I have had a curiosity about making Beef Wellington since I started watching the fantastic show Hell’s Kitchen, cause they seem to serve it every night for dinner, and it NEVER, EVER comes out right.  It perplexed me, because it seems to constantly elude the cadre of inept chefs for the entire season.  I figure, if I made something night after night, I would eventually get the hang of it.  What is so darn tough about making a Wellington?  I went searching for a Gordon Ramsay approved recipe so that I wasn’t somehow cheating and making something pared down.

Well, turns out, it actually is kinda hard to make Beef Wellington.  For starters, it takes a while to make it.  And, also when you bake it all the juices come out of the tenderloin, which made my pastry soggy.  To boot, mine was definitely overdone…but, nonetheless, it was delicious.  Gordon Ramsay would have kicked me out, that’s for sure.  And the picture came out kinda crappy.  But, well, I had to photograph it at 8pm which was when we were eating it for dinner!  Oh well. 

Beef Wellington

Adapted from Gordon Ramsay, The F Word

Ingredients:

• 2lb Beef tenderloin
• 1lb mushrooms
• 4 slice proscuitto
• Grainy mustard
• One sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 2 Egg yolks

Brown the tenderloin in some oil in a heavy skillet.  Remove the tenderloin to a cutting board and cool.  Rub the tenderloin with the grainy mustard.  Coarsely chop your mushrooms, and place into a food processor.  Process until a smooth puree is formed.  Place the puree into a skillet and cook on medium until the moisture evaporates and the mixture thickens.  Lay out some saran wrap, enough to cover the tenderloin completely.  Lay the proscuitto slices in the center of the saran wrap, slightly overlaying eachother.  Spread the mushroom paste over the proscuitto slices.  Lay the tenderloin on top of the mushroom and proscuitto and wrap tightly in the saran wrap.  Let sit in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to set up the wellington.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In the interim, roll the thawed pastry sheet into a thin layer large enough to cover the tenderloin.  Beat the egg yolks with about 1 tablespoon of water to form an egg wash, and coat the pastry edges with the egg wash.  Unwrap the tenderloin from the saran wrap.  Place the rolled meat onto the center of the puff pastry, and fold the pastry over the tenderloin, pressing the edges.  Coat with the egg wash.  Roast in the oven for about 40 minutes for a medium-well done Wellington.  Enjoy!

Don’t get me wrong, my husband makes me pulled pork all the time – his recipe is just ‘put a pork shoulder, a can of Coke, and a bottle of barbeque sauce in a slow-cooker and turn it on.’  Not that there is anything wrong with his recipe – it actually tastes fantastic – but, I couldn’t bring myself to blog about adding Coke to pork and cooking it.   As pulled pork was part of my 30 while 30 mission the recipe I picked had to be a bit of a challenge.  I settled on this recipe for Chipotle Barbeque Pulled Pork, as it sounded different and spicy and delicious.  Also, it’s fantastic for a working woman like myself, as it’s also a slow cooker recipe – throw it in and a few hours later dinner is done!  It came out great – certainly it has a bit of a bite, but the chipotle also brings a smoky sweet taste to the party.  Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are my new favorite special ingredient for Mexican dishes – the flavor is complex, smoky and spicy while at the same time sweet, and gives any Tex-Mex dish you’re making some great additional depth.  We served our pulled pork atop plain hamburger buns, which were perfect for sopping up the delicious sauce.  Alongside an ear of corn, this would make a fantastic summer-time dinner!

Chipotle Barbeque Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

• 1 bone-in pork shoulder, approximately 4-5lbs
• 2 medium yellow onions, diced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 4 canned Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (reserve the sauce) *
• 2 tablespoons Adobo Sauce *
• 12oz dark beer (I used a porter)
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup dijon mustard
• Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper

* Adjust to taste depending on whether you like more or less spice!

