Memorial Day Recipes

With Memorial Day fast approaching I wanted to share the compilation of recipes that I am going to choose from myself to make something yummy on the long weekend!  Please feel free to share any of your great Memorial Day ideas. 



Deviled Eggs with Country Ham
I LOVE deviled eggs, and I LOVE Ham, let's put them together, why did I never think of this?

Recipe for Deviled Egss With Ham









Fire Roasted Berry Crostini with Honey Creme Fraiche
This looks very delicious and it has creme fraiche....  so it has to be good

Berry Crostini Recipe









Tarragon Lemonade
Homemade Lemonade and with one of my favorite seasonings: Tarragon

Recipe for Tarragon Lemonade









Beer Brats
YUMMMMMMM......

Beer Brats Recipe









Blueberry Thirst Quencher
It's so pretty and delicious sounding

Recipe for Blueberry Thirst Quencher












Grilled Orange Vinaigrette Chicken Salad
Light and Summery, delicious

Recipe For Orange Chicken Salad









Hearty Nacho Dip
What would an American Holiday be without chips and dip?

Nacho Dip Recipe











Mango Peach Sangria
You can't celebrate the start of Summer without Sangria, it's blasphemy

Recipe for Mango Peach Sangria

Chicken Tarragon with Sauteed Veggies

A delicious way to use up some of a leftover bottle of white wine and make your chicken taste amazing!  This evening I wanted to cook up a bunch of the leftover veggies that I need to use before they go bad, so I decided to saute' them in a garlic, basil butter sauce. 

Chicken Tarragon with Rice

Ingredients:
4 Chicken breasts
Seasoning (Mediterranean Sea Salt, Tarragon, Basil)
3/4 Cup Viognier
1 1/4 Cup Chicken Stock
1 Garlic Clove (Minced)
1 Tbsp dried Tarragon
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream

Directions:

Season the chicken and place in a heavy bottom skillet.  Pour in the wine and the chicken stock.  Add the garlic and 1 Tbsp of the Tarragon.  Bring to a boil and reduce the heat, cook for 10 minutes or until the chicken is tender and cooked thoroughly.   

Remove the chicken and store in the microwave on a plate to keep warm.  Bring the remaining sauce to a boil and cook for 12-15 minutes or until reduced by about two-thirds.

Stir in the cream and return to a boil.  Cook until reduced by half.  Stir in the remaining tarragon.  I suggest serving over rice and spooning the sauce over the top.  I like to return the chicken tot he sauce to help lock moisture in before serving.  Enjoy!

 

Garlic, Basil Butter Veggies

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp Butter
2 Garlic Cloves (Minced)
2 Carrots (Peeled & Chopped)
1 Zucchini (Peeled & Chopped)
2 Leek leaves (Chopped)
4-5 Radishes(Chopped)
1/2 Cup Mushrooms (Chopped)
3 Leaved Fresh Basil (Minced)

Directions:
Melt the butter and add the garlic until crispy.  Add the remaining ingredients and  saute' for about 5-10 minutes until softened.  Serve & Enjoy!

Cinnamon Honey Butter

Ingredients:
8 Tbsp Butter (1 Stick softened)
2 Tbsp Honey
1 1/2 Tbsp Powdered Sugar
1 Tbsp Heavy Cream
1 tsp Cinnamon

Directions:
Add all ingredients together and mix with a hand mixer until smooth.

Season the chicken and add to the skillet

Add the wine & chicken stock

Add the garlic & Tarragon

Remove the chicken and boil the remaining liquid

Add the veggies to the garlic butter sauce

Add the cream to the tarragon sauce

Continue to saute' and thicken the sauce

Return the chicken to the sauce

Add all of the butter ingredients to the bowl

Liam licking off a beater!

Whipped butter

Serve & Enjoy!

Braised Pork Loin Chops with Brown Sugar Peach Sauce

Lots of experimenting and a delicious result.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 Pork Loin Chops

3 Tbsp Butter

Seasoning (Tarragon, Basil, Ground Cinnamon)

2-3 Carrots Peeled & Sliced

1 Cup Chicken Broth

2 Tbsp Vinegar (I used Champagne) 

3 Tbsp Fruit Jelly (1 Tbsp Red Raspberry, 2 Tbsp Raspberry Peach Champagne)

2 Fruit Cups (Peaches in Brown Sugar)

2-3 Tbsp Brown Sugar (If you want to sweeten it up a bit)

 Directions:

Season the park chops and melt the butter in a large frying pan.  Add the pork loins and cook turning once until golden on both sides about 6-10 minutes total.  Transfer the pork to a plate.

Melt the remaining 1 Tbsp butter in the pan over medium heat.  Add the carrots and saute until softened about 3-4 minutes.  Stir in the chicken broth and cook, stirring to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.  

Return the pork to the pan and spoon the sauce over them.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Serve by spooning sauce over the pork.

