Tasty Thursday :: Sophisticated Desserts

Talk about some serious wow factor.  This Basil Panna Cotta with Rosé-Poached Apricots will have your dinner guests or instagram followers raving about your mad kitchen skills.  Truth be told if you can stir and whisk you can create this delectable masterpiece at home.  I can't wait to make it this weekend, but I think I'll substitute basil for mint as we have an overflowing mint plant in our garden.  Happy Thursday!



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Mantry Box Review

This past Father's Day, I gifted the Mister the ultimate in foodie guys subscription boxes: the Mantry Box.  Mantry aka the Modern Man's Pantry, is a monthly subscription that provides you a full size sampling of some of America's finest artisan foods.  While being on the pricier side of subscription boxes, it did have a couple stand out features including their incredibly curated artisan foods and that handmade crate.  I mean seriously, I can think of a hundred different ways to use that crate.  The verdict:  the Mister loved it, and I quote "best pops-day gift ever", thanks to Mantry I scored major points this Father's Day.  We ended up with the Campfire Cookout box. 

The goods:  Just Cook Herbed Coffee Rub, Soberdough Brew Bread, Olive and Sinclair Chocolate & Bourbon brittle, Summer Sausage, Hickory Smoked Bacon, & Fuego Salsa.  We've tried everything but the soberdough bread and the herbed coffee rub.  My favorite two from this box are the bacon, and the salsa.  I put that salsa on everything, it's delicious!

Holiday Gift Guides: the foodie

We've found the perfect little something for the foodie in your life.  

Shop the post:

1. Glass Infused Dispenser | 2. The Sriracha Cookbook | 3. OXO Food Scale | 4. Take Note Chalkboard Nested Ramekins | 5. Breville One-Touch Tea Maker | 6. Dean & Deluca Spice Rack

Tasty Thursday

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching we're in the process of finalizing our turkey day menu.  I'm a big fan of individual portions, it makes any spread more delectable.  Which is why I can't wait to make mini versions of this wild rice stuffed acorn squash side dish.  How beautiful do the colors of this easy, semi-homemade, healthy, vegtastic (yes I said vegtastic, and no it's not a real word) side dish look.  I can't wait to dig in!

INGREDIENTS:

2 Large Acorn Squash

1 (6.2 oz) Box of Uncle Bens Wild Rice Mix

1 ¾ c. Pear Nec­tar (or Apple Juice)

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1/3 c. Dried Cranberries

1 Pear

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the wild rice mix accord­ing to direc­tions, but sub­sti­tute the water with the pear nec­tar.

2. Mean­while, heat your oven to 400 degrees. Cut your acorn squash in half, wash, and remove the seeds. Lay the squash on a foil-lined bak­ing sheet and spritz with olive oil (using a olive mis­ter). Bake the squash in the oven for 40 min­utes, and then remove.

3. Wash and core the pear, and cut into small pieces.

4. When the wild rice is fin­ished, mix in the dried cran­ber­ries and pear pieces, and mix to blend.

5. Spoon the rice mix­ture in each acorn squash half, and place back in the heated oven for 20 min­utes. Serve warm.

Tasty Thursday

The Mister and I took a sick day yesterday.  And between episodes of this season's Downton Abbey, I started mulling over our Thanksgiving Day menu.  I love a good stuffing, and wanted to make something gluten free.  Fast forward an hour of perusing turkey day stuffing recipes and I think we found a winner: focaccia stuffing with mushrooms and fennel.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

2 leeks, halved lengthwise, white and light green portions thinly sliced

1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored and diced

1 tsp. kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

½ tsp. chopped fresh rosemary

1 oz. dried wild mushrooms, soaked in 1 cup of hot water for 15 minutes

8 oz. cremini mushrooms, quartered

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 package gluten-free focaccia stuffing

2 1/3 to 3 cups of vegetable stock, warmed

DIRECTIONS:

1.       Preheat an oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter a 2 1/2-quart (2.5-l) covered baker or a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33cm) baking dish.

2.       In a large sauté pan over medium heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the leeks, fennel, 1/2 tsp. of the salt and pepper, and sauté until soft and translucent, 10 to 12 minutes, adding the thyme and rosemary during the last minute of cooking. Transfer to a large bowl. 

3.       Drain the soaked wild mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve.

4.       In the same pan over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil. Add the cremini mushrooms and the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Add the wild mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute. Transfer to the bowl with the leek mixture, add the stuffing and stir until well combined. Stir in the mushroom soaking liquid. Then stir in the stock 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz./125 ml) at a time, making sure it is completely absorbed into the croutons and does not pool in the bottom of the bowl. Taste a crouton; it should be moist throughout but not crunchy or mushy. You may not need all of the stock.

