What new dishes have you made recently, and how did it go?

Last night I made Chicken under a brick. I got the idea from American's Test Kitchen. I was delicious and really easy, if a bit messy. You don't really use a brick. Take a three pound and remove the backbone. Then flatten the bird, cracking the sternum with the heel of your hand. Salt and pepper the skin side.

Heat a tsp of oil in a large, ovenproof skillet on high heat until the oil just starts to smoke. Lay the bird in the skillet , skin side down. then place a heavy Dutch oven on top of the bird and place some canned goods in the Dutch oven to weight it down. Walk away for 25 minutes.

While you are ignoring the chicken on the stove, cut one pound of scrubbed but unpeeled new potatoes into quarters. Preheat the oven to 450 F.

After 25 minutes, remove the chicken from the pan and turn it skin side up on a plate or cutting board. Pour off most of the grease from the skillet and add the potatoes. Place the chicken, skin side up this time on top of the potatoes. Brush the chicken with a mixture of lemon juice, chopped garlic and thyme. Place the skillet on the bottom rack of the oven for 10-15 minutes.

When the chicken breast has reached an internal temp of 160 F, remove the chicken to a cutting board to rest and return the potatoes to the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until brown and tender.

The chicken gets the most amazing crispy skin this way. I served it with sauteed spinach. Yummy.

Wow.

I just found this thread and intend to read through all the posts carefully.

I am so sick of "the usual".

Thanks in advance to all.

That has some similarities, Swimpy, to the Lemon Chicken recipe I posted a bit ago, can't remember if you saw that thread. Anyway, the chicken is flattened somewhat in that one too.
http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=41268

Yea, I did see that thread, osso. I thought it was similar, too. The difference is that this chicken is mostly cooked on top of the stove.

Plus, the skin is on the bottom in your recipe...

I'll try your recipe if I can tear myself away from my lemon chicken one. Right now I'm addicted to it.

It's probably not a lemony as yours, but I think you could kick it up more than I did.

I fear a spattered stovetop from the 25 minutes, if not a flaming kitchen. Twenty five minutes on high, huh?

It is messy, but if you wipe down the cooktop right away, it cleans up pretty easily. If you have one of those high BTU stovetops, turn it down to medium high. But yea, 25 minutes and don't disturb it while its doing its thing. Use a non-stick skillet, too.

This morning I made a tofu scrambler for breakfast.
I have made this once before and it was awesome.
I didnt get the recipe from a book, it was one that I came up with on the spur of the moment..wich is why I am proud/IMPRESSED it was good.

1/2 block of tofu with as much water squeezed out as possible.
Fresh oregano/basil ( this will be used to taste, so how ever much you like..add. I use 2 tbsp of each. )
Seasoned rice vinegar
Tamari sauce
Crimini mushrooms
Season Salt
Canola Oil
Baby Spinach

In a sauce pan over med/high heat add:
3tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tbsp Tamari , oregano, basil and 1/2 tbsp canola oil.
Heat for 3 mintues
Drop tofu in, mash until crumbled.
Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
In seperate pan , 1 tsp canola oil
Cube Crimini mushrooms and add them to the canola oil, cooking until soft. At the last minute, drop a handfull of baby spinach onto the mushrooms and cook until wilted.

Serve with mushroom/spinach mixture on bottom, Tofu on top. Add some orange slices , grapes and 1/4 - 1/2 bananna for garnish.

Dish makes 2 servings. Each serving approx 200-230 calories and only 4 grams of fat.


( big cheesy grin)
THAT is one of the best dishes I have created off the top of my head in a along time. :-)

shewolf, is everyone in your family vegetarian?

Hm, we had breaded vea (Wiener Schnitzell with potatoe salad for lunch. I just had a taste for some european food.

I made some beer bread yesterday. It was pretty good, not the best I've ever had but its definately worth making again. It was REALLY simple.

3 cups self-rising flour

5 tablespoons sugar (I made one of the tbsp honey instead.)

1 can (16 oz) of room temperature beer

mix and pour in greased bread pan (I used non-stick spray) bake at 350 for 45 minutes, then:

add 1/2 stick of melted butter - pour it all over bread. Then bake for 10 more minutes.

