tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43158342361572017622024-03-18T23:20:19.853-05:00Sandie's Bitchin' KitchenSandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-43824398283448131732012-12-01T13:52:00.000-06:002012-12-01T13:52:10.088-06:00Green & Gold Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tomorrow is game day! And, it’s against one of the Green Bay Packers’ biggest rivals – the Vikings!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here in Green Bay, we finally got our first real snow fall of the season this past weekend! It </span>wasn't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> much snow, but it was enough to cover the ground and stick for more than 30 seconds. Truthfully, I’m more excited about the snow than the football game… Funny enough, you’d think living in Green Bay would make me a die-hard Packers fan, but that’s not the case. In fact, I’m a Bears fan! (Shhhh! Don’t tell these crazy people!! ;-)) Although, when my friends ask me to go to a game with them, I try to be a good sport and show some team spirit…</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YjaJ8eFihpw/ULmk4W7TUzI/AAAAAAAAAlk/LTjfC9YOjUk/s1600/Packers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YjaJ8eFihpw/ULmk4W7TUzI/AAAAAAAAAlk/LTjfC9YOjUk/s400/Packers.jpg" width="307" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Or, I just like to have any excuse to wear a tutu!! :-D</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was recently contacted by a man named Brian from the Campbell’s Soup Company, asking if I would be interested in tasting and reviewing one of their newer soups, the Sun-Ripened Yellow Tomato Soup.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">While doing this project, I even learned a few things about Campbell’s and the history of condensed soups!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJ6HissZ_du_Jz6kjXIdIQTMW0zdPoWvc63kTrUqkoPjpoutm42TLoTCXyYTZXdsn68Z8JEiFdnQ8984KI_fLTWDacjYP9lzK8OoRiFmbZ1FW2YlyQCj5ZlrjYWcbWpfwuEjuu9qk0oDQ/s1600/Campbells+Infographic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJ6HissZ_du_Jz6kjXIdIQTMW0zdPoWvc63kTrUqkoPjpoutm42TLoTCXyYTZXdsn68Z8JEiFdnQ8984KI_fLTWDacjYP9lzK8OoRiFmbZ1FW2YlyQCj5ZlrjYWcbWpfwuEjuu9qk0oDQ/s640/Campbells+Infographic.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When Brian and I initially talked about this project, he thought it would be kind of fun if I did a play on the classic Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup combination, but make it Packers-themed. I thought it was definitely a cute idea, and immediately called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ledgeview-Gardens/90432215939?fref=ts" target="_blank">Ledgeview Gardens</a> and asked if they had any of their yellow tomatoes available. Confirming that they did indeed have some, I headed over there immediately and picked up my tomatoes and some fresh basil.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After going to </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ledgeview-Gardens/90432215939?fref=ts" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Ledgeview Gardens</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, I ran to the grocery store to get the rest of my ingredients, namely the cheese. Living in Wisconsin, we’re pretty lucky because we have probably more cheeses than most people even know about, and they’re readily available at most supermarkets in the larger cities. One of the Wisconsin-local grocery stores, Woodman’s, has probably the most diverse of collection of cheeses of all the stores </span>I've<span style="font-family: inherit;"> been to, and they carry a lot of Wisconsin-made cheeses. I’m particularly fond of the </span><a href="http://www.belgioioso.com/" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Belgioioso</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> brand of cheeses, as they consistently produce a great-quality cheese and they’re reasonable priced. For this particular project, I decided to use a <a href="http://www.belgioioso.com/Burrata.htm" target="_blank">Burrata cheese</a>, which usually comes packed in water and is like regular mozzarella on the outside and then has shreds of mozzarella combined with cream on the inside. It’s super soft, but really delicious! I cut the Burrata in half and then scooped out the mozzarella and cream interior to spread on my sandwich, but you can easily substitute regular fresh mozzarella cheese sliced thinly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Because yellow tomatoes are very mild and much less acidic than their red counterparts, I </span>didn't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> want to use a cheese that would be too strong and that would overshadow the tomato’s flavor. And since their flavor </span>isn't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> entirely strong, I also roasted some of them for my sandwiches, to help pronounce their flavor a little more. If you’d like even more flavor, you can always add some dried basil with the salt and pepper, just before roasting the tomatoes, but I really wanted the tomato to shine this time.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As for the soup… It really did have a nice flavor, but I must admit that I actually like the acidity and extra flavor of the red tomatoes. I’m one of those weird people who can (and does) eat tomatoes like an apple, with just a little bit of salt on them! So, for me, I really liked the added flavor dimension that the freshly chopped basil and the basil oil added to the soup. But, if you’re one of those people who can’t eat tomato products because of the high acidity, I would definitely recommend trying this out!</span><br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/green-gold-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-and-tomato-soup-1?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1" target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
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2 large, ripe, yellow beefsteak tomatoes</div>
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Salt and pepper</div>
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Canola or olive oil</div>
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1 (10.75 oz.) can Campbell’s Sun-Ripened Yellow Tomato Soup</div>
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<a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/11/herb-infused-butter-and-oil.html" target="_blank">Basil-infused butter</a></div>
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6 slices potato bread</div>
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8 oz. ball fresh mozzarella, sliced thin</div>
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Fresh basil leaves, optional</div>
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<a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/11/herb-infused-butter-and-oil.html" target="_blank">Basil oil, optional</a></div>
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Preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare the tomatoes by chopping one of them into small dices, slicing the other one to approximately a ¼-inch thickness; set aside the diced tomatoes. Place the tomato slices in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with a little bit of canola oil, and place in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened and started to brown slightly around the edges. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.</div>
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Add the contents of the canned soup to a medium saucepan, fill the empty can ¾-full of water, and empty that into the saucepan; stir with a whisk to combine everything thoroughly. Heat the soup over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the soup is heated through. When the soup is hot, add the diced yellow tomatoes, stirring to combine, and remove from the heat.</div>
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Meanwhile, preheat a panini press (or George Foreman grill) and assemble the sandwiches; using the basil butter on the outsides of the bread, layer the sliced mozzarella cheese with the roasted tomatoes. Place the sandwiches on the panini press, buttered sides out, and grill until the bread is toasted and golden brown. Remove the sandwiches from the press and allow the cheese to cool slightly before cutting them; cut the sandwiches into small pieces if you’d like, or however you prefer.</div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Spoon the soup into 3 bowls, garnishing with a chiffonade of fresh basil leaves and/or the basil oil drizzled on top. Serve the soup with the sandwiches or place the “croutons” on top.</span></span>Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-77303087920195363122012-11-20T17:35:00.000-06:002012-11-20T17:37:48.266-06:00Herb-Infused Butter and OilWow!! It sure has been a long time since my last blog post!
I would like to sincerely apologize to all of my readers for my absence. For
quite a while after I started my new job, I was working 60 hours a week, it
went back to normal for a couple of weeks, and then I was right back to working
60 hours again. Not only did my blogging suffer, I no longer had the time or
energy to go to the gym and I gained back 20 of the pounds that I had worked so
hard to lose. :-( But, I left that job, as a result of several
issues I had with the level of cleanliness in the kitchen (or lack thereof) and
the way the owner and management treated the other employees, so am taking some
time to recoup from the long work weeks and get back into doing everything I
was doing before!<br />
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Funny enough, I actually had this blog post typed up and
ready to go last week, was just waiting until I took some more pictures, but
Microsoft Word crashed and lost the entire document. Strangely, the two
documents I typed up AFTER that were saved just fine, but I didn't have a
single word of what I had typed up for this. I looked in all of my temporary
files and Recovery files, to no avail. Since then, I've been kind of busy, so
it took me a little bit to remember everything I had said so that I could type
it up again. Stinkin’ technology, it always fails when you need it most!</div>
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This blog post is really special to me. Not because of the
recipe included, but because it’s the first one I've done in a long time and I've learned a lot about one of the local businesses in the Green Bay area, and
I am excited to share it with all of you!</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ledgeview-Gardens/90432215939?fref=ts" target="_blank">Ledgeview Gardens</a> has been around for several years, and
they have some of the best, freshest produce I've eaten. In the summer months,
they have plenty of garden space outside and grow a plethora of fruits,
vegetables, and herbs in addition to the farm fresh eggs and free-range chicken
they sell. I can even buy my squash blossoms from them, instead of scouring the
entire market only to come up empty-handed! But, the very best part about
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ledgeview-Gardens/90432215939?fref=ts" target="_blank">Ledgeview Gardens</a> (for me anyways) is that they also have a fair amount of
fresh produce even in the wintertime!! After the regular growing season, until
around Christmas, you can buy red and yellow beefsteak tomatoes, red and yellow
cherry tomatoes, pole beans, a couple varieties of lettuce, garlic, basil,
parsley, English cucumbers, winter squash, three different kinds of sweet
potatoes, the farm-fresh eggs, and the free-range chicken. After Christmas,
they close down to clean out the greenhouse and getting everything ready for
the next growing season, and then you’re able to start buying fresh produce
again in the middle of May. I don’t know about anyone else, but I am always
thoroughly disgusted with the “fake tomatoes” they sell in the supermarkets, so
this place is a godsend for me!</div>
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As if it wasn't enough that they have this stuff available,
their customer service is stellar! The first day I actually drove out to their
farm, Darren was kind enough to show me around their facility and explain to me
how everything works. Then, I brought my neighbors later that day, and he also
gave them a tour and talked to them about everything he had talked to me about
earlier. This was especially great, because my neighbors and I had just been
talking about cleaning out my spare bedroom and making it into a greenhouse, so
that we could have all kinds of fresh vegetables all year long. We had thought
we were going to go with a soil method, but after talking to Darren and his
dad, Joe, we’re looking at alternative methods – hydroponics and aquaponics.
They use the hydroponic method in their greenhouse for the off-season months,
and so they were extremely knowledgeable about what we could do in our homes
in, but they also know about aquaponics and have been very helpful in helping
us to understand what we need to do to get ready for all of it. I have since
been there a few times, and they are always happy to answer any new questions I
have about setting up a system in my own home and pointing me in the right
direction to go about finding the supplies I’ll need.</div>
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If you are in the Green Bay area, I definitely recommend
looking up <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ledgeview-Gardens/90432215939?fref=ts" target="_blank">Ledgeview Gardens</a>! However, in the summer months, they are much more
easily accessible, as they also sell their produce at a couple of the farmer’s
markets. But, they are also happy to have you come out to their farm. The only
thing I can think of that would make them better… If they started making and/or
selling real bacon! ;-)</div>
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What better way to showcase the fresh basil I bought at Ledgeview Gardens than to infuse it in some butter and oil to use later?! I love infusing herbs into oil, because they last a little bit longer and you can drizzle them on top of many kinds of dishes to complement their flavors. This would be great for another recipe I was going to be making...</div>
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¼ lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened</div>
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½ c. olive or canola oil</div>
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Fresh basil, cilantro, parsley, etc.</div>
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For the butter: Place the softened butter in a small bowl.
If using basil, stack all of the leaves together, roll them up, and cut them
into a chiffonade; for other herbs, roughly chop them. Add the herb/herbs to
the butter and mix to thoroughly combine; add more herbs, to taste, if you
would like more of the flavor. The butter can be used right away or stored in
the refrigerator to maintain freshness.</div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For the oil: Place the leaves of whichever
herb/herbs you’re using in the jar of a blender, pour the oil over the leaves,
and pulse the mixture until the leaves are chopped into small pieces. If you
want more herb flavor, add more leaves to achieve the desired flavor.</span>Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-24987837575185874612012-03-18T10:08:00.000-05:002012-03-18T10:08:23.046-05:00Pistachio, White Chocolate, and Raspberry TrifleThe idea for this trifle came about because yesterday was my brother-in-law Pat’s birthday, and so my nephew Leo (who I teach cooking classes to) and I wanted to make him a special birthday dessert. Pat LOVES pistachios, so I definitely wanted to incorporated them into his dessert somehow, and he’s also rather fond of raspberries. We could have done a pistachio cake with raspberry frosting, but that didn’t seem quite what we wanted. Plus, Leo sometimes has a hard time with focusing - we're working on that in class - so maybe the cake making/cooling part wasn’t such a good idea with him…<br />
I eventually decided on this yummy trifle, after seeing a recipe somewhere for a biscotti with the same flavors. It sounded delicious to me! As it turns out, Chrissy and Pat were planning to take the boys to see a St. Patrick’s Day parade, so cooking class was limited to only 1 hour this time. Because of the time restraint, I made the cakes and pudding ahead of time and then Leo helped me assemble the masterpiece. (Of course, I always let Chef Leo take all of the credit, though!)<br />
The <a href="http://brittanyabeijon.tumblr.com/post/4961409822/adventures-in-cooking-moms-pistachio-pudding"target="_blank">recipe</a> for the cake came from a blog post that sounded wonderful to me. The recipe was passed down through a couple of generations, so I figured it had to be good! I always love recipes that have stories… I had seen a few other recipes for pistachio cake, but some of the ingredients sounded a little strange or they didn’t get good reviews. I was also opposed to adding any more artificial coloring than necessary, so the two packages of pudding mix would definitely help alleviate that particular problem. This cake turned out so wonderfully moist and delicious, I couldn’t help eating the outside edges while I was cutting it into cubes for the trifle! I followed the instructions in the recipe, for the most part, when it came to the ingredients, but I wanted a thinner cake in the end so that I wouldn’t have to worry about cutting it in half and then into bite-size pieces. So, I made the recipe, adding some pistachio extract that I just happen to have, and separated the batter between two 9x13-inch cakes pans. Because I was baking such small cakes, I didn’t want them to brown too fast and adjusted the oven temperature accordingly.<br />
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The great thing about making trifles for special occasions is that they look like you put a lot of time and effort into making them. And, if you so desired, you really could do just that! However, they can also be made with help from prepackaged mixes, which works well if you’re short on time and/or if you have children helping you. Focusing on the task at hand can be a little difficult for young minds, when there are 500 other things going on in their brains… (During cooking class, I hear at least 10 different thoughts that are going through Leo’s mind during that time! Angry Birds was a common subject, as I’m the only one in the family with an iPhone which means I “need” to hear all of the relevant news, so I eventually had to ban that topic from cooking class time… Did you know that Angry Birds Space is coming out in the App Store on March 22nd?! No? I’ve been hearing about it for probably a month now!)<br />
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In the end, Chef Leo’s masterpiece turned out beautifully, tasted divine, and he received lots of praise and gratitude! He’s such a good little chef!! ;-)<br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/pistachio-white-chocolate-and-raspberry-trifle?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
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Pistachio Cake:<br />
1 box white cake mix<br />
2 (3.4 oz.) pkg. pistachio instant pudding<br />
5 large eggs<br />
½ c. milk<br />
½ c. water<br />
½ c. oil<br />
2 tsp. pistachio extract<br />
