New Year's Eve...Hors d'oeuvres time

Since Julie and I have been married, we have pretty much stayed at home for New Year's Eve.  Especially after moving to Utah, not only is it not a good idea to be out partying and then drive home, it's damn cold and usually icy out on the roads, I won't even go into the discussion about Utah drivers...
As the kids have gotten older, we have had a bunch of food and they and their friends just come and go.  I don't mind, at least I know where they are.
I usually end up overdoing it: hors d'oeuvres, dinner, then more hors d'oeuvres and munchies, topped off by some sparkling something and a few sweets.
This year, hopefully I will keep it to a reasonable amount of food...we'll see!
So...on the menu for tonight we have:
Chips and Queso
Bean Dip
Pico de Salsa
Brie and Crackers
Brie puff pastry
Fresh Fruit
Fresh Veggies
Cheese Ball w/Crostini
and possibly Wings.
Martinelli's Sparkling Cider

Random stuff I have wanted to mention:
When I lived in Argentina, a big celebratory meal was an Asado or barbecue as we refer to it here.  Just meat, some rock salt and the grill over hot coals...basic, but spectacular.  Part of the experience was the sauce they use with the fresh grilled meat...Chimichurri (plus, it's fun to say).  I found a recipe that's pretty damn close to what I remember...

Chimichurri

Yield: Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients

1 cup (packed) fresh Italian parsley

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup (packed) fresh cilantro

2 garlic cloves, peeled

3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Puree all ingredients in a food processor. Transfer to a bowl and serve. Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.  If refrigerated between uses, which isn't necessary, let sit at room temp until the olive oil has thawed and it looks normal.

Probably won't use that tonight, but who knows...

The following two recipes are #3 and #1 on Epicurious' website for 2013 Recipes.  I have a variation of these, but I really like the technique used, and the commentary of Thomas Keller:

Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

6 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 1/4 pounds)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°F. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12" cast-iron or heavy nonstick skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. Nestle chicken in skillet, skin side down, and cook 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high; continue cooking skin side down, occasionally rearranging chicken thighs and rotating pan to evenly distribute heat, until fat renders and skin is golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Transfer skillet to oven and cook 12 more minutes. Flip chicken; continue cooking until skin crisps and meat is cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer to a plate; let rest 5 minutes before serving.

My Favorite Simple Roast Chicken

Thomas Keller - Bouchon

Yield:  2 to 4 servings

Ingredients

One 2- to 3-pound farm-raised chicken

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons minced thyme (optional)

Unsalted butter

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. The less it steams, the drier the heat, the better.

Salt and pepper the cavity, then truss the bird.

Trussing is not difficult, and if you roast chicken often, it's a good technique to feel comfortable with. When you truss a bird, the wings and legs stay close to the body; the ends of the drumsticks cover the top of the breast and keep it from drying out. Trussing helps the chicken to cook evenly, and it also makes for a more beautiful roasted bird.

Now, salt the chicken—I like to rain the salt over the bird so that it has a nice uniform coating that will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin (about 1 Tbsp.) When it's cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to taste with pepper.

Place the chicken in a sauté pan or roasting pan and, when the oven is up to temperature, put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone—I don't baste it, I don't add butter; you can if you wish, but I feel this creates steam, which I don't want. Roast it until it's done, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove it from the oven and add the thyme, if using, to the pan. Baste the chicken with the juices and thyme and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.

Remove the twine. Separate the middle wing joint and eat that immediately. Remove the legs and thighs. I like to take off the backbone and eat one of the oysters, the two succulent morsels of meat embedded here, and give the other to the person I'm cooking with. But I take the chicken butt for myself. I could never understand why my brothers always fought over that triangular tip—until one day I got the crispy, juicy fat myself. These are the cook's rewards. Cut the breast down the middle and serve it on the bone, with one wing joint still attached to each. The preparation is not meant to be super elegant. Slather the meat with fresh butter. Serve with a simple green salad. You'll start using a knife and fork, but finish with your fingers, because it's so good.

See what I mean, love the part about eating the wing immediately and sharing the oysters...only someone who truly loves food will understand.

I'll post my Beer Can Chicken as the weather warms up, it's a grill item.

Merry Christmas and the day after...

Well, all of the research, trial and error of past events, and time waiting for food to be done, paid off...dinner was a success!

