Archive for February, 2009
Plan Ahead: Save time, money and sanity for an entire week!
Plan
Our meal plan typically consists of an entrée, a vegetable or salad, and a starch where applicable. We will also provide a dessert suggestion.
Family Time
By planning your meals in advance you save time, money and more importantly your sanity, all while giving your family much needed time to be together. Our recipes are designed with your busy schedule in mind.
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Add comment February 26, 2009
What’s the True Cost of the Drive-thru Window? – A Rant
Apparently, due to the economic conditions we now find ourselves in, more people than ever before are buying the family meals at the drive-thru window. While everyone else is losing money, Micky D’s has shown an increase in business. This is disturbing for a number of reasons; but setting the health lecture aside, let’s talk about how taking our meals in the family car will effect us later. But first one more TV ad to prove my point. Have you seen the ad for oatmeal that congratulates the father for making his kids breakfast? It ends with the kids strapped in their car seats eating their oatmeal while driving down the street, bowl and spoon in hand. Doesn’t it bother anyone that the advertising agencies now think that eating in the car is commendable?
My point is how are we to teach our children proper table manners if there is no table. How are we to teach our children social graces, how to speak properly, how to use utensils properly, how to communicate their needs and wants if we try to do it all over the back of a van seat?
I propose we try to plan more at-home meals, more family time spent eye to eye, more time learning to communicate with the next generation; and teaching them how to communicate with us. Thinking down the line a bit; the kids you spend time with today will be the parents of your grandchildren tomorrow. Let’s make sure they know the way. You may even find the process has the added bonus of real enjoyment.
Add comment February 26, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Espresso Gelato with Chocolate Shavings
(From The Dessert Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Espresso Gelato with Chocolate Shavings
I’m in a growth spurt, just like our kids experience growth spurts, except now mine are all about stretching my knowledge and abilities. I usually experience these quests for a better this or that after a period of extended “same ole, same ole.” I see something that keys my mind to investigate how to create dishes I haven’t done before. Last week I had two of these epiphanies, one with getting better at bread making and the other at understanding gelato. As I have already written about the bread thing it is time to go into the pursuit of great gelato.
First of all gelato is very rich and highly concentrated in flavor, so while the recipe below looks like it only makes a little it will be more than enough for a dinner party. For those of you who really like coffee ice cream I believe this will become your new favorite. Those around me know that I can’t just make one kind of anything so last week I made vanilla, chocolate and the above pictured espresso. I still have hazelnut to go this week; and while I stressed the mental growth spurt in this endeavor I do have to report that I did gain a few pounds getting the recipes just right.
Espresso Gelato with Chocolate Shavings
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Dessert |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 5 | large | egg, yolks |
| 1 | cup | sugar, white |
| 1.5 | cup | milk, whole |
| 0.5 | cup | water |
| 2 | Tb | espresso, instant, divided |
| 1 | Tb | chocolate, semi-sweet bar |
Whisk egg yolks and sugar together until light yellow. Place 1/2 of the espresso in the water in the microwave for 1 minute. Bring milk to a boil on the stove. Pour 1/3 of the milk into the egg/sugar mixture and whisk. Pour remaining milk into the egg/sugar mixture, add the espresso mixture and continue to whisk. Pour mixture back into the pan and heat over low-medium heat, stirring constantly until thick (do not boil). Sprinkle remaining espresso powder into mixture and stir. When you put a spoon into the mixture and remove it you can draw a line with your finger on the spoon. Cool the mixture in the frig. Pour into an ice cream maker and allow it to reach a custard consistency. Shave chocolate into small pieces and add to ice cream maker just before you remove the gelato. Place in a storage container and seal with a lid. Freeze in the freezer until hard.
(See more gelato recipes in the Dessert Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Add comment February 24, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Ciabatta Bread
(From the Breads Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Ciabatta
I have no patience; this is not just my wife telling me, I know this of myself. One way to overcome this was to learn how to bake bread. You see baking bread takes patience, lots of patience. Most people think it is hard to bake bread; truth is it is fairly easy but requires short periods of activity and then lots of waiting, patience is a virtue, especially in bread baking.
We are talking breads that need to rise, yeast breads not sweet breads. The main goal for those of us, who are learning patience, is a golden chewy,crust and an airy, moist “crumb” the dough part of the bread with lots of holes. See, here is where it gets a little dicey, trying to get all those things to happen by themselves. Most breads require kneading, folding and “TLC” and maybe some luck. Those of us who bake bread talk to everyone we know who bakes bread to try to find the answers. We trade recipes, equipment and mostly well wishes. So when Capt. Jim (Capt. Jim’s Tomato Focaccio ) sent me this recipe and told me it worked and was very easy, I decided to give it a go.
