Fancy(ass) Holiday Dinner Menu- Love on a plate

 FOOD IS LOVE

I'm a cook.  And a passionate one.  I spend hours and hours mulling over flavor profiles and I've probably spent weeks of my life watching cooking shows.  I am passionate about the art of food, its philosophies, magic, and truths.  To cook is to live.  To share this cooking is to pass on life, love, luxury.

This year I'm broke as hell and so traditional Christmas gifts didn't fit into my budget, therefore I decided I'd lay down a little cash for some Maine lobster tails from Lobster Gram and make my family a meal.  A real meal. 

Rooster and I used to order tails for our anniversary dinners every year (we got married on New Year's Eve of '05 and lobster always felt like the perfect New Year's Eve bite) and we were never disappointed by the quality and care we received from this little ME shop.

The tails from the Down East coast are unmatched.  They'll arrive flash frozen on Christmas Eve and will be ripe for cooking the next day.  I'm going to butter poach them and it will be like love on our tongues.

Here's the menu/email I just sent my mom and Terry and Rooster:

Frisée-thyme salad with warm toasted hazelnut goat-cheese medallions and pickled cherries
Parsnip and apple soup
Butter-poached lobster with tarragon and butternut squash risotto
Oven-roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon and lemon
Maple horseradish and sage glazed beets
Nutmeg ice cream and Turkish coffee

If anyone wants to volunteer drink pairings for the Salad, Soup, Dinner, and Dessert courses, be my guest!

I'm trying to weave the richer flavors with ribbons of acid all on a base of earthy notes.

The frisée salad starts the meal off with a high note of bitter greens and pickled cherries offset by a touch of rich hazelnut and creamy goat-cheese.  The parsnip and apple soup is to transition us into a deeper flavor base with both sweet and tart.  For the main dish itself, the risotto filled with aromatic tarragon and warm butternut squash is meant to highlight the burst of bright, buttery lobster in our mouths; tangy roasted Brussels sprouts will hopefully be balanced out by crisp and hearty bacon offset with lemon; and rounding out the main course is maple, horseradish and sage-glazed beets.  The dessert is about the easiest thing I can think to do since it's my most feared course.  And it's stupid easy. 

This meal is love on a plate, but I'm open to suggestions and critiques.  Do you have any better ideas/pairings/flavors to add??

Coq au Vin: Yummy deliciousness

 

Did you know the magic ingredient to anything is hand-picked flowers from your boy?

I recently stumbled upon old Two Fat Ladies episodes and I've been in heaven ever since.   They're unapologetically unattractive, unhealthy, and yet ridiculously droll.  I love them! 


Take this episode for instance, they were cooking at some kind of army base or something, in a camouflaged tent.  Their gear and utensils swaying in the wind with the tent, their skirts whipping around their legs and Jennifer (the bespectacled one) is explaining the history of Coq au Vin.  


She says in her high-tea British voice (emphasis hers, not mine!), "[It was] originally made with an old cock, not an old hen, but an old cock because they had the flavor," and Jennifer, behind her to her left replies practically out of earshot with, "A lot of good in an old cock, isn't there?"


Then there's silence... a beat, maybe two, as Jennifer struggles for composure, "There's no use keeping one, you know, when it's past its prime."  And then they hurry along the rest of the recipe. 


So, if you happen to have "an old cock" lying about (or just a good old fashioned hen), you should try out this easy, fun, one-pot dish with layers of rich flavor.

 Let's see if I can discern my cooking instructions from the list Hawk got his hands on.

Coq au Vin

Serves: 4
Prep time: Marinate overnight, day-of prep requires approximately 30 minutes of chopping, and an 1 1/2 hours of cooking: total 2 hours.

Ingredients:

MARINADE

• 1 bottle good red wine (something you'd drink on its own)
• 3 dried bay leaves
  
• a small handful of fresh parsley
  
• a small handful of fresh thyme
• 1 quartered chicken
  

COQ AU VIN

• 1 package of bacon, chopped
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 red onion, finely chopped (about 2 cups worth)
• 2 cups flour 
• cloves garlic, minced
• 3 dried bay leaves
  
• a small handful of fresh parsley
  
• a small handful of fresh thyme
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 4 Tbs butter
• 12 pearl onions, peeled
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 2 portobello mushrooms, roughly chopped to the same size as the pearl onions
• salt and pepper to taste

 

The ensemble.

Directions:

The night before add the entire bottle of wine and herbs in a large pot and reduce by half.  In a non-reactive bowl add chicken and reduction, cover and refrigerate.

The most ominous looking chicken in the world.  According to the Two Fat Ladies, it's supposed to look "sinister."

Two hours before you want to eat cook the bacon in a large saute pan.  Remove from heat with slotted spoon to drain on paper towels, add a little olive oil to the fat and add onions.  Cook until translucent. 

 Mmm.  Bacon and booze.

 

While onions are cooking, thoroughly dry the chicken and dust lightly with flour; set marinade aside (don't toss it!).

 

Try to avoid getting dead chicken dust on your wine glass.

Add chicken skin side down to onion pan and brown each side just slightly, about 2 minutes per side.  With skin side up, add brandy and flambé.  Burn till the smell of brandy isn't as strong or until you see a really nice golden hue to the chicken skin

 

 This was by far one of the most fun cooking things I've ever done.

Transfer the chicken and onions into a dutch oven or pot with a lid, add the cooked bacon, the rest of the marinade, and the minced garlic.  Cook for one hour, but set a kitchen timer for 45 minutes so you can cook the pearl onions.

Employ a helper.

In a saute pan, melt butter, add sugar and onions.  Cook until golden brown (sadly, I have no pics of this step, but here's me in my apron).

Rock the Betty Crocker apron if you can.

Remove chicken from oven, pour in onions and butter, add cubed mushrooms.  Cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes or so. 

 

I got distracted and never took a picture of the final product, but you get the idea.  Let stand for about 10 minutes and serve.  It's like a chicken stew, so bread or some sort of starch goes deliciously well with it.

And by the way, I generally don't like chicken, but this is gooood.

Enjoy!

[Edit add: If your three year old stuffs a piece of raw bacon in his mouth and chews it like gum, do not fear.  Something about the curing of it makes it a pretty safe piece of raw meat to gnaw on.]

Tomato soup that'll make you cry

I used to write a lot about food on here, but then I sorta stopped cooking.  You know, when shit's goin' down, having a big, family dinner isn't really high on the priority list.  But, cooking is in my soul; tomato sauce is in my veins, garlic on my mind, thyme beneath my skin.  You get my drift.

Tonight, I cooked my little ol' heart out and for no one except me and Hawk.  It was spectacular.

I stumbled across a "Spicy Tomato Soup with Sourdough Crouton Recipe," at my best friend's house, but only followed it as a base.  I gotta give props to A Cowboy in the Kitchen, but they missed a few important pieces.  Like butter.  And sauteing.  And some garnish.

I've made lots of tomato soups over the years, but this one impresses me the most, and it's 100% vegetarian and could even be made vegan (though, I don't know what you'd do to get the same depth of flavor that the butter gives).

So, if you have 25-30 minutes to burn and want to curl your toes with each spoonful, do this recipe.  If any babies are made post-soup, you can send your thanks to thisisworthwhile@gmail.com, because I'm telling you.  It's just that good.  It'll make your trousers drop to the floor.

I also highly recommend talking to someone you think is really cool while you make this soup.  It gives it even better mojo.


Fresh Herb Tomato Soup with Sourdough Croutons

Serves: 10-12, 1 cup per serving
Prep time: about 5 minutes.  The croutons should be started just before you start the soup.

Ingredients:

CROUTONS

• 7-8 slices of sourdough, cut into cubes
• 3 Tbs melted, unsalted butter
  
• 1 Tbs olive oil
  
• 1 Tbs each finely chopped thyme and oregano
  
• pinch salt and pepper

SOUP

• 2 Tbs unsalted butter
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 red onion, small, finely chopped (about a cup's worth)
• 12 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbs each of fresh oregano and thyme, finely chopped, stems removed
• 2 Tbs basil, finely chopped; 1 Tbs reserved to the side
• 1 28 oz can of fire-roasted tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 - 2/3 cup tomato juice (just the tomato and salt variety)
• 1/2 - 2/3 cup tomato puree (not to be confused with paste, tomato purees often come in a jar, but not always)
• 2 Tbs brown sugar
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• salt and pepper to taste (you want to make sure to add the salt absolutely last since salt levels may very in the cans of tomatoes you use)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix melted butter, olive oil, 1 Tbs each of oregano and thyme, and salt and pepper.

I licked the bowl... well, not really.  But I could have.

Toss in bread cubes and coat well.  Place croutons in single layer on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.

Bake pre-heated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Butter and olive oil bubbling on parchment paper = bliss.

When croutons are in the oven, heat large pot over medium-high heat, add butter and olive oil, heat till shimmering; add onion turn down to medium-low heat.  Sweat until translucent; add garlic (be very careful not to burn the garlic (otherwise known as making it crispy), or you'll have to start over), and cook 2-3 more minutes or until your kitchen smells like it belongs in the Italian countryside.

Uh oh.  Better refill!

Add 2 Tbs each oregano, thyme but just half the basil.  Wilt the herbs for about a minute, then add the can of fire-roasted tomatoes, tomato juice, and tomato puree.  Heat through, then turn down to low heat.  Add brown sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. (The sugar isn't to sweeten it, it's to cut the acid in the tomatoes, so be careful here.)

