 8)
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp fish sauce or soy sauce
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp hot chili sauce (I use sriracha)
• 1/4 c finely chopped cashews (optional)

1. Combine lime juice, fish or soy sauce, brown sugar and chili sauce. Set aside.
2. In a wok or large skillet, saute garlic and pepper until garlic is golden but not brown.
3. Add shrimp and saute until pink
4. Add bok choy, lemongrass, and liquid ingredients. Saute for 30 seconds and remove from heat.
5. If serving right away, fill mini shells, sprinkle with cashews and serve
6. If making ahead, put the filling in the refrigerator until you're ready to reheat it in the oven. Preheat oven to 350, fill shells, top with cashews and bake for 5-10 minutes until heated through.

These were great appetizers for our steak dinner. Oh, and let's talk about that steak! Beautifully seasoned, perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious. New York strips served alongside a fantastic medley of mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and pearl onions. Yummy. It will be a challenge to compete with that when my turn for main dish comes around!

When it came to dessert, I wanted something I could make ahead that wouldn't be too heavy after those great steaks. I settled on berry lemon trifles served in stemless wine glasses. I'm getting hungry just thinking about them! We also had after dinner cocktails, raspberry limoncello martinis. If your family doesn't drink alcohol, serve up some coffee, tea or a berry lemonade.

Berry Lemon Trifle

• 1-6 oz package blackberries
• 1-6 oz package blueberries
• 1-6 oz package raspberries
• Strawberries (I just had some leftover in the frig and used them up....maybe 8-10 berries)
• 1-10 oz. jar lemon curd
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 2-3 tbsp sugar
• 1 pound cake, cubed (recipe below)
• 1/4 cup limoncello liqueur (optional)

When I make whipped cream, I always put the bowl and whisk attachment of my mixer in the freezer for at least 10 minutes first. Cream just whips better when its cold.

1. While your bowl is chilling, thin-slice the strawberries then place all the berries in a bowl, toss to combine and set aside.
2. Lightly brush the pound cake cubes with limoncello liqueur
3. Start whipping the cream in your chilled mixing bowl, add sugar and whip until soft peaks form.
4. Add lemon curd and continue whipping until mixture looks like mousse.
5. In individual dessert dishes layer the ingredients as follows: cake, cream, berries. The dessert is prettiest if the top layer is berries.
6. Serve immediately or chill for up to 4 hours.

Pound Cake (from Joy of Baking)

• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons milk, room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 13 tablespoons (1/2 cup + 1/3 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

1. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and preheat oven to 350
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), place the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar) and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds or until blended.
3. Add the butter and half of the egg mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about one minute to aerate and develop the cake's structure. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Gradually add the remaining egg mixture, in 2 additions, beating about 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the egg and strengthen the cake's structure. 
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake for about 55 to 65 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the cake browning too much as it bakes, cover with a piece of lightly buttered aluminum foil after about 30 minutes.
6. Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely on a lightly buttered wire rack.

Raspberry-Limoncello Martini

(recipe makes one. I may have learned the hard way that making more than one at a time overfills my shaker and well, let's just leave it at that.)

• 3 oz raspberry vodka
• 1 oz limoncello
• 1 tsp simple syrup
• 1 lemon
• Ice 

1. Fill martini shaker with ice.
2. Add vodka, limoncello and simple syrup.
3. Shake well and pour in over-sized martini glass
4. Serve with a twist of lemon.

Lasagna...YUM!

Tonight I attempted my first ever homemade lasagna. Would it be bragging to say it was delish? No? Well then, it was delicious! Okay, the ricotta cheese was green, but that was because I processed the spinach with the ricotta instead of chopping it separately. It was still fantastic, but it was also much easier than I expected. I'll be making it again and next time I'll make a couple of small dishes instead of one large one. I'll also add a little tomato sauce next time, I like my lasagna a little saucier. Like me.

Serve this up with garlic bread and a salad and you're good to go! Oh, and I also found a great use for those pesky leftover noodles. Check out the end of the blog.

Lasagna with Italian Sausage

1 pkg lasagna noodles
28 oz crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
6 cloves garlic, fine chopped
1 med. yellow onion, fine chopped
20 fresh basil leaves - minced
.75 oz pkg fresh oregano - minced
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage
1/2 pound hot Italian sausage
2 C fresh baby spinach
4 C ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/2 C parmesan cheese, divided
2 C mozzarella cheese
1 tsp dried oregano

• Preheat oven to 350
• Cook pasta to al dente, lightly oil and set aside
• Saute onion in olive oil until translucent, add chopped garlic and saute until garlic is fragrant but not brown.
• Add red wine and let reduce. I used Malbec. Cabernet or Merlot also work well with this sauce.
• Once the red wine is reduced, add crushed tomatoes and minced herbs and let simmer while you cook the sausage.
• Combine sweet and hot sausages, crumble and cook until no longer pink. Drain the fat and add the meat to your marinara sauce. Reduce or turn off heat. This marinara is pretty thick, so if you like a saucier lasagna, add a little tomato sauce to thin it out.

