Simply delicious

This week I decided to try a few recipes I had pinned on Pinterest (If you haven't checked it out it is a very neat website with lots of inspiration for everything from fashion to food) that I had picked for looking delicious and simple. The first were the "fried" pickles, which are baked in the oven which keeps them healthier, and are a great snack especially when paired with ranch dressing. I'd recommend purchasing whole pickles and slicing them, as the previously sliced ones seemed to be just too thick for good fried pickles in my opinion. Then for dinner I made lemon garlic roasted chicken, with green beans and red potatoes which was delicious, quick and easy, as it's all made in one pot with everything coming out tender and moist. I finished the meal off with some strawberry tarts, so fresh and perfect for summer, and they turn out just beautiful, which is always a plus, especially when you're entertaining! Now, for the recipes:

"Fried" Pickles

• 1 jar pickle slice, I used Dill
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs (standard bread crumbs will do, but panko really are best)

Turn oven broiler on high. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and flour. Add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, and pepper. Mix well.

Place panko bread crumbs in a shallow dish. Dunk each pickle slice into the egg mixture, than dredge it in the panko bread crumbs.Place coated pickles on a rack set above a baking sheet and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Place pan in the middle rack of the oven. Broil for about 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. 

 

Pan Roasted Chicken with Lemon Garlic Green Beans

• 6  tablespoons  olive oil
• 2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4  pound  trimmed green beans
• 8 small red potatoes, quartered
• 4 chicken breasts (bones left in, with skin, about 3 1/4 pounds)

Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a large baking dish or cast-iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish or skillet.
In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper; add the green beans and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices. Add the potatoes to the same olive-oil mixture and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, arrange the potatoes along the inside edge of the dish or skillet on top of the green beans. Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive-oil mixture and coat thoroughly. Place the chicken, skin-side up, in the dish or skillet. Pour any of the remaining olive-oil mixture over the chicken. Roast for 50 minutes. Remove the chicken from the dish or skillet. Place the beans and potatoes back in oven for 10 minutes more or until the potatoes are tender. Place a chicken breast on each of 4 serving plates; divide the green beans and potatoes equally. Serve warm. Note: Before squeezing a lemon, first roll it firmly on the counter to break up the connective tissue, cut it in half and then squeeze the lemon over your hand in order to catch any seeds, letting the juice run between your fingers.

  

Fresh Strawberry Tarts

 

• 1 box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box, or homemade pie crust
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
• 1/2 cup strawberry glaze
• 6 tablespoons hot fudge ice cream topping, heated
• 1/3 cup frozen (thawed) whipped topping

Heat oven to 450°F. Remove pie crust from pouch; place flat on work surface. Sprinkle sugar over crust and press in lightly. Cut 6 rounds from crust with 4-inch round cutter or trace 6 rounds with top of large plastic glass and cut out with sharp knife (piece scraps slightly for 6th round). Spray back of muffin pan with cooking spray. Fit rounds, sugared side up, alternately over backs of muffin cups. Pinch 5 equally spaced pleats around side of each cup. Prick each pastry generously with fork. Bake 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes. Carefully remove from muffin cups. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in large bowl, gently mix strawberries and glaze. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 30 minutes. Just before serving, spoon 1 tablespoon fudge topping into each shell. Spoon about 1/3 cup berry mixture into each shell. Garnish each with whipped topping. For a better look you can take the time to arrange the strawberries in a pattern, but these just looked too good to take the time, I couldn't wait to eat them!

Grilling out! Or in...

This week I decided to do something in keeping with our season, but sadly I do not have a grill yet. That didn't stop me though, and I pulled out that grill pan I've mentioned before (get one if you don't have a grill!) and decided to go for it. I started with one of the more obvious southern classics, barbecue chicken, but our grocery store didn't have chicken thigh and leg quarters, so I had to try something new. I bought 3 whole chickens and broke them down myself! It might seem a bit daunting but it really isn't that difficult once you get down and dirty. It might not look perfect, but when you don't have any other options it'll definitely do in a pinch (And is a much cheaper option too!). I didn't wander into it blindly though, and if you're interested in doing the same I'd suggest checking out Alton Brown's video on butchering a chicken here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbc1aW5C1W0, he starts getting to the butchering around the 5 minute mark, don't worry about the dinosaur it'll make sense eventually! I also wanted to grill a vegetable and a dessert, something not a lot of people associate with the grill so I decided to do grilled bacon wrapped asparagus and grilled peaches with berry sauce as well. Everything turned out amazingly tasty and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!

