To Skirt or Strip??

Right here, it writing I will admit I am a steak purist. I actually cringe when I hear people ask for A-1 steak sauce. Why would you put that on a lovely cow? What did it do to you? I also have a whole thing about cooking a steak to well-done, but let's offend only one type of reader per blog!

Growing up, Saturday nights were "steak night". Dad would set up the grill and fuss over the steak like a baby. I have continued this tradition to this day. Were he alive today, I would love to cook him a steak. I pride myself on the charred crust of the outside and perfect pink inside (ok, red..but only for my daughter and myself). I have always stuck to sirloin or NY Strip because of the thicker cut and was sure that any other cut was beneath me!

Until the butcher told me about skirt steak.

I was making fajitas one night and was about to buy flank when my grocer's butcher told me that skirt steak was better. It cooks quick and you should trim the fat off before you grill but the flavor was incredible. I started to actually think that this could be a good piece for Saturdays!

When a friend introduced me to churrasco which had a green chimichurri sauce you spooned over. Being a purist, I wrinkled my nose but not wanting to insult them, I tried it.

Um, HEA-VEN!

The green chimichurri sauce is really more like a pesto and who doesn't like pesto! You don't need a lot of it to get the garlicky flavor that goes incredibly well with the moist skirt steak. I spoon some on and spread it like across the steak so that each bite has some sauce.

The steak is pretty easy. I usually will buy a package of 2 or 3 strips..about a pound and a half. For a rub, I will use some olive oil and taco seasoning. If I don't have a packet of that..Cumin, salt and pepper will do.

I heat the grill to about 400. I like the hot and quick method. You cook the steak very hot for a nice char and it cooks about 5 minutes per side for medium rare but it really varies by the thickness of your steak. I use a gas grill so the hottest part of the fire is in the back middle. The thickest part of the steak is laid there with the thinner side pointed toward the front of the grill which runs cooler on mine.

After grilling, remove and loosely cover with foil and allow meat to rest. For years, I was always in a rush to eat the steak while it was fresh off the grill but all the lovely moisture poured out of the meat and onto the plate. Now I have learned a little patience lets the trapped liquid be reabsorbed back into the tissue and that makes for better meat.

Slice the steak against the grain with your knife at a 30 degree angle for nice, mouthful bites. Top with the chimichurri sauce and enjoy


Parsley Chimichurri
6 cloves garlic
3 bay leaves
2 jalapeño chiles,
with seeds, coarsely chopped
1-1/2 tablespoons salt
1/2 cup finely minced fresh curly parsley
1/2 cup fresh finely minced flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup fresh finely minced oregano
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil


1. To make the chimichurri, combine the garlic, bay leaves, jalapeños, and salt in a mortar and mash with a pestle until a smooth paste is formed (or you can purée with a small amount of vinegar in a blender). Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the parsleys and oregano. Whisk in the vinegar and olive oil until well combined. Set aside.

Birds Nest Bruschetta - er, tapas

I called this Bird's Nest Bruschetta but when I actually looked up the meaning of bruschetta, it really can't be called that. Bruschetta (Italian pronunciation: [brusˈketta] ) is an appetizer with origins from central Italy. It consists of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

Mine is using a melted cheese nest instead of bread so maybe the Spanish Tapas would be better?

A few years ago I discovered something pretty cool about hard cheeses such as Parmesan and Romano. If you heat them in a non-stick pan, they melt but will hold their shape allowing you to flip them like a pancake. I found these great little non stick tins in Williams Sonoma..their actual purpose, I have no idea but I thought they would be great molds for my cheese experiment. If you don't want to go out and buy special tins, you could use the back of a spoon for the cheese mold too.



Heating the cheese and inserting it into the mold until the cheese cools allows the cups shape to hold and because the cheese is shredded and not grated, they come out looking a little like bird's nests. Be sure you are shredding and not grating. I guess you could grate, but you won't have the long pieces that look like a nest.

I top them with a tomato salsa mixture but you could use your imagination and fill with anything that isn't too heavy.


Bird's Nest Tapas

Topping

Diced Tomatos (small bites are better)
large handful of Flat Leaf or Italian Parsley
1c red onion, diced small
2 springs fresh Thyme - striped leave from stem by pulling backward
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp Parmasan/Romano SHREDDED cheese per nest - I usually shred about 2 cups
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the topping in a bowl and set aside to marry flavors

Nests
Shredded hard cheese such as Parmasan Reggiano or Romano

Heat non stick pan over medium high heat. Because of the natural oil in the cheese, you don't need to oil or spray the pan but make sure your skillet isn't too worn or it could stick in the scratches.
Take approx 1 tbsp of grated cheese and place in the pan and spread to about the diameter of a silver dollar. Add more cheese to cover the center of the circle if too many gaps. Repeat as many times as your pan will hold without touching. I usually can do 6 or so.
Once cheese starts to melt, use tongs to lift the edge and check. When they become a light golden color, grab the edge and in one quick movement, flip the cheese circle and repeat with others.
Once the cheese has completed a light brown color, lift the edge and place in cups or over the back of a teaspoon and mold. Careful not to break because once the cheese cools, it becomes brittle. Repeat for as many cups as you desire.

Place cups on a plate and top with tomato salsa and serve.

Mo-ROCKIN Style Chicken

Ok..Moroccan..but I am trying to be funny. Not working, huh?

This was a recipe I found that called for pork tenderloin but I had shrimp and chicken so I thought I would try that. It also calls for it to be served on flatbread but I wasn't feelin it, so I served it over jasmine herb rice and it was amazing.

It is a pretty easy recipe and you could do the sauce a day ahead and refrigerate if you wanted. It calls for being made in a blender, but my hubby got me this great Cuisinart immersion blender for Christmas and I threw everything in the cup and blended it up. Very simple!

I am going to post the recipe as is..at the bottom, I will include the substitution for you. I made this again last night and I think if you make the sauce a day ahead, the flavors really marry nice. It is quick and I had dinner done in the 45 minutes it took to steam the rice..that includes cleaning the shrimp and slicing the chicken.

Moroccan Style Flatbread
1 red pepper
2/3 cup + 1/3 cup cilantro (coarsely chopped)
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 lb)*
3/4 cup fresh pre-diced red onions, divided
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon water
Pinch crushed red pepper (optional)
2 naan or flat breads (regular or garlic flavor)
Cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 oz fat-free light Key lime yogurt**

Prep
•Cut one-half of red pepper into bite-size pieces (2/3 cup).
•Chop cilantro.
•Cut pork lengthwise, turn and slice evenly into thin strips (wash hands).

Steps

1.Place red peppers, 2/3 cup cilantro, 1/2 cup onions, 1/4 cup oil, paprika, cumin, garlic, tomato paste, water, and crushed red pepper into blender; blend until smooth.
2.Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Coat bread with cooking spray; cook 1 minute on each side or until golden and crispy. Repeat with remaining bread. (Or heat bread following package instructions.)
3.Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Season pork with salt and pepper then place in pan with 1 tablespoon oil; cook and stir 3–4 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.
4.Reduce heat to low and add sauce; cook 1–2 minutes or until warmed. Top each flatbread with pork mixture. Stir 1/4 cup onions into yogurt; spoon lightly over top of pork. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup cilantro. Cut into wedges or quarters and serve.

CALORIES (per 1/4 recipe) 530 kcal; FAT 26g; CHOL 80mg; SODIUM 710 mg; CARB 41g; FIBER 4g; PROTEIN 32g; VIT A 45%; VIT C 70%; CALC 15%; IRON 20% - Info will change if you use the shrimp and chicken and omit the flatbread!

Jasmine Herb Rice

2c cooked jasmine rice,
1 tbsp butter
1/4 c chopped cilantro
1 tsp fresh dill chopped

Prepare the rice as instructed on packaging. I use a steamer to make my rice. It is easy to set it and move on and not worry about over cooking. Stir in butter and add chopped cilantro and dill.

Note - I used about a pound of chicken breast sliced into strips and about a half a pound of cleaned and shelled shrimp. Cook in the pan as you would the pork ..allow chicken to become white and shrimp to turn pink. 
Pour all but 1/4 cup of the sauce over the meat and heat on low. Just before serving, stir in the remainder of sauce and serve.

