Cooking for the boy; a guest post from the wife of the Downsized Chef’s.

The boy’s birthday fell on a Saturday this year and I had to go all out. While plans to celebrate with close friends down the shore proved impossible thanks to Hurricane Danny, we decided to celebrate at the Chateau – aka – our house! Note: Our house is not a Chateau, but because of the amount of wine consumed in our house, it has been lovingly nicknamed as such.

This last minute hurricane threat then required a menu change. At the shore we would have grilled chicken for sandwiches and gone out to dinner at the Blue Water Café, a chic, BYO restaurant about a block from the house. Now that we were celebrating at home, I needed an alternative plan. Armed with a cook book purchased for the boy’s birthday, Giada’s Family Dinners I identified a few simple but sure-to-be-a-hit-recipes to prepare for the boy’s birthday dinner.

The menu:
The Birthday Dinner!

Appetizers
Pepperoncini Shrimp
Sautéed shrimp tossed with pepperoncini oil with salt and freshly ground pepper
Insalata Caprese
Tomato slices layered with fresh mozzarella cheese and basil with a light drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette

Main Course
Garlic and Citrus Chicken
Bright flavors of citrus fruits make this chicken a zesty but light favorite
Sautéed Green Beans with Tomatoes and Basil
Sautéed green beans tossed with fresh basil, tomatoes, dry white wine, butter and black pepper
Baked Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan Cheese and Bread Crumbs
Comfort food at its best with warm cheesy mashed potatoes coated with Italian bread crumbs

Overall, the menu was flawless. Our guests loved the lightly seasoned Pepperocini Shrimp and while it took me about 20 minutes to figure out what Pepperocini were (Thanks to Google on Blackberry for the hints!), I finally found them. Who knew they were the little green peppers that come with Papa John’s pizza?

The Insalata Caprese was refreshing and delicious and the Garlic and Citrus Chicken was incredibly moist and flavorful. The Baked Mashed Potatoes were the perfect comfort food for the rainy evening and I will absolutely be making these for Christmas this year; maybe even Thanksgiving too. But the big sleeper hit of the evening were the Sautéed Green Beans with Tomatoes and Basil. It occurred to me after they were plated that I forgot to include the dry white wine AND the basil, but they weren’t missed. The shallots and tomatoes added such a delicious flavor to the beans that they were an instant hit.

The evening commenced with a chocolate cake and homemade chocolate chip ice cream. Overall I think the boy was pleased with his birthday dinner; and I felt like Giada cooking up a delicious and simple meal that everyone is sure to remember. So Happy Birthday Hubby!

Simple Things: Pesto Chicken Sandwiches

I just finished lunch and enjoyed a simple yet, great sandwich. A classic chicken sandwich (sliced chicken, American cheese, tomatoes and mayo) with one unique difference – pesto! When making the sandwich, I put a dab of mayo on the bread, then added another dab of pesto before spreading them both together. Simple step, but it made the flavor of this simple sandwich really pop! If I had the chance to do it over again however, I would have grilled it! A little butter on the outside of both slices of bread – just like a grilled cheese – then into a hot grill pan for a few moments on each side to heat through and get the classic Panini grill marks.

Funny thing – while I was eating lunch, I checked my email and saw a similar recipe in my inbox from Cooking Light. If you are not aware, Cooking Light sends a free, daily email list for new recipes and cooking tips for those who sign up. I subscribe to it and recommend it to everyone – like their magazine, the email is great. Check it out. Enjoy!

Silicone – the next BIG thing!

While most infamously known for its use in cosmetic surgery, silicone is now ‘enhancing’ how I cook. Thanks to the great scientific minds, who I might add are much smarter than I am, who engineer these things, there are now a host of cooking tools and bake ware made from this versatile synthetic material.

I use the high-temperature spatulas nearly every day when stir frying or sautéing on the stove top. They make it easier to mix ingredients into an already cooking dish or to stir foods to ensure they cook evenly without the fear that they will melt like standard plastic tools. Looking around my kitchen now I can see at least four of these ingenious silicone tools in different shapes and sizes.

