Vanilla Souffle

I'm not much of a sweets kind of person.  My husband, on the hand, could eat a piece of cake for breakfast and wash it down with a bowl of ice cream every day if he could.

But when I do have dessert, I like it to be light and tasty.  That's where this vanilla souffle comes in.  It's delicate, but complex in flavor.  Simple, but a show stopper.  Obviously, I waited a little too long to take pictures because it started to deflate after a bit.  But it still tasted wonderful, and in the end, that's what really matters, right?  Right.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
4 egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vanilla
powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Grease the inside of 4 small ramekins with butter.

In a small saucepan, combine the flour, milk, and 1/3 cup sugar.  Slowly bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently to prevent lumps.  When the mixture begins to thicken, remove from heat and let cool.

Whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time and continue until all yolks are incorporated.  Beat in the 2 tablespoons of butter.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites, salt, and remaining tablespoon of sugar until stiff peaks form.

Fold the meringue into the egg yolk mixture and then stir in vanilla.

Divide the mixture between the ramekins, filling them about 3/4 of the way full.

Place the ramekins carefully on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven.  Turn heat down to 375 F and bake for 25-30 minutes or until souffle has risen and is golden brown.

Carefully remove from the oven and dust with powdered sugar.  Serve immediately.

Hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving week!

Chocolate Peppermint Mousse

It seems that Christmas gets thrown in our faces earlier and earlier every year.  I remember when I didn't see a single Christmas decoration or hear a note of a single Christmas song until the day after Thanksgiving.  This year, I pretty much woke up the day after Halloween to aisles flooded with Christmas candy and knick knacks - the alarm set to a horrible country radio station (sorry for all you country music fans) unforgivably playing Christmas tunes.  I mean, can't we give Thanksgiving a chance, first?

Well, I guess if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

My husband loves the taste of peppermint-anything.  Throw chocolate in the mix and he's in heaven.  So since it's pretty close to the big guy's birthday, I decided to whip up a little dessert to put a smile on his cute face.

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 cup Peppermint Schnapps
6 oz. semi-sweet or dark chocolate
1/4 cup coffee
6 oz. unsalted butter, softened
4 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt

whipped cream for topping, optional

Combine the egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar in a medium, stainless steel bowl.  Beat with a hand mixer until pale yellow and the mixture allows ribbons to form.

Beat in the Peppermint Schnapps until combined. 

Set up a double boiler on the stove, being careful not to let the bottom of the bowl touch any water (you only need about an inch of water in the pot).  Beat the mixture until it starts to thicken and slightly foams up.  The mixture should be warm to the touch.  Set mixture aside while you melt the chocolate.

In another medium, stainless steel bowl, combine the chocolate and coffee.  Set the bowl over the double boiler and stir until chocolate is completely melted.  Remove from heat and stir in the butter. 

Slowly pour the chocolate mixture in with the egg mixture and beat until all the chocolate is incorporated.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites, salt, and remaining tablespoon of sugar.  Whisk until stiff peaks form.

Fold the meringue in with the chocolate mixture until all is incorporated.  Divide the mixture into serving dishes and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

When ready to serve, top with whipped cream and sprinkles.

This is definitely a tasty treat.  The peppermint doesn't over power the chocolate at all, but instead, it accentuates it to create quite the delicious bite!

So if you're looking for something to serve at one of the many holiday dinner parties this year, look no further!  Enjoy the rest of the week, guys!

Glazed Carrots

How was everyone's Memorial Day weekend?

We ended up having a pretty decent cookout - the forecast called for rain, but it stayed away and we enjoyed sunshine and great grilled food!  It was a nice way to kick off our grilling season.

I hardly ever put up any side dishes here on the blog so I thought I'd throw an easy one out there.  I know a lot of you may be growing carrots in your gardens this year, so this is a great side to use those babies up!

Ingredients:

1 bunch of carrots, sliced on the bias (about 2 cups)
1 cup veal or chicken stock
1-2 tablespoons sugar or honey
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt and pepper, to taste
1-2 tablespoons chopped chives

In a medium saute pan, melt the butter under medium high heat.  Add the carrots, stock (I used veal because we were serving these carrots with some grilled steak), and sugar/honey. 

