Saturday, June 6, 2009

Who screams for ice cream?

Double Chocolate Mint Chip Ice Cream

Early June, 54 degrees - it's always a good time for ice cream!

Special equipment

Any type of automatic ice cream machine.

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups heavy cream

1 1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup Hershey's Double Chocolate Sundae Syrup
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Williams-Sonoma Peppermint hot chocolate (or other mint chocolate candy you happen to have)



Instructions
Combine heavy cream, whole milk, chocolate syrup, sugar and vanilla (not mint chocolate) in a medium mixing bowl and blend with a hand mixer on low until well blended.



Pour into the freezer bowl of your ice cream maker


Run the machine until mixture thickens, about 20 - 25 minutes. Add min chocolate to ice cream during last 7 minutes of mixing.


If you have any left after the kiddies get their share, transfer to freezer safe container for later in the month when it actually warms up.


Modified from the original: http://www.cuisinart.com/recipes/desserts/41.html

Friday, June 5, 2009

Hooray for Friday!



Sea Bass

2 sea bass steaks
lemon zest from 1 lemon
lemon juice from 1 lemon
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
chives for garnish

combine zest, juice, salt, pepper, and olive oil in baking pan. Turn to coat and leave in marinade for about 20 minutes.
Grill over direct high heat until opaque, about 7 minutes, turning once.
Garnish with chives.



Avocado Tomato Salad

1/2 pint cherry tomatoes or 1/2 lb other tomatoes - cut into chunks
1 avocado - cut into chunks
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped chives
Sea Salt

Combine tomatoes, avocado, olive oil, and chives. Gently fold ingredients together. Sprinkle salt over the top for a little crunch.



Daiquiri

2 oz spiced rum
.75 oz simple syrup
1 oz lime juice
mint leaves (optional)

pour ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with crushed ice. Shake it, shake it, shake it (if you can). Pour into glasses filled with more crushed ice. Serve with a straw and a little bit of crushed mint.


cha, cha, cha

warm weather and a request make it perfect timing for salsa.

You can substitute pineapple, peaches, or any fruit that strikes your fancy. I always buy at least two jalapenos because sometimes they don't have much spice to them. To kick up the heat use the seeds and the pith of the pepper.
Like most of my recipes, the amounts are approximate and will depend on your taste. You can always add a little more or less based on the crowd or your desires.

Mango Salsa

2 ripe mangoes - medium dice
1 small white onion - small dice
1 jalapeno pepper - very fine dice
1/2 small jicama - medium dice
1 bunch of cilantro
juice of one lime
pinch of cumin
salt to taste

combine the mangoes, onion, jalapeno and jicama in a mixing bowl. Add 1/2 of the lime juice and cumin. Stir and add salt to taste. Chop the cilantro and stir it in also. Refrigerate for at least one hour. You may want to add the rest of the lime juice and even more cumin.

Other than chips, this salsa makes a great marinade for fish, shrimp or chicken or pork. You can also serve it with apple slices and the rest of the jicama for crunchy healthy alternatives - oooh wait - I didn't mean for it to be healthy.
I guess you'll all just have to live with the fact that there are some delicious foods out there that are good for you, too!
buen provecho!

Monday, June 1, 2009

old stand-by











I love roast chicken especially when the weather is crazy like this afternoon - 80 degrees down to 59 in one hour and don't forget to add in unpredictable rain.



Roast Chicken covered in Bacon (oh yeah - I said bacon!)

serves 4ish with leftovers for soup or sandwiches


1 whole roaster or fryer

salt

pepper

6 slices of thick cut bacon

1/2 lemon

4 medium size Yukon gold or other baking potatoes - cut in half

fresh rosemary



While oven is heating to 350 degrees, sprinkle chicken all over, inside and out with salt and pepper. Put lemon inside and layer bacon slices over the top, slightly overlapping to cover the majority of the bird.



Place in oven and cook for 30 minutes. Then add rosemary to pan around chicken and place potatoes cut side down on top of rosemary.


Cook an additional 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165.


You can see, I forgot the rosemary this time. Oh well, I made up for it with extra potatoes. Still tasty.
I served this with a side of grilled eggplant leftover from yesterday.





That's right you asked

for it! So, I am going to start a blog with all the tasty recipes I make and have shared on Facebook.
Some of you may know I have a pretty restricted diet these days due to my number 2 son's sensitive tummy. While I no longer eat dairy, soy, wheat, nuts, eggs or shellfish, I do still enjoy eating.
I'll start things off with some Tamale Pie leftovers that I just finished for lunch. I modified this recipe from Natalie's Enchiladas. Leave time to let it set in the fridge for an hour or so. I try to make it during "quiet time" at my house and then it's ready to heat up whenever I want to get dinner going.

Tamale Pie
serves 4

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
8 oz cooked chicken (optional)
1 1/2 cups corn
8 oz mexican chorizo, regular or spicy
8 oz uncooked polenta
32 oz water
2 tbsp granulated garlic
salt to taste
1 tsp olive oil
chopped cilantro (optional)
diced avocado (optional)
shredded cheese (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine black beans, tomatoes, chicken (if using) and corn.
Cook chorizo over medium heat until cooked through, drain fat and add to bean mixture.
In medium pot, bring water to a boil and add polenta at once, stirring constantly. The polenta will thicken quickly and start to bubble, pull off the heat and continue to stir for 2-3 minutes. Add granulated garlic and salt.
The consistency of the polenta should be that of slightly thinned oatmeal.
Put the oil in the bottom of a square baking dish 8X8, or whatever size and shape you have.
Pour 1/2 the polenta into the dish and let it set up for a minute or two. Add in the bean mixture slowly so that it doesn't fall through the polenta. Top with the remaining polenta and refrigerate.
Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until you see the filling bubble up along the sides a little bit and serve it up. Then top with avocado, cheese, cilantro, lime wedges, whatever floats your boat.