Graduation

This week kz and I traveled to Shawnee, KS for a graduation party. Our good friends, B & D, son graduated from high school and we were invited down for the party. It turned out to be the 'Best Graduation Party Ever'! That was on Saturday night and the theme for the food was Hot Dog night. It turned out great and the food was incredible. There were a total of five hot dog choices. B&D had each family member create one of the dogs (yes - we are considered family:)) and here were the choices:

Italian Dog - created by Mama Bev  - A hot dog covered in homemade bruschetta
Asian Dog - created by Mama Mila - Toppings included pickled green papaya and hot chinese ketchup
New York Dog - created by Sis Gigi - A twist on the chili cheese dog, this topping was like a sloppy joe with cheese on the dog
Chicago Dog - created by k and t - A classic Chicago style dog - including all the fixings - poppy seed bun, bright green relish, onions, tomatoes, sport peppers, dill pickle slice, celery salt
KC Dog - created by b and d - Invented by b and d - This dog was topped with homemade baked beans and BBQed burnt ends - This was my favorite!

As for Sunday Supper it was a feast. B and D do not mess around when in comes to cooking and outdoor entertaining. I wish they lived closer - I would be over there more often for supper! Here is the meal from Sunday night:

appetizers
leftover bruschetta on toasted (leftover) hot dog buns
grilled scallops with sweet pea sauce
poor mans caviar (Mila's black bean salsa) with chips

main course
asian strawberry salad
roasted salt potatoes with asparagus
corn on the cob
cedar planked salmon
grilled KC strips

dessert
crème anglaise over berries and a madeline cookie

This is one of the best desserts I have had, light and tasty!

I am hoping to post some pictures of the 2 nights soon!

Hot Dog Heaven - Here is what we had to choose from:

Stormy Weather

It has been a stormy weekend. Saturday we had a tornado touch down about a mile west of us. And on Sunday another tornado touched down, this one did a lot of damage, about 3 miles east of us. A very unsettling weekend. The only good news was it cleared off Sunday afternoon so we were able to grill and enjoy our supper. kz has been craving creamed spinach so that was the start of the menu. Now we needed something to go with it. Jasmine rice is always a good choice. And for the meat we decided on grilled pork tenderloin, one of our favorites.
I put together a new marinade (even wrote down the ingredients in case it was a keeper) for the pork and let it marinate for a few hours while we watched the news and tracked tornado's! Our prayers go out to all the families affected by these terrible storms.

menu
creamed spinach
jasmine rice
grilled pork tenderloin
butterscotch pudding w/homemade whipped cream and snickedoodles
note: we had this dessert at our favorite weekend stop - 3 Squares -
and decided to try it at home. I used Dewars scotch in this version

creamed spinach
ingredients

2 10 oz packages frozen spinach, thawed

2 shallots, chopped

4 strips bacon,cubed
1 cup heavy cream
1tbls butter
directions
Drain spinach and chop. Cook bacon in large skillet. Add shallots as bacon begins to crisp.
Cook for 2 minutes, until shallots are tender. Add butter, spinach and cream. Cook until
heated through.

jasmine rice
ingredients
1 cup brown jasmine rice
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup onion
olive oil
directions
Coat large skillet with olive oil. Saute onions until soft and translucent, 5 - 7 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat. Add chicken broth, bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 45 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from heat, let stand 10 minutes. Fluff with fork and serve hot

grilled pork tenderloin
2-3 lbs pork tenderloin

marinade

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tbls soy sauce

1 tbls yellow mustard

garlic salt

dried basil

salt
pepper
directions
Mix all marinade ingredients in a large bowl
Place tenderloin in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over pork, seal bag and marinate in refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Grill tenderloins for about 25 minutes, turning frequently until internal temp reaches 155 degrees. Remove from grill and cover with foil. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

butterscotch pudding w/homemade whipped cream & snickerdoodles
ingredients

2 1/4 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Scotch whisky
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
directions
In a large saucepan, combine the milk and cream, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside. In a large, heavy skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the brown sugar, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly, to caramelize the mixture. (You will smell a characteristic nutty-caramel odor when the butter browns, signaling that the mixture is ready.) Whisking constantly, gradually add the butter/brown sugar mixture to the hot milk/cream mixture.

