Chop Stick Treats

Last night I made one of our favorite desserts - Chocolate dipped frozen banana's.

They are a simple treat and can be prepared in advance or made to order. Whenever we have left over bananas that are getting soft or turning brown, I freeze them unpeeled for use in breads and batters. This past week the kids were away and before they over ripened I took the bananas on the counter, peeled them, impaled them with wooden chop sticks and froze them. I use a 1 gallon zip lock bag keeping them in a single layer. This step can be done in advance so you have them ready whenever you desire a savory treat. I prefer to use dark chocolate but for a party you could use Wilton Candy Melts (available on line @ http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=pg_candymelts or in the cake decorating / candy making isle of your nearest craft store or Walmart) The great thing with candy melts is they come in a great variety of colors and are easy to work with. My personal experience is Wilton ones taste the best although there are other brands out there on the market.

I prefer to use a double boiler to melt my chocolate but if you are careful, you can use the microwave by using short burst of time with plenty of stirring in-between. Once your chocolate is melted, you can dip your frozen banana directly into it or if the container isn't big enough you can always spoon the chocolate over the banana and spread into a thin layer. If you act quickly you can decorate your banana with additional treats at this time. I prefer nuts on mine but sprinkles, colored sugar, candy, or whatever your heart desires! If you are making these for a special occasion you can place them on a cookie sheet covered lined with freezer paper (shiny side up) and place them into the freezer to finish setting up. In our house they are usually enjoyed immediately after they are finished and on occasionally while singing the following song!

Sunday Brunch

Nothing beats an afternoon meal with those you love. Today we had a family brunch that was fit for a King. 

The dish was made up with:

Maple infused salmon 

Artichokes with seafood stuffing

Pasta salad 

Garden fresh tomato salad

The salmon was seasoned with salt and pepper a small dollop of butter and local maple syrup. I wrapped it in aluminum foil and grilled for 10 minutes.

I split the fresh artichokes and scooped out the choke. I then steamed them in lemon water, once they were cooked I placed them in ice water to stop the cooking. I then made a stuffing of crumbled butter crackers, thyme, parsley, onion, celery, baby clams, crab meat and shrimp. Once the stuffing was completed I filled each half of artichoke and placed in a heavy duty baking dish. I finished them by placing them on the grill (high heat) for 15 minutes. I placed a small dish with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.

The pasta salad was a combination of fresh local vegetables diced and tossed with pasta, grated cheese, olives, capers and Italian dressing.

The Garden fresh salad was cubed fresh tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onion, parsley, chopped basil, crushed garlic and dressed with wine vinegar.

A delightful dinner for two.

Tonight Rebecca and I enjoyed a quiet dinner for two while Ariel is staying at a friends and Alex is away at camp. For those who are penny pincher's I made this entire meal for less than $10 and that includes the fuel to cook it all. You can't go out to a restaurant with lunch specials and eat this good for $10!

The meal consisted of:

Tomato and Kalamata Olive Crostini's 

Tomato and Cucumber salad

Roasted Corn on the cob

Roasted Cubanelle Peppers

Grilled Eye of the Round Steaks

The Crostini's were diced kalamata olives, diced tomatoes, 1 minced clove of garlic, chopped parsley, diced hard provolone cheese, fresh cracked pepper and a dash of  olive oil. I brushed slices of baguette with extra virgin olive oil and grilled over high heat. After toasting the first side I flipped the slices and added the topping  so it would warm enough to melt the cheese.

The salad was sliced fresh cucumbers, halved grape tomatoes, diced fresh chives, diced fresh parsley with a splash of Italian dressing.

The Roasted Peppers were grilled over high heat until they blistered. I then moved them to a plate and covered them with a bowl for 3 minutes. I was then able to peal them and placed them on the plate whole.

The corn was started in the microwave for 5 minutes on high then moved to the top rack of the grill to continue cooking. (I leave the husk on and use the moisture in the silk to "steam" the corn.) When I start cooking the steak I move the corn down to the lower grill grate to roast the husk and give the corn a nice smokey flavor along with it's natural sweetness. You can always peel the husk back and let the kernels get some nice char on them if you like it that way too! 

The steak was Eye of the Round which is commonly used as a roast. I often buy it as a roast and slice it thin and grill it as sandwich steak but when cut thick can make a great grilling steak as long as you like your meat medium - medium rare. It will be very chewy if you cook it well done. I seasoned the steak with fresh cracked pepper and garlic salt just before placing on the grill.   

My plate was the green one, the steak was approx. 8oz.

Rebecca's plate was the yellow one, her steak was approx. 6oz. 

Much to my dismay she couldn't finish it all but on the bright side I  now have a great midnight snack!

The incredible edible egg

The best part of raising chickens is the abundance of fresh eggs every day! 

A basket of eggs fresh from the coop

Washed and ready for sorting.

Waiting to be made into a meal!

Colored eggs bring cheer to any day of the year!

Nothing beats poached eggs when they are only hours old - oh and of course Charlie's homemade corned beef hash!

They call it Food Porn.

I love food! I love cooking it, eating it and taking pictures of it to share with you! When I was part of the Facebook community I started a page (called Rocking Recipe's) for friends and family to share anything food related on. While I don't miss much about Facebook, I do miss my Rocking Recipe Page. On the evenings that would cook dinner I made sure to plate the meal and take a photo of it and post it for everyone to drool over. These posts became known as Charlie's Food Porn. While the title may be offensive I promise you the pictures were not - in fact they were suitable for all ages and very family friendly.
After much consideration I decided (with the encouragement of my wife) to start this blog. I hope to post pictures of the food I love regularly. Be aware some times this may be a finished plate, other times it may be a recipe with step by step directions other times it may be a tutorial on processing your own food. I do butcher a majority of the meat my family eats and while some may not want to do this themselves,  I will present it to you in a tactful and hopefully non-offensive manner. So here is to the start of another great adventure in all things food, I hope you join me in my love of all things food and be sure to comment so I know you were here!