Posts Tagged "dinner"
In the Kitchen: Orange-Glazed Salmon
And it returns! It’s been almost a full year my last weekend foray into the kitchen but since I put this back on my list of new year’s resolutions, I’m hoping to get more in the groove of cooking. I’m pretty much on the clock in terms of living at home and I’m going to have to cook for myself and the bf and eventually our kids. I might as well get more comfortable in the kitchen where I can still ask my mom for help if I need it. I did make a couple other dishes before this but nothing really to write home about. Okay, so there could potentially be a story. I’ll work on it.
Anywho, we had some salmon that my mom was going to cook so I decided to find a recipe and make it myself. I’m not sure what made me look for an orange glazed recipe but I suddenly wanted some. I found this recipe through the wonders of Google and it’s delicious. I’d definitely make it again. Not only is it super easy but you can essentially use this marinade for other meats. Mmm, meat.
Asian Crispy Orange-Glazed Salmon
via Tastebook
2/3 cup orange juice
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp lite soy sauce
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 (1″ piece) fresh ginger grated
4 (4-6 ounce) salmon fillets
2 tbs olive oil
salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper
2 tbs honey
1) Stir together orange juice, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, crushed red pepper flakes, and ginger in a bowl.
2) Drizzle 1 tbs olive oil into a baking pan. Add salmon and turn to coat.
3) Pour liquid mixture over salmon and let marinade for 30 minutes or more.
4) Remove salmon from dish and reserve marinade. Season salmon with salt and pepper.
5) Heat a large nonstick skillet over Medium High heat and add remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Cook salmon 3-4 minutes per side and remove from pan.
6) Pour reserved marinade into skillet and add honey. Heat for 3 minutes or until syrupy. Serve over salmon.
Read MoreWeekend Dinner #6: Roasted Chile-Lime Chicken
My return to the kitchen had me meeting with an old foe: the roasting/fryer chicken. You know the whole chicken where you have to clean it out? Yeah, that one. I’ve tried to do it once before and eventually girl’d out and had my mom take care of it for me. This time she offered from the get go but I wanted to do it so I just had her stand nearby to supervise.
I tried. I really did. I was doing well until I realized that the bird was still a little frozen on the inside and that would require me to dig my nails into it to loosen the little bits and pieces and the thought of having chicken organs underneath my nails grossed me out. That and the water was ice cold since, you know, it was frozen.
But I switched on and off with my mom and eventually got the whole bird cleaned out. Ugh. Maybe next time I’ll just skip the whole bird and just use chicken pieces. That seems a whole lot easier.
Anywho, it took longer than the recipe said to roast all the way through but it was delicious. I got a little fancy and made garlic-parmesan smashed potatoes [no need for a recipe…just some potatoes, a teaspoon for minced garlic, some shredded parmesan and milk to the appropriate consistency] and roasted asparagus with a balsalmic browned butter sauce.
Yeah I got even fancier. But even that is ridiculously easy to make: two tablespoons butter melted until it turns a golden brown [and there you have browned butter. Seriously]. Then you take it off the stove and add two teaspoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and some salt and pepper to taste. It’s slightly sweet but good.
Roasted Chile-Lime Chicken
by Aida Mollenkamp
1 (5 pound) chicken
5 medium serrano chiles, seeded and finely chopped [I used two serrano and two jalapeno peppers]
5 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
5 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly grated lime zest
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1) Heat oven to 400 degrees F and arrange a rack in the middle. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Remove necks and any innards from the cavities and discard.
2) To spatchcock, use a sharp pair of poultry shears or kitchen scissors to cut along the backbone; remove and discard. Place chicken, breast-side up, and press down to flatten it to it is lying completely flat.
3) Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and mix until evenly combined. Season and adjust flavor as desired. Loosen the skin from the breast and legs of the chicken and, using your clean hands, spread 1/2 of the mixture underneath. Rub the remaining mixture all over the outside of the chicken. Set aside while oven heats up, at least 20 minutes.
4) Lay chicken in a roasting pan or baking dish fitted with a rack and roast until cooked an instant read thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165 degrees F, about 50 to 60 minutes; let sit at least 10 minutes before carving. Quick note: the recipe says 50 – 60 minutes but its usually taken me longer than 60 minutes to reach 165 degrees so I highly suggest relying on temperature to determine doneness. It doesn’t have to be at 165 on the dot since the internal temp will continue to rise a little bit while it’s resting.
We had some leftovers which I used to make a killer chicken with spaghetti. And instead of using a marinara sauce, which would have been way too heavy with the flavors of the chicken, I made a lemon garlic olive oil sauce. No recipe here either, besides tossing in about a ½ cup of olive oil [which should have been a ¼ cup], one clove of minced garlic [we use a lot of garlic so my mom minces everything up, freezes and cuts into cubes that are roughly a teaspoon of garlic]. Delicious.
But I’m definitely making this again. In fact, I want to make it again since I figured this would be a great dish to make the next time the bf tells me he told his mom we’d cook for her next time I’m visiting.
Ace up the sleeve!
