The Camera Went AWOL

I had just finished slaving over a hot stove and grill. I had plated my delicious meal of Asian Chicken, Rice Noodles with Sesame Peanut Sauce and Honey Cashew Green Beans. I had found and open corner of counter top where I could take the photo. The only thing missing... was the camera. We couldn't find it. Grr.

Grilled Asian Chicken
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 pound chicken (I use boneless skinless chicken breast for just about everything, but you could really use any part of the chicken, with or without bones)

Whisk together all ingredients (except chicken - which is not whiskable, so I am not sure why I even felt the need to clarify that point). Add chicken, and marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Cook chicken on a grill (medium heat if using a gas grill) until center is no longer pink, and juices run clear.


Noodles with Peanut Sauce
8 ounces spaghetti shaped noodles (I used rice noodles, but spaghetti or linguine would also work well)
2 tablespoons white onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup hot water
1 tablespoon rice wine or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

In most grocery stores, in the fresh spice area, you can buy a tube of fresh ginger paste. This is generally what I get, because working with fresh ginger can sometimes be frustrating. For this recipe, though, I just threw the onion, garlic and fresh ginger in the food processor, and it chopped them all very nicely.

Heat sesame oil (which can be found in the "Asian" section of most grocery stores (even here in T-Roy) over medium heat (6 on my electric stove) until smoky. Add ginger, garlic, onions and red pepper flakes and cook until the onions become translucent and then brown. Be patient. A higher temperature will burn the ginger and garlic. Stir frequently. This process takes about 8 minutes.

Add the peanut butter, soy sauce, water, vinegar and brown sugar. Reduce heat to medium low (4 on my electric stove) and gently stir until the peanut butter melts. Continue to cook sauce, stirring frequently, on low (2 on my electric stove) while preparing the noodles.

Prepare the noodles. If you are using a semolina based pasta (spaghetti, for instance) you will need to boil the noodles. For rice noodles, you generally pour boiling water over them and allow them to soak. Either way, do it. Drain the noodles and stir the peanut sauce into them. The noodles are great warm or cold.


Cashew Green Beans
1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cashews

Steam the green beans. I am personally a huge advocate (I think they should hire me to be a spokesperson) of the Ziploc Steamer Bags. You just prepare your veggies (trim and rinse) and place them in the bag. Zip it up and microwave for the amount of time listed on the bag for that particular veggie. I like my veggies crisp, so I ALWAYS reduce the cook time for 1/2 bag by about 30% regardless of how full the bag is. You can always add more time. You can not bring life back into limp broccoli, or in this case, green beans. You want them to remain crisp, because they are going to get a second cook.

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add honey and stir together. Toss cooked green beans in mixture, and saute for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle cashews on top, and serve.

This dish is sweet. The honey tastes like honey, but it is perfect with the spice of the chicken and the richness of the noodles.

Enjoy!

Fondue Feast!

Last night the Cataldos enjoyed a delicious fondue feast with friends. I intended to take photos, but we were all starving and so the desire to eat eclipsed my mind and I totally forgot about pictures until we had already devoured the cheese course and were in the process of gorging ourselves on coq au vin.

We began with a traditional Swiss fondue.


Traditional Swiss Fondue
3 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1 ounce cherry liqueur
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Dippers (various types of bread, green apples)

Mix cheese, flour and garlic in a bowl. In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat wine and lemon juice for until lightly boiling. Add half of the cheese and stir constantly until melted. Add the remaining cheese, and stir until melted. Stir in cherry liqueur. Add pepper and nutmeg and gently stir. Pour into a fondue pot and keep melty over low heat.

We continued with a coq au vin


Coq Au Vin
3 3/4 cups warm water
1 1/2 cups burgundy
3/4 cup thinly sliced button mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped green onions
3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon finely chopped carrot
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground pepper

Dippers, cubed (here's what I used...)
Salmon
Shrimp
Chicken Breast
Sirloin marinated in Teriyaki marinade
Beef tenderloin
Vegetables (red potatoes, button mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash)



My fondue pot isn't small, but it isn't terribly large either. It also uses Sterno as its heat source, and we learned last time we had fondue night that the broth doesn't stay as hot as desired once the cooking begins. This time I put all of the ingredients in a crock pot. It definitely worked better, but it still had trouble keeping the broth as hot as we wanted. Regardless of the apparatus used, thread meat onto fondue fork and cook in pot until it reaches desired doneness. It does not take long at all for fish and seafood (2-3 minutes-ish), but chicken takes a bit longer (5 minutes-ish). Once cooked, dip meat and veggies into desired sauces.



