Fresh Tomato Soup

Lately I've been trying to find a delicious tomato soup recipe. I made one not too long ago and was completely disappointed. I think it tasted pretty good, but I didn't care for the texture. It was very grainy, and in a soup that is not a good thing. I think the reason it was so grainy was because it called for Parmesan cheese. And, when I used my immersion blender it broke it up into grainy pieces. I could be wrong, though. Maybe it was just my cooking technique that messed it up. Who knows. Anyway, I decided to try another tomato soup recipe. The one that I tried last night was from the Better Homes and Garden New Cookbook. By the way, I highly recommend this cookbook if you don't have it in your arsenal. I thought the soup looked grainy once I blended it but the taste was perfect. I think I will still try another recipe maybe one that is called Tomato and Basil Soup. However, I recommend this recipe. I thought it had a wonderful taste and it was very warm. And, last night was definitely a comfort food night! I think it would go wonderfully with a delicious grilled cheese sandwich. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 medium tomatoes, peeled and quartered
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery ( 1 stalk)
1/2 of a 6 oz can of tomato paste (1/3 c)
2 tbsp snipped fresh cilantro or basil
2 tsp instant chicken bouillon granules
1 tsp sugar
Few dashes bottled hot pepper sauce
Snipped cilantro or basil for garnish

I used 6 tomatoes from a vine because they were a tad on the small side. The recipe doesn't call for this, but since it says peeled tomatoes, I took a large pot of water and brought to a boil. I placed the tomatoes one at a time into the boiling water for about 30 seconds. I then transferred the tomato into a bowl of ice water. This helps to make the peeling process that much easier. Once the tomatoes were peeled, I sliced the tomatoes and remove the seeds. You don't have to do this, but I did. Chop up your onion and celery. Take a soup pot and add the onion, celery, tomato, water, tomato paste, the basil ( I used this instead of cilantro), bouillon granules, sugar, and hot pepper sauce. I didn't have hot pepper sauce, but I did have Pickapeppa. So, I used that as my hot pepper sauce. Also, I added a couple dashes of garlic salt. Bring this to a boil. Next, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer with a lid on the pan for about 20 minutes. You want the celery and onion to be tender. Remove from heat and cool for about 10 minutes or so. It says to place half the soup into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. However, I have an immersion blender, so I used this to blend my soup. Then return to the stove (if you used the blender) and heat the soup. For some reason the recipe doesn't call for salt or pepper. But, I felt it definitely needed salt. So season with salt and/or pepper to your liking. I garnished my bowl with some basil.

(Click here for printable recipe)

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies with Reeses Pieces

For my co-workers this Christmas I decided to make them a batch of cookies. But, not just one batch; three batches! However, I'm going to spare posting all 3 recipes on this blog. Instead I chose to post the most unique out of the 3. The other two I made were your standard chocolate chip (The New Best Recipe) and oatmeal raisin (The New Best Recipe) cookie. If you like peanut butter, reeces peanut butter cups, and reeces pieces then you will loooove this cookie. I certainly did. This recipe doesn't call for the reeces pieces, but I was originally going to make a reeces pieces chocolate cookie. I came across this recipe and thought it sounded yummy. So, I threw in the reeces pieces as an added touch. It was deeelicious! Hope you like!

Ingredients:
1 3/4 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c peanut butter
1 egg beaten
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp milk
30-40 miniature peanut butter cups, unwrapped.

First set your oven to around 350-375 degrees. The recipe calls for 375, but I set mine to 350. Just know your oven and you'll be fine with either temp. The next thing you need to do is take a medium bowl and combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Whisk together and set aside. Then take the bowl from your mixer and add the butter, sugars, peanut butter and cream until fluffy. Next add your beaten egg, vanilla, and the milk. Mix together well. Then slowly add in your flour mixture. I stirred in my Reeses Pieces next.
The recipe didn't call for this but I put the mixture into my fridge for an hour to chill. I find this helps shaping the dough into balls much easier. Once the dough is chilled remove from fridge and start shaping into little balls. Now, the recipe says to place the cookies onto an ungreased mini muffin pan. I don't have one of these and didn't want to spend the money to buy one. So, I just put some parchment paper on a cookie sheet and placed the cookie balls on the sheet. Bake for about 8 minutes. However, keep an eye on them. If the cookies look like they're browning on the bottom then remove from oven. I burnt the bottom of some of mine. Remove from oven and immediately press the peanut butter cups into each ball. Cool and place cookies on a cooling rack. Enjoy!


