Friday Night - Shrimp Scampi over Linguine

There are two kinds of people in the world, those who love lots of garlic and those who lead boring lives! Fortunately for me, my wife loves garlic as much as I do. If you love garlic then a scampi dish is a must on you list of dinners. Please don't confuse this with some overcooked shrimp drowning in butter in a small dish (you know which establishment I mean!) That's not shrimp scampi.

You'll need some medium size uncooked shrimp. Fresh is always better but, unless you live near a coast, you'll have to do with frozen. Just make sure that the bag of frozen shrimp is not a singular block of shrimp and ice. That means that it has thawed and been refrozen, and you never know how long it was thawed or how warm it got.

Of course you'll need some garlic. There's no firm rule on how much garlic your scampi dish needs. It's your dinner so you make it however you want. As a starting point I use four large cloves of fresh garlic for a pound of shrimp. Additionally you will need 2tbs butter (notice, only 2 tbs butter), 2tbs olive oil, 1/4c lemon juice, 1/4c dry white wine, and some salt and black pepper.

So here's what you do:

• Start heating some water for the linguine (remember to cover the pot.)
• Coarsely chop the garlic.
• Melt about 2 tbs butter in a deep saute pan with about 2 tbs olive oil.
• Turn the heat to medium low and add the garlic. If the heat is too high the garlic will burn and burned garlic is bitter. If your garlic ever burns just toss it out with the oil and butter and start again. You want to soften the garlic. This will impart a very mellow flavor. Properly cooked garlic isn't bitter and doesn't have a bite.
• When you add the pasta to the boiling water it's time to add the thawed shrimp (which you shelled, deveined, and patted dry) in one layer to the saute pan.
• When the shrimp is pink on one side turn it over.
• When the shrimp is pink and opaque and the lemon juice and the wine to the saute pan. Turn the heat to medium.
• Drain the linguine and add it to the saute pan tossing it lightly and coating it with the liquid.
• Serve immediately!

Thursday Night - Leftovers!

Well you knew that we had to finish all that food sooner or later. I had a class scheduled for Thursday night so leftovers were originally the plan. As it turns out my class was rescheduled but we decided to go with leftovers anyway.

Annette had the chicken stew (which she insists on referring to as "soup") and my stepson had a lasagna roll-up. I was a mass of indecision so I had a little of both. Every so often it's nice to have good food without all the prep and cooking. Not always though. More often preparing a meal is relaxing and fun, and so rewarding!

While I don't have a recipe to share with you today, I will remind you that, if you are in the northern USA, this is a good weekend to plant garlic. If you haven't done this before take a quick look at my post on growing garlic. Even if you don't have a area prepared you can get some in the ground quickly.

If you don't have well-conditioned, well-drained soil (and few do), buy a few bags of growing soil and dump it in a pile in your garden. Peel some cloves of garlic (use the largest cloves you have) and push them into the soil so the tops (the pointy ends) are about 1" below the surface. Now toss some light weight mulch on top of the soil. About an inch or two of grass clippings, straw, or what ever you have.

That's it. You will start to see growth in early spring and be able to harvest late spring to early summer. It's not going to be the largest crop but what to you want for emptying a few bags of dirt on the ground! The one thing to remember is that garlic doesn't compete well with weeds. Clear all weed growth early and often.

Wednesday Night - Chicken Stew

Wednesday nights it's usually just Annette and me. This Wednesday Annette has a class after work so I was on my own. Ordinarily I would resort to some leftover in the fridge but, given the extreme winds bringing cold weather, I was in the mood for some comfort food.

I thawed some boneless chicken breasts that I had poached and frozen a week ago. When I get a good deal on boneless chicken breasts I buy a large pack (or two), freeze some, and cook the remainder. Usually I'll grill most of the chicken for use on pizza or in chicken Caesar salads, but this time I decided to poach a few for use in soups or stews.

I make a stew pretty much the same way that I make a soup except I add potatoes and peas, and thicken the broth.

This is an easy one. Dice an onion, slice a few carrots, cut up a couple of celery stalks, chop a couple cloves of garlic, add some ground black pepper and a bay leaf, then saute everything over medium-low heat in a soup pot with some olive oil.

When the onions are transparent add about a quart of low sodium chicken stock. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. While that's simmering cut up a few potatoes and add to the pot. Bring it to a boil again and reduce to a simmer. When the vegetables and potatoes are nearly done the way you like, add half a bag of frozen peas and two boneless chicken breasts that you poached and pulled apart.

In a small sauce pot melt 2 tbs. butter. Over very low heat add 1/2 cup flour and stir until it's smooth. Slowly add about a cup of the chicken stock from the soup pot stirring continuously. When it's thick and smooth, remove it from the heat and very slowly add it to the soup pot stirring continuously. Raise the heat a bit and bring to a fast simmer. The stock will thicken.

