What we ate: dinner series.

It's Thursday so we're back for another installment of dinner recipes! This week was all about fries and wings with some steak, pasta (always pasta!) and salad. 

The first meal we have for you was inspired by my love for the Outback. It seems like all the locations near us are closing up shop and I'm sad about it! I love their aussie cheesefries and side salad so Sean tried to recreate it for me. It was a success!

- - - - -

Bacon cheese fries -- 

Ingredients:

4 medium russet potatoes (sliced)

oil for deep frying (vegetable/canola/peanut)

1 cup monterey jack/colby cheese

2 slices bacon (cooked)

Seasoning:

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

¾ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

½ teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon ground thyme

ranch dressing

Preheat oil to 375 degrees in a deep fryer. Submerge all of the sliced potatoes in a large bowl filled with cold water for 30 minutes. Combine all of the seasoning ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Remove potato slices from the water and place onto a clean towel. Blot dry. Fry potato slices for 8 to 12 minutes in hot oil until light brown. Drain fries on a rack or paper towels and sprinkle with some of the seasoning.

Arrange the seasoned fries on an oven-safe plate. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle the cheese over the fries. Crumble the bacon and sprinkle it over the cheese. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes, until cheese is melted. Serve with ranch dressing on the side && and the salad below (you know, to balance out all the calories. ha.)

Classic Salad --

Ingredients:

package of spinach and arugula Salad

1 roma tomato (cubed)

1 red onion (sliced)

1 cucumber (cubed)

croutons

monterey jack/colby cheese

Assemble salad and top with toppings.

- - - - -

Shrimp Scampi --

Ingredients:

6 oz small raw shrimp

1 ½ stick of salted butter

4 tablespoons olive oil

6 cloves garlic (minced)

1 shallot (minced)

¼ cup fresh parsley (chopped small)

parmesan cheese

pasta

kosher Salt

pepper

In a large pan (Le Creuset Dutch Oven) put 2 tablespoons of olive oil. On medium high heat, sauté and sweat out garlic and shallots until translucent. Chop 1 stick of butter into 6 equal slices. Turn down heat to low-medium and add in 1 piece of butter at a time. Mix everything together to make sure the garlic and shallots do not burn. Every time the butter is almost completely melted, add in another piece until all are gone. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and continue stirring frequently.

In another sauté pan on low medium heat add a ½ stick of butter. Once melted, add in shrimp. Salt and pepper to your preference and mix frequently. Once the shrimp turns pink with red tails and the flesh is slightly opaque and a little white in color, it's done. Set it aside.

In a large pot, boil water and cook pasta according to instructions. If fresh, it should only take 2-3 minutes. Make sure to take the pasta out a little al dente because it will finish cooking in the large pan.

Once pasta is done, toss in the garlic, shallots, oil, and butter. Mix in ¼ cup of parsley. Serve on a plate and top with some fresh pieces of parsley, parmesan, and the shrimp. Enjoy! It's especially good with garlic bread!

- - - - -

Garlic Parmesan Deep Fried Chicken Wings --

Ingredients:

4.5-5lbs Chicken Wings (break down into drumette/wingette and toss tip)

Parmesan Garlic Wing Sauce

Oil for Deep Frying (Vegetable/Canola/Peanut)

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon adobo

1 tablespoon garlic powder

Half a packet of goya sazon cultantro y achiote

A couple spins of fresh black pepper

Set the deep fryer to 325F. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Toss the wings until they are all evenly coated. Set aside and let sit for 10-15 minutes.

Toss the wings in the deep fryer for about 10 minutes until they are a light golden color. Take out and set aside. Set the deep fryer to 350F. Once ready, toss the wings back in until they are crispy and golden brown.

Take wings out and toss in a bowl with the parmesan garlic wing sauce. Don’t put too much or you will get rid of the crispiness! We had this with our favorite fries (recipe in this post)!

- - - - -

Beef tenderloin filets with habanero butter --

Ingredients:

For the filets:

2, 2 lb center-cut beef tenderloin cut into 2 inch steaks

kosher salt & cracked black pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the butter:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1 habanero, seeded, minced

zest and juice of a lime

2 tablespoons minced shallot

2 tablespoons minced roasted garlic

1 tablespoon minced parsley

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 or 5 turns of fresh ground black pepper

Saute garlic and shallots together and sweat out until translucent. Add all the ingredients together for the butter. Wrap in Saran wrap and make the shape of a stick of butter. Put in the fridge and let set. Heat the oven to 425F. Heat a cast iron skillet to high heat. Once hot, pour olive oil in pan and sear steak on one side for 1-3 minutes. Make sure it doesn't burn. Flip it over and put a half stick of butter in pan. Baste the steak in the butter for 1-3 minutes. Stick in oven on a broil pan for 5-7 minutes until medium rare. Take out of oven and cover with tin foil. Let rest for 5-7 minutes. Put habanero butter on top of steaks and serve. We had these steaks with mashed potatoes -- so delicious!

We'll be back next week with more meals in under an hour!