Gravy Revisited

This is my version of gravy without roasting meat. I had some leftover duck giblets from the weekend but you can basically use any left over raw meat. For more flavor in the liquid I added onion and caraway seeds. I left the skin on the onion because this makes the gravy darker, weird but true! haha These flavors echo the flavors of the duck I'll be serving this with. Feel free to add flavors that match your meat like other herbs or citrus. For a really simple, traditional gravy just season with salt and pepper once the liquid has reduced.

Ingredients:
2 duck giblets, washed and cut in half
olive oil
3 cups total of flavorful liquid. mix of wine, stock, pan juices if roasting meat, or water. Use whatever you have on hand, it'll all taste good
2 tbs. butter
2 tbs. flour
salt and pepper

Directions:
1. thaw giblets or meat and cut into smaller pieces. Drizzle olive oil in a stainless steel pan (this is important, can't get brown bits on a non stick pan). Place meat into pan and brown over medium high heat.

2. Keep turning meat over in pan every 3 minutes until the bottom is covered in brown bits. Once meat is dark/browned on the outside take it out and set aside.

3. Add 3 cups of flavorful liquid. Using a wooden spoon scrap bottom of pan to get all brown bits into the liquid.

4. Allow liquid to boil over high heat until liquid has reduced by 1/4. this is when i added the onion and caraway. now's the time to add any other flavorings you want.

5. Strain liquid and pour into a gravy separator. If you don't have one you can use a pitcher with a spout from the bottom or just let the liquids settle and skim the fat off carefully with a spoon.

6. Rinse out pan you already used to brown meat and melt 2 tbs butter. Add flour and whisk until it is a paste like consistency. Cook for about 3 minutes to get rid of floury taste (10 points to anyone who remembered this was a roux. 5 points if you didn't haha)

7. Add strained liquid to pan and whisk to get out any lumps. Cook for 2 minutes and then taste for seasoning. It'll most likely need a good bit of salt and pepper so don't be afraid to use a lot. Continue cooking gravy until it is a little thinner than the consistency you like. (it will thicken a little more while cooling)

8. Pour into a nice gravy boat or dish with a spout and serve with meat.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is awesome because it's all about the feast. It seems like this year in our family everybody did something. Tracy made a delicious turkey and stuffing. Megan made dessert, key lime pie and helped with the sweet potatoes. Rachel made dip and heated up veggies. And my mom, grandma and I made appetizers and dessert. For apps we bought things like salami and cheese and crackers, hummus and pita chips, pre-cooked and peeled shrimp. I added the "klein touch" to the purchased cocktail sauce. I feel the best way to do apps is buy some and make 1 or 2. So I decided to make crab and artichoke dip. Mom and Grandma did the shopping for all the ingredients for all the apps so making the dip was super easy. I also got to make pumpkin pie and crescent cookies. Both these recipes are on here in previous blogs but I did something different to garnish the pie. I made leaves out of extra pie crust. I'll describe that below. Normally I wouldn't do this but since it was a holiday I decided I should make it look extra pretty.

I also had a turkey day disaster. I was in charge of the gravy and my first attempt was horrible and burned and just disgusting. I wanted to deglaze the roasting pan the turkey was in by adding wine and scraping up all the brown bits. Then I was going to strain the contents of this pan and add them to a roux (equal parts butter and flour that is used to thicken liquid). I did these steps and I started to reduce the liquid and let it thicken. As it reduced I started to smell burning. It was my gravy! It was literally black and smoking. I realized soon after that there were burned bits on the bottom of the pan and not brown bits. The burned bits ruined the rest of the liquid and turned my gravy into a mess. So now I had to start over. Here was the new and successful plan. I wasn't completely satisfied with this gravy and I am going to work on it for the future so look for it to come soon.


Shrimp Cocktail Sauce:
purchased cocktail sauce (trader joe's)

When I tasted the sauce it seemed a little sweet so I added some prepared horseradish sauce (for some kick) and lemon (for a little acidity) these two additions really boosted the sauce and it was nice because we happened to have those things.

Crab and Artichoke Dip:

1 10 oz. can of crab
1 14 oz. can of artichoke hearts in water
1 lemon
1 1/2 cup mayo
1 1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (divided)
1 t. chili powder
1 t. red chili flake ( could also use hot sauce, just want a little spice/kick in dip)
salt and pepper
garlic and onion powder if you have it but it's not necessary

1. Drain artichoke hearts and then chop roughly into bit size chunks, place in a large bowl

2. Drain crab and place in same bowl

3. Add rest of ingredients (saving 1/3 of cheese for topping) and stir together. Feel free to add more chili powder/red chili flakes if you want dip spicier. Add more lemon for a brighter/fresher taste. and Add more salt and pepper if you think it needs it. Feel free to customize this dip to your/ your family's taste buds.

