Buffalo Chicken Dip-- From Amy!

Here's a recipe from my good friend Amy and the Big Apple.  I haven't tried it yet Amers, but I know Sean would love it!!!  Maybe for the Sugar Bowl!

* 1 block of cream cheese (8oz)
*1 jar Marie's Blue Cheese Dressing
*6 oz Franks Buffalo Hot Sauce (more if you want to be hotter)
*2 or 3 pieces of chicken (I usually grill it and then pull it a part but you could bake it in the oven)


*Mix everything together and put in bowl, top with Monterrey Jack shredded cheese and bake at 350 for 30 or so minutes. It should be bubbling.  Skim off any excess grease.

Winter Dessert Idea

Mint and chocolate go together like peas and carrots!  During this time of year, I love to make a chocolate cake... something completely rich and devious like a devil's food cake.  I frost it with vanilla peppermint frosting.  I buy vanilla frosting pre-made and stir in a 1/2 of a teaspoon of peppermint extract, then I frost my chocolate cake.  YUM! 

A cooking hangover

My success with the boeuf bourguignon has me completely pumped about the next big project!  Any ideas??

Boeuf Bourguignon--- OMG don't miss this!!!!

Boeuf Bourguignon is a rich beef stew cooked in red wine.  I've made it before in the crock pot, but man, that could not hold a candle to this recipe.  This might be my new favorite dish!

a drizzle of olive oil
1/2 lb of bacon, crumbled
2.5 lb of lean beef cut for stew (1-inch cubes)
1 lb of carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 tsp of fresh thyme
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups of dry red wine (I used a Burgundy)
about 2-3 cups of beef broth, just enough to almost cover the beef
1 tbls of tomato paste
5 tbls of unsalted butter, room temp. and divided
3 tbls of flour
1/2 lb of frozen pearl onions
1 lb of white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb of frozen peas- optional

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees
2. In a large dutch oven, drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil and slice and cook bacon until it's crispy.
3. While the bacon is crisping, dry the beef with a paper towel and season it with salt and pepper.
4. Remove bacon from the dutch oven with a slotted spoon.
5. Drain all but about 2 tbls of the oil from the pot
6. A few pieces at a time, put the beef into the hot pan with the remaining oil/bacon drippings and brown all sides of the beef.  Remove the beef and set aside... repeat until all the beef is browned on all sides (set it aside with the bacon).
7. While the beef is browning, slice the yellow onion and chop the carrots.
8.  In the remaining oil, saute the onion and carrots until the onions are soft.
9. Add minced garlic to the vegetables and cook for about 1-2 minutes more.  Garlic is bitter with it burns, so pay attention.
10. Return the beef, bacon, plus any excess juices to the pot with the vegetables.
11. Pour in the wine and enough beef broth to almost cover the beef, but not completely.
12. Add tomato paste and thyme.
13. Bring to a boil, then cover and put the dutch oven into the oven for approximately an hour and twenty minutes
14. After the hour and twenty minutes in the oven, the beef should be tender, remove the dutch oven and return it to the stove.
15. In a mug, combine 2 tbls of butter, 3 tbls of flour, and a small spoonful of the broth from the pot of stew.  Stir it until it's smooth then slowly pour it into the stew while stirring to thicken the sauce.
16. Add pearl onions and peas (optional).
17. As the onions simmer, saute the mushrooms with the 3 remaining tbls of butter, when soft, add them to the stew, try to omit the excess liquid.
18. Bring the stew back to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer for about 20 more minutes.
19. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

20. Serve with potatoes, rice, or buttered noodles....  I served it with mashed potatoes, peas, and crusty, French bread...  It was delicious!

Onion Apricot Sauce! Amazing on Pork Tenderloin.

Bring the flavor of a French bistro home with this very elegant onion apricot sauce.  It will wow your guests.  I have always served it with pork tenderloin, but I think it would be great on fish or any other white meat.

Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet valdalia onion, sliced into very thin rings
• 2-3 shallots, finely sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup of fruity white wine
• 1/2 cup of chicken broth
• 2 heaping tbsp of apricot jam
• 1/4 tsp of herbs de Provence (or a pinch of each: thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, basil)
• 2 tbsp of butter
• 1-2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1/4-1/2 tsp of sugar to add extra sweetness
• Salt and pepper

In a large sauce pan, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat.  Carmelize the onions, garlic, and shallots in the butter/oil with a bit of salt, pepper and sugar.  When the onions have softened, add the wine, chicken broth, jam, and herbs.  Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 40 minutes until the sauce has thickened.  Season with salt and pepper and serve over pork tenderloin.

Eggplant and Sundried Tomato Spread

I made this one Friday evening for an appetizer for Sean and me.  We started eating it with toasted baguette slices which I drizzle with olive oil.  It was so good, that we ate it all and skipped dinner!!!  It would be a perfect hors d'oeuvre for a holiday party.

Ingredients:

• 1 baguette, sliced and toasted with olive oil drizzled on it.

Spread:

• 1 eggplant
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1.5-2 table spoons of sundried tomatoes, its fine if a little of the oil goes into the food processor.
• 1 TBLS of fresh basil
• about 2 TBLS of olive oil
• salt and pepper

1. Cut the top off the eggplant and cut the eggplant in half from the top to bottom.
2. On  a cookie sheet, drizzle both sides of the eggplant with olive oil, and broil it on low, skin side up.
3. When the skin starts to wrinkle and the eggplant is tender, remove it from the oven.  Let it cool for a few minutes before handling.
4. Remove the eggplant skin or scoop out the center with a spoon. 
   Discard the skin.
5. In a food processor, combine the eggplant and the ingredients above, puree until smooth.  If necessary add more olive oil.
6. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy.

Ratatouille with Cannellini Beans

Ratatouille is traditional dish from Provence, France.  Basically, it's a hearty vegetable stew.  It can be eaten hot or cold and you can eat it alone or over pasta or rice.  It's extremely healthy and full of fiber!  I add cannellini beans to make it more substantial and to add extra fiber and protein.


Ingredients:
a few tbls of extra virgin olive oil
1 sweet onion-diced
4 cloves of garlic-minced
1 green bell pepper-diced
1 zucchini- sliced or cubed
1 eggplant- cut into cubes or sliced if you buy the mini eggplants (about 1 lb total)
1-2 yellow squash-sliced or cubed
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes- don't drain them
1 14 oz can of cannellini beans- drained and rinsed.


Seasoning:  I use fresh herbs from my garden, but if you don't have them, dried herbs are fine.  I didn't measure anything, but about a teaspoon of each maybe.
thyme
basil
oregano
rosemary
parsley
salt and pepper


In a large pot, drizzle about 2 tbls of olive oil (med high heat).  Saute the onion, pepper and garlic until it has soften.  Add zucchini, squash, and eggplant to the pot and saute them until they start to soften as well.  Add more olive oil if you need to.  Season with herbs, salt and pepper, and mix in the tomatoes and cannellini beans.  Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes.  The longer you simmer it together the better!

Enjoy. 

Yellow Squash Risotto

        There is a certain technique needed to make risotto.... something about slowly stirring in the liquid and then once it's absorbed, slowly stir in more... blah, blah, blah... I did not do it this way; however, my yellow squash risotto turned out to be great.

    For the rice:

• 3 cups of chicken broth
• 1 12 oz bag of abrorio rice
• 2 Tbls olive oil

    For cooking the vegetables:

• 1 lb of diced yellow squash
• 1 shallot, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 tbls of butter
• 1 tsp of thyme
• Salt and pepper

    1. Melt the butter in skillet, saute the vegetables together until they are soft. 


    2. When the rice is done cooking, add the vegetables and stir in 1.5 cups of freshly shredded Romano Cheese.


    Salt and pepper to taste.


Yummy!

Beef Enchilada Pie

6 tortillas (Full Size) (Flour)
2 10oz  cans of red enchilada sauce
1 big can of black beans, drained
1 large onion, diced
1 pound ground beef, extra lean
1 diced bell pepper
1 packet of taco seasoning
Salt, Pepper, and dash of cayenne pepper
2 cups of shredded cheese
3 cloves of garlic, minced

Cooking instructions:
1. In a large skillet cook the beef, diced pepper, diced onion and minced garlic.
3. In a large baking dish, pour enough enchilada sauce just to cover the bottom of the dish
4. Layer in two tortillas on the bottom of the dish.
5. Stir the drained black beans and taco seasoning into the beef and vegetables.
6. Cover tortillas with enchilada sauce and spoon the beef mixture on top. Cover with cheese.
7. Layer two more tortillas and repeat the process
8. Finish with cheese on top.
9. Bake at 400 degrees until bubbling and cheese is melted.

