Ok, ok I’ll admit it I had a charmed childhood. I grew up in an upper middle class suburban town, with a nice house, swimming pool, great friends, and a stable family life. The part that, to this day, is most important to me is how close our neighborhood is; I consider these people my family. There was an open door policy to all of us kids, everyone was always welcome at anytime. I don’t know anyone else who has this kind of closeness with his or her neighbors; and I still consider Chester Road to be my home, even though I own my own house in another town.
Now I am not going to sit here and tell you that my mother and my friend’s mothers are culinary inspirations to me, far from it! (My mom’s Chop Suey and Mrs. C.’s Green Bean Surprise Casserole, not so good.) But I will say that these women can bake like there is no tomorrow; and have a few recipes that I remember fondly and have recreated over the years. So this is for my mom and my second mom, Mrs. C., I amped up your recipes and I hope that you don’t ground me for it.
Growing up we ate a lot of chicken done a million different ways, roasted, baked, grilled and fried. We knew it was fried chicken night when my mom would take out the avocado green electric frying pan. Party in the kitchen! These days I avoid fried chicken like the plague; I love it but it is so bad for you. That is the beauty thing about Shake and Bake, all the flavor of fried chicken without the fat. But we can do better than plain old store bought Shake and Bake. I have come up with Zingy Ranch Baked Chicken. Begin by taking your bone-in skin-on chicken pieces and marinating them in a quarter cup of lemon juice for about fifteen minutes. This step will make your chicken juicier and give it a bright flavor. Make sure to turn the pieces frequently so that all of the parts are coated. While this is going on combine one cup of breadcrumbs and one package of dry ranch salad dressing mix in a large resealable bag. Remove the chicken from the juice and place them in the bag one at a time and shake it like a saltshaker! Bake the chicken at 350 degrees for about forty minutes; make sure the juices run clear to tell if it is done. I like to eat this chicken with a little honey drizzled over it to add a layer of sweetness to it’s tang.
Serve the chicken, or anything for that matter, with my mom’s Rice Stuffing. Start this by melting one stick of butter in a pot. My mom has cut down the amount of butter lately and believe me you notice the difference. Anyway, sauté one medium chopped onion in the butter until soft and then add one cup of brown rice. (I counteract the high fat content with a high fiber ingredient. And no matter what you tell me I will continue to believe this!) Sauté this rice and onion until slightly browned then add two and a half cups of water, two chicken bouillon cubes and two tablespoons of lemon juice. Reduce the heat to simmer, cover and let it go for about a half hour or until all the liquid is absorbed. This is by far the best rice I have ever eaten and I only pull it out occasionally because I can eat the crap out of it!
My mom had a recipe that was super simple to make and packed quiet the flavor punch, Sweet and Sour Kielbasa. Start by dicing a small onion and green pepper and sauté them until soft, add one diced reduced fat kielbasa and cook until browned. Add one fourteen-ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes. In a separate bowl combine half a teaspoon of ground dried ginger, one-tablespoon rice wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, one tablespoon cornstarch, one teaspoon hot sauce and half a cup of apricot preserves. Add this sauce to the kielbasa and bring to a boil to thicken. You can serve this over either brown rice or pasta. I prefer pasta and just so you know I only eat whole-wheat pasta these days. Trust me you will not notice a difference in taste, but it is so much healthier because of the added fiber.
Now my family might have been in the restaurant business when I was a kid, but my mom did not run her kitchen like one; if we didn’t like what she was serving we could make ourselves a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Recently I found a recipe for Peanut Butter and Jelly Chicken, which may sound gross but is really quite fantastic. Begin by combining one ten ounce jar of seedless raspberry jelly with ½ cup peanut butter, quarter cup raspberry vinegar, a few dashes of hot sauce and a dash of salt. Place four pieces of chicken in the bowl and toss around to coat completely, marinate the chicken between one hour and overnight. Bake this concoction in a baking dish for about forty-five minutes or until the juices run clear. The combination of sweet, sour and nutty is so intoxicating that you will find yourself making this often.
