Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Shrimp and Grits

PRE-STORY: J and I were watching Throwdown on Food Network and he asked me to make Shrimp and Grits. Foodnetwork.com had both Bobby and the opponent (otherwise known as the winner) so I went with the Winner's (not to be confused with Charlie Sheen) recipe. As a warning - this in NOT diet food!

DISH: Seafood

SOURCE/ADAPTED FROM: foodnetwork.com Shrimp and Grits by Joe Barton

ACTIVE TIME: 20 min TOTAL TIME: 20 min

INGREDIENTS:
Shrimp:
• 1 1/2 pounds (26-30 count) Wild Georgia Shrimp - used 1 lb extra large easy peel shrimp
• 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning (recommended: Tone's Louisiana Cajun seasoning) - all the reviews recommended 1 Tbs so that's what I did. PLENTY SPICY!
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
• Freshly ground black pepper - skipped - I hate pepper!
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons Butter

Grits:
• 2 cups water - used 1 cup shrimp stock, 1/2 cup chicken broth, 1/2 cup water
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes (recommended: Knorr) - just used one since I used chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 cup quick grits (recommended: Quaker)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste - skipped
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 1/2 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar
Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Texas Pete) - skipped
1 slice sugar-cured country ham - skipped, planned on using bacon but I forgot

DIRECTIONS:
First, peel and devein the shrimp. Put the shells in 1 Cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer until you are ready to make the grits. In a small bowl, combine Cajun seasoning, paprika, Italian seasoning, garlic, and salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the shrimp to coat well and set the shrimp aside. Let them sit for about 5 minutes.

Next, make your grits. In a medium saucepan, bring shrimp stock, chicken broth, water, chicken bouillon cubes and 2 tablespoons butter to a boil. Slowly add the grits, whisking often with wire whisk for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste (or not), cream, and cheese. Keep whisking for another 2 or 3 minutes until the grits become creamy. Don't skimp on the butter and the cream, folks. This

Now saute the shrimp. In a large saute pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add in the spice-coated shrimp, and cook only until they're just done and tender. Don't overcook. Remove the shrimp from the saute pan and set them aside in a bowl. You can taste 1 or 2, to see if they're okay.

The roux is next. With all those wonderful drippings from the shrimp in the saute pan, add 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and stir with a wooden spatula to make a roux. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until roux reaches a medium-tan color, then slowly add the chicken stock and heavy whipping cream. Whisk together and cook for 2 minutes, then whisk in Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Set aside.

And last, a little country ham. Cook 1 center slice of cured country ham in a saute pan, and cut into cubes. Skipped this - if I had used bacon, I would have precooked it and crumbled it on top.

To serve, and this is the best part-place a few heaping spoonfuls of steaming cheese grits onto a place, top with several sizzling shrimp. Drizzle that wonderful roux sauce over top of the shrimp, and sprinkle on a few cubes of country ham. Enjoy.

A viewer, who may not be a professional cook, provided this recipe. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe and therefore, we cannot make representation as to the results.

SERVES / NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Serves 4

Original recipe Per serving: Not listed, but I'm SURE it's not good! Did you read how much butter and cream listed!

RATING/DIFFICULTY:
Taste Rating: Four Fat Running Chefs

Difficulty Rating: Easy Peasy

SERVED WITH:
Nothing else, planned on corn, but glad I didn't. Very filling!

FINAL NOTES:
Next time I make this, I'm going to try a healthier version with yogurt butter and skim milk (don't tell Dude). I'll let the cheese be the fat! This was spicy, but in a good way. Again, I only used 1 Tablespoon of Cajun seasoning, I can't imagine how much spicier it would have been with 2.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Flank Steak Roll with Spinach and Garlic

PRE-STORY: Right now I'm barely training so there are some nights when Dude has jiu-jitsu practice and I have time to cook. Tonight was one of them.

