East of the Equator Cafe

Chinese Pot Roast

2012-01-22T15:35:00.000-05:00

This is a tried and truerecipe that I will be making in the Café tonight:

Chinese Pot Roast

Ingredients:

1 (4 pound) beef chuckroast (bone in or not)
1 tablespoon garlicsalt
1 tablespoon groundblack pepper
1 teaspoon drymustard powder
1 tablespoonvegetable oil
3 cups water
3/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons whitevinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon groundginger (I used 1/3 of a cup. I like ginger)
1 teaspoon celeryseed
2 tablespoonscornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

Directions:
Preheat the oven to325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Coat the chuckroast with garlic salt, pepper and mustard powder. Heat the oil in a largeoven-proof skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the roast and brownon both sides, about 5 minutes per side.

In a medium bowl,stir together 3 cups of water, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, ginger and celeryseed. Pour over the roast and then cover the roast tightly with a lid oraluminum foil.

Bake in thepreheated oven until the roast is very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

When the roast isdone, remove it from the pan to a serving plate. Set the pan of drippings overmedium-high heat and bring to a boil. Stir together cornstarch and 1/4 cup ofcold water. Pour into the boiling liquid and stir until thickened, about 1minute. Serve, pouring the gravy over the roast.

Cook’s Notes: I will also make rice and some sort of tossedgreens salad to complete this meal.

The first of Deirdre's Birthday Dinners: Roast Tenderloin of Beef with Mustard Sauce

2012-01-21T09:41:00.000-05:00

Deirdre's birthday is upon us and it is time to celebrate. There will be at least two and perhaps more birthday dinners to celebrate her birthday. In the Cafe tonight we are making a tried and true favorite:

ROASTTENDERLOIN OF BEEF WITH MUSTARD SAUCE

2tsp. soy sauce
2 1/2 lbs. beef tenderloin
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 med. garlic clove, minced
3 med. shallots, minced
1/3 c. dry red wine
1 1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup (8 oz.) canned low-sodium beef broth
1/4 c. plus 1 tbsp. heavy cream
2 tbsp. unsalted butter

1. Rub the soy sauce all over the beef andlet sit for 30 minutes. Season with pepper.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large, heavy,oven-proof skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the beef and cook until well browned onall sides, about 5 minutes.

3. Transfer the pan to the oven and roastthe tenderloin for about 20 minutes, turning once, until the internaltemperature reads 127F degrees on a meat thermometer for rare. Transfer the meat to a cutting board, coverloosely with foil and let sit for 10 minutes.

4. Pour off any fat from the skillet. Add the garlic and shallots and cook over lowheat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Pour in the wine, increase the heat to highand simmer for 1 minute. Stir in themustard, broth and cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to moderate and simmer until thesauce has reduced to 1 cup and is thick enough to lightly coat the back of aspoon, about 6 minutes. Reduce the heatto low and stir in the butter until incorporated.

5. Using a sharp knife, cut the meat into12 slices. Arrange the meat on plates ora platter, spoon the mustard sauce on top and serve.

Along with the roast, we will be serving rice pilaf and a Radicchio-Boston Bibb Lettuce Salad with a blue cheese dressing.

Later today we will be stopping by Art of the Table to pick up some vino to go with this meal. More to follow as conditions warrant.

GROUND BEEF AND CHEESE CASSEROLE

2012-01-19T21:42:00.003-05:00

A favorite recipe of ground beef, macaroni, garlic, stewed tomatoes, butter, onion, and other seasonings, layered with cheddar cheese.

Ingredients:

8 ounces elbow macaroni, uncooked
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 medium bay leaf
1 can (14.5) ounces stewed tomatoes (I use diced tomatoes with sweet onions)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I use more)
Seasonings of your choice. I use Mickey and T's All American seasoning.

Preparation:

Cook macaroni in boiling salted water according to package directions.
In a large saucepan, combine seasonings, onion, garlic, butter, pepper, ground beef, bay leaf, and tomatoes. Don't strain the tomatoes.
Cook slowly for 20 minutes; stir in 1 1/2 cups of the Cheddar cheese. Spoon about half of the macaroni into a buttered 2-quart casserole. Top with cooked meat mixture then remaining macaroni and reserved cheese. Bake beef macaroni casserole, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes.
Beef Macaroni Casserole serves 6.

Total Time: 50 minutes

2012-01-08T16:42:00.002-05:00

I have not made this recipe in a while, but it is definitely a keeper for a cold winter night. As I type this, our house is starting to fill with the wonderful aroma of this dish.

Stay in Bed Stew

2 ½ lbs stewing beef

1 cup chopped carrots (I used 3 medium sized carrots)

1 cup chopped celery (I used an entire stalk)

1 cup chopped onions (I used one onion)

1 parsnip

1 potato, chopped up

1 bay leaf

2 or 3 garlic cloves (optional)

5 whole allspice kernels (Yep, whole kernels!)

1 can beef bullion (I used a can of Campbell’s Beef Broth, plus ½ a can of water)

1 15oz can tomato sauce

3 T tapioca

Place all ingredients into a Dutch oven and bake for 4 ½ hours at 275F. Yield is dinner for 4-6 people.

The recipe is really that easy. Throw all of the ingredients into the pot and away you go. I added the garlic cloves the last time I made this recipe (the original recipe did not call for garlic) and it really improved the flavor of the stew.

A hearty bottle of Cabernet or Merlot stands up well to this meal. I added a few dashes of Mickey & T's All American Seasoning to the stew, and I mixed up the ingredients before I put the Dutch oven in the oven.

New Year's Eve Ribeye Steaks

2012-01-01T09:35:00.000-05:00

As we awaited the first major snow storm of the 2011-2012 winter season, we decided for our New Year's Eve meal that it might be nice to grill a couple of steaks before the snow started coming down. We found this recipe and decided to give it a try. We were not disappointed.

Ribeye Steak Marinade
Ingredients:

- 2 ribeye steaks
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 3 or 4 garlic cloves, minced
- Ground black pepper to taste

1. Whisk the vegetable oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, and pepper together in a bowl until combined.
2. Place the meat in the a plastic bag, and pour the marinade over the steaks. Squeeze out excess air,
and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours. Discard the marinade after it has been used.
3. Prepare a fire in a grill. Cook the steaks until done to your likes. Remove from the grill and place the steaks on a cutting board. Loosely cover with aluminum foil and allow the, to rest for ten minutes.

Cook's Notes: We marinated the steaks for about six hours, turning the bag about every two hours. The marinade really permeated the steaks and the flavor was amazing. This recipe is a keeper.

Rosemary Potatoes

2011-12-31T09:11:00.000-05:00

I love potatoes. I love them even more for breakfast. There is a local diner in Eastown, Wolfgangs, that serves the best rosemary potatoes anywhere. We set out to replicate their success.

As many potatoes as you wish, diced.
[I use a very sharp knife and dice the potatoes into small pieces. I find they cook better and more evenly this way. I expect that you could make them larger and bake them, but I haven't tried that].
Seasoning. I use Mickey and T's All American.
Fresh rosemary. Rinsed, dried, and smashed into teeny, tiny pieces.

I cook them in olive oil with a medium to low heat. I like mine a little crispy, so I crank up the heat the last few minutes.

Two hints that we use that make these potatoes the very best.

First, dry the potatoes after dicing. This absorbs the water and helps in the cooking. If you forget, it won't ruin it but it does help.

Second, whip this up the day before you want to cook them. Let the potatoes, the seasoning, and the rosemary sit overnight and get, as Emeril says, all happy.

Hmmm, delicious. I always make enough for two batches. Cheers to good eats!

Christmas Eve Dinner

2011-12-25T09:34:00.000-05:00

I am happy to report that our dinner on Christmas Eve was an unqualified success. Rosemary Garlic Chicken was a also perfectly complimented by a bottle of 2009 Gregory Graham Chardonnay. You can read more about the wine here. Of course, Deirdre had to snap a few images, because that is what she does...

I was even able to use my kitchen hammer to flatten out the chicken breasts:

Cheers!

The almost finished product:

Tonight we will make Pan Seared Filet Mignon. Bon appetit!

Christmas Eve Dinner

2011-12-24T16:29:00.002-05:00

This is what we will be serving at the Cafe tonight for dinner:

Rosemary-Garlic Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried fresh thyme
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Using a rolling pin, pound the chicken between 2 sheets of wax paper until they are of uniform thickness. Heat the oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers and the garlic browns. (Don't burn the garlic.) Add the chicken breasts and cook until golden, 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Add the salt, pepper, vinegar, chicken broth, rosemary and thyme. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 3 minutes longer or until the chicken is fork-tender. Remove the chicken to a platter and keep warm. Increase heat to high and boil the sauce until thickened or syrupy, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the butter and pour the sauce over the chicken.

Yield: 4 servings

Cook’s Notes:

    Slice the garlic, do not crush it. I do not know why but the sliced garlic makes this dish taste a lot better.
    Serve with plain cous cous or rice.
    Use fresh rosemary, if possible. It really makes a difference in this recipe.

Chicken Piccata

2011-12-03T17:43:00.004-05:00

This is an incredibly easy meal to make and it has a very elegant taste. I made it last night as part of my continuing birthday celebration (I had bronchitis for my birthday, so we pushed out the celebration day out to 2 December). Give it a try and serve it over angel hair pasta.

Chicken Piccata

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts.
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
Additional all purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup drained capers
1/4 cup fresh parsley (optional)

Place the chicken between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Using a meat pounder or a rolling pin, lightly pound the chicken to 1/4 inch thickness, the cut the chicken into strips. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Mix 1 tablespoon butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons flour in a small bowl until smooth. Place additional flour in a shallow baking dish. Dip the chicken into flour to coat and shake off the excess flour.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy skillet. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook over medium high heat until golden brown (5-7 minutes a side). Remove the chicken and place on a platter. Tent the chicken with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Bring the wine, lemon juice and broth to a boil in the skillet over medium high heat. Whisk in the butter flour mixture and cook until the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in the capers, parsley and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Place the cooked chicken back into the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.

Cook's Notes:

1. I sometimes cut the chicken into bite size pieces, instead of pounding the breasts and cutting them into strips.

2. I often serve this over angel hair pasta. It is a nice combination.

Grilled Pork Chops

2011-11-26T17:37:00.005-05:00

Since we did not cook a turkey for our Thanksgiving meal, we are not trying to eat our way through a couple pounds of turkey leftovers. Last night, I grilled a couple of Delmonico steaks. Tonight, I am going to once again fire up my Weber and grill a couple of pork chops. Deirdre and I are still debating the side dishes, but I am fairly confident that there will be some tossed greens, maybe some sort of rice.

Back to the main course, the pork chops. We are using the All American Seasoning from Mickey. We love love love his products and tonight I sprinkled some of his All American Season on the chops. The piggies are quietly marinating in the fridge and I know that they will turn out great, all because of Mickey's seasoning.

I took a gamble this past summer and purchased some of his stuff at Oscoda's Art on the Beach fair in June and I am a believer. As readers of this blog know, I am a little picky about the ingredients I use when I cook. I can't say enough about Mickey's products. Take a moment, look at his website and see if there is a rub or a seasoning you might want to try. Mickey's stuff is awesome.

Post-Ex on the Filet Mignon with Shallot Pepper Cream Sauce

2011-11-25T14:36:00.004-05:00

I am happy to report that our Thanksgiving meal was an unqualified success. Here are some images of the preparation of the meal.

Here are the shallots on my food processor:

From Thanksgiving 2011

Here are the filets seasoned with pepper:

No description here is needed:

Heating the filets prior to cooking them on the stovetop:

Into the oven to get the filets up to ~100F:

Warming up:

Making the sauce:

Our Thanksgiving table:

Well, we did have turkey on our table on Thanksgiving Day:

Thanksgiving Dinner: The Main Course

2011-11-24T10:35:00.003-05:00

We tend to be a little unconventional when it comes the Thanksgiving dinner. Sure, I have made a whole turkey with all the traditional side dishes. However, when it is just me and Deirdre, cooking a turkey, even a small one, yields a lot of leftovers and we end up throwing a lot of it away. So tonight I am cooing up two beef filets.

Here is the recipe:

Filet Mignon with Shallot Pepper Cream Sauce
· 1/4 cup coarsely crushed black peppercorns
· 4 (6 ounce) beef tenderloin filets, 1 1/2 inches thick
· salt to taste
· 1 tablespoon butter
· 1 teaspoon olive oil
· 1-2 shallots, finely chopped
· 2 T cup beef broth
· 1 cup heavy cream

Preheat an oven to 275F.Place the peppercorns into a shallow bowl. Sprinkle the beef tenderloin filets with salt on both sides, and coat both sides with crushed peppercorns. Place the filets on a cutting board or dish and cover with foil. Let the filets sit at room temperature for 45-60 minutes.

After the filets have warmed, place them in a pan and put the pan in the pre-heated oven. Cook the filets until they have reached an internal temperature of 95F (12-15 minutes). Once the filets have reached an internal temperature of 95F, take the filets out of the oven.

