Posts filed under 'Dinners'
Recipe of the Week – Tilapia with Golden Raisins
(From The Fish Entrée Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Tilapia with Golden Raisins
My wife likes fish and I don’t. I try to make fish for her about once or twice a week , so I am always looking for a quick and easy recipe that is both good and easy. Something that won’t make me feel as though I just slapped it together. Tilapia is a light and fairly inexpensive fish that is getting more and more common in the grocery stores. Ideally suited for a summer dinner, served with rice and a small salad this is both satisfying and great for those who are watching their weight.
For those of you who are regular readers of this blog you know I like to add raisins to almost any dish. Golden raisins add a surprising sweet and moist touch to the dish. The sweetness offsets the acidity of the wine and the pine nuts add some crunch. Start to finish in less than 10 minutes; you would be hard pressed to come up with a better meal, good and good for you.
Tilapia with Golden Raisins
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 2 |
| Category: | Fish Entrée |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 3 | Tb | rice flour |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| 8 | oz | tilapia |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 2 | Tb | pine nuts, toasted |
| 2 | Tb | raisins, golden |
| 2 | oz | wine, dry white |
| 1 | Tb | butter, salted |
Mix salt and pepper with rice flour. Dredge Tilapia filets in flour, shaking off excess. Heat oil in pan and sauté filets for 3 minutes per side. Remove filets from the pan, keep warm. Add raisins, pine nuts and wine, simmer for 2 minutes, add butter, remove from heat and swirl until melted. Pour over filets and serve.
1 comment June 23, 2009
Recipe of the Week – The Perfectly Cooked Father’s Day Steak
(From The Beef Entrée Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Grilled Steak
I am giving you a few weeks to plan this meal. This will allow you to watch the newspapers for a steak sale and gather any other ingredients you need. There are a few “secrets” when striving for the perfect steak dinner. First buy a nice steak. Choice is better than Select, thicker is better than thin. Don’t be afraid to ask the meat cutter at the store to cut a fresh steak to your required thickness and size. When asked, these guys usually like the chance to show off their skills and you will win as the steak will probably be trimmed a little better than the ones in the meat case.
Growing up my father would give each of us a steak. The first time I went to my then girlfriend’s house for steak they had one large steak cut into strips. I thought, wow how is this going to work, than after the vegetables, salad and rolls followed by dessert I understood. Back then it was all about excess, now that excess is hanging around my middle and I have learned my lesson.
I like my steak med-rare; if you like it cooked more just cook it a few minutes longer. Remember it is easier to put a steak back on if it is too rare then it is to make an overcooked steak good again. The secret is to cut a small slit in the bottom and take a peek. If it is too rare pop it in the microwave when no one is looking for just a minute, really one minute will make all the deference.
Don’t get fancy with all the marinades and steak sauces. Simply put a good amount of salt and pepper on both sides, pour on a little olive oil and make sure the grill is very hot. Cook for 1 minute per 1/4 inch thickness on each side. Now, don’t poke it, don’t prod it, don’t move it and don’t flip it until the time is right. Flip it only once. When it is done put it on a plate and let it sit for a few minutes to finish cooking and drive the juices back into the steak. Now would be the time to take a peek and see how you did.
Grilled Strip Steak
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Beef Entrée |
| Meal: | N/A |
| 2 | lb | steak, strip |
| 1 | Tb | salt, kosher |
| 1 | Tb | pepper, fresh cracked |
| 1 | Tb | oil, olive |
The keys here are to have the fire very hot and the steaks at least 1 thick. Have the steaks at room temperature, brush olive oil on both sides of steaks, add pepper and salt. Grill about 5 minutes on one side and 4 on the other. (depending on how you like your steak and the thickness of the steaks) remove steak from grill and let sit for 10 minutes. It will finish cooking on the platter; so take it off just before it is done as you would like.
(See the whole meal plan: Backyard Soiree (Picnic Meal Plans) at emealsforyou.com)
Add comment June 8, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Best Ribs Ever
(From The Other White Meat Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Best Ribs Ever
Debbie had a picnic this weekend and told me she was serving ribs along with way too much other food and I asked if I could cook the ribs for her. The goal of great ribs starts with good pork but then usually most people veer into the crazy world and try too hard. There are two basic elements that separate bones left on the plate with meat and fat hanging on them and bones picked clean: a good dry rub and patience.
