Author: Kaitlin

Sangria

For Father’s Day, I wanted to make my dad a somewhat traditional sangria. He is a man who has nothing and wants nothing (which is probably a result of having two daughters and a wife who want everything), but he does love a good sangria. I hope he likes it!
Ingredients:
1 bottle of Rioja wine
1/2 cup brandy
1/4 cup triple sec
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup cranberry juice
3 table spoons simple syrup
1 apple, cored
1 orange, cut into thin slices
1 lemon, cut into thin slices
1 lime, cut into thin slices
1 peach/nectarine, pitted and cut into wedges
Ginger ale, to taste

Combine the wine, brandy, triple sec, orange juice, cranberry juice and simple syrup. Stir.
Prepare all of your fruit.
Add the fruit to the wine mixture and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
When ready to serve, pour sangria into a glass and top with the ginger ale to taste.
I took only one sip of this, so my dad will have to be the true judge of this recipe. It seemed to taste good to me: not too sweet and still a hint of actual wine. You can make a bunch of substitutes for this recipe. If you don’t have the time to make simple syrup, just use 3 tablespoons sugar and stir until it dissolves in the wine mixture. Feel free to substitute or eliminate some of the fruit choices: blackberries would also be a nice addition in the sangria.

Dark Chocolate ROOT Cake

I have wanted to try to incorporate ROOT into my cooking for a while now. ROOT is basically the alcoholic version of root beer. For the history/back-story, check out their website. Here is also a video on the stuff:

The spirit contains birch bark, smoked black tea, cinnamon, wintergreen, spearmint, clove, anise, orange, lemon, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom and pure cane sugar so I thought it would go really well in a chocolate cake. I used this rum cake recipeas a starting point, and substituted in ROOT and dark chocolate, as well as a little instant espresso coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor.

Ingredients for the cake:
6 ounces coarsely chopped dark chocolate
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso coffee
5 ounces (1-1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
2/3 cup ROOT
4 large eggs, separated
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 cup flour
Pinch saltIngredients for the chocolate glaze:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces roughly chopped dark chocolate
1/2 teaspoon espresso powderIngredients for Chantilly cream (optional):
1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon sugar or to taste
Small pinch salt
Continue reading Dark Chocolate ROOT Cake

Grilled Watermelon

We kind of went on a grilling spree this week. (And by “we” I mean my boyfriend and his roommate. I only did the prep work.)
We were throwing basically anything on there. Burgers, chicken, asparagus, salmon… and watermelon. So. Here’s a super simple recipe for grilled watermelon!

Ingredients:
Honey
Sliced watermelon

Spread a little bit of honey on each piece of watermelon.

Place on a grill for about 2 minutes on each side.

Or until grill marks appear on the watermelon.

It’s amazing that grilling watermelon for a few minutes completely changes the taste of the watermelon. It’s quite tasty! The sugars in the watermelon and honey caramelize, making a new taste to the fruit. Yum!

Grilled Marinated Asparagus

Tonight, I get a night off from cooking! Sort of. My boyfriend and his roommates are firing up the grill and doing the hard part, so all I have to do is make various marinades for the food. We had some asparagus lying around so I decided to just make a simple marinade to make this Grilled Marinated Asparagus.

 

Ingredients:
1 bunch of asparagus
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 2 large garlic cloves)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon chopped onion flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all the ingredients not including the asparagus. Mix well.

Prepare the asparagus. Remove the rough bottoms of the stems. Asparagus tends to snap where the tougher part ends, or you can just cut the asparagus where you think it needs to be trimmed.
asparagus ends

Place the asparagus on a large piece of tin foil. You will make a little packet out of the tin foil.

Fold up each side of the tin foil, twisting the ends so that they stay together.

Pour the marinade over the asparagus.

Close the foil and marinate for at least one hour. You can either remove the asparagus from the foil and place the asparagus right on the grill, cooking for 6-8 minutes, turning carefully half way through, or you can put the asparagus on the grill in the foil, cooking for about 10 minutes. Either way, grill until the asparagus is tender but still has a crunch to it.
there it is. in the tin foil
This turned out really well. The balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce add a bit of tangy-ness to the asparagus without overpowering the delicious natural flavor of asparagus. Many thanks to the grill masters:
Tim
Kevin

for not letting my asparagus get soggy. It was great to only have to do the prep work on a dish… a girl could get used to this!

