Seared Lamb with White Bean and Mint Salad

From Real Simple July 2009
Couldn't be easier
Served with roasted cherry tomatoes (garlic and olive oil)

* 8 small lamb loin chops (about 2 1/2 pounds)
* kosher salt and black pepper
* 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 shallots, chopped
* 1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
* 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and chopped
* 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

Directions
* Heat oven to 400° F. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the lamb with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. In 2 batches, brown the chops, about 2 minutes per side; transfer to a baking sheet. Roast to the desired doneness, 4 to 6 minutes for medium-rare.
* In a large bowl, combine the beans, oil, shallots, mint, capers, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Serve with the lamb.

Arroz con Pollo

Found a recipe for Arroz con Pollo on epicurious.com - would have looked in my own recipe box, but I was at school and needed to go to the store on my way home. Turns out the recipe is almost identical to that of my grandmother. Added squash that Ana brought us from her garden. Delicious!

This is the recipe from epicurious.com - it's easier to cut and paste than retype my grandmother's recipe, especially because they're practically identical!

Yield: Makes 4 servings
Active Time: 30 min
Total Time: 1 hr

Ingredients:

1 (3 1/2- to 4-lb) chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons paprika
2 cups long-grain white rice
1 1/4 cups dry white wine
1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes including juice
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
1 bay leaf (not California)
1 cup frozen peas (not thawed)
1/2 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives, coarsely chopped

Garnish: chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation:

Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet (at least 2 inches deep) over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken on all sides, about 12 minutes total. Transfer chicken with tongs to a plate.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet and add onion, bell pepper, and salt to taste. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add garlic, paprika, and rice, then cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and boil, uncovered, 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with juice, chicken broth, saffron, and bay leaf. Nestle chicken in rice, adding any juices from plate.

Cook, covered, over low heat until chicken is cooked through, rice is tender, and most of liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in peas, olives, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover skillet and let stand 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

Roasted Balsamic Potatoes and Onions

Got this off the bag of potatoes. It is very similar to the balsamic potatoes that we had at our wedding. Hmmm, will have to serve it with our favorite salad.

Preheat oven to 400.

2 pounds baby potatoes, cut in half
onions
3 T evoo

Toss in a jellyroll pan. Cover pan with foil and roast for 30 minutes.

Remove foil, add remaining ingredients and toss thoroughly.
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1 T fresh thyme or 1 t dried
1/2 t garlic salt
1/4 t pepper

Increase heat to 450 and roast for another 30-40 minutes (I did ~15 and it was more than enough)

Broiled Chicken with Golden Raisin and Onion Chutney

Got this from Martha Stewart's site....

Caramelize one onion (halved and sliced) and 1 1/2 t coarse salt in 2 T olive oil - medium until translucent, then med-low for 15-20 minutes. When golden brown, add 1/3 c of golden raisins, cook until plump and beginning to brown. Add 1/2 t ginger (calls for crystallized ginger, but didn't have on hand so I used ground ginger). Cook for a couple minutes, then add 1/2 c water and cook on medium. Reduced, stir occasionally until pan is dry. Add 2 T champagne vinegar (used 1 T apple cider instead) and cook a bit longer.

Just salted and peppered chicken thighs and legs (skin on), brushed with olive oil and broiled.

Served with noodles and peas. Would like to try with a wilted green and Israeli couscous.

Moroccan Chicken

Combined two of my recipes that weren't quite right, Moroccan Chicken with Couscous from Martha Stewart and an Israeli Baked Chicken recipe from my Jewish Recipes cookbook. Each recipe has been okay in the past, but not quite as good as I would have liked. This time, the spice combo did the trick. I served it with Israeli couscous, heads above regular couscous which tends to get all over everywhere and is Ben's least favorite to eat (no flava) and least favorite to clean up. Also, quick n easy Israeli-esque chunky salad.

Spice combo:
2 T ground cumin
1 T paprika
1.5 t ground turmeric (this gives the dish a lovely yellowish color)
1/2 t cayenne pepper (my favorite ingredient)
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 t cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste

(no chopped garlic this time but I might throw it in the pot the next time)

Trimmed fat off one pack of chicken thighs and then "shake'n'baked" it 70s style by shaking the chicken and spices together in a plastic bag.

Meanwhile, sauteed onion and carrots in olive oil. Added chicken after a few minutes to brown a tiny bit. Added 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed; 1 can of whole tomatoes, about 2 c of chicken stock. Brought it to a boil then down to low, covered it and cooked for ~40 minutes. In the past I've added zucchini the last 10-15 minutes but didn't have any on hand.

Chicken fell off the bone. It was well-seasoned, with just the right amount of cayenne to give it a little kick. Served it on a Wednesday basketball night. Easy, easy.

Carne Asada for New Years

Happy New Year! Today we had people over for Carne Asada on the barbeque. This marinade is incredibly easy and was a huge hit. We made 8 lbs of it, which ended up being a lot more than we needed for 10 people. We would have been fine with 6 lbs. We grossed up the ingredients below to account for our large volume of meat.

skirt steak 3 lbs
orange 3 sliced in half
onion 1 sliced thin
garlic powder 3 Tbsps
seasoned salt 2 Tbsps
pepper 1 tsp
oregano (dried) 2 Tbsps
vegetable oil 1/2 cup

1. Combine the garlic powder, seasoned salt, pepper, and oregano. Combine thoroughly.
2. In a baking dish spread out a layer of the onions.
3. Place a piece of the meat over the onions.
4. Squeeze 1/2 an orange over the meat.
5. Sprinkle the seasoning to taste over the meat.
6. Repeat the process with the remaining pieces of meat and continue to create a stack of meat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
7. Grill until nicely charred on both sides.

Serve with warm tortillas, diced onions and cilantro, and hot salsa.

Josie in Santa Monica

Tonight we celebrated our 3rd anniversary in style at Josie in Santa Monica. It's a restaurant that we've been wanting to try for a long time. Here was our menu:

Drinks:
Cori had a pureed cactus Margarita, and I had a Gin/Lemon Juice/Sugar/Champagne concoction.

Appetizers;
Bacon-wrapped quail
Crispy pork belly with watermelon/pickled red-onion salad

Entrees:
Cori had a tagine of Moroccan beef short ribs over coos-coos
I had pan roasted grouper on mashed potatoes with heirloom tomatoes.

Dessert:
We shared a lemon sabayon cake stuffed with berries and a glass of dessert zinfindel.

Excellent meal in a beautiful room.