The ribs pictured above cooked in a low oven for 3 1/2 hours and although there was bbq sauce available most ate them just the way they were. As my wife says, you want to eat ribs to taste the pork not a bottled bbq sauce; besides these are easier to eat as they are not as messy. The only thing that could make these better is serving them with a slice of good corn bread; I made that as well. (Recipe available on emealsforyou.com)
These are so good that I thought I should walk you through the easy steps to making them. Follow them and then sit back, lick your fingers and let the compliments come.
Start with a good quality ribs. Rinse and dry the ribs. I line jellyroll pans (3/4″ deep cookie sheets) with parchment to facilitate easy cleanup. Place the ribs fat side up and score the fat diagonally in both directions.
Scored Ribs
Rub the dry rub into the slab and flip over. Rub the dry rub into the meaty side. Place in a pre-heated 275 degree oven and cook for 2 hours. Flip over and cook for 40 minutes on this side. Flip again and finish cooking, about 40 minutes until fork tender.
Ribs with Rub
Best Ribs Ever
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | The Other Meat Entrée |
| Meal: | N/A |
| 6 | lb | ribs, baby back |
| 1 | recipe | dry rub |
Rinse ribs and dry with a paper towel. Turn ribs over to the fatty side and score diagonally across the ribs in both directions. Rub dry rub over ribs, flip over and rub dry rub on this side. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet with ¾” sides, place ribs meat side up onto cookie sheets and place in pre-heated 275 º oven. Bake for 2 hours, flip over and bake for an additional 45 minutes, flip back and finish cooking until fork tender and ribs start to fall off the bone, about 40 more minutes.
Serve with bbq sauce on the side.
Dry Rub
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Misc |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 0.75 | Tb | cumin, ground |
| 0.5 | tsp | pepper, cayenne |
| 1 | tsp | pepper, fresh ground |
| 1 | tsp | paprika, sweet |
| 1 | Tb | garlic powder |
| 1 | Tb | onion, granulated, dry |
| 2 | tsp | mustard, dried |
| 1 | Tb | chili powder |
| 2 | Tb | sugar, brown |
| 0.5 | tsp | salt, kosher |
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. May be stored in an air-tight container for months.
Note: Use on pork, beef and chicken.
Add comment May 25, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Beef Bourguignon
(From The Beef EntréeCollection at emealsforyou.com)
Beef Bourguignon
I’m back from my trip to New Jersey; five days of good family, good friends and good food. I look forward to these trips as I get a chance to spend some time being the “home handyman” and enjoy the challenge of giving my mother-in-law a break in the kitchen. I say challenge as we are an eclectic group when it comes to the table, one doesn’t eat meat, one is gluten intolerant, and I don’t eat fish. Add the fact that there are usually 8 -12 of us around the table and you have my own Food Challenge show going. We brought most of the desserts with us, frozen, from Ohio, too many of my clothes are telling me but the main meals were made on the spot.
Ravioli in Vodka Sauce, Italian Pork Chops, Sea Bass and Bouillabaisse were on the menu but my favorite was the Beef Bourguignon. When I would make this for my father he would call it beef stew, which is what is really is, he just wanted to rub in that I was an “effete snob” in the kitchen. Anyway this is the ideal meal when you want something you can cook in advance and requires very little effort to warm it up, add a salad and some crunchy bread and dig in. Beef stew or Bourguignon, call it what you may, it is still a great meal to turn a family gathering into an elegant dinner party or an elegant dinner party into a family gathering.
Beef Bourguignon
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 10 |
| Category: | Beef Entrée |
| Meal: | Fall French (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 0.5 | lb | bacon |
| 4 | lb | beef, cubes |
| 3 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 1 | 10.5 oz can | beef consommé |
| 1 | bottle | wine, dry red |
| 3 | Tb | tomato paste |
| 4 | medium | bay leaves, whole dried |
| 0.25 | tsp | thyme, dried |
| 2 | Tb | butter, salted |
| 1 | package | onions, pearl frozen |
| 1 | lb | mushrooms, white button |
| 3 | Tb | butter, salted |
| 3 | Tb | flour |
| 1 | Tb | salt and pepper to taste |
Cut bacon into small pieces. Brown bacon in large pan, remove and reserve bacon. Brown beef in pan, add garlic, sauté 2 minutes, add consommé, wine (reserve 1 cup), tomato paste, bay leaves and thyme. Reduce heat and cook covered for 40 minutes, or until beef is fork tender. Add butter to a second pan; sauté onions and mushrooms for 3 minutes until slightly brown. Remove onions and mushrooms from pan; add to beef pan, deglaze onion pan with remaining cup of wine, and pour into beef pan. Make a roux with the butter and flour, cook roux until just slightly beige, stir into beef pan. Cook until thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Hints: Make Bourguignon up to a day in advance and cool. Reheat when ready to serve.
