Fallen Souffle

I have become cautious of new “healthy” cooking shows that the Food Network puts out. The first one I remember was the one with Kathleen Daelman where she would renovate a person’s diet and give little tips on how to snack a little healthier. I don’t think her show has been on a few years, I liked it but she didn’t do anything spectacular that I hadn’t heard before. Then Atkins became popular and George Stella came on with “Lo Carb and Lovin It,” I couldn’t stand watching this guy. Even worse was when his wife was on, talk about being uncomfortable in front of a camera. I never did the lo-carb thing but found his recipes to be a bit far fetched. Lastly there was the Calorie Commando Juan Carlos who made it his personal challenge to re-create favorite recipes of viewers. I initially liked him but when he “transformed” stuffed shells from a cheesy delight to a broccoli and spinach dish…I was done.

So when Ellie Krieger’s show debuted a few weeks ago I was a bit skeptical. Another health nut trying to give us the same recipes and tips to get us to eat healthy. But I actually really liked her. She seems to be much more realistic about eating (though I was slightly disappointed with last week’s dinner parties episode- come on 2 crab cakes per person as an entree!) and I like her spin on traditional recipes.

Her first episode was dedicated to comfort food, something near and dear to my heart. I love some mac and cheese and crave it like a champ. Ok so she didn’t actually talk about mac and cheese but she would be my hero if she found a healthy way to make it. But she did make some yummy looking dishes included Pasta Puttanesca. Why I haven’t had this pasta before is beyond me because it includes some of my favorite things; pasta, olives and garlic! YUM! I whipped this up for lunch on Saturday, took a total of 15 minutes, and I had the leftovers today which was perfect since I started an 8 hr shift at 3:30am and decided to go to the gym afterwards- not smart. Starving does not even begin to describe it!

This would be a perfect meal for two or lunch for a couple of days. It relies on pantry staples (I just had to buy arugula but I bet you could use spinach too) which is always a plus in my book.

Pasta Puttanesca
from Ellie Krieger

8 ounces whole-wheat thin spaghetti, vermicelli or angel hair
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup pitted chopped Spanish or Greek olives
2 tablespoons capers
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, preferably “no salt added”
3/4 cup chopped fresh arugula
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add pasta and cook according to the directions on the package.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium flame. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the parsley, olives, capers, anchovy paste, oregano and crushed red pepper to the skillet, and saute for 2 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the arugula and simmer for 1 minute more, until the greens wilt slightly.

When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the skillet, tossing it with the sauce to combine. Top with grated cheese.

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There is nothing better than watching basketball and eating cheese for dinner. Ok maybe the basketball part doesn’t thrill you but trust me, this dinner is perfect for watching your sport of choice, a movie or even just hanging out with friends.

I haven’t had fondue in about a year when we took Evan’s Mom out to the Melting Pot for Mother’s Day last year. Fondue is a funny concept…you have to basically cook your own food. But it is a great way to eat your veggies! Ok, truthfully I ate all of the veggies and Evan ate the meat but that’s beside the point.

Fondue can be a finicky thing to make, it is like risotto in that is required a bit of attention and constant stirring but the ingrediant list is accessible and you can dip in whatever you like. It’s also a great way to clean out the fridge and use up all of your leftover meat and veggies.

I seared some beef stew meat, cut up some green apples and brought out some leftover roasted broccoli and dinner was done! The top picture is our creation, a Philly Cheese Steak on a Stick!

Classic Swiss Fondue
1 garlic clove cut in half
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 T kirsch or brandy
8 ounces shredded Swiss or Emmental cheese (2 cups)
8 ounces shredded Gruyere cheese (2 cups)
3 T all purpose flour
1/8 t black pepper
pinch ground nutmeg
dippers of your choice

1. Rub inside of fondue pot or heavy non reactive pot with garlic, discard garlic. Pour wine into pot and heat over medium-low heat until very hot but not boiling. Stir in kirsch.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl toss cheeses with flour until mixed. Add cheese mixture one handful at a time, into the wine and stir constantly and vigorously until cheese is melted. If the mixture separates, increase the temperature to medium stirring until just smooth. Stir in nutmeg and pepper.

