Beef Sirloin with Chimichurri

Oh man oh man, this was so so good.  I haven't ever made chimichurri sauce before but I know a lot of people like to make it with parsley too, so I should definitely try that sometime, but traditionally it is made with cilantro.  Now it has been a while since I have paid tribute to the oh so wonderful herb cilantro and yes I love it hence my blog name.  So for a little refresher is if you are cilantro hater read this article and give it a try again.  I bet you would like this sauce, just sayin:)  My lovely friend Serenity and I cooked this up last night while doing homework and well bitching about homework, that is the scariest speech of my academic career so far...  So we made food to heal our souls.

Serves 2 (though there is lots of left over sauce, which is a good thing for later use)

The Ingredients
1 large bunch of fresh cilantro
4 cloves garlic
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black or white pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 thin sirloin steaks (about 6oz each, 1-2 inches thick)
Salt and Pepper

The Process
1.  In blender or food processor add cilantro, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, sea salt, white/black pepper, cumin, honey, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes.  Blend well and set aside.

2.  Turn stove to medium-high and put coconut oil in medium skillet.  While this is heating salt and pepper the sirloins.

3.  Put sirloins in skillet and cook for 1 minute each side (for rare) and then take off heat and let the meat rest for 5 minutes.

4.  Blend the chimichurri sauce a little more and then serve over sirloins, so easy and delicious!!!

Sesame Tonkatsu

This recipe came about as part of my engaged determination to really master pork.  It is just so easy to over cook pork especially without a grill.  This is an adapted recipe from The Culinary Chronicles cooking blog.  I made this for a lovely girls dinner with my two best friends Katie and Elisa, it had been way too long since we all got to hangout together so what better way to make the night more awesome than to cook them a feast!  Might I add that the next day we all went floating down the Clackamas River and it was amazing...felt like the first real day of summer on July 24th...ugh Portland needs to get some real (hot) weather!

Serves 3

The Ingredients
For Pork:
4 pieces pork loin, 1/2 inch thick
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
3 tablespoons sesame seeds (black are great if you have them)
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper

For Sauce:
2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

The Process
1.   First in a small bowl (for the sauce) mix together the BBQ sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, and pepper.  Set aside and let flavors combine.

2.  In a medium bowl whisk together the milk and eggs and set aside.  In another bowl pour the flour in.  And in another bowl mix together the panko bread crumbs and the sesame seeds.

3.  Take pork loins and tenderize with a meat mallet (about 5 hits per chunk), then salt and pepper each side of the meat.

4.  In a semi-deep large skillet heat up canola oil over medium-high heat.  While oil is heating prepare the pork.

5.  Preparing the pork: first coat the pork in flour (wipe off excess), then dip the pork in the egg/milk mixture.  Next roll the pork in the panko/sesame seed mixture and make sure to coat the entire piece of meat.  Repeat this process with the other three pieces of meat.

6.  When oil is hot add the coated pork pieces to the pan, takes about 2-3 minutes per side to cook (should be golden-brown).  When done cooking dab off excess oil with paper towels.

7.  Serve with the sauce drizzled over the top.  And EAT!

I also made roasted broccoli to go with the sesame tonkatsu and it was delicious!

Open-Faced French Dip

Well french dip inspired, with mushrooms.  After a SUPER lame day I went out to the "go-to" bar with a few of my lovely library friends.  After my friend ordered the most disappointing roast beast ever I felt I needed to run home and make some real meat...hence the late night meal.

Serves 2

The Ingredients
1 cup beef consume
1 cup beef (better than bouillon broth)
1/2 yellow onion, cut into thin rings
1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced thin
4 thick slices of multi-grain baguette
4 thin slices swiss cheese
1, 6oz petite sirloin
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
1 tablespoon balsamic vinaigrette
1/2 teaspoon onion powder 
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

The Process
1.  In small Tupperware add Worcestershire, balsamic vinaigrette, onion powder, salt and pepper, and steak and marinate 10 minutes.

2.  In medium saucepan over medium heat add a little oil and onions and mushrooms.  Cook until onions are clear and mushrooms are cooked through, then add consume and broth to saucepan and bring to boil.  Once boiling turn down to a rolling simmer.