(Click here for printable recipe)

Shredded Chicken Enchiladas

I love Mexican food. And yes, Texas, I know that the food you get at the restaurants around here (like Casa Grande or El Toro Loco or Mexico) is not “real” Mexican food. It’s been Americanized, watered down for the masses, and totally compromised. And I love it. In fact, whenever I get “real” Mexican food, I don’t like it as much. I’m sorry, maybe that makes me some sort of chilaquile neophyte, but if that means I can get spicy meat and cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla, then that’s ok by me. These chicken enchiladas would not fly in Mexico City, but in my house… I mean, mi casa, they rock.

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 jars enchilada sauce

Cayenne pepper (optional)
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 pickled jalepenos (from a can), minced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese, divided
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped, divided
Flour tortillas
Cooking spray

This meal does take a little bit of time to pull together, so make sure you aren’t starving or you’ll give up halfway through and order a pizza. Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees. Pour your enchilada sauce into a deep skillet. Add the garlic and cayenne pepper (to taste) and heat to a boil. This happened pretty quickly for me, and also became quite messy. Don’t wear white. You’ve been warned.

While the enchilada sauce is heating, sprinkle your chicken breasts with kosher salt and pepper. Then submerge them in the sauce and lower the heat to low. Cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through. The recipe I had (from A Sweet Pea Chef) said this would take about 15-20 minutes, but I guess my breasts were huge (yeah!) because it took about twice as long. I also flipped mine over halfway through because the tops were peeking out of the sauce and not cooking as quickly. Once they are cooked all the way through (check it!) take the chicken out of the sauce and put them both aside to cool.

When the chicken is relatively cool, shred it using the two fork method. Hold one fork in the chicken and scrape the other one away from the fork. It’s time consuming but it’s really the best way. Put the shredded chicken in a large bowl. Add about a quarter of each kind of cheese, the jalapeños, and the cilantro. I also added some of the enchilada sauce. The recipe calls for half the sauce to be added, but I only put in enough to hold the mixture together—about ¼ cup.

Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray. Then get out your flour tortillas and spoon some of the chicken mixture in the middle, and roll up your tortilla. Place it in the baking dish with the seam side down. Once you’ve done this with all the tortillas, put them in the oven for about ten minutes just to get them a little golden brown. Take them out and turn the oven down to 400. Pour the sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle the rest of the cheese over top. Loosely cover with foil and cook for about 20 minutes. Remove the foil (try not to pull off the cheese) and cook for another 5-10 minutes until the cheese starts to look tasty. Serve with sour cream and a Corona. Even if it’s not real, authentic Mexican, it tastes really good.

(Click here for printable recipe)

Sugar Cookies with Lemon Zest

In years past, we used sugar cookie recipes with adorable cookie cutters of stars, candy canes, ornaments, and Christmas trees that always went into the oven delightful and came out these ambiguous blobs with holiday sprinkles. They weren’t pretty, but they were admittedly delicious with a tall glass of milk.

This year, we were determined to get it right. We simplified – partially out of determination, partially because we couldn’t find our cookie cutters. And through that simplification, we discovered a new recipe that is sure to last for years and years to come.

How gorgeous are these cookies?

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cups sugar plus additional sugar for topping
2/3 cups vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. grated lemon zest

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs until blended. Add sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Mix thoroughly. Stir in the dry ingredients, and again, mix thoroughly. Chill this mix in the refrigerator, covered, for 30 minutes or more.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare sugar plate for sugar topping.

After 30 minutes, scoop out cookie dough with teaspoons, and form into small balls. Drop balls onto cookie sheet roughly 2 inches apart.

Wet the bottom of a flat-bottomed glass under faucet, and dip glass bottom into sugar plate. Sugar should stick to the glass. Stamp cookie on cookie sheet, pressing down slightly, giving it a sugar topping. Repeat process for all cookies: wetting the glass, placing it in sugar, and stamping dough.

