First food I ate in 2012

Since we had our bestest couple friends come over for New Years Eve, I knew I wanted to be prepared for breakfast the next day. And I knew that I didn't want to be messing around in the kitchen just in case I woke up with a headache :) This recipe jumped out to me thanks to the hash brown crust :) I'm a sucker for anything potato. This was a very easy recipe to put together.

The flavors were mellow in the Quiche and I think I would have preferred a little more punch. Maybe a few jalapenos (finely chopped) or an addition of a sharp cheddar cheese would have given it just a little more flavor. But the great thing about this quiche is that you can add or leave out whatever you like!! Very easy to cater to your tastes. And the nice thing about this Quiche is that you can make it in advance... just pull the quiche out of the fridge about 30-45 minutes before you are going to eat, cut a slice and heat it up in the microwave. I thought about putting it in the oven to heat up but I didn't want to heat up the entire quiche, just the slices I cut for us to eat.



Goat Cheese Quiche with Hash Brown Crust
(adapted from Martha Stewart) – serves 8

2 tablespoons butter, softened, plus more for pan
1 package (1 lb) frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
10 large eggs
Sea salt and ground pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
half of one yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup baby spinach
1 1/2 cups reduced-fat sour cream
1 package (4 oz) soft goat cheese, room temperature
4 scallions, thinly sliced


Preheat oven to 375˚F.


Brush a 9-by-2 1/2-inch springform pan with butter, and line the sides of the pan with strips of parchment paper (same height as pan); brush paper with butter. (I forgot to brush the outside of the paper but all turned out okay)

Squeeze excess moisture from thawed hash browns. Mix hash browns in a bowl with butter, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Press into bottom and up sides of prepared pan, using a moistened dry measuring cup. Place on a rimmed baking sheet; bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges start to turn slightly golden brown. (My hash browns were thawing enough for this impatient chick so I threw them into the microwave for a few minutes to hurry up the process... worked fine)

Saute the onion in a pan with the olive oil for about 2 minutes, then add the red pepper and saute for another minute, then add the baby spinach and saute for 2-3 minutes until the spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk sour cream, goat cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until well combined; whisk in 9 remaining eggs. Then stir in the red pepper-spinach mixture.

Pour the egg mixture into the hash brown crust, and sprinkle the top with scallions. Bake until the quiche is set, 45 to 50 minutes. Tap the side of the pan, if the sides of the quiche are set and the middle is slightly jiggly, the quiche is done.

Unmold quiche, and peel off parchment paper before serving.

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto



I received a couple of butternut squashes in my Farmhouse Delivery (more on that later) and I didn't really know what to do with them. I stared at them for a week or two before I figured that i could just roast them and throw them into another dish. I haven't really cooked with them before so I wanted to find a recipe that would incorporate the squash but not totally highlight it.

I started off by roasting the squash, which is pretty simple. Quarter up the squash, remove the seeds (which looks a lot like pumpkin), use a little olive oil, sprinkle on some salt/pepper and stick it in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes. If you wanted a sweeter flavor you could also layer on some OJ or maple syrup on the squash. I figured that the squash is sweet on it's own and I didn't want the extra calories so I didn't add it.

Once the squash was done cooking, I let it cool down and scooped out the flesh and chopped it up and added it to the risotto which was almost done cooking (recipe below). We were really happy with the final result! The risotto was nice and creamy and the squash added a nice flavor without being to overpowering.





Basic Risotto Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
•1½ cups arborio rice
•1 qt chicken stock
•½ cup white wine
•1 medium shallot or ½ small onion, chopped (about ½ cup)
•3 Tbsp unsalted butter
•1 Tbsp vegetable oil
•¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
•1 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley
•Kosher salt, to taste
Preparation:
1.Heat the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan, then lower the heat so that the stock just stays hot.


2.In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil and 1 Tbsp of the butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the chopped shallot or onion. Sauté for 2-3 minutes or until it is slightly translucent.


3.Add the rice to the pot and stir it briskly with a wooden spoon so that the grains are coated with the oil and melted butter. Sauté for another minute or so, until there is a slightly nutty aroma. But don't let the rice turn brown.


4.Add the wine and cook while stirring, until the liquid is fully absorbed.


5.Add a ladle of hot chicken stock to the rice and stir until the liquid is fully absorbed. When the rice appears almost dry, add another ladle of stock and repeat the process.

Note: It's important to stir constantly, especially while the hot stock gets absorbed, to prevent scorching, and add the next ladle as soon as the rice is almost dry.


6.Continue adding ladles of hot stock and stirring the rice while the liquid is absorbed. As it cooks, you'll see that the rice will take on a creamy consistency as it begins to release its natural starches.


7.Continue adding stock, a ladle at a time, for 20-30 minutes or until the grains are tender but still firm to the bite, without being crunchy. If you run out of stock and the risotto still isn't done, you can finish the cooking using hot water. Just add the water as you did with the stock, a ladle at a time, stirring while it's absorbed.


8.Stir in the remaining 2 Tbsp butter, the parmesan cheese and the parsley, and season to taste with Kosher salt.


9.Risotto turns glutinous if held for too long, you should serve it right away. A properly cooked risotto should form a soft, creamy mound on a dinner plate. It shouldn't run across the plate, nor should it be stiff or gluey.

Summer Pasta Salad

I am always on the look out for new recipes for cold salads/sides for the summer. This recipe really stood out for me,,, love the dressing, love the grilled veggies and you can't go wrong with the pasta :) We paired this salad with hamburgers, but it is fairly versatile and would go with many dishes. The garlic I used for the sauce was potent and was more garlic flavor than I wanted. Next time I'll adjust the amounts depending on how strong the garlic is.

Creamy Garlic Parmesan Dressing

1/4 cup mayo (I used olive oil mayo)

1/4 cup sour cream (non-fat is fine)

3 tablespoons of low fat greek yogurt

1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste

1/2 teaspoon garlic that’s been pushed through a garlic press (I used 1 larger clove of garlic, and the dish had a very strong garlic flavor, which I liked but wanted to warn you guys)

3/4 cup shredded Parmesan

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together. Toss with pasta and grilled vegetables, below.

Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

1 recipe Creamy Garlic Parmesan Dressing, above

12 ounce box Ronzoni Garden Delight Rotini or pasta of choice (next time I would only use half of the box so that way it would be more of a veggie dish than a pasta dish)

3/4 ounce can of corn, rinsed and drained (I cut the corn off of 2 ears of fresh corn)

1 medium-large zucchini

1 small egg plant

1 red onion

Olive oil

Granulated garlic powder

Granulated onion powder

Salt & pepper

1. Make the pasta according to package directions. Drain and run under cold water.2. Meanwhile, turn the grill to medium-high. Slice the onion, zucchini and eggplant large enough they don’t fall through the grates. Season well with oil, granulated garlic, granulated onion, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Grill until char marks form and veggies are tender. Chop into small bite sized pieces and cool to room temperature.3. In a large bowl, toss pasta with dressing and vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste if needed. Serve immediately or chill until ready to use.

Quick Breakfast

I need to eat breakfast every morning and I'm not a donut type of a gal, I need substance. During the week some mornings I make scrambled eggs, eat hard boiled eggs, or have a bagel. I have a breakfast casserole that is delish, but then I found this recipe. Breakfast bites... sure, I'll give you a try! This recipe is very simple and yet you can totally add what you like to the mixture so that your breakfast bites are just the way you want them.

Breakfast Bites

12 eggs
splash of milk
1/2 cup shredded cheese
about a quarter cup of chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped ham or bacon

Crack eggs and beat with the milk. Spray your muffin tin with some type of cooking spray and then use a 1/3 cup and fill up the muffin tin. Once you have filled up the muffin tins with egg, then add in your toppings along with a pinch of salt and pepper. I debated on just adding the toppings into the eggs, but I wanted to have a more uniformed muffin, with equal toppings so I just added the toppings to the eggs once in the muffin tin. Put the muffins into a 350 degree oven and cook for 30 minutes.

Different view on eggs Toppings- I used cheddar, sliced ham, diced green chilies, and onions

These breakfast bites turned out pretty good. They reheat okay, but they develop a little bit of a crust type topping that I am not in love with. I'll be trying a few different versions to see if I can get it right, ya know, the way I like them :)

Hearty Pork Soup


I have had a couple of cans of Hominy in my pantry for months now. I have wanted to use it, but I either forget to add it to a dish or I just plain ol' forgot I had it. I had hominy in dishes at a few restaurants and knew I liked it so I wasn't worried about that. I found this recipe at the right time... I had just made carnitas (shredded pork) and I had a bunch left over. I used the shredded pork instead of cooking the pork tenderloin. I simply used the same spices by sprinkling them on my shredded pork while heating them up in the pan. You could also just add the spices to the veggies while they are cooking if you are using left over pork for this recipe.