Cocktail Sauce (Good for fish and shrimp - though I don't think anyone used it.)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon lemon juice
hot pepper sauce to taste

Whisk ingredients together until blended. Cover and chill until serving.



Creamy Curry Sauce (This goes great with seafood and chicken, and we LOVE it, though it does have a bit of a kick)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup mango chutney (Major Grey's is great - AND you can get it at Kroger)
2 teaspoons minced red onion
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients together. Mix well. Cover and chill until serving, at least 2 hours.



Horseradish Sauce (This is really tasty with beef - but we didn't eat much of it)
1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 green onions, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients together. Mix well. Cover and chill until serving.



Green Goddess (Goes well with vegetables and is so good I consider it a food group)
3/4 cup cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup FINELY chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup FINELY chopped green onions
2 tablespoons minced white onion

Combine all ingredients together. Mix well. Cover and chill until serving.



Teriyaki Sauce (Goes well with anything. Especially delicious mixed with Gorgonzola Sauce)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
5 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/4 cup cold water

Mix all ingredients but cornstarch and 1/4 cup water together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir cornstarch into 1/4 cup water. When mixture boils, stir in cornstarch and water. Stir constantly until mixture thickens. Serve warm, or refrigerate until serving.


Gorgonzola Sauce (LOVE this one!)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1/2 tablespoon cherry brandy
1 tablespoon milk

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until serving.


Finally, we ended with a milk chocolate raspberry fondue for dessert.

Milk Chocolate Raspberry Fondue
12 ounces milk chocolate
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons frangelico (raspberry liquor)

Dippers (what I used...)
Marshmallows
Fresh strawberries, bananas, and pineapple
Rice Krispies Treats
Pound cake
Cheesecake bites

Combine chocolate and cream in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring well each time, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in Frangelico. Transfer to fondue pot to keep warm.

A fun time was had by all!

Our First "I Have Time To Cook" Dinner

Everyone who knows me knows I'm not a dumb girl, but if you *really* know me, you know I am technology stupid. I just missed the technology generation in both directions.

The kids just a little bit younger than me have no recollection of life before computers. We got our first computer when I was a sophomore in high school. Any time I needed to type anything in middle school, I did it at my dad's office. As a freshmen, I hand wrote my assignment and then my mom typed it. As a sophomore, though, the assignments got longer and the procrastination got fiercer, and my mom was no longer willing to type my assignments. So she bought a computer. I remember it was close to $1500, but it included Windows 95, which was brand spankin' new at the time. I could muddle my way through typing and spell checking an essay, but that was the extent of my abilities. If anything went wrong, I had to call in reinforcements.

The "kids" a little bit older than me managed to get through college and find jobs before computers infiltrated every aspect of life, so when computers were foisted on them, everyone learned together.

Me, though, I am in that generation where it is assumed that at some point I learned all about technology. The truth of the matter is, though, I still have a Walkman (one of those personal listening devices that requires 2 AA batteries and plays TAPES), my television has a tube in it, I have a collection of VHS movies I am not willing to part with but am too cheap to replace on DVD, and whenever anything electronic stops working properly, I unplug it, do a dance to the technology gods, plug it back in and hope for the best.

I mention all of this because it just took me 20 solid minutes to find the picture of tonight's dinner that I just uploaded onto my computer. (I bet you can't guess how many hours it took me how to figure out how to transfer pictures from my digital camera to my computer...)

One of the few aspects of summer that I love is that we eat well. I have time to plan, shop for, and prepare delicious meals that involve more prep work, cooking time or dishes than I am willing to dedicate during the school year.

