Two Glazes for Chicken Wings

I've been on a wings kick recently and have concluded that we like them enough to have them on a weekly basis.

A few advantages to wings:

1) Versatile
2) Hard to mess up
3) The bones make good chicken stock!

In general I parboil them first, then brush on a glaze and stick them in the oven to finish up while making the side dishes. We have done some more traditional crispy ones as well as a sticky teriyaki-like variation.

Going back in for seconds...

Above are the two most recent flavors I tried making (from Better Homes and Gardens "New Cookbook"):

On the left: Chili-barbecue glaze (indexed as "Oven-Barbecued Chicken")

How to Make a "Roasted Mushroom Medley"

This is a recipe I found on Pinterest, and it came out really well. The mushrooms are juicy and flavorful. You could serve it as a side dish (hot or cold) or as a way to pre-cook mushrooms for other dishes (pizza, sandwiches, etc.).

For mushrooms I just used regular fresh white mushrooms, so I guess it doesn't qualify as a "medley." It would be interested to try a mixture, but it's hard to get other types fresh here (without traipsing into the woods). Let me know if you try a different variation (click caption for recipe)!

Click for recipe: Roasted Mushroom Medley

How to Make Garlic Squash Roll-ups

What do you do when you have summer produce but it's still cold and rainy outside (and the heat is off)? Baked concoctions out of said produce are an excellent choice!

Squash wrapped around a
tomato garlic filling

The following is a recipe of my own concocting. I just can't get enough of that creamy tomato/garlic/dill combination! I've included a few variations to accommodate your specific diet/grocery limitations.

There is some assembly required, but you can multi-task and get your other dishes together in the meantime.

Though it makes an elegant appetizer, I'm not sure if I would call this finger-food or not. Maybe if you were really careful about rolling them up neatly. :)


Ingredients:

-2 medium squash of the zucchini/summer squash variety (or the light green kind we have here), OR eggplant
-1 large (2 medium) tomatoes
-1 c mayonnaise
-2 cloves of garlic
-fresh herbs
-1/4 cup cheese of your choice (for melting factor)


Directions:

1) Slice the squash horizontally so you have long, thin pieces that you will be able to wrap around a filling.

2) Pre-cook the squash until tender: Either saute on the stovetop or cook uncovered in the microwave for 5 minutes. I used the microwave so I could use that time for other tasks, plus it's less greasy that way.

(pre-heat the oven to 400 fahrenheit)

3) Get the filling ready while the squash is cooling enough to handle. Slice the tomatoes into discs (halve them if too wide) and make a mixture out of the mayo, garlic (crushed), herbs, cheese, and salt and pepper.

4) Grease or line a cookie sheet. Take the squash slices one at a time, place a tomato at one end, then a dollop of the filling on top, and wrap the other end of the squash around it. If you have any odd bits of squash left, you can cut and paste a bit, just remember which ones are less stable when you go to pick them up. :) Brush the tops lightly with olive oil for a browning effect, if you used the microwave method.

5) Place in the oven for about 15 minutes, long enough for the cheese to melt and the roll-ups to brown slightly.

6) Serve hot or chill and serve later.


Variations:

-omit the mayonnaise and use sour cream, cream cheese, feta, mozzarella, etc.
-use dried garlic/herbs or your favorite spice mix for flavoring

How to Make Roasted Pork Shoulder

When I used to cook meat, I found that it was usually hit or miss as to whether it came out well or not. It would come out well and I would think I had the hang of it, only to have it turn out tough and flavorless the next time. It turns out, intuition isn't enough. I would like to learn more about food chemistry, either by taking a course or reading some books. For now, I'm glad there are lots of recipes available for the culinary challenged.

One thing that made a huge difference was actually trying to follow the recipe. A lot of times I would do a different cooking temperature or use a different cut of meat than recommended, and not get the desired results.

Now I go to the store FIRST, see what cuts of meat are available, and then find recipes based on that.

One day a few years ago, I bought a chunk of pork and translated the name of the cut from Russian to English: "shoulder." That led me to a recipe which is now my favorite fool-proof way of roasting pork shoulder. It's not a slow cooking, pulled pork kind of recipe. It's a roast that will be done in a few hours depending on its size and how long you want to brine it (easily put together the night before or the morning/afternoon before cooking).

Of course checking the doneness is still a little tricky. Learning how to use a meat thermometer is on my list of cooking goals! I still have great success with this recipe, though.

Here's the recipe, and my photo is below. Roasted Pork Shoulder from Foodnetwork.com

How to Make Savory Roasted Veggie Medley

Okay, this is pretty much the same as the eggplant one, except it's a different veggie mix and I threw in a little meat since it was going to be a main dish.

I started with the mystery squash in the photo at right. It's about the same size and shape as what I usually refer to as "summer squash" (yellow), but is pale green with some stripes. Perhaps a zucchini variation...aren't they all cousins, anyway?

I liked the eggplant so much that I decided to use a similar recipe, and it did not disappoint.

How to Roast Eggplant

Hooray, it's my first veggie post! This recipe is another keeper that I found on recipezaar.

I was in the grocery store recently and happened to notice a display of eggplants. I have the produce section memorized, so something new always catches my eye. I didn't really think about whether or not eggplant was in season, but I decided to grab one while I had the chance.

A few days went by and I realized that it was time to do something with that eggplant. A quick investigation turned up "Roasted Eggplant (Aubergine) Spread." I really don't get the whole "spread" part of it. It's so yummy that I don't know why you would put it on bread or crackers, unless you think it is just too rich on its own. To me it is just a yummy veggie dish to mingle with the other flavors on your plate.

Anyway, here is how to make it: