Roasted Garlic Lime Chicken, with an awesome Zinfandel!

This is a recipe boiled down from one that I got that sounded good, but I had a really  rough time with - even though the finished product was amazing.  Temperatures were off,  ( could be my 20 year old stove) and sauces didn’t thicken – but wow, what a great taste.  So, here is the simplified version:

The secret to this recipe is the marinade – which is totally amazing!  It goes both below and above the skin of the bird, which is then refrigerated for 6 – 24 hours.  I stuck my bird in the fridge for about 18 hours or so – I made the marinade the night before and cooked the next day.  The original recipe called for vertical roasting, but I didn’t have a beer can cooker or vertical roaster, so I left the bird right side up on a roasting rack.  Came out fine, moist, crispy on the outside, totally awesome!  Here it goes – it is actually a pretty simple dish this way:

Marinade mix:

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup tightly packed fresh mint leaves, chopped (one whole package from the store)

2 tbs fresh ground sea salt

6 large garlic cloves, diced

1 tbs fresh ground pepper ( I used about 1tsp of the smoked black pepper mixed in with this.  It is available in supermarkets and is a definite must for dry rubs)

1 tbs ground cumin

1 tbs sugar

2 tsp smoked paprika ( NOT regular – find the smoked paprika)

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp packed lime zest from one lime

¼ cup fresh lime juice from 2 limes

1 tsp minced seeded habanero chili

1 tsp dried new mexico chile – seeded and diced.

1 whole chicken (3.5 – 4 lb)

Marinated, ready to go!

1. Process all ingredients, except chicken in blender or food processor until smooth paste forms.  Scrape sides with rubber spatula as needed until mixture is smooth. 
2. With fingers, separate skin from breast, thighs, and back of chicken, and remove any excess fat.  Rub ½ paste beneath the skin of the chicken ( wear rubber gloves, or, as I did, constantly wash hands,(don’t touch your eyes) due to the peppers)  Spread remaining paste over entire rest of the exterior surface of the chicken.  Place chicken in a freezer bag, or wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 6 – 24 hours – the longer the better…
3. When ready to cook ( the next day, or later that day ) pre heat oven to 390 degrees.  Place bird on a rack in a roasting pan, and pour ½ of  a 12 oz beer into the bottom.  Roast for 1.5 hours, depending on your oven, or until skin is crispy and brown, and interior temperature is 165 degrees at the thickest part of the breast, and 175 degrees in the thighs.



Crispy outside, tender and moist inside!

4. Remove from oven, and let rest for 15 minutes.  Carve, and serve with spicy sauce.

Spice Sauce/Mayonnaise

1 large egg

2 tbs water

1 tbs minced shallot

1 tbs fresh lime juice from one lime

1 tbs fresh cilantro       

1 tbs pickled jalapeno, minced

1 medium garlic clove, minced

1 tsp yellow mustard

½ tsp fresh ground sea salt

1 cup light olive oil

Process all ingredients except the oil in a food processor until finely chopped – about 5 or 10 seconds.  With machine running on slow, slowly drizzle in oil in a steady stream until mayonnaise-like consistency is reached.  ( Mine came out more like a thick sauce than a mayonnaise –  I ran it at high for about a minute, and then refrigerated it for an hour or so.  Still wasn't mayonnaise consistency, more like a thick sauce - but tasted incredible, none the less)

Garlic Lime Chicken (without the sauce)

I served the chicken with wild rice, and yellow/green beans, sautéed with butter, garlic, shallot, cilantro, a tad of lemon juice for acidity,  and finished with blue cheese to offset the lemon.

The chicken is a little labor intensive, but uses pretty simple techniques – and worth the work. A blender will work in place of a food processor if you don’t have one. 

I served it with an awesome, food friendly Zinfandel by Black Ridge Vineyards, from Lodi, California.

This was a $9.99 Zinfandel, recommended by a local wine store.  Not sure how available it is across the country – it is, I am sure, one of the “sub” labels of a major winery – but I thought it was worth a shot, as I had already tried their Pinot Noir ( also ten bucks….normally a scary price point for Pinot - which is a temperamental grape and expensive to turn into a decent wine – but it was surprisingly good, full bodied, fruit forward, nice finish…) so I went with the Zin.  This was an interesting Zinfandel for sure – right out of the bottle, it had an amazing plum/cherry taste, with dark chocolate and black pepper overtones, and a really long finish, but very soft tannins and mouth feel.  Not a lot of alcohol up front, which was not that surprising with only a 13% ratio by volume (Zins tend to be VERY potent, and this is a lower alcohol content than many Cabs and Merlot’s I have had.  Zin’s can be rough right out of the bottle till the alcohol settles out – this one tasted like it had been in the decanter for an hour or so already!)

