Spinach Dip in Filo Cups

By Paul Briand

My Spinach and Artichoke Dip is pretty popular among family and those who have made it themselves.

I've been making it for special occasions for years, but for this holiday season I wanted to try something different.

So instead of making a batch and just serving it with the usual Triscuits, I made a batch and used some to fill frozen prepared filo cups. I put dip into 45 cups.

The process of putting the warm dip into the cups immediately warmed the cups, but after a while they need to go into the oven to rewarm.

It was a great variation on a theme.

Ingredients
As listed in the dip recipe above;
Prepared filo cups, found in your grocer's freezer

Directions
1. Remove filo cups from their packaging to thaw;
2.. Make a batch of dip as described in the recipe above;
3. Take a gallon storage bag and use scissors to trim a corner of the bag to create the equivalent of a baker's icing bag;
4. Spoon a good amount of dip into the bag and squeeze a dollop to fill each of the cups;
5. Serve immediately; reheat in a warm oven on a cookie sheet as needed.

Garlic Roast Beef

By Paul Briand

As I was picking through the meat cooler at the grocery store the other day, I realized I had never cooked a roast before.

And the roast looking back at me from the cooler seemed the perfect starting point to remedy that situation.

The trick to a good roast is to a) not overcook it and b) have enough fat on the roast to render the juices necessary for a good gravy.

I accomplished the latter, but the roast was a little overcooked, despite my judicious use of a meat thermometer. I like it rare, this was medium.

But here’s a basic recipe for roast I found at the Simply Recipes website. I liked it because of the addition of the garlic.

Ingredients
3 to 3 1/2 lbs of Boneless Rump Roast (pick an end cut with a layer of fat if you can)
Olive oil
8 slivers of garlic
Salt and pepper
For the gravy:
Red wine, water, and or beef stock
Corn starch

Directions
1. Start with the roast at room temperature (remove from refrigerator 1 hour before cooking - keep it wrapped). Preheat the oven to 375 degrees;
2. With a sharp knife make 8 small incisions around the roast. Place a sliver of garlic into each incision;
3. Take a tablespoon or so of olive oil and spread all around the roast. Sprinkle around the roast with salt and pepper;
4. Place the roast directly on a roasting rack, fatty side up, with a drip pan underneath it;
5. Brown the roast at 375 degrees for half an hour. Lower the heat to 225 degrees. The roast should take somewhere from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours additionally to cook;
6. Pull the roast from the oven when the inside temperature of the roast is 135 to 140 degrees;
7. Let the roast rest for at least 15 minutes, tented in aluminum foil to keep warm, before carving;
For the gravy:
1. Remove the dripping pan from the oven and place on the stove top at medium heat;
2. Add some water, red wine, or beef stock to the drippings to deglaze;
3. Dissolve a tablespoon of cornstarch in a little water and add to the drip pan;
4. Stir quickly while the gravy thickens to avoid lumping. Add a little butter if there is not a lot of fat in the drippings;
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Click here for recipe card.

Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas

By Paul Briand

As promised, I returned to the grocery store aisle to find and try another of the McCormick spices recipes. This one was for Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas.

And, once again, it proved to be an easy and tasty way to get dinner on the table.

These new McCormick Recipe Inspirations include pre-measured McCormick spices and herbs and a recipe card that you can remove from the box and add to your collection. Previously, we tried a recipe for a Quesadilla Casserole.

In the case of these fajitas, the box included pre-measured amounts of garlic, minced onions, ground cumin, oregano, cilantro and black pepper.

Ingredients

1/4 cup each of lime and orange juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into thin strips

1 medium green bell pepper -- red or green -- cut into thin strips

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

8 flour tortillas

Directions

1. Mix juices, oil, all of the spices and salt in small bowl. Set aside 1/4 cup of the marinade;

2. Place chicken in resealable plastic bag or large glass dish, add marinade (except for set-aside);

3. Turn to coat well and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes;

4. In large skill over medium-high heat, stir in chicken and cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned;

5. Remove chicken from skillet, add pepper, onion and reserved marinade and cook and stir for 5 minutes, until tender;

6. Return chicken to skillet and cook 2 to 3 minutes until heated through;

7. Spoon chicken mixture into warmed tortillas and serve with assorted toppings -- salsa, guacamole, etc.

Click here for recipe card.

Garlic and Citrus Roasted Chicken

By Paul Briand

Normally, I get an idea about something, build on the idea, then get the things needed to complete the idea.

Getting to this recipe came in the most bass-ackward form. I bought a roasting chicken, before having a clue just how or with what I wanted to roast it. Then went looking for some ideas. Then I assembled the things I needed to complete the assignment.

Normally, in thinking ahead about a menu of dinners for the week, I would have decided to roast a chicken, then get everything, chicken included after researching my needs.

It was a curious sequence of events on Jan. 14. I came home from grocery shopping, a roast chicken included among the bags. My intent was to spend part of the day looking around for a good recipe because I'd never roasted a chicken before.

At the time I was getting home, a crew from my cable television provider was finishing up the repair of some damage to the cable wire that occurred during the December ice storm. Once they finished, I turned on the TV to check the reception, tuned into the Food Network, and there was Giada De Laurentiis and her show "Everyday Italian" going over her recipe for a roasted chicken.

How's that for karma?