I'm a noodle

       My mom always told me that one day I was going to turn into a noodle, and though I'm still waiting for it to happen, I continue to eat more pasta than I should!  I know what you are thinking, "Oh, but what about the carbs!"  My response to that is, God did not intend for us to eat bacon all the time, Dr. Atkins!  Besides didn't he die of a heart condition... I know, I know, it wasn't due to his diet... fooy!  Anyways, I usually try to make my pasta heart healthy.   Most of the time, I use a whole wheat pasta, but tonight I was fresh out, so I decided to indulge! 
        I used my mandolin and thinly sliced 2 zucchinis and an onion.   I drizzled extra virgin olive oil into a large skillet, threw in the vegetables with 4 cloves of minced garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes.  As the vegetables softened, I diced 2 tomatoes, then I added them to the zucchini and onion.  I seasoned the dish with with freshly chopped basil, oregano, thyme, and of course plenty of salt and pepper. I cooked rigatoni until it was perfectly al dente, then I used a slotted spoon to transfer it to my veggies.  I garnished it with freshly, shredded Romano cheese.  To top off my heart healthy meal, I poured myself a glass of wine! 

French lamb chops

I know for many Americans, lamb is not in their regular repertoire of meals.  Growing up, we ate lamb on special occasions, but it was usually a leg of lamb or a roasted rack of lamb.  When I was studying in France, Agnes, the woman that I lived with, made lamb very often.  It was delicious and so easy to make.  She pan seared lamb chops in olive oil, garlic cloves cut in half, salt, and pepper.  I add fresh rosemary and thyme or some herbs de Provence.   She served it with the garlic and a bit of the sauce that it was cooked it!  I brought this easy way of cooking lamb home, and it is the number one request from my family if I'm doing the cooking!  Try it, you'll love it! 

Oh Tomato Sauce!!

Everyone believes that their mother or grandmother made the best tomato sauce in the world, but I have to say, they were all wrong, because my mom really did!!!  However, I'm sorry, but I just can't give away the family secret!  So instead, I'm off to the couch to fall into a small food como after eating my favorite meal in the world, the one I requested for every birthday as a child, and the one that I still turn to when I want to truly indulge, spaghetti and meatballs.... Good night!!!

Roasted Green beans, tomatoes, and potatoes

Yum!!!  Tonight, Sean and I had grill sirloins and roasted veggies.... The steak was amazing!  Sean marinated it in dijon mustard, olive oil, worcestershire, soy sauce, garlic powder, a dash of steak seasoning, salt and pepper.  Then he used meat tenderizer right before putting it on the grill.  It was good.

For my part in the meal, I roasted green beans, grape tomatoes, and potatoes (cut into very small cubes). 
I pressed 2 cloves of garlic, and I finely chopped 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary.  Mixed that into the veggies with olive oil and salt and pepper.  I roasted them at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or so.... just keep an eye on them. 

It was so good.  The green beans were kinda sweet, the tomatoes were rich, and the potatoes offer the right amount of starch!  Amazing!!

Spinach and Tomato Frittata with Swiss and Gruyere Cheese

This morning, I woke Sean up with breakfast in bed!  It was such an easy way to treat him to something yummy and to show him how important he is to me.  Here's the recipe!

• 6 eggs and 2 Tbls of milk wisked together- season with salt and pepper
• 1 onion diced
• 1 cup of frozen chopped spinach
• 1 tomato seeded and diced
• 1 tbls spoon of butter
• 1 cup of shredded swiss and guyere cheese.

1. In a ten inch, nonstick skillet, melt the butter and saute the onion until soft.
2. Add frozen spinach, saute until defrosted
3. Add tomato and saute for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper
5. Pour egg mixture into the pan and make sure that the eggs disburses through out.
6. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes until the frittata is still, but liquidy on top.
7. Sprinkle with cheese.
8. Place pan of frittata in the broiler uncovered, until golden brown and until it passes the tooth pick doneness test.  It took min about 12 minutes maybe.
9. Remove and let cool for a few minutes, then slide onto a plate, slice, and enjoy!