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3 (3.3 oz.) pkg. white chocolate instant pudding<br />
6 c. milk<br />
2 (6 oz.) pkg. fresh raspberries<br />
½ c. shelled pistachios, gently rubbed to remove skins<br />
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For the cake: Preheat your oven to 300° and prepare two 9x13-inch cake pans with cooking spray on the bottoms and sides. In a large mixing bowl, combine the white cake mix and pistachio pudding mixes and stir with a spoon or fork until combined. Make a well in the dry mix and add all of the wet ingredients. With an electric mixer, combine all of the ingredients on low speed for 1 minute; increase the speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes. Divide the cake batter evenly between the two prepared pans, smoothing the batter until even, and place both pans in the preheated oven. Cook the cakes for approximately 35-40 minutes, or until the middle springs back when you touch it lightly, being sure to rotate the pans halfway through to ensure even baking. Allow the cakes to cool completely, and then cut them into 1-inch cubes.<br />
While the cake is cooling, prepare the white chocolate pudding according to the package directions. Place in the refrigerator and allow it to sit while the cake finishes cooling.<br />
To arrange the trifle, place a generous layer of the pistachio cake in the bottom of a trifle bowl, using as much or as little cake as you like. Follow the cake layer with a white chocolate pudding layer, then a generous layer of raspberries (be sure to save some to garnish the top of the trifle), and then a final layer of each of the cake and the pudding. Garnish the trifle with the reserved raspberries and shelled pistachios.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-77719850122059790032012-03-10T15:00:00.001-06:002012-03-10T15:09:21.129-06:00S'mores CheesecakeIt’s a cheesecake challenge… Bring it on!!<br />
<br />
Last night, I had a girls’ night with some of the girls I bowl with on Monday nights, and I was challenged to a cheesecake competition. This has been a standing challenge, as the girl who brought it on has been saying for months that we need to do this so that we can decide, once and for all, who the master of all cheesecake awesomeness is! In all honesty, Nikki had offended me the very first time I ever made cheesecake for them, for the bowling Christmas party, by saying that it tasted like store-bought. I was highly offended, and so when she first mentioned a cheesecake challenge, I knew I was going to have to bring my A-game! Store-bought?! Cheesecake?! When I can make a perfectly delicious one all by myself?! Yeah, this was WAR!!<br />
I’ve gotten to know Nikki much better since then, and she is becoming a very dear friend to me, so there are no hard feelings between us anymore. But, we do taunt each other about our cheesecake-making skills on a regular basis!<br />
When we decided to do a girls’ night, right away Nikki was excited – we could finally have our cheesecake challenge! So, for a couple of weeks now, I’ve been thinking really hard about which cheesecake I would be doing. Since this was all about cheesecake awesomeness, it had to be something good! I still didn’t know what I was going to make until the week of the girls’ night, but had been thinking about a white chocolate raspberry one (one of my personal favorites). I was actually at the grocery store to pick up all of my ingredients when I happened upon the baking isle – Go figure! – and passed an entire section of marshmallows. That’s when the idea came to me… How about a S’mores Cheesecake?! I sent a text message to a couple of my friends, asking them which one they would rather have, and both of them said “S’mores!” Good!! Because that’s what I really wanted anyways, now that I had gotten the idea in my head! This was gonna GOOOOOOOD…<br />
I’ve made my fair share of cheesecakes, since that was our primary dessert at Fetaz, but we didn’t usually do a lot of chocolate ones. We swirled a lot of fruit purees into them, made toppings for them, but we didn’t do chocolate very often. I did make a Black Forest Cheesecake for my birthday last year, but I had thought it was too dense and rich for what I wanted now so decided to melt the chocolate with heavy cream, as you would for ganache, and add that to the batter. But, I was a little worried that doing this would dilute the chocolate flavor too much, so I searched the internet for chocolate cheesecakes and saw that a lot of people also added cocoa powder to their chocolate cheesecake recipes when doing this. Following my basic cheesecake recipe, I added the chocolate mix-ins and continued with the recipe like normal. (Fair warning: This is still a very rich, and VERY chocolatey, cheesecake! If you want less chocolate flavor, simply reduce or take out the cocoa powder.) While checking out what other people had to say about the chocolate cheesecakes, I came across something interesting, though, that I thought I should pass on to you, my readers… I’ve never had a problem with this happening, but if you mix the batter too much after adding the eggs, it can incorporate too much air into the batter and you could have problems with air bubbles. So, it’s best to add the eggs at the very end and only stir until they are just mixed in. Too much air in the batter can also create a soufflé effect with your cheesecake, causing it to rise and then fall, leaving behind cracks in the top of your beautiful cheesecake. So, I did alter my original recipe to reflect this bit of information…<br />
When it came to the crust, of course, I would be doing the traditional graham cracker crust. Since it was to be resembling the campfire treat, though, I wanted it to be a little more substantial, so I actually did measure out the ingredients for it this time. I also wanted it to be a little bit crunchy, so blind-baked it for just a little bit before adding the batter. If your springform pan leaks, as a lot of them do, I read a really great tip for keeping your crust dry that actually does work! Instead of wrapping layers of foil around your cheesecake pan, which doesn’t always work, use the plastic liners they make for Crock Pots around the outside of your pan. Simply open up the bake and fold down the sides, put the pan of cheesecake into the bag, and fold down the sides some more until the bag is flush with the side of the pan as much as possible. That’s definitely so much easier, and much less messy!<br />
Now, when it came to the topping, I needed something marshmallowy… I tend to think that cheesecakes are rather classy, so I didn’t want to just throw a bunch of marshmallows on top of the thing and call it good. Besides, this was a challenge, so I had to do better than blah pre-made marshmallows! Then I remembered the <a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/12/smores-cupcakes.html"target="_blank">S’mores Cupcakes</a> I make, and thought how perfectly that marshmallow topping would work on my cheesecake. And, besides, it gave me another reason to use my Crème Brûlée torch! For the garnish, I couldn’t find the little dipping style graham crackers that I’ve purchased in the past, but I did find some other ones that sufficed, in the form of Spongebob Snacking Grahams… So I turned the Spongebob sides of the grahams to the inside and made miniature s’mores to garnish my cheesecake slices! Who can resist tiny-sized s’mores?! Ummm… Nobody!!<br />
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The girls’ night was great fun, and, in the end, it really didn’t matter who the real winner of the competition was (ME!!) because there was more than plenty of great food to be eaten and much fun to be had!<br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/s-mores-cheesecake?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
<br />
Chocolate Cheesecake:<br />
2 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped<br />
¼ c. heavy whipping cream<br />
3 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, at room temperature<br />
1 c. white sugar<br />
⅓ c. unsweetened cocoa powder<br />
⅛ c. homemade vanilla extract, or 2 tsp. store-bought vanilla extract<br />
4 eggs, at room temperature<br />
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Crust:<br />
2 c. graham cracker crumbs<br />
6 Tbsp. butter, melted<br />
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Marshmallow Topping:<br />
8 large egg whites <br />
2 c. white sugar <br />
½ tsp. cream of tartar<br />
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract, optional<br />
<br />
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars, broken into individual pieces, for garnish (optional)<br />
Bite-size graham cracker pieces, for garnish (optional)<br />
Additional graham cracker crumbs, for garnish (optional)<br />
<br />
For the cheesecake batter: In a small saucepan, combine the baking chocolate and the heavy cream and heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate is melted and smooth; remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.<br />
In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine and cream cheese, sugar, and cocoa powder and mix on medium-low/medium speed until thoroughly combined and no lumps remain. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then add the vanilla extract and the chocolate mixture and beat on low/medium-low until well blended and no streaks remain. Finally, add the eggs, one at a time, and beat on low speed until just blended, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl if needed. Cover the bowl and allow the batter to sit in the refrigerator overnight.<br />
To make the cheesecake: Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter until thoroughly combined. Lightly press the mixture onto the bottom and partway up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then allow the crust to cool; Reduce the oven temperature to 325°. <br />
Pour the cheesecake batter over the crust and place the filled springform pan into a large cake pan or roasting pan, filling the outside pan halfway with water. Place the pan into the preheated oven and bake until the cheesecake is almost set, approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it continue to sit in the water bath for about a half hour; remove the springform pan from the water bath and place it in the refrigerator to finish cooling.<br />
For the marshmallow topping: When the cheesecake is completely cooled, place the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water and whisk constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the bowl to the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the vanilla, and mix until combined. Transfer the frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a large plain round or French tip (I like the Wilton large star tip - #2110). Pipe the frosting in a spiral motion onto the top of the cheesecake, reserving a little extra to pipe around the outside edges and make miniature s’mores, if you’re doing that. Using a kitchen torch, lightly brown the marshmallow topping all around the cheesecake. Pipe some of the remaining topping around the outsides of the cheesecake and sprinkle with extra graham cracker crumbs.<br />
Slice the cheesecake into the desired number of pieces (I think 12 is a nice number) and serve each piece garnished with a piece of Hershey’s candy and bite-size graham cracker pieces. Store any leftover cheesecake, covered well, in the refrigerator.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-76630636861593133462012-03-07T10:55:00.001-06:002012-03-07T10:56:42.948-06:00Crock Pot White Chicken ChiliFor the first time ever on my blog, I’m posting a recipe for the Crock Pot! It’s kind of surprising, really, because I love all of my slow cookers (Yes, there’s more than one… There are four, to be exact!) and use them fairly regularly. I really used them a lot when I was working full-time and also going to school full-time, because I just never had any time to cook a real meal otherwise and didn’t want to live off of drive-thru food. I would do things like adding frozen chicken breasts and then covering them with chicken broth/stock and cream of chicken soup. Then, I would make some egg noodles or the microwavable rice to go along with it and steam some vegetables really quick. This is how I got by (and retained some semblance of my sanity) for months at a time…<br />
I still use my slow cookers on a regular basis, but not nearly as much as I did at that time. My favorite of all of them is the <a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/Crock-Pot-5-Quart-Smart-Pot-Slow-Cooker/10390173"target="_blank">Crock Pot Smart Pot</a> that I got around Christmastime one year, for only $15! It’s the one I use for soups and stews because it’s so big and can hold pretty much whatever I put in it. (This exact recipe fit in it perfectly, with room to spare even…) And the best thing about slow cookers is that you can put everything for your meal in them, turn them on and leave them on, and don’t have to worry about your house burning down while you’re gone! You can even prepare all of the stuff for your meal the night before, put it in the crock part of the device and stick it in the refrigerator, then put the filled crock right into the heating base the next morning before running out the door. How great is that?!<br />
I came across <a href="http://www.mccormick.com/Recipes/Main-Dish/Southwest-White-Chili.aspx"target="_blank">this</a> recipe for Southwest White Chili a long time ago, via the little recipe cards you find in grocery stores. This particular one was from the <a href="http://www.mccormick.com/"target="_blank">McCormick</a> brand, and the picture looked good, so figured it was worth a shot! In all fairness, I did start out following the recipe, kinda, but then realized it needed a little bit of extra work. I tasted the chili after it had been cooking for a few hours and found it to be bland, even though I had added an entire extra can of the green chilies they called for in their recipe. As if that alone wasn’t enough to deter me from ever spending the obscene amount of money on the tiny little can of “chilies” again in the future, the fact that there were unidentifiable objects in my soup as a result of using them sealed the deal. Little orange pieces, which I can only logically identify as carrots? Why are those in my chilies?! And woody pieces of …something that I’m hoping were stems? And big leafy pieces of …something else? What the heck is that from?! From now on, I’ll be substituting a Poblano pepper for every can of diced green chilies a recipe calls for, because then I’ll know what’s in my food! Nobody should ever have to guess what weird things might be in their food when the label doesn’t state anything about carrots and leafy greens… ;-)<br />
Back to the bland, though!<br />
It may be because I rinse and drain all of my beans before adding them (rinsing and draining canned beans reduces the sodium content by approximately 40%), since I’m trying to eat healthier and am ultra aware of sodium contents which can be detrimental to dieting, but I would really prefer to have flavor from other sources than a bunch of added salt. Yes, I could just buy the dry beans and soak them and all of that stuff, but I don’t always think that far ahead - a lot of times, I don’t know what I’m going to make for dinner until that morning or even early afternoon! Needless to say, canned beans are quite convenient. Sadly, not all of the canned beans come in a reduced sodium or no salt added version, though, so the rinsing and draining is as close as I’m going to get without actually soaking my own beans.<br />
The original recipe for this was really more like a soup than a chili, in my opinion… Of course, kidney beans don’t really break down a whole lot, so it’s not like the breaking down of the beans could help thicken the soup. And there wasn’t really much of anything else in there to make it thicker, unless I made a flour thickener and added that, which I didn’t want to do because I’m trying to keep my carb intake within a certain range. So, back to the store I went! While there, I picked up some navy beans, which are smaller, softer, and break down more easily, and some Poblano peppers to help spice things up a bit. At home, I quickly diced up the peppers and added them to the Crock Pot, along with the navy beans, and let it simmer for a little while again. After a couple hours, the beans were starting to break down and thicken my chili, but now it was a little too thick! So, a little more stock went in and the Poblanos definitely added just the right amount of kick. After some slight modifications, I finally have a delicious chicken chili recipe! Perfect for the snowy days we had been having here in northern Wisconsin, where we’ve otherwise been having a very mild winter this year…<br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/crock-pot-white-chicken-chili?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
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1 Tbsp. olive oil<br />
½ c. chopped onion<br />
3 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small cubes<br />
4 c. unsalted chicken stock<br />
1-2 Poblano peppers, diced<br />
2 (15.5 oz.) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed<br />
2 (16 oz.) can navy beans, rinsed and drained<br />
2 tsp. garlic powder<br />
3 tsp. ground cumin<br />
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves, crushed<br />
1 tsp. dried cilantro leaves, crushed<br />
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper<br />
Fresh cilantro, for garnish<br />
Shredded Pepperjack cheese, for garnish<br />
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Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat; add the onion and cook 2 minutes. Add the chicken to the stockpot and cook, stirring often, until the chicken is mostly cooked through. Transfer the onions and chicken to a 5-quart Crock Pot; stir in the diced peppers, all of the beans, and the spices. Cover and let cook in the Crock Pot 4-6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low. To serve, garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and shredded Pepperjack cheese, if desired.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-915284328694112942012-02-27T09:45:00.000-06:002012-02-27T16:52:47.712-06:00Meyer Lemon CheesecakeHello, to all of my faithful readers! Thank you for sticking around while I've been gone. I would like to apologize for taking so much time away from blogging... Things have been quite hectic around here, and I just couldn't seem to get time to cook and then blog about anything. And I've been trying to eat healthier, which seems to consist of a lot of the same things (or at least very similar things)... The good news is, I've lost 40 pounds in the past few months! I go to the gym 6 days a week every week - I have a workout plan that one of my personal trainer friends is helping me with, which I do every Monday, Wednesday, and Fridy, in addition to 45 minutes of cardio training on those days and then I do an hour of cardio training every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. It's definitely a lot of hard work. It sure didn't take this much work to put the weight on! I think if it took the same amount of effort to gain weight as it does to lose weight, there would be a lot more skinny people... ;-)<br />
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Anyways! On to my new recipe!!<br />