Melt the butter with the olive oil over high heat in a heavy skillet (not nonstick) until the foam disappears from the butter. Gently place the steaks in the pan, and cook until they start to become firm and are reddish-pink and juicy in the center, about 3 1/2 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 130 degrees F (54 degrees C).

Remove the steaks to platter, and cover tightly with foil.Cook the shallots in the pan for 1-2 minutes, then pour the beef broth into the skillet, and use a whisk to stir the broth and scrape up any dissolved brown flavor bits from the skillet. Whisk in the cream, and simmer the sauce until it is reduced and thickened, 6 to 7 minutes.

Place the steaks back in the skillet, turn to coat with sauce, and serve with the remaining sauce.

Cook's Notes: This was an easy and incredibly easy dish to make. It has an incredibly sophisticated taste but it could not be easier to make. We will serve this meal with a bottle of Educated Guess Cabernet.

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours!

Apple Pie: A Thanksgiving tradition

2011-11-24T09:59:00.003-05:00

Ever since I can remember, I liked apples. I liked apples is all forms. I especially like apple pie, or I used to say as a small child in my dyslexic world, "Pie apple." My mother found the recipe below in a newspaper, probably the Detroit Free Press, and it became a staple in our home for Thanksgiving.

Of course Deirdre had to document my work preparing the pie (and she helped peel and cut up the apples):

From Thanksgiving 2011

Apple Pie Ingredients:

• 3-4 lbs Braeburn or MacIntosh apples, peeled and cut into small pieces

• Betty Crocker Pie Crust Mix or Jiffy Pie Crust Mix

• Sugar

• Cinnamon

• Nutmeg

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 of remaining pie crust mix

Teaspoon Cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg

Peeled and cut apples

Topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 of the remaining pie crust mix

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Dash of cinnamon

Pre-heat your oven to 425F. Follow the directions to make the crust for a single pie crust and

reserve the remaining crust mix. The Betty Crocker or the Jiffy mix work well with this recipe.

The remaining pie crust mix is an important part of the filling and the topping, so split in half

the remaining pie crust mix for the topping and the filling.

In a large bowl, mix well the filling ingredients. Pour the filling into the waiting pie crust.

Mix the topping ingredients into the same bowl and sprinkle the topping over the pie filling and

place into the pre-heated oven, and bake the pie on the lower rack of your oven. Check the pie

at approximately 35 minutes (normal cooking time is 40-45 minutes). Cook the pie until you

see the apples bubbling.

I prefer to use Braeburn or MacIntosh apples as they bake well. Avoid using Red Delicious

or Granny Smith apples as they tend to be too bitter for a good pie

Here are a few images of the finished product:

Deirdre and I will enjoy a slice or two of this pie with our Thanksgiving meal. Look for that recipe soon.

Paul's Chili

2011-11-20T17:53:00.002-05:00

I purchased a couple of whole beef tenderloins recently. I asked the butcher to trim the tenderloins and grind the trimmings. These trimmings make an excellent chili. As luck would have it, we felt like making a pot of chili for dinner tonight. Below is the recipe I used:

Chili con Carne

2 large onions, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 carrots, sliced
3 lbs boneless beef chuck, ground coarse
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon crumbled dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried hot red pepper flakes
2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 1/4 cups beef broth
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot cook the onions in the olive oil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until they are softened. Once the onions are softened, add the garlic and carrots, then cook and stir the mixture for 1 minute. Add the beef and cook it over moderate heat, stirring and breaking up any lumps, until the beef is no longer pink. Add the chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, and the red pepper flakes, then cook and stir the mixture for 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce, beef broth, cider vinegar and bring the mixture to a boil. After the mixture begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally for 60-90 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and cook for 15 more minutes.

Serves 6

The chili has about another hour to go. We also have sour cream and grated cheese to top the chili. Yum!

Lamb Meatballs with Couscous and Feta

2011-11-19T07:34:00.001-05:00

Several months ago, Paul made this dish. It was AH_Mazing and we vowed to make it again. He updated some of the spices and we have some additional ideas if you would like to make this. True confessions, I am not a big fan of lamb. A rack is lovely once in a while but I normally find if oddly tasting and way too greasy for me. This recipe is wonderful - the taste is great and it's not greasy at all.

Lamb Meatballs with Couscous and Feta

    1 lb ground lamb
    1/4 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
    1/2 teaspoon coriander
    1/2 teaspoon dry mint (new)
    1 small red onion, half finely chopped and half thinly sliced
    Kosher salt and pepper to taste
    1 cup couscous
    3 tablespoons olive oil
    3 tablespoons lemon juice
    3 plum tomatoes, sliced
    1/2 cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
    1/4 cup Feta cheese for the mixture (new)
    4 ounces Feta cheese, crumbled (for topping)

Pre-heat a broiler. In a bowl, combine the lamb, Feta cheese, apricots, coriander, chopped red onion and salt and pepper to taste. Form the mixture into meatballs, approximate 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place the meatballs on a broiling pan. Broil until cooked through, approximately 12 minutes.

From 2011-11-18

While the meatballs are cooking, prepare the couscous per the directions on the box.

From 2011-11-18

Again while the meatballs are cooking, mix the lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. When the meatballs are done, spoon the couscous onto a plate, serve the meatballs on the couscous, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers and Feta cheese. Drizzle with the dressing.

From 2011-11-18

Cook's Notes:
This was an incredibly easy meal to make. Paul used the food processor to chop the apricots and the red onions. This time, he added a 1/4 cup of Feta into the lamb mixture and dried mint to the dressing and HOKEY-SPITBALLS it was incredible. It was nothing short of delicious. We might add a little bit of honey in the drizzle next time. We served it with a wonderful red and it was the best Friday night meal. Quick, easy, and so delicious! Bon Appetit!

Tuscan Pork Roast

2011-11-06T15:58:00.000-05:00

Tuscan Pork Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com

    1 (3 pound) boneless pork loin roast
    3 garlic cloves, minced
    2 tablespoons olive oil
    1 tablespoon fennel seed, crushed
    1 tablespoon dried rosemary, crushed
    1 teaspoon salt
    1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients; rub over pork roast. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Place roast on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. ~~Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 1-1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F~~, basting occasionally with pan juices. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Why the strikethrough? Because I can never follow directions. It's both a blessing and curse really. I made the paste and did let the pork roast sit overnight. Then, I threw it in the slow cooker. Slow cookers are made JUST for people like me. I have no idea really what I am doing. A few hours into cooking, I threw a little chicken broth and white wine in.

I wish that I had a smell-o-blog because this house smells divine. There is no way that this isn't going to be fabulous.

Cheers!

Chicken Curry

2011-10-30T08:10:00.002-04:00

We felt a little spicy on Saturday, and that called for Chicken Curry and Apple Curried Cous Cous!

Chicken Curry

Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 pounds chicken breast filets, cut into strips
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried coriander
- ½ teaspoon dried ginger
- Red pepper flakes to taste
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ½ cup chicken stock (or broth)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:
1. Heat butter in a heavy skillet over medium high heat until the foam from the butter subsides. Add the chicken and cook until browned, 5-7 minutes. Add cumin, coriander, ginger and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
2. Lower heat to medium-low, simmer, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Slowly add the heavy cream and simmer (do not let the mixture come to a boil) for 3-4 minutes.
3. Transfer chicken and the sauce to a serving plate and serve immediately.

Cook’s Notes: Be careful not to let the sauce boil after you add the heavy cream. If you are looking for the “Curry Powder,” it is the mix of cumin, coriander and ginger. Finally, the more red pepper flakes you add, the spicier you meal will be. Enjoy this meal with rice or cous cous.

Now, the Curried Apple Cous Cous recipe:

Curried Apple Cous Cous
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 medium apples, cored and chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried coriander
- ½ teaspoon dried ginger
- 3 green onions, washed and chopped
- 1 box Near East Cous Cous
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup pine nuts
- small handful of mint

In a large saucepan over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of the butter, cumin, coriander and ginger and cook for a few minutes until the spices are fragrant. Stir in the chopped apples and cook for 3-4 minutes, enough time for the apples to soften up and absorb some of the spices. Scoop the apples from the pan and set aside in a bowl.

In the same pan over medium-high heat, add the remaining tablespoon of butter. Stir in the green onions and cook them until they are soft. Add the water and bring to a boil, then stir in the cous cous. Cover and remove from the heat. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, then use a fork to fluff up the cous cous. Stir in the apples, pine nuts and chopped mint.

Serves 6

Sunday Pot Roast

2011-10-17T07:15:00.002-04:00

1 (4 -5 lb) beef roast, any kind

1 (1 1/4 ounce) package brown gravy mix, dry

1 (1 1/4 ounce) package dried Italian salad dressing mix

1 (1 1/4 ounce) package ranch dressing mix, dry

1/2 cup water

Directions:

1 Place beef roast in crock pot.

2. Mix the dried mixes together in a bowl and sprinkle over the roast.

3. Pour the water around the roast.

4. Cook on low for 7-9 hours.

Cooks notes.

I am a tweaker. With the water, we added a little red wine. We added vegetables - potatoes, a turnip, and carrots and put them in after the the beef had cooked for about two hours. About 4 hours into the cooking, we added some beef broth. Oh, and a little more wine. In retrospect, I don't know that we really needed it.

In the end - magnificent. It was delicious. Meat was delectable and the veggies, just right. Hmmmm.... help yourself. Please share any tweaking you do. :)

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/to-die-for-crock-pot-roast-27208#ixzz1ahoqNHvE

CROCK POT BAR-B-Q

2011-09-17T18:00:00.001-04:00

I have the lead on our Sunday slow cooking. In the fall, we use the crock pot every Sunday. I am a BIG fan of crock pots.

Here's what is on the menu for tomorrow courtesy of Allrecipes.com.

CROCK POT BAR-B-Q
1 fresh pork picnic or pork shoulder
2 c. vinegar
2/3 c. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. salt
2 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 tsp. thyme
6 tbsp. prepared mustard
Few shakes of hot sauce to taste

Remove as much fat as possible from meat before cooking. Mix sauce ingredients and pour over pork in crock pot. Cook 12 hours (all night on low setting).

The next morning after cooking, remove meat from crock pot and cool until able to handle. Spoon fat from top of sauce in pot. When meat has cooled, separate all fat from meat and cut into pieces. Put meat back in sauce and cook over low setting until dinnertime.

Follow up on Monday! Happy eating.

Post-Ex on the Yummy Honey Chicken Kebobs

2011-09-08T16:17:00.003-04:00

I made the Yummy Honey Chicken Kabobs last night and I am happy to report that this recipe was a home run. I marinated the chicken for about 24 hours, occasionally shaking the Tupperware container that was holding the chicken and the marinade. I cooked the kabobs for about 14 minutes and they were done. One thing I will probably do differently the next time I make this recipe is to place the chicken and veggies on their own kabobs. The chicken needs to cook a lot longer than the veggies need to cook. This recipe is a keeper.

Yummy Honey Chicken Kabobs

2011-09-07T12:46:00.003-04:00

I found this recipe on the website www.allrecipes.com. I am going to make this for dinner tonight. Updates to follow as conditions warrant.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes

2 cloves garlic

5 small onions, cut into 2 inch pieces

2 red bell peppers, cut into 2 inch pieces

skewers

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, honey, soy sauce, and pepper.

Before adding chicken, reserve a small amount of marinade to brush

onto kabobs while cooking. Place the chicken, garlic, onions and

peppers in the bowl, and marinate in the refrigerator at

least 2 hours (the longer the better).

Preheat the grill for high heat.

Drain marinade from the chicken and vegetables, and discard marinade. Thread chicken and vegetables alternately onto the skewers. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place the skewers on the grill. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until chicken juices run clear. Turn and brush with reserved marinade frequently.

Mustard Marinated Flank Steak

2011-09-07T12:39:00.004-04:00

I needed to create a marinade for a flank steak and I was limited to what I had on hand at our cottage. Below is the marinade I create with the ingredients in my cupboard.

Mustard Marinated Flank Steak

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons coarse mustard

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Place all the ingredients into a zip-lok bag and let the meat marinate overnight.

Prepare a fire in a grill. Remove the steak from the back and discard the marinade. Place the steak on the grill and cook for 10-12 minutes (medium rare). Turn the steak once while cooking. Remove from the grill when done and place on a cutting board.

Cover the steak with foil and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes. Cut along the grain of the steak and serve at once.

Cook's Notes: This was a very good marinade. I cooked the steak for ~12 minutes, turning it once after about 6 minutes.

Lamb Meatballs with Couscous and Feta

2011-08-28T19:46:00.010-04:00

We are slowly finishing up the lamb we bought last year. Deirdre found this recipe and we both thought it would be yummy. We were right.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground lamb
1/4 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 small red onion, half finely chopped and half thinly sliced
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
1 cup couscous
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 plum tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
4 ounces Feta cheese, crumbled

Pre-heat a broiler. In a bowl, combine the lamb, apricots, coriander, chopped red onion and salt and pepper to taste. Form the mixture into meatballs, approximate 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place the meatballs on a broiling pan. Broil until cooked through, 8-10 minutes.