In addition to tools like this, baking dishes made of this material make cakes and muffins even better. Foods do not stick to the material so when a cake is finished baking and cools it can be popped right out of the dish quickly and easily while perfectly maintaining the form. Also look for the silicone cookie sheet mats that make baking cookies a breeze. Enjoy!

Lasagna Made Easy

I love to have friends over to the house for dinner. I don’t think of it as entertaining, I just think it’s an excuse to spend time with great people. The only problem that I have found is that when you are cooking, you miss out on spending time with your guests. Sure, they can come into the kitchen to be with you, but you really can’t enjoy their company while you are focusing on your dish. The perfect solution to this problem is like this – my simple lasagna. All the work is done ahead of time and all you do is throw it in the oven when your guests arrive. It takes 45 minutes to cook which will allow you the time to have a glass of wine and relax with your friends, rather than missing that great time catching up with those close to you.

- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 jar red sauce (24 ounces)
- ½ medium onion, diced
- ½ green bell pepper, diced
- 1 box lasagna noodles
- 2 eggs
- 1 container ricotta cheese (15 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon pesto
- 16 ounce mozzarella cheese, shredded
- Olive oil

Bring a large frying pan to medium-high heat on the stove, and then add a tablespoon of olive oil followed by the onions and peppers. Stir continuously for about three minutes before adding the ground turkey. Stir turkey occasionally to ensure that it cooks completely. While the turkey is cooking, bring water to a boil and cook the lasagna noodles as directed.

Once the turkey is cooked and all the water has evaporated, add the red sauce, stir and reduce the heat to a simmer.

In a large bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, eggs and pesto.

Pour one tablespoon of olive oil into a 9” by 13” pan and spread it evenly to keep the noodles from sticking to the pan. Arrange the noodles with the bottom layer going the width of the pan. Cut noodles as necessary to ensure complete coverage. Scoop half of the turkey and red sauce into the bottom layer (picture A) and spread evenly. Add the next layer of noodles going the length of the pan. Scoop half of the ricotta cheese mixture (picture B) and spread evenly. Repeat once more with each alternating layer, then top with shredded mozzarella (picture C).

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Once finished cooking, let the lasagna stand for 15 minute to set before serving (picture D).

I like to start with a garden salad before the lasagna, and then serve it with fresh, hot garlic bread. Enjoy!

Making Great Dishes Even Better

Have you ever been out to dinner, seen something on the menu and thought that you would have done it differently? Ever order something and feel that you would have matched the flavors another way? Then do it! Take that inspiration and make the dish better yourself by adding your spin – a different ingredient, a unique sauce or pairing the dish with another food.

Last weekend I was having dinner with my wife and friends Melissa and Brooke at a small café down the shore. I ordered the surf and turf burger – a hamburger topped with Old Bay steamed shrimp and crumpled goat cheese – served with fries. While it was good, I found the goat cheese to be too strong and the overall taste to be fractured. After some thought, here is how I would have made it.

Seaside Burger
- 6 ounce burger patty
- ½ cup Old Bay steamed shrimp, chopped
- 3 slices Swiss cheese
- Sliced tomato, lettuce and onion to taste

Cook the burger to your desired level (rare, medium, well, etc.). Cover burger with two slices of
Swiss cheese, then top with shrimp and cover with final slice of cheese. Return to the grill for a minute to melt the cheese – this will pull the Swiss flavor through the whole burger while keeping the shrimp attached to the burger. If serving with lettuce, tomato and onion slices, add these at the bottom of the burger to complement the hearty taste of the burger, but not distract from the shrimp.

Side Sauce
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

Mix this side sauce and serve it with the dish to be used on both the burger and the fries. This blending of flavors will tie together both the shrimp and the burger as well as the burger with the fries. Enjoy!