Balsamic Skirt Steak

My favorite Tex-Mex restaurant is called Panchos. It is just up the street from where I live (walking distance, even!) and it is delicious. This should come as no shock to many of you as I have spoken of Panchos before and my affinity for their meals. Unfortunately, Panchos was destroyed by that horrible storm in October, but they are finally gearing up and getting ready for their grand re-opening. With that in mind, today I tried my hand at one of my favorite dishes from Panchos. Their grilled skirt steak is amazing. I mean juicy, tender, full of flavor amazing. This is my recreation of their wonderful dish.

Recipe yields 4 servings

Ingredients
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp Worcester sauce
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 cloves of garlic
2 lb skirt steak

Finely mince the garlic. Lay out the meat and sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. Using your hands, spread the garlic onto the meat.

In a large tupperware container or large ziploc bag, combine balsamic vinegar, Worcester sauce, brown sugar and any remaining garlic. Add the pieces of steak and shake to coat with the marinade.

Let the steak marinate for about an hour to an hour and a half. Now you can either cook this outside on the grill or in your oven set to broil. As my backyard is still under construction, I thought it best to broil it in the oven. Place the steaks on a broiling pan and place under the broiler for 4-5 minutes per side.

Skirt steak thins out at the edges, so this is an easy piece of meat to cook for a group of people who all like their meat at a different temperature. In my family, me and my mom like red and juicy and my brother and dad like it dry as a bone. With skirt steak, the thick middle section will stay rare while the ends cook to well done. Once the steak is cooked to your liking, remove to a cutting board and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Remember as the meat sits, it will continue to cook, so always take it out a minute or so before you think it is ready.

Slice your steak against the grain for tender and delicious pieces. Serve alongside my Roasted Parmesan Potatoes for a hearty meal. (Recipe coming soon!) Enjoy!

Tri-Colore Chicken Milanese

Today I have some big news to share with everyone, I have purchased my own domain name! Now all you have to do is go to www.theonebehindtheapron.com and you will be directed to my blog. Thanks for all your continued support.

Chicken Milanese is one of my favorite dishes because it is so quick and easy to make and it is so light and refreshing. I often top my chicken with a tri-colore salad to get the strong flavors from the different lettuces, but a regular romaine salad will also work.

Recipe yields 4 servings

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts (I used 8 thinly sliced)
1 cup breadcrumbs (I used 1/2 cup regular and 1/2 cup Panko)
1 large egg
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 head radicchio
1 head endive
6 oz baby arugula
1 cup shaved slices of Parmesan
1 cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing

Preheat the oven to 375F degrees. Set up your breading station with breadcrumbs in one bowl, egg in another bowl and flour in a third bowl.

For each piece of chicken, coat first with flour, shaking off any excess. Next it goes into the egg. And finish it off with a thick coating of breadcrumbs.

Line the chicken up on a greased baking sheet and place in the oven. Cook for 8 minutes then flip the chicken and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.

Cut thin slices of the Parmesan cheese. The best way to do this is to use a vegetable peeler for the thinnest results. Add the cheese to the bowl with the lettuce.

While the chicken is cooking, chop the radicchio and endive. Add to a large bowl with the arugula.

Right before serving, add the cheese and toss the salad with the balsamic vinaigrette dressing. (Try my recipe from this post Balsamic Dressing Recipe)

Plate the chicken cutlet and serve with a mound of salad on top of the chicken. Enjoy!

Crab Meat Stuffed Flounder

Whenever we go out for seafood, I can bet my Mom is going to order stuffed flounder or stuffed shrimp. Just like my Grandma, the two of them love crab meat stuffing. This is my version of the seafood classic. The flavors combine nicely to add a punch to an otherwise simple piece of fish.

Recipe yields 6 servings

Ingredients
6 fresh flounder filets
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
2 celery stalks
1 small green pepper
1 tsp flat leaf parsley
1 lb lump crab meat
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp oregano
2 tsp Worcester sauce
1 tsp Frank's hot sauce
1 egg
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 lemon, juiced

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Dice the onion, celery and green pepper and mince the garlic. Heat the oil in a small skillet and add your vegetables. Cook on medium heat for 8-10 minutes until tender. Stir in the parsley with about 1 minute to go.

In the meantime, empty your crab meat into a mixing bowl. Add 1/2 tsp of Paprika, the garlic powder, onion powder and oregano. Mix to coat the crab meat with the seasonings.

Once the vegetables are finished cooking, remove them from the heat and set aside. Mix the Worcester sauce, hot sauce, egg and half the lemon juice into the crab meat. Mix gently so not to break up the meat. Add 1/2 cup breadcrumbs and the cooked vegetables and mix until everything is fully incoporated.

Lay the filets onto a flat surface where you can stuff them and prepare a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Place a spoonful of crab mixture in the middle of each filet. Roll up tightly and place in the baking dish, seam-side down.

 

Pour the remaining lemon juice over the tops of the fish and sprinkle with the remaining breadcrumbs and paprika. Place in the oven and bake for 20-23 minutes, or until fish is cooked through. Cooking times can greatly vary depending on the thickness of your filet and the amount of stuffing you put inside, so be sure to check them every so often after the 15-18 minute mark.

