Perfect Roast Chicken

I have made this recipe a handful of times, and love it every time. It's great for making when you have guests, because it's seems impressive, but it's actually pretty easy. It's also great for this time of year. At first, it was very intimidating to roast a whole chicken, but I eventually got used to man-handling the raw chicken. I actually don't mind raw meat too much. Some people can't stand touching it.

Perfect Roast Chicken
Recipe from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise (I use 4-6 tsp already minced garlic)
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks (can use more if you love carrots)
1 bulb of fennel (of decent size), tops removed, and cut into wedges
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.

Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables

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There's also a video of her making it on YouTube:

Veggie Tostadas

I have always had a love for Mexico, ever since my parents told me stories of both living there, then I studied Spanish in high school and college, then I studied abroad in Cuernavaca my sophomore year of college.

My mom loved TJ Maxx, and in case you didn't know, you can find awesome cookbooks there. I have found Martha Stewart cooking books that are originally $40 for only $9.99. My mom used to go and just browse, and she found 2 really good Mexican cookbooks there. One is a Williams & Sonoma Mexican cookbook, a little fancy, but beautiful. Another one (this one), is my favorite. It has beautiful pictures, and a really long introduction with pictures of Mexico, street vendors, fruits, veggies, describing regional cuisines, cooking techniques, eating customs, street food descriptions, definitions and pictures of certain ingredients like all the different peppers and spices, special utensils used, and holiday foods. If you ever come over, you'll have to look at it. I love it. This recipe is from that book.

Vegetable Tostadas

(from "The Mexican Cookbook," Marlena Spieler editor)

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

(Tostadas:)

4-8 soft corn tortillas

4 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

*or you can just buy already made tostadas...some grocery stores carry them, others don't

2 potatoes, diced

1-2 carrots, diced

3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped (I have a jar of already minced garlic, and it's just 1 tsp=1 clove minced...it's so much easier and your hands won't smell of garlic for hours!)

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 tsp mild chili powder

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp ground cumin

3-4 ripe tomatoes, diced (I have also used 1 can of diced tomatoes and it was fine...around here, it's been all about saving time since we are both in school and don't have much of it!)

4-8 oz green beans, blanched and cut into bite size lengths (I have used about 1 cup of frozen cut green beans and it was fine)

several large pinches of dried oregano

2 1/3 c. cooked black beans, drained (I usually use 1 can of black beans, drained)

8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

3-4 romaine lettuce leaves, shredded/chopped

3-4 scallions, thinly sliced (optional)

To make the tostadas, heat the oil in a pan/pot and pan fry the tortillas until crisp. Keep watch over them, as it is easy to burn them. You will need to flip them a couple times in the oil to get it evenly fried. I usually fry them in a small pot (to avoid a mess of oil on the stove top) with about 1 1/2 inches of oil in the pot.

Be watchful of them, because if you aren't, this could happen:

Heat the remaining oil in the skillet (about 1-2 tbsp). Add the potatoes and carrot and cook for 10 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic, red bell pepper, chili powder, paprika, and cumin. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the bell peppers have softened.

Add the tomatoes, green beans, and oregano. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and form a saucelike mixture. The mixture should not be too dry; add a little water if necessary.

Preheat the broiler to medium. Heat the black beans in a pan with a tiny amount of water and keep warm. Reheat the tostadas under the hot broiler. Spread the beans over the hot tostadas, then sprinkle with the cheese, and top with a few spoonfuls of the hot vegetables in sauce. Sprinkle each tostada with lettuce and scallions and serve immediately.

A slightly quicker version: Add the black beans into the vegetable mixture, heat through, then just top the vegetable mixture on the warm tostadas, top with cheese, lettuce, scallions, EAT and enjoy. :)

Sweet Potato Souffle

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It's that time of year! All the traditional Thanksgiving dishes. We've already celebrated Thanksgiving a couple weekends ago when my family came to visit. I was surprised we were able to cook everything in our kitchen with 1 little oven.

I have an incredible cook for a mother-in-law. She could probably open her own restaurant with all of her awesome recipes. Her berry pies are particularly popular, especially with her 4 boys (and me). I got this recipe from her, and she got it from her friend, Genevia Debord. Almost everyone grew up with this recipe, and there are slight variations of it. I personally prefer the crunchy, sugar, pecan topping as compared to the marshmellow.

Sweet Potato Souffle

Ingredients:

1 40 oz can sweet potatoes, drained and mashed 1 c. sugar

1/2 stick of margarine/butter (I almost always use salted butter for everything)

1/2 c. milk

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine and mix with hand mixer. Put into casserole dish. Add topping. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. (I have left it in a little longer before, just because it didn't look quite done, but you can see for yourself)

Note: I have used a 40 oz cans, and also 2 29 oz cans and it has turned out fine.