Cook under medium heat until the stock is reduced and syrupy, stirring occasionally.  You basically just want a "glaze" of stock to be left.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Garnish with chopped chives or other fresh herbs.

And voila, a side dish that takes longer to prep than cook! 

What's your favorite way to prepare carrots?
 
Hope you guys have a great rest of the week!

Paprika Chicken Casserole

Happy Friday everybody!  How was everyone's first week of 2013?!

We're still on the up and up over here!  We've been having a lot of comfort foods in our house lately, and this casserole ranks up near the top.  It's dead simple, absolutely delicious, and the leftovers make amazing lunches!

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup mirepoix (small diced carrot, celery, and onion)
 1 & 1/2 tablespoons paprika
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine
3 parsley stems
1 bay leaf
pinch of dried thyme
 1 onion, julienned
1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
juice from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 lb. egg noodles, cooked
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

In a large pot or casserole dish, melt butter under medium heat.  Add mirepoix and saute for about 3-4 minutes.  Push mirepoix aside and add chicken breasts in an even layer.  Cook for about 4-5 minutes, flipping once.  Sprinkle paprika over chicken and turn heat down to medium low.  Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Add flour to the chicken and stir into mirepoix and cooking juices to make a paste.  Bring heat to medium and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes over medium heat.

Add stock, wine, parsley stems, bay leaf, and thyme to the pot.  Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to a low simmer.  Cover and cook for about 25-30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked throughout.  Remove chicken from pot and set aside.

In a medium saute pan, add olive oil.  Add the onions and mushrooms and saute until they are caramelized and softened.  Season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper, to taste, and set aside.

Bring the cooking liquid for the chicken to a boil and reduce mixture by half and slightly thickened.  Stir in heavy cream and continue to reduce sauce until it is at desired consistency.

Stir in cooked egg noodles and season sauce to taste.

Slice the chicken breasts into 1/2 inch thick pieces.  Layer in a casserole dish and top with onions and mushrooms.  Pour sauce and noodles over top of chicken and garnish with fresh parsley.

This definitely is enough to feed a family of 4.  It's filling and definitely delicious!  I could definitely drink the sauce like a glass of water.  It's too good not to make!  Warm up with a nice plate of this and have a great weekend, guys!

Sausage & Mushroom Canape

I know a lot of you are going to be put in the host or hostess position over the next couple of weeks, so I thought I'd include a little canape or hors d'oeuvre that should go over well with a crowd!

The sweet and savory combination of maple syrup and mustard is a combination I love.  Add in some umami flavor of some mushrooms, and you've got yourself a powerhouse of flavor in a small little bite!

Ingredients:

20-25 cocktail wieners/sausages 
3 tablespoons whole grain dijon mustard
1/2 cup maple syrup
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cayenne pepper
10 button/cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheese (I used Emmentaler Swiss because that's what I had)

1 french baguette, cut into 1/4 inch slices
melted butter, for brushing
salt, to taste

You can prepare your little crostinis first.  If you're going to do a bunch at a time, I'd suggest doing them in the oven.  If you've got plenty of time, then you can absolutely do them in a skillet over the stove.  For time's sake, we're going to bake these babies in the oven.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Place a trivet or wire rack on a baking sheet and evenly arrange bread slices on rack.  Brush each bread slice with melted butter and sprinkle with a little bit of salt.

Bake crostinis until they are golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Raise oven temperature to 375 F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a medium bowl, combine the mustard, maple syrup, and paprika.  Toss the sausages in the mixture until evenly coated.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Arrange the sausages on the parchment paper and bake in oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until the sausages are golden brown and the glaze is caramelized.

Heat a medium saute pan under medium high heat and melt 2 tablespoons of butter.  Add mushroom slices and cook until softened and caramelized.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

To put together, place about 1/2 teaspoon of the mushrooms on each crostini.  Top with cocktail sausage and garnish with shredded cheese.

If you make this ahead, you can put the product together and then reheat in a 375 F oven to melt the cheese and make product warm throughout.

This is definitely a different way to present familiar ingredients.  I recently made my family dinner for my mother's birthday and these were gone in a flash!  So tasty!

What do you serve as an appetizer for holiday gatherings?

