Cedar-Planked Grilled Salmon with Apricot-Jalapeno Glaze

The end result

 

Okay, so this right here is kind of a big deal for me.  My gal-pal Michelle invited me to be a contributor on her food blog -- this food blog -- and this is my very first entry, and I am unbelievably excited about it.  So excited that sparks are practically flying off my fingertips as I type this and I fear I may short-circuit the keyboard.  Hi there, my name is Tanya, and I like food!  No, wait… I love food! Capital L-O-V-E.  Looking at it, thinking about it, cooking it, eating it…  Like Michelle, I spend a lot of time on Pinterest.  I just tallied up the number of recipes I’ve pinned to date and I’m currently hovering around 650, and I don’t intend to slow down anytime soon.  There are just too many good things out there that need to be made!

A lot of firsts have coincided with this inaugural entry of mine:  Testing out a new recipe; firing my grill up for the first time in at least three years; the new-to-me technique of grilling with a cedar plank; and using an amazing new ingredient that I just became mildly obsessed with.  More on that new ingredient later… 

 

Almost done...

 

I’ve been hosting regular Monday night get-togethers with my friend Kelly (who happens to be one of Tom Douglas’ pastry chefs and is no slouch in the kitchen herself!) and we decided we would each contribute a new Pinterest-inspired dish to serve for dinner. Kelly is a pescatarian and I had just pinned an amazing-looking spicy and sweet grilled salmon recipe from Kayotic Kitchen that I really wanted to try out so that's just what I did. Ingredients are listed below, but full instructions can be found here.

Ingredients:

cedar plank(s)
1 pound salmon fillet (with skin)
1 or 2 jalapenos -- minced
2 garlic cloves -- grated/minced
1 cup apricot preserves
2 tbsp grainy mustard
juice of 1/2 a lime
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tbsp soy sauce
good pinch dried thyme
salt and pepper
olive oil

It being the first time I made this recipe, I didn’t deviate from the ingredients at all and it turned out wonderfully!  It was sweet, spicy, a little smokey, and it was fun to try out a new cooking technique. That said, it wasn’t perfect according to my personal taste, and if I could go back in time, there are some very minor changes I would make.  Hey, we like what we like, and I, for one, like things a little on the spicy side! Firstly, I would have been bold and diced up both jalapenos instead of just one. Something this sweet needs to be balanced with punchy spiciness on the other end.  No worries – I tossed in a good pinch of red chili flake, which is easily my favorite inhabitant of the spice cupboard. A few other changes I would have made: Using the juice of the whole lime instead of half, and adding a just splash of apple cider vinegar – both for an extra hit of much-needed acid; adding just a little bit more garlic; cooking the fish to 120 degrees instead of 135 – I prefer my salmon a little undercooked, and I’ll take a rare piece of salmon over an overcooked piece any day; and I’d definitely double up on the mustard, which brings me to the new ingredient: Kozlik’s Triple Crunch Canadian Mustard. I was gifted a jar of this amazing mustard by my friend-in-food and co-worker, Mitzi. She described it as the caviar of mustard and she is absolutely correct. This mustard is pretty much just whole mustard seeds and they delightfully pop in your mouth when you bite into them, much like the crunchy orange tobiko that generally tops a California roll.  This will be a must-have condiment in my kitchen from now on!

(image from Kozlik's twitter account)

 

Overall, I was impressed with the flavors in the dish, and the glaze would be amazing with several kinds of proteins: shrimp, chicken, pork, tofu...  As a matter of fact, I’m going to make an extra spicy batch of glaze tonight and see how it turns out on grilled shrimp.  Now that I’ve finally got a full tank of propane for the grill, I predict that I’ll be cooking a lot of meals outdoors this summer...

Pinterest Review: Grain-free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites

My version of the PB & Chocolate Chip Cookie

I pinned this recipe from Texanerin Baking a couple of months ago and have been meaning to try it. It's been floating around Pinterest for awhile. Recently I saw a couple of posts on Facebook saying that this recipe is a "must save" so I thought I had better try it. I definitely needed to see what the hype was about.

