Cucumber Sandwiches 

White bread cut into rounds

Cream cheese mixed with black pepper and sea salt

cucumber sliced into thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler or mandolin

shredded carrots

assemble and cut in half

Bacon Bites with Horseradish Dip

Valentine's morning my mom calls me to let me know she needs a few things to take to a birthday lunch today and wanted me to whip something up. 

Bacon Bites take only a few minutes to put together but pack a big punch in taste. These are not the most heart healthy items, but a small indulgence now and then is OK. This recipe was adapted from a Bacon Crisp Recipe from years ago.

Ingredients:

1 pound of center cut bacon cut in half

3/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

1 sleeve of crackers you will need enough crackers for each slice of bacon ( I have used the oval townhouse crackers above but also have made them with rectangle waverly crackers)

Pickled jalapenos - one for each cracker( optional if you don't like spice)

For the Horseradish dip:

1 - 8 ounces container of sour cream

3-5 tablespoons of prepared horseradish (adjust to your taste)

1/2 tablespoon of fresh ground black pepper

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

combine all dip ingredients and chill until ready to serve.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To prepare cut the pound of bacon in half to have two equal pieces per slice of bacon. place a wire rack over a baking sheet and lay the slices of bacon of the wire rack. If using the pickled jalapenos place on slice on each piece of bacon.Mix the two cheese together in a bowl and then place a large pinch of cheese on top of the jalapeno or the bacon if not using the pepper. Lay one cracker on top of the cheese and then pull the bacon up over the cracker and place seam side down. Sprinkle any remaining cheese over the bacon bites.  Place the Bacon Bites in the oven and back for 15 minutes and then using tongs carefully turn the bites over and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the bacon has crisped. Remove from oven and serve with the dip. The bites will be slightly soft when first removed from the oven but as they cool they will crisp up. 

If you don't use the jalapeno in the bacon bite but still want a spicy option, divide the horseradish dip into two bowls and in one bowl add 1 tablespoon of green chilies or diced jalapenos. For those who don't like horseradish serve with a ranch dip.

If there are any left overs they are good cold but do heat up well in the microwave for 45 seconds to a minute.

Alaskan King Crab Legs:

My Sister had these amazing King Crab legs shipped to me from  where she lives in Alaska.

Simply brought a large pot of Water to a boil added the crab legs and steamed them for about 10 minutes and served them with clarified butter and a little Texas Pete Hot Sauce. 

This is one of the best things I have had to eat in in a long time. 

That meat came out of one leg !!!!!!!

Kind of Pot Roast but much more:

The other day the grocery store had chuck roast on sale for 2.49 a pound so I bought one; well it was big enough to equal 3 roasts. I am not sure why but for some reason I bought a beautiful 7 pound chuck roast to cook for two. Needless to say I had to cut the roast down to a more manageable size.

I decided I did not want to make a “pot roast” or a “beef stew” with the lovely roast, so I ended up somewhere between. I drew inspiration from a Beef Bourguignon.

Ingredients

1 Chuck Roast cut into two 6 ounce pieces

3 cups of Beef Broth (reserve 1 cup)

1 medium yellow onion, sliced thinly

8 cloves of garlic , roughly chopped    

¼ cup good quality aged balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Salt and black pepper

Flour              

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 stems of thyme

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8-9 Cipollini Onions

6 small Shitoki Mushroom

6 whole cremini mushrooms cut in half keeping stem intact

1 shallot diced

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 splashes of Marsala

8-9 carrots with stems on

1 teaspoon butter

Sea Salt to taste

  

¾ cup Yellow Stone Ground Grits (not instant)                 

1 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth

1 ½ cups fat free half and half

½ cup shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese with Jalapenos

ROAST

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Cut pot roast into individual serving size

Season with salt and pepper

Dust roast with flour

Heat olive oil in a heavy oven proof pot / Dutch oven over medium high heat

Sear all sides of roast and remove to a platter

Add yellow onion and garlic to pot and cook for 2-3 minutes until they begin to soften then add balsamic vinegar , tomato paste and 2 cups of beef broth and bring to a boil for 2 minutes then turn off burner and return roast to the Dutch oven add thyme. Liquid should cover a little more than half the roast if not add more broth.

Cover with lid and place pot in preheated oven. Cook for 2 hours.

Remove from oven and remove roast from pot, (if serving now wrap in foil to rest while you prepare the rest of the dish, if serving the next day wrap and place in the refrigerator)

Skim the fat off the liquid in the pot that was rendered from the roast and discard, using an immersion blender or vita mix blend sauce until smooth. (If serving now add the reserved cup of broth and whisk, if serving the next day place in the refrigerator)

If serving today return roast to the blended sauce and place back into the 300 degree oven and cook for an additional hour. If serving the next day heat sauce in Dutch oven and let the roast sit at room temp to remove chill from the meat for 15-20 minutes and then return to pot , place in oven for 1 hour.

Cipollini Onions

Cipollini Onions sometimes are hard to peel so I cut off the root end 

and place them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes and then remove; this makes them easy to peel. 

Once peeled heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil over medium high heat, cook onions until they soften and brown.

Mushrooms

Clean mushrooms by wiping with a slightly damp cloth do not place in water to clean. Slice cremini mushrooms in half and leave the shitoki whole. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil over medium high heat and cook mushrooms and shallots until they begin to soften, toss in some thyme then add Marsala and cook until liquid is absorbed.

Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil over medium high heat and cook mushrooms and shallots until they begin to soften, toss in some thyme then add Marsala and cook until liquid is absorbed.

Carrots

Cut off all of the green steam except 2 inches, using a vegetable peeler clean the carrots. Place carrots in a boiling pot of salted water and cook for 3 minutes remove from pot and run cold water over the carrots to stop the cooking. Add butter to skillet and heat over medium heat toss carrots in the butter for 1-2 minutes. Remove from skillet and season with sea salt

GRITS

Add chicken broth and half and half to pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Once at a boil add grits and stir together and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 20-25 minutes until tender. Whisk in cheese and plate. I did not add salt because the cheese gives enough salt for my taste but you can add salt at this point if needed.

To plate place a large scoop of Grits on the plate, gently lift the roast out of the pot and place on the bed of grits, place onions, mushrooms and carrots around roast and serve.

The meat is so tender you can cut it with a fork.

Rosemary, Lemon,Parmesan Cheese Bread

There has been no time this week to cook, so I am going to post some old pictures of great and easy Bread.

This recipe was inspired and adapted from a half of dozen bread recipes I found online and most recommended letting it rise anywhere from 8-12 hours. The first go around I made my dough I left it over night. It turned out wonderful and crusty but the next time I made this recipe I did not have patience and only let it rise for three hours: Guess What? It was even better because it took less time and still turned out crusty on the outside and light and flavorful on the inside.

The basic dough of water,salt , sugar and yeast can be played with and many different add-in’s can be tried. I have made this bread with: Jalapeños and cheddar , Cranberry, Orange Zest and shaved White Chocolate  also made a round of Raisin , Cinnamon Sugar and chopped pecans.  Be creative.

           Starter Dough:                

3 ½ cups white unbleached flour (you could try whole wheat but I have never used it in this recipe)

2 teaspoons sea salt ( If you have a salt that you like a Himalayan Sea salt or a Pink Hawaiian Salt you can use that)

1 ¾ cups warm water (If it is too hot it can kill the yeast)

½ tablespoon of Sugar in the raw

1 single size pack of active yeast

ADD-IN:

Zest of 2 Lemons

1-2 Tablespoons of finely chopped fresh rosemary removed from woody stem      

½ cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

                    

Sift flour and salt into a large bowl add zest of 2 lemons and 1 to 2 tablespoons of finely chopped rosemary and ½ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese set the bowl to the side

In a glass bowl or measuring cup Dissolve ½ tablespoon of sugar in the raw, in 1 3/4 cups warm but not boiling water. Once dissolved  add Yeast . Let the Yeast Mix bubble and “develop”.Once the yeast is developed add mixture into the flour mixture, Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula.The dough will look wet and sticky.

Cover with a clean tea towel and place in a warm area of the kitchen to rise

Once the dough is ready and has doubled in size, place a Heavy Cast Iron Dutch oven with the lid on in a 450 degree oven and let the empty pot heat for 30 minutes. While the pot heats flour a work surface ( I place sheets of plastic wrap on my counter and when I am done I just ball it up and toss , cuts down on mess and clean up) and dump the sticky dough out onto the work surface and shape into a rustic shaped ball, cover with tea towel and let rest until the pot is ready.

This one pictured is the Raisin, Cinnamon Sugar and pecan dough ( I could not find the picture of the rosemary lemon bread resting)

 Once the pot is heated careful remove from oven and place dough ball in the pot. I basically let it plop into the pot because of how hot the Dutch oven was.

 Once it is in the Pot don’t try to move the dough to center it if it is not in the center of the pot, it has already started to form the crust and it will turn out fine.

 Cover the Dutch oven and return to the oven for 30 minutes, don’t open the pot. After 30 minutes remove lid and let it bake for an addition 15-20  minutes until browned and crusty.

 Remove from oven and carefully lift out of pot with tongs, spatula or serving fork, Just don’t touch the pot. Place the bread on a wire rack to cool

use a serrated bread knife to slice and enjoy. You can serve it with a compound butter, maybe a little honey, sea salt mixed into an unsalted butter. 

Photo Below  is the finished Jalapeno Cheddar Bread:

One of my favorite Quotes:   

“Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.” Julia Child

Green Chicken : for pulled chicken tacos , burritos , nachos :or diced for chicken chili

Ingredients:

2 Boneless, skinless Chicken Breast

1 cup Chicken Broth

1 cup of Tomatillo Salsa (posted above)

1 diced white or yellow onion

4 Stems of Cilantro 

2 teaspoons of cumin

2 teaspoons of Mexican Oregano

1 teaspoon of Sea Salt 

1 teaspoon Black Pepper

2 teaspoons of canola oil

Heat a heavy cast iron or stock pot at medium high

  Add oil

 Season chicken breast with salt and Pepper and add to pot 

 cook for 2 minutes and then turn over and cook an additional two minutes 

Add all other ingredients and bring to a low boil

Cover and reduce Heat to Simmer

Cook until chicken is tender

Cool chicken in sauce 

Remove chicken from sauce and pull with two forks and add sauce from pot to moisten chicken , be careful to not add to much sauce if making tacos and burritos it will make the tortilla or shells fall apart. 

(Sauce can be served on the side)

Pulled chicken can also be used for nachos

If you want to make Green chili chicken dice the chicken instead of pulling

Used the Pulled Chicken to make Green Chili Chicken Empanadas

Roll out store bought pie crust cut into 5 rounds using a large biscuit or cookie cutter. Fill round with pulled chicken and 1 tablespoon of Monterey Jack shredded cheese , fold in half , use a fork to seal the edges,  brush with a beaten egg and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.