Decanting it softened it up further, but throw in some spicy chicken and WOW!  The wine got nice and chewy, full bodied, with heavy spice and bitter chocolate notes, tons of berry and REALLY smooth.  Probably one of the best ten dollar Zins I have ever had…a great blend of berry with spice – I am not a big fan of Zins that are hugely spicy – they taste like twigs fermented to me, but this one was really approachable, and could be enjoyed by both people familiar – and not – with the varietal.  

Bon Appetite!

Real-time blogging: spiced grilled lamb chops and broiled vegetables. Also known as: cooking and technology don't necessarily mix.

We have the world's most sensitive smoke detector (add in the fact that it's extremely old school and sounds like a classroom bell). This doesn't really blend well with the fact that, while our vegetables are broiling (more on this later), I'm grading papers. And the grill won't light. But anyways, on to the recipe. I always thought I'd hate lamb-- too cute, too exotic-- as a kid. I worked at a Lebanese restaurant where lamb was abundant, cleverly disguised as ground beef for gyros, and was hooked. It's incredibly versatile (spicy, sweet, savory), and is surprisingly cheap (enough lamb chops to feed 3 people was $9, for a premium cut). It tastes deliciously exotic while being extremely simple to prepare-- a little but of cumin, garlic, and curry and you're on your way to faraway lands. This spiced recipe harolds the spicy gyro meat that most people are familiar with, which is a more comfortable introduction to a cut that makes most people a little wary.


To start, generously sprinkle lamb shoulder chops (shaped like hearts, bone-in) with cumin. Two chops is generally quite satiating for one person; most packages contain four. Then, add a little bit of garlic powder (maybe 1/4 tsp over both sides of chop) and indian curry powder (again, 1/4 tsp over both sides). Grill; lamb should be served medium-rare, this is about 140 degrees. For us, it took about 5 mins/side.

For sauce, take about 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, add some shaved cucumber (this is really to taste; about 1 tbsp is adequate) and 1/4 tsp of garlic powder; mix well.

For vegetables; cut whole baby portabella mushrooms in half; mix on foil-lined cookie sheet with 1 package of grape tomatoes and a very coarsely diced onion, all smothered in vinagerette dressing. Broil for about 8 minutes; the ends of the onion should be blackened. Serve with lamb, sauce, and some cous-cous, and you have an exotic dinner in about 20 minutes!

Now, I'm off to grade more papers, so enjoy your dinner!
-Tory

Lobster Newburg

For those of you who DON'T want diet food, I have a very delicious and accordingly waistline-unfriendly lobster dish. If you want something absolutely decadent (read: Valentine's Day) but don't want to spring for ho-hum, expensive lobster, fresh lobster meat can be purchased in 6-oz containers (entirely claw meat, and entirely enough for two people) for about $10. This recipe is super quick but tastes like it took forever. There's one catch: don't leave it unattended! The mixture of butter, cream, and egg yolks will curdle in no time.

To start, melt 1/2 stick butter in a skillet. Add the lobster meat, cook over medium-low for about two minutes. Add two tablespoons of cooking sherry and three tablespoons of brandy, cook for another two minutes. Remove the lobster with a slotted spoon, set aside. Add a cup and a half of heavy cream, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of cayenne, and a dash of red pepper flakes. Stir occasionally until mixture is reduced to about a cup (this should be about 5 mins. If it's bubbling like crazy, the heat is too high). Whisk in 4 egg yolks, and whisk CONSTANTLY for about 5 minutes. Stir in lobster and serve over angel hair pasta, and you're done!

We had this last night with Talbot Logan Chardonnay, which is a fantastic white for $20...I know it's a little steap, but it's my absolute favorite and a certain someone picked it up as a surprise.

Anywho, I'm off to make mustard-glazed chicken...if it's a success, I'll let you all know!