Some of the basic ingredients I used

Cook the seasoned pork in the frying pan

When the pork is golden transfer to a plate

Saute' the carrots

Add the chicken broth

Add the remaining ingredients

Return the pork to the sauce

Serve by spooning sauce over the pork and enjoy

Smoked Cheesy Chicken Pasta

A delicious and fresh tasting pasta.  My first try and I love how it turned out.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

3 Large Chicken Breasts (Chopped)

Seasoning (Tarragon, Oregano, Rosemary & Crushed Rep Pepper)

8 oz of pasta (I used large shells however rotini or bowtie would have also been a great choice)

1/2 Cup Sliced Black Olives

4 Stalks Green Onions

1/2 Cup Diced Smoked Gouda

Sliced Avocado 

 

 Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottom skillet.  Add the chicken and seasoning and cook over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes until cooked thoroughly.  Add the black olives and cook for an additional 2 minutes.  Stir the cheese and green onions into the skillet.

At the same time bring a pan of lightly salted water to boil and add the pasta.  Cook for about 8-10 minutes until al-dente.  Drain and set aside.  

Spoon the chicken mixture onto the pasta and toss lightly.  Garnish with green onions and sliced avocado.

Cook the chicken thoroughly

Cook the pasta thoroughly

Add the black olives

Add the cheese and green onions

Toss the chicken mixture with the pasta

Garnish with green onions and avocado slices

Chicken Tarragon & Avocado Wrap Recipe

Easy and delicious!  A great light dinner. 

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts (cubed) 

Seasoning: Tarragon & Sweet & Smokey Rub

1 Lemon

1/4 Cup Mayonnaise

1/4 Cup Heavy Cream

2 Tbsp Tarragon

1 Avocado (peeled & chopped)

8 Grape Tomatoes (quartered)

Tortillas (size to suit I used the minis)

1 small bunch of salad greens 

Dash of Italian Cheese

 Directions:

Season the chicken and cook until thoroughly browned.  Set aside.

To make the dressing finely grate 1 tsp lemon zest and squeeze 1 1/2 Tbsp juice from the lemon into a bowl.  Add the mayonnaise and tarragon and stir to mix.

Lay out the tortilla and assemble the chicken, sauce and avocado, tomatoes and salad greens and sprinkle the cheese on top.  Wrap and enjoy.

Season the chicken and cook

Combine the lemon, mayonnaise and cream

Add the tarragon and mix

Get the ingredients together to combine into the wrap

Assemble the wrap, wrap and serve

Tarragon Chicken Recipe

A delicious standby, which never disappoints.

Ingredients:

6 Chicken Tenderloins

Alpine Touch

2 Tbsp Tarragon 

3/4 Cup Dry White Wine 

1 Cup Chicken Stock

1 Garlic Clove, Finely Chopped

3/4 Cup Heavy Cream

Directions:

Season the chicken with some Alpine Touch (Salt & Pepper) and Tarragon and place in a heavy bottom skillet.  Pour in the wine and the chicken stock.  Add the garlic and 1 Tbsp of the Tarragon.  Bring to a boil and reduce the heat, cook for 10 minutes or until the chicken is tender and cooked thoroughly.   

Remove the chicken and store in the microwave on a plate to keep warm.  Bring the remaining sauce to a boil and cook for 12-15 minutes or until reduced by about two-thirds.

Stir in the cream and return to a boil.  Cook until reduced by half.  Stir in the remaining tarragon.  I suggest serving over rice and spooning the sauce over the top.  I like to return the chicken tot he sauce to help lock moisture in before serving.  Enjoy!

Season the chicken

Add the wine and chicken stock

Add the tarragon and bring to a boil

Cook for 10 minutes after boiling.

Remove the chicken and boil for 12-15 minutes

Return the chicken to the sauce

Serve over rice with sauce spooned over. 

BBQ Spare Ribs

These ribs turns out very juicy and delicious!  I definitely think you should give them a try and see what kind of twist of your own that you can add to it.  I love cooking with flavored beer, it always adds a nice accent to the meat.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 Rack St Louis Style Pork Spare Ribs 2.5-3lbs
Seasoning: Grill Mates Barbeque, Tarragon, Dash of Cinnamon, Garlic Salt, Dash of Grill Mates Spicy Montreal Steak
1 Beer ( I used Sam Adams White Water IPA) I also love a nice apple or raspberry beer
1/4 bottle of BBQ sauce (I used New England Apple Maple)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Cut the rack in between the bones so that the ribs are separated to cook.   Season both sides of the ribs in the deep dish you are going to use for cooking.  Pour 1 full beer over the top to tenderize the meat while cooking.  This should cover about 3/4 of the ribs.  Make sure that the ribs are bone side down and cook int he over for about 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven, bast with the liquid in the pan and drizzle some BBQ sauce on top of the ribs to let the flavor soak in a little bit.  Return to the oven and cook for another 30 minutes.  The ribs should be finished cooking and you can serve them with additional BBQ sauce drizzled or smothered on top depending on your preference.  Enjoy!

Season both sides of the ribs

Pour 1 beer over the ribs

Bone side down cook in the oven for 45 minutes

Turn the ribs, baste and drizzle BBQ sauce over top and continue cooking for about 30 minutes

Remove from the oven

Serve with additional BBQ sauce on top