That moment when you tell your BFF that you will make her birthday cake, but you live in an 800 square foot apartment and you realize you didn't bring your cake pans with you....what to do???? Make her chocolate zucchini bread instead of chocolate zucchini cake. No photos, but what an easy fix to a birthday dilemma. You see, the friend in question is all about the cake!!!! This one was a good one and even delicious for breakfast. Bon appetit! 2020 new recipe #62.
Another 2020 Covid weekend and the holiday couldn't keep us indoors. We practically lived outdoors all weekend with our friends and family, social distancing. No selfies, but lots of delicious food. My contributions included Sun Dried Tomato Mediteranean Zucchini Noodle Salad. I love spiraled zucchini noodles and the sun dried tomatoes packed a lot of flavor. Lots of depth of flavors with the artichoke hearts, olives, parmesan....The vegetarians in the family loved it!
The next picnic was a winner with Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwiches. I have to admit, one of our friends cannot eat pork so I improvised and combined a few recipes (below) and used chicken instead. The biggest part of Banh Mi is really good bread, lots of pickled veges and well seasoned meat. They were the perfect picnic food and a huge hit.
We did proceed the sandwiches with the most delicious spring rolls with a yummy almond sauce. I had never had an almond sauce, but think I prefer it to the peanut sauce. Super fresh and bright. I will need to find out if one of my devices can julienne cut because we could eat these every day except that the amount of work to cut all the veges is outrageous. I added shrimp, but either with or without would be fine.
I love her recipes and this one is a home run exactly as is....
For greens I did a lovely mixed green salad with dried tart cherries, red onion, toasted pecans, parmesan and a lovely Balsamic vinaigrette. Super yummy.
The final recipe was a trendy summer holiday dessert...Whoopie Pies. I made the chocolate and the lemon ones. Both super yummy and another big hit.
Covid allowed me the opportunity to clean an old iron skillet I got at a yardsale years ago. What followed, of course, was cornbread. WHO doesn't love cornbread from an iron skillet? This one I've made twice now and it has been super easy and delicious both times. Great with a little honey drizzled on top. 2020 new recipe #41. Bon appetit!
We made cod fish tacos tonight with spicy black beans, pico de gallo and spicy slaw. Just used the rub mix and not the sauce. With all the accoutrements there was no need. No pictures to show, but it all rocked. 2020 recipes #36-38. Bon appetit.
Our local grocer had the most beautiful fresh artichokes and I just couldn't resist. Found this lovely little recipe for roasting them (my favorite way to cook vegetables). With the garlic and all the spices it was a big hit. Note that it takes a bit longer to cook than you anticipate, but well worth the wait. 2020 new recipe #35 I will definitely make this again. Bon appetit!
ps - I added a sprinkle of Parmesan for the last two minutes.
Covid recipe #34...simple comfort food, buttermilk pancakes. I never eat many carbs, but this made me super happy this morning. Smothered in raspberry syrup it was a huge hit. Bonus....I made chocolate cake afterwards.....Note: it only has two more ingredients so why not???!!! I'm saving this one just because it was easy and perfect. Happy weekend! Bon appetit!
During Covid-19 lockdown and finding the pantry overflowing with dried beans. Better get cooking.....2020 recipe #32, Spicy Black Bean Soup. Super simple and full of flavor. This might be my favorite black bean soup recipe so far. We loved the kick. Served with shredded cheddar, sour cream and crumbled corn chips. Bon appetit!
Found this spicy shrimp recipe in the Parade magazine and actually really liked it. It is originally from the cookbook See You On Sunday by NY Times editor Sam Sifton. Super simple, little bit spicy and made a great Easter appetizer. The kick made it great. 2020 new recipe #29. Bon appetit!
8 T unsalted butter
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 T sriracha
3 limes juiced
salt and pepper to taste
3 lb large shell on shrimp
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped, optional
3 T chopped cilantro
In a small saucepan over low heat melt 2 T of the butter. Add garlic, cook stirring 2 minutes. Add remaining 6 T butter to pan. When butter melts and begins to foam stir in the sriracha, lime juice, salt and pepper. Turn off heat and set aside.
Cook shrimp in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Don't overcook. Drain in colander.
Combine shrimp and sauce, tossing to coat. Add jalapeno if desired and cilantro. Toss.
Dang Corona Virus! Dinner plans did not work out as planned due to social distancing distractions with thunder showers so I had to improvise and throw something together quickly. Tonight's recipe.....Greek Yogurt Carbonara. I followed the recipe exactly and added chopped up sun dried tomatoes. It was super simple and quite good. I'm not a huge pasta fan, but this might become a staple recipe. 2020 recipe #24. Bon appetit!
I've made this recipe before evidently, but I don't remember doing so and I am going to count this as 2020 recipe #22. Full disclosure....Corona Virus has us sequestered so I had to make some substituttions. For one, I didn't make the crust (shocking, I know) AND I only did a bottom crust (It's all I had), BUT it was delicious. I used some awesome mushrooms sauteed in truffle oil and sage, leeks, small cut up new potatoes, peas....kind of just using up whatever was in the fridge. That's what we do during a pandemic. Suffice it to say it was delicious and I will probably never kill myself again in the future going to all the trouble of making the crust, etc. (Well, MAYBE). This is now a great "clean out the fridge" recipe and my thoughts of future ingredients have my mind swimming. I started out with a very organic whole chicken, slowly simmered and shredded. Then I sauteeed the leeks, then the mushrooms. I used frozen peas (we ARE in a lock down) and just made sure to treat each ingredient as if it needed to stand alone (kind of like when I make chicken soup). My roux was a little thick, but still tasted delicious. Don't leave out the wine!!!! I followed Julia's instructions for the white wine blanquette sauce and just popped it in the oven for about 50 minutes on 350 degrees (pie shells precooked). Lovely French yumminess in a store bought pie shell. Delicious! Bon appetit!!!!!
Day 10 of Covid-19 isolation had us eating one of our favorite regulars which we often fix for crowds as it feeds a lot of folks (and we are feeding a small army these days)...Cincinnati Chili. Super simple, super filling, topped in traditional Cincinnati style, it is always a crowd pleaser. You have to get over the fact that it is served on top of spaghetti and that it has cinnamon and allspice in it. Trust me, it's delicious! Bon appetit!!!!
2 lbs ground beef
4 medium onions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
8 oz tomato sauce
4 cups water
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 T vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chili powder (I use 1/8 cup and it is plenty spicy)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
5 bay leaves
35 whole allspice
2 - 16 oz cans drained kidney beans
cooked spaghetti noodles, cooked to package directions
In a Dutch oven brown the beef with the onion and the garlic, stirring to crumble. Drain off excess fat. Stir in the tomato sauce, water, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, chili powder, cayenne pepper and cinnamon. Enclose the bay leaves and allspice in cheesecloth, secure with twine and add bag to the mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add the beans, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, 3 hours. Remove the cheesecloth and its ingredients and ladle the chili onto a pile of pasta in a bowl. Top with cheese, sourcream, chopped scallions and oyster crackers for REAL Cincinnati chile, along with a little hot sauce on the side. This makes a LOT of chili and when served with the pasta it can feed quite a crowd.
I have made a number of white bean chicken chili recipes in my lifetime and am on the search for a really good one. This one was pretty good and as I am a Giada fan I am going to post it in the meantime. I loved the spiciness which gave it a sweet little kick, but not too much to overwhelm the chili. I used fresh spinach as we needed to use it before it went bad. As we try to social distance ourselves during this Covid-19 virus, the kitchen is in full operation and all dishes, though lovingly cooked and thoroughly enjoyed, are served to only two of us...with the occasional exception of having the kids over to eat. I imagine within another week or so we will begin to invite friends to join us, in limited number, of course. In the meantime, I am freezing lots of portions in the event we might possibly get sick. Recipe #22 in 2020....Bon appetit!
