Tomorrow I'm planning on making some not-eggrolls. Which basically means, taking the spring roll wrappers and wrapping other things in them. I'll be freezing them to cook later, so I won't be able to blog right away how they came out.
But today I did prep and planning.
Roll #1 is going to be teriyaki steak, feta cheese, and scallions. Today I grilled and sliced the steak.
Roll #2 is going to be chicken, cheddar and broccoli. The chicken was rubbed with a mix of onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper (heavy rub) and grilled, then sliced. The broccoli is also already cooked. These will not appeal to everyone. Maybe I'll make a couple without broccoli.
Roll #3 is hopefully going to be a crabcake roll. I'll saute onion, garlic and celery, then mix in crabmeat and parmesan cheese and use that for the roll. It sounds good to me, anyway!
Poor Kevin is stuck on cooking duty while I've been having some pain-issues. I am such a lucky woman to have a wonderfully creative husband!
Sesame Lemon Broccoli
1 lb frozen broccoli cuts
1/4 - 1/2 tsp sesame oil
splash lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Stir fry broccoli in very hot wok with a tsp or two of peanut oil. When it is finished, toss with sesame oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.
Kevin needed a quick side dish to go with a turkey filet mignon, so he made this (and the broccoli that follows).
Garlic & Parmesan Pasta Salad
~ 3/4 pound pasta, cooked
1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh grated parmesan cheese
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
Toss cooked pasta with olive oil. Add parmesan, garlic and onion powders and toss. Add red wine vinegar to taste. Salt and pepper to taste.
On Thursday night Kevin was presented with a defrosted pork tenderloin. I suggested throw a rub on it and toss a couple of smoking canisters onto the grill, and this is what he came up with.
Sweet Pork Loin Rub
4 parts brown sugar
2 parts chili powder
1 1/2 parts paprika
1 salt
1 garlic powder
1/2 onion powder
Mix spices together in the above ratio. You can make extra and store it in a jar for next time. Rub the outside of the tenderloin generously with the rub before putting it on the grill. Turn it down to indirect heat and low for about 30-40 minutes, with smoke going. We used cherry chips this time.
Still playing with the experiment of Kevin trying orange squashes and sweet potatoes. This recipe was deemed "too sweet" by the husband, and "too sour" by the daughter. I personally loved it.
Balsamic Glazer Winter Vegetables
1 bag diced mixed winter vegetables (about 2 cups)
< >< >< >< >includes sweet potato, turnip, carrot, squash
1/4 c water
1 T butter
1 T light brown sugar
1/4 c water + 1/4 c balsamic vinegar
Heat wok to very hot. Coat with safflower or other high smoke point oil and stir fry small diced vegetables for about five minutes. Add water and let sizzle away until water is gone. Toss with butter and sugar until both are melted and vegetables are glazed. Add mixed water and balsamic. Let stew and sizzle for a minute or two, then slide vegetables up the side and let sauce reduce in the center. Once reduced to a glaze, toss it all back together again and serve.
The last time I ordered meat from my food service (Colorado Prime, if you're curious... convenience and good packaging are the good things), I added a flank steak to my order.
On Thursday, when I was looking through the freezer for dinner, I pulled this flank steak out and tossed it into the fridge to defrost. On Friday evening I added a marinade, with the intent of doing something fajita-ish on Sunday night for dinner.
The most amazing thing? My daughter ate one round of steak as steak, then ate a round as a fajita, with cheese and a flour tortilla -- I took this is a success!!
Red Wine Flank Steak Marinade
1/2 c red wine
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 t salt
1 t worcestershire
2 T minced garlic
1-2 T balsamic
several drops chili oil
Mix ingredients and add to ziploc bag. Seal in flank steak and marinate for 48 hrs.
Grill steak on hot grill for 3 minutes per side. Remove and wrap in foil and let rest while stir-frying onions and peppers.
Serve with flour tortillas, sharp shredded cheese, sour cream, and a salad dressed with garlic salt, onion powder, fresh cracked pepper, olive oil and red wine vinegar.
For lunch the next day, layer leftover salad, leftover onions and peppers, and leftover steak. Sprinkle with cheese and sour cream, and sprinkle a bit of feta on for a sharp flavor.
Two meals, one steak. Mm, yum!
Next time I think I'll back off to 1/3 c wine instead, and increase the salt, worcestershire, balsamic and chili oil in the marinade. I was also looking for a little something on the outside of the steak, so I think I need to develop something to sprinkle on just before tossing it onto the grill.
I'm sick. And since I don't drink tea, generally, a recommendation was made to drink hot lemon water. Which was getting boring.
Another friend recommended something spicy, but I couldn't handle the spice. But I wanted something to clear my head.
So the following was born this morning.
Lemon Ginger Not-Tea
1 T lemon juice
pinch of ground fresh ginger
pinch of wasabi powder
hot water to fill the mug
Stir well and enjoy!
When I travel to Ambercon in Detroit each year, I share cooking duties with Jenn and we cook in the hotel room for a couple of the nights of the convention. The room itself comes with a microwave and small fridge, and we usually bring in cooking implements and crockpot. Past years we've brought an electric wok, but due to my poor packing skills last year, it didn't come this year.
So the challenge is, come up with something healthy, nutritious, easy, and can be cooked with the available tools. My entry for this year was a crockpot risotto.
I looked through some crockpot risotto recipes I found online, and reviewed some thoughts I'd had one this once before inspired by a FoodTV episode which talked about doing risotto for a large crowd. And I determined that I could do it, but it would need to be a two phase process and came up with this recipe.
Shrimp & Arugula Risotto
1 T oil + 1 T butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 T chopped garlic
1 1/2 c arborio rice
1 c white wine (I used a riesling)
4 cans chicken stock (I used low-sodium)
4 T butter
1 1/2 to 2 c freshly grated parmesan
1 bunch arugula, washed and chopped
cooked shrimp to taste
Heat two cans chicken stock in a pan until simmering. Cover and set on a back burner. [NOTE: If cooking it straight through, use four cans at this point.]
Heat pan for risotto to medium and add oil & butter. Sweat onion and garlic together, then add rice and saute lightly until translucent. Add wine and stir until wine is absorbed by rice.
Add stock by the ladle, stir, and let simmer until absorbed until chicken broth is absorbed (all if parking it, enough for proper consistency if cooking completely).
At this point, if parking it to finish in the crockpot later, spread out on a sheet pan to cool and then package for the fridge.
To complete later, empty started risotto into crockpot. Add two cans of broth and set on high for three hours (turn to low if it looks like it needs it).
When the broth has been absorbed and the risotto is done, stir in butter, parmesan, arugula, and shrimp. Use an amount of shrimp that seems good for 5-6 servings (it all depends on how much people like shrimp *grins*).
Serve with salad or vegetables on the side.
NOTE: I made this exactly as above. Next time, I will use only one can of stock in the crockpot portion instead of two, and will likely heat it for a bit less time (maybe on low instead of high). The two cans resulted in a more porridgish consistency than I wanted. On the other hand, now that I know how to do it, I'll definitely be doing it again with other recipes until I've determined exactly how to do it right!!