At dinner, we had: Mom and Dad, Julie, Lauren, Emily and Parker (CD and Keimon couldn't make it).

The Menu:

Breakfast:
Bacon
Frittata
Smoothies

Appetizers:
Big Papi's Wings
Guacamole and Chips
Onion, Chive Cheese Ball and Crostini
Spinach Dip

Dinner:
Dry-Aged Standing Rib Roast with Sage Jus
Ruth's Chris Sweet Potato Casserole
Garlic Mashed Potatoes (Julie's specialty)
House of Prime Rib Creamed Spinach
missing (just ran out of time):
Yorkshire Pudding
Au Jus

I have made a few changes to my original recipes on here, so I think the dishes will work out better.

Now, to start prepping for New Year's Eve...
A couple of items I wanted to serve for Apps were:
Brie Puff Pastry with a dollop of Raspberry Jalepeño Jelly
Herbed Cream Cheese Cucumber Rounds
Empanadas
French Onion Pastry Puffs
Shrimp Cocktail
...and the list goes on!

Thankful!

What more can I say, one day until Christmas and all I can think of is how thankful I am...
Julie, Christopher, Parker, Lauren, Emily and Keimon, sobriety, God, support system, career, abilities, health, family, friends, Max...the list goes on and on.  I know there are not many who are as blessed as I am, and THAT is both sobering, emotional, and brings about feelings of gratitude I have never had.
I love to cook, and take care of those I love and care about.  I think that's why I spend so much time thinking about food, what I'm going to serve, how it will look, who will like it, what I can do to improve it, etc.  You could call it an obsession, but that's just the beginning...

Back to the recipes:

Big Papi's Wings

Serves 6

4 lbs. wings, patted dry and extra skin and fat removed
2 Tbsp Fresh rosemary, diced
2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1 1/2 Tbsp Lemon Pepper
1 Tbsp Lawry's Season Salt
1 tsp Chili Flakes
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

Preheat broiler to 500°F
Mix Herbs, Spices and Soy Sauce in a large bowl.  Add wings and toss until covered well.
Place wings on a rack over a rimmed baking sheet.
Roast wings under broiler for a total of 22 min. turning halfway through.
Serve and enjoy either with or without your favorite sauce.

More for the Christmas Meal

Looks like it will be a post by post description here, but I found the Ruth's Chris Sweet Potato recipe:

Ruth's Chris Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients

CRUST

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup chopped nuts, lightly roasted in a dry pan (pecans preferred)

1/4 cup butter ( melted)

SWEET POTATO MIXTURE

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes ( can use canned to save time, just drain)

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs ( well beaten)

1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

Combine brown sugar, flour, nuts and butter in mixing bowl. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs and butter in a mixing bowl in the order listed. Mix thoroughly.

Pour mixture into buttered baking dish (9"X9")and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle the surface of the sweet potato mixture evenly with the crust mixture.

Bake for 10 additional minutes. Allow to set at least 15 minutes before serving.

I also found a different way of doing the Roast this year.  Instead of starting high 500°F then going low until the roast is done, I'm starting low (200°F) then boosting to 500°F for the last 10 min.  I'll see how it goes this time...see update below.

Dry-Aged Standing Rib Roast with Sage Jus

Ingredients

1 (4-bone-in) standing rib roast, preferably from the loin end

Rub:

1 Tbsp Lawry’s Season Salt

1 Tbsp horseradish

1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Jus:

1 cup water

1 cup red wine

4 fresh sage leaves

Directions

Remove any plastic wrapping or butcher's paper from the roast. Place the standing rib roast upright onto a half sheet pan fitted with a rack. The rack is essential for drainage. Place dry towels loosely on top of the roast. This will help to draw moisture away from the meat. Place into a refrigerator at approximately 50 to 60 percent humidity and between 34 and 38 degrees F. You can measure both with a refrigerator thermometer. Change the towels daily for 3 days.

Remove the roast from the refrigerator and let sit for at least 2 hours to come up to room temperature. While roast is coming up to temp, combine all ingredients for Rub in a separate bowl.  Completely cover the roast with Rub.  Remember to rub the bones as well.

Preheat oven to 250°F.  Place the roast in a roasting pan.  Place a probe thermometer into the center of the roast and set for 115°F.  Turn the oven down to 225°F and roast until internal temperature is achieved (around 30 min./lb. of roast).

