Teriyaki Pineapple Chicken

This one is for sure a vacation dish. We stopped by a local food stand on the side of the road in Oahu and bought a fresh pineapple. I had never seen one that bright orange color before.  I guess they turn a little more brownish on their way to the mainland.

As a tip of the hat to the mix of Polynesian cultures here in Hawaii, I decided to do a teriyaki marinaded chicken with glazed pineapples over white rice.

I marinaded the chicken (thighs and breasts) in teriyaki and garlic for about 4-5 hours. I poked them with a fork first so they would soak up more of the marinade. Then I baked them for 30 minutes at 350 degrees in a baking dish with the marinade and chunks of pineapple.

While the chicken was baking, I seared off fresh slices of pineapple to caramelize the edges and enhance that sweet flavor. After the chicken was done I served the pineapple on top of the chicken over abed of white rice. It was fantastic. I can honestly say it was the most delicious pineapple I have ever eaten ...and it was nice to be able to cook for my family.

Spinach Dip

This is another post from an iPad, so please forgive the formatting ... Or lack there of. They say these things are great, but I'm all thumbs when it comes to tablets.

Anyhow, I made this dip last year for thanksgiving and it was the one thing my grandmother specifically recommended. And I just had to oblige.

You start with two 8 oz packages of cream cheese and 1 cup of mayo. Blend them together in a larger mixing bowl. Meanwhile, crisp up 5 bacon strips and chop them into little pices after you drain off the fat and greese. 

Add 4 oz of shredded cheese and 1 chopped green onion to the bowl. Next chop up one 8 oz can of water chestnuts and mince one clove of garlic. Add them to the mix too.

1/2 tsp seasoned salt and 1/8 tsp of pepper join the mix. Finally I like to finly chop the greens from celery and add them to the mixture. I like to slice fresh celery to serve with this dip, so why let the green leaves goth waste? 

Buy a round loaf of bread, hollow out a bowl, and bake the mixture until it is hot & bubbly. Cube up the bread you removed and serve the with the celery stalks to scoop up this wonderful dip. If my grandma likes it, anybody will.

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

I am just now getting to this because we have been traveling. Hopefully I will do a better job this week with some updates. I have pictures, and I am trying to figure out how to upload them from this iPad.

The Mrs got into e Thanksgiving mood and whipped up this gem. I don't really care for that gelatinous blob of cranberry sauce that comes out of a can. I know many people do, but I don't. This I much preferred and I will be requesting it every year now.

Start by melting sugar and water together in a sauce pot. Then add fresh cranberries and cook them together over low heat for around 10 minutes. Then add orange zest and the juice of one orange. After it reduces for maybe another 10 minutes, add chopped walnuts and minced crystallized ginger.

The berries will break down during this process. The sauce will thicken. And you will have delicious fresh cranberry sauce that you can jar and bring to any family gathering during the holiday season.

...but be prepared to have to make it for the rest of your life.

Mushroom Stroganoff with Goat Cheese

Iron Chef Mario Batali recently introduced a concept called "Meatless Mondays".  He is an admitted carnivore, but he came to the realization that Americans typically eat too much meat.  It's more than we should eat for our own health, and for the sustainability of the livestock.  So he proposed that once a week we should eat something vegetarian.  I suppose if Mario can do it at all of his restaurants, then I can get behind it too.

Now I should point out that this is certainly NOT vegan.  There is dairy and beef stock.  But it is delicious   I got the recipe from another Food Network personality:  Alton Brown.  He said that he actually prefers this to the traditional Beef Stroganoff now.  And we might have to agree.

I start with a whole package of button mushrooms, sliced into 1/8 inch pieces.  You want them to be somewhat bulky, because this is going to be your faux meat in the dish.  I also leave the stems on.  If you stand them upside down, you can slice right down through the stem and have nice little cross-sections of the button mushrooms.

Melt 2-3 tbsp of butter into a large non-stick pan over medium heat.  Increase it to medium-high and throw in your mushrooms and sprinkle with salt.  Toss them around a bit to coat them with butter.  And then let them get a hard sear and release some of their moisture.  You are going for a nice caramelization on the mushrooms so they feel even more like beef.  Then take a bunch of green onions and dice them, separating the white part from the green tops.  Add the thicker, whiter, parts to your onions in the pan and cook together for another 2-3 minutes.

