Christina's Quick Bread Sticks

The most delish bread sticks and you can go from start to on the table in 25 minutes!

Preheat oven to 500.

2 1/2 C flour

3/4 C oil

1/2 tsp salt

5 tsp yeast

2 C hot water

Put ingredients in Bosch or mixer with the beater attachment and mix on low for 1 minute. Mix on high for 5 minutes. Switch to kneader attachment and add 3 C flour. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Let the dough rest while you assemble the filling.

Filling ideas: Ranch dressing with mozzarella on top. Butter with garlic and herbs. Marinara with mozzarella. Cream Cheese. Butter and cinnamon and sugar. Be creative!!!

Roll out the dough into a rectangle with the long edge facing you, dough should be about 1/3 inch thick. Put the Ranch dressing, butter or sauce on the top half of the rectangle and sprinkle the additional toppings on top. Fold the bottom half of the dough over the top half and seal the edges. With a pizza cutter cut the folded dough into strips and twist. Lay on a lightly greased cookie sheet or stone with about 1 inch between. Put in the oven for 8 minutes. You can lightly brush the tops of the cooked bread sticks with butter if desired.

Honey Mustard Pork and Mango Kabobs with Coconut Cilantro Rice

Mike and I got our first grill last summer. We have absolutely loved grilling. I'm always trying to find new recipes for the grill. I got this idea from some random store recipe and then created these pork and mango kabobs! These are fabulous! We loved them. This one is a keeper!

Honey Mustard Pork and Mango Kabobs
(Serves 2-3)
6 Wooden Skewers
2 Tbsp. honey mustard (I used French's honey mustard dipping sauce.)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 lb. pork cut into cubes (I just cut up boneless pork chops)
2 mangos (You want the mangos to be almost ripe, but still firm. If they're too ripe, they get mushy on the grill.)
1/4 cup honey

1. In a large bowl, mix honey mustard, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Coat cubed pork in this marinade and cover. Let it marinate at least 1 hour (preferably over night).

2. Cut mangos into cubes. Thread cubes of pork and mango onto skewers, alternating meat and fruit.

3. Set your grill at medium-high heat with the flame directly under the cooking area. When grill is ready, lay skewers on, close lid and cook about 10 minutes. Turn occasionally until pork is browned on all sides and cooked through.

4. Coat kabobs with honey and cook about 1 minutes longer.

So yummy! Here's the Coconut Cilantro Rice recipe we paired with it! It was perfect.

Cilantro Coconut Rice

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (10 ounces) basmati (or jasmine) rice
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 Tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh jalapeno, including seeds
2 Tablespoons vegetable/Canola oil
2 cups water (I cooked the rice in part water, part coconut milk)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed fresh cilantro
3 scallions, chopped

Directions:

1. Wash rice in several changes of cold water in a bowl until water is almost clear. Soak rice in cold water 30 minutes, then drain well in a sieve. (I totally skipped this step).

2. Spread coconut in a skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until pale golden; watch carefully so it doesn't brown too much or burn. Cool completely.

3. Cook ginger and jalapeno in 1 Tablespoon oil in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until chile is softened, about 2 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

4. Stir in water and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil, covered. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until rice is tender and water is absorbed, 12-15 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork and transfer to a large bowl.

6. While rice cooks, pulse together coconut, cilantro, scallions, and remaining Tablespoon oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor until finely chopped.

7. Add cilantro mixture to cooked rice and stir gently until combined well.


(found on Epicurious.com)

Chris's Famous Hamburger Patties

1 lb hamburger

3/4 - 1 lb ground sausage

1 T dry thyme or 2 T fresh thyme

1/4 C dry onion or very finely chopped fresh onion

Salt and pepper

Mix together and form into patties. Grill until done all the way through.

Tarragon Salad Dressing

1 C Mayonnaise (real or homemade)

Milk (not too much, just enough to thin)

Fresh Tarragon

1 T capers

1 or 2 dry hot peppers

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 C celery leaves

Put in a blender and blend. Season to taste.

One Night in Bangkok - Thai Gourmet Meal

Coconut Milk Tapioca with Mangoes

Tapioca

Milk

Brown Sugar

Coconut Milk

4 (or more) ripe mangoes

Mint sprigs

Follow directions on Tapioca box substituting white sugar with brown sugar and half of the milk with coconut milk.

Transfer to bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Uncover and arrange mango slices on top. Garnish with mint leaves if desired.

Nam Jeem Guy Yang (Dipping Sauce)

1/2 cup cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons dried hot red pepper flakes (preferably Thai)

In a small saucepan bring vinegar to a boil. Stir in sugar and simmer 5 minutes. With a mortar and pestle or in a bowl with back of a spoon pound or mash garlic to a paste with salt. Add red pepper flakes and combine well. Stir garlic paste into vinegar and cool. Refrigerate to keep, but serve at room temperature.

Coconut Curry Dipping Sauce

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

1/4 cup chopped shallots

2 tablespoons Madras curry powder

1 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 small bay leaves

Chopped fresh parsley

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add shallots and curry powder; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add coconut milk, broth, lemon juice and bay leaves; simmer 10 minutes. Boil sauce until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; discard bay leaves. Sprinkle with parsley just before serving.

