Melissa's Love of Cooking and Eating

Melissa's Love of Cooking and Eating
Fries in Amsterdam

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Thanksgiving Feast

I know Thanksgiving was a few weeks ago, but I haven't had a chance to update until now. My mom gave me the honor of planning and cooking our family's Thanksgiving dinner. I used Food Network's magazine for inspiration.




I started by brining the turkey a day before I planned to roast it. I started by boiling two cups of kosher salt and a cup of sugar in water. Then, I made added lemon peel, garlic powder, thyme, oregano,  lemon pepper, peppercorns, and rosemary into the boiling water. I let it boil for 10 minutes, let it cool, and then added it to the ice water bath. Then, I put the turkey into the cooler to soak up all the wonderful flavors.





The next day, I started by making the stuffing. The day before, I bought a french loaf from Fresh and Easy, cut it into cubes, and spread them on a tray to dry out. They still were not as crusty as I wanted the next morning, so I popped the tray into the oven for about 15 minutes. Then, I sauteed onions, celery, mushrooms. Once cooked, I added chicken broth. I added this mixture to the dried bread, and put in salami and wild rice. I mixed it all together, and I put half in the turkey and half in a casserole dish. This was not a traditional stuffing, but it was delicious!


I rubbed the turkey with garlic powder, oregano,  and lemon juice. Then, I put the stuffed turkey into the oven and let it bake! YUM!



Next, I started on the side dishes. I always have trouble making mashed potatoes (which is bizzare because they are my favorite food). For some reason, they always turn out super watery and runny whenever I boil the potatoes. So, this year, I decided to bake the potatoes, then mash them. This way, there was no chance of them turning out runny.  I hallowed out the taters, then added butter and cream. They were a wonderful success!



Next, I worked on the stuffed mushrooms. I sauteed onions, garlic, prosciutto, and the stems from the mushrooms together.  I stuffed this mixture into the mushrooms, topped them with cheddar cheese, and baked them in the oven.


The last two side dishes included creamed corn, and my mom's Taiwanese yams. She baked these yams in honey, and topped them with orange zest. These are my favorite Thanksgiving side dish!


Writing this post makes me want to make a second Thanksgiving dinner! YUM!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Flavored Pumpkin Seeds

Last year, Dan, Mark, and Adrienne decided to carve pumpkins at our house in San Diego. Since they had TONS of seeds leftover, I decided to make seeds. This year, I wanted to recreate the seeds I made from last year, and make new ones!



My friend Lindsay and I decided to go to the pumpkin patch and buy HUGE pumpkins. Then, we de-seeded them. After cleaning the pumpkin, we washed the seeds to rid them of any goop.

Then, the real fun began. We raided her spice cabinet to come up with flavor profiles. We decided to do some sweet, some spicy, and some savory. We seperated all our seeds into four bowls, and flavored them from there.


I wanted to re-create my seeds from last year, so I added garlic powder, onion powder, olive oil, and salt and pepper. I made sure that they stayed in the oven long enough so they were extra crunchy.


Then, we started on the other flavors. For the next batch, we added cinnamon, sugar, and apple pie spice to the bowl. We baked these until the sugar caramelized on the seeds.




After, we decided to go spicy! We added cayenne pepper and salt to the next batch and baked them. These were super spicy!




Lindsay and I weren't sure of what to do with the last bowl. Then, she had the genius idea of adding Parmesan cheese to the seeds! The salty-ness and cheesy-ness of the parmesan was the perfect compliment to the savory flavor of the seeds!



All of these seeds were SO ADDICTING! I couldn't stop eating them! YUM!!!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Skillet Steak Dinner

This week, I decided to experiment with steaks on my cast iron skillet. I wanted to make steakhouse-like steaks at home. I knew the perfect sides would be lemon-rosemary potatoes and steamed broccoli and cauliflower. 

I started by slicing the potatoes into thin pieces. I coated them with lemon juice, olive oil, and dried rosemary. Then, I placed them in a single layer, and baked them until golden brown in a 375 degree oven. I think these potatoes have become my new favorite way to make potatoes.

Then, I sliced the broccoli and cauliflower, placed them in the microwave with some water, and steamed. Simple and fast!


Then, I started on the steaks. First, I seasoned the steaks with salt, pepper, olive oil, and soy sauce. I heated my skillet and browned the steaks on both sides. Once browned, I placed them in the oven to finish cooking to everyone's liking.


After the steaks were finished, I used the juice in the pan to make a onion and mushroom topping. I started by heating the juices and adding the onions. Once browned, I tossed in the sliced mushrooms. Then, I de-glazed the pan with merlot. I let the sauce reduce down.

Overall, this meal was a success. Can't wait to try different toppings with steaks!

YUM!!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Broccoli and Cauliflower Quiche

For the Texas v. Oklahoma game, Greg suggested that I make a quiche. Adrienne and I made mini quiches last year, but I've never made a full-sized quiche. I started by purchasing a pre-made pie crust from Trader Joes and put it in my new le creuset skillet. (My pie pan is stored away so I decided to improvise).

Then, I steamed pieces of broccoli and cauliflower, and I sauteed onions. I spread these ingredients all over the pie crust. Then, I beat a dozen eggs, added milk, and then stirred in shredded cheddar cheese. I poured this mixture over the pie crust covered with the veggies.


Then, I baked at 375 for 45 minutes. It was at this point that I realized I forgot to bake the pie crust before adding the filling. Luckily the crust still turned out golden brown. I think my cast iron pan helped cook the crust while cooking the filling. I also realized that I forgot to add salt and pepper, so I quickly sprinkled it over the quiche as it was baking.  Even though some mistakes were made, it was delicious!  This quiche was super simple, and super delicious! YUM!!!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

40 Clove Garlic Chicken

Even before purchasing my french oven, I saw Ina Garten make 40 Clove Garlic Chicken on her show. I've wanted to make it for a few years now. Last week, I saw the perfect opportunity! Instead of Ina's recipe, I decided to use Nigella Lawson's because it seemed a bit lighter.

I went to Trader Joe's and bought scallions, thyme, four heads of garlic, vermouth, par-baked bread, green beans, mushrooms, and a chicken that was already cut up. I started by browning the chicken in my french oven. Then, I removed the chicken,  and added the thyme and green onions to the oil in the oven. Then, I threw in half of the cloves of garlic, then added the chicken back in, and then topped with more garlic and thyme.  Then, I seasoned with salt and pepper. Then, I put the lid on, and the baked the french oven in a 350 degree oven for 1.5 hours.

While the chicken was cooking, I cleaned and cut the green beans and mushrooms.  I chose to cut the green beans and  mushrooms in half and to saute them together. The last time I made this side, I didn't boil the green beans first, so some came out really soggy and some were undercooked. I made sure to boil them so they were all even.

While the green beans were boiling, I cooked the mushrooms with olive oil.  I only let the green beans boil for a few minutes because I wanted them to stay crisp. After they were done boiling, I added the green beans to the browned mushrooms.


After the chicken was finished, I put the par-baked bread in the oven to crisp up. After 8 minutes,  I pulled the bread out, sliced it, and then plated the food. I made sure to scoop extra sauce on top of the chicken so that you could dip your bread in the sauce. When I put the chicken into the oven, there was only a bit of olive oil and two tablespoons of vermouth in the pan. When I pulled it out, all the juices had accumulated in the bottom of the pan. I couldn't believe how much sauce there was! YUM!


I had one happy Scott at the end of the meal.