Chef Fresco

Shrimp and Basil Pasta

2012-01-22T21:21:00.000-05:00

I sit here tonight as Jessi is making me suffer through the movie Forks over Knives. I say suffer because I hate to see all the negative information about the foods that I truly love so, so much. If you're not familiar, it's a movie promoting a whole food, plant-based diet to prevent things like cancer and cardiovascular disease. I must say that it is pretty interesting, enlightening and the correlations are pretty damning for having animal-based foods in your diet. As I write this post, I can see the meat in my diet getting smaller. Not going to cut out all animal-based foods all-together, but I definitely think we should reign it back a lot and increase our plant-based food intake. If you've seen the movie let us know what you think and how and if your diet has changed. We'll see what happens because I, Michael, have always been a bonafide animal-product eater.

No real good way to segue into this recipe, but at least it's not a prime rib right? Everyone loves a good seafood pasta. The shrimp and pasta combo in this recipe was delicious. The spinach we served it upon was slightly strange, however (the original recipe said to just serve the pasta over raw spinach). If you make this, I would recommend cooking the spinach with the onions, etc as stated below. Definitely give it a try! Serves 4-ish. Roughly modified from Cooking Light.

Ingredients

3 quarts water
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves minced garlic
1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
5-6 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons drained capers
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups baby spinach
Grated parmesan-regganio cheese, to top

Directions

Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add pasta; cook 8-11 minutes (according to directions on box). Drain when done and place in a large bowl.
Meanwhile, heat butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp to pan; cook 3 minutes or until shrimp is pink, turning once. Take shrimp out of pan and keep warm.
Add olive oil to pan. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, basil, capers, lemon juice, salt and spinach and cook until spinach is wilted (*original recipe calls for adding pasta on top of raw spinach - we suggest cooking it in with the onions, etc.).
Top pasta with spinach and onion mixture. Sprinkle cheese on top. Enjoy!

Black Bean and Chorizo Dip

2012-01-15T16:06:00.000-05:00

Here we are with 2 hours till kickoff from the second NFL playoff game today. By now you're probably working-up quite the appetite from sitting so much and watching the boob-tube. Don't worry this is normal, remain calm. I am posting just what you need to eat. Not that you are going to pull yourself away to make this concoction, I just wanted to show you an example of what a great game-day snack looks like. This is the perfect bean dip in every way. Lots of cheese and it utilizes one of my favorite sausages, Chorizo. It takes about an hour to make, so maybe you can still whip it up in time. If not, perhaps you can convince someone else in the house to. The only thing you have to be careful of is not eating the whole thing in one sitting.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup diced Spanish chorizo, casings removed (about 1 and 1/2 links)
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 jalapeño pepper, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped seeded tomato
3/4 cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add chorizo; sauté for 2 minutes. Remove chorizo from pan; place into a bowl lined with paper towels to drain.
Add onion and jalapeño to same pan; sauté 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt, cumin, red pepper, and garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Stir in broth and beans; bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes.
Transfer to large bowl and mash with a fork.
Spoon bean mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Top with chorizo, tomato, and cheese.
Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
Top with green onions.

Spicy Shrimp and Basil Fettucine

2011-12-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

This dish is an all-around great one: it's tasty, healthy and quick. The flavor is great - it looks like it won't be liquidy enough, but it's the perfect consistency with just enough spice. Original recipe from Cooking Light, but we made some modifications. We threw in some extra shrimp because we like lots of shrimp. Our fresh garlic was slightly mushy, so we used pre-minced jarred garlic, which works fine too. Now that we are official gardeners, we had freshly picked basil to throw in. If you don't have any, just sub 1 tsp. dried. This one is definitely a keeper!

We served it with a salad and some bruschetta made of olive oil, chopped basil and tomatoes and port salut cheese = yum!

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We had a great one, but it went by way too fast (as usual). The above shot is from a Christmas day hike off the Blue Ridge Parkway along E.B. Jeffress Park and the below is from Christmas Eve in Blowing Rock. Hope everyone has a great NYE!

Ingredients

8 ounces uncooked fettuccine
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
1+ pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I put 1+ b/c we used a little extra - we like ours extra shrimpy)
2 cups chopped plum tomato (about 5)
2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour crea
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Start out by prepping everything (mincing garlic, peeling shrimp, chopping tomatoes, etc.).
Once prep work is done, cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add red pepper and garlic to pan; sauté 1 minute.
Add shrimp; sauté 1 minute.
Stir in tomatoes, sour cream, tomato paste, basil and salt; bring to a boil (don't be alarmed that the liquid is very minimal).
Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes (or until shrimp is done).
Stir in pasta; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Top with parmesan cheese and serve.

Acre Chardonnay

2011-12-09T15:41:00.001-05:00

With the holidays come some great opportunities with friends and family. This means a lot of wining and dining (no pun intended here). It seems that with all these parties and get-togethers throughout the season you are required to bring some sort of white Santa, secret Santa, thank-you, you name it gift at every single one of them. Jessi and I typically lean on good ole vino for such occasions. Tonight we have a great suggestion for such an affair. It's a wonderful extra-dry chardonnay that finishes smooth and pairs wonderfully with all the cheese and fruit platters you'll be gobbling up. Acre's 2008 chardonnay hails from the Santa Barbra coastline and at price under $20 this one won't bust the Santa sack.

Stuffed Cuban Pork Tenderloin

2011-12-06T20:50:00.000-05:00

In my next house I'm gonna make sure it has one of those kick-ass outdoor rooms with couches and a whole range of outdoor cooking goodies to play with, rain or shine. When I cooked this tenderloin it started raining and I had to cook the thing under an umbrella. It kinda sucked. End result — totally worth it, this tenderloin is delicious. If you like things extra cheesy, I recommend adding another slice of cheese (go ahead and cheese it up, it's the holidays). I guarantee that if you like a Cuban sandwich you'll absolutely love this thing. Takes about an hour; serves 4. Roughly modified from Cooking Light.

Ingredients

1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
1-2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 thin deli slice Swiss cheese, halved
1/3 cup chopped bread-and-butter pickles (I got the slices and chopped them)
3-4 thin slices ham
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray

Directions

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat If using coals bring to ember and move to one side.
Cut a lengthwise slit down the center of the tenderloin two-thirds of the way through the meat. Open halves, laying tenderloin flat. Place tenderloin between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or heavy skillet.
Spread mustard evenly over pork. Sprinkle with cilantro. Arrange cheese, pickles and ham over pork in a single layer.
Roll pork deliciousness up, starting with long side; secure pork at 1-inch intervals with twine. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper.
Place the pork on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 22 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155°, turning after 11 minutes. Remove from grill. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Cut into 12 slices. When cooking with charcoal brown all sides of the meat on the coal-side of your grill. Move off coal pile but not too far away from heat. Rotate your tenderloin's sides for 25–30 minutes or until meat comes to internal temp.

Shrimp Pad Thai

2011-11-15T14:14:00.000-05:00

In a past issue of Cooking Light they had a fast-food recipe makeover. We jumped on this one b/c it looked so tasty. It’s our first pad thai attempt and it definitely was delicious. Plus we got to use our wok, which always makes for a great time. It’s pretty quick to throw together - about 30 minutes. It is spicy, so if you have a sensitive tongue, just cut down on the Sriracha. Serves 3-4 (only will reach 4 if you are super light eaters).

Ingredients

8 ounces uncooked flat rice noodles (pad Thai noodles or similar)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Sriracha or chili garlic sauce
3 tablespoons canola oil 1 cup (2-inch) green onion pieces
8 ounces peeled and deveined large shrimp
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1/4 cup chopped unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

Directions

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain.
While water comes to a boil, combine sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and Sriracha in a small bowl.
Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion pieces, shrimp, and garlic; stir-fry 2 minutes or until shrimp is almost done.
Add cooked noodles; toss to combine. Stir in sauce; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly to combine.
Arrange about 1 cup noodle mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1/4 cup bean sprouts, 1 tablespoon peanuts, and 2 teaspoons basil.

Salted Caramel Brownies

2011-10-21T08:48:00.001-04:00

Well, welcome back to blogging to us. After a 45-day hiatus, Jessi and I are finally posting a new recipe. We've been in the midst of a remodel round here, where we added on more to our bedroom, a walk-in closet and a new deck! We opted to tackle some of the work ourselves to save some dough. Cram this into our already busy lifestyle and something had to go. Unfortunately this was ole Cheffresco. Anywho, the addition is done and we're back at last.

We wanted to share these decadent brownies with you. They're made with a super-rich batter that really holds in a lot of moisture and the rich chocolaty flavor. Top this with the caramel icing, chocolate drizzle and sea salt and you've got the most perfect combination of sweet and a hint of salty. Good year round, these little guys are a sure crowd pleaser (unless of course someone's allergic to caramel). Give them a try and let us know what you think. Modified from Cooking Light.

Ingredients

BROWNIES:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray

ICING:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons evaporated milk, divided
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/8 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare brownies, weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through baking powder) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.
Combine 6 tablespoons butter, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a small bowl. Add butter mixture to flour mixture; stir to combine.
Scrape batter into a 9-inch square metal baking pan lightly coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 19-21 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
To prepare icing, melt 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons milk; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and powdered sugar; stir with a whisk until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over cooled brownies. Let stand 20 minutes or until set.
Combine 2 tablespoons milk and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave on high for 45 seconds or until melted, stirring after 20 seconds. Stir just until smooth; drizzle over caramel.
Sprinkle with sea salt; let stand until set. Cut into squares.

Chicken and Veggie Tostadas

2011-09-10T13:13:00.000-04:00

Today is our first morning in Hawaii. We are staying for the next two nights on Maui and the view from outside our Bed and Breakfast is absolutely wonderful. Since we came for Jessi's work I too brought my laptop so hopefully I will be able to share some pictures throughout our trip.
A full day on the plane yesterday gay me some serious time to pick through my memory cards and pull out some recipes that we've been cooking. This one come from Cooking Light and incorporates some of those summer veggies everyone loves so much. But who ever thought of combining squash and a mexican-style dish? Well let me tell you—it's delicious! We're convinced that you can combine just about anything on a tostada with black bean, sour cream and cheese and it'll be marvelous. So if you've got some left over squash and need a quick meal idea give this one a try. I also included a shot from our deck this morning. Aloha! Roughly modified from Cooking Light, serves 4.

Ingredients

3 teaspoons ground cumin, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 lb. chicken breast tenders
1 cup chopped red onion (about 1 small)
1 14 oz. can corn kernels, drained
1 1/2 cup chopped squash (about 1 1/2 small)
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
3/4 cup green salsa
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
4 flour tortillas (we use 10")
Cooking spray
1-2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (depending on how cheesy you like it)
1 14 oz. can black beans, drained
Low-fat sour cream, to top

Directions

Preheat broiler.
Combine 2 tsp cumin, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan; sauté for 3 minutes.
Add onion, corn, squash and mushrooms to pan; sauté for 3-4 minutes or until chicken is done.
Stir in salsa and 4 tablespoons cilantro. Cook 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently.
Meanwhile, heat black beans and 1 tsp cumin in a small saucepan over low heat. Keep warm.
Working with 2 tortillas at a time, arrange tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet; lightly coat tortillas with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly browned (watch closely so they don't burn!).
Spoon about a portion of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla; sprinkle each serving with cheese. Broil an additional 2 minutes or until cheese melts.
Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese.
Top each tostada with beans, sour cream and cilantro. Serve immediately.

Cheesy Stuffed Zucchini

2011-09-08T21:35:00.000-04:00

Well it's a little late in the summer to be posting these but perhaps you will still have a chance to try these why they're still in season. These things are really easy to make and compliment just about any meal. Also, for all you vegans out there—it's meat-free! I, Michael, even thought these were really good. However, I would've thrown in a bit a more cheddar. Once prepared, it cooks for 45 minutes, so plan ahead. Roughly modified from Cooking Light. Serves 3-4.

This is an older recipe I dug up to post tonight and when we made it we were thinking that you could easily sub squash for the zucchini. Squash that our newly planted spring garden would bounty. This was not the case. Our squash plants did not produce a one. We later discovered that squash needs a lot of sunlight which garden lacked. Next year, new location.

I wanted to get one more post in prior to Jessi and I leaving to Hawaii tomorrow morning! Aloha! We're both very excited and will share some photos of this great trip upon our return.

One other note. In our last post I highlighted Jessi wakeboarding over the 4th. I wakeboard too, although I'm not as good. However I did complete my first wake jump which I'm super proud of. Jessi snapped this pic for proof.

Ingredients

3 medium zucchini
3/8 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons dry Vermouth
5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp from center, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell. Chop pulp.
Place zucchini halves, cut sides up, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini pulp and onion; sauté 5 minutes.
Add remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, artichoke hearts, thyme, and garlic; cook 45 seconds. Add wine; cook 1 minute or until most of liquid evaporates.
Pour onion mixture into a medium bowl. Add cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley, basil and lemon rind. Mix well. Spoon equal portions of the breadcrumb mixture into each zucchini shell. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until just tender.

Captain Sigs Northwestern Ale

2011-09-03T20:25:00.002-04:00

Happy Labor day to all. We hope you're somewhere enjoying some awesome friends, food and drink. Jessi and I came up to her parent's lake house on Lake James. You may have seen this awesome NC lake from a sweet flick back in the day—Last of the Mohicans. If you have not seen this movie then you surely should. It combines all the components a great movie should; action, drama, romance and Native Americans fighting to the death! But enough about that, that's not what this post is all about.

I wanted to share a great brew for this weekend with you. You may have seen the Northwestern crab boat on the show The Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel. Well the folks at Rogue Brewery thought that Captain Sig and the Northwestern was cool enough to brew a beer after. This is an indian red ale and is uber-malty—it goes down so smooth. It has some citrus hints to it but is not over-filling. This would be the perfect beer after ripping-up the water on the wakeboard this afternoon. Below is a pick of Jessi doing just that. I held off on showing mine since I'm not quite as good. I still perfecting the jump. Hopefully tomorrow I will actually land one. Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday!

Creamy Shrimp and Edamame Pasta Salad and a Triathlon

2011-08-31T19:18:00.000-04:00

This is a great summer dish - perfect for the main course or great as a filling side and just in time for that last-minute contribution to your Labor Day get together. The combo of dill, lemon and garlic in the sauce is perfect. We added edamame b/c it is just so tasty. Feel free to use 1 1/4 cup frozen peas instead if you don't have edamame (alternatively, use just edamame if you have no peas). The whole thing is pretty easy to throw together. While waiting for your pasta water to boil and then the pasta to cook, prepare the sauce. While the whole thing chills in the fridge, throw together a salad and toast some bread to go along with it. I hope you enjoy! Very roughly modified from Cooking Light; serves 4.

I'm also sharing a couple pics of Jessi and I's most recent milestone; a triathlon. While it was only a sprint (750 meter swim, 17.5 mile and a 5-K run) it was still a lot of training. Of course Jessi beat me because she's a freak'n near-Olympic swimmer and a natural-born athletic prodigy (and she was waaay more diligent about training too). She placed 3rd in her age group and I got 17th. But I, Michael, and still super-pumped about it and would probably do another one. Have any of ya'll ever done a triathlon? If so let us know of a cool one to travel to. You'll notice that in the image of me running out of the lake that Jessi is right behind me. She caught up to me from a 4-minute lead time when her women's group started. P.S. don't make fun of my sweat nipple band-aids—they chafe and that shit hurts.

Ingredients

8 ounces uncooked orecchiette pasta
1 cup frozen edamame
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup thinly sliced radishes
1/3 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. *Start to prepare sauce while pasta cooks - see step 3
Add edamame, peas and shrimp during last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain well.
Meanwhile, combine mayonnaise, buttermilk, chives, dill, salt, lemon rind and juice, black pepper, red pepper and garlic in a small bowl. Stir well with a whisk.
Combine pasta mixture and radishes in a large bowl.
Pour mayo sauce over pasta mixture, tossing to coat.
Cover and refridgerate for 20-30 minutes.

White Bean and Sage 'Burgers' & Sweet Potato Fries

2011-08-25T22:01:00.001-04:00

I thought these guys were great. Michael said they tasted like beans, not burgers - fried hummus really, he said. With that being said, I suggest you don't make these for anti-veggies. Next time (if Michael lets there be a next time) I will add some extra garlic and sage. The original recipe said to use pita. Unfortunately, I made the unwise decision to buy the pita from Trader Joe's. As much as I love TJ's, their stuff goes bad way to fast. When I pulled them out for supper, they were spotted with mold. We subbed sesame buns and I think they were probably better anyways. Makes 8+ burgers (depending on how big you make them). You could easily half this recipe and still serve 4. Modified from Cooking Light.

We served these with sweet potato fries that I found when I searched 'sweet potato fries' on Pinterest to go with our burgers and stumbled upon this recipe from Gimme Some Oven. These guys are delicious - you must give them a try! They're best when served hot.

I got the cooling rack idea in step 3 from a comment on Gimme Some Oven's post. This prevents you from having to turn the fries = much easier! You can of course, cook them just on baking sheets without using cooling racks, but you will have to turn them halfway through, which is always a pain.

On a separate note, Michael and I spent some time back on the trail last weekend. We went on a backpacking trip and hiked from Max Patch Bald near Weaverville, NC to Hot Springs, NC. It was a great trip but made us very sore since our legs were out of hiking shape.

White Bean and Sage Burgers
Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons grated fresh onion
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
8 tasty buns of your choice
Lettuce, to top
Tomato slices, to top
Cucumber slices, to top

Directions

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add 1/2 cup chopped onion and garlic; cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Place onion mixture in food processor. Add oats, almonds, cornstarch, sage, mustard, salt, pepper, beans and egg; process until smooth.
Return pan to medium heat. Add remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Working with one portion at a time, spoon bean mixture into pan in blobs a bit larger than sand dollars. Using spatula, shape mixture into a 3/4-inch-thick round patty. Repeat procedure to fill the pan. Cook 4 minutes, or until golden, and turn to cook for an additional 4 minutes on the other side.
Combine sour cream, 2 tablespoons grated onion, and cheese in a small bowl. Spread sour cream mixture onto bun bottoms. Top with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and bean patty. ;

Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients

2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. freshly-cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Cut the potatoes into 1/4″ thin strips (smaller = more crispy). Then place in a large bowl, and toss with the remaining ingredients (oil and spices) until potatoes are evenly coated.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place cooling racks on top of the baking sheets. Spread the fries evenly on cooling racks (try not to overcrowd the sheet, or have multiple layers of fries — you want them to be roasted, not steamed.)
Place in oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, switching racks for the two sheets halfway through. Remove once the edges slightly begin to brown and fries begin to crisp.

We Have a Winner

2011-08-19T14:33:00.001-04:00

Hi folks! Thanks to all who participated in our giveaway! And thanks to Cor from UPrinting.com for putting it on.

Random.org picked #1 as the winner!

Congratulations to Mary from One Perfect Bite!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Free Brochures, Whoop-Whoop!

2011-08-16T08:24:00.006-04:00

Well after about two years we've finally been contacted about a give-away. That's right friends, we're stepping into the big leagues. I feel like this is going to be the tip of an iceberg of free schwag for our favorite readers. Now I know what you're thinking... "but Chef Fresco, this isn't even foodie related." Well, we know but 50 free brochures is still pretty awesome! And all you have to do is leave a comment. Just think of how impressed your friends will be at your next dinner party when you whip out your brochures highlighting all of your culinary skills before you serve them. They'll be begging to come back again. That's just one idea, though you can print what ever you like. And on a side note if you need someone to design them just contact me and I will be glad to help you out =).

