Sunday, December 14, 2008
Be Back Soon!
Happy Holidays and cheers to a bright and exciting new year!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Hello November
Sunday, October 19, 2008
An Old Favorite- Reinvented
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Bringing Fall to Florida
I found this chili recipe on an ad for Kerrygold cheddar (a really tasty Irish cheddar). I made a few additions to it, but as a whole it was a great recipe! I loved the diced green chiles in it, which made it just spicy enough.
shredded cheddar and sour cream to top
Monday, September 8, 2008
First Homemade Pickles
3 tbsp coarse salt, divided
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
And It Continues...
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Snack of Choice...for the Semi-Lazy
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Hurricane Day Cupcakes
Monday, August 18, 2008
Back for Now
On Friday, I finally had the urge to get myself into the kitchen. I decided to do something similar to this pasta recipe. I changed it up a bit, but it's still similar. It was very, very good. I wasn't sure how the canned clams would turn out, but it was really a great buy. If you don't like clams, this recipe would be tasty with shrimp too, or skip the seafood and just use an additional sausage.
Sausage and Clam Linguine
adapted from Foodandwine.com
1 package linguine
1 small can of clams (in salt and water only, no preservatives or additives), drained but saving 2 tbsp
2 tbsp of the clam water from can
2 small spicy turkey sausages (spicy Italian, chorizo, or similar), uncased
1 small onion, diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1-1 1/2 cup good white wine
2 tbsp butter
1/2- 1 cup reserved cooked pasta water
juice from half a lemon
olive oil
dried basil
fresh parsley
salt and pepper
lemon wedges for serving
Cook pasta according to package directions.
In a large pan or skillet, uncase the turkey sausage and brown until cooked thoroughly. You may need to had a drizzle of olive oil since turkey sausage tends to be very lean. Once cooked, remove the sausage from the pan. Add another drizzle of olive oil to brown onion and garlic (add the garlic once the onion is partly cooked to avoid burning). After onion and garlic are browned and soft, add in the white wine, reserved clam water, some salt and pepper, and dried basil. Make sure you pick up the bits from the bottom of the pan. After cooking down the liquid for about 5-1o minutes , add in clams and butter. Simmer on low for another 5 minutes. Slowly add in reserved pasta water until you have a sauce-like consistency.Toss cooked pasta together with sauce, fresh lemon juice, and parsley. Drizzle a bit more olive oil if needed. Serve with a generous sprinkling of shredded Parmesan or Romano and a lemon wedge.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Busy as a Bee
Hopefully this week I'll get to cooking SOMETHING good!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Garbanzo Love
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Lazy with Asian Flair
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Simply Tomatoes
couple turns of extra virgin olive oil
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
First Attempt
4 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs
For the sauce:
Friday, June 27, 2008
Two-fer
Monday, June 16, 2008
Another Dessert...
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Little of This and a Little of That
I'm forever making tacos in our house. It's easy and cheap. If the leftovers aren't eaten or turned in taco salad (great for lunch the next day), then I turn them into stuffed peppers! These peppers were filling, so only half a pepper per person is needed. It was such a great way to change the pace in our house!
Southwestern Stuffed Peppers
for 4 stuffed peppers
This recipe can vary depending on how much leftover you actually have.
2 cups leftover taco meat (we use ground turkey mixed with a can of black beans)
2 cups leftover Spanish rice
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced finely
2 cups (depending on how much leftovers you have and how many peppers you are making) of Monterrey jack cheese (or whatever you have on hand)
1 cup (depending on how much leftovers you have and how many peppers you are making) of good quality salsa
handful of chopped scallions
2 large green (or red) peppers sliced
In a skillet, brown onion and garlic in about tbsp of olive oil. Add leftover taco meat, leftover Spanish rice, and salsa. Heat all the way through. Slice green peppers in half and clean out the seeds and spine on the inside. Spray the outside of the peppers with olive oil and stuff the peppers with the meat and rice mixture. Place on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until green peppers are slightly soft to the touch. Top with cheese and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese is melted. Top with scallions and a spoonful of sour cream.
Note: You can add just about anything to this mixture- avocados, more beans, any other leftover veggies. It's very versatile!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Back to Business
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Back in the Kitchen
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Happy Mother's Day...with Jello
When I was young, my family didn't have a lot of money and I had VERY young parents. My mom was a young mother who was learning to cook while she was learning to be a parent and a wife. So, this recipe is VERY simple but, in my eyes, still one of my favorite desserts since it reminds me of her. This is actually best with lime or lemon jello, but the strawberry worked just fine. Hey! And it's pink for breast cancer awareness!