Due to Coronavirus we are huddled in with family this weekend and are pulling out the food to share a Thai meal lovingly made together. Tonight we had two new Thai recipes, both from Yotam Ottolenghi's Simple cookbook. Both super easy and both amazingly delicious. These are recipe #19 and #20 for the 120 in 2020 challenge. Bon appetit!
2 cups Thai sticky rice, cooked per package directions
1 1/2 T peanut oil
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely julienned (5 T)
3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
2 red chilies, finely julienned
1 1/2 cups cilantro stems cut into 1 1/4" lengths
3 T roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 T sesame seeds
1 lime, cut into 6 wedges
While the rice is cooking, put the oil into a medium frying pan and place over medium high heat. Once hot, add the ginger, garlic and chilies and fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until just starting to brown. Add the cilantro, peanuts and sesame seeds and a generous pinch of salt and continue to fry 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Spoon over the rice and serve, lime wedge on the side.
Recipe #14 this year was from the Oh My Stars cookbook, the Junior League of Roanoke 2000 cookbook that I was on the committee to put together back in the day. I just needed a break from the Mediterranean fare and decided to try something different. Having just returned from Austin, Texas where the Mexican food is amazing I decided to prepare this lovely dish. It did not disappoint. Note that it is spicy (but more of a cumin kind of spicy and not overwhelming), super moist and flavorful. Bon appetit!
Chicken:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp fajita seasoning (I made my own by simply Googling it; super easy)
1 tsp olive oil
Black Bean Puree:
15 oz. can black beans
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 minced cloves of garlic
10 oz can tomatoes with green chilies (You can use any kind of canned tomato as you are going to blend it. Also, I had to add the chilies separately as I did not have the tomatoes that come with it already)
2 Tbs chopped cilantro
1 Tbs lime juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (I used Mexican mixed cheese)
Rub the chicken with the fajita seasoning. Brown in the heated olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat fodr 3 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Remove from the pan and keep warm on a platter, covered.
Drain the beans, reserving 2 Tbs of the liquid. Rinse the beans.
Add the onion and the garlic to the drippings from the chicken and saute until tender. Combine with the beans, reserved bean liquid, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, cumin and red pepper in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Spoon the mixture into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until heated through. Sprinkle with the cheese and serve with the chicken.
Serves two.
No pictures...sorry. Since when have refried beans ever been pretty? You will just have to trust me on this one!
One of the man's two favorite desserts is coconut cake. I must have tried a dozen different recipes on the quest for the perfect coconut cake. When a friend of mine told me this was the one I was skeptical. First of all, anyone who knows me knows that I WILL NOT use boxed cake mixes, Cool Whip from the freezer, etc. If it's got chemicals in it I am not a fan. I have had to eat my words a few times on this one as this is truly the best coconut cake. Very moist, flavorful and almost best of all is that you MUST make it at least three days ahead of time (two days doesn't cut it, I'm just sayin')....The perfect company dessert....So foot in mouth, here it is....
18 1/2 oz package butter flavored cake mix (Ewwwww)
2 cups sugar (I usually cut this by at least 1/2 cup)
16 oz sour cream
12 oz frozen coconut thawed
1 1/2 cups frozen Cool Whip (Double Ewwww)
Prepare cake mix according to package directions making 2 8 inch layers. When cooled split both layers. Combine sugar, sour cream and coconut, blending well. Chill. Reserve 1 cup sour cream mixture for frosting. Spread remainder between cake layers. Combine rest of sour cream mix with whipped topping. Spread on top and sides of cake. Refrigerate 3 days before serving. You MUST let it sit in the refrigerator for three days or you will be sorry....It's worth the wait!
Bon appetit, and don't tell anyone what they are eating.....It's better that way....