** I thought I posted this..but I don't see it -
I did not care for the Key Lime yogurt..I didn't use fat-free, I used Yoplait regular Key Lime Pie flavor but it was too tangy and just "off". My husband and I agree that it took away from the dish so when I made it last night, I did not use the yogurt..

Did someone say Pie?

Let's just admit right here..I am not a baker. Remember the bit of this, pincha that? That is my cooking style so only rarely do I step out of my comfort zone to actually bake.

Tonight I decided to try a treat I have heard of down in the Keys...you know the place. Where wanton chocolate lust runs amuck! Amuck Amuck Amuck! Yes..only wanton chocolate lust runs down in the Keys..this is a family friendly blog!

One of my favorite pies is Publix Key Lime pie. Usually it is garnished with fresh whipped cream and occasionally with slivered almonds. One of my readers who acts as my editor (really, she just tells me if I make sense to normal people) tells me that making key lime pie is super easy..so that will be my new challenge! I really only make one kind of pie and that is a peanut butter silk and it is sorta a secret recipe..so I will need to think about posting that...but I digress.

The simplest was to make this slice of tropical heaven is to place a Popsicle stick or skewer in the back of a piece ..crust side and place in the freezer overnight. The freezer helps keep the pie from melting when the hot chocolate is poured over. In a double boiler, melt about a cup of the 70% bittersweet pieces for each piece (3 pieces of pie= 3c chips). If you don't like bittersweet, try the Nestle's Toll House Semi Sweet chips.

Dip or spoon chocolate over the piece, plate and refreeze for a tart/sweet treat.

I think I will try this with a Banana Cream Pie slice too, because chocolate and banana can't be bad either!

It's Not Rott'n, its Gra-tin!

As a kid, when I heard "gratin" it was usually in reference to those cheesy potato slices baked in a dish. As I called them 'potatoes ahg-rotten" and still can vividly remember being forced to sit at the table well past dinner one night until I at them all. My dad had a pretty stubborn streak and I don't think I fell far from the tree. I was told that they would be my dinner the next morning, but he didn't follow through (whew!).

As an adult, I am not sure why I was so put off by the dish and now love anything with a slathering of cheese.

When I started cooking, I discovered that food didn't need to come in a box! You could make your very own potato gratin and leave out all the additives that Betty Crocker piles in! I also learned that Gratin is not limited to potatoes! In fact, gratin is from the French language in which the word "gratter" meaning to "to scrape" as of the "scrapings" of bread or cheese, and gratiné, from the transitive verb form of the word for crust

Seafood isn't the most popular dish in our home. My daughter has only now started to eat some types of fish and lobster and my stepson isn't fond of it either. That leaves me and the Mr. Growing up, we were raised much the same. Deli meat came from an Oscar Meyer pack and seafood came from Gorton's or Mrs. Smith's. Just a fact. One night, when we were kid less, I decided to make a romantic dish that was out of the norm and came across this Scallops Gratin dish. The original calls for Bay Scallops, but we both prefer the larger sea scallops and I threw in large(21-30/pound) shrimp for variety.

This was a HUGE hit. My husband loved it and despite it swimming in butter, didn't feel like a heavy dish. I don't own a true "gratin dish" which is nothing more than a very shallow baking dish that allows the dish to cook and create that nice crust on top. I used an antique Fire King baking dish that is 8x4x1 but you really can use any oven proof dish. Just make sure to only put one layer so every shrimp and scallop get a coating of crust. I also prefer to use the Japanese panko flakes. They are japanese bread crumbs and I think they hold their texture better than regular bread crumbs. If you can't find them..regular bread crumbs will do!

Shrimp and Scallops Gratin

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 medium shallots, minced
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto di Parma, minced
4 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, plus extra for garnish
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1/2 cup panko flakes
6 tablespoons dry white wine
1 pound scallops (if you can get "dry", they have more flavor)
1 pound large shrimp
Lemon, for garnish

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

To make the topping, place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (you can also use a hand mixer). With the mixer on low speed, add the garlic, shallot, prosciutto, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and mix until combined. With the mixer still on low, add the olive oil slowly to make an emulsion, until combined. Fold the panko in with a rubber spatula and set aside.