Bake cookies until lightly browned, about 8 minutes.

Just like our Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, the smaller the balls you make, the better these seemed to turn out.

Happy baking!

-KSP


(Click here for printable recipe)

Lee's Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

My friend Lee and I have a Christmas-time tradition. Last night was our 5^th annual Christmas cookie baking day. Now that I type that, I realize we need a better name. Christmas-palooza. Cookie Festivus. Sugar Eve. I guess we’ll keep working on that.

However, naming aside, this is one of my favorite baking days of the year. There are tall glasses of milk involved. Often tall glasses of wine as well. With holiday music caroling in the background, we cover my kitchen in flour like it was some kind of holiday fairy dust, returning the season to childhood origins.

I wanted to post these recipes separately. This first recipe is Lee’s discovery. I have it marked in my cookbook as Lee’s Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. Where the original recipe came from, I have no idea.

These are delicious and beautiful!

Ingredients:

Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Vegetable oil
Granulated sugar
Vanilla
2 Eggs
Flour
Baking powder
Salt
Powdered Sugar

Melt 2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate. Mix chocolate with ¼ cup vegetable oil, 1 cup granulated sugar, and 1 tsp. vanilla. Fold in 2 eggs, one at a time. Mix in 1 cup flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, and ¼ tsp. salt. Once all ingredients are mixed well, refrigerate for 4 hours or more.

After chilling, with a teaspoon, scoop out a small amount of the mixture, and form into a ball with your hands. Roll the ball in powdered sugar until it is fully covered, and then place the ball on the cookie sheet. Separate balls by 1 ½ inches or so.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until your finger leaves no permanent mark when you press on it.

Tips:

1) The smaller the chocolate chips, the easier it is to melt them. 2) The smaller the balls you create, the better the cookie. It’s taken us years not to end up with gigantic cookies that are moist in the middle but too crisp on the edges. Now, this cookie comes with a mantra: small balls! small balls! 3) The longer you refrigerate the better this seems to work. Plan ahead! 4) If you’re talking a lot when you’re forming the balls and work too slowly, the mix may get warm and stick to your hands. If this happens, either start working faster, or stick the mix back in the fridge for a few minutes.

When these cookies come out of the oven they look like snowflakes. The powdered sugar has broken apart where the cookie has grown just beautifully. These are cookies made for a tall glass of milk.

Happy baking and happy holidays!

-KSP


(Click here for printable recipe)

Pumpkin Gooey Bars

CAKE:
1 package of yellow cake mix (I use betty crocker)
1 egg
8 - 10 Tbs of butter (the more butter the softer), melted

FILLING:
1 (8-oz) package of cream cheese, softened
1 (15-oz) can of pumpkin
3 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla (a tiny drip more won't hurt)
8 Tbs of butter, melted
1 (16-oz) box powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven 350 degrees

Combine cake mix, egg & butter. Mix well with electric mixer. Pat mixture into bottom of lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan. For the filling beat cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth in a large bowl. Add eggs, vanilla and butter, then beat together. Next add powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and then bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Be careful to not overbake. The bars will continue to set even out of the oven. The middle of the bars will be slightly jiggly when taken out of the oven.

The bars are great on their own or with whipped cream.

Mushroom Bourguignon

I am a dyed-in-the-wool carnivore. I’m sure my ancestors back in the caveman days were eating pterodactyl and saber-toothed tiger on a daily basis. (Yes, I know that’s historically impossible, but stick with me here.) My husband is cut from the same (loin) cloth. So the thought of making a meal without meat? Not going to fly in my house. That is, until I saw the photo of this gorgeous mushroom bourguignon on Smitten Kitchen. It looked so rich and thick and… well, meaty. We had to try it. And it did not disappoint. Portobello mushrooms are considered the steak of mushrooms and live up to it in this dish. It’s the perfect thing for a cold night (and we’ve been having a lot of those lately.)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 pounds Portobello mushrooms, in 1/4-inch slices
1/2 carrot, finely diced
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup full-bodied red wine (we used a Bordeaux)
2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup pearl onions, peeled (thawed if frozen)
Egg noodles