DISH: Beef

SOURCE/ADAPTED FROM: Clean Eating magazine, March/April 2010, Volume 3, Issue 2

ACTIVE TIME: 25 min TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 15 min

INGREDIENTS: Italics Font items are my adaptations
• Olive Oil Cooking Spray - used regular PAM
• 1/4 C Whole Wheat Panko - Couldn't find that, used regular Panko, and needed more because I rolled the steak roll in Panko before baking
• 1 Tbs Pine Nuts, toasted - whoops, forgot the toasting part - note to self - read and reread the recipe
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar - added 1 tsp+ red wine
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt - used gray sea salt from Napa Style
• 2 Clove Garlic, Coarsely Chopped - used 3 cloves
• 1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes - dang it, missed this one to - see note to self above
• 1 Flank Steak, trimmed of visible fat - mine was 1.4 lbs
• 3 oz Spinach Leaves, about 6 cups - I chopped mine
Added chopped Cremini Mushrooms, about 1/2 Cup

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400. Arrange a rack in a baking pan and coat with cooking spray. (Cover the bottom of the baking rack with aluminum for easy clean up).

In a small bowl, combine panko, nuts, vinegar, wine, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

Place steak on a work surface. Holding a sharp knife (ideally a carving knife with a thinner blade than a chef's knife) parallel to the work surface and positioned along 1 of the longer sides, cut steak almost in half horizontally, so it opens like a book. Spread steak open with "spine of book" parallel to you.

Sprinkle panko mixture evenly over steak, leaving a 1 inch border along the farthest edge. Arrange mushrooms and spinach on top of panko mixture. Beginning with the closest edge, roll steak up, gently pressing down on spinach. Rotate steak roll so it's vertical to you and tie crosswise at 1 inch intervals with kitchen string. Roll in extra panko. Place steak on rack in prepared baking pan and bake until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of steak registers 150F . for medium doneness, about 35 minutes, or 130F for medium rare, about 30 minutes. Transfer steak roll to a cutting board, loosely cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes (internal temperature will continue to rise to about 160F for medium, 140F for medium rare).

Remove foil and string and carefully cut steak crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Serve drizzled with any juices accumulated on cutting board.

SERVES / NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Serves 4

Original recipe Per serving: Calories 230; Fat 11 g (Saturated 3.5 g); Cholesterol 40 mg; Sodium 220 mg; Carbohydrate 8 g; Fiber 2 g; Protein 26 g

RATING/DIFFICULTY:
Taste Rating: Three Fat Running Chefs - Needs Tweaking

Difficulty Rating: Just TRI! - Takes Time but you can do it!!

SERVED WITH:
Steamed New Potatoes - I could post the recipe and all, but basically steam some new potatoes, add a little olive oil and spices of choice and serve.

FINAL NOTES:
This was good but there are so many things I would do different. First I'd saute some onions and add to the mix. I'd also eliminate the red wine vinegar and just use red wine. You could play with the spices. And add more salt!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Pan-Seared Trout with Garlic Caper Herb Sauce

PRE-STORY: I just noticed in my notebook that I made this before the March challenge. Since this weekends culinary adventure included chicken tenders and mac-n-cheese I'm doing you a favor by dusting off the old notes.

DISH: Seafood

SOURCE/ADAPTED FROM: Clean Eating magazine, March/April 2010, Volume 3, Issue 2

ACTIVE TIME: 20 min TOTAL TIME: 30 min

INGREDIENTS: Italics Font items are my adaptations
• 1 ½ C loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 3 Green Onions, cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
• ¼ C capers, drained
• ¼ C nonfat plain Greek-style yogurt – more like ½ cup
• 3 Tbs Parmesan cheese, grated – a little more
• 1 Clove Garlic, Coarsely Chopped
• ½ tsp ground black pepper, divided (+sea salt and Italian Seasoning)
• 2 boneless whole trout (10-12 oz each), head and tail removed (only used 1 trout)
• Olive oil cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:
In the bowl of a food processor, combine parsley, onions, capers, yogurt, cheese, garlic and ¼ tsp pepper (added a tiny bit of sea salt) and process until smooth.

