Valentine's Day Steaks & Wine

Source: Tasty Kitchen

Hey, whoah, panic - Valentine's Day is this Friday.  What's that? You haven't decked your house in hearts, arrows, and bowl after bowl full of adorable candies? (Kudos to those of you who are on top of it!) Yea - me neither, I'm still wrapping my head around writing 2014 on all my checks (yea, I still write checks sometimes!). No big deal, you're house doesn't have to look like a vignette from Victoria's Secret to enjoy the day.  Personally, this holiday has never meant very much to me, and I can't stand those little pastel heart candies anyway.  Seriously, thinking about them makes me feel sick, and I think their wrapper is even worse.

Anyway... whether I've been single or not on V-day however, it's always been a fantastic reason to eat a really really good dinner. Whether it be with a partner, a group of good friends, or alone  - the only strict rule I've had was to eat & eat well.  So,  all the restaurants are going to be packed, why not make a great meal at home?

Ralph and I have held up a great tradition of eating steaks & drinking red wine on Valentine's day, or some variation of it. (Here's last years post).  Many moons ago, one of our first dates was trying to learn to cook a steak together. Neither of us knew how to do it, so we thought learning something together would be a fun & cheesy date, right?  Well it was really easy, and really delicious, and this year, I want skirt steak!

It's even easier, and I swear even more delicious.  Luckily it's not the most expensive cut, either. Recently we found (and tested) the most perfect skirt steak recipe ever, from the blog Tasty Kitchen.  It's easy, and it's amazing.  As for sides this year? I'm leaning towards shrimp, asparagus, and more red wine.

Any plans for you this year? Any interesting traditions that aren't the norm? Enjoy it either way, even if you aren't into Valentine's Day per se, hey - at least it's a Friday! 

-Jesse

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Grossest Candies EVER! haha....

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Thanksgiving Food: Stuffins!

Happy Thanksgiving Week!  It's already here & I'm starving. This year we're going over to my Grandma's, where we'll have a huge group getting together.  I've been assigned stuffing, and I immediately thought of all the recipes I've seen for Stuffing Muffins. Which, for some reason, no one calls "Stuffins" - so, I guess I will.

If you're looking for a different way to serve stuffing this year, try these out! I've had them before and they are delicious, plus so easy to serve.  I found this Apple & Onion Stuffing recipe on the Food Network, from Rachel Ray & comes complete with video.  But of course, I figured I'd search around other blogs to see what real people did & how it all worked out.   Here's some varieties I found, that ALL look delightful:

• Cooking on the Side: Herb Stuffing Muffins
• A Cozy Kitchen: Pancetta & Sage Stuffing
• Young & Entertaining: Stuffing Muffins

It doesn't seem like rocket science really, but there are some tips to getting your stuffins to have crispy outsides so they don't fall apart, while maintaining a soft interior.   If you're in a hurry and don't want to click around, let me just embed this video for you (sorry email readers, vids might not show up in your inbox)

With that, I have to go face the crowds in the grocery stores & get my shopping done. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving & if you're not hosting, drive safe! Oh - here's one more recipe idea for the holiday, last year I was really into this Gnocchi & Butternut Squash with Sage recipe. It's amazing...

     -Jesse

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Red White & Blue Salad

We've been trying to cut down on the carb intake these past few months (mainly pasta, rice & bread), and by cut down I mean we pretty much don't eat them.  We'll cheat on the weekends, or if someone has us for dinner, but at home? None. I love carbs, of course - it's just that it became a slippery slope.  What was once a healthy portion of pasta on our plate soon became the two of us splitting a family size bag of egg noodles..smothered in amazing sauce and topped with a loaf of bread. oops.   I'm exaggerating (barely) but it IS time for a little reality check.

So when we go to a BBQ I try to bring something non-carby.  I'm totally going to mow down on the carbs tomorrow fyi, don't you worry, I'm just figuring there would be plenty of pastas, breads, etc. Mmm.. I can't wait! So here's what I'm planning for tomorrow, I think it will be delicious. Perfect blend of sweet to savory:

Source

I thought of it last night, trying to figure out a fun & fresh salad to bring.  This morning I browsed Pinterest for ideas to see if others had done it, and sure enough, roughly one million people had also thought Red Strawberries, White Feta, and Blueberries would be adorable and delicious for fourth of July. Glad I'm on the right track....

But as Pinterest tends to go, almost NONE of the links actually went anywhere they should (biggest pet peeve about Pinterest) but I figured, this is the simplest thing in the world, we don't need a recipe, right? Photos say it all.

Here's my plan, toss these things in a bowl (layering might be cute, in a clear bowl...):

• Mixed Greens, maybe some fresh basil
• Sliced Strawberries (abundant out here right now!)
• Blueberries
• Feta or Crumbled goat, whatever's fresh at the store.
• Candied pecans or walnuts (might keep this on the side to sprinkle, never know who's allergic)
• Balsamic Vinaigrette (might home make, might buy.... )

That's it. One thing I've learned is to BRING the dressing on the SIDE because salads love to get soggy while they wait to be eaten.  Before serve time just toss a little in the salad and coat everything (I mean a LITTLE).  Then leave the dressing out for people to add if they wish.

Here's another idea (with absolutely no link...) and if I had a star cookie cutter on hand, I'd probably do it, it's so easy and cheesy I love it:

So that's probably what I'm going to make. But who knows, sometimes I get to the store and things change directions completely. I'll probably end up coming home and making twice baked potatoes, topped with garlic bread.. and artichoke dip..... haha.  Or tortellini, I've been craving the tortellinis.. 

Happy Fourth of July everyone, have a fantastic holiday & be safe! Fireworks be crazy.

-Jesse

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Foodies: Asian Marinated Cucumbers

Friendly reminder: It's Friday....This, is a very easy, very simple recipe.  No cooking required, just ingredients, and they are done in under an hour.  You know - I buy cucumbers with the best of intentions, I love them - I swear. But it's a race with those things! You think you have time to enjoy them, then you go to grab one and it's gone mush... and, not to toot my own horn here or anything, but I eat a lot of vegetables, and these things still escape me.  The cucumber has been one of those vegetables (fruits?) I have to hurry & eat for fear of losing it - until now! I give you, Asian Marinated Cucumbers:

Japanese quick pickles, sesame oil pickles, I've heard a few names.  You've most likely had this as an appetizer in a Japanese restaurant or Sushi house, while you order.  They are delicious, and they are friggin' easy. 

I wish I had the time & dedication to pickle, really I do.  One of these Saturdays I'm going to set aside the whole day to pickling a million wonderful different recipes that we can all be amazed by, but until then, this is my stand-by.   As soon as I see my cucumbers threatening the end is near, I whip up a batch of these.  I've brought these to parties, and they've been a big hit.  Plus, you can add other vegetables: Bell peppers, shredded carrots, go wild.

Head over to Reckless Abandon for the full recipe, one of the great things about these is that they only get better as they stay in the fridge.

Enjoy!

     -Jesse

Up Next: We're gonna tie-dye, only....backwards....     

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Foodie Related Posts:

•  Easy Appetizers
• Gnocchi with Butternut Squash & Sage
• Pizza Rolls? Just do it!
• Avocado & Tomato Salad, with Jicama - surprise!
• Ciabatta Bread - this is easier to make than pronounce.

 Lovies!

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Corned Beef and Cabbage

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Almost... it's this weekend (already!?) and I have been looking forward to one of my favorite dishes for about 6 months now... Corned Beef & Cabbage.  I know, you can get it year round - but something about the wait makes it that much more delicious.  Growing up my mom would make this every year, and now that I'm all growed-up, I'm carrying on the tradition.  We've tried it several different ways, traditional, crock pot, extreme crock pot (it cooked for like, 12 hours...serious)  and it's always delicious. This year, I think I'm going to try a recipe I saw on the food network website, it looks super easy, and has a different take on the cabbage. She takes it out and saute's it with butter and onions, which sounds amazing.

Link to the recipe: Corned Beef & Cabbage

You like? I agree... one modification though, I'm going to cheat a little and have the crock pot do some of the cooking here.  Then, when it's time to add the vegetables, I can either let the crock pot work on them for about an hour or transfer everything to a pot if I'm low on time.  Either way, that cabbage is getting sauteed!

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Party Time: Easy Appetizers

Happy Friday! It's March 1, Rabbit Rabbit! (Remember that from this post?)  On Monday I asked all of you facebook fans what your best tried & true recipes for easy party appetizers were, I think the fancy term for that maneuver is crowd sourcing or something. And wow - did you guys deliver! These recipes sound so good (and easy!) that I had to eat a big breakfast before sitting down to write this post. No joke!

Let me start with a huge thank you!  It's been fun to learn a few new ideas, and all of them have been pinned of course.  Now the trouble will be deciding which one to bring! Here's a link to the original facebook discussion if you missed it: Clicky Clicky.  Keep reading for pictures and links to the full recipes. 

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Easy Honey and Soy Chicken Thighs

Need an easy but amazing chicken recipe?  Look no further.  We had some friends over a few nights ago, and I tried out a recipe I saw on Pinterest, Honey & Soy Chicken Thighs.  They came out sooo good! I had to share this so that you can make it tonight! Or this weekend I guess...

So Easy. You make the marinade, let it sit, and toss it all in the oven later.  I had all the ingredients on hand, including the thighs, which have quickly moved up the ladder on my favorite meats list.  The full recipe can be found on Pin Recipes.  The side dish was also the easiest thing on the planet, if you can boil water you can make it.  (full details after the break)

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Steaks & Red Wine

Oh, was I supposed to make a Valentine's Day post?  Looks like it! Happy Valentine's day to all you lovers out there, whether single, coupled, or miscellaneous (I don't judge!) - this day is just another reason to get together and celebrate and do things you wouldn't normally do. Whether that's an expensive dinner in the city, or a night full of ice cream nachos (oh I'll fill you in soon...), it's special just the same.  For me? I haven't really ever given ol' V-day too much thought, but an interesting tradition did develop in our house, pretty naturally, and that's steaks & good red wine.

Photo Creds: Pic #1; Jinkzz's Kitchen, Pic #2; Closet Cooking

The only rule is that we make them ourselves (No not the wine...). Yep - no restaurants, no fancy chefs - not because we're anti or anything, but that's just how it's always been.  And it's not exclusive kissy kissy date night either (sorry folks!).  Friends are welcome, cause we love them too.  See Ralph and I couldn't cook a steak for our life when we first met, and one of our first few dates was learning to cook a good steak together. Yep - that was a date.  Learning something new, in my opinion, is very romantic.  So, on our first Valentine's Day, we decided we wanted to do it again. Only this time we'd toss in some good red wine & decadent side dishes. I can't remember what sides we had back then, but this year the menu will be:

• Kick ass Steaks...
• Kick ass red wine....
• Asparagus with Hollandaise sauce...
• Potatoes AuGratin ala Julia Child..

Woo! Tonight's gonna be pretty decadent, and delicious.  I think this year for our steaks we'll follow the recipes from the photos above, 'cause they look so good.   Here are the links, the top photo is from Jinkzz's Kitchen and the bottom is from Closet Cooking.  Both have the recipes included, so pop over to them for the deets.  I'd better head out, gotta prep the foodies for tonight. 

So what shenanigans do you get into on Valentine's day? Tell me, tell me! For some reason this made me look back at what I was up to last February.. time flies! If you want to see, clicky here...

Happy Valentine's Day Beezies!

     -Jesse

Next Up >>> Honey & Soy Chicken Thighs
    

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Gnocchi with Butternut Squash, Sage and Pine Nuts

There are so many recipes for side dishes for Thanksgiving that go beyond the traditional, I can't even tell you where to start. I will throw in my two cents however, on what I think you should definitely consider making to grace your Thanksgiving table this year.  This is the second time we've made this, it's a delicious gnocchi dish with roasted butternut squash, sauteed fresh sage, and pine nuts.  It is delicious!

We found this recipe last year, when we were going to a Thanksgiving Potluck, "Friends-giving" as it was called, and I believe it was the week before the big day.  We wanted something different.  So, using my favorite way to find recipes, we just knew a few ingredients we wanted to use and just plugged them into good ol' Googy.  In this case "Gnocchi with Butternut Squash" pulled up a ton of results, and we chose {and loved!} this one.  It's pretty easy, pretty affordable, and always a big hit.  So when you're browsing the thousands of recipes out there for something new this year, consider my advice and try this! Hop over to Savory Spicy Sweet where Liz will give you the step by step. Thanks Liz!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, have a wonderful day hopefully filled with great food, family & friends!

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How To: Pizza Rolls

A few weeks ago we were sitting on the patio, thinking what to make for dinner.  One thing led to another and we came up with an idea.  Let's take a pizza, roll it up, and cook it!  We figured we were total geniuses.  Well - a minute or so later on the internet, and it turns out that we are not the first to think of this.  The internet is bittersweet that way, but - I did get some tips that saved us a lot of trial & error pizza.  We were thinking roll it, bake it, slice it.  Instead, we sliced it, laid them down like cinnamon rolls, added cheese & baked them.  These are delicious, you've got to try them - but I warn you, you may eat more pizza than you normally would!  This is my first "full picture" tutorial, thought I'd give it go - perfect for pinning!  Here you go:

 

Not that pizza needed any sort of improvement at all, this is definitely a fun twist though.  We arranged them so the sides were touching, and this made for a super soft center roll.  Good luck deciding who gets that one, it's amazing!  I bet if you space them out evenly that each one would get nice crispy edges and soft centers.  We also added all kinds of stuff to ours, kale, broccoli, and more sauce & cheese!

Weird about the Dental floss, huh? I see why now. The pizza is so squishy that a knife would just flatten it out.  I took the floss, wrapped it under, then around the top like I'm about to tie a bow.  Instead of tying, just pull the floss past itself (like a loop) and it will slice clean.  I recommend doing it kind of fast, so the pizza doesn't see it coming and squish up on you.  Fishing line may work well too.  Now, all I had was mint floss.. and you'd think we'd taste mint, but there was no mint flavor at all... so fear not if you don't have unflavored floss!  Just slice away.  Oh, and be sure to lay out a bunch of fun dipping sauces - try it California style and dunk it in Ranch dressing.  Enjoy, this one is a new family favorite!

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Spotlight: Kaleido Trays

Oh my! Pin this to my must-have board, I love these!  These Kaleido Trays from A+R are incredible, and so versatile.  We love entertaining in our home, so having a wide selection of trays comes in extremely handy. All the time. Clean & ready trays take a load off as the host, because as people arrive with this or that, you can quickly and easily lay things out, spending less time preparing and more time enjoying.  Not only are these the cutest colors in the world (80's rainbow!), but the combinations of trays you can create using these geometric shapes are seemingly endless.  They all fit snugly together, so you can have large open trays, trays with sections, trays with dipper bowls, and they all stack nicely to be put away.  Though with these colors, I guarantee I'd have them on display!  They give me all kinds of ideas for geometric wall art too, seeing these interchange so easily into different patterns is really inspiring! I was always a sucker for those geometric wooden blocks we played with as kids (I still have some, and use them!) so it's no wonder I'm drawn to them. You can purchase these trays from the A+R Store.  What's your take, do geometric shapes have a place in your home?  Enjoy the day, it's raining here - fun!

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Pinterest Picks: Slow Cooker Central

It's getting cold! To be fair, I'm a Californian, and it doesn't take much to send us packin'. Seriously, the moment it drops below 50 we all start shivering and hoping we won't freeze to death this year. I know, it's sad, but we all know it's true. We just can't handle it.  The cold weather does do me some good though, making me crave lots of soups & hearty hot dishes, and the crock pot makes that simple! There are a lot of sites out there dedicated to all the insane things you can do with a crock pot (brownies? In a slow cooker? mmhmm..) and of course, pinterest is the perfect way to keep all those recipes organized so you can actually use them. I remember, way back when, in the days of only bookmarks - I used to bookmark hundreds of things I wanted to remember, not realizing that I'd probably never. see them. again. Boo! So today I scoured up some good lookin' crock pot recipes, these literally can't get any easier, these clever people have stripped the work right out of it.  Just my style!

**If you're new to my Pinterest Picks posts, it helps to know that the pictures below are actually links, to the pin, which are links.. to the original source.  The internet is amazing! 

Source: kidspot.com.au via Jesse on Pinterest

The classic. Chicken soup.  Great for a sick day, a week day, actually any day.  It's filling, comforting, and apparently simple.  Ditch those canned soups and go for fresh! You'll save money and your body will thank you for saying no to sodium.  I never realized canned soup was so wild about salt.

Source: kidspot.com.au via Jesse on Pinterest

One more for the soup list, is this crazy taco soup.  Tacos were already good as is, but soup form? Taco night may just have to make two appearances per week..

Source: kidspot.com.au via Jesse on Pinterest

Soups are obvious uses for the Crock, but suddenly there are all these other uses people have figured out. Like this one, cooking a whole chicken? How nice to come home from work with a fully cooked chicken waiting for you.  Stuff like this makes me think I should set up multiple crock pots so I can have a main dish, and a hot side dish.. and... can they make garden salads too? Haha... gross! Hey wait a minute, back to tacos:

Source: canyoustayfordinner.com via Jesse on Pinterest

Delightful! No, it didn't chop the lettuce and all assemble them into cute little tacos (that crock pot hasn't come out yet), but the recipe made some killer pulled pork that just falls apart.   I  haven't had my breakfast as I write this, and suddenly tacos sound like the perfecct way to start the day.. grr! But leftover lentil soup for me it is... (yes, you can have soup for breakfast!)

Source: kalynskitchen.com via Jesse on Pinterest

Hmm, seems I'm really picking on the tacos here - but this is a variation.  Seems the crock pot loves turning meat into tender delicious shreds, so ya gotta get clever with all the uses, right? Right. Lettuce wraps, tostadas, stews.... whatevs.

Source: kidspot.com.au via Jesse on Pinterest

Hey, look who's here for dinner! It's meatloaf! I don't know why in the world meatloaf gets such a bad wrap (sp?).  You hear it in jokes all the time, and almost every movie with a scene from the 1950's seems to have kids that are so upset about its presence. What brats! I love and have always loved meatloaf, at least you don't have to rip meat off of bones all night, now THAT is gross (To me, anyway).  This recipe actually makes a lot of sense, because now that I can actually cook meatloaf - I can tell you, it takes a while! See? Those kids in the movies don't know how hard mama worked....unless she knew the crock pot routine. Hmm...

Source: slowcookerfromscratch.com via Jesse on Pinterest

There is always room for dessert, so set up a third crock pot and get it cookin' up this beautiful bread pudding (ha! 3 crock pots, I wish!).  You know, this is some great photography  up in here - that bowl and strange little spoon make it look even more delicious.

There you have it, I'm starving and can't post another delicious recipe, why did I do this to myself? Hope you enjoyed these crock pot pinterest picks, I sure did! One more thing before I sign out here, there are a ton.. I mean a TON of crock pot recipes on this site: Slow Cooker From Scratch.  Prepare to be amazed and pin like mad, you could plan weeks upon weeks of delicious crock pot madness. I dare ya! Have a fantastic weekend!

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Foodies: Avocado & Tomato Salad

I don't post about food much, but maybe I should, it's delicious after all.  I cannot get this salad out of my head! I saw it on Pinterest, (click the pic for pinability) and my sister and I made it as one of the side dishes for the fathers day BBQ at her place.  I'd never had it before, so it was a risk, but the ingredients sounded delicious, how could it go wrong?

Source

Well it didn't, it went great! It was so simple, just a few fresh ingredients and you're done.  This is an easy make ahead dish, that stays fresh and cold in the fridge.  The lime keeps the avocado from turning that interesting brown. This was also my first time with Jicama, and we are in love.  It's Summer, we all need side dish ideas to bring to the many bbq's and parties, so pin this puppy and try it! It's amazing.  Head over to Kalyn's Kitchen for the full recipe.  Happy Weekend!


Psst... Update.. It's a year after this post as I write this, and I'm STILL making this and bringing it to parties. Total win.

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Party Time: Jello

This weekend I am going to a "1960's beach party" themed party (whatever will I wear!?), and while dreaming up what retro food to bring, jello immediately came to mind.  So for today's Party Time, I'm going to focus on the delightful & mysterious creations of Jello.  More importantly, the Jello Shot. Here's what I'm about to tackle today:

So cool! Plus, instead of trying to squeeze the jello out of some soggy paper cup, we can just take a slice, on a plate, and actually get some of this in our mouth.  Why has this not always been the case?? I've always liked jello shots at parties, but let's face it - it's not a clean experience.  All these, can of course, be made without alcohol.  Jello for all!

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Ciabatta Bread

I found this great tutorial on line for making ciabatta bread.  It's extremely easy! First let's give credit where credit is due; Ciabatta tutorial.
Basically to make this bread, you take 2 cups of warm water, and stir in 1/4 tsp of yeast. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, stir it up, then drop in 4 cups of flour.  The hardest part is over! Stir it into a dough, then cover it and leave it on the counter for 8-12 hours. Plastic wrap or a towel is fine. Afterwards, the dough will have doubled, and you just dump it out onto a floured (well, flour and cornmeal in my case) cookie sheet.  Literally, just dump it out, give it a little shape if it needs it.  Here's mine before the oven:

I sprinkled on some fresh oregano, red chili flakes, pepper, whatever was around and smelled good.Throw it in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until it looks done. In retrospect, mine could have used 5 more minutes, but i'm not complaining because I like when bread is moist on the inside.  Enjoy this super easy bread!

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Corned Beef und Cabbage

Oh man! The house smells so good right and i'm starving, I forgot to include this earlier - Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm wearing green and making Corned beef and cabbage. It's been cooking for about 3 hours and I'm STARVING.  The whole house smells amazing and my stomach is trying to claw it's way out  & run to the kitchen.  A few more minutes and it's time to eat!

I used this recipe, but I think they are all the same. I added a bottle of guiness though for extra flavor. I saw that somewhere, or I made it up. Hey - one for me, one for the stew! One last thing, if you would like to receive e-mail updates to blog, click here and enter your info.  RSS feeds are also available on the lower right of this page. 

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