Thursday, September 25, 2008

Asparagus Panini

As soon as I got the May 2008 edition of Every Day with Rachael Ray, I had to make the Asparagus Panini!

Asparagus Panini
2 slices whole wheat bread
4 steamed asparagus spears
4 slices prosciutto
2 slices provolone cheese
1/8 pound sliced smoked turkey breast

Preheat a panini press. Lightly brush the bread on both sides with extra-virgin olive oil. Wrap each asparagus spear with a slice of prosciutto. Place 1 slice of cheese on one slice of bread, then the smoked turkey. Top with the prosciutto-wrapped asparagus and the remaining 1 slice of cheese and 1 bread slice. Grill until the bread is crisp and cheese is melted.

I only made them for myself and my daughter, since no one else in our house is very fond of asparagus. But we both really loved this! The only thing I did differently was that I used Rosemary Olive Oil.

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Balsamic Bacon Brussels Sprouts

This is my favorite way to have Brussels Sprouts!

Balsamic Bacon Brussels Sprouts
1 lb fresh brussels sprouts
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/3 C bacon, cooked & crumbled
big splash of balsamic vinegar

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Clean and trim brussels sprouts. If they're larger, cut them in half.
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Steam brussels sprouts until almost tender and set aside.
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Cook bacon.
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Remove bacon from pan, crumble and set aside.
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Reserve bacon grease.
Dice onion.
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Saute onion in the pan that the bacon was cooked in. Add back a bit of the fat if needed.
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When onions start getting translucent, add brussels spouts to the pan.
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Continue to saute brussels sprouts & onions in bacon grease, until brussels sprouts start to carmelize a bit.
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Add crumbled bacon.
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Add a big splash of balsamic vinegar.
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Enjoy!!
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Hazelnut Espresso Milkshake

Last night I wanted a snack, but had no idea what I wanted. Jon suggested a coffee milkshake. I had made some a couple weeks ago and they came out great!

I went downstairs and discovered that Bobby has used up the last of my coffee syrup. I can't buy that here in Pittsburgh. I get lots every time I go to MA, and my mom occasionally sends or brings me a bottle or two. But right now, I'm out! But now I want a coffee milkshake and all I have is espresso powder. Which does go into my coffee milkshakes, but I needed a syrup of some kind. Then it hit me! Kahlua!! I thought I only had Hazelnut Kahlua, so I used that. (as it turns out, I do have an almost full bottle of regular Kahlua too!)
But anyway... this was last night's snack! Who needs coffee syrup!

Hazelnut Espresso Milkshake
1 C cold milk
1 scoop coffee or vanilla ice cream (preferably coffee)
1 tsp instant espresso powder
a shot (or two) Hazelnut Kahlua

Combine all ingredients in blender.
Blend until smooth.
Enjoy!
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This would also be great with a couple tablespoons of chocolate covered espresso beans blended in!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Easy Skillet Chili

The kids LOVE this! A friend came over right after dinner and I offered him a bowl of chili. He said no thanks, he wasn't really hungry... we had some corn chips & dip out... he started scooping up the chili with the chips and raving about it... he put a big dent in the chili for someone that wasn't really hungry!! hehehe

Easy Skillet Chili
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 packet taco seasoning
1 15.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 16 oz can tomato sauce
2 C fresh/frozen corn kernels
1 15.5 oz can red beans in chili sauce
1 4.5 oz can diced green chilies
2 TBLS chili powder
1 TBLS cumin
salt & pepper to taste
2 C shredded colby cheese
A bag of Fritos
Jalapenos if you like too =)

In a large skillet, brown ground beef, onions & garlic.
Drain. Stir in taco seasoning, tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn, green chilies.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook 10 to 15 min. Stirring occasionally.
Stir in beans, chili powder, cumin, salt & pepper.
Return to a boil. Reduce heat to low simmer 30 minutes.
Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with lots of cheese & Fritos & jalapenos!