Put the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk in about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture. Whisk in the cornstarch and salt until dissolved. Whisk the cornstarch mixture back into the hot milk mixture in the saucepan. Add the scotch and whisk in. Whisking constantly, cook over medium-high heat until thick and just boiling. When the mixture thickens, the whisk will leave trail marks on the bottom of the pot and the mixture will have a few large bubbles boiling up to the top. Turn off the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract.Chill, uncovered, at least 2 hours, or overnight.

snickerdoodles

Now that everything is all done it is time to eat! Enjoy!

Couples League

Normally every other Friday night is our golfing couples league. We play nine holes, drink a cold one, collect our prize money, (we are that good!) then head to one of our houses for some food. Well this past Friday it was 50 degrees, windy and misting so we bailed on golf and just went to Aaron and Rindy's house for some good food and a bonfire. Rindy put the menu together and made everything from scratch (including the honey mustard sauce for the chicken!).


menu
Grandma's Potato Salad (Pillsbury Complete Cook Book)
Sweet and Smoky Baked Beans (How to Grill book)
Honey-Mustard Chicken Sandwiches (Pillsbury Complete Cook Book)
No-Bake Fruit-Topped Cheesecake with whipped cream  (Pillsbury Complete Cook Book)


Grandma's Potato Salad
ingredients

Salad:
3 eggs
2 cups cubed peeled cooked potatoes
3/4 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped onion

Dressing:
1/2 cup salad dressing or mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Paprika
directions

Place eggs in medium saucepan; cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer about 15 minutes.  Immediately drain; run cold water over eggs to stop cooking.
Peel eggs.  Chop 2 of the eggs; reserve 1 egg for garnish.  In large bowl, combine chopped eggs, potatoes, celery and onion.
In small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients except paprika; blend well.  Spoon dressing over salad, mix well.  Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour or until chilled.
Just before serving, slice reserved egg.  Garnish potato salad with sliced egg; sprinkle with paprika.

 

Sweet and Smoky Baked Beans

ingredients

6 ounces bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cans (15.5 ounces each)

cooked navy or great Norther beans
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons your favorite barbecue sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
Coarse salt and black pepper

directions

Place the bacon and onion in a large nonreactive saucepan over medium heat and cook until the bacon fat renders and the onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Pour off any excess fat.
Stir in the beans, brown sugar, molasses, maple syrup, barbecue sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and liquid smoke.  Gently simmer the beans until thick and richly flavored, 10 minutes, adding 2 or 3 tablespoons water if necessary to keep the beans from burning.  Taste for seasoning, adding alt and pepper as necessary. 
Note:  If you have the time, you can simmer the beans for 5 minutes, then spoon them into an aluminum foil pan and bake in a 350 degree F oven until thick and richly flavored, about 30 minutes.

 

Honey-Mustard Chicken Sandwiches

ingredients

1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon sliced green onions
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 lettuce leaves
4 slices tomato
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
4 kaiser rolls, split

directions
Grill Directions:  heat grill.  In small saucepan, combine honey, onions, tarragon and mustard; blend well.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low; simmer about 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.
When ready to grill, place chicken on gas grill over medium heat or on charcoal grill 4 to 6 inches from medium coals.  Cook 15 to 18 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear, turning once and brusing occasionally with mustard mixture.
Layer lettuce leaf, chicken breast half, tomato slice and avocado slices in each kaiser roll.


