Playdate Special: Grilled Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli Salad

We've just returned from ten days of visiting family and friends in Ohio and Vermont, respectively. We mostly indulged in feasting (almost daily) on account of the various celebrations, which included high school graduation, an 18th birthday party, and a Baptism. Since coming home, the kids have been happily reenacting their adventures, and I figure I'd replicate some of the dishes to enliven the memories. For today's lunch playdate, I decided on a pasta with Alfredo sauce and a broccoli salad, with Jello for dessert. As usual, I didn't write down the recipes, but playing with variations is part of the fun for me.

My sister-in-law, Rebecca, made this ultra creamy pasta Alfredo for her oldest son's high school graduation party. I noted there was something different about the sauce, and I made an inquiry when she had one nanosecond to spare. She simply said she used cream cheese. That cheese was why the texture had more oomph and reminded me of melted goat cheese. Yum!

My mom-in-law, Marie, who was helping to prepare food for the same party and a Baptism, made a broccoli salad. I noticed it was one of the first dishes to disappear. I just loved the texture of the broccoli and the combined flavors of savory bacon and tart cranberries. The dressing is similar to what I use in my cole slaw. I experimented with sprinkling in the cranberries and the bacon bits just prior to serving to preserve the crunchiness.

This menu was fairly easy to prepare. Both the broccoli salad and Jello can be made ahead. On the day of, boil the pasta and make the Alfredo sauce, and then grill the chicken pieces. To serve the Jello: have an assortment of mini cookie cutters and allow each child to choose the desired shape(s) and "make" his own dessert.

Broccoli salad

1 and ½ cups Mayonnaise
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoon vinegar
8 cups broccoli florets
1 cup diced red onion
3/4 cup cranberries
14 cooked bacon strips, chopped
sunflower seeds (optional)

In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar. In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, red onion, and half of the cranberries with the mixture. Refrigerate overnight. To serve: toss in the remaining cranberries and bacon bits. Top with Sunflower seeds (optional).

Grilled Chicken Alfredo

1 pound cooked pasta, preferably mezze penne
4 chicken breasts, quartered and seasoned with pinches of salt, pepper, and garlic powder
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons garlic powder
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups milk, more if needed
6 ounces Parmesan cheese
Some freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Grill the chicken on medium heat with some olive oil for 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked. To make the Alfredo sauce: Melt the butter in a pan and add garlic powder. Put in the cream cheese and stir until smooth. Add milk slowly while stirring. Add Parmesan cheese. If a thinner sauce is preferred, add more milk. Do not bring to boil.

To serve: plate pasta with chicken pieces on the side. Pour sauce over cooked pasta and ground fresh black pepper, if desired.

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Playdate Special: Bare Necessities

I always enjoyed the simple pleasures of life and my cooking mirrors that. Sometimes, specially when confronted with how vulnerable life can be, things take a special perspective. Again, simplicity calls for its charms and tranquilizing effects. So, I've been all week thinking what made an aircraft disappear in the middle of nowhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Two hundred and almost thirty people traveling from Rio to Paris just vanished. And to counter-act that feeling of helplessness I just didn't think of what was going to be served in our lunch on that fresh Spring morning. Also some anxiety was ingrained on my thoughts as I was waiting news from a friend who was waiting for a medical result.

None of those thoughts should play a role in the outcome of that menu, but they actually did. I knew I had some treasures to be used in the fridge and felt the urge of using my best Santoku knife to cut as much as I all that was looking good and colorful but also to diminish the strange vybe of my spirit. First I chopped a collection of nice veggies that compose what we call the Churrasco Vinaigrette. As thin and fine as I could. In the background Diogo was whining as much as a two and a half year old could, yearning for my attention and physical exclusivity. Other kids were playing in the bedroom climbing and having fun at the darn bunk bed. At least the cats were not meowing.

The results of my instinctive menu was appreciated by mostly all kids - who were also greeted with a double Cheese macaroni as a prize for trying the beef and the potatoes. At the end of the meal I was satisfied, as D and Y. I was also happy that my friends results from the lab came free of any fears. I had a clue for all my lingering dilemmas of the week. And that was that the things we can actually choose during this life should always be the ones that makes us happy - from food to friends. Because there are also the ones we can't choose.

Double Roast Tri-Tip

2 to 3 pounds of TriTip roast
2 tablespoons Coarse Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
2 teaspoons TJ's Powdered California Garlic

Heat the oven to 420 F. Rub 1 tbsp of salt in each side of the beef.
When hot, turn on the broiler and sear each side of the Tri-Tip for 12
minutes. Return the oven control for baking position and return the
meat for it after sprinkling some pepper in each side. Roast the beef
for about 40 minutes for medium to rare results.

Brazilian Style Vinaigrette

2 Roma tomatoes
1 purple onion
1 red bell pepper
2 handful of parsley
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cut all veggies and herbs in very tiny squares, mix and add the liquid ingredients. Let it sit for at least one hour in the fridge before serving as a garnish for any roasted or grilled meat.

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Second Helping: Easy Going Potato Salad

Potato semi-mayo salad

This is a very good dish to bring to a picnick, potluck and to accompany meat and bbq's.Its simplicity might be disappointing, but the result is always wonderful.

6 medium Idaho Potatoes cooked with the skin
2 hard boiled eggs smashed with a fork
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
Pinch of Dill
Salt to taste

While potatoes are still hot, add the olive oil and eggs. Add salt, pepper and dill and refrigerate.

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Playdate Special: Savory Braised Pork with Seasoned Rice Balls

One early memory I have of my grandfather’s cooking is a bowl of steamy white rice drizzled with gravy and topped with slices of braised pork. In his prime, dear Grandpa Chu enjoyed living and eating well. “Eating well” for Grandpa meant decadent, indulgent cuisine, be it Taiwanese, Chinese, or Japanese. In the case of braised pork, the essential ingredient was pork belly, a tender but very fatty cut. Sadly but not surprisingly, Grandpa Chu, began to be plagued in his forties by various health problems, one of which was cardio-vascular related.

For this week’s lunch playdate, I was inspired to replicate the flavor, sans the excessive fat. In honor of Grandpa Chu, who also gravitated toward most things Japanese, I decided a bento-box style lunch: pork with rice balls and edamame.

Verdict: There’s just something about savory meat and rice that simply entices everyone to eat and eat until sated. All the moms and kids had second helpings and more.

Savory Braised Pork

5 pounds pork shoulder, bone-in
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water
1/2 cup mirin, Japanese rice seasoning
¼ cup sake preferably, or any white wine
½ cup light sodium soy sauce
½ inch minced ginger root

Mix all ingredients in a cast iron pot and place pork inside. Bring to boil on stovetop and then let simmer in a pre-heated oven at 325 degrees for 3 hours. Let meat rest for 5 minutes and slice into quarter inch slices. Drizzle gravy over the meat. Pork can be made one day ahead, which allows you to skim off more fat. To reheat: simmer for 1 hour.

Rice Balls

4 cups steamed white rice
seaweed rice seasoning

Pour the seasoning onto a shallow dish. Wet hands slightly to keep rice from sticking to hands and roll rice into one inch balls. Dip the rice balls into the shallow dish until they are coated lightly with the seasoning. With more practice, you can try shaping into triangles or squares to impress your guests.

Edamame

1 package, 16 ounces frozen edamame

Place the soybeans in their pods on a large plate and microwave for 1 to 2 minutes until heated through.

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