Get out your trusty Dutch oven or whatever you usually make a big ol’ pot of soup in. Add one tablespoon of olive oil and one tablespoon of butter and heat over high heat. Sear the mushrooms, stirring them around. In about 3 to 4 minutes they should begin to darken but not release any juice yet. Remove them and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the second tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onions, carrot, thyme and a good amount of salt and pepper. Cook it for ten minutes. It should start smelling fantastic. This is about the time that Steve started thinking he might actually enjoy the meal. When the onions are slightly brown, add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Now pour in the wine and deglaze the pan (get all the brown bits from the bottom of the pot). Put the heat back on high to reduce the liquid by half. About now it starts smelling a lot like strong red wine. It’s not great. But don’t be afraid—I didn’t taste the wine outright in the final dish. Once it’s reduced, add the tomato paste and broth, plus the mushrooms and any juices they’ve released. Bring the liquid to a boil and then lower the temp to simmer for 20 minutes. If you are adding pearl onions (we couldn’t find any!) add them after the 20 minutes and simmer for another 5.

Combine the remaining tablespoon of butter with the flour until combined (I zapped it in the microwave for 15 seconds to make it easier). Stir the mixture into the sauce until it’s mixed in and the sauce thickens. Simmer for another ten minutes. If you want an even thicker sauce you can turn up the heat and boil to reduce until it’s where you want it. Taste it and season it, then serve over egg noodles with a healthy spoonful of sour cream!

It’s by no means easy, but it’s also not the most complicated meal I’ve ever made. And it’s worth it. Plus, when someone asks you what you had for dinner last night, you get to say, “Mushroom Bourguignon” and totally put to shame the leftover meatloaf they probably had.

(Click here for printable recipe)

Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake

In my opinion, I think in order to be a good cook or baker you need to be really good at following directions. If you don't then you can pretty much guarantee that the recipe will turn out horribly. In baking it's especially important to follow the recipe. I think it has something to do with dealing with sugars, flour, butter, and measuring exactly. Well, this happens to be one of those occasions where I read the instructions, but I didn't properly follow them. However, my inability to follow instructions turned out perfectly. Okay, I did try to take out the cake too early from the bundt pan thus messing up the cake aesthetically. But, when I took a bite out of that cake it was so moist and the crumbly cinnamon part of the cake (one part I messed up) was wonderfully tasty. I've been wanting to make a cinnamon cake or a cinnamon coffee cake and this recipe definitely hit the spot. It was very moist, filled with plenty of cinnamon, and it was deeeelicious. Thanks to divine-baking for the recipe! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
¾ cup dark Brown sugar

First thing in the morning, I took out the butter and 3 eggs in order to let it come to room temperature. The recipe didn't call for this, but since Barefoot Contessa always thinks it's a good idea I decided to go for it. When I was ready to start baking I preheated the oven to a 400 degree temperature.
I took the 3/4 cup of brown sugar (I used light brown) and cinnamon and 1/4 cup of white sugar. Mix together and set aside.

Next, I took my mixing bowl and put the 3 eggs along with 1 1/2 cups of sugar and mixed well. Then, I added the sour cream and butter. Mix well. I had placed the flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a small bowl. Now, gradually add the flour mixture into the mixing bowl. Mix well. Add the vanilla and nuts (I omitted the nuts). Stir well. Okay, this is where I messed up. I ended up adding an additional 1/4 cup of sugar into the mixture. Take your lightly oiled bundt pan and pour half the batter into it. Now, this is the second part where I messed up. You are supposed to pour the entire cinnamon mixture onto the batter. And, then pour the remaining batter on top. Well, I poured half the cinnamon mixture onto the batter, poured the remaining batter on top, and then added the remaining cinnamon mixture on top of that. I'm really glad I did that, because it had a nice crunchy topping. Cook the cake for 8 minutes at 400 degrees and then turn the temperature down to 350 degrees and cook an additional 30 minutes. Well, it ended up taking me an additional 50 minutes to cook the cake. Not 30 minutes. I had to stick a toothpick in it to make sure it came out clean before I took it out of the oven.
The third part where I messed up was removing the cake from the bundt pan before it properly cooled. So, make sure that you remove it from the pan after it's cooled completely.

