Tag Archives: recipe

February 27, 2012 · 3:55 pm

Summertime in Astoria

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the lack of sub-zero temperatures this winter and although a little snow would have been nice, an extra windy day this weekend sent any leftover, “I want snow,” feelings running for the hills. I’m so ready to put on jeans without tights and leave the house without gloves, I want 100 degrees and I want it NOW.

I apologize for that outburst. I understand that I cannot reasonably expect that level of heat in this part of the country during this time of the year. Until I come fully into my powers, at which time I will be able to control the weather, I will stick to the things I can control: my kitchen. For a summery Sunday supper, I decided that I would channel the flavors of the Mediterranean.

I started by making this chopped salad of red and green bell peppers, red onion, tomato, cucumber, and feta cheese. The dressing is a lemon and mint vinaigrette.

Then I marinated the chicken in olive oil, garlic, ginger, olives, juice and zest of 2 limes, cumin, salt and pepper. Then cover it and into the fridge for 3 hours.

I assembled these skewers with the chicken, peppers and onions. Then into a hot pan!

Once the chicken has some color, put them into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

I also served the skewers and salad with pita and a dipping sauce made of red peppers, scallions and greek yogurt.

And since it was Sunday, here is a refreshing citrusy cocktail made with vodka, tequila, lemonade, OJ and lime juice.

Well, I suppose this is the best I can do until May, good thing my super keeps the heat on 80 all year round 🙂

What is your favorite summertime dish?

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February 23, 2012 · 4:05 pm

Mac & Cheese: A Love Story

Once upon a time, during a stroll in the East Village, we happened upon a lovely little pub advertising $3 draft beers. I happen to be a big fan of $3 draft beers, so we decided to sit for a spell. The locally brewed ale was refreshing, but I had the pangs of hunger sneaking up on me. To my delight, I saw the menu boasted mac and cheese, then to my absolute enchantment, I saw the menu offered something else: chili mac and cheese. Something I’ve never had before, I enjoyed this dish so much that I had to attempt my own version.

I started by making the chili, then while it was simmering, I began with the mac and cheese.

<– Here is everything I used to make the cheese sauce.

I did not make the pasta from scratch (maybe some day soon) I used big shells from a box.

First I put the pasta into a pot of salty boiling water (this recipe calls for a 1/2 pound). The shells take 14 minutes, so that gave me plenty of time to make the sauce. First I mixed 3 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons of flour. I whisked this all together, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes. Then I added half a onion, chopped, 2 cloves of garlic, chopped, 3 cups of milk, a dash of paprika and cayenne and salt and pepper. Then I let this simmer for about 10 minutes. Don’t forget the pasta!

After ten minutes, I added in 8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese. It melts fast and then in with the pasta! Once the pasta is all cheesy, pour it into the casserole dish (ours is foil cause we’re classy) and put 4 more ounces of cheese on top (just get a 12 ounce bag and do 2/3 and 1/3). I added a little spicy monterey jack too, but that’s up to you.

Then into a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, until its nice and bubbly. A little scoop of this… a little scoop of that…and they lived happily ever after.

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February 20, 2012 · 4:29 pm

Bleu Cheese Buffalo Chicken x 2

Last night I was on my own for dinner so I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to cook a two-fer. I think you know where I’m going here… It’s a meal that you can cook for dinner and then eat again the next day for lunch!

Mix the crumbled cheese with the bread crumbs.

Add a little extra sauce and some olive oil or butter.

What I really wanted was chicken wings, but what I had was a chicken breast. I also had buffalo sauce and salad so I decided to pick up some bleu cheese crumbles and do a spin off of this garlic cheddar chicken recipe I saw. The recipe calls for you to dip the breast in oil, and then roll in breadcrumbs and cheddar before baking. Instead, I decided to marinate the chicken in the buffalo sauce and then roll it in bleu cheese and breadcrumbs to bake.

Then bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

I also crumbled up some bleu cheese in my salad and in the dipping sauce for a decadently cheesy dinner! It was tender and spicy and I had the perfect amount left over for a sandwich today. What more could you want?

Served with salad and bleu cheese dipping sauce!


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January 27, 2012 · 5:40 pm

Gazpacho playa!

