Signature Dish- Noodles in lemon garlic cream sauce, salad with raspberry vinaigrette, steak with blue cheese butter, foccacia

On occasion...I say that a lot it seems...On very RARE occasion I take the time to make my signature dish.

Why is it signature you ask? Well, this is 100% mine. No altered recipe, all mine. And it was my very very first recipe like that. There are a couple of others. When I make them, I'll post them.

So earlier I posted about Alfredo sauce and said in the once in a great while that I made it, when I did again, I would post pics.

Tonight is one of those nights.

On the menu tonight is Steak with blue-cheese, roasted garlic and herb butter, Homemade noodles with garlic lemon cream sauce, Salad with apples and blue cheese with raspberry vinaigrette and foccacia.

Ok so the foccacia I bought this time because I didn't get home early enough to make making bread feasible. I'll give you the recipe anyway. It's pretty easy.

Let's start with that because it takes the longest.

No. Wait. No. Nevermind.

Oh. Get out the butter so it can warm up. You need it kinda squishy.

The Bread. Although when you bake it, throw in the garlic head covered in olive oil wrapped in foil to bake with it. You'll want it to cool before you squish it.

Foccacia - This is mom's recipe. Again, I don't alter baked goods, usually.

If you have a bread machine, this makes this a million times easier. I don't bake in my bread machine, I just make the dough. I have this thing against bread that is rounded on the end and not length wise. It bothers me.

1c Lukewarm water

1 pkg yeast (2 1/4 teas if you do bulk like we do)

Mis these together. Let them get all happy in the warm bath.

In mixer dump...

1 1/2 c flour

1 Tbs Rosemary

2t salt

3T oil.

Pour in the water mix. Use your dough hook for this it work best. If using the bread maker, liquids first, then dry.

Mix until soft ball forms.

If needed, add more flour.

I always end up adding more flour.

Knead dough until its stiffish.

Get a pan that is a good size at. Err baking sheet. Technicalities sheesh!

Roll dough out into flattened circle of about 1 foot. (12") ONTO THE PAN. Seriously, you don't want to pick it up afterward. No more nice roundish bread...

Stick your fingers in it lightly. Ok act like you are a concert pianist and play the bread. You want little pockmarks, its ok. Really.

Brush top of dough with oil and sprinkle with pepper. Fresh cracked or course, silly. Geez!

Let it rise for 30 mins in a warm but not HOT place.

Bake at 400 fo 20-25 mins. Brush top with oil again and some kosher salt when out of oven.

Don't forget to throw the garlic into the oven.

Next is making the noodles. No it is not hard, so shush. Its very, very easy. And doesn't take forever, just longer than what a quick evening meal requires.

It takes a million ingredients too.

Ready?

You sure?

Ok. Here goes. *Deep breath, cracks fingers

6 eggs

3 C Flour

Whew! *wipes brow* that was tough.

Now what do you do?

Put the flour in a bowl or on a flat surface. Yes, flat. Because a non-flat surface causes gravity issues, that's why.

Fine.

Make a hollow in middle of your pile of flour. Crack in the eggs.

Get a fork. Whisk egg and grab a little flour from the edges as you do, working it into the eggs. Keep grabbing flour until the fork is no good anymore. Then get your hands in there and fluff in flour and squish together.

Now you have enough in there its time to start kneading.

Knead the dough until everything is incorporated together and it makes a stiff ball.

Wrap in oiled plastic wrap and set aside away from heat to rest for 30 mins or so.

If its gonna be longer, throw it in the fridge. No don't literally throw it! Ok. Go clean up the milk you just spilled.

When you are ready to boil the noodles, get the dough out and warm it up to room temp. Roll out so its about 1/16 to 1/8" thick. If you have a fancy pasta attachment for your mixer, use it. If you have a manual machine (like I do) us that.

Cut noodles into desired width. Powder with flour to keep them from sticking together, because trust me, they will. Like glue on.. well whatever. Like glue.

To cook, boil water with a little oil and salt. Salt is important.

They take like 2 seconds to cook. Well maybe 60, but not very long.

DO NOT COOK UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO EAT! They will become glue if not served fresh.

Ok. Now that that is clear as mud.

Next course errr, part.

Get out the steaks. Throw on some seasoning. Salt, pepper, garlic.

No really. That's it.

I like using strip steaks but my fave is ribeye.

Get out the butter. Warm it up if you forgot to get it out earlier. 20 secs in micro-niker is fine.

You will also need...

2 Tbs blue cheese, crumbled. Or however much you want to put in. I use half of one of those little pre-crumbled cartons.

your head of now very happy roasted garlic.

Pinch of basil

Pinch of thyme

Throw butter in bowl.

No, don't actually throw it! Geez now look at that mess!

Poor counters. Never saw it coming.

Now that you have scraped it off the counter and wall, put it in the bowl. Better.

Add the blue cheese and herbage and then squish the cloves of garlic tip to base to squeeze out all that good squishy stuff inside. Squish. Squish.

Ok now, get a fork. Squish all of your ingredients together. Good job!

Now that your butter is all happy and content, dump it out onto a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper. (To keep mother nature happy, wax paper is better!)

Roll the paper around the butter and help it make a log by pushing it outward a little as you roll. Twist the ends tight until a solid log is formed.

Toss in freezer or fridge. If you like you steaks medium to rare then freezer is better, well done, fridge should be ok.

The steaks can now go into the oven on broil or on the grill. Also if you are going to fix a veggie, like asparagus, then get that to cooking too. (Water, plate, wax paper, microwave for 5 mins)

Get out your alfredo ingredients.

Cream, lemon, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper.

Remember to not add the cheese and lemon juice until the VERY end k?

See recipe for alfredo sauce

I made a salad with mine just 'cause.

If you like the looks of this I used

Lettuce, blue cheese, apples, onions, cucumbers and generally top with a raspberry vinaigrette or other vinegar based dressing.

Yes, apples. Cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, oranges, these are all very yummy in salads. So are nuts...I especially like almonds or pecans caramelized with it. MMMMMMMM.

So in about 5-10 minutes, 15 if you like your steak extra crunchy, dinner is done.

I told you this was a long haul. This is a special, once every now and then, takes a few hours to do kinda meal. Plan ahead. Anticipation is everything.

Now assemble and enjoy!

Oh, ya. I have a serious thing for mushrooms. So i added mushrooms. These are baby bella's 'cause in the PNW we have LOTS of mushrooms for cheap.

Ok. I'm done now :-)

Super Bowl Sunday

So among my creative pursuits I occasionally endeavor into the food category. Of course, when my brilliant creation turns out to be scrumptious, I photograph it and post it. 

In my crazy, hectic schedule, I rarely get the opportunity to enjoy myself in the kitchen, and when I do, I rarely have the energy to be truly amazing. When I do find myself in the apex of the combination of mood and time, I thumb through my million recipes-to-try collection and find one inspiring.

Yes, I alter it, add ingredients, take away things, and eventually it becomes wholly mine. I take my time to not measure anything unnecessary (unless baking, then its a must), and watch a few Alton Brown episodes so I know the mechanics of adding extra liquidy things to cheesecake and how to balance them.

So, on this Great American Football Day, I was in said apex and wanted to cook.

No recipes today, though. Just my own made up, learned to do at some point, dishes.

Mexican was the theme, as well, it fit.

Pico De Gallo, Guacamole, Mango salsa, slow cooked pulled chicken, fresh hand-made tortillas, frijoles from scratch and grilled corn salad.

Here in Pacific Northwest, it was a gorgeous, pure blue sky, sunny, warmish day. 

I threw together the salsa, pico and guac first, threw in the chicken, and went for a hike.

It's what we do.

So, a friend of mine, during our workout... after the hike...said... "I really need to get some recipes from you. Your food always looks so good..."

Sigh.

Ok.

The chicken comes first before anything else because it takes all day to cook.

Sorry. No pics of before and during, only final product. This one really needs no step by step. You are dumping a bunch of stuff into a crock and turning it on.

Plan on one chicken breast per adult. 1/2 per kid unless they are big, growing teenagers. then maybe 2 per.

You want boneless skinless unless you are partial to bone in. If so, have at it.
Clean up the chicken, whichever you bought.

Throw it in the crock pot.

Add 1/2 med onion, sliced in half the sliced again

6 T Chili powder

1 Tbs cumin (that's all i had, i ran out)

2 Tbs garlic of 6 cloves of fresh just thrown in. After they are peeled silly.

dash of lemon pepper seasoning if you have it

1 can tomatoes

1 can chicken broth.

salt and pepper, maybe 2 tsp each.

Close lid a set to T minus whatever time you want to serve dinner to what time it is now.

I was up at 9am. I did 8 hours.

Next you need a good Pico de Gallo. Its kind of the base for all things dippish in my mexican food.

Ok back to the pico.

1/2 ginormous onion chopped into bits. or 1 med onion (avg yellow)

1 good size slicing tomato or 5-6 romas, chopped into bits

1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped somewhere between course and fine.

1 lemon, juiced (watch out for those pesky seeds)

pinch of salt, dash of pepper.

Holy crap that's it? Yup. Basically in a bowl the size you want to fill, fill it with a third of onion, a third of tomato, and a third of cilantro. Easy Peezy. Squeeze lemon (I use a fork stuck in the center and squeeze lemon while moving around fork. Pick out seeds), and throw in your salt and pepper to taste. Mix it up.

K. Your done.

With round one, Mwahahahahaha.

Ok. Guac. This uses some of your pico so I hope you decided on a large bowl.

