Roast Pork with Apricot and Shallot Stuffing AKA Roasted Goodness

I just looked at the pictures saved in our camera and realized that it has been a really long time since I posted any recipes or daily tidbits of our life these past... well it looks like it has been over a month!
So lets see, I thought winter was coming but it has been really mild around here. The weather has been pretty amazing. We've been on our bikes quite a bit and have even been climbing a bunch as well. I had my season opener on the old skis last week. It was like great spring skiing in November! What else, oh I no longer work at the Raven as of 11/14. I was a little surprised but quite relieved as well. I know "hate" is a strong word but I pretty much hated working there since the sale. I use to love my job but the new owners ruined those feelings pretty quick! I am working hard at being unemployed but anxious to start working again. I'm taking some time out of the professional world and bartending and waitressing for the winter. I really feel like I need a mental break after the life of the Littles in the last eleven months. I hope this will recharge my batteries and I look forward to the new doors that may open due to changes this year. Maybe we will finally be blessed with a move in 2009! What else, Dave is working really hard back on the hill. The dogs are great! That is about it!

So this recipe... page 466 in the Yellow Gourmet

3 slices firm sandwich bread
20 or so dried apricots
2 T unsalted butter
1/2 C chopped shallots
2 T chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
1 boneless pork loin (we used a tenderloin since this is what we had on hand)
2 T vegetable oil
1/2 C water

Make the Stuffing: Toast cut up bread until golden. Bring 3 cups of water to a simmer add apricots and simmer until plump. Drain well and cut apricots into small pieces. Melt butter in skillet over moderately low heat. Add shallots and cooking until softened. Add apricots and cook stirring for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in bread, parsley, salt and pepper.
Stuff and Roast Pork: Make a pocket in the pork and stuff with stuffing. Season pork well with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy skillet over high heat and brown pork on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Transfer pork to roasting pan and roast until thermometer registers 150. Make sure you don't test the stuffing. This should take 40-50 minutes. Let pork rest for 20 minutes before cutting. Meanwhile, set the roasting pan over burner and add water to deglaze pan by boiling over moderate heat, scraping up brown bits. Slice meat and pour sauce over.

Fall folliage and Persian Delight

Let's just start by saying that Dave named this entry.

Let's start with the first part of this title... It may be Fall in the rest of the country but it's somewhere in the abyss between Fall and Winter in the Rocky Mountains. Mostly leaning towards the Winter side of the scale. The colors have dwindled but the ground looks really good. Whether we're biking or running I keep finding myself looking at the ground and the beautiful yellow and orange leaves. It is just so pretty. I kind of equate it to rose petals strewn all over the floor but instead of flower petals is is Aspen leaves. We don't' get the reds here in CO. like the East coast gets. I really miss those times but the Aspen trees sure make it worth while. So we woke up to 25 degrees this morning. I think my riding to work days are over. I could barely hold me coffee mug on my dog walk this morning and had to sit on my hands for like an hour this morning when I got to work. I was freezing! I did walk with my newly acquired pottery Red Sox mug. (Its just a little shout out to the win we received last night against the Angels!) Oh and one more thing. Matt and Rebekah bought their tickets to Deer Valley!!! I cannot wait for this vacation. I really wasn't looking forward to winter but now that there IS something to look forward to I guess I don't mind that Fall is becoming Winter. I have started to count down the days. Nancy, Chuck, Zoe, Dan, Rebekah, Matt, Dave (and the dogs, George & Saly) all in one house!! Deer Valley, Park City, The Canyons, Alta, and Snowbird all at our beckoning. Oh and we also have a personal chef who serves us cocktails and drinks before dinner!!

Okay, I think I have said enough about the Fall weather we are having. Let's move on the to the second part of this post:

Persian Delight... This is what we had for dinner. Page 372 in the yellow Gourmet. It was very good. I did make some changes and have noted them below. So if you are looking for the exact recipe please reference page 372. A delicious cold weather comfort.

Persian-Style Chicken with Walnut, Onion, and Pomegranate Sauce

1 large pomegranate or two
2 boneless, skinless breast of chicken
salt & freshly ground pepper
2 T unsalted butter
2 T evoo
1.5 yellow onions very thinly sliced
1 t ground cinnamon
2 C walnuts, toasted, cooled and coarsely ground in mini prep
1/2 C tomato sauce
1 1/2 C chicken broth
3 T fresh lemon juice
1 t molasses (not robust or blackstrap)

Juice two pomegranates to make a least 1/2 cup.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat butter and oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook on each side for 3 minutes or until browned. Transfer to plate. Cook onions on med/low heat until softened and slightly golden (about 15 minutes). Add cinnamon, stir and cook for 1 minute. Add walnuts, stir and cook for 1 minute. Stir in pomegranate juice, tomato sauce, stock, lemon juice, and molasses. Season to taste and bring to a boil for 3 minutes. Add chicken and reserved juices and simmer 20 minutes. Serve over rice.

