Herb and Balsamic Steak Kebabs

Eating food on a stick is fun. No Thank You Boy will eat twice as much food if I serve it on a skewer. I have made Thai Chicken Tenderloin Satay no less than 5 times this month for my clients and family. And that does not include the numerous Beef Kebabs with Roasted Red Pepper Dipping Sauce and a new client favorite of Herb and Balsamic Steak Kebabs I have prepared this month.

I am officially declaring March the Month of the Kebab.

After mixing up the marinade, add the cubed sirloin steak so it can soak up the herb, balsamic, and Dijon mustard flavors. Thread the beef onto bamboo skewersalong with some peppers and red onion wedges followed by a quick roasting in a hot oven or on the grill is all that is needed for a great dinner. Add a brown rice pilaf with sauteed leeks and peas and you will be eating a delicious dinner with a minimum of fuss.

Dinners for a Year and Beyond. Helping families get back to the dinner table one recipe at a time.



Herb and Balsamic Steak Kebabs
serves 4, 2 kebabs per person

2 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano, basil, and thyme
1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak, cubed
1 red pepper, cut in 1-inch pieces
1 green pepper, cut in 1-inch pieces
1 red onion, cut in 1-inch pieces
8 bamboo skewers

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, oregano, basil, and thyme. Place the steak in a large resealable bag and add all but 2 - 3 tablespoons of the marinade. Set reserved marinade aside. Let the steak marinate in the refrigerator for 2 - 6 hours.

Thread meat alternately with the peppers and onion on the skewers. Baste the kebabs with the reserved marinade. Place on a broiler pan and roast in oven for about 4 - 5 minutes per side. During the last couple minutes of cooking, turn the oven to broil to slightly char the kebabs.

Remove from oven and let sit covered for 5 minutes before serving.

Note - alternately, the kebabs can be grilled on an outdoor grill for 4 - 5 minutes per side.

Sugared Shortbread

Cookies are an important time of my day. With coffee for breakfast. As a pick me up in the late afternoon. And a couple with a shot of milk before bed make for a good night's sleep.

I was introduced to Sugared Shortbread by my neighbor and good friend Kathleen. She can brew a pot of coffee and have a tasty baked good ready at a moment's notice. Even if I stop by unannounced. These buttery, dense treats are melt-in-your mouth delicious and include rice flour as an ingredient. Rice flour is available at your local grocery store in the baking aisle or can be bought online. One brand I typically use is Bob's Red Mill White Rice Flour. Or make your own rice flour by grinding white rice in a coffee bean grinder.



If you start a batch of Sugared Shortbread now, it will be ready for when that next cookie attack hits.



Sugared Shortbread

makes 32 cookies

2 cups flour
1/4 cup rice flour such as Bob's Red Mill White Rice Flour *
1/4 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling on top
1 cup butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 8 x 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Combine the flour, rice flour and sugar. Stir in the melted butter. Add a little more flour if needed for the dough to be a firm consistency. Press into prepared pan to a thickness of about 1 inch.

Bake for about 40 - 45 minutes or until the shortbread is evenly golden brown. Cut immediately into cookie sticks and sprinkle generously with the extra sugar. Cool completely before removing from pan.

* note - rice flour can be made by grinding white rice in a clean coffee grinder.

Brie & Caramelized Onion Stuffed Chicken

When I cook dinner at home, I relax, usually take my time, have a glass of wine, and get dinner to the table in an unhurried manner. Cooking for my personal cheffing clients is different. Very different.

I cook for my clients weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. I even have a few clients that just call me up and hope that I can fit them into my schedule. The day starts with packing my car with my cooking supplies, zipping through the grocery store, chatting with my favorite checkout clerk Bonnie, and packing the groceries in my eco-friendly bags, before heading to my client's home.

Upon arrival, at usually an empty house, I chat with the dogs, unpack the groceries, sharpen my knives, put on my impeccable white apron (a la Julia Child), and start my day. With menu in hand, I plan my cooking balancing act. My goal is to cook a complete meal in about 45 minutes, give of take time for entrees requiring several steps to prepare like Brie and Caramelized Onion Stuffed Chicken versus ones that I can whip through such as Ginger Honey Barbecued Pork Tenderloin.

