dinner, dec 19

so... the molasses cookies i made last night looked amazing! and tasted not so good... bummer... just another reason why baking is not for me. once you stick stuff in the oven, there's nothing more you can do, there's no control over the baking process. you just have a hope that when you open the oven door that everything turns out. i don't like that. oh well, no more baking for me!

but tonight... i made chili for the first time! beef and bean chili, i've made white chicken chili a million times. i had 4 beef sirloin steaks in the freezer, so i decided on chili. it was super easy too! and it turned out great!
recipe:
i soaked a bag of pinto beans overnight. then in a cast iron dutch oven, cooked them in water for about an hour and then drained them.
in another skillet, i sauteed the cubed beef with green onions, garlic, green chilies, chipotle chili powder, ancho chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt and pepper. after about 6 or 7 minutes, i poured the beef and veggie mixture into the dutch oven with the beans. i added two 10 oz. cans of stewed mexican tomatoes which i cut into pieces. i also added about a third of a jar of leftover pasta sauce and about 3/4 a cup of beef broth. then a few dashes of worcestershire sauce. i also added some more chili spices and salt and pepper at this point. i put the lid on and it simmered for about an hour.
we garnished it with shredded cheese, sour cream and green onions. served with blue corn tortilla chips.

christmas break means cooking a lot!

so, since school has been done, i've been on a cooking/baking spree!
first up, pasta with a homemade arrabiata tomato sauce with chicken and italian sausage


next, chicken and bean mexican tortilla soup


the next morning... homemade pancakes!


then, bacon wrapped filet mignon



just for lunch today, a chicken and bean quesadilla




right now... there is molasses cookie dough chilling in the fridge... i'll put a pick up, and the recipe up, when they're done baking... i hope they turn out!

dinner 6 december 2008

i've been devoting a lot of time to essays, studying and homework... so i haven't had much time, but on this night i was really hungry and there was nothing in the house. so i came up with making shrimp, ham and rice fritters with a garlic aioli. they make them at one of our favorite restaurants here, san chez and they're soooo good. these turned out okay, but not super awesome. next time, i'd cook my own shrimp and use that (i used canned, salad shrimp). anyway, here is the pic... i'll post the recipe later.


so...
the recipe for this recipe is actually pretty easy.
i made a pot of rice, with chicken stock instead of water and then tumeric, curry powder and cumin. i would have used some saffron, but i just didn't have any (blast!).
then, to make the fritters, i combined the cooled rice, a can of small salad shrimp, drained, some garlic, an egg, a bunch of ham that i cut into pieces and fried in a skillet, cayenne pepper, paprika, thyme, salt and pepper and about a half of a cup of italian seasoned bread crumbs. all i did was combine into small balls and rolled the balls in some more bread crumbs. at san chez, they are deep fried, but for lack of a deep fryer and a desire to stay below 400 pounds, i just sauteed in a little olive oil in med-high heat. i just turned them every once in a while.

i wish that i had made the shrimp myself and used that. the fritters did not have a very shrimpy flavor... which is probably due to the fact that those canned salad shrimp really aren't very flavorful. oh yeah, and the aioli is just mayo, salt, pepper, lemon juice and some garlic cloves i roasted in a small sautee pan for about a half hour on low and then smashed... mix it all together, it's really good for anything! especially fries! (ever had the garlic aioli at graydon's crossings? same thing!).

dinner december 2 (last night)

I've been having an absolutely stressful last week and it will not end until next Thursday evening. In the meantime, I have been slacking in my cooking... until last night. I pretty much had to do something non stressful (like cook) or I was going to have to visit Pine Rest. So I made an amazing soup... here is the recipe:

I started with a couple tablespoons of each olive oil and butter in a large pot. I softened about two teaspoons of chopped garlic in it for a minute or two. Then I whisked in about 1/3 cup of flour. I cooked the flour and butter/olive oil mixture making a light brown roux, about 3-4 minutes on medium high. I then slowly stirred in about two cups of milk, all the time whisking as to not burn the milk.
After the milk came up to a hot temperature, I took the pot off the heat and stirred in one whole large block of sharp cheddar cheese, which I had grated. Once it was melted in, I added one bottle of Bell's Winter White Ale, about a cup and a half of chicken stock, a couple tablespoons of dijon mustard, and a few dashes each of worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. I also added some paprika, salt and pepper, and stirred with a wooden spoon until hot. At the very end, I added a bunch of leftover shredded ham from a ham roast and about 6 potatoes, peeled, cooked and cubed.
I was looking for a thick consistency and a sharp flavor... so after tasting I added a little more cheddar and hot sauce. It really was the best soup I have ever made and even tasted. I think Gabe agrees... this is a soup that I will definitely make over and over and over again!
(oh yeah, and I probably would have sauteed some green onions in with the garlic, but i didn't have any at the time... but i didn't miss them!)
(sorry, this pic is awful, but oh well)