KISS...Keep It Simple Stupid

My Biggest Fan... Bakes!!!!

2012-01-05T20:45:00.003-06:00

I've made a decision.... Anyone who makes one of my recipes and sends me pictures as proof will get their own blog post. My best friend Elina has made 2 recipes already... My rugelach cookies and my double chocolate cookie!!! Apologies Elina, for not recognizing your baking talents earlier.

Elina is the kind of friend that everyone dreams of, few people meet and a handful get to keep. She is the friend that quieted my sobs over the phone and endlessly laughed with me on her couch. The only friend who to this day I can have as good a time watching reality tv as I could in the hottest nightclub. She has been the one person who supports me in everything I do and yet at the same time can tell me the truth about everything!

So in short, Elina deserves a lot more than a post... But at this point that's what she gets and it comes from the warmest, gooeyist, place in my heart.... Warm and gooey kinda like these cookies :)

She has recently started baking and was looking for a new cookie recipe. I told her to make my Chocolate Cookies with White Chocolate Chips. She is the kind of cook everyone can only hope for because she follows directions to a T. At 5:38 today my phone rang.... Elina was in a frantic panic... She was short a package of chocolate chips!!! I ran from work and picked her up a bag of chocolate chips; I was greeted by her sniffling toe head toddler, Emma. (more on this pile of adorableness in another post)
She finished baking the cookies, even with multiple sniffle interruptions from the toddler. 15 cookies and a generous serving of guilt later... I found myself sitting on the couch licking off the last crumbs off of my lips. Those cookies were as I had remembered them... Elina you are my hero... Sniffle monster and all!

Musings of a Noviy God...My Memories from our Russian New Year'sEve...

2011-12-30T11:35:00.011-06:00

"All is quiet in my house, nothing stirs...not even a mouse" only the quiet hum of the aquarium filter can be heard...I am the only one awake...playing with the little "Ded Maroz" (Father Frost) under our New Year's "yolachka" (Christmas Tree)trying to conceal the excitement bubbling out of my 40 pound body for the night ahead. It's the only night when even children are allowed to stay up with the adults and enjoy the festivities of the coming year.
It's December 31st 1988 on a usually snowy day in my homeland...Russia. The streets are bustling with people getting last minute treats for their elaborate New Year's Eve feasts...traffic roars down busy streets as people rush home for their naps. That is precisely what was happening at my house. All the adults were fast asleep getting their much needed sleep in preparation for a night filled with laughter, drinking and celebration. Much like our dinners New Year's eve has become a marathon of food and drink. Memories, tales and shots are shared much into the early mornings...until all the crumbs from the dining room tables are cleared and replaced with steaming cups of tea and coffee and plates of freshly made omelettes with butter. After a 12 hour marathon the survivors return to their homes to freshen themselves up for Day 2 of celebration: New Year's Eve; a repeat of Day 1...more memories, more tales, more food, more vodka.

In Russia New Year's Eve is as big as Christmas is in the states. Christmas and God Forbid, Hannakuh were not to be found on any calander. Instead, New Year's Eve was lavishously celebrated. Houses displayed their sparkling and tinsle-wrapped yolachka's, our version of Christmas Trees, in their windows proudly. Everyone gives each other presents and goes to see New Year's Eve plays featuring our non-controversial version of Santa Claus, Ded Maroz or Father Frost and his usually much younger sexy, scantilly clad assistant "Snegurachka".

I still remember our beautiful "yolachka". A real tree, that still smelled of pine cones and frost. We had the most gorgeous ornaments that were hand-made and each one had its own personality. My dad and I would decorate the tree together, my favorite part was spreading the cotton "snow" under the tree bottom. We laid "Ded Maroz" and "Snegurachka" figurines into the "snow" along with tinsle, toy trains, presents and all the other ornaments that never made it onto the tree. Countless hours were spent playing under that tree, wondering which presents were for me, dreading the moment we would have to put the tree away.

My mom would race around putting her last touches on her lipstick and her napoleaon cake. I would run right behind her, reluctant to miss any of the New Year's preparation. My dad, always the last to wake up from his nap, would walk around lazly trying to find his missing tie, annoying my mother with his constant requests to help him find yet another mysteriously missing article of clothing.

Somehow at the end of the night everything settled down...a decadant spread of appetizers, meats and desserts awaited us. A feast to fuel the busy night ahead of games, skits, songs and dancing. A night that Russians feel united in their love for celebration and food; for laughter and stories; for a good tale over a cold shot.

As an adult, I try and recreate that magic that I felt as a kid on New Year's Eve. But alas, that tingle in the stomach is unique to a child's soul and cannot be re-created but instead will hopefully be reincarnated...a wish for my own future children...a hope that they will enjoy this amazing holiday as I once did...and that my little ones will tail me around the house as I crazily rush around putting the finishing touches on my lipstick and desserts. In the meantime, I will go and drink my cold shot and laugh over memories with my friends.

A Happy and Healthy New Year to Everyone!!!

Caldo de Pollo...Mexican Chicken Soup with Tortilla Toast

2011-12-29T20:43:00.008-06:00

A blazing sun shines brigtly through the curtains, neighbors greet each other as they put their finishing touches on their Christmas lights, children race to their homes to catch a glimpse of their Christmas presents...a beautiful vision, stifled by my non-stop sneezing and sniffling. A miserable Christmas day ensued for me, that I was sure of. After 4 hopeless days of lying on the couch with my husband I craved homemade soup. Unfortunately, due to our contagious colds my husband and I were quarantined in the house, completely out of touch with anyone who could bring us homemade comfort food. We suffered with take out food...ok suffered is a bit dramatic...settled is more like it...oh who I am kidding! We relished each bit of sushi, pizza, gyros, burgers...that is until the fourth day...by the fourth day I was done. I wanted...I DEMANDED homemade food. I nudged my husband and looked as pitiful as possible...useless I thought...he does not know how to make comfort food...So we sat on the couch and continued to pig out on the last bits and bites of pizza and found comfort only in Afrin.

By the fifth day of laying on the couch, I had somehow gotten some energy back and decided that my body needed soup...chicken soup cures all sniffles. I needed chicken soup...chicken soup with a kick. All ethnicity have their version of a chicken soup, I am personally a huge fan of this one. It's simple and has a great kick that will blow through any sniffles. Two bowls of soup and one box of tissues later, I felt renewed. I walked away from my stove feeling a lot better and a little bit prouder...sniffle, sniffle, sniffle.

Caldo de Pollo...My Way

1.5 Pounds of Chicken Drum Sticks
5 Carrots, Sliced into Half-Moons
1/2 Large Onion, Diced
3 Stalks Celery, Sliced
5 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1 Jalapeno, Seeded and Diced
3 Large Red Potatoes, Diced
1 Bunch of Cilantro, Roughly Chopped
4 Knorr's Caldo de Pollo Cubes *This is the secret to this soup. Every Mexican woman who I had worked with, told me that every good Mexican housewife keeps this in the back of her cupboard as her secret weapon. Be careful it they are high in sodium so make sure to taste the soup to ensure that it's not getting too salty*
1 Tsp Better Than Bouillion
1 Tsp Turmeric *This is MY secret weapon...it gives the soup a healthy yellow color without much flavor. People will think your soup was cooking for days after they see the gorgeous golden color.*
4 Whole Wheat Tortillas
Olive Oil for Brushing or A Misto Spray
8 cups Water

1. Place chicken into a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then immediately lower to a slow simmer. Skim off all the skum off the top.

2. Once the soup is clear, add in all the vegetables and flavorings; everything except the cilantro, that comes into play later. Turn the soup down to a medium low and let it simmer, very, very gently. Taste the soup for proper flavor as it cooks and adjust as see fit. Simmer, for about 45 minutes or until desired flavor is achieved.
3. Preheat the oven to 450-degrees.
4. Place the tortilla rounds on a sheet pan. With a pastry brush, rub some olive oil onto them.
5. Place in the oven until golden brown and crispy.

6. Garnish soup with chopped cilantro. Serve soup with tortilla toasts, avocado, limes and diced fresh onion. Slurp. Enjoy. Repeat.

Turchicken Chili...The Perfect Chili

2011-12-28T15:48:00.005-06:00

Chili...as American as Apple Pie...Mac and Cheese and Chicken Noodle Soup...Craved by some loved by many, this perfect meal can be the cure for the common cold, the next day hangover, the winter blues or dozens of other common ailments. And as many cures as it boasts that's how many different varieties and recipes there are all over the country. The history of chili is still a bit unknown but the one common fact that is known is that it was NOT born south of our borders.

The most common tales speak of hungry cowboys with not much meat or desirable meat parts to spare. Being so close to the southern border plenty of spices and chiles were available to cook down the stringy and scarce meets down to a delicious and hearty stew. The name chili came from the use of different chilis used as flavorings in the beanless stew. That's right...beanless...a true Texan chili is without beans or tomatoes. In fact it's essentially a spicy stew...and by the way did you know that the national state food of Texas is chili? So do not go around Texas hoping to find yourself a nice bowl of chili with beans and tomatoes...most likely you will be laughed at by a cowboy hat clad Texan and gently ushered out of the state.

No one really knows - while there are a lot of controversial stories - of where and when the beans came into the picture, I will loudly proclaim (Texans please spare me) that I love a nice chili with BEANS! That being said...I have spent years trying out a variety of chili recipes...with peppers and without...with tomato sauce and without...with searing the meat and without...you will notice that this is the first and only chili recipe I have posted - with darn good reason. I never found a recipe before that I wanted to stamp my name on. Until my most recent attempt. Being a hard core proteinarian these days I need to shove as much healthy protein into my shrinking body as possible. (More on this in another post). So I started looking for a way to pack more protein and flavor punch into my chili...

I came across thousands of chili recipes on the net and in all my cookbooks, none of which really excited me. I wanted a chili that I would crave day after day...I wanted a chili that made me cry out "ye-haw!' while waving my cowboy hat in the air! (yes I have one...don't judge) And by some streak of dumb luck and laziness...I did it...I created the perfect chili for me. It was healthy, it had a killer protein punch and it was delicous. The perfect combination of flavors in this chili is thanks to the use of both chicken and turkey (get it- turchicken chili?) With tons of lean mean and beans this chili will prove to be the perfect dinner for any health nut... or rural cowboy. So get the crockpots out...put on your cowboy hats and scream "YAHAWWWWWW" this chili is here to stay!

Turchicken Chili

1 Pound of 97% Lean Ground Turkey
1/2 Pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
1 15 Oz Can Diced Tomatoes with Jalapeno, Oregano and Onion (or similar)
1 15 Oz Can Diced Tomatoes with Italian Seasoning
1 15 Oz Can Chili Style Beans
1 15 Oz Can Kidney Beans, rinced and drained
1 Spanish Onion, Diced
1 Jalapeno, Seeded, Minced
4 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1 Packet of Chili or Taco Seasoning
Sour cream, sliced scallions and shredded cheese to be used for garnish
Olive Oil

1. Coat a pan with olive oil and sear the ground turkey until golden brown; about 10 minutes. *While turkey is cooking chop up your onions, jalapeno and garlic.*
2. Add all the ingredients and HALF of the seasoning packet into a crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours.
3. After the first 2 hours, remove the chicken thighs and shred with two forks. Add back into the crockpot and continue to cook.
4. Taste for seasoning; if need more seasoning add in the remaining seasoning packet, tasting as you go as to not to over season.

BBQ Chicken Flatbread Pizza

2011-12-14T10:27:00.004-06:00

I love cooking for my husband. He has a hearty appetite and is a very honest critic of my food - which can lead him down the wrong path might quickly... When I asked what he wanted for dinner on a cold Friday night, he said " make me something crispy, gooey and cheesy.". Quite the combination to ask for on the night when the fridge is running low on pretty much everything except condiments and leftovers, (some of which are questionable). I had a little bit of roasted chicken breast left, some random herbs and a pantry full of miscellaneous items. The perfect concoction popped into my head once I saw my Costco size bottle of BBQ sauce.... Flatbread Pizzas!!!! Crispy... Cheesy.... Gooey.... Perfect combo not to mention super easy! This recipe literally took me all of 30 minutes to make and really put a smile on the hubby's face. I thought this was very close to the BBQ Chicken Pizza at California Pizza Kitchen and therefore patted myself on the back for a job well done :)
The BBQ sauce plays a very crucial role in this dish. I strayed from my usual Sweet Baby Ray's and chose to go with Masterpiece BBQ sauce, it was both tangy and spicy, precisely what I wanted for the pizza. Gooey, Cheesey, Tangy, Crispy...Perfect for our Friday night on the couch.

BBQ Chicken Flatbread Pizza

The flatbreaf recipe is an oldie but a goodie that I used 2 years ago in one of my other recipes. You can find some of my other recipes that I made with them here .

Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as an entree

Flatbreads

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil plus more for brushing
*Preheat oven to 450°F with a heavy baking sheet on rack in middle. I used a pizza stone instead.

2 Cooked Chicken Breasts, Shredded, tossed in 1/2 a cup of BBQ Sauce of Choice *I had left over chicken breasts, use whatever kind you have on hand, or just roast some up with salt and pepper and olive oil in the oven*
1 Cup Good BBQ Sauce
1 Red Onion, Sliced
2 Cups of Shredded Cheese * I used a Pepperjack Cheddar Mix, Italian blend would work well too*
1 Bunch Cilantro, Roughly Chopped

1. Stir together flour, chopped herbs of choice, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Make a well in center, then add water and oil and gradually stir into flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead dough gently on a floured work surface a few times.
3. Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll out 1 piece on a sheet of parchment paper into a 10-inch round. Make sure you cover the others with plastic wrap so they don't dry out.
4. Lightly brush top with additional oil and scatter small clusters of rosemary leaves on top, pressing in slightly. Sprinkle with sea salt. Slide round with parchment paper onto preheated baking sheet and bake until it is a pale golden color, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer flat bread to a rack to cool, then make 2 more rounds (1 at a time) on fresh parchment.
5.Since I was making them right away with my toppings...I took out one of my oven racks ahead of time and used that as my cooling rack. That way, I could just assemble flat bread and stick them back in the oven.
*Flatbread can be made 2 days ahead. Just cool it completely, and keep it in an air tight container at room temperature.*
6. Once flatbreads are cooked and cool to handle you can assemble the flatbreads. Shmear BBQ sauce on the flatbreads with a pastry brush. A nice layer to cover all the bubbling nooks and crannies will do.
7. Sprinkle 1/3 of shredded chicken, 1/3 cheese and (yup you guessed it) 1/3 of the sliced red onions on the already shmeared flatbread.
8. With a spoon, drizzle a bit more BBQ Sauce on the flatbread (hey they don't call it BBQ Pizza for nothin')

9. Place into the preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until cracklin and bubblin!
10. Sprinkle with plenty of cilantro and serve!

Dreams Of Rugelach

2011-11-16T15:06:00.007-06:00

I admit...I CAN bake...it's just I do not always want to...But there is that one dessert that I make that is truly MY dessert. Everyone asks for MY recipe...Everyone doubles over in delight after eating MY creation...Everyone gains about 2 pounds after eating MY dessert.

This is how this magical dessert was born...
I was unemployed...depressed and bored. I was sitting on the couch, doing nothing more than watching the Food Network. Ina Garten comes on screen and starts making these amazing little cookies. My ears perked up and my mouth started salivating. "I can do this," I thought. Reluctant to fail, I followed the recipe to a T. However, when the dough was not ending up quite how I like it, I tweaked it a bit. And they ended up AMAZING! I ate ten myself and I decided these posed a major threat to my figure! I passed the delicious little love handle makers to my husband and told him to take them to work the very next day.
At 10am the next day I get a phone call from a crazed best friend. She said her husband told her he had eaten the most amazing cookies that my husband brought into work and that I must make more! So I made more and invited her over. She drove over in an hour and was eating them still hot. The sweetest thing she said was, "It's like you put something in them that makes them absolutely irresistible! I cannot stop eating them." The following day her father-in-law tasted them...and chaos ensued! They all literally sat with their hands folded at the table and waited for my fresh batch of cookies for hours and immediately devoured them!
So now I finally pass them on :) I use the recipe below as more of a guide than anything else. Most rugelach look like little crescents. I shape mine a little differently because it's easier to cut them.
As far as the preserves goes, I have used everything from apricot, to strawberry to cherry. I personally enjoyed the strawberry, but in my kitchen everyone is a critic and the vast majority prefer the apricot.
The beauty of these little cookies is how versatile they are. Make them as I do or make them yours...whatever it is share them...it's a sin not to...

Rugelach

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2-pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar plus 9 tablespoons
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup apricot preserves, pureed in a food processor
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash

*You can double this recipe and save the dough in the fridge for a week for a rainy day*

Directions
Cream the cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the salt, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and mix until just combined. Dump the dough out onto a well-floured board and roll it into a ball. Cut the ball in quarters, wrap each piece in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour. *I have also used a food processor to make the dough and it worked great.*
To make the filling, combine 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, the raisins, and walnuts.

On a well-floured board, roll each ball of dough into a 9-inch circle. Spread the dough with 2 tablespoons apricot preserves and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the filling. Press the filling lightly into the dough.

Roll up the dough carefully like a jelly roll, making sure to tuck the corners under.

Cut into 2 inch pieces and place face up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. *Make sure you use parchment paper, when the jam boils out it creates a sticky mess*
Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush each cookie with the egg wash. Combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on the cookies. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.
*Sometimes it takes longer for the cookies to bake. Just monitor them carefully.*

Tuscan Mussles and Shrimp

2011-11-16T13:30:00.003-06:00

Very few things in life give me as much pleasure as putting a smile on people's faces with my food. Particularly, my husband's face :) Those days that he is down and out and needs a pick me up...I know the shortest distance is to his stomach! 90% of the time this remedy calls for seafood; my husband’s favorite food of all time. I was on the phone with my husband shopping at my favorite grocery store when I noticed that he was not in a particularly pleasant mood. I knew this called for an arsenal of seafood!
This particular dish I made on a warm September afternoon. I wanted to make him something healthy yet still allow him to feel like he indulged. The dishes’ simple flavors combine and form an incredible broth perfect for dipping a whole wheat crostini into.

Tuscan Mussels and Shrimp
* Like all seafood mussels can be extremely dangerous if they are not fresh. Sorting through them is crucial. Stick them under cold running water and pick through, discarding any shells that refuse to close. If they are open then they are already dead. Scrub the remaining ones with a sponge to remove any access dirt. They all have a grassy looking "beard" attached to their shells, tear that off as well.*

1 Pound of Mussels, Washed and Sorted
6 Large Shrimp; Shells and Veins Removed
4 Large Garlic Cloves; Minced
1 Shallot Diced Finely
Juice of Half a Lemon
3 Scallions Sliced on the Bias
2 Tablespoons Chopped Parsley
1 Cup of Wine
1/2 Cup Canned Diced Tomatoes
1 Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Pieces of Whole Wheat Bread, Toasted, Rubbed Down with Garlic Cloves
Salt and Pepper to Taste

1. In a wide and deep pot combine olive oil, shallots, garlic and red pepper flakes. Allow to sweat for a couple of minutes until fragrant and transparent, but not brown.
2. Add in shrimp and sautee for two minutes.
3. Add in mussels, white wine, tomatoes, lemon juice and scallions; toss everything to combine. Cover with tight fitting lid and allow to cook for 4 minutes untouched.
4. Remove lid and move everything around, if all the mussels are opened, poor into a deep bowl, sprinkle with parsley and serve with toasted bread!
Dip, slurp and enjoy!

Moroccan Chicken with Whole Wheat Cous Cous

2011-08-25T08:46:00.004-05:00

I thought long and hard about what I should have as my first recipe after my long hiatis. I needed it to be something easy, comforting, delicious and most importantly healthy.
My mother-in-law initially introduced a version of this dish to me. While it was delicious I still felt it needed some more flavors to really make it a star. This dish is truly a perfect explosion of flavor on the palette. It’s spicey, sweet, tangy and most importantly delicious. Pair it with a super easy whole grain cous-cous and you are on your way to a wonderful dish inspired by all the flavors of the Middle East.
As the cooler weather threatens to sneak up on us at any moment...I find myself going back to my plethora of recipes and reaching for things that are ooey gooey and warming. Naturally, those are the typical recipes that also add some unnecessary layers of fat to our warmth-hungry bodies. And so this is where my fight for the healthy and the comforting begins. I want to reach for my pasta pot and create a mind blowing concoction of pasta, pancetta, cream and chicken…but that is reserved for special occasions when the calories disappear for just one meal. For now, we need something that will warm our souls and feed our grumbling stomachs. For now, we remember that food is there to nourish us not solve our problems. For now we sit down at the table with our families, friends and loved ones and share a scrumptious meal that inspires stories and tales of other worlds, distant travels and happy endings…at least that’s what I hope for with every meal.

Moroccan Chicken

2 Pounds of Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs or Chicken Breast; Cut into Large Pieces
¾ Cup Dried Apricots, Roughly Sliced
¾ Cup Dried Prunes, Roughly Sliced
1 Spanish Onion, Diced
3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Cilantro, Roughly Chopped
Juice of One Lemon
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1 One-Inch Piece of Ginger, Minced
1 Tablespoon Smokey Paprika
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/8 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1 Teaspoon Cumin
1.5 Tablespoons Turmeric *The turmeric gives this dish its distinct yellow color*
½ Teaspoon Sumac (optional)
½ Tablespoon Salt
1 Tsp Pepper
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes

-Preheat oven to 450-degrees F. Spray down a casserole pan of choice.
-While the oven is preheating combine chicken thighs with turmeric, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, paprika, cumin, ginger, garlic, salt pepper, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and cilantro. Toss in a bowl to combine and let stand for at least 20-30 minutes or even overnight.
-In a separate pan, combine onions, red pepper flakes with olive oil and sauté until golden; about 10 minutes.
-Add in dried fruit and mix to combine. Let cook for 10 minutes.
-Place chicken mixture and onion mixture into oiled casserole dish. Mix well to combine and distribute evenly.
-Cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until meat is tender and cooked through.

Whole Wheat Cous Cous

I always buys Trader Joes Cous Cous and just follow the package instructions.

I'm Back...With a New Plan

2011-08-25T08:33:00.002-05:00

It's been a little bit of a hiatis...In between my new job, getting married and staying on top of all my other activites...My blog took a backseat to my life. Until one very fine day, I realized how much I missed that special time I set aside to write about my cooking adventures in the kitchen.
However...now I have taken a slightly different approach...while I love food and I love to cook delicious buttery cuncoctions, per my culinary education...I know that we as a society in America have developed a scary obesity epidemic. Diabetes and heart disease is on the rise in adults and young children alike. So I decided what better way to help this on-going fat battle then to create delicious and healthy recipes that will allow me to make a change in the way we live.

So come along with me and cook your way to a healthier you!!!

I WANT TO START A FOOD REVOLUTION IN CHICAGO!

2010-04-28T14:22:00.003-05:00

For years I have wanted to get involved in the way children and adults eat and think about food! After watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution I have decided to get involved and start my own revolution! BUT I NEED EVERYONE'S HELP! I certainly have the food knowledge and the cooking skills to do so, but I need HELP! If any of you are in the Chicagoland area and want to help me with ideas or anything at all...please contact me!

Holy Peaches!!!

2010-04-19T16:14:00.004-05:00

Fooled Ya! If it looks like a peach, it must be a peach right? NOPE!

8 years ago my brother and sister-in-law had the most amazing wedding...and with it came an incredible sweet table. The one dessert that I remember and that unfortunately the bride and groom never tasted were these beautiful little peach looking cookies. I guess the past has a way of resurfacing :) I was at the in-laws house last week and my mother-in-law made these beautiful peach looking cookies. They were gigantic but none the less amazing! So I vowed to make my own, at the very least so that my brother and sister in law could have some :) They tasted exctly like I remembered at the wedding...Delicious! They are a tad bit time consuming but totally worth it! The look on everyones' faces when they saw those little imitations was priceless!

Peach Shaped Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
1 Stick of butter, softened
2 Tablespoons Sour Cream
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (You may have to keep adding flour until the dough is firm enough)
1 hazlenut for each whole cookie made
2 Cans of Dulce de Leche
*If the store does not have Dulce de Leche, go ahead and use sweetened condensed milk and boil in its cans for 2 hours.*

For the dying of the cookies:
2 bowls of milk, one colored with red food coloring, the other with yellow.
1 bowl of sugar (abour 1/2 a cup)

Directions
1. Heat your oven to 350°.
2. Lightly grease cookie sheets.
3. Mix together the sugar, eggs and butter. Add flour and baking powder.
4. Form 1" balls by rolling them in your hand and placing on the cookie sheet. Make sure the balls are a bit flat on the bottom where the rest on the cookie sheet.
5. Bake until bottoms of cookies are lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

6. While they are still warm, with a knife, scoop out the inside of each cookie and save the crumbs.
7. Combine sweetened condensed milk with the reserved crumbs and the 2 tablespoons of Cognac.
8. With a teaspoon, fill a half with the filling and one hazlenut. Take another half and smoosh together to make one whole peach. (The hazlenut adds for a surprise on the inside)
9. Dip each whole peach into the red food coloring first, then the yellow. Let them dry for about 10 minutes and then roll in the sugar.

Voila beautiful peach cookies! The more you practice the more beautiful they will get!

I Got a New Toy! And I Made Herb Chicken Thighs with Latin Quinoa

2010-04-06T16:20:00.006-05:00

I got a new toy!!!! I was at my brother's house this weekend with my grandmother and noticed that my sister-in-law was making paninis. I was very intrigued by this gadget and that's when she showed all the bells and whistles of this thing! You could take out the grill plates and replace them with flat plates...with this you could make an entire breakfast! Plus the paninis I could make with this thing are endless! So my grandmother insisted that she get one for me and herself.
Look how pretty and shiny it is! Hypnotizing isn't it?

Well I have already made breakfast and several paninis! Today I decided to make a really easy chicken recipe on the panini grill! These chicken thighs were so simple, healthy and pretty...I forgot how good grill marks look!

Herb Chicken Thighs

3 Pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs-All Fat Removed
1/2 a Lemon, Juiced and Zested
1/4 Cup White Wine
2 Tablespoons Parsley
3 Garlic Cloves
1 Tablespoon Sour Cream
Salt and Pepper

1. Combine all ingredients, except chicken, in a blender or food processor until pureed.
2. Place chicken in a ziplock bag and pour in marinade. Let sit for a minimum of four hours.
3. Preheat your grill and cook for 5 minutes on each side.

Latin Inspired Quinoa

1 Cup Quinoa-Rinsed
2 Cups Water
1/2 Tomato, Chopped
1/2 Red Onion, Diced
2 Garlic Cloves
2 Tablespoons Cilantro, Chopped

1. Sweat onions and garlic until translucent in a bit of oil.
2. Add quinoa and coat with garlic and onions.
3. Pour in water and tomatoes and bring up to a boil.
4. Lower to a simmer and cover. Cook for 20 minutes.
5. Add in cilantro and fluff with a fork.

Chocolate Lover's Dream: Flourless Chocolate Nutella Cake

2010-04-05T22:35:00.005-05:00

Now I know...I know...this cake sounds REALLY evil but I made it for a good cause...It was Passover last week and I had to bring dessert. I thought of making creme brulee again, but it's not that easy to make individual desserts for 18 people. So I decided to actually bake. Now I think I have made it clear that I do not bake. Oddly enough, recently I developed a liking to baking; in fact I really enjoy it! So I decided to make something with simple flavors but that will please all different pa lattes! CHOCOLATE! I find it hard to believe that there is anyone out there that does not like chocolate; so it was a pretty easy choice. I found a recipe I used in culinary school and added a very magical ingredient to it: NUTELLA! Nutella, the delicious hazelnut and chocolate spread is fluffy, creamy goodness. The addition of the Nutella and a touch of coffee was a perfect compliment to this chocolaty goodness!

Flourless Chocolate Nutella Cake
*Just an FYI, this cake is so dense that it could probably feed more like 20-25 people.*

Cake
6 large eggs- separated
1 Tsp Instant Coffee
1 stick soft unsalted butter
1 jar of Nutella
1 tablespoon Kahlua
1 Cup finely ground hazelnuts
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

Ganache Topping
1/4 cup crushed hazelnuts
1 cup heavy cream
4 oz bittersweet chocolate

*Preheat oven to 325 degrees and butter a 9-inch spring form pan.

1. Melt your chocolate over steam or in a double broiler.
2. Place the jar of nutella in the microwave for 30 seconds to loosen it up a bit.
3. In a mixer, combine butter, coffee, Kahlua and Nutella...make sure to scrape out every bit of that goodness!
4. With the mixer on low, add in the egg yolks one at a time, making sure each is incorporated before adding the next.
5. Add in the melted chocolate and combine.
6. In another mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Slowly fold in the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
7. Pour into the pan and bake for about 50-60 minutes or until top has set.
8. While the cake is baking, make the ganache by bringing the cream up to a high simmer.
9. Turn off the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted.
10. Once the cake is ready, let it cool for 10 minutes. Then remove from pan and let cool completely on a cooling rack.
11. Once cooled pour the ganache on the cake and smooth out. Sprinkle with hazelnuts and slice yourself a piece!

Perfect Crockpot Pot Roast

2010-04-05T16:09:00.005-05:00

Every once in awhile, a certain dish comes around that is so simple and so delicious that no alterations need be made. Usually these are the dishes that have been around for ages, the ones that grandmothers and mothers make, that fill up our houses with incredible aromas and fill our hearts with memories. "Zharkoya" or the Russian word for pot roast (or stew) is one of those classic recipes that I have unfortunately tried to change. I added wines, root veggies, herbs, cognac, etc. However, the original recipe only calls for 3 or 4 ingredients and is outstanding! It wasn't until my friend called me and said, "You know I've tried all your crockpot recipes for pot roast, but this one is still the best!" I hated to admit that she was right, but she was.

This classic dish consist of beef, lots of onions, salt, pepper, garlic and potatoes; that's it! The sweetness of the onions permeates every bit of the meat and potatoes and gives it a flavor you will never forget! There is a certain magic that happens when you combine all the simple ingredients in this dish. When I decided to make it today and I was barely able to let it finish cooking before I had 2 servings!!! It was exactly how I remembered it to be: tender, sweet and delicious!
I promise once you try this recipe you will never go back to any other complicated pot roast recipes!

Perfect Crockpot Pot Roast

3-4 Pounds Beef Pot Roast
4 Onions, Sliced
4 Garlic Cloves, cut in half
2.5 Pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes, cut into quarters
1 Tablespoon Salt
1/2 Tablespoon Pepper
Olive Oil

1. Cut meat into large chunks and season with salt and pepper.
2. In a heavy bottomed pan, sear your beef until it has a nice brown color.
3. Remove meat and reserve; add in onions into the same pan and cook over medium heat until nicely caramalized, about 20 minutes.
4. Add in 1 cup of water to the onion mixture to deglaze the bottom of the pan.
5. Layer half the onions on the bottom of a crockpot, then add in the beef, seasonings, potatoes and garlic. Toss everything together.
6. Layer the remaining onions on top of the beef and cover with enough water to submerge potatoes and meat.

7. Cook for 6 hours on high, or until beef and potatoes are fork tender.
8. Enjoy!!!!

My Dirrrty Pots

2010-03-20T00:56:00.002-05:00

So at one point...when I bought my pots and pains they were so beautiful, shiny and new! Now...not so much! So ladies and gents I ask for your help! What do you do to get that burnt on mess off of your pots and pans? Mine look horrendous and even that gosh awful Easy Off can't get it off! I'm all ears! Please let me know what your favorite remedies are for my pots' illness :(

White Bean and Escarole Soup with Meatballs

2010-03-17T10:14:00.004-05:00

It may be getting warmer but my soup addiction is still going strong!
In fact I may be the only person I know that can eat soup in the middle of summer while sitting outside in the heat! Since I was a kid soup was always a way for my mom to make me eat lots of veggies and calories. Now, it's actually recommended for people who are on a restricted calorie program! I know that years ago when I was on Weight Watchers, they recommended to eat a cup or bowl of veggie soup before each meal to fill up. It worked! I always ate less when I had that bowl (or 2) of veggie soup!

Yesterday, I really wanted something fulfilling and full of greens for dinner. So while watching LOST (yes I'm a lostee) I made myself this really healthy and filling soup. It's a healthy twist on an Italian classic. I used nice, lean ground turkey to make the little meatballs and homemade chicken broth I had frozen from some leftover chicken soup. It was delicious, hearty and really healthy!

White Bean and Escarole Soup with Meatballs

Meatballs

1 Pound Lean Ground Turkey
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons Chopped Parsley
2 Minced Garlic Cloves (On my microplaner of coarse)
1/4 Cup Freshly Grated Parmesano Reggiano
Salt and Pepper

Soup

6 Cups of Chicken Stock, homemade or boxed
2 Cups Chopped Escarole
1 Can Cannelini Beans
1 Diced Onion
Juice of 1 Lemon
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Rice

1. For the meatballs: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and roll into little balls; reserve.
2. Add olive oil to a pot and sweat the onions. You do not want them to get brown, just nice and translucent.
3. Add chicken stock to the pot and bring to s simmer.
4. Once the soup simmers add in the meatballs and rice. Simmer for 20 minutes and add in beans, escarole and lemon juice.
5. Serve with freshly grated cheese of your choice!

Smokey Pasta with Scallions and Escarole

2010-03-16T00:35:00.000-05:00

I love pasta and like most people I like it with a delicious creamy sauce. Which of coarse translates to dreamy love handles :) I have been trying to create a healthier cream sauce. And after many failed attempts...I finally got it! The key is ricotta. When the ricotta is pureed with a touch of milk, you get an amazing, delicious, creamy and thick sauce!

This pasta dish in particular is simple with a lot of complex flavors. It uses three pork products, pancetta, prociutto and bacon! Now while the ricotta makes the sauce a bit healthier, the pork products certainly does not...however once in awhile one has to be bad :) The added sweetness from red onions balances out the dish beautifully. I still have a taste in my mouth from this incredible pasta!

Smokey Pasta with Chicken and Escarole

1 pound whole wheat rigatoni or penne pasta
2 oz Prociutto, thinly sliced
2 oz Pancetta, thinly sliced
2 oz Smoked Bacon, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 cups escarole, thinly sliced
2 scallions, sliced
1 cup of ricotta
2 tablespoons of milk
2 garlic cloves
1/2 a cup Parmesano Reggiano
1 tsp of olive oil
freshly cracked black pepper

1. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water for use later.
2. Add the tsp of olive oil to a pan and add in the prociutto, pancetta and bacon.
Sautee the bacons until nice and crispy. Remove from pan.
3. Add in red onions and scallions and cook over medium heat until tender.
4. In a blender, food processor or Magic Bullet, combine the ricotta with the milk, parmesan cheese and garlic until smooth.
5. Lower the heat and add in ricotta mixture and pork products. Add pasta and escarole and toss to coat. The escarole will wilt nicely from the heat of the pasta. * If the sauce is too thick add a bit of pasta water to thin it out.
6. Serve with a few cracks of freshly cracked pepper.

White Chocolate Creme Brulee with Macerated Berries

2010-03-16T00:34:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine asked me to teach him a few recipes. So I was on a mission to create a nice gourmet yet simple menu. Everything was going smoothly until I came down to dessert. I could not think of anything that would really be simple but completely impressive. So I asked my friend, "Name one dessert you would love to learn how to make?" He paused and then replied, "Creme Brulee!"
Of coarse I agreed and went to work on a recipe. However, the words creme brulee did not equal easy in my mind...until I looked at the recipe. OMG there was nothing to it!

Now the one ingredient that I believe makes a simple creme brulee special is s fresh vanilla bean. I was actually able to find them a lot easier than I though. Both Williams and Sonoma and The World Market had them. In fact, I also bought the Little ramekins for the creme brulee at The World Market as well for a much better price than any other store I went to that day. The best part of using the vanilla bean in a creme brulee is when you get to the bottom of the ramekins you see the little black dots from the vanilla bean...and everyone started asking what it was!

I served some really simple macerated berries alongside the creme brulee and we had an amazing simple and delicious dessert!

White Chocolate Creme Brulee

6 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
4 oz white chocolate chips
12 teaspoons raw or cane sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325-degrees.
2. Scrape the vanilla bean seeds out of the bean and make sure you get every last bit!
3. Over medium heat combine the heavy whipping cream, vanilla seeds and the vanilla bean; bring to a simmer.
4. In a separate bowl combine the sugar with the egg yolks and whisk to combine.
5. Once the cream mixture comes to a heavy simmer, begin tempering the eggs: with a ladle add in some of the cream mixture into the eggs and whisk. Do this 2 more times. This will allow for the eggs to reach temperature slowly and not curdle. Once tempered, add the mixture back into the pot.
6. Add the white chocolate to the pot and over low heat, slowly whisk the mixture, making sure the chocolate melts.
7. Pour mixture into a measuring cup through a strainer to catch the vanilla bean and any pieces of egg that may have curdled.
8. Arrange ramekins in a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Pour enough hot water into pan to come halfway up sides of dishes.
9. Pour custard into each ramekin and divide equally.
10. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until set in center.
11. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or until ready to serve, at least 1 hour.
12. If you have a flame torch, like myself this makes for an exciting activity for the guests to do. Just sprinkle the raw sugar on top of the creme brulee right before service flame them! If you do not have a flame torch, (you should invest in one, they are very impressive and not that expensive!)then just stick them under the broiler with the sugar sprinkled on top until nice and golden brown!

Macerated Berries

1 pint strawberries
1 pint blackberries
1 pint blueberries
1 pint blackberries
1/4 cup Amaretto Disarrono
1/4 cup sugar

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine. Let rest for at least an hour and serve with your favorite dessert!

Sticky Gooey Smothered Pork Chops

2010-03-15T00:36:00.000-05:00

On a cold and miserable Friday night I opened up the fridge and noticed in the very back of the fridge...concealed by a number of other dishes I made...that I had some pork chops left that I forgot to make. Completely uninspired by my empty pantry, I stood and stared at the onions, apple juice and flour. Hmmm what can I make with this? Well I can caramalize some onions and make a roux...and make a delicous thick sauce for my porkchops!!!!

To say this was easy is an understatement! The sticky gravy was delicious, more of a marmalade than a gravy actually. We actually just had the pork chop and a huge green salad for dinner...MMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Smothered Pork Chops

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons apple juice
1 cup broth
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder to season
4 thin bone-in chops (each about 12 ounces)

1. Season the pork chops with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
2. Sear both sides of the pork chops until they are golden brown. Because the pork chops are so thin, they will be practically done by this point.
3. Remove the chops and reserve.
4. Add onions and turn down the heat to medium low. Slowly caramalize the onions for about 10 minutes.
5. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and toss to coat. Add all the liquids to the pan and whisk, this will ensure the flour previously added does not clump.
6. After whisking in the flour, add in the pork chops and turn the heat on high; cover with a lid. *Now this is my new trick for a quicker caramalized onion. With the heat on high and the pan covered, the onions quickly absorb all the juices and flavors. The steam trapped in there softens the onions.
7. After 3 minutes, turn off the heat, add in parsley and dig in!

Blogging Along...

2010-03-10T15:15:00.003-06:00

It has been insane the past couple of months. Job searches, home reorganization and a broken laptop has been enough to keep me away from my blog. However, I'm back!
With my morning coffee in hand and my cat on my lap I'm, ready to roll out all the recipes I have been working on!

Upside Down Apple Cake

2010-02-24T23:05:00.005-06:00

A couple of weeks ago my fiance bought me some apples. Cute and little they were, but their flavor was more reminiscent of cardboard than apples. So instead of throwing them out, I decided to make some baked goods with them. I have recently run into quite a bit of free time and have decided to give baking another shot. It seems like it's that time of the year again where I will bake frantically for 2 or 3 weeks straight and then vow to never do it again!

I found a nice and easy upside down apple cake recipe. It was extremely easy to put together and actually quite impressive looking! It does require making a quick caramel and some coring and slicing of apples. I tweaked the recipe a bit to add some more zing to it and it turned out fabulous! I was quite proud of myself. I will add this though: make sure you take the caramel to that perfect amber stage. Thinking that the residual heat will finish it in the pan, I turned it off and it turned out a bit too light. The next time I make this, I will be sure to take the caramel to a darker stage.

*I found that because the cake uses caramel and there is sugar in the batter, that it was a bit too sweet. In the recipe below I have adjusted the amount of sugar so that it is not that sweet.*

Ingredients
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the dish
1 1/4 Large Apples, Peeled and Sliced
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup sour cream
3/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Generously butter a 9-inch glass pie dish and arrange the apples in the dish.

3. Combine 1 cup of the granulated sugar and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over high heat until it turns a warm amber color, making sure the entire time you DO NOT stir the caramel, this will cause crystallization.
4. Pour evenly over the apple slices.
5. Cream the 6 tablespoons of butter and the remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy.
6. Lower the speed and beat in the eggs 1 at a time.
7. Add the sour cream, zest, and vanilla and mix until combined.
8. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix only until combined.
9. Pour the cake batter evenly over the apple slices and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
10. Cool for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto a flat plate. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

*I actually ran out of regular granulated sugar and ended up using raw cane sugar in the batter instead. The batter still came out great! *

Review: Sandals Whitehouse European Village and Spa in Jamaica

2010-01-13T15:21:00.031-06:00

On December 31st, 2009 my fiance and I along with a group of 6 others, took a trip to The Sandals Whitehouse European Village and Spa in Jamaica. We started discussing this trip at the end of August and there were quite a few arguments. My fiance and I have traveled to the Caribbean a couple of times and we both love Jamaica so we knew that would be our destination. We have stayed at only 5 star resorts such as Riu's and Reef's...so we knew that you could still get an all-inclusive vacation at a great price...even during New Year's. My best friend found an incredible deal on the Sandals Whitehouse in Jamaica. Now the price was significantly more than what we paid before. But we knew that it was Sandals...the epitome of luxury and service plus it was adults only which was nice for a change.

About a week after we booked it we found out that the hotel would be going through with renovations...and it would be scheduled to reopen December 18th...TWO weeks before we were scheduled to arrive! So I went into control freak mode and sent the Guest Services Manager a request for a timeline to ensure that the repairs would be completed on time. Heather, the manager, got back to me and assured me that everything would be done in time for our arrival.

Unfortunately, things did not go as smoothly as we had planned on our end. 10 days prior to our trip my fiance tore his soleius muscle (the smaller muscle in his calf). After numerous x-rays, doctor's appointments and panic attacks (on my end), we were ready to go! My fiance had to wear a stupid stabilizer boot that we called the "RoboBoot" but we made it there in one piece!

Arriving in Montego Bay put smiles on all our faces :)

A Sandals representatives came up to us by the luggage carousel, loaded all our luggage and took us to the designated waiting area that Sandals has. It was like we arrived in a cute little mini hotel, complete with couches homemade DELICIOUS cookies, mimosas and Red Stripe Beer! We waited for no more than 15 minutes until they took us to our private transport. This was one of the negative parts of the trip: the ride to the hotel...it was an 1.5 hours long. However, mostly everyone fell asleep on the ride there and those of us who didn't, like myself, were just excited to be in Jamaica and enjoyed the Reggae music and scenery.

The vastness of the hotel really took my breath away! The hotel is situated on 75 acres of beach!!!! All the rooms face the sea! The hotel is divided into 3 main areas or countries I should say, France, Dutch, Italy.

We were greeted very warmly by the bellmen and the concierge staff. There was however a problem with our check-in. We were placed in France, the farthest from all the restaurants and festivities. This would not have been a problem if my fiance did not have the "RoboBoot". After we explained that we had to be in Italy and all 8 of us would need rooms in the same building, they said they were at full capacity and would not be able to accommodate us. So I asked to speak to my dear old friend Heather. Within 10 minutes Heather fixed the problem! We were all together and in a very convenient location in Italy!

I have found that the best way to give a detailed review is to include pictures and categories. So below I have done just that :)

Beach: For my fiance and myself, the beach is one of the most important factors when deciding whether or not to go to a hotel. The day that we arrived, it had just finished raining on and off for about a week so the water was a bit cloudy. We went to the beach closest to us in Italy. I was instantly disappointed, although the water was tremendously clearer the next day, it only showed how full of seaweed the water really was. Seaweed I can deal with it was the rocks and the surprise critters in the seaweed that scared me:

There were starfish everywhere! I was not scared of them, I just did not want to step on the poor little things..and apparently they looooove seaweed so they were all over the place. The site was absolutely breathtaking! There were ones as big as my head! But we realized that swimming there was out of the question due to all the seaweed and starfish. So we walked the entire length of the beach and saw that the beach by France was incredible. We ended up lounging there for the remainder of the vacation and the water was perfect. What I loved about this beach is that it's HUGE...Sandals own 75 acres of beach and after their property ends there are security guards standing at the so-called border. After that border is one of the most beautiful wild beaches I have ever seen! The sand is like silk and the water is stunningly clear! It's a great walk and definitely a romantic one too!

Food:
The food was beyond incredible! Everything that we put in our mouth was perfectly cooked and seasoned! I was happy to know that there was only one buffet restaurant and it was only available as a buffet at breakfast and lunch. Firstly I will start with breakfast food. The breakfast buffet was smaller than I have seen in previous hotels, however it had everything I would ever want or need. Egg station, cereals, oatmeal, sausage, bacon, deli meats, smoked fish, breads and pastries, yogurt and fresh fruits. My personal favorite was of coarse the famous Blue Mountain Coffee and instead of adding cream and sugar I add in sweetened condensed milk. It's literally a piece of heaven with every sip :)

The other breakfast place was Elanore's Restaurant, which was a sit-down a la carte restaurant. It was fabulous as well! Everything we had there was terrific! We only ate there once though because it was better for us to just eat quickly and go to the beach.

For lunch there were many options. We went to the Bayside Buffet for lunch once and it was absolutely outstanding! There were plenty of delicious options and the salad bar was gargantuous! I saw other reviews where people were complaining about the choices. Honestly, I'm really not sure what they were complaining about because I am quite the picky eater and I had to be rolled out of there after lunch!

Neptune's Mediterannean Seafood was another lunch favorite for us. The food there was great! The catch of the day was incredible always! And the mussels were so good that everyone at our table (except me) ordered 2 orders!

Bluefield Beach Club was one that we visited often because it was right in France and we were able to just grab the food and take it on the beach. It was some really nice Jamaican fare and some of the most amazing cheeseburgers I have ever had! It always had some nice fish as well and their jerk chicken Caesar was a favorite of mine :) And of coarse their jerk chicken was fabulous!

Moving on to dinners...
Our first night there, there was a huge New year's Eve buffet so we just attended that. From what I can recall the buffet was nice...but there was plenty of Champagne involved :) As you can see they filled the entire fountain up with champagne bottles...

We went to Elanore's on our second night. Elanore's was a French Colonial inspired restaurant...Apparently, reservations could only be made by people who had Butler Service in their rooms. I found that quite odd since I easily made reservations earlier that day...but more on that later. The food and ambiance was outstanding! In every single one of those restaurants the ambiance was unimaginable. It really felt as if you were sitting in the middle of France somewhere enjoying a meal outdoors. The promenade surrounding us was stunning and there was always some type of beautiful music playing. One night it was a violinist, who we paid $5 to request a song and they played it beautifully! Honestly, out of everything, the ambiance and the feel we got in the resort was worth every penny and then some.
I had smoked Blue Marlin for an appetizer. It was served with a simple salad and some capers, but it was outstanding!!!

My fiance had the duck confit in a roasted potato with a wild cherry sauce...it was AMAZING!

For an entree I had the filet with roasted potatos and seasonal veggies. Honestly, this filet was better than most I have had in Chicago! It was a perfect medium rare and so juicy and flavorful!

Someone else ordered the roasted pork tenderloin which was great as well.

Giuseppe's Italian restaurant was really fabulous as well. I had a sliced tenderloin there with a garlic sauce I believe. My fiance had the seafood pasta and loved it!

We went to Jasmine's Asian Fusion, but unfortunately my fiance' wa a bit under the weather so all the food I actually brought back up to the room for him. The food was good as well, no complaints.

Onto Bayside Grill! This was definitley a group favorite. The appetizer consisted of a chicken terrine, a mango, papaya chutney and a smoked marlin wrapped shrimp. YUM!

As an entree I had the surf and turf...I gave the surf to my fiance because I don't do lobster :) It was served very simply with scalloped potatos and it was AMAZING! It was so good that we ordered to plates of the scalloped potatoes alone! I mean wow!

We did not get a chance to go to Neptune's for Dinner but we heard great things about it.

And last but not least, Cafe De Paris...this was the perfect end to every night and the best beginnning to an early morning! The cafe was filled with new desserts every day! The classic French Napoleon was amazing. And the cheese and chocolate croissants were out of this world! They made fresh crepes like right in front of you! It gave us the feeling of sitting outside in a French village.

Service and Drinks:
The service was the only thing left to be desired. The wait to get seated for dinner was ridiculous. Being in the industry myself, it was so frustrating that things were not getting done to any sort of protocal. We waited for our tables sometimes 1.5 hours! I mean I understand, we were a large group of 8 to accomodate, but still, there were 2 tables sitting next to each other outside and all that needed to be done was for them to be pushed together...sometimes that took over 40 minutes just to do that. Evantually, we adjusted to this and spent that time wisely at the bar and taking pictures. Once we sat down we had to get accustomed to over 3 waiters. This got very confusing and frustrating for all parties involved. During the day, the bartenders at all the bars were very overworked. I think the problem was more that they just did not have enough bartenders for the amount of guests that were being served. There was an extreme lack in communication and organization.

Later we learned what the problem was: About a month ago, one of the managers left to the other Sandals in St. Lucia and he took majority of his staff with him. So in under a month, the hotel had to replace and retrain a completely new staff. Many of whom have never worked in a hotel or food service enviornment. Certainly we were understanding of that. All in all the staff were AMAZING! They were incredible if you just gave them a chance. A few people who really stood out were Sasha at Le Cabaret, Marlin at Bayside for Dinner, Venitha at Neptunes, Ian (lifeguard) at the beach and Orande at the front desk!

The grounds:
The grounds were INCREDIBLE! Beautifully manicured and cleaned. The most amazing part were the peacocks that roam the grounds. If you are lucky they will just spread their tails and show you how fascinating they really are!

On the second to last day, we decided to forego the 1.5 hour ride to the airport and take the helicoptor instead! It was absolutely amazing! The sights and views were something that everyone should experience once in their lifetime!

All in all...an UNBELIEVABLE hotel with a couple of flaws...none of which cannot be fixed with a bit of time! I highly, HIGHLY recommend this to everyone!

What's to Come...

2010-01-13T13:57:00.004-06:00

Hello All!
There is something about the cold winter months that inspires me to cook more and more! So I will be blogging quite frequently again! Be prepared for beautiful pictures, comforting recipes and fabulous reviews!

My fiance recently purchased us a new camera and it is AMAZING! I have never worked with a camera that takes such incredibly vivid and detailed shots. It really has made a huge difference in the way food looks on camera!

Along with the brand new camera, there are also quite a few other reviews that I have for my loyal readers.

Additionally, my blog has been chosen to review a few products from CSN stores! YEA!! Good think I love to use and review! I checked out several of their websites and they have everything from bar stools to cookware to home decor all in all some pretty incredible products!

As always it's great to be back!

Product Review: The Bona Mop

2009-12-15T15:49:00.003-06:00

When we moved into our house 2.5 years ago we decided to pretty much gut it and start from scratch. One of the most important things for us was hardwood floors. I cannot stand carpet or cleaning the carpet. Once we saw our beautiful brand new oak floors, we knew that it was worth every penny. They were perfectly shiny and beautiful! I was thrilled that I would never have to carry a vacuum cleaner around the house!

Never having had hard wood floors, I was not quite sure how to best clean them. So I researched several products and found that many people swore by Murphey's Oil. I decided to try it out. Immediately I loved the smell...my floors sure smelled clean...but after drying they were streaked. "Maybe I am not cleaning them right," I thought. So I went to my usual Internet resource and looked at what other people were doing. Apparently, hard wood hates water, so it is best to use a spray and a micro fibre cloth on a mop. And so I did...I mixed the Murpheys Oil with the appropriate amount of water and poured it into a spray bottle. It sure took longer but at least I knew my floors were not going to warp from the excess water and I certainly liked not dragging a bucket around with me. However, even this did not give me the result I wanted...as soon as the sun set on the floors there were those darn streaks again! About a year in a half into using the Murphey's Oil I noticed my floors looking extremely dull. I ran across an article that said any cleaner that had a detergent as the active ingredient was the WORST thing for your floors! Essentially, once the water evaporates all that is left is the detergent and that is what makes the streaks. It was not until I read into this a little bit further that I got really upset...Murphey's Oil makes floors look dull! I freaked out and threw every bottle into the garbage immediately!

Angry and hopeless, I began yet another search for a good floor cleaner. A friend of mine said that his cleaning lady used the Swiffer Wet Jet and loved it for his floors. So I ran to my nearest target and bought the Swiffer for $29.95. I liked not having to carry a bucket or a spray bottle around with me and it was great to be able to pull it out for quick clean-ups like shoe marks and spills. It worked great on my tile in the laundry room, but that's where the good news ended. Those streaks were back! It honestly seemed that I was losing the battle.

I spoke to a number of cleaning ladies and they all recommended good ole' Windex and a terry cloth. "Just get down on your knees and wipe down after each spray, making sure to clean in the direction the wood planks are laid." Well I followed their advice...and my floors were looking better. I had given up hope of them ever looking like they used to because I knew that Murphey's Oil had ruined them for good! However, they were looking better, at least those darn streaks were gone. Nonetheless, this was exhausting...working a 60-80 hour week and still having to take care of cooking and up keeping the rest of the house, this method was just way too time consuming.

On a recent trip to my favorite store, Bed Bath and Beyond, I went into the mop aisle to try and see if I can find a better micro fibre mop. Then I noticed a line of products that I really never paid much attention to : The Bona Products. I went home to read up on them and they came very highly recommended by consumers and professionals alike! They just came out with a brand new mop that had the spray bottle already attached to it! The best part was there was no need for batteries because it has a special ergonomic design!

I went and bought the mop immediately. I knew that Bed Bath and Beyond had a great return policy and if this product was not all it was cracked out to be, I could return it. Fortunately, I will not need to to return this :) It is amazing! The pad is removable and can be washed in your regular laundry machine. The spray is more of a fine mist that covers an area evenly. It is also completely safe for pets and children. But most of all...my floors are looking clean and rejuvenated! No more streaks or back pain from the cleaning on my hands and knees! I clean my kitchen floors every night now and my living room every other day. It is so easy and rewarding to see my floors coming back to life!

Here is the link for The Bona Mop...I would recommend this product to anyone who is just plain sick and tired of the old methods. This product also comes in a special formula for tile and stone floors so almost anyone will be able to use it!

A New Section Added to My Blog

2009-12-15T13:20:00.005-06:00

Hello Everyone!
Yes I am actually back and this time I hope to stay for awhile :)
I decided to add a new portion to my blog discussing some of my favorite products. Personally, before I buy any product I research it for days, sometimes weeks. Nowadays it is so hard to find a really informative and honest review. I used to depend on Consumer Reports with just about everything, but sometimes they do not have specific products that I am looking for. So I will spend a lot of time on the internet looking at multiple websites trying to come up with an educated decision based on facts and other people's experiences with them. If I find that the product is not all I thought it would be, I will definitley update the review!

I can honestly say that any review that I give is based on my own personal experience with the products and I am not in any way paid to endorse these products. Hopefully, I can help someone find the review they were looking for :)

Real Ukranian Borscht

2009-08-07T00:32:00.005-05:00

Generally speaking, soups are a major staple in the Russian diet. They were inexpensive to make, full of nutrients and kept the people warm through the long, cold winters. Borscht...is to Russian culture as hamburgers and fries are to American culture. It's a dish that is so quintessential Russian that when I tell people I'm Russian, they say, "So did you eat a lot of Borscht when you were growing up?" and unfortunately my answer is, "No."
*Now technically I am not from Russia, I am from the republic of Moldova, a country next to Romania. And even more technically, my maternal grandparents were both born in Romania, so I guess that makes me half Romanian. But no one really has heard of Moldova and since they were once all part of the USSR, I just keep it simple and tell them that I am Russian.*
In fact, growing up I hated the stuff! Its bright purple color scared me and its ingredients were never my cup of tea. I hated beets and cabbage as a child and considering those are the 2 main ingredients, I was not going near it!
My fiance is Ukrainian. Now if there is one part of the former USSR that can make borscht it's the Ukrainians. My fiance's father makes the BEST borscht. When we first started dating,his parents were shocked that I never ate at their house. I was not a fan of anyone else's Russian cooking other than my mother's, so I did not eat anyone else's Russian cooking. Now please do not judge me, that is the one issue I struggled with my whole life! Sue me! Everyone has them!
One day his father made borscht and as usual, offered it to me. I scrunched up my nose and politely declined. My fiance looked at me and quietly said, "It's rude to never eat at my house! You are insulting my family!" After this guilt trip, how could I not try it, after all I was planning on becoming the perfect daughter in law; and perfect daughter in laws do not scrunch up their noses at perfectly good food.
So I asked for a small, teeny portion of borscht. In my fiance's family, that means enough to feed me for a week! I sat there, traumatized, looking at this steaming bowl of purple liquid. I started my usual ritual: I peered over it and smelled it, then I stared at it a bit more, envisioning how it would feel and taste in my mouth; until my fiance finally broke down and said, "Just eat it! Here put some sour cream in it and EAT IT! It's just borscht!"
"Ohhh" I thought, "Sour cream sounds like a good idea, it will dilute the flavor I'm sure!" I took a nice big spoonful and placed it in my mouth. I did not want to taste it, I just wanted to chew, swallow, breathe and repeat until the entire bowl was clean. But then...an amazing thing happened...something I never thought could have happened...I accidentally forgot to hold my breath while chewing and I tasted it! And OH MY GOSH...it was AMAZING! I started eating it so fast that both my fiance and his dad looked at me with wide open eyes. His dad turned to me and said, "Well, how did you like that?" To that my only response was, "Can I have some more?!?" Lesson learned: Do not be afraid to try things that you are unfamiliar with.
Now I can promise you that if you like beets you will LOVE this soup. It is very filling and satisfying. I luckily made this the week that I got sick with bronchitis and it truly was the one thing that I could keep down. It's very nutritious and with this recipe, very low fat.
Please do not be like me and have a closed mind about this dish. Most Americans who try a good homemade borscht beg for the recipe. So here it is ladies and gentleman, my fiance's father's borscht!

Real Ukrainian Borscht

3 Beef Shanks
1 Small Head of Cabbage, Shredded
2 Large Beets, Shredded
5 Carrots, Shredded
1 Large Onion, Shredded
3/4 Cup Tomato Puree
1 Lemon, Juiced
2 Tablespoons of Sugar
6 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
3 Large Potatoes, Peeled and Cut into Chunks

*I place the cabbage, beets, carrots and onions through my food processor with the shredder attachment. It makes this dish a LOT easier.*

1. Remove all the meet from the shanks and cut into large pieces.

2. Place meat into a large pot and cover with cold water 3/4 of the way up.
3. Bring the liquid to a simmer and skim the top to remove all the scum.
*Do not let this liquid boil. If it boils then the scum will break up and it will be very difficult to clean the soup.*
4. Once no more scum is coming out of the meat, add in the cabbage and potatoes. Let this cook over med-low heat for about 15 minutes, just giving it time to soften.
5. Add in all the other ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer on low for about 30-35 minutes or until proper flavor develops. The soup should be just a bit tart and a bit sweet.
6. Let the soup rest before serving with a nice dollop of sour cream. Typically, the soup tastes even better the next day!

Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Turkey Sausageballs

2009-08-06T19:16:00.000-05:00

In the midst of all my healthy cooking, I started to crave one of my favorite comfort foods, Spaghetti and Meatballs. However, since I am trying to eat lighter and spend less time in the kitchen, I wanted to see how I can make this recipe healthier and quick. The answer: Turkey Sausage! In any market today there are a variety of gourmet chicken and turkey sausages. Cosco has an assortment of chicken sausages including feta and spinach, sun-dried tomato and artichoke and garlic pesto. With all the different types of sausages available the recipe creations are infinite!

I noticed that my grocery store had Italian turkey sausage on sale. So I thought to myself, "hmmmm why not make meatballs out of sausage???" It makes perfect sense! All the flavors are already in there, all I have to do is remove the casing and roll out little meatballs. With a few additions to the sausage I created an extremely quick and lip smacking good meal!

Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Turkey Sausageballs

1 Package Hot Italian Turkey Sausage (about 6 links)
1 Jar of Trader Joes Organic Marinara
1 Package Whole Wheat Pasta
1/4 Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Onion Finely Diced
2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley, Finely Chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
5 Basil Leaves, Chiffonade

1. Take the sausages out of their casings by making a slit down the middle of them, lengthwise. Place a pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.
2. Add Parmesan, onion, parsley and mix well with hands to combine.
3. Create little meatballs and place on an oiled baking sheet.

4. Bake at 450-degrees in a convection oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown on the outside.
5. While the meatballs bake, cook the pasta and warm up the sauce with the garlic and basil in a saucepan.
6. Once the meatballs are a beautiful golden brown, add them to the sauce to finish cooking.
7. When the pasta is al dente, drain, toss with the sauce and add meatballs. Garnish with more Parmesan cheese and enjoy... Bellisimo!

What I've Missed

2009-08-06T18:14:00.002-05:00

I've been on a hiatis...first I got busy with work...then I had some fun weekends with friends and family and the best one...I had bronchitis! Through it all I failed to post even one teeny little post...Bad blogger...BAD! So I am finally trying to catch up with all the cooking I've been doing! Please bare with me as I will have a LOT of posts in a very short period of time!
Here is a preview of what I have missed to post:

Rosemary and Balsamic Chicken Thighs with Grilled Veggies

2009-07-09T11:48:00.004-05:00

So my fridge is STOCKED with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, there was a sale that I could not resist and I intend to use everything in my freezer before I go out and buy any more meat. I love using these chicken thighs because they are so tender and moist, plus they are extremely versatile. Not to mention, if you trim up all the fat, they are very healthy and nutritious.

Last night I decided to experiment with a few ideas. I love veggies but wanted to make everything on the grill. I had a few portobellos, perfect for grilling and some fresh broccoli. Now I have never grilled broccoli, but something told me it would be delicious. And sure enough the broccoli was incredible! I could have probably eaten a pound all on my own! I cut the broccoli into huge florets and seasoned them and the Portobellos with just salt and olive oil. There was no fuss and extremely easy clean-up! The broccoli retained its gorgeous green color and had this incredible smokey flavor.

As for the chi ken...it was tender...sweet...tangy...woodsy and delicious! Please enjoy! (Sorry about this....but for some reason the pictures did not come out very clear :( )

6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tsp Brown Sugar
1/2 a Lemon, juiced
3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
2 Shallots, Minced (I used my microplaner for mincing the shallots as well)
2 Sticks Rosemary, Chopped

1. Combine all the ingredients except the chicken into a microwave safe container. Place into the microwave for 30 seconds...just enough for the sugar to melt.
2. Pour marinade onto chicken and marinade for at least 30 minutes. Grill on high for 5 minutes per side and enjoy!

*I wanted to include nutritional information in my recipes from now on for anyone who is health concious like me :)

Nutrition Facts

6 Servings

Amount Per Serving 1 Thigh

Calories 97.1

Total Fat 2.7 g

Saturated Fat 0.7 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.7 g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.8 g

Cholesterol 57.3 mg

Sodium 513.7 mg

Potassium 194.5 mg

Total Carbohydrate 3.2 g

Dietary Fiber 0.1 g

Sugars 0.1 g

Protein 14.2 g

Simple Vegetable Soup

2009-07-08T14:49:00.006-05:00

I always love having homemade soup in the house because it goes well as a quick lunch or dinner, paired up with a salad or a small salad it is perfect. In the summers I like to make vegetable soups without any meat. I find them to be lighter in the summers and yet still comforting. This soup reminded me of a Provencal soup I used to make in culinary school. It has great simple flavors in it and can be made with chicken stock, vegetable stock or even water!

1 quart Stock or Water
1 Large Parsnip, Diced
1 Large Leek, Using only the Light Green and White Parts, Washed Well
1 Medium Onion, Diced
2 Carrots, Sliced
2 Small Turnips
2 Handfuls Frozen Peas
2 Stems of Fresh Thyme
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

1. Preheat a pot to medium high heat. While chopping the veggies, drop them into the pot to make everything go faster.
2. Let all the veggies, except the sweet peas, sweat together for 10-15 minutes or until tender and very aromatic. *If you are using water try and sautee the veggies for longer to extract as much flavor as possible from them.*
3. Add cooking liquid of choice and simmer on medium heat for 30-45 minutes, or until desired flavor is achieved.
4. Finish off with the peas when the heat is turned off.

Pan-Fried Skate with Shallots, Garlic and Lemon Juice

2009-07-08T14:01:00.005-05:00

I love to buy fresh wild fish from local super markets. Since I do all my grocery shopping in the beginning of the week, I try and cook the fish the same day I buy it so that it actually tastes fresh. There was some really beautiful skate on sale this week and since I had not cooked with it ever since culinary school, I decided to give it a shot. I open it up, ready to dredge and pan-fry and then I realize... I HAVE TO FILLET IT! Oh GOSH! It's been years since I filleted my own fish and I did not even know where to begin with skate! My Internet was down so I could not even look it up! With a sharp fillet knife in hand I went at it...slowly and carefully...eventually the rhythm worked its way back into my hands and I started to remember how it was done...I ended up with 3 beautifully white fillets (the first one, was a bit of an embarrassment actually...oops).

I decided I wanted to go back to my French Culinary roots with this recipe. It was very simply dredged in corn meal and seasoned with salt and pepper. Served with a simple sauce made of shallots, garlic, parsley and lemon juice. Some sauteed seasonal veggies and a glass of wine created the perfect dinner for us!

*Here is a link detailing how to fillet a skate fish*

Pan-Fried Skate with Shallots, Garlic and Lemon Juice

1 lb Skate, yielding to fillets
Corn Flour for Breading
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil for Frying

2 Shallots, diced
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
Juice of half a Lemon
3 Tablespoons Parsley
3 Tablespoons Butter

1. Heat oil in a non-stick pan.
2. Season the corn flour with salt and pepper and dredge skate making sure to cover all surfaces.
3. Once the oil is preheated, pan-fry the skate about 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown. *Remember the second side always takes a bit less time. This is a very delicate fish so try not to overcook it or it will be rubbery*
4. Once complete, place fish on paper towels to absorb some of the excess oil. Wipe out pan.
5. Add the butter, shallots and garlic to the pan over medium heat. Let this sweat a little bit, you want them to be tender not caramelized.
6. Turn off the heat and add lemon juice, parsley and remaining butter. Once butter melts, immediately spoon sauce over fish and serve!

*In case anyone is interested, for the veggies, I just sauteed some sliced red peppers with garlic and some frozen Trader Joe's French Green Beans I had. It's a simple and healthy side dish for almost anything.*

4th of July Camping Adventures and Delicious Bites

2009-07-07T15:15:00.003-05:00

I will admit it...I was a camping virgin! So over July 4th Weekend we decided to pop my camping cherry and go for it! A friend of ours' client graciously offered up his tiny cabin and 64 acres of land for us to use! The cabin had a full size refridgerator and 3 bunk beds for the little kids to use. We were 6.5 hours away from our homes, surrounded by nothing other than 64 acres of forest! Our nearest neighbor was 5 miles away and it was acres and acres of hay!!!

It was a blessing in disguise that our phones had no reception in that area...we really got to experience the great outdoors (and I mean OUTDOORS...an outhouse and everything) and finally clear our minds and think of nothing but the roaring fire and the relaxing enviornment... The boys fished and chopped wood...the girls tanned...we all ate non-stop...and partied at night!

My fiance provided the pyrotechnics for the weekend as well!

As Russians normally do...we brought an ABUNDANCE of food! All day...all night...we ate! Breakfasts were grilled panini sandwiches with havarti and swiss cheeses and BACON! Lunches were usually hot dogs or sandwiches...and dinners usually lasted the longest and were the best!

One of the nights we had incredible Georgian Shish Ka Bob, cooked over hot embers until beautifully caramalized and tender!

On another day we had a huge burger extravaganza! Sirloin burgers (from Cosco) were grilled on a tri-stand over the fire.

My cousin's hubby grilled up some BBQ and hot sauced applewood smoked bacon for us...I made sweet caramalized onions deglazed with Crown Royale...there was a variety of cheeses, from Cheddar, Havarti to Swiss to All American! Sliced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sliced red onions, guacomole and the typical condiments finished off the burger toppings. And so with this...I give you the BURGER FEST!

This was my Cheddar Bacon Bacon Burger!

The DOUBLE EXTRA MAYO BACON BURGER...OR THE MAMA BURGER!

Overall this was probablly the most fun I have had in a really long time! We slept well, laughed a lot and cleared our minds...I could not have asked for a better time...I am already planning our next camping trip for Labor Day Weekend...I will however be bringing my own portable toliet :)

Pan Fried Wild Flounder with Dill and Garlic Baby Potatoes

2009-06-30T12:47:00.004-05:00

This is one of my favorite times of the year! Not only because it's warm and I can BBQ on my patio and talk late into the night...but because all of my favorite fruits and veggies are finally in season! Particularly, baby potatoes; baby potatoes have a different texture than other varieties. They are more tender and require much less cooking time, which makes it perfect for summertime quick cooking.

Back in Russia, when I was a child, my grandmother would always fry up fish and cook up some of these potatoes. Finished off with a simple salad of tomatoes and cucumbers our meal was complete. She dredged the fish fillets in corn flour which gave a much crispier and sweeter crust. The baby potatoes were boiled until tender and tossed with creamy butter, fresh dill and garlic. The scent of those garlicky dill potatoes still makes me salivate. These potatoes are a secret recipe of any Russian grandmother and I pass them on to you and your family! Please enjoy!

Pan Fried Wild Flounder with Dill and Garlic Baby Potatoes

2 Lbs Wild Flounder Fillets or any other Mild Flavored Fish
1 Cup Corn Flour
1/2 a Lemon Zested
2 Lbs White Baby Potatoes
3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
A Handful of Freshly Chopped Dill
1/2 a Stick of Butter, Cut Into Slices
*No one said this was low fat :)*
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

1. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper on each side.
2. Add lemon zest to corn flour and mix to combine.
3. Dredge fillets with corn flour on both sides and coat well. In the meantime, preheat a non-stick frying pan with enough olive oil to come up about 1/4 inch up the pan.
4. Fry the fish on medium-high heat or about 5 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. Place on paper towels to allow some of the oil to come off before serving.
5. Rinse potatoes and place them in a pot of salted water and let them come to a boil.
Cook until fork tender.
6. Once they are done, drain the potatoes well in a colander, allowing all the water to drip off of them.
7. Place back into the pot and add butter, garlic, salt and dill. Close with lid and let stand for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, combine the potatoes with the rest of the ingredients and toss carefully with a spatula.
8. Serve with a nice summer veggie salad and enjoy!

EZ Breezy Chicken and Veggies: Teryiaki Chicken Thighs and Roasted Veggie

2009-06-29T16:29:00.006-05:00

I have reached that point...the point that I can no longer look or eat another boneless chicken breast (at least for this week). So I invested in some boneless, skinless chicken thighs that were on sale at my grocery store this week. When I got the chicken thighs home, I looked through them and cut away some of the pieces of fat that were left behind (the last thing anyone wants to do is bite into a yucky piece of chicken fat.) After that step, there really is not much to do with this recipe! That is how simple this is! In fact, it is so simple that I am not even listing my ingredients!

Just choose your favorite teryiake marinade, soak over night and grill the chicken thighs until juices run clear. Roughly chop 2 red onions and 4 carrots and roast in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper for 25 minutes at 450 degrees. That's it! Now set-up your outdoor table, pour two shots of Sake and sip, serve, bite, chew, swallow and repeat! I promise that this will not only be easy but one the most tender chicken dishes you eat!

Galuptsi: Ukranian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

2009-06-26T14:39:00.004-05:00

Every Eastern European country has their own way of making stuffed cabbage. My mother used to make it the Moldovian/Romanian way, with lots of greenery like parsley, dill, scallions and cubes of beef and she incorporate a bit of the middle eastern influence and used grape leaves and cabbage leaves to wrap the filling in. When I started dating my fiance, I realized how different the food was even though we spoke the same language. His parents made the "Galuptsi" using only cabbage leaves and stuffed it with ground pork, a bit of rice, cooked carrots and onions. Whereas my mother's galuptsi fell apart when you cut into them, my fiance's parents' were one big oval shaped ball, but they were so tender and delicious! Completely different but sooo good! Since my fiance grew up on this food I decided to please his palate and make them for him this way.

Many times when I tried to keep it healthier, I did substitute brown rice instead of white and used ground turkey instead of ground pork. BUT the result is not quite the same. I actually put my recipe into a calorie evaluator and it turns out each roll has about 145 calories. So honestly, it really was not that much of a difference when it came down to it in calories...but a HUGE difference in flavor!

I know the recipe may seem a bit daunting...but I promise it really is easy once you get the hang of things. Not to mention filling and delicious! Serve them with a dollop of sour cream, some crusty bread and a simple cucumber, tomato and red onion salad and I promise you will be asking for more!

"Galuptsi" Ukranian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

1.5 Pounds Ground Pork
1/2 Cup Rice
6 Large Carrots
2 Large Onions
1/2 Cup Tomato Puree
1 Head of Cabbage
Salt and Pepper to Taste

1. Place cabbage in a pot of water over medium heat and allow to parboil for about an hour. You want the entire head to be covered, if necessary weigh it down with a plate. *This can be done 1 day ahead of time and stored in the fridge until ready to use*
2.Once cabbage leaves have cooled enough to handle, separate the leaves, making sure to cut the center core out of each one.
3.Add all the carrots and the onion into the food processor using the shredder attachment. *This can be done by a box grater of coarse, but I find the result is the same in the food processor and is so much faster.*
4.On medium heat, add olive oil to a saute or frying pan and cook the veggies with salt and pepper until they give off their juices, about 15-20 minutes. You do not want them to brown. Just sweat them nice and slow so all the flavors come out.
5.Place the pork, rice and 1/2 of the cooked veggies into a bowl. I usually put rubber gloves on and start combining this mixture by hand.
6.Lay out the cabbage leaves and place about 3 tablespoons of the mixture into each leaf. Roll it up like a burrito. *The amount of mixture you place in each leaf will depend on the size of your leaves, just use your best judgement on how much to place into it when in doubt. Make sure that the leaf covers all of the mixture and none of it is peaking out.*
7.On the bottom of a heavy bottomed pot, pour in half of the tomato puree and sprinkle in half of the remaining veggies. Layer the rolls on top of this and continue to layer the tomato puree and veggies until all the rolls are done. I usually have one big layer because I have a huge pot.

8.Cover with enough boiling water to reach almost the top, as pictured above.
9. Place in a 325-degree oven and cook for 1.5-2 hours or until meat is nice and tender!

Soy Citrus Salmon and Thai Peanut Slaw

2009-06-24T15:45:00.005-05:00

In the summer months when evenings are longer and the weather is nicer, I try and get out of the house as much as possible to enjoy those few warm months we are blessed with in Chicago. Therefore, my meals tend to be quicker and less fuss.
I always found that slaws can be easily made with minimal work and maximum flavor and vitamins. Salmon is always a good go to fish for something nice and quick.

I came up with this meal last week when I came home late from being outdoors all day! The fish only took 30 minutes to marinate and during the time that it marinated I made my slaw.

Happy Summer everybody I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do!

Soy Citrus Salmon and Thai Peanut Slaw

Soy Citrus Salmon

1.5 Pounds Fresh Salmon (preferablly wild) sliced into desirable portions
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
1 Tsp Sesame Oil
1 Orange, Juiced and Zested
1 Lemon, Juiced and Zested
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
Black Sesame Seeds to Sprinkle for Presentation

1. Combine all ingredients in a ziplock plastic bag and let stand for 30-60 minutes. (Any longer than this and the acidity in the citrus may start cooking the fish, much like in a ceviche)
2. Place in a 450-degree oven for 15 minutes, or until center is flaky and pink.

Thai Peanut Slaw

1/2 a Head Red Cabbage, Cored and Thinly Shredded
1 Head Napa Cabage, Thinly Shredded
1/2 a Red Pepper, Thinly Sliced
4 Scallions, Thinly Sliced on a Bias
2 Tablespoons Cilantro, Finely Chopped

Spicy Peanut Dressing for Slaw

1/4 Cup Peanut Butter
3 Tablespoons of Water (use as much as needed to get a thin consistancy)
2 Teaspoons Seasame Oil
2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1 tsp Siracha Hot Chili Garlic Paste

1. Combine all in a blender until smooth and creamy. Toss with slaw veggies just enough to coat.

*This slaw is meant to be crunchy and fresh, do NOT over dress or you will end up with a soggy mess! Save remaing dressing for another meal!

Julienne Salad

2009-06-24T14:35:00.005-05:00

With the summer heat here I am craving salads...salads for lunch...salads for dinner...SALADS SALADS SALADS!!!
In order to keep things interesting I like to play around with different ingredients and toppings. There is this one bar/pub close to our office that the girls always order salads from. There is one salad in particular that we all love! It's the most filling salad filled with veggies, deli meats and cheeses, all tossed in a creamy buttermilk ranch! I must admit this salad has turned many of my frowns upside down!!! When I make it at home, I try and use less cheese to take the fat value down.

When it comes to dressings I am quite particular. A good ranch is always hard to find and a low fat one is even harder to find! Every time I made this salad at home, it never tasted right...it had an artificial sweetness to it that I just was not a fan of. Then I realized that it was the Kraft Light Ranch Dressing. So instead of buying another mystery dressing, I decided to make my own ranch using the Hidden Valley mixes and light sour cream. I dumped the packet of seasoning into 12oz of light sour cream and had an amazing dressing that was almost guilt free!
When purchasing your deli meat at the counter for this salad, ask them to cut the meat a bit thicker so the strips of meat are substantial.

Julienne Salad

1.5 Hearts of Romaine Lettuce
2 Tomatoes, Sliced
1/2 a Large English Cucumber, Sliced
1/2 a Green Pepper, Sliced
4 Thick Slices of Your Favorite Ham, cut into strips
4 Thick Slices of Your Favorite Turkey, cut into strips
2 Slices Swiss or Havarti
2 Hard Boiled Eggs Cut into Quarters

*I tend to cook about a dozen eggs in the beginning of the week so that I have them for salads. There is one fool proof way to do it: Place eggs in a pot and completely cover with water. Once the eggs come to a boil, turn off the heat and cover with the lid; let stand for 12 minutes EXACTLY. After that, peel and you will have perfectly cooked eggs each time!*

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss together with your dressing of choice. Garnish with the quartered eggs.

Serves 4 as a side salad and 2 as main dish

Almost there!!!

2009-06-24T13:42:00.002-05:00

Hey all! Well my new event planning business is almost ready to be launched and I could not be happier! My logo is done so I can finally order my business cards and my web designers should start working on website in the next week or so! I will definitley be linking my blog and my website...

In the meantime.... I am cooking up a storm...and I will be posting this week!

I'm baaaaaaack!!!!

2009-05-27T21:53:00.003-05:00

I understand I have been MIA for the past couple of months... But with the planning of my best friend's wedding and my cousin from Israel coming to visit me, life took a turn for the crazy and I had to leave my blog behind for awhile :(. But now I'm back and with summer here I'm ready to get the grill fired up, the mojitos pouring and start get summer off to a right start!!!

BBQ Chicken with Oven Roasted Veggies

2009-02-26T00:00:00.004-06:00

Aside from making really fresh and healthy foods, I have also tried to create some nice quick recipes. Things that I can marinate the night before and stick in the oven the following night. It makes my life so much easier to have something waiting for me in the fridge in a neat little plastic bag. I loved this chicken! I roasted the bone-in chicken breasts with the skin on and removed it when eating it. The chicken was unbelievably moist and juicy! I made plenty so that I can use it in salads and other dishes. Yet another time saver for me, is turning one dish into several!

BBQ Chicken with Oven Roasted Veggies

2.5 Pounds Chicken Breasts Bone-In, Skin-On
1 Cup Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce or Your Fave Sace
2 Garlic Cloves Minced
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Pepper
4 Large Carrots, Cut into Large Pieces on a Bias
1 Large Onion, Cut into Large Wedges
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

1. Combine 1/2 of the BBQ Sauce, garlic, salt and pepper in a bag and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees to ROAST.
3. Toss veggies with salt, pepper and a touch of olive oil.
4. Spray down a roasting pan with pan spray and place chicken on top.
5. Roast both the veggies and chicken at the same time, about 30 minutes. Use the remaining half cup of bbq sauce to baste the chicken while it's cooking so it's extra saucy!

Creamy Broccoli Soup

2009-02-25T11:59:00.004-06:00

Lately, I have been trying to cook much lighter and healthier. My fiance'and I are both trying to modify all our favorite recipes to be less caloric. I love creamy soups and one of my favorites is cream of broccoli. The creamy factor of the soup is obviously the most important and can be achieved by blending or pureeing the soup the right way. The soup had tons of flavor and a really great texture! The best part...not one touch of cream or butter was in this soup!

Creamy Broccoli Soup

1.5 Pounds of Broccoli with Stems
1 Onion Chopped
1 Carrot Chopped
1 Celery Stalk, Chopped
2 Shallots Chopped
2 Garlic Cloves Chopped
3 Slices of Canadian Bacon
5 Cups Chicken Stock
1/4 Cup of Milk
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Olive Oil

1. In a little bit of olive oil, crisp up the Canadian Bacon.
2. Remove the bacon and turn down the heat.
3. Sweat out the onion, carrots, celery, shallots and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Sweating the veggies really brings out the flavor more. Keep the heat nice and low and keep the lid closed.
4. Add all the broccoli into the pot and sweat them for about 5 minutes. Until they have softened a bit.
5. Pour in all the chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
6. Add all the broccoli and some of the liquid into a blender or food processor. Play around with the amount of liquid being poured in, since it will be put through a sieve it will lose some of its volume, it is important to not put all the liquid in.
7. Put the mixture through a sieve and finish of with just the splash of milk to add some creaminess to it.
8. Put some blanched broccoli florets on the bottom with the crispy Canadian Bacon. Ladle in the soup and enjoy!

Red Hot Shrimp

2009-02-24T21:00:00.003-06:00

If my fiance' could hacve one thing for the rest of his life, it would be seafood, especially shrimp. He was still feeling under the weather on Friday so I wanted to make him something with that would clear his sinuses. I marinated the shrimp in the morning and they were ready to sautee up in the evening when we both got home. Nice, quick and easy! I made him some toast to mop up the remaining sauce and he soaked up every last bit.

1 Pound Shrimp (I used shrimp with their heads because my fiance' loves it)
2 Cloves of Garlic
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Black Pepper
1/2 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 Tsp Siracho (Thai Chili Garlic Paste)
1 Lime Juiced
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1. Throw all the ingredients in a plastic bag and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
2. Place all ingredients in a pan and sautee for five minutes or until shrimp are fiery red and tender.

Chocolate Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

2009-02-24T20:31:00.004-06:00

Back in high school, every day for breakfast, I would go to the school cafeteria and have 3 amazing warm, gooey chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips. It was the the highlight of my day, every day. Do you remember those days when you could eat whatever you want and not gain an ounce? I had this way of stuffing anything into my body and still retaining a perfect, perky figure, wish I had it that easy today :) To this day I never found a recipe for cookies that tasted like those did. Today, as I was folding laundry, I caught an episode of Barefoot Contessa. She was reminiscing all her favorite chocolate recipes...and there they were... my beloved White Chocolate Chunk Chocolate Cookies! (Now I am sure that the ones at school were made from some frozen mystery cookie dough) I was instantly inspired and made them this evening. I didn't have any chocolate chunks, but I did have some white chocolate chips, so I just used 12 oz of those.

Now I will be honest...I have NEVER been good at baking cookies. I ALWAYS over baked them because I thought they were still raw inside, turns out they just had to cool :)
I followed Ina's instructions exactly and they were PERFECT! I ate three of them on my own! (Diet? What diet...) I am going to bring them to my fiance's work tomorrow so they can enjoy them as much as I did! (And so that I can get those tempting little devils out of my house!)

Here is Ina's recipe:

Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

40 to 48 cookies Ingredients
1/2 pound unsalted butte,r at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
2/3 cup good unsweetened cocoa
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds good white chocolate, coarsely chopped
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix well. Add the cocoa and mix again. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the chocolate with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Fold in the chopped white chocolate.

Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon.

Dampen your hands and flatten the dough slightly. Bake for exactly 15 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

PROOF!

Breakfast Mayham!!!

2009-02-20T08:58:00.007-06:00

Yesterday my fiance' was feeling really icky still and I know that there is nothing better than a filling breakfast! So I went a bit crazy! Thanks to Pam from For The Love of Cooking, I have developed a sudden love for making muffins. I had several vanilla yogurts left over so I decided to make some muffins! Pam's recipe really was delicious!
I made a cranberry orange muffin and a banana walnut muffin. Both equally delicious and moist!

I also made some nice spicy breakfast potatos to clear up his sinuses! I added 2 fried eggs on top and he was thrilled!

As for the 2 dozen muffins...I put them in a platic bag and gave them to my in-laws.

Spicy Breakfast Potatos

4 Large Red Potatos, Diced
1/2 Green Pepper, Diced
1/2 Spanish Onion, Diced
1/2 Jalapeno, Diced
1/4 Pound Canadian Bacon or Ham, Diced
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
2 Tsp Garlic Powder
2 Tsp Onion Powder
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Pepper
1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper (Use less if you want it mild or you can leave it out)
2 Tsp Smoky Paprika
4 Eggs
1/4 Cup of Parmesan
Olive Oil

1. Place onions, peppers, Canadian bacon or ham and garlic into a pan with olive oil.
Saute on medium high until everything begins to caramalize.
2. Add potatos and all the spices. Cook for about 15 minutes until potatos are tender.
3. In the meantime, prepare 4 eggs and cook them to your liking.
4. Sprinkle the parmesan over the veggies and top with eggs!

Cranberry Orange Muffins
*This is based on Pam's recipe..please check out her blog as it is one of my favorites!*

1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup of low fat yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp Orange zest
1 Dried cranberries

1. Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl with the cranberries.
2. Combine all the wet ingredients in another bowl.
3. Slowly add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix just to combine.
4. Spray down a muffin pan with oil spray and bake muffins at 325-degrees for 22-25 minutes!

*I used Pam's exact recipe for my banana walnut muffins, except I subbed out a cup of walnuts instead of chocolate chips.*

Chicken Marsala

2009-02-18T15:09:00.006-06:00

My fiance' loves chicken marsala because of all the mushrooms. I found that one of the key elements to a really great chicken marsala is to get some really deep color in the flavor. With mushrooms, the darker they get, the more intense the flavor is. Also, a little tip for browning your mushrooms: DO NOT put salt in until the end. Salt draws out moisture and moisture will prevent that caramalization process.
I served this over a really yummy garlic and Parmesan polenta. I had the polenta...and my fiance' had the marsala. It was a great dinner :)
*Even though the dish is called "chicken Marsala" I actually didn't notice that I ran out of Marsala wine. I substitued a sweet Sherry and some dry white wine. It turned out just as great!*

Chicken Marsala

1.5 Pounds Chicken Cutlets
1 10 Oz Package of Crimini Mushrooms
1 Shallot, Chopped Small
1/2 Cup Sherry Wine (or Marsala of course)
1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
1/4 Cup Chicken Stock
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

1. Season chicken cutlets liberally with salt and pepper.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pan until it is hot.
3. Sear chicken on both sides until it develops a nice crust.
*Traditionally, the chicken cutlets are dredged in flour and then seared. However, I am trying to stick to a healthier diet. If you get the pan hot enough and let the chicken brown, you will not miss the flour at all.*
4. Remove the chicken to another plate.
5. Reduce heat to medium high and add shallots, add olive oil if necessary. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon and scrape up the bottom to remove all the yummy bits.
6. Add the mushrooms and continue sauteeing until nice and rich in color, about 15 minutes.

7. Pour in wine and sherry. Let reduce by half and add chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Add in chicken and finish cooking; about 5 minutes.
*If the sauce is too thin, mix in some flour so that it thickens.*

Green Chicken Soup

2009-02-17T21:45:00.004-06:00

I know this may not sound like the most appetizing dish, but I promise it is! I had a few chicken carcasses leftover in freezer from all the roast chicken that I made. So I decided to make a really nice chicken stock. Thank God I did! My fiance' came home today very under the weather! I made a soup with that my mother used to call,"Green Borscht". There's tons of greens in there to give you the nutrients that you need when you are sick. My fiance and I both ate a huge bowl of it since it was so low fat I did not have to feel guilty at all! I strained the chicken stock of all the fat and ended up with a very lean stock.

Green Chicken Soup

1/2 a Pound of Chicken Tenders
5 Cups Chicken Stock (this would be one of the only soups I recommend using homemade)
1 Bunch Dill, Chopped
1 Bunch Parsley, Chopped
1 Leek, Chopped (Do not use the tough green parts)
1 Bunch Scallions, Chopped
1/2 an Onion, Chopped
1 Bunch Kale or Spinach, Chopped
1 Tbsp of Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper to Taste

1. Take all veggies and put in a collander and wash thouroughly, they all have a TON of dirt on them.
2. Heat chicken stock and bring to a nice slow simmer. Add chicken tenders and all veggies.
3. Let everything simmer nice and slow for 30 minutes. Remove chicken tenders once they are finished cooking.
4. Shred chicken tenders with a fork and add back into the soup.
5. Add lemon juice and serve!

*This is very tasty and you can put any greens you want into it. In Russia, sorrell leaves were plentiful and cheap and we added them to this soup. Here, they are hard to come by and very pricey, so use any greens you want and just add a bit of lemon juice for the tanginess!

Balsamic and Basil Chicken Quarters

2009-02-15T23:44:00.004-06:00

I needed something extremely quick an simple for dinner one night. I had some chicken quarters that I wanted to use up. I stuck them in the marinade in the morning and it was ready to go for me in the evening. The sugar in the balsamic vinegar caused the skin to roast and crisp up beautifully! This was the closest that I have ever gotten to the flavor and texture of a rotissire chicken. I honestly think it had to do with the marinade as well as the roasting process. My fiancee could not stop raving about the chicken. I served it up with some whole wheat orzo with garlic, basil and tomatos. Later in the week I used one of the leftover chicken breasts in a simple garbage salad. Nothing more to say here, this dish was simple and delicious.

1 Whole Chicken, Cut up into Wuarters
2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Basil
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
Salt and Pepper to Season
1 Plastic Bag

1. Place all ingredients into plastic bag. For at least 12 hours.
2. Set oven to "ROAST" at 450-degrees.
3. Place chicken parts on a roasting pan on the middle rack in the oven. Roast for about 25-30 minutes or until juices run clear.

*See...I told you it was simple :)

My Favorite Minestrone

2009-02-14T14:30:00.004-06:00

There are probablly as many recipes for Minestrone soup as there are for chocolate chip cookies. Minestrone literally translates to "Big Soup." It's a very simple dish, typically containing vegetables in season, meats on hand, beans and rice or pastas. Several years ago I worked at a really great Italian restaurant. They had the best minestrone soup...THE BEST! It wasn't only the flavor that was so unique but the texture. There was a unique technique that they used to thicken the soup which also changed the color. I was so excited when I finally learned how to duplicate the sou from the restaurant! The minestrone was filling and low cal, a perfect combination!

1 Large Onion, Chopped
2 Medium Carrots, Chopped into Half Moons
2 Stalks of Celery, Sliced
1 Yellow Squash, Cut into Half Moons
5 Stewed Tomatoes and 1/4 Cup of its Juice
1 Can of Cannolinni Beans
3 Cloves of Garlic, Thinly Sliced
3 Pieces Smoky Bacon, Sliced
1/8 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
5 Quarts Chicken Stock
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil

1.In a heavy bottomed pan, pour 1 tsp olive oil and add in the bacon. On medium heat, sweat out the bacon so all the oils come out.
2. After the fat has sweated out of the bacon, add in the onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Toss to coat with the bacon.
3. Add in the chopped tomatoes and the tomato juice.
4. Add in your chicken stock and bring to a boil.
5. Take 1/4 of the beans and place in a blender or food processor. With a ladle, pour in about one cup of the soup and the veggies into the blender. Blend until a smooth puree. Stir in the mixture slowly into the soup, this will thicken the soup slightly.
6. Add in the rest of the beans, squash and red pepper flakes. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.
7. Season to your liking and enjoy!!!

Barefood Bloggers: Real Spaghetti and Meatballs

2009-02-12T00:00:00.000-06:00

Spaghetti and meatballs is a classic Italian American favorite. I have my own recipe that I have posted on here . It actually has taken me a long time to perfect this recipe and I am finally quite happy with it.
Now I am a HUGE Ina Garten fan and there has not been a dish yet that I made that I wasn't happy with. However, this dish, I feel is more American than it is Italian. I was very determined to see what the difference in my recipe and Ina's was, so therefore, I followed the recipe exactly. (I did run out of red wine so I had to substitute with white wine. I also substituted whole wheat pasta instead of regular pasta) The combination of the 2 different types of breadcrumbs definitely created a different texture, more spongy than anything else. Now I do not think that this is necessarily a bad thing, it's just not what I am used to for meatballs. The three different meats did not change much of the flavor for me. I would rather stick to lean ground meat and save on the calories. The sauce was actually quite delicious, but again not traditional marinara.
All in all I have to say...I was very pleased with the dish...but I will stick to my recipe...Sorry Ina :)

Ingredients
For the meatballs:

1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (4 slices, crusts removed)
1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 extra-large egg, beaten
Vegetable oil
Olive oil

For the sauce:

1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup good red wine, such as Chianti
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For serving:

1 1/2 pounds spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
Freshly grated Parmesan

Directions
Place the ground meats, both bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg, and 3/4 cup warm water in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. You will have 14 to 16 meatballs.

Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of 1/4-inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don't crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don't clean the pan.

*Look how gorgeous and brown they got on each side! This really makes a difference in flavor and texture!*

For the sauce, heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve hot on cooked spaghetti and pass the grated Parmesan.

MIA

2009-02-10T22:33:00.002-06:00

Sorry guys...I have been on a hiatis...I'm sorry for not replying to your comments and posts. It's been a super busy week for me...But not to worry...I am going to try and post some pics and recipes tonight! It's Italian Week! Yeay!

Latin Week: Mexican Chicken Soup

2009-02-05T23:58:00.004-06:00

It's cold in Chicago (naturally) and soup is always my favorite lunch and dinner! It always manages to warm me all over and fill my tummy up! I added a little extra heat to this particular soup with jalapenos and tasted great! I made it with some really lean chicken breast that I roasted off instead of just poaching it. I find that roasting it gives a nicer flavor. Finish it off with a squeeze of lime and fresh scallions and avocado give it the perfect bite. Simple, warm and delicious!

