Perfect Weekend For BBQ!

My Version of Bruschetta.

This meal was inspired by Rococo's Gangster Cookies. It is basically bruschetta topped with sausage. I made my own sausage mixture and topped it off with fresh mozerella and fresh basil.

Browned the bread in a non-stick saute pan in butter.

Cook Night with Sisson!

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Lauren Sisson came over and we had a girls cook night! We made steak with mac and cheese, mushrooms and asparagus. We had to admit that our meal was pretty damn good!

There is nothing better than crispy pancetta. This went on top of the mac.

Lauren decided to buy these large shells to use as the pasta...what a great idea!

Right out of the oven...soooo good.

Marty Made Dinner Tonight!- Beef Bourguignon!

Marty had the day off, so he decided to have Ina Garten's Beef Bourguignon ready when I got home from work! How lucky am I?! It was absolutely delicious!

This was the Chianti he used in the stew and the Pinot Noir is what we had to drink.

Don't crowd the mushrooms, or they won't brown! hehe

He served it over mashed potatoes. Amazing.

"Grandma's Oven Fried Chicken" & my delicious carrots!

So sorry that it has been so long since I have posted a blog! I have been doing a lot of cooking, but have sadly been too lazy to blog. haha.
This particular evening, I made oven fried chicken using the recipe from Williams-Sonoma Bride and Groom cookbook. (Can you tell I LOVE this cookbo0k?!) I also made my delicious cooked carrots and potatoes. Yum!!

My breading stations: breadcrumbs mixed with fresh oregano and parsley, eggs and flour.

Before....and....

After!

Flower Pot Time!

Let me start off by saying that I DO NOT have a green thumb!! I seriously kill almost every plant I touch, plant or just try to water. I definitely did not learn anything from my parents, who are amazing gardners (hence they made their yard magically beautiful for our wedding during a blizzard!). In addition, I almost failed botany in college and therefore know nothing about plants/flowers...

BUT, I decided to attempt gardening work and went and bought flowers and pots today! We are having a Mother's Day cook-out at our house Sunday afternoon, so I thought the yard should look pretty. Marty was wonderful and cleaned out all of the beds!

Therefore, when looking at these pictures and you think to yourself, "Hmmm I don't believe these are the right flowers for potting..." just keep it to yourself (hahaha) and go along with me. :)

Finished product!

Super Easy (& healthy) Pork Tenderloin w/Simple Sides

I bought this jasmine rice from Target. We absolutely love the flavor. Just follow the directions on the bag and enjoy!

If you can't tell, my favorite vegetable is asparagus. I make it with just about everything, until I get sick of it and I switch to something else (and then start back on it). I just snap off the ends where the natural break is on the stem and boil the spears in water until slightly tender. Marty and I love asparagus with a crunch! I plate the asparagus, sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper and serve!

This pork tenderloin is from Target, teriyaki flavored. We usually season and flavor meats ourselves, but this one was delicious and super easy! I followed the directions on the bag, by placing it in a low baking dish. Then, I decided to add chicken stock (just covering the bottom of the dish) and sliced yellow onion and a few crushed garlic cloves. Followed the baking directions and served!

Ooops! Mistake!

So I just noticed that I made a huge error on my Beurre Blanc post. Those pics are NOT what I said they were. Those pictures are actually pork chops with a balsamic cream mushroom sauce. Ooops! hehe I can not find the pictures I took of the chicken with beurre blanc sauce, so please forgive me! :) Next time I make it, I will be sure to take pics. I will be posting my pork chop recipe very soon!

Some Things We Like :)

These are the everyday salts and peppers I like to add to all of my meals. The Maldon Sea Salt is kept in the wooden salt container and kosher salt is kept in the ceramic salt dish. I love the Williams-Sonoma Tellicherry Peppercorns that I grind in the blue Peugeot pepper mill. These S&P mills work wonders!

I just love this- my grandmother's Irma Rombauer's Joy of Cooking cookbook, 1943 Edition and the most recent, revised for the first time since 1974 Edition. Pretty neat! :)

This is one of Marty's latest scotch cravings. If you like scotch, I believe you will love this one!

And finally, our 2 favorite puppy dogs! Hi Sophie and Pinot!

Chicken Primavera

Today I decided to make Chicken Primavera for lunch. I was inspired by this dish from La Baguette's entree. I use all of my favorite fresh vegetables and serve it over a thin noodle pasta.

