Stuffed Breasts

I’ve had Tyler Florence’s book, Tyler’s Ultimate for over a year. When I first bought the book at the Wine and Food Festival in South Beach last year, I was so excited to try some of the recipes. And then life got in the way, and I forgot. I was really in the mood for some cooking this past weekend and pulled out the book again. This is a fabulous book for simple but fabulously good recipes.

I made some minor changes to his recipes… I used turkey tenderloins because my grocery store had them all perfectly trimmed. I’m a sucker for convenience! I also used dried cranberries in place of dried apricots… To me, turkey and cranberries go together like cookies and milk or peanut butter and jelly! As I was eating this delicious dinner, I realized it was missing one thing… Just a little cranberry relish. I will DEFINITELY make this recipe again, but will add a bit of cranberry relish to the finished dish.

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August 30, 2009 | Filed Under Dinner

9 Critiques

Asian Chicken Salad

Geez, I feel like its been a month since I’ve blogged… oh wait, it HAS been a month. Well, I’ve been busy… lots of good things going on. I finally made the decision to leave my job as a commercial lines insurance agent to work with my husband full time as the Studio Manager. In case you’re new to my blog, and/or missed all of my past shameless plugs… he’s a fabulous photographer. I’m excited and just a tad scared of this new adventure I’m embarking on. However, one of the things I’m really looking forward to is having more time for my blog. I feel like I’ve treated my poor blog like a red headed stepchild lately and I’m sorry!

On to the food… The past month or two, Stephan and I decided to concentrate on eating healthy. Well we always eat pretty healthy, but we’ve avoided the sweets… that’s also part of the reason I’ve been so quiet on the blog… Who wants to see grilled fish with steamed veggies… again? Yeah, I didn’t think so! LOL! This salad is definitely blogworthy! Its stupid easy and quick to prepare and lastly… very yummy!
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July 20, 2009 | Filed Under Asian, Chicken, Dinner

12 Critiques

Bacon and Eggs

I love Pasta Alla Carbonara. It is one of my favorite things to eat when I’m in a good Italian Restaurant. When we were in Rome last year, I had Carbonara almost every day. I had try all of the different restaurant’s versions! Research purposes, you know?? I’ve noticed many people who make Carbonara add cream and make it almost like an Alfredo. Not me… Eggs and cheese are the only thickening agent I use, along with pasta water. I’ve found that adding a couple egg yolks in addition to the whole eggs makes for a creamier sauce.

Another thing I’ve found (by trial and error) are to toss the egg mixture and hot pasta in a metal bowl instead of the pasta pot. You’re less likely to end up with scrambled egg carbonara, which is not good. I think the pasta is hot enough to cook the eggs, but if you freak out about slightly cooked eggs, do your mixing in the pasta pot. However, be prepared for bits of completely cooked egg. Lastly, I add peas, which makes me feel better, like I added a bit of green healthiness to a rich dish. If you don’t like peas, by all means, leave them out. Also, I cheaped out at the grocery store and bought low sodium bacon instead of the pancetta. Either one will work, but the pancetta has a better flavor.

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April 6, 2009 | Filed Under Dinner, Italian

16 Critiques

A Different Daring Baker

This month’s challenge was much different than most of the other challenges. Not only is it savory, it’s an entree. It is “real” Italian lasagne… not the ricotta laden version that most of us are used to. The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge. The recipe is VERY long… you can find it on one of their blogs. Check out the other Daring Baker’s Lasagne here, and all of my past Daring Baker posts here.
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March 31, 2009 | Filed Under Daring Bakers, Dinner, Italian

11 Critiques

Warms Your Bones

Its cold down here. Well, if you live in Minnesota, its not cold. But… if you’re a Floridian, you have probably dusted off your boots, and pulled out your snowsuit, gloves and ear muffs. Right now, I think it’s the coldest it has gotten since I moved here in 2001. It got down to 34 degrees last night… brrrr! Thanks to the weather forecast, I was prepared and started my matzo ball soup a few days ago. So now that I’m armed with a huge pot of Matzo Ball soup… Bring on the cold weather!