Mrs. C. had a recipe that she shared with my mom that to this day is one of my favorite quick dinners, Hamburger Stroganoff. Now a days I use thinly sliced steak instead of the hamburger to give it a more sophisticated feel. Begin by browning one pound of the sliced steak with two cloves of minced garlic and one small-diced onion. Once everything is browned and softened add one eight-ounce can of sliced mushrooms, salt, pepper and two tablespoons of flour. Make sure to coat everything evenly with the flour and cook for about five minutes. Add one can of cream of mushroom soup and simmer for ten minutes more. Finally fold in one cup of reduced fat sour cream and heat through, serve this over egg noodles. This recipe is easy to adjust if you are feeding a crowd, as Mrs. C. would sometimes have to do when her three kids showed up with their friends at dinnertime. I will admit that I would find out which house was having the better dinner before going home.
My mother liked to entertain and I remember fondly an appetizer that has since been retired due to its unhealthiness, Spinach Squares. Begin by beating three eggs until golden and then add one cup each of flour and milk, one teaspoon each of salt and baking powder and a pinch of nutmeg, mix this until well combined. Fold in one pound of shredded cheddar cheese, two packages of frozen spinach (drained and squeezed dry), and half an onion diced. Spoon this into a nine by thirteen baking dish that is well buttered and bake at 350 degrees for forty-five minutes. This was actually my introduction to spinach and I still love the vegetable in all of its forms; but those cheesy squares will always hold a special place in my stomach!
The thing that I truly love about food is that it has an amazing way of connecting it’s self to your memories and instantly bring you back to those times. Every time I eat fried seafood I think about all those summers I spent vacationing at Hampton Beach, and I smile because those were some of the best summers of my life. Back when I could eat fresh fruit without having my tongue swell up I remember sitting in the blueberry patches eating handfuls of the berries that we were supposed to bring home to our mothers, oops. Everyone has at least one fond food memory and every once in a while you should bring that recipe out and enjoy being transported back to that simple happy time.
Zingy Ranch Chicken
4 Pieces bone-in chicken
¼ cup Lemon Juice
1-cup Breadcrumbs
1 pkg Ranch salad dressing seasoning
Marinate the chicken in the juice for 15 minutes. Combine the breadcrumbs and salad dressing seasoning in a resealable bag. Shake the chicken pieces one at a time in the bag until well coated and bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until the juices run clear.
Rice Stuffing
1 stick Butter
1 medium Onion, diced
1 cup Brown rice
2 ½ cups Water
2 Chicken Bouillon cubes
2 Tlbsp. Lemon juice
Melt butter in pot, add onion and cook until softened. Add rice and sauté until browned. Add remaining ingredients, cover and simmer about half hour or until all liquid is absorbed.
Sweet and Sour Kielbasa
1 small Onion, diced
1 small Pepper, diced
1 pkg Reduced fat Kielbasa, cut up
1 14 oz can Fire roasted tomatoes
½ tsp. Ground dried ginger
1 Tlbsp Rice wine vinegar
1 Tlbsp Soy sauce
1 Tlbsp Cornstarch
1 tsp. Hot sauce
½ cup Apricot preserves
Sauté the onion, pepper and kielbasa until softened and browned, add tomatoes and simmer. In separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour this over the meat mixture and bring to a boil to thicken. Serve over pasta or rice.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Chicken
4 pieces Bone-in chicken
1 10 oz. Jar Seedless raspberry jelly
½ cup Peanut Butter
¼ cup Raspberry vinegar
2 dashes Hot sauce
dash Salt
Combine all of the ingredients except the chicken and mix until smooth. Marinate the chicken in this mixture for at least one hour. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until the juices run clear.
Sliced Beef Stroganoff
1 lb. Steak sliced thin
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 small Onion, diced
1 8 oz.Can Sliced Mushrooms
2 Tlbsp Flour
Salt and Pepper
1 can Cream of mushroom soup
1 cup Reduced fat sour cream
Sauté the steak, garlic and onion until browned and softened, add mushrooms, flour, salt and pepper and coat evenly, cook 5 minutes. Stir in the sop and simmer for 10 minutes. Fold in the sour cream and heat through. Serve over egg noodles.
