From Lobstersquad – looks incredibly easy and I’ll have to give it a whirl sometime. I usually pan-fry or broil fish fillets, so this looks easy and different.
And really, go look at her page, lovely illustrations as always!
Archive for the ‘Dish Types’ Category
Another for the “To Attempt” list – Oven baked breaded fish
Thursday, November 12th, 2009A NomTastic breakfast
Monday, April 20th, 2009What happens when you take your traditional Easter brunch egg casserole and divide it by 4?
A very yummy little breakfast for one!
Here’s the recipe, thanks to the Virginia Hospitality cookbook (circa 1975…) (Note: If you cut it down to a 1 egg serving, it takes approximately 35 minutes at 325 degrees.)
2 c. plain croutons (I use the cheese/garlic croutons)
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (I really don’t know what this equates to in cups, I just kept shredding and weighing.)
4 eggs, beaten
2 c. milk
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. mustard
1/8 t. onion powder (optical communicationsI think 1/4 c. diced onions would work fine as well)
dash of ground black pepper
4 slices crumbled bacon
Put croutons & cheese in bottom of greased 10×6x2 casserole dish (my 8×8 worked fine)
Combine everything else, EXCEPT bacon.
Pour egg mix over croutons & cheese.
Top w/crumbled bacon
Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees. Don’t worry if it’s “jiggly” when you take it out – let it sit for 5 minutes to cool enough to eat, and the eggs will finish setting. 8 servings.
Nutrition info:
Per Serving: 177 Calories; 11g Fat (56.5% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 119mg Cholesterol; 386mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
So simple, yet so perfect!
Monday, April 6th, 2009Oh yes, I am SO going to have to give these a whirl soon:
online casinoBacon Wrapped Potato Bites
How on earth could I have not thought of this before now????
Thanks, Apartment Therapy!
Pot Pie Puffs, Round 1
Sunday, March 29th, 2009
So, about a month ago, I mentioned the Curry Chicken Pot Pies that I had at a party. I wanted to give them a whirl, but of course, I couldn’t stick with Alton’s original recipe… (Sorry, Alton!! But I’m sure you understand.)
It’s still not perfect by any means, so this is round one – but they are still pretty tasty! I skipped the curry – my brother isn’t a fan (bad childhood experiences) which was fine, I’ve been looking for a decent “plain” chicken pot pie filling recipe to start with, and this looked like a good base.
First, I wanted to do some sort of bite sized version like my friend did. I couldn’t find puff pastry (I am sure my market has it and I was just looking in the wrong places) so I went with fridge biscuits and used about 1/3 to 1/4 of a biscuit for each section in a mini muffin tin.
I added some garlic (because everything needs garlic) to the onions & celery, and used sweet onion since the white onions around here have been insanely strong this year.
Cut the 4 cups of veggies to 2 cups and added 2 cups of diced white potatoes. (I also microwaved them for a few minutes, as I had no faith that they would cook through just sitting in the oven with the veggies – I would have boiled them if I had thought of it soon enough.)
Finally, rather than letting the sauce thicken and then folding in the veggies & chicken, I just went ahead and added it all at the same time and letting the chicken simmer in the sauce & seasonings. Added them to the biscuit cups and popped them in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 (the temp called for on the biscuit package.)
And the results:
I put some of the leftovers in the fridge – 5 minutes at 400 degrees in the toaster oven is just right for reheating without burning the biscuit part. The rest are in the freezer, we’ll see how well they can be thawed and reheated for snacks.
Now, the changes I need to make for next time…
– Cut it in half. The original recipe says 6-8 servings. That is 6-8 servings for people who really, REALLY like chicken pot pie! (Seems most 4 serving recipes will feed myself and my brother, and then I have a small serving left for lunch the next day.)
– More potatoes, less veggies. :)
– A little bit of bacon. Cause everything is better with bacon, and I think it would give it a little something.
– Find where the grocery store is hiding the puff pastry.
Just a quickie – Curry Chicken Pot Pie
Monday, March 2nd, 2009No pics, sorry! I was at a party this weekend and the hostess made Alton Brown’s Curry Chicken Pot Pie, and put the filling in little phyllo tarts so they were bite sized.
They were SO GOOD – I HIGHLY recommend this recipe. The curry is not at all overwhelming, it just gives it a little bit of a kick.
I am definitely going to have to give these a whirl at some point.
Third time is the charm!
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009I decided I could still do better with the risotto, so I made another little batch up for lunch – and this time it was spot on. Super creamy, not the slightest bit tough at all.
Basically, I cheated.
Instead of using a shallow pan, I used a small saucepan – and a lid. Sauteed the last of my shallots (had to use them up anyway…), added the risotto and let it soak up the butter. Added the first course of liquid, lowered the heat and covered it. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, just stirring a few times until the liquid was soaked up. The second two courses of liquid took longer (~8 minutes) to soak up, but again, just stirred a few times and kept it covered. It was just right and I didn’t spend the entire time stirring it. Added some Parmesano-Reggiano at the end and it was lovely.