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Last week, I was at the grocery store and just happened to come across some beautiful little Meyer lemons. Living in northern Wisconsin, I've never seen or had them before, since I don't know anyone who lives in an area where they are grown and who would be willing to send me some. As you might imagine, I had never worked with them before. Needless to say, I was delighted to have come across them and scooped up two bags of the little beauties! Although, now I had to figure out what the heck to do with them, and it had to be something special...<br />
It just so happened that I was talking to one of my good friends (Whom I also happen to think is quite handsome! :-)), and he recommended that I do a cheesecake - he's got quite a sweet tooth and loves desserts. I concurred that it was definitely a good idea, as I love cheesecake too, but I didn't want it to be just a normal cheesecake with merely some zest in there. He also recommended the candied lemon slices on top, which I thought were a great idea! I had never candied an entire lemon slice before, though, so I had to look into how it was done and came across a <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/318033/candied-meyer-lemon-slices-and-toppers"target="_blank">recipe</a> from Martha Stewart that sounded easy enough. The only thing I did differently was to sprinkle a little bit of extra sugar on top of the lemon slices after they came out of the simple syrup bath.<br />
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Now, I just needed to make the cheesecake extra special...<br />
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Then, I remembered a project I had worked on last year, for Key Lime Pie Ravioli (which turned out rather spectacularly), and decided to make a Meyer lemon curd. I could swirl some of the curd into the cheesecake and then add a little more on top, after the cheesecake baked and cooled, to help hold the candied lemon slices in place. There are several different recipes floating around the internet for how to best make curd, and I don't remember where I found this one but I've been using it for a while now and have always had good luck with it. Except when I first tried to make orange curd using the same recipe, which requires a little extra acid...<br />
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The final product turned out to be quite delicious!<br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/meyer-lemon-cheesecake?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
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Meyer Lemon Curd:<br />
1 c. Meyer lemon juice <br />
4 tsp. Meyer lemon zest <br />
¾ c. sugar<br />
6 large eggs plus 2 egg yolk, room temperature<br />
1½ sticks butter, cut into ½″ chunks<br />
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Cheesecake:<br />
3 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature<br />
1 c. sugar<br />
4 eggs, room temperature<br />
¼ c. brandy vanilla extract, or 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract<br />
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Candied Meyer Lemon Slices:<br />
2 Meyer lemons, sliced thinly<br />
1 c. sugar<br />
1 c. water<br />
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For the Meyer lemon curd: Whisk together the juice, zest, and sugar in a saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Whisk the eggs and yolks in another bowl. Once the juice mixture is heated and the sugar is completely dissolved, take approximately 1 cup of the hot liquid and slowly whisk it into the eggs, whisking constantly. Pour the egg mixture slowly into the saucepan, whisking constantly. Add in the butter chunks a half at a time and whisk constantly. Continue whisking, after butter is incorporated, until very thick, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer into another bowl or other container. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming and allow to cool 30-40 minutes, then chill for at least an hour or until cold.<br />
For the cheesecake batter: Cream the sugar and cream cheese together in a large bowl until well-blended and the cream cheese has no more lumps. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla, just until smooth and creamy. Cover the bowl and allow the batter to sit overnight.<br />
For the candied lemons: Bring sugar and water to a rolling boil in a medium-size, heavy skillet, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the liquid is clear and bubbly, reduce heat to medium-low and add the lemon slices in a single layer; simmer until the rinds are translucent. Transfer the lemon slices to baking sheets lined with parchment paper and let cool completely.<br />
To make the cheesecake: Preheat the oven to 325°. Prepare a graham cracker crust and gently press it into the bottom of an assembled 9-inch springform pan; pour the cheesecake batter over the crust. Transfer some of the Meyer lemon curd to a pastry bag fitted with a Bismarck tip (or just use a Ziploc bag with a small hole cut out of one corner) and pipe the curd into the cheesecake batter, making several circles around the pan until you reach the middle. With a toothpick, push the curd down into the cheesecake batter a little more and then cut through the curd and cheesecake to make a pretty pattern, going from the outside of the pan to the middle.<br />
Place the cheesecake into a large cake pan or roasting pan and fill the outside pan halfway with water. Place the pan into the preheated oven and bake until the cheesecake is almost set, approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it continue to sit in the water bath for about a half hour; remove the springform pan from the water bath and place in the refrigerator to finish cooling. When the cheesecake is completely cooled, slice it into the desired number of pieces and serve garnished with a little bit of the Meyer lemon curd and some candied Meyer lemon slices.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-30910616365183219062011-12-30T19:18:00.000-06:002011-12-30T19:18:38.053-06:00Ham and Potato GratinAh… Comfort Food… When it comes right down to it, is there anything better than comfort food? Don’t get me wrong, I love trying new, gourmet stuff! And I love experimenting with new recipes and trying different things. But, some days, you just NEED comfort food. I could eat sushi every day of the week and never get sick of it, but I don’t know if that can be considered comfort food… It always makes me happy, though! This time, what I’m talking about is honest-to-goodness, I-remember-when-I-was-little-and-my-mom-used-to-make-this comfort food. Toasted cheese sandwiches with the American cheese slices (always two) and a little bit of butter on the outside to make it brown really nicely, and always a bowl of hot tomato soup to dip your sandwich in. Mom’s extra creamy homemade potato soup with chunks of potatoes and ham. Now that’s some comfort food!<br />
For me, potato gratin falls into the same category. When I eat it, I think of fond memories and get the warm fuzzies. I remember my mother making it when I was younger, but had shied away from it as an adult until just recently, opting for the bland substitute they offer in the red box on the grocery store shelf. I’m not sure why I didn’t make it myself before, but am going to guess it had something to do with the ease and length of preparation. Slicing 2½ pounds of potatoes is quite a daunting task when one doesn’t own a mandaline! (If you don’t already have a good one of these, I would highly recommend getting one. I have the Oneida brand one, from Kohl’s, and it works so well for cutting anything – I especially love the crinkle cutting side for making my own waffle fries. Whichever one you choose, be sure that it comes with different blades so that it is more efficient for and useful to you.)<br />
When looking for the recipe I wanted to use for my potato gratin, I tried a few of them and eventually came up with this one after changing the one that turned out the best for me. I tried ones with Half & Half (which I don’t recommend because the milk and cheese will curdle more easily, leaving you with a weird gloppy mess) and ones with heavy cream. I tried one with different seasonings. I tried layering the potatoes and pouring the cream over them (which doesn’t work out that well for sufficiently coating all of the potatoes). The base that I used is Tyler Florence’s <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/scalloped-potato-gratin-recipe/index.html"target="_blank">recipe</a>, and then I added a few things and altered a few of them. The fresh thyme in this recipe is truly amazing! When I’m stirring the cream mixture before assembling everything, I like to try to make sure some of the thyme leaves fall off and stay in the sauce. And I like a little more flavor going on in my base, so I added some bay, shallots, and then a little more garlic, which I put through my garlic press - pressing garlic releases more of the juices than simply chopping it, plus it’s fast and easy! After all was said and done, this turned out to be the best potato gratin I’ve had.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v9_ihJcRfCo/Tv5hPvFggkI/AAAAAAAAAhI/yI54XMZcnjg/s1600/S7304790.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v9_ihJcRfCo/Tv5hPvFggkI/AAAAAAAAAhI/yI54XMZcnjg/s320/S7304790.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/ham-and-potato-gratin?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
<br />
3 c. heavy cream<br />
3 sprigs fresh thyme<br />
1 bay leaf<br />
1 shallot, chopped<br />
6 garlic cloves, pressed<br />
Salt and pepper, to taste<br />
2½ lb. russet potatoes, cut into ⅛-inch thick slices<br />
1 (16 oz.) pkg. diced ham<br />
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese, divided<br />
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided<br />
<br />
Preheat the oven to 375°. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat up the cream with the thyme, bay leaf, chopped shallot, pressed garlic, salt, and pepper, stirring occasionally. When the mixture is heated, remove and discard the thyme and bay leaf and set the cream aside.<br />
In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, cream mixture, diced ham, and ½ cup of each of the cheeses. Mix until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined and then divide the potato mixture evenly between four gratin dishes, dividing any remaining cream mixture between the dishes. Set the gratin dishes on a cookie sheet and cover each one with aluminum foil; bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Remove the foil from the gratins and sprinkle with some more of the remaining cheeses; broil until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-77329058539709974872011-12-21T16:31:00.000-06:002011-12-21T16:31:07.526-06:00Salted Caramel CheesecakeI LOVE cheesecake. So much so that it’s been my birthday cake for the past 11 years! It started out with my best friend making me a Cherry No-Bake Cheesecake for my 20th birthday, and it’s a tradition that stuck because I love it so much. Over the years it’s evolved into real cheesecake, but there is still usually cherry in it somewhere.<br />
After cherry cheesecake, I would have to say that this is my favorite cheesecake. I came up with the idea to make this the cheesecake of the week at my work, and I’ve made it a couple times since, for private parties and such. It always goes over well! Who doesn’t love the age-old combination of salty and sweet?!<br />
The cheesecake base is just a very simple recipe, as it should always be. I don’t know what the deal is with some recipes calling for you to add flour and a bunch of other stuff, but it’s really not necessary. The graham cracker crust is also pretty straight-forward, except that I don’t always add sugar to mine. I’ve never actually measured how much of those ingredients I use, but I would guess the measurements I listed are accurate. I don’t like an overly dry nor an overly greasy crust, so I only mix enough butter until it just holds together when you press it with your fingers. The caramel sauce is also very basic, but quite delicious. When you put everything together, and then top it with the Fleur de Sel, which you HAVE to use, it’s so amazing! I like to put a little of the caramel sauce on top of the cheesecake and set it back in the refrigerator to cool on top of the cheesecake, saving the rest to drizzle on top, but either way is just fine.<br />
My favorite part about this cheesecake recipe is that the base is so perfect you don’t need to mess with it very much. If you want to have fruit in it, simply warm some berries with a little sugar and lemon juice until they’re softened, then puree the berries and swirl them into the cheesecake. If you simply want it to be another flavor, add that flavor to the already-made batter. I’ve made so many delicious variations from this one base recipe, I can’t even remember all of them… And they always turn out wonderful!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NAv4eT49cHw/TvJb9-OQOrI/AAAAAAAAAg8/mHvEQ9MvJyo/s1600/Salted%2BCaramel%2BCheesecake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="222" width="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NAv4eT49cHw/TvJb9-OQOrI/AAAAAAAAAg8/mHvEQ9MvJyo/s320/Salted%2BCaramel%2BCheesecake.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/salted-caramel-cheesecake?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
<br />
Cheesecake:<br />
3 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature<br />
1 c. sugar<br />
4 eggs, room temperature<br />
1 Tbsp. vanilla<br />
<br />
Graham Cracker Crust:<br />
2 c. graham cracker crumbs<br />
6-8 Tbsp. butter, melted<br />
<br />
Caramel Topping:<br />
10 Tbsp. butter<br />
⅔ c. firmly packed dark brown sugar<br />
⅔ c. heavy cream<br />
3 tsp. vanilla extract<br />
Fleur de Sel<br />
<br />
For the cheesecake: In a large mixing bowl, cream the sugar and cream cheese together until well combined. Slowly mix in the eggs and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Allow the cheesecake batter to sit overnight. (Mix in any flavorings before leaving it to sit overnight, making sure that any additions are also room temperature before being added.)<br />
Preheat the oven to 325°. Prepare the graham cracker crust by mixing graham cracker crumbs and butter until just moistened; gently press the mixture into the bottom and partly up the sides of an assembled springform pan. Pour the cheesecake batter over the graham cracker crust.<br />
Place the filled springform pan into a large pan and fill the outside pan halfway with water. Place the pan into the preheated oven and bake until the cheesecake is almost set in the middle, about an hour and a half. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it continue to sit in the water bath for about a half hour. Remove the springform pan from the water bath and place in the refrigerator to continue cooling.<br />
For the caramel topping: Place the butter, brown sugar, and heavy cream in a medium saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves; increase heat to medium and bring to a boil, allowing the mixture to boil for a couple minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Cool slightly and spoon over the cooled cheesecake. Sprinkle the cheesecake with fleur de sel just before serving.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-58714261379418272752011-11-25T08:30:00.001-06:002011-11-25T08:30:02.368-06:00White and Green Asparagus GratinI love asparagus. Steamed. Sauteed with a little butter. Simmered in a cream sauce. However one makes it, I am not opposed to eating it. Just recently, I happened to find some white asparagus at my local market, and it was on sale for the same price as the green stuff! Needless to say, I couldn't pass it up... I had never worked with the stuff before, but I had seen it around (for, usually, a pretty penny) at the stores more than once or twice. Being that it was always more expensive than the green variety, as is the purple variety, I hadn't been able to justify splurging on something that I wasn't sure about. But, since I now found it for the same price, I couldn't very well walk on by!<br />
White asparagus is actually the same species as green, but it's usually kept covered under soil or mulch so that it won't be exposed to the sun, thereby maintaining it's white color. Blah blah blah, chlorophyll borophyll... While doing my research, I did read that the white asparagus is supposed to be more woody than the green and so you are supposed to peel the very outside before preparing it. When I made this recipe, I used it peeled and unpeeled, just because I was curious if it really made a difference, and I didn't notice anything different in the texture. I think that if you let it sit around for a long period of time, then it would start to become woody and tough, much like the green stuff, but if you use it right away it's just fine.<br />
When looking for recipes to use the white asparagus in, there didn't seem to be very many... Or, at least, not many that were truly unique. I've had gratins on the brain for a while now, though, since I insisted on having 6 new gratin dishes! (In my defense, they're not all the exact same! Two of them are black with white polka dots - LOVE!!, two of them are dark blue, and two of them are light blue! :-) You may remember the lighter blue ones from my post about the <a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/08/chocolate-cherry-crisps.html"target="_blank">Chocolate Cherry Crisps</a>...) I had originally considered using a <a href="http://www.closetcooking.com/2011/05/asparagus-gratin.html"target="_blank">recipe</a> by one of my favorite fellow bloggers, Kevin from <a href="http://www.closetcooking.com"target="_blank">Closet Cooking</a>, but decided, in the end, to go with a different one that I had found via the <a href="http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/the-temporary-vegetarian-kenmares-asparagus-gratin/"target="_blank">New York Times Diner's Journal</a> blog, written by Elaine Louie. The version that she blogged about was much more grand than mine, but I really wanted to asparagus to be the one and only star of the dish. I used the recipe she posted as a guideline, and then just made it what I really wanted it to be. The sauce part was really what I was most interested in, and it was AMAZING!! I'm not sure if I didn't reduce it as much as I was supposed to, but the sauce wasn't very thick at all... That is really of little consequence, though, as we just dipped pieces of fresh, yummy bread into it to soak it all up. Who doesn't like that?!<br />
I made two batches of this recipe, one the day before and one the day I made it, and they came out with equal results. So, if you're planning to make this for a holiday dinner, it's definitely easy to prepare ahead of time! I left mine sit out at room temperature so that it would have a similar cooking time as the ones I made the same day, but I mixed everything and arranged it in the gratin dishes ahead of time. You could also easily make this in a larger baking dish, making sure to check the asparagus for doneness and all of that, but it may take some extra time. But, I'm sure you could certainly find a way to justify buying a couple of gratin dishes of your very own, too... ;-)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sz-7ZlMhf-I/Ts8PDV-MAqI/AAAAAAAAAgs/ZNmr3cUB5LE/s1600/S7304777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="247" width="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sz-7ZlMhf-I/Ts8PDV-MAqI/AAAAAAAAAgs/ZNmr3cUB5LE/s320/S7304777.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/white-and-green-asparagus-gratin?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