Spinach Squares
3 Eggs
1 cup Milk
1 cup Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking powder
Pinch Nutmeg
1 lb. Cheddar cheese, shredded
2 pkg. Frozen spinach, drained and squeezed dry
½ Onion, diced
Beat the eggs until golden and add milk, flour, salt, nutmeg and baking powder. Fold in the remaining ingredients and spoon into a buttered 9x13-baking dish and bake at 350° for 45 minutes.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
I Love to Cook
I love to cook. Frankly there are only a few other things that I enjoy more than being in my kitchen, and those things are all done in another room of my house. (Now stop it, I was talking about sleeping and making my bed, wink wink, nudge nudge). Just a few of my favorite things are sharing meals with close friends and family and getting compliments on my culinary prowess. Now I am by no means a professionally trained chef; I just use food as my creative outlet like some people use paint or clay. And since my family owns a grocery store I constantly hear people say, “What am I going to make for dinner?” There have been days that I have had to listen to that question at least fifteen times! (Amazingly the same person uttered enough this phrase repeatedly). So I decided to take the time to share some recipes, ideas and techniques that I have learned over the years.
Before I get to the fun stuff there are some basics that need to be discussed. I’m sure that you have heard the old saying cleanliness is next to godliness; well I apply this to my kitchen. First of all it is easier to work on a clean and uncluttered space, and secondly, who really wants to eat anything that came out of a kitchen covered in dust, pet hair, assorted junk and remnants of the previous meal. Thirdly, you wouldn’t want to eat at a restaurant that has failed its board of health visit repeatedly; so why keep your kitchen in disarray?
Now don’t think that there is nothing on my counters, I keep my everyday items and a few show pieces (like the cappuccino machine that has been used once in six years but looks oh so chic) out at all times. My everyday items are olive oil, salt and pepper. Let’s start with the olive oil, which one should you use? If you watch the FoodNetwork you will notice that they constantly bestow the virtues of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. So what do I use? Honestly, whatever Costco has in a huge container available. I generally only use olive oil in the cooking process so it really doesn’t matter which one I use. But if you want to use is as a condiment or for dipping you might want to consider spending a little more on a fancy, schmancy bottle of what people in the industry call boutique oil. Other than that you can use whatever you want Extra Virgin, Virgin or Light it really doesn’t matter. Moving on to the salt and pepper; all I suggest is that the pepper is coarse ground and that the salt is either kosher or sea salt because they hold up better during the cooking process.
Growing up my mother had a fully stocked spice cabinet; I mean she had everything, even things like arrowroot and mace. (I have mace, but I use it as a weapon not a spice). So what exactly are these spices used in? Well I’ll tell you, not much because they are still in her cabinet twenty years later. You really don’t need to go out and buy everything in the grocery store spice aisle, just the basics. If the day comes that you need something exotic do what I do, steal it from your mom’s cabinet or check with a friend. And as for that six month shelf life that all the pros live by forget it they just want you to go out and spend more money on their products. Plus my mom still uses the twenty year old spices and she hasn’t killed anyone yet. Seriously though, spices may lose some of their potency over time but all you have to do is adjust the measurement up a bit.
The last things I want to mention are cooking implements. Now I will fully admit that when it comes to my cookware I am a snob; in my opinion the more expensive knives and pans are better. My mom taught both my sister and I that you get what you pay for, and I have always found this to be true. My favorite kitchen tool is my knife; if you have a good quality knife you really don’t need any of those nifty gadgets from Pampered Chef, except the jar opener. And you really don’t need everything in those overpriced knife blocks; just get a seven-inch chef’s or Santuku knife, paring knife and serrated bread knife. (I personally love Wüstof knives). The only other knives that you will need are some high quality steak knives, everything else is just gravy. Also make sure that the knives are sharpened a couple times a year, a dull knife will hurt you more than a sharp one. You can get this done at a small kitchen store for just a few dollars but you will be amazed at the difference a sharp knife makes. You can protect the sharpness of your knife by never ever putting it in the dishwasher or throwing it in the sink; also avoid using acrylic or glass cutting boards, they are the kiss of death for a knife’s sharpness. Oh and make sure that there are screwdrivers handy in the kitchen so that some uninformed guy doesn’t use your hundred dollar knife to tighten a screw. Don’t laugh this very thing happened to my sister.
