EGGS!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We certainly did despite being far away from our family. We have become proficient at finding other orphans around the holidays and it makes for some good times. Several years ago Joel and I started a Thanksgiving tradition of having Wild Turkey with our dinner and this certainly makes for some interesting times not found at our family dinners back in Oklahoma. Perhaps they should and we would make it home more often...haha!
Just kidding, mom.

If you're like me you have an extra pie crust in the freezer begging to be used. I immediately thought of making a quiche (I'm all pied out). Hands down the best quiche recipe I've found comes from America's Test Kitchen which I modified only slightly because I had extra veggies on hand. This makes a great breakfast, lunch, or dinner and it's light enough that you won't feel too guilty eating it after the gluttony of Thanksgiving. I'm obsessed with goat cheese and it pairs so well with light and fluffy eggs that I couldn't resist, but you can put just about anything you want in your quiche, so be creative.

If you decide to go with leeks in your quiche I discovered a great trick to making sure your leeks are clean. Trim and dice the leek then place it in a large bowl of cold water and swish it around several times. The sand and dirt will fall to the bottom. Scoop out the leeks and strain in a large mesh strainer. Easy! And no grittiness that's easily missed trying to wash them before dicing.

Another trick, so you don't make a mess, is to place your pie shell with the veggies inside on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil directly on your oven rack before you add the eggs. This will keep you from spilling the liquid whilst moving it from the countertop to the oven. And don't be afraid not to use all your egg mixture. Once it reaches about a 1/2 inch from the rim STOP! I know you want to use all the eggs but please refrain. You'll thank me later.

Lastly, don't fully rely on the timer for doneness, once a toothpick inserted an inch from the rim comes out clean the quiche is ready to come out of the oven. It will finish setting in the center while it cools on your wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.



Goat Cheese, Leek, & Mushroom Quiche
Serves 6

2 medium leeks, washed and diced (green leaves trimmed and discarded)
1/2 cup mushrooms, washed and diced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cream
3/4 milk
2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper (white pepper works well here)
pinch of grated nutmeg
4 ounces goat cheese
One 9" pie crust

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat butter and olive oil in a pan. Add mushrooms and saute for 4-6 minutes until browned. Add leeks and cook for 5-6 minutes more. Set aside and let cool. Meanwhile, add cream, milk, eggs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to a large bowl and whisk until incorporated.

Place veggies at the bottom of pie shell and dot the goat cheese evenly around the pie. Place on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil and place it directly on the oven rack. Add egg mixture until it's filled 1/2 inch below the rim.

Bake for 32-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted an inch from the rim comes out clean. Once done place on a wire rack and let the center finish setting. The longer it sets the easier it will be to slice cleanly. Serve warm or at room temperature.




I've had a hankering to cook food in wonton wrappers for the longest time so yesterday while grocery shopping I finally fulfilled my urge and put some in my shopping basket. So many come in a single package that I even considered devoting a year's worth of blogging to everything I could cook in its wrapper. Doesn't that sound fun!? Okay, maybe just to me.

These egg wontons are an amazing breakfast that look fancy but are actually quite easy to make. The ingredients you can use are limitless, so use whatever gets you going. You could also scramble your eggs before baking, but I love runny eggs more than anything, so that's how I cooked mine. And since the oven was already on I cut up some potatoes and we had quite a breakfast!

 

Wonton Egg Cups
serves 3-4

12 wonton wrappers
6 eggs
1/2 cup onions, sliced and caramelized
1 cup spinach
3 ounces goat cheese
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Caramelize onions on the stovetop, about 30-45 minutes. (If roasting potatoes this is a good time to get them in the oven). Spray muffin tin with cooking oil and place two wonton wrappers per cup, overlapping them so the points oppose each other. Distribute goat cheese evenly in the bottom of each cup. Place spinach in with the caramelized onions and cook just until the spinach begins to wilt. Place onions and spinach in each cup and carefully crack an egg over the filling, careful not to break the yolk. Alternatively, scramble 4 eggs with 2 tablespoons milk and distribute evenly. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake 12-15 or just until the white of the eggs set. It will continue to bake and cook while it cools. Serve warm.

