Monday, May 13, 2013

Happy Mother's Day!!!

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Happy Mother’s Day! Michael and I are lucky to have very loving and caring mothers. My mother Nancy loves crepes, and Michael’s mother Shira loves a specific kind of crepe known as crepe Suzette. This type of crepe is boozy, sweet, and perfect for that woman you love to call Mom.

Crepe Suzette is a crepe that is typically flambéed with either Grand Marnier, or in our case Triple Sec. It is a sweet crepe served in a thick citrus sauce with a little bit of rind, some like to serve it with vanilla ice cream, but I like it as is.

Happy Mother’s Day!
Ingredients: serves 4

Crepe Batter:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 ½ tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Triple Sec
Extra butter for pan

Tangerine Butter Sauce:
3 large tangerines
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
10 tbsp. sugar
½ cup Triple Sec



Sunday, May 5, 2013

Two Tacos for Cinco de Mayo!

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Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!! This day is widely celebrated in the states and regionally in Mexico, most people think it is a Mexican holiday. It celebrates the Mexican army’s unlikely victory against the French army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862 under General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín. What is so interesting about this battle is that it was believed that Napoleon was going to give aid the south Confederacy during the Civil War, and it was this great victory that helped prevent the French from splitting America in two!!

What we have for you today is a mango margarita, a pork taco with salsa verde, and a chicken taco with what we like to call lazy mole! So when you are enjoying your Mexican beer and your Mexican fare, don’t forget to cheers General Ignacio!

Ingredients: makes 10 tacos

Tacos:
10 corn tortillas
3 skinless chicken breast
3 Tablespoons old bay seasoning
1 ½  Lb pork
2/3 cup pomi or any plain tomato sauce
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon cumin
2 ears of sweet yellow corn
1 green Chile
5 tomatillos
Cabbage for topping
Sour cream for topping
Salt and pepper to taste

Margarita: serves about 5

¼ cup grand marnier
¼ cup tequila
10 limes
2 mangos
½ cup limeade





Make the margaritas first so you can have one while you are cooking, and then chill the rest. Simply place all liquid ingredients in blender, then juice the 10 limes, and then cut the meat out of the two mangoes, and blend! Yay!

To start the tacos you will want to get your meat going first. Heat a grill pan on medium high heat, and heat oven to 425 degrees. Season chicken with old bay seasoning, and season pork with salt and pepper. Place both meats on grill pan to get some nice grill marks, about 5 minutes each side. Next place in oven and cook chicken and pork for about another 25 minutes, or until both internal temperatures are a 160 degrees. Be sure to check the internal temperature with a thermometer, because not all ovens run the same heat, mine can be a bit hot! Or shall I say caliente!

While those are cooking shuck your corn and take all the kernels off my holding it by one end, and using a knife, run it down away from your, cutting the kernels off. Set aside.

Next, peel all the leaves off the outside of the tomatillos, and roast them. You can roast them as simply as turning the flame on your stove and using tongs, hold tomatillo in the flame and turn, until it browns all around. Let cool. Cut top of Chile and remove seeds, then roasting the same way. Let cool. Once all cooled, blend in blender with a pinch of salt.

Now for the lazy mole, my favorite part. In a sauce pan heat the tomato sauce, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, and paprika until it simmers. Let simmer for about 5 minutes, then adding corn and heavy cream, stir and simmer another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cover.

Your meat should be done about now. Remove from oven, and place on cutting board and let rest for about 7 minutes. Next slice both meats in thin strips.

Place tortillas in oven for about 4 minutes to heat.

Serve all your components on separate plates, along with cabbage and sour cream, so everyone can have a margarita and put together their own tacos! Have a blast, and Happy Cinco De Mayo!!!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Deconstruct to Reconstruct Picnic Sandwich!

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In honor of National Picnic Day which was last week and the gorgeous weather we have been having here we have made the perfect picnic sandwich which has been deconstructed…so that when you get to your picnic…you can reconstruct! Avoid gross soggy bread, and bring your components to your next picnic. Your friends will not only be impressed, but they can make their sandwich their own way, and hey, maybe you can compare tupperware.

What we have made for you today is a grilled chicken sandwich on sourdough, with a bit of arugula, gouda cheese, pickled onions, and a roasted artichoke aioli. Picnic away!

*Requires a grill pan, or grill if you feel up to it!

Ingredients: serves 2

1 loaf sourdough bread
Gouda

Chicken:
2 skinless chicken breasts
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Pickled Onion:
1 small yellow onion
½ cup vinegar
¼ cup sugar
1 star anise
3 juniper berries
2 cloves

Grilled artichoke aioli:
2 artichokes
1 egg
¼ cup plus 1 Tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup grape seed oil
Salt to taste






Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Kumquat Walnut Pasta

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We love this pasta, not to mention it is delicious even cold the next day! We have made pasta as healthy as it can be. We have taken a mix of fresh and light flavors which are so refreshing, with some classic flavors of a simple Italian pasta. We have taken a whole wheat pasta and done it up right!

So enjoy our walnut kumquat pasta tonight!

Ingredients: serves 4

1 box whole wheat pasta
½ cup raw walnuts
4 large cloves garlic
3 Tablespoons olive oil
6 kumquats
4 tangerines
4 leaves of arugula
1/4 cup plus more salt
Pepper