The deal is put on through UPrinting.com. All you have to do is leave a comment below. We will be using random.org to pick the winner this Friday, August 19th at 1pm EST. Best of luck!

Prize Details:

50 pcs Brochure printing for One (1) Winner
8.5" x 11"
100lb Paper Gloss
With Folding (Half Fold, Trifold/Letterfold, Z-Fold, Roll Fold, Accordion Fold)
Outside and Inside Printing
2 Business Days Turnaround
*Free shipping
Restriction: Limited to *US residents 18 years old and above only

If you're the lucky winner, you can check out their print brochures and brochure templates for ideas.

Disclaimer:

This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting.com, an online printing company and no monetary compensation was given and I will receive brochure printing services for hosting. Prize only available to individuals who have not already won the same print giveaway in the past six months. You also must be a U.S. resident.

Tomato & Spinach Strata

2011-08-09T21:20:00.002-04:00

Michael made this dinner one week that I was traveling a lot for work. It's kinda like lasagna, but without the pasta and very light and fluffy. It does take about 45 mins to throw together an additional 3 hrs of refrigeration/baking time, so plan ahead. Michael put it together a night ahead of time, then threw it in the oven when my plane landed, so when I walked in the door I was greeted by its wonderful aroma. You gotta give this one a try, it's super yummy!

Modified from Eating Well, serves 8.

Ingredients

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 15-ounce container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups prepared marinara sauce, divided
6 slices whole-grain sandwich bread, preferably day-old
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
3 large eggs
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Coat a 7-by-11-inch (or similar-size) baking dish with cooking spray.
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pan; increase heat to medium-high. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until the moisture has evaporated, 4 to 5 minutes.
Transfer to the bowl with the onions, add 1/4 teaspoon pepper and salt and stir to combine.
Combine ricotta, spinach, nutmeg and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper in another bowl.
Spoon 1 cup marinara sauce into the prepared baking dish. Break each slice of bread into 4 roughly equal pieces; arrange half the bread on the sauce (the bread doesn’t have to completely cover the sauce). Spoon the ricotta mixture over the bread. Arrange the remaining bread over the ricotta. Scatter the mushroom mixture over the bread. Top with mozzarella. Spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the top. The pan will be very full.
Whisk eggs and milk in a small bowl. Pour the mixture slowly over the casserole, poking the filling gently with the tip of a knife until the egg mixture is evenly distributed and the bread is saturated. Coat a piece of foil with cooking spray on one side and cover the casserole, sprayed-side down. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake the strata, uncovered, for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake until puffed and golden brown, 10 minutes more. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Turkey Tetrazzini

2011-08-03T22:21:00.002-04:00

We (aka. Michael) bought and cooked our very first turkey for this recipe. It actually worked out quite well because we had tons of leftover turkey meat for sammies for the week. You can buy pre-cooked turkey from the deli at the grocery to save time, of course. This one is very roughly modified from an Emeril recipe. We changed it up a bit (by omitting butter and a lot of the cream), so it's much healthier than his original, though you still can't consider it a diet meal, sorry friends. This one is definitely a winner. It makes a ton - probably serves 8-10.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 medium chopped red bell pepper (about 1 cup)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound white button mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons Essence seasoning, recipe follows
1/2 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 8 oz. carton heavy cream
12 ounces wide egg noodles
1 1/2 pounds shredded roast turkey
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley leaves
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
A few handfuls of potato chips, crushed

Directions

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Once hot, add garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the onions and bell peppers until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the mushrooms, Essence seasoning, and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are soft and have released their liquid, about 6 minutes.
Sprinkle with the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
Add the wine and chicken stock and cook, stirring, until smooth and thick, about 2 minutes.
Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and very flavorful, 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the egg noodles until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter or spray a 9 by 13-inch casserole or baking dish and set aside.
When the sauce has thickened, add the noodles, turkey, parsley, salt, black pepper, and Parmesan to the ductch oven and stir until thoroughly combined.
Transfer to the prepared casserole and top with the potato chips. Bake uncovered until bubbly and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Essence Creole Seasoning (modified - the original makes 2/3 a cup! You'll still have a bit leftover with this version, but not nearly as much)

Ingredients

1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried minced onions
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Asian Tuna Burgers

2011-07-18T20:35:00.004-04:00

Michael found this recipe over at Food Gawker (originally from SuppitySup). We made lots of modifications, so I'd say it's pretty close to a Stout original. The recipe called for 2 burgers, which you know is not enough for us, so we doubled. We also didn't have chili paste (I bought curry paste instead, oops) so we subbed Sriracha sauce + some garlic. These suckers sure are delicious! You must try it. Of course, if you can wait until tuna is on sale, it'll save ya some bucks. Next time we will likely double the wasabi and ginger in the aioli to give it a bit more flavor (was still good, but could've used a little more oomph). The burgers and relish do need to sit for an hour before use, so plan ahead.

So I'm not the best at picking out meat or seafood at the grocery store. I like to let Michael handle that part. What is the difference between drumsticks and wings? Drumsticks and drumettes? Who knows?? This is precisely why I had trouble locating the 'yellowfin tuna' when I ventured to the grocery alone. Turns out it is also called tuna steak, sashimi grade. How in the world is one supposed to know all these things? One name people, puhlease.

Makes 4 and 1/2 large, "man burgers" (as Michael calls them) or 6 medium burgers.

Ingredients

AIOLI:

1 teaspoon wasabi powder
1 1/2 teaspoons orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons pickled ginger, chopped
1/2 cup low-fat mayo

RELISH:

1 medium-large cucumber thinly sliced crosswise (about 3 cups)
1 red onion, cut into rings
1⁄2 c rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

TUNA:

1 1/2 lb yellowfin tuna, roughly chopped
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
3 scallions, finely chopped
4 tablespoons pickled ginger, chopped
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
4 tbsp low-fat mayo
1⁄2 cup panko breadcrumbs
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

ASSEMBLY:

2 buns (your favorite, delicious type), toasted
Alfalfa sprouts, to taste

Directions

AIOLI:

Combine wasabi powder, orange juice, lime juice, 1 1/2 tsp pickled ginger in a mortar and pestle. Grind until smooth. Scrape the mixture into a small bowl.
Add 1/2 cup mayonnaise and mix well to combine. Refrigerate the aioli until ready to use.

RELISH:

Combine the cucumber slices, red onion rings, rice vinegar, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl; toss to combine. Set aside at least 1 hour. Or refrigerate up to 1 day before using.

BURGERS:

Pulse the tuna in a food processor 12 or 15 times, scraping down the sides halfway, to create pea-sized pieces.
Scrape the tuna into a large mixing bowl and add the diced onion, scallions, remaining pickled ginger, Sriracha, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, 4 tablespoons mayonnaise, Panko breadcrumbs and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Blend well.
Form mixture into 4-6 patties (depending on how big you like your burger). Place on a plate and refrigerate, covered for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.
Spray cooking spray on a cast iron or non-stick skillet and heat it over medium heat. Gently lay the tuna patties onto the heated surface. Let them cook undisturbed, about 3 minutes until browned on one side. Flip and cook an additional 3 or 4 minutes until barely cooked through.
Top buns with sprouts, relish, tuna burger and aioli. Enjoy!

Strawberry Balsamic Risotto

2011-07-11T20:50:00.003-04:00

I know what you're probably thinking, strawberries + risotto = gross. Think again my friends. We actually learned how to make this delicious dish during our cooking class in Italy. Since the measurements are a bit different over there, we tried to convert as best as we could. The risotto and butter amounts are estimates since we didn't actually measure them out. We'll try it again and make sure to get everything down exactly, however the recipe has some wiggle room.

Moreno, our Italian chef, says to use carnaroli for risotto. According to Moreno, it is the equivalent to a Ferrari while arrborio is more like a Fiat. Since we couldn't find any carnaroli, we had to settle with Fiat risotto. This is the price you pay for living outside of Italy.

Give it a try while you can still get those fresh strawberries - I hope you like it!

Ingredients

3-4 cups beef stock
1 1/2 tbsp. butter, divided
7 oz. arrborio (or carnaroli if you are lucky enough to own some)
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3 large strawberries, chopped
2 1/2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Directions

Heat beef stock in a small pot (you want it to be hot when adding to the arrborio).
Meanwhile, melt 1/2 tbsp butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add arrborio and stir with a wooden, flat spoon until shining (about 2 minutes).
Add balsamic and allow to reduce (less than 30 seconds).
Add enough stock to cover the arrborio. Add strawberries.
Stir very frequently. Once stock has nearly absorbed, add another portion. Continue this process until the arrborio is done (no longer chewy), about 18-20 minutes.
Stir in remaining butter and cheese. Garnish with strawberry slices, if desired.

Grilled Shrimp and Crispy Chickpea Salad

2011-07-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

In the mood for a change of salad greenery? Get it? Greenery instead of scenery! Hahaha. Even though this is just a change in toppings and not greens, so really that joke had no place. None-the-less these little crunchy chick peas would be a wonderful addition to any salad.

Overall, this salad is is delicious! It's a tad spicy - if you have a weak tongue, tone down on the amount of crushed red pepper. It takes a while to make (shrimp needs to marinate for an hour), but is definitely worth it. We ended up using our leftover shrimp on a pizza with roasted red peppers and goat cheese the next night and that was pretty delicious too.

Ingredients

MARINADE/SHRIMP

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined

DRESSING

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

CHICK PEAS

6-ish cups canola oil (enough that will cover the chickpeas)
3 cups canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

SALAD

9 oz. baby spinach
1/4 cup fresh mint, torn
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/3 cup diagonally cut green onions
1/2 cup goat cheese

Directions

Marinade: Combine olive oil, lemon rind, lemon juice, parsley, crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper, and garlic in a medium bowl. Add shrimp; toss well. Marinate in refrigerator 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, prepare dressing: In a large bowl, combine olive oil, lemon rind, lemon juice, honey, crushed red pepper and salt. Stir well with a whisk. Place in fridge until shrimp has been grilled.
Add canola oil to a Dutch oven, heat over high.
Dry chickpeas thoroughly in a single layer on paper towels. Place half the chickpeas in hot oil; fry 4-6 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove peas from pan using a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Repeat procedure with remaining chickpeas.
Right before you grill the shrimp. heat oven to 350. Place chick peas on a singe layer on a cookie sheet. Place in oven to make extra crisp (10-15 minutes). *This step is optional, it just makes the chick peas crispier.
Remove shrimp from marinade; discard marinade. Thread shrimp onto skewers.
Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Place shrimp on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill shrimp 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until done.
Add chickpeas, spinach, mint, remaining parsley and green onions to large bowl with dressing. Toss gently to combine. Top with chickpeas, goat cheese and shrimp.

Beef and Mushroom Sloppy Joe's

2011-07-06T21:55:00.000-04:00

This was my first real experience with sloppy Joe's (though I'm certain I had to have tried them once at some summer camp ages ago). Michael thought that was insane. Regardless, these suckers were delicious. Michael said they were good, but not the best that he's ever had. He prefers the kind with 'manwich' sauce. But if you want sloppy Joe's and healthy, these are the way to go in my opinion. The mushroom flavor is perfect. We served them with some mashed taters. Serves 4, modified from Cooking Light.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces extra lean ground beef
16 oz. cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
1 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 a medium onion)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon molasses
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
4 tasty rolls (whatever kind is your fave), toasted

Directions

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add beef; cook for 4 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble.
Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic to pan; cook for 3 minutes or until onion is tender.
Add tomato paste, oregano, vinegar, Worcestershire, molasses and salt to pan; cook 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and liquid evaporates. Stir in pepper and hot sauce.
Spoon about 1 cup beef mixture on bottom half of each bun; top with top halves of buns.

Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale

2011-06-28T20:34:00.002-04:00

Here's a beer post to pour down your throat. It's from the brewers of Stone Brewing Company in Escondido, CA. As I write this post this evening I've been perusing their website and found that they have a whole summer series of movies that they play outside in their private garden which has multiple beer bars of course. This makes me want to live in Escondido. This tall brown beer pours a heavy, thick glass with a somewhat spicy beginning but transfers to a smooth, rich and creamy finish that echos delight all the way down. Give it a shot.

Swiss Chard and Potato Leek Hash

2011-06-20T09:35:00.001-04:00

Last night Jessi and I celebrated our one-year anniversary. We did not do anything too crazy, just a nice supper at a local restaurant (Customshop = delicious), smalls gifts and some year old cake (that was actually still very tasty). This has been a wonderful year for both of us and we can only hope for a lifetime of years equal, if not greater than the first.

So today we've got a one-skillet dinner for ya. One-skillet meals are always the best because it means less clean-up. This is a different, and pretty tasty one. The kale can be overpowering if you eat it on its own (aka. kinda like dirt), so the eggs are a crucial addition. Modified from Cooking Light, serves 4.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups sliced leek (about 2 large)
12 ounces fingerling potatoes, cut in half lengthwise (about 4 cups)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 teaspoons Spanish smoked paprika, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, divided
4 cups thinly sliced trimmed Swiss chard (about 1 bunch)
4 large eggs
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded Gruyère cheese

Directions

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan. Add leek; cook 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add potatoes and garlic; cook 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.
Stir in 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Add chard; cook 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
Using a spoon, push potato mixture aside to make 4 egg-size spaces. Crack 1 egg into each space; sprinkle remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon paprika over eggs.
Cover and cook 3 minutes; sprinkle cheese over potato mixture.
Cover and cook 2 minutes or until egg yolks are lightly set.

Brazilian Feijoada

2011-06-14T11:30:00.010-04:00

Okay here is hands-down the greatest slow cooker meal on the face of the planet. Now I've never been to South America (hope to next year, but not yet) and if every dish is a fraction of how good this one was I may never go and never come back. It came from a section of Cooking Light called 'slow-cooking made easy'. Jessi begs to differ with that title though - it was not exactly easy for her. Especially since Jessi is novice at finding strange meat selections at the grocery store, then having to cut and trim them. HT only had 5.5 lbs of Boston Butt, so I just sawed some off and froze the rest for later. We served it over jasmine rice, but I would recommend serving it with just a bit of rice. Too much just takes away from the flavor of the feijoada.

Recommended for a weekend because of the time it takes. It is a very delicious, filling meal - definitely give it a try! Serves about 8. On a side note... we made this creation about a month ago and froze some. Last week Jessi was traveling and I reached into the freezer and pulled out an unmarked container of what I thought was some sort of BBQ. When I got done reheating it I ecstatically realized that it was the Feijoada! Just as good as the day we made. So I can assure that one; we label very few things in the large freezer and two; that this dish reheats wonderfully.

Some info about feijoada, straight from Cooking Light: "Feijoada (pronounced fay-ZWAH-da) is a delicious stew of pork and black beans that's traditionally served over rice with fresh orange slices. In Brazil, this dish is often served on special occasions, but preparing it in a slow cooker makes it possible to serve this rich dish on the busiest weeknights."
*I say noway to serving it on the busiest of weeknights unless you are superman/woman.

Ingredients

2 cups dried black beans
4 slices smoked bacon
1 pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
4 bone-in beef short ribs, trimmed (about 1.5-2 pounds)
3 cups finely chopped onion (about 2 medium)
1 14 oz. can fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (9-ounce) smoked ham hock
1 tablespoon white vinegar
8 orange wedges

Directions

Place beans in a small saucepan; cover generously with cold water. Bring to a boil; cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain.
Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Store in refrigerator until rest of meal is ready.
Sprinkle pork evenly with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Increase heat for skillet to medium-high. Add pork to bacon drippings in skillet; sauté 8 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Transfer pork to a 6-quart electric slow cooker.
Sprinkle ribs evenly with 1/8 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add ribs to skillet; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Place ribs in slow cooker.
Add drained beans, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, onion, chicken broth, garlic and ham hock to slow cooker, stirring to combine. Cover and cook on LOW 8-9 hours or until beans and meat are tender.
Remove ribs from slow cooker; let stand 15 minutes. Remove meat from bones; shred meat with 2 forks. Discard bones. Discard ham hock. Return beef to slow cooker.
Stir in vinegar and crumbled bacon. Serve with orange wedges.

Moroccan Skirt Steak with Roasted Pepper Couscous

2011-06-06T14:15:00.017-04:00

This is a delicious, easy weeknight dinner for ya. It was our first time making couscous without the pre-packaged spice packs. The bell peppers and olives really made it (and neither of us are typically olive fans). The steak is juicy and delish too. The dish really has a great Indian/Moroccan flavor - we definitely recommend it! Sorry I can't very accurately distinguish the differences between these two ethnic foods - I need to eat more of them for sure! Modified from Eating Well, serves 4.

Ingredients

2 medium bell peppers (we used green, but red or orange would be even more tasty)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 whole lemon, plus more lemon wedges for garnish
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2/3 cup whole-wheat couscous
1 pound sirloin steak, 3/4 to 1 inch thick, trimmed
3 tablespoons chopped green olives

Directions

Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler.
Cut bell peppers in half and remove core/seeds. Place bell pepper halves on a baking sheet and roast under the broiler, turning every 5 minutes, until charred and softened, 10 to 15 minutes.
Transfer to a clean cutting board; when cool enough to handle, chop the peppers into bite-size pieces.
Meanwhile, combine cumin, coriander, salt, turmeric, cinnamon and pepper in a small bowl.
Grate 1/2 teaspoon zest from the lemon, set aside. Juice the lemon into a 1-cup measure and add enough water to make 1 cup. Pour into a small saucepan and add the lemon zest, 1 teaspoon of the spice mixture and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Bring to a boil. Stir in couscous, cover, remove from heat and let stand.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium heat until shimmering (but not smoking).
Rub the remaining spice mixture on both sides of steak. Cook the steak 2 to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest on the cutting board for 5 minutes.
Stir olives and the peppers into the couscous.
Thinly slice the steak and serve with the couscous and lemon wedges, if desired.

Grouper with Acorn Squash Risotto

2011-05-24T09:31:00.000-04:00

Michael found this recipe on Food Gawker. Who knew you had to qualify to get your photos on that site?! And we thought we'd be able to get some stuff on there by just submitting it. Haha or not!

So this one was quite the tedious recipe (took about 2 hours with both of us working together). It also didn't work-out quite like the author scripted it out. Not sure what happened, but we had to make some modifications. To tell you the truth, the acorn squash was the source of the problem. The grouper part was pretty easy and delicious, so if you're short on time, just skip the roasted acorn squash risotto. If you want to check-out the original recipe (and plethora of photos), go here.

Ingredients

RISOTTO: 

1/2 cup arborio rice
 4 cups chicken stock
 3/4 cup vermouth
1 cup water 
1/2 orange, juiced
 6 sage leaves 
1/2 roasted acorn squash  *start this first, see tip below
1 tbsp + 2 tbsps butter 
1 shallot, chopped
 1 tsp salt

Directions

In a large pot, simmer chicken stock, wine, water, orange juice, whole sage leaves, and half the shallots.
In a smaller pot, sweat the other half shallot in 1 tbsp butter, then add rice and stir until the outer layer gets translucent. Ladle in simmering liquid, until rice is just covered, and stir until the rice absorbs the liquid. Repeat until rice is done, about 30-40 minutes (may not use all of the liquid). Add 2 tbsp of butter and the chopped squash and stir gently until butter and squash have been absorbed.

*Cut acorn squash in half, reserving seeds (to be used in grouper coating). Rinse seeds. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt - roast at 450 for about 10-15 minutes. Set acorn squash in a shallow dish. Sprinkle with olive oil and salt. Fill bottom of dish with about 1-2 inches of water and cover with foil. Cook at 400 for about 45 minutes (check often, cook until tender).