Cooking with Fresh Cranberries: Fresh Cranberry Scones & Cranberry Salsa

I couldn't resist picking up a package of fresh cranberries at the market last week, I had never cooked with fresh cranberries before and since they have such a short season I thought it would be silly to pass up the opportunity to play around with some new recipes. Did you know our neighboring state of Wisconsin is Americas largest producer of cranberries? I just learned that too. I also learned that eating a raw fresh cranberry by itself is the opposite of good, no wonder you can't find dried cranberries without any sugar added.

I made a batch of these cranberry and orange scones yesterday and freezed all but six of them since Joel and I can't or shouldn't eat an entire batch of scones by ourselves. I simply placed them on a baking sheet after I rolled and cut out the dough and put them in the freezer. Once they had frozen through I layered them with parchment paper in an air tight container. Now anytime we want fresh scones it will be a breeze! I'm actually going to try this with regular biscuits, what a joy to get a freshly baked treat without cleaning up the layer of flour that inevitably coats my entire kitchen!

Try using a lemon instead of an orange, or you could certainly eliminate any citrus at all but next time I think I'll enjoy using a nice Meyer lemon to give it a POP of flavor rather than the subtle sweetness of the orange.

Fresh Cranberry Scones
15-18 scones

4 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar + 3 tablespoons sugar (cut sugar back to 1/4 cup if using dried cranberries)

2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries (or one cup if using dried)

1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water or milk, for egg wash
 

Sugar Glaze

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus 2 tablespoons

4 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix 4 cups of flour, sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. Combine the eggs and heavy cream and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough will look lumpy. Combine the cranberries and 1/4 cup of flour, add to the dough, and mix on low speed until blended.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough. Keep moving the dough on the floured board so it doesn't stick. Flour a 3-inch round plain or fluted cutter and cut circles of dough. Place the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Collect the scraps neatly, roll them out, and cut more circles.

Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to the touch. Allow the scones to cool for 15 minutes and then whisk together the confectioners' sugar and orange juice, and drizzle over the scones.

Next, I tried my hand at some fresh cranberry salsa. Next time I'm going to make sure my hot chili pepper is actually hot because my finished dish really needed some heat behind it to call itself "salsa". What I ended up with was almost more of a relish. Blah...I've never been a cranberry relish fan. Sure turkey and cranberry relish taste good together, but after one bite I've had enough. Turkey should be served savory (with lots of GRAVY!) not sweet. But that's just my opinion. If you have a food processor this is super easy to make. Unfortunately, I have never replaced mine after leaving it behind in Seattle, so I tried dicing the cranberries with a knife and needless to say more ended up on my floor than my bowl. This salsa is tasty on top of any number of dishes, try adding it to your protein for a subtly sweet and spicy addition to your meal.

My genius of a husband wondered if this wouldn't be good with pomegranates instead (also in season) and I think he's really onto something! If using pomegranates there would be no need to add extra sugar as they are perfectly sweet enough on their own.

Fresh Cranberry Salsa

1 1/2 cups cranberries, diced (fresh or frozen) 

1/2 apple, peeled and diced

1 Serrano or jalapeno chili to taste 

4 tbsps sugar 

1 orange zest

2 tbsps fresh cilantro, chopped

1 dash lemon juice (to keep apples from turning brown)

1 dash salt

We are getting super excited about Thanksgiving! We are going sans turkey of course, but I'm looking forward to all my favorite side dishes; mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, roasted veggies, and mac & cheese....my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Time to find my comfy pants!

Keeping Warm with Quinoa Stuffed Carnival Squash

 

 

On a very cold and windy day in late November two people sought refuge in the Lincoln Park Conservatory in Chicago. The warm and humid climate was a welcome escape from the bitter winds that whirled beyond the greenhouse windows. A tropical paradise indeed...

    

Turning on the oven after being outside on a day like to day is very welcome. The heat still lingers hours after the oven is turned off and the smell of roasting onions and garlic permeates into the fabric of my sweater; there are worse smells that can cling to you. Tonight I roasted pineapples and cauliflower together with a puree of green chilies, garlic, onions, carrots and celery. The twice baked potatoes served along side it made for a warm and hearty meal. The pineapple lost its tartness in the oven and the subtle sweetness went along great with the savory cauliflower.

However, that's not the recipe I'm sharing tonight. I finally found a use for the carnival squash I've been using for part of my Halloween decorations. With the pumpkin carved and finally discarded it's time to cook them up. Carnival squash come in a variety of sizes, I used two smaller sized squash and they cooked up nicely after about a half hour in the oven. I stuffed them with some quinoa, vegetables, and Gruyere cheese for a simple but elegant evening meal.

 

My focus on this blog has certainly been vegetable based mainly because I'm not going to cook anything my own husband won't eat, so that means a lot of creativity and ingenuity is required in the kitchen. I love it. So it was not too terribly hard to read Eating Animals because I don't do a lot of it. And with Thanksgiving right around the corner and millions of turkeys on the chopping block it seems like appropriate reading material.


My love of books has often had me thinking that I should add a section to this blog of book recommendations; sometimes you read something that's too good not to share. Like my style of cooking has changed over the years, so has my taste in reading material. Where I once devoured most any genre of fiction, I now find myself seeking out more non-fiction material and the current book in my backpack, Eating Animals by Jonathon Safran Foer has me thinking seriously about the state of the current animal industry and rethinking things I already thought I knew. For anyone looking for a matter of fact way of looking at factory farms and the near extinction of traditional animal husbandry, I encourage you to read this and come to your own conclusions. No lie, it's hard to read. We, as Americans, have a huge appetite for animals and its only fair to see how the industry can keep up with the demand.

Try out this recipe next time you're looking for a hearty vegetable based meal that would satisfy most animal eaters.

My favorite part about this recipe is the quinoa stuffing. I'm in the minority for not being in love with winter squashes, but I like cooking with what's in season, and I LIKE them, I just don't LOVE them. It's fun to eat stuffed foods and this is great served alongside roasted potatoes (cook them right along with the squash!) and a nice green salad. Now you've got yourself a fantastic dinner!



Quinoa Stuffed Carnival Squash
Serves 2

1 large or 2 medium carnival squash, cut in half with seeds scooped out
1 cup quinoa, cooked
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups Gruyere cheese, shredded
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Lightly oil the insides and season with salt and pepper. Place the squash cut side down in a baking dish filled with 1/4 inch of water. Bake for 25-30 minutes until flesh is tender.

Meanwhile, cook quinoa in a broth of your choosing (I love the vegetable bouillon paste by Better Than Bouillon). While your quinoa is cooking saute the mushrooms for 3 minutes before adding the carrots. Cook another 3-4 minutes then add onions, celery, and garlic and cook until onions are translucent and tender, about 4-5 minutes more. De-glaze the pan with white wine and add the vegetables to the cooked quinoa along with 1 cup of the shredded Gruyere cheese. Add the lemon zest, juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stuff squash with the quinoa mixture and top with the remaining cheese and bake for another 5 minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve warm.

The Latest Expeditions in Bourbon & Butternut Squash

Wow, it's been a second since my last post (I say that a lot). But I always find myself back here because although I don't take great pictures, I'm not an exceptional writer, and certainly not a professional chef, this blog gives me a creative outlet that I need in my life.

While I haven't posted any new dishes in a while I've still been keeping my kitchen stove hot with new recipes I've found, with varying success. When I'm relaxing around the house I always have the TV turned to a cooking show and the Goat Cheese, Lentil and Brown Rice Rolls from Giada de Laurentis caught my eye.  Since I didn't feel like actually looking up the recipe I went to the market and got what I thought would go well with what I already had in the house and a general idea of what I caught on the show. Basically all I did was open a can of lentils, cooked up some jasmine rice and mixed it well with some goat cheese, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. Then I parboiled the leaves of green chard and rolled the lentil and rice mixture into the softened greens. I dumped half a jar of my favorite marinara sauce (which is hands down Rao's Arrabbiata sauce) in a baking dish, placed the rolls into the sauce, dumped in the remaining marinara sauce and topped it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. After baking it in the oven until it was warmed through I served it up to some friends with slices of toasted french baguette and they devoured their plates in minutes! It was surprisingly delicious and something I look forward to making in the future.

I think it's interesting how my cooking style has changed through the years, I use to spend way too much time cooking elaborate meals and now anything that's quick and easy but delicous is really appealing to me. That's why I was kicking myself for not remembering my hatred of cutting up tough winter squashes. After being inspired to make Ina Garten's Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Curry my lapse in memory came quickly to the surface after the tiresome act of peeling and dicing a butternut squash. The pain of cutting up that stupid squash has me shaking my head, never again! If I ever want butternut squash again I will spend a few extra dollars and get it pre-cut at the market by people who have sharper knives than I do. While I swore off butternut squash for the rest of winter, this recipe for Winter Squash Soup with Curry and Coconut Milk on Orangette really caught my eye and I think I have to try it. Coconut milk and fish sauce in a squash soup?? Yes, please! I'll let you know how I like it.

My latest failure in the kitchen is one that I take especially hard being half Vietnamese. I found a great wok at an estate sale just down the street and I have been eager to improve my fried-rice skills. Like a good home cook I had cold rice on hand and loads of veggies in the fridge and a cornstarch based sauce to pull it all together. But no luck. Despite taking all the advice I've ever heard about stir-fries, make sure the veggies are diced the same size so they cook at the same time, use cold day old rice, cook it quickly while stirring constantly making sure all your ingredients are prepped and easily on hand, it was still a no good mushy mess. Of course it tasted good but it was so far off from restaurant quality that I was really bummed. In the future I'm simply going to stir fry my veggies and place them on freshly cook warm rice rather than try to cook the rice and veggies together. Unless someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong I'll skip the mushy mess next time. No picture here, I'll spare you the grisly details.

Recently Joel and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary and celebrated by taking a road trip to Kentucky to find out how bourbon is made. Joel is partial to Wild Turkey while my favorite is Maker's Mark and we had a great time learning (and of course tasting) how our favorite bourbons are made. 

I even got to dip my own bottle of Maker's 46 in red wax!

These fermenting vats of mash don't smell very good but the science behind it is awesome. They release so much carbon dioxide that when we got too close and breathed in the lack of oxygen almost knocked us on our feet!

 

 American bourbon has to age for at least 5 years in charred oak barrels in order to be called bourbon. The shear amount of barrels stored in warehouse upon warehouse is quite impressive. I guess we Americans like our bourbon...

Unfortunately I have no culinary delights to share with you from our trip, in fact we had one of the worst meals of our lives at a small diner in Lebanon, Kentucky where you can still sit down and smoke while you eat your meal. But hey, if it's good enough for Turtleman it can't be all that bad, right??

Umm, wait. Yes it can. And it was. Turtleman is that guy from Animal Planet who goes around chasing wild animals out of peoples houses using his bare hands, I don't think he has very high culinary expectations and the geriatric party of 6 chain smoking certainly didn't help things.  

Overall, it was a great trip and the fact that I spent it with my husband of 5 years made it all the better. I'll be back soon (I promise) with photos and a recipe of my latest food expeditions. Until then!

I turned my oven on for you.

