Recipes

Ingredients
25 Ritz crackers
4 slices white sandwich bread
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
8 thin slices deli ham
2 cups Swiss cheese, shredded
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup all purpose flour

Instructions
1. Adjust oven racks to lowest and middle positions and heat oven to 450*F. Pulse crackers and bread in food processor until coarsely ground. Drizzle in butter; pulse to incorporate. Bake crumbs on rimmed baking sheet on middle rack, stirring occasionally, until light brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to shallow dish. Leave oven on.

2. Top each ham slice with ¹⁄₄ cup cheese and roll tightly; set aside. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Cut pocket into thickest part of chicken and stuff each breast with 2 ham and cheese rolls. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Transfer chicken to plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 20 minutes.

3. Beat eggs and mustard in second shallow dish. Place flour in third shallow dish. One at a time, coat stuffed chicken lightly with flour, dip into egg mixture, and dredge in crumbs, pressing to adhere. (Breaded chicken can be refrigerated, covered, for 1 day.) Transfer chicken to clean baking sheet. Bake on lowest rack until bottom of chicken is golden brown, about 10 minutes, and then move baking sheet to middle rack and reduce oven temperature to 400*F. Bake until golden brown and chicken registers 160*F, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Serve.

Comments
This recipe is from the 2010 Cook’s Country Annual and I did not find it foolproof at all.  I believe that our chicken breasts must be tiny compared to the ones the test kitchen uses because I was only able to fit 1 bundle of ham and cheese in each breast.  I do tend to get the most natural chicken breasts I can and they definitely are smaller than the others the store offers. 

The taste was really great, the breasts were tender and juicy, the flavors were lovely.  I’m curious to see if I can make this better in the future.

Cook’s Country 2010

Ingredients
1 small onion, roughly, chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, halved
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 ounces ground beef
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups red wine
4 cups beef broth
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
2 packages unflavored powdered gelatin (5 teaspoons)

Instructions
1. Process onion, carrot, mushrooms, and garlic in food processor into ¹⁄₈-inch pieces, 10 to 12 one-second pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

2. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until simmering; add beef and tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until beef is well browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add vegetable mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until any released moisture has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Add wine and bring to simmer, scraping bottom of pan with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Add beef broth, thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns; bring to boil. Reduce heat and gently boil, occasionally scraping bottom and sides of pot, skimming fat from surface, until reduced to 2 cups, 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer set over small saucepan, pressing on solids with rubber spatula to extra as much liquid as possible (you should have about 1 cup stock). Sprinkle gelatin over stock and stir to dissolve. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and bring stock to boil. Gently boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced to ¹⁄₂ cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm. (Leftovers can be frozen for up to a month.)

Comments
This recipe is from the Cook’s Illustrated 2011 Annual and I believe it was described as being a quick cheat for demi glace.  I doubled the recipe, since I don’t like making (recipes that call for partial packages of things, in this case, the 8 ounces of ground beef.  That means that, for a pound of ground beef, a bottle of wine, and two boxes of beef broth, I was left with ONE cup of this stuff.  One.  It also took significantly longer to do all the reducing due to the increased volume. 

The verdict?  So not worth it. 

Shown here in Pan-Seared Steaks with Herb Sauce and Spaghetti al Limone.

Cook’s Illustrated 2011

Ingredients
Salt
1 pound spaghetti
¹⁄₄ cup olive oil
1 medium shallot, minced
¹⁄₄ cup half and half
2 teaspoons lemon zest
¹⁄₄ cup lemon juice (about 3 lemons total)
¹⁄₂ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh basil, thinly sliced

Instructions
1. Place colander in sink and place liquid measuring cup in colander.  This will help you remember to reserve pasta water in step 2. 

2. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta to boiling water; cook, stirring frequently, until al dente. Reserve 1 ³⁄₄ cups pasta water, drain pasta into colander, and set aside.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add shallot and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt; cook until shallot is softened, about 2 minutes. Whisk 1 ¹⁄₂ cups of reserved pasta water and half and half into pot; bring to simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Remove pot from heat, return pasta to pot, and stir until coated. Stir in remaining 3 tablespoons oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese, and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper.

4. Cover and let pasta stand 2 minutes, tossing frequently and adjusting consistency with remaining ¹⁄₄ cup reserved pasta water if necessary. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, drizzling individual portions with oil and sprinkling with cheese. 

Comments
This recipe is from the Cook’s Illustrated 2011 Annual and I completely forgot to reserve pasta water.  Like always.  Because I forgot to do the “measuring cup in the colander reminder” trick.  Oops.  You should do it so that you’ll remember to save some of that beautifully starchy water to bind everything together.  I used extra half and half which just isn’t as grand. 

This was great.  Art loved it most because Art loves all that is lemon. 

