March 12, 2017 by stevesacooking

Instant Pot Thai Carrot Soup

Lyn made this last time and it was good, I made it this morning it came out good very spicy. If you want to calm it down maybe leave out the Cayenne or cut the amounts in half.

Slightly modified Whole Foods recipe.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon avocado oil or other fat
1 medium yellow onion, rough chop
1¼ pound carrot, rough chop
1 jalapeño or serrano pepper, with seeds, rough chop 2 teaspoons grated ginger
4 cups broth, veggie or chicken
1 teaspoon sea salt OR 1 tablespoon fish sauce (to taste for saltiness)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon Garam Masala
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Cilantro, chopped (added in after cooking, before pureeing) if you don’t have I have substituted some ground coriander about teaspoon.
½ cup cream or full fat coconut milk
3 tablespoons honey, optional

Instructions

Instant Pot Directions

Using the sauté feature, heat the oil and add the onion. Sauté for 3-5 minutes to soften but not brown.

Add in the chopped carrot and pepper, sautéing for a couple of minutes.

Add in the broth and all the spices, stirring.

Lock the lid and set manual pressure for 12 minutes.

When time is up, do a quick release, unlock the lid, add the cilantro, and puree the soup in a blender, food processor, or try using your immersion blender.

Add back to pot and stir in the cream and honey

Garam masala

Garam masala is a blend of ground spices common in India, Pakistan, and other South Asian cuisines. It is used alone or with other seasonings. The word garam refers to “heating the body” in the Ayurvedic sense of the word, as these spices are believed to elevate body temperature in Ayurvedic medicine.

February 26, 2017 by stevesacooking

Chicken Piccata with Artichokes – Gluten Free substitute cornstarch for flour

Love the flavor of this sauce dish is so simple and always brings a smile to my tummy.

Lyn loves artichokes and it something that I should but don’t prepare often enough.

We both saw the add and approached each other almost the same day. What do you think bout making…… well yesterday we did.

I adapted ever so slightly from their recipe and after dinner we decided that this was going to be one of the dishes, although gluten free, for our annual Russo Easter dinner 2017 at our house.

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
About 1/2 cup (2 1/2 oz./75 g) all-purpose flour or cornstarch if making Gluten free
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 jar (6 oz./185 g) artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained and quartered
1 cup (8 fl. oz./250 ml) dry white wine
1/2 cup (4 fl. oz./125 ml) low-sodium chicken broth
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbs. capers, rinsed and drained
1 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Zest from 1 lemon (I don’t think this is traditional but I like the added flavor)
Cornstarch solution to thicken sauce if needed.

Directions:

Butterfly the chicken breasts and cut them in half. Working with one chicken breast half at a time, place the chicken between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and, using a meat pounder or other heavy, flat object, gently pound to an even thickness of about 1/4 inch (6 mm).

Pour the flour onto a large plate and season it well with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. In a large fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the olive oil until very hot but not smoking. Working in batches as needed to avoid crowding, add the chicken and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and opaque throughout, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Return the pan to medium-high heat; do not wipe the pan clean. Melt 1 Tbs. of the butter with the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil. Add the garlic and artichoke hearts and sauté just until the garlic is soft, about 1 minute. Stir in the wine, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Stir in the broth, lemon juice and capers. Reduce the heat to medium, bring to a gentle simmer and whisk in the remaining 1 Tbs. butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes more. Stir in the parsley and lemon zest. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Return the chicken to the pan and turn to coat each piece with the sauce. Cook just until the chicken is warmed through, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Chicken Night, by Kate McMillan (Weldon Owen, 2014)

February 5, 2017 by stevesacooking

Quick Stuffed Turkey Breast

Had a boneless turkey breast in freezer and Lyn roasted some red peppers. So I butterflied the breast, stuffed with goat cheese, spinage, and the peppers. Rolled back up put the skin back in and with Lyn’s help secured with twine. Roasted at 400 for about 45 minutes then let rest.

February 5, 2017 by stevesacooking

Tri Tip Roast

Just about a 3 lbs roast, which is a first for me up to now only able to find small steaks. Read today that in East butchers usually use the cut to make steak tips.

Anyway rubbed the meat with salt, pepper and diced smoked garlic, wrapped in plastic in frig for about 7 hours.

