Sunday Kitchen Activities

No. No Friday Night Baking this week. I was quite exhausted after last week.

But have no fear. There is always Sunday.

Scones. Quiche. Baked Crispy Tofu.

First the scones.

I had picked up a store-made blueberry bread on Friday thinking that would get us through for the weekend and into this week (that is how tired I was on Friday). Oh, it was awful.

I picked up strawberries at the store and whipped up these Strawberry Scones. I made them last year and damn they are so good. The recipe calls for icing on the top of the scones but it is really not needed.

The recipe is from Two Peas and Their Pod.

Ingredients

For the scones:

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter into 1/4-inch cubes

1 cup heavy cream plus 1 tablespoon for brushing the scones

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup chopped fresh strawberries

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

For the vanilla glaze

1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method-

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper.

Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Using a pastry blender or your hands, quickly cut the cold butter into the flour mixture.

Mix until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, with a few larger butter lumps.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup of heavy cream and vanilla extract.

Pour the liquid ingredients over the flour mixture and stir with a spatula until dough begins to form.

Don’t overmix. Gently fold in the strawberries.

Transfer dough to a floured countertop and gently push the dough together with your hands, just until it forms a ball.

Form the dough into a 1-inch circle by patting the dough and gently pressing the dough.

Don’t overwork the dough. You want to work quickly so the butter doesn’t get too warm.

Use a sharp knife to cut the scones into 8 triangles.

Place scones on a prepared baking sheet and put in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes. This will prevent the scones from spreading when baking.

Remove the scones from the freezer. Use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the scones with the additional heavy cream. Sprinkle the scones with turbinado sugar.

Bake for 18 to 23 minutes, or until scones are golden brown on the bottom and around the edges.

Let the scones cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer then to a wire cooling rack.

While the scones are cooling, make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla together until smooth. Drizzle glaze generously over the cooled scones.

The Quiche.

How does it keep happening that even though I have no zucchini plants I have so many zucchini in my fridge? I decided quiche would be a good vehicle for the zucchini. I could freeze them and have them for lunch in the upcoming weeks.

The crust is the house favorite Paté Brise.

Ingredients -

1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 pinch of granulated sugar


5-1/2 Tbsp (2/3 stick) sweet butter, chilled


3 Tbsp vegetable shortening, chilled

1/4 cup ice water

Method -

Sift the flour, salt, and sugar together in a bowl; add butter and shortening and cut them into dry ingredients with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture is like a coarse meal.

Sprinkle on and blend in enough of the ice water to make a workable dough, mixing water in lightly with a fork.

Turn dough out onto your work surface and, using the heel of your hand, smear the dough away from you, about 1/4 cup at a time. Scrape up the smeared dough into a ball, wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

The Quiche Filling

For the filling, I used by new Mandoline to slice the 2 zucchini and a small onion.

I sauteed the onion first and put that aside and then sauteed the zucchini, seasoning with salt, pepper, fresh thyme, and fresh parsley.

I rolled out 2 pie crusts and divided the onion between the two crusts. I added some feta cheese and then topped with the zucchini.

Then I mixed 2 eggs and added enough heavy cream so there was 1 1/2 cups of liquid. Mixed in mustard, a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper. I poured that carefully over the tops of both crusts and bake for about 40 minutes in a 350˚ oven.

Baked Crispy Tofu.

For lunch, I like to have a salad. This crispy tofu is the perfect protein to add in. I found the recipe on cookieandkate.com. The only change I make in their recipe is that I add Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce to the oil and soy sauce mixture.

Not bad for 3 hours in the kitchen!

New York Strip Steak with House Marinade

Another marinade?

Tonight Chris put the steaks in a marinade for a couple of hours.

Wow. I do not usually like my steak to taste like something other than steak but damn this was good.

They were grilled to a perfect medium rare.

Here is the recipe for our steak marinade.

2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp molasses
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper

Perfect!!!

I made a Panzanella Salad With Burrata Cheese. The recipe is from Italian Food Forever. I made 1/3 of the recipe. We had more than enough. I also used Cherry tomatoes.

Salad-

2 lbs Tomatoes Cut Into Bite-Sized Pieces

3 cups 1 1/2 inch Cubes of Bread (Ciabatta or Rustic Italian Bread Work Best)
1 Small Red Onion, Peeled & Thinly Sliced
1/2 Cups Thinly Sliced Cucumber
1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Basil Leaves
6 Ounces Burrata Cheese

Dressing-

1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard

Salt & Pepper To Taste

Method-

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Spread the bread cubes onto a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes until crisp and firm but not brown.

