Grandmother's Brisket with a KICK!!!

Every year for my birthday growing up I would request my Grandmother's homemade brisket and bbq sauce.  It is, by far, one of my favorite meals!  I have made her recipe quite a few times but this time I decided to "kick it up a notch".......sorry, couldn't resist!  I got a 5 lb. brisket but decided to cut it in half since it was just for the three of us.  I trimmed off a good amount of the fat slab leaving only about 1/2 layer on the top.  Next time I will have the butcher do this for me.  This has to cook Low-N-Slow so I decided to make it on Sunday.  It was delish!!!!

Ingredients

2-3 lb. Beef Brisket (Not Corned Beef Brisket!!!)
Season both sides with salt (or seasoned salt), pepper and sprinkle with a couple dashes of liquid smoke.  Place in zip lock bag and refrigerate for at least a day. 

Pre-heat oven @ 275

In a baking dish add:
2 small Onions cut into large chunks
2 Garlic Cloves quartered
1/2 bottle of porter beer (I used Yuengling Porter!)
Place the brisket, fat slab on top, right on top of the onion and garlic so that it is not sitting on the bottom of the dish.  Cover the top of the brisket with a generous amount of fresh ground pepper and salt. 

Cover dish with foil and bake @ 275 for 4 hours, basting once halfway through! 

When done, remove from dish and let rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting.  When you slice brisket you have to slice it against the grain.  Cut into thin, 1/4 inch slices and serve meat alone with homemade BBQ Sauce recipe, as a sandwich or as an open faced sandwich like I did with Roasted Potato and Fennel salad and bread and butter pickles! 
OH...and don't throw out the deliciousness that is left in the bottom of the dish.  Strain it into bowl or cup or anything.  Let it sit, let the grease separate, skim it off the top and use it as a gravy/sauce/au jus!  I toasted some bread, soaked it with the drippings and then put the meat and sauce on top!!!  YUM!!! 

Enjoy!!!!!  OH...one more OH...a Yuengling Porter is the perfect beverage to go with this meal!!!

Food blogging is going to make me FAT!!!

Just sayin!!!

Albacore Tuna Salad

I got a really good deal on Albacore Tuna this week and we love tuna salad so I whipped some up today.  Simple, easy, light and healthy!  Can't beat it!!!!

Ingredients

2 cans Albacore Tuna drained

2 Green Onions chopped

2 Hard Boiled Eggs chopped

2 T Light Hellman's Mayo

1 T Course Ground Mustard

1 T Dill Pickle Relish

Salt and Pepper to taste

You can make sandwiches, serve on crackers (I prefer Triscuits) or serve on a sliced tomato!!

Enjoy!!!! 

Roasted Potato w/ Fennel Salad

I had left over roasted potatoes w/ fennel after last nights dinner.  Instead of letting them sit in the refrigerator for a week and then throwing them away, like I normally do with leftovers, I decided to try to make it into a potato salad.  I made brisket tonight for dinner and my Grandmother always served potato salad with her brisket so I decided it I would try this out.  It worked out perfect and turned out to be an awesome potato salad!!!

Ingredients

1-2 C of left over Roasted Fingerling Potatoes diced

1/2 C Roasted Fennel chopped

1 Green Onion chopped

1 T Course Ground Mustard

2 T Light Hellman's Mayo

Season with salt and pepper

Refrigerate for a couple hours and Enjoy!!!!! 

Seafood!!!!!!

I love seafood but we don’t have a seafood market in Findlay that sells good fresh seafood so we don't eat a whole lot of it.  Matt and I went to Rohr Fish Market on Monroe St. in Toledo this morning.  It was seafood heaven!  I wanted to get one of everything.  All of the fish was fresh and very high quality.  We got salmon, swordfish, ahi tuna, sea scallops, grouper and giant prawns.  I decided that we needed to have a seafood feast for dinner tonight.  I kept all of the preparation real simple.  It was delicious!!! 

Shrimp Scampi

3 giant prawns/shrimp peeled and deveined, season both sides with a little salt and pepper

In a sauce pan mix:

1 garlic clove minced

2 T butter

2 T white wine

I simmered this on very low heat for about 20 min. to let the garlic infuse the butter.  Turn the heat up to med. high and cook the shrimp just until cooked through (maybe 2 min on each side).  Serve in a serving with garlic butter sauce. 