On to pots and pans; once again there is no need to buy the whole set because sauce pans and skillets should be made of different materials. I have a six piece All-Clad stainless set and on a regular basis I use one sauce pan. Now don’t get me wrong I love them, they look so shiny and professional in the cabinet. The reasons that I don’t use them all are because usually I don’t need the larger pots and I really don’t like the sauté pans because their heat is inconsistent and honestly they are a pain to clean if you burn something. About a year ago I received an old cast-iron skillet from a friend and I LOVE IT. The heat is evenly distributed, it can go in the oven, it cleans with just a few swipes of a sponge and doubles as a fantastic weapon in the event of a break-in. Now if there is a nonstick pan anywhere in your house immediately stop reading and throw it out! These pans are not actually nonstick, every time I used one I still had to coat it with oil or butter; and furthermore if there is so much as one scratch in the “nonstick” surface you might as well call it a night because that coating is cancerous. (Just the kind of pan I want to cook in). If you make a lot of soups and stews invest in a Dutch oven from Le Creuset, these are enamel covered cast-iron pots. (See above for their attributes). Warning! You might go into sticker shock with this item, but remember, it will pretty much last forever and most of the high quality brands carry a lifetime guarantee, so worth it in the long run. Now if you really can’t afford the Le Creuset version you can find a comparable Dutch oven at Target made by Chefmate for around forty dollars.
Okay, so now that we discussed the basics I will give you some time to get your husband or boyfriend’s credit card and update your kitchen. (Psst there is a new William Sonoma at the Holyoke Mall). Have fun shopping.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Restaurant Favorites
During these unstable economic times many people are tightening their belts and eliminating luxuries and extras from their lives; and one of the cut backs involves retail outlets and restaurants. Personally I dine out significantly less, especially at run of the mill restaurants. Seriously why should I pay ten to twenty dollars plus tax and tip for a meal I can make at home for less money and with better ingredients. Plus there are some restaurants out there that have kitchens staffed with “cooks” that have absolutely no culinary training. This is too bad for their patrons who are the ones to suffer from dishes prepared in unimaginative and inconsistent ways. I feel that to have a truly great kitchen you have to staff it with people who love experimenting with food. That is what makes their meals so fabulous; they truly care about the food they send out to each patron.
But really, why should you give up all of your favorite restaurant fare, I didn’t. What I have been doing instead is to make my restaurant favorites at home; and trust me you can do a better job than most of the kitchen staff out there. Anyone can follow a recipe but when you are cooking for yourself and loved ones you tend to put a bit more effort into the final product. Give these recipes a try, none of them are hard and you might surprise yourself.
I want to start off with something restaurants use mostly as a special, Prime Rib. First of all a prime rib is nothing more than a big ribeye (club) steak that is baked. And honestly it is cheaper for you to buy a prime rib instead of steaks for however many you need to serve. Now if you order this out at a restaurant nine times out of ten it is seasoned with salt and pepper and served with a simple Au Jus. You can do so much better than that! Begin by purchasing your meat and remember that choice is better than select (which a lot of restaurants use), and just so you know, a three to four pound prime rib will serve six to eight people; I did it and had leftovers. I know it doesn’t sound like much but I am assuming you are serving sides with the meat. Let the meat rest at room temperature because cold meat will seize up and turn out tough. Next pull out or borrow a food processor and puree five garlic cloves, a half-cup each of prepared horseradish, salt and olive oil 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary and a fourth of a cup of freshly ground black pepper. Take this paste and schemer it all over your meat, and then bake it at 350 degrees for and hour and a half to two hours. Once again let the meat sit for a few minutes so that the juices can redistribute. Both my friend TW and I made this for Christmas and our families thought that we were rockstars. Warning: if you are watching your sodium cut back on the salt because the crust is kind of salty, but seriously yummy.
If you don’t groove on horseradish substitute a half-cup of Dijon mustard for it. Or if that still isn’t your thing season the meat with Montreal Steak Seasoning and then cut small pockets in the uncooked meat and fill them with smashed garlic cloves. But the lesson I am trying to get by you is that Prime Rib should not be reserved for special occasions only, it really isn’t that expensive and super simple to make at home.