If you have a convection oven, use Convection Roast at 225°F and the crust will be perfect and you won't have to blast it at the end.

Remove the roast and turn oven up to 500°F.  Cover with heavy-duty foil. Allow the roast to rest until an internal temperature of 125°F is reached.  Place the roast back into the preheated 500°F oven for about 10 minutes or until you've achieved your desired crust.  Remove and transfer roast to a cutting board. Keep covered with foil until ready to serve (at least 15 min).

Degrease the juices in the roasting pan.  Use grease for Yorkshire Pudding (see recipe).  Place the pan over low heat and deglaze with 1 cup of water.  Add the wine and reduce by half.  Roll the sage leaves in between your fingers to release the flavors and aroma.  Add to the sauce and cook for 1 minute.  Strain and serve on the side.

Should be a pretty tasty meal!

Counting down to Christmas

It seems as if I really haven't gotten in to the Christmas Spirit this year.  We did the usual tree purchase the day after Thanksgiving, but it took until this last weekend to get the lights on and we don't even have it positioned yet, or decorated.  I must admit that this is the traditional precursor to Christmas, but with the girls as busy as they are, Julie being sick and me trying not to get all of the way sick and swamped at work we just haven't done it yet.
We do have some shopping done, however, thank God!
I have also been thinking about doing a Prime Rib with Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Creamed Spinach and Yorkshire Pudding.
I found this recipe and am definitely going to see if it is really the one from the House of Prime Rib...

Creamed Spinach from The House of Prime Rib

Makes 4

Helen Brown’s West Coast Cookbook features this recipe. The recipe is credited to the head chef at Lawry’s Prime Rib in Los Angeles, who opened the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco in the 1940s. Note: The instructions say to make a medium cream sauce with butter, flour and milk. This is a béchamel (bay-shah-MEL) sauce, which is a French white sauce that can be made thin (1 tbsp each butter and flour to 1 cup milk), medium (2 tbsp each butter and flour to 1 cup milk), or thick (3 tbsp each butter and flour to 1 cup milk). You make the sauce by stirring the milk into a roux, which is made by slowly mixing the flour into the softened butter over very low heat.

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh spinach

3-4 strips bacon

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 medium onion

Salt and pepper to taste

Cream Sauce:

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. flour

1 cup whole milk

Directions:

Boil spinach (not too well done). Remove from heat, wash spinach in cold water, and squeeze dry in a dish towel. Grind in a Cuisinart and set aside. Grind bacon and sauté in a skillet. Grind onion and add to bacon with garlic, salt and pepper. Sauté until all moisture is gone.

Make a medium cream sauce with butter, flour and milk (see note above). Add ground spinach, onion, and bacon mixture to the cream sauce and bring to a slow boil.

Remove from heat and serve.

I'm sure the other items are soon to follow.

Weekend Celebration

This weekend, we all pretty much stayed in since we are all battling a bit of the cold/flu season in our own ways.  However, we did get some great news this past week that will make Christmas that much sweeter.

Friday, Jules and I went out for some Smothered Burritos (w/cheese, of course), and brought some home for the girls...they were more than excited.  Something about leftover smothered burritos that is 'heart warming'.  I'll have to get the recipe for the sauce - it's amazing!

Saturday, I made Julie's favorite Pork Cutlet/Schnitzel with Roasted Veggies:

Schnitzel - Pork

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1/2 in. Pork steaks/tenderloins, or pound to 1/2 in.
2 Tbsp Bacon drippings
2 Tbsp Canola Oil
Lawry's Season Salt
Garlic Powder
Lemon Pepper
Mrs. Dash
1/2 cup flour
1 cup plus a little extra Chicken Stock

Prep
Season room temperature pork with Lawry's, garlic powder, lemon pepper and Mrs. Dash.
Pour flour in a pie tin, or something similar.  Coat seasoned cutlet in flour and let rest for at least 10 min.
Re-coat with flour shaking off all extra.

Cook
Heat drippings and oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until hot but not smoking.
Gently place cutlets in oil and cook for about 4 min. undisturbed.
Flip cutlets and cook on the other side for 3 min.
Remove cutlets from oil and let rest for about 5 min.  Serve as soon as possible as the longer the pork sits, the coating will get soft.
Pour off most of the cooking oil from the pan, reserving a small amount (about 1 Tbsp) with bits for gravy.

