BBQ Pulled Chicken

This is my own recipe and it is not exactly the recipe yet. I have to figure out how to make this work first. Since I make BBQ pulled pork, there is not really any reason why this will not work. Although I thought that about the pineapple upside down cupcakes and look how that turned out!! I think that if I use the same principals in the BBQ pork recipe I should be okay. I am attempting this on Saturday, so you will know the outcome soon. If everything works out well, I will be posting the actual recipe that I used here, if not, well I will tell you why.

Olive Garden Dipping Sauces for Breadsticks

Again, this recipe is from the Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur.

Menu description:  freshly prepared Alfredo or marinara sauce served warm.

Alfredo Sauce:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter

1 TBS. minced garlic ( about 3 cloves)

2 cups heavy cream

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

3/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Make Alfredo sauce by melting the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic to the butter and cook for 1 minute, then whisk in the cream, salt, pepper, and cheese. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium/low and simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until thick, stirring often.

This recipe makes about 2 1/2 cups or so.

Tips:

When using minced garlic, I buy the already minced kind in the produce department. Mainly because I use it in most recipes and it is already minced for you.

Marinara Sauce:

Ingredients:

3 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup diced onion

1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic ( about 1 1/2 cloves)

1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

3/4 cup of water

1 1/2 tsp. granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning herb blend

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Ass the onion and garlic and sauté for 1- 2 minutes, or until the garlic begins to turn a light brown. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, and then add the remaining ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring often.

Tips: If I was making this, I would leave the onion out. Also, I don’t think I would add the sugar either as I am not really fond of sweet sauces. Again, I used the already minced garlic, so it is easier.

Olive Garden Breadsticks

If you have ever been to Olive Garden, you know how great these breadsticks are. Again, this recipe is from the book Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur.

Ingredients:

2 TBS. granulated sugar

3/4 tsp. active dry yeast

1 cup plus 1 TBS warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)

16 ounces bread flour (3 cups)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

Topping Ingredients:

2 TBS butter melted

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

 Directions:

Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water in a small bowl or measuring cup and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes or until it becomes foamy on top. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Use the paddle attachment on a stand mixer to mix the soften butter into the flour. If you don’t have a stand mixer; use a mixing spoon to combine the butter with the flour. When the yeast mixture is foamy, pour it into the flour mixture and use a dough hook on your mixer to combine the ingredients and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes. If you don’t have a stand mixer; combine the ingredients and then knead the dough by hand on the counter top for 10 minutes. Place the dough in a covered container and let it sit for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until it doubles in size. When the dough has doubled, measure out a 2-ounce portions and roll the dough between your hands or on a countertop to form sticks that are 7 inches long. Place the dough on parchment paper-lined baking sheets, cover, and set aside for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size once again. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake the breadsticks for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. When the breadsticks come out of the oven, immediately brush each one with melted butter and sprinkle with a little garlic salt.

Tips:

If you are pressed for time or just don’t want to deal with making the breadsticks from scratch, I have seen frozen bread sticks in my grocery store freezer section, use those instead for a quick version of these.

Olive Garden’s Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo

Again, this is from the book, Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur and the following paragraph is his and not mine.

Menu Description:

Grilled beef medallions drizzled with balsamic glaze, served over fettuccine tossed with spinach and gorgonzola-Alfredo sauce.

This menu item builds on Olive Garden’s great Alfredo sauce recipe with the addition of gorgonzola cheese. The tangy cheese sauce works well with the sweet-and-sour balsamic reduction that is drizzled over the beef medallions. Find three (3) 6-ounce sirloin steaks (or what ever cut you prefer) and slice each of them into four 1 1/2 ounce fillets. Get pounding with a kitchen mallet and make those steaks about 1/2- inch thick and they will grill up to the same size medallions on the original dish. Between the pounding and the meat tenderizer in the beef seasoning, you will turn even the cheapest cut of beef into a tender morsel. Build your dish as described below and you will have re created the taste and presentation of the original rich, tasty dish.

Balsamic Glaze

Ingredients:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup honey

1 1/2 teaspoons of Knox unflavored gelatin powder

Directions:

Make balsamic glaze by combining balsamic vinegar, honey, and unflavored gelatin in a small sauce pan over low heat. Stir often as mixture comes to a simmer. Turn off heat when mixture begins to boil, then remove it from the heat and cool at room temperature. The glaze will thicken even more as it cools.

Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter

2 cups heavy cream

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese  

1 (12 ounce) box fettuccine pasta

Directions:

Make the Alfredo sauce by melting the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cream, garlic powder, pepper, and cheeses, and simmer over medium/low heat for 10 to 12 minutes until thick. Bring 4 to 6 quarts of water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until done then drain.