<br />
1 c. heavy cream<br />
2 shallots, minced<br />
2 sprigs fresh thyme, bundled together<br />
¼ c. dry white wine<br />
Salt and freshly ground black pepper<br />
½ bunch green asparagus; trimmed and cut diagonally into ½-inch slices<br />
½ bunch white asparagus; trimmed, peeled, and cut diagonally into ½-inch slices<br />
1⅛ c. grated Parmesan cheese<br />
¼ c. panko bread crumbs<br />
2 Tbsp. melted butter<br />
<br />
Preheat the oven to 400°. In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, shallots, thyme, and wine; place over medium heat and simmer until reduced by half, 20 to 30 minutes. Discard the thyme bundle and season the cream mixture with salt and pepper.<br />
In a large mixing bowl, combine the asparagus, reduced cream, and 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese; mix well and place in two individual (approximately 16 ounce) gratin dishes, or other equal-sized ovenproof baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the tops of the asparagus. In a small mixing bowl, combine the panko bread crumbs and melted butter; sprinkle the bread crumbs on top of the dishes. Place the gratin dishes on a baking sheet, set in the oven, and bake until the asparagus are tender, the sauce is bubbling, and the bread crumbs are golden brown, 6 to 10 minutes. Serve hot.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-16214074158951067852011-11-06T21:58:00.003-06:002011-11-06T22:11:13.867-06:00Traditional Italian TiramisuOh, Tiramisu… How I love thee!<br />
<br />
I know that there are some (crazy) people out there who do not share my love of this heavenly “pick me up” <strike>breakfast</strike> <strike>snack</strike> dessert, but anyone who’s ever had a good tiramisu knows exactly how I feel. I don’t even like coffee unless there is enough sugar and creamer mixed in so that it doesn’t even taste like coffee anymore! But I looooove tiramisu…<br />
I found this recipe in a copy of Cook’s Illustrated Italian Favorites magazine, which I came across at one of my local grocery stores, and was immediately entranced. You can also find the <a href="http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=11472"target="_blank">recipe</a> on their <a href="http://www.cooksillustrated.com/default.asp"target="_blank">website</a>, but you need to be a paying member to access most of their content. I would highly recommend checking them out, especially if you are newer to cooking, as they do offer a lot of good advice and information about many cooking subjects. One of the important things they covered was how to properly dip the ladyfingers in the espresso and rum mixture so that you don’t end up with a soggy dessert – rolling the ladyfingers across the surface of the espresso mixture rather than submerging them in it.<br />
The only thing that I changed about their recipe was the mixture of strong coffee and instant espresso powder, as I don’t think it’s much of an inconvenience anymore for people to find some brewed espresso. There are so many coffee shops that will make the amount you need for the recipe, and at a rather decent price, so there’s really no need to spend a lot of money on the fairly expensive instant espresso. Or, if you own a French coffee press, you can buy regular espresso and brew it in that, which is what I did for this recipe… I have a <a href="http://www.liquidplanet.com/Planetary-Design-Double-Shot-Travel-French-Press-Mug-p-192.html"target="_blank">French press travel mug</a> that I bought for making tea, which also worked out really well for brewing the espresso. My travel mug has two fine strainers which did a pretty good job of keeping the ground espresso in the mug, but you could easily remedy any issues you might have by running it through a coffee filter. Another option is just letting it sit after brewing until it reaches room temperature, and then any particles will settle to the bottom and can be easily discarded. If you don’t want to mess around with any of that, you can also ask them to grind your espresso a little more coarse than normal, which will ensure the grounds stay trapped under the strainer. It’s entirely up to you!<br />
When it comes to the mascarpone, you definitely do not want to try substituting anything else. Cream cheese is NOT the same thing, and will yield different results… It is also important to know that when you’re working with mascarpone it doesn’t behave the same as cream cheese. Mascarpone is much more delicate and requires a little bit more attention and care – if you forget about it and leave it out at room temperature, there’s a very good chance it will break and be un-useable in most recipes. Therefore, you should leave the mascarpone in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it and return it to the refrigerator if you’re going to be completing other tasks.<br />
I made this tiramisu for my family’s Thanksgiving get-together, as my mama will be in Italy over the holiday, and everyone loved it! Mama may be a little bit biased, siding with me and all, but she said this was the best tiramisu she’s ever had. Even better than what she’s had in Italy! Who am I to disagree with her?! We’ll not say anything about partiality and a mother’s love… ;-)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SBFM86tXNG0/TrdZjfqo4CI/AAAAAAAAAgE/_kHp82NwZWA/s1600/Tiramisu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="198" width="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SBFM86tXNG0/TrdZjfqo4CI/AAAAAAAAAgE/_kHp82NwZWA/s320/Tiramisu.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/traditional-italian-tiramisu?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
<br />
2½ c. prepared espresso, room temperature<br />
9 Tbsp. dark rum<br />
6 large egg yolks<br />
⅔ c. sugar<br />
¼ tsp. table salt<br />
1½ lb. mascarpone cheese<br />
¾ c. cold heavy whipping cream<br />
14 oz. ladyfingers<br />
3½ Tbsp. natural cocoa<br />
¼ c. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, grated<br />
<br />
Stir the espresso and 5 tablespoons of the rum in a wide bowl or baking dish; set aside.<br />
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks at low speed until just combined. Add the sugar and salt and beat at medium-high speed until pale yellow, 1½ to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula once or twice. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of rum and beat at medium speed until just combined, 20 to 30 seconds; scrape bowl. Add the mascarpone and beat at medium speed until no lumps remain, 30 to 45 seconds, scraping down bowl once or twice. Transfer mixture to large bowl and set in the refrigerator to keep cool.<br />
In the now-empty mixer bowl (no need to clean bowl), beat the cream at medium speed until frothy, 1 to 1½ minutes. Increase speed to high and continue to beat until cream holds stiff peaks, 1 to 1½ minutes longer. Using a rubber spatula, fold one-third of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to lighten, then gently fold in remaining whipped cream until no white streaks remain. Set mascarpone mixture in the refrigerator again to keep cool.<br />
Working one at a time, drop half of the ladyfingers into the coffee mixture, roll, remove, and transfer to 13 by 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. (Do not submerge ladyfingers in coffee mixture; entire process should take no longer than 2 to 3 seconds for each cookie.) Arrange soaked cookies in single layer in baking dish, breaking or trimming ladyfingers as needed to fit neatly into dish.<br />
Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers; use rubber spatula to spread mixture to sides and into corners of dish and smooth surface. Place 2 tablespoons of cocoa in a fine-mesh strainer and dust cocoa over mascarpone.<br />
Repeat the dipping and arrangement of ladyfingers; spread remaining mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers and dust with remaining 1½ tablespoons of cocoa. Wipe the edges of the dish with a dry paper towel, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 6 to 24 hours. Sprinkle with grated chocolate, if using; cut into pieces and serve chilled.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-85097230691567023632011-10-30T15:56:00.000-05:002011-10-30T15:56:55.738-05:00Pommes Frites with Truffle Oil, Parmesan, and ParsleyFrench fries... Patates frites... Pommes frites... What's the difference?! Well, technically, I guess there really isn't much of one. They all mean the same thing - pieces of deep-fried potatoes. However, after having fries like this while in Milwaukee a few weeks ago, I've researched "pommes frites" and found that they are usually a more gourmet fry, and that there is a traditional format for them. French fries here in America can mean any kind of potato that is deep fried, while "pommes frites" generally refers to a long, slinly sliced strip of potato that is deep fried. In addition, the "pommes frites" are most often served with something a little more ...upscale... than ketchup. Not that there is anything wrong with ketchup on fries!<br />
I had these fries, or something very similar to them, while staying at the Ambassador Hotel in Milwaukee with my cousin for a concert a few weekends ago. These were served in the bar area, Envoy, as a part of their menu, along with several other delicious options, and were very good. If you ever get the chance to stay in the area, it's definitely worth it! And don't let the prices scare you away... I believe these cost around $8 at the restaurant, but you did get a giant pasta bowl full of them!<br />
And while I do prefer to cut my own potatoes and make the fries myself, I would like to note that there are a couple of options if you don't like to mess around with stuff like that, or just don't have the time. McCain and OreIda both make a very good, thin-cut fry that would work wonderfully in place of the freshly cut potatoes.<br />
As for the truffle oil, there aren't a whole lot of gourmet shops near where I live, in Green Bay, but I have found this, and many other goodies, at the TJ MAXX near me. When looking for truffle oil, whether it be white or black, you want to be sure that you're getting real truffle oil, and not just something that smells like it. So, you want to be sure that you look for a product that says it is infused with truffles or truffle extract, and shy away from products that are only made with "truffle essence." Also, you want to be sure to store your truffle oil in a cool, dry space away from direct sunlight so that it does not cause your oil to turn rancid or lose precious flavor.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n9pG_YCq4e4/Tq2r-gNRgII/AAAAAAAAAfU/OZFP1RVnQ-M/s1600/S7304753.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n9pG_YCq4e4/Tq2r-gNRgII/AAAAAAAAAfU/OZFP1RVnQ-M/s320/S7304753.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/pommes-frites-with-truffle-oil-parmesan-and-parsley?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
<br />
2 large russet potatoes, cut into ¼" by ¼" fries<br />
Oil, for frying<br />
1 -2 tsp. white or black truffle oil<br />
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese<br />
Chopped fresh parsley<br />
<br />
To make the fries, preheat a deep fryer or kettle of oil to 350°. Begin by "par-boiling" the cut potatoes in the hot oil just until they are cooked through and limp; transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain and cool. Meanwhile, increase the temperature for the oil to 375°. Once the oil is heated, return the fries to the hot oil and cook again until the fries are crispy and light golden brown; transfer to a fresh paper-towel lined plate for just a moment to drain some of the oil and sprinkle with a little salt.<br />
Once the fries are drained, transfer them to a large bowl and drizzle with just a little bit of the truffle oil, tossing to coat; drizzle with a little more of the truffle oil and toss to coat again, until the flavor is to your liking. While the fries are still hot, sprinkle them with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and parsley and toss to coat again. Transfer the fries to a serving dish and finish with more freshly grated Parmesan cheese and parsley.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-88689960492515108402011-10-19T15:35:00.000-05:002011-10-19T15:35:35.020-05:00Eggplant Parmesan SandwichesThe original idea for this sandwich was inspired by a similar sandwich I had at a vegetarian restaurant back home several years ago. I recently checked out their website, and I couldn't find the sandwich on there anymore so am thinking they probably no longer even serve it. I can't remember all of the aspects of the sandwich I had then, but I remember it being pretty amazing! It might sound strange to some of you guys, but I am actually more fond of fruits and vegetables than pretty much anything else. (The only thing that's better than fruits and vegetables is bacon, but that's in a class all by itself!! :-)) As a child, I was a VERY picky eater and didn't even eat barbecued ribs or any of that stuff until after I was an adult. In fact, I distinctly remember going to KFC with my mother and brothers and sisters and all of them getting the drumsticks while I would not eat anything but the breast meat. I'm still a selective eater, but my tastes have definitely evolved since growing up - I'll most likely try anything at least once!<br />
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Anyways, I had entered this recipe in a sandwich contest, but it wasn't chosen so am sharing it with you! You'll have to forgive the picture quality for this picture, as I was house-sitting at the time it was taken and didn't have my little studio set up then... But you can still see the yumminess!<br />
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Because I have been trying to eat healthier, I also wanted to say that the eggplant for this sandwich could very easily be oven-fried rather than pan-fried, if you're looking for a healthier option. Simply spray both sides of the breaded eggplant lightly with canola oil and place it on a baking sheet in a preheated 400 degree oven or under a preheated broiler, turning once, until the breading is crispy and the eggplant cooked through. Then, assemble the sandwiches as you would normally! If you are interested in making it any healthier, you could also use egg substitute for the whole eggs, or even substitute some, or all, of the whole eggs with 2 egg whites per whole egg.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IlFBb6f1wCI/Tp8skeeCAMI/AAAAAAAAAe8/6kNcA0BqcBQ/s1600/S7304638.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="313" width="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IlFBb6f1wCI/Tp8skeeCAMI/AAAAAAAAAe8/6kNcA0BqcBQ/s320/S7304638.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/eggplant-parmesan-sandwiches?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
<br />
3 beaten eggs<br />
1 c. flour<br />
¾ c. Italian bread crumbs<br />
¼ c. panko bread crumbs<br />
¼ tsp. sea salt<br />
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper<br />
½ tsp. garlic powder<br />
1 Tbsp. dried parsley, crushed<br />
½ tsp. dried basil, crushed<br />
¼ tsp. dried oregano, crushed<br />
1 medium eggplant, sliced on the bias to ¾” - 1" thick<br />
2 ciabatta rolls<br />
Olive oil<br />
1 clove garlic, peeled <br />
Oil, for frying<br />
Freshly shaved or grated Parmesan cheese<br />
8 leaves fresh basil<br />
2 Tbsp. basil pesto<br />
½ c. Tomato Basil pasta sauce<br />
Roasted red peppers<br />
¼ c. shredded mozzarella cheese<br />
<br />
Place the eggs, flour, and bread crumbs each in 3 small bowls. Add the salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the eggs and whisk to combine. Season the bread crumbs with the parsley, basil, and oregano and stir with a fork or your hands to thoroughly combine. Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in flour, dip back in egg and then in bread crumbs. Transfer the eggplant pieces to a rack or to paper towels to let them dry slightly before frying. <br />
Preheat the broiler. Slice the ciabatta rolls in half horizontally, brush the insides with a little bit of olive oil, and toast under the broiler just until they’re golden brown. Remove the rolls from under the heat and immediately rub with the peeled garlic. Set aside.<br />
In a deep, heavy skillet or deep fryer heat ½-inch of vegetable oil to 375°. Fry the eggplant pieces, in batches if necessary, for approximately 2 - 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer with tongs to paper towels to drain.<br />
To make the sandwiches, arrange the bottom pieces of the rolls on a work surface and spread 1 tablespoon of pesto evenly over the cut surface. Sprinkle with the freshly shaved Parmesan cheese. Lay two basil leaves over the top of the Parmesan and pesto, followed by ⅛ cup of the pasta sauce. Arrange one of the fried eggplant slices on top of the sauce, one per sandwich, and then top with the remaining basil leaves and strips of the roasted bell peppers. Spread the remaining sauce between the sandwiches, topping them with the cheeses. Place the prepared sandwiches under the broiler just until the cheese melts, and then remove from the oven and top with the top half of the roll. Makes 2 sandwichesSandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-492700177084933072011-10-12T16:21:00.006-05:002011-10-12T16:44:35.541-05:00Zucchini Breakfast SkilletWow!! I can't believe I've been away for so long!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">First, I would like to thank all of my faithful readers for sticking with me during the past couple of months. It's been quite hectic! And, second, I would like to apologize for being gone so long. At the beginning of September, I moved back into my own place after housesitting for my family during the summer, and so have been working on getting all of my stuff unpacked again (especially all of my precious kitchen stuff). Not to mention, I've been working around 50 hours per week at my new job, and trying to work out and get in better shape again afterwards with my fellow chef, so have been trying to juggle my time there. And, I didn't have internet until the beginning of this week, so that didn't help either!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But, I'm finally back! :-)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This recipe is another one that I found in a copy of Food Network Magazine that I had picked up at the store, the same one as the <a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/07/heirloom-tomato-pie.html" target="_blank">Heirloom Tomato Pie</a> I just had to make, so you might have seen it floating around the internet already. But, maybe you haven't!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I especially like this dish, because I'm trying to be more conscious of my diet and want to get back into shape, and this is such a great dish. You don't even feel like you're missing out on everything! Of course, I did change a few things, but I did keep the recipe very much the same as <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/skilled-eggs-with-squash-recipe/index.html" target="_blank">the original</a>... For myself and my family, we like things a little spicy, so I added two jalapenos instead of the one. And I used the special yummy cheese (Morel Mushroom and Leek Jack) I found instead of pepper jack or cheddar. And probably more scallions... :-D</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The great thing about this recipe is that it really is very easy to customize to your liking. If you want it to be a complete breakfast, you could add some bacon to the skillet as well. Served with a couple slices of toast, it's the perfect breakfast!