Matzo ball is one of my favorite soups, and I seek out Jewish Delis for that reason. However, many of the delis that serve matzo ball soup clearly make their soup with a soup base or prepared stock. You can tell by the flavor and color. If it is very yellow in color, you can be sure there is something else in it other than chicken. I made my soup from scratch… chicken, veggies and water. No base, no stock.. no chemicals. It might have been the best Matzo Ball Soup I’ve ever eaten… if I must say so myself! I used the same recipe I use for chicken noodle soup and cooked the matzo balls separately. I prefer to make the stock the day before and refrigerate overnight to remove the fat. You’d be surprised how much fat comes from a chicken!
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February 5, 2009 | Filed Under Dinner, Soup

15 Critiques

Braised Beef Short Ribs

Another cool blast came through South Florida and I used the opportunity to make braised beef short ribs. I often order short ribs when I see it on the menu at a good Italian Restaurant, but rarely make them at home. I love that you can take such a tough inexpensive cut of meat and turn it into such a delicacy.

The smell in the house while these are cooking drove us and the dogs crazy. I’m going to contact Yankee Candle and see if they will consider adding “Braised Beef Short Ribs” to their collection of scents. While I’m at it, I think I’ll pitch a new bacon scent. If Burger King is going to make a meat scented men’s cologne (Flame) then us GOOD food lovers need to band together and demand a more upscale meat fragrance. Right?

Happy New Year Y’all!

Don’t worry, I haven’t become Paula Deen… but I do have a confession. Deep down inside, beneath my half Japanese exterior hides… a country girl. I grew up a military brat (Dad was a US Marine) in the great southern town of Tallahassee, Florida. If you’ve never been there, Tallahassee is much more like Georgia or Alabama than Florida. Strangely, I live much further south (in Ft Lauderdale) now, but it is much more “Northern” down here. Weird.

Anyway, black eyed peas are a very traditional Southern fare for New Years Day. Ingesting the little black and white beans are supposed to bring you good luck. Some say that the beans resemble coins and this is why they bring you wealth in the new year. Although I don’t think they look even remotely like coins, I still feel the need to eat them on New Years Day, with homemade Southern Cornbread. Don’t want to mess with the Southern traditions!

After all of the heavy holiday feasting, I’ve done a bit of a healthy twist on the beans and made it into a cold bean salad. I wrote the recipe with canned black eyed peas, but I prefer to use dried black eyed peas that are soaked and cooked with a ham bone, which is what I did here.

Hope everyone out there has a Happy and Healthy New Year!
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January 1, 2009 | Filed Under Dinner, Vegetarian

10 Critiques

The Easiest Potato Soup

The weather has been glorious here in South Florida… 50’s at night and 70’s during the day. This type of weather always makes me crave soup and other cold weather fare. This recipe is one of my absolutely favorite potato soups. Its different than the usual as the potatoes are not pureed and there is no cream. A generous squeeze of lemon and sour cream give it a wonderful tangy flavor, and grated carrot give it a lovely color. Last but not least… its very frugal, quick cooking and fairly healthy!
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November 20, 2008 | Filed Under Dinner, Soup

16 Critiques

5 Minute Dinner

We’re officially in the middle of our busy season. This means much less cooking for me. So we’ve been eating grilled chicken, grilled salmon, basic pasta… and then on really lazy nights… sandwiches. But don’t worry, Stephan and I aren’t suffering too much… I like to make tasty sandwiches.

This is a very simple sandwich, cooked on my grill pan. I don’t have one of those fancy Panini Pans (YET!) but I do have a basic cast iron grill pan. I simply place the sandwich on the hot pan and then place a glass pie dish on top to mash it down. After a few minutes, turn, press… and voila! Pressed sandwich. Easy Peasy, and without a $150 pan!

I Got Beeten

Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a severe aversion to beets. This aversion started at a salad bar when I was a kid. I thought this pretty red food was something sweet and when I bit into it, I was very very shocked to taste that strange vinegary earthy flavor. That was my first and last time eating beets for many many years. In culinary school, we cooked a ton of recipes containing beets. I found out those dastardly things were considered “delicacies” and could be found in most fine dining establishments. So I would cook them, but I refused to eat them. Now, I’m not a namby pamby when it comes to trying food. I’ve eaten almost anything you can think of, from frog legs to alligator to most (edible) internal organs found in a cow.

Last month when we had lunch at Novecento, I really wanted the salad that had some of my favorite things… arugula, blue cheese, tomatoes… and beets. I hate to be “that person” in a restaurant that gets food special ordered, especially in fine dining. So I ordered it… with the beets. I started eating the arugula and other goodies, and then ate one brunoise sized cube of beet. It wasn’t bad. Actually, it was quite good. Just like that… my relationship with beets has changed. I’ve made them at home several times now, and I’m glad its opened up a whole new color for me! Clearly I eat with my eyes first, so color is important to me! This salad is a bouquet of color with amazing organic veggies from Josh’s Organic Market on Hollywood Beach.
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