Spicy squash

Tonight's Menu

• tilapia and spaghetti squash with Moroccan spices
  
• giant green salad
  

This was way yummy and fairly easy.

I followed this recipe on Epicurious for the spaghetti squash, except that I halved my squash lengthwise and cooked it cut-side down in the oven rather than in the microwave. The oven caramelizes the sugars in a way that that the microwave doesn't, and I like the added flavor. It's way quicker to do it in the microwave, though, so you do whatever.

I made the spiced butter in a heavy skillet and then, after pouring it all over the squash and tossing to coat, stuck my tilapia fillets in the same skillet to cook them. They picked up some of the spice and were SO good! The boy child had two helpings!

Chowderific!

Tonight's Menu

• fish chowder
  
• leftover herb bread
  

I've been indulging in a lot of cooking "experiments" lately, and most of them haven't worked out so well, which is why I haven't been posting much. I mean, there's only so much public humiliation I can take. Tonight's chowder, though, was an experiment that worked out wonderfully. Here's how I made it, to the best of my recollection. This was totally one of those "use what you have" type recipes, so if the specific ingredients sound a little weird, that's why.

Okay, first I chopped up some baby carrots and tiny red potatoes and simmered them in some veggie broth just until tender. While that was going, I cut up half a sweet onion and about 5-6 slices of pre-cooked bacon. I tossed the bacon into a big pot over medium high heat, just to crisp it up a bit, then reduced the heat to medium and added 3 Tbs. butter and the onions. I cooked and stirred them until the onions had gone translucent, then I added 3 Tbs. flour and stirred until it turned golden. Then I slowly stirred in some milk (I have no idea how much -- 4 cups, maybe?) and brought that to a gentle boil, stirring all the while so it wouldn't scorch on the bottom. Once it started bubbling, I added two large tilapia fillets which I had cut into bite-sized pieces, plus I drained the potatoes and carrots and added those in as well. I tossed in a bunch of dried thyme and parsley, a little dried basil, some salt and pepper and brought the whole thing back up to a boil. Then I reduced the heat to low and let it simmer about 15-20 minutes, just enough to cook the fish through and meld all the flavors.

The broth thickened a bit while it was cooking, and it was SO yummy and flavorful. I debated whether to add dill, but I really don't like dill with creamy sauces/broth. I'm weird, I know. The thyme was awesome, though.

The herb bread was left over from a few nights ago when I made an (unsuccessful) attempt at beef stew. A little tip from me to you -- don't use crappy beer in your stew. Take it from me, y'all.

Autumn grilling

Tonight's Menu

• grilled skirt steak
  
• grilled Maya Sweet onion wedges
  
• oven sweet potato fries
  

I know. I KNOW. I said no more grilling outdoors EVER, or at least until March, but I couldn't help myself! I ... I was nervous about all that propane sitting around all winter long, and I wanted to use it up. (This is a giant lie. Actually, the weather was really nice and I had a skirt steak in the freezer, and one thing led to another. I did end up using all the propane we had left, though.)

ANYWAY.

The skirt steak was seasoned and grilled in a fajita-like fashion, except that I served it without tortillas or fajita fixin's. The onion wedges were just tossed with EVOO and grilled on a screen.

For the fries, I just peeled a couple of sweet potatoes and cut them into steak-fry sized sticks. Then I tossed them in a big bowl with EVOO, sea salt, garlic powder, chili powder and a little bit of cumin. I lined a baking sheet with Reynolds Release (if you're not using that, just line it with foil that's been sprayed with cooking spray) and then put the sweet potatoes on it in a single layer. I baked them at 425 degrees F for what amounted to about 45 minutes, I think, flipping them over every 10 minutes. Then I sprinkled them with a bit more sea salt before serving. They were REALLY good -- the ends got a little brown, but otherwise they were perfectly cooked. The boy child said this was his new favorite way to eat sweet potatoes. I'll definitely make these again!

Something different

Tonight's Menu

• cinnamon chicken
  
• roasted garlic and olive oil couscous
  
• steamed broccoli
  

I'm an avid fan of Anne's Food, and a couple of days ago she posted a recipe (and photo!) for cinnamon chicken that got my mouth watering. I decided to make it today. It was WAY yummy, though my skin didn't get all that crispy and burned a bit. Maybe I added too much honey. Or screwed up the Celsius-to-Fahrenheit conversion somehow.