No-Bake Fruit-Topped Cheesecake
ingredients

Crust:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (12 squares)
2 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted
Filling:
1 cup boiling water
1 (3-oz) pkg. lemon flavor gelatin
1/4 cup orange juice
1 (15-oz) contatiner light ricotta cheese
1 (8-oz) container low-fat lemon yogurt
3 tablespoons sugar
Topping:
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup fresh fruit

directions
Spray bottom of 8 or 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.  In small bowl, combine crust ingredients; mix well.  Press in bottom of sprayed pan.  Refrigerate.
In medium bowl, combine boiling water and gelatin; stir until dissolved.  Stir in orange juice.  Refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes or until lukewarm.
In food processor bowl with metal blade or blender container, comgine ricotta cheese, yogurt and sugar; process until smooth.  Gradually add to gelatin mixture in bowl, folding together until completely mixed.  Pour into crust-lined pan.  Refrigerate 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until firm.
Just before serving, run sharp knife around edge of pan.  Carefully remove sides of pan.  Top with mixture above or with your favorite fruit topping.  Store in refrigerator.
Pour heavy whipping cream in mixer bowl.  Blend on high until thick, adding powdered sugar to taste.
Now the important part of the evening: Eat, drink and build a big fire!!!

Chocolate Cookies

Growing up my mom made these chocolate cookies in powdered sugar that were my favorites. I have been talking about them for the last couple weeks so KZ said to make a batch for tonight. Good idea!! So now that we have the dessert time to come up with the rest of the menu. It will have to be easy as KZ and I have a dance recital to go to for our god daughter at 3:30 and supper is at 7:00. I was thinking about scallops ever since I saw a tasty recipe posted by the Savory Gourmet (a blog we follow and published by a friend of ours). Good thing about scallops they take less than 10 minutes to cook so perfect for tonight's menu!
Of course we gave Johnny Yoga a call and put in an order for a salad and maybe even another dessert for tonight. Cookies are sometimes not enough. Johnny came though with a classic salad and a lemon meringue pie. Tasty!!! For a hungry crowd I thought scallops and salad may not be enough so I decided to grill a flank steak (another quick cooking item) as well. Here we go.

menu
johhnys american salad
pan seared scallops w/lemon aioli - courtesy of tmk - the Savoury Gourmet
grilled flank steak
chocolate cookies
lemon meringue pie


Johnny's american salad

ingredients:

organic baby spinach

craisins

pine nuts

feta cheese

Brianna's american dressing

pan seared scallops w/lemon aioli
ingredients
Fresh or frozen & thawed scallops (patted completely dry)
Butter
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Cracked Black Pepper
Heat skillet over med-high heat and melt about 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp.

olive oil in the pan, until hot, but not smoking.
Season scallops with salt & pepper. Sear scallops in pan,
 uncovered for 2-3 minutes per side (or until caramelized
brown on top and bottom and cooked through.)
Be careful not to overcook, as the scallops will get rubbery.
Serve hot with lemon aioli.

Lemon Aioli
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. chopped fresh chives (or red onion)
Whisk ingredients together until mixed well.


grilled flank steak

ingredients
2-3 lbs flank steak
marinade
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
12 oz beer (I use a dark beer)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper

directions

place steak in a large plastic bag. Mix marinade ingredients together and pour over steak. Marinade for 1-3 hours. Prepare grill and grill over high heat. 6 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove from grill, tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Note: the lemon aioli goes great with the steak too!


Chocolate Cookies in Powdered Sugar

1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
Combine and beat
Add 4 eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly
2 1/4 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
Chill dough
Drop by teaspoon into powdered sugar and roll
Bake 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Do not over bake.

lemon meringue pie - picked up at Perkins courtesy of Johnny Yoga!

Now for KZ's speciality - setting the perfect table.

