For Halloween this year, we wanted to make something that could be cooked ahead of time and would be easy to eat in between answering the door to hand out candy. We ultimately decided to make gumbo, which Dan hadn’t made in quite a while (and we’ll be honest, the last batch wasn’t our favorite). Maybe it was a better recipe, or more cooking experience between this night and the prior gumbo, but our Spooky Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo was delicious! So good that we’re considering having this gumbo be our new Halloween tradition. Continue reading “{Spooky} Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo”
Category: Main Courses
Beer Brined Pork Chops
Brining pork is a good way to take a lean (and more healthy) cut of meat and cook it such that it stays juicy and delicious. Using beer in the brine adds a subtle layer of flavor — Dan says it’s a hoppy flavor, but his palate is way more sophisticated than mine. Beer-brining is a good way to cook pork that you may want to use later in the week in a different dish. It’s flavorful, without being tied to any particular flavor profile (e.g., Asian, BBQ, etc.) Continue reading “Beer Brined Pork Chops”
Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage Tomato Sauce
Today we present two recipes in one (long) post, mostly because our last post was pretty much devoid of any culinary content. (This is a food blog, after all, folks!) First, we made a tomato sauce with spicy Italian sausage, and in the past we’ve served this meaty sauce over simple pasta. On this night, however, we decided to make some stuffed shells — a favorite Italian meal from when I was growing up. Our recipe made enough for leftovers this week, plus additional shells for the freezer for yet another meal later. Continue reading “Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage Tomato Sauce”
Spicy Turkey Paella (with leftover turkey)
With the holidays rapidly approaching, we’ve been looking for recipes incorporating leftover turkey. We wanted to try something different than the usual leftover turkey dishes, like pot pie and turkey soup (although they are delicious!). The Epicurious website came through for us yet again — with the recipe for Spicy Turkey Paella. We made just a few small changes and the resulting dish was really good. We look forward to making it again with our turkey from Thanksgiving.
Continue reading “Spicy Turkey Paella (with leftover turkey)”
Grilled Eggplant Parmesan
This is a new-to-us recipe that we found on Epicurious, in our (my) continuous search for delicious vegetarian dishes. We made a few changes to the original recipe – based on reviews from people who tried the Epicurious recipe. The result was good, but we think it could use some improvement. We liked that it was quick and easy for a weeknight, but missed the crispy breading aspect of regular eggplant parmesan. We’ll try it again sometime. Continue reading “Grilled Eggplant Parmesan”
Shrimp Quesadillas (with leftover shrimp)
We are always looking for creative ways to use leftovers as a time-saver during a busy week. Grilled shrimp is one of our favorite proteins to transmogrify into a new dish, and quesadillas are a simple but delicious meal. You could also use leftover beef or chicken in your quesadillas, but we like using shrimp because it’s a little different and not something that you can order in just any Tex-Mex restaurant. Continue reading “Shrimp Quesadillas (with leftover shrimp)”
Easy Veal Saltimbocca
Veal saltimbocca is an Italian dish consisting of thinly-pounded veal scallopine sandwiched with sage leaves and proscuitto, sauteed in a pan with a white wine sauce. Classic veal saltimbocca can be a bit of a challenge to prepare at home, as it involves whole pieces of veal layered with the other ingredients and cooked very gently so it doesn’t fall apart in the pan. We came across a much simpler version and liked it so much that we may never do it the old-fashioned way again! Continue reading “Easy Veal Saltimbocca”
Pork Fried Rice
Pork fried rice is an excellent use of leftover pork. In addition to rice, our recipe includes bean sprouts, green onion, mushrooms, red bell pepper, garlic, eggs, soy sauce, black bean sauce, and sriracha hot sauce. But you can use whatever combination of ingredients you happen to like. The key components here are the leftover pork (you could also use chicken or beef), rice and egg. Continue reading “Pork Fried Rice”
Ravioli with Quick Red Sauce
When we were on the Isle of Capri in Italy a few years ago, we had a ravioli dish that consisted of pillow-soft ravioli dressed with a simple tomato sauce. Recently we found high quality pre-made ravioli at our local Central Market, and we served these as a week-night meal with a quick tomato sauce. Eventually, we plan on making homemade ravioli, but in the mean time, this dish was delicious. Continue reading “Ravioli with Quick Red Sauce”
Tortellini in Vodka Sauce
Dan first tried pasta in vodka sauce many years ago at one of his favorite Italian restaurants in Chicago. It has taken him a fairly long time to re-create this rich, creamy, slightly spicy tomato sauce, such that you can make it on a weeknight at home. Our version uses pancetta and half & half, as well as a half cup of vodka. The alcohol in the vodka cooks off in an exciting (to Dan), fiery fashion. Sort of like dinner and a show. Continue reading “Tortellini in Vodka Sauce”