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kps8OWUA_YU/TpX-29ViyYI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/Rg1GAcuo5j4/s1600/S7304650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kps8OWUA_YU/TpX-29ViyYI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/Rg1GAcuo5j4/s320/S7304650.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/zucchini-breakfast-skillet?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1" target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">3 lb. summer squash and/or zucchini</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Kosher salt</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">4 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Freshly ground pepper</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1 Tbsp. unsalted butter</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">6 large eggs</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">½ - 1 c. grated pepper jack or sharp white cheddar cheese</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Grate the squash into a colander using the large holes of a box grater (or use a food processor fitted with the shredding attachment). Toss with 1 tablespoon salt, then let drain in the sink, 30 to 40 minutes. Roll the squash in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Preheat the oven to 375°. Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Set aside 3 tablespoons scallion greens. Add the remaining scallions (white and green parts), the jalapeno, and salt to taste and cook until the scallions are soft, about 3 minutes. Add the shredded squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 7 minutes. Stir in the parsley, nutmeg, and pepper to taste. Cook until the mixture is slightly dry, about 1 more minute. Remove from the heat and let cool, 5 minutes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Spread the squash evenly in the skillet. Make six 2½-inch-wide indentations in the mixture with the back of a spoon; put ½ teaspoon butter in each one. One at a time, crack each egg into a small bowl and pour into an indentation; season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with the cheese.</span></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the egg whites are set and the yolks are cooked to desired doneness, 10 to 12 minutes. Scatter the reserved scallion greens on top.</span></span>Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-24345205522600163462011-08-21T23:46:00.003-05:002011-08-22T23:08:37.272-05:00"7 Facts" Blog GameThere is a fun game going around the food blogging community called "Seven Facts." If you get tagged by someone, there are seven questions you have to answer using previous posts from your blog. I was tagged by Isabelle, from <a href="http://isabelleathome.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Isabelle at Home</a>. Thanks for tagging me, this was fun!<br />
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Here are my seven answers based on my previous blog posts and experiences. Click on the recipe title to be taken to the recipe link!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><br />
1. Most Beautiful Post(s): <a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/08/caprese-salad-or-skewers.html" target="_blank">Caprese Salad (or Skewers)</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qJkxzM9qlMs/TlHFwxwS71I/AAAAAAAAAdc/PPBDrDV9RcI/s1600/S7304731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qJkxzM9qlMs/TlHFwxwS71I/AAAAAAAAAdc/PPBDrDV9RcI/s320/S7304731.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vcU0qj_KGiA/TlHFylB34mI/AAAAAAAAAdg/u1FYyXqNia4/s1600/S7304744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vcU0qj_KGiA/TlHFylB34mI/AAAAAAAAAdg/u1FYyXqNia4/s320/S7304744.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div><a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/06/seared-sea-scallops-with-pistachio-and.html" target="_blank">Seared Sea Scallops with Pistachio and Parmesan Risotto</a></div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FxbN3-lTKMQ/TlHIQALAR_I/AAAAAAAAAd0/c52XVin1UBw/s1600/S7304609.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FxbN3-lTKMQ/TlHIQALAR_I/AAAAAAAAAd0/c52XVin1UBw/s320/S7304609.JPG" /></a></div><div><br />
This was probably the hardest decision I made in this game... I'm not saying that I'm the best chef, nor that I make the best food ever, but I've noticed that the quality of my pictures has been improving since I first started blogging.<br />
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With this, though, it really was a tough decision. I've made some really yummy things in the past year, and some of the stuff turned out really awesome, so it was hard to choose just one... But, I did get it narrowed down to only two, even though I wanted to do four of them! I LOVE Caprese salads more than just about anything. It's the combination of fresh ingredients and flavors, and the little bit of crunch from the pine nuts (in mine), that just send it over the top. And the scallops with the risotto was so divine, I just had to include that too. :-)</div><div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><br />
2. Most Popular: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"><a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/07/baby-back-ribs-with-bourbon-bacon.html" target="_blank">Baby Back Ribs with Bourbon-Bacon Chipotle Barbecue Sauce</a></span></div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WL7fckKg4w0/TlG_LS-fmxI/AAAAAAAAAdM/dU3fZBkXp7w/s1600/S7304629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WL7fckKg4w0/TlG_LS-fmxI/AAAAAAAAAdM/dU3fZBkXp7w/s320/S7304629.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
Since this was the easiest one to choose, based on Blogger's nifty little gadget that tells what my most popular recipes are, this was the first one I completed. Technically, the nifty little gadget says that it's another one of my posts, <a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/05/trio-of-sweet-potato-fries.html" target="_blank">Trio of Sweet Potato Fries</a>, but I don't know where they're getting that... While all of my fries turned out yummy, there really were not very many comments on them. Unless they count how many times people are viewing them. Maybe?<br />
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Anyways...<br />
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This was my contribution to the National Day for Ribs and Bacon. What a great day that is!!</div><div><br />
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</div><div>3. Most Controversial: <a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/05/lobster-roll-style-crab-salad.html" target="_blank">Lobster Roll-Style Crab Salad Sandwiches</a><br />
<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tFsiYCqI8cs/TlHCgE0ARwI/AAAAAAAAAdY/WIxT_JLMx3w/s1600/S7304383.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tFsiYCqI8cs/TlHCgE0ARwI/AAAAAAAAAdY/WIxT_JLMx3w/s320/S7304383.JPG" /></a></div><div><br />
Okay, so I don't know if these were actually controversial, but when I was writing up the recipe for them, I imagined all kinds of New Englanders would somehow find my little blog, and this recipe, and attack me like a pack of dogs on a three-legged cat. It's not the traditional lobster roll format, but it's kinda similar... I like that they toast the outsides of the split-top hot dog buns they use for the rolls. And that's what I meant by the style of this sandwich... <br />
<br />
...Even now, I can still see ferocious fangs! :-|</div><div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><br />
</div><div>4. Most Helpful: <a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/02/honey-ginger-salmon.html" target="_blank">Honey Ginger Salmon</a></div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iOFifBqo8YQ/TlHM1gj0k9I/AAAAAAAAAeA/H7vjseqmGoY/s1600/S7304040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iOFifBqo8YQ/TlHM1gj0k9I/AAAAAAAAAeA/H7vjseqmGoY/s320/S7304040.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>This is another one of those recipes that didn't get a lot of attention, because it was back in my earlier days of blogging, when only my real-life friends were reading what I wrote. I had recently been told by a fellow blogger about another post that they found especially informative, but I did pack a whole lot of information into this particular post. I try to be as informative as possible when writing up my blogs, so if I forget something or you know something I don't, please feel free to bring it to my attention!</div><div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div></div><div><br />
5. Post That Was Surprisingly Successful: <a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/05/fish-tacos-with-fresh-strawberry-salsa.html" target="_blank">Fish Tacos with Fresh Strawberry Salsa and Chipotle Crema</a></div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F5nDN4pOFzQ/TlHR3cHH39I/AAAAAAAAAeE/OTc49oKfDig/s1600/S7304451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F5nDN4pOFzQ/TlHR3cHH39I/AAAAAAAAAeE/OTc49oKfDig/s320/S7304451.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Perhaps it's because I have so many friends who just can't get their minds around the concept of fish tacos, but I was pleasantly surprised by how popular this was with my fellow foodie bloggers. Apparently, when people hear "Fish Taco," they think of a regular chicken or beef taco, only with fish, with the same spice mixture and everything. *Shudder* I suppose if that were my preconceived notion, I would have a hard time getting past that too... But, they really are very yummy!</div><div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><br />
6. Post That Didn't Get The Attention It Deserved: <a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/07/tarragon-chicken-salad.html" target="_blank">Tarragon Chicken Salad</a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NSp8s2iZY0U/TlHLp1oIXYI/AAAAAAAAAd8/GVffgxcWCDM/s1600/S7303481.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NSp8s2iZY0U/TlHLp1oIXYI/AAAAAAAAAd8/GVffgxcWCDM/s1600/S7303481.JPG" /></a></div><div><br />
This is, by far, my favorite chicken salad recipe. The "problem" was that I posted this at the beginning of my blog, when I was just getting started with all of this, and so not a lot of people really saw those earlier posts. One of my residents gave me this recipe, and she was so happy when I would make it and bring some in for her... She was always watching Food Network, especially Barefoot Contessa, and then telling me all about what she saw "Contessa" make in hopes that I would make it and bring some for her! She was a dear, sweet lady.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><br />
</div><div>7. Post I Am Most Proud Of: <a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/07/french-onion-soup.html" target="_blank">French Onion Soup</a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aQv-MUyVUy0/TlHBG0f0QeI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/MVLCMpZg3N8/s1600/S7304036.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aQv-MUyVUy0/TlHBG0f0QeI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/MVLCMpZg3N8/s320/S7304036.JPG" /></a></div><div><br />
I am the most proud of this post/recipe, because it was one of my first real attempts at making a recipe my own and it's been so successful. Everyone I've ever made this for raves about how good it is, some even going so far as to say it's the best French Onion Soup they've ever had! This was one of my papa's favorite things, and he absolutely loved it, so this holds a special place in my heart...</div><div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div></div><div><br />
</div><div>Thank you so much to Isabelle for including me in this fun game. And now to choose 7 of my favorite food blogging friends to play too... These guys have shown me so much love and support, I can't even begin to thank them enough. Be sure and check out their pages!<br />
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Becca at <a href="http://itsyummilicious.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">It's Yummilicious</a><br />
Chelsea at <a href="http://www.sprinklesofparsley.com/" target="_blank">Sprinkles of Parsley</a><br />
Kelly at <a href="http://www.eat-yourself-skinny.com/" target="_blank">Eat Yourself Skinny</a><br />
Chef Dennis at <a href="http://www.askchefdennis.com/" target="_blank">A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis</a> (I'm still wanting to call it by your old name!)<br />
Janet at <a href="http://www.fromcupcakestocaviar.com/" target="_blank">From Cupcakes to Caviar</a><br />
Christina at <a href="http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/" target="_blank">Sweet Pea's Kitchen</a><span id="goog_518110984"></span><br />
Amy and Tiffanie at <a href="http://chickswholovetoeat.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Chicks Who Love To Eat</a></div>Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-26593222913080559142011-08-18T12:04:00.000-05:002011-08-18T12:04:41.270-05:00Caprese Salad (or Skewers)Does anything say summer more than fresh garden tomatoes? Well, besides grilling out, picnics at the beach, water sports, and all of that… But, if you are anything like me, even a little, grilling out doesn’t necessarily indicate summer, as I do that all year ‘round. But, tomatoes are a clear indication of summer. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve never seen real, delicious, ripe tomatoes in the middle of winter! (I am seriously of the opinion that someone in my community needs to build a greenhouse to grow fresh produce for all of us during the winter months. It could be like a community co-op kind of thing, where you have to pay so much for the privilege of going there or something, but I think it would definitely be worth it. That’s another story, though…) And how could you not feel in a summery mood with such a beautiful, fresh salad like this? I honestly don’t think it’s possible…<br />
Now, I realize that there are about a million of these “recipes” floating around out there, and about a hundred different ways to arrange them, but these are my little concoctions. I’ve even seen stacked Caprese salads! While visually stunning, it seems to be a waste of time and energy… I mean, you can’t eat a giant stack like that without having to disassemble it and everything before eating it. And I like to enjoy my masterpieces just as they are!! But, the fact of the matter is, pretty much every Caprese salad is the same thing. And that’s just fine with me! These things are so delicious, it doesn’t even matter.<br />
One of my recent favorite ingredients is a balsamic reduction. Yes, you very well CAN make your own reduction, and if you want to I am more than happy for you to do just that. However, these days, I have slightly less time for stuff like that… And there are so many genuinely great products on the market, it seems silly to slave over a hot stove all day when you can have someone else do that for you! The only thing I would highly recommend is that you look for a balsamic reduction that says it’s a product of Italy. Not saying that other people don’t know how to make a good reduction or anything, but it’s a well-known fact that Italians know a thing or two about good balsamic vinegar. The one that I use, and really like, is called Cream of Balsamic and is imported by <a href="http://www.isolaimports.com/home.php"Target="_blank">Isola Imports</a>, which a local gourmet cheese store in my area carries. These guys have a lot of really great products, so I would definitely recommend checking them out, when you have time! (And, no, I am not being paid to say that, nor have I received any other kind of compensation for telling you about them. It’s just a great product and I want to share it with all of you! :-))<br />
As for the basil, that is my favorite herb and I probably overuse it, according to some people’s standards. So, I didn’t give an amount for that, because I want you guys to use as much or as little as you like… The same goes for the pine nuts; use as much or as little as you like. And here’s the thing about pine nuts - they taste TERRIBLE if they’re not fresh! I’m sure other nuts are very much the same, but I can’t remember having any other nuts after they’ve gone rancid. And, for some reason, pine nuts are more susceptible to this than others. If you’ve ever been so unfortunate as to have eaten a rancid pine nut, it will make you dislike them more than just about anything. But, they’re really not so bad if they’re fresh! So, I make it a point to take all nuts and stuff like that from the very back of the shelf… The stockers at the grocery store rotate all of the stuff, so the freshest product is always in the back. With highly perishable stuff (even milk and cheese), I prefer it to be as fresh as possible. Even if people do look at me like I’m some kind of crazy lady for digging all the way to the back of the shelf! :-D<br />
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Now, for the skewers, I just bought two containers of tomatoes from the grocery store, one of plain red grape/cherry tomatoes and the other the yellow variety. It never hurts to be colorful! When I bought my mozzarella, I hadn’t had plans for what I was going to do with it (it was on sale), so I bought the container of small ones. For this, if I was planning in advance, I probably would have gotten them a little bit bigger, but it’s more than easy to make do with what you have. And you can arrange them on the skewers however you’d like, and even do more on one skewer, but I thought they looked rather pretty this way. You could cut the basil up and alternate it between layers of mozzarella and tomatoes, though… Or you could decide to only do one tomato and one mozzarella per skewer… Whatever you would like to do with your skewers will be more than okay. Be creative! :-)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g_BH2oUv5LA/Tk1EPaTuG0I/AAAAAAAAAcw/Rr3AUAHkMM4/s1600/S7304731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="261" width="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g_BH2oUv5LA/Tk1EPaTuG0I/AAAAAAAAAcw/Rr3AUAHkMM4/s320/S7304731.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AWkvUPAUPUI/Tk1EP93J0uI/AAAAAAAAAc4/4mE643p64sE/s1600/S7304744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="246" width="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AWkvUPAUPUI/Tk1EP93J0uI/AAAAAAAAAc4/4mE643p64sE/s320/S7304744.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/caprese-salad-or-skewers?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"Target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
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2 large red (or heirloom) tomatoes<br />
2 heirloom tomatoes<br />
16 oz. fresh mozzarella<br />
Extra Virgin Olive Oil<br />
Balsamic Reduction Sauce<br />
Fresh basil, chiffonaded<br />
Pine Nuts<br />
Salt and pepper<br />
<br />
