Grilled Chicken with Pico de Gallo

27 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Chicken, Mexican Food, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, What's For Dinner?

Here is another fantastic, and easy to make, dinner. This deserves a Yum-O!

Fresh Steamed Broccoli

Grilled Marinated Chicken
with
Fresh Made Pico de Gallo

Fresh Spinach
Yellow Tomato
Yellow Beet
Salad
2007 Le Chateau de Robin Merlot

Here is the recipe for the marinade –
1/3 c Olive Oil
2 t Cumin
1 T Mexican Oregano
Juice of 1 small Lemon
Juice of 2 Mexican Limes
Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper to taste
Mix all together in a bowl. Taste and adjust ingredients as necessary. Place 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts in a zip lock bag. Pour the marinade over the chicken. Let marinate for about 1 hour. Grill over meium high grill until firm, but not black. Serve with a good helping of the Pico de Gallo. Enjoy! We did.

Lamb Dinner

27 Sunday May 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Lamb, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, What's For Dinner?

≈ Leave a comment

A super good dinner tonight!

Saffron Rice and Pearled Barley

Tagine Lamb Shanks

Vegetable Medley

Dockside Peanut Butter Pie

Really a good and delicious dinner. And all in one pot. Easy to make and clean up. After Two and a Half hours at 350 degrees F, the lamb just falls apart. We generously rubbed the shanks with Ras El Hanout Spice Mix, a Moroccan style spice blend. And one half cup of wine for steam. Enjoy! Tagine is a very Mediterranean type of cooking. The meal is cooked slowly over medium heat and sealed in the tagine.

Here is the vegetable medley layered in the bottom of the tagine with the lamb placed on top of the vegetables. Notice some of the Ras El Hanout on the shanks.

The lamb shanks, or you can use pork or beef shanks, too, placed on the vegetables in the tagine. Notice the top of the tagine. It is cone shaped to allow the steam to swirl around the shanks. The steam port is visible on the top left of the top.

Dockside’s Peanut Butter Pie

23 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Dessert, Party Time, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Things To Do

≈ Leave a comment

This is an awesome peanut butter pie and so very easy to make. No cooking. Just mix it together, place in the freezer and wait – if you can – until it sets up. This is the original recipe from the Dockside Yacht Club in South Chesapeake City, Maryland. You can either go full screen and save the graphic below, or see the recipe by Clicking Here. There is also a copy in the Master Recipe List on this blog. (See above) The graphics displayed here are the original copies of the recipe handed out by the Dockside Yacht Club. I don’t know if you can still get them. The recipe as scanned here is at least 30 years old. I scanned these from the original. Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon Steamed Talapia

19 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Talapia, What's For Dinner?

≈ Leave a comment

I know, some of you do not like talapia, a very mild white fish. Replace it with sole or halibut. As for the sauce.Think of it like a beurre blanc (white butter) but without the butter.

Before I get to the recipe. look at the dinner plated.

Meyer Lemon Steamed Talapia

Meyer Lemon Steamed Talapia In Marsala Sauce

Lemon Steamed Rice with Green Onion and Spinach

Winter Vegetable Medley
asparagus, Brussels sprouts, shallots

Lets start with the Meyer Lemon Steamed Talapia.
Ingredients: For the talapia
2 – 5 oz Talapia fillets or sole or halibut
4 T Vegetable oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 c Sauvignon Blanc
Juice of 1 Meyer lemon, reserving the peel
1 c Brown Basamati Rice
1/2 Meyers Lemon cut into pieces
2 c Spinach, chopped
2 Spring onions, diced

Ingredients: For the sauce
1/4 c Marsala
3 t Corn Starch
1/2 c Hot water

Directions:
Place the oil, salt and pepper and lemon juice along with the lemon peel that has been cut into pieces, in a saute pan. Bring to a low simmer. Add the fish fillets and the wine. Cover and steam until the fish flakes. You may have to turn the fish once.

Directions: for the sauce
Remove the fish from the liquid. Mix the sauce ingredients together until the corn starch is dissolved. Lower the heat to medium, if not already there. Add to the pan liquid and stir continually until thickened. Spoon about 2 T of the sauce over the fish.

Steam all of the vegetables together and add to the plate when done. Steam the rice along with the spinach, onion and the lemon until the rice is soft. Add to the plate.

This is really a yummy dinner and served with a Sauvignon Blanc – we had a 2011 Indian Creek Sauvignon Blanc that was awesome! It is also what we used in the sauce and to steam the fish. Enjoy!

Boneless Gremolata Leg of Lamb for Easter

07 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Classics, Cooking Styles, Easter Dinner, Holiday Menu, Lamb, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

≈ Leave a comment

Easter is tomorrow. We are having 7 people in for dinner. A lamb dinner. The menu will be

Boneless Gremolata Leg of Lamb
Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
Minted Carrots
Asparagus Mousse
Fresh Baked Challah
1977 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill Cabernet Sauvignon
1988 Dolcetto D’Alba Cascina Bordino

The top photo is of prepping the lamb. The Gremolata is on the lamb along with the spinach. This photo is of the lamb rolled, tied and in the pan for roasting. I am letting it sit for 24 hours to absorb all of the wonderful gremolata flavors. The recipe is below. Cheers!

Basic Boneless Gremolata Roasted Leg of Lamb

Total: 1 hr 25 mins
Makes: 6 servings
Adapted From: Chow (dot) com

Note: Gremolata, a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest, offers heat and fresh herb and citrus flavors to assertive leg of lamb. The best part of this recipe is that putting it all together for a dinner party or weeknight meal is a snap. Serve the lamb with a carrot mash or roasted potatoes.

Ingredients:
2 Lemons
Juice of ½ Lemon
5 Garlic cloves, minced
1 med Shallot diced
1½ T Rosemary, fresh and chopped
⅓ c finely chopped fresh Italian Parsley
2 T Olive Oil, plus more for coating the meat
Kosher salt
2 c baby Spinach
Freshly ground Black Pepper
1 (4-5 pound) boneless Leg of Lamb, netting removed
Butcher’s twine

Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

2. Finely grate the zest from the lemons. (If you’re using a vegetable peeler, finely chop the peeled zest.) Place the lemon zest, garlic, parsley, shallot, rosemary and measured oil in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. Stir until an evenly combined paste forms; set aside.

3. Unroll the lamb, lay it flat on a cutting board, and remove any large pieces of gristle, sinew, or fat. Season the top surface of the lamb generously with salt and pepper, then, using your hands, spread the lemon-garlic-parsley paste over the seasoned meat. Place 1 layer of spinach over the lemon-garlic-parsley mixture. Roll the lamb back up and tie it in several places, about 1 to 2 inches apart, with butcher’s twine. Rub some olive oil, salt, and pepper all over the outside of the lamb and place it in a shallow baking dish.

4. Roast in the oven until the internal temperature reads 135°F to 140°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour. Transfer the lamb to a cutting board and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the twine, carve, and serve.

Great Party! Look What We Had!

06 Monday Feb 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Chicken, Food, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, What's For Dinner?

≈ Leave a comment

The Super Bowl Party was loads of fun and some great food! Thanks to Bob and Gail Parker who opened their home to us. Bob, Gail and Robin are pictured here. Loads of snacks, carrots, celery,special dip and beer – several types! Here is a link for our Chicken Hot Wings that we made. They were good!

Gail always does such a great job at setting the table. Here is her place setting.

Chicken wings (drumlets) getting ready for the oven. They’ve already been steamed.

The Pork Soup that Gail made. I hope she sends the recipe.

The Spicy Drumlets
4T Unsalted Butter
¼t Garlic Granules or 1 med garlic clove minced
¼c Hatch Red Enchilada Sauce, Mild
½t Kosher Salt

While the chicken is roasting, melt the butter in a saucepan. Do Not Brown The Butter! Place the garlic in the melted and cook until soft. Add the enchilada sauce and heat through. Taste for salt. Add if necessary. When the drumlets are cooked, toss with the sauce and serve hot.

The BBQ Drumlets
2c Chefs Review BBQ Sauce, Salsa de Barbacoa
4oz Tomato Paste
¼c Honey
¼c Jack Daniels Bourbon

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Stir to mix. Taste and adjust as necessary. The sauce should be slightly sweet, yet tangy. Microwave until bubbly, about 1 minute on high. Toss with wings and serve hot.

Have plenty of napkins and beer ready for these drumlets! The sauce, but I think particularly the BBQ sauce, would be great on pork ribs! Either the drumlets or ribs would be great for any tailgate party.

Fresh Ham

15 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Ham, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, What's For Dinner?

≈ 1 Comment

Right now, the house is filled with the smell of citrus and clove. The fresh ham, pictured here about to go into the oven, looks so delicious! The recipe for the ham, can be found by Clicking Here. It takes some time, but is well worth it. The original thought was to make enough so we can slice some down for sandwiches and I think we will have plenty. (Our Grandson Chris and his Girlfriend Madison gave us a meat slicer for Christmas.) This fresh ham (pork shoulder) was $1.35 per pound and it is boneless. It is so lean and not much fat at all. Enjoy!

The Fresh Ham came out of the oven and rested 15 minutes. Here it is sliced. (I made that platter!)

Fresh Ham with Rich Ham Gravy
Baked Sweet Potato
Green Salad

Pennsylvania Dutch New Years Day Pork and Sauerkraut Dinner

31 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Pennsylvania Dutch, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, What's For Dinner?

≈ 1 Comment

There is a custom among the Pennsylvania Dutch that one should eat “Schweinefleisch und Sauerkraut” on New Year’s Day.

“A traditional Pennsylvania Dutch pork and sauerkraut dinner that you can prepare at home – a restaurant quality meal conceived by Jon Lindsay – executive chef at Jerome Bettis’ Grill 36 in Pittsburgh using Snowfloss sauerkraut. (Actually, we make our own!) Eating sauerkraut on New Year’s is an old Pennsylvania Dutch tradition. It’s said to bring good luck. The traditional meal consists of pork and sauerkraut served together, with the sauerkraut representing luck and the pig representing rooting into the New Year.”

Here is the link to a very traditional Pennsylvania Dutch New Year’s Pork and Sauerkraut Dinner. Hope you enjoy this. Cheers!

Two Recipes for the Holiday Season

05 Monday Dec 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Dessert, Holiday Menu, Recipe By: Robin Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Recipes, Relish, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

≈ 1 Comment

Here are two – now three, I added another – recipes that I think you will like. And just in time for the holiday season. The first one is Banana Cream Pie that is awesome. Rich banana flavor in a light and smooth banana cream custard.

The second one is a Spinach Bacon Onion Dip. Full of bacon. Great combination of the onion/spinach and bacon. Topped off with a lightly browned cheese. This will go fast! Enjoy!

And for turkey or chicken? Try this Robin’s Cranberry Orange Relish. It is a good alternative to the stand-by canned cranberry jelly. Tart, yet sweet.

Tagine of Duck

21 Monday Nov 2011

Posted by Bob and Robin in Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Tagine of Duck, What's For Dinner?

≈ Leave a comment

We do like duck. No! We really like duck! And when you combine it with a Mediterranean style recipe and cooking process, you end up with absolute estacy. If you have a little time and can get a tagine cooker – they are comparatively inexpensive and come in different sizes. Ours is large enough for four servings and cost in the neighborhood of $25.00 online.

Here is our recipe for our meal tonight. Serve with a minted green tea and you’re in for a treat. Pictured here from left to right – Bok Choy Salad with Mandarine Orange and Avacado, Couscous and Duck. Enjoy the recipe.

Tagine of Duck

Serves: 4

Note: Tagine refers to the type of dish used to cook this type of meal it is a round earthenware dish with a conical lid that is placed on top of an open flame and allowed to cook long and slow. Using an ovenproof dish with a lid will yield the same results.

Ingredients:
4 Duck Legs and Thighs, separated
4 med Garlic cloves
1 lg Onion, diced
2 lg Carrots, diced
1 T Ras el Hanout
½ c Pitted Black Olives
1 slice of preserved Lemon
2 t Pistachio nuts
1 Pomegranate – seeds
1 Bay Leaf
8 dried Apricots, sliced
2 cups Duck stock
Fresh Coriander Leaves to garnish

Directions:
Heat a fry pan and season the duck legs with a little salt and pepper.
Place skin side down in the fry pan and allow to brown turn over and cook for one minute.
Remove from the pan and place into the tagine or oven dish.

Pour off excess duck fat, put the pan back onto the heat and add the garlic and onions to the pan and allow to cook for 1 – 2 minutes. Add the carrot and the Ras el Hanout allow to cook for a couple of minutes. Add the bay leaf, apricots and stock and bring to the boil.

Pour over the duck legs and cover and place and scatter the olives and preserved lemon then into the oven for 1½ hours at 350ºF (180C). When cooked remove from the oven skim off any excess duck fat that may have come to the top.

Scatter chopped pistachio nuts, pomegranate seeds and coriander leaves over the top.
Serve with couscous and flat bread.