May 18, 2008 - Under the Tuscan Sun

Whenever a meal is planned that requires a grill odds are that it is going to rain. This was of course the case on Sunday. Not only did it rain, but I ran out of propane spurring a soaking sprint to Steve's house to salvage a dinner that had not even started to cook.

Once the grill was up and running on went a whole chicken that had been marinating in a blend of citrus juices, rosemary, garlic and oregano. I know, pretty bad ass. And it was. The chicken was butterflied so it would cook faster and under the skin we slid in some orange slices. I'm not kidding. I threw it on the grill, placed some bricks on top to crisp up the skin and promote browning and went inside to dry off.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/GRILLED-CITRUS-CHICKEN-UNDER-A-BRICK-242115

Since the chicken had about 40 minutes to cook I decided to get the meal going with a soup I prepared earlier in the day. It was a watermelon based soup with oranges, beets and some other citrus juices added in. The beet flavor kind of caught me off guard and was a little too strong. However with the addition of some feta and the polishing off of the first couple bottles of wine for the night it began to improve. Jackie hated it but the rest of us were at least able to put down the bowl. I would do it again just with fewer beets.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_32590,00.html

With about 10 minutes to go in the chicken cooking Allison finally started to help out around the kitchen and cored some tomatoes for me. Into the hollowed out orbs I threw in an orzo, and goat cheese stuffing (Dzam). On top of that some fresh parmesan and onto the grill.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_167593,00.html

The chicken finished up along with the tomatoes and the meal was devoured. I attribute that to us being hungry and the food being "off the hook". For the first time in a Pat meal there were no leftovers (see reasoning above). It went over well and as we take the next week off for the holiday we are all excited to see what Jackie has in store next week!

4 May 2008 - Chicken, Thyme, Nuts... How Do You Like Them Apples?

This Sunday's dinner was a big adventure. So far these dinner nights have been a chance for me to expand my culinary craft far beyond the collegiate skills of fish sticks and tater tots, GOSH! This week I went for broke and made 4 things that I had never before prepared. So here's what I made:

Maiden Voyage Encrusting
Pistachio, Panko & Thyme Encrusted Chicken Breast with a Dijon Thyme Gravy
- Recipe from Je Mange la Ville

One Small Step for Biscuitkind
Cheddar Bay Biscuits
- Recipe from Rasa Malaysia

"Holy Vegetation, Batman! It's Green Beans!"
Sauteed Garlic Green Beans and Cherry Tomatoes
- Idea from Je Mange la Ville

"Put Down That Bow & Arrow, Isaac, You're Making Me Nervous" Apple Dumplings
Apple Dumplings with a Cinnamon Sugar & Vanilla Sauce
- Recipe from All Recipes

I really liked the way the chicken dish and the biscuits turned out. It took a good hour to shell and crush all of those pistachios, and dipping and battering those breasts ended with my hands coated in nutty mittens! The Dijon gravy worked out perfectly to the delight of Pat and Steve.

The cheddar biscuits were awesome! They were pretty much a rip off of the Red Lobster recipe, but they're just so good and the parsley butter dusting makes you want to reach for another.

The green beans worked out pretty well, despite me not actually sticking to a recipe. This resulted in the tomatoes being added a bit to early and pretty much turning to mush. Actually, if I didn't tell you they were in there, you wouldn't have known. So we'll just say I made sauteed garlic green beans and forget the whole "tomato thing", k?

The apple dumplings were insanely simple to make - skin, core & half apples, wrap them in biscuit dough, bake for 35 minutes and there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! The sauce, on the other hand, is a bit of a mystery. But I'll solve it quickly for you, when you're heating the buttery, sugary mixture, make sure not to keep it on too high heat for too long or your sauce will turn into a hard caramel coating :) While this made for an interesting candy shell for my 2 eager diners, it was certainly not as intended!

The good people at Coors provided us with smooth, cool beverages to accompany yet another fine meal. Sadly, our fourth member of the Weekly Dining Society had a big day of horse race spectatorship and sat [read: slept] this one out on the couch).

Passover Seder with Steve 4/20/08

I like to give the people what they want. And, if I have my finger on the pulse like I think I do, the people want unleavened bread floating in a sea of broth, slabs of seasoned beef, fried potatos and cake sweet enough to turn Willy Wonka's stomach sour. So, in the spirit of the season I decided that a Jewish Passover Seder would be most appropriate - L'chaim!