Heated grill to hot about 15 minutes, rubbed with olive seared each side about 8 minutes then turned heat to one side with meat on cool side with cover down bring to about 350 or medium and roast for about 35-40 minutes. Loosely cover with tin foil and rest for 15-20 minutes. Sliced against grain which is tough since the grain goes 2 ways so I cut along the different grains first.

Came out very very tasty and tender. Served with avacado salsa and roasted potatoes.

January 29, 2017 by stevesacooking

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce.

Lyn and I went to Eataly Boston today, a Italian market at The Prudential. So much to choose from came out with smoked Garlic, pasta, jams and a few others things such as these Butternut Squash Ravioli. So I made a butter sage sauce to go along and Lyn whipped up this roasted butternut squash, broccoli and diced tomatoes side dish. Didn’t think we would be hungry after lunch at Sweetcheeks BBQ. Wrong! Gobbled these down.

January 22, 2017 by stevesacooking

All about instant pot button and how to use.

http://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-buttons/

January 21, 2017 by stevesacooking

Cauliflower Shrimp Fried Rice

Skip the takeout and try this paleo-friendly cauliflower shrimp “fried rice” recipe! You won’t believe how easy and flavorful homemade Chinese food can be.

Lyn read the caption looked at the head of cauliflower and instead of making our standby cauliflower pizza crust she thought with Josie coming this would be a good thing to try. I came home to most of the ingredients layout and a smile on her face…I thought this would be a good thing to try. Off to the train station as the last passengers strolled by memories of the last time we went there to pick her up rose. Josie and Maria on their way back from a DC visit thought her stop was the last stop and as we stood at the 3rd from last stop watching the train pull away and watching the last of the passengers stroll by. Anyway with much to do we ended up chasing the train to South Station where customer service called us because Josie’s battery had died. Not this time we called, phone worked and she was in the elevator, all was well at least in our little corner of life.

Oh ya back to the food, although I had to make a few substitutions this was really good, had tried others in the past but most used a lot of Soy sauce for flavor and very little spice. This was definitely an improvement thanks.

I’ll put Liz’s recipe and my substation will be noted

I can hardly wait to try the recipe her way

Adapted FROM THE LEMON BOWL – Thanks

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 262 kcal

Author Liz DellaCroce

Ingredients

1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined (we always have a bag of cooked frozen shrimp so our cooking time was not as long)
1 teaspoon salt divided (_1/4 and ¾ tsps.)
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 large eggs
1 head cauliflower – grated or riced see video
1 medium onion diced
5 scallions diced whites and greens separated (did not have them so I used shallot but cooked with vegis)
2 cup medium carrots diced or 1 frozen
1 cup frozen peas
2 cloves garlic grated
1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
¼ cup soy saucelow sodium (used gluten free)
2 tablespoons Nakano rice vinegar (only had 1 TBs so mixed with 1 TBS apple cider)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
srirachaoptional
We tossed some parsley mostly for color and almond slivers in at the end

Instructions

Heat a large, deep pan or wok over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Season shrimp with ¾ teaspoon of the salt and the pepper before adding to the hot pan.
Cook shrimp in an even layer, turning once, until pink (about 90 seconds per side.) Remove cooked shrimp from the pan and set aside.
While shrimp is cooking, rice the cauliflower using a food processor, blender or a cheese grater; set aside.
Whisk together eggs and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Spray pan with more cooking spray then reduce heat to medium. Pour eggs into the pan and cook, stirring frequently, 1-2 minutes. Remove cooked eggs and place in the bowl with reserved shrimp; set aside.
Add diced onion, scallion whites, carrots, peas, garlic, and ginger to the pan and cook until soft and tender, stirring frequently. This should take 4-5 minutes.
When veggies are cooked through, add cauliflower, soy sauce and rice vinegar to the pan. Stir well to combine then walk away for a few minutes so that the cauliflower can start to cook and create a nice crust. Come back, stir it around then walk away again. The flavor comes from letting the cauliflower brown a bit and become crispy. This process may take up to 10 minutes. It’s worth the wait!
Add cooked shrimp and egg back to the pan and cook until warmed through. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil and garnish with scallion greens and Sriracha to serve.