Gravy
Over medium heat, stir in some of the flower (about 1 Tbsp) from the coating plate and cook for about 2-3 min. cooking out the flour flavor.  Mixture should be a light to medium brown.  Slowly pour in stock and whisk until all flour is dissolved.  Cook down for 2 min. then taste.  May need thinning, the addition of a splash of Soy Sauce, squeeze of lemon, or something, but it should be pretty tasty.

Roasted Veggies

Serves 4

4 Potatoes - peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
1 Sweet Potato - peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 Red Onion - cut into 1/2 in pieces
6 cloves garlic - skins removed, can cut in half if desired
4 Carrots - peeled and cut into bite sized pieces

Preheat oven to 350°.
Toss above prepared veggies in olive oil, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme (fresh herbs can be substituted with dry herbs or Italian Herb Seasoning), lemon zest (1/4 of the lemon) salt and pepper.
Spread veggies on a sheet pan and cook in the oven for approx. 20 min. or until carrots can be easily pierced with a paring knife.

Serve and Enjoy!

Then, on Sunday came the Coup de Gras...Stuffed, Cornish Game Hens, with Sauteed Brussel Sprouts!
We started mid afternoon watching a ton of football and doing stuff around the house (laundry, finishing the lights on the tree, cleaning rooms, homework, etc.) and having some hors d'oeuvres.

Stuffed Cornish Game Hens

One hen per person

Ingredients:

4 Cornish game hens, about 1 1/2 pounds each, rinsed and dried thoroughly

1 Tbsp Lawry's Seasoning

Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Butter

1/2 onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

2 stalks celery tops, finely diced

1 Sprig fresh Rosemary - chopped

1 Tbsp Italian Herb Seasoning

1 tsp Garlic powder

Lemon zest of 1/4 of the lemon

4 Thin slices of a lemon, after zesting is ok

1 cup leftover rice (any kind is ok: white, wild, brown, etc.)

1 Tbsp golden raisins

1/4 cup White wine

1/4 cup Chicken stock

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Stuffing: In a medium saute pan, heat Olive Oil and butter until hot.  Add onion and celery, saute for about 2 min. until fragrant. Add garlic and saute approx 1-2 min. Add herbs and saute approx 1 min. Add wine and cook down about 3 min.  Add stock and heat mixture through.  Add raisins, zest and rice.  Heat through and season to taste.  Should be moist but not wet.

Hens: Rub olive oil all over the hens and season each with the Lawry's. Place the hens on a roasting pan with plenty of space between them.  Loosely stuff the cavities of each hen with a slice of lemon and the rice mixture. Roast the hens in the preheated oven for about 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F and the juices run clear. Remove the hens from the oven, loosely tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes before carving or serving.

Drippings make a great gravy!  With a little flour, cook down roux then add 2 cups chicken stock. Season to taste.  Serve gravy on the side...

Q4 YoYo

The Fourth Quarter of each year is traditionally busy for me in my profession.

It is also a 'hurry up and wait' time, where I am totally dependent on the economic whims of my clients. Consequently, it can sometimes be a pain in the ass.

I need to cook something that will totally take me out of the Q4 funk and catapult me in to the up part of this YoYo...

Hmmm, what sounds good?

Just found a recipe for ground beef florentine.  Sounds like it has potential...I will return and report...

Next Day...

Well, the Beef Florentine was a success.  I adjusted the recipe (surprise), and this is what worked:

Beef Florentine

Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 12 oz. medium egg noodles
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp Italian Herb Seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce, can substitute one or both with bottled sauce.
1/2 cup beer or white wine
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (15 oz.) container Ricotta cheese
1 onion, chopped, sauteed and divided in half
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 oz. shredded Monterey Jack or Mozzarella cheese, divided in half

Directions:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add pasta, and cook for 6-7 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Preheat oven to 350° F.  Spray a 9X13 or other large casserole dish with Pam.
In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onions (take out half of them when soft), then add ground beef to brown evenly; drain excess fat.  Season with garlic, Italian herb seasoning, salt and pepper.  Stir in tomato sauce and beer/wine.  Cook for 1-2 min to allow flavors to meld.  Remove from heat and stir in cooked noodles.
In a medium bowl, combine spinach, ricotta, other half of the onions, half of the Jack/Mozz cheese and the Parmesan.
Spread half of the noodle mixture in a the large casserole dish.  Layer with all of the spinach mixture, then cover with the remaining noodle mixture.
Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for 15 min.  Remove foil and cover the top with the final half of the cheese and continue cooking 10 min. or until cheese is melted.
After out of the oven, can add more Parmesan, or bottled sauce when plated, if desired.
Serve and enjoy!

