Chef Fresco

Grace's Multi-bean Salad

2010-03-21T07:28:00.008-04:00

Voilà! Many of you requested to know what this colorful looking side was that nestled in the background of our Miso Chicken plate. It's a fantastic bean salad from one of our most-favorite fellow blogger's site, A Southern Grace. Grace is a truly dedicated blogger and has so many great recipes. She also shares our same crazy love of cilantro. The funny thing is that she even inquired "whatever the colorful side dish in the background might be?" it in her comment on our previous post! Hehe. She sure stays true to what she likes, even though she didn't know it was hers!

Grace's original recipe called for bbq sauce, which we were unfortunately out of, so we improvised with a olive oil-based dressing. We made a few other changes, but it still turned out very delicious! Perfect for a side or party appetizer. You don't have to do the refrigerating step it if you're short on time - flavor just improves as it sits in there. One thing to note is that this recipe yields a whole lot. However if you like it as much as we did, it's okay. This even makes a great dip for tortilla chips... like a beany pico salsa (maybe that's what they should call it).

Ingredients

1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup pickled jalapenos, chopped
1 15.5 oz can black beans, rinsed
1 15.5 oz can yellow corn, drained
1 15.5 oz can red kidney beans, rinsed
1 15.5 oz can chick peas, rinsed
1 15.5 oz can diced tomatoes with chiles, drained
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp cumin

DRESSING:

1/2 cup olive oil
3 tbsp lime juice

Directions

Combine all ingredients except for olive oil and lime juice in a large bowl. Wisk olive oil and lime juice in a small bowl. Pour over bean mixture and stir well to combine.
Refrigerate for about an hour to let the flavors combine.

Baked Miso Chicken

2010-03-17T09:34:00.004-04:00

We realized that we don't cook enough recipes from our fellow bloggers' sites. I mean all those great recipes you all post and we rarely experiment with them! So Michael was browsing around the other day on some of your blogs and found a yummy looking miso chicken recipe by Mary at One Perfect Bite. Check out her site if you haven't, she's got some really great posts. We modified her original recipe just a bit. If you do decide to try this recipe, you might have trouble finding miso. We found some at Harris Teeter, but it was 7 bucks for a tiny tube! We are lucky enough to have an Asian food mart nearby and Michael picked up a tub of it for $2.50. Much better deal. However, now we have this giant tub of pasty looking miso so we need something else to do with it... any suggestions? Mary's original recipe says to marinate the chicken for 3 hours, but we made it on a weekday so just marinated it all day (12 hrs) and it turned out fine. We actually made the marinade the night before so we just had to throw it in a bag with the chicken the next morning, come home & toss it in the oven for a quick supper! Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup mirin
1/2 cup miso
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoon minced garlic
6-8 (about 2-lbs.) boneless chicken thighs
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Directions

Combine soy sauce, mirin, miso, onions, ginger and garlic in a small bowl. Divide marinade into 2 parts. Pour half into in a one-gallon zip-lock bag. Shake to mix well.
Add chicken pieces and coat well. Refrigerate for 8-12 hours. Refrigerate reserved marinade in a separate container.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with paper towels.
Arrange chicken pieces in a single layer on a large rack set over a baking pan. Cook for 30 minutes. Brush with reserved marinade.
Transfer chicken to a serving platter and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Rogue Dead Guy

2010-03-13T19:28:00.006-05:00

ABV 6.5%
IBU: 40
Our Props: 7
Calories: ? (couldn't find)

Got a 6-pack of this delicious brew from our old roomie, Rich for our wedding stock-the-shed shower the other night. We love some Rogue and Rich is from Oregon so it was only appropriate to get this delicious beer. This German Maibock has a wonderful amber color and a slight hint of citrus, but a slightly bitter after taste - however is a solid beer none the less. After doing a little further research on this brew we found that it was actually created in the early 90's as a private tap label in celebration of the Mayan Day of the Dead festival (fitting title, I know) held on Nov. 1st. The beer became so popular that it was later bottled year round. We also learned that there are a couple variations to this beer; a Double Dead Guy Ale and also a John John Dead Guy which is a version where the original dead guy is distilled in whiskey barrels. Rouge Brewery is a fantastic brewery located in Portland, OR that offers many great brews. We encourage all you beer drinkers to give them a try. On another note we must mention this glass featured in the second photo from Jessi's brother Dylan. Dylan spent some time over the summer traveling abroad and picked us up this great mug in Spain. I don't know much about it since Dylan wasn't too thorough in enlightening us about it, but it looks super-cool.

Bacon, Egg and Asparagus Pizza

2010-03-10T15:41:00.006-05:00

So I know what you're thinking... but don't say no yet! We were a bit unsure about a pizza with egg and asparagus on it too, but gave it a shot. Bottom line—this pizza is delicious! The double baking of the crust is a brilliant idea—we may start cooking all of our pizzas this way. The blanched asparagus paired with the soft egg texture makes a wonderful combination. Not to mention the superb flavor of the sharp cheddar that goes so well with any type of eggs. We always use a pizza stone, which intensifies the crispiness. You can use a regular baking sheet if you don't have a stone. Investing in a stone is a great idea though! Recipe modified from Eating Well.