Tonight, we had macadamia nut encrusted Mahi Mahi with a tropical fruit sauce over coconut rice. I was going to make sesame stir fried asparagus, as well, but it turns out my asparagus crossed the line from edible to gelatinous about 3 days ago. Instead, we had frozen green beans. It turned out okay, as the green beans were microwavable, which means they were cooked in a dishwasher safe dish, as opposed to the asparagus, which would have dirtied three additional dishes, plus measuring spoons.

Macadamia Nut Encrusted Mahi Mahi
1/2 cup crushed macadamia nuts
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
4 mahi mahi fillets

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shallots, diced
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup pineapple, cubed
1/2 cup papaya, cubed
1/2 cup mango, cubed
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon corn starch in 1/4 cup fruit juice
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix bread crumbs and macadamia nuts. (I crushed my mac nuts in the food processor)

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat.

Dip fish in egg and then in macadamia nut mixture (coat both sides) and saute in a skillet until brown, 3-4 minutes per side. Remove fish from skillet and place in baking dish. Set aside for about 10 minutes.

Add shallots to skillet and cook until translucent. (It took me about 20 seconds. No kidding.)

Stir in chicken broth, fruit, coconut and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Let simmer on medium-high heat for 15 minutes. At this point, put the fish in the oven for 15 minutes.

Fresh papaya is not something easily obtained in Lincoln County, MO, so I used fresh mango, but for the pineapple and papaya I used a jar of tropical fruit. I measured out 1 cup total of the tropical fruit (I think what I used had pineapple, papaya and passion fruit), as well as 1 mango. I used the juice from the canned fruit as my liquid for the cornstarch. It also adds a little sweetness to the sauce.

Mix the cornstarch into the liquid of your choice (fruit juice or water), and reduce heat to low. Continue to simmer until fish is cooked through. (Test with a fork if unsure... it should all be the same shade of white.)

Place fish on a bed of rice and spoon fruit sauce on top.


Coconut Rice
2 cups water
2 cups white rice (Jasmine if you can get it - see aforementioned note about Lincoln County)
1 tablespoon butter
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1/2 tablespoon sugar

Bring water, rice, and butter to a boil over medium high heat. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook until liquid is absorbed into rice, about 15 minutes. Stir in coconut milk and sugar. Continue to cook until coconut milk is absorbed, about 10 minutes.


*Note* The sauce never quite tasted right to me in the pan. I kept thinking it needed something. It did need something. The fish. The fish WITH the sauce was divine.

Enjoy! We certainly did.

What is wrong with my spacing?

So, two posts ago, there are spaces I didn't want and in the last post, there aren't spaces I did want. Grr.

Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies

1 (19.5) oz box brownie mix

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 egg

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 can chocolate frosting

Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, beat brownie mix, melted butter, cream cheese, and egg until well blended. The dough will be thick and sticky.

In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar and peanut butter until well mixed.

Drop 1 tablespoon balls of dough 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. (The recipe says it should make 24 cookies, but I usually get more than that.) Press 1 teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture into the center of the chocolate dough.

Bake at 350F for 10 - 14 minutes or until edges are set. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Cool at least 30 minutes on cooling rack.

Spread a thin layer of frosting over peanut butter portion of each cooled cookie.

Alert the Media... I cooked TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW!