While the meatballs are cooking, prepare the couscous per the directions on the box.

Again while the meatballs are cooking, mix the lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

When the meatballs are done, spoon the couscous onto a plate, serve the meatballs on the couscous, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers and Feta cheese. Drizzle with the dressing.

Cook's Notes:

This was an incredibly easy meal to make. I used my food processor to chop the apricots and the red onions. It was nothing short of delicious. Here are a few images of the preparation and the meal.

Here are the lamb meatballs on the broiler pan:

From 8-28-2011

The sliced plum tomatoes:

From 8-28-2011

More meatballs:

From 8-28-2011

Placing the meatballs on the couscous:

From 8-28-2011

Drizzling the dressing on the meatballs, tomatoes, couscous, onions and cucumbers:

From 8-28-2011

We will definitely make this meal again. However, next time, I might add some Feta cheese to the ground lamb. Updates to follow as conditions warrant.

Basil-Garlic Grilled Pork Chops

2011-08-28T12:14:00.004-04:00

In preparation for the whole pig we recently purchased, we have been trying new pork chop recipes. If you like limes and basil you need to try this recipe.

Basil-Garlic Grilled Pork Chops

Ingredients

4 (8 ounce) pork chops
1 lime, juiced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

Toss the pork chops with the lime juice in a bowl until evenly covered.

Toss with garlic and basil. Season the chops to taste with salt and pepper.

Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil the grate.

Cook the pork chops on the preheated grill until no longer pink in

the center, 5 to 10 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer

inserted into the center should read 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Cook's Notes:

We like limes so I juiced two limes for this recipe. Also, I placed the marinade and the piggies in a zip-lok bag and marinated the chops over night. The chops were nothing short of delicious.

Breakfast

2011-08-28T07:50:00.003-04:00

This is new for us. I don't know that I have ever posted a breakfast recipe. And we are on a huge feta cheese kick right now. So I had all the ingredients for a terrific breakfast, sans Paul, because well, he doesn't eat eggs.

2 eggs, beaten
a few cherry tomatoes (as many or as few as you wish), quartered
a dash of white wine
a shake of basil
feta cheese

Heat up a tablespoon or so of olive oil and warm up the tomatoes. Over medium heat, add the egg mixture and let it cook until it starts to firm up. Add the cheese. Cook until done, depending on how you like your eggs.

You see how my cooking style differs wildly from Paul's precise measurements. I'm a 'this looks good' kind of cook. Oh, and this is a "Samson Approved" breakfast dish. I like it too.

Grilled Flank Steak with Rosemary and Vinegar Marinade

2011-08-07T09:02:00.003-04:00

Grilled Flank Steak with Rosemary and Vinegar Marinade

6 servings

1 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

2 tablespoons dried rosemary

2 cups olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 pounds flank steak

1. In a large bowl combine the red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar,

Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, mustard, rosemary,

both olive oils, and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk together until

thoroughly blended. Reserve once cup of marinade for later use.

2. Add the steak to the remaining sauce in the zip-lok bag and

marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

3. Prepare a fire in the grill. Cook the flank steak to desired

doneness. 4-6 minutes per side for medium rare.

3. Remove the steak from the grill and place on a cutting board.

Loosely cover the steak with aluminum foil and allow the steak to

rest for 5-10 minutes. Slice the steak along the grain

into half-inch slices. Serve at once with the reserved sauce.

Cook's Notes: I made the marinade on Friday night and placed the steak and the marinade in a zip-lok bag. The steak marinated overnight and cooked it last night for dinner. The marinade permeate the steak and I will definitely make this again. I drizzled a little of the reserved marinade over the sliced steak and it complimented the meat well.

BBQ Curried Shrimp

2011-07-31T20:19:00.004-04:00

This meal was sorta thrown together. We had about half a pound of frozen uncooked shrimp that we needed to cook at our cottage. A few weeks ago at an event in Oscoda called Art on the Beach we wandered by a booth with a person named Mickey who sold his personal line of rubs and seasonings. We purchased a few bottles of his stuff and we found them to be fantastic. We bought more of spices and one of them was called "A Taste of India." It was essentially a curry seasoning. We decided to use this seasoning with the shrimp and we were not disappointed. Here is the recipe:

- 1/2 lb uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

- 1 tablespoon Mickey's "A Taste of India" seasoning

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

- Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

In a small bowl, combine the seasoning, olive oil, red wine vinegar and the red pepper flakes, if used. Mix the ingredients well until the oil and the vinegar emulsify. Place the shrimp in the bowl and mix to coat the shrimp. Cover and place in the fridge for at least an hour.

While the shrimp is marinating, place 4-5 skewers in water and let them soak for at least an hour.

Prepare a fire in your grill.

Remove the shrimp from the marinade and discard the marinade. Skewer the shrimp and when the grill is ready, place the skewers on the grill. Cook the shrimp, turning every 2 minutes until the shrimp is done. Remove the skewers from the grill and serve immediately.

Cook's Notes: This was an incredibly easy meal to make. Next time, I will add more of the Indian seasoning. I cooked the shrimp for 6 minutes. They were fantastic! I would also recommend that you poke around Mickey's website. While his website is not the slickest on the planet, his seasonings are amazing!

BBQ NY Strip Steak Recipe

2011-07-17T09:06:00.001-04:00

Deirdre found this recipe yesterday. Technically, it was e-mailed to her, but she found it nevertheless. We had a couple of rib eye steaks in the freezer, just East of the Equator, so we thought we would give this recipe a try. We were not disappointed. The steaks were amazing. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup minced garlic

1/4 cup steak seasoning

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 (1/2 pound) New York strip steaks

Directions

- In a bowl, mix the olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, steak seasoning, red wine vinegar,

basil, and Italian seasoning. Pour into a large resealable plastic bag. Pierce steaks on all sides

with a fork, and place in the bag. Gently shake to coat. Seal bag and marinate steaks a minimum

of 2 hours in the refrigerator.

- Preheat grill for high heat. Lightly oil the grill grate. Discard marinade. Place steaks on the

grill, and cook 7 minutes on each side, or to desired doneness.

Cook's Notes:

I used McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning as the "steak seasoning" ingredient. Also, I marinated the steaks for 6 hours and cooked them for about 5 minutes per side. The flavor of the marinade permeated the meat and I will definitely make this dish again!

Grilled Teriyaki Marinated Pork Chops

2011-07-09T17:44:00.004-04:00

It has been a busy week here, just East of the Equator. I am making an easy dish tonight for our dinner: Grilled Teriyaki Marinated Pork Chops. Here is the full menu:

- Teriyaki Marinated Pork Chops

- Tossed Greens with Croutons and Creamy Ceasar Dressing

- Long Grain & Wild Rice

- 2009 Crios Torrontes wine (Argentina)

I am using a store bought teriyaki marinade. I put the piggies into a large Ziplok bag ~9AM and poured the teriyaki sauce into the bag. The chops have been quietly marinating for the past 9 hours. I will take them out of the bag ~7:30PM and put them on the grill.

Post-Ex on the Ribs

2011-07-04T11:05:00.003-04:00

I am happy to report that the ribs served last night were fantastic. The Rib Rub was a perfect compliment to the sauce I applied the last few minutes the piggies were on the grill. I would recommend the Rib Rub from Mickey & T's Rubs and Spices anytime.

BBQ Pork Ribs

2011-07-03T12:01:00.004-04:00

What is more fitting for a Fourth of July weekend meal that BBQ pork ribs? That is what will be cooking in the Cafe later tonight. A few weeks ago, Oscoda had its annual "Art on the Beach" at the Oscoda Public Park downtown. There were lots of artisans selling their wares, but there were also a few people selling cooking stuff. One of those people selling cooking stuff was Mickey. I was intrigued by his spices, so for a mere $20 I purchased 6 bottles of his spices. Two of the bottles were "Rib Rub." I am giving his rub a try with the piggies tonight. First, I purchased a package of ribs from Sam's Club, then I cut the ribs into approximately 8 inch sections. Then I liberally applied the Rib Rub to the piggies:

From BBQ Blog Pics

Here is a picture of the Rib Rub:

From BBQ Blog Pics

And here is the finished product:

From BBQ Blog Pics

The piggies are quietly marinating with the Rib Rub in the fridge. I will fire up the grill ~6PM and put the piggies on when the charcoal is ready. Once the ribs are done, I will add KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce to the meat. Deirdre will make her world famous Chopped Salad and crusty bread will also be served. Updates to follow as conditions warrant.

The other white meat

2011-06-28T19:17:00.000-04:00

We found a whole bunch of pork on sale. We bought it. Hence, LOTS of pork recipes. Here is what's cooking tonight at the cafe.

Modenese Pork Chops

2 tablespoons butter
2 (1 inch thick) pork chops
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
1 clove garlic, minced

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook chops in butter, turning once to brown evenly. Pour in wine, and season with salt, pepper, rosemary, and garlic. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until chops are tender. Transfer pork chops to serving plates, and spoon sauce over the meat.

Hmmmm ... yummy. Cheers!

Burgers

2011-06-26T18:59:00.000-04:00

We are tired. We have been up north all weekend so "the royal we" didn't feel much like cooking. So burgers on the grill it is.

Courtesy of Allrecipes.com

1 pound ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
~~1 1/2 teaspoons salt~~
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
4 hamburger buns, split

Per others' reviews, we skipped the salt. We grilled some buns, baked some crinkly fries, and put oranges in our Oberons! Happy summer cooking. Cheers!

Sesame Honey Grilled Shrimp

2011-06-12T09:39:00.004-04:00

We had a Surf & Turf themed dinner just East of the Equator last night. The turf part was easy enough: I took two beautiful ribeye out of the fridge about an hour before I put them on the grill and we seasoned them with Montreal Steak Seasoning. As for the surf, Deirdre and I have been on a bit of a shrimp kick the past few weeks. We scoured the internet for some new recipes and we found a recipe that looked very good.

From East of the Equator, Summer 2011

Here is the recipe:

Sesame Honey Grilled Shrimp

- 1/2 cup sesame oil

- 1/4 cup honey

- 2 1/2 tablespoons of line juice

- 1/2 tsp. ginger

- 1/2 tsp. minced garlic

- 1lb uncooked lg. shrimp, peeled and drained

- 5-6 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for an hour.

Mix first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Season with salt. Add shrimp, turning to coat marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Prepare barbecue (medium high heat). Remove the skewers from the water and remove shrimp from marinade. Skewer the shrimp, placing 5-6 shrimp on each skewer. Place the skewered shrimp on the grill shrimp until done, 3-4 minutes approximately each side.

Cook's Notes: We marinated the shrimp for 90 minutes and they turned out great. This recipe uses a lot of sesame oil, but the flavor of the shrimp is amazing. Because of the honey, the shrimp sort of carmelized, so the shrimp did not have much of a pink color when they were done. If you like any of the ingredients in this recipe, you gotta try this recipe.

Saturday night Surf and Cluck Dinner

2011-06-05T10:09:00.000-04:00

It has been a little slow at the Cafe recently. Work has been getting in the way of my blogging, but it does pay for our slice of paradise on Lake Huron. Speaking of East of the Equator, we had a Surf and Cluck dinner last night: Margarita Grilled Shrimp and Cajun Chicken.

From East of the Equator, Summer 2011

Here are the recipes:

Margarita Grilled Shrimp

Ingredients:

- 1lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined - 3 T fresh chopped cilantro

- 2 cloves garlic, minced - 1/4 t ground red pepper

- 2 T fresh lime juice - 1/4 t salt (optional)

- 3 T olive oil - 5-6 bamboo skewers, soaked in water

- 2 T tequila for 1 hour

1. Combine the shrimp, garlic lime juice, olive oil, tequila, cilantro, red pepper and salt in a bowl and mix. Cover and place in a refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.

2. Prepare an outdoor grill. When the charcoal is ready, drain the marinade from the shrimp and discard. Thread the shrimp on the skewers,

3. Cook the shrimp on the grill until the shrimp turn pink, 3-4 minutes per side

Cook's Notes: I cooked the shrimpies for ~ 6 minutes and they turned out great. next time, I will add more red pepper. This recipe is a keeper.

Cajun Chicken

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup olive oil - Garlic powder to taste

- 2 1/2 t Cajun seasoning - 2 1/2 t lemon pepper

- 2 1/2 t dried Italian seasoning - 4 skinless chicken breasts

1. In a shallow bowl, mix the oil, Cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and lemon pepper. Place the chicken in the dish and turn the breasts to coat them in the marinade. Cover and place in a refrigerator for 1 hour.

2. Prepare an outdoor grill. When the charcoal is ready, remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade.

3. Place the chicken breasts on the grill and cook until done, 8-10 minutes per side.

Cook's Notes: This was an incredibly easy dish to make and it was delicious. For Cajun seasoning, I used Emeril's Essence. Also, I had never heard of "Italian seasoning" until I saw this recipe. Conveniently, I found a bottle of Italian Seasoning at Meijers. After the chicken was done, I placed the breasts on a plate and covered them with aluminum foil and I allowed the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before I served them. I will definitely make this recipe again!

