Chicken Coconut Curry

I love a good curry.. as long as it’s not too spicy because I am a real wuss when it comes to anything spicy. 😛 Anyway, my culinary wheels started spinning after I tried a butternut squash curry from a local food truck this past week. After eating the squash curry, I really wanted to try making my own curry with ingredients and spiciness to my liking.

Sooo, today’s post is brought to you by the letter C! “C” is for Curry… and Coconut Milk.. and Chicken! Here are the players for this surprisingly easy curry recipe!

-1 to 2 lbs  boneless, skinless chicken, cut into pieces
-2 to 3 tsp minced garlic
-1/2 an onion, diced or thinly sliced
-1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
-1 cup chopped carrots
-1 can (14.5 oz) diced or stewed tomatoes, drained and rinsed
-8 oz tomato sauce (which can be made from tomato paste)
-1 can coconut milk
-1 to 2 tsp curry powder (depending on spiciness preference)
-1 to 2 tsp cayenne pepper (depending on spiciness preference)
-3 to 4 tsp red curry paste (depending on spiciness preference)
-1 to 2 Tbsp fresh basil sliced
-Oil for cooking
-Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan or pot, heat up some oil over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add your curry powder and cayenne pepper…

Heat the spices in the oil for 3 to 5 minutes, letting all the flavors absorb into the oil.

Next add your garlic and onions..

Cook your onions until they begin to turn translucent, about 10 minutes….

Turn the heat down to medium low and add your chicken…

Toss the chicken lightly to coat in the curry oil and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink, and juices run clear.

Add the veggies – the peppers and carrots…

Stir to combine and cook for a few minutes until the peppers/carrots begin to soften. Next add the tomato sauce…. (in this case I made the sauce from tomato paste..)

And then the creamy, delicious coconut milk….

Look at the pretty swirl of colors…ooh ahhhh…

Mix to combine the ingredients and toss in your diced tomatoes and finally the curry paste!

Mix all the ingredients together and turn the heat down to low or medium low depending on your stove. Cover and let simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked through and have absorbed all the delicious spicy flavors.

Curry can be served and eaten in various ways. As a soup, over noodles, with rice, dipped with naan…the possibilities are endless! So, while your sauce is simmering away, make some rice, heat up some naan or boil some noodles, whatever you decide! In this case, it was Ramen! Nothing sounds more appetizing than curry with ramen! But maybe it’s the Asian in me speaking…

At about this time (15 to 20 minutes later), the sauce should begin to thicken and your kitchen should be full of the delicious curry aroma! Your curry, should also look a little something like this…

Remove from the heat and in my case ladle into a bowl over ramen (or rice or naan!) Top with some freshly sliced basil (we also added some scallions) and serve!

How can you not want to scarf down this delicious bowl of creamy spiciness?? I guarantee you will go back for seconds!

This recipe is super easy and can also be customized to your liking, substituting  your protein and veggies with whatever you desire. Either way this is a yummy dish and a perfect meal to heat up your house and your tummy on a cold winter day! So to quote my favorite chairman, Allez Cuisine!!

Aka..get yourself to the kitchen and “go cook” this recipe! 🙂

Homemade Mac and Cheese

Listen up foodie friends, mac and cheese lovers alike! This is possibly the easiest home-made mac and cheese recipe that I’ve come across! On the plus, it’s probably a bit healthier than some of the mac and cheese recipes out there. And…it can all be done in one pot!

Our cast of characters for today!

-4 cups of pasta (I like to make mine fun to eat and used mini wheels and elbow macaroni)
-4 cups of low-fat or skim milk
-1/2 an onion, diced finely
-5 to 6 slices of turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
-2 Tablespoons butter (optional)
-1-2 cups of your favorite cheese
-Generous dashes of nutmeg
-Mustard powder or mustard
-Salt and Pepper to taste

First things first – the bacon! In a frying pan, cook up your bacon to your desired doneness, crunchiness, etc. While the bacon is cooking, rinse off your pasta in a colander quickly and let drain.

Mmmmm bacon!!

After cooking, transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil. Next, in a large pot add your milk, nutmeg, mustard and salt….

And then these beautiful onions..