• In a food processor, combine ricotta, 1/4 C parmesan, the egg and spinach. Pulse until combined. If you don't have a food processor, chop the spinach and mix with the other ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.

• Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
• Add 1 C marinara mixture to the bottom of the pan and spread evenly.
• Top with 3 lasagna noodles. Spread noodles with 1/4 of the ricotta mixture, top with 1 C marinara mixture and sprinkle with 1/2 C mozzarella cheese. Repeat this step 3 more times.

• Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese and the dried oregano.
• Bake for 45 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Most packages of lasagna come with 18 noodles and you only need 12. So what do you do with the other 6 noodles? There are a number of ideas on the internet, my favorite was this:

Fried Lasagna Noodles

1. Heat cooking oil to 375 in a deep skillet.
2. While the oil is heating, cut the cooked noodles in varying shapes.
3. Without overcrowding the pan, add the cut noodles in small batches and fry until golden and crisp.
4. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese while still hot.
5. Serve with a dipping sauce. I used a jar of pesto I had in the pantry. You could also use leftover marinara sauce.

You can make these while your lasagna cooks and enjoy a tasty snack while you're waiting on the oven!

There you have it, my first homemade lasagna!

Creamy White Chicken Chili

I wasn't going to post this one because I forgot to take pictures last night. However, I've had a request and I would hate to disappoint anyone. We had some amazing white chicken chili for dinner last night! It was creamy, just a little spicy, and so good there were barely enough leftovers for lunch today. Frankly, I don't think it needs anything else, but you could serve it with a nice crusty bread and a salad of crisp greens.

This one is super easy to make and it tastes like you cooked all day! No one has to know that it's virtually no work at all!

The recipe calls for canned beans, but I keep beans in my freezer just for recipes like this. It's a trick I learned on the food network. I buy the dried beans and cook them in my pressure cooker. After cooking, I freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet then store them in Ziploc bags in varying quantities. 1 can of beans is about 1 1/2 cups, so for this recipe I used 3 cups of white beans from the freezer.

White Chicken Chili

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 medium onion, small diced
1 T vegetable oil
2 cans cannellini (or other white) beans, drained
14.5 ounces chicken broth
2 4-ounce cans chopped green chilies
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup half & half

1/2 cup shredded white cheddar, plus more for topping

sour cream for topping

 

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the chicken and chopped onion and saute for about six minutes, or until the chicken is seared and the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another three minutes.

Add the beans, spices, chicken broth and green chilies and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for thirty minutes. For thicker chili, dissolve 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch in 1 tsp water and stir into boiling chili.

Turn off the heat and add the 1/2 cup cheese and the half & half.  Serve with additional cheddar cheese and sour cream to top.

Shrimpy Mango Goodness

Last weekend I was in Ft. Lauderdale and ate at the Carolina Ale House. Aside from being shocked at how affordable it was, I fell in love with their shrimp tacos. Sadly, the recipe is not out there. Not even from the Top Secret Recipes guys (gals? people?) I, however, was determined to create something equally yummy in my own kitchen. I almost succeeded. Next time I'll blacken the shrimp. Here is last night's effort. Oh, and this time? I came up with my own recipes after reviewing several different ones on the web. Well, mostly. The corn and black bean salad is not mine, it's Rachael Ray's. But the rest of it is mine.

The Menu

Shrimp Tacos with seasoned sour cream
Mango Salsa
Warm Corn and Black Bean Salad

Make the mango salsa and a couple of hours in advance to give the flavors time to develop. When you're ready to start cooking, make the warm corn and black bean salad first, then the sour cream, save the shrimp for last.

Mango Salsa

1 med. Mango

½  red bell pepper

Juice and zest of 1 lime

3-5 cloves garlic

1 shallot bulb

1 jalapeno pepper

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp ground coriander seed

Salt

 

1. Peel and finely chop the shallot, garlic, mango, red pepper and jalapeno and set in a small bowl.
2. Zest and juice the lime over the bowl, add the sugar and ground coriander and sprinkle with salt.
3. Toss well. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Heat through before serving if desired.

Warm Corn and Black Bean Salad

This recipe is from the Food Network's Rachael Ray and can be found here.

1 can, 14 ounces, black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups frozen corn kernels

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, half a palm full

2 teaspoons hot sauce, just eyeball the amount (recommended: Tabasco)

1 lime, juiced

2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil, eyeball it

Salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Let stand at least 15 minutes for corn to fully defrost and flavors to combine, then toss and serve. The corn will also place a quick-chill on this easy side-salad as it defrosts -- no need to refrigerate!