Asian Marinated Salmon

1 T Dijon or Course ground mustard

1 T honey or agave syrup

1 T soy sauce

Dash of sesame oil

Marinate in a zip lock bag for at least 2 hours.  Sear in a skillet, skin side first, for about 3 min. on each side.  The honey and soy sauce in the marinade will caramelize and make a nice dark brown sweet crust on the surface.  Cook longer on lower heat if you want it done more than medium rare. 

Sea Scallops in Brown Butter

2 T butter cooked slowly in a pan until it turns a golden brown color

3 or more Sea Scallops seasoned with salt on both sides

Add to pan w/ brown butter and sear on each side for about 2 min.

Broiled Lemon Pepper Grouper

1 Grouper fillet placed in a shallow baking dish coated with olive oil.  Brush top with olive oil and season with lemon pepper or favorite seafood seasoning.  I used Seafood Seasoning from the Alden Mill House in northern Michigan. 

I served this with a Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Fennel recipe that I stole from my friend Cory.  Thanks Cory....hope you don't mind me sharing!  This was a nice, light, healthy meal!!!! 

Enjoy!!!!



I can't wait to fix the swordfish and tuna steaks!  

San Marzano Tomatoes

There is nothing like these!!

These are delicious! They are very mild, have little acidity and don't need a whole lot added to make a great marinara sauce!  I've used this sauce on both pizza and pasta!  When shopping for these make sure that they are marked D.O.P. Certified.  If they don't have this mark they are not authentic. 

Ingredients

1 small onion finely chopped

1 garlic clove minced

Sauteed in 3 T olive oil for a bout 5 min.

In a bowl use a potato masher to break up the tomatoes.  Do not blend in a blender or food processor. 

Add tomatoes to the pan and bring to simmer.  Season with salt and pepper and maybe just a dash or two of sugar if you think they have too much acid.  Remove from heat and add 1/4 C finely chopped fresh basil.

Enjoy!!!

Sweet n Sour Sauce

This is for you Kim!!!!

Sweet n Sour Sauce

 

2 T Cornstarch

1 C Brown Sugar

1 C Water

1/3 C Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 C Ketchup

 

Mix all together in a sauce pan, bring to boil, let cook until it gets thick.  Let cool and serve as dipping sauce for egg rolls! 

Poco Piatti

Gretchen and I go out to dinner about once a month.  She does my hair and I buy dinner.  It's a win, win!!  We usually go for sushi but decided to try something new this week.  Poco Piatti is a restaurant at Levis Commons in Perrysburg.  It means small plates.  Tapas are a popular name for this type of cuisine.  We were starving by the time that we got there and of course ordered way too much food.  I took this picture after we had finished the first round of Hummus w/ beef tips and Tabbouleh.  After that we had Seared Ahi Tuna, Stuffed Mushrooms, and Chicken wraps w/ some sort of garlic sauce that was delicious.  All in all is was a fun experience but the sushi at The Tea Tree Asian Bistro was missed and we will be going back there on our next dinner date! 

My new retirement plan!

I have watched many cooking contest shows on TV and always thought …..I should do that!  I’m doing it!  I found a Pillsbury contest online!  Grand Prize- One Miiiiillion Dollars!!!!!  I know it’s a long shot but it’s something else to do in the kitchen.  Today was round 1 of testing out my recipe!  There are 2 lists of ingredients.  You have to pick one Pillsbury item from each list and incorporate those into the recipe.  I’m attempting to make my Chinese Dumplings using Pillsbury dough rather than the wonton wrappers that I usually make them with.  So….here goes nothing!!!

Ingredients:

Peanut Cilantro Dipping Sauce

Mix together and refrigerate for at least 2 hours

2 T Jif Creamy Peanut Butter

4 T Sugar

2 T Rice Vinegar

½ Tsp. Sesame Oil

1 Tsp. Garlic Chili Paste

½ C Water

Mix all together until smooth

Add ¼ C Cilantro cleaned, stems removed and chopped

Set aside and let marinate in refrigerator

Dumpling meat mix

Saute together in a pan on medium heat until translucent (about 20 min):

2 Garlic Cloves minced

2 Small White Onions thinly sliced

¼ Head of Cabbage thinly shredded

2 T Olive Oil

1 T Sesame Seed Oil

Remove from heat and let cool

While the above is cooking in a mixing bowl mix and refrigerate for at least 2 hours these ingredients:

1 lb. Ground Chicken

½ C. chopped raw shrimp (I use frozen, peeled, tail removed and devaned)

3 Green Onions finely chopped

1 T Fresh Ginger Root grated

4 T Soy Sauce

1 Tsp. Garlic Chili Paste

½ Tsp. Sesame Seed Oil

1 Tsp. Sugar

¼ Tsp. Hot Chili Oil

1 Tsp. Oyster Sauce

1 T Corn Starch

Add in cooled cabbage mixture

Dough

Pillsbury Crusty French Bread dough unrolled and placed on a cooking sheet lightly coated with a small amount of Sesame Oil.  Cover completely with plastic wrap until ready to cut. 

Preheat oven @ 375

Now it’s time to put it all together. 

Flour large surface, lay out dough and cut into 3” wide strips and then cut each strip into 3 square pieces. 

Wet all four edges with water, place a heaping T of the meat mixture in the middle and seal bring opposite corners together on top and pinch together to seal seams.  Repeat, repeat, repeat….

Put dumplings on non stick cooking sheet.  Right before baking brush the top of each with an egg wash. 

Bake @ 375 for 30 min

Serve with dipping sauce!

Enjoy!!!!!! 

I was very happy with the outcome.  The crust was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.  It was a perfect subsitute for the wontons.  In round 2 of the test I will be trying to shorten the process.  Most of the cooking contests that I've seen have a time limitation for preparing the dish.  This took WAY too long.  I have some ideas that will shorten the prep time and also the dumpling buiding.  I need to get a couple new kitchen gadgets.  Updates will follow!  I'm also looking for taste testers.  I'm a little bias so I need some new taisters to criticize.  Currently taking applications....

Blackened Chicken Burgers w/ Honey Mustard Slaw and Sweet Potato Fries

Due to this blog I have been eating WAY to much and not so healthy foods, too often.  Tonight I decided to try to slim down the calories a little bit.  I got some freshly ground chicken at the meat market last week and was excited to use it.  I like to mix sweet and spicy foods together.  On the way to the store I had the idea of mixing the honey mustard with the coleslaw mix for a topping on the blackened burgers.  It turned out to be a really good idea! 

Ingredients:

Coleslaw (Make this a couple hours ahead of time and stick in the refrigerator to marinate)

2 Tbls. Honey
2 Tbls. Course Ground Mustard
1 Tbls. Light Mayo (Hellman's Light is my choice)
Mix together
Add 1 1/2 C. Coleslaw mix

Sweet Potato Fries w/ Horseradish Sauce

Pre-heat oven @ 425

3 Sweet Potatoes peeled sliced and chopped into steak fries
Toss in bowl in with Olive oil, Salt and Old Bay seasoning
Bake on cooking sheet for 30 min. turning once half way through

Horseradish Dipping Sauce

Use equal parts: Light Mayo, Light Sour Cream and Horseradish.  Season w/ salt to taste. (Side note- this could also be used as a condiment on the burger)


Chicken Burgers

Pre-heat cast iron skillet

1 lb. Ground Chicken
1 egg
1/4 C. plain breadcrumbs
Season w/ salt and pepper (about 1 Tbls. each-estimate...sorry...don't measure)
Mix, Patty and coat both sides with Old Bay Blackened Seasoning (or your favorite blackened seasoning)
Sear and cook in preheated cast iron skillet for about 7 min. on each side

Serve on a nice, soft bun with a slice of Havarti cheese and a good helping of the coleslaw! 

Enjoy!!!!

Filet Mignon w/ Blue Cheese Butter, Cheesy Polenta and Sauted Sugar Snap Peas

I’ve been craving beef….I like beef!  So, I made a trip to Toledo and hit up the best meat market in NW Ohio, House of Meats.  It also doesn’t hurt that it is the only place in Ohio that carries one of my favorite wines.  AND….I found a new favorite.  OK…enough about the wine.  Back to the food!  BEEF!  Filet Mignon to be exact! We don’t eat a lot of beef so I figure when we do I’m going to go all out.  It is actually a pretty simple, easy meal for the amazing goodness it offers! 

Pre-heat oven @ 400

Ingredients:

Beef Filet Mignon- I made 3 (1 for each of us and I chose the ones that were wrapped with bacon…because bacon makes everything better!)

Season lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder  

Sear in hot cast iron skillet for about 2 minutes on each side

Place iron skillet in the oven for about 15 min. for medium rare doneness (increase time in the oven if you want it done more but I do NOT recommend it….I like my meat pretty-n-pink inside!)