Linguini al Limone, with a fantastic Murphy-Goode Sauvignon Blanc



2008 Murphy-Goode
The Fume



Another week, come and gone!  Boy time does fly sometimes.  Decided to make another recipe from Cook’s Illustrated magazine – Linguini al Limone…..  it awesome. Creamy, just the right hint of lemon without over doing it....

 Needed a good wine to go with it, and happened upon a new version of an old favorite – Murphy-Goode Sauvignon Blanc.  I love Murphy-Goode wines!  They are always consistent, and always good.  I have been to the vineyard in the Alexander River Valley, several times.  This wine used to be labeled as a Fume Blanc, (FB is really Sauvignon Blanc), but now is simple called “The Fume” 



It is a 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, but not your typical, grassy acidic SB at all.  It was a little tight initially, because I had it a tad too cold, and seemed VERY subtle at first.  Bone dry, nice citrus flavors of pineapple and tangerine, with a very light finish initially.  When it warmed up, the tangerine really came out, and the finish was incredible – VERY long.  When paired with the Linguini – served in a lemon, cream, basil sauce, the wine REALLY came up to speed.  This is a fantastic food wine, and the incredible balance of citrus, fruit, with just a hint of oak for structure really matched the balance of the acidity from the lemons and the fat from the olive oil and cream in the sauce.  A superb combination, if I do say so myself!!  With the food, the pineapple and tangerine flavors really popped, and the finish seemed to go on forever.  For $10.99 a bottle, this is a real keeper, especially if you are like me, and not a huge fan of big, bold, grassy, acidic Sauvignon Blancs.

Linguini al Limone
with Lemon Shrimp Scampi



Now for the linguini.  This recipe really piqued my attention when I saw it.  Of course I had to tweak it a little. ( I used Linguini Fini instead of spaghetti, and I added some lemoney shrimp scampi for a little protein.)  It is very simple to make, and the most important thing to remember is to use EXACTLY the same amount of lemon juice and cream.  I cut back on the pasta liquid for this recipe because using the amount in the magazine, the sauce, while awesome tasting, was a little watery.  Another important step is to let the dish sit for a few minutes before serving to allow the flavors to develop.



Ingredients:

1/2 lb Linguini Fini ( for 2 servings)

¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil

1 large shallot, minced – split into two piles



¼ cup heavy cream

3 tsp lemon zest,(about 2 or 3 lemons worth) and the juice from 2-3 lemons (1/4 cup)

½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese

fresh ground black pepper

2tbs fresh basil leaves, chopped

10 large shrimp, (21-25 count)

3 cloves garlic

1 tbs butter




1. Bring 3 quarts salted water to boil, add pasta and cook till al dente, stirring frequently – about 8 minutes or so.  Check frequently so you don’t overcook the pasta.  Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, drain, drizzle with olive oil, stir and set aside.
2. While pasta is cooking, defrost, and peel shrimp.  In sauté pan, heat 2 tbs olive oil, and 1 tbs butter till melted.  Saute garlic, and ½ shallots till translucent.  Add shrimp, and cook until opaque – about 4 minutes.  Just before the shrimp are done, add 1 tbs of lemon zest, and stir well.  Remove from heat.  (Try and time it so the shrimp and the pasta are done at the same time, otherwise you will have to reheat the shrimp, over low heat)

3. After the pasta is drained, add 1 tbs olive oil, and heat the other half of shallots, with ½ tsp salt, until soft, about 2 minutes.  Whisk in ¾ cup pasta water and all of the cream into pot, bring to a simmer and cook for 2 – 3 minutes.  Remove from heat, return pasta, and stir until coated.  Stir in 3 tbs oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese and ½ tsp pepper.
4. Cover, and let pasta stand 2 or 3 minutes, tossing frequently.  Stir in basil, season with salt and pepper, and serve topped with the shrimp.

Buon Appetitto!



Dan's Home Made Super Bowl Chili - Store bought chili powder? We don't need no stinking store bought chili powder!!



Home made Chili  - yum!

 Ok, here is an amazing chili I made for the Super Bowl – even though only Lynne and I were watching…. Well, only I was watching, because she made me go in the other room…. No fire, no couch, no dog…. Just me and a 13” tv….. oh well.  To top it off, I think the spots were awful this year… anyway, this is a recipe I adapted from Cook’s Illustrated – made quite a few changes actually.  Came out unbelievably well – nothing like home made chili paste….. pan toasted chili’s…. yum. The house smelled amazing. 