4. Place dip in an oven proof dish and sprinkle top with rest of grated cheese. Bake in a 400 oven for 10 minutes then turn oven to broil and cook another 3-5 minutes or until crust is bubbly and slightly golden brown.

5. Serve with either french bread slices (cut on diagonal/bias for easier eating)or crackers, pita chips, or bagel slices.




Gravy:
5 tbs. butter
5 tbs flour
1 cup water
1 cup red wine
about 1/4 cup of juices from resting turkey that collected (not burnt pan drippings!)

Directions:
1. melt butter in a medium size sauce pan.

2. Whisk in flour and cook for 3 minutes. This allows the "flour taste" to be removed.

3. Whisk in water, wine, and turkey juices. Lower heat to medium low and keep liquid at a low boil

4. Keep whisking occasionally and keep cooking gravy until it is a gravy like consistency. It should coat the back of a spoon.

5. When it reaches this consistency season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Then pour into a nice gravy boat and serve with your dinner.

-other ideas about this recipe: if there isn't much turkey juices then go ahead and use chicken or beef stock as well as wine and/or water. If you want a more flavorful gravy go ahead and add bay leaves and dried herbs like rosemary and thyme or whole black peppercorns. Then strain the gravy before serving so there's no chunks and the gravy is nice and smooth.

Pumpkin Pie Garnish:

1. Roll out extra pie crust ( could use store bought crescent rolls or puff pastry)

2. Using a knife cut out a oval/leaf shape.

3. With the back of the knife blade (un-sharp side) make an indentation down the middle, tip to tip. Then make diagonal indentations from the middle line toward the outer edges. You can then roll these on your finger to give a little 3 dimension effect.

4. bake on a cookie sheet at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them after 4 or 5 min because they can get dark really fast! I suggest making extra because you'll probably lose a few.


Overall this thanksgiving was delicious and the cooking will continue into this weekend when we make ducks and dumplings which is our Czech traditional thanksgiving!

Salmon in foil with Rice 2

I really liked the last salmon I did and I wanted to use the same method but with slightly different flavors. I looked in my spice cabinet and saw all the caraway seeds from my left over duck and I decided to use "duck" flavors for the fish. This is basically salt, pepper, caraway, and onion. The caraway has a really distinct taste but the fish isn't as reminiscent of the duck as I had wished, probably because it's salmon and not duck haha. It still tasted really good so if you have any extra caraway seeds feel free to use them up with this but I must admit I like my first salmon in foil recipe slightly better. Remember the rules about buying salmon, it should smell like the sea or nothing!

Ingredients:
1 lb salmon
1 t caraway seeds
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
olive oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 lemon
1 lime

Directions:
1. preheat oven to 400

2. Put foil on a lipped sheet pan. Make 2, 1 ft by 1 ft pieces of foil

3. Cut salmon into two pieces using long knife strokes in the same direction. Place a piece of salmon on top of foil and create a boat around it by lifting/crimping sides.

4. drizzle each piece of fish with a little olive oil. Sprinkle caraway seeds, salt and pepper over fish.

5. Layer onion slices on top of fish and sprinkle with more salt.

6. Squeeze half of lemon and half of lime juice over salmon pieces.

7. Seal foil packets by crimping/folding foil over fish. and place on foil lined sheet pan

8. Cook in oven for 25 minutes. Once fish is in oven make side dish of rice and/or sauteed veggies.

9. Serve everything together with a little extra lime or lemon wedges.

Caramelization

This is a technique that basically brings out the sugars in a food. It's usually used for onions and sometimes shallots but it's a handy thing to know. Here's how to do it:

Slice onion (or whatever your caramelizing) in half then into thin slices. Prepare a saute pan by melting a pat of butter and drizzling a little olive oil. Allow this to heat just a little over medium heat. Then add onions and stir so everything gets coated in fat (butter/oil). Add a pinch of salt because this helps soften the onion.

Now over medium-low heat, slowly cook the onions. They will turn a golden color as they cook because the sugars inside are being cooked. This takes time and if you rush it your caramelizing can turn to burning which isn't tasty. If you need to speed up the process you can add a little sugar to the pan to get a richer color. Make sure to keep stirring the onions every few minutes so they don't stick to the pan and burn.

A note about this method: if you start with an onion, you'll end up with like 1/2 onion. The amount of the original product will go down after this process so if you want a lot of caramelized onions for burgers or something, make sure to start off with more onions then you think you need.

