noms noms noms!

I know I was a bit of a bragger last night on the social media….I whipped up a dinner that was pretty freakin’ amazing, if I do say so myself….and these days? That doesn’t happen too often.

Just ask my husband.

Poor thing.

Anyway, while we were out gallivanting at the petting zoo last Sunday, I found the most gorgeous tomato at the farm stand, and $3.99/lb be damned, I snatched that baby right up. By no small miracle, I had an avocado that was perfectly ripe and I brainstormed up this little number…some days I have it all together, and most days I SO do not…..

I didn’t know what I was going to do with the shrimp, but I knew I wanted it so I rooted around in my cupboard and found a packet of my new favorite, sodium filled lifesaver, the McCormick’s Marinades.

You know, I can’t make everything from scratch. I have such a complex about that….

Here’s what happened next….

And if you make this? Consider yourself warned: you will pretty much want this to be the only thing you will ever eat again forever and you’ll want it every day all day cuz DAMN.

Citrus Grilled Shrimp & Avocado Tomato Salad
with Roasted Garlic, Lemon & Honey Dressing.

For the Shrimp:

1 lb. raw, jumbo shrimp, peeled & deveined

1 packet of McCormick’s Baja Citrus Marinade

1 TBS honey

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 TBS vinegar

2 TBS water

Heat grill to medium high.

Prepare marinade in a gallon size ziplock bag according to directions on the packet, adding 1 TBS of honey. Add shrimp and marinate in the fridge for 15-30 minutes.

Skewer shrimp and grill 2 minutes per side or until firm, opaque and charred. Careful not to overcook!!

For the Salad:

1 large, perfectly rip avocado (yum!), sliced

1 large, gorgeous beefsteak tomato, sliced

¼ of a small red onion, thinly sliced into half circles

10-15 pitted kalamata olives, chopped

Crumbled feta

Assemble the tomato and avocado slices all pretty on a platter. Sprinkle with onion slivers, olives and feta.

For the Dressing:

Juice of 1 juice lemon

2-4 roasted garlic cloves

(I got mine in the olive bar section of the grocery store. If you want to roast your own, go for it, but I think you’re crazy)

2 TBS honey

3-4 TBS olive oil

¼ tsp kosher salt

Add everything except the oil to a food processor or blender and process to a smooth consistency. Add the oil and process for a few seconds to incorporate.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad, lay the shrimp skewers artistically on the side of the plate, take a picture and promptly upload to every social media outlet, brag about how fabulous you are, take a bow and kiss yourself.

MWAH!

3.14

On Sunday, we had the whole mishpucka over for a big batch of Chicken Pot Pies from scratch. I’ve been promising my favorite sister in law these pot pies for years now and I finally delivered on my promise. Let it never be said I am not a procrastinator. Also let it never be said that these little beauties weren’t worth the wait.

I found this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, Ezra Pound Cake, but it is actually a recipe from Rebecca Rather, The Pastry Queen. This is her “All Sold Out Chocken Pot Pie” which I have, naturally, modified to my liking. Feel free to play around with the filling, adding veggies you enjoy in your pot pies and omitting ones you don’t. The original recipe calls for green beans…personally, I don’t particularly dig green beans in my pie, so out they went. You get the drift….

Here is the recipe as I made is, but feel free to google this shizz if you’re interested in the original version. You’re welcome.

Chicken Pot Pie

Adapted from The Pastry Queen

For the Filling

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

10 oz. sliced button mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Salt and freshly ground black or white pepper

1 whole rotisserie chicken, shredded

8-10 oz package frozen peas

8-10 oz package frozen corn

For the Cream Sauce

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup all purpose flour

2 1/2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup whole milk or fat free half & half or a combination of the two. Or heavy cream if you’re feeling really naughty.

1 tsp Tobasco

Salt and white pepper

For the Pie Crust

1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces

3 cups all purpose flour

8 oz chilled cream cheese, cut into large pieces

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black or white pepper

2-3 TBS ice water

1 large egg

Instructions

To make the filling:

Melt the butter in a large saute pan set over medium heat. Add the onions, celery and  carrots & saute for 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper and saute about 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add the garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more, until fragrant. Stir in the crushed red pepper, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Stir the frozen vegetables and the chicken into the vegetable mixture. Set the filling aside.

