June 16, 2011- Barbecued Chicken

Feeling a little better today, I decided to make the barbecued chicken I didn't make yesterday.  I rubbed four boneless, skinless chicken breasts with our standard bbq rub.  After brushing a little vegetable oil on the grill grates, I cooked the breasts for 10 minutes over Medium Direct heat.  I flipped them after 5 minutes.  At the end, I brushed on barbecue sauce while grilling a couple more minutes. Just now, as I was looking for the post on how to make the bbq rub, I remembered that we usually bbq chicken that is bone-in and skin-on.  That would explain why this chicken was more dry that usual.  The flavor was great, just missing a little moisture.   

I fixed a spinach salad with diced red pepper and a parmesan, roasted red pepper dressing to go with the chicken.  It was quite tasty!

June 7, 2011- Roasted Garlic Mahi Mahi

We had sea salt and roasted garlic mahi-mahi with a salad for dinner tonight.  We've had this fish several times and love it.  The fillets come pre-marinated, individually vacuum sealed, and frozen from Costco.  I simply line a cookie sheet with foil, place the fillets on the foil, and bake in a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes.  The result is a delicious fillet of fish.  Tonight, I let the fish cook an additional 5 minutes since Ben was still on his way home.  It definitely dried out more than normal, but still tasted great.  

I planned on making a spinach salad with strawberries, glazed walnuts, and poppy seed dressing, but found that my strawberries were too past their peak to use.  The green grapes I used as a substitute were pretty good with the other ingredients.  I still prefer the berries, but it is nice to know I have other options.  Katie ate a few bites of fish along with several grapes for dinner.  I bet she wakes up hungry tomorrow morning.

Monday, 3/14/2011

Today I marinated three, one-inch thick pork chops in Weber Grill Creations White Wine and Herb marinade mix.  The pork chops were in the marinade, in the refrigerator, for three to four hours before I broiled them.  I took them out of the refrigerator for the last hour so that they would get back up to room temperature.  They were broiled on high for 7 minutes on each side.  They were very tender and moist with great flavor.  

I made a side salad of spinach, goat cheese crumbles, mandarin orange segments, and balsamic vinaigrette.  Katie gulped down her oranges immediately and then spent 1/2 hour horsing around before she finished eating her small portion of pork.  We had to bribe her with one more piece of orange in order to get her to finish eating.  At the end of her meal, she said she wanted ice cream.  While Ben and I discussed her request in code,  she announced that she was "all done."  Discussion done.  More ice cream for us:) 

Friday, 2/18/2011

Katie had left over couscous, sugar snap peas, and chicken for dinner tonight.  Ben and I had a chicken salad.  I took a Strawberry Fields Fresh Express salad and added chopped chicken that I braised in chicken stock earlier.  I seasoned the chicken with a sage and lemon seasoning salt.  The salad kit came with spinach leaves, dried sweet strawberries, toasted sliced almonds and strawberry vinaigrette dressing.  Although a salad for a main dish is never completely satisfying to us, this one was pretty good.  

Tuesday, 2/1/2011

We went over to Barb, Tad, and Ronan's house tonight for our PEPS potluck.  Barb made a vegetarian risotto with asparagus and mushrooms.  It was quite tasty.  We brought a spinach salad with mandarin oranges, goat cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette.  For dessert, we had a coconut cream pie.  I didn't have any myself, but Ben enjoyed his sliver and Katie scarfed her piece:)  I think this is the first meal I have had in a long time that didn't include a meat of some kind. 

It was a really fun evening.  The kids are starting to really talk with the adults and each other.  Katie remembered that the last time we were at this house there was a pillow fight with the kids.  So, what did she do this time?  She started another one:) 

Thursday, 1/27/2011

I put together the following delicious salad for our dinner tonight.  I used a honeycrisp apple and bagged spinach.  The honeycrisp apples are expensive compared to many of the other varieties, but I find that they are consistently good in flavor and texture and the others are not.  So, I choose to spend the money on the good apples rather than waste it on the bad apples.

CHICKEN, APPLE, WALNUT, SPINACH SALAD

Toss the following ingredients together in a poppy seed dressing:

1 1/2 cups of chopped rotisserie chicken
1/2 apple- diced
1/4 cup glazed walnuts
Freshly ground black pepper
baby spinach

Katie ate some blueberries, mandarin oranges, ham, and peanut butter toast. 

