Thug Kitchen If you’ve gone all summer without drinking a single slushie, take the rest of the day off and whip up this refreshing motherfucker right here. The watermelon and cucumber in this shit help soothe inflammation and the mint will keep your breath on point. FUCK IT. Splash some vodka in there if you want to take tomorrow off too. 3 pounds of watermelon (seedless is best but some seeds are cool) ½ cup skinned, chopped cucumber juice from 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons) 8-10 fresh mint leaves ¾ cup coconut or tap water 1 teaspoon agave, maple syrup, or honey (optional) Cut away the rind and chop up the watermelon flesh into pieces no larger than a quarter. When the watermelon chunks are frozen add them along with the cucumber, lime juice, mint leaves, and water to a blender and blend until it is all smooth and icy. Had a rough day? Makes about 2 ½ cups of sweet summer slush, enough for 2 people who need to chill the fuck out.
Ham and Cheese Frittatas I have been saving this recipe in my arsenal for the next time I throw a baby shower. I do that fairly often. I see a recipe and think, "that would be perfect for a (fill in the blank with your choice of occasion - baby shower, Super Bowl party, cocktail hour, you name it). I am constantly researching new recipes and sometimes I see things that may not be right at the moment but will be one day. To me, these little treats seemed like the perfect snack to adorn a table full of miniature treats geared toward women's palates. Since I had tons of leftover baked ham from New Year's Day, I figured this would be the perfect time to test drive this recipe. Mini Frittatas with Ham and CheeseAdapted from Cooking Light December 2001 Yield 8 servings (serving size: 3 frittatas) Preparation Preheat oven to 350°. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add ham; sauté about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool while you combine the other ingredients.
Macarons For those of you who read this blog regularly, you will know that macarons are one of my obsessions. Some of you may remember a couple of my early attempts (here, here, and here), then the epiphany of the class at Lenôtre in Paris. Following that class, I had a number of successes and I found the recipe to be very similar to Helene’s (of Tartelette blog) and I used a combination of the Lenôtre techniques with Helene’s recipe most of last year, with varying success. Being a Taurean (stubborn) and A-type (a planner) what bugged me about macarons was how unpredictable they were. Until recently. Encouraged by Stella, I tried my hand at these just before the end of my spring break. I followed Stella’s instructions to a T – even down to the timing of the beating of the whites. The next part that is tricky is the macaronage – the folding in of the dry ingredients to the egg whites. And voilà: The “lunch duty” macarons. Enjoyed by all on the first day back at work after the break.
TFF & FIC - Grilled Cheese Forever! This past month has been bewildering for me. It's gone by so fast, and I feel like I've accomplished so little! But I've enjoyed a lot of it, so I should satisfy myself with that. I do have one teensy regret though; that I couldn't celebrate Grilled Cheese Month the way it deserves to be celebrated! My original plan to was make one new grilled cheese sandwich every week (which would've been easy enough, because the Lord knows about my undying love for grilled cheese!). But somehow, something always seemed to derail me. Anyway, back to grilled cheese (see?! The thing with Tyler is that he has excellent timing (hmmmmmmmmm, perhaps in more ways than one, eh?!). And now see the magic that Mother Nature has crafted, yet again! Tyler's Mozzarella Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (find original recipe on Food Network's site)Serves: 2 Click Here For Printable Recipe Method: 1. 2. 3. 4. Verdict: Oh for pity's sake, just look at the darn thing, would ya?
A Summery Spread That's As Cool As A Cucumber hide captionBenedictine is a combination of cream cheese, cucumber and onion. It may sound odd, unless you're from Kentucky. Erica Peterson/WFPL Cream cheese, cucumber juice and a touch of onion. "The best thing to eat Benedictine on is just white bread," Potts says. Potts, who grew up in Louisville, Ky., has been enjoying the creamy combo for six decades. "We couldn't imagine having lunch without Benedictine," Potts says. Years later, that's still pretty much the case. Benedict opened a tearoom on downtown Louisville's South Fourth Street in 1911. Susan Reigler, a former restaurant critic for Louisville's newspaper, The Courier-Journal, wrote the introduction to the re-release of Benedict's Blue Ribbon Cook Book in 2008. Of course, some of Benedict's concoctions have fallen out of favor — like calf brains and peptonized oysters for the sick. "I think it's just very different. Cary has owned Lilly's, a restaurant that specializes in Kentucky cuisine, for the past 25 years.