Dinner started with potato pancake otherwise known as Latkes by my Hebrew friends. The potatos were sliced, rather than grated, and were cooked in peanut oil. One note for next time to keep in mind is that the potatos oxidize quickly once peeled, so soaking in water would help.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Potato-Latkes-I/Detail.aspx?src=etaf

Next came the Motzah Ball soup. I adapated this recipe from a "vegetarian" motzah ball soup as I chose to serve the balls in a chicken broth instead of the vegetable broth they were simmered in. Note: Matzoh meal can be found at gourmet food sources like Jansen's in Greenville, DE.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/108017

The main course, which spent the better part of 2.5 hours braising in the oven, was a spiced brisket with leeks and dried apricots. Now writing this, I realize I didn't serve the leeks with the beef. But, in my defense, I don't associate leeks with Passover. The interesting thing about a brisket is that due to the high level of connective tissues in the meat, it must be cooked well-done in order for the beef to become tender. Once these connective tissues are broken down, the meat becomes very tender and delicious. Temperature of the brisket at the time removed from the oven was 198 f. There were several herbs & spices in this recipe that are a bit uncommon, including coriander, cinnamon and apricots. I opted to go with an au jus instead of a heavy brown gravy for this dish as I felt I may lose a few diners to sleep shortly thereafter.
http://www.epicurious.com/services/referral?messageKey=b60333dab09f160a4430cddfbda1d4ea

Finally came dessert, and with dessert came subsequent appointments at the dentist's office. Passover Honey Nut Cake in Soaking Syrup was the poison. Although just a small piece would do the trick, we ended up finishing off half of the thing. Next time, I would like to find hazelnuts and use them instead of the almonds as I think the flavor would be fantastic. Also, I would cut the amount of soaking syrup by half, or maybe drizzle with just a little lemon icing.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/109151

As far as libations were concerned, Jef brought a lovely red, a white that went untouched and a bottle of semi-aged blackberry Manischewitz which tasted basically like liquefied rock candy. Mozoltov!

April 13, 2008 - The Fiesta

I have to start by thanking Pat who made a great sous chef and Steve for brining delicious margaritas and refreshing cervezas. The fiesta began with some delicious, spicy nachos paired a nice tomatillo salsa on the side. For dinner, it was chicken enchilada lasagna with some spicy as hell Spanish rice. Oddly enough, the tortillas turned into potatoes while in the oven enhancing the flavors and texture of the dish. For dessert, we enjoyed a take on fried ice cream as we reminisced about the long, lost days of Chi Chi's. If only the American people were more willing to accept a side of Hepatitis with their chimchangas we could still enjoy the delights of Chi Chi's. All we were missing to make this meal complete were a few sombreros and a mariachi band.

The meal was super easy to make and cost roughly $7 per person to make.

The menu:
Ultimate Nachos
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_35777,00.html
*To make the chips, we quartered corn tortillas and baked with a little oil and salt until crispy.

Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_35924,00.html


Chicken Enchilada Verde
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_30253,00.html
*Layer sauce, corn tortillas dipped in sauce, chicken filling and then cheese in a baking dish to make into a lasagna. (30 minutes covered at 350 and then broil 10 minutes uncovered)

Fried Ice Cream
*Scoop ice cream and shape into ball form. Freeze on parchment for 2 hours or until hard. Warm balls in your hand so outside begins to melt and roll in crushed cinnamon toast crunch. Refreeze for another hour until you are ready to serve. (wow this sounds dirty)

March 30, 2008 - A dinner fit for a Duke

Some say it was Sir Arthur Wellesley's (the Duke of Wellington), favorite meal. Others will tell you that it was a dish only fit for the pallet of one Winston Churchill. And you might hear a third tale of gastronomy from a certain British a**hole but lovable chef, Mr. Gordon Ramsey. But any way you slice it (get it) beef wellington is a dish that anyone can love. The meal on this fine Sunday consisted of the following dishes:

Beef Wellington with a beef and wine sauce.
The meal was easier than you might think to prepare and the presentation nothing short of bad ass.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Beef-Wellington/Detail.aspx

Quinoa side.
Quinoa, pronounced KEEN-wah, for those unfamiliar is a good and healthy substitute for rice that has a little more nutty flavor. Paired with onions and lemon the dish went over well.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quinoa-Side-Dish/Detail.aspx?prop31=2

Dessert
As someone who likes to think "outside of the box" I decided to expand this meal to include a traditional dessert. Bread pudding has long been one of my favorites and substituting cinnamon raisin bread in for the standard white gave this recipe the added "kick" I so look for in BP.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bread-Pudding-II-501/Detail.aspx?prop31=4

High Falutin' Steak and Pertaters

On March 16th, 2008, in the year of our lord, a meal of epic proportions was bestowed upon a group of 5 young warrior poets in the great kingdom of Elsmere.

It was on this seventh day, our heroes feasted on Flank steaks pounded to an even half inch submission by our very own Blacksmith Jackie and stuffed with the rich flavors of roasted red peppers, feta cheese, fresh baby spinach and various spices, all before being bound with kitchen twine and sliced into 3 inch pinwheels of deliciousness. Set on their sides in a lightly oiled pan for roughly ten minutes on each side served to seal in the flavor. Once our prized beef was nearly done, a rich mix of mushrooms, cabernet sauvignon, milk and a bit of sour cream were added to the beef drippings to create a beautiful reduction. The twine held strong to its purpose, so once removed, these mighty morsels of meat kept their form. Topped with the reduction, this main course was hungrily devoured by our crew.

As is customary with many a balanced meal, the furious 5 also dined on their shares of grains and vegetation. This time they were treated to hefty portions of Sour Cream & Fresh Dill Mashed Potatoes as well as Roasted Asparagus Covered in Shaved Parmesan. These delicious potatoes were a new adventure for the appointed chef, who was graced with a hand from the Dread Pirate Steve. Before roasting for 14 minutes, our spears of asparagus were trimmed of their woodiness and briefly coated in a blend of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Once removed from their oven chamber and placed in its serving dish, these now tenderly roasted spears were draped in a light blanket of shaved parmesan cheese and soon after were reduced to an empty bowl and 5 full bellies.

A resounding din of elation and satisfaction descended upon our ragtag group; the likes of which had never been seen! Pride swelled in the heart of this preparer of meals, spewing forth inspiration for meals yet to come.

Ideas and inspiration for our featured meal had been discovered on the widest of our world webs:

Je Mange la Ville ~ Flank Steak Pinwheels

A Veggie Venture ~ Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan

Food Network ~ Mashed Potatoes with Buttermilk and Dill


Thanks be to Sir Patrick of Doyle for his presentation of wine and also to Lady Allison for her Rockband skills. So it was written.

February 17, 2008 - Steve's Sacrebleu

Let them eat cake, that is what I say. And so with that I decided to enlighten my guests with some morsels of French culinary mastery; the kind of mastery only to be sprung forth from the loins of a half-blooded, non-native Frenchman. All in all, I felt my arteries clogging the moment I read the recipe online. I think the meal was enjoyable, Jackie liked it so much she tried to take some home with her between her bosoms. I should not pick on Jackie too much as she did bring me a wonderful sex-toy, I mean, oil dipping spices. I'm the best chef ever.

The menu consisted of the following:
Homemade French Bread (Note, this is not some crap Italian bread from Serpes)
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/235423
** note, I did not use a food processor in this recipe.

Pommes de Terre au Gratin avec Tarragon et fromage
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/107935
** I added crispy bacon to each layer of potatos, did not butter the dish, but did place pads of butter on top of the dish before placing in the oven.

Steak au Poivre (Bifteck au Poivre)
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/233549
** shallots look like garlic almost but taste like onions. The brandy did not ignite, which sucked.

February 10, 2008 - Jackie's Homemade Italian

Our first Sunday meal was an Italian feast of homemade pasta with a spicy puttanesca sauce and chicken grilled to perfection by Pat who was willing to battle the bitter cold for the sake of a delicious meal.

The homemade pasta was easy to make and quite tasty. We added some basil and parmesan cheese to take it up a notch - bam! As for the sauce, it was a combination of anchovies, lots of garlic and crushed red pepper, onion, capers, basil, crushed and fresh tomatoes (those cherry ones were for you Steve), black olives, and zucchini. The chicken had a light coating of grapeseed oil and was seasoned with dried basil, garlic sea salt, and freshly ground pepper.

Steve brought a nice red that really toned down the spiciness of the sauce and a beautiful white that had a wonderfully light flavor that accentuated the dish perfectly. He also brought a delicious, crusty loaf of Italian bread which thankfully did not come from that scone-less crap of a bakery Serpes. This paired with the olive oil and dipping spices might just have been the hit of the night.

