Decadence

Mondays are not fun. So I decided to make a decadent dinner to cap it off. Stopped at McGonigle's on my way home & picked up a ribeye. I'm very lucky to have such a great butcher counter within a mile of my house. I saw this post last week over at The Pioneer Woman Cooks & knew that I'd have to try that sauce sometime. Um, yum. On the side I made the individual potato gratins that Melissa D'Arabian made on the Next Food Network Star. I also cut up a beefsteak tomato from my garden. I'm not looking forward to the end of homegrown tomatoes. :(

Ribeye with an onion & blue cheese sauce, potato gratin & tomato. Sorry for the poor picture quality, it was taken with my phone.

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Mmmm....Steak

I was given a bunch of Omaha Steak meat, so grilled a Top Sirloin tonight. I'm getting pretty good at manning (womanning?) the grill with the help of a meat thermometer. I make a point to poke the meat with my finger when it hits the desired doneness, so hopefully one day I can forgo the thermometer.

My amateur steps to a perfect steak:
1. Take the meat out of the fridge & allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.
2. Season the meat. Last night I used my favorite rub, from the Kansas City Company.
3. Throw on a hot grill & leave it alone.
4. Flip & insert meat thermometer.
5. Remove from grill when temperature hits 125 degrees.
6. Rest at least 5 minutes before digging in.

The result? Medium-rare yumminess:

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On the side I made a salad using cherry tomatoes from my garden & a homemade vinaigrette of dijon mustard, balsalmic vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil & grated parmesan. Took some leftover baguette slices, drizzled with olive oil & a little sea salt & threw them on the grill to toast up. Then topped with fresh cracked black pepper & freshly grated parmesan. The twice-baked potato was part of the Omaha Steak package & was pretty tasty. Lots of cheese, which is never a bad thing!

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Basil Overload!

It's that time of year. The basil plants in my garden are growing like crazy.

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I decided to make pesto on Sunday. Made 2 batches; one to use this week and another one to freeze.

For dinner last night I made a creamy pesto sauce with mushrooms & prosciutto then I roasted some chicken tenders saltimbocca style and threw them on top of the pasta. Pretty good, except I didn't salt the sauce enough due to thinking the prosciutto would add saltiness. Now I know!

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

It was a beautiful evening, so I decided to fire up the grill. Over my lunch break I put a dry rub of garlic powder, onion powder, chipotle powder, salt & brown sugar on a pork tenderloin. Got home from work, heated the grill to med-high & grilled about 20 minutes until the pork reached an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Pulled the pork off & let it sit for 10 minutes before slicing. The result? Perfectly cooked & juicy pork with a flavorful & spicy crust. Mmm...porky goodness.

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Look at that yummy crust:

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I decided to serve the pork alongside something sweet since I used so much chipotle in the dry rub. Made garlic-habanero mashed sweet potatoes. Yum. Also had some leftover grape tomatoes, so made a simple olive oil/basalmic vinegar tomato salad, which added the perfect hint of acidity to the dinner. Good stuff!

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First Grilled meal of the Year

Spring has arrived! Actually, it arrived & then went away. It's only 44 degrees today & I had to turn the heat back on in the house yesterday. Boo! But on Sunday it was still nice out & I took the opportunity to fire up the grill for a yummy steak. I used a dry rub on a filet, roasted some asparagus (yes...again) & sauteed some mushrooms & shallots. It was all very tasty & I gobbled it up!

Tasty spring asparagus:


Mmmm.....steak:

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Chipotle Chicken Pasta

I had some extra chicken tenders & mushrooms that needed to be used so I decided to make a chipotle chicken pasta for lunch yesterday. I made an alfredo sauce & added some of the adobo from chipotles in adobo to it. I also through in some chipotle powder. Doesn't look very appetizing, but it sure tasted good!



I crushed a large clove of garlic & put it in the pan while the oil was heating up. Removed the garlic, then added chicken, mushrooms, onion & chopped chipotles. After a few minutes I added a splash of chicken stock to the pan. At the very end I added parsley & scallions.



Mixed in the pasta & alfredo sauce, topped with grated parmesan & more parsley.



After taking a couple bites, I decided the dish needed a little acid, so I squeezed lemon juice on it. That's what it needed. Very tasty!

Adobo

I've never had (or really even heard of) adobo prior to a couple weeks ago. Which is a little crazy since I lived with a Filipino for 7 years. Can't believe she never introduced me to this tasty dish! Since I've never had it before, I have no idea if what I made tasted authentic, but it sure did taste good. I adapted a recipe found on Food Network for my own tastes. Of course I felt the need to spice it up, so I added serrano chilis & chopped onion. I only used chicken thighs & I also added some brown sugar to cut through the vinegar. Served along side some Jasmati rice.

The chicken was incredibly tender and flavorful, the meat just fell off the bone. I should braise more often!

New Orleans Pasta Special

Several years ago one of my favorite lunch spots closed. It was called Kiki's Bon Maison (or something like that). They made this amazing cajun pasta dish & I was lucky enough to get my hands on the recipe. It's certainly not figure-friendly, so I only make it once every couple years. I was craving it yesterday, so figured it was time to break it out again! Rough recipe for the sauce (halved): 1/2 C Olive Oil, 4 T Butter, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tsp each of paprika, basil, oregano, salt, black pepper & cayenne, 1 T lemon juice. Combine & heat over low. Serve over linguine with chicken/shrimp mushrooms, pimentos, parsley & grated parmesan. Soooo good.

Balsalmic/Garlic Chicken Thighs

I had leftover mashed potatoes & more asparagus so I decided to pair them with boneless/skinless chicken thighs with a garlic & balsalmic sauce. I also poured the sauce on the roasted asparagus. It was pretty good, but I definitely need to invest in a better balsalmic vinegar if I make this again. I got the idea from a cooking blog that I read, but can't find it right now for the life of me. Basically I sauteed the chicken, removed from the pan & then threw minced garlic & vinegar in there to deglaze & reduce.

It's Schnitzel Time

I had a boneless pork chop that needed to be cooked & came across this recipe at the perfect time. I decided to serve it with roasted garlic & cheesy mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. First I used up the rest of a garlic bulb & threw it in the oven to roast for about 20 minutes.



I boiled the potatoes & prepped the asparagus. I love to roast asparagus, it's so easy & tastes so good. I always toss with olive oil, salt & pepper. Depending on my mood, I may also add garlic or red pepper flakes. After roasting I top with any of the following: fresh lemon juice, parmesan, balsalmic vinegar. Yum.



I pounded the pork chop, set up my breading station and made the sour cream/dill mixture for the sauce.



The final product was pretty darn tasty!