The couscous was Near East brand, from a box. I KNOW.

Broccoli was steamed in the microwave, as usual.

Those who don't like chicken and/or are allergic to it had leftover chili and cornbread.

Not exactly chili weather, but I made it anyway

Tonight's Menu

• chili con carne
  
• cornbread
  
• green salad
  

Even though it was really warm and humid today, I was in the mood for chili. I basically made this recipe from Martha Stewart, but with the following changes:

• I used dried pasilla chiles because that's what I had
• I used all beef (chuck), no pork
• I used Glen Muir organic fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, just for the heck of it (and to add a little smokiness, which was really nice -- I'd do that again for sure)
• I omitted the vinegar and used a tablespoon of sugar instead
• please note that the 3 tsp of salt called for is a bit much, at least to my palate -- I'd knock that in half if I made this again

Anyway, it was really good except for the extra saltiness.

The cornbread is from an old Better Homes & Gardens recipe that I use all the time.

1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
4 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray, and mix the above ingredients together in a medium bowl.

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil

Mix above three ingredients together, then add to dry ingredients, mixing just until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Saucy!

Tonight's Menu

• spiced pork chops
  
• steamed basmati rice
• sauteed baby spinach
  

I used to make this spiced pork chop recipe, which I originally got from Taste Of Home magazine, all the time but I don't see it in my archives so I guess it's been a while! It's very yummy, particularly in cooler weather. Which we are NOT having, but hope springs eternal and whatnot.

What you do is take half a cup of flour and mix in a bunch of herbs and spices -- garlic powder, dry mustard, paprika, celery salt, ground ginger, dried oregano, dried basil, some pepper and a pinch of salt. Then dredge four pork chops (I like the thick boneless ones) in the flour/spice mixture. I usually mix the flour and spices in a big plastic zipper bag and then shake the chops right in the bag, just to save time and a bit of mess. Once the chops are coated in flour and spices, brown them on both sides in a skillet with a little oil.

While the chops are browning, mix together a cup of ketchup, a cup of water, and 1/4 cup of brown sugar and set it aside. Remove the chops from the skillet and place them in a single layer in a 9 x 13-inch pan, then pour the ketchup mixture over them and bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for about an hour. The chops come out tender with a sweet-tangy sauce that's really good with rice. This recipe is easily doubled but the sauce doesn't freeze all that well, in my experience.

Spinach was the usual deal -- a big bag of pre-washed baby spinach sauteed in EVOO and seasoned with salt and pepper. The spinach cooks WAY down, so figure on one salad-sized bag for every 2-3 people you're feeding.

More fun with leeks

Tonight's Menu

• leek and potato soup
  
• beer bread
  

I was in a soup and bread kind of mood tonight. The leek and potato soup was based on this Emeril recipe. I used applewood-smoked bacon, substituted organic vegetable broth for the chicken broth (because DH is allergic to poultry) and dry vermouth for the white wine, shoved the bouquet garni ingredients into a tea ball, used black pepper instead of white, and didn't bother with the chives. But other than that, I followed the recipe exactly! Heh. It was very yummy, and gave me a chance to try out my new immersion blender (a birthday gift from DH).

The beer bread was from this recipe that I found online. I sifted the dry ingredients as recommended and only used 1/4 cup butter. It was really good! The crust was almost more than my crappy old bread knife could handle, though. Time to upgrade to a Wusthof, I guess!

Prepare to sneer

Tonight's Menu

• roast beef with onion gravy
  
• egg noodles
  
• green salad
  

Tonight's dinner involved not only a can of cream of mushroom soup, but a packet of dry onion soup mix! Yes it did! And it was DELICIOUS.

Okay, so I had this big chuck or shoulder or something roast. I don't know, it was a hunk of beef, okay? I seasoned it with salt and pepper and then browned it on both sides before dumping it into a covered casserole dish. Then I chopped an onion (coarsely) and sort of scattered it around the meat. Finally, I mixed together a can of cream of mushroom soup, a packet of dry onion soup mix, a little Worcestershire sauce, and some red wine and poured it all over the roast and onions. Cover, cook at 325 F for about 3-4 hours (depending on how big your hunk o' beef is) and Bob's your uncle.

