The Kickoff Meal

Ok, kiddos here it is: the first batch of recipes from AJ's Kitchen. I decided that, like a fashion show, this blog should start off with a bang: a mouth-watering, delectable meal that would make you want to come back to my blog over and over again and steal my delicious secrets. ;) And what better meal to start with than the birthday feast I prepared last night for my boyfriend's birthday! 4 hours of careful cooking, and if he isn't out looking for a ring after that, he never will be (kidding if you're reading this babe). Seriously though, I pretty much outdid myself. The recipes are a bit time-intensive, but I promise you and your dinner guests will try to commit food suicide (read: eat til you die) on these yummy recipes.

Menu:
Spinach and Cream Cheese Stuffed Steak
Boursin Cheese Mashed Potatoes
Asparagus Bundles
Carrot Cake


Spinach and Cream Cheese Stuffed Steak (serves 4)

You will need:
1 1/2 lb flank steak
meat tenderizer
black pepper
1 10oz pk. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of excess water
4 oz (1/2 block) cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese (make sure its the real stuff)
2 cloves garlic
2-3 spring onions (taste)
8(ish) strips of bacon

Sprinkle steak with meat tenderizer and pound with a meat mallet until 1/4" thick. Sprinkle both sides with crushed black pepper, cover, and put in refrigerator to sit (I left mine in for approx. 2 hours). In a medium size mixing bowl, combine spinach, cream cheese, garlic, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and onions into a delicious, gooey mixture. Keep yourself from eating said mixture. Spread evenly onto flank steak, roll up, and secure with toothpicks. Wrap in bacon (also secured with toothpicks). Place back into the refrigerator to "set" - about an hour. Preheat your oven to 375, and cook uncovered for about an hour (30 mins if you're lucky enough to have a convection oven), or until desired meat-doneness (is that a word???). Slice lengthwise for "pinwheels," eat, and thank the heavens you stumbled upon this recipe.

This one partially came from Cooks.com, but did a little bit of my own thing with it. Cooking times will vary; for me it was really a feel thing. Also, I cooked mine on a jelly roll pan, but you may want to try putting it on one of those perforated cookie sheet things that sits on top of a deeper pan (I hope you guys know what I'm talking about here) so the bacon grease drips down and away from the meat. It was still out-of-this-world delicious, but definitely a thought for the next time I make this.


Boursin Cheese Mashed Potatoes (I might rename this "AJ's Specialty Potatoes")

You will need:
2 lbs new potatoes
1 pk garlic and herb Boursin cheese
1/4 c. whole milk
2 TBSP butter (go for the gold here)
4 oz sour cream (or whatever you like)
2 cloves garlic
3-4 spring onions (taste)
salt and pepper to taste

Cube and boil potatoes until tender, skin on or off (your choice, but I like skin on). Mash with masher, add everything, using sour cream and milk sparingly, and to taste. Whip until fluffy and celebrate.

I got this recipe from the Boursin cheese website (www.boursincheese.com), but added the sour cream, spring onions (hey, I had them around from the Steak recipe anyway), garlic and butter. YUM.


Asparagus Bundles - super easy!

You will need:
1 bunch asparagus
1 squash
olive oil
Kosher salt

Slice squash width-wise in 1/3" slices. Boil for 3-5 mins, or until tender. Wash and snap ends off asparagus. Remove squash, set aside to cool. When squash is cool, insert asparagus into squash rings to make "bundles." Drizzle with olive oil and Kosher salt, place in a baking dish, cover with foil, and bake at 375 for 10 mins or until tender.

I got this recipe from my mom; not sure where she got it either. I put them in the oven the last few minutes I was baking the Steak, and they turned out great. Super east and they look very impressive!


And, for the piece-de-resistance.......

Carrot Cake

You will need:
Butter, for pan
2 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 c. grated carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, optional

Frosting:

2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick salted butter, room temperature
1 (16-oz) box powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 3 9" round pans; line bottom of pans with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add eggs and vegetable oil. Using a hand mixer, blend until combined. Add carrots and pecans, if using. Pour into pans. Bake for approximately 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, place on waxed paper and allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting: Add all ingredients, except nuts, into a medium bowl and beat until fluffy using a hand mixer. Stir in the nuts. Spread frosting on top of each cake layer. Stack the cakes on a serving plate and serve.

I absolutely stole this recipe from Paula Deen (www.pauladeen.com), and it was the best carrot cake I've ever had. I like a super moist cake, so only baked it for 30 mins and removed them from the pans and set them aside on their parchment paper. Also, I did not put nuts in my icing, but that's because I don't like nuts in my icing (go figure). Instead, I used the extra pecans around the sides of the cake, and even The Boy commented on how pretty it looked. Paula, you rock.

So there it is folks, 4 of the most yummy things I've ever made. The Boy really enjoyed his birthday feast, and we nearly ate ourselves into a coma. As for me, I'm thinking of sneaking over there later today and stealing a piece of that carrot cake.

Happy eating!

AJ