Now, you can make the icing to go on top of the cake if you so desire. To make the icing take 4 cups of powdered sugar and 3-8 tbsp of milk. Gradually add the milk a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the consistency and taste that you like. Pour onto the cake. I ended up using about 3 1/2 cups of sugar and about 5 tbsp of milk.

(Click here for printable recipe)

Apple Pie

My grandma was known for her pies. She never made cakes that I can remember. She did have some tasty cookie recipes, but if there was one recipe that said “Grandma” it was pie. She made pumpkin pies, custard pies, strawberry rhubarb pies, and of course, apple pies. I remember afternoons spent helping her make crusts, and using the leftover scraps to make our own little desserts (that usually tasted pretty bad). As a child, I had no idea that my Grandma wasn't just having fun. She was doing real work. Hard work! Apple pie is one of those things that seems so simple, and yet it’s so hard to make. And that’s the kind of challenge I can’t pass up.

This recipe is a mish mash of a few different recipes. I took the crust and modified the filling from Smitten Kitchen, and the crumbly top from Very Culinary. It has a lot of steps and is definitely a full day of baking, so I would save this for a weekend or holiday when you have plenty of time.

The Crust

My grandmother always used Crisco (vegetable shortening) in her crusts, and a lot of people swear by it. But I went for an all butter crust. I halved the recipe at Smitten since I was only making a bottom crust. If you are making a top and bottom, double it.

1 ¼  cups flour
½  tablespoon sugar
½  teaspoon salt
1 sticks unsalted butter, very cold

½ cup cold water, with ice cubes

The very cold butter is a must, so don’t take it out of the fridge until you are ready to use it. I actually cut mine into cubes and then put it back in the fridge to let it harden again. Whisk together the dry ingredients and then add in the butter cut into small cubes. This part calls for a pastry blender, which I don’t have, but will be getting after attempting to make this without one. You can just get your hands in there and try to break up the butter and incorporate the flour, but a pastry blender makes it so much easier. And they are cheap—around $5-$15 depending on where you go. When the butter is the size of tiny peas, drip in about a third of the water (no cubes). Use a rubber spatula or your hands to bring the flour and butter together into a dough. You may use more of the water, but add it very slowly (by the tablespoon, preferably) and don’t use too much. Once the dough is… well… doughy, form it into a small ball, wrap it in plastic, and put it in the fridge for two hours.

When you’re done, it’s time to roll out the dough. I’m going to let you read Smitten’s tutorial on it since she explains it so well. Just remember to be patient and go slow.

The Filling

I modified this recipe from Smitten based on the ingredients, her comments, and the fact that I was adding a sugary top, so I didn’t want so much sugar in the filling. I used gala apples, but you can use granny smith or macintosh, or whatever you prefer.

Gala Apples (about 6-8 medium)
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Peel and cut up the apples, keeping the slices as uniform as possible. Cut the apples into fours, and then each fourth into fours. Use your common sense here as far as the amount of apples goes. If it seems like way too many, it probably is. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together, then mix them all into the apples, making sure they are all covered. Pour them into the bottom crust.

The Topping

I like a crumble top so much better than a regular dough top. I just think it brings the right sweetness and flavor to the whole thing. I modified this crumble top from a crumble bar recipe, again, halving it because I didn’t need as much. I also opted not to use the egg it called for, and didn’t miss it.

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/8 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 ½ sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Mix the dry ingredients together well, then add the butter on top and incorporate it the same way you did with the dough (again, a pastry blender would help here). When the butter pieces are pea sized, you can sprinkle it on top of the apples, making sure the whole thing is evenly covered.

To cook your pie, preheat the oven to 500 degrees, with a lipped baking sheet on the bottom most rack. To be honest, I’m not sure why you do this, but it was in the instructions, so I did it. When you’re ready to put in the pie, turn it down to 425 and bake for about 20-25 minutes. You want the topping to get a little golden brown, but not burn. Then turn the oven down to 375 and cook for 30-35 minutes more.

