Bobby Flay Lasagna Kind Of

I had my heart on making Bobby Flays Lasagna last weekend, but I had to make modifications.  Have you ever tried to find actual beef and pork flanks with meat on them?  Good for you, because I called 4 different Kroger stores and the Whole Foods Market and nope, they didn't have them.  Needless to say I had to modify and I used 3 lbs of ground chuck and 2 lbs of ground pork.  If you have to resort to the ground meat then the first few steps of Bobby's recipe will need to be changed. I made my Bolognese by browning my pancetta in my large Le Creuset and removed it from the pan and then I sauteed my vegetables in the same pot with the pancetta fat.  After those softened I removed them from the pot and set aside.  I added the meat to the pot and let it brown. After the meat was browned I did drain a lot of the fat off  and then I added the wine, store bought stock, the vegetables and pancetta back into the pot,  and mixed everything in.  I crushed 2 28 cans of San Marzano tomatoes by hand and added those to the pot and stirred those in along with the herbs.  I added some S&P to taste.  BTW, if you make this Bolognese you won't need that 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes.  Anyway, I let the Bolognese cook for about 2 hours and in the meantime followed the recipe, but my last step before putting the lasagna together was the Bechamel sauce.  If the Bechamel sits too long it gets quite thick, so best to make last so that you can pour it over the layers.  Anyway, this recipe requires some time and has a few steps, so be prepared.  Obviously we couldn't eat it all, so we've been eating on this a good part of the week, but it's time to retire it.  I will freeze the leftovers and we can just pull them out of the freezer on those days when we don't have a lot of time to make dinner. Anyway, give it a try and let me know how it works out for you.  Until next time Good Eats!!! Oh, the picture doesn't quite show how it looks when you get ready to eat it.  When you serve it you will add the Bolognese over the top with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

Spicy City Chicken

I remember as a child that my mom would make something called City Chicken.  I don't really know how it was prepared.  I just know that I liked it.  This dish tonight is NOT what my mom used to make, but needless to say it was REALLY GOOD!  I found the Spicy City Chicken Recipe on the Food Network.  It's loaded with shallots, mushrooms, cilantro and jalapenos and has some nice acid with the addition of red wine vinegar. I followed the directions to a tee and I was very very pleasantly surprised.  FYI, if you make this dish there are a lot of steps and it does take some time, so if you don't have a least 1+ hours then I would save it for a weekend meal.  Try and let me know how it works out for you.  Bon Appetit!

Ghostly White Chicken Chili

Happy Halloween!! To celebrate this ghoulish nite I made a Ghostly White Chicken Chili.  What you will  need if you choose to take part in the gore is: 2 lbs ground chicken breast, 1 large store bought rotisserie chicken removed from carcass and shredded, 1 tbs canola oil, 4 cloves garlic minced, 2 jalapenos chopped (seeded if you can't handle the heat), 2 poblano peppers seeded and chopped, 1 large yellow onion chopped, juice of 2 limes, 1 large handful of cilantro chopped, 2 tbs ancho chili powder, 3 tbs cumin, 2 tsp coriander, S&P to taste, 2 14.5oz cans cannellini beans rinsed and drained (mash 1 can of the beans with a potato masher), 4 C unsalted chicken stock, grated white cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips (Scoops are great for this).  Ok, let's cook.  Take a large pot, I used my medium size Le Creuset (if you don't have one of these you should definitely make the investment-well worth the money and will last a lifetime) and heat the oil over med heat.  Add your garlic, peppers and onions to pot and saute for about 5 minutes or until the veg is soft.  Add your ground chicken and continue to cook until no longer pink, breaking the chicken up into bite size pieces as it cooks. Add your spices and lime juice and continue to cook for about 5 minutes add S&P to taste.  Add the chicken stock, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for an additional 20 minutes.  Add roasted chicken, beans and cilantro and continue to cook for an another 5 minutes.  Serve the chili in bowls, topped with grated cheddar cheese and sour cream and use the tortilla chips for scooping, I dare you to try this!!

Gourmet Breakfast Sandwiches

These are not your ordinary breakfast sandwiches, these are gourmet.  So why gourmet you ask? It's all in the cheese.  The cheeses that I chose were a Colliers Welsh Cheddar which is a mature, robust cheddar with a slightly sweet flavor.  This cheese originated from the Welsh mountains in Denbighshire.  The other cheese was a Fromager D'Affinois which is similar to brie with a bloomy rind and a creamy paste.  It's produced in the Rhone Alps and boasts a creamier texture and more buttery flavor than brie.

I made 2 sandwiches, one for me and one for Will.  Will's gourmet sandwich consisted of a toasted Asiago Cheese Bagel with melted Murray's "Colliers Welsh Cheddar" with Wrights Applewood Smoked Bacon, JD mild sausage and 1 large fried organic egg.  My gourmet sandwich consisted of a toasted Everything Bagel with melted Murray's "Fromager D'Affiniois" with Wrights Applewood Smoked Bacon, JD mild sausage and 1 large fried organic egg.  Yummy!  Not the healthiest choice for breakfast, but it's not like we do this everyday.  If you get a chance visit Krogers Gourmet Cheeses section, they have a great selection of cheeses and they also have a section where you can choose small portions of a variety of cheeses, so you're not stuck with a large amount of cheese you don't like and it won't break the bank.  BTW, the Fromager D'Affinois sells for $14.99/lb and I was able to get a small portion for $2.55, the Welsh Cheddar sells for $9.99/lb, but the small portion only cost $1.60.  I also picked up a few other cheeses that otherwise I wouldn't even had thought of buying or trying for that matter had it not been for the small portions with the small price.