I made these for the holidays and they were awesome! Not super sweet and they were really good the crispier they were. Excellent with a cup of hot tea. I always try to find a new cookie recipe for the Christmas cookie exchange and this one was a winner! Bon appetit!!!!!!
ps - the salt sprinkled on top gave it that awesome final touch... Also, I drizzled a little bit of dark chocolate on top.
Recipe #8 this year was a lovely Thai cod dish. Not really a soup, but rather a perfect piece of cod served in a Thai coconut sauce. Super yummy and amazingly easy. A perfect week night dinner for busy folks. Loved it! Bon appetit!
1 T canola oil
1 leek, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
Salt and pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 T grated ginger
1 cup water
2 carrots, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks, 2" long
1 10" stalk of lemon grass, tough outer leaves removed and bruised with back of knife
4 each 4-6 oz skinless cod fillets, 1-1 1/2" thick (may substitute haddock or halibut)
1/3 cup canned coconut milk
1 T lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
1 t fish sauce
2 T dry roasted peanuts
2 T fresh cilantro leaves
1 serrano chile, stemmed and sliced thin
1. Heat oil in 12" nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add leak and 1/2 t salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 4-6 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook uncovered until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Stir in water, carrots and lemon grass and bring to simmer. Pat cod dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Nestle fish into skillet and bring to simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until fish flakes apart when gently prodded with paring knife and registers 140 degrees, 8-12 minutes.
3. Carefully transfer fish to individual shallow bowls. Discard lemon grass. Using slotted spoon, divide leeks and carrots evenly among bowls. Off heat, whisk coconut milk, lime juice, and fish sauce into broth and season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle broth over fish. Sprinkle with peanuts, cilantro, and chile. Serve with lime wedges.
I LOVE cabbage when it is braised just right and this recipe (#12 this year) was an attempt to use up what we had on hand. The cabbage cooked up nicely and paired with the ginger was a huge hit. Amazingly, the salmon was uber moist. I am going to assume it was the cooking method....(let's say so anyway). We will definitely make this again. Bon appetit.
Not a huge fan of Moscow Mules, but while in Memphis I had to try the Whiskey Mule at the Peabody as my affinity for bourbon was calling.....Recipe #4 this year is the closest I can find to that yummy concoction. Note that I added about 1/4 of a fresh squeezed orange to give it a bit more brightness. Perfection! AND don't forget it must be served super cold in a copper cup!!!!!
Ingredients
2ouncesirish whiskey
6ouncesginger beeror more!
juice of half a limeabout 1 ounce
lime slicesoptional, for garnish
mint sprig (optionalfor garnish
ice
Instructions
Fill a copper mug (or other glass) with ice. Pour in whiskey and lime juice, top with ginger beer. Stir to mix, garnish with lime slices and mint sprig.
Notes
*Ginger beer is to taste. If you like more of a whiskey taste, add less ginger beer. If you like a sweeter drink, add more! I usually just top the glass off with ginger beer.
So here we go....2020 brings on new ideas and new challenges...Bring out the wine (or the champagne, as the case may be), invite over a bunch of friends and pull out all the stops. I don't make resolutions, but I am committed to making 120 new recipes in the new year. Not all of them will make the blog as this is only a site for me to record the ones I really liked in order to have an archive. Happy New Year and bon appetit.
First three recipes of the new year would, of course, come from my favorite chef of the moment, Yotam Ottolenghi, from his NOPI cookbook. All were delicious and super easy, but the shrimp recipe and the ricotta fritters would definitely be on my list for a rerun...