Ingredients

1 pound prepared pizza dough, preferably whole-wheat
2 strips bacon
1 cup sliced shallots (about 2 medium shallots)
1 pound asparagus, trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar

Directions

Preheat oven to 500°F with pizza stone inside. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to the pizza stone. Bake until crisped on the bottom, about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain on a paper towel. Remove most of the bacon grease, leaving about 1 tbsp in the pan.
Add shallots to the pan and cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add asparagus and cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, 2 to 3 minutes more.
Spread the vegetables over the crust and crumble bacon on top. Whisk eggs, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until combined; slowly pour over the vegetables, trying not to let any run off the crust.
Sprinkle the pizza with cheese. Bake until the eggs are set and the cheese is melted, 8 to 10 minutes.

Bret and Peggy's BBQ

2010-03-08T15:50:00.011-05:00

Well it's been some time since we last had a submission of the week. Well we've only had two ever but this is another great one! Bret (one of my best friends and main grill consultant) and his wife Peggy have recently purchased a new grill and smoker. Bret was very excited with this purchase and even added some extra gauges to it for flare (not really... he did it to more accurately monitor heat inside the grill). You may remember Bret and Peggy's last submission, the Burn Your Face off Ribs. Well we've turned down the heat and upped the flavor. To break in their new grill the two decided to smoke a pork butt. This is no small feat... who knows how many Bud Lights Bret had to consume in the 9 hours that it took to smoke this beast. All I know is that I finally got to sample some last week and it was fantastic! That man knows how to handle his butts! Here's Bret's complex grilling recipe that even requires you to get some sort of flavor injector that looks like a alien-injection gun and a entire day's worth of grilling. Way to go guys! We love the BBQ and can't wait till the next butt. Bret suggests you serve this delicacy with corn and cole slaw on a paper plate and wash it down with Bud Light. They also suggest using a really light brew contrary to some of our other fancier beers in order to leave more room for the succulent pig! Bret also notes that he has also accomplished this recipe on his older, smaller Weber grill and had great results as long as you keep the meat away from the heat.

Bret and Peggy's BBQ

I like to inject my butts (makes it more moist)
The injection I use is:

Bret's drunk pig injection

Do this (and the rub) at least 12 hours before cooking

1/2 Cup Bud Light
1/2 Cup cider vinegar
1/2 Cup Apple Juice
1/2 stick butter (salted)
3 tbs rub of your choice

Mix all ingredients.
Bring to a boil and let cool, then inject the butt like its an addict right out of rehab. Use paper towels to pat dry butt after injection to remove excess moisture.
I like to use this injector that I got at Tractor Supply in the veterinary supply aisle. It can be pre-set for the amount of liquid you want per squeeze (I prefer 3 CCs)

Could be good with Bret and Peggy's burn your face off rib rub, but this time I used:

Bret's (got a new smoker) Pork Butt Rub

1/2 Cup dark brown sugar
1/8 Cup Kosher Salt
1/4 Cup Paprika
1/4 Cup Chili Powder
1/8 Cup Mustard powder (Coleman's)
1/8 Cup Granulated Garlic
1 Tbs Cayenne Pepper
2 Tbs Coarse Black Pepper

Mix all ingredients. Coat well and massage rub into butt. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

Smoking the Butt

Get your charcoal going early (I like use the all natural hardwood charcoal)
First get the main chamber of your smoker to about 250 degrees.
I have used a small Weber grill as well, still works just be careful not to get the fire too close to your meat.
Add wood chips: I used Apple and Hickory
Put your butt on the grill / smoker and let sit for 1-1.5 hr/lb until internal temp reaches 195 degrees
Maintain a temp of 225-275 by opening and closing the vents on the bottom of your grill.
Leave the top vent open the entire time.
Make sure you don't add cold coals to your fire (I use a chimney starter then add them as needed)

Wild Mushroom Polenta

2010-03-05T08:01:00.006-05:00

This is another recipe I found in my buddy Chris's Cooking Light Slow Cooker book. I was wanting to make something to go along with our frittata and thought this mushroom polenta looked quite tasty. We'd never cooked with polenta before, and what do you know, it's just yellow corn meal! We had lots of that leftover from some cornbread, so I decided to try it out. It was very tasty, but took longer than the time it stated. After 3 hours, it was still a bit soupy, so I cranked the heat up to high for another 35 minutes. I'd say just watch it and if you're in a time crunch, you could probably cook it on high for about 1.5-2 hours. We slightly modified the recipe (ours is below). Oh, and it is supposed to serve 6, but we ate nearly all of it between the 2 of us. Maybe we eat more than the average Joe, but I would still recommend doubling it if you're serving more than two. I'd say the recipe below is more like 3 servings. We found the dried mushrooms in along with the regular mushrooms in the produce section at Harris Teeter - I'm not sure if they are normally hard to find or not.

Ingredients

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon butter
cooking spray
3 cups water
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms, chopped
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Fresh (or dried) rosemary, to garnish

Directions

Heat water in microwave (or stove) until bowling. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray.
Put cornmeal and butter into slow cooker. Gradually add the water, stirring constantly with a whisk until well blended.
Stir in cheese, mushrooms, thyme, salt and pepper.
Cover and cook on low for 3 hours or until thick (plus 35 minutes on high for us).
Garnish with rosemary and serve.

Double Bastard Ale & a Birthday!

