Book Club and Birthdays

I've joined a book club where we meet once a month for a girl's night out to discuss that month's book. Last night we met at Cocina Superior for a fabulous dinner and great company. Just so happened to be Random Mommy's birthday as well. I'm a Mom brought these wonderful cupcakes from Immaculate Confections. I couldn't help but share because we all know we are crazy Twilight fans.

Tips

I know it’s been a long time since the last post. I have a ton of recipes to post. Hopefully I’ll get to those soon.

I was reading over the April copy of Real Simple and thought about posting some tips as well as recipes. Here are a few tips from this months copy. I’m sure I will post some more tips because I just love this magazine for that reason.

Streamline Your Food Storage

1. Group items in your refrigerator by type, labeling shelves so family members know where items belong. When it’s time to shop, you can clearly see what you need
2. Keep leftovers fresh as long as possible by storing them in clear, stackable containers labeled with their contents and “good until” date.
3. Base your grocery list on what’s in the fridge: take inventory of leftovers or food that’s about to expire and plan up coming meals around them.

Shop Your Refrigerator

• Hamburger/hot dog buns: Make croutons by cutting bread into cubes. Drizzle lightly with butter, salt, and dried herbs, then heat for 15 minutes at 375º F, turning once.
• Eggs: Hard boil extra eggs and refrigerate for up to seven days. Serve for breakfast or make egg salad sandwiches for lunch.
• Ground beef: Cook and freeze for later. Use as taco filling or add to your favorite pasta sauce.
• Vegetables: Simmer in a pot with chicken broth, rice, beans, and seasoning until vegetables are soft. Serve as soup for dinner or freeze for later.

Rice with Chorizo, Shrimp and Green Olives

November issue of Food and Wine.

This dish has two of hubby's favorite ingredients...might have to try this one next weekend. Yummy!

Rice with Chorizo, Shrimp and Green Olives

Ingredients

3/4 pound Spanish chorizo, sliced on the bias 1/4 inch thick
3/4 pound shelled and deveined large shrimp
1 onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 1/4 cups water
2 cups basmati rice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
12 large pimento-stuffed green olives, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Lemon wedges and hot sauce, for serving

Directions

Heat a medium enameled cast-iron casserole. Add the chorizo and cook over moderately high heat until it starts to crisp, about 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until white throughout, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chorizo and shrimp to a plate. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the casserole.

Add the onion and garlic to the casserole and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the water and rice and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat until the rice is just tender, about 18 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, until all of the water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Gently fold in the chorizo, shrimp, olives and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the rice into shallow bowls and serve with lemon wedges and hot sauce.

Spicy Pork Po'Boys

Looking through the November issue of Food and Wine, I came across several recipes that I hope to try in the near future.

Spicy Pork Po'Boys

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/4 teaspoons dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 medium kosher dill pickles, very finely chopped
1/2 small shallot, minced
Four 8-inch soft baguettes, split
2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
Hot sauce, for serving

Directions

Preheat a grill pan. In a large bowl, using your hands, mix the ground pork with the paprika, thyme, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Form the pork into twelve 1/2-inch-thick patties. Grill the pork patties over moderate heat, turning once, until they are cooked through, about 8 minutes total.

Meanwhile, mix the mayonnaise with the Dijon mustard, pickles and shallot and season with salt and pepper. Spread the mayonnaise on both sides of the baguettes.

Place 3 pork patties on the bottom of each baguette and top with the lettuce, tomato and a few splashes of hot sauce. Close the sandwiches and serve.

I'm still here!

A lot of you have asked why I haven't updated in a while. I've been so busy...I guess the summer got the best of me. I have a ton of new recipes to add! I will get those on here shortly.

Bacon Wrapped Pineapple

I don't have a true recipe for this appetizer. This is something that I made years ago and made this again for the Luau. It doesn't sound like it would taste good but it really does and I hate curry with a passion.

Bacon Wrapped Pineapple

1 lb Bacon
1 lg can Pineapple Chunks
Curry Powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Lay out bacon strips and sprinkle lightly with curry powder. Roll pineapple chunks in bacon. Place on baking sheet and bake until bacon is crispy.

Luau Brownies

Another recipe from the Luau Birthday Party. If you are looking for a new twist on brownies, this would be the recipe. These brownies are absolutely delicious.

