Mad for Marsala

So I was bored, sitting at work yesterday and was thinking about dinner (naturally) and what my boyfriend, Jack and I should do. The other day, he made a pretty valid point that I hadn't made dinner in a while, and that I should soon, because he loves my cooking. I mean, yes, we've made things together, but I hadn't made him a meal by myself.  (I will say though, that we are quite the team and I love making dinner with him). I stepped back to think about it and was pretty disappointed when I realized he was very accurate. I LOVE to cook... I mean, I love anything and everything to do with food, so how could I not? And I love cooking for people I care for, so I realized it was time to step my game up. No more nonsense.

After the entire 3 seconds that I thought about it, I was on my phone, looking through recipes. I wanted to make something really yummy and comforting, especially since it was the last day of September and the weather was cold and rainy. I wanted something filling and delicious as well; but, not too rich and decadent as to where you can't stand up when you're through; (worst feeling ever) especially, since we were planning on seeing a movie afterwards. Chicken Marsala came to mind. Yes, it's a cream-based sauce with hearty mushrooms served over pasta, but it's also elegant and not overly starchy. It's a simple, yet extremely tasteful and the ingredients are based mostly off of things found in the pantry. Settled. Chicken Marsala it is.

Now, my usual style of cooking includes a bit of inspiration from an original recipe and my take on what could make it even better. I'd save a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis a while back and thought it to be the perfect base to cook from. I hadn't made this version before and I wanted to make it extra delicious for Jack. So, I ran out to the grocery store on my lunch break and drove up with the goods when I got out of work. I decided I didn't want to tell him that I was even making anything, because I wanted to surprise him. Next was time to "wow."

First, I began my mise en place. I peeled the outer layer of skin on my vidalia onion and began dicing the entire thing. I used a medium onion because I love how robust its flavor is. The sweetness also acts as as a nice balance against the creaminess of the mascarpone and meatiness from the mushrooms. Next, I minced 2 garlic cloves, (because, let's face it, garlic makes just about everything better) and I chopped up about 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley. I didn't use a measuring spoon, just grabbed a small bunch of leaves from the top. I don't find it necessary to exactly measure out fresh parsley because it adds such freshness and vibrancy, especially to creamy or more decadent dishes.

Next, I prepared the wet ingredients. I measured out 1 cup of Marsala wine (more on the drier side to bring out that robust flavor), 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, and 8 oz (or 1 tub) of mascarpone cheese.

Finally, time for the main ingredient: chicken. I purchased a 1.17 pound package of organic chicken breast (though you can certainly use more) and found that it was a perfect ratio to the sauce and pasta. I rinsed and trimmed the chicken, pat it dry and began to flatten it out. When you are making a chicken dish, especially something that requires even cooking, I always like to pound down the chicken. I think that it creates a more even thickness and allows everything to cook at the same time and same temperature. That way, you don't have 1 or 2 pieces burning while the rest are still raw. Just makes it easier, but that's me. After pounding the chicken, I sliced each breast crosswise into 1/3 pieces. This just makes the chicken cook faster and allows your guests to get healthy bites of chicken throughout their dish, rather than eating one large piece.

Now that the preparations were done, it was time to cook!

I heated about 2 tablespoons of oil in a large sautee pan over high heat and added the chicken. I let it cook about 4 minutes on each side, when it was a nice brown color. In this step, I used high heat because I love to get a crispy golden skin on my chicken while it is still juicy and moist on the inside. Some people would rather their chicken be tender all around without any crispness, which is delicious as well. If that's the case, just turn the heat to medium high and cook for around 3 minutes per side. This step does not cook the chicken thoroughly, as it is finished in the final step by simmering in the Marsala; however, it acts as a preparation for the breast to later absorb all of the creamy goodness.

After cooking the chicken, I removed and set it aside and allowed it to cool a little. In the same pan, I added more olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. Over medium-high heat, I added the onions and sauteed until they were tender, around 2-3 minutes.