2010-03-02T10:44:00.003-05:00

ABV 10.5% (oh my!)
Our Props 9/10
IBU Classifed (what does that even mean? they're too secretive to give out the IBU??) In that case, I guess I'll have to guess. I'd say the IBU is around 65.

Today is Michael's birthday, so I thought we should do a beer post to celebrate :) Happy birthday Michael!!

I learned something new while doing this post - IBU. Do you know what that means? I didn't, but google tells me it stands for International Bittering Unit. Essentially the IBU number tells you how bitter (aka. hoppy) your beer is. The scale runs from 0 to around 100, with 0 being fruity beers and 100 being a very hoppy IPA.

On a recent wedding planning trip to Asheville, Michael picked up some delicious beers at a local beer shop downtown. The best one was the Vortex II by Pisgah Brewing Company. Unfortunately we drank it all up before we decided to start doing beverage reviews on the blog because it was delicious! And we have no photo to show for it. Pisgah Brewing Co is an organic brewery located in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It seems like a pretty cool place based on their website - hopefully we can make a stop by next time we're in the mtns.

This Double Bastard is another brew Michael picked up in Asheville. It has a nice dark amber color. Delicious strong flavor, full of hops. Only comes in a slightly pricey 22 oz., but worth the splurge! Brewed by Stone Brewing Company in Escondido, California. This pint glass has a good story. So right when we started dating, my sister used to call Michael 'Milk Stout' since his last name is Stout. For some reason my Dad thought that was a nick name all his buddies called him in college & so was really excited when he saw this pint glass with 'Milk Stout' written on it in a store in Asheville. So excited, he bought two! That first Christmas Michael got these really cool Milk Stout glasses & now they are a treasured part of our collection :)

Jamaican Beef Patties

2010-02-28T21:20:00.006-05:00

Here's a bit of a different recipe for ya–Jamaican beef patties. The most recent Eating Well had a whole section on Jamaican dishes and we thought this one looked pretty tasty—not to mention the entire thing looked like a hot pocket! Since I haven't had a hot pocket in years, I had to try them. Speaking of hot pockets listen to this... you'll laugh, hard.
The crust turned out a bit dry - it almost needs some kind of sauce or something. The beef is tasty though, it has a unique flavor from the turmeric. We probably won't be making them again though just because they are so labor involved. The recipe calls for whole-wheat pastry flour and the only brand that HT had was nearly 5 bucks! I thought about just using regular whole-wheat flour but didn't want to mess anything up so went for the splurge. Does anyone know if the difference is really that important? I sure would be willing to save the money and use regular whole-wheat if it's pretty much the same! We doubled the recipe so we'd have plenty of leftovers, but only got 10 patties out of the mixture instead of 12. If you do try these, they take about 2 and 1/2 hrs, so plan ahead (45 minutes active time).

Ingredients

CRUST

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
5 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup ice water
1 large egg yolk

FILLING

8 ounces 93%-lean ground beef
1 bunch scallions, minced
1 habanero pepper, minced
1/4 cup fine dry breadcrumbs (i.e. Panko)
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

To prepare crust: Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, 1 teaspoon turmeric, 3/4 teaspoon salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
Cut butter into small pieces and quickly rub them into the dry ingredients with your fingers until smaller but still visible. Add oil and toss with a fork to combine.
Whisk water and egg yolk in a small bowl. Add to the flour mixture and stir until the dough begins to come together. Knead in the bowl a few times until it forms a ball.
Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
With about 30 minutes left in the dough chill time, start to prepare the filling. Cook ground beef, scallions and chile pepper in a medium skillet over medium heat, breaking up the beef with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes.
Stir in breadcrumbs, water, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric and 1/4 teaspoon salt; mix well. Let cool.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
To make patties: Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. On a well-floured surface, roll each piece into a 6-inch circle about 3/8 inch thick. Trim the edges to make an even circle (you might have a bowl the right size to use as a guide).
Put about 1/4 cup filling on half of the dough, leaving about a 1/4-inch border. Fold the dough over the filling to make a half-moon shape and crimp the edges with a fork to seal.
Place on a large baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Bake the patties until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra I.P.A.

2010-02-26T09:36:00.004-05:00

ABV: 7.2%
Our props: 6.5
IBU: 65
Calories: 218

Traditionally I've never been a regular Sierra Nevada Pale Ale drinker (this seems to be the one with the green label that you see everywhere). When I spotted that they offered an extra I.P.A. my interest was sparked. You can probably tell this from the ridiculous amount we have been posting about since we started reviewing beverages (wines are coming... I promise). I have always thought their pale ale was overly bitter so I was skeptical on this new year-round I.P.A that was released at the beginning of 2009. Sierra's website states that all their beers are brewed with 100% whole cone hops and no additives or extracts throughout the entire brewing process, and have been for the last 29 years. They claim that this is what took them so long to produce the I.P.A. and that the name is derived from a special "Hop Torpedo". This "Hop Torpedo" was a device conceived within Sierra's brewery and allowed them to achieve this 100% dry-hopping brew method.

The result is a nice I.P.A. and great addition to the Sierra Nevada's line of year-round beers. It is not the best I.P.A. I have every had but far from the worst. Much smoother than their pale ale, this brew has a lot of flavor but still left a slightly strong aftertaste. Definitely worth a try but probably won't buy it on the regular.