Ingredients

GROUPER: 

1 1/4 lbs grouper
1/4 cup roasted acorn squash seeds *see tip above
 6 sage leaves, chopped 
1 tsp orange rind 
1/2 tbsp salt 
3 tbsp unbleached flour
 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Process all but olive oil in blender or food processor until seeds are chopped and sage is distributed.
Pack coating onto grouper, then pan-sear one side of the grouper in the olive oil over medium-high heat, flip, then put pan and fish into a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes (more or less depending on thickness of the fish — about 10 minutes per inch).

Rich Chicken Stew

2011-05-16T14:10:00.015-04:00

This is a great slow-cooker recipe for ya. We added a bit more cream than the original recipe called for - actually a bit too much (who knew there was such a thing!?). Even after an hour of digesting our tummies were still rebelling. The amount below is what I suggest (less than we used). It still tasted good going down, just not exactly a healthy one when you almost double the cream amount. =) It is a bit more involved than the usual slow-cooker, just because you have to do some extra steps after the slow-cooker cooking part is over. Still not too bad, you just may want to do it on a weekend or a day you're not working. Modified from Eating Well. Takes about 40 minutes of active time, a little over 5 hrs total time. On a cooler day like today, this would make a great, comforting, beat the Monday blues meal.

Ingredients

1 pound mushrooms, stems trimmed, caps wiped clean
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots, (2 large)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup water, divided
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup thinly sliced carrots, (2 large)
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
2 to 2.25 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut in 2-inch chunks
2 1/4-inch-thick lemon slices, (including peel), seeded
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup plus 1-2 tbsp (add the extra tablespoons to taste) whipping cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups frozen green peas, rinsed under cold water to thaw
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley)

Directions

Combine mushrooms, shallots, oil and 1/4 cup water in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven. Cover and cook over high heat, stirring often, until mushrooms are juicy, 3 to 4 minutes.
Uncover and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add broth, carrots, thyme and bay leaves; bring to a boil.
Place chicken in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker and lay lemon slices on top. Turn heat to high. Carefully pour in the vegetable mixture. Cover and cook until the chicken is very tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken and vegetables to a bowl; discard bay leaves and lemon slices.
Skim out any fat pieces and pour the liquid into a large saucepan; add lemon zest. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until reduced to 2 cups, 15 to 20 minutes.
Mix cornstarch with remaining 1/4 cup water in a small bowl. Add to the pan and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened. Add cream and lemon juice; stir until boiling.
Return the chicken and vegetables to the sauce and heat through. Season with salt and pepper.
Just before serving, stir in peas and cilantro.

*To make ahead, make through step 8 and then refrigerate. Stir in peas and cilantro after reheating.

Walnut Breadcrumb Pasta and Soft Poached Egg

2011-05-13T13:05:00.000-04:00

This recipe is quite a different one. It's very light, but still pretty tasty. Have you ever had egg on your pasta? We've never even had soft-boiled eggs, but they were pretty good! And easy to make. You could probably sub blue cheese for the feta for a richer flavor. We recommend this recipe for a night you're craving pasta but don't want to be too stuffed! Modified from Cooking Light, serves 3-4.

Ingredients

4 large eggs
1 3" piece French bread baguette, torn into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces uncooked fresh linguine
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

Directions

Bring 3 inches of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add eggs to pan; boil 5 1/2 minutes. Pluck out with tongs and plunge into ice water, and let stand for 5 minutes. Reserve cooking water in pan. Once eggs are cooled, drain and peel.
Place bread in a food processor, process until finely ground. Add nuts to bread; pulse until finely ground.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add garlic, and sauté for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add breadcrumb mixture, salt, and pepper to pan; sauté for 5 minutes or until toasted, stirring frequently. Set aside until pasta is done.
Meanwhile, to cook pasta, re-boil cooking water used for eggs (this is optional - original recipe did not do, but it saves water and time!). Add pasta and cook according to package directions; drain.
Add pasta to the breadcrumb mixture; toss to combine. Sprinkle with parsley and chives; toss to combine. Divide pasta mixture evenly among 4 shallow bowls, and top each serving with 1 egg and 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese. Serve immediately.

Saucy Serrano Fish Tacos

2011-05-09T13:34:00.000-04:00

Well this meal definitely breaks the meal slump. These fish taco are wonderful. We’ve had some requests for fish taco recipes lately, and prior to now we’d only tried 2 different ones. And its been over a year and a half since we made any - one should never go that long without fish tacos. The first we made with mahi mahi was okay, but not the best. The second with red snapper was absolutely delicious. We vote this one as absolutely delicious too. Makes you want to go to the beach and drink coronas. The sour cream sauce is super tasty and has a kick. The spice mixture for the fish is delicious too. Basically, you can’t go wrong. You can use 2 jalapenos if you can’t find serranos. You can also sub tilapia for the mahi mahi. Modified from Cooking Light, serves 4.

Ingredients

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup fresh lime juice (juice of about 1 lime)
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
1 serrano pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cups thinly sliced white onion (about 1 and 1/2 medium onions)
2 1/2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 1/2 lb. mahi mahi fillets, skinned
1 tablespoon canola oil
8 white large taco-size tortillas
1 ripe peeled avocado, thinly sliced
4 lime wedges

Directions

Combine sour cream, cilantro, lime juice and peppers in a food processor; process until smooth.
Combine sour cream mixture and onion in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Combine paprika, sugar, oregano, garlic powder, salt, cumin and red pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over fish. Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Once cool enough, tear into pieces.
Warm tortillas by placing damp paper towels on either side of the stack and zapping in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
Divide fish, onion mixture, and avocado evenly among tortillas. Serve with lime wedges.

Sauteed Chicken Breast with Chive Sauce

2011-05-03T21:40:00.007-04:00

Howdy food-friends! Jessi and I have been in a bit of a meal slump lately. It seems we've not been firing on all cylinders in the kitchen. I don't know if we've just been picking lame recipes or taking the wrong shortcuts but it seems that we're not churning out exceptional meal after meal. That's the way I like it, but I guess, unlike Burger King, you can't always have it your way.

This recipe marks one of these dishes in the land of mediocrity. We had almost 2 lbs of chicken breasts (original recipe called for 1lb), so we decided to double the sauce ingredients. This usually works for us b/c we always feel like recipes from Eating Well/Cooking Light just don't have enough sauce (which contributes to the healthiness). In this case, our modification slightly failed. It still was tasty, but was not creamy like it was supposed to be. Next time, we'll cut down on amount of chicken broth. So now I'm sure you're all itching to go make this dish—not! I do feel the need to post these dishes though because it helps us to remember what does and doesn't work in the kitchen. We also like it when you guys have suggestions for improvement, helping us build our culinary skills. This is one of the most important ways to becoming a better cook, I feel. The recipe below reflects what we made, if you want to check the original recipe, click here. Modified from Eating Well, serves 4.

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed of fat
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 large shallots, finely chopped
1 cup vermouth or dry white wine
2 14-ounce cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
2/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup chopped chives
1/2 cup chopped scallions

Directions

Place chicken in a large ziplock bag and pound with a meat mallet or heavy skillet until flattened to an even thickness, about 1/2 inch. Season both sides of the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt.
Place 1/2 cup flour in a shallow glass baking dish and dredge the chicken in it. Discard the excess flour.
Heat 4 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, cover and keep warm.
Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring constantly and scraping up any browned bits, until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons flour; stir to coat. Add wine, broth and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil, stirring often.
Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until heated through and no longer pink in the center, about 6 minutes.
Stir in sour cream and mustard until smooth; turn the chicken to coat with the sauce. Stir in chives and serve immediately.

Three Philosophers Belgian Style Blend

2011-04-26T14:42:00.001-04:00

ABV: 9.8% | Our Props: 9.5

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and was able to have some time off work. If you don't celebrate Easter than I hope you were able to get out and enjoy the spring weather. Jessi and I spent a wonderful weekend up in Blowing Rock, NC at my (Michael's) parent's house. It's crazy how much further behind the mountains are in the seasons than the Piedmont. The trees up there have hardly started to leaf-out while in Charlotte we're almost done with the pollen onslaught.

While we have no Easter baked goods or yummy chocolate pics to share we do have a wonderful Beer to tell you about. It has cherry flavors in it so that's sorta Eastery, right? Three Philosophers Belgian Style Blend is like a Easter basket of flavors going down the pipe. It pours with a smooth rich, red color and has a rather short head. It finishes with a somewhat fruity and sweet malty after taste leaving the stomach feeling content and warm — probably due to it's high alcohol content. Jessi and I both highly recommend giving this one a shot. If you click on the ingredients and comments button you'll see a sweet picture I got Jessi popping the top off this brew.

Miso-Glazed Steelhead Trout

2011-04-20T09:29:00.002-04:00

It seems the south has been full of thunderstorms this spring. Here in NC we have suffered some major tornado-producing storms that have hit some the state's eastern counties pretty badly. Our thoughts go out to those who have suffered in these storms. For stormy nights, too wet to venture out to the grill look to this broiled Steelhead as a great way to cook a fillet.

We got the idea for these Steelhead Trout glaze from Eating Club Vancouver, a blog I found while searching for a super way to cook some trout we picked up at the store this week. They didn't have any amounts for the ingredients, so we just winged it. And unfortunately did not measure how much we used either. But I guess this method has worked for two of us, so surely it'll work for you too.
One last note: Happy birthday to Jessi's Mom.

Ingredients

Soy sauce
Honey
Rice vinegar
Dijon mustard
Sesame oil
2 tablespoons miso (soybean paste)
1 1/2 lbs Steehead Trout

Directions

Prepare glaze by whisking together soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, mustard, sesame oil and miso in a small bowl.
Cover trout with glaze and let marinate in fridge for about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450F.

Back From Italy

2011-04-17T22:17:00.000-04:00

Jessi and I are back from a wonderful vacation in Italy, which is why you haven't seen any posts from us lately. We had a splendid time in this rich cultural country. In a two-week period, we covered a lot of ground. We traveled from Rome to Florence to Cinque Terre to Lake Como and then flew out of Verona. The pride this country takes in its work is truly remarkable. From art to wine to food—even in graffiti they seem to do it all with a real passion.

If you have a passion for food and drink, Italy is the place to visit. It seems that everywhere you look there is another fantastic eatery, cafe or restaurant just around the corner. The pasta, wine, cheese, cured meats, fresh seafood and pastries are all oh-so delicious. I, Michael, would often eat 4 or five times a day. And had we not been walking immense amounts along ancient cobblestone streets and climbing atop 12th century basilicas we would have probably gained twenty pounds a piece. If you scroll down to the end of this post you can even catch a quick video of me making Gnocchi in our Lake Como cooking class.

Trying to write a post for such a expedition is quite a task. I can't seem to organize our experiences enough to decipher which events out-did the others. The truth is that they were all amazing and there's no way to talk about them all in one post. The best I can do is to share a couple photos and persuade you all to go.

A few notes on our food experiences… We ate a lot of pasta, drank copious amounts of wine, consumed massive amounts of salted meats and cheeses, ate gelato before and after every meal, and learned to drink espresso or cappuccinos with every meal. This pretty much sums up Italian eating.

It was an amazing trip and we look forward to our next visit. But we're happy to be back in the south's sweet spring weather. We have a lot of decadent kitchen concoctions to share with you this summer. We've even started a small box garden to supplement eats. We'll share more about that later. Hope you enjoy the pics!

Spinach, Blue Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Chicken

2011-03-15T18:30:00.000-04:00

Stuffed chicken is just so delightful. Every bite is wonderful, but even better when the chicken absorbs the flavor of its stuffing. We definitely don't make enough stuffed chicken and with this recipe you'll be saying the same. We recently made pimento cheese stuffed chicken but were too hungry and exhausted to photograph it (ho hum). This one is an original Stout recipe and it's supreme if I must say so myself. Of course, how can you go wrong with spinach, blue cheese and bacon? It's easy to throw together and would be quick if it wasn't for cooking a whole package of bacon. If you happen to have pre-cooked bacon laying around, you can use that and use olive oil for the chicken pan instead of bacon grease. Serves 4.

Note: The secret to a exceptional stuffed chicken breast is knowing your oven and paying close attention to the done-ness of your breast. Not all chicken cook times are the same. You have to take into consideration the breast size (haha) and thickness of your meat (whoa). Since stuffed breasts are half as thin as a normal breast, they're easily overcooked which will sabotage an otherwise great main course. So pay attention to the chicken as it cooks.

Ingredients

4 teaspoons olive oil
1 6oz. package baby spinach (8 cups)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup blue cheese
2 tablespoons flour
2 pieces bacon
2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (3-4 halves)
Salt, to sprinkle
Pepper, to sprinkle

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.
Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon (we go ahead and cook the whole pack and save the leftovers for later meals). Cook and transfer to a paper towel to cool. Drain nearly all the grease into a melt-safe container to toss later. Set aside pan with reserved bacon grease for cooking chicken later. Once cooled, crumble 2 pieces of the bacon.
Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, saute for 30 seconds, then add spinach in batches. Saute until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
In a small bowl, combine spinach, blue cheese, flour, and bacon pieces.
Cut a 1-inch-wide slit into the thick end of chicken breast halves, and carefully cut down to center of chicken to form a pocket.
Divide spinach mixture evenly among chicken pockets. Secure with wooden picks.
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the large skillet with reserved bacon grease over medium-high heat. Add chicken, salt-peppered side down. Salt and pepper the other sides of chicken while they are in the skillet. Sauté 4 minutes. Turn chicken over and cook for an additional 1 minute.
Place skillet in oven and bake at 350° for 12 minutes; let stand 5 minutes.

Lemon Ginger Chicken Drumsticks with Mango and Mustard Seed Glaze

2011-03-07T20:51:00.000-05:00

When it comes to grilling chicken the drumstick has always been a favorite of mine. It also seemed that the bigger I got, the more of them I could eat. They're sorta like an over-sized chicken wing. I like em so much that sometimes they're the only thing I want to eat for a meal and that's exactly what I did the other night.

Jessi and I wanted to find a unique recipe. A while back we borrowed a grilling book from Jessi's parents which is where I found this quick marinade. The flavor in these guys was excellent. The tanginess of the lemon, ginger and mustard seeds combined with the sweetness of the mango chutney was fantastic! I would definitely grill these guys again. Of course the ultimate trick to great grilled chicken is in the smokiness—so use charcoal.

Michael grilled these guys outside, which we recommend because lets face it, everything tastes better on the grill. If you don't have time or if it's raining, you can make them inside. Just preheat your broiler and broil, turning every 3 minutes until chicken is done (no longer pink at the bone), about 15 minutes.

Ingredients

8 chicken drumsticks

MARINADE:

2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp. chili powder
juice of 1 lemon

GLAZE:

1/2 cup sieved mango chutney (take out any mango chunks)
1 tbsp. yellow mustard seeds

Directions

For marinade, combine ginger, garlic, chili powder and lemon juice in a small bowl. Pour into a ziplock bag. Add drumsticks and toss to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine chutney and mustard seeds in a small bowl.
Prepare your grill.
Grill drumsticks over medium hot coals, turning every 3 minutes, until chicken is opaque with no trace of pink at the bone, about 15 minutes.

Banana Layer Cake with Caramel Cream and Pecans

2011-03-06T04:15:00.002-05:00

Michael just celebrated his 28th birthday. And as tempted as I was to make a funfetti cake (my personal fave), I decided to attempt a decadent layer cake. After perusing several recipes online, I settled on a banana layer cake with caramel cream and pecans from Bon Appetit. I skimmed the directions and it didn't look too difficult. Wrong! This bad boy took me close to 4 hours to make (split over 2 days). If you're an experienced baker, I don't think it would take nearly this long. I just haven't made that many cakes in my day (aside from the above mentioned funfetti, of course). It took several stressed phone calls to my mom to get the cake all figured out (in my opinion, the original directions were not descriptive enough). For any novice baker out there who wants to give it a shot, I've made the directions easier to follow. I was actually quite worried that it wouldn't turn out at all due to several mishaps. Luckily, this assumption was wrong and it ended up being delicious. Michael's pop even said it as one of the best cakes he'd ever had. Now that's a compliment! If you want a great cake for a special occasion, give this one a try - you just gotta be prepared to devote a whole evening (or two) to it. Oh, and it makes a huge mess of pots and pans - be ready for lots of dishwashing! It's worth it though, promise!

*When making the banana cream, it says to use a candy thermometer to gauge the temperature. I don't know exactly what the difference b/t a candy thermometer and a regular meat thermometer is. We don't have a candy one though, so I used a meat one and the temperature never got above 210 degrees. So I just cooked it for 10 minutes and assumed that was good enough. It turned out just fine. Also, the caramel took an hour or two to cool to room temperature, which is why I switched the directions to make the icing first, then the cake. You'll also see that you have to cool it in the fridge for 3 additional hours before you can spread it. Therefore, it's probably best to make this part of the cake the day before and just let it refrigerate overnight, which is what I did.

When cutting the cake layers in half, use a long serrated knife and go slowly around the edge until you can eventually cut all the way through. I watched a couple videos on the internet to get the technique down.

Ingredients

BANANA CARAMEL CREAM

1 1/2 cups (packed) dark brown sugar
1 small ripe banana, peeled and mashed with a fork
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3 3/4 cups chilled whipping cream, divided

CAKE

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (generous) fine sea salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar, divided
6 large eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons reduced fat buttermilk (not my attempt to be healthy, this is really all they had at the store and it worked great)
2 small ripe bananas, peeled and mashed with a fork

PECANS

2 cups pecan halves
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon fine sea salt

CAKE ASSEMBLY - additional ingredients

4 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice (not quite 1 lime), divided
4 1/2 teaspoons medium or dark rum, divided

Directions

For banana-caramel cream: 

With a mixer, blend brown sugar, banana, and 3 tablespoons butter until smooth. Add 1 1/2 cups whipping cream; blend.
Transfer to heavy medium saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture boils (about 5-10 minutes).
Attach candy thermometer to inside of pan; cook without stirring or swirling pan until temperature registers 218°F, about 10 minutes. *If you don't have a candy thermometer, read my above note (didn't seem to matter).
Pour caramel into bowl. Cool to room temperature, whisking occasionally (this took an hour or two to completely cool).
Beat remaining 2 1/4 cups whipping cream in a large bowl with a mixer until it begins to thicken (don't have to get it all the way to soft peaks though). Gradually fold in cool caramel mixture.
Chill until cream is firm enough to spread, about 3 hours.

For cake: 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans.
Sift flour, baking powder, and sea salt into a medium bowl.
Beat butter and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl with a mixer until well blended. Add 2 eggs; beat until blended. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 4 additions alternately with buttermilk in 3 additions.
Beat remaining 4 eggs and remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar in a medium bowl (I reused the flour bowl and a hand-held mixer- just quickly rinse out and dry to save some dish washing) until mixture is thick and pale in color, about 4 minutes.
Fold egg mixture into batter. Fold in bananas.
Divide batter between prepared pans (about 3 1/2 cups for each).
Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool 15 minutes. Invert cakes onto racks; cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in foil; store at room temperature.)

For pecans:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Toss pecans and melted butter in medium bowl to coat. Add sea salt and toss. Spread pecans in single layer on rimmed baking sheet.
Bake until fragrant and slightly darkened in color, about 15 minutes. Cool pecans on baking sheet.

Cake assembly:

Cut each cake horizontally into 2 layers. Place 1 layer, cut side up, on platter. Drizzle 1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice and 1 1/2 teaspoons rum over top. Spread 1 1/4 cups banana cream over.
Top with second cake layer. Drizzle 1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice and 1 1/2 teaspoons rum over. Spread 1 1/2 cups cream over.
Repeat with third cake layer, lime juice, rum, and cream.
Top with fourth cake layer, cut side down; spread remaining cream over top.
Scatter roasted pecans over top of cake. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate.)

