The Hungry Hutch

Nightcap: Lemon Green Tea, Whiskey, Anise & Cinnamon

2013-05-15T22:14:00.000-04:00

Everyone needs a way to relax themselves at the end of a long day. Some choose television, some a bowl of ice cream, some a good book, and others a nice adult beverage. Before one lays his/her head to rest it is due time to reflect on the actions of the previous hours and ponder what one will do with those to come. Recently I've been spending lots of nights contemplating many aspects of my life, and on one recent evening I enjoyed this lovely beverage to get the thoughts flowing. Whiskey is as good as any therapist if you ask me.

Ingredients:

1 bag lemon flavored green tea (or green tea with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice)
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1+ shot of your favorite whiskey

Procedure:

Steep tea bag, star anise, and cinnamon in warm water for three minutes.
Stir in the booze of your choice.
Drink up and let the mind begin to wander...

Goodnight!

Herbed Goat Cheese Shortbread Crackers

2013-05-01T18:11:00.000-04:00

The month of February has long come and gone. (Can you believe it's May already?!?!) Along with it was my friend Anna's annual Oscar party. It is a yearly tradition among our group of friends where we drink, talk about all the movies we still haven't seen, critique celebrity outfits, and wonder why "How to Train Your Dragon" didn't win all the categories. After last year's lamb meatballs I knew that I couldn't disappoint the hungry party goers. This year I brought along herbed goat cheese shortbread crackers and let's just say that my award-winning Oscar party snack streak continues.

Why separate the cheese from the crackers when you can combine them into one?

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup goat cheese

Procedure:

Combine all of your dry ingredients—flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, parsley, celery seed, and oregano—into a large bowl or food processor.
If using a food processor, add in butter and goat cheese and pulse until everything is incorporated. Large crumbs will form and then after a bit longer you will start to see a loose dough coming together. This can be done manually with a pastry blender by cutting the goat cheese and butter into the dry ingredients.
After a loose dough is formed, roll in plastic wrap into logs and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 375˚F.
Slice dough into 1/4" rounds and place on baking sheet. Put in oven and bake for 16 minutes, flipping crackers over after 8 minutes.
Cool and serve. (I paired it with blackberry jam to spread on top.)

Now it's time to start thinking about next year's winning appetizer—any suggestions?

Chef Meals: PB&J on Potato Bread

2013-04-25T17:53:00.000-04:00

It's hard to find motivation to prepare any food for yourself at home after you've spent 10+ hours on your feet in a hot kitchen cooking food for others. That's where the inspiration for this newest series of posts—Chef Meals—came from. The vast majority of the time I rely on whatever food joint is on my way home to provide sustenance, but I occasionally make something for myself at home after work (albeit rarely).

The bulk of my cooking (and blog posting) occurs on my days off (such as today). This past year has shown me how difficult it can be for professional chefs/cooks to keep up with the demands of regularly maintaining a food blog such as the lovely one you're reading. Thanks to some determination—and a huge backlog of stuff from before I started working in a restaurant full time—I've been able to put up new posts with at least a hint of regularity.

Well now IT'S PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!!!!

The peanut butter and jelly sandwich is a childhood favorite of mine. Every once in a while I have these intense cravings where I really just need to put one (or two) in my belly.

Believe it or not, the options are many: smooth or crunchy peanut butter, your choice of jelly/jam, and the type of bread. You can even go the extra mile to make triple- or quadruple-decker sandwiches.

Now all I need is a glass of milk. What are some of your go-to meals when you really don't feel like cooking?

Barbecue Pork & Cheddar Omelet

2013-04-19T18:42:00.000-04:00

Who doesn't love a good omelet? The eggs act as the perfect carrier for whatever ingredients you wish to stuff on the inside. This recipe features some leftover pulled pork, cheddar cheese, and barbecue sauce. Pork, cheese, eggs, and barbecue sauce? Sounds like a #winner to me. PLUS, now the great folks at OXO have made it even easier to make all the egg pockets you crave with their latest tool—the Flip & Fold Omelet Turner.

Yes, this tool was sent to me by OXO (see disclaimer below), but I truly love their kitchen products and have yet to be disappointed. Besides, how can you not love items that make life easier in the kitchen? I'm all about making delicious meals with the least amount of fuss possible—a significant portion of which comes down to having quality equipment. This is of course applies to spatulas, whisks, and the like, but is especially true when it comes to cookware. A well made sauté pan versus one purchased from the discount store will make your cooking noticeably less stressful. Just like with your wardrobe—invest in your kitchen (and stomach) by purchasing a few quality pieces. Trust me—I know my way around a kitchen (and a closet).

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. butter
3 eggs
salt
black pepper
splash of milk or cream
1/8 cup pulled pork
1/8 cup shredded cheddar
your favorite barbecue sauce

Procedure:

Heat butter over medium heat in a small, non-stick sauté pan.
Lightly whisk eggs, salt, pepper, and milk together in a bowl; pour into pan; stir and cook until you can see the omelet begin to set; stop mixing.
Once the omelet is almost cooked, cover one half with pork, cheese, and a few squirts of barbecue sauce; fold in half and continue to cook until the cheese has melted and the eggs are cooked; serve with more barbecue sauce on top.

Disclosure: The Flip & Fold Omelet Turner was gifted to me by OXO. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Red Wine Braised London Broil with Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli

2013-04-11T22:19:00.000-04:00

I'm a HUGE fan of meat and potatoes. If I could afford it (in the wallet and the waistline), then it wouldn't be out of the question for me to have some combination of the the two food titans everyday of the week. Here I pair a London broil braised in red wine with blue cheese mashed potatoes. In reality, I'm not really a fan of blue cheese, or any moldy cheese for that matter. However, I can put aside my personal preferences (on occasion) to give way for a great end result.

If you take the leap and try this at home, then I encourage you to use a light hand with the cheese—it's very assertive and could easily overpower the entire plate if you let it. (So don't!)

Ingredients:

1 lb. London broil
salt
black pepper
garlic powder
flour
vegetable oil
half bottle of Merlot
14 oz. can beef stock
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp. parsley
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 375˚F.
Season meat with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Dredge lightly in flour. Sear on both sides in a large pan lined with a couple tablespoons of oil. Remove.
Deglaze pan with red wine. (In layman's terms—add in the wine and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.) Add beef stock and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, add meat, and place in the oven until tender—roughly 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Remove meat and bay leaves, and reduce liquid to sauce consistency. Add parsley, adjust seasoning, and mount with (swirl in) butter. The butter will give the sauce a rich, velvety texture and a great sheen.
The mashed potatoes are pretty much your standard mix—starchy potatoes (i.e. Idaho or Russet), milk, butter, sour cream, salt, and pepper—with the addition of blue cheese melted in.
Serve with roasted broccoli.

What are your thoughts about stinky cheeses?

Curry Spiced Pork, Couscous, and Green Beans

2013-04-03T17:55:00.000-04:00

One of the many things I loved about high school and college was being steps away from many of my closest friends. I went to a boarding school for high school, so I spent a total of seven years living in a dorm and knowing all of the people in the rooms next to me. Needless to say, I went through a bit of an adjustment once I left campus and moved to New York City. For a while, the only other person I knew in my entire neighborhood was my roommate.

That was almost four years ago at this point. I still don't really know anyone in my building aside from my roommate, BUT at least now I have a couple of friends within walking distance who I can hang out with. One of the perks of this fact is I can spur of the moment see if someone is free and invite them over for dinner (or hopefully receive an invitation myself *hint-hint*).

Ingredients:

pork cutlets
olive oil
salt
black pepper
curry powder
turmeric powder
paprika
garlic powder
orange bell pepper, diced
chicken stock
couscous
lemons, zest and juice
green beans, trimmed

Procedure:

Coat pork in oil and season with salt, pepper, curry powder, turmeric, paprika, and garlic powder. Let marinade while you heat up your grill pan. The pork cutlets are super thin and cook quickly. In order to get the crosshatches, rotate a quarter turn after a minute. Let cook for another minute before flipping over and repeating on the other side. (I'll do the math for you—that's four minutes total.)
For the couscous, start my sweating the bell pepper in olive oil in a saucepan. Season with salt and pepper. The ratio of liquid to couscous is roughly 2 to 1, similar to rice. With this knowledge and the amount you want to prepare in mind, add the appropriate amount of chicken stock to the saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir in couscous. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and stir in lemon zest. Adjust seasoning as necessary.
The green beans are blanched in salted water until al dente. (In a professional kitchen you would also shock the vegetables in ice water to help them stay bright green and stop the cooking, but that isn't necessary for the home cook.) In a large bowl, make a simple dressing by whisking together lemon juice and olive oil (ratio of 1:2 or 1:3) seasoned with salt and pepper. Toss the cooked green beans in the vinaigrette.

So...who's having me over for dinner tonight?

Lemon Sweet Tea

2013-03-27T19:27:00.002-04:00

Is it summer time yet? Spring is officially here, and I'm ready to fast forward through the cold, rainy days and onto the shorts, tank tops, flip flops, and sunglasses. Aren't you?

If you look carefully at the title then you'll notice that it reads "sweet tea" and not "iced tea." In my mind, the two are synonymous and I get enraged anytime someone tries to serve me unsweetened iced tea—blasphemy! Stirring in granulated sugar doesn't do anything, because all the sweetness just floats to the bottom. However, I may forgive you if you have simple syrup on hand, but that seems to be a rare occasion.

Ingredients:

8 tea bags
1 lemon, sliced
1 cup sugar
2 cups hot water, plus cold water to fill the pitcher
1 tray of ice cubes

Procedure:

Add the lemon slices and tea bags to the pitcher. (Quick Tip: It makes for easy retrieval to remove the paper tags and tie the bags together.)
Pour hot water into the pitcher let steep for approximately ten minutes (I like my tea strong). Remove bags and stir in sugar until it dissolves.
Add ice cubes, fill pitcher with water, and place in refrigerator until chilled.
Feel free to add a spirit of your choosing to make an adult summertime beverage. (Drink responsibly...or not. I may or may not be indulging myself in an adult beverage as I type, but hey, it's my day off.)

Cheers! What are you most looking forward to this summer?

Steak, Onion, and Mushroom Quesadilla

2013-03-18T14:35:00.002-04:00

In my opinion, the quesadilla is about as American as apple pie. It is the not so distant cousin of the traditional grilled cheese—and you know how much I love grilled cheese. The tortilla is the perfect vessel to transport any array of meat, vegetables, and cheese to your face, topped with copious amounts of sour cream (should your stomach desire).

Check out my latest post on CurlyNikki.com for the recipe. How do you like your quesadilla?

Cinnamon Spiced Oatmeal + Cooking Planit Spice Giveaway

2013-03-17T23:06:00.002-04:00

This represents the third recipe in a series of oatmeal variations. (Be sure to check out bananas and cocoa or chocolate and peanut butter with almonds.) Here it's all about the spices used, which is why I thought this would be the perfect post to pair with the Cooking Planit Spice Giveaway!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups water
pinch of salt
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsps. demerara sugar (any sugar will do)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice

Procedure:

Bring water and salt to a boil in a saucepan.
Stir in oats, reduce to medium heat and cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
Cover, remove from heat, and let set 2-3 minutes.
Stir in butter, sugar, cinnamon, and allspice. Serve.

Now on to the giveaway! The contest is open from March 18th to the 24th. There are multiple chances to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: This prize has been gifted to me as part of the promotion. This giveaway is only open to people living in the United States.

Cooking Planit Spice Giveaway Participants:


	Start	Stop
1	3/6/13	3/12/13	Sophistishe	Field and Feast
2	3/7/13	3/13/13	The Wicked Noodle	The Cooking Planit Blog
3	3/8/13	3/14/13	The Aliso Kitchen	Slow Down & Savor
4	3/9/13	3/15/13	Chicago Foodie Sisters	Jessiker Bakes
5	3/10/13	3/16/13	My Happily Ever After the End	The Food Yenta
6	3/11/13	3/17/13	Notes from Maggie’s Farm	Food Fash
7	3/12/13	3/18/13	My Kitchen Addictions	What Jew Wanna Eat
8	3/13/13	3/19/13	Bite Sized Blog	Nicole’s Nickels
9	3/14/13	3/20/13	A Busy Mom of Two	Food Squeeze
10	3/15/13	3/21/13	Kasey’s Kitchen	Kitchen Concoctions
11	3/16/13	3/22/13	Daily Ups & Pounds	Lisa Cooking
12	3/17/13	3/23/13	Ditch the Box	Huppie Mama
13	3/18/13	3/24/13	The Hungry Hutch	Food Fetish
14	3/19/13	3/25/13	Cook the Blog	Three Diets. One Dinner
15	3/20/13	3/26/13	Sugarfoot Eats	Gear Live
16	3/21/13	3/27/13	CopyKat Recipes	The Mouthy Housewives
17	3/22/13	3/28/13	Burnt Apple	The Butterfly Mom
18	3/23/13	3/29/13	The Mama Report	Ancestral Chef
19	3/24/13	3/30/13	A Food Centric Life	We Like To Cook
20	3/25/13	3/31/13	Dixie Chik Cooks	Baby Boomster
21	3/26/13	4/1/13	Unorganized Mommy of 3	Much Ado About Fooding
22	3/27/13	4/2/13	Better with Butter	The Primlani Kitichen
23	3/28/13	4/3/13	Mother Would Know	California Country Gal
24	3/29/13	4/4/13	Yi Reservation	NY Foodgasm
25	3/30/13	4/5/13	ME Redone	Creative Cullinary

Godiva Liqueur and Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2013-03-11T22:56:00.001-04:00

Anyone that likes to cook—and especially those that do it professionally—always have friends casually throw into conversation how you should cook for them sometime. I have these two friends—Aaron and Anna—that aren't very subtle about their desires for my cooking. Their birthdays are only a few days apart, so last year they asked me make them a birthday cake to bring to their party. I was in the middle of culinary school at the time and wasn't able to do it with my hectic schedule. Instead, I arrived straight from class with some leftover roasted broccoli that we had for dinner. It was eaten, but needless to say it wasn't exactly what they wanted. This year I decided to deliver on their request. And deliver I did.

Everyone loves chocolate. Everyone loves booze. Why not combine the two? It would probably be enough for me to just leave you with the title and the pictures, but you then might need to go make these for yourself one day.

