Archive for the ‘Cutting Board’ Category
Corn is one of the most versatile holiday foods ever. I routinely use it in a variety of tasty casseroles and stews. It also makes a perfect side dish to any meal. I don’t use canned corn though; for my family meals I only use fresh corn straight from the cob. You have to be careful though; I use this two step technique to protect my fingers when cutting fresh corn off the cob. Simple but very effective.
1) Hold the ear of corn so that one end rests on a cutting board.
2) Using a sharp knife, cut along the cob across the base of the kernels from the top end to the bottom end.
We’ve always been a steak and potatoes kind of family. When it comes to great recipes, this one is a family favorite. On top of tasting great, it’s pretty easy to make too! Great taste and easy to make…sounds great to me!
Country-Fried Garlic Steak and Potatoes
* 12 cloves garlic
* 1 lb. tiny new potatoes, scrubbed
* 4 6-oz. boneless beef ribeye or beef strip steaks
* 2 Tbsp. olive oil
* 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
* Fresh oregano (optional)
Directions
1. Using the side of large piece of cutlery and good cutting board smash garlic; discard skins. Halve any large potatoes. Place potatoes in microwave-safe bowl. Cover with vented plastic wrap; microcook on 100 percent power (high) 5 minutes. Stir in garlic. Cover; cook 5 minutes more or until tender, stirring once. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Season steak with salt and pepper. Cook steaks, half at a time, 8 minutes for ribeye or 4 minutes for strip (145 degrees F for medium-rare or 160 degrees F for medium), turning once. Keep steaks warm while cooking remaining steaks.
3. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Add potatoes, garlic, and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes or until potatoes are golden and tomatoes begin to wilt, stirring occasionally. Serve potato mixture with steak. Top with fresh oregano. Makes 4 servings.
How’s this for simple. Take a cutting board; chop up the required amount of fresh tomatoes, onion, jalapeno and proceed to season with garlic, red wine vinegar and fresh lime juice . Combine ingredients and refrigerate for 1/2 hour. Now you’re ready to rock and roll. Break out this dip for parties, watching sports with the fellas, or to compliment a delicious Mexican feast. Simple but delicious and versatile.* 4 cups diced tomatoes
* 3/4 cup finely diced red onion
* 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
* 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
* Juice of 3 limes
* 2 tbsp minced garlic
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* 1/2 tsp sea salt
* 1 pinch cayenne pepper
Growing up, I never really cared for pork. Chicken was OK, beef was king, but pork….not so much. I mean, when faced with a choice, who wants to eat inferior, fatty meat right? Luckily my dad was able to change my perspective about pork “it’s the other white meat” he explained, “it’s not unhealthy, if cooked right, and can be downright delicious with the right recipe”. As usual, dad was right. This is such an easy roast using only 6 simple ingredients. It goes terrific with any side dish including but not limited to potatoes, rice and vegetables.
Italian Garlic Roast (Directions): Place roast in a shallow baking dish. Place garlic cloves in a mini food processor with salt and oregano. Stream in olive oil while processing to a paste. Mince or smash garlic on a plastic cutting board with salt to create a course paste. Mix in oregano and then in a bowl, add oil. Spread half of garlic and oil on roast. Pepper as desired. Place 1 inch of water in baking pan. Do not cover. Bake 45 minutes at 325 degrees. Remove roast from oven and turn roast over. Top other side with remaining half of garlic and oil. Add more water to pan up to an inch. Bake an additional 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let roast rest 10 minutes in juices. Remove roast to a cutting board. Slice thin and place slices back into pan juices remaining in baking dish. Serve immediately or reheated.
Ingredients
* 3 lb lean pork or beef roast, fat removed
* 6-8 large cloves garlic, peeled
* 1 teaspoon dry oregano
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* Fresh ground pepper
* Water
Ever hear that saying “you get what you pay for”? Well, in my experience, it’s generally true, and definitely true when it comes to qaulity cutting boards. The expensive cutting boards are end-grain for a reason: because they’re easier on your knives. You cut in between the fibers.
Bamboo cutting boards are laid perpendicular to the grain and it so it’s very hard and durable. If it’s really beautiful, you can always use it for serving cheese or snacks.
Whether you’re an amateur, novice, or even gourmet chef, you almost certainly spend time cutting up meats and veggies. Unfortunately, bacteria is capable of lurking on various types of surfaces used for cutting. But the solution is easy! Follow these steps to keep your cutting mats and boards clean and bacteria-free.
Instructions
1. Wash it! First of all, wash your board after each use with hot, soapy water..doesn’t matter if it’s bamboo, natural wood or plastic, warm, soapy water is the best germ-killing solution there is.
2. Salt it! Salt makes life miserable for most bacteria, specifically nasty germs like Salmonella and E. coli. Sprinkle table or kosher salt onto your cutting mat. With a damp towel, scrub the entire board. Rinse thoroughly and let air-dry.
3. Bleach it! One tablespoon of liquid chlorine bleach mixed into a gallon of water acts as a sanitizer on wooden and synthetic cutting mats. Sanitizers remove microorganisms and reduce the risk of food-borne illness. Allow the solution to stand on the board for a few minutes before rinsing with hot water and blotting dry with a paper towel.
4. Let someone else do the work (i.e. ‘Mr.’ Dishwasher). The elevated water temperature in your dishwasher is capable of killing the bacteria on your synthetic cutting mats. But don’t put your wood boards in the dishwasher. They can warp, split and absorb the odors of the detergent.