(From The Fall French Distinctive Dinners Meal Plan at emealsforyou.com)
Add comment May 18, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Southern Baked Chicken Legs
(From The Cooking For the Kids Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Southern Baked Chicken Leg
They have done a number on us, well maybe me; you my still be a holdout. On the rare occasion when I break out the frying pan and oil a huge wave of guilt sweeps over me. We have been trained that frying is bad and sautéing is good. Anyway I don’t like how frying smells up my house so it was time to come up with a chicken recipe that was better for us and actually smelled good cooking.
I thought after the dessert trays last week I might come back down to earth and provide a recipe that your kids would love and even more importantly is easy to cook. Anyone who cooks has tried to come up with an alternative to the bucket of chicken. Not that there is anything wrong with an occasional stop in the fast food chicken huts, except that you can probably run a diesel truck off the oil you can wring from the napkins when you are done. We try and try to get just the right flavor and crunchiness and still have that great taste; all while baking instead for frying.
Here is my recipe for Southern Baked Chicken; this recipe works well for a nice dinner or served cold at a picnic. Picnic? You know when you take a plastic container of the chicken to the soccer game and have the rest of the kids, those not playing, eat on the side of the field.
Southern Baked Chicken Legs
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Cooking for the Kids |
| Meal: | N/A |
| 6 | medium | chicken legs |
| 0.5 | cup | flour |
| 1 | tsp | garlic powder |
| 1 | tsp | paprika, sweet |
| 0.5 | tsp | salt, table |
| 0.5 | tsp | pepper, fresh ground |
| 2 | medium | egg |
| 0.125 | tsp | salt, table |
| 0.125 | tsp | pepper, fresh ground |
| 0.75 | cup | breadcrumbs |
| 0.125 | tsp | salt, table |
| 0.125 | tsp | pepper, fresh ground |
Put flour, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper into a shallow bowl and mix. Beat eggs and add salt and pepper into another shallow bowl. In a third bowl mix breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Dip the chicken legs into the flour mixture, making sure to cover the whole leg with flour. Shake off any loose flour. Dip the leg into the eggs and make sure to cover. Dip the legs in the breadcrumbs, place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until the juices run clear when poked with a knife.
2 comments May 11, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Chicken Breasts with Garlic Butter
(From The Chicken Entrée Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Chicken Breasts with Garlic Butter
Last week I posted about moving on from Mac and Cheese and trying something a little more (adult); so why not go the same route with plain old grilled chicken. Taking your normal grilled dinner and adding a simple and easy touch will have your family smiling. This recipe requires about 5 extra minutes of prep time and is well worth it.
Also let’s take a minute to discuss the finer details. This recipe calls for boneless chicken breasts, so if you have bone-on chicken breasts no big deal. The garlic butter recipe calls for cilantro, many don’t like the taste of cilantro, so don’t put it in or substitute parsley or rosemary of just go without the “green stuff”. As I have stated in the past, make these recipes your recipes, change or don’t change them to adjust for your taste. The important thing is to try different methods and ingredients; get out of the same old grind and live a little.
Chicken Breasts with Garlic Butter
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Chicken Entrée |
| Meal: | Other (General) |
| 4 | Tb | butter, salted |
| 1 | tsp | cilantro |
| 1 | cloves | garlic, minced |
| 4 | medium | chicken , breast, boned with skin on |
| 1 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Allow butter to soften; mince garlic and cilantro and blend into the softened butter. Place the butter in plastic wrap, roll into a log and set in the refrigerator to firm up. Cut a pouch into the chicken breast on a diagonal about 11/2 inches wide and 11/ inches ‘deep. Stuff a Tb of the butter into each pouch. Pour a little of the olive oil over the breasts and salt and pepper them to taste. Heat grill to high temperature then cook the breast 10 -15 minutes, until juices run clear.
Note: garlic butter is also great on steaks and burgers.