Another restaurant favorite is Shrimp Scampi, which is insanely easy to make. Start by melting two tablespoons of butter in a skillet, add two minced cloves of garlic and sauté for a minute. Next add about a fourth of a cup of either vermouth or white wine, and a tablespoon or so of lemon juice. Once this is warmed through add one and a half pounds of uncooked, peeled, deveined shrimp and cook just until the shrimp turns pink and begins to curl up. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in a fourth of a teaspoon of lemon zest. I serve this over pasta, traditionally linguini is used but I actually prefer short pastas like penne. If you want to up the wow factor on this dish and make it “Bistro-Style” just add a handful of halved grape tomatoes and a teaspoon of capes. This is a meal that I make on a regular basis because it is quick, easy and I always have the ingredients on hand.
A staple menu item at any decent Italian restaurant is Chicken Piccata; and if you can make the Shrimp Scampi then you can make this. I found a recipe that amps up the flavor of this dish by adding Parmesan cheese. Before I give you the recipe I want to mention that a few years ago I bought a wedge of real Parmesan cheese and after trying it decided to never go back to the junk in the cardboard shaker. It costs more but is so worth it, and you can use less cheese because the flavor is so intense. Start by dipping four boneless, skinless pounded out chicken breasts in first flour, then two scrambled egg whites, and then into freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Cook them in olive oil over medium heat until a deep golden color, about ten minutes. In the same pan you cooked the chicken in add two cloves of minced garlic and a quarter cup of capers. If you don’t have nonpareilles capers you should give them a rough chop because the larger ones can be a bit much if left whole. Cook this for about two minutes and add half a cup of white wine and bring to a simmer. Next stir in half a cup of chicken broth, two tablespoons of butter, half a box of drained frozen spinach and the juice of one lemon. Heat this through and then serve over the chicken breasts and your favorite cut of pasta.
Finally I want to share a steakhouse specialty, steak with herbed butter. The addition of an herbed butter, or even bleu cheese, gives the beef a velvety finish and extra flavor. To make the herbed butter take four tablespoons of unsalted softened butter, one and a half tablespoons chopped fresh chives or scallions, one tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, one tablespoon of lemon juice and salt and pepper. It doesn’t matter what kind of steak you cook, just spread the butter onto the cooked meat and let it melt. Also a traditional steakhouse dish is Creamed Spinach. I actually love spinach and this dish is something that I make as a treat. Make a roux from three tablespoons of butter and a quarter cup of flour, and cook this for a minute or two before you add two and a half cups of milk, two teaspoons of salt and a half-teaspoon of nutmeg. Bring this to a boil, whisking until it thickens and then remove from the heat. In a deep skillet cook two pounds of fresh chopped spinach with a pinch of salt until wilted. Mix the thickened sauce into the spinach and enjoy.
Basically I am trying to get you to believe in yourself as a cook, anyone can cook, all you need to do is read the recipe and put in some effort. Restaurant owners want you to think that you can’t do what they do in the kitchen, bull, it is not hard and as I said most of the time the people in restaurant kitchens are no more qualified than you to do their job. So pick your favorite restaurant dish, find a recipe and make it. I’m sure that you will surprise yourself and find that you can do it! And why don’t I put my money where my mouth is? Because I am really not interested in getting out of my current position and into the “service industry”, besides working in a commercial kitchen makes you smell terrible and sweat, and there is nothing worse than smelling like a sweaty French fry. No thank you I will stick to my own kitchen cooking for family and friends. The most important ingredient in any meal is love, which I try to put into every meal that comes out of my kitchen. (Hey at least I have never given anyone food poisoning, that’s something to be proud of).
The Best Prime Rib
3-4 lb. Prime Rib
5 Garlic Cloves
½ Cup Prepared Horseradish or Dijon Mustard
½ Cup Kosher Salt ½ Cup Olive Oil
¼ Cup Black Pepper, freshly ground
2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary leaves
In a food processor blend all the ingredients, then spread all over the meat that has come to room temperature. Bake at 350° for 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Shrimp Scampi
2 Tblsp Butter
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
¼ Cup Vermouth or White Wine
1 Tblsp Lemon juice
1 ½ Lbs. Shrimp, uncooked & shelled
¼ Tsp. Lemon zest
Sauté the garlic in butter until soft, add the vermouth and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add shrimp and cook until pink and curled, stir in the lemon zest. Serve over pasta.