Topping:

1/2 stick margarine, soft (Again, I always use salted butter, and I just melted it)

1 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. flour

1 c. pecans, roughly chopped

Mix all ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of casserole.

Potato Bundles

These are SO good. You have to try them! Full of flavor, tender chunks of baked potato with a creamy sauce. I find myself with staples in my kitchen such as potatoes. On any given weeknight, I find myself trying to piece together a meal and get it ready before I leave for class at 4 or 5pm, so Bryce and cook it when he gets home. I'll find a couple frozen chicken breasts, or hamburger meat to thaw, and then I see a bag of potatoes. Of course, you could do a baked potato, or mashed, but this is such a delicious twist on your regular potato. Plus, it doesn't have any irregular ingredients (that you wouldn't normally have sitting around) other than maybe the heavy cream.



I found this recipe on one of my fave food blogs, Pioneer Woman. You can find the recipe here.

Or here:

Potato Bundles
from Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients
6 whole Russet Potatoes
1/2 onion, diced
1 stick butter
1/2 cups heavy cream
Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste
Paprika to taste
2 tbsp minced (or dried) parsley

Pile potatoes and onions on a square of foil. Add 2 tbsp of butter. Splash on cream. Then sprinkle on salt, paprika, and black pepper. Sprinkle parsley on top. Wrap bundles tightly and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, or until very tender.

Serve bundles right on the plate. Serves 8.

Dad's Pico de Gallo

In Mexican cuisine, Pico de gallo (Spanish for "rooster's beak") is a fresh uncooked condiment made from chopped tomato, onion, and sometimes chilis (typically jalapeños or serranos). Other ingredients may also be added, such as lemon or lime juice, fresh cilantro (coriander leaf), cucumber, radish or other fresh firm pulpy fruit such as mango. (Wikipedia, where else?)

It's a very simple recipe, and pretty much all recipes for it are very similar. At most Adams family get togethers, Dad makes a big bowl of salsa that we snack on all week/weekend. Bryce and Tim could probably finish the whole bowl in a couple hours if they were given enough chips. I love it because it's all fresh ingredients, and you can control how much of each ingredient you prefer.

When I studied abroad in Mexico, I remember at a lot of restaurants and meals, it would just be like any other condiment expected, sitting in a little bowl at the table.

When Dad makes it, and the few times that I have made it, we don't usually make exact measurements in the recipe.

Pico de Gallo
(approximated)
Makes a medium size bowl. Can refrigerate for a few days.

Ingredients
1 onion, diced (depending on how much you like onions)
1-2 jalapeno pepper, diced (remove seeds if you don't want it too spicy!)
Juice of 1 lime (I love the lime, so I like about 2 limes juiced)
5-8 tomatoes, diced (we usually use Roma tomatoes)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
Dash of cumin

*Can also add 1 mango, diced or chopped up pineapple chunks

One of my weaknesses

I have to really think about the decision to buy these when I am at Target, because I know that I can and probably will eat the entire bag within 1-2 days.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

My mouth is watering just thinking about this cake. Maybe it's just because I love baked goods in the breakfast category...coffee cakes, tea cakes, crumb cakes, croissants, breads, pastries, scones, muffins. Does it get much better than that?

I randomly found this recipe when I had about 1 cup of fresh blueberries that were on the verge of getting too ripe. There's not much I can say other than you need to try this recipe.

Blueberry Crumb Cake
Recipe from Barefoot Contessa
Ingredients

For the streusel:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the cake:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup fresh blueberries
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel:
Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. I use a fork. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.





I actually found a video of Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) making this. Without cable, and missing the Food Network channel, I liked watching it on youtube.

Caprese salad

Or "Insalata Caprese" pronounced "kah-pray-zay." Insalata Caprese (salad in the style of Capri) is a simple salad from the Italian region of Campania, made of sliced fresh buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil. In Italy, unlike most salads, it is usually served as an antipasto (first course), not a contorno (side dish).
(Info from Wikipedia)

Summer is a perfect time for this refreshing salad with fresh tomatoes and basil. Plus, if you're Italian, it's very patriotic with the 3 colors of the flag. I wish I was Italian.

Some people will also add a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Some people also will serve it in a different style than I did by slicing the cheese and tomatoes in thick slices. I think it's just naturally a very pretty salad.

(photo from romaexperience.com)

I don't feel like I need to give a recipe. Tomatoes+Mozzerella+Basil+olive oil+salt+pepper. All to taste.

P.S. Having a basil plant is SO much cheaper than buying it at the store!! And so much more convenient...because you can use just a couple leaves, and the others won't go bad in the fridge! Plus, you don't have to have a garden to have a basil plant...just grow it near a sunny window in a pot.

Store vs. Garden

From the store vs. from the garden.

Crazy, huh?

