Recipe #3: Jamaican Jerk Pork Chops and Potatoes Au Gratin

Kyllan 1 Comment

Let me first say, sorry we have not posted in a while.  I do not want to turn this into a cooking blog, so we will do a better job of posting more regularly about other things.

Tonight I made Jamaican Jerk Pork Chops (using Pampered Chef’s jerk spice).  I used the spice before to make jerk chicken nachos, which were delicious, so I decided I would use it on grilled pork chops.  It also gave me an opportunity to use the grill we got from William’s cousins as a wedding gift, which I have only used twice, but I plan to use a lot more.  There is no complicated recipe for the pork chops.  I just sprayed with a little bit of oil, seasoned with the spice and threw them on the grill….very easy.  However, it was nothing to write home about, so I think I will have to try another recipe with marinade since William tends to order pork tenderloin or pork chops frequently when we go out to eat.

As a side dish, I made potatoes au gratin using a recipe out of B Smith’s cookbook, Entertaining and Cooking for Friends. It was a supposed to be a more sophisticated version of your traditional potatoes au gratin and I am definitely adding this to the rotation.  It used a combination of Gruyere and Parmesan cheese and was very good.  The only modification I would make is not adding as much butter.

I also made a salad using spinach, strawberries, pecans and Kraft’s Light Done Right Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing.  I really do not care too much for pecans, but they are good in an occasional salad.

As always, more pictures can be found on my flickr page.

Potatoes Au Gratin (courtesy of B. Smith)

Ingredients:

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 ½ pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices

½ cup grated Gruyère cheese

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon paprika

Preheat the oven to 350? F. Butter a 1 ½ quart baking dish with about 1 tablespoon of the softened butter.

Arrange a layer of potatoes in the baking dish, and sprinkle some of the cheeses over them. Continue layering potatoes and cheeses until you’ve used them all, ending with a layer of potatoes.

In a small bowl, whisk the cream with the salt and pepper; pour this over the potatoes. Dot the remaining butter over the top, and sprinkle with the paprika. Bake for 1 to 1 ¼ hours, or until the potatoes are tender and golden brown on top. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe #2: Cajun Shrimp Casserole

Kyllan 7 Comments

Although I love pasta and could do a pasta dish every week, that is probably not the best route, so I decided to try a casserole this week.  It took me a while to find a casserole that was a bit different than what I was used to.  I found a lot of enchilada casseroles and taco casseroles, etc. (which I will try another time), but then finally I stumbled upon a casserole on myrecipes.com for Cajun Shrimp Pasta.    I love shrimp, but William is allergic to shrimp, so this is not a recipe to add to the regular rotation.  I was thinking I could perhaps use it as a potluck dish or some other occassion.  I was a bit concerened about this dish b/c I wasn’t sure what the consistency was supposed to be like and that it would be spicy enough for my taste, but to my amazement, it actually turned out pretty good.  I was not blown away by it, but enjoyed it yesterday and have enough leftovers for a few days.  I also realized I am going to have to invite my sister or some girlfriends over so I wont waste so much food!  🙂   The recipe is below for those interested.

Cajun Shrimp Casserole (courtesy of Southern Living)

Ingredients

  • 2  pounds  unpeeled, large fresh shrimp
  • 1/4  cup  butter
  • 1  small red onion, chopped*
  • 1/2  cup  chopped red bell pepper*
  • 1/2  cup  chopped yellow bell pepper*
  • 1/2  cup  chopped green bell pepper*
  • 4  garlic cloves, minced
  • 2  cups  fresh or frozen sliced okra
  • 1  tablespoon  lemon juice
  • 1 1/2  teaspoons  salt
  • 1  (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of shrimp soup**
  • 1/2  cup  dry white wine
  • 1  tablespoon  soy sauce
  • 1/2  teaspoon  cayenne pepper
  • 3  cups  cooked long-grain rice
  • 1/4  cup  grated Parmesan cheese
  • Garnishes: quartered lemon slices, fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs

Preparation

Peel shrimp; devein, if desired.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and next 3 ingredients; sauté 7 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in okra, lemon juice, and salt; sauté 5 minutes. Add shrimp, and cook 3 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Stir in soup and next 4 ingredients until blended. Pour into a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes or until casserole is bubbly and cheese is lightly browned. Garnish, if desired.

*1 (10-ounce) package frozen onions and peppers may be substituted for fresh onion and bell peppers.

**1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup may be substituted for cream of shrimp soup.

Note: Unbaked casserole may be made one day in advance. Cover and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before baking as directed. To freeze unbaked casserole, prepare as directed, omitting Parmesan cheese. Cover tightly, and freeze. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before baking. Bake, covered, at 350° for 50 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese, and bake 10 more minutes or until cheese is lightly browned.

Elaine Jeansonne, Cottonport, Louisiana, Southern Living, OCTOBER 2005

The Cody Report 2.0

William 6 Comments

You may have noticed that things look a bit differently around here. Welcome to the Cody Report 2.0 . I’ve been wanting to update the site for a while now and the new year seemed like a good time to do it. Not only do I think the redesign looks cleaner, we’ve added a few new features too. While we dumped the picture in the header for a rotating picture over the sidebar, the contents of the right hand sidebar remain the same; You can still find links to all of our Flickr accounts, blogs run by friends and family members and or favorite sites. Post now feature avatars next to the comments. You can also thread comments now (respond specifically to a particular comment.) There were a few new features I decided to leave out after testing. I am looking for alternative ways to implement those ideas, so don’t be surprised if you see a few more features turn up over the next few weeks.

