Chez Steiny
Saturday, August 31, 2002
TexMex Spiced Chicken Sandwich
Just using some leftover stuff (lettuce, tomatoes, buns, and some spice rub from a few weeks ago) along with a few frozen chicken breasts. Good, quick dinner sandwiches with chips for college football all day long. Yippee!
Spice Rub "A"
Nice and smokey ...
2 parts Cumin 2 parts Paprika 1 part Garlic powder 1 part Onion powder 1.5 parts Black pepper 1 part Kosher salt 1/4 part Cayenne pepper Prep Time: 5 min.
Cook Time: 10-15 min. grilling (depends on meat)
My Grade: B+
Family Grade: B+
Friday, August 30, 2002
Dinner Post-Mortem
Dinner menu ended up much as planned, with a first course of salad (no croutons, I picked up a fresh loaf of french bread), the pasta e fagioli recipe from Rachael Ray that mother was all psyched about, braised pork tenderloin, and a porcini risotto. Obtaining decent polenta quality cornmeal is proving difficult, though I finally found a reliable source of kosher salt and good quality spices at HEB of all places Pork recipe is original, though not terribly inventive.
Rosemary and Thyme Braised Pork
Rustic and hardy ... delicious served with sauce and risotto
2 Medium-sized pork tenderloins (2 lb total) 1 Medium onion, sliced or cut into eighths 2 Celery stalks, cut into inch-long pieces 2 Carrots, cut into inch-long pieces 3-4 Cloves garlic, sliced 2-3 Sprigs rosemary 2-3 Sprigs thyme 2 Bay leaves Kosher salt and fresh black pepper to taste Extra virgin olive oil 1 cup Chicken or beef stock
Preheat oven to 375°F. Season pork loins with salt and pepper. One one side of each loin, cut 4-5 slits to form "pockets." Insert garlic slices and bits of rosemary/thyme into pockets. Sear loins on all sides in a large roasting pan coated with olive oil. Remove from heat, and add onion, celery, carrot, any leftover garlic, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, stock, salt, and pepper to the roasting pan. Place in the oven and let braise for 30-40 minutes or until internal temperature of pork has reached 155-160°F. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving. You may also remove the liquid from the pan along with the onion, garlic, and any celery or carrot that has become quite soft. Puree in a food processor or blender and serve as a sauce with the pork.
Prep Time: 15 min.
Cook Time: 35-45 min.
My Grade: B
Family Grade: B+
Dinner Prep
Mother has a major hankering to try some pasta e fagioli recipe she picked up somewhere, which actually inspired her to buy fresh herbs for once. [Minor digression ... one of these days I am going to make good on my threats to plant an herb garden. I'm not sure what's feasible in H-town, but I'll give it a shot.] It also caused her some consternation when she couldn't find any panchetta. Assuming this is due to the abyssmal quality of our local grocers, I will replace it with plain bacon. Not a perfect substitute, but hey ... who but me will know the difference?
Trying to come up with a suitable meal plan with the soup as the second course. Current thinking has the menu looking like:Romaine / Iceburg salad with sliced tomato, cucumber, red onion, and crouton; served with a red wine vinaigrette. Minestra della pasta e fagioli Braised pork loin Risotto or polenta [I'm leaning towards polenta]
Of course, what is most likely to happen is that the younger siblings will decide that I've "added too much stuff" or "they don't want any Italian crap." Oh well. More for me.
Thursday, August 29, 2002
Non-Culinary Day
Nothing of interest today, just a Subway sandwich and prepackaged pasta mix stuff the 'rents got to before I could whip something up. Tomorrow looks to be a promising day, though. Quesadillas and tortilla soup should be on the menu this weekend.
Wednesday
Another fairly busy day ... night classes require a dinner of weekend leftovers (and the last bit of Chicken Asiago). Bangup sandwich for lunch, though.
Eric's Bangup Sandwich
OK, it's really ham and turkey, but it's soooo good ...
Spread Dijon mustard over one slice of multi-grain whole wheat bread. Cover lightly with thinly sliced or diced red onion. Add one slice of honey (or other type) ham, and one slice turkey. Top with a slice of Swiss cheese. On the other slice of bread, cover with tomato slices and shredded lettuce. Add a drop of salad oil or dressing. Add ham and turkey. Top with slice of American cheese. Place open-faced in toaster oven and toast until bread is nice and crispy. You may wish to add a slice or two of bacon. Enjoy with chips and fruit.
Tuesday Night
May as well start off with the other night's meal. Nothing too fancy after a day of grad school paperwork ...
Breaded Chicken Asiago
Basically the same as Chicken Parmagiana ... quick and easy.
Boneless chicken breasts, pounded to flatten to about 1/2 inch thickness. Dredge chicken in bread crumbs, seasoned liberally with salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and a dash of thyme. Bake in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes, then remove, cover lightly with marinara sauce and shredded asiago cheese.
Serve with spaghetti and marinara sauce and a side salad. Yummy!
Welcome!
Welcome to Chez Steiny, totally dedicated to chronicling the adventures (and occasional misadventures) of my career as an amateur home chef. Each day, I hope to post a summary of what I have made, along with whatever else I've indulged my taste buds in for the day. I'll give my personal ratings, family reviews, and recipes where appropriate.
Quickly about me: I am a graduate chemical engineering student at the University of Houston, so I don't get to cook nice, big dinners as often as I would like. I don't get to eat them that often, either. I also have a blog unrelated to this one, Pardon the BloggEruption. Culinarily, though, I would say that I have been "trained" largely in the French tradition (meaning I've watched a lot of Food Network and read a fair number of books), though my tastes are all over the map, literally. You can expect to see a lot of the following cuisines being experimented with here:
American Traditional Chinese (mostly Szechuan) Mainstream French Italian (southern) TexMex (not "Southwestern," not "Mexican," but straight up, kick-you-in-the-teeth TexMex)
With apologies to my ancestors and those of my fiancee, I don't have much love for German, Polish, and other Eastern European cuisines. Same for the British and Irish. They may make an occasional appearance, though.
At any rate, I hope you enjoy. Send me an e-mail with comments or suggestions. See you around at Chez Steiny!
