Impromptu Strawberry Scones

At Gregan's Bistro, the Friday night special is...scones. After dinner and a movie (The Hurt Locker), we came home and weren't tired, so Megan baked. I'd say we baked, but I only "dictated" and watched Megan do her magic. Friday night baking is what all the cool kids are doing!

Seriously though, Megan and I have fun in the kitchen and enjoy looking through cookbooks, talking about food, and shopping for ingredients. I think that we're lucky to gain so much enjoyment from something you do every day: eat.

I highly suggest that you try something new in your own kitchen (instead of watching more Iron Chef America). Maybe you're not ready for baking impromptu scones on a Friday night, but how about roasting chicken Sunday evening?

This has been a public service announcement brought to you by Gregan's Bistro.

-Greg

Strawberry Scones

by Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/strawberry-scones-recipe/index.html

*We would suggest adding more sugar (doubling or tripling the amount) in the recipe and using larger sugar crystals to sprinkle on top. The scones were great, but not sweet at all. We understand that scones are not as sweet as other pastries, but these still needed more sugar. These scones tasted more like biscuits and less like the scones you would purchase at your local bakery.

-Prepping the scone batter

"Our whole health kick right now is going out the window."

-Finishing the scone batter with strawberries

"Beautiful girl, beautiful dough..."

-Cutting up the scones

"I have a boyfriend with no foot. He can't have a girlfriend with no hands."

-Applying the egg wash

"Everybody loves crystalized yumminess."

-Cream cheese scones take one

"My hair is just not as pretty..."

-Cream cheese scones take two

"This is real cooking, none of that Food Network bull$hit."

-Scones coming out of the oven. Golden brown and delicious...GBD. Mmmm.

-A look inside the cream cheese scones. Marvel at their deliciousness.

Epic Valentine's Day Dinner

Valentine's Day with Gregan became an affair to remember. Why?

• Over five hours spent in the kitchen
• Four complicated, gourmet recipes that would make most home cooks cringe
• Homemade pasta dough mixed by hand, using the well-technique
• Rolling out said dough with brand new Kitchenaid pasta roller attachment...multiple times
• A bottle of wine for Megan, and a large saison and several Hefepoizens for Greg
• Fleeces and sweatshirts worn at all times
• Cream in every recipe
• Oyster mushrooms, crab, shrimp shells, three varieties of fresh herbs
• Straining sauces
• Reducing more sauces
• Recording the proceedings for posterity
• Flambe...seriously....fire on purpose
• and eating everything, of course!

Do not attempt these recipes unless you are willing to put away huge amounts of calories, and laugh and love the process. Megan and I were and did.

The menu:

1. Pan-fried mushrooms in thyme butter
2. Crispy roasted asparagus
3. Seafood ravioli with shrimp cream
4. Bananas Foster

This post is by far and away the largest collection of video clips posted so far on Is Deliciousness a Word?, but if you can make it through them all, you'll understand why this Valentine's day was the best ever.

It's great to love food, and it's great to love cooking. It's even better to love cooking the food you love, with the one you love. I couldn't ask for more.

Greg

-Ingredients (actually missing quite a few):

-Kneading pasta dough two ways:

-Pan fried mushrooms in a thyme butter sauce:

*Watch me do the weakest stirring ever. C'mon...stir it like you mean it!

-Crispy roasted asparagus

*We did not mean for the asparagus to get crispy. We just forgot about it, and it turned out perfect. A beautiful mistaken discovery, like penicillin.

-Shrimp and crab ravioli stuffing

*Megan enjoys pushing food around in the pan. Watch her go.

-Unsuccessful pasta rolling by Greg:

*Tried to remain positive for a while, until I could take it no longer. "Shit."

-Successful pasta rolling by Megan:

*So, we thought it should be rolled to setting 4, because we wanted thicker pasta. Nope. Too thick. Setting five. This is what happens on first attempts.

-Preparing raviolis:

*Totally proud of ourselves here. We really are "cooking nerds."

-Shrimp cream sauce:

*Turns out the recipe does call for us to strain the sauce. That's what happens to the shells. Apparently they don't disappear. Megan was curious about how that magic was going to happen.

-Seafood ravioli with shrimp cream sauce (not the best photo):

*After four hours, we didn't even take the time to properly coat the ravioli. Look at how big they are, too! Dayamn!

