What's cookin' this weekend?

[Natasha]

I am looking forward to reclaiming my kitchen this weekend (not that my SO isn't a great cook, but I enjoy the cooking and baking process and have missed it)! :D

I didn't make anything I'd considered making last week, but fickle chick that I am, I've decided on a bunch of other things to make this weekend - based on what we feel like eating, and on what I feel like making! I'm planning to make lasagna; the flank steak with cilantro-almond pesto from the May issue; and most definitely some kind of dessert. Don't know what else - salads, etc., most likely. I have missed baking, and am thinking cheesecake, though squares might be another option (or maybe BOTH - what the heck).

What's on board for you?

Natasha

[SandyM]

Hi again, Natasha!!

Tonight we're having 6 guests over for dinner (I'm not even panicking......yet.......;) ) - we're having CL's Horseradish & Garlic Encrusted Beef Tenderloin, Parmesan Smashed Redskin Potatoes (a WW recipe), Jewel's Garlicky Green Beans (I would normally serve plain old steamed veggies for this heavily-garlicked meal, but the beans, which are a favorite of mine, were a special request from my SIL).

Tomorrow DH wants to have the Lumberjack Hash for breakfast; we'll have some toasted Great Harvest 10-Grain Bread with that. Dinner is either pizza, or grilled veggies with pasta, or chicken fajita salad. Sunday I'm making linguini in clam sauce (thanks Gail and Wendy ;) ) - not quite sure what DH is eating on Sunday!!!

Have a great weekend, everyone.

[Natasha]

Sandy,

Sounds great! And hey - all the more linguini for you if your husband doesn't want any! :p

Enjoy your dinner tonight, and try to remain stressfree. The food will be delicious, and the conversation lively. Not to worry. :)

Natasha

[Gail]

Well, I was going to also do the same beef tenderloin Sandy is doing (it was soooo good when we had it at taste-testing in Birmingham last year, I've been meaning to make it myself) but I've got crawfish to use. So, though I'd wanted to do either the crawfish enchiladas or jambalaya, looks like I may be going with old reliable crawfish etouffée tonight instead and saving the tenderloin till Sunday. (sigh.)

Notice you are making flank steak. I thought you don't eat red meat... (Now look who's playing Nosey Girl... :p )

[Natasha]

Hey fellow Drinking Buddy AND fellow Nosy Girl...

I had forgotten completely about that beef tenderloin we had at Birmingham. Don't even remember when it was from. Let me know how it turns out, though, if you don't mind.

And yes, you're right; for many years I ate no red meat. I now eat it occasionally. Once in a while my body seems to crave it, and it seems to give me an instant energy boost, which is most welcome especially when I'm exercising hard.

Speaking of red meat, I'd been toying with making the churrasco recently, but that cilantro-almond pesto intrigued me, so I'll likely make the flank steak this weekend and the churrasco soon.

[AndreaM]

Hi Gail -

Do you happen to have a recipe for the Crawfish etouffee? I LOVE that dish, and am always ordering it at a restaurant near here. I don't have a recipe for it though, and I would love to make it sometime.

Andrea

[Peggy C.]

Where is that darn crying smiley? That's an oxymoron isn't it? Ah Friday afternoons.

Anyways, I have way to much going on, bachelorette party tonight, baby shower tomorrow and Supper club (ok that's cooking, but it's not like I can go crazy...well maybe a little) Sunday.

[Gail]

As it so happens, I've posted it here before, so it was easy to get:

CRAWFISH ÉTOUFFÉE

Author's note: This is probably my favorite Cajun dish. It is impossible in many areas to find crawfish meat, but you can substitute langostinos, the tiny crustaceans from Chile, if crawfish is not available. You can usually find them in the frozen seafood section of your supermarket. If not, you can also make a wonderful shrimp étouffée by using shrimp instead of crawfish.

1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup green onions with tops, finely chopped
4 tablespoons chopped shallots
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1 stick butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup Rotel tomatoes**
Salt to taste (if you use prepackaged crawfish tails as I do, you may not need any)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 pounds crawfish meat, langostinos, or shrimp
Cornstarch for thickening

In a heavy Dutch oven, sauté the onion, celery, green onions, shallots and garlic in the butter. Cook until these vegetables are soft but not brown. Stir in the flour and cook until light brown, stirring constantly. (Be patient and don't be tempted to crank up your burner too high. Proper browning takes a while.) Gradually add the chicken stock, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the salt, pepper, cayenne, and Worcestershire to taste. This should be spicy. If the crawfish meat has been frozen, it should be rinsed lightly and drained because it is often too salty. Add crawfish to étouffée mixture and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes. Serve over rice.