To make the cream sauce:

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the chicken stock and cook the sauce over medium heat until it thickens to the consistency of a cream soup (about 3 minutes). Add the milk, tabasco, salt and white pepper to taste. Pour the cream sauce over the chicken filling and stir to combine. Transfer the filling to individual oven safe dishes.

To make the crust:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse the butter and flour until crumbly. Add the cream cheese, salt, and pepper. Add the ice water, 1 TBS at a time and continue pulsing until the dough just barely sticks together and forms a ball. You don’t want it very wet at all.

Set the dough on a flat surface dusted with flour. Use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Measure the diameter of the baking dishes and cut dough into pieces that are slightly larger. Lay the dough on top of the pot pies, and tuck any overhanging edges under. Whisk the egg in a small bowl and brush the dough lightly with the beaten egg. Bake the pies for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Yields: 8-12 servings

p.s. Do not be intimidated by the crust. Crusts intimidate the hell out of me, but the cream cheese in this makes it the simplest thing in the world to work with and pull together. Trust.

it's chili season...

much to my dismay.....I fought the end of summer, kicking and screaming like never before. I wasn't ready for it to go. I didn't get enough.

Not enough relaxing or sunning or floating or playing. I didn’t eat enough popsicles….wait, did I eat any? I mean, tragic. And now {what in the actual EFF ??} here we are almost in October….. %^&$#@*

Does anybody have a paper bag I can breathe into for a second?

I’m in full panic mode over here…

I have to admit there is a lot to love about fall….crisp mornings and snuggly sweaters, Halloween and pretty leaves, Thanksgiving and apple pie and pecan pie and football….well, football food at least. It alllll comes back to the food…..like this chili! This chili is my favorite white chicken chili everrrr and I’ve been promising to post this recipe since probably last fall when I was whining about not being ready to face the cold. Again. Why do you put up with me?

Well, quit yer beggin’ cuz here it is…..

There aren’t a lot of recipes I bother to make more than a handful of times but this one is a staple. I’ll be making it forever and that’s good news cuz it’s super good for you and also super, super easy…that is if you don’t have a wild toddler climbing your leg and grabbing for the burner while squawking unintelligible nonsense.

Thank god for wine.

I finally wised up and made a double batch, and it’s the perfect amount…here’s how you can make it too!

White Chicken Chili

Adapted from Cooking Light

1 TBS vegetable or canola oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced (I used more than this)

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

5 tsp of green Tabasco (um. I used almost an entire small bottle. Just go ahead and eyeball this to your taste, but I suggest using wayyyy more than 5 tsp)

1 tsp kosher salt

2 cups of chicken stock

I TBS stone ground corn meal

1 15oz can of cannellini beans, rinsed & drained

For garnish

Chopped green onions

0% plain greek yogurt or light sour cream

Lime wedges

Cubed avocado

Directions

Heat vegetable oil in a dutch oven or heavy bottomed stock pot, then add your onions & garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until fragrant & translucent. Add the chicken stock, salt, Tabasco & chicken breasts to the pot, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low simmer, cover & cook for 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, whisk the cornmeal into the pot (whisk it so it doesn’t clump) and then add the beans. Simmer for 15 minutes. Mash about ½ cup of the beans against the side of the pot using a wooden spoon. Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces and add it back to the pot & let it simmer for 5-10 minutes until the chili thickens. To serve, top with sour cream or yogurt, green onions & avocado. Yummy.

To “double” this, I just used a huge onion, about 7 garlic cloves, a lot of Tabasco, extra chicken, a whole box of stock, 2 tsp of salt, 2 TBS of cornmeal and a giant can of beans. You really can’t screw this up. it is AWESOME.

Enjoy!!!

   

I need a vacation from my vacation

Things I did during my 10 days off....

Joined the gym....it's getting serious, folks. No more messing around.

Took Benny on his very first road trip, very first time out of the state, very first time in a big city and I am happy to report that not only did we all survive, but he did great and I can't wait for us to do it again!!

