June 2010 - Cooking On The Ranch

Topolobampo Envy

June 27, 2010 by Lea Ann 20 Comments

Son Sean and DIL Stacey had us over for a beautiful dinner on Father’s Day. And I mean beautiful. Sean is a well-known artist whose creative flare is equally evident in the dishes he served up. Before we get to the food, why not take a look at his website seanbrownartist.com so I can get that shameless proud parent plug out of the way.

But wait, there’s one more piece of business I need to address before we talk about the food. And by the way, I’m pretty sure my fellow Rick Bayless groupie friend Heather over at Girlichef will throw almost as big a fit as I threw.

I walked in the door to see a shiny brand spanking new copy of the Rick Bayless Mexican Everyday cookbook laying on the coffee table. ”Oh good, we’re having Mexican” was my first thought. But then became suspicious and wondered why the cookbook wasn’t in the kitchen. Sure enough I opened it up to find THIS:

Asian Chicken Salad with Wasabi Dressing

June 26, 2010 by Lea Ann 27 Comments

This is just a quick post with another great big little summer salad recipe.

I’ve been out of town this week drenching myself in alpine tranquility, lazy mountain lake strolls, wildflower meadows and campfired evenings on our first trip of the season to the high country.

Knowing the trip was going to be another fatstravaganza food event, I took it easy before we left and whipped up this delicious summer salad.

Melissa Rubel over at Food and Wine does it again with this interesting combination of flavors. And if you like wasabi, you’re going to love this double hit. This salad starts out soothing you with a fresh cool crunchy base of poached chicken, pear, cucumber and bean sprouts and then kicks your butt with a topping of wasabi peas and a creamy spicy wasabi dressing. Yum…eee.

Let’s take a look:

Asian Chicken Salad With Wasabi Dressing

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (1 3/4 pounds)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons wasabi powder (I’m not sure I actually used that much – you may want to start with 1 1/2 T. and taste test as you add a little more at a time)
1 1/2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons water
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 heads Boston lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces (I had spinach that I needed to use)
1 large Asian pear—halved, cored and thinly sliced (I used a regular ol pear)
1/2 seedless cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced on the bias
2 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1/2 cup roasted wasabi peas, coarsely chopped

Directions

In a large saucepan, cover the chicken breasts with water and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook over moderately low heat until the chicken is white throughout, about 12 minutes. Transfer the poached chicken breasts to a plate and let stand until cooled slightly, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the rice vinegar, wasabi powder, Asian sesame oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons of water and season with salt and pepper.
In a large serving bowl, toss the lettuce with the Asian pear slices, cucumber, scallions, bean sprouts and 2/3 cup of the wasabi dressing. Slice the chicken breasts crosswise 1/4 inch thick and lay the slices on top of the salad. Spoon the remaining wasabi dressing over the chicken breasts, sprinkle with the chopped wasabi peas and serve at once.

Serves 4

Asian Chicken Salad with Wasabi Dressing..

It’s What’s For a Summer Dinner and Souper Sunday

Filed Under: Main Dishes Chicken, Salads, Sauces, Condiments, Salad Dressings Tagged With: Asian Chicken Salad, summer salad, Wasabi dressing

Smoky Sliders With Chipotle Mayonnaise

June 20, 2010 by Lea Ann 16 Comments

Greg, Cameron and Chili

Happy Father’s Day to all.

We started the Father’s Day Celebration early by inviting our friends Greg, Cauleen, Connor (20 months), Cameron (the adorable baby) and Martini (Yorkshire Terrier) over for a Saturday evening dinner.

If you remember, Connor has already been a blog star with the posting of his adorable 1st Birthday cake eating photo. If you haven’t seen it, you really owe yourself a look.

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Filed Under: Main Dishes Beef Tagged With: broccoli salad, Chipotle sliders, Father's Day meal, Strawberry Pie

Spinach, White Bean, Bacon Salad, with Maple Syrup Vinaigrette

June 17, 2010 by Lea Ann 20 Comments

Spinach, white bean, bacon salad with a tangy vinaigrette. Here’s a great little salad recipe that you can add to your summer repertoire. Simply delicious and it comes together in a snap.

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Filed Under: Salads Tagged With: Bacon, Maple Salad Dressing, Spinach Salad

Tangy Flank Steak with Horseradish Cream and Wedge Salad

June 14, 2010 by Lea Ann 21 Comments

About 12 years ago I jumped on the flank steak bandwagon and this was the first recipe I tried using this “new to me” cut of meat. It turned me into an instant flank steak fan.