OK. These cute little bites are pretty darn good and REALLY easy to make. If you are scared of making cookies out of chickpeas - get over it. The cookie dough actually taste nearly the same as flour peanut butter cookie dough. And as you can see from my photos of my cookies above, they are gooey! Now, I did not make any serious changes. I used a whole can 15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and patted dry. It measured out to 1-1/2 cups and I found that I needed 12 minutes to bake them instead of 10. Other than those 2 things, I followed the recipe.

If you are going gluten free and/or dairy free - these cookies are great. I'm not going to pretend that once baked they taste as good as a flour, butter, sugar, regular old peanut butter cookie...but they are surprisingly tasty. But don't take my word for it - try it yourself! The recipe is below or you can go to
www.texanerin.com

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups canned chickpeas, well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (165 grams) natural peanut butter, SunButter Natural or almond butter (I used Trader Joe's Creamy, Salted Natural Peanut Butter)
• ¼ cup (80 grams) honey (I used Trader Joe's Organic Raw Honey)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• a pinch of salt if your peanut butter doesn't have salt in it
• ½ cup (90 grams) chocolate chips (use vegan chocolate chips, if needed)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F / 175°C. Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides and the top to get the little chunks of chickpeas and process again until they're combined.
2. Put in the chocolate chips and stir it if you can, or pulse it once or twice. The mixture will be very thick and sticky.
3. With wet hands, form into 1½" balls. Place onto a Silpat or a piece of parchment paper. If you want them to look more like normal cookies, press down slightly on the balls. They don't do much rising. Bake for about 10 minutes.

Chocolate-Triple Hazelnut Truffles - Gluten Free

Chocolate-Hazelnut Truffles

I'm a bit behind on my posting. I have so much stuff stored in my photo files and my little kitchen notebook that I will have content for the next 3 months...I just have to actually post it!

In the above photo are Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles that I made around Christmas. Yes, Christmas. They were part of a trio of gluten free treats that I made for the holidays. And believe me, I do realize that was 6 months ago, but better late than never. Besides, you can make these treats anytime.

I got this recipe from Cooking Light and I when I made it, I did NOT have Frangelico. I had some hazelnut flavoring and Kahlua, so I used mostly Kahlua and a bit of hazelnut flavoring. I, as usual, eyeballed it. As for the chocolate, I used dark chocolate because I prefer it. I also used a melon baller. It makes for uniform sized balls. HA! In any event, they turned out de-lish!

Go forth and try it out!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons hazelnut-chocolate spread (such as Nutella) 
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Frangelico (hazelnut-flavored liqueur)...I actually have used Kahlua
• 1 tablespoon light-colored corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• Dash of salt (if you want it a bit saltier, sprinkle 1 tsp coarse sea salt in after chocolate melts and has cooled a minute and then poor into a shallow dish)
• 5 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped (I used dark chocolate only because I like it better)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped salted hazelnuts, toasted

Preparation

Combine the first 6 ingredients in the top of a double boiler. Cook over simmering water until chocolate melts (about 2 minutes), stirring constantly. Spoon mixture into a shallow dish. Let stand at room temperature 6 hours or up to overnight.
Scoop about 1 tablespoon chocolate mixture with a spoon. (Or use a melon baller - that's my favorite way) Dredge in nuts; roll into a ball. Repeat procedure with remaining chocolate mixture and nuts.

White Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce

White Chicken Enchiladas

I have decided Pinterest is just one giant, online, community cookbook. You can find a recipe for nearly everything. If you don't know what you want to make for dinner, chances are you can log on to Pinterest and find a photo so appetizing, so well styled, that you will repin it because it looks so damn good. Then all of a sudden you see another and another, and you have repinned 10 different delicious looking recipes on your food board. And, if you are like me, you already have about 100 different recipes on your food board.
Every once in awhile, I try these recipes that I have pinned. I take a photo of my creation - although it doesn't look quite as appetizing as the well styled, professionally photographed one on Pinterest - and write about it on my blog. Today, I am going to share the White Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce.
I have not been eating Gluten much, so I modified this recipe to be a Gluten free version. I used corn tortillas instead of flour in the sauce, I used corn starch or you could use Arrow Root. For the most part, it was fairly easy and pretty tasty and not too spicy. It could even be classified as kid friendly - it certainly is Damon friendly! It's a good one if you are looking for something quick to make and it makes for good left overs too.