Next, I added the garlic and mushrooms and sauteed until the mushrooms were tender and their juices evaporated, around 12 minutes. Now the kitchen was smelling amazing. The sweetness of the caramelized onions mixed with the pungent garlic and earthy mushrooms was mouth watering.

2014...Wait, What?

I can't believe I haven't written in my blog since last year! I feel like resolutions are super overrated and have like a 2% chance of actually being followed through... or at least mine do... so I decided not to create a list of things I want to stop doing, but to make a list of what I want to bring into my life. If that's not your cup of tea, then to each his own; but, I'm excited to open my mind to completely new things.

The First Thanksgiving

I've been super busy for the past week, so my apologizes on creating a Thanksgiving blog over 2 weeks after Thanksgiving. Oh well, though. It's close enough.

So this year was the first Thanksgiving we spent without my dad. To be honest, I spent the morning as if it were any other day. It was hard to accept the fact that my father wouldn't be around, so I tried to stray my mind off of the subject. Ultimately, however, my surroundings quickly took over. I decided to embrace the day and give thanks for all of the beautiful people in my life who offer their constant love and support. My mom, brother and I spent the day at our closest family friends' house. I've known this family since I was 8 years old and they have become family of my own. 

They are the most amazing people and I am so grateful to have them as such a huge part of my life. Although the day was surreal and tough to get by, I wouldn't have rather spent it with anyone else. We were surrounded by love, remembrance and gratefulness.  It was so nice to spend the day with people who knew and loved my father. We shared stories and laughs and beautiful memories and I am so thankful for that. Although this was our first Thanksgiving without him physically, I know my dad was with us and he wouldn't have wanted us to spend it any other way. 

I want to give a special thanks to all of the people in my life, both new and old. I don't know where I would be without any of them and I appreciate everything more than I could ever describe. I am also very thankful for a specific new friend that has come into my life, someone whom I think I will be friends with for a very long time. Her name is Nicole!

{{ Nicole, I knew when I met you that we would become friends. We instantly clicked and I feel like I've known you forever! We definitely get one another and I am so happy to have a friend as real and sweet as you. You are such an amazing person and I cannot express enough how grateful I am that we've gotten as close as we have in such a short period of time. I truly appreciate your honesty, humor, wittiness, generosity and kindness. You tell it like it is and you leave the bullshit aside. I also want to thank you for helping me to start writing in my blog! Without you, I definitely would not have progressed as much as I have. I love that we are the same person and that we get along so unbelievably well. We are undoubtedly soul sisters and I hope it stays that way! }} 

As we all know, Thanksgiving is not just about giving thanks, it is also about the huge meal that has taken hours to prepare. Delicious, home cooked, family style dishes are something I look so forward to each year. I love looking for new recipes to try and perfecting ones that I've made in the past. It's so rewarding to watch the people I love enjoy all the food that was carefully prepared for them. This year, I made 4 different dishes: 3 of which I had made before and 1 that was completely new. I made an appetizer, main dish and 2 desserts. The amount of food we had was ridiculous, but I'll get to that later. For now, here are the recipes that I made. 

I started off with my quick and easy, creamy artichoke dip. This time, I made sure I had fresh scallions on hand. They definitely make all the difference by adding a bite of that pungent onion flavor. 

It took only a few minutes to prepare and the end result was a definite hit. Delicious.

Now, since I obviously wanted to contribute to Thanksgiving dinner, I decided to go all out...one recipe definitely wasn't enough (although it should have been considering the amount of food we had). So, I thought I would bring over a bunch of different things. Now that my appetizer was complete, it was time to make a main dish. 

Introducing my all time favorite: cornbread casserole.

Let me just start off by saying... yum. 

Yum.

Yum.

Yum.

If you like cornbread, or even if you don't, chances are you will love this recipe. It combines the richness of a traditional cornbread with the creaminess of an oven baked casserole. The mixture is phenomenal. Seriously. It's super simple and I promise, everyone will be going back for seconds...and thirds...

Creamy Cornbread Casserole:

1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained 

1 (14 oz) can cream corn

1 (8 oz) package Jiffy corn muffin mix 

1 cup sour cream

1/2 stick salted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups shredded monterey jack and cheddar cheese

I always make 2, 9 X 13 in casserole dishes of this each year because of how popular it is, but one serving is just enough for a family of 6 or 8.

I begin by draining the can of whole kernel corn and add it to a large bowl, along with the cream corn, Jiffy, sour cream, melted butter and 1 cup of the shredded cheese.

I make sure to mix all of the ingredients together and remove any clumps from the Jiffy mix.

After this, I pour the mix into a buttered casserole dish and bake for 45 minutes or until it is golden brown. Now, this is when I add the rest of the cheese. I gradually sprinkle it on and place the casserole back in the oven for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling. The end result is mouth watering. Next, I take it out of the oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes (in order to make it easier to cut without it falling apart). Finally, it's finished.

Now it's time to enjoy.

This was gone within minutes...needless to say I was happy I made 2 dishes. Although, it really wasn't necessary. The food that we had for Thanksgiving dinner was insane. Literally, everything was so delicious and plentiful... I was just full off of appetizers alone. From stuffed shrimp that my mom and Nicky made, to sausage and broccoli bread, baked lobster wantons and stuffed mushrooms, our abundance of appetizers was incredible.

I was psyched that my dip was such a hit and when it came time for dinner, I was also glad that everyone enjoyed my cornbread casserole...especially since there was so  much to choose from! Of course, I had to try a little bit of everything. 

Everything was spectacular. It was so nice to be around the people that I love on the most thankful day of the year and to be surrounded by such delicious food. I know my dad would have loved it.

Now that I had made 2 savory dishes, I had to balance it out with something sweet. After all, what's Thanksgiving without some desert? So, I decided to make my pumpkin cheesecake and by request, I made an apple crisp. Glen, who is an amazing man that is my second father figure, loves apple crisp,  so I decided I was going to make him one. It was a bit different from the norm, as I added fresh orange and lemon juice, but the combination of flavors were killer. Needless to say, I will definitely be making it again next year.  Here is my recipe.

Citrus Glazed Apple Crisp:

Ingredients:

5 pounds of Macoun Apples ( 2 large bags )

Grated zest of 1 medium orange

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

For the Topping:

1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup oatmeal 

1/2 pound cold butter, diced

Serves: 8-10

First, I preheated my oven to 350 degrees F and I buttered a 9 X 14 X 2 in oval baking dish. Next came the fun part: peeling, coring and cutting the apples.

It's a bit time consuming, but the final product is so worth it. Since I've never made this before, all of this work really made me appreciate all of the time and effort people put in to making dishes like this one. I will say, that if you don't own an apple corer, I highly recommend buying one. I didn't realize that ours was broken until I came to this step... and it wasn't the best surprise. It's definitely possible to core the apples by yourself, but, please, save yourself an extra 20 minutes of cooking time by going out and buying one.

After I peeled, cored and cut the apples, I mixed together all of the zests, juices, sugar and spicesr. I then poured the mixture over the apples and spread it all into the buttered casserole dish. For this last step, I used my hands to evenly coat the apples with the citrus mixture. 

Then it was time to make the crumb topping. To be honest, this is my favorite part of the desert. The golden brown lumps of sugar perfectly crisped by the butter is mouth watering. I had to make sure that this came out as perfect as possible.

I combined all of the ingredients with the cold, diced butter and poured it into the food processor with the paddle component attached. Now, I don't usually bake...so this next step was completely foreign to me. I was nervous that it wouldn't come out right, but it was way easier than I thought. I simply pulsed the mixture until it became crumbly and the butter was about the size of peas. 

Next, I evenly scattered the mixture on top of the apples. It was pretty full, so to be sure it didn't bubble over in the oven, I put the casserole dish on top of a sheet pan. 

I placed it in the oven and let it cook for about an hour and fifteen minutes, until the crust was crispy and the apples were bubbling. Finally, it was finished! I took it out and let it rest until it was time for desert. Unfortunately, I was rushing at this point to get over to my family's house, so I didn't even contemplate taking a picture of the final product. I didn't remember this until a little after desert was served, so I was unable to get a finalized picture of my sweet and crunchy masterpiece. This was my piece though...and let me just say...wow.