Serves 6-8

**Rotel is a brand name of spicy hot tomatoes with jalapeño peppers-- if you cannot find these try some hot Mexican salsas with jalapeños; just do this to taste. I (author and Gail both) use the whole can of Rotel--for some it may be too hot, for others it may be perfect. (Gail note: for a group of people whose tolerances you don't know, better to stick with the recipe as printed-- it's only mildly spicy that way.)

(From: Louisiana Creole and Cajun)

[ebobbitt]

It's supposed to be a rainy Saturday so I'd like to get some baking in. I'll wrap everything up and bring it to the office on Monday. The masses here will eat anything! I'm thinking about doing the Margarita Cheesecake and a couple of kinds of brownies. As far as real food, the only thing on the menu so far is the Baked Shrimp in Chipotle Sauce for Sunday night.

[Jennett]

:D

Tonight is a pizza and salad party with a big bunch of people. Most in this group aren't big into cooking, so we may get lots of bagged caesar salads and pre-baked crusts, but will be fun all the same. I'm improvising mine, with Caramelized onions, red and yellow bell peppers "melted" with balsamic vinegar", chevre and mozzarella cheeses, and fresh basil, and bringing a mesclun salad with raspberries, gorgonzola, and balsamic-fig vinagrette.

Tomorrow I'm going to another cooking party, this time with hard core foodies. We're doing tapas and meze. I'm doing Duck Breast with Blackberry Sauce, Scallops with Saffron, Leeks, and Cream and a vegetable. Undecided yet, but I'm thinking about the Giardineria (no doubt butchered that spelling) from the 5/02 CL.

Sunday, I'm making Spice Roasted Salmon, with the Curried Barley from the 5/02 CL, except that I'm subbing bhutanese red rice for the barley. Serving Sauteed Spinach with Garlic as the vegetable. I may make the Individual Chocolate Souffles for DB and me too. (Plus, DB probably isn't going to touch the red rice:rolleyes: )

I haven't done anything too involved in the kitchen recently, so I'm looking forward to this. But by Monday, I may be anticipating something simpler.

[AndreaM]

Thanks so much for the recipe Gail. I can't wait to try it!!

[beckms]

I'm having a huge crowd over tonight for an Italian feast...I'll post reviews tomorrow. Some menu items: Manicotti, Ziti, Spinach Lasagna, Caesar Salad, Margarita Cheesecake, Triple Chocolate Cheesecake, Eating Well's DAWTH Cake, Key Lime Pie...

stay tuned!

[Linda in MO]

Tonight I'm making the Sichuan-Style Stir-Fried Chicken with Peanuts from last year, but using less chicken and green onions and using red bell pepper, asparagus, and mushrooms instead of the water chesnuts. I'll probably serve it with frozen egg rolls.

Tomorrow night we are having company for a casual BBQ. I'm grilling b/s chicken that I'll marinate in Caesar dressing (probably). We're also having roasted red potatoes and onions, maybe broccoli and/or the Strawberry Spinach Salad posted by RD chef the other day. My guests are bringing homemade Potato Cheese Bread (mmm!) and I think I'm making the Butterscotch Pecan Apple Crisp posted by tracey67 and serving it with Breyer's vanilla bean ice cream.

Sunday, who knows?! I'll probably throw something on the grill and maybe make the Spinach Rice and Feta Pie, so I can have the leftovers for my lunches a couple of days.

[KathrynY]

Tonight it's take-out sushi to celebrate the end of a very long and exhausting week! ;)

Tomorrow night we're having friends over for homemade pizza, so for starters I'm preparing a bruschetta appetizer with tomatoes & artichoke hearts, and a salad of some type (leaning toward fresh tomato & mozzarella but I'm also thinking we need some greens in the meal somewhere). For the pizzas we're grilling a Tomato Pizza with Garlic and Smoked Gouda (CL) and baking a pizza with artichoke & ricotta base, tomatoes, peppers & turkey bacon. Oh, yes, and a tasty Sangiovese :). Our guests are bringing dessert.

Sunday I do my grocery shopping and menu planning, so it's up in the air. We usually do fish on Sundays, though - probably something simple and grilled this week.

Linda, thanks for the reminder about the Butterscotch Pecan Apple Crisp - I have got to get around to making that!

[Kahlico]

I just cleaned up after a huge fajita mess but it was worth it!

Tonight we had (as I mentioned) buffalo fajitas with homemade wholewheat tortillas (so they were freshly made as the toppings cooked) -- WOW! that hit that craving I was having.

