This is my first recipe post in a LONG TIME. It’s not that we don’t cook–we actually cook more now, and my lack of restaurant posts is testament to that–but we don’t do much that’s really interesting or experimental. However, we got some really awesome kitchen tools as wedding gifts so maybe that will change! Now, this super easy steak marinade I found on Allrecipes.com was SO good I ate the steak strips for both lunch and dinner (as salad and then inside a pita). Mario nearly fought me for the leftovers. Part of the appeal was the super tender sirloin “stir fry strips” I found at Publix, but the flavor of the marinade was also really amazing.

Steak Salad

My salad was just bagged spring mix topped with the warm steak strips and some Marzetti Simply Dressed Greek Feta dressing I received through the fine folks at Foodbuzz (my ad provider) from Marzetti. I love feta cheese and try to put it everywhere I can (the aforementioned dinner steak pita was topped with feta), so I chose this yummy Greek dressing over some of the other varieties available in the new all-natural dressing line–like Ginger Sesame, Blue Cheese, and Pomegranate. The cool dressing and warm steak were perfection together!

I think that constitutes my “full disclosure”, so here’s the marinade recipe:

I halved this for the 1lb of sirloin strips we had, and since I was just working with thin and already tender strips, I just went with a quick sauté (the stir-frying they were meant for) instead of grilling.

Savory Garlic Marinated Steak, Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 (1/2 pound) rib-eye steaks

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix the vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, honey, olive oil, ground black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, salt, liquid smoke, and cayenne pepper.
2. Place steaks in a shallow glass dish with the marinade, and turn to coat. For optimum flavor, rub the liquid into the meat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.
3. Preheat grill for medium-high to high heat.
4. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill steaks 7 minutes per side, or to desired doneness. Discard leftover marinade.

Here’s a quick recipe to use the delicious strawberries that are starting to show up in stores now that their season is coming around. The actual salad is a no-brainer: mix sliced strawberries and torn spinach leaves. I really love what the tangy sesame balsamic vinaigrette does for the salad, and I think some blue cheese crumbles would be an excellent addition. A number of commenters on the recipe I adapted this from also say slivered almonds or walnuts are great on this salad too.

Spinach & Strawberry Salad

Sesame Balsamic Vinaigrette

2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons minced onion

Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk together. I halved the amount of sugar–1/4 c. is a lot and those strawberries are perfectly sweet anyway. You can also play with the amounts of balsamic and white vinegar (go all one way or all the other, if you want) and let this sit for maybe 30 minutes for all the flavors to blend nicely. I keep most of these items in my pantry regularly, but I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t have an onion in my house when I made this and had to use *gasp* onion powder. I think I still achieved the desired flavor without the pieces of minced onion.

It has been a looong time since I posted a recipe to the site! Not that I haven’t been cooking, I just haven’t been cooking anything particularly interesting (sad, I know). But, this recipe is an excellent way to get back in the swing of things: Tyler Florence‘s Ultimate Chicken Salad.

Ultimate Chicken Salad

Tyler’s recipe actually lives up to the “ultimate” moniker, incorporating cranberry sauce, brie, and sliced apples, but the chicken salad on its own is pretty ultimate too.

As a plug for my ad provider Foodbuzz and Nature’s Pride Bread, the bread pictured was sent to me to try on the house by Nature’s Pride. I used their OvenClassics Oatmeal bread, which was delicious and stood up to any juices from the chicken salad.

If you look at the recipe, there seem to be a ton of ingredients and prep involved. This is because Mr. Florence goes the extra mile and poaches his chicken. Being the shortcut queen that I am, I went out and bought and broke down a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store instead. This saves about an hour in prep and cook time, While you may sacrifice a little juiciness that poaching would impart, you still get good flavor from the chicken.

So, my simplified version of the recipe is just making the chicken salad, which takes all of maybe 10 minutes and makes for a fabulous sandwich.

• 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• Kosher salt
• About 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 celery stalks, small diced
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves plus sprigs, for garnish
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups shredded chicken meat, roughly chopped

Toast the walnuts in a pan over medium heat to release their flavor. Meanwhile, mix mayo, Dijon mustard, lemon, diced celery, chopped parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl. Fold in your shredded chicken and toasted walnuts. That’s. It. I love the crunch and flavor from the celery and walnuts, something you don’t always get in chicken salads (they often seem to just be mushy messes). I got ~3 cups of chicken from my grocery store chicken, and with the increased quantities of all ingredients I was able to make about 5 sandwiches.