I had thought the gravy would thin a bit while cooking, but it actually got thicker. That's why I went with noodles instead of mashed potatoes.

I usually do beef roast in the crockpot because you can't screw that up, but I was VERY happy with how this turned out! The meat was fork-tender and really flavorful. Yum!

More fall food

Tonight's Menu

• pork with leeks and apples
  
• crusty French bread
  
• steamed broccoli
  

Tonight's dinner was totally an experiment. It was one of those use-what-you-have kind of deals. Luckily it turned out delicious!

I had this pork tenderloin, right? And while I really like my usual method of preparation, it gets a little boring if I make it that way every week. So what I did instead was cut the tenderloin into medallions about 1 to 1.5 inches thick. I did NOT pound them since I was planning to cook them in liquid. I just salted and peppered them and then browned them in a hot skillet with EVOO to give them a nice crust. Then I removed them from the pan and set them aside for a bit.

To the still-hot pan I added one leek that I had chopped (cut off the root end and the dark green bits, halve it lengthwise, give it a good wash, then cut into 1-inch sections) and stirred that around for a bit until it released some fragrance (being sure to scrape up the brown bits from the pork). Then I added one apple (I used a Fuji -- it's what I had) that had been peeled, cored, and chunked. Stir, stir, stir -- just to get a TINY bit of color on the leeks and apples.

Then I added the pork back into the pan and poured in a bottle of Hornsby's hard cider. You could also use regular apple cider, apple juice, or even white wine, probably. I stripped the leaves off of a few (like half a dozen, maybe) sprigs of fresh thyme and added those in, then covered the pan and simmered it all for about 15 minutes, which is how long it took to heat up the bread and steam the broccoli. After 15 minutes I uncovered the pan, cranked up the heat, and let the liquid reduce down to almost nothing. Then I seasoned it with a bit more salt and pepper (after tasting), et voila!

A couple of notes:

1. Don't use too much thyme. You want just a hint of it, but you don't want it to dominate the dish.
2. If you're using a less-tender cut of meat, increase the simmering time accordingly and don't add the apples until about halfway through. Otherwise your meat will be tough and/or your apples will be mushy.
   
3. When you reduce a liquid like you do in this recipe, don't salt/pepper until the end. Otherwise those flavors get concentrated as the liquid reduces. Always taste before you season! The fact that I had seasoned the pork before browning meant that this dish needed very little additional salt at the end. If I'd salted without tasting, or salted before reducing, I would have added WAY too much.
   

Okay! Enjoy!

Soupy

Tonight's Menu

• potato soup

Um, yeah. That's all. Just soup. I was going to make bread but we had a busy late afternoon/early evening and it didn't happen.

That's okay. It's not like this meal needed more carbs.

It's all gravy, all the time up in here

Tonight's Menu

• chicken-fried steak with cream gravy
  
• mashed potatoes
  
• green salad
  

Oh my God. I am so full. I seriously need to stop with the gravy, y'all.

Um, so, chicken-fried steak! It's a Texas thing, dontcha know! I make mine with tenderized cube steaks. Cut them in serving sizes if they aren't already, dredge them in seasoned flour, then in an egg/milk wash, then back in the flour. THEN -- and this is key, because it keeps the breading from falling off -- let them sit for half an hour. Heat about half an inch of oil (I use canola) in a heavy, high-sided skillet, dredge the steaks in the seasoned flour one more time before putting them in the pan, and fry them on both sides until golden brown and cooked through.

I used a mix for the gravy. I KNOW. I am horrible at making gravy, and the mix (Pioneer, I think it was) was fat-free. I jazzed it up with salt and pepper and it was okay. Shut up.

This is a really REALLY heavy/filling meal. I could barely eat dessert. Ha!

Gravy

Tonight's Menu

• skillet pork chops with mushroom gravy
  
• steamed Texmati rice
  
• caramelized baby carrots
  

This was pure comfort food, y'all.