What do you guys think?

1st recipe of 2009- Beef and Cheese Manicotti

Kyllan 2 Comments

As mentioned in the previous post, I made a New Year’s resolution to try one new recipe per week since I would like to cook more than I currently do.

So… today I tried a recipe from foodnetwork.com.  One of my favorite chefs on the Food Network is Giada De Laurentis. She has a recipe for Beef and Cheese Manicotti that received great reviews and since William and I LOVE Italian food, I decided it would be a good place to start.

Some of the reviews mentioned people altering the recipe slightly to suit their personal taste.  I didn’t want to alter the recipe too much, especially the first time, so the only modifications I made were using 1/2 pound beef and 1/2 pound Italian sausage instead of 100% beef.  It gave it a nice flavor.  I also used a bit more mozzarella and sauce on top than the recipe called for, but that’s b/c I love cheese and extra sauce 🙂   There was also a tip to fill the manicotti shells by using a ziplock bag and cutting a whole in the corner so that you could pipe it into the shells.  This was a great idea!!  The shells can split easily and it is hard to stuff with a spoon, so the piping worked much better.

Anyway… the recipe turned out great!!  William and I both loved it.  We both had second helpings are now stuffed.  Since I am in Denver this weekend, it worked out great b/c now William has leftovers for lunch and dinner tomorrow.  Since I am headed back to Dallas in the morning…. no leftovers for me 🙁  It’s ok… I need to choose some healthier options for the rest of the week anyway.

I posted the recipe and picture below.  I also posted pictures on my flickr page.  I am glad the first recipe was a success.  Thanks Giada!!

Beef and Cheese Manicotti (courtesy of Giada De Laurentis)

Ingredients

  • 4 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 14 (8-ounce package) manicotti
  • 1 (15-ounce) container whole-milk ricotta
  • 3 cups shredded mozzarella
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 cups marinara sauce
  • 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Directions

Heat a heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, onion and ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until the meat browns and the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and cool.

Brush 1 teaspoon of oil over a large baking sheet. Cook the manicotti in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly softened, but still very firm to the bite, about 4 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the manicotti from the pot to the oiled baking sheet and cool.

Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, 1 1/2 to 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and parsley. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper to taste, and mix. Stir the cooled meat mixture into the cheese mixture.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the marinara sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Fill the manicotti with the cheese-meat mixture. Arrange the stuffed pasta in a single layer in the prepared dish and spoon the remaining sauce over.

Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese, then the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan over the stuffed pasta. Dot entire dish with the butter pieces. Bake the manicotti uncovered until heated through and the sauce bubbles on the sides of the dish, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let the manicotti stand 5 minutes and serve.

Resolutions

William 4 Comments

Kyllan and I are ready to make our New Year’s resolutions for 2009. Our first is a combined effort; We plan to go to the gym 3 times a week and to lose 3 pounds a month. Kyllan recently changed gyms and is pretty serious about these goals. (There is even a rumor that we will be going to the gym today.) I, on the other hand, may have some trouble. We postponed the fitness updates in November, but we will resume in February with an update of how things went this January.

Kyllan also plans to try one new recipe a week. I think she may eventually run out of steam on this one, but then again, she seems much more serious about cooking since Thanksgiving.

I plan to go to bed by 11pm 5 nights a week. This may not seem like a big deal to many of you, but I ususally stay up until 2 or 3am. The lack of sleep has really started to take a toll on me. I have a lot of things I want to accomplish in the lab this year and I want to begin each day fresh and alert.

Last Post of the Year

William Leave a comment

That’s a wrap. 2008 is over. It’s been a fun year. We started it off with my parents on New Year’s Day. Those who know me well were shocked when I made “the switch“.  Kyllan and I got to pretend we were famous… and then there was that whole Oprah thing (which we couldn’t talk about due to a Non-disclosure agreement. Click here if you are confused.) Kyllan attended her 10 year reunion; I skipped mine. We caught a few great movies. I got my hands on the hottest gadget of the year… or maybe Kyllan did. We enjoyed the Oplympic Games. We visited 6 countries (Vatican City counts too.) The site had a few technical issues. We were inspired and witnessed a historic event. The two of us discovered that we are hockey fans. You tried to follow along as we set fitnes goals (which we will resume posting about in the new year.) Kyllan and I hosted our first family event. And though Kyllan and I will be spending New Year’s Eve with some of her co-workers, I think Neil wrapped up this year nicely with his recent announcement.

Here is a link to my favorite photos of 2008 (on my flickr account)… Okay the first few are from late December 2007. Close enough.

Headed North

Kyllan 1 Comment

William and I are headed to Cleveland for Christmas. We are at the airport, but already have a 2 hour weather delay.  It appears that several of the Continental flights are on a 2 hour delay.  William and I should have learned out lesson 2 years ago when we tried to go to Jacksonville via Continental, but our flight got canceled and we had to abort the whole trip.  We should have listened to William’s mom and booked American.  Fortunately, today’s flight is a direct flight to Cleveland, so we should be ok, but I think we are giving up on Continental (although we had a bad experience with American on our honeymoon).  No airline is perfect I guess (although I have had very good experiences on Frontier Airlines to Denver thus far with the exception of 1 delay).  While in Cleveland, we will also be celebrating my mom’s 60th birthday!! (she is not bashful about her age). I am sure we will have lots of pictures to post after the weekend.
We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!