Print
Grilled Marinated Asparagus

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch of asparagus
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 2 large garlic cloves)
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon chopped onion flakes
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Combine all the ingredients not including the asparagus. Mix well.
  2. Prepare the asparagus. Remove the rough bottoms of the stems. Asparagus tends to snap where the tougher part ends, or you can just cut the asparagus where you think it needs to be trimmed.
  3. Place the asparagus on a large piece of tin foil. You will make a little packet out of the tin foil.
  4. Fold up each side of the tin foil, twisting the ends so that they stay together.
  5. Pour the marinade over the asparagus.
  6. Close the foil and marinate for at least one hour. You can either remove the asparagus from the foil and place the asparagus right on the grill, cooking for 6-8 minutes, turning carefully half way through, or you can put the asparagus on the grill in the foil, cooking for about 10 minutes. Either way, grill until the asparagus is tender but still has a crunch to it.
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Maple Soy Glazed Salmon

Are you ready for the easiest salmon recipe, perhaps ever? The name says it all: maple-soy glazed salmon. You just use equal parts maple syrup and reduced sodium soy sauce.

 

Ingredients:
2 pieces of 5 oz salmon fillets, skin on
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce (or coconut aminos to make gluten free)
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine the maple syrup and soy sauce.

Top the salmon fillets with salt and pepper.

Drizzle the maple-soy mixture equally over the salmon.

 

I bought my salmon from a supermarket in Wilmington that inexplicably only had salmon without the skin. What the heck? Normally, I would just grill the salmon, skin side up for 2-3 minutes and then flip the salmon, skin side down and cook until done. Because we had to take into account the whole no-skin issue, we wrapped the salmon in tin foil and popped it on the grill for a good 10 to 15 minutes. (Special thanks to Kevin and Tim for doing the actual grilling part!)

 

It still turned out great! The sauce caramelizes a bit, adding some sweetness to the salmon. I really wish it could have been straight on the grill to add some charring but it was not to be. Sigh. If anyone gets the chance to actually try it this way, please let me know how it turns out!

Gazpacho

The warm days in Philadelphia keep on coming, so I think it’s time to attempt making the summer favorite: gazpacho. I wanted to do an heirloom gazpacho, but I am presently cooking out of Wilmington and the local store does not carry any. Sigh. I used this recipe from Cooking Light and just changed some of the ingredients to fit what I could find in the store.
Ingredients:
2 seeded peeled cucumbers, plus 1 for garnish
1 chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
1 coarsely chopped red bell pepper
6 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 large tomatoes, chopped seeded & peeled
1 garlic clove, minced
1 finely chopped yellow pepper, for garnish
1 finely chopped orange pepper, for garnish
1 finely chopped tomatillo, for garnish
8 pieces of garlic bread (optional)
To begin, prepare all of your ingredients. Peel and seed 2 cucumbers. To learn how to seed a cucumber, check out my post here. Roughly chop the onion and red bell pepper. To peel a tomato, prepare a bowl with ice water and bring another pot of water to a boil.
On the bottom side of the tomatoes, cut an X into the skin.
When the water is boiling, place 2 tomatoes at a time into the water.
Keep in the water for 15 to 20 seconds, remove, and place in the ice water.
Once cooled, use a knife to peel away the skin from the X.
Repeat with remaining tomatoes.
To seed the tomato, cut the tomato in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Discard the seeds and roughly chop the tomatoes.
Prepped Veggies
To make the gazpacho, combine first 9 ingredients (up to the garlic).
Add 1/3 of the mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl and repeat with the remaining 2/3 vegetable mixture. Cover and chill.
When ready to serve, spoon gazpacho into bowls. Finely chop your yellow and orange peppers and tomatillo. Combine the peppers and tomatillo.
Add 2 tablespoons of the mixture to each bowl. If you’d like, you can also add a piece of garlic bread (or just a crusty piece of day old bread), 1 tablespoon goat cheese, or a teaspoon of sour cream.
This would also be a nice appetizer. Pour the gazpacho into shooter glasses and top with a teaspoon of the pepper tomatillo mixture.
You can also use the gazpacho as a pureed salsa. Prepare garlic bread. Put on a plate with a bowl of gazpacho in the center with a spoon. Guests can spoon gazpacho on top of the bread, or use the bread to dip into the gazpacho.

