Caramelized Onions

Ok. I am cheating.  This is not really any sort of recipe.  I was just curious.  So I took an thinly-sliced onion, put it in a skillet with some salt, pepper, and olive oil and put the heat on low.  From there, I just took a picture when I started them, and then every ten minutes until I decided they were finished about thirty minutes later.  You start with your eyes watering and end up with DELICIOUS-NESS.

These onions went on a pizza with roasted broccoli (told you we were obsessed), spinach, and cherry tomatoes.  Veggie pizza means it's healthy.....

Roasted Broccoli

I love broccoli. It was probably one of only a few veggies I would eat as a child, and then it became the veggie I made myself in college when I wasn't eating Easy Mac. But then....broccoli and I fell out of touch. All due to the fact that Stud HATES broccoli. I was so confused! But since we both need to eat our veggies, I said goodbye to broccoli and we started eating A LOT of salads.

But recently, I've had enough. Broccoli is delicious and Stud is a grown man. He can deal and learn to love it. Plus, I meal plan so he had very little choice! At first he would eat it only if he could smother it in sauce. But now!! I have discovered a way to make him LOVE broccoli just as much as I do and it is pretty much the easiest thing on earth.

He said, and I quote, "green nuggets of heaven."

There is no real recipe here, just chop however much broccoli you want and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and roast in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes until slightly charred. If you want to be super fancy, top with lemon juice or parmesan cheese when they come out of the oven.

I even toss mine with the olive oil etc on the cookie sheet to save a bowl. SO EASY!!

Prosciutto Spaghetti

This is one of those meals I refused to eat as a child.  It was a red sauce.  I had issues.  But when i finally passed through my tween years and decided to try food that wasn't white, I discovered the deliciousness of prosciutto spaghetti.  The recipe was a staple in my house growing up and since I no longer have access to my parent's freezer, Stud and I had to make our own batch up here.  My mom usually makes a double batch since she has a stand alone freezer, but Stud and I made a single batch and had enough for one meal plus on quart for the freezer.  This meal was also not a stretch to get on the table at a reasonable hour.  It has to simmer a little, but Stud was happy to stir and taste test.

Prosciutto Spaghetti
3/4 lb. prosciutto, sliced thinly
2 28oz. cans Italian tomatoes
1 large chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1/8 c. olive oil
2 T. butter
3 T. dried basil
2 t. oregano
1/2 t. red pepper flakes (optional)
1 1/2 t. salt
Black pepper - plenty

Dice the prosciutto and cook in the olive oil and butter until crispy.  Remove a spoonful for garnish if you want (I say YES).  Add the onions and garlic to the prosciutto and cook until soft.  Add in the basil, oregano, pepper flakes, salt and pepper and cook the herbs for a minute or two.  If you have whole tomatoes, I would puree them before adding them to the sauce (I had whole ones).  Add the tomatoes and bring the sauce to a simmer.  Let it simmer for about thirty minutes and then serve with your favorite spaghetti!

ENJOY!!

Breakfast Chorizo Hash

Breakfast is one of my all time favorite meals.  I love eggs and sausage and bacon (duh), and so I jump on any opportunity to incorporate these foods into my weekly menu.  Sometimes they manifest as an easy, quick dinner, and sometimes Stud and I capitalize on the few relaxing weekend mornings we get to spend together.  I was going through my iPhone (sorry, those are the pictures the blog gets these days) and I realized I have several breakfast recipes I hadn’t posted.  They acted as motivation for me to type up some easy recipes and get them up here! 

 Breakfast Hash

2 chorizo sausages

½ bag frozen hash browns (we had the little cubes)

2 eggs

Toppings: Sour cream, salsa, guacamole, pickled red onions (my new favorite thing)

Remove the casings from the chorizo and break apart the meat.  Sauté until hot and aromatic.  Add in the potatoes (I just tossed them in frozen) with some butter, bacon fat (!!), or oil to help grease the pan.  Follow the stovetop instructions for the hash browns.  While the hash browns are cooking, heat up the broiler.  Once the potatoes are good and crispy, make two holes (or more if you want more eggs), and crack two eggs into the holes.  Lower the heat to low and let whites cook most of the way through on the stovetop.  Once they are mostly cooked, put the whole pan under the broiler for a few minutes until the whites of the eggs are cooked.  Remove the pan and dish out the hash and cover with toppings of your choice!

Pretty quick brunch for a Saturday morning.  I was originally planning to make this with leftover corned beef, but what can you do when someone gets a little hungry and eats it all, so I resorted to the chorizo stock in our freezer.  Having a well stocked freezer is the best.  Stud and I were feeling exceptionally lazy the other night and thawed some gumbo for dinner, and it was super easy.  Makes those Sunday’s spent making soup worth it!!

 

Cajun Gravy

I dog-eared this recipe when reading the November issue of Bon Appétit because it sounded like Stud’s idea meal.  So one night we both had off from school/life (a rarity around here these days), Stud and I hit the kitchen and whipped this up for dinner.  We managed to make it on a weeknight, but it was a rush to get it on the table by a reasonable hour.  I would recommend saving this one for the weekend when there is more time to prep and get things ready.  The recipe in Bon Appétit actually calls for crawfish tails, but this is Kentucky and I had shrimp in the freezer, so we used shrimp instead and it was delicious!

Cajun Gravy

1 lb bacon, cut into small slices

6 T. flour

½ c. finely chopped onion, green pepper, and celery

1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped

3 T. garlic

1 T. thyme

1 T. Tony Chachere’s spice mix

½ t. cayenne

3 c. chicken broth

1 lb. uncooked shrimp (tails removed), coarsely chopped

Salt, Pepper

This can all be made in a large (about 10”) cast iron skillet, probably Stud’s favorite part about this recipe.  He has a weird obsession with seasoning our cast iron skillet.  Anyways…. Cook the bacon until crisp and pour off all but 6 T. of the bacon fat.  Set the skillet over medium heat and add the flour to the bacon fat to form a roux.  Reduce the heat to low and cook the roux, whisking constantly, until the roux is a shade darker than peanut butter, about ten minutes.  Stud and I took turns stirring, you have to do it constantly to prevent the roux from burning, and it gets tiring!  Add the onion, pepper, jalapeño, and garlic (I actually pureed mine in the food processor) to the skillet and cook until everything is soft, about twenty minutes.  Increase the heat to high and add the bacon, spices, and broth and simmer until thickened, about twenty minutes.  Add in the shrimp and cook for about three minutes, until they are opaque. 

Stud and I served this over rice with broccoli and Stud actually ate the broccoli since he could smother it in gravy!!  And since we are obsessed with gumbo, this was right up our ally, but with shrimp and bacon instead of sausage and turkey!  Adding some variety into the menu rotation!

Chocolate Crinkles

One of the many reasons I love these cookies (my brother and I called them Crack Cookies when we were little...this recipe comes from my mom's amazing recipe vault) is that once you make the dough, they can be baked fresh whenever you want one...or a few!  I made one batch this past Sunday night and then the rest on Tuesday to take into work for a Holiday Treat.  They are also incredibly simple, and not toooo chocolatey so they get Stud's seal of approval.

Chocolate Crinkles
1/2 c. vegetable oil
4 oz. melted unsweetened chocolate
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 c. all purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 t. vanilla
1 c. powdered sugar

Combine the vegetable oil, melted chocolate, and sugar in a bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined.  Add the vanilla.  In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together and add to  egg mixture.  Mix just until combined.  Put in the refrigerator and chill the dough.  Once it's chilled, form into balls about the size of a walnut (about 1" across, a walnut is all I could come up with!) and roll in the powdered sugar until coated.  Bake for 10-12 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

The dough can chill for a few days, if you would like to keep the dough longer, I would stick it in the freezer and pull it out to thaw when you want some cookies.  This recipe made about three dozen, plenty of cookies for family and work!

