Dad's Birthday Dinner - Lots of Delicious Food!

My sister came home this weekend so we could celebrate our dad's birthday. We decided to cook and celebrate at my house.

THE MENU...

To start: Corn Chowder, With or Without Crab, and With or Without Jalapeno Cream

Dinner: Filet Mignon with a Garlic-Shallot-Red Wine Sauce, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes with a Parmesan Crisp, and Roasted Asparagus

Dessert: Homemade Chocolate Cake

__________________________________

Corn Chowder
My dad loves soup so I decided to start with soup instead of salad. I read through several corn chowder recipes just to get ideas, and then made up my own. It was the BEST soup I have ever made. Everyone loved it and my mom even commented that it was restaurant quality. I got some crab meat to stir into each bowl (instead of cooking it in the soup since we all don't like crab). I also made a jalapeno cream that a few of us drizzled on top for some heat and extra flavor. I had a hard time getting a clear picture, but you can still see how colorful it was.

Ingredients (for six servings)

• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 stick butter plus 2 tbsp butter mixed with 1 tbsp flour
• Cumin and cayenne, about 1/4-1/2 tsp each
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup frozen corn and 1 14-oz can creamed corn
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

• Heat 1/2 stick butter in a soup pot. Add onions, green and red peppers, and celery. Saute about 7-8 minutes.
• Add corn, creamed corn, broth, cream, and spices. Bring to a boil
• Whisk in the butter-flour mixture and simmer for 15 minutes.
• When ready to serve, mix crab into each bowl if desired. Top with some jalapeno cream.

Jalapeno Cream

I found this recipe on epicurious.com as part of a roasted pepper soup recipe. I thought the cream would go nicely with the corn chowder and it did!

Ingredients

• 3 fresh serrano chilies or jalapeños, seeded and chopped fine (I used 2 jalapenos)
• 1 large garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon salt (I didn't use the salt)
• 1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream (I used a little less than 1/2 cup sour cream)

Directions

• In a blender blend together the chilies, the garlic paste, and the créme fraîche until the mixture is combined well.
• Force the mixture through a fine sieve set over a small bowl (to remove the seeds)
• The serrano cream may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and brought to room temperature before serving.

I have some cream leftover and I may mix it into my cream cheese chicken sauce tonight.

_______________________________________

Dinner...

Jon cooked the filet the same way we did several weeks ago. We used Sebastiani Cabernet Sauvignon for the wine sauce.

Potatoes...I love potatoes. I never cook them because Jon doesn't like them! How can you not like potatoes? Anyway, tonight my sister and I made roasted garlic mashed potatoes.

• Roast garlic by chopping off the top, drizzling with olive oil, wrapping in tin foil, and cooking in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes. When done, mash each clove with a knife or spoon.
• Cook potatoes in water until tender; we made about 3 pounds. Drain and move to a large mixing bowl or keep in the pot.
• Start to mash the potatoes with your hand mixer; turn speed up and slowly add in 1/2 stick of butter, 1 cup of whole milk, 1-2 tbsp salt, and the roasted garlic. For creamier potatoes, use more milk or add in some heavy cream.

Parmesan Crisps

I topped each serving of potatoes with a parmesan crisp.

• Mix 1 cup of parmesan cheese with 1 tsp flour.
• Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray, and then cover with parchment paper.
• Spoon some of the flour-cheese mixture on the paper, leaving about 2 inches between each spoonful. Press into a flat shape.
• Bake on 400 for about 8 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool completely on the sheet.
• These can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container using wax paper to separate the layers.

These little crisps looked nice on the plate and tasted great too. I'd make them for a salad as well.

Asparagus - we tossed the asparagus in a baking pan with olive oil, salt, and ground black pepper. About 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven is perfect.

__________________________________

I made a centerpiece for the table with branches and leaves I found in our front yard. Um...actually I cut a few branches off Jon's favorite shrub. It was so pretty with the floating candles and low lighting -

________________________________________

About an hour after dinner we enjoyed a chocolate cake that my sister made from scratch. Good thing she likes to bake because I probably would have bought a dessert :) As I've said before, I'm not a baker!! I hate measuring everything so precisely and not being able to play with the recipes. My sister made a delicious cake that was the perfect ending to a great birthday dinner for our dad. And after dinner we all sat down to watch the Red Sox-Cleveland game. Unfortunately the Red Sox ended up losing, but watching baseball with our dad is something we always enjoy!