Cake:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark chocolate, melted
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
2 tsps. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350˚F.
Cream together butter and sugar. A big stand mixer, such as one made by KitchenAid, would work great, but a hand mixer works just as well.
Mix in melted chocolate. (You can either melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in a microwave by stirring after 15 second intervals.) Incorporate the rest of the wet ingredients (eggs, milk, liqueur, and vanilla extract).
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, but not all at once. You can either slowly add them to the batter as the mixer is running, or add it in thirds and mixing between each addition. You want everything to be well combined, but you also don't want to over mix the batter.
Place cupcake liners in the cupcake tin and fill with batter. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes in the tin and then transport to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 - 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
2 Tbsps. Godiva Chocolate Liqueuer
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar

Procedure:

With an electric mixer, combine butter and cream cheese. Add in liqueur and vanilla extract.
Slowly add in powdered sugar. (Going slowly helps keep it from flying all over you and your kitchen.) Plus, you may want to add more or less sugar depending on the desired level of sweetness.
Decorate! You can go the old school route by using a knife or spatula to spread it on. But if you want to get a little fancy then I encourage you to try your hand at piping. Of course a pastry bag is ideal for this, but a simple substitute is a large freezer bag. To pipe, fill the bag with the frosting, trying not to leave any air bubbles, and cut the tip to create a hole for the frosting to escape. Start on the outside and swirl into the middle to create the look pictured here. You could also work from the inside out to make something of a rose pattern. No matter what it looks like, it'll be sure to taste delicious.

Cooking Planit Spice Giveaway

2013-03-06T15:49:00.000-05:00

Every cook needs a good set of spices in their pantry to put together a wonderful array of meals. Lucky for you, that's where the lovely people of Cooking Planit have stepped in to offer the chance for you to win a set of 26 (yes, 26!) great spices shipped right to your door. Starting today for 25 days in a row, a total of 50 bloggers (including myself) will individually be running contests offering you a BUNCH of different chances to win. Check out what the prize package includes and the other participating bloggers below. Be sure to stop back on March 18th to enter my contest!

Disclosure: This prize has been gifted to me as part of the promotion.

Cooking Planit Spice Giveaway Participants:


	Start	Stop
1	3/6/13	3/12/13	Sophistishe	Field and Feast
2	3/7/13	3/13/13	The Wicked Noodle	The Cooking Planit Blog
3	3/8/13	3/14/13	The Aliso Kitchen	Slow Down & Savor
4	3/9/13	3/15/13	Chicago Foodie Sisters	Jessiker Bakes
5	3/10/13	3/16/13	My Happily Ever After the End	The Food Yenta
6	3/11/13	3/17/13	Notes from Maggie’s Farm	Food Fash
7	3/12/13	3/18/13	My Kitchen Addictions	What Jew Wanna Eat
8	3/13/13	3/19/13	Bite Sized Blog	Nicole’s Nickels
9	3/14/13	3/20/13	A Busy Mom of Two	Food Squeeze
10	3/15/13	3/21/13	Kasey’s Kitchen	Kitchen Concoctions
11	3/16/13	3/22/13	Daily Ups & Pounds	Lisa Cooking
12	3/17/13	3/23/13	Ditch the Box	Huppie Mama
13	3/18/13	3/24/13	The Hungry Hutch	Food Fetish
14	3/19/13	3/25/13	Cook the Blog	Three Diets. One Dinner
15	3/20/13	3/26/13	Sugarfoot Eats	Gear Live
16	3/21/13	3/27/13	CopyKat Recipes	The Mouthy Housewives
17	3/22/13	3/28/13	Burnt Apple	The Butterfly Mom
18	3/23/13	3/29/13	The Mama Report	Ancestral Chef
19	3/24/13	3/30/13	A Food Centric Life	We Like To Cook
20	3/25/13	3/31/13	Dixie Chik Cooks	Baby Boomster
21	3/26/13	4/1/13	Unorganized Mommy of 3	Much Ado About Fooding
22	3/27/13	4/2/13	Better with Butter	The Primlani Kitichen
23	3/28/13	4/3/13	Mother Would Know	California Country Gal
24	3/29/13	4/4/13	Yi Reservation	NY Foodgasm
25	3/30/13	4/5/13	ME Redone	Creative Cullinary

Which spice are you most interested in using?

Please visit here to enter the giveaway through March 24th.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Oatmeal with Almonds

2013-03-03T16:33:00.000-05:00

I was on a pretty big oatmeal kick during one week a little while ago. I played around with a bunch of different flavor combinations to see what I could come up with. The first was bananas and cocoa powder—now I bring you chocolate and peanut butter. (You're welcome.) My mom tells me that she ate a lot of oatmeal when she was pregnant with me, which is part of the reason why I think I love it so much still to this day.

Chocolate and peanut butter are just as great a dynamic duo as any other—Batman and Robin, Stockton and Malone, Timbaland and Magoo, Pinky and the Brain, etc.—but add a few whole almonds on top for a little crunch and BAM! You've got the makings for a great start to your day. This was my second guest post for CurlyNikki.com, so hop on over to her site for the full recipe.

In other news, I've made a couple of small tweaks to the website that I hope you'll enjoy. The first is that there's a "Pin It" button in the column on the right under the search box where you can more easily post any of the recipes you want to come back to on your own Pinterest board. The other small change is that the homepage has been reformatted to make it a little easier to scroll through to glance at the latest recipes.

I'm also SUPER excited to own my first piece of Japanese cutlery! It's definitely about time if you ask me. My culinary school issued knives have definitely served me well over the past couple of years, but I was long overdue for an upgrade. And upgrade I did with a Shun Classic 7" Asian Cook's Knife. I hadn't really planned on buying a knife today, but that's what I get for deciding to randomly stop in and browse Sur La Table. (Speaking of which, Sur La Table is offering free knife sharpening on the first knife and $5 for any others March 15th-30th.) Thankfully it was on sale, and it is my birthday month after all. And after seeing a T-Rex cookie cutter then I knew I had to have that too.

It kind of looks like a dinosaur attack has been launched on Astoria. RWARRRRR!!!!!

Radicchio, Green Bean, and Golden Raisin Salad

2013-02-25T15:04:00.000-05:00

I was recently asked if I addressed healthy foods on my blog and it took me a minute to think about it. As it turns out, of course there are more than the fair share of recipes here loaded with cheese, butter, cream, or other less than figure flattering ingredients, but the more waistline friendly meals do make their appearances. Now it becomes my job to point them out to you to make sure they are more easily identifiable. One small step in this direction is that I have created a "healthy" label that I will try to append to the posts as I see fit. This recipe is a prime example of a delicious AND good-for-your-body dish. It's a simple warm salad that hits multiple areas of your palate with notes of sweetness, bitterness, nuttiness, acidity, and more. This salad is great on it's own, or you can pair it with your choice of protein for a heartier meal.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup white wine (Chardonnay)
1 star anise
1 head of radicchio, sliced
1 lb. green beans, trimmed
olive oil
salt
black pepper
1/8 cup white wine vinegar
1/8 cup sesame oil
black sesame seeds, for garnish

Procedure:

Bring wine and star anise to a boil. Pour over raisins and let soak for at least 15 minutes. Drain and remove star anise.
In a skillet over medium heat, sauté green beans in oil until they begin to soften. Add radicchio and season with salt and pepper. Cook until radicchio begins to wilt and beans are still slightly firm.
In a bowl, whisk vinegar and sesame oil to make a vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper.
Toss radicchio, green beans, and raisins together in the dressing. Garnish with sesame seeds.
Here I chose to serve this salad with a sautéed pork chop seasoned with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.

Quinoa with Kielbasa and Peppers

2013-02-17T20:32:00.000-05:00

Quinoa? Yes. Now say it with me—"quinoa" (KEEN-WAH). It's not scary—I promise. What is it you ask? This ingredient is the seed of a plant that is closely related to beets and spinach. It has gained lots of fame over recent history. Even the UN has jumped on the bandwagon to become quinoa's biggest hypeman by declaring 2013 as the International Year of Quinoa. The reason I think quinoa is special and what makes it near and dear to my heart is that it was the topic of my first published article (EVER!) in Food Arts magazine. It's a rather surreal experience the first time a writer sees their name in the byline of a print magazine. NBD. (Proceeds to brush dirt off shoulders.)

Ingredients:

3 cups water plus 1 cup chardonnay
2 cups quinoa
salt
black pepper
1 large onion, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
2 red bell peppers, diced
olive oil
1 package of kielbasa, sliced
cayenne pepper
paprika
ground cumin

Procedure:

In a saucepan, bring water and wine to a boil. Stir in quinoa, reduce to simmer, and cook for 15 minutes. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand for 5 minutes.
Separately, sweat onions and peppers in a skillet with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add kielbasa and continue to cook.
Combine cooked quinoa with sausage, peppers, and onions. Season with cayenne pepper, paprika, ground cumin, and more salt and black pepper to taste.

Sautéed Lamb Chops with Roasted Green Beans

2013-02-10T12:12:00.000-05:00

"Hey, it's Lamb Chop's Play-Along where kids come to play along, and fun things are all we ever do. Yeah, it's Lamb Chop's Play-Along. Come join the kids and play along. We've got a lot of good stuff for you."

I don't know how a reference to the childhood classic Lamb Chop's Play-Along never made an appearance on the blog, but it was great. It introduced my generation to The Song that Never Ends and hence a way to annoy parents across the country. I digress...

I am now one of the newest guest food bloggers for CurlyNikki.com—a website "created to serve as an online 'hair therapy session' for those struggling to embrace their naturally curly hair." Although I may not necessarily be her target demographic, I am ecstatic to contribute delicious recipes and see where this collaboration will take us. These are pictures from my first guest post, but be sure to visit the link to get the full story and recipe.

Also, she has a book out now! I want to be her when I grow up... Go get yourself a copy to support!

Buffalo Drumsticks with Sweet Potato Fries

2013-02-03T15:15:00.000-05:00

Are you ready for some football?!?!?!

Me? I'm not all that interested in this year's match-up. Although I enjoy watching the pig skin getting thrown around now and again, I'm not the biggest fan of the sport. But if there's one occasion every year for America to rally together and jointly participate in an activity, then it just might be the Super Bowl. Some people watching the big game are actually invested in rooting for their favorite team (or against their most hated) as they run down the field toward the goal line—I would posit most of the population is more interested in the commercials, half-time show (who doesn't love a good Beyoncé performance?), beer, and food. Since Da Bears are no where to be found and New York isn't represented this year it looks like I'll be lumping myself into the latter category. Kick-off is merely hours away and it's time to prep the food table—buffalo wings are a classic game day snack and here I offer you an easy, baked version using chicken legs served with delicious sweet potato fries.

Buffalo Drumsticks:

drumsticks
salt
black pepper
garlic powder
paprika
vegetable oil
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup hot sauce
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. sugar

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 450˚F.
Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika; drizzle lightly with oil and toss to coat.
For the buffalo sauce, melt butter and combine with hot sauce, vinegar, and sugar.
Place chicken in the oven, basting with sauce every 10 minutes for a total of 30-40 minutes until done.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries:

sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into sticks
salt
black pepper
garlic powder
paprika
vegetable oil

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 450˚F.
Season potatoes with salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika; drizzle with oil and toss to coat; spread evenly in one layer on a sheet tray.
Bake in oven, stirring every 10 minutes, for about 30 minutes total until cooked and crisp.

Spicy Peanut Noodles with Chicken

2013-01-22T17:12:00.000-05:00

Hi readers! I'm sure you've all noticed that there's been a bit of a lack of new posts recently. It seems that the holiday season coupled with a bout or two of whatever nasty cold has been going around made it a little difficult to satisfy your needs for mouthwatering photos, delicious recipes, and witty banter. Well here we go!

This post is somewhat inspired by Pad Thai. However, I looked up what actually goes into the traditional dish—rice noodles, eggs, fish sauce, tamarind juice, peanuts, cilantro, and lime (according to Wikipedia)—and I then realized how far off I was in my original line of thinking. Whether you think of it as Pad Thai or some completely unrelated noodle dish, you will not be disappointed by the taste of this recipe.

Ingredients:

neutral oil (i.e. vegetable, canola, corn, etc.)
1 cup julienned carrots
1 cup snow peas
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
salt
black pepper
white pepper
paprika
garlic powder
onion powder
1 package whole wheat angel hair pasta
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sriracha
crushed peanuts (optional)

Procedure:

In a wok (or skillet) with oil, sear the carrots and snow peas separately and season with salt and black pepper; reserve.
Season chicken with salt, black pepper, white pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder; saute.
In a large pot with salted water, cook the pasta according to the instructions until done.
Meanwhile, combine the peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, and sriracha in a large bowl; taste and adjust to your liking.
Toss the pasta, vegetables, and chicken together in the peanut sauce. Serve with crushed peanuts as a garnish.

Roasted Pork Loin with Fig-Port Sauce, Carrots, Potatoes, and Parsnips

2012-12-24T18:38:00.001-05:00

It's Christmas Eve folks, and for the first time in my 24 (almost 25) years of life I won't be spending it with my family. The restaurant schedule (and more importantly plane ticket prices) didn't really allow for a trip home to Chicago this year. Thankfully I was able to make it back for Thanksgiving—albeit I was there for only 23 hours—and was able to see most of my family and friends back home. This year I've been adopted by a college friend and her family nearby. It'll be interesting to see how others celebrate the day outside of the Hutcherson household. Our Christmas table is fairly similar to our Thanksgiving one (turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, dressing, etc.). I've been told that there's always a mix of Jamaican and traditional American food at my friend's family gatherings, and I'm definitely looking forward to try the curried goat she speaks of. No matter what you're used to eating at your Christmas gatherings, I encourage you to bring this bad boy to the table should you want to break tradition (or really anytime you want to impress someone with your culinary skills). The pork, when cooked to the right temperature and then allowed to rest, is juicily divine on its own; however, the addition of the fig-port sauce definitely takes it over the top. PLUS you get to play with fire AND cook with booze. #Winning.

Ingredients:

1/2 rack pork loin (~2-3 lbs)
vegetable oil
salt
pepper
2 cloves, garlic minced
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
2 bay leaves
carrots
red potatoes
parsnips
1 cup dried mission figs, quartered
1 Tbsp. flour
1 cup tawny Port
1 cup chicken stock
2 Tbsps. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsps. butter

Procedure:

We're going to create a marinade by combining roughly 2 Tbsps. salt, 1 Tbsps. pepper, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, and 1/4 cup oil. Put the pork in a plastic bag and coat with the marinade. Refrigerate for about 2 hours.
Preheat your oven to 375˚F degrees.
Remove the marinated pork loin from the refrigerator and discard the bay leaves. (If you want to be fancy, you can also tie the rack with butcher's twine to form it into a nice cylinder.) As the meat is coming up to room temperature, dice any combination to your choosing of carrots, parsnips, and potatoes—make sure they are all roughly the same size. Toss in oil and season with salt and pepper.
In a skillet over medium-high heat with a little bit of oil, sear the pork loin on all sides until nicely browned. Place the meat on top of the veggies in a roasting pan. Place the entire thing in the oven until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 145˚F—this should take around 40-45 minutes for a 2 lb. piece of meat if you don't have a meat thermometer.
Let the meat rest for a good 20-30 minutes before slicing. You may need to place the vegetables back into the oven for a little while longer depending on how large you cut them.
As the meat rests you can start preparing the sauce. In the same pan that you used to sear the loin, sauté the figs briefly in the leftover fat (add more to the pan if necessary). Dust with the flour, stirring and cooking for about 2 minutes.
Away from the flame, carefully add the port and—now for my favorite part—flambé! Yes, I am telling to start a (controlled) fire in your kitchen. (Be sure not to stand over the pan for the safety of your eyebrows.)
Add in the chicken stock and balsamic vinegar. Reduce until you reach the right consistency, which is when the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Season with salt and pepper, and swirl in the butter. The butter will give the sauce a nice sheen and a great richness.
Enjoy!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Steak with Red Wine Reduction and Lima Beans