A never ending, let's call it a challenge, in my marriage is scheduling. Neither Brad nor I work what anyone would consider a "9-5" job. Mine is closer than his though. I am required to be at school from 7:00 - 2:30, so I can run errands or make appointments in the afternoon, but in reality, I work, conservatively, about 80 hours per week when school is in session. Brad doesn't have to bring any work home, but he works from 3 am - 1 pm, Saturday - Tuesday, and frankly, that's not normal. Now, I'm hungry all of the time, but I like to eat dinner around 5:30. Unfortunately, though, I don't usually get home from work until roughly 5. And then, I have been going to water aerobics at 5, so I don't get home and changed until nearly 6:30. (If any students are reading this, I began the last sentence with "and" for rhetorical effect.) Brad goes to bed at 7, and rightfully so, does not want to eat dinner after he goes to bed, because that would be strange, and under the previously mentioned schedule, dinner won't be ready until 7:30 or 8. As a result, we eat a lot of grilled cheese. And frozen pizza. I try really hard to cook on nights that Brad doesn't have to go to bed before sunset, and yesterday and today, I actually succeeded in that effort. Yesterday for supper, we had pasta with an asiago cream sauce, salad, and bread sticks from Aldi (which are actually pretty good). Here is a photo of the salad, which contained romaine lettuce, cucumbers, provel cheese, (a local mixture of American, Swiss and Provolone cheeses... not really sure who thought that was a good idea. Brad hates it, but that's because he's from out of town) and homemade croutons. We are out of my favorite store bought dressing, Zia's, so I had Ranch, and Brad had Raspberry Vinaigrette. I know you are interested in our salad dressing choices, and that is why I share this information with you. Here is a picture of the Asiago Pasta and the Aldi breadsticks. They have the same consistency and basic flavor of crescent rolls in a tube, but overall, I would say worth the $1.84 investment.

Here is a photo of the ingredients that comprise tonight's fajitas.

... and here is a photo of the beef... right out of the skillet... see the steam!

And the final product - a tortilla sprinkled (loaded) with colby jack cheese, beef, sauteed onions, and a dollop (or two) of sour cream.

Beef Fajita Marinade

1 pound beef, thinly sliced 1/4 cup lime juice 1/3 cup water 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 cloves garlic, crushed 2 teaspoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper In a large resealable plastic bag, or sealable container, mix together the lime juice, water, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, salt, and liquid smoke flavoring. Stir in cayenne and black pepper. Place meat in the marinade, and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight.

I use cheap flat beef. I am not sure what the cut is, but it is at Costco between the brisket and the chunks of eye of round. It looks like a giant lean steak. After marinating it overnight, I saute it in a very hot skillet with a little olive oil until it is cooked throughout. I also saute some onions and green peppers (separately, because I'm allergic to green peppers, but you could do them together). Then, I wrap them up and eat them. You can add whatever other fajita like ingredients you so desire, but really, if I have melted cheese and sour cream, I am a happy girl.

We Found the Cord! (Actually, I bought a new one...)

Sopapilla Pie

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls

3/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup honey

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.

Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. (I have found that it works better to just flatten two triangles together in my hands, and then piece the four smaller rectangles together in the pan/ on top of the cream cheese.)

Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Dot the mixture over the top of the cheesecake.

Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown and the center doesn't jiggle when you shake the pan a bit, between 30 and 40 minutes, depending on your oven.

Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.

There is absolutely NOTHING HEALTHY about this. It is sugar on top of fat on top of fat on top of sugar on top of fat on top of sugar. For this reason, I wouldn't recommend it every week, but it is SOOOO good. Take it to a church pot luck. Nobody cares about calories on a buffet.

Stir Fry!

We lost the cord that lets us upload pictures from our digital camera to the computer, which is very sad for us. I have been remiss in updating my new recipes because I was looking for the cord and wanted to add pictures, but then I discovered I have a much wider viewership than I thought, and if I am not the only one using my blog for recipes, I would like to share my delicious new recipes, with or without pictures.

Because I am such a good wife, (laugh here!) I made my husband some stir fry so he wouldn't have to eat chili for the fifth meal in a row.

I did not try it, but it looked good, and Brad said it was yummy.

Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
3 cups broccoli florets
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch strips
1/4 cup sliced green onions
8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon chile paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth

Trim the broccoli, and cut into bite sized pieces. I only like the tree part, so I trim broccoli really high. Then, steam it. There are several ways to do this. My favorite way to steam veggies is using the new-ish Ziploc steamer bags. You can also put the broccoli in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water, cover, and cook for about 5 five minutes. If you don't own a steamer, I highly recommend the steamer bags. I DO OWN a steamer, and I still use the Ziploc steamer bags.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the chicken, green onions, and garlic until the chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Stir the hoisin sauce, chile paste, and soy sauce into the skillet. Season with ginger, red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Stir in the chicken stock and simmer about 2 minutes. Mix in the steamed broccoli until coated with the sauce mixture.

Serve over rice.