Quick & Easy: Pecan Encrusted Catfish

Continuing our theme of quick and easy meals to fix during this busy time, this is quick and tasty. Serve 4 with steamed rice and buttered carrots for an easy dinner.

Pecan Encrusted Catfish

• 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 4 (3 ounce) skinless catfish fillets
• 3 to 4 tbsp olive oil

large skillet, shallow baking dish

Grind cornmeal and pecans with salt and pepper in a food processor until nuts are finely ground. Transfer to a large shallow baking dish. Lightly oil catfish with olive oil, then dredge in cornmeal mixture, patting it on to coat completely.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook fish fillets until golden brown and firm to the touch, 4 to 5 minutes per side, until fish flakes easily.

Thinking About Mexican Hot Chocolate and Mulled Cider

The Day of the Dead festivities last month gave me an opportunity to sample several different versions of Mexican Hot Chocolate.  I wanted to like it, but so far, have been unimpressed.  Most were too sweet and not spicy enough.  So now I’m on a search for the perfect mixture.  Instant mixes seem to be the worst offenders, so I will try a couple of recipes I’ve found.  I’m looking for a darker chocolate, more spice and less sugar.  I’ll keep you informed of my progress.

Also on the hot drink train of thought, I’m going to try my hand at mulling cider this holiday.  Never done it before and really want to give it a try.  I’ll probably start with a mulling kit, see what that’s like and then come up with my own blend of spices as I get a feel for what I prefer. 

It’s snowing here again today and I have a full day, but I will try and get back and put up another quick dinner recipe for these busy days.  Until then….

Men Who Cook: Jeff Wilton, Coq au Vin

I’m getting ready to go out to the Festival of Lights, wrapped in many layers because we’ve had an Artic coldsnap.  Before I go, wanted to post this, because it’s time for one of my favorite features, Men Who Cook.  This one is from Jeff Wilton, with pictures even.  It sounds wonderful.  Take it away Jeff:

I’ve always been cooking something, I remember as a lad at home in my mother’s kitchen getting an inspiration when I saw a can of Chinese sprouts of some kind, probably La Choy brand. I didn’t know what to do with them but I knew sautéing in butter was something people did. I dumped the can in a pan, and added a scoop of oleo, then turned the burner on. I watched it for a while, stirring it some, thought that there must be something else to cooking these things. My eyes drifted over to the cupboard where the soy sauce was kept. I added some of that, then a little more. Finally I thought it was likely the stuff was hot enough and I spooned some out, tried a taste. I have since become better at making a meal.

I’ve had my special dishes for years and years, spaghetti, veggie beef soup, ham and beans, chicken dumplings-stuff I saw my father make. You know, the easy stuff that a man couldn’t mess up too badly. I bought a ton of cookbooks, tried a bunch of recipes, never really got interested in the dishes that took a long time to prep, or that required ingredients not easily found in a rural mid-western grocery store. I do remember a Baked Alaska I tried for my momma once, tasted pretty good, but the thing nearly slid off the platter.

One recipe that caught my eye was coq au vin. No idea where I saw the recipe, it listed the classic ingredients: carrots. pearl onions, salt pork, etc. It looked fairly easy, and I guessed that bacon would work, and diced regular onions would be fine. I took the plunge and made up a batch, turned out very tasty. And hey! I have a picture that will work. So…

In a large sauté pan, fry some bacon over medium heat, remove when brown and crisp. Keep the bacon grease right where it is.

Take a cut up chicken, salt and pepper the pieces. You can dredge them in flour or just use them without, place in the pan and brown the chicken well on all sides.

While the chicken browns, dice an onion and a couple of carrots. Some celery wouldn’t hurt. Potatoes? Sure, why not, you’re the cook.

When the chicken has browned, remove it to a platter, and take some of the grease out, as much as you care to, leave a bit in there, it tastes good.

Toss in a cup of red wine to deglaze, scrape the goodies off the bottom, add the chicken and bacon back, and the veggies, dump in a can or two of sliced button mushrooms. Or use fresh mushrooms, find some morels. My wife is the mushroom hunter, but I can find mushrooms at Kroger’s every time I go out.