Shown here with Pan-Seared Steaks with Herb Sauce.

Cook’s Illustrated 2011

Ingredients
For the steaks
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 steaks, at least 1-inch thick (I used NY Strip steaks, any tender steak will do.)

For the herb sauce
1 small shallot, minced
¹⁄₂ cup white wine
¹⁄₄ cup Steak Sauce Base
¹⁄₄ teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons fresh chives, minced
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons fresh parsley, minced
1 teaspoon fresh tarragon, minced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Salt and ground black pepper

Instructions
1. For the steaks: Heat oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Meanwhile, pat steaks dry with paper towels and season both sides with salt and pepper. Lay steaks in pan, leaving ¹⁄₄ inch between them. Cook, without moving steaks, until well browned, about 4 minutes. Using tongs, flip steaks and continue to cook until instant-read thermometer inserted in center registers 120*F for rare to medium-rare, 3 to 7 minutes. Remove steaks to platter and tent loosely with foil while preparing herb sauce.

2. For the herb sauce: Return now-empty skillet to medium-low heat; add shallot and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add wine and bring to simmer, scraping bottom of pan with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Add ¹⁄₄ cup Steak Sauce Base, vinegar, and any accumulated juices from steak; return to simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in chives, parsley, tarragon, and butter, season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over steaks and serve immediately. 

Comments
This recipe is from the Cook’s Illustrated 2011 Annual.  We accidentally got some NY Strips in our recent bulk cow pickup – we had wanted the cut whole, not as steaks.  Luckily, we like NY Strips so it’s all good.  It’s rare that I get the chance to cook steaks inside these days, Art usually claims them all for grilling!  But I saw this recipe and decided it would be fun to try and a good way to use up some steaks from the freezer. 

The sauce was deliciously rich and flavorful.  Almost impossibly rich, in fact.  The steaks were cooked perfectly, but I owe that to judicious use of my very awesome instant read thermometer.  Will I ever make the sauce again?  Doubtful.  It took hours and was not worth it.  However, I’d use this method for steaks again with no problems and pair it with another delicious sauce or compound butter. 

Shown here with Spaghetti al Limone.

Cook’s Illustrated 2011

Ingredients
4 ounces chocolate chips (I used a mix of bittersweet and semisweet.)
¹⁄₂ cup unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
6 tablespoon flour
Extra butter and white sugar for dishes

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 425*F. 

2. Place chocolate and butter in large microwafe-safe dish and nuke on high 1 minute or until butter is melted.  Remove from microwave and stir until chocolate is completely melted.  Stir in powdered sugar until well blended.  Whisk in eggs and egg yolks.  Stir in flour. 

3. Butter sides and bottoms of 4 custard cups or ramekins (mine are 7ounces).  Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon sugar per dish and shake out excess. 

4. Divide batter between dishes.  Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are still soft.  Remove from oven and let stand 2 to 3 minutes.  Serve in dishes or run knife around edges to invert onto plates. 

Comments
This recipe was passed on to me by a friend, so I don’t have a link for the original source.  I also don’t have a picture, maybe because they were such a huge hit that I didn’t take the time to photograph anything!  My mom and I made them together and they were a cinch.  (Edit: The photo has since been updated!)

These were super rich, a perfect serving size, and just divine.  Lance, the chocolate cake connoisseur in the house, declared them as awesome as the ones he has gotten in restaurants which is pretty high praise!  The only thing that could have been better is that the centers were a little too runny – I think a few more minutes of cooking would have done the trick.  But liquid chocolate in the middle of cake is never a bad thing, so we all devoured our little cakes. 

I served these with Vanilla Ice Cream which nicely tempered the super richness of the chocolate.  I think we may have found a new Thanksgiving tradition that we can all get behind!

Unknown

Ingredients
1 pound loaf Italian or French bread, torn into pieces
8 eggs
2 cups whole milk
¹⁄₂ cups heavy cream
³⁄₄ cups sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla

For the topping
¹⁄₂ cups all purpose flour
¹⁄₂ cups brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus extra for greasing baking dish

Instructions
1. Spread extra butter in a 9 by 12-inch baking dish to grease.  Evenly distribute bread pieces in dish. 

2. In large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla.  Pour over bread and gently press bread down with spatula to ensure better absorption.  Cover and place in refrigerator overnight or at least 4 hours. 

3. In small bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  Cut in butter pieces until mixture resembles crumbs.  Cover and store in refrigerator until ready to use. 

4. When ready to bake, heat oven to 350*F.  Remove dish from fridge and sprinkle crumb mixture over top.  Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, depending on desired texture.  A shorter cook time will be more like bread pudding and a longer cook time will be firmer – I went with the hour cook time and it was perfect. 

5. Serve with maple syrup, the real kind please!

No photo – the perils of dining with company!