Hope you guys have a great rest of the week and Happy Holidays!!

Salmon Croquette Burger

How's everyone's weekend going?  It's been pretty busy around these parts, so I'm sorry for my lack of posts.  I've got some big things coming up this week - yesterday I was at the Muhammad Ali Center for the Mayor's International Gala.  I competed against 7 other teams in an international culinary competition.  My group drew Ecuador and we placed 2nd - only by a 1 point loss!  It was an awesome experience, and the fact that many people came up to me and had multiple tastings of our dish, as well as saying it was the best they'd had all night.  That was prize enough!  And I couldn't have lost to anybody better - the 1st place team included my usual lab partner in class, so I was so happy for her!

And I've also been chosen as a participant to enter into the San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef competition.  I'm most excited about this because the ultimate winner (I'd have to get through 3 rounds: Locally against the Sullivan Lexington campus, Regionally in Chicago against all the Northwest Region champs, and Nationally in Napa Valley against all the regional winners) gets a $10,000 cash prize, a 1 year externship at a celebrity chef's restaurant, and a media tour with San Pellegrino.  A chance. of. a. lifetime.  So I'm crossing my fingers that I at least place out of the local competition and get a trip to Chicago, but it would be hella neat if I got to go to Napa Valley too, right?!

Anyway...

A little while back, I went to lunch at the Marketplace Restaurant with a couple of old co-workers.  I had the most amazing salmon croquette sandwich and have been craving it ever since.  So I decided to whip up my own version at home!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup onion, small diced
1 cup potatoes, cooked and mashed
1/4 cup scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
1 tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 lb. salmon, poached and flaked
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
juice from 1 lemon
flour, for breading
egg wash, for breading
breadcrumbs, for breading
vegetable oil, for frying

Lettuce, Bread, Mayo, etc. for sandwich compilation

Heat a large saute pan under medium high heat and melt butter.  Add onions and cook until translucent.

Add the flour to make a roux. 

Add milk and whisk constantly until no lumps remain.  Cook until a slightly thick bechamel is formed, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and transfer to a medium mixing bowl.  Add the salmon, dill, salt, pepper, lemon juice, scallions, mashed potatoes, Old Bay seasoning, and lemon pepper seasoning.

Place mixture in the fridge to firm up and chill, about 10-15 minutes.

Set up a 3 compartment breading station (one pan flour, one pan egg wash, one pan breadcrumbs).

Portion the mixture into 8 oz. patties (or desired size).  Dredge each patty in flour, then egg wash, then finally breadcrumbs.

Heat a deep fryer or oil in a heavy-bottomed pan to about 375F.  Fry each patty for about 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown.  Drain each patty on a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt, if needed.

Assemble the salmon burger to suit your tastes.  We put ours between two pieces of white bread, and topped with some green leaf lettuce and mayonnaise.  Pretty darn easy, tasty, quick!

What's your favorite way to put together a salmon burger?

How to Open Clams

I'm back!  Well, I've been back since Monday, but I've been crazy busy getting the house in order and ready for school to start back up next week.  Oh, and working like crazy!

It was definitely nice to have a break away from it all and to hang out with a big bunch of our friends.

Anyway, I've been in a really big how-to mode lately, so here's another one.  I promise I'll get back to recipes soon enough!

I know what you're thinking.  Why on Earth would I want to open up a clam when I can just steam the sucker and have it open up on it's own?  Well... personally, I don't like picking through clam shells in a dish.  If it's just a bowl of clams, then yeah, that's okay.  But if I'm having a bowl of pasta and clam shells keep me from just shoveling it all in my mouth (attractive, right?), then opening these bad boys up before hand is a useful task!

A lot of people prefer to have an actual clam knife for the job, but I find a normal butter knife does well in a pinch.  Especially if you don't have clams very often, it would be pointless to run out and buy a clam knife for a once a year task.  Right?  Right.

It's also a lot easier to do if you rinse the clams under cold water, then place them back in the refrigerator for about an hour so they have time to "relax" - their shells won't be so tightly sealed.  Alright, so let's get to it.

