Shrimp & Grits

This was inspired by watching someone make a lighter version of the usual shrimp and grits. That recipe called for no cheese or cream, using Greek yogurt.... I'll stop there. This is my middle of the road rendition:

3 strips bacon, cooked and cut into medium bits
1/2 large white onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
4Tbsp heavy cream
1/3 cup white wine
2 dozen cleaned and peeled shrimp
3/4 cup grits
3 cups water
Fresh chives
Salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste

Start with the onion, pepper and garlic. Heat 1Tbsp olive oil in a large pan over medium to medium low heat. Add in the onion, bell pepper and garlic to sweat.



Meanwhile, pour the dry grits into a cast iron skillet over low heat for a couple minutes, then pour in the water and mix well. Simmer until thickened.










Once the onions and peppers have softened, add the cream, wine, hot sauce, salt, and bacon. Stir well, scraping the bottom to pull up any bits from cooking the onions and peppers, and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until thickened. Add the shrimp and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until pink, curled and firmed.



To serve, pour some of the grits on the plate first, spoon over the onions and peppers, top with some shrimp, and snip over some fresh chives! Hope you enjoy!

Florida Sunset

One of the chain Italian restaurants makes a Venetian Sunset using pineapple juice, Asti Spumante, and grenadine, however I didn't have pineapple juice. I did however have a bag full of Florida clementines! To the kitchen we go!

1 1/2oz grenadine, chilled
3 clementines juiced, chilled
4oz Asti Spumante, chilled

Pour the grenadine into the bottom of a highball glass. CAREFULLY (or with a meat flavor injector... Yes I did...) add the clementine juice, then the Asti. Garnish with a clementine slice. Hope you enjoy!

Peach Galette

I'm not sure where the inspiration for this one came from, but it was just there recently while at the grocery store, and finally came out yesterday evening. I had never made puff pastry before, and I had a notion that it was this extremely daunting task that would take me all night and part of the next month... So, as usual, off to Google I went to get educated on the matter. The first site I found said the process would take THREE DAYS! I don't care who you are. That's unacceptable. Who has the patience to wait THREE DAYS for pastry?! Insisting there MUST be a better, and faster way, I moved on. I found one that I'm pretty sure was a cheater method, but it promised a 90 minute turn around time, so I was in!

Crust:
2 1/2 cups bread flour, sifted
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup cold water (or there about)
1 1/4tsp salt
1tsp sugar
1 egg, wisked

Filling:
4 peaches
1/4 cup white sugar
1tsp cinnamon

Llace the butter between two sheets of plastic wrap, and roll or press into a thin disc, about a 1/4 inch thick and chill until firmed. Meanwhile, combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl, then add the water in portions until the dough forms a ball and clears the bowl walls. Let the dough rest in the bowl for ten minutes or so. Remember to cover the bowl with a damp cloth or paper towel to keep the dough from drying.

Roll the dough out to twice the size of your butter disc. (Butter disc. I can hear Paula Deen now!) Place the disc on one side of the dough and fold the other half over. Press the edges together well making a seal. Roll the dough to half it's current size, being careful not to squish the butter through the dough. Fold in half and repeat, then chill until firmed again. The whole theory here is that the butter is kept relatively cold around 60f. That will help keep things puffy puffy when baked! Julia Child says 6 folds is adequate, which following the L=(f+1)n (Can't make the N higher) formula, with L being the number of Layers, f being the amount of folds, and n being the number of times the dough has been folded, will tell you how many layers 6 times will yeild! If you desire more, fold on my friend. I repeated the fold and chill process about 3 times.

Inbetween the foldings, halve and thinly slice (about 1/8-1/4 inch) the peaches, then mix with the 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Once the pasty has had it's final chill, roll out into a circle about 1/4 inch thick. Place the peach slices into the center, and fold the dough over in pleats, leaving about 6" accross open in the center. Brush with the egg, sprinkle with the sugar, and bake at 400f until golden brown. Remove and cool, then drizzle the crust with honey or agave nectar! Hope you enjoy!!





Baking away!



