Monday, November 13, 2006

My Week in Meals - #10

Sorry about the missed week last week. I'm changing my format a little. I'm now going to post my week of meals after the fact, so these are meals we had last week. This way I can recommend (or not), the recipes I tried and give you any useful comments. Also, I'm just going to post dinners for the week. Look at Week in Meals 1-9 for ideas for lunches and breakfasts. As you can tell, I just repeat the same things so it's not worth the continual posting. Here are some good dinners to try this week:

1. Grilled chicken, risotto, peas

2. Beef Bourguignon, Parker House Rolls, Mashed Potatoes, Pumpkin Pie
This was, in part, a try out for some of our Thanksgiving meal contenders. The Parker House Rolls were super disappointing. They just didn't raise like the good ole' Lion House Recipe. I didn't do the roasted garlic/sage filling in the middle, although I have before and like it. The mashed potatoes were made from a recipe in this months Bon Appetit that really dissects the perfect mashed potatoes. They were very good. Tiny lumps, but I think that was my fault because I didn't let Josh cook them as long as he wanted to. I wanted to try the pumpkin pie recipe Girl Con Queso posted on DesignMom. It has ice cream in it. Weird. It was good, but it was still pumpkin pie, if you know what I mean. It was a little less dense than some pumpkin pies.

3. Chicken Chilaquiles
I love this hearty, satisfying, thick Mexican soup. This recipe is from one of my favorite chefs to watch and cook from, Rick Bayless.
Place in the skillet:
1-2 fresh jalapeno peppers
2 large cloves garlic, unpeeled
Roast, turning occasionally, until the chili peppers are blistered and blackened on all sides and the garlic is soft to the touch, 10-15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel the garlic. Place in a food processor or blender with the chili peppers. Coarsely shop using on-off pulses. Add:
One 28-oz. can whole tomatoes, drained
Process until the mixture is coarsely pureed. Heat in a soup pot over medium heat:
1 1/2 t. vegetable oil
Add and cook until nicely browned, about 8-10 minutes:
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
Increase the heat the medium-high and add the tomato mixture. Cook, stirring, until the mixture is darkened and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in:
3 c. shicken stock or chicken broth
Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Season with:
1/2 to 1 t. salt
Just before serving, bring the mixture to a boil and add:
8 oz. thick homemade-style tortilla chips
Stir to coat the chips well, then increase the heat to medium-high and boil rapidly, stirring gently and often, until the chips are softened (but are still a little chewy) and the sauce is reduced to a medium-thick consistency, 2-3 minutes for thinner chips, 4-5 minutes for thicker chips. Immediately spoon the chilaquiles onto a warm deep platter. Serve garnished with:
1/4 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
2 T. sour cream thinned with a little milk (optional)


4. Make your own pizzas, carrots and olives for snacking
Earlier in the day I made pizza dough, rolled in into 6" rounds and baked for 10 minutes at 500. That evening we assembled using tomato sauce (just opened a can and added a little salt), cheese, pepperoni, olives, sausage, pineapple, green peppers. Then bake for 8-10 minutes (it takes less time because the crust is already cooked). We did this for Roxcy's birthday party this week and it was a hit.

5. Make your own spaghetti & salad
I put out spaghetti and separate bowls of sauce (like Frank's Marinara), cooked sausage, parmesean cheese and sauteed zuchinni.

5 comments:

Jenni said...

I didn't know you were a fan of Rick Bayless, I like him too, even though he did do a Burger King commercial. I met him at his restaurant in Chicago, Topolobampo,so good. I even got to see Dustin Hoffman there too. That kind of thing never happens to me.

Anonymous said...

I make chilaquiles all the time! They are hands down my favorite Mexican food. I like Rick B., too.

Tania said...

I made the ice cream pumpkin pie too. Actually, I made 4. I wanted to make 2 & doubled the recipe before noticing it makes 2. Oh well, we took them to the linger longer & people who needed them!
I agree, it was less dense, I like the vanilla flavor, but missed the cloves. Next time I think I'm going to try my usual recipe, and add a tsp of vanilla & see what it's like.

The Willfords said...

Erin I have consistently had problems with Marth's roll recipes. They always have a rough time raising and seem to be just not as flavorfull. I have also liked the Lion House recipe, but my sister in law showed me a new recipe that I think you'll find to be tasty and rises very well. She had a roomate at BYU that would make them so that boys would come over, but of course they'd come, eat and then leave. So she calls them the Evil roomate rolls:
Christine's "Evil Roomate's" Rolls

3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 T. yeast
1/2 t sugar
1/2 C. oil
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. water
3 eggs, beaten
2 t. salt
5 - 6 c flour at least...I usually end up adding 6-7.

Mix water, yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar in small bowl and let rise. In a large
bowl, mix oil, sugar, water, eggs, yeast and salt. Add flour and knead for 5
minutes. Let rise for 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator. Divide dough in
half. Roll into a 1/4 inch thick circle and brush with softened butter. Cut pizza
style. Roll big to little end. Place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise for 1-2hours
hours. Bake at 350 for 12 - 15 minutes, until golden brown. Brush tops with butter.

Liz Stanley said...

so are you only posting once a week now? slowing weening us off the lee lou ann blog?