Spicy Autumn Soup

It's that time of year!  Soup!  I love making soups, but I can never create the same one twice, so I've decided to start writing down what I did so I can remember some of these amazing creations.

Of course this time of year is full of pumpkin this, squash that.... it's dizzying.  But Trader Joe's had
a few spectacular things on the shelves that inspired this soup for me.  Photos help, so I'm including those.

I also cooked by candlelight (Brownie thinks I'm insane for doing this) so I didn't have a chance to take many photos during the process, which is why you get to admire this lovely shot of my leftover soup in tupperware.  You're welcome. I promise it's just as scrumptious leftover!  Noodles a little softer, but still good!

This has a kick to it, so be ready to clear those sinuses!  It's also incredibly filling, so small portions go a long way.

Here Goes:

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil
• 1 Cup Chopped Onion
• 1 Cup Chopped Celery
• 1 Cup Chopped Carrot
• 6-10 Garlic Cloves - Minced (however much or little you prefer)
• 1 Stick Salted Butter
• 3 small zucchini, sliced or chopped as you wish
• 1/2 Cup Chopped Bell Pepper
• Truffle Oil (totally optional but they have a tiny bottle of this amazingness at Market of Choice if you want to use it)
• 1 Package Trader Joe's Cheese & Garlic Croutons
  
  
  
• 1 Package Trader Joe's Fall Zucchette Pasta
• 1 Jar Trader Joe's Autumnal Harvest Creamy Pasta Sauce
• 1-2 Cups cooked or leftover meat of any kind that you may have on hand or need to use, chopped
• 1/2 Cup Chopped fresh Sage
• 1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (The sauce has a bite to it, so if you're sensitive to spicy, leave this out)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 2 Teaspoons Cumin
• 1-2 Tablespoons fresh Thyme (1/2-1 Tablespoon dried)
• 2 Teaspoons fresh, chopped Oregano (1 Teaspoon dried)
• Dash of Cinnamon
• 1 Teaspoon Paprika

Directions:

• Boil water with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and get noodles cooking in a separate pot for now.  
• Saute garlic, onion, celery and carrot with 1/2 the stick of butter and a few sprinkles of salt in a soup pot until butter is melted and onions are a bit soft
• Add water, about 8-10 cups and turn the heat up to bring to boil
• While the water is heating up for soup, add the cayenne, salt & pepper, cumin, thyme, oregano, cinnamon and paprika.  Stir.
• When water comes to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer until the pasta is ready.
• Drain pasta, leave in the collander
• In pasta pot, put the remaining 1/2 stick of butter with chopped fresh sage - on medium heat, melt butter and cook sage until it's a bit crispy
• Turn soup back up to a boil, add jar of sauce, zucchini and bell pepper and let boil while you do the final step with the pasta.
• When the sage is ready, put pasta back into the pot and toss it with sage and butter, sprinkling with salt and truffle oil until you like the flavor
• Let Pasta sizzle in pan on medium heat, stirring often for about 5 minutes
• Add chopped meat to the pot, stirring in to let it heat up and flavor the soup a bit - 5 minutes while the pasta sizzles
• Taste the broth, making sure the flavors are where you want them, adjust as you wish.  If you didn't use enough garlic, sprinkle in some garlic powder for a quick fix :-)
• Stir pasta into the soup
• Serve soup with cheesy garlic croutons and enjoy!

This soup is very filling and this recipe will feed 6-8 people.

Eggs Benedict Cuban-Style (with recipe)

What to do with all that leftover pulled pork and delicious ingredients for Cuban Sandwiches when you're getting tired of eating Cuban Sandwiches?  Here's an idea for you!

Jen's favorite breakfast food is Eggs Benedict - so we wanted to try giving her favorite dish a Cuban flair - and it worked marvelously!  

Re-heat your pulled pork and ham and get ready to try this one!  This recipe is for two servings - but you'll be cutting up bread enough for 4 so adjust accordingly!

This is also easier done with two people so one can be poaching eggs while the other is whisking (and whisking and whisking) Hollandaise sauce!

Ingredients:

• Pulled Pork
• Ham Slices
• Cuban Hoagies
• 4 Organic Eggs (for poaching)
• 4 Organic Egg Yolks (for Hollandaise)
• 2 Sticks Organic Butter
• 1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
• 1 Teaspoon White Pepper (use whatever you have on hand, this is just what we used)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon
• 1/4 Cup Cold Water
• 1 Tablespoon (or so) Yellow Mustard
• Dill for garnish (we sprinkled dried dill - you could use fresh as well of course!)