Sheperd's Pie

Comfort food is just the thing I need when I have a long hard day.  Sheperd's pie is warm and full of flavor!!! 

• 1- 1.5 lb of ground low fat beef
• 3 baking potatoes
• about 2 cups of frozen mixed veggies.
• 3-4 Tbls of flour
• one medium onion-diced
• one clove of garlic-minced
• 2.5 cups of beef broth
• thyme, rosemary, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper to flavor the beef
• 1 tbls of butter
• milk, butter and sour cream for mashed pototoes
• 1/2-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Peel and cube potatoes and boil in salty water for about 20 minutes to make mashed potatoes.
2. In a pan, cook beef with the onion and garlic.  Season with a dash of thyme, rosemary, paprika, garlic powder and salt and pepper.
3. With a slotted spoon transfer the beef into a large baking dish, spread it out and cover the bottom of the dish, leaving the excess beef fat in the pan.
4. Spread frozen veggies atop the beef.
5. In pan, there should be a very little bit of fat left from the "low" fat beef.  Add the butter and melt, then pour in 2 cups of the beef broth, simmer and reduce for about 3 minutes, you might want to add some more seasoning.
6. In the meantime, in a cup, add flour and about half a cup of broth.  Stir until smooth... it should be thinner than pancake batter, but still thick.
7.  Turn off the heat to the simmering, beef broth and slowly wisk in the flour mixure.  You are making gravy... you WILL NOT need all the flour mixture.  You just want the sauce to thicken into a gravy.
8.  Pour your gravy over the beef and veggies.
9.  Drain potatoes and mash with milk, butter, sour cream... season as desired.
10. Spread mashed potatoes on top and sprinkle with cheese. 
11. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until it is heated all the way through.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Thanks Chrissy for always sharing your recipes!


1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts

shredded Cheddar cheese
sour cream
crushed tortilla chips

Place the onion, kidney beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.

Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired


Enjoy!

Corn and Crab Chowder

Another great recipe from Chrissy....

CORN CRAB CHOWDER


2 TBSP butter
3 cups Half & Half
2-3 Slices bacon
2 cups chicken broth
1 medium onion,
chopped 1 cup frozen home fries (cubed potatoes)
1/2 red bell pepper,
chopped 6 ounces lump crab meat
2 tsp Tabasco
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
 2 ribs celery chopped
2 TBSP flour
4 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)

Melt butter. Add bacon, onions, bell pepper, celery and thyme. Season with salt, pepper, hot sauce and Old Bay. Stir in flour and cook a minute or two. Whisk in half and half, then add broth. Bring soup to a simmer and then stir in potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are cooked and soup has thickened slightly--should coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Add crabmeat and corn. Cook until meat and corn is hot.

Fish in dill dijon sauce

I'm not a big fish eater, but I do try to eat it for health reasons.  I like white, flaky fish like cod and flounder.  I usually bread it and pan saute it with lemon.  However, here is a recipe to bake it.

• 2 fish filets (I used cod)
• For the sauce, mix the follow ingredients together
• 2 shallots finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of sour cream
• 1 tbls of milk
• 1tbls of dijon mustard
• 1/2 tbls of dried dill
• 1/2 tbls of lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Pour the sauce over the fish and bake for about 15 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.

German Potato and Sauerkraut Pie

Today I'm going to an Oktoberfest party and I am making a very authentic dish... It's almost like making a quiche, but with a German twist!

• 8 oz of sauerkraut, drain and use a towel to squeeze it dry.
• 2 baking pototoes peeled and shredded
• 8 slices of bacon sliced and crumbled
• 2 teaspoons of caraways seeds
• salt/peepr
• 3-4 eggs depending on size and amount of potato
• A dash of dry mustard powder
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 9" pie shell

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Combine eggs and cream, whisk together.
In a mixing bowl combine pototoes, kraut, bacon, caraway seeds, and salt and pepper.  Mix in the eggs and cream and pour it all into the pie shell.  Bake for about 35 minutes.   Serve with a cold beer!!

Split Pea Soup

This is for you Diana, I hope you enjoy!