The chops recipe is one I've used since before DH and I got married. Actually, it was his recipe originally. This time I used bone-in chops. So yummy. I let them simmer while I cooked the sides. When the sides were done, the chops were done.

Rice was steamed in the microwave. I have no instructions for you except to use two parts water to one part rice. Our microwave has a "smart" setting so I use that.

The carrots were also steamed in the microwave (I used fresh baby carrots; I suppose you could use frozen if you had to). Then I melted some butter with some brown sugar (equal amounts of both) in a skillet and tossed in the steamed, drained carrots until they were coated with the caramelly goodness.

Hammy

Tonight's Menu

• indoor grilled ham steak
  
• baked sweet potatoes
  
• sauteed baby spinach
  

Okay, so this was way easy.

The ham steak was grilled indoors on the grill pan. Just a couple of minutes per side to warm it through and put some sexy grill marks on it, then cut into serving-size pieces.

The sweet potatoes were just scrubbed, wrapped in foil, and baked in the oven for about an hour at 375 degrees F. They were kind of small, so you might have to adjust the time for larger potatoes. Once out of the oven they were split and buttered and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

The spinach was just one of those big bags of pre-washed fresh baby spinach. Heat some EVOO in a large skillet, dump in the spinach (you can do this in stages if it keeps jumping out of the pan -- it will cook WAY down), stir it around until it all goes nice and wilted, then season with salt and pepper.

Apart from remembering to put the potatoes in the oven ahead of time, you can have this dinner ready in like 10-15 minutes. No lie. And if you absolutely had to, you could microwave the potatoes instead of baking them in the oven. It's quicker than getting pizza delivered, yo!

It's Fall, Bitches!

Tonight's Menu

• slow-cooker beef short ribs
  
• mashed potatoes
  
• steamed broccoli
  

Yeah, I know. I HAD TO. I can't grill another thing. Not until April, at least. I don't CARE if it's still hot and humid as all hell, I WANT FALL FOOD.

Ahem.

So, I've made these ribs before and they are amazing. This time I thickened the gravy on the stove and it came out much better.

This is the heaviest meal I've eaten since at least March, I think. BUT IT WON'T BE MY LAST.

Mwahahaha!

Grilling in September

Tonight's Menu

• grilled boneless pork chops
  
• grilled potato-onion packets
  
• sauteed green cabbage
  

Easy, tasty, but STILL BORING.

Chops were sprinkled with Jane's Krazy Salt and garlic pepper, grilled on high heat 3-4 minutes per side (they were really thick). The same way I've made them ALL SUMMER LONG.

I've done the potato-onion dealie before too. Very easy. Takes a bit longer to cook than the chops do, so put the packet on the grill while you're prepping the meat, then take it off after the meat has rested post-grill.

Cabbage was just half a head (or more, depending on how much you want) of green cabbage given a rough chop (about 1-2 inch pieces), then sauteed in a hot skillet with EVOO. Season with salt and pepper when it's tender. Easy.


I never thought I'd get bored with grilling, especially since I didn't get to do much of it this summer due to all the rain, but I totally am! I think the problem is that my food mood depends more on the calendar than the weather. Now that it's September (my birthday month, thankyouverymuch), I feel like I should be moving more in a fall-ish direction with my food. I want roasts, stews, soups, casseroles, stuff like that. But it's still in the 90s and (finally) sunny here, so I can't really bring myself to heat up the kitchen much and/or serve heavy meals. But it's SEPTEMBER. So I WANT TO. I just CAN'T.

I am in food limbo, people.

That being said, tomorrow we are having (grilled) hamburgers. Sometime this week, we will have I SWEAR TO GOD the last (grilled) fajitas of the season, because I already have the skirt steak.

I seriously need to spend like an entire day going through my Cooks Illustrateds and my Eating Wells and whatnot to find some NEW STUFF to cook.

So stay tuned, if you feel so inclined.

Still bored, but what the hell

Tonight's Menu

• oven-braised beef brisket
  
• dinner rolls (from frozen dough)
  
• green salad with carrots from the garden
  

Okay, yeah. I am still bored over here. Feeling very uninspired, food-wise. Not making anything remotely exciting. But I feel guilty about not posting for so long, so here! A post! A really boring post!

