Friday, April 26, 2013

April 27, 2013


Sunday

Sandwiches: Bread, mayo, deli meat, cheese

Chips

 

Monday

Fish: Bake white fish like cod at 400F after coating with Zatarain’s Fish fry mix. Spray pan and fish with Pam. Cook till golden brown.

Potatoes: Heat EVOO in a pat. Add half onion, chopped and 1 tsp garlic. Sauté till onion is translucent. Add salt, pepper and ½ tsp cumin powder. Add 4 thinly sliced potatoes. Cover and cook till potatoes are cooked. Then uncover and cook for 5 minutes.

 

Sautéed Spinach


Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds baby spinach leaves

2 tablespoons good olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped garlic (6 cloves)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Lemon

Sea or kosher salt, optional

 

Directions

Rinse the spinach well in cold water to make sure it's very clean. Spin it dry in a salad spinner, leaving just a little water clinging to the leaves. In a very large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and sauté the garlic over medium heat for about 1 minute, but not until it's browned. Add all the spinach, the salt, and pepper to the pot, toss it with the garlic and oil, cover the pot, and cook it for 2 minutes. Uncover the pot, turn the heat on high, and cook the spinach for another minute, stirring with a wooden spoon, until all the spinach is wilted. Using a slotted spoon, lift the spinach to a serving bowl and top with the butter, a squeeze of lemon, and a sprinkling of sea or kosher salt. Serve hot.

 

Tuesday

Chicken: Use Mccormick’s chicken marinade and bake at 375F till done.

 

Squash:


Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

2 small to medium yellow squash, sliced

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves

2 tablespoons chopped chives or 2 scallions, optional

 

Directions

Preheat skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, then butter. When butter melts, add red peppers and squash. Saute 12 to 14 minutes until squash is tender. Add salt, pepper and parsley. Add chives or scallions if you would like a layer of light onion flavor on the dish as well.

 

Carrots: Boil carrots and serve with salt and pepper. If you lie, finish in oven at 400F after tossing with maple syrup and cinnamon.

 

Wednesday

Pork

Cook pork loin with 1 sliced onion, BBQ sauce and dash of hot sauce in slow cooker on low for 8 hrs. Serve on burger buns.

 

Corn: Boil corn till cooked. Serve with butter, salt and pepper.

 

Brussel sprouts


Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts

3 tablespoons good olive oil

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt ( I like these salty like French fries), and serve immediately.

 

Thursday

Serve following together as antipasti.

Mini Sweet peppers

Cucumber: sliced

Salami

Pita bread

Hummus

 

Friday

Cook 1 lb chorizo with 1 lb ground beef (turkey). Add Cajun seasoning if needed. Drain and serve rolled in corn tortillas with sour cream, shredded Mexican cheese, chopped onion and cilantro.

 

Guacamole


Ingredients

 2 ripe avocados

 1/2 red onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)

 1-2 serrano chiles, stems and seeds removed, minced

 2 tablespoons cilantro (leaves and tender stems), finely chopped

 1 tablespoon of fresh lime or lemon juice

 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

 A dash of freshly grated black pepper

 1/2 ripe tomato, seeds and pulp removed, chopped

 Garnish with red radishes or jicama. Serve with tortilla chips.

 

Method

1 Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avacado from the peel, put in a mixing bowl. (See How to Cut and Peel an Avocado.)

2 Using a fork, roughly mash the avocado. (Don't overdo it! The guacamole should be a little chunky.) Add the chopped onion, cilantro, lime or lemon, salt and pepper and mash some more. Chili peppers vary individually in their hotness. So, start with a half of one chili pepper and add to the guacamole to your desired degree of hotness. Be careful handling the peppers; wash your hands thoroughly after handling and do not touch your eyes or the area near your eyes with your hands for several hours. Chilling tomatoes hurts their flavor, so don't chop the tomatoes or add to the guacamole until ready to serve. Remember that much of this is done to taste because of the variability in the fresh ingredients. Start with this recipe and adjust to your taste.

3 Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidation from the air reaching it. Refrigerate until ready.

4 Just before serving, chop the tomato, add to the guacamole and mix.

Variations

For a very quick guacamole just take a 1/4 cup of salsa and mix it in with your mashed avocados.

The simplest version of guacamole is just mashed avocados with salt. Don't let the lack of availability of other ingredients stop you from making guacamole.

To extend a limited supply of avocados, add either sour cream or cottage cheese to your guacamole dip. Purists may be horrified, but so what? It tastes great. In fact, guacamole with a little cottage cheese added to it is my favorite.

 

Saturday

Biryani

CHICKEN BIRYANI

INGREDIENTS

 

For rice:

Basmati rice 2 cups

Cinnamon 1 inch stick

Bay leaves 2

Cloves 8

Black cardamom 2

Butter/ghee 1 tbsp

1/3 cup oil

 

For chicken

1 fryer chicken, cut into 1 inch pieces (skinned)

Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon

Green cardamoms 6

Onions, sliced 2 medium

Green chillies, slit 3 (serrano)

Turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon

Tomatoes, chopped 2 medium (or 1 can of chopped stewed canned tomatoes)

Salt to taste

Ginger paste 3/4 tablespoon

Garlic paste 3/4 tablespoon

Red pepper powder 1/2 teaspoon (mirchi)

Thick yogurt 1 cup

2 large Onions, chopped fine

Garam masala powder 1/2 teaspoon

2 tbsp Shan Bombay biryani masala

Fresh mint leaves, torn a few

Fresh cilantro leaves, torn a few

Milk 1/2 cup

1 cup birishta onion (deep fried onions you can buy at the Indian store)

salt to taste

 

 

METHOD

Cut chicken into bite size pieces and marinate with yoghurt, half of the ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder and garam masala.

Cook rice with 4 cups of water and all ingredients listed under “for rice”. Set aside.

Heat oil, add cumin seeds, green cardamoms and sauté for half a minute. Add onions and sauté. Add slit green chillies and continue to sauté. Add remaining ginger garlic paste and salt. Next add tomatoes. Sauté till oil begins to separate. Add chicken and all the marinade. Cook covered for 10 mins and then uncovered on medium low heat till cooked (about 15 minutes).

When done in a baking dish layer the bottom with 1/2 the chicken mix. Then layer 1/2 the rice and 1/2 the birishta, ½ mint leave, cilantro and sprinkle milk. Then repeat chicken and rice layer.

Garnish with birishta. Sprinkle garam masala powder, mint leaves and coriander leaves. Sprinkle milk.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 mins in an oven at 375F. Serve with  raita

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