Slice the tomatoes approximately ½-inch thick and set aside; slice the fresh mozzarella to the same thickness and set aside. To arrange the Caprese salad, place one of each of the tomato slices together and arrange however you wish, followed by one slice of mozzarella. Continue arranging the tomatoes and mozzarella until you have no more left or run out of room on the plate. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the tomatoes and mozzarella, followed by a fair amount of the balsamic reduction. Sprinkle some fresh basil and pine nuts over the top of the salad, followed by the salt and pepper just before serving.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-58036412012007445602011-08-09T11:56:00.004-05:002011-08-09T14:25:09.542-05:00Roasted Garlic AioliHow many recipes are out there for aioli? Hundreds. Thousands. Probably millions. And the one thing I’ve seen in almost all of the recipes, no matter the source, is that you have to do things very precisely or your aioli will not come together. Something about mixing it too long or something, I don’t know… But, I can tell you this - I have tried to make aioli in the past, and it did not come together no matter how long I pureed it in the stinkin’ blender. And I actually did follow the instructions, to the letter, that time! :-)<br />
It wasn’t until I started working at my new job, <a href="http://www.fetazbistro.com/"Target="_blank">Fetaz Bistro</a>, that I learned the real secret to making aioli. Now, mind you, this is not the exact recipe for how they make theirs, and I will not divulge that information, but I think the technique is important to know. If you want to try all of the different aioli concoctions at Fetaz, you're just gonna have to stop there whenever you're in the Green Bay area! First of all, contrary to what other recipes state, don’t add anything to the eggs at the beginning of the process. I don’t know if the garlic reacts with the eggs or whatever, but I remember pureeing the crap out of my previous aioli attempt (where I was told to add the garlic, salt, and pepper to the eggs) to no avail. But, somehow, when you start out with just the eggs and oil, it comes together perfectly every time. You really only mix the eggs for a few seconds before starting to add the oil, but you will immediately be able to see that it’s doing what it’s supposed to be doing. No curdled eggs and oil. No weird grainy egg messes. Just perfectly smooth and creamy aioli. Then, when the mixture has come together, add the rest of the ingredients. This is the part where you can play around with flavors and stuff…<br />
Another thing that's important is that you need to make sure you have plenty of eggs in the blender before starting. If you try making aioli in any normal blender with only one or two eggs, it isn't going to come together like it's supposed to. I don't know exactly what the problem was when I tried to make aioli before, but it just did NOT work. It could be that nearly every recipe only calls for one or two egg yolks... It could be that there was too much going on with the egg yolks and they were rebelling... I don't know. But, I do know that this method has worked every single time I've ever done it.<br />
Now, it is important to remember that an aioli is not a true aioli without garlic. I like using the roasted garlic because it’s not as overpowering as fresh garlic, and it’s so yummy. If you would prefer, feel free to use fresh garlic. But the garlic needs to be in there, however you choose to incorporate it! I may or may not have cheated and bought the already peeled garlic cloves and roasted those (in a small, oven-proof container at 375° with some olive oil, salt, and pepper for an hour or so, until the garlic is a little brown and nice and soft)... ;-)<br />
Now, if you can’t find pasteurized eggs and have an aversion to using raw eggs, you can use the store-bought mayonnaise as a (poor) substitute and get a very similar outcome - one of my friends did this, not knowing what he was actually making, and was more than happy with the results. He’s more chefy than he knew! :-) However, considering that many people eat sunny-side up eggs and raw cookie dough without any adverse effects, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it isn’t going to be any more unsafe to eat the raw eggs in a sauce that you’re merely going to spread on your sandwich. It’s not like you’re going to eat it by the gallon or anything (and I’m sure I’ve eaten at least that much raw cookie dough), so I feel pretty safe eating it. Not to mention, it sure is tasty!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1CFfW3mz19I/TkFjwjW7t8I/AAAAAAAAAcI/SRwks4oCR1k/s1600/S7304723.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="258" width="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1CFfW3mz19I/TkFjwjW7t8I/AAAAAAAAAcI/SRwks4oCR1k/s320/S7304723.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/roasted-garlic-aioli?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"Target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
<br />
6 egg yolks<br />
2 whole eggs<br />
1⅔ - 2 c. canola oil<br />
1 lemon, juiced<br />
Salt and pepper, to taste<br />
4 heads garlic, roasted<br />
<br />
Combine the egg yolks and whole eggs in a blender container, cover, and puree on medium speed just until the eggs are beaten and combined. Remove the cover from the pour spout and slowly drizzle the canola oil into the eggs in a steady stream until the mixture comes together and thickens. Turn the blender off and remove the cover. Pour the freshly squeezed lemon juice into the blender, sprinkle the mixture with salt and pepper, and add the cloves from the roasted garlic. Replace the cover and puree until the garlic is chopped up and everything is thoroughly combined.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-20673675652922255592011-08-07T11:45:00.000-05:002011-08-07T11:45:52.849-05:00Chocolate Cherry CrispsHave you ever looked at a picture of food and thought, “I NEED some of that!”? Well, that’s what happened with this… I am an email subscriber for the food blog part of <a href="http://whiteonricecouple.com/"Target="_blank">White On Rice Couple</a>, and they posted this last week. Right away, I knew I was going to have to make it! Good thing cherries are on sale… ;-)<br />
Some of you may know, I’ve been working 3 jobs for the past couple of weeks, so this was no easy feat. Thankfully, I am now only working 2 jobs, so will have a little bit more free time to cook and blog again! But, working all of those double shifts all week didn’t thwart my cooking efforts at home… I am more than a little grateful that this was an easy recipe and didn’t take a whole lot of time, because I was able to put it together after getting home from my second job at 9:00PM and before heading to bed so that I could get up for work again at 9:00AM. I even took some to work for everyone for breakfast! :-) I must have been more energetic than normal that night, because I also made two different kinds of aioli while the crisps were baking… (I’ll tell you all about them later!)<br />
<br />
Anyways.<br />
<br />
Of course, I did do a few things differently when I made the crisps. The <a href="http://whiteonricecouple.com/recipes/chocolate-cherry-crisp/"Target="_blank">original recipe</a> was just one big dessert, which is all well and good. But, I recently acquired a couple of really cute gratin dishes (Thank you, Kohl’s cash!) and wanted to put them to good use, so figured this would be a great way to break them in! I did use the recommended amount of chocolate when I made these, except I used semi-sweet instead of dark, but afterwards decided that a little less would be better. While I do love chocolate, I also love cherries and it seemed like the cherry flavor was masked too much by all of the chocolate. Despite what some people might say, you CAN have too much of a good thing!<br />
Also, I really like nuts in my crisp toppings, so added some of them. It’s kind of funny, because I’m house-sitting for my mom while she’s jet setting around the world, and thought of the nuts at the last minute. I eagerly scoured her kitchen cupboards looking for some walnuts, to no avail. Then, I opened up the refrigerator and in the door found the container of chopped hazelnuts I had brought over for Thanksgiving (or maybe it was Christmas) dinner last year! SCORE!! Not that I am biased or anything, but it was quite tasty… :-D<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GRvkLLJ4Tmo/Tj6-wzFDgJI/AAAAAAAAAcA/SSq4UUO_VEM/s1600/S7304715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GRvkLLJ4Tmo/Tj6-wzFDgJI/AAAAAAAAAcA/SSq4UUO_VEM/s320/S7304715.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/chocolate-cherry-crisps?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"Target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
<br />
Topping:<br />
¾ c. (100 g) all-purpose flour<br />
¼ c. (50g) packed dark brown sugar<br />
½ tsp. (3g) salt<br />
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) (115g) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes<br />
1 c. (90g) old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)<br />
¼ c. chopped hazelnuts, almonds, or walnuts<br />
<br />
2 lb. fresh cherries, pitted and halved<br />
¾ c. (180g) semi-sweet mini chocolate chips<br />
¼ c. (50g) granulated sugar<br />
3 Tbsp. (45g) flour<br />
<br />
Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Pinch the butter into the flour, using your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture is the texture of coarse meal. Add the oats, and use your hands to toss and squeeze the mixture until large, moist clumps form. Transfer to the freezer to chill while you prepare the filling.<br />
In another large bowl, toss the cherries with the chocolate chips, sugar, and flour. Divide the mixture between 4 (0.5-quart) gratin dishes (or transfer the mixture to a shallow 2-quart baking dish), and sprinkle with the topping mixture. Place the gratin dishes on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 30 minutes (45 to 55 minutes for the larger baking dish). Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Makes 8 servings (or 4… Whatever! Lol)Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-60682831130883891592011-08-01T08:02:00.000-05:002011-08-01T08:02:32.763-05:00Fresh Cherry and Seared Sesame Tuna SaladNow that summer is fully upon us here in Wisconsin, I don’t feel so inclined to actually cook a whole lot for meals. Especially when I spend the majority of my days now in a hot work kitchen! I just have to say… If you think 80° and humid is bad, try standing in front of a wood-fired pizza oven set at 490° AND include the humidity! Or stand over a flat-top stove or grill in that weather! Suddenly, 80° and humid sounds kinda nice… Lol<br />
The heat aside, though, I really do love what I’m doing now. And I want to take the time to apologize to all of my readers for not posting much lately… I started a third job this past week, so I feel like I’ve been running around like a crazy person. I even had to start putting my schedules for all three jobs into the calendar on my cell phone, because I was having such a hard time keeping track of everything! But, I put my two-weeks notice in at one of the jobs, so after this coming Sunday, I will be on a regular schedule and will have a little bit of free time to myself. This means, a little more time to get back to blogging! YAY!!<br />
Also, the past week and a half has been a little hectic around here anyways… My sister is a biology teacher at a high school where we live, and she takes her students to Belize every summer for a week and a half to study the rainforests and all that good stuff. Her husband goes with to help chaperone, so my mom and I watched their two boys while they were gone. Thankfully, Aunt Joanne came to town, from the twin cities, to help out! Believe me, it was definitely needed!!<br />
Being that it’s been so hot and humid out, salads always sound good and so I made this yummy treat one night while we were watching the boys. Mama had taken the boys …somewhere… and then took them to the park to wear them out, and I made dinner while they were gone. The boys had one of their favorites – crescent roll hot dogs – and I made this salad for mama and myself. Everything tasted so fresh, and it definitely hit the spot!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s7QqeCPQPBE/TjaiVcT32QI/AAAAAAAAAb4/BXTrVhKcmIs/s1600/S7304652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="229" width="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s7QqeCPQPBE/TjaiVcT32QI/AAAAAAAAAb4/BXTrVhKcmIs/s320/S7304652.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/fresh-cherry-and-seared-sesame-tuna-salad?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"Target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
<br />
Sesame Cherry Marinade:<br />
2 Tbsp. sesame oil <br />
2 Tbsp. soy sauce <br />
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar<br />
1 clove garlic, minced<br />
2 c. 100% Montmorency cherry juice<br />
<br />
Cherry Vinaigrette:<br />
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar <br />
2 Tbsp. 100 Montmorency cherry juice <br />
½ tsp. Dijon mustard <br />
2 tsp. honey<br />
Pinch salt<br />
¼ c. olive oil<br />
<br />
1 (8 oz.) tuna steak <br />
1 oz. sesame seeds <br />
Mixed salad greens<br />
4 oz. crumbled Feta cheese<br />
½ lb. fresh Bing cherries, halved and pitted <br />
<br />
For the Cherry Vinaigrette: Mix all of the ingredients well, except the olive oil, in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking continuously, until it is well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.<br />
For the tuna: Mix the marinade ingredients together and coat the tuna steaks with the marinade, cover tightly, and refrigerate for at least an hour.<br />
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, remove the tuna steaks from the marinade, coat with sesame seeds on both sides, and sear them for a minute to a minute and a half on each side (even a little longer if you want the tuna less rare). Remove the tuna from the pan and slice into ¼-inch thick slices.<br />
Arrange the salad greens in a bowl; sprinkle some of the Feta cheese and halved cherries on top of the greens, top with the sliced tuna steak, and drizzle with vinaigrette.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-85390140346605776442011-07-19T00:21:00.002-05:002011-07-19T01:03:38.050-05:00Squash Blossoms Tempura with ShrimpHappy Anniversary, to me! Can you believe it?! It’s been one year today since I first started blogging!!<br />
<br />
Because it’s such a special day, I HAD to make something extra special for the event! I’d been wanting to make stuffed squash blossoms for a couple of years now, but just never got around to doing it. Most of you probably don’t know this, but I had been a certified nursing assistant for around 6 years before pursuing my dreams of becoming a chef. And, if you know anything about CNAs, you know that they don’t usually get a lot of free time… I can’t even tell you how many double shifts I worked over the years, or picked up extra hours in addition to my regular shift. Needless to say, this kind of work schedule is not exactly conducive to making yummy treats like stuffed squash blossoms! Or going to farmer’s markets to find said blossoms!<br />
Well, now that I’m working in the food industry, I usually start work in the morning and then get done mid-afternoon, which works out perfectly for the farmer’s market on Wednesday evenings on Broadway in Green Bay. The market opens to the public at 4:00PM, and is two blocks long by two blocks wide with live entertainment and tons of vendors! Broadway is closed off for two blocks, and then a cross street (Hubbard) is closed off, so vendors line up facing the sidewalks (which are wide) and then patrons can walk around the entire radius to check out the goodies. It’s really a very nice setup… Especially considering they even have a wine and beer tent! This IS Wisconsin, after all!! Lol<br />
So, last week Wednesday, my mama and I went to the farmer’s market and had a really nice time! We even found this new-ish, eclectic restaurant, called <a href="http://www.threethreefive.com/"Target="_blank">Three Three Five</a>, that mostly does catering for private parties but is also open on Wednesdays during the market hours. I had the most amazingly refreshing lemonade I think I’ve ever had, a Basil Ginger Lemonade, and then we had an asparagus dish and also an heirloom tomato salad with…wait for it…cherry wood smoked bacon! The presentation was absolutely beautiful, and you could really see the love that went into Chef Chris’ work. I always enjoy admiring the work of fellow foodies! Not to mention, he was a total sweetheart and called his connection with one of the local markets and had them save the last of their heirloom tomatoes for me so that I could make my <a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/07/heirloom-tomato-pie.html"Target="_blank">Heirloom Tomato Pie</a>!! Thank you, again, Chris!<br />
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But, back to squash blossoms…<br />
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Until Wednesday, I had never even seen them at any of the markets I’ve gone to, so I was pretty stoked to find them when not even looking for them. And they were fairly inexpensive as well, which is always a bonus… So, as soon as I saw them, I scooped up a bunch of them and gave the lady my three dollars! I suppose I could always plant my own zucchini, but I’m not a very patient person. I have three tomato plants (one heirloom, one grape, and one beefsteak), all of which have fruit on them, but none of them have ripe fruit, and the anticipation could just about kill me! Every day, I go out to check on them, but have yet to see any redness going on. I think they’re doing it on purpose… ;-)<br />
Needless to say, I’m not so sure that I could handle any other plants. Although, I would only need one zucchini plant (maybe) to pacify my new love for these little beauties! If you’ve never had a stuffed squash blossom, I would recommend trying it. What’s the worst that can happen?! The flowers themselves really don’t have very much flavor, so whatever you stuff inside them needs to have flavor. And the tempura is great, because it’s so light that it doesn’t overpower anything else and is perfectly crispy. I had intended to make my own tentsuyu, but ended up getting some from a local Japanese restaurant instead after having so much difficulty finding the dashi stock anywhere in Green Bay. If you can make it yourself, feel free to do so! If you can’t find the stuff for it, though, you can usually buy it from a Japanese restaurant, which is just fine. Either way, you should definitely try this!<br />
I had guests from out of town for dinner, and they couldn’t believe how good these were. They live near San Francisco and had never had them either, so I’m glad that we were all able to share the experience! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rqveOvQI6d4/TiUQgzBWQ8I/AAAAAAAAAbw/p6nVX9Jv8Q8/s1600/S7304648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rqveOvQI6d4/TiUQgzBWQ8I/AAAAAAAAAbw/p6nVX9Jv8Q8/s320/S7304648.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/squash-blossoms-tempura-with-shrimp?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"Target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
<br />
½ lb. raw shrimp, shelled, deveined, and roughly chopped <br />
½ tsp. sesame oil <br />
½ tsp. salt <br />
White pepper<br />
½ egg white<br />
8 zucchini flowers<br />
Tentsuyu (Tempura dipping sauce)<br />
<br />
Tempura Batter:<br />
¾ c. all-purpose flour <br />
½ c. rice flour <br />
¼ c. cornstarch <br />
2 tsp. baking powder<br />
½ tsp. salt<br />
1½ c. cold club soda<br />
<br />
To make the shrimp filling: Add the shrimp, sesame oil, salt and white pepper to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the egg white and continue stirring until everything is thoroughly combined and the egg white is coating everything well. Set aside until needed.<br />