Cool the bread cubes to room temperature.

In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.

In a large bowl place the bread cubes, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and basil.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss well.

Taste, and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Let salad rest 30 minutes, toss again and then place in a large bowl, or individual bowls.

Break up the burrata and place pieces on the salad before serving.

Grilled Pork Chops. The House Recipe.

Chris was in charge of the marinade for the pork chops tonight. This is now our house grilled pork chop marinade.

Brown Sugar, Soy Sauce, Worcester Sauce, Onion Powder, Salt, and Pepper. The bone-in-center cut pork chops were in the marinade for about 5 hours.

We always serve applesauce as a side when we have pork chops. Tonight we did not need the apple sauce.

We had rice balls, made with the leftover rice from last night and some sauteed Sugar Snap Peas.

So What Are You Making For Dinner Editorial Meeting. July 1 2023

 

No one is paying attention!

Shrimp Oreganata

Today I was off from work so I was able to go to the Madison Farmers Market on the Green. I was hoping the vendor, North Stonington from T.A.LK. Seafood out of Stonington had Shrimp, but I was willing to get scallops if that was all they had.

They had shrimp! Wild Shrimp for North Carolina.

I have had the recipe for Shrimp Oreganata pinned for a while. It was so good and so easy. The hardest part was cleaning the shrimp. The only thing I would change is to make more of the sauce.

I served it with rice and grilled bread. YES, I know starch and starch. There was also a side of Zucchini, The sauce was quite good. We just needed more of it.

Click here for the recipe. They have great photos to go along with the recipe. It seems silly to retype it.

Fettuccine with Zucchini, Peppers, Bacon, and Burrata

One of my favorite summer pasta dishes is Pasta with Zucchini.

Any type of pasta will do. Tonight I had fettuccini that I picked up at Bishop's last week.

There is not a "recipe" for this. But for the sake of the blog I will type how I prepared the meal.

I started off by cooking four pieces of bacon. Then I wiped out the pan and added some olive oil and butter. Sliced one zucchini, one shallot, 1/2 of a red pepper and sauteed that in the olive oil and butter until the vegetable were cooked. Low heat and slow going. 

Boiled the pasta and saved 3/4 of the pasta water. I added the pasta to the cooked vegetables. Adding some cheese, parmigiana, and water to help make a sauce.

It is a visual think, adding the water and cheese. Keep the heat low and keep and eye on the consistency. I add a knob of butter at the end just because. When each dish was served a slice of Burrata cheese was added to the top of the pasta.

Oh, we had meatballs from Rocco's Off Wooster so we heated those up too.

Delicious dinner with leftovers which will be used as a pasta pie later next week.

The Grill is Open!!

The first grilled dinner of 2023. Porterhouse steaks was our first grilled dinner. Chris handles the grilling so I sit back and enjoy a Dirty Martini.

I, of course, do the side dishes. Tonight I just made one dish. Green Bean Potato Salad with Feta and Olives. Not bad at all. The flavors were perfect together and I liked using the Feta in the dressing. The recipe is from Inspired Taste. I cut this recipe in half and we had more than enough for the 2 of us.

Ingredients-
1 pound small yellow or white potatoes
1 pound green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
1 tablespoon finely chopped spring onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Salt and fresh black pepper

Method-
Cook the Potatoes and Beans-
Add potatoes to a pot and cover with 2 inches of water.
Season with salt — 1 teaspoon for every quart of water.
Bring the water to a boil then reduce to a low simmer.
Cook 15 to 20 minutes or you can easily pierce them with a fork.

Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with cold water and ice.
When the potatoes are done, transfer them to the ice bath.
When cooled, remove potatoes from the water and slice into 1/2-inch rounds.

Bring the water that potatoes were cooked in back to a boil then add green beans.
Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until bright green and crisp-tender.
Set up a second ice bath.
Transfer green beans to ice bath.

Make the Salad-
Combine potatoes, green beans, olives, spring onion and the parsley in a large bowl.
Make the dressing by whisking vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and olive oil until creamy.
Add the feta cheese, stir well then season with salt and pepper.
Pour over salad and toss to coat.
Set the salad aside and wait 15 minutes before serving.

Farmers Market Dinner

Early dismissal at work today because of the holiday weekend. 

I made a beeline to the Madison Farmers Market. I get back Madison too late on Fridays to take advantage of the amazing produce and products.