3. Transfer fondue to table, placed over a tabletop heater to keep hot. Dip with your choice of fruits, veggies, meats and breads!

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So I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner tonight, but luckily beef stew meat was on sale at Harris Teeter. I really love using stew meat, I use it for so many different dishes and it is really cheap which is a huge plus! So I have been wanting to try making stroganoff in the crock pot and thought this would be as good a day as any. I have made a Tyler Florence stroganoff on the stove top which was really nice but took forever to cook down. After a little research online I put this recipe together using the kitchen staple, cream of mushroom soup. I always worry about using this because it can tend to be too salty but this was nice. I would add more meat next time because this makes alot of delicious sauce. I can only imagine how good the leftovers are!

This dish took a commercial break from Martha to throw in the cooker. All of the ingredients were in the house and the husband liked it! What more could you ask for!

I did not take a picture of this because beef stroganoff is not that appealing to the eye but I am convinced that if it looks photogenic, you did something wrong.

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
1 to 1 1/2 pounds of beef stew meat
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup beef broth
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup chopped onion (I used a couple tablespoons of dried onion)
1 T Dijon mustard
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 T Worcestershire sauce
4 oz cream cheese

1. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 5 hours. Serve with egg noodles and sauteed mushrooms.

PS- This will look really gross when you put it all in and stir it up but trust me it will tastes great! Just don’t let you husband see it before it is done cooking!

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So I made two pretty good dinners this weekend and I thought I would quickly share them before it is time to end this busy weekend.

Saturday night I took some inspiration from Rachael Ray and a re-run I saw last week in which she made Tomato, Basil and Cheese Baked Pasta. So Evan isn’t a huge pesto fan so I whipped out my cute individual Corningware dishes and I made personal pasta dishes. I followed Rachael’s recipe for mine but used canned sauce because I wanted to clean out to fridge and just omitted the pesto in Evan’s. Here is the link to the original recipe.

Tonight I found a recipe at Chef Michele’s Adventures for a Honey Dijon Chicken. I omitted the onions and mushrooms because I didn’t feel like chopping, but this dish was amazing. Cooked up some mashed potatoes and roasted broccoli and I had dinner ready in 30 minutes. Evan said this was a definite repeater. Here is the link to her post.

(Sorry for all of the links I wanted to get this up before I forgot!)

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While Jen is out working at the bakery, I am in charge of pork chop night. My usual specialty is Maple Glazed Pork Chops but tonight I decided to try something different. It is a combination of Jen’s Garlic Chicken and one of my Austrian favorites,Wiener Schnitzel! It’s pretty easy, unless you are a typical guy and think ‘more heat!’. For some reason I can never remember that more heat when pan frying isn’t always best, as you can tell by the picture with the dark chop on bottom (don’t worry I ate and let Jen have the good one).

2 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs (Italian Style)
handful of fresh Parmesan
4 pork chops
Salt and black pepper
olive oil
Lemon wedges

Whisk the eggs in a plate to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third plate.

I used a fairly thick chop, so I had to butterfly them and pound them out b/t some wax paper, but if you have a chop about 1/2 inch thick that should work nicely.

Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chops completely with the cheese, pat them a little to get the parm to stick. Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat — MEDIUM! does not mean 3/4 toward high, in fact I will now think of medium as almost on low. This way I can compensate for the ‘manly more heat’ factor that I can’t get out of my head and it will be about medium. Add pork chops, I only had room for 1 at a time, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to plates and serve with a squeeze of lemon wedge and salt on top.

MMM brings me back to Vienna, all I need is a cold Wieselburger beer! I will not return to my regular blog and leave this one for the real cook, Ciao!

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