Cara's Yummy Recipes » Dinner Party

Roast Chicken with Garbanzo Beans, Tomatoes, and Paprika

Cara — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 21:37:45 +0000

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/2 cup plan yogurt or Greek yogurt
4 chicken breast halves with bones
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained
1 12-ounce container cherry tomatoes
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided

Directions

Preheat oven to 450.

Mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Pour 1 teaspoon spiced oil mixture into small bowl; whisk in yogurt and set aside for sauce. Place chicken on large rimmed baking sheet. Rub 2 tablespoons spiced oil mixture over chicken. Add beans, tomatoes, and 1/2 cup cilantro to remaining spiced oil mixture; toss to coat. Pour bean mixutre around chicken. Sprinkle everything generously with salt and pepper.

Roast until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cilantro. Transfer chicken to plates. Spoon bean mixture over. Serve with yogurt sauce.

Herbed Potato Salad

Cara — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:22:01 +0000

Ingredients

3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
1 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup thinly sliced chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon

Directions

Place potatoes into a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Drain, and cool for 10 minutes. Slice each potato in half lengthwise. Cut each half crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place potato slices in a large bowl.

Place wine in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 6 minutes). Transfer wine to a bowl. Add vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, salt, black pepper, and minced garlic; stir with a whisk until well combined. Drizzle wine mixture over potatoes; sprinkle with chives, parsley, and tarragon. Toss gently to combine. Serve salad warm or chilled.

Mom’s Tri Tip Marinade

Cara — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:55:43 +0000

Ingredients

2 pounds tri tip steak
3/4 cup shiraz
2/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce
2 teaspoons dijon

Directions

Combine ingredients and refrigerate for 1-8 hours. BBQ until done. Slice and serve.

Serve with Herbed Potato Salad.

Dark Chocolate Mousse

Cara — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 03:51:29 +0000

Ingredients

8 ounces Ghiradelli 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
2 tablespoons Hersheys cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
5 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon brandy
2 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream, chilled

Directions

Combine chocolate, cocoa powder, espresso powder, water, and brandy in a medium heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from heat.

Whisk egg yolks, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, and salt in a medium bowl until mixture lightens in color and thickens slightly, about 30 seconds. Pour melted chocolate into egg mixture and whisk until combined. Let cool until just warmer than room temperature, 3 to 5 minutes.

Using electric mixer and clean bowl, whip egg whites at medium-low speed until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, increase mixer speed to medium-high, and whip until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk last few strokes by hand, making sure to scrape any unwhipped whites from bottom of bowl.

Using whisk, sir about 1/4 of whipped egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten it; gently fold in remaining egg whites with rubber spatula until just a few white streaks remain.

Using electric mixer, whip heavy cream at medium speed until it begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and whisk until soft peaks form when beaters are lifted, about 15 seconds more. Using a rubber spatula, fold whipped cream into mousse until no white streaks remain.

Spoon mousse into 6-8 dessert bowls. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 4 days. To serve, allow mousse to soften to room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with whipped cream, chocolate shavings (shave a bar of chocolate with a carrot peeler) and raspberries.

Berry Topped Lemon Tarts

Cara — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:16:03 +0000

Ingredients

Crust

2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter

Topping

3 cups fresh fruit (recipe calls for cranberries, blueberries or raspberries could also be good)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup water

Filling

5 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups lemon juice
1/3 cup butter, softened
4 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Garnish

1 medium lemon, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Directions

Makes 8.

Preheat oven to 350.

Crust: In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir until dough forms a ball. Divide into eight portions; press each onto the bottoms and up the sides of eight 4-in tart pans. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Topping: In a large saucepan, combine the berries, sugar and water. Cover over medium heat until berries have popped, about 20 minutes. Transfer berry topping to another bowl; refrigerate until serving.

Filling: Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, whisk eggs. Stir in the sugar, lemon juice, butter and lemon peel. Cook and stir over medium heat for 20-25 minutes or until filling is thickened and reaches 160. Transfer to a small bowl; cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Spoon filling into tart shells. Chill, uncovered until set.

Garnish: In a small saucepan, bring lemon slices, sugar and water to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until lemon is tender. Cut slices in half; chill.

Just before serving, spoon berry topping over tarts. Garnish with lemon slices.

Filet Mignon With Cabernet Sauce

Cara — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 03:49:06 +0000

Ingredients

4 4-ounce filet mignon steaks
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
1/4 cup shallots, minced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 cup cabernet sauvignon
1 cup beef broth
2 teaspoons butter

Directions

Coat a large nonstick pan with olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Sprinkle both sides of the steaks evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add steaks to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired doness (we cooked them for ~7 minutes a side). Remove from pan.

Add shallots to pan; saute 1 minute. Stir in vinegar and soy sauce; cook 1 minute or until liquid evaporates, stirring constantly. Add remaining salt, pepper, wine and broth; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 11 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in butter. Drizzle over steaks.

Serve with Roasted New Potatoes and Sauteed Rosemary Mushooms.

Cooking Light Magazine

Roxanne’s Roast Chicken

Cara — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 22:12:01 +0000

Ingredients

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1.5 teaspoons mustard seeds
1.5 teaspoons dried rosemary
1.5 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
1/2 small white onion, diced
1 4-lb roasting chicken
12 large pitted green olives

Directions

Mix the vinegar, soy sauce, mustard, mustard seeds, rosemary, pepper and onions together in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken. Set aside.

Remove the package from the cavity of the chicken; reserve for another use or discard. Rinse the chicken inside and out and dry thoroughly. Roll the chicken around in the marinade, making sure plenty flows into the cavity. Cover and marinate 8 hours to overnight in the fridge.

Prior to cooking, bring chicken to room temperature. Preheat oven to 375.

Remove the chicken from the marinade, allowing any marinade that sticks to the chicken to remain. Save the remaining marinade in a bowl. Put the olives in the cavity of the chicken. Set the chicken, breast side down on a roasting rack (non-stick or sprayed with PAM) in a roasting pan. Add 1/2 inch water to the roasting pan. Roast for 50 minutes. Flip the chicken to breast side up (careful of the olives), pour the remaining marinade over the bird, and roast for 40 minutes longer, or until the chicken reaches 170. Tent with foil if the skin gets too brown.

Remove from oven and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Serve with Parsley Red Potatoes, Roasted Red Potatoes or Golden Mashed Potatoes with Leeks and Sour Cream.

Wild Rice Salad

Cara — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 00:03:34 +0000

Ingredients
* 7 cups chicken broth
* 2 cups uncooked wild rice
* 1 cup wild rice/brown rice mixture
* 5 green onions, chopped
* 1/2 red pepper, diced
* 1 cup snow peas, cut into one inch bits
* 1/4 cup rice vinegar
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoon dijon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/2 lemon

Directions
# Bring chicken broth to a boil and add rices. Cover and simmer for 40-45 minutes. Mix lemon into rice and chill.
# Add vegetables to rice. Mix together rice vinegar, oilive oil, garlic, dijon, salt, pepper and sugar. Add dressing to taste. Chill and eat.

Arlene’s Salmon Pasta

Cara — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 02:05:55 +0000

Preheat the over to 400.

Ingredients:
* 2/3 pound salmon
* 3 tablespoons soy sauce
* 2 tablespoons sherry
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 shallot, diced
* 3 tablespoons ginger, grated
* 1 teaspoon sesame oil
* 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
* 1/2 pound pasta, cooked

Directions:
# Combine the soy sauce and sherry. Spray a piece of foil with PAM and place the salmon on it. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of the mixture on to the salmon. Crimp the foil, and place in the oven for 12 minutes.
# In a saute pan over medium heat, saute the shallot, garlic and ginger in vegetable oil for 2 minutes. Add the sesame oil and the soy sauce mixure and bring to a boil. Stir in the cilantro and remove from heat.
# Serve salmon over pasta with the soy sauce mixture.

Summer Pasta

Cara — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 18:23:27 +0000

Ingredients
* 1 pound fresh pasta
* 1/2 cup white wine
* 2 cloves garlic
* 1/2 pound green beans
* 1 pint cherry tomatoes

Directions
# Cook pasta according to directions on package. Blanche the green beans.
# In a sauce pan over medium heat, boil wine until reduced. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
# Combine the pasta, vegetables and sauce. Serve with chicken marinated in wine and barbequed.