Orzo its snowing

Once again, we had a wonderful weekend! Yesterday we worked all day blowing out sprinkler systems. I like to say we but I guess this is all Dave. His business is really taking off. We got a glimpse into the second homeowners of Summit. The houses were pretty amazing. Then we came home just in time for the rain to start. Go figure. As soon as work is done and its play time the weather turns. It didn't stop us, we got on our bikes for a quick ride across the street came home showered and headed to the the Guinles for some amazing barbecued pulled pork. It was so darn good! We got to catch up with some friends and had a very nice night. Woke up this morning to snow on the peaks and headed down to Golden to better weather for some more biking. It was the perfect temperature down there and we had a great ride. I've got a nice purple bruise to show for it on my rear end. The drive home really sucked. We knew it would be snowing at the tunnel. As soon as we hit the west side of the tunnel we started sliding down the highway for about 100 yards. I was screaming and holding on to the "oh shit handle". Dave did a very good job of keeping us on the road just in time to see a huge pile up and a mangled SUV on the side of the road. Great. Winter is slowing tightening its grip on the Rocky Mountains. Anyway, we are all fine and made it home safe and sound. After a little recuperating we started our fabulous dinner. I was a nice way to end the weekend and snuggle in for a cold night.

This week I made our entire menu out of the Gourmet Cookbook. It never fails and is always tasty. As you can see by the picture, Dave really enjoyed the Orzo!

Baked Orzo with Shrimp, Tomato Sauce, and Feta
2 T evoo
1 medium onion finely chopped (I used the mini prep)
3 minced garlic gloves
1/2 t dried oregano
1/4 red pepper flakes
1/2 c dry white wine (used chicken stock)
1 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 t salt
1.5 large shrimp peeled and deveined
1 pound orzo
1/2 chopped Kalamata olives
1 C give or take of feta

Heat oven to 425. Lightly oil a 13/9 baking dish.
Heat 1 T oil in heavy skillet and add onion, garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes. Cook until onions are translucent. Add wine/broth boil and reduce by 1/2 about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and salt, reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened- 8 minutes. Stir in shrimp and cook until just cooked through.
Meanwhile cook orzo in salted water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 C cooking water and then drain. Return orzo to pot and toss with 1 T evoo.
Stir sauce and reserved cooking water into orzo, then add olives. Spoon half of pasta into oiled baking dish and sprinkle with half of feta. top with remaining pasta and feta. Bake, uncovered for 15 minutes or until it bubbles. (Page 224)

Steak au Poivre, oolala! Oh and Carrot Cake

That's right! Yum, yum. We finished off the M&B Bertolami birthday box tonight. The fillet mignon were amazingly delicious. I wish I could say I created this recipe but I didn't. This recipe definitely has a little spot in by heart. Way back when I was like 10 or something we went to Jamaica or it may have been Antigua (I can't remember) with the entire Feshenfeld side of the family. I know I had just had my hair braided into corn rows and I sure thought I was pretty spiffy. Each night of the vacation I had chicken au Poive. Yeah, I didn't like steak back then. My brother and I just had to sit down at the table and the waiter already knew what we would have, me the chicken and Matt the steak. I'm pretty sure I had a virgin pina colada as well! Pretty disgusting if you think about it, now that I know what's is in the sauce. Butter and heavy cream. Well tonight we tried to slim it down a bit by adding less butter and a mix of half & half and milk. We used more peppercorns that it called for because we really like the spicy bite it adds. Needless to say I didn't have a blender drink but stuck with a big glass of H2O! I don't think I will post the recipe but you can find it in The Gourmet Cookbook (the big yellow book, page 426). We rounded out the meal with some red potatoes and sauteed spinach.

Oh, that's right I also mentioned something about carrot cake. Everyone knows that this is my all time favorite cake. Dave made me the best cake last year for my birthday and this year I was lucky enough to have a wonderful friend Susan make me her famous recipe. It is so good! I think I was seven when I requested carrot cake for my birthday cake. After playing some crazy and creative game my mom created to wow my friends we came inside our old house in Boxboro and sat down to cake. At seven it was either "We're going on a lion hunt or the crazy spider maze game in the front yard. Every kid can't wait until the cake portion on a birthday party. I really couldn't wait because I knew what waited, boy were my little friends surprised when they saw orange shreds in the slice cake sitting on their plate. No one touched it, they all expected chocolatey goodness not somewhat healthy carrots. Oh well, more for me!

It's a BOY!

That's right! The Allen's are having a boy! After being told "for certain" that it was a girl yesterday morning, we were told it was a boy later that night. The envelope didn't stay sealed that long. How could you not find out what was in there! Here's to a Thor not a Pammy! Congratulations Berit!

Not only is Berit wondring what the heck birthday cake is but what a baby brother is as well!

