Who doesn’t like a good marinade? I like a marinade that you can use for beef, chicken and veggies. My friend Patrice is a great cook and baker. She is always whipping up something yummy. One of the recipes that she shared with me is for her famous marinade. She puts a frozen London broil in the marinade and lets it thaw right in the marinade. I am anxious to try the London broil, but I marinated a pork loin roast this time. I marinated it over night and cooked it in one of those rotisserie thingys that take up so much room on your counter and are a pain in the butt to clean. I do love them though. The pork was good….I may have overcooked it a bit. I think I will use the leftover pork to make some fried rice.

But the marinade!! oh so very yum-m-m-m. Patrice, it was as you promised…..deeeeeeelicous. I did add some heat though. You KNOW how I love my spicy. But you couldn’t taste the heat. I can’t wait to marinate some chicken thighs or some salmon. Thank you Patrice for sharing the recipe. It is a keeper in my recipe file.

soaking in the marinade….

drizzled with some of the marinade that I cooked….

Marinade

1  cup brown sugar
2/3 cup ketchup
2/3 cup vinegar
1/2 cup oil (I used vegetable)
1/2 cup soy sauce
5-6 fresh garlic cloves, minced
fresh ginger (I used 2 tablespoons of grated)

mix everything together and dump in your choice of meat. Easy as that. As with most marinades, marinate for at least 5 or 6 hours. Then proceed with your desired cooking method….barbecue, oven roasted, or even in a hot skillet, depending on what you are marinating.

I even heated some of the marinade, removing as much of the oil as I could. Just skim it off the top with a spoon. Just be sure to let the marinade cook for awhile, since it will have had meat soaking in it. Then just drizzle it over your beef, chicken or whatever.

If you want to do the pork loin, they cook up great in the oven, roasted at 400 for about 40 minutes, for a 2 pound roast. The internal temperature should be 145. Don’t overcook it or you will have a dry, yucky, tough piece of meat and you will have to toss it and order a pizza.

I have to say that spaghetti is one of my top 5 things to eat. I LOVE spaghetts. Usually, I like a good meat sauce with my spaghetti. But sometimes I feel like a meatball. If I make meatballs with my pasta, then I know I will have leftovers for a messy meatball sandwich! Don’t you think there is something very comforting about a plate of spaghetti with a meatball sitting on top? Sprinkle a little cheese…ahhhh.. YUM. But a good meatball sandwich on a good crusty Italian roll, smothered with cheese….all oozy goozy, messiness…sauce dripping down your arm and all over your face. Not that it would ever happen to me! I would eat mine very ladylike, with a fork and knife….little pinky sticking out. Well, ok…I lied.  I prefer the messy version. Just so good and fun to eat. I like a meatball sandwich on my homemade Focaccia bread. You can find that recipe in my Recipe index.

Oh, sometimes I make my meatballs with Giardiniera marinated peppers. Some of your grocery stores carry them but Italian markets have them for sure. They are great on a sandwich, on fish, salads and of course meatballs. I like the extra hot ones.

Use your favorite pasta sauce…everyone has one! If you don’t, there is one posted in my recipe index under Baked Spaghetti. So, go make some meatballs!

Meatballs

1  lb ground beef (or 1/2 lb beef and 1/2 lb ground veal)
1  large Italian sausage link
1/4 cup minced onion
3 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 slices of bread soaked in milk (till its all mushy gooshy)
salt and pepper
2 or 3 tablespoons of the Giardiniera peppers (optional….these meatballs are great without them)

Put your bread slices in a large bowl…pour enough milk to make the bread all mushy. Add the rest of the ingredients. Form your mixture into balls. In a large skillet, brown your balls….turning them to get them all evenly browned. Add them carefully into your simmering sauce. Simmer until the meatballs are cooked through. Pile em on top of your spaghetti or make a sandwich! Enjoy……get messy!

Sorry folks, but here is yet another scone recipe. I promise it will be the last one for awhile. But I just had to share this one with you. It is the most tender, slightly sweet, tart, melt in your mouth scone. They are really, really good. A must make!

Lemon Cream Scones

3 tbsp sugar
juice from 2 lemons (1/4 cup for scones, rest for glaze)
zest of 2 lemons
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cold and cut into chunks
3/4 cup heavy cream

 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line one large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine lemon zest and sugar. Add flour, baking powder and salt and combine.

Drop chunks of butter into the mixture and using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed until butter is evenly dispersed into flour and is the size of large crumbs (approx 3 minutes).

Measure 1/4 cup of the lemon juice and the heavy cream into the bowl. Mix until dough just comes together. It should be thick but still moist. Don’t over mix.

Move dough to a lightly floured surface and gently press into a disk approximately 3/4 inch high. Cut into 8 wedges and place on prepared cookie sheet, leaving an inch or so between each scone.

bake at 400 degrees for 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown. Or you can stick a toothpick in the middle and if it comes out clean, they are done.

While scones are cooling, combine 1/4 cup powdered sugar with lemon juice to form a thick glaze. Drizzle or brush over tops of scones.

Who doesn’t like grean beans? I love them…cooked any which way! My favorite way to cook them is stir fried with soy sauce. They are so good and you can do them alone, with beef, chicken, shrimp….whatever you want. I usually do them as a side dish, and everyone I have made them for, just loves them. You can use frozen green beans, but of course fresh is best.

Asian Green Beans

1 or 2 lbs. fresh green beans
wee bit of oil
2 fresh garlic cloves, minced
Fresh ginger, grated (optional. just as good without)
a few good splashes of soy sauce
1 tablespoon Siracha (chili paste) or whatever HOT you have

Drizzle the oil in a large saute pan. Use a medium high heat. Add your green beans and stir around till you see a little bit of char. Add 1/4 cup water and cover your pan just for a couple of minutes. Remove the cover. Add the garlic and ginger…stir around, cooking until beans are the consistency that you like. Add soysauce and hot sauce. It will sizzle up, but stir till the soy sauce gets a bit of char and carmelized. That’s it!! So delicious.

You know how I hate Mondays. Why is it that on Saturday and Sunday mornings when I don’t HAVE to get up early, I do! But come Monday morning when I have to get up at 5:00, I push that damned snooze button 4 or 5 times and even then I have cloudy brain. I drag myself outta bed, stumble to the shower and all kinds of horrible words come out of my mouth. I make my morning coffee or I visit my local coffee shop on the way to work, trying to wake up.
That drive to work is lonnnnnnng…..well actually it’s only 10 minutes, but it seems long! My attitude sucks……I’m grumpy….I just want to tell everyone I see, to shut up. hahahaha, well…not really….but well, maybe a little bit. At least until I can wake up!
Ok, so all of this that I just described is my typical Monday morning. This morning however, I am a wee bit more perky….a little more awake. You know why?? OMG, I made the most wonderful iced coffee. Yup, and let me tell you…..it is a waker upper.
I made a cold drip coffee this weekend. It’s delicious, it’s strong, it’s delicious…..it’s a MUST MAKE if you are an iced coffee drinker. It is wonderful poured over some good vanilla ice cream too. 🙂 You’re probably saying “oh, I could just make a regular pot of coffee and let it chill. NO-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o, it is not the same. Cold drip is much better! You have to try it. Do it for me!
Super simple, super yum yum. Much, much better than any coffee shop coffee.

Cold Brew Coffee
8 cups of cold water
2 ½ cups good coffee grounds (I used DonFrancisco Espresso Roast)

In a large container, pour the water and dump in the coffee grounds. Push the grounds down with a spoon until they are all wet. Cover and let it sit for 12 hours. After 12 hours, strain it through some paper coffee filters or some cheese cloth. I put a paper coffee filter in a strainer basket placed over a large pitcher. This takes awhile to drip. But let it drip while you go do something fun. What you end up with is a wonderful dark, strong coffee concentrate. Chill until you are ready to use it.
Grab a glass……fill with ice and pour in your coffee. Add your favorite Creamer and be ready to WAKE UP!

Sweet Cream
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of half and half or regular milk

Mix the 2 milks, chill. Pour a little into your coffee and you will be very happy. ahhhh, yes.