Steak Tips!

I purchased the steak and marinated it the night before. Missing from the marinade ingredients pictured here, is ketchup.
Oops! I at first forgot to 1/2 this recipe so my amounts this time were skewed. But it still turned out delicious and just goes to show that you most always should feel the freedom to stray from a recipe!
I've made this before (sooo tasty) but this time I used:
1/2 cup ketchup (Heinz is the fave)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar (ugh, sugar!)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce (the newer "thick" Lea & Perrins had a coupon on it + on sale)
1/4 cup A-1 (this stuff is expensive to begin with)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (there are some acrid ones out there, "Spectrum" organic is pretty good)

Put ingredients in sauce pan, heat gently but not boiling. Stir often to blend. Basically you want the sugar to dissolve. Allow to cool then pour over your steak tips, cover and refrigerate overnight.


I love my new Tramontina 2-quart sauce pan! Though it was purchased from the "dreaded" Wal-Mart, this particular pot was made (very well) in U.S.A. According to other info. I have seen, they are also manufactured in Brazil and China. The more expensive and very similar All-Clad is manufactured in the U.S.


Near East Rice Pilaf is a staple in our cupboard. I buy multiple boxes when on sale. The only store-brand equivalent I have found is Stop & Shop rice pilaf. All others are really heavy on the sodium.
Since we are feeding 2 1/4 beings, it makes perfect sense to divide one package in half. You may want to pour the rice in a glass measuring cup to divide properly; I just shake up and squeeze out half the seasoning mix. Water is 1 3/4c for a pull package. I figure, somewhere between the 3/4-1c mark is fine. If after cooking the whole time and you have leftover water, just raise the heat and stir often so the rice doesn't stick and the water cooks off. This usually doesn't happen but it did tonight. Maybe my heat was too low.
The kitchen help was better occupied matching food on the "touch".
A sneak look at the cooking rice and boiling green beans.
I prefer to boil freshly cut green beans for 4 minutes. Oops! I was distracted and they went for more like 7 minutes. They began to turn an olive-green color (the sign of overcooking) but caught them in time and ran cold water over them to halt the cooking.
The pan was still warm so the little pat of butter melted.
I also like marjoram on them and a little lemon zest. These overcooked beans ended up being quite tender; not too bad.
The oven was on broil with the iron grill pan under the broiler, preheating since I put the rice on 20 minutes earlier. You want your pan nice and hot!
Time to pull the tips from marinade.
Sizzle, sizzle! Burning sugar is a smoky operation. We shut all the doors in the kitchen and open all the windows (we don't have a ventilated stove). It is so worth it!
The technique is the same for when we cook a 1" thick steak: 4 minutes on each side.
Think hatch marks: 2 minutes, rotate. 2 minutes, flip.
2 minutes, rotate. 2 minutes, remove from heat.
Put on a plate and cover with foil. Let sit 5 minutes to continue cooking (and cool off).
The plate, uncovered!
Slice it up and serve!
Hey! You have more rice on your plate!

Pork Chops with Mustard Sage Sauce

The sauce is luscious! I used center cut, organically raised pork chops.
The Cooks Illustrated recipe suggests using "natural" rather than "enhanced" pork chops (supposedly, liquid injected into enhanced inhibits browning).