Flank steak is so versatile and it seems to soak up every delicious flavor morsel of any marinade you toss its way. I’ve probably tried more than 20 different flank steak recipes, they’re all delicious but it seems I always fall back on this one when I browse the choices in my database.

Ranch Style Tortilla Soup

June 12, 2010 by Lea Ann 29 Comments

Before we get to the soup, I must tell you that my husband drug home a can of Spam the other day. I was pretty sure I had never…ever…not once eaten Spam.

So, just as one would call their mother to ask about the occurence of a childhood disease, I phoned home to ask if I had ever had Spam when I was a kid. She confirmed that I had not. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t come from a family of food snobs, lord knows I’ve eaten my share of cold Franco American Spaghetti-O’s out of the can…but it appears I’ve never eaten Spam.

Got me thinking, besides Spam…I’ve never eaten eel…and in spite of my geographical location, I’ve never had Rocky Mountain Oysters…

In your comments, I’d love to hear a couple of things that you’ve never eaten. I’ll let you know what we do with the Spam.

So with that out of the way, let’s talk about something I’ve eaten a lot of…Tortilla Soup.

I know, it’s Summer, but I don’t need to be sitting around in front of the fireplace wrapped up in my hot pink Snuggie with two feet of snow on the ground to enjoy a delicious bowl of soup. Especially when it’s one of my favorites like Tortilla Soup.

About the photo…I promise there’s a big bowl of wonderfully seasoned brothy goodness underneath all those hearty chunky toppings…and lots of it.

A couple of weeks ago, Heather over at Girlichef threw out a Tortilla Soup Challenge. Since it’s one of my all-time favorite soups and a great movie, I was “IN”. I combined some things I liked from a couple of recipes, added a couple of my own ideas. Here’s my end result:

(Highlands) Ranch Style Tortilla Soup

2 fresh Poblano peppers, large diced
1 medium Vidalia onion, large diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon olive oil
28 ounces of chicken stock (I used homemade, or two cans)
1 can undrained diced tomatoes
1/3 cup Rotel tomatoes, undrained
1 cup fresh sweet corn kernels
2 chicken breasts without skin, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon Goya Bitter Orange-flavored Adobo Seasoning (optional as it can be hard to find)
Salt/pepper to taste
Corn tortilla chips, slightly crushed by hand
Fresh chopped cilantro
Sour cream
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Diced avocado
Lime Wedges

1. In a Dutch oven over medium to medium high heat, cook peppers and onions for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Add cumin seeds, garlic and continue cooking until fragrant, about two minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, corn and simmer for about 5 minutes.

2. In the meantime, in a fry pan, heat olive oil to medium high. Add bite sized pieces of chicken breast and cook stirring almost constantly, until browned and cooked almost through. While cooking, sprinkle the chicken with the orange-flavored Goya Adobo Seasoning.

3. Add chicken to soup pot and simmer a couple of minutes to finish cooking the chicken.

4. To serve, ladle soup into soup bowls, top with broken up corn chips, Monterey Jack cheese, a dollop of sour cream, diced avocado and sprinkle with cilantro. Take one of those wedges of lime and squeeze over the whole bowl. Take a big soup spoon, swirl and enjoy.

Tortilla Soup,

It’s What’s For Dinner.

Also shipping this across the Pacific for Deb’s Souper Super.

Filed Under: Mexican/Southwest, Soup, Stews, Chilis Tagged With: Mexican, Soup, Stews, Chilis, Southwestern, Tortilla Soup

Avocado and Shrimp Salad with Mango Dressing

June 8, 2010 by Lea Ann 34 Comments

This is just flat-out moan and groan, roll your eyes delicious. I found this recipe last summer over at Food and Wine, wrote rave reviews in my database and can’t believe I didn’t blog it back then.

This is a Jamaican roadside stand inspired dish with sweet shrimp simmered in a peppery broth. A great Summer crowd-pleaser that could be served as a first course if placed on a bed of greens. Or as your main course when served with a wedge of watermelon and a side of rosemary flatbread like we did Saturday night. Pair it with your favorite frosty glass of Sauvignon Blanc and you’re in heavenly business. But first let’s take a look at my flatbread.