Raspberry Mint Sorbet

I have a new toy: An ice cream maker! My oldest and I made chocolate chocolate chip ice cream last night, but I wanted to make something for me that I wouldn't feel 100% guilty for eating.

2 14oz bags frozen raspberries
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
6 mint leaves
1 lemon

Set the berries out to thaw. Meanwhile, make a simple syrup. bring the sugar and water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Reduce to a simmer and add in the mint and juice of one lemon, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the mint leaves and add in the thawed raspberries. Heat them through for another few minutes, and remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.






Pour the mix into either a food processor, a wand blender or a regular blender, and blend well. Pour half the mix into a mesh strainer over a bowl and strain out the seeds. A silicone spatula will help this happen faster. Repeat with the second half.






Turn on your ice cream maker and pour the mix in. Follow your makers instructions for how long to let it work. If the sorbet is too thin for your liking, put it in the freezer to firm up before eating. Hope you enjoy!




Costs:
Mint, water and sugar: Already on hand.
Raspberries: $3.19 per bag
Lemon: 3 for $1.00

Shark Steak

Today I'll be adding something new. A couple people have mentioned that it seems like the things I make seem too pricey, so at the suggestion of the DH, I'll be adding the price of each item as often as possible! Today's dish is in response to a request for more seafood items. My boys and I braved the strong winds from Tropical Storm Debbie and went across the way to Publix. There we found purple potatoes and several other items on sale. There were several seafood options on sale as well, including shrimp for tomorrow's dish, but the shark steak (not on sale) stuck out the most to me, and it was reasonably priced!

2 shark steaks
2 lemons, zested
1 pound purple potatoes (I used half purple and half yellow)
2Tbsp olive oil
1Tbsp fresh cracked pepper
2 stems fresh rosemary, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Start with the potatoes. Wash and slice about 1/8th of an inch thick. Heat 1Tbsp of olive oil in a large pan over medium low and add in the potatoes, salt and pepper to taste, and most of the rosemary. Leave a little rosemary out to sprinkle on later. Stir or toss often and cook the potatoes until a knife can be inserted and easily removed from the center, then set aside.

Heat your oven to 350f. Zest both the lemons into a small bowl. Add 1Tbsp of fresh cracked pepper, and combine well. Season the steaks with a bit of salt, then with the lemon pepper mixture. Heat 1Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat in a medium oven safe pan. Once hot, add the steaks and sear for about 5 minutes, or until nicely browned. Turn and place in the oven for roughly ten minutes, or until they have reached the proper temperature, and remove. Plate on top of a layered row of the potatoes that have just been sprinkled with a little more rosemary, and serve! A quick squeeze of lemon juice is a good idea here too. Some sort of cream sauce would be good to have I think, however I didn't think of that at the time. Hope you enjoy!

Cost:
2 shark steaks: $8.47
Potatoes: $3.99 per bag, but buy one get one this week
Lemons: 3 for $1.00
Olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary were already in the pantry

Banana's a la pyro!

Banana's a la pyro! Yummy yummy yummy!!!

So I wanted tomake something a little (emphasis on the "little"!) on the lighter side(ish) for dessert tonight, so off toGoogle I went to search for some suggestions. I ran across a sort of bananasfoster with frozen yogurt, only theirs was wrapped and broiled and I wanted topan fry it. Why? Well because one recipe called for doing that and a little flambéwith banana liqueur, and it's no secret how much I like doing that!

2 ripened bananas

1 pint vanillaGreek yogurt

1/2 cupblueberries

1Tbsp sugar

1Tbsp brown sugar

2tsp cinnamon

3Tbsp bananaliqueur

2Tbsp light agavenectar

1tsp vanillaextract

1Tbsp butter

1/2 cup semi-sweetchocolate

3 mint leaves

1/8 cup slicedtoasted almonds

1Tbsp heavy cream

Combine theyogurt, agave and vanilla. Either use an ice cream maker or freeze and stirVERY often.

Combine theblueberries and sugar in a bowl. Bruise the mint leaves and add in with theblueberries, stir to combine, and set aside.