We washed it down with a delightful wine.

From East of the Equator, Summer 2011

Cheers from East of the Equator!

Chinese Pot Roast - revisited

2011-05-22T17:57:00.000-04:00

This recipe is unbelievable. Even in the summer.

From 2011-05-20

1 (4 pound) boneless beef chuck roast
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups water
3/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground ginger (I used 1/3 of a cup. I like ginger)
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

I can never add the ginger recipes call for. It's my shortcoming, for real.

From 2011-05-20

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Coat the chuck roast with garlic salt, pepper and mustard powder. Heat the oil in a large oven-proof skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the roast and brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.

In a medium bowl, stir together 3 cups of water, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, ginger and celery seed. Pour over the roast and then cover the roast tightly with a lid or aluminum foil.

Bake in the preheated oven until the roast is very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

When the roast is done, remove it from the pan to a serving plate. Set the pan of drippings over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Stir together cornstarch and 1/4 cup of cold water. Pour into the boiling liquid and stir until thickened, about 1 minute. Serve the roast with the gravy poured over.

Rapture meal

2011-05-21T18:29:00.001-04:00

Tonight is a good meal. Just in case. #rapture Hong Kong Flank Steak

Flank Steak

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 dry sherry

1 T minced fresh ginger (I never follow directions. I probably used 1/4 a cup)

1 T minced garlic

1 T sesame oil

1 T peanut oil

1 T rice vinegar

1 T honey

2 t hot chili oil

salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all, put it in a zip lock bag. Let it marinate for at least 8 hours, overnight preferable. Cook until desired doneness. We like it rare. 6 minutes each side.

Here is the rest of the menu.

From 2011-05-21

A nice slow cooked pork shoulder

2011-05-01T10:02:00.001-04:00

Our lazy Sundays are coming to winter's end. Soon our Sundays will be mostly composed of sunrises, crashing waves and walks on the beach. Having a Sunday to lounge and a pork shoulder to cook, I thought I would fire up the slow cooker before storing it for the summer. I found what looks to be a fabulous recipe, again courtesy of Allrecipes.com.

A Nice Slow-Cooked Pork

INGREDIENTS:
1 (3 pound) pork shoulder roast
1 quart ~~vegetable broth~~ (I used chicken broth and cut it in half)
1 cup sherry (per others input, used 1/2 a cup)
3 cups peeled, chopped potatoes (I used 3 potatoes as that's all I had)
2 cups pearl onions (I used a large, white onion quartered)
~~2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms~~ (only because Paul doesn't eat mushrooms)
1 tablespoon dried rosemary (I used fresh and more because I LOVE rosemary)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place the pork roast in a slow cooker. Pour in the vegetable broth and sherry. Mix in the potatoes, onions, mushrooms, rosemary, and pepper. (I set everything on top)
2. Cover, and cook on Low at least 8 hours, to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Season with salt to taste.

As you can see, I almost never follow directions. It's sort of a thing for me but I live with it. :) I also added five carrots, two cloves of garlic and a little red wine vinegar. Many of the comments said that there was too much liquid so I cut way back and will check it throughout the day. It looks delicious.

Vodka Martini with Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives

2011-04-10T16:55:00.003-04:00

In general, I am not a clear liquor drinker. I do not like gin, I tolerate tequila, and I can occasionally drink vodka. Well, last weekend our friends Mike and Pam introduced us to a vodka martini with a blue cheese stuffed olive. I thoroughly enjoyed the drink. It helped that Mike is a fantastic mixologist, too! I decided to try my hand at making a couple for me and the missus. Click here for some images of my work. Here is the recipe I used:

- 3 oz. vodka (I used Absolut)

- 2 capfulls of Martini and Rossi White Vermouth

- ice

- Dellalo Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives

Place a hand full of ice into a martini shaker. Pour in the vodka and the vermouth. Shake for 30 seconds or so and let the liquids sit for 1-2 minutes. Place an olive into a chilled martini glass, and then pour the liquid from the shaker into the glass. Yield 2 vodka martinis.

This was a simple yet incredibly elegant cocktail before we made dinner.

Filet Mignon with Pepper Cream Sauce

2011-03-27T08:32:00.008-04:00

1/4 cup coarsely crushed black peppercorns
4 (6 ounce) beef tenderloin filets, 1 1/2 inches thick
salt to taste
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
1-2 shallots, finely chopped
2 T cup beef broth
1 cup heavy cream
Preheat an oven to 275F.

Place the peppercorns into a shallow bowl. Sprinkle the beef tenderloin filets with salt on both sides, and coat both sides with crushed peppercorns. Place the filets on a cutting board or dish and cover with foil. Let the filets sit at room temperature for 45-60 minutes.

After the filets have warmed, place them in a pan and put the pan in the pre-heated oven. Cook the filets until they have reached an internal temperature of 95F (12-15 minutes). Once the filets have reached an internal temperature of 95F, take the filets out of the oven.

Melt the butter with the olive oil over high heat in a heavy skillet (not nonstick) until the foam disappears from the butter. Gently place the steaks in the pan, and cook until they start to become firm and are reddish-pink and juicy in the center, about 3 1/2 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 130 degrees F (54 degrees C). Remove the steaks to platter, and cover tightly with foil.

Cook the shallots in the pan for 1-2 minutes, then pour the beef broth into the skillet, and use a whisk to stir the broth and scrape up any dissolved brown flavor bits from the skillet. Whisk in the cream, and simmer the sauce until it is reduced and thickened, 6 to 7 minutes. Place the steaks back in the skillet, turn to coat with sauce, and serve with the remaining sauce.

Cook's Notes: This was an easy and incredibly easy dish to make. It has an incredibly sophisticated taste but it could not be easier to make. We served this with a bottle of Educated Guess Cabernet.

Saturday night salad

2011-03-20T08:41:00.000-04:00

Saturday night, we had friends Yvonne and Gary over for dinner. Paul made a magnificent honey and rosemary rack of lamb. Yvonne asked to bring the salad and how happy we were that she did. WOW. You need to make this sometime.

Radicchio with blue cheese and pears

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 T white wine vinegar
1 T honey
2 small radicchio, ends trimmed and leaves separated
2 small beurre bosc pears, quartered, cored and cut into thin wedges
Blue cheese crumbled (No amount here ... I love blue cheese so more is better. You can decide on amount based on your personal taste)
1/4 cup roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Mix everything. Eat. It's amazing.

Baked Potato Soup

2011-03-13T12:23:00.000-04:00

I really felt like some soup today. It's been overcast, dreary, feeling-colder-than-it-is kind of cold, damp cold, lugubrious. Our soup days are coming to an end (hip, hip, hooray) so I thought I would take advantage of the weather.

Saturday night, I made a fabulous meatloaf and decided on baked potatoes to go with it. Having seen this recipe earlier in the day, I threw a couple extra potatoes in to bake. I am SO GLAD that I did.

Baked Potato Soup courtesy of Allrecipes.com.

3 bacon strips, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Minced fresh parsley

Directions
In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil. Garnish with bacon, cheese and parsley.

Cook's notes
Because I can never really follow directions, here are a few changes that I made.
I never took out the bacon. And I am really glad that I didn't.
I used 4 cups of chicken broth instead of 3.
I should have used a few more potatoes.

It is fantastic. And really easy.

Pork-a-Palooza

2011-03-06T16:10:00.005-05:00

This weekend we went hog wild. Using the pork that we purchased last year, we made the following dishes for dinner each night:

Friday Night: Parmesan and Sage Pork Chops
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rosemary-Sherry-Pork-Chops/Detail.aspx
We followed this recipe to the letter. To our surprise the Parmesan cheese adhered quite well to the chops.

Saturday Night: Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rosemary-Sherry-Pork-Chops/Detail.aspx
Truth be told, Deirdre and I did not make the sauce per the recipe. I bought a bottle of Sweet baby Ray's BBQ sauce and poured it over the ribs. The meat cooked for 8 hours and it was literally falling off the bone.

Sunday Night: Tangy Slow Cooker Pork Roast
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tangy-Slow-Cooker-Pork-Roast/Detail.aspx

We have yet to enjoy Sunday night's meal, but I can tell you that our dinners on Friday and Saturday night were nothing short of outstanding. Here are a few images of what has become known as Pork-a-Palooza:

Easy Slow Cooker French Dip

2011-02-20T13:23:00.003-05:00

INGREDIENTS
4 pounds rump roast
1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French
onion soup
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
6 French rolls
2 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS
1. Trim excess fat from the rump roast, and place in a slow cooker. Add the beef broth, onion soup and beer. Cook on Low setting for 7 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Split French rolls, and spread with butter. Bake 10 minutes, or until heated through.
4. Slice the meat on the diagonal, and place on the rolls. Serve the sauce for dipping

Cooks Notes
I used Founders Centennial IPA.

From 2011-02-20

And I used Beef Consume' and French Onion Soup.

From 2011-02-20

I did not trim the fat. Ours didn't have that much on it. It looks and smells magnificent.

Parmesan Sage Pork Chops

2011-02-19T19:25:00.002-05:00

Rockin' Saturday night. Pork Chops. Sweet.

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
3/4 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 bone-in pork loin chops
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter or margarine

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a shallow dish, combine the flour, salt and pepper. In another shallow dish, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, sage and lemon peel. Place egg in shallow bowl. Coat pork chops with flour mixture, dip in egg, then coat with bread crumb mixture. Let stand for 5 minutes.

2. In a skillet, brown chops in oil and butter for 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until juices run clear and a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F.

Cook's notes.

The coating totally sticks to the chops in the browning process. I was happily surprised.

You could use less bread crumbs/cheese. It's enough for like 8 chops.
I would add a little more lemon zest and maybe even take the lemon and squeeze it into the egg wash.
We would add one more herb next - maybe rosemary because we love it so. Tarragon would also be good.

It was fantabulous. Served with long grain rice, green beans and salad.
And of course wine.

Chinese Pot Roast

2011-02-09T19:16:00.001-05:00

Really. Pot Roast. You see, we have this cow in the basement and there are cuts of beef that I didn't envision cooking. But I was wrong. Another short coming, I am not very good at following directions. I think that I can always make something better, stronger, more better. Yes, really - more better. Until now. This recipe is unbelievable.

Courtesy of Allrecipes.com (cuz you know that I don't make this good stuff up) :)

1 (4 pound) boneless beef chuck roast
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups water
3/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Coat the chuck roast with garlic salt, pepper and mustard powder. Heat the oil in a large oven-proof skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the roast and brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.
In a medium bowl, stir together 3 cups of water, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, ginger and celery seed. Pour over the roast and then cover the roast tightly with a lid or aluminum foil.

Bake in the preheated oven until the roast is very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

When the roast is done, remove it from the pan to a serving plate. Set the pan of drippings over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Stir together cornstarch and 1/4 cup of cold water. Pour into the boiling liquid and stir until thickened, about 1 minute. Serve the roast with the gravy poured over.

COOKS NOTES
I added beef broth instead of water. That was a mistake. Next time, I will add 2 cups water and 1 cup beef broth. Or maybe, 1 cup of water, 1 cup of wine and 1 cup of beef broth. Depends what's in the house.

We added carrots. They were fabulous. I would add more next time. And we served it with plain white rice and a side salad.

IN THE GLASS
Wine. Any hearty red will do. Actually, any wine will do. Enjoy.

Gorgonzola-stuffed Chicken Breasts

2011-02-06T08:57:00.000-05:00

Courtesy of Allrecipes:
Chicken breasts stuffed with an intensely savory mixture of Gorgonzola cheese, shallots, and garlic are wrapped in applewood smoked bacon and baked. It's a tasty little supper for two.

INGREDIENTS:
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (this is plenty)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 clove garlic, minced
~~4 thick slices of applewood smoked bacon~~ (we skipped this)
salt and ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray an 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Using a sharp knife, cut a slit into the thick side of each chicken breast about 2 inches long and 1 1/2 inches deep.

3. Mash together the Gorgonzola cheese, parsley, shallot, and garlic in a small bowl; season with salt and black pepper. Divide the filling in half, and stuff each chicken breast with cheese filling. Wrap 2 slices of bacon around each breast, and secure with wooden toothpicks. Place the chicken breasts into the prepared baking dish.

4. Bake in the preheated oven until the bacon is browned and the chicken is no longer pink inside, about 35 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a breast should read about 165 degrees F (75 degrees C). **We turned on the broiler for the last five minutes. Gave it a nice glaze.

COOK'S NOTES

First, we skipped the bacon. Other recipes included using prosciutto and we would skip that as well. Secondly, parsley has such a unique taste. While absolutely delicious, it could some times overpower the cheese and shallots (surprisingly). For the next iteration, we may use something a little more neutral, like spinach.

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 35 Minutes
Ready In: 55 Minutes
Servings: 2

IN THE GLASS
Oh and equally important was the wine. Domaines Astruc Voignier, courtesy of our dear friends @ Art of the Table.

Pasta with Rosemary Shrimp Scampi

2010-07-31T19:06:00.000-04:00

Shrimp!