Ladle it into soup bowls and enjoy!

Tuesday Night - Lasagna Roll-Ups

As you may recall, Tuesday is the first day of the week that I can spend a bit more time on dinner. I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend a lot of time tonight since Annette has a class and won't be home until dinner is long over. Yes, my stepson is here but, as a teenager, it less about how much effort I put into making it and more about how little effort he can put into eating it. After considering that Annette will be able to enjoy the leftovers for lunch tomorrow I decided to make a nice dinner.

We all love lasagna but I came across an idea for lasagna roll-ups instead. It's sort of like a jelly-roll cake except, instead of the cake it's a lasagna noodle, and there's cheese and spinach in place of the jelly; otherwise it's exactly the same. Oh yeah, and the lasagna roll-ups are sitting in a bechamel sauce and covered with tomato sauce.

Since this dinner is a bit more complex than the others I'm going to write it like a real recipe so pardon the formality.

The bechamel sauce:

• 2 tbs butter
• 4 tsp flour
• 1 1/4 c whole milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• A pinch of ground nutmeg

Lasagna filling:

• 15 oz container of whole milk ricotta
• 1/2 c mozzarella
• 1 can chopped spinach squeezed well
• 1 c grated Parmesan
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Everything else:

• 12 lasagna noodles (not the quick-cook kind)
• 2 c marinara sauce
• 1 c shredded mozzarella
• 2 tbs olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 425℉ and start heating a large pot of water (remember to cover it!)
2. Oil a glass baking dish (about 9 by 3)
3. Mix the ricotta, Parmesan, 1/2 c mozzarella, 3/1 tsp salt, and 1/2 black pepper.
4. Make the bechamel sauce:Melt the butter in a sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for a few minutes. Whisk in the milk and increase the heat to medium high. Which until the sauce simmers and becomes a bit think. Whisk in the salt, pepper and nutmeg. remove from the heat.
5. Boil the lasagna noodles until firm, a bit under done.
6. Add the bechamel sauce to the baking dish.
7. Remove the noodles and lay on a board (as many as will fit.)
8. Spread each noodle with about 3 tbs of the ricotta mixture and roll up (like a jelly roll!)
9. Repeat until you've used all the noodles or exhausted the filling.
10. Pour 1 c marinara sauce over the roll-ups and sprinkle with 1 c mozzarella.
11. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake to 20 minutes.
12. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes.
13. Let it rest about 5 minutes and pour the remaining marinara sauce over it.

The use of bechamel sauce may seem odd but it adds a new dimension to the dish. Enjoy!

Monday Night - Goulash

Since we both travel to the office on Mondays, dinner tends to be quicker than usual. Fortunately I had some ground turkey in the fridge that I browned over the lazy weekend. Annette remembered making goulash when she was growing up so that's the dinner plan.

To some ground turkey she added half an onion, chopped; a green pepper, diced; and two cloves of garlic, minced. Brown everything then add a can of diced tomatoes. We get the diced tomatoes with no added salt. There's not as much variety but you can really taste the tomato flavor rather than just salt. To that add some elbow pasta slightly undercooked. This way it will absorb the juices from the tomatoes.

That's it... I think; I'm sure I'll be corrected if I've forgotten anything!

It was really good and it's the type of dish that's even better as leftovers (which we have.) It was also nice to experience something that Annette had when she was growing up. We grew up in very different environments in families with very different cultural backgrounds. It's fun to compare and explore the differences, especially when it comes to food.

The Weekend - Freestyle

As I mentioned, every other weekend it's just the two of us. So, sometimes, planning goes out the window. After a week in high-stress jobs with the usual impossible schedules, it can be wonderful to just throw any schedule out the window and say, "We're going to do whatever we want whenever we want to do it." This does, as you may have guessed, come a lot easier to me than it does to my wife!

Saturday morning I was at a photography learning session at Starved Rock State Park. After the session we stopped at Duffy's Tavern in Utica (great place!) and I got my food to-go so I could have lunch with my wife. She decided to stay in bed instead of being at the state park before dawn... in the rain. I brought home a Reuben Sandwich for her (hold the dressing please, extra sauerkraut), and I had a corned beef on rye with a horseradish dressing. Duffy's prepares their own brisket and both sandwiches were superb.


We saved the leftover corned beef, and there was lots, to make corned beef omelets for Sunday breakfast.  The rest of Sunday we relaxed; wow, that felt good!

Friday Night - Dininng Out

Ok, so this isn't about a home cooked meal or a recipe but I didn't want to leave you hanging (or think that we went without dinner!) Every other Friday my wife and I have some alone time. This Friday we decided to go to a local Mexican restaurant, Santa Fe on Church Street. I was really looking forward to some Mexican food and we were both looking forward to some Margaritas!

If you ever find yourself in Sandwich stop by Santa Fe. They have very good food, a wonderful staff, and great Margaritas; you won't be disappointed.

Thursday Night - Pizza

Tonight's dinner is really going to allow us to be creative, pizza!

We rarely buy commercially made pizza any more. There are several shops that have good quality pizza in our area but it's very expensive, especially if you add a few toppings. As long as we have what we need on hand we can prepare a pizza in the same, or less, time than it takes to order one.

The crust I've been using Mama Mary's thin pizza crust. There's also a thicker crust if you prefer. It's not a gourmet crust by any means but it's inexpensive. Sometimes pizza is all about the crust (like in Brooklyn) and sometimes it's all about the toppings (like in Chicago). When you use Mama Mary's crusts the pizza has to be about the toppings. I'm planning to try my hand at homemade pizza dough now that I'm experimenting with homemade artisan breads... more about that is a separate post.

Before you do anything you need to preheat the oven. It should be hot - really hot - at least 450℉. If you have a pizza/bread stone (and you should) move it to the top oven rack before you preheat the oven. A word about oven stones. You would expect that oven stones are excellent for baking pizza or bread, and they are, but their usefulness goes beyond that. I keep my oven stone in the lower rack at all times. It stabilizes the oven temperature which can vary widely as the oven flame turns on and off. I think of it as the fugal man's convection oven.

If you're baking pizza or bread more than a couple of times a month a pizza (or bread) peel is another worthwhile item in the kitchen. A pizza peel lets you move a pizza, or a couple of loaves of bread, easily into or out of the oven. If you don't have a peel you can use a cookie sheet without raised edges (just be careful of the hot oven!)

Dust your pizza peel (or cookie sheet) with some corn meal. This will absorb excess moisture and keep the crust from sticking. Place your crust on the cornmeal and you're ready to start building your masterpiece!

The first item to go on the crust is Muir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce. Believe it or not, you can buy this excellent sauce from Amazon far cheaper (12 cans for about $22) than through any grocery store (if you can even find it there). Don't put too much on the crust or it will get soggy. One half to one cup is usually sufficient (depending on the size of the crust.) Sprinkle a little oregano on top and, if you like it hot, a bit of dried red pepper flakes.

Add some shredded mozzarella on top of the sauce. If you want softer more "stringy" cheese then you need to use whole milk mozzarella. If you prefer it firmer then use part skim milk cheese. Fresh mozzarella will melt and spread quickly so, if you use it, dice it instead of shredding. By the way, many people refer to fresh mozzarella as buffalo mozzarella (especially in Chicago).  Genuine buffalo mozzarella is actually made from water buffalo milk or a combination of water buffalo and cow's milk.

Now it's time to go crazy. You can add anything you like but some of our favorite toppings are: chopped fresh garlic (you just knew this had to be first!), canned spinach (wrap it in a paper towel and wring all the water out of it), canned artichokes (buy the pieces, it's cheaper), homemade oven-dried tomatoes (more about these in a later post), sliced olives, any leftover cooked chicken (shredded)... Just open your fridge and your pantry and add what you like!

Of course, as with nearly everything, moderation is in order. If you add too much onto the crust it will get soggy and never bake properly. Also, if you're using a thin crust, the pizza may be too heavy for the crust to support. Minimize the use of any fresh vegetables. They contain lots of water that will be released in the hot oven.

Move the pizza to the oven and watch it carefully. There's no way to accurately time a pizza unless you use the same toppings every time (I don't think that I've ever done that!) Let your eyes and nose tell you when it's done. A good rule of thumb is, when you think it's done, let it go bit longer. When it's done move it to a cutting board or a cookie sheet (that you don't mind damaging with a pizza cutter.)

Let it rest for a couple of minutes before you cut it. This will help prevent the cheese from flowing back together and "re-attaching" the slices. Now cut it up and enjoy!

Wednesday Night - Tenderloin Filets

Wednesday nights my wife and I are alone so we can prepare a dinner that a teenager may not appreciate, or just something special for the two of us. Tonight it will be the latter.I know that it's early in the day, but I already know what I want to prepare, filet mignon.

Many people are hesitant to buy a good filet because they think that it's difficult to prepare correctly. I was forever poking and prodding the steak to try to determine whether it was cooked enough. I never could figure out how comparing the feel of the steak to your cheek could tell you how well it's done. I mean, what if you have pudgy cheeks? Luckily I found a sure-fire way to get the steaks cooked just right every time.

First, you need to buy the best quality tenderloin filets that you can find, and don't get those bacon-wrapped blister pack specials. Get a high quality two inch thick filet.

• Preheat your oven to 425℉ and heat a heavy, oven-proof saute pan over medium high heat.
• Tear off one piece of aluminum foil per steak and set aside.
• Pat the filets dry and rub on both sides with a small amount of oil. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
• Place the filets in the hot pan and sear for 5 minutes. Resist the temptation to move them. 
• After 5 minutes turn them over and place the pan in the oven.
• Keep in the oven for 5 minutes for a rare steak, 6 minutes for medium, and 7 minutes for medium-well.
• Remove them from the oven, wrap individually in foil, and let rest on a warm plate for 5 minutes.

If your steaks are less than two inches thick you will need to decrease the oven time slightly.

While the steaks are resting I'll throw some asparagus, that I've brushed with olive oil, on to a hot grill and cook three or four minutes.

Take the baked sweet potatoes out of the oven - oh, I forgot to tell you that I microwaved them till soft then put them in the oven when I preheated it, sorry! Now you've got one romantic dinner!

Growing Garlic

During my prep for dinner (which earned my wife's compliments!) I mentioned that we grew our own garlic. Now that the kitchen is cleaned I'll tell you more about it.

We have always been disappointed in the quality of store-bought garlic. The heads that we get from the farmers' market are much better, but they're very expensive and unavailable during winter when there's no farmers' market in our area. Last year, for my birthday, my wife gave me some heritage garlic bulbs and some instructions on growing garlic. It was quite simple and very rewarding (lots of great garlic.)

The secret to growing garlic is having soft, well drained soil. Don't have that? Neither do we. Fortunately it's quite easy to obtain. Rather than attempting to till and condition our rock-hard clay I built a small raised bed. I bought ten eight foot low quality landscaping timbers (low quality because they're cheap and don't need to look pretty) and some good quality soil to fill it. I cut two of the timbers into two foot sections and made a bed two feet by eight feet. If you don't want to build a raised bed you can just dump some quality soil on the ground. It will just be harder to maintain since it will tend to wash away during heavy rains.

Last year I planted the garlic just after Halloween and made sure to cover it with lots of grass clippings to protect it. I'm in north central Illinois and have very cold winters. Two inches of grass clipping worked just fine. You don't need to use grass clippings but they were free so that's what I used.

The garlic was ready to harvest in late July. I could have probably harvested it earlier but is was a very wet spring and I opted to wait until the soil was dry. After the harvest we hung the garlic heads on a string in the basement. The basement is the coolest, driest, darkest part of the house. It worked perfectly.

Now that it's almost Halloween we'll select the largest cloves from the harvest and plant them for next year's crop.

Here are links to the books that I used (and still use) for any questions that I have. They are easy reads and well worth obtaining. You're going to love the fresh garlic. Have fun!

Tuesday Night - Pasta and Turkey Meatballs

Since I need to travel to my workplace on Mondays, Tuesday is the first weekday that I get to be creative with dinner. So I'll try to make it something good. It's usually got to be suitable as a leftover because things seem to get harried as the week progresses.

Well it's now nearly 3pm and I have no idea what I'm going to prepare. So much for creativity; but it's the thought that counts, right?

We haven't had pasta for dinner in over a week so I think everyone will be in the mood for a pasta and meatball dinner. I know that my Italian Mother (always with a capital "M") isn't going to read this so I'll admit to using past sauce from a jar - with a bit of help.

The Sauce
First, I use a quality jarred sauce, only natural ingredients, no added sugar. I add a few cloves of garlic (finely chopped) then soften (not brown) it in a sauce pot with some olive oil (don't ask me how much, use how ever much you want!) We use lots of garlic. So much so that this year we grew our own. It's incredibly easy and so rewarding. More about that later. When the garlic is soft I'll add the sauce (two jars since we're planning for leftovers) then some oregano and a small amount of tarragon. Heat, covered, over a low flame stirring occasionally.

The Meatballs
We use ground turkey for meatballs and they need a bit of help so they're not too blah (you know what I mean.) I'll usually use about one pound of ground turkey and add one egg, 1/2 c seasoned bread crumbs, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tbs dried onion flakes, salt, and black pepper. Ground turkey has a higher moisture content than ground beef so no other liquids are needed. Mix all the ingredients well and make certain that the mixture is well-chilled. Give it a rest so the gluten in the bread crumbs helps hold the meat together when you shape it.

When it's chilled heat some oil in a pan over a medium flame. Shape the meat into what ever size meatball you want. I make them small, remember I'm on a tight schedule. Brown them on all sides then add to the simmering sauce.

The Pasta
Bring a large pot of water (6-8 qts.) to a boil (don't forget to cover the pot, the water will boil much faster.) Once the water is boiling add some salt and the pasta. Give the pasta a quick stir and cover the pot, but only until the water starts boiling again. Just before the pasta is done add a small amount of sauce the the bottom of a large pasta bowl. When the past is done to your liking drain it well an dump it into the pasta bowl. Add a bit of sauce on top and mix well to keep the pasta from sticking.

The Dinner
There you have it. Dinner, and plenty for leftovers, in less than an hour. I'll be more creative tomorrow, honest!