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Category Archives: Cheese

Pepperoni Pizza Salad

Posted on August 31, 2010 by amydeline

My culinary muse is just over 3 feet tall and weighs in at about 34 pounds. He’s the pickiest eater of the bunch, yet has a knack for generating the most interesting recipe ideas, such as Ice Cream Pizza and Vanilla Soup. And then, last night at dinner, he started talking about Pizza Salad. It was perhaps, just a slip of the tongue, as he was awaiting a pizza with the option of salad on the side. But, my interest was piqued.

Little Muse

A moment later, my Pizza Salad plan was in place; chunks of pepperoni, fresh mozzarella, and grape tomatoes, tossed with romaine lettuce and dressed with a tomato-balsamic vinaigrette. As a finishing touch, I’d add Italian seasoned pizza crust croutons and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. The result; a salad oozing with Italian pizza flavors! My little muse is pure culinary genius, though he refused to taste even a bite of his creation.

Sometime later in the evening, my tiny inspiration came running at me from the dining room, where his child-sized pretend kitchen is arranged. He had a small plastic pan with a cover in his hands. He was clearly distressed. As he approached me, he lifted the lid on the pan to reveal a single green leaf of plastic lettuce. He was shouting, Oh no! I burned the salad! So, maybe the kid has got a little to learn about cooking, but at least he’s got ideas!

Pepperoni Pizza Salad

Ingredients

For the Dressing

  • 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1/8 cup Olive Oil
  • 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 1 tsp Minced Garlic
  • 5-7 Fresh Oregano Leaves, chopped
  • Salt
  • Crushed Red Pepper

For the Croutons

  • 1 Thick Prepared Pizza Crust
  • Olive Oil
  • Garlic Powder
  • Dried Parsley Flakes
  • Salt

For the Salad

  • Romain Lettuce, chopped
  • Small Cherry Tomatoes
  • Small Fresh Mozzarella Balls (Bocconcini)
  • Pepperoni, halved or quartered
  • Parmesan Cheese, grated

Directions

For the Croutons

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut a thick pizza crust into large crouton-sized pieces. Arrange in an even layer on a baking sheet. Spray or brush the bread cubes with a bit of olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, parsley flakes, and salt. Bake for about 12-15 minutes until the croutons are golden brown with a crispy exterior and slightly tender interior.

For the Dressing

Whisk to combine vinegar, oil, tomato paste, garlic, and oregano. Season with salt and crushed red pepper.

To Compose the Salad

Toss the romaine, tomatoes, mozzarella, and pepperoni in a small amount of dressing to lightly coat. Top with pizza crust croutons and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

6 Comments

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Warm Nut-Crusted Goat Cheese on Garlic Toasts

Posted on August 24, 2010 by amydeline

Oh, goat cheese. My dearest goat cheese. How I adore thee.

I’ve had goat cheese brain lately. Look it up; I swear it’s a real condition. My husband and I nearly drew swords at lunch in Chicago, when I couldn’t resist from ordering a salad, when we’d sat down with the intention of splitting a Chicago pizza. But there was goat cheese with the salad. Warm. Nut-Crusted. Goat Cheese.

The next day, I had it again. A huge mound of fluffy whipped goat cheese, served with a salad of mixed greens in herb vinaigrette with roasted golden beets and candied walnuts.

And here I am today, still salivating at the thought of goat cheese.

So, for today’s lunch, I made my own version of warm nut-crusted goat cheese on garlic toasts, which I served alongside a salad of mixed greens in a honey-balsamic vinaigrette with crumbled bacon and fresh raspberries. Heavenly lunch.

For the goat cheese, use a food processor to grind a bunch of walnuts until they reach a fine consistency. Cut a log of goat cheese into slices less than 1/2 inch thick. Running the knife under hot water prior to slicing will help the knife to glide through the soft cheese. Press the ground nuts onto both sides of the goat cheese rounds. Heat a bit of oil in a pan over medium heat. A vegetable or nut oil would work well. Place the nut-crusted goat cheese rounds in the pan and cook for a minute or two on each side until the nuts begin to brown and the cheese is slightly warmed.

For the garlic toasts, cut slices of bread. I used a French batard. Rub the bread with a cut garlic clove. Then, brush one side of each bread slice with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with a touch of salt. Place the bread slices under the broiler for a couple minutes until lightly toasted. Keep a close eye to prevent burning.

For the dressing, I made a basic balsamic vinaigrette with the addition of honey; about one part olive oil to two parts balsamic vinegar, a bit of dijon mustard, squeeze of honey, salt and pepper.