Strawberry Jello Pie
1 small box of strawberry jello
1/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup room temp water
1 tub lite cool whip
1 premade graham cracker crust
fresh strawberries for the top
Mix the box of jello with 1/4 cup boiling water to dissolve. Once all dissolved, add 1/4 cup room temperature water (or less if it looks to watery) and mix well. Let it cool back to room temp if it's too hot. Fold the liquid jello into the the cool whip slowly. Once it is all mixed together, scoop into your crust and put it in the fridge to set. Add fresh strawberries and serve! It tastes like a quick strawberry mousse...light and fluffy!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Little Treats from Childhood
Palmiers (easy version)
1 sheet of puff pastry
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
Spread the sheet out. Brush egg wash on one side and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Turn over and do the same to the other side. Take one side of the puff pastry and roll it to the center. Take the other side and roll it to the center. Wrap in parchment paper and put in the freezer for about 10 minutes to harden. Don't unravel, but cut the log into 1/2 inch heart-shaped pieces. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle again with sugar and cinnamon. Bake according to puff pastry box directions. Keep an eye on them so they brown and don't burn!
**This can easily be savory by swiping pesto instead of egg and adding Parmesan cheese to the inside and on top of the cookies (before you bake). Really, add anything you think could taste yummy!
Monday, April 21, 2008
For Those Nights
Italian Shrimp
1 bag frozen cleaned, shelled, and tail on (if you like) shrimp- thawed
2-3 cups of good Italian dressing (I like Newman's Parm Italian or Kraft Tuscan Italian)
1 good crusty french baguette (for mopping)
Place thawed shrimp in a glass baking dish with the Italian dressing and cook at 375 degrees until shrimp is pink and ready. Serve with bread and a side salad. Bread is perfect for mopping up the dressing!
Told you it was easy!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Baby Steps
My changes: I used a russet potato instead of yukon and used roma tomatoes instead of cherry.
Potato Focaccia
taken directly from The Wednesday Chef
Makes one 8-inch focaccia
1 medium Yukon Gold potato
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon fresh yeast
A pinch of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more for salting water
2/3 cup warm water
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced crosswise
1 to 2 teaspoons dried oregano
Coarse sea salt
1. Wash the potato and place in a small saucepan along with enough water to cover the potato by an inch. Place the pot over high heat, covered, and bring to a boil. Add a handful of kosher salt to the water. Simmer until the potato is tender when pierced with a knife, around 20 minutes. Drain the potato and let it cool. Peel the potato and mash finely with a fork. Set aside.
2. Put the yeast in a large mixing bowl along with a pinch of sugar. Add the warm water in a thin stream over the yeast, using a fork to help dissolve the yeast entirely. Let the mixture stand for a few minutes.
3. Pour the flour into the yeast water and stir with a fork, then add the mashed potato and the salt. The dough will be relatively thick and shaggy. Use the fork to incorporate the potato into the flour. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and begin to knead the dough by hand. It will come together quite quickly. Knead against the bowl for a minute or so, until it is relatively smooth. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky to handle. Form the dough into a ball and let it rest, covered with a kitchen towel, in the bowl for an hour.
4. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of an 8-inch cake pan. Using your fingertips, gently release the puffy and risen dough from the bowl and place it in the cake pan. Gently tug and pat it out so that it fits the pan. Cover the top of the focaccia with the tomato halves, distributing them evenly. Sprinkle the oregano and a large pinch of coarse salt over the tomatoes, drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and let it rest for another hour.
5. While the focaccia is resting, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the cake pan in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Let cool on a rack for 20 minutes before removing the focaccia from the pan.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Everything That's Good in a Cookie
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup dried cherries
4 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup toffee pieces
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour and baking soda.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice during mixing. Add the egg; mix on high speed to combine. Add the vanilla; mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, and mix on low speed until well combined. Add the oats, cherries, chocolate, and toffee pieces; mix to combine after each addition.
4. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of dough onto a lined baking sheet. Repeat, spacing 2 inches apart.
5. Bake cookies until golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Sweets for my Sweets
Chocolate Hazelnut Tart
(from Gourmet mag)
1 pre-made graham cracker crust (store bought or, if adventurous, you can make your own)
1 cup hazelnuts, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
10 1/2 oz. fine quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened!) in chips or finely chopped
1/2 cup of Nutella
pinch of salt
In a sauce pan, heat the heavy cream to a light boil. In a heat-safe bowl, pour heated cream over chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted. Add Nutella and salt, and whisk together until everything is combined. You can either add the hazelnuts in the mix so it's evenly distributed through the dish or add them on top (which is what I did). Pour chocolate filling into the crust and put in freezer until set (about 30 minutes). OR if you are going to eat later, put in the fridge until ready to serve. OPTIONAL: We had them with some sangria soaked strawberries on the side and that was a GREAT addition. It really cut through the richness of the chocolate.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Such Lovely Cupcakes
Red Velvet Cupcakes
recipe directly from Desert Candy (a GREAT blog)
This has a surprising amount of red food coloring in it, so make sure you have enough on hand before proceeding.