So if you find your life is a series of 5 minutes bursts, you like great bread or maybe you need to learn some patience here is Capt. Jim’s recipe.
Note the holes and moist "crumb"
Ciabatta
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Breads |
| Meal: | N/A |
| 4 | cup | flour |
| 0.25 | tsp | yeast, dried |
| 1.5 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 2 | cup | water |
Add flour, yeast and salt to a large mixing bowl; stir in warm (not hot) water. Mix until a a very soft, very sticky dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a cool, dry place for 18 hours. Place dough on a floured surface, punch down and fold into itself in thirds. Place a piece of parchment paper; a little bigger than the dough on a work surface, flour the paper. Place dough on the parchment and shape into a long loaf. Cover with a white cotton towel and let rise for 2 hours. Dough will spread out but not up.
Preheat oven to 425º. Cut off any excess parchment showing around the ciabatta. Slide a pizza peel or an upside down cookie sheet under the bread. Slide the bread, paper side down onto the pizza stone or preheated cookie sheet. Spray the bread in the oven with a spray bottle with just water every 2 minutes for the first 12 minutes; this will give you a good crust. Bake for 35 minutes, until lightly brown. Remove from oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before cutting. May be frozen.
(Look for more recipes like this at emealsforyou.com)
2 comments February 19, 2009
Winter Promo- Bring a friend and get $6 off and a $5 rebate
In today’s world saving money anywhere you can is vital. Planning your meals and using a shopping list are easy methods to not only save money but will also help re-establish family meals as a bonding time. Sitting around your table, enjoying a good, home-cooked meal promotes family communication; a chance to catch up and maybe even slow down in our hectic lives.
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Add comment February 17, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Steak Diane
(From The Boss is Back, Distinctive Dinners Meal Plan at emealsforyou.com)
Steak Diane
I don’t like Valentine’s Day; well I don’t like any of the contrived “special” days brought to you by the flower and card companies of the world. It is not like I need an excuse to treat my wife nicely, buy flowers or candy or have a great meal for that matter. So I thought I would go with Steak Diane. I haven’t made it in a while and the steaks were on sale at Costco. Paired with a garlicky Caesar Salad, some crunchy bread and a good bottle of wine you won’t find a quicker, more satisfying meal.
For those of you who think this is too involved to make I can assure you that start to finish 15 minutes is all it took. For company or those “special” meals your guest will think you had Julia Child hidden in the kitchen. Give this great meal a try; it just may become your new favorite.
Steak Diane
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Beef Entrée |
| Meal: | The Boss is Back (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 4 | medium | steak, filet |
| 1 | Tb | soy sauce |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| 1 | 10.5 oz can | beef consommé |
| 1 | Tb | mustard, dijon |
| 2 | tsp | cornstarch |
| 2 | Tb | butter, salted |
| 3 | small | shallots, sliced |
Flatten steaks to 3/4 thickness by placing in plastic bag and hitting them with a mallet or pan. Place on plate, drip soy sauce on them and salt and pepper to taste.
Mix consommé, Dijon mustard and cornstarch in bowl, set aside.
Add 1 Tb of butter to pan. Heat pan until butter bubbles, add steaks, cook 2-3 minutes per side, and remove from pan and cover.
Add consommé mixture to pan and remaining butter, stir, making sure to get all the bits from the bottom of the pan. Add steaks back to the pan.
At this point if you are feeling adventuresome, remove pan from stove, add cognac ( no more than 2 oz) and light with a long match. Very impressive, be careful.
Plate drizzle gravy over steaks and serve.
From the Beef Entrée Collection at emealsforyou.com)
2 comments February 16, 2009
A Pinch Will Do It – A Semi-rant
I just bought some dried wild mushrooms this weekend; thought I would make some cream of wild mushroom soup. Got them at Herbs & Spices in historic Findlay Market in Cincinnati; check out their new Spice University project, just click on their link. Anyway, this got me thinking about one of my pet peeves, too many spices added to food in an attempt to make the food seem more sophisticated. Look, I am not opposed to the use of spices but wish most people would add just enough to get the flavor they are looking for without over-powering the meal by loading it up. If you think about it spices are sold in small containers; the vendors are trying to tell you something.
