Balti Beef

Posted on February 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

We have a recipe book that is all about curry and one night this week we decided to make a recipe we have made once before called Balti Beef. In following this recipe you primarily make a sauce using onion and tomato and serve it over beef and red bell pepper (along with some more onions!) and Indian spices. It is very delicious and full of flavor and it was a good excuse to give the new blender a test drive.

Lots and lots of onions in this dish! It was a little tough to get through all the chopping without shedding a few tears.

Along with the onions, we sauteed garlic and ginger. The recipe called for garlic paste and ginger paste, but since we couldn’t find those at Giant we just used fresh chopped garlic and ginger. Along with that, we added a can of chopped tomatoes and 8 different seasonings.

After simmering on low for about twenty minutes and cooling for another 10 or so, it was time for the blender. Check it out!

You can get a general idea of the thickness of the sauce here and look at that beautiful red orange color!

Once the sauce was finished  it was time to make the rest of the dish.

More onions and garlic!

Some fresh red bell pepper added to the mix.

Next, we added the beef and sauteed for two minutes, followed by the Balti sauce. We let it summer for another 5 minutes.

We served it over some jasmine rice with some fresh cilantro for garnish. If you want to go without the rice it is equally as good on it’s own (I just had it for lunch this way 🙂 ).

Anyway, it was good mush! Foods of the Indian/Paki persuasion often look like mush to me- tasty mush though!

Hope you enjoy this one!

Recipe for Balti Beef

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Crab and Corn Chowder

Posted on February 25, 2010 | Leave a comment

One weeknight, we decided to use the extra crab meat we had to make a crab soup. This recipe is semi-homemade in the sense that we used some canned soups to create our soup and not all of the ingredients were homemade. This recipe was the result of melding several different crab bisque and chowder recipes. I was quite pleased with the end result though and it was also great re-heated for lunch the next day.

Like many things we eat, this dish started off with a good saute of some onions and garlic in butter.

After the onions sweated out, it was time to add the remaining ingredients, which mostly consisted of the canned soups (cream of celery and cream of mushroom) and the dairy- milk and half and half.

Also not to be forgotten are the veggies- corn and asparagus and of course, the holy grail of spices in our house, Old Bay, among others.

You can see how nicely the soup thickened up after simmering for a little while. At the very end, we added the crab meat and some fresh parsley. Since the crab meat is already cooked it only needs to heat up in the soup, not cook. It’s best to add it at the end so it maintains it’s firmness within the soup.

This was a relatively quick and easy dinner and perfect for the winter-ness that was going on outside!

Recipe for Crab and Corn Chowder

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Tiramisu- Take 2

Posted on February 23, 2010 | Leave a comment

So my last venture into the world of dessert making was rather unsuccessful 😦 However, I remained determined and think I might have nailed down a great tiramisu recipe! Although I followed a similar recipe to last time, it just looked better at each step. I also added homemade whipped cream which helped a lot in terms of getting that “fluffy” filling that I have come to expect in my tiramisu!

I started off by beating the egg yolks for several minutes until they were lemony yellow and thick. I then continued to beat them over a double boiler for almost ten minutes.  After that, I let them cool for a few minutes and then added the marscapone… already looking much thicker than last time!

I then whipped heavy cream (1st time doing this!)

Then combined the two.

I got my station all set up here.

I used a smaller, but taller dish this time.

The first layer of dipped lady fingers.

topped with half of the cheese/whipped cream mixture

the view from the top

I then just repeated with another layer of dipped lady fingers and the remaining cheese/cream mixture.

It’s a face!

After several hours in the fridge and a chocolate dusting it was ready to eat!

It was still a little soupy when it was time for serving, but we weren’t too interested in waiting any longer 🙂

After a couple of days in the fridge it held together much nicer…I would suggest refrigerating it overnight before serving to guests. If the way it looks is not important to you, then no need to wait!

Overall, I was much more happy with the way it turned out this time than last. I still learned some more things this time around (like I probably could have whipped the cream a little more) and that will make the next one even better.  I still have more lady fingers, so attempt #3 should be pretty soon…

Recipe for tiramisu

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Valentines Day Surf and Turf

Posted on February 21, 2010 | 1 comment

For valentine’s day dinner we decided to make something we don’t eat often and make something that would be a special treat for us. We went with surf and turf, lobster and lamb.

We got two beautiful lobster tails from Harris Teeter.