Pepperoni Pizza Puffs First Patriots game of the season was last night, and Dan was giddy with excitement. Me? Not so much. As dreamy as Tom Brady is, my favorite part of watching football is the eating. Chips and dips…wings…pizza. I saw this recipe for pizza puffs on FoodGawker and knew right away that I was going to have to make them. These puffs are seriously delightful, guys. Ingredients: - 3/4 cup flour - 3/4 cup milk - 1 tsp baking powder - 1 cup shredded cheese (I used Parmesan and Colby Jack) - 1 large egg - 1/2 cup green onions, chopped - 1/3 cup pepperoni, chopped/diced - Salt/pepper to taste - Italian seasoning Steps: (1) Preheat oven to 400, and grease a mini-muffin pan.> (2) In a large bowl, mix everything but the Italian seasoning.** You should get a batter that’s slightly less thick than pancake batter. (3) Scoop batter into the cups of the mini-muffin pan, about 2/3 full. For other great recipe ideas, click here.
Cheese Straws 9th October 2010By EmmaPhotography by Emma My Mum grew up in small-town New Zealand. She lived in a wee place called Inglewood which is near a (slightly) bigger place called Stratford which is near a place called New Plymouth, New Zealand’s 11th biggest city. Mum is always on the go. Whatever Mum turns her hand to she excels at, and these cheese straws are no exception. A word of warning – these are addictive! -- 100g flour 100g butter 100g parmesan cheese (or any other cheese you have on hand) ½ tsp chilli flakes S&P to taste 1 egg yolk -- 1.
Egg Drop New categories for me. I’m filing this under ‘kids‘ and ‘breakfast‘. Not because it’s a specific food for children, but because my baby loves to eat this (will I ever stop calling him my baby? I somehow doubt it). This is by far his favorite breakfast -not to mention he loves to ‘help‘ me cook it – which makes it a fun thing for the both of us. It’s just a little break from the traditional way of cooking eggs and it’s actually a pretty decent start of the day, nutritionally speaking. It’s not just fun to make but they’re also great to serve because they’re oh-so simple, but look oh-so good, and not just for kids! Ingredients: drop of olive oil 1/2 small onion grated cheese 1 tomato 2oz ham 2 eggs pepper salt Directions: Preheat your oven to 350 (175c) This was a breakfast for two, so if you need more just double (or triple) the amounts. I’ve used fresh and vibrant organic/biological tomatoes for this and I must say, there’s definitely a noticeable difference in flavor. The egg saga.
Pork Chops with Crispy Garlic and Lemongrass Your experience as an expat living in North America may be different, but for me the loneliness that already gnaws on your heart from time to time throughout the year becomes so intense it tears you up around the holidays. Funny how even with all the friendly faces around, something about this time of year never fails to trigger the kind of deep longing for home that you never get used to or outgrow — the kind that makes you nearly double over and sob. One Christmas Eve, I made pork chops with crispy garlic and lemongrass, missing Mom who used to make these all the time. While it usually takes me a few times to successfully replicate many things in Mom’s repertoire before getting them just right, I nailed this dish the first time mainly because it’s so easy to make. The very delicious and versatile crispy lemongrass and garlic slices certainly make the pork chops special. Most people are already familiar with crispy garlic and how mild, sweet, crunchy, and delicious it is.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge Yes, really. If that doesn't stop you dead in your tracks, then I don't think you're human. This is serious stuff. This comes together pretty easily, and honestly the hardest part is waiting for it to set up! So head into your kitchen and make these now. 1 3/4 c. sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar1/2 cup heavy cream 1/4 c. milk1 Tbs corn syrup3/4 tsp kosher salt2 Tbs unsalted butter1 tsp vanilla extract1/2 cup flour1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chipsSpray an 8x8 inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. In a 3-quart saucepan, combine the sugars, cream, milk, corn syrup and salt. Pour the mixture into a 9x13 inch casserole dish, and allow to cool until it reaches 110 degrees, 10 to 20 minutes. Use a large spoon to scrape the mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Allow to set at least 2 hours.
Pasta Salad You know how you lied and said that you’d actually bring something to the party this time? FUCKING DO IT. Did someone else bring a pasta salad? Throw that shit away because it doesn’t even hold a candle to what you just brought to the table. ½ cup of each herb: chopped green onions, cilantro, dill, and parsley (feel free to swap these around for whatever you’ve got. 4-5 cloves of garlic all chopped up (I fucking love garlic so adjust according to your tastes) 6 tablespoons sherry vinegar (red wine vinegar or even rice vinegar could work here if that’s what you got) 4 tablespoons olive oil ½ teaspoon lemon zest (calm the fuck down, just grate the skin of the lemon on the smallest side of your grater) ¼ teaspoon salt 1 pound of pasta (whole wheat, quinoa, brown rice, whatever you like) 1 crown of broccoli 3 medium-sized tomatoes 2 ears of raw corn pepper to taste Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Serves 4-6 people unless some greedy asshole camps out by the table