Winter is Coming....

I hate paying for fresh herbs in the winter.  Mainly because I have them all summer in my garden, and never use them.  And it always seems that I want them when I can't have them, in the winter time when they are dried shriveled up stalks.  So this year I am trying something new.  I am attempting to freeze my herbs for the winter so I can use them when needed and they are all ready to go.  I have done parsley and tarragon so far, I might add Thai basil as well.  All I did was puree the herbs with a tablespoon or so of olive oil, just enough to coat all the shreds of leaves.  I put them in a Ziplock, flattened it all out, labeled it, and stuck the bag in the freezer.  I am very optimistic about my fresh winter herbs, and I will keep you update on the success (or failure...) of my project.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

While Stud was in San Francisco, I still had class two nights a week until 9pm, so both my parents and Stud's parents were very generous and helped me out with Beau.  Beau was able to get dinner on time and also had some time outside to be the insane dog that he is.  To thank them, we had both sets of parents over for dinner and shared some of the wine we purchased in Sonoma along with a large bowl of spaghetti and meatballs.  TO find a recipe, I went to my mom's new favorite, Anne Burrell and modified her recipe for my first attempt at meatballs.

....and I forgot to take a picture.

Spaghetti and Meatballs
Meatballs:
1 large onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, diced finely
3/4 lb ground beef
3/4 lb ground pork
2 large eggs
1 c. grated parmersean
1/4 c. parsley
1 c. breadcrumbs
1/2 c. water
Pepper Flakes
Salt
Olive Oil

Saute olive oil and onions along with a pinch of salt to a skillet and let them saute for about five minutes.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes (to taste) and cook for another minute or two.  Once the onions and garlic are soft, remove from the hear and allow them to cool.  In a large bowl, combine the meats, eggs, cheese, parsley, and breadcrumbs and combine.  Add in the onions and garlic and ix well, then add the water along with an additional pinch of salt.  Shape the meatballs as you wish, we used an ice cream scoop to make them all about the size of a ping-pong ball.  Bake them on lined cookie sheet in a350 degree oven until they are cooked all the way through, ours took about 15 minutes.  Add to marinara sauce.

Marinara Sauce:
2 28 oz cans of crushed tomtoes
2 yellow onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
Olive oil
Salt

Cook the onions in olive oil with some salt until they are translucent.  Add in the garlic and cook for a few additional minutes.  Add in the tomatoes and add salt to taste.  If the sauce tastes too acidic, add some sugar to cut it, just about 1 T.  Cook the sauce over low heat for two to three hours.  Add the meatballs whenever they are finished.  The sauce and meatballs can be kept in a low oven until ready to serve.  Makes enough for two pounds of pasta.

This recipe makes A LOT.  Stud and I were eating spaghetti and meatballs for a week, not that we were really complaining.  Really, spaghetti and meatballs take time, but not much work.  It's mostly mixing things and then just letting them cook.  Also, Stud cooked the pasta when our parents were here while I enjoyed some wine, so it worked out really well!!  It went really well with our Sonoma wines we served with dinner, and it was a great way to thank our parents for their help with our psycho beast.

Curry Mayonnaise

So back when I blogged, I mentioned that Stud was stirring like a mad man making sauces from the Good Stuff Eatery Cookbook.  Along with the Sriracha Mayo, Stud also made a curry mayo that has been delicious on a variety of sandwiches since it appeared in our fridge.

 Curry Mayonnaise
2 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. curry powder
1 c. sweetened condensed milk

Measure. Combine.  Stir.  Done.

So the recipe in the cookbook calls for a whole cup of curry powder and since we had it, we used it.  It make CURRY mayo. I think from now on we will use more of a 1/4 c. when we make it.  We have used it on sandwiches and you can't use too much without the curry overpowering everything, but I like messy sandwiches.  So we have adapted.  The sweetened condensed milk is a great addition though - it makes it much more of a spread than just mayo.