Creamy Lobster Risotto

2011-02-28T19:04:00.000-05:00

Our very first lobster debut! We love to eat it, but never had made it on our own. We saw this recipe in the most recent Cooking Light and decided to spice it up a bit. The original recipe just had 5 ingredients: broth, lobster, butter, Arborio and peas. It is simple to make, but slightly time consuming considering you have to de-shell the lobster, then stir the broth and stuff constantly for like 25 minutes. It is totally worth it though, I promise. It has wonderful flavor and is very rich and creamy. It isn't something to make every week though, considering lobster tails are normally $10 a piece at our grocery store. We had to wait for them to go on sale ($5.99/ea) this week before we could justify making it. If you have a good lobster source, give this recipe a try! Oh, and the original recipe said it served 4, but we almost ate all of it between just the two of us.

Ingredients

4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
3 (5-ounce) American lobster tails
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice or other medium-grain rice
1 medium shallot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of saffron
1/4 cup Vermouth
3/4 cup frozen green peas, thawed

Directions

Bring broth and water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add lobster; cover and cook for 4 minutes. Remove lobster from pan; cool for 5 minutes.
Remove meat from cooked lobster tails, reserving shells. Chop meat.
Place shells in a large zip-top plastic bag. Coarsely crush shells using a meat mallet or heavy skillet.
Return crushed shells to the broth mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Strain shell mixture through a sieve over a bowl, reserving broth; discard solids.
Return broth mixture to saucepan; keep warm over low heat.
Heat 1 tablespoon butter in another medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice, shallot, garlic and saffron to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 cup broth mixture and vermouth, and cook for 5 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly.
Reserve 2 tablespoons broth mixture. Add the remaining broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes total).
Remove from heat, and stir in lobster, the reserved 2 tablespoons broth mixture, 2 tablespoons butter, and green peas.

Creamy Ham and Squash Soup

2011-02-22T15:35:00.001-05:00

This tasty number was modified from a Paula Deen original. Michael loves a good Paula recipe (so much so that we also had a side of Paula's bacon green beans with the soup). You know me though, we had to adjust the ingredients a bit to make it healthier. It was still super creamy, rich and delicious though. I loved it and we'll definitely be making it again. If you love creamy soup, you gotta give this one a try. I will warn you though, it makes a lot of soup! We were eating it for days. You could definitely half it and still have enough to serve at least 4-6 people.

Ingredients

2 lbs. yellow squash, sliced into rounds
6 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, sliced
4 medium carrots, sliced thin
2 celery stalks, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can reduced-fat evaporated milk
½ cup reduced-fat sour cream
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup white cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup vegetable stock
2 cups cooked ham, diced

Directions

Melt butter over medium heat in a large soup pot.
Add onion, carrots, squash, salt and pepper and saute for 20 minutes.
Add evaporated milk and sour cream to squash mixture, stir well. Simmer until mixture bubbles, about 5-10 minutes.
Stir in nutmeg, cheese, ham and vegetable stock, simmer for 15 minutes.

Triple Exulation

2011-02-17T21:31:00.003-05:00

ABV: 9.7% | IBU: 100 | Our Props: 2.5

Jessi and I had high hopes for this brew - unfortunately it did not live up to our expectations or should I say exultations... I didn't even know what word meant until like two minutes ago. If ya'll don't either it means "a feeling of extreme joy" which this beer failed to deliver. We drank this beer a month of Sundays ago but both of us still vividly remember how overly bitter and hard to drink it was. I mean we expect an old ale to be bitter but this one so sweet and acohol-y that it just wasn't good. This beer hails form the Eel River Brewing Co. in Fortuna, California. We have not tried any of their other brews but would like to. I'm sure this disagreeable taste does not hold true for all their beers. Since we drank this guy so long ago I was playing around with vintage Photoshop techniques. What do you think?

Kung Pao Chicken

2011-02-13T21:37:00.002-05:00

Hi food peeps. Tis the night before V-Day and I bet all of you have been busy today making some sinfully unhealthy dessert to indulge in tomorrow. But isn't that the best part of the holiday—okay the second best. Before we start the chocolate binge we had some simple Kung Pao the other night. This is a good, relatively quick meal to throw together. It didn't have quite as much flavor as Michael and I had hoped though. Perhaps it needed more garlic and maybe more soy sauce? We served it over jasmine rice, which we made while chopping the veggies. Modified from Cooking Light, serves four.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup snow peas, ends trimmed
2 tablespoons chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts

Directions

Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until softened. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
Add chicken; sauté 3 minutes or until chicken begins to brown.
In a small bowl, combine water, soy sauce, cornstarch, brown sugar, ginger and crushed red pepper, stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves.
Add water mixture to pan; bring to a boil.
Add bell pepper and snow peas to pan; cook for 2 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender and sauce thickens. Sprinkle with nuts.

Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis

2011-02-12T10:00:00.001-05:00

Okay, you must try this recipe. Seriously amazing. I don't know that I've ever had meatloaf that I've liked, but this stuff is so delicious. Its relatively quick and easy to throw together too (maybe 45-50ish minutes total - 35 of which is cooking time). We served it with a side salad with blue cheese and sliced almonds. This personal-size version of meatloaf takes less time and doesn't leave you eating it for the remainder of the week. Roughly modified from Cooking Light.

Ingredients

1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup ketchup, divided
3 ounces white cheddar cheese, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin (we used 10/90 fat/lean)
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°.
Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs; cook 3 minutes or until toasted, stirring frequently. Remove breadcrumbs from pan and set aside.
Put olive oil into same skillet. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes.
Combine onion mixture, breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup ketchup, cheddar cheese, cilantro, parmesan cheese, horseradish, Worcestershire, mustard, oregano, salt, pepper, sirloin and egg. Mix well with hands.
Shape mixture into 4 loaves on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; spread 2 teaspoons ketchup over each.
Bake at 425° for 30-35 minutes or until done.

Stir-fried Shrimp with Garlic and Chile Sauce

2011-02-09T22:35:00.003-05:00

This was a simple shrimp recipe Jessi and I made a while back. We enjoy a good shrimp supper—very light but filling. Shrimp makes such a great weeknight meal too due to it's quick thaw time. That's right, we buy frozen. Especially for a quick meal like this where the shellfish is smothered in a tasty sauce. Rarely do we purchase fresh shrimp for our recipes unless it's something that really plays off the shrimp taste. What do you do - fresh or frozen? Recipe modified from Cooking Light, serves 4.

Ingredients

1/2 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons vermouth
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
11/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup (1-inch) slices green onions
1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Directions

Combine first broth, cornstarch, sugar, vermouth, soy sauce and white pepper in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.
Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add canola oil to pan. Add shrimp to pan; stir-fry 1 minute or until shrimp begin to turn pink.
Add garlic, ginger, and jalapeño; stir-fry 1 minute. Stir in broth mixture; cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done and sauce is thickened, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat; stir in onions and sesame oil. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Bacon, Kale and Sun-Dried Tomatoes Penne

2011-02-06T09:22:00.003-05:00

Happy Super Bowl day. Jessi and I are not the biggest NFL fans—especially since out home-town Panthers were a disgrace this season. We won't be doing much for the big game tonight but thought we'd pass along a quick dish so you can have easy plan for tomorrow when everyone is hung over. This pasta creation is a tasty treat. The combo of kale, sundried tomatoes and bacon really gives it a strong, rich flavor. It's pretty quick to throw together and is perfect for a lighter meal after a long day and a late supper. We added about double the amount of kale from the original recipe, so feel free to use less if you're not a huge kale fan. You could probably substitute spinach as well. You'll notice our mix of pastas—that's because we did not have any of the orecchiette (that the original recipe called for) and had to throw in some randoms since we weren't up for a another store run. Modified from Cooking Light, serves 3-4.

Ingredients

8 ounces uncooked penne pasta
8 cups kale (not quite a whole bunch)
2 slices center-cut uncooked bacon
1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3/8 teaspoon salt
Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, enough to top
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Recipes

Cook pasta in boiling water 7-8 minutes or until almost tender. Add kale, and cook 3 minutes. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
While pasta cooks, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat 4 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon; crumble and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Add sun-dried tomatoes, crushed red pepper, and garlic to drippings in pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
Add pasta mixture, reserved 1/2 cup cooking liquid, black pepper, and salt to pan; toss to combine.
Top pasta mixture evenly with bacon and cheese; drizzle evenly with lemon juice.

Boomtown Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

2011-01-27T21:35:00.001-05:00

So if you haven't noticed we've had a recent increase in posting. This is not due to a surplus of cooking going on in the Stout house but rather a lack of posting. Due to our busy schedules and me changing jobs we've really fallen behind in posting. I've yet to count what's on my camera cards but I know there are at least 20 edited food and drink items in my "To-Post" folder on my desktop. So I've made a pact to get through this back-log of goodies and get back to the current reviews.

Starting with this great vino that's no old-news around our house. Jessi and I really enjoy wine but are pretty cheap when it comes time to selecting good bottles. Not too far out of college and still much bigger beer fans than wine, it's often hard for us to justify a bottle priced over the cost of some of our favorite six packs. Boomtown from Dusted Valley vineyards are really on to something here. The vineyard is based in Wala Wala, Washington and Boomtown Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 has a great flavor with hints of black plum and blackcurrant followed by some dry tannins. Priced at around $15-$20 this bottle is priced high for us cheapies, but is well worth it. We really enjoy the Boomtown cab and hope you'll will get a chance to as well. Cheers!

Golden Tumeric Latkes

2011-01-26T09:00:00.032-05:00

It seems that winter is such a great time for cooking potatoes. We will often purchase a large bag of russets because it's usually a better deal. However we're usually end up composting them when they become overrun with eyes. Latkes are a great side to use up leftover potatoes or to cook in general.

As a kid I loved fried food. My mother would often make fired okra, corn fritters or potato fritters (as she called them). Latkes does sound a bit uppity. Today I still love fried food Jessi and I just like to eat a little healthier and in moderation. This latke recipe is a great lower-fat fritter to pair with any main course and the applesauce topping really meshes well with the turmeric flavor. Recipe from Eating Well.

Ingredients

SAUCE

1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup applesauce (original called for unsweetened, but we didn't have any - this worked fine)

LATKES

2 cups shredded peeled russet potatoes
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 fresh green serrano chiles, stemmed and finely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

Directions

To prepare sauce: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger and cook, stirring, until light brown and aromatic, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in turmeric and cloves. Cook until the spices are fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute more. Scrape the spices into the applesauce in a small bowl and stir well to combine.
Preheat oven to 200°F. Place a baking sheet in the oven.
To prepare latkes: Thoroughly mix potatoes, onion, chiles to taste, cilantro, flour, cumin, salt, turmeric and eggs in a large bowl.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Place a heaping tablespoon of the potato mixture in the skillet and flatten with a spatula into a disk roughly 3 inches in diameter. Form as many latkes as you can in the pan without overcrowding. Cook until golden brown and crispy on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until the other side is golden brown and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Briefly drain on a paper towel-lined plate, then transfer to the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining oil and potato mixture.
Serve the latkes with the seasoned applesauce.

Creamy Goat Cheese and Corn Grits

2011-01-25T09:00:00.003-05:00

Few things get me more excited than a good batch of stone-ground grits. I just love how creamy and rich they are. You can totally control how their richness by how much butter you add or whether you use whole or 2% milk to cook them down. I also love watching them bubble and pop as they thicken. I used to think that one of the best compliments to a good batch of stone-ground grits was a blackened batch of shrimp. That was until I discovered adding goat cheese and corn! Who would have thought to add more corn to a grit. But they sure are tasty. Now don't get me wrong I still hold a special place for shrimp and grits, sausage and grits and a slew of other grit combinations but these sure are tasty.

Ingredients

1 cup stone ground grits
4 cups water
2 cups 2%milk
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup corn kernels (from one large ear of corn)
2/3 cup goat cheese, divided
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Bring water, salt, and 1 tablespoon butter to a boil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, then add grits gradually, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat and cook at a bare simmer, covered, stirring frequently, until water is absorbed and grits are thickened, about 15 minutes.
Stir in 2 cups milk and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally to keep grits from sticking to bottom of pan, 10 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed and grits are thick and tender, about 35 minutes more. (Grits will have a soft, mashed-potato-like consistency.)
Stir in pepper and remaining tablespoon of butter.
Meanwhile, if using fresh corn, cook the corn in a medium pot of boiling water until done (about 7-10 minutes). Once cooled, remove corn kernels with a sharp knife. Set aside.
Add corn and 1/2 of the goat cheese to the cooked grits. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Stir in scallions and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Collard Greens and Turnips and Smokey Turkey Black-Eyed Peas

2011-01-24T11:13:00.003-05:00

The sides on our New Years meal (that I'm posting 3 weeks late) were the traditional southern black-eyed peas and collards. Neither Jessi nor I had ever made any of these dishes. As a child I hated collards but as I got older I learned to love them as long as I had some pepper vinegar standing by. I think I just hated them as a kid because they would make the house stink so bad. However, when we made these they didn't seem to smell as bad as I remembered. For the beans, I knew I needed a recipe that utilized meat during the cooking process. I spent some time searching through our cookbook collections but ended up going with this awesome video-recipe I found on You-Tube. The music is what really sold me.

As you can see this video recipe just looked too good to pass up. I had to make it. The smoked turkey added so much flavor to the beans. We made a bunch and they were scrumptious all week long.

The second side was our collards. Keeping with the meat-infused cooking liquid, we found a recipe that used ham hock. Low and behold I had actually saved one in our freezer from an old spiral ham we had. I found the recipe in our bible of a cook book that my mother insisted we have a while back, Gourmet Today. If you don't have this in your library we highly recommend it. The collards were cooked with some turnips which added a great starchy, texture-flavor to the mix. The last thing we made was some cornbread. We tried to get crafty and mix some recipes around. Unfortunately, it turned out poorly so we will not even talk about it.

Ingredients (Collards)

6 cups water
1 large ham hock (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3 pounds collard greens (1 large bunch)
1 1/2 pounds turnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Pepper vinegar, to accompany

Directions (Collards)

In a 6-quart pot, bring water with ham hock to a boil (water will not cover hock) and simmer, covered, turning hock over halfway through cooking, 1 hour.
Meanwhile, remove and discard stems and center ribs of collard greens. Cut leaves into 1-inch pieces.
Add half of collards to hock mixture and stir until wilted. Stir in remaining collards and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until almost tender, about 35 minutes.
Remove ham hock and cool slightly, then remove and coarsely chop meat. Discard bone and gristle.
Stir turnips into collards and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until turnips are tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in ham and pepper.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer to plates. Serve with pepper vinegar.

Ingredients (Peas)

Olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 scallions, chopped
Smoked turkey, chopped
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 lbs fresh black-eyed peas (not dried)

Directions (Peas)

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add garlic and scallions.
Add turkey, chicken broth and black-eyed peas.
Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour or until tender.

Honey Dijon Pork Tenderloin

2011-01-22T23:30:00.003-05:00

Well just how busy have we been since the new year—very busy! So busy that we're just now posting the first part of our traditional new years meal. We decided that we wanted to make a traditional southern new years meal with pork, black-eyed peas, collards and cornbread. Easy right? Well the meal proved to be quite the task and took about 21/2 hrs to complete but was well worth it in the end. So tonight I'll review the pork we had – which was pretty amazing. I mean it's hard to not like a well-cooked pork tenderloin but this marinade, which you later cook down to a sauce, was exceptional. Modified from Cooks.com. I started by marinating the pork for around 4 hrs even though it said you only needed 30 minutes – I hardly think this is enough time to marinate a tenderloin. Next I moved to the grill and utilized my remote thermometer to perfectly cook this pork. After cooking down the marinade and serving atop the sliced pork we were thoroughly pleased with the results.

I read that the origin of eating pork on the New Years Day is to symbolize progress. So far it seems to be working. I, Michael, recently took a new job. Hopefully that will not be the end, hopefully this forward progress will continue all year long. I'll post about the beans and the collards tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a great new year.

Ingredients

3 lbs. boneless pork loin roast
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. rosemary leaves, crushed
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 c. beer or ginger ale
1/2 c. dijon mustard
2 tbsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder

Directions

Place pork in heavy plastic bag.
Combine remaining ingredients; pour over pork. Seal bag. Marinate in refrigerator 1 hour. Preheat grill.
Remove pork from marinade. Place over drip pan filled with 1 inch of water on grill. Grill, uncovered, or bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes per pound or until 160 internal temperature, basting occasionally.
Simmer any leftover marinade 5 minutes. Serve with roast.

French Onion Beef Tenderloin

2011-01-09T21:15:00.000-05:00

We made this on a random weeknight and let me tell you what, it sure was a tasty treat! It just takes about 45 minutes to throw together (less if you have a cooking buddy). You can use sirloin steak rather than filet mignon if you prefer. Michael was wishing he had more than one piece of bread, so you may want to cook some extra of those to eat on the side. We didn't have 2 large onions, so used 3 smallish ones and we sure had lots of extra onions. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if you're not a huge onion lover, you may want to be cautious about how many you add. Modified from Eating Well; 3-4 servings (depends on how hungry you are). We also chose to serve this with some brussel sprouts that we've made before – which is a rarity so you know they're good. Hope you all are have great start to the new year!

Ingredients

1 pound filet mignon (2 filets)
1/2 teaspoon minced dried onion
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup dry sherry
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 slices whole-grain baguette (1/2 inch thick)
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Directions

Sprinkle filets with dried onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the filets and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, turning once, until desired doneness, 3 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer the steaks to a plate and tent with foil.
Position a rack in upper third of oven. Preheat broiler.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add onions and sherry, cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and golden brown and the liquid has evaporated, 10 to 12 minutes.
Sprinkle flour over the onions and stir to coat. Add broth, thyme and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook until bubbling and thickened, about 1 minute more.
Remove from the heat and return the steaks and any accumulated juice to the pan. Pile up some of the onions on top of the steaks. Top each steak with a slice of baguette and some cheese.
Transfer the pan to the oven and broil until the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Serve the steaks with the onions and sauce.

Bells Winter White Ale

2010-12-29T18:08:00.000-05:00

The holidays bring out a surplus of two very good beverages to your local grocer. 1 - holiday flavored coffees and 2 - all the seasonal beers. Today I will be reviewing one exceptional holiday ale — Bells Brewing Company's Winter White Ale. This is the second exceptional seasonal ale Bells produces. The other is the Christmas Ale which I will be reviewing later. The beer pours a very straw-yellow and is pretty cloudy with a thin, sticky head. The ale is fermented with a Belgian ale yeast, with a blend of barley and wheat malts that yield a mixture of clove and fruity aromas but not overly spicy like some holiday brews. The beer is pretty light, but not too light, and drinks more like a heavy wheat beer. Jessi and I both really enjoyed this one and even featured it in our newest pilsner addition that we received for Christmas—how fitting! Bells is a wonderful brewery and always produces a wonderful product. We even served it at our wedding — that's how much we love it. Hope you all have a splendid and safe new year and get a chance to try this brew before it's off the shelves!

Mystery Pork Sauce and Product Review

2010-12-27T18:04:00.005-05:00

We hope everyone had a most merry Christmas—Jessi and I sure did. We got to experience the best of both worlds. Our break started the week before Christmas in the Florida Keys where we had weather in the 70's all week and ended on Christmas Day in Morganton, NC with eight inches of snow (luckily the snow came after our air travel). It was a restful week off and great holiday season, we both feel very blessed.