This is a fairly labor intensive dish – not difficult, just time consuming.  Takes a good 3 hours to make,  about 1 hour of labor, and 2 cooking, with quite a bit of chopping, and food processing – but WELL worth it!  This is the first time I have made my own chili paste - will DEFINATELY be making it again!

So, here we go! 

Ingredients:

Table salt

1.5 lbs dried pinto beans, (about 1.5 cups) rinsed well

6 dried ancho, or New Mexico chilies – stems and seeds removed, with flesh cut into ½ inch pieces.

4 Chippotle in Adobo sauce peppers, with 2 tbs of sauce ( from can)

3 tbs corn meal

2 tsb dried oregano

3 tsb ground cumin

1 ts[ dried cilantro

3 tbs cocoa powder

3 cups chicken broth

1 4.25 can green chillies

1 tbs fresh chopped cilantro

zest from 1 lime

2 medium onions chopped

3 small Jalapeno peppers, stemmed and seeded, chopped

4 tbs olive oil

4 large cloves garlic, diced fine

1.5 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, with liquid

3 tsp molasses

2.5 oz Beef Chuck Eye Roast, fat removed, and cubed into ¼ inch pieces

½ bottle Guinness Stout

Directions:

1-     Combine 3 tbs salt with 4 quarts water and beans in large 6 quart stock pot, and bring to a boil over high heat.  Cover, and remove from heat, let stand for 1 hour.  Drain, rinse well, and set aside.

2-     Place seeded, and stemmed ancho or New Mexican chilies in dry sauté pan, and toast over med – high heat.  Do NOT let them burn – stir or shake constantly, till nicely browned.  Remove from pan and let cool.  Do NOT wash skillet.

3-     Add toasted chilies, cornmeal, oregano, cumin, cocoa, dried cilantro,4 Chipotle peppers,  and ½ tsp salt to food processor.  Process until a finely ground powder. ( It will be a little like a paste from the wet chipotle peppers, this is fine)  While processor running on slow, slowly add ½ cup chicken broth until mixture is a fine paste.  Transfer to a small bowl.  Add onions, and Jalapeno peppers, and gently pulse until the consistency of a chunky salsa.



Simmer Sauce



4-     Heat 2 tbs olive oil in 6 quart stock pot over med high heat.  Add onion/pepper mixture, and sauté, stirring until liquid is cooked off, about 7 minutes.  Add garlic, and cook for additional minute or two.  Stir in chili paste, and cook until thoroughly combined.  Add remaining 2 ½ cups broth, tomatoes, drained beans, can of green chilies and bring to a boil – then reduce heat to med low and simmer.



5-     As sauce is simmering, in 12 or 16 inch sauté pan, heat 2 tbs olive oil over med high heat, and begin browning meat in batches that only cover the bottom.  Sear until brown on all sides, remove, and add about 1/8 bottle of beer to deglaze the pan.  Pour reduced beer into sauce.  Continue until all meat is browned, and about ½ bottle of beer is used up. ( a little more is fine- lol – the more the merrier!)  Add browned meat, lime zest and fresh cilantro to sauce, cover, and simmer for about 2 hours till meat is tender, and the smell is driving you crazy!

6-     Serve with lime wedges, shredded Mexican cheese mix, and Sour Cream….. This should be pretty spicy, but if you are like me, and want an added kick, add some red pepper flakes to your own portion.

Nut Crusted Chicken Cutlets, with Lemon and Thyme



Made an incredible accidental discovery – Cook’s Illustrated magazine.  Sent in for a free issue, and got 3 great recipe’s from it.  This one was the first that we made – fairly simple, really unusual, and REALLY good!  I HIGHLY recommend subscribing to this magazine if you love to cook – great recipes, equipment reviews, and general cooking advice.



Final Product, with corn and green onions





Here is the recipe:



Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat (and the tenderloin if still attached)  Cut in ½ if need be to keep to no more than 1 inch thick.