2012-12-18T22:55:00.001-05:00

Mmm...meat. You all know how much I love it. Yes, there's a million different ways to prepare it, but a simply cooked steak is superb. The complexity is taken up slightly by the reduced red wine. Depending on which grape you choose to use, the sauce can be smokey, spicy, fruity, bold, smooth, or whatever other flavor and characteristics the wine embodies. It's almost like a choose-your-own-adventure book (remember those?!). This was back when I still had duck fat, so I had no other option but to use it to sear the steak. And here the beef is served with lima beans, serving as both a vegetable and a pseudo-starch.

Ingredients:

steak (I don't remember the particular cut)
duck fat (or a neutral oil such as vegetable, corn, canola, etc.)
salt
black pepper
thyme
red wine
1 package frozen lima beans
1 Tbsp. butter

Procedure:

Season steak with salt, pepper, and thyme. Sauté in fat to desired temperature and remove from pan.
Deglaze pan with red wine and reduce by about half.
In a saucepan, cook the lima beans according to the directions on the package. Drain the water, season with salt and pepper, and toss in butter.

I hope you enjoyed the gratuitous food porn as much as I did. You're welcome.

Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies

2012-12-13T00:22:00.000-05:00

It's cookie swap time! The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap has once again reared its sugary head as hundreds of batches of delicious treats were sent around the country (and world, if I'm not mistaken) to hungry foodies everywhere. PLUS we helped raise money to support Cookies for Kids' Cancer through each blogger's donation/purchase of OXO's "Good Cookie" Spatula.

This year I wanted to send The Food Poet, MarocMama, and Chopsticks and Measuring Cups something fairly straightforward, but still delicious. Into my mind popped the idea of a shortbread cookie. I thought I would switch things up by using brown sugar instead of regular, granulated sugar, and also threw in some freshly grated nutmeg for an extra touch of Christmas. Most recipes that have brown sugar listed as an ingredient intend for you to use light brown sugar as opposed to dark brown sugar—the difference between the two being the amount of molasses. Well I say, "Bring on the molasses!" and prefer dark brown sugar, but whatever you have on hand will do.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed
1 large egg
cooking spray

Procedure:

Combine all of the dry ingredients and cut the butter into them. This can be done a couple of ways—the easiest is with a food processor (pulse until fine and crumbly), or you could also use a handheld pastry cutter.
Mix in the egg until the dough just begins to come together and stop working with it. If you mix too much (as was the case with my first batch of these), then the cookies will have a much different texture. Still delicious, but not shortbread.
Place the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, roll into a log, and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. This gives the dough time to rest and makes it easier to cut later down the road.
Preheat your oven to 350˚F.
Remove your cookie dough from the freezer and cut into about 1/4" rounds. Lay them on a greased cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about 12 minutes.
Let the cookies cool briefly on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.
Enjoy with a big glass of milk.

And before I forget, a HUGE thanks to Eating the Beats, Karis' Kitchen, and The Dreamery Blog for all of the delicious treats (and great CD)! Also, be sure to check out last year's recipe for my coconut chocolate chip cookies.

Banana-Cocoa Oatmeal

2012-12-10T13:34:00.000-05:00

A brief synopsis of a conversation I had with a friend a couple of years ago:

Friend: "Hey, who wants to help me drive from D.C. to Houston to move my stuff for med school?"

Me: "ROAD TRIP!"

I'm pretty sure my friend thought she wasn't actually going to find anyone to go with her. Let's just say that it doesn't take a whole lot of convincing for me to jump at the chance to travel and spend time with my friends. A couple of weeks later, I hopped on a bus to meet her in D.C., and from there we began our journey halfway across the country while making a couple of detours to visit friends along the way. It was full of laughter, sing-a-longs, passenger seat napping, pit stops, rain storms, fearing for our lives in rural America, fast food, conversations about life, and an overall great time. In order to provide fuel for the drive, you should always have a great breakfast before hitting the road. Here's a quick, simple recipe to start any day off right.

Ingredients (Serves 1):

1 3/4 cups water
pinch of salt
1 cup quick cooking oats
2 Tbsps. butter
1 ripe banana, sliced
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 Tbsps. demerara sugar (any sugar will do)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Procedure:

Bring water and salt to a boil in a saucepan.
Stir in oats, reduce to medium heat and cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
Cover, remove from heat, and let set 2-3 minutes.
Stir in butter, banana, cocoa powder, sugar, and cinnamon. Serve.