 Tomato mix. 

Puree tomato and herb mixture either with a hand blender, or in batches in a blender and return to pot.  Add half-and-half, mix, and heat through another 5 minutes.

Just another layer of magic, yo.

Make sure it isn't poison.

Ladle into bowls, garnish with 6-7 croutons and a pinch of the reserved basil.

 I'd marry anyone who ever made this for me.

Eat, and die of epicurean delight.

Asparagus and mushroom tarte with goat cheese

My first attempt at using puff pastry.

Want to wow your friends in about 30 minutes? And all you have to know how to do is NOT over cook asparagus.

I made this last tarte last night and it was to die for. I mean, I was drooling all over myself in between back pats. Seriously. It was like good sex, a chocolate bar, and a massage all rolled into one.

Serves: 3, 2 tartes each
Prep time: about 10-20 minutes depending on if puff pastry is already thawed

Ingredients:

• 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed and cut into 4x4 inch squares
• 12 oz fresh mushrooms, any variety
• asparagus, stalks broken off, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
• 2 cloves minced or pressed garlic
  
• 2 Tbs fresh thyme
• zest of one lemon
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 oz goat cheese
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove frozen puff pastry and lay out on counter, side by side, to thaw (takes approximately 20 minutes).

Melt butter in large saute pan, add mushrooms and cook on medium until mushrooms are wet. Add asparagus, garlic and thyme. Saute gently until asparagus are bright green and al dente, but no longer bitter to taste. Add lemon zest and mix. Remove from heat and let cool.

Meanwhile, cut thawed puff pastry sheets each into 4 squares. Score the edges, but don't cut all the way through. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray and lay six squares on it (you'll have 2 extra squares, but you can pile a little less on each and spread it out for 8 squares. Just use two cookie sheets in the oven instead of one, rotating them from the top rack to a bottom rack until all the squares are cooked). Spread goat cheese on center of squares being sure to avoid the scoring. Pile asparagus and mushroom mix in the center of each square. Bake in middle rack until pastry crust is golden brown. Remove and grate Parmesan on top of each tarte while smokin' hot.

Let cool for about 5 minutes, lest you want to burn the hell out of your mouth, and serve!

It's the little things about social media that I love

Image via Foodnetwork.com

Jessica: Whipping up some lovely butternut squash risotto. I hope to make Gordon proud.

about an hour ago · Comment · Like/Unlike

Bonnie, Nikki, and Troy like this.

Nikki

Recipe please :)

about an hour ago · Delete

Chip

I'm so addicted to Hell's Kitchen.

25 minutes ago · Delete

Robin

Ditto - recipe please!

17 minutes ago · Delete

Vicki

Dude!

10 minutes ago · Delete

Jessica
Ugh - he'd have busted my ass and called my mama a whore for what I did tonight. Here's the recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Butternut-Squash-Risotto-2/Detail.aspx Notes: Although I halved it - and despite the reviews- - I think it *does* need as much stock as possible as mine turned out a little gummy. Also, I roasted my butternut squash first - you can never go wrong with a good roast. I also added fresh thyme and tons of fresh pecorino romano at the end and some garlic with the onions in the beginning. If I hadn't made it myself I'd have probably loved it, gumminess and all. Such is the curse of homemade risotto.

2 seconds ago · Delete

[Ed. note: I left out an integral part of this post: who these people are and their relations, if any. First of all, none of these people know one another and likely never will outside of my Facebook wall (that's pretty incredible in and of itself).

And, second, who are they?? Bonnie is a teacher and lives in Houston and we see each other about 4 times a year; Nikki and I went to high school together, yet somehow managed to completely miss out on each other's humor until FB brought us abruptly together and now we're active "FB friends"; Troy and I haven't seen each other since possibly 1998 when he would make wicked jello shots for my parties - we have a habit of "liking" each other's statuses, but we rarely leave words; I met Chip in 2nd grade and I don't think we've ever conversed in person in our lives, but I love following him and his travel notes as an adult today; I had coffee with Robin a few weeks ago and she is an excellent momma to lost kitty souls; and lastly, Vicki and I were co-workers when I was a corporate ho a few years ago and she's the momma to lots of critters, most notably the most adorable mini-donkeys ever.

This random togetherness is what I love about social media. It's fucking special, people. And bloody well close to a cure-all for shy people everywhere.]

Menu Plan: Week of May 11th

This week I have $100 left for groceries, which works out well since I accidentally spent last week's budget on some of this week's food. Yeah, I do that kind of thing sometimes.

If I haven't said it before, I gotta say the $200 a week for food and necessities is working out pretty well. Makes me feel a whole lot more in control, anyway. And that's what we're always striving for: control, control, control!