(The garden ones are smaller and/or looks like it needs some clearasil)

Smoothie

I got on a smoothie kick this summer. It's so easy and refreshing. In Venezuela, "jugo" (juice) is served at all restaurants, and it's simply fruit blended and served. I loved the parchita (passion fruit), melon (cantaloupe), and fresa (strawberry). In Mexico, it's "aguas frescas" (fresh water) made from blended fruit. Love it!! I really like the agua de jamaica (hibiscus flowers) and horchata (rice and coconut).

Anyways, for my smoothies in Southwest Virginia, I usually throw in a ripe banana, some vanilla yogurt (eyeball it-between 1/2-1 cup), a few frozen strawberries (5-6), and some frozen blueberries (1/4-1/2 cup).

I'm intrigued by green smoothies. I haven't tried one yet. It sounds crazy to add spinach or kale to a fruity smoothie. But I have heard great things about them...

Grilling

We love to grill. We love the summer. Grill and summer just go together. Too bad it's almost over.

Grilled chicken, grilled burgers and dogs, grilled veggies, grilled kabobs, grilled steaks.

At our co-op that I was so excited about, it turns out that they sold too many shares, so the produce was very limited unless you got there RIGHT when they opened. And even then, I wasn't how much variety you'd get. They also found themselves in a pickle with other issues. Some friends have talked about just getting their money back. I would like to get a refund, seeing as though I only got 3 shares, but who knows. Anyways, there was an abundance of zucchini and pickling cucumbers in July. I mean, tons of them. One week when I went, I only got zucchini and a cucumber. 5 lbs of it.



Zucchini on the grill is WAY better tasting than steamed. In my opinion. Toss it in olive oil, sprinkle some good kosher or sea salt on it and throw it on the grill.



We eat a lot of chicken around here as well. It's versatile...and more economical than a good steak. When we grill chicken outside, we tend to go with the bone-in pieces because we have found that the bone and skin keeps the chicken moist. BBQ chicken on the grill. Yum. Might just have to go to the store to get a couple chicken breasts for tonight.

Simple Pasta Salad

Potlucks and cook outs are abundant in the summer. Here's your typical side dish. I haven't made pasta salad more than maybe twice in my life. I know that there are gazillions of recipes for all types of pasta salads. I just threw together what I thought goes into one, and it turned out pretty good.

Pasta salad
Serves 5-8

Ingredients
1 box of tricolor Rotini
1 cucumber, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 small carton of grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 container of crumbled feta
Kraft House Italian dressing (to taste)

Cook pasta until al dente. Chop up veggies. Throw everything in a big dish. Stir gently to combine.

Banana Bread

Everyone has their own favorite banana bread recipe. It's such a delicious, easy, no yeast bread. Plus, I haven't met anyone that doesn't like it. Even Dionne, who doesn't like bananas, will eat banana bread.

I have tried quite a few recipes. This one is my favorite. It's simply out of this world right out of the oven with butter. It stays moist for days. Bryce likes to cut a slice, pop it in the micro for 10 seconds or so, and butter it. I don't know what is different about this one other than the added milk, but we love it and have stuck with it.

*Note, if you have ever opened my freezer, you may have been disgusted with finding brown frozen whole bananas. Exhibit A:


Well, if you have ever eaten this bread made by yours truly, it probably was made with 2 of these gorgeous bananas. It doesn't change the taste at all! Whether it's frozen and brown, or fresh and overly ripe, both work. (I do fully thaw them before I mix them in, which makes them look even more delectable...not) Trust me. I just hate to waste food. When I see a banana getting too brown, I throw it in the freezer and wait for a day when I get a hankering to make this bread. Also, I always use 2 bananas.

Banana Bread
Recipe from Sheri Onishi
Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup margarine/butter (I usually use salted butter)
1 egg
5 tbsp milk
1 cup ripe bananas (1-2 bananas)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional--I usually make it without)

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. (I just throw it in a bowl and stir it with a whisk.) In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter (I use my stand up mixer, or you could use a hand mixer.) Beat egg slightly and mix in. Add bananas. Combine dry ingredients in mixture, only mixing until just combined. STIR or FOLD in milk (and nuts if desired). Spread into greased and floured 9x5" pan. Bake until top is brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean. About 55 minutes at 350 degrees.



I've also made it in muffin cups.

I love a good orange

And I've had a fair share of not-so-good oranges from the store. It turns out, at least at our Kroger, that the organic oranges are much smaller, but MUCH more delicious, than the regular oranges. They are so much more juicy and flavorful. I'm not a huge organic person, but as far as oranges go, I will stick with these.

Lemon cookies

Growing up, my mom's side of the family had reunions every summer in the Outer Banks. We LOVED it. Each family (there were 4) would arrive at different times and just wait for Grandma and Grandpa to show up. Grandma would arrive with big ziplocks of cookies, dozens of kiss cookies, chocolate chip cookies, reeses cup cookies, and lemon cookies plus her famous coffee cake. All of us grandkids would be chomping at the bit to dig in.