Everyone is complaining endlessly about the summer heat, but after surviving two Chicago winters it seems ungrateful to complain about being warm. I think the Vietnamese side of me relishes the humidity and heat of the summer sun, at least that's what I tell myself. I tan effortlessly and rarely burn (I know, you hate me now) and love spending my days lounging with a book by the lake for hours on end. But turning on the oven is really a different story. We rarely turn on our air conditioner, but with the oven cranked to 400 degrees I'm begging for some relief.

I got the idea for this vegetable side dish from talking to my mother, watching Rachel Ray, and a similar recipe I found online. It's easy enough to throw together and makes great use of my favorite summer vegetables: tomatoes, squash, and zucchini.

After sauteing shallots and garlic together for the base, I made a breadcrumb topping using panko and anchovies. I happen to love anchovies, but if you don't, wait until you try this. Melting the anchovies in butter and tossing it with panko and pecorino cheese is an awesome topping for these vegetables. The salt from the anchovies enhances the overall flavor of the dish and any fishiness is cooked away in the butter. Only the cook will know anchovies are present, I promise no one will notice!

I covered a small square baking dish with the shallots and garlic mixture then tossed the vegetables with olive oil, garlic powder, fresh thyme, salt & pepper. I lined them up like soliders and covered them with the panko breadcrumb mixture and made sure I stuffed the crevices between each slice. After only 15 minutes in the oven this dish is good to go. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Now I'm off to the Pitchfork music festival to listen to some of my favorite bands like, Yo La Tengo! Until next time!

 Roasted Summer Veggies w/Panko Topping
 serves 6 as a side

for the base
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 large shallots, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced

for the middle
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large or 2 medium zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch
1 large or 2 medium squash, sliced 1/4 inch
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
salt & pepper

for the topping
2 tablespoons butter
1 can anchovies, coarsely diced
1 cup panko
1/2 cup shredded Pecorino Romano cheese (Parmesean or an Italian blend would also work well)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Heat butter and olive oil together in a large skillet and saute shallot for 3 mintues, add garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Slice zucchini, squash, and tomato and place in a large bowl. Cover with olive oil, garlic powder, fresh thyme, salt & pepper, mix well.

For the topping: Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add anchovies and heat through for 2-3 minutes. Add panko and toast for 2-3 minutes more, stirring constantly. Add cheese and remove from heat.

In square baking dish cover the bottom evenly with half of the shallot and garlic mixture. Place vegetables in three rows alternating between the squash, zucchini, and tomato. Add the remaining shallot and garlic mixture over the top of the vegetables and cover with panko topping, making sure to get into the middle of each vegetable slice with the panko. Heat in the oven for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender but not mushy. Let cool, top with extra thyme for garnish, and serve.

 

Nothing Better Than Summer in Chicago

What an incredible summer this has been so far! I will use that as my excuse for being silent so long. With this being our second summer in Chicago we have learned much more of what the city has to offer and have made good friends, which helps immensely. Connecting with other people opens doors that you never knew existed and many of my friends have lived here for years, or their entire lives, and I never hesitate to take their advice on what to do and how to do it.

Grant Park

For example, I had heard that the Taste of Chicago was very overrated; big crowds and sub par food didn't make the trip downtown worth it. I decided to find that out for myself this year after I heard that one of my favorite bands, Delta Spirit, was playing a free show. The Taste of Chicago takes place in Grant Park, a large open space downtown where the views of the city are amazing. There were 35 food vendors who offered an assortment of goodies and I tried so much food my stomach almost burst. A burger from Billy Goat Inn, a slice of deep dish pizza from Lou Malnati's, Mongolian Beef Bao from The Noodle Vietnamese, fries with curry from Abbey Pub & Restaurant, Pad Thai from Star of Siam, and then after the show a funnel cake with chocolate ice cream and chocolate syrup drizzled over the whole calorie laden bomb. The food was certainly edible but would hardly make me want to visit these restaurants outside of The Taste. The food was not made to order, but rather sitting on a table, mass produced, waiting for someone to order it. I understand the necessity of this when you have literally thousands of people to serve in a few hours time. But unfortunately under these circumstances the quality of your product is going to go down. Even Lou Malnati's, whose deep dish pizza is my number one favorite in all of Chicago, suffered from an undercooked crust. The long time locals hit the nail on the head with this one, but I'm glad I got to experience it for myself and draw my own conclusions.