For what it’s worth, this is the risotto I’m using:
I also use their Sushi Rice
Shallot Parm Risotto, 1/4 cup of uncooked risotto used, 1/8 cup parm = 1 serving. Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 316 Calories; 12g Fat (34.1% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 39g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 29mg Cholesterol; 846mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 2 Fat.
Risotto Redux
Monday, February 16th, 2009
No pics, it looks just like last night except without the asparagus. :)
I wanted to give it another whirl to see if I could make it a little softer using lower heat. It did seem to make a difference, and adding the salt & pepper before the 3rd addition of liquid gave it a nice seasoning.
The shallots went a touch too long and were kind of carmelized, but it just added to the goodness of it all.
Made for a nice little lunch.
Asparagus Parmesean Risotto!
Sunday, February 15th, 2009I’ve had risotto in restaurants before, but I’ve never actually made it. I’m not really sure why, but perhaps there was some subliminal intimidation going on. Let’s face it, watch 3 episodes of Hell’s Kitchen and it seems everyone has a pan of risotto that becomes a disaster at some point.
Well, recently I became posessed by something at the supermarket and I found myself with a container of risotto. And this afternoon, I got a bit of a wild hair and decided I would make some up for dinner. Had to go to the market for milk anyway, and decided I’d let something jump out at me as to what to put in it. And no sooner did I walk through the door than I found it – asparagus!
After much stirring, and stirring, and some more stirring – I had dinner.
Overall, not too bad at all considering that it was my first go at it. (I couldn’t get the asparagus to look artful, I tried, LOL.) Still needed a little more S&P when I dug into it, and it wasn’t quite as soft as I thought it should have been – I think that can be remedied easily next time by having the heat somewhat lower and giving the liquid more time to soak in. (It also could have been that I cut the usual serving in half. Time will tell.)
I sauteed 3 chopped up shallots in butter until they were nice and soft.
Added a 1/2 cup of risotto and let it soak up the butter, about a minute or two.
Added 1/2 cup of heated chicken stock, stirred until it was soaked in.
Repeated that with two more 1/2 cups of stock.
Once the last of the stock was soaked up, I stirred in about 1/4 cup of grated parmesano-reggiano cheese, and then folded in the roasted asparagus. (I just roll them in some butter and cracked pepper and put them under the broiler of the toaster oven for about 5 minutes.)
Added salt & pepper to taste.
I did it all on medium heat, I think next time I will do it on medium low – it will take a little longer, but I think it will be a bit softer that way.
Overall, it really wasn’t that difficult – just somewhat time consuming and it’s not the type of thing you can easily walk away from while it’s cooking. Even though mine wasn’t perfect, it was certainly tasty and something I think that anyone could make with some patience!
It’s also insanely rich – I could only finish about half of it. So, if you’ve been hemming and hawing over making risotto – give it a go. I think next time I’ll be going for a low-country version.
Convenience foods aren’t always the enemy…
Thursday, January 29th, 2009Convenience foods get a bad rap a lot of the time, and a goodly amount of it is justified. Costs more than homemade, nutritionally dubious value, etc, etc.
But, there is also something to be said for being able to pop something out of the freezer and into the toaster oven for 10 minutes and have a quick snack. And some are just downright crack-in-a-box. I absolutely LOVE Stouffer’s French Bread pizzas, always have. I will admit an everlasting fondness for La Choy’s frozen “egg rolls” – which bear no resemblance to any egg roll I’ve ever gotten from a Chinese restaurant, but I love them anyway, and they bring back nice memories from when my Mom made them when I was a kid.
Additionally, these products can give you some more insight as to HOW to make them on your own, with better ingredients, lower cost and that satisfaction that comes with conquering a new dish.
Which all brings us to today’s convenience food that I should probably feel guilty for buying, but I don’t. El Monterey Chicken & Cheese Flour Taquitos.
I’ll admit – it was an impulse purchase – they were on sale, I made the mistake of not eating before I went to the market, and my reaction when I saw them was, “Ooooooooooo! Taquitos!!!!” And they’re not too bad – defrost a couple in the microwave and pop them in the toaster oven for 12 minutes, add some sour cream and taco sauce and you’ve got a good snack.
The only other time I get taquitos is at the local Tex-Mex place, and if you asked me to recreate them, I’d be stuck. But having these here in the house, where I can take a look at the ingredients, really look at how they’re put together, I actually have a fighting chance at recreating something along these lines.
So, when this box is done, I’ll likely be making up a big batch of homemade ones and freezing them and having my own taquitos. (I should also give homemade French Bread Pizzas a whirl sometime, too.)
The next time you feel guilty for buying a frozen quick snack food, don’t. Think of it as a starting point to making your own version that’s even better. Take the time to look at them, how they’re made, and see if you can’t make a big batch of your own to freeze for those days when you want something quick.
From Just Bento:Ham Negimayaki
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
If you like ham, and you like green onions – get yourself over to Just Bento today and check out the Ham Negimayaki recipe & pics that have been posted.
I’ll have to give this a whirl myself sometime, because it just looks great. Thing is, I don’t remember ever having anything like this when I was in Japan, but it’s also been a very long time since I was there, and I wasn’t exactly a foodie at the time.