Using a doubleboiler, or the microwave, melt the chocolate, half the butter, and the cream.

Now for thebananas. Slice the bananas in half length-wise then width-wise, remove thepeel, and sprinkle on the cinnamon and brown sugar. Melt half the butter in apan until it starts to brown, then add the bananas flat side down first. Letthem fry for a few minutes or until they've browned some, then flip (carefullybecause they're a lot softer now) and cook for a couple more minutes. Now forthe fun part! (Safety note: as always, BE CAREFUL! I take no responsibility forany adverse outcomes! Don't touch the pretty flames, don't pour the burningliquid into anything, keep your sleeves out of the way... Just be smart, K? Itrust ya!) Sprinkle a bit more brown sugar onto the bananas, then pour theliqueur into the pan and light it. Swirl gently to ensure all the alcohol burnsoff. This will also slightly caramelize the brown sugar you just added. Oncethe flame is out, remove and place on your plate. Top with the frozen yogurt,blueberries, chocolate, sprinkle with the almonds, and serve! Hope you enjoy!

Butter me some ribeye!

Who doesn't love steak? Send them to my house. I'll fix that.

The ribeye. It very well may be, in my opinion, the most perfect steak around. Sure there's the strip steak, the filet, and so on, but the fat to meat ratio of the ribeye is, again in my opinion, perfection! There's nothing better than that rich, buttery smoothness of a grilled ribeye! Ok, where's my napkin?....

While out for the weekly grocery trip, lucky me, ribeyes were on sale!! Oh and a three pack of thick cut too? Quit it! My arm! Stop twisting it! We usually do the typical sauteed mushrooms and vidalia onions, but I wanted to add a little something more. What about butter? Flavored butter, to be specific? How about Gorgonzola butter with roasted garlic and parsley? Ohh yes my friend! We have a winner!

3 ribeye steaks

Fresh cracked pepper and garlic salt to taste

1 bulb garlic

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup Gorgonzola crumbles, room temperature

2 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley

1 vidalia onion

10 sliced baby portobello mushrooms

Start with the garlic bulb. Slice off about the top quarter, drizzle with 1Tbsp of olive oil, and wrap in a foil purse. Bake at 375f for about an hour, or until the package can be easily squeezed with tongs. Remove and allow to cool. Once cool, place the butter, Gorgonzola, and parsley into a bowl. Squeeze the garlic bulb from the bottom like a ketchup packet into the bowl, and using a fork or I suppose a potato masher, combine well. Scoop out the butter mixture and place onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape as best you can into a stick with your hands. Meet the long sides together and wrap around the butter, then fold the ends over and fold under the stick. You can reform again if needed now, then place into the fridge to cool and harden.

Meanwhile, season the steaks with the pepper and garlic salt. Yes, that's it. I don't like to add a lot of fuss to steak. I eat steak to TASTE steak! Not to get a mouthful of pepper and other nonsense. Let the meat rest for a few moments while you slice your onion and mushrooms however you prefer. I like 1/4 in thick half moons for the onion, and the same thickness for the mushrooms. Heat 2Tbsp of olive oil over medium-low heat in a large pan. Layer the onions in first and top with the mushrooms. Stir occasionally until the onions are caramelized and the mushrooms have begun to brown a bit, then remove and set aside.

Time to grill! Quite simply, place the steaks on a medium heat grill, and close the lid. No peaking and no touching, I mean unless you for some reason begin to have a raging fire in there.... Flip them after about 5 minutes, and continue cooking until they've reached your desired temperature. Remove and let them rest for about 5 minutes. Plate a steak and top with a thick slice of the butter and some the mushrooms and onions. I also served this with baked sweet potatoes. Hope you enjoy!

Fettuccine Alfredo

"How did you know chicken fettuccine alfredo is my favorite dish"

Uhh.... I'm just that good?

