Over the last few years, my husband and I have moved too many times. Since 2014, we have lived in five different apartments/houses. Somehow in one of those many moves, I lost (or threw out) my paella pan. Sigh.
Paella is a favorite of mine. I love the combination of crispy rice, seafood, and spice. So when I saw this Epicurious recipe for a sheet pan version, I knew I had to try it.
I didn’t exactly stick to the original recipe, given what I could find in my post-snow supermarket. But one of the best parts about paella is you can basically throw in whatever you may have on hand to make the recipe yours! So here’s my adapted version – Sheet Pan Paella!
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup rice
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon saffron, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
2 links of Spanish chorizo (about 6 oz)
1 shallot, thinly sliced
6 ounces medium shrimp, peeled, deviened, tails left intact
~2 dozen clams, scrubbed
1 (14 oz can) fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
Happy New Year! I’m a bit late in posting this recipe, but honestly, this comfort food Southern staple for Black Eyed Peas with Collard Greens makes for a delicious meal on any cold winter night.
Black eyed peas are a New Years Day staple in the South, as eating them on New Years Day is thought to bring you prosperity throughout the year.
This version is a bit of a fridge and pantry cleaner. Or, at least it was for me after hosting a New Years Eve party.
I used leftover sandwich rolls to make bread crumbs, leftover bacon from New Years Day morning, collard greens from a Blue Apron meal I forgot to make (oops), and then added in what was left of the onions, garlic, carrots and herbs I had on hand, which kind of turned this recipe into a cassoulet of sorts.
Ingredients:
1 cup dried black eyed peas
6 oz bacon, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced, divided
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 sprigs of rosemary, divided
4 sprigs of thyme, divided
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste
about 1 cup chopped day old bread (I used one sandwich roll)
This past Sunday was crum-my. It rained ALL day. So I was in comfort food mode. Along with making another batch of Lemony Red Lentil Soup, I decided to make a rice pudding recipe in my slow cooker, heavily inspired by Phyllis Good’s Stock the Crock recipe for Coconut Rice Pudding.
My version for Slow Cooker Coconut Rice Pudding uses a different flavor profile, so be sure to check out the original in the cookbook as well as the below. (I made another recipe from this awesome cookbook as well. Go check my post on Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala here.)
Rice Pudding is found in different forms around the world. It is eaten as a breakfast, dessert, or sometimes even dinner. Many countries have a version of rice pudding that is traditionally served for Christmas.
My version adds some of my favorite flavors to one yummy dish: coconut, rose water, cranberries, and pistachios.
You’ve probably noticed that I’m a huge fan of slow cooker recipes; I have almost 50 slow cooker recipes on this blog! Slow cooker meals work great for make ahead meals, feeding a crowd, and getting that “cooked-all-day” flavor.
I was sent Phyllis Good’s latest cookbook Stock the Crock, which is right up my alley. The cookbook has 100 delicious, tried-and-true recipes, plus 200 easy to follow variations for any dietary preference, such as gluten-free, paleo, vegan, etc.
There are a ton of awesome sounding recipes, but a recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala caught my attention. Gotta love a make-at-home takeout favorite!
This recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala is incredibly simple but really delivers on flavor.
Note: This post is sponsored by Moyer Beef. All opinions are mine alone.
It’s definitely still summer weather for the most part, but this past week, we’ve had a bit of a cool down in Philly. Which got me thinking about more fall inspired dishes.
Hashweh, or rice stuffing, is a wonderfully flavorful ground meat and rice dish that is perfect for fall weather (or honestly, any weather, it’s really tasty!)
The dish originates in the Middle East and is typically made with lamb or beef seasoned with spices including allspice and cinnamon, served with rice.
Most recipes also include toasted pine nuts with some also having a sweet dried fruit.
This dish is a nice comfort food option that comes together in roughly 30 minutes. The spice profile makes it really crave worthy!
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups white rice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
3 cups chicken broth
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 whole cloves
2 whole cardamom pods, smashed
1 lb ground beef (I used Moyer Beef’s 81% lean ground beef chuck)
I love love love this recipe for Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja. It’s a perfect slow cooker meal, which means dinner is ready for me when I come home from work.
Ropa Vieja translates to “old clothes,” referring to the shredded beef and colorful peppers in a tomato sauce with caramelized onions that resemble torn cloth. It’s a well-known Cuban dish, but its origins go back to Sephardic dishes in the Middle Ages.
This version has a bit more prep work to it to fully develop the flavors. Trust me, it’s worth it!
Tomorrow is one of my favorite events of the year: Flavors on the Avenue! I’ve written past posts about this event, but this year, they are switching things up a bit. The event, usually held under a tent, is coming out onto the street to make for what should be a pretty awesome five block street festival tomorrow, April 30 from noon to 5 pm. The event will be held around the Singing Fountain at the intersection of S 11th, Tasker and Passyunk.
