Bakyard Bistro

A few things I love: 

Sitting outside under the sun,

Eating outside under the stars,

Being outside with friends under the sun or stars.

 

Often times, eating in and outside is much more fun than eating out and inside.

This adorable table setting was done by a friend in her shared back patio.  

It was a very special occasion of nothing-at-all and we were lucky enough to be invited over to help celebrate.  

 A bonus feature of the ambience was they turned their tv around, so that we could watch the Hockey game from outside.  

Now besides the adorable setting, we were in the middle of a two person cook-a-thon.  We have grilled corn on the cob, baked potato, fresh green beans, brussel sprouts that were to die for, bbq glazed chicken, and steak.  

This was my plate and I enjoyed every morsel of it as I took in the fresh air.

Brussel Sprouts are not just for making young kids sit at the table until they're finished.   They are actually very enjoyable and they are green so they must be good for you.



Remember to stop and smell the roses, or the fresh air, or the grill, or all of the above~

Eat Well, and Play Well~

New Mexico Green Chiles

I had made a purchase of New Mexico Green Chiles the day before Easter, now what was I going to make with them? 

After a quick search of the internet I came up with the following recipes: Shrimp with Green Chile Cocktail Sauce by Rachael Ray   and Green Chile and Lime Guacamole (below)

Green Chiles, Cilantro and Garlic

Tomatillos

Jalapenos, remove seeds.  Careful not to inhale too much, you will be coughing...

Lime zest and juice. 

Roast Tomatillos on barbeque or in oven.  Peel skins after cooled.

Beautiful.

Blend ingredients together.

Um, this was amazing...   And so fresh tasting!!

Now time for the guacamole.  Peel avocadoes.

(Don't mind my avo covered hands)  Ah hah - I now have proof that I had my watch on Sunday afternoon at home.   I haven't been able to find it since Sunday and I am close to devestated.  This watch is about 10 years old I do not, I mean I do not leave home without it.   I am hopeful that it is in this house somewhere... searching again....
Back to the food-    Ripe Avos in a bowl, is there really anything better?

I used a knife to cut it into small pieces and then I got serious and brought out the blender stick...

I love my smart stick blender, perhaps it is time that I take the sticker off of it?  Ah maybe not.  

Green Chile and Lime Gaucamole

Serve with jicama sticks, radish slices, peeled cooked shrimp, and corn tortilla chips.

Ingredients

• 3 green chilies (about 12 ounces)
• 1 large jalapeño chili
• 8 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 large plum tomato, seeded, chopped
• 2 small green onions, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon grated lime peel

• 2 large ripe avocados, peeled, pitted
• 2/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup (packed) coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

·         Char chilies directly over gas flame or under broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour. Peel, seed, and finely chop chilies. Mix chilies, 1 tablespoon lime juice, tomato, green onions, and lime peel in small bowl. Season with salt.

·         Puree next 4 ingredients and 7 tablespoons lime juice in processor until almost smooth. Season with salt. (Chili mixture and guacamole can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)

Easter Dinner

My Easter morning started off early and in the kitchen as I wanted to get the homemade quiches in the oven with plenty of time to spare. 

Some refer to cooking as  a labor of love, and I think that applies well on some occasions.   The love to create fresh healthy food for those that we love.  

We returned back from a wonderful Easter Brunch at my Aunt's house, around 2:30 and did some last minute tidying up and then began to chop.   
Chopping is an essential part of life, right?
These are leeks.   I bought 2 leeks on Saturday at the Corona Farmer's Market, (if you missed it on Facebook, I went there on Saturday because I was "in town" for work and because they had New Mexico Green Chiles for sale there, which I was notified of by new facebook friend)   Then later I decided to make a pasta which called for 2 leeks, (and my quiches needed 2 leeks) so ended up buying two more at the store.  It was a very leeky weekend.   The 2 from the Corona Farmer's Market were cheaper and much better quality.    FM on the left and regular store on the right side of the above picture.

I took a few moments of still and silence to take in the beauty of these artichokes.  Wow, they are beautiful.   I must admit that while my Mr. was at the store getting a couple last minute items he had me cut the artichokes (that he was going to be grilling later) and there was a few moments of confusion of which way to cut them, stems long, cut in half, etc.   We recovered quickly, although we had different cutting methods in mind.  My method being the guessing method, his method being the trying to copy the ones we had from the italtian restuarant last week.

These are after they have been steamed for about 40 minutes.

 

This is the appetizers that I made, details coming soon on another post.  (Green Chile Guacamole and Shrimp cocktail with Green Chile Cocktail sauce)


The recipe that I pulled out of my binder to accompany the ham was a Leek,Corn  and Arugula Fettucini.   I had the recipe pulled from Real Simple Magazine. Leek and Arugula Fettuccini Now this is not the lowest calorie dish in the world, but it passes a couple tests:  homemade and you know exactly what fresh clean ingredients you are putting in it and it was served as a side dish next to protein.  This is something I can put my fork into.

The recipe called for peccorino romano cheese, i also bough mizithra becuase I literally had not ever seen it in the store (or outside of spaghetti factory's manager's special, actually) and the price was not bad considering it was cheese.   The romano did cost a little more, but again: Easter Dinner.    Freshly graded them together.

 

3/4 of a box of noodles, cook until al dente.

 

Leeks and garlic in a little olive oil

Looking good there, leeky.

 

Add in the raw freshly cut off the cob corn.

 

And some dry white wine, reduce.

Next comes the heavy whipping cream.

 

You don't see this around our house very often, but man is there a time and place for everything.

The noodles were drained and poured directly into the heated pan.  Tossed in the arugula at the end.  Yes, those are his hands, but he only stepped in at this point because he was concerned it was too runny so he was sprucing it up a little.

Lightly toss until all parts are mixed.  We cooked a little longer to soak up some of the liquid.

 

Ta-da.

 

We had some serious ham, too much in fact.    Bone and leftovers went home with a friend, wonder if she made that split pea soup with it?

 

I would have spent more time on a better picture of the table, but I clearly had some eating to do. 

Enjoy... and remember to enjoy tasting your way through the weekend~

Check out the green in this fridge, this is a combination of farmer's market,  and regular grocery store greens.   I went to Vons this week because I needed the ready made crust, which the Safeway brand is the best.