Easy Strawberry Avocado Salad

I’ve been a bad blogger. Bad, bad KT for neglecting the readers (all 2 of you) and leaving the blog to rot like an old banana. Don’t worry though; I’m currently doing penance in time out…..

I wish I had some good excuse for completely ignoring my blog, but the truth is that it’s just been way too humid for me to even think about getting creative in the kitchen. My kitchen adventures lately have been strictly in and out affairs with tried and true recipes.  Nothing really exciting to report, but with autumn right around the corner I’m back on the wagon!

The upside of all this neglect is that it’s allowed me to get some serious wedding planning done. Ladies and gentlemen we have a dress! I’m so excited, but Mr. Officer is a little bummed that I won’t let him see a picture. Apparently no one told him that seeing the bride before the wedding is bad luck. However, I’m willing to make a one-time exception just to stop the bellyaching, so without further ado……a dress pic:

Basil – Arugula Pesto Pasta

Random story - one of the first times I had pesto was during a business lunch when I was working at American Ballet Theatre. We were meeting a high society donor for lunch at Union Square Café and I was absolutely terrified that I was going say something stupid or get a giant piece of spinach stuck in my teeth. Unknowingly I ordered the pesto, which is basically a spinach tooth just waiting to happen. Luckily I managed to get through the lunch without completely embarrassing myself, but lesson learned for all future dates and/or business lunches with intimidating high society ladies!

Weeknight Spaghetti & Meatballs

Confession time.....for most of my life I was afraid to make spaghetti & meatballs. It's true, this is the type of shame I carry with me on a daily basis.

I think maybe I've been traumatized by all the stories I've heard about Italian Grandmothers lovingly toiling over huge pots of red gravy for hours; stirring, tasting, seasoning, etc. The truth is, if I made Italian wine in my basement or grew tomatoes for my sauce in my garden in Queens, I think I might feel the same way because sometimes it's about the process and the memories. Who can compete with that level of dedication?


However, I managed to overcome my fears and made some very delicious meatballs the other day. Sometimes it's the small victories in life. Not to brag or anything, but the sauce was so delicious that I may have been taking little spoonfuls everytime I passed through the kitchen for the rest of the night.....please don't judge me (even if I used my fingers a few times).



End result: I had a delicious dinner, my man had a delicious dinner, everyone wins, I'm so proud of myself! Huh, maybe the Grandmothers won't rise up and chase after me with wooden spoons after all!

*Bonus wine pairing recommendation: I enjoyed my spaghetti & meatballs with a nice glass of Chaddsford Winery Merican. We're kind of obsessed with the Chaddsford Winery and my man never misses an opportunity to show off his vintners club frequent buyer card.....because we're giant nerds and love that kind of thing. Not to worry though, there will be lots more babbling on about wine as get closer to our wedding in a Pennsylvania winery/bed & breakfast next year!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Meatballs

1 lb ground meat

1 egg

¼ c. breadcrumbs

1 tsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. nutmeg

1 tbsp olive oil

Sauce

1 shallot, chopped

¼ c. red wine

28 oz. crushed tomatoes with basil

 15 oz.  diced tomatoes

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp. dried parsley

1 tsp crushed red pepper

2 tsp. sugar

1.       Combine all meatball ingredients except for the olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Form the meat mixture into balls using your hands (it should make about 12 meatballs). Be careful that you don’t handle the meat too much because that will result in tough meatballs.

2.       Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven on the stovetop and brown the meatballs in the oil. Remove the meatballs to paper towel lined plate to drain.

3.       Reserve 1 tbsp of the oil and meat drippings in the dutch oven, add the shallots and cook until softened (about 5 minutes). Turn off the heat, add the wine to deglaze the pan and cook off the alcohol.

4.       Add the remaining ingredients to the pan along with the meatballs and simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

BBQ Ribs

I hope you all had a fun and celebratory 4th of July, I know we all had a great time here in NYC!

I was so excited to finally spend a holiday with my main man this year. Alas, the city of NY had different plans and he ended up patrolling the harbor during the fireworks (cue Price Is Right style loser sound effect).

But as a consolation prize, doesn't he look so handsome and official in the picture below?! Rawr....not even gonna lie, I did consider leaping into the harbor so that I could be rescued by this good looking guy:

However I'm happy to report that I was able to hold onto some small shred of dignity and did not end up swimming out to his boat. Instead, I settled down to watch the exact same fireworks with our friends from a sweet vantage point behind the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. Oooohhh, aaaahhh, pretty and patriotic!

Yup, Macy's really knows how to put on a show. Plus we discovered that the added bonus of a fireworks display sponsored by a huge department store is that it provides a perfect setup for numerous jokes about the finale involving a special, aerial coupon code for 25% off slacks. These are the jokes folks.

Now that I'm done gloating about my handsome fiance and excellent fireworks-watching spot.....let's cook some ribs! I don't really have too much to say about this recipe except that it's good, you should make it. And yes, that's a blueberry muffin on the plate. Don't knock it until you try it!

BBQ Ribs

Barbecue Bible BBQ rub (recipe below)

Rack of ribs

BBQ sauce

1.       Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Rub ribs all over with dry rub, seal tightly in aluminum foil and place in a baking dish.

2.       Bake for 2 hours at 300 degrees.

3.       Open aluminum foil and baste with BBQ sauce, put back in the oven and cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Barbecue Bible BBQ Rub

¼ c. sweet paprika

1 tbsp dark brown sugar

1 tbsp granulated sugar

2 tsp salt

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1.       Combine all the ingredients in a mason jar, shake to mix and use as needed. Makes about ½ cup or enough for 4-6 racks of ribs. The rub can be stored away from heat and light for up to 6 months.

Chicken Tacos

Greetings blog readers! I feel like I’ve been a little behind on my blogging lately, but I’m back today with a great recipe for chicken tacos.

I love this recipe because it incorporates three of my favorite things: a crockpot, laziness and Pepper Jack cheese. Plus the tacos are relatively low-fat and taste great with a Corona. My main squeeze told me that these tacos were better than the version served at our local Mexican restaurant so I will take that as a big old compliment. Now if I can just learn how to make pizza we’ll really be in business! So, anyone have any good pizza recipes?

Chicken Tacos

16 oz container salsa

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
15 oz can black beans
1 package of 6" corn tortillas
Sliced Pepper Jack cheese
Tomatoes, chopped
Avocado, chopped

1. Place chicken, salsa and black beans in crockpot. Cook on low for about 8 hours or on high for about 5 hours (adjusting temperature as needed for frozen chicken).
2. Using a gas stovetop, char the tortillas slightly by placing each one individually on a burner for a few seconds until it's slightly blackened around the edges. Please use caution when doing this and watch your tortillas closely to make sure they don't go up in flames!
3. Make the tacos by layering the tortillas with the cheese on the bottom, followed by the chicken mixture with the tomatoes and avocado on top.

Emeril’s Fish Provencal – My Favorite Summer Dish

A few years ago I was browsing through Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food Magazine and found this recipe for Emeril’s Fish Provencal.

Photo via Martha Stewart
Note: mine never looks this pretty, it's okay though, it still tastes delicious!

The recipe doesn’t look like anything special, but I have to tell you the taste is absolutely amazing and the recipe quickly became a favorite.  It’s so perfect for a summer day, and the big bonus is that it’s also super healthy – high in heart healthy omega-3 fatty acid, lycopene filled tomatoes and cancer fighting dietary fiber in the zucchini. 

Now that I’ve made this about a zillion times, I’ve made a few changes to the original recipe:

1.      When I don't feel like dealing with the grill, I cook mine under the broiler for 20 minutes instead.

2.       Instead of haddock or cod, I used bluefish this time……….but only because it was on sale at the store.

3.       I love Penzy’s Northwoods seasoning so I always use it instead of the Italian seasoning and anise seeds. Plus that saves me from having to buy a random ingredient like anise seeds.

4.       If I have an open bottle of wine in the fridge, I usually add a little splash of wine to the packet.

5.     I used thinly sliced shallots instead of Vidalia onion.

Totally delicious with a glass of white wine, out on the patio!

How about you? Do you have a go-to summer favorite

Slow Cooked Pot Roast with Whiskey Gravy

We just returned from the absolute best vacation ever in Disney World. Everyone say yay for Disney World! Who knew that Disney was so much fun for adults? We were like two big kids running around to all the rides, picking out which things we wanted to do next…..plus now we have the added bonus of being old enough to fully experience the Epcot World Showcase (a.k.a. the international beers and snacks of the world).  Huge score.

Photographic evidence of us finishing our vacation with French champagne & crepes

Now we’re back to reality, sigh. I think we’re both feeling a little bummed to be back to the real world so I decided we needed a little comfort food pick-me-up to start the week.  That and I had a pot roast in the freezer that was starting to feel a little neglected. Hence, slow cooked pot roast with whiskey gravy! Which, by the way, to add to the huge list of reasons why I love my slow cooker…..did I mention that we don’t have air conditioning here and that the thought of using the oven in 90 degree weather is not so appealing? I’m just saying, expect lots of slow cooked love this summer.

Slow Cooked Pot Roast with Whiskey Gravy

1 1/2 pound beef roast

10.25 oz can beef gravy

10.25 oz warm water

A few handfuls of baby carrots

1 onion, cut up

3 small russet potatoes, cut up

2 tsp flour

1/4 cup whiskey

salt & pepper to taste

1. Place beef roast in slow cooker and surround with vegetables. Pour the can of gravy over top, and add one can full of warm water to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 10 to 12 hours.

 

2. At the end of the cooking time, remove roast and veggies from the slow cooker and strain the juices into a saucepan on the stove.

 

3. Mix together the flour and whiskey (I usually shake mine in a mason jar to get out all of the lumps) and whisk the flour mixture into the juices in the saucepan to create a gravy. Add salt & pepper to taste and bring to a rolling boil, stirring or whisking frequently.

 

4. In the meantime, slice the beef and add it back to the slow cooker along with the cooked vegetables. When the gravy is done, pour it back into the slow cooker and put the cooker on warm until ready to eat.

*Note: I used a roast straight from my freezer, you may need to reduce the cooking time if you are using a piece of meat that is not frozen.

Yum - looks good enough to eat!