Preheat the broiler, if it's separate from your oven.

Place wine in the bottom of baking dish. Remove the white muscle and membrane from the side of each scallop ( they pull off pretty easy) and discard. Clean and de-vein the shrimp and remove the tail. Pat the scallops and shrimp dry with paper towels and distribute in a single layer. Spoon the garlic butter mixture evenly over the top of the. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the topping is golden and sizzling and the scallops are barely done. If you want the top crustier, place the dishes under the broiler for 2 minutes, until browned. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a sprinkling of chopped parsley and serve immediately.

"Gardeny" Pasta E Fagioli -

Believe it or not, it gets cold in Florida. Ok, I hear you people living in the snow, but it does! I am always looking for comfort meals that can be made quick after work and when I found this copycat soup online, it was perfect.

If you want to cut your prep time, buy the pre-diced onions and celery in the produce dept. Our grocery has them in appox. 6 or 7 oz containers but if they are a little short or over, it is soup..no one is going to notice. I also buy the matchstick carrots because they are so easy to just toss in.
I suppose if you have a mandolin, you could do it yourself, but my mandolin and I have a love/hate relationship..It loves to slice my fingers and I hate that I always need a band aid after I use it!

The beef stock I prefer to use is Kitchen Basics and it comes in a 32oz foil box. Ya know what? I don't sweat it..the recipe calls for 44..but I am not buying another container. See how I roll? The vegetables have enough moisture to make up for it and if not, you can always add a bit of water. I have never had a problem with the soup but if you like it more liquidy, go with your gut. I also use Dilanti pasta, which is a short tube like pasta, but you can use elbow or whatever you prefer.

The picture above was taken a day or two after I made the soup and that is why the pasta is so big and more chunky. It does reheat beautifully, but the pasta will absorb the liquid and it becomes more of a stew.

Pasta E Fagioli

1.5 teaspoons Oil
1 pound Ground beef
6 ounces Onion; chopped
7 ounces Carrots; julienned
7 ounces Celery; diced
24 ounces Tomatoes; canned, diced
1 can cooked Red Kidney beans
1 can cooked White kidney (Cannellini)beans
44 ounces Beef stock
1.5 teaspoons Oregano
1 teaspoons Pepper
3 teaspoons Parsley; (fresh chopped)
Tabasco sauce to taste
26 ounces Spaghetti sauce
4 ounces dry dilanti pasta; or other pasta
Parmasan Cheese for topping

Directions:

Preparation: Sauté beef in oil in large 10-qt. pot until beef starts to brown. Add onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse beans and add to the pot. Also add beef stock, oregano, pepper, Tabasco, spaghetti sauce, and noodles. Add chopped parsley. Simmer until celery and carrots are tender, about 45 minutes. Makes 5 qts. of soup! You can double it to make big pot of soup!

Pincha?

My cooking style is more "little bit of this..little pincha that"..thus the name of the blog.





Take last night - I had some frozen portabella mushroom ravioli in the freezer from the local small grocer. I love anything with mushrooms. I don't need fancy baby bella or shiiatake. Plain white buttons work for me. So I sauteed up some mushrooms and a bit of red onion in herb butter and tossed with the ravioli. For color I added a handful of spring greens and diced up a tomato. Top with a hard cheese and serve.

Easy, quick and while not super healthy, I am a firm believer in portion control. It has helped me lose over 70lbs in the last 3 years and still eat all the food I love. One of my tricks is to serve on a salad plate. That is why the pictures look like the plate is full. There are only 3 ravioli on my plate, but it looks full..Jedi mind trick, see??!!

My receipes aren't always exact. I go by look and taste and very often I will change it depending on what is in the pantry. Last night I had spring mix for greens, another night I might have baby spinach. I am not afraid to experiment because really, that is the fun of cooking..seeing what tastes good and how I can make it better!


Mushroom Ravioli

1 pk frozen mushroom ravioli (or cheese filled if you like)
1 pat herb butter (Kerry Gold Irish Herb Butter)
handful of thin sliced red onion
splash of red wine
splash of heavy cream (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
spring mix salad or any dark greens
tomato diced

Cook ravioli according to package directions. Drain reserving one cup of pasta water.