Saturday, 1/22/2011

For a couple years now, Ben and I have been promising to take at least one day a month to go shoot photos.  We take photos of our family all the time, but rarely get out to take non-family photos.  Well, today we finally made it happen!  We went to Seward Park, which is located on a peninsula on the West side of Lake Washington, South of the I-90 bridge.  There is a view of Mount Rainier as you look between Seattle and Mercer Island and over Renton.  Ben got a couple great shots of the mountain while I focused on the park and neighboring community.  Katie was on my back in the ergobaby carrier with the pink camera she got from Uncle Spencer.  Mostly she took photos of my fleece:)

After the sun was done dancing on the clouds, we went to Columbia City to try a new restaurant for us.  We went to Spice Room, a Thai restaurant on Rainier Ave S.   We were a bit hesitant to go in because there was no one else in the restaurant when we first walked by.  But, we decided to be brave as long as they had a booster seat or high chair for Katie.  We are glad that they did, because the food was good.  And, by the time we left, there were many more people seated and happily eating.  When the host brought a booster seat for Katie, he also brought out a bib and kid friendly silverware.  The waitress brought Katie water in a cup with a lid and a straw and asked if she wanted to color.  Katie was immediately satisfied with our choice:)

For dinner, I had to try their Crispy Garlic Chicken to see how it compared to our West Seattle Thai favorite, Buddha Ruksa.  It was darn good.  The chicken was tender and the flavor was bold and delicious.  Ben thought it had a kind of fishy flavor to it that he didn't like, but I didn't notice it at all.  When I looked back at the menu, I saw that it is stir fried in a mix of soy and oyster sauce.  Perhaps that was the source of the fishy flavor. Anyway, Spice Room's Crispy Garlic Chicken reminded us of how Buddha Ruksa's used to be.  Lately, the chicken at Buddha Ruksa has been dry.  So, comparing the current chicken preparation from both restaurants, Spice Room wins on this dish. 

Ben ordered Swimming Rama.  It was a plate of spinach leaves, topped with sliced chicken breast and covered with warm peanut sauce.  The sauce and chicken were great, but neither of us was a fan of the warmed spinach.  I could only eat one bite of it.  Something about the warmed texture wasn't appealing.  For Katie, we ordered chicken satay (skewers) with peanut sauce.  She ate one bite of chicken and then munched on rice the rest of the meal.  The chicken satay was good, but I think one of the skewers wasn't cooked all the way through.  The lights were dim, so it was hard to know for sure, but I did stop eating that one.  

All in all, I think it is a restaurant worth going to again.  There were several other dishes that looked really good that we would want to try.

Wednesday, 1/19/2011

A couple weeks ago I started setting candles out on our dinner table Monday nights.  I dim the lights and we have a special family meal with some candlelight.  Well, I forgot to set our table with candles this week on Monday.  I made up for it tonight with a few Valentine's Day themed candles.  Katie really loves it!

For dinner, I made a salad of spinach leaves, diced honeycrisp apple, glazed walnuts, crispy bacon pieces, and a poppyseed dressing.  It was much better than the salad I made the other day.  For the main dish, I made chicken cutlets with bacon, rosemary, and lemon.  It is a really good dish that doesn't require that much prep.  I used chicken tenderloins instead of chicken breasts.  They cook faster and are more tender.  Here's the recipe:)

CHICKEN CUTLETS WITH BACON, ROSEMARY, AND LEMON
- from Cook's Country magazine

Ingredients:
5 slices bacon, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:
1.  Fry bacon in large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes.  Transfer bacon with slotted spoon to plate lined with paper towels.  Spoon off all but 2 tablespoons bacon fat.


2.  Meanwhile, place flour in shallow dish.  Season chicken with salt and pepper, dredge in flour, and shake to remove excess.  Add butter to reserved bacon fat in skillet and heat over high heat, swirling to melt butter.  When foam subsides, reduce heat to medium-high and cook chicken until browned on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side.  Transfer chicken to plate, leaving fat in skillet and over loosely with foil.

3.  Reduce heat to medium and add garlic, rosemary, and pepper flakes.  Cook until garlic is browned and crisp, about 2 minutes.  Add broth and lemon juice, scrape up browned bits from bottom of skillet with wooden spoon, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 4 minutes.

4.  Return chicken and bacon to pan and simmer, turning chicken once or twice, until sauce is thick and glossy, 2 to 3 minutes.  Adjust seasonings and serve.