Artichoke Pesto

I’m back!  At least for now.  Three classes plus work is really getting to me.  Whew.  But Stud and I have been eating, and Beau has been adorable, so I do have plenty of updates for you!  The first being some of my favorite things, pureed and tossed together.  Artichokes, basil, pasta.  So good.

 Artichoke Pesto

1 can artichoke hearts (frozen would be better…but I can’t find them)

1 c. packed basil leaves

1/8-1/4 c. pecans (really any nut will work)

3 cloves garlic

Salt

Olive Oil

Red Pepper flakes (optional)

Process the nuts, basil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and artichoke hearts together in a food processor until everything is pretty well chopped. With the processor running, drizzle in olive oil until the pesto reaches the consistency of a paste.  Cook the pasta according to package instructions and reserve about ¼ c. of the cooking liquid.  With all the good starch in it.  This makes the pesto more like a sauce than a paste.  Toss it the pesto with the pasta and extra liquid and enjoy!

I mean you can’t go wrong with these ingredients.

Asian Burgers

The first thing (besides the sauce) that we wanted to make out of the Good Stuff Cookbook was the burger Stud had last time we were in DC...at the Good Stuff Eatery.  The boy loves Asian food.  It calls for some crazy ingredients like daikon and pickled red onion.  Yeah, not when you only have an hour to throw together dinner after work/school.  This is our take!

Asian Burgers

1 lb. ground beef (with some salt and pepper)

Red onion, thinly sliced

Fresh basil leaves (Thai basil if available)

Swiss cheese

Sriracha Mayonnaise

Directions – grill (or cook inside on a skillet) and assemble.  We did a make-your-own style.  Stud piled on the red onions and sriracha mayo.  I took almost all of the basil.  

No kidding.  This is one of the best burgers I have ever had – and made at home!  Fresh herbs on a burger are amazing.  Make this burger.

Sauce King

Stud loves to cook, which I love.  But we tend towards very different recipes.  I like to make one specific item, and then build a meal around that item.  Stud like to stir.  So he makes a lot of stir frys, curries, etc…  And then his obsession with sauces in general.  His BBQ sauce is actually becoming really really good the more he tweaks it.  So when our friend Whit Tritt sent us a new cookbook that had an entire section devoted to sauces, I knew the fridge would be getting some new concoctions.  And they are so delicious to have on hand.  Maybe dangerous more than delicious seeing as I am now putting Sriracha Mayonnaise on a grilled cheese.

Sriracha Mayonnaise (makes a little over 1 cup)

1 c. mayonnaise

1/4 c. Sriracha hot sauce

1 T. sweetened condensed milk

You would think that makes way too much for two people.  Nope.  We have already put a huge dent in it. 

Basic Pasta Salad

During the summer, if I have a refrigerator full of really random things, we eat pasta salad.  I have a basic dressing I make, and then I just throw anything in there, give it a toss, stick it in the fridge and I’m finished.  Since it’s so easy, it’s a regular summer staple.

 Pasta Salad (per 1lb pasta)

1 ½ T. balsamic vinegar

1 T. Dijon mustard

Salt

Pepper

Mayonnaise

Olive oil

I use just enough olive oil to coat the noodles and a large spoonful of mayo, then add in everything else and adjust as needed. Pasta salad is definitely one of those things where I eat a good portion during the cooking/stirring process.  A lot of it depends on what’s going in.  Herbs are always involved, but they vary as well depending on the ingredients.  Pasta salad is something you just have to start basic, and add until you like it.  The one above has feta, cilantro, and cherry tomatoes.  We snacked on it for days.  It was perfection.

Grilled Steamed Veggies

Stud and I use (and by that I really mean just Stud) a charcoal grill, so when we (again, just Stud) go through the effort of getting coals ready and grilling, we like to maximize its use.  Therefore we make a lot of grill bread.  But now that more veggies are coming into season, we have been throwing some veggies on there as well.  Instead of actually putting them on the grill, we grill them in foil with some awesomeness so they are more steamed.

Steamed Veggies on the Grill

Salt and Pepper

3 T. olive oil

½ t. red pepper flakes

½ T. dried basil/oregano/rosemary/thyme (any or all)

½ t. garlic powder

1 onion, sliced thickly

2 zucchini, sliced

1 red pepper, seeds removed and cubed

(The options are basically endless, we were just working with what I had in the fridge)

I would recommend using heavy duty tin foil for this since a break in the foil ruins the steaming.  Lay one piece out large enough for most of the veggies to lay in a single layer.  Fold the edges up slightly so it’s like a huge bowl.  Add in the olive oil, salt, pepper, basil,  oregano, red pepper flakes and garlic powder.  Toss until everything is well coated. Using another large piece of tin foil, cover the top and wrap the edges together tightly so you have a huge veggie envelope.  Place over medium heat for about 16 minutes, flipping halfway through, trying your best not to tear the foil.  Afterwards, unwrap and enjoy!

It’s like a veggie present.  It’s a nice way to cook vegetables on the grill without having to worry about them falling through the cracks in the grill or burning.  And it’s even better because Stud makes the veggies and I get to sit and enjoy a nice cold beer while he grills.

Basil Sauce

So now for the basil dipping sauce.  Get ready.  

Basil Dipping Sauce

½ mayonnaise

1 c. sour cream

¼ milk

1 T. Cholula

¼ t. cayenne pepper

2 scallions

2 cloves garlic

½ basil leaves (or more!)

Salt

Pepper

Hard directions:  add all ingredients to a blender and liquefy (that’s my favorite speed, sounds fun) until everything is combined.  Taste and adjust salt/spice as needed.  Or add more basil.

I have already expressed my adoration for this dipping sauce.  It went very well with the zucchini chips, even though sometimes used them as a mere vessel for the sauce.  We had leftover dipping sauce.  It is sitting in the fridge and the endless possibilities for its use overwhelm me.  Plain.  On a sandwich.  For raw veggies.  More chips.  Pizza.  French fries!

Chips...veggie style

Last weekend, we had an appetizer dinner that began at my friend Noe’s house.  She fed us these delicious baked zucchini chips with a BASIL dipping sauce.  I love all things basil and this sauce did not disappoint.  Stud was also a huge fan and declared right then that we needed to make them for his family because they would love them!  It so happened that they were coming over the following night for dinner and we had planned on making pigs in a blanket, but these were a much lighter, healthier option to preface the beef stroganoff for dinner.  I hovered over Noe’s shoulder paying close attention to what she did!

Zucchini Chips

3 zucchini, sliced evenly (I liked a little thinner, a mandolin would be good for consistency)

1 c. Italian bread crumbs

1 T. cumin

½ c. freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 egg

1 c. milk

Salt

Pepper

Preheat the oven to 450.  While it’s warming up, line a cookie sheet with tin foil and place a cooling rack in the middle.  That way, the chips don’t really require flipping.  In one large flat casserole dish, whisk together the egg and milk.  In another, combine the bread crumbs, cumin, parmesan, salt, and pepper.  You can use smaller, deeper dishes, but with flat ones you can do more at one time.  Dunk the zucchini in the egg milk mixture and then cover them in the bread crumb mixture.  When they are sufficiently coated, lay out on the cookie sheet.  They can be close, but I would make sure none are touching.  When you have done them all, bake for 30-45 minutes until the top is browning.  Serve hot!

 You all have to wait until tomorrow for the basil dipping sauce.  The chips got a little soft after they had been out for a while, but they were still delicious.  Maybe if we had baked them a little longer (closer to 45 minutes), they would have dried out some more and been a little stiffer.  We still had zero left by the end of cocktail hour, so I would say that they were a success!

Bok Choy Salad

We are still working on breaking away from mixed baby greens over here.  A few weeks ago, Stud and I were celebrating my cousin's college graduation and my aunt served a bok choy salad that I am SURE I refused as a child.  Now that I have rejected that insanity, I heaped it on my plate and fell in love.  When Stud and I grilled up some shrimp skewers the other night, I thought it would be a perfect side.