On a side note. This Pilsner glass brings back memories from this summer at the Pyramid Restaurant and Brewery outside San Francisco with our good friend Daniel. If your reading this—Dude get back east, you're too far!

Thai Shrimp and Spinach Curry

2010-02-23T22:11:00.002-05:00

So we made this recipe one night and were too hungry and tired to do the photographing. It looks so pretty though and turned out to be so tasty that we decided we had to make it again for the blog. So this is our second round in the same week (which is a super rarity). We decided to do it again because we both agreed that it is definitely one of the top 10 recipes of all time that we've made. And that's saying a lot! It's simple (takes about 35 minutes) and is so flavorful. You have gotta try this one! We got the idea from a Gourmet Today cookbook, but made a few changes to liven it up and make it a bit more healthy. Enjoy!

Ingredients

14-ounce can light unsweetened coconut milk
2 tsp red curry paste
1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 red chili pepper, chopped
3/4 pound spinach (about 1 bunch)
1/4 cup cilantro

Directions

Pour about 1/3 of the coconut milk and in a large heavy skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the curry paste and whisk constantly for 1 minute.
Add the shrimp and sauté the mixture over medium-high heat, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the shrimp turn pink. Add the remaining coconut milk and fish sauce. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute (or until shrimp are cooked through).
Take out shrimp and place into a medium bowl.
Add carrots and bell pepper to the sauce in the pan, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the spinach in batches, stirring until each batch is wilted.
Return the shrimp to the skillet, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute. Serve over rice and top with cilantro.

Bell's Two Hearted Ale

2010-02-21T22:47:00.017-05:00

ABV 7%
Our props 9/10

This is a really delicious IPA & is one of our favorite beers. It's got a great crisp, hoppy flavor. As you can see, it has a nice, light amber color. The nicest part of this brew is the finish. Even for a 7% brew the finish so smooth. It just glides down the throat like a match made in heaven. It tastes full, almost creamy, but not over-filling (I could easily put down 3 or more down without feeling inflated). One of the pricier 6-packs, but definitely worth it every once in a while. It does have 202 calories per beer though. This beer posting sure is a wake-up call for me! Such a bummer all the tastiest of beers are packed with liquid calories. Gotta be careful to not drink too many. Of course, as one of our loyal followers commented on an earlier brew post - liquid calories don't count. :) A little fact about Bell's brewery for anyone that's interested: it was founded by Larry Bell in Michigan and was originally called Kalamazoo Brewing Company.

So Michael and I have a ridiculously enormous collection of pint glasses. I don't want to get rid of a single one b/c they all have a story and special memory. But now they can actually serve a purpose! We'll see how many posts we can get in before we have to re-use a glass. The one featured here was a favor from Michael's best buddy's wedding last year. Bret & Peggy actually even guest posted on the blog a while back. Their BBQ ribs got quite a response too! In fact, this beer would be great with some ribs, so cook up Bret's recipe, grab a 6-pack and enjoy!

Mushroom & Wild Rice Frittata

2010-02-20T22:12:00.003-05:00

I imagine that healthy frittata is hard to come by - especially if it has any flavor. Well we found a healthy and yummy one! We've never actually attempted to make our own frittata, but stumbled upon a quite tasty looking creation in the latest edition of Eating Well. I didn't think Michael would go for it until we got to the bottom of the ingredient list and saw prosciutto listed. We didn't have a 10 inch cast-iron skillet, so added a little bit more of everything to fit into our 12 inch one. I'd definitely recommend this recipe, but would say if you care more about pleasing a crowd and less about the healthy-aspect, double the cheese and prosciutto. If you decide to do that, I'd say to put a layer of both on-top of the rice & vegetables, then add the egg, then another prosciutto/cheese layer. The original recipe called for parsley, so if you're not a cilantro fan, use it instead. We couldn't find pure wild rice at Harris Teeter, so used a wild-rice mixture instead. We later found some at Trader Joe's, so head there if you have trouble finding it. :)

* Nutrition info: 210 calories; 9 g fat (3 g sat, 3 g mono); 190 mg cholesterol; 17 g protein; 2 g fiber; 681 mg sodium; 424 mg potassium.

Ingredients

2 cups water
1/2 cup wild rice, rinsed
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped red onion
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 pound mixed mushrooms (cremini, white button, shiitake), sliced
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
4 thin slices prosciutto (about 2 ounces), chopped

Directions

Combine water, rice and salt in a small heavy saucepan; bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook until the rice is tender with a slight bite, 40 to 50 minutes then drain.
Meanwhile (about 30 minutes after you start cooking the rice) beat eggs and egg whites in a large bowl with cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and nutmeg.
Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler.
Heat oil in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, preferably cast-iron, over medium heat. Add onion and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.
Stir in rosemary, then add mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until they release their liquid and the pan is dry, 8-10 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium-low; stir in the rice.
Pour the reserved egg mixture evenly over the rice and vegetables. Partially cover and cook until set around the edges, about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle with Parmesan and prosciutto.
Place the pan under broiler and broil until the eggs are set and the top is nicely browned, about 2 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Jockamo I.P.A: 7/10 ABV: 6.5%

2010-02-18T09:15:00.013-05:00

This great brew marks the launch of one of our new features in 2.0, drink reviews! As much as we love to eat, I mean cook, we also love to sip back a great drink. We spend enough time and money on R&D for this secondary habit that we thought we should blog it. This is also a great way for us to continue posting on those nights we don't feel like cooking but still feel like corking (haha). The ABV is alcohol percentage and the 7/10 is our ranking.