Tickets aren’t required to attend the event, although they are strongly encouraged. Cost is $50 each and include all of the dishes, two glasses of beer or wine, and valet parking – a $130 value. You can also pay as you go; each dish will be priced at $3 to $6. Further details can be found here.
East Passyunk Avenue is known for its fantastic restaurants, and a bunch of them (27!) are participating in this event. There will also be free kids’ activities and a crafter’s market. Here is a list of participants and the food they will be serving: (note: options shown in photos above are in bold)
Bing Bing Dim Sum: Pork Buns, Corn Rangoon
Birra: Pizza slices, plain and pepperoni
Brigantessa: Chorizo Cotto with whipped ricotta and peas
Cantina los Caballitos: Tacos al Pastor, Elote, Classic and Cucumber Margaritas
Chhaya: Fried chicken and waffles, Iced coffee
El Sarape: Tacos al Pastor, Pina Coladas
Fond: Salmon Tartare with sesame, nori and avocado
Izumi: Pork Gyoza
Laurel: Chocolate egg cream pudding pops
Le Virtu: Octopus and chick pea salad
Mamma Maria: Cheese ravioli
Marra’s: Mozzarella pizza
Noir: Arancini balls, watermelon salad
Noord: Bitterballen (Dutch meatballs with nutmeg and mustard)
Paradiso: Arancini Di Riso
Perla: Pork Belly, Adobo with garlic rice
Plenty Cafe: Choripan (Traditional South African sandwich with chorizo, chimichurri, and pickled red onion on a baguette)
Will BYOB: Caramelized onion crepes, Banana and caramel crepes
I had the opportunity to go on a media tour a try a bunch of these bites. Noord’s Bitterballen remains one of my favorites (they serve it every year, and every year I love them). New to Flavors is Sate Kampar, and all of their offerings are fantastic! Absolutely go try the Achat, Sago Hula Melaka, and Chicken Sate.
One of the restaurants on the media tour was Brigantessa. If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my high praise for their Charred Ramp Arancini. They were absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, Brigantessa is not serving these for Flavors, but is serving Chorizo Cotto with Whipped Ricotta and Peas that sounds right up my alley as well. There will be plenty of arancini available though, a few restaurants are serving it.
I wanted to try my hand at making the Brigantessa Aracini, so here goes! I adapted this recipe to include charred ramps, which adds a slight onion flavor to the cheesy rice ball.
I’m fairly certain all avid cooks dream of the day they will receive their first piece of Le Creuset cookware or bakeware. Le Creuset products are also a staple on wedding registries. So when I was contacted to help spread the word that a Le Creuset store was opening in the King of Prussia Mall (outside Philadelphia) I absolutely wanted to get the word out. How exciting! I’m pretty pumped to visit it for the first time. The store is near the Macy’s; you can park and enter through the Orange Garage. (Address: 160 N Gulph Road • Suite C226A • King of Prussia, PA 19406)
To celebrate, the Le Creuset store hosted three separate events this past weekend, including bubbles bites with Yellow Springs Farm, a cooking demonstration with chef Ben Thomas, and sweet treats and coffee with Aux Petites Delices and La Colombe.
I was also sent a beautiful Rectangular Dish with Platter Lid, which is great for casseroles as well as for marinating in the dish and using the platter to serve.
To try it out, I decided to make a Filipino recipe I’ve been eyeing up for a while: Pork Belly Adobo. The recipe is pretty simple; you marinate the pork belly in a soy sauce marinade, brown the pork, and simmer in the marinade to finish cooking. But the result is fan-tas-tic.
Ingredients:
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
5 pounds boneless pork belly, cut into 2-inch pieces
Chelo Kebab or Chelow Kebab is a Persian dish made with steamed saffron rice and kebabs. This version parboils the rice which then browns in a large pan, covered with a cloth, and steams with a little bit of butter to deliver a crispy, golden crust.
The lamb kebobs are marinated for hours to lock in flavor. The result is probably one of my favorite dishes I’ve made recently; it’s well worth the morning prep to have an amazing dinner!
Ingredients:
Kebab:
2 onions, very finely chopped (or pureed)
2 garlic cloves, minced (or pureed)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
Chicken Yassa is a popular chicken dish originating from Senegal. This meal is the epitome of comfort food: marinated roasted chicken with onions, lemon juice, olives, garlic, and broth served over rice. It has a subtle heat to it as well that really makes for a flavorful meal.
This recipe makes quite a bit of food, a good 8 servings. However, in my house, leftovers this good don’t last very long!
My husband and I (obviously) love trying new and different recipes. Living in Philadelphia, we are lucky enough to have a pretty solid restaurant scene, covering quite a range of cuisines. So my interest is always peaked by a recipe I haven’t tried before that comes from a different part of the world and I can make at home, like this recipe for Cape Malay Curry.