The Bread: I bought a package of Naan, sprinkled on some fresh chopped rosemary, covered with halved grapes then topped with crumbled blue cheese. A few minutes in the oven until warm and toasty and the cheese just starting to melt, sprinkle on some fresh chopped chives from the garden..it made a great side for the shrimp. Red grapes would have been better, but the market had none.

The Wine: We paired this with a wonderful glass (or two) of Merry Edwards 2007 Sauvignon Blanc. The highest rated wine ever to come out of California, we decided to order a couple of bottles directly from the winery. Here’s their tasting notes: This compelling blend allures the senses with hints of citrus blossoms, lychee fruit and mango. Soft honey weaves its way through the sumptuous palate. Time in the cellar will allow even more richness and complexity to unfold. Pair this delightful wine with elegant raw oysters, a salad of blood oranges with yellow and red baby beets or giant prawns in Thai green curry sauce over rice noodles. I mean c’mon, who can resist that lovely description.

The Salad: Fresh and delicious, I urge you to take the time to give this a try. The Mango dressing is easy to whip up with the hardest part being dragging the food processor out of the cabinet. And shrimp is so easy. I really can think of no excuses not to enjoy this Summery offering.

Ingredients

SHRIMP
1 lemon, halved
6 cups water
1 small onion, sliced
2 Tbs kosher salt
1 Scotch bonnet or habanero chile, halved (I wimped out and used a jalapeno)
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger
One 12-ounce bottle of lager
2 lbs large shrimp, shelled and deveined
DRESSING
1 mango, peeled and finely diced (1½ cups)
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 Tbs fresh lime juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ cup olive oil
1 Tbs chopped cilantro
½ tsp finely grated lime zest
¼ tsp minced Scotch bonnet or habanero chile (I wimped out and used a jalapeno)
¼ cup thinly sliced red onion (Vidalia onions are here, hence a substitution)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Hass avocados, sliced
Lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

Prepare the shrimp: Squeeze the lemon halves into a large saucepan then add them to the pan. Add the water, onion, salt, Scotch bonnet, ginger and beer and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook for 3 minutes, just until pink. Drain the shrimp and spread on a platter. Refrigerate until chilled. Halve the shrimp horizontally.
Meanwhile, make the dressing: In a food processor, combine ⅓ cup of the diced mango with the vinegar, lime juice and mustard and puree until smooth. With the machine on, add the oil in a thin stream and blend until very smooth. Add the cilantro, lime zest and minced Scotch bonnet and pulse just to combine.
Transfer the dressing to a large bowl. Add the shrimp, red onion and the remaining mango and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Arrange the avocado slices around a large platter. Mound the shrimp salad in the center and garnish with lime wedges. Serve right away.

Avocado and Shrimp Salad With Mango Dressing…It’s What’s For A Light Meal

1 year ago today Breckenridge Brewery

Filed Under: Appetizers, Main Dishes, Seafood, Salads Tagged With: flatbread, Shrimp Salad, summer salad

Roasted Baby Artichokes

June 6, 2010 by Lea Ann 29 Comments

As you can imagine after my Memorial Day fat-stravaganza I’ve been preparing on the light side this week and spending a lot of time browsing the vegetable isles. Roasted baby artichokes have appeared on my menu.

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Filed Under: Appetizers Tagged With: aioli, baby artichokes, roasted asparagus, Roasted vegetables

Breakfast Hot Dogs

June 4, 2010 by Lea Ann 27 Comments

Breakfast hot dogs. A few months ago I watched Ina Garten grill up a Sunday breakfast feast and promptly bookmarked her sausage breakfast hotdogs. Served up with some country fried potatoes on a beautiful sunny Memorial Day morning was a perfect holiday treat.

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Filed Under: Breakfast Tagged With: breakfast hot dogs, fried potatoes, Ina Garten, Poached Eggs

Chipotle Cheddar Cheeseburgers, a Coors Field Specialty…Best Cheeseburger Ever

June 1, 2010 by Lea Ann 27 Comments

Chipotle Cheddar Cheeseburgers with bacon and barbeque sauce. A Coors Field specialty and the best cheeseburger ever. Located on one corner of our beautiful Coors Field baseball stadium in downtown Denver is the Sandlot Brewery and Rounders Pub. Years ago when we had season tickets to the Rockies Games, we’d always stop in at Rounder’s for a pre-game burger.

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