Now the pasta!

Bring the milk to a simmer over medium to medium-high heat. Once the milk starts simmering, turn the heat to down to low to continue simmering. Now here comes the most important part.. stir! Stir, stir, stir! Like crazy! Stirring constantly will actually keep the pasta from clumping up and will ensure that all the ingredients are combined thoroughly.

Continue stirring until the pasta has absorbed all the milk. Probably between 10-20  minutes. If the pasta is not cooked after the milk has been absorbed, just add a little more until the pasta is done.

Next, add your star ingredients, the big cheese! (Get it?) I used a 6 blend cheese…

And my favorite, some sharp cheddar..

Mix well to combine the cheese with the pasta

Once combined, cover and set aside to let the pasta soak up any last drops of milk and the cheese to get melty. In the meantime, take your bacon and crumble away!

Before adding the bacon, do a little taste test to make sure the pasta is well seasoned. It may be hard, but put the fork down! Add any more salt, pepper, nutmeg, mustard, etc to get the flavor you desire.

As the last and final touch add the crumbled bacon and mix well.  The result is a creamy cheesey, mouth-watering, divine mac and cheese.. one bite…is just not enough…

The best part about this recipe is cooking the pasta in milk adds the creamy touch to the mac and cheese with out the added fat of actual cream. Bon appetit!

Sweet Potato Fritters

These are a favorite of mine, especially around the holidays! Along with the winter squashes (butternut and acorn), sweet potatoes are a staple for me during the winter. This dish in particular is actually a nice savory and healthy alternative to the normal sweet potato dishes around the holidays. The best part is that this recipe is easy and simple to make.[

Here’s the basics of what I used:-1lb or so of sweet potatoes
-Poblano peppers
-Onions
-Egg
-3/4 cup fine yellow corn meal
-3/4 tsp baking powder
-1/4 cup all purpose flour
– 3/4 tsp paprika
-1/2 tsp salt
-Oil for cooking

Wash your sweet potatoes and dry. Prick them with a fork in several places and cook them in the microwave on high until done, or about 7 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. In the meantime….dice up some onions….And then the poblano peppers….(use as much as you’d like depending on how much heat  you want…)
Heat up some oil in a pan and when the oil is hot, add the onions and peppers and saute stirring often until cooked through about 4 to 6 minutes. Set aside the mixture to use for later…By now your sweet potatoes should be cool. Peel them in a bowl and mash with a fork…In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, paprika, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together the ingredients.
Add the egg, pepper/onion mixture and the mashed sweet potatoes to the cornmeal mixture. Mix well to combine the ingredients.Form the sweet potato into fritters using a generous 1/4 cup for each.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add your fritters (I usually do 4 at a time) and cook until golden brown on each side, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer the fritters to a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining fritters, adding more oil to the pan as needed.

Bake the fritters at 425 F until puffed and firm to the touch, or about 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce or eat them plain. Either way they are a delicious and savory side dish for any fall meal!

America Eats Tavern

A brief introduction before I get into this blog post. I am a foodie at heart (which by now should be obvious via this blog) and I was delighted when I first heard that Jose Andres was going to be starting a Pop-Up restaurant in DC.  What is a pop-up restaurant you say? A temporary restaurant that usually operates from a private home, during festivals, or some other location. In this case, Jose Andres shut down his restaurant Cafe Atlantico for his pop up restaurant, America Eats Tavern.

Now this isn’t any normal pop-up restaurant. In fact, Jose Andres in collaboration with the Archives Museum created America Eats Tavern to support the “What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam?” exhibit at the Archives Museum. Profits will be donated to The Foundation for the National Archives. Anyway, it’s a pretty neat concept to create a pop-up restaurant to go in tandem with a museum exhibit.

Well, I was delighted when my two girlfriends and I (Hi Margo! Hi Kerri!) decided to check out America Eats before it was too late. So here’s a glimpse into this exciting pop-up restaurant! To better explain this dining experience and understand how the menu works, here is a brief explanation, right off the menu:

“Every country has a story that can be told through its cooking. To experience that story, all you have to do is taste the lost dishes that sustained those who came before us. America was created by the immigrants who reinvented its food, until their dishes were displaced by the next wave of newcomers. This menu tells the forgotten story between the arrival of the first new Americans and the arrival of the last. This country has an incredible culinary diversity across its states; but it also has an incredible depth through the centuries. America Eats Tavern is a place where you can travel through time to find the moment when our American identity was forged in a pot, skillet and bowl.”

Upon arriving, we decided to start off with a cocktail to fully enjoy our dining experience. I went with the classic mint julep. Now, having been to New Orleans and tasting the mint julep from Oak Valley plantation, I was expecting something similar, but instead got a strong glass of bourbon in a classy cup. Luckily the bartender was happily to oblige and cut  my drink with a little bit of simple syrup, which made for a much tastier mint julep!

After being seated and perusing the menu, a number of items jumped out at me on the menu that I wanted to try: the fried chicken, grilled butter oysters, hush puppies, mac and cheese…so many options! Thankfully one of us was paying attention to the entire menu and my friend Margo suggested we try the Irma Rombauer Menu. This tasting menu consisted of 6 different tastings including the hush puppies, grilled butter oyster, peanut soup, shrimp and grits, short ribs, and pecan pie. What was especially great about this menu was the restaurant was able to make substitutions on this tasting menu for the shellfish that my friend doesn’t eat.

First up for tasting, were the hush puppies…

These puppies (get it?) were perfectly crispy on the outside and the corn cake was very flavorful on the inside.  Paired with the creamy corn butter, it was the perfect harmony of texture and flavor. What a great way to start off our meal!

Next up was the grilled butter oyster, a dish that definitely caught my eye when perusing the menu. Now, I haven’t always been a lover of oysters, and have had a few tastings here and there, but am just now starting to appreciate them. With so many ways to prepare them (raw, rockefeller, etc),  I was quite excited to taste these. Described as “smoky oysters on the half shell, touched by the flame that rises from a drop of butter and a bed of oak charcoal”, my stomach was screaming “must try!”

Now this my foodie friends, was by far, hands-down, the best oyster I have ever eaten. Sometimes the texture of oysters turn me off a bit, but this was grilled perfectly and you could taste the subtle flavors of the smokiness and the butter. Simply delicious!

Now, my friend Margo doesn’t eat shellfish, so as a substitution the chef prepared the fried chicken:

I tried a little bite, and it was perfectly crispy and tender on the inside. Paired with a berry catsup, it was a tasty combination!

After tasting two courses, we all agreed that the food so far was delicious and the portion sizes just right. Then came the peanut soup, which I will say was a stand-out on the menu, simply because I would have never thought of peanuts and soup together.

Served cold, with peanuts three ways: crumbles, peanut butter and then a praline of sorts. Mixing all the different textures, the soup was slightly creamy and not too overpowering with the peanut flavor. Best summed up as “ballpark peanuts” in soup form! Unexpectedly tasty! 🙂

The next tasting was another one I was extremely excited for.. the anson mills shrimp and grits. And let’s be honest, how many of us can say no to a delicious shrimp and grits? Well this one was one you definitely wanted to try:

Perfectly cooked and tender shrimp, crispy bacon and creamy grits. After one-bite, I couldn’t put my fork down and savored each bite down to the very last morsel… definitely leaving me wanting more! So much so..that I put in an order of this to go. In my list of best grits ever, this ranks in the top 2 and is to-die-for!

As mentioned before my friend Margo and fellow food blogger/foodie doesn’t eat shellfish and was treated to the delicious sounding vermicelli prepared like pudding as the substitution for this dish. Aka, the America Eats version of mac and cheese. I was too much into my shrimp and grits that I didnt taste the vermicelli, but here’s a picture!

After eating four dishes, it was about time for another cocktail! I’m not a big fan of whiskey normally…okay, okay… ever, but after the waitress sold us on this cocktail and one sip of Kerri’s, I couldn’t resist this New York Sour… and lucky for me the whiskey wasn’t totally overpowering!

After a few sips, I was ready for our fifth course, the barbecue beef short rib, served with a cold slaw.

