Dinner at our Parents House

Tonight Erin and I had dinner at my parents house(Jim and Sue). It was one of the best dinners we have had in a long time. The fact is we do not go over there for dinner as often as we should. I got my love of cooking from my dad. When I was a child he worked a lot and my mom did most of the cooking. After the divorce I lived with my dad and he was always expiramenting in the kitchen. The two things I remember the most about these years, when I was finishing high school and before I left for Chico, was him making me chicken fried steaks for breakfast and his popcorn and white wine diet! the chicken fried steaks were awesome (dad, you need to make them for me again) and the popcorn and wine diet was an excuse to drink wine! Just kidding! I remember he did slim down around that time.

As usual they had a great menu planned. We had fried green tomatoes made with fresh green heirloom tomatoes from the Poway Farmers Market. My dad dipped them in egg, then a mixture of corn meal, flour, salt and pepper. I do not like tomatoes but tried these and they were really good! Dish number two was a porcinni mushroom risotto. My dad has a college buddy (Glen Lucci) that ran a B&B in Mendocino, Ca with his wife. My dad sends them wine and in return they send a great selection of dehydrated mushrooms from the northern California coast. The main course was a flank steak in what my dad called a "California Marinade" which is a mixture of paprika, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. There may be more, I will be getting the recipe from him and I will post it here! The last dish was a great salad with greens, tomatoes, and beets from the Poway Farmers Market with fresh arugula from our garden!

Desert??? We are all to full! We did find some room for some lemon cookies they had bought from Von's.

Smoked Chicken Breast for Those Bored with Grilling, Frying or Baking!

Today we decided to break out the smoker that Erin's Aunt Jane from South Carolina gave us. We have not used it much in the last 6 months. I had defrosted 3 bone in chicken breasts the night before to use some time this week. I had never smoked chicken before so I decide to give it a try. I also had a pork loin roast that I threw in so we could make sandwiches during the week!

Wood chips used: Mesquite and pecan (no reason, just what I had on hand)

The first thing I did was mix up a quick rub.

3 tbls brown sugar
4 tbls paprika
1 tbls garlic powder
1/2 tbls celery salt
1 tbls kosher salt
1 tbls cayenne pepper

I have made a few rubs from recipes but never from scratch. I know all the different ingredients that can be used so I felt pretty comfortable throwing one together. I rubbed the chicken and pork about 1 hour before putting in the smoker. I put both on the smoker for about 3-4 hours. For some reason my smoker runs a little hot. I would like it to be 175-200 degrees but usaully runs in the 250-275 degree range. I pulled the pork of at about 155 degrees and the chicken at about 160 degrees.

Both the chicken and the pork had a great smokey flavor with a little heat on the back end. Erin said it was just yummy! The chicken was incredible! Especially the skin. I know it is bad for you but as you can see from the picture below it had a nice crust on it.

Erin ended up making a smoked chicken quesadilla with cheddar and dipped it in a pepper sauce we had. I did the same thing with the pork. Like I said above we will make pork sandwiches for lunch this week. We are going to use the chicken to make smoked chicken salad for sandwiches.

Side note: We planted some Arugula for the winter and it is growing like crazy. Whenever I am outback I have to pull a couple leaves and munch on them! We like to mix it with spinach for our salads.

Chicken Enchilada Caserole

Here is a quick and easy recipe I got from my sister! Great for a rainy day!

3-4 cups crushed tortilla chips
3-4 boneless chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 16oz container of sour cream
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 7oz can diced chiles
1-2 jalepenos diced (optional)
1 package corn or flour tortillas

Cook chicken and chop into pieces. I usaully salt and pepper, fry in a pan to get a nice crust then finish in oven. I then take a cleever and chop into small pieces, enough to cover a 13x9x2 baking dish. In a seperate bowl mix cream of chicken soup, sour cream, diced chiles and jalepeno. Layer bottom of baking dish with crushed tortillas, then add the chicken. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese on top of chicken then add sauce mixture and top with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes and finish on broil until a nice crust froms on top. Serve with warm tortillas.

Thanks Debbie!

Bon Apetit!

I am still here!

I have not posted in awhile because we have been busy. We went to the doctor last Friday 12/5/08 and everything with the baby is good! We go on 12/30/08 to get the ultrasound so we can find out the sex. This is Erin's choice. I would rather not know. It is just one of the mystries in life that I think should be kept a mystery! I understand why Erin wants to know with all the decorating and the baby showers. It really helps with gifts so people know what to get. I told her the baby wants a Nintendo WII but she does not believe me.

As far as in the kitchen we have not done to much lately. We have been mostly eating quick fix meals. For example we buy the ham steaks from Costco. We BBQ one and have with fresh or frozen veggies.

The last thing I did was a roasted red pepper tomato sauce. Just took a can of diced tomatoes a jar of rosated red bell peppers, some garlic cloves and basil and blended it. No real recipe, just kind of threw it together on a whim. Turned out real good!

Hope to add someting new soon!

SWEET POTATO AND CELERY ROOT GRATIN WITH FONTINA CHEESE

Here is a great recipie we found over the Thanksgiving weekend. We were up in the Bay Area at Erin's aunt and uncles house and wanted to contribute to the meal. This was the hit of Thanksgiving dinner!



from Epicurious.com

Ingredients
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 1-pound celery roots, peeled, halved, thinly sliced
2 pounds potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced (NOTE:WE USED TAN SWEET POTATOES)
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup canned chicken broth
8 ounces Fontina cheese, grated

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400° F. Mix salt, pepper and nutmeg in small bowl. Sprinkle half of shallots in 16-cup oval gratin dish or 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Top with half of celery root and half of potatoes. Sprinkle half of spice mixture over. Repeat layering with remaining shallots, celery root, potatoes and spice mixture. Bring cream and broth to simmer in medium saucepan. Pour over vegetables. Cover tightly with foil.

Bake until vegetables are almost tender, about 45 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 450° F. Press potatoes with spatula to even thickness. Bake uncovered until juices thicken, about 10 minutes. Top with cheese. Bake until cheese melts and browns, about 15 minutes. Cool 15 minutes before serving.