Directions:

• Put pulled pork in oven to re-heat on a low setting while you work on your sauce
• Gather all ingredients for your Hollandaise and get them together by the stove - you'll need to do this quickly.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; slowly bring to a boil, skimming froth from surface. (I used a large spoon and just kept skimming until the layer on top was gone) Carefully pour melted butter into a small bowl, holding back the milky sediment in the bottom of the pan. The clarified butter should be the color of light olive oil; let cool to room temperature.
• Wash saucepan thoroughly and dry - returning to stove for next step.
• While the butter is cooling - slice your Cuban Bread as you would for a sandwich, then cut in 1/2 to make 4 smaller pieces.  Place in toaster so they're ready for toasting.
• In saucepan, mix vinegar together with 1/4 cup cold water and pepper. Place over medium-high heat until liquid is reduced by one-third; remove from heat and let cool completely. (I filled a sink with cold water and placed the bottom of the pan in the water until it was cooled to speed things up)
• Add egg yolks to cooled reduction and whisk to combine.
• Place saucepan on stove over very low heat; whisk, making sure the whisk comes in contact with the bottom of the pan. Gradually increase heat whisking, so the sauce emulsifies progressively and becomes smooth and creamy, 8 to 10 minutes; do not let the temperature of the sauce rise above 150 degrees.
• While you're doing this - have someone start poaching eggs, toasting bread and getting your meat out and ready to plate!
• Remove saucepan from heat and whisk in clarified butter in a slow, steady stream; season with salt. Stir in lemon. Use a fine mesh strainer; strain mixture and discard solids. Whisk in mustard; Use sauce immediately.
• On a plate, place warmed ham on your toasted bread, topped with some pulled pork.  Lay two poached eggs on top of the meat and spoon on your Hollandaise sauce.  Garnish with dill and serve warm!

If you're making this by yourself, you'll have to figure out how to time it well, but it will be worth it!  This has some wonderful Cuban Sandwich flavor but it's clearly breakfast!  And just like the sandwiches, it's VERY filling.  We loved it!!!!!  This one is definitely going down as a success.

I modified the Hollandaise recipe I found here for this adventure.  

Creamy Butternut Squash Linguine

Jen was in the kitchen again last night!  This is a recipe I found online, this is the second time I've made it and we just love it.  Disclaimer:  I hate squash.  And I love this pasta!

This can be made vegetarian or vegan, totally up to you.  I made one plate vegan with no cheese and ate a little more with cheese .... I prefer vegetarian honestly :-)

So here ya go!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter if you prefer)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
• 2 pound butternut or kabocha squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into small ½-inch pieces (about 3 cups) - I use 1/2 of a large butternut squash - freeze the other half to make another batch later!
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped
• ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (up to ¼ teaspoon for spicier pasta sauce)
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 12 ounces whole grain linguine or fettucine
• Optional additional garnishes: shaved Parmesan or Pecorino and/or smoked salt

Directions:

1. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the sage and toss to coat. Let the sage get crispy before transferring it to a small bowl. Sprinkle it lightly with salt and set the bowl aside.
2. Add the squash, onion, garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is soft and the liquid is reduced by half, about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions, stirring occasionally. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining. (I've never actually had to use the extra water - but you never know)
4. Once the squash mixture is done cooking, remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly. Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender, but keep the skillet handy. Purée the mixture until smooth (beware of hot steam escaping from the top of the blender), then season with salt and pepper until the flavors sing. I add a pinch of cumin during this stage - always makes the flavor pop!
5. In the reserved skillet, combine the pasta, squash purée and ¼ cup cooking liquid. Cook over medium heat, tossing and adding more pasta cooking water as needed, until the sauce coats the pasta, about 2 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary.
6. Serve the pasta in individual bowls topped with fried sage, more black pepper and shaved Parmesan/Pecorino and/or smoked salt, if desired.

Thing #2 is adventurous with food, he tried this and loved it!  It's probably a bit spicy for the younger littles, but we could always leave the pepper flakes out and see if they would eat it!?  Maybe they would believe it was cheese....hmmm......

I found this recipe online, so I want to share the link here to give credit where credit is due!

http://cookieandkate.com/2014/creamy-vegan-butternut-squash-linguine-with-fried-sage/

Labor Day Salmon

It's been a busy time!  Brownie has been working a swing shift, which leaves little time for cooking anything :-(  Now we need to get caught up.

So, a while back someone gifted us with salmon fillets and BONUS the eggs from a salmon they had found when cleaning the fish.  They have been waiting patiently in the freezer for Brownie to process them.

If you've never made your own salmon caviar - it is a looooong process and will certainly clue you in to why caviar is so expensive. Brownie powered through on our long Labor Day weekend and it was delicious!!!

