Menu:
Pork Chops with Cornbread stuffing
Twice Baked Potatoes
Green Beans
Baskin Robbin's Ice Cream Cake
S'mores (no s'moresmaker needed)
Emeril's Andouille Stuffed Double-cut Pork Chops
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-live/andouille-stuffed-double-cut-pork-chops-recipe/index.html
Here's the base of the pork chops recipe. This was my second time using this recipe--maybe third. Instead of using andouille sausage I used the mild sausage (from Nugget Market) and added some crushed red pepper to give it a lil kick. For the cornbread part of the stuffing, I used Rosemary Sage Cornbread Stuffing Mix by Our Pantry Organics (so yum!). Also, I like to add more veggies in the stuffing such as chopped carrots and whatever else I think might taste good (and whatever else you can grab out of the fridge.)
Other than that, you can pretty much stick to the recipe on the porkchops. The only mystery-slash-kink that I haven't worked out yet is that the I always end up making way too much stuffing for the 2-4 porkchops that I am stuffing. Maybe I need bigger chops... :oT Hmmm... I'll figure it out by the fourth or fifth time. *wink*
And last but not least... the Twice Baked Potatoes were jus as much a star of the meal as the pork chops. It was my first time ever making them... and sadly I didn't have my (new) pastry bag to make it pretty but it still turned out lovely!! I used the recipe in the America's Test Kitchen Cookbook. Specifically, I put gruyere cheese in there and I used their homemade buttermilk recipe (and made it lemony) so the potatoes had an extra lemony flavor to it.
[will add the recipe later... till then, please enjoy the food photography:o)]
I haven't fallen off of the face of the earth... I've been busy... Recently it's been all about the birthday celebrations. I think it's nice sometimes when you can stay home and make something special for a special occasion. We went out to dinner but for dessert we had a Mixed Berry Shortcake. It's super easy! And good for any day;o)
Mixed Berry Shortcake
what you need:
Sara Lee Pound Cake (I didn't have enough time to make my own--pls don't be disappointed, Uncle)
Strawberries, quartered
Raspberries, whole (or sliced in half, if preferrable)
Blueberries, whole
Whipped cream (I made my own... see below for the how I did it)
First things first--defrost the pound cake and cut in to about 1 inch slices--be sure to have at least 2 slices per person. (I like a lot of cake!) Wash all the fruit and cut in to bite-size pieces--variation: It can be any fruit you like, fresh or frozen. With frozen fruit, you can always slightly defrost it and make sure that it is well drained. The piling technique on this may vary with preferences but I like to stack it (from bottom to top): one pound cake slice, a spoonful of each fruit, a dollop of whip cream, sandwiched between the 2nd slice of pound cake with whip cream on top too. For presentation, you can put one of each fruit on top of the whipped cream topping.
To make vanilla whipped cream I used vanilla extract and vanilla sugar for flavoring. Vanilla sugar is vanilla bean peels (leftover from another adventure *wink) that has been left in granulated sugar.). It's best to use cold Heavy whipping cream.
I used a metal mixing bowl poured in the heavy whipping cream straight from the refrigerator. Add in the flavoring(s) and using a whisk I used a quick jabbing mixing motion and you're supposed to do that for about 15 minutes until it thickens and becomes kind of fluffy. Be careful not to overbeat or else it will start to get thick like butter.
ahhhhh SAMMICHES...
It's almost a science you know. The other day, I was talking to my co-worker about my theory on sandwiches. Briefly I mentioned how I believe that I must STACK a sandwich in a particular way that will make it taste perfectly.
I made a sandwich for lunch: This morning, I had exactly 13 minutes to make a sandwich. I made a pastrami sandwich on whole wheat bread with pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo and of course, spicy mustard (My name is Jackie and I *heart* spicy deli mustard.)