Tomorrow I'll whip up (I hope it's easy to whip up) some asparagus soup.

Sunday is the start of my work week so it's leftovers and sandwiches

:)

[islandgirl]

This is Daffodil weekend on Nantucket, an annual event that celebrates the coming of spring to our island. It looked like the daffs would be covered with snow up until a couple of days ago, but I think the sun's going to shine today, and the tailgate will go on! I'm planning on making a taco chicken salad, the fiery chipotle beans and guacamole and chips. Since we have guests, we'll probably grill something tonight, and tomorrow night I'm planning on making chicken, ziti and broccoli. Think spring!

[wallycat]

Friday I made cornbread crusted salmon, the wild-mushroom sweet potato gratin (see other post regarding dry mushroom question :o ) with a broccoli side (and chocolate ice-cream for dessert :D )

Sat. leftovers of friday's meal or Indian cauliflower dish I made thursday

sunday: Roasted organic chicken, carrots, broccoli...and anything else that is leftover from frid/sat ;)

[Mamasue]

This afternoon I am making SandyM's Oven Baked Beef Stew. It is a little on the cool side today and we are busy working in the basement, so this is the perfect dinner for this evening. Sandy's recipe is awesome and one that I can prepare, throw in the oven and forget about it for a couple of hours. Yummmm :)

Natasha....just wanted to say Congrats on your book writing. Is your writings something that we can purchase to read? I would love to and then I can say...."Hey, I know her!" :D

[Wendy w]

I'm not doing a bit of cooking.:( Today, I am taking a friend of mine to an outdoor concert with a bunch of bands (Cheryl Crow, Goo Goo Dolls, etc.)and we are expecting rain and I no longer feel like going as I had visualized a warm sunny day like we had 2 days ago.:confused: So, its break out the rain gear when I am envying all of you. This is a perfect baking day.

Tomorrow, I am going to a pet show which is an annual event that I haven't been to in a long time. Thank God, most of it is indoors. I do have 2 artichokes in the fridge that I will probably make Italian Style (garlic, romano, and bread crumbs)and throw in the pressure cooker tomorrow night.

Next week will probably involve using up things in the fridge and freezer because I'm hosting my dinner club on Ocho de Mayo and I need the space. It is also the end of the month and I get paid on the 1st and like to have a cleaned out fridge to start the month.

Have a great weekend! I will be thinking of you in your warm, cozy kitchens while I am "rocking out" in the rain.:rolleyes:

[Peggy]

I received my May issue yesterday so I ditched my original menu for last night and switched to recipes in the new issue. Today is a BIG cooking day for me. We just celebrated our business' fifth year of being open. Tonight we have invited our two remaining original employees and their wives to dinner...kind of an appreciation dinner for five faithful years of service. I want it to be very special so I'm pulling out the china, crystal and silver. Going to be very busy!! Here are my menus:

Friday -
Cumin-Dusted Salmon Fillets (May '02)
Curried Barley with Raisins and Almonds (May '02)
Steamed Artichokes

Saturday Employee Appreciation Dinner
Savory Stuffed Mushrooms (April '02)
Endive Stuffed wth Goat Cheese and Walnuts (Sept '01)
Spinach-Strawberry Salad (Complete CL)
Bread, of some kind (?)
Roast Prime Rib with Cabernet-Vegetable Jus (Wine Lovers Cookbook)
Potatoes Anna (April '01)
Green Beans with Bacon-Balsamic Vinaigrette (Complete CL)
Strawberry-Blueberry Compote in Red Wine Sauce (May '02) served over Vanilla Ice Cream


Sunday - Sleeping in and Eating out!!! :p

Have a great weekend!

Peggy

[Linda in MO]

Oh Peggy! Your appreciation meal sounds wonderful! How nice of you to do this!

[Wendy w]

Wow Peggy, what a wonderful menu and congratulations on your 5 years. Your employees are very lucky!

[Sami]

Well last night I made the Broccoli/Rice/Cheesecassarole for the 2nd time. Got it from this BB. I love the creaminess of the Arborio rice.

Then I made the Sweet Potato Mushroomcasserole that everyone has raved over. I could only find regular mushrooms, and I didn't love the dish, but my guests did. So I guess it is just my dislike for mushrooms.

Roasted asparaguswith olive oil and salt,
Salad and The infamous Lemonade Cakefor dessert. I had no trouble taking the cake out of the 9" round pans. Everyone loved it. I made a mistake in keeping the cake in for 30 minutes, and it seemed to be good, but next time i will try to take it out at 25 minutes.