Just in case any of ya'll are still in need for some late gifts or ideas to spend Chrimmus cash on I'd thought I'd talk about this sweet gadget I use from time to time when cooking larger meats. I know this is a bit ill-timed being that half the country is experiencing near frigid temperatures and standing over a grill is the last thing you want to do, but too bad — I like to grill year round. The other week Jessi and I decided to tackle this massive pork lion we bought. Sometimes these super-huge meats can be pretty intimidating to grill because it's so hard to tell when they're done. The trick is to use a grill with a lower, indirect heat and constantly monitor the meat's temperature. If your grill is outside the porch and out on the patio (like ours) this can mean a lot of up-and-down and in-and-out to check your meat's temp. This is where the Oregon Scientific AW131 Grill Right Wireless Talking BBQ and Oven Thermometer comes into play. This thing is a beaut! It has this insulted cord that you stick into the center of your meat and it connects to a receiver that you place on the shelf by your grill. The battery-powered unit comes complete with a belt clip that goes wherever you go. It has a pretty impressive range too. Then you set your target temp for the meat and the unit will begin alerting you when your meat gets close to its target. It has all these predetermined settings for different types of meat from rare to well-done in case you're not sure what the temp is for certain meats and seafoods. It even has like seven different languages and talks to you — the thing is spectacular. And no, we are not getting any perks for this post, this is just an honest review. Although, I sure wish we were!

Pictured above is an example of our perfectly cooked pork loin with a Dijon sauce whose recipe I can not locate for the life of me. This really sucks because the sauce was a delight. We're sorry, we should be more organized. Anyway, you can look at the picture and imagine how good it was. That's it for now we'll try to squeeze in a couple more posts before 2011. Cheers to all!

Update! We found the recipe. It was a Paula Dean original. You can view it here. It does call for tamarind concentrate, which we couldn't find. We thought we'd be clever and make our own. We bought the tamarind seeds and everything. We did not, however, realize you have to soak those bad boys overnight. Not too accommodating when you need it in an hour. After trying to squeeze some juice out of our 30-minute soaked beans, we gave up and just omitted them. Still tasted great!

Creamy Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup

2010-12-23T16:16:00.000-05:00

It's about time we made some soup again! After a recent delicious meal at Our Daily Bread in Boone the other weekend, we were motivated to make some of our own yummy soup. Have you ever had sweet potato soup? Sure was a new one to us. But let me tell you what, it is delicious! The original recipe called for parsley and sour cream as the toppings, which was good but not the best. For our second bowl, we sprinkled in goat cheese and toasted pine nuts. Perfecto! Hope you enjoy! Just be careful when you are doing the blender step - we made quite the mess. Our next goal: Gouda Sage Potato soup (Our Daily Bread ran out right before we were served and we've been craving it ever since). Modified from Cooking Light - serves 8.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter (or Smart Balance type spread), divided
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 3/4 cups cubed peeled sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3 1/2 cups water
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (if you're a veggie, sub in vegetable broth)
3 cups chopped carrot (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream OR 1/3 crumbled goat cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley OR 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts

Directions

Melt 1 tablespoon butter (or spread) in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Move onion mixture to side of pan; add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to open space in pan. Increase heat to medium-high; cook 1 minute or until butter begins to brown.
Add sweet potatoes, 3 1/2 cups water, broth, and carrot; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Place half of soup mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining soup mixture. Combine both in original Dutch oven to mix in remaining ingredients.
Stir in half-and-half, salt, and pepper. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with about 2 teaspoons sour cream (or goat cheese) and 3/4 teaspoon parsley (or pine nuts).

Beef Daube Provençal

2010-12-16T12:00:00.001-05:00

Here's a good winter slow-cooker meal for ya. The beef gets cooked just perfectly. We both thought the stew itselft could've used a little more flavor though. Don't get me wrong, it was really good, just needed a little something extra. You wouldn't think it with 12 whole cloves of garlic! I still think it's a worthy recipe - we'll likely try it again and just tinker with the spices. If anyone gives it a try and finds the perfect combo, let us know! Modified from Cooking Light - serves 5-6.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
12 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (2-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 cup red wine
2 cups chopped carrot
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup less-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried fresh thyme
Dash of ground cloves
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
3 cups cooked medium egg noodles (about 4 cups uncooked noodles)

Directions

Heat oil in a small Dutch oven over low heat. Add garlic; cook 5 minutes or until garlic is fragrant, stirring occasionally. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon, and set aside.
Increase heat to medium-high. Add beef to pan; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove beef and set in slow cooker.
Add wine to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Pour into slow cooker.
Add garlic, beef, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, carrot, onion, broth, paste, rosemary, thyme, ground cloves, tomatoes and bay leaf to slow cooker.
Cover and cook on high for 5 hours.
Discard bay leaf and serve over noodles.

Buffalo Chicken Casserole

2010-12-14T18:50:00.008-05:00

Just the other day (or was it week??) my sister sent me a recipe for a Buffalo Chicken Casserole. I looked at the recipe and realized that we had already made this months ago and I still had not posted it. Being that Jessi and I have been running around like crazy trying to complete all of our Christmas shopping before leaving to Key Largo on Friday some posts have been slipping away. That and the fact that we've been getting sucked in to a lot of streaming Netflix movies. Netflix makes you lazy. But we have not stopped cooking which is the root of food blogging and the important thing. And Jessi ran her first marathon last weekend, so we're glad all that training is over with.

Its been stupid-cold here in Charlotte and Jessi and I can't wait to get down to the Keys. It supposed to be in the 70's so it's going to be a nice break from current conditions outside which tends to hover around 30 all day. This casserole was really good however Jessi suggests adding less noodles and I suggest adding less noodles and more cheese—but I love cheese.

The casserole tastes best with good, creamy blue cheese. Modified from Eating Well. Lots of noodles - could use a bit less (or a bit more of everything else). Some good spice - if you don't like it hot, use 3 tbsp of hot sauce instead of 5. Makes a lot! Probably about 8-10 servings, which was good for us b/c we froze a bunch for future last minute meals. Takes about 1.5 hrs+ total, so plan ahead (active time is about 45 mins).

Ingredients

12 ounces whole-wheat elbow noodles
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 medium carrots, sliced
3 medium stalks celery, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/3 cup cornstarch
4 cups skim milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons hot sauce
1 and 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese, divided (about 6 ounces)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Bring a Dutch oven of water to a boil. Cook noodles until barely tender, about 2 minutes less than package directions. Drain, rinse and set aside.
Heat oil in the pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic and cook until beginning to soften, stirring occasionally (about 5 minutes).
Add chicken and cook until no longer pink on the outside, stirring occasionally (5 to 7 minutes).
Meanwhile, whisk cornstarch and milk in a medium bowl; add to the pot along with salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often, until bubbling and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in hot sauce.
Spread the noodles in a 9-by-13-inch (or similar 3-quart) baking dish. Top with the chicken mixture; sprinkle with 1 cup of the blue cheese.
Bake the casserole until it is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining blue cheese and serve.

Chorizo Sweet Potato Soup with Cheesy Thyme Bread

2010-12-07T22:21:00.002-05:00

We found this great recipe from A Recipe for Aperture, a wonderful blog you should check out if you haven't! Our local grocer didn't have dry-cured chorizo, which is what the original recipe called for, so we had to use regular chorizo. We made a few other substitutions too, including converting the measurements since Jennie at A Recipe for Aperture is British. =) The soup is quite tasty, but very filling. Next time I think we'll try to drain the chorizo a little more after it is cooked to get out as much grease as possible. The cheesy bread is sooo yummy! And easy too. Definitely give it a shot to go along with any soup or salad!

Ingredients

SOUP

1 large sweet potato, peeled
Salt, to season
Pepper, to season
1 lb bag frozen lima beans
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb Spanish chorizo, casings removed
1 onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp paprika
1/4 cup sherry
1 3/4 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp sugar

BREAD

4-6 slices french baguette, about 1/2 inch thick
2 heaped tbsp crumbled feta cheese
2 heaped tbsp gorgonzola cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp fresh thyme

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F
Scrub sweet potatoes. Cut into 1 inch chunks and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast for 20 minutes. Turn and cook for a further 15 minutes or until crisp and browned.
Meanwhile, cook lima beans according to package instructions.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over medium-high. Add chorizo and cook, breaking up with a spoon until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Set aside onto a paper towel to soak up extra grease.
Add onion to the pan and cook until just softened. Add the garlic and paprika and cook for a further 30 seconds or so.
Add chorizo back to the pan followed by the sherry, scraping up any crispy bits. Once the wine has evaporated stir in the stock, tomato paste, tomatoes and sugar. Bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes.*Begin bread at this point if making it
Add lima beans and cook for a further 5- 10 minutes. Stir in the roasted sweet potatoes and serve.

BREAD

Preheat broiler to high.
In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, cheeses, garlic and thyme until creamy. Spread equal amounts onto each slice of bread. Place in oven and cook 2-3 minutes or until crisp and golden.

Happy Thanksgiving To All

2010-11-27T11:28:00.003-05:00

So I had big plans to do a big photo-review of all the turkey-day dishes, but who wants to have someone running around the table snapping a bunch of photos of everything when you're waiting to eat. So I only clicked a couple.

Jessi and I were tasked with the dessert for the meal which was good since we don't bake all that much. We scoured the internet for the perfect cake or sweet and finally decided to go with this Chocolate Mint Cake with a chocolate ganache. The cake seemed like it was going together so well as Jessi and I started cooking after work on Wednesday evening. We got the cake layers baked and were quite pleased with the rising results since our cake layers usually resemble a deflated cookie. As we moved onto the icing we really thought we were going to create a true holiday masterpiece. Then we began to assemble the thing and trouble started to brew. As we put on the icing in between the layers we thought to ourselves "Man, this sure is a lot of icing, how will we ever get all of this in between the layers?" I kept piling on the icing and then placed the top layer on. Here's where things really went down hill. All the icing began to ooze out the sides and drip onto the cake platter. I thought to myself "well maybe the icing is getting too soft" so I threw the cake in freezer in hopes to harden it up a bit and thwart the lava-like icing flow. After a few minutes in the freezer I pulled it out only to find that the cake had now taken on a bulbous shape where the icing had pushed out the sides and hardened. We did our best to shape it up before pouring on the ganache but it only did so much. By now the top layer had stated to slide across the bottom layer making our masterpiece resemble more of a lopsided moonpie. We finally finished the creation around 11 PM that evening defeated and annoyed that our cake had not turned out as picture-perfect as we had hoped. I realize this write-up is getting a little too long so I'll cut to the chase. Come to find out you're only supposed to use half of the icing recipe not the whole thing. Jessi's mom also informed us that bottom cake layers should always be turned upside down to make a more even surface between layers. In the end the cake still tasted great—everyone loved it! It turned out super-rich and the mint icing added the perfect holiday hint. We will probably wait a couple seasons before we do this again but definitely recommend it as long as you can follow instructions better than us.

I also included a couple photos of Mom's bird which was fantastic (all 19lbs of it) and her new antler additions to the dining room. I promise we have more family than the one in the photo they're just not all in the room. We hope everyone had a most-wonderful Thankgiving and got to share it with family and friends. Looking back at the post and bitching about our cake escapade makes me realize how fortunate we truly are to have all this. God bless everyone this week and remember those less fortunate in the holiday season. Oh yeah one more thing.... WAR EAGLE!!! My Auburn Tigers defeated Alabama last night in the Iron Bowl putting us one step closer in their undefeated season to becoming the 2010 national champions.

Cake

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (16-ounce) package light brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1 cup hot water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt semisweet chocolate morsels in a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH for 30-second intervals until melted (about 1 1/2 minutes total time). Stir until smooth.
Beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer, beating about 5 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beating just until blended.
Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to chocolate mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.
Gradually add 1 cup hot water in a slow, steady stream, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in vanilla.
Spoon batter evenly into 2 greased and floured 10-inch round cakepans. Bake for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.
Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack.

FROSTING

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract

DIRECTIONS

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add powdered sugar alternately with milk, beating at low speed until blended after each addition.
Stir in vanilla and peppermint extract.

Ganache

INGRIDIENTS

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons butter, softened

DIRECTIONS

Microwave semisweet chocolate morsels and whipping cream in a 2-quart microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) 2 1/2 to 3 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt.
Whisk until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Whisk in butter; let stand 20 minutes. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer 3 to 4 minutes or until mixture forms soft peaks.

Cake Assembly

Spread frosting mixture evenly between cake layers.
Spread Chocolate Ganache evenly over top and sides of cake.

Hennepin (Farmhouse Saison)

2010-11-22T11:36:00.001-05:00

ABV: 7.7% | IBU: 30 | Our Props: 8.5

Time for a brew-review! We're trying to select a few alternatives from our usual standard I.P.A. that we love so much. Usually when we try to get some of our domestic-drinking, Bud Light-loving friends to try some of microbrew favs the most common response is that they're all too heavy. Well heavy this beer is not. Brewed by Omengang Breweries in Cooperstown, NY the Hennepin is classified as a Farmhouse or Saison Ale. These farmhouse ales were close to brewery extinction but have recently regained popularity in the US. The ale was traditionally brewed in the winter months and drunk in the summer months which explains its light-weight body and high drinkability. Don't be scared by the high alcohol content as it is well masked in the beer's flavors. Being a Belgium Ale the beer has a big frothy head and is a little dry at times but concludes with echos of fruity flavors ans spice. A great beer to pair with a lighter meal like a fish, pasta or salad it comes with Chef Fresco's seal of approval.

Feta, Spinach and Pine Nut Stuffed Chicken

2010-11-20T19:42:00.002-05:00

Can you believe it's already time for Turkey day?? Where has this year gone?! Michael and I are headed to Blowing Rock to stay with his parents and have been looking for some great dishes to make. Do you have any special recipes you make every year?

Instead of stuffed turkey, we've got a stuffed chicken recipe to prep ya for the big feast on thursday. The stuffing for this recipe is perfect for chicken breast filling. The spinach, feta and pine nuts mix together so well to create a nice rich stuffing and the feta doesn't melt and run out while baking like other cheeses would. It's relatively quick to throw together too. The spinach really cooks down to nearly nothing and it doesn't look like it'll be enough, but don't worry friends, you'll have plenty of stuffing to fill those breasts!

We served it with some of our Pistachio Quinoa salad. My mom actually made this round of quinoa and put in some cherry tomatoes, which was quite tasty. She brought it to us during their last trip to Charlotte, along with birthday gifts and a great tower of cupcakes. Thanks ma and pa!

Modified from Cooking Light. Serves 3-4.

Ingredients

10 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (watch 'em closely, or they'll burn!)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 (2 lbs. total) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.
Heat a large nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add spinach to pan; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts, tossing constantly. Place spinach in a colander; press until barely moist. Wipe pan clean.
Combine spinach, cheese, nuts, thyme, juice, and garlic in a medium bowl.
Cut a horizontal slit through the thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff 3 tablespoons filling into each pocket. Seal with wooden picks. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until brown.
Add broth, and cover pan. Place pan in oven. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until done.

Hye Rollers

2010-11-12T09:21:00.004-05:00

We peruse lots of great looking recipes from fellow bloggers quite frequently, and do lots of bookmarking but don't get around to making you all's recipes nearly enough. Here's a delicious one Michael spotted the other day on Gonna Want Seconds. You can never go wrong with wraps. And roast beef - that is something we just don't eat enough of. Love me some roast beef.

Anyways, this recipe is so good! The cream cheese/horseradish sauce is perfect. You could use it as a spread on any sammie. Quick and easy to throw together too. Kathleen's recipe called for lavish, which we didn't have, so we just used wraps instead.

Ingredients

4 wraps (we use large tortillas)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 teaspoons horseradish
1 clove garlic, minced
hot sauce, to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups Spinach, washed and dried
1/2 to 3/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
sliced sharp cheddar cheese, to cover wraps
1 pound thinly sliced roast beef

Directions

Wet two paper towels and ring them out well. Place wraps between towels and heat in microwave for 30 seconds to soften.
Meanwhile, mix cream cheese, horseradish, garlic, hot sauce and black pepper in a small bowl.
Spread cream cheese mixture over the wraps. Layer spinach, red onion, cheddar and roast beef.
Roll tightly, slice and serve.

Brown Butter Gnocchi with Spinach and Pine Nuts

2010-11-08T20:49:00.004-05:00

This is our very first gnocchi meal! Michael's sisters taught us this weekend that we pronounce it wrong - we say 'notch-ie' rather than 'yo-key'. How do you like that attempt at phonetics? :) Notchie or yokey, I don't think I've ever even had it in a restaurant believe it or not. Let me tell you what, those guys are like little balls of doughy heaven! Mmm mmm good! It also helps when they are cooked in butter. We modified it from a Cooking Light recipe, so it's still healthy. This meal is perfect for a weeknight because it is super quick to throw together. Michael was out back for just a bit drawing up some crazy shed plans to make his fancy shed even fancier and when he came back in he couldn't believe supper was already ready. That kind of fast meal! Even though it's a veggie recipe, Michael didn't mind one bit. We made it with one bunch of spinach, which wasn't enough, so you'll see below that I recommended 1 large bunch or 2 small ones. Spinach just cooks down so much.

What I learned about gnocchi (from Wikipedia):

"Gnocchi are various thick, soft dumplings. They may be made from semolina, ordinary wheat flour, potato, bread crumbs, or similar ingredients.The word gnocchi means "lumps", and may derive from nocchio, a knot in the wood,^[1] or from nocca (knuckle).^[2] It has been a traditional Italian pasta type of probably Middle Eastern origin since Roman times. In Roman times, gnocchi were made from a semolina porridge-like dough mixed with eggs, and are still found in similar forms today, particularly Sardinia's malloreddus (although they do not contain eggs). The use of potato is a relatively recent innovation, occurring after the introduction of the potato to Europe in the 16th century.[4]"

After we made this post, I started noticing lots of homemade gnocchi recipes on fellow bloggers' sites. That's my next goal. =)

The Cooking Light recipe suggested a salad with a simple dressing recipe as a side, which I decided to try too & it was great. I just threw together some lettuce, scallions and feta, then topped it with the dressing. To make the dressing: Combine a dash of balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Pour over salad.

Makes 3-4 servings.

Ingredients

1 (16-ounce) package vacuum-packed gnocchi
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons pine nuts
3 garlic cloves, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper (omit if you don't like a little heat)
1 large (or 2 small) bunches of fresh spinach, torn
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook gnocchi according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add pine nuts to pan; cook 2-3 minutes or until butter and nuts are lightly browned, stirring constantly.
Add garlic and cayenne pepper to pan; cook 1 minute.
Add gnocchi and spinach to pan; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly. Stir in salt and pepper.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Halloween & Pumpkin Ale

2010-10-31T09:10:00.001-04:00

ABV: 7.0% | Our Props: 8.5

Happy Halloween everyone! Fall is finally getting to Charlotte and with the onset of fall comes the influx of pumpkin ales. The choices out there can be daunting – so many to chose from, where did they all come from? The on-slot of seasonal brews could even cause the novice pumpkin ale sampler to steer clear. We're a very picky pumpkin ale drinking bunch and the biggest turn-off for us is the overly sweet ones. Well Jessi and I have the cure for you. Look to Dogfish Brewery. Dogfish continuously delivers wonderful brews time and time again. The Punk Ale is awesome it has just the right amount of pumpkin flavor; not overly-sweet and has the perfect amount of spice to it. We highly recommend it.

For our pumpkin this year we chose to do the face from a scene in the movie The Thing. The movie came out in 1982 and was based on a John Carpenter novel. Neither of us had ever seen the movie but both agreed it was a daunting face. When I was talking about it with my manager last week and he insisted we watch the movie. So we Netflixed it and did. Not the coolest flick but at least I did not carve a pumpkin not knowing the history of the monster. I can't take credit for drawing it - the template came from Zombiepumpkins.com – they have the coolest pumpkins ever!