Here is her Garlic and Citrus Roasted Chicken (picture courtesy of Food Network), which was great. The aroma during cooking was tremendous, a true promise of what was to come on the plate:

Ingredients
1 (5 to 6-pound) whole roasting chicken, neck and giblets discarded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 orange, quartered
1 lemon, quartered
1 head garlic, halved crosswise, plus 3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 (14-ounce) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
Kitchen string or butcher twine

Directions
1. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees,
2. Pat the chicken dry and sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the orange, lemon, and garlic halves. Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen string to help hold its shape. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper,
3. Place a rack in a large roasting pan. Place the chicken, breast side up, on the rack in the pan. Roast the chicken for 1 hour, basting occasionally and adding some chicken broth to the pan, if necessary, to prevent the pan drippings from burning,
4. Whisk the orange juice, lemon juice, oil, oregano, and chopped garlic in a medium bowl to blend. Brush some of the juice mixture over the chicken, after it has baked 1 hour,
5. Continue roasting the chicken until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the innermost part of the thigh registers 170 degrees, basting occasionally with the juice mixture and adding broth to the pan, about 45 minutes longer,
6. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Tent with foil while making the sauce (do not clean the pan),
7. Place the same roasting pan over medium-low heat. Whisk in any remaining broth and simmer until the sauce is reduced to 1 cup, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Strain into a 2-cup glass measuring cup and discard the solids. Spoon the fat from the top of the sauce. Serve the chicken with the pan sauce.

Shrimp in Garlic Sauce

By Paul Briand

This story and recipe caught my eye recently while poking through some news stories from the Associated Press.

Gloria Estefan, pictured at right, is best known for her music, of course. So it's interesting to see how she extends her interests beyond the studio and stage by publishing a cookbook.

Estefan and her husband Emilio own restaurants -- Larios on the Beach and Bongo’s Cuban Cafe -- in Miami Beach, Orlando and Mexico.

"We have a big hardcore following of the Cuban food, and we were getting so many questions from people that go to our restaurants, asking us ’How do you make this?’ and "How do you do that?’" Gloria Estefan said to the Associated Press. "We knew we had to come up with something."

What they came up with is a cookbook: "Estefan Kitchen".

One of the recipes is Shrimp in Garlic Sauce, a scampi really that they call Camarones al Ajillo. The Cuban twist here is the cumin.



Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
20 extra-large shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup dry white wine
Pinch salt
Pinch dried oregano
Pinch cumin powder
4 sprigs fresh parsley

Directions
1. In a large skillet over medium, heat the olive oil until fragrant,
2. Add the shrimp and garlic and saute until the shrimp starts to turn pink, about 4 to 5 minutes,
3. Use tongs to turn the shrimp once during cooking,
4.Reduce the heat to low, then add the wine, salt, oregano and cumin,
5. Cook for another 4 to 5 minutes,
6.Use tongs to transfer the shrimp to serving bowls, then pour the sauce over the shrimp,
7. Garnish with parsley.
Serves two.

The cookbook is dedicated to older Estefan family members with a long cooking tradition.

According to the AP story, Estefan’s great-grandfather served as the chef for two Cuban presidents, while her paternal grandfather managed one of the first Cuban restaurants in Miami. Meanwhile, her grandmother, Consuelo Garcia, shortly after arriving from Cuba in the 1960s started a business serving homemade pan con lechon (roasted pork) sandwiches, ham croquettes and tamales to little leaguers at a Miami park in Miami.

Easy spinach and artichoke dip

By Paul Briand

Many years ago, newly single from divorce, a family event required me to bring something either as an appetizer, side dish or dessert. I could have taken a pass, but I was intent on holding my own in the contribution department. So I chose an appetizer, having no idea however what I would make.

What I hit upon after some research, primarily through the Epicurean.com web site, was a recipe for a dip that involved spinach, artichoke, various cheeses and garlic.

While my epicurean curiosity was pretty high at that time, it wasn't high enough nor was it well funded enough to seek out and buy all the different types of cheeses that the recipe called for. So I substituted the various fresh cheeses for the bagged shredded cheese. And rather than the water crackers (that I always thought were pretty bland) I opted for Triscuits.

I came away having learned two things: That I could hold my own in terms of contributing to the family table and that fresh garlic in the kitchen is a wonderful thing. I ended up peeling and pressing into the mixture more garlic than was necessary, but I discovered by happenstance that a lot of garlic -- and I mean a lot of garlic -- works well in this particular combination, especially against the saltiness of the Triscuit crackers.

Ingredients:
1 can of artichokes in water (do not use artichokes in oil)
1 package frozen shredded spinach
Head of fresh garlic
1 package shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 package shredded Italian blend cheese
8 ounces mayonnaise
Crackers

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Drain artichoke hearts and dice into small pieces
3. Thaw the spinach in microwave
4. Combine diced artichoke and thawed spinach in mixing bowl
5. Remove husks from garlic cloves and use a garlic press to add garlic to artichoke/spinach mixture (use as much garlic as you dare ... the more the merrier, I say)
6. Stir mayonnaise into mixture
7. Fold package of Italian blend cheese into mixture
8. Fold Monterey Jack cheese into mixture, holding back about a cup
9. Hand mix thoroughly and transfer mixture into a 2-qt glass baking dish (preferably one that has a cover)
10. Use remaining Monterey Jack as topping over mixture
11. Cover and bake until the mixture is bubbling hot, about 20 minutes
12. To add some color and texture to the cheese topping, uncover and continue to bake another 10 minutes
13. Serve hot with Triscuits
Note: This dish is easily reheatable in the microwave in your glass baking dish, and (by the way) I use my baking dish as the mixing bowl ... less to clean up.

It's become a favorite among the family and friends for whom I've made it. It's The Dip, The Biggest Dip at the party. It's a warming dish, tremendously suitable for those chilly and cold evenings of fall and winter, but I brought it as recently as Fourth of July to a family party. It's also very filling; it can almost stand alone as a meal. It holds up very well to reheating and every time you get that blast aroma of the garlic it's well worth it.