Coarse salt and ground pepper
12 ounces spaghetti
1 pound large (31 to 35) peeled and deveined frozen shrimp, tails on (if desired), thawed
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Directions

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti until al dente; reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Add shrimp to pot, and stir. Immediately drain spaghetti and shrimp, and set aside (the shrimp will continue to cook).

In same pot, heat oil over medium. Add garlic, rosemary, and red-pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until garlic is golden, 1 to 3 minutes.

Remove from heat; return pasta and shrimp to pot. Add lemon juice and enough pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats pasta. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Courtesy of Marthastewart.com: Pasta with Rosemary Shrimp Scampi and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com

Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas

2010-07-22T18:48:00.000-04:00

I am on a chicken kick.

Grilled Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas via Real Simple

Serves 4 | Hands-on Time: 15m | Total Time: 20m

Ingredients
1 2- to 2 1/2-pound rotisserie chicken, meat shredded
4 cups baby spinach (about 3 ounces)
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack (6 ounces)
4 large flour tortillas
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup store-bought fresh salsa
1/4 cup sour cream

Directions
1. Heat grill to medium. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, spinach, and cheese. Dividing evenly, place the mixture on one half of each tortilla. Fold the other half over to cover.
2. Grill the quesadillas until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are crisp, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Serve with the avocado, salsa, and sour cream.

Tip
Before you grate cheese, coat the grater with cooking spray. It will be easier to use and wash.

Good salads

2010-07-16T18:46:00.000-04:00

A really good salad.

Ingredients
1/4 cup whole-grain mustard
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken cutlets
4 small zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
4 Roma (plum) tomatoes, cut lengthwise in half
1 large red onion, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rings
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 5-ounce bag salad greens

Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk together the mustard, apple juice, vinegar, 2 tablespoons water, 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper, and 1/2 cup of the oil. Transfer 1/2 cup of the mixture to a large resealable plastic bag and refrigerate the rest. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Add to the bag, seal, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat grill to medium. Place the zucchini, tomatoes, and onion on a baking sheet. Add the salt and the remaining oil and pepper and toss.

Grill the chicken and vegetables, turning occasionally, for about 10 minutes total. Transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop the ingredients.

Divide the salad greens among individual bowls and top with the chicken, vegetables, and the reserved dressing.

Beer Marinated Pork Chops

2010-06-20T16:22:00.003-04:00

If you like pork chops, you have to try this recipe:

- 4 pork chops

- 8 oz. beer

- 1/4 cup soy sauce

- 1 T fresh ginger (or 1 t dried ginger)

- 2 T brown sugar

Mix the beer, soy sauce, ginger and brown sugar in a bowl. Place the pork chops into a container (I used a tupperware container) and pour the marinade over the chops. Cover the container and refrigerate overnight. Prepare a fire in the grill and cook the chops for 6-7 minutes per side. Remove the chops from the grill, cover with foil and allow them to rest for 10 minutes.

Cook's Notes: This recipe was easy to make a delicious. Next time, I will add more brown sugar and use fresh ginger

Another excellent chicken recipe

2010-05-22T17:36:00.000-04:00

I was flying solo Friday night while Paul was busy taking care of all the logistics at the Relay for Life. I wanted chicken. I wanted easy (read bake) and I wanted quick. Oh and it had to be delicious. This little recipe was all of the above. And with nominal ingredients needed, the possibilities to change it up are endless.

Garlic Chicken

2 teaspoons crushed garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Warm the garlic and olive oil to blend the flavors. In a separate dish, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dip the chicken breasts in the olive oil and garlic mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture. Place in a shallow baking dish.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

Cook's notes
You could add almost anything to the mixture - crushed red pepper, rosemary, basil, etc. Also, I didn't cook it by time. I turned the oven on the convection setting, stuck the probe in the chicken breast and cooked it to 165. I let it sit for 10 minutes.

It was fantastic.

Potent Potable

2010-05-18T19:31:00.001-04:00

This is the first drink that I will have at the cottage. Guaranteed. And thank you Abi and Grace.

Bourbon Slush
1 cup Sugar
6 oz. Frozen Orange Juice
12 oz. Frozen Lemonade
2 cups Hot Tea (2 cups hot water with 2 tea bags. Steep 5 minutes)
2 cups Bourbon
6 cups Water

Directions
1. Mix all the above in large bowl.
2. Freeze overnight. (We place the mixture in a Tupperware tub with lid.)
3. Take out of freezer and let stand for ½ hour.
4. Spoon into glasses and garnish with cherry.
5. Keep mixture refrigerated while serving.

Cheers.

Chicken and Potatoes with Mustard Vinaigrette

2010-03-20T08:51:00.000-04:00

New at the cafe! We were feeling blah and uninspired in the kitchen. I had this simple recipe delivered to my inbox via Real Simple. It is easy, delicious and provides great leftovers.

Ingredients

1 pound small red- and white-skinned potatoes, mixed

Boneless, skinless meat from 1 rotisserie chicken (about 4 cups)

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons capers, drained

½ bunch watercress, stemmed

Preparation

Place the potatoes and 1 tablespoon of the salt in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Drain and set aside. Place the chicken in a large bowl and set aside. Using a whisk, combine the mustard, vinegar, garlic, and honey in a medium bowl. Add the remaining salt and the pepper. While whisking, gradually add the oil in a thin, steady stream until a medium-thick vinaigrette is formed. Halve the potatoes and combine with the chicken. Add the capers and vinaigrette, gently tossing with the chicken mixture. Fold in the watercress just before serving.

Cooks notes

We opted out of the rotisserie chicken and just used baked chicken breasts. We didn't use watercress, rather we used steamed asparagus with it. I could also see swapping out the capers and adding rosemary.

Best for chips

2010-02-21T16:33:00.000-05:00

Deirdre writing. We have been slackers - work, travel and a little thing called a cottage have prevented much sharing. Until today!

This weekend, we had a friend over to hang out and cook. The best thing she made, even better than the shrimp, scallops and chicken pasta, was the salsa. So good and so blessed easy.

2 cans of diced tomatoes with sweet onions (do NOT skip the sweet onions part)

Olive oil

salt & pepper

lemon juice

Get some chips and eat it. Don't let people see you lick the bowl. #justsayin

Chili con Carne y Cordero

2009-12-13T15:41:00.004-05:00

It is a cold, wet day outside the Cafe, which is perfect weather for a pot of chili. I am making a slight twist. Instead of using 3lbs of ground beef, I am going to use 2lbs of ground beef and 1lb of ground lamb. This recipe I am making will be my first use of the lamb we purchased from Mirror Lake Farm. Full report to follow!

Chili con Carne y Cordero

2 large onions, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 carrots, sliced
2 lbs boneless beef chuck, ground coarse
1 lb ground lamb
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon crumbled dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried hot red pepper flakes
2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 1/4 cups beef broth
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot cook the onions in the olive oil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until they are softened. Once the onions are softened, add the garlic and carrots, then cook and stir the mixture for 1 minute. Add the beef and cook it over moderate heat, stirring and breaking up any lumps, until the beef is no longer pink. Add the chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, and the red pepper flakes, then cook and stir the mixture for 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce, beef broth, cider vinegar and bring the mixture to a boil. After the mixture begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally for 50 to 60 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and cook for 15 more minutes.

Serves 6

Pork Chops in White Wine Sauce

2009-10-11T16:39:00.003-04:00

I used a couple of the boneless pork chops we got with the 1/2 pig. This recipe was easy and very yummy.

Pork Chops in White Wine Sauce

Ingredients:

- 2 garlic cloves, chopped

- 1 teaspoon of dried sage

- 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary

- 1 teaspoon of salt

- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

- 2 teaspoons of butter

- 1 teaspoon of olive oil

- 4 one-inch thick pork chops

- 1/2 cup of dry white wine and 1/4 cup of dry white wine

Preparation Instructions:

1. Combine the garlic, sage, rosemary, salt and pepper. Press a little of

this mixture firmly into both sides of each of the pork chops.

2. In a heavy skillet, melt the butter and the olive oil. Brown the pork

chops on both sides, using tongs to turn carefully. Remove and pour off

all but a small amount of fat from pan.

3. Add 1/2 cup of the dry white wine and bring to boil. Return the pork

chops to the pan.

4. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until the chops are tender when pressed

with tip of knife (about 25-30 minutes).

5. Once ready to serve, remove the pork chops to a heated plate and cover with foil.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup of wine to the skillet and boil down to a syrupy glaze.

6. Pour over the chops and serve.

Cook's Notes: The chops were tender and juicy. The reduction of the white wine took

about 5 minutes. I will definitely make this meal again.

1/2 a Pig

2009-10-08T20:07:00.004-04:00

On Tuesday afternoon following a busy day at GE, I went to the Pinckney Meat Market to pick up our 1/2 of a pig. The meat was frozen and it fit nicely into two coolers for the drive home. I got home about half an hour later and unloaded the pork into our stand up freezer. We are set for beef and pork protein for quite a while. I am really looking forward to experimenting with some cuts of beef and pork that I have not cooked before.

Debrief of Honey Mustard Pork Chops

2009-10-08T19:58:00.002-04:00

This meal was nothing short of fantastic. The meal took all of 20 minutes to prepare and cook.

I mixed the mustard and honey, and I sprinkled some salt and pepper on the chops before I put them into the pan. I cooked the chops for 15 minutes and I checked the internal temperature of the meat with an instant read thermometer. The chops were tangy and tender and I will definitely make this dish again.

This little piggy went to market

2009-10-07T18:55:00.005-04:00

Deirdre writing, Paul cooking ...
The little piggy purchased through a local farmer came home on Tuesday. Paul picked up the pieces on Tuesday night. And he is making the first recipe with bee-u-ti-ful chops in honey mustard sauce. The honey is local too. Even the BEER is local. :) We've gone native and we are loving it.

6 lean cut boneless pork chops
4 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
low fat cooking spray like Pam

Mix the honey and mustard together
Spray pan with cooking spray
Brush mixture on while cooking pork chops
Cook until fully done

Stand by for cook's notes and pictures. You know, there are ALWAYS pictures. :)

New Flank Steak - UPDATED

2009-09-12T08:34:00.004-04:00

Deirdre writing:

I get updates from GE Appliances based on several purchases during our kitchen remodel. I used to just delete them until I discovered their recipe section. These are SERIOUSLY amazing recipes, so fabulous that I actually sent the people who run the recipes an email of gratitude. To my surprise, I received a response! All recipes are thoroughly tested before publication. Now, that's a job I want!

Here is a new recipe for flank steak. Though we haven't made it yet, I suspect that we will replace the sugar with Splenda.

Marinated Flank Steak Recipe
Yield: 4-6 Servings

Ingredients
1 large flank steak
2 tablespoons sherry
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1-teaspoon ground cinnamon
1-teaspoon salt
Preparation

1. Slightly score a flank steak diagonally on both sides with the tip of a knife.
2. Mix the other 5 ingredients and let flank steak marinate in remaining ingredients in a zippered bag or large casserole dish for several hours.
3. Grill for several minutes on each side, until desired doneness.
4. Slice in thin slices on the diagonal.

COOK'S NOTES - Paul made this Saturday night and I really wondered about cinnamon and beef. Whoa, it was good but it was missing something. Paul used Splenda instead of sugar and the next time we make it, we will swap out Splenda with brown sugar. I can just tell you that it works and works well.

BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH BOURBON MARINADE

2009-08-24T19:39:00.007-04:00

I made this recipe for dinner last night and it was nothing short of fantastic. We served it with asparagus and a tomato vinaigrette, and washed it down with a bottle of 2005 Lolonis Merlot, conveniently purchased at Art of the Table. This recipe is too good not to share:

BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH BOURBON MARINADE

Ingredients:
• 1 cup good bourbon
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
• 1 beef tenderloin, about 5 pounds, trimmed

Preparation:
Combine bourbon, brown sugar, soy sauce, cilantro, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, water, and thyme. Fold the tail end of the beef back underneath itself so that it is an even thickness. Secure with cooking twine and place in a nonreactive dish or pan. Pour marinade over tenderloin, cover, and refrigerate for 6 to 10 hours. Turn meat from time to time to keep it coated with marinade. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the roast into a cast iron skillet or roasting pan and add enough marinade so that there is 1/2-3/4 inches of the marinade in the skillet/pan. Cook the roast, uncovered, basting occasionally. Cook the roast until an internal thermometer reads 127F for medium rare, 133F for medium and 138F for well done. Once the roast reaches desired temperature, remove from the oven and place on a cutting board and reserve the remaining marinade. Loosely cover with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

While the roast is resting, heat the skillet/pan over medium high heat. Reduce the liquid until it has the consistency of light syrup. After the reduction is done, slice the roast, serve and spoon the reduction over the meat.

Serves 6-8

Cook’s Notes: The original recipe called for 2 cups of water and did not include the reduction. After I cooked the roast, I realized that I should have put more of the marinade into the skillet (I always cook beef tenderloin in a cast iron skillet), and that I had an opportunity to reduce the remaining liquid. The reduction was fantastic, but I barely had enough. The next time I make this recipe, I will ensure that I have at least 3/4" of marinade in the skillet when I place it in the oven.