Dear hubby spent the afternoon in the Florida heat adding a couple new heads to the sprinkler system, so I knew a hearty meal would need to be in order for this evening! I hadn't used my pasta maker in some time, so I settled on fettuccine alfredo. After a quick run to the store for parmesan, I prepared the past dough:

4 eggs

3 cups flour

Pile the flour directly onto your counter or a large cutting board. Make a well in the middle, and crack the eggs into it. Break the yolks, and then mix well. A little more flour or a touch of water can be added if it seems too wet or too dry. The dough should be roughly the consistency of firm play-dough. Place the dough either in a bowl covered with a damp towel, or in a plastic sealing storage bag and rest for 20-30 minutes or so. Once it's rested, kneed a few times on a floured board or counter, and cut a roughly 1/2 cup chunk off. Using a past maker, or rolling pin, roll into thin sheets, then if you have a fettuccine attachment, cut into ribbons. Drop into boiling salted water for just a few minutes, and remove when they're floating. Toss with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.

To make the alfredo sauce:

1 stick unsalted butter

2 cups cream

3 cups fresh shredded/shaved/grated parmesan
1 clove garlic, minced, grated or crushed

Fresh cracked pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan. Once melted, add the cream and allow it to come to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add the parmesan, garlic and pepper, and stir well until melted. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool for a few moments before serving to allow it to thicken more.

I also grilled and sliced a few boneless skinless chicken breast, which I put on top of the pasta before pouring the sauce over. I served grilled asparagus as a side as well. Some garlic bread or bread sticks would go nicely too for sopping up the sauce! Hope you enjoy!

Key Lime Pie 2

So as it turns out, the husband didn't like the meringue on the key lime pie. So, for dessert after dinner this Fathers Day, I made another but topped with whipped cream and slivered almonds! The recipe is pretty much the same:

28oz sweetened condensed milk
1 cup fresh key lime juice
6 egg yolks
1 sleeve graham crackers, crumbed
3/4 stick butter, melted
3 cups heavy cream
2-3Tbsp sugar to taste
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Again, make the crust by combining the butter and crushed graham crackers until they look like damp sand, press into a pie plate and bake at 350f for 10 minutes or until slightly browned. Set aside to cool while you make the filling.

Combine the sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks in a large bowl, then add the key lime juice and combine well, which will cause the filling to thicken some. Pour into the cooled crust and bake at 350f for another 10-15 minutes. The pie will be firm now. Remove and allow to cool completely.

To make the whipped cream, pour the cold heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into a large cold bowl. Either with a whisk or electric mixer, whip to medium-stiff peaks, but don't over whip and make it into sweet butter! When the pie is completely cooled, use a pastry bag to pipe the whipped cream onto the pie, and then sprinkle with the almonds! Hope you enjoy!!

Happy Father's Day!

The Official Pie of Florida

All weaknesses aside, key lime pie is the one and only thing I will NEVER turn down! It's cool creaminess hits the spot on any warm summer day, which at the moment is getting the best of me with our relatively new A/C on the fritz....

I am not a frequent baker, but I've noticed through my posts I don't do it that often, and I've also found that I really enjoy it! You prep something with such anticipation, place it in the oven, and patiently wait to see if the image and flavor in your head comes out of the oven as expected! I decided another pie was in order, and given that's it's summer, what better than the Florida State Pie! I did some researching first to find just the right recipe and found something similar to what's below.The only thing I changed was the amount of sweetened condensed milk, eggs, key lime juice. I also a little history behind key lime pie! For example, I found that the traditional key lime pie is topped with meringue, and not whipped cream, because when it first started being made whipped cream wasn't feasible due to a lack of refrigeration, and that in 1965, legislation was proposed to fine anyone advertising key lime pie that's NOT made with key limes, which didn't pass.

The Recipe:
28oz sweetened condensed milk
8oz fresh key lime juice (Trust me. Don't cheat this one. Buy a bag of about 30 and juice them. It's tedious but the reward of their amazing flavor is worth it!)
6 egg yolks (save the whites in a separate bowl to make the meringue)
1 sleeve graham crackers, crumbed
1/4 stick (or so) unsalted butter, melted
3Tbsp sugar




The Crust:
Place the graham crackers in a zip seal bag and smash into crumbs. An eager little boy with the flat side of a meat mallet comes in handy here! Once the crackers have been reduced to crumbs, pour the melted butter over them while stirring. You want about the consistency of moist sand. A little more butter may be required, depending. Pour the mix into a pie plate and press down starting in the center and working your way to the sides, making it about 1/8 inch thick. The bottom of a heavy glass or your fist will work fine. Place in a 350f oven for 10-15 minutes, or until slightly browned. Let the crust cool in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.