Parmesan Chicken Piccata
4 Boneless Chicken Breasts
1 Cup Flour, seasoned with salt & pepper
2 Egg whites, scrambled
1 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
¼ Cup Capers
½ Cup White Wine
½ Cup Chicken Broth
2 Tblsp Butter
½ Box Frozen Spinach, defrosted
1 Lemon, juiced
Dredge the chicken in flour, egg whites, and Parmesan cheese. Sauté until golden brown, 5 minutes each side, remove from pan. Sauté garlic and capers in the same pan, add wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until hot. Serve with pasta.
Herbed Butter for Steak
4 Tblsp Unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ Tblsp Chives or Scallions, chopped
1 Tblsp Parsley, chopped
1 Tblsp Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
Mix all of the ingredients until well blended and serve on top of a cooked steak.
Creamed Spinach
3 Tblsp Butter
¼ Cup Flour
2 ½ Cups Milk
2 Tsp. Salt
½ Tsp. Nutmeg
2 Cups Fresh Spinach
Melt butter in a skillet, whisk in flour to make a roux. Add milk, salt and nutmeg, bring to a boil and let thicken. In a separate pan sauté spinach until wilted and then fold the thickened sauce in to it.
But really, why should you give up all of your favorite restaurant fare, I didn’t. What I have been doing instead is to make my restaurant favorites at home; and trust me you can do a better job than most of the kitchen staff out there. Anyone can follow a recipe but when you are cooking for yourself and loved ones you tend to put a bit more effort into the final product. Give these recipes a try, none of them are hard and you might surprise yourself.
I want to start off with something restaurants use mostly as a special, Prime Rib. First of all a prime rib is nothing more than a big ribeye (club) steak that is baked. And honestly it is cheaper for you to buy a prime rib instead of steaks for however many you need to serve. Now if you order this out at a restaurant nine times out of ten it is seasoned with salt and pepper and served with a simple Au Jus. You can do so much better than that! Begin by purchasing your meat and remember that choice is better than select (which a lot of restaurants use), and just so you know, a three to four pound prime rib will serve six to eight people; I did it and had leftovers. I know it doesn’t sound like much but I am assuming you are serving sides with the meat. Let the meat rest at room temperature because cold meat will seize up and turn out tough. Next pull out or borrow a food processor and puree five garlic cloves, a half-cup each of prepared horseradish, salt and olive oil 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary and a fourth of a cup of freshly ground black pepper. Take this paste and schemer it all over your meat, and then bake it at 350 degrees for and hour and a half to two hours. Once again let the meat sit for a few minutes so that the juices can redistribute. Both my friend TW and I made this for Christmas and our families thought that we were rockstars. Warning: if you are watching your sodium cut back on the salt because the crust is kind of salty, but seriously yummy.
If you don’t groove on horseradish substitute a half-cup of Dijon mustard for it. Or if that still isn’t your thing season the meat with Montreal Steak Seasoning and then cut small pockets in the uncooked meat and fill them with smashed garlic cloves. But the lesson I am trying to get by you is that Prime Rib should not be reserved for special occasions only, it really isn’t that expensive and super simple to make at home.
Another restaurant favorite is Shrimp Scampi, which is insanely easy to make. Start by melting two tablespoons of butter in a skillet, add two minced cloves of garlic and sauté for a minute. Next add about a fourth of a cup of either vermouth or white wine, and a tablespoon or so of lemon juice. Once this is warmed through add one and a half pounds of uncooked, peeled, deveined shrimp and cook just until the shrimp turns pink and begins to curl up. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in a fourth of a teaspoon of lemon zest. I serve this over pasta, traditionally linguini is used but I actually prefer short pastas like penne. If you want to up the wow factor on this dish and make it “Bistro-Style” just add a handful of halved grape tomatoes and a teaspoon of capes. This is a meal that I make on a regular basis because it is quick, easy and I always have the ingredients on hand.
A staple menu item at any decent Italian restaurant is Chicken Piccata; and if you can make the Shrimp Scampi then you can make this. I found a recipe that amps up the flavor of this dish by adding Parmesan cheese. Before I give you the recipe I want to mention that a few years ago I bought a wedge of real Parmesan cheese and after trying it decided to never go back to the junk in the cardboard shaker. It costs more but is so worth it, and you can use less cheese because the flavor is so intense. Start by dipping four boneless, skinless pounded out chicken breasts in first flour, then two scrambled egg whites, and then into freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Cook them in olive oil over medium heat until a deep golden color, about ten minutes. In the same pan you cooked the chicken in add two cloves of minced garlic and a quarter cup of capers. If you don’t have nonpareilles capers you should give them a rough chop because the larger ones can be a bit much if left whole. Cook this for about two minutes and add half a cup of white wine and bring to a simmer. Next stir in half a cup of chicken broth, two tablespoons of butter, half a box of drained frozen spinach and the juice of one lemon. Heat this through and then serve over the chicken breasts and your favorite cut of pasta.