Cooked for 72 hours, the short rib is served with both Texas and Carolina barbecue sauce. The meat was *perfectly* tender and juicy – mouthwateringly divine! Now I know I’ve used the word “perfectly” several times already in this post, but there’s no other way to describe it. I really mean it – fall of the bone/fork tender, don’t need a knife tender! The spices from both sauces added a nice depth to the flavor and a great kick to the dish overall. Now I do have mixed feelings about the cold slaw that was served with this dish. The first bite was good – the right crispy texture from the cabbage, and a nice spice from the mustard. But after eating several bites of the spicy short rib with the spicy mustard cold slaw, the slaw just ended up being a bit too much, and honestly a bit too mustardy. I think a better balance would have been a slaw that acted as more of a palate-cleanser after each bite of the spicy short rib. Overall though, I would definitely recommend at least tasting this insanely delicious short rib!

After five courses, I was getting full, but had just enough room for dessert – pecan pie!

I’m not normally a pecan/pecan pie person, but after seeing this cute dessert dish, I had to at least try a bite. (Doesn’t this remind you of a pecan babycakes??)  Served with a homemade vanilla ice cream and bourbon foam, it was actually a nice harmony of flavors. Not overly sweet, the pecans added a nice crunch with the mix of the soft cake, the creamy ice cream and airy foam. A surprisingly nice and delicious dessert, and a great way to end our 6-course tasting menu!

Overall, I was *very* pleased with America Eats. The food was simple, but delicious. The plating sizes for the tasting menu was just right, not leaving me overly full, but completely satisfied! And more importantly, very happy to have done the tasting menu and tasted a nice variety of the different offerings from the menu. I would definitely recommend trying this fun pop-up restaurant before it closes and am hoping myself that I am able to come back for more! 🙂

Maryland Renaissance Festival

Every year, my friends and I gather together for some general merriment at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. If you’ve never been, it’s exactly as it sounds, a Renaissance festival complete with period costumes, period accents (m’lord, m’lady, etc etc), period food (Turkey legs!), games (axe throwing,) and general fun!

Part of the draw of Renn Fest, is the plethora of food..both amount and types! Meats on a stick, fried cheese, crab pretzels, funnel cake, other fried treats (oreos, twinkies, snickers),  sandwiches, fish n chips, meat pockets, french fries, soup in a bowl, turkey legs, baked potatoes, waffles, fruit, chips, corn-on-the-cob, oh- the list goes on!

Additionally, there is fun to be had through a variety of entertainment like various shows (jousting, sword swallowing), as well as games. From a climbing wall, to a slide, to ninja star throwing, knife throwing, axe throwing (complete with stupid hats), darts, bows and arrows, etc. The entertainment is endless, so plan to spend a good amount of time for the most amount of enjoyment.

This past Sunday on a gorgeous Fall afternoon, a large group of us met up for this year’s  Renn Fest. It was a solid 5 hours of food-tasting, star/knives/axe/dart throwing, beer/mead drinking and general fun. For those of you who’ve ever been here’s a peek into the world of Renn Fest!

First up for the day, FOOD!

Pork pocket! Barbeque pork topped with a little bit of coleslaw. Great way to start off our food fest!

One of the favorites at Renn Fest: Steak-on-a-stake! This one surprised me a bit because I expected the steak to be a bit tough, but it was juicy, flavorful, and tender. Definitely worth trying, can’t you tell?

Mmm..delicious meat!

No fair/festival is without some sort of fry… and I can’t say no to a good curly fry! Even though its festival fries, its got the right curl, taste and texture of my favorite Arby’s curly fries. 🙂

This is one of my favorites, and pretty unique to the Renn Fest. What is a scotch egg you ask? Think a hard boiled egg, wrapped in meat, and drumroll…fried! Let’s take a closer look at this ball of deliciousness…

What’s not to like about this? Egg.. sausage… mmm….

Another favorite of mine at the Renn Fest.. fried green beans. I like to think the added bonus to this is that it still counts as a vegetable, even if fried, right? Paired with the coconut curry peanut sauce, it’s a killer combination.

Look at those golden, crispy beans waiting to be dipped in that creamy coconut sauce – drool!

Now, part of Renn Fest is making sure to pace yourself when it comes to the eating and drinking. A few bites here and there otherwise you fill up too fast! Now onto some games to burn off some calories from all that eating…

Climbing wall action!