Monday, 1/17/2011

I made my standard salmon cakes tonight, but something was off.  I was a bit short on salmon, so I added some more panko bread crumbs.  When I started to shape the cakes, I realized the mixture was really wet.  I think the partial lemon I had in the fridge must have been more than a half a lemon.  The outsides of the cakes were crispy, but the insides were still a bit juicy.  The flavor was still good, but they were not as good as normal.  

I also tried to make a salad similar to the one we had at our potluck on Saturday.  I added diced yellow bell pepper, mushrooms, and crushed tortilla chips to spinach leaves and topped with a balsamic vinaigrette.  I avoided too much dressing by not putting enough on.  Ben thinks including the apple slices would have helped the flavor balance.

Monday, 12/13/2010

This week is going to be very busy.  I've planned for simple dinners to help us get through the week without stressing about meals.  For dinner tonight, I bought a savory rotisserie chicken from the Fred Meyer deli and put together a Fresh Express salad with strawberries, almonds, and spinach.

Monday, 8/30/2010

Other than beer-battered halibut fillets, I usually don't go for pre-made frozen entrees.  But, tonight I tried something different for dinner. Out of curiosity, I wandered down the frozen dinner aisle at the grocery store.  I found and purchased Fred Meyer's Private Selection brand "Cajun Stuffed Pork Chops".  They were actually pretty good.  Ben said they tasted kind of like his stuffed pork chop recipe.  The chops were stuffed with andouille sausage, red bell pepper, and seasoned rice.  It also seemed like the chops had been rubbed with cajun herbs and spices.  I was rather pleased with the amount of flavor they had.  

Since we came home with a pound of spinach from the birthday party, it seemed appropriate to make a spinach salad to go with our pork chops.  Oh, and we are still drinking left over wine too:)

Saturday, 8/28/2010

It's party day...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNIFER!!!

It is my mother-in-law's 60th birthday today.  Ben, Spencer, and I are throwing her a big party along with her friends Chris and Larry.  They graciously agreed to let us hold the party at their home in Oregon City, Oregon.  Thank you Chris and Larry!  After a delicious coffee cake breakfast, the three of us took off to run errands and prep for the party.  Katie got to stay behind for some Grandma time.  Maybe I should say, Katie stayed behind so that Grandma could have some Katie time:)

Our first stop of the morning was JaCiva's for the birthday cake--chocolate cake, chocolate mousse filling, and butter cream frosting.  Spencer forwarded a photo of the napkins we purchased for the party to be used as cake decoration inspiration.  They did a fantastic job matching the colors and overall floral theme.  The cake was quite yummy, although, I did eat too much in the end.  I planned on sharing my large corner piece with Katie, but then she wouldn't eat a bit.  So, I ate the whole thing by myself.  Later, Katie really did want cake and insisted on sharing it with me.  Yes, I ate a lot of cake tonight.  And yes, I had it with vanilla ice cream too. 

Once at Chris and Larry's home, we arranged flowers, decorated, arranged tables, washed potatoes, stuffed peppers, chopped rosemary, sliced citrus fruits, prepared appetizer dishes, and got ready for the wine and cheese tasting.  We were busy!  For the first two hours of the party, we served appetizers and had a blind wine and cheese tasting activity.  Yesterday we shopped for wine and cheese at New Seasons Market, located not far from Jennifer's home.  Ben did pairing research ahead of time and took his list of 10 wine and cheese combinations to the store.  He and Spencer did their best to pick out the right cheeses first.  Then, they talked with a wine steward who helped pick out the right wines to pair with the cheeses at the right prices.  After the wines were selected, the cheese expert was back from her break and helped tweak the cheese selections a bit.  In the end, we were under budget on wine and cheese and super pleased with the service we received.  Just so you know, if you buy a case or more of wine at New Seasons Market in one purchase, you get a 20% discount.  That is huge!

For the tasting activity, we covered the wine bottle labels and numbered them.  I made the cute covers:)  The cheeses that complimented each wine were cute into bite sizes and piled in front of the bottles.  We made a large poster that listed the wines and cheese in random orders.  If the guests were interested in participating in the activity, they could take a stab at guessing which wines and cheeses they were tasting.  I am very proud of myself for guessing 8 out of 10 wines correctly.  Unfair advantage you say?  Nope...I left Ben alone for his research and didn't pay any attention to the wine steward while he recommended the wines.  I'm just that good ;-) We purchased a wine glass for each person who said they were coming.  I made personalized tags to circle the base of each glass.  With 28 adults expected, we did our best to avoid wine glass confusion.  I think it worked well! 

