House of Zeta

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Category: Main Dishes (Page 3 of 6)

Chicken Barley and Vegetable Soup

November 9, 2013 / / 0 Comments

I wasn’t going to do another chicken soup post, diagnosis but after requests for this recipe and some thought, diagnosis I realized that this is different then the last chicken soup I wrote about.  While I was writing, for sale I wondered how many versions of chicken soup must be out there?  I have at least 3 to 4 myself.   I will post more as they get remade or made for the first time.  Until then, here is another addition to the cannon of probably the most American soup out there.  I give you, my other chicken soup, which I will officially call; Chicken, barley and vegetable soup.

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Chicken, Barley and Vegetable Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4-6
 
Ingredients
  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 1 lg onion or 3 small
  • 4 carrots
  • 4 ribs of celery
  • 1 zucchini
  • 1 can of corn
  • 1 cup cooked barley
  • 2-3 bay leafs (1 or 2 if big)
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic
  • Couple sprigs of Savory
  • 1 Tablespoon of garlic chives chopped
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Olive oil
Instructions
  1. Chop onion, separate into thirds or if you have three small onions keep separated
  2. Peel and chop carrots
  3. Chop celery and zucchini.
  4. Open corn and drain liquid
  5. Sautée ⅓ or one of the small onions in olive oil, salt and pepper
  6. Salt and pepper both breasts in same pan as onions, on medium high heat place breasts skin side down
  7. Cook for a couple minutes, or until you get a good sear.
  8. Flip breasts over cover and cook on low till done.
  9. Check every once in a while to make sure they don't burn
  10. Meanwhile cook barley according to directions, minus 5-10 minutes - it will fully cook later when you add it to the rest of the soup.
  11. Once chicken is done set on a plate to cool
  12. You should have some good drippings left in the pan.
  13. Add another third of onions and a handful of carrots and celery and sautée
  14. When onion is translucent add this to your stock pot, along with broth and veggies
  15. When chicken has cooled off tear from bones (using the skin is up to you, I love it).
  16. Add chicken and barley to soup.
  17. Add savory and garlic chives to soup
  18. Bring to boil then lower to a slow simmer for about 10 minutes or until veggies are how you like and barley is done.
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Oktoberfest!!!

October 30, 2013 / / 0 Comments

 

Oktoberfest begins our wilderness camping season.  It’s a short season but hopefully we can get in a few more before the snow falls.  It’s a three day hike across Harriman State Park and ends at Bear Mountain where a polka band, medical steins of beer, decease pierogi’s, dosage bratwurst with sauerkraut and stuffed cabbage await us.   Did I mention people dancing in traditional lederhosen outfits???  Yes that too!!!

We start by taking the train from Hoboken New Jersey and head north to Tuxedo Park, where we get our final supplies or anything we forgot.  Each day is a full day of hiking, so there is no time for dilly dallying.   Our daily goal is to get to a shelter before someone else.  Unfortunately you can’t reserve them. The first day is the most grueling but the shelter has an amazing view of the sunset just up the rock hill, and a fireplace where we cook.  This night we will have caveman ribs and potatoes.  Dry rubbed ribs in foil and thrown straight into the fire along with the rest.  I have also brought along pudding cups for desert as they need no refrigeration.  Of course everything is frozen and thaws as each day progresses –  including the cucumbers I juiced for our after-dinner cocktails.  Jason also had a surprise that made the whole trip and future trips glamorous (well to us it was!).  Hot water bottles! No more cold tent for us!!!

The Second day is one of the longest and takes us through the famed lemon squeezer(you can see why).  It is a very long day with a short stop for lunch.  The shelter that is mid way to our next destination is empty  and even has lovely art work. We chose to go a little further and stop near a creek to get some water and eat there.  We walk along the Long Path and pass through a small portion of the West Point Military School property. We call this passing through enemy lines!   After that comes Hippo Rock, which means we are just moments away from our last resting spot.  A shelter with two fireplaces!  Very deluxe especially when it gets to be night and its cold!  I have had to defend this place so others can’t/wont join us.  I will always fight to have this space to ourselves, it is the best spot and the view is breathtaking.  We will be having chili for dinner, a box of Merlot to drink and more pudding for desert.  Yum!