He grilled the salmon and potatoes, made a nasturtium pesto, and flash-pickled some cucumbers and onion.  All from our garden, thank you very much!

The freshness in every bite of this dish was amazing!  I expected the pesto to be too peppery with the nasturtium, but it wasn't at all.













Brownie joked about calling this 'Mother and Child' but he agreed to settle on 'Labor Day' Salmon instead :-)  Much less macabre.  If you come across salmon eggs in your fishing adventures, we highly suggest freezing them for future projects!  Googling how to process the eggs is simple, but you better have an entire day set aside to do this before you try cooking anything to accompany them.

Happy Cooking!

Italian Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I can't really tell you whether this experiment was a success or not.  But ... I vowed when we started this blog to share our successes AND failures so ... This is what happens when I experiment with new things when Brownie isn't home :-)  I will say this:  I'm not a fan of chicken breasts.  They're just too dry for me no matter how they're cooked.  I would have rather used thighs and made more of them to be truthful. Maybe I'll try that another time :-)

This recipe calls for marinara.  We had some San Marzanos ripe in the garden, a Green Zebra and a Pineapple heirloom so ... I made a quick marinara myself.  I didn't need much for this recipe anyway, so I kept it small.

I chopped the tomatoes we had, added some onion, fresh minced garlic and some chopped fresh basil with about 1 teaspoon of salt and put it all in a saucepan with a little olive oil over medium heat to cook down until the tomatoes start to looked 'cooked'.  No, I didn't remove the skins. When I make marinara to can, I remove the skins but for fresh ... I don't bother.

Once the tomatoes are cooked down, I put it all in the food processor and pulse it a few times (I like my marinara chunky). This is a good time to remove any large pieces of tomato skin that just don't look appetizing.  Once it's the consistency I want, it goes back into the pan to cook down more.  I turn the heat down to medium-low and just let it simmer while I cook and drink wine.  Stir it often!  By the time you need it, it will be done :-)

As for the chicken recipe ... here it is:

Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken Breasts
• 3/4 Cup grated fresh mozzarella
•  1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
• 20 pepperoni, chopped (I used large pepperoni and used 5 slices)
• 1/4 Cup Marinara
• Fresh Basil
• Romano Cheese
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic Salt

Directions:

• Using a paring knife, cut along the thick side of the chicken breast, leaving 1/2" on each end and create a pocket inside the chicken. (Be careful, I cut a few too far and the meat got too thin, leaked my stuffing out ... less is more.)
• Combine mozzarella, pepperoni, oregano and marinara in a bowl and stir to mix
• Spoon mixture into the pockets in your chicken breasts, dividing as evenly as you can
• Rub chicken down with salt and pepper and garlic salt
• Heat some olive oil in a pan and and place chicken breasts in pan over medium heat until seared on one side
• Flip chicken breasts over, cover pan and cook for 6 minutes
• Remove lid, flip breasts again, cover and cook for another 6 minutes
• Remove breasts from pan, place on paper towels or on a rack to drain and rest (there will be juices from the cheese, marinara, pepperoni ....)
• Slice breasts and place on a plate, drizzle with more marinara and sprinkle with grated Romano Cheese and fresh chopped basil

After Brownie's critique - I didn't get a good enough sear on my chicken.  He's the meat guy, we should have made this together.  As you can see in the photo, my stuffing also started leaking out. Not sure this 'pocket' idea is the best for chicken.  I am now determined to master stuffing chicken breasts!  I'll be playing with this idea more in the future. BUT the chicken was good, the Italian taste was there and Brownie helped me plate it so it looked pretty :-)

Try this one out and let me know if you had more success and share your tips with me! :-)

Grilled Steak w/Bleu Cheese Figs

I love to give Brownie cooking challenges!  No, I'm sadistic; I love to watch him create!  Giving him ingredients that seemingly don't go together traditionally and watching what he comes up with ... it's a fascinating process, let me tell you.

He's been wanting to utilize figs since they're in season, so on my way home last night, I bought some gorgeous grass-fed beef steaks and got him some figs!

Yes, it was just as delicious as it looks!!!!  You have to try this one while figs are in season!!!!

When Brownie does cooking challenges, the end result is always a surprise for me, so I didn't get to watch him cook.  When I was finally presented with the final product and took my first bite ... I would have sworn he put chocolate in that sauce!  It was so good!

A few tips:  Figs are best when they feel mushy and 'overripe.'  They are also incredibly sweet on their own - in this recipe, you're adding honey to an already sweet fruit.  Our suggestion is not to be shy with the bleu cheese or the rosemary - both help cut that sweetness!