 3.  Take slices of bread and place a piece of cheese on each slice and but in toaster oven.  First broil to melt cheese then toast to preferred crispness.

4.  When meat is done marinating, have skillet over medium-high heat with a little bit of oil.  When hot add the steak cook about 3 minutes each side and take off stove.  Let meat rest 5 minutes before cutting thin slices.

5.  Then take the two slices of cheesy bread and put them on a plate add the mushroom onion mixture, then steak slices, and last douse in the beef consume broth.

Enjoy

Mushroom Goat Cheese Crostinis

As part of an other lovely hangout with two of my friends from camp we made a yummy dinner.  This time I was in charge of the appetizers, with a slight lack in funds and a time restraint I thought what is cheap and what would be good?  So I came up with this combination, though I want to mention I would have liked to use Pumpernickel bread but they didn't have it at the store I went to...lame!  So here is the simple yet delicious concoction.

Serves 3

The Ingredients
2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Olive oil (for skillet)
1/2 loaf multi-grain baguette, sliced
 1, 4oz package goat cheese
2 green onions, sliced thin
Spray olive oil

The Process
1.  Turn oven to 375 degrees.  Slice up bread and place on cookie sheet.  Then spray bread with a little bit of olive oil.  When oven is hot put bread in the oven, after about 7 minutes flip bread and toast for 7 more minutes or until crisp.

2.  In the mean time heat up oil in a skillet on the stove over medium and add mushrooms, onion powder, garlic powder, and soy sauce.  Stir well and cook for about 8 minutes or until mushrooms are soft and saturated.  Turn stove to low in order to keep mushrooms warm while preparing the crostinis.


3.  Take little toasts and spread goat cheese, sprinkle green onions, and top with mushrooms (about 3 mushrooms per crostini).

Bam done!

They are very simple, so enjoy.

Zucchini Chicken Nuggets

This is a recipe I saw a rough outline for and I have been wanting to try it for quite some time...but every time I wanted to make it I felt a little pathetic.  Pathetic in the sense of like...ok I have time to cook and I'm really just going to make chicken nuggets?!  But today was finally the day!  I figured out how I could really add to and make the nuggets of chicken gourmet and phatty, so I did!  I went over to Becca's home, first off to get help with my web portfolio for my professional academic career...but then I realized I don't need help I just need to eat dank foods...so, we cooked :)  She made some lovely roasted veggies and her hubby made some awesome mashed potatoes.

Serves 5

The Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs ground chicken
1 large zucchini, grated (small)
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup gruyere cheese, grated (small)
3 cups crushed corn flakes
2 eggs
1/8 cup fresh parsley, chopped finely
Spray Oil

The Process
1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray two cookie sheets with oil.

2.  In large bowl mix chicken, eggs, 1 1/2 cups crushed corn flakes, salt, pepper, parsley, cheese, paprika, zucchini, garlic salt, and onion powder.  Mix very well.

3.  Roll mixture into tablespoon size nuggets, and then take the other half of the crushed corn flakes (1 1/2 cups) put them on a plate and roll the chicken nuggets in corn flakes.  Place crusted chicken nuggets on cookie sheet and press slightly flat (so that they are about an inch thick).

4.  Put sheet of chicken nuggets in oven for 10 minutes, then take out and flip them and put them back in oven for 10 more minutes or until cooked through. (20 minutes all together).

The chicken meat was very lean and its mixed with zucchini mostly....IE healthy meal!

Garlic Parsley Mushrooms

These mushrooms were made as an attempt to bring something different to a BBQ.  The typical foods brought to BBQ's are salads of all sorts, meats, hot dogs, corn, etc.  So I knew we are having amazing sausages from Kenny and Zukes and then my other friend brought the tastiest sourdough rolls from The Pearl Bakery so I figured I should make something to garnish the sausages with, and I sure am glad I did....epic BBQ dinner to say the least.

Tops about 10 Sausages

The Ingredients
1 pound crimini mushrooms, cut in halves
1/2 stick salt butter, melted
1/2 cup white wine
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

The Process
1.  Turn oven on to 425 degrees.  In glass shallow baking dish add mushrooms, garlic, oil, salt, pepper, and butter.  Stir up very well.