Comments
This recipe is from Pioneer Woman.  We joke that she’s my nemesis but, really, she has no clue who I am and I’m in awe/envy of her amazing success as a blogger.  While her recipes have been hit or miss with us, this one was a HUGE hit.  My parents loved it, Art loved it, I loved it and, as always, Lance prefers his breakfast foods not to be sweet.  So I knew that this wouldn’t win him over anyway.  I call that a resounding success of a breakfast dish. 

This also gets major props for being so simple to prepare.  It came together in about ten minutes the night before and I baked it in the morning when I was getting ready for my parents to arrive.  I was also able to easily bake bacon on the bottom shelf of the oven while this was on the top. 

We ate this with sliced bacon and grapefruit.  Nom nom nom.

Internet - Pioneer Woman

Ingredients
¹⁄₃ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
¹⁄₄ cup cider vinegar (I used red apple balsamic.)
1 ¹⁄₂ pounds mustard greens

Instructions
1. Heat oil and garlic in small saucepan over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. 

2. Stir in vinegar and pour over greens.  Season with salt and pepper then toss well.  Serve immediately. 

No photo

Comments
This recipe is from epicurious.com.  The original recipe calls for mixed greens, but I used all mustard greens.  Sadly, the dish sucked.  We tossed the leftovers and didn’t eat very much of it with our meal either.  It might be better with different greens, but I don’t think I’ll give it another go to find out.

Internet - Epicurious

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup brown sugar
2 lemons, zested and juiced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, chopped
¹⁄₂ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 inch piece fresh ginger, minced
²⁄₃ cup orange juice
4 (6-ounces each) salmon fillets

Instructions
1. Combine brown sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, green onion, soy sauce, oil, and ginger in small saucepan over medium heat.  Cook until sugar dissolves and mixture is fragrant.  Remove from heat and stir in orange juice. 

2. Place marinade in sealable container, add fish, and refrigerate 3 to 8 hours. 

3. Prepare grill.  Remove fish from marinade and pour remaining marinade into small saucepan.  Bring marinade to boil, reduce heat and simmer until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. 

4. Cook salmon 4 to 5 minutes per side, or until fish is cooked through.  Top with sauce before serving. 

Note: If grilling isn’t an option, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet and cook salmon in skillet.  However, this is messy due to the sugars in the marinade.  As I found out. 

Comments
This recipe is from Handle the Heat.  It’s a fairly basic teriyaki-type salmon preparation.  The only downfall is that I screwed up and decided to cook it in the skillet which created quite a mess of burnt on sugars.  I definitely advise grilling it as the recipe calls for.  The sauce was nice and flavorful and it went well with rice. 

Shown here with Chilled Sesame-Ginger Tatsoi.

Internet - Handle the Heat

Ingredients
3 cans crescent rolls
1 pound cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons
1 teaspoon vanilla
¹⁄₄ cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F. 

2. Unroll 1 ¹⁄₂ cans crescent rolls on bottom of 9 by 12-inch baking dish. 

3. Beat together cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla in electric mixing bowl.  Spread mixture over crescent rolls. 

4. Unroll remaining crescent rolls and place over cream cheese mixture.  Brush butter over top then mix together cinnamon and remaining sugar.  Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over melted butter. 

5. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until top is nicely browned and dough is fully cooked.  Cool before serving.  Eat warmed or chilled, depending on your preference.

No photo

Comments
This recipe is from Live Love Pasta and it combines two things I like quite a bit – cheesecake and sopapillas!  I made this as a late night snack one night and we all enjoyed it.  Art and I enjoyed the leftovers nuked about 15 seconds in the microwave, but Lance preferred the leftovers chilled.  I’m not sure that I’ll make these again, but they were certainly tasty this time.

Internet - Live Love Pasta

Ingredients
3-5 pounds flank steak
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup onions, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
²⁄₃ cup water
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
¹⁄₂ cup sour cream

Instructions
1. Heat grill or broiler. 

2. Season steak with salt and pepper.  Grill or broil about 6 minutes per side, or until desired doneness is reached.  Rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. 

3. Meanwhile, heat oil and butter in large skillet.  Add onion and cook until soft, 3 to 5 minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook until tender, 5 to 10 minutes more.  Stir in water, mustard, Worcestershire, and thyme.  Cook 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. 

4. Slice steak across grain and top with mushroom sauce. 

Comments
This recipe is from Taste and Tell. It sort of reminded me of stroganoff in sauce form over flank steak.  This was my first time grilling flank steak myself and I was fairly pleased with how it turned out.  It’s sort of a difficult cut of meat because it’s much thicker on one end than the other!  But I had my meat thermometer and was happy.  This sauce would work well on other steaks too. 

Shown here with Creamy Tater Tot Casserole.

Internet - Taste and Tell