Making the Menu

Spicy Shrimp over Bow Tie Pasta - Quick Sunday Supper

I test so you don't fail--recipes that is. Shrimp is one of my favorite foods for its quick-cooking, high protein and low fat qualitites. Cost per pound of protein is a good indicator of value (for most of us 4 servings per pound of shrimp is what you're looking for). The shrimp I cooked last night was $6.99 a pound, deveined but not shelled. It took me under 10 minutes to remove the shells.

 

I heated olive oil in a large nonstick skillet, then added about 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more if you like spicier food) and cooked it about a minute. Next, I added 1 teaspoon of minced garlic and cooked for 1 minute. The shrimp came next; I cooked it 2 minutes, turned it, added a half cup dry white wine brought to a boil. I boiled it until the shrimp were opaque. I added a 5 (or 6) ounce bag of baby spinach and turned the spinach with tongs until the spinach wilted. I got impatient, so I covered the skillet for a minute to hold in the heat. 

 

Now, you have an easy meal to spoon over any starch. I used bow tie shape pasta because I had it on hand. I added a salad and some whole grain rolls and dinner was served!

 

Happy New Year with Friends and Chicken

Starting a new year is always a good way to renew friendships with good food. Seems I have a habit of testing recipes on unsuspecting guests and this recipe of Chicken with White Beans and Cherry Tomatoes was no exception. Often, I find I don't really like my own cooking (not unusual, I understand), but this recipe was an exception. 

 

The dessert, Fresh Blueberry Crisp, was made possible via a complimentary shipment straight from the blueberry fields of Chile. I visited there last January (before the earthquake) and will always remember the the amazing sight of acres of blue.

 

 

Ready for the oven. For five guests, I prepared 10 bone-in skinless thighs and baked the the dish about 55 minutes.

 

 

You can see the fresh thyme and cherry tomatoes and cannellini beans peeking through. 

 

 

Fresh Blueberry Crisp for dessert with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, was a winner.

Georgia Tech Professor Teaches a Lesson (no test, however!)

We were invited to dinner at our friend's house for “Kenchaladas”. You read that right; the creator of this unique dish is the mother of Ken Brown, a PhD and chemistry professor at Georgia Tech. Ken added his own touches and he and his S.O., Christine Payne, a fellow PhD professor at Georgia Tech, created the menu. The menu was posted on the front door for all the guests. Christine having the great good humor that she does, called it The One Day Menu Planner.

 

Christine's One Day Menu Planner. Wonder if her tests are as easy as her recipes

 

 

Ken (the chef in residence) took me through the steps of the preparation of his recipe, both a no-meat and a meat-included version. We etched the experience in stone, or rather digitally. Here he is with his ingredients ready to cook.

 

First, for the ground beef version, he browns the meat.

 

 

Next, he rolls the enchiladas, tops with cheese and salsa verde and puts into a 350 oven until bubbly.

 

 

He bakes the meatless and ground beef version together with a pan to catch the spills underneath--just in case. 

 

 

The best part: Filling your plate and enjoying the labor of others!

A Book is Born! 7-DAy Menu Planner for Dummies Launch

From my point of view as an author, signing books for readers has to be the most fun part. Some authors, I'm told, hate the part of meeting readers and prefer to write and then hide in a closet. I'm the opposite and last night allowed me to do my favorite part--sign books and meet menu planners-to-be.

 

There was a "class" at Cook's Warehouse in Atlanta with 35 "students" who came to celebrate my new book with me and to learn a little more about planning menus. I whipped up a few simple recipes and told some stories (mostly true) and generally speaking, had a good time. I forgot to number the pages of my notes (gaff) and was more disorganized than I like to be, but we all seemed to survive.

 

My mantra is that most people hate to plan more than they hate to cook. That's what I preach over and over. Why is it important? Good planning saves money, reduces stress and keeps us healthier. By saving money, we can buy more shoes. Reducing stress makes us much more cheerful and eating healthier keeps us out of the doctor's way and office.

 

Celebrate with me and Make a Plan for your health's sake. 

Some happy students!

 

Getting ready for doing homework--planning menus, of course!

 

Planning menus is serious business--must be the great prizes for best menus?? 

 

 The 7-Day Menu Planner preparing tilapia for the oven with helpers in the background. The End--almost!

 

To Test or Not to Test (a recipe)? That is the Quesition.

Sorry to mess with Shakespeare's quote but it's an interesting quesiton to those of us who deal with recipes on a constant basis. Namely me, in this case.

The recipe in question was from a respected source (to remain anonymous) so I wasn't really worried about its success. I should have known better when the instructions called for "1 whole chicken" (no weight given), but I ignored that red flag. I followed the directions on timing and baked the recommended amount. The recipe included sweet potatoes, too.(I added white potatoes because we like them). The result was that the chicken was not quite as done as I'd like nor were the potatoes. Was it my oven? Faulty directions? Or, operator error? I made adjustments (cooking more) and the end result was fine. The point is: in my line of work, I have to know that what I'm telling readers is a fact and not a "I sure hope this works." When you see the recipe in my column, the cooking time will be adjusted so you'll have better luck than I did. To add to the problem dinner prep, I burned my arm on the roasting pan. That was definitely my mother's fault for being short. Moral: Always blame your mother, even when it's your fault!

