I've always loved rosemary. It has to be my all-time favorite herbs to grow. However, I usually have little luck. I have always lost the plant during the winter. Well, I think I finally found the perfect spot and soil to grow it. I've had this plant for two years now and it's the healthiest I've ever seen.

This recipe contains the three things I like to cook with the most. Rosemary, garlic and basil. It's a match made in heaven. Here's the ingredients:

2 chicken breast and 2 legs (that's what I had available)
Salt and pepper to taste
6 sprigs of  rosemary (whole)
4 leaves basil cut into strips
2 cloves garlic cut into slices
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white wine ( I use chardonnay)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 lemon, instructions below


Mix the olive oil, basil and garlic in a plastic bag. Sprinkle salt and pepper over chicken. Add chicken and rosemary. Mix well to coat chicken. Seal and put in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Overnight preferred.

Preheat  oven to 375 degrees. In a skillet on stove top heat  2 tbsp of olive oil.  Add chicken and cook until browned. (It's ok to leave any garlic or pieces of the herbs on chicken.However, remove and reserve the rosemary sprigs. ) Once browned remove chicken pieces and set to the side. Stir in wine and simmer until reduced by half. Next add chicken stock, lemon juice, zest from lemon and stir. Then, add chicken, slice the lemon into then slices and add them on top of the chicken. Finally, add the rosemary sprigs from marinade. Cover and put into oven. Cook about 20 minutes or until juices run clear.

That's all there is to it. Serve with a side salad, rice, roasted veggies, or roasted potatoes.

You may have noticed the change from Max's Menus to Sassy in the Kitchen. Why the change you ask? Well, I never could come up with a name for this blog that I liked. I was looking for something creative. But, I just couldn't come up with it when I started the blog.

The other night my wife and I were walking through the kitchen with our dog "Sassy." My wife made a comment about "Sassy in the kitchen." I thought it sounded like a good name for the blog. So, that's what I decided to call it. I guess you can say it's a tribute to my girl "Sassy. "

Honey Teriyaki Skirt Steak with Tri- Color Potatoes

On my recent trip to Las Vegas I went to the Aureole in Mandalay Bay. Aureole is known for it's world class cuisine and four story high wine rack. "Wine Angels" don a harness and "fly up" to retrieve your wine. The rack holds an impressive 9865 bottles.

Upon passing by and looking at their menu I decided this was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity to eat here. And, being the food lover I am, I just had to try it out. Besides, with all the great food in Vegas everyone else wanted to go to a buffet. (booorrrriinnnggggg)

The menu was a three course meal which included corn bisque as an appetizer, American Wagyu Beef Skirt Steak (soy-glazed romano beans and fingerling potatoes, ponzu vinaigrette) and Dark Chocolate Caramel Bar for dessert. It was delicious. So, I had no other choice when I got home than to try to make a similar meal myself.

When I got home I had to try to copy the recipe. My version is slightly different. I made some additions and changes. But, it turned out terrific. It was a sweet dish with a little wasabi kick.

Description: 
Teriyaki skirt steak with garlic, mushrooms, edamame, and tri-color potatoes with a wasabi finishing sauce. This meal will feed two

Ingredients:
1 lb skirt steak (skirt steaks usually come packed 2 to a pkg)
6 med size tri-color potatoes cut in half or quartered if large. ( The original recipe had tri-color fingerling potatoes.) 
1 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup Edamame 
1 shallot
2 garlic cloves, chopped
olive oil
honey
Teriyaki sauce
1  scallion
wasabi finishing sauce (optional)

 
Directions:
In a plastic storage bag mix 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup Teriyaki sauce, and 2 tablespoons of honey. Mix well. Add meat, coating meat well, and put in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Begin by preheating the oven to 400. Add olive oil to a cast iron skillet. Add the potatoes, salt, pepper and cook for 45 minutes or until potatoes are soft to the touch. After about 20 minutes go ahead and begin cooking the skirt steak. When potatoes are done remove and sit to the side.

You can cook the skirt steak in an iron skillet, outdoor grill or stove top grill. I have a stove top grill that I use when grilling indoors. No matter how you are cooking the steak make sure that you do not overcook. Overcooking a skirt steak will make it very tough. The desired method is to cook it no more than medium. You should still see a little pink inside.  If in a pan or on a stove top grill make sure to add a little olive oil to keep it from sticking. The skirt steak will cook pretty fast because it is such a think piece of meat. It will also brown very nicely because of the sugar in the merinade.When steak is done sit to the side to let cool. Once cool, cut the steak against the grain into pieces about 1 inch long and 1/2 inch wide. By cutting against the grain it will make the meat even more tender.

Heat another pan to medium heat, add shallots and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Next add the Edamame and mushrooms, cooking about three minutes. Toss in the meat and potatoes and mix with other ingredients. Reduce heat to low.

In a glass bowl mix 1/4 cup of Teriyaki  sauce and 2 tablespoons of honey. Mix well and pour over the ingredients in the pan. Mix well and turn heat to high. Let the sauce come to a bubble and reduce to about 1/2. Once the sauce has reduced it is time to plate up.

Put a nice serving on each plate. Cut the scallion in small pieces, spreading over the dish as a garnish. Then top with a drizzling of the wasabi finishing sauce. Enjoy!

(Note: the wasabi finishing sauce I used was already pre-made and bought at a store. If you are unable to find the finishing sauce you can also make it yourself by mixing wasabi powder or paste with water to a thick consistency. Then, just spoon over the plate. )

Wow! This is a great dish for a special occasion. Tonight I made it for my wife's birthday. This is one of her favorites. I must say this is not an original dish. I found it when I first started cooking. Everyone gave it great ratings and it has become one of our favorites, too.