Blanch

This post is for Beth. She suggested I take the time to define some cooking lingo. I didn't even realize how I had taken my knowledge for granted. haha oh and beth paper shmaper?

blanching isn't too bad. It's basically making something really hot then stopping the cooking really fast by making it cold suddenly. First put a big pot of water on the stove over high heat to boil. Then get another big bowl and fill it with ice and water. Add salt to boiling water then add whatever vegetable you are blanching (it's usually veggies in this technique) Let it boil for 2 minutes or until veggies are really brightly colored. Then immediately! put in the ice bath. Allow veggies to cool in ice bath (cold water).

The point of this is to keep the veggies crisp during other cooking methods. It's also nice because you can blanch veggies ahead of time, store in a plastic bag and put in the fridge, then pull out when you want to use them and saute them for a minute to heat through. You can do lot's with this technique but sauteeing the veggies with caramelized onions/shallots and bacon fat usually makes the veggies taste pretty good haha.

Sweet Glazed Chicken

So this is in an attempt to keep eating healthy. My babysitter, Chio, used to make this glaze for ribs and chicken. I like it because there's only 3 ingredients and it has a really distinct flavor. Chio is one of the first people who taught me how to cook. I messed up many of her recipes as a kid but without all those screw-ups I wouldn't be the good cook I am today. This is also a great recipe to make right now because I'm trying to get through school work and this is a meal that you can leave alone for 10 minutes at a time.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup heinz chili sauce
1/2 cup boysenberry jam, seedless! and I recommend Knott's
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 chicken thighs
4 russet potatoes

1. Pull chicken out of fridge to come to room temp. Preheat oven to 350

2. Combine chili sauce, jam, and soy sauce in a saucepan. Bring to a low simmer so everything melts together. Allow to cool slighly

3. ON A FOIL LINED PAN!!! place chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cover both sides of chicken with sauce. Place in oven and bake 10 minutes.

4. Cook potatoes by cleaning and pricking all over with a fork. Put in the microwave for 3-4 minutes then finish in a 350 oven for 20-30 min until tender.

5. After 10 min. pull chicken out of oven and baste with more sauce. Cook 10 more min, baste again, cook 10 more min and baste again, then cook 5 more min. 35 min in total.

6. Serve Chicken and potatoes together. Feel free to top chicken with any leftover basting sauce before serving.

Salmon in foil with Rice

I'm trying to eat a little healthier again so I decided to try a new recipe for salmon. I like this one because there is very little clean up since the foil can be thrown away. Plus I wanted something fast and easy so I could watch the ducks game tonight. This recipe is great for parties because the packets are quick to put together. They are also easy to customize if someone is allergic to one of the ingredients. A great side dish to this besides rice would be green beans. Caramelize some extra shallot in bacon fat. Blanch the green beans then add to shallot pan. Saute 2 minutes then plate and serve.

This salmon uses italian flavors and very few ingredients (most of these I have in my pantry already). Make sure when buying the salmon that it smells like the sea or nothing and ask for the pin-bones and skin removed.

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs salmon (basically half of a salmon)
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 shallots
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes or 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 lemon worth of juice
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 cup rice
2 cups chicken stock or water

Directions:
1. preheat oven to 400

2. Cut salmon into equal size pieces, about 5 oz each

3. Lightly coat with olive oil, then season with a good amount of salt and pepper

4. Combine shallots, tomatoes, lemon, and herbs together in a bowl and let blend/marinate a few minutes.

5. Place each piece of salmon into a square of aluminum foil. Crimp up the sides around fish so foil acts like a bowl. pour in a equal amounts of liquid into each fish packet.

6. Seal up foil packets and place on a foil lined baking sheet.

7. Cook fish for about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

8. After placing fish in oven start rice. Put a pat of butter into a sauce pan and allow to melt.

9. Add rice and allow to toast for 2 minutes.

10. Add chicken stock (it might boil up so be careful) and cook for about 15 minutes over low heat or until rice is cooked through.

11. Serve salmon and rice together. Add a little lime or lemon wedges in case liquid isn't acidic enough. I just serve the dish wrapped in the foil but for a more elegant look, place fillets on a large platter and cover with tomato-shallot mixture.

Birthday Cakes Galore

This week I'm making two very different birthday cakes for two of my friends, Jerry and Mike (sup fellas?! haha). Jerry requested carrot cake with dark chocolate ganache. I changed this a little to make a dark chocolate frosting. Mike wanted a funfetti cake with vanilla frosting. I was torn between making vanilla buttercream or vanilla sweetened whipped cream. I figured the buttercream would stand up to the cake better since Jerry's whipped cream frosting didn't quite as well.