This soup was hearty yet not heavy since it is broth based and not cream based. I look forward to making this again because it was so easy and very tasty.

Ancho Pork and Hominy Stew
Adapted from: Cooking Light, December 2009
(found here http://tinyurl.com/4mt6ky2)


2 tablespoons ancho chile powder (Central Market has this in bulk, but for those of you living outside of Austin, check with Whole Foods in their bulk section. This is a spice that gives a smoky flavor without the spiciness)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika (see above about finding it in bulk sections at your grocery store)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 1/2 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can hominy, drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained (such as Hunt's)

In a large bowl, combine first 5 ingredients (ancho chile powder through salt). Set 1 1/2 teaspoons of the spice mixture aside. Toss pork with remaining spice mixture in bowl, making sure each piece is coated.In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add pork to dutch oven and cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove pork from pan; set aside. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan. (This is where I started since I already had my left over shredded pork ready to go) Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add the pork back to pan along with the reserved 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture, broth, hominy, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes.Serves: 6

Twist on Lasagna

Last week I made a ton of spaghetti meat sauce and I didn't really have a plan for it until I saw a package of gnocchi in the pantry. I thought I would make a dish similar to lasagna but I would use gnocchi instead of pasta.

If you are unfamiliar with gnocchi, they are potato style pasta in the form of a dumpling. I have not tried to make this myself (although it is on my list of things to do) but I find the boxed variety to be a good substitute for a quick meal.

Little gnocchi

I boiled a box of the gnocchi for just a few minutes. I wasn't sure if I could just put the uncooked gnocchi in the pan since it was going to be baked, but I went on the safe side and boiled them for a few minutes.The next layer was a combination of a container of ricotta cheese, an egg, a cup of mozzarella, half cup of Parmesan, a few tablespoons of chopped parsley, a few tablespoons of chopped onion, and a chopped up piece of garlic. Mix it all up and spread it over the gnocchi.

Next comes the sauce.... I had a combination of turkey and ground beef sauce that I had made before. I just kept throwing stuff into the pot to make it, so I don't have exact ingredients, but has ground beef, turkey, can of fire roasted tomato's, about a half of an onion, a few cloves of garlic, tomato paste, some spices... cook it all up and let it simmer for about 1.5 hrs.

Or you can use plain old spaghetti sauce from a jar if you want an even quicker dinner!!

Once it was all layered I cooked it for about 40 minutes in 350 degree oven. This does not look very pretty once you scoop it out of the pan, but it is quite good!! And it makes for excellent leftovers! Next time I'd like to add some spinach or a layer of zucchini and squash

Eating Right in 2011

I was thumbing through my Cuisine at Home magazine when I came across a section was lightened up pasta sauces. I immediately zoned into the Alfredo sauce because I normally avoid it like the plague because of the calories and fat. I knew I wanted to throw some broccoli and shrimp in with the pasta to make a meal, so on I went to Central Market to pick up some things. I knew I wanted a good Parmesan cheese to use, since it was the only cheese in the dish.

I actually had high hopes for this sauce, thinking it would be a great substitute but it fell a little short. The sauce was a little flavorless but it had a nice consistency. Next time I plan on adding a LOT more cheese, I think that will help. Sure, it won't be as light weight as it could be but oh well. Jim and I agreed that this was totally edible but it is a reminder that we are trying to eat better. I want to find those dishes that are good for us and DON'T taste like it!

Lite Alfredo Sauce

from Cuisine at Home magazine

Blend:

2 cups skim milk (we had 1% so I used that)

1 cup park skim ricotta cheese

2/3 cup 2% Greek-style yogurt

1/4 cup minced onion

2 Tbsp chopped garlic

1 tsp kosher salt

1.2 tsp ground nutmeg

Heat:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or 4 tbs unsalted butter

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

zest of 1 lemon

Black pepper

Blend milk, ricotta, yogurt, onion, garlic, salt, and nutmeg in a blender until smooth.

Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat, whisk flour until smooth. Whisk blended mixture until smooth. Simmer sauce until it thickens (for me took about 10 minutes). Stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano, zest and pepper.

Soup!