My wife and daughter are going through this vegetarian phase which, pretty much makes me a vegetarian too. Surprisingly I’ve had my eyes opened to the many delicious meals that can be made without meat. Actually some of them, like the Grill Fajitas, are so good I don’t even miss the meat.
Grill Fajitas (Directions): Remove husks from corn and soak it in cold water for 1 hour. Parboil an onion. Next drain corn and wrap it in aluminum foil. Grill for 20 to 30 minutes, turning often, until corn is lightly charred. Use a cutting board to cut corn kernels off cob and to cut the onion into quarters. Put lime juice, olive oil, garlic, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, chili powder, and cayenne pepper in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake well. Place tofu in a shallow pan, add lime juice mixture, and marinate in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally, for several hours. Thread onion, bell peppers, and tomatoes onto skewers and brush with lime marinade. Grill, turning often, until lightly charred. Place tofu on grill, cover with a lid or aluminum foil and cook, basting occasionally with marinade until tofu is light brown. Heat each tortilla briefly on grill. Divide vegetables and tofu equally among tortillas, and then roll up fajita style. Serve with guacamole.
Ingredients
* Juice of 2 limes
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (for extra heat, don’t seed pepper before mincing)
* 2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
* 2 tsp chili powder
* 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
* 1 lb extra firm tofu, cut into 1 inch strips
* 2 ears fresh corn
* 1 large red onion
* 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
* 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
* 12 cherry tomatoes
* 4 large flour or corn tortillas
* Guacamole
The break immediately following Thanksgiving prior to shifting into “Christmas mode” (or halftime as I call it), is the “season of leftovers” – a time to polish off all the remnants of the turkey day feast and refuel for the hustle and bustle ahead. With a little creativity you can make leftovers just as yummy as a freshly cooked meal. Look at this roasted turkey breast recipe for an example. You can slice it thin on a cutting board for great sandwiches or serve it as part of a Turkey, Cranberry and Wild Rice Salad.
Roasted Turkey Breast (Ingredients): 1 three lb. bone in turkey breast, 3 sprigs (about 3 Tbsp.) fresh rosemary leaves
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Rinse the whole turkey breast in cold water and pat dry.
3. Starting at the peak of the turkey breast pull back the skin and slide a finger between the skin and the turkey breast on either side of the peak of the breast bone. This will form a small pocket.
4. Insert half of the rosemary into each of the pockets made pushing it as far down as possible and working to distribute the rosemary leaves over the face of the breast meat between the breast meat and the skin.
5. Place the turkey breast in a large roasting pan and place the pan inside the preheated oven and roast for 30 minutes. Turn the roasting pan 180° in the oven once to make sure the turkey roasts evenly. At one hour cover the skin of the breast with aluminum foil. If the skin is not quite crispy, that’s OK.
6. After about 90 - 105 minutes remove the aluminum foil and roast until the internal temperature of the breast meat is 160°F.
7. Remove and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.
Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Parmesan Chicken Thighs Recipe
Parmesan Chicken Thighs (Ingredients):
-1 package boneless skinless chicken thighs (roughly 7 thighs), ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese ,Salt and Pepper to taste, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, Spinach and Mushroom stuffing from previous step
1. Preheat oven to 350°F; Fold open thighs and place between to pieces of plastic wrap (Or, if you like life easy, just spread ‘em all out on one flexible plastic cutting mat and sandwich between another, that way you can do it all at once.).
2. Pound flat using a mallet, rolling pin or an empty wine bottle, stuffing down center of each thigh (where the bone was removed), Wipe pan clean and return to heat, Roll thighs around filling and secure with a toothpick.
3. Salt and pepper liberally, brown chicken on all sides in olive oil over medium heat, Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, place in oven and cook through (about 15 minutes), Remove from skillet and cover with foil to rest for at least 10 minutes.
Filling Ingredients:
-1 8oz package pre-washed spinach (you can use frozen as well as a time-saver), 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced, 5 cloves garlic, sliced, 2 tbsp unsalted butter, Salt and pepper to taste,
Heat skillet over medium high heat - melt butter. Sauté garlic until browned (be careful not to burn it!) Add mushrooms and sauté until caramelized. Add spinach in portions if necessary and cook until completely wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste, remove from heat and set aside.
Creamed Spinach Sauce Ingredients:
-1 8 0z. package spinach, 8 oz. sliced mushrooms, 6 cloves garlic, sliced, 2/3 cup milk or half and half, 2 tbsp unsalted butter, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, Salt and Pepper to taste
Using same skillet that was used for chicken, sauté garlic and mushrooms until desired doneness is achieved. Stir in spinach and wilt thoroughly. Add milk, bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low for 5 minutes -season to taste with salt and pepper.
Uh oh, it’s that time of year again. Listen, I love Christmas as much as the next guy - the lights, the color, the celebration, the sharing, and especially the eating and drinking. Alas, it seems somewhere along the way, we’ve lost sight of the “spirit” of Christmas and replaced it with the “spirit” of commercialism. In keeping with the true meaning of Christmas, I’ve searched for meaningful (i.e. practical) gifts that don’t “break the bank”. After a little inquiry, I believe I’ve found the perfect gift; a bamboo cutting board!
Why bamboo? Basically because it’s durable and looks great in the kitchen - a winning combo that will make any cook happy! It is also a renewable resource, making it a great choice for the environmentally conscious. Bamboo cutting boards are also resistant to moisture damage. With a little maintenance and cleaning, this board will look fantastic for years.