Picture this: We’re in Spain; we’re dying to try some authentic Spanish food; and we’re broke. We have spent the last four days traveling in the craziest circumstances (you can see the whole trip here) and now all we want is to have a modest picnic lunch. We buy a cheap bottle of red wine (still delicious because we’re in Spain), some manchego cheese and some bread. This meal still doesn’t seem complete. Walking a few more steps we see a sign at a café, “Gazpacho para llevar” (“to go,” cost: 3 euro). Sold!

We spend the next few hours underneath the Arc De Triomf (did you know there was one in Barcelona too? We didn’t.) We enjoyed wine and cheese along with what became our new obsession: gazpacho.

Back in the US I tried (and failed miserably) to recreate the flavors we had so enjoyed in Barcelona. Then one day, while visiting Boston, a Spanish friend of ours picked up a bunch of tomatoes at the farmer’s market and announced he would be making gazpacho tonight and would we like to join him? Heck yes, we would. The taste? The same. The process? Mine at last!

Thanks to a super special holiday gift of a food processor, I decided it was finally time to make it myself! Below is the method I used:

4 tomatoes, 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, 1 red onion, 1 cucumber, 2 cloves of garlic, the juice of 1 lemon

Chop it all up, then blend it, adding a few tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Puree the mixture until it's smoot

 

Strain carefully and patiently

 

 

 

 

 

Yes it must be strained! Don’t pout, it’s worth it. You can even strain in twice if you like it to be super smooth. We like a little texture, so once is plenty for us! Afterward let it chill overnight for maximum flavor!

The next day we decided to turn this gazpacho into our very own walk down the Spanish lane:

I got some Spanish wine down at the local shop.

And we indulged ourselves happily.

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January 24, 2012 · 2:50 pm

Healthy Tex Mex!

No, this isn’t a list of oxymorons, this is the response to my latest very specific craving. I was dying for something in the Mexican category that wasn’t overly fried or cheesed. I had chicken, I had beans, I had avocados.

My mission was clear.

     

Click for refried black beans recipe!

Spice rub includes: cayenne, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper

First I got the beans going, which takes some time, but I think it’s worth it. Then I rubbed my boneless, skinless chicken breast with lime juice and coated it in the spice rub pictured above.

Make sure that skillet's hot with butter and oil! You only need a minute or two on each side.

Then into the oven on a bed of limes at 350 for 30 minutes (can cover chicken with limes too!)

While the chicken’s in the oven, I threw together some guacamole and a quick pico of tomatoes, onion and red bell pepper. I figured everything was spicy enough to do without fresh jalapeños on top.

Presentation makes regular food feel fancy!

Hiding food under food... very very sneaky.

There you have it! Lime chili chicken on a bed of refried beans with guacamole and pico de gallo!

Finished off here a little bit of sharp cheese and some tortilla strips!

I recommend enjoying with a Modelo Especial, but that's up to you :-

Mission accomplished. POP POP.

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November 30, 2011 · 12:52 pm

Nothing in the house to eat?

Time to get creative!!

Someone decided to go play poker last night and since it was raining, I decided to stay in. There was only one little problem… we hadn’t hardly any food in the house! I was encouraged to look around the house for leftovers and come up with something great, “You can blog about it!” he assured me.

Challenge accepted.

The contents of my refrigerator were looking rather bleak, but I managed to rummage up the following:

I found four slices of turkey bacon, a small hunk of leftover brie, half a tomato and half an avocado. Thank goodness we always have bread.

I also had one russet potato, which I sliced thin, drenched in butter and baked at 475 degrees for 20 minutes (stirring halfway through).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It doesn’t look like much, but I had a vision… a vision of a world in which I would create the most delicious sandwich. I don’t know everything about sandwiches, but I know a thing or two about delicious and it begins with butter.

 

After frying the bacon, I assembled the sandwich with the sliced brie, tomatoes and avocado. Then I filled the skillet with butter and fried that baby up!

After sprinkling the chips with salt and pepper, adding a little side salad, in this end this was my creation. It was a cheesy, crunchy cool mouthful of yum.

Remember to keep a close eye on the potato chips (they burn super easily!) and nights like this are yet another reason to always have salad in the fridge.

POP POP!

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