Cost of the meal: about $6/person

Pasta recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_10292,00.html

February 5, 2008 - Pat's Irish Feast

Ye Irish feast began with a brining of a 7 pound pork shoulder the night before the dinner. This pork was then moved to a pot and was boiled for a little under 3 hours resulting in a delightfully juicy and porkificually tender piece of meat. After the meat was cooked I threw in some cabbage and carrots which cooked in the awesome meat juice for about 15 minutes.....supurb.

The side to this meal was a twist on a traditional Irish favorite, colcannon. This version was mashed potatoes combined with some kale that had been simmering away with garlic and onions for about 30 minutes.

The meal was a resounding success and paired well with the Guinness and Harp so expertly picked out by Jackie. This was a very simple meal to make, fed 5, as we had a visitor Mark the mouth Heinemmann, and best of all the ingredients totaled about $35. Just call me Dave Lieberman!

Recipes are below

Irish bacon and cabbage
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/107859

Mashed potatoes and kale
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/1945

January 29, 2008 - Jef's Thai Flavor Explosion

Last night I made Coconut Red Curry Pork with Snow Peas and Mango in a stir fry. I like adding fruit to a spicy meal. It gives the meal a little extra boom BOOM! Jackie helped me out and made Mystery Rice. We think it was probably Jasmine, though we weren't sure since it's container was unmarked. Jackie did a good job though, that rice was the perfect moistness and none too crunchy. Pat served 2 bottles of Pinot Noir. He was told the flavor from the first "will punch you in the face" and so it did, with a distinct stawberry and cherry flavor. The second was from France, had a subtle cherry taste and was my favorite of the two.

Highlights from my first dinner night:
1) Getting Steve to pickup rice with his chopsticks
2) Speaking entirely in common French terms for a good 5 minutes
C) Playing "What do the 'chinese' characters on Pat's bowls look like?"
Some examples include:

- Sasquatch with Christmas Tree on Head

- Man Crossing the Finishline in a Wheelchair Race

- Midair Fish Collision over Pirate Ship

Here is the recipe I used for the meal.

Below is a musical rendition of highlight #2

January 22, 2008 - Steve's Mexican Ta-Ta's

Here is what I made tonight. It pretty much owned everything ever considered delicious by mankind, and also the French. I was inspired by Mexico and also Mexicans. The Jef, aka 1 F Jef brought over some Mexican Cervezas and a brown ale that paired well with the food ( At least, that is what the beer guy at State Line Liquors told Jef. )

Almond cheese salsa (more like a dip than a salsa, more like awesome than dip.)
Chicken for a King (consider the chef)
Mexican Rice (with tomatoes and cumin)
Chipotle Mashed potatoes (Pat was lucky and found the whole chipotle. This means he spends an hour on the toilet tomorrow morning.)

Overall, this meal is pretty easy to make. If everything is chopped and prepped ahead of time, it is really no big deal. There was no spinach in this dish, so I'm sure Jackie didn't like it.

Chil Cook-off

Here is Pat's winning recipe from the chili cook-off. While they were both delicious, I preferred Steve's due to the fact that it was beanless. The bread from Serpe's added the perfect compliment to the spicy chili. Who doesn't love Serpe's?

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chili-con-Carne-II/Detail.aspx

January 17, 2008 - Jackie's Asian Beef

Dinner Menu:

Skewered beef in a ginger marinade

Beef loin in a garlic chile marinade

Spicy green beens

Rice

Thoughts:

Jackie was a little concerned about the meal, but overall it went very well. Steve enjoyed the ginger marinade quite a bit as did the other diners. The green beens were very spicy and delicious. 4 bottles of wine and a game of cranium accompanied the meal.

Recipes:

Skewered beef in a ginger marinade:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_15736,00.html

Beef loin in a garlic chile marinade:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_26964,00.html

Spicy green beans:

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/vegetablesrecipes/ss/chinesebeans.htm

Orzo and rice:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Orzo-and-Rice/Detail.aspx

January 8, 2008 - Pat's Fish

Dinner Menu:

Spinach and roasted beet salad with ginger vinaigrette

Glazed fingerling potatoes and baby vegetables

Whole fish baked in sea salt

Thoughts:

For the first dinner I thought that it went well. The roasted beets were very good along with the potatoes. The turnips cooked along with the potatoes were nice and went over well. The fish needed a little more time to cook as the inside was not quite done, but for those who like sushi it still tasted good.

Recipes:

Spinach and roasted beet salad with ginger vinaigrette http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/103247

Glazed fingerling potatoes and baby vegetables
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/1222190

Whole fish baked in sea salt
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/241114