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In a large skillet, brown ground beef, onions & garlic.
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Drain. Stir in taco seasoning, tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn, green chilies.
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Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook 10 to 15 min. Stirring occasionally.
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Stir in beans, chili powder, cumin, salt & pepper.
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Return to a boil. Reduce heat to low simmer 30 minutes.
Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with lots of cheese & Fritos & jalapenos!
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I like to serve this with corn muffins. I haven't found a corn muffin recipe I like. The ones I've tried have a cake-like texture and are too sweet. So I usually just use a Jiffy Corn Muffin mix (or two!) but I add diced green chili, corn & cheese.

YUM!!
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Deep Fried Candy Bars!

Deep Fried Candy Bars! That's usually all you have to say to get someone's attention. I was standing at the fax machine at work this morning and mentioned that I made Deep Fried Candy Bars for dessert last night. Everyone immediately turned to look at me and said, "Deep Fried Candy Bars??!!" I said, "Yup! Jon loves deep fried desserts... deep fried peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, deep fried oreos... pretty much any dessert type thing that I can batter & fry."

I made deep fried candy bars once before, a long time ago, but didn't have a nice 'final' picture. So I made them again to get that pic!

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Deep Fried Candy Bars
4 chilled (not frozen) candy bars (I usually use Milky Way, but you can use whatever you like)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
Milk
Oil for deep frying

Chill the candy bars for a least a couple of hours.
Mix the flour, corn starch and baking soda together.
Add vanilla & milk until you get a batter with the consistency of thin pancake batter.
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Heat the oil to 350F.
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Remove wrappers from chilled candy bars. Coat completely in batter.
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Carefully lower into hot oil and fry until golden brown.
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Serve, with ice cream & chocolate & caramel, whipped cream, powdered sugar, or just plain!
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Deep Fried Candy Bars! Now you don't have to wait for the county fair to come around!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Chicken Wings & Wing Sauces !!!

When we go to MadMex we always get their Insane San Francisco Wings with Bleu Cheese. They are awesome! Wicked hot!! Wicked Tasty!!
Jon's first hot sauce was trying to copy that sauce. He came up with what we call Hector's Exorcism Sauce. It's not quite the same... but it's very close! Since he started making sauce... I needed to learn how to make great chicken wings for the sauce! It took me a while to get it right. But I've finally figured out what works best for us.
FIRST is chicken wings that are fresh and have never been frozen. They get so much crispier that way and the texture is really great! I can get fresh, never frozen wings at Whole Foods.
NEXT and this is just a personal preference, I like split wings. I've learned that I need a GREAT deal more practice to split them myself. Plus, Jon prefers the drummette part and I prefer the flat part. So split wings are best. Again... Whole Foods is great for this, because if they only have whole wings out, they'll split them for me!
Now that we have the actual chicken purchased...
Throw it into a big bowl... and dry it all off with a kitchen towel. Try to get all the moisture off of the surface of the chicken.
So now your chicken is dry, you need to preheat your oil.
Bring it up to 350F.
When your oil is hot, season your chicken wings with seasoned salt & pepper.
Gently add some chicken wings to your hot oil, being careful not to crowd the pot.
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Watch your oil temp. It will drop when you add the chicken... but you want it to come back up to around 350F... but also, not to get too hot.
Cook chicken wings until golden, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels/bags or on a wire rack. (I just use a wire rack now, but this is an old pic)
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These are totally ready to eat now! Or you can put them in a container with a lid and shake them with wing sauce!!
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What? No wing sauce recipe?? Well... keep reading!
Ok... first up... Hector's Exorcism Sauce! If you like "melt your face off" hot wings... this is the sauce for you! We don't like hot just for the sake of hot... it needs to be tasty too. This sauce gives you both HOT and TASTY!

First... and I can't state this strongly enough...

WARNING!! When working with habaneros, be sure to wash hands thoroughly and/or wear rubber gloves before touching eyes or any sensitive body parts!! Also beware of VERY STRONG fumes from saucepan (on the stove or in the sink). They will burn your eyes & lungs!

Ok... you've been warned!

Here's what you need for the first sauce.