I am always happy when the temperatures start to dip because it feels like soup, chili, and stew weather. Eating a steaming bowl of food doesn't always sound appetizing when it is 90 degrees out with 100% humidity. I was in search to make something that I haven't tried before and a soup that wasn't cream based. I saw this recipe on Foodgawker.com and thought it looked really good. And now that we just celebrated Thanksgiving, you can use the left over turkey instead of chicken. This recipe didn't have much of a kick to it, but it has a really nice flavor. Next time I'll probably add a Serrano pepper to the stock while it is cooking to give a little heat to it. I have also toyed with the idea of adding hominy to it, but I haven't really used hominy before so I wanted to do a little research before I make that leap.

Tortilla Soup

courtesy of Beso for Food Network Magazine

3 dried mulato or ancho chile peppers


1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil


1 onion, sliced


3 cloves garlic, smashed


1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes


1 tablespoon coriander seeds (or roughly 2 tsp ground coriander)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

8 cups low-sodium chicken broth


2 bay leaves


4 sprigs fresh thyme

Kosher salt


1 to 2 grilled chicken breasts, sliced
(I bought one of the fully cooked rotisserie chicken to cut down on prep time)

3/4 to 1 cup crumbled queso fresco
(we used Monetery Jack cheese)

1 avocado, diced


Fresh cilantro


4 corn tortillas, cut into strips and fried
 (or crushed tortilla chips)

1 to 2 tablespoons sour cream

Place dried chiles in a bowl, cover with hot water and soak until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain the chiles, pull out the stems and most of the seeds and transfer to a blender (or food processor) and process to make a smooth-ish puree.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes with their juice, 1/4 cup chile puree, the coriander seeds and cumin and cook about 5 minutes. Add the broth, bay leaves and thyme and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook about 

30 minutes.Strain the broth through a medium-mesh strainer into another pot, discarding the solids. Season with salt.

 Place a small amount of chicken, queso fresco, avocado, cilantro, fried tortilla strips and sour cream in each bowl, then pour about 1 cup hot broth around the garnishes.

Football Munchies

I found a great recipe on Macheesmo.com for an Artichoke, Olive and Cheese dip. The Macheesmo.com blog has great recipes which are usually really easy to make and taste delicious. I have been craving olives lately so this dip was perfect to serve to the guys while they are watching football. Oh who am I kidding? I made the dip for me, and the guys just got lucky they were at the house to enjoy it :)


Artichoke and Olive Dip (Adapted from a Bon Appétit recipe)
Makes a 2 quart oval dish or 9×9 dish of dip.

- 1 (15 ounce) can artichoke hearts, chopped-
1 (8-10 ounce) jar olive tapenade, no specific brand needed-
1 Cup grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese-
1 1/2 Cups grated Monterey Jack cheese-
1/2 Cup fresh basil, chopped (plus some for garnish)- I didn't have any, so I used a little dried basil
1 Serrano pepper, diced (optional)- - I used pickled jalapeno slices... probably about 10 and I didn't taste the heat. Next time I'll add more.
Salt and pepper-

To make this dish you chop the veggies, shred the cheese, stir, place in a bowl, cook (30 minutes in a 400 degree oven) and serve.

I goofed a little and didn't have the olive tapenade on hand, so I chopped up black and green olives and added about a tablespoon of olive oil to the mix. I also added pepperoncini's to the dip, which added a bright flavor to the dip. This dip was really cheesy and delicious. We used Stacey's Pita chips and they were hearty enough to stand up to this dip. I'm sure you could use crackers or different chips, but you might need a spoon to scoop the dip onto your chip.

White Wine Sangria Jelly's

Last weekend we went to a friends house to watch the Texas/ OU football game. I brought some of these White Wine Sangria Jelly's for us to eat with our beer :) They are pretty easy to make but I wasn't a big fan of the flavor. They were a little to tart for my liking, but not a bad flavor. They were also more firm than the typical jello shots I make when going to the lake. I liked this consistency and look forward to giving more flavors a try! :)


Abby had to get into the ingredient photo :) I had to throw away those grapes... she munched on a few (without swallowing)

Final result

White Wine Sangria Jelly Shots
Difficulty: Easy
http://jelly-shot-test-kitchen.blogspot.com/2010/09/end-of-summer-jelly-shots-white-wine.html

Recommended Pan: 1 lb loaf pan, approximately 8" x 4" (or flexible silicon molds) I used a snowflake mold- little early in the season, but the only mold I had and wanted to try it out
Implements: Muddler and a cocktail shaker

Ingredients
1 cup white wine (use what you have on hand, chardonnay, sav blanc, pino grigio, etc.) I used a Sav Blanc
Chopped fruit, to fill cocktail shaker 1/2 full (I used lemon, lime, orange, and white and red grapes)
1/8 cup water
1/8 cup frozen lemonade concentrate (thawed) Might use Peach Nectar next time, give it a sweeter flavor
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup club soda (or lemon lime soda, sparkling lemonade, etc) - used club soda
2 1/2 envelopes Knox gelatin (1/2 envelope = about 1 tsp gelatin powder)
1/4 cup Cointreau
1/4 cup vodka

Additional fruit for internal and external garnish, if desired

Fill the cocktail shaker 1/2 full of chopped fruit, and muddle vigorously (set remaining fruit aside for garnish). Add the wine to the cocktail shaker (note: no ice is needed), shake for a minute or so and set aside. Pour water, lemonade concentrate, juice and soda into a small saucepan and sprinkle with the gelatin. Allow the gelatin to soak for a minute or two. Heat over very low heat until gelatin is dissolved, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Strain the wine mixture (you should have about 1 1/4 cups of liquid), and stir into gelatin mixture along with the Cointreau and vodka. Pour mixture into loaf pan or molds. If desired, now is the time to add finely chopped fruit to the pan or molds. Place in refrigerator to set (several hours or overnight).

To serve, cut into desired shapes or unmold. If desired, garnish each shot with finely chopped fruit.
Makes 24 to 32 jelly shots.

White Wine Sangria





This drink is perfect for summer. It is light, fruity and a little fizz to it and you can change up the fruit that you use as well as the type of wine. Lots of options and we will be making this again!!

Ingredients

1 bottle Spanish white wine (we used New Age wine, see picture below)
1/4 cup super fine sugar
1 lime, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 cut up peach
1 1/2 cups seedless green grapes, sliced in 1/2
1/2 cup peach nectar
1/2 bunch fresh mint leaves
Splash of triple sec
Pinch salt
1 12oz can of Sprite
Ice cubes


Directions


In a large pitcher combine the wine and sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the remaining ingredients, except the Sprite, and mix well. Put the pitcher in the refrigerator and let the sangria sit for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours. Just before serving, stir in the Sprite and ice cubes.

Zucchini Stuffing

I saw a blog post on The Other Side of Fifty, (http://tinyurl.com/2a7phrz), that was using zucchini in a casserole. I've cooked zucchini many different ways, and this new twist appealed to me. This is easy enough to make, and for any of you 3 readers that have kids this will probably be a good dish to sneak in veggies to your kids meals. I thought this was a good dish, but I was a little disappointed because the veggies got lost in the stuffing. Perhaps leaving the veggies in small bites would give them a bigger presence in the dish.



Not the best picture of the food, but there is something comforting about this dish. I believe it is because it reminds me of Thanksgiving since it uses boxed stuffing. (Not that my mama ever used boxed stuffing, she always made it from scratch)


Zucchini Casserole To Die For

(Adapted from Recipezaar)
6 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup diced onion
4 TBSP butter
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup (I used Cream of Mushroom because I forgot to buy Cream of Chicken, tasted good to me)
1 cup sour cream
1 (8 ounce) box of cornbread stuffing mix (you can use regular stuffing mixed if desired, but I think the cornbread really adds extra flavor to this dish)

In a large bowl combine the chicken soup and sour cream. Set aside. Spray an 8 X 8 inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the zucchini, carrot and onion and season with salt and pepper. Saute until veggies are softened, 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another minute or two. Remove pan from heat and let cool slightly.Combine veggies with sour cream/soup mixture and add the stuffing mix. Stir well to combine all. Place stuffing in prepared pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Cucumber KimChi

I'm not really sure where I got the idea to make cucumber kimchi, but I am so glad I made it. When we were in San Diego last year, we ate some of the best sushi that we have ever had. One of the rolls that we had was called the kitchen sink roll because it had everything in it. On top of that roll was some type of cucumber salad. I loved that salad and wish I had asked what was in it but there was a bit of a language barrier with our waitress. Any way, the other day I ate at Chilantro taco cart ( love those tacos!!) and you have an option to add traditional kimchi(usually made with cabbage instead of the cucumber) to the tacos and to their french fries. And it came to me that I need to try making Cucumber kimchi. So I searched the internet and found the recipe at the link below....

http://www.drbenkim.com/how-to-make-cucumber-kim-chi.htm

There were a few recipes that I found, but I ultimately decided on this one. I went to a Korean grocery store near the house (had no idea we had one this close) and picked up the red pepper flakes, which is really the base of the kimchi. I really liked the outcome, but I know it needs some tweaking. We used the kimchi on a grilled chicken taco with naan and it was fantastic. I loved the cool yet spicy crunch that it gave to the taco. I'll be searching for more things to use the kimchi and the red pepper flakes on. I now own a fairly large bag of the spice.