Once finished, remove from oven and serve hot alongside rice and veggies. Enjoy!

Mother's Day Breakfast (Sausage & Veggie Hash + Homemade Cinnamon Buns)

I hope everyone had a very Happy Mother's Day! This year, I treated my mom to a deliciously simple, homemade breakfast. We started off with Sausage & Veggie Hash with eggs and finished things off with Homemade Cinnamon Buns. First up, the hash.

Recipe yields 4 large servings

Ingredients
5 medium red potatoes
4 sweet Italian sausage
1 small red pepper
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 medium yellow onion
1 large clove garlic
1-2 tsp salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp paprika

8 large eggs (2 per person)

 

Start off by preparing all your vegetables. Finely dice the carrot, celery, pepper and onion. Mince the garlic and cut the potatoes into a small dice.

Coat the bottom of a cast iron skillet with canola oil and heat on high. Add your vegetables and stir to cover in oil. Remove the casing from the sausage and crumble it in the pan with the vegetables.

Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

Prepare your eggs however you like them, I did sunny side up. Plate the hash and top with your eggs.

Next up is the recipe for a batch of delicious cinnamon buns. This recipe was lightly adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction. Check out her website for many other delicious treats.

Recipe yields 15 cinnamon buns

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

1 package dry yeast

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup milk

2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 large egg

Pan Preparation:

1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

3 tbsp brown sugar

Filling:

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp milk

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Combine ingredients using the paddle attachment.

In a separate bowl, add the water, milk and butter and heat until butter is melted and mixture is hot.

Change to the dough hook attachment on your stand mixer and add in the liquid ingredients. Mix on low speed and increase speed as ingredients become incorporated. Add in the egg and continue to mix. Now you have the option of removing your dough and kneading on a well floured surface, or you can leave it in your mixer and increase the speed to medium for 3 minutes. The mixer will knead your dough for you - now isn't that easy.

Remove your dough to a greased bowl and allow to rest for 10 minutes or so. Really all we are doing here is letting the yeast work its magic. In the meantime, you can prepare your baking dish. I chose to use a round dish, but you can use a baking sheet as well if you want to double the recipe and have more room. I greased the bottom and sides of my dish with the butter and then sprinkled it with the brown sugar. This gives the bottoms a little extra sweetness!

During your wait, you can also mix together the sugar and cinnamon for your filling.

Now it is time to roll out the dough. Make sure your work surface is well floured and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle. Mine was about 9 inches wide and 14 inches long and it gave me 15 perfect sized buns.

Next, you want to take your softened butter and spread it all over the surface of your dough in an even layer. Make sure to get every last inch covered.

Now you can sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mixture over the butter in an even layer.

Starting at one of the long edges, tightly begin to roll your dough into a long tube. Roll it nice and tight.

Once it is all rolled together, it is time to slice the tube into little buns. The best trick for this is to use a piece of unscented dental floss. It will make a perfect edge without squishing down the roll. Make the buns about 1 inch wide each. Arrange in your dish and lightly cover with tin foil.

Now we have to wait for our buns to rise, about 1 hour and 15 minutes should do it. I know, I know its grueling and painful when all you want to do is eat them. To keep my mind busy, I prepared my dough early in the morning and cooked the rest of my breakfast while I was waiting. The buns went into the oven once we were finished eating our eggs. With about 20 minutes to go, preheat the oven to 375F degrees. Once ready, pop the buns in the oven and bake for 28-30 minutes. While in the oven, whip together your sugar glaze by combining all ingredients with a hand mixer or a whisk.

Once the buns are ready, drizzle with a generous amount of glaze and serve warm. I hope you enjoy these delicious treats!

Quick BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

I love pulled pork and pulled chicken BBQ sandwiches, the only problem is the time commitment. To get the pork or chicken or whatever else you might like to use to be tender and flaky, you usually have to leave it in the crockpot or oven for hours. As a busy working girl, I don't have that kind of time for a weeknight meal. So today, I am using a short cut - Rotisserie chicken! Whenever I am looking to cut some time off my meal preparation, my first choice is always using a Rotisserie chicken.

Recipe yields 6 sandwiches

Ingredients
1 Rotisserie chicken
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion
5 cloves garlic
14 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
5 tbsp dark molasses
A pinch of salt and fresh black pepper
6 rolls
Lettuce for garnish

Remove the skin from the chicken and shred the meat into bite size pieces. Set aside. Chop the onion and mince the garlic. In a large skillet heat the oil and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes until onions are translucent.

Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, apple cider vinegar and molasses to the pan. Give it a good stir and season with the salt and pepper to your liking. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes to allow all those flavors to get acquainted. Add in your shredded chicken and coat with the sauce. Cook for an additional 10 minutes.

In the meantime, slice your rolls and get your lettuce ready to make your sandwiches. I also use this time to prepare my Simple Slaw, which for me is a must with BBQ sandwiches. Prepare the sandwiches by lining the bottom bun with a slice of lettuce (this protects the bun from becoming soggy with the BBQ sauce), next comes a heaping pile of shredded chicken and top it all off with some cole slaw and the top bun. Delicious! Enjoy!