Drunken Weenies -- A "Spirited" Appetizer!

Whenever we have more than a few folks over, my husband always asks that I make "Drunken Wienies". What the heck are those you may ask? You've definitely had them, or something really similar: They are simply cocktail franks (or wieners) -- or  little hot dogs -- or mini-sausages -- in a savory sauce. There are a couple of things that might be a little different about the way I do it. One  is that I add bourbon to the sauce mixture. Hence the name, Drunken Wienies.  I also add some hot sauce and, at the insistence of my husband, cayenne pepper. If you don't like things real spicy, omit the cayenne pepper. The hot sauce adds good flavor and just a touch of heat.

Since the festive season is almost upon us and tailgate season is in full swing, I thought I'd share this super simple, tasty appetizer. This also has the advantage of being fairly budget friendly. They also reheat perfectly, so absolutely make them ahead and save some time the day of the gathering.

Hey, don't turn your nose up, I know it's not "foodie chic", but I guarantee, it will be a favorite at your next gathering, especially if you've got a bunch of hungry men in the group!

Drunken Wienies
For 20 -25 people -- Appetizer Serving

2 pkg Hillshire Farms "Lil' Smokies" or Cocktail Wieners (about 70 pieces)
1/2 c. grape jelly

1/2 c. Heinz chili sauce    
1/4 c. Bourbon     
1 T. KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce        
2 T. Texas Pete Hot Sauce
1/8 - 1/4  tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

First, make the sauce: In a medium sized sauce pan, melt the grape jelly with the chili sauce, bourbon, barbecue sauce and hot sauce. Make sure the grape jelly has completely melted before you add the wieners. 
Next, add the cayenne pepper, if using, and the mini-wienies. Cook for 20 minutes or until the wieners are hot.  

Serve it immediately. Or you can put it into a small dish to reheat later. Or you can place it into a small sized crock pot over low heat. 

This is easily doubled or tripled for a large crowd. 

Plan to have about 3 wienies per person, more if there are a lot of men in the group.

Sing the "Men" song now. That's what my guys do. 

Orange Chicken

My husband LOVES orange chicken. It seems like no matter where we eat "Chinese" or get "Chinese" take out, Orange Chicken is what he orders. I feel like that is probably one of the worst dishes you can order off the menu -- the chicken is fried, the sauce has something obviously sweet in it and there aren't even too many vegetables. I always scold him about his choice, but alas, it really does NO good. So, I decided to try to make some myself. Since this was my first try at making a "fried" Chinese dish, I figured I better follow a recipe. I saw "The Pioneer Woman" do it on the Food Network, so I used her recipe. Here's how mine turned out:

I must say that the dish was absolutely delicious, but it honestly was kind of a pain to make. Frying up the chicken thighs which had been soaked in egg white and corn starch was not easy. I don't know if my oil wasn't hot enough or if it wasn't deep enough, but the pieces of chicken kept sinking to the bottom of my pan and sticking! That made the pan a mess to clean up. On the plus side, you could absolutely make this dish ahead of time, like way early in the day and then just put it together at meal time. I used the orange zest as she suggested and it added a lot of flavor. The sweetener that I chose for the dish was honey, since that's what I found first in the cupboard! I also halved the recipe to make just enough for the two of us. I added broccoli, which is sometimes included when you order take-out, to make things a little more balanced and healthy. I also used a 50/50 mixture of brown and white rice, with that same interest in mind. If you feel like experimenting in the kitchen, go for it. The taste was absolutely wonderful!

Here's the recipe I used :  Pioneer Woman Orange Chicken

Let me know how it goes, I'd love to hear. Maybe I can figure out what I can do to keep the chicken from sinking and sticking! I'd make it again if I could!

Deconstructing Boef Bourguignon

I've always loved Boef Bourguignon. My mom made an abbreviated version of it while I was growing up, using 2 different kinds of canned soup. Once I started to cook on my own, I wanted to do it the correct way. I've followed (almost) the recipe of the original celebrity chef, Julia Child, for many years.

If you read this blog, I've written about my love of Julia and all things French several times. Here's my original Boef Bourguignon post from a while back. I still love that recipe, but I decided to tinker around with it a little bit.

Since I love to cook, and it was my birthday, I got to cook and eat what I wanted. That's always been our family tradition: You get to pick your birthday dinner and eat what you want on your special day. My husband can make a great breakfast, and is an excellent sandwich maker, but I pretty much rule at dinnertime. SO, I did exactly what I wanted to do this past weekend: I tinkered around with a recipe and made what I wanted, and what I did was to deconstruct Boef Bourguignon.

