Saturday, July 14, 2012

Foodie Friday

I really should change the name to Foodie Saturday, since that's often when I post these, but it just doesn't have the same ring to it.  Oh well, on to the food!

Last Sunday night, we tried out a recipe for Rosemary Salt-Crusted Venison with Cherry Cabernet Sauce.  About the only thing we ever do with the deer backstraps is fry them.  While they are delicious, I would like to find another way to fix them.  I found this recipe searching on the internet.  It was originally featured in Cooking Light.  Overall, the sauce was good.  Two problems though - I used too much salt on the "salt crust," and we overcooked the venison.  We even pulled it at a lower temperature than the recipe called for, but it still bypassed the perfect "medium."  This was our first time cooking with juniper berries.  Definitely an interesting flavor and I look forward to cooking with them again.  I would try this recipe again and try to correct the problems, but next time I make backstrap, I want to use a recipe my friend Mary has been raving about.


This recipe for Italian chicken came from Taste of Home magazine.  I got a subscription to the magazine really cheap so I tried it out.  I chose not to renew it however, because it encouraged my recipe hoarding tendencies!  You pan fry the chicken tenders, then make a sauce to go over it.  It's good and reminded me a little of chicken cacciatore but much easier.  We decided this one was a keeper.






On Wednesday night, Cameron grilled some boneless skinless chicken thighs (our grilling chicken of choice) and I made caprese salad to go with it using fresh vegetables from our garden.  Yep, are garden has actually produced some food!  It's a little out of hand in fact.

I didn't quite realize how much the plants would grow.  I cut back the cucumber (for the 2nd time) before I took this picture.  It was just overtaking everything.  Next year I will be better about my space planning - the plants start so tiny, it looks like there is a ton of room!  And we have basil coming out of our ears!

After harvesting the tomatoes and 1 bell pepper that have ripened so far...






I put together the salad.  I just layered the tomatoes, basil, & mozzarella then drizzled balsamic vinegar over the top.  Next time, I will cook the vinegar down into more of a sauce





Last night we made a marinade for grilled chicken from Southern Living including rosemary (from the garden), Dijon mustard, honey, and garlic.  Pretty good and simple.  Then I made these Zucchini-Corn Fritters from Food Network Magazine.  So good!  But does it count when your vegetables are fried??

Cooking with Cameron on Friday nights is one of my favorite things we do.  We cook a lot together during the week. but on Friday night we always turn on the music, have a glass of wine or a beer, and really enjoy cooking together.  It's the start of a weekend and we plan to enjoy every minute!









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