Meatloaf

For my family, traditionally meatloaf has always been a hearty meal with a bit of home, comfort food style.

This is a recipe that I had done when I was a teenager and have been making it ever since.

As many dishes in many recipes that have been hiding for long periods of time, this is one that I have recently brought back as a weekly dish that indeed, does not come up short.


Ingredients:

2 lbs of ground hamburger
1 smallr ed pepper (diced)
1 small yellow onion (diced)
4 cloves of fresh minced garlic, or just use standard garlic powder (Ultimately it depends how much you love garlic to decide how much to add)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup of Ketchup.
1 can of tomato soup
salt and pepper to taste.


Directions:

1.  Just mix it all in a bowl.

2. Add to a greesed casserole dish and cover with tomato soup.

3.  Cook in the oven at 400F for 40 minutes.



When finished, remove from casserole dish and let stand 5 minutes.  Slice and enjoy.


Left over drippings mixed with tomato soup can make a very nice sauce to go over your meatloaf.

Enjoy!

Gnocchi

So, I've realized it's been a while, and my LOVELY Wifek suggested I get back to it.. so what a better way to start up again, by showing something that she introduced to me herself!
Gnocchi

But Craig, you've never had Gnocchi?  Why.. no... I haven't actually.  We went to a local restaurant and she had mentioned that I need to try it..

|I'm glad I did!

So here it is, my version of the Gnocchi... Voila!



Ingredients..


1 Egg
2 Lbs of Potatoes
3 Cups of Flour


Salt and Pepper to taste.



Directions:

1 Peel and cut potatoes, and boil.
2.  Mash the potatoes and let cool 10-15 min until comfortable to touch.
3. Add Egg and Flour and Mix.

Now the consistancy could very well depends on how dry or wet your potatoes are when you mash them.  If everything is mixed and your pasta is still quite sticky to touch, and not as a Bread Dough consistancy, add more flour until thick and no more sticky to touch.

4.  Roll into long rolls about 1/4 to a half in in thickness (This will really depend on how thick you like your pasta)
5, After having rolled out, now take a pastry cutter (Or knife) and start  cutting your rolls 1/4 inch long.
6.  Boil until cooked (When they float is a good indicator)

And you're done!

Enjoy them with a normal pasta sauce, or try a smoked bacon Alfredo..

Chicken Chasseur

The Chasseur Sauce, is from the French word for “hunter,” is a sauced that is served with mainly game dishes. Rabbit, venison, wild boar and so on. It's a sauce consisting of sauteeed mushrooms and shallots and white wine reduction which is then simmed and reduced to a basic demiglaze.

In this recipe, we will be using chicken and preparing this quite simple, yet elegant, yet slightly different moderated version  of this wonderful sauce that has been around since around 1559 in French Cuisine.

Enjoy!


Ingredients:

2 Boneless skinless chicken breast
4 TBS olive oil
1 TSP Shallots
1 TSP Garlic
1 Ounce sliced domestic mushrooms
1/3 Cup Chardonnay
1/2 Cup Demiglaze (Reduced Brown Stock. Veal Stock works well)
3 TBS Chopped Tomatoes
1 TSP Reduced balsamic vinegar
1/2 Ounce butter
1 TSP chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste


Directions:


1.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

2.  Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the chicken until golden brown on the outside, but not fully cooked through.  Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

3.  Add in the shallots and mushrooms to the pan and saute. Add in the white wine and reduce until au sec (see below)

4.  Add in the demiglaze and tomatoes and bring to a boil reducing the liquid.

5.  Add in the balsamic vinegar. Add parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

6.  Finish in the over and 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from the over and stir in butter to finish.

7.  Serve!

Side note:

Au Sec is a term that basically means, reduce until the liquid has evaporated.  Evaporated liquids in meals quite enhance the flavor of the meats.