1- 1lb bag of grean split peas
1- med. onion diced
4-5 cloves of garlic minced
about 1 cup of shredded carrots
2-3 ribs of celery (leaves and all)-diced
1 bay leaf
Fresh parsley chopped
Salt and peepr
1.5 quarts of water
1/2 lb of diced ham

Rinse the peas, then toss all the ingredients into a pot and bring it to a boil.  Simmer until the peas are soft and it's soup.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  You can eat it either thick and chunky or you can puree it using a hand blender.
Enjoy!

Roasted Bellpepper Bruschetta

This is a beautiful and very health side dish or a great appetizer.  You can use the big or the small bellpeppers depending on the look you are trying to accomplish.

• Red, Yellow, and Orange bellpeppers
• Tomotoes-diced
• Red onions-diced
• Garlic-minced
• Fresh Basil-chopped
• Buffulo Mozzerella-sliced
• Salt and pepper
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cut the bellpeppers down the center from top to bottom and remove the seeds to make little bowls.
In mixing bowl combine tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil, salt and pepper.  Add the bruschetta to the bellpepper bowls and drizzle olive oil on the top.  Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.  Then take them out and top them with the mozzerella and return to the oven for about 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.  Remove from the oven and serve with Fresh bread or toasted crustinis with melted parmesan cheese (Yum!).

Thanksgiving Meatloaf

I love Thanksgiving.  I love the smells, the colors, the crisp, cool air, and of course, the flavors.  I wanted to make a meal that incorporated all the flavors of the season, but was easy enough to make all year round.

• 1- 1.5 lb of ground turkey
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup of milk
• 1-2 cups of seasoned stuffing (I used Stove Top Stuffing, chicken flavored)
• 1 14.5 oz can of whole cranberries in sauce
• 1 small onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic diced
• 2 stalks of celery very finally diced
• 1 tsp of dried yellow mustard
• Fresh thyme, rosemary, and parsley
• Salt and pepper

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients mentioned above and 2tbl of the cranberry sauce.  Work the ingredients together and then form the loaf.  Take another couple tablespoons of the cranberry sauce on the top of the loaf and then place it into the oven at 350 degrees for about 1 hour and ten minutes or until cooked through.  Allow to stand for about 10-15 minutes before cutting it and serving. 

Serve it with the rest of the cranberry sauce and some turkey gravy.  I also served it with brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes... it was like a slice of Thanksgiving in October!! Yum!

Pasta Carbonara

I mentioned that I wanted to post my next great culinary masterpieces and also the disasters!  Well this is both!  I was making carbonara from memory when I made a major mistake, and my pasta all the sudden was full of scrambled eggs!  Yuck, I hate eggs!  So I had to pour out the pasta and make more...  Needless to say, once I started over, it did turn out to be great!  So here is the "great" version!

• 1 lb of pasta (I used angel hair)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 2 shallots
• 1 onion
• a dash of red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
• fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper
• about 8 slices of bacon, chopped and cooked

1. Start to boil the water for pasta.  Add the pasta when ready.   Cook until the pasta is al dente.
2. Chop and cook bacon.
3. Chop onion, shallots, and garlic.
4. Take out cooked bacon, and place it on paper towels to drain.
5. Pour out bacon grease and drizzle olive oil into bacon pan and add onions, garlic and shallots.  Saute until browning.
6. Add the white wine and red pepper flakes and reduce the liquid by half.
7. Beat egg yolks and add about 3/4 a cup of pasta water to eggs and whisk rigorously!
8. Add drianed pasta to onion mixture pan.  Also add in the bacon, cheese, egg mixture, parsley, salt and pepper. 
9. Toss the pasta until the liquid is absorbed.
10. Enjoy

(I've added peas to this too and it was great!)

Rub some flavor on me!!! (chicken rub)

So this is a really good chicken rub... when I made it, I didn't measure anything; however, I did about equal parts of everything other than the cayenne pepper of course...

• Salt and pepper
• Ground Coriander
• Yellow mustard powder
• Paprika
• Garlic Powder
• Dried thyme
• Dried parsley
• Fresh lemon zest, about 1/4 - 1/2 of a lemon.
• Cayenne pepper--- careful this is very spicy!

Rub it on the chicken then put it on the grill on medium to high heat, until the chicken is cooked through!  It's finger lickin' good!

Bon Appetit!

A recipe idea sent from Provence, France

When I was 19 years old, I bravely flew across the Atlantic to spend my summer with a French family in Avignon.  Avignon is in the region of Provence, which is located in the south of France.  I was intoxicated by the relaxed lifestyle and the overwhelming fragrance of fresh lavendar, which seems to fill the air at all times.  Naive and ignorant, I began to realize that my own culture, though abudant, is somewhat lacking in flavor.  So it was there, in France, where I began to slowly expand my immature palate.  Philippe, my gracious host, has send me a recipe for Salmorejo.  This is a Spanish soup, which he tells me is from rural Seville.  I also have attached a link in which you can find the recipe.  This soup seems to be similar to gazpacho, which is a cold, tomato soup- perfect for a hot summer day!!  Bon Appetit!!!

http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/special/2004/slow/salmorejo.html

Parmesan Potatoes

Thanks for the picture Jessica!!!

This recipe is from my sister, Dana.  They are absolutely amazing!!!  You can't get enough of them!!!

1. Melt 1/3 cup butter in 9 X 13 baking dish

2. Mix the following in a ziploc bag:

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour, tsp salt & tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese

3. Peel 6 potatoes and slice into wedges. Add them to the ziploc bag and shake. Lay potatoes over butter in dish and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Turn and sprinkle potatoes with leftover flour/ chz mixture and bake 30 more minutes.

Pesto Pork Tenderloin with roasted garlic and Spinach Orzo

Ohhh so easy....

Pesto Pork Tenderloin

• One pork tenderloin
• 2 tbl spoons of your favorite jarred pesto... (I used Classico).
• 1/4 a cup of Parmesan Cheese
• Salt and pepper
• One full bulb, yes a bulb of garlic 

Preheat oven to 475F.

 

Remove whole cloves of garlic from the bulb and split them in half.
Place on to a sheet of foil and drizzle with olive oil.  Close foil to make an air tight sack.  Place in oven on the rack next to the pork.

 

Salt and pepper the pork tenderloin on both sides.
Rub both sides of pork tenderloin with pesto.
Sprinkle shredded parmesan cheese on top
Insert thermometer to the thickest part of the tenderloin, cook for about 30-40 or until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. 
Remove from oven and let it sit for 15 under a foil tent.

 

Slice and serve with roasted garlic.

 

 

Spinach Orzo

 

I did not measure anything here; however, I have to say that I did something right... because I didn't even need to drain it!! 

 

Here it is....
Cook orzo in a couple cups of chicken broth.
Add about 1.5 cups of frozen spinach to about a half a box of orzo.
A lot of minced garlic, about 5 cloves.
Parmesan Cheese about 3/4 a cup.
Salt, Pepper and a squeeze a lemon wedge into mixture.

Super Sweet Butternut Squash Bisque

Every year, I welcome autumn with a warm bowl of butternut squash bisque.  I have not yet made it this fall; however, my sister, Erin has requested the recipe... so here it is.  Erin, I hope you and Michael enjoy it!!!  Syd and Pickle too!

Ingredients:

• One butternut squash- peeled, seeded, and cubed
• 1 sweet potato- cubed
• 2 carrots
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 small onion
• 2 14 oz cans of chicken broth
• 28 oz of water
• 1/2 pint of cream
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tbls of brown sugar
• season with salt and pepper

1. In a pan, saute the onion and garlic in the butter until soft, then add them to the pot. 
2. In a large pot, add the squash, stock, water, carrots, and sweet potato.  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30-40 minutes... until the squash, carrots and potato are soft when poke with a fork.
3. Add sugar and cinnamon 
4. In a food processor, blend the soup until smooth.
5. Return to the pot to reheat and to add cream.
6. Salt and pepper to taste.
Bon appetit!!!

Hi all, please let me know what you think of the site or the recipes. Don't be shy... write a comment!
Kristin

Flank Steak with Chimichurri

Chimichurri sauce

• 1 cup of olive oil
• 2 limes juiced
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1 tbl spoon of each of the following herbs, chopped: parsley, basil, thyme, and oregano.
• Season with salt and pepper.

Use half of the sauce as a marinade and the other half is served with the meat.

