Friday, February 19, 2010

Foxy- Beach BBQin’- Foodies September 2009

With all of our crazy schedules, it’s sometimes near impossible to find a date that works for everyone. After much debate, we settled on a Sunday. A few of the girls suggested we go to the beach before since I live really close. This, along with summer ending (tear), inspired me to put together a beach bbq theme---hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Chipotle Veggie Dip
This recipe was really easy to put together. The cream cheese and chipotle combination says it all and of course the other yummy key ingredients (cilantro, garlic, etc). Dipping veggies and pita chips in it made it a great appetizer! So easy to make. Only note is to be careful when using chipotle chilies in adobo…a little goes a loooong way with that ingredient in general.
1 8oz package of cream cheese
2/3 c. sour cream
3 teaspoons lime juice
3 canned chipotle in adobo sauce
2 tablespoons minced scallions
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro
Finely grated zest of one lime
Place first three ingredients into a food processor and blend until creamy. Stir in remaining ingredients by hands and enjoy!

H – Thumbs up – spicy and delicious!
K- Thumbs up
N – Thumbs up – a bit spicy, but yummy.
R - Thumbs up.

Grilled Romaine with Spicy Caesar Dressing- Food Network
Nicole – I had never “cooked” lettuce before, let alone barbequed it, so this was a new concept for me. It actually worked out well though, and I would recommend using larger romaine leaves (some of the smaller ones we used were a bit tricky to flip on the grill). Delicious dressing and the extra dressing could be used for another meal.

H – Thumbs up.
K- Thumbs up for the dressing, down for the grilled romaine. It just seemed to wilt; I thought it should be crispy?
N – Thumbs up.
R - Thumbs sideways. Definitely didn’t need to be grilled and became a lot of work to lift those guys off the grill. The dressing was good, but didn’t taste like Caesar necessarily?

Macaroni Salad- Bon Appetite
Heather – I was very skeptical about this recipe as I’m not a fan of mayonnaise-based pasta salads. I much prefer the oil and vinegar types. But, I was willing to give it a try…until I read that we were putting pickles and celery in the salad. Yuck! The only thing I can say about this is it tasted exactly how I thought it would. Maybe there are some people out there who like this sort of thing but I’m not one of them!

H – Thumbs way down.
K- Thumbs down- the store bought version is easier and tastier!
N – Thumbs sideways – nothing special, but not bad either.
R - Thumbs sideways. Don’t need to make again, but would definitely have a scoop if it was at a bbq.

Sticky and Spicy Baby Back Ribs- Food and Wine
Being my first time making ribs, I must say I was impressed! I was a little unsure at first because the first step is to remove the membrane---sick. Since I bought the ribs at Costco this part was already done for me, score! The rub was easy, and the bbq sauce was perfect combination of spicy and sweet. The only thing I would do differently is dice the onions up really small so they are less noticeable in the sauce

H – Thumbs up – These were delicious and had a tangy flavor from the vinegar sauce.
K- Thumbs up
N – Thumbs up!
R - Thumbs up. Ammmmazing. I didn’t think we’d eat the two huge racks of ribs...thought there’d be no way, but I was definitely wrong!
This recipe is a classic and perfect for the theme. Grilled of course and with a bit of a spice topping (just a bit) muted by the most delicious queso fresco (big fan here). It was so easy to do. I learned a trick from Kristin in making this…that you can freeze queso fresco. Never thought of that before, but we took it out of the freezer and it was fine.

H – Thumbs up.
K- Thumbs up, lots of flavor.
N – Thumbs up – delish!
R - Thumbs up.


Not Yo’ Mama’s Banana Pudding- Paula Dean
This was a relatively simple recipe that did not require the oven. You use a package of vanilla pudding mix, some cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and those fun Chessboard cookies. I think when Paula says it’s not yo’ mama’s banana pudding, she means it’s a calorie-laden, full-fat, heart-attack-waiting-to-happen, version. That said, it was the most delicious bread pudding I’ve ever had!

H – Thumbs up.
K- Thumbs up, my boyfriend literally ate half of the pan.
N – Thumbs up.
R – Thumbs up.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

“The $50 Dinner Party” Dinner - October 2009

Keeping with the theme of my last dinner night I have been trying to utilize cookbooks on my shelf that have not been cracked open in awhile. This time I looked to “The $50 Dinner Party: 26 dinner parties that won’t break your bank, your back, or your schedule”. I have used this book in the past with pretty good results, and thought that it was worthy of the monthly dinner night group. I chose Menu Sixteen, which was complete with a soup, salad, fish, side, and dessert.

Chilled Corn Soup with Tomatoes, Red Peppers and Cilantro

Nicole – This recipe was a multiple step process with the cooking/pureeing/cooling, but worth the effort. It was the perfect dish for a warm summer evening.

K: Thumbs up.

R: Thumbs up.

N: Thumbs up – good cold and fresh dish for summer.

H: Thumbs up.

Spice-Rubbed Catfish

Nicole – The catfish was easy enough to make, although the amount of seasoning that the recipe called for was a bit overpowering overall. It was a bit spicy for our tastes, and we did not even put in the entire required 2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper.

K: Thumbs sideways, there was nothing wrong with it per say, I just think there are better recipes out there for this fish.

R: Thumbs up.

N: Thumbs sideways – after having catfish for lunch the day before I may have OD’d a bit on this fish.

H: Thumbs sideways.

Polenta Triangles

Nicole – I mistakenly chose yet another polenta recipe after we had cooked it in the last dinner night rotation, so I think that the repetition did not help this dish. The taste was fine, but the fact that we did not refrigerate the polenta overnight made for some pretty interesting frying pan action – take it from us, browning soft polenta does not really work.