Blue Cheese Butter

¼ C. Blue Cheese

¼ C. Butter

Melt together and whisk until mixed

Use as a dipping sauce for Filet

Polenta- follow the simple cooking instructions. 

After done add ½ C. shredded havarti cheese, ¼ C. grated parmesan cheese, 2 Tbls. Butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Sugar Snap Peas  - Clean and snap off the top and pull down to remove the string from the seam.

In a sauce or saute pan add:

1 Garlic Clove minced

1 Tbls. Butter

1 Tbls. Olive Oil

½ lb. cleaned sugar snap peas

Cover and saute for about 15 min. or until tender

Enjoy!!!!

Guacamole-mole-mole!

Bailey and I are the only ones in our house that will eat this.  I don't have a problem with that...at all!!  More for us!!  I was able to turn my brother in law, Mark, onto it!  He’s a huge fan now!  Mission accomplished!

Ingredients:

2 Avocados (Peeled, seed removed, chopped then smooshed w/ a fork)

2 Green Onions diced

1 Roma Tomato chopped

1 Handful of fresh Cilantro (Cleaned, remove stems and finely chopped)

2 Tbls. Light Sour Cream

Squeeze of lemon or lime juice (this helps keep it from turning brown and tastes OH so yummy)

Season to taste with Goya Adobo (w/ pepper), garlic powder and ground pepper

Mix all together.

Serve with your favorite tortilla chips or on top of your taco, fajita, enchilada, quesadilla…well, you get the idea! 

Enjoy!!!

There is a new Japanese Steakhouse/Sushi Bar in Findlay! We will be trying that this weekend for sure!!!

CHECK!!!!! This place is Grrrreat! We tried a little bit of everything.  Sashimi, sushi, gyoza, miso soup, ginger salad and sushi rolls!  The quality of the fish was much better than we have had in Findlay so far.  We will be back!!!

This was our sushi roll combo.  Our first time trying octopus! 

This was only half of the sashimi.  I forgot to take the picture before we started eating it.  YUM!!!!

I'm also very proud to say that Bailey tried salmon, tuna, red snapper, white tuna, shrimp and crab sashimi and loved it all!!!

I'm having a love affair...

with blue cheese! I can't get enough!!!

If you have to dine alone......

This is how you should do it!!!

I need to condense my recipes......

Light and Healthy Penne Pasta w/ Chicken & Asparagus

I worked at a very nice restaurant during my 20's in Perrysburg, OH.  It was called Peppercorns! The food was very good, the atmosphere was elegant and the menu was very diverse.  I took lots of good ideas for dishes with me when I left for my first "real" job! One of the most popular dishes for our women clientele was the Penne Pasta w/ Asparagus!  It was a very simple dish with a broth based sauce rather than a creamy sauce and lots of asparagus!  Since then I've altered and played with the same idea in different ways....adding and changing ingredients.  Today I did it again!  This dish includes 3 of my favorite ingredients:  Pasta, Chicken and Asparagus! 

Ingredients

2 Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters - skin removed, de-boned & shredded (get in there & get your hands dirty)
1 bundle of Asparagus - cleaned, tough ends removed, and cut into thirds
1 onion thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves minced
3 Tbls. Olive Oil
1 can chicken broth (low sodium recommended)
Reserved drippings from roasted chicken recipe (refrigerate overnight and remove settled fat from top)
1/2 box of penne pasta, boiled in salt water until Al Dente 
2-3 Tbls. of olive oil
salt and pepper season
3 Tbls. corn starch mixed w/ 2 tbls. of water to make a slurry

Prepare and set aside for garnish:
2 green onions finely chopped
1 roma tomato seeded and chopped
Parmesan cheese (Shredded or grated, whatever you prefer)

-Saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil over low heat.  Garlic can burn very easily so keep the heat low.Your goal is to soften the onions and garlic which will, in turn, infuse those flavors into the olive oil.
-Add Asparagus
-Season with salt and peeper (I prefer to use Miracle Blend along with fresh groud pepper)
-Add 1/2 can of chicken stock (if you like spicy food add a little sprinkle of crushed red pepper now)
-cover and simmer/steam for about 10-15 minutes (until the asparagus is tender) 

In separate pan boil the pasta in salt water. Once done, strain and set aside.
Using the same pan add:
-The leftover drippings from the roasted chicken (or substitute with an additional can of chicken broth)
-Remainder of the first can of chicken broth
-The broth left in the asparagus pan. (Keep asparagus aside for now)
-Shredded chicken
-Bring to boil
-While boiling stir in (stir fast) the corn starch slurry (make sure that there are no lumps in the mixture...fingers work best)
-Once the broth has thickened, turn heat off, add asparagus, and enough noodles so that they are all completely covered in the sauce. (I usually make too many noodles and save the extras for dishes later on.)