Flank Steak:

• 2 Flank steaks 1 lb each
• unseasoned meat tenderizer

Marinate the meat in the refrigerator in half of the chimichurri sauce for at least 2-3 hours.  Remove from the refrigerator and allow the steak to reach room temperator, about 20 minutes before grilling.  Sprinkle each side of the steak with meat tenderizer and subsequently poke holes in the steak, all over.  Immediately, put the meat on the grill on Medium Heat. Cook the steak on indirect heat for 5 minutes, on direct Heat for 5-8 minutes and 5 minutes on indirect heat again. All of this with the grill top closed.

Make sure not to over cook the flank steak or it will become chewing. You want the meat at Medium Rare or Medium.

Bon Appetit!!

Latin Style Beans

This is a very easy recipe to make before hand.  In fact, I've found that marinating them over night really brings out the flavors. 

• 1 onion
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can of kidney beans, drained
• 1 (14.5 oz) can of black beans, drained
• 1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes, drained
• about a teaspoon of each garlic salt and paprika
• Salt and pepper
• Top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Stir together the ingredients in a baking dish, top with cheese, and bake at 350F until cheese is starting to brown and the liquid is bubbling.  app. 30 minutes. 

Served with yellow rice.

Last night, we hosted a small dinner party in honor of the Miami vs. FSU football game.  Not that Sean and I particularly like either of these teams, but our neighbors are huge Miami fans.  Sean and I are Gators ourselves.  Nevertheless, Sean loves football, and I love to cook, even if he did the majority of the cooking last night.  Our decadent meal was comprised of flank steak with chimichurri sauce, beans, yellow rice, and thanks to our neighbors, guacamole with chips.   Stay tuned for the recipes!!!

Broccoli Citron

We all know that broccoli is good for us... Some love it, some hate it, and some are simply indifferent to it.  I fall under the third category.  However, I love it cooked like this...

Saute your broccoli with garlic and onions in a little Olive Oil and season with salt and pepper.  When it is just about done cooking squeeze in fresh lemon juice.  The amount varies on how much you are making, but taste it as you cook.  Enjoy.

You'll love it!!

Fun fact about broccoli... Europeans have been eating it for 2000 years.  But it wasn't until the Italians started to immigrate to the US that it became widely known here.  That wasn't until the 1920's!!!

The perfect picnic day!

It's gorgeous out!  Go for a picnic... bring some champagne, cheese, fruit, a summer sausage and French bread.  Keep it simple and delicious!!

Shrimp and Grits, a la Chrissy!!!

My favorite little cajun friend sent me this recipe!!!  Thanks Chrissy D.!  I haven't made it yet, but I will very soon!
Kristin



Shrimp and Grits:


2 lbs shrimp (peeled de veined)

1 sweet onion quartered

1/4 cup melted butter

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp lemon juice (or juice of one lemon)

1 tbsp Old bay

1 tsp cayenne

1 clove garlic minced

1 tbsp parsley (dried)

2 bay leaves

 Place shrimp in 13 x 9 casserole dish, scatter onion and bay leaves throughout.


In a bowl combine melted butter, worcestershire, lemon, old bay, cayenne, garlic, and parsley.


Pour mixture over shrimp and give it a little toss to coat. Place in oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

 Grits:



5 cups milk

1 cup grits

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 cups cheese

8-ounce cream cheese stick





Bring 5 cups milk and garlic powder to boil. (be careful, the milk will burn if not stirred!) Add grits, stir until thickened. Once thick add cheese and cream cheese. Once everything is melted the grits will be ready. This is so good I could eat just the grits for a meal!

J'adore la quiche!!!

Quiche is really an easy and impressive dish!  It can be many different flavors, so I'm going to give you the basics and you should modify it with your favorite flavors.  My favorite quiche is spinach, swiss cheese, onions, and bacon.  However, Quiche Lorraine is delicious too; it's cheese, onions, and ham or bacon.  The important thing to know when making quiche is saute the onions before adding them, so that they release some of their liquid. Another trick I have learned is to insert a tooth pick into the center of the quiche;  when it comes out clean, the quiche is done.

You will need....

• 1 frozen pie crust
• 1 tbsp spoon of dijon mustard
• 3 eggs
• 1.5 cups of light cream
• salt and pepper
• and whatever fillings you want to add.  Again, don't add anything that's too watery.