We're big fans of Abita's Turbodog, so I was excited when I saw a new Abita brew at HT - the Jockamo. It's full of flavor and has lots of nice hop. Brewed by Abita Beer, located right outside of New Orleans in Abita Springs, Louisiana. This is a great beer and has some wonderful hints of citrus in it. I goes down exceptionally smooth for a I.P.A. and leaves a wonderful aftertaste. However at 200 calories per glass you may to limit yourselves on these. We give it 7 out of 10 stars. Cheers!

Creamy Shrimp and Grits

2010-02-18T07:48:00.006-05:00

So as we post one of my all-time favorite recipes I thought it would also be a good time to unveil our redesigned blog. This was long overdue and is a ongoing update. When we started this blog I was really new to blogging and what platforms to use but ended up choosing Blogger in the end, due primarily to the easier interface. Having immersed ourselves over the past year and a half to this blogging/foodie culture I wish I would have chosen to set up a Wordpress blog instead. It just seems that there are so many more hacks, widgets and templates available for Wordpress. However I have deep faith in Google and feel strongly that they will remain a blogging force or simply buy out the competition. Google recently released a new page feature in their dashboard which allows users to create static pages as seen here in Chef Fresco 2.0. We have also set up a fan page on Facebook for you to follow up on us as well. 2.0 has a new about and contact page for you to use and features a search bar (which I'm still having some issues with in earlier versions of Internet Explorer). Anyways enough about all that and on to the food!

Growing up in the south and being raised by a stock of eastern North Carolina mothers and their wonderful cooking has given me a deep-rooted respect for the grit. What a great food, grain, whatever you call it—I love it! Stone ground though... that's the only way to go. What better way to to top this southern delicacy then to put shrimp and bacon on it. Always remember that the key to success with this recipe is in the grits. Buy quality stone ground grits that have to be soaked before cooking. Then simply cook with a lot of unhealthy butter and milk until it bubbles into a thick mass of goodness. This is a great recipe that I cherish and would probably be my last supper if given the choice. I always make extra grits to reheat in the morning with eggs. That's all for now enjoy the new blog design. One other thing - click the images on new posts to see a larger version. -Michael

Ingredients

2 cups stone-ground grits
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
5 1/2 cups chicken stock
3 1/2 cups 2% milk
3 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 pack bacon, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 lb large shrimp

Directions

Put grits in a large bowl. Add enough water to cover. Soak for 45 minutes, then drain.
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute garlic and onion until onion is softened, about 4-5 minutes.
Add grits, stock, milk, butter, salt and pepper. Simmer until thickened, approximately 20-30 minutes, stirring often to prevent grits from sticking (caution: this bubbling deliciousness will splat and burn you, so stir carefully).
Meanwhile, heat a large pan over medium-high and add bacon pieces. Brown until almost done and drain a majority of the oil (leaving about 1-2 tbsp). Add peppers and cook until beginning to soften. Add shrimp and cook until cooked through.
Spoon grits onto plates and top with shrimp mixture. Try to not eat the whole pot - believe me grits expand in your belly and you'll have to ride the couch all night.

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

2010-02-16T07:33:00.006-05:00

We had to hold off on the shrimp & grits to give you the molten lava cake we made on Valentine's Day. For some reason I always assumed you put a special chocolate in the center that doesn't quite melt all the way. Who knew it's all the same chocolate?! Oh and I must warn you, this doesn't fit into the healthy category - but it's totally worth it! This recipe is super quick & easy and is perfect for a special meal. I think it's going to be our new Valentine's Day tradition. If you don't have ramekins, you can use 6 cups of a standard muffin tin instead. We just melted the chocolate chips in the microwave to save time, but feel free to use a double broiler instead. If you have leftovers, store them in the fridge, then zap them in the microwave for 15-30 seconds and you have a melty chocolate treat all over again! Modified from Martha Stewart. Up next, shrimp and grits!

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for ramekins
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for ramekins
3 large eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips, melted
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Whipped Cream, for serving (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter 4 ramekins. Dust with granulated sugar, and tap out excess. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour and salt until just combined. Beat in chocolate until just combined. Divide batter evenly among prepared ramekins.
Place ramekins on a baking sheet; bake just until tops of the cakes no longer jiggle when the pan is lightly shaken, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes
To serve, turn out cakes, and place on serving plates, bottom sides up. Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Jalapeno Cornbread

2010-02-14T09:42:00.006-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! We're trying to decide what we're going to cook for dinner. We weren't too psyched about fighting the crowds and figured we could make something just as delicious at home. I'm thinking of perhaps a chocolate lava cake for dessert. We've never made them before, but how can you go wrong with a melted chocolate surprise?! We'll keep ya posted about that. .

As for this post, we made a shrimp & grits meal a while ago and decided to try some homemade cornbread to go with it. This was our first attempt and we looked at several different recipes for the main ingredients. The rest we just kind of threw together and got lucky because it was delicious! It's definitely got a kick, so feel free to cut down on the number of jalapenos you use. We'll be posting the shrimp & grits recipe soon so be on the look-out!

Ingredients

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups well-shaken low-fat buttermilk
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) salted butter
1 2 oz. jar diced pimentos, drained
1/3 cup jarred jalapeno slices

Directions

Put rack in middle of oven. Preheat to 425F. Spray a 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and baking soda together in a medium bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk and butter. Add to dry mixture and stir batter just until combined.
Put baking pan in oven for 5 minutes to heat. Remove with hot-pad and pour in cornbread mixture.
Bake until golden and sides slightly pull away from edges of pan, about 35-40 minutes.

Pork Tenderloin in Chili-Tomato Sauce

2010-02-11T07:39:00.004-05:00

Michael has been working really hard on a new re-design for the blog. He's giving it a complete make-over and he's almost done! I hope everyone likes the new look when we publish it - it'll have more features and pages as well as a search bar and index. Be on the look-out!

This is the pork that we served with our roasted acorn squash the other day. The recipe is super involved - it took probably nearly 1.5-2 hours. It was pretty good (and healthy), but definitely not worth all of the work. We had high hopes for this recipe, but I'd say we probably won't be making this one again. We couldn't find ancho chiles, so used a combo of 4 red chiles and 4 jalapenos. Well, with that sad, here is the post! :) Recipe from Whole Foods, serves 6-8.

Ingredients

8 ancho chiles, seeded, stemmed and roughly chopped  
4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon brown sugar  
1 cup crushed tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted  
1 medium yellow onion, quartered
 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided  
2 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut in half
 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided  
Salt and pepper to taste  
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin  
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano  
1 dried bay leaf

Directions

Combine chiles, garlic and 1 cup water in a small pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 2 minutes.
Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the cooking water, and transfer chiles and garlic to a blender. Add brown sugar, tomatoes, onions, 2 cups of the broth and 1 tablespoon of the reserved cooking water and puree. Set aside.   
Rub tenderloins with 1/2 tablespoon of the oil and season liberally with salt and pepper on all sides. Mix cumin, cinnamon and oregano together and season the pork with this mixture on all sides.
Heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add one pork tenderloin and cook until golden brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove and repeat with remaining tenderloin. Set both aside.   
Transfer puree to the pot and bring to a simmer. Add remaining 2 cups broth, bay leaf and salt and pepper. Return tenderloins to the pot and spoon the sauce over them. Cook over medium low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 160°F.
Season with salt and pepper. Remove and discard bay leaf. Remove pork from pot and slice on the bias as thinly as possible. Arrange slices on a platter and spoon sauce over the top.

Roasted Acorn Squash with Chile Vinaigrette

2010-02-07T22:23:00.004-05:00

I have never made acorn squash before now - I don't know why. I've seen some great looking recipes and blog posts about it, but never have gotten around to trying it for myself. We got this recipe from a Gourmet Today cookbook that Michael's mom gave me for Christmas. We've made quite a few of recipes out of it and they all have been delicious - 5 stars worthy, really. We'll be posting a lot more from it soon! Anyways, this recipe is great. The vinaigrette topping is very powerful, so you only need a little to drizzle. We served the squash with a pork in chili tomato sauce - which is why it looks kind of soupy in the background. We'll be posting the pork recipe soon!

I always roast the seeds of pumpkins and butternut squash, so thought, what the heck, I'll try it with the acorn squash. Delicious! I hate letting things go to waste. Just save the seeds, rinse them, and top with a spritz of olive oil, a shake of salt, and broil for about 15 minutes. Watch them closely so they don't burn, and then you have a great treat to tide you over till dinner!

Ingredients

2 acorn squash
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh hot red chile (about 1/2 a chile), including seeds
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450F. Halve squash lengthwise, then cut off and discard stem ends. Scoop out seeds (save if you're roasting them!) and cut squash lengthwise into 3/4-inch-wide wedges.
Toss squash with black pepper, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a bowl, then arrange, cut sides down, in 2 large shallow baking pans. Roast squash, switching position of pans halfway through roasting, until squash is tender and undersides of wedges are golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes.
While squash roasts, mince garlic and mash to a paste with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Transfer paste to a small bowl and whisk in lime juice, chile (to taste), cilantro, and remaining 1/4 cup oil until combined. Transfer squash, browned sides up, to a platter and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Pulled-Pork Thai Stew

2010-02-02T21:14:00.004-05:00

So one of my friends at work discovered that we had a blog the other day and actually seemed pretty excited about it. He agreed to lend me a slow cooker cookbook he got for Christmas as long as I gave him a shout-out on the blog. So thank you Chris Johnson! :) HT had a buy-one-get-one sale on pork tenderloin recently, so we racked up. I was flipping through Chris's cookbook and found a recipe that called for tenderloin. It is an absolutely perfect recipe. It's super easy & would be a great meal for when you need to feed a crowd. And best of all, it's modified from Cooking Light, so it's healthy! We will definitely be making this one again - we both agreed it's one of the top 10 recipes we've ever made. One thing that I'm super slow at though is trimming the fat from the pork. It took me 30 minutes to do the prep work because of it when it should've taken probably 15. Michael usually does that part, but I think I'm getting better. :) Another thing I was wondering about is why you have to cook it on high for 1 hour, then on low for 6 hours. I made this on a weekend, but next time I might try cooking it only on low for 8 hours if it's a work-day. Serve over basmati rice. Feeds 6-8. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 pounds boned pork loin, cut into 4 pieces
1 (1 x 1/4-inch) julienne-cut red bell pepper
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts
8 lime wedges

Directions

To prepare stew, trim fat from pork. Place pork, bell pepper, teriyaki, rice vinegar, crushed red pepper and garlic in a crock-pot. Cover with lid, and cook on high for 1 hour, reduce heat and cook on low for 6 hours.
Remove pork from crock-pot, and coarsely pull (using a fork). Add peanut butter to liquid in crock-pot; stir well. Stir in pork.
Combine stew and rice in a large bowl. Top each serving with onions and peanuts; serve with lime wedges.

