Three cooks in one kitchen

Charlie made Korean Crispy Chicken Wings with a Sweet Ginger Glaze




Cassie made stuffed and bacon wrapped jalapenos.  She also made broiled tomatoes.



And i made a winter squash dish with queso fresco, onion, garlic. pecans and coconut milk.

Their dishes were better than mine.

Soup for a cold and rainy day

Last month I made Jaques Pepin's consomme and had it in the freezer.  Today was a good day for soup so I cleaned out the leftovers in the fridge: some hamburger, a couple of little bitty potatoes, part of a tomato, a carrot, onion and some corn on the cob I forgot to make the other day.

This week plans

We don't usually plan out our meals so far in advance but today before i went to the store, we decided to make some stuff this week.  I got some pork tenderloin and chicken wings because Charlie is making Bahn Mi sandwiches today and his Korean Chicken wings in a few days.  i got some Boston Butt to make Carnitas tomorrow.  We will use that in tacos and Cassie is going to make chili rellenos.  I'll roast, skin and seed the poblanos in a day or two. I also got some stuff to make a pecan pie.

All the recipes except the pecan pie have already been posted, I think.  Maybe not the Carnitas...  Here is the Carnitas, and the pecan pie  recipes.

Tacos de carnitas

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Yield: 12 servings

Packaged tortillas are fine, but even better are freshly made corn tortillas found in some supermarkets or Latino markets.

4 1/2 pounds pork butt

6 cups water

1 1/2 onions, diced

7 strips orange zest

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

1 1/2 cinnamon sticks

1 1/2 teaspoons oregano leaves, crushed

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt plus more to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

24 small corn tortillas, warmed

Finely chopped green onions, chopped cilantro, salsa or hot sauce

1. Chop thick fat from the outside of the pork butt. Cut meat into 1-inch cubes. Discard any cubes that are pure fat. Combine pork with the 6 cups water, onions, orange zest, garlic, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, oregano, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt and cloves in a large pot. Heat to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Skim any scum that forms on the surface. Simmer until meat is very soft and falling apart, adding more water if necessary to keep the meat submerged, about 1 1/2 hours.

2. Season with salt. Heat to a gentle boil; cook until the water has evaporated, about 30 minutes. Cook a little longer to fry the meat slightly, watching carefully to prevent burning. Remove bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Place meat in a fine strainer; push gently with a wooden spoon to remove any excess fat. Discard the fat; pull meat apart with forks, if necessary. Fold a few tablespoons of carnitas inside each tortilla; top each with cilantro, onion and salsa.

add sliced radish

And the Pean Pie

DEAR ABBY SOUTHERN PECAN PIE  Makes one deep dish or 2 regular pies

9 inch unbaked pie crust(s)          

1 C. LIGHT CORN SYRUP

1 C. Dk. Brown SUGAR,firmly packed

1/3 C. MELTED BUTTER

 1 Heaping Cup pecan halves

 3 WHOLE EGGS, BEATEN

1 t. VANILLA

1/3 t. SALT

Pre heat oven to 350º

Mix, pour into pie shell and bake 45- 50 minutes. Cool, top with whipped or ice cream or serve plain. If using an electric stove and 15-20 minutes to baking time or cook until toothpick test is clean. (A.N.M. note: after removing from the oven and before it is cooled, drizzle the top of the pie with maple syrup.

Greek recipes Chicken and cheese triangles

Dinner today was chicken thighs with artichokes and cheese triangles with broiled tomatoes

Braised Greek Chicken and Artichokes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil 

4 chicken breast halves 

2 (6 ounce) jars marinated artichoke hearts drained reserving 2 Tablespoons marinade 

3/4 cup chicken broth 

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 

1 teaspoon lemon peel grated 

1/4 teaspoon dry crushed red pepper 

3 tablespoons fresh oregano chopped 

Directions

1. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium high heat. 

2. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. 

3. Add chicken to skillet, and sauté until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes. 

4. Add 2 Tablespoons reserved marinade, broth, lemon juice, peel, and crushed red pepper. 

5. Reduce heat to low, cover; simmer until chicken almost cooked through, about 10 minutes. 

6. Uncover; stir in artichokes and 2 tablespoons oregano. 

7. Simmer until liquid is slightly reduced, and chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. 

8. Stir in 1 Tablespoon oregano. 

9. Season with salt and pepper. 

Notes: 

I like to use chicken parts instead of just breasts. I serve this with Greek Roasted Potatoes. The recipe is:Greek Roasted Potatoes 

Delicious lemony, garlic potatoes 

Ingredients: 

4 washed potatoes. Any kind will do 

1 Lemon 

1-3 cloves garlic minced 

1/2 tsp. dried oregano 

1/2 C water 

Salt and pepper 

2-3 Tbs. olive oil 

Tiropetas

Cheese Triangles

1 lb. Feta cheese

12 oz. cream cheese

5 eggs

1/2 C parsley or dill, finely chopped

1/2 lb. butter or margerine

1 lb. phyllo dough

Crumble feta and mix well with the cream cheese.

Add eggs and beat thoroughly.

Add parsley or dill.

Melt butter.

Carefully cut phyllo into 3 equal parts.

There are two ways to fold

1.Brush one piece of phyllo with melted butter. Place 1 Tbs. of the mixture at the top of the phyllo. Roll down once or twice. Fold in sides all the way down the phyllo, then roll to the end.

2. Brush with melted butter.

Place 1 Tbs. of the mix at the top right hand corner and fold like the American flag, into a triangle.

When finished, lightly butter all the tiropetas and bake in 425 oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.tr

Broiled tomatoes

Tomatoes, halved, cored, salt & pepper, butter, bread crumbs, more butter and broil. 

Cassie's dinner

Pasta salad with avocado, tomatoes and bacon, meatballs with a jalapeno sauce, potatoes and jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon.

I don't remember the names of the dishes or know what all is in the recipes but all of these were first time things from Cassie and they were all good.

Back by popular demand- Cuban steak

No pictures or recipes. They have been posted before but family requested grilled chuck eye steak seasoned with garlic oil, adobo and cajun seasonings.  We also had chimichurri sauce, nopalitoes with tomatoes and onions and fried sweet potatoes.

Grilled Chicken with mustard glaze, salad and green beans.

Salad is tomatoes, romaine, hard cooked eggs, bacon and cheese.

Green beans simmered in salted water with a little honey, onion and bacon.

I used this recipe but did not make the mashed potatoes. I cooked the chicken outside on the grill.

The recipe is from Jaques Pepin.

Mustard Crust 

2 tablespoons chopped garlic 

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 

2 tablespoons dry white wine 

1 tablespoon soy sauce 

2 tablespoons olive oil 

1 teaspoon Tabasco hot pepper sauce 

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 chicken (about 31/2 pounds) 

Fluffy Mashed Potatoes 

For the crust: Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut alongside the backbone of the chicken to split it open. Spread and press on the chicken with your hands to flatten it. Using a sharp paring knife, cut halfway through both sides of the joints connecting the thighs and drumsticks and cut through the joints of the shoulder under the wings as well. (This will help the heat penetrate these joints and accelerate the cooking process.) 

Put the chicken skin side down on a cutting board and spread it with about half the mustard mixture. Place the chicken flat in a large skillet, mustard side down. Spread the remaining mustard on the skin side of the chicken. Cook over high heat for about 5 minutes, then place the skillet in the oven and cook the chicken for about 30 minutes. It should be well browned and dark on top. 

Let the chicken rest in the skillet at room temperature for a few minutes, then cut it into 8 pieces with clean kitchen shears. Defat the cooking juices. If you like, mound some Fluffy Mashed Potatoes on each of four warm dinner plates and place 2 pieces of chicken on each plate. Pour some juice on the mashed potatoes and chicken and serve.