We did not want to alter the natural flavor of the lobster and decided to steam them and serve them with melted butter for dipping. Greg put a little Old Bay on his, but my lobster tail went au naturale. Both were steamed in water that was infused with Old Bay and vinegar.

Talk about simplicity! Simple food, done well. The “surf” was a great way to kick things off.

Now on to the turf portion of the meal. We bought two racks of lamb from Whole Foods, that were conveniently frenched already. We have made lamb before, but never rack of lamb. We’ve learned that when making lamb at home it’s important to spend a little extra money and buy a nice cut. The cheaper cuts are grizzly and much more gamey in flavor, not good things. We tried two different recipes, so each rack had a different preparation, set of ingredients, and taste. Both sets were first seasoned with salt and pepper before going on their unique paths.

For the first rack we decided to tap into some Greek flavors, involving mint, lemon, and rosemary.

Greg combineded these ingredients with some olive oil to create a marinade.

Before actually baking this rack, we heated a glass dish in the oven for about half an hour. The rack was placed in the hot dish to sear it. Greg brushed on the marinade and baked it for about 15 minutes or so.

We made the second rack in a more traditional French way, using dijon mustard and bread crumbs.

We began by searing the rack in a pan with a little hot oil.

Once it was seared, we coated it with dijon mustard.

The next step was to cover the rack with bread crumbs (which had been mixed with oil).

Once it was well coated, it went back into the pan for the final leg of cooking. We covered the tips with tin foil so they did not burn.

It cooked for a few more minutes in the pan and then it was ready.

We tried both versions and they were both SO good. Very different from one another and it’s hard to say which one was better!

The bread crumb version is in the back, the lemon/rosemary/mint variety in the front.

This was a delicious meal and I love when we make two (or more) versions of things to try them out and then we also to get to eat a nice variety within the same meal. I really loved them both!

Recipe for Mediterranean Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb

Recipe for Bread Crumb Rolled Rack of Lamb

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Crab and Spinach Ravioli

Posted on February 16, 2010 | 4 comments

This dish has to be the BEST thing we have ever made. I don’t think I can give it the title of the best thing I have ever eaten in general, but that’s only because I can’t remember everything I have eaten and that’s a hell of a title. Seriously though, this dish was sooooo amazing!

We envisioned making our own ravioli from scratch but realized we don’t have a pasta maker or a rolling pin so there would be no way to get the pasta as thin as we needed. Luckily Whole Foods carried some fresh pasta sheets and we were able to cheat a little bit- or as I would like to say, make our dream a reality with a little help. One day I will actually make the dough for this and roll out the pasta, but for now this worked beautifully.

Here is one sheet rolled out.

For the filling we used crab meat. Harris Teeter had a ridiculous in store special/sale on crab meat- this one pounder was cheaper than a 1/2 pound. That is quite, um,  special.

We mixed it with some other goodies- including ricotta cheese, spinach, and seasonings.

The real stars of this dish are the cheeses we used: parmesano reggiano and pecorino romano. We had a Whole Foods gift card and purchased some really good and expensive cheeses (thanks Pops and Donna!). It was so worth it! These cheeses played a major role in this dish and made it so flavorful and rich.

The parmesano reggiano

The pecorino romano

Had to add a little to the filling.

Then it was time to start making the ravioli.

To make the ravioli, we placed a sheet of pasta on top of this one. We used an egg wash to help the top sheet stick to this one.

Once the top was on, we just sliced the dough with a pizza cutter and pressed the edges together.

We actually made these ahead of time and kept them in the fridge for a few hours before we were ready to eat. Once we were ready, we brought up a pot of water to a boil and cooked these for about 3-5 minutes, or until they were floating.

While that was going on, we made the sauce. Oh, the sauce. This sauce is sinfully good… it’s made with butter, cream and cheese and the parmesano reggiano is the real superstar.

The black pepper made such a difference here. It really brought out the flavors of the sauce even more so and complimented it nicely. This meal was such a lesson in how fine ingredients make such a difference. Even after dinner, every time we would walk in the kitchen we could smell the intense flavors of this sauce. It doesn’t re-heat that well, so just eat it all in one sitting! haha… you will want to though 🙂

Recipe for Crab and Spinach Ravioli

Recipe for Parmesano Reggiano/Pecorino Romano Alfredo Cream Sauce

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Top Scallop?