Carrot Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting:

Ingredients:
1 box of carrot cake mix
water, vegetable oil, and eggs as directed by packaging
2 cups whipping cream
1 lbs good dark chocolate
1 tsp. espresso powder

1. Preheat oven according to box directions.

2. Make cake according to packaging. In my box I had to soak the raisins and carrots so look out for that step. Bake according to time chart near bottom of box.

3. Allow cake to cool on a wire rack while you make the frosting.

4. Frosting. Chop chocolate into small chunks.

5. Pour heavy whipping cream into a metal bowl and heat over low flame. Whisk constantly so cream doesn't boil.

6. Add chocolate to cream and whisk off the stove until chocolate is melted. Add espresso powder and stir until mixture is combined.

7. Pour about 1/4 of this mixture between the cooled cakes. This will be the frosting for the middle.

8. Place into the fridge to cool for 20-30 minutes. This makes the next step a lot easier.

9. Using an electric mixer, hand mixer, or by hand (this will take a lot of strength!) whip up the chocolate/cream mixture until it is of a whipped cream consistency. It should be firm but not too stiff.

10. Frost cake. To write/ decorate the cake you can use writing chocolate (recipe in other birthday cakes) or white whipped cream.

Funfetti Cake with Vanilla Buttercream

Ingredients:
1 box funfetti cake mix
water, vegetable oil, and eggs according to box of cake
6 tbs. butter, melted
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-8 tbs milk

1. Make cake according to package directions. Try to make layers as even as possible for consistent cooking.

2. Remove cakes from pans and place on a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes

3. to make Frosting. Pour melted butter into a bowl and add sugar. Whisk until it resembles chalky beads.

4. Add vanilla to mixture and slowly add milk, whisking well after each addition, until frosting is consistency you like. (make sure it's not to runny or frosting cake will be difficult)

5. Place a small amount of frosting on top of a layer of cake. then place other cake on top, make sure it's straight. It's best to pour all the frosting on top then ease it over the sides. Then remove excess frosting if needed.

6. Since this cake is funfettie I decided to add some extra sprinkles on top!

Shrimp and Rice with Green Beans

So I came back from Indiana today and on the way home the movie Julie and Julia was on. I got excited because I had heard good things and I wanted to see it, plus I figured I have time to kill so let's watch it. I must admit, I was disappointed. It just wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I didn't really find the "blogger" character that funny. Maybe we don't share a sense of humor but I just wasn't digging it. I did like the stuff about Julia Child because I remember watching her show when I was a kid. I really disliked the ending too. It seemed like it just stopped. There was a little bit of a conclusion but I just didn't think it was enough.

Anyways, after that rant I wanted to make something simple for dinner and I didn't have time to go to the grocery store so I threw this together with what I had in the fridge. This is a big benefit of having a well stocked fridge/pantry, you can throw together meals pretty much whenever.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown rice
2 cups chicken stock
5 shrimp
handful of frozen green beans
parmesan cheese (optional garnish)

Directions:
1. place a pat of butter in a sauce pan and melt. Add rice and toast for about a minute.

2. Add chicken stock. You want the liquid level to reach about half you thumb nail above the rice. Be careful measuring this because pan/liquid can be hot!

3. Allow rice to cook about 15 minutes or according to package directions.

4. Thaw shrimp (if frozen) and saute in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook about a minute per side.

5. When rice is finished throw in frozen green beans, a little more butter, and a pinch of salt. Stir together over really low heat until green beans are warm. Add shrimp and plate. Sprinkle a litle parmesan cheese on top to garnish and add more flavor.

Pot Roast- Slow Cooker Method

I visited my friend, Pauline, in Indiana and since it was a bit cold outside (even though it was really hot for that time of year) we decided to get a big piece of meat to eat. We decided this while I attended her classes with her and wrote notes back and forth to each other. It was like the good old days of high school. Pot roast was chosen because it's cheap and delicious.

The slow cooker really worked out for us because we went to a Notre Dame hockey game and the meat cooked all day while we were out having fun. When we came back to eat, the meat was so tender it fell apart as we tried to serve ourselves. It was a delicious meal that was finished off with tacos that we had made the night before haha.

Ingredients:
5 lb chuck roast
3 medium russet potatoes
1 small onion
2 14 oz cans or 1 large can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper
1 cup liquid: beef broth, wine, and water or use in a combination
spices (optional)
splash of cream (optional)

Directions:
1. Season meat with lots of salt and pepper. To add extra flavor you can also season with: steak/grill seasoning, onion powder, garlic poswer, rosemary, thyme, and cumin. these are all optional and feel free to season with anything you have that sounds good.

2. Sear roast in a large pan on both sides. About 5 minutes on each side over medium high heat. You want there to be a nice brown crust on the outside of the meat but don't burn it!