Couldn’t resist…stupid hats required for some axe throwing!

Unfortunately, I got so tied up with all the activities, I forgot to take pictures of the knife throwing, and ninja star throwing that we also participated in. Let’s just say, it’s not as easy as it looks, but a lot of fun to be throwing sharp objects! All that throwing sure worked up an appetite for something sweet…

And maybe fried…

Hello, fried oreos! These are possibly one of the tastiest things to come from a deep frier. Let’s take a closer look…

The cookie from the oreo gets soft from the hot oil and the cream filling gets ooey gooey and is delicious with the golden fried crust. I’m telling you, if you haven’t tried a fried oreo before, it’s simply orgasmic!

No Renn Fest experience is complete without one of the main shows, the Joust! For our show, we were on the British side (Cheerio pip pip!) and our opponents were the feisty Irish.

God save the queen?

Sometimes you get a little hungry while watching the joust festivities.  A nice turkey leg will do the trick..

What I also forgot to mention about the Renn Fest is that there a ton of artisan shops scattered throughout the festival. Anything from costume shops, to ninja swords, to honey (The Bee Folk – my favorite), to jewelery, to stoneware mugs, bowls, etc. After all the shopping around you might just work up an appetite for one last bite…

of a Renn Fest meat pie… now I will say I thought this would be more like a chicken pot pie with meat…but we ended up with this:

Pepperoni, sausage and lots of melty cheese. So this meat pie is actually more like a calzone, and although slightly different than what I imagined this meat pie to be, it was still delicious!

With all of the food, games and shows, Renn Fest is guaranteed to be a good time by all, children and parents alike. And if for nothing else, you can get some excellent people watching in and might even stumble upon something entertaining as you part ways with everything Renaissance..

Stickers on a car (aka hearse) parked in the lot of Renn Fest.

Taste of DC!

On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon this past weekend, I attended my very first Taste of DC event! A little background on Taste of DC – it’s typically a food oriented event showcasing various restaurants from the DC area. This year, participants could purchase 10 tickets for $15 (separate tickets for food and alcohol). Each vendor typically “charges” 2-5 tickets per tasting. This year’s venue spanned 4 blocks and included a ton of different food vendors! Not a bad way to taste some of DC’s pricier restaurants. Here’s a little sampling from this year’s Taste of DC…..

I introduce you to one of the three Japa-Weiners by Windows Catering Company. Think Japanese flavors meets hot dog! The bad boy pictured above is the “Nori” dog, featuring shishito pepper cheese sauce, terriyaki onions, roasted nori seaweed, enoki mushrooms and shredded pork.

Doesn’t he look so excited to dig into this fancy pants hot dog?

Next up….
Tasty sampler platter from one of my favorites – Ping Pong Dim Sum. We have a melt-in-your-mouth glazed rib, three shrimp won tons and a yummy veggie spring roll. I love me some dim sum!

This one above actually tied for one of my favorites… meet the Monte Cristo from Martin’s in Georgetown.  Deep fried ham and cheese sandwich drizzled with a bourbon caramel sauce… what’s NOT tasty about this? Just the right crispiness from the deep fried crust, with the sweetness from the caramel sauce… droool……

Here’s a little throwback to the school days. Tater tots, featuring a blanket of chili and melty liquid cheese! Funny enough, we “negotiated” this serving size for one less ticket since the regular serving size could feed a family of four for the day! 🙂

This one wins hands-down for my most favorite beverage. It’s like the adult version of Capri Sun (thanks Cordina Big Easy Blends!), why didn’t someone think of this sooner??! Yummy pina-colada, margarita, or daquiri to go, don’t mind if I do!! Coincidentally enough while we were off to the side enjoying our tasty adult capri suns we ended up chatting with the guy (hi antonio!) who co-created these delicious beverages (coming to a supermarket near VA/DC soon!). Anyway, it’s like the perfect mixed drink to-go for any event! Check out their website and awesome products here! I really hope this takes off in our area…

Here’s my other favorite from this food fest. The tomato/cheddar/turkey waffle sandwich from Wicked Waffle. The waffle was cooked to a wicked perfection (get my little joke?) and was crispy and light to the taste. Mouth-wateringly delicious! I’m going to have to make an effort to check out the actual Wicked Waffle because after reading their menu of delicious waffle combinations, how can I not go?