Luau Brownies

1/2 cup butter
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups sugar plus 1/2 cup
1 1/3 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract plus 2 teaspoons
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs plus 1 egg
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup chopped mix of roasted and salted macadamias, cashews, and almonds
1 cup canned pineapple tidbits

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly grease the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.
In a double boiler or in a large microwave-safe bowl in the microwave oven, melt and stir together butter and chocolate chips. To the chocolate mixture add, 1 1/2 cups sugar, flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla, baking powder, salt, 4 eggs, and mix together well.

In a separate bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 1 egg, 1/2 cup sugar, and the coconut.

To assemble: layer half of the chocolate batter into the pan. Sprinkle half the nuts and pineapple on top of the batter. Dollop the cream cheese mixture on top, and spread it out across the top. Mix the rest of the nuts and pineapple into the remaining chocolate batter, and pour it over top of the cream cheese mix.
Bake for about 40 minutes (check after 35 minutes). The top should be lightly crusted and the edges lightly browned and beginning to pull from the sides of the pan. Cool completely in pan before cutting.

Chicken Enchilada Verde

I made these enchiladas a few weekends ago when Laura and Tim came over to play cards. This was a very good dish and will definitely cook the enchiladas again.

Chicken Enchilada Verde

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can of chicken broth (seasoned)
2 c. water
1 15 oz can of el Paso green chile sauce
1 8 oz can of el Paso green chile sauce
1 small can of diced green chiles (drained)
1 small can of salsa verde (green)
2 c. shredded monterey jack cheese
1 c. shredded pepper jack cheese
1 c.shredded american cheese
1 c. diced yellow onions
salt and white pepper to taste
1 pkg of flour or wheat tortillas
sour cream
black olives

You'll need 1 glass baking dish to hold 6 enchiladas. Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Trim off any excess fat or skin off of chicken breasts. Wash thoroughly and place chicken in a deep pan with chicken broth and water. Add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then down to a simmer. Cover with lid and let cook till chicken is easy to shred with fork.
Discard broth. Shred chicken with fork and set aside. Combine all cheeses and onion in a small bowl.

Open small can of green chile sauce and pour on bottom of glass baking dish. Fill each tortilla with shredded chicken, diced green chiles, cheeses, onion, and top with 1 tblsp of green chile sauce. Reserve half the cheese and onion combination.
Roll tortillas and place in baking dish seam side down. Take remaining green chile sauce and thoroughly pour over all. Top with remaining cheeses, onion. and the salsa Veda, and black olives. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-25 min or until heated through and cheese has melted. Let stand 5 minutes. Top with sour cream or your favorite hot sauce.

Note: If needed you may have to grate more cheese depending on how much cheese you like.

Key Lime Cheesecake

This is the cheesecake I was planning on making for Father’s Day. The recipe looks so good that I can’t wait to try it one day. Maybe I should make this for the 4th!

Key Lime Cheesecake

Lime custard
6 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons fresh Key lime juice or regular lime juice
1 teaspoon grated Key lime peel or regular lime peel

Crust
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 12 whole graham crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons fresh Key lime juice or regular lime juice
1 tablespoon grated Key lime peel or regular lime peel

1 16-ounce container sour cream

Thin lime slices

For lime custard:
Whisk all ingredients in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until custard thickens and boils for 30 seconds, about 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally (mixture will thicken).

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Wrap 3 layers of foil around outside of 8- to 8 1/2-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides. Butter pan. Stir first 3 ingredients to blend in medium bowl. Mix in butter until moistened. Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of prepared pan. Bake just until set, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Maintain oven temperature.

For filling:
Place cream cheese, 2/3 cup sugar, eggs, lime juice, and lime peel in processor; blend well.

Spoon custard into crust; smooth top. Carefully spoon filling over. Set cheesecake in large baking pan. Add enough hot water to baking pan to come 1 inch up sides of cheesecake pan. Bake until almost set but not puffed and center moves slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir sour cream and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl to blend.

Carefully spoon sour cream mixture over hot cheesecake; smooth top. Bake until topping sets, about 10 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen. Cool cheesecake completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Do ahead: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Release pan sides from cheesecake; transfer to platter. Garnish with lime slices and serve.