Step 1 - Flowers









Step 2 Plates

Step 3 Place settings for all


See you next week (or maybe sooner)

Cheers,
The Sunday Supper Gang

Juicy Lucy

We had our annual Christmas tree burning Saturday night at the neighbors fire pit. It is quite a show, those dried up trees really burn. So remember - do not place the tree too close to your curtains!! As the fire was burning and we were all hanging out we decided on Sunday supper -  Juicy Lucy's. What is a Juicy Lucy you might be asking yourself. Well it is a burger with the cheese in the middle. Matt's Bar (here in the Twin Cities) claims to have invented and perfected the burger. We went to Matt's last summer and it is a very tasty burger.

So our plan was to try to recreate Matt's Juicy Lucy. It started as a large party - you know sitting around a fire, having a cold one, it is about 10:30 PM, everything starts to sound like a good plan. Well turns out by the next day it was down to a party of 4. Kz, Rindy, Johnny Pilates and myself. No worries - less burgers to build! Here we go!

menu:
rindy's classic pasta salad
ore ida shoestring french fries
zehrz seasoned sour cream
juicy lucy's
rindy's 'Best Ever' brownies
malbec - Thanks Johnny


rindys classic pasta salad
ingredients:

1 box Classic Suddenly pasta salad

(make as directed on box)
Diced tomatoes
Cubes mozzarella cheese

ore ida shoestring fries
Cook according to package and add seasonings

zehrz seasoned sour cream
ingredients

Note: add in the following order - stirring after each addition

1 cup mayonnaise
8 oz sour cream
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cup finely diced parsley
1/4 tablespoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon dill weed, finely diced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon curry powder

juicy lucy's

ingredients

(4 burgers)

1 1/2 lb ground beef (80-85 % lean)

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp garlic powder

kosher salt

pepper

4 slices american cheese

directions:
add first 5 ingredients to a bowl and mix well.
divide mixture into 8 equal parts (~3 oz each)
make thin patties and place 1 slice of cheese  (folded in half twice) on one of the patties. Top with other pattie

and crimp edges together. Be sure to make a tight seal as steam will

try to escape - along with the cheese

Grill over high heat 3-4 minutes per side. The burgers will puff up a little but this is OK. Very Important Note - After flipping burgers, poke each one with a toothpick to allow steam to escape. This is key to not having the cheese leak out.

I add some onions to the grill when I flip the burgers.

When the burgers are done, remove from grill to a platter and cover with foil.
Flip the onions and put the buns on the grill for a minute or so.

rindy's 'Best Ever' brownies
for the brownies:

1 box Pillsbury family size Chocolate Fudge

 brownie mix made as directed on box

adding 1 additional egg

for the frosting:

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons margarine or butter
6 tablespoons milk
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cups chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
In medium saucepan combine margarine,

milk and sugar. Bring to a boil. Boil and stir

constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in

chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir until chocolate chips

 are melted. Pour over brownies.

Now it is time to chow down!

Hope you all have  great week and we will see you next Sunday.

Johhny Yoga

Cheers!

 

Brisket?

Tonight's supper was actually planned the day before by mistake. Kz was out shopping for the Saturday night birthday party when she picked up a brisket instead of a flank steak. When I asked her why she said " Well the brisket was twice the size and half the price". Little did she know that brisket takes 3-4 hours to cook unlike a flank steak which can be grilled in 12 minutes! No harm, no fowl we ran a grabbed the flank for Saturday and now had a nice piece of meat for Sunday Supper.

It has been awhile since Kz an myself have had a nice quiet Sunday supper alone so we decided to have just the 2 of us for tonight. Slow cooked brisket, salad and a nice bottle of wine. Tasty! Normally I would slow cook the brisket in the smoker but of course we are in Minnesota and even though it is May 1, the temp outside is about 40 degrees and the wind is howling. So instead I slow cooked it in the oven with a newly created marinate to cook it in.

menu
mixed green salad
oven roasted brisket

mixed green salad
mixed greens
grape tomatoes
green pepper, chopped
feta cheese
poppy seed dressing

directions
mix all ingredients and toss well. Serve on chilled plates, if desired

oven roasted brisket
ingredients

3 lb brisket, flat cut
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
1 bottle chili sauce
12 oz beer
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place brisket, fat side up,in shallow roasting pan. Rub garlic on brisket, add salt and pepper. Place sliced onions on top. 