Lemon-Dill Chicken - My Creation

I had some leftover fresh dill from the yogurt-dill dip I made last weekend so I decided to use it with chicken for dinner tonight. The results were great and Jon really loved this one. I'll be putting it on the list of things to make again.

Ingredients

• 1 pound thinly sliced chicken breasts, or regular breasts pounded thin
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 shallot, chopped
• 2 sprigs of fresh dill, finely chopped
• Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
• Salt and pepper
• 5 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Cooking it..

• Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
• Heat 3 tbsp butter and the olive oil in a large saute pan.
• Dredge chicken in flour, shake off excess, and put in the hot pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown (longer for thicker breasts). Remove to a dish and keep covered.
• Add garlic and shallots to the pan and stir, scraping up the brown bits from the chicken.
• Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, and dill. Bring to a simmer.
• Return chicken to the pan and cook on medium for 5 minutes.
• Remove chicken again and keep warm.
• Add butter to the pan and whisk until creamy. Pour sauce over the chicken.

I think I may try adding just a touch of light cream at the end next time for a different texture, but even with just the butter this sauce was very creamy.

I served the chicken with rice and roasted asparagus. Tonight I used salt, pepper, 3 cloves minced garlic, and olive oil on the asparagus.

Chicken Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce

We haven't had these in a while because Jon isn't crazy about the canned enchilada sauce. So what's a girl to do? Make her own, of course!

I used a recipe for sauce by Emeril with just a few changes, noted below.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 cups chicken stock (I used 14.5 oz)
• 10 ounces tomato paste (I used 6 oz)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (I used dried Mexican oregano)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (I used a bit more)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used just a touch more)
• I also added about 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions
In a medium saucepan heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute. Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Adjust the seasonings.

___________________________________________________

My Chicken Enchiladas

This is my own recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 pound chicken breasts, trimmed
• Chili powder and cumin
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1-2 green onions, chopped (forgot these this time!)
• 1-2 jalapenos, chopped with seeds
• 1/4 cup frozen corn kernels (didn't use them tonight)
• 1/2 block cream cheese
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1 cup shredded cheddar or a mix of shredded cheeses
• Enchilada sauce
• 6 flour tortilla shells

Directions

• Cook chicken in pan with the spices. Once done, shred with 2 forks. Sometimes I just throw it in the food processor quickly if I'm in a rush.
• When you are ready to cook, heat a large pan. Add onions, green onions, and all peppers. Saute for a few minutes.
• Add the chicken and stir.
• Add the cream cheese slowly, blending everything together.
• Add the salsa and corn. Tonight I only used a bit of enchilada sauce instead of the salsa.
• Stir over medium heat until you have a creamy mixture.
• Pour a thin layer of enchilada sauce into a casserole dish.
• Spoon some of the mixture into the middle of a tortilla shell. Roll up, place in a casserole dish seam side down. Continue until you are done with the mixture. I usually get six nice sized enchiladas.
• Top with some of the sauce and cheese. Bake on 375 for about 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

I love having these with Mexican rice. They are great the next day, too!

Fried Pickles with a Yogurt-Dill Dip

When we first saw fried pickles on the menu of our local Mexican restaurant, Poco's, we thought they sounded disgusting. But about a year later we finally decided to just try them and WOW, were we glad we did! They are the most unusual things, but surprisingly very tasty. They are a bit addictive too.. we'd find ourselves talking about going to Poco's just to get the pickles.

We decided to stay in tonight so that gave me some extra time to cook. I found a recipe for fried pickles on the Food Network Website and then found this recipe for a yogurt-dill dip which is what Poco's serves them with.

I followed the dip recipe almost exactly:

• 1 cup yogurt, low-fat strained (Greek-style) I used plain lowfat yogurt
• 1 clove garlic (small, minced)
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill (chopped)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon peel (finely grated)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Chill.

__________________________________________

I did make some changes to the pickle recipe noted below:

Ingredients

• 1 pint sliced dill pickles, undrained (I used fresh pickles from the deli)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (I didn't use this)
• 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons ground red pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Vegetable oil

Directions

• Drain pickles, reserving 2/3-cup pickle juice. Press pickles between paper towels. (I didn't need to do this)
• Combine 2/3 cup pickle juice, egg, 1 tablespoon flour, and hot sauce. Stir well and set aside. (I only used egg and flour)
• Combine 1 1/2 cups flour with ground red pepper, garlic powder, salt, and paprika. Blend well.
• Dip pickles in egg mixture, then dredge in flour mixture.
• Fry coated pickles in 375-degree oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

________________________________________

The Result....The dip was excellent and the pickles were pretty good. The flour mixture didn't stick to the pickles all that well, so next time I'll use bread crumbs and spices instead of flour.