What I mean was that instead of using bits of stew beef or the end of a larger roast, I used a whole steak. I got the idea for this watching Ina Garten, my current favorite Food Network chef, making a dinner to deliver to a friend for a dinner party. Ina was a caterer first, so I figured she'd know all about celebratory meals and presentation. I've altered her recipe a bit, eliminating some of the butter and thickening agents she recommended. I used my favorite cut of steak, an inch thick piece of tenderloin. In the original recipe, the beef is summered a long time in rich, wine gravy and then served over something, either noodles, or potatoes, or even rice, as my mom served it. In this version, I seared the steaks, made a delicious sauce and served it with mashed potatoes. This recipe has the advantage of allowing you to serve the steaks RARE, which is the way I really enjoy them. It was a winner! I wrote this recipe for 2, since only my husband and I were at home, but you could easily double it. Using a whole steak per person made it seem like more of a celebratory meal unlike a stew, which while delicious isn't the most elegant meal. This meal has the added bonus of one that is very easily made in advance. You only have to heat the sauce and finish cooking the steaks at meal time.

Deconstructed Boef Bourguignon with Mashed Potatoes

Deconstructed Boef Bourguignon

For 2

2 1" thick pieces of beef tenderloin

2 rashers of bacon

2 T. butter, divided use

1 c. dry red wine

1/2 cup beef broth, stock or consomme' 

1 tsp. minced fresh garlic

6 - 8 baby carrots, thinly sliced

3 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 T. tomato paste

12 oz. cremini mushrooms (baby portobellos)

12 pearl onions (frozen is fine, that's what I used)

Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Mashed potatoes, baked potatoes or egg noodles for serving

First and very importantly, dry your steaks by draining them on a paper towel. They won't brown properly unless you do this. I know that the picture is kind of gross, but this is a very important step. 

Dry those steaks! 

While the steak is drying, mince the garlic and clean the mushrooms. Cut them in half or quarters if they are very large. Dry them as well, draining on a paper towel. This is important for the same reason as the beef, they need to be dry to cook properly. NEVER argue with Julia. 

Heat a medium sized frying pan over low heat. Choose a pan at least 3" deep, with a heavy bottom, so that the steaks will brown evenly and not stick. Add the two rashers of bacon and fry them until crisp. 

Remove the bacon to drain on yet another paper towel. Pour off almost all the bacon grease from the pan, leaving just enough to keep the steak from sticking. Turn the heat up to medium and add the steaks. Cook the steaks about 2 minutes per side, turning once. you only want to sear them. 

Sear steaks briefly, only a minute or 2 to brown them.

After searing put the steaks aside on a plate, and add 1 T. butter to the skillet. Scrape up all the browned bits in the bottom. Don't let the butter burn! Add the garlic and sliced carrots to the pan, and keep stirring and scraping for a minute or so. Add the red wine and keep on scraping and stirring. Let it come to a boil and then add the beef broth. Drop the thyme and tomato paste into the sauce. Sprinkle in 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt and a few grindings of fresh black pepper. 

Fresh time and tomato paste going into the sauce. 

Bring this to a boil, cover the pan, turn it down to low heat and let the sauce cook for 20 - 30 minutes, stirring every now and again to make sure nothing is sticking. This will smell heavenly and make everyone in the hungry. While the sauce is cooking, melt 1 T. butter over medium heat, in a small non-stick skillet. When the butter is melted and the foam has subsided (wait for the foam part, or Julia will haunt you), and then add the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms until they are lightly browned, stirring them to make sure each surface area is browned. Turn them off while waiting for the sauce to finish cooking. When the carrots are tender, add the mushrooms, crumbled bacon and the pearl onions to the sauce.

We love mushrooms! The pearl onions make it seem special. 

Doesn't that look good? Cover that pan once again, and let the flavors come together, cooking for at least 10 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning, adding a little more salt and pepper as needed. Be careful here, you may not need any more (I didn't). It depends on how salty your beef broth is, how strong the wine flavor is and how much liquid the mushrooms give off. TASTE! Don't just add. You can remove the thyme stems if they are still whole and visible. The leaves will just fall off. 

At this point, you can refrigerate everything (Separately! Don't put the steak in the sauce until you are ready to reheat it!) and heat everything up later in the day, or even the next day. When you are ready to eat, get the sauce hot again, and add the steaks into it. Cover and let them cook for 4 - 5 minutes for rare steaks, 6 -7 minutes for medium. If you like your meat well done, don't bother with tenderloin, just follow the first, original recipe. No need to spend the extra money on good steaks! 

Serve along side mashed potatoes (our choice) or over baked potatoes or egg noodles. 

I promise, this was YUMMY!

Veal Piccata with Lemon and Mushrooms

Veal Piccata with Lemon and Mushrooms 

There used to be a restaurant in Richmond, back in the '80's, that served the most wonderful veal dishes. We used to go there with a group from my husband's office. No one was more enthusiastic about this restaurant than his boss. The boss LOVED Italian food, and especially the veal, but admittedly, the cost was a little high. Back then, we were the parents of young children, and money was often in short supply. We were comfortable, but we never had a life style, we just had a life. That's not to say it wasn't a good life, and a rich one, but rich in love, fun and family as opposed to the monetary kind.