Mon: Boxed deener - Anthony's seeing Star Trek again with Terry
Tues: Chipotle pork tacos
Weds: Pork and mango lettuce wraps for a late Mother's Day/early birthday dinner with GF carrot cake
Thurs: Baked sea scallops
Fri: E/O
Sat: Artichokes with two sauces, cocktail shrimp, and pasta with lemon sauce
Sun: Lemon-rosemary crusted roasted chicken

Menu Plan: Week of May 4th

Anthony's back and so I'm off my boxed meals and ice cream dinners. I'm at once happy and sad about that: happy I get to flex my creative muscles again, sad that I have more dishes to do. C'est la vie.

I've already spent $115 this week, so I have another $85 to go. That includes a giant box of Huggies until I get my research done on which diaper covers are the best as I transition back to cloth diapers (more on that in a later post).

Since I've been eating so lightly for the past two weeks, the idea of anything super heavy is a real turn off. This week's menu plan reflects that:

Mon: Salmon cakes with spring mix salad
Tues: Herbed goat-cheese and portobello mushroom panini with arugula
Weds: Boxed goodies (Anthony's out of town for a night)
Thurs: Spaghetti with roasted tomato and basil
Fri: E/O - It's Anthony's birthday!!
Sat: Mom's - She doesn't know it, yet
Sun: Roast pork loin with a chipotle-maple glaze and vegetables - I think I'm going to start doing a big dinner on Sundays to build L/O momentum for the rest of the week.

Yay! Food!!!

Chipotle-Maple Pork and Mango Lettuce Wraps

Sorry for the bad picture quality. I nearly lost my hand in the taking of this picture. It was the last one on the table and Anthony is NOT a patient eater!

Pork and mango lettuce wraps

This builds off of my Roast pork loin with a chipotle-maple glaze and vegetables recipe, so if you don't have the leftovers handy, no biggie! Just cook the pork for this one!

Serves: 4
Prep time: If pork is already prepared, 15 mins. If you have to cook the pork, a little more than an hour

To cook pork from scratch:
Ingredients:

• 1-1.5lb pork loin
• 1/2 can of chipotles in adobo sauce, chilies chopped
• 3/4c pure maple syrup
• 1/4c olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 1 large, or 2 medium mangos, diced
• 1c macadamia nuts, chopped
• 1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 head butterleaf lettuce, all leaves separated and washed

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Rinse and pat dry the pork loin. Place in roasting pan, fatty side up. Generously salt and pepper exposed side.
• Add 2-3T water to pan. Cook until slightly golden brown, approximately 20 minutes, adding water if pan becomes dry. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook an additional 45 mins or until pork registers 145-150 degrees. Remove meat and let rest for 10 minutes. Cut into small strips.
  
• Meanwhile, combine chipotles in adobo sauce, maple syrup, and olive oil in large bowl. Taste for spicy/sweetness and adjust accordingly. In large saute pan, over low heat, warm sauce through and let thicken slightly.
  
• Toss pork in pan with sauce and coat thoroughly. Remove and put in heated bowl for serving.

If pork is already prepared:

• 1-1.5lb pork loin, sliced into 1 1/2 inch strips
  
• 1/4 can of chipotles in adobo sauce, chilies chopped
• 3/4c pure maple syrup
• 1/4c olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 1 large, or 2 medium mangos, diced
• 1c macadamia nuts, chopped
• 1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 head butterleaf lettuce, all leaves separated and washed

Directions:

• Combine chipotles in adobo sauce, maple syrup, olive oil, salt, and pepper in bowl. Taste for spiciness. Add chipotles LAST to control heat. Add sliced pork to sauce and coat well.
• Heat saute pan over med-high heat and add pork and sauce. Heat through and put in a bowl for serving.
  
• Put each ingredient in separate dish with a big plate of lettuce leaves in the center.
• Assemble each lettuce wrap with the pork and sauce, mangos, cilantro, and nuts!
  
• Die and go to heaven!
  

Menu Plan: Week of April 20th

With Anthony outta town there is NO way I'm cooking this week. I stocked up on a ton of frozen dinners yesterday.

And you know what's really funny? I think I've already spent $150 on groceries. Of course, "groceries" this week included diapers and shampoo and what not, so that sorta blows shit outta hand. I also bought two bags of kitty kibble. The first bag, one they've eaten in the past, wasn't up to snuff. They refused to eat it. So I caved and bought them a different brand. They're scarfing that one down.

I'll just need to pick up some more food for Hollis this week like bananas and blueberries and such. So far, the $200 a week thing has been working well.

Wish me luck.

Mon: Something rock hard, cold, and boxed
Tues: What catches my eye
Weds: Whatever rhymes with "lichen"
Thurs: The one with the cherry dessert
Fri: Hopefully Phô on the 'rents
Sat: More rock hard, cold shit
Sun: Hopefully crap that I'm happy to be eating

Menu Plan: Week of April 19th & 26th

Anthony's traveling for business for two weeks, so I'm just going to do what I have to do to survive and nothing more. Wee!!!

