Recipe #77 - Flank Steak Salad with Jalapeno Poppers

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Recipe idea courtesy of Chuck Hughes from the cooking show Chuck's Day Off.

For the steak salad:
Rub the flank steak on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy skillet on medium-high heat and cook the steak on one side for 6 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for 6 more minutes.

Meanwhile combine the red onion, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocados, cilantro, mint and lime juice in a bowl and mix well. (Side note: this step called for 2 tablespoons olive oil, but I left it out and it tasted just fine with just the lime juice.)

Season the salad with salt and pepper, to taste and set aside.

For the jalapeno poppers:
Heat oil in a deep fryer or a heavy-bottomed skillet to 350 degrees F. Carefully slice down the side of the peppers and remove the seeds. Set aside. In a bowl combine all the grated cheeses, season with pepper, to taste and stuff the peppers.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, egg, and beer to form a batter. Dip the stuffed peppers in the batter.

Fry in the deep fryer or in a heavy skillet for about 5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Slice the flank steak into thin pieces.

Pile the salad on a plate with slices of flank steak, and top with 1 popper, sliced in half.

This recipe turned out really well. The colors where bright. It had a very fresh, summer taste to it. I've never tasted mint and cilantro together, but it was a memorable surprise pairing perfectly with the lime juice. It has been raining all day, so it's was a nice, uplifting, healthy lunch that brought some sunshine back into the dull house today.

Rating: 9
Time: 1 hour (there's a lot of cutting involved)
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
For the Steak Salad
2 pounds flank steak
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 red onion, sliced
2 cucumbers, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled and diced
1 cup torn fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup torn fresh mint leaves
Juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons olive oil, optional

For the Jalapeno Poppers
6 jalapeno peppers or milder peppers (which I recommend)
1/3 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 cup flour
1 egg
3/4 cup beer
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Vegetable oil, for frying

Recipe #76 - Artichoke Cheese Oven Omelet

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Spread salsa in a greased 9-inch deep dish. Top with the artichoke hearts.

Add cheeses.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sour cream.

Pour mixture over the cheeses. 

I had to leave half veggie off for the veggie haters in the house.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Garnish with tomatoes, onions, and chives if desired.

I think breakfast eggs are a lot like tacos, you can make them 100 different ways and they still taste the same. Omelets, scrambled, over easy - dosen't matter. However, I think that this recipe has potential. Maybe add a spice of some sort to add some more flavor.

I made this recipe the night before and threw it in the oven the next morning. It was nice to be able to prepare a meal before hand.

Rating: 7

Time:  50 minutes

Serves: 6-8 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup salsa

1 can (14 ounces) water-packed artichoke hearts, rindes, drained and chopped

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

6 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

Chopped fresh tomatoes, sliced ripe olives and minced chives, optional

Recipe #75 - Spicy Vanilla Yams

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I was talking to one of my friends about my lamb recipe and he suggested I pair it with this Spicy Vanilla Yams recipe. 

Add the sweet potatoes to a large sauce pan and bring to a boil. Boil for 20 minutes or until potatoes break easily with a fork.

Peel the potatoes while still hot. Puree. Add butter, vanilla springs, extract, and season with salt and cayenne to taste. 

He was right. It went perfectly with Recipe #74 - Stuffed Lamb Roast with Garlic Sauce. I would defiantly make this recipe again. The mixture of the cayenne and vanilla was surprisingly pleasant. Sweet and spicy.  

Rating: 8 

Time: 35 minutes

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

6 large sweet potatoes

2 vanilla beans

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter

4 teaspoons cayenne 

Salt to taste

Recipe #74 - Stuffed Lamb Shoulder with Garlic Sauce

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This recipe is courtesy of Chuck Hughes from Iron Chef. I found it on FoodNetwork.com. Surprisingly enough, my mother has never made it before, so it was a learning experience for the both of us. On a side note, I know that there are a lot of pictures on this post, but I really didn't want to leave any of them out. Enjoy!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Take out the lamb and rinse well.

Unroll and flatten the lamb as best as possible. Mine was very thick in a lot of areas, so I had to butterfly it to make it more flat.

For the stuffing:
In a bowl, mix carrots, leeks, celery leaves, parsley, chives, and chervil (if you could find it).

Stuff the lamb shoulder, spreading the herb stuffing over the surface, leaving a 1-inch border. Season the herb mixture with salt and pepper.

Roll the lamb up, tie it up with string at 1-inch intervals, brush it with olive oil and season the meat with salt and pepper.

With a sharp knife, make small incisions in the meat and insert the halved garlic cloves.

In a large oven-proof heavy skillet, heat canola oil on high. Add the lamb leg (or shoulder) to the skillet and sear on all faces until browned, about 10 minutes.

Add the veal (or beef) stock and garlic head. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and put into the oven for about 2 hours for medium, or using a meat thermometer until it reads 165 degrees F for medium or 170 degrees F for well done.

Remove the lamb leg from the skillet and keep warm. 

Mash the roasted garlic in the sauce in the skillet. Strain over a medium-size stockpot and cook until reduced by half. Whisk in the butter. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

Slice the lamb leg.

Serve with the roasted garlic sauce and Recipe #75 - Spicy Yams. 

Rating: 9

Time: 3 hours 5 minutes

Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients:

Stuffing

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 leek, finely chopped

1/2 celery root, peeled and finely chopped

1/4 cup celery leaves, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chervil

3 cloves garlic, cut in half

Sauce

4 cups veal stock (or substitute for beef stock if you can't find veal)

1 head garlic, cut in half

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter, for finishing sauce 

Lamb

1 (4-pound) boneless lamb shoulder (or leg like I used, which is a little more expensive, but worth it).

Canola oil, for searing lamb

Special equipement: butcher's string (which the butcher added for me upon request when I bought the lamb).

Recipe #73 - Skittles Shots

On my sister TJ's 22nd birthday this year, we took her out on the town. The first place we hit up was the Flying Saucer, of course, being a beer joint, when we tried to order shots it was an epic fail. They literally on had two kinds of liquor and practically no mixers. So I was like, "Ok, so what can you do for us?" The bartender pulled a bottle of homemade Skittles Shots from under the counter. I was like, yes! My two favorite things: Skittles + vodka. We liked it so much that I asked the bartender how to make it. So here it is!

Empty five water bottles. Sort the skittles by color if you want to taste them all individually (or you can just mix them all up into one big pot). Use 60 skittles for every 6 ounces of vodka.

Fill bottles with vodka (more or less depending on how many skittles you have), then add Skittles keeping to the 60 per 6 ounce ratio.  Shake bottles about every chance you can until dissolved (about 1 1/2 days).

Once finished dissolving, filter out the white film in each bottle. 

And your finished! Enjoy tasting the rainbow in an all new alcoholic way!

Rating: 10

Time: About 2 days

Ingredients:

1 handle of vodka

2 pounds of Skittles

Recipe #71 - Pork Tenderloin with Fig and Onion Preserves

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I was flipping through "Food" section in The Commercial Appeal when this recipe caught my eye. My parents had a few fig trees on their property that were overflowing with fruit this year. I had been wanting to do a recipe with figs, but hadn't found the right one. Until now.

Though looking back now, I think I could have found one with more ingredients and levels of flavor, because it didn't turn out very well in my opinion. However, I hadn't preserved anything on this blog, so it wasn't a total loss. Ultimately, it's what this blog is for - trial and error.

Preserves:
Caramelize the onions, cook in a large saute pan over low heat in the oil for about 2 hours or until very dark. Add garlic about halfway through the cooking. Or, you can add the onions and  garlic to a slow cooker and cook for about 12 hours. (Grease the inside of the cooker with vegetable oil spray before adding onions.)

To prepare figs, wash, remove stems and cut them in half. Add port and cook over low heat for 1 hour or perhaps longer, until most of the liquid is gone.

Combine the onion and the figs, season with salt and pepper, and pack in a 1-quart jar or 2 pint jars. Seal in a hot water bath or refrigerate.

To make tenderloin, season with salt and pepper and place in a shallow cover dish. Mix preserves, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth, and pour over. Cook covered at 275 degrees F for about 30 minutes, then uncover for 10 minutes, careful not to overcook the pork.

Remove pork and set aside to cool, and put pan sauce in a small pan to reduce slightly. Add a pat of butter to thicken if desired.

Slice pork and serve with sauce.

Rating: 4
Time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
Preserves:
3 pounds onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, halved
2 tablespoons olive oil, optional
2 pounds figs
About half a 750-ml bottle port
Salt and pepper, to taste

Tenderloin:
1 (1 pound) pork tenderloin
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup fig and onion preserves
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon butter, if desired

Recipe #70 - Better Than Carol's Meatloaf (aka Chris' meatloaf)

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This is my father's personal meatloaf recipe. He has always said that he can cook three things better than my Mom: chili, spaghetti sauce (aka meat gravy) and meatloaf. So, of course, I had to include this recipe in my blog (no matter how much Mom hates the name of it).

Lightly toast bread in the oven. Let cool, then crumble into small pieces. Four slices should make about 3 cups.

Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Mix meat with eggs. Add onion, bell pepper, all seasoning and bread crumbs. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Add half the tin of soup and mix everything well. Turn into greased loaf pan or glass casserole dish and pour remaining soup over the top, smoothing it evenly over all.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Serve over mashed potatoes (preferably recipe #69) and asparagus.

Rating: 9
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
(Note: Pictures above show the recipe doubled, ingredients listed below is the actual recipe singled.)
1 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
2 beaten eggs
1 medium-large onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons snipped parsley, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (secret ingredient)
1 green pepper, chopped
1 can Campbell's condensed tomato soup

Recipe #69 - Grammy's Mashed Potatoes

Every Thanksgiving my Grammy Ann made these garlic mashed potatoes. Everyone, especially my sister Teresa, looked forward to eating the garlic, cheesy mess of awesomeness. In an attempt to make these even more amazing, I made 3 changes to the original recipe:

1. I used real potatoes instead of the potato flakes.
2. I substituted actual garlic cloves rather than the garlic powder. 
3. Instead of Cheddar cheese, I used extra sharp white cheddar cheese

Cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes and place into a large pot of water. Bring to boil. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes brake apart easily when forked. 

Drain water. Add the butter, sour cream, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic and salt. Mash together well. Pepper to taste.

I forgot to take an end picture, but I made it with the "Recipe #70 - Better Than Carol's Meatloaf" so I'll just post this picture twice. 

But they turned out amazing! It was surprisingly spicy. I guess the mixture of the fresh garlic and sharp cheese gave it an unexpected kick, but very, very good. I would strongly recommend this recipe to everyone.

Rating: 10
Time: 1 hour
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
5 pounds rustic potatoes (not red)
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces cream credit
4 extra sharp white cheddar cheese
5 cloves of garlic
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste