Spiel's Salsa

On my way home from work tonight, I had to console my little sister because she was so upset that Rachel and I had not posted on the blog since the Keys... so this post is for you Amanda - the Salsa is for this weekend....

The best way to explain this salsa is to say that one of Rachel's friends, Keri Smith, gave her a great recipe for "authentic" salsa, and I played with to add a few things (roasted garlic and pablano).  The beauty of this is its simplicity... mix the following in a blender - 8-10 roma tomatoes, 1/2 large sweet onion, 2 jalapenos and a dab of canola oil. (my mother will try to use olive oil with this but I have been lectured that canola oil is the only way to go).  Once blended, throw in 4 cloves of garlic and 1/2 a pablano pepper (both roasted in a 300 degree oven for about 15 minutes before hand, covered in olive oil - see Mom, I worked in the olive oil). Add the garlic and the pablano to the blender and then transfer the entire mixture to a hot pan with a small layer of canola oil across the bottom.  Cook on medium, stirring often and add salt to taste (it will take about 4 tb of salt ....).  Cook for 15-20 minutes.  Let cool, refrigerate, and serve cold...this ends up more like picante sauce, so don't be worried if it is thin!

The end result is some very rich and flavorful salsa that has a little heat, tons of flavor, and is equally good by itself or with a taco/fajita meal.  Enjoy!

Add a little "zest" to your meal!

This summer I have grown to love lemons!  Actually, I discovered that I loved the lemon zest more than the lemon itself.  It all started with a simple trip to the grocery store.  I sent Frank to the store earlier in the summer and I put lemons on the list.  Rather than buy 1 or 2 (which is probably what I meant to write on the list and didn't) he bought an entire bag!  Yup, he brought home about 10-12 lemons!  Then the fun began...what to do with all of these lemons?  Here are a few simple ways that I have added lemon to my weekly cooking:

1.  Cover the top of a 1.25 lb pork tenderloin with some McCormick's Montreal Steak Grillmates and the zest of 1/2 of a lemon.  Bake according to the package directions. 

2.   This is my own take on a chicken recipe I saw on TV:  Chicken breasts stuffed with Italian parsley, lemon zest, garlic, S & P, 1 piece of cheese (provolone or gouda works nice), and 1 piece of proscuitto.  Pan sear them on each side and then finish cooking in the oven. 

3.  Sautee 1 package of broccolini in 1 T of olive oil for about 4-5 minutes.  Add 1 clove of minced garlic and the juice of 1/2 a lemon.  Cook for 1 minute and then serve. 

*This next one is a wink and a nod to the queen of dipping sauces, Melissa*   ;-)

4.  A simple aioli:  In a small bowl combine some mayo, 1 clove of garlic, fresh cilantro, dash of salt & pepper, some lemon zest, and then some lemon juice. 

Pizza, Pizza!

My sister-in-law's family made pizzas often when she was growing up.  I have to credit Rachel with introducing our family to homemade pizzas.  They're fun and quite delicious!  In fact, I can remember  a specific night at the Farm when we had our own pizza competition.  We all made our own pizzas, tried 1 piece of each, and then voted on who was the pizza champion.  If my memory serves me correctly Frank won with his "mighty meaty" pizza that when topped stood about 3-4 inches tall! 

Tonight Frank and I decided to make our own antipasta platter for an appetizer and then pizzas.  This platter can be filled with meats, cheeses, olives, marinated mushrooms, roasted peppers, bread, olive oil, etc.  Our antipasta platter was made of grapes, sopresetta, jalepeno/garlic stuffed olives, smoked gouda cheese, and bagel crisps.  It was the perfect start to our night! 

For the pizza we clearly had a "his and hers".  Frank is all about adding lots of meat and cheese to his pizza and I opted for a lighter pizza.  Frank's pizza included a layers of pepperoni, italian sausage, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, and lots of cheese!  I made a simple margarita pizza with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil.  We used thin crust Boboli and baked these at 450 for 10 minutes.  If tonight's dinner was a competition it would be a tie!  Magia!

Dinner and a Movie

Well, it seems like forever since I blogged about some of my new kitchen eats.  This week Frank and I had 2 "dinner and a movie" date nights at our house!  Sunday I was feeling like eating a couple of different things, rather than a large dinner entree.  And I had to save some room for popcorn!  I sifted through my stack of hoarded appetizer recipes and found an easy recipe for sweet and savory chicken wings.  My brother, Matt, is the king of wings!  I know that these hardly compare to his, but I thought I'd give them a try.  This is from a "Take 5" (meaning 5 ingredient) section in the Everyday with Rachael Ray mag.  I paired these wings with some stuffed portobello mushroom caps.

Here's what I did for the wings:

3 pounds of chicken wings

3 boxes of Jell-O lemon flavored gelatin (be careful not to buy the pudding/pie filling)

1 cup of soy sauce

1 cup of pineapple juice

1-2 T of poppy seeds

Marinate the chicken in the soy/pineapple juice mixture for 15 minutes.  Preheat the oven at 400.  Spread out the wings in a single layer on a foil-lined cookie sheet.  Pour 1/2 cup of the marinate over the wings.  Sprinkle 1/2 of the lemon Jell-O on the wings (yes, you are sprinkling a powder form of Jell-O on the wings).  Bake for 30 minutes.  Take out the wings and flip them over.  Cover with the other 1/2 of the lemon Jell-O and the poppy seeds.  Bake another 30 minutes.  *The lemon flavor was really good, yet different all at the same time.  Next time I'm going to try orange Jell-O for a different flavor.  Maybe sprinkle with some white and/or black sesame seeds instead of the poppy seeds for an Asian inspiration*

I did my own thing for the 'shrooms...no recipe needed!  I literally threw a ton of things from my frig in a bowl and then stuffed the 'shrooms.  I used: ground white turkey, fennel seed, garlic, lemon zest, spinach, onion, salt, and pepper.  I stuffed the 'shrooms and baked them with the wings for the last 30 minutes.  Topped them with a little cheese at the end and gave them a quick broil until bubbly!