On the last day we make our final breakfast of eggs and bacon, then it’s time to head off to Oktoberfest! We walk along some famous paths that were used during he revolutionary wars (1777 and 1779) and another part of West Point.  Stop for lunch at Turkey Hill Lake and follow the Popolopen Creek till we make it to Bear Mountain Lodge next to Hessian Lake and Oktoberfest!!!  Once there will will eat, drink, listen to music and enjoy our fellow revelers.  The older couple are there every year and are total hams!  We love them and enjoy their wonderful party spirits.  It is a short visit as we need to catch the last bus back to the city.  But with full bellies and a little light headed from the steins of beer we slowly drift back to our home in Brooklyn Heights satisfied and dreaming of next years adventure.

 

Dry Rub:

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Dry Basil leaves

Smoked Paprika

Ancho Chile Powder

Cayenne Pepper

 

 

Final Beach Camping Weekend!!!

October 8, 2013 / / 0 Comments

laborday prettyinpink panther sun walk servin' Halston arabesque levitation

 

Summer  beach camping has ended.  Our last big blow out was Labor Day weekend.   We made staples like Spam Musabi’s, doctor hot dogs and macaroni salad, cheapest eggs and bacon.  But what camping weekend would be complete without some new menu items?!  We added Spicy Teriyaki Ribs with mashed potato’s and chicken mole with rice and black beans. Well the beans didn’t quite make it cause the tab on the can broke and we couldn’t open it!  But we did take the left over ribs and add them to our Ramen for lunch on Sunday.  I also juiced some cucumbers and ginger to add to our cocktail’s.  My favorite mixer this season.

We did try to continue the faux sports pictures but I forgot the volleyball so we had to settle for a found tennis ball. Not the same thing.  But the high fashion did return. Complete with runway walk editorial photo shoots.

No beach  day or camping weekend would be complete with out our trusty axe’s.  With our Halloween show coming up in October we figured what better time to practice then sitting on a beach for 4 days?  Granted that is what beach ukulele camp is for!!!! Next is wilderness camping!!!!   Can’t wait!

Teriyaki. Simple & easy. So why does everyone screw it up?

October 2, 2013 / / 1 Comment

I’ve been making Teriyaki sauce for years now.  I learned it from my old roommate Lisa.  We were living together when she was in college and she used to make all kinds of amazing food.  Thanks to her and her fried rice, Spam will forever have a place in my pantry, along with Panko.  I used to watch her in fascination as she took ordinary ingredients and turned them into amazing meals.  In a way it helped reignite my love of cooking.  I got disenchanted for a brief moment when I went vegan.  At that time soy products sucked.  So I left my Veganism behind and dove back into carnivore land.  Just in time to enjoy some Hawaiian/Japanese comfort food.  There was was Ramen with an egg dropped in, Spam fried rice, Coroke, and my favorite Chicken Teriyaki.  I have been making these dishes ever since, especially the Chicken Teriyaki.  It has become a staple in my dinner party cannon.

Once you try this you will never order it in a restaurant again.  I have ruined many a persons teriyaki experience with this recipe.  In a good way.  You can change it to your taste, sweet, salty, garlicky, gingery.  What ever way you want to go.  I tend to go heavier on the soy sauce and ginger and garlic.  I don’t like super sweet teriyaki sauce.  When I make for friends I make it how I want it and they usually have that moment of, why does everyone make such a sweet sauce? So here is what I do.  Be adventurous and don’t be scared it’s easy.

Ingredients:

Soy Sauce

Brown Sugar

Garlic(fresh)

Ginger(fresh)

I start with soy sauce and add brown sugar (remember we want a savory sauce so more soy then sugar).  I then add chopped garlic and chopped ginger.   Simmer for a few minutes to thicken and then place the chicken in a baking dish, add sauce on bottom of dish and on top of the meat and bake for about 45 minutes, turning a couple of times.   I use chicken thighs, they soak up the sauce best.   Cook rice and some veggies and you have an amazingly easy dinner.

 

 

 

 

Back in the Saddle Again.

August 1, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Flo

 

It’s been a while since I’ve been in the food industry.  I had forgotten how it can be.  Intense, more about Exciting, exhausting all at the same time.  My next career step was to continue in the opposite direction, which was a corner office working  M-F.  I am not opposed to that or have totally given up on it.  Of course my idea of an office job be would be working for a food magazine or food channel.   But have found myself standing behind a counter making coffee and selling pies.   Which will eventually lead to running a food truck.   This is where the real challenge comes in.  I have bar backed, tended bar, waited tables and bussed them as well.  I have worked the gamut of fast food.  The worst is the drive thru window.  It takes nerves of steal to put up with the people that come through there.  Maybe that’s why fast food is really for the young who can bounce back after 20 irate customers in a row.    Thankfully the service I am now providing has a pleasant clientele.  It’s not fast food, although it is fast.  The pies are flash frozen and delivered to us and we cook them and serve them.  The coffee is espresso based.  Which means I get to make you a nice cappuccino or flat white.   This is for the person who wants to stop say hi, have a conversation and not just grab and go.  Of course some people are happy to not stay and talk, which is also fine, but we are not McDonald’s, you don’t get it in 30 seconds.  To me this is key.  It will be interesting to see how this translate to a pie truck.  I suspect it will be faster pace then the shop and our clientele wont hang around for too long.  Most will be going to work, getting lunch or possible late night snack.  All of this is good.   In a way it will be like Bartending again.  But instead of cocktails it will be coffee and pies.  Not a bad gig to have.  So the next time your craving coffee and pie, I will gladly serve you.  I sound just like Flo from Alice!  But don’t expect me to tell you to  “kiss my grits!” Unless you want me to!

Fishes

July 19, 2013 / / 0 Comments

fisheatingfish

 

Jason had a friend over for bbq the other night and we had a small sea food fest.  We started out with mussels.  I steamed them with a semi sweet dark beer we crafted, order added some pickled ginger, a few sweet pickled pearl onions that we canned a couple winters ago and a little pickle juice to cut the sweetness.  They were amazing!  But the real show stopper was the Branzino (striped bass) and Sea Bass that they bought.  Whole fish, gutted and deboned of course.  Well not totally deboned as that is very hard to do.  We salted and peppered the cavity then put whole sprigs of rosemary and lemon slices, wrapped them up in foil and grilled them for about 12 minutes on each side.   The result was a very aromatic, moist, flaky delicious fish.   The perfume of the rosemary was light, and the lemons kept the fish from drying out – and of course the citrus aspect.  Now most people wouldn’t use such an aromatic herb, and usually I wouldn’t either.   It was one of those happy accidents.  We were going to use thyme, but we accidentally bought the wrong herb.  Oops!  We were all glad we did since there was barely any fish left over for lunch the next day.  Of course now I am craving fish with thyme and lemon.  Guess that means another bbq!!

July the 4th & then some!

July 10, 2013 / / 0 Comments

 

The weekend started with a bang.  It being 4th of July and all.  It was our friend Kirks Birthday and I attended his celebratory bbq bash where he made his Great Grandmas Fire Engine Red Cake and we enjoyed fireworks through a chain link fence. Only in New York can this be enjoyed.  Well not entirely enjoyed but the company was wonderful.  I then went home and took the late morning train to meet up with the beach crew for the rest of the weekend.

As usual we hit the beach bar for a quick arrival drink, abortion then headed for camp.  The weather was amazing and for lunch I brought egg salad sandwiches.  Great for the first day.  The rest was spent soaking in the sun, swimming in the ocean and playing the ukulele.  When dinner came around we were very excited to bust out the newest crazy meal we had thought up.  Meatloaf sliders. Yes that’s what I said.  They were a huge hit!! And really worked out great on the beach.  We accompanied them with coleslaw.  Which didn’t work out as well.  But you can’t win them all.

The next day was the usual breakfast, eggs, bacon and potatoes.   What wasn’t the usual was that our friend Naoum decided to join us.  We were beyond thrilled.  We picked him up a the dock and sang the New Zealand welcome song Haere mai.  He arrived just in time for lunch which was our Spam musubis.   We then constructed a kite made from the mylar balloons we found on the beach.   It took a while but well worth the effort.  For dinner we went for a classic, bacon wrapped hot dogs and macaroni salad.  needless to say there was nothing left.  The night was spent having cocktails and playing our favorite card game.

Our last day was lazy and spent doing what we do best.  Breakfast, swimming, sunning, playing the ukulele and making beach  pizzas for lunch.  Sadly it had to end so we packed up, flew the kite one last time, hit the ferry,  grabbed the train and headed home for Chinese food and a movie.

 

 

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Meatloaf Sliders
Author: 
Recipe type: BBQ
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1 Pound of ground beef and ground pork combined
  • 1 Small green pepper chopped
  • 1 Small onion chopped(yellow or white)
  • 1 Egg
  • ¼ Cup of quick oats or bread crumbs
  • A couple splashes of Worcestershire sauce
  • A little bit of catchup
  • Salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl
  2. Mix with hands(my favorite part!)
  3. Make slider size loaf patties
  4. Grill till done all the way through
  5. Serve with your favorite burger toppings
  6. Best with potato slider buns
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Shepherd’s Pie at the Beach? You Betcha!

June 24, 2013 / / 1 Comment
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Shepperd's Pie
Author: 
Recipe type: Dinner
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • Mashed potatoes
  • 3-4 lbs of potatoes peeled
  • Cook to your specifications.
  • Filling
  • 1½ lbs of chuck roast
  • 1 large onion
  • 4 carrots
  • 2 celery stocks
  • ½ of orange bell pepper
  • 2 Roma tomatoes chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic pressed
  • ¼ stick of butter
  • Olive oil
  • Corn starch
  • Flour for dredging
Instructions
  1. Cut roast into bit size pieces and set aside
  2. Chop onion, here set aside
  3. Peel and slice carrots into rounds, store set aside
  4. Chop celery, and set aside
  5. Chop bell pepper, set aside
  6. Chop tomato's, set aside
  7. Dredge meat in flour
  8. In large frying pan on low/medium heat melt butter
  9. Add meat for about 1 minute or till outside gets brown then remove and set aside
  10. Salt and pepper as you go along
  11. Saute onions for about 3 minutes
  12. Add carrots and celery
  13. Add a drizzle of olive oil
  14. Put meat back into pan cook for about 5-10 minutes till meat is cooked through
  15. Turn burner to low
  16. Add just enough corn starch to thicken and make a sauce
  17. Salt and pepper to taste
  18. (at this point a nice addition would be a bay leaf)
  19. Add garlic, bell pepper and tomato
  20. Let simmer for 20 minutes
  21. Add more cornstarch if sauce starts to get thin
Notes
The measurements are all totally from my usual guessing of what sounds good to me. So please feel free to experiment and change them to suit your culinary needs. Although I do say that I liked using the chunks of meat instead of the usual ground.
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Making Pie!

Making Pie!

Pie in a bag!

Pie in a bag!

Cooking Pie!

Cooking Pie!

MMmmmm Shepherd's Pie and beer!

MMmmmm Shepherd’s Pie and beer!

We just finished our second beach camping trip and are continuing the grand food experiment!  On Friday night Karlo Meria treated us to a mash up of pot stickers/dumplings.   We gobbled them up quickly, but we all agreed they need a little tweaking before the next attempt.  Of course our new staples Spam Musubi and Beach Pizza were must haves.   This time we used beefsteak tomatoes and added some onion on the pizzas, while the Musubi got a little extra rice wine vinegar.

The other dish that was a resounding success was, Shepherd’s Pie!!!  As with most food we bring camping this was made before and frozen.  This is a great trick because you use the frozen food as ice to keep the rest cold.   Then by the time you use it, it’s thawed out.  The recipe I used was literally off the top of my head and a little of what can we add.  The only thing missing was  frozen peas and if Jason has anything to say we wont forget them again.

Our next camping trip will be 4th of July weekend.  I wonder what we will come up with for this one!!!

Curry Chicken Salad

June 18, 2013 / / 0 Comments

images

 

I love taking leftovers and reworking them into something else.  Fried chicken into chicken salad, symptoms roasted veggies into soup, order tortilla chips and salsa into chilaquiles con huevos and the list goes on.   I learned this from my father who would take the previous nights dinner and make it part of breakfast.  It was completely common to have spaghetti and eggs or enchiladas and eggs in the morning.  I have taken that one step further and turn leftovers not only into breakfast but lunch or dinner.  I know a lot of people do this especially if your a parent or a chef.  I find it to be a fun challenge and really get into it.  You may recall a posting where everything was round.  All leftovers.  If I’ve made you brunch or you’ve come over to a bbq, cure there is a good chance some part of it was a leftover.  My latest is was very simple.  Curried corn that had previously been grilled con on the cob.  I just cut the corn off the cob added curry powder, lime juice, red onion, a seeded jalapeno, salt, pepper and some melted butter.  Simple, easy and a crowd pleaser.
Chicke Curry Salad

The title says it all.  This is a very simple recipe and great in a salad, more about
in a wrap or a sandwich.  Perfect for that summer picnic.  It can also be kept in the fridge for days, so you can make it in advance.

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Curry Chicken Salad
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 clove of garlic chopped
  • 1 lemon juiced
  • 1 celery rib
  • 1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
  • Sriracha
  • Curry powder
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Olive oil for cooking
Instructions
  1. Cut chicken in to small pieces set aside
  2. Chop celery set aside
  3. Chop onion
  4. Saute onion in frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil
  5. Add a little salt and pepper
  6. When onion starts to caramelize add chicken
  7. Add garlic
  8. Add curry powder(use as much or as little as you want).
  9. Add lemon juice.
  10. Cook till chicken is done(make sure it is done)
  11. Let chicken cool a little before continuing
  12. In a mixing bowl, add chicken, mayo, celery and Sriracha
  13. Sriracha- amount depends on how hot you like it
  14. Salt and pepper to taste
  15. Serve or store for later use
Notes
You can add other ingredients too. Like raisins or radishes or cucumbers. Go crazy!!! This can also be made with smoked paprika!
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Spam Musubi on the Beach!

June 12, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Our last blog was about Beach Pizza.   This one is about the other lunch we had while camping.  Spam Musubi.   What is Spam Musubi?  It’s kinda like sushi.  You basically take sushi rice, information pills Spam and wrap it up in Nori Seaweed(the kind used for sushi).  Simple right?  It’s also fun to make.   Of course you can add extra ingredients just for fun.   We thought it was time to challenge ourselves and try new recipes for our camping trips and this is one of them.  It worked out so well it has become a staple in our lunches.

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Spam Musubi
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2-4
 
This usually makes 9 Musubi's
Ingredients
  • 1 can of Spam
  • 1 package of Sushi Nori
  • 4 cups sushi rice
  • 6 cups water
  • Plum vinegar
  • Rice seasoning
  • *special item- Musubi Maker
Instructions
  1. Make rice according to directions
  2. Slice Spam lengthwise
  3. You can get about ten slices out of a can
  4. Fry Spam for a couple minutes on each side till it gets a little crispy
  5. Put them on a plate to cool when done
  6. When rice is done let it cool
  7. Heat a dry frying pan for Nori
  8. When hot, Use tongs to heat nori on both sides till it starts to get bright green
  9. About 30 seconds on both sides or till its a little flexible.
  10. Don't over cook or it will be no good
  11. Grab Musubi maker
  12. Lay the Nori on a plate
  13. Place maker in the middle of the Nori
  14. Using your hands add some rice(about the size of a large meatball) inside the maker.
  15. Evenly spread it out
  16. You can use more if you like
  17. Press rice down
  18. Drizzle some plum vinegar
  19. Add a slice of Spam
  20. Sprinkle a little rice seasoning
  21. Add more rice on top
  22. Press rice and Spam down
  23. Slide Musubi maker up an away
  24. Wrap the seaweed around and use water to seal
  25. Lay them seal side down
  26. Put in container or zip lock bag and refrigerate
  27. Now you have perfect camping lunch
Notes
This works best with a Spam Musubi press. You can get them for less than $10 on Amazon or Houserice.com. Some people use soy sauce, we used plum vinegar.
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Spam Musubi  Spam Musubi

 

 

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