Remove the stigma from the center of the zucchini flowers. Spoon the shrimp mixture into a piping bag and gently pipe the shrimp filling into the zucchini flowers; twist the petal tops to enclose the filling. <br />
Prepare the tempura batter: To make a crisp and light tempura batter, make sure you use ice cold club soda. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl, then whisk in the club soda until the batter is smooth. (You may cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 hour.)<br />
Heat oil in a deep fryer to 350°F. Lightly dip the zucchini flower in the tempura and deep fry in hot oil until the tempura is light golden and the shrimp filling is cooked through, turning occasionally. Keep warm and continue to deep fry the rest of the zucchini flowers. Serve immediately with tentsuyu.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-12775987535390891382011-07-16T20:35:00.000-05:002011-07-16T20:35:31.816-05:00Heirloom Tomato PieThis recipe is definitely not one of my own creations, as I’m sure many of you probably already know, if you’re an avid foodie like me and are captivated by anything food related. It’s like those people who are attracted to shiny things! Food is my shiny thing. :-)<br />
The recipe for this lovely little “pie” comes straight from the glossy pages of Food Network magazine. There was a picture of this on the cover of the most recent edition, and I swear it was taunting me as I was trying to grocery shop. Every time I would go down an aisle and pass it in the checkout stands, I stopped and drooled for a few seconds! The picture on the cover is the only reason I even bought the stinkin’ magazine!! But, I’m glad I did, because there are some really good recipes in there.<br />
Since the farmer’s markets have been back, I’ve been frequenting them often in hopes of finding some beautiful heirloom tomatoes specifically for this pie. Well, on Wednesday, I was a lucky girl indeed! Not only did I manage to find enough little beauties for this pie, but we enjoyed some in salads that night too! However, because of the amount of work required to make this, I didn’t get around to it until last night. And, we had guests from out of town, so it turned out to be the perfect opportunity… I had some more guinea pigs! ;-)<br />
I will have you all know, there was not even a single crumb of this stuff left in the pie plate by the end of the meal. I had promised one of my coworkers that I would bring him some the next time I worked, but that’s not gonna happen now! Next time… Of course, you all know me, so I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. Because I worked in the morning, I opted to use an already prepared pie crust to save on time. (Honestly, I hate rolling out pie crust anyways, so it wasn’t a hard decision for me. Pillsbury is pretty darn good at making pie crusts that taste a lot like homemade, and it’s less frustrating for me, so I go with that instead…) I also did some research, and found that Manchego cheese is ridiculously expensive, so opted for a similar substitute which I really love, Parmesan. And, because this is Wisconsin, you KNOW I didn’t stick with their measurements for cheese! Lol<br />
Actually, at work last week, I was given the opportunity to try a new cheese, Morel Mushroom and Leek Jack, which was really good. So, imagine my surprise and delight when I found it at my local market! I had been telling my mama and sister about it for a few days (and a couple of my friends, too), so decided to pick some up. I cut up some for everyone to sample, and then grated some to mix in with the other cheeses. It was sooooooo good! The heat from the oven helped bring out some of the mushroom and leek flavors, which really complimented the rest of the dish. Of course, if you can’t find it or don’t like mushrooms or leeks (onions), don’t worry about it. Use whatever you like best or something you want to experiment with! And, if you’d like, you can find the original recipe, complete with a crust recipe, on the <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/heirloom-tomato-pie-recipe/index.html"Target="_blank">Food Network website</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LNlz96PjXY8/TiI5tj1zZNI/AAAAAAAAAbo/l6jJ_Qf3fps/s1600/S7304645.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="286" width="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LNlz96PjXY8/TiI5tj1zZNI/AAAAAAAAAbo/l6jJ_Qf3fps/s320/S7304645.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/heirloom-tomato-pie?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"Target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
<br />
2 prepared 9-inch pie crusts, unbaked<br />
¾ c. plus 3 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan cheese<br />
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil<br />
1 large onion, thinly sliced<br />
2¼ lb. mixed heirloom tomatoes<br />
Sea salt<br />
¼ c. shredded mozzarella cheese<br />
1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese<br />
¼ c. mayonnaise<br />
3 Tbsp. breadcrumbs<br />
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives<br />
3 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley<br />
½ tsp. dried thyme<br />
Freshly ground pepper<br />
<br />
For the crust: Place one prepared crust, rolled out into a circle, on your work surface, top with the 3 tablespoons of freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, and place the second crust on top of the cheese; roll the crusts out together into a 13-inch round. Transfer the dough to a 9½-inch deep-dish pie plate. Fold the overhang under itself and crimp the edges; pierce the bottom of the crust all over with a fork and refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°.<br />
Line the crust with foil, then fill with dried beans. Bake until the edges are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans and continue baking until golden all over, 10 to 15 more minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.<br />
Make the filling: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until they are caramelized, about 25 minutes. Let cool. Meanwhile, thinly slice the tomatoes; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of sea salt in a colander. Let the tomatoes drain, gently turning occasionally, about 30 minutes. Place the tomatoes on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels to dry off some of the liquid.<br />
Increase the oven temperature to 375°. Combine the remaining 3/4 cup Parmesan, the mozzarella, Monterey Jack, mayonnaise, breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons each chives and parsley, the thyme, ¼ teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper, and the sautéed onion in a bowl; spread in the crust. Arrange the tomatoes on top of the cheese mixture and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with pepper. Cover the edges of the pie crust with foil or pie crust shields and bake until the tomatoes are browned, about 50 minutes. Top with the remaining 1 tablespoon each chives and parsley.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-76813135406659752142011-07-10T11:35:00.003-05:002011-07-10T15:04:00.578-05:00Seared Sesame Tuna SteaksAunt Joanne, this one's for you! :-)<br />
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I got the idea for this awesome recipe while watching Food Network one evening (imagine that), and seeing <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chimney-tuna-loin-recipe/index.html"Target="_blank">Alton Brown</a> do something very similar. He actually had an entire tuna loin, which I had been unable to find until recently, and he grilled his. I believe he also used more wasabi powder in his, which you are more than welcome to do, but if you’re serving it with something like <a href="http://sandiesbitchinkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/04/wasabi-mashed-potatoes.html"Target="_blank">wasabi mashed potatoes</a> or drizzling a little bit of wasabi aioli over the top, I think it’s best to use the wasabi in moderation. My fellow sushi lovers can attest to the fact that too much wasabi can definitely be a bad thing!<br />
What I really like about this recipe is that the marinade adds a little bit of flavor to the fish. If you buy really good fish, tuna included, it should never smell fishy or “off”. Sometimes, if you buy frozen fish, it has kind of a weird smell, but you can easily remedy that by soaking the fish, any fish, in milk for an hour or so. The acid in the milk absorbs any added smells and tastes… Now, keep in mind, if the fish is bad, there’s no saving it! Please, do not ever try to revive old/bad fish by soaking it in milk, because it’s not going to work and you (or your dinner guests) could possibly suffer from food poisoning. Nobody wants that!<br />
For those of you who don’t know about tuna, I just want to say that, yes, you ARE supposed to eat it rare to medium-rare. In fact, if you overcook it, I’m guessing it will taste very much like that dry stuff you buy in a can at your local market, which needs some mayo to make it taste good. You can ask just about anyone, and they’ll tell you that eating rare meat is not generally something I do. I was at dinner with my best friend and her mom and ordered a hamburger that was still very pink in the middle, and I couldn’t even eat it after seeing that. I don’t generally care for steaks because I don’t like them to have any pink in them, which means they usually end up on the tough side. I’m not the kinda girl to condone eating raw meat, at all! But, this time, I will most definitely emphasize how imperative it is. The important thing to remember is that you need to make sure you’re buying sushi-grade tuna, which is most generally always eaten without being cooked at all. Anything given the sushi grade has to be of very high quality, so the chances of getting sick from eating it are slim to none. I’ve eaten uncooked, rare, or medium-rare tuna on many occasions, and have yet to get sick as a result. Try doing that with chicken! ;-P<br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/seared-sesame-tuna-steaks?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"Target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
<br />
1 c. dark soy sauce <br />
1 c. honey <br />
¼ c. dry wasabi powder <br />
2 (app. 8 oz.) sushi-grade tuna steaks<br />
¼ c. white sesame seeds<br />
¼ c. black sesame seeds<br />
2 Tbsp. canola oil<br />
Wasabi aioli, optional<br />
<br />
In a non-reactive (glass) bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, and wasabi powder. Place the tuna in a glass baking dish and pour the sauce around the fish, moving the fish around to coat evenly. Marinate the tuna up to 4 hours, turning the steaks halfway through marinating. Remove the tuna from the marinade and discard the marinade. On a plate, combine the sesame seeds and coat both sides of each tuna steaks with the seeds, pressing gently so that they adhere.<br />
In a non-coated or cast iron frying pan, heat canola oil on medium heat and place the tuna steaks in the frying pan when the oil is hot. For medium rare steak: cook for 2 - 4 minutes, flip and cook for another 2 - 4 minutes. Slice the tuna against the grain and serve drizzled with a little bit of wasabi aioli. Makes 4 servingsSandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-60653173263270529972011-07-05T19:18:00.004-05:002011-07-08T10:08:32.462-05:00Baby Back Ribs with Bourbon-Bacon Chipotle Barbecue SauceSo, Saturday was the National Day of Ribs and Bacon!! That’s the BEST national day EVER!!!!<br />
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When I got the invite from a friend on Facebook to participate in this day, of course, there was NO way I could turn it down! I freakin’ LOVE bacon!! And ribs are pretty darn great too! Since it’s such a special day, I got the idea that the two really ought to be combined, in order to fully utilize all of the day’s potential. ;-)<br />
I’ve had this awesome rib rub recipe that I’ve been using for a couple of years, but I decided to make it extra special for this day. There’s this really great little <a href="https://www.spiceandtea.com/"Target="_blank">spice store</a> near where I live, and I had been in there for some black sesame seeds for a different meal. I can never help myself so I walk around the store every time I’m in there… Well, I thought I had hit the jackpot that day!! Not only did I pick up the smoked paprika that I needed, I also found some chipotle powder and some really special Applewood smoked sea salt! These would definitely have to be incorporated into my ribs…<br />
Now I needed to get some bacon in there! I did a Google search for Bacon Barbecue Sauce, and I was intrigued by one that came up called <a href="http://www.chow.com/recipes/28482-bourbon-bacon-barbecue-sauce"Target="_blank">Bourbon-Bacon Barbecue Sauce</a>. It was perfect! Of course, the chipotle powder needed to be in there too, and I added my special sea salt, but I kept it very much the same. For the best results, let the sauce sit for a couple of days after making it so that the flavors have time to develop.<br />
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Of course, if you aren’t lucky enough to have a spice store near you, don’t worry about it… (But you CAN order products from The Spice and Tea Exchange website, if you really want! :-D) If you’re not feeling so inclined to hassle with trying to find the specialty spices I used, or don’t like spicy food, you can simply omit them (chipotle powder) or use the plain kind (sea salt). I’ve used this recipe many times, without the two special ingredients and it turned out great, so there’s no need to stress about it. Also, this time, I added the garlic and onion powder to my rub, which I’ve not usually done in the past. It turned out great, though!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fp1mtj5gfEk/ThOmZMdsWZI/AAAAAAAAAYE/x7JCfT8l1yw/s1600/S7304629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="318" width="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fp1mtj5gfEk/ThOmZMdsWZI/AAAAAAAAAYE/x7JCfT8l1yw/s320/S7304629.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/baby-back-ribs-with-bourbon-bacon-chipotle-barbecue-sauce?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"Target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
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6 Tbsp. smoked sweet paprika <br />
2 Tbsp. brown sugar <br />
2 Tbsp. dried oregano <br />
1 tsp. garlic powder <br />
1 tsp. onion powder<br />
2 Tbsp. ground coffee<br />
3 tsp. Applewood smoked sea salt<br />
2 tsp. pepper<br />
½ tsp. chipotle powder<br />
3 full racks baby back ribs<br />
Olive oil<br />
Bourbon-Bacon Chipotle Barbecue Sauce, recipe follows<br />
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Combine the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl. Prepare the baby back ribs the night before; take off the white membrane on the back of the ribs. Place the ribs, meat side up, on heavy duty foil, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with the dry rub, pressing the rub gently into the meat to help it adhere. Seal the foil tightly into a packet around the ribs. Keep the ribs in the refrigerator until baking time.<br />
Turn the oven on to 225°. Place the aluminum package of ribs on a cookie sheet and place the cookie sheet in the oven. Slow cook the ribs for 3½ to 4 hours. Towards the end of the baking time, preheat a charcoal or gas grill to medium heat (or set oven to broil, if cooking indoors) Remove the ribs from the oven and foil. Baste the ribs with barbecue sauce and place on the grill to cook for an additional 15 - 30 minutes, turning and basting frequently. (If you have a doubt if the ribs are cooked, try taking a toothpick and poke the meat. If the toothpick comes in and out easily, then your ribs are ready to enjoy!) Once the ribs are cooked through and nicely coated with barbecue sauce, remove them from the grill. Serve the ribs with some additional barbecue sauce on the side, if you’d like.<br />
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Bourbon-Bacon Chipotle Barbecue Sauce:<br />
½ c. small-dice bacon<br />
½ c. finely diced red onion<br />
2 medium garlic cloves, minced<br />
1 c. ketchup<br />
½ c. apple cider vinegar<br />
½ c. packed dark brown sugar<br />
¼ c. Worcestershire sauce<br />
3 Tbsp. bourbon<br />
2 Tbsp. dark or robust molasses (not blackstrap)<br />
2 tsp. chili powder<br />
1 - 2 tsp. chipotle powder<br />
1½ tsp. smoked paprika<br />
1 tsp. ground mustard<br />
Applewood Smoked Sea Salt<br />
Freshly ground black pepper<br />
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Place the bacon in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a small bowl; set aside. Reduce heat to medium low, add the onion to the pan, and cook in the bacon fat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 to 60 seconds more.<br />
Whisk in the remaining measured ingredients and season with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Stir in the reserved bacon and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened and holds a line on the back of a wooden spoon when you drag a finger through it, about 25 minutes. Season the sauce with additional salt and pepper as needed. Store barbecue sauce in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month.<br />
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UPDATE!!<br />
While paging through an older magazine of my mama's, I came across something that would be perfect with these ribs - Bourbon Smoked Pepper, Sea Salt, and Paprika!! You can buy each spice individually in tins or bags, or even as a set in the tins! How awesome is that?! Too bad I hadn't read the article sooner, because that would have been perfect with these... But, if you wanna go check out the products, and even order some of your own, you can find them on <a href="http://bourbonbarrelfoods.com/shop/seasonings/gift-set-spices"Target="_blank">Bourbon Barrel Foods' website</a>! If you get them before I do, be sure to tell me what you think!<br />
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:-)Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-31277142116972302152011-06-22T01:10:00.000-05:002011-06-22T01:10:25.328-05:00Seared Sea Scallops with Pistachio and Parmesan RisottoThis dinner came about after having picked up one of those recipe cards from the grocery store one day, and not being able to get the idea out of my head. I don’t even remember which grocery store I picked the card up from, but I was immediately intrigued by the Scallops with Pistachio Butter… The card comes from the <a href="http://www.tryfoods.com/"Target="_blank">Try-Foods International</a> company, who probably prints practically every recipe card you ever see in the grocery store and I couldn’t probably tell you for sure, as I have a ton of them! I’m such a sucker for anything cooking related, it’s not even funny… For example, I was recently at one of the local hospitals with a friend who was going through a difficult time, and we went to grab something for lunch when we passed a book fair thing going on in the lobby. I THINK they had other books there, but I can’t remember because I only saw the cookbooks! I bought two of them that day, like I really need any more… ;-)<br />