Most of the kids went for the chocolate cookies, but I also loved the lemon cookies. They were like little cakes with lemon glaze. I have the recipe for her cookies somewhere, and need to try it, but last Christmas, dad gave me a Giada de Laurentiis cookbook and I found a very similar tasting cookie.

I've made them a few times, and Bryce and I love them. I'm not even a big lemon/lime dessert fan. I don't like the merengue pies, or lemon bars. But I love these cookies.

Surprise ingredient: RICOTTA CHEESE!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon glaze
Ingredients
Cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cookies:
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes. They are very cake like, almost like muffin tops. I always have to have one right out of the oven, even without the glaze, it's good.


Glaze:
Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours.

Red, White, and Bleu (and green)

Speaking of tomatoes...

Quick Appetizer: Roma tomatoes with blue cheese and a leaf of basil.

Cut tomatoes in half, and slice the end off for a flat surface. Scoop out all the innards. Fill with blue cheese and if desired, add a leaf of basil in there.



It's a very light, refreshing snack. Plus, cheese is so good with tomatoes.

First red one!

As you may know, we have a garden.



The other day, I picked our first red cherry tomato!

Blueberry Peach Muffins

Blueberry-Peach Muffins
Adapted from a The Pink Apron recipe
Yields 16 muffins

Ingredients:
-3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided (*I used 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, and 1 cup all purpose flour)
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1 teaspoon salt
-8 tablespoons butter
-1 cup sugar
-3 large eggs
-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-1 cup sour cream
-1 1/2 cups chopped peaches
-1 1/2 cups blueberries


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease 16 muffin cups or use paper liners. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together 3 1/4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a handheld or stand mixer until light and fluffy and almost white in color. Scrape down the bowl to make sure all the butter is incorporated, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and sour cream and mix until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until the batter is smooth. (*Batter will be thick!)


Toss blueberries and peaches in remaining flour (separately) and gently fold mixture into the batter. You may have to use more than just 1/2 cup of flour to fully coat the fruit. (I used frozen blueberries which was difficult because they were very liquid-y; and I used fresh peaches)


Fill muffin cups and bake for 18-24 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove them from the oven, cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan to finish cooling on a rack.

Sangria

I went to a really fun World Cup 2010 Final game party. Spain vs. Netherlands. Everyone there was rooting for Espana, so there was a lot of Spanish food. I brought some snacks that reminded me of Spain when Bryce and I went last year. We loved the toasted bread with olive oil and salt brushed on it and the jamon iberico which I talked about here. Olives are so mediterranean, and I love black olives, but I'm not a big fan of the green olives. Meredith loves them. I love Meredith. I brought them. But the big hit was the sangria that I brought.



I had never made it before and boy, am I ready to make it again! I'm such a newbie, that I got the recipe from About.com! Then I adapted it to what I bought at the store and forgot to buy at the store.

Sangria
Serves 6-10
Ingredients
1 Bottle of red wine (I used a Merlot from Australia...and it was a 1.5 liter bottle which is a little bigger than a normal bottle)
1 Lemon cut into wedges
1 Orange cut into wedges
1 Lime cut into wedges
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup Splash of orange juice
3 Shots of triple sec (optional, but I did it)
1 small bag of frozen raspberries
1 large can of diced pineapples (with juice)
4 Cups ginger ale (I just bought a liter bottle of ginger ale)
1 can of Fresca

Preparation:
Pour wine into a large pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon, orange and lime into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and pineapple then add sugar, orange juice and triple sec. Chill overnight.

Add ginger ale, berries, fresca, and ice just before serving. They say that the best Sangrias are chilled around 24 hours in the fridge allowing it to marinate together.

Smoothie Popsicles

For those hot summer days. I found this cool popsicle thing at Walmart about a month ago for $2, and was really excited to use it. It even has a little cup thing if it starts to melt, and you can use the straw to drink whatever liquid melted. When we were kids, Mom had one and we had a lot of fun making orange juice popsicles, grape juice popsicles, and anything else we came up with.

Smoothie popsicles

Make a smoothie in your blender (1 ripe banana, about 1/2-1 cup of vanilla yogurt, about 5 frozen or not strawberries). Pour it into the popsicle thing. Drop fresh blueberries into each one. Freeze overnight. You can make popsicles with almost anything probably. I would like to try chocolate pudding...maybe it would be like a fudgcicle?

Healthy snack or dessert.

Saturday morning breakfast

Bryce is stuck in the middle of his Ph.D. qualifying exam. I decided to make him a more exquisite breakfast on Saturday instead of the usual english muffin or bowl of cereal.

(Waffle recipe from the Bisquick box. We love Bisquick as if it's part of the family.)