Garlic Cheddar Chicken

I first got this recipe from nestie Amber and I believe she got it from this allrecipes.com recipe.

I don't make this chicken often because of all the butter and cheese, but when I do, we never have leftovers! I love the crispy cheese breading and especially love picking it off the pan after dinner!




Here is what I do (it's a little different than the original recipe)

• Melt 1/2 stick butter in a pan. Add 6 cloves pressed garlic and saute. Remove from heat
• In a bowl mix breadcrumbs, cheddar cheese, and parmesan cheese
• Dip a thinly sliced chicken breast in the butter/garlic mixture and then the breading mixture.
• Bake chicken on 400 for about 15 minutes; longer for thicker chicken.

I served it with sauteed spinach - heat good olive oil in a pan along with some red pepper flakes. Add fresh spinach, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Continue to move the spinach around so it wilts evenly. Remove from pan when it is just about wilted. I just recently started adding ground black pepper to my spinach and it tastes a lot better!

If you are looking for quick comfort food, try this chicken.

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken with a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This is last Sunday's dinner - I'm a bit behind on updating this blog! The weekdays are just too crazy with work anymore, so I need to be sure to do my updates on the weekends.

We both enjoy stuffed chicken, but last week I wanted some sort of sauce to go on top of it and on the plate. Roasted red peppers came to mind. Here is what I did -

Chicken

• Trim chicken breasts and pound thin. I use the thinly sliced chicken breasts and pound them out even more


• I sprinkled each one with a tiny bit of salt, pepper, coriander, and paprika


• Then I topped each one with some shredded parmesan and asiago cheeses followed by a few leaves of slightly wilted spinach.


• Roll it up and tie with twine. You can also use toothpicks but I find the twine works better and is easier to take off after they are cooked.


• Bake on 400 for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is done.

Sauce

I used store bought roasted red peppers - the ones at the deli, not jarred. I'd like to try this with Jon's homemade roasted red peppers.

• Chop 2 roasted red peppers, 1/2 of a shallot, and 1 clove of garlic.


• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add peppers, shallot, and garlic. Saute for 3-4 min.


• Slowly add heavy or light cream; I used about 1/2 c.


• Transfer to a food processor and puree.


• Add just a touch of parmesan.


• Cook on low/medium until sauce slightly thickens. Adjust any seasonings needed.

_________________________________________

I poured the sauce over the chicken and it was the perfect combination of flavors. I served this with my usual parmesan garlic risotto (but used more garlic, parmesan and asiago cheeses, no black truffle oil) and some steamed green beans.

I had some leftover sauce so the next day I heated up some risotto and added the sauce. It was incredible! Now I need to try to make a creamy roasted red pepper risotto!

Pasta in a Tomato-Garlic-Parmesan Cream Sauce

I had 30 minutes to prep, cook, and eat last night before leaving for my classes. The results did not taste like a 30 minute meal at all.. this was one of the best pasta sauces I've made!





Ingredients

• Penne pasta
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 shallot, chopped
• 1 c light or heavy cream
• 1/3 c Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp dry white wine
• Handful of fresh spinach (optional, but I loved it in this dish!)

Directions

• Cook pasta; set aside
• Heat olive oil; add shallots and garlic, saute. Add tomatoes, stir.
• Add the white wine and thyme. Reduce heat, and allow to simmer for a few minutes.
• Add the cream and bring to a simmer
• Add the cheese and salt, stir
• Toss the pasta in the sauce. If you are using spinach, add it once you turn the heat off so it wilts. Adjust salt if necessary.

I'm so glad I made enough to have leftovers tonight!

New Appetizer Creation - Bacon-Cheese-Onion Tart

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted! Things have been so busy with work that I've been making my regular meals. I haven't had the time or energy to try new things or come up with new recipes. But last weekend we were invited to a dinner party and I offered to make an appetizer. I made this one up with inspiration from the Blue Cheese Tart I made over the summer. I wish I had a picture! But hey, at least I have a new post!

