Steak and shrimp

I usually post some nasty recipe I've found online, but Nick and Kelsey got me a BBQ grill for Father's Day, so I thought I'd put it to good use.

I marinated some flat iron steaks and made a different marinade for some shrimp.

The steak marinade:

¼ cup EVOO

2 T basalmic vinegar

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp Italian seasoning

salt and pepper

I scored the steaks with a knife to let the marinade soak in, then I put them in a sealed bag for a couple of hours.

 

Then I made a marinade for the shrimp:

3 cloves garlic

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup tomato sauce

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Okay, I cheated some with this. The garlic came from a jar, and I used red wine instead of red wine vinegar. Fresh basil was not to be found., but I bought some chopped basil leaves in a jar.

I also made a dipping sauce for some French bread. Yum!

1/4 cup EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

5 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon crushed dried oregano

fresh ground black pepper

It was just a little too garlicky for me, but still tasty.

What goes with BBQ better than baked beans? I could have made baked beans, but I was feeling lazy, so I used a can of KC Masterpiece baked beans.

Let's go grilling!

Steaks.

Shrimp on the barbie.

Nick and I had quite a feast.

I made peach cobbler for dessert. Goes great with ice cream.

Over all, the shrimp could have been a little spicier, but I'm not complaining.

Until next time, bon appetit!

Masked hot dogs and a Tropicana sundae

No, not normal hot dogs and ice cream. I found two weird recipes that I thought I'd try.

Masked hot dogs? Mostly, this is just silly. Who thought of this? Someone on a gelatin company payroll, I'll bet. Because really, it's not all that outrageous; just... well, silly. Anyway, on with the show.

I made the gelatin in a pan and added it to the creamy French dressing.

Dipped the dogs twice and set in the fridge to chill.

Time to start the dessert.

Can you imagine ice cream with ketchup and jelly? Me neither (but I'm about to find out).

The jelly and ketchup go in a pan to simmer. While that's on the stove, lets try the masked hot dogs.

Amazingly boring. I'd rather have a regular hot dog in a bun with creamy French dressing poured over it. Well, let's check on dessert.

Ready to pour.

It's actually brown, but sort of clear. Don't forget the walnuts.

How's it taste?

This is truly awful. None of these flavors blend whatsoever (except to make a bowlful of nastiness). If I wanted to piss off all my guests, I don't think I could do worse than serve this. I'd probably end up with a black eye.

Until next time, bon appetit!

Quick Pizza and a curious appetizer

                Everyone knows that teenagers have voracious appetites. And what's a better way to keep those crazy, fun-loving teenagers fed than with pizza? And crazy, fun-loving teenagers want it quick! Their lives are too full of adventure (and fun-loving craziness) to be slowed down by a long, needless wait for pizza.

                Got a houseful of boisterous teens? You just know they're bound to be hungry; look at the way they're gnawing the wax fruit on the coffee table. What's a concerned parent to do? Why, pizza! And it better be quick!

                What, you may ask, do crazy, fun-loving teenagers want on their pizza? Pepperoni? Hardly. Sausage? Nope. Canadian bacon? Not even.

                No, what today's teenagers want on their pizza is a healthy topping of sardines.

 

                No recipe with this one, but how hard can it be to make a sardine pizza? Looks like sardines, tomato sauce, some nondescript cheese, and scallions (I'll bet your mouth is watering already).

                I picked up a box of Jiffy pizza dough (none of that pre-made stuff for me). I spread the dough in a pan, then added tomato sauce, scallions and sardines. I also added black olives, mozzarella and some Eye-talian seasoning, then into the oven for 20 minutes @ 425 degrees.

  

 Hmmm, 20 minutes to wait. What to do, what to do. Monopoly? Nah, takes too long.  Hey! How about a healthy beverage? Low-calorie (for those of us watching our waistline) and delicious, to boot!

   No recipe here, just pour broth over ice. I think I can handle that.

"When in doubt, pinky out."

    I have to say, it's nothing short of weird. Strange, even. Not terrible, because broth is, in fact, pretty tasty. But it's a lot tastier when it's mixed with beef instead of ice. I think this would turn most crazy, fun-loving teenagers into sullen, irritable teenagers with bad manners and dirt under their fingernails. Speaking of teenagers, how about that quick pizza?

     A work of art, isn't it? In case you're curious, baking sardines in an oven will give your kitchen a slight... aroma. But how does it taste?

      It's not the worst meal I've had (like the time my friend and I tried to make soup with beef jerky). But I've definitely had better.

     So if you frequently have lots of crazy, fun-loving teenagers in your house, I'd suggest serving glasses of iced broth and sardine pizza; you'll never be bothered again. Of course, your own teen will be shunned for the remainder of his/her high school days, forced to spend his /her crazy, fun-filled years as a recluse, destined to lead a life of boredom, reviled by society.

Until next time, Bon Appetit!

Muffaletta!

I usually make some weird piece of crap... er, food, and since Nick is coming over for supper tonight, I thought I'd make something that actually tastes good (for a change).  On tonight's menu: Muffaletta, sweet potato fries and mixed berry cobbler. First, the fries.


I peeled and sliced two good-sized sweet potatoes.

I poured on a tablespoon or two of olive oil, about a tablespoon of cumin, paprika and curry powder, mixed them by hand in the bowl, then in the oven for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. They came out looking like this:

 

Not overly crisp since they were baked in the oven, but still pretty good.

Now: the muffaletta. 

First is an olive salad; a cup of green olives, a cup of black olives, a cup of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), a tablespoon or so of parsley leaves,  three minced cloves of garlic and about a half a cup of white wine (the nasty wine I used a few entries back). Terrible to drink, but dandy to cook with. I made this last night, and let it sit overnight.

