"Wow this is good!" Steak Pizzaiola

Back to the freezer. A few weeks back I purchased 2 Porterhouse steaks. But we never got to putting them on the grill. So I made Steak Pizzaiola. My mom made this quite often. But let me tell you, making it with Porterhouse steaks really brings it up a notch. The meat melted in our mouths.

Directions
Spray baking pan with cooking spray (this make the clean up much easier). Take your steak and place in the pan. Top the steak with marinara sauce. I used Sugo di Pomidoro Marinara Sauce. I saw this brand on the of Giada De Laurentiis show. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, we like our meat medium (me) to medium well (Chris). And that is all there is to it!

I made polenta with Fontina Cheese mixed in.

Ingredients
3 cups water
1 teaspoons salt
1 cups yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup diced, or shredded Fontina cheese

Directions
Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a heavy large saucepan. Add 2 teaspoons of salt. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the butter and cheese, and stir until melted.

Steamed Spinach finished off the plate.

Delicious!

Pasta with Meat Sauce...

One picture is worth a thousand words. And yes that is a 1963 Flinstones jelly jar glass holding the wine!
Of course did I take a photo of the bread I made... NO! Well I made the No-Knead Bread this weekend. I originally found the recipe on the Not Martha site. This is the easiest breads to make and the finished product is beautiful as you would have been able to see if I had taken the darn photo.

Shepards Pie

This week's meals could all come under the heading of comfort foods. Tonight is one of my favorite meals. Shepard's Pie. The first time I had this was at my Aunt Marie's house. I was staying there with my Cousin Karen. The house was on Morse Street and it was the house my mom grew up in. It was a two or three family house. Anyway... I loved the meal and when I got home I was raving about it. So my mother starting making Shepard's Pie and it was as good as my aunt's.

It is such a simple recipe.
Chop an onion. Saute the onion in olive oil, about a tablespoon of oil over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Add ground beef, 3/4 to 1 pound is plenty. Brown the meat and add frozen mixed vegetables. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Pour the meat and vegetables into a baking dish.
Make mashed potatoes. Yes you can use the instant potatoes. Spread the mashed potatoes over the meat mixture. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Southwestern Turkey Chili

Ground Turkey. Not something I use very often. After shopping around the Internet for a recipe I found Southwestern Turkey Chili on the FoodNetwork site. So first mistake was that I picked up Red Kidney beans instead of the spicy black beans. So I had to adjust the heat I added some Cholula Hot Sauce, the greatest stuff on the planet along with some chili powder.

Ingredients -
10 ounces lean ground turkey, crumbled
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes
2 (14 1/2-ounce) can spicy black beans
1/4 cup tomato paste
Chopped red onion, for garnish

Method -
In a large resealable bag, toss turkey with flour until flour is absorbed into meat. Heat oil in a wide 2-quart pot over medium heat. Add turkey and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Crush the canned tomatoes by hand and add tomatoes and liquid. Add beans and tomato paste. Simmer over medium-low heat until chili is slightly thick, about 8 minutes. Spoon chili into bowls. Top with onion. Serve hot.

I made some corn muffins with cheddar cheese using the Hodgson Mill Cornbread & Muffin Mix.

Sausage and Egg Pizza

One of the benefits of being under the weather last weekend and being confined to the bed and sofa was being able to search food blog. One of the blogs I came upon was Cook-Italian.com. His recipes were very familiar sounding. He cooks just like the women in my family did. I was looking over his pizza crust recipe and decided to try it. Well it was a fantastic crust. Nice to work with and when it was baked it was nice and crisp.

On my visit to Cook-Italian.com I stumbled upon a YouTube video for Sausage and Egg Pizza. Egg, tomato sauce and crust. Wow it was so good. I used turkey sausage instead of pork and I think I cooked the eggs a bit longer than on the video. Both Chris and I made the whole pizza disappear!

Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic-Cranberry Sauce

I was looking through the freezer for something for dinner and grabbed a pork tenderloin. Then I found a recipe on epicurious.com for Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic-Cranberry Sauce. The only ingredient I was missing was the cranberry sauce. A trip the the grocery store and we were cooking. Now the recipe clearly says 10 minutes in the oven. I had read a review of the recipe and someone wrote that it took more like 20 minutes to reach the temperature. Mine took 30 minutes. It threw off the timing for the couscous and vegetable but I got over it as soon as I tasted the sauce. The Balsamic adds just the right flavor. We will be eating this again.

Ingredients -
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 8- to 10-ounce pork tenderloin
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
1/3 cup canned whole berry cranberry sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Method -
Preheat oven to 450°F. Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Sear pork on all sides, about 2 minutes. Place skillet with pork in oven. Roast pork until thermometer inserted into center registers 155°F, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and rosemary; sauté until onion softens, about 3 minutes. Add broth, cranberry sauce and vinegar and whisk until cranberry sauce melts, about 2 minutes.

Transfer pork to work surface. Scrape any juices from large skillet into cranberry mixture. Boil until sauce has reduced enough to coat spoon thickly, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Slice pork and serve with sauce.