Recipe here
The butter at the end made the crust carmelize and it contrasted deliciously with the yeasty beer taste. I reccomend.

Oh, and I used a light, yeasty beer. I hear the beer you use makes a big difference in taste. Next time I'm going to try a guinness.

I've never made beer bread. Never made irish soda bread (I'm irish, by and large). Have made a lot of italian hearth breads, and, years ago, some Tassajara breads.

I wonder if beer bread is different with different beers.. as some beers have much more of a rich flavor than others...

SALSA POTATO SKINS
Made this recently, came out good! Didnt take long. Went good with the entree of bbq on mesquite.
SALSA POTATO SKINS
Preparation time: 20 min.

Cooking time: 15 min.

Ideal condiment: sour cream

Shopping List
Monterey Jack cheese, Cheddar Cheese, potatoes, green onions, canned tomatoes with green chiles.

Food items that are probably in your frig!
butter

Ingredients
4 large russet potatoes
1/3 cup melted butter or margarine
1 (10-ounce) can tomatoes with green chiles
1/4 cup chopped green onions
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Serves 4

Step 1
Poke holes into potatoes. Microwave on high for 15 min, rotating every 5 minutes. Cool. Cut each potatoes in half crosswise, then cut in half again. Scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4" inch shell.

Step 2
Preheat oven to 500`F.Place potato shell skins side down on a foiled-lined broiler pan. Brush shells inside and out with melted butter. Bake potato skins until crispy, about 12 minutes

Step 3
Preheat broiler. Mix tomatoes and green onions in a small bowl. Set aside. Sprinkle potatoes with cheese. Broil until cheeses are bubbly, about 2 minutes

Step 4
Place potato skins on a serving platter. Divide salsa evenly among potato skins. Serve immediately.

Desfrute su comida

Welcome Sheila. It's always nice to have another cook on board.

Something new I have started making is home made salsa. I had been meaning to give it a go for years and years...Now that we are living in Australia and purchasing salsa in the grocery store is quite a bit more expensive than I am used to, I thought now would be a good time to bite the bullet!
I buy all fresh ingreds from a produce store spending about $7.00 and make up a big batch which ususally yields 5 (500ml) jars. Much better than the $4.00 I would pay for 250 ml at Coles! And the boyz say it is heaps better too!

While here...anyone have a good recipe for prawn marsala? My husband's birthday is coming up and I reckon I might try and make that for him...I normally do NOT cook "dead stuff" so this would be a REAL treat for him!

Oooooh, I want to try the beer bread!

We made cod today with a butter and lemon sauce (with sauteed shallots). And we made wilted spinach salad to go with it. The cod was delish, but my brother, who was over for dinner (and a great cook), thought it was bland. The onions dissolved in the lemon juice as it reduced. The end result was a thick very lemony sauce.

The wilted spinach salad is my brothers baby. We've made many rounds of this and it always comes out different. Use baby spinach and don't rinse before hand unless you can wait for it to completely dry. There is lemon rind, mint leaf, feta cheese, sliced onion mixed with the spinach and then you pour nearly smoking olive oil on top. S'good...

I'd like to see a good recipe for prawn marsala too. I've tried it myself, trying to mimic a dish I had long ago at a place called Giorgio's in San Diego, and it's never tasted as wonderful as that did..

I made chicken satay with peanut dipping saucea couple of weeks ago. It turned out pretty well. I've always been intimidated by asian cuisine, especially since it is inexpensive to eat out at asian restaurants. With a little practice, I think I could get pretty good at this.

Do you have a recipe for that then Swimpy and are you willing to share it? I get tired of making the same thing all the time.
I recently discovered making Curry 'Chicken' , Dahl, Gobi Aloo and naan bread and much to my dismay it is now a regular each week. We call it ( rather the boyz call it ) 'Hump Day Feast' and it is what gets my husband through Wednesdays
Instead of chicken I use a combination of a soy 'chicken' product and tofu; it turns out pretty nicely if I do say so myself.