Sweet Summer Appetizer

I was wandering through the grocery store yesterday minding my own business when the guy from the Murray Cheese bar in Kroger literally chased me down to taste the goat cheese he was sampling.  I tried to decline, because I'm not always fond of goat cheese. It was on a lovely cracker, though, and topped with a drizzle of honey.  In general, I do like cheese (a lot) so I decided to give it a try. It was really good and, of course, I rushed right over to grab a wedge.  I have to confess that this is not the first time this has happened to me.  I guess those Murray Cheese guys can spot a sucker from a mile away.

I wanted Michael to taste my new find, so I offered him a snack.  He thanked me for my offer and explained that he wasn't really hungry, so I made one anyway.  I added the strawberry and served it right up.  He immediately asked if I could make about 200 more.  He also insisted that I share it with the rest of the world - or at least the 18 people who actually follow this blog. 

One of those requests is actually doable, so here's what you'll need to dazzle your own family with this sweet summer appetizer:

Sesame crackers
Humboldt Fog cheese
Honey
Strawberries

Top each sesame cracker with a smear of Humboldt Fog and a drizzle of honey.  Add a strawberry and dig in!  You could also use apple wedges, blueberries or just about any other fresh fruit.

Habanero Burger & Homemade Onion Rings

I'm not normally an eater of spicy things, but I've recently decided to try and be a little braver about that.  It may have something to do with my newest addiction - the Food Network and any show with Bobby Flay in it.  Everything Bobby Flay makes just looks delicious and peppers are his signature ingredient.  I wouldn't be surprised if he put them in ice cream.

The new addiction is working out pretty well for Michael.  He loves spicy food. 

I was poking around in the produce section at my local store recently, when I came across the habanero and scotch bonnet peppers.  Yes, I know they are supposed to be the hottest peppers in the world.  Don't ask me what I was thinking.  I have no idea.  Needless to say, both peppers found their way into my grocery cart.  They've been sitting in the fridge for two weeks while I worked up the nerve to actually use them.

Today was the magic day.  I wasn't sure I'd be able to eat the burgers, but I was having a brave moment so I decided to go for it.  I wasn't brave enough to use more than one, so that may have been my saving grace.  The burgers were spicy, but definitely delicious.  The onion rings were a perfect companion for them.

Here's what you'll need for the burgers:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 habanero pepper, finely chopped
1 thick slice of onion, finely chopped
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 thick slice of red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 tbsp of brown sugar
Splash of pepper juice (I used the liquid from a jar of banana peppers)
Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Salt
Freshly grated asiago cheese

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and work them together with your hands until everything is well combined.  Form four large patties.  Cook them until they are just done.  Overcooking will dry them out.  Top them with tomato, onion, cheese or whatever you like.

Here's what you'll need for the onion rings:

1 large yellow onion
1 1/2 cups of flour
2 tsp of salt
1 egg
Milk
Bread crumbs
Sunflower oil

Combine the flour, salt and egg in a large bowl.  Add milk until you have a good batter.  It should look like thin pancake batter.

Cut the onion into thick slices.  Dip them in the batter and then dredge them in the bread crumbs until they are well covered.  Fry them in the oil until they are golden brown.

Fresh Creamed Corn

I've often said that I'm not the most southern southern girl you've ever met, but there are a couple of really southern things that I do like.  One of them is my Mama Sue's creamed corn. 

Mama Sue was my great-grandmother - the one who desperately tried to turn me into a girl when all I wanted to do was climb the giant Magnolia in her yard.  She's been gone for several years now, but she would be happy to know that I turned out to be a decent cook.  It seems to me that she was good at everything but cooking was definitely her special skill and the creamed corn that she made with the fresh corn from her own garden was my absolute favorite.

Today's recipe doesn't attempt to duplicate hers.  Instead, it's my own variation on the theme.  With some fresh corn from the farmer's market - or even your local grocery store - you can serve up this version of an old southern favorite any night of the week.

Here's what you'll need:

4 ears of fresh corn

2 tbsp of bacon grease

1/2 tbsp of butter

1/4 cup of milk (or heavy cream)

1 tbsp of flour

Salt to taste

Chili powder to taste

Shuck the corn really well and get as much of the silk out as you can.  You'll need a large bowl and a sharp knife to remove the corn from the cob.  Using the sharp side of the knife, carefully cut half of the kernels off the cob.  Make sure you don't cut all the way to the cob. Next, use the dull side of the knife to scrape the rest of the corn from the cob.

I used my greasy bacon pan from breakfast to cook the corn.  If you want to do that, too, pour out most of the grease, leaving just a couple of tablespoons plus the crispy bacon pieces that are still stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Add the corn to the skillet, heat to medium and stir well with a wooden spoon, making sure to scrape the bacon pieces from the bottom so that they get incorporated into the corn.

Add the butter and the milk or cream.  I included the flour here because I used 2% milk.  If you have whole cream on hand, you can probably do without the flour.  Either way, stir well to keep things from sticking.

Add the salt and chili powder to taste.  I recommend starting small with the chili powder and working your way up.  You don't want it to overtake the dish, just to contribute.

This only takes about half an hour, so it's an easy weeknight dish.  You can also make it in really large quantities and freeze it for later.  Serve it with fried chicken and mashed potatoes for a full blown southern meal!

Mahi Mahi Burger

Fish is one of our favorite things to eat but finding new and interesting ways to prepare it can be a challenge.  The recipe that inspired the Mahi Mahi Burger actually called for salmon.  I was salmon shopping when I found the mahi mahi on sale.  Voila!  A decision was made.  It's not like I really follow recipes anyway so what's one more substitution?

For a low carb version, you can try this patty without the bun and add some steamed veggies on the side.  I would probably cover it in honey mustard.  Of course, that just replaces the carbs with a bunch of fat.  It wouldn't be the first diet rule I ever broke.

If you try this one, be creative.  You could make a spicy version by replacing the banana peppers with something hotter.  You could also replace the peppers with dill pickle relish.  If you go that route, I'd recommend plain mayo instead of the cilantro-lime version used here.



Here's what you need:

1 lb mahi mahi fillets

Bread crumbs

1 thick slice of red onion, chopped

4 thick slices of red onion

4 thick slices of tomato

1 whole banana pepper, chopped

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

Jayne's Krazy Mixed Up Salt

Sunflower oil

4 bakery buns

Cilantro-lime mayo (see recipe below)

Chop the mahi mahi well with a heavy knife - or use a food processor.  Place the fish in a large bowl.  Add the onion, banana pepper and garlic.  Mix thoroughly with your hands.  Add bread crumbs a little at a time, mixing well after each addition, until the mixture is thick enough to form into four patties.

Heat about 1/4 inch of sunflower oil in a large skillet on medium.  Cook the patties for 5 to 6 minutes on each side until they are completely done.  Spread the mayo on the bakery buns.  Add the fish patties and top with the sliced tomato and onion.

For the mayo:

Combine one quarter cup of mayonnaise with two tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro and lime juice to taste.

Cheesy Bacon Chicken Breasts

Weeknight meals can be such a challenge, especially for us working moms.  It's so easy to throw a frozen pizza in the oven or just grab some takeout on the way home.  That always feels like cheating to me, though.  I have this strange compulsion (it's not strange to me but it may seem strange to others) to cook everything myself.  I often have to find a way to balance that with the time constraints of every day life.  This dish is fast, easy and satisfies my need to do things myself. 

I recently started using chicken from Springer Mountain Farms.  It has such a natural, clean, unadulterated chicken flavor.  I was completely floored the first time I used their chicken.  For this recipe, I used the boneless breasts.  Because they are thin, they cook really quickly.

You can use any kind of  bacon, but my preference is the thick sliced market bacon from Earth Fare, my favorite healthy supermarket.  They also offer an apple wood smoked version which I use on occasion.  To speed up your weeknight meal, I recommend having the bacon cooked in advance.  If you do that, make sure you save just a little of the bacon grease for cooking.

The cheese I've used here is Havarti.  It's light, creamy and melts very nicely.  It's mild flavor complements the other elements of the dish perfectly.  If you don't have Havarti, Provolone or Monterrey Jack would work just as well in this dish.

The remaining ingredients, banana pepper and red onion, really make this simple meal stand out.  I use red onions in just about everything and the banana pepper has a flavor that really comes through without overpowering that awesome chicken.

Here's what you need to impress your family with a takeout-free weeknight meal:

4 small chicken breasts
4 bacon slices
4 large slices of Havarti cheese
1 large banana pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 slice of red onion, finely chopped
Bacon grease
Sunflower oil
Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Salt

Start with your grease and oil.  Because I did not cook my bacon in advance, I used the bacon pan for the chicken.  I poured the majority of the grease from the pan, leaving the bottom covered with greasy bacon goo.  Yummy!  If you cook your bacon ahead of time, just save a couple of spoonfuls of the grease for the chicken.  I added just a little bit of the sunflower oil to dilute the bacon grease.

Seed and chop the fresh banana pepper, then dice your onion.  Add them to the pan and let them soften a bit in the grease.  Push them to the sides of the pan to continue cooking and place your chicken breasts in the center.  Season them with a little Jane's, then flip them and season the other side. 

Cook the chicken until it's just about done.  Then place half a piece of cheese on each breast.  Top that with a piece of bacon, then cover the bacon with the other half of the cheese slice.  Cover the pan until the cheese is completely melted.  When you plate the chicken breasts, scoop up the onions and peppers from the pan and put them on top.

Enjoy!  If you decide to try this one, I'd love to hear how it turns out.

Southwest Steak and Eggs on the Grill

My mission to become a goddess of the grill continued today with our Memorial Day dinner.  We totally gorged ourselves on Southwestern scrambled eggs, flank steak and home fries on the grill.  Today was also The Runt's 19th birthday and her favorite breakfast food, aside from cereal, is pancakes.  Just for her, I incorporated pancakes into our breakfast-for-dinner lineup.

I have to give credit where credit is due and it would never have occurred to me to make eggs on the grill if it hadn't been for an episode of Grill It! with Bobby Flay.  Bobby's meal was an Argentinian breakfast with chorizo.  I went the Southwest route and used a tequila-lime marinated flank steak.  Do you think it was wrong of me to serve Italian bread with it?  Ha!  It was delicious, if just a tad multicultural.

Here's what you need to grill up your own breakfast:

Scrambled Eggs
6 large eggs
4 ounces of Monterrey Jack cheese, cubed
1 slice of bacon, well done and finely chopped
1 small sweet red pepper, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
2 tbsp unsalted butter

In a bowl, beat the egg well with a wire whisk.  Add all of the other ingredients, except the butter, and mix well.  You'll need a cast iron or stainless steel skillet and the butter to cook them.

Flank Steak

1 1/2 lbs flank steak
3/4 cup tequila
Juice from 1/2 lime
2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
Dash of soy sauce
Sea salt to taste

In a bowl, combine the tequila, lime juice, cilantro, soy sauce and salt.  Mix well.  Pour the mixture into a gallon sized zipper bag.  Add the steak and shake the sealed bag until the meat is well coated.

Potatoes
3 medium baking potatoes, already baked and cooled
Olive oil
1/2 slice of red onions, diced
2 cloves fresh garlic

Cut the potatoes into cubes. Pour olive oil into a cast iron pan - just enough to cover the bottom of the pan well.  Add the onions and garlic to the oil.

Because timing is everything when you're cooking on the grill, you want to make sure you do things in the right order.  Start with the potatoes.  Put the cast iron skillet on the grill until the onions are soft and the garlic just begins to brown.  Add the potatoes and let them cook while you finish the rest of your prep work.

When the potatoes start browning on the bottom, it's time to put your flank steaks on to cook.  You can cook them directly on the grill if you want, but I use a cast-iron griddle.  In my opinion, cooking the meat on a flat surface seals in the juices.  Whatever method you choose, place the meat on the grill and don't touch it until you're ready to turn it over. 

When the meat is finished cooking, remove it from the grill and cover it with foil.  Depending on the size of your grill, you may need to remove the griddle (if you've used one).  Place your skillet with two tablespoons of butter in it on the grill.  When the butter is melted, pour your egg mixture into the skillet and scramble the eggs.

If you include bread in your meal, I recommend brushing it with olive oil and tossing it on the grill for a few minutes on each side. You can also drizzle some queso blanco over the eggs and the meat if you want.  Yum!

Gearing up for Grilling

Aunt D has been on break but she's back now with a summer lineup that will surely make your mouth water. It’s all about the grill this summer – at least that’s my plan. Cooking outdoors is fun, the food can’t be beat and – the best part – you can avoid the never ending saga of Air Conditioner vs. Oven.

I started my grilling season off with asiago bread, bratwurst and chicken. Nothing special about any of those items, but it was my first time cooking bread on the grill. Click here for the recipe. Use a bread machine or stand mixer to make your dough, form two round loaves, cover and let rise for 20 minutes or so. I cooked it for half an hour on a stoneware pan on the top level of my grill. It turned out fabulous!

You’ll notice in the picture that I am using a cast iron griddle to cook the meat. It works wonderfully – seals in the juices instead of letting them drip away (thanks to Terri K. for the tip) and makes it easier to cook your veggies.

My little round grill, even though it has two levels, may not be up to the task. I’m definitely going to need more cooking space. Do I replace the current grill with a larger one? Or do I get another just like the one I already have? I’ll have to think about it.

My plan for next week is breakfast for dinner on the grill. Southwest scrambled eggs, home fries, grilled toast and a meat selection to be named later. Check in with me to see how that turns out!