Peace, Love and Lobsters!

That was the description on our bibs tonight. Yes, bibs. Its 11pm and we just finished dinner. Actually Dave is still working on the last course. In honor of Grandma he is eating Moose Tracks. Actually Mint Moose Tracks. I don't know how he fits all this food. If I had even an ounce of room I would be eating Moose Tracks as well but I just can't. I can't even think about topping the dinner we just had. When we arrive home from work today we were greeted by a big old Styrofoam box. What the heck could this be? Come to find out it was filled with two live Maine lobsters, two fillet Mignon, a couple of crackers, little forks, butter, a lemon, our bibs and some wet naps. My wonderful, amazing and very thoughtful brother and sister-in-law were the master mines behind this amazing night. Oh they were SO good!

We figured that the last time we had lobster was right before Matt and Rebekah's wedding with my parents. Before that it was on our honeymoon in Bar Harbor. I think in three days Dave consumed 6-8 lobsters whether it be whole or tucked into a bun. Talk about a shiny chin. He may as well have been bathing in clarified butter. Gosh after seeing him eat and suck the meat out of those little legs I wasn't sure if I had made the most educated decision! I'm just kidding!

Well, this dinner was amazing and being land locked in the Rocky Mountains lobsters really made my night and for sure the start to my birthday weekend. Thank you M&B!

NYC and VT

We had the most amazing vacation and wonderful visit with our families and friends. Dave put on a great bachelor party for Chris and we were able to celebrate the exciting engagement of Pete and Jenny!! Then we were off to a 40th anniversary party for Chuck and Nancy, Coney Island ( a quick swim in the Atlantic), a trip down the Hudson River, a glimpse at the Statue of Liberty, a walk through the Botanical Gardens, an amazing dinner at both Xavier's and Frankies and oh yeah a Yankees game. What did I miss? The Yankees lost... unfortunately! After our tour of NY were headed up North to visit the Bertolami's. We hit the water running or I guess I should say paddling. A nice afternoon spent on Somerset chasing after my speedy Mom. Gosh, she can really move that yellow boat! Then we went out for drinks with the Vermonters and then back to the abode for an amazing dinner. Dave left early the next morning to help Chris out with last minute wedding dos and don't and I met up with them later in the afternoon for the rehearsal and dinner. Sadly leaving my parents after a very brief but heart warming visit. The wedding of Chris and Lisa was absolutely amazing. The ceremony was beautiful and every word that was spoken made another tear run down my cheek! I was a mush of a mess. We met some really great people at the wedding and danced our little butts off. Dave was the picture of handsome in his tux. Let's pause and look at the caption under the title of this blog. I believe it says something about cooking to put meat on Dave's bones. Well, my very special and very buff husband was wearing his tux from high school. Yes, high school. I'm obviously not succeeding in my goal here! As I write this Dave has polished off a huge plate of lasagna and is now working on a gallon of cookies and cream ice cream while watching skinny girls whirl around the uneven bars in China. Anyway back to the story here. Gosh was it a fun night! We spent the night with Tim, Rose and Shannon and then headed back to the Bertolami abode for a quick lunch and a repacking of the bags before jet setting back to Yonkers. When I say jet setting I truly mean it. The Jetson's let us borrow their car to make the trip more efficient. Thank god for that Honda with the battery. We made it back to Yonkers just in time for a delicious dinner with the Little's before heading to the airport for a red eye back home. I say it every time but that was the last time I book us a red eye. Getting home at 3am and heading to work 3.5 hours later just doesn't work anymore. Let me end this long post by saying it was an amazing trip and we hold quite a few memories close to our hearts!

Turkey Burgers take two or ten

I love these! I whipped them up this morning before going to work and was looking forward to one all day. There are so many variations so here is one that worked.

1 package of lean ground turkey
1 t dijon mustard
3 T minced cilantro
2 T minced red onion
1/2 t worchester sauce
2 T seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg
dash of garlic salt
salt/ pepper

Gently mix all ingredients together with you hand. Be careful not to over mix because it will result in tough burgers. Score into four and form into patties. I double wrapped them in suran wrap and froze all but one. Tonight I grilled them in our grill pan- six minutes per side on medium and topped with cheese. Oh man this was so good!