Dean & I enjoy the Taste of Chicago

I also got to visit Roscoe Village's Burger Fest, a much smaller festival that takes up two city blocks and is dedicated to featuring the city's best burger joints. I started off with a burger from Rockit Burger Bar, which was rated #1 on the city's website from last year's Burger Fest. It was a small 4 oz burger with fried onions and spicy mayo, but I like my burgers cooked medium and it was overcooked and bland. My friend Caitlin and I walked down the next block and found a long line at Select Cut, a vendor featuring a steak burger with caramelized onions. I had not read anything about this restaurant on the city's website but I figured the line should speak for itself. After getting our burger Caitlin and I waited in line for a bucket of french fries topped with cheese, bacon, and jalapenos. Then after a quick stop in the beer garden, we grabbed a Goose Island 312, and headed to the nearest table and enjoyed the feast before us. We reached a consensus, the burger from Select Cut was amazing and we made quite a dent in our bucket of fries too. Satiated, I made my way back home and slept off all the cholesterol I had just inhaled.

Roscoe Village Burger Fest

And while I may not have been keeping up with my own food blog, I still pursue others, who do a much better job making regular posts than I do. I discovered this blog by Sarah Britton and I had to make this noodle dish after seeing the pictures and looking at the ingredients. This dish is very Vietnamese, the sauce featuring tamari (a type of soy sauce), lime juice, honey, ginger, and fresh chilies topped with fresh mint and cilantro is so refreshing. I think if this were served with grilled pork I would have died and gone to heaven, but its also great on its own and my vegetarian husband was appreciative that I made it sans pork.

Noodles and Greens from My New Roots

Since summer finally decided to make an appearance in Chicago many of our dinners have taken place outside with simple meals of bread, cheese, fruit, and a bottle of wine. Chicago has an awesome parks department which features free movies and concerts played in the most beautiful parks Chicago has to offer and I love taking advantage of these nights outdoors under the stars with someone I love. 

Movies in the Park

Today is my day off and I'm headed to the beach my with trusty dog, Nico. Sorry for the lack of my own recipe and pictures but I'd rather be outside, soaking up the sun and reading a good book, but I still wanted to check in and let you know I've been enjoying good food and good fun. I hope your summer is treating you the same.

Diversey Harbor

Sriracha Cilantro Shrimp

I overheard a conversation at work the other day, a brother and sister were making plans for dinner and he wanted to know if they had sriracha at home to make sriracha shrimp. I have a major love affair going on with sriracha, I literally put it on everything, except maybe pancakes... I butted into their conversation as I have a tendency to do when food is the topic and asked for more information. That night I went home and did some research and found that this dish has been widely replicated but I wanted to feature it anyway because it was so amazingly good. I created my own recipe using the ideas of others, but basically there are many ways you can make this. Don't like cilantro? Use basil and/or parsley. Don't want to use butter? Use olive oil. I cooked this in a cast iron skillet but if you have a grill you could put them on skewers and the sugar in the marinade will give you a nice caramelization, and lets face it, everything tastes better cooked on a grill.

If you have a sensitivity to spiciness then don't turn away just yet. This dish is not overwhelmingly spicy, the other ingredients and cooking time help to lessen the intensity and it ends up being a mild heat with awesome flavor. I cooked it in plenty of butter which not only helped out with the flavor but tamed the heat as well. I love garlic more than anything so I hooked it up, using 5 cloves which I thought was perfect, but you should make yours according to your preferences.