Quick Garlic Bread

I love garlic bread. It’s really easy to make and is the perfect accompaniment to spaghetti or soup. Here is a quick recipe to make garlic bread.

Ingredients:
1 loaf of French Bread
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon parsley
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the butter, garlic, parsley, oregano, and Parmesan cheese. Slice the bread, but not all the way through.

Divide the butter mixture evenly between each piece.

Wrap the bread in aluminum foil and cook for 15 minutes.

Serve right out of the oven. You can either slice the bread all the way through, or just serve it as is and tear off a piece as needed. This recipe makes a softer garlic bread. If you prefer a toasty garlic bread, broil the bread for 2 to 3 minutes instead.

Garlic Scape Pesto

I’m sure you read this post title and was wondering why I’m making Garlic Scape Pesto.
This week, I received garlic scapes with my CSA half share. What the heck is a garlic scape you may ask?
When garlic is growing, the scape is the green shoot that pops out of the earth. Farmers need to trim these so that the garlic can continue to grow. But the actual green shoot also packs in a bunch of garlicky goodness, although more mild and with a touch of grass smell.
The scapes are kind of scary looking but I was willing to try using them, who knows when I’ll come across these again! Because they are a more delicate version of garlic, scapes are best used raw.
I came across a recipe for Garlic Scape Pesto on the blog In the Kitchen and on the Road with Dorie which seemed like a good way to use a bunch of the scapes. I substituted walnuts for the almonds, mainly because my poor boyfriend is allergic and I didn’t want to mistakenly serve him something with almonds in it, and I added in some basil to help cut some of the scape flavor. I also cut the recipe in half to test it out, I can always make more later!
Ingredients:
  • 5 garlic scapes, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • Salt, to taste

Continue reading Garlic Scape Pesto

Portobello and Black Bean Quesadillas

I have been really panicking about using all of my CSA ingredients this week. I am headed to the beach next week and can’t stand the idea of these ingredients going to waste! Thankfully, Cooking Light had a recipe that incorporated a lot of the ingredients I received this week.

Ingredients:
4 flour tortillas
Cooking spray
2 portobello caps, chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette (recipe below)
1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon minced green chilis
1 cup  preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese
1/4 cup chopped red onions
Fresh Salsa
Sour Cream, optional

 

Ingredients for the balsamic vinaigrette:
(you’ll have some leftover for a salad later)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced (I used 1 garlic scape… came with my CSA share)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil

To make the vinaigrette, add the vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper to a bowl and whisk until the salt dissolves. Add the oil in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly. You can also just add the ingredients to a jar and shake to combine.
 
Place your tortillas on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave for 1 minute and leave in the microwave while preparing the rest of the dish.
Cook your mushrooms in a saute pan coated with cooking spray. If you don’t have cooking spray, use a bit of olive oil, maybe a teaspoon. Saute the mushrooms for 2 minutes, or until tender.
Add the vinaigrette, black beans, onions and green chile. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the liquid evaporates. Mash the mixture slightly. If you have a potato masher, Cooking Light suggests using that. I don’t, so a fork will have to do!

Spoon 1/4 of the mixture onto each tortilla.

Divide the cheese equally among the tortillas.

Fold the tortillas in half.
I have a panini grill/griddle, so I used that to cook the quesadillas. If you do not have one, just use the same saute pan you used to make the black bean mixture, just wipe it down well before! Coat with cooking spray and place two quesadillas on the griddle/pan. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until the cheese is melted. If using a griddle, I cooked them for about 5 minutes.  Repeat with remaining quesadillas.
Cut each quesadilla into three wedges. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

 

I was afraid this wouldn’t have much flavor, but the vinaigrette and slight spice from the green chilies added just enough interest without going over the top.  I couldn’t get enough of this dish!  The salsa was a perfect complement as well. I am definitely adding this to my list of repeat meals.