Mon: Something rock hard, cold, and boxed
Tues: What catches my eye
Weds: Whatever rhymes with "lichen"
Thurs: The one with the cherry dessert
Fri: Hopefully Phô on the 'rents
Sat: More rock hard, cold, & boxed shit
Sun: Hopefully crap that I'm happy to be eating

Roast pork loin with a chipotle-maple glaze and vegetables

Chipotles in adobo sauce. Spice-ay!!!

Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of this divine dish. You'll have to use your imagination.

Roast pork loin with a chipotle-maple glaze and vegetables

Serves: 4
Prep time: a little more than an hour

Ingredients:

• 1-1.5lb pork loin
• 1 acorn squash, seeded and cut into wedges
• 2 red onions, cut into quarters
• 1/2 can of chipotles in adobo sauce, chilies chopped
• 3/4c pure maple syrup
• 1/4c olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Rinse and pat dry the pork loin. Place in roasting pan, fatty side up. Generously salt and pepper exposed side.
• Add 2-3T water to pan. Cook until slightly golden brown, approximately 20 minutes, adding water if pan becomes dry. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 350 degrees.
  
• Meanwhile, combine chipotles in adobo sauce, maple syrup, and olive oil in large bowl. Taste for spicy/sweetness and adjust accordingly. Add veggies and toss well to coat.
• Add veggies and sauce to pork roasting pan. Either top pork with veggies or place around meat, depending on how much room you have in your pan.
• Cook for 45 mins or until pork registers 145-150 degrees. Remove meat and let rest for 10 minutes. If veggies are still el dente, cover with tin foil, and put back in oven on high heat while meat rests.
• Slice meat into medallions and serve with wedges of squash and onion.

It's freakin' delish!!!

Menu Plan: Week of April 13th

The whole $200 cash per week thing worked out well last week. I spent $182 on food and household items. I spent $90 for food and baby stuff this weekend so I've got to be pretty frugal the rest of the week considering I need shampoo, TP, and paper towels (that's gonna take a big bite out of my budget).

I accidentally bought pork loin last week instead of short ribs so at least I have some fancy schmancy meat to cook with (although, I'm not all that crazy about pork - sigh).

Friday can't come fast enough, though, because that's another pay day. Yay for pay days!!!

Here's what I got:

Mon: L/O (sorry, Anthony, but you'll be having more soup tonight)
Tues: Roasted pork with chipotle-maple glaze
Weds: Pork and mango lettuce wraps
Thurs: Chipotle pork tacos
Fri: Cajun shrimp boil
Sat: Pantry raid
Sun: L/O

Making more to store with the pork has shrunk my weekly grocery list to a quarter of what it usually is (yay!). Hopefully it'll save a bunch of $$$, too.

As a side note, my eczema has been killing me this past week, therefore this week's meal is based on whole foods only. No condiments that aren't made from scratch, no mysterious fish sauces or seasonings. Also, no allergens like gluten, lactose, or citric acid (made from Aspergillus). Next week will be much of the same. And the week following that. And the week following that. I'm already 4 hours late on my air humping appointment today, so I gotta get to it.

Peace out.

Update:
Mon: L/O (sorry, Anthony, but you'll be having more soup tonight) Update: Egg salad sandwiches with homemade potato chips (I forgot we had Easter eggs!)
Tues: Roasted pork with chipotle-maple glaze, acorn squash and red onion Update: Oh SNAP! I outdid myself with this one!! Here's the recipe.
Weds: Pork and mango lettuce wraps Update: Wow!
Thurs: Chipotle pork tacos Update: Wow wow!
Fri: Cajun shrimp boil Update: This was freakin' AWESOME
Sat: Pantry raid Update: Papa Murphy's pizza - and I paid for it, too, if ya know what I mean...
Sun: L/O

Hot Cheese Sandwich with Portobello Mushroom and Arugula

It was so damn good, I almost forgot to take a picture of it.

As per my norm, I didn't make what I had planned. Not because I didn't want to, but because, yet again, I didn't have all the ingredients (my goat cheese was moldy). Quick switch to a backup plan drawing on fond memories of undergraduate school at a little cafe off of campus named Les Amies where I would order hot cheese sandwiches and a frosty cold Shiner Bock.

Servings: 2
Prep time: 20 mins or so
Ingredients:

2 ciabbata hoagie rolls

1/2c softened cream cheese

1T milk

2 cloves minced garlic

1T chopped fresh each thyme, rosemary, and basil
1 slice Swiss or Provolone cheese (enough to cover one half of sandwich completely)
1 large portobello mushroom, cleaned and sliced into lengths

24 rings of thinly sliced red onion

1c arugula

2T olive oil
2T balsamic vinegar

Directions

Preheat oven to broil. Heat saute pan over med-high heat. Add olive oil.