Description:
Filet Mignon stuffed with lump crab meat, wrapped in bacon, and topped with a shallots, mushrooms and a peppercorn whiskey sauce. This is a gourmet meal that's easy to make, tastes great, and is very impressive. It takes about 30 minutes to prep then about an hour to cook.

Ingredients:The ingredients suggested will serve two. It may sound complicated. But, it actually isn't.

Making the Crab Stuffing

Crab Stuffing:

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1/4 cup minced onion

1 stalk celery, minced

1/4 cup minced green pepper

1 clove minced garlic

1 scallion (green onion)

2 tbsp chicken broth

1/2 cup lump crabmeat 

or 1 can 6 oz lump crab meat, drained

1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 tbsp cajun seasoning

Directions:
Heat pan on med heat. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a skillet. Saute onion, celery, green bell pepper, and scallion until tender. Reduce heat and stir in 2 tbsp chicken broth, crab meat, bread crumbs and cajun seasoning. Stir gently to mix ingredients. But, you don't break up the lump crab meat. Remove from heat and set aside.

Peppercorn Sauce:

2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter

1 minced shallot
2 cloves minced garlic

1 cup mushrooms, diced (white, or small portabellas )

1 tsp Dion mustard

1- 10 1/2 oz can beef consomme

2 tbsp cracked peppercorn

1 oz whiskey (miniature)

1 cup heavy cream

2 or 3 dashes of hot sauce

Directions:
On med heat add olive oil and butter to a small sauce pan or small skillet (I prefer a skillet because it tends to cook faster.) Add shallots and let cook until tender. Then stir in chopped garlic. Let cook for about 1 minute. Next you will add the mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes. Add beef consomme, and peppercorn. Bring to a boil and cook until consomme is condensed to half. Now stir in the miniature bottle of whiskey and whisk in 1/2 the carton of heavy whip cream and two to three dashes of the hot sauce. Bring to a boil again, whisking constantly, then reduce heat and simmer until liquid have condensed to about 1 cup. Whisk periodically.

Steaks:

2 filet mignons

2-4 slices bacon (depending upon size of filets. They must wrap around the filets.)

Salt and crushed peppercorns
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions: 
Cut a pocket into the side of each steak, being careful not to cut all the way through. Stuff the pocket with the crab meat mixture. Wrap each filet with bacon and secure with toothpicks. Add salt and pepper to taste on both sides.

Heat a large cast iron skillet to med high heat. Add the steaks to sear on both sides. You can continue to cook on the stove top from this point, or put in the oven at 350. However, I choose to sit the steaks to the side, once seared, and finish the cooking process on the grill and smoke them using "Jack Daniels Whiskey Barrel Wood Chips" If continuing on stove top reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, depending upon desired doneness. Or, you can put in a 350 degree preheated oven, covered, and cook to desired doneness.

If you choose to cook on grill you should have your grill preheated, with coals or gas heating one side. You will put the steaks on the heated side for about 2 minutes per side. Then you will put them on the indirect heat side to smoke. Add smoke chips to the fire, close lid, and allow chips to smoke for about 15-20 minutes.

Now, plate up and enjoy. Serve with a nice red wine, side salad, and grilled asparagus and celebrate the evening. Other sides may be rice pilaf, roasted potatoes, green beans, or mixed veggies. The choice is limitless. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Rosemary Medley Potatoes

 This recipe will take a little time to prepare. But, the time taken is well worth the effort. On this night we served the stuffed chicken with Rosemary Medley Potatoes and steamed green beans.

Description:
Chicken breast coated with bread crumbs, stuffed with sun dried tomatoes and Italian cheese.

Ingredients:
4 small chicken breast, pounded thin
6 tablespoons of sun dried tomatoes (use the type packed in oil, not dried.)
Italian cheese blend
1 1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs, beat
1 cup milk
olive oil - enough to coat pan
2 tablespoons butter
toothpicks


Directions:

Put the breast in a plastic bag and pound the chicken breast very thin. Not too thin, though. You don't want to tear the breast apart. You want them to be about 1/4 inch thick. Once the breast are pounded thin season both sides with salt and pepper (I'll post my own seasoning soon) and turn them  ugly side up. The ugly side is the side where you can see the texture of the chicken. You will notice that one side is very smooth. Next, put  1 1/2 tablespoons of sun dried tomatoes in the middle of each breast. Then add about 1 1/2 tablespoons of cheese. Add more if you desire. The only thing you have to remember is that you have to close up the breast. (In case you haven't noticed the two breast I used were HUGE! They were enough for 4 servings.)

When the stuffing is in the middle of the breast roll up the ends of the chicken slightly then roll the long sides together. Think of how a burrito is wrapped as you do this. Use the toothpicks to secure the pieces together. You want to get it as tight as possible so that the stuffing won't come out.

Begin to preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Also, begin to heat a pan on the stove top to medium high heat. While pan is heating you will roll the breast in the beaten egg mixture, then in the bread crumbs. You want the breast fully coated with the bread crumbs. Once coated sit to the side.

Add olive oil and two tablespoon of butter to the pan and place the chicken breast in the pan gently. You don't want it to fall apart before it sears. You want to brown the breast on all sides. Once browned on all sides remove and put in a baking pan. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until juices run clear. After baking you should remove the toothpicks.

Now, it's time to plate up. As I said before, we served this dinner with Rosemary Medley Potatoes and steamed green beans.

I hope you enjoy the recipe. Feel free to leave comments.