 

Fresh Salsa

I wanted to make quesadillas, and it called for salsa. I realized I had all of the ingredients needed to make my own on hand, so I decided to try coming up with my own salsa.

Ingredients:
3 chopped and seeded tomatoes
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic scape, finely chopped (or 2 garlic cloves)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup corn kernels (I just used frozen)

I have no clue why I put olive oil in the pic, sorry

To make the salsa,  first rinse the chopped onions under very cold water. This will help remove some of the bite associated with raw onions.

To seed the tomatoes, cut off one end of the tomato and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.

Dice the tomato.

Chop the scape as finely as possible

Cut the cilantro.

Combine the onions, garlic, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, corn, and salt. Allow to refrigerate for a few hours to get the best flavor, or overnight.

 

The corn will defrost in the fridge
There is nothing like fresh salsa. This recipe can be adapted to what makes you happy as well; feel free to add some jalapenos or another hot pepper to add some spice. As I’ve said before, a lot of color in a dish makes me so happy. The red, green and yellow brighten up the whole meal. There is enough flavor in this salsa to serve at a party with some tortilla chips, but I can’t wait to try it with my quesadilla!

 

Print
Fresh Salsa

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 3 chopped and seeded tomatoes
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic scape, finely chopped (or 2 garlic cloves)
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup corn kernels (I just used frozen)

Instructions

  1. To make the salsa, first rinse the chopped onions under very cold water. This will help remove some of the bite associated with raw onions.
  2. To seed the tomatoes, cut off one end of the tomato and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.
  3. Dice the tomato.
  4. Chop the scape as finely as possible
  5. Cut the cilantro.
  6. Combine the onions, garlic, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, corn, and salt. Allow to refrigerate for a few hours to get the best flavor, or overnight.
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Creamy Baked Penne and Chicken with Artichokes, Tarragon and Lemon

I have no idea why the concept of a food swap stresses me out so much. But trying to find a recipe for this month was so difficult! I finally found this recipe from a blog called The Bad Girl’s Kitchen; she has a whole section of freezer-friendly meals.
Ingredients (I was making 10 servings):
Salt
2 pounds penne
8 tablespoons olive oil
6 cans of artichoke hearts, rinsed and chopped
1 medium onion, minced
8 medium garlic cloves, minced  (about 8 teaspoons)
Zest from 1 lemon
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups heavy cream
2 pounds chicken thighs
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
16 ounces shredded Italian cheese blend (about 2 cups)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Ground black pepper
3 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon leaves
that’s quite a few ingredients

To cook the pasta, boil water in a pasta pot over high heat. Add a tablespoon of salt and the pasta and cook for 5 minutes (it will be very al dente– they will cook fully in the oven later). Drain pasta in a colander and toss with two tablespoons olive oil. Set aside.
Prep your artichokes, onion, and garlic.
In a large pot, heat 6 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the artichokes, onion, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook until the artichokes are lightly browned (about 10 minutes).
Add the garlic and lemon zest and cook for about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the broth, wine, and cream.
Add the chicken and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken registers 160 degrees.
Remove from heat and discard the bay leaves. Remove chicken and set aside to cool. When cooled, shred into bite-sized pieces. Stir the chicken back into the sauce, adding the pasta, peas, 2 cups cheese and lemon juice. Stir until combined and season with salt and pepper.
I transferred these into tupperware dishes. I included a freezer bag of cheese and put them in the freezer.
To cook, thaw the meal in the refrigerator (about 24 hours). Add to a casserole dish and top with the cheese.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover with aluminum foil sprayed with vegetable spray. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes.
Remove foil and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with tarragon and serve.
Whew. I heated up a tiny portion of this, just to make sure it was edible. Well, it was more than edible, it was really quite good! I was impressed with how much flavor was in the dish. Thanks for such a great recipe Bad Girl’s Kitchen!

Fontina-Stuffed, Bacon-Wrapped Dates

I honestly have no idea why some fresh dates caught my eye while I was shopping recently. Somehow, they ended up in my basket along with my usual ingredients: lemons, garlic, onions and peppers. I opened my fridge yesterday and realized my poor little dates were still sitting in there, so I decided today was the day to use them for a delicious appetizer I found on Brown Eyed Baker‘s site.
Ingredients:
An equal number of fresh dates, Fontina cheese, cut to fit inside the dates, and 4 inch pieces of Bacon
I made 6, using about 2 pieces of bacon
Preheat your broiler. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut the dates half open, making sure not to cut the date fully in half.
Wedge a piece of cheese within each date.
Wrap the bacon around the date, overlapping the ends and placing them on the bottom to keep closed.
Broil for about 5 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on them, broilers go from toasted to scorched in a matter of seconds.
That’s it! How easy. Not to mention, super tasty. The mix of salty bacon, sweet dates, and earthy cheese gives an almost buttery flavor to this appetizer. If serving this at a party, I’d suggest adding toothpicks so that guests can eat them a bit easier.

Curly Endive, Prosciutto & Mozzarella on Bruschetta

This week, I received curly endive as part of my CSA. Curly endive, also known as frisée (French for “curly”) is really not one of my favorites; it’s really quite bitter. I tend to usually push the endive to the side when it comes in a salad. I thought it was about time I gave this poor green a chance to enter my repertoire. I found this recipe on Food Network, a Giada De Laurentiis recipe.

Ingredients:
1 baguette, sliced into 10 pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
20 pieces of curly endive
1 7-oz ball of fresh water-packed mozzarella cheese, drained, cut into 10 thin slices
10 thin slices prosciutto
2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinaigrette

Ingredients for Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/8 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet. My baking sheets were dirty so I used a cake pan (whatever works). Brush the olive oil over the bread slices and bake until crisp, about 15 minutes.

Take 2 pieces of curly endive and 1 slice of cheese and wrap with one slice of prosciutto.

While waiting for the bread to finish, make your vinaigrette. Add all ingredients except the olive oil to a bowl and whisk.

Slowly add in the olive oil in a slow steady stream until emulsified.

When the bread is finished, arrange on a platter. Top each piece of bread with a prosciutto roll and drizzle with the vinaigrette.
The prosciutto and mozzarella work well with the bitterness of the endive. These would be a great appetizer at a party, assuming you’re willing to share. (Yes, it really is that tasty!)

Sauteed Salmon with Berry Butter Sauce and Roasted Potatoes

There was a restaurant near my college that served Sauteed Salmon with a Blackberry Butter Sauce and Red Bliss Potatoes. I loved this dish so much, I’m pretty sure I went once a week to eat it while they offered this dinner.

I had a bunch of raspberries and blackberries left over from the Berry Sangria and Berries with Lemon Mint Syrup, so I thought I’d attempt to recreate the recipe, adapting it into this Sauteed Salmon with Berry Butter Sauce and Roasted Potatoes.

Ingredients for Salmon

  • 2 eight ounce salmon fillets, with the skin still on
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Ingredients for Blackberry-Raspberry Butter Sauce

  • 1/4 cup raspberries
  • 1/4 cup blackberries
  • Juice from 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/3 cup white wine
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into chunks

Ingredients for Roasted Red Bliss Potatoes

  • 2 cups Red Bliss potatoes, quartered
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste
  • Cooking Spray

Continue reading Sauteed Salmon with Berry Butter Sauce and Roasted Potatoes

Berry Sangria

I have a bunch of fruit left over from my Berries with Lemon Mint Syrup. It’s a lovely warm weekend in Philadelphia which immediately made me think of sangria. What a perfect way to use more of these berries!

Ingredients:

  • A bowl full of mixed berries (strawberries, hulled, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries)
  • 1 1/2 cups of triple sec
  • 1 1/2 cups cranberry juice (I used cran-raspberry juice)
  • 1/2 cup simple syrup (left over from my Mojitos)
  • 1 bottle of white wine
  • 1-2 cups ginger ale or club soda, to taste
  • Ice cubes
  • Mint, optional

Continue reading Berry Sangria

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