Capturing the Essence of Caprese

Caprese, a classic, flavorful, and super simple salad. This one of my favorite summertime dishes and I always find myself wanting more. Caprese is comprised of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella,  fresh basil, salt, pepper, olive oil, and a splash of balsamic vinegar to finish.

The real trick to caprese is cutting the fresh mozzarella and the tomatoes the same thickness. First, a sharp knife will help alleviate most of those issues right away. If you are having trouble with a straight edged knife when you are cutting tomatoes, grab your serrated bread knife and that will help keep the tomatoes from exploding and your kitchen looking like a scene out of a bad horror movie.

Try to keep the tomatoes and mozzarella thin, you don't want them to fall apart, but they should have enough structure where the tomato can support the mozzarella too. If you want them thicker, that is totally okay, but the idea here is that you can have something that isn't super heavy and doesn't weigh you down.

Alright, lets look a few photos. I have included a couple of photos so you can see how it might look before and after you have dressed the salad.

Here is one layout. Again, to finish just dress with a few drops of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and some salt and pepper. If you are trying to figure out how much oil you need, I might suggest that you pour some oil into a small bowl and use a spoon to let some oil stream off the tip of the spoon. The goal is to have a little bit of the dressing with each bite. If you have spots that aren't dressed that is okay, just make sure there is some on a bite near by so each bit is properly seasoned.

Above you see a plate of dressed caprese salad. This makes for a really flavorful but light lunch, a special occasion appetizer or dinner salad, and it is an excellent choice for anything from a potluck to a backyard BBQ. I have used it for all these applications and not only is it a crowd-pleaser, but it also looks beautiful when plated and dressed.


Looking to wake this up a little more? Pair with a nice wine -- you could go with a chilled white or a bold red, personal preference is key here. Also, go to your local bakery or favorite grocery store bakery and grab a nice french or sourdough baguette. Slice a few pieces on the bias and you can serve up one stack of the salad on top of the bread. If you are looking for a little crunch, you can also toast the bread in a pan or on the grill.

Again, I promise, this will be another dish that you reach for anytime you are looking for something a little out of ordinary. Enjoy!

That's okay, I make lamb

While deciding what to make for dinner, we were faced with the greatest kitchen villain of all time.

Me: "What sounds good to you?"
Her: "I'm not sure, what sounds good to you?"
Me: "I am not sure either, does anything sound appealing to you?"

Of course, anyone would be weary of this cycle after a few minutes. After a few more rounds, we were hoping to find a protein that would be a little different than what we had before. In passing I had mentioned we should give lamb a shot. We had made it before, with fair results, but wasn't something we came back to that often. So, after circling the meat counter at our local butcher shop more times than I care to count, I selected lamb blade steaks. I did this for a couple of of reasons: It cooks like beef as far the cooking application goes and has plenty of flavor. Granted, both in texture and taste lamb is different than anything else, but the flavor isn't unpleasant in anyway.

So, I seasoned the steaks with olive oil, salt and pepper and they went onto the grill on medium high heat. Like steak or any other meat, once it hits the grill, leave it alone. After about 5-7 minutes on each side with a few turns you need to pull the lamb off so it can rest.

Lamb, even more than beef, doesn't do well if it is overcooked. So, you want to shot for medium rare at most by the meat has rested. If you have applied heat correctly, you could have something that looks like this photo below.

Lets talk about the good shall we? First, the lamb was perfectly medium rare and moist. Also, the steaks were well seasoned and weren't "gamey" as sometimes lamb may be described. However, the lamb was lack luster and underwhelming. In order to keep the meat moist that does mean that you may not be able to get the same color on it or get that delicious crispiness on the outer edges as one can do with pork or beef. In addition, the texture of meat, although cooked perfectly, can be a little chewy and make the experience of eating lamb not as enjoyable.

Takeaways? I think choice of meat is really the issue that comes front and center here. Perhaps a different cut, something that could have been cooked slower (a different cut of lamb) or perhaps a slow cooker application would do nicely for the shoulder blade steaks we had this evening. I think lamb will be something that I come back to, but next time, rethink the cut of meat before we apply the heat.

May The Wedge Be With You

Sometimes I crave a fun twist on potatoes to keep any meal interesting. One of my favorites is wedge-cut home-baked fries.

Alright, scrub down 3-4 russet potatoes. Cut them into inch-sized wedges as pictured above, 3 russets will yield about 20 fries or so.

Place the potatoes in a bowl, add with oil (a couple tablespoons should do the trick) and your favorite seasonings -- remember, you can use whatever you like as far as seasonings. May I suggest paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, with a pinch of cayenne pepper. Turn the potatoes using a pair of tongs to evenly coat them with the oil and seasonings.

Heat your oven to 450 degrees. Place the potatoes in the oven on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Pull out the cookie sheet out of the oven and turn each of the wedges over, putting the pan back in the oven for about 5 more minutes until the wedges are golden brown and cooked through.


You should end up with something that looks like this....

Boom! Serve this your favorite condiment of choice, such as ranch, bbq sauce, ketchup, or anything else. These are a great side dish for steak, chicken, pork and fish.

Enjoy!

Seriously, I think we are missing something. I mean all my options listed above are good, right? Yeah, something just isn't right. Okay, how about I offer up one more suggestion for what you can serve with these amazing potatoes?


Ready......


Set..........


Deliver........

This is the coup de grace. My cover page, my masterpiece! A beef burger with cheddar cheese, grilled zucchini, arugula, mayo or mustard, and some homemade BBQ sauce. We will still cover that sometime in the near future.