Mmmm waffle..

So, we end our four-hour food/drink fest with the Last Tango crepe from Cafe Bonaparte. How fitting, since it was our last tango with food for the night. This crepe was most excellent – its hard to go wrong with nutella and strawberries topped off with whipped cream.

Anyway, if you didn’t get a chance to check out Taste of DC this year, I definitely recommend it for next year. It’s a fun way to sample a variety of food from the different restaurants in the area, and what better way to spend a weekend afternoon? Eat on my foodie friends!

Bison Shepherd’s Pie

Bison! It’s what’s for dinner!! Okay, so it’s not as catchy as the original, but today’s blog post is brought to you by the animal Buffalo!

So I don’t often cook with bison meat, but there are a couple of benefits to it. The most important is that its leaner and healthier than ground beef. Personally, I also enjoy cooking and eating with bison meat because it’s a little bit sweeter. So, this weekend in trying to decide what to make with bison, I came across a recipe from Bon Appetit for Bison Shepherd’s Pie.  Bison and shepherd’s pie, eh? That’s what I was thinking, but after trying this recipe, I can guarantee a mouth full of deliciousness…

In case any readers out there are unfamiliar with shepherd’s pie, the basics involve ground meat (usually beef), vegetables, topped off with mashed potatoes. To save myself some time and effort, I used instant mashed potatoes (add water/butter/milk) and a mix of frozen/fresh vegetables. Anyway, here’s mostly what you’ll need:

-1 lb ground bison
-1 onion diced
-1 cup broth
-1/2 cup red wine
-1 tablespoon tomato paste
-1 tablespoon flour
-2 tablespoons dried thyme (3 T for fresh thyme)
-paprika
-carrots, diced
-peas, thawed
-corn, thawed (optional)
-instant mashed potatoes (butter/water/milk)
-drie parsley
-parmesan cheese

In a large pot, heat up 1-2 tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot, add the ground bison. Be sure to crumble the meat while cooking, and cook until browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the ground bison to a separate bowl.

In the same pot, heat up some more oil and add the diced onions. Saute the onions until they are softened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, in another pot, prepare the instant potatoes, according to their directions. Set aside.

Once the onions begin to soften, add the tomato paste and stir for 1 minute. Add the thyme and flour, stir for 1 minute. Add the wine and the broth and bring to a boil. Add back the bison meat when the liquid is boiling, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil the carrots in a small pot, until slightly softened. Combine the semi-cooked carrots, peas and corn in a bowl.

Once the bison meat/sauce is cooked down, remove from the heat. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Grease your baking dish/pie dish. Add the bison meat to the dish as the first layer of the pie.

Next, add the vegetable layer (peas, carrots, corn) on top of the meat.

Finally, add your mashed potatoes as the top layer. Spread evenly across the vegetable layer. Using a fork, create waves by dragging the fork across the top of the mashed potatoes. This will make a nice, crusty top.

Sprinkle the top with paprika, parsley and some parmesan cheese for the final touch.

Look at the delicious layers of meat, vegetables and potatoes… mmm…..

Once the oven is pre-heated, bake the shepherd’s pie for about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and crusty. It should look a little something like this….

Let the shepherds pie cool for a few minutes, before digging into this delicious, savory pie! You could of course substitute the ground bison for ground turkey, chicken or beef. Either way, it’s a pie that you just wont want to stop eating…. So much so in fact that I forgot to take a picture of the inside, until more than half the pie was eaten! I hope everyone enjoys this as much as I did!

The original recipe for Bison Shepherd’s Pie can be found on Bon Apetit here.

Glazed Pork Chops, Spaghetti Squash, Asian Peach Martini Oh My!

Lucky you, my blog readers! Today’s blog post is for a complete meal! 🙂 There’s no rhyme or reason to the pairings in this post…all I can tell you is that it made a delicious meal, cocktail and all. So here we go, hang on for the ride!