Finally I want to share a steakhouse specialty, steak with herbed butter. The addition of an herbed butter, or even bleu cheese, gives the beef a velvety finish and extra flavor. To make the herbed butter take four tablespoons of unsalted softened butter, one and a half tablespoons chopped fresh chives or scallions, one tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, one tablespoon of lemon juice and salt and pepper. It doesn’t matter what kind of steak you cook, just spread the butter onto the cooked meat and let it melt. Also a traditional steakhouse dish is Creamed Spinach. I actually love spinach and this dish is something that I make as a treat. Make a roux from three tablespoons of butter and a quarter cup of flour, and cook this for a minute or two before you add two and a half cups of milk, two teaspoons of salt and a half-teaspoon of nutmeg. Bring this to a boil, whisking until it thickens and then remove from the heat. In a deep skillet cook two pounds of fresh chopped spinach with a pinch of salt until wilted. Mix the thickened sauce into the spinach and enjoy.
Basically I am trying to get you to believe in yourself as a cook, anyone can cook, all you need to do is read the recipe and put in some effort. Restaurant owners want you to think that you can’t do what they do in the kitchen, bull, it is not hard and as I said most of the time the people in restaurant kitchens are no more qualified than you to do their job. So pick your favorite restaurant dish, find a recipe and make it. I’m sure that you will surprise yourself and find that you can do it! And why don’t I put my money where my mouth is? Because I am really not interested in getting out of my current position and into the “service industry”, besides working in a commercial kitchen makes you smell terrible and sweat, and there is nothing worse than smelling like a sweaty French fry. No thank you I will stick to my own kitchen cooking for family and friends. The most important ingredient in any meal is love, which I try to put into every meal that comes out of my kitchen. (Hey at least I have never given anyone food poisoning, that’s something to be proud of).
The Best Prime Rib
3-4 lb. Prime Rib
5 Garlic Cloves
½ Cup Prepared Horseradish or Dijon Mustard
½ Cup Kosher Salt ½ Cup Olive Oil
¼ Cup Black Pepper, freshly ground
2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary leaves
In a food processor blend all the ingredients, then spread all over the meat that has come to room temperature. Bake at 350° for 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Shrimp Scampi
2 Tblsp Butter
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
¼ Cup Vermouth or White Wine
1 Tblsp Lemon juice
1 ½ Lbs. Shrimp, uncooked & shelled
¼ Tsp. Lemon zest
Sauté the garlic in butter until soft, add the vermouth and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add shrimp and cook until pink and curled, stir in the lemon zest. Serve over pasta.
Parmesan Chicken Piccata
4 Boneless Chicken Breasts
1 Cup Flour, seasoned with salt & pepper
2 Egg whites, scrambled
1 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
¼ Cup Capers
½ Cup White Wine
½ Cup Chicken Broth
2 Tblsp Butter
½ Box Frozen Spinach, defrosted
1 Lemon, juiced
Dredge the chicken in flour, egg whites, and Parmesan cheese. Sauté until golden brown, 5 minutes each side, remove from pan. Sauté garlic and capers in the same pan, add wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until hot. Serve with pasta.
Herbed Butter for Steak
4 Tblsp Unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ Tblsp Chives or Scallions, chopped
1 Tblsp Parsley, chopped
1 Tblsp Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
Mix all of the ingredients until well blended and serve on top of a cooked steak.
Creamed Spinach
3 Tblsp Butter
¼ Cup Flour
2 ½ Cups Milk
2 Tsp. Salt
½ Tsp. Nutmeg
2 Cups Fresh Spinach
Melt butter in a skillet, whisk in flour to make a roux. Add milk, salt and nutmeg, bring to a boil and let thicken. In a separate pan sauté spinach until wilted and then fold the thickened sauce in to it.
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