All the Things Salad

I don't know what to call this salad, but it has all the things I love: toasted pecans, bacon, feta, pomegranate seeds, a sparkly champagne vin, so I hereby christen it the All the Things Salad! I made this not-so-recently for Thanksgiving and it was well-received so I sure hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did :) *Great thing about salads, pastas, any non-baked item as you know, is that you can vary the ingredients to suit your tastes or what you happen to have on hand, so mix it up!

Ingredients:

• arugula & baby spinach, about 8 cups
• seeds from 1/2 a pomegranate
  
• thinly sliced red pear, about 2 pears
  
• 1 cup crumbled feta
• 3/4 cup crumbled bacon
• 1 thinly sliced red onion (tip, raw onion can be sliced and soaked in cool water to take the sting out)
• 1 cup toasted pecans
• 3/4 - 1 cup dressing which can be adjusted to your liking (here's the jist: 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup champagne vinegar, 2T grainy dijon mustard, juice from 1/2 lemon, 1T honey, sea salt and pepper to taste... whisk all together)
  

Preparation:

Toss the greens, red onion, & feta in the dressing and gently add in the pom seeds, bacon and pecans. Gently toss again and plate with red pear as a garnish.

migas with amigos!

Dave & Laura are in town for Tday and we've had a great time catching up - dinner at the porch last night & breakfast migas this morning :) *Miss you guys, so glad you came to stay with us!

Here's my quick recipe for Breakfast Migas
(we call them birthday migas - nothin' fancy, but oh so good)

Ingredients:

• 14 eggs (serves ~4 with leftovers)
  
• splash of heavy whipping cream
  
• 5 flour tortillas (+ extras for rolling up the migas)
  
• 5 slices of bacon, crumbled
  
• 1/2 poblano pepper, small dice
  
• 1/2 bell pepper, small dice
  
• 1/2 red onion, small dice
• 1/2 cup tomatoes, small dice
  
• fresh cilantro
  
• 2 potatoes, dice
• 1 yellow onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• olive oil
• butter, ~2T
  
• salt & pepper
• garlic salt
• red pepper flakes
• 2 cans black refried beans
• fresh fruit
  
• coffee, juice, etc :)
  

Preparation:

Breakfast Potatoes-

Dice potatoes, season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic salt, and toss in olive oil on a sheet pan. Toss in whole cloves of fresh garlic, and roast in the oven at 450 for ~45 mins or until done.

Migas-

Cook bacon, set aside on paper towel & crumble. Slice up tortillas into 1/4" x 2" strips. Remove most of the bacon grease and add ~2T butter; cook up those tortilla strips over medium heat and set aside. Saute the peppers and red onion in the yummy bacon/butter residue until soft, add tomatoes. Meanwhile, crack eggs into a large bowl, season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, & splash of cream. Whip them up. Add eggs to the veggies and cook over low heat, stirring often. Add in the bacon & tortilla strips and cook until fluffy & done.

Black Refried Beans-

Saute a few of the peppers & red onion in olive oil and add the refried beans to warm, season to taste. If necessary, thin with veggie stock.

Fresh Fruit-

We diced up 2 granny smith apples and tossed with fresh pomegranate seeds and a tiny drizzle of Texas wildflower honey. Tart, wonderfully fresh & yummy :) *Add honey greek yogurt if you'd like a creamy dip.

Pomegranate tip-

For easy de-seeding, I've found if I slice the pom in 1/2 equator-wise and submerge it in a bowl of cool water, then I can gently pluck out the seeds and break apart the fleshy membrane. The water will keep the purply juice from staining your fingers, and the seeds will sink while the pithy part floats :)

*Hope you enjoy as much as we do!

Pumpkin Bars, Chocolate Toffee Bites & Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

I took a littler Desserty-sert to our Supper Club recently and thought I'd post the recipes here since they actually turned out pretty well :) (ha, they weren't my recipes!) The pumpkin bars were the biggest hit (yay Paula Deen & cream cheese frosting) and I'll definitely make both the cranberry cookies & toffee bites again... Love fall. Love fall desserts.