Barbecue Chicken

Ingredients

Brine:

• 2 quarts water
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a large knife
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 6 chicken legs and thighs, still connected, bone in, skin on, about 10 ounces each

The Barbecue Sauce:

• 1 slice bacon
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika if available
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the brine, in a mixing bowl combine the water, salt, sugar, garlic, and thyme. Transfer the brine to a 2-gallon sized re-sealable plastic bag. Add the chicken, close the bag and refrigerate 2 hours (if you've only got 15 minutes, that's fine). Meanwhile, make the sauce. Wrap the bacon around the bunch of thyme and tie with kitchen twine so you have a nice bundle. Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the thyme and cook slowly 3 to 4 minutes to cook all of the bacon fat and give the sauce a nice smoky taste. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, give the sauce a stir, and turn the heat down to low and cook for 20 minutes. Once the sauce is done cooking, remove about 1 1/2 cups of the sauce and reserve for serving along side the chicken at the table. The rest of the barbecue sauce will be used for basting the legs.
Preheat oven 375 degrees F. Preheat a grill pan or an outdoor gas or charcoal barbecue to a medium heat. Lightly oil the grills surface so it won't stick. Take the chicken out of the brine, pat it dry on paper towels. Arrange the chicken pieces on the preheated grill and cook, turn once mid-way, and cook for a total of 10 minutes. Transfer the grill marked chicken to a cookie sheet and then place in the oven. Cook the chicken for 15 minutes, remove it from the oven and then brush liberally, coating every inch of the legs with the barbecue sauce and then return to the oven for 25 to 30 more minutes, basting the chicken for a second time half way through remaining cooking time. Serve with extra sauce.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Bundles

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds asparagus spears, trimmed 4 to 5 inches long tips
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• A few grinds black pepper
• 4 slices center cut bacon or pancetta
• Chopped chives or scallions, optional garnish

Preheat oven, if using, to 400 degrees F.

Lightly coat asparagus spears in extra-virgin olive oil. Season the asparagus with black pepper. Take a quick count of the spear tips. Divide the total number by four. Gather that number of spears and use a slice of bacon to wrap the bundle and secure the spears together. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

To grill, place bundles on hot grill and cover. Cook 10 to 12 minutes until bacon is crisp and asparagus bundles are tender.

For oven preparation, place bundles on slotted broiler pan. Bake 12 minutes.

Grilled Peaches with Berry Sauce

 

(it refuses to load this the proper way! Gah interwebs why do you hate me so?)

Ingredients

• 1/2 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries in syrup, slightly thawed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 fresh peaches, peeled and halved
• 5 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon butter or margarine

In a blender or food processor, process raspberries and lemon juice until pureed. Strain and discard seeds. Cover and chill. Place the peach halves, cut side up, on a large piece of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. x 12 in). Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle into peach centers. Sprinkle with vanilla; dot with butter. Fold foil over peaches and seal. Grill over medium-hot coals for 15 minutes or until heated through. To serve, spoon the raspberry sauce over peaches. 

Enjoy guys :) I know I'm not usually a big fan of asparagus but this was amazing! Hopefully you all like them too! 

Beef Burgundy

This week I made Beef Burgundy, a rich beef stew, along with a creamy Parmesan Polenta, which paired amazingly well together in a meal, I just ladled the soup over the polenta in a bowl and yum! The stew takes around 3 hours to make, so definitely start that first and make whatever side you're pairing with it while it cooks in the oven for 2 hours. Polenta is an Italian dish made with cornmeal, something very similar to grits if you've had those (but I think polenta tastes better) that reminds me a lot of how we usually use mashed potatoes. It pairs well with meats, and can be mixed up with different flavors, seasonings and cheeses. I was not too big of a fan of the flavor in this polenta, so I will definitely have to try another and share it if I like it better, but the good thing about it is, it's cheap to make! Another one of the neat things with polenta is, when using it in leftovers, you can let it solidify in a flat pan, and cut shapes out of it, and then grill or saute those shapes to use the next time! (I have a mickey mouse head cutter that I'm particularly fond of) Try it and let me know what you think! It definitely can be a nice change of pace from mashed potatoes :) 
  


Beef Burgundy

• 3 lb boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes, or bite sized pieces
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 ounces of bacon (about 4 slices), chopped
• 1 lb white button mushrooms, quartered
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 T all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups dry red wine (pinot noir is what I used)
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 t dried thyme
• 1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley 

Preheat the oven to 300 F. Pat the beef dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a dutch oven until it starts to smoke. Add half of the beef and brown for about 10 minutes, removing the beef and repeating with the other half of the beef, adding an extra tablespoon of oil for it. Add the remaining oil to the pot and return the heat to medium until shimmering. Add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes, or until soft, then stir in the garlic and the flour. Cook that for one minute before adding the wine, scraping up any browned bits off the bottom as you stir it in. Add the broth, bay leaves and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cover, transfer the pot to the oven and cook until the meat is tender, about 2 hours. While it's in the oven, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Add the mushrooms to the bacon grease and cook until brown, about 10 minutes. Add the pearl onions and cook until browned as well, about an extra 3 minutes. Pull the stew from the oven and stir in the vegetables along with the parsley. Remove the bay leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with the bacon just before serving! Enjoy!

Creamy Parmesan Polenta

• 3 T unsalted butter
• 2 ounces parmesan cheese, grated (about a cup)
• 6 cups of water
• salt
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely ground cornmeal (coarse is best, but if you can't find it fine will do alright, it'll just be a bit more gluey than smooth)

 Bring the water and 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Slowly add the cornmeal (very slowly!) while whisking in a circular motion to avoid clumping. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring often and vigorously, scraping the pots corners, for about 30 minutes. Stir in the butter and 3/4 cup parmesan, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese right before serving.

Slice and Dice, or just Slice

This week I picked up something from the little girl I watch all week, so the weekend has been pretty miserable, but I managed to scrape together a few easy recipes and definitely satisfied my pizza cravings. For these you can buy the premade dough at the store of course, but making it at home really is pretty simple and easy if you have the time. It's also cheap! One of my favourite things about pizza is how versatile it is, the ones I did here have pretty standard toppings, but there's no limit to what you can put on them. I've heard of pizza with an egg cooked on top of it, mayonnaise drizzled on another, and got a request for a chinese pizza, which I just might have to try to tackle sometime. So, while the recipes I'm sharing are very tasty, mix it up and make it your own :)

Basic Pizza Dough

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons white sugar 

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Hand tossing dough is really fun, especially when you start getting fancy with it. I tossed mine up in the air a few times, but be careful, don't want to lose all your work on the floor!



Basic Cheese Pizza

• 1 cup of crushed tomatoes
• 1 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
• 1/2 pound of mozzarella either grated, or if fresh, sliced
• Basic Pizza dough mentioned above

Preheat oven to 500 degrees and place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven. In a food processor or blender combine tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and blend or process until smooth. Spread sauce evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border along the edge of the dough. Sprinkle basil leaves on top of the sauce and then top with the parmesan. Finally sprinkle with the mozzarella and bake on the pizza stone for 8 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the edges are golden brown. If you don't have a pizza stone follow the cooking directions outlined in the pizza dough recipe. Enjoy!

Three-Cheese Garden Pizza

• 1 pkg refrigerated pizza crust (or the pizza dough recipe mentioned above)
• 1 T vegetable oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
•  1 t italian seasoning
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 2 plum tomatoes, sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced

If you have a mandoline, they're really handy for all of the vegetable slicing and are pretty decently priced, you can get ones that also grate and such too. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Unroll the dough onto a lightly greased stoneware pan, and stretch it to the desired size. Mix the oil with the garlic in a small bowl and brush over the top of the dough. Bake just the crust for 7 minutes, remove from oven and let cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Combine all the cheeses in a large bowl and stir in the italian seasoning. Sprinkle half of the cheese mixture over the crust and then top evenly with all of the vegetables. Bake 15-18 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Serves 6, or can be used as a delicious appetizer.

Whats your favorite pizza toppings? Anyone like anything really odd?