Happy holidays and safe travels!

Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Kia Motors.

Spicy, Roasted Cauliflower [VIDEO]

2012-11-30T15:24:00.002-05:00

I finally made my first cooking video, and well, it was a pretty important one (watch and find out what it's for). Check out the recipe for my spicy, roasted cauliflower that I made to bring to a Thanksgiving potluck and let me know what you think! I'd love to hear any constructive feedback regarding the video.

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
vegetable oil
salt
black pepper
cayenne pepper
juice and zest of one lemon

Procedure:

Preheat your oven to 450˚F.
In a bowl (or on whatever you'll cook the cauliflower), drizzle the florets with oil. Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Toss to coat evenly. Put in the oven and roast for about 20-25 minutes. Rotate halfway through and cook until tender and lightly charred.
To serve, remove from pan, zest (a washed) lemon over top, and sprinkle with lemon juice.

The Spy's Thanksgiving

2012-11-29T15:19:00.000-05:00

One thing I never really thought about when deciding to work in the food service industry is that a good number of restaurants are open on the holidays. Northern Spy Food Co. (or "The Spy" for short) was no exception. I was one of the lucky few to not have to work on the actual day and was able to make a whirlwind, 23-hour trip to Chicago to eat Thanksgiving dinner with my family. However, the majority of my coworkers were not so fortunate. So Friday it was—the day we would have our own Thanksgiving dinner together. One of the sous chefs took on the bulk of the work by preparing the turkey, gravy, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, but everyone else contributed delicious dishes as well. In addition, there was chorizo stuffing, macaroni and cheese, creamed corn, mashed potatoes, buffalo chicken dip (I'd never heard of it before either, but it was delicious!), cheese, crackers, beer, wine, and bourbon. I contributed roasted cauliflower and my dad's sweet potato pie along with a cinnamon whiskey whipped cream. If you don't have friends that are chefs (or at least can cook well), then you're really missing out when it comes to potluck dinner parties. Everything was delicious and we all ate way more than we should—but that's what Thanksgiving is all about...sort of. The highlight of the evening, as cheesy as it may sound, was passing around a Hello Kitty bouncy ball as we all said what we were thankful for.


Cheese and fruit tray.

Hostess with the most-ess/forager extraordinaire - Lar-Bear.

Roman and Katherine

Padawan

Turkey - gobble, gobble!

Padawan + the Jessicas in the background.

Omar

Gravy

Larry's business card wall.

The latest addition to the wall.

"As you may or may not know, I had no intention of working in a restaurant when I enrolled in culinary school. At the advice of others, I caved in and trailed at a restaurant—The Spy. Although it hasn't always been easy, I'm definitely glad that I did because I've grown immensely as a cook and have met a great group of people while doing it."

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

2012-11-15T12:02:00.000-05:00

Brussels sprouts never made an appearance in my household growing up, so I was never one of those children stricken with fear at the mention of their name. I needn't find inventive ways to dispose of them from my plate (and thank goodness because I had no pet to force feed them to under the table). It wasn't until fairly recently that this vegetable and I became acquainted. The Brussels sprout resembles in both looks and taste a tiny cabbage, and cabbage happens to be another vegetable that I am quite fond of. I believe this to be my first attempt at cooking Brussels sprouts at home and the result was quite lovely. After all, the addition of bacon takes any dish to the next taste level.

Ingredients:

1 package of Brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed, washed, and quartered
4 slices of bacon, cut into strips
salt
pepper
balsamic vinegar

Procedure:

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until its fat has been rendered and is crispy. Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel–lined dish to drain, leaving the fat in the pan.
Sauté the Brussels sprouts in the bacon fat until tender (adding more fat if needed), seasoning with salt and pepper along the way.
Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and toss.
Transfer to a serving dish and add reserved bacon.

Here I served this dish with macaroni & cheese and fried chicken.

Asparagus and Feta Omelet

2012-10-31T11:09:00.000-04:00

It's the morning after Sandy. I was fortunate enough to make it through unscathed, but my thoughts and prayers are out there with everyone who wasn't as blessed. If you would like to help those in need, click here to make a donation to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief effort.

Whether you're safe at home with your loved ones or picking up the pieces after Sandy, a good breakfast will give you the energy to get through the day. Here I scrounge through my refrigerator to find a few leftover asparagus stalks and a half empty tub of feta cheese. Mix with a few eggs, serve with a nice cup of tea, and you have a delicious breakfast to fuel your day's activities.

Ingredients:

some sort of oil or fat (i.e. vegetable oil, butter, duck fat, or whatever else you have on hand)
3 to 4 asparagus spears, cut into 1" pieces
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup feta cheese (plus more to your liking)
salt
black pepper

Procedure:

Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of fat in a small, non-stick sauté pan; add the asparagus and lightly season with salt and pepper (the feta cheese will add a good amount of salt as well); cook until just tender.
Pour in eggs and season lightly again; stir and cook until you can see the omelet begin to set; stop mixing.
Once the omelet is almost cooked, sprinkle with cheese; fold in half and continue to cook until done; serve and sprinkle more cheese on top (if desired).