lamb marinade

I found this in a very old edition of Joy of Cooking. It's really easy and really good. I've made it a few times. The book suggests that the marinade would be good for kebobs. I used it for 4 - 6 loin lamb chops, which I then grilled for 6 minutes on each side for medium.

• 1/4 cup olive oil (I used extra virgin)
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8 ground black pepper (I just gave a good grind of the pepper mill)

Mix the ingredients together and marinate the meat for at least 3 hours, turning every so often. (I put everything into a zip-lock bag and tossed it into the fridge.)

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Source: "Barefoot Contessa at Home"

I made this AWESOME cornbread to go with Ward's Father's Day dinner of steamed crabs and barbecue ribs. I wouldn't change a thing, other than to note that if you halve the recipe (use 2 eggs, though) you can do it in a 9" square pan.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups milk
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan
8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated, divided
1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts, plus extra for garnish, 3 scallions
3 tablespoons seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter. With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don't overmix!

Mix in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar, the scallions and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and extra chopped scallions. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Creamy Rosemary Polenta

This is from the new Ina Garten book "Barefoot Contessa at Home." I served it with seared diver scallops (great sale at The Market Place!). I made it ahead, at first intending to cut and saute it, but wound up re-heating it in the pot, whisking in extra chicken stock and it was just great.

serves 6

4 cups chicken stock

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup whipped cream cheese (I used 1/3 C. regular)

1/3 cup grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving

2 tablespoons good olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat the chicken stock in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic and cook over medium-high heat until the stock comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and very slowly add the cornmeal, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps. Switch to a wooden spoon and simmer over very low heat, stirring almost constantly, for 7-10 minutes until thick. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan while stirring. Remove the polenta from heat and stir in the cream cheese, Parmesan, oilve oil, rosemary, salt & pepper. Stir until smooth and serve hot sprinkled with extra Parmesan cheese.

Strawberries stuffed with goat cheese cream

I actually saw Paula Deen making this recipe, and when I went online for the recipe I found another one from Disney Resorts using goat cheese. So I combined them.

For not quite 2 quarts of strawberries I combined the following in the food processor

• 3 ounces goat cheese
• 2 ounces low fat cream cheese
• enough light cream to bring it together

Then I dumped it into a ziplock bag and piped it into the strawberries, which had been washed, trimmed and cut down into quarters. Topped with some chopped, toasted pecans and off to book group I went.

Great recipe!

Chicken, Mango, and Rice Salad

I had to post this recipe because it's one of the things I make that I always get tons of requests for the recipe. It's super awesome for grill-outs in the summer and it's an easy dish for people to like.

Mango and avocado may seem unlikely partners, but they have one thing in common: an affinity for cilantro. Here the herb ties them together in an unusual and unusually delicious dish. The salad makes a fine light meal all by itself. It's easy to replace the mango and avocado for things that are easily available or favored in your home - we have made it with pineapple (sorry, Lisa) and with bananas and it holds up real well.

SERVES: 4

ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups rice, preferably short grain
* 1 1/3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4)
* 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon cooking oil
* 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
* 3/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
* 3/4 cup chopped red onion
* 1 mango, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
* 1 avocado, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
* 3 1/2 tablespoons lime juice (from about 2 limes)
* 3/4 cup chopped cilantro

directions
1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the rice until just done, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain. Rinse with cold water. Drain thoroughly.
2. Coat the chicken with the 1 tablespoon oil. Season with 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan over moderate heat. Cook the breasts until just done, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Alternatively, heat the tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan and season and cook the chicken as directed above. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut it into 1/2-inch dice.
3. Toss the rice with the chicken, onion, mango, avocado, the 1/3 cup oil, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, the lime juice, and cilantro.

Crashing Computers and Microwavery

I'm definitely moving all my recipes to some blog or the other. My computer crashed along with the detailed index of my recipes I had just finished compiling, plus many of the recipes themselves, along with pictures and more stuff that I'll eventually stop whining about.
So thanks, sweet p. for creating this blog, though I've been a bad contributor.

Next, NYTimes articles on Microwaving on 4/2/08. Some good recipes, but best was a reference to this blog: http://raspberryeggplant.blogspot.com/ for vegetarian recipes and sweets. I can't wait to try some.

Steak Fajita Marinade

I made this from The New Basics cookbook (of the Silver Palette ladies). I still have the copy that Ward and Allison gave to me when they moved in together - it was a double-copy - they both owned it. It's been well-used and it's binding is totally falling apart. But I can't bear to buy a new one because I would never be able to transfer all my notes and smiley faces... It's definitely one of my faves.

P.S. the original recipe called for 1.5 lbs of skirt steak. I used flank steak because that's what the store had. Also - this was delicious in fajitas, but it would have been very good just to eat as, well, steak!

• 1.5 pounds beef skirt steak
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 small chile pepper, minced - whatever hot pepper you like
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• ground black pepper - however much you like

1. Cut the steak crosswise to create four pieces.
2. Stir the lime jiuce, oil, cilantro, chile pepper, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper together.
3. Put the steak in a large zip-lock bag and pour the marinade over the meat.
4. Throw into the fridge for a few hours.
5. Grill - eat, enjoy.