3. While meat cooks, peel potatoes and chop into large chunks. Cut onion into thick slices. Place about half of these on bottom of slow cooker. Cover with 1/2 can of tomatoes.

4. Once meat is browned put into slow cooker on top of veggies. Pour beef broth, wine, water, or combo of these into pan you browned meat in and scrap up all the bits on the bottom of the pan. Add rest of tomatoes to pan and allow mixture to simmer and slightly reduce for about 2 minutes.

5. Place half of reduced sauce over pot roast. Add rest of potatoes and onions on top and cover with rest of liquid. You want lots of liquid surrounding the pot roast so it stays nice and moist.

6. Cover everything and set on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. When it's time to eat after a day out or at work all you have to do is turn off the slow cooker and serve everyone a big chunk of meat and veggies.

***If you want to make a gravy to serve with everything take meat and veggies out of slow cooker. Pour remaining juices into a sauce pan. Allow everything to reduce over medium heat for about 10 minutes until liquid is thickened. For a more luxurious taste you can add a splash of cream right before serving. Taste sauce for seasoning of salt and pepper and serve.

Pizookie

I was really in the mood for a pizookie from BJ's. It's basically a cookie that is the size of a mini pizza with ice cream on top. I decided to make a gigantic chocolate chip cookie and serve it with some vanilla ice cream for an old friend who came over (what up steph! haha) Since she came over late I decided to make dessert and this was on my mind so I made it a reality.

Before serving the pizookie, reheat it in the oven if you cooked it a head of time. Pull it out a minute or 2 before you think it's done and let it finish in the oven for 5- 10 minutes until it is warm and golden brown. You can serve this with any flavor ice cream you like or even a combo of flavors like chocolate, coffee, and chocolate chip cookie dough. Also feel free to top with whipped cream and your favorite ice cream sauce like chocolate or caramel.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 t baking soda
1 t salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 T granulate sugar
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Ice Cream of you choice
toppings of you choice

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, beat at medium speed butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla until well blended

2. at low speed, gradually add mixture of flour, salt, and baking soda.

3. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Cover dough with saran wrap and refrigerate for about 45 min. This will make next steps easier

5. preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a large glass 13 x 9 dish

6. Spread dough into an even layer in the dish.

7. Cook for 25-30 minutes. Cookie is done when it is golden brown.

8. Cut to any size you want or eat it family style with lots of ice cream piled on top of the large cookie.

Scarmbled Eggs, bacon, and Hash Browns II

Everybody needs a good breakfast to start off the day right. Here's one of my favorites. I've already made hash browns but I'm making a new version of them. These are more similar to a country fried potato but either way, potatoes are delicious! haha. I love this breakfast because it only takes one pan to make and it's really filling. It's not the lightest or healthiest way to start the day but it sure is tasty!

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 pieces of bacon
1/2 baked potato, cut into bite size chunks
butter, salt, pepper

Directions:
1. Cook bacon in a large skillet till done to your likeness. Set aside on paper towels

2. Using a little of the bacon fat, cook potatoes. Toss every 30 seconds and add a little butter if pan gets dry. Cook for about 5-10 minutes until warmed through and have a nice crust on the outside

3. Make the scrambled eggs. Add a tiny dab of butter into the skillet over medium heat. Crack egg into pan and season with a pinch of salt. Stir and scramble with a rubber spatula. Keep stirring until eggs are done to your liking.

4. Plate all three together and enjoy the deliciousness!

Duck Hash

I'm watching Top Chef right now and this always inspires me to cook and be creative. I have a lot of left overs in the fridge from various meals this past week and I need to eat them up before I leave to Indiana tomorrow to visit my friend Pauline. (I'm super excited!!!!)

I went to Dux in Tux 2 weeks ago (it's a charity dinner by the Anaheim Ducks). The meal started with a delicious duck hash. I wanted to make something similar to this because I have leftover duck and no dumplings. I also had a left over baked potato and some extra duck ju (fancy word for gravy). So I used all this to make the hash. Since I had everything as left overs, this dish took less then 10 minutes to make.

Ingredients: (serves 1)
1/4 duck, meat removed from bones and cut into bite size chunks
2-3 T of duck ju
1 baked potato chopped into bite size pieces
1 T caramalized onions
1-2 t butter

Directions:
1. Melt butter in pan and add potatoes. Allow to cook for 5 minutes until mostly done.

2. Add duck and onions into pan and heat for 2-4 minutes until duck is warm.

3. Add Ju right before serving and let cook for 15 seconds. Put on a plate immediately and enjoy.

Fajitas

I was in a mexican food mood tonight so I decided to make fajitas because they are quick cooking. Random Fact of the day: Did you know fajitas literally means skirt steak and doesn't refer to the cooking method. When you have chicken or shrimp fajitas they're technically not fajitas. Weird right?