The brisket was rubbed with the usual spices -- brown sugar, dried oregano, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, dry mustard, salt and pepper -- then stuck in a pan with some beer, tightly covered, and cooked fat-side-up at 375 degrees F for two hours owing to the fact that I totally forgot to put it in the oven at 2:00 like I meant to. It was still fairly tender. I think cutting it REALLY thin after it had rested helped a lot with that, though.

The rolls were those little frozen dough balls, thawed and baked. Easy.

I hope to cook something interesting soon.

I'm so bored

Tonight's Menu

• grilled NY strip steaks
  
• sauteed onions and mushrooms
• chuffed potatoes
  
• green salad with carrots from the garden
  

Let's get the whys and wherefores out of the way first.

The steaks were rubbed with olive oil that had minced garlic steeped in it (I minced a clove, put it in the mortar and pestle with some EVOO, bashed it up and let it sit for a bit), sprinkled with salt and pepper, then grilled over high heat for 3 minutes per side. They were medium-rare and perfect.

Onions were cut in wedges, sauteed in butter with some sliced baby bellas.

Potatoes were the usual.

I am feeling so bored and uninspired lately, food-wise. I think maybe I'm just biding my time until the kids go back to school (one week from Monday!) and I can start grocery shopping again without schlepping them along with me. Somewhere in the reptilian part of my brain, I have visions of finally finding a decent meat market in my part of town, buying my produce from farmer's markets or at least the health food store, and trying a few new recipes/techniques. But until then, bah humbug!

Spicy!

Tonight's Menu

• grilled spiced pork tenderloin
  
• fruit salad of cantaloupe, strawberries and blackberries
  
• green salad
  

Okay, so it's supposed to rain for the next several days, thanks to Tropical Storm Erin. I figured this was the last night I'd be able to grill for a while, so I busted out the spiced pork tenderloin. It was VERY yummy and a little more spicy than the last time I made it, probably owing to the fact that I didn't bother to measure anything.

The fruit salad is pretty much self-explanatory. It only had the fruit in it. Cantaloupe was cubed; strawberries were halved. Easy.

Ditto the green salad. Bagged greens, chopped carrots, wedged tomato (the VERY last of the garden tomatoes).

Kick-ass dinner

Tonight's Menu

• barbecued baby back ribs
  
• coleslaw
  
• nectarines with mint
  

Every now and then I hit a home run. This was one of them, if I do say so myself.

I mixed together brown sugar, dry mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cayenne, salt and pepper and rubbed it all over a rack of baby back ribs. Then I put the ribs on a rack in a roasting pan, added some water to the pan, covered it tightly with foil, and cooked it in the oven at 225 degrees F for an hour and a half. Then I stuck the ribs meat-side down on the grill over medium-high heat for about five minutes, just to give them some color, before flipping to meat-side up and turning the grill down to low. After 10 minutes at low I basted them with some bottled Carolina-style barbecue sauce, then basted them again 10 minutes later and took them off maybe 2-3 minutes after that. They held together but were wonderfully tender and SO DELICIOUS. Unbelievable. I think this is the best rack of ribs I've ever made.

For the coleslaw, I shredded (with a knife) three parts green cabbage to one part red, then tossed it with a mixture of mayonnaise (NOT Miracle Whip), equal parts each white vinegar and sugar, and celery seed. Refrigerate for at least an hour, and toss again before serving.

The nectarines were one of those spontaneous things. I just chopped two of them and tossed them with a chiffonade of fresh mint and a TEENY bit of superfine sugar. I was hoping the sugar would macerate them a bit, but I didn't want them too sweet. It turns out they didn't really macerate at all, but they didn't oxidize either so it was all okay. They did a fantastic job of cutting the fat and spice of the ribs, and were the perfect accompaniment.

My only regret is that DH and I pretty much porked it all down in one sitting, so there's not much in the way of leftovers. Whoever gets to them first tomorrow gets to have them for lunch. Mwahaha!

Easy leftovers

Tonight's Menu

• garlicky grilled flank steak
  
• leftover grilled onions and potatoes
  
• leftover salad of baby spinach and strawberries
  

Um, yeah. Not much to say about this one.

I've already told you how to make the steak. And the onions/potatoes and salad.

Way easy.