Tonight it is Pork Tenderloinmarinated in soy, oil etc which I will broil with oven potatoes, steamed broccoli and left over cake.

Sami

[pilgrim719]

Since the weather turned colder again this week in Mass, we started craving our comfort foods again. In our house that means Mexican and Italian! So last night my DF made his excellent Chicken Mole and a side of black beans and rice. Tonight we'll probably have leftovers of some kind, and tomorrow I'm thinking of making my mother's lasagna (complete with her homemade sauce recipe...YUM!). It's never quite as good as when she makes it herself, but I doubt I could talk her into driving out here from NY just to cook us dinner! :p

Kari

[Gail]

Hey Nosey Girl,

Though I haven't made the tenderloin yet (hopefully tomorrow night) if you need raves, talk to Sandy. It's like the churrasco, I think... We rave about them repeatedly, but they still get overlooked and ignored. (When you do get around to doing that churrasco, you BE SURE to look up my old post on the matter. Plus I will give you another chimichurri from Vanessa which I happen to favor.)

[claire797]

I've felt pretty creative this week. Tonight we're having a recipe I made up -- Orange Pistachio Crusted Chicken Breasts served with Couscous.

Tomorrow we're having Charcoal Grilled Chipotle Chicken Breasts with Baked Potatos.

[Little Bit]

Well, to start with, Dad and I were going to have leftover chicken, with some of the broth I made/strained today, rice, veggies and biscuits.
Then my sister and her youngest DD show up at five o'clock, (two hours late for their promised afternoon visit) to help Dad move the computer, etc., and mysteriously, at some point, we were heading out to get steaks to cook on the grill.

Next thing I know, my sister and DD were wandering out the door, headed over to get Krystal burgers and a video to have by themselves at home.

Dad's not hungry now, and doesn't want to eat.

Anybody want some biscuits?

and what's that saying "Men plan, God laughs" ??
*sigh*

[Natasha]

Little Bit,

I do! I do! Please pass the hot biscuits. :)

All the plans everyone has mentioned have served to make me very hungry and to give me yet more ideas of things to look into. I made a cheesecake today, but it was a complete experiment. It turned out nicely, though, with a pronounced lemon-lime flavour.

Tomorrow I hope to make that steak and we might make something for a couple days worth of lunches.

Mamasue,

Sandy s stew sounds wonderful; hope you enjoyed it. And thanks SO much for the congratulations on the book!! I am kind of embarrassed to say that it is not an exciting book, though - it s about law! :o BTW, I am going to PM you shortly so be warned! :D ;)

Natasha

[Darlin]

Sami, Would you mind posting the Broccoli-Rice-Cheese Casserole?? I tried using the search but was unsuccessful. TIA

[Sami]

Darlin, here is the recipe that Andrea submitted.

Broccoli Risotto Torte Serves 6

8 oz. broccoli, cut into very small florets
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 large yellow pepper, chopped
2 T olive oil
4 T butter
1 1/4 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
4 1/2 cups stock or broth (I used vegetable broth)
salt and pepper to taste
4 oz. Parmesan cheese, coarsely grated
4 eggs, separated

1. Blanch broccoli for 3 minutes, drain and reserve
2. In a large pan, saute the onion, garlic and yellow pepper in the oil and butter for 5 min. until soft.
3. Stir in the rice, cook for 1 minute, pour in the the wine. Cook, stirring until the liquid is absorbed.
4. Pour in the broth and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occ.
5. Spray a 10" deep cake pan (I used an oval Corning ware dish) and line the base with wax paper. (I didn't line the pan). Preheat the pan to 350.
6. Stir the cheese into the rice, allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes then beat in the egg yolks. Stir in broccoli.
7. Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks and carefully fold into the rice. Turn the mixture into the prepared pan and bake 1 hour until risen, golden brown and slightly wobbly in the center.
8. Allow torte to cool in the pan.

Note: I did not take the torte out of the pan, but served it from the casserole dish. Although Andrea said it probably is good cold, I tried it and did not like it cold, but loved it hot. Andrea also used 2 cheeses, 1/2 and 1/2. I did not. She used Parmesan and cheddar.

Enjoy.

-------------
Sami

[Gail]

Just to report back as requested, the tenderloin was great. (Also one of the easiest things I've made in a long time.) Since I don't have recipes any older than from 1999, I got it off the Recipe Finder. In case you're interested, I was a good little girl and served it with Gratin Dauphinoise, steamed asparagus, a WONDERFUL zinfandel and chocolate tofu mousse for dessert. A definite yum.