Grilling greatness

I taught a new class tonight to a great group of friends. It was an all grilling dinner class. We did grilled asian eggplant, grilled white pizzas, grilled shrimp and chicken, hoisin and honey glazed NY strip steaks and grilled pineapple with brown sugar, coconut over pound cake. It was a fun class and the house had an amazing outdoor kitchen.

I have a TV show to do tomorow morning for Channel 8, WTNH, I will be making a French potato salad. To check out the show, you can visit www.wtnh.com and look under Good Morning Weekend Connecticut.

Remember, if anyone has any cooking related questions they'd like answered on the air, you can ask me via my website www.timetoeat.info and click on the Ask Nicole! link I will answer your question on the air.

Oh yes, the other exciting news is that I was just voted Best Cooking Class by the Best of the Gold Coast. More information to follow.

Hoisin honey glazed steak

It was H-O-T here today. I dragged myself out of a lovely air conditioned house to try this new recipe. I served the steak with boiled edamame and some fresh lo mien noodles that I added a little teriyaki sauce to.

Steak recipe: Preheat the grill to high.

In a deep sided dish add:

2 boneless NY strip steaks
about 1/4 C. hoisin sauce
about 2 tablespoons honey
about 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Let marinade for a couple of minutes.

Place the steak on a hot grill, turn down to medium and close the lid. Let cook for about 4 minutes, turn the steaks, cover and let cook for an additional 4 minutes. Remove from the grill and cover loosely with a piece of tented aluminum foil for a minute or two so the steak can rest.

The flavor is very rich and the kids loved it.

I have some pizza dough for tomorrow. It's supposed to be hotter tomorrow and I was contemplating Slurpee's for dinner!!!

Weekend review

Kirk and Abby enjoying the ballgame.

A stunning weekend again in New England. We spent it relaxing out doors. We ate ballpark food on Saturday as we watched the Bridgeport Bluefish, the girls (and Kirk!) had a great time and it was nice to see everyone happy.

Sunday I made the chicken enchiladas again- see previous entries for recipe. This time I served it with Salad, Spanish Rice and refried beans. Kirk missed the enchiladas the first time around and he's working all week, so I wanted to make sure he was able to try them.

dad's dinner

As I imagined, the weekly dad cooked dinners have waned. Truth be told, he's been away most weeknights, but he was home today. It was a no brainer tonight, we had some leftover ground beef and Abby had requested pasta. He made some burgers and pasta and we'll give the kids some garbanzo beans and fresh strawberries that we picked at a farm today.

I have to go to the market tomorrow as we have nothing in the fridge. It's supposed to be a great weekend so I'm thinking about grilling some fish and squid with veggies and making some grilled pizzas with fresh tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper and basil.

Little nuggets of love

Now I understand why moms feed their kids chicken nuggets in front of the television. I have made my kids homemade chicken fingers which are quite easy to do, but I am heading to work tonight and wasn't in any mood to cook.

We had some leftover dino chicken nuggets in our second freezer in the basement from when my in-laws came out. I stumbled across them and decided, "what the hell?!" I nuked them for a couple of minutes, served the last of the angel hair pasta and some sliced raw veggies.

The girls thought I was a rock-star, they were practically dancing! I felt a little guilty about doing this, but my motto is, "everything in moderation." As a kid, I remember eating those frozen dinners with the little dessert and the Salisbury steak and thought it was such a treat!

I'm headed to Greenwich to do a class tonight and am, quite frankly, looking forward to getting out of the house for a couple of hours.

Keeping up...

As you can see, the blog is the first thing to get dumped at the end of the day. I have, in fact, been making dinner every night, but by the days end, I am usually too tired to report on our meal.

Last night I grilled a couple T-Bone steaks that I had marinated in some Soy Vay island Teriyaki sauce, it's a great all purpose sauce and makes everything taste great. I made some spaghetti with olive oil, butter, salt and Parmesan cheese which the girls LOVED, proclaiming, " this is the B-E-S-T pasta" they had ever had. We had a salad with dinner too, the girls eating the cucumber and carrots.

I made Chicken Enchiladas last night for tonight's meal. It is incredibly easy. If I had known it was that easy, I would have been making them sooner.

I sauteed a little olive oil in a pan, added in about 1/2 C. of frozen diced onions. I recently found these at the store and they've been working well. I added in about 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sprinkled them with Adobo seasoning and let them brown for about 4 minutes. I turned the chicken, added in about 1 cup of Trader Joe's Frozen Roasted Corn and a large can (about 2 Cups) of red enchilada sauce. I turned the heat down to medium low and let cook covered for 25-30 minutes.