Directions:

Rinse and dry the pork shoulder.  Season the meat with salt and pepper to taste, and sear on medium-high heat on each side in a large deep skillet, or a dutch oven.  Remove the pork from the pan to your slow-cooker.  Add the diced onions to the pan, cooking until translucent, about 5-10 minutes.  Add the spices to the pan, heating until they are aromatic.  Add brown sugar, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, beer, ketchup, vinegar and mustard to the pan.  Simmer until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.  Pour the sauce over the pork shoulder in the slow-cooker and cover.  Turn the slow-cooker on low heat for 7-8 hrs, or until the pork is tender and falling off the bone.  Remove the pork from the sauce and shred the meat using a fork.  Serve on rolls with sauce spooned over top.  Enjoy!

Finally, a return to my 30 things to make while I’m 30.  Starting to run out of time, here – I’ll be 31 in only 4 months from tomorrow!  I have a lot of the recipes ready for blogging, but things have been a little crazy ’round here lately, and I’ll admit I’ve been slacking off a bit.  Thankfully, I have an afternoon off, and a long weekend to follow – so here I go.  Sauerbraten is a fantastic, slow-cooked German roast beef.  I will warn you if you plan to make this it’s important to plan far ahead, as it takes a week to marinate.  Yep, that’s right, a week.  When we finally got around to cooking it though – the dish was worth every marinating minute.  It’s sweet and tangy and complex all at the same time.  This recipe I got from my lovely mother-in-law who is a fantastic cook – it’s tough following in her shoes, but my husband seems to think I’m doing alright so far at least!  I love snagging her recipes and trying them out for him whenever I can.  I made a few minor changes, mostly related to what I happened to have on hand vs. what the recipe called for – but it came out great.  This sauerbraten would be lovely on a cool fall night with a delicious German beer – although it was similarly awesome when I made it this spring too.  I served it with Kartoffelknoedel – I just love saying that word – or traditional German potato dumplings, but it would also taste great with spaetzle or egg noodles or frankly I’d imagine on any other plain base.

Sauerbraten

From my mother-in-law’s personal recipe collection

Ingredients

For the marinade -

• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup cider vinegar (increase if needed in same proportion to the water)
• 2 cups of water (increase if needed in same proportion to the vinegar)
• 2 and 1/2 tsp salt
• 12 whole peppercorns
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 4-5 lb boneless roast, tied

On cooking day -

Now this my friends brings me back to my childhood.  I grew up in southeastern Massachusetts where every year at Christmas, there was a fantastic Christmas Light display at LaSalette shrine – my family would go every year, and as part of the fun we’d have a hot toddy, and perhaps a nice slice of French Meat Pie.  Also known as a Tourtière,  this is a dish popular in French Canada and is in fact a traditional part of the Christmas dinner in Quebec.  Of course, it’s also delicious on any other night of the year as well!  As my co-blogger and her husband can attest to, many families have their own traditional recipes (sometimes more than one per family even!) for this dish that are passed down generation to generation, however given my Irish-Italian heritage, we do not have our own recipe so I had to go finding one on my own.  I put it on my list of 30 things to make while I am 30 because it combines two of my favorite things – pie, and meat. 

This recipe I found is very easy (particularly if you use a premade crust – I won’t tell if you won’t!) and makes a wonderful meal to eat on a snowy New England night – which we’ve had enough of these days to know all to well!  I did substitute the spices a bit because I am not a big fan of allspice, and it came out fantastic – just as I remembered from when I was 7 or 8 wandering around looking at Christmas lights.  The light flaky crust with the warm spicy filling goes quite well with a glass of red wine, a movie, and a lovely night in watching frozen precipitation accumulate.  It also is quite filling – but reheats very well in case you are unable to finish it all on the first attempt.

French Meat Pie

adapted from TasteOfHome, via allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 cup mashed potatoes
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches)
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.  Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and saute the onion until translucent.  Remove from skillet.  Brown ground pork and ground beef together in the same skillet.  Drain all the drippings.  Mix together the browned meat, onions, mashed potatoes, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.   Line  a pie plate with one crust, and place filling inside.  Top with the second crust.  Crimp the edges of the crust together, and cut several small slits in the top crust to let steam escape.   Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until the top crust appears golden brown.  Enjoy!

