Birthday Dinner Results

Wow.... took about 4 hours worth of cooking/eating, but the meal was definitely the best/most complex meal I've cooked to date. Here are my thoughts for the future:

Appetizer: Probably need more than just bread/the blood orange olive oil. It was good, but probably got tiring after a couple of pieces.

Salmon: Differing opinions. I thought it was fairly bland, or at least you couldn't really taste the blood Orange olive oil. Personally, I would probably season w/ oranges or something, to make it even more citrusy.

Potato Gratin: This was pretty fantastic, possibly the best meal I have ever cooked. I used Crimini mushrooms instead of the Porcini (couldn't find these at the stores I went to). I also added Asiago cheese to the recipe. I would DEFINITELY recommend using cheese (asiago worked VERY well). Perhaps even use more than I did. Ended up cooking just about the same amount of time that it recommended, perhaps a little more. But really, it turned out crispy and great.

Asparagus/Sauce: The sauce actually turned out REALLY well. My mom loved it, she took all the spare and soaked it up with some bread after we were done. It was creamy, and the citrus was very mild in it. My mom recommends it would be good with fish and I think i agree. I tried some on the Salmon and it actually tasted pretty well. This was a nice way to spice up a relatively simple side of asparagus.

Dessert: I didn't post the recipe to this, but I tried a flavor combo dessert of French Vanilla ice cream, oranges (used mandarin oranges, these worked well, maybe could try blood oranges when they are in season), and then topped it all off w/ Grand Manier Liquor. The flavor combo was really great, although in the future I need to watch how much liquor i use, because a little bit of that goes a long way.

Birthday Dinner

Here's the plan for Mom's birthday:

Salmon cooked with the new Blood Orange Olive Oil I got out in California.

potato and portobello mushroom gratin

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups hot water
1 1/2-ounce package dried porcini mushrooms*

1 1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms

12 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced

4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes or white-skinned potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preparation

Combine 1 1/2 cups hot water and porcini in small bowl. Let stand until mushrooms soften, about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving 2/3 cup soaking liquid. Chop porcini; set aside. Remove and chop stems from portobellos; place in large bowl. Using small spoon, scrape away dark gills from portobellos and discard. Cut portobello caps into 1/2-inch pieces; add to bowl.

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped portobello stems and caps and sauté 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and reserved porcini and sauté until mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat each of two 13x9x2-inch glass baking dishes with 1 tablespoon oil. Combine remaining 7 tablespoons oil, potatoes, parsley, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper in large bowl; toss to coat. Layer 1/6 of potato mixture in each prepared dish (there will not be enough to overlap slices). Top potatoes in each with 1/4 of mushroom mixture. Repeat layering. Top with remaining potatoes. Pour 1/3 cup reserved porcini soaking liquid over potatoes in each dish. Cover dishes with foil.

Bake gratins 45 minutes. Uncover and bake until tops are brown and potatoes are tender, about 40 minutes longer. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Cover with foil and rewarm in 350°F oven about 20 minutes.)

*Dried porcini mushrooms are available at Italian markets, specialty foods stores and many supermarkets.

maltaise sauce for asparagus

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Servings: Makes about 1 cup.

Ingredients

2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
a pinch of freshly ground white pepper
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon grated orange zest (preferably from a blood orange
,available seasonally at specialty product markets)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh orange juice (preferably from a
blood orange)

Preparation

In a blender or food processor put the egg yolks, the lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and the white pepper and with the motor running add the butter in a stream. Add the zest and the orange juice and blend the mixture well. Force the mixture through a fine sieve set over a small bowl and keep it warm, its surface covered with a buttered round of wax paper, set in a pan of warm water. Serve the sauce over asparagus.

Random Notes

Just a couple random notes....just had spaghetti with Emeril's Roasted Red Pepper sauce. That plus some turkey meat (added some pepper to this), had some really nice kick and was pretty good.

On the negative, I used 30-minute marinade Honey and Dijon chicken last week. This was absolutely horrendous and I need to remember to never get this again.

That is all...

Football Party

Home Made Fries- These actually turned out REALLY well. A few changes, i boiled the potatoes a little long, but then left them in the oven about 35 minutes (until they were crispy). I would also mix all the spices together first and then pour it on to spread it out. I also added a bit of Chipotle Powder to add some spicy:

3 pounds Idaho potatoes
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin

Cover the potatoes with cold water in a large saucepan and cook until almost tender. Drain and dry the potatoes. Cut each potato lengthwise into quarters. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and brush both sides of the potatoes with oil. Combine the chili powder, salt, and cumin in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the potatoes. Grill the potato wedges for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden brown. Serve with ketchup.

