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Pesto Deviled Eggs

Who doesn’t love deviled eggs.  I personally have a little bit of an obsession with eggs.  I will always say yes to a runny egg on pretty much anything, my favorite breakfast on the go is hard-boiled eggs, and if I’m feeling fancy I’ll make some deviled eggs for a gathering.  On Friday night I made a batch of hard-boiled eggs and I made the end of summer pesto…the dinner choice was obvious.

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I recognize it looks pretty gross, but if you like pesto trust me on this one.

Ingredients:

Measurements are not exact for mayo and pesto, you may need to adjust for consistency and taste.

– 4-6 eggs, hard-boiled and peeled

– 1/4 cup of mayo

– 3 Tbsp pesto

– 1 dash of dried mustard

– 1 tsp cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Cut eggs in half and remove yolk.

2. Mix together yolks, mayo, pesto, dried mustard, and cider vinegar with a fork.

3. Put everything in a ziplock bag, cut a small hole in the corner, and fill centers of egg whites.

4. Sprinkle with a dash of paprika.

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My husband was blown away with the filling process, he thought I was so smart to think of putting the filling in a bag and then squeeze it out.  I let him go on about it for a few minutes before I broke it to him that I did not invent said technique, in fact it’s extremely well-known.

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End of Summer Pesto

My basil plant has officially decided to pack it up for the summer.  It is bolting despite my efforts to prune and fertilize and the leaves are not as vibrant as they used to be, so it’s time to make Pesto!  My mother was boasting about how she used her basil at home and made 31 cups of pesto.  I thought my basil plant on the balcony was pretty big…it made 2 1/4 cups of pesto.  Note to self, get a bigger balcony.

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I didn’t have any pine nuts at home, so I substituted pistachios, and I used my infused olive oil instead of regular olive oil for a little something special.

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Ingredients:

Now I used some very loose measurements…it’s sort of about feel.  I wanted to use terms like “a lot”, “enough” and “a little” instead of actual measurements, but people like my husband will go a little crazy and abandon the project if I do that…so here are some guidelines as to what I did.

– 2 cups of packed basil leaves

– 4 sprigs of curly parsley

– 3 cloves of garlic

-12 pistachios, shelled

-1/3 cup infused olive oil (see “Garlic Chicken with Zucchini Ribbons” post for directions)

– 1/3+ cup of grape seed oil

– salt to taste

– 1/4 cup fresh shaved Parmesan cheese (I go pretty light on the cheese and add it to dishes later, most recipes call for 1/2 cup)

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Directions:

Put everything in the blender and pulse to blend, add oils slowly until consistency is smooth but not too runny.

For the final batch I didn’t have enough basil, so I added mint leaves, rosemary, and sage to fill up the food processor.  It had a nice herb flavor that will likely pair well with chicken.

Use immediately or store for a few days in the refrigerator.  If you want to freeze the pesto, most websites recommend not adding the cheese until thawed for use.  My mom has always frozen it with the cheese mixed in without consequence, so I did the same.  A good secret however is to pour a layer of olive oil on top of the pesto to keep fresh in the freezer.  Use in up to 3 months is recommended.  Again we must live on the wild side in my family, I have used pesto that is a year old and it’s still perfect and fresh…cheese and all.

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Baked Corn

I’m not exactly sure how to classify this side dish, other than call it what my family calls it…baked corn.  It’s not a corn bread, but it’s not a casserole either…it’s baked corn.  Usually we have this for thanksgiving, but I decided to make it to go with the chili, adding some jalapenos added to spice it up.

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Ingredients:

– 1 box jiffy corn muffin mix

– 1 cup sour cream

-2 eggs

– 1 can whole cream style corn

– 1 can whole kernel corn, drained

– 1 stick butter, melted

-1/4 cup chopped jalapenos from a jar

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Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a buttered casserole dish.  Okay to mix a day ahead of time and refrigerate before cooking.

2. Bake uncovered in oven at 350 for 60 minutes, or until center is cooked with a semi-firm consistency and browned on top.

This is NOT a healthy side dish, rather a special occasion side dish.  I have been toying with the idea of going all out and adding shredded cheddar cheese to it as well.

I find that if I mix it a day ahead of time, it needs at least an hour to warm up before putting it in the oven.  I have also used all sorts of dishes, this is an 8×8 but I have used a 9×11 and even a round pan.  To serve it’s best to scoop it out like a casserole.

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Bean-free Chili

Football Sunday calls for good food with minimal effort.  For the first football Sunday of the season we decided to make a bean-free chili in the crock pot.  My husband happens to love chili, unfortunately, the beans do not love him.  This bean free version adds extra peppers for spice and makes both of us happy.

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Ingredients:

– 1 lb ground turkey

– 1 lb ground beef

– 1 lb spicy sausage

– 1 28 oz can of tomato puree

– 2 16 oz cans of diced tomatoes

-1 can tomato paste

-1 onion, diced

– 1 green pepper, diced

– 1 red pepper, diced

– 2 jalapeno peppers, diced

-1 poblano pepper, diced

– 1 cup celery, chopped

– 1 tsp cayenne powder

– 3 tsp cumin

– 6 Tsp chili powder

– 1 Tbsp crushed garlic

– 1 tsp dried oregano

– 1 bottle beer (we used Hacker-Pschorr Original Oktoberfest )

– 2-3 dashes of Frank’s Red Hot

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Directions: 

1. In a large pot (or in our case the lining of our crock pot is stove-top and oven safe) brown all the meat breaking into small crumbles.  Drain grease when fully cooked.

2. Add the diced onion, peppers, and celery to the meat and mix, cook for 5 minutes on medium-high heat.

3. Add all of the seasoning (I use heaping proportions of the spices, not level measurements) to the meat and pepper mixture, cook for a few minutes until fragrant.

4. Add the cans of tomatoes, beer, Franks, and tomato paste, mix fully.

5. Transfer the chili into your crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

2013-09-08 13.34.47To serve I made a jalapeno corn bake (recipe to come) and coleslaw for the side.  I like a little avocado on top of my chili, or we eat it with tortilla chips.  We aren’t big on the sour cream and cheese route, but add whatever you like to this spicy chili.  As with all chili, it’s even better the next day!2013-09-08 19.32.45

 

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Bacon Roasted Beets and Cauliflower

It’s true, everything is better with bacon.  It’s that time of year again that roasting vegetables becomes an acceptable alternative to grilling vegetables.  Roasting root vegetables is a good way to sweeten up the flavor and they look so pretty on the plate.   Beets and cauliflower have a nice contrasting color and when roasted they compliment each other very well.

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Ingredients:

– 2-3 large beets washed and cut into small pieces.

– 1/2 head of cauliflower washed and cut into small pieces.

– 1/2 sweet onion sliced

– 2 cloves of garlic, sliced

– 5 sprigs of fresh thyme, center stem removed

– 4 pieces of bacon cooked and cut into small pieces

– 1 Tbsp of reserved bacon grease

-Olive oil

-salt and pepper

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Directions:

1. Gently mix together in a large bowl the beets, cauliflower, onion, garlic, thyme, and bacon with bacon grease and a drizzle of olive oil with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Spread the vegetables out evenly on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 23-30 minutes, stirring once.  Depending on how large you cut the pieces, the time may be longer.  Make sure the beets are easily pierced with a fork before serving.

2013-09-05 19.28.36As the beets roast they will give off a lot of color, so be careful not to splash your clothing when flipping or serving!

 

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Herb Buttered Corn on the Cob

Corn on the cob is such an easy and delicious side dish.  Cooking the corn can be done several different ways: boiling, roasting, or grilling with husks on or off.  I personally like the corn grilled with the husks off, the little char marks make for a nice crispy look and bite.  For a little extra flavor I made a seasoned butter to rub on the corn after coming off the grill.

Herb butter can be made in any combination that you may like.  My favorite combination for on corn is cilantro, chive, and parsley with garlic.   For this round I didn’t have cilantro, so it’s just garlic, chives, and parsley with 1 stick of unsalted butter and salt.

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Let the butter sit out for about 30 minutes to soften up, or if you don’t have time you can put it in the microwave for about 10 seconds to soften the butter without melting it.  Mince the garlic and herbs then mix into the butter with a dash of salt.  At this point you can roll the butter in wax paper then put in the fridge if you want a log of butter to cut or roll the corn on, or you can leave it in the bowl like I did.

 

Grill the corn on a hot grill for about 15 minutes, turning a 1/4 turn every 3-4 minutes until you start to get grill marks on a few of the kernels as shown below.  While still hot, butter the corn and serve immediately.

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Ginger Glazed Pork

It was feeling a little crisp in the air, so I decided it was time for a “fall” meal.  Obviously I turned to pork and root vegetables, standard.  For the pork I searched around for a recipe that I have used in the past that I got from a friend.  It was something to do with maple syrup, shallots, and mustard, but I couldn’t find it.  I ended up using a recipe I found on the food network site and loosely following it.

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Ingredients:

-4 to 6 pork loins about 1 inch thick

-1 heaping Tbsp fresh grated ginger

-2 garlic cloves, minced

-1/2 cup maple syrup

-2 Tbsp mustard

-salt and pepper

-olive oil

Directions:

1. Start by seasoning the pork with salt and pepper, generously.  Try to do this about 30 minutes before you want to put it on to cook.  If it’s closer to room temperature it helps it to cook more evenly (or so says the internet) and not get a ring around the edges (like mine).

2. Heat a large skillet and add olive oil to the bottom to coat the pan.  When it’s nice and hot with little waves in the oil, sear the pork on both sides for 3-4 minutes.  I wasn’t sure if this was the exact amount of time, but you want it to sear and start cooking without being totally done.   Remove and set on a clean plate.

3.  In the hot skillet add more olive oil if necessary to coat the bottom of the pan, then add the garlic and ginger.  Let this cook for 2-3  minutes before adding the maple syrup and mustard.  Stir for about 2-3 minutes before adding the pork back to the pan to simmer for 5-6 minutes, flipping once.

I was having issues with splattering oil and maple syrup, so I put a lid partially over the skillet…this may have interfered with the thickening of the sauce, so I had to cook it a little longer to thicken up.

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For the final plating I used some of the left-over coleslaw from BBQ night and made bacon roasted cauliflower and beets (recipe to come).  I think in the future I will try to marinade the pork in some kind of ginger and and white wine concoction to infuse a little more flavor to the center of the meat, but the glaze makes a nice coating of flavor.

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Basil, Lemon, and Jalapeno Pesto

For our anniversary my husband and I enjoyed a nice dinner out at one of our favorite wine bars the night before, La Madia.  On our actual anniversary we decided to make a meal at home.  We got a nice bottle of champagne and I was going to plan a meal to compliment it, but he was dead set on having a hamburger for dinner.  I like a burger as much as the next girl, but it wasn’t exactly what I was in the mood for.  Instead, we drank beers and grilled out, typical.  While he made his burger I tried to get creative.  It started with making a pesto…

For the pesto I took a bunch of my overgrown basil and mint to use as the base.  I used primarily basil as it is threatening to bolt, but I’m really into mint so I had to use a bit of that to round it out.

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Ingredients:

-1 cup of basil

-1/3 cup of mint

-juice from 2 lemon wedges

-1/2 jalapeno, diced

-2 cloves garlic

-1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

Add everything to the blender or food processor except the olive oil.  I would add this slowly so as to not make it too runny, may not take the full amount.  Mine came out a little juicy looking, but it had good flavor.

2013-09-04 19.23.12My husband put the pesto on his burgers with tomatoes, basil leaves, grilled onions, and peppers.  It looked pretty tasty, but I was looking for something a little lighter and fresher.

2013-09-04 19.46.07First I put the pretzel roll on the grill, cut side down.  After a minute I took it off to spread the pesto on the top and bottom and lined it with fresh mozzarella cheese.  To melt the cheese, I put the bread back on the grill, but turned the grill off so it’s hot enough for melting the cheese but not burn the outside of the bread.

Next I filled with tomatoes, fresh basil, a grilled onion, pepper, and slice of grilled zucchini.  So good!  We ate outside so the lighting in the picture for the final product is extremely poor and doesn’t do it justice, so you will have to use your imagination.

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Garlic Chicken with Zucchini Ribbons

Tonight for dinner we had a few chicken breasts left over from the BBQ last night.  Instead of the rich and bold taste of BBQ sauce I took the chicken in a different direction…Garlic.  With the ribbons of zucchini and garlic on the chicken it has a hint of fall flavor.

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Chicken: I butterflied each breast open to decrease grill time and create more flavor from the seasoning through each bite.  I sprinkled a generous amount of salt, pepper, and garlic seasoning on each breast right before grilling.  When you butterfly chicken the risk of over cooking and drying out definitely increases, so watch closely while grilling.  These took 4 minutes on each side on a high heat grill, then let them rest for 10 minutes before eating .

Zucchini Ribbons: I read a recipe today that make the zucchini similar to this but then covers it all with an alfredo sauce.  I didn’t want such a heavy dinner, so I skipped that part entirely and added Parmesan instead.

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini (I used a large yellow and small green one)

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil (infused with garlic, pepper, and red chili peppers)

Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Using a vegetable peeler I sliced the zucchini into very thin ribbons length wise and gathered them into a bowl.  I drizzled olive oil, salt, and pepper onto the ribbons and mixed together with my hands to coat each ribbon.

2. In a cast iron skillet on medium heat I coated the skillet with olive oil and added the cloves of garlic and a crushed red pepper flakes.  I let this cook for 2-3 minutes, until I could smell the fragrance of garlic before adding the zucchini.  The zucchini cooks quickly and I didn’t want it to burn, so I tossed it with tongs every minute or so until the ribbons started to soften trying to be careful not to let them turn to mush.  Total cooking time was 8-10 minutes.  Finally I topped it off with some grated Parmesan cheese and cracked pepper.

On the side I made a small Caprese salad with a huge tomato from the farmers market and fresh basil.  I drizzled infused olive oil on it with fig balsamic from Old Town Oil.

Infused Olive Oil

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Making infused olive oil is a way to add more flavor to dishes without so much effort or cooking time.  Right now I have a garlic, pepper, and red chili pepper infused oil that is really complementary to cooked vegetables or even for dipping bread or pizza crust in.  I found this jar at Marshalls for just a few bucks, the stopper/latch combo is really a nice feature.

To make, I put a few cloves of garlic (cleaned and sliced in half), a table spoon of pepper corns, and 2 whole dried chili peppers into the jar.  Fill with a good quality olive oil and close the jar, done.  The flavor gets better over time, but I try to make sure to use it in a few weeks in case the garlic starts to turn bad.

 

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Grapefruit and Mint Cocktail

This drink started out as a refreshing afternoon beverage, then turned into a signature cocktail later at night by adding a shot of Bombay Sapphire Gin.  Delicious.

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Ingredients:

-2 Lime slices

-1 Tbsp Mint simple syrup

-10-15 mint leaves

-Grapefruit juice

-Seltzer water

-Gin (optional)

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Directions:

1. In the bottom of your glass muddle together the slices of lime, mint leaves, and mint simple syrup.

2. Fill the glass with ice and add a shot of gin, then fill the glass about half way with grapefruit juice, and finish off with seltzer water.

3. I then stirred everything together, but I was told the seltzer water will act as a natural stir to mix everything together.

To make the mint simple syrup:

I made this the other day when I was making the lavender simple syrup, I knew it would come in handy at some point.

Dissolve 1/2 cup of sugar into 1 cup of water over medium/high heat (3-5 minutes).  Remove from heat and add about 1 cup of mint leaves to the syrup, let cool completely before straining off the leaves.  Store in a sealed container the refrigerator.

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Summer BBQ Coleslaw

Coleslaw is an easy to make summer staple.   A flavor that will cool you off when eating spicy BBQ but not get lost in the meal at the same time.  I found a recipe a few years ago that I changed very slightly to the version I made today.  It is just a little creamy but has a nice punch of vinegar at the same time.

Ingredients:

1/3 Cup light mayo

1 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp poppy seeds

1 red onion, chopped

1 lb coleslaw mix

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Directions:

1. Mix together the mayo, vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, poppy seeds into a creamy dressing as shown above.

2. To this, add your chopped red onion and coleslaw mix until everything is evenly coated.

3. Allow it to sit in the fridge a few hours before serving.

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Leftovers Frittata

Leftovers do not have to be a repeat of the original meal.  Making our leftovers into an entirely new dish is like a game for me.  One of the best ways to use of leftovers is to make a frittata the next morning.  The leftovers we have in tow this morning are truffle-oil brussel sprouts, spicy mixed grilled vegetables, and sausage.

In a small cast iron Skillet (5-6″ diameter) sprayed with olive oil on medium heat I warmed up the leftover sprouts, veggies and thinly sliced sausage.  I let them cook for about 10 minutes, stirring a few times to get evenly warmed.

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While the leftovers were heating up in the skillet I took 3 eggs and scrambled them with a tablespoon of water and 3 large sprigs of fresh thyme (center stem removed).  I poured the eggs over the leftovers and shaved fresh Parmesan on top (again, using what I have leftover from previous dishes).

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Since I used a cast iron skillet it can go directly into the oven at 350 for 10 minutes.  If you don’t have cast iron, make sure you are using a skillet that is meant to go from stove-top to oven.  If you are using a larger skillet (10-12″ diameter) you would need to use more eggs and cook longer, nearly 30-45 minutes to cook through.

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Grilled Vegetables and Sausage

For dinner last night we kept it simple, grilled out a spicy vegetable mixture and Italian sausage.  In an effort to make it a full meal I put it on a bed of arugula and baby spinach.  In the past I would have tossed the vegetables with olive oil and some noodles to make a meal; however, I do my best to cut out grains and dairy in my diet, so I went with greens.

The vegetables were what I could find at the farmers market fresh this week, you can use anything you have available:

-zucchini

-cauliflower

-snap peas

-red pepper

Tossed with a spray of olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes for some heat.

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In the picture you may also notice the can of Stiegl Radler, if you haven’t had this before, I highly recommend it (as long as you are over 21 of course).  It might be the most refreshing beer I’ve ever had, just sayin’.

The vegetables filled up the grill basket, so they took a good 30 minutes on the grill to cook through.   Time your sausages accordingly to finish at the same time, ours took about 20 minutes to cook through fully.

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Because the sausage has some grease to it and the vegetables were sprayed with olive oil before cooking, I didn’t feel it needed a dressing once I chopped everything up and mixed it together.  I did however add fresh mint and basil leaves to the salad for a little more flavor and some fresh Parmesan shavings since I have a block left over from the other nights brussel sprouts.  You can certainly add dressing if your heart desires, I would stick to something neutral in flavor or just some olive oil.

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Of course my husband doesn’t want a big salad for dinner, so he ate his sausage and vegetables together with the greens as a side salad.  The salad is simple: just cucumber, tomatoes, red onion tossed with olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic to taste on a bed of arugula, baby spinach, and basil.

 

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Herb-Rubbed Pork

Making protein during the week is either a well thought out and planned process or a last minute speed-thawing session.  A go-to for me is Lawry’s seasoning salt or Famous Dave’s Rib Rub, but these have a big flavor and can overpower the rest of the meal easily.  Tonight, to go with the rich but soft truffle-oil brussel sprouts (see side dishes section) I wanted a softer flavor to match.  My mother-in-law got me a packet of Herbs de Provence earlier this year that smell amazing, the problem is that I don’t really know what to do with it.  I have used it on meat in the past and did not salt enough, so I thought I would give them another try tonight.

Once the pork pieces thawed out I seasoned them generously with salt, then lightly with pepper, and a medium sprinkle of garlic powder.  Then I put the herbs de Provence on and patted the pork down.

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Grilling time is a tricky situation in our house.  My husband has slowly become the primary griller, however he needs close adult supervision.   In an effort to not under-cook the pork we left it on a minute or two too long.  It wasn’t totally dried out…but not juicy either.  We cooked it for 9 minutes on each side, probably would have been done around 7-8 minutes on each side.

2013-08-29 20.31.51The final meal was the herb-rubbed pork, truffle-oil brussel sprouts, and a chilled summer tomato and cucumber salad.

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Truffle-oil Brussel Sprouts

A great thing about summer cooking is making the entire meal outside.  The kitchen stays clean and it keeps the heat down inside.  Tonight we are grilling out some pork and for a side I am making brussel sprouts in the grill basket.  The grill basket is a new addition for us this summer…we feel pretty dumb for not having one sooner.  I used to kabob vegetables or painfully turn each little brussel sprout on the grill individually, silly.

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Ingredients:

-Brussel sprouts (cleaned and quartered)

-3 garlic cloves

-1-2 slices chopped red onion

-salt & pepper to taste

-truffle oil, 1-2 Tbsp to taste

-1 wedge of lemon, juiced

-Parmesan cheese, freshly shaved

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Directions:

1.  Mix together brussel sprouts, sliced garlic cloves, and red onions in grill basket.   Spray with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

2. Grill on medium/high grill for 20 minutes, stirring every 5-8 minutes.

3. Toss brussel sprouts with shaved Parmesan cheese, drizzle generously with truffle oil, and squirt with lemon juice.

This dish is easy but a rich combination thanks to the truffle oil and fresh lemon.  The fresh shaved parmesan is also a source of depth that take these vegetables up a notch.  If weather does not permit, you can always replace the grilling with roasting the vegetables in the oven at 400-425 flipping every 8-10 minutes until cooked.