A well-stocked freezer is a thing of beauty

A trip to the warehouse club can be a dangerous thing if you own a chest freezer.  One moment you’re innocently walking down an aisle buying a package of toilet paper, and the next thing you know– you have a 48-pack of mini quiche sitting in your deep freezer.  How long has it been there? When did you even buy it?!?! And who will take the blame when it’s sitting there taking up space two years from now? It’s time to shape up that freezer and ship out what you know you’ll never eat.

I’m proud to say that our deep freezer was one of the most exciting purchases during my foray into domesticity.  Visions of well-labeled canisters of homemade soup, packets of meat, and frozen vegetables danced in my head. Never again would I need to worry about what to make for dinner– it would all be sitting in my freezer just waiting to be defrosted. However, in order to have dinner at your fingertips, you’ve gotta have the basics and a little something exciting to make you actually WANT to cook dinner.

To kick things off in this season of snow and ice, I present to you Kathleen’s list of Top Five Items to Get in your Freezer Right Now! If you have these on hand, you’ll never end up reaching for that take-out menu.  I swear by all five of the following items, and for the record– they’re all sitting in my chest freezer at this very moment.

5.  Spinach

We all know the story– the dark greens are good for us. If you don’t have it right now, get yourself one of those frozen spinach blocks (or two) and plop them into your freezer. Why? Aside from the nutritional benefits, spinach will liven up and make a one-note dish more colorful. Just defrost for a few minutes, squeeze out as much water as possible, and add it to soups, jarred pasta sauce, and dips. Mix it with ricotta and bam! You’ve got the filling for stuffed shells or cannelloni.  Mix with sour cream and mayo for a great dip. You could even just serve it warm as a side dish (but we know you’re not going to do that).

*Extra Credit:  Make some room in your freezer for those frozen basil cubes and pesto you made at the end of this summer.

4. Frozen cheese-filled tortellini

If you’re feeling ambitious, you could sit down one evening and crank out some handmade filled pasta. Or you could be like me– wanting to boil water and be done with it.  For as simple as it is, frozen tortellini is a grand staple. Sauted lightly with olive oil and that frozen spinach (#5), it’s a simple and satisfying dinner. Thrown into a soup or broth, and you’ve got something that will easily stave off a winter chill. Marinate some overnight in salad dressing and skewer with tomato and mozzarella cubes– and you have a simple and elegant appetizer. As an added bonus, you’ll always have something on hand to whip up for that surprise vegetarian dinner guest or picky nephew. If you’re feeling really experimental, try topping a salad with chilled, cooked tortellini instead of croutons.  I’m a fan.

*Extra credit:  If you can find frozen pumpkin ravioli, stock up. It’s one of those “impress your friends with an easy entree” items.  Saute with brown butter and sage, add a little crumbled Italian sausage (#2), and you’re good to go.

3. Frozen Peas or Corn

Don’t laugh.  It’s a sad day indeed when I realize that we’re out of frozen peas.  I’ll let you check out Beth’s amazing corn salsa if you need extra reason to stock up on some kernels.  Aside from instant faux ice packs when you’ve got a splitting headache, these two veggies are incredibly versatile when you’re looking to spice up your dinner. Just thaw (no need to boil) and add to your dinner salad when all you have is a head of iceberg. Add peas to alfredo or to my incredible artery-clogging, bacon-tastic carbonara (coming soon to DP!) for a splash of color.  Puree with some salt and pepper for an easy dip.

*Extra credit:  We also keep a stock of frozen edamame (soybeans), both shelled and unshelled.  The shelled ones just need a little hot water and salt to make a great appetizer or pea replacement.

2. Italian sausage

Everyone has frozen ground beef in their freezer– I think it might even be issued with the purchase of a chest freezer.  But how inspiring are those little balls of freezer-burned beef? Not very.  I like to purchase Italian sausage (still in casings) and freeze portioned packets of two links each. Once defrosted, it’s easy to pull the casing off, and you’ve got a great way to spice up your dinner. Try mixing in Italian sausage with ground beef for burgers or meatballs. Brown some and add to your frozen tortellini (#4).  Or just keep in the casing and fire up the grill.  I normally have both mild and spicy links on hand for variety.

*Extra credit: This might sound a little lame coming from someone who likes to cook, but do yourself a favor and buy frozen mini meatballs (I like the ground turkey ones, myself). Yes, it’s lazy. However, knowing all you have to do is heat them and serve gives you a lot of options in the kitchen. Add to pasta for an easy dinner. Add to a broth with a few noodles for a soup. Add some sauce and you’ve got a sandwich, or throw into a slow cooker for an easy party appetizer.

and for my absolute staple in the freezer….. (drumroll, please)

1. Bacon!

To know bacon is to love bacon– at least when it comes to adding flavor and variety to your cooking repertoire.  Perhaps you already have the beloved breakfast meat in your freezer, so I’ll be a little more specific. During your next grocery trip, pick up a package or two and immediately slice each 1lb slab into four chunks (each which conveniently fit well in a quart freezer bag).  The next time you’re looking for a bit of extra flavor, pull out a bag. This amount of bacon easily defrosts right in the pan, and you’re already on your way to a fancy mac ‘n’ cheese or rich carbonara.  I’ll often pull out a package just for an easy breakfast addition or something extra to throw into a dip. My personal favorite is to fry up a little bacon, and use some of the drippings to saute fresh brussel sprouts.  I’ve even used it to infuse vodka and create a surprising brownie– but those are recipes for sharing on another day.

*Extra credit: If you’re feeling really adventurous, pick up a small package of pork belly.  This can be just as easily diced up and added to give a little more heft to a pasta or really liven up a salad. And contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be on a competitive cooking show in order to cook with this luscious ingredient.

What food items do you lean on when it comes to heating up dinner ideas? We want to hear! In the meantime, happy defrosting!

One down, 29 to go!

It’s been quite a while since I last shared a recipe with my readers.  I’ve been busy, but my food choices haven’t been very inspiring.  August passed by in a flurry of activity – painting rooms, staining our deck, sewing up a storm and attending gatherings with family and friends.  In the midst of all this activity, dinner has been simple:  burgers or chicken with fresh produce from our favorite local farm, sandwiches or pizza.

I haven’t stepped beyond the ordinary much lately, but I did manage to make this barbacoa not once, but twice!   This recipe, adapted slightly from Tasty Kitchen, was a fabulous find!  With very little attended prep-time, you can make mouth-watering barbacoa for tacos, enchiladas, burritos or any other favorite Mexican dish.  The flavors meld beautifully, but it’s the chilis in adobo sauce the really make the marinade.  They impart a wonderfully smoky heat that builds gradually, but consider yourself warned that they can pack quite a punch!

Barbacoa

3 pounds Top or Bottom Round Roast
2 onions, roughly chopped
3 tbsp vegetable oil
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp cumin
1 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 – 1 small can of chipotles in adobo sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
2 tbsp white or rice vinegar

1. Place all ingredients except the roast in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Spoon some sauce into the slow-cooker so it covers the bottom.  Add the roast and pour the rest of the sauce over meat.
3. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
4. Remove beef from slow-cooker and drain sauce from slow-cooker (set aside – don’t throw it away).
5. Shred the beef using forks or tongs and return to the slow-cooker. Gradually add sauce to shredded beef, stirring as you go. You want to coat the meat with the seasoning, but not leave standing liquid in the slow-cooker.
6. Let beef sit on low or warm for 5-10 minutes to allow the sauce to season the beef.

Chicken fajitas are a summer staple in our house. Throw together some tasty marinade, grill up chicken and vegetables and serve them together on warm tortillas. It’s the perfect summer meal: no indoor cooking, minimal dishes and maximum flavor.  Serve them on the deck with an  ice-cold margarita and you’re faced with pure perfection.

While tequila-lime marinade has been my go-to choice for all things Mexican-related, I decided to shake things up a bit last weekend and searched AllRecipces.com for a new chicken fajita marinade.   Success!  The lime juice provides a bit of tart sweetness, while the liquid smoke and cayenne pepper imparts a smokey zing.  I was in a rush and only let the chicken marinate for about an hour, but that didn’t seem to cause any problems.

I use a grill basket like this one for my grilled vegetables, so it’s just as easy as sauteing on the stove.   I don’t use an actual recipe;  chop up mushrooms, peppers and onions and toss them in either olive oil or Italian dressing and then season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Coat your basket with cooking spray and place on the grill during pre-heating.  Cooking times will vary, but 5-8 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes, will usually do it.

Chicken Fajita Marinade

1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. In a small bowl whisk together the lime juice, water, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, salt, liquid smoke, cayenne and black pepper.
2. Pour marinade over meat and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Cook as desired.

I love summer cooking.  Marinate some meat, slice up some farm-fresh vegetables, throw them on the grill and dinner is ready.  My husband received The Grilling Bible from his sister for his recent birthday, and we’ve enjoying paging through this book marking recipes for future use.  It’s going to be a fun summer with lots of variety.

This recipe was originally for Lime Mustard chicken, but a and a last-minute substitution was necessary when I found there were only about 2 tablespoons of lime juice left in the refrigerator.  Confession:  I LOVE fresh citrus juice, but frequently resort to bottled lemon and lime juice because it is just so easy!

The chicken was tangy and flavorful with a nice little kick, courtesy of the ground red pepper.  We want to try it again, but it will have to get in line behind all of the other new recipes from The Grilling Bible!

Lemon Mustard Chicken Marinade
produces enough marinade for 4 butterflied chicken breasts

1/2 cup lemon juice
4 tbsp honey mustard*
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Whisk together all ingredients. Pour over chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for two hours.

*don’t have honey mustard? use 2 tbsp honey and 2 tbsp mustard

Grilled pineapple is amazing – just delicious!  If  you’ve never tried it you need to… really.  And the grilled pineapple is only half of this tasty meal.  The Asian-inspried marinade was a fun change of change of pace from our usual barbecue sauces and Mexican-inspired marinades.

I spotted these Chicken and Pineapple Skewers on Proceed With Caution and knew I just had to try them!  Since I only had thin-sliced chicken on hand (I buy chicken on sale,  trim and slice it thin before freezing), I opted to grill the breasts whole.  Served on a bed of brown rice and garnished with chopped green onion, this is quick and easy weeknight meal.  We’re adding it to our grilling rotation!

Asian Pineapple Chicken

2 green onions, chopped
2 tbsp low sodium tamari soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded or sliced thin
1/2 pound fresh pineapple, sliced into spears
1 tbsp agave nectar or honey

1.  In a large bowl, whisk together onions, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger. Add chicken and cover, marinating in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
2.  After preheating grill, grill chicken over medium-high direct heat until cooked through.  Baste  occasionally with marinade. (Food safety tip:  do not baste chicken during the final flip – you want to make sure everything is cooked properly.)
4.  When chicken is almost done, place pineapple on the grill over medium direct heat. Flip after 4 minutes.  After grilling the other side for 4 minutes, remove and serve.

During the recent heat wave, I have not been feeling like eating much that is cooked – so when I got a craving for Indian food recently I had to figure out how I would be able to get the flavors I wanted without standing over a steaming stove for very long.  This curry chicken salad fit the bill perfectly – it does require some cooking, however it’s very refreshing as it is served chilled.  I brought it to a cook out over the weekend, and it was quite a hit!  It tastes wonderful atop a bed of mixed greens, or in a sandwich, or even just on its own. 

Curry Chicken Salad – from Simplyrecipes.com, posted by Elise

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast (or thigh, as I used), cut into 1 inch cubes
• Salt to taste
• 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 2 heaping Tbsp yellow curry powder
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 green onions, sliced

• Instructions

  Place oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Sprinkle salt over the chicken as it cooks; saute just until cooked through entirely – about 5 minutes.  Make sure no pink remains!  Remove chicken from the skillet.  Add the onions to the skillet and saute until beginning to turn translucent.  Sprinkle the curry powder over the onion and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.  If the powder sticks to the bottom, or the mixture is too dry, you may add another tablespoon or two of olive oil.  Add raisins and cook for another minute.  At this point remove from the heat, and stir in the mayonnaise.  Stir the chicken into the onion and raisin mixture, and chill until completely cooled.  When about to serve the chicken salad, mix in the apple, cilantro and green onions.