Ingredients
8 soft taco size flour tortillas (or corn if you need to be gluten free)
2 cups shredded Monterrey jack cheese, divided
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour (2 tablespoons corn starch if you need to be gluten free)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
Chopped, fresh cilantro for garnish
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan with cooking spray; set aside. Mix the chicken together with 1 cup of the cheese.
2. Distribute the chicken and cheese mixture evenly among the tortillas. Roll up and place seam side down in the prepared pan.
3. In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Continue cooking over medium heat until sauce is thick and bubbly.
4. Stir in the sour cream and diced green chiles. Pour the sauce in an even layer over the enchiladas.
5. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Sprinkle with cilantro just before serving.

That Damn Gwenyth Paltrow is at it again!

If you don't know this already, I am a fan of GP. I like her as an actress - I don't LOVE her, but I like her. I am a much bigger fan of her newsletter/website GOOP and her cookbook, My Father's Daughter. And if you know me, or read this blog(I don't know if a lot of people read this blog), then you know how I loved the cook book. She is the reason that I don't buy salad dressing anymore. She is also the reason for why I use Spelt flour. I'm not going to say that everything in that cook book was a home run, but there were more recipes that I love and make frequently than recipes that are shit. And as a home cook, that's important.

In any event, she has another cook book coming out next week. I was texting with my friend Tanya today and told her that I am going to have to buy it now. She said that it's mandatory and I agreed. I have to buy it on principle and because I NEED to know what the hell is in there that I must make.

Since I subscribe to her online newsletter, today I received the "It's All Good" issue. In that issue, she gives up a few recipes that are included in her new cook book called...duh...It's All Good. The newsletter is just enough to tease you so you say, "Goddammit! Now I have to have this cook book!"

And trust me, if you are like me, that's what will happen. That is exactly how she got me in the first place. Note my prior blog post on the Linguine con le Vongole that was in her first book. I made a few things that she put out online and then I couldn't take it anymore - I needed to find out exactly what was in that book.

Anyway, check out her latest newsletter and decide for yourself if you are going to be a sucker like me.

For your enjoyment...http://www.goop.com/journal/make/218/its-all-good

You're welcome.

I Love Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

As I have stated before, I am OK at baking cookies - my sister is far better at it than I am. Hers always turn out chewy and delicious no matter what recipe she uses. Last night, I made some Chocolate Chip cookies for a friend of mine. I didn't want to make her any old kind of cookie, I wanted her to have something delicious like my sister's. So I had to go searching for a recipe and I think I found it.
Let me tell you straight away, this cookie is full fat goodness. It's not a spelt flour, agave syrup substituted for sugar type cookie that I have been making. This cookie is the real deal. I found it on All-Recipes and it is even called "Best Chocolate Chip Cookies".
This recipe makes exactly 48 cookies. I did my own thing by using white chocolate chips and dark chocolate chunks and omitted the walnuts. The dough recipe is what I was really after.  They turned out delicious and the next day still delicious.
If you are looking for a nice chewy cookie recipe, this is the recipe to use.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used 1 cup white chocolate chips and 1 cup dark chocolate chunks)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with the salt. Mix in the flour 1 cup at a time until fully incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts(if using).

Drop about a 1 tablespoon scoop of dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, 12 to a sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

*I found that living at sea level, baking is a bit different. 10 minutes exactly is what I needed.

Going Gluten & Dairy Free: Pumpkin-Cran Muffins

Pumpkin-Cran Muffins

I would like to start by saying that I am not on a crazy-ass diet. I have had a few allergy issues and have  found that eating gluten free relieves some of my symptoms and many of the gluten free recipes are also dairy free. So there.
I've been trying out a few recipes from various sources and this one is adapted from the Practical Paleo cook book. I have made this recipe twice, once with all purpose gluten free flour and once with coconut flour. My second attempt was much better. I have tweaked the recipe from the original. I found that the original was too oily from too much coconut oil, but that could have been due to the fact that I used all purpose GF flour instead of coconut flour. This recipe says that you could use either coconut oil or butter, but I have swapped coconut oil for butter before and the result was the same - too oily. To all of you gluten free naysayers out there, I will say that the following recipe produces a muffin that does not taste like a piece of cardboard. My husband ate them and would have never known that they were gluten and dairy free. So try the recipe, I think you will be surprised!

Pumpkin-Cran Muffins (makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1/3 Cup Coconut Oil melted (if you use butter, use 1/2 cup melted)
1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar(optional - if your going paleo totally omit this)
1 tablespoon Vanilla
1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie spice + a couple of dashes of ground clove
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Cup Coconut Flour (if you don't have or can't find - All Purpose GF Flour works, but I would use about 2/3 cup)
1/2 Cup Craisins(if you hate craisins - skip them!)

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Mix the first 8 ingredients together until completely combined and smooth. Sift in the baking soda, baking powder, and coconut flour and stir until combined. Last, fold in the Craisins - unless you hate them, then don't.

Coat muffin tins with coconut oil or paper muffin cups. Add batter equally amongst the 12 muffin tins and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Turkey Gumbo

Turkey Gumbo

To be honest with you, this post has been sitting in my draft file for a long, long while. I originally wrote it right after Thanksgiving and as I do, I got sidetracked...and then it was Christmas. I did make this twice over the holidays: once after Thanksgiving and once after Christmas.

For the past few years I have been making turkey gumbo instead of turkey noodle soup. We were really burnt out on the turkey noodle and I felt the gumbo was a good alternative. Besides, my family really liked it. The past two years, I have been making this gumbo after Christmas as well. Damon's grandmother sends up about 10 pounds of Gulf Shrimp to my Father-in-Law, Ron. While he likes shrimp a whole lot, he's no about to eat 10 pounds of it. So, perfect for the gumbo! Now, I do want to note that I am in no way, shape or form, from Louisiana. I also do not have an heritage from the south - I just really like Cajun and southern food. I've spent a fair amount of time there and I figured out how to cook the food pretty well. So, just put that judgement aside!

This recipe comes from a few that I put together. About 4 or 5 years ago, my mother-in-law, Sam, and I were shopping in this kind of weird, souvenir store in Florida and I found this book called Louisiana Entertains. It's a crazy-ass recipe book, with some great recipes and some questionable ones. It also tells you how to properly entertain, southern style. I loved it. I bought it. I cook from it and have combined several gumbo recipes to make the one that I use now. So, I hope you enjoy it!

Turkey Gumbo

1 bunch of green onions minced
1 small yellow onion minced
3 garlic cloves minced
1 green pepper diced
1 jalepeno diced
4 tomatoes diced
1 cup or 1 small bunch flat leaf parsley minced
1 tspn fresh minced oregano
1 tspn fresh minced thyme
1 bay leaf
2 ribs celery diced
2 carrots diced(optional)
4-5 strips of bacon
2 andouille links sliced
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tblsp flour or Corn Starch
2 tblsp corn oil
1 quart Turkey Stock (or chicken stock) plus 1 cup of water

In a 5 quart cast iron pot or dutch oven, over medium heat, fry the bacon strips. Once finished, remove bacon strips and set aside. Next, add the 2 tablespoons corn oil and let it heat up about 1 minute. Add to the heated oil the onion and sauté for about 1 minute. Add the garlic, green pepper, jalepeno, and tomato, and sauté for another minute. Add the 2 tblsp flour(if you are gluten free like me - use corn starch). The mixture will start to look thick and clumpy - add the cup of water a bit at a time until it smooths out. Now add all of the rest of the ingredients to the pot and give it a good stir, turn the heat down to medium and cover and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

Serve it with rice, or eat it like soup! Before the gluten situation, I used to love to eat it with a bit of French bread with Provolone Cheese melted right on it!

Mongolian Beef

Mongolian Beef

As I previously predicted, I flaked out. I didn't completely flake, but I have not been keeping up with my posting. From everything that I have been learning about social media, blogging, and blah, blah, blah, etc. is that posting regularly and multiple times a week drives traffic to your blog. While that is very relevant for my job - here...I'm not that concerned yet!
I have been cooking though! I'll catch up, and I have a lot to catch you up on...so, let's get started. The photo above is the Mongolian Beef recipe from the November anniversary issue of Cooking Light. This recipe is great if you are short on time. The other great thing is that the majority of the ingredients are those that should already be in your pantry. I did make a couple of changes. I did not have peanut oil and substituted vegetable oil. You could use canola oil too. Part of the reason that peanut oil is being used is because it can withstand higher heat. Vegetable oil can too but is not as healthy. Canola oil can be used in a pinch but may not handle the heat as well.
My sister wanted to make this recipe and I suggested that she use canola oil to her as she did not have peanut oil. It seemed to work out for her. I also suggested that she cut the amount of chile paste in half because it's kind of spicy. I went for full spice...maybe a smidge extra, Damon and I are spicy folks. Both my sister and I added extra veggies. I added broccoli and carrots and she may have too - but to be honest, I forget if she did!
This recipe is great. It's fast, easy, and pretty tasty. We've made it twice and it was something easy enough for Damon to make (I'm teaching him to cook a few things...as they say "teach a man to fish").