Overall, this turned out pretty tasty for my first recent try. A couple things I’d do differently… I made the mistake of cooking a little less than the recipe called for and the apples were a touch too crisp for my liking. I also like a juicier filling, so I might add a few tablespoons of milk or butter the next time. Finally, I had to roll the dough out twice because I got the size wrong the first time, which I think made it a little chewier, so if you can get it right the first time, good on you!

Well, there it is. Like I said, it’s not a simple recipe, but it’s pretty impressive and tastes great. And who knows, someday maybe you’ll be the pie lady in your family.

(Click here for printable recipe)

Restaurant Review: Aziza's on Main

I guess you could say we are a service industry kind of family. My Dad worked for a long time as a Restaurant Manager for places like Applebee’s, Olive Garden, and Ponderosa. My first job in high-school was working as a salad prep at the Olive Garden on Midlothian Turnpike. My sister started out hosting at Applebee’s on Hull Street. I eventually stopped my service industry career as a server at Sundays’ in Brandermill my senior year in high-school. And, I say good riddance. My sister, on the other hand, has continued to work as a server (mainly part-time) for 10+ years. Her latest venture is at a little spot on Main Street called Aziza’s. I have to say of all the places any of us have worked in the restaurant industry this is by far the best one.
Aziza’s is a restaurant owned by a Lebanese family. The Chef is Billy of Billy Bread notoriety. The set up at Aziza’s is interesting. On the right side of the restaurant it has a bar with tables and chairs and is very quaint and cozy. On the left-side is their “deli.” They make pre-made desserts, hummus, and sandwiches. And, in the back of the restaurant is their new brick oven. As a side note; their pizza’s are delicious! And, they'll be giving classes on how to make bread!

My aunt, mom, and I went to Aziza’s one Sunday for brunch. The service is wonderful. Okay, I’m biased, but really they are very attentive and knowledgeable. We decided to order their hummus and taboli with sliced pita bread.

I love their hummus, however I’ve heard that people have had better hummus elsewhere. Maybe so, but I think their hummus is very fresh and flavorful. My aunt enjoyed it too.

For the main course, I had the ham and swiss sandwich. My mom and aunt had the black beans on toast with a fried egg.











I loved my ham sandwich. I thought the bread was toasted to perfection and the ham was very tasty. All of their sandwiches come with a side salad with a vinaigrette dressing. I think the salad is okay. My mom and aunt very much enjoyed their black bean dish. They thought it was very warm and packed plenty of flavor.
I couldn’t resist getting one of their cream puffs for dessert. It ends up we took one of the last cream puffs and it was only noon! Seriously, if there are any left, get a cream puff when you go. It’s homemade creamy, chocolatey, deliciousness. It can easily be shared between 4 people. They're big!

I’ve been to Aziza’s many times, and I think it’s a wonderful place for brunch, lunch, and dinner. Please check it out and you won’t be disappointed.
My rating: 5 sporks out of 5.
Location: 2110 E Main Street Richmond, VA 23223
Website: http://www.azizasonmain.com/
Cuisine: Seafood, Meat, Pizza, Homemade Bread
Pricing: $$

Iron Chef Pumpkin: Smoky Cheese and Pumpkin Mini Quiches

For this Iron Chef the secret ingredient was pumpkin. I chose to make an appetizer. I definitely was not going to go all out and try a whole bunch of different recipes like I did with Iron Chef Coffee. But, I did try two different gnocchi recipes that while turned out okay it just didn't make me go; wow! My mom came across this recipe and sent it to me. I did not do a dry run, and just decide to go with it. I mean how can you go wrong with something that includes cheese and bacon and puff pastry?? Well, it didn't go wrong, but it wasn't wowza enough to be a winner. Oh well. I'll win of these darn iron chefs one day. ;0) Alas, I would definitely make this again.

Ingredients
3 sheets ready rolled puff pastry
2 slices bacon, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2/3 cup mashed pumpkin
1 cup grated smoked cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
1 pinch nutmeg
1 slice bacon, extra
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
First thing you want to do is chop up your bacon and onions. Toss it into a saute pan and cook over medium to medