Are you looking for a new side for your Thanksgiving dinner? Maybe something a little more grownup and sophisticated? This gratin with sweet potato, chard, Gruyere, fresh herbs, and lots of garlic may be perfect for you. You could certainly make it for a non-holiday dinner as well, though it does take quite a bit of time with pre-cooking, layering, and baking. Luckily, I was with my dear friend Melissa (Smells Like Brownies), who helped with the prep-work.
Start with a big sweet potato (or two smaller ones) and a whole lot of chard (seriously – a lot)
Peel the sweet potato and slice thinly, then set aside.
Remove the stems from the chard, chop, and place in a big pot with some onion that has been sauteing in butter. Look at those colors! Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg; and cook until soft. (more…)
It’s Secret Recipe Club time again! This month I was assigned Sarah’s Kitchen – a name that I love, obviously. Sarahs of the world unite! Sarah is from England, but now lives in Texas – which is kind of funny because I’m from Texas and once lived in Ireland (which I realize is not the same as England, but is geographically/culturally similar). Spooky.
The other day, Melissa (Smells Like Brownies) asked me if I wanted to help her make Halloween candy bark. Um – YES. Obviously. I mean – I’m not a crazy person.
Turns out, it is incredibly easy. Melt around 2 cups of chocolate, spread it on a silpat or parchment paper, sprinkle and press candy into it, chill, and done. What a great way to use up extra candy!
You can really use anything here – any kind of chocolate, any kind of candy. We used semi-sweet chocolate and reese’s, tootsie rolls, m&ms, white chocolate chips, and heath bits.
This month’s Food and Flix selection was Hocus Pocus, hosted by The Lawyer’s Cookbook – a perfect flick for Halloween! This movie came out when I was 8 years old, and I loved it. I hadn’t seen it in years, and it was interesting going back and watching it as an adult – I still found it to be a lot of fun. I also noticed that the director was Kenny Ortega – aka the director of High School Musical, ha! My favorite character is definitely Sarah Jessica Parker, she is so goofy and I love her singing in this film. Amok! Amok! Amok!
Anywho, I had been wanting to make candy corn themed jello shots for a while, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity! (Although, I despise actual candy corn – yuck.) I didn’t like a lot of the recipes out there using orange and lemon jello, the flavors just didn’t seem right to me. So I opted to start with a white liquor (Rumchata) and get my colors with food dye. I added in some butterscotch schnapps for extra deliciousness, too. I used equal amounts of each color, but that resulted in a really big white layer, so I have adjusted the amounts in the recipe below to better represent the appearance candy corn. (more…)
First, make sure that you are using good quality salmon. I refuse to eat farmed Atlantic salmon, and wild caught Alaskan can be expensive. So I usually opt for the farmed Norwegian or Icelandic, which never fails to be thick and fatty – yum.
First you will cook shallots in butter, then add Prosecco and thyme to make a poaching broth. Then, you will carefully place the salmon into the broth and spoon hot liquid over the top until cooked to your liking (Melissa and I both prefer medium). (more…)
I love homemade pizza, you know this. And I really love burrata on homemade pizza – it is so creamy and gooey and just heavenly. It’s great with tomatoes in the summer, but when paired with caramelized onions it becomes this luscious and sophisticated fall combination.
The onions are caramelized slowly with butter (this takes time and patience), and finished with balsamic vinegar. They are piled on pizza dough and topped with torn burrata, no sauce needed.
Then it is baked and topped with fresh basil. Oh. My. Gosh. It is just so good – rich and creamy and perfect.
My thanks to Melissa from Smells Like Brownies, for suggesting that we make this and for teaching me to stop rolling my pizza dough out so dang thin! (more…)
It’s time for another Secret Recipe Club post! This month, my assignment was The Tasty Cheapskate. Food was not a big focus for Jean growing up, neither eating it nor cooking it, which is pretty much the opposite of my childhood. Luckily all that changed for her as an adult. Now she focuses on whole foods and budget friendly family meals. She even did a challenge where she fed her 6 person family on $6 a day! Incredible!
Looking through her blog, I found a lot of yummy baked goods. Like a bunch of different pull-apart breads, but especially this coconut and lime one. Also zucchini bread with lemon or with coconut. And self frosting nutella pumpkin muffins – shut the front door! But despite all those yummy delights, what I really wanted was a nice healthy meal – so my eyes lit up when I saw this Broccoli Barley Casserole. And I was even more excited when I saw that the original recipe used farro, which I have been meaning to start using for a long time, and that it could be made in one pot.
Start by sauteing onions and garlic in a Dutch oven. Then add the farro and allow to toast a bit.