We had quite a few appetizers to choose from.  Chris prepared stuffed jalapenos and a fresh veggie dish with a Peppercorn Parmesan dip.  I made a Hot Mango Chutney Cashew dip, a Spicy Lemon Veggie dip, and roasted elephant garlic.  Ben blanched a pound of sugar snap peas to go along with the veggie dip.  We served sliced french bread baguettes to spread the chutney cashew dip and roasted garlic on.  The dip recipes and peas I made are included at the end of this blog entry.

For dinner we made Pollo Pibil--citrus spice marinated chicken, roasted potatoes with rosemary, and our standard household spinach, mandarin orange, and goat cheese salad with balsamic vinaigrette on the side.  For the salad, we ended up using about a pound of spinach, 1 1/2 small cans of mandarin oranges, and a 1/3 of a pound of crumbled goat cheese.  Follow the imbedded link for the chicken recipe, previously posted on this blog. The potato recipe will be at the end of this blog entry too.  

At the end of the day, we feel like we threw a great party.  The guests enjoyed themselves and Jennifer had a wonderful time.  It was a lot of work, but TOTALLY worth it:)  

Jennifer, Spencer, Katie, Ben, and me

Here are the recipes:

HOT MANGO CHUTNEY CASHEW DIP- from my friend Taran


Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese
2/3 cup sour cream
3-5 tsp curry powder, depending on preference
1/2 cup hot mango chutney
1 cup chopped cashews, divided

Directions:
Mix together all ingredients, saving 1/4 cup of the cashews for later.  Spoon into a serving dish and top with the reserved cashews.   Spread on slices of french bread baguettes or similar bread. 

Notes: I doubled this recipe due to the high number of guests expected.  With the amount of food available, we ended up taking home one recipe worth of the dip.  I'm not complaining, but it is worth mentioning.  It is a rich dip. 

SPICY LEMON DIPPING SAUCE- from Alton Brown's cookbook "I'm Just Here for the Food, volume 2.0"

Ingredients:
2/3 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream
Zest from one lemon, chopped fine
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, red pepper flakes and tarragon.  Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

Notes: This really is a spicy dip.  The spice hit on the tongue is a bit delayed.  The recipe calls for 12 ounce of sugar snap peas.  I have found that you will end up with 2-3 times more dip than you need for 12 ounces of peas.  So, either have more peas available or make a smaller batch of dip.  

SUGAR SNAP PEAS- also from Alton Brown


Ingredients:
Heavy pinch kosher salt
12 ounces of sugar snap peas, trimmed and rinsed (approximately 4 cups)

Directions:
Bring 2 quarts of water and the salt to boil in a 4-quart saucepan, covered, over high heat.  Add the peas and cook uncovered for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes.  Drain the peas and immediately plunge into ice water.  Drain and set aside.  The actual time of course will depend on the peas.  These aren't big ole green beans, and few things are as awful as limp sugar snaps.  So stay right with them as they cook.

Even if the dip is perfect and the peas are dead on, the dish will fail if the peas are wet.  Once they've chilled down, dry them well or the dip just won't stick...and that would be sad. 


ROASTED POTATOES WITH ROSEMARY- from the Safeway brand Produce Stand fresh rosemary package

Prep time: 10 minutes--for one batch;)
Bake time: 25 to 30 minutes

Ingredients:
2 pounds small (1 1/2 to 2-inches) red skin or White Rose potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt, course type preferred
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Scrub potatoes, dry well and cut in half lengthwise.  Pour olive oil into a rimmed baking sheet into which the potatoes fit comfortably.  Heat in oven until oil is hot, about 3 minutes.  Swirl to coat pan and place potatoes cut side down in hot oil.  Sprinkle with salt.  Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until cut side is golden brown.  Remove from oven, turn with a spatula, sprinkle with rosemary and toss to coat.  Serve immediately.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Notes: We made approximately 9 pounds of potatoes for the party.  Thankfully, Chris and Larry have two ovens.  With two full baking sheets in each oven, the potatoes were ready in 30 minutes.  Be warned, the oil heats up quickly in 450 degrees and starts to smoke.  Keep your fan running when you open the oven door to reduce the risk of a smoke detector going off. 

Tuesday, 8/3/2010

Tonight we broiled marinated pork chops for our meal. I marinated them in Grill Mates Zesty Herb Marinade. They were pretty thick chops and would have been better baked than broiled. We had a simple spinach salad--spinach leaves, sunflower seeds, and an Asian sesame dressing. Katie worked on a pb&j sandwich, leftover from lunch.