Add mushrooms to oil. Salt and pepper generously. Add balsamic vinegar and cook until mushrooms have shrunk and are darkened with moisture. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, milk, garlic, and herbs.

Spread cheese mixture on one half of each sandwich. Layer with cheese slice, mushrooms, and onion rings.

Place both halves of the sandwich face-up on a grilling rack and broil for 5 minutes, or until the half with no toppings is a light, golden brown.
Remove sandwiches from oven and drizzle dry side with olive oil. Place a handful of arugula on top of the toppings serve!

Supa delish!!

Maple-Ginger Glazed Chicken with Pecan & Thyme Couscous

Mmm, yummy chicken (and I hate chicken!)

Guess what? This recipe morphed from my Rosemary Tuscan Chicken that I've tried to make at least 4 different times. I give up. This is probably way tastier, anyway.

I'm still working out the kinks, though. This is only a first draft.

Ingredients:

1/4c maple syrup
2T balsamic vinegar

2T grated fresh ginger
1t cayenne pepper
1T fresh thyme

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts(about 11/2 pounds)
salt and pepper
1T vegetable oil
1T cold butter

• 3/4c cous-cous
• 1c water
• 1T butter
• 1T olive oil
  
• 1/4 chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic
  
• 1/4c chopped pecans
  
• 1T fresh thyme
• 1T balsamic vinegar
  

Directions

Heat olive oil in sautee pan until it shimmers. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add minced garlic, being careful not to brown. Take off heat and set aside with raisins and thyme.

Combine syrup, vinegar, ginger, cayenne, and thyme in small bowl and set aside. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large non-stick skillet over med-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken till golden brown, about 2 minutes a side.
Reduce heat to med-low and add syrup mixture to skillet. Simmer, turning chicken once or twice to coat, until glaze is slightly thickened and chicken is cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring water to boil in a pot. Add cous-cous and butter. Cover and let sit 5 minutes. When the cous-cous is cooked, add onion, garlic, raisins and thyme. Fluff. Drizzle balsamic vinegar and mix well.
When maple-ginger sauce has reduced it will be bubbling aggressively but still coat a spoon (keep an eye on it so it doesn't reduce too much). Add cold pat of butter to pan and melt through. Serve chicken over cous-cous with sauce poured over top.

I've revised the original recipe because Anthony and I found it to be WAY too sweet. You may run into the same problem. We'll see how round 2 goes later.

Menu Plan: Week of April 6th

So, after last week's money debacle Anthony and I put Plan B into effect. We signed up for Mint.com per a couple of friends' suggestions (thanks Bri and Tom) and we agreed to start doing our finances together (as opposed to just me). Anthony will be the "manager" and is responsible for making sure we stick to the plan. I am the executor of said plan and handle all the monies. We will pay bills together (read: Anthony participating from the couch with me at the computer) and I will start taking out cash for groceries each week. This week, we allotted $200. So far, I've spent $40 and I still need to get this week's food.

Mon: Rosemary Tuscan chicken (this will happen tonight, although, I could be a lying)
Tues: Portobello panini with herbed goat cheese (we've had this once before and it's delish)
Weds: Ratatouille
Thurs: Quinoa pasta with tomato and veggies
Fri: Provençal vegetable soup
Sat: Linguini with chipotle-cherry pork sausage, and red-pepper chard
Sun: BBQ short-ribs

UPDATE:
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED THIS WEEK:
Mon: Rosemary Tuscan chicken (this will happen tonight, although, I could be a lying) I did this instead.
Tues: Portobello panini with herbed goat cheese (we've had this once before and it's delish) Goat cheese was moldy: instead I made Hot Cheese Sandwiches with Portabello Mushroom and Arugula
Weds: Ratatouille (Update: as per the norm for this seek, I didn't have an ingredient for this -the eggplant- so I used butternut squash instead. It was FABULOUS. I actually liked it better!)
Thurs: Quinoa pasta with tomato and veggies (aka leftover ratatouille)
Fri: Provençal vegetable soup
Sat: Linguini with chipotle-cherry pork sausage, and red-pepper chard Ate at Mom's
Sun: BBQ short-ribs Quinoa with roasted-pepper sausage and red bells in paprika cream sauce, with a side of sauteed brussel sprouts (Update: Wholefoods was out of the chipotle-cherry sausage - pfft. And of course I forgot to buy the pasta)

Menu Plan: Week of March 30th

We're out of money again (sorta), which means I'm back to pantry-diving for this week's meals.