 

A loaf of sourdough bread. I added a can of the worst soda on the face of the planet for a size comparison.

(Honestly, if you ever get the chance to taste Moxie, run the other way. Really. I'm not kidding.)

I cut off the top third and removed a lot of the bread to make room for the innards.

I poured some of the liquid off the salad and into the bottom part of the loaf.

A layer of cotto salami, then a layer of provolone.

Then some ham, more provolone, more salami, etc.  Then I added most of the olive salad.

Ta-dah!!

And what about dessert, you ask?  Oh, you didn't ask? Hum. Well, I'll just pretend someone asked about desert. 

Mixed berry cobbler. Here's the recipe:

1/4 c. butter
3/4 c. milk
2 c. berries (or more, if desired)
1/4 c. sugar, or to taste
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar

Melt the butter in a 9x13 inch baking pan. Layer berries over the butter. Sprinkle with the 1/4 cup of sugar.

Mix the baking powder, 1 cup sugar and the flour together and add the milk to make a thin batter.

Pour the batter over the berries and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Do not stir the mixture.

It's best right out of the oven with some ice cream.

 Nick and I were both stuffed before dessert, but that's no reason to skip something as tasty as this.

Anyway, in case you thought all I ever ate was bad, old recipes found in an old Milwaukee Power and Light cookbook, I actually do eat some pretty good stuff.

Next time, however, I'll be back to some other gastric disaster.

Until then, bon apetit!

Bean salad and Tuna Tomato Polenta

Four Bean Salad

• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins
• Servings: 10
  

Ingredients

• 1 (19 ounce) cans chickpeas
• 1 (14 ounce) cans green beans
• 1 (14 ounce) cans wax beans
• 1 (19 ounce) cans red kidney beans
• 1 red bell peppers ( any colour can be used)
• 1 small red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
• ½ cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
  

  DRESSING

• ²⁄₃; cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup canola oil
• ½ cup granulated sugar ( use less if desired)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  

Directions

1. Drain a 19-oz tin of chick peas (garbanzo beans), rinse well, then drain again; place in a large mixing bowl.
2. Drain a 14-oz tin of green beans and a 14-oz tin of wax beans well and then add to bowl.
3. Drain a 19-oz tin of red kidney beans, rinse well then drain again; add to bowl.
4. Dice up a coloured bell pepper (red, orange or yellow, I don't use green as I don't like them much) and add to beans.
   

5. Peel a small red onion and slice into very thin strips and add to bowl.
6. Lastly, add about 1/2 cup of chopped fresh flatleaf parsley.
7. Now make dressing: in a separate bowl, whisk together the vinegars, oil, sugar (I use a scant 1/2 cup), minced fresh garlic, worcestershire, and salt and pepper.
8. Pour dressing over salad ingredients and toss.
9. Cover and refrigerate overnight, stirring occasionally (before serving, taste, as it may need more salt).
10. When ready, spoon bean salad into a serving bowl using a slotted spoon, to drain off most of the dressing before serving.
    
    
    
    Tuna Tomato Polenta
    
    
    3/4 cup cornmeal
    1/4 cup cold water
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
    1 1/2 cups boiling water
    1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
    2 cans (6 1/2 ounces each) tuna, drained and flaked
    1 medium stalk celery, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
    1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves
    3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    Sliced ripe olives
    Mix cornmeal, cold water, salt and garlic salt thoroughly in 1 quart saucepan. Stir in boiling water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Spread cornmeal in ungreased baking dish, 11 3/4 x 7 1/2 x 1 3/4 inches. Refrigerate until firm, about 8 hours.
    Heat oven to 350°. Mix tomato sauce, tuna, celery and basil. Spread 2/3 of the tuna mixture in ungreased baking dish, 12 x 8 x 1 3/4 or 13 1/3 x 8 3/4 x 1 3/4 inches. Cut cornmeal into 10 parts; place on tuna mixture in dish. Top cornmeal with remaining tuna mixture; sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered 25 minutes. Garnish with olives. 10 servings.
    
    
    
     
    The bean salad picture looks about as boring and bland as it possibly could. I found a different recipe and followed it pretty close, but I cut back on the sugar. The original recipe called for hard-boiled eggs, and I'd recently read that eggs that are baked are creamier than if they're boiled.
    Let me tell you, it's not worth the bother. They're really hard to peel, and after a couple of days in the fridge they look more like an animal left them behind (if you know what i mean).
    Here are the beans, bell peppers and red onion.
    
    
    And the dressing. I poured it all together last night to let the various flavors blend.
    
    
    While that's blending, let's get the Tuna Tomato stuff going. I made the polenta last night.
    
    
    
    Here's the tuna, tomato sauce, etc.
    
    It smelled kind of... well, not great, so I added some garlic.
    Here it is spread on the bottom of my new dish (thanks, Lori).
     
    Polenta on top:
    
    And a little more tuna/tomato mixture, and some parmesan cheese. Then into the oven.
    
    
    
     Out of the oven, and I added the last of my black olives.
    
    
    Let's serve it up!
    
    
    
    Hmmmm.... It doesn't look like much.
    
    How is the musical fruit? Let's find out.
    
    
    Wow! It doesn't suck!
    
    
    
    How about some tuna?  It smells about like I figured it would.
    
    
     It tastes....
    
    
    Actually, it's not too bad. Of course, if you don't like tuna, you won't like this stuff. But if you're observing Lent, you could do worse than this stuff. At least I think you could.
    
    
    Okay, so I got lucky this week. My biggest concern is the effect the beans may have on me tomorrow. Makes me wish i had a window in my office.
    
    Until next week, bon appetite!