The Husband Cooks Wednesdays

… but he got off easy today ’cause we raided the fridge for leftovers (and hey, no complaining here, he cooked yesterday).

Happened to catch a segment on Rachael Ray on Entertainment Tonight, and they took her through her daily schedule for today. I’m tired just hearing the run-through … she started the morning with a segment on Good Morning America, then did two radio interviews and a third one in the car. Once that was all done, she was off to the Food Network set to tape three shows back to back to back. Whew! And that’s just ONE day … coupled with her new magazine, a new cookbook that was just recently released and her talk show debuting in the Fall, she is one busy woman!

I’ve been catching up on loading recipes on the sidebar, and finally got another two months worth of new recipes from last year all loaded; just need December, and I’m all done with 2005! And speaking of catching up on new recipes, I’ve put a few from the past few days down below. As always, if you’re ever looking for a recipe I’ve made but haven’t posted, just drop me a line.

All for tonight folks. Tune in tomorrow for the newest nod for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block and Rediscovering My Library. Until then…

A year ago today… new celebrity chef on the horizon.

Tuscan-Style Steaks
1 porterhouse steak (1-1/2 to 2 inches thick; 1-1/2 pounds)
coarse salt and black pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
6 whole fresh sage leaves
1/2 cup cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil

Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high. Generously season the steak with salt and pepper. When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Arrange the steak on the hot grate at a 45 degree angle to the bars of the grate and grill until cooked to taste, 7 to 10 mintes per side for rare, rotating the steak after 3-4 minutes to create crosshatch grill marks.

Scatter the garlic, rosemary and sage leaves over the bottom of a deep dish or platter. Arrange the grilled steak on top and pour oil over it. Turn the steak a few times to coat with the garlic, herbs and oil. Spoon the oil that gathers in the bottom of the dish over the steak. Let the steak marinate for 3-5 minutes.

To carve and serve, cut the tenderloin and top loin strip off the bone and slice. Spoon the herbed oil and meat juices over the meat once final time and serve at once.

Serves 4.

Sweetnicks Notes: We didn’t use porterhouse and skipped the whole first step, just grilling like we always do, and it was still delicious. I reduced the olive oil by half and it could definitely be reduced more than that. Enjoy!

Frozen Mudslide
4 cups crushed ice
2 (1.5 fluid ounce) jiggers vodka
2 (1.5 fluid ounce) jiggers coffee flavored liqueur
2 (1.5 fluid ounce) jiggers Irish cream liqueur
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
1/2 cup whipped cream

In a blender, combine crushed ice, vodka, coffee liqueur and Irish cream liqueur. Drizzle in Chocolate syrup. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and garnish with whipped cream.

Baked Spaghetti Casserole
Yields: 7 servings

1 (8 ounce) package spaghetti
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2-3/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Preheat oven to 425F. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and cool.
Beat egg in large bowl, add milk, 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese, salt and garlic powder. Stir in cooked spaghetti, mix well. Spread mixture evenly in greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Spread sauce over spaghetti. Sprinkle with oregano, basil and the remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese. Return to oven and bake for 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.