Sprinkle trout inside and out with remaining ¼ tsp pepper and additional seasoing. (Note: After seasoning, fold fish back into whole closed trout before cooking). Coat a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray (used olive oil since I don't have non-stick) and warm over medium high heat. Add 1 trout and cook until well browned and barely opaque, about 3 ½ minutes per side. Repeat with remaining trout.

Unfold each trout and cut in half lengthwise into 2 fillets. Serve trout fillets with sauce drizzled over top.

SERVES / NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Serves 4 (Mine Served 2) - because I didn't half the sauce I had enough to use on some chicken later in the week.

Original recipe Per serving: Calories 240; Fat 10 g (Saturated 2 g); Cholesterol 85 mg; Sodium 470 mg; Carbohydrate 4 g; Fiber 1 g; Protein 32 g

RATING/DIFFICULTY:

Taste Rating: Four Fat Running Chefs

Difficulty Rating: Easy Peasy

SERVED WITH:
Sauteed garlic spinach (my go-to vegetable).

FINAL NOTES:
This was tasty and very easy. The sauce was great on chicken later in the week (served with couscous) and I'm betting it would be good on steak as well.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Skillet Chicken Cutlets with Mushrooms

PRE-STORY: I bought ingredients to make what I call Italian Stir Fry and since I’m kicking off the March Challenge, I figured I’d make this chicken recipe and serve the “stir-fry” on the side.

DISH: Poultry

SOURCE/ADAPTED FROM: Clean Eating magazine, March/April 2010, Volume 3, Issue 2

ACTIVE TIME: 15 min TOTAL TIME: 21 min

INGREDIENTS: Italics Font items are my adaptations
• 1 ½ lb Chicken Cutlets (about 6 cutlets) – used 1.13 lbs of chicken tenders
• ¼ tsp Sea Salt
• ¼ tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 4 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice, divided
• 2 tsp Olive Oil
• 1 Cup Fresh Button Mushrooms, sliced
• 2 Tbs Italian Parsley, chopped – used Herbes de Provence from Napastyle.com
• 2 tsp Whole Capers – used more like 3 tsp
• Lemon Slices, for garnish (optional) Did not use

“Italian Stir Fry”: EVOO, Sea Salt, ½ Yellow Onion, 2 Garlic Cloves, chopped, 1 Bag Baby Spinach, destemmed, 1 Yellow Zucchini, sliced, Button Mushrooms, sliced. Heat oil, sauté all vegetables until soft. Add Italian Seasoning if desired.

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 while getting everything mise en place (French phrase defined by the Culinary Institute of America as "everything in place", as in set up).

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and drizzle with 2 Tbs Lemon Juice.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and mushrooms and cook chicken for 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown and until mushrooms are softened. Add remaining 2 Tbs Lemon Juice, Parsley (Herbes de Provence), and Capers and cook for 2 more minutes.

Garnish with Lemon slices before serving, if desired.

While chicken is cooking, sauté the vegetables and bake the polenta.

SERVES / NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Serves 6 (Mine Served 3)
Original recipe Per serving: Calories 140; Fat 4 g (Saturated 1 g); Cholesterol 65 mg; Sodium 170 mg; Carbohydrate 1 g; Fiber 0 g; Protein 23 g

RATING/DIFFICULTY:

Taste Rating: Four Fat Running Chefs

Difficulty Rating: Easy Peasy

SERVED WITH:
Italian Stir Fry and Pre-Made Sun-Dried Tomato Polenta (I don’t care what the purest say, this tube of polenta is quick, easy, and somewhat healthy). I cut it into rounds, topped with some Parmesan, drizzled with EVOO and baked at 350 while everything else cooked.

FINAL NOTES:
Because of the Herbes de Provence, this had a slight floral taste which I wasn't sure if I liked it at first. After getting over the new flavor, I decided it was pretty darn good.
Fast, easy, nutritious – just what I’m looking for!

March 2011 Challenge

Each month I will choose a magazine, cookbook, website, something and develop a list of at least 10 recipes to make. After making the recipe I will share my thoughts, adaptations and reviews here.

For March, I’m choosing Clean Eating Magazine, Mar/Apr 2010. I’ve made a couple things from here in the past and the food is quite good - lots of vegetables, whole grains, and protein. While I’d love to go 100% Clean it’s just not possible with an 11-year old (OK, maybe I’m just saying it’s because of J, when in truth, its my love of greasy cheeseburgers and fries).

Without further ado the recipes for March 2011 are:

• Citrus Rice Salad with Chicken Pinwheels and Pecans
Steamed New Potatoes with Olive Oil, Parsley, and Chives
• Spanakopita Casserole
Broiled Salmon with Rosemary and Mushrooms
Flank Steak Roll with Spinach and Garlic
• Lemon Grilled Chicken and Bulgar Salad
• Chicken Souvalaki
• Chicken with Olive and Cherry Tomato Relish
Skillet Chicken Cutlets with Mushrooms
Pan Seared Trout with Garlic Caper Herb Sauce
Salmon and Vegetable Skewers over Brown rice
• Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

There are more than 10 recipes because some will be made together. I envision a Greek dinner with the Spanakopita and Souvalaki. And I foresee serving the Flank Steak with the Steamed New Potatoes. We have the nephews this weekend so maybe we’ll throw together the Cookies.

Time to start cookin'!

The Basics

Each recipe will be given two ratings - one for taste and the other for ease of recipe. Below are the meanings to the ratings:


Fat Running Chefs Ratings:
1 = Never, Ever Again
2 = Good Traits So Maybe it was me
3 = Good, But Still Needs Tweaking
4 = Really tasty but not guest worthy
5 = OMG – Calories Don’t Count – Make This For Your Friends


Difficulty Ratings:
Easy-Peasy! - So easy even my anti-cooking Mom would make it
Just Tri! - The average home cook can make this
Iron Chef! - Challenging but how else are you going to learn?!

Let's Get It Started!

I love, love, love to cook, but...I don't have the time or innovation to create my own recipes. Between work, training for triathlons, and living my life I only have time to adapt other people's recipes to suit my desires, tastes, or what's available in the cupboard.

I've blogged about cooking in my other blog, Es Tri's, but decided to have one site solely about this passion and the other that focuses on Tri's and life in general.

Other Info About Me that will slip into conversations here are:
- Because I love, love, love to cook, I also love, love, love to eat. To offset the weight gain that goes along with this I compete in triathlons (hence the “tri” to cook) and other endurance events. I am an Ironman Finisher (Switzerland 2009) and will be competing in Ironman Arizona in 2011. (Ironman is a 2.4 mile Swim, 112 mile Bike, and a 26.2 mile Run - all in less than 17 hours)

- I have no official cooking training other than some classes at Open Kitchen (cool, cool place)! I have been cooking since I was probably a pre-teen and continue to learn something new every time I pick up a cookbook or turn on Food Network. I always say if I was cute and bubbly I’d give Rachel Ray a run for her money but I’m neither so you’re stuck with me!

- Dude will probably get mentioned…often. Just so you know, I am completely “head-over-heels, schoolgirl-crush-giddy, heart-skips-a-beat” in love with my boyfriend Dude - and not JUST because he has a gourmet kitchen! On top of being my love, he's my recipe taster, photographer, race support/spectator, dishwasher un-loader, grocery bag lifter, wine bottler opener, etc., etc., etc.

- A few of my favorite things:
Recipes:
Epicurious
Food Network
Food and Wine

Shopping:
Wegmans
Napa Style

Magazines:
Cooking Light Clean Eating

I also just search to find other blogs about cooking and there are some great ones out there. I'll post links as I find them.

I hope you enjoy this - if you make any of the recipes drop me a line and let me know what you think.