Hector's Exorcism Sauce
1 C Frank's Red Hot Pepper Sauce
18 habanero peppers, chopped fine
6 chipotle peppers, chopped fine
3 Tbls garlic, minced
1/2 C butter
1/4 C honey
1/4 C vinegar
1 Tbls dry mustard
1 Tbls cumin
1 Tbls chili powder
1 heaping Tbls tomato paste
salt to taste

Melt butter in a sauce pan.
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Combine peppers, garlic, some of the Frank's and vinegar in food processor and combine until smooth.
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Add pepper mixture to melted butter and stir.
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Add remaining ingredients to the sauce pan.
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Simmer on low for 20 minutes.
Toss with fried chicken wings and enjoy!
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That sauce is WICKED hot! If you like it mild... leave out all of the peppers and cut the garlic down to 1 Tbls. That's a wicked tasty mild wing sauce!!

Ok... next up is my favorite sauce!

Hector's Curry Habanero Sauce

six dried chipotles
one head garlic
1/2 cup butter, divided
4 habaneros
1 cup Frank's Red Hot Pepper Sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup dijon mustard
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
big splash of tequila

Boil some water, then turn it to low and add the chipotles, cover and let sit for about 45 min.
Meanwhile, get your head of garlic and mince it all.
Once the chipotles are soft, saute the garlic in a saucepan with a tablespoon of the butter until it turns brown.
Deglaze with saucepan with a big splash of tequila, and turn the heat to low. Put in the rest of the butter and let it melt.
Meanwhile, chop up all the peppers.
Add the peppers, honey, Frank's Red Hot Pepper Sauce, mustard and spices, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Toss with fried chicken wings!

I LOVE this hot sticky sweet curry sauce!

We didn't quite have the ingredients to make that sauce last time. So Jon tweaked it with what we had on hand.

Chipotle Habanero Sauce w/Adobo
six chipotles in adobo sauce
1 heaping TBLS adobo sauce
one head garlic
1/2 cup butter, divided
4 habaneros
1 cup Frank's Red Hot Pepper Sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup dijon mustard
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
big splash of Jim Beam Bourbon

Get your head of garlic and mince it all.
Saute the garlic in a saucepan with a tablespoon of the butter until it turns brown.
Deglaze with saucepan with a big splash of Jim Beam, and turn the heat to low. Put in the rest of the butter and let it melt.
Meanwhile, chop up all the peppers.
Add the peppers, adobo sauce, honey, Frank's Red Hot Pepper Sauce, mustard and spices, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Toss with fried chicken wings!
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Ok... so right about now... you're mouth should be completely on fire! You've taken a BIG sip of your beer, soda, water... whatever you could grab to get some relief. But it's not working!!! What to do? Well... the heat in hot peppers comes from capsaicin. Most beverages won't help. You need to have dairy to get some relief. There's a protein in dairy that breaks down the capsaicin and cools your palette! So don't reach for a beer... grab a glass of milk... or a shot of whipped cream (go ahead, you shoot it directly into your mouth... I won't tell) or some ice cream... that's really cold and gives double relief! We usually have a nice creamy dairy based dip. I typically don't like bleu cheese dips... but the one they serve at MadMex is great! We were telling the bartender how much we liked it and he said it's just bleu cheese, ranch dressing and Frank's. So after playing around with the amounts, we came up with a dip we love!

Bleu Cheese Dip
1 C ranch dressing
2/3 C bleu cheese, crumbled
1 TBLS Frank's Red Hot Pepper Sauce

Combine all ingredients! That's it!
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Wings, Wing Sauces & Dip!

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

Orange Coconut Cupcakes

I made these for the first contest I participated in at BakeSpace. Actually it was the first cooking contest I had ever entered. As it turned out we were all declared winners. I tested these out on friends & family and every really loved them. They are moist and very tasty!

This is what you'll need:
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(the butter was camera shy and didn't show up for the group photo!!)

Orange Coconut Cupcakes
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup orange juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained and chopped
1 cup vanilla or white chips
zest of half an orange
TOPPING:
1 cup flaked coconut
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
zest of half an orange

Preheat oven to 375F.
In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, oil, eggs and orange juice; mix well.
Combine dry ingredients; stir into orange juice mixture just until moistened.
Fold in oranges and chips.
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Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.
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Combine topping ingredients.
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Sprinkle over cupcakes.
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Bake at 375 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
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Enjoy!
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