The bright citrus tang from the lemon and orange mixed in with the sweet apples and sugary crumble was spectacular. The first warm bite was incredible. The crunch from the apples mixed with the caramelized citrus and buttery crumble was a flavor explosion. This will definitely become a Thanksgiving tradition.

My final recipe was for a pumpkin cheesecake. I've made this a number of times before and it has always been a hit. The ingredients are simple, it's easy to make and the final product is divine...here is my recipe.

Pumpkin Cheesecake:

Crust:

1 1/4 cups Keebler Graham Cracker Crumbs

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

Pumpkin Pie Filling:

3 packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 (15 oz) can pureed pumpkin

3 eggs

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

pinch ground cloves

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1 tsp organic vanilla extract

Serves: 8-10

First, I pre-heated the oven to 350 F.

For the crust, I melted the butter and combined it with the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. 

I pressed it down flatly into a 9 in springform pan and set it aside.

For the filling, I beat the cream cheese until it was smooth and added in all but the flour and vanilla. After a quick mix, I added the rest of the ingredients and stirred until it was smooth and creamy. Next, I poured the filling into the prepared pie crust and put it in the oven for 1 hour.

After an hour, while the cheesecake was still jiggly,  I removed it from the oven and immediately ran a butter knife along the inside of the pan to avoid any cracks.

The end result was perfect. Super creamy, smooth and sweet with a zing from the pumpkin puree. I love cheesecake and for the Holiday's, this is a great recipe. I promise, you won't be disappointed! 

This year was probably one of the hardest Thanksgiving's it ever will be, but we got through it and pulled together as a family. Again, I am so grateful to everyone who was there for my mom, brother and I and I know with their help and our strength, we will get through this together. 

Happy Thanksgiving 2013

Miss you, Daddy

I love you more than I could ever possibly describe, Daddy. 

Chilly Day; Hot Soup

Today has definitely been the most frigid day of the season... at least in my book. Even the title of this blog post has me reaching for a thermal blanket. As I sit here, drinking my cup of Tazo Calm tea, snuggling on the couch with layers upon layers of blankets and sweatshirts and  leggings and fuzzy socks, I decided what better time than now to share one of my favorite soup recipes? I've been sick for the past few days, so, I've been doing nothing but slurping broth out of coffee mugs and sipping slowly on steaming cups of hot tea. I can honestly tell you that I cannot wait to be rid of this horrible bronchitis that has been keeping me out of the real world. It seems that colds and flu's and such go perfectly hand in hand with this frigid, bitter weather. I'm afraid to even open the front door because the gusts of wind are so strong they might blow me away. 

The one and only positive thing I can grasp from this unbearable bitterness is that it is the perfect time for a nice, big, steaming bowl of soup. Any soup will do, naturally. Whether you're in to a creamy potato leek or a broth based chicken noodle, cold weather is soup weather. One of my favorite soups to make around this time of year is my version of a Pasta e Fagioli. It's hearty, healthy and the perfect compliment to a cold, windy day. You can have it for lunch or dinner and it can be deliciously paired with a nice glass of red wine. 

I started making this recipe a year or so ago when I was in the mood for something different. I ransacked my kitchen drawers and pantry and came up with a few ingredients with which I created something simple and brilliant. Now, my version is a bit healthier than the traditional recipe. My dad (or Fahja, as I would mostly call him) always loved when I would cook, but he also wanted to eat healthy, so I made this recipe with him in mind. I use ground turkey rather than sausage and low sodium beef broth, but the flavors are still delicious as ever. I mean that, too. You'll believe me once you try it. You'll actually find yourself licking your spoon dry as you try to get every last drop out of the bowl. 

So, here it is, my Fahja's Pasta e Fagioli:

First, I got out all of my ingredients...there weren't too many. Like I said, I found all of them in my kitchen, so I'm sure you won't have to go out and buy much rather than the turkey. I chopped up the onions, celery, carrots and minced the garlic. 