Nothing like fresh herbs from the garden! In this case, sage. It is a delightful herb and if you are unfamiliar, think of "that herb you smell in turkey stuffing". Chop it up roughly.
The Cook's recipe is a bit interesting, if not a bit "futtzy". First, cut a couple of slits in the fat on the outer edge of your chops so they don't curl up (becoming concave thus not cooking evenly).
Then grease up with a little veggie oil, then have a kitchen helper (Alex) season with salt & pepper (easy on the salt!) and then sprinkle *one* side lightly with sugar. Place sugar side down in a not-preheated nonstick skillet.
If you are using slower-heating electric stove then advice is to preheat it.
Wash your hands.
Turn on the gas to medium (a high medium) and the timer to 6 minutes. You should begin to hear it sizzle by two minutes.
Once one side is browned and they're turned, lower the heat to low, cover, and continue cooking until a thermometer inserted reads 140 degrees.
This is where my kitchen instincts kick in. I was on the phone while doing this. Forgot to turn the heat down once flipped. My tongs could feel the meat tensing up so I knew it was time to turn it off. I think this is why there were no supposed "accumulated juices" in the pan? Anyhow, the chops were removed to a plate then tented in foil and the juices magically appeared at that point.
Next step: the sauce. The best part! Put a drop (1 tsp) veggie oil in your heated-on-medium pan and add a good drop of chopped garlic (I did cheat and bought a jar). Sizzle until aromatic (30 seconds-1 minute) then add 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth (I only use Swanson). Allow to reduce for 3 minutes or until it looks like 2 TB.
Reduce heat to very low, add a blob (1Tb) Dijon mustard and a blob (yikes 3 Tb I used 1) of butter. Pour in those accumulated pork juices. Get saucy!
A silicone coated whisk could be advisable here but the tongs worked well enough. Be kind to your non-stick! I used a spatula to scoop it onto the chops.
Our little taste tester approves! He loves mixed veggies and ate all of them first.

Mashed potatoes stuck on my fingers! (And flung across the room.)

French Toast

If you're in the mood, whip up some french toast!
First, I cooked up the bacon. Oscar Mayer now packages their (supposedly lower fat) center-cut bacon in nice easy-store containers so I actually didn't have to even touch it! I just forked out a couple slices into the fry pan :D

French toast for one, multiply for more:
In a bowl (that you are able to fit and dunk a slice of bread into),
crack in an egg,
add a dash of sugar,
a dash of vanilla extract,
a sprinkle of salt and
a drop of milk.
Whisk up with a fork.
Once your empty skillet is about ready heated on medium and a spat of butter melts and slightly sizzles, coat the bread slices in egg (it should be completely used up) and drop them in.

I found the first side to take 3 minutes and the second, slightly less. Just lift a side with the spatula to take a peek if you aren't sure. And re-flipping is always ok.

A mistake is a skillet too hot. You will know this if your butter browns and smokes before the bread is in. Rinse your pan and start fresh.
This happens to me often enough, especially if I'm caught up on the phone or tending to a needy tot.

A side note about commercially available bread: for breakfast toast (and this recipe) we like Arnold 12 Grain or Pepperidge Farm 15 Grain bread. Sometime I'd love to try a thicker or specialty bread but for now, this is easy.
Toddler approved. Literally shoveling it in!
Fellow bacon worshiper.

Shrimp Scampi for One

This recipe is so easy- and satisfies a craving for seafood and pasta. Best part of all, you can already have the ingredients on hand for a quick meal (aside from, perhaps, the basil).

Barilla PLUS pasta (could it be any larger?) tastes great and is better for you.
I snapped it in half and boiled for 8 or 9 minutes. It always takes me longer than the package suggests (6-7 minutes).
Meanwhile, it was time to get the shrimp cooked up! A thin slice of butter and a splat of olive oil.
I searched the refridge up & down for a jar of pre-minced garlic and couldn't find it. I think the refridgerator ate it or Alex thought it was something rotten, or better bet lately (blame it on the child), Andrew thought it fit for the trash can! Anyhow, this made me dig into the reserved-for-planting-in-the-garden garlic stash. WAIT! I already planted PLENTY! This stuff is starting to sprout on me... Anyone reading this and who wants some free garlic cloves to plant (they multiply into a full bulb and you can pull them up in July), please let me know. We are lucky to have a mild November and the ground is still soft to dig into.
Once peeled and ends sliced off, it is good to remove the sprouting, green centers. These cloves got a rough chop treatment (what was I thinking, using jarred garlic??!)....
There was a large grape tomato on the table so I chopped that up. Chopped some basil and got the parmesan & grater ready.
Sizzled up the garlic for a few. Just until it was beginning to brown.
Tossed in the frozen, tail-on shrimp (really cheap, 4.99 for a bag at Target). Put the lid on and tossed occasionally.
Took a peek and they look pretty much done! Tossed in the tomato (and a spoonful of Pastene hot pepper relish), allowed another 30 seconds or so, then used a spatula to remove to the pasta. This would not pour out easily, the spatula helps scoop out all those delicious garlic morsels.

