Korean Beef

Made this recipe last night after a work friend recommended it. SOOO good. Ryan was in the Clean Plate Club.

1 pound lean ground beef (I used bison)
1/4 cup brown sugar 
1/4 cup soy sauce (I use low-sodium so it wouldn't be too salty)1 Tablespoon sesame oil3 cloves garlic, minced1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced (see note)1/2 - 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers (to desired spiciness)salt and pepper1 bunch green onions, diced (don't skip this!)White riceSriracha
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brown meat with garlic in the sesame oil. Drain most of the fat and add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper and red peppers. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Serve over steamed rice and top with green onions and sriracha


>> I added a container of sliced mushrooms to the meat/sauce, and I steamed broccoli on the side then tossed that in too.

The Chew's Baked Artichoke Chicken

This recipe was really good! I served it over white rice (poured the broth from the pan on it) and with a Greek side salad. When I make it again, I'd maybe make a little more of the broth and add more pepper. I'd also just pile the other 1/2 pound of mushrooms in there. Ryan liked this dish too- it was good!
________ This recipe won a contest on a television show called The Chew. Mario Batali and others judged 3 chicken recipes made by regular people, and this won first prize!

I used white wine, instead of the red, because I like it better with chicken. I also increased the garlic and placed the vegetables UNDER the chicken pieces, instead of around them. I baked my chicken at 375F because I like crispy skin.

Here is the original recipe, make changes as you see fit.

Donna Giblin's Baked Artichoke Chicken: (adapted from ABC The Chew)

• 4 lbs. chicken legs and thighs, w/ skin (Instead, I used a small chicken cut up, including breasts)
• 1 cup artichoke hearts, halved (canned is fine- I used the whole can)
• 1 medium onion, cut into pieces same size as the artichokes
• 1 pound white button mushrooms (halved or quartered. These wouldn't all fit in the pan so I did about 1/2 a lb. instead, oh well)
• 2 tablespoons brown mustard
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup red or white wine (you could also sub in chicken stock)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1 bay leaf
• kosher salt and pepper (to taste)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F-375F, depending if you like crispy skin or not.
2. Place artichokes, onions and mushrooms on the bottom of a big pan. (I used a really big skillet because it looks like they did in the picture. Prob would go w/ a pan next time because it's a lot of food)
3. Place chicken pieces on top of the vegetables.
4. Mix the mustard with the rest of the ingredients and pour over chicken.
5. Season w/ kosher salt & pepper.
6. Bake for one hour, basting the chicken once or twice

Oven-baked Pork Baby Back Ribs with Guava Glaze

I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture of this last night. It was off the chain good. I think I actually told Will that it was 'off the hizzook', which you'll forgive me for right?

I diverged a lot from the original recipe, but all I wanted it for was cooking temp/time and general direction. I'll let you know where I made my changes so that yall can feel free to take creative liberties as well.

I served these with a Cauliflower-Potato Mash and a Green Pepper Salad which I'll spell out below the ribs.

Oven-baked Pork Baby Back Ribs with Guava Glaze
Approx 3lbs Pork Baby Back Ribs (serves 2 adults)
Salt + Pepper
olive oil
12oz dark lager beer
  *I didn't have this, so I used 12oz of ginger ale. I can imagine that any number of cooking liquids could work here.

1/4 cup of Apricot Jelly
  * I didn't have so I used Guava Jelly (Callejas brand!)
1/4 cup of ketchup
1/4 cup of lemon juice
  *I used apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 300*
Cover a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil (unless you love to do dishes, in which case skip this step). Place rack of ribs meat side up and salt + pepper 'em.
Drizzle olive oil on top and pour lager/ginger ale/cooking liquid to top.
Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 2 hrs.
Remove from oven and increase oven temp to BROIL.
Pour off about 2 cups of cooking liquid into a sauce pan. Add jelly, ketchup and lemon juice/vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and let reduce by about half.
*I never have patience for this. I reduced for about 5 min at a boil.
Flip ribs over to bone side up and pour half of the glaze over the ribs. Place in the oven on broil and cook for 6 minutes.
Flip over to meat side up, pour remaining glaze over the ribs. Place back in the oven on broil and cook for 6 minutes.
Let rest before serving.

Cauliflower-Potato Mash
1/2 head of cauliflower
2 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

Put vegetables in a pot of water and boil until tender.
Pour off 90% of water.
Mash vegetables, add salt and white pepper and 2 tbsp of cream cheese
I used my immersion blender to get a really good puree.
Adjust seasoning to taste.