As some of you may have witnessed, I used to work at this cute little cafe-bakery hidden on the edge of the North Beach district in San Francisco. The featured lunch special was a Chicken Pesto Sandwich, and for the nice customers I used to sneak a bite-size eclair or a yummy thumbprint blueberry shortbread cookie (some French cookie i can't remember the name of). Anyways, for some reason, I was thinking about this Lox with capers sandwich that the Chef -slash- Baker (who shall remain anonymous, also the owner of this cafe bakery), made for me. It was sooo delicious, and it was during this shared meal late one afternoon that she shared with me her secrets. How she came up with the Chicken Pesto Sandwich and designed it so perfectly delicious... I'm not sure if I'm ready to let that secret out...
Every time I try to recreate the chicken pesto sandwich for myself, it comes out a lil different. I guess I'm just doing a lil experimenting of my own and trying to figure out other ways to perfect it. Not to mention how much this Chicken Pesto Sandwich totally reminds me of the World's Greatest Sandwich (reference: the movie Spanglish)... google it yourself;o)
I'll be back... maybe to post the recipe for the sandwich...
On the Menu:
Appetizers: Whole Wheat Pita Chips and Nugget Market's Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Entrees:
Broiled Miso Salmon
Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms
Asparagus with garlic
Dessert: Ikeda's Cherry Cobbler topped with Cool whip;o)
I'd like to thank my three lovely guests (please... no pictures!) -slash- taste testers who joined me tonight for dinner. I'll admit it's been a while since I made Miso salmon--in case you're wondering how that works: it's miso paste mixed in to the marinade, I used the light kind. The way I remember doing it was on the BBQ.
This time I used Ming Tsai's recipe for Broiled Miso-Citrus Salmon. Mine came out much milder than I remember(versus the BBQ miso salmon my mommy makes). I think I may have made the marinade too liquid-y... like maybe I should have made it close to a spread-like consistency. The risotto was tricky because maybe if I spent more time on it I would have been able to serve it hot and it wouldn't have gotten so coagulated. Otherwise, I'm happy with the combination of the meal--the risotto could have easily been replaced with steamed rice, but that seemed too boring. The salmon was cooked well, pink and soft/tender enough to be eaten with a fork and you didn't really need a knife. I made about 1 1/2 of the 3 lbs (hope you don't mind salmon next week too, K!) and it was jus enough for the four of us.
Ikeda Market's Cherry Cobbler (from Davis--thanks Kris!) was delicious! And the cool whip was a nice touch! (thanks JK!)
I apologize to all my new blog visitors--thanks for stopping by and checking up but I can-not believe it's been weeks since I last wrote something--almost a month. Luckily, I am able to stop in before the month's end to recap on the happenings...
Exactly 12 days ago, I was at a dinner for my dad--celebrating his 25 (+1) years working at the same company (it's a good thing... really!). We went to Leftbank Restaurant (San Jose on Santana Row). And if you've never heard of it... it's an *awesome*French restaurant that holds a special place in my heart--for two reasons now. [Aside from the first reason being that the one in Larkspur was where I had dinner with my family when I turned 21... awwwww---shuddit! :oP] Now the second is... (drum roll please) ...because it was the first time I ate Escargots!! yeah... i ate snails!!! and they were quite delicioso--not that I'd eat them every day or even every time I go to LB. But I figured it's time I tried new things... Ooh! Aah! (taking it straight off the menu) They were prepared with "artichoke, garlic, parsley butter, (and a) splash of Pernod." Before I tried it, everyone was telling me the usual--"tastes like chicken" and "sometimes kind of chewy like squid"?!? But the one that I had was pretty good--I think it must have been prepared well because it was not chewy or squid-like at all. It almost melted in my mouth as I chewed and swallowed it. Really, I was mostly revelling in the buttery goodness of it. So... next time you're at a French restaurant--try something new: it's usually on the app's section of the menu;o)
P.S. For those of you still wondering if this is a restaurant worth going, I would give it 4.25 Piggies (out of 5) on the Piggy scale. Don't worry, they have other things on the menu. This joint has good atmosphere and it's a good location... it's Santana Row, baby! (It was my first time !). The weekend that we went they were doing a tribute/imitating Cannes Film Festival... as an ode to France in the movies, they projected on the walls were movies like Paris J'Taime and Casablanca. I loved it!!
I LOVE HOT SAUSAGE!!!
heehee.. it's not what you think. I just really like cooking and eating spicy sausage! I don't remember eating a lot of that when I was young. My mom would only cook sausage to the extent of Chinese sausage (lop-churng... haha is that phonetic?), Chicken Apple Sausage, and mmm... for my dad, Kielbasa.
So I'm in the meat section at Nugget Market (for those of you who are unfamiliar with it, it's comparable to (my other favorite) Whole Foods Market and I guess Trader Joe's?)... anyways, I peek in to those big meat bins and I see mild or HOT sausage... I go... gotta go hot! and this time I did it right... I borrowed a recipe from foodnetwork.com:
Giada De Laurentis' Fusilli with Sausage, Artichokes, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_30506,00.html
ok... I dunno if I can get in to allll the edits and changes I made to this recipe... but I will do my best. Wow... truth is I really didn't change much--I was trying really hard to stick close to the recipe, but I used marinated artichokes that I drained and quickly rinsed (instead of frozen... bleh!). Also... I used fresh mozzarella but it wasn't packed in water--that worked out ok. NOTE: I say... the more cheese the better, especially with pasta! cuz... mmm doncha love it when you dig your fork in your pasta and pull out a clump of pasta, a bit of sausage all wrapped in a cheesy mess. It's yummy! Trust me! Lastly, instead of putting the veggies on the side (like I usually do), I decided at the last minute to add some thinly sliced zucchini--it almost need it for a lil color. Oh yes! and somewhere in the midst of throwing it all together--add some red pepper flakes for a lil more punch!
That was a fairly easy dinner--I can't quite remember the cooktime but dinner was ready when the mister came home for a quick bite;o)
I hadn't done Rosemary Chicken (with Lime) since that dinner party back... well, you remember? Cilanto Rice is my favorite compliment to the Grilled Chicken Rosemary!
(doesn't have to be grilled... I pan-fried it and finished it off in the oven)
"Grilled" Chicken Rosemary1/3 cup veggie oil
3 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp chopped green onions (green)
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)--I used boneless... but you can use a whole cut up chicken or whatever pleases you.
4 rosemary sprigs
In a shallow baking dish, combine the oil, lime juice, green onion, parsley, chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Add the chicken, turning them all sides are well-coated with marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 to 5 hrs, turning the chicken once or twice.
Put the rosemary sprigs in water to soak for 30 minutes. Heat up a frying pan on medium-high heat. When the pan is hot (or the coals under the grill are ready), place the rosemary sprigs at the bottom of the pan. Place the chicken bone side down or skin side up. Cook them for about 12 minutes and you can brush excess marinade on the chicken while it's cooking. Turn the chicken and grill about 12 minutes more. If grilling, continue turning and basting the chicken until its well browned and the juices no longer run pink, about 20 more minutes. If pan-frying, brown the chicken and depending on how thick the chicken breasts are, you may finish off in the oven at 300 degrees for about 10 or 15 minutes--turning once.
That should do it. And you can have the chicken with anything... at that dinner party I mentioned earlier, we had it with a side of London broil... MMM MMM GOOD!!!
P.S. This time when I made this rosemary chicken I made the mistake of substituting lemon juice for lime juice. Yeah... that was mistake. I never realized the tastes are different--but indeed they are.
Cilantro Rice is sooooo easy. I just cook some jasmine rice (cook according to directions). Get a lil lime juice, chopped cilanto, and salt and pepper to taste and maybe a lil oil or chicken broth. That's it! Mix ingredients right before serving, or Warning: The cilantro will wilt and may turn that ugly olive green:)
Enjoy!