We went to Sesame Place, spent 2 days in PA, had Chik-fil-a for lunch (god help us all YUM!), and had breakfast with Elmo and friends which was a hit BEYOND.

Kicked it with Cookie Monster...and The Count. Big Bird was not such a huge hit.....oh well. You win some, you lose some....

Took lots of naps.

Got new glasses, finally! Two pairs of 'em even! Love a good deal! Love being able to SEE!

  

Got Botox.

(true story. stay tuned for more on that later.)

Spent 6 freakin' hours almost on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway wanting to punch myself in the face.

Stuffed said fat face with the sandwich my {imaginary} boyfriend declared the BEST in America...

Fell in love with Reading Terminal Market and all the Amish (and otherwise) goodies to be had there...

Drank a lot of wine.

Went on the tri-annual Hamptons day trip with Noreen....indulged in cookies from Levain Bakery which.....there are not words to describe. Indulged some more in a huge bowl of killer guac and warm, salty tortilla chips on the canal in Hampton Bays. Indulged yet again in one of the best lobster rolls I've had to date, despite the lack of top split buttered roll. It was sublime.

Unindulged after a week of gluttony with a dinner of nothing but grilled vegetables and half of a grilled ground turkey patty.

I neglected my google reader.

I neglected my email.

I neglected my real mail....Kelsey and Danielle, I PROMISE I am going to the Post Office today. I promise promise.

I got new lipgloss! Thanks to  Kristen for the recommendation! I have about 864 lipglosses and I don't know how I ever lived without Love Nectar!

Things I did NOT do during my 10 days off:

Blog.

I know. I'd like to say I'm sorry, and part of me really is...especially after roping you all in with the promise of presents, but it felt good to not open my computer....it felt good to not wrack my brain wondering how I could possibly come up with something witty to say, which would more than likely end up not being witty at all due to vacation brain.....

But, I'm back. With a forehead full of botox and fancy new specks. Be afraid.

Love you guys!!!!

it's friday, bishes!

Thank The Baby Jesus!

Time again for another rendition of the funnest link up around.

Yes, I said “funnest”

Dear Justin Bieber,

Damn you and your catchy little “Boyfriend” ditty….I’m hooked. I am mortified about it, but I’ve got The Fever….thanks a lot ya little punk.

Dear Uncle Guiseppes Market,

Live lobsters for $4.99/lb this week?!?! Yes, please!! Thank you for making all of my lobster roll dreams come true! People? It’s on. Follow me on Instagram for the play by play. @rach_loveyoumore.

Here is the recipe I'll be using...if you're smart, you'll join me :)

Dear Amazon,

Thanks for having the shoes I have been stalking on Zappos for $25 less!! I feel like I hit the jackpot! Sorry, Zappos….ya snooze, ya lose…do you still love me?

Dear fireflies,

Please stick around for a long time this year. I feel like we haven’t spent enough time together and truth be told, you are my favorite part of summer. Ok, it’s a tie between floating, lobster rolls & you, but you get the idea…

Dear Weight Watchers,

It’s me, not you. I know I am a big, fat failure lately. I take the blame. I know what I’m doing wrong and yet, I continue to do it….what is my problem? If only you sold motivation in those outrageously expensive little snack packs that line your walls, I’d be all set. Sigh.

Have a great weekend, y’all! (y’all?) and go read this. first of all, she is absolutely hilarious and b) it pretty much exactly sums up all of my confusion regard my favorite holiday falling on a Wednesday this year…talk about a buzz kill…wah wah wah…..

an ode to salt

Salt.

 

I love it.

 

I am back in the game today, after my weekend of reckless debauchery, and the difference in how I feel physically is astounding. I never took notice of how I actually felt before when I was “dieting”…it was all about the fastest route to smaller jeans, whatever the cost…I’m still discouraged, because I am driven by results, aren’t we all? But today I feel better, and for that, I am thankful.

 

I just wanted to take a second to talk about salt….possibly my 2^nd favorite substance on earth right after wine. I love a good chocolate chip cookie, and sure, I’ll definitely have a bite of your donut, twist my arm, but my true cravings are always for greasy, salty, gooey, sinful edibles.