Seasoned Sour Cream

¼ - ½ c sour cream (I just had some left over from an 8oz container so the amount is a guess)

1 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp cumin

¼ tsp ground coriander seed

Shake of dried cilantro leaves

Combine all ingredients, stir well, serve.

Shrimp Tacos

1 1/2 pounds peeled, deveined, tail removed shrimp (51-60 per pound)
1 lime
Mango Salsa (recipe follows)
Seasoned Sour Cream (recipe follows)
Leaf lettuce
1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
Small flour tortilla shells
 
Heat a skillet over medium. Add shrimp, sprinkle with salt and squeeze lime juice over the top. Sautee until shrimp are just pink, but not curled into themselves. When shrimp get all curled up they are over cooked and tend to be a little tough.
 
To assemble and serve:
 
Open a flour tortilla and spread a little of the seasoned sour cream in the center. Add a piece of leaf lettuce, the shrimp, a slice of avocado and top with the mango salsa. Serve the bean and corn salad on the side.

 
This is a fairly light meal, so if your family needs a little more substance, add some rice or even french fries on the side. We loved it!

About Last Night - Thai Cashew Chicken

I love cashew chicken. It's my favorite Chinese take-out meal so I was really excited when I found a recipe for it in the complete book of Thai Cooking: Over 200 delicious recipes by Linda Stephen (available here: http://www.hamiltonbook.com/complete-book-of-thai-cooking-over-200-delicious-recipes).  Even my "ew, why are you making cashew chicken, it's slimy" niece liked it. Anyway. I served this with white rice seasoned with soy sauce and home-made Chinese 5-Spice powder. Future posts will have photos, since this is kind of after the fact you'll have to take my word that it looks as good as it tastes! As will frequently happen, I'll give you the original recipe and then tell you what I changed. That's the great thing about cooking, you find what you like and build from there.

Stir Fried Chicken with Cashews

2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp hot chili sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1/2 onion thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper thinly sliced
8 small dried red chilies
6 green onions cut in 1-inch lengths
1/2 c roasted cashews.

1. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine soy sauce, water, fish sauce, chili sauce and cornstarch.
2. Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat and add oil. Add garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds or until golden. Add chicken and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
3. Add onion, red pepper and dried chilies and stir-fry for 2 minutes
4. Stir reserved soy mixture and add to wok. Toss to coat all ingredients with sauce and cook for 1 minute.
5. Stir in green onions and cashews.

What did I change?

Not much really. The biggest change is that I used boneless skinless thighs instead of breasts. I think the dark meat has a richer flavor. Plus, they're usually a little less expensive. I like my cashew chicken saucy, so I doubled everything in the soy mixture except the hot chili sauce. I use sriacha sauce which I find to be really spicy, so one was enough for me. Use what works for you. Also, I omitted the green onions intentionally because I just don't care for them and I omitted the red chilies by accident. All that work to find them in my grocery store and then I forgot to put them in the dish. Ah, well. It happens. You could also add more veggies to this. It would be quite tasty with some snow peas or, if you're a fan, broccoli.

Next up, the rice! Seasoned this way, the rice adds a beautiful depth of flavor to the stir-fry without overpowering it. You can get 5-Spice Powder online, in a specialty Asian market, OR you could make your own like I did (recipe below).

White Rice with Soy Sauce and 5-Spice Powder

1 cup dried white rice
1 tsp. Chinese 5-Spice Powder
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. butter
2 c. water

1. Place first 4 ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until butter is melted and the rice is fragrant and nearly toasted.
2. Add water and without raising the heat, bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer until done (about 20 minutes)

I went searching for 5-Spice Powder a few months ago and after no small amount of frustration, I just googled it and made my own. Here is the recipe I found and used.

Five-Spice Powder

• 3 tablespoons cinnamon
• 6 star anise or 2 teaspoons anise seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons szechuan peppercorns or 1 1/2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in blender or coffee grinder.
2. Blend until finely ground.
3. Store in airtight container.
4. Keeps up to 2 months.
5. Note: You could"roast" the whole spices a bit for a more intense flavor in a dry frying pan-- Watch closely to prevent spices from burning.

I used whole black peppercorns and toasted my spices first and then tossed them in a coffee grinder that I use only for spice grinding.

So there it is. My favorite cashew chicken recipe. Enjoy!

Welcome!

I love to cook, but I am not a chef. I don't create my own recipes and I probably won't ever have my own show. I just really love to find fun, easy recipes and to try them out on my unsuspecting friends and family. I am forever posting my dinner menu on facebook and these posts are frequently followed by recipe requests. That got me to thinking....maybe I should just blog it. So, here I am.

Some nights dinner is just not blog-worthy; when it is, I'll post it here.