Ingredients

• 3 yellow onions, sliced
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/3 tsp each sugar and salt
• 8 slices bacon
• 1 refrigerated pizza crust; I used Pillsbury
• 3/4 cup each shredded Parmesan and Asiago Cheeses
• 3 tbsp of a soft cheese like mascarpone which I'll use next time. I didn't have any so I used Laughing Cow Lowfat Swiss (2 wedges)

Directions

• Caramelize the onions: Melt butter in a saute pan with the olive oil. Add onions and saute on medium-high heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add salt and sugar, stir, and lower heat to medium/medium low. Continue to stir the onions for about 20 minutes or until they are a nice golden brown color.
• Roll your pizza crust out onto a cookie sheet. I prebaked mine for about 5 minutes.
• Top the pizza crust with the spreadable cheese, then the onions, then some of the shredded cheese, then crumbled bacon, and then finally the rest of the crumbled cheese
• Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the crust is a nice golden brown
• Slice into 2 inch squares and serve

I could go for some of this right now! It was so tasty and I love the mixture of the sweet onions with the flavor of the cheeses and bacon. I was surprised at how well the Laughing Cow cheese worked. It was a great substitute for a "flavorless" spreadable cheese which is what I originally pictured using.

Cilantro-Pepper-Corona Chicken, Oven Fries with Cilantro Cream, and Corn on the Cob

Tonight was one of those nights where I had a few ideas and just starting putting things together as the ideas came to me. I didn't have any recipes, just a bunch of fresh ingredients and some creative ideas on how to pull them all together. The result was a great dinner for a weeknight, and one that will go on my list of things to definitely make again!

Cilantro-Pepper-Corona Chicken




Ingredients

• 1 pound of chicken trimmed and cut into cubes
• 1 handful of cilantro, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped into large pieces
• 1 large jalapeno, chopped with seeds
• 1/2 of an onion, chopped into large pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• Cumin, chili powder, and salt
• 1/2 cup Corona
• Juice from 1/2 of a lime

Directions

• Mix chicken with the cilantro, spices, and half of the beer. Set in the fridge for about an hour
• Make a foil packet and mix the marinated chicken with the peppers, onion, garlic, lime juice, and the rest of the beer
• Wrap it up and cook it on the grill for about 20 minutes. That's it!!

_______________________________________

Oven Fries with Cilantro Cream

• Chop 1 baking potato into slices
• Toss with olive oil, salt, cumin, and chili powder
• Bake on 400 for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through

Cilantro Cream:

• Mix 1/2 cup sour cream with a handful of chopped cilantro. Chill.

The cilantro cream was the perfect dipping sauce for the spicy fries. The cream was even good on the chicken.

Chicken Piccata and Green Beans with Bacon and Caramelized Shallots

I've never made or eaten chicken piccata before! It was one of the dishes we served at our wedding but at that time I was still a vegetarian. I found a recipe by Giada on the food network website and decided to try it tonight. My parents came over for dinner too so it was fun to try out something new.


Chicken Piccata
I followed the recipe as far as what to do, however I never measure anything - I go by how it looks and tastes. I know I used more broth than the recipe called for and the extra sauce was great over rice. Here is the original recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half (I used 3 breasts)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (I used a little less)
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (ended up being the juice from one lemon)
• 1/2 cup chicken stock (I used a whole can - 14.5 oz)
• 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed (I used a little less)
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  

Directions

• Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
• In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 4 tablespoons of butter with 5 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. (the original recipe had me cooking half of the chicken at a time, but my pan was big enough to do all of it at once)
• Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Add salt and pepper if needed.
• Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter.
• Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Jon and I really, really liked this so we'll definitely make it again. It was so easy, too! I spent about 15-20 minutes prepping and 15 minutes cooking.

___________________________________

Green Beans with Bacon and Caramelized Shallots
I found a recipe for green beans on allrecipes.com. My only change was to use 3 slices of chopped bacon instead of pancetta. They were very yummy...bacon fat makes everything better!

Ingredients

• 1 1/5 pounds fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed
• 3 oz coarsely chopped pancetta (I used 3 slices of chopped bacon)
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper (I didn't use any - it didn't need it at all)

Directions

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and boil 3 to 4 minutes until just tender. Drain beans and immediately plunge into ice water. Allow to sit in ice water until cold, then drain well, and set aside.
• Cook pancetta (bacon) in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crispy, then set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium, stir shallots into the pancetta (bacon) fat, and cook gently until the shallots have turned dark golden brown, about 10 minutes.
• Place pancetta (bacon) and green beans in skillet; toss and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving. (I didn't do this)

_______________________________________

This whole dinner was so good but also so easy. I'm looking forward to making the chicken again. I'll make the beans again too, but not anytime soon because they aren't exactly the healthiest way to eat green beans!!