Easy Steak House Dinner

I have had a really busy week - I started a new, higher stress job two weeks ago. I have missed cooking a quality meal in several days and today I had enough.

I wanted to kick it up a notch and decided that since my husband had poker with the guys this evening, I would do a steak house dinner - in instead of out.

First, I was inspired at the store and picked up some nice, 3 inch thick filet Mignon cuts - they were cheaper then usual. I knew I had veggies and potatoes at home. I wanted a stellar appetizer, one that reminded me of one of my favorite restaurants back in New Jersey - Lamberti's Cucina in Medford, NJ.

At Lamberti's, they have a to die for appetizer of fresh mozzarella, shredded garlic, rich prosciutto, and oil. I purchased the necessary items, longing for the cheaper East Coast prices on the cheese and the meat. I wanted to add in some Roma tomatoes, as well.

Appetizer: Serves 2
2 Roma tomatoes
1 ball (approx. 4-8 oz) fresh mozzarella
2 cloves of garlic
1/8 cup olive oil
4 slices prosciutto
Sea salt

Slice the Roma tomatoes approximately 1/4-1/2 in thick, resulting in 8-12 pieces. Lightly salt the tomatoes on the plate. Thinly slice the garlic. Cut the mozzarella into slices, 3-4 for each person.

To plate...
Lay the tomatoes around the outside of the plate. Coat the bottom of the plate with the oil and then distribute the sliced garlic around. Salt to taste. Make two piles of cheese/meat, layering cheese, then meat, then cheese, until you run out of items. Remember to make TWO piles - I like my mozzarella salty, so I salt each layer. My husband likes more prosciutto then I do, so he gets a little more then me. Allow flavors to marry for 10 minutes or more. Serve by itself or with crusty bread.

Dinner...
2 8-12 oz. fliet Mignon
1 tbs. brandy/sherry/Marsala (optional)
Salt
Seasoning salt, such as Accent
5 yukon gold potaotes
4 tbs. butter
3 tbs. fat free 1/2 and 1/2
3 tbs. low fat milk
1 garlic clove
1 tbs. canola (or veggie oil)

Fileg Mignon:
Take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Seaosn with your accent seasoning or salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 375-400F. **See potato notes if going to also cook the potatoes, as they need to start to cook now...***

Heat a saute pan that CAN GO IN THE OVEN over med-high heat. Add 1 tbs. of canola oil - it can retain a higher heat then olive. Once oil starts to ripple, add teh filet's with tongs. Cook on each side for 2-4 minutes, depending on thickness. My steaks were 3 in. thick, so I did 4 minutes each side. I like my steak med. rare. After each side has been seared, place in the oven for 6 minutes. Check after 6 minutes and contiue to cook until slightly under your desiered temperature (if you watne it med. well, take out when appears to be medium). The steaks will ocntinue to cook once they rest. Place steaks on teh plate to continue cooking and rest, allowing the juices to redistrubute.

IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A PAN SAUCE...
Return the pan that the steaks were in over medium heat. Watch the handle b/c it will still be hot from being in teh oven. Add 1 tbs. butter and 1 tbs. liquor. Reduce by half. Add 1 tbs. of half and half to make it a cream sauce. You can double this recipie if you would like more sauce. I double it b/c my husband likes tons of sauce.

Potatoes:
Either keep the skin on or off to yoru preference. Slice thinkly so they wiell cook quikcer. Add to a deep soup pan. Cover with cold water and add salt. **YOu can also rinse the potatoes first to decrese starch. Put over a burner on the stove over high. If you can cover it, do so - it will cook quicker. Cook for about 10 minutes or until fork tender. While waiting for the potoatoes to cook, heat butter, half and half, milk, and chopped garlic in a pan over low. Then you have the choice of mashing by hand, mixing with a hand blender, or using a ricer (one where the potatoes are finely pushed through a grater, creating a lusher, no chunk mixtuer). Once finished cooking, slowly add in the milk/butter mixutre untilo desiered taste/consistency. Serve with fresh parsley or other suggestions below.

Other ideas for potatoes:
-Mix together cooked bacon, cream cheese, and/or sour cream. Use as a garnish for the pototoes, or use less butter/milk and substitute in the bacon mixture.
-Mix tarragon and brie cheese. Dollop on the pototoes, or substutue in for less butter/milk
-Make fancy butter - take an herb you liek (and like with mashed potatoes) - and dice finely. Mash with a butter or margerine substance. Roll out into a log. Wrap in saran wrap or other plastic wrap and refreidgerate. Cut into slices.
**This can also be used to top the filet's!!!

Tastefully Simple Party - PLEASE VISIT!!!

I am hosting a Tastefully Simple party on Saturday, March 14th from 3pm-5pm at my home. If you are not familiar with Tastefully Simple, they are a great product brand that saves you time, money, and energy in the kitchen.If you haven't noticed, I love to cook. I enjoy things from scratch, homemade, and delicious.