Start with about 15 to 20 small cucumbers, the kind that are used to make dill pickles. If you can't find small cucumbers, you can use about the equivalent amount of large cucumbers.
Give the cucumbers a good rinse, then chop them into bite-size pieces. Put them in a large bowl, add about two flat tablespoons of sea salt, and toss well.

Allow salted pickles to sit overnight at room temperature, or at least for a couple of hours. The salt helps draw moisture out of the cucumbers, which creates a natural brine.
Now add 1/2 to 1 full teaspoon of minced raw garlic

Wash and chop up three green onions - not three bunches, but three individual ribs.

For a little extra sweetness, chop up 1/4 of a small to medium yellow onion.

Now the part that makes any kim chi a real, authentic kim chi: add two flat tablespoons of fine red chili flakes.

Koreans call it ko choo kah rhoo, which literally means ground hot peppers.
If at all possible, please get some of this stuff from a local Korean grocery store so that you can be sure that you have the right kind for making kim chi. You can add ko choo kah rhoo to any number of dishes, of course, like miso soup and seasoned green beans. Koreans add ko choo kah rhoo to just about everything.

Now add a teaspoon of vinegar.

Add a Tablespoon of honey

Mix everything very well.

Now pack your cucumber kim chi away into glass bottles, and don't forget to add a bit of brine to each one - just a couple of tablespoons of brine per bottle will do.

All that's left to do at this point is to leave your bottles of cucumber kim chi out in room temperature for 24 to 48 hours to give it a chance to ferment. After 24 to 48 hours, transfer the bottles to your refrigerator. Well, shit. I totally didn't do this step.... guess I didn't look at the entire article. Now I am going to have to go back and redo this with ALL of the steps. Good thing this is very easy to do, so I'll be making batch #2 this weekend

Chicken tacos with naan, topped with the cucumber kimchi

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Cheesecake had a baby....

and it is delicious! Holy Hell, I am so happy to have found this recipe. Cheesecake mixed with chocolate chip cookie dough,,, all in one bite?? Yes please, time to get in ma belly!! This recipe has a few steps to it but overall it is a fairly easy to put together and you'll be very happy that you did.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

adapted from The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook via Bake or Break

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325°.

Butter a 9″-square baking pan. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving enough to extend over the sides. Butter the parchment paper.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter until crumbs are moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.
Press crust mixture into bottom of pan and 1 inch up sides. Bake for 6 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool. ** The 2nd time I made this I left out the chocolate chips and added walnuts,,, great both ways!!**

Cookie Dough:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used miniature)

Using an electric mixer , mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth. Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour. Mix just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Shape into teaspoon size balls. Chill while making cheesecake filling.

Filling:

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar just until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended.
Pour batter into baked crust. Drop cookie dough balls over the top of the filling.
Bake about 30 minutes, or until set but still wobbly in center. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Chicken, Pesto and Pasta

I came across a recipe yesterday that sounded wonderful. It was a very simple recipe that I knew would have great flavors. Once I got home I realized that I had some veggies that I wanted to use up, so made some changes to the original recipe. Since I was adding veggies with the pasta I decided to make a sun dried tomato pesto instead of a regular basil pesto. I also added the chicken (which I just sauteed on the stove top--wanted to grill the breasts but it was to damn hot outside).

We really enjoyed our dinner last night. The pesto wasn't over powering, the veggies added a nice crunch, and the chicken made it a complete meal. I am looking forward to trying it cold today, to see if it would work as a cold pasta salad. ** tried it cold... and didn't like it. Will stick with it hot**

Shells with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto, Veggies and Chicken
Original recipe: http://tinyurl.com/2efflav

-1 lb. whole wheat medium pasta shells-
1 cup marinated sun dried tomatoes, chopped-(see below where I added to pesto and did not just add to the pasta
2/3 cup frozen peas, thawed in warm water-(just threw these in with the pasta once it was done cooking-- heated up just fine)
1 red bell pepper chopped up
1/2 onion chopped up
2 small squash (from my mother in laws garden) chopped up
1 1/2 cup pesto sauce (recipe follows)-
Salt and pepper to taste-
Parmesan for sprinkling-

When boiling water for the shells, make sure to generously salt the water.
Throw all veggies into a pan with a little EVOO and cook until you are happy (I usually like mine a little more cooked than most)
Cook pasta until al-dente. Drain and transfer shells to a large mixing bowl.-While the pasta is still hot, add pesto, sun dried tomatoes, peas,veggies, salt, pepper, and Parmesan. Serve with some fresh basil and an extra sprinkle of Parmesan.