Typically, I have many dishes underway at the same time because I want to minimize the time it takes me to prepare all the meals. Pasta will be cooking for Parmesan orzo and peas, butternut squash, turnips, red potatoes, and baby carrots will be roasting in the oven, onions will be caramelizing on the stove top, and I will be mixing up the dressing for a Caesar salad all at the same time. Add in packaging the meals, adding the labels for heating instructions, and washing dishes and packing the refrigerator full of meals, my day is then complete.

A client favorite is Brie and Caramelized Stuffed Chicken. Chicken breasts are stuffed to overflowing with slow cooked, wine infused onions, garlic, and Brie cheese. After and quick sear to brown the outside of the chicken, it finishes up in the oven. A light sauce of wine, chicken stock and sage complete the dish.

This is a Sunday dinner type of dish. Put it on your menu next week and enjoy dinner with family and friends.


Caramelized Onion and Brie Stuffed Chicken

adapted from a recipe on myrecipes.com

6 servings

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large onion, sliced thin, about 4 cups
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3/4 cup white wine, divided
about 6 ounces of Brie cheese, rind removed and cut into 6 slices
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add sliced onion, salt and pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally,  for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. Add sliced garlic and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup of wine and cook 5 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Spoon 3/4 of the onion mixture into a bowl and the remaining 1/4 into another bowl - reserving for the sauce. Let onion mixture cool.

Cut a horizontal slit through the thickest portion of each chicken breast to form a pocket. Stuff about 1 - 2 tablespoons of the onion mixture into each pocket along with a slice of the Brie cheese.

In the same saute pan that the onions were cooked in, add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken in batches and brown chicken on each side; about 3 - 4 minutes per side. Remove chicken and place on a large baking sheet. Finish cooking the chicken in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the thickest part of the chicken registers about 165 degrees on a thermometer. Make sure you are testing the temperature of the chicken and not the stuffing.

Meanwhile, in the same saute pan, add the reserved 1/4 of the onion mixture and 1/2 cup wine. Bring to a boil and reduce for about 3 - 5 minutes. Add the sage and chicken stock and continue boiling for an additional 4 - 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir to melt.

Remove the chicken from the oven and place on a platter. Spoon sauce over the top and serve.

The Crab Cake

As a God-fearing, church-going Catholic, I follow the Lenten regulations of abstaining from meat on Fridays mainly because I want to improve my chances of making it to Heaven. It is only these Fridays during Lent that I crave a huge, juicy cheeseburger because I am "not supposed" to eat meat on these days.

As a backup to my burger desire, I keep a can of fresh crab meat on hand to make The Crab Cake instead. A mostly crab meat filled patty with barely enough egg and panko to bind it together reminds of warm summer days spent at The Shore instead of the burger of my dreams.

Crab cakes are a weekly request from my clients. I think I will put in a request to make them for myself this Friday.

The Crab Cake

Use crab meat from the refrigerated section near the seafood department of your local grocery store or Costco. I use Phillip's backfin or special varieties.

makes 12 crab cakes or about 4 servings

1/3 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced celery
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 egg
1 pound of fresh crab meat, either backfin or special varieties
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup panko plus more for dredging crab cakes in before sauteing
canola oil and butter for frying

for classic tartar sauce --
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
squeeze of lemon juice

shredded iceberg lettuce

In a large saute pan, heat about a tablespoon of canola oil and saute the onion and celery for 4 - 5 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, gently combine the Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, Old Bay seasoning, dry mustard, parsley, egg, crab meat, 1/4 cup of mayonnaise, and 1/2 cup of panko and the onion-celery mixture. Make sure that you do not mix too much because you do not want to break up the crab pieces.

Using a 1/4 cup measure, form the crab mixture into 12 crab cakes. If you have time, refrigerate, covered for 30 minutes to help the crab cakes hold their shape while sauteing.

Heat a large saute pan to medium high. Drizzle about 1 - 2 tablespoons of oil and add 1/2 tablespoon of butter into pan. Place about 1 cup of panko in a shallow dish. Dredge each side of the crab cakes in the panko and saute for about 3 - 4 minutes per side or until golden brown. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

For the tartar sauce, in a small bowl combine the 1 cup of mayonnaise, pickle relish and lemon juice.

Serve crab cakes on top of shredded iceberg lettuce with a squeeze of lemon and classic tartar sauce.