Day 10. Skewered Shrimp on Wild Rice Pilaf

We ate this last Sunday evening, thinking the weather was going to cooperate for grilling.  Weather was marginal but Swen gamely BBQ'ed the shrimp outside. The vegetables on the kebabs were fantastic, shrimp was okay but not a recipe I will use again.  In fact, what I would do is use Leaf's recipe for "Amazing Spicy Grilled Shrimp" that she made over Christmas; but add some vegetables to the marinade and include them on the skewers. The flavor of Leaf's marinade was marvelous, a piquant flavor that suited the shrimp but didn't overpower it. mmm.

The rice pilaf was soggy, but that was more my not cooking it long enough or adding too much water - who knows. I have never successfully made Rice Pilaf unless it was a box mix.

So I am posting Leaf's Grilled Shrimp recipe (from Allrecipe website, submitted by Pat Rota), instead of Rosie's. 


Amazing Spicy Grilled Shrimp
Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil 1/4 cup sesame oil 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 2 tablespoons hot sauce 2 tablespoons minced garlic 1 tablespoon ketchup Directions: 1. Whisk together the olive oil, sesame oil, parsley, hot sauce, minced garlic, ketchup, chile sauce, salt, pepper, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Set aside about 1/3 of this marinade to use while grilling. 2. Place the shrimp in a large, resealable plastic bag. Pour in the remaining marinade and seal the bag. Refrigerate for 2 hours. 3. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade. 4. Lightly oil grill grate. Cook shrimp for 2 minutes per side until opaque, basting frequently with reserved marinade.

1 tablespoon Asian chile paste 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 3 tablespoons lemon juice 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined 12 wooden skewers, soaked in water

Day 9. Vegetable Barley Stew with Lentils. Hmm.

Let me just say that we ate this last night, will force ourselves to eat some more tonight unless we can't face it and opt for oatmeal, and then I am tossing the remainder in the trash. No need to post this recipe.  After Swen's first spoonful of soup, he asked how we could flavor it up, then proceeded to "eat to live".  I liked the barley and lentils, but the soup needs life. The end.

3-6-2013.  Not quite the end.  After sitting for 4 days, the soup acquired a bit more flavor.  A friend suggested adding some lemon juice and yogurt, to spice it up.  And I added some chicken bouillon.  It was a decent meal on Tuesday night.  One more cup of it, then it is out of my life.
 

Day 8. Cream of Broccoli Soup. Bravo.

This soup was so tasty that I am going to post the recipe. Easy to make, lots of flavor, nothing to get mushy after it sits so the soup is even better for leftovers the next day.  As per usual, I used whole evaporated milk instead of the low-fat evaporated skim milk called for in the recipe.  And the soup did not curdle.

Cream of Broccoli Soup (from "In the Kitchen with Rosie" p.14)
 1/2 C water
1 chicken bouillon cube
3 C broccoli florets and stems (1 large bundle)
24 ounces (2 cans) evaporated skim milk (I used whole evaporated milk)
Light vegetable oil cooking spray (Yes, I used 2 T olive oil)
1 1/2 C chopped liik, white part only (2-3 leeks)
2 T all-purpose flour
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
3 T chopped fresh basil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Dissolve the bouillon cube in theboiling water.  Add the broccoli and cook for 5 to 6 minutes (7-8 minutes, for me), until it is bright green and fork tender.

Put the evaporated milk in a small saucepan.  Warm over low heat, just until bubbles begin to form around the edge.  Remove the pan from the heat.  

Preheat a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat for about 1 minute. Spray it twice with the vegetable oil (I used olive oil).  Add the leeks and saute, stirring often, for 7 to 8 minutes, until limp.  Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.  Whisk in the warm evaporated milk.  Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the four has dissolved and the mixture is smooth. 

Reduce the heat to low.  Add the nutmeg, the garlic, and the broccoli, along with its cooking liquid.  Simmer for 5 minutes more, taking care not to bring the soup to a boil.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the basil and black pepper.

Day 7: Un-fried Chicken with Mock Caeser Salad

A bit delayed writing up this recipe experience, since I whisked (kitchen vocabulary) myself down to Yuma for the wonderful 80th birthday bash for Bonnie Sue. She weathered the surprise very well.  We finally (after the 2nd surprise, which was the appearance of one of her grand-daughters) showed mercy and declared to her that she could relax, we had no more surprises planned.  We did manage to have the Mango Parfait (Day 1) for dessert one evening, and it was a smash hit.

So now, Un-fried Chicken.  I planned and prepared for this recipe poorly, but it was worth the three trips to the grocery store.The un-fried chicken was quite tasty and had a kick supplied by Old Bay and Creole seasoning, as well as cayenne pepper.  I used small pieces of chicken, chicken-nugget size, instead of the large pieces called for in the recipe. And I used chicken thighs, instead of breasts, because that is what we like at our house.  The small pieces of chicken decreased the cooking time by a good 40 minutes, so I would do the nugget-size again, when I repeat this recipe.

Chicken nugget breading was a tad dry, so I made a cocktail sauce out of ketchup, lemon juice, and horseradish, and that did the trick for dipping.  I think a Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing would work fine, as well.

The Mock Caesar salad had a fresh, clean, taste - it let the flavor of the Romaine lettuce come through. Fairly simple with Romaine lettuce, Parmesan (and more Parmesan), black pepper, and tomatoes and a dressing of soy sauce, lemon juice, and garlic. Ah yes, looking at my notes I see I did add a bit of olive oil to the dressing. 

A baguette bread would have topped off the meal perfectly, but that would have required yet one more trip to the grocery store.

Un-Fried Chicken  p. 39 of "In the Kitchen with Rosie"
Light vegetable oil cooking spray
6 chicken drumsticks, skin removed(I skipped the drumsticks)
3 whole chicken breasts, halved and skin removed (I cut my chicken into nugget-sized pieces, and used about 2 whole chicken breasts- worth of chicken)
3 1/2 C ice water
1 C plain nonfat yogurt (low-fat yogurt)

For the breading:
1 C dried Italian bread crumbs
1 T Old Bay seasoning
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t Creole seasoning
1/8 t freshly ground black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 t dried basil
1/2 t dried oregano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Coat a baking sheet with 3 sprays of the vegetable oil.
Put the chicken in a large bowl with the ice water.  Put the yogurt into a medium bowl.  Set both bowls aside.
Toss all the breading ingredients into a large, tightly-sealing plastic bag.  Seal and shake well to mix.
Remove  2 pieces of chicken from the ice water (I worked with 6-8 of the nugget size at one time).  Roll each piece in the yogurt.  Put the chicken into the plastic bag, reseal, and shake to coat thoroughly.  Transfer the breaded chicken to the prepared baking sheet.  Repeat the process untill all 12 pieces are breaded.  Spray the chicken lightly with the vegetable oil.
Place the baking sheet on the bottom shelf of the overn and bake for 1 hour, turning the pieces every 20 minutes to allow even browning.
 Serve hot or at room temperature.

Mock Caesar  Salad p. 33 of "In the Kitchen with Rosie"
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/4 C reduced-sodium soy sauce (just used soy-sauce)
1.4 /c freshly squeezed lelmon juice
3 C chopped Belgian endive (4 heads) (I skipped the endive)
6 C torn Romaince lettuce (2 heads)  (1 large head seemed plenty)
1/8 t freshly cracked black pepper
1 T freshly grated Parmesan cheese (Definitely more of the Parmesan than 1 T) 
1 1/3 C chopped tomato or 1 large tomato

Put the garlic, soy sauce, and lemon juice in a salad bowl and whixh thoroughtly.  Add the endive and Romaine lettuce.  Toss to coat.  Sprinkle the black peepper and Parmesan cheese on top.
Garnish with the chopped tomato.   

Day 8. Curried Chicken Salad

Since I had some raw chicken left-over from the previous day's cooking, I thought I would try the Curried Chicken Salad. When Rosie calls this a lively salad, she is spot-on; it is chock full of fresh fruit and vegetables - peas, carrots, red cabbage, apples, celery, scallions, raisens, and tomatoes. I served it on slices of  Rustic Bread from Albertsons, but would probably try Rosie's suggestion next time of serving in a pita pocket. It was a filling dinner for two.

I wasn't quite satisfied with the curry sauce, but not sure what it needed.  Maybe a dab of chutney?

In talking with my sister, she reminded me that she made this for me one time.  I remember I loved it.  Food is so much tastier when someone else prepares it especially for you.

An observation of our family and I wonder if it is universal. I thought about it when I left the half an apple out on the counter.  An apple (or carrot, or orange, or name another fruit or vegetable) can sit on the counter for days.  Wash it and slice it, and the apple is gone in minutes.  A carrot can sit in the vegetable bin till it turns to rubber.  Wash it, scrape it, and slice it, put it on a plate on the counter.  It's gone. 


Curried Chicken Salad    p.34 of  "In the Kitchen with Rosie "
1 1/2 C cubed cooked chicken breast
1/4 C frozen peas, thawed
1/4 C scraped and shredded carrot
1/8 t celery seed
1 T golden raisins (definitely want 2 T)
f1 C shreddedred cabbage
]1/4 C chopped green apple
1/4 C chopped scallion
1/4 C chopped celery

Dressing
1 C plain nonfat yogurt (yes, I used yogurt WITH fat)
1 T nonfat mayonnaise (ditto)
3 t curry powder
3 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 T Dijon-style mustard
2 T minced shallot

4 large red cabbage leaves
4 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 T chopped fresh parsley

Combine the chicken, peas, carrot, celery seed, raisins, shredded cabbage, apple, scallions, and celery in a salad bowl.  
Put all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whixk to blend.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour (maybe longer.  The leftover salad was even better the next day)
Place a cabbage leaf, curved side down, on each salad plate.  Mound salad into the leaves and garnish with the cherry tomatoes and parsley .
  

Day 6. Ind. Pizza: Other two variations

The next two variations of the individual pizzas were not momentous, and I would repeat those recipes only if the needed ingredients were all I had in my kitchen.  The first variation called for pesto, Rosie's pizza sauce, spinach leaves, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, black olives, and Parmesan.  In spite of substituting feta for the Parmesan and using Chef Rosie's pungent tomato sauce, the pizza was just okay - not exceptional. Ten points for healthy but 6 out of 10 for flavor.

The other variation- with goat cheese, basil, artichoke, onion, and tomato - was bland.  The ingredients reminded me a bit of the appetizer Rose Magnuson made, after her trip to Turkey, when she tried to recreate one of the fabulous meals during her trip.  But Rose M. used a Babboli pizza crust, loaded with flavors, and jack cheese, sliced artichoke hearts, bell peppers, black olives, and feta cheese. I loved it. For some reason, the "In the Kitchen with Rosie"'s version lacked flavor, even after rubbing garlic and olive oil on the crust - which I tried on my second round of  this pizza. I give this variation of Rosie Daley's pizza a 5 out of 10.

I added a bit of cornmeal to the pizza dough and did love the addition for the flavor boost it gave the crust.  And now I must go have a very large piece of apple pie; a large piece because pie = dinner tonight.  Made with lots of shortening, the Rose Magnuson Way.

Day 5. Spiced Bran Muffins

Lots of flavor is packed into these muffins and they are quite filling. I skipped the golden raisins because I had some fresh blueberries in the refrigerator that were begging to be included. This recipe is worth sharing,  and the muffins were easy to make. My substitutions in red.

Spiced Bran Muffins

Light vegetable oil cooking spray (Okay, I used butter to grease the muffin tins)
1/2 C molasses
2 T honey
2 large egg whites
1/4 C plain nonfat yogurt ( low-fat)
1/4 C 2% milk ( whole milk)
1/2 C wheat bran
1 C whole wheat flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 T ground ginger
1 t ground cloves
1/4 C chopped walnuts
1/4 C golden raisins ( 1 C blueberries)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Coat a 12-well muffin tin with cooking spray (butter).

Warm the molasses and honey in a small saucepan over low heat just until it begins to steam.  Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside to cool.

Whisk the egg whites, yogurt, and milk together in a large mixing bowl until blended.  Whisk in the molasses and honey mixture.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in the bran, flour, baking powder, and spices. Fold in the walnuts and raisins (blueberries).

Turn the batter into the prepared muffin tin and bake for 15-20 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Serve warm.  (Definitely serve with butter).