Then there was dessert... A couple of days ago on the Proud Italian blog there was a post for Apple Wrapped Ricotta Tarts. I was sold. So I made them and they were very good. Mine did not come out as nice looking as the Proud Italian's but I think the taste was probably spot on. I had a scoop of Ciao Bella Sorbet, Blackberry Cabernet Sorbetto. If you have a chance to try this flavor please do, you will not be disappointed.

Creamy Rice With Roasted Shrimp

Back in the kitchen! Worked from home so was able to make an appetizer for "happy hour". I had all the ingredients for the recipe in the house so... I had bookmarked this a while back and am glad I finally made it. The recipe comes from Joy the Baker. Prosciutto Dijon Gruyere Puffs. Wow they were good! And so simple to make. The hardest part of the recipe was waiting the 5 minute for the puffs to cool.

Ingredients -
1 package Puff Pastry
8 slices Prosciutto di Parma
3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
flour for dusting
fresh ground black pepper

Directions -
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Thaw puff pastry in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours. Once thawed, carefully unfold and lay on a floured work surface. If the pastry tears at the seam in the unfolding process, it’s not the end of the world, but try to keep it in one un-torn piece. Dust flour on top of the pastry as well.

Puff pastry will already be very flat, but with a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 11×9-inches. Layer the eight slices of prosciutto on top of the puff pastry. Using a butter knife, layer the mustard on top of the prosciutto slices. Top with grated cheese, and as much fresh ground black pepper as you like.

Begin to roll the right side of the pastry in towards the center. Next roll the left side of the pastry in towards the center. Press together. Dough will not stick together, but if you brush away some of the excess flour on the center dough pieces, they will stay together better during baking.

With a sharp knife, slice the dough into 1/2-inch thick slices. Place on a baking sheet lines with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 12-15 minutes, until a deep golden brown. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from baking sheet and serve warm or at room temperature.

Now on to dinner...
Again I was fortunate to have all the ingredients in the house for this recipe. Creamy Rice with Roasted Shrimp from the Real Simple website. The recipe is for 4 servings. The shrimp was delicious roasted with the thyme, my favorite herb.

Ingredients -
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cup Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
kosher salt and black pepper
1 pound frozen peeled and deveined medium shrimp, thawed
2 pints grape tomatoes
8 sprigs fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, sliced

Directions - Heat oven to 400º F. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the rice and wine and cook, stirring, until the wine is absorbed. Add 2 cups water and 1⁄4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Simmer, covered, over low heat until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, 18 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, on a rimmed baking sheet, toss the shrimp, tomatoes, thyme, garlic, the remaining tablespoon of oil, and 1⁄2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Had a nice bottle of Wily Jack 2007 Zinfandel.

Squash and White Bean Soup

This recipe came from the Real Simple website. Squash and White Bean Soup. I actually made it a week ago and froze it. So still not up to cooking I raided the freezer. I am sure that the soup would have been great fresh, but it held up to freezing. The textures of the veggies were not lost. I will be making this recipe again.

Ingredients -
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (4 cups)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
kosher salt and black pepper
2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed
1 bunch spinach, thick stems removed (4 cups)

Directions-
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.Stir in the squash, thyme, 5 cups water, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the beans and spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted and the beans are heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.

So we had soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. On what type of bread you may ask... Well again a few week ago I made some rye bread and froze it. Brilliant. Darn good grilled cheese... I am considering a panani press... if anyone has any preferences please let me know.

Mom's Baked Macaroni

It is about a year now that we have had our freezer. It was the best investment I have made. This week I did not do any cooking. So into the freezer we go. This Baked Macaroni was my mom's recipe and I have made it quite often. Each time I switch up the cheeses. This one batch was true to my mom's recipe. Just American Cheese.

The recipe -
Boil 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
Grease pyrex loaf pan.
Alternate layers of macaroni and American cheese starting with the macaroni.
Break 3 eggs and pour over macaroni. Fill baking dish with milk to almost cover macaroni.
Top with bread crumbs, and parsley.
Bake 350 degrees until set, usually about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

And that is it. It is perfect as a base recipe. If you suddenly find yourself with all sorts of left over cheese. True comfort food.

What do you eat when you are under the weather?

I am presently dealing with a cough and just feeling not well. So I have been denied access to my kitchen by my husband. We are probably all better off for that decision. It will be an interesting few days of dinners. I am sure they will be tasty and perhaps I will even blog about them. But until than I will stay under the covers and rest....
Go Saints!So what do you eat when you are under the weather? For me it is Hot and Sour Soup. I was introduced to the soup a number of years ago by my friend Heidi. I had never had it before and was dealing with a bit of congestion and she said to have a bowl and I have not regret it. It allows me to breathe. Ah what a feeling. Now I have added to the mix Ma Po Tofu, which is tofu, peas and scallions in a spicy sauce. I requested it to be extra spicy. And it was. And it was good.

So the whole resting thing was interesting today. I wandered around the internet and found a number of cool food blogs. Some of them have been added to my blog list. I also found some interesting recipes that I will attempt as soon as I am over this thing.

And the Saints Won!