Mexican Chicken Soup

Roasted Chicken Breast

2 Lean Chicken Breasts
Sprinkle with Mexican Spice Rub
Dry Rub
2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1 Tbsp Cayenne
1 Tbsp Cumin
2 Tbsp Paprika
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp Onion Powder
1/2 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 Tsp Dry Oregano

1. Roast in a 450-degree oven until juices run clear.
2. Let rest until cool to handle and shred with a fork.
*Chicken can be made a day ahead of time or you can use rotisserie chicken to make life a little easier.*

Soup

1 Green Pepper, Diced
1 Red Pepper, Diced
1 Onion, Diced
2 Carrots, Half Moons
2 Celery Stalks, Chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 Jalapeno, Finely Diced (if you like it mild just remove the seeds)
1 Handful Cilantro, Chopped
1/4 Cup Tomato Puree
1/2 Cup Frozen Corn
1 Qt Chicken Stock
Olive Oil

1. In a large pot, sweat all veggies together in olive oil, leaving out the corn.
2. Once all the veggies are fragrant, pour in the chicken stock and tomato puree and bring to a boil.
3. Let simmer on low for 30 minutes.
4. Taste for seasoning and add corn and shredded chicken once the soup is done. Serve with diced avocado, cilantro and fresh scallions.

My Favorite Breakfast!

2009-02-03T19:50:00.003-06:00

One of the reasons that I love Sundays so much is because I do not feel guilty about having a nice breakfast at noon! I love waking up later on Sundays and cooking a nice filling breakfast. A good warm cup of coffee with a filling breakfast always puts a smile on my face and my fiance's!

Anyone who has ever gone out and partied too late, has a favorite greasy food to help them absorb the surplus of alcohol. My friends and I used to go to a Greek diner that was always better at 4am than it was at 4pm :) I always ordered one thing, "The Gypsy Skillet". A skillet filled with sauteed peppers, onions, ham potatoes and smothered in deliciously evil liquid cheese. As if that was not enough, they covered it with two eggs, cooked to your liking, my choice was always over easy.
Yes this was the perfect 4am, after clubbing treat. While, this meal would have had no effect on my weight 5 years ago, now I have to think of it a bit differently. I clearly cut out the liquidy cheese concoction (who knows what's in that anyhow!) and changed two eggs into 1. All in all an extremely delicious breakfast that prepared me for a night of Super Bowl drinking :)

My Gypsy Skillet

*This recipe fed both my fiance and myself, however I did take a much smaller portion for myself, since I am trying to watch my weight. My portion is pictured in the picture below for anyone who is interested.*

3 eggs
1/2 A Large Onion, Chopped
1/2 A Green Pepper, Chopped
1/2 A Red Pepper, Chopped
1 Scallion, Sliced
1/4 Pound Canadian Bacon, Diced
4 Medium Red Potato's, Diced
2 Slices Swiss Cheese
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

1. Saute potato in olive oil for ten minutes.
2. Add in onion and peppers. Continue cooking for 10 more minutes.
3. Add Canadian bacon and cook until potatoes are cooked.
4. In another non-stick pan, cook 3 eggs to your liking.
5. Top the veggie skillet with 2 slices of cheese and melt. Top off plate with eggs and take a sip of your coffee! Enjoy!

*Sometimes this is the perfect dinner for me as well!*

Latin Week: Citrus Cilantro Chicken Breast with Spanish Rice

2009-02-03T08:59:00.005-06:00

It's Latin Week! Yeay! I wanted to cook with some really fresh and vibrant flavors. My chicken breast combines citrus, garlic and cilantro to create a nice and simple chicken dish that is extremely versatile. Combined with Spanish Rice and you have a great complete meal for any day of the week!

Citrus Cilantro Chicken
6 Chicken Breasts, Cleaned and Trimmed of Fat
1 Lemon, Juiced and Zested
1 Orange, Juiced and Zested
Handful of Cilantro, Roughly Chopped
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Tbsp Salt
1/2 Tbsp Pepper
1 Tsp Cumin
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 Large Plastic Ziplock Bag

1. Place chicken breasts into plastic bag.
2. Combine juice and zest of lemon and orange. Add seasonings and olive oil. Stir to combine.
3. Place in refridgerator for at least 5 hours, over night is best.
4. Preheat oven to 450-degrees.
5. Place chicken breasts in a baking dish and cook for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and juices run clear.

Spanish Rice

2 Cups of Long Grain Par Boiled Rice
4 1/4 Cups Water
2 Packets of Goya Tomato and Chicken Boullion
1 Large Tomato
1/2 Red Pepper Diced
1/2 Green Pepper Diced
1 Red Onion, Diced
1 Jalapeno Pepper, Sliced
2 Garlic Cloves , Minced
1 Tsp Turmeric
Olive Oil

1. Add enough olive oil into a pot to cover the bottom.
2. Turn the heat to medium and add jalapenos. Let jalapenos sweat out so the heat and flavor infuses the oil.
3. Cut the tomato in half and squeeze out the juices of it, this will allow you to cut the tomato nicely and you can use the juice for the rice as well.
4. After about five minutes, remove the jalapeno with a slotted spoon, leaving the oil in the pot.
5. Add in the rest of the vegetables and let them sweat for 5-10 minutes, until soft and fragarent.
6. Add in the rice and combine with veggies.
7. Pour in water, tomato pulp and juice, turmeric and the Goya Packets.
*I was very against using the Goya packets, however, they add a really great authentic flavor without any extra fat. The turmeric adds a really beautiful yellow color to the rice*

8. Bring the rice up to a boil and then cover and let cook for 25 minutes on low heat, covered.
9. Fluff with a fork and serve piping hot.

Suuuuuuper Bowl Sunday...Surprise For Me

2009-02-02T22:21:00.009-06:00

Heheheh I love this pic!

Alright...I will admit it...I don't do football...I'm not even sure I know most of the rules...In fact, I didn't even know what teams were playing this year. OK there is your shock value for the year...I am just here for the Super Bowl parties! Yup I am a Super Bowl party whore! Sorry:) Whenever there is some big game on, I always volunteer our house as the party house! I love serving the game munchies and drinking and chatting. Last year we had over 30 people for the game! It was exhausting! Our kitchen table quickly turned into a local liquor store, complete with Tequila, Vodka and every variety of beer you can imagine! There was an abundant amount of food and unfortunately at the end of the night, an enormous amount of clean-up for me :( I decided from there on out...I limit game night to 15 people!

Initially, my fiance wanted to have a small gathering of "just the guys" at the house, because apparently "the girls just wait for the commercials anyhow and interrupt our game experience with their constant gossip!" I, however, was not about to endure this whole Super Bowl thing without my girls! So I invited all the guys and their significant others and by the beginning of last week we had 15 people RSVP. Perfect I thought. Unfortunately, by mid-week that happy fifteen had dwindled down to a pathetic 4, 2 of whom were me and my fiance.

Naturally, at that point I decided on just getting wings and pizza from Cosco and cathcing a movie with the girls while the boys gamed, burped and scratched.

Come Sunday morning we had some more RSVP's and I knew I would need to do some cooking! So I looked into my fridge and saw what I could conjure up last minute. I had some ground beef and I was making Cuban Pork Carnitas for the week (it's Latin Week!)...hmmmmm...my little menu plans went to work!

Quickly, I ran to the grocery store, grabbed some tortillas and King's Hawiian Dinner Rolls. My fiance picked up some DiGiorno Pizza and some delish Tyson Honey BBQ Wings from Cosco. What am I going to do with all these wacky ingredients you ask??? Simple: Sliders with Caramelized Onion and Zesty Aioli on Hawaiian Kings Bread and Cuban Pork Quesadillas with Avocado! GOOOO TEAM!

Surprisingly...I actually watched the game...well not all of it...but definitely all of the commercials! There ended up being 6 of us...and I could not have been happier with that number! The boys decided that they were going to get trashed and my friend Kate and I decided to join them just for the heck of it.

Sliders on Hawaiian Bread Rolls

Makes 12 Sliders

1 1/3 Pound Ground Chuck
1/4 Onion, Grated
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
Salt and Pepper To Taste
1 Tbsp. Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp. Onion Powder
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
12 King's Hawaiian Bread Dinner Rolls
3 Pieces Gouda Cut, Each Slice Cut into 4 Pieces
2 Homemade Caramelized Onions (See French Onion Recipe)

1. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
2. Make 12 little sliders, ensuring that the edges are thicker than the middle.
3. Coat a grill pan (or your outside grill) with spray oil.
4. Sear on both sides and let rest until ready to serve. Add smoked Gouda slices, and finish them off right before serving in a 450-degree oven for about 5-7 minutes, until pink in the middle and cheese is melty.

5. Cut rolls in half and smear zesty aioli sauce (see below) on the top buns. Place burger onto bun, layer up some caramelized onions and top off with the top bun!

Zesty Aioli

1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
1 Garlic Clove, Minced
1 Tsp Garlic Chilli Paste
1 Tsp Good Hot Sauce
1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 Tsp Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper to Taste

1. Combine all ingredients and use as a shmear on anything from burgers to panninis!

Cuban Carnita Quesadillas

1 Onion Sliced
1 Bay Leaf
3 Pounds Pork Butt or Any Tough Pork Meat
5 Cups of Chicken or Beef Stock
3 Tortillas (Large)
1 Avocado

Dry Rub
2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1 Tbsp Cayenne
2 Tbsp Paprika
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp Onion Powder
1/2 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 Tsp Dry Oregano

1. Combine all ingredients of your dry rub and pat onto the pork. Making sure to cover all surface ares. *This will make more than you need for this recipe. But it is a great spice mixture to use on anything!* Cover and let stand in refridgerator for at least 3 hours, best if kept overnight.

2. Remove from fridge and sear meat on all sides until a beautiful golden crust is formed.

3. Place into your favorite crockpot, add in onions and bay lead abd cover with enough stock to submerge pork. Cook for 4-5 hours or until meat shreds easily. *When storing, make sure you store with some of the cooking liquid so that the meat remains moist.*

4. Spray down a large 14" frying pan with oil spray.
5. Place tortilla down and layer on a bit of Carnitas meat, diced avocado and Chihuhah Cheese.

6. Fold over and squish the ends together so the cheese melts and act like a glue.

7. Turn over and cook on other side. Keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.
Serve alongside some homemade Pico de Gallo and sour cream!

My Life in Mid-Air

2009-01-30T09:40:00.004-06:00

So as I mentioned in an earlier post, I got laid off. So I have had lots of time to think and think and think. After working in the culinary and event industry for close to 10 years (I started young) I am convinced that this is where I want to be for the rest of my life. The hours are long, the days are crazy and the people even crazier...but there is nothing in the world that I would rather do. So after working for a catering company as a catering sales manager and event coordinator, I wanted to make sure I never had the same horrible experience of being laid off. It has taken me almost a week to realize that although our economy is low my talents are still ranking pretty high. After coordinating my best friend's wedding, the most complicated wedding I have done to date...I have taught myself that the best way to succeed is to rely only on yourself. I am blessed with a best friend that knows exactly what she wants and for the most part we agree on those things. However, when she needs some creative advice or a nudge in the right direction, I have no one to turn to but myself. In a way, this has been a complete confidence booster. It was terrifying at first that sometimes I did not know the answer and I had no one to turn to, so I just went with my gut feeling...and it was right. For all the times that I wasn't right, I realized I am only 26 I am allowed to make mistakes.

Naturally, I want to work for myself, be a part of the American Dream, be bigger than I can be. Coincidentially, I was watching Oprah this morning...and she had on some self made millionaires, both of whom were 26 years old and under! The one thing they both had to say was to do what you are passionate about. The goal should never be to make money but to do something you honestly love for as long as you can. When passion is the driving force, money will follow you wherever you go.

I figure I'm young, I have no kids and I have been laid off! All perfect reasons to get my wheels in motion to start my own Event Consulting business. Everyone is so supportive of my idea, which I am quite shocked about!

I know that I need to make money, so I think I may go work at my friend's restaurant and help him as a server. I always loved being a server and the money was really quite good. This will also allow me have some free time to promote myself to vendors who work with people who would be needing my services.

I know many women that read my blogs went ahead and started their own businesses and were quite successful with it. I would love to hear any feedback that you may have for me!

Dolmades

2009-01-29T23:16:00.003-06:00

I stumbled upon Avesta's wonderful blog accidentally and discovered some of her awesome Middle Eastern recipes. One of which reminded me of a dish my mother used to make. Dolmades, traditionally are grape leaves filled with a rice and vegetable mixture. My mom used to make them with the Russian influence, a dish similar to the traditional Ukrainian stuffed cabbage rolls, "Golubtsi". Instead of the usual rice and pork mixture, she added in parsley, dill, diced tomatos, tomato paste, scallions and diced beef. My mom then stuffed them into grape leaves and cabbage and they were poached in a broth and devoured almost immediately!

Avesta's recipe was very similar and it inspired me to make them during my Middle Eastern week. I combined ground lamb, herbs, rice and a variety of spices to make these delectable rolls. I myself had 2 immediately after cooking them! Use your own creativity to combine limitless flavors! On Avesta's site she demonstrates several different vegetables that can be used to stuff! Thanks Avesta for this wonderful recipe!
*Please view Avesta's site for this wonderful recipe!

Here is how they look as you wrap them!

"Shish Tawook and Batata Harra" Yogurt Chicken and Spicey Potatoes

2009-01-28T17:01:00.005-06:00

I had a bunch of Labne yogurt leftover and was reminded of this chicken recipe. I used to make this chicken in the summertime on the grill all the time. The mild tanginess of the yogurt and the sweetness of the ketchup creates a flavor profile that is hard to resist. Finish it off with some spicy herb potatoes and a perfect dinner awaits you!

"The recipe originally called for chicken breast, however, I found some beautiful boneless, skinless chicken thighs on sale this week and used those instead. They were moist and even more flavorful than the chicken breasts."

Shish Tawook

1.5 pounds Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Thighs
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tbs tomato paste
2 tbs ketsup
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika

1. Trim fat and excess membranes from chicken thighs.
2. Cut chicken into 1/2 inch cubes and place in a plastic bag.
3. Place all ingredients into the plastic bag and shake to combine, making sure chicken is covered.
4. Let marinate in refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
5. If grilling outdoors, skewer onto metal skewers and grill about 5 minutes on each side, rotating so that they do not burn. Otherwise preheat oven to 450-degrees and cook for 10-15 minutes on a greased pan.

Batata Harra

2.5 Pounds Red Potatoes, Washed, Dried and Cut into Cubes
1 Handful Chopped Parsley
1 Handful Chopped Cilantro
1/2 tsp Cayenne
1 Tsp Salt
8 Cloves Minced Garlic
1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1. Lay potatoes out on foil sheet pan and toss lightly in 2 tbsp olive oil. Place in a 450-degree oven until potatoes are done, 30 minutes.
2. Add the remaining olive oil to a pan along with the remaining ingredients.
3. Cook on medium heat fro 10 minutes, make sure not burn the herbs and garlic.
4. Remove the potatoes from the oven and pour the herb garlic mixture over them.

Serve this dish with a nice Middle Eastern salad.

Kefta Kebob with Dill Brown Basmati Rice

2009-01-28T15:40:00.005-06:00

Mmmmm Kefta Kebob. I first discovered this dish going to Reza's Restaurant in Chicago. My brother and I were always big fans of the "Sultani Platter": Seasoned Ground Beef Kabob and a Thin Cut of Filet Mignon Kabob. After numerous trips to the restaurant and countless times of ordering the same meal, we both realized that the Filet Mignon Kebob, was really a waste of our time. It was not the filet we were after, it was the ground beef kebob. So we started ordering the "Koubideh Kebob": a seasoned ground beef kebob. Whether you call it "Koubideh" like the Persians or "Kefta" like the Iranians and Lebanese, it is a wonderful treat.
There are many different recipes, however they all share a few signature ingredients: beef, parsley, onions and sumac. The best flavor comes from chargrilling the kebobs, unfortunately it is winter here in Chicago and the only option I have is my oven. The flavors still come out really delicious and other than the char markings from the grill, they get nicely caramelized.

Onto the rice...It sounds easy...but it's not. Many a times have I messed it up. Instead of getting perfect, individual rice grains...I ended up with mushy rice pudding. The problem: improper measuring. I added more liquid than necessary and ended up with a basmati mush. I tried to cover it up with dill and it somewhat helped distract the eye, but once I put in my mouth, there was no covering up the disaster. I had messed up rice! RICE! One of the basic components in most middle eastern cultures...a dish that 10 year old girls can make...I had FAILED at! And much to my disappointment I had no more Basmati rice left! NONE! With 13 different things cooking on the stove, I was not about to run out to Trader Joe's and get more. Plus I hate wasting food, so I used it. Fortunately, my fiance could not tell the difference! Yeay for me!

I recalled my birthday party 2 years ago where I made a huge Middle Eastern feast. I remember that my Basmati Dill rice was perfect, in fact I remember everyone asking me if "Reza's Restaurant" had catered it. So clearly I was capable of making a perfect Basmati Rice. I found the recipe I used last time and I swear by the end of this week...I will make perfect Basmati Rice...

Kefta Kebob

2 Lb. Ground Beef 15% fat
2 Handfuls parsley
2 Onions
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. sumac
1 tsp. 7 spices

1. In a food processor, shred parsley and onion together until it is smooth.
2. Add to ground beef along with all spices.
3. Shape meat with hands into sausage like shape.
4. Place in a 450-degree oven for 30 minutes or until juices run clear.

5. Serve with rice and sprinkle with sumac.

It's Not My Month...

2009-01-28T13:56:00.001-06:00

Ughhh...first the flu and as of last week I got laid off...AHHHHH! I guess the good news is I get to cook and blog more :)
It's Middle Eastern week this week...so I have a bunch of my Persian and Iranian favorites ready to go!

Viva La France: Salmon En Papillote

2009-01-21T23:10:00.003-06:00

I found salmon at a really great price this week and wanted to do something simple and tasty. Salmon is one of those really forgivable fishes, it takes on practically any flavor and even overcooked it tastes alright. Being French week and all, I wanted to do something inspired by the French. "En Papillote" seemed like the perfect idea. En Papillote is a gentle method where the fish cooks in an enclosed packet, typically made of parchment paper. It steams in its own moisture and creates its own sauce of natural juices.
I love cooking En Papillote for a small crowd. They each get to have their own little package and as they unwrap it, a strong aroma escapes from it and invites them to dig in.
My mother used to bake her fish in the oven like this. She only used simple aromatics to blend with the juices of the fish and create a nice delicate sauce.
I unfortunately ran out of Parchment paper so I used the next best thing, foil.
The result was perfect...nice, light and extremely flavorful! I paired it up with some steamed broccoli with garlic oil.

Salmon En Papillote

1 Fillet of Salmon
1/2 a Red Onion, sliced
1/2 a Red Pepper, sliced
1/2 a Lemon, Sliced
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Lay out fish on parchment paper or foil and season with salt and pepper.
*If serving individual portion, just up the salmon into pieces and serve in individual packages*
2. Nicely place all the veggies on the salmon fillet.
3. Finish off with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice.
4. Place in a 450-degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
5. Serve immediately in its packaging!

Viva La France: 20 Clove Garlic Chicken with Thyme Potatos

2009-01-21T09:54:00.002-06:00

Chicken, in my opinion, is probably the easiest to cook...and can also be the blandest. I wanted to make a very flavorful chicken with simple ingredients. I made a similar version to this dish once in culinary school and it was so perfect. I have been doing different variations of this dish ever since, this recipe is by far my favorite so far. Some shallots, pancetta and a whole lot of garlic make this dish absolutely irresistible!
The potatos were super simple. I cut up a bunch of Yukon Golds and roasted them with olive oil, fresh thyme, salt and pepper. Easy and perfect!

1 Whole Fryer Chicken Cut Up
2 Shallots, Diced
4 Oz Pancetta, Diced (You can use regular bacon, but I had Pancetta in the house)
4 Sprigs of Thyme
20 Cloves of Garlic
1 Cup of White Wine
1 Cup of Chicken Stock (or enough to cover the chicken 1/2 way up)
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to Season

1. Heat a heavy bottom pan to smoking point with the olive oil in it.
2. Season chicken heavily with salt and pepper.
3. Add to pan, skin side down and brown on each side. Make sure you get a nice crust on the chicken. It will add a lot of flavor to the sauce.
4. Remove the chicken from the pan and lower the heat to medium.
5. Sweat the shallots, pancetta, thyme and garlic together. The pancetta should begin to brown nicely. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Pour in the wine and scrape the bottom well to pick up all the brown bits. Let the wine reduce by half.

7. Add in your chicken and pour in chicken stock. Making sure your chicken is covered half-way up.
8. Continue cooking this on low, just barely simmering for 45 minutes. Make sure to turn the chicken over half way through.
9. Once the chicken is done, remove it from the pan. Boil the sauce and reduce to a thicker consistency. Tasts for seasoning and pour over chicken.

Viva La France: French Onion Soup

2009-01-20T23:25:00.003-06:00

Who knew that a bunch of onions and a little broth could make such a wonderful and filling soup? Apparently the French did! Legend has it that King Louis XV created the recipe one night when he had nothing but onions, Champagne and broth in his fridge. Or so the story goes, royalty always wants to take the credit for one thing or another. Whether this story is true or not, the reality is people were poor and onions were plentiful. Soups were easy, cost effective and warm, both to the body and to the soul. It was the natural route to take.
I have played with many recipes for this soup, changing ingredients here or there. However, there is only one key element to this soup: the onions. The flavor of this soup comes mostly from how well you caramelize the onions. Caramelizing onions is a very slow and delicate process. It takes time and love but it is well worth the process. This was the first time that I used sweet onions instead of regular onions and I really found that the soup had a lot more flavor.
I opted to do a separate piece of whole grain toast with a bit of Parmesan cheese on it, instead of doing a crouton inside the soup. This way I can dip!

French Onion Soup

*Here is a huge hint for this soup. Stick your onions in the freezer for about an hour before making this soup. The cold will slow down the chemical reaction of the sulfuric acid and you will not shed one tear!*

4 Sweet Onions, Thinly Sliced
2 Cloves of Garlic, Finely Minced
3 Sprigs of Thyme, Removed From Stem
1/2 Cup Cognac
1/4 Cup Sherry
5 Cups of Beef Broth
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Olive Oil for Cooking
2 Slices of Gruyere Cheese

1. Pour oil in a large pot and turn to medium heat. (I prefer to saute the onions in a large saute pan first and transfer to my pot later. They cover more surface area that way and cook evenly and faster.)
2. Place sliced onions, garlic and thyme into pan and season with salt and pepper. You do not want them to cook too quickly. This entire process can take about 30 minutes just to get the flavor out of the onions. But I promise it will be worth it! They will be sweet and tender. Stir them about every 5 minutes to make sure that they are getting color evenly. If you see them starting to burn or get crispy, turn down the flame.

3. Once they have reached a nice medium brown color, pour in your Sherry and Cognac. This is the fun part, it will "flambe" but be careful. Once the flame stops add in your stock and cook slowly and gently at a low simmer. Taste your soup frequently. Sometimes it needs a bit more Cognac or Sherry to cut through the sweetness a bit. It all depends on your tastes.
4. Once the soup reaches a taste you are happy with, ladle some into an oven proof bowl or crock and top with Gruyere. Stick under broiler until cheese browns and bubbles.

Viva La France: Braised Short Ribs with Creamy Parmesan Polenta

2009-01-20T09:30:00.006-06:00

As a culinary student majority of my education was based on French cuisine, food history and techniques. I fell in love with French food the first time that I made Tomato Concasse. Literally it means the process of removing the skin and seeds off of a tomato, we then turned it into a delicate tomato sauce with shallots, garlic and wine. The smell of butter and shallots quickly became my favorite smell in the world. And so my love with French food continued. For me the simpler the dish, the better. I fell in love with delicious roasts, simple stews and creamy soups. My French chef's always cooked with such emotion and love that it was contagious. They taught us everything from Duck Confit (duck slowly cooked in its own fat for a long period of time) to Pomme Frittes (delicious, delicate little shoestring fries). Figure friendly it was not, but hey I was in culinary school, I needed to taste and savour every bite!

The best French food funny enough, was originally peasant food. For instance, seafood was peasant food at one time. People tried to use what was fresh and available to them and especially in the region of Provence, seafood was readily available. Most of the time peasants did not get the favorable part of an animal and so they had to figure out ways to enjoy it and make it taste really good. Alas, short ribs enter the picture. At one point short ribs were so cheap butchers could not give them away! Even as recent as the early 1990's, no body wanted short ribs. They wanted filet Mignon, NY Strip, rib eye, but who would want short ribs. There were very few who understood the short rib...who would want a pathetic looking rib with a little bit of meat on it and tough meat at that? Well, what most people did not understand was that when you cook the meat for a long period of time that meat becomes tender and succulent. For home cooks it was too daunting and restaurant owners were not sure if their clientele was ready for this. It was not until the early 90's that a restaurant in New York started making braised short ribs and the prices for short ribs sky rocketed.
My short ribs were a combination of simple and bold flavors. I wanted to pair it with something that could absorb the sauce and polenta proved to be perfect for it. Believe it or not, polenta is actually eaten in Provence as well due to the proximity to Italy right across the Mediterranean.

So turn on some French music pour yourself a glass of Bourdeaux and enjoy.

Braised Short Ribs with Creamy Parmesan Polenta

3 Pounds of Beef Short Ribs
3 Stalks of Celery, cut into large chunks
4 Carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 Large Onions, cut into large chunks
1 Whole Garlic Head, with the top removed
4 Sprigs of Rosemary
4 Sprigs of Thyme
Handful of Parsley Stems
1 Bay Leaf
2 Cups of Good Red Wine
1 Cup of Chicken Broth/Stock (if you have beef broth, go ahead and use it)
1 28 Oz Can of Tomato Puree
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

1. In a heavy pan, heat olive oil until it smokes.
2. Season short ribs generously with salt and pepper and gently add to the hot oil. Continue cooking until nicely browned on each side. *Please make sure that you take the time to do this and do not overcrowd the pan. The flavor will come from the caramalization of the meat.*
3. Remove the short ribs and lower the heat to medium. Add in all your vegetables.
4. Sautee until softened and slightly browned, about 10 minutes.
5. Turn up the heat and add in your wine. Carefully scrape the bottom of the pan making sure you pick up all the browned bits on the bottom. Let reduce by half.
6. Turn off the heat and place your short ribs in your crockpot. Add in your vegetables and wine on top. Cover with chicken or beef stock until fully submerged. Turn the crockpot on high and cook covered, for 3-4 hours until meat is tender and pulls away from the bone.
*If you are not doing this in a crockpot, you can do the same steps and finish it in the oven at 300 degrees for about 3-4 hours or until the meat is tender enough.*

7. Once you the meat is done, remove the meat and reduce the sauce until flavor concentrates a bit. Making sure to season as necessary. Skim the fat off the top and serve!

Creamy Parmesan Polenta

1 Cup of Instant Polenta
3 Cups of Chicken Stock
1/4 Cup of Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Cup of Half and Half

1. Let the chicken stock come to a boil.
2. Add in the polenta and stir with a wooden spoon until there are no lumps, about 5 minutes.
3. Add in parmesan cheese and half and hlaf. Stir to combine and serve.

Influenza Sucks!

2009-01-19T23:06:00.003-06:00

Well the flu has struck me and it struck me bad! I tried to avoid it, but it managed to creep its way in! I got sick Wednesday and have not been myself ever since! Turns out it's a flu with a sinus infection! Fabulous!
I spent my days laying on the couch, watching my usual, Food Network. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty nice. However, it drove me nuts not to cook! So today I went crazy and cooked a feast! I promise I will be back tomorrow with plenty of recipes and pictures. It's Viva La France week! Some of my all time favorite soups, meals and side dishes will be served up French style!

Rosemary Chicken and Roasted Potatoes

2009-01-14T13:16:00.005-06:00

Sometimes you need something simple, really simple. Something that is comforting and delicious. For me it was always roast chicken. No matter what age I was, roast chicken always did it for me. For starters, it will always fill up your home with the most delicious smells! I always told my friends that if they were expecting a boy to come over and they wanted to impress them...just stick a chicken in the oven and they will be floored!

A few weeks ago, as I was skimming Peter's Blog, I noticed the Greek chicken he did over potatoes. I was inspired! I used to do this all the time because I didn't have a roasting pan, so I just made a one dish meal and made my life easy.

My in-laws were coming over and because of traffic I only had an hour to make dinner. This was perfect. I threw a bunch of Yukon golds on the bottom of the pan then placed the chicken on top. The skin on the chicken was crispy and inside it was so very tender! The potatos were probablly some of the best I had had from the oven! And my house smelled like goodness for the next few days! I paired with a nice salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and red onions (my favorite) and toasted whole wheat bread. Unfortunately, the in-laws could not make it because of the bad weather. But my fiance' and I feasted like kings, he even gnawed on the bone a little...

Rosemary Chicken and Roasted Potatoes

1 Whole Chicken
5 Pounds of Yukon Gold Potatoes, Cut Into Bite-Size Pieces
5 Cloves of Garlic, (Mince 4 of Them)
5 Sprigs of Rosemary (4 Sprigs Chopped)
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 a lemon, juiced
1 Tbsp of Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper

Preheat Oven to 450-degrees

1. Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, seasonings, and chopped rosemary.
2. Place the potatoes on the bottom of a pan with sides and toss it in half the olive oil mixture. Add minced garlic to the potatoes.
3. Place chicken directly on top of the potatos and rub the oil mixture on it. Then sprinkle with garlic powder. Fill cavity with remaining garlic clove, rosemary sprig and the juiced lemon.
4. Place in the oven for 35-45 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken, or until juices run clear.
5. Remove chicken from the pan and pour access juices from the cavity onto the potatos, stir potatoes gently to combine with all the juices. *My potatoes required just a bit longer cooking than the chicken. So at this point I stuck them back into the oven for about 15 minutes until they were soft on the inside.*

These potatoes really were incredible! It's amazing how sweet and tangy they were at the same time! I will definitley be going back to this next time I need a quick fix!

Waffle Torte

2009-01-13T23:33:00.002-06:00

You want to talk about simplicity? This is it! This is one of my all time favorite cakes. My best friend, Marina, salivates when she hears this cake. I swear if she could, she would make the inside of her wedding cake out of this!
Delicious, doesn't begin to describe this cake! Only 5 simple ingredients are used and they create something out of this world!

One of them is wafers. Not those sad looking vanilla wafers. Think more like the wafers that you are given in church by the priest. You know that little thin cookie type thing they put on your tongue? Now imagine it a bit thicker and bigger.

If you look around your Russian or Polish deli's you will find them.
The other main ingredient is sweetened condensed milk. This alone can be a dessert for me. But you see we aren't done yet. This cake calls for the milk to be boiled while it's in the can for 3 hours. The end result is caramelized sweetened condensed milk! Basically, what the Spanish call, dulce de leche.
I promise this cake will be the easiest and most amazing treat you can make!

Waffle Torte

1 Package of Wafers
3 Cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 a Stick of Butter, Melted
1 1/4 Cups of Walnuts, Ground
1/4 Cup of Cognac or Brandy

1. Take the labels off of the cans of condensed milk and boil completely submerged in water, for 3 hours. If water evaporates, add more to ensure that they are completely covered the whole time.
2. Cool the cans under cold, running water until they are cool to the touch.
3. Open them...CAREFULLY, there is a lot of pressure in there so just make sure you cool them, or else they will pop when opening. And trust me on this one, hot sugary, condensed milk is not pleasent on the skin.
4. Place the butter in the bowl first. Then add in your condensed milk, carefully scraping out all the goodness out of the cans.
5. Add in your cognac and 1 cup of nuts. Mix to combine.
6. Begin building your layers with the wafers. Place one wafer down on smear on about 5-6 oz of condensed milk on the wafer. Top with another and continue until complete. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup walnuts and let rest for at least 1 hour. Just enough for the filling to seep through.

My cat was a big fan of the cake!

*I would love to hear everyone's feedback on this cake. For all you culinary adventurers, please try and make this and let me know what you thought!*

Russian Mini Meatloafs...Kinda..."Kotleti"

2009-01-13T23:10:00.006-06:00

This ladies and gentleman I present to you is the Russian meatloaf...or maybe the Russian "mama-burger"...OK what it really is, is ground meat combined with onions and seasoning, fried to perfection to create little patties of goodness. Moist and delicious, this recipe definitely takes me back to eating at my paternal grandmother's house as a kid. There, no ounce of fat was spared. My grandmother would fry them in butter and sunflower oil, until they were perfectly brown and delicious. My mother on the other hand, used ground chicken or turkey instead of beef and fried them in as little sunflower oil as possible. I grew up and I made them the way my mother used to because that's the only way I knew how. Don't get me wrong they were delicious, just not traditional. I wouldn't dare try anyone else's "kotleti" because they weren't my mom's. That is until last year. My best friend, Marina, calls me up and tells me that her mother-in-law Vera, taught her how to make perfect "kotleti". She says,
"You know Mila, real "kotleti" not the kind you make."
Naturally, I had to try these, she down right offended me!
I did try them and they were AMAZING! Just like babushka (grandma) used to make! Fattening little suckers they are, but hey just one won't hurt.
This is the only recipe I ever use to make "kotleti" (thanks Vera!) I just try and pair it up with something healthy and eat just one (sometimes). The only thing I did change was that I finish them up in the oven instead of frying them on the pan the entire time. It saves me time and lightens up the fat. This time, I served it up a nice healthy side of buckwheat, a Russian staple, and a light salad of tomato, cucumber and red onion. Enjoy!

Kotleti
5 pounds of ground beef (I used 85% lean and they turned out great)
2 onions, pureed in a food processor until finely minced
3 pieces of bread, soaked in water
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine all ingredients well by hand. Make sure you squeeze out the water from the bread so that your force meat won't be soggy.
2. Form little oval patties with your hands. Try not to work them too much, you want them to remain nice and fluffy.
3. Fry them up on each side until they are a nice golden brown. Lay them out on paper towels to suck up the oil a bit.

4. Pour all the oil out of the pan and finish them up in a 500 degree oven for about 5-7 minutes, until juices run clear.

Enjoy!

Cutting Carrots into Matchsticks

2009-01-13T20:25:00.002-06:00

1. I don't think I have to preach this anymore, but please make sure your knife is sharp.
2. Peel your carrots and cut them in half so you have the root side on one end and the stem on the other. This is done so that the next step is easier and the carrots are shorter.
3. Slice your carrot by standing it up. Then carefully with your SHARP knife, make slices.

4.Next cut those slices into matchsticks.

There perfect matchsticks.

If making dice, then just flip those around and dice them up.

Russian Pilaf, "Plov"

2009-01-13T11:02:00.011-06:00

Every once in awhile, a dish comes along that is just perfect. In fact, it would be disrespectful to the generations before to change it. France has duck confit, Italy has risotto, the US has BBQ and Uzbekistan has "plov". Whether you call it, pilaf, polow, pulao, the basic idea remains the same, a simple rice dish with complex flavors and old tradition.

Plov is actually the Russian pronounciation of the word common to all of the Caucas, Turkmenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Afghanistan and India. "Plov" seems to be first seen in Samarkand when Alexander the Great of Macedonia asked his cooks to create a dish that could be used for him to entertain "company". "Plov" recipes were handed down not from parent to child but instead from merchant to merchant, from traveler to traveler on the Great Silk Road. Although several changes were made due to local available ingredients and tastes, it has remained in some shape or form as a popular dish among all eastern cultures from China to Azerbaijan.

Today "plov" is known as the most popular and common dish to Uzbekistan. Natives of this country claim that there are more than 50 varities of this dish. It is used when a friend comes over, as the main dish at a wedding and even funerals. Some use different meats, nuts, dried fruits, spice etc, but the technique remains the same. However, the classical "plov" recipe remains the same for over 1000 years. There are certain traditions that must remain the same when cooking a classic "plov".

1. You have to use a heavy bottomed pot which they call a "kazan" to cook the "plov". Cast-iron works the best. "Plov" cooks on a very high temperature, therefore you need a something that is going to be a good insulator of heat and cast iron proves to be one of the best.
2. Rice must be washed throughly and preferably steeped in water before adding it to the "kazan".
3. Plenty of carrots must be used. In fact, they even state that the carrots to use are light orange in color not the deep orange-red that I have here. *Unfortunately, that's all I could find and my "plov" still tastes amazing, so I would not worry too much about it.*

4.The rice is VERY important. The combination of the rice and the cooking method are what give "plov" its distinct quality. The rice seperates perfectly from one grain to the next and NEVER clumps! Clumping is pretty much the tell tale sign that the "plov" was a failure. There is a certain rice that is used native to the area. The closest that I found was "Enriched Parboiled Long Grain Rice". It is easy to find and works best for this dish.

5. Lastly, only a man cooks the "plov". This is the one rule that I must break. I believe traditionally it was because the "kazans" were so heavy that only men would be able to work with them or prehaps it was a very sexist society. Either way, I break this rule.

One thing I must mention, this is not a dish that I recommend making on a whim. It is time intensive and a bit labor intensive. It requires a LOT of carrots cut into matchsticks by hand. For this reason, I prepare everything the night before and all my cutting is done for me once I am ready to cook. I am always excited to cook this dish, ALWAYS. It is one of those dishes that for me is very therapeutic. It does take some time, but the end result is something that you will be proud of. As simple as it is, the end product will reflect the hard work and time you put into the dish and I promise people will be impressed.

I will also admit that I learned the actual recipe very recently. About 3 months ago to be exact. I had attempted making this dish many times, cooking it the way a culinary graduate would, in accordance to French culinary laws. However, this could not have been farther away from the actual recipe and technique. I used brown basmati rice to make it healthier, which we know now is not right. I cooked it for only an hour instead of the necessary 3. My best friend, Marina, would always say to me,
"My mother-in-law says that it takes all day to prepare this dish."
To that I would respond with,
"Oh that's because she is slow, my culinary skills and techniques allow me to do it in less than half the time."
Well I was wrong! My rice was never the way it should be. When I read about the way the rice should fall from one grain to the next , I knew I was in the wrong.
It wasn't until one night when I was at my friend Kate's house that I saw exactly what I needed to do. She explained the whole process to me as was told to her by an Uzbek (and Uzbekistan native). Wow! It opened my eyes to a whole new method. Completely different than any I have ever seen, but it worked perfectly.

And so I pass this on to you folks, who will hopefully take the time to cook this dish and taste why it has withstood 1000's of years and remained unchanged.

Plov

3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into bite-size pieces
*Traditionally lamb or mutton was used, however I really dislike lamb, so I use beef.*
2 large onions, thinly sliced
8-10 large carrots, cut into matchsticks
3 cups of Enriched Parboiled Long Grain Rice, steeped in water
3-4 heads of garlic, with tops cut off
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of black peppercorns
salt to taste
vegetable oil for frying
*I usually use olive oil for general cooking. However, for this, you need the oil to have a high smoke point (the point that it burns) and olive oil has a fairly low one. Vegetable oil has a high one, so you can get the pan screaming hot before your oil begins to burn.*

1. In a cast-iron pot, pour in about 1/2 an inch of oil, be generous with it. Turn up the heat all the way. When you see your pan smoking, add your meat. *Do not over crowd your pot. If you happen to do so and you accumulate a large amount of liquid from the meat, pour out the liquid and reserve it for later, when you add water to the carrots. This way your meat will be able to brown nicely.*

2. Once your beef has browned on all sides, about 10 minutes, add in your sliced onions.

3.Saute' for 15 minutes, until the onions are nicely browned.

4. At this point add in your matchstick carrots and saute for about 15 minutes. *Here I have demonstrated how to properly and quickly cut your carrots.*

5. Now add in your garlic and nestle it into the mixture. Just cut off the tops and take some of the loose "paper" off the garlic.

Take BOILING water and add it to your garlic, carrots, meat and onions. Only add enough water to just cover the mixture. Add in your herbs and spices, taste the liquid and ensure that there is enough salt and spice in there to compensate for the rice you will be putting in later. NOW you may turn your heat down to low. *You want to use boiling water because otherwise you would stop the cooking time. At this time, if you can also add any leftover liquid from the meat.*
GO AWAY. PLEASE PLEASE Please whatever you do DO NOT STIR! You will disrupt the wonderful magic that is about to happen! Go talk on the phone, watch half a movie, drink some wine...whatever you want...just do not touch this for 45 minutes.
6.Once this time has passed crank up the heat. Remember that rice you had steeping in the water? Now is the time to drain it and prepare for its final resting place. Once drained, lay the rice CAREFULLY over your carrot, meat and onion mixture. Pretend you are gently "blanketing" the mixture with your rice. Again, take BOILING water and SLOWLY cover the rice just about 1/2 of an inch above the rice. See all that beautiful brown goodness come up to the top? That's your flavor right there, that's what you did all that work for. Now just get the rice done and you will have a complete success.

Let the rice cook on HIGH heat until there is no more liquid. If you see liquid still bubbling up from the top, it isn't done. If you see liquid bubbling up at the bottom, it isn't done. Only when it is completely dry is it done.

Once it is completely dry, turn off the heat and cover with the lid for about 30-60 minutes. Only after this time passes can you mix the mixture. Serve with garlic cloves on top.
And there you have it!

From Russia with Food...

2009-01-12T15:10:00.004-06:00

I decided that I am going to create a different theme each week for my recipes. So this week it's my favorite of Russian foods! Traditionally, Russian cuisine used hearty ingredients to give people energy during the long winters. Many of the staple foods include whole grains, potatoes, eggs, pickled vegetables, different smoked meats, including a wide array of sausages and smoked fish. People think of Russian food and think of 3 things: Vodka, Borscht and Herring. Well there is quite a bit more to it than that.

Pickling, canning and preserving has been a staple of the Russian way of life for generations. Ordinarily people would pickle, cure and salt their foods to preserve them for the winter. My grandmother and mother would spend days canning everything from jams to pickled watermelon! (Now, before you cringe, pickled watermelon is actually quite delicious. You just have to eat it with your eyes closed because your eyes cannot believe that watermelon and salty would go together, but it does and it's awesome!)
I grew up in Moldova, a country next to Romania, where we had plenty of seasonal fruits, vegetables and great wine, at least that's what the area was known for. The one beauty of growing up there was that everything that I ate was always in its peak season, so it always tasted as it should. When I tasted a tomato in Chicago for the first time, I didn't know what it was. It just did not have the same aroma or flavor. In fact, it took me quite some time to get used to the taste of meat and fresh produce here.

Russian recipes have stayed the same for generations. There have definitely been times when I wanted to lighten up recipes and change them. However, it never turned out quite right. I realized that although Russian food can be very fattening, (for example, one of the best things that Russians eat is something called "salo" which is the equivalent of Italian "lardo". Basically it is bacon, but with a little less meat and a bit more fat...mmmm I can almost feel the pounds piling up on my thighs!) sometimes a little bit is all you need. Russian food, is ultimate comfort food and we all need a little bit of that fromt time to time. Originally food was meant to keep energy and spirits up in the winter and that it certainly does!

It has come to my understanding that most people do not know the vast number of countries that influence this part of the world. When the Mongols took over they left their imprint on the region with dumplings known as "pelmeni", noodles and smoked sturgeon. When Peter the Great took over he introduced trade with France and therefore a bit of classical French cuisine and preparation techniques were evident, especially with royalty. Elegant desserts and elaborate buffets were all part of this time era and still remain as a cultural staple. Tea was introduced in the 18th century by the China trade. Southern Russia, which is located next to the Caspian Sea, is the producer of some of the world's greatest caviar, Osetra. Ukraine (where my fiance' is from) popularized breads and grains and introduced the first recipe of Borscht, the traditional Russian beet soup. Lastly and my personal favorite is the Caucus region. Countries like Georgia and Armenia, introduced spices such as saffron, pepper, cumin, and coriander and my favorite meat of all, Shashlyk: large cuts of meat cooked on an open flame over natural wood and served with fresh onions.

Most Russian food I love for its simplicity of flavors and preparation methods. It's a shame that people do not know about Russian culture or its cuisine because I gotta tell you, once the vodka starts pouring and the food starts coming, the party isn't ending!

Persian Lentil and Tomato Soup

2009-01-09T11:04:00.005-06:00

Most Chicagoans know of this wonderful Persian restaurant called "Reza's". Russians looove this Middle-Eastern cuisine. Partially because of the influence of the Georgians and the Armenians. Besides, what can be bad about char grilled meat and fragrant basmati rice?

For as long as I can remember my family went to Reza's. I always had this gitty feeling when I knew we were going to there. I would day dream about it in school and look forward to it all day. The food was always great, inexpensive and filling. They have HUGE portions...HUGE! Mostly everyone at our table always left most of the meal on their plates...except my dad, my uncle and myself, we put away the entire meal! My mom warned me each time to stop, that I will feel sick ...but I never listened and every time I would slouch on the chair, slowly making my way under the table to take a much-needed nap, growning from my full tummy. My mom would say, "Why would you do that? Look at your stomach, look!! This is more food than you have eaten all month! You cannot do this to yourself." I would look up at her, with a miserable smile and say, "But once I start, I cannot stop. I have to eat it all. How would dad and my uncle look at me if I didn't eat it all?" My mom would throw her hands in the air and say that one day I would learn. I can still put away an entire plate of food today but I choose not to and instead take it home. To this day I still crave to go there and get excited about eating their food.

I have duplicated almost every recipe they have at the restaurant, except one. Their soup. It's this delicious lentil and tomato soup that I absolutely love. It's totally vegetarian and has a ton of flavor in it. It has that unique combination of eccentric spices known to the middle eastern world.

I made it yesterday in an attempt to continue my vegetarian style diet. (I say style, because I am eating meat, just not every day.) It was almost identical to the one in Reza's. My fiance' was very against tasting it because I told him that it was vegetarian. I put it out for him when I went upstairs to blog last night. I came down...the bowl was licked clean!
"I liked, even better than Reza's!" He said.
Ahhh music to my ears, my recipe is better than Reza's brilliant!

I based it off of a recipe I found on recipezaar.com, funny enough a woman was looking for the same soup recipe. The recipe definitely needed a bit of tweaking. I added a lot of my own spices that I know are traditionally used in Persian and middle eastern cuisine in general. It was filling and absolutely delicious!
I placed a dollop of middle eastern yogurt on top and it finished it of nicely.

*You can find the original recipe here *

Persian Lentil and Tomato Soup

1 cup lentils, rinsed
7 cups vegetable stock (I used Trader Joes, which was very flavorful)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 cups stewed tomatoes, crushed
2 teaspoons salt
1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 tsp sumac
3 tsp 7-spice
1/4 cup brown basmati rice, uncooked
juice of 1 lemon

*If you have never seen sumac, I recommend that you try using it in all your middle eastern recipes. It is regularly used in that region of the world. It has a tart flavor to it and was originally used in food before the Romans introduced lemons. It goes well with chicken, beef, hummus almost anything. In fact, you will usually see it sitting on tables next to the salt in pepper in most good middle eastern restaurants. 7-Spice is also very popular and frequently used. It's a spice blend with cumin, ground coriander, paprika, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamon. It really gives that middle eastern flare to the dish.*

1. Add lentils to stock and bring up to a boil. Cover and continue cooking on medium low for 25 minutes.
2. Sautee onions and garlic together and let them sweat. You do not want any color.
3. Add tomatoes, parsley and all seasoning and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add onion mixture and rice to the lentils and stock. Turn down the heat and let it cook for about 25-30 minutes on medium heat, until the lentils and rice are tender. At this point, add lemon juice.
5. Pour into a bowl and add a dollop of middle eastern yogurt called "Labne".