Hawaiian Shrimp

A while back we hosted a surprise Hawaiian birthday party for my mother and hubby’s mother. Everything was going great until both of them figured it out. Can’t put anything past the two of them! The only part they didn’t figure out was the Hawaiian theme. We even had Miss Bug dressed up as a hula girl.



Cheers!



We tried several new dishes that night. One being Hawaiian Shrimp. Hubby did a wonderful job with this dish.

Hawaiian Shrimp

2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 (20 ounce) cans pineapple chunks, juice reserved
1/2 pound bacon slices, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 large red bell peppers, chopped
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, stems removed
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 cup sweet and sour sauce
skewers

Preheat grill for high heat.

Thread shrimp, pineapple, bacon, red bell peppers, mushroom caps, and cherry tomatoes on skewers, alternating ingredients. Place in a shallow baking dish. In a small bowl, mix sweet and sour sauce with reserved pineapple juice. Reserve a small amount for basting. Pour remaining sauce over skewers.

Lightly oil grill grate. Cook kabobs on preheated grill for 6 to 8 minutes, or until opaque, basting often with reserved sauce.

Greek Cheese Torta

I've been out of commission lately with work and staying extremely busy. Hopefully the 4 hours I have booked at the spa tomorrow will do me some good! The last time I got a massage the lady commented a thousand times about how “tightly wound” I was. Hopefully the person tomorrow will not comment and just let me relax.

I hosted a Pampered Chef party about a month ago…seems like a year ago. I prepared this torta from the Pampered Chef website and it was extremely tasty. Enjoy!

Recipe courtsey of The Pampered Chef

Greek Cheese Torta

1 loaf (16 oz) French baguette
Garlic Oil or olive oil
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and pressed dry
2 pkg (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp Greek Rub
2 pkg (4 oz each) crumbled feta cheese
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and patted dry
3 tbsp shelled pistachios

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut baguette into ¼-inch-thick slices. Arrange bread slices in a single layer on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive or garlic oil. Bake 10-12 minutes or until bread is golden brown. Remove from oven; cool completely.

Line colander with paper towels. Place spinach into the colander; wrap paper towels around spinach and press until almost dry. Place cream cheese into a microwave safe bowl; microwave on HIGH 30 seconds, or until softened. Stir in spinach and rub; mix well. Add feta cheese; stir until well blended. Finely dice sun-dried tomatoes. Line a small round bowl with plastic wrap.
Spoon one-third of the cheese mixture into bottom of batter bowl, spreading evenly. Top with tomatoes, forming an even layer. Spread remaining cheese mixture over tomatoes. Refrigerate overnight.

To serve, invert torta onto serving platter. Remove plastic wrap. Coarsely chop pistachios; press onto top of torta. Serve with toasted baguette slices.

Father’s Day Continued

I don’t even know where to start this post. Saturday while I was working, hubby loaded up Miss Bug and went to the grocery store to finish buying the groceries for our lunch and dinner on Father’s Day. Yes, he called me about 100 times asking me what was what and where to find it; but I give him lots for credit for making that grocery run as the list was a mile long and had a lot of odd items which he would never buy! And let me add that taking Miss Bug anywhere is a task in itself right now because she does not want to sit in the grocery cart or be held. She would rather run a million miles around the store and steal all your stuff! If you shop at the Helena Publix and get home missing items then my daughter probably confiscated those items. So all in all he did a wonderful job! When he got home he called a few times letting me know of a few items that he didn’t purchase because the store either didn’t have them or he couldn’t find them. One of those items was a late addition – LIQUID PLUMBER! I arrive home after running a few last minute Father’s Day errands and picking up the last few grocery items needed to find that my kitchen sink is clogged really badly. My hubby pours the liquid plumber in the sink and lets it sit for a little bit. No such luck! He has to take apart all the pipes (which flooded the entire kitchen) and purchase a 25 foot pipe snake. After 5 hours of working on the pipes with his brother-in-law’s help and trying every trick in the book they could not get the pipes unclogged. And let me add that they came up with some really crafty tricks to try and unclog the drain! I have to hand it to them for their perseverance and effort. So we spent Father’s Day (living like we were in the 1800’s) emptying buckets of water from under the sink about every 5 minutes!