Sausage & Peppers with Polenta

Last night we did sausage, peppers and polenta.  I've never made polenta before, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  Polenta is just cornmeal cooked in boiling water.  I used an instant polenta, so it only took about 1 minute to cook.  Polenta is a very popular dish in northern Italy and preferred over pasta dishes.  I began by preheating my oven  to 350 degrees and then I took 1 lb of sweet Italian sausage, if you use links be sure to remove the casing and break into pieces.  I browned the sausage in a large skillet.  While the sausage cooked I julienned 1 green bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper and 1 jalapeno pepper and tossed them into the sausage.  I added about 1/4 C of chicken stock and just let this saute for about 5 minutes until the peppers softened and most of the stock had cooked off.  I removed the skillet from the heat and transferred the sausage and peppers to bowl.  I then cooked the polenta, which only took 1 minute to cook.  I then poured the polenta in the skillet and spread out in the pan.  I drizzled a little EVOO over top and then placed the sausage and peppers over the top of the polenta.  I placed this into the oven and baked for 20 minutes.  After is was finished baking, I generously sprinkled the dish with parmigiana reggiano.  That was all there was too it.  I was surprised how yummy it really was.  We both had leftovers for lunch and agreed it was just as good the next day.  Buen Appetito until next time.

Stir Fry Chicken Caston Style

Stir Fry with sriracha 

I love Asian flavors, so tonight I made a chicken stir fry Caston style.  This is easy and quick and this is how you do it:  For your sauce you will need:  4 cloves of minced garlic, 1.5 tbs fresh minced ginger, 3 scallions chopped, 1 tbs fish sauce, 3 tbs soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 2 tbs chili garlic oil, 1tbs sugar, 1 tsp rice wine vinegar, 1/2 - 3/4 C chicken no sodium chicken stock, 1 tbs corn starch.  Add all of the ingredients except the chicken stock and corn starch to a small sauce pan and bring to boil, stir the sauce, reduce the heat and add the chicken stock.  Let this simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the corn starch and continue to simmer, stirring it until it thickens to a consistency that you like.  For me, it was an additional 10 minutes, and then I removed it from the heat and set it aside.  My stir fry consisted of 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, seasoned with S&P and cut into bite size pieces, 1 red bell pepper small diced, 1 green bell pepper small diced, 1/2 yellow onion chopped, 1 carrot peeled &  thinly sliced, 1 8 oz pkg of shitake mushrooms thinly sliced, 1/2  8 oz pkg of white button mushrooms thinly sliced and 2 tbs of canola oil.  I heated the canola oil in my wok over med high heat and added the chicken and just tossed it in the oil and let it stir fry for about 3-5 minutes until all sides were no longer pink.  I removed the chicken from the wok and set it aside.  I added my veggies to the wok and stir fried them for about 4 minutes, I then added the chicken back to the wok and tossed it in with the veggies.  I then added the sauce to the wok and stirred it in.  I reduced the heat to medium and continued to stir fry for an additional 3-5 minutes until chicken was cooked thru.  I like for my veggies to have a little crunch to them, so I don't overcook them to sogginess.  I let this cool for about 5 minutes and served it over a short grain rice, and drizzled some sriracha sauce (a very yummy asian hot sauce- it should be in your pantry) over the top.  Really yummy!   I even have left overs for tomorrow.  Good Eats!!

Caston's Original in the Tummy is Yummy!

If you've read previous posts, you know that Chorizo and I have a love hate relationship.  If you don't know what Chorizo is, it's a sausage that is loaded with spices, and very heavy on the paprika.  It has a very strong flavor and can overpower some dishes.  I've worked with it a lot and tonight for whatever reason me and Chorizo got along very well.  What I used to make this very yummy dish:  3 Chorizo sausages in casing chopped into bite size pieces (these I had grilled over charcoal the nite before), 3 tbs EVOO, 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 4 cloves garlic minced, 1/2 green bell pepper small diced, 1/2 yellow onion small diced, 1 jalapeno chopped, 1 carrot peeled and grated, 2 tbs hot Hungarian paprika, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1/2 C chicken stock, 1/2 C heavy cream, 2 tbsp cream cheese, 1/4 C sour cream and S& P.  I started by heating the EVOO in a large skillet over med high heat. I seasoned both sides of my chicken with S&P and placed them in the skillet and browned both sides (2 minutes/side) removed from heat and set aside.  I then took my veggies and sauteed them in the same skillet over med heat until they softened.  While the veggies sauteed, I chopped the chicken thighs into bite size pieces. I added the spices and tossed them into the veggies, continuing to saute for about 3-4 minutes.  I then added the chicken stock, heavy cream, cream cheese and sour cream and stirred it in.  I let this simmer and thicken for about 10 minutes.  I added the Chorizo and chicken and continued to simmer for an additional 5-7minutes until the chicken was cooked thru. I served this over pasta with a few sprigs of cilantro.  Next time I will serve it in a bowl instead of a plate, that way I can spoon up all that yummy sauce.  I think that you could serve this dish with rice, or pasta or alone with a nice crusty bread to sop up the sauce.  Give this dish a try and Good Eats!