Mon: Garlic shrimp with spaghetti squash
Tues: Quinoa pasta with tomato and herbs
Weds: Sweet potato mash with green beans Update: Quinoa caprese
Thurs: Quinoa caprese Update: E/O - Mom and Terry's treat
Fri: E/O Update: Fish tacos with chutney salsa sauce and wild rice and lentil pilaf.
Sat: Rosemary Tuscan chicken (it WILL happen this week, I swear!! Don't look here or here) Update: Steak, Swiss chard, oven-roasted potatoes
Sun: Steak, Swiss chard, oven-roasted potatoes Update: Mom's spaghetti (care of Mom)

Money goal is $50 or less. I have to get some basics for Hollis, some chicken breasts and a steak, Swiss chard and sweet potatoes. Let's see if I hit it. Wish me luck!

Update: I spent about $98 at the grocery store filling in my supplies. GRR.

Update #2: Apparently, Rosemary Tuscan chicken is still eluding me...

Menu Plan: Week of March 23rd

Last week I totally fell off my menu plan wagon. I got sick on Tuesday, had guests, went out on Friday night, blah, blah, blah. I did make the portobello goat cheese panini (I'll post that recipe later) and it was fabu.

This week I'm back on my 21 Day fitness diet (day 9). Here's what we've got going (some are repeats from last week since I never got around to cooking them):

Mon: Rosemary Tuscan chicken with couscous pilaf Crap
Tues: Shrimp scampi with salad More crap
Weds: WTFE (what the fuck ever - Anthony's doing day travel and won't be back until late)
Thurs: Grilled salmon with asparagus
Fri: Warm steak & potato salad
Sat: Firehouse hot chicken sausage chili (I made this a week ago or so and it was fucking delicious. Recipe is below)
Sun: L/O

We hosted brunch yesterday and spent $100 on food (and here, I thought by hosting we'd save money! Why am I always SO wrong about this stuff??). And earlier in the week I spent about $100. I guess $200 for the week isn't too bad, although that doesn't include a $120 dinner out on Friday night.

- As a quick aside, if money were no object I wouldn't buy diamonds, a new car, or get plastic surgery. I would buy whatever food item I wanted, whenever I wanted. I would never feel guilty for getting the expensive cheeses or wines, the organic oatmeal instead of the super cheap regular, the organic, lactose-free milk or the $5 natural organic butter. I would purchase the best ingredients for me and my peeps and we would live a rich and diverse food life full of nutrients and color GUILT FREE. Because as it stands now, I think we eat pretty damn well, but it's not guilt free. At least not on my part. I read articles all the time about how to hit $100 a week on groceries and quite frankly, I don't want to eat meat and potatoes every day, or forego nice tea, but because of this decision I feel guilty because our food expenses is the one place we can actually cut back. -

This is even better the next day

Firehouse Hot Chicken Sausage Chili
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 23 minutes

Ingredients
1 T olive oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 cup chopped scallions, divided
1 lb hot chicken sausage, removed from casing
2 T chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup carrot, diced
1/2 T brown sugar
Pinch of salt

Directions
In a large sauce pan, heat oil over med-high heat until hot, but not smoking. Toss in garlic and all but 2 T scallions and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.

Add chicken and conitue to cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, for 2-3 minutes or until browned.

Stir in chili and cayenned powders and cook for 1 minute more.

Add tomates, kidney beans, bell pepper, carrot, brown sugar, and salt.

Bring to a boil over hight heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until slightly thickened (you don't want soup).

Divide among 4 bowls and garnish with remaining 2 T scallions. Top with a dollop of sour cream.

Firehouse hot chicken sausage chili

This is even better the next day

Firehouse Hot Chicken Sausage Chili
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 23 minutes

Ingredients
1 T olive oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 cup chopped scallions, divided
1 lb hot chicken sausage, removed from casing
2 T chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup carrot, diced
1/2 T brown sugar
Pinch of salt

Directions
In a large sauce pan, heat oil over med-high heat until hot, but not smoking. Toss in garlic and all but 2 T scallions and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.

Add chicken and conitue to cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, for 2-3 minutes or until browned.

Stir in chili and cayenned powders and cook for 1 minute more.

Add tomates, kidney beans, bell pepper, carrot, brown sugar, and salt.

Bring to a boil over hight heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until slightly thickened (you don't want soup).

Divide among 4 bowls and garnish with remaining 2 T scallions. Top with a dollop of sour cream.

Menu Plan: Week of March 16th

Here we go again.

My friend, Bob, is coming to Austin tonight via Winnipeg for SXSW (yay, Bob!!). He's a vegetarian so I have a couple of veggie dishes planned for the nights he's with us. I'm still doing that 21 Day workout thing and am using their menu suggestions (it's going ok so far - today is Day 8 - and the recipes are actually quite good).

I'm still shooting for a grand total of $200 on groceries this week; hoping for $100, including any random household items.

