Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Glazed Pork Chops with Georia Chutney and Spinach Salad


Spinach Salad

1 bag baby spinach
1 sweet onion
1 tsp margarine
3 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tblsp lemon juice
1 tsp balsamic
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
dried cherries
sunflower seeds
fresh grated Parmesan cheese (goat preferred)

Saute 1/2 of a sweet or white onion w/ a little bit of margarine until it becomes slightly translucent. For a light dressing I combined 3tblspoons of EVO with 1 tblspoon lemon juice, 1 tsp balsamic, pinch of kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper in a small bowl. I then tossed 1/2 of a bag of baby spinach with the dressing. *taste dressing before you toss in spinach ours could have used some more lemon and I'm not 100% sure on the measurements since I just threw things in. Place spinach on salad plates and add onions, dried cherries, sunflower seeds, and we used Parmesan b/c that's all we had, would be better with goat cheese.

Pork Chops


2 butterfly pork chops
3 tblsp soy sauce
1 tblsp honey
1/4 tsp ground ginger

2 butterfly pork chops. Combine 3 tblspoons soy and 1 tblespoon honey with 1/4 tsp ground ginger. Pour sauce on both sides of Pork chops. The first time I made this I browned pork chops in skillet with 1 tbls olive oil over medium heat. I browned both sides (2-3 minutes maybe on both sides). Place pork chops in dish and then pour over any remaining sauce. I then sprinkle kosher salt and fresh ground pepper on each side. Bake in pre heated oven of 325 for 20-25 minutes. (check at 20 minutes, depending on thickness and whether you browned them in skillet, they might be done).

Georgia Chutney

2 Cups frozen peaches cut into bite size pieces
1 cup chopped sweet onion
2 packed tspoons light brown sugar

Place ingredients in a small pan over medium low heat. Cover. Allow to simmer ~25 minutes, Stirring occasionally. Since we only had 2 pork chops, we had left over chutney. You may want to cut the ingredients in half if only for 2 people. Should be done in 15-20 minutes if you do that.

Morroccan Chicken with Parmesan Couscous and Vegetables

So this chicken is really, really, yellow. Like disgustingly yellow. It reminds me of a scene from the movie National Lampoons Vegas Vacation...the scene where they are in the buffet line and they have pan after pan of disgusting slop. One of the pans contained a blue gelatinous slop. I'm pretty sure this chicken was in the pan next to the blue stuff. Anyway, it's the turmeric in the chicken that makes it look so freaky...but it was tasty. This is how I made my buffet line slop:

Moroccan
Chicken

Boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 Tbls chopped cilantro
1 Tsp turmeric
1 Tsp cumin
1 Tsp ginger
1 Tsp coriander
3/4 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp pepper

Combine everything except chicken in a large zip lock storage bag. Blend well. Add chicken and shake to evenly coat chicken with mixture. Place on grill until done, or I did ours in the oven on the broiling pan at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes, turning once.

Vegetables

Bird's Eye Steamers frozen Spring Vegetables in Citrus Sauce

Parmesan Couscous

1 can chicken broth (~2 cups)
Box of couscous (just over 1 cup)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Boil chicken broth, remove from heat, add couscous and stir in cheese. Done in 5 minutes.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Hanger Steak with Sweet Potato Fries and Broccolini

I used a hanger steak in this recipe, however any steak will do. Hanger steak is kind of hard to find, I usually get it from Whole Foods or DeKalb Farmer's Market. Mmmm, cows are yummy. I usually tenderize my steaks first and then marinate them for 24 hours. I would have prefered to do the steak on the grill, however we don't have one at the moment, so I broiled it in the oven.

Hanger Steak


Marinade
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/2 Tbls garlic powder
1 Tbls bbq sauce (I used Heinze honey bbq)

Tenderize both sides with a meat tenderizer. Marinate over night. Pour remaining Marinade on steak and add to both sides kosher salt, fresh pepper, Herbes de Provence. Cook on grill or broil in oven. I like my cow still bleeding-as it reminds me that I'm higher on the food chain, so usually cook mine medium rare.

Broccolini


1/2 - 1 Tbls margarine
1 Tbls minced garlic
1/4 lemon
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper

Place in boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Remove and toss with margarine and minced garlic. Squeeze juice from lemon and salt and pepper to taste.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries


2 small sweet potatoes
1 Tbls margarine
1/2 - 1 Tbls cinnamon

Peel 2 small sweet potatoes and cut into fries. Melt 1 tblsp margarine. Toss fries and margarine in a bowl along with cinnamon. Once fries are well coated, place on a baking pan. Bake for about 30 minutes at 425 degrees, turning once.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Shrimp with lemon cream sauce


This is a shrimp dish that I served over a parmesan risotto with a side of roasted garlic spinach. We drank a bottle of Stump Jump, which is a Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvedre blend (~$11). First I attempted to roast the garlic...this did not turn out so well. First took the skin off the cloves (which I think was my mistake), and placed on a baking sheet with olive oil. I placed them in the oven on 400 degrees for 30 minutes. They came out kind of burnt and I extracted the insides. Next time I will not attempt to bake individual skinless cloves, actually I probably won't bother roasting the garlic again for the spinach as it's more trouble and time consuming than it's worth. Anyway, here's the recipe:

Risotto
Lundberg Risotto - Creamy Parmesan (Whole Foods or Dekalb Farmer's Market)
*Takes ~25 minutes to make

Spinach
Bag of baby organic
1 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
1/2 Tbls margarine
Roasted garlic cloves
Salt & Pepper

*Heat olive oil over medium heat in skillet and add spinach. Once spinach reduces about
halfway add garlic cloves and margarine. Once done, add salt and pepper to taste.

Shrimp
1 lb medium shrimp
2 minced shallots
1-2 Tbls minced garlic
~ 1 Tbls Herbes de Provence
~1/4 Cup Light Cream
White cooking wine (maybe 1/8 cup?)
4 chopped green onions
Fresh basil
Pakage of mixed mushrooms (Crimini, Shitake, and Oyster), any mixed package will do
Lemon juice (1/8 cup?)
Freshly Grated Parmesan
Salt & Pepper

*Peel and depoop shrimp. Over Medium/Medium Low heat, melt margarine in skillet and add mushrooms and shallots. Saute in pan for about 2 minutes. Add lemon juice, white wine, and light cream. Stir (you might want to taste sauce at this point). Add basil, green onions, Herbes de Provence, Salt & Pepper, garlic, and shrimp. Cook while stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes (until shrimp is done). Once shrimp are almost done, add a small handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.