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Wife's birthday in a week [cooking question]
urahonky
Cynical Old ManRegistered User regular
Cynical Old ManRegistered User regular
Hey guys!
So.. My wife's birthday is next Thursday and I've decided that I should cook dinner for her. The thing is: I don't cook often. And when I do, it's something simple.
The reason I've decided this is because she likes when I think outside the box. I like to do stuff for her that I normally don't do, and she seems to enjoy it.
So the reason I'm coming to you is because I have no idea what to cook her. She absolutely loves chicken, so that's a must. I'm also going to try and make dessert. The dessert must NOT have any chocolate in it, as she hates it.
Links are great, or if you've got a home recipe that works too. I am a very amateur cook, so keep that in mind.
So.. My wife's birthday is next Thursday and I've decided that I should cook dinner for her. The thing is: I don't cook often. And when I do, it's something simple.
The reason I've decided this is because she likes when I think outside the box. I like to do stuff for her that I normally don't do, and she seems to enjoy it.
So the reason I'm coming to you is because I have no idea what to cook her. She absolutely loves chicken, so that's a must. I'm also going to try and make dessert. The dessert must NOT have any chocolate in it, as she hates it.
Links are great, or if you've got a home recipe that works too. I am a very amateur cook, so keep that in mind.
urahonky on
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Example: She likes chicken cordon bleu, you could make a stuffed chicken breast yourself with some favourite vegetables, cheese and a salty meat. (a favourite of mine is asparagus, smoked gruyere and prosciutto... it sounds fancy and hard to make but it really isn't)
As to deserts, that's probably the harder part of making a dinner, especially if she doesn't like chocolate. I am drawing a complete blank on how to approach desert at the moment but I'll get back to it...
Your example sounds amazing.
Recipie.
You will not be disappointed.
Get some frozen chopped spinach, thaw it out. About half a package of this size will do, roughly a cup of spinach. Grab some baby portobello mushrooms and cut them into slices vertically. It will take maybe 6 mushrooms or so at most.
Throw these in a pan on a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Saute them til the mushrooms are tender and the spinach is nice and hot all the way through. Kill the heat, add some feta cheese and stir together. Half a cup of cheese, give or take, should be sufficient, but just add enough to make sure the mixture is moderately cheese. Leave the heat off, the residual heat held by the spinach will melt the cheese just the right amount.
Take your chicken breasts and trim the fat off them. Using a longer, slim, sharp knife, cut into the breast from the side, and make as large of a pocket within the breast as you can without cutting more than a 3-4" slice open along one side. You may want to have more chicken breasts on hand than you really intend to eat, just in case you mess one up a bit.
Grab a spoon and start cramming your spinach/mushroom/feta mixture into the pocket you've created. Load the breasts up to critical mass. Once they can't hold anymore, start pulling out the rashers of bacon and mummifying the breast with them. It should take about 3 strips per breast, give or take, depending on your bacon. You're looking for a final effect like this. Season it up as you like, basil, oregano, fresh ground pepper would all go fine on top of it. Get an oven safe pan just large enough to hold the breasts, preferably lined with parchment paper, and put them in the oven, uncovered at 350 F for about 30 minutes, until the bacon is nice and golden brown.
This will go well with any sort of cream sauce like alfredo on top of it, or a white cheese sauce (you can buy both in jars and simply heat) or will stand alone admirably. Salad or potatoes accompany very well.
http://fxcuisine.com/Default.asp?language=2&Display=10&resolution=high
EDIT
You do NOT need a Tandoori to make this.
Yep, we make it sans mushrooms for the one of our kids who doesn't care for them. Red bell pepper will replace the mushrooms really well and not get lost in the spinach the way green ones would. Just dice it fairly small.
Its really surprisingly easy to make, and if you cut the chicken open before hand, the whole thing goes together quickly and is practically foolproof. I like it because it looks really fancy once it's plated, but it's really not a huge effort to make. Most of the cooking time is just watching the veggies sautee and then letting it bake.
e: Thanks Erandus. Whatever I choose to make next week will probably made along with whatever else is suggested throughout this thread in the following weeks.
I've taken this in a Vietnamese-ish direction, making my marinade with minced garlic, shallots, lemongrass, and ginger, a little fish sauce, chili garlic sauce and lime juice, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, and oil. We had it with rice and steamed broccoli and it was really good. I can't find the recipe for the life of me, but it's not rocket science- just a little bit of each ingredient and enough oil to get it to a marinadish consistency. 3-4 cloves garlic, 1 small shallot, about 1/2 inch off the ginger root. If you freeze the ginger root, you can grate it pretty easily. Beat the lemongrass stalks with a can or something, peel them, and use the softer white part in the middle.
The basic/traditional version would use something like minced garlic, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, chopped rosemary, sage, thyme (you can probably get a pack of fresh herbs in the supermarket for poultry and just chop them all up). You could throw some cut potatoes in the pan with the chicken, tossed with the same marinade or something very similar- a variety that's naturally buttery like yukon gold would be good. Pick something seasonal for the vegetable. A salad with tomatoes and cucumber would be great if you can get them a farm stand or market- they'll be so fresh all they'll really need in the way of dressing is a little oil and red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and some chopped fresh parsley.
Or if you have a grill use that, grill some fresh corn on the cob with it, and make a salad. Can't go wrong with that.
Edit- shit, dessert! Try to go with something that doesn't require much preparation just before serving, because that's when you'll be eating. Peach blueberry crisp. No chocolate, the fruits are in season, and you can mix it up ahead of time and put it in the oven just as you're sitting down to eat- it'll be done in about 30 minutes. Vanilla ice cream on top. You can find recipes online. Most of them use a food processor for the topping, but it's hardly worth it for this one thing. You can use a bowl and 2 butter knives. Knife in each hand, crossed and in the topping, and you pull them apart, right beside each other. Repeat a few dozen times. Most of them will also recommend mixing too much stuff in with the fruit- I just do a little flour and a little sugar, especially if the fruit is ripe. I just realized, I've got everything I need for this at home, I'm going to make one of these tonight. Fuck yeah, it's going to be great.
As mentioned in the article, most people use food coloring to make the marinade that pretty red color. Something to do with perception.
Also, do you like hummus? It's super easy to make.
Put in a quarter cup of tahini in a blender with a quarter cup of lemon juice and a wee bit of chick pea juice from the can. Blend until it gets super frothy and creamy. Add in some parsley, garlic, and blend a bit more. Add about a third of a can of chick peas, blend until smooth, and then start adding the rest along with salt and pepper and while it's blending drizzle in about a third cup of extra virgin olive oil.
It should be like a mayonnaise, but heavier.
And it should also be delicious. Serve with warmed pita.
So it could be that it's almost lunch time, but that sounds fantastic. I'ma gonna try that this weekend.
For dessert, strawberry shortcake.
My folks make them, with Grands buttermilk biscuits, just flatten em out, and then sprinkle some coarse sugar and bake.
Strawberries, and Ice/Cream (cool whip if that's your thing.)
Easy, and no chocolate, and can be made mostly ahead of time, so you can concentrate on the food.
It just takes doing it. The more you cook, the more it'll just come naturally to you. The best part is: 90% of food that's effing amazing is really simple to make.
When learning how to cook meat, try just pushing the thickest part with your fingertip. You'll eventually be able to tell it's done just by feeling the resistance (this is useful because cutting meat before it's ready can cause it to lose flavor).
Ideally, you want to let meat "rest" before you cut it, so that the proteins will re-absorb the natural juices, rather than having them spill out all over your cutting board. That spill is flavor going bye-bye.
Everyone should learn how to cook great food. It's often less expensive, and definitely healthier.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Meat Temperature Chart
Edit: Pork can actually be cooked Medium now without as much fear of worms and such.
Jordan of Elienor, Human Shaman
Edit: It's especially true with seafood. You want to "stop" cooking things like shrimp and scallops a little bit before they're fully done or you'll end up with shoe leather.
Edit: beat, twice! =(
but for reference:
Chicken - 160F
Beef - Rare 125-130F, MRare 130-140F, Medium 140-150F, Overdone 150F+
Pork - 160F
Pulling meats off early and "tenting" with aluminum foil makes sure the outside of the meat stays warm, the meat rests, and the inside finishes up cooking the last 5-10F.
Now to go make some roast chicken!
Jordan of Elienor, Human Shaman
It can be a little weird to make and if you don't wear gloves while handling a lot of the curry and cumin and such you'll have slightly yellow fingernails for a day or two. One thing I found, when it's time to cook the marinated chicken, if you have a George Foreman grill or an equivalent that you can just lay out the cut pieces on that and it gets done quite nicely.
PS: If you don't have the spices already try finding a local specialty store rather than going to Wal-Mart or a normal grocery store. Most decent sized cities have at least one Indian grocery store, and the curry etc. is far cheaper there. Plus they might also have fresh nan bread, which is of course great with Chicken Tikka.
Not to hijack the thread, but I've heard this too and I fully believe in it, and I do it myself, but do you have any sources for pork being able to be cooked to medium and not posing any hazards? Because my friends always yell at me for making pork medium and I tell them that it's fine, but they don't believe me.
The hardest part about cooking (and one of the most important) I've found is getting everything done at the same time so it's all hot when it goes on the table. I don't really have any advice for this, just a heads up.
If you go with shortcake or some other desert that takes whip cream, get whipping cream and whip it yourself. It's much better than the stuff from the can, and I won't even compare it to cool whip, which I cannot honestly classify as a food. You can whip it ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge for a few hours. You can also get fancy and add things like cream cheese, flavored liquors, or vanilla. Do it in a metal bowl with a metal whisk, and put both of them in the freezer for 20 min before you do it- the cold makes it much easier to whip, and it should only take a few vigorous minutes.
I'll restate what I said on the last page too about fresh fruits/vegetables. Using really good ingredients in simple recipes makes cooking easy. I'd recommend checking out your local farmers market this weekend if you're cooking this week.
Nothing off-hand, but it's actually been fine to cook pork less-than-well for years. The trichinosis scare is almost to the level of Old Wives' Tale at this point from what I understand. Not saying I would eat Pork Tartar or anything.
Here's the relevant USDA code, look at the table on heating. Also, this site's FAQ says that only 0.013% of US pigs are infected with trichinae -- they've basically eliminated it.
2-4 of the biggest chicken breasts you can find.
1 bag of baby spinach.
2-3 cloves of garlic (if I'm in a pinch I'll just use garlic salt)
1 package of feta cheese (typically about 8 oz.)
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar.
What I do is saute up the spinach and garlic in olive oil until the spinach is nice and soft. Butterfly the chicken breasts (just cut from the side inwards so you can stuff stuff inside.) Stuff in however much spinach and feta cheese you want. wrap the breast back up and secure with a toothpick. Bake in the oven at 350F for 30 minutes.
In the meantime take the half cup of balsamic and throw it in your saute pan. Turn to high heat and continue to stir until it becomes the thickness of your choice. I prefer not too thick. When the chicken is done, pour this over it, and presto delicioso.