Feel better everyone? Still not satisfied, eh? Alright, here is one more photo.

OK, now we are done! 

May the burger and P. Wedge be with you.

 

Chasing Crispy Chicken

When it comes to how to have dinner on the table, I have a 30-45 minute rule. If I can't get dinner on the table within that time, then I have spent too much time on dinner. One of my favorite, go-to options is chicken. No shake and "rattle" chicken, and no chicken in a tub, but delicious homemade chicken.

I prefer using bone-in, skin-on "split" chicken breasts for this application, or chicken thighs work just as well. Truthfully, you can use just about anything, but keep an eye on the cook time as boneless or smaller pieces of chicken will cook differently than the bone-in, skin-on breasts.

Ready? Here we go!

For crispy split chicken breasts: Set your oven to 400 degrees and make sure the baking rack is placed in the middle of the oven. These chicken breasts will cook in about 28 minutes in the oven and will need about 5-8 minutes to rest once they come out of the oven. When in doubt, use your thermometer to make sure the breasts have cooked to a final temperature of 165 degrees.

Before putting the chicken in the oven, you'll want to grease the breasts with a bit of Olive oil before seasoning it with your favorite blend of spices. Any guesses? Chances are good that you can probably guess my recommendations, but let's review! Seasoning blend: Salt, pepper, paprika, garlic salt, onion powder, and barbecue seasoning.

After 28 minutes at 400 degrees you will achieve this! Oh, in order to make sure you deliver with the perfect crispy skin and amazing color at the 28 minute mark, turn your oven to broil at 450 degrees for 2 minutes. You will need to watch this carefully because the chicken will turn dark in a hurry.

Once the chicken comes out of the oven, cover with foil while the meat rests so it stays hot and juicy for your dinner.


Below you'll see our final plate with asparagus, carrots and mushroom pilaf, plus a juicy, crispy-skinned chicken breast to delight your senses.

This will be a go-to recipe for any occasion, and a must for a casual dinner with friends. Enjoy!

Summer Steak

I have made it pretty clear that I love a good steak. Like most things in life, moderation and portion size is key. If you have 4-6 oz of a better quality steak  you shouldn't need more than that. If you cook it properly, the flavor, the richness, and the quality should satisfy that desire for steak. So, perhaps this is my shortest post yet, I can't resist posting this photo. We have covered the how to deliver a perfect steak and corn, but review "Not Your Mama's Corn" if you want more detail.

This is the first of many posts to come today.

Hail the Homemade Breakfast Hash

It's the weekend and you are ready for breakfast, but you don't have really much around the house but a few eggs, potatoes, an onion, some leftover steak or other meat, mushrooms, and some bell peppers.

Guess what? You have a super easy, delicious breakfast at your fingertips. Food doesn't need to be fussy to be amazing. So what the heck do you make with all those ingredients? We are making breakfast hash.

Like all the recipes I post, I tell you that you can customize this according to your likes or needs. Recipes should be interchangeable otherwise you may lose out on the creative energy that being in the kitchen provides.

Ready to get this started? OK, let's go!

Cube up some potatoes, I recommend either russet potatoes or red potatoes as a base. Looking for another twist? Do what I've done in this photo and use some garnet sweet potatoes mixed with the regular potatoes. Not only is it a nice color contrast, and we eat with our eyes first, but these potatoes provide a little sweetness and are a great counterpoint to the other flavors.

With about three tablespoons of oil and on medium high heat throw the potatoes into a cast iron skillet or a heavy-bottomed nonstick pan. Like with steak, once you put the potatoes down, don't touch! Leave the potatoes alone for at least 3-4 minutes until you start to see color like in this photo. Season with salt and pepper and you can add other seasonings if you like.

If you are doing a more savory profile you can add some garlic powder or paprika. I did use paprika here as the earthy, smokey notes are balanced with the sweetness of the sweet potatoes. Oh, after you start to get some color on the potatoes begin adding things like onions, or bell peppers. If you use cast iron, keep an eye on the heat so your potatoes don't get too dark!! That doesn't make for a good start to the weekend, I assure you.

When you have all your base ingredients cooked most of the way through, crack some eggs into your pan. Set your oven to about 400 degrees on broil, or you can finish the eggs in the oven on "bake." Keep in mind, we want to cook the eggs through, but leave the yolks runny. The eggs will have some carry over heat so keep an eye out for overcooking the yolks. Good tip: You can press very gently on the yolk once its begun to cook, the more give it has the softer/runnier it will be.

Here is the finished hash......what? You want a finished plate? OK, if you insist!

 Perfect hash a runny egg all in a single pan

Hash's photo shoot close up.

This is a delicious hearty breakfast any time, and also can be doubled-down for dinner as well. Enjoy!

Recipe Testing Madness

Okay, let me first say, if this isn't plainly obvious, recipe testing is hard and it sure doesn't look as gritty on TV as it does in real life. Surprise, right? No, no surprise for me either.

Anyway, I am still working on this sauce with about 3 days to go. Plenty of time right? Maybe I should have started to work on my changes with 4 days to go, because that extra day would have made all the difference. :)

For those of you who are waiting patiently for a new post, have no fear! I have a ton of blog ideas that I am working on, but just need more time to develop them -- especially with recipe testing at the forefront. Plus, with life and being an adult getting in the way, my time has been limited this week. But I hope that changes soon.

So, stay tuned!