2.  Put mushrooms in oven (uncovered) and bake for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes add white wine, stir, and bake for another 10 minutes (so 20minutes total).

3.  Take them out of the oven and stir in parsley and devour....or bring them to a BBQ and put them on sausages.

Steamer Clams in Broth

Now this was something I hadn't ever made, but had eaten so many times I was able to make it with no recipe.  I will say my father gave me a little direction on ingredients over the phone, but I altered even what he said.  This pot of steamer clams was one part of a three course seafood meal on the evening of my birthday.  This meal had shrimp and garlic toast, steamer clams, and fresh crab and butter, of course along with a salad.  We went down to the jetty to buy all of this fresh seafood and the man cleaning the crabs got us all to eat crab hearts?! Anyone ever heard of or had crab hearts? They were delicious and dipped in butter; they tasted just like crab but a little more gelatinous and they looked like those little star shaped noodles in the Campbell's chicken and stars soup...odd to say the least.  The crazy seafood man at the jetty even got my 81 year old grandma to try one, which was extremely impressive since she claims that she doesn't even like garlic... a wonderful feat on his part!

Serves 10 as an appetizer

The Ingredients
4 pounds fresh steamer clams
3 cups vegetable broth (or any broth)
1 bottle white wine, cheap is fine
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 stick butter (salted)
1/8 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
Salt and Pepper (generous amount)

The Process
1.  In very large pot melt butter over medium heat.  When melted add onions and garlic.  Saute for about 2 minutes or until slightly tender.

2.  Then add broth, wine, salt and pepper to pot and bring to boil.

3.  Once liquids are boiling add clams and boil for about 10 minutes, sometimes a little less (the shells will start opening right away but that doesn't mean they are fully cooked).

4.  After the clams are done cooking take off heat and stir in fresh parsley and serve.  Note dipping sourdough bread in the broth is AMAZING!

To the left was the aftermath crab course!

Hummingbird Cake

Yes you read that title right....once again I have attempted baking.  So this beach trip I mentioned in the previous post was also for my birthday, and while I usually love to make and eat pie more than anything else (in the baking world) I decided it was time for a challenge, especially after seeing this cake and how beautiful it was.  I also did not adapt this recipe at all because honestly that would be asking for a disaster/failure.  Here is the original recipe and please take the time to look at the link and see how well the cake is decorated pretty cake.

Serving 1 full cake

The Ingredients

The cake:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnomin
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup sweetened dried coconut, shredded
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup loosely packed dark brown sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk, beaten
4 ounces fresh pineapple, finely chopped
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The frosting:
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon coconut extract
5 cups powdered sugar
16 ounces cream cheese, cold
fresh pineapple chopped

And now for the Process I am going to have you actually go to the original recipes site because I really want you all to see how beautiful the cake is! Birthdaygirlblog.

Here is my cake, its pretty but not half as impressive :)

Elk Meatballs

This was the first meal I made during my lovely stay at Manzinita beach on the Oregon coast.  There was a crew of 13 adults and 3 kiddies involved in this trip, all family and mostly women.  Since women love to "be the boss" and the fact that there were four sisters at this lovely beach stay, I decided I was going to cook.  Cook so that I could contribute, so I could enjoy my time, and cook to stay the efffff out of their way;)  They are all lovely family members but of course you don't want to get stuck in the middle of anything, so the kitchen was my sanctuary.  We had a BUNCH of elk that my Grandpa and Uncle brought from hunting, and oh man they brought TONS....so I figured um meatballs?! Yes!  So here is the recipe that was accompanied by pasta, dank sauce, and a great salad.

Serves 13 but lets just make it for 6 with this recipe
Oh and I forgot to take a picture...but we all know what meatballs look like

The Ingredients
2lbs ground elk
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup gruyere cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 egg
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
Spray olive oil

The Process
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a large cookie sheet with a rim.

2.  In large mixing bowl mix together all of the ingredients (besides the spray oil), and mix thoroughly.


3.  Then take about a tablespoon (perhaps a little bigger) of mixture in hand and roll into a ball and place it on a large greased cookie sheet.  Note if the meatballs are not sticking together use more egg.

4.  Put in oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through (no pink).

Serve with a wonderful marinara sauce! Also these meatballs are pretty darn healthy because elk is such a naturally lean meat.