Shrimp Tacos

2009-08-23T17:01:00.002-04:00

I was flying solo Saturday night for dinner. Paul was in GP for a party and I had the night to myself. Given that Paul doesn't eat seafood, I couldn't WAIT to make something good. I found a recipe that was suitable for children (and poor cooks) and I knew that I could handle it. :) From Real Simple Magazine and it is just that.

Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients
* 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 2 tablespoons sour cream
* kosher salt and black pepper
* 1/4 small cabbage (8 ounces), shredded
* 1 cup corn kernels (from 1 to 2 ears, or frozen and thawed)
* 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
* 8 small flour tortillas, warmed

Directions
* 1 In a large bowl, whisk the orange and lime juices, sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add the cabbage, corn, and jalapeño and toss to combine. Let sit, tossing occasionally, for 10 minutes.
* 2 Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the shrimp with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook until opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes.
* 3 Serve the shrimp with the tortillas and the slaw.

**Cook's notes. I made a couple of minor changes, because well Paul will say that I don't follow directions well. I added two jalapeno peppers instead of one and a 1/2 tablespoon of Splenda to give it a little sweetness. Fantastic!

Holiday Beef Tenderloin

2009-08-16T13:14:00.003-04:00

I made this recipe last night and it was delicious. We washed it down with a bottle of 2005 Ross Estate Barossa Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Yum!

Holiday Beef Tenderloin

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 (5-pound) beef tenderloin, trimmed
1/4 cup olive oil

Combine the spices. Rub tenderloin with oil; coat with spice mixture. Place in a roasting pan; cover and chill 8 hours.

Bake at 500° 15 minutes or until browned. Lower temperature to 375°; bake for 20 more minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 10 minutes. Slice; serve with horseradish mayonnaise.

Yield: 8 servings
Cook’s Notes: The roast sat in our fridge all day and I removed it about an hour before I placed it in the oven. I cooked the roast at 500F for 10 minutes, and then reduced the oven temperature to 375F. I removed the roast from the oven when the internal temperature of the roast was 127F. The roast rested for 10 minutes, I then sliced it and served.

This was a delicious recipe and it was east to make. I will make this again, but next time I will not add the salt. There was enough salt in the onion and garlic powder to add flavor to the roast.

Hit and Miss

2009-07-19T09:10:00.002-04:00

It's no secret that 'we' love to cook. "We" love that Paul loves to cook and frankly, I love to watch. Oh and do the dishes. But another part of our life is exploring Grand Rapids and making sure that we invest in small, local community shops, bakeries and restaurants. Wednesdays are our out-and-about evenings. We try and eat out at one local place on Wednesdays, and if not Wednesdays well, one night a week.

Homerun
A huge hit with us has been the Winchester. They have amazing beers on tap, cool tables, stools and seating and fab food. In fact, the fish tacos are SO GOOD that I haven't been able to order anything else. It's the one thing I really miss about SoCal. Good fish tacos. And I am so thrilled to have found them here!

The big miss
On the recommendation of friends, we headed to the Electric Cheetah. The restaurant was half full on a Saturday at lunch, yet our drinks were never refreshed and our food, a salad for Paul and a half sandwich and soup took almost 25 minutes. I seldom do this but I sent the food back. The sandwich, a chicken salad sandwich had about three pieces of chicken and soup, which was supposed to be a carrot ginger, tasted like water. Literally. Paul's salad was pedestrian at best. Our waitress offered me other food and she brought out a half bowl (pretty skimpy) of tomato saffron soup. Another broth-based soup that was very watered down. We cook with saffron and I couldn't taste any. I ended up at Subway. So after much anticipation, that place is crossed off our list.

We have lots of other places to explore in this wonderful town! So stay tuned for updates. Happy eating.

Deb's Birthday Dinner: Chicken Curry

2009-07-04T09:06:00.002-04:00

Our good friend Deb celebrated her "39th" birthday with us last night. We had Deb over for dinner a few weeks ago and I asked her what she wanted me to make her for her birthday. I suggested that to her that I make Chicken Curry with Apple Curried Cous Cous. Much to my surprise, I had never made this dish for her. Here is the recipe for Chicken Curry:

Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

- 3 tablespoons butter

- 2 pounds chicken breast filets, cut into strips

- 1 teaspoon cumin

- ½ teaspoon dried coriander

- ½ teaspoon dried ginger

- Red pepper flakes to taste

- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

- ½ cup chicken stock (or broth)

- 1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Heat butter in a heavy skillet over medium high heat until the foam from the butter subsides. Add the chicken and cook until browned, 5-7 minutes. Add cumin, coriander, ginger and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.

2. Lower heat to medium-low, simmer, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Slowly add the heavy cream and simmer (do not let the mixture come to a boil) for 3-4 minutes.

3. Transfer chicken and the sauce to a serving plate and serve immediately.

Cook’s Notes: Be careful not to let the sauce boil after you add the heavy cream. If you are looking for the “Curry Powder,” it is the mix of cumin, coriander and ginger. Finally, the more red pepper flakes you add, the spicier you meal will be. Enjoy this meal with rice or cous cous.

And now for the cous cous:

Curried Apple Cous Cous

Ingredients:

- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

- 2 medium apples, cored and chopped

- 1 teaspoon cumin

- ½ teaspoon dried coriander

- ½ teaspoon dried ginger

- 3 green onions, washed and chopped

- 1 box Near East Cous Cous

- 2 cups water

- ½ cup pine nuts

- small handful of mint

In a large saucepan over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of the butter, cumin, coriander and ginger and cook for a few minutes until the spices are fragrant. Stir in the chopped apples and cook for 3-4 minutes, enough time for the apples to soften up and absorb some of the spices. Scoop the apples from the pan and set aside in a bowl.

In the same pan over medium-high heat, add the remaining tablespoon of butter. Stir in the green onions and cook them until they are soft. Add the water and bring to a boil, then stir in the cous cous. Cover and remove from the heat. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, then use a fork to fluff up the cous cous. Stir in the apples, pine nuts and chopped mint.

Serves 6

The meal was an unqualified success. Adult beverages were enjoyed prior to, during and after the meal. and for dessert we each enjoyed a slice of watermelon.

Life is good here at the Cafe.

Filet Mignons With Balsamic Pan Sauce and Truffle Oil Recipe

2009-06-21T10:00:00.002-04:00

I made this dish in the Cafe a few days ago and it was yummy!

Filet Mignons With Balsamic Pan Sauce and Truffle Oil Recipe

• filet mignon steaks, 1 1/2 inches thick (one per person)
• salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• truffle oil, for drizzling

1. Sprinkle steaks generously with salt and pepper.
2. Pre-heat your oven to 275F. Take the filet/steak out of its
wrapper, and pat dry with a paper towel and then liberally apply salt
and pepper to the meat. Place the meat onto a roasting pan, and put
the pan into the oven. Cook the meat for 20-25 minutes, or until the
internal temperature of the meat is 90-95F.
3. Once the meat is between 90-95F, remove the pan from the
oven. Coat the bottom of a large, heavy frying pan with olive oil
and heat over medium-high heat. Add the steaks and cook to the
desired doneness (130F for medium rare), 2-3 minutes on each side.
4. Transfer to a platter and let rest, tented loosely with
aluminum foil, while you make the sauce.
5. In the same pan over medium-high heat, add the vinegar
and deglaze by scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Cook
until slightly reduced and thickened, about 3 minutes.
6. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the butter to form a smooth
sauce.
7. To serve, transfer the steaks to individual plates, top
with the sauce, and drizzle with a small amount of truffle oil.

Roast Tenderloin of Beef Mustard Sauce

2009-06-07T09:26:00.005-04:00

Last night was a special night here at the Cafe. We were having our friend Deb over for dinner, following a morning of painting our closets in preparation for the new closet inserts which will be installed on Thursday. I mulled over a couple of dinner menus and decided to defrost a beef tenderloin which had been sitting, oh so quietly, frozen in our freezer the past few weeks. I thought about making Tenderloin DeLuxe, a dish that Deirdre really likes, but then I thought I should try to expand my recipe base a little. After a few minutes of searching, I found the recipe listed below.

I am happy to report that this recipe was easy to make and was nothing short of outstanding. I removed the tenderloin precisely when the internal temperature of the roast was 124F and the meat perfectly pink inside. The "mustard sauce" is a bit of a misnomer as the shallots and garlic add more flavor to the sauce than mustard. Regardless of the name, the meal was fantastic. In addition to the beef, I made some long grain & wild rice, a tossed salad with a balsamic vinaigrette, and steamed asparagus. Thanks to our friends at Art of the Table, we washed the roast down with a bottle of 2000 Vina Alberdi Rioja, a Spanish red that stood up to the meal.

We also wanted to have a hearty meal in preparation for what was an excellent Game 5 in the Stanley Cup Finals. Final score: Red Wings 5, Penguins 0. Life agrees with us here in the Cafe.

ROAST TENDERLOIN OF BEEF WITH MUSTARD SAUCE

From cooks.com

2 tsp. soy sauce
2 1/2 lbs. beef tenderloin
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 med. garlic clove, minced
3 med. shallots, minced
1/3 c. dry red wine
1 1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup (8 oz.) canned low-sodium beef broth
1/4 c. plus 1 tbsp. heavy cream
2 tbsp. unsalted butter

1. Rub the soy sauce all over the beef and let sit for 30 minutes. Season with the pepper.

2. 350 degrees. In a large, heavy, oven-proof skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the beef and cook until well browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.

3. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast the tenderloin for about 20 minutes, turning once, until the internal temperature reads 125F degrees on a meat thermometer for rare. Transfer the meat to a cutting board, cover loosely with foil and let sit for 10 minutes.

4. Pour off any fat from the skillet. Add the garlic and shallots and cook over low heat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Pour in the wine, increase the heat to high and simmer for 1 minute. Stir in the mustard, broth and cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to moderate and simmer until the sauce has reduced to 1 cup and is thick enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon, about 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the butter until incorporated.

5. Using a sharp knife, cut the meat into 12 slices. Arrange the meat on plates or a platter, spoon the mustard sauce on top and serve.

Rosemary update

2009-06-07T09:12:00.002-04:00

I am happy to report that there are 8 rosemary plants quietly growing in the terra cotta planter. I have been following the advice of the Grass Doctor, so I am watering the rosemary sparingly. I am keeping the soil moist but not saturated. I am hoping that in a few weeks I will have some fresh rosemary to use in the Cafe.

Germination!

2009-05-31T15:28:00.004-04:00

Well, it has been a couple of weeks since I planted a handful of rosemary seeds in a pot and I am happy to report that a couple of the the seeds have germinated. I will continue to tend that pot and look for more sings of the other seeds germinating.

Slow Smoked Baby Back Ribs

2009-05-23T13:15:00.002-04:00

I just lit the charcoal in preparation for smoking three racks of baby back ribs. Earlier today, dry rub was applied per the following proportions:

DRY RUB FOR RIBS

3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Press the rub onto both sides of the ribs. This rub works best when you can coat the ribs and let them sit in a refrigerator overnight. If you are pressed for time, apply the rub 4-6 hours before you put them on the grill.

And in a few hours I will make the following BBQ Sauce:

HOME MADE BBQ SAUCE

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups tomato catsup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over moderate heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook gently, stirring for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the catsup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, chili powder and cayenne pepper (the more chili powder and cayenne pepper you add the spicier the sauce will be).
3. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until sauce has thickened, about 25 minutes.

I will place the racks in the smoker as soon as the coals are gray. 5 or so hours later, the ribs will be done. I am also serving bread, cole slaw and beer. Cocktails are at 6:30PM sharp. See you then!

Thanks for the shout out!

2009-05-10T18:33:00.003-04:00

I am pleased to tell you, dear reader, that the East of the Equator Cafe was recently listed on another cooking blog, www.meaten.com. For those of you coming here from that blog, welcome to the Cafe!

Steaks. Charcaol briquets

2009-05-10T18:26:00.002-04:00

Dinner tonight will be simple:

- NY strip steaks
- Corn on the cob
- Tosssed greens with home made Ceasar dressing

I have been on a bit of a charcoal kick the past few weeks. I used our gas grill throughout the winter, but now that spring is in full swing, I am firing up our Weber Kettle Grill on a regular basis. I have to plan ahead when I use charcoal, though. It is less than 10 minutes from lighting to ready in my gas grill, but the charcoal takes at least 45 minutes to be ready. I suppose I can use those 45 minutes to blog or sip some wine or an oat pop. You get the idea.

Soon, I will fire up the water smoker. Now that will be some good eating!

Rosemary

2009-05-10T16:32:00.002-04:00

Normally, this blog is all about cooking and discussing the aftermath of trying a new recipes or a special meal. I am going to take a small departure from the usual and talk about a new project: growing fresh rosemary. I have to be upfront about this. I am not a gardener. I do not like to "work the soil," nor have I had much luck at all in any previous attempts to grow things. Some of the gentle readers of this blog are accomplished gardeners and I applaud their efforts.
I am pretty good at cutting grass and occasionally planing some new seeds. Growing other plants? Fuh-get-aboutit.