But today was different.

I got a pound of sea scallops that were caught, is that what is is called, this morning in North Stonington from T.A.LK. Seafood out of Stonington.

$25 per pound and we got 16 nice sized scallops.

I used my go to scallop recipe. from epicicurious.com.

It is so simple.

The recipe mentions making extra sauce for sopping up with bread. Well that is just what I did. I picked up a baguette from Wave Hill Breads. They have had a stand at the Farmers Market from day one. Excellent bread. Perfect for this sauce!

Zuppa Arcidossana

Zuppa Arcidossana, a Mark Bittman recipe, is our favorite one pot 30 minute meal. It actually only takes 25 minutes if you have your ingredients prepped.

We had no leftovers. If we had extra bread we would have wiped the pan clean.

Ingredients
Yield: 4 servings
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings
1 cup 1/2 -inch-diced carrots
1 large onion, chopped
Salt
black pepper
1 cup stale bread (use coarse, country-style bread), cut in ½-inch cubes
1/2  pound spinach, trimmed, washed and roughly chopped
1/4 to 1/2 cup ricotta salata, cut in 1/2 -inch cubes (feta may be substituted)
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley, optional

Method-
Put oil in a large pot or deep skillet and brown sausage over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. 
When sausage is cooked through and leaving brown bits in pan, add carrots, onion, and continue to cook until vegetables begin to soften and brown, about 10 minutes. 

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Add bread to pan and stir for a minute or 2; add spinach and continue cooking just until it wilts, a couple of minutes.
Add about 2 cups water and stir to loosen any remaining brown bits from pan. 
This is more of a stew than a soup, but there should be some broth, so add another cup of water if necessary. 
When broth is consistency of thin gravy, ladle stew into serving bowls and top with cheese and some freshly chopped parsley if you have it. 
Serve immediately.

Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Shallots, Poached Pears, and Blue Cheese

And we are back!

A brief break due do internet bullying.

I posted a photo of a meal I made on a local facebook food page and someone shared it and create a meme that was just plain mean and nasty.

What I learned was that I will never share a photo on that local page ever again.

But forget all that BS. Tonight I made an amazing (!!!) dinner. 

Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Shallots, Poached Pears, and Blue Cheese.

It looked really fancy but it was so freakin' easy to make!

It was fun to make. Before I started the recipe I was thinking it looks like too much work but I decided that I need to push myself. Glad I did. Amazing flavors!!!

Ingredients-

1 pound pork tenderloin

2 Bosc pears (2 cups  diced)

2 medium shallots (1 cup, sliced)

1 tbsp salted butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups white wine 

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

2 sprigs of rosemary

1 1/2 feet of butcher’s twine

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 c. chicken broth

Method-

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Dice pears into small 1/4-inch squares. Thinly slice the shallot. 

2. Melt butter in a Dutch oven or an oven-safe pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Sauté for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the pear and white wine. Let steadily simmer for about 12 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed and the pears are translucent.

3. While the pears simmer, slice the pork tenderloin horizontally down the center. Slice almost all the way through the tenderloin, and then lay it flat.

4. Once the pears and shallots are done simmering, generously pile the mixture into the center of the tenderloin.

5. Pile the crumbled blue cheese on top of the shallots and poached pears. Cut the butcher’s twine into 6-inch pieces. Then, press the shallots, pears, and blue cheese down and pull the tenderloin together. 

Top with the rosemary, and tie with the butcher’s twine. The easiest technique is to slide the butcher’s twine underneath the pork and then pull the pork together and tie it closed. Cut the excess twine after tying it. 

Top the pork with the remaining salt and pepper.6. Heat olive oil in the same Dutch oven or pan (no need to wash it) over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the pork tenderloin and sear for 2-3 minutes until it has browned. Rotate the tenderloin in the pan 2-3 times, letting all sides brown.

7. Place a lid on the pot, and put the tenderloin in the oven to bake. Let the tenderloin bake for 12 minutes or until it reaches 145 degrees with a meat thermometer.

8. Remove the tenderloin from the pot and place it on a cutting board to rest. The tenderloin needs to rest for 5 minutes before you slice it. This keeps the juices in the meat, making it tender.

9. Pour the chicken broth into the pot you used to cook the tenderloin. Simmer over medium heat, scraping up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Let reduce and thicken for 5 minutes, creating a sauce.

10. Slice the tenderloin, removing the butcher’s twine as you go. Serve with the sauce poured over the meat.