I regret to inform you that my cheesecake and Parker House rolls as well as hubby’s chicken dish didn’t make the cut with all the sink issues we had going on. But all in all I think the day turned out pretty well and we had tons of fun and ate lots of great food!

I’ll post the recipes later tonight!

Father's Day

My hubby and I start planning food for special occasions far in advance. Our gatherings always center around food and what we can try this time that we haven’t tried before. We have probably tried a million different rubs for ribs and pork butts and we really can’t remember which rub was the best! Maybe one day we will settle on one and market that rub! He has been planning on how he can fill his smoker to capacity on Father’s Day. He has done that plus some. My hubby is very meticulous when it comes to “his menu” and plans it out to the very second. He spent 2 hours on the computer last night finalizing his menu, making his grocery list, where we need to go to purchase certain items, and then the long drawn out timeline of how everything will go down. Can we say OCD anyone??? My hubby and his brother-in-law (Danny) have a thing going on as to who can smoke the best food. They get a little crazy at times but the food is always delicious! As my hubby is planning his menu, he finds out that Danny is smoking one of the same items, Smoked Jalapenos. So, time will tell who has the best Stuffed Jalapenos.

Our menu for Father’s Day

Lunch with my Dad includes Roasted Bone-in Pork Loin with Bourbon Glaze and Apple Chutney, Roasted Green Beans, and Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Lunch will be topped off with a Key Lime Cheesecake. My dad could eat an entire cheesecake by himself so I think I’m going to throw him for a loop and make a key lime cheesecake. This will be my first attempt at key lime cheesecake. I pride myself in making my New York style cheesecake, so hopefully I will have another to add to my cheesecake repertoire.

On the menu for dinner with hubby’s Dad is Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Smoked Chicken, Smoked Jalapenos, Smoked Fatty (I’m not really sure how to correctly title this dish), and Pig Candy. I haven’t completely decided on what sides we will be having yet. I guess I better get on it. I’m sure my FIL will be wondering where his cheesecake is, so I’m sure I can whip up another one on his request.

Now, for my hubby’s Father’s Day dinner, we will be having a nice, quiet dinner with Miss Bug on Saturday night. He has requested I cook the “chicken dish.” This is absolutely his favorite meal of all time. It has his 4 favorite ingredients: chicken, garlic, bacon, and potatoes. What more could a man want???

Recipes to follow soon!

Shrimp Scampi

Tyler's Ultimate

Shrimp Scampi is one of the dishes my hubby and I cooked Saturday from our $72 grocery trip – see rant in previous post. I love shrimp scampi. I always cook it when I’m at the beach…I’m sure Laura and Tim are getting tired of it. You can’t beat fresh shrimp from the gulf. Actually, come to think of it, I cooked shrimp scampi the night my hubby proposed to me on the beach so maybe that is why I love it sooo much.

Shrimp Scampi

1 pound linguini
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 large shallot, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, sliced
Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
20 large shrimp, about 1 pound, peeled and deveined, tail on
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves

For the pasta, put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When it has come to the boil, add a couple of tablespoons of salt and the linguini. Stir to make sure the pasta separates; cover. When the water returns to a boil, cook for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the pasta is not quite done. Drain the pasta reserving 1 cup of water.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes (if using) until the shallots are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper; add them to the pan and cook until they have turned pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan; set aside and keep warm. Add wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil. When the butter has melted, return the shrimp to the pan along with the parsley and cooked pasta and reserved pasta water. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over a bit more olive oil and serve immediately.

Vegetables

As the price of gas continues to rise, the price of food is getting out of hand. What used to be a $50 grocery store trip has turned into a $75-$100 trip now. Hubby, Miss Bug and I made a trip to the grocery store this past weekend (1 of 3 in 3 days) to purchase items for 3 meals – gumbo, jambalaya and shrimp scampi. $72 later and somewhat burnt gumbo, I thought my hubby was going to have a coronary. Let me add that the shrimp was on sell for $5.99 a pound. So I mostly purchased vegetables to make the gumbo with the exception of chicken thighs (you can’t get much cheaper than thighs when buying chicken) and smoked sausage for the gumbo and jambalaya. This has led me to attempt (attempt is the key word here) in growing my own garden. I have no clue where to even start. We do have a great place in our backyard to have a garden where it will be out of the way and probably wouldn’t even be noticeable.

All I need now is a chicken, pig and a cow.