3½ cups cake flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch process)
1½ teaspoons salt
2 cups canola oil
2¼ cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
6 tablespoons (3 ounces, 1/4 cup plus 2 tbl) red food coloring
1½ teaspoons vanilla
1¼ cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
2½ teaspoons white vinegar
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 round 9-inch layer cake pans and line bottoms with parchment.
2. Whisk cake flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl.
3. Place oil and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until well-blended. Beat in eggs one at a time. With machine on low, very slowly add red food coloring. (Take care: it may splash.) Add vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in two batches. Scrape down bowl and beat just long enough to combine.
4. Place baking soda in a small dish, stir in vinegar and add to batter with machine running. Beat for 10 seconds.5. Divide batter among pans, place in oven and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pans 20 minutes. Then remove from pans, flip layers over and peel off parchment. Cool completely before frosting.
Whipped Mascarpone Frosting for Red Velvet Cake
2 cups heavy cream, cold
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
12 ounces mascarpone
½ teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1. Softly whip cream by hand, in electric mixer or in food processor. Cover in bowl and refrigerate.
2. Blend cream cheese and mascarpone in food processor or electric mixer until smooth. Add vanilla, pulse briefly, and add confectioners’ sugar. Blend well.
3. Transfer cream cheese mixture to bowl; fold in whipped cream. Refrigerate until needed.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Sunday Meal on a Wednesday
Coq au "Sauvignon Blanc"
inspired from Nigella's Express Coq au Riesling (Foodnetwork)
1 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 cup bacon, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 celery stalks, roughly cut
2 carrots, roughly cut
1 cup green beans
6 skinless and boneless chicken thighs
2 bay leaves
10 ounces mushrooms (baby bellas)
1/2 bottle white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc since it was affordable)
1/3 cup chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive Oil
Flour
1 to 2 tablespoons freshly chopped dill leaves
Buttered egg noodles
Heat the oil in a casserole or large wide pan and fry the bacon bits until crisp. Drain out some of the oil, leaving about a tsp in the pan.
Add about a tablespoon of olive oil and the diced onions. Cook until softened and slightly carmelized.
Salt and pepper about 1/2 cup of flour, and lightly coat chicken in flour.
Add in chicken to pot and lighlty brown. (Again drain a bit of the oil/ fat once slightly brown.)
Add mushrooms, celery, carrots, green beans, wine, chicken broth, and bay leaves.
Season with salt and pepper and bring to boil.
Cover and simmer for an hour.
Sprinkle with freshly chopped dill and serve with buttered egg noodles.
*You can add whatever veggies you may have left in your fridge (as I did).
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Je t'aime, Madeleine!
2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter (for greasing pan)
3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
a pinch fine-grain sea salt
2/3 cups sugar
zest of one large lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
powdered sugar
a bit of extra flour for dusting baking pan
Special equipment: A madeleine baking pan, regular or small
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Put the eggs with the salt in the bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk attachment. Whip on high speed until thick - you are looking for the eggs to roughly double or triple in volume - approximately 3 minutes. Continuing to mix on high speed, slowly add the sugar in a steady stream. Whip for 2 minutes or until mixture is thick and ribbony. Now with a spatula fold in the lemon zest and vanilla (just until mixed). Sprinkle the flour on top of the egg batter, and gently fold in. Now fold in the butter mixture. Only stirring enough to bring everything together.
Bake the madeleines for 12 - 14 minutes (7-10 minutes for smaller cookies), or until the edges of the madeleines are golden brown. Remove from oven and unmold immediately. Cool on racks and dust with powdered sugar.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Why I've Been Such a Culinary Dud
Now, on top of all the neurotic-ism, I have been busy with other things too. I've had visits from friends, weekend trips, hosting holidays. I'm also now mulling over a new business venture with some great girlfriends, which will hopefully be starting soon. (I'll post more about this when I have more information.) But, speaking of these fabulous girlfriends, they will be guest bloggers on this site so I can spread the cooking/ recipe love. They have given me such great recipes in the past that I told them they must be a part of this. So, there's stuff to look forward to, dear Internet. Food and life are headed your way!
PS- My neurotic-ism will probably turn itself into a new blog site...that I do know.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Moving in the Right Direction
However, just in the past few days I can start to feel the cooking urge slowly coming back. I got a BEAUTIFUL new madeleine cookie pan that is starting to feel a bit neglected. I think this may be the week folks!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Happy 2008!
A and I had a wonderful holiday filled with eating...lots of it. I must say that I know I'm getting older when after the holidays I actually GAINED weight. Yes, I was always one of those fortunate people who could eat and eat and not gain an ounce because of metabolism. Well, those days are over my friend and after-holiday diet is now a must. Oh, I'll still be cooking...but maybe just eating less. We'll see...
I am going to start posting recipes again as of tomorrow. I hope 2008 brings many tasty new things into my kitchen!