Mon: Portobello panino with herbed goat cheese
Tues: Quinoa caprese Update: Domino's pizza
Weds: Almond-crusted fish and chips
Thurs: Shrimp scampi with salad Update: L/O
Fri: E/O
Sat: Rosemary Tuscan chicken with couscous pilaf Update: L/O
Sun: Gingered carrot soup with Macademia nuts Update: L/O

(By the way, I'm not ready to do my Great Experiment with my diet, yet. I need to work up to it.)

Menu Plan: Week of March 9th

One of my fav quick meals.
I'm starting a new health thing today (again - I'm so boring). I happened to pick up a Shape magazine (with Gabby Reese on the cover) and it has a 21 day program in there. Each page is a day of information has a menu and workout, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

Therefore, my menu plan this week is semi-completed for me already (thanks, Shape!).

Mon: Firehouse turkey hot chicken sausage chili
Tues: Gorgonzola Goat cheese burgers
Weds: Chicken salad with oranges and feta goat cheese
Thurs: Spaghetti with chunky tomato sauce
Fri: E/O
Sat: Noodle soup with baby bok choy and scallops
Sun: Rib-eye with Swiss chard and oyster mushrooms (that's not on the Shape menu, but I like to get these ingredients from the Sunset Valley Farmers' Market)

I've already spent $145 on groceries/household items and I haven't even shopped for the stuff above. I'm thinking I'll spend another $50 to fill in the gaps. *sigh* I can't say enough that I am sooooo frustrated at the cost of eating healthily. I've essentially cut out gluten and gluten-free products are expensive (noodles, bagels, etc.) so I don't buy as much of those as I used to, but still.

Update: I just got back from the grocery store and my "filler" ingredients for the week cost me $90. NINETY DOLLARS! UGH.

I just read this great article by a writer for MSN Money that asked the question, "Can a family eat on $100 a week?" and the answer was yes and no. The writer, with a husband, and two small kids, found that a lot more work went into eating on so little. There was less fresh fruits and nuts, and a whole lot of starchy fillers. She consulted with a nutritionist who said that frozen and canned fruits and veggies were "almost as nutritions [as fresh]." Do I really want to buy canned shit just to save some money?

And here's the kicker. Her rules for this experiment excluded eating out, no paper or cleaning products, major food-chains ONLY, and no coupons. Hell, maybe I really AM spending less on food than I realize because I go through a LOT of paper and cleaning products. I also use coupons, shop the farmers' market, and go to specialty/discount stores on occasion.

I think she summed it up well when she says,

Could we do this again? Probably. But I don't think we would. Saving money is like dieting: You can't cut back too much at once or you'll blow the plan completely. The next week I spent more than ever, to make up for feeling deprived.

I think I'll try to NOT beat myself up this week and just stay focused next week to hit the $200 mark. Then the $175 mark after that. That'd be a reasonable goal, I think, paper and cleaning products included.

Bringing it back to food, here's my recipe for the rib-eye with swiss chard and oyster mushrooms. It's seriously yummy, gluten- and dairy-free and relatively healthy (if you don't eat the fat on that steak).

Rib-eye with red-pepper swiss chard and oyster mushroom with garlic essence (yep, I said, "essence")

Serves: 2
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 15 mins

Ingredients:
1 lb rib-eye
1 bunch swiss chard, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped
1/2 lb yellow or grey oyster mushrooms, petals only
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
olive oil
salt
pepper

Prepare:
Preheat oven to 425. Salt and pepper one side of rib-eye. Set aside. Wash and roughly chop chard. Wipe clean mushrooms, roughly chop. In hot, dry saute pan (NOT a non-stick) sear both sides of steak, one side at a time, 2 minutes each side until dark, golden brown. Place steak, on the skillet, in the hot oven.

For rare steak, meat should register 125 degrees, which could take as little as 4 minutes once you put it in the oven and the steak will also need about 5 minutes to rest out of the oven to seal in the juices. so time the chard and mushrooms accordingly as they take only 5-6 minutes to cook.

Heat two non-stick pans to medium-high and drizzle approximately 2 tbls of olive oil in each. In one pan, add red-pepper flakes and all but 3 slices of garlic. When oil is hot and rippling, add swiss chard. With tongs, toss well and cover. In remaining pan add 3 slices of garlic to oil and add mushrooms. Toss to cover petals with oil and watch closely. Mushrooms will shrink and become very moist when done.

I'm telling you, this is a fucking awesome dinner. The oyster mushrooms are delicate and earthy and are really complimented by the garlic infused oil, the swiss chard has a texture with more bite than spinach and a more robust flavor showcased by the red-pepper, and the steak is juicy and tender due to searing it on both sides. I'm sure I'd pay $35 at a restaurant for something like this, at least.

There's nothing better than simple, straight forward food.

Enjoy!