So if you're feeling ambitious, here's your recipe:

Ingredients:

• 9 or 10 Ripe Figs
• 2 Top Loin New York Strip Steaks (we bought McK Ranch grass-fed steaks that we find at our local Co-op.
• Garlic Powder
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
• Truffle Salt (we find this at Market of Choice up near the cheese section - the sample sizes are amazingly inexpensive and fun to play with)
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• Fresh Rosemary Sprigs (we just snip a few from the garden)
• Raw Honey
• 1 Vanilla Bean (our Co-op has these fresh in bulk)
• 1 Bottle Pinot Noir (more about the wine we used later)
• Bleu Cheese crumbles

Directions:

Always drink wine while cooking!

• Marinate steaks w/garlic powder, truffle salt, fresh ground black pepper, EVOO and fresh rosemary sprigs - set aside while they come up to room temperature
• Half 4 of your figs and scoop out the insides into a saucepan with 1 Tablespoon EVOO
• Start reducing over medium heat
• Add 2 tablespoons raw honey, insides of 1 vanilla bean, 1/2 cup pinot noir and 1 rosemary sprig
• Reduce to desired thickness of sauce - remove rosemary sprig
• Half 5 figs and place in baking pan (a pie plate will work)
• Sprinkle figs with bleu cheese crumbles and put in the oven at 375 Degrees until cheese is melted
• Grill steaks to medium rare and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing
• Plate your sliced steak and bleu cheese figs, drizzle sauce over the top
• Optional - garnish with fresh rosemary and fresh bleu cheese crumbles

Now the wine.  Pino Noir is Brownie's wine of choice, and I grabbed a bottle of Fractal Cellars 2011 Pinot Noir on my way out of the store.  In hindsight ... I should have considered the flavors Brownie would be cooking with while I chose the wine.  Whoops!  I'm not the wine palate in this house.

This wine IS delicious, but it didn't pair well with the figs, which was the main flavor in this plate.  Remember that figs are actually an inverted flower! So a wine with less berry flavors and more of a flowery essence would have been a better choice.  Maybe even a white wine?

We still drank the bottle! hahaha  But it wasn't a stellar pairing with our food.  Just a head's up!

Try this recipe at home and share with us!!!!

Blackened Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos, Family-Style (with recipe)

Mahi Mahi was on sale and we decided to take the fish taco route!  Make some sauces, put out some salsa and build tacos until you're stuffed!

I know we found a recipe online that we worked from, but I can't for the life of me find it now!  So here is what we did:

Ingredients:

For the blackened fish tacos:

Approx. 14 oz. Mahi Mahi Fillets
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable (or olive) oil
Corn Tortillas

For the slaw:

1/4 red cabbage, thinly sliced
1/4 green cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime

For the avocado sauce:

1/4 cup Greek yogurt (I used 0% fat Greet yogurt)
1/2 rip avocado, pitted and skinned
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon water
salt to taste

Instructions:

Prepare the blackening spice mix:  in a small bowl, combine the paprika, dried oregano, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt and sugar

Season the fish fillets:  pat the fish fillets dry on both sides with paper towels and liberally sprinkle on the blackening spice mix.  Flip fillets over and repeat so both sides are well coated.

Prepare the avocado sauce:  blend all the ingredients in a food processor until your desired consistency is reached.  Add a little more water if needed, chill until ready to serve.

To make the cabbage slaw:  toss all ingredients together in a large bowl, chill until ready to serve.

Cook the fish:  Grill fillets 3 to 6 minutes on each side or until fish is done and flakes easily.  If you're cooking indoors:  heat oil in a large skillet or cast iron grill pan on medium-high heat.  Add the fish and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side or until the outside is blackened and the fish flakes apart easily.  Transfer to serving dish.

Assemble the tacos, or serve family-style as we did!  Goes great with your favorite Mexican beer!

Enjoy!

First Attempt at Asian Cuisine!

Just a quick photo!

We love to eat Asian food of all kinds - but neither of us are incredibly talented at cooking it.  So Brownie broke out the wok and for the first time - successfully made us Asian cuisine!  Stir Fry Veggies with Noodles and Laab Lettuce Wraps.  SO good, I could do this every night!!!!

BBQ Ribs

If there's anything Brownie loves, its smoking meat on his BBQ!  This process takes hours - it's a labor of love.  Sometimes he will stay up all night, setting alarms and checking charcoal and wood throughout the night just to get the meat perfect for the next day.  

Which means ... neither of us sleep.  But ribs don't take all night.  He started these today and by the time I got home from dance practice - they were nearly done and ready to rest.

When he cut into them ... oh my!  Juicy and tender and just right!  Now we're off to dig into these and get messy!  Goodnight all!