 

Straight from the oven. For a more dignified chicken, tie the legs together with kitchen string.

Entertain with Seasoned Lamb Chops

Lamb chops are certainly company fare at $11.99 a pound, so you don't want to make any mistakes! Being the frugal person I am, I tested the recipe with 3 chops. (Two for the boy; one for me.) They were seasoned on both sides with crushed cumin seeds, a little coarse salt and whole black peppercorns. I tried my mortar and pestle to crush the seasonings but resorted to mashing them on the counter between pieces of wax paper. That worked ok, but not great. The seeds were still resistant. (I needed a sledge hammer!) The chops were ready in under 10 minutes. Because they were quite thick, I should have cooked them another minute on each side. So, try 4 minutes per side if they are thick.

 

 

Into the pan with seasonings.

 

 

Browned one side.

 

 

Ready to eat the chops with brown rice and zucchini.

Bundt Pan Roast Chicken aka Upside Down Roast Chicken

It's always fun to try a new way to cook an old favorite, Roast Chicken. This time I used a Bundt pan for the new way to cook the bird. It's sort of like beer-can chicken without the beer can. Real Simple magazine gets the credit for the idea. You and I get the credit for trying it in our own kitchens. Their recipe was a little (??) sketchy so I made a few adjustments. The chicken was really good, really easy and inexpensive.

 

The other reason I liked the recipe is it puts to use my Bundt pan, which I use about once a year since I don't do much baking. Pound cake is my favorite, but I don't use good judgement and eat way too much.

 

Coat the pan with cooking spray and put the vegetables in the bottom of the pan. Put the pan on a rimmed baking sheet.

 

 

Add a 4 to 4 1/2 pound roasting chicken on top of the vegetables. Coat the chicken with cooking spray. This roaster is from Perdue and is ready for the 375 degree oven.

 

 

After an hour and a half. Remove the chicken to cutting board; tent with foil and let stand 5 minutes. Remove the vegetables; keep warm until serving time. It was juicy and perfectly cooked.

Mexican Lasagna - and, a Little Dancing

When a recipe turns out better than expected, I'm always grateful. Mexican Lasagna was like that. The recipe called for a 3-quart round baking dish which I didn't have (did it go to a garage sale??). Instead, I used an oval one. The only problem was that tortillas are round! Easy solution: tear them to fit the dish, which is what I did. Earlier in the week, I used the canned tomatoes with chilies I bought for this recipe. No problem since I had a can of diced green chiles that I keep for such emergencies and a can of tomatoes. I used fire-roasted ones, which I prefer, but use any that you like. I used a lower carb, whole grain tortilla by La Tortilla Factory. The results were good.

While the casserole baked, we practiced the fox-trot which we're learning in our ballroom dance classes. The casserole turned out better than our dancing.

Cooking the ingredients before layering.

Layering in the baking dish.

Straight from the oven.

Garnished with sour cream and ready to eat.

Pork Goulash with a Little Help from a Friend

Slow cooker recipes always get my attention (and the attention of my helper, Flash). After selecting a recipe, I make a shopping list just for that particular recipe (which you can see in the photo). You can also see my assistant pointing out the list with his paw. I tested the Barbecue Pork with Green Beans (last night) seen on the shopping list and the Pork Goulash is cooking as I write. (These dishes are in different weeks in the 7-Day Menu Planner.)

The pork of the Barbecue Pork and Green Beans recipe was great. However, I overcooked the green beans (no kidding) and my husband called them "brown sticks" and ate not a bite. (Disclosure: I prepare broccoli about 4 nights a week because it's easy, healthy and well-priced; he had the nerve to complain about the frequency.)  Last night, he begged for broccoli. I did a bit of smirking at this remark (I'm good at smirking).

Moral: Never criticize the food unless you're ready to take over the cooking!!

The shopping list. 

Turning Lemons into Lemonade

We had friends for dinner last night for what was to be a simple meal; baked salmon with dill and spicy mustard, oven roasted red potatoes, mixed greens and green beans. Dessert was peach-blueberry cobbler and vanilla Ice Cream. Simple enough, eh?

Background: My oven has been in an off again on again process of working and not working for the last several months. (I hate this stove). For baking the cobbler, it was in an "off" phase and wouldn’t heat. I used the convection/micrawave oven; it worked fine. Rather than bake salmon in the oven, we decided to grill it. With the stove-top grill on, the circuit can’t handle both the grill and convections. What to do??  Use the convection oven for the potatoes and when the potatoes are done, grill the salmon.

I decided to try again with the oven; turned it on and it worked! This is at 6:30 with guests are arriving in an hour. Dilemma again!! Plan C: Use the conventional oven for the potatoes and grill the salmon. Microwave the green beans. Lesson: be flexible even if you don't want to be!

The cobbler was good. I had some blueberries that needed attention so the total amount of the fruit was about 4 cups in an 8 by 8 baking dish. Use any mixture of fruit you like. Take a look below.

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler makes a great dessert.