Get the full recipe (poached chicken, cranberry, brie, and all) here.

Last week I picked up a large bag of cherries at the farmers’ market. As much as I love to just stand over the sink and spit pits as I eat, I have managed to hold off on demolishing the bag (read: I only eat every third cherry while I’m pitting them) long enough to make this simple, delicious dessert.

Balsamic Cherries over Ice Cream

This is an adaptation of a healthy dessert idea from Ellie Krieger. Unfortunately, it does not include ice cream in its original form. To practice portion control, I use the small party cups of vanilla ice cream I used to eat at birthdays. The balsamic cherries lend a slightly sweet and tart topping, and making them is a snap.

For the balsamic cherries, simply halve and pit a topping-sized portion–I usually use somewhere around 10 cherries, and that’s pretty generous–and add to a small saucepan along with about a tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Since cherries are in season right now and are therefore at their most sweet, you can get away with a lot less sugar than a tablespoon if you’d like. Stir the 3 ingredients together and bring them to a boil over medium heat. Then let them simmer for about 5 minutes more. Let them cool a little, then pour the cherries and balsamic sauce over ice cream.

Original recipe here.

Artichokes are scary. They’re spiny, difficult to break down, and it seems like you toss more than you eat. Artichokes are also delicious. Which led me to face my fear of swollen, artichoke-stabbed hands, and try making Giada De Laurentiis’ recipe for baked artichokes:

Baked Artichoke

I won’t say that my first time prepping an artichoke was easy, but it was doable. The instructions from the recipe and my copy of Joy of Cooking helped a lot. I also found this lovely instructional video for those of you who are feeling adventurous also.

The beginning of this recipe only goes about halfway through the prep process before boiling the artichokes in lemon water. I don’t think removing the choke before boiling would make much difference, and maybe it’s just easier to remove after the artichokes have been cooked a bit. So while the artichokes are boiling away, mix up an herby/cheesy sauce of Gorgonzola, cream, thyme, parsley, garlic, and S&P. Once the cooked artichokes have cooled down, finish the prep process by removing the choke and stuff the cheese into the center of each artichoke. Place the stuffed artichokes in a baking dish, sprinkle them with seasoned breadcrumbs, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 25 min at 400F.

Clearly, the hardest part of this recipe is prepping the artichokes! These make a delicious and impressive-looking appetizer. For those unfamiliar with whole cooked artichokes, not only can you eat the tender heart in the center, but you can pull out and eat the bottoms of the remaining leaves, which work especially well as a delivery vehicle for the creamy Gorgonzola stuffing.

Baked Artichokes with Gorgonzola and Herbs
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis, foodnetwork.com

Ingredients
Salt
4 artichokes
3 lemons, plus 1 lemon
10 ounces mild Gorgonzola cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons cream
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus 1 tablespoon
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Trim the artichokes by cutting off the top 1-inch or so. Cut the stem close to the base of the artichoke so the artichoke can sit up straight, and remove some of the bottom leaves. Using kitchen shears, trim the sharp points off of any remaining outer leaves. Add the artichokes to the boiling water. Halve the lemons and squeeze the juice into the boiling water. Toss in the lemons. Cook the artichokes until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain the artichokes and let cool.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl stir together the Gorgonzola, cream, thyme, 2 teaspoons parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. In another small bowl stir together the bread crumbs and remaining 1 tablespoon of parsley.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove the center choke of the artichokes using a small spoon. Stuff the cheese mixture into the center of the artichokes. Place the artichokes into a baking dish. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top of the artichokes. Drizzle the tops of the artichokes with olive oil. Bake until the artichokes are heated through, the cheese is melted, and the bread crumbs are crisp and golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer the artichokes to a serving dish and serve.