• Kettle chips with homemade caramelized onion dip
• Scorching hot, super salty, greasy, crispy fries (dipped in Ranch, while we’re on the subject)
• Thick sourdough toast slathered in salted butter, topped with slices of heirloom tomato and copious crunchy crystals of sea salt
• Massive amounts of melty blue cheese dripping down the side of a fat, juicy, medium rare burger on a brioche bun
• Spinach and artichoke dip with thin, crispy tortilla chips
• Cheese popcorn
• Perfect potato salad
• Grilled corn on the cob, dripping with salty, melted butter
• A giant slice of New York pizza with extra cheese
• Hot dogs that snap when you bite them, covered in yellow mustard
• Fresh, steamed lobster dipped on (you guessed it) salty, drawn butter

 

I could do this all day…..

 

And yes, I know that eating any of those things in the massive quantities which they are begging me to eat them would land me vomitous at best and hospitalized at worst however, a girl can dream….and salivate. It’s all I’ve got these days….

 

obviously,  this post was written by Adam Richman before lunch….also, here is a picture of Sweet Ben, because he is more delicious than anything every could be, no matter how salty, cheesy, gooey, crunchy or buttery….

 

 

 

p.s. PMS much?

my mama's sauce

so let's talk about childhood memories for a second. childhood memories and the most wonderful mama the world has ever known. my dad was always the chef of the family, and what a chef he is! i have him to thank for my adventurous palate and love of all things edible (thank him or curse him, some days i'm not sure which). i never ate the things normal kids ate like macaroni and cheese or chicken nuggets. i mean, i am sure i DID eat those things, but my real food memories are of the sweet and sour pork my dad used to whip up for us in our tiny apartment kitchen with the mustard yellow burlap walls and wood panneling. he had a mini deep fryer before it was cool and a wok and he would whip up this incredible, authentic, dinner comepletely from scratch that i can still taste if i close my eyes and dream about it.

no doubt about it, my dad was, and still is, an outstanding cook. he knows it, i know it, everyone knows it, and the fact that he lives 3000 miles away and i can't have his roast beef and yorkshire puddings or his apple pie every day is bullshit.

so my dad has a real talent in the kitchen, that much we've established, but my mama?? she had a few tricks up her sleeve herself, and this sauce, above any other food memories i have from when i was little, evokes so much sense memory for me that sometimes when i make it (usually after i have consumed the rest of the bottle of wine for which the recipe calls) i find myself standing at the stove with tears in my eyes. god i miss her. i miss her every minute of my every day. the first time i whipped out the yellowed notbook page where she had written this recipe, complete with her signature curly haired happy face at the end, i silently begged her to help me make it right, so afraid that it wouldn't come out the same and that i would never, ever have this sauce again.

well, my mama, as usual, came through. she watched over my shoulder every step of the way and held my hand when i poured in the wine knowing that i wouldn't know how much she meant when she wrote "LOTS OF RED WINE" unless she showed me. and by the way, when she said "lots", she wasn't messing around.

when i make it now, i don't need to beg for her help anymore, but i can always, always feel her there with me, and i know in my heart that she is sitting right there in my kitchen at the table, watching me make her sauce, having a glass of wine herself and feeling the love.

i've made this sauce for so many people i love and i have shared the recipe with the people i love who live too far away for me to make it for them and there isn't a single person who hasn't told me this wasn't the BEST sauce they have ever had. try it and let me know what you think...and if you're afraid you might not make it just right, don't worry, my mama will help you if you just ask.