2. King Prawns with Pernod, Tarragon and Feta - delicious, but I couldn't get prawns this time of year so I substituted jumbo Mexican blue shrimp and the flavor of the marinated shrimp and spicy feta tamed with the lovely flavor of the tarragon and the Pernod really made it special. https://www.foodrepublic.com/recipes/king-prawns-with-pernod-tarragon-and-feta/
3. Ricotta Fritters with Blackberry Sauce and Chocolate Soil - I must say that I don't typically eat much dessert. I am more the savory girl. BUT Yotam has made me rethink my theology on that. The combinations he presents are so very layered and interesting. Rarely very sweet, I find the desserts to be the most interesting part of the meal sometimes....And the techniques he proposes can translate into many new interesting combinations. I love the "chocolate soil" in this recipe and I will definitely be using that in other capacities. I also enjoyed making fritters, a truly southern kind of thing, but one I don't usually make.
Ricotta fritters with blackberry sauce and chocolate soil
Yotam Ottolenghi’s ricotta fritters with blackberry sauce and chocolate soil. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin
These are a really impressive way to round off a meal, and have the added advantage that much of the preparation can be done well in advance. The “soil”, the sauce, the star anise sugar and the batter can all be made well in advance – two days for the batter and sauce; much longer for the soil and sugar – so you’ll just need to fry and bake the fritters on the day. You’ll have some soil left over, but it keeps for a week in a sealed container and is a treat to sprinkle on ice-cream and milkshakes. Serves six.
For the chocolate soil 45g plain flour ½ tsp cornflour 40g caster sugar 30g cocoa powder 40g unsalted butter, melted Coarse sea salt
For the ricotta fritters 20g icing sugar 100g plain flour ½ tsp baking powder 500g firm ricotta Finely grated zest of 2 large oranges Seeds of 1 vanilla pod 2 eggs, plus 1 extra egg yolk 450ml sunflower oil, for frying
For the blackberry sauce 50g caster sugar 700g fresh (or frozen) blackberries 120ml sloe gin (or 90ml regular gin)
For the star anise sugar 2 whole star anise, finely ground (or 2 tsp ground star anise) 70g caster sugar
First make the chocolate soil. Heat the oven to 160C (140C fan)/gas mark 3. Put the flour, cornflour, sugar, cocoa powder and half a teaspoon of salt. Mix, then slowly pour in the melted butter. Using first a wooden spoon and then the tips of your fingers, mix until it’s a crumble-like texture, then spread out on a parchment-lined baking tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until it’s the consistency of a crumbly cookie. Remove from the oven and set aside – if the mix has clumped together, you’ll be able to break it up once it has cooled and set.
For the fritters, sift the icing sugar, flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the ricotta, orange zest, vanilla seeds and a quarter-teaspoon of salt and mix to combine. Put the eggs and extra yolk in a separate bowl and whisk until pale and trebled in volume (about three minutes using an electric whisk). Fold into the ricotta mix and refrigerate for at least four hours, to firm up. The batter will keep like this, covered, for up to two days.
Put the sugar for the sauce in a small saucepan with two tablespoons of water, bring to a boil, stirring to help the sugar dissolve, then set aside to cool. Put 500g blackberries in a blender and blitz to a puree. Pass though a fine sieve to strain out the seeds, then pour into a bowl. Pour over the sugar syrup and gin, mix to combine and refrigerate for at least an hour: it needs to be very cold.
Put the star anise in a medium bowl, stir in the sugar and set aside.
Just before you want to serve, heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/gas mark 7. Pour enough sunflower oil into a medium saucepan to come about 3cm up the sides and place on a medium-high heat. Once hot, use two dessertspoons to shape the ricotta mix into rough balls weighing about 50g: use one spoon to scoop the mixture up and the other to scrape it off into the hot oil. Fry in batches of four, so as not to overcrowd the pan, for three to four minutes, turning constantly so they go golden-brown all over.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the fritters to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain while you cook the remaining batter. Transfer the cooked fritters to a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for eight minutes, until cooked through. Remove from the oven and, while they’re still hot, roll in the star anise sugar to coat.
To serve, divide the blackberry sauce between six shallow bowls. Place two hot fritters on top of the sauce, sprinkle over a teaspoon of chocolate soil and garnish with the reserved blackberries. Serve at once.
