Tag Archives: cooking

Rack of Lamb and Creamed Spinach Gratin

29 Apr

A lovely sale at Fresh Direct on Frenched Australian Rack of Lamb inspired Mike and I to cook another thing we had never cooked before.  I searched for recipes and found one that sounded tasty.  Mike suggested we make a creamed spinach, and I found one that sounded a little fancy and delicious. 

The meal turned out ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC.  One of the best in our cooking history if I do say so myself.



The leftover spinach made for a FABULOUS brunch the next day when paired with an omelet and bacon.  The whole meal was easy every step along the way.

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Rack of Lamb for Two

2 tablespoons coarsely ground cornmeal1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves1 clove garlic, minced1/2 teaspoon coarse (kosher) saltFreshly ground black pepper, to taste1 rack of lamb for two (8 or 9 chops), cut in half1 to 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard


1.Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2.Combine the cornmeal, rosemary, garlic, coarse salt, and pepper in a small bowl, and mix well.
3.Lightly brush the fat side of the racks with the mustard. Then coat the mustard with the cornmeal mixture.
4.Arrange the racks on a baking sheet, and cook 25 minutes for medium-rare. Slice the chops apart and serve immediately.
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Creamed Spinach Gratin

From “Real Simple Magazine” Hands-on time: 25 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

Serves 6 to 8

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish1 clove garlic, halved5 shallots, thinly sliced crosswise 5 10-ounce boxes frozen spinach, thawed (it’s a whole lotta spinach, be prepared)8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup whole milk1 cup grated Gruyère or Swiss cheese 1 teaspoon kosher salt1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg


Heat oven to 375°F. Rub the sides and bottom of a buttered 8-inch baking dish with the garlic; discard garlic. In a skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside. Squeeze the spinach to remove any excess liquid. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, cream cheese, heavy cream, milk, Gruyère or Swiss cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and shallots. Transfer to dish. Bake, uncovered, until bubbling and lightly golden, about 25 minutes.
Tip: To make the gratin ahead of time, assemble it but do not bake it. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Heat as directed, allowing an extra 30 minutes of baking time.
NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 362(76% from fat); FAT 31g (sat 19g); PROTEIN 15mg; CHOLESTEROL 97mg; SODIUM 425mg; FIBER 6g; CARBOHYDRATE 12g

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Simple Pleasures

23 Mar

Sometimes I just want feel-good food.  On Wednesday, that consisted of Gruyere Macaroni and Cheese.  Mike added yummy chicken dumplings to the mix from Trader Joes, poured a bottle of wine, and we had ourselves a carb loaded feast!

The Mac and Chee was pretty good, but it was missing the bite I wanted from the gruyere.  Perhaps next time I’ll eliminate the cheddar altogether and just go hog wild with the gruyere.



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Gruyere Macaroni and Cheese (thank you to Ina Gardner at Food Network)

Ingredients 

  • Kosher salt
  • Vegetable oil
  • 1 pound elbow macaroni or cavatappi
  • 1 quart milk
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 12 ounces Gruyere, grated (4 cups)
  • 8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 3/4 pound fresh tomatoes (4 small) – We went sans tomatoes
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed) – We used regular bread crumbs from the store

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
  3. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don’t boil it.
  4. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large (4-quart) pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk.
  5. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth.
  6. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish.
  7. Optional: Slice the tomatoes and arrange on top.
  8. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top.
  9. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

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An easy and delicious evening meal

11 Mar

Mike and I decided to cook last Friday night.  Originally I intended to make my famous Kasha Varnishkas, however, the grocery store near me didn’t have any Kasha, so we had to make new plans. 

We opted for a menu of “Awesome Honey Glazed Pork Chops” (recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com), roasted butternut squash with chestnuts, and a simple, yet delicious Rice-A-Roni Long Grain & Wild Rice.  The entire meal took about 15 minutes to prep, however, the roasting of the squash and the cooking of the Rice-A-Roni made the entire meal cookable in a little over an hour.  If you need a good meal and don’t want to put too much effort into it, I highly recommend this combination! 

The hardest part was the squash, which had to be cut up into little pieces.  Thankfully my brandy new pealertook the skin off the squash with ease.  The problem, however, became cutting the slippery squash! 

It all worked out in the end, however:

The leftover squash and chestnuts with the honey pecan sauce were absolutely incredible the next day.

Without further ado, here are the recipes:

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Awesome Honey Pecan Pork Chops (check the link to see it and the comments on allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

  • 1 1/4 pounds boneless pork loin, pounded thin (we used thin cut pork chops)
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour for coating
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans (we doubled this to 1/2 cup since it didn’t look like enough)

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a shallow dish, mix together flour, salt and pepper. Dredge pork cutlets in the flour mixture.
  2. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chops, and brown both sides. Transfer to a warm plate.
  3. Mix honey and pecans into the pan drippings. Heat through, stirring constantly. Pour sauce over cutlets.

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Roasted Butternut Squash and Chestnuts
(This was originally a recipe for Sweet Potatoes that I revised slightly. Thanks to Aunt Linda for the inspiring original recipe)

Ingredients:
Squash or Sweet Potatoes
Steamed/cooked Chestnuts (I buy them in a box from Trader Joes and Asian Markets usually sell them)
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil

Directions:

NOTE:  Start them in a cold oven, it has something to do with getting them warm, but not too quickly
 
Cover a cookie sheet with foil.  Spray with Pam.
 
For squash: Peal it.  For sweet potatoes: Scrub potatoes well.  Dry with a paper towel. Cut off skinny ends.

Slice into pieces about ½ inch thick.
 
Dump into bowl and add some salt and pepper.  Not too much.  Then pour about 1 ½ tsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil into you hands and rub both sides of each round. (I stirred them all in a bowl and made sure it was evenly coated… it turned out fine)
 
Place in single layer on the cookie sheet.  Cover tightly with foil.  Put into cold oven.    Turn oven to 425.  Bake for 30 mins.
 
Remove from oven and remove the top layer of foil.   Return to oven for another 15-25 mins, until the bottom edges of the rounds are golden brown.
 
Remove from oven and flip over each round.  Return to oven for another 15-18 mins.

Throw the chestnuts in with the squash and roast another 3-5 minutes until bottoms of the squash are golden brown and chestnuts are warmed.
 
Try not to eat them all before sitting down to dinner.

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Rice-A-Roni

Buy.
Read.
Follow directions.
Eat.

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Happy Nomming!

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