The chicken is moist and breaks apart easily with a fork.

I took a casserole pan and added a little of the sauce to the bottom of the pan. I added in about 2 cups of 2% shredded cheddar cheese to the chicken mixture and stirred until the cheese was incorporated.

I used corn tortillas and added in a few spoonfuls of the chicken mixture. I folded them up and put them seam side down in the pan. I did this until the pan was full, then added a little more of the chicken mixture to the top of the casseroles. I also added in a few teaspoons of diced green chilies to the top of the mixture as well as a little more cheese.

I'm going to cook it uncovered in the oven at 400 for 18-20 minutes. If I'm motivated, I'll make some Spanish rice and beans to go with it, but the girls want to swim now and I might not be up for it.

In any event, we have fresh pineapple and more cucumber and carrots from last nights meal.

The Blog gets the axe!

Well, as many of you can see, I haven't written any entries in quite a few days, I think it's 9 to be exact. OK a quick review of last week, if there's anyone who's actually reading this thing!

Did a back to back bridal shower and wedding on Saturday, spent most of Thursday and Friday preparing. Was wiped out on Sunday and thankfully had delicious leftovers for Sunday and Monday. Yesterday I grilled boneless, skinless chicken thighs and served them with some delicious artichokes that my mother has been sending me from California. What a treat!

Yesterday, I worked, and I think Kirk made the girls pasta and the last few pieces of chicken. Tonight we made homemade pizza with turkey pepperoni and a few slices of purple onion on mine.

Needless to say, I have been completely wiped out by the days end and spent the better part of the last hour yelling at the kids. I'm ready to put this night to bed and settle into another new book that my girlfriend just wrote. It's her 10th book, and it's called Second Chance by Jane Green. I think everyone should immediately go out and buy it (shameless plug for a good friend!)

Oh G*d, tomorrow's already Friday again, do I say that every week?

I have some edamame in the freezer and a package of thinly sliced turkey which I'm going to dredge in Panko and make little crispy turkey bites with roasted potatoes.

Recipe to follow tomorrow.

By the way... Here's a few recipes from the Thai themed bridal shower I did on Saturday.


Chicken Satay

2 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs
Marinade:
6 cloves garlic, chopped
4 tsp. coriander/cilantro
4 tsp. light brown sugar
1 tbsp. black pepper
2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. soy sauce
4 tsp. ginger, chopped
2 tbsp. lime juice
6 tbsp. oil
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped (for garnish)

Mix marinade ingredients. Add chicken to mixture and marinate at least two hours.

Chicken Satay:
Soak wooden skewers in cold water for at least an hour. Thread chicken pieces onto one end of satay sticks. Barbecue and baste with marinade. Serve with peanut sauce for dipping.

Peanut Sauce:
1 c. chunky peanut butter
1-2 tsp. hot chili sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 c. lime juice
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. peanut oil

Mix ingredients together. Should have a sweet/hot peanut flavor. Taste and adjust ingredients accordingly. Can be prepared 1 day in advance.

Thai Glass-noodle Salad
4 ounces glass noodles (bean threads)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 table spoons light vegetable oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar1 large cucumber, halved, seeded, and sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly cut into strips
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in ½
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves
2-3 heads of romaine lettuce, washed and roughly chopped
½ C. crushed roasted peanuts

Soak noodles in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes or until tender; rinse and drain. Place in a mixing bowl. (For easier serving, cut noodles into pieces with kitchen shears.)
Combine lime juice and next 4 ingredients; pour over noodles, tossing to coat.
Stir in remaining ingredients, and toss salad until well blended. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.

Age is really just a number

I know I normally write about our family dinners, but seeing as we were having leftovers from last night's party and I wanted to take a moment to tell you that I played tennis with a 91 year old woman today and she creamed me!

It is amazing to see someone who is not only lucid of mind, but fluid of body. She was agile and graceful on the court and had a killer drop shot which she impressed upon me numerous times during our 45 minute play.

While I took a water break, she waited patiently for me to return. I chased balls all over the court, she arrived at each ball with grace and strength. I wish that everyone had a Billie in their lives, she is an honor to know and a force to be reckoned with.

I think she also played easy on me because I brought her leftover paella! Yikes...

I am gearing up for a bridal shower that I'm doing on Saturday, it's a Thai themed menu and I have NO plan whatsoever for dinner tomorrow night. Whatever I can pull out of the pantry-I'm thinking bean and cheese burritos.