Sun Dried Tomato and Basil Pesto
(Makes more than you need for the pasta)-

2 large bunches of basil-
1 cup olive oil (add more if needed)-
1/2 cup parmesan cheese-
handful of walnuts (didn't have enough pine nuts on hand)
1 lg. clove raw garlic, roughly chopped-
Salt and pepper

Remove basil leaves and put them in a colander. Rinse and make sure to get any sand off of the leaves. Squeeze out basil in a paper towel, and add to a food processor or blender. Add 2/3 cup of the sun dried tomatoes. Add oil, garlic, and walnuts to the basil, and blend. The mixture should look a little soupy. Add the parmesan, salt, and pepper, and blend again. Your pesto should thicken up with the cheese. Store in the fridge for a week.

Refreshing, creamy, and perfect for a hot and humid Austin afternoon

I bought a seedless watermelon from the store last Sunday. I had no idea what I was going to use it for, but it looked good at the grocery store so I bought it :) I came across a recipe for a fruit smoothly using watermelon in a magazine, so I now had a use for the watermelon!! This would be a great drink for kids... minus the booze part! :) Plus for kids that have a dairy allergy (Gilat- thinking of Kai) this would be a great summer treat!

This is so damn easy. The hardest part was cutting up the watermelon and freezing the chunks. As you can see in this picture, I played with my frozen watermelon chunks :)

We didn't really follow the recipe in the magazine that I had. We filled the blender about 2/3 up the blender, added lemon aid (probably between a cup and cup and half), couple squirts of simple syrup, and 3 oz of Bacardi.

We started with the watermelon in the blender and kept adding the lemon juice until we reached the consistency that we wanted. Once we reached the consistency (which was like a smoothie) we added the simple syrup and the Bacardi Rum. Since the watermelon was frozen the drink was really creamy.

Abby was enjoying her toys in the kitchen while we were making our drinks. Chewie was snoozing on our couches :)
The final result!! This was so good, we'll be making this all summer. We'll probably try adding some frozen mango or strawberries along with the watermelon to see what works best, but this simple recipe is totally worth trying!!

LOVE this new recipe!!

I love corn and when it is corn season I eat it as much as I can. I am totally happy just eating it off of the cob but when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it! This is soooo easy to make and it is so damn good! This will make the top 3 recipes that I'll use for corn. The only way I can see tweeking it a bit is to add grilled onions, red peppers or roasted jalapenos. However, this dish is perfect just the way it is written below!





Grilled Corn Salad with Cotija Cheese
http://sugarcooking.blogspot.com/2010/06/grilled-corn-salad.html

Ingredients
3- 4 ears of corn, silks removed, husks on (soaked in water for 30 min)
1 tbls butter
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbls chopped, fresh cilantro
1/2 cup cotija cheese, crumbled
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ancho chili pepper

Directions:
After soaking the corn, grill on medium high for about 20 minutes. I added the string around the corn because I couldn't get the husk to go all the way around it. The string burned off on one corn cob, but overall it was very helpful to have it around it.

When the corn is cool enough to handle, remove the husks and cut the corn off the cob. I have cut corn off of the cob when it is raw, but it is soooo much easier to cut it off when it is cooked!

Saute in a pan over medium high heat with the butter, lime juice, cilantro, salt, pepper, chili powder, and chili pepper. (I threw the butter into a bowl, nuked it, then put everything else in it to mix it up).

Add the cotija cheese just before you are ready to serve. This is where I made a change.... I couldn't find the cotija cheese at the grocery store so I bought Queso Fresco. Once I got home from the grocery store I looked up cotija cheese and found out that it is a hard cheese. The Queso Fresco is more of a crumbly cheese. I will have to try it with the Cotija cheese next time, but I will say the Queso Fresco was pretty damn good too!!!