Today we’re looking at a mouth-watering glazed pork chop (reminiscent of General Tso’s), buttery garlic spaghetti squash and to wash it all down, a delicious Asian Peach Martini!

First thing’s first…the cocktail. Because everyone needs a good cocktail to drink while slaving away in the kitchen.

ASIAN PEACH MARTINI
Drum roll please, here are the four simple ingredients you will need to make a knock-your-socks off, taste’s just like Gordon Biersch’s Asian Peach Martini!

-DeKupyers Peachtree Schnapps
-Soho Lychee Liquor
-Orange Juice
-Lemon Juice

Measure out about 1 ounce peachtree schnapps (about a shot glass full), 2 ounces lychee liquor, 2-4 ounces of orange juice (depending on your preference), and a splash of lemon juice. Pour all ingredients in a shaker and shake well. If you don’t have a shaker, you can use two glasses to shake everything up. Pour into a martini glass over ice (or not, whatever you prefer), sip and enjoy! And as a frequent drinker of the Gordon Biersch version of this martini, tastes just like it!

While you’re sipping away on your martini let’s move onto our star dish, the pork chops!

GLAZED PORK CHOPS
All you need in addition to your pork chops are these four magic ingredients:

-Brown sugar
-Paprika
-Cayenne pepper
-Garlic powder

In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup of the brown sugar, 1 tsp of paprika, 1 tsp of the garlic powder and 1/2 to 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, depending on how spicy you want it. It should look a little something like this….

Rub your brown sugar mixture on both sides of your pork chops. Don’t be stingy! Rub generous amounts of the spice mixture because this is going to be the flavor of your pork chops.

In a sauce pan, heat up some oil. When the oil is hot, add the pork chops to the pan and let brown on each side. Depending on the thickness of your chops it should be between 3-5 minutes for each side. As the chops brown, the brown sugar mixture will begin to caramelize and get very gooey. Goooood gooey.

Once the chops have browned on both sides, move the chops onto a foil-lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 5 minutes, or until the pork chops are cooked through. Make sure to pour any of the leftover glaze from the pan onto the chops on the cookie sheet – don’t let this yummy glaze go to waste. The result is a mouth-watering sweet and spicy pork chop!

Now, no meal is complete without some veggies…so roll up your sleeves for an easy and delicious baked spaghetti squash!

BAKED SPAGHETTI SQUASH
This one’s easy my foodie friends. All you need is a nice spaghetti squash, some parsley, butter, garlic, salt/pepper, and parmesan cheese. Sorry no picture…I got so caught up cooking up a storm I simply forgot!

Preheat your oven to 375. Place your spaghetti squash on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about an hour, or until you can easily pierce the squash with little resistance.

After baking, let cool for about 10 minutes and then slice the squash open and rake out the seeds with a fork.


Once all the seeds are removed, continue scraping the squash with a fork to get all the strands of the squash. Look how pretty! Place all the strands of squash into a bowl and set aside.

In a big sauce pan, or large pot, heat up the butter. Depending on how much squash you have 1 to 3 Tablespoons. When the butter is melted, add the garlic and let cook until fragrant. When the garlic is fragrant, add in about 2-3 Tablespoons of parsley and mix well. Add in your spaghetti squash and stir to combine the butter, garlic, parsley and squash. When all the ingredients are combined and the squash is heated through, add about 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, and salt/pepper to taste. Top with a little parsley and parmesan for the final touch!

Voila – delicious spaghetti like squash (get it…spaghetti like..spaghetti squash..) 🙂

Three simple and easy recipes guaranteed to make a filling and delicious meal! Bon appetit!

Preview: Pumpkin Cream Pie

Well it’s officially October, so I guess that means its officially fall? Anyway, I love everything that fall brings – cold, crisp weather, winter squashes, warm soups and chili’s, and of course pumpkin.

Anyway, I came across a pin on Pinterest for a cute potted pumpkin cream pie. Well, I’ve made it my baking project this month to create my own! 🙂 So, here’s a sneak peak of this cute little concoction…

Stay tuned to see how my own little version comes out! And for any of my blog readers out there, maybe if you’re around you might be gifted with this yummy treat? 🙂 Happy fall folks!