Khao Plow (Jasmine Rice)

3 cups long-grain jasmine rice

Rinse rice well (until water runs clear, about 3 times) and drain well.

Place rice to pan and add enough water (about 3 3/4 cups) to cover rice by about 3/4 inch. Bring water to a boil, uncovered, and boil rice 15 seconds. Turn heat to low and cover (do not lift lid), Cook for 25 minutes, or until water is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove pan from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Turn rice gently with a flat wooden spatula and keep warm, covered. Rice is best served within 1 hour of cooking.

Thai Chicken Salad with Rice Noodles

4 1/2 ounces rice noodles

4 large garlic cloves

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup lime juice

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter

2 teaspoons chopped peeled fresh ginger

1/4 cup sesame oil

3 cups shredded Napa cabbage

1 cup coarsely grated carrot

1 cup red bell pepper strips

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

2 medium cucumbers, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise

Edamame

1/3 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted peanuts

Cook noodles in small pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain; cut noodles in several places with scissors. Spread out on platter.

Puree next 7 ingredients in blender. With machine running, gradually add oil and blend until dressing is smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Combine cabbage, carrot, pepper, onion, edamame and cucumbers in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Arrange on top of noodles, sprinkle with peanuts. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pepper-Crusted Tuna

4 tuna steaks (each about 1 1/2 inches thick and 6 to 8 ounces)

6 to 8 tablespoons cracked black peppercorns

2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning

Coarse salt (kosher or sea)

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Lime wedges, for serving

Place the tuna steaks on a large plate and thickly crust them with cracked peppercorns, pressing the pepper onto the fish on both sides and the edges. Generously season the tuna with Old Bay seasoning and salt. Place the olive oil in a shallow bowl.

Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat it to high.

When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Dip each piece of tuna in the olive oil on both sides, then arrange it on the hot grate. The dripping oil may and should cause flare-ups—it's supposed to. The flames will help sear the crust. Grill the tuna until it is dark and crusty on the outside but still rare inside, 3-4 minutes per side, turning with tongs. When done the tuna should feel quite soft when poked.

Transfer the grilled tuna steaks to a cutting board and cut them into 1/4-inch slices. Cut down through the steaks, holding the blade perpendicular to the cutting board. Each slice will have a dark crusty exterior and a rare center. Fan out the slices on a platter or plates. Garnish the tuna with lemon or lime wedges and serve the bowls of dipping sauce alongside.

Notes: Make tapioca and dipping sauces in advance (the day before). About 2 hours before ready to serve take out dipping sauce so it will warm to room temperature (you may even want to slightly heat the curry sauce). Prepare rice and while it is cooking make salad. Place mangos and garnish on tapioca. Prepare tuna (but don’t cook). When main course is ready to serve (except tuna), put tuna on grill.

Gourmet Sunday Italian Style

For our Sunday gourmet meal I planned this menu and these recipes to be light Italian with lots of flavor. It was a hit with everyone. The entire meal takes about 6 hour to prepare so you might want to break it up into a few days. This is how I did it; on Friday I made the Ladyfingers, berries, and Lime Curd. On Saturday I made the bread, mascarpone mixture and assembled the tiramisu. On Sunday I made the salad and salad dressing and the salmon.

Italian Salad

Mixed baby greens

6 oz kalamata olives

1 cucumber, scored, peeled and sliced

Artichoke hearts

Cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

Green onions, sliced

Salami, thinly sliced

Prosciutto, thinly sliced

Provolone cheese, very thinly sliced

Gorgonzola cheese

Toss greens, olives, cucumbers, artichoke hearts, tomatoes and green onions together and spread into a wide, shallow serving dish. On top of the bed of greens mixture arrange rolled pieces of salami, prosciutto and provolone cheese. Sprinkle lightly with Gorgonzola cheese. Serve with dressing on the side.

Fresh Italian Salad Dressing

1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 tablespoon white sugar (or xylitol)

1 tablespoon fresh oregano

½ teaspoon fresh black pepper

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1 tablespoon fresh basil

1 tablespoon fresh parsley

Salt to taste

½ cup white vinegar

1 ¼ cup olive oil

Mix all ingredients and blend until smooth.

Rosemary Bread

1 tablespoon yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup warm water

2 – 2 ½ cups white flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (1 T dried)

1 tablespoon butter

Place yeast, sugar and water in a large bowl or food processor and allow mixture to become bubbly.

Mix in butter, salt, and 2 cups flour. Add half of the rosemary. Knead until smooth and elastic, add more flour if necessary.

Put dough in greased bowl and cover with a towel. Let dough rise in a warm place for an hour, or until doubled. Punch down dough and divide in half. Let dough rest for 5 minutes. Grease a cookie sheet. Shape the dough into two rounded oval loaves. Sprinkle with remaining rosemary and press into surface gently. Let loaves rise for 45 minutes or until doubled.

Bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Brush with butter and serve with butter, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and herbs. This makes a great dipping bread.

Mediterranean Salmon

4 salmon fillets

1 cup fresh tomatoes, finely chopped

1 tablespoon capers

½ cup chopped artichokes

¼ cup sliced green olives

1 tablespoon chopped onion

1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

Fresh basil

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup chicken broth

Preheat oven to 475°F. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper and place them on a greased pan (skin side down if fillets have skin). Put in oven until they are half cooked (about 10 minutes). Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the garlic and onion. When they are soft, add the olives, artichokes, capers and chicken broth. Cook for 2 minutes and add the tomatoes and some chopped basil. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper and pour all but 1 cup over the half-cooked salmon. Return salmon to the oven until they are fully cooked, about 10 minutes. Serve salmon with remaining sauce on tip and garnish with fresh basil or parsley leaves.

Berry Tiramisu

This recipe is involved, but not difficult. Give yourself time as you need to start 2 days in advance. It is delicious and well worth the time.

You will need berries, lime syrup, lime curd, mascarpone cheese tipping and ladyfingers.

Berries:

3 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup fresh blackberries

1 cup powdered sugar

½ cup water

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 cup sliced fresh strawberries

Combine blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, powdered sugar and water in a large stainless steel pot. Bring to a simmer, stirring gently until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until berries are soft, but intact. Stir in lime juice and cool to room temperature. Stir in strawberries. Chill until cold.

Lime Syrup

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lime peel

1/3 cup water

Combine all ingredients together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cool to room temperature and discard lime peel.

Mascarpone Topping

20 oz mascarpone cheese (if you can’t find mascarpone use cream cheese, however it is worth looking for mascarpone)

½ heavy whipping cream.

Mix cheese and cream together with an electric mixer until smooth and slightly thickened (do not overbeat!). Add Lime Curd (see recipe below) and beat just until blended.

Lime Curd

¼ cup butter

¾ cup sugar

½ cup fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon grated lime peel (fresh)

Pinch of salt

5 egg yolks

Place a fine strainer over a medium glass bowl. Melt butter in heavy saucepan. Remove from heat and add sugar, lime juice, lime peel and salt. Whisk to blend. Add yolks and wish until smooth. Return saucepan to medium heat and whish constantly until curd thickens slightly and reaches 165°F on an instant read thermometer (do not boil). Pour curd into prepared strainer. Discard solids. Cover liquid and chill overnight.

Ladyfingers

2/3 cup white flour

Pinch of salt

4 eggs – separated

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease and flour 2 cookie sheets. Beat egg yolks with half of the sugar until thick enough to leave a ribbon trail when the beaters are lifted.

In another bowl beat the egg whites until stiff. Beat in the remaining sugar until glossy.

Sift flour over the yolks and spoon a large dollop of egg whites over the flour.

Carefully fold. Add vanilla and gently fold in the remaining whites. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain nozzle and pipe 3 inch long lines on the baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until crusty on the outside but soft in the center. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack.

Assembling the Tiramisu

Tiramisu can be assembled in a baking dish or in individual cups.

Lightly brush each ladyfinger with the lime syrup. Layer the ladyfingers, mascarpone cheese mixture, and berry mixture. In a baking dish do one layer of each. For individual servings do three layers. Chill overnight and top with a small dollop of whipped cream.

Butterfly Chicken

THIS IS MIKE’S FAVORITE DISH!!! Every birthday, holiday, special occasion, if I ask Mike want he wants, it is this chicken. It is a family favorite!

4-6 WHOLE BONELESS, SKINLESS CHICKEN BREASTS (depending on the thickness of breast. I usually pound the breasts with a meat mallet to thin the breast and end up getting two pieces of chicken out of each thick breast. You can determine how thick you want the meat.)

½ CUP FLOUR

½ TEASPOON SALT

¼ TEASPOON PEPPER

½-3/4 CUP BUTTERLEMON JUICE

1 ½ POUNDS OF FRESH MUSHROOMS SLICED OR 2-3 JARS CANNED MUSHROOMS

3 CUPS WHIPPING CREAM

2 CUPS FRESH GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE

MINCED FRESH PARSLEY OR DRIED PARSLEY

Pound chicken breasts between waxed paper or plastic wrap until thin like a cutlet. Dip chicken in flour that is seasoned with salt and pepper. Shake off excess flour. Melt part of the butter in a large skillet. Saute’ chicken two to three minutes on each side. While sautéing drizzle 4-5 drops of lemon juice on each chicken piece. Add more butter as needed to the pan for sautéing the chicken pieces. Transfer the chicken to baking pans (8x13 or a little bigger). Give each piece of chicken some space between to let the cream and cheese run between the pieces. Set aside.

Saute’ the mushrooms in the same pan as the chicken was sautéed in. Add more butter if needed. Don’t burn the mushrooms. Spoon the mushrooms and drippings over the chicken. Pour the cream over the chicken. Sprinkle generous amounts of parmesan cheese on each chicken piece. Get the parmesan down in the cream. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Posted by: Kimmy