The reason why I am trying my hand at growing fresh rosemary is that our friend Amy, the proprietor of our favorite store Art of the Table, handed me a packet of rosemary seeds as part her "Spring Fling" program. I told her that I was not much or a gardener and she seemed a little surprised at that statement. I suppose that Amy has sort of thrown down the gauntlet and now it is up to me to deliver.

I went to our local hardware store and purchased a small pot in which to plant the rosemary. I checked out a couple of websites about how to grow the herb and I am now happy to report that the seeds Amy gave me yesterday are now quietly beneath some soil. All I have to do is wait for the seeds to germinate. Updates to follow as conditions warrant.

GINGER AND ORANGE MARMALADE MARINATED FLANK STEAK

2009-04-27T16:33:00.002-04:00

I made the recipe below for dinner last night. If you like flank steak, ginger and soy sauce, you owe it to yourself to make this recipe soon.

GINGER AND ORANGE MARMALADE MARINATED FLANK STEAK
- 1 flank steak
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons orange marmalade
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup fresh ground ginger, finely chopped
- 5-6 green onions, finely chopped
- ¼ cup soy sauce for the reduction (optional)

1. In a bowl or a zip-lock bag combine all the ingredients together and mix.
Place the flank steak in the bag and push all of the air out of the bag and seal.
Place the bag in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for at least 4 hours
(over night is recommended).

2. Prepare a fire. Remove the steak from the marinade and save the marinade.
Place the steak on the grill and cook to desired doneness (6-7 minutes per side
for medium rare). Brush some of the marinade over the steak while it is cooking.

3. When the steak is done, remove it from the grill and place on a cutting
board. Loosely cover it with foil and allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes.
After resting, slice the meat across the grain and serve.

4. (Optional) While the meat is resting, pour the remaining marinade and ¼ cup
of soy sauce into a small sauce pan. Reduce the marinade and soy sauce for
6-7 minutes over high heat. Spoon the reduction over the sliced steak.

Cook’s Notes: I made this recipe last night and it was nothing short of
fantastic. I used my food processor to finely chop up the ginger and the
green onions and that really brought out the ginger flavor. I marinated
the steak for 24 hours and the meat was incredibly tender. I also made
the reduction while the meat was resting and I spooned it over the sliced steak.

Brats & Beer

2009-04-25T17:54:00.003-04:00

I have been a bit of a slacker recently regarding the Cafe. Truth be told, I was down hard with a nasty case of bronchitis, so there was not a lot of cooking going on. Well, I am happy to report that I am back in battery and tonight I will fire up the charcoal grill and cook some brats.

I picked up a package of brats at the store this morning and in a few minutes I will get a pot of water boiling and cook the brats for 10 minutes or so. I find that boiling then brats for a few minutes firms them up for grilling.

Also, quietly marinating in our fridge is a new flank steak recipe. I do not post any recipes here which I have not tried, so if the marinade turns out as good as the recipe looks, I will post a new flank steak recipe sometime late tomorrow.

Until then, be careful out there.

Rosemary Garlic Chicken

2009-04-18T20:01:00.005-04:00

This is a heavenly delicious meal that even I can cook! Make extra sauce, just sayin'.

Rosemary-Garlic Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half lengthwise

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup sherry vinegar

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 tablespoon fresh t

hyme or 1 teaspoon dried fresh thyme

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Using a rolling pin, pound the chicken between 2 sheets of wax paper until they are of uniform thickness. Heat the oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers and the garlic browns. (Don't burn the garlic.) Add the chicken breasts and cook until golden, 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Add the salt, pepper, vinegar, chicken broth, rosemary and thyme. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 3 minutes longer or until the chicken is fork-tender. Remove the chicken to a platter and keep warm. Increase heat to high and boil the sauce until thickened or syrupy, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the butter and pour the sauce over the chicken.

Baked Sea Scallops

2009-04-12T21:05:00.001-04:00

Below is the recipe for the scallops I made on Friday night. They were yummy!

BAKED SEA SCALLOPS WITH GARLIC, SHALLOTS AND BREAD CRUMBS

INGREDIENTS:
15-16 sea scallops, rinsed and drained
5 tablespoons butter, melted
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, chopped
3 pinches ground nutmeg salt and pepper to taste
1 cup bread crumbs
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
lemon wedges for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 425F degrees.
2. Place scallops, melted butter, garlic, and shallots in a bowl. Season with
nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir gently to combine. Transfer to a casserole dish.
3. In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs and olive oil. Sprinkle on top
of scallops.
4. Bake in preheated oven until crumbs are brown and scallops are done,
about 11 to 14 minutes. Top with parsley, and serve with lemon wedges on the side
5. If desired, broil the scallops for the last 2-3 minutes of cooking time.

Good Friday Dinner

2009-04-12T13:05:00.008-04:00

Deirdre here ... this Easter weekend while joyful, has been slightly truncated. Paul and I had Friday off and invited Ann Marie (our fave college student and Samson's BFF) here for dinner and an escape from the dorms. Paul was heading back to Grosse Pointe on Saturday for a quick visit with his parents, and Ann Marie went along to see her family. We celebrated Friday with a magnificent menu of baked scallops and crab legs.

What is delightful and inspiring all in one thought is that Paul doesn't eat seafood. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch. But the guy can hack, toss, bake and boil this stuff better than any restaurant or professional chef that I have ever met. And having Ann Marie in the kitchen with him is like having Emeril Lagasse and Rachel Ray cooking feasts. People, it's crazy. Crazy good.

Along with the baked scallops, we boiled crab legs. We bought the legs when we were in Sam's Club shopping one afternoon and threw them in the freezer, knowing that Good Friday was fast approaching. The easiest (and most delicious) way that we have found to cook them is to hack 'em up and throw them in a pot of boiling water. Along with drawn butter, fresh lemons and our favorite wine from Art of the Table, the meal was a smashing success.

People sometimes wonder why I post in the cooking blog. Really since boiling water is easily a stretch, should I even be posting? In my defense, I do make the salad, set the table, do the dishes and people, take the pictures! What's a great blog without some awesome pics? We all have our gifts. Tonight is Paul's Rack of Lamb. Stay tuned. And Happy Easter.

ROAST TENDERLOIN OF BEEF WITH MUSTARD SAUCE

2009-04-05T13:06:00.002-04:00

I made this meal last night and it was fantastic:

ROAST TENDERLOIN OF BEEF WITH MUSTARD SAUCE

2 tsp. soy sauce
2 1/2 lbs. beef tenderloin
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 med. garlic clove, minced
3 med. shallots, minced
1/3 c. dry red wine
1 1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 c. canned low-sodium beef broth
1/4 c. plus 1 tbsp. heavy cream
2 tbsp. unsalted butter

1. Rub the soy sauce all over the beef and let sit for 30 minutes. Season with the pepper.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large, heavy, oven-proof skillet,
heat the oil over high heat. Add the beef and cook until well browned on all sides,
about 5 minutes.
3. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast the tenderloin for about 20 minutes,
turning once, until the internal temperature reads 125 degrees on a meat thermometer
for medium rare. Transfer the meat to a cutting board, cover loosely with foil and let rest.
4. While the roast is resting, pour off any fat from the skillet. Add the garlic
and shallots and cook over low heat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
Pour in the wine, increase the heat to high and simmer for 1 minute. Stir in the
mustard, broth and cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to moderate and simmer
until the sauce has reduced to 1 cup and is thick enough to lightly coat the back
of a spoon, about 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the butter until incorporated.
5. Using a sharp knife, cut the meat into 12 slices. Arrange the meat on plates
or a platter, spoon the mustard sauce on top and serve hot.

Pugliesi Pasta with Lamb

2009-03-29T19:57:00.002-04:00

Pugliesi Pasta with Lamb

Ingredients:
- 5-6lb leg of lamb (bone in, but boneless is acceptable)
- 2 large white onions, sliced into thin rings
- 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 stick butter
- 1-2 T olive oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced into 4 inch long pieces
- 3-4 celery ribs, sliced and quartered into 4 inch long pieces
- 1 ½ cups beef stock
- 1 cup water
- 1lb spaghetti or linguine pasta

Preheat an oven to 300F. Cut the stick of butter in half and place one half into a skillet over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and allow the butter to melt. Once the butter has melted, place the onions into the skillet and sauté for 7-8 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.

While the onions are cooking, cut slits into the meat and push the cloves into the slits.Place the lamb into a Dutch oven/covered roaster and add salt and pepper to taste. Pour the beef stock and water over the lamb.

Once the onions are translucent, remove them from the skillet and spoon the onions over the lamb. Place the lamb into the oven, and add the remaining butter to the pot. Cook for 4-5 hours, basting the lamb occasionally.

When there is about an hour left for the lamb to cook, place the celery and carrots into the Dutch oven.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the pasta until it is al dente. Strain the pasta.

Place the pasta into bowls and spoon the lamb, carrots and celery over the pasta.

My cooking life will never be the same

2009-03-22T08:00:00.003-04:00

My sister Patty, who is a great cook, sent me a link to a cooking website where the issue of over cooked pan seared steaks was discussed. The issue is this: when you pan cook a filet mignon or a strip steak, you tend to overcook the first 1/8 of an inch or so of the meat. While the center of the filet/steak might be a wonderful medium-rare, the outside of the meat has a grey, medium-well feel to it. This website solved the problem this way:

Pre-heat your oven to 275F. Take the filet/steak out of its wrapper, and pat dry with a paper towel and then liberally apply salt and pepper to the meat. Place the meat onto a roasting pan, and put the pan into the oven. Cook the meat for 20-25 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meat is 90-95F.

Once the meat is between 90-95F, remove the pan from the oven and cook the meat as follows:

4 T chilled butter
4 filet mignon steaks
1/3 cup chopped shallots
2/3 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
1 T drained capers
1 T dijon mustard
1/3 cup chopped parsley (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt 1 T butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the steaks to the skillet and cook to desired
doneness. When done, transfer the steaks to a warm
platter and tent with foil.

Melt 1 T butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the shallots and saute for one minute. Add the wine,
capers and mustard. Simmer until slightly thickened,
about 2 minutes. Stir in the parsley, and reduce heat
to medium low. Whisk in the remaining 2 T butter, and
season the sauce with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce
over the steaks and serve.

I cooked the filets for about 2 minutes a side. I used an instant read thermometer to check the temperature of the meat. I cooked the filets until the internal temperature of the meat reached about 130F. I am happy to report that the filets were a perfect medium rare throughout. There was no grey crust on the meat. Yep, my cooking life will never be the same!

The simple joy of grilling

2009-03-15T20:19:00.004-04:00

Animal protein cooked over a fire. Nothing could could be much simpler or more primordial than that. Tonight, I cooked a couple of New York strip steaks over charcoals. I have a propane grill, as well as a "real fire" grill, but my propane level was a little low. However, I have plenty of charcoal. What I was lacking was charcoal fluid. I started to think that it was pretty silly to use charcoal fluid when there are better alternatives to start the charcoal. Thus, I went to my nearby Lowe's and bought a charcoal starter. Instead of using petroleum distillates to start my charcoal, I will now use newspaper.

At 1830 (6:30PM for you civilians out there) I stuffed some newspaper into the bottom of the charcoal starter and filled the starter with charcoal. I lit the news print and after about 15 minutes, all of the charcoal was covered in a downy ash and was ready to go. I dumped the charcoal into my trusty Weber grill and waited a few more minutes to allow it to heat up. After about 5 minutes, all of the charcoal was ready and I placed upon the grill two strip steaks (which had been seasoned with a little salt and pepper). I cooked the steaks for 12 minutes (6 minutes a side), removed them from the grill, placed them on a wooden cutting board and then covered them with aluminum foil to allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes. A few crumbles of blue cheese where sprinkled over the steaks, and while they were resting I put a few spears of asparagus on the aforementioned grill. After 4 minutes on the grill, I removed the asparagus spears from the heat and served them with the steaks. While the steaks were cooking, I also prepared some cus cous.

I am happy to report that dinner was an unqualified success. The steaks were medium-rate, the asparagus were still crunchy but properly cooked, and well, it is pretty hard to screw up cous cous. Life agrees with me...

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

2009-03-15T08:46:00.006-04:00

Samson's BFF Ann Marie is away enjoying a well deserved Spring break. We miss her company on Sundays and we miss her cooking too. Last night, Paul made her recipe of chicken and broccoli pasta. It was fantastic. Since I am not much of a sous chef, I thought the least I could do would be to take some great pictures.

We had a light salad to boot. It was a delightful meal. And complimented perfectly with a french white wine Vourvray Appellation from our friends at Art of the Table.

If you need the recipe and aren't a member of the Cafe Group, click on the link above for a summary or drop us a note and we will be happy to share!

Seafood Pasta

2009-03-01T20:30:00.003-05:00

Following last night's dinner, we had some leftover crab and lobster meat. Our friend Ann Marie had a perfect recipe for use to use for the remaining seafood and it is shared below.