I made coconut rice to go along side it and it ended up being a perfect pairing. The sweetness of the coconut went along swimmingly with the spiciness of the shrimp and I will be making this again and again and again... I also roasted some broccoli because I can't have a meal without some veggies on my plate. I hope you like!!!

Sriracha Shrimp
Serves 2-3

3 tablespoons butter
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons sriracha
1 lb shrimp, tails on
zest of 1 lemon
juice of half a lemon
4 tablespoons cilantro
1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
salt & pepper

Mix everything, except the butter, in a large bowl or gallon size plastic bag and let it marinate for 2-4 hours. Cook in a skillet with the butter for 5-6 minutes. Or grill 4-6 shrimp on a skewer for 2-3 minutes on each side or until done.


Coconut Rice

2 cups jasmine rice
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water

Rinse rice in a medium saucepan 2 times in cool water. Drain.

Combine rice, coconut milk, sugar, salt, and water in a medium saucepan. Bring just to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar, then cover and reduce heat to low. (Alternatively, cook rice in an electric rice steamer.) Cook until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, 40–45 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork; cover and let sit for 20 minutes. 

Easy Gourmet Fare: Stuffed Italian Loaf & Tuna Noodle Casserole

First, a shout out to my mother, who I neglected to mail a mother's day card to this year. My mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law were also forgotten so now they know I've neglected everyone equally. Unfortunately, distance keeps me from taking them to brunch so I'll have to share some recipe ideas instead and then they can make it themselves, not on Sunday of course, but any other day of the week.

Hi mom! I love you.

 The Mr. and I have been juicing a lot lately after acquiring a free juicier from a friend and it's gotten me reading up on good produce practices. Organic produce costs a bundle more than conventional but this handy article makes it easy to remember which fruits and veggies to buy organic when possible. Studies show that organic produce doesn't have any more nutritional value than conventional, but its the pesticides and other chemicals farmers use that I would like to avoid if possible. It certainly can't hurt not to eat pesticides but I find myself thinking its better to eat conventional fruit than no fruit at all. Its always best to eat locally and in season when possible but what's in your wallet often dominates good intentions. So educate yourself and use your best judgement.

While we're on the topic I've also been on myself to use homemade cleaning products, especially in the kitchen where traditional cleaners can leave chemical residues behind, and like I said before, if I can help not consuming chemicals, I will. Here is an article about how to make your own cleaners at home and it's really not hard at all, plus they really work.

If you happen to have your mother close and you want to make her a nice meal on Sunday (or any occasion of course) then you should definitely try this stuffed Italian loaf recipe I found on Pinterest and tried at home a few nights ago. Oh. My. Goodness. Please loosen your belt and be prepared to enter heaven. This stuff is so good! Make it when you have lots of people to feed so that you don't eat it all yourself like we did. The recipe calls for an entire stick of butter, I think you could get away with using 3/4 of a stick if you're concerned about all that fat. But hey, we should all indulge once in awhile.

Stuffed Italian Bread
adapted from a recipe found here

1 Italian loaf
1 stick of butter, melted
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 teaspoons chopped parsley
12 oz shredded cheese (I used a blend of Italian cheeses)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the melted butter, oil, onion, garlic, and parsley in a bowl.

Cut the bread into cubes with X slices without cutting all the way through the bottom crust.

Pour the butter mixture carefully into the X cracks using a spoon. Stuff the shredded cheese into the cracks. At this point, if you have a pulse, your mouth should be watering.

Wrap the loaf in foil and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and unwrap and bake it for another 10 minutes until all the cheese is melted. Serve immediately and be prepared to receive many compliments and requests for the recipe.