Then, while thinking about what to go with it, I thought a risotto would go really well. My friend Becca, who’s actually taken classes towards a culinary arts degree, had come over not too long ago and showed me how to make risotto, so I was feeling pretty confident in myself! Not confidant enough to wing it with my very own ideas this time, though… Since the scallops were going to be served with a pistachio butter, I really had my heart set on also having the pistachios in the risotto, so that’s what I searched the internet for. And I came upon <a href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/288918"Target="_blank">this recipe</a>! I think the guy who wrote up the recipe might have some issues, and I don’t even know if he would want me to link back to him since I didn’t follow his recipe EXACTLY, but he does deserve credit for the base recipe I used. (*Thinks to herself, “I hope I’m not getting myself into trouble!”*)<br />
Anyways… You guys know me, so you know I don’t do anything the way I’m supposed to anyways! First of all, when it comes to this recipe, I certainly can’t see spending good money on blue cheese, when I really don’t like the stuff… I don’t care how expensive it is, moldy cheese is moldy cheese!! Secondly, I really don’t think it’s necessary to spend an exorbitant amount of money in order to get good products, nor to achieve high-quality results. And, lastly, what in the heck good is a recipe if it’s carved in stone and you can’t do anything else with it?! So, if the guy who wrote that is offended by me changing his recipe, then I’m sorry. As far as I’m concerned, recipes are only guidelines and there aren’t many of them that I treat with any special attention or affection. Except for that of my sacred, beloved Oatmeal Cherry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies! :-)<br />
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One of my favorite things about living in a larger city is the accessibility of all kinds of ingredients. If you really don't have a lot of money, you don't need to spend a lot of money... For example, I could buy a huge container of Arborio rice, but then I would have to worry about storing it so that the oils in the grains don't turn rancid. Because I wouldn't use that much rice in a short period of time, no matter how good the dish (I have a hard time eating the same things over and over), it's much more convenient for me to buy it by the pound. The organic/natural section at my local grocery store has giant dispensers where you can buy all kinds of stuff by the pound, including red and white quinoa, Arborio rice, granola, granola bites, oatmeal, different nuts, and all kinds of stuff. And, the liquor department sells little bottles of probably 50 different wines, including one from one of my favorite <a href="http://www.wollersheim.com/"Target="_blank">local wineries</a>, so you really only have to get as much as you need for one recipe. Unless you're like me and drink a glass or two while you're preparing the meal!<br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/seared-sea-scallops-with-pistachio-and-parmesan-risotto?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"Target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
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½ lb. Arborio rice<br />
⅛ c. olive oil <br />
½ c. finely chopped Vidalia onion<br />
1 clove garlic, minced<br />
¾ c. chardonnay<br />
1 c. chicken stock, warm<br />
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature<br />
½ c. roasted, unsalted pistachios, chopped<br />
4 oz. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated<br />
1½ lb. large sea scallops<br />
Pinch of sea salt<br />
Freshly ground black pepper<br />
1 Tbsp. olive oil<br />
½ c. butter or margarine<br />
⅓ c. finely chopped pistachios<br />
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh Italian parsley<br />
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If the scallops are frozen, be sure to thaw, rinse, and then drain them well on paper towels. (If at all possible, it is best to buy dry-packed scallops, as they will not retain as much moisture and will be easier to sear correctly.)<br />
For the risotto: In a medium sauce pan over medium to medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and cook for a couple of minutes until they sweat; add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, approximately 1 minute. Add the rice and toast, stirring constantly, as it cooks for a couple of minutes. Slowly add the wine and cook until it is completely reduced, stirring frequently. When the wine is completely gone, start adding the stock, a little at a time, and cook until the rice absorbs the stock, stirring once after each addition of stock; repeat until all of the stock is absorbed. Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter, roasted pistachios, and Parmesan and gently stir it all together thoroughly.<br />
For the Scallops: Preheat a cast iron skillet and stainless steel frying pan drizzled with olive oil over medium-high heat. Salt and pepper the dried scallops and place them in the skillet, letting them cook for 3-4 minutes without touching, moving, or turning them. (This is necessary to sear them properly.) After the scallops have browned nicely on the first side, flip them and leave them to cook again for 3-4 minutes.<br />
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the pistachio nuts and parsley. Remove the scallops from the skillet, serve over prepared risotto with steamed asparagus, drizzle with pistachio butter, and serve immediately.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-18122246100920688132011-06-14T01:38:00.005-05:002011-08-21T20:52:57.779-05:00Grilled Tropical Chicken Salad and a Blog Award!I would just like to start out by apologizing to all of my faithful readers for not posting lately… Since starting my new job, it seems like I’m tired all of the time! It might be helpful to know that I had worked PM shift as a Certified Nursing Assistant for 6 years prior to starting this new job, which requires me to be awake by around 7:00 AM… That’s early for a girl who’s accustomed to staying up until 3 AM and not getting out of bed until 10 or 11! And I’ve still been cooking when I get home, but haven’t always had the opportunity to take pictures because of having company over… But, I’m getting back into the swing of things again! So, thank you for your patience with me and your continued support.<br />
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I came up with this salad after seeing “Tropical …something… Salad” on several menus recently and wondering what in the world qualified them as being “tropical.” One had mangos and raspberries with a basil vinaigrette dressing… One had shrimp and mandarin oranges on it… And I can’t remember the other.<br />
I don’t know about anyone else, but when I think of tropical places, I imagine pineapples and papayas… Fresh fish and bright flavors… While I do love basil (it’s my favorite herb), I’m not sure that it’s a tropical kind of thing. So, when I was thinking of what I wanted to go on my salad, something with pineapple definitely came to mind. I found <a href="http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1743,129182-242192,00.html" target="_blank">this recipe</a> on the internet, but changed a few things based on what I wanted. I have a couple of lemon verbena plants in my house, so definitely wanted to use that as I rather adamantly dislike rosemary. Not to mention that bright lemony flavors seem much more fresh and all of that good stuff!<br />
I suppose one could argue that raspberry chipotle barbecued chicken isn’t exactly tropical either… But, oh, well! I had originally intended to make shrimp, which would also be really good, but didn’t get to use it soon enough and so had to throw it away. Next time! But, chicken is a universal meat selection around the world, right?! :-)<br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/grilled-tropical-chicken-salad?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1" target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
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½ fresh, ripe pineapple<br />
¼ medium fresh, ripe papaya<br />
2 ripe mangos<br />
6 oz. fresh raspberries<br />
2 chicken breasts<br />
Raspberry Chipotle Barbecue Sauce<br />
Spring Mix lettuce<br />
Pineapple Vinaigrette, recipe follows<br />
Sliced almonds, optional<br />
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Preheat an indoor or outdoor grill to medium heat.<br />
Prepare the fruit. For the pineapple, remove the peel and cut it into quarters lengthwise; remove the core by cutting along the inside length just around the woody center. Depending on the size of the pineapple, cut the quarters in half or thirds lengthwise. For the papaya, cut it in half lengthwise and then lengthwise again into sizes similar to the pineapple. Prepare the mangos by identifying where the pit is and then cutting the fruit along the long sides of the seed. (There are mango gadgets that do this for you, but if you don’t eat mangos very often then I would suggest just using your knife.) For the raspberries, fill a bowl with cold water and gently place the fruit in the water. Allow them to sit in the water for a few minutes to clean them off and then allow them to dry completely on a paper towel.<br />
Place the chicken and the prepared fruit pieces on a medium hot grill, being sure to watch the fruit closely so that it doesn’t burn; when the fruit is warmed through and has sufficient grill marks, remove it from the grill and allow to cool slightly. When the chicken is cooked through, baste it with a little bit of the raspberry chipotle barbecue sauce and allow it to set before removing it from the grill. Cut the fruit into bite-size pieces and the chicken into strips.<br />
For the salads, arrange the lettuce in large salad bowls or on dinner plates. Arrange the grilled fruit on top of the lettuce, dividing evenly among the dishes, and top with the strips of grilled chicken. Sprinkle the fresh raspberries over the top of the salad and drizzle with the pineapple vinaigrette. If you’d like, you may also sprinkle some sliced almonds on top of the salads.<br />
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Pineapple Vinaigrette:<br />
6 oz. pineapple juice<br />
2 Tbsp. almond oil<br />
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar<br />
1 Tbsp. dried parsley (or 2 Tbsp. fresh, minced)<br />
1 tsp. fresh lemon verbena, minced<br />
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Mix all of the ingredients in an airtight container with a lid and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. The dressing must be mixed well each time it is served, as the other ingredients separate from the oil. (No refrigeration is necessary.)<br />
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Even though I’ve been exhausted from starting a new job and haven’t had much ambition to do a whole lot of anything, even blog, it’s nice to know that my readers still think of me. Sharon, from <a href="http://familyandfoodchronicles.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Family and Food Chronicles</a>, was kind enough to pass a blog award on to me last week, so I thought I’d better return the favor! So, without further ado…<br />
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According to tradition, I'm to pass on 15 "new or newly discovered" food blogs, and share 7 interesting tidbits about myself. As for the blogs that have recently captured my interest, these are among my favorites:<br />
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Michelle – <a href="http://www.browneyedbaker.com/" target="_blank">Brown-Eyed Baker</a><br />
Raven – <a href="http://ravienomnoms.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">RavieNomNoms</a><br />
Parsley Sage – <a href="http://psdeepdish.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Deep Dish</a><br />
Ally Lynn – <a href="http://www.bakingjourney.com/" target="_blank">Ally’s Baking Journey</a><br />
Vicki – <a href="http://wildeinthekitchen.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Wilde in the Kitchen</a><br />
Jackie – <a href="http://www.domesticfits.com/" target="_blank">Domestic Fits</a><br />
Christina - <a href="http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/" target="_blank">Sweet Pea's Kitchen</a><br />
Liren – <a href="http://kitchen-confidante.com/" target="_blank">Kitchen Confidante</a><br />
Chelsea – <a href="http://www.sprinklesofparsley.com/" target="_blank">Sprinkles of Parsley</a><br />
Christiane – <a href="http://www.takingonmagazines.com/" target="_blank">The Mom Chef</a><br />
Shellina – <a href="http://thefrugalflambe.com/" target="_blank">The Frugal Flambé</a><br />
Stacey – <a href="http://www.fourpointsfoodie.com/" target="_blank">The Four Points Foodie Blog</a><br />
Kristina – <a href="http://www.mylifeasamrs.com/" target="_blank">My Life as a Mrs.</a><br />
Sommer – <a href="http://aspicyperspective.com/" target="_blank">A Spicy Perspective</a><br />
Kay – <a href="http://myhomecookedmeals.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">My Home-Cooked Meals</a><br />
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As for the tidbits about myself…<br />
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1. I am a little bit OCD about grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Even in text messages, I refuse to shorten phrases (except Lol and the like, which just sounds weird if you write those out…) and always write as though actually writing on a piece of paper.<br />
2. I am OCD about washing my hands… People always think that it’s because I spent 6 years of my life working as a Certified Nursing Assistant, but I was obsessive about it even before then! I don’t like my fingers to be dirty at all. And on the rare occasion that I do use a public bathroom, I absolutely judge anyone who walks out without washing their hands. It makes me want to walk around the entire store disinfecting everything I touch, just in case they might have touched it before me!<br />
3. I am so completely thrilled to have found a job doing what I love most! Those darn early mornings are brutal, though…<br />
4. I am extremely amused by Adam Sandler. Even though some people don’t get it, my favorite of his movies is “Billy Madison.” It’s even better when watching it with my best friend, who also loves it!<br />
5. I have one entire bookshelf dedicated to my cookbooks, and am almost in need of another one. I am currently working on purchasing all of Alton Brown’s cookbooks (he’s my favorite celebrity chef)!<br />
6. I love the old television show, “I Love Lucy” and have almost every season on DVD. I can never seem to find Season 5 and the last set of discs which includes Seasons 7-9… If you ever see them, could you please let me know where?!<br />
7. I love experimenting with new ingredients and techniques. When I find or hear of something I’ve never had before, I start researching it extensively until I know as much as possible about it. One day, I’m going to take on a spherification project! :-)Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4315834236157201762.post-74411123578203250312011-05-30T08:16:00.000-05:002011-05-30T08:16:43.015-05:00Not Your Mama's Tater Tot CasseroleI’m not really big into casseroles and stuff like that. Perhaps it’s because my mother never really made them when we were growing up, so I’m more accustomed to real food… However, I always liked the idea of tater tot casserole. My only problem with the concept, though, is that it always seemed like a glorified Thanksgiving dinner side. Don’t get me wrong, I love green bean casserole! But, I wouldn’t want to make an entire meal of it… I don’t think.<br />
So, this idea came about because I just couldn’t get past the glorified green bean casserole idea. I know some people use mixed vegetables instead of the green beans, but I’m not a fan of cooked carrots so that doesn’t really work for me. Because I live in Wisconsin, there HAS to be plenty of cheese in my casserole! So, I started with some cheddar cheese soup. And, since we’re using tater tots on top of the dish, I thought the cream of potato soup would be a nice alternative. What I ended up with is a tater tot casserole that’s a little bit different but still tastes wonderful!<br />
As for the ground sirloin and ground chicken breast mixture, I’ve been doing that a lot lately as I’m becoming more and more health conscious. You can’t even taste the difference after it’s cooked, but I feel better because I know the chicken breast is very lean. Not to mention, it’s a great way to stretch your dollar, and who couldn’t use a little of that nowadays! Where I live, fresh chicken breasts go on sale at least once every month, for $2.99 (or less) per pound. Lean hamburger hardly ever goes on sale for that cheap… So, to save money and still be healthy, I combine the two, making a lean meat mixture that doesn’t taste “off.”<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F5AYzJj7b3I/TeOXWingqGI/AAAAAAAAAXA/Ga-0Kd6wqUU/s1600/S7304565%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="254" width="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F5AYzJj7b3I/TeOXWingqGI/AAAAAAAAAXA/Ga-0Kd6wqUU/s320/S7304565%25282%2529.jpg" /></a></div><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/sandieskitchenprintablerecipes/not-your-mama-s-tater-tot-casserole?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"Target="_blank">Printable Recipe</a><br />
<br />
1 lb. ground sirloin<br />
1 lb. ground chicken breast<br />
2 cloves garlic, minced<br />
Sea salt & Freshly ground black pepper<br />
1 (10¾ oz.) can cheddar cheese soup<br />
2 (10¾ oz.) cans cream of potato soup<br />
Splash of milk<br />
2 (15 oz.) cans peas with pearl onions<br />
2 c. shredded Colby jack cheese<br />
1 (32 oz.) bag tater tots<br />
<br />
Preheat the oven to 350°.<br />
In a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven, combine the ground sirloin and ground chicken breast, stirring and breaking up the pieces to combine. Brown the combined meat over medium heat until thoroughly cooked through. (Note: When using leaner meats like ground chicken or turkey breast and/or ground sirloin, it is not necessary to drain and rinse the meat as it is already quite lean. You’ll know that the meat is cooked through when nearly all of the liquid in the bottom of the pan has cooked off.) During the last minute or so of cooking, add the minced garlic and stir to combine; let the garlic cook in the mixture, stirring frequently, for a minute or two. Sprinkle sea salt and freshly ground black pepper over the meat when it is done cooking and stir to combine; remove from the heat.<br />
Drain the peas with pearl onions in a colander to drain off all of the liquid. In the same pan as the cooked ground meat, stir in the cheddar cheese and cream of potato soups. To thin out the mixture a little bit, if needed, add a little bit of milk. (You don’t want the mixture to be really soupy, because it’s going to cook and thin out a little more anyways.) Fold the peas with pearl onions into the mixture and pour into an 11 x 8-inch baking dish (2 quarts). Using a spatula, even out the mixture, and then sprinkle the top with 1 cup of the shredded cheese; arrange the tater tots on top of the cheese-covered mixture and bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes, until the meat and vegetable mixture is heated through and the tater tots are golden brown. Remove the casserole from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining cheese, return to the oven and bake an additional 5 - 10 minutes, or until the cheese on top is melted. Serve hot.Sandiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926623241033887449noreply@blogger.com2