Seafood Pasta

- 2 cups lobster or crab meat
- 1lb angel hair pasta
- 3/4 stick butter
- A pinch ofcrushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 1/2 cup chicken broth or stock
- 2-3 cloves garlic, popped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons fresh flat leaf (Italian) parsley
- shredded Asiago or Parmesan cheese

1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil for the pasta.
2. Over medium-high heat, melt the butter in a heavy skillet. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Add the lobster/crab to the skillet and pour in the white wine. Reduce the sauce for 5-7 minutes.
4. After the sauce has reduced, reduce the heat, add the chicken stock and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. While the sauce is simmering, salt the boiling water and put the angel hair pasta into the pot. Cook the pasta for 4 minutes (al dente) or to taste. When the pasta is done, strain it and return the pasta to the pot. Fold the seafood sauce into the pasta and mix well.
6. Serve the seafood pasta into bowls and cover with cheese.

Cook's Notes: Serve with a Chardonnay. This was an incredibly easy dish to make.

Davey Jones Dinner After Action Report

2009-03-01T07:54:00.008-05:00

I cooked something last night I had never prepared before: Alaskan king crab legs. They were extremely easy to prepare and were delicious! Cooking both of these shellfish really could not be easier. I brought tow pots of salted water to a rolling boil, then I put the crab legs and lobster tail into each pot and cooked them until they were done. The crab legs were put into a pot with about 3 inches of boiling water and a strainer, while the lobster tails were placed into a full pot of boiling water. I cooked the crab legs for 7 minutes and they were simply perfect. I cooked the lobster tails for 18 minutes and removed the tails from the pot. However, the lobster tails needed a few more minutes in the pot. I ended up cooking the tails for a total of 23 minutes. The tails were frozen when I placed them into the pot, which added to the required cooking time.

The sides were simple: Pine Nut Cous Cous and tossed greens with a lemon/honey dressing. I will work on getting the recipe for the dressing loaded into the Cafe's list later today. We sipped on a bottle of 2005 Forman Napa Valley Chardonnay, which was recommended by our friends at Art of the Table. The wine was a perfect compliment to the seafood. Clearly, Samson was interested in what I was making as he stayed in the middle of the kitchen throughout the cooking process. He spent most of the meal next to the Maven, hoping that gravity would work its magic for him. He did get a few snitches of crab meat. Once again, Samson liked what we served to him.

Davey Jones Dinner

2009-02-28T10:25:00.006-05:00

The Cafe will be busy tonight. All the planning and preparation will come together as I will be making what we are calling the "Davey Jones Dinner." Seafarers have referred to the bottom of the oceans as "Davey Jones Locker," so I think that you see where I am going with this post. Tonight, I will be cooking lobster tails and Alaskan King crab legs. I have cooked whole lobster before, but tonight I will be simply boiling some flash frozen lobster tails (homarus americanus) and the Alaskan king crab legs (paralithodes camtschatica) are pre-cooked, so all I will have to do is steam them for a few minutes.

Another thing that we will need to do later this morning up the Cafe's sous chef (aka Ann Marie), then head out to Art of the Table to select the wine for tonight's dinner. I am thinking that a dry California Chardonnay might be in order. Cocktails will be served at 6:30PM sharp, so if you are in the area, stop on by for dinner.

Pasta

2009-02-26T06:33:00.002-05:00

I didn't grow up eating pasta so it isn't something that is in our normal rotation of amazing recipes. That all changed when we met Ann Marie, BFF to Samson and local college student. Ann Marie comes and spends some Sundays with us - she gets a break from her college dorm and we, well, we get to eat pasta. As promised, here is what she made us last Sunday. OH MY GOODNESS it is delicious! Enjoy.

1 lb. Penne Pasta
2-3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1-2 Heads Broccoli, use use florets and cut into bite size pieces
1 1/4 cup White Wine
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
(at least) 1 cup Chicken Stock
Olive Oil
Butter
5 Cloves of Garlic, popped
Cheese

Heat up oil and butter, add crushed red pepper flakes and garlic, add seasoned chicken and saute until cooked. Once cooked add white wine and let reduce then add the chicken stock and keep to a low simmer.

Boil a big pot of water. Salt water liberally. Add pasta. When pasta only has about 3 minutes left until al dente add the broccoli florets. When pasta and broccoli is done, strain and add back to pot. Add the sauce stir and let sit for a minute. If you feel the pasta needs a bit more juice, add more chicken stock. Add cheese and serve. Also, put some cheese out on the table.

Saturday Night Dinner

2009-02-21T11:24:00.005-05:00

Tonight our friends Dave and AJ are joining us for dinner. Dave and AJ were recently married and Dee took the photos at their wedding. Dave and AJ are a couple of good Dutch people, they like beef in most any form. The last time we had them over for dinner, I made "Beef Tenderloin with Herbs and Mustard. I am once again going to make a beef tenderloin, but this time, I will be making one of Dee's absolutely favorite dishes: Tenderlon DeLuxe. The recipe is actually quite simple:

TENDERLOIN DELUXE

1 3lb beef tenderloin roast
2 tablespoons softened butter
1/4 cup chopped scallions
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Dash of ground black pepper
1 cup cooking sherry

The meat should be left out, covered, at room temperature
for 2-3 hours before roasting.

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spread the tenderloin with the softened butter. Place on
a rack in a shallow roasting pan and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.
3. While the roast is cooking, saute the scallions in the
remaining butter until tender. Add the soy sauce, mustard
and pepper. Stir in the sherry and heat until just boiling.
4. After the roast has cooked for 20 minutes, pour the
sauce over the roast and cook to desired doneness
(125F for rare). Baste frequently.
5. Remove the roast at desired doneness and let it rest
for 10 minutes before serving. Carve the roast into
1 inch slices and serve.

Our weekend is not complete without stop at Art of the Table, and based on Ryan's suggestion I will be serving a bottle of 2006 Bodega Lurton Malbec Reserva. It is an Argentinian wine and frankly, I cannot wait to open it and try it with the beef. Full report to follow.

Deirdre's meal

2009-02-17T21:03:00.004-05:00

Tonight, Deirdre cooked us dinner. What that really means is that we ordered Buffalo Wild Wings to go. We enjoyed some Teriyaki, Caribbean Jerk and Medium wings. All in all, another safe and sane evolution at the Cafe!

Dinner was great last night

2009-02-15T08:28:00.004-05:00

Amy and Steve, our friends who are the proprietors of Art of the Table, joined us for dinner last night and I think that it was an unqualified success. They brought two bottles of wine for our meal, as well as a fantastic chocolate cheesecake. The first bottle we enjoyed was a 2000 Domaine Tempier Bandol. It was a Bordeaux and stood up to the filet mignon very, very well. Ever prepared, Amy had a second bottle of wine, just in case the first one did not work. Needless to say, after we enjoyed the Bandol, we had to open the 2004 Bravante Vineyards Napa Valley Merlot. The merlot was softer than the Bordeaux and as Steve put it, "This was an excellent after dinner wine." The evening was filled with conversation and lots of laughing about life, the universe and everything. Amy mentioned to me that not only does beef make her happy, but so does lamb. Thus, I now need to make her one of my tried and true rack of lamb recipes at some point in the future.

Saturday Night's Dinner

2009-02-14T10:16:00.002-05:00

Below is the menu for dinner tonight:

Pan Seared Filet Mignon with Cabernet Sauce
Pine Nut Cous Cous
French cut Green Beans with Garlic

Our friends Amy and Steve are joining us tonight. I am looking forward to making this meal!

Crockpot Monday

2009-02-09T17:33:00.004-05:00

Readers of this blog are most likely aware of Techie Tuesday and Foodie Friday. Well, I was told that it might be good for me to start a "Crockpot Monday" posting here at the Cafe. I have been using my crockpot a bit lately, trying out new recipes each Monday. So, here is the first post for Crockpot Monday:

Tonight I will have Crockpot Chicken Provencale. I threw the ingredients listed below into our crockpot before I went to work for the General, and in about an hour I will see how it turned out. Full report to follow.

CROCKPOT CHICKEN PROVINCALE

1 1/2 lbs. chicken tenders, frozen
2 small zucchini, diced
1 (4 oz.) can sliced black olives
1 tbsp. sherry wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 (15-oz.) can good quality diced tomatoes
1 (10-oz.) can cream of chicken soup with herbs
2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tbsp. dried minced onion

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 to 3 tbsp. sour cream (optional)
hot noodles, rice or pasta

Combine first 9 ingredients in 3 1/2-qt. crockpot (or larger).
Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.

Add cheese and sour cream during the last 15 minutes. Serve over
hot noodles, rice or pasta.

Serves 4.

Post-ex on the Crockpot Lemon Chicken

2009-02-09T17:28:00.003-05:00

I made Crockpot Lemon Chicken on Sunday and the results were positive. The chicken was moist, tender and very flavorful. It was also a very east recipe to make. One down check, though, is that it was a little too sweet for my tastes. The original recipe called for a 6oz. can of lemonade, and I used that amount. However, the sauce was way too sugary. I think that I will tweek this recipe a bit and instead of using lemonade, I will use a mixture of water and lemon juice.

Crockpot Lemon Chicken

2009-02-08T13:49:00.004-05:00

I will be making the following recipe in the Cafe's kitchen tonight:

CROCKPOT LEMON CHICKEN

Ingredients:
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" pieces
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 3 Tbsp. ketchup
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 6 oz. can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 3 Tbsp. water
Preparation:
Mix flour with salt and pepper in shallow dish. Coat chicken pieces in
this mixture. Shake off excess and brown in olive oil in a nonstick skillet
over medium high heat. Remove chicken and place in a 3-4 quart crockpot.

Mix the vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, lemon juice, and lemonade
concentrate in small bowl and pour into the skillet. Cook and stir,
scraping to remove browned bits, until mixture comes to a boil.
Pour sauce over chicken in crockpot. Cover and cook on LOW
for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours. When ready to serve, combine
cornstarch and water in small bowl, mix well and stir into the sauce.
Cook on HIGH for 20-30 minutes until thickened. Serve with Rice.

Yield: 4 servings

The sides tonight will be rice and french cut green beans. Full report to follow.

Chicken Vindaloo

2009-02-05T20:32:00.004-05:00

This morning, I put a couple of chicken breasts into our oven as soon as I got up and in no time, the internal temperature of the chicken was a toasty 165F. I put the cooked breasts into a container and placed the container in the fridge. This evening, removed the chicken from the fridge, cut the breasts into bite size pieces into a sauce pan with a jar of Vindaloo sauce. Our friends at Art of the Table provided the sauce and after just a few minutes of slowly simmering, dinner was ready. I served the Vindaloo over some basmati rice. Life agrees with me.

Post-Ex on the Asian Short Ribs

2009-02-02T20:10:00.002-05:00

I am happy to report that the Asian Short Ribs were an unqualified success. The beef fell off the bones and the sauce was fantastic! I will definitely make this meal again!

ASIAN SHORT RIBS

2009-02-01T13:10:00.003-05:00

I found the recipe below in a magazine last weekend. I successfully foraged for the necessary ingredients and tomorrow morning I will put them into our crock pot and slowly cook it all day. Updates to follow!

ASIAN SHORT RIBS
- ½ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 8 beef short ribs (about 4lbs)
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and halved crosswise
- 1 small green cabbage (about 1lb), quartered
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced (optional)

1. In a slow cooker, combine the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, ginger
and red pepper. Add the short ribs and carrots and arrange on
a single layer. Lay the cabbage on top.
2. Cook, covered, on low for 7-8 hours.
3. Transfer the cabbage, short ribs and carrots to plates.
With a large spoon or ladle, skim the fat from the cooking
liquid and discard.
4. Turn the cooker up to high. In a small bowl, whisk together
the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water until smooth. Whisk
this mixture into the cooking liquid and cook until thickened,
2-3 minutes. Stir in the sesame oil.
5. Spoon the sauce over the short ribs and the vegetables,
and sprinkle with the scallions (if using).

Upcoming meals

2009-01-28T20:43:00.002-05:00

It is going to be a busy week here at the Cafe. I took tonight off from cooking and I treated the Maven to dinner at Arnie's, a Grand Rapids tradition for over 100 years. Simple and wholesome is the best way I can describe the food served there. Tomorrow night we will consume the leftovers from the a couple of previous meals, but on Friday and Saturday night I will be cooking for friends. The side dishes are still TBD, but the plan is to make the following main courses:

Friday Night: Balsamic Pork Chops
Saturday Night: Beef Tenderloin with Mustard and Herbs

I have cooked for only one of the four people who are coming for dinner. I am optimistic that these three new guests will enjoy what I prepare for them as much as I am going to enjoy making them dinner!

Prime Rib update

2009-01-25T13:29:00.002-05:00

I am happy to report that the prime rib meal I made last night in support of the first night of the week long celebration of Deirdre's 35th birthday was nothing sort of fantastic. The menu was pretty stright forward:

Prime Rib au Jus
Parmesan Potatoes
French cut green beans

Thanks to the new stove, I was able to make the au jus in the roasting pan. With our old stove, I was unable to do that because of the small burner sizes. The Syrah we picked up at Art of the Table was a perfect match for the roast.