Leg of Lamb

[senmut]

2 pounds lamb, boneless leg, for around 27 bucks.

My rub was:
Marjoram
Rosemary
Rosehips
Fennel

Grind all herbs into powder-ish substance. (I love mortar and pestle!)
Add to lemon juice.
Add olive oil.

Proportions = just enough to make a bit of a paste, to be honest.

The Internet offered 450 as the temp (Fahrenheit). I tend to cook on 350, at longer times. My compromise was 400.
Without removing the net, I rubbed the paste all over. I then put it in a roasting pan, and added a smidge of water.
Next time, go with 350. Carefully keep any and all blood into the pan. The lamb was good, but those two things would have made it AWESOME.

Mushroom with bacon and feta

[senmut]

Mushrooms (any variety)
Oil (personal preference)
Basil (to taste)
Thyme (to taste)
Water (as Needed)
Feta (to taste)
Bacon crumbles (to taste)

I took a small tub of mushrooms, washed them and cut them into bite size pieces.
Put in small sauce pan or skillet. Drizzle lightly with oil and put on low-medium heat, covered.
When they start to sizzle slightly, uncover, add basil and thyme to taste. Cover.
Let cook a tiny bit more (maybe 2 minutes at most), then add just a little water in the pan. Cover.
Cook until the mushrooms are doing that shrinking thing they do and are to your preferred tenderness. Pour into bowl (with liquid!) and add feta and bacon crumbles to taste.

I really, really enjoyed the way the flavors folded together, and the broth that resulted from the mushrooms cooking down and the oil and the bit of water was tasty to drink after. It's one serving as a meal, but probably could stretch to two portions, or even three, for a side dish.

40 clove garlic chicken

[ilyena_sylph]

How exactly had I not posted this before?

4 chicken thighs (or 1 fryer chicken cut in 8ths)
salt, to season
pepper, to season
mixed herb, to season
3 shallots (or half a red onion), chopped
40 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup dry vermouth, or white wine
parsley
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
3/4 cup chicken stock

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (350°F)
Season the chicken with the salt, pepper and mixed herbs. Set aside.
Heat some oil in a large pan and sear the chicken for about 10-15 minutes evenly on each side, until golden brown.
Take the chicken out and set aside.
Add the shallots and cook down in the remaining juices for about 5 minutes over a low-medium heat.
Add the garlic cloves and gently cook them for about 2 minutes.
Pour in the vermouth or white wine and gently cook so that it reduces slightly.
Add the chicken, parsley sprigs and tarragon, followed by the chicken stock.
Cover with aluminum foil (or oven-safe lid), bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

for a cream sauce:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons good Brandy or Cognac
¼ cup water (or white wine)

Whisk ½ cup skillet sauce with the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the skillet/pot. Turn heat to MEDIUM add the ¼ cup cream, remaining 2 tablespoons Brandy and ¼ cup white wine.
Season to taste with kosher salt & black pepper.
Reduce the heat to LOW and cook 3-5 minutes or until sauce is creamy and smooth and reaches the desired consistency.

Sweet Potato Casserole

[senmut]

1 bag Alexia Sweet Potato Puffs
Honey
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Pecans
Brown Sugar

Start with 1 bag Alexia Sweet Potato Puffs (still frozen). Lay in a well greased medium pyrex pan. Take honey (I used clover honey) and drizzle so that each puff has some honey. Take Nutmeg, and then Cinnamon to the pan. Give all the pieces a dusting to taste. I admit, the puffs were fairly brown when I finished. Sprinkle pecan bits over the whole, then sprinkle brown sugar to taste (I used maybe 2-3 tablespoons of pecans and a quarter cup of brown sugar. Don't ask how much honey or spices)

I did prep before anyone else started cooking, so it had about 2 hours sitting in the fridge covered so the flavors mingled. Baked for 25 minutes on 375... and was told it was tasty. I loved it.

Fruit Salad

[senmut]

4 nice size apples, peeled
quart of strawberries, capped
grapes, seedless
oranges, seedless and peeled (I used clementines)
personal size Greek yogurt (honey/vanilla flavored)
half a small tub of cool whip
sugar (to taste)
Fruit Fresh (if needed)

After capping the strawberries, rinse, then cut in fours. Put in glass bowl, sprinkle sugar on (to taste), then cover and fridge. Core the apples and cut into bite size pieces, place in water or fruit fresh to prevent oxidation. Separate orange slices (if you bought whole ones). Stem and rinse grapes.