Add in frozen spinach, water, and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the liquid is almost all gone and the farro is tender but still chewy, about 20 minutes. (more…)
I made these cupcakes (a long time ago) for the bridal shower of a vegan friend of mine. Please ignore how terrible I am at frosting – this was literally my first time using my piping set. I got the recipe from Melissa (Smells Like Brownies) who said it was a delicious cake recipe, even for non-vegans. And you know what? She was right! These cupcakes are moist and decadent and very chocolatey – and don’t taste at all like avocado! They are also incredibly easy to make.
The original post included a lemon and avocado frosting that I was not a fan of, so I ended up using Duncan Hines chocolate frosting in the tub (which just happens to be vegan). You can use whatever frosting you prefer.
Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes
adapted from Joy the Baker
makes 36 cupcakes
3 cups all-purpose flour
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used avocado oil)
1/2 cup soft avocado, well mashed, about 1 medium avocado
2 cups water
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake wrappers into 3 muffin tins.
Sift together all of the dry ingredients except the sugar.
Mix all the wet ingredients together in a bowl, including the super mashed avocado (you really don’t want any chunks).
Add sugar into the wet mix and stir.
Mix the wet with the dry all at once, and beat with a whisk (by hand) until smooth.
Scoop batter into muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove onto cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.
I am on the NoVA Elite Squad this year, which means that I get invited to awesome events! Back in July (I’m so far behind on posting, lol) – I was invited to a tasting event at the (then) new Tupelo Honey Cafe in Arlington. We got to hear about the menu and try several dishes and drinks. It’s a really great way to get an impression of a restaurant without having to visit several times in order to try a lot. That’s our fearless leader, Gretchen, in the photo there (check out her blog here).
I thought the location was really cute, on a corner near Ballston with a nice patio. The decor was warm and inviting, and the staff handled the madness of the event quite well. We got to try several drinks, starting with the happy hour special of sparkling sangria. I actually did not like that drink, though many others did, because it tasted more like a vodka and soda than a sangria. After that, I ordered the Violet Beauregarde (props for the cute name) with vodka, St. Germaine, blueberry puree, fresh mint, fresh lemon, and sparkling wine. I LOVED that one. I also loved the non-alcoholic blueberry spritzer that they passed around, but not the rosemary lemonade (too bitter).
As for food, we tried the Goat Cheese Grits Poppers with Jalapeno Apple Salsa (4:00, my favorite); Fried Green Tomatoes with Grits (1:00, also really liked); Country Ham Wontons with Shaved Brussels Sprouts (10:00, very good); Pecan Crusted Goat Cheese with Apples and Figs (not pictured, pretty good); Salt Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese and Pesto (6:00, disappointed with this one); Pimento Cheese Dip (too spicy for me); Mac and Cheese with Cajun Shrimp (also too spicy for me).
My takeaway was that this is Southern food, get the fried stuff and the cheesy stuff and the grits – if you try to go healthy, you will be disappointed. Everything we tried was from the small plates menu, so I would like to return to try an entree. Or better yet, bunch – I hear the brunch is fantastic.
My thanks to Yelp and Tupelo Honey Cafe for their generosity! You can read more about the event here.
It’s time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal! This month I was assigned Amy’s Cooking adventures, a blog that I recognize from my other blog circle – Food ‘n Flix. As I was looking into Amy’s blog in more depth and reading her bio, I started to feel like I knew her. I, too, came to cooking later in life. I, too, have a masters but chose to stay at home (as a homemaker for now and hopefully a mother soon). I, too, am an avid reader (and a huge geek/nerd in general). I love that Amy posts a list of what she has been reading, and I love the books on those lists, too! Her writing is very open and conversational and makes you feel like you are an old friend – what a treat!
I was really tempted to go with these Pesto Mozzarella Burgers on Tomato Basil Buns, maybe paired with a Roasted Blueberry Basil Margarita. But then I saw that she had a ton of s’mores based recipes! I love s’mores so much! Would I go with s’mores brownies, cupcakes, or a frappuccino? So many choices! I eventually settled on cookies, but Amy has not 1, not 2, but 3 s’mores cookie recipes. I decided to go with the 3rd and most recent recipe, because Amy said it’s the best one and I trust her judgement.
They are a chocolate base with chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and graham cracker bits – and they really taste like s’mores! You can store them in an airtight container, but I liked them best the first day, when the graham crackers were still crunchy.
They also have a secret ingredient – chocolate pudding mix! I’ve used pudding mix in cakes and ice cream before, but hadn’t thought about it for cookies – what a great idea! They came out really fudgy and moist. I really didn’t make any changes at all to this recipe, it’s perfect! (more…)