Gotta love the leftovers

I catered a junior prom tonight Yes, it was 70 adults and 90 kids and let me tell you I've seen weddings that weren't this nice!

Everything was well organized and ran smoothly. We did huge crudite platters, eggplant rolotini, roast beef panini, paella and a delicious green bean and beet salad with oranges.

I wanted to share the recipe for the green bean salad as it is easy and really delicious.

Steam green beans until they are just crisp about 4 minutes. Blanch in cold water so they stop cooking.

Roast beets in the oven at 450 degrees for 45-50 minutes. The easiest way to do this is to give them a rinse and cover them in aluminum foil. When they're cooked and cooled, the skins slip right off. Dice them into cubes.

Cut the skin off of an orange, and slice into thin slices.

Toss the green beans and beets with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic salt. Add the oranges and gently toss together. Serve cool or at room temperature. This salad is amazing leftover the next day, it's what we're having for lunch tomorrow!

grilling before the rain

After a crazy Saturday of softball games, ballet recitals and birthday parties, I was quite happy to hang around the house today. I started dinner at 3:30 p.m. in a leisurely fashion.

I made some Spanish rice from a box of Goya. I added some diced onions to give the rice a little extra flavor. While the rice cooked, I made some spareribs on the grill. I cut the ribs into single pieces and made a sauce of equal parts of yellow mustard, ketchup and BBQ sauce. I added a few shakes of garlic salt and pepper. I got the grill nice and hot, added the ribs, then turned the heat down to medium. I closed the grill and let the ribs cook for about 8 minutes, then I turned them and let them cook for another 6-7 minutes.

While the ribs cooked, I preheated the oven to 400, boiled some water for corn and made a great jalapeno corn muffin. I started with 2 boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix (which, by the way got ranked very high in Cooks Illustrated Magazine), then added 1/2 C. of diced canned jalapeno peppers, 1 cup of frozen roasted corn and a handful of shredded cheddar cheese. I add 1 egg and 1/3 C. of milk. They made 12 muffins which I baked for about 10 minutes and let them cool.

I took the ribs off the grill, put them in a baking dish and covered the dish with aluminum foil. I finished off the ribs in the 400 degree oven with the corn muffins for another 10-15 minutes.

The meal came together nicely, both girls loved the ribs, one loved the rice, the other didn't. They both liked the corn, but neither touched the corn muffins.

We just got the girls to bed and we're both ready to put our feet up for the evening. Does anyone else agree that the weekends (which are supposed to be relaxing) are more exhausting than the weekdays?!

Weeks end

We have a dear neighbor who is 91 years old and still plays competitive tennis. She is amazing, and the best part is that she has a great sense of humor.

We invited her over to dinner last night. She lives alone and quite frankly, she is great fun to have around. I made a simple dinner of penne pasta with tomato sauce with ground turkey and mushrooms.

The recipe couldn't be easier. In a pan, add a little olive oil. When it shimmers, add 1 package of ground turkey and 2 cubes of frozen garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper, and a few shakes of Italian Seasoning. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until the turkey is cooked through.

Heat a large pot of water and a healthy pinch of salt. While the water boils add a package of rinsed sliced mushrooms to the ground turkey. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium low and add in a jar of tomato sauce, I like Rao's Marinara, it taste about as close to homemade as I've ever had. Turn the heat down to low and cover.

When the water boils in the pot, add in a box of pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes.

While the pasta cooked, I made a green salad with romaine, hearts of palm, dried cranberries, cucumber, shredded carrots, sunflower seeds, garbanzo beans, and 1 crumbled hard boiled egg.

I made a dressing with 1/4 C. red wine vinegar, a pinch of salt, pepper and sugar and 3/4 C. olive oil. Shake it all together in a jar and serve with the salad. It makes enough for at least a few salads.

We had a great evening of memories from when my friend was young and the girls got to hear about her childhood memories. She is a special woman.

Tonight was grilled boneless skinless chicken thighs and some bakes french fries (McCaines makes ones called 5 Minute Fries that are decent and not outrageouly high in sodium or fat). I've know I've written the recipe for the chicken thighs before; basically it's olive oil, lemon juice, Greek seasoning, salt and pepper. Grill on both sides and finish in a 450 degree oven covered in aluminum foil for 10 more minutes.

We ate outside and listened to the thunder storms roll in.

I've bought pork spareribs to grill tomorrow night, but we have a b-u-s-y day tomorrow and I'm not certain I will want to cook. Maybe we'll save them for Sunday.