K: Thumbs sideway.

R: Thumbs sideways - polenta is very hit or miss for me.

N: Thumbs sideways – the taste was great, but it didn’t look very pretty (we served it soft).

H: Thumbs down – I was expecting a little more crust around the polenta but this still had the mushy consistency that I don’t particularly enjoy.

Grilled Pineapple and Avocado Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette

Rissa - Salads can be boring after a while, so finding one like this is always nice! Avocado is super delicious in any salad and the vinaigrette was simple to make but a great compliment to the recipe. I don’t remember if we used watercress..being that I’m not a big fan of watercress I would think we used something else considering how much I loved it! Make again for sure.

K: Thumbs up! This was amazing.

R: Thumbs up!

N: Thumbs way up! This was a delicious salad, and I found myself eating the pineapple and avocado in the bottom of the bowl. I have made this a couple times since the dinner night with repeated success.

H: Thumbs up!

Jake and Earl’s Six-Layer Bars with Chocolate, Pecans, and Coconut

I make 7-layer bars almost every Christmas so they are definitely a favorite of mine. The only difference between the ones I usually make and this recipe was the missing butterscotch chips. Although, these bars still turned out great, I did miss the rich taste of butterscotch. Overall, a good and simple recipe.

K: Thumbs sideways, just not really my cup of tea.

R: Thumbs up. I actually don’t care for butterscotch too much, so this was perfect for me.

N: Thumbs up – gooey and yummy.

H: Thumbs up

Notes from the cookbook:

-make the chilled corn soup the day before

-assemble or make the six-layer bars the day before; if just assembling, bake 4 hours before

-grill the pineapple the day before

-rub the spices on the catfish the night before

-make but do not cook the polenta the day before

RECIPES

Chilled Corn Soup with Tomatoes, Red Peppers, and Cilantro

1 T. olive oil

1 small Spanish onion, chopped

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

8 large ears of corn, kernels scraped off (about 5-6 cups)

1 beefsteak tomato, diced

½ t. black pepper

6-7 cups chicken broth

½ red bell pepper, diced, for garnish

2-3 T. chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Place a large stockpot over medium heat and when it is hot, add the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook until they are golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the corn, tomato, and black pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Raise the heat to high, add the broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.

Transfer half the solids to a blender and puree. Transfer all the soup (pureed and chunky) to a bowl, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Garnish with the red bell pepper and cilantro.

Spice-Rubbed Catfish

1 T. dried Greek oregano

2 t. cayenne pepper

1 heaping T. garlic powder

2 t. dried thyme

2 t. Hungarian paprika

1 ½ t. kosher salt

1 t. black pepper

six 6-8 oz. catfish fillets, about 2 ½ - 3 pounds

1 T. olive oil

1 ½ lemons or limes, cut into six slices, for garnish

To make the spice rub: Place the oregano, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, thyme, paprika, salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl and combine well.

Place the catfish on a large plate and rub both sides with the spice mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

Prepare the grill or place a large skillet over high heat. If you are grilling, lightly rub each side with the olive oil and place the fish, skin side down, on the grill and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. If you are panfrying, place a large skillet over high heat and when it is hot, add the oil. Add the fish, skin side down, one at a time, allowing the pan to reheat for about 30 seconds between additions. Cook until deeply browned and cooked throughout, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a large platter and serve immediately. Garnish with the lemon.

Polenta Triangles

6 cups water

½ - 1 t. kosher salt

1 ¾ - 2 cups stone-ground cornmeal

½ cup heavy cream

1 T. unsalted butter

1 bunch scallion greens, chopped (optional)

1 T. olive oil

Lightly butter a 9-inch round baking pan.

Place the water and salt in a medium-size saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Gradually pour in the cornmeal, whisking all the while.

When the mixture begins to bubble, reduce the heat to medium-low and book until the cornmeal begins to thicken, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Slowly whisk in the cream, butter, and if desired, the scallions. Continue the cooking until the polenta just begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Pour the polenta into the prepared pan, cover and refrigerate up to overnight. Just before serving, cut into 6 triangles. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and when it is hot, add the oil. Place the triangles on the skillet and cook until browned, about 3 minutes on each side. Serve immediately.

If you want to serve the polenta soft, skip the last step and serve immediately.

Grilled Pineapple and Avocado Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette

2 t. olive oil

2 t. walnut oil

1 T plus 1 t. red wine vinegar or lemon or orange juice

1 t. kosher salt

¼ - ½ t. black pepper

1 pineapple, cut into 12 slices

2 bunches watercress, well washed and torn

3 avocadoes, halved and cut into large dice

To make the vinaigrette: Place the oils, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl and mix well.

Prepare the grill or preheat the broiler.

Place the pineapple slices 4 inches from the heat source and cook until golden, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Cut each slice into 8 triangles.

Divide the watercress between 6 salad plates and top with equal amounts of avocado and pineapple. Drizzle lightly with the vinaigrette. Serve at room temperature.

Jake and Earl’s Six-Layer Bars with Chocolate, Pecans and Coconut

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

12 whole graham crackers (do not use low-fat), crumbled into a powder

¾ cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened is fine)

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

¾ cup sweetened condensed milk

1 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the butter and graham cracker crumbs in an 8-inch square pan and combine until they are well incorporated. Press down in an even layer.

Sprinkle ½ cup coconut on the graham cracker crust.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the coconut.

Drizzle the condensed milk over the chocolate chips.

Sprinkle the pecans over the condensed milk.

Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup coconut over the pecans and lightly press down. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Set aside to cool. Cut into 9 squares.

Transfer to a platter and serve immediately or cover and store at room temperature overnight.