-Bananas foster:

*Yes, you're suspicions are correct. Megan has had a bottle of wine to herself by now.

What a night! :)

Recipes:

Pan-fried mushrooms with thyme butter:

*From Take Six Ingredients, by Conrad Gallagher

Cut 3 cups wild mushrooms into thin slices. Heat 2 tblsp. olive oil in a skillet; when hot, add the mushrooms and saute for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown and completely tender. Add one pad of butter and 1 tblsp. fresh thyme leaves and season to taste with salt and pepper. Once the butter starts to melt, stir in 1 cup heavy cream and 2 tblsp. minced chives. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until slightly reduced, stirring occasionally. Divide the mushroom mixture among warmed wide-rimmed bowls and scatter 1/3 cup parmesan shavings on top. Serve immediately with some crusty bread.

Note: the cook times seemed to be far too short, and both were doubled, with the time spent to reduce the sauce closer to 10 minutes. As the French say, "Cook it till it's done!"

Seafood ravioli:

http://www.discoversandiego.com/features/cheflarry/plain_recipe/appetizers/seafoodravioli.htm

Shrimp cream sauce:

http://www.discoversandiego.com/features/cheflarry/plain_recipe/appetizers/shrimpcream.htm

Bananas Foster:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bananas-Foster-I/Detail.aspx

Swedish Meatballs

On Friday night of Valentine's Day weekend, Megan and I prepared to attend a Winter Olympics opening ceremony party. Each attendee was tasked to bring a food representing a different country, so we chose to bring Swedish meatballs. Mmmm. Who doesn't like a meatball? Seriously...

The preparation was fantastic, and they tasted terrific! However, we learned that Swedish meatballs do not travel well. The sauce thickened up tremendously during the drive, and the meatballs got a little cold. Also, when we arrived, we found out that the host didn't have a microwave. Really? Isn't this the 21st century?

Still, the flavors were out of sight, and as a testament to their glory, they were the first food finished that evening. I highly suggest this to anybody looking for a good time on their way to a heart attack. Here is the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Swedish-Meatballs-II/Detail.aspx. Enjoy.

Greg

-Swedish Meatballs

Seafood Rirrotto

Like my father, I love risotto, so I was ecstatic when I learned that Megan loves cooking risotto. She has patience with stirring that I envy. This shrimp and scallop risotto was divine; she even made the scallops delicious (I'm not usually a huge fan). Just as impressive, Megan fried fresh sage to crumble on top, which is not something your average home cook would do. That's just how she rolls. She's way above average! She's an outlier.

The recipe used was an amalgam of many, but this one is very similar: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/sweet-pea-and-scallop-risotto-recipe/index.html. If you can stir for forty minutes, make it. Pure deliciousness. Plus the leftovers lasted almost all week.

Greg

-Shrimp and Scallop Risotto with Fried Sage:

-Final product:

Thai Style Chicken Wings

More wings! Mmmm....I'm starting to notice that I have a lot of wing posts...and meals.

Greg

-Thai-style Chicken Wings

Christmas Eve Eve Dinner

I have to admit that Megan and I are quite the culinary team. On Christmas Eve Eve, we combined our skills to make a fantastic meal. I prepared the appetizer, main, and dessert, and Megan provided the sides (veggies are her forte and meat is mine). We paced out the meal perfectly, played Tile Rummy while waiting for our Camembert to bake, and thoroughly enjoyed the entire meal and evening.

The pork chops are fantastic for those of you who are not pork fans, like me. This recipe originally came from the Family Circle cookbook, and has now been included in my Nancy's Special Recipes cookbook (available in extremely limited editions). I first prepared this back in high school for my family, and it won them over, so obviously, it's pretty quick and easy.

Big shout out to Rob for suggesting Chimay Grande Reserve (blue label). Wowsers! This is now one of my top 5 favorites, because it's...well...delicious....AND you can actually find this Belgium Trappist Ale at your local megalomart. Try it if you love beer like me....or if you don't, because it will make you change your mind. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/215/2512

Greg

-Baked Camembert topped with sun-dried tomato bruschetta

-Pork chops with glazed apples and onions, roasted zucchini, and cheesy baked mashed potatoes

Recipe/Instructions:

-Baked Camembert topped with sun-dried tomato bruschetta-

First off, purchase a high-quality Camembert cheese. We bought ours from a French importer, but I'm sure Whole Foods or Trader Joe's has some acceptable ones as well. I note this, because my mom told me that poor quality Camembert tastes terrible. Pre-heat your oven to 375, and take the Camembert out of the plastic wrap, but place back in the box it comes in. Then, top with 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, 2-3 garlic cloves (sliced), and some fresh thyme sprigs. The easier way is to top it with pre-made sun-dried tomato bruschetta. Bake for 10-12 minutes and enjoy with bread or crackers.