*I think next time I do this dish I may do it a bit differently. It came out a bit chunky which is OK, but I am going to puree the tomatoes and onions next time and then add it to the soup. The color actually looks nicer that way and you get a more homogeneous consistency.*

Thai Chicken Salad

2009-01-08T23:50:00.006-06:00

I never liked those traditional chicken salads. They always were drowning in mayo and the chicken never had any flavor because it was poached. Yuck! However, I was so impressed with how well the flavors combined in my crab cakes, I decided to try something like this with chicken salad. It was AMAZING! So flavorful and fresh! My fiance' and I practically ate the whole thing with pita chips. I barely put any mayo in it so it really wasn't very bad for me. I still have some Greek chicken left over, so I just took the skin off of the chicken breast and used that.

Now, there is one little pain in the butt about this salad: the veggies must be cut really small. This is where your knife skills come in really handy. I came up with a few easy ways to chop the vegetables to make them small and most importantly get it done fast!

*Clearly you can tell from this blog that I am no longer in my vegetarian mode. However, I will try to make this dish with firm tofu next time. The chicken really didn't give it that much flavor, more texture if anything. Plus, the protein in tofu is much better!*

Thai Chicken Salad

1 chicken breast (grilled, leftover, rotisserie, poached etc)
1/2 red onion, small dice
1 small red pepper, small dice
1 small yellow pepper, small dice
1 handful cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon chili garlic paste
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

1. Chop up all your veggies.
Here is the best way to chop any type of pepper.
-Make sure that you flatten out the pepper with the back of your knife. The flatter it is, the easier it will be to make nice thin

-Slice nice thin strips.

-Turn the strips the other way and cut into dice.

There! Now we can move onto step 2.
2. Chop your chicken finely. Slice it in half first so that it is thin and then repeat the same steps as above to get the chicken small.
3. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
4. Season to taste and serve with your favorite roll, chips or crackers!

*See this stuff is good even our kitty Mika wants some :) *

Barefoot Bloggers: Banana Sour Cream Pancakes

2009-01-08T23:14:00.006-06:00

Alright...I will admit it...I am a procrastinator. I've been bad...very bad and very busy and therefore waited till the very last minute to post my pancakes. I will admit that I actually made them for dinner and we just munched on them. But my fiance' will be having them for breakfast tomorrow which so that counts right?
As all of Ina's recipes are, this one was very good. I did however change one thing. I did not like the whole idea of just placing the bananas on the pancake while they cooked. So I decided to do a more gourmet version of this pancake. My take is Banana Fosters Sour Cream Pancakes. I took some sugar, butter, diced up bananas, Cognac and voila, you have pancakes that will make anyone happy. Now I completely understand that you would not want to serve this to your children, I promise the intention of this blog is not to booze up the kiddies. If serving this to kids, just take out the Cognac it will taste just as fabulous!

So here it is... very first Barefoot Bloggers post...I hope I made Ina proud!

Banana Sour Cream Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
2 extra-large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Unsalted butter

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan to make 3 or 4 pancakes. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned.

Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used.

Banana's Foster Topping

2 ripe bananas, diced
1 stick butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup Cognac
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 a cup pecans, crushed

1. Place butter and sugar in saute pan and let it dissolve on medium heat.
2. Add bananas and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add Cognac...if you are feeling a bit adventureous or want to impress guests go ahead and flambe: meaning tilt the pan to the flame a bit and your Cognac will cathch on fire. I promise this is sure to be a hit with everyone.
4. Turn off heat and add lemon juice.
5. Spoon over pancakes and add pecans.

Knife Skills

2009-01-07T16:20:00.001-06:00

It has been brought up to my attention that none of my friends really, really know how to use a knife properly. Now, you wanna know why chef's can do things so much quicker or why Rachael Ray can actually do her meals in 30 minutes? Knife skills. These are the best things to learn for efficiency and speed. When I was in culinary school I never EVER thought that I would be able to dice and chop the way they did on tv. Well, for the first two weeks I walked around with band-aids on all my fingers on the left hand. But slowly I learned. SLOWLY is the key word, don't rush your knife skills. You need to get the technique down first, then comes the speed.
After my 3rd quarter in culinary school I did a 6 month internship at one of the biggest catering companies on the North Shore, in Chicago. There I had no choice but learn how to be quick with my knife. All the guys were dicing and chopping faster than I had ever seen!

On my first day I saw a guy chopping mushrooms super fast, like a machine! I told the sous chef that I wanted to learn how to do that. He threw a 5 pound box of criminis at me and said, "I guarantee you by the end of the day you will be able to chop like that." That was at 8am, by 5pm and the end of my day, I knew how to chop like that. I ran up to my sous chef before I left and I said,
"Hey! How did you know I would be able to do that by the end of the day?"
"Easy," he said, "When you need to get something done, your body and mind will automatically figure out the fastest and most efficient way to do it! Tommorrow, we start on small dicing onions."

That 6 month experience was what put me ahead of everyone else in my class when it came to knife speed. My speed was always there unfortunately, my precision sucked! I had a chef that would take out a ruler and measure my small dice (brunois) and matchsticks (battonets), out of a 10 I usually got a 6, and I was very happy with that! My thought process was that you don't need to have perfect cubes if no one is really looking at them, it's not like my goal was to work at a French 6 star restaurant. I just needed speed and to get my veggies to the right size, not the right shape.

At my culinary internship, I learned several tips to help my knife skills. There are a few rules that one should do by in order to make their knife work for them.

1. Make sure your knife feels like a continuation of your hand. Your knife should feel very comfortable in your hand. If it is too long or too heavy it is not your knife. I am 5 foot 4 and I have realitively long limbs, but still my chef's knife is only 8 inches. It feels light and comfortable in my hands, the way a knife should feel.
2. Your knife does NOT have to be expensive, just comfortable and SHARP! Having a sharp knife is the best thing you can do for yourself. Belive me I have cut myself with a dull knife and a sharp knife, dull cuts hurt much more. A sharp knife will make your cutting fast, precise and easy. * I will say that I am a bit of a knife snob. But that is only because I bought my knives as an investment. They were a gift to myself when I graduated school and after 4 years they are still in perfect condition. I prefer to use Global Knives. They are very light and are made out of one piece instead of 2 (one for the handle and one for the blade). They stay sharp very long because of the special angle on the blade. *
3. GO SLOW. Learn the proper hand positioning and rocking motion of the knife first. Start practicing on onions and potatoes. Then move on to carrots and celery. All these veggies are cheap and always in need in your recipes! After that you can move onto other vegetables. The key is to really use your knife skills whenever possible. The more you use them, the more comfortable you will be with your knife. In the beginning it was very difficult for me to hold my knife right. It felt wrong and very uncomfortable. But over time I got used to it and now it is second nature. Just be patient with yourself. It can take months to get used to it. But be patient and practice often!

How Did This Happen??? Adventures and Battles with My Diet

2009-01-07T10:58:00.004-06:00

Ok so I vowed to start eating really healthy and less in the new year. I am standing up in a wedding, attending another wedding and have my own wedding at the end of the year! So I have to be in the best shape!!! As of Sunday, I really tried to cut down my daily food intake as well as monitor the quality of it. Now before I can take this any further let me explain something. I love meat! I love chicken, fish, beef, pork, burgers, turkey burgers, chicken wings, ribs. I am not a veggie lover by any means. Becoming a vegetarian was NEVER my intention! But it happened! Totally, completely, accidentally! I didn't even realize it until yesterday night! I have had my protein intake with beans and hummus and stuff...but I just found that it was absolutely amazing that I was not craving meat! Then it hit me! Maybe I crave it all the time because I consume it too much! I haven't craved it at all! I have craved carbs though, which is ok, as long as it's the good carbs :)
I must say I am actually very happy and excited about this! I think it's a good chance for me to change what my diet wants and craves! Yeay!!!!
I will keep posting on my challanges and success with this! It may even inspire me to create vegetarian dishes! I will still be cooking meat though, only because my fiance' needs it.

Roasted Eggplant Spread/Salad Russian Style

2009-01-07T10:15:00.004-06:00

It is not secret that I did not eat much as a child. If I did eat, then it was usually only my mother's food. I never ate at any one's house or restaurant. Being the picky eater that I was (and am) I was always afraid that other people would try and slip something in my food that I didn't like...and then I would start gagging at the table...and make a scene...etc etc etc. So my mother quickly learned that I was best fed with food from her kitchen and her hands.
I didn't like a lot of veggies as a kid especially things like eggplant and zucchini. However, this dish...oooh it makes me feel all good and warm inside. I don't know what it is? My mother made it for me when I was a bit older. It has lots of juicy tomatoes in it and nice fresh olive oil. *In Russia, my mother used to make it with sunflower oil which gave it a very authentic flavor.*

For the past few nights, this has been my dinner. I spread this salad/spread on a few pieces of toasted whole grain bread. Sometimes when I am being really bad, I will do it on good Russian "grey bread" or the American equivalent, sourdough bread.
Those simple flavors are sometimes all that I need...

Roasted Eggplant Spread

3 large eggplants
1 tomato
1/2 an onion
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Wash and dry your eggplants well. Place them on a baking sheet or roasting pan.
3. Poke some holes in the eggplants with a fork to give the steam somewhere to go.
4. Pour some oil on top of the eggplants so that they don't dry up in the oven.
5. Place in the oven and roast for about 45 minutes. Or until they look deflated, like the above picture.
6. Place them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap so that they can "steam". This process will make the removal of the skin much easier.
7. If you have time, let the eggplants cool, it will be easier to handle them while removing the skin. If you are like me and you don't have time, then just put on some rubber gloves and work fast!
8. Remove the skin and cut of the top stem. Drop the cleaned eggplants into a colander and leave to drain for about 10 minutes. Usually, if I haven't had time to cool them, I place a bowl underneath the colander and stick it in the freezer. That way it drains and cools at the same time!
9. Place the eggplants on a large cutting board and run your chefs knife through it a couple times. Just rock your knife back and forth to create a paste. Place in a bowl and smash up a bit more with a spoon, just so that it's one "paste".
10. Chop up your tomato and onion finely. Add to the eggplant mixture along with salt, pepper and good extra virgin olive oil.
11. Spread on some good bread or even crackers and enjoy!

Greek Chicken with Potatoes

2009-01-06T11:16:00.003-06:00

There was always this one Greek place that my parents and I used to go to when I was a kid. When you walked in, you could see those chickens rotating on the rotisserie...mmmm. As soon as I saw those juicy chickens I instantly knew what my order would be: Greek Chicken with herbed rice and potatoes. After culinary school I vowed to recreate the dish and used all my culinary skills to do so. I would sear the chicken and the potatoes, carefully browning on each side, then stuck it in an oven to finish cooking. Unfortunately, I failed, time after time...It tasted good...just not what I remembered. The potatoes were just not quite right. So after awhile I just thought that it's a Greek thing and I should leave it at that...
Until one day when I was getting my hair done at my hair stylist's house, who happens to be Greek. I smelled that familiar aroma in the air...earthy oregano, zesty lemon...I recognized it right away and said to her,
"Hey is your mom making Greek Chicken with potatoes?"
"Yup, you want some?"
"Bring it on!"
One taste of her mom's chicken and I knew I must have the recipe. It was just as I remembered it, except BETTER!
"How did you make this?" I asked her mom.
With her perfect Greek authentic accent, she explained the recipe to me. All this time, I was making it so complicated! In reality it could not have been simpler!
Stick it all in one pan and roast in its own juices with a bit of chicken broth. That's it! No searing and frying, just one pan! That very night I went home and made it...It was delicious, juicy, lemony and exactly as I had remembered it.
Just goes to show you...simplicity really is key :)

Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

1 fryer chicken, cut up into pieces
2 whole lemons, zested and juiced
3 tablespoons of fresh oregano, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, sliced
5 russet potaoes, peeled and cut into quarters
2 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

1. Pour olive oil in the bottom of a bakin pan to prevent chicken and potatoes from sticking.
*I used a foil pan so that clean up was a breeze! You also want to make sure that the pan is big enough to give the potatoes room. They should not be crowded, or else they will not develop the right flavors.*
2. Place the potatoes and chicken pieces in the pan and cover them well with all the zest, lemon juice and oregano. I also threw in the zested and juiced lemons in there. They make for a great presentation when they get caramalized in the oven.
3. Let the chicken and potatoes stand for at least 1 hour, just so the flavors get a chance to develop in the chicken.

4. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
5. Place chicken and potatoes in the oven for 30 minutes. This will allow a nice crust to form on the chicken and give the potatoes a chance to brown up.
6. After the 30 minutes, turn down the temperature to 375 degrees and pour in the chicken stock and let it go nice and slow. You may need to rotate the potatoes once in awhile to make sure that they are browning up and softening up on all sides.
*The point of the chicken stock is to partially braise the potatoes. They should about half-way up the potatoes. You want them to have a golden color, but still be nice and soft in the middle. If some of the liquid has evaporated, feel free to add more stock or water.*
7. The chicken will be done when the juices run clear. The potatoes sometimes take longer than the chicken. I took my chicken out after about an hour, the potatoes still cooked for 20 more minutes, just until they could easily be broken with a fork.

*The potatoes should look golden brown on the outside and when you break them in half they will be white in the center, and golden yellow all around the center! The yellow comes from the lemon and chicken juices. Sometimes when I really want to impress the guests, I add a bit of turmeric to the cooking liquid, it turns them a nice bright yellow and is a great trick for rice as well. People will think it's saffron!"

An Oldie But a Goodie: Spaghetti and Meatballs

2009-01-05T23:34:00.005-06:00

Ahhh spaghetti and meatballs, one of my all time faves! I swear, I always said that if I wasn't Russian I would be Italian! I love Italian food! Whether it's traditional Italian or Italian American, like this particular dish is, I can't get enough!
It's funny that in America we serve spaghetti with meatballs. In a traditional Italian family you would never see that happen. Here is a bit of a history lesson: When Italians emigrated to America, they never ate the two together. Sure they ate pasta and they ate meatballs, but mixing the two together did not start until they started serving it to a non-Italian clientele in some of the restaurants they opened in their communities. Italy is one of the few countries who enjoys their pasta or rice separate from their protein. Italians found that their other clientele needed to have both the protein and the starch together...and so Bada Bing Bada Boom Spaghetti and Meatballs were born!
Clearly, this is not one of the most healthiest dishes out there. However, after careful research and development in my own kitchen, I have found ways to keep it healthier and not sacrifice any of the flavor. I have also discovered a much quicker way to make this hearty meal. I used to talk to all the Italians I knew and get their mom's and grandma's recipes for spaghetti and meatballs and I cooked all day, just like the real Italian grandmothers. After I finished scrubbing the kitchen from all the tomato sauce splatters, I thought, "There must be another way." And there was! Of coarse with the help of Trader Joes Marinara I was able to create a wonderful meal in a little over an hour! I'm sure that there is an Italian grandmother right now (or her family) reading this and shaking her head in horror. Relax grandma, I'm sure your sauce beats mine any day, but this definitely comes in at a close second.

Meatballs

2 pounds ground beef, 80% lean
5 egg whites
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 whole onion, finely diced
1 large handful of Italian parsley, chopped
plenty of salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for cooking

Sauce
1 can of Trader Joes Tuscan Marinara Sauce
1 whole onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
8 large basil leaves, torn by hand into sauce
1 pound of whole wheat spaghetti

*By using whole wheat spaghetti and lean beef I was really able to cut down on the calories. Now they have this awesome pasta at Trader Joe's with flax seed in it! So I can almost feel good about eating this meal...almost.*

1. Combine all the ingredients except olive oil in a bowl and mix well with hands.

2. Pour oil into a deep and preferably wide pot; let oil get hot.
3. One at a time, roll the meatballs into about 3 inch balls and drop them into the pot. Be careful not to crowd the pan. Continue doing so in batches until all meatballs have been browned on each side.
4. Remove all the meatballs on to another plate.
5. Turn down the heat to medium and add onion to pan. Toss onion with oil. Continue cooking for about 15 minutes.
6. Turn down the heat and add the garlic and the tomato sauce. Let it cook for about 30 minutes.
8. Boil a pot of salted water for the spaghetti.
7. Add in meatballs and juices. Continue cooking until meatballs are cooked through and moist, about 20 minutes.
8. Remove meatballs and add basil leaves and spaghetti to sauce. Toss to coat and pour extra sauce on meatballs and spaghetti!

*This sauce is a bit chunkier, if you prefer it smooth you can just smooth it out a bit with a stick blender.*

Clean Out the Fridge Frittata

2009-01-05T16:27:00.005-06:00

My fiance loves his breakfasts on Sunday. I was going to wake up early and make the pancakes that the Barefoot Bloggers group is making this week, but I couldn't get my butt out of bed. So as usual I was scrambling in the afternoon, TRYING to put together a nice omelette. Unfortunately, since I did not wake up early, I did not go grocery shopping, so I had very basic veggies to work with. Plus my fiance is very picky about his veggies in eggs: no tomatoes, no green or red peppers, blah blah balh. I figured a frittata was perfect for this! For my frittatas I always blend them with some cream cheese or sour cream in my Magic Bullet , it makes the eggs fluffier and it raises in the pan when you broil it, almost like a souffle. I figured I would whip up so much air into those eggs that he wouldn't even know what was in it. And that's exactly what happened. He loved it!

I love broiling the fritatta because it gets perfectly cooked on top and the cheese gets all melty and gooey.

Clean Out the Fridge Frittata

2 eggs
1 tablespoon sour cream
1/2 onion, chopped
2 large pieces grilled eggplant (or any other leftover veggies)
2 scallions, sliced
4 pieces of turkey bacon, rouchly diced
2 slices of Swiss Cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a non-stick pan pour enough olive oil to cover the bottom.
2. Add in all your vegetables and turkey bacon and saute on medium to high heat, until slight color develops, about 10 minutes.
3. While veggies are cooking, whip together eggs, sour cream and salt and pepper in a blender or mixer; blend for about 45 seconds or until frothy.
4. Add in eggs to the vegetable mix and turn off heat. Top with cheese.
5. Place under broiler until top has melted and all of the eggs are cooked.
Enjoy!

WANTED: Comfort Food

2009-01-05T12:14:00.003-06:00

After a long New Year's Eve and day of eating and drinking, I had some some severe tummy issues. Clearly it was not happy with me and my consumption in the previous few days. Not to mention my pet allergies were running wild that day! Sneeze after sneeze can definitley wear a person out! I literally spent all day Friday on the couch watching the food channel. Inspired by all the great food but with no physical energy to make any, my worst nightmare.

At night I decided that I had just enough energy to make a quick dinner for me and my fiancee. I had some meatloaf and some of my homemade chicken soup leftover in the freezer. So I decided to do something fun with it. There is no recipe here it was just some quick add-ins to leftovers.

I heated some soup in a pot. In another pot, I sweated out one onion, several chopped baby carrots and 2 stalks of celery. I added fresh thyme and seasoning to that. Once it sweated out nicely and the flavors had developed, I added it to the chicken soup and stirred to combine. Then I threw in some angel hair pasta just to give it a bit of caloric value.

With the meatloaf I decided to make a meatloaf melt. I caramalized 1/2 an onion in a saute pan. Then I toasted up 2 slices of bread so they were good and crusty. I placed the meatloaf onto the bread, topped with the onions and added a slice of Swiss cheese; under the broiler it went. It came out beautifully crusty and melty on the inside. I just had a bite of the sandwich but my fiancee said that, "It hit the spot," which works for me :)

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T12:46:00.001-06:00

Today we are going to my brothers house where a small gathering of 23 people will party until the sun comes up!

A very Happy and Healthy New Year to everyone!

Lemon Tuscan Pasta with Herb Crusted Chicken

2008-12-31T10:34:00.006-06:00

One of my favorite things to do is to figure out recipes from restaurants. Years ago, I used to work as a hostess at a local Houlihan's. My friends and I loved that place, so much that we ALL started working there! They used to have this one dish that we all loved, one of my friends, Yelena, would probablly have that dish as her last meal! She has been begging me to make this for her and I still keep promising her I will. I am just hoping that maybe this simple version of the dish will inspire her to make it on her own!

This pasta was creamy, lemony and very filling! It was one of our saddest days when they took it off the menu. So being the only cook out of all my friends, I decided to duplicate it. About 6 years ago I did it, I replicated the recipe. But it wasn't exactly the quickest thing in the world. Today, with the help of my favorite friend, Trader Joe, I was able to make a very quick and satisfying meal. With a few fresh ingredients I am able to wake up the flavors and make the sauce my own. Unfortunately, it's not the most diet friendly, so I threw in some whole grain pasta with flax seed to make up for the sauce.

*Ruth from Presto Pasta Nights will be hosting this recipe on her site! Check it out!*

Lemon Tuscan Pasta

1/2 pound spaghette or angel hair pasta
1 jar Trader Joes Alfredo Sauce (you can also use homemade if you have it)
2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 an onion, finely diced
1/4 cup good Parmasan Cheese
zest off of 1/2 a lemon
juice of 1 lemon

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta.
2. Once the water has come to a boil, start the sauce. On a very low flame add butter to a deep saute pan. Once butter melts add garlic and onion. Close lid and let the onion and garic "sweat" in the butter. You do not want any color on it. It needs to go very slow and just develop the flavors. *The smell of butter cooking with onions and garlic, has to be the best smell in the world! When my fiance' walked into the house and got a whif he was instantly excited about dinner!*
3. Once garlic and onions are translucent and very fragrant, add in your sauce and lemon zest. Scrape every bit of the sauce in, it tends to get stuck in the jar. Let it simmer just enough to get thick. At the very end add in the cheese and lemon juice. *Be very careful with the lemon juice! Do not add any acidity to a cream sauce while it is boiling. It will seperate and you will have a big globby mess! Add it in slowly, at the end.*
4. Once the pasta is done, add it to the sauce with tongs. Don't worry about the water from the pasta, it will combine nicely with the sauce.
5. Serve with a twist of lemon and a sprinkle of Parmasan Cheese on top.

Herb Crusted Chicken

2 lbs of chicken breast
seasoned Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
1 handful of Italian Parsley, finely chopped
zest off of 1 lemon
Olive oil to fry

1. Remove fat from chicken breasts. Cut the chicken breast in half horizontally. I hate pounding out chicken breasts, it scares my cat and frankly just makes too much noise. Instead, I just cut it in half and they get thin that way at the same time they make more portions.
2. In a plate, combine breadcrumbs with parsley and lemon zest.
3. In another plate scramble one egg with 1 tablespoon of water.
4. Preheat the pan on high and pour enough oil in the pan to come up about half way on the chicken.
5. Dip the chicken in egg and then in the breadcrumbs.
6. Fry until golden brown on each side. Lay out on paper towels to drain the fat.
7. Serve with a sprinkle of parsley.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

2008-12-30T09:37:00.005-06:00

Between last week and this week I have been all screwed up with my meals! Because of the short weeks, it's tough to figure out what I should make for the week to eat. I was craving pasta like crazy, but wanted to keep it healthy. So I decided to go for lots of veggies and less pasta. I took the help where I could get it and used canned marinara sauce from Trader Joes, it tastes really great and has no additives in it. I had some frozen spinach and some of Trader Joes roasted eggplant and zucchini left over in the freezer. I cleared out some veggies I had in the fridge and roasted them up in the oven. I used Sargento 6 Cheese Blend with Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Fontina, Romano and Asiago. I did not have to use much and because of the Asiago and Parmesan it formed a beautiful crust on top.

It was actually very easy to eat this without feeling guilty! Typically I won't eat lasagna because it is loaded with fat and calories. But with this one, I did not put a thick coat of cheese on top and there was more veggies than pasta. I did use a lot of ricotta but that's a whey protein which is actually very good for you! It's also a really great way to get picky kids or a picky fiance', who doesn't like veggies, to eat plenty of vegetables, without them knowing it!
I gave it to him for lunch the next day and he called me up and said,
"Look babe, I expect a lot out of you with your cooking, but this was top notch! Restaurant quality! I don't even like lasagna! But this yum!"