Many of my recipes recommend “a pinch of salt and pepper to taste”. This means only add as much salt and pepper that your taste buds need to accent the meal. My wish is that people who are learning how to cook add just a little of the spices they think they need in their cooking. More is not better in most cases. Dry spices and herbs are usually more pronounced then fresh. Fresh should be added just before finishing the meal. Most “herb-crusted” recipes have the herb as a secondary ingredients, bread crumbs are usually the main ingredient.
So to put an end to this semi-rant I strongly suggest you go timidly with the spices and herbs in your cooking; at least until you get a good feel for what you like and dislike. Remember you should be cooking to your taste and not the recipe’s.
1 comment February 12, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Roasted Cornish Hens with Cornbread Stuffing
(Look for more recipes like this at emealsforyou.com)
Roasted Cornish Hens with Cornbread Stuffing
Looking for a special meal that doesn’t break the bank? Cornish Hens may just be the answer. These little “devils” are usually available in the frozen food section of your grocery store. Watch for a sale and they can be about $2 per hen. I have served them for all kinds of occasions, even as the main course for 24 of us at our dinner club Christmas party. They are usually about a pound or so, and depending on what you stuff them with, the side dishes you serve and the appetite of your guests, you may cut them in half. Serving half works well as they will look good on the plate, and are easier to eat; plus they provide more than enough food.
The hens take well to all kinds of stuffing. I show them here with a cornbread stuffing but they are equally delicious stuffed with wild rice. Add a vegetable and a green salad ( served under the hens for appearance) and you have a meal that looks as good as it taste.
Here is a side story about the Christmas dinner club party. This was a combination of two neighborhood clubs getting together to celebrate the season. Everyone was responsible for a course or wine or dessert. We chose to do the main course and decided on the Cornish Hens stuffed with wild rice. The person in charge of the party was supposed to give us a total headcount on how much to prepare. We were told there would be 22 of us for dinner. We set up two tables, one in our dining room (for 12) and one in our eat-in kitchen (for 10). So everyone shows up and sits down; we begin to bring the food out to the tables. Suddenly my wife comes up to me and says, “We are two short; the headcount was off by two.” Apparently the party planner forgot to count us in the total. My wife was a little distraught about this, what to do? So we each grabbed a bottle of wine and one of us went into the dining room and the other into the kitchen and “circulated”; pouring wine and adding to the conversations. Giving my wife a nod we quietly switched rooms and performed the sommelier’s duties in the other room. I guess we did a pretty good job as to this day no one who attended the party realized the “cover-up”.
Roasted Cornish Hens with Cornbread Stuffing
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Chicken Entrée |
| Meal: | N/A |
| 4 | medium | cornish hens |
| 0.5 | tsp | salt and pepper to taste |
| 1 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 1 | medium | onions, chopped |
| 3 | cup | cornbread |
| 1 | cup | figs, chopped |
| 1 | medium | pears, fresh |
| 0.5 | tsp | sage, dried |
| 2 | cup | chicken broth |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Makes sure the hens are completely thawed, dried and cleaned inside. Sprinkle salt, pepper inside, and all around the outside of the hens; sprinkle the hens with the oil. Heat the oil in a skillet; add onions and sauté until just translucent. Add cornbread broken into bite sized pieces. Add sage, figs, peeled pears and stir. Add chicken broth and salt and pepper to taste. Cool before stuffing the Cornish hens. Bake in a baking pan at 350° for about 40 – 45 minutes, until an internal thermometer registers 165°. Remove hens from pan, add additional broth to make a pan gravy and serve.
Note: any stuffing leftover after stuffing the hens put in a separate ovenproof container and bake for 20 minutes.
(Look for more recipes like this at emealsforyou.com)
Add comment February 10, 2009
Pantry Cooking – Trust Your Instincts
(Look for more recipes like this at emealsforyou.com)
It’s snowing to beat the band outside and my mind is working over the thought, “What’s for dinner?” I want something hardy but something that I can find the ingredients around the house. Pasta, okay pasta and what? Peeking in the fridge I see: grape tomatoes, spinach, figs, some Boursin cheese spread and (from the pantry) garlic, lots of garlic.
So here we go; take the tomatoes and roast them in the oven with some garlic. Cook the spinach, with some more garlic, add the figs, some cooked pasta, mix in the cheese. My wife likes shrimp, I like sausage, no problem. I cooked the sausage in a pan, and the shrimp in a separate pan: I am a purist after all. Divide the pasta into halves, add the appropriate protein, stir, pour the wine and there you have it.
All of us can learn to “throw” meals together. It is simply a matter of trusting your instincts, knowing what you like and trying it. If something doesn’t work; figure out why. Change things around, add something else, take something out, but at least try.