My husband loved one veal dish in particular -- me too! --  so I figured out how to make it. I dragged out my old Intro to Italian Cooking cook book (ca. 1971), much splattered and stained even back then, and read up on veal. There was no recipe that looked identical to the one we loved, but "Picatta Di Vitello Al Limone" was pretty darn close!  I used that recipe as a template and added fresh mushrooms, cooked it in olive oil instead of the recommended butter and added fresh garlic. It was a winner then, and it's still a winner. I will tell you honestly, this dish is a little trouble and a little costly for everyday fare, but as a special occasion dinner, it's a WOW! Since the amount of veal used is relatively small, it can be called a "little splurge"!

Look for thinly sliced veal scaloppini in the meat department of your grocery store. You'll need only one cutlet for each serving, as this is a pretty rich dish, especially when served with the recommended noodles on the side. Why noodles instead of pasta, you may ask? Well, the first time I made it, all I had on hand were egg noodles, and we liked is, more than the next time when I made it with fettuccine. I think the delicate nature of the egg noodles simply complemented the veal. Next time you want to celebrate, a birthday, a promotion, an anniversary -- or even if you just feel like puttering around in the kitchen -- give this wonderful veal dish a try.

Veal Scaloppine with Lemon and Mushrooms
(4 servings)
3/4 lb. veal (4 pieces veal scaloppine)
1/4 c. all purpose flour
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese 
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt + more for seasoning
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper + more for seasoning
2 T. chopped garlic
12 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced or halved**
1 1/2 c. dry white wine ( I used a pinot grigio from Trader Joe)
1 lemon, washed, thinly sliced and seeds removed. 

First, prepare your veal: Lay the scaloppine out on a piece of parchment or wax paper.

Veal on waxed paper, before pounding.

Cover the veal with another piece of paper. 

 Cover the veal with another piece of paper and pound the cutlets until they are very thin and uniform in thickness. I used the smooth side of the meat mallet so as not to tear the thin slices of veal.

Floured veal, ready to fry.

 Prepare the breading mixture by mixing together the flour, cheese salt and pepper in a shallow dish or on a large plate. Dip each piece of veal into the mixture and press down a bit, so that both sides are covered in the flour/cheese mixture. Set the veal aside while  you prepare the pan to fry the veal.
In a large, heavy, deep frying pan, add enough olive oil to completely cover that bottom of the pan. The oil doesn't have to be more than a 1/4" deep, but it must cover the bottom and be enough to fry the meat. Heat the oil over medium high heat. The oil is ready when a little bit of flour dropped into it immediately begins to sizzle and floats to the top. When the oil is hot enough, add the veal, one piece at a time, being careful not to crowd it. I find it better to cook only 2 pieces at once.

Veal frying in olive oil.

Don't crowd the pan and fry the veal until golden brown, turning once. Then drain it on paper towels.

Drain the veal on paper towels. 

While the veal is draining, make the sauce. Turn the heat down to low. Pour off almost all the oil in the frying pan,leaving about 2 T. of oil. Then, add 2 T. all purpose flour to the hot pan.

Add the flour to a little bit of oil in the pan.

 Stir the flour into the remaining oil until all the white is absorbed into the olive oil. Turn the heat up to medium and add the white wine to deglaze the pan, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan so that all the browned bits are incorporated into the sauce.

Add the mushrooms to the sauce,
I like a combo of white and brown ones. 

 When the liquid begins to bubble, add the mushrooms, the chopped garlic,
a 1/2 tsp.Kosher salt and a few grindings of fresh black pepper. Stir the mixture gently to coat the mushrooms, turn down the heat a little bit, then cover the pan and let the mushrooms cook for about 5 minutes on a low, gentle bubble. Don't let them start to stick. The liquid shouldn't get too thick -- if it starts to look pasty, add a little water, just a T. at a time.

Put the veal back into the pan, on top of the mushroom mixture. 

The fried veal is laid out over the mushrooms and sauce.
Add the sliced lemon on top of this.

Lay the sliced lemon on top of the veal. Spoon a little of the liquid in the pan over the veal, put the top on and simmer gently for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring now and then to make sure nothing is sticking or getting too thick.

Serve the veal with the sauce next to egg noodles, which have been cooked and drained. While the noodles are draining, melt a T. of butter in the hot noodle pan. Add the noodles back into the butter, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and toss with a little Parmesan cheese. Perfect side dish for your veal! 

**COOKS NOTE: My old cookbooks recommends "the whitest mushrooms you can find" at your supermarket, but I prefer a half and half mixture of white mushrooms and baby Portobello (also called "cremini") mushrooms in this dish.