Oh beautiful guac. I could eat you everyday...sigh.

Ok.

3 avocados (at least)

Pico

That's it.

No really, that's it. 

If you don't know how to cut up an avocado...Cut it in half. Slam your big ol' knife into the seed (You HAVE to use a big knife for this, otherwise its not nearly so rewarding) and take it out. Dislodge from knife and repeat with other 2 avocados. Take a smaller knife (or the big one if your feeling frisky) and score each half length wise to the peel, but not through the peel, and then again width wise. Take a spoon and scoop it out into another bowl.

Add a few spoonfuls of pico. Go ahead. Be generous. If all else fails, add a little more tomato, onion and cilantro (in equal amounts) to bolster it. See. All better.

Ok. So, maybe your in the mood for something a little sweet to go on that shredded chicken going in the crock pot.

How about some mango salsa?

Thought that might perk up your ears.

Sorry, picture's a bit fuzzy. Kitty (who is not supposed to be on the counter) was on the counter pestering me and giving my camera hand kitty kisses. She then became promptly relocated to the floor.

So with Mango Salsa, you use your illustrious pico again.. with a few more ingredients than the guac.

Mangoes. 1 will do. really.

1/4 of an english cucumber, chopped into bits. Yes English is different than the 50 cent ones at the supermarket. You can eat the skin and it tastes good, they are more mild. And yes, a bit more expensive, but its worth it. They are the one wrapped in plastic. Yes, go to the store, make fun of how the phallic object is wrapped to protect it, and then buy the darn thing.

1/2 of a RED onion. 'Cause it's pretty. Cut it into bits too.

1/4 of a red or orange bell pepper. If they are to pricey, green will do too. Cut it into bits.

Lots and lots of bits.

Mangoes are... interesting to dissect. 

Here's a quick lesson. http://keywordmaps.com/delish/how-to-peel-a-mango-7/

Now that you are a mango dissecting officiando, mix all your ingredients into a bowl with some more of your delicious pico. 

Done.

Now go for a hike. Or play on pinterest. Whichever.

Its almost time for dinner. You have about an hour left.

Time for some beans 'N corn.

If you've never made frijoles and have only ever eaten refried, well your in for a treat. If you have leftover, you can "refry" them in a pan with some tomatoes for tomorrow. 

Sorry. I was in a time crunch and the hordes descended before I thought about taking a pic of the beans. They aren't pretty anyway. But they are yummy.

What you need is...

Beans. Ha! Really? Ya think?

Yup. Pintos to be exact. Canned if you must, but dried are cheaper and you can freeze the rest for chili or more frijoles.

You'll also want

1/2 medium onion

1 can or 1 diced tomato. Oh. Diced=Bits. Sorry. My bad.

Spicage:

1 Tbs Chili Powder

2 tsp cumin (Ok more if ya really like cumin. remember, too much=bitter. Yuck.)

1 Tbs garlic (cause everything needs garlic)

1tsp red pepper flakes if you want it warm. I dislike too much warm. My nose runs then I get snot in my food. Never mind.

Start by sauteing your onions in a little bit of butter. Get them nice and brownish. Add your spices.

Gasp. Yes.

They get more flavorful when added to heat before the soupy stuff.

When the kitchen smells pretty(er), add beans you've already cooked or the can. Please drain the can. Cook until they are soupyish. If no soupy come, add a little water or broth.

Squish the beans with a potato squisher when nice and  squishy. Got it. Squish.

Add the bits of tomato and cook. When tomatoes have started to disintegrate, squish some more.

Lots and lots of squishing. 

Good. You're all squished out.

Set the pan aside.

While the beans were getting squishable you can get out the corn.

Oops. Forgot this one too. Darn mass hordes.

1 bag frozen corn, dethawed or if your adventurous, 3-4 ears, corn cut from the cob before cooking.

other 1/2 of med onion chopped into bits

1 Tbs garlic

1Tbs chili powder

2 tsp cumin

1 jalapeno or red pepper flakes. whichever is easiest. If you like warm.

Heat some more butter in a pan (I like cast iron myself) and toss in corn and onion. Get the corn all brown and happy. The sugars from the corn may cause blackening. 


A little is ok. Really. I promise, the devil will not come strike you down for such blasphemy and your granny will not roll over in her grave. K? K.

Add spices.

When nice and smelly, remove from heat and set aside. Let it chill. Literally. 

Then add...1/4 c rice wine or red wine vinegar. (Apple cider will do in a pinch, if'n you must)

salt and pepper to taste. Jalapeno is you didn't use pepper flakes.

MIx together and done.

The tortillas I bought at a local market. They are handmade, not big names. I like shopping local from local growers and producers.

Warm up the tortillas b/w 2 towels in micro-nuker, and call the family in.

Pull out all that other deliciousness you created, and some sour cream too, just 'cause.

You're done.

Eat. You earned it.