Mini Meatball Soup...Found it!

Mini Meatball Soup

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Serves: 4 big servings

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan in a slow stream
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground beef, pork and veal combined
1 egg, beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano, a couple of handfuls
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs, a couple of handfuls
6 cups chicken stock or broth
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups dried pasta, rings, broken fettuccini or ditalini
1 pound triple washed fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

Directions
In a deep pot over medium heat add oil, chopped carrots, celery and onions and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Cover pot and cook veggies 5 or 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the veggies cook, combine meat, egg, garlic, grated cheese, bread crumbs, salt, pepper.
Uncover your soup pot and add broth and water to the pot. Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil. When soup boils, reduce heat a bit and start to roll meat mixture into small balls, dropping them straight into the pot. You are making meat dumplings that will cook in the broth. When you are done rolling the meat, add pasta to the soup and stir. Cover and simmer soup 10 minutes. When pasta is tender, stir in chopped spinach in batches. When spinach has wilted into the soup, the soup is done and ready to serve. Adjust your seasonings.
You can also add some shredded Parm or whatever cheese you desire to the soup.
Serve soup with crusty bread or Grilled 4-Cheese sandwiches.

Grilled 4-Cheese Sandwiches

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
3 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, cracked away from skin
8 slices crusty Italian semolina bread
1 cup shredded provolone
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano
1 cup shredded Asiago
* All of these cheeses are available in specialty cheese case and dairy aisle already shredded
In a small skillet over medium low heat, combine oil, butter and garlic. Cook garlic in butter and oil gently for 2 or 3 minutes. Remove garlic butter mixture from heat.
Place a large nonstick skillet on the stove over medium high heat. Using a pastry brush, brush 1 side of 4 slices of bread with garlic oil and place buttered side down in skillet. Top each slice with equal amounts of the 4 cheeses, distributing them equally over the 4 slices. Top each sandwich with another slice of bread brushed with garlic butter, buttered side up. Flip the grill cheese sandwiches a few times until cheeses are melted and gooey and bread is toasty and golden. Cut grilled 4 cheese sandwiches from corner to corner and serve.

This is a great soup to do with your kids.  Lauren and I made this soup when she was about 10 and she had a blast!
Great for a cold day outside!

The Salad Days

OK, so my dad found a couple of recipes from my grandpa Art of some of the best salad dressing ever...

or another of what seems to be the same...

I'll have to try them out and see which is the original.
Super busy at work, so planning a menu or even what to cook for the evening is tough.  I put out some chicken thighs to thaw this morning, so I'll need to see what I can do to make something tasty...
I really feel like Corned Beef and Cabbage though.  This is what I do...

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Every St. Patrick's Day I make a huge pot (about 9 lbs.) of Corned Beef with the necessary veggies (carrots, celery, potatoes and cabbage).  Served with some malt vinegar for the cabbage and a mustard sauce, it's a great meal for the whole family!
We used to have a dessert of Guinness floats, but since I don't imbibe any more we have whatever else sounds good.

Beef:
3-4 lbs. Corned Beef (Flat cut or end cut) with Herb/Seasoning Packet
3 cloves garlic
1 onion - cut in quarters
1 celery stalk - cut in 1" pieces
1 Bay Leaf
2 Bottles of Beer (whatever you like)
Cold water to cover
Bring to boil, reduce to med-low and cook for 3:30 (3 1/2 hrs.)

Veggies:
Red potatoes - quartered (about two per person)
Carrots - cut diagonally into 1" slices (about one per person)
Green cabbage - cut into 6 wedges with core intact (more if desired)

At 2:45 add potatoes
At 3:00 add carrots and cabbage

Remove meat from pot and let rest for about 10 min.
Serve veggies around roast and enjoy!

Mustard Sauce
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Yellow mustard
1 tsp Horseradish
Mix thoroughly and add anything else you would like to taste (favorite hot sauce, splash of beer/Irish Whiskey, sour cream...the possibilities are endless).