Add comment April 20, 2009
Extra Recipe of the Week – Pasta – Beyond Mac and Cheese
(From The Fish Entrée Collection at emealsforyou.com)
When we don’t know what to prepare for dinner we usually fall back on the usual suspects. For many of us this means Mac and cheese, from the blue box, maybe with chicken or a hot dog or something and maybe just by itself. While this makes sense for the kids, the kids would eat this 7 days a week, it may not be what your significant other expects after a hard day at work. Even foregoing this guilt trip don’t you deserve more?
This recipe is very easy, and with the exception of the shrimp requires ingredients you should have on hand. The shrimp, while it seems to be an extravagance, is pretty inexpensive if you buy it on sale. You only need about 6 medium shrimp per person to make this a special meal. Seriously, by the time the pasta cooks you will have everything else done… add a salad and you have a meal that is equal to any you would get at a good Italian restaurant.
So, dim the lights, light a candle on the table and dream of Rome.
Angel Hair Pasta with Garlic Shrimp
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Fish Entrée |
| Meal: | Happy Birthday (Celebration Meal Plans) |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 2 | Tb | lemon zest, finely chopped |
| 4 | medium | scallions, sliced |
| 3 | cloves | garlic, minced |
| 1 | lb | shrimp, deveined, shelled |
| 1 | medium | lemon, juice of |
| 0.75 | cup | tomatoes, diced |
| 0.25 | cup | milk, 2 % |
| 1 | lb | pasta, angel hair |
| 4 | Tb | cheese, Romano, grated |
| 1 | Tb | parsley, flakes |
| 0.5 | tsp | pepper, fresh ground |
| 1 | pinch | salt to taste |
Heat oil in pan; add 1/2 the zest, all the scallions, garlic, and shrimp. Reduce heat and simmer until shrimp are done,( about 3-4 minutes) add lemon juice, tomato, and milk. Simmer 3 more minutes. Cook pasta in boiling water with 2 Tb salt. Add pasta to pan, mix well, plate. Sprinkle top with parsley flakes, black pepper, remaining lemon zest and romano.
Serve with garlic bread.
Note : If your pasta is too dry add a little of the pasta water.
1 comment April 16, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Comfort Food
hoagie
They go by different names, depending on what part of the country you are from. They are the foods you turn to when you just want something good; something familiar. It may be a hoagie (northeast); po’boy (New Orleans) or sub sandwich (west coast) and let’s not forget grinder, hero and Italian sandwich. You may choose to go with mayo, oil and vinegar or just plain; hot banana peppers or not… With the advent of the national chains they all blend together, taking with them some of what I think makes the sandwich special in my mind. Maybe I am different but I can’t wait to get back to Jersey and pick up a hoagie from the Varsity deli shop, no Subway for me.
pencil points
So now that we have taken care of lunch let’s look at dinner. For me it’s “pencil points”; the penne pasta that has a pointed shape at the ends, covered with some thick and rich tomato sauce. Where I grew up; in the east, the small independent restaurants always had a side of pencil points on the menu. We showed you our spaghetti sauce recipe back in June of 2008, Meal Planning – Winning the Trifecta. I like to serve mine with the chicken cacciatore found on emealsforyou.com.
So, go make yourself something “comfortable”; make enough for the whole family.
Add comment April 7, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Philly Cheesesteak – Really
(From The Beef Entrée Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Pat's Philly Cheesesteak
Talk to anyone from the New Jersey/ Philadelphia area about cheesesteaks and Pat’s at 9th and Passyunk in south Philly will come up. This is where cheesesteaks were born; (Gino’s cheesesteak people can stop reading now) right on the south end of Philly’s Italian Market. Every politician for decades has made the tradition treak to Pat’s and ordered a cheesesteak, wid or widout; onions that is. Don’t even think about any cheese but melted cheesewiz.
So it is with fond memories that I try “cheesesteaks” around the country, looking for one that comes close. The secret you see is just simple: paper thin sliced steak, fresh onions, melted cheesewiz and a good Italian torpedo roll. Everyone else tries too hard. Mushrooms, fancy cheeses, peppers, terrible rolls ( why can’t you get a decent roll anywhere but the East Coast?) all things someone decided makes their steak sandwich an original Philly cheesesteak; not even close.
So, keeping in mind nobody does it like Pat’s, here is as close as I can get to the Philly cheesesteak.