Beef Seasoning

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp. meat tenderizer (McCormick brand works well)

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. dried thyme

3(three) 6-ounce sirloin steaks cut each into four 1 1/2 –ounce medallions

4 cups chopped fresh spinach

3 TBS. chopped green onions (about 2 onions)

Directions:

Preheat grill to high. Combine the beef seasoning ingredients. Pound beef medallions to about 1/2 inch thick and sprinkle both sides with seasoning blend. When your grill is hot, cook beef medallions for 2 to 3 minutes per side until cooked to your preference.

Garnish:

Ingredients:

3 TBS crumbled gorgonzola cheese

2 TBS chopped sundried tomatoes

Directions:

Just before serving the dish, add the chopped spinach and chopped green onions to the Alfredo sauce. For each serving toss approximately 1/3 of the fettuccine pasta with about 3/4 cup of the Alfredo sauce in a medium bowl. Spoon onto a serving plate, and then arrange 4 beef medallions on the pasta. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar glaze over each beef medallion. Combine the gorgonzola cheese crumbles with chopped sun-dried tomatoes and sprinkle about 1 1/2 table spoons of this mixture over the beef medallions. Repeat for the remaining servings.

This recipe says it makes 3 servings per recipe, so if you are making it for 4 or more people you will have to double or even triple it depending on how many people you are serving.

Bertolli Spaghetti & Meatballs Review

I decided to make the spaghetti and meatball recipe last night. Let me begin by saying that I have an issue with making meatballs. I never get them right, they either end up all mashed or not in the right shape. So, I was rather hesitant to attempt this recipe, but as luck would have it, they turned out right!

The meatball recipe is easy enough and I also used a 1/2 pound of ground pork with the ground beef to keep the meatballs moist. The recipe is dead on when it says it makes 12 meatballs, they are pretty large so this is a filling meal.

The sauce itself is amazingly good for a jar sauce. It tastes fresh and has chopped tomatoes and garlic in it. Bertolli is a bit more expensive than the other sauces and it is totally worth it. Well, in my opinion. I really enjoyed this recipe and I think it will be on the menu more often now. I know that I will be making the meatballs and sauce to make subs as well. We will see how that turns out and maybe I will put the recipe here too.Ciao!

Olive Garden Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

Again, this is not my recipe, it is from the book To Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur. I love this soup at Olive Garden and I was stalking the Olive Garden website hoping that they would post their recipe there and to my knowledge they have not yet. So here is a recipe that is supposed to be as good as the real thing!!

Ingredients:

Gnocchi:

1 cup potato buds

3/4 tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 scant tsp. ground nutmeg

1 cup boiling water

1 egg yolk

2/3 cup all- purpose flour

Directions for Gnocchi:

Mix potato buds with the salt and nutmeg. Stir in the boiling water and continue mixing until no dry flakes remain. Stir in egg yolk until the mashed potato mixture has an even pale yellow color throughout. Stir in flour and knead for about a minute with your hands. Use a half teaspoon to measure out small portions of the dough. Using floured hands, roll the small dough portion around between the palms of your hands, making a ball, then press each ball down onto floured wax paper, making a small disk, When all the gnocchi is made, begin the rest of the soup.

Ingredients:

Soup:

2 TBS. vegetable oil

1/2 cup of shredded carrot

1/4 cup diced onion

1/4 cup chopped celery

1 tsp. minced garlic

2 TBS. cornstarch

4 cups chicken broth

4 cups of water

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 1/2 cups half and half

1 roasted chicken with meat removed and chopped ( about 1 pound of meat)

2 cups chopped fresh spinach

Directions:

Heat oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the carrot, onion, celery, and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Whisk cornstarch into the chicken broth and add to the vegetables along with the water. When the mixture begins to boil, add the gnocchi. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the half and half and simmer for another 10-15 minutes or until soup begins to thicken. Add the chicken and spinach and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the soup has thickened and the spinach is tender.

Now, if you want to make this recipe quickly I suggest using frozen gnocchi and a rotisserie chicken from your favorite store. Again I have not made this yet, so if anyone tries it out, let me know!!

Recipe Books

I have these books that are called 'Top Secret Recipes Unlocked'. I love these books because they have a lot of recipes from restaurants that I totally fell in love with there. These books give you the almost exact recipes and they usually turn out the same. So, I have decided that since I have these little gold mines, I will post recipes from them here. I will start with recipes that I want to make eventually and move on to some of the others. There are some that I can not post as they come with pictures on how to assemble the finished product. I will look at those and if it seems too complicated without the picture I will skip that recipe.

Todays dinner was taco salad, which I love. It is quick and easy. Not to mention very customizable. I will post my recipe for that here maybe tomorrow as well. I am kind of tired today and there is nasty weather in the area.