However, my go to brand is Tastefully Simple when I am in a crunch or need a little extra something. From their Beer Bread to Savory Spread, everything is delicious. They have appetizers, spreads, mixes, drinks, soups, sweets, desserts - you name it. The brand is reliable and inexpensive. Many of their products last a long time and can be used in small amounts, such as their "Garlic Garlic" or "Spinach" spice blend. Place an order now - look over the products.

My host is Megan Soots and all orders can be placed through her at http://www.tastefullysimple.com/Cultures/en-US/. Please mention my name when placing orders!!!

*This post will repost intermittently until the day of the event

Shapley Spreads: Spread Ideas

Try a new approach to butter or spreads!!

This is great for holidays, entertaining, or just to spice up the table spread. You can make many of these - especially those made with butter the like - ahead of time and keep them for a long time in the fridge.

Here are some ideas...

-Take butter and roll with mixed herbs or single herbs. I like mine with parsley or basil
-Use cookie cutters to cut out butter
-Mix ricotta and minced sage, use to top potatoes
-Add minced garlic and tarragon with cream cheese. Place on top of crackers, such as Triscuits

Entertaining First Course Salad

With spring just around the corner - I thought you would enjoy this!!

Fig, Feta, and Mint Salad: serves 4

4 figs - cut into quarters
1 block - (1 package) feta cheese
Olive oil
4-8 mint leaves, thinly sliced
Mixed greens, spinach, and/or argula
Bread to pass, optional

Cut figs into quarters. Cut block of cheese into 4 pieces. Portion the figs and cheese for each plate. Place on a plate over mixed greens. Sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle mint, and add a dash of pepper. Serve chilled to room temperature.

No Meat on Fridays!!!!

We are in the midst of Lent season, meaning for all the practicing Catholics, as well as those that choose to practice when convenient, no meat on Friday's.

Last Friday, we made the mistake of going out to eat, and the only thing on the menu that didn't have meat was grilled cheese...not so great for someone who loves to eat - and we were not at the establishment for the food...

This is an optimal time for people to try to integrate seafood, tofu, or beans into their diet...my sister use to never eat seafood - my mother never at it and my dad wasn't cooking. Seafood was something "newer" to me once I got to college. There, too, I found the ever popular college bound - non-meat eater, not quite vegetarian - meaning those who went vegetarian b/c it was in, not because of a belief or preference.

I am a huge fan of pasta with a cheese sauce. Ravioli lend themselves well during this season. Take the Asian wonton wrappers you get in the produce department and stuff them with your mixture of choice - I love ricotta, Parmesan, shrimp, spinach, and diced tomatoes. Lightly toss with a sage butter or lighter Alfredo sauce and you have a meal.

Even though in the majority of the country, we aren't grilling, doesn't mean that you cannot bake fish, saute scallops, or pan sear some tofu.

Think outside of the box. Opening your options now will make you a more versatile cook at a later point.

These experiences - a college, vegetarian roommate, a close graduate school friend who was vegan - made me able to cook for both of these cuisines without feeling overwhelmed. More importantly, it taught me to cook really great tasting food outside of my comfort zone.

New York Times Article - Your Thoughts

Today in the New York Times, there was an article "Food Magazines Begin to Consider Cooks’ Budgets", stating the upscale cooking magazines, such as Food & Wine, are "out with truffles and in with button mushrooms". Gourmet magazine is dishing on leftovers and sandwiches instead of the high end, high priced normal writings - too bad the magazine prices themselves haven't gone down!

What do you think about this? Are we starting to let go of classic magazines like Gourmet, Food by Martha Stewart, and Bon Appetite for the likes of Taste of Home? Is it the price, comfort of the food, or a combination of the two?

Your thoughts...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/02/business/media/02mag.html?_r=1&ref=dining

TASTEFULLY SIMPLE PARTY!!!

I am hosting a Tastefully Simple party on Saturday, March 14th from 3pm-5pm at my home. If you are not familiar with Tastefully Simple, they are a great product brand that saves you time, money, and energy in the kitchen.

If you haven't noticed, I love to cook. I enjoy things from scratch, homemade, and delicious. However, my go to brand is Tastefully Simple when I am in a crunch or need a little extra something. From their Beer Bread to Savory Spread, everything is delicious. They have appetizers, spreads, mixes, drinks, soups, sweets, desserts - you name it. The brand is reliable and inexpensive. Many of their products last a long time and can be used in small amounts, such as their "Garlic Garlic" or "Spinach" spice blend.

Place an order now - look over the products. My host is Megan Soots and all orders can be placed through her at http://www.tastefullysimple.com/Cultures/en-US/. Please mention my name when placing orders!!!

*This post will repost intermittently until the day of the event

Chicken - the neglected meat

I answer a lot of questions on Yahoo Answers, with almost 25% getting voted in the top answers. Today I answered one about chicken (see below) and it got me thinking about the bad "wrap" chicken gets. Pork has come in as the other white meat, fish is on the up and up for its nutritional value, and where does that leave the old faithful chicken.

Chicken is the caregiver of the protein items. It can be shredded, stewed, baked, broiled, fried, topped, stuffed, or cooked in any other fashion. So why is it that we see chicken as boring?

I think chicken is a great standby. Making it moist and juicy are my two most important components. Chicken is a sponge - it can withstand hours of marinade or absorb it quickly. It is an easy go-to meal that - as long as there are no vegans or vegetarians - can please any palate.

I am a huge advocate for tenderizing chicken breasts, which is the meat I most often cook with. Why do this? Easy - chicken can turn out to be dry and tough unless cooked the right way. By tenderizing the meat, we allow a little "grace" period in our cooking. And you don't need a tenderizer mallet to do this. You can use a soup can on its side, a sauce pan, or even a coffee cup. Place the meat between two layers, plastic or wax, and tenderize it by hitting it multiple times. Tenderizing will allow the tendons of the meat to separate, thus creating a better texture for your cooking.

Once the meat is tenderized, it is up to you to decide the method you are going to use. Below are several lists of spice blends I use, but you can really do anything to the chicken. Chicken is that blank canvas that lend itself to what we have on hand or what we become inspired by at the market.

Add an Asian flair - Combine:
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisen sauce
1 tbs. rice wine vinegar - though if you don't have this - use another vinegar (not balsamic, though) or leave it out
1 tsp. zested (or minced) fresh ginger
1 tsp. zested (or minced) garlic

Reserve 3 tbs. of the marinade. Add 4 chicken breasts to the larger amount of marinade. Allow to marinade as long as you can - 20 minutes at the least and overnight at the most.

Cook in a 375F oven in an oven proof dish sprayed with nonstick spray or drizzled with olive oil. Cook in the oven for 25-35 minutes, depending on thickness of the tenderized meat.

Now, as for that 3tbs. reserved marinade - this will be a great sauce for your veggies. I would use something like cabbage, bok choy, and water chestnuts to stick with the Asian-American theme. However, you can use whatever veggies you want - from broccoli to spinach. Add 1/2 tsp. cornstarch to the marinade. Whisk. This will thicken the sauce once we add heat to it.

In a saute pan, drizzle olive, peanut, or sesame oil - really any oil you want - about 1 tbs. Add your veggie medley and saute. About 3 minutes before it is done - as this will change with your veggie choices - add the sauce, cook, stirring often. Remove from heat.

Plate the veggies alongside the chicken. Top with toasted peanuts, sesame seeds, or almonds if desired.



Question:
Slit chicken breast - ideas? I have a family pack of slit chicken breast. What are some suggestions on cooking this....

Cooking with Maggie Answer:

Well if they are "bone in"...

Preheat your oven to 375-400F. Season all sides of the meat. I use a combination of what I have on hand. This could range from an Italian blend - Italian seasoning, basil, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper - to a more middle eastern flare - turmeric, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper - or a hodgepodge of whatever you like. My favorite is salt, pepper, dill, and poultry seasoning. The poultry seasoning really flavors the meat, without you having to purchase 10 different spices. Its warm sage flavors mixed with ground, spices is a great mixture.

Take a cookie sheet, line with foil, spray foil with spray ( or you could use olive oil). Place chicken pieces on the foil, drizzle with olive or canola oil and cook, 40-55 minutes or until the meat is done. You could also turn the meat once if you so please. You will need to cook meat on the bone longer then boneless. Also, the sizes of the pieces really matters, as well. If you have all wings and legs, it will be shorter then breasts and thighs.


And if they are "boneless"...

Place each breast in a plastic bag or between two pieces of saran wrap. Next, tenderize the meat with either a meat tenderizer (looks like a hammer for the kitchen) or if you don't have that, use a heavy cup or a pan. The idea is to break up the tendons, creating lush, fork cutting, no knife needed, juicy chicken.

From here, it really doesn't matter what you do cause you cant do much wrong. When I am trying to eat healthier, I use spices such as cumin, paprika, dill, and celery salt to season the breasts on both sides. Remember that you can use any kind of combination you like or whatever is in your cabinet.

To cook, I use nonstick spray on a pan, sear each side for about 3 minutes over med-high heat, then add water or chicken broth to finish the cooking. When the chicken is cooked through, I have a great start to a pan gravy. Whisk in some butter and cornstarch and you have a gravy made while waiting for the meat to rest. You could always jazz up the gravy with mushrooms, onions, peppers, cream, or wine.