When I went to the store today they didn't have skirt steak which was my original goal but I found marinated carne asada. The flavor was really delicious when cooked but if your store doesn't have any go with the skirt steak. Rub steak with canola oil and season with salt, pepper, and some lime juice.

There are lots of different sides for this dish. Feel free to make anything that sounds good to you. Some suggestions: salsa, grilled onions and peppers (below), Avocado Crema (recipe in left over green tacos post), beans, rice, cheese, and lettuce.

Jerry's comments on the night, per his request "making up his own rating system out of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) '4 because it was very good". I asked him why it wasn't a 5 and he replied "excellent has to be a very hard complicated meal". Haha I love people's input! I'll have to think of something really fancy to whip up next time I feed him.

Ingredients: (this amount serves 2 people)
1 1/2 lbs carne asada or skirt steak
2 onions, sweet onions are better (look for sweet in name at store) but regular onions are fine
1 bell pepper (any color)
1 bag mexican cheese blend
1 14 oz can refried beans
Corn Tortillas

Directions:
1. pull meat out of fridge 20- 30 minutes before cooking.

2. Slice onions and bell pepper (seeds and ribs removed) very thin. Place in a pan with canola oil over medium high heat. Continue stirring ever few minutes until onions are caramelized and peppers are cooked.

3. Make any sides dishes like salsa, avocado crema, grate cheese, and shred lettuce.

4. Place meat on a really hot skillet greased with a little canola oil. Don't move the meat once it's down. Allow to sit, untouched!, for 4-5 minutes. there should be a nice crust. Flip beef over and allow to cook about 4 minutes. Once finished set aside on a plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Let rest for a minimum of 5 minutes.

5. Heat up refried beans in a pan. These are already seasoned but I add a dash of the following to add more flavor. This is totally optional- salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, ground cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika.

6. Slice up beef. There are natural lines in the beef. Cut PERPENDICULAR to these. Make thin slices and if they are too long cut in half or thirds. You want these pieces to be just a little bigger then bit size. Toss in juices that have collected during resting.

7. The last step is to wrap up some tortillas in a cloth dish towel and heat in the microwave for about a minute.

8. Set the table with all the sides, meat, and tortillas and allow everybody to make whatever fajita they want!

Gnocchi with Butter Sage Sauce

This is to meet a challenge I gave myself. I asked my sis and aunt (hey ladies!) who are sort of picky eaters for various reasons to give me some rules to try to use but still make a delicious meal. Aunt Liz said "I have two major issues I have to work around one is allergies to most spices, seasonings, marinades, anything like that...and the other is my jaw, so I have to a soft diet....not very exciting." Beth requested "let's try a meal that only has food items that start with consonants because I have a mini phobia of vowels. Go!" And if these challenges weren't hard enough already, I decided to combine them. The taste of gnocchi is like a cloud made of a mix between potato and pasta. It's really hard to describe but try it for yourself and find out! Since this challenge was to keep it "bland" I used a simple butter sauce to finish the dish. If I make this again I'm going to use a much more bold sauce, something tomatoe-y and spicy.

Ingredients:
1 pound of russet potatoes, baked in oven till done (i used leftover baked potatoes from a pervious dinner)
3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1 huevo (egg in spanish. I know it's cheating a little but come on this was really hard! haha)
1 pinch of salt

Sage Butter Sauce:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, cut into chunks
8 sage leaves

Directions:
1. Bake potatoes. Allow to cool slightly then peel off skin and pass through a food mill. If you don't have a food mill (i don't have one either) grate potato with a large grater. Be gentle and this will work.

2. Bring a large pot of water to boil and prepare an ice bath (a bowl of water with lots of ice in it)

3. Make a well in center of potatoes and sprinkle all over with flour, using all the flour. Place egg and salt in center of well and using a fork, stir into flour and potatoes, just like making normal pasta.

4. Once egg is mixed in, bring dough together, kneading gently until a ball is formed. Knead gently another 4 minutes until ball is dry to the touch.

5. Divide dough into quarters and roll on a floured board into long snakes. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Flick pieces off a fork to make indentations in the gnocchi.

6. Place into boiling water and cook until they float, about a minute. Then immediately place into the ice bath and allow to cool for a few minutes.

7. While gnocchi cook make butter sauce. Melt butter in a pan. Add sage and allow to simmer together for about 3 minutes over low heat.

8. Remove sage leaves and add gnocchi to pan. Toss together for a minute over low heat until gnocchi are heated through.

9. Pile into a bowl and top with a little Parmesan cheese.

Roast Duck and Dumplings

Since this is my 30th recipe posted (I can't believe I got this far either)I decided to make something really special, duck and dumplings. This is a dish that we have on thanksgiving. This year we won't sadly, it'll have to wait till that Friday. I really wanted to practice this dish before thanksgiving and it's finally colder outside so this is just the perfect time to make it.