My Mama's Sauce
***first things first, open the wine and pour yourself a big, fat glass of it, take a swig and carry on***

• 4-5 strips of bacon, chopped
• 4 links of spicy or sweet italian sausage (i use a combo of both), removed from their casings
• 1 lb. ground beef (lean is fine)
• 1 lb. ground pork (sometimes i just buy the meatloaf mix and dump it all in)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• about 3 large carrots, grated
• 4-5 big cloves of garlic, chopped or minced
• 1 packet of onion soup mix (i use lipton)
• 1 can of white clam sauce (trust me)
• 1 28 oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes (crush the tomatoes with your hands)
• 1 medium can of tomato puree
• 2 small cans of tomato paste
• 1 TBS dried oregano
• 1TBS dreid basil (or you can use fresh, but i always use dried for this)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 TBS sugar
• "LOTS OF RED WINE" (buy a liter. you know, the one that is the size of 2 bottles? i like barefoot cabernet)
• lots of sliced mushrooms (**see note)

brown up your bacon in a really big stock pot (i tried to use my dutch oven and ran out of room. don't be like me).
once the bacon is cooked, remove it from tthe pot and set it on paper towels. do not remove the bacon drippings from the pot.
next, brown up the rest of your meats, one type at a time, draining the fat after each type of meat and transferring to paper towels. i usually just put a bunch of paper towels in the bottom of a huge bowl and dump the meats in there on top of each other once i brown them.

once you are finished browning the meats, remove all but about 1 TBS of the drippings and add the onions and carrots to the pot to cook and soften for about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.

right now, your house smells AMAZING.

add the meat back to the pot followed by your whole tomatoes (crushed), puree and paste and give it a good stir. then, add the packet of onion soup mix and the can of white clam sauce. next, add your spices and your sugar, turn the heat down and let the sauce simmer for about a half an hour.

now here is the fun part, after the half hour is up, take that liter of cabernet you've been sipping from (because honestly, you cannot make this sauce without drinking red wine. it's actually impossible.) and pour a whole bunch of it into your sauce. there is no exact amount other than "lots" but i have found that approximately a 750ml bottle's worth usually works best. 750ml is the size of a regular bottle of wine, btw, which i am sure you already knew, so pretty much, pour a bottle of wine in there, or half of the big one i told you to buy in the first place cuz face it, you already drank half of it anyway, and if you didn't? why are we friends?).

now stir it all up, pop the lid on and continue to let it simmer for at least an hour or two or three.....about a half hour before you are ready to eat, turn off the heat and lay at least a carton (i use two cuz i love em) of sliced mushrooms on top of the sauce, then put the lid back on. the mushrooms cook just enough from the heat of the sauce and ** no, you cannot be all "ew! i don't like mushrooms! can i leave them out??? gross!" because....well...because my mama said so. and if you DO leave the mushrooms out, i do not want to hear about it. in fact, if you don't like mushrooms, make something else. i am sad that you will miss out on this, but they really are very important. and amazing.

whenever you're ready, cook up your noodles (spaghetti, linguini and fettucini work best), top them with a TON of sauce and some grated parm if you're feeling crazy and then, go forth and make your own family memories.

p.s. it freezes awesome too! is there nothing this sauce can't do? yum!

black eyed pea salad with basil dressing

this salad was born of not having a freakin' clue what to make for dinner to go with the skirt steak i thawed, flipping through old issues of food network magazine for inspiration, coming up basically flat, remembering i had a rogue can of black eyed peas in the cabinet from last year when i thought it would be a real nifty idea to serve them on new years day for good luck and then never followed through with that (imagine...), doing some googling, adapting all over town and then, upon first bite, realizing i had completely knocked this one out of the park.
not to toot my own horn or anything, but this is good. really, really good. like, one of the first recipes in my imaginary cookbook good.......so whip a batch up and serve it at your next bbq or bring it to a potluck and thank me later for being a black eyed pea badass....i'm sure it's even better after a day maxin' & relaxin' in the fridge but i challenge you to have the willpower to let it sit around long enough to find out....

basil dressing:

1/4- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 cup (approximately) chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup (or less. i think i used less but i have a nasty habit of not measuring anything...) good olive oil

(i used this. i love trader joes)

kosher salt & cracked black pepper

salad:

1 can black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 - 2 cups of fresh corn kernals
1-3 stalks of celery, sliced into thin half moons
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, quartered
3 thick cut rings of red onion, brushed with olive oil and seasoned with salt & pepper, then grilled and chopped.

mix the dressing in the bottom of a big bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients and stir to mix. season to taste with more salt & pepper. try not to eat the entire thing in one, glutoneous sitting.