See Dick Cook: A Culinary Voyage for the Average Man (13 page)

Procedure

Rinse salmon with cold water then cut in half.

In a large fry pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add salmon pieces and sear for about 3 to 4 minutes a side depending on how well you like your salmon cooked. Remove from pan to another dish and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Using the same pan, add shallots and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes. Stir frequently.

Next, add the remaining ingredients to the pan, stirring constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens and reduces. This should take about 15-20 minutes.

Place salmon on a plate, and pour sauce over each fillet.

Servings: 2

Dick’s Difficulty Gauge: Easy

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Dicks Tips

When picking out your salmon, stick with fresh fillets from the fish counter. Avoid the salmon steaks, as they often have bones which are not cool for a romantic dinner. The Dick Factor: Garnish salmon with a sprig of parsley for a nice presentation. Serve with a rice dish and salad for a wonderful setting.

Flex Your Mussels

Show her what you've got Dick. Even if you're not a world class body builder, you can flex your stuff in the kitchen.

Procedure

Wash and rinse mussels in cold water. Using a small knife, remove beards. (Not your beard Dick, and hopefully not hers. See directions below.)

Soak mussels for about 30 minutes in cold water containing coarse salt and flour.

In a medium sized sauce pan add olive oil and melt butter over medium heat. Sauté onions for ten minutes or until soft. Next add garlic and sauté for one more minute.

Add tomato, oregano, salt and pepper and cook for fifteen minutes until tomato begins to soften.

Add wine and bring to a boil over medium low heat. Add drained and rinsed mussels then cover and steam for six to eight minutes, stirring occasionally until mussels open.

Discard any mussels that don't open. Serve the rest in bowls with some of the broth drizzled over. Serve with a freshly sliced baguette.

Servings: 4

Dick’s Difficulty Gauge: Moderately difficult

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour and 5 minutes

Dicks Tips

Check out your mussels before soaking them Dick. They should be closed tight - discard any that are already cracked open. Soaking the mussels in salt and flour will remove any leftover sand from the mussels.

You may see what looks like brown stringy seaweed hanging out of some of the shells. This is what we refer to as the beard. Nobody likes hair in their food, so simply grab the mussel, pinch the beard tightly with your fingers and tug on it until it comes out. Clean shaven mussels Dick - that's our goal.

Fromage et Deux Jumbo Shells

Nothing says true love like a nice set of stuffed shells.

Procedure

Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Rinse, strain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt butter and sauté onions for 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for an additional minute.

Next throw in the ground turkey and fry for about 10 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink and the water in the pan has evaporated. Be sure to break up ground meat as you fry to keep it loose.

Remove from heat and stir in ricotta, half of mozzarella, spinach and spices being sure to combine well. Allow to cool slightly before handling.

Spray a 13" x 9" baking pan with cooking spray and spread 2 cups of the pasta sauce onto the bottom of a large baking dish.

Scoop about 2 tablespoons of meat mixture into shells and arrange stuffed shells over bottom layer of sauce. Pour the remaining sauce over pasta shells, then top with remaining mozzarella cheese.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Servings: 6

Yield: 25 Stuffed Shells

Dick’s Difficulty Gauge: Moderately difficult

Preparation Time: 50 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Dicks Tips

You'll probably find about 40 shells in a box Dick. You may want to cook them all, as some are sure to tear. If you've got extra shells and meat mixture left, stuff 'em and freeze 'em for later. Alternatively, throw leftover meat mixture in the fridge and use it for an omelet stuffing in the morning!

You can use regular or lean ground beef instead of the turkey as well, although the turkey is a healthier choice. If you do substitute, be sure to drain off any excess fat.

Fuhgeddaboudit Prime Rib

Nothing is better than a perfectly cooked Prime Rib. Well...almost nothing. Anyway, this recipe is your ace up your sleeve, involves very little skill and quite frankly, impossible to screw up if you follow these simple directions.

Procedure

The first step here is a must Dick. Take your Prime Rib out of the fridge and warm it up to room temperature for at least 3 hours. You don't want a cold roast going into that oven. Kapeesh?

Okay, when you're ready to start remove the middle rack from the oven, and preheat to 500° F.

You will need your roasting pan and drip rack for this. Mix the water, red wine and soup mix in the bottom of the roasting pan and once combined put the drip pan in. Don't try to do this without the drip pan Dick. It won't be pretty.

Rub the entire roast with olive oil.

Mix the garlic powder and pepper together and rub into the roast, covering all of the meat.

Place the roast bone side down into the pan, on the drip rack. Arrange the rosemary along the top of the roast and place a leave-in digital meat thermometer into the center of the roast.

Once your oven has reached 500° F place the roast in the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Use a timer for this Dick as you don't want to go over 20 minutes.

When you've hit 20 minutes, turn the oven down to 200° F and just walk away Dick. Don't go opening the door or messing with anything. Just fuhgeddaboudit.

Leave your roast to slowly cook for the rest of the day, about 6 hours.

Turn the oven back up to 350° about twenty minutes before you remove the roast, to bring the internal temperature up. Keep an eye on the thermometer reading and remove the roast 5 degrees sooner than your desired doneness level. (See
Dick's Doneness Chart
for meat temperatures.)

Remove the roast and wrap in tinfoil. Leave it sit on the counter for 20 - 30 minutes. Don't rush this step either Dick as you want the juices to redistribute evenly.

For the au jus put the pan on the stove top and bring the dripping's to a boil adding the beef broth. Reduce heat and simmer to keep warm.

All you have left to do is carve that baby up, drizzle with some au jus and serve. Nicely done Dick.

Servings: 8

Yield: Makes 6 - 8 servings.

Dick’s Difficulty Gauge: Easy

Oven Temperature: 200°F

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 6 hours

Inactive Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 6 hours and 45 minutes

Dicks Tips

Serve this with some Bare Naked Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Asparadick & Hollandaise for a truly fine dining experience in your own kitchen.

Dick Factor: A nice bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon would go well with this meal Dick and shoot for a classy table setting.

Hide the Salami Baked Chicken

Time for a little game of Hide the Salami? This recipe can put anyone in the mood.

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375° F.

In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese, olives and garlic powder.

With a sharp knife, slice a pocket into the side of the chicken breasts, going as deep as possible without cutting through all the way. Picture an envelope Dick, open only on the one side.

Lay two pieces of the salami inside of the chicken, overlapping slightly and lying flat for now.

With a small spoon, stuff approximately one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture into the back of the chicken breast (bottom of the envelope) but on top of the salami. Then carefully fold the section of salami that's sticking out of the chicken into the chicken breast, over top of the cream cheese mixture. It should seal the cream cheese mixture in between the chicken breast and salami.

Sprinkle the chicken breasts with coarse black pepper to taste. (Skip the salt here Dick as the salami and olives are salty enough).

In a large skillet type frying pan, heat up the olive oil on medium high heat. Place the chicken breasts in, pepper side down, and brown for about three minutes. Sprinkle pepper on the unseasoned side, and then flip over and brown for another three minutes.

Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray and then transfer the chicken to this pan. Bake at 375° F for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for ten minutes before serving.

Servings: 4

Dick’s Difficulty Gauge: Moderately difficult

Oven Temperature: 375°F

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour and 35 minutes

Dicks Tips

Don't let this recipe scare you off because it really is as easy as following each step. Once you stuff your first breast you'll be good to go. Try to find a milder tasting salami if you can. Just ask at the deli counter for some help. As for the chicken itself, serve this with something mild tasting such as rice or potatoes.