In a large bowl, mix yogurt and cool whip. Add drained apples, then grapes, then oranges, stirring each time. Add strawberries last (as they are the least firm and therefore require a gentle stir to keep from mushing). Leave in fridge til time to serve. Made at least 12 servings.

Gluten Free Pizza

[senmut]

1.5 King Arthur GF Baking Mix
1 egg
between 2/3ds and a cup boiling water
Cheese of Choice
Pizza Sauce of Choice
Any Pizza Toppings desired

Mix until it is a dough. Press it out on a pan lined in parchment paper (or sprayed with oil) and I highly recommend pressing it out with a sheet of wax paper on top and a rolling pin. Fancy up your edges if you want. Bake on 350 (preheat the oven while mixing) for 9 minutes. Remove from oven, add grated parmesan (if desired) to crust, then slather sauce of choice, add toppings of choice, cover in cheese of choice. Bake on 425 for 5 minutes, check cheese, add time in 1-2 minute increments until cheese is melted to your taste. Cut and serve.

Fritters

[senmut]

One Egg
Milk enough to triple the liquid volume (aka 2 parts milk to one part egg)
2 to 4 heaping high tablespoons of all-purpose flour or gluten free flour mix
Season Salt enough to cover the top of the liquid or cinnamon/nutmeg sugar

Beat the hell out of it all. I beat the egg first, then beat the milk into it, then was fork-whisking the flour and seasoning in. A manual beater would probably be better. Pour into hot oil, flip if needed, then pull as soon as solid.

Sub sugar/cinnamon for the season salt for breakfast.

This, my friends, is an Asp in the kitchen, continuously making food happen without a clue, as this was an accidental one.. Maybe L* gets it more honest than I thought.

Middle child is a hell of a cook and has been trying to cook since before he turned 3.

Biscuit Sandwiches

[senmut]

This one's a quick, easy fix and can be played with to make very portable lunches.

2 cans biscuits
2 lbs sliced lunch meat of choice
1 lb sliced cheese of choice

Flatten the biscuits into circles, layer one kind of meat, then cheese, then another meat. Roll together and use a toothpick to hold in place. Put on a cookie sheet, and bake at the temperature the canned biscuits suggested. Cook until biscuit-dough is done, about 8 minutes generally, but keep an eye on it, because ovens are tricky. Remove toothpicks and place in fridge until needed.

Keeps for at least a week, probably more, as the last ones were still good today, 8 days later.

One Pot 40-clove chicken meal

[ilyena_sylph]

Haven't actually made this one yet, but these directions for the cream sauce were perfect.

2 pounds chicken thighs
40 cloves garlic
1/2 large red onion
kosher salt
black pepper
some italian blend seasoning
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 1/2 pounds Baby Yukons or Baby Red Potatoes scrubbed & halved (any extra large baby potatoes, cut into fourths)

Cream sauce:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons good Brandy or Cognac
¼ cup water (or white wine)

Dry the chicken thighs with paper towels and sprinkle both sides, liberally, with kosher salt, black pepper, and italian seasoning
Scrub and halve the potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1-teaspoon kosher salt. Mix well and set aside.
In a large Dutch oven or large, deep skillet, heat the oil over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. In batches, sauté the chicken on both sides until nicely browned (about 4-5 minutes per side). As the chicken cooks, transfer the seared chicken to a large plate. Repeat until all chicken has been seared.
Once all chicken has been cooked, add your onion, turn the heat down to medium, cook 5 minutes. Add the garlic cloves to the fat in the skillet. Set the temperature to LOW, sauté the garlic cloves, stirring often, 3-5 minutes or until they are evenly browned.
Add 2 tablespoons Brandy and ½ cup white wine and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, add 3/4 c chicken stock. Bring the liquid to a boil.
Return the chicken thighs to the Dutch oven or skillet and add the potatoes, sprinkle with the thyme & tarragon.

Move to oven on 350F and for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is done, make sure potatoes are fork-tender.
Transfer the chicken and potatoes to a serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm, put the skillet back on to heat.

Dip out 1/2 c skillet sauce, place in a small bowl with the flour and whisk firmly. Then pour and whisk it back into the sauce in the skillet/pot. Turn heat to MEDIUM add the ¼ cup cream, remaining 2 tablespoons Brandy and ¼ cup white wine.
Season to taste with kosher salt & black pepper.
Reduce the heat to LOW and cook 3-5 minutes or until sauce is creamy and smooth and reaches the desired consistency.
To serve, pour the sauce over the chicken and the potatoes and enjoy.