Lemon Ricotta Blueberry Pancakes

Mmm. The ricotta gave these a fluffy, moist texture, and the lemon zest made them quite refreshing and light! I added some blueberries, simply because I had them to use.

To your regular pancake recipe, add:

• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese, drained from any water
• 1 1/2 tsp Lemon zest

Made in a cast iron griddle, on med high heat, in butter. Dot pancakes with blueberries before flipping.

Happy Memorial Day!

Bacon-flavored Ice Cream?

Well I've seen it all. I was in Rehoboth Beach with my daughter for the day, and she wanted some ice cream before we hit the road. I had seen the line for Udder Delight earlier in the day, and knew it had to be good.

So we stood in line, for a LONG time. Then, some punk kid butted in line and pretended to be invisible. I was becoming more heated by the minute, and took off to another ice cream stand. But not before I got a snapshot of all the weird flavors this place had - I'm still wondering what Motor Oil ice cream tastes like. And Sirius Black sounds interesting, for this big Harry Potter fan.

We got some chocolate peanut butter down the street. It was slammin. And only a $1.00!

Flank Steak with Kale and Roasted Thyme Potatoes

Recipes to come :)

Hangover Cure + I baked!

Well on Saturday, I made a really nice flank steak, kale, and thyme-roasted potatoes. I'll post those soon. But the meal didn't sit well (or should I say at ALL) with me, because I had a sour stomach from drinky-poos the night before. Shoulda known better.

Anyway, I popped these in the oven at 9:30 pm because that's when I started to feel somewhat human again.

What's that you say? KimDeC baked? Dern skippy. Just me and Trader Joe! We're the best of friends. It's the first time I tried his Snickerdoodle dough - no preservatives - and HOLLA! They were fantastic!! I'll definitely buy them again, and they are perfect for the lazy mama who wants warm cookies and milk STAT!

Seafood and Chorizo Paella!

I've had my paella pan for awhile now, but I wanted to wait until it was warm outside so I could make paella on my grill.

Chris (Nibble Me This) would be so proud!

It started on the stove, and ended on the grill.

• 6 oz shrimp
• 6 oz scallops
• 1 link of chorizo
  
• 1 bottle of Cento Clam juice
• BIG pinch of saffron - (this makes the rice yellow, and paella is known for it's saffron taste!)
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 1/2 onion (grated)
• 1/2 red or green pepper, chopped
  
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tomato, grated (cut in 1/2 first, then grate and discard the skin)
• 1 1/2 cups medium grain rice
• 2 lemons, cut in wedges

First, make your clam broth.

In a saucepan, add 3 cups of salted water and bring to boil. Pull the tails and shells off the shrimp and add to the broth. Add Clam juice. Turn down to low and add the saffron. Simmer for 10 mins and remove from heat.

Seafood!

In the paella pan, over med heat, add the EVOO. This will get hot FAST, so be careful. Add the scallops and shrimp and cook for 2 mins. Remove from heat and onto a plate.

The sofrito...

In the same paella pan, over medium heat, saute the onion, pepper, garlic, and tomato. Season with salt. Cook and stir often, until this darkens but does not burn. If it gets too thick and burns, add water. About 15-20 minutes. In the meantime, fire up the grill and cook the chorizo, then slice. Leave the grill on, because we finish the paella out there!

Rice time!

Add rice to the paella pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring into the sofrito. Turn up heat to med-high and add 3 cups of the broth. Shake the pan to even out the rice.

Off to the grill!

Carefully transfer the paella pan to your grill over medium heat.



The mixture should be bubbly. Keep turning the pan to ensure even cooking. The rice should get to the same level as the liquid, about 8 to 10 mins.



Arrange all the seafood and the chorizo in the pan.

Continue to simmer, and keep rotating the paella pan. When all the liquid is absorbed, test a grain of rice from he very top. If it still has a bite to it (al dente), add a bit more broth, and cook a few minutes more.



The Socarrat

Turn the heat up a bit, and you should start to hear the cracking of the rice now. This is the crispy crust that is the best part of paella! It's called the socarrat, and some even consider it an aphrodisiac! Don't let it burn, but let it crisp up like this for about 2 more minutes, rotating.

Remove from the heat, and cover with foil to let rest for at least 15 minutes.



Serve.

It's not uncommon to offer your guests to eat directly from the pan. Supply plenty of lemon wedges, so each guest can season their own sections.

Yield: 4-6 people

Costa Rican-esque eggs

I scored a really old Descoware cast iron enamel skillet/braiser on eBay, and I couldn't wait to use it. I love cooking in cast iron enamel, and a skillet was missing from my arsenal.

Only cast iron (to my knowledge) can give you these results for a simple egg. Puffy whites, crispy browned edges, and the yolk firm, yet not fully cooked. I had eggs like this in Costa Rica (they serve them with rice and black beans) and I've been waiting to recreate them. I'm pretty certain the Costa Rican locals use lard, but canola oil works just fine.

• 2 eggs
• 2 TB canola oil
• salt
• pepper

Heat cast iron enamel skillet on med high heat. Add canola oil, and allow to get hot. Test by sprinkling cold water on the pan - if it sizzles, it's ready.

Add the eggs and cover. Check periodically. When the edges are brown and the white is crawling up to the yolk, they are done. Season with salt and pepper. Remove with a metal spatula.

Almuerzo: Shredded Beef Soft Taco!

I'm just not tiring of this shredded beef. I woke up wanting to skip breakfast altogether and dive into my next Mexican meal!

I managed to have some shredded wheat instead, and waiting til lunchtime to make this. It was a looong wait!

• Pam's shredded beef
  
• 1 flour tortilla
• Shredded lettuce
• chopped tomato
• sour cream (added cilantro, salt and lime)
• chihuahua cheese

Warm up the beef, and assemble.

Wrap it up, gobble it up.

SO GOOD!

Mile-high Shredded Beef Tostada!

One of my favorites in a while! This little number had so many things going on at once: the crunch of the tostada, the creaminess of the homemade guacamole, the warmed juicy shredded beef, and the cool sour cream, the soft chihuahua cheese, and the tender black beans, the salty olives, the sweet onions and the spicy salsa...OMG! What a party in my mouth. It begged for a Coronita!! And I did reward myself, TYVM.

The only thing that could've made this better was a little shredded lettuce. I didn't miss it, though...every bite left me wanting more!

Why does this post sound X-rated?

I followed Pam's recipe for the shredded beef, since I had a chuck roast in the freezer. Ohhhh what a keeper!! Thanks again, Pam!

• 1 corn tortilla
• 1/4 guacamole
• black olives
• salsa
• black beans
• chihuahua cheese
• shredded beef
• red onion slice (sauteed)
• sour cream
• canola oil
  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the tortilla(s) lightly with canola oil and sprinkle with salt. Place on cookie sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn, and bake for 3-6 minutes longer until the tortillas are crisp and light brown.

While torillas are baking, saute a couple slices of red onion rings in a tsp of EVOO.

Build the tostada any way you wish! No rules here, just a ton of flavor.

Mediterranean Pizza

A yummy pizza inspired by my love for feta cheese! This salty cheese really pops in this pizza!

• fresh pizza dough
• 1 package of spinach
• 1/4 of onion
• pinch of oregano
  
• EVOO
• Kalamata olives
• Chopped tomato
• 1 garlic clove (or cube in this case)
• 1/2 tub of feta cheese
• 1 cup mozzerella

Arrange the pizza dough on a pizza stone and prick with fork all over. Parbake at 475F for about 5 minutes. This will ensure a crispy pizza, not a yucky, doughy one.

While this is baking, saute the garlic, oregano and onion in EVOO. When onion is transluscent, add the spinach and cover. Cook til wilted.

Arrange the toppings on the pizza in the following order:

1. spinach
2. feta
3. tomato
4. mozz

Bake in a 500F degree oven till browned and bubbly, about 7 mins.

Garnish with sliced olives.

Note: I used Lite Mozzerella, which doesn't melt the way it should, and it doesn't brown. So you forgo the taste/appearance, but the calories you save might make up for it :)

Strawberry Tart with Puff Pastry

I had a ton of fresh strawberries to use up, and I can only put so many in my cereal. I also had a TJ's frozen puff pastry in the freezer (I see a theme, here) that needed to be used up! I had a pint of heavy cream, too! What a menage a trois this made!

• 1 sheet of puff pastry
• 1 egg, whisked in a small cup
  
• 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
• 1-2 TB of confectioner's sugar
  
• 1 cup of fresh strawberries chopped

Thaw frozen puff pastry to room temperature (about 20 minutes).

Put a sheet of parchment onto a baking sheet, and place the pastry on top. Brush the egg wash over the entire pastry sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely.

In a mixer, add the heavy cream and powdered sugar. Whip til stiff, refrigerate while the pastry is cooling.

When pastry is cool and whipped creme is chilled, assemble!

I'll bet by now you're wondering what ever happened to my summer slimdown meals. Shush it.

Teriyaki Wings

I haven't made these in a couple years, but they were always requested at parties when our friends did a lot of entertaining. If you leave them in long enough, they are fall-off-the-bone yummy!

Very easy, very tasty, and a cheap meal!

• 2 lbs buffalo cut chicken wings (thawed or fresh)
• 1 bottle of teriyaki sauce
• couple shakes of soy sauce
• green onion for garnish

**These are best cooked in 2 cast iron skillets in the oven, if you have them, use them!**

Add the teriyaki and wings to a large ziploc bag and marinate for at least an hour.

Oven at 400F. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Add the wings with the marinade to the pan, and shake soy sauce on top. (Not much, because the teriyaki is salty as it is).

Bake at 400 degrees for up to 1.5 hours, turning every 10-15 minutes. The marinade will be thin for the first 45 mins or so. When you see the sauce getting thick, you're just about done so keep a close eye on it and keep turning to avoid burning. Let cook to desired tenderness.

Garnish with green onion. Also great garnished with toasted sesame seeds!

I served mine with Trader Joe's Vegetable Fried Rice as well as their Chicken Potstickers. Oh! And their Gyoza dipping sauce for the potstickers. Can you tell I'm a TJ fan?

Help from Trader Joe's: Green Goddess Salad and Ham-Gruyere Tart

While I'm on the mend, I'm taking all the help I can get, and tonight my help came from TJ's.

Green Goddess Salad

• Romaine Lettuce
• Coarse chopped vine-ripe tomatoes
• Green Goddess dressing from TJ's.

The Ham & Gruyere Tart was from the frozen section. Yeah, you heard me. It's good, too.

The pizza was a quickie made with a hand-tossed panini, tomato sauce, and mozz.

What can I say? A lazy dinner makes for a lazy post. Doesn't mean it wasn't delicious!

More hanger steak ... and a splattered lens!! Grr...

When I went to my butcher for the meatloaf mix, I couldn't pass up the rare chance to grab a hanger steak. His last pack!

• 1 lb hanger steak (score at my local butcher!)
  
• 2 TB EVOO (1 for meat, 1 for pan)
• 1 knob of butter
• 1 large shallot
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
  

To prep, remove from fridge and let sit until room temperature. Rub with EVOO, salt and pepper. When room temp, get a skillet hot over medium-high heat, and add 1 TB of EVOO to the pan, and a knob of butter. I added my homemade garlic-basil butter. Add the steaks, but do not move them. Top with rosemary sprigs. Let sear for 5 mins per side for medium to medium-rare. While searing, spoon the oils atop the steaks so that the rosemary flavors escape into the steak.



When the steaks are done, Let rest for 5 mins. In the meantime, turn pan to medium and add shallots. Saute til translucent.

And plate! But clean your lens first! Grrr these look like crap after the oil splattered on my lens! Topped with my homemade garlic basil butter.


Slice against the grain...and served with Smashed Potatoes and grilled lime asparagus.

Casarecci alla Bolognese

This is a variation of Mario Batali's Bolognese, which is pretty controversial regarding whether or not it is "authentic" Bolognese. Which, to me, is crap...because there is not just one way to cook any one recipe. This was excellent, and I'd make it again in a heartbeat.

• Mirepoix (equal amounts of celery, onion, and carrot, amounting to about 2 cups total.)
• 5 garlic Dorot cubes
  
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 pound pancetta or slab bacon, ground by butcher or thinly sliced and pulsed in food processor until finely chopped (I used bacon)
  
• 2 lbs meatloaf mix (ground pork, veal, beef)
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup dry white wine (pinot grigio used here)
  
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 2-3 teaspoons kosher salt or to taste
  
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Cook onions, celery, carrot, and garlic in oil in a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add bacon and meatloaf mix and cook over moderately high heat, stirring and breaking up lumps, until no longer pink, about 6 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste, milk, wine, water, and thyme and gently simmer, covered, until sauce is thickened, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Add salt and pepper and remove from heat.
Sauce may be made 2 days ahead and cooled, uncovered, before chilling, covered. Frozen, it keeps for 1 month.





And since you've asked, here is the pasta I used!