#1.  Hold the oyster in the palm of your hand, with your thumb on the "bump" of the clam gently holding it down.  Place the blade of your butter or clam knife in between the clam shells, and with the same hand you're holding it with, gently, but forcefully push the knife through the shells.

  

#2. Pull the knife through until it cuts through the muscle.  Twist the knife to pry the shells apart and slide along the top shell to cut the other muscle.  Break the shell free from the hinge and discard.

 

#3.  Use the knife to release the clam from the bottom shell.  And voila, shelled clams! 

Do you shell your clams?  Or do you not mind rooting through the shells in a dish?

Turkey Scallopine w/ Capers & Lemon

How's everyone doing?! 

I'm on cloud 9 right now!  The quarter is pretty much over and we received our grades for our Garde Manger final practical.  We did a 6-course meal (salad, consomme, fish course, intermezzo sorbet, beef entree, and dessert).  We were in teams of 3 and we found out we got an A!  Which is a major big deal, because it's EXTREMELY hard to get an A from the chef we have - and we've done it twice - with our midterm and now with our final!  How awesome is that?!

Anyway, scallopine is usually done with veal, but I saw some turkey breast fillets on sale at the grocery this week and knew I could pull together something quick and tasty with them.  Lemon and capers are such a classic combo and this comes together in such a quick amount of time!  Fancy without the fuss!

Ingredients:

2 turkey breasts, pounded flat and cut in half
salt and pepper, to taste
flour, for dredging
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup white wine
juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon capers

Season the turkey breasts with salt and pepper. Dredge in the flour, dusting off excess.

Heat the butter in a large saute pan under medium high heat.  Add the turkey and saute until golden brown on both sides.  Remove from pan and keep covered and warm.

Deglaze the pan with the white wine and add lemon juice and capers.  Return the turkey to the pan and coat with sauce.

Serve turkey over rice and vegetables and any excess sauce.  Dig on in!

I told you it was easy!  And it's ready in no time - what are you waiting for?!

Sauteed Chicken w/ Garlic Jus & Rice

Happy Thursday, guys!

 How is everyone's week going so far?  Ours has been pretty chill - literally.  We're doing ice sculptures this week at school (our group chose a swordfish), so hopefully I'll get some pics up of our finished product by the end of the week!

Sauteed chicken is one of the easiest ways (and my personal favorite) way to prepare chicken.  It's so easy to whip up a sauce with the little pan bits and some herbs afterward that this makes the perfect weeknight (or weekend!) meal!

Ingredients:

2 chicken leg quarters, skin on (you could also use breasts, too)
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup jasmine rice
1 cup small diced vegetables (I had zucchini and orange bell peppers)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup white wine
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat your oven to 425 F.

Place rice, vegetables, and 2 cups of cold water in a medium saucepan.  Bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cover.  Let cook until rice is light and fluffy, about 10-15 minutes (Jasmine rice cooks relatively fast - if you use a different rice, keep the cooking time in mind).  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Heat a large oven-proof skillet under medium high to high heat.

Season both sides of the chicken legs sear in pan until golden brown on both sides, about 3-4 minutes each side.  Transfer pan to the oven to finish cooking, about 10-15 minutes.  Let rest on a separate plate for 2-3 minutes.

Using the same saute pan, add garlic.  Cook for about a minute, or until fragrant.  Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock and white wine.  Reduce until you have about 1/4 cup left.  Mount the sauce with butter and season, to taste.

Place mound of rice on the center of a clean plate.  Place chicken on top and drizzle with the jus.  A perfect meal in minutes!

Hope you guys have a great rest of your day!

Country Ham & Manchego-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Howdy!

The wedding countdown is on.  Less than 2 months away, we're starting to chip at what we have left to  do bit by bit.  The past week or so, my engagement ring has been at the jeweler's in order to get the bands molded.  I almost feel naked without it!  Like men are just gawking at me like I'm a single woman.  Hehe, I'm pretty vain aren't I?

The end of this quarter of Culinary School is almost upon us.  And I'm definitely ready for the break.  The middle of the month is also my last day at my day job at the pharmacy.  I've worked there for 7 years and it'll be hard to say good-bye.  But I know I've been lifelong friends and it won't be good-bye to those people.  But it also marks the day I'll be moving on.  Really getting on.  I'll be able to work at the restaurant more, especially since I'll be switching to Day-time classes for the next quarter.  Nights and weekends were alright, but I'd be there double the time.  Day-time classes allow me to finished faster (and cook more!) - as well as being able to work at the restaurant more often. 