Turkey Sausage and Spinach Lasagna

2010-01-28T22:35:00.005-05:00

Our first lasagna recipe we've made together - can you believe it? The photos don't really do the meal justice. Michael's mom made a really great lasagna dish over the holidays that didn't require cooking the noodles ahead of time first. We may be posting that one soon too.

So we haven't quite racked up on a broad variety of cooking dishes yet. You should be able to put this meal all in one dish, but we had to split it into our only two small baking dishes. It was actually kind of fortunate because we ended up freezing one and reheating it the next week. You could really even double it, make a ton, and freeze some. It still super tasty reheated and you will be very grateful on a crazy weeknight when all you have to do is zap it to reheat! Recipe modified from Eating Well. Serves 10. Takes about 2 hours to make - so plan ahead. You can also make steps 1-5 ahead of time (up to a day).

Ingredients

8 ounces whole-wheat lasagna noodles
1 1/4 pound lean spicy Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
8 oz. package sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup water
2 10 oz. packages chopped, frozen spinach, thawed
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably chunky
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese, divided
2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until not quite tender, about 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain; return the noodles to the pot, cover with cool water and set aside.
Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 4 minutes.
Add mushrooms and water; cook, stirring occasionally and crumbling the sausage more, until it is cooked through, the water has evaporated and the mushrooms are tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
Squeeze spinach to remove excess water, then stir into the pan; remove from heat.
Mix tomatoes with basil, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
To assemble lasagna: Spread 1/2 cup of the tomatoes in the prepared baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, trimming to fit if necessary. Evenly dollop half the ricotta over the noodles. Top with half the sausage mixture, one-third of the remaining tomatoes and one-third of the mozzarella.
Continue with another layer of noodles, the remaining ricotta, the remaining sausage, half the remaining tomatoes and half the remaining mozzarella. Top with a third layer of noodles and the remaining tomatoes.
Cover the lasagna with foil and bake until bubbling and heated through, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove the foil; sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is just melted but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Southwestern Pumpkin Burgers

2010-01-25T20:16:00.000-05:00

Another vegetarian recipe for all you veggies out there. And if you're not much of a veggie burger fan, guess what, Michael actually really liked these! I of course love veggie burgers, but it's a bit harder to convince him. These burgers are delicious though, really. The pumpkin adds a great flavor and makes them very filling. It's a good twist on the traditional veggie burger. Of course now we have a huge thing of dry breadcrumbs in our fridge. Any good ideas for using up the rest of it?! Let us know. Serves 5. Eat with lettuce, salsa and sour cream. Modified from Food Network.

So I was messing around on facebook last week and decided to try out the Pages app - here's the one I made for cheffresco if you wanna check it out!

Ingredients

6 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
heaping 1/2 cup canned unseasoned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
5 flour tortillas (burrito size)

Directions

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
Stir in bell pepper, corn, garlic, chili powder and cumin; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes more.
Transfer to a large bowl; let cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
Add pumpkin, cheese, wheat germ, breadcrumbs, cilantro, salt and pepper to the onion mixture; mix well. With dampened hands, form the vegetable mixture into five patties.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil per batch in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook patties until browned and heated through, about 4 minutes per side. Adjust heat as necessary for even browning.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Meanwhile, stack tortillas between two damp paper towels; microwave on high for 30 to 60 seconds, or until heated through.
Wrap the patties in tortillas and serve immediately, garnished with lettuce, salsa, and sour cream, if desired.

Vegetable Sausage Stew

2010-01-22T07:38:00.001-05:00

This is a great winter meal. It's very hearty and delicious. We had kielbasa a lot when I was growing up as a kid. I remember just absolutely dreading those kielbasa nights, especially because I think they were served with boiled cabbage. Yuck! Well, Michael has convinced me to try a lot more meat varieties than I have in the past several years. My mom was shocked when she heard I had agreed to cooking a kielbasa meal. . And guess what?! I loved it! The sour cream mixture that goes along with the stew is quite tasty too. We served it with some tasty bread. We just sliced a baguette, dabbed the pieces with a mixture of Smart Balance and freshly minced garlic, then toasted them for about 7 minutes. The stew recipe was modified from Food Network; serves 6-8.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon paprika, plus more for garnish
Salt
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
14 ounces light kielbasa, cut into small chunks
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into large chunks
14 ounces small red-skinned or new potatoes (6 to 8), quartered
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly torn into pieces
3/4 cup sour cream

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and glistening, about 6 minutes. Add the paprika and 1 teaspoon salt; cook until the oil turns deep red, about 1 minute.
Add the flour and cook until just toasted, 30 more seconds. Immediately whisk in 4 cups water.
Add the kielbasa, carrots, parsnips, potatoes and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer; cover and cook until the vegetables are tender and the broth has thickened, about 20 minutes.
Add the vinegar and season with pepper.
Combine about half of the cilantro with the sour cream in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Ladle the stew into bowls; top with the remaining cilantro, a dollop of herbed sour cream and a sprinkle of paprika.

Shrimp Avocado Omelet

2010-01-19T18:19:00.001-05:00

We don't make nearly enough brunch/breakfast recipes. And we love brunch! Our favorites are omelets and lox (bloody mary's are always a good treat too :). These omelets kind of have a tex-mex twist with the avocados-pico topping. Gruyere adds a nice, strong taste - you can always substitute with pepper-jack or cheddar though if you'd like. Enjoy these tasty omelets on a nice Saturday morning! Serves 2.

Ingredients

1 medium tomato, diced
1 avocado, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 eggs (2 whole eggs, 4 whites only)
2 tbsp. skim milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 lb shrimp, cooked, chopped into thirds
1/2 cup gruyere cheese, grated cheese

Directions

Combine tomato, avocado and cilantro together in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
Separate eggs so that you are using two whole eggs and four egg whites. Beat eggs and milk in a medium bowl until whites and yolks are combined.Over medium-high heat, melt butter in a 6- or 8-inch non-stick skillet.
Pour 1/2 of egg mixture into the hot skillet, tilting and shaking the pan gently with one hand while stirring eggs briskly with the flat of a fork. Tilt pan and lift edges of omelet with a fork to allow runny egg to reach sides and cook.
When eggs begin to firm up and there is almost no runny egg left, add shrimp and cheese, spreading them over the center third of the omelet. Immediately use the fork to fold each side of omelet up over center filling. Tilt the pan to help roll omelet into a loose cylinder. Cook 10 to 30 seconds longer, depending on how brown you prefer the bottom (check for brownness by lifting a corner).
Slide omelet onto a warmed plate, top with 1/2 of the tomato-avocado mixture. Repeat process with second omelet. Top with freshly ground black pepper and serve hot.

Red Snapper en Papillote

2010-01-17T23:07:00.001-05:00

So we finally saw Julie and Julia last night. It was a really cute movie, I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it. Her 500+ recipes in 365 days was quite a lofty goal! I'm thinking we get in 100 recipes in that amount of time. Lately, more like 50. :)

Well we made this recipe a while ago. For some reason, we have quite a few pics/recipes stocked up that we haven't exactly gotten around to posting - we'll get to the rest of them soon, I promise! We've got some good ones waiting for ya. This one was roughly modified from a Food Network recipe. The fish was cooked perfectly, but it could definitely use more flavor. If we try it again, we may use a butter sauce - such as the cilantro cream sauce we used on another fish dish or a tarragon butter we used on another 'en Papillote' recipes to go on top (rather than just the Smart Balance). Another way you could spice it up is to use flavored couscous rather than plan. Serves 4. Cooking time: 30 minutes.

Ingredients

1 cup dry couscous
1.5 lb red snapper
2 teaspoons salt, plus pinch for couscous
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 sprigs fresh oregano
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 cup thinly sliced red onion (about 1/2 an onion)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 cup drained and quartered artichoke hearts
1/2 cup dry vermouth
1 tablespoon Smart Balance

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lay a large sheet (about 15x48") of parchment paper on a baking sheet.
Rinse couscous in fine mesh strainer, under cold water, lay out on parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with pinch of salt. Set aside. Place 1/2 of lemon and 1/2 of red onion on top of couscous, in a line.
Lay snapper on top and sprinkle salt and pepper over top of fish. Arrange couscous next to fish on all sides. Put oregano, cilantro, garlic, and remaining lemon and red onion on fish.
Place tomatoes and artichoke hearts around outside of couscous, creating somewhat of a wall. Pour vermouth over fish and dot with butter.
Fold over edges of parchment paper, stapling if necessary, to create and almost airtight seal. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Carefully open and serve.

Easy Crockpot Mexican Chicken

2010-01-12T22:57:00.005-05:00

Here's a crockpot recipe for ya. I love crockpot meals because of how tender meat gets, but definitely don't cook them enough. For some reason, I just don't have a whole lot of good crockpot recipes I'm dying to make. We modified this one from crockpotchicken.net, which has a ton of different chicken crockpot ideas. Let me know if anyone has any great recipes I should try! This is a good one because it's nice and easy and very healthy. It may not look very flavorful from the pic, but it's actually pretty tasty. To liven it up a bit, throw on some sour cream or shredded cheddar. We served it over some white rice (of course, choose brown as the more healthy option :) Sorry I'm not writing much else, but it's getting late and I am getting sleepy! Have a good night!

Ingredients

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 15.5 oz can pinto beans, drained
1 15.25 oz can corn kernels, drained
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 oz can chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp lime juice
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, halved
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
cilantro, to garnish (optional)

Directions

Place chicken breasts in bottom of crock pot and cover with corn and beans.
Mix remaining ingredients in small bowl and pour over crockpot mixture.
Cook on low 6-8 hours.
Top with cilantro and serve with rice or tortillas.