First Lunch Series to the Public

This Thursday is our first Lunch Series at school! I will be the Kitchen Manager and my partner, Allison, will be the Front of the House Manager. We made our own menu and will be serving it to the public for the first time! I am both excited and just a tiny bit nervous. I hope everything goes well. We were able to prep a lot of stuff yesterday and today. I will definitely get pictures of everything for you all to see.

A sneak peak of the menu is as follows:

Starter

Chilled Rustic Soup Trio

Grape Gazpacho, Creamy Tomato Basil, and Butternut Squash

Entrees

Chicken Schnitzel Stapel

Chicken Schnitzel, Ham, and Gruyere Stack, like a deconstructed German Cordon Bleu.

Served with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts (Recipe can be found on this blog) and Potato Galette

Sauerbraten

Marinated braised beef with a gravy.

Served with Red Cabbage and German Fries

Desserts

Pistachio Cheesecake with Chocolate Filigree and Cherry Sauce

S'mores

Made from scratch marshmallows, Made from scratch graham crackers, Chocolate Ganache and Cherry Compote.

It's been a lot of hard work but it will pay off in the end. And everything is made from scratch! Allison even made her own graham crackers and marshmallows! I can't wait to share our meal with everyone. If you haven't noticed our theme is German Food. Just in time for Oktoberfest!

Avocado Mac 'n' Cheese

My wife LOVES avocados and she found a recipe for Avocado Mac 'n' Cheese. So we gave it a try. Here are the results!

The recipe can be found at http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/stovetop-avocado-mac-and-cheese/.
I followed the recipe exactly except I used Dry Radiatore for the pasta and Heavy Cream for the Milk. It's a very rich and tasty meal!

I found that it made more like 8 Servings using the Radiatore. And it was very "saucy".

Grated Pepper Jack Cheese

Avocado

Avocado, Cilantro, Garlic, Lime Juice, and S&P.

All processed.....

Made a roux and added cream....

......then the cheese!

Mix everything together.

Voila!

Plated with Spinach and Giant Eagle's Red Wine and Garlic Chicken Sausage.

This Mac 'n' Cheese was one of the richest I've had in a long time. But it was pretty good! I will probably make it again. If you like this recipe, make sure you head over to www.twopeasandtheirpod.com and see what other recipes they have! Oh, and as always, please comment on any of my blog posts!

Banana Melon

So, I finally had a ripe Banana Melon in the garden. This is the first time I have ever grown them. I purchased the seeds from my favorite seed company, Baker Heirloom Seed Company.

This is how they describe it on their website:
     90 days. Banana-shaped fruit, smooth yellow skin and sweet, spicy salmon flesh. 16-24 inches long, 5-8 lbs. It was listed in 1885 by J. H. Gregory’s Catalogue, which said, “When ripe it reminds one of a large, overgrown banana... It smells like one, having a remarkably powerful and delicious fragrance.” This is one of my all- time favorites, being very sweet and great for specialty markets. 

The first one was a small one, 3.668 lbs.

Me holding the Banana Melon.

Cut into the melon.

It tastes a lot like cantaloupe and is very sweet and juicy.

Let Your Garden Make You Dinner Tonight!

I know that fall is just about here and most gardening is coming towards the end of the season. But I wanted to share something about gardening. I want to encourage everyone to start thinking about next year's garden and what you are going to grow. I always have my basics.. Tomatoes, Onions, Eggplant, Zucchini, etc. That is a given. But think about trying a couple new veggies. Maybe plant a couple things you've either never had or something you've never thought about growing. Just plant a couple and see how it turns out. Sometimes you stumble upon something you love and just never thought to try. Over the years I have planted many different crops and some I love and still plant, others I will probably never plant again.

I remember planting Kidney Beans one year. It was interesting. I learned a ton of facts about them because I tried to grow them. They turned out great. One fact I did not know... Kidney Beans, if not cooked all the way, will make you ill. They contain a toxin that is present until fully cooked. Even partially cooked will make you sick. They were great but they were just too much work and hassle to harvest and store. It is well worth the cheap price at the supermarket to buy them rather than do all that work. But it was rewarding to be able to say, "I grew the beans in this Chili!!".

Other plants, I cannot wait to grow again. I found these carrots one year that had 4 different colors/varieties in it. I figured, what the heck. The white ones were SO sweet and absolutely amazing! I ended up buying that particular variety for the garden this year!

But the ultimate reward from gardening is to be able to, at a moment's notice, go out and pick something for dinner. Tonight was a great example. You don't always need a recipe to make something great. Just use what you have on hand and let your garden inspire whatever comes to mind. We took a Chicken Breast out of the freezer before I left for work, but didn't have any idea what we would do with it. So at work, I thought, how about a Lemon Chicken Pasta. So I marinated the chicken in olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and oregano. I went out in the garden and picked an Eggplant, and a handful of grape tomatoes. So I sauteed the eggplant, a shallot, and then the chicken. Tossed in some white wine, and pasta water. Then tomatoes, cut in half. And I found some feta in the fridge. Threw in the Penne and voila! I had created a sort of Greek Lemon Chicken Pasta. I let the garden tell me what was for dinner! Didn't have to go out and buy all kinds of ingredients.