I don’t eat a lot of eggs. And I know I totally should, but aside from scrambling them or making an omelette, I never really know what to do. Recently though, I bought a carton of eggs to bake with and decided to try my hand at making a frittata (basically a baked omelette) with the leftovers. I found a recipe for one combining some flavors I like and jumped in:

Goat Cheese, Prosciutto, and Caramelized Onion Frittata

My frittata came out thinner than I was expecting (I was expecting something like a layer cake), but this was likely just due to the size of my pan. And who cares about the thickness when it’s delicious??

Making a frittata is not as difficult as I was expecting. Not only is it sorta like an unfolded omelette, it’s pretty much the same as making one too. This recipe starts with caramelizing onions, which are used as a topping here. I think they would have been better as part of the frittata though.

Once the onions are done cooking (which can take anywhere from 20 min to an hour), or even while they’re cooking, whisk together some eggs, milk, and salt. I actually did half whole eggs and half egg whites here to cut down a little on cholesterol, and added some pepper since you don’t have the opportunity to season anywhere else. Heat some oil and melt a little butter in your skillet and then add the egg mixture. Don’t stir! We’re not trying to scramble here. Once the eggs start to set, which the recipe says takes 10 min but was a little shorter for me because I had the heat up a little high, add in some sliced proscuitto and parmesean cheese. Because of these two ingredients, you’ll want to be careful with the salt you add to the eggs initially. Both proscuitto and parmesean are salty on their own. Now you can stir your eggs around a little to get everything combined. Dot the top of the frittata with goat cheese and bake at 350F for 15-20 min, until the eggs are set.

I was a little nervous that my finished product would be all stuck in the pan, because for some reason that happens to me a lot, but the oil and butter on the bottom of the frittata let it slide right out and onto my platter. I topped my slice with some of the onions from before and dug in. Yum! A delicious, savory breakfast/brunch/anytime meal.

Goat Cheese, Prosciutto and Caramelized Onion Frittata
Recipe courtesy Kerry Flynn, Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients
Caramelized Onions:
3 large onions
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar or water, optional
Frittata:
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
4 ounces prosciutto di Parma
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 ounces Parmesan, grated
6 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup caramelized onions
1 tablespoon freshly chopped thyme leaves

Directions
For the Onions:

Remove the shoot and base of the onions. Peel off the onion skin and cut the onions from pole to pole.

Cut the onion into 1/4-inch slices. Add the olive oil to a large saute pan over medium heat, then add the onions and season with the salt.

Cook until the onions begin to wilt, about 30 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to prevent sticking. Reduce the heat to low and continue to stir every few minutes as the onions reduce in size.

If necessary, deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar or water.

Continue cooking until the onions are dark brown. Turn off the heat and scrape up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. Allow the onions to cool.

Cook’s Note: The onions can be transferred to an airtight container and will keep, refrigerated, for up to 1 week.

For the Frittata:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, add the eggs, milk, and salt and mix to combine.

Remove the paper from the prosciutto and stack the slices. Chop the prosciutto into 1/2-inch pieces.

Add the butter to an oven-safe 10-inch pan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the olive oil and reduce the heat to medium-low.

Pour the egg mixture into the pan. When the eggs start to set, about 10 minutes, add the Parmesan and prosciutto. Stir gently and dot the top with the goat cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven until the frittata is set and the goat cheese is melted, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and using a rubber spatula, loosen the frittata from the sides of the pan. Slide it onto a cutting board and cut into wedges. Arrange the wedges on a serving platter and top with caramelized onions and thyme leaves before serving.

I had a few leftover tilapia filets in my freezer and was looking for a way to use them in a non-boring way (as I mentioned on my parmesean-crusted tilapia post, I typically find tilapia pretty bland). This lovely recipe from Cooked from the Heart for pastry-wrapped tilapia came to the rescue. Excuse my messy wrapping, I didn’t have as much puff pastry on hand as I thought

Pastry Wrapped Tilapia

Tilapia has grown in popularity as of late because it has virtually no fat or cals and is cheap and sustainable. Aside from some butter used to sauté onions, which could easily be replaced with olive oil, this recipe doesn’t add much to the low-fat nature of the fish (except for the puff pastry of course…). Poaching the fish keeps it moist and the simple filling is tasty and hearty.

Recipe after the jump:

The only changes I made to the recipe were subs for things I had on hand: chopped almonds for pecans in the filling and sesame seeds for poppy seeds to top the puff pastry. Rolling the filled tilapia filets was a little tricky, but taking care not to put too much filling can help remedy that. I had to remind myself that they didn’t have to be pretty–they were about to go inside a pastry pocket anyway!

Pastry Wrapped Tilapia
Recipe here

STUFFING MIXTURE:
1 lb. of mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Saute’ mushrooms, garlic, and onions in butter until mushrooms are slightly browned and all juices have evaporated. Stir in pecans and set aside to cool.

POACH TILAPIA FILLETS:
4 Tilapia fillets
salt & pepper
6 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Season the fish with salt & pepper. Place about 1 tablespoon of the stuffing mix on top of the fish and roll up. Secure the roll with a toothpick so it doesn’t unroll during cooking. Place rolled fillets in an oven-safe dish with 6 tablespoons of milk and cover. Poach for 10 minutes in the oven.

ASSEMBLE PACKETS:
Stuffing mixture, left over
Poached Tilapia
2 green onions cut into inch lengths
2 sheets of frozen puff pastry (thawed)
1 egg, beaten
poppy seeds

After poaching, drain the fish rolls and place on one end of a halved pastry sheet. Place green onion slices on top of fish and divide the remaining stuffing mix between four servings, arranging the stuffing around the rolled fish fillets. Fold over the other end of the pastry sheet to cover the fish holls and seal the sides shut by pressing the pastry between your fingers. Brush the top of pastry packs with the beaten egg mixture to create a sheen and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Repeat until you have all the fish rolles encased in pastry. Place the packets on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

The sweet potato soup I stole off Mario at Craftbar a few posts down was so yummy I was inspired to find a recipe and make it myself (also, I finally got myself an immersion blender and have been itching to use it).

Sweet Potato Soup

This came out sooo well! I know it’s hot now and no one really wants soup, but you must make this ASAP! The texture was fabulously smooth; if velvet could melt in your mouth, it would feel like this soup.

Recipe and tips after the jump:

Not only is this soup delicious, it is easy to make (as are most soups, as I’m discovering). Start by sautéeing chopped onion in butter. When these are done, add sweet potatoes (cut into large chunks), chicken broth, thyme, curry powder, and maple syrup. In place of the broth and syrup I used water and honey, since unfortunately I had neither in my pantry at the time. I imagine the broth would have added a more savory background flavor, while the syrup would have had more depth than the honey. Bring this to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for an hour.

While that’s going, you can make the rum cream garnish, which was an interesting addition to the soup. Simply combine whipping cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, and dark rum and whip the cream until stiff peaks form. You can refrigerate it until the soup is ready.

After the soup finishes its simmer, the sweet potatoes should be nice and tender. This is the part where I got to play with my new blender, but if you don’t have one, let the soup cool a little and puree it in batches in a regular blender. BE CAREFUL! Hot liquids in a blender create extra pressure and can cause a very un-fun kitchen explosion. Return the blended soup to the heat and season with salt, white pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. I was a liberal with the seasonings and I also added some cinnamon because I remember tasting a note of it in the Craftbar version.

The photo above is garnished with the rum cream, but when I had some leftovers the next day, I remembered my suggestion of a bacon topping. WOW. I was right, the sweet/savory combo was fantastic. Craftbar should take note of that one!

Sweet Potato Soup with Rum Cream
from Southern Living/myrecipes.com

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 8 cups

Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 small onion, chopped
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 medium-size sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (1 3/4 to 2 pounds)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 fresh thyme sprigs or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg
Pinch ground red pepper
Rum Cream
Garnish: fresh thyme sprigs

Preparation
Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add onion, and saute until tender. Stir in chicken broth and next 4 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until potato is tender. Remove and discard thyme sprigs. Cool slightly.

Process mixture in batches in a blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Return to Dutch oven, and stir in whipping cream and next 4 ingredients. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly heated. Serve with Rum Cream; garnish, if desired.

Rum Cream

Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/8 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum

Preparation
Beat all ingredients at high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.

Southern Living, NOVEMBER 1998

To any of you who, like me, enjoy breaking out one of those blue boxes of cornbread muffin mix to accompany a nice homemade dinner: After you try this recipe, you will never feel the need to buy another box of mix again. I was surfing the web for a cornbread muffin recipe and somehow ended up with another nugget from the Neelys. These cornbread muffins are just as easy as fixing up the boxed muffins, and are easily more delicious:

Honey Cornbread Muffins

I actually made these as part of Mario’s birthday dinner Pt. 1, and he had a hard time believing they were made from scratch. These came out moist but still a tad crumbly with a kiss of honey goodness.

These cornbread muffins are so. easy. Prepare to be amazed. Mix together all the wet ingredients (milk, eggs, butter, honey) and all the dry ingredients (corn meal, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt) separately. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined (too much mixing will result in a tough muffin). Divide among paper muffin cups in a muffin tin. Bake for 15 min at 400F. That’s it! Is that not just as easy as the box??

The recipe calls for whole milk, but since I always have 1% or 2% in my house, I decided to be creative and do a 50/50 mix of 1% milk and Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is strained of its whey to make it thicker and richer than regular yogurt (although that would work fine in this case, or you could strain it yourself for homemade Greek yogurt). The milk/yogurt mix made for great texture in the cornbread muffins.

Honey Cornbread Muffins
Recipe courtesy The Neelys, foodnetwork.com

Ingredients
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup honey
Special equipment: paper muffin cups and a 12-cup muffin tin

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Into a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the whole milk, eggs, butter, and honey. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.

Place muffin paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Evenly divide the cornbread mixture into the papers. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.

Lately, I’ve been trying to act like the grad student that I am and respect the fact that I should be living and eating on a budget. This means more cooking at home…for now anyway. In addition to being a budget-friendly meal, this is also my “meatless” Lent post for the week. These shrimp tacos were very quick and easy to put together and also crazy good:

Shrimp Tacos

I was purposely looking for a taco recipe with a mango accoutrement after my successful foray into avocado salsa, and these did not disappoint.

The most “difficult” part of this recipe, if you can even call it difficult, is putting together the mango slaw. It consists of diced mangoes (which can be a little difficult to slice up…I’m still learning myself), shredded cabbage (which you can buy pre-shredded), red onion, cilantro, a little mayo to bind everything together, and rice wine vinegar. I used red wine vinegar because it’s what I had on hand and I didn’t want to buy an entire new bottle to use 1 tablespoon of it. Check out this website for descriptions of “designer” vinegars and useful substitution info.

Beyond that, making the tacos only involves cooking seasoned shrimp (the recipe calls for Jerk seasoning, I just used my old standby, Tony’s) in a pan, on your grill, or on your George Foreman. You should also preheat the corn tortillas either in a pan or in the microwave between damp paper towels to make them more pliable. Tip: Use two tortillas per taco to keep everything neat–one tortilla tends to break pretty easily.

The crunchy cabbage contrasts perfectly with the firm, sweet mango, which in turn really benefits from the flavor of the red onion (this from someone who typically can’t stand red onion). The slaw as a whole was a perfect match for the slightly spicy shrimp. The only think I thought it was missing was maybe a sauce of some sort. So, cilantro-lime sour cream, or chipotle mayo?

Shrimp Tacos with Mango Slaw
Courtesy of Woman’s Day

Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS
8 corn tortillas
24 peeled raw jumbo shrimp (about 1 lb)
1 Tbsp Caribbean jerk seasoning
2 cups thinly shredded green cabbage
1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
1⁄4 cup sliced red onion
1⁄4 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp light mayonnaise
1 Tbsp rice-wine vinegar

PREPARATION
1. Tacos: Coat a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray; heat over medium heat. Add tortillas in a single layer 2 or 3 at a time and cook over medium-high heat 2 minutes, or until light golden in spots and softened. Remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep tortillas warm and pliable.

2. Sprinkle shrimp with jerk seasoning. Coat same skillet with nonstick spray; heat over medium heat. Add shrimp; sauté 3 minutes or until cooked through. Remove to a plate.

3. Toss remaining taco ingredients in a bowl until blended.

4. To assemble the Tacos: Top each tortilla with about 1⁄2 cup cabbage mixture and 3 shrimp. Fold in half to eat. Serve with the salad.