Chocolate Toffee Bites
Recipe courtesy Gale Grand

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• (*I added 1 cup pecans)
  

Preparation:

Place the sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and caramelize on high heat stirring constantly. It will turn amber brown in about 5 minutes. When it is a uniform caramel color, add the butter and stir it in. Once mostly combined, add the chocolate and stir to blend. Pour it out onto a silpat or parchment lined sheet pan and spread it with an offset spatula 1/8" thick. Let cool and break into small pieces. Store in an airtight container.

*I'd only ever made toffee one other time and I was a bit nervous with this new recipe. Turns out it was really easy and the secret for me was to just keep stirring. Once I poured out the mixture onto my silpat (so fun, get a silpat), I spread the mixture out with a spatula and worried it might look greasy or ugly. Once cooled, I broke it into pieces and it was great! Yummy with coffee. Also, I thought my all-clad sauce pan might never be the same... I just filled it with hot water and the remaining goo melted away :) I'll make this again for sure.

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Recipe courtesy Beth Setrakian

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cardamon
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• *I added 1 cup white chocolate chips
• *I added 1 cup hazelnuts
  

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients. Add to butter mixture and stir until well blended. Add dried cranberries (I also added white chocolate chips and hazelnuts). Drop my teaspoonful onto parchment covered baking sheet. Bake about 10 - 12 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool.

Pumpkin Bars
Recipe courtesy Patty Ronning as adapted by Paula Deen

Ingredients (bars):

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 15 oz can of pumpkin
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
  

Ingredients (icing):

• 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
  

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combine and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 x 10" baking pan. Bake for 30 mins (*I think I baked mine for closer to 40 in a glass baking pan). Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars. *I cut the cake into bars and then iced individually.

Chicken Soup for the Soul

It's been raining and raining & raining here in Dallas lately, so I've tried to make us tasty foods that will warm us up inside. This chicken soup was really yummy - thanks to tips from Emeril Lagasse :) Try it out if you're looking for something to savor and soothe you inside & out. We also enjoyed Alton Brown's sweet rosemary cornbread pudding with our soup.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs chicken tenders (you could use a 1/2 whole chicken or breasts)
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 tecate beer
• 2 cups water
  
• 1 medium yellow onions, diced
• 3/4 cup carrots, diced
  
• 3/4 cup celery, diced
• 6-8 button mushrooms, sliced
  
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 6 parsley stems
  
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 cups Barilla Ditalini pasta
  
• 3 T butter (or more/to taste)
  
• 2 1/4 tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 T chopped fresh parsley
• 2 T olive oil
  

Preparation:

Sauté onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms in 2 T olive oil for a couple of minutes until tender. Add chicken stock, beer, water fresh thyme, parsley, bay leaf, salt & pepper and chicken tenders. Simmer and cover until chicken is slowly cooked. Remove chicken and using 2 forks, gently pull apart and shred. Return chicken to stock mixture and add Ditalini pasta. Cook until tender, add butter and additional seasoning to taste. Remove bay leaf and parsley stems, add freshly chopped parsley. Enjoy.

Sweet Corn Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

• 1/2 onion, diced fine
• 1 T unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 (15 oz) can creamed style sweet corn
• 1cup heavy cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal, whole grain, stone ground
• 1/2 shredded Parmesan
  
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 2 cups cubed french bread

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Sweat onions with butter and herbs in an oven safe skillet until translucent. Combine corn, cream, eggs, baking powder, cornmeal, Parmesan, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add cubed bread and fold to combine. Pour batter into skillet, right on top of the onion mixture. Bake 50 minutes or until set. Cool slightly before serving.

Easy Brown Rice Bowls

Sometimes it's just easier on a weeknight to throw together something hearty & hopefully a little healthy in a "one bowl meal." We like brown rice bowls - nothing fancy, just whole grain brown rice, veggies & lean turkey sausage or grilled chicken, or whatever else we can toss in. This version has some onions, garlic, peppers, broccoli & sausage and came together pretty quick & easy (good for a busy Tuesday night). Leftovers work for lunch the next day, too.

Ingredients:

• whole grain brown rice - I used 2 cups of rice
• chicken stock - prepare rice according to directions on package, I used 4 cups stock
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 sweet yellow onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 large crown of broccoli
  
• 1 link lean turkey sausage
  
• 1 bay leaf
• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 T butter
• salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic salt & any other seasoning to taste
  

Preparation:

Prepare the rice according to your liking - I use the risotto method, meaning I saute onion, garlic and red bell pepper in olive oil until tender, then toss in the brown rice to coat in olive oil and toast for a couple minutes (stirring), then I add stock, a bay leaf, seasoning and simmer & cover until done (cooking times will vary depending on your rice). Meanwhile, I grilled the sausage on an indoor grill pan and tossed it all together.

*Consider marinating chicken in soy sauce/garlic/ginger and grilling. Add sugar snap peas, bean sprouts and water chestnuts for an Asian version, or green chilies, black beans and cilantro for a southwest version.

Sherbety Goodness

I've been in a blending mood lately, so anything I can throw in my blender I do! this smoothie came about late one night after a few weekends of travel and zero groceries in the house... luckily we always have a bag of frozen fruit (I buy a Dole mix at Costco with peaches, pineapple, & strawberries), orange sherbet and ginger ale. Yum :) May rival my favorite smoothie ever, the Strawberry Surfrider at Jamba Juice. Bring on the brain freeze.

Ingredients:

• ~3 cups frozen fruit
• ~3 scoops orange sherbet
• ~1 can of ginger ale
  

Preparation:

Adjust according to your preferred thickness & blend away :)

Paninis for Courtney

My sweet friend Courtney loves paninis and we had fun making these for lunch recently. Any combo of ingredients sandwiched between good bread comes alive when brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with a little garlic salt, and heated in a panini press :)

Roasted red pepper, Italian ham, mozarella, red onion & parsley

Brushed with olive oil & seasoned with garlic salt & pepper

Smushed in a panini press until golden brown & delicious

Eggplant Lasagna

Bought these baby eggplants at the farmers market and have enjoyed grilling them and adding them to other roasted veggies here & there. We also enjoyed them in this impromptu eggplant lasagna. In individual ramekins, I layered sliced eggplant, marinara, spinach, sliced grape tomatoes, lasagna noodles, mozzarella and fresh basil, with a little olive oil, red pepper flakes and s&p. Bake at 400 for ~35 mins, or until a fork inserted ensures the noodles are cooked through.

Okra

Taking a bit of a break from blogging this summer but here & there I'll snap a picture of something we had that I want to remember for the future like this easy okra. I bought a bunch at our farmers market (the smaller the more tender) and was intrigued since I think I've really on had fried okra before :) Wondered if it could be sauteed, of course it can, so I sliced the little guys up & sauteed them with butter & olive oil, garlic, grape tomatoes and a splash of white wine. Nice with shaved parmesan.

Dibs!

4 o'clock rolls around and inevitably I need something sweet, so today I was poking around our kitchen at work and our chef got all giddy and led me to the freezer and our new red box of dreyers dibs, and Y U M - these little minty chocolaty bon bons of bueno-ness are my new favorite snack! just the thing for 4pm choco-cravings, so much fun you should def check them out. Perfect for portioning, they come in Nestle Drumstick, Nestle Crunch and Vanilla & Chocolate. Hope you get some & enjoy :)

Shower Power

With our busy schedules these days, cooking has been a luxury, much less actually blogging about cooking :) but here are a few easy yummies from a recent baby shower my sweet girls & I hosted for our dear friend Sarah. We didn't get pics of each dish below, but you can kind of see them in the group shot above. Yay for baby showers & easy entertaining! (The recipes below were scaled to serve ~20 lightly-lunching ladies, feel free to scale back if you don't need to feed that many.)

Chicken Caesar Salad

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• (balsamic, extra virgin olive oil, garlic salt, kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper, dash of red pepper flakes, 2T dried rosemary for chicken marinade)
  
• 3 romaine hearts
  
• 1 cup shredded parmesan
• 3/4 bottle of Newman's Own Caesar Dressing (I know, shame, it's bottled, but my favorite!)
• 3 lemons, sliced thinly
  

Preparation:

Marinade the chicken in a shallow dish with your preference of seasoning, (I use balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic salt, kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper, dash of red pepper flakes, 2T dried rosemary for mine), then grill on indoor grill pan and slice for salad. Chop the romaine hearts and slice the lemons. Toss romaine, parmesan, lemons and sliced chicken in a large bowl with Newman's Own Caesar dressing. Voila! :)

Farm Egg Frittata

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of diced yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 cup of diced orange bell pepper
• 1 minced clove of garlic
• 1 cup of thinly sliced red onion
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chopped grape tomatoes
  
• ~10 spears of asparagus cut on the bias to 1/4" pieces
• 1/2 cup crumbled bacon (optional)
  
• 9 eggs
• 2 sheet of pre-frozen puff pastry dough for the crust
• 12" baking/quiche dish
  
• salt & pepper
• red pepper flakes
• extra virgin olive oil
  

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Pull the puff pastry dough out of the freezer and let it thaw under a damp towel to keep it moist. Sauté the veggies in a little olive oil just until soft, seasoning with a few red pepper flakes, salt & pepper. Remove them from the heat and put to the side in a small bowl. Add crumbled bacon to the mixture. Roll out the puff pastry dough and press into a 12" baking dish, laying 1 sheet of dough on top of the other at a 90 degree angle, like an "x". Crack 9 eggs into a bowl and season well. Combine the cooled veggies with the egg mixture and pour into the baking dish. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until done! (I did the veggie mixture the night before, as well as cracked the eggs into a double-lined plastic baggie for quick assembly before the shower.) *Here's a similar version.

Creamy Dill Pasta

Ingredients:

• 2 lb box of large corkscrew pasta (like Barilla's Cellentani)
• 6 cups heavy whipping cream
• lots of fresh dill (~2 .66oz clear boxes from the herb section of your grocery store)
• salt & pepper and garlic salt to taste
  

Preparation:

I love this pasta because it's rich & creamy and so simple to make. Reduce cream in a saucepan at a low simmer and season well with salt & pepper and garlic salt. The goal is to thicken the cream sauce, but the thickness is up to you, I'd say you want it tight enough to cling to the corkscrew pasta, about 40-50 mins+ on a low simmer, stirring gently all the time. Meanwhile, boil the corkscrew pasta in salted water until al dente. De-stem and chop fresh dill. Toss the pasta, dill & cream sauce together and season to taste.

This pasta can be served warm or room temp (and is even tasty out of the fridge cold.) *You could certainly cut this recipe in half! Although make sure you have enough cream & dill since they're what gives the pasta flavor.

Granola Parfaits

Ingredients:

• * I used Emeril Lagasse's Whole Lotta Nuts granola recipe, or you can purchase 'homemade' granola from the bulk section of your grocery store.
• 2 27oz large containers of organic creamy vanilla yogurt
• drizzle of orange blossom honey to fold into yogurt
  
• assorted fresh berries (blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, peaches)
• We assembled 20 6oz parfaits.
  

Preparation:

Prepare the granola or purchase store bought. Fold honey into vanilla yogurt and assemble parfaits: granola, yogurt, fruit, and repeat! These are yummy immediately, and even nice as a yogurt "muesli" if you refrigerate leftovers.

*A big thanks to Catherine for bringing fresh goodies up from her farm near Austin! Other dishes not listed above were tomatoes, feta & basil, toasted croissants with honey butter & blackberry jam, a delicious cucumber dill salad, lemon poppyseed muffins and chocolate & vanilla petit fours.

Grilled Scallops

We're bringing this one back from our Philly days, too. I wrapped scallops in roasted red pepper and seasoned with sea salt, pepper, and drizzled with olive oil. I grilled them on our indoor grill until opaque & splashed them with a little lemon juice & zest. We grilled polenta at the same time and ate our scallops with a simple green salad. Easy & light :)

Simple

Greens from our garden :)

I haven't been posting food much lately - life just gets too busy to take pictures of everything we eat :) plus, we tend to go lighter & simpler in the Spring, so I don't have any real food epiphanies to share these days. A good friend of mine who is a wonderful cook encouraged me to post anyway, so here are a few shots we've accumulated over the last month of some simple cookin' :)

Fresh from our garden, we recently enjoyed bibb lettuce, mesclun greens and green onion in a light salad with sprouts, grilled chicken & red onion, hard boiled egg, tomatoes, and homemade ranch dressing (maybe not so light after all, but ranch is gooood).

Tighty Troy's


Messy mine

And another weeknight go-to for us, pasta :) It may feel like cheap college food to some, but to us, it satisfies our inner Italian cravings at least once a week... I try to use up whatever canned creations I have (artichokes, garbanzo beans, sun dried tomatoes, plus what a great opportunity to throw in fresh veggies for fiber & nutrients.) I don't have a pic of the final product, but we tossed in rigatoni and shaved fresh Parmesan over the top. Fresh basil & parsley brightened it up.

Another staple in our diets these days? Sweet potato fries! Out of the freezer and into my belly :) I seasoned these with a mixture of my usual (kosher salt & pepper, fresh rosemary, garlic salt and olive oil; then into the oven! If you're not above frozen fries (I like to make my own but these are just so easy), then check out Alexia's all natural sweet potato fries (with 0 trans fat).

Speaking of sweet potatoes - we do spud night quite often these days; they're just easy, too :) Season with all the usual spice suspects, add some sliced garlic & onion and wrap in foil. In 40 mins at 450 you have soft steamy goodness, ready for just about any & all tater toppers. We like brisket/flank steak, veggies, ricotta or feta cheese, you name it.

Not sure if you can tell in this picture,
but this is a Siamese twin potato!

With grilled asparagus, roasted red peppers, skirt steak & parm.

We just had a festive pizza & prosecco party with my girls' small group + husbands... it was so much fun playing pizza parlor in our kitchen :) (pizza is also an easy weeknight meal for us) we laughed & created and really regret not taking more pics (see carolyndaniel.blogspot.com for more), but what a fun idea... we'll be eating leftover pizza, chicken caesar salad, and molten chocolate cakes this week :) yea for leftovers.

Oldies but Goodies Cookies

This is not my recipe, but yum, I love them :) Props to gorgeous Giada at the Food Network!

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 ounces English toffee candy (recommended: Heath or Skor bar), finely chopped
• 1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked, and chopped
• 1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper. Finely chop the oats in a food processor. Transfer the oats to a medium bowl. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the toffee, hazelnuts, and chocolate chips. For each cookie, drop 1 rounded tablespoonful of dough onto sheet, spacing 1-inch apart (do not flatten dough). Bake until the cookies are golden (cookies will flatten slightly), about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely. (The cookies can be prepared 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)

Breaded Chicken, Spinach & Pepper Salad

So that pepper kick we've been on lately - the next night we had the same pepper combo with breaded chicken & spinach as a salad. Similar flavors, but why not since we liked the fish the night before & it was easy :)

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 poblano pepper, sliced
• 2 chicken breasts, pounded thinly
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 egg for breading
• 4 cups spinach
• olive oil
• lemon juice & olive oil as a light vinaigrette
• salt & pepper for seasoning

Preparation:

I pounded out the chicken thinly and breaded the breasts in egg & panko (with seasoning: salt, pepper, garlic salt, whatever you'd like). I sauteed the veggies in olive oil until soft and moved them to the side of the pan and quickly sauteed the chicken, a couple minutes on each side over medium/high. Then, I sliced the chicken and assembled the salad (tossed the spinach in lemon juice & olive oil as a light vinaigrette) with peppers & onions on top. Nothing fancy, but fresh & fast :)

Orange Roughy & Poblano Peppers

My favorite smell -
onions, garlic & peppers sauteeing away.

We have a Mexican grocery store nearby that sells all sorts of fun colorful peppers. (I've planted some in my garden for summer so we'll see how they turn out.) The store's been a great introduction to inexpensive & unique produce, Mexican cheeses & breads, and I recently bought black corn which we popped on the stove and shaved pecorino over; was yummy. We've been on a pepper kick, so this dish is nothing fancy, but fresh & fast. My new favorite poblano pepper (great in scrambled eggs, skewers, wraps, etc) is popping up everywhere.

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 poblano pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
  
• 2 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 2 orange roughy fillets
• panko bread crumbs
• olive oil
• butter
• salt & pepper
• red pepper flakes
  
  
  
  

Preparation:

I simply sauteed the veggies, garlic & lemon in olive oil (with a few red pepper flakes, salt & pepper) until they were soft. I lightly breaded orange roughy in panko bread crumbs and moved the pepper mix to the side while the fish cooked through on medium, ~ 3 mins on each side of the fillets. Was nice & light. Can you tell we like to pile on the peppers?

Back in the Saddle

Amaretto Bread Pudding with Berries and Bluebell

We're getting settled in our new house and have really enjoyed cooking (despite the 'take & bake' blog post right below this... 'twas delicious, by the way!) This past weekend we had my parents over for dinner and enjoyed crab cakes, marinated flank steak, orzo with roasted veggies and amaretto bread pudding. I didn't really get pictures, but you can see we had a good time :) here are recipes - the flank steak marinade is to die for, really flavorful.

Mom & Dad
(and orzo & flank steak)

Orzo with Roasted Veggies

Ingredients:

• 1 box Barilla orzo (1lb)
• 1 giant red onion
• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled, leave whole
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 1 yellow pepper dice
  
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 1 cup shredded parmesan
• 1 cup crumbled feta
• olive oil
• sea salt & pepper
  

Preparation:

On a sheet pan, toss onion, garlic cloves, and diced peppers in olive oil, sea salt & pepper. Roast at 400 for ~40 mins, or until desired doneness. Meanwhile, prepare the orzo by boiling & seasoning water. Cook until tender, drain, and drizzle in olive oil. While warm, toss in cheeses and wilt in fresh spinach. Gently mix in roasted veggies, season to taste and serve warm. This pasta is really nice with the sliced flank steak... and is even gets better for leftovers.

Emeril Lagasse's Marinated Flank Steak

Ingredients:

• 1 (2 to 3 pound) flank steak
• 1/2 cup dry Sherry or red wine
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Creole seasoning, recipe follows
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Place the flank steak in a large, plastic resealable bag. In a 2-cup measuring cup combine the remaining ingredients. Pour the marinade mixture into the bag with the steak, seal and marinate in the refrigerator at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours in advance.

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Remove the steak from the marinade. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer the marinade for 10 minutes. Remove saucepan from the heat and keep warm. Place the steak on the grill and cook to desired doneness, about 6 minutes per side for rare. Transfer the steak to plate and let stand for 5 minutes before carving. Cut the steak across the grain into thin diagonal slices, and serve with the marinade sauce.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Giada's Amaretto Bread Pudding
*I used cinnamon challah & Sock it to Me cake instead of panettone

Pre-dolled up, right out of the oven

Ingredients:

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup amaretto liqueur
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Bread Pudding:

• 1 (1-pound) loaf panettone bread, crusts trimmed, bread cut into 1-inch cubes (I cubed cinnamon challah and sock it to me cake instead of panettone.)
  
• 8 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• *I toss in a handful of chocolate chips
  

Preparation:

To make the sauce: Bring the cream, milk, and sugar to a boil in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. In a small bowl, mix the amaretto and cornstarch to blend and then whisk into the cream mixture. Simmer over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Set aside and keep warm. (The amaretto sauce can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm before serving.)

To make the bread pudding: Lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Arrange the bread cubes in the prepared dish. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, milk, and sugar to blend. Pour the custard over the bread cubes, and press the bread cubes gently to submerge. Let stand for 30 minutes, occasionally pressing the bread cubes into the custard mixture. (Recipe can be prepared up to this point 2 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake until the pudding puffs and is set in the center, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly. Spoon the bread pudding into bowls, drizzle with the warm amaretto sauce, and serve.