Cape Malay Curry comes from Cape Town, South Africa. Beginning in the 17th century, slaves from Indonesia and Southeast Asia were brought to work the farms of Cape Town, South Africa. Known as Cape Malays, the name “Cape” is derived from the Cape of Good Hope and “Malay” refers to the community’s Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean ancestry.
The Cape Malay community has had a lot of influence on South African foods, particularly with the introduction of certain spices, hot sauces, and curries. This chunky beef stew is a sweet and savory curry dish, which reminds me a bit of my husband’s favorite meal, Slow Cooker Chicken and Chickpea Tagine, so I had a feeling we’d like this recipe.
This is definitely a weekend meal; it simmers on the stove for 2 hours. However, it could easily be multiplied to make a large batch and frozen for future meals.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons canola oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 bay leaves
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pound beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 1/4 cups less-sodium beef broth
1 cup chopped green bell pepper (about 1 medium)
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
1/3 cup apricot spread
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk (or coconut milk to make dairy-free)
This weekend, I cooked my little heart out. I realized Labor Day is only a couple of weeks away, so it’s time to stock my freezer with ready-made meals for busy nights in the fall, like this freezable Jambalaya!
One of my favorite things to throw on the grill are vegetables, something magical and delicious happens when vegetables are grilled. One night, we were doing a bit of a fridge cleaning meal and ended up with ingredients for chicken cacciatore — mushrooms, peppers, chicken, etc. But, we wanted to use my Coyote OutdoorGrill, so Grilled Chicken Cacciatore was born. I didn’t have 2 big enough grill-safe pots, so this entire recipe isn’t made on the grill, but it can be if you’d like!
(To see some of my other recipes I’ve made using my beloved grill, check them out here.)
I threw in some summer squash and zucchini too, because it’s summer and we had some in the fridge. Feel free to omit.
Ingredients:
For the grill:
2 bell peppers, any colors, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 (8 oz) container sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 summer squash, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
4 chicken breasts (or chicken tenders like I used)
4 chicken drumsticks
olive oil, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
For the stovetop (unless you have oven-safe pots):
Note: I was sent two jars of Herb ‘n Zest Cooking Sauces in order to make this Pumpkin Curry Chicken with Potatoes and Peas. All opinions are mine alone.
As someone who works full-time, my biggest requirement for a dinner option is that it can be made in under 40 minutes. By the time I get home, I’m ready to eat! Although it’s not usually too much of a problem, I rarely get the chance to make dinners with the depth of flavor brought to food when it is simmered over a stove for a while.
A local Philadelphia company, Herb ‘n Zest, is changing that. Their innovative condiments and sauces allow home cooks to add quick flavor to meals in no time. All products are fully cooked and can just be added to dishes as sauces or dips.
I was sent a jar each of Herb ‘n Zest’s two most popular sauces: Chive Tomato Cooking Sauce and Curry Pumpkin Cooking Sauce. The Chive Tomato Cooking Sauce is made with Jersey Fresh tomatoes sauteed with chives and spices in olive oil. while the Curry Pumpkin Cooking Sauce is a savory pumpkin sauce seasoned mildly with curry and sunflower seeds. Both sauces are also vegan, soy-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and use non-GMO ingredients.
I love love love pumpkin, so I knew I had to try that one first! I decided to make a chicken and potato curry with the sauce and serve it over coconut rice, resulting in this recipe for Pumpkin Curry Chicken with Potatoes and Peas. To make vegetarian/vegan, omit the chicken.
Want to try the sauces for yourself? Herb ‘n Zest is offering a great discount through my blog: 25% off the Home Chef Starter Pack with the code get25icancook! Just click the photo of the jars below and enter the code at checkout!
You can also enter their summer giveaway worth $50. Just take a picture of yourself with a jar of Herb 'n Zest, upload it to Instagram & tag the image with #herbnzest. The summer giveaway draw will happen on August 15, 2016, so be sure to purchase your jars soon!
Ingredients:
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ChineseNYeats #CollectiveBias
Next Monday begins the Year of the Monkey, according to the Chinese Lunar New Year calendar. Celebrations are held around the world, particularly in places with large Chinese populations, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Locally, Philadelphia’s Chinatown holds a bunch of different events to celebrate, including a parade and a midnight dance performance on the 8th.
My favorite place in the city, Reading Terminal Market, along with the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation, is featuring demonstrations of the cuisine and cultures of Asia next weekend. To get in the spirit, I decided to make one of my favorite Thai dishes: Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken.
This recipe comes together really quickly with the help of Minute Rice, Dole and Kikkoman.
For this recipe, I used White Minute Rice, Dole Pineapple Chunks, and Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce and Sriracha Sauce, which I picked up at my local Wegmans, which were found in the rice aisle, canned fruit aisle, and Asian foods aisle, respectively.