 

Now is the time to add stock. I’ve seen recipes with chicken stock, and recipes with beef stock. I used beef stock the first time I made this and never had cause to reconsider. Start with 2 cups of stock, you can add more as it simmers. Now is the time to add more wine if you think it needs it.

Cover the pan and simmer for an hour at the minimum, longer will be better. Towards the end, uncover and let the liquids reduce until they look right to you, or thicken it up with some corn starch slurry.

Hey, you just made coq au vin! Big smile now, it’s going to taste great!

I always serve wild/long grain rice with this. Another veggie wouldn’t hurt, but you do have those carrots in there. Some nice crusty bread on the side would help to sop up the gravy. mmm…gravy.

Jeffreyw

Thursday Night Menu: Spicy Black Bean Soup

Continuing our theme of quick and easy recipes for the holidays, here’s a slow-cooker meal you can set up the night before and have ready at the end of a busy day of holiday events. This is a recipe from a restaurant in Ouray, CO that was in an old bank. They gave it to me 15 years ago on my honeymoon and I make it all the time. This was my first experience at having to change a recipe for 60 into one for 6-8. It’s spicy, so ease up on the cumin and chili powder if needed, you can always add more during the last 30 minutes if needed.  On the board tonight:

1. Spicy Black Bean Soup
2. French Bread
3. Red Grape Salad
4. Apple wedges & Cheese

Black Bean Soup

• 4-14 oz cans black beans
• 2 tsp to 1 tbsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp crushed garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp to 1 tbsp pepper
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 3 cubes beef bouillon
• 1 tsp to 2 tsp cumin
• 3 carrots, shredded
• ½ onion, minced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 green pepper, minced
• ½ cup dry red wine (opt)
• 1 lb chopped smoked sausage
• 12 cups water

Slow-cooker

Add all ingredients to slow-cooker and cook according to directions (usually 8-10 hours on low). Just before serving, take a potato masher or hand blender and blend/mash slightly to thicken

Red Grape Salad

• ½ head red leaf lettuce, torn
• 3 cups seedless red grapes, halved
• 1 pear, peeled, cored and cubed
• 4 oz shredded carrots
• Poppy Seed dressing

Serving bowl

Toss ingredients together, chill and serve

Shopping List:

• 4-14 oz cans black beans
• 4 -6 carrots or equivalent shredded carrots
• ½ onion
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 green pepper
• 4 oz dry red wine (opt)
• 1 lb smoked sausage
• ½ head red leaf lettuce
• 3 cups seedless red grapes
• 1 pear
• Poppy Seed dressing
• French Bread
• Apple wedges & Cheese

Also: salt, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, chili powder, beef bouillon, cumin, pepper

Quick & Easy: Sun-Dried Tomatoes w/Penne Pasta

This one is not only simple, but by changing up the meat portion you can make it several times and it will be a completely different meal.  Use chicken, ground beef or even spicy sausage to change things up.  Or go meatless and add some mozzarella chunks to the tomato mixture and let it set 5 minutes before serving to let the cheese marinate.  What makes this a step above is the sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil.  Serve with a nice salad or steamed green beans and you have a complete meal.

Sun Dried Tomatoes w/Penne Pasta & Chicken

• 12 ounces penne pasta
• 2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 8 oz jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh parmesan, grated

large saucepan, skillet, serving bowl, blender

Begin to boil water for pasta. Heat 1 tbsp oil in skillet; add chicken and brown for 15 minutes. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions. Drain and reserve 1 cup of water, keep it hot. Place pasta in serving bowl; mix with a bit of oil & Parmesan. In a blender, add tomatoes, basil, garlic, salt, pepper and ½ cup water. Blend until things are chopped & mixed well.  Add remaining water and stir (don’t blend unless you want a smooth mixture) add to pasta, add chicken or beef and toss.  Serves 4

Fried Pickles and Other Treats

My Christmas tree came with its own ladybug (a real one, not those awful lady beetles swarming the country).  It is keeping me company by my computer now – not ideal for the bug, but it’s freezing out, so I can’t put it outside.

On to the appetizers.  A friend took me to dinner last night at a cute little pub with a Blues theme.  On the menu: fried pickles.  I’d never had them before, so had to order them.  They were wonderful.  Completely decadent, but who cares?!  Yummy.  They were rolled in a flaky batter that was light and crunchy, a perfect complement to the dill pickle spears.  Can’t believe I’d never had these wonders before.  The server also insisted we try the Fried Green Tomatoes, another treat I’d never tasted (I’m not big on appetizers, if you can’t tell).  These were also good, but I think the batter crust overwhelmed the thin tomato slices.  The pickles were by far the winner in last night’s appetizer category. 

I’ll have another quick recipe for you tonight.  Until then, the ladybug and I say have a great afternoon.

Playdough cookery from Kirk Spencer

Kirk Spencer had a great post today on some very creative cooking.  It’s worth a read:

Here’s a bit of whimsy that I never see anyone else do, and yet…

Read through the whole post and you’ll have not only a great recipe for playdough, salt domes and clay pot cooking,  but an excellent way to surprise your guests with their own beautiful, straight-from-the-oven meal.

Quick and Easy: Chicken-Cashew Stir-Fry

I’ve been doing this for many years now, first with my web-based business and now in the blog. My goal has been to make cooking easy. So if the impulse is to reach for fast-food or prepared food, you’ll have an alternative. Quick, easy, tasty meals made with healthy ingredients.  Most of the recipes I post here are far from gourmet, but tasty, nutritious and easy to prepare.  Fool-proof for people who want to cook, but are unsure of their skills.  I hope I’ve succeeded.

Now the holiday madness is in full swing and cooking dinner becomes even more of a challenge. So over the next few weeks I’ll be putting up some of my quickest recipes and tips for quick meals. I’ll start with this 15-minute stir-fry.

Chicken-Cashew Stir-Fry

• ½ cup boiling water
• ½ tsp chicken bouillon
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 boneless chicken breasts, cubed
• 3 boneless chicken thighs, cubed
• 16 oz bag frozen stir fry vegetables (usually a broccoli, carrot, snow pea mix)
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• ¾ cup whole cashews

wok or deep skillet

Dissolve bouillon in boiling water, mix together with soy sauce, let cool & add cornstarch, mix well. Set aside. Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok, add chicken and stir-fry quickly, 5 – 7 minutes, move to one side. Add remaining oil and vegetables and stir-fry additional 5 minutes. Mix chicken, vegetable and soy mixture, bring to a boil 1 minute, reduce heat and let simmer 2-4 minutes. Serve over rice or with rice noodles.

If you don’t have a wok, don’t let that slow you down. Some well-known chefs dislike them completely, feeling that with our modern stovetops, they do not heat up properly and a deep skillet is a better choice. I’ve been known to use whichever I grab first from the cabinet. What I do find invaluable is a thin wooden spatula that I couldn’t cook without. I’d like to have 5, but haven’t found but one of these ultra-thin tools. I keep looking, so eventually I will find more.

This had me laughing out loud….

I wish I’d stumbled on it before I posted my Cranberry Recipe, because this is just awesome.  Funny (and bit R-rated), this is how to cook something fun and STOP STRESSING ABOUT IT. 

From Wonkette, a Totally Awesome Cranberry Recipe:

No first lady could even fucking imagine making something as wonderful and perfect as your editor’s famous Wonkette’s Actual Awesome Real Cranberry Business. It is one of those things that just blows people away, because they assume it must be so hard to make real cranberry relish because why else would we eat that Jell-o’d aspic glob from the can? IT MUST BE SO HARD. No, it isn’t, so stop whining about everything, for once.

This dish takes exactly three minutes to prepare, and another 10 or 15 minutes in the oven, and you don’t even have to think about it. Pre-heat the oven, prepare the cranberries, “slide in the pyrex,” as they say, and just turn the fucking oven off, go outside, have a cigarette.    More here….

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’ve started my holiday baking already.  In the oven at the moment are Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies.  They’re easy and just a touch above regular chocolate chip cookies. 

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup + 2 tbsp butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• dash of salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds or peanuts), chopped

mixing bowl and cookie sheet

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream together butter and sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well.  Sift together salt, soda, flour and cocoa, then add to butter mixture, blending well.  Add nuts and chocolate chips.  Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Cool on cooling rack.