cherry balsamic chicken salad.

ok, so it took me an extra couple of days, but what's new :) here is that recipe i promised.  it's perfect for all this uncharacteristically warm, well hot rather, weather we've been having. enjoy!

The.best.salad.

I will share this recipe tomorrow...but I had to share this now it was soooooo good!!
We had an endive and radicchio salad with a cherry balsamic reduction, topped with grilled chicken, goat cheese, nuts and seeds, and dried cranberries. Heaven :)
Ooh asks if this looks funny it is a post from my phone.

strawberries & cream.

my sister, Marlana, celebrated her 25th birthday this past saturday!! congrats on making it a quarter century sibby :)  we had a good old fashioned family celebration, including a wintery trip to the Toledo Zoo ( i will share some of the photos from there later), dinner at P.F. Changs, and gifts and dessert at my house.

for those of you who know me, you know i love love, love to cook, but do not really enjoy baking that much, and frankly am not very great at it.  however because of my new kitchen aid mixer i have been experimenting in this department in the last couple of months.  

i decided to take on the task of making cupcakes for  her birthday.  i went with strawberry's & cream with a strawberry mist frosting with red sprinkles and fresh strawberries on top.  at this time i would like to thank betty crocker for her delicious white cake mix (in which i substituted the standard water for strawberry soda), and  whipped pink icing.  i said i was baking, i never said it was from scratch :) anyhow they came out lovely , so much so that i place them in special green paper cups with white polka dots and arranged them on a tiered platter.  they tasted as good as they looked and i can't wait to try this soda pop trick again...next time i am thinking orange with chocolate. what do you think?

   

what's a smoothshake?

it's a cross between a smoothie and a shake.  

duh :)


i am more a fan of milkshakes than i am of smoothies, but smoothies are healthier and better for my waistline (or lack there of :) soooo, i decided to put the best of both worlds together and make a smoothshake. here is what i put in mine, but you can really wing it and add whatever flavor frozen yogurt, frozen fruit, and sweetener you choose.


i used a couple scoops vanilla frozen yogurt, a few splashes of 1/2% milk,a handful of frozen blueberries, and a drizzle of honey.


oh so tasty!  

boston butt roast=bbq pork.

one of my cooking goals lately has been to venture into the world of cooking large cuts of meat.  i am trying to accoplish this for many reasons. 1. the meat tends to be juicier, 2. it is less expensive, 3. i get multiple meals out of one day of cooking.  this is what i chose to cook this past weekend.

start with a 4 lb. boston butt roast (also known as a bone-in pork shoulder) and preheat your oven to 250 degrees.

using your favorite seasoning/ rub (i used a blend of rib rub, sage, savory, fennel seed, and brown sugar) generously cover all sides of the roast. meanwhile pre-heat a few tablespoons of oil in a dutch oven over med heat.

once the oil is thoroughly heated, sear meat on all sides, cooking approximately 4-5 per side or until meat releases from the pan on its own

it should look similar to the photo above on all sides. from here add one cup of beef broth to the pan and put it in the pre-heated oven for 3 hours.

when the three hours is up, take it out of the oven and let it rest for about 30 minutes.  

once it is cool start shredding it into smaller pieces.  you can do this one of two ways, using your hands (this is my preferred method) or using two forks (my husband's method).

your finished product should look like this. voila! pork butt! now depending on how you want to use it you can move on to the last step or you can store/ use it as is.

now i love, love, love bbq pulled pork sandwiches and that is why i made this roast in the first place :) i made my own bbq sauce out of the pan-drippings/ broth and added a bunch of random hodge-podge ingredients that i neglected to write down (sorry!) you can add whatever your favorite sauce is and stir it and heat til sauce is warmed through.  then scoop it onto a bun (add cheese, coleslaw, and/or pickles, if you prefer) and take a big ole saucy bite!

cherry season is upon us.

here in michigan cherry season is short and anxiously awaited by many. traverse city is famous for its cherry festival and many cherry laden products. i however prefer the real thing. thanks mom and dad for picking some up for me. they are at the peak ripeness and i can't stop eating them!

chard and sausage pasta.

home cooked sunday.

special addition coming to you from Chicago :) My friends and I have been cooking up a storm this weekend with a cookout on Friday night and a bring-your-own-picnic concert on Saturday! Here is the yummy food we have been concocting.

For the BBQ on Friday, although I don't have any pictures :(, we had Chilean turkey dogs (these have mayo, avocado, and tomato on them), marinated tofu, mexican potato salad, pasta salad, and grilled watermelon mojito skewers....mmmm yum!!

on Saturday we went to a concert at Rivinia, an outdoor park in Chicago, where you bring your own wine and food, which is exactly what we did :) We had an appetizer of hummus and pita bread and fruit and cheese. I provided the main course (pictured above) which consisted of cold sesame/tofu noodles, vietnamese veggie rolls, and mango coleslaw. here are two of the recipes.

mango slaw with honey-lime dressing

what you need:
1 mango
1 red pepper
1 small bad pre-shredded slaw
handful of shredded carrots
juice of one lime
1/4 c honey
2 tbsp rice wine or cider vinegar
2 tbsp EVOO
salt and pepper

what to do:
1. thinly slice red pepper and mango, after peeling.
2. toss with carrots and slaw mix.
3. whisk honey, lime juice, vinegar, EVOO together.
4. toss dressing with veggies and season with salt and pepper.
5. let marinate in fridge for at least one hour.


vietnamese veggie rolls

what you need:
rice paper rounds ( I found these at an asian market)
mei fun noodles
shredded carrots
cucumber, julienne cut
bean sprouts
basil leaves
mint leaves
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp soy
2 tbsp water

what to do:
1. I did not put quantities on the above ingredients because it depends on how many you want to make. one package of each thing is MORE than sufficient.
2. cook mei fun noodles according to package, drain, rinse in cold water.
3. take a rice paper round and wet it with a brush on a clean plate/board.
4. place a little bit of noodles, carrots, cucumber, and bean sprouts on top of each other in the center.
5. top with a basil leaf and a couple mint leaves.
6. time to roll :) fold of the bottom of the paper so it is tight around your ingredients, then fold in the sides, then continue to roll. (here is a video)
7. make as many as you want.
8. warm peanut butter in microwave for 20-30 sec, then whisk it with water, and soy.
9. dip your rolls into the peanut butter sauce and enjoy :)

home cooked sunday.

ingredients:

1 mild red chili
juice of 1/2 lime
handful of cashews
handful of beansprouts
6-7 baby carrots (or one big one)
4-5 basil leaves
1 cucumber
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
salt and pepper

what to do:

1. slice cucumber into 1/4" rounds. from here you can keep them round or cut them in half.
finely dice the red pepper and basil, slice carrot into thin strips, roughly chop cashews, then combine all ingredients into one bowl.
2. add soy sauce, sesame oil, and the lime juice to the veggies and nuts.
3. toss to coat, season with salt and pepper, eat up!

summer tortellini skewers.

I made these little guys for the 4th of July at my parents and they were scrumptious! fresh, cool, and easy to eat and carry around...perfect for an outdoor party/cookout :)

you will need:
1 frozen bag of cheese tortellini
1 jar of roasted red/yellow peppers
1 bag of baby spinach
1/2 lemon (or tbsp or so of lemon juice)
a handful of both fresh basil and parsley
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp mayo
2 tbsp sour cream/plain yogurt
salt and pepper
skewers (short ones, or long toothpicks)

what to do:
1. cook tortellini according to package directions.
2. while that is cooking, cut up your peppers into about 1/2" squares.
3. using a food processor/chopper add parsley, basil, garlic, and about 15 spinach leaves, pulsing until chopped.
4. add mayo, sour cream (or yogurt), lemon juice, and some salt and pepper to taste to your herbs and pulse until thoroughly chopped and mixed.
5. taste and add more lemon/salt/pepper if necessary and about 2 tbsp of water to thin it out. you want to be able to drizzle it on the skewers.
6. when tortellini is done, rinse it under cold water and put it in the fridge for about 1/2 hour to get it firm.
7. skewer one tortellini, a red pepper, a folded spinach leaf, another tortellini, a yellow pepper, then a final tortellini onto each skewer.
8. arrange them nicely on a tray (I kept making them til I ran out of pepper and still had tortellini and spinach left over) and drizzle your sauce over top.
9. I added lemon wedges and basil in the middle for decoration, then serve :)