But all in all, everything is great - except for the fact I've cut myself twice in the past two weeks.  Once on my pinky (sliced the sucker right open) while cleaning my knife - and the second time was just this past Sunday at work - with a bread knife.  Not pretty.  And by the time I went to the Immediate Care Center (my stubborn ass went the next day instead of right after work), it was too late to get stitched up.  So I'll just have to suffer with the battle wounds for now.

Anyway, this is an easy weeknight dinner that's tasty and quick!  Let's get at it!

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
2 pieces of country ham
2 slices of manchego cheese (or cheese of your choice)
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or olive oil)

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Wrap your chicken breasts loosely in plastic wrap.  You want it loose enough that they'll be able to comfortably expand, but not too loose that they're "expand" in little pieces all over your kitchen when you smack the crap out of them.

Take a meat mallet or bottom side of a pan and get to smacking.  Flatten the breasts to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness.

Remove plastic wrap from chicken breasts.

Place a piece of country ham on chicken breast.

Place a piece of manchego cheese on top of country ham.

Using butcher's twine or toothpicks (these are more ideal), wrap the chicken breast around the ham and cheese.  If I had toothpicks handy, I would have used those, but the twine sufficed.

Place the flour in a shallow dish.  Season with salt and pepper.  Dredge the chicken in the flour, shaking off any excess flour.

Heat the oil in an oven-proof skillet under medium high heat.  Place the chicken in the pan, seam-side up.  Cook chicken until you get a nice golden crust, about 3-4 minutes.  Flip chicken over and cook for an additional minute.

Transfer chicken to the oven to finish, about 10 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165F.

Serve chicken with barbecue sauce (or sauce of your choice) and side of your choice.  We paired this with macaroni and cheese for a nice comforting meal!

Baked Caramel Apples

Can we see a theme developing here?

I had extra apples and caramels from these so I thought I'd make good use of the extra in some more caramel apple-themed treats!

These are super easy, somewhat messy, but oh so delicious!  The Cheesecake Factory used to have this apple dumpling-type dessert that I loved.  It was a warm apple wrapped in pastry and filled with caramel.  I haven't seen it there in forever (maybe they've discontinued it?  I don't know), so this is my take on it... sans pastry of course.

Ingredients:
Adapted from a Taste of Home recipe

4 Granny Smith Apples, cored
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
8 caramels
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
whipped cream

Preheat oven to 300 F.

Place apples in a square baking dish.  Pour apple juice over top of apples.  Divide brown sugar, butter, and caramels between each apple.  Sprinkle cinnamon on top of apples.

Bake for about 1 & 1/2 to 2 hours, or until apples are softened and caramel is melted.  (As you can see, my caramels could have gone for a little bit longer, but I was getting antsy!)

Top with fresh whipped cream (and snap your pictures fast, because it obviously melts quickly!).

While this isn't the pretties dessert ever, it's quite messy really.  It sure does have all of the flavors of fall that I really enjoy - and it's so simple to put together!  The waiting is the hardest part!


What's your favorite fall treat?

Tomato & Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup

"Carmageddon" has officially hit Louisville.  While probably not as drastic as the major traffic that was caused in Los Angeles - but definitely something that perturbs me.  I love Louisville for the fact that it doesn't have 'major city traffic'.  Sure, we have crazy rush hour, but nothing compared to cities like LA, New York, or even Nashville.

Until last Friday.  The Sherman-Minton bridge was closed "indefinitely" due to some cracks found in some foundation beams.  While yes, safety is priority - it has put Louisville (and most parts of Southern Indiana - as the bridge connects New Albany, IN to Louisville) in a traffic tizzy, because now everything has to filter through to the other bridge (The Kennedy) - adding about 76,000 more cars that way.  And don't even get me started on the stupid detours.  My normal 20-25 minutes commute to work took a little over an hour today.  Yeah, I wasn't in a good mood.  But surprisingly enough, my commute home was more of normal pace, about 30 minutes.  I'll just have to think smarter for tomorrow's drive in.