In large saute pan or skillet, melt butter and begin browning onions over medium heat. When they start to turn translucent, add mushrooms and cook with wine.
I watch the mushrooms, if they start to look dry, I will add pasta water to keep the mushrooms tender.
Salt and pepper mushrooms and if you like a creamy sauce, add about a tbsp of heavy cream or half and half and stir.

Add ravioli to mushrooms and toss gently so as not to break them open. Add a handful of spring mix and heat until the greens wilt.

Plate and top with fresh, diced tomatoes and a hard cheese like Parmigiana or Romano

Chicken Saltimbocca - it leaps in your mouth!

Saltimbocca (also saltinbocca) (Italian: jumps in the mouth) was one of the first dishes I saw Giada De Laurentis make on Everyday Italian. I met her in 2006 and she has signed both my Everyday Italian and Giada's Family dinners. She is so nice and I love her down homeyness.

The toothpick thing was complicated and rolling the chicken with spinach and it just seemed really hard..just didn't work well so I gave up the recipe as a "DO NOT ATTEMPT AGAIN!!!"

Until I tried a more traditional recipe. This calls for the chicken to be pounded with a piece of prosciutto, dusted with flour then cooked. Adding artichoke hearts, lemon juice and wine to deglaze the pan (fancy words for getting the brown bits off the pan and into the sauce) and reducing makes this dish feel like you are a real cook!



Chicken Saltimbocca

4 chicken breasts
4 thin slices Prosciutto ham
1 tablespoon fresh sage (chopped)
3 ounces light olive oil
1 ounce all-purpose flour
5 ounces artichoke hearts, rinsed and quartered
1/2 ounce capers
4 ounces white wine
2 ounces fresh lemon juice
2 ounces heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon salt

Lightly salt chicken breasts. Sprinkle evenly with chopped sage. Place sliced Prosciutto on top the chicken and pound it into the breast until the thickness of the chicken measures 3/8-inch.
Not only does this meld the two together but if your boss has been giving you grief, the image of his face in the wake of a swinging mallet can be very therapeutic! I don't have a fancy meat mallet..I just used my rolling pin covered in plastic wrap!

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Try not to over heat the oil as it will lend a bitter flavor to the chicken and in my case, having a kitchen fire when your husband is a Fire Chief is somehow looked down on..go figure!

Lightly flour chicken pressed with prosciutto. Place in heated oil, Prosciutto side down. Brown one side, turn and brown the other side. Remove the chicken to a paper towel covered plate. Drain off excess oil, and deglaze with 4 ounces of white wine. Add artichokes, fresh lemon juice, cream and butter and cook until sauce is thickened. This can take a few minutes to get the sauce to reduce. Be patient because the sauce will thicken and it clings to the chicken much better when reduced

On a large platter, place chicken breasts topped with reduced sauce and garnish with capers.

Serves 4.

The picture above is my first real beauty shot..not all the pictures will be that pretty..especially if they were taken with my iphone.

New little blog

So for the last year or so, I have been posting pictures of my cooking experiments on Facebook and have had some pretty positive feedback. Everything from "Oh that looks so good!" to "Um, what time is dinner?".

Rick knows we can't usually eat a meal until I have snapped a picture and captioned it for my friends. He has now even accepted that I will take several beauty shots with various lighting set ups with the SLR.

About a month ago, he finally asked me "so, why don't you start a food blog?"

I begin to list the many reasons why this is a bad idea..I am not a writer nor do I pretend to be. I am sure you can get that in just these few lines. But I started to think..why not? What is the worst that can happen? Maybe I shouldn't ask that!

Full disclosure - I am not a writer..I am not a professional cook. Up until about 6 years ago, my specialty was cheeseburger macaroni using leftover taco meat and Kraft cheese-glob. Food Network and my husbands Barnes & Noble addiction helped expand my culinary skills and cookbook collection.

I quite often make copycat recipes from local restaurants or take a recipe I found online and tweak it to fit my pantry.

So let's begin..