½  tsp fresh ground sea salt

1 cup roughly chopped almonds (use a blender or food processor – chop to a course ground meal consistency)



4 tbs (1/2 stick) butter, cut into 4 pieces



1 medium shallot minched

1 cup Panko bread crumbs (do NOT use regular – Panko are Japanese style, big and crunchy)

2 tsb lemon zest (from one lemon) cut remaining lemon into wedges, and reserve.

1 tsp freshly minced Thyme leaves

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

3 large eggs



2 tsp Dijon mustard



¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 cup all purpose flour

Directions:

Place one rack in oven to lowest position, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.



Pan toast nuts and bread crumbs



1 - Poke each breast with a fork 5 or 6 times, season with fresh ground salt. Set aside in refrigerator.

2 – Process nuts in food processor, until they are the consistency of a rough ground meal.  Heat butter in 12 inch skillet, whisking constantly until it turns golden brown, about 4 – 5 minutes ( don’t burn!).  Add shallot and ¼ tsp fresh ground salt.  Cook, stirring constantly, until just beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low, add panko and ground nuts.  Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 10 to 12 minutes.  This smells heavenly by the way!  Transfer panko/nut mixture to side plate, add lemon zest, Thyme and cayenne, mix thoroughly.



Egg Mixture



3 – lightly beat eggs, mustard and black pepper together in a small bowl.  Place flour on a separate plate.  Pat chicken dry with paper towels.  Working with one piece at a time, dredge breast in flour first, shaking off excess, then dip in egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off.  Roll breast in nut mixture, so all sides are covered, pressing gently so crumbs adhere.  Transfer breaded chicken to a clean wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining chicken.



Bake Chicken at 350



4 – Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until interior temp is 160 degrees, and juices run clear.  Serve with lemon wedges.



I served this with some simple frozen corn, heated with a tbs of water, and a tbs of butter, in a microwave (lol, yes I use a microwave occasionally!) and spiced up with some chopped green onion. 

Really an awesome, company quality dish!

Finally! Some wine tasting! 2008 Carmenere, with Petit Sirloin, and Mushroom Green Onion Risotto

Root:1 2008 Carmenere
Colchagua Valley, Chile

Ok, I originally promised to include some wine critiques and pairing info with the blog, and I am officially starting this week.  My thought is to pick a wine a week, under $15 bucks to highlight.  There is so much good wine out there at this price point – or less!  These are great wines to drink, and also great wines to bring to someone’s house as a gift – even if they are big wine drinkers!

So, to start our world wide search for great wines under 15 bucks, we are going to go to the Colchagua Valley of Chile.  Chile produces some awesome wine, and the Colchagua Valley was picked by Wine Enthusiast magazine as the best wine region in the world in 2005.  After about a half hour of my favorite thing – wine shopping - I decided to go with a Carmenere, by  Root: 1.  Carmenere is to Chile what Malbec is to Argentina, or Merlot to France.  It was introduced to the region in the 1800’s by France, and is now one of the primary grapes of the region.  Carmenere has the smoothness of a Merlot, the spice of a Cabernet, and the body of a Cabernet Franc – ie smooth as silk, plenty of spice, but a lighter body, with the cherry/fruit of a Cab Franc. 

Root:1 produces some awesome wine for the price point – produced from grapes grown on the “original, ungrafted root systems tended by our Master Winemakers”  I have had both their Cabernet and Chardonnay, and both are phenomenal values.  These are $12.99 wines that could easily stand up to many wines twice as expensive.

A couple of notes on wine hardware: good glasses and a decanter.  Even inexpensive wines benefit from the proper glass, and decanting.  Yes, decanting.  I am going to taste test each wine right out of the bottle, and decanted for an hour, to show the difference decanting makes.  Glasses are critical.  In my cooking classes, I bring wine to pair with the food, and I always to a comparison between a proper wine glass by Riedel for example, and a cheap, small glass, virtually everybody can taste the difference, no matter what their wine drinking experience.  You can get Riedel’s now for about 3 or 4 bucks a stem, and they are WELL worth the price.  The proper size bowl makes all the difference in taste – I can easily spend an entire post on that alone.  Suffice to say for now – go get some if you don’t have them.  Most liquor stores sell the glass (not crystal) versions at a very reasonable price. The same goes for decanters – you can buy a decent one by one of the major stemware makers for about $20 bucks. Well worth the investment!