Next, I browned the turkey in a large pot over medium high heat, drained it in a colander and set it aside. I then heated the oil in the same pan and added the onions and carrots and cooked until tender, about 10 minutes. I also added black pepper to flavor the vegetables.

Then I added the celery and garlic and cooked until celery was translucent and garlic was fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Next, I added in  beef broth, San Marzano crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste. I added in some seasoning with thyme, basil, oregano, parsley and a little salt and more pepper.  

Next, I covered the lid, reduced the heat to low and let the soup simmer for an hour. Afterwards, I tasted the broth for any flavor adjustments and added in the cooked turkey. 

I then stirred in the uncooked pasta and let it cook for about 8-10 minutes. I used Barilla Piccolini pasta made with carrots and squash. Now, obviously you don't need to use this type of pasta, but it definitely brought out the flavor of the carrots and added a nice bite to the soup. 

Finally, I added the kidney beans and let the soup sit a bit more to allow the flavors to merry. 

Doesn't it just look beautiful? The colors are even a perfect compliment to a crisp fall day. 

Yum. Look at all that gorgeous texture. Now, grab your favorite bowl or large coffee mug, fill to desired fullness and enjoy!

This one is for you, Daddy!

1 1/2 pound lean ground turkey (substitute if you want, but this tastes so good)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped carrots 
1 cup chopped celery
2 cloves organic garlic
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1 14 oz carton organic beef broth
1 28 oz can San Marzano crushed tomatoes
1/2 can tomato paste
1 1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 1/4 tsp dried basil
1 1/4 dried oregano
1 tbsp fresh parsley
1 cup Barilla Piccolini veggie pasta
1 15 oz can kidney beans
salt to taste
grated Parmesan 

Prepare your mise en place. Loosely chop the onions and carrots and finely dice the celery and garlic. Measure out the spices and drain and rinse the beans in a colander. Heat a large pot over medium high heat and add the ground turkey. Cook until turkey is browned. Remove meat, drain and set aside. In the same pot, heat the olive oil and add the onions and carrots and cook until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Add the celery and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Pour in the beef broth, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and spices. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for an hour. After soup has simmered, taste for flavor adjustments and add in the cooked turkey. Stir in the pasta and cook for about 8-10 minutes. Lastly, stir in the kidney beans and let the soup sit a bit longer to allow the flavors to merry. Ladle soup into a bowl and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Pour yourself a glass of your favorite red and enjoy!

Serves: 10

Night Time Rituals

One of my most favorite things to do when I get home from work is veg out on the couch with my mom and eat popcorn. It's something we've done together for as long as I can remember and definitely something I always look forward to. We get to just relax and talk about how our days went, all the while watching either the Food Network or whatever competitive show is on prime time TV. Ironically enough, I was thinking about writing a post tonight about my love for popcorn. When I got home from work, my mom immediately asked me to make some and I gladly obliged. 

Now, I'm not talking about putting a processed bag of Pop Secret or Orville Redenbacher's in the microwave and pressing the popcorn button. I'm talking about the real deal. Like breaking out the 20 year old pan and manually popping the kernels yourself. Don't get me wrong, i'm a sucker for microwave popcorn, but there's just something about the homemade stuff that really gets my taste buds going.

When I was younger, my mom, dad, brother and I would always snuggle up every Friday night and watch TGIF. This was in the early 90's when prime time television consisted of Step By Step, Boy Meets World and of course, Steve Erkel in Family Matters. I remember my dad having this old school iron pan that he would make popcorn in. I can still hear the kernels hitting the hot oil and bursting into their whole form. I also remember the end result, which was simply fantastic. I don't know what he did, but that was (and always will be) the best popcorn I have EVER had. Something about the perfect butter to popcorn ratio was mesmerizing. I had to recreate it. 

My version is just a bit different than the norm. It has a kick heat mixed in amongst the classic, salty, buttery goodness which creates an unbeatable flavor. It's the perfect addition to a night at home on the couch and it's so easy, too! Give yourself 5 minutes and you'll never go back to processed popcorn again. I hope you enjoy this easy recipe as much as I do!

Katie's Cayenne Kissed Popcorn

2 tbsp canola oil
1 cup popcorn kernels
2 tsp salted melted butter
1 tsp sea salt
1 /4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika

Heat oil in deep pot over medium high heat. Add one kernel. Once it pops, add the rest of the corn. Cover the lid, leaving slightly ajar for steam to escape. Pop the corn, shaking the pan often. One popping stops, remove pan from heat. Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp salted butter in a small pan on the oven over high heat. Once butter is melted, pour over the popped corn. Combine spices in a small dish and sprinkle over the buttered corn, shaking the pot vigorously to distribute the flavors. Pour into a serving bowl. 

Grab yourself a drink, pick out a movie and sit back on the couch. Relax and enjoy.

Serves: 8

Baked Avocado Heaven

For a while now, I have been noticing an abundant amount of recipes for eggs baked in avocado. I don't know if it's a fad or what, but I can't seem to escape it. The photos have been pretty intriguing and some have definitely caught my eye; so, I figured whomever discovered this was undeniably up to something good. I'm always searching for something new to add to my recipe collection, so I decided to give this a try. I love avocados and I love eggs, so I figured the two paired together would be an automatic home run. 

I can literally eat an egg any which way you can think to prepare it, whether it be poached, hard boiled, deviled, fried or scrambled, eggs are definitely in my top 5 favorite foods. Avocados are a close runner up as well. When you think of avocados, I'm sure the automatic recipe that pops into your head is some kind of guacamole. Am I right? Don't get me wrong, I love a good guacamole. The creaminess from the avocado paired with the heat from a diced jalapeno, finished with a tangy bite from freshly squeezed lime...so easy and so delicious. This time around though, I wanted to try something different. Now, I have tried eggs with avocado before: in an avocado, egg and cheese sandwich and as the substitute for mayonnaise in a creamy egg salad. Both were absolutely delicious, so I couldn't wait to try this one. 

I got the general idea of how to prepare this recipe just from glimpsing at a few photos on Pinterest, but I decided to create my own rendition. I wanted to add a little heat and a gooey bite of sharp cheese in my version, so I threw a few things together and ended up with a literal masterpiece.

 That first bite was out of this world. I don't mean to sound cliche or anything, but I am so serious. I couldn't believe I had never tried it before. The combination of the baked egg, runny yolk and velvety avocado was a smash it, definitely a recipe I will be making again and again. 

So, here it is, my simple rendition of an avocado baked egg.

Be careful though, what you are about to see may cause stomach rumbling and excessive drooling=)

Avocado Baked Egg:

1 ripe Hass Avocado, pit removed

2 tsp fresh lime juice

2 medium organic eggs

Pinch of salt, plus more to taste

4 tbsp shredded monterey jack or jalapeno cheddar cheese

Dash of cayenne, plus more to taste 

1/4 tsp cracked black pepper, plus more to taste

Sriracha (optional)

Preheat your oven to 450 F.

Split the avocado in half, using a knife. 

Remove the pit and discard. Squeeze 1 tsp of fresh lime juice onto each avocado half, to prevent browning. This also gives the avocado a nice bright flavor. Place both halves on a sheet of tinfoil and place on a cookie sheet. Crack 2 eggs, one into each avocado half. If the centers look too small to hold the eggs, scoop out a bit more to avoid any overflow. Sprinkle a pinch of salt onto each half and top with 2 tbsp of the shredded monterey jack cheese (or jalapeno cheddar). 

Sprinkle both with a dash of cayenne and finish with a few grinds of fresh cracked black pepper. 

Place the cookie sheet in the center rack and cook for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and slightly golden. Remove the avocado halves and sprinkle a dash of salt onto each.

 Let sit for 2 minutes, top with sriracha and devour.

Serves: 1-2.

Yum. Yum. Yum. Is your mouth watering yet?