July 2, 2011- Brickhouse

For a couple months, Jennifer has been talking about a great steakhouse in Redmond, OR, called Brickhouse.  Tonight we got to eat there.  The ambiance was very cool, and yet, it didn't make us feel odd by having a toddler with us.  Katie behaved quite well as long as she was allowed to watch The Princess and The Frog on my iPod.  She had fish and chips.  Jennifer and I each tried the halibut encrusted in parmesan with asparagus.  She had mashed potatoes while I chose the rice.  The halibut was cooked perfectly and was a large portion.  Kate had the pork rack with apples, onions, and a maple bourbon glaze.  Spencer had salmon, which said was just alright.

Ben had the best meal of the night.  He ordered the Dungeness Crab Fettucine.  It had lovely, big chunks of crab on top of the pasta.  There was a good amount of shredded crab in the cream sauce while really made the dish.  I usually don't order meals with crab in them, but I would order this one again in a heartbeat.  If you find yourself in Redmond or Bend, Oregon, I highly recommend eating at Brickhouse.  You won't be disappointed.

Monday, 7/19/2010

Tonight I revamped the strawberry, chicken, spinach salad I made in June. It was much better!

This time I used chicken tenderloins, seasoned with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, and sprayed with olive oil. The oil kept them from sticking to the grill. They were cooked on direct medium heat until cooked through. I think having more flavor in the chicken was the key to making the salad taste better.

I also opted for mixed greens instead of only spinach tonight. It made the salad more interesting in texture and appearance. I still finished the salad with sliced strawberries, candied walnuts, poppyseed dressing, and a parmesan crisp on the side. We poured a little dressing on Katie's tray and let her dip chicken and strawberry pieces into it. She likes to dip her food.

On a side note, Katie only asked for a cookie a couple times today. Thankfully, she did not resort to a tantrum when she was denied:)

Tuesday, 6/22/2010

I've been hearing radio advertisements for a new, seasonal salad being offered at Panera Bread this summer. I attempted to make it at home tonight with pretty good success!

STRAWBERRY, CHICKEN, SPINACH SALAD

Ingredients:

1 can chicken broth

1 lb. cooked, thinly sliced chicken breast

baby spinach

strawberries

candied walnuts

poppyseed dressing

Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Poach the chicken in chicken broth on medium heat until cooked through. Remove chicken from the broth, cool, and slice into thin strips.
In a bowl, combine baby spinach, cut strawberries, candied walnuts, cooled slices of chicken, and toss with poppyseed dressing.

Parmesan cheese crisps:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Make 3" circles of grated parmesan, piled a little. Cook for 5 minutes. Let cool and serve with salad.

I didn't measure out exactly how much spinach, strawberries, or walnuts I used. Mix it however you want to:) I didn't toss the chicken in with the salad dressing tonight, but would do that the next time. It was a nice, light summer salad. Definitely worth making again. Katie ate some plain chicken and strawberries for her dinner.

Monday, 5/3/2010

Time for something different tonight. No sausages, no chili:) I made Parmesan-Crusted Halibut & Brown Butter Beans. You will notice that both recipes came from Cuisine at Home. Ben and I have received subscriptions to this magazine a couple times and love it. The dishes are practical with great tips. And, the flavor is usually really good...not bland at all. I've made the Halibut before. It is super simple to put together and the taste is FANTASTIC! Definitely a dish you could serve to company. I didn't have a lemon on hand tonight, so I made it without the lemon zest. It was still delicious, so don't fret if you don't have that ingredient.

The Brown Butter Beans recipe was new for me. I didn't weigh the beans when I purchased them, so it is very likely that I had fewer beans than the recipe called for. Regardless, it was a super tasty way to fix them up. I really like that the beans boiled in the same pan that the sauce was made in. It is far better to clean one pan than two:)


PARMESAN-CRUSTED HALIBUT (from Cuisine at Home magazine)

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
Minced zest of 1/2 a lemon
Salt & pepper to taste
4 tsp. purchased pesto, divided
2 halibut fillets, 1-inch think (4 oz. each)

Preheat oven to 450°; coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
Combine panko, Parmesan, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
Spread 2 tsp. pesto on 1 side of each halibut fillet and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Press panko mixture onto pesto side of fillets, spritz crumbs with nonstick spray, then refrigerate until ready to roast.
Cook fish until crumbs are golden and flesh flakes easily with a fork, 10-12 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets.

BROWN BUTTER BEANS (from Cuisine at Home Weeknight Menus)

Makes 4 cups
Total time: 15 minutes

4 cups haricot vert or thin green beans, trimmed
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 t. garlic, minced
1 T. fresh lemon juice
Cooked beans
Salt & pepper to taste

Cook beans in a large saute pan of boiling salted water for 4 minutes. Drain and set aside; wipe out pan. (We thought they could have cooked a bit longer.)
Melt butter in the pan over medium heat until light brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds.
Deglaze with lemon juice; remove from heat.
Add beans, toss well, and season with salt and pepper.

Friday, 3/26/2010

Tonight each of us ate a completely different meal. This rarely happens. The founder of Ben's company passed away this month at the age of 92. The company hosted a gathering at the Maritime Event Center on the Seattle waterfront to honor him. Ben came home and told me he had the best chicken skewers with peanut sauce that he's had in his life. He also enjoyed kobe beef sliders with a horseradish/mustard sauce and a gin and tonic.

Katie ate like a champion for dinner. She finished off the jar of peas and brown rice puree, downed a jar of tender chicken and stars, and wrapped up the meal with monteray jack cheese. She had a few green beans too, but as soon as she realized she could squish them in her fingers, they stopped being food and became a toy. I am pleased to say she continued to show off her milk drinking skills at her meals today. Way to stick with it Katie!

I procrastinated about what to eat for dinner myself. After considering peanut butter and apple slices or a grilled cheese sandwich, I decided to cook up some penne and mix it with store bought pesto. When I buy pasta, I most commonly get Dreamfields. It is marketed as a low-carb pasta. My diet isn't low carb these days, but the pasta tastes good and can't hurt:) The pesto was not very good on it's own, a little sweeter than I prefer. Thankfully the parmesan and romano cheese I added corrected the sweetness. Quite a tasty pasta dish in the end with a slice of garlic bread on the side.

Oh, and I am drinking my first glass of wine in over a week. I had a stomach bug 9 days ago and the last thing I put into my stomach was red wine. It's taken me this long to want to drink it again. I chose a 2007 Bogle Vineyards Petite Sirah from California. A wonderful way to end the day.