Petit Sirloin, with Guiness marinade,
Mushroom and Green Onion Risotto
2008 Root:1 Carmenere 

So back to the Root:1 Carmenere.  This wine was a 2008, and retailed for $12.99.  The bottle describes it as a “complex red wine with flavors of ripe plum, blackberry and spice”  Pretty accurate actually.  Right out of the bottle, the “nose” or smell, was a little alcoholy ( not really a word, but you know what I mean),  and very jammy.  The wine had great body, it tasted primarily of tobacco (the “spice”) then the berry/plum flavors came through, with pretty strong tannins ( that kind of tea bag tartness on your tongue),and then a strong finish of cherry.  After decanting it for an hour, the tannins smoothed out really nicely – the wine was much smoother; the cherry/plum flavors moved more up front; and the nice spicy flavor mingled nicely with the cherry in the finish – which remained incredibly long. (how long you can still taste the wine after you swallow is the “finish”)

Overall, it was a great bottle of wine for 13 bucks!  I paired it with a pair of petit sirloins, marinated in Guinness, garlic and Worcestershire sauce, then sautéed in the marinade, and a baby portabella/green onion risotto.  Yum…..

Saute steaks in marinade

For the marinade – about ½ cup of beer, 1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce.  Salt and pepper the meat, rub with garlic cloves.  Dice the garlic up, and add to marinade.  Pierce meat with a fork, and marinate for about an hour or so, the longer the better.  Heat 2 tbs olive oil in sauté pan over med-high heat.  Sear steaks on both sides ( about 2 or 3 minutes per side).  Reduce heat, add about 1/3 of the marinade and simmer steaks for about 7 minutes per side, or until fairly firm when poked with a fork.  Add some marinade as sauce reduces to keep the pan moist.  Add balance of marinade for the last 3 minutes or so, and reduce to a sauce consistency.  Serve over steaks.

For the Risotto, I took abbut 6 green onions, and diced up the green parts, and about a handful of sliced baby Portobello mushrooms.  Before cooking the steaks, I used the sauté pan to heat mushrooms, onions, a diced shallot, and 2 cloves of minced garlic in about a tbs of olive oil.  Cook garlic and shallots until translucent first, then add mushrooms and onions, and saute until mushrooms just starting to soften.  Set aside, and use the same pan to cook the steaks.

Prepare the Risotto ( I used about 1/3 cup of raw rice) to instructions – I use chicken bullion instead of water.  I heat 4 tbs butter, then add the rice, stirring constantly.  I then add about ¾ cup white wine, and whisk till absorbed.  Add chix bullion about ½ cup a time, whisking constantly until absorbed before adding more.  Continue until rice is smooth, creamy and not crunchy when tasted – about 20 minutes.  Remember – the trick to great Risotto is to not stop stirring!!  Add the mushroom/onion mixture, and heat through – about 2 minutes.  Serve with diced green onions on top!

Bon Appetit!!

Pan-seared chicken breasts with creamy sundried tomato sauce

So begins the teaching semester, and so begins me not feeling like cooking, ever. Jereme is useless in the kitchen (sorry), and pasta gets old...in fact, after a long day of snow plowing, I'm eating ice cream. For dinner. So, anyways, I've been coming up with "how much crap can I throw in a pan in 15 minutes?" recipes. We had: two Omaha Steaks chicken breasts, a jar of sundried tomatoes, and a little bit of leftover half and half.

To start, cook a couple of thin-sliced chicken breasts with three large cloves of garlic (chopped) in olive oil in a large skillet. When the chicken is almost entirely cooked through, add about 1/4 cup of sundried tomatoes, including oil, as well as a pinch of oregano and basil. Simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Add about 1/2 cup of cream, stir until thick enough to coat spoon and a medium tan color (this is due to the slight carmelizing of the tomatoes). And...that's it. These are super easy, and fantastic when topped with fresh parmesean and served with green beans sauteed in white wine. The whole thing takes about 15 mins.

On a side note-- Omaha steaks are awesome. We got an ungodly ammount of meat (ribeyes, fillets, franks, hamburgers, chicken, porkchops), as well as stuffed potatoes and apple tarts, for about $50. No joke. The meat is top quality and perfectly portioned, and it all comes in at way less than we'd spend at Stop and Shop. Who'd have guessed?

Bon apetit! (I have no idea if I spelled that right...)
Tory