Green Bell Pepper Salad
1 green bell pepper, sliced
Malt Vinegar
Salt
Sugar

I of course don't have exact measurements because the recipe came from my dad. However, make the dressing to taste and his only recommendation is 'light on everything' and use more sugar than salt.

Thai mussels

I made these Thai mussels again last night. They're so good!! Add some toasted bread to soak up the sauce afterwards. Ah.mazing!!!

·         2-3 pounds mussels (de-beard) 

·         1/3 fresh lime juice

·         1 (13.5oz) can light coconut milk

·         1 1/2 Tbsp Thai red curry paste

·         1 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic

·         1 Tbsp Asian fish sauce

·         1 Tbsp white sugar

·         2 cups fresh cilantro chopped

·         1/3 cup dry white wine (optional)

1). Scrub mussels well and remove beards.

2). Combine lime juice, coconut milk, curry paste, garlic, fish sauce, and sugar (wine – optional) over high heat, stirring. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes.

3). Add mussels, tossing to combine.

4). Cook mussels, covered, stirring occasionally, until opened, about 5 to 8 minutes. (Discard any unopened mussels.)

5). Chop cilantro and toss with mussels.

*Variations:

- Add shrimp, I did head on shrimp that were really good

- Add lemongrass and discard after

- Add sliced thai chilies for extra spice

Weekly Menu- 7.13.13

Heyyy! I speak to all of yall on the regular so I know it's been a crazy crazy few months for all of us. I wanted to send out a quick list of what we have going on this week. We've been cooking consistently with the exception of the monthly pizza run and random ordering in. With the new job, I want to get in the habit of bringing my lunch in at least 3 times a week. With that in mind... here's this week!

Sunday: Dill Salmon with couscous (woot Lou!) with roasted broccoli
Monday: Poblano and Mushroom tacos (woot Beth!)
Tuesday: Braised French Onion Chicken with french bread
Wednesday: Shrimp in red salsa
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Probably order in because Will has class and...
Saturday-Sunday: We're off to the Hassberger's lake house! I'll make some banana bread or pound cake since we'll be arriving early Saturday morning.

Lunches: sandwiches, this salad, and possible leftovers.

What have yall been doing? Anything interesting and new?

Lentil 'Meatballs'

I made this recipe tonight from goop.com and it came out pretty good! I served it with a store bought Roasted Red Pepper Soup. I'll definitely make it again.

ingredients

• 2 cups cooked lentils
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• ½ cup Ricotta (or Greek yogurt for a lighter alternative)
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• pinch of each: dried fennel seed, dried thyme, dried rosemary
• handful of cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup packed basil leaves
• olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground pepper

preparation

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange cherry tomatoes in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and place in oven. Keeping a close eye on them, cook for about 5 minutes until they’ve burst and melted, but not burned or dried out. Keep oven heated for the meatballs.

2. Drizzle a pan with olive oil, place over medium high heat and add onion. Sauté for about a minute until translucent. Add the garlic and dried herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper, sautéing for about another minute or two until soft and fragrant. Turn off heat and set aside to cool.

3. Place lentils in a food processor with tomato paste and a drizzle of olive oil and pulse until smooth.

4. Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add ricotta and mix with beaten eggs until combined. Add lentils and mix together until smooth. Add onion/garlic/herb mixture from the frying pan, parmesan and panko breadcrumbs and season with salt and pepper. Mush together (hands are best for this) until combined. If the mixture is still feeling wet, add more breadcrumbs until the mixture is dry enough to stick together and roll into balls.

5. Place basil in mortar and pestle, drizzle in about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, and grind until it forms a thick oil (it’s ok if there are still bits of basil).

6. Roll lentil mixture into small balls and place on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for about 8-10 minutes. Turn balls, and bake for another 5 minutes, until slightly browned.

Weekly Menu! 4.15.13

Ignore that we're already three days into the week. My brain is already on the weekend. We had an awesome weekend with the family and the bday party. Amelia didn't seem too phased that there were 30 extra people in the house. But she now asks for cake every moment in the day.

The party could not have happened without Elisa. She seriously made it happen, right down to the last detail of picking up the cake when the party had already started. Eli, I owe you big time!!!

So cake is still being consumed. Because of that I'm going to try to be healthy this week. But let's be honest, I never try that hard. So. The goal is go to the gym three times this week. Not that lofty. We'll see how we do.

