Monday, March 12, 2012

Red Beans and Spicy Sausage

I don't remember what I did here, exactly.  Red beans, red pepper, chilies, probably ground cumin and then spicy Portuguese sausage.  I did add some liquid and then mashed a bunch of the beans to thicken the brew.


Cesear Salad

There are probably a zillion recipes for this salad...let me add mine.  I like lots of garlic and the creamy dressing made from the almost raw egg.  We're having this with a small steak tonight.  My perfect summertime dinner.


Garlic croutons:
Slice a baguette into 1/2 inch ovals and toast both sides under the broiler on high.  I like to have for or five croutons per person.

Mince 6 or more cloves of garlic.  When is fine, add a sprinkle of kosher salt and slide the flat side of the knife across the garlic until its a fine paste.

In a cold 10" skillet put in a layer of olive oil and add the garlic slowly warm the garlic when hot add the croutons and shake them around to coat.  At this point I saute until the garlic turns a light brown.  Remove all from heat.

They now sell Organic Romaine Hearts for the same price as conventional.  I take a head out of the bag and cut off the first two or three inches from the top (greenest) part.  I then cut across the circumference of the head and then wash well and dry in paper towels so all water is gone.  It helps the dressing ad hear to the lettuce.

In a big bowl, add about 1/4c olive oil, a couple shakes of Worcestershire sauce or one anchovy mashed around the size of the bowl.  Add the juice from 1/2 lemon...more if you like more...and 1/2c finely grated Parmesan cheese.  Mix well. 

Boil water in a small pan. When rolling, add one egg that you have stuck a needle into one end to prevent an explosion. Cook exactly one minute and then run under cold water so you can handle it.  Open end over bowl and mix well.  If you are skittish about raw eggs, people say a little good quality mayo can sub.

Add romaine and mix well.  Add more olive oil if it's just too dry.  I like there to be nothing fat the bottom of the bowl after serving the salad.  Add croutons with the garlic bits and toss well.  Serve.

Cornish Hen (Small Chicken)

We're trying to eat lighter dinners...and keep down the leftovers.  Here's my attempt at Cornish Hens.  I put some lemon wedges in the bird before wrapping it in bacon and trussing.  It's laying on a bed of aromatics that really add value to the pan drippings.

Before


After


One little glitch...it acted done...but wasn't.  This was about the third roast that wasn't finished in an appropriate time.  A couple of nights ago, I made homemade pizza and after 10 minutes on 450...not much was happening.  So then I went to reset the temperature and when I did it showed it was down at 315 degrees.  So I went to the broiler and that didn't come on!  Needless to say GE is coming in the AM.

Happy Eating!


Saturday, March 3, 2012

Roasted Garlic

This is one of our favorites...Roasted Elephant Garlic.  Slice off the top.  Drizzle with good olive oil, some salt and put in a small roasting pan in a 375 degree oven.  In the oven for about 30-45 minutes, until soft.  Remove the outer husks. 

Stuffed Poblanos

Very easy. Roast the poblano, remove skin.  Cut a V-shaped opening on the top and fill with your favorite.  Here I used some leftover chili.

Egg-cellent

The girls are laying again.  This is just four days production.