Easy New Twist

It was another long day at work and I had no energy left to cook. Summer is in full swing which means lots of vacations for this girl, so I have to keep my spending down and eat at home even when I am at my tiredest.

I recently noticed that Costco sells four 1.5 pound packs of ground turkey for a really good price so I pulled a pack out of the freezer and whipped up a few turkey burgers, with a twist. To add a punch of flavor, I made some guacamole and threw it on a toasted bun before laying the burger patty on top. It was delicious!

I also cut a few corners and made micro-baked potato wedges, by microwaving the potatoes until almost cooked. Then I cut them into wedges, covered them in olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano and baked them for about 10 minutes.

Not too bad for a quick, late minute meal, right?

ICE Cooking Class

Last month, I took my first cooking class - "Cooking Without Recipes" at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE, for short.) Since I book this class wayyyy back in January, I could not wait to the day to finally come. I felt like a little kid on the first day of school.

When I arrived to ICE, one of the first things I saw was a classroom with 3 kitchen stations and a chef prepping for class. It seemed so official. What I didn't know, was that was where I was going to be. Since my class was on a Saturday, quite a few people were already waiting for other classes besides mine, and as they called each class, I kept thinking how much fun it would be to take that one as well... Maybe one day.

My teacher for the class was Richard Ruben, founder of United Taste, author of The Farmer's Market Cookbook, graduate of the California Culinary Academy and ICE's chef of the year.


He teaches several classes at ICE, including a Green Market Class, which are chronicled in his cook book. In class, he gave us a little insight as to what he teaches during his Green Market Class and it sounds very cool. He meets his students at the Union Square Farmer's Market to do an in depth tour of the fresh and local produce, then the class heads back to cook. But enough about that...on to my class. (And this photo of his book cover....the tomatoes look delicious!)


For the first hour of my class, we sat in a group discussing must-have staples for your pantry as well and the best ways to store them. I had no idea that it was best to buy fresh spices and store them in the freezer. For my entire life, my mother has bought spices off the rack in grocery stores, so I did the same. And I almost lost it when I found out spices go bad in 9 to 12 months. I've had a few spices for years! oops.

Another great tip I picked up was ways to infuse sugar and oil. You can grind up just about any spice or flower and make it into a flavored sugar. Have you ever had lilac sugar? I haven't, but it sounds pretty good! AND I am dying to make my own pesto out of left over herbs and oil. How thrifty!

Once our discussion period ended, we were presented with our cooking challenge: CHOPPED! Well, sort of... There was a bin full of food near each station, we were told to pair up into groups of four and stand by a station. Ruben then switched all the bins so we had no choice in ingredients... tricky, tricky! The mission was to create at least 3 courses incorporating all of the ingredients in the bins. Each team had different items, but we all had one protein and were able to use a pantry of items extra.

I was interested yet nervous by the items in my teams bin. Here is what we had: unpeeled shrimp, arugula, spaghetti, beets, dried apricots, cannellini beans, red pepper, yellow pepper, cucumber, oranges, yellow plum tomatoes and manchego cheese. That's a lot of stuff!!!

Oddly enough, my team immediately thought up the perfect way to use all the ingredients. We created a white bean bruschetta with roasted red and yellow peppers; an arugula salad topped with yellow plum tomatoes, kalamata olives, roasted pine nuts and thinly sliced manchego and apricot vinaigrette dressing; beet soup; and shrimp scampi. Doesn't it all sound delicious?

I learned a lot through this exercise. First, I learned to take a step back (funny, right? If you know me, you know it wasn't easy.) My group immediately knew what to create out of all these items before I even had a chance to think. Second, I learned how to devein and clean shrimp, which was pretty fun, despite the time it took. Third, I learned what beet soup was and how to prepare it! We even added in some cucumber and orange zest to lighten up the flavor. And lastly, I learned how to cook a few new things!

I was amazed how we created the apricot dressing (Yes! We made it.) We boiled the dried apricots, drained them, let them cool then put them in a food processor with red wine vinegar and olive oil. We had to estimate everything we did, hence 'cooking without recipes' so of course we made some errors. We used far too many apricots to create the vinaigrette so we ended up pulling 75% of them out of the processor. Once we discovered this mistake and added more olive oil, we had the perfect dressing. I am really looking forward to trying this with other fruit.

As sad as it is, I've never made bruschetta before. This was very simple to make. We roasted the peppers directly on the burner, skinning off the charred pieces when finished. We threw them in a food processor with the cleaned cannellini beans, salt, pepper, garlic and oil until well blended and to the consistency we wanted. It was great!

Once cooking was complete, we gathered everyone's dishes at one station and explained how we created everything to the group. Some of the other dished made included, stuffed eggplant, lamb loin on a bed of pureed artichoke, rice pudding with raisins and edible flowers, banana and walnut baklava (which was AMAZING!), braised chicken, sweet potato and yam potato chips and a few other dishes that I can't seem to remember.

It was very impressing to see what we all came up with and to hear the stories behind the dishes. It seemed like almost everyone went into cooking these meals completely blind, but we turned out some great meals!

I really enjoyed this class and it has definitely opened me up to trying new things together. I went into the class expecting to find out a combination of foods that work well together, and when I did not find this out, I was disappointed at first. As time has passed, I have caught myself thinking back to the class and taking risks on my meals. It's a great feeling.

I can't wait until my next class. I'll be taking a steakhouse course with a co-worker on July 23rd. Can't wait to post about it! (And I'll be sure to bring my camera to class so I can actually post pictures afterward.)

Picture courtesy of iceculinary.com and amazon.com.

Mmmm That's Beefy!!

Right around the corner from my office is a restaurant called Fat Annie's Truck Stop. It's your standard overpriced NYC dinner and people at work are always talking about how great their beef stroganoff is. I can't bring myself to buying a $17 plate of beef and noodles so I used a recipe that my mom gave me years ago tried it out for myself.

I'll be honest, my rendition could have used a bit more sauce. There wasn't enough to cover all of the noodles and meat so a few bites were very dry, very tasty, but hard to swallow.

Recipe:
12 oz lean boneless sirloin steak, trimmed and cut into strips
2 tsp olive oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
1/3 cup chopped yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp paprika
4 oz wide egg noodles
1/4 cup non fat sour cream
1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 tsp dried dillweed

Directions:
1) In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add beef; saute, until browned, about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
2) In same skillet over medium-high heat, cook mushrooms and 1/4 cup of broth for 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, saute for 3 minutes. Stir in paprika until well blended. Add the remaining broth; cook for 4 minutes.
3) While the mushroom mixture is simmering, cook noodles according to package, but do not add salt.
4) In a small bowl, combine sour cream and yogurt. Mix well; set aside. Return the beef and any accumulated juices from the plate to the skillet; reduce heat to low and stir gently. Stir sour cream mixture into skillet, heat through.
5) Drain the noodles. Place on serving plates and top with beef mixture. Sprinkle with dill and serve.

(Not So) Stuffed Chicken

I haven't had much energy to cook new meals from recipes lately so most of my dinners have been either meat and potatoes or pasta dishes. A girl can only get so creative while whipping up dishes like that. Tonight, I wanted to get back in the swing of regularly cooking so I took some time to think. I always have an abundance of chicken and typically serve it with some sort of starch. Since I am so comfortable with that, I figured the obvious decision would be to NOT do that again. After perusing various recipe sights, I was inspired by one of Rachel Ray's recipes on Food Network for Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken. I enjoyed making homemade Chicken Cordon Blue so I couldn't wait to try this recipe.

I defrosted my chicken and made the best attempt I could to pound the meat as flat as I possibly could. It was incredibly difficult considering I do not have a heavy skillet or mallet to flatten with, but I tried my best. (On another note: These breasts were suppose to be thin sliced to begin with, but definitely didn't come out that way.) After a 10 minute struggle, I gave up on the flattening and moved on to creating the stuffing.

I followed the recipe word for word and created a lovely looking spinach and mushroom stuffing. I couldn't wait to roll it up in the chicken and toss it in the pan. That excitement lasted about 90 seconds. I realized quite quickly that my breasts were to thick, making it extremely hard to roll the chicken. I ended up squeezing as much stuffing in as possible and sticking toothpicks in to hold it together. It did NOT look pretty.

After being on the skillet for all of 3 minutes, the rolls started falling apart. After throwing a hissy fit (literally screaming) I removed the toothpicks, threw out the stuffing and laid the chicken flat to fry. Once the meat was thoroughly cooked (and I was splashed by hot oil numerous times - causing my second tantrum) I removed the meat from the pan, heated the remaining stuffing mixture and served it atop the meat. I drizzled the spinach and mushroom topped chicken with the mushroom sauce and enjoyed.

It was quite the process and took me some time to calm down, but still delicious! That is definitely one meal I will never forget making. Looking back now, it's funny how many things went wrong - things that I did not handle so well. But what can you do? Everything can't be perfect, right?

Ok - enough talking. Enjoy the recipe! :)


Recipe:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Large plastic food storage bag or waxed paper
1 package, 10 oz, frozen chopped spinach
2 tbsp butter
12 small mushroom caps, crimini or button
2 cloves garlic, cracked
1 small shallot, quartered
salt and pepper
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmigiano or romano
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
toothpicks
2 tbsp olive oil

Sauce:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth

Directions:
1) Place breasts in the center of a plastic food storage bag or 2 large sheets of waxed paper. Pound out the chicken from the center of the bag outward using a heavy-bottomed skillet or mallet. Be firm but controlled with your strokes. (Yeah - let's call this step a huge FAIL for me!)
2) Defrost spinach in microwave. Transfer spinach to a kitchen towel. Twist towel around spinach and wring it out until very dry. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl.
3) Place a nonstick skillet over moderate heat. When skillet is hot, add butter, mushrooms, garlic and shallot. Season with salt and pepper and saute 5 minutes. Transfer mushrooms, garlic and shallot to food processor. Pulse to grind the mushrooms and transfer to the mixing bowl, adding the processed mushrooms to the spinach. Add ricotta and grated cheese to the bowl and the nutmeg. Stir to combine the stuffing. Return your skillet to the stove over high heat.
4) Place a mound of stuffing on each breast and warp and roll breast over the stuffing (HA!) Secure breasts with toothpicks. Add 3 tbsp of oil to the pan then add breasts to the pan and brown on all sides, cooking chicken 10 to 12 minutes. (The meat will cook quickly because it is thin.)
5) Remove breasts; add butter to the pan and flour. Cook butter and flour for a minute, whisk in wine and reduce another minute. Wish in broth and return breasts to the pan/ Reduce heat and simmer until ready to serve.
6) Serve breasts whole or remove from pan and slice on an angle. Top with additional sauce.

Surf and Turf

I have been dying to make scallops but every time I go to the grocery store, I can't seem to find them (the joys of city living.) My plan was to go to the fish market, a few stops away from my apartment, but as I was cruising through Costco one night, I came across a bag a frozen scallops. I was trilled! I'm sure fresh scallops would be the best, but by purchasing a bag of frozen ones, I am able to enjoy this recipe again and again! :)

I could NOT get over how amazing these scallops tasted. Before making them, I searched through many websites to get the best recipe since I know how delicate these are to cook. I thought I had nailed down my choice from Food Network then came across this great recipe from Annie's Eats. Aside from tasting incredibly delicious, these were so quick to cook.

And I couldn't eat the scallops alone, so I popped a seasoned steak in the broiler for 8 minutes on each side.



Recipe:
1 lb. fresh bay or sea scallops
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
½ cup minced shallots (about 2 large)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2-3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, minced
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, halved

Directions:
1) If using bay scallops, leave them whole. If using sea scallops, cut them in half horizontally (or, leave them whole and cook a bit longer). Season the scallops with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess.
2) In a large skillet, melt 2 tbsps of the butter over high heat until sizzling. Add the scallops to the pan in a single layer. Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on one side without moving. Then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should take about 3-4 minutes total (closer to 8 minutes for sea scallops left whole).
3) Add the rest of the butter to the pan with the scallops and let it melt. Add the shallots, garlic, and parsley to the pan and sauté for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops. Add the wine to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Taste the sauce for seasoning and adjust as necessary. Serve hot, with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice over the scallops.

A Special Birthday Treat

As a special birthday treat to my boyfriend I searched long and hard for a dish that I knew he would love. (Personally, I would have rather taken him out to eat, but he personally requested that I cook. I was flattered. How could I say no?)

He L-O-V-E-S chicken and rice so I decided to make chicken teriyaki. It's yet another new dish to me so I was ready for the challenge. Then I saw the recipe... it was no challenge at all. If you're rushing to throw a tasty meal on the table, you've got to try this. I loved it!

Chicken Recipe:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup teriyaki sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsps garlic, minced
2 tsps sesame oil

Directions:
1) Place chicken, teriyaki sauce, lemon juice, garlic and sesame oil in a large resealable plastic bag. Seal bag, and shake to coat. Place in refrigerator for 24 hours, turning every so often. (I only did this for 1 hour - everything I do is in a rush.)
2) Lightly oil a grill pan and heat on medium high. Remove chicken from bag, discarding any remaining marinade. Grill for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork.

Rice Recipe:
2 cups brown rice, dry
3 cups water
1 tbsp butter

Directions:
1) Rinse rice then place in sauce pan.
2) Add 3 cups of water to rice (typical ratio is 1.5 cups of water to every cup of rice)
3) Heat on high, covered, until rice boils.
4) Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and let simmer until water evaporates (appz 20 minutes.)

Short-Cut Chicken Parm

It's Friday night and I have no energy to cook, but unfortunately I need to cut back on ordering take-out. I had chicken in the fridge but I am so sick of tossing together grilled chicken and veggies. (Sorry to start this off complaining...but what's a girl to do?) I had a craving for breaded chicken and just as I was starting to cook, it hit me. Make Chicken Parmesan!

The funny thing about this idea is that I've probably only had a bite or two of Chicken parm in my life. I've never ordered it a restaurant and have never attempted to make it myself...but why not, now?

Having never made this dish before, I only knew that the dish contained breaded chicken covered in red sauce and mozzarella so I checked with my trusty friends at Food Network.

I found this great recipe that had the perfect kick of flavor in the bread crumbs and used a quick trick to speed up the cook time. Rather than baking the chicken I fried the breaded chicken in a skillet, topped it with sauce once it was cooked then covered in mozzarella. To melt the mozz, I covered my pan and let it simmer.

The dish turned out great. The funny thing about it...the spices in the breadcrumbs were so delicious I almost wished I had left off the sauce.


Recipe:
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 egg whites
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 (6 ounce) skinless boneless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 jar good-quality marinara sauce (about 3 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella (or 4 slices of fresh mozz)
2 tablespoons (1/2-ounce) shredded Parmesan
8 oz linguine noodles

Directions:
1) In a medium bowl, toss the crumbs with oregano, garlic powder, paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites and milk together. In a third bowl stir together the flour, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Dip each piece of chicken, 1 piece at a time, in flour, shaking off excess, then egg, then bread crumbs, shaking off excess.

2) (This is the part that I did my own thing.) Heat 2 tbsp of oil on medium-high in a large skillet. Once heated, place breaded chicken and cook each side 3 to 4 minutes. Once cooked through, lower heat to medium-low and add 3/4's of the jar of sauce. Top with mozzarella and cover. Let dish simmer for 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted.

3) While chicken is cooking, boil linguine as directed on box. Drain, rinse then top with 1/4 of the pasta sauce.

4) Serve chicken over noodles and enjoy!