The Filling:
Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a large bowl. Drop in the yolks and combine well. Pour in the key lime juice and combine again. The filling will now thicken some, due to a chemical reaction called souring. Pour the filling into the cooled crust, and bake at 350f for 10 minutes, or until the jiggle has gone! Remove and cool.







The Meringue:
Put the reserved egg whites, plus 3Tbsp of sugar, into a medium bowl. Whip until you've reached stiff peaks. Pour onto the cooled pie, and either bake for another 5-10 minutes until browned, or allow your inner child to play with fire and use your kitchen blow torch! (Safety first of course! Follow all directions or your torch to the letter!) Either way your brown the meringue, cool again for half an hour to an hour before serving.


To serve, the pie pan may need to be dipped in warm water for a moment to loosen the crust. Slice, and serve! Hope you enjoy!! I know I did!!

Creamy Mac & Cheese

This is me, doing my happy dance! Like I said before, one of my weaknesses is a good macaroni and cheese. I've made Paula Deen's version before, but after a scoff at the method (you know who you are!), I decided to change it up a bit:

4 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
2 cups shredded white Vermont Cheddar
1 cup shredded cream Havarti
1 cup sour cream
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 Tbsp flour
3 eggs, whisked
2 cups milk
1 cup beer (Please no cheep beer. You'll thank me later.)
1 Tbsp dried mustard
Salt and white pepper to taste
2 boxes of elbow macaroni pasta
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Start the pasta boiling. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large sauce pan. Once melted, add the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes, but do not brown. The lighter the better. Add in the milk and heat for another 5 minutes or so, or until thickened. If it gets too thick, add a touch more milk. Slowly add the cheeses in (less the 1/2 cup of cheddar), about a cup worth at a time, then the beer, then the mustard, then the sour cream, then the eggs (remember to temper!),  then the salt and pepper. Once the pasta is al dente, drain and pour into a large deep baking dish. Allow the cheese to cook for another 5 minutes or so, then pour over the pasta and combine well. Resist the temptation if you can. It is quite hot right now... Voice of experience... Bake in a 350f oven for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until some of the macaroni begin to brown. Top with the remaining cheddar then panko, and bake for a few more minutes to brown the bread crumbs. Remove and cool for 5-10 minutes, and serve! Hope you enjoy!! I know we did!!



Mount Cheese

Cheesey Goodness

Let the Baking Begin!



All Done!

A Little Slice of Heaven!

Tonight's dessert menu featured pound cake with berries and lemon custard.

3 large eggs
3Tbsp milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
13Tbsp unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 350f and grease a 9x5 baking pan.Whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla together in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar, and mix until blended. Add the room temperature butter and combine again. Add half of the egg mixture, combine, add the rest, and combine again. Pour the batter into the baking pan. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. If the cake starts to get too brown, cover with foil.

Custard:
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 lemon zested
1/3 cup milk

Heat the milk and cream in a small sauce pan. Add in the lemon zest and gradually bring to a boil. While it's getting up to a boil, mix the sugar and egg yolks in a small bowl. Once the milk has reach a boil, pour a little into the yolks and mix to temper them. Pour the yolks into the sauce pan and stir continuously until it thickens. Remove from the heat and cool. I wanted something fluffier than what I got, but not heavy with whipped cream, so I whipped the left over egg whites to about medium peaks while the custard cooled. Once cool, fold the custard into the whipped whites.

Berries:
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup fresh strawberries, quartered
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/8 cup sugar

Mix the berries and the sugar together about an hour before you plan the serve.

Plating:
Either use full slices or use a ring cutter to get circles of the pound cake. Brush each slice with orange liqueur and place one on the plate. Top that with custard, then berries, the other cake slice, another spoon of custard, and if you have it, a couple mint leaves. I also dusted with powdered sugar just because it looked pretty! Hope you enjoy!!

Roasted Chicken

Roasted chicken. It's not the scary beast some make it out to be. It's honestly really simple!!

1 roasting chicken

3 cloves garlic

2-3 stems fresh rosemary

2Tbsp olive oil

2Tbsp paprika

2Tbsp garlic powder

2Tbsp onion powder

2Tbsp dried thyme

2Tbsp dried sage

2Tbsp dried parsley

Salt & Pepper to taste

The above is a rough guesstimate of how much I use of each seasoning, but it all comes out to about the same of each, except the salt and pepper. I use a shaker jar for each spice.

Start heating you oven to 400f

First, check out your chicken. Check the cavity for any giblets or other bagged parts of the little lady's anatomy and remove them. Next, give it a good rise, inside and out. Now give it a check for any lingering feathers or remaining skin flaps/muscle/bone bits that shouldn't be there. Using cooking string, tie the leg ends together. Squish the garlic cloves some and place them and the fresh rosemary inside the chicken's cavity. Pat the chicken dry, then place it breast side down on a non-wooden cutting board and give it a good rub all over with olive oil. Start seasoning with the salt, then continue with the rest of the dry seasonings. For some parts that are tricky to get the seasonings on to, I shake some onto my hand and pat it on. Flip the chicken over, and repeat. Place the chicken in a roasting pan breast side up. I like to surround it with potatoes, carrots, pearl onions... That kind of thing. Tonight I used parsnips (which I hadn't tried before and likely never will again), sweet potatoes, and pearl onions. Cover with foil, but remove it about 20-30 degrees before it's done so the skin can brown and get nice and crispy crunchy! Roast for about an hour, or until the chicken reaches the proper temperature. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before carving. Hope you enjoy!

Naked Chicken

In to the sauna!

All done!!!

Parchment Pouch Surprise

So salmon was on sale today at Publix, and at the moment had no idea what I was going to be making for dinner, so....

2 salmon fillets

1 clove garlic, minced

1 lemon

1 tsp dill

4 Tbsp white wine

1 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350f. Put a piece of salmon in the middle of a sheet of parchment or foil (about 12-18 inches long). Rub with half of the oil, sprinkle on half the garlic and dill, and squeeze on a little lemon juice. Now to make a pouch. Meet the longer sides together above the fish and fold over and over until just touching it. Crease one end and fold the same as the top. Pick up the pouch and tip the open end up and pour in half the wine. Fold that end the same as the other, keeping in mind the increased liquid content.. That's the voice of experience there.. I usually use foil for this, but I wanted to to try parchment this time. I'm sure there's a fancy way to keep the ends closed when using parchment, but a quick staple on each end sure did the trick! Repeat the entire process to the second fillet. Place both pouches on a baking sheet, and cook for about 10 minutes or until the proper and/or desired temperature is reached. Serving can either be done in the pouch or out, but again given the amount of liquid, serving still inside can be messy. I served with homemade garlic mashed red potatoes and steamed snow peas. Hope you enjoy!!

Rice Puddin'

Well, after a disappointing dinner of leftovers, a proper dessert was in order. However, I was not about to head to the store to pick something up, or supplies to make it, so my options were slightly limited. To Google I went to search through some dessert photos until something looked yummy! I came across rice pudding. I do occasionally enjoy myself some rice pudding, and it sounded good enough, so time to check the ingredients.

2 1/2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup rice (I used brown)
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (I used 1 vanilla bean)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup raisins

Turns out I had them all! Perfect. "What's for dessert?" Rice puddin', puddin'!

Put the milk, rice and salt into a medium sauce pan, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender. Stir often so the rice doesn't stick to the bottom. Once the rice is done, remove from the heat, and add the sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Return to the heat stirring continuously for another 5 more minutes or until the pudding thickens some. Remove from the heat and add in the raisins. This makes about 5-6 half cup servings. Cover each with plastic wrap so you don't get pudding skin, and cool in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Top with whipped cream if you'd like, or if you're a purist, eat it as is! Hope you enjoy!

