Jimmy's recent hits

I started buying purple cauliflower at the farmers market, b/c it's just so pretty. Well, it turns out it's also really tasty. Jimmy invented this attractive and healthy veg medly, including purple cauliflower, little red potatos, Brussels sprouts, onion, olive oil and s&p, cooked in the oven at 400. I believe he puts the potatoes in first since they need longer; after 20 minutes he adds the veggies for another 20 minutes. It's so yummy and colorful! A great side dish for any meal.

Another one of the super-duper dishes he likes to come with is twice-baked potatoes. So delish! Potatoes, cheddar cheese, chives, sour cream... (this time we had some Crème fraîche on hand so they were particularly creamy and scrumptious). On this particular night he served them up with a juicy steak that we shared and some peas. Perfect.

Thanksgiving Pops!

I took these to a birthday party over the weekend, and since it is almost Turkey Day I made them using pumpkin and decorated them with cute fall sprinkles.

All I did was make a yellow cake and added to it one can of pumpkin puree, a little vanilla extract, and some pumpkin spice.  Then once that was baked and cooled I mixed in some cream cheese frosting that I made using 1 stick of butter, 8oz of cream cheese and powdered sugar to taste.  I even added a little pumpkin spice to the frosting too!  Then I dipped them all in melted white chocolate and decorated them with sprinkles that Shauna sent to me for my birthday!  If you look closely they are little gingerbread men and leaves.  So cute!

I think these are the best tasting cake pops I have made thus far. They were definitely a hit!

Heaven! i.e. Bacon Jam

I was introduced to this lovely sweet and savory gooey goodness by Margot.  She made it for a feast we had at Mom's house (I can't remember what for though) and it was soooooooo good, it blew my mind!  So of course I had to make it again!  And I will make it again and again and again!  It is really simple to make - all you need are these ingredients:

• 1 pound smoked bacon
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium brown onion sliced
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• Tabasco sauce (I used cayenne pepper)
• 1 cup coffee
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• Black pepper to taste
• extra water

Start by frying up the bacon in a dutch oven until crisp.  Transfer to another plate and when cool cut the bacon slices into 1 inch pieces.  Discard all but about 1-2 tablespoons of the rendered bacon fat (for a later use of course).  Add the onions and garlic to the pot and saute until softened.  Return the bacon to the pot and add the other ingredients except the water.

Simmer for about 2 hours, adding 1/4 cup of water every 30 minutes or so if it starts to look dry.  And be aware that the smell is going to permeate every inch of your house, and drive you crazy because the aromas are heavenly!

The above picture is after about 2 hours of cooking and it is done once all the liquid is gone and it is the sticky consistency of jam.  Let it cool for about 15 minutes and then process it in a food processor until it is smoother but not too smooth.

Then you can do whatever your little heart desires with it!  Eat it by the spoonfuls if you'd like - and you will! Here are a couple other ideas:

You can make some crostinis by slicing a baguette and toasting them in the oven until a little crispy and then slather some of your Bacon Jam right on them.

Or you can do like I did and make a pizza using the Bacon Jam as the sauce. I used a pre-made pizza dough from TJ's which I topped with some mozzarella, sliced red onions, and grated asiago cheese. I then put it in the oven for about 12 minutes until crispy. Then I topped the whole thing with arugula. Delicious delight!  

You gotta make this stuff mang!

Salad Time!

I love making and eating salads.  It is usually what I eat for dinner when I get home from work on my late nights.  I am going to introduce you to the current salad in my life.  I think he's a keeper and not going anywhere.

I put a nice pile of arugula in a bowl, some thinly sliced onion, some sliced fennel, a little handful of sun-dried tomatoes, another handful of sliced almonds, freshly ground salt and pepper, some grated Parmesan cheese, and lastly a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar if I feel like it. Other options if they are around: avocado (pictured here) and prosciutto.

Note: I know there are a lot of people who add pre-made salad dressings to their salads. But these have so many processed, fake ingredients. I promise that if you get a good olive oil and be liberal with the S&P (to your taste), you will like it much better than that other crap, and it's better for you!

Nutella and Cheese Turnover

I had a little leftover ricotta cheese and wanted to do something with it.  We also have a supply of Nutella that never seems to end.  So I decided to make a turnover stuffed with these wonderful gems.  I mixed the ricotta with cream cheese in about a 2:1 ratio, added a few tablespoons of sugar, about a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and one egg.  I used ready-made pastry dough and cut each sheet into 4 squares, then spooned on a little cheese mixture followed by some Nutella.  I brushed a little beaten egg on the edges of the dough and folded them into triangles.  They baked at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.  Anything with Nutella is dreamy so you can imagine how these were!

Caprese Salad

I love a caprese salad!  Anytime, anywhere!  It's so easy and so good!  Last night I went to TJ's and they had these brown tomatoes called Kumatos that looked like they could be tasty, so I decided to try them and make a caprese salad.

I sliced the "kumatos" and mozzarella and topped them with some chopped basil.  Then I put a pile of arugula in the center, and drizzled olive oil over the entire thing along with some freshly ground salt & pepper. Yum! Yum! and Yum!

Happy Halloweenie!!!!

These had white cake mixed with cream cheese frosting inside, and I used orange melt-aways with black sprinkles (from Shauna!) for the decorating.

I hope everyone has a spooky Halloween!!! :)

Baby Shower Cake Pops

Gayle had her baby shower this weekend and so I made cake pops as favors for all the guests.  She is having a girl so of course the theme was pink!  Here is a recipe for basic cake pops.  The decorating is all you and there are so many different things you can do with these!

Happy 30th Birthday to Gayle!

Last weekend was Gayle's 30th birthday and in honor of that I made a batch of my ice cream cone cake pops. They were a hit! And most importantly Gayle loved them! Happy Birthday Gayle! I love you!

(you made the blog Gayle!!!! yay!!!)

Clean-out-your-fridge - Lavash Pizza

So here is a slightly healthier take on pizza, using lavash bread as the dough.  It's as easy as pie to make!...well actually it's WAY easier than pie! All you do is preheat your oven to 450, lay a piece of lavash on a baking sheet, and brush some olive oil onto the top of it.  On mine I put some cherry tomatoes that were on their way out which I cut in half, some sliced onion and fennel, and lastly some slices of leftover steak from the previous night's dinner.  After all that I grated some Parmesan cheese on top.  I then baked it for about 5 minutes or until the cheese was melted.  While it was baking I combined some arugula, a squeeze of lemon, olive oil and S&P and tossed that up.  After the lavash came out of the oven, I topped it with the arugula mixture and enjoyed the tasty creation.

This is super easy and you can really put whatever you want on top.  I just put whatever I had that I didn't want to go to waste and it came out great.  Next time I may try with eggplant and maybe a little mozzarella like in this recipe from Bon Appetit.

Chinese Five Spice Pork

For those of you who are not familiar with Chinese Five Spice, you must check it out.  It is a mixture of ground star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel, and Sichuan pepper.  It gives such an amazing flavor any meat but is traditionally used with pork and duck. It can be used in marinades and to season meats, or even to flavor stirfries. I used it in a marinade for a pork loin roast.

Here is a link to a similar recipe.  The flavor is awesome with so many notes, and it is definitely something I will use a lot!

I served the Five Spice Pork with brown rice and broccolini.

Pasta with squash and tarragon

If you love tarragon and have it growing in your herb garden like I do, this is an easy light pasta you should try with some lovely summer squash. Here's the recipe I used, from Martha Stewart. I didn't use ouzo because I didn't feel like buying it, but it was still yummy!!

"Ice cream cone" cake pops!

In honor of Grant's 40th birthday, I made some cake pops in the shape of ice cream cones.  I thought they turned out pretty darn cute so I will definitely be putting them into the rotation.  And most importantly, Grant loved them! Happy birthday Bro!!

Chocolate Chip Pancakes!!!!

If you recall, I recently had some amazing pancakes out at one of our neighborhood brunch places. Well, I've been dreaming about them ever since. And I don't even really dream about pancakes! Anyways, I MADE THEM. Oh man they were sooooooo good too! I made them without bourbon banana, and with many more berries, b/c I generally can't get enough strawbs and bloobs. I made the batter less sweet than your average pancake batter, with a touch more salt. I poured it into egg rings on the skillet to make them set up thicker, and added the chocolate chips after a few seconds. Yumm!!!!!

Brazilian-style Flan (Pudim de Leite)

I am on a mission to find the best flan recipe out there.  I prefer the Brazilian Style to the Mexican Style because it has a creamier texture and better flavor in my opinion.  The main difference is condensed milk for Brazilian vs evaporated milk for Mexican.  The best I've ever eaten and the one that I compare all other flans to, is at Fogo De Chao a Brazilian Churrascaria in LA.  In Portuguese it is called pudim de leite.
Over the weekend I made pudim de leite that turned out pretty good.  I used one can of sweetened condensed milk, filled the same can up with half and half, and 3 eggs all mixed together.  I melted one cup of sugar in a cake pan, then poured the egg mixture over that, and finally cooked it in a water bath in a 350 degree oven for about an hour.
The consistency of this one was a little smoother than when I made it the last time with regular milk rather than half and half.  The next time I may even try heavy cream and see how that comes out!

More Cake Pops!

I made these ones for the 2nd birthday of my God-daughter Alaenna.  I changed it up this time using cookies for the inside rather than cake.  And it seems like they turned our pretty tasty!

Ceviche!!

Alright folks, I'm super excited about this. I made a really delicious ceviche this last weekend. It blew our minds it was so refreshing and flavorful. As you know, it was really hot up in here last weekend, I mean REALLY hot. So it was a good time to do some no-heat cooking. Ceviche is the perfect summer delight. The version I did was a Yucatán Style Ceviche with Shrimp and Fish, and I served it with guacamole and tortilla chips.

Before I give you the recipe let me just say a word about that other perfect summer treat, and one of my favorite things in the world to make and to eat: guacamole. From the east to the west, we Finns be making the bad-ass guacamole. We have been for years; I remember it always being around since we were little kids and Aunt Pam had that huge avocado tree in her backyard. We all make it in varying ways; it's so easy to experiment with and add to. My standard recipe is avocados, diced red onions and jalapeños, lots of cilantro and lime juice, salt and pepper, and I like to leave it relatively chunky. So simple and sooo yummy.

And, it goes great with ceviche!! This recipe made enough for me and Jimmy to have left-overs. The second day it was still really good; the shrimp was a tad chewier but the flavors were still great and it was a bit spicier. Enjoy!

3/4 - 1 lb white fish fillets such as grouper, sea bass or even halibut or cod (I used mahi mahi)
8-10 large shrimp, peeled
1/2 large sweet onion such as Vidalia, Maui or Walla Walla
1 medium habanero pepper (I used 1 1/2)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/8 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup tomato, seeded and diced

Cut the fish in 1/4-inch slices; remove any bones as you go. Place the fish in a glass or glazed ceramic dish large enough to hold it in one layer. Shell and devein the shrimp, rinsing them only if necessary to rid them of grit. Slice the shrimp in half lengthwise and chop in small pieces. Layer the shrimp over the fish. Slice the onion in half lengthwise, then crosswise in thin slices. Layer the onion over the fish and shrimp. Toast the habaneros for 3-5 minutes in a dry skillet to release the oil from the cells. Stem, seed and sliver the habaneros and scatter them over the onions. Season the dish with salt and pour on the lime and orange juices. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight, or until the fish and shrimp are opaque. Add cilantro and diced tomato, toss and serve at cool room temperature.

Wedding Shower Cupcake Pops!

Saturday was the wedding shower for my friend Leslie who is getting married in August, and I made cupcake pops for the occasion.  The color theme was yellow, pink and green so I made them according to that.

Fish Tacos!

In keeping with the steady stream of Mexican-flavored posts we've had lately, I thought I would tell you about some fish tacos I've made recently. I love fish tacos. They are right in my wheelhouse in terms of flavor, and they are just so easy to make and there are so many ways to make them. A while ago we had Heather and Luke over and I made swordfish tacos with achiote and orange, which is a typical Yucatán way to marinate fish.

The marinade was orange juice, lime juice, oregano, garlic, habanero chile, achiote paste, allspice, lemon-infused olive oil, cilantro, fresno chile, sugar, salt and pepper. The cubed fish marinates in the fridge for 3 hours. I served it with shredded lettuce, lime wedges, warm corn tortillas, a really nice roasted pineapple-habanero salsa and last but not least, a refreshing michelada (if you're not sure what that is don't worry I'm sure there will be a separate post about those soon). Very tasty.

More recently, Jimmy and I made a really awesome grilled mahi-mahi taco. Mahi is one of my favorite fishes to make tacos with, even when it's not summer grilling time, you can just cook the fish in a skillet and serve with a selection of whatever yummy garnishes you have on hand: shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, sour cream, cilantro, lime wedges, avocado, red onion, scallions, tomatos, pickled jalapeños, etc.

This time I did a dry-rub of paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, cayenne pepper, salt & pepper. We grilled the fish for about 5 minutes per side then coarsely shredded it and some cabbage for serving. I made a fresh pico de gallo - tomatoes, onions, scallions, cilantro, lemon juice, jalapeño, salt & pepper; and crema: sour cream with a little heavy cream, s&p and a little Tabasco sauce. It was SO good!!!!!

Habanero Grapefruit Margaritas!

Oh dear these are delicious. I infused some blanco tequila with a habanero chili cut in half for about 3 hours, and then mixed with some fresh pink grapefruit juice, rimmed the glass with lime juice and pink salt. If you don't love the flavor of habanero you could use jalapeño. Spicy and refreshing!!!