Bok Choy Salad
1 small head of bok choy
1 bunch of green onions - the green parts
1 package ramen noodles (no flavor packet)
Almonds
1 T. Sesame seeds
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/8 c. white vinegar
1/4 c. sugar
2 T. soy sauce

Combine the vegetable oil, vinegar, sugar and soy sauce together.  Before you open the package of ramen, break apart the noodles.  Give the almonds a rough chop and add to the bok choy along with the ramen noodles.  Add the sesame seeds and slice green onions and toss with the dressing.

Ramen noodles in salad is one of the best things ever.  Fact: this is the only way I have ever eaten ramen noodles.

Shrimp Skewers

Stud and I decided to branch out a little.  We are pretty traditional folks.  We decided we would try and cook our food on a stick!  We grilled shrimp and pineapple skewers and served it with an amazing Thai sauce. You all should know by now how much Stud loves his Asian foods.  They were delicious and grilled pineapple might be one of my new favorite things, along with sesame oil.

Shrimp Skewers
1 lb shrimp (we used shells on
2 T. olive oil
2 T. salt
1/2 pineapple, cubed
For the Sauce:
3 T. water
2 T. fish sauce
1 T. rice vinegar
1/2 T. soy sauce
1/2 T. sesame oil
2 t. chili paste
1 1/2 T. sugar
Juice from 1/2 lime
Basil
Cilantro

Combine the salt with cold water and brine the shrimp for at least thirty minutes.  While they are brining, combine the sauce ingredients except the basil and cilantro.  Right before you grill them, drain the shrimp and toss them with the olive oil.  Spear them on skewers with the pineapple and grill for 2-3 minutes on each side.  Drizzle the sauce over the top and sprinkle with the basil and cilantro, then enjoy!

I actually really really loved the spicy sauce with the pineapple.  Sweet and spicy.  So good.  And these were very easy for the high level of tasty.  Skewers could be a regular over here, who knows what will come next.  Maybe chicken with peppers and onions???

Asparagus Salad

Stud picked up some asparagus the other weekend at the farmers market and since Stud and I are venturing away from the constant mixed baby greens, I made asparagus salad!  The asparagus salad is so amazingly easy and addictive.  The recipe comes from my mom’s new favorite TV chef, move over Ina Garten.  Her name is Anne Burrell, she hosts Secrets of a Restaurant chef on Food Network.  And she’s way legit.  All you do is dice and let things sit for a while.  No cooking and minimal mixing and chopping.

Asparagus Salad

1 bunch asparagus, tough lower stems removed

1 small red onion, finely diced

1 c. grated Pecorino Romano cheese

½ c. red wine vinegar

Olive Oil

Salt

Cut all of the asparagus stem into little pieces and finely dice the red onion.  Mix in a bowl with the red wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt.  Let sit about an hour before eating so the vinegar can cook the asparagus a little.  And you’re finished!

Finally a little variety from our typical mixed baby greens with vinaigrette.  The pecorino is essential.  It adds a nice salty tang to the salad and off sets the tartness of the vinegar.  And to top it all off, the colors are so pretty!  A new favorite for sure.

Camp Food

With this camping trip, since we were doing an overnight, we got to experiment with cooking in the wild.  I refused any sort of gaggy freeze dried things, convinced we could do better.  Stud is all decked out with a little camp stove, so we could make pretty much anything that involved pots and water.  Stud was all about minimizing weight (it was overnight and only about six miles, I think he was being dramatic), so we had to find something that did not need refrigeration (ice = unnecessary weight), but would still be tasty.  Enter curried rice with cashews!  

Looks delicious, yes?  Well, it was not.  It was very very bland and we couldn’t taste the curry AT ALL.  The spices were a mix of curry, turmeric, salt, sugar, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.  But the thought was good and I will make this work.  Before we head out next time, we are going to do a test run.  I still have no idea why this was so bland, the spice mixture smelled delicious.  And we might add some freeze dried tofu for protein.