Here is my recipe for spinach, bacon, cheese and onions...  (If you have extra, make another quiche... they freeze well.)

• You will need the ingredients mentioned above.
• about 1 cup of frozen chopped spinach
• 1 cup of swiss cheese, shredded.
• 1 small onion, diced and sauted until soft and browning
• about 6 slices of chopped cooked bacon
• 3-4 thin slices of tomato

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. Cook the onion as mentioned above
3. Spread dijon mustard into the pie crust with a basting brush
4. Whisk together cream and eggs
5. Add the cooked bacon, onions, cheese and frozen spinach to the egg and cream mixture. Then salt and pepper and stir well.
6. Pour mixture into the pie crust.
7. Sprinkle with cheese and spread the tomato slices on top.
8. Bake for about 35-45 mins... until golden brown and the tooth pick is coming out clean.
9. Allow time to cool then Enjoy!!!

Onion and Tomato soup

This is probably my favorite soup!!  It's warm and comforting and full of flavor. When I cook, I always go by my instinct... I very rarely measure things, so if you want more or less of something... then change it up.  It is both hearty and light, as well as, salty and sweet!!

• 3-4 Italian sauages, removed from casings
• app. 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 1 tbl of butter
• 3 big vidalia onions, sliced thinly
• about 5-6 cloves of garlic diced
• app. 2 teaspoons of sugar
• about 1.25 quarts of chicken stock
• about one big can of diced tomatoes, or 2 (14.5 oz) cans don't drain them! 
• splash of red wine (optional)
•  fresh basil... but add this to meet your tastes... I always add a lot!!
• (optional-- a can of cannellini beans or some orzo pasta)
• salt/pepper
•  parmesan cheese, to serve.

1. Remove the sausage from the casings and cook in a pan.   
2. While the sausage is cooking, in a large pot, saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil and butter.  Add the sugar.  (Add the splash of wine if you decided to use it.)  Cook until soft and browning, about 15-20 minutes.  Stir frequently.  Don't let the garlic burn or it will taste bitter.
3. When the onions are soft, add the chicken stock, tomatoes with the juice, and sausage to the pot.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil, and give it a stir. 
4. Simmer for about a half hour...  If neccessary, add more stock... the thickness is up to you.
5. Before serving, add chopped basil and garnish with parmesan!!

ENJOY!!!

French Pizza

So Sean, my husband, named this dish.  I won't call everything French, I promise.  It's like a pizza, but was lighter and very fresh tasting.  It would be great bits of bacon too!! 

1 frozen puff pastry sheet thawed
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 package of white mushrooms, thinly sliced
10 oz of fresh baby spinach
4 oz of feta cheese (or any cheese that you like)
1 medium tomato diced and drain any extra liquid
Salt, pepper, and olive oil

1. preheat oven to 400F
2. sprinkle a little bit of flour on a cookie sheet and spread out the puff pastery.   Bake it for about 15 minutes, until golden brown.
3. While it's cooking, saute onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil until it's golden brown.
4.  In larger pan, saute the mushrooms in a bit of olive oil and cover the pan until they are soft.  Add the spinach until it's wilted.  Drain any extra liquid.
5. Spread the spinach and mushroom mixture on cooked pastry.
6. Top the spinach with the onions and garlic.
7. Sprinkle the cheese and tomatoes on top.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes.
Then serve and enjoy!!

Salutations!

Hello and welcome to my blog. First, let me introduce myself, my name is Kristin. I'm a French teacher at a local high school. Perhaps, it is my French studies that have led me here today... to creating this blog. When asked in college why I was studying French... I simply replied, "I want to eat well and travel." Well, the French peoples' seemingly innate sense of savoir vivre has rubbed off on me, and now I find myself constantly dreaming about my next great culinary creation, or disaster!

I've never done anything like this before... in fact, I can't express to you how proud of myself I am right now for figuring out how to create a blog! With this blog, I was hoping to log some of my recipes... for food, for life, and of course for fun.... It also is going to get my good friend Jessica, who inspired me to do this, off my back for not sending her enough of my recipes. I hope you will share your ideas and recipes with me too. Thank you so much for reading my blog... and finally bon appetit!!
Kristin