Posted on February 16, 2010 | 2 comments

Scallops are one of our favorite foods to eat, but making them at home can be a little tricky. We have made many attempts at cooking them though and I think we got one step closer this time.We picked up some really nice looking scallops at Giant.

We prefer the bigger sea scallops rather than the smaller bay scallops.

They have an almost “meaty” texture. We seasoned these with salt and pepper.

We definitely have not yet mastered the searing technique for scallops!  But here we go…

Notice we used the all-clad pan, which is not teflon, and no oil…

We wanted some stickage in order to get the rough seared exterior, but this did not quite work out the way we wanted…

Rest assured, the pan was just fine (after a wine de-glazing) and the scallops still tasted great, they just were not the right texture. We don’t know why we can’t sear scallops! Should we have added oil to the pan? Did we not flip them soon enough? Was the pan too hot? So many questions…

Anyway- as I said, they still tasted really good. I sauteed some spinach and placed this on the plate (er, small bowl) for the base.

Then placed the scallops on top— kinda seared actually!

The sauce we made was a white wine butter sauce with lemon and garlic and red pepper flakes, of course.

We topped it with green onion.

All in all, they came out tasting pretty good. It’s tough to really infuse scallops with much flavor, which is why I like to serve them atop the spinach, which tends to absorb some of the sauce so you can get some really tasty bites!

Recipe for Seared  Scallops in White Wine Sauce

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Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

Posted on February 12, 2010 | 1 comment

I have been making this dish for several years now and it’s always been a big hit. I have made it with different fillings, different sauces, different tortillas- but all in all, I am almost always happy with the way it turns out. For this go-round, I decided to stick with the basics, chicken and cheese with easy, store-bought sauce and lots of cheddar cheese. I did experiment with one thing though- the tortillas. I made half of the enchiladas with whole wheat, low-carb tortillas (5 grams of carbs per tortilla) and half with regular tortillas. I was really happy with the low-carb tortillas and did not feel that the dish suffered at all with them and whole wheat is always a good alternative!

I started off by poaching the chicken in water and chipotle seasoning. I boiled the whole package of chicken breasts (one of those large packages from Giant) and saved about half of them for tomorrow’s dinner. I shredded the remaining chicken for the filling. You could also chop them, but shredding is more palatable for this dish and is not that much more labor intensive than chopping.

I filled a 13×9 dish with shredded chicken.

Also, I cut up some fresh jalapeno for the filling as well. I considered sauteing the jalapeno first to  soften the texture and pull out some of the heat- but didn’t end up doing it.

When making enchiladas, I find it a good practice to be prepared and ready to make them all at once. It’s messy and you will probably need a helping hand if one is available. There really is no other way to do this other than rolling them by hand. You want the dish to be saucy so don’t be hesitant to get down and dirty for this! It will be worth it, trust me!

“Line” the baking dish with a 1/8 inch thick layer of sauce.

You also want to put a layer of sauce down on a plate. You will be dipping each tortilla into the sauce first, before filling and rolling. This is to prevent the tortilla from cracking and it will keep them moist when they cook. You don’t want to soak up too much sauce, but just a little dunk on each side is all you need.

Then you just fill each one with the amount of filling you like. I try to really stuff them as full as possible.

Roll ’em tightly and place in the baking dish. One after the next, until the baking dish is full.

Cover with the remaining sauce and cheese.

Ok now it’s time to bake! It needs about 20 minutes in the oven and then another 5 under the broiler.

Let it sit for 5 minutes (or longer- I have no patience when it comes to this!) before you cut it.

Top with some green onion and serve with sour cream.

Try this dish- it is SO good and everyone always likes it!

Recipe for Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

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Quick Shrimp Pasta

Posted on February 11, 2010 | Leave a comment

This was a quick lunch Greg threw together the other day… I can’t even remember what day it is since the blizzard(s) hit. Anyway- it was a good, simple recipe with several ethnic influences.

Green pepper, red onion, roasted garlic, olive oil.

Scrimps.

PASTA.

Lunch.

Recipe for Quick Shrimp Pasta

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Tiramisu: attempt # 1

Posted on February 11, 2010 | 1 comment

I rarely make desserts, but I wanted to give tiramisu a try. As I began the research process I was already a bit overwhelmed because there are literally hundreds of variations and recipes out there. I looked through A LOT of recipes and decided to go with two recipes that were fairly similar. One was from Giada De Laurentiis and the other one I found somewhere else on the internet (?). I integrated the second recipe because it was very similar to Giada’s (which I already had all the ingredients for and there was 30 inches of snow on the ground) and because it directed me to cook the egg yolks, which Giada did not. I was bringing this tiramisu to a Superbowl party and I did not want to make anyone sick, so I decided to combine the recipes to make sure I cooked the eggs properly.

It all started off ok…

I first separated the egg yolks from the whites.

Next I added the sugar.

Then it was time to beat. According to Giada I could have just mixed this for five minutes and then integrated the marscapone. As I mentioned though, I had some reservations about serving uncooked eggs to the masses so I mixed for five minutes and then continued to beat the mixture over a double boiler (as suggested in many recipes I read).

Since this process heated (cooked?) the egg/sugar mixture, I placed it in the fridge to cool before I beat in the marscapone cheese. I took this time to set up the other ingredients. In all of my recipe digging, I learned that it was very important to use authentic ingredients, including savoiardi lady fingers, marscapone, and Italian espresso.I never used marscapone before and it’s American equivalent is supposedly cream cheese. I found the texture to be way more gooey than cream cheese, but many recipes say you can substitute for it.

Once the eggs were cooled, I mixed in the marscapone cheese.

This mixture was not only the filling, but also the topping. It tasted really good, but as you can see the texture is not right. It’s not fluffy enough. Many other recipes integrated whipped cream at this point and now I know why. I didn’t have any whipping cream so I just went with what I had (and what the recipes I had told me to do). I poured it over a layer of espresso/rum soaked lady fingers with hopes that maybe the cheese filling would fluff up in the fridge.

Repeat.

I refrigerated it for a couple of hours, but it didn’t fluff up at all 😦 I was pretty dismayed because it doesn’t look like tiramisu, or at least what I am used to seeing. I went ahead and added the chocolate powder (and later added shavings) anyway and continued to refrigerate it, hoping, hoping, hoping, but to no avail. This is what it ended up looking like.

It ended up tasting ok, but the texture was off and obviously it didn’t look right either. I learned a lot from this initial effort though and next time I make it I will definitely work off of a recipe that includes whipped cream or egg whites, or something to fluff it up!  I bought too many lady fingers, so the next attempt may be sooner than later. I will keep you posted!

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Wings- 2 ways

Posted on February 9, 2010 | Leave a comment

Wahoo! Super Bowl Sunday has finally arrived! This is one of my favorite days of the year. It’s really a holiday to me, complete with it’s own traditions, foods, and drinking privileges.  For the past few years we have made homemade chicken wings in the classic buffalo style with homemade blue cheese dressing for dipping. This year we did the same, but added a second variety of wings to the mix- garlic parmesan.

The first question is whether to use fresh or frozen wings. There are arguments for both of course, but we have found that either will be just fine and to get whatever is on sale or the cheaper one. With the frozen ones the most important thing is to make sure the wings are completely thawed. With the fresh wings, you may have to cut off the wing tips, which is not for the faint of heart. Either way you go, the first step is to rinse the wings well and make sure they are dry. If there is any moisture on them, it will pop in the oil and splatter.

The next step is heating the oil. Heat to 350 degrees.

(or 351.5 degrees, who’s counting)

We would have much preferred to have done this deep frying outside but were unable due to the massive amounts of snow. Things get pretty rowdy once the wings go in.

Once the wings are fried, set them aside.

For the classic buffalo sauce, it couldn’t get much easier (or fattening). Hot sauce and butter.

for transport and to keep them warm, we put the cooked and sauced up wings into a crock pot

For the garlic parmesan it’s essentially the same process, just with a different sauce.

Add now for the blue cheese dressing… because I mean what’s eating a chicken wing that’s been deep fried and soaked in a butter based sauce without some seriously creamy, cheesy sauce to dip it in? We are American. It’s our right.

Well, some good food for a good game! The Saints ended up winning, which I am really happy about. Greg picked Indy on the spread and the over and I took the opposite of his picks because that was my only chance in our playoff pool, as I was down by 2. We ended up in a tie and I won the tiebreaker! Kind of shady because I took the opposites and didn’t make my own picks. Anyway, at some point when we don’t need a snow mobile to get around, we will go to our celebratory dinner to Black Market Bistro. Can’t wait!

Recipe for Classic Buffalo Wings

Recipe for Garlic Parmesan Wings

Recipe for Blue Cheese Dressing

Check out Garlic Parmesan Wing Dip

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