What I'm Bringing to the Super Bowl Party

I LOVE buffalo wings!  I also love melty-cheesy dips.  The first time I tried this at a party, I knew it would become one of my entertaining staples.  This may not be the healthiest snack, but I'll be sharing with a whole party worth of people :-)  Its SOOO easy to make and only five ingredients!

Not the best picture - taken covertly at the party with my phone :-)

Buffalo Chicken Dip (serves a party)

 

Ingredients:

• 2 large cans of chicken (depending on the brand, they're between 9.75 and 12 oz)
• 8 oz softened cream cheese (leave out at room temp for about 2 hours to soften)
• 1/2 cup blue cheese or ranch dressing
• 1/2-3/4 cup of Frank's Red Hot (depending on how spicy you want the dip to be)
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (about 2 ounces)com

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Open and drain the cans of chicken.

 

• Add the first 4 ingredients plus 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese to a 9 inch glass pie pan or 1.5 quart casserole dish.  If you want the dip to have even more of a kick, add some cayenne!

 

• Using a large serving spoon, combine the ingredients.  The back of the spoon is helpful for blending.

 

• Spread the dip evenly in the dish.  Top with remaining cheese.

• Bake for 20 minutes, or until melted and bubbly.

• Serve with tortilla chips, and/or carrots and celery.
• Enjoy!

The Evolution of a Recipe

I am so lucky to have grown up in a family where my mother cooked dinner regularly, and we ALWAYS sat down as a family to eat (whether it was a new recipe, an old favorite, "must-go" night - AKA leftovers, or at a restaurant).  Dinner time with my family is something that I'll never take for granted.  People have asked where my love of cooking has come from, and I can say without a doubt its from growing up with parents who appreciated food, pushed us to help cook dinner, and encouraged us to try new foods.  Because of my parents, I've been helping in the kitchen for as long as I remember.

I've been asked how I "make up" recipes, how I know what to add to make something taste better, how I know what will taste good together, etc.  Experience over time and practice are the only keys.  There is no magic list that tells you what to add, but knowing the basics of flavors that go well together and seeing what other people combine in recipes helps you perpetually add to your mental cooking encyclopedia.

Sometimes I start from scratch when I'm making something up, but often I start with a recipe I know that I love.

For example, recently, I started out with my Chicken Marsala.  (A recipe that I cook 3-4 times/year, which is a lot for any recipe for me.)  Keep in mind that this recipe (like any recipe) is just a basis for me - if I don't have shallots, I'll sub onions.  Sometimes I use prosciutto, if I don't have it I add some extra smoked paprika.  Etc.

Chicken Marsala

Mix about 1/2 cup of flour with the following spices (to taste):  smoked paprika (~1 Tb), garlic powder (~1 tsp), black pepper (~1 Tb), cayenne pepper (pinch), dried oregano (~4 shakes), dried thyme (~2 shakes).  Pound 1-1.5 lbs of chicken tenders to 1/4" (between sheets of plastic wrap).  Heat enough EVOO to coat the bottom of a large skillet over medium-high heat (on my electric stove, that's about 1 tick below medium - I hate electric stoves...).  Dredge the chicken in flour mixture.  Slip into pan and fry on each side until golden brown (~3 min/side).  Do not crowd the chicken - cook in batches.  Remove chicken to a platter in a single layer.  Lower heat to medium heat (for me, approx halfway below low and medium on the dial).  Add 3Tb unsalted butter, 1 diced medium shallot, and 2 oz of thinly sliced/ribbon-ed prosciutto and saute for 2 minutes.  Add 3 cups of sliced crimini mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are slightly brown on the edges and have given off their liquid.  Add 1 cup of sweet Marsala, bring to a boil, and scrape brown bits off the bottom.  Reduce the Marsala by half.  Add 1 cup of chicken stock and cook 3 minutes.  Lower to medium, return chicken to pan, and cook about 5 more minutes until chicken is cooked through and hot.  Serve over pasta (bowtie is my favorite).


THE EVOLUTION

While grocery shopping, I saw a package of frozen portobello mushroom ravioli.  Immediately I thought about making a Ravioli Marsala.

First try:

 

I followed my Chicken Marsala recipe almost to a T (with 4 servings of ravioli).  Obviously, there was no chicken to dredge in flour, so I dusted my onions in about a Tb of flour and small amounts of the spices.  I also had no prosciutto.  The result?  It was ok.  Not terrible but not something I'd want to identically duplicate.  There wasn't enough sauce, and the sauce that was there was very thin.

It wasn't great - but I wasn't giving up.  This happens a lot - good idea but mediocre result.  I generally don't stop trying though until I've tried a few more times.

Luckily, this was an "easy" one - the second try was YUMMY!

Mushroom Ravioli Marsala

This time, I didn't take out my recipe and instead cooked by what looked/felt right and what was in my fridge at the time.  It helped that I've cooked my Marsala on many occasions, so I knew the basic steps.

Finely chop 2 medium red onions.  In a bowl, toss with ~6 Tb of flour, 1 tsp of smoked paprika, 2 hefty shake of garlic powder,  1/2 tsp black pepper, 1-2 shakes of cayenne pepper, 1 pinch of ground cloves, 2 shakes of dried oregano, 2 shake of dried thyme.  Heat enough EVOO to cover the bottom of a large skillet over 'high' heat (on my electric stove, that's medium).  Add the onions.  Cook for ~2 minutes.  Add ~4 ounces of diced prosciutto.  Add ~4 cups of sliced crimini mushrooms and 2 Tbs of butter.  Reduce heat to med-hi and stir occasionally until mushrooms are golden brown around the edges.  <Meanwhile, bring your ravioli water to a boil.>  Add a can of beef broth (to the sauce, not the water).  Simmer for 4 minutes.  Add enough Marsala to make a generous amount of sauce (~1 cups).  By now your water should be boiling.  Add 4 servings of ravioli (32ish) to the water and cook according to package (mine take 3 minutes).  Remove the ravioli to the pan of sauce.  Ladel one spoon of sauce into the bottom of the bowl.  Add ravioli.  Top with more sauce.  Enjoy!


I know that next time I make this, my recipe will vary slightly - but thats ok with me!  At least I know I have a place to start from.

Chicken and Kale Handpies... Yes, Handpies.

I think all college students go through a Hot Pockets phase.  Luckily, most of us leave that behind when we graduate.  But, that doesn't mean that we lose our hunger for pastry-wrapped goodness.  I found a recipe for chicken and kale handpies recently and was excited to make them.  Since I made my own dough (hooray for food processors!), it took WELL over the 1 hr 10 minutes approximated, but they turned out great.  I took pictures of the process along the way.

The filling was kale, chicken, and leeks sauteed together.  The sauce came from adding chicken stock and flour toward the end.

Then I divided the mixture among the 6 bottom crusts.

Then I topped them with a little sharp chedder.

 

And sealed them with the top crust, brushed with eggwash.

Done cooking.

And yum!

Healthy Meals

Some days, the only thing that will satisfy me is a belly full of pasta and cheese.  But, its often nice to enjoy a meal that doesn't make you want to take a nap or go and run a mile.  Luckily, I have a non-picky husband who loves veggies almost as much (maybe even more?) than me!  He is often the one encouraging me to make something healthy rather than a creamy casserole.

We finished off the roast chicken by making a zesty Autumn Chicken Salad (chicken, matchstick carrots, apples, onions, and a lemon-dill-pepper dressing), on top of a bed of romaine.  We didn't entirely ignore the tummy-filling carbs; we had biscuits on the side.

Joe and I both LOVE fish!  Whole Foods had their frozen tuna on sale, so I gave it a try.  I used to be very suspicious of frozen fish, but since so many stores have started selling vacuum packed frozen selections, some of my favorites (tilapia, swordfish, tuna, salmon...) have become much more affordable and taste nearly as good as fresh.

Here is our Honey Mustard and Pepper Glazed Grilled Tuna on a bed of romaine hearts, served with quinoa, and topped with yellow bell peppers and tomatoes.  We were very happy with how it turned out! 

For our Sunday Supper this weekend, I wanted something hearty, yet still healthy.  Many recipe books later, I found a simple Chicken Cacciatore.  I've never made Cacciatore before, so I was excited -- I LOVE making things that are "entirely new" to me.  I changed up the recipe slightly, making it a bit healthier by using trimmed chicken tenders instead of skin-on chicken, and brown rice instead of white.  I also added some dry vermouth and capers to add a kick!

Chicken Cacciatore -- chicken, onions, tomatoes, garlic, capers, vermouth, oregano

Olive Rice

Chicken Cacciatore served over Olive Rice

As a side note:  I used to buy the pre-washed, pre-cut lettuce.  But, unless we ate it all in 2-3 days, it would start getting slimy and I'd have to throw it out!  Since moving, I have been buying the bags of "hearts of romaine" instead.  The 3 hearts can make a full week of side salads, I wash and cut what I need when I need it, AND it lasts so much longer!  I have yet to throw out a single leaf of lettuce and the overall cost per the amount of product is so much better.

Home Cooking

Since moving to Colorado, we've been eating most of our meals at home -- giving me many opportunities to experiment with new recipes.  (New recipes are always my favorite thing to cook -- there's just something exciting about it!!).

Probably one of the prettiest quiches I've ever made.  Mushroom, bacon, swiss, and green onion.

 Roasted chicken!  Roasted with lemon, onions, and TONS of garlic.

Served with pan seared asparagus, stuffing, and chicken gravy.  Also notice our beautiful pumpkin!  Picked at a local pumpkin farm (where we also got to find our way through a 1.5 acre corn maze).

Perfect use for leftover roasted chicken and gravy:  individual chicken pot pies!!!

 Filled with lots of veggies along with the chicken, of course!

I wish I took pictures of the roasted beet and potato borscht (a slightly chuncky beet soup -- such a gorgeous color!), French onion soup (Julia Child's recipe, which involved caramelizing my onions for 45 minutes prior to making the soup...), asparagus risotto, shepherd's pie, lamb meatloaf, etc...