Moral of this blog... You don't always need a recipe to create a great dinner. Just use your imagination and whatever you have in your garden. Have fun with it and don't be afraid to try something different. If it tastes bad, you can always call a delivery place and get dinner. But at least you tried!

Grilled Swordfish Steaks with Basil Caper Butter

Ok everyone, here is the recipe I will be using when I grill this up for you at the Harborcreek Giant Eagle on 8/23/12 and 8/25/12!

This a very good recipe I found for grilling Swordfish Steaks. Remember to buy only FRESH Swordfish. No frozen, unless that's all you can get your hands on. The fresh is a million times better. That goes for all seafood. This recipe takes about 20 minutes to prep and about 8-10 minutes of actual cooking time. It's a very quick recipe that is good on a weeknight or weekend.

Grilled Swordfish with Basil Caper Butter

Serves 2

3 Tbls Unsalted Butter

1 Tbls Chopped Basil

1 tsp Drained capers, chopped

1 Tbls plus 1/2 tsp  Fresh Lemon Juice, divided

Salt and Pepper

1 Tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 8oz Swordfish Steaks cut 1” thick

            In a small bowl, blend the butter with the basil, capers and 1/2 teaspoon of the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, and refrigerate.

In a large, shallow dish, mix the olive oil with the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Season the swordfish with salt and pepper and turn the fish in the olive oil mixture. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Grill the swordfish steaks over high heat until nicely charred on the outside and just cooked within, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the steaks to plates, top each with a dollop of basil-caper butter and serve right away.

This recipe is not my own. It is from Food & Wine Magazine.

Grilled Swordfish Steak served with Exotic Mushroom Risotto and Sauteed Summer Veggies.

Summer Salsa Lime Chicken

So here is the story behind this dish.

While dining at a restaurant, that I shall not mention, they have a dish called Fiesta Lime Chicken. It was good but not great. After making a huge batch of my Summer Salsa, I had an idea that later became this dish. It isn't that close to the restaurant dish, but was inspired by it. Over the past 4 or 5 times I've made it, little tweaks have made it into what it is now!

When making this dish, you HAVE to make it with my Summer Salsa. If you use jarred, it will taste not so well. You can find the Summer Salsa recipe on another post.

Summer Salsa Lime Chicken
Serves 2
Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 15 Min

Ingredients
For the marinade

• 2 Tbls Olive Oil
• Juice from 1 Lime
• Zest from 1 Lime
• 1 Clove of Garlic
• Salt and Pepper

Rest of Ingredients

• 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Shredded Colby Jack Cheese
• Handful of Tortilla Chips, crushed.
• Lime wedge
• Summer Salsa (On other post)

Directions

1. Whisk together all marinade ingredients and set aside.
2. Pound Chicken thin to about 3/8" thick. Coat with marinade and place in refrigerator for 15 miutes.
3. Heat grill to medium high heat. Grill chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side until no longer pink. 
4. When chicken is done, place mound of shredded cheese on top and close lid or cover.
5. While cheese is melting, crush a handful of tortilla chips to make a bed for the chicken to sit on.
6. Once cheese is melted, place chicken on bed of crushed tortilla chips.
7. Top with mound of Summer Salsa.
8. Sprinkle chips, chicken, and Salsa with lime juice and garnish with Lime Slice.

Garlic and Lime Zest for Marinade

Marinade

Pounding out chicken.

Marinating Chicken

Grilling the chicken

Grilling the chicken on the Induction Cooktop.

Adding the cheese to the chicken.

Cover Chicken to melt cheese.

Finished dish. Served with Sauteed Zucchini and Mexican Rice.

I didn't list amounts of ingredients for the chicken because it all depends on the size of the chicken. I cover the chicken completely with cheese. Same with the salsa and the bed of tortilla chips.

Also, if you can think of a better name for this dish, let me know. I am open to suggestions.

Exotic Mushroom Risotto

If you are looking for a great side dish for a "meaty" dish, how about a risotto? Risotto can be a little time consuming but it's worth every minute of it. It's very versatile. You can add almost anything to it to change the flavor. The other day, my cousin came to visit and we made Swordfish Steaks (will be another blog post later) and he never had risotto. So we planned on that. While in the store, I saw an Exotic Mushroom Blend in the mushroom section and decided we would make Exotic Mushroom Risotto! Risotto will usually take about 20 minutes to make and you only add a little stock at a time. So it does require a little attention. But for ingredients, you can change them to your liking or what you have in the garden.


Exotic Mushroom Risotto
Serves 8
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 25 min

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbls Butter
• 1 Medium Shallot, chopped
• 1 1/2 C Arborio Rice
• 8 oz Exotic Mushroom Blend (or any kind you like)
• 1/2 C White Wine
• 4 C Chicken Stock

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter.
2. Add Shallots, saute stirring frequently until they become transluscent.
3. Add Arborio Rice, stir frequently for a few minutes. Don't let rice brown. It will turn a different shade of white.
4. Add Mushrooms, then White Wine.Reduce heat to a simmer.
5. When wine is mostly absorbed with the wine, add Chicken Stock a ladle at a time, letting the stock absorb into the rice between ladles. 
6. Once the last of the stock is added, taste to see if rice is tender. Once Stock is just about absorbed, add salt and pepper to taste and serve. Rice should be a little creamy. 

For a video of this process, check out my Youtube Video