Thai grilled skirt steak and sugar snap peas

Special guest post from Robert:

Dinner last night was Thai grilled skirt steak from Food & Wine and sugar snap peas with sweet onion vinaigrette from Every Day with Rachael Ray. I love Asian-style recipes and this one did not disappoint. The overnight marinade really made a difference and the sauce added great flavor. The skirt steak did not take long to cook and came out quite tender. We liked the peas too, especially the onion vinaigrette. The poppyseeds and pine nuts were a good addition, but I think it would be just as good without them if you don't have them around the house. Consensus was that it would make a good salad dressing also - if you don't mind tasting onion for a while!

Butternut squash soup

I had an extra butternut squash on hand and thought it needed to be turned into Giada's butternut squash soup with fontina cheese crostini... and I was right! I halved the recipe (it yielded 3 servings), and forgot the sage (my grocery list was long and I got a little lost in it!). Otherwise I followed the recipe as is, and Robert and I both loved this one. The soup was pretty hearty for a blended soup, and the side of cheese crostini are fantastic!

Bacon and butternut pasta

Dinner tonight was bacon and butternut pasta from Cooking Light. If you've read this blog for very long, you know that we are big fans of bacon and butternut squash - the two together are a perfect match! This recipe was simple to make- my trusty sous-chef (Robert!) chopped everything before I started cooking, so things went quickly and smoothly. I used whole wheat fettuccine and only added blue cheese to Robert's portion (again, with the stinky cheeses). This was a big hit for us, and I love that the squash sauteed in just minutes, versus roasting it in the oven for a longer period. Quick, simple and DELICIOUS!!

Buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese

Dinner last night was buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese from the latest issue of Food Network magazine. I have wanted to try homemade mac and cheese for a while, but knew I needed a recipe with meat if I expected Robert to consider it an entree. :) I made a few substitutions - I baked chicken breasts and shredded them vs using rotisserie, used 2 cups of half-and-half and a 1/2 cup of skim milk to total the 2 1/2 cups called for, and only put blue cheese crumbles on half of the dish (I'm not a fan of the stinky cheeses). Also, I bought large elbow macaroni, but you should probably stick to the regular size - I had enough noodles to make a 9x13 dish AND an 8x8 dish. Oops! Anyway, this recipe was a big hit with everyone, and I'm sure we'll make it again soon.

Oh, and for a side dish we served it with shaved raw asparagus and parmesan dressing, recipe courtesy of Cooking Light magazine.

Serves 3

1 lb large asparagus
1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (1.5 oz)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp warm water
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the asparagus into long, thin strips and transfer to a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl, mix the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese with the lemon juice, water and olive oil. Add to the asparagus and toss to coat. Season the salad with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Pepper crusted steak with butter (Guest Post by Robert)!

Dinner last night was inspired from an unlikely place - the Riverfront Steakhouse radio commercial with Tommy Smith and Frank Fletcher that airs every so often on 103.7 The Buzz.

Tommy goes on and on about how the steaks at Riverfront are crusted in pepper and then when it comes out they put a butter on top and the pepper comes running off, leaving a nice buttery sauce on the plate. Well, I figured I've got steak, pepper, and butter, so lets give this thing a shot.

Pretty simple really - we salted the meat on both sides and then ground fresh pepper all over it until it was totally covered. After patting it down to make sure it stuck we put it on the grill until it had a nice crust on all sides and was cooked to about Medium (the standard around the Coon house).

After letting the meat rest for a few minutes (that's for you Ceph!) we added a dollup of butter and watched it melt. It was a tasty meal, and with a side of baked sweet potato it couldn't have been easier!

Chicken fried rice

We tried a new chicken fried rice recipe this week, courtesy of Ellie Krieger (Food Network) in the latest issue of Cooking Light. This is an excellent recipe, and I made a few tweaks - 1) I halved the recipe, which yielded 2.5-3 servings; 2) Even though I halved the rest, I used the full amount of the soy sauce mixture... because we like things saucy around here; and 3) we added an egg, because what's fried rice without the egg?? The recipe is below with my edits - this will definitely be a repeat in this house!

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 5

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. less-sodium soy suace
  1 T. dark brown sugar
  1 t. dark sesame oil
  3/4 t. crushed red pepper
  2 T. canola oil
  2 c. diced red bell pepper (about 2)
  1 c. diced onion
  1/4 c. thinly sliced green onions
  2 T. minced peeled fresh ginger
  2 large garlic cloves, minced
  5 c. cold cooked brown rice
• 1 egg, cooked and chopped
  2 c. diced cooked chicken (about 1 lb)
  1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
  1/3 c. unsalted, dry-roasted peanut, chopped

Preparation

1. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a small bowl, stir well with a whisk.

2. Heat canola oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, diced onion, and 2 T. green onions to pan; stir-fry for 3 minutes or until tender. Add ginger and garlic; stir-fry 1 minute. Add rice, chicken, and water chestnuts; stir-fry for 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring gently. Add chopped egg, then soy sauce mixture; cook 2 minutes, tossing gently to coat. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons green onions and peanuts.

Pimiento cheese stuffed chicken

Dinner last night was pimiento cheese stuffed chicken from the Rachael Ray show. This recipe caught my eye because Robert loves the homemade pimiento cheese appetizer at the Capital Hotel Bar. The chicken is nice and crunchy on the outside thanks to the bread crumb crust, and the pimiento cheese filling is warm and gooey on the inside. Simple and delicious! (We skipped her sweet potato and green bean sides, so if you do the same, the ingredient list starts at Salt and pepper and ends at Vegetable oil).

Brownie pudding

Monday was the big, dramatic finale of The Bachelor, so our watch party group celebrated with champagne and brownie pudding from Annie's Eats. This little concoction was DELICIOUS - who doesn't love gooey, underbaked brownies?? Recipe calls for 4 extra-large eggs, which I didn't have, so I used 5 large. It also calls for a 2-qt baking dish, but for some reason all I have are 1.5 and 2.5. So I filled the 1.5, then put the extra in a 1/2 qt dish (pictured). This is a fantastic recipe - few ingredients, easy to prepare, and a sure crowd pleaser!