Mongolian Beef

Ingredients
2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce 
1 teaspoon sugar 
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons dry sherry
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons peanut oil (vegetable or canola oil will work too)
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 pound sirloin steak, thinly sliced across the grain
1 cup chopped broccoli (optional)
2 carrots sliced (optional)
16 medium green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces

Directions
Combine first 8 ingredients, stirring until smooth.
Heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced ginger, minced garlic, and beef; sauté for 2 minutes or until beef is browned. *If you are added broccoli and/or carrots add it here and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add green onion pieces; sauté 30 seconds. Add soy sauce mixture; cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Note: If you feel like you need a bit more "sauce" add about 1/4 cup of water at a time until you reach a desired consistency. I used about a 1/2 cup of water... and it's because I added broccoli and carrots and it sucked up all the sauce!

Enjoy!

A Pinterest Recipe that is NO JOKE...The Nutella Cookie Recipe

The Nutella Cookie

There has been this recipe floating around on Pinterest that claims to be fast and easy. You may have seen it, you may have pinned it - The Nutella Cookie...don't add the sugar! I pinned it. Of course I pinned it, who doesn't love Nutella? I have not tried many of the recipes that I have pinned, but last night it just so happens that I finally tried the Nutella one.

Damon and I were both looking for something sweet to eat. I was also being kind of lazy and didn't really want to make a complicated dessert. Damon says to me,"Come on! You can make something out of nothing!" And all of a sudden it dawned on me: I have Nutella, flour, and eggs! I'm doing this! So I pulled up Pinterest, found the recipe and made the damn things in all of 20 minutes. They are good too. Not too sweet, kind of fluffy.

The point is that this Pinterest recipe is no joke. It is fast and it is good.

The Nutella Cookie
1 cup Nutella
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Put all items in a bowl and beat for about 2 minutes with a hand mixer until it forms a thick dough. You could do one of 2 things - either treat it like a drop cookie and take a small spoonful of dough and drop it on to the cookie sheet OR you can form little balls and put them on a cookie sheet and slightly flatten them out. Then put them in the oven for about 6-8 minutes, and voila! Nutella Cookies.

SO GOOD.

Cooking from Recipes: Creamy Tomato Soup

Creamy Tomato Soup dusted with Parmesan cheese

OK. I kind of flaked out for a week or so. I will not make excuses, but I will say that I warned you about the possibility.

I made this Creamy Tomato soup on October 19th. My friend Rob came to visit and I decided to make a nice soup and served it with "adult" grilled cheese. With the seasons changing, the leaves falling, and the nice crisp cool air - it called for soup! The recipes were all from the October issue of Bon Appetit. The photos in the magazine were so much more appealing looking than my photos above, especially the photos of the varieties of grilled cheese. 

This recipe was great. It was fast, easy, and delicious. The only change I made was that I added 4 fresh diced Roma tomatoes to the recipe. I don't really know if it made a difference, but it turned out. It was creamy and had a bit of a...tanginess...as Damon says. In any event, I think it's an excellent recipe to try.

Creamy Tomato Soup from Bon Appetit

Cooking from Recipes: Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs

Bacon wrapped chicken thighs with sauteed kale

I haven't completely flaked out yet, just delayed a bit.  I have been keeping up with cooking though. Not everyday like I planned, because my life gets in the way and I get side tracked.

Last Thursday I made another paleo dish, bacon wrapped chicken thighs. To be completely honest with you, I didn't love it. Damon thought it was OK. He didn't hate it, mostly because it was wrapped in bacon - or that is what I think. I did follow the directions, but for some reason it was...bland. I don't know exactly what it was that I didn't like, but it was something. I think you can judge for yourself.

I served it with sauteed kale. It was nothing special, just sauteed in a tablespoon or 2 of butter, a couple of cloves of minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and a couple dashes of red wine vinegar. That's my go to kale recipe.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs
4 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs
8 slices of bacon
2 teaspoons Smokey Spice Blend (recipe to follow)

Smoke Spice Blend
1 tablespoon chipotle powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sea salt
1/2 tablespoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Sprinkle the chicken thighs with 1/2 of the of spice blend. Next wrap in chicken with 2 pieces of bacon each and then sprinkle the other 1/2 of the spice blend over the wrapped chicken. Bake for 40 minutes, uncovered, or until internal temp is 165 degrees F. If you feel that the bacon is not browned enough or crispy looking enough, broil the chicken for 2 minutes.

Cooking from Recipes: Hayley's Skirt Steak Tacos

Hayley's Skirt Steak Tacos

I wanted to make something that was fast and easy and to me, tacos are always fast and easy. This recipe comes from, again, "Practical Paleo" by Diane Sanfilippo. The recipe is named after Hayley Mason, co-author of "Make it Paleo"  - which I have not read. 

In true Michelle fashion, I made a slight alteration to the original recipe. I just needed an extra kick. Others may or may not agree, but the alteration is optional and I like it. I like it spicy! The recipe also calls for butter lettuce. As you probably can tell from the photo, I did not use butter lettuce. Truth be told, I forgot the butter lettuce when I went grocery shopping. I had romaine lettuce and it worked great! However, for Damon...I gave him corn tortillas. He's not big on lettuce as the taco shell. He's a guy and I don't blame him. He did like it though and ate all the extra steak. In the end, it's tacos and you can add or subtract anything you want from it and you can top it with what ever you want! But if you are on the Paleo Diet...no cheese, no sour cream. Me? I had both!

Hayley's Skirt Steak Tacos
Juice and Zest of one lime
1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced (I love garlic, so I used 3)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (plus 1/2 teaspoon cumin, optional)
1 small jalapeno finely minced (also optional)
Sea Salt and black pepper to taste
1-1/2lb skirt steak
1 head bib, butter, or Boston lettuce

Gently separate the leaves of lettuce and rinse them off. Set them aside to dry.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the lime juice, zest, garlic, and chili powder (and the optionals if you are going there). Place the skirt steak in the bowl and massage the seasonings into it. Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Grill for approximately 3 minutes per side. Set the cooked steak aside to rest for 10 minutes, then slice against the grain into small strips. You may want to divide the skirt steak into two or three sections before slicing, as it is typically very long.

Serve the steak, and whatever topper you are going with, in your lettuce leaves.

Cooking from Recipes: Mustard Glazed Chicken Thighs and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Mustard Glazed Chicken Thighs and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

This dinner was quite successful. So much so that Damon actually said, "This is the best chicken! I even love the brussels sprouts! Is there more?" And no, there was not more.  I made just enough for the 2 of us, but this was definitely the day that I wished I made more. It's like getting kids to eat, when you find something they like you make a lot of it often. Needless to say, this dinner will make the regular rotation.

The chicken recipe comes from the book "Practical Paleo" by Diane Sanfilippo.  Yesterday's chop recipe came from that book as well. I bought the book because I was having some digestive problems and suspected that I was gluten intolerant. I needed a little inspiration and this book definitely gives me that, but it also gives me a lot of information about diet, allergies, and intolerance to food. It is supposed to be "real food" or "primal." I don't know whether or not I totally agree with everything in the book, but the recipes, techniques, and meal plans are great.

The Brussels sprouts recipe comes from the handy dandy, October issue of Cooking Light.  I love that magazine. You can't go wrong with that magazine.  Well, you can - but not often!

Mustard Glazed Chicken Thighs
1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil
2 tablespoons gluten-free mustard
Black Pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
12 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

In a small mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, mustard, black pepper, and Sage Salt. Place the chicken thigh on a baking sheet or oven-safe dish, and brush the mixture evenly over each one.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a thermometer reads 165 degrees F when inserted into the center of one of the chicken thighs.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Preheat even to 425 degrees F. Combine 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts, 2 teaspoons canola oil, 1-1/2 teaspoon maple syrup, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 pound halved Brussels sprouts on a jelly-roll pan.  Bake at 425 degrees for 17 minutes, stirring once.

Cooking From Recipes: Pork Chops w/Olive Tapenade and Roasted Broccoli and Potatoes

Pork Chops with Olive Tapenade and Roasted Broccoli and Potatoes

I am doing this! For how long? Who knows! So, my suggestion is to keep up with it while it lasts because I might flake out after a week. But really, I am trying to be serious about posting the recipes that I try.  I am also trying to be serious about using my gym membership. Maybe this thing can go hand in hand? Again, who knows! I did run today and go to Pilate's...

The above photo is Pork Chops with Olive Tapenade and Roasted Broccoli and Potatoes.  The pork chop recipe is a bit of an adaptation. The original recipe comes for the book Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo and calls for lamb chops. Well, I got lazy and didn't go searching out the best lamb chop - so I figured it would go well with pork chops and I was right!  Now the broccoli and potatoes...I just roasted them. It didn't come from a recipe. My husband, Damon, liked the pork chops quite a lot. He liked the broccoli OK, it's a challenge for him to really love veggies.  I like the veggies - but then again, I love broccoli and potates!  I really liked the chops, the olive tapenade really did kick ass and made it super tasty! I encourage you to try it. 

Lamb Chops with Olive Tapenade (or use pork chops like me!)

2 tablespoons bacon fat or coconut oil

2 lbs lamb chops (or pork chops bone in)

1 tablespoon Greek Spice Blend (recipe to follow)

Greek Spice Blend

2 tablespoons Lemon Salt

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 tablespoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons black pepper

Olive Tapenade (can be made ahead 1 day)

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons capers

1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste

Julie of 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In an oven safe pan over medium heat, melt the bacon fat or coconut oil. While the pan heats, sprinkle both sides of the lamb or pork chops with the Greek Spice Blend.  Sear the lamb chops for 2 minutes on each side (if you are using pork chops do 4 minutes each side).  Next place the entire pan in the hot oven for 2 minutes (if you are using the pork chops do 4 minutes).  Remove chops from the oven.

To make the tapenade: Combine all ingredients in a food processor or hand blender. Top each lamb chop with a dollop of tapenade.  

Roasted Broccoli and Potatoes

1 pound of broccoli, florets cut from the thick stalk

5 red, Yukon, and/or purple baby potatoes quartered

3 garlic cloves minced

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Cover a jelly roll pan with tin foil. Combine above ingredients and bake on the jelly roll pan for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

 

 

 

Cooking from Recipes: A Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookie

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie made by my sister, Jenny

It's been a really long time since I have posted anything to this blog and I really don't have an excuse. I guess it must be life, it gets in my way sometimes. I do have a plan to keep my posting on track. I have been talking with my friend about cooking from recipes. I have all of these magazine subscriptions and cookbooks and I think it makes sense to cook from the recipes within them. I do really like "freestyle" cooking and making new things up, but sometimes it is great to cook from recipes. The magazines I subscribe to and the cookbooks that I own have really great recipes, ideas, and techniques.  I mean, that is why I have them...right? So, for a while I think I am going to share with you the recipes that I have tried and to start, I am going to post a recipe that my sister tried. 

My sister, Jenny, she is quite the baker.  Her cookies always turn out way better, softer, and far more delicious than mine. Now that she has 2 kids, she has to find ways to get them to eat healthy - and sometimes she will sneak in vegetables to baked goods! Recently, she sent me a photo of some healthier, whole wheat cookies that she baked from a recipe in the October Cooking Light.  When she tried the dough, she was a bit unsure as to how they were going to turn out - BUT once they came out of the oven she said they were delicious! If you want to try out a chocolate chip cookie recipe that is lower in calories without sacrificing that yummy taste - try these cookies! 
Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ramps - not just for skateboarding

The above photo is a ramp.  It is also called a wild leek.  I feel like it is a cross between green onions and garlic.  It's mellow like a green onion but with a bit of a kick that garlic has.  It's de-lish.  I use it as the only ingredient to saute vegetables or roast vegetables. 

They are only in season for a short time in the spring and early summer - so find this stuff and use it!

Roasted Asparagus with Ramps

1 bunch of Asparagus, with the tough ends nipped off
1 bunch of Ramps, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl toss the asparagus with the rest of the ingredients and set aside.  Next, line a baking sheet with foil and then evenly distribute the asparagus on the sheet and bake for about 20-25 min. until tender.

Enjoy!

Mexican Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce

I know it is way more fun to have a photo of the dish so you can see what it looks like - or supposed to look like, but I didn't take one.  I don't know why either!  So, the photo above is robbed from the cookbook.  Sorry!  I have made it many times, and made it this past week when the family was in town.  It's not too difficult and makes a great left over for breakfast, especially because of the sauce.  The recipe that I have is out of my cookbook, Fresh Mexican by Monica Medin-Mora and Angeles Ayala.  I have made this recipe to their exact specifications, but the recipe that I am going to post here is an easier and less labor intensive version. 

Ingredients:

Meat Balls
8 oz lean ground pork
8 oz lean ground beef
1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 egg
salt and pepper

Chipotle Sauce
3 Chipotle Chili's in Adobo and 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
5 Roma Tomatoes, diced
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 thyme sprig
1 1/2 cup Chicken Stock

First, make the meat balls. Mix the ground meats, onion, garlic, egg, and salt and pepper (I use a couple of pinches of each) in a bowl.  Shape the mixture into chestnut-size balls.  In a deep skillet, on medium high heat, brown the meat balls on all sides.  You will most likely have to do it in 2 batches.  You do not want to crowd them in the pan so that they can evenly brown.  Once all the meat balls have browned, set them aside and discard the oil from the skillet.

Once you have discarded the oil from the skillet, start the sauce.  Continue to keep the heat on medium high and add to the same skillet, the tomatoes, onion, garlic.  The juice from the tomatoes will deglaze the skillet and grab the brown bits from the meat.  Cover and let simmer for about 5 min, stirring occasionally.  While the tomatoes are simmering, add to a blender, 3 chiptole chilies, 1 tablespoon of the adobo sauce, and 1/2 cup of chicken stock and blend till smooth.  Once the tomato mixture has softened, add the tomato mixture and another 1/2 cup of chicken stock to the blender with the chipotle sauce still it and blend till it is a smooth sauce.  Add the sauce back to the skillet and turn the heat down to medium-low.  Add the remaining 1/2 cup of the chicken stock, thyme sprig, and bay leaf to the sauce and stir so it a nice "saucy" consistency.  Lastly, add the meatballs back to the sauce.  Give it a gentle stir so that the meatballs are covered with the sauce.  Cover the skillet and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Serve with rice, tortillas and pinto beans.  It also makes for a tasty left over with eggs!

Enjoy!

I think this is my next purchase

I need new pots and pans.  I am now convinced, well I think I might be, that these Bialetti Aeternum ceramic-coated pans are for me!

http://www.bialettishop.com/BialettiAeternumCookware.html

AND it isn't expensive.  If anyone has tried these pots and pans or has read reviews - good or bad - let me know!

I heart Food

I made a ton of dinners in the last 10 days and have really decided that I do well cooking for a large group - it's more fun... for me.  I made Thai, Italian(ish), Gumbo, British... all kinds of stuff.  Everything seemed to go over pretty well.  I think the winner may have been Christmas Dinner... Winner, winner, Christmas Dinner.  So here's the re-cap and the recipes.  I know some of you want them!

Jenny went back for seconds for the Gnocchi Gorganzola Gratin.  I got that recipe from Bon Appetit.  It was delicious, and if you want to be really lazy about it - buy prepared Italian Gnocchi from the store.  I got mine from Trader Joe's. 

The prime rib was delicious and the left overs made a really tasty Shepards Pie.  I got the recipe from the December issue of Cooking Light, Rosemary-Dijon Crusted Standing Rib Roast.  A couple of days later, I chopped up the remaining prime rib into small pieces and sauted it quickly with diced carrots and the remaining Au Jus.  I put the rib and carrot saute in a 9x13 glass baking casserole and covered it with mashed potatoes.  I planned to use the left over mash potatoes, but could not locate them, so I whipped up new mashed potatoes.  I then covered the potatoes with shredded cheddar and baked in the oven for 30 minutes and Voila! Shepards pie!

I think the Gnocchi and Prime Rib recipes can be made anytime, especially the Gnocchi.  I recommend both recipes!