Mix chili sauce, beer, Worcestershire and brown sugar together, pour over brisket.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 2 hours. After 2 hours flip brisket and continue to cook, covered, for an additional 1-2 hours, until fork tender.

Remove from pan and let rest 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with BBQ sauce if desired.

The finished product is a tender, juicy brisket that melts in your mouth!

The BBQ sauce we used came highly recommended from a friend of my brother in law. When we were in Fort Dodge last weekend Don told us about a sauce made in Iowa that was the best ever. We tried it and are hooked. It has a sweet and smoky flavor that adds a lot to any grilled meat.

Cheers! See you next Sunday.

Saturday Night Special

Well it is only Saturday but we have a special night in store. Our friend Rindy's birthday was last Sunday and we were all out of town so could not celebrate. The plan was to have a belated party tonight, the last day of April. And since it was Rindy's birthday she picked the menu:

Johnny Yoga Salad
Grilled Margarita Shrimp
Grilled Flank Steak
Rice Pilaf
Lemon Bars

An excellent menu choice! Plus Johnny makes  the 'Best Ever' bloody mary mix so of course we had to start the night with a tasty bloody.

For appetizers we had roasted shrimp cocktail, homemade cocktail sauce and blanched green beans with a spicy red pepper Greek yogurt dip. All very tasty!

On to the main menu.

Johnny's baby spinach asian salad

Ingredients:

baby spinach

feta cheese

roasted almonds

mandarin oranges

toasted sesame dressing

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Add dressing to taste.

grilled margarita shrimp

(courtesy of allrecipes.com)

ingredients

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons tequila
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
1.Combine the shrimp, garlic, lime juice, olive oil, tequila,

cilantro, red pepper, and salt in a bowl; toss to combine;

refrigerate 30 minutes.
2.Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil grate.

Drain the marinade from the shrimp and discard; thread the shrimp on the skewers.
3.Cook on preheated grill until the shrimp turn pink, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

grilled flank steak

2 lbs flank steak

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can beer

cayenne pepper to taste

cilantro

salt

pepper

directions

Combine all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag. Marinate for 3 hours or over night. Grill over high heat for 6 minutes a side for medium rare. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Rice Pilaf -
This recipe comes from our friend tmk - the Savory Gourmet - you can find this recipe as well as many other tasty treats! Thanks tmk!
http://savorygourmet.blogspot.com/

Brown Basmati Rice Pilaf
adapted from Whole Foods
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 c. diced celery
1/2 c. diced shallots
1 c. brown basmati rice (washed & drained)
2 c. chicken broth
sea salt (to taste)
fresh ground pepper
Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add celery and shallots and saute for one minute. Add the rice and saute for another two minutes. Add broth, salt, pepper and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 40-45 minutes until broth absorbed.

lemon bars
( this comes from my mother-in-law who cut this out of a Sunday paper many years ago and has used this recipe ever since - thanks Mary!)

for the crust:
1/2 lb butter, room temp
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour

for lemon filling:

6 eggs, room temp

2 Tbs lemon zest

1 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup flour

powdered sugar, for dusting

directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray 9 x 13 inch pan.

To make crust: Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy using an electric mixer, for at least 5 minutes. On low speed, work the flour into the butter mixture until just mixed. Press dough into the prepared pan. Chill.

Bake crust until lightly browned, 15 - 20 minutes.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and flour. Pour over crust, bake an additional 30-35 minutes, until filling is set. Let cool, dust with powdered sugar, cut and serve.

Now it is time to open gifts and eat. Cheers!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RINDY!

That is all for the Saturday Night Special - See you Sunday!