Time of Year for Special Dinners

On November 18, 2020November 18, 2020 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Food, Recipes2 Comments

With the holidays approaching, this is the time of year when we tend to make something a little more special for dinner. Although we will sometimes treat ourselves to some meats that are a little more expensive like lamb, prime rib, duck, or goose, it doesn’t have to be exotic. Sometimes it is simple as taking chicken and making a special meal out of it. Obviously, it is time for a big turkey or ham dinner here in the States, but the holidays can be an opportunity for something a little different. Here are some of our favorite meals to cook during this festive time of year.

Leg of Lamb with Gravy, Roasted Potatoes, and Sautéed Spinach

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Gravy – Even though it is more food than the two of us can eat, we love cooking a leg of lamb and enjoy making savory dishes with the leftovers. Even if you don’t like rare meat, leg of lamb is best when it is cooked to medium-rare at most, otherwise it can get a little tough.

Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding – This is definitely a holiday tradition for our family and something that we look forward to every year. As good as it is the night of the dinner, it is great for sandwiches for days afterwards. It is elegant and easy to cook, making it great for entertaining or just a dinner for family at home. Obviously, you don’t need to make the Yorkshire pudding, but if certainly makes for an extra special treat.

Roasted Duck with a Plum Glaze – We don’t understand why duck is so expensive here in the United States, but it certainly isn’t something that we get very often. Whether cooking duck or goose, it is important to render out the fat that is in the skin. We tend to cut the duck into breasts and thighs as opposed to cooking it whole so that we can control the cooking more easily. The best way to render out the fat is to start it, skin side down, in a cast-iron skillet and then transferring to the oven to finish cooking.

Tuscan Chicken with Green Beans and Bacon – Like most people, we have chicken on a regular basis. That doesn’t mean that chicken can’t be turned into an elegant dinner for the family to enjoy. By using fresh ingredients and adding a butter under the skin, it is not only delicious and moist, but makes for a great presentation. This is definitely not your boring chicken dinner.

Rack of Lamb – Although this is something that you might think of ordering at an upscale restaurant, it is something that you can cook for yourself at home. For the best presentation, the chops should be “French cut”, which is simply the technique of trimming the meat and fat from the bone tips. This is definitely a meal for a special occasion or when you truly want to impress your guests.

Do you have meals that you prepare for special occasions?

Butternut Squash with Orecchiette Pasta

On November 4, 2020November 4, 2020 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Recipes2 Comments

Autumn is the perfect time of year for having meals made with different types of squash. We often make acorn squash, spaghetti squash, and butternut squash at this time of year. We usually just have them as a side dish to the main meal, but we decided to make a dinner where the squash was the star of the dish. Adding green beans gave it a pop of color, but broccoli or asparagus would be a good alternative. It is a simple and easy meal idea that works for weekdays or can be made for a crowd. It is also a good dish for a pot-luck dinner as well.

Butternut Squash, Green Beans, and Pancetta

INGREDIENTS

2 cups Butternut Squash – cooked and cut into 1 inch cubes
3/4 cup Pancetta – cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cups Green Beans – cut into 1 inch pieces
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
2 cups Orecchiette
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese – grated
2 to 3 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Granulated Garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

To cook the butternut squash, cut it in half, remove the seeds, drizzle it with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and granulated garlic. Then place the butternut squash on a foil lined baking sheet and place in an oven at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, until fork tender. Then remove the butternut squash, let it cool, remove the skin, and cut into 1 inch cubes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil that has been seasoned with plenty of salt. Add the orecchiette and cook for about a minute or two less than the box directions in order to keep it al dente. Be sure to reserve a 3/4 cup of the cooking water from the pasta. Blanch the green beans in boiling water for about 5 minutes and then remove them and add them to cold water to stop the cooking. Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat to medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and red pepper flakes and cook until the pancetta is crispy. Add the butternut squash and the reserved pasta water and cook for about 2 minutes and the water reduces by about half. Add the orecchiette, green beans, and a 1/2 cup of water and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add to a serving bowl, toss with the grated Parmesan cheese, and serve.

A Single Serving of Butternut Squash with Orecchiette

Some of Our Favorite Family Recipes

On October 7, 2020October 7, 2020 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn RecipesLeave a comment

For whatever reason, most of our traditional family recipes seem to be ones that we make during the autumn and winter seasons. They tend to be meals that we create in large batches and either enjoy the leftovers the next day or freeze to have at a later date. Most of these were handed down from family member to family member by example and not written down. Cooking is one of those things that definitely can bring a family together, regardless of where you live or where you are from. It is probably one of the reasons why we enjoy eating traditional meals when we travel to places, because the food will also give you a sense of the people. Here are a few of our family’s recipes that we’ve posted over the past few years.

Meat Lasagna – We certainly enjoyed having lasagna in Rome and Florence, but our homemade lasagna is still one of our favorite meals. We also tend to make our own garlic toast to go along with it as we really like that combination. We always make a large batch so that we can have plenty of leftovers.

Red Chili – You will find many different varieties of chili as you travel throughout the southwest. From green chili to red chili, with or without meat, spicy or not spicy, they are all usually interesting and have plenty of flavor. Our version combines kidney beans and chili beans to create a very hearty meal.

Pumpkin Cookies – We bake these cookies every year in October or November and it is a way to welcome the change in the seasons. We typically make a couple dozen and then share them with our friends, who always look forward to them as well. It is a simple recipe, but the cookies are moist and delicious.

Egg and Hash Brown Potato Skillet – That isn’t the actual name of it, but egg slop doesn’t quite describe the dish. What makes this unique is the sauce that we make from chili powder and other seasonings. We have always had it for dinner, but it would make for a good weekend breakfast as well.

French Stew – This is an inexpensive meal that combines fresh ingredients in a simple way to make a “stewp”. Similar dishes can be found in the countryside’s of many different countries and is typically considered to be a hunter’s stew. A hunter stew is usually made from meat, potatoes, and vegetables, whatever happens to be available at the time.