Pasta with Oven-roasted Grape Tomatoes
Pasta with Oven-roasted Grape Tomatoes
| Complexity: | Medium |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Starch |
| Meal: | N/A |
| 12 | oz | pasta, cooked |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 4 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 1 | lb | spinach, fresh |
| 0.5 | cup | figs, chopped |
| 0.5 | recipe | Oven-roasted Grape Tomatoes |
| 4 | Tb | Boursin Cheese Spread |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Place oil in a large sauté pan, add garlic and bring heat up to high, immediately add the spinach and figs. When spinach is wilted add the oven-roasted grape tomatoes and pasta. Stir well, add the Boursin and mix, adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Note: You may add sausage (add with garlic) or shrimp (add with garlic). Shown here with shrimp.
Oven-roasted Grape Tomatoes
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Vegetables |
| Meal: | N/A |
| 1 | pt | tomatoes, grape |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 2 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 0.5 | tsp | sweet basil |
| 0.5 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 0.25 | tsp | pepper, fresh cracked |
Heat oven to 350°. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, mix and place in an oven-proof pan. Bake for 7 minutes.
(Look for more recipes like this at emealsforyou.com)
4 comments February 4, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Stuffed Pork Roast
(From The Other Meat Entrée Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Stuffed Pork Roast
Here is another blog about the NJ trip a few weeks ago, the good news being another recipe. My mother-in-law suggested that she would like to have a pork roast while we were home. This appealed to me as I always love a good pork roast, especially one with a deep, dark gravy. We started with a center cut, boneless pork roast and a sharp knife. First make a cut about an inch deep and an inch long into the roast. Now begin to cut around the edge of the roast, maintaining the inch thickness. ( think jelly roll here and you will get it) Continue to cut around the roast until you have a flat piece of meat. At this point it makes sense to pound the meat with a tenderizer, I used a rubber mallet I found in the basement, to both tenderize the roast and to make sure the thickness is equal. This is important so that the roast cooks evenly. Our next step is to prepare the stuffing, this can be almost anything that makes sense to you, bread stuffing, sausage, mushrooms or in our case spinach and things. Make your stuffing and cool it in the fridge until you are ready to stuff the pork roast.
Place the stuffing evenly onto the roast, keeping about an inch on all sides free of the stuffing. Don’t over-stuff the roast as the stuffing will only fall out. Serve any extra stuffing on the side. Now take some butcher’s twine or string (unflavored dental floss will work in a pinch) and slide it under the roast in about 5 places. Roll the roast, secure with the string, no fancy knots needed, just secure the roast so that you can cook it without it falling apart. Place the rolled roast into a hot oven-proof roast pan on top of the stove and brown on all sides. Place in oven according to the recipe below and cook until done. Remove roast from the pan to a serving plate and let it rest for 20 minutes or so. In the meantime make the gravy. Slice the roast, drizzle some of the gravy over the roast and serve.
We made some spaetzle, surrounded the roast with it and served the gravy on the side. This was so good I think I may have to make another very soon.
Stuffed Pork Roast
| Complexity: | Medium |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | The Other Meat Entrée |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 3 | lb | pork, boneless roast |
| 1 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 2 | Tb | pepper, fresh cracked |
| 1 | lb | spinach, fresh |
| 0.25 | cup | sun dried tomato |
| 1 | small | onions, diced |
| 8 | cloves | garlic, minced |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| 2.5 | oz | hazelnuts, toasted |
| 1 | package | cotton cooking string |
| 2 | oz | mushrooms, sliced |
| 1 | 10.5 oz can | beef consommé |
| 10 | oz | wine, dry red |
| 2 | oz | butter, salted |
Butterfly the pork roast. This is easier than you think. Start at the top make a cut down one side about 1/3 of the thickness of the roast. Cut down stopping the same thickness from the bottom; repeat on the other side. (think of an envelope with two flaps) Cover with plastic wrap and pound with a rolling pin to flatten the roast. Salt and pepper both the inside and outside of the roast.
Sauté spinach, onions, sun-dried tomatoes (chopped) and garlic in a pan until spinach is wilted. Salt and pepper to taste. Add hazelnuts and cool.
Spread the cooled spinach mixture on the pork roast. Roll the roast back to its original shape. Tie with cotton string in several places to hold it together.
Brown in an oven-proof pan. Place pan in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160 degrees. Remove from oven, remove meat to a platter to “rest”. Place mushrooms in the pork pan on medium, cook for 2 minutes. Add consommé and red wine. Cook for 3 minutes. Whirl in butter and pour over pork.
3 comments February 3, 2009
