Smitten Kitchen Night!

Wednesday June 11th, 2008 at 10:38 am

A few weeks ago while surfing Pioneer Woman Cooks and Smitten Kitchen Nik and I decided there were so many beautiful recipes that we should get together and try them out. Last night was our first of hopefully many more get together dinner nights. Everything that was made was FANTASTIC!! Try them yourselves! As an awesome bonus, since Nikki’s mom was in town and could watch Halle, we went out to catch a late night show of Iron Man.

On the menu, Alex’s Chicken and Mushroom Marsala

Nikki’s salad (spring mix, strawberries, parmesean cheese, pecans and a honey mustard balsamic dressing)

Justin’s wild rice (which I forgot to get a picture of).

And Icebox Cake.

My family has been making a variation of this cake forever, its in the shape of a log, but this was so much more fun! And so easy too! All the details are on the Smitten Kitchen site, but here’s a shot of the chocolate wafter box so you can find them. Publix stocks them with the ice cream cones.

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Shrimp, shrimp and more shrimps ..

Friday June 6th, 2008 at 11:41 am

Ever wonder how to make shrimp cocktail? I found some really fancy recipes online, especially Alton Browns. But we just wanted to make the simple kind .. you know boiled shrimp.

I had no idea how to boil shrimp .. well I know you could stick it in a pot of water .. but for how long, and are you supposed to add stuff .. like seasoning? Searching through the internet came up with a bunch of recipes for ’shrimp boils’ .. louisiana style, with Old Bay Seasoning. I hate Old Bay Seasoning. Anyways I finally found a forum that said to dump them in boiling water for 3-5 min, then stick in an ice bath .. perfectly simple.

First I cleaned and de-shelled the shrimp. Usually I’d use my deveiner/shelling poker tool .. but I wanted to keep the tail shell on here .. so I held them down (see pic below) and used my serrated knife to cut the shell. The serrated knife was sooooo much easier then my super sharp paring knife that kept slipping

Then I plopped them into boiling water, I added some salt .. because .. well they’re salt water shrimp, and everything tastes better salty right? Well I was willing to risk it (I wasn’t going to eat them anyway)

After 3 min they were all opaque and pink

So into the ice bath they went

And then I just put them on a martini glass with store bought cocktail sauce in it.. beautiful huh?

On top of that .. I picked up a pound of medium sized shrimp while at the fish market and decided to finally give Pioneer Woman’s Penne a la Betsy a try. And it was damn good

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Liz’s Impromptu Bruschetta

Sunday May 18th, 2008 at 7:14 pm

A few weeks ago when I was home visiting the family we (Liz and I) had a huge craving for tomato, mozzarella & basil .. one of our favorite things to eat right now. (Keep reading …)

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Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

Saturday October 29th, 2005 at 4:35 pm

This is one of my favorite party snack foods to make. Its fantastic served in a bread bowl!

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
1/3 cup grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
In a blender or food processor, place artichoke hearts, Romano cheese, Parmesan cheese and garlic . Pulse until chopped, but not ground. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together spinach, heavy cream, sour cream and mozzarella cheese. Stir in artichoke mixture. Spoon into prepared baking dish.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

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On this day: Just a little re-post :), Sunday was supposed to be laundry day... and A very blustery day ..

Texas Caviar

Monday October 24th, 2005 at 12:00 pm

2 16 oz cans of black beans (or black-eye peas)
4 scallions, green parts only
2-3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1/2 cup corn oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
salt and ground pepper

Drain beans, rinse and drain again
Add scallions, jalapenos, cilantro and mix
Wisk together oil, lime juice and vinegar and pour over beans
Toss to coat
Transfer to large glass or air-tight plastic container
Marinate a few hours turning jar occasionally to mix ingredients (the longer the better, if using peas instead of beans, marinate 3-5 DAYS)
To serve in a shallow glass bowl with tortilla chips for scooping