5.       Transfer the stuffing to the prepared baking dish. Cover with a lid or a buttered sheet of aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the lid or foil and continue baking until the top is golden brown and crisp, 25 to 35 minutes more. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 10 to 12.

Tasty Thursday

 Happy Halloween!  Today's Tasty Thursday is both creepy and delicious.  I love the way these blood splattered petit fours with sugar glass look.  They're the perfect finishing touch to any Halloween dessert table, and will win you major kudos from your friends and family.

INGREDIENTS:

For the petit fours:
- 1 frozen pound cake
- 1 lb. powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Red food coloring

For the sugar glass:
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Make the glaze by mixing powdered sugar, corn syrup, water, and vanilla together in a medium bowl.
2. Trim petit fours into cubes and dip into sugar mixture. Let dry on a cooling rack for 30 minutes.
3. Use chop sticks or a fork to dot petit fours with red food coloring for a blood-splattered look.

4. To make the sugar glass: combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat for about an hour until the temperature reaches 302 degrees F.

5. Remove from the stove and spread onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Use an offset spatula to gently spread mixture.

6. Let sugar glass cool for about an hour, and then break using a mason jar or other solid object. Be careful though! It’s sharp.

7. Grab a glass shard and use a basting or other pastry brush to paint red food coloring on the edges.

8. Place “bloody” sugar glass into a petit four and repeat with remaining cakes.

Happy Halloween from a family of mad scientists!





Chili Cook Off Party Inspiration

We hosted a chili cook-off this weekend, and it was a total success!  I wanted a rustic feel to our cook-off so I incorporated rustic textures and rich fall colors.  With a red plaid, burlap, and golden pumpkins we had a great backdrop for our delicious chili cook-off.  I'll be sharing our chili cook-off and the winning recipe tomorrow.  Happy Monday!




{Photos via: Sign, Chili Cook-Off Invite, Cornbread, Plaid, Condiments, Root Beer, Chili Bar}

 



Tasty Thursday

I've been seriously craving some carbs lately.  And what's more carb-teriffic than a pizza and a loaf of bread combined.  This pizza bread looks heavenly.  And best of all it's can be achieved in all of 4 steps, so you can sit back and enjoy a delicious and crowd pleasing meal in no time.

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 cups toppings diced

1/2 cup parmesan

2 cups mozzarella shredded

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 jar marinara sauce for dipping

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a large bowl. Let it sit for 3 minutes. Add in flour, salt, and sugar. Mix using a spoon just until it comes together. (There's no need for a big stand mixer here.)
2. Add in the toppings and Parmesan and combine well. The dough will be tacky. Dust with a bit more flour if it feels too tacky. Let rise for about 1 hour, then put in the refrigerator to continue rising for another hour.
3. Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Flour your countertop, then roll out the dough into a rectangle about 11×17”. Sprinkle mozzarella over top. Then, fold along the long side, like an envelope. Seal sides so cheese is not exposed. Let your loaf rest while you preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
4. Bake the bread, either on a pizza stone or baking sheet, for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown. About halfway through I added a piece of aluminum foil to the top of my loaf to prevent it from getting too dark. About 3 minutes before taking it out, lightly brush the top with olive oil and let it finish baking. Let rest on a wire rack to cool slightly before slicing.

Tasty Thursday: Clean Eating Asian

I will say my biggest challenge with clean eating is that I'm not a big carnivore.  As in I eat chicken, fish, lamb, and that's pretty much it, well bacon too.  Combine that with the fact that I love Asian food and I was nervous I wouldn't like anything that's considered 'clean'.  Most Asian sauces and condiments are full of processed junk and preservatives.  So when I saw this Asian Pistou Dumplings in Lime Broth, I was pretty much salivating.  What is pistou, you might be asking, it's the Asian version of pesto made with Thai basil and cilantro or parsley.  This delicious recipe was featured in Clean Eating Magazine by celebrity chef, Ming Tsai.  This looks oh so savory and delicious, I can't wait to try it.

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INGREDIENTS:

olive oil cooking spray

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, white & green parts separated, divided

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

juice 2 limes

1 Tbsp low-sodium tamari

1/2 cup packed parsley

1/2 cup packed Thai basil

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup edamame

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

12 thin whole-wheat wonton wrappers

DIRECTIONS:

1.    In a saucepot misted with cooking spray, sweat white parts of scallions over medium heat for about 4 minutes, then add broth. Reduce mixture by 25%. Season with salt and pepper, and add lime juice and tamari.

2.    Meanwhile, using a mortar and pestle, blend a pinch of salt with parsley, basil and garlic. Fold in edamame and oil and season with salt and pepper. (Alternatively, using a food processor, pulse together salt, parsley, basil and garlic. Transfer mixture to a bowl, fold in edamame and whisk in oil.)

3.    Prepare wontons with edamame mixture. Lay wonton wrapper on work surface. With fingertips, use water to moisten outer edges of wrapper. Spoon about 1 tsp edamame filling onto center of each wonton wrapper. Gather up all edges of wrapper above filling and pinch together.

4.    Add dumplings to broth and boil for 5 to 8 minutes; serve immediately. Garnish with green parts of scallions and, if desired, additional parsley and/or basil.

5.    Nutrients Per Serving: Calories: 200, Total Fat: 8g, Sat. Fat: 1g, Carbs: 24g, Fiber: 3g, Sugars: 2g, Protein: 6g, Sodium: 544 mg, Cholesterol: 2mg

Gifting :: Welcome to Chicago Foodie Inspired Basket

The Mister's cousin and family are moving to Chicago and we wanted to get them a little something to look forward to.  As foodies, they're excited for all the great eats Chitown has to offer.  So I put together a little preview for them.  The label featured the city of Chicago flag and the phonetical spelling of Chicago (ski-KAW-go).

 I included a six pack of 312, a Vosges Haut-Chocolat sampler pack, Frontera salsa, bread from Little Goat Bread Co, and doughnuts from the Doughnut Vault.

Other things you could include in a Chicago foodie gift basket: Garrett's popcorn, Wrigley gum, Frango mints, or frozen deep dish from UNO Pizzeria.

Tasty Thursday: Paleo Pastry

Who doesn't love a healthy and delicious pastry?  These almond and vanilla paleo scones look too pretty to eat, but with only 200 calories and 6 grams of protein you wont be able to resist.   Add a little fresh strawberry jam and you have gluten-free heaven on a plate.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups (300 g / 10  ½ oz)   almond meal / ground almonds / almond flour

2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder


or ¾ teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup (60ml / 2 oz) ) macadamia nut oil or (cold pressed coconut oil or almond oil)

1 heaped tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 organic / free range eggs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 300F
2. Combine almond meal and baking powder.  Add the oil, honey, vanilla, and egg.  Mix into a soft dough.
3. Dust working surface with some almond meal.  Roll out the dough to about 1cm in thickness
4. Cut into rounds and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
5. Remove and let cool

30 First Dates

The Mister and I are the worst at deciding where to eat.  After several back and fourths we usually end up at the same restaurant.  So this year we decided to create a list of 30 new (to us) restaurants that we want to try out.  We split the list in half, as you can clearly see some options are all the Mister (anything Mexican or Superdawg Drive In), and some are clearly all me (anything Asian).  This way when it comes to picking a place to eat, we can just refer back to our list.  It's date night, simplified.

1. Antique Taco
2. Au Cheval
3. Avec
4. Bar Pastoral
5. Big Jones
6. Chilam Balam
7. City Winery
8. Embeya
9. Fat Rice
10. Flour and Stone
11. Found
12. Gioco
13. Han 202
14. Handlebar
15. Kai Zan
16. La Cuchara
17. Le Creperie
18. Nellcote
19. Ombra Italian Bar
20. Opart Thai
21. Rickshaw Republic
22. RM Champagne Salon
23. RPM
24. Sienna Tavern
25. Sumi Robata Bar
26. Superdawg Drive In 
27. Tavernita
28. Takito Kitchen
29. The Boarding House
30. Yusho

Tasty Thursday

This roasted red pepper pasta looks beyond amazing!  I love the Pioneer Woman's pasta recipes (if you haven't tried her Cajun Chicken Pasta, trust me you're missing out).  And how fun are these ditalini pasta rings, I need to start venturing out from angel hair and fettuccine pastas.

INGREDIENTS:

12 ounces, weight Pasta Of Your Choice (I Prefer Short Ones Like Rigatoni, Penne, Etc.)

4 Tablespoons Butter

1/2 whole Large Onion, Finely Diced

3 cloves Garlic, Minced

1 jar (15.5 Ounces) Roasted Red Peppers, Drained And Roughly Chopped

1 cup Vegetable Or Chicken Broth

1/2 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1/2 cup Heavy Cream (more To Taste)

1/2 cup Parmesan Shavings (more For Serving)

Finely Minced Parsley

Chopped Fresh Basil (if You Have It!)

DIRECTIONS:

Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes or until starting to soften. Add the chopped red peppers and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until hot.

Remove the skillet from the heat. Carefully transfer the contents of the skillet to a food processor or blender. Place on the lid and puree the pepper mixture until totally blended (there will still be some texture to the peppers.)

Heat the other 2 tablespoon butter back to the skillet over medium heat. Pour the pepper puree back into the skillet. Add the broth, salt, and pepper, and stir until heated. Splash in the cream and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings if you need to.

Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet. Add Parmesan and parsley/basil, then stir it together to coat the pasta.

Serve in bowls with extra Parmesan and a sprinkling of parsley on top.