 

Panini Mania

So, remember a couple of blog posts ago when I blogged about the Panini maker I was oh-so-excited about?? Well.. it’s here. And, its A.W.E.S.O.M.E….!! It’s everything I thought it would be and more. My brain has been on panini overload trying to think of what other delicious combinations I can use to create hot, melty, yumminess! For now, here are the four delicious panini’s that I created during this most recent panini mania. 🙂

In case you’ve forgotten, here’s my amazing panini press!

First essential ingredient to any good panini, is some nice, crusty bread! I grabbed a nice Italian life from my local Whole Foods and had them slice it for me.

Now we can begin our panini making!

Panini #1 – Roasted turkey, gruyere, apples and herb mayo

Slice your cheese and thinly slice your apples to make assembly easier. (this is where my mandolin came in handy!) You can use any mayo, but I find the Ojai Cook, Lemon Herb Mayonaise is the best and tastes amazing on anything! Begin assembly! Butter the outsides of your bread and place on the panini press. Next, spread a nice layer of mayo on the insides of each bread slice and pile on the gruyere cheese, apples, and finally turkey. It should look a little something like this…

Fold your sandwich together and close the panini press and set your timer for about 8 minutes.  Be patient! The smell and sounds of sizzling cheese may cause you to want to hurry up the pressing process, but I guarantee the wait is worth it because your turkey, apple and gruyere panini will look like this!

Look at the gooey, melty cheese, yum! Slice that bad boy in half and dig in!

Panini # 2- Smoked chicken breast, pesto, sun-dried tomato and mozarella

Butter the outsides of your bread and place on the panini press. Spread a generous layer of pesto on the insides of your bread and then layer with sliced mozarella, sliced sun-dried tomatoes and finally place your smoked chicken breast on top. It should look a little something like this:

Fold your sandwich together and close the panini press. Set your timer for 8 minutes (again) and wait. Again, dont let the waft of sizzling mozarella and pesto sway you to open the press before 8 minutes, because after that timer goes off, you’ll be rewarded with this!

Slice it up and take a big bite – make sure to get all that melty mozarella!

You can also mix it up like I did and eat half of one kind and half of the other. Either way, enjoy the deliciousness!

Panini #3- Chocolate and brie
First of all – no meal is complete without dessert. The panini combinations for a dessert panini are endless, but I chose this one because I thought the unique combination of chocolate and brie would make for an interesting panini.

We mix it up a little on this one and instead of buttering our bread, we’re going to drizzle some olive oil instead. Although, if you’re a butter fan, by all means stick with the butter! Place your oiled bread on the press (be sure to oil both sides!) and layer the bottom with brie and then sprinkle the chopped chocolate on top.

Fold your sandwich and close the press and set the timer for 8 minutes – you know the drill by now! Take in the smell of melting chocolate while you eagerly await your dessert panini. Because when it looks like this, its so worth it…

Slice it up and enjoy the combination of melty chocolate and melty cheese. What a way to end a delicious meal of grilled sandwiches! (Note: you can also add fresh basil to this combination)

Panini #4 – Breakfast style! Herb eggs, sundried tomato, bacon and cheddar
You’ll need your basic breakfast ingredients – eggs and bacon. And of course your crusty bread. Crack 3 eggs in a bowl and whisk together with salt, pepper and desired herbs (I used dill, parsley and oregano). Add a little milk/cream to the egg mixture if desired. Heat up some oil in a hot pan and then add the eggs to the pan. As the egg begins to cook, sprinkle in the sliced sun dried tomatoes. Flip the eggs into an omlette and let finish cooking. Roughly slice/chop your omlette. Meanwhile, you should be cooking up several slices of bacon according to your taste/crispiness preference. 

Butter the outsides of your sliced bread and place on the panini press. Add the sliced/chopped eggs and then layer with bacon and cheddar cheese.

Fold your sandwich, close the press…you know what to do here. In no time at all, you have a delicious breakfast panini!

Whatever ingredients you decide to use, this press makes sandwich magic turning simple ingredients into a delicious and warm sandwich! Stay tuned, as I’m sure there will be more to come as I play around with my new panini press and the delicious combinations that await me! In the meantime, happy sandwich making and eating my food loving friends! 🙂