Monday, May 26, 2008

Grilled and Marinated Zucchini and Yellow Squash

Willy hears that a marinade can really change the flavors of zucchini and yellow squash. This recipe has a lemony-peppery mixture which really wakes them up.

An Italian technique that really works is used here it is to reverse the order—grill, then marinate— - It really works.

Ingredients

2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise
2 medium yellow squash, halved lengthwise
1/4 cup, plus 1 tablespoon, olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil



Instructions

1. Heat grill to high.
2. Brush zucchini and yellow squash with 1 tablespoon oil and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Grill cut side down until light golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and continue grilling until just thoroughly cooked, 4 to 5 minutes longer. Remove from grill and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices.
3. Whisk together remaining 1/4 cup oil, lemon juice, lemon rind, red pepper flakes and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Add zucchini, yellow squash and basil; toss to coat. Cover and let sit at room temperature at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours before serving. Serves 4

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Keyingredient - Digital Recipes, Real Cooks

Cooking Printing is sometimes very hard to do. What I mean is the things and recipes that we want are sometimes difficult to get in to a website for cooking that is easy to print.

Well, Check out the recipe below. I entered this recipe in the website called Keyingredient.com. The recipe was very easy to enter. It was just a simple cut and paste from a recipe that I had in my computer. Then it just simply came to life with the recipe that could be easily saved, printed and used by others.

The site allows you to control how your recipe will be used. You can make it private, used by a few or easily accessible by everyone. I haven't tried it yet, but they also say that you can easily "snatch" recipes from other sites with just a click or two and have it entered into that site.

Then, just as I have done they have a widget that makes the recipe easily posted to your own blog.

Pretty neat - Right. - Check it out below.





Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Mushroom Merlot Burger


Willy ran on to this hamburger recipe at one of his favorite spots on cooking beef, Beef - Its What for Dinner!


Lots of good beef recipes there! Check this one out!

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Makes 4 servings.


Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (95% lean)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

4 large portobello mushrooms

4 slices French bread, cut diagonally 1/2 inch thick

2 ounces goat cheese (1/2 cup)

4 romaine lettuce leaves

Chopped fresh parsley (optional)


Sauce:


1 teaspoon olive oil

2 tablespoons minced shallots

1 cup Merlot or other dry red wine

1/4 cup ready-to-serve beef broth

2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper




Instructions:

1. To prepare sauce, heat oil in large nonstick skillet over low heat. Add shallots; cook and stir 6 to 8 minutes or until caramelized. Stir in wine, broth and thyme. Cook over medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup. Combine butter and flour; whisk into sauce. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover; keep warm.
2. Combine ground beef, 2 tablespoons parsley, 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in large bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Lightly shape into four 1/2-inch thick patties. Set aside.
3. Place mushrooms on grid over medium, ash-covered coals; grill, uncovered, 16 to 18 minutes or until tender, turning occasionally. About 10 minutes before mushrooms are done, move mushrooms to outer edge of grid. Place patties in center of grid; grill 11 to 13 minutes, turning occasionally, until instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into center registers (160°F). Place bread slices on grid; grill until toasted, turning once.
4. Reheat sauce, if necessary. Spread 1/2 of cheese on toasted bread slices. Top each with lettuce leaf, mushroom and burger; drizzle evenly with sauce. Crumble remaining goat cheese over tops; sprinkle with parsley, as desired.


Nutrition information per serving: 454 calories; 15 g fat (7 g saturated fat; 5 g monounsaturated fat); 79 mg cholesterol; 557 mg sodium; 40 g carbohydrate; 3.5 g fiber; 33 g protein; 11.5 mg niacin; 0.5 mg vitamin B6; 2.2 mcg vitamin B12; 5.2 mg iron; 50.6 mcg selenium; 6.7 mg zinc.


Cook's Notes
Cook’s Tip: To broil, place patties and mushrooms on rack in broiler pan so surface of beef is 3 to 4 inches from heat. Broil patties 10 to 12, turning once, until instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into center registers (160°F). Broil mushrooms 16 to 18 minutes or until tender, turning once.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Seafood Gumbo


1/4 cup oil
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups onion, chopped
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup celery, diced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon chicken base
3 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/3 cup dried parsley
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons House Seasoning, recipe follows
2 tablespoons soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes seasoned with garlic, basil, and oregano or 2 cups fresh diced tomatoes
4 cups sliced Cajun-style fresh link sausage
4 cups cut okra (fresh or frozen)
2 cups oysters and liquor
1/2 pound crabmeat
1 1/2 pounds fresh peeled shrimp
3 cups bay scallops
File powder

In a large pot combine oil and flour. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until the roux has browned to a light chocolate color. Add onion, pepper, celery and garlic. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly add chicken broth, and chicken base, stirring as you go. Add water, bay leaves, thyme, basil, parsley, lemon pepper, cayenne pepper, House Seasoning, soy sauce and tomatoes. Cut sausage into 1/2-inch pieces. Add to pot along with okra. Cover pot and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add oysters, crabmeat, shrimp and scallops. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Serve over hot buttered rice. Sprinkle with file powder on top of bowl and stir in.
Tip: Add file powder after putting gumbo into individual serving bowls. Adding file into the pot will make the gumbo too thick as File powder acts as a thickening agent.


House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Be Scared - Watch Frontier(s)

Frontier(s) Coming to a theatre near you on May 9th and out on video May 13th. This is uncut and unrated but it is not unscary. This film will scare the pants off of you.

This Film will make you think about your boundaries.

Trailer for this film can be watched here. But be ware. This is not for the faint at heart. This is a truly harrowing experience. Maybe this is your favorite way to be scared. Watching this type of film will scare you. Regardless of who you are this movie will scare you. Just watching the trailer for the movie made me have some wild thoughts.

Nightmares may come from watching this movie. But just think you can watch this uncut, unsensored version at the big screen theatre or soon you can watch it at home in the dark room at the house. This way you can certainly worry about who is watching you and where your boundaries are.

Nothing like this recently has scared me. The trailer did. Watch it and find out.

Sponsored by Frontier(s)

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Corn on the Cob with Chile and Lime


Celebrate Cinco De Mayo this week with this easy recipe for tasty corn with a kick.
The spice in this one might make you want to do a hat dance around the table.

Try it out. It's so quick to make

4 ears corn with husks
1 lime, cut in wedges

1 tsp butter
McCormick Chili with Lime Seasoning
Microwave corn, in their husks, for about 15-20 minutes. (Until cooked)
Remove husks and corn silk. Rub each corn with a little butter. Squeeze lime juice and sprinkle with chili seasoning. Enjoy!