Pulled Pork and Slaw Sammies

Say it with me: slow cooked pulled pork.... I have a few weaknesses, like coconut cream pie, Paula Deen's creamy mac & cheese... But pulled pork sandwiches? They're so hard to turn down! I have never made it myself before, but pork should was on sale and I had a hankerin, so....

1 pork shoulder or pork butt

2 stems fresh rosemary

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground coriander

3/4 tsp cayenne

2 Tbsp paprika

2 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp onion powder

1 tsp celery seed

Zest and juice of one large orange

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, then rub all over the meat. Put the meat in a roasting pan and cover with foil. Roast at 250 for 6-8 hours. NO PEAKING, AND NO PICKING! Leave it alone! Low and slow baby. Let it get all nice and happy and soft and delicious and juicy and ... I digress... Once it's done cooking, remove and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Remove the foil, and with two large forks (or a couple knives if you prefer chunks), begin to shred the meat. Serve on a soft sweet bun, top with some coleslaw, and baked beans on the side. Any juice left in the roasting pan can be strained (or blendered) and reduced to use as a sauce. Hope you enjoy!!

Cherry Glazed Chicken

So I wanted to do this with duck, but go ahead and find any fresh in my area right now... Publix did however have a couple beautiful chicken breasts!

2 bone-in chicken breasts

1 lb fresh cherries

2 stems fresh rosemary

2 Tbsp brandy

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400f. Get an oven safe pan nice and hot with a few spoons worth of olive oil. Salt and pepper the chicken and sear the skin side for a few minutes until golden brown, then place in the oven. Halve and pit the cherries and put in a sauce pot. Add a few table spoons of water and start to simmer. Add in the brandy, and (safety alert! Don't be a dummy and burn yourself or your house down, k??) light it.. Just because it's cool, frankly... Add in the rosemary and simmer covered for 10-20 minutes. Remove the rosemary and use either a wand blender, food processor, or even a potato masher to macerate it all together. Baste the chicken with the sauce a few times before removing from the oven. Once the chicken reaches proper temperature, remove from the oven and allow to rest. Serve the remaining cherry sauce on the side. I served the chicken with steamed green beans and cauliflower mash. Technically two veg, but the cauliflower had enough butter and milk in it to not count as a vegetable anymore! Hope you enjoy!

Dinner is served!

Cherries gettin' all saucy!

Revenge of The Chocolate Monster!!!

Chocolate truffles, round two!!

As you know, the truffles didn't exactly turn out last time. So I have them another try, but this time tweaked the recipe.

2 1/2 bars of 60% chocolate
1/3 cup of heavy cream
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp Kahlua

Again, melt it all together in a double boiler or makeshift one like mine. Pour into a dish and refrigerate until firm. Use a mellon baller to scoop out balls of the chocolate, and immediately roll in unsweetened cocoa powder, then roll in you palms to form a ball. I found that if I put a little cocoa powder in my palms before starting roll one, it would stay dry, until about the third or fourth one. The wet ones were then rolled in finely chopped almonds. After you finish rolling each one, place it in whatever storage container you intend to keep them in. Once completed, re-refrigerate to set again. Hope you enjoy!!!

Key Limerita

Nothing quite says Florida summer like a slice of key lime pie. Key limes have been on sale recently too, so I picked up a bag to see where they would lead me! I love margaritas, and I love key lime pie. Just seemed like a natural progression to make a key limerita!

1oz Tequila (Or 2... Or 3... You decide!!)

3oz Sour mix

Juice of 4 key limes

Margarita Salt

I like mine shaken on the rocks, but this could also be made in a blender to get the frozen version. Pour some margarita salt onto a plate. Use one of the key limes to wet the rim of the glass, dip into the salt, then put a few ice cubes in the glass. Add the tequila, sour mix, and key lime juice into your bar shaker with some ice, and shake away! Use a strainer to catch any pulp when you pour into your glass. Simple, quick, and yummy! Hope you enjoy!