Read MoreWeekend Dinner #5: Chili
This weekend’s dinner came courtesy of my coworker D. Late last year he started experimenting with a chili recipe and brought some in to work so I could try some. Was it good? Good enough for me to steal his recipe and try it out myself.
It definitely isn’t my mom’s chili recipe. There’s a nice spice and kick from the chipotle chile that isn’t in my mom’s chili. Though it was funny because she kept going back to the pot to get more spoonfuls and then announced that it would be good with rice and i think she did take a spoon of rice to the pot after she said it. I think we’re the only people in the world who add rice to their chili. Needless to say, I did NOT add rice to this bowl of red.
Here’s the recipe in full.
D’s Chili
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 chipotle chile en adobo, coarsely chopped with 1 tbsp sauce
1 pound ground turkey
1 can [12 oz] chicken broth [about 1 1/2 cups]
1 can [14.5 oz] whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice [I used fire-roasted diced tomatoes since that's what we had at the house]
1 can [15.5 oz] kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat
2. Add onion, garlic, salt, chili powder and oregano and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 3 minutes
3. Stir in tomato paste and chipotle chile and sauce and cook for 1 minute
4. Add turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and cook until the meat loses its raw color, about 3 minutes
5. Add broth [the original recipe calls for beer, which he used the first time but i didn't much like it...the beer taste was too strong for me. He didn't like it either and switched it out for the broth] and simmer until reduced by about half, about 8 minutes
6. Add tomatoes and their juice and the beans. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 10 minutes
Read MoreWeekend Dinner #4: Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto
I am so glad I followed my gut and went with the Shrimp and Asparagus risotto instead of trying to find something else my dad may or may not eat. This meal was totally about me and my tummy and I’m going to be patting my tummy well into the night. It’s not the best picture but hey, it was a lot tasty.
Unfortunately I couldn’t find the original recipe I wanted to use but just adapted this one I did find. Yes I did cheat and make a dish I previously made but I always wanted to try new combinations. Anywho, risotto sounds difficult but it really isn’t. It’s just time consuming. You can’t rush it if you want it done right but all you have to do is pour and stir. Pour in a ladle of chicken broth, stir until the rice absorbs the broth, and then ladle on some more.
I made a few adjustments [as always huh?] but here’s the recipe in it’s original format. Below is my rendition.
Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto
adapted from Olive Garden via Recipezaar.com
serves 2
8 shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 2/3 + 1/4 cups chicken broth
2/3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (colaviata or or your choice)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 lb asparagus spear, fresh stemmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 a roma tomato, diced
1/4 cup yellow onion
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2/3 cup arborio rice
Directions
1. Simmer chicken broth on low heat until needed.
2. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
3. Saute onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent. Add diced tomatoes
4. Stir in rice to coat and then add 1/4 cup of chicken broth
5. Stir until completely absorbed
6. Repeat, adding 1/2 cup of broth at a time and stirring until desired creaminess is reached
7. Stir in butter and cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
8. Add asparagus and shrimp, stirring until shrimp is pink, about 2 minutes
Remember, shrimp doesn’t take too long to cook so it’s really easy to overcook them, like I did [but that’s probably because I decided to wash dishes before eating. The shrimp should curl slightly into a ‘c’, not into tight little circles.
Read MoreWeekend Dinner #3: Chicken Enchilada and Spanish Rice
This weekend’s challenge was a complete meal…well, complete sans the refried beans I also wanted to make, but those were gonna come from a can. horrible, I know but come on, I made mostly everything else!
I scoured the web for a good chicken enchilada recipe and then waffled on whether or not I should cook the chicken as well. I copped out and went the Semi-Homemade way and bought a rotisserie chicken. Before you get all “that’s cheating!” on me, Tyler Florence recommended the same thing and he’s a real chef!
I [heart] Tyler Florence.
Anywho, I did end up making my own enchilada sauce, using one I found on my go-to recipe box, Allrecipes.com.
The enchilada sauce turned out really well. It wasn’t so spicy like others I have. Yes, I do know that Mexican food is supposed to be spicy but sometimes the spice is too overpowering for me.
I cut back on the chili power this time but I’d probably add another tablespoon next time I make this [which will be cheese enchiladas. Mmm]. All in all it was really easy to do.
The Spanish rice was okay in my opinion. My mom and dad liked it but I was hoping there be a bit more flavor to it. Not spicy flavor but flavor. I cut the recipe in half and still came out with a lot of rice. I forgot just how much 1 cup of dried rice actually turns into. I can’t really explain what it is I’m looking for but I would know as soon as I tasted it.
Since the chicken was already cooked, I just popped it into under the broiler until the cheese melted. Here’s my modified recipe for the enchilada sauce.
Ten Minute Enchilada Sauce
by Brandi via Allrecipes.com
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup chili powder
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 chopped onion
salt to taste
Directions
1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Stir in flour and chili powder, reduce heat to medium, and cook until lightly brown, stirring constantly to prevent burning flour.
3. Saute onions and garlic until onions become translucent. Gradually stir in tomato sauce, chicken stock and cumin until smooth, and continue cooking over medium heat approximately 10 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Season to taste with salt.
It did take me longer than 10 minutes to get the sauce thickened the way I wanted. But it was worth the time.
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