You'll notice in the pic of my plate that it's a bit messy. I had been waiting to take a bite of that plate for like a week and I couldn't be bothered with wasting another second on a picture, hey at least I took one haha.

I invited my friends over to eat the ducks with me because if there aren't other people there to eat it, I'll eat the whole thing myself. Not good. One of my favorite quotes of the night comes from my friend Axel (sick name right?) "You know the Master Cheif in Halo? your like the Master Chef" haha thanks man. I really like that. It relates 2 of my favorite things, halo and cooking. This meal is a great excuse to get a bunch of people together. I love when two diff groups of friends meet and it works out and they like each other.

The duck takes a while, so be prepared for that. Total it takes about 2- 2 1/2 hours to roast. But you will be rewarded with your house smelling amazing. Of course this could have a negative effect by making you hungry. But that's one of the good things about being the cook. You get to eat as you go cuz you need to "taste" haha.

Ingredients:
3.5 lbs duck (I usually serve a quarter duck per person so figure out how much you need. And I suggest rounding up because it's really good and it's just as easy to make one as a few)
Caraway Seeds
Onion
Salt

Dumplings: (makes about 40 dumplings)
3 eggs
1 cup milk
3 cups flour
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t baking powder
4 1/2 slices of bread, cubed

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Clean duck by removing innards and any excess skin or fat. Cover inside and out with lots of salt and caraway seeds.

3. Place onion, roughly chopped, into the duck cavity.

4. Place duck in a large roasting pan on a rack breast side up. (if you don't have a rack do what I did. Get a bag of onions and slice them into 1 1/2 inch rounds. Spread around the bottom of the pan so they form a base so duck doesn't sit directly in water. if you leave onion skins on you will get a dark gravy)

5. Pour 1 inch of water into the bottom of the pan. Cover pan with aluminum foil and place in oven for about 1 hr 15 min to 1 hr 30 min.

6. Heat oven to 425 and uncover pan. Cook duck another hour or until skin is crispy and golden brown. (if using a thermometer, when duck hits about 212 degrees)

7. While duck skin is crisping make the dumplings.

Dumplings:

8. Beat eggs with a fork in a bowl. Add milk.

9. Sift flour, salt and baking powder into the bowl. Normally I wouldn't bother sifting but this makes the final dumplings lighter. Mix together

10. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

11. Now it's time to "knead" Start from one edge of the bowl with a wooden spoon. Put spoon into dough a inch from side of pan. Bring toward you, move over horizontally a spoon length and do the same thing. Repeat this over and over, using the spoon to add air to the dough, until you reach the other side of the pan. Turn pan and continue. You can't really over work this dough so do more then you think you need to. Bubbles should form within the dough. This will take some time but your patience will be rewarded.

12. Add bread cubes and fold until dough is combined.

13. cut dough into thirds on a floured cutting board. Use extra flour to roll sticky cut edges in. Make cuts as even as possible.

14. Place into boiling water. Cook 10 minutes then rotate dough 180 degrees and cook for another 10 minutes.

15. Cut dumplings into 1/2 inch slices. Place in a serving bowl and cover with a dish towel to keep warm.

16. Once the Duck skin is crispy, pull it out of the oven and let it rest, covered for a minimum of 20 minutes. You can roast the ducks ahead of time. Do everything the exact same except hold off on making the dumplings until serving time. Then heat up the duck in a 275 oven for about 10 minutes or until warm.

To make gravy/juices. Pour liquid from roasting pan into a gravy separator. The brown juices are the duck while the fat will sit on top. Skim some of the fat off and serve juices. Pour these over the dumplings and duck and it adds a ton of flavor!

I wanted to make some extra gravy for my leftovers. Here's what I did. Add more water to roasting pan that still has onion inside. Throw in the duck spines that have been cut from quarters into pan. Allow everything to mingle over low heat until liquid inside pan has color. Then strain liquid and allow it to separate before refrigerating.

It may take a little patience and practice but I hope everyone enjoys this recipe as much as I do!

Buttermilk Biscuits

I made this recipe because I had extra buttermilk from the chicken tender recipe and I want to use it up. It's weird that you can't buy less then a quart of it at a time, at least in my grocery store. This is a great side dish if you have the time for it. Everyone loves a fresh baked biscuit. My favorite biscuit of all time is the biscuit they serve at the fried chicken restaurant at Knott's Berry Farm. We used to steal dozens of those biscuits and eat them in the lines for rides.