Serve in pasta bowl garnished with green onion, diced tomatoes and Parmesan cheese!!!! 

Enjoy!!!

Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters

This is a simple, inexpensive, versatile and delicious recipe that can be made with very little effort and used throughout the week in salads, sandwiches, pastas....really anything! 

Ingredients

Chicken Leg Quarters w/ bone and skin - I like to get the family sized pack (4-6 pieces)

Place in roasting pan or casserole dish

Season each side with:
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Garlic powder
Rosemary
Thyme
Sage

Place 2 Bay Leaves in the bottom of pan and pour about a 1/2 C of white wine in the bottom of the dish. 

Cover w/ foil and bake @ 375 for about 45 min. to 1 hour.

Let cool and refrigerate.  Shred and use in dishes throughout the week or serve as the main course. 

I also strained and kept the liquid that was left in the bottom of the pan.  I will remove the fat once it is hardened in the container and I will use the broth in the sauce that I will be making tonight in my pasta dish!!

Enjoy!!!!

Horseradish & Dijon Mustard Pork Tenderloin w/ Roasted Potatoes, Carrots and Fennel

This was delicious!  I can't wait to prepare fennel in other ways.  It is absolutely delicious!!! 

I will attempt to type this recipe below. I have to warn you though....my recipe will not be scientifically accurate measurements.  I do not use measuring spoons or cups.  I do, however, note the "estimated" amounts of the ingredients used.  I think that cooking is more fun without the stress of measuring everything precisely.  This is why I don't bake!  I don't like to measure things!!!  :)

Ingredients:
1 whole Pork Tenderloin
Marinate for a couple hrs. in a zip lock bag in the refrigerator w/:
Miracle Blend  (or any other sort of seasoned salt), fresh ground pepper, 2 Tbls. Dijon Mustard, 1 Tbls. Horseradish

Chop and combine in a bowl:
3 Tbls. melted butter
3 Tbls. EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 small onion quartered
4 carrots or 10 baby carrots chopped
4-5 small potatoes peeled and chopped
1 fennel bulb quartered and chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
season with salt and pepper

Combine all in a roasting pan or casserole dish. 
Bake 375 for 45 min.
Remove tenderloin and set aside w/ foil tent
Continue baking veggies for 20 min.
Return tenderloin to casserole dish in oven.
Bake for 20 more min. 
Remove from oven, set tenderloin aside to rest for 10-15 min.

Slice at angle and serve with roasted veggie! 

Enjoy!!!!!!

~~The new ingredient of the day~~ FENNEL!!!

I'm vowing to try to use at least one new ingredient or spice every week.  There are so many interesting, new, and exciting ingredients that I've shied away from in the past.  NO MORE!  I'm trying EVERYTHING!  And if my family doesn't like it.....too bad!  There is a cupboard full of canned/boxed boring food you can have!  So, today's new ingredient is fennel!  (If you click on the highlighted word it will take you to wisegeek.com and will tell you all about fennel.)  I am roasting it with potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic and a pork tenderloin.  I will share this recipe once I eat it to make sure it is as delicious as it is making my house smell right now!!!!

Flat Bread Pizza

Testing my mobile blog setup with this picture of my Flat bread caramelized onion, portobello and artichoke pizza!!
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New Year.....New Pots and Pans!!!

After 3 years I finally broke down and bought some new pots and pans.  The last set that I had were very poor quality.  They were all to the point that they were no longer non-stick.  I shopped around and found lots of sets that were WAY more than I wanted to spend.  On a TJ Maxx shopping trip I found my new pans.  I had never heard of the brand so I did a little research before buying them.  They had good reviews on Consumer Reports.  They are German made.  They are called Berndes.  I mixed a matched two different styles to add a little flair to my kitchen wall where I hang them.  Solid, heavy, non-stick and the styles are a little different than the average set of pans.  I even found a teeny, tiny pan that is just perfect to fry one egg! I LOVE them!!!  They are really nice!  I am very happy with my choice!

Let the blogging begin!

After 5 hours on the computer my blog is set up!  More fine tuning is needed when time allows!!