Back to cooking

Last week was ridiculous. There was too much going on. This week is hectic, but manageable. Yesterday, I got back to cooking. I made Italian Wedding Soup and Beef Stew for dinner. I made a large batch of the stew and half is in the freezer for another meal when I have a crazy week like last week.


Tonight I have to work late so it is "make your own sandwich" night.

Swamped!

This week is extremely busy. Monday was late work, and meeting at night. Tuesday, an additional concert at night, and Wednesday, 4 dentist appointments and one eye appointment. All this with the usual practices and lessons. I don't know about you, but I get anxious during weeks like this.

We still need to eat! I rely on the basics: steak and cheese, pasta and broccoli, and sandwiches! Wednesday, there is not enough time to be at home and even make sandwiches-- going out for dinner.

Sunday cooking

I had some of my sauce and homemade ricotta gnocchi in the freezer. That would have been enough for dinner, but I came across the "Big Turkey Meatballs" recipe in Mario Batali's Molto Italiano cookbook. They are fantastic meatballs. I recommend them highly. Best part, I had leftovers for later in the week.

Tonight, I was excited to make "Seafood Gumbo" and unfortunately, I was disappointed by the recipe. I found it to be bland. I even added sausage. Then I added creole seasoning and hot sauce to the leftovers. When you try recipes, you have to expect that some will not be good. When you have cooking skills, you can sometimes make the recipe better.

Risotto with Squash Souffle

As promised, a picture of the chicken skillet.

Last night I planned on making the Risotto with Squash Souffle, but I was not really planned. I knew the recipe would take a while, risotto always does, but I never read through the recipe all the way. Bad idea.

I was supposed to chill the risotto for 8 hours, but I put it in the freezer and that worked well. Then the souffle part meant making a roux, a sauce, beating egg whites, mixing at different times. Not exactly what I wanted to spend a Wednesday afternoon doing. I was trying to thing of some short cuts, but eventually just decided to do the recipe as written.

I was so glad I did. It was delicious! My oldest, who is not my most adventurous eater, gobbled it down. I had two servings and I can wait to have some for lunch today. Great recipe.

I did have extra souffle mixture that I cooked in a separate pan to use a side dish today.

Skillet Chicken

Last night I made a skillet chicken. I will post a picture soon. Here is the recipe:

Skillet Chicken

6 chicken drumsticks
olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 tomatoes, cut into six
1 onion, cut into thick slices
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 cups chicken stock

Heat over to 375 degrees F. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In an iron skillet, brown chicken on all sides. Remove chicken to a platter. Drain most of the fat from the skillet, keeping about 2 tablespoons in the pan. Add tomatoes, onion, garlic, and parsley; saute for about 5 minutes. Return chicken to skillet and add chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate and brown pieces. Bring mixture to a boil. Place the skillet in the preheated oven and cook for about 30 to 40 minutes, until chicken is cooked. Serve.

Veal Chops

Sunday dinner was Roasted Veal Chops with Honey from the Cucina of Le Marche cookbook. All I can say is "wow". That was a great recipe. The instructions were perfect and the veal was perfectly cooked.

Tonight, I grilled hamburgers. It has been unseasonly warm in the northeast and I felt I needed to take advantage. I made the maple-worcestershire onion sauce and that was a nice, sweet topping. I also made Mona's Potatoes, a cookmom original.

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenders

My kids love them, so here is the recipe again. Last night I served them with a side of pasta. They would make a great base to chicken parmesan, chicken wraps, or just added to a Casear salad.

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenders

In a bowl I mixed 2 eggs and 4 minced garlic cloves.
In a second bowl, I combined 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese and 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs.
I prepared a sheet pan with cooking spray and a little olive oil. Dip the tenders first into the egg, then into the Parmesan mixture. Place on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Ricotta Gnocchi and more...

Yesterday, it was back to work, but only for a half day. I took advantage of the half day to make a batch of spaghetti sauce. I also had extra ricotta, on purpose, so that I could make gnocchi. I made two large trays full and have them in the freezer. I also had some very ripe bananas and they were turned into banana bread. One loaf out, one in the freezer.

Dinner was Clementine and Five-Spice Chicken Thighs from Eating Well, February 2012. I did have a little problem...when I took the chicken thighs from the freezer to thaw, I actually took out chicken tenders. Came out perfect and cut the cooking time. Salad, roasted broccoli, and basmati rice rounded out the meal.