Ingredients:
4 cups of AP flour
1 T salt
1 T baking powder
2 t baking soda
1 cup butter, cold, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 to 2 cups of buttermilk, additional for brushing

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

3. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or your hands or a stand mixer fixed with a dough hook or a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

4. Make a well in the center and add 1 cup buttermilk. Using your hands, quickly fold the dry ingredients into the buttermilk until a sticky dough forms. You may need to add more buttermilk.

5. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Gently fold the dough over itself 3 or 4 times to create layers. Press the dough out to 1 1/2-inches thick and cut with a floured 3-inch biscuit cutter.

6. Lay the biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with buttermilk. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until risen and golden brown.

Serve for dinner with some butter or serve for breakfast with your favorite jam or jelly.

Steak and Potatoes

I'm a steak and potatoes kind of girl. Whether it's rib-eye, new york strip, or filet mignon I'll eat it all! And who doesn't love potatoes? baked, mashed, fried, sauteed, grated, the list goes on and on. I love the simplicity of this dish and the satisfaction you get after eating a good steak.

At the store I found some good thin rib-eyes. Get whatever looks best or has the best price that day. You want the beef to be a bright red and no blood should be pooled at the bottom of the packaging. It's always a good idea to be friendly to the meat guy because friends don't let friends buy crap.

If you don't have a ton of time to cook the potatoes, you can start them in the microwave. Poke them with a fork and put in the microwave on high for about 5 minutes. Then finish in the oven for about a half hour to get that delicious baked taste.

Want to make this meal extra fancy? Make a gravy! While the steaks rest add 1/2 cup beef stock and 1/2 cup red wine into pan you cooked steak in. Scrap up all brown bits on the bottom of the pan and let liquid reduce by 1/4. Add 1/3 cup of cream and allow to cook 2 more minutes. Pour over steak when ready to serve. I was lazy and didn't do this but it adds a lot of flavor.

Ingredients:
Steak 1 per person
Russet potato 1 per person
salt and pepper
steak/grill seasoning if you have it
butter
olive oil

Directions:
1. preheat oven to 350-375

2. Wash russet potatoes and poke with a fork. If you don't do this they will explode in the oven so POKE THEM WITH A FORK!!!

3. Place on a foil lined baking sheet. Cover outside in olive oil and salt.

4. Place in oven and cook for about an hour to hour and a half depending on size. They're done when you can really easily insert a knife into the potato and feel no resistance.

5. When potatoes are about 1/3 done pull the meat out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temp. A cold steak and a hot pan are not friends, so don't make them meet!

6. When potatoes are very close to done lower oven temp to 200 degrees and season steaks with olive oil, salt, pepper, and grill/steak seasoning.

7. Using a really hot heavy skillet or cast iron pan place steaks down for about 3 minutes. Don't touch the steaks. Let them form a crust. This step will probably cause a lot of smoke so turn on the ventilation and open a window.

8. Flip steak over and let cook for another 2 minutes. Put a pat of butter on top of each steak and place pan into oven and allow to finish for 4 to 5 minutes for medium rare.

9. Remove steak from pan and place on a plate. Cover with aluminum foil and let rest for a minimum of 5 minutes. You have to let the meat rest so the juices can redistribute. The steak will still be hot and even more delicious.

10. Serve steak and potatoes together on a plate. Feel free to add other veggies like mushrooms and onions, broccoli, green beans, squash, anything that sounds good to you. Adding lots of sides can stretch your steak and make everyone feel much fuller.

Chocolate Taffy - a catastrophe

Chocolate taffy is basically a tootsie roll. Since it was halloween I thought I'd try and make some candy for the first time. It was a disaster, literally a disaster. Let me tell you what happened. Things started off well. I had all the ingredients in a saucepan coming to a boil using a heat diffuser. (a heat diffuser just makes sure your pan gets even heat. I used a cast iron skillet on the fire and put my saucepan inside of it. Cast iron is good at even heat since it's so thick and sturdy.)

I turned my back on the candy for one second and it boiled over. I quickly turned down the heat but the boil-over added to my clean-up later. Then my thermometer was telling me it was heating very slowly and it took almost an hour for it to come up to temp. Then when I poured it onto a cookie sheet to cool I could smell burning and some was burnt to the bottom of the pan. As I pulled the taffy I realized it was too hard and that I had over cooked it. I was forced to throw it away and then start on the 30 minutes it took to get the residue candy out of the pan.

If your interested in the recipe you can go to foodnetwork.com and look up alton brown's chocolate taffy. I'm so mad at this candy that I'm not even going to bother posting it. I may try it again one day when I have a candy thermometer. I think the thermometer didn't get accurate readings and hopefully I won't overcook it again.