My Chicken Primavera:
(serves 2)

1/2 lb angel hair pasta
14 oz. chicken breasts or tenders
3 carrots, peeled, sliced on the diagonal
1 small head of broccoli, spears only
1/2 yellow squash, sliced on the diagonal
1/2 zucchini, sliced on the diagonal
2 Tbsp red bell pepper, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp dried thyme & oregano combined
1 Tbsp butter, unsalted
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 turns of the pan heavy cream
1 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper

Heat olive oil in a deep saute pan over medium-high heat. Add shallot and garlic. Saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add carrots and saute for about another minute or two. Add the rest of the vegetables and season with salt and pepper, bay leaf and herbs. Saute for about a minute and add the butter. Cook the vegetables for about 5 more mintes. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minutes. Add the wine, stock and cream and deglaze the pan. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to low-medium and simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Cover and lower the heat to low until the vegetables are tender to a fork.

Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper and add olive oil to a grill pan or non-stick saute pan. Also add water to a pot and bring to a boil. Heat the grill pan or saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook on each side for about 5 minutes.
Add salt to the pasta water and add the pasta. Cook until al dente.

Add cooked pasta to the vegetables. Remove chicken from pan and slice into strips.

To serve:
Add pasta and vegetable mixture to plate or large serving bowl. Add chicken stips on top.

Enjoy! (Oh and P.S.- WAY TO GO LAKERS ON THE WIN IN THE 2ND ROUND AGAINST THE JAZZ! WOO HOO!!!)

Mashed Potatoes- One of my Favorite Foods!

Mashed potatoes have always been one of my favorite foods. I like my potatoes creamy with a nice garlic taste! Here is my recipe:

about 2 lb of potatoes (I like using golden butter potatoes), peeled
2 large garlic cloves (crushed)
about 1/2 cup of heavy cream
4 Tbsp butter, unsalted
salt & pepper (lots of it!)

Half or quarter the potatoes (to cook faster) and put into a pot filled with cold water. Salt the water and potatoes, add the garlic and bring to a roaring boil. Cook the potatoes until they are tender to a fork, about 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return to the pot. Add the cream and butter and more salt and pepper (to taste). With an electric mixer or by hand, beat the potatoes until they get as creamy and fluffy as you like. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Rib-Eye Steak with Pan Jus

This is one of our favorite Cabs, which I have to give props to my father for. It is not very expensive and very tasty! We used this red wine for the pan jus (oh, and for drinking while cooking).

This particular recipe (from Williams-Sonoma Bride & Groom Cookbook) calls for 1 rib-eye, 18-20 oz. Unfortunately, the butcher was not present at the grocery store, so Marty picked up 2, smaller rib-eyes instead. We have also tried this recipe using my favorite cut of meat, a filet. It turned out well, but the fattier rib-eye just adds that extra delicious taste to the pan jus.

Recipe from Williams-Sonoma Bride & Groom Cookbook:
(serves 2)
1 rib-eye, 18-20 oz (or 2 smaller ones)
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 small sprigs fresh thyme
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup beef or chicken stock (we used beef stock)
salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 400. Season the steak liberally with salt and pepper. Pick the rosemary leaves from the stem and press them into the steak. Heat the olive oil in a OVENPROOF saute pan over medium-high heat. Let the oil get quite hot, but before it starts to smoke, sear and brown the steak on one side for about 1 minute. Turn the steak over to sear the other side for 1 minute. Use tongs to hold the steak upright and sear the sides of the rib-eye, another minute per side. (If you use 2 smaller steaks, you do not need to sear the sides.)

Place the pan with the steak in the oven and roast for 10-12 minutes for medium-rare, or until it reaches the desired doneness. (For 2 smaller steaks, roast in oven for about 5 minutes.) Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the meat to a carving board. Let rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the wine, stock and thyme to the drippings in the pan and place over medium-high heat. (REMEMBER THE PAN HANDLE IS HOT!) Deglaze the pan, stirring with a wooden spatula and loosening any carmelized bits stuck to the bottom, and simmer until reduced by half. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and peper Remove the thyme sprigs.

Using a chef's knife, carve the steak with a sharp knife across the graini into thin slices. Arrange the slices on plates and spoon the pan juices over the top. We served ours over mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!