Super Suppers

I just had the most quixotic encounter with the wacky chef at lakewood's super suppers. I had no idea this place even existed until we got a free coupon in the mail :) so I stopped by after work and picked up a fabulous King Ranch Chicken dish that's bubbling in my oven as I blog this - yay. Check it out - they're a national concept, so chances are there's one near you, too :)

Grapefuit Greatness

I don't know why, but I've been craving grapefruit every day for the last couple of weeks. I did a little reading online to make sure 1 to 2 a day is okay (it's actually not okay for people taking cholesterol-lowering drugs), but for me, it's all good and I love 'em - so juicy, crisp & refreshingly tart.

Women's Day has this to say about grapefruit:

"Whether sliced in half and sweetened with a sprinkle of sugar, squeezed for fresh juice or tossed in a salad, grapefruits are no ordinary citrus. Packed with nutrients including vitamin C, folic acid and potassium, grapefruit also contains naringin, a compound which accounts for the fruit’s characteristic bitter flavor and which is often used to assist in weight loss. Additionally, pink grapefruit is relatively rich in antioxidants, while ruby-red grapefruit also contains lycopene, the phytochemical that helps reduce artery damage. So what are you waiting for? Here are a few recipes that should make it easy to mix this nutritious winter fruit into your daily diet, from a delicious Shrimp Avocado and Grapefruit Salad to the sweet Blushing Grapefruit Cupcakes."

Here are some great grapefruit recipes:

• Ginger-Grapefruit Granita

• Shrimp, Avocado & Grapefruit Salad
  
  
• Blushing Grapefruit Cupcakes

• Pink Grapefruit Spritzers

• Grapefruit Salad with Citrus Dressing

• Jicama-Grapefruit Salad
  
  
• Chicken with Ruby Grapefruit and Cranberry Salsa
  
  
• Three Citrus Granitas
  
  
• Green Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

Thanks Tonny, for bringing us Texas Ruby Reds from the Valley!

40 Clove Chicken & Sauteed Spaghetti Squash

Here's a yummy version of 40 Clove Chicken from the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, and Herbed Spaghetti Squash with garlic, grape tomatoes & parmesean. We're 2 weeks away from our new house & kitchen, so more to come once we unpack. :)

Texas Caviar

Oh, Our Merry Mousse has been a sad little site since Jen & I created it last May! For starters, right after we started this online recipe collection, Troy & I moved back to Dallas after 2 years in Philly, and spent the majority of the summer traveling and enjoying other people's recipes, not our own :) AND, we've been living with my sweet parents since then while we rehab our new home, so all of our culinary gadgets, pots, pans, dishes, my very-much-missed-knives, and cookbooks have been in storage in New Jersey. Jen and her wonderful husband Hans moved to San Francisco in May, traveled, and planned an amazing wedding, and so I am hopeful 2009 will get us both back in the kitchen cooking again!

In the meantime, here's a simple Texas Caviar dish I kinda made up as I went for a game night with friends on New Year's. One must eat their black eyed peas for good luck on New Year's, right? :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cans rinsed & drained black eyed peas
• red, orange, and yellow sweet peppers diced
• 1/2 red onion diced
  
• 1/2 jar chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 6 pieces of crispy bacon crumbled
• 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese
• 2 Ts chopped cilantro
• 2 Ts chopped flat leaf parsley
• 2 Ts balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Squeeze of lime
  
• Salt, pepper, garlic salt and red pepper flakes to taste

Preparation:

Dice/Chop all veggies. Prepare bacon and crumble. Fold veggies, bacon, and feta together. Whisk balsamic, olive oil and salt/pepper/red pepper flakes & garlic salt (to taste), and a squeeze of lime together and dress the salad. Serve with tortilla chips.

Roasted Butternut Squash

This post is way overdue - I made Michael Chiarello's Roasted Butternut Squash puree with a rosemary & sage brown butter for Thanksgiving (molasses & balsamic made it tangy).

Check out the video instruction & see what you think. We enjoyed these as a "sweet potato" substitute, but I'm a little slow to recommend changing traditional Thanksgiving tastes when people expect certain nostalgic flavors ("where are the marshmellows?") *try it and decide for yourself :)