Whole wheat pumpkin pancakes

Pancakes. Who doesn't like pancakes? Being that I try to eat relatively health though, I set out in search of a healthy version. I found this:

2 cups whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger (I use 1tsp of ground cinnamon instead)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg yolk
3 egg whites
2 cups skim milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 Tbsp apple butter

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and soda, nutmeg and cinnamon (or ginger). In another bowl, combine the egg yolk, pumpkin, brown sugar, apple butter and milk. Gradually add the pumpkin mixture and stir until its combined. Don't over-mix! Whip the egg whites in a separate bowl until fluffy, then gently fold that into the pumpkin batter.

I found that the batter doesn't spread well in the pan. I found a pancake batter dispenser at the store which made cake work of the spreading issue!

They don't come out super thick and fluffy like typical pancakes, but close enough! They take roughly 5 minutes per side on medium heat. Top with a little more apple butter and enjoy!! They freeze really well too. I make two batches worth and take them to work most mornings. Hope you enjoy!!

Ginger Soy Beef Loin

This was inspired by picking up a hand of ginger and wondering what I could create with it.

1 beef loin
2 cups low sodium soy sauce
Juice and zest of 1 orange
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
Pinch of salt and pepper

Slaw:
1 head of Chinese cabbage
1 head of red cabbage
3-4 carrots, shredded
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
Pinch of sugar
1/2 cup of plain roasted peanuts, chopped


Marinate the beef loin for 4 hours, if not over night. Sear the beef in a hot pan, then finish roasting in the oven until the desired temperature is reached. I prefer somewhere around medium rare to medium. Bloody, but not mooing. Pour the marinade into a sauce pan, and simmer to reduce. While those cook, shred at least half of the two cabbages and carrots, add in the ginger, sauces, vinegar, peanuts, and a pinch of sugar. Toss and taste and tweak if necessary for your tastes. Once the meat has reached temperature, remove from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes or so. Slice on an angle. To plate, put a pile of slaw in the middle of the plate and rest a few slices against it. Serve the reduced marinade on the side as a sauce. Hope you enjoy!

(This was prepped before doing a couple hours worth of yard work a quick clean up around the house, with both kids at home and the husband at work. A nice dinner can be made, despite being busy all day! Plus it was simple and quick to put together!)

Chocolate Attack!

Who doesn't need a chocolate fix every now and then? I browsed a recipe ap on my phone... Browsed search engine photos... Finally I settled on chocolate truffles! A quick web search for a recipe came up with this:

1/3 cup heavy cream
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 3/4 Bittersweet chocolate (I didn't have any so I used semi-sweet)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

I melted the butter, chips and cream in my makeshift double boiler, then poured that into a 9x9 dish to cool in the fridge. Two AGONIZING hours later, I used a spoon to scoop out about 2 teaspoons worth. This is where it got messy: roll the chocolate into a ball in you palms, then roll in the cocoa powder. Put the truffles back in the fridge to chill again, and enjoy!!

Side note: These came out tasting like eating a hand full of chocolate chips... I recommend using the bittersweet chocolate and sweetened cocoa powder. I also thought I'd try putting raspberry gnash inside them using my meat needle, but that didn't exactly work... Next time I'll try more cream and mixing the raspberry into the melted chocolate. They still looked yummy though!

Breakfast-To-Go

One of the local breakfast and coffee joints makes this yummy ham egg and cheese sandwich. Only problem is they're about $4 a each! I saw some bread at Publix the other day that was similar to the bread "they" use, so I picked up that, some ham, and white cheddar.

1 Tbsp butter

2 slices of multi grain bread

3-4 slices of tavern ham

2 slices of white cheddar

1 egg

Melt the butter in your pan and cook the egg. I prefer to use just the whites. Try to keep the egg small enough to fit on the bread. While it cooks, take one piece of bread and top with cheese then the ham. Once the egg is done, put that on top of the ham, and top with the other slices of cheese and bread. Toast the sandwich in the pan. I like to wrap it in parchment paper. Less mess. Hope you enjoy!