Pineapple

When I saw that Central Market had pineapples on sale, I knew that I would be buying one. I didn't really have a plan but I wanted to play around with the sweet juicy fruit. When we were in Hawaii last year, we had wonderfully sweet pineapple that I haven't tasted since then. The pineapple I bought was sweet and tasty but still not the same thing as what I had in Hawaii.


Chewie and Abby with the pineapple

Bacon wrapped pineapple

1 pound Bacon
1 can Chunked Pineapple (large Chunks)
½ cups Brown Sugar

Cut the pound of bacon in half. Put the brown sugar in a shallow bowl. Take a half a slice of bacon and dredge it through the brown sugar. (I actually sprinkled the brown sugar over the pineapple in a bowl, then wrapped the bacon around the pineapple). Put a chunk of pineapple on one end of the bacon slice and roll up. Secure with a toothpick.

I cooked these on the grill, but I will warn you don't walk away for to long. I think the sugar dripped off causing a huge flame. I came back to the grill just in time to save these little guys from a charred death. The original recipe called to bake the bacon wrapped pineapple at 375 degrees, for 25 minutes. On the grill, I only cooked them for about 15 minutes.

Our overall impression of this appetizer was that it is a sweet salty goodness. The pineapple still retained it's juiciness and the bacon was nice and crisp. We will be making these again... and perhaps we might add a sliver of jalapeno for an extra kick.

Since we have so much pineapple I needed to find a different recipe to use it. I bought a couple of Halibut filet's for dinner, so I thought a fruity salsa would be good. I marinated the fish in lime juice, orange juice, olive oil, garlic, onion and a squirt or two of Sriracha sauce. I marinated the fish for about 45 minutes but there wasn't a lot of flavor to the fish. Overall the pineapple salsa was a really good addition to the fish. I think it would also go wonderfully with shrimp quesadilla’s.

For the salsa:


1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 cup finely diced pineapple
1/3 cup finely diced, seeded English cucumber
1/3 cup finely diced red onion
2 tablespoons finely diced jalapeno (didn't have this, but the slight heat would have been nice)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves



In a small bowl whisk together the honey and the lime juice. Combine the pineapple, cucumber, onion, jalapeno and mint in a medium bowl, pour the dressing over and toss to combine. Set aside.

White, Green and Red Lasagna

It was Sunday night and I really didn't want to go to the grocery store, so I sat and stared into my fridge hoping that a dinner idea would pop into my head. After a few minutes it dawned on me... a white Lasagna. It isn't your traditional lasagna... white cheese sauce instead of marinara and ground turkey instead of ground beef. Still used pasta, veggies and cheese... and I thought it was awesome!

Turns out that the ricotta cheese I had was expired so I ended up going out to the grocery store but it worked out because we really needed milk and bread. This dish was easy to put together but it does have a lot of pans but the nice thing is you can make this ahead of time and then just pop it in the oven when you are ready to bake it. Next time I will use all of the cheese sauce in between the layers. I went skimpy thinking that it looked like to much, but once I pulled it out of the oven there was very little sauce.

For sauce
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups milk

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup cheese (I used mozzarella)

For filling
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 container of frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1 package of ground turkey, cook in separate pan

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
a 15-ounce container whole-milk ricotta (about 1 3/4 cups)
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
Lasagna noodles, cooked

1 tomato thinly sliced

1 zucchini, thinly sliced

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 1 1/2 ounces)

Preparation

Make sauce:In a saucepan melt butter over moderately low heat. Stir in flour and cook roux, stirring, 3 minutes. Add milk/chicken broth in a stream and bring mixture to a boil, whisking until thick and smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste and simmer sauce over low heat, whisking occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes, or until thickened. Add cheese, melt through. I kept mine on low heat until I was ready for it.

Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter a 13 x 9-inch baking dish (3-quart). Add a little of the cheese sauce to the bottom of the pan.

In a bowl whisk together ricotta, egg, basil, spinach, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour 1/2 cup reserved sauce into baking dish (sauce will not cover bottom completely) and cover with 3 pasta sheets. Spread half of ground turkey, zucchini slices, and tomato slices over pasta sheets in dish, then scoop some of the cheese sauce over this mixture and top with another 3 pasta sheets. Spread half of ricotta mixture over pasta and top with another 3 pasta sheets. There is no hard rule of what toppings can be together or how many pasta sheets you use, so have fun with it :)

Spread remaining sauce over top and sprinkle with Parmesan. Lasagna may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bake lasagna in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until bubbling and golden.