I added crumbled bacon and raspberries to my salad, but this dish would be equally delicious with many other additions, such as dried apricots, cherries, or cranberries, fresh pears or apples, chopped nuts, or prosciutto.

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Shrimp, Chorizo, and Pineapple Quesadillas

Posted on August 14, 2010 by amydeline

When I retrieved my ice cream maker from its hiatus in the basement, I told myself that I wouldn’t post too many ice cream related recipes. I recognize that not everyone has an ice cream maker lying around and I’d rather post recipes that don’t require any special equipment. I’m not doing a very good job of limiting the ice cream recipes though. It’s summer and I’m really enjoying the novelty of my ice cream maker. I’ve been finding myself dreaming of ways to use it. Some of my ideas are inarguably fantastic; others not so much. Last weekend, after a few glasses of wine, I was ready to whip out the machine to make some sort of Swedish Fish ice cream. I got some strange looks from the crowd, so we abandoned that mission. But I recently had another idea that I just had to try and since there was no one around to talk me out of it, I did. To make up for the fact that I’m sharing my third ice cream recipe in the past two weeks, I’m going to throw in a super simple, delicious bonus recipe which makes a easy, tasty dinner and requires no special equipment.

Remember earlier in the week when I mentioned the candy-sweet local corn, which I added to my pesto pasta with salmon and tomatoes? I wasn’t joking when I said it was candy-sweet. It seriously tastes like it’s been watered in syrup and grown in a bed of brown-sugar soil. I fed some to the kids and told them it was candy. They never paused for a second to question it. I’ve been dreaming about that corn ever since, plotting other ways to take advantage of its awesomeness. I wanted to use it as a dessert. It’s really that sweet. Sweet corn frozen custard came to mind.

Truth be told, this recipe was not a complete success. I contemplated whether I should share it or not, but I figured that if you’re crazy about corn, this recipe might be right up your alley. I fed a spoonful to my husband without telling him what it was and his reaction was less than enthusiastic. Confused would be the most appropriate description of the look on his face as he tried to process what he was tasting. His sentiments were that you can’t just feed people a bowl full of corn ice cream; that it needs to go with something. I agree. So, I made a homemade caramel sauce and served it with a graham cracker…sort of a caramel corn sundae, I suppose.

This frozen custard has a definite sweet corn flavor. The only added sweetener comes from a few tablespoons of honey. I used buttermilk to make up part of the cream base, sort of a play on my sweet honey cornbread with buttermilk, but I think the buttermilk was a mistake. The final custard was not nearly as creamy as I’d hoped. It had more of a firm, icy texture. I’m no ice cream making expert, but I suspect the iciness was a result of the buttermilk…perhaps a freezing point issue? If I were to repeat the recipe, I think I’d use an all cream base. Fairly certain that would produce a creamier result. The recipe I’m sharing with you excludes the buttermilk.

Summer Corn Frozen Custard

Ingredients

  • 3 Cobs of Sweet Corn
  • 2 cups Light Cream
  • 3 Tbsp Honey
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Egg Yolks, lightly beaten

Directions

Boil the corn for 8 minutes. Cool. Cut the kernels off of the cob. Save the cobs. Use a blender or food processor to blend the kernels with the cream, honey, and vanilla extract. Pour the mixture in a saucepan and add the corn cobs. You can break the cobs, if necessary, to fit in the pan. Heat the mixture, stirring often, until it begins to bubble. Remove from heat. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, pressing the mixture to remove all of the the corn-flavored cream. Add a small amount of the hot liquid to the egg yolks to temper the yolks. (Adding a small amount of the hot liquid allows the egg yolks to heat gradually and prevents them from scrambling.) Add the tempered egg yolk mixture to the hot cream. Return the mixture to a saucepan. Heat the mixture until it begins gently bubbling. Cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and refrigerate until it is completely cooled. Then, pour the mixture into your frozen ice cream bowl and freeze according to your machine’s directions. Serve with caramel, if desired.

Now, on to that super easy, super delicious, no-special-equipment-required recipe. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine sent me a message wondering if I had any ideas for how to make use of some chorizo she had on hand. Yum. Chorizo. I gave her a few general ideas at the time. And then I couldn’t get chorizo off the brain. Chorizo is a spiced pork sausage that is typically available as chorizo picante (spicy) or chorizo dulce (mild). Spanish chorizo is cured and can be eaten as is. My supermarket carries cured chorizo near the deli and cheese section. Chorizo is also available as a fresh sausage which you would probably find in the meat section of your supermarket. Fresh sausage needs to be cooked prior to eating. I love the combination of chorizo with seafood, especially shrimp. It occurred to me that both shrimp and chorizo would pair well with pineapple. So, I decided to put together some super fast Shrimp, Chorizo, and Pineapple Quesadillas. I’ll definitely be making these again.