The other shot is of me, Michael, from my office Halloween contest. We were zombies and yes, we won. Hope you all are having a wonderful fall and a great Halloween.

Chicken Tikka Masala

2010-10-26T21:34:00.002-04:00

Here's a nice little Indian dish for ya. Actually, the name is deceiving. As Google taught me, tikka masala is actually not a traditional Indian dish any may have even originated in Britain, even though it is popular at Indian restaurants. Anyways, the sauce is very delicious. As Michael says, what isn't with whipping cream?! The chicken could've used more flavor, but we may have cooked it too long in the initial browning, so it may not have been able to soak up enough flavor on the second round of its cooking. If we make it again, we'll increase the amount of spice we put on the chicken (1/2 tsp just does not go very far). We served it over jasmine rice. Modified from Eating Well. Serves 4.

Ingredients

4 teaspoons garam masala (specialty spice - we found it at Harris Teeter)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 pound chicken tenders
4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 an extra large sweet onion, diced (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 28-ounce can tomatoes, undrained
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions

Stir together garam masala, salt and turmeric in a small dish.
Place flour in a shallow dish.
Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of the spice mixture and dredge in the flour. (Reserve the remaining spice mix and 1 tablespoon of the remaining flour.)
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic, onion and ginger and cook, stirring often, until starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the reserved spice mix and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Sprinkle with the reserved 1 tablespoon flour and stir until coated.
Add tomatoes and their juice. Bring to a simmer, stirring and breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring often, until thickened and the onion is tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir in cream. Add the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat until the chicken is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes.
Garnish with cilantro.

Tomato Basil Proscuitto Lasagna

2010-10-18T21:54:00.001-04:00

Well if you cant blog a dish the night you cook it you might as well blog it when you pull the leftovers out of the freezer 3 weeks later. That's the case with this dish. We're coming off a busy weekend that we spent with some dear friends of ours Adm and Alison form Oakland, CA. Both are photographers, as you can see, and came to Charlotte to photograph a wedding then spent the remainder of the weekend scurrying around the western half of the state with us. We dropped in on my parents in Blowing Rock, NC just in time for the peak leaf weekend. Before coming home on Sunday we took a short hike and Alison grabbed a couple of shots of Jessi and I shown below.

Even reheated this lasagna was delightful. Neither of us had ever had lasagna with prosciutto. Even though it's a little pricier meat, you only need 1/2 a pound so it ends up being not too bad. The cream cheese and cottage cheese mixture is also new to us, but it is soo yummy! We actually used a dish that was a bit bigger than 9x13, so ours was a little thinner, but it was still delicious. We also couldn't find a 26 oz. bottle of sauce, so we used a 24 oz. and just skipped sauce on the second to last layer so we'd have enough for the top. Modified from Cooking Light, serves 8-10. We'll definitely be making this one again and think you should give it a try!

Make ahead instructions:
After assembling the lasagna, cover and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator; bake as directed.

Ingredients

5 garlic cloves, minced
1 (16-ounce) carton 1% low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup (4 ounces) block-style low-fat cream cheese
1/3 cup grated fresh Romano cheese, divided
2 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 large egg
1 (26-ounce) bottle tomato-basil pasta sauce (we used 24 oz. bottle as stated above)
Cooking spray
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 cup (4 ounces) chopped prosciutto or ham
1 1/2 cups (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

Cook lasagna noodles according to instructions on box.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Meanwhile, put garlic and cottage cheese in a food processor; process 2 minutes or until smooth. Add cream cheese, 1/2 the Romano, basil, pepper, and egg; process until well-blended.
Spread 1/2 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over the pasta sauce; top with 1 cup cheese mixture, 1/3 cup prosciutto, and 3/4 cup pasta sauce.
Repeat the layers two times, ending with noodles. Spread remaining pasta sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with the remaining Romano and the mozzarella.
Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes or until sauce is bubbly. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let lasagna stand 5 minutes.

Spicy Chipotle Shrimp Salad

2010-10-12T21:56:00.005-04:00

One word: H-O-T-T HOT! This partly may have been due to me adding a little extra adobe chiles, thinking I'd spice it up a bit more. Big mistake! These suckers were almost too hot to eat. We had a gallon of milk out and kept pouring glass after glass just to finish. BUT don't let this scare you - really. It really is a delicious recipe, we just made it too hot. I'd say to try it with just 1/2 a chipotle chile to start with - then add more if you need. You can always add, but never take away after all. Modified from Cooking Light. Serves 4.

Update from leftover night - not nearly as hot. Still spicy, but it had definitely calmed down a lot.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons light-mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce (careful!)
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
8 Boston lettuce leaves

Directions

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with salt and black pepper. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add half of shrimp to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done (less for smaller shrimp).
Remove shrimp from pan; repeat procedure with remaining shrimp. Cool shrimp for 5 minutes.
Place shrimp in a medium bowl; stir in celery, onion, cilantro, mayo, chipotle chile, lime juice and cumin. and next 6 ingredients.
Arrange 2 lettuce leaves on each of 4 plates; top each serving with a portion of the shrimp mixture.

Steak Sandwich Time!

2010-10-07T22:16:00.001-04:00

Well we've got some apologize'n to do because we can't find this recipe. However it's late, I want to go have some ice cream and I've already edited the photo so this post is going up. We made this steak sammi ages ago and I'm trying to clear out some back-logged photos. I DO remember that this sandwich was really good and featured a lot of goat cheese, sauteed onions and dijon mustard—all key ingredients to a successful steak sammi. The bad thing is that this used a flank steak cut of meat and had a really good marinade that I cant locate for the life of me.

We hope everyone is doing fantastic—Jessi and I are. The weather is absolutely delightful in Charlotte and we are enjoying our first taste of fall. This evening we ate on the patio in 65 degree weather by a fire. Still a little warm but very romantic. We leave for Chapel Hill this weekend to catch the Carolina (Jessi's alma mater) vs. Clemson football game. Both my (Michael's) sister and Jessi's brother are in their senior year there so it should be a really good time—as long as we win and I don't party too hard! Other then that cheers to all and hope you're eating and cooking well!

Portobello Burgers with Pesto, Roasted Red Peppers & Arugula

2010-10-04T20:46:00.000-04:00

A vegetarian meal! And Michael actually picked out the recipe on his very own. It is rare to have a meat free night around these parts (such a good hubby=). But let me tell you what, we both LOVED these guys! Excellent flavor and super quick to prepare (it took the two of us just about 15-20 minutes max to make). The original recipe (from Bon Appetit) called to use a regular grill, but we used a grill pan to save on time and they turned out great. We also used light mayo instead of full-fat. Definitely a must try! Serves 3-4 (depending on how hungry your guests are - Michael ate two by himself :)

Ingredients

1/4 cup pesto
2 tbsp light mayonnaise
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 good hamburger buns (or rolls), cut in half
4 portobello mushrooms, stemmed (the bigger the better!)
Olive oil
2-3 jarred roasted red peppers from jar, drained and roughly sliced
4 cups arugula (about 2 ounces)
4 slices provolone cheese

Directions

Stir pesto and mayonnaise in small bowl to blend. Season with salt and pepper.
Toast buns (either in a toaster or if they're too big, in a toaster oven or oven). Transfer to plates. Spread one half of each bun with the pesto mayonnaise mixture.
Meanwhile, heat a grill pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Brush mushrooms on both sides lightly with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill for about 4 minutes, then flip and grill until mushrooms are tender, about another 4 minutes.
Place 1 mushroom on each bun bottom. Top each with enough red pepper pieces to cover, then with arugula and cheese. Press roll tops over and serve.

Corn and Basil Cakes

2010-09-30T22:11:00.000-04:00

Almost the weekend! Ole! Michael and I are headed down near Atlanta this weekend for a wedding. And it's finally getting cool, so I think it's gonna be beautiful. Another bonus is that this is Michael's last full week of work before he starts part-time. That means he gets to have the week nights and weekends free of work, which is super.

So anyways, these little guys are a real treat! We've actually even made them twice, which is a super rarity in the Chef Fresco kitchen. The corn and basil combination works really well to make quite the unique fritter. They're pretty easy to throw together too and would be great for a side at brunch. Modified from Eating Well.

Ingredients

2 ears corn (or you can use 2 cups frozen corn)
1/2 cup white whole-wheat flour or all-purpose flour
1/2 cup skim milk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Directions

Fill a medium saucepan half-way with water. Bring to a boil and add corn. Cook 8-10 minutes, until done.
Meanwhile, whisk flour, milk, eggs, 1 tablespoon oil, baking powder, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until smooth. Stir in corn and basil.
Brush a large nonstick skillet lightly with some of the remaining 1 tablespoon oil; heat over medium heat until hot (but not smoking). Cook 4 cakes at a time, using about 1/4 cup batter for each, making them about 3 inches wide. Cook until the edges are dry, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until golden brown on the other side, 1 to 3 minutes more.
Repeat with the remaining oil and batter, making 10 cakes total. Reduce the heat as necessary to prevent burning.

Hell's Belle Belgium Style Ale

2010-09-27T21:09:00.002-04:00

ABV: 7% | IBU: 30 | Our Props: 8.0

Evil never tasted so good! That's right, another great brew from Big Boss Brewing. I give this Belgium style ale a 8 out of 10. Other reviews I've read gave it lesser props. I really thought this beer deserved it though. Now I'm not the keenest on what exactly makes a superb Belgium ale but I thought this one was quite nice. The beer poured a nice yellowish-orange pour with a thin white head. I thought the beer had a really nice drinkability to it. It has that Belgium ale style yeasty-chalkiness to it but was lighter than most (I thought). The beer has a nice citrus aroma to it but that was not so present in the taste. I have read that Belgium style beers are supposed to leave hints of fruit-ness or spice to it which this one did not have a lot of other than clove. Overall I would buy this one again and thought is a nice variation to our usual hoppy IPA's.

Coconut Chicken Stir-Fry over Rice Noodles

2010-09-23T17:16:00.003-04:00

Well we're trying to get back on the posting train. We've both been uber busy lately and have lost track of time. I (Michael) will be shifting to a part-time role at the end of this month to allow more time for my freelance design work. Hopefully this will be a step in working completely independently and will also free my nights and weekends back up. I've also been getting Jessi's birthday together which was yesterday! We treated ourselves to a Brazilian steakhouse last night here in Charlotte, Chima. The food was delicious and the experience was too, however we both woke up this morning still in a meat comma from the 14 different types of meats we sampled. Next time I think we'll fast all day for it.

This recipe was roughly modified from Eating Well. The delicious dish contained the perfect amount of spice. The original recipe just called for napa cabbage, but we decided to mix it up and throw in some red cabbage as well, which gave it a little more crunch. We doubled the amount of mushrooms too because we just love them that much. If you ask us though, it could have used even more. The aroma the dish produced while cooking practically left me drooling while snapping the photos. We highly recommend it. Serves 3-4.

Ingredients

4 oz rice noodles
4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1 pound chicken tenders, cut into bite-size pieces
1 hot small red pepper, minced
1 bunch scallions, sliced, whites and greens, separated
4 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
3/4 cup light coconut milk
2 tablespoons fish sauce
4 teaspoons lime juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 cups sliced napa cabbage
3 cups sliced red cabbage
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil (we actually used 14 of those Dorot brand frozen basil cubes instead)

Directions

Cook noodles according to package instructions, set aside.
Meanwhile, heat 2 teaspoons oil in a wok or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring often, until cooked through and lightly browned, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the wok or pot. Add hot red pepper, scallion whites, mushrooms and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant and the mushrooms start to soften, about 1 minute.
Stir in coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice and brown sugar; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in cabbage, the chicken and scallion greens; cook, stirring constantly, until the cabbage is slightly wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in basil just before serving.

Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Frittata

2010-09-21T22:48:00.004-04:00

Michael's mom was coming over for her first Chef Fresco meal the other night. Pressure on! We decided to go for a breakfast-dinner and make some cheesy smoked salmon frittata. Doesn't goat cheese just make everything better? In this one, we decided to do a double cheese. You can omit the Parm-Regg cheese if ya want. Smells slightly strong of cooked salmon, but very tasty. Best thing was that we had lots of leftovers for several breakfasts to come. You could also throw in some spinach, which would probably be pretty yummy. I hope ya like it!

On a side note we made it down to the beach one last time this weekend. Michael and his buddies caught some speckled trout and blue fish and the place we were staying had an outdoor kitchen. Does it get any better?! Perfect ending to summer. Too bad it's still supposed to be 90 degrees for the first day of fall tomorrow!

Ingredients

10 ounces (not quite a whole bunch) thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1.5 tablespoons skim milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
6 large egg whites
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1.5 teaspoons dried dill
6 ounces smoked salmon, torn into large pieces
Cooking spray
1.5 teaspoons canola oil
3/4 cup minced scallions
1/4 cup fresh goat cheese (from a log is best)

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°.
Fill a large saucepan halfway with water and bring to a boil. Cook asparagus for 2 minutes.
Drain and put asparagus in a bowl of ice water; drain and pat dry.
Combine milk, salt, pepper, eggs and egg whites in a medium bowl. Stir with a whisk to combine. Stir in asparagus, Parmigiano-Reggiano, dill, and salmon.
Heat a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray.
Add oil and scallions to pan. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
Pour egg mixture into pan. Stir once. Place bits of goat cheese evenly throughout egg mixture. Cook without stirring until edges begin to set (just a couple of minutes).
Place pan in oven. Bake at 450° for 10-12 minutes or until eggs are just set.
Remove from oven and preheat broiler to high.
Broil frittata 3-4 minutes or until lightly browned.

Sesame Soy Tempeh

2010-09-15T22:12:00.003-04:00

This is a first for us—tempeh. It was hard to find at the store. Harris Teeter didn't have any, but I ended up scooping some up at Earth Fare. I asked the friendly Earth Fare associate where the 'temp-ah' was and she looked at me quite confused 'you mean temp-ay?' 'Oh of course that's what I meant!'

I'm pretty certain I've had this temp-ay before, but I've definitely never cooked with it. It surely doesn't look appetizing in the wrapper—it quite closely resembles what my mom feeds our cats actually. It is packed with protein though and is super good for you. It has almost a nutty flavor and soaks up the sesame and honey flavor really well. And anything with quinoa is great in my book! Serves 4. Modified from Eating Well.

Ingredients

QUINOA & CARROT SLAW

1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups grated carrots (about 3-4 carrots)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

SESAME-HONEY TEMPEH

2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 8-ounce packages tempeh, crumbled into bite-size pieces
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 scallions, sliced

Directions

To prepare quinoa: bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add quinoa and return to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer, cover and cook until the water is absorbed, 10 to 14 minutes. Uncover and let stand.
Meanwhile, to prepare carrot slaw: mix carrots, rice vinegar, sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon soy sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.
To prepare tempeh: heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add tempeh and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 7 to 9 minutes.
While tempeh is cooking, mix honey, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to the pan and cook, stirring, until the sauce has thickened and coats the tempeh, about 1 minute.
Divide the quinoa among 4 bowls and top each with a portion of the carrot slaw and tempeh mixture. Sprinkle with scallions.

Quinoa and Pistachio Salad with Moroccan Pesto

2010-09-12T22:32:00.006-04:00

Did everyone have a good weekend? We went to Morganton to see the rents and run in the Sunrise run. It was Michael's second 5k ever (first being last year's race) and he dropped 30 seconds! Impressive considering he hasn't exactly been running a whole lot lately. He's upping it to a 10k in just 2 weeks too. Since it's put on by Brixx, he'll have brewskis motivating him to finish, so he should be good. =)

We haven't made quinoa in a while, so I was pretty excited to try this recipe when I stumbled on it in a Cooking Light from last summer. The ground red pepper gives it a nice little kick and the orange juice flavor is really soaked up nicely in the quinoa. If you wanted to save some time, you could use jarred roasted red pepper, but the method below is pretty quick and easy for making it on your own. Definitely a keeper recipe!

Ingredients

1 red bell pepper
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
12 pitted olives, chopped
1/4 cup chopped pistachios

Directions

Preheat broiler on high.
Cut red bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 12-15 minutes or until blackened.
Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand for 10 minutes. Peel and chop.
Meanwhile, place quinoa, broth, 1/2 cup water, and juice in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
Place cilantro, olive oil, parsley, lemon juice, cumin, salt, red pepper and garlic in a food processor; process until smooth.
Combine bell pepper, quinoa mixture, cilantro mixture, and olives in a large bowl.
Sprinkle with nuts.

Hopczar IPA

2010-09-02T22:00:00.010-04:00

ABV: 7.5% | IBU: 75 | Our Props: 6.5

We've got another beer review for you here. An IPA from Bridgeport Brewing Company located in Portland, OR—which by the way has an extremely kewl website. We picked up this beer because it was an IPA—typical Stout fashion. After the initial pour we were pleasantly surprised with a wonderful head (as you can see pictured below) however, it did not last too long and left a somewhat sticky residue on the glass. The beer's aromas were exactly what we've come to expect from a good IPA. The brew offered a great piney and citrus smell however the taste did not follow these great aromas. We're not saying it was bad but not as good as the nose seemed to lead us to believe. The beer did have an excellent maltiness to it and nice sorta dry aftertaste to it. Overall this wasn't a bad brew but probably wouldn't make it a staple for our house. That's all for now we hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend and drink lots of brews!

Taboule Feta Salad

2010-08-30T21:08:00.001-04:00

When we were looking for something to make with the salmon we posted other night, I pulled out a box of taboule from the pantry. It can be rather bland on its own, but what do you know - they conveniently had a dressed-up recipe right on the back of the box! You could use any taboule really, but the brand we had was Near East (which does have a spice packet in it). My mom also has a really great taboule recipe, which I need to make and post soon because it definitely rivals this recipe. Hers uses cilantro rather than basil. We made this up and let it sit in the fridge overnight to increase the flavor. It's definitely great summer side... even though it's nearly fall. I have a confession - we made this almost 4 months ago. That's bad, huh?! I looked at the original date that I typed up the ingredients - May 3rd! Oh geez louise. At least we're close to posting June dishes, right? =)

Ingredients

1 5.25 oz box taboule wheat salad
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup (4 oz) crumbled feta cheese
3/4 cups peeled, seeded and chopped cucumber
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Directions

Combine taboule and spice pack (if included in your taboule box) in a large bowl. Stir in 1 cup of boiling water. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Stir in olive oil, tomato, lemon juice, feta, cucumber and basil.
Chill for 1 hour or overnight to increase let flavors settle.

Sweet & Spicy Salmon

2010-08-24T21:14:00.004-04:00

Another recipe from the Chef Fresco archives. We are so behind in posting I had to brush some cobwebs off this one. Har har! Time to get out the grill for some late summer grillin! Did everyone have as beautiful of a day as we did here in NC?! Man I love the cooler weather - gotta take advantage of it with some outdoor dinner making. We typically make grilled salmon about the same way - with some sort of dill rub. We decided to try something different to fix up the 2 lb of fresh salmon I got at HT (major sale)! This is definitely different than what we are used to - in a good way though. The brown sugar and chili powder combine together perfectly to create a sweet/spicy dish. If you don't have Mexican chili powder, sub regular chili powder. Modified from Food Network. We'll post that tabouli you see in the background there soon.

Ingredients

Cooking Spray
1 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon hot Mexican chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 lbs of salmon fillets
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

Coat your grill with cooking spray and preheat over medium heat.
While the grill is heating, combine the brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Brush each salmon fillet with a bit of the oil, then rub with the spice mixture.
Grill the salmon, flesh side down, until charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the salmon and cook another 5 to 6 minutes for medium doneness.