Spanakopita

We all know that food is your best medicine! This recipe was requested by my dear friend Amie. She is currently undergoing breast cancer treatment and deserves to be at peace with life during this time. And sharing delicious treats is a wonderful thing to do with anyone!
The recipe is courtesy of Emeril Lagasse. After a google search I ended up on foodtv.com.
It actually calls for using dried parsley and basil (!) and oregano. I did use dry oregano (even though we have it in the garden), I think it's better. The parsley was from the garden and basil from the supermarket (I dearly miss the prolific garden basil and WHY didn't I freeze some this year?)...
3 sticks of melted unsalted butter. OH YEAH! Don't let this amount scare you!

See that white stuff? Those are milk solids which rise to the top. They are easily skimmed off with a spoon since it is light like a foam. Once that is done, the butter is considered "clarified". I understand that you can find this already clarified butter at Indian markets. It is referred to as "ghee" and has a slightly higher smoke point when cooking. Another fine note, removing the solids is helpful for those who are lactose intolerant, since they do contain some lactose.

This is the tedious part: carefully handling fragile paper-thin slices of phyllo, brusing them in butter (4 layers) then (the fun part) making wrapped spinach-feta mix triangles.
The first two pieces of phyllo went to the trash! Good thing I had the perfect amount of phyllo at the end. This recipe seems to understand that up to two pieces will fall apart. Think: 26 sheets in a half package, 24 used. Not bad! There were 18 pieces altogether. So you can see, it is a bit time consuming, layering, buttering, etc. I was amazed to see that bowl of butter gradually disappear!

Towards the end, as I felt my way through this new recipe, I realized it was easier to form the spinach mix into triangles to begin.

The recipe calls for baking at 350º for fifteen minutes. I actually had to add on 6 more minutes, in 3 minute intervals. Part of the problem is that we have a drafty old oven. And part of it is (I usually do) should have used an oven thermometer. It preheated long enough, anyhow. *But* I thought it was at my usual mark for 350 (375 on our dial ;D) so I am wondering now if this should just be baked at a higher temperature, or the heat turned up at the end to brown. These were cooked but I desire a darker crust. I didn't continue cooking since the bottom was already brown and I could smell the better beginning to burn in the oven (I think from dripping over). A next time thought is to use two rimmed cookie sheets. The recipe calls for one but it's a rather crowded one.
Reward! Beware: highly addictive. I want my fourth after posting this. Sooooo incredible! And only better with practice!!

Here is the recipe I used:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/spanakopita-recipe/index.html

Saturday 11 a.m. brunch omelette

For two: Whisk 3 eggs, a splash of milk, salt & pepper & cayenne.
Meanwhile, saute red peppers and onion until softened.
Add rough chopped mushrooms and soften some more.
Scoop veggie mix into a bowl, add a pat of butter, spread around and once foam subsides, add egg. Use spatula to move around so it cooks a bit yet stays stuck to the bottom (no scrambling, please). For example, push some to the side then tilt the pan to let uncooked egg into that empty space. Then let it sit and cook while you place the fillings.
Don't forget your hungry ones. Throw them some cheese, that always works.
Sprinkle cheese over all (on sale store brand cheddar/monteray jack mix) then sprinkle the veggie mix on one half. You can, of course, fill with whatever you want. We forgot to chop up those tomatoes and pick and slice up some green onions! But this is a fall-ish omelette.
The next part was not documented. I get tense and even told Alex not to watch. You use two spatulas to flip one half over. I know there's a technique involving tilting the skillet while flipping but I didn't try it. It was a flipping success! Then you use the spatula to split in half. Perfect portions for two.
We had it with some bacon and our loved hash brown disks: McCain's "Baby Cakes" (formerly, snidely referred to as John McCain's).
Gotta love a luscious omelette! It was so good, can't believe I didn't even break out the ketchup or hot sauce!