Mon: Leftover chicken with tortellini
Tues: Fried Rice using more leftover chicken
Wed: Salmon and Rice
Thurs: Dijon Pork Tenderloin with brussel sprouts
Friday: Ribs and mashed potatoes
Saturday: Mussels and fries
Sunday: Leftovers or out

Side note: I made the Magnolia Banana Pudding for Amelia's party and put them in cute little jello shot containers with lids and Eli smashed the Nilla wafers into crumbs that we put on top. And then. I FORGT TO PUT THEM OUT AT THE PARTY. So we have a ton of little banana pudding cups to get rid of. Maybe by eating them. Also, the reason we have so much leftover chicken is because I forgot to add the chicken to the salad that I made. Meh. At least I remembered to bring the birthday girl to the party.

Watermelon Summer Salad

 WATERMELON ARUGULA SUMMER SALAD

Made this awesome salad last night to go along with Ryan's BBQ smoked chickens and potato salad. It was great because it sort of elevated the dinner from like super casual BBQ to a nice lil summer dindin. Highly recommend it~!

 Ingredients

• 1/4 seedless watermelon, chopped into 1″ cubes
• 8 cups baby arugula
• 1/3 cup marcona almonds, halved or roughly chopped
• good wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano
• aged balsamic vinegar – the thicker & more syrupy the better
• extra virgin olive oil
• coarse sea salt (use Maldon if you can get it)

Directions
Toss the watermelon, arugula and almonds in a large bowl. With a vegetable peeler, shave big pieces of parmegiano-reggiano over the top. Drizzle with the balsamic and olive oil, and sprinkle generously with sea salt.

Weekly Recipes - 3.25.13

Oh heyyyy good looking!! I've been cooking consistently for a while but have neglected to update. Annelise is almost 4 mos old, Amelia is almost 2. Life. got. real. Sometimes (especially when Will has class or is out of town), dinner is a PB&J. For the most part, though, we've been pretty good. This week's menu below. What are yall doing?? Miss you all! xo

Monday: Lentil Soup
Tuesday: Toasted Sesame Salmon and rice
Wednesday: Braised French Onion Chicken with Gruyere
Thursday: Dijon Pork and mashed potatoes
Friday: Mussels and fries
Saturday: Dinner out with the Rhineharts
 * We're going to see Mr. Hippity Hop and do an Easter Egg Hunt at Wicker Park and I'm WAY too excited about this!
Sunday: Easter!! Don't know what we're doing yet...

Steak with Mushroom Sauce and Cauliflower Puree

I've been MIA on this blog for awhile but here's something I made tonight and was soo delish. Ryan usually likes what I make, but he's DEF the better cook of the two of us (by far), so when he cleaned his plate tonight and said, "Damn, that was so good" I knew this recipe was a keeper!

This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients

• 1  small head cauliflower (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into small florets
• 2  tablespoons  unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1 1/2  pounds  skirt steak
• 10  ounces  cremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
• 1/2  cup  red wine
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Steam the cauliflower in a large pot until very tender, 18 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a food processor, add the butter, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and puree until smooth. (I added a lil more salt.)
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the steak with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing; reserve the skillet.
3. Add the mushrooms to the drippings in the skillet and cook, tossing occasionally, until browned and tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced and syrupy, 5 to 7 minutes more; season with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. (I added a lil more salt.)
4. Serve the steak with the cauliflower puree. Top with the mushroom sauce and sprinkle with the parsley.

CILANTRO DRESSING

I've been meaning to share this recipe because it's easy, it's so amazing with anything (as a dip and as a dressing), and it's such a crowd pleaser. The story is that my dad created it when he was cooking at my aunt's wedding back in the 80s- Cilantro Dressing has been a family and Cordua Restaurants favorite ever since. 

Ingredients: 
- 1 bundle of cilantro (cleaned and stemmed) 
- 1 or 2 green jalapeños  (stemmed) 
- 4 cloves of garlic (peeled) 
- 1/4 cup of white vinegar
- 1/4 cup of water
- salt to taste
- 16 oz mayonaise 

1. In a blender or food processor, combine cilantro leaves, jalapeños, garlic, vinegar, and water. Blend to liquify. 
2. Transfer mixture into a bowl, and fold in the mayonnaise portion by portion. Combine thoroughly and season with salt. 
3. Enjoy!