Shrimp Panzanella

2010-08-20T10:37:00.009-04:00

Whoa busy freaking week! I (Michael) have been swamped with freelance work but luckily I have a wonderful, beautiful and extremely helpful wife to get me through these busy nights. Times like these call for archived photos of previous dishes and quick weeknight meals (that are healthy as well since sometimes I'm too busy to hit the gym). This salad is the epitome of the three. Not to mention it was our out first panzanella recipe! It was a good, light and healthy summer salad. I think it's key to use some good bread. We were going to just use a few slices of wheat sandwich bread (BLAND!), but we found a petite loaf of flax and bran on sale at the grocery store and it worked perfectly. Serves 4-6. Modified from Eating Well.

Ingredients

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 cloves garlic, divided
4 cups 1/2-inch crusty multigrain bread cubes (we used about 3/4 of a medium sized flax & bran loaf from the bakery)
1 pound peeled, deveined shrimp
3 large ripe but firm tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 large green, red and/or yellow bell peppers, diced
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup sliced pitted Kalamata olives
1/4 cup olive brine (liquid in the olive jar)
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
3/4 teaspoon thyme
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Lettuce, to serve on

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Drizzle 2 tablespoons oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Peel and half two cloves of the garlic. Mash garlic into the oil with a fork to infuse it with flavor; discard the garlic. Stir bread cubes into the oil until lightly coated. Bake, stirring every 5 minutes, until very crisp, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once hot, mince the remaining two cloves of garlic into the skillet. Add shrimp and cook until pink and cooked through, 3-6 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Combine shrimp, tomatoes, bell peppers, cilantro, chives, olives and olive brine, vinegar, thyme and the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Season with pepper. Let stand for at least 10 minutes to blend the flavors.
Toss the croutons with the shrimp mixture and serve the salad over the lettuce.

Wasabi and Green Onion Mashed Potatoes and New Grill

2010-08-18T20:10:00.011-04:00

Looking for a way to liven up your plain 'ole mashed taters? Well look no further friends, as this is it. You can taste the wasabi flavor just enough and you even get that nice little kick of heat. With the whipping cream and butter, this obviously isn't a healthy recipe, but you'd be hard pressed to find a great tasting mashed tater recipe that your doctor would approve of. The sesame oil gives it an Asian twist and the onions give it a nice subtle crunch. We served it along side some pork tenderloin and sesame soy asparagus. Hope you enjoy! Modified from Bon Appetit.

We served these with a trusty ole pork tenderloin which is always a crowd pleaser around these parts. And what better a way to cook pork tenderloin than on the grill. Summertime is one of my favorite times of the year because it make for so much great grill'n! However this year it's almost hot enough to throw the meat right on the patio. Lucky for us we received a new grill from my two sisters and brother in law. Thanks guys, you are the best! This leads me to the second part of this post. The Weber Performer grill review. If you know me you'll know I'm a charcoal man through and through—it's the only way to grill! This model offered everything I loved about the traditional Weber Kettle but sooo much more. Starting with that nice counter that built right into the frame.

Here's a great feature the top grill rack has opening that flips up for coal adjustment. Great for indirect grilling!

Another nice perk are these handy coal baskets that allow you to easily move the heat around, help maximize coal usage and aid indirect grilling.

One of the best things about this beauty is the coal starter. It has a propane tank you flip on in the beginning to get the coals going. When they've embered flip it off. Best thing about this—no more lighter fluid flavor! Worst thing about this—look how lonely my old chimney starter looks down there... I'll use you again someday friend. You'll also notice that black bin down there... that's the built in charcoal bricket storage—how handy!

One more new feature is the top holder. No more trying to hang that thing on the side that never seemed to work.

And at last, here is the recipe if you still remember what we are posting about!

Ingredients

3 pounds Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 tablespoons wasabi paste (horseradish paste)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 cup chopped green onions

Directions

Bring potatoes to boil in large pot of water. Reduce heat to medium; cook until tender, about 17 minutes. Drain well.
Meanwhile, bring cream, butter, and wasabi paste to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Season with salt and pepper. Keep hot.
Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat; add green onions and sauté until wilted, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
Using potato masher in same large pot, mash potatoes. Stir in hot cream mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in green onions.

New Belgium - Ranger IPA

2010-08-17T11:27:00.004-04:00

ABV: 6.5% | IBU: 70 | Our Props: 3

Finally New Belgium, one of our favorite breweries, produced an IPA. The makers of Fat Tire amber ale—a beer that has grown immensely in popularity over the past few years—is now bringing us Ranger IPA. When we saw this in our grocer a couple months back (just now getting to posting it, we're so slack) we just about peed ourselves. We were so excited that New Belgium had brewed this IPA that we almost had to break the law on the way home from the store and crack one open, however we did not since we're law abiding. Well we got home, snapped a few photos and set in for the sip... DISAPPOINTMENT! Shoot, how could New Belgium fail us? They did though. The beer is very light in color and FLAVOR, it has a slight citrus hint but not much. The beer was sorta bitter but not a good hoppy-bitter like you expect form IPA's—a more tart-bitter. We have not brought this brew again since we took the photos and probably wont. We don't like posting things that we did not enjoy but if you're a IPA fan do not spend the eight-plus bucks on this six pack. So that's that, sorry New Belgium we'll stick your Amber ale. Next we'll review a fritata we made... it was far from a dislike.

Pan Seared Scallops with Champagne Grapes and Toasted Almonds

2010-08-09T15:36:00.004-04:00

Amazing!! Top 10 recipe we've ever made for sure. From Bon Appetit. This really was a great meal however if you read the main contents of the the dish—butter—how could it not be. The sweet/seafood mixture of the gapes and scallops went together so perfectly. Then the almonds really add a great little extra crunch. I might use sliced instead of slivered next time—I don't know why, I just think the slivered may have added a bit too much crunch. Whatever, I'm getting nit-picky. The dish is actually pretty easy to throw together too, it just took about a half hour total which is great because now you can eat gourmet on a weeknight (hey, that should be the title of this post). If you can find the champagne grapes you should take advantage of them. Harris Teeter (our grocer) had a sign saying they're only available from something like June-September so you need to act fast if you're in the South. Problem is we now have a bunch of left over Champagne grapes and no idea what to do with them. So please feel free to comment on some suggestions!

On a side not Jessi and I found this recipe by perusing through a cool site called Food Gawker. We have not taken the time to create an account and start sharing some photos but think we will. This is a great place to find some inspiration too. We're sure a bunch of you are already on it. Do ya'll enjoy this site?

Ingredients

16 large sea scallops
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1.5 Tablespoons minced shallots
2/3 cup Champagne grapes (4 ounces) or black grapes, halved
1.5 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds, toasted
1.5 Tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper

Directions

Melt 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the butter until it is browned, about 2 minutes.
Salt and pepper scallops before adding them to the pan. Cook 2 minutes on each side and transfer to a dish, covering to keep warm.
Melt the remaining 2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and grapes; sauce until the shallots are golden brown, about one minute.
Stir in fresh lemon juice and any accumulated scallop juice from the plate of cooked scallops. Bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Stir in almonds and parsley.
Place scallops on individual plates and spoon the sauce over them. Serve immediately.

Clos du Bois Chardonnay 2008

2010-08-05T18:52:00.010-04:00

Mmm vino. We seem to drink a lot of reds, but white ones are so refreshing in the summertime, especially when it's been so hot! We had this one with some delicious wasabi mashed potatoes and grilled pork tenderloin. We got it for $10 or less, can't remember the exact amount. It's got a good, light, fruity, oaky flavor. Some say they picked up strong flavors of caramel and toffee, however we didn't quite taste those. Maybe our wine tasting palate isn't quite up to par yet though... Overall, great for a cheaper wine! We give it a 7/10.

Peach Custard Pie

2010-08-03T08:59:00.012-04:00

Ummm peaches... we love 'em and lately we've been really craving some good peach-sweetness. We were not sure if we wanted a hot dessert or a cold one so when stumbled on this little beauty in Eating Well we found the best of both worlds. Enjoy it hot or enjoy it cold, but either way we guarantee you'll love it! We had a busy weekend of home-improvement projects and this was just the sure for a long hard days work. We did not make this crust although it looked really good we just simply ran out of energy. If you're feeling ambitious and want to make your own crust, follow the original recipe found here. We think it's best if heated and topped with vanilla (or butter cream) ice cream. :) This recipe is a definite winner! Michael just couldn't wait to get home the next day to have another slice.

Ingredients

pre-made 9" pie crust
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup fat-free milk6 oz. nonfat plain Greek yogurt
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 cups sliced peaches (about 1.5 medium peaches)
2 tablespoons chopped pecans

Directions

Position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 400°F.
Combine sugar, milk, yogurt, eggs, flour, cornstarch, vanilla extract and salt in a medium bowl; whisk until smooth.
Put pre-made crust in the pie pan. Flute or crimp the edge with your fingers or a fork. Place pie pan on a baking sheet.
Arrange peaches in the crust and pour the filling on top (some peaches will float but this won’t affect the final results). Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle chopped pecans over the top. Cover the crust with pieces of heavy-duty foil (or a double layer of regular foil) to help prevent overbrowning.
Reduce oven temperature to 350°. Return the pie to the oven and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool for 1 1/2 hours. Serve warm or refrigerate until cold.

Tomato Corn Pie

2010-07-29T21:13:00.000-04:00

What's summer all about? Well if you ask us, it's those great fresh vegetables. They're everywhere you look; farmer's markets, neighborhood gardens, your grocer—and you've got to make the most of them while you can. Cause in a few months they'll all be gone and then you'll be back to winter squash and potatoes. This is a great recipe that involves two of our favorites—corn and tomatoes. Then you add a little egg and cheese and you've got quite the delight. We tried whole wheat pastry flour in our Jamaican beef patties a while back and weren't too impressed. It turned out a bit dry. Well, since we had this bag of expensive pastry flour we figured we'd give it another go. This time, it worked, yay! We made this with a peach custard pie, which made for quite a healthy dinner. It would be great for a brunch too, but it takes about 2 hours, so plan ahead. It's mainly baking time though—it is pretty easy and quick to throw together. Modified from Eating Well.

Ingredients

CRUST

3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (see Note)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons cold water

FILLING

3 large eggs
1 cup fat-free milk
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 cup fresh corn kernels - about 1 large ear (you can use frozen if you want)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions

To prepare crust:

Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, add oil and water and gradually stir them in to form a soft dough.
Wrap the dough in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Roll the dough into a 12-inch circle onto a piece of parchment paper. Transfer upside-down to a 9-inch pie pan and press into the bottom and up the sides. Remove and save parchment paper. Pinch together edges in a pretty pattern. Line the dough with the saved parchment paper and fill evenly with pie weights, dry beans or dry rice (we used rice).
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil or paper and weights. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour.
Meanwhile, fill a medium pot half-way with water. Bring to a boil and cook corn with top off for about 7-10 minutes.

To prepare filling:

Whisk eggs and milk in a medium bowl. Sprinkle half the cheese over the crust, then layer half the tomatoes evenly over the cheese.
Sprinkle with corn, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and the remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
Layer the remaining tomatoes on top and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pour the egg mixture over the top.
Bake the pie until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

TexMex Turkey Burgers

2010-07-27T15:56:00.003-04:00

Our first turkey burgers! And let me tell you, these suckers are good! We love salsa, so actually ate all the salsa below between just the two of us for two burgers. If you have four people you're cooking for, I would recommend doubling the salsa ingredients (salsa, avocado, and cilantro). Of course, we are kinda crazy about salsa, so you may not need to. :) Roughly modified from a Cooking Light recipe. Great meal for one of these hot summer days!

Sorry for the smashed buns - they were toted back and forth from a cookout and I think may have gotten into a fight with the cooler.

On another note, with all this wedding planning being done, I have been finding myself at a lost during the past couple of evenings after work. In the past year, I feel like we hadn't had a single second to get bored. Well, my first boredom came along this weekend. Since I can't just do nothing, I quickly found a new hobby: interior decorating! I also decided to start a new blog to track my progress (as if keeping up with one wasn't enough). Mind you, I am not good at this whatsoever, so it will be an interesting adventure. If any of you have any great blogs or tips, pass them along my way!

Ingredients

1/4 cup salsa verde
1/2 an avocado, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 slices wheat bread
Cooking spray
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 tablespoon fajita seasoning
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 pound ground turkey
1 egg white
4 whole wheat hamburger buns, toasted

SUGGESTED TOPPINGS

sliced onion
sliced tomato
lettuce

Directions

Combine salsa verde, chopped avocado, and cilantro; set aside.
Place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until crumbs measure 1 cup.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in 1 and 1/2 teaspoons fajita seasoning. Cool.
Combine breadcrumbs, onion mixture, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons fajita seasoning, tomato paste, turkey, and egg white in a large bowl.
Using damp hands, divide turkey mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 3/4-inch-thick patty. Heat pan over medium heat. Re-coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done.
Place 1 patty on bottom half of each bun. Top each serving with salsa mixture and any toppings you'd like. Top with remaining halves of buns and serve.

Double Cheese and Spinach Stuffed Salmon

2010-07-22T19:36:00.003-04:00

Wow what a week this has been, will it ever end... who knows! I'm (Michael) struggling to get through this week. It just seems that some weeks drag on and on. Thankfully tomorrow is Friday. We have not been cooking a whole lot this week so we're blogging off our back-log of archived suppers. This was one we did not too long ago and it was a recipe that we thought would be really awesome. It was good, but not really awesome. It sure was a lot of work skinning the salmon and all. You best have a sharp knife because if you don't, prepare for frustration and coming close to ruining a good salmon fillet. At the time (pre-wedding gift era when we had crummy knives) I did not not. Once you get the fish skinned you have the fun task of getting really dirty and making a big roll-up out of a bunch of ricotta cheese and spinach. Then comes the tying process: refer here for that. The recipe was modified from Whole Foods and serves 6-8. It was good, we give it about a 7 out of 10. That's all for now, one day to go and then it's time for the weekend. Shew!

Ingredients

1 (2-pound) center-cut boneless, skinless salmon fillet
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 cup packed baby spinach, divided
Extra virgin olive oil
Dried dill, enough to sprinkle over salmon
Freshly chopped oregano, enough to sprinkle over salmon

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°F.
Butterfly salmon fillet through the center so that it lays open flat in one large piece like a book. Turn salmon over so gray underside is facing up and arrange on a clean work surface.
In a bowl, mash together ricotta and feta until well blended then season with salt and pepper.
Season salmon with salt and pepper then spread fillet with mustard and arrange half of the spinach over the top, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Evenly spread cheese mixture on top of spinach then top with remaining spinach.
Starting from one of the long sides, gently roll up salmon and tie snugly with cooking twine at 1-inch intervals.
Gently transfer salmon to a greased baking sheet then brush top and sides with oil and season outside with salt and pepper.
Scatter dill and oregano over the top and sides and roast until just cooked through, about 20 minutes. Set aside to let rest for 5 minutes then carefully transfer to a serving platter, remove and discard twine and serve.

Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA

2010-07-19T21:25:00.005-04:00

ABV: 8.3%
IBUs: 60
Our props: 8.5/10

Man! Turn on the content filter because we got a filthy little name but NOT a filthy tasting beer. In celebration of Flying Dog Brewery's 20th Anniversary they released a new Belgian-Style IPA. Titled Raging Bitch because of its sassy-bitterness the beer goes down surprisingly smooth. Made from a special American IPA augmented with Belgian yeast the beer is pretty hoppy but not as hoppy as some of your more traditional IPA's. Unlike most brews over 8%, this one is really drinkable. We would definitely drink a whole bunch of this stuff anytime of year. Even cooler than the beer is this awesome glass that one of our great friends, the Stephenson's, gave us for an engagement present. What a cewl gift right? So creative! I mean it says Chef Fresco's beer review right on the pilsner. So a big thanks to Bret and Peggy we really love them so much and we're sure all our Fresco fans out there will too!

Well Jessi and I are finally settling back down after our wedding and it's a good thing because all that planning before was running us ragged. However today it was totally worth it because our photographer Caroline Ghetes posted a big sample of our wedding photos. I posted a couple here but you really need to visit her blog and check them all out. Oh and please don't judge my (Michael's) dancing. I also don't know if we ever shared our wedding invitations (that Jessi and I made—one of the many things that distracted us from blogging) with you guys but if you want to check those out you can visit my website here and click on the thumbnail with the purple ribbon in the center of the page to see them.

Indian Red Snapper

2010-07-15T16:39:00.006-04:00

What is that other awesome Indian spice besides curry? Oh yes, it's Marsala! It seems that Jessi nor I had ever cooked anything with it... until now. We had some red snapper go on sale at our local HT (Harris Teeter, for those of you not in NC) and found this kick'n Indian dish to try out. Since we've never cooked with marsala, we had to pick up some of that too. From there it was on. We made this uber-gelatinous marinade mixture for the fish and dumped in the fillets. The fish marinates for 2 hours—so make sure you make it on a night you can start supper early. We decided to pair it with a cucumber sauce salad-thingy, couscous and some good ole naan to stay with the Indian theme. The recipe turned out rather well and had good flavor, however Jessi and I both agreed that smelled a lot better than it tasted (as can be true with a lot of Indian food). The dish was still good, just not reeeaaallly good. I would definitely recommend making the cucumber salad though it went together with the fish really well. Modified from Cooking Light.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons garam masala
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons ground red pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 (6-ounce) red snapper
Cooking spray

SALAD

1/2 cup vertically sliced red onion
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garam masala
2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
1 cup finely chopped English cucumber
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

To prepare snapper, combine 1.5 cups yogurt, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 2 tbsp garam masala, paprika, ginger, garlic, 1.5 tsp salt, red pepper, tumeric and 1/2 tsp black pepper in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish, stirring with a whisk.
Add fish, turning to coat. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 2 hours.
Meanwhile, to prepare salad, combine onion, 2 tablespoons juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon garam masala in a medium bowl; let stand 1 hour.
Add 2 cups yogurt, cucumber, cilantro, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper to the salad mixture, tossing gently to combine.
Preheat broiler to high.
Remove fish from dish; discard marinade. Place fish on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 10 minutes or until fish is firm to the touch with a fork, turning once. Serve salad with fish.

Shrimp Verde Pizza

2010-07-05T21:56:00.003-04:00

And we're back! And married! We couldn't have asked for a more perfect wedding day. Our ceremony was outside, so I was checking the weather every day (okay, maybe multiple times a day), praying for no rain. We got super lucky and had a beautiful weekend - not a drop of rain. It sure was hot though! Poor Michael and his groomsmen were sweating it out at the alter. They made it through though. :) We went to Antigua for the honeymoon, which was amazing. It was beautiful and so relaxing. We definitely recommend it to anyone wanting somewhere new to explore for their next vacation!

So we know we have a lot of catching-up to do and will be back at full-speed in no time! This post we started to get ready before we left for the wedding, but never got around to finishing it. We just made it again for dinner tonight so thought it would be fitting to use it as our re-entry into blogging post.

Lately every time we've made pizza, we've been using BBQ sauce for the base. It's really out of laziness & anytime we open a can of tomato sauce we always end-up saving the leftovers in the fridge until it begins to grow mold, then it gets thrown out. You'd think we'd learn to realize that we are ever going to use the extra and not waste the tupperware space. With BBQ sauce, you don't have to worry about it going bad b/c it's so packed with preservatives! wahoo! Jamie Oliver would not approve. Anyways, I wanted to veer away from the BBQ and try something different. I came up with this little recipe. It's light, different & super tasty. We definitely recommend giving it a try!