I also made a tuna noodle casserole because I had all the ingredients on hand and it seemed like a good pairing with the buttery stuffed Italian loaf, so a carbo load it was! Use high quality canned tuna for extra flavor, or whatever you have in your cupboard will do of course. Measure your pasta accordingly so that you have enough roux to cover the pasta so it won't turn out dry. A panko topping gives it a nice crunch and turns ordinary fare into a gourmet meal.

Tuna Noodle Casserole
adapted from this recipe
Serves 6-8

2 tablespoons butter
12 ounces dry pasta (your choice, I used Farfalle but you could also use traditional egg noodles), cooked al dente
16 ounces yellowfin or albacore tuna in oil, drained and flaked (recommended, Ortiz or Callipo)
10 ounces frozen peas, thawed
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded Parmeasean cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup chopped onion
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 pint heavy cream

Topping:

3 cups panko breadcrumbs (Japanese)

3 tablespoons olive oil (or butter)

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray a 13 by 9-inch ovenproof dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Cook the noodles in salted boiling water according to package directions until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and place under cold running water to stop the cooking. Once cooled, pour the pasta into a large bowl with the tuna, peas and both cheeses. Toss to combine.

In a large pan add the butter, the olive oil, thyme, and onions. Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and cook on medium heat until the onions are tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and cook gently until tender and darkened, about 5 minutes more. Add the Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, and sprinkle flour over the entire pan. Stir to help the flour to soak into vegetables and cook a minute more to lose the flour taste. Raise the heat to medium high and add the chicken stock. Cook until slightly thickened then slowly stir in the heavy cream. Simmer until the cream is thickened slightly, about 4 minutes more. Taste and season with salt, if needed. Pour the mushroom sauce over the prepared noodles in the large bowl and quickly stir to combine. Immediately pour into the prepared dish.

To make the topping: In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and olive oil. Season with salt & pepper. Stir until the crumbs soak up the oil evenly. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture evenly over the top of the dish and place uncovered in the oven until the sides are bubbly and the top is golden brown, about 35 minutes.

For Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner

I can tell everyone is excited about the turn in the weather by the vast increase in people populating the lakefront near our home. I love seeing people shed their puffy winter jackets and donning brightly colored summer attire. For now I'm keeping our coats upstairs, but I'm looking forward to storing them in the basement soon and fully embracing the changing of the seasons.

We are still so enamored with our new apartment and neighborhood and I take simple pleasure in just walking around and exploring all the beautiful architecture Chicago has to offer and really taking a moment to stop and smell the flowers. Today, Nico and I walked to the lakefront and spent some time lying on a blanket in the shade and easily falling into a short afternoon nap with the warmth of the sun on our backs. Here is some evidence of our expedition in the sun.

 

My day wasn't spent totally outdoors, a girl has to eat! I was, however, limited by the contents of my cupboard since I spent a ridiculous amount of money on groceries last week and have been banned from swiping my card at any retailer, whatsoever. I decided to make a delicious frittata, which when I realized could be served for any meal in the day, I had to make. I went with potatoes and onions cooked with garlic and rosemary and seasoned my eggs with hot sauce, thyme, salt & pepper and half & half to bring it all together. Once it emerges from the oven warm and bubbly, douse it in shredded parmesan cheese. The result was delicious, just as good if not better than the picture I managed to snap before devouring it.



 


Potato & Herb Frittata

4-6 servings

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic crushed
1 lb potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
3 to 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk, half-and-half or cream

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup parmeasean

Heat oven to 450 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-low heat and add the clove of crushed garlic. Let the garlic flavor the oil and simmer gently while you thinly slice the potatoes and onion; then remove the garlic if desired. Add the potatoes and onions to the skillet and season with rosemary and salt and pepper, to taste. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook for 6 to 7 minutes. Turn the potato/onion mixture over and cook for 5 minutes more. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, hot sauce, and thyme together. Add the egg mixture to the skillet and move them around and under the potatoes to settle them. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until golden on top, about 10 to 12 minutes. Scatter the cheese on top, turn the oven off and let sit for a few minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.