Shrimp, Chorizo, and Pineapple Quesadillas

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Spanish Chorizo, chopped
  • 1 cup cooked salad-size Shrimp
  • 1/2 cup Pineapple, finely chopped
  • 2 cups Mexican Blend Cheese
  • 8 Flour Tortillas

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat the chorizo in a pan over medium heat until it begins to release its oil. Add the shrimp and pineapple. Stir to combine. When the shrimp and pineapple are warm, remove from heat. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup cheese onto each of four tortillas. Evenly distribute the chorizo, shrimp, pineapple mixture over the four tortillas. Top with another 1/4 cup cheese on each. Cover with the remaining four tortillas. Bake for about 10-12 minutes until the insides are hot and melty and the tortillas feel slightly crisp. Press down on the quesadillas about halfway through to help them melt together. Allow the quesadillas to cool for a minute or two before cutting.

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Pizza Dragon and Chairs of Stock

Posted on August 7, 2010 by amydeline

Childhood can be a confusing time. So many new experiences to take in, so much to learn about the world, the potential for confusion lurking around every corner. As a child, I remember the day our father told my sisters and I about the shares of stock which had been purchased for us. Our youthful minds heard chairs of stock. We continued the discussion with our father, he talking of the shares, we talking about chairs. Imagine our confusion when he tried to explain that our chairs were going to help us to pay for college. How in the world, we asked. Well, we could sell our shares, he explained. People will want to buy our chairs? Yes, he explained, people buy and sell shares all of the time. Hmm… We continued trying to process this whole chair thing. So, where do they keep all of our chairs? My father paused for a moment. We continued, Is there like a room somewhere filled up with our chairs? And, that’s when he realized we weren’t talking about the same thing.

Or take, for example, our first experience at Chuck E. Cheese. My family sat down and ordered some pizza and sodas. On the wall was a giant movie screen, the size of the wall. On it, the movie Pete’s Dragon was playing. Our parents told us the name of the movie. Between bites of our pizza, we heard Pizza Dragon. Eat pizza, watch Pizza Dragon. Made sense at the time. Took us a few years before we realized the movie was not actually Pizza Dragon.

Speaking of pizza, we’re having my signature pizza tonight. My brother in law is visiting and his top food request for the weekend was this very pizza. I’ve taken a Steak Bordelaise dinner; steak in a rich wine sauce with caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, and gorgonzola cheese; and I’ve turned it into a pizza. It’s the steak dinner you can eat with your hands. I told you I really enjoy handheld meals. You can use either, neither, or both mushrooms and onions on the pizza, depending on your preference. The best part is that all components of the pizza can be prepared ahead of time! This is a very hardy pizza, so it works well with a side of fresh salad.

P.S. There’s skirt steak on this pizza. Have I mentioned how much I love skirt steak??


Steak Bordelaise Pizza

Ingredients

For the Sauce

  • 1 cup Dry Red Wine
  • 1 Shallot, finely diced
  • 1 sprig Thyme
  • 2 cups Beef Stock
  • 1 Tbsp Cornstarch
  • 1 Tbsp Water
  • Salt and Pepper

For the Toppings

  • 1 Onion, chopped (optional)
  • 2 cups Mushrooms, sliced (optional)
  • 2 Tbsp Butter
  • 1 Skirt Steak (about 1/2 pound)
  • 1/2 cup Gorgonzola Cheese, crumbled
  • 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1 Thick Pizza Crust, homemade or store bought (12 inch diameter)

Directions

For the sauce, combine red wine, shallot, and thyme in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer until the sauce reduces by 3/4. There should be about 1/4 cup remaining. Add the beef stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce reduces by half. There should be about a cup remaining. Strain the sauce to remove the shallots and thyme. Return the sauce to the saucepan. In a small dish, combine the cornstarch with the water. Add a spoonful or two of the hot sauce. Stir to combine, then add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce. Simmer for another minute or two until the sauce thickens. Season with a little salt and pepper.

For the onions, heat 1 Tbsp butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions to the pan and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until they begin to lightly brown. Turn down the heat and cook for 10-15 minutes until the onions are soft and sweet.

For the mushrooms, heat 1 Tbsp butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes until the are soft and lightly browned.

For the steak, preheat an oven to 450 degrees. Place the steak on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut the steak into small bite-sized pieces.

To assemble the pizza, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread about 3/4 cup of the sauce over the pizza crust. Evenly distribute the steak over the sauce. Add the onions and/or mushrooms. Sprinkle with gorgonzola and mozzarella cheeses. Bake for about 15 minutes. Let the pizza cool for a few minutes before slicing.

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Cheese Please!

Posted on August 6, 2010 by amydeline

It’s wine and cheese night over here! Family and friends have gathered and we’re ready to eat cheese! Earlier today I shared my recipes for three olive tapenade variations.

Enjoy the tapenades on their own or pair with cheese. Olive tapenade is especially delicious with feta cheese. Spread it on a baguette or make little tartlettes like these…

Simply buy a package of phyllo/fillo tartlette shells, fill with a bit of cheese, top with tapenade and bake in a 375 degrees oven for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is warm and delicious. You can make these tartlettes a hundred different ways. Try gorgonzola with finely diced dried apricots and prosciutto, brie with fig preserves or a cranberry chutney, or cheddar with poached pear and perhaps a piece of ham. The options are truly infinite. So easy and delicious!

Fresh Tomato and Mozzarella with Basil Pesto


Fresh tomato and mozzarella always works well for a wine and cheese night. There are many different ways to present the dish. Tonight, I arranged the tomato and mozzarella in overlapping rings. Then, I drizzled the plate with fresh basil pesto. Alternately, you can layer fresh basil leaves with the tomato and mozzarella and drizzle the dish with balsamic vinaigrette. Serve with a platter of sliced baguette and let your guests create their own Caprese appetizers.

For the basil pesto, I made a very slightly modified version of my regular pesto. This version simply contains a bit more olive oil and is blended longer so it has a consistency more like a dressing than a sauce. You can use the same recipe to create a spread or sauce for pasta by blending less and using a little less oil.

Basil Pesto Dressing

Ingredients

  • Big Bunch of Basil (about 2 cups Basil Leaves)
  • 1/4 cup Pine Nuts
  • 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
  • 1 Tbsp Garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup Olive Oil (plus more, if necessary)
  • Salt and Pepper

Directions

Pull the basil leaves off of the stem.  Place in a food processor and pulse slightly, giving the leaves a coarse chop. Add all other ingredients, except the oil, and mix until well blended. Gradually incorporate the oil until you reach your desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Baked Brie en Croute


We’re big fans of brie around here. One of my favorite ways to serve brie when we have guests is wrapped in puff pastry. It’s a simple preparation which makes an elegant presentation. You can wrap the brie on its own or pair it with preserves, dried fruits, spreads or nuts. Simply thaw one puff pastry sheet, which you can usually find in the frozen foods section of your grocery store. Spread a small circle of preserves or the filling of your choice in the center. Place an 8 ounce round of brie on top of the preserves. It’s not necessary to remove the rind from the brie. Wrap the puff pastry around the brie. Cut off any excess pastry. Lightly beat an egg with a splash of water. Brush a little on the seam side. Place the wrapped brie seam-side down on a baking sheet. Brush with the egg mixture. Bake in a 400 degrees oven for about 20 minutes. Serve with baguette.


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Tapenade Three Ways

Posted on August 6, 2010 by amydeline

Earlier in the week, my sister sent me a message to let me know she’d be coming over for wine tonight. Ok. Two days later I received another message, which read simply, Tapenade, please. This is how my family functions. I love that about my family. So tonight, we’re having a wine and cheese gathering. I’ll be making a few of  my favorite tasty cheese preparations; brie and peach preserves wrapped in puff pastry, goat cheese on baguette with fresh strawberries and almonds, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes with a basil pesto, and feta tartlettes with tapenade. There will also be pizza and charbroiled wings from a local pizza shop, as requested by my visiting brother-in-law.

My tapenade-craving sister is in for a treat. Not only am I making the traditional olive tapenade she’s requested, but I’m also preparing two other tapenade variations. The beauty of tapenade is that it’s almost impossible to mess up. Pulse some olives in a food processor with a bit of garlic, splash of lemon juice, pinch of rosemary, a touch of other flavors. Add a drizzle of olive oil and pulse until it seems right. That’s about all there is to it. In addition to the basic olive tapenade, I’m making a sundried-tomato tapenade and a fig and black olive tapenade. Tapenade is delicious spread on slices of baguette on its own or paired with cheese. It also makes a great sandwich spread!

Basic Olive Tapenade


Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups Mixed Olives, pitted
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 1 tsp Rosemary Leaves, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp Capers
  • 1 Tbsp Parsley
  • 2 tsp Mustard
  • 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
  • 1/4-1/2 cup Olive Oil

Directions

Add all ingredients except olive oil to a food processor. Pulse until it begins to form a chunky paste. Add olive oil a little at a time and pulse until the tapenade reaches your desired consistency. (I prefer to leave it a bit chunky, but a fine spread consistency is also appropriate.) Taste and adjust seasoning, if desired.

Sun-dried Tomato Tapenade


To make a sundried tomato tapenade, follow the same recipe as above, plus add 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes. Use the type which is found jarred in oil (drain the oil) or rehydrate dried tomatoes prior to adding.

Fig and Black Olive Tapenade


Follow the Basic Olive Tapenade recipe above, only use all black olives (Nicoise, Lyon, or Greek) and add 3/4 cup of dried Black Mission figs, which have been rehydrated by simmering in water until tender, about 20 minutes. (Inspired by Carrie Brown’s recipe as found on David Lebovitz’ blog, here.)

More pics and details about the other cheese dishes coming up later~

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White Garlic Lasagna

Posted on August 4, 2010 by amydeline

For as much as I love food and all things food-related, there are whole worlds of food content that I’m entirely clueless about. Take, for example, the presence of a food blogging community. Prior to beginning my own blog, I had no idea that such a community of like-minded individuals existed. I emphasize the word, community, because it truly describes the support and camaraderie which exists amongst this group of food-lovin’, food-writing, food-photo-taking people.

And it’s through this group of food-focused people, that a whole other world of food knowledge has been opened for me. I’m talking about the world of food holidays; national days of observance devoted to food. Take, for example, September 26, which is National Corned Beef Hash Day or October 8 which is National Fluffernutter Day. And you can bet your bippy I’ll be celebrating National Bagels and Lox Day when February 9 rolls around. I found out, only after reading another food blogger’s blog, that yesterday was National Watermelon Day. I did an inner dance of joy for the accidental appropriateness of yesterday’s Watermelon Roll post. Then I started probing around for more information about food holidays, cause I’m all over the idea of celebrating food. And I found this link, with a comprehensive list of food holidays.

Turns out that today is Nationa Lasagna Day. How in the world is a girl supposed to let a special day like this go by without a little celebration? So, tonight I’m making a lasagna inspired by my favorite kind of pizza in the whole world; white garlic. My husband and I clash heads on this topic almost every time we order pizza. He asks what kind of pizza I want. I say White Garlic. He says Bleh. Occasionally he’ll agree to a garlic pizza, as long as we add some crumbled sausage on top. But I could eat white garlic pizza every time and never miss the tomato sauce.

You won’t miss the tomato sauce in this lasagna either. For the sauce, I made a basic white sauce, with the addition of minced garlic and a bit of asiago cheese. I could eat bowls full of this garlicky sauce as if it were soup. It would be seriously fantastic over pasta. Then, I threw a bit more garlic in the spinach mixture so the lasagna is absolutely oozing with garlic. For my hubby, I added some spicy Italian sausage to the lasagna, but it would totally work without it. I truly love how this lasagna came out. It’s like having a slice of garlic pizza, between noodles of lasagna.

Happy National Lasagna Day!

White Garlic Lasagna

Ingredients

  • 3 Hot Italian Sausages
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 box No-Boil Lasagna Noodles
  • 1 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded*
  • 1/2 cup Fontina Cheese, shredded

    • For the Spinach Mixture

    • 1 16 oz package Frozen Chopped Spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
    • 1 15 oz container Ricotta Cheese”
    • 2 tsp Garlic, minced
    • 1/4 tsp Salt
    • 1 egg, lightly beaten

    For the Garlic Sauce

    • 3 Tbsp Butter
    • 1 Tbsp Garlic, minced
    • 3 Tbsp Flour
    • 2 cups Milk”
    • 1/2 cup Asiago Cheese, shredded
    • 1/2 tsp Salt
    • 1/8 tsp Cayenne
    • Pinch of Nutmeg

    *Reduced fat cheeses and milk would work fine with this recipe.

    Directions

    Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray. Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a skillet. Remove the sausage meat from the casings. Add the sausage meat to the hot skillet and cook until fully-cooked, using a spoon to break it into small pieces. Set the cooked sausage aside.

    Combine the spinach with the ricotta cheese, minced garlic, and salt. Stir in the lightly beaten egg. The egg will help to bind the spinach-ricotta mixture.

    In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the 1 Tablespoon minced garlic to the butter. Cook for about two minutes. Add the flour to the mixture and stir. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Bring to a simmer and continue cooking for 4-5 minutes, until the milk begins to thicken. Turn down the heat. Add the asiago cheese, salt, cayenne, and nutmeg. Stir to combine.

    Spread a very thin layer of the sauce into the prepared baking dish. Lay 3 no-boil lasagna noodles over the sauce. Spread half of the spinach mixture on top of the noodles. Sprinkle with half of the sausage. Drizzle with about a third of the sauce. Lay 3 more lasagna noodles on top. Spread the other half of spinach mixture. Sprinkle the other half of sausage. Drizzle another third of the sauce. Lay 3 more lasagna noodles on top. Drizzle with the remaining third of sauce. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and fontina cheeses. Cover the baking dish with foil. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes. Remove the foil. Bake for 10-15 more minutes, until the top begins to brown. Remove from the oven and wait 5 minutes before cutting.

    White Garlic Lasagna

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    The Hangover Burger

    Posted on August 1, 2010 by amydeline

    Thought I was so slick. Went down to the grocery store Friday night and picked up all the things I would need for tonight’s dinner. The supermarket was quiet, peaceful, a virtual oasis of food; unlike on summer weekends, where it transforms into a frenzied circus of activity. But I was ever so clever and got it all taken care of Friday night.

    Then, I woke up this morning, not so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed; the result of a small child who decided to start his day at 5:00am. I made the kids their breakfast, tended to the labrosaurus rex, and started the coffee. I had a hankering for some eggs in a hole; the dish my mom used to call Rocky Mountain Breakfast. So I heated a little butter in a pan, removed the centers from my bread, cracked the eggs into the middle, and fried them up. Then I sat down to enjoy my delicious breakfast.

    Boy, did it hit the spot! I could have eaten two more, but I’d used the last of the eggs. I sat there, lingering over the last bite and then it struck me. Right smack in the middle of my head. I’d intended to use those eggs for tonight’s dinner. Foiled again by my overwhelming food cravings!! So much for avoiding the supermarket on the weekend.

    Tonight’s dinner is an indulgence; a guilty pleasure. You’d better start running in place right now, cause it’s going to take some work to burn off the calories in this one. It might be a good idea to have your blood pressure checked before consuming. It will be worth it though.

    Austin Grill, a Maryland based Tex-Mex restaurant has a burger on their menu called The Hangover Burger. I’m not exactly sure whether this burger is intended to be the cure or the cause of the hangover. But, lordy, lordy is this a good one! I ordered it once and dreamed about it forever after. The burger features a beef patty, smothered with chili, bacon, queso, roasted jalapeño peppers, and a fried egg. It’s the egg that really does it for me!

    Tonight, we’re having my version of The Hangover Burger. Once, you’ve made the chili, there’s really nothing to it, besides putting the pieces together. Here’s how it’s done…

    Austin Grill-Inspired Hangover Burger

    Ingredients

    • Burger Patties
    • Hamburger Buns or Hard Rolls
    • Bacon
    • Chili Con Queso
    • Chili*
    • Eggs
    • Butter
    • Jalapeño Pepper
    • Salt and Pepper

    *For my easy recipe for Spicy Beef Chili, click here.

    Directions

    Cut the jalapeño in half. Remove the seeds and ribs. Roast in a 300 degree oven for about 45 minutes, until softened. When cool enough to handle, cut into small pieces. Set aside. Cook the bacon and place a few slices on each bun. Season the burgers with salt and pepper. Grill or broil the burgers to your preferred doneness. While the burger is cooking, warm the chili and queso. Place the cooked burgers on top of the bacon. Top with a spoonful of chili and a spoonful of warm chili con queso. Sprinkle with the roasted jalapeño peppers. Top with a freshly fried egg.

    Serve with a side of steamed broccoli, to make yourself feel better about eating the burger.

    I foresee many salads in my future.

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    Some Chili with that Cornbread??

    Posted on July 28, 2010 by amydeline

    Wow! What a whirlwind blogging day this became! I was so thrilled to find myself on WordPress’s Freshly Pressed today. It’s exciting to know that there are people out there who are enjoying what I’ve been posting. Thank you so much for all of the wonderful feedback! I’ve been smiling all day. I’d also like to thank Netflix Instant Streaming for entertaining the kiddies while I’ve played in the blogosphere and chatted about cornbread all day.

    In light of my day trip to the big time, my sister thanked me for changing the world with my blog. (I sense a touch of sarcasm in her comment.) But, you’re welcome, sis. It’s been my lifelong ambition to change the world, one pan of cornbread at a time.

    The cornbread recipe was actually just Part 1 of 2. The main course tonight is the chili. But I have to be honest about the chili. The only reason I’m making chili tonight is because I want to use the leftovers for another recipe I’m working on. Poor neglected chili, upstaged by the cornbread and brought into this world with the intention of being leftover.

    Regardless of its inception, it’s good chili; worthy of praise in its own right. I have a secret ingredient. I’ve swooned over skirt steak before for its wonderful flavor and texture in quesadillas and sandwiches. And I’m going to swoon over it again today for the intense beefy flavor and delicious chewy tidbits it adds to my chili; ever so pleasing to eat. If you can’t get your hands on skirt steak, flank or hanger steak would make suitable substitutions.

    Besides the skirt steak, this is a pretty basic, spicy beef chili recipe. As with most of the things I cook, the ingredient list is limited and focuses on the flavors that matter. We like our food pretty spicy over here, but you can adjust the seasonings to suit your tastes. (If you like it super spicy, throw a pureed chipotle in the mix.) If you’re cooking for kids, set a bit of milder chili aside before you season for yourself. Serve this chili with a side of my Sweet Honey Cornbread or over a bowl of macaroni.

    The Gourmand Mom’s Spicy Beef Chili

    Ingredients

    • 1/2 pound Skirt Steak
    • Salt and Pepper, for seasoning steak
    • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
    • 2 cups Onion, diced (about 1 Large Onion)
    • 1 Tbsp Garlic, minced
    • 1 Jalapeno Pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely diced
    • 1 pound Ground Beef
    • 1 1/2 Tbsp Chili Powder
    • 1 tsp Salt (plus more, if desired)
    • 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper (plus more, if desired)
    • 2 cups Crushed Tomatoes
    • 1 can Kidney Beans, slightly drained

    Directions

    Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the skirt steak on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Place on the middle rack of the oven and cook for about 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut the steak into small pieces. Set aside.

    In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3-5 minutes, until slightly transparent. Add the garlic and jalapeno. Cook for a few minutes more. Add the ground beef and cook until completely brown, using a spoon to break it up as it cooks. Once the ground beef is fully cooked, add the bits of skirt steak and any juices that have leaked from the steak. Add the chili powder, cayenne and salt and stir to combine. Cook for a minute or two. Add the crushed tomatoes and the kidney beans. Stir to combine. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, until all ingredients are heated through and the flavors have mingled. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and cayenne, as desired.

    Serve with cornbread, rice, or macaroni. Top with cheese, scallions, or sour cream if desired.

    Leftovers freeze and reheat well. Keep a lookout for an upcoming recipe which will feature the leftover chili.

    11 Comments

    Posted in Beef, Cheese, Food, Main Course and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

    Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

    Posted on July 26, 2010 by amydeline

    Today’s a very special day! Right now, at this very moment, you are reading my 100th blog post! Wow! One hundred posts! Where in the world did the time go? It seems like just yesterday that I was spending all of my free time tending to my imaginary mafia.

    Change a diaper. Beg for untraceable cell phones and illegal transaction records. Play legos. Save up enough Thai Baht to buy a Nguhea Sniper Rifle. Clean up the play-doh that’s been rubbed into the carpet. Try to collect the last faberge egg for my Moscow collection. Console a crying baby. Spend 24 million rubles on a musk ox. All in a day’s work.

    Then, I abandoned my mafia and entered the blogosphere. Now I alternate between toys, cooking, temper tantrums, food photography, snuggling, recipe writing, laundry, editing, bath time, and menu-planning. I suppose that being The Gourmand Mom is a much more productive role than Mafia Wars Mom.

    So, you may be wondering what else has changed during these past 100 posts.

    Well…

    Writing recipes feels a whole lot easier than the first few posts that I fumbled through. I hope they’ve become easier for you to follow.

    I’ve baked more bread products than I ever did in my pre-blog life. In fact, I had to buy a new cover for my dining room table, since the old cover seemed to be harvesting yeast which my three year old so kindly scattered across the table.

    I’ve gained back a couple of the pounds I worked so hard to lose. Going to have to fix that. But it’s been for a good cause and I had fun doing it. Perhaps I can file for some sort of blogger’s compensation for my troubles?

    My love of cooking has been completely reinvigorated.  Having a forum for sharing recipes and stories about food has been truly fulfilling for me. Thank you for being my audience.

    Having an audience has forced me to add even more variety to my cooking. Since I’m guessing you don’t want to read about the same recipes every week.

    My children have become the most skilled toddler sous chefs. I think I need to find little aprons and chef’s hats for them.

    Through practice, my photography has become more purposeful. Now, rather than taking a hundred pics to get five that are post-worthy, I take about fifty. Though I’m still quite the novice photographer, I’m getting better at judging lighting and approximating camera settings.

    It’s been a fun hundred posts. I’m looking forward to writing a hundred more!

    In honor of such a momentous occasion, I’ve been saving something special for you. My favorite food in the whole world is macaroni and cheese (or ‘Ronis and Cheese, as my little guy calls it). And I don’t discriminate. I love ALL macaroni and cheese, whether it’s frozen, from a box, or made fresh from the finest cheeses. I like it baked or creamy. I like it smothered with cheese and bread crumbs or not. Just give me any macaroni and some form of cheese and I’m a very happy girl.

    Today is a special day though, so a special macaroni and cheese is in order. And I’ve got just the thing to turn something sort of pedestrian into something elegant and worthy of a celebratory meal. That’s right… Lobster!! Lobster makes everything fancy. Now, once we throw lobster into the mix, we need to pay special attention to the cheese selection. Now would NOT be the time for American cheese or Velveeta. They’ve certainly got their place in the world of mac and cheese, but it’s definitely not here. Now’s the time for smooth cheese with grown-up flavor. I’m using three of my all time favorite cheeses; Gruyere, Fontina, and Brie. You can substitute other cheeses, if desired. Try gouda, chevre, provolone, asiago, or sharp cheddar.

    Our sauce starts as a basic Bechamel Sauce, which is simply a white sauce, made with milk that is thickened with a roux. (Check out my roux guide by clicking here.) The thickened milk is then seasoned with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Bechamel is one of the five French mother sauces, meaning that many other sauces can be made with a base of bechamel. To our bechamel, we’ll melt in the delicious cheeses. Finally, we’ll toss the macaroni with the sauce and warm lobster meat. If you feel like racing lobsters, go ahead and buy some live lobsters, steam them, and collect the meat. Or, do as I did and buy a container of frozen lobster meat. You grocery store may also sell lobster tails, which can be steamed.

    Before we get to the recipe, I want to let you in on a little secret. I made the macaroni and cheese on Saturday when we had people over. And I actually sort of botched it. Not a complete botch, but a definite error of convenience. My prime focus at the time, was on the burgers. My intention was to submit the burger recipe for a contest. So, I wanted to be able to devote all of my attention towards working out the timing and flavor balance of the burger components. Then the storm came, which totally turned the burger plan upside down. Anyway, I prepared the macaroni and cheese earlier in the afternoon and stuck it in a baking dish, figuring that I’d bake it in the oven to reheat with a little extra cheese melted on top. As I should have anticipated, the pasta drank up most of the sauce during the baking. It was still very flavorful, but not the creamy mac and cheese I’d intended.

    Never fear though. The recipe I’m writing for you does not include a baking step. So, your macaroni and cheese will be creamy and delicious. If you do want to prepare it ahead of time, I’d recommend tossing the pasta with just a bit of sauce. Then, refrigerate the bulk of the sauce and the pasta separately. You can reheat both and combine, along with the lobster, when you’re ready to eat.

    This is good, good stuff. If there were a way to send food through the world wide web, I’d send you each a taste and a glass of celebratory champagne. But since that’s not possible yet, I’ll share my recipe instead. Then you can whip yourself up a batch of fancy ‘Ronis and Cheese.

    Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

    Ingredients

    • 1 box Pasta, such as Campanelle
    • 1/2 cup Gruyere
    • 1 cup Fontina
    • 1/2 cup Brie
    • 3 cups Milk
    • 3 Tbsp Butter
    • 3 Tbsp Flour
    • 1/8 tsp Nutmeg
    • 1/8 tsp Cayenne
    • 1/2 tsp Salt
    • 1 pound Lobster Meat

    Directions

    Cook the pasta al dente, according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside. In the same pot that you cooked the pasta, whisk the butter and flour together over medium heat. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. This is your roux for thickening the milk. It should have a pasty consistency. Remove the roux with a spatula and set aside. Add the milk to the pot. Bring the milk to a simmer. Then, begin to whisk in the roux, whisking until smooth. Allow the milk to simmer with the roux for a few minutes until it begins to thicken. Whisk constantly. Add the nutmeg, cayenne, and salt. Turn down the heat to low. Add the cheese and stir until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if desired. Add the lobster meat and the cooked pasta to the hot sauce. Stir for a minute or so until it’s well combined and hot.

    I hope you’ve been enjoying this blog during these first one hundred posts. Let me know how you’ve liked it so far and if there’s any way I can serve you better! Thanks for reading!

    12 Comments

    Posted in Cheese, Food, General Rambling and Such, Main Course, Sauces, Seafood, Things I Love and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
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