Ingredients

1 pckg pizza dough
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined (we use frozen)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3-4 tbsp. salsa verde (enough to thinly coat pizza dough)
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 a white onion, diced
1.5 cups mozzarella cheese
2 scallions, diced
cilantro, to sprinkle

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F. Roll out pizza dough. Bake dough alone for about 10 minutes (you can skip this step, it just provides extra crispness)
Meanwhile, heat olive oil and garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add shrimp, salt and pepper. Cook until pink throughout, about 5-6 minutes.
Take dough out of oven. Cover with the salsa. Sprinkle with peppers, white onion, shrimp and cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese is beginning to turn golden.
Top with scallions and cilantro. Serve immediately.

Here are a few pics from Antigua and a sneak peak of our wedding photos! We had a wonderful wedding photographer named Caroline Ghetes if any of ya'll are interested. She does some amazing work and we can't to see the rest of the photos.

Corn with Feta-Chive Butter

2010-06-16T09:16:00.010-04:00

Okay, one final post prior to Jessi and I embarking on our wedding journey. Yes it's been a couple of weeks since our last post and I'm sure most of you are getting tired of our constant apologies from lack of posting due to wedding planning but it's the truth. We are so sorry we have not been visiting your blogs lately, we have just been so slammed with wedding stuff! After we get back from Antigua we have both vowed to pick back up some consistent posting and commenting.

Tomorrow morning we head up to Asheville, NC to start the wedding week bliss. It's been a long past year, but we're totally ready for it! So when we get back we promise to share some images and stories with you. This will be the last post for the next couple of weeks and the last post as a unmarried couple.

So we paired the pork in the previous post with some feta-chive butter we made for corn on the cob. We're both corn lovers (not the band, the veggie) so any new thing we can find to put on it we usually give a shot. Being that we had some extra chives in the fridge we thought we give it a shot. Lately it seems we've been making recipes based on what's in the fridge and not what we want to actually make. I don't know if this is a laziness thing or a thrifty-thing. Either way this was a great topping with some really nice flavor. The feta helped hold the butter mixture together and stop it from totally running off the corn like some corn toppings. Well that's all for now see ya on the married side.

Ingredients

1/4 cup crumbled feta
 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
 3 tablespoons chopped chives 
1/2 teaspoon salt
 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper  
4 ears sweet corn

Directions

Fill a medium saucepan about 3/4 of the way full with water. Bring to a boil. Add the corn and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix feta, butter, chives, salt and pepper in a small bowl until well combined.
Spread the corn with the feta-butter mixture and serve immediately.

Orange and Ginger Glazed Pork Chops

2010-06-01T23:10:00.003-04:00

Where to begin with this little recipe. It had so much potential that went up in smoke just like the glaze that burned all over the pan (thank goodness I put down foil). We found this one off of Whole Foods. Very disappointing. The day had started out with big plans to go check out this huge farmers market that we had never been to in our area. Well that part went off without a hitch - we got a lot of splendid local veggies on the cheap and even sprung for some of that grass-fed pork summer sausage and a couple of pork chops that we could make for dinner (you sure do pay a pretty penny for that stuff!). That's when we found that recipe above. Picked it out mainly cause it looked easy and we had everything it called for. Well part of this recipe failure was my fault for not cooking the pork long enough (should've used a meat thermometer). But the problem was that the glaze did not accurately caramelize and stay atop the pork instead it ran off onto the pan and when I put the meat back in to finish cooking it (after we had sat down and began eating have you) the glaze burned, smoked, set off the fire alarm and used every last bit of my patience. Luckily we made a great corn topping which I will tell you about next post. That and double fudge brownie brought me back to calmness. I guess it was just one of those days. We hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Jessi and I are uber busy we're now down to 18 days away from out wedding and 19 days from Antigua!
On a random note: Here's a pic from a great hike we took last weekend up in Blowing Rock, NC along the Ridge Top Trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons orange Juice
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 (1-inch thick) bone-in, center-cut pork chops

Directions

Arrange oven rack about 6 inches from heating element and preheat broiler. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, orange juice, ginger and salt. Arrange pork chops on prepared baking sheet in a single layer, spacing them a few inches apart. Spread half of the glaze over the tops of the pork chops and broil until golden and just crisp, 6 to 8 minutes.
Carefully flip pork chops and spread remaining glaze over the tops. Return to oven and broil until just golden and crisp on the second side and cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes more. Transfer to plates and serve.

Grilled Chicken Tostadas with Homemade Mole Sauce

2010-05-25T15:56:00.003-04:00

So this one was quite the production, which we were feeling up to since we hadn't made an involved meal in a while. The original recipe said it takes 2 hours to make - but beware, it took us closer to 3 (recipe modified from Eating Well). We made it on a Sunday, so were able to make the mole sauce and prepare the chicken earlier in the day to split it up. It's definitely a time consuming recipe - of course you can probably tell that by the lengthy list of ingredients and separate steps. If you want some short-cuts, I would suggest buying mole sauce and pre-made tostadas.

The veggies are delicious and pretty easy. They have a unique flavor and add a nice twist to the tostadas. Definitely give yourself a little sample before putting it all together so you can get a good taste! The chicken and adobo rub are also very good and relatively simple. The rub recipe is one we'll definitely be using again.

That mole sauce, however, is what takes a while (especially the sieving step). And after I sieved it like the recipe says, I was left with purely liquid. Even when I cooked it to reduce and thicken, it was still pure liquid. I am not sure of a better way to do this part. I googled some other recipes and not all put the sauce through a seive. I feel like the most important part to get out of the sauce is the pepper skins. The tomato skins, however, I would have loved to have kept to thicken it up. I was mad at myself for tossing them down the disposal. Next time, I might blend the peppers/soaking water separate from the rest of the ingredients. This way, I wouldn't have to sieve the tomato mixture and it would keep the sauce thick, like mole sauce should be. While browsing the internet to figure out what went wrong with this particular recipe (aka. why it was so runny), I found several other mole recipes that had tons of great ingredients - like raisins and dark chocolate (yum!). I'm definitely not giving up on homemade mole sauce yet. Anyone have any great mole recipes?

Overall review: definitely tasty, but not one for a weeknight!

Serves 6

Ingredients

ADOBO-RUBBED CHICKEN

4 teaspoons chili powder
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 8-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed

MOLE SAUCE

3 dried ancho or New Mexico chiles (we used guajillo chiles)
2 cups boiling water
3 medium tomatoes, quartered and seeded
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Pinch of ground cloves
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt

SWEET & SOUR VEGETABLES

2 cups diced carrot
1 cup diced summer squash
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon salt

12 tostada shells (follow step # 1 of this recipe to make your own)

TOPPINGS (optional - and yes, we tend to get a bit carried away :)

Cilantro
Shredded letuce
Diced tomatoes
Diced onions
Jalapenoes
Cheese
Diced avacadoes
Sour cream
Salsa
Sliced radishes

Directions

To prepare adobo rub and chicken:
(Can make the rub ahead - refridgerate for up to 3 days)

Combine chili powder, lime juice, oil, cumin, onion powder, garlic power, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
Rub 2 tablespoons of adobo rub generously all over chicken breasts. Let marinate for 30 minutes or wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

To prepare mole sauce: *read my comments above before committing to this one :)
(Can make ahead - refrigerate for up to a week, or freeze for up to 3 months)

Tear chiles into pieces; discard stems and seeds. Place in a bowl, add boiling water and soak until the chiles are soft, about 30 minutes.
Pour the chiles and soaking liquid into a blender. Add tomatoes, onion, garlic, vinegar, flour, sugar, cumin, pepper, cayenne to taste and cloves; blend until smooth.
Strain the sauce through a sieve to filter out any remaining seeds and skins, pressing out as much liquid as possible from the solids. *again, may want to modify this step
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sauce and cook, stirring frequently, until it thickens and reduces to about 2 cups, 10 to 20 minutes. Season with 3/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

To prepare sweet-&-sour vegetables:
(can make ahead - refrigerate for up to a day)

Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add carrots and cook for 7 minutes.
Add squash, vinegar, oregano, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Continue cooking until the vegetables are just tender, 2 to 3 minutes more.
Drain, transfer to a bowl and season with more pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

To cook the chicken:

About 20 minutes before you’re ready to grill the chicken, preheat grill to medium. Oil the grill rack. Grill the chicken until cooked throughout, about 6 to 8 minutes per side.
Transfer to a clean cutting board, let rest for 5 minutes and slice into 1/2-inch strips.

To assemble tostadas:

Place 2 tostada shells on each plate. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of the mole sauce over each tostada, then top each with desired amount of the vegetables. Divide the chicken among the tostadas and drizzle with more mole sauce.
Serve with toppings as desired.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Garlic

2010-05-20T19:50:00.006-04:00

With so much hustle and bustle you should treat yourself to the occasional brussel! That's right it's Chef Fresco's inaugural brussel sprout recipe. I'm not sure why I never had much experience with brussel sprouts... oh yeah, it's because my mother is not the fondest of them. And growing up that pretty much ruled out getting introduced the grand ole brussel. Well, not so long ago while attending my first Thanksgiving with my Fiance's family I was introduced to a wonderful dish that opened my eyes to this great vegetable. Well, unfortunately we did not get that recipe but found one online that looked like it included the same main stuff. We gave it a shot and loved it! It's really simple and has a lot of great flavor. They really turned out well - they have such the nice, almost nutty flavor. I think ours could have used another 5 to 10 minutes though (we cooked them for 25) to get a bit more done and maybe a dash more oil. They taste best when they're still nice and hot.
Modified from a couple different Cooking Light recipes. Serves about 6.

To trim Brussels sprouts, discard the tough outer leaves and trim off about 1/4 inch from stems. Don't trim too much from the stems, or the sprouts will fall apart. If you're not a Brussels sprouts lover, try substituting green beans. Be sure to brown the garlic over low heat, because it can burn in a flash.

Ingredients

2 pounds trimmed Brussels sprouts, halved (about 6 cups)
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine the Brussels sprouts, 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, salt, and pepper. Place sprouts mixture in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Bake at for 25 minutes or until sprouts are crisp-tender.
Meanwhile, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic, and cook for 3 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in juice. Add to sprouts mixture; toss well.

Ham and Cheese Stuffed Chicken

2010-05-17T11:00:00.001-04:00

Here's a great way to get your week started off on the right foot. Go home take out out your chicken and stuff it! It seems like all meats are better when stuffed. I don't know if it's the treat of cutting into a meat and seeing the filling pop out or how good the filling actually tastes since it usually consists of a lot of cheese. It's probably the cheese. We actually doubled the stuffing ingredients from the original recipe (amounts we used below). We definitely recommend even doubling what ours calls for. The chicken parts that encase the cheesy stuffing taste the best, which is why we suggest making enough to really stuff them nice and full. You could probably even do a 'double egg dredge' according to Michael. After the first dip in egg white and breadcrumbs, just do it one more time. This will make sure there is lots of really great breadcrumb covering. Modified from Eating Well. 3-4 servings. Hope ya'll enjoy this recipe we sure did.

Ingredients

1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
generous 1/4 cup chopped ham (about 2-3 deli slices)
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, (about 1 1/4 pounds total)
1 egg white
1 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Use a baking sheet with sides and lightly coat it with cooking spray.
Mix cheese, ham, mustard and pepper in a small bowl.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Cut a horizontal slit along the thin, long edge of a chicken breast half, nearly through to the opposite side. Open up the breast and place one-fourth of the filling in the center. Close the breast over the filling, pressing the edges firmly together to seal. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and filling.
Lightly beat egg white with a fork in a medium bowl. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow glass dish. Hold each chicken breast half together and dip in egg white, then dredge in breadcrumbs. (Discard leftovers.)
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts; cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Place the chicken, browned-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center or until an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F, about 20-25 minutes.

Baron Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

2010-05-14T11:48:00.007-04:00

We Found this bottle at Trader Joe's (shocker, I know) and it was a really nice selection. I enjoy a good Cabernet because it always seems to be a bit smoother than a Merlot while still having a good red wine flavor. The only down side for me is that one; it seems to stain my teeth really bad and two; that it makes me extremely sleepy. I don't know much about the teeth staining but I think certain people must be more susceptible than others. Reason being that I get it really bad however Jessi does not. My father also gets exceptional red teeth when drinking red wines—so much that my mother has since forbid him to drink them in public settings since he looks so ridiculous. I must admit that this does pose a problem when cheesing it up for photos—you look like a vampire. Well besides the red teeth and sleepy side effects the cab was great. It did not seem to be as fruity as I like but had some hints of vanilla in it. I would consider the wine to have a high level of tannins. Don't know what that is? It's basically the acidity level in a wine, learn some more here from this friendly lady. Being that this wine was not very fruity or sweet I would consider the wine to be very dry, witch I prefer in a Cab. I recommend pairing this wine with a red sauce pasta dish or red meat. Overall I give it a good recommendation and we might even serve it at our wedding.

Flying Dog's Double Dog Double Pale Ale

2010-05-04T14:14:00.007-04:00

ABV: 11.5%
IBUs: 85
Our props: 8/10

Buckle your drinking belts and get ready for a doozie because this pale ale packs a punch in both flavor and ABV. I used to just pass over those four packs of beer thinking "Why would ever buy this four pack when I could get a six pack for the same price?" Well this beer has ousted that line of thinking. Boy, what a great beer from the Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, MD! You may be wondering what a double pale ale is. Its basically taking a traditional I.P.A. and injecting it with steroids! Sometimes called an Imperial I.P.A. it will usually offer the consumer a super-strong flavors, mega-robust, alcoholic, and ultra-malty. At 11.5 ABV you better be careful all you need is one and you'll be feeling it. However it's totally worth it the flavor of this beer is fantastic. It offers great hints of citrus and raisins and delivers it with a smooth, malty taste.

Chicken and Shrimp Paella

2010-04-30T10:02:00.002-04:00

Our first saffron dish! I have been wanting to cook something with saffron forever now and bought some at Trader Joe's a couple of months ago. We finally found a dish that seemed worthy of the expensive as gold spice. That arborio rice sure is expensive too - anyone know where to get it on the cheap?

A bit about saffron: it really is the world's most expensive spice. The saffron plant has these really pretty purple flowers - and one pound of saffron takes 50,000-75,000 of them! The golden-yellow hue that appears in dishes containing saffron is due to a natural die it has. It reportedly has some medicinal properties as well. Sounds like an all-around winner to me!

The dish is a very tasty, healthy paella. I must say, the chicken is not as flavorful as it could be though. If we make it again, we will likely season it as we cook it our just double the shrimp and leave the chicken out all together (most likely). Or perhaps even add additional seafood like mussels or squid. The original recipe is from Eating Well and called for smoked mussels, which we decided to omit and change some other ingredients around.

Ingredients

2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
8 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 and 1/2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 16 oz), trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips
Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-ounce can tomatoes (with juice)
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup arborio rice
1 4 oz jar artichoke hearts, drained
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/3 cup bottled roasted red pepper (about two large pieces), cut into strips

Directions

Combine broth and saffron in a small saucepan; bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add shrimp and sauté until pink and curled, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add 1 teaspoon oil to the pan. Add chicken and sauté until lightly browned on the outside and opaque inside, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the pan.
Season the shrimp and chicken with salt and pepper and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the skillet. Add onions and garlic; sauté until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. (Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water if they become too dry.)
Stir in tomatoes and crushed red pepper; simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes, breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
Add rice and stir to coat well with the tomato mixture. Stir in the reserved chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes.
Gently stir artichoke hearts, peas, roasted red peppers, and the reserved shrimp and chicken into the rice mixture.
Cover and cook until the rice is tender and the shrimp and chicken are heated through, 5 to 10 minutes longer. (Stir occasionally to prevent scorching, if necessary.) Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Guinness Steak Pie

2010-04-27T15:19:00.002-04:00

We've been so busy lately wrapping up final details for the wedding. Michael has been really busy too designing a new site for some friends that have their own honey business. He'll share it with you in our next post. Michael first stumbled upon this recipe at Kevin's site - Closet Cooking. Seemed only fitting that we try it for St. Patty's day! That's how tardy we are in posting this recipe. Well, that was the hope until we decided to start making it at about 6pm that night. Started reading down a few steps when we came to the 3 hr stewing section. Oops! Needless to say, it had to wait for another night. What's wrong with pizza and green beer to celebrate the holiday? So about a week later, we finally got around to making it. I must say, it is totally worth the time! Not a healthy recipe though - bacon and pie crust kind of ruin that. :)

It was only fitting that we serve this dish with a Guinness brew. Michael loves Guinness and it's growing on me. It's a tough beer to review since it simply does not compare to anything else. It truly has a one-of-a-kind flavor to it. The best thing I can describe it to is a beer milkshake. Not an overly strong bitter beer flavor just smooth and creamy. One of the coolest things about buying Guinness in the store is that you can see their little nitrogen balls they put in all their bottles in order to produce the right head when you pour.

Kevin's recipe calls for 2-3 hrs of cooking the meat. Ours wasn't nearly done after 3 hrs (beef not yet tender and soup still liquidy). I checked a couple other recipes for Guinness pie and found quite a number of variations - including adding flour to thicken it up. So I did just that, cooked it for an additional hr and it was good to go! We made a few other changes to the recipe (as posted below).

To cut up the cooking time, you can make the stew the day before. Just reheat it on the stove for a few minutes when you're ready to make the pie and all you have to do is pop it in the oven! We served the pie with peas - which seems to be the popular thing to serve with Guinness pie!

Ingredients

4 slices bacon, chopped
1 1/4 lbs beef stew meat, cut into bite sized pieces
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, quartered
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 bottle Guinness
2 tbsp flour
1 cup beef stock
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried rosemary
1 bay leaf
2 pre-made pie crusts
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 egg, beaten

Directions

Cook bacon in a large pan and set aside (leaving grease in the pan).
Add beef to the pan and brown on all sides. Set aside.
Next add the onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Pour in the guinness and deglaze the pan.
dd the flour, stock, bacon, beef, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and cover. Simmer until the beef is tender, about 3-4 hours. The stew should be dark and thick. If it's still pretty liquidy, continue to cook with lid off to reduce until thickened. Turn off heat and stir in 1/2 of the cheese.
Towards the end of the cook time, preheat oven to 375.
Put the first pie crust in the bottom of a pie plate. Carefully pour the beef stew in.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the stew and cover with the top pie crust. Pinch the edges of the two crusts together to seal in the stew.
Brush the egg over the top of the pie crust (will only need about 1/2 of it).
Bake until golden brown on top, about 45 minutes.

Decadent Imperial IPA

2010-04-20T20:59:00.005-04:00

ABV: 10%
IBUs: 99
Our props: 9/10

So we are a bit behind for this post. I got this beer for Michael's birthday back in March. I found it in the 'special' beer section in my favorite HT in Charlotte - known to locals as the Tajmah Teeter. Anyways, this beer is brewed by Ska brewing company, which is based out of Durango, Co. The story of their creation is pretty entertaining. Apparently all the way back in 1995, two dudes - Dave & Bill weren't quite old enough to buy beer. While listening to Ska music to drown their sorrows, they decided to turn their frowns upside down and say the heck with it, we'll brew our own! I guess they were pretty impressed with their first batch and kept at it. The rest is pretty much history. This one - the Decadent - was actually made in '05 to celebrate Ska's 10 yr anniversary. Okay enough about the background, on to the brew itself. The pour reveals a beautiful deep orange color. The brew is super smooth and is almost creamy malty. You can't even really tell that it is a 10% beer. You have to be careful with this one or you'll find yourself quite loopy! The best part about the beer is the wax top you get to peel off. Everything just seems better when you have to work to get into it. :) We'd definitely recommend it if you can find it!

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