By this point your mushrooms should look something like this:

Now you will add 1 tbsp flour to thicken any liquid in the pan.  Cook for 1-2 minutes so the flour cooks off, and then deglaze the pan with 14 oz of beef broth.  Bring this to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cook for 10-12 minutes.  Finally, add 4 oz of goat cheese (or you could use cream cheese) and 8 oz of sour cream.

Let the mixture thicken together and then serve with egg noodles.  I like to toss the egg noodles in the pan so they get completely coated with the rich sauce.  Top it with black pepper and the green tops from your green onions.

The dish is very rich with the butter, cheeses, and beef broth.  You get a nice texture and sharpness from the onions. The mushrooms are "meaty" and flavorful, and the egg noodles round out this protein-packed vegetarian dish.  You won't find yourself asking, "Where's the beef?"

Fruit Smoothies

We were recently at an event with another couple.  We started talking about wedding gifts, and I said how we loved registerring for all manners of kitchen gadgets & appliances.  But I said one thing that I never use is the blender.  The husband said that he uses his every day.  "Really?!" I said. "On what?"

It turns out they are both health-conscious marathon runners.  And he makes himself a fruit smoothie almost every day.  He said he had perfected his favorite blend, and I went straight home and tried it myself.  Add the following into your blender:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 vanilla yogurt (frozen)
• 1 banana
• 5-6 frozen strawberries
• Bunch of fresh spinach
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

He told me that if you take the lid off the frozen yogurt and microwave it for 20 seconds it will be the perfect consistency.  I like to have the frozen berries, milk, and spinach toward the bottom of the blender.  Then top it with the banana and frozen (regular) yogurt.

Blend it all together and you're good to go!  He doesn't add any ice. The frozen yogurt and frozen berries give it that cold and frothy consistency you really want from a smoothie.  The spinach is disintegrated into tiny little green flecks.  You can't really even taste it. It really is added for more nutrients.  But I like to think the little red & green flecks floating around a white smoothie reminds me of Christmas.

It really is delicious.  You could use this as a meal supplement if you're trying to loose weight. But I like it in place of a snack on a night after we have been to the gym.  Everything in there is good for you.  So I don't feel the least bit guilty for finishing off a nice tall glass of this.  I think I have had it 4-5 times already this week.

...so now our blender is finally getting some use!

Chutney Cheese Balls

My better half found this recipe as a great appetizer for the upcoming holiday season.  And it is a great way to use some of the green tomato chutney that I recently made.  We made a "test batch" this week, and it's already almost gone.  So I think this recipe will definitely feature in our holiday party in the next few weeks.

You will add the following ingredients in a mixing bowl:

• 16 oz of softened cream cheese
• 1/2 cup of your chutney
• 1/4 cup diced green onions
• 1/2 clove of garlic, crushed
• 4 oz shredded Colby cheese
• 4 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Mix it all together and then form it into a ball on a plate.  Then take 1/2 cup of pecans and chop them up on a cutting board so they are in small little pieces.  Then gently coat the outside of your cheese ball with the nuts, and you're good to go!

The onions and garlic give it a nice bite, the chutney is sweet & acidic, and the cheese make it creamy and decadent.  We used wheat crackers to go with ours.  But I imagine you could dive into this thing with celery sticks, pretzels, or anything that trips your fancy.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

When I wrote about the roasted chicken recently, I said that we would get several meals out of that one bird.  Well by my count, we have already had 4 or 5.  Once I just had the leftovers heated up in the oven.  But this time we actually used the chicken meat to make another dish.  This is a great way to make sure you're not wasting any of the food you cooked -- without getting bored eating the same thing over & over.

The Mrs actually cooked this one (which may not surprise anyone that may have picked up on her affinity toward soups).  She took the chicken meat and shredded it first.  Then you add the chicken along with the following ingredients to a large soup stock pot:

• 30 oz diced tomatoes
• 10 oz mild enchilada sauce
• 4 oz chopped mild green chiles
• 1 qt chicken broth
• 2 15-oz cans of black or pinto beans
• 10 oz frozen corn
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp cumin, chili powder, and salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

You should cook this on low for SEVERAL hours, or cook it on high for 2-3 hours.  You really want all the flavors to marry and develop that richness.  There is definitely some bite from the green chilis and the spices, some sweetness from the corn, and acidity from the tomatoes.   The chicken & beans provide a lot of protein.

This is a really fun soup.  I almost always like it when it's on a menu at a restaurant.  I believe this is the first time we have made it at home. Top it with some shredded cheese and either tortilla chips or crispy strips of tortilla.  You can also add a dollop of sour cream if you want.