-Pork chops with glazed apples and onions-

Prepare by coring and slicing two Granny Smith apples crosswise, and slicing one sweet onion into rings of the same thickness (1/4"). Then, cook the pork chops in a sautee pan over medium heat with a few tblsp of vegetable oil. I placed the onions in the pan, too, so that they would begin to soften up and capture some of the pork juices. When you have flipped and cooked the pork to desired doneness (8-10 min.), remove the chops and place on a warm plate. Put the apple slices into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until they just begin to brown. Then add one can of frozen apple juice concentrate and bring to a boil. Stir in 2 tsp. of Dijon mustard (I used imported French mustard from Epicurius Imports, because that's how I roll), 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper. Cook to combine and remove from heat. Top the pork chops with the apples and onions and serve. Bon appetite.

-Potatoes and zucchini-

Recipe/instructions are unavailable. Bug Megan if you want to learn how to make them.

Chicken Wings with a Side of Silliness

If you've been to one of my parties, you've probably eaten my chicken wings. I think I make damn good chicken wings, and other people think so, too.

After hearing many stories of my great pub cuisine, Megan begged me to make my famous wings. I agreed to made some together. Two styles: Buffalo and Thai.

Mmmmm. Wings.

Giddyup.

Greg

BTW, chicken wings were the second meat I chose at Costco, so expect more chicken wing posts in the future.


-Chicken Wings Two Ways: Thai style and mild Buffalo style, with blue cheese dressing

Recipes/instructions:

Chicken Wings - Throw them into a 400 degree oven on a baking sheet for around 45 minutes. The skin will be crispy and GBD. Simple. Practice makes perfect.

Buffalo Wing Sauce - Easiest sauce in the world. Take the chicken wings straight out of the oven and into a mixing bowl. Put 2 tabs of butter for every 20 wings or so, and a few tablespoons of your favorite hot sauce. Texas Pete and Louisiana Hot Sauce are my 99 cent favorites; I hate Tobasco, but to each their own. Simply toss the wings with the butter and the hot sauce and let their heat melt the butter and mix the two together. Your wings will be perfectly coated and not drenched. You may easily add to or ease off the spice factor, too. I add cayenne pepper and sometimes paprika.

Thai Style Glaze- If you like chicken wings, but don't like the heat of Buffalo wings, try this glaze, which might be my new favorite wing sauce. Don't be afraid of the jalepenos, they are sweeter than they are spicy, and even Megan thought that these wings were not too spicy at all. They still are balanced, but nothing like a Buffalo wing. I basically read a few recipes from Allrecipes.com and created my own version. Here's a good recipe to begin with, but play around with it and make it your own:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/thai-style-chicken-wings/detail.aspx

Costco Italian Sausage

When you share an apartment with two other people and grocery shop at Costco, you must make a commitment to your food choices. You cannot buy anything and everything, because you must share the limited storage space in the fridge and freezer. Therefore, I tend to choose to replenish my stocks with one or two meats on a given visit. On this occasion, one of the meats I chose was Italian sausage, and that's why both the first videos and this video are of meals based around...Italian sausage. Megan earns full credit for this delicious dish! It was her creation alone; I only chopped the onions and consumed the finished product. She made sure to add lots of veggies.

Thanks again, Megan. :)

Enjoy everybody!

Greg


-Italian Sausage and Bell Peppers, Zuccini, and Onions with Linguini in a Pink Vodka Sauce

Instructions:

Boil water and cook linguini or other type of pasta. Figure it out, or go to Youtube and learn. Cut sausage into slices and brown in a sautee pan. Dice onions, bell peppers, zuccini and cook them in the sautee pan, too. Warm a store bought jar of Vodka (Pink) Sauce on the stove. Mix all these ingredients together and enjoy...this is a "weekday meal."