To that I replied, "Well good, I'm glad that my $50,000 education didn't go to waste and I could still make restaurant quality lasagna!"

Roasted Veggie Lasagna

1 red onion, cut into large wedges
1 yellow pepper, cut into large chunks
1 red pepper, cut into large chunks
1/2 a package of Trader Joe's Grigliato Misto, or roast your own eggplant and zucchini
10 oz package of frozen spinach, defrosted
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chiffonade
lasagna noodles
1 jar of marinara, store bought or homemade
12 oz ricotta cheese
1 bag of shredded cheese, about 2 cups
1 table spoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place cut up onion and peppers onto a sheet pan coated with olive oil and seasoning. Roast at 450 degrees until lightly brown in color, about 20-25 minutes.

2. Take vegetables out of oven and place in the freezer to cool them quickly. You don't need them cold, just cool enough to handle with your hands.
3. Cut up the roasted veggies into small pieces, including zucchini and eggplant. This is no place to get exact with your knife skills, just run your knife quickly through all the veggies.
4. Toss all roasted veggies with garlic and basil and preheat your oven to 350-degrees.
5. Take a 9X9 pan and coat it with pan spray.
6. Coat the bottom with a layer of marinara sauce.
7. Put a layer of lasagna noodles on the bottom. *A lot of stores now carry the lasagna noodles that don't need to be precooked in water. They are much easier to handle when they are not cooked and make it a much faster process.*
8. Place a layer of ricotta on top of the noodles. It does not need to be perfect, just use your hands to crumble it up, it will melt in the oven anyhow.
9. Place a nice layer of roasted veggies and spinach on top of ricotta. Don't be shy with the veggies.
10. Sprinkle an even layer of shredded cheese on top.
11. Repeat this until you get to the top.
12. Place in the oven, until the top gets brown in color, about 45 minutes.
*This lasagna is unique because of the crust formed on top from the cheese combination. Most other lasagnas tend to be gooey on top. This one has a really great combination of both gooey in the middle and crispy on top*

White and Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding

2008-12-29T15:34:00.003-06:00

I love bread pudding! I always have! It's comforting, easy and always a crowd pleaser. At least it always was with my clients. This was the first time that I made bread pudding for my family and friends. My God, the faces I got when I started serving this up to them! They looked at me and we're all like, "Umm no thanks, we'll pass on that." I was like, "No, this is good, try it." They all waived their heads "no" in unison. So I shoved a spoonful into my best friend Marina's, mouth, and she was like, "Oh my God! This is amazing...wow!" And then they all joined in!

I don't remember where I got this recipe but I tweeked it a lot. To the point where now, it really is my recipe. I served it up with plain whip cream out of the bottle. I forgot to buy whipping cream so I had no time to make my own. I also just had some last night and I put it together with vanilla ice cream. It was delicious!

White and Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding

1 loaf of Hawiian Bread
6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 ounces imported white chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs
1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup whole milk
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1. Combine bread, chocolate, and white chocolate in large bowl and toss to blend.
2. A hand whisk, beat eggs, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, and vanilla in another large bowl to blend. Gradually beat in 1 1/2 cups cream and milk.
3. Add cream mixture to bread mixture; stir to combine. Let stand 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with nonstick spray.
5. Transfer bread mixture to prepared dish, spreading evenly. Drizzle with remaining 1/2 cup cream. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
6. Bake the pudding until edges are golden and custard is set in center, about 1 hour. Cool pudding slightly.
*I actually cooked the bread pudding for 30 minutes the night before. Then on the day of the party I stuck it into the oven while we were having dinner. By the time we were ready to eat dessert, the chocolate was all gooey and melted!*

Not So Green, Green Beans

2008-12-29T14:05:00.004-06:00

I love green beans but I think that somewhere along the line, they been given a bad name. Maybe because people associate them with those disgusting looking brown things they always see at buffets. YUCK!
Well these green beans not called "not so green" because of the color you can be sure of that! By "not so green" I mean that they aren't quite as healthy as they should be. The addition of sauteed bacon and shallots makes this old veggie a huge crowd pleaser! I often find that the guys are usually the ones that don't eat the veggies. But as soon as they all heard BACON, they attacked the green beans!
This recipe was actually requested by me cousin, so here you go!

Not So Green, Green Beans

1 Bag of Trader Joes Frozen Green Beans
7 shallots, sliced
8 slice of bacon, cut into small pieces
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

1. Place bacon pieces into pan and sautee to render fat.
2. Once fat has rendered, remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and add in shallots. Sautee on medium high heat, until golden brown and soft, about 10 minutes.
3. Add green beans and cooked bacon pieces. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
*If you are making this ahead of time like I did. Do steps 1 and 2 and then put it in the fridge. Once you are ready, throw them in the pan, add green beans and they will taste like you have been slaving at them all day!*

Golden Potatoes

2008-12-29T12:40:00.003-06:00

Everyone loves potatoes in our family! EVERYONE! I can have 15 different potato side dishes and they will all get eaten! Every year I look for something different when it comes to potatoes. Earlier this year, my fiance's mother made these amazing little potatoes. When she initially placed them on the table, they looked like little pastry puffs more than anything else. No one even knew that they were potatoes. That's the beauty about them they are super easy to make but impress all!

Now I will be honest, I don't have a recipe. But this is super easy!
You want to peel the potatoes and make sure they are no smaller than a golf ball and no bigger than a tennis ball. (Obviously they shouldn't be round but at least this can give you an idea of how big they should be). I usually figure about 4-5 potatoes per person, they go FAST. Place the potatoes in a pot full of water and for every gallon of water use 1 tablespoon of Kosher Salt. *The salt is why the potatoes brown so beautifully in the oven , so make sure you put it in*
Take out two of your racks out of the oven and preheat it to 450-degrees. As soon as the potatoes reach a boil, dump them onto a collander and then line them up on the racks. (This was the reason you don't want them too small, because they will fall through the racks.) Stick it into the oven for about 15-20 minutes. You will know that they are done once you see the beautiful golden brown color! Serve immediately to the table.
*Please note, if you are making these ahead of time, just take them out of the oven once they are ready and let them stay on the racks. Right before service, stick them back in the oven and allow them to crisp up again and they will be ready for you!*

I served these up with a very simple butter mixture. I took some melted butter and combined it with freshly grated garlic, salt and pepper. Serve it in a seperate bowl and tell your guests to crack open the potato with a fork and then drizzle the buttery goodness all over the potato!
That's it! Easy and all your guests will think this took you hours to make!

Citrus and Herb Turkey

2008-12-29T11:24:00.008-06:00

I will confess something...I never made turkey before...EVER...before this Thanksgiving that is. I mean sure I made turkeys at a catering kitchen and I rubbed them down with butter and stuck them in the oven. But I never actually watched cooked it from beginning to end and it certainly wasn't for my loved ones.
This year I decided that I am making Thanksgiving MY holiday! So I researched recipes, most importantly of all...the turkey. Turkey is one of those things that we always did in my family, but it was just there...by some miraculous fluke it sometimes tasted great...but it was never WOW. So I decided to make it WOW! Now I understood what a huge task I was taking on right from the start. Most people in the family aren't even turkey eaters so I would have to overcome their previous notions of dry, icky turkey...

Right around Halloween I started planning my menu and my search for the perfect turkey began. Everything from marinading to salting to deepfrying...I read it all. But nothing really struck me as the perfect turkey. Until one day I saw it...BRINED TURKEY...Alton Brown was my savior! I was watching the food network as usual and there he was with a turkey show!
Brining: Brining makes cooked meat moister by hydrating the cells of its muscle tissue before cooking, via the process of osmosis. There it was! Science! How can this be wrong! It can't! It's perfectly logical and Alton said it works! So it certainly must!
So finally the right prep method was decided on.

Next came the flavors. I really tried to keep it simple. Lots of citrus and herbs just to enhance the flavors of the turkey. That's it, nothing fancy, I didn't want to cover the flavors just enhance and sweeten them.

Finally, I had to figure out the cooking process. There are SOOOO many different ways to cook a turkey in the oven. But based on all the cooking that I did in professional kitchens there is only one way to go: start high then go low.
What does that mean? Well you want to start out high to get the breast nicely browned and golden. Then you turn it down and let the rest of the turkey cook. This will guarantee a golden, crispy crust and a tender juicy inside.

That was it! Now that all the variables to a perfect turkey were complete, I was ready to cook!

I used Alton Brown's recipe for the actual porportions of salt to water as well as the cooking method. I definitley tweeked the brine recipe as well as the aromatics.

Perfect Citrus Turkey

Brine
14 to 16 pound frozen young turkey
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
zest of 2 oranges
zest of 2 lemons
3 tablespoons chopped rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped tyme
2 tablespoons chopped sage
1 cup orange juice
2 gallons heavily iced water

1.Combine all the ingredients in a large plastic bag, I used a garbage bag.
2.Place the thawed turkey breast side down in brine. I used a pot for this turkey, because it was small enough.
3. Cover the turkey and refrigerate for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining. I used my garage as a storage space since it is so cold out now.

Turkey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 tablespoons chopped tyme
1 tablespoon chopped sage
zest and juice of one orange
zest and juice of one lemon
2 cups of chicken stock

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

1. The next day, remove the turkey out of the brine and rinse it inside and out with water.
2. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and place on a roasting rack on top of a sheet pan or roasting pan.
3.Combine all the ingredients, except the water and brush on the oil and herb mixture. Make sure you get the breastside as well as the underside. Get into all those little nooks and crannies, you want every piece of this turkey to taste wonderful!
4. Fill the cavity with the oranges and lemons that were juiced and zested.

5. Before placing it in the oven, take a piece of foil and measure it on the bird into a little triangle. You want it to just cover the breast. Place the triangle to the side, it will be used a bit later on.
6. Place the turkey onto the lowest rack in the oven and let it roast for 30 minutes and 500 degrees. NO PEEKING! Because it is roasting on such a high temperature, all the juices that fall into your roasting pan may evaporate off and start to burn. During this time you want to add in your chicken stock just a bit at a time, so that your bits don't burn. This can be done throughout the entire cooking process to prevent the bits from burning and leaving perfect pan juices for a gravy.
*One of the easiest way to make an roast perfect is an internal probe thermometer. Especially one that you can set the temperature alarm on. It makes life simple and your roast moist! All you have to do is stick in the thermometer and wait for the alarm to go off!*
7. After the first half hour, take out the turkey and cover the breast with your pre-measured foil.

8. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
9. Set your probe thermometer alarm to 151 degrees F and walk away. (A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting.)
10. Once it's done, remove it from the oven and let it rest for about 15-20 minutes, covered with foil.
11. Carve and serve!
*I always carve my turkey before I serve it to the guests. This actually enables me to make the turkey hours before they get there. That way, I can carve it, stick it into a sheet pan, cover with foil and reheat in the oven right before the guests get there. In case anyone wants to see what my turkey looks like before I cut it, I take pictures for proof! Alton Brown has an awesome video here on how to properly carve a turkey. By carving the breast this way, you get a much moister turkey breast.*

Now, the gravy. The pan drippings from this turkey were really wonderful so the gravy is really simple. Just make a rough with a bit of the fat from the pan drippings and some flour. Slowly pour in some white wine and the turkey juices (no fat). Add in seasoning and some chopped fresh herbs. Heat up when ready to serve and you're done!

Post Hannakuh

2008-12-29T10:33:00.005-06:00

(That's me, shaking up the whip cream!)

Well Hanukkah dinner went over smoothly. Except I think my guests have been spoiled by all my elaborate dinners before this one. This was one of the few times where I wanted to make a nice small intimate dinner for 10. And so I did. However, even with all the food on the table: Turkey, Potatoes, Potato Pancakes, Salad, Green Beans, Bagels and Lox, SOME people were a bit shocked that this was IT. Fortunately, those SOME people, well actually, that ONE person, was my fiancee and his comments don't count anymore. I made my Crispy Potato Pancake, I learned a few things that should not be done with this type of pancake to preserve the moisture and texture. I wanted them to be extra crispy and because of that I think I put in too thin a layer on the pan. My best friend, Marina, had a few comments to put in (as she always does), complaining that they were too thin and that her babushka made them yummier. Well I said, "Your babushka also fries them in oil and butter. And my dear, you have a wedding dress to put on in 6 months!" That fortunately shut her up real quick!
The turkey was a huge hit, as it was on Thanksgiving! Martinis were drunk, games were played and people fell asleep on the couch! All in all: a successful Holiday!

Prepping for Hanukkuh and Other Holiday Gibberish

2008-12-24T09:31:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was quite the day for me! Firstly, it is literally a winter wonderland in Chicago. Driving was awful and all the stores were packed, even the grocery stores! Today is no different, we are expecting an additional 4-6 inches of snow today, it really will be a White Christmas and a White Hanukkah!

Whenever I have a larger party to prep for I always do all my leg work ahead of time. It saves me a ton of time as well as headaches on the day of the party. All the chopping, marinading, baking and setting the table usually happens the day or 2 before (with a few exceptions). I never have to worry about the little things going wrong and I get to actually enjoy myself when people start coming over. On Thanksgiving I had 18 people at my house and I was done cooking and setting up by 3pm! My turkey was even ready by 4pm! All my guests started coming in at about 6pm and by that time everything was warming nicely in the oven.

Holidays should be fun and warm, not stressful and hectic! When I was a kid, I watched my mom and grandma prep for holidays for 2 days. I never understood why! Then when I got older and started doing my own holidays, I saw why my mom did everything up to two days before! It's a LOT of work to do a big party! It's even MORE work to do a party when you are Russian. Russians, have more of EVERYTHING! More food, more courses, more liquor and more dessert. You see, with Russian style eating it is more of a marathon than a sprint. Eating must be done over several hours and the key is to pace oneself...otherwise you will be out on the couch before the second course even hits with people calling you a wussy!

Our family get togethers are intense! My family is loud and my fiance's family is even louder! So when we all get together it is like one big tone deaf choir, all talking fast and loud in different pitches and tones! I always tell new guests to bring a pair of ear plugs with them, just in case. They all ALWAYS crowd around in the kitchen and naturally get in my way and try to taste a bit of everything, eventually I push them all out into the dining room. My nieces and nephews run around and squeal at the top of their lungs trying to catch my poor cat. And my fiancee...well he always finds this as the perfect time to hop in the shower, leaving me to handle the family all by myself! Half of the guests are always late the only exceptions being, my brother and sister-in-law, my fiance's parents and my brother's in-laws. After that the countdown begins...about 15 minutes AFTER we scheduled the together my aunt and uncle stroll in...15 minutes after that my fiance's brother and wife come with their kids and the final arrival is by my cousin and her husband crossing the line at an astounding 45-60 minutes after the scheduled time! I learned my lesson the first time and this is why now I tell people to come over about 30-40 minutes before the time I plan to serve. It gives everyone a chance to chill out, smoke and gather before we sit down.

Now on to the food. I am a control freak when it comes to the holidays! The food has to be done my way or else I know it will be screwed up! So I usually tell people to bring stuff that I don't want to make or that they can buy. For instance, I told my cousin to bring her usual Knorr's spinach dip (It is delicious, simple and not even the cooking challenged can mess this one up) and homemade cranberry sauce. My sister-in-law brought me Spanokopita, delicious little filo triangles with feta and spinach inside, store bought and delicious! (FYI, Cosco has the best ones and they are extremely affordable!) My fiance's mother is the baker. I always tell her to bring one dessert and she always brings 4! She also brought these amazing golden potatoes that everyone loved! (I may be making them tonight and if I do, I will definitely post the recipe!)

I really love our holidays together because I get to play around with the menus! For instance, for Thanksgiving there will of coarse be a turkey with some sort of potatoes and veggies, but that's pretty much the only constraints for food I have to stay with. Generally there are really 3 rules to a Russian dinner, no matter what the holiday is:

1. There must always be plenty of liquor on the table (vodka, tequila, cognac and wine...a bit of everything to please every one's tastes)...
2. There must always be pickled veggie and sometimes fruit on the table.
(This year we had my grandmother famous pickled tomatoes! I am still working on getting the recipe from her! We also had pickled watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew. Trust me, I am a picky eater but this is just sooo darn good! Don't knock it till you tried it!)
3. There must be an abundance of food...good, filling food. (To absorb all that liquor of coarse!)

The first course is always almost like an antipasti course. Really yummy deli meats and cheeses, pickled veggies, little compound salads, deviled eggs, pate, caviar and for the first time this year I did roasted garlic cloves to be used as a spread on rolls instead of butter! It's almost like little Amuse Bouches , just enough to get the taste buds going. The second course is hot appetizers. This year I went a bit heavy on the appetizers! My fiance's mom warned me, "On Thanksgiving, don't do a lot of hot appetizers no one will eat the turkey..." But she was wrong! Once the appetizers started coming out...the guests eyes started widening...first came my Secret Stuffed Mushrooms, then those Golden Potatoes, then the Spanokopita, then Eggplant Rolls (stuffed with ricotta and marinara) then a Wild Mushroom and Potato Augratin. After this everyone kinda looked at me and said, "Are we eating the turkey tommorrow? Because no more food can fit." So they took a break. When they came back there was a new spread on the table: the Turkey, with Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, Not so Green Green Beans and this amazing Russian rice dish called Plov (I will provide the recipe once I decide to make it again). Everyone freaked out when they saw the spread. But they ate! They ate a LOT! I don't think my family has ever eaten quite so much food! I never thought I would say this: they were full, very happy and a bit inibriated: the perfect combination! (By the way, this was the first time I ever cooked a turkey at home! I freaked out a bit and started planning the turkey recipe a month out. It was worth it! Everyone raved and said it was the best turkey the ever had!)

Once dessert hits, people kind of grab something off of the table and go stroll around the house and join in random conversations. My friends usually stroll in around this time after their family gatherings and nibble on leftovers. On Thanksgiving we had an inticing game of "Catch Phrase" after dinner.

I really love the holidays. When I was growing up I truely loved them as well because my mom would keep busy cooking and I would get the chance to stick my nose in every pot. The family would get together and we would all laugh and chat and have a great time. Once my mom passed, the holidays kinda lost their special meanings. It was hard to crack a smile when everyone was missing her so much. So when my fiancee and I bought our home, I vowed that I would do my best to get the family together on all the holidays and create new and wonderful memories for us to share. Once again, the house was full of laughter, chatting and the occasional squeal from the kids. There is something so wonderful and special about seeing my new, growing family around my dining room table, eating and sharing their stories. Every once in awhile, I swear I can hear my mom's laughter at the table; and for me, that makes it all worthwhile.

A Very Warm and Happy Holiday To Everyone

Happy Hanukkuh!!!

2008-12-23T15:02:00.008-06:00

Tommorrow I am hosting a small gathering of family and friends at my house to celebrate Hanukkuh! I will be serving up my very popular "Citrus and Herb Turkey",
"Not So Green, Green Beans", "Rosemary Potato Pancakes", "Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip" and much, more!
Naturally there will be plenty of pictures and recipes!

Happy Holidays to all!

Rosemary Meatloaf and Creamy Dreamy Mashed Potatoes

2008-12-22T21:40:00.008-06:00

Meatloaf was always one of those American dishes that I never understood growing up. I always thought that maybe it was just one of those things that unless you were born and raised here, you wouldn't understand. I mean just the name of the dish makes me nauseous. I love meat, but in a loaf? Yuck! It wasn't until very recently that I actually developed a taste for the darn loaf! I have had some nasty meat loafs in my time. Some dry, some mushy, some just looked like mystery meat. Ehhhhhk. It wasn't until a few months ago that I developed a liking to this American classic. I was at a catering event and I tried the meatloaf. (On an ordinary basis I wouldn't, but I respected the chef so I figured that was the least I could do.) I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful the little mini meat loafs looked. You see they were passed appetizers and they were perfect. The top had a beautiful crust on it and the inside....mmmmmmmmmm...delicious! It was moist and so flavorful! I instantly tasted fresh herbs in there.
I went home that night determined to make a delicious meatloaf.
I have made and remade several recipes. However, my latest one is by far the most flavorful and successful. It has all the components I was looking for.
I paired it up with the perfect and in my opinion the only side dish to go with meatloaf: mashed potatoes.
Now I have tried many, many different recipes for mashed potatoes, but this one is truly the perfect one for meatloaf, or anything else for that matter. It is simple enough that it does not take away the emphasis off of the main star of the plate but it is also so delicious that you will find your self licking the bowl, spoon and plate clean. (I did.)

I made this tonight, on one of the coldest nights we have had yet and while I had only a taste of both, (I am ATTEMPTING to watch my diet) my fiancee consumed every morsel on his plate and asked for more! It is a perfect meal for these cold nights in the winter when all you want to do is eat something yummy and go sip tea or hot chocolate on the couch.

Rosemary Meatloaf

5 pounds ground beef (I used lean chuck)
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
5 ribs of celery, finely diced
3 medium sized carrots, finely diced
3 tablespoons rosemary, chopped finely
1/2 cup ketchup
2/3 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil to sautee

Preheat your oven to 375-degrees

*It is very important that you chop up these veggies finely. You want them to be seen but you also want them to melt into the meat. The only way to achieve that is to get a very fine dice. I will be posting soon on how to easily dice your most popular veggies.*
1. Combine all veggies in a sautee pan with a bit of salt and pepper and sautee until softened, about 8-10 minutes. You do not want them to brown just soften.

2 Add ketchup, sour cream, rosemary and seasonings to meat. Combine.
3. Add cooked veggies to the meat mixture and combine. *You can cool the veggie mixture so that it is easier to handle. I used rubber gloves and combine everything by hand while hot.*
4. Oil a pan that has a drip pan on the bottom, you almost want to roast the meatloaf. The perfect crust will only be achieved if there is no moisture surrounding the loaf, otherwise it will steam in its own juices and will not get a crust (trust me, I did this the first time around).
5. Place meat on the pan and shape it into a loaf shape. It does not have to be perfect. Just make sure that there are no cracks on the surface and that it is smooth.
6. Put it in the oven for 1 hour or until an internal thermometer reads 155-degrees.
7. Once it is done cooking, let it rest for at least 15 minutes.
*If your top did not crust up, just put the loaf under the broiler for 10-15 minutes and it will develop a beautiful crust.

The Perfect Gravy

I'll be honest, unless it's a holiday, I don't make gravy. But you have to with this dish, it practically screams for it! It looked naked without it!
Now I did not measure anything because I made it on a whim. But I will tell you what I put in it and you can make this without any measurements, it's not like we're baking anything!
I started out with the juices from the meatloaf. I poured some of those off into a sauce pan and added about 3 tablespoons of flour. Then I whisked vigorously to get rid of all the lumps. Into there I poured in some white wine, some beef base. It started getting kinda thick so I added in some chicken stock and whisked some more until it coated the back of a spoon. At the last minute I added in some freshly chopped rosemary and that was it! I promise it's just a bit of thickening and thinning, nothing else! If it gets too thick just add stock and if it's not thick enough add a bit more flour. That's the magic to a good gravy! Just be careful to add the flour a little at a time and remember it only gets thickened once it boils.

Creamy, Dreamy Mashed Potatoes

5 pounds potatoes, peeled, cut and washed
1 stick of butter
1 cup of half and half
3/4 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to season

1. Boil potatoes until they are fork tender.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the half and half on a low flame; keep warm.
3. Strain the potatoes so that there is not water left.
4. For the actual mashing process, I have found that using a food mill is by far the most effective way to get the creamiest mashed potatoes, with minimal effort. If you do not have a food mill then use a smasher or a mixer if you have it.

5. Add all the sour cream and half of the butter mixture to the potatoes. Combine and see the consistancy. Add in more butter and half and half if necessary. I like mine super creamy so I added it all in. Just add it in a bit at a time so the potatoes get a chance to absorb the liquids.

6. Taste for seasonings. Place a generous amount on a plate, load up with a few slices of meatloaf and drizzle some gravy on top!
That's it...NOW EAT!