Sunday, 8/1/2010

Mom and Dad left this afternoon. We can't thank them enough for everything they did around our house. Playing with Katie and Harlon, weeding the entire backyard terrace, picking blackberries and making a cobbler, washing endless dishes, helping with meals, unsqueaking Katie's bedroom door, babysitting, and homemade bread! We love you both:)

We enjoyed a tasty dinner with Jamie and Harlon. Ben grilled up barbecued chicken drumsticks, and I made a spinach, mandarin orange, and goat cheese salad. Here are a few photos from Jamie and Harlon's visit. Thanks for visiting friend!

Wednesday, 6/30/2010

The last time I was at Costco, I purchased chicken tenderloins instead of chicken breasts. The breasts they sell usually come with the tenderloins attached. And, we find those are the most tender and tasty parts. When I noticed that tenders were sold separately and at $0.10 less than the breasts, it seemed like a no-brainer. I was right!

Tonight I marinated a package of the tenders for only 15 minutes and then Ben put them on the grill for 10 minutes. They were flavored throughout and were still moist and tender. I marinated them in Grill Mates Tomato, Garlic, and Basil marinade. Katie was eating her chicken faster than we could cut it up for her. Yes! She wouldn't touch the banana I cut up for her and really enjoyed drinking water out of a straw. Ben and I finished off our left-over couscous and had spinach with balsamic vinaigrette. It was a good, simple dinner.

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, 6/7/2010

Today, I bought my first t-bone steak...ever. I thought Ben would enjoy a good steak for dinner, and the t-bone looked pretty good. Unfortunately, Ben had to work a bit late. So, I ended up sharing a pear and hot dogs with Katie, and saved the steak for Ben. He grilled it up when he got home, seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil. He had a small spinach salad to go with it. I added goat cheese crumbles, mandarin oranges, and a splash of balsamic vinaigrette to the spinach. I was right- he did enjoy a good steak dinner. And, he saved a piece of steak for me to have another night:)

Monday, 5/17/2010

We finished off our left over grilled chicken breasts tonight. I fixed a spinach, strawberry, and pear salad, with a balsamic vinaigrette. Katie was a super fan of strawberries today. She had some with each meal. Nothing more to share about this meal:)

Friday, 5/14/2010

I used another McCormicks marinade packet tonight- Tomato, Garlic, and Basil. I marinated four boneless, skinless chicken breasts for about 6 hours. They were grilled on Medium Direct heat for approximately 12 minutes, flipping at the halfway mark. They were perfectly cooked in my opinion; although, they didn't come off the grill very nicely. Big chunks of chicken were stuck to the grill grates. Thankfully it didn't affect the flavor!

We had a spinach, mandarin orange salad tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette. Most of the time we include goat cheese crumbles in this salad, but went without since we didn't have any. Katie ate one orange segment before dinner; so, I thought she would be willing to eat some more during dinner. She did eat a few, but not before squishing them between her fingers. What an orange juice mess. Then she decided it would be fun to hide pieces of orange and chicken on her lap. Oh, she sure likes to test her boundaries. We say "no, no" and she responds with "na, na". I know she isn't trying to mock me on purpose, but it sure sounds like it.

Saturday, 5/1/2010

What a fun day this was. My friend Elly and I hosted a bridal shower for our friend Lauren at my home. I will create a special "Bridal Shower" post later on with details about the shower. It was perfect!

After the bridal shower, we all went to downtown Seattle to the CanCan, a kitchen and cabaret, for the bachelorette party. I'd been there two times before, once for another bridal shower and once for a 30th birthday party. There is a tiny stage and the tables are packed in. Each show I've seen is a bit different, but always very entertaining and slightly odd at the same time. We arrived at 6pm so that we could have dinner and relax before the 7:30 show. Our ticket included a 3 course meal. Here's what I ordered:

1st course: Vegetarian soup made with fresh market produce (it is located at the Pike Place Market)
2nd course: Salad Ortaggio- spinach, pear, gorgonzola, and spiced walnuts tossed in balsamic-basil vinaigrette
3rd course: Three Cheese Macaroni- penne pasta in a sauce made with pecorino, gorgonzola and parmigianno cheeses, fresh sage and bread crumbs.

The food was delicious, the show was fun, and the drinks were tasty! I highly recommend a visit to the CanCan if you ever need something different to do in Seattle.