Philly Cheesesteak
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Beef Entrée |
| Meal: | Do you hear Sinatra? (Quick Meals Planner) |
| 1.5 | lb | London Broil |
| 1 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 1 | large | onions, sliced |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| 4 | oz | cheese, Velveeta |
| 1 | large | baguette |
Slice the London broil as thinly as possible, cross grain. Heat oil in a sauté pan, add beef slices and onions. Sauté until the steak is cooked and the onions begin to color, a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cut baguette lengthwise and place steak, onions and melted cheese in bread.
Note: to aid in cutting the London broil thinly place in freezer for 2 hours prior to cutting. May be stored in a baggie in the freezer once sliced.
1 comment March 16, 2009
First Step to a Family Meal Night – A Semi-Rant
It’s time! It’s time that you establish family meal times. Real family gatherings around a real table, with real food, not fast food in the car. Pick one night. set a time and stick to it. Make it seem like a game, not a mandatory function, although you need to make sure that everyone attends.
The easiest way, and many of you are probably already doing this, is pizza night. Pick one night each week, gather around the table and talk with your kids; and more importantly get them to talk to you. Start off buying the pizza and gradually begin to make the pizza with the kids. Let each kid make his own pizza; you will be surprised at how fast the kids take to this. They get to show their individuality, tease each other and generally COMMUNICATE. Once you get the hang of this start letting them bring their friends. This gives you a chance to show you approve of their friends, set some rules but try to go with the flow.
We did pizza night for years, it became a neighborhood thing; exchanging conversations with the neighbors, our kids and their friends. Our oldest son has a friend who was a Russian immigrant, 6 foot tall about 130 lbs, stark white skin. This kid, looking to find his place in our nation, had adopted the affect of the hip-hop movement; complete with dreadlocks, piercings and pants down around his knees. He would show up every Friday night (pizza night) and we would just look at him. We were looking to try to understand him and see what new “things” he had attached, as it were. He would see us and think we were making judgments and that we didn’t like him. It wasn’t until we told him we just wanted to understand him, that he realized he was welcomed into our world. We now, 15 years down the line, are good friends and laugh about the old times.
Here is an easy pizza recipe, fire up the oven, add some toppings and get to know your kids.
Pizza Dough
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 10 |
| Category: | Misc |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 2 | package | yeast, dried |
| 0.66 | cup | water, hot |
| 7 | cup | flour, all-purpose |
| 2 | Tb | salt, kosher |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 2 | water, hot | |
Dissolve yeast in 2/3-cup hot water, (water should not exceed 105 degrees) in large mixer bowl. Mix in flour, salt, oil and remaining hot water until a ball forms. Place dough in greased pot, cover with plastic wrap, allow to double in size at room temperature. (approx. 2 hrs) Punch dough down and return to pot to rise a second time (1hr). Divide into equal circles and roll out for pizza.
Hint: The rounder your circles are the better the pizza will look.
Full recipes makes about 5 14 pizzas. For half recipe use 1/3-cup water with yeast.
Pizzas
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 10 |
| Category: | Vegetarian Entrée |
| Meal: | Pizza Party (Theme Meal Plans) |
| 1 | recipe | pizza dough |
| 1 | 15 oz can | tomato sauce |
| 1 | lb | cheese, mozzarella |
| 1 | lb | cheese, Mexican |
| 6 | Tb | cheese, Romano, grated |
| 5 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.25 | cup | corn meal, yellow |
For individual pizzas cut dough into 10 pieces. On floured surface, shape dough into a round disk. Work dough from middle to outside. You want it about 1/4 “ thick and thicker just around the edges. Place on flat board, (peel), upside down cookie sheet or cutting board, with some corn meal to allow the dough to slip off peel. Cover with thin layer of tomato sauce, leaving about 3/4” at edge. Sprinkle on cheeses. Sprinkle on 1 TB romano. Drizzle 1 tsp. of oil on top.
Optional toppings: sausage, mushrooms, onions, peppers. Add toppings, remember pizza will only be in the oven around 12 minutes, so cut thinly and if you are using saugage, makes sure you put it on last, so it will cook. Pre-heat oven to maximum temperature for at least 30 minutes. Cook pizza on a pizza stone or cookie sheet 8-12 minutes until done .
Hint: For parties make the pizza ahead of time and reheat.
Note: Be sure to add the pizza dough recipe to your shopping list.
Special Note: Use 1/5th of the dough for pizza donuts for dessert. See recipe under Pizza Donuts in the Cooking for the Kids category at emealsforyou.com)
Add comment March 12, 2009