Now that I've got my rant out of the way (I'm sure you all just wanted to hear about my traffic annoyances, right?) - let me tell you about something that calms me down... soup.  Yes, soup.  Now that fall has set in, soup will be a regular occurrence in our house - at least weekly.  And this week's soup?  This wonderful tomato and roasted red pepper soup.  Perfect for dipping grilled cheese!

Ingredients: 
Adapted from Sea Salt With Food's recipe

2 Red Bell Peppers
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Onion, peeled and diced

3 Cloves Garlic, peeled and chopped

2 Heirloom Tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 tablespoons Tomato Paste
small handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
4 cups chicken stock
1 & 1/2 teaspoons Cumin
1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Sour Cream
Croutons

Broil red peppers under a broiler or open flame on gas stove until charred on all sides.  Place red peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Set aside until cool enough to handle.  Peel, remove seeds, and roughly chop.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven.  Add onion and garlic.  Cook until soft and translucent but not brown in color, about 3 to 5 minutes. Then turn the heat on high and mix in the tomatoes, tomato paste, peppers, cilantro, cumin, and paprika. Sauté the mixture for a minute or 2, and add the chicken stock.  Bring mixture to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes.

Allow the soup mixture to cool slightly, then puree it with an immersion blender. Bring the soup back to the boil and season with some salt and pepper. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, some croutons, and a grilled cheese sandwich (if you're the dipping kind of gal like me!)

This was super tasty, made great use of our CSA tomatoes, and will be a soup that paired perfectly with a simple grilled cheese!


Hope you guys have a great Tuesday!  See you tomorrow night!

Secret Recipe Club: Beef & Pork Keema

It's Secret Recipe Club time again!  What is Secret Recipe Club?  Well, it's the coolest thing to hit the internet since Google originated, that's what!  It's basically a monthly "secret santa" among food bloggers.  You get assigned a food blogger, and you get to tackle one (or more!) of their recipes to post on reveal day (which is, of course, TODAY!)

I was really excited to be assigned Dana from Dana's Food For Thought.  Why?!  Well, Dana was assigned my blog for the first Secret Recipe Club that I participated in!  So it was so great to return the favor!

Dana's blog is full of amazing recipes, it was definitely hard to choose.  Recently engaged herself, Dana and I are very similar (as she said in her post when she was assigned my blog!).  She's got everything from Morel Mushroom and Brie Tart to Lime Chicken Empanadas with Ranchero Ranch Dressing!  Do I have your mouth watering yet?!

As I was perusing through Dana's blog, something really caught my eye - the Turkey Keema.  It had all of the Indian flavors that Andy and I both love, but still remained somewhat "normal" when in comes to "Americanized-Ethnic" food.  Andy was definitely surprised at how much he liked it - because looking at the ingredients, he was definitely weary... but I told him to trust me.  And I'm glad he did!  Because this was awesome - and I definitely will be taking Dana's suggestion of putting the filling into sandwiches, because I'm sure it'll be incredible!

Ingredients:
Adapted from Dana's Food For Thought's recipe

1 & 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
2 & 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 & 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
about 5 red potatoes, diced
6 oz plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cup 2% milk
3/4 cup frozen vegetables medley (peas, corn, carrots, green beans)
juice from 1 lemon
small handful cilantro, chopped

In a cast iron skillet, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the onion and cook until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute longer. Add the ground beef and pork and cook until no longer pink, about 3 minutes.  Remove any extra fat.


Stir in the coriander, cumin, pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of the salt to the pan. Cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the potatoes, yogurt, and milk. Bring just to a boil. Cover the pan. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Uncover the pan and simmer for 5 minutes longer.

Stir in the frozen vegetable medley and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Simmer until the vegetables are just done, about 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and cilantro.  Serve with warm naan bread.


This was absolutely amazing.  It definitely exceeded every expectation and I can totally understand why Dana included it in her 7 Links Challenge as the 'Post That Didn't Get The Attention It Deserved'.

So I'm glad I got a chance to see why Dana thought this!  

I'm glad I got a chance at one of Dana's recipes, and I can't wait to experiment with others!  

If you want to join in on the fun of the Secret Recipe Club - feel free to check it out here!