Homemade Feticini & Pumkin Raviol

Some times I wonder what is going on in my head! My bike rides home are so invigorating that I arrive home energized and ready to tackle something too large for a weeknight dinner. This particular night I decided to pull out the pasta maker. You can just imagine what lay ahead! I got home around six and Dave must have been kayaking, surprise, surprise! Long story short we didn't eat until quarter to 10 and Dave was really not pleased with the mound of dishes in the sink. Our usual agreement is one cooks the other cleans! That night he got the bum end of the bargain. I really enjoyed myself and all in all that is what counts! I wish I had gotten a picture of my sous chef. George kept nibbling on the fettuccine that was hanging all over the kitchen to dry! It was really cute, he would just meander up to the counter and take a bite of the pasta drooping down to his big old head! What a mess it was! I ended up having to sweep and mop the floor. What started this hole adventure was the discovery of a ravioli maker at work. I had wanted to make pumpkin or squash ravioli and this was the perfect excuse. Well long story short the ravioli mold didn't let go of my ravioli so I had to make them by hand and threw out the entire mold with caked on ravioli. I was really disappointed with it but proceeded to pull it out of the trash can in the morning and have vowed to try it again. What can I say I'm a glutton for punishment! So here is the recipe I "followed":

24 oz can of pumpkin
4 T or there about of real VT maple syrup

2 T brown sugar
1/2 t Cinnamon

8oz. goat cheese

salt/ pepper

Note: after I added all these ingredients I went back and kept adding a little more of each. It was too bland and I believe you just have to keep tasting it until you get it the way you like it.

The sauce:

evoo

2 C Chicken broth

2 shallots

2 T corn starch

dried cranberries

walnuts

chopped spinach

salt/ pepper

Soft Taco Night

Tuesday night was the only night of this week that we will be eating at home. We've been really way too busy and need to slow down but each night we had a great time where ever we are! So on Tuesday I decided that we needed to use up some ground turkey. I really wanted to make turkey burgers but wasn't in the mood to get my hands all slimy. I really needed to vacuum and start/finish my book club book which I wanted to do on my back deck while I threw the tennis ball a thousand times to George! I had a lot to accomplish that night. Needless to say, I sat outside for about 20 minutes and read with a nice glass of wine but it was buggy and my neighbor was staining his deck and Saly kept walking over it! So we moved inside. Dave was kayaking and wouldn't be home until 8:30 or so. I started making dinner and then tried to read while watching some stupid show on Tori Spelling. I got wrapped up in that and didn't end up reading too much. Productive!

Turkey Soft Tacos

1 lb. ground turkey
1 t evoo
1 small onion diced
3-4 garlic cloves minced
14 oz can tomatoes (I used sauce since this is what I had on hand)
1 t chili powder
1 1/2 t cumin
1 1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1/4 water
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
small soft tortillas

saute onion in medium skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes then add turkey and garlic. Season meat with salt, chili powder, cumin, coriander and brown. Add tomatoes turn heat down to low. Heat mixture until thickened and add just enough water to get to a good consistency. You may not need to water but I think that I let it reduce too much. Season with pepper flakes and add cheese. Heat until melted and serve with tortillas and avocado salsa.

Avocado Salsa
1 ripe avocado
10-15 cherry tomatoes halved
1 clove minced garlic
salt/ pepper

mix and serve.

Yummy Deliciousness

Oh these were so good. Warning, not good for you! But still really good. I was worried that they would be too spicy but they weren't at all. I brought them to book club last night for our co-ed summer party and they were the first thing to go. They are just as good at room temperature as they are right out of the oven. I'd say that they are a little labor intensive but well worth it. From washing to cutting to filling and baking it took about an hour. Oh, incidentally, the book we read was The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It was so good! It ranks up there with Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follott. Right now they are my two favorite books of 2008. Our next book is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I'm looking forward to this one as well. Enjoy the poppers!

Jalapeño Poppers

20 jalapeños
Reduced fat cream cheese
Bacon
Wooden Tooth Picks

Cut each jalapeno in half and remove seeds and ribs. The more you remove the less heat. I wore rubber cloves to do this. Using a spoon scoop cream cheese into each jalapeño half. Cut bacon into thirds and wrap each stuffed jalapeño in a piece of bacon and secure with a wooded toothpick. Bake at 375 on a wired rack over a baking sheet. It took about 25-30 minutes to crisp the bacon. After this time I flipped each one over and broiled until the bottoms were crisp (1-2 minutes). I was worried that the cream cheese would fall out but it stayed in!

The Little Sushi Den

What a night! We decided to open up the Little Sushi Den on Friday while Pete and Jenny were here. We had so much fun rolling way too much sushi. Here are some pictures of the night. I'm not sure if a recipe is really needed for this dinner since it is pretty self explainatory. I know Jenny & Pete thought it was going to be a lot harder then it really was.

I guess the only rules you need to comply with are:

• Spreading just enough rice on the paper so that it just covers it. If you put too much it just overpowers the ingredients in it.
• Make sure you always keep your hands wet so that the rice doesn't stick.
• Wet the roll to seal it.
• Cut your vegis really thin. Everything should be matchstick size. You don't need as much as you think!
• Wet your sharp knife before each cut.
• If you're going to do an inside out roll cover the bamboo roller with suran wrap first.

We used:

• sushi rice
• carrots
• cucumbers
• avacado
• cream cheese
• shrimp tempura (from costco)
• wasabi
• ginger

Ahh, if only we were back in St. Martin!

Unfortunately we are not and it doesn't really look like we are going any where like that soon! Oh well, I just thought I would post this since its raining here and I wish I was somewhere in turquoise water! I'm not sure if the rain bothers me since its only in the afternoon and the weather has been so nice here. In fact it is getting really dry. We had two fires in the county this weekend. One was on our course! Some juveniles decided it would be fun to set fire to some bushes. Hmm, let's think about this one... Pine beetle killed trees and no rain equals devastation to the entire county. Smart.

Fried Rice Makeover

We made this with the leftover sushi rice from Friday. I definetely think this was the best one we've made. In the past it has alwasy seemed to tast like a stir-fry rather then the good old fried rice. I obviously think this dish is way healthier then takeout. I don't even want to think about what really goes into the real dish. A moment on the lips, forever on the hips!

Chicken Fried Rice

3 C cold cooked rice
1 T vegetable oil
2 chicken breasts diced
1/4 t Chinese five spice
3-4 T soy sauce
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t celery salt
1 t vegetable oil
1 small onion diced
1 C frozen peas
1-2 carrots diced
1 C sugar snap peas
4 T soy sauce
2 eggs beaten


Heat oil in wok on medium high. Add chicken cook 2 minutes then add soy sauce, garlic powder, celery salt and five spice powder. Cook chicken until done and remove to bowl with sauce. Add egg and scramble, remove. Add remaining oil and cook vegetables for 5 minutes. Add cold rice and toss to combine. Turn down heat to low and add remaining soy sauce, eggs and chicken. Cover wok and cook until rice is heated through.

Pizza Party!

Good thing I started running again! We ate like kings this past week and my body is definitely feeling it! But since the point of this blog is to get some meat on Dave's skinny little body I think we can chalk this up to a successful fattening up! Was it bouldering or golfing that made us so hungry? I can't remember? But what ever it was we decided that making three really large pizzas was in order! Here are some pictures of Pete and Jenny in action.

The pizza was really good. We made a Thai Vegetable Pizza and a Barbeque Chicken Pizza. Hmm the Thai one is a keeper!

Thai Vegetable Pizza
pizza dough
yellow peppers, red peppers, mushrooms, shredded mozzarella cheese

Sauce: I've done this two ways and it was a toss up as to which was better. The first time we made this we used leftover szechuan noodle sauce from the barefoot contessa cookbook and added a touch of Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki and the second time I made it I mixed the following:

1/2 C Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki
3 T smooth peanut butter

1 T Sriracha chili sauce
1/2 t vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic

2 t white vinegar

2 T honey

2 T tahini

2 T soy sauce

Puree all ingredients in food processor until smooth. The end result should be a sauce with a slightly thicker consistency. Preheat oven and pizza stone to 475. Roll pizza dough out to desired size and lightly cover with sauce. Top with cheese and vegetables and cook for at least 12-15 minutes. Dave and I disagree on the doneness of pizza. He likes his a little softer then I do. So meet in the middle but I suggest watching for the cheese to begin lightly browning. Make sure you let it rest for at least 3-5 minutes before cutting into it or the cheese will ooze off.

Barbeque Chicken Pizza

pizza dough

barbeque sauce

cooked shredded chicken

pineapple chunks

diced red onion

mixture of shredded moz and cheddar

Mix chicken with a small amount of bbq sauce to coat. Roll out dough a spread with a thin layer of bbq sauce. Top with cheeses, chicken, pineapple and red onion. Cook on pizza stone for 12-15 minutes.

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Burritos

Sadly, Pete and Jenny had to leave us on Sunday morning to continue their road trip down to Flagstaff. We had the best time with them!! Dave was so happy to have his bro around for the week. I'm sure Jenny would agree that seeing the two Little Brothers together is quite a sight! There is never a pause in the conversation between the two of them they can talk for hours on end! Dave was so excited to climb with Pete in Rocky Mt. National Park and boulder at Swan Mountain. Jenny and I had fun just sitting and listening to the two of them talk their way through two pitches. They are a well oiled climbing duo for sure. I have to say that Jenny and I did pretty well up on the rock as well! The entire week was amazing and we fit enough activity into 8 days to last us a lifetime! I know we exhausted them (we tend to do this) and I think we fed them pretty well too! We did knocked most of the items off the weekly menu Dave and I made before they came. I have a lot of updates to work on this week! So I best get started!

Friday we made the famous Black Bean & Sweet Potato Burritos that hail from Cara but originally came from the Moosewood Restaurant Cookbook. Wow are these good. I absolutely love these. Mexican food of any sort and Hilary get along pretty well! Use her recipe if you are more of a measuring kind of cook since I tend to eye ball things!

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Burritos

2 large sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
1 large onion diced
2 T vegetable oil
salt
4 large garlic cloves minced
2 T of canned green chili or fresh if you can get it
4 t ground cumin
4 t ground coriander
2 cans of black beans
2/3 C fresh cilantro leaves
juice of one lemon
flour tortillas
fresh salsa
shredded Cheddar cheese is optional and not necessarily needed but always good!

Preheat ove to 350. Boil sweet potatoes in salted water until tender- 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. While the sweet potatoes are cooking, warm the oil in a medium skillet or saucepan and add the onions, garlic, and chile. Cover and cook on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender, about 7 minutes. Add the cumin and coriander and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and set aside.In a food processor, combine the black beans, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, and cooked sweet potatoes and puree until smooth. Transfer the sweet potato mixture to a large mixing bowl and mix in the cooked onions and spices. Lightly oil a large baking dish. Spoon about 2/3 to 3/4 cup of the filling in the center of each tortilla, roll it up, and place it, seam side down, in the baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake for about 30 minutes, until piping hot. Serve topped with salsa. You can sprinke cheese over burritos before cooking if you want or just serve it as a side.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Orange Ginger Tofu Stir Fry

We have made this a couple of times and knew right away that Pete and Jenny would like it. It is perfect in our huge Le Cruset wok! As you know I love looking up recipes on the Internet and obsessing over how I can make it more healthy or more to our tastes. This is just that kind of recipe. I think the original is from Cooking Light and is called Orange-Ginger Chicken Lo Mein. This is our spin on it.

1/2 C chicken broth (I always use the low sodium)
1/4 C orange juice from concentrate
1/4 C low sodium soy sauce
2 T cornstarch
2 T brown sugar
3-4 garlic cloves minced
1/2 t ground ginger or 1 T freshly grated
a couple of shakes of red pepper flakes
1 t vegetable oil
2 C or more of the following vegetables (you can you anything)
red & green peppers, carrots, sugar snap peas, celery, edamamme
1 package of drained firm tofu cut into like size pieces
1 bunch of thinly sliced green onions
either 2 C rice or 8 oz. of rice noodles (I prefer the noodles in this case)
dry-roasted peanuts for garnish

Whisk together broth, oj, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and red pepper- set aside. Heat oil in wok over med high heat. (Side Note: sometimes I add the tofu first and let it get a nice and crisp and brown and sometimes I just add the vegis and tofu together for a smoother consistency.) So its up to you but either way don't stir-fry the vegis too long. After the vegis have been in for 3 minutes add the scallions and the tofu back in if you went the first route. Add the broth mixture and cook until thick, stirring constantly. If you are using the noodles add them at the last minute and stir to combine. If you're using rice I like to plate the rice and top with the stir-fry. Top each plate with peanuts and enjoy!

Cleaning and Grilling

We are rushing to get the house cleaned and ready for Pete and Jenny, my brother-in-law and his girlfriend. We can't wait to have them to ourselves for a whole week!! We're heading out on an overnight raft trip down the Colorado this weekend so between cleaning the house and tearing apart the closets to prepare for the trip we had an interesting night of "cleaning". Thankfully I had taken a flank steak out of the freezer to thaw so dinner was a cinch and really tasty. At 8:30 we sat down to a juicy steak with a side of couscous and crisp sugar snap peas sauteed with a dash of sesame oil and of course a bottle of wine! Over dinner we made our grocery list and dinner menu for the week. I hoping to make the following- Lasagna, Black bean & Sweet Potato Burritos, Orange Tofu Stir-fry, Baked Chili Rellenos, Pizza, Pumpkin Ravioli, Sushi and Artichoke Linguine. Its going to be a busy week and I probably won't get to posting any of these until after they leave but I'm looking forward to the week ahead!

Spice-rubbed Flank Steak

flank steak trimmed
3 T brown sugar
2 t ground cumin
2 t ground oregano
2 t garlic powder
1 t salt
1/2 t ground allspice
3 T evoo

Mix sugar, spices and evoo and brush on both sides of steak. Let stand for at least 20 minutes. Grill to desired temperature. Since it has sugar in it make sure you keep your grill low so it doesn't burn; you will get a nice dark color. We grilled for 4 minutes per side. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into it. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices. I found this recipe on Cooking Light- Southern Living.

Dave's Night to Cook

We had a great day today. The weather was amazing. We headed down to the Arkansas River area near Buena Vista. Dave went kayaking and I got on my bike for a really nice ride on the Colorado Trail. We had taken some chicken out to thaw and had in mind a recipe that my friend Kim had made years ago. She really isn't a cook but made this delicious bread crumb coated chicken stuffed with herb feta on a bed of spinach tossed with fresh basil and a touch of balsamic, evoo, salt and pepper. We now call it Kim's Chicken. Its baked and then place on the fresh spinach. When we got home Dave decided that he was in charge of dinner and really wanted something more like chicken parm. We ended up with a great new dish thanks to Dave! It wasn't anything like a chicken parm since we used feta and spinach but it was good. I'm not sure what we would call it? Maybe Dave's Feta & Spinach Chicken Parm!

Dave's Feta & Spinach Chicken Parm

2 Chicken breasts
2 C seasoned breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/4 C milk
Evoo
2 C chopped tomatoes in juice
1/4 C feta
3-4 C loose packed spinach

Preheat oven to 360. Cut each chicken breast in half length wise. Pound until thin. Whisk egg and milk together and add chicken. Toss to coat. Pour breadcrumbs into pie plate and coat chicken. Heat oil in large heavy skillet until just smoking. Gently place chicken into skillet cook 3 minutes per side. Remove to paper towel lined plate to drain. We used a cast iron skillet for this. After cooking chicken remove skillet from heat and drain oil. Pour tomatoes into skillet followed by spinach. Place chicken on top followed by feta. Cook in oven for 15-20 minutes or until spinach is wilted and cheese has softened. (Feta will not melt)

EL Part 3

Wow was this a good dinner! We love going to the restaurant outside of Vail called The Minturn Saloon. Its pretty much a cowboy bar slash hole in the wall Mexican place with wide wood planked worn floors. Its carries some history so the vibe is pretty cool. My Dad is the first person in the family to visit. He was there back in the early 80s or even the 70s when he came out to ski with some friends. So he wanted to go there the first time he came out to visit us over 7 years ago. Dave and I loved this place! When we go out for dinner we tend to hit the less fancy but always dependable places. This is one of them. We only get to visit about twice a year and come to think of it I think were due for anther visit. So our favorite entree is the Shrimp Del Mar. Its a unique but delicious dish. I finally found a recipe that comes as close to the real thing. This definitely isn't a regular meal for us since it has a cream base. But it was worth it! Dave really enjoyed this!

Shrimp Del Mar

1/2 C red pepper diced
1/2 C green pepper diced
1/2 onion diced divided
3 t butter divided
1/4 oregano
1/8 t garlic powder
1/8 t cayenne pepper (or more)
salt/ pepper
1/4 heavy cream (I used half & half and would try milk next time)
1 1/2 T flour
2 C xtra sharp chedder cheese shredded
1/4 C light sour cream
1 lbs or less peeled, deveined shrimp
1 C diced tomatoes
flour tortillas

Preheat oven 350. Melt 2 t of butter and a dash of evoo in large skillet over medium heat. Add 3/4 of the onions and saute 4 minutes. Add peppers and saute until onion are translucent. Add flour and stir to coat 1 min. Add oregano, salt, black pepper, cayenne, garlic powder saute 1 min. Lower heat and add cream. Stir until slightly thickened add half of the cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

In another skillet melt butter and remaining onion until softened and add shrimp. Salt and pepper and cook until just cooked through. Remove shrimp with a slotted spoon and roughly chop. Return to cheese sauce and pour just enough of the shrimp liquid to sauce. Do not over dilute the thickness. Add tomatoes and stir to combine.

Grease baking dish. Spoon shrimp mixture onto tortilla and roll, place in backing dish. Repeat until only the sauce remains. Pour remaining sauce over tortillas and shredded cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

EL Part Two

Its Wednesday and we're half way through our eating lean week. We woke up to some sinister weather again this morning. Dave headed to the gym before work and I went out for my first run in over 2 months! I was really excited but apprehensive as well. I knew I shouldn't be out there but I just had to try. It went pretty well but irritated my foot. It was just so nice to be out on the trail with the dogs! I quickly showered and hopped on my bike and headed down for my first PT appointment. It started to snow on my ride down the hill!! When is winter going to end. It didn't go as well as planned. I was told that there is a lot of work to be done to make my foot get back to normal. So instead of some positive news I was hit with the long road to recovery. Oh well. It was really nice to come home and cook dinner with Dave tonight. Its been quite a few nights since we ate before 9pm! We had a tasty dinner thanks to Giada De Laurentis and Everyday Italian.

Chicken Piccata
2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Sea and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used salted and 2 T)
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (I used less)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed (didn't rinse)
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.
Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

We served the chicken over spaghetti. For eating lean this was pretty rich!

Eating Lean part one

After coming home inspired from my seminar down in Denver I started on dinner. Dave started marinating the pork and headed out in to kayak the ten mile creek from Copper to Frisco. More on the pork later but first I'll let you know how the seminar was. It was put on by Disney and was called The Disney Keys to Excellence. We learned about the best practices at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. In a nut shell we covered Leadership Excellence, Employee Excellence, Guest Satisfaction/ Loyalty and Repeat Business. The philosophies and tactics that Disney used are quite innovative but I am happy to say that our company is right on par with these concepts. It was all very interesting and worth every penny. So now that you know what I've been doing to be a better leader we'll move on to how I led my kitchen to a pretty good meal. This is a pretty friendly week night meal because the pork doesn't need to marinate for that long. I think I gave it 30 minutes.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin
1 pork tenderloin trimmed
3-4 T of Dijon mustard
evoo
1 lemon
4 large shallots sliced
salt and lots of freshly ground pepper

Rub pork with mustard and liberally cover with pepper. Squeeze lemon over pork and run some evoo over the top. Marinate for as much time as you have. Preheat oven to 375. Place pork in pan covered with foil and surround with sliced shallots. Roast pork until an internal temperature of 160 is met. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Serve sliced pork with sliced shallots over top.
I served this with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob.

Forgotten Recipe that needs to be remembered

So I made Chicken burgers the other night and needed to keep track of my version. I adapted my recipe from Guy Fieri Chicken Patties. They were amazing! I was really excited to try them out and couldn't believe how tasty they were. I'm still trying to get Dave to like alternative burgers. We really don't eat any red meat so when a burger is on the menu he is looking for the red meat version. I think he liked these.

Chicken Burgers
2 skinned chicken breasts
evoo
4 T diced black olives
1/2 red pepper diced
1/2 jalapeno diced (you can use more if you like the heat)
3 garlic gloved minced
1/4 diced artichoke hearts
dash of the following (around a 1/2 t)
paprika
chili powder
oregano
red chili flakes
cumin
1 T of fresh flat leaf parsley
1/4 t sage
2 T bread crumbs
1 egg
s & p

In a medium saute pan over medium heat add evoo and all vegetables and saute until translucent. Remove and cool.
While vegetables are cooling place chicken breasts in Cuisinart with the metal blade and blend until ground.
Add veggies to raw chicken and mix thoroughly. Add all dry ingredients and egg. Thoroughly mix all ingredients and form into 4 patties. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
In same saute pan add remaining 1-ounce olive oil, and cook patties 2 to 3 minutes per side.

BBQ in the Snow

We decided on Friday to have some people over since we really haven't done any entertaining since before January. This isn't to say we haven't had anyone over we just haven't done anything big. So we decided to kick of the summer by doing something we love- sitting on our back deck around the fire pit. Yes we live in the Rocky Mountains. Notice how I said kick off the summer. Its June 9th and summer really hasn't come to stay yet. We've had glimpses of it and then the snow takes center stage again. So after a beautiful Saturday the snow decided to grace us with its presence again. So we nixed the back deck and crammed everyone in our kitchen and living room. I tried my hand at Potato skins. After seeing the Neeley's cook up some grilled skins I decided to create my own version in the oven since the grill was already on overdrive cooking up some beef burgers, chicken burgers, turkey burgers, brats and polish sausage.



Potato Skins
6 Russet Potatoes scrubbed
2 T butter
2 T EVOO
3 minced garlic gloves
salt/pepper
light sour cream
3-4 scallions
2 C extra sharp cheddar cheese
chopped cooked bacon (4 slices)
bbq sauce

mix sour cream and sliced scallions in a bowl. pierce potatoes and bake at 400 for 60+ minutes. allow to cool and slice in half and gently scoop just enough flesh out of each half to create a small well to hold fixings. reserve for another use. mix butter, evoo, garlic and s&p in small bowl and microwave to melt butter. Brush both sides of potatoes with butter mixture. place skin side back in oven to crisp (3 min). flip over and brush with remaining butter and put back in oven (3 min). remove potatoes and fill with bacon, a touch of bbq sauce and top with cheese. broil on high until bubbly. slice each skin into 3-4 pieces and serve with sour cream and extra bbq sauce.

To complete the party we served what we politely call WT margaritas and Sea breezes and of course beers.

WT Margaritas
2 cans of limeade from concentrate
tequila
cheap beer

mix limeade with equal parts tequila and two cans of cheap beer and serve either on ice or blended with ice and lime wedges.

The party ended on the back deck around the fire pit. We roasted marshmallows and made samores.

The Week Ahead

I've tried really hard to make our menu fit within our tight budget. We just got the Passat fixed last week and paid all the bills in the beginning of the month and are left with a skinny food budget. Needless to say I'm pretty proud of the dishes I pulled out of the freezer and cabinets. I sometimes enjoy being put in this position (even if I was the one who put us here). It makes me really appreciate what's in the house and utilize what is available. So instead of rambling on I will let you in on the list... In no particular order we will be having Pumpkin Ravioli care of Cara's Blog, Chicken Piccata, Shrimp Enchiladas, Peppercorn and Garlic Pork Tenderloin and something with Tofu that has yet to be decided. After tooting my horn on being creative we came home tonight to eat homemade nachos and garden burgers! I really didn't want to cook after pulling weeds out of someone else's garden and sledge hammering someone else's retaining wall. Oh the joys of working all day and then helping Dave with his blossoming business. So my first entry won't have a recipe in it since I really can't take any credit for opening up a can of pinto beans and dumping them over some chips covered with cheese! Hopefully I will redeem myself in the next entry!