Crab Dip (notes on this one, i made it more spicy by adding more hot sauce/chili powder...was great for me who likes things spicy):

One 4-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning or other seasoned salt
6 ounces fresh or canned lump crabmeat, drained
Loaf of French Bread
Bread Bowl

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Place all the ingredients except the crab in a medium bowl and blend together with a spatula. Stir in the crab. Turn the dip into the bread bowl and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

For the party we also made some sweet Nachos (only note here was that Courtney creatively used my deep-dish pizza pan to bake the nachos in...smart for large groups).

I ran out of time to make the coconut shrimp i wanted to try...but maybe i'll make that soon.

Peasant Pasta Results

Overall, this was a pretty easy recipe. I tried being a little different and tried cutting the sausage into slices (w/ casing on), rather than just having shredded meat. It was good, but i think it would be easier (both cooking and to eat) by just following the recipe . Only couple things I would try to change in the future:
1) Make it more flavorful (wasn't a bad sauce, was just kinda plain)
2) Make the sauce thicker (was a little runny)
3) Use all hot sausage (personal preference, but I like the spice more than the plain)

Peasant Pasta

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray Show: 30 Minute Meals Episode: 30-Minute Big Family Dining

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan 1/2 pound hot Italian sausage, available in bulk at butcher counter or, 2 links, casings removed 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, available in bulk at butcher counter or, 4 links, casings removed 3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped, optional 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 1/2 cup heavy cream Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 cup frozen green peas 24 leaves fresh basil, torn or thinly sliced 1 pound penne rigate pasta, cooked to al dente Grated Italian cheese, for passing Heat a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan. Add sausage meat. Crumble sausage meat as it browns. Add chopped garlic to the pan. When all of the crumbles have browned evenly, deglaze the pan drippings using chicken or vegetable broth. Stir in crushed tomatoes and bring the sauce up to a bubble, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir cream into your sauce, this will blush the color and cut the acidity of the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir peas and basil into your sauce to combine. Toss hot drained penne rigate in pan with the sauce, then transfer pasta to serving bowl.

Results for T-bones

Well learned a few things....

First, again learned the benefit of appetizers. I was happy I made bruschetta (I bought some pico de gallo and threw that on top of some fresh motz i bought at the farmers market). Girls loved it (cooked for my neighbors)

Second, I was VERY impressed with myself because as the one picture shows, I was juggling multiple things. HOWEVER....HUGE problem, this many things going at once, there was just too much smoke for my vent to absorb and it started filling my apartment. So BEWARE of this recipe these T-bones REALLY smoke from all the seasoning. That said, they taste fantastic! I thought the potatoes were a little on the spicy side (too much spice, need to be concerned about cooling down people's mouths in the future perhaps?), but one person LOVED them. Guess its just a matter of taste. Overall, was really happy with this recipe.

Fiery T-Bones

Fiery Hot Texas T-Bones with Chipotle Smashed Potatoes and Hot and Sweet Pepper Saute

3 whole jalapenos 3 bell peppers, choose 3 different colors 2 1/2 pounds small potatoes, such as baby Yukon gold or small red skin potatoes, coarsely chopped Salt 4 slices bacon, chopped 2 tablespoons chipotle powder, divided 1 small onion, chopped 1 cup sour cream 1 tablespoon dark chili powder 1 tablespoon ground cumin 2 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick) 2 large T-Bone steaks 1 1/2 inches thick, 2 1/2 pounds total 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 3 turns of the pan, divided 1/4 cup bourbon, eyeball it Seed and slice the hot and sweet fresh peppers and reserve. Cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Add salt to boiling water. Cook potatoes until tender, 10-12 minutes. Chop and brown bacon in a small skillet and add a tablespoon of chipotle powder and onions. Cook 5 minutes over medium heat until onions are tender. When potatoes are tender, drain and return to hot pot. Add bacon mixture and sour cream to the potatoes. Smash potatoes and season with salt, to taste. While potatoes are working, combine dry spice rub: chili powder, remaining chipotle powder, cumin and grill seasoning. Rub steaks liberally on both sides with the mixture. Heat a 12 to14-inch skillet screaming hot. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan. It will smoke. Add steaks and do not turn for 6 minutes. Flip and cook another 6 minutes for medium rare, up to 10 minutes for well done. Remove skillet from flame and add bourbon. Return steaks to stove and flame the pan. When the fire goes out, transfer the meat to a large serving platter and pour pan juices over the top. Let meat rest for juices to redistribute. Return pan to heat and add remaining tablespoon vegetable oil to the skillet. Add hot and sweet peppers to the pan and saute them for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pile peppers alongside steaks. Remove meat from the T bones and cut into 4 portions. Top with some peppers and pile some chipotle smashers along side. Spoon drippings and juices over meat and serve.