Peanut Butter Quick Bread

Happy Thursday guys!  I'm absolutely exhausted from this week already!  And I've got to work through Saturday before I get to have my "weekend"!  Hopefully I'll make it.

I'm pretty stoked that tonight - in about 30 minutes, the official NFL regular season starts!  Football season is probably my favorite time of year.  Go Eagles!  And as an avid Peyton Manning-hater... I'm glad the sad little puppy dog is sitting out for a couple of months, but I digress.

Let's talk peanut butter.  I've found a new love.  Move over JIF (I keep it old school), I've got a new favorite.  And I'm pretty sure I'm late on this bandwagon, too.  But better late than never!  Peanut Butter & Co. Bee's Knees is the SHIZ!  I find myself just eating spoonfuls throughout the day because it's so good.  So I knew that using up the last bit of it in this bread was bittersweet because I'd be using up the last of it (I can always restock right?!), but also genius, because when you use good ingredients, good things happen right?  Right!

Ingredients:
Adapted from the 1945 Edition of The Boston Cooking School Cook Book

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup peanut butter (I highly recommend using PB&Co!)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk

Glaze:


1 tablespoon heavy cream
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Using a fork, incorporate peanut butter and beaten egg.  Stir in milk until a smooth batter is formed.

Grease a loaf pan and pour in batter.  Bake for about 50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Let rest on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.

To make glaze, combine cream, powdered sugar, and peanut butter until smooth.

Remove bread from pan and pour glaze over top. 

This was pretty tasty.  If you're a peanut butter lover, you'd definitely love this!  It's something I don't see a lot of - especially when zucchini breads are so popular right now!  Hey... zucchini peanut butter bread - I think I may be on to something.  I'll experiment and get back to you guys!

See you guys tomorrow!  It's TGIF!

Good-bye Summer!

The temperature has literally dropped like 40 degrees since Saturday.  It's a beautiful 58 F outside right now.  It's the first morning I've had to actually put on a sweatshirt to walk around the house.  And it feels amazing!

I'm still dreading going back to work after a nice and relaxing long weekend, but the bills gots to be paid, right?!  Anyway, in honor of letting summer go, I'm leaving you with a bowl of summer.  Because from here on out, the food is gonna get "comfy" and hearty... just like fall intended it to be!

No real recipe here.  Just combine your favorite fruits of summer (in my case, just simply green grapes and chunks of watermelon), and get your snack on!

I'll be back tomorrow with something less-lazy... I promise!

Mixed Greens w/ Apples & Smoked Gouda

I know I've been posting a lot of simple salads over the past few months - but I can't help it!  I love lunchin' on salads!

One of my favorite additions to salads are julienned apples - Granny Smiths to be exact.  Raise your hand if you agree!  They just give a welcomed and refreshing sour bite in the midst of some semi-bitter greens.

Happy mid-week to ya guys and just remember - 2 more days and it's a 3 day weekend (for those of us in the US that is!).


Ingredients:

Mixed greens
1/2 cup Smoked gouda, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Granny Smith apple, peeled and julienned
1/4 cup deli turkey, chopped

In a large bowl combine greens, gouda, apple, and turkey.  Serve plain or dressed with your favorite dressing!

Simple right?  Right. 

I promise I'll start posting "harder" recipes soon!  Stay tuned tomorrow for my review of our Danville, KY tasting and a meet-up with other KY Food Bloggers!  Have a great rest of your Wednesday guys!

Black Bean Salad

Hope everyone is having a good week so far!  I'm already ready for our three-day weekend!

I've got to head out to work tonight, but I just wanted to do a quick post first.

This black bean salad is quick, easy, and practically goes with any summer meal!  You could even eat it all by itself (I know, because I did for lunch a couple times!)

Ingredients:

1 15 oz. can seasoned black beans, drained
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
small handful fresh Basil, chopped
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium sized bowl, toss together black beans, cucumber, tomatoes, garlic, parsley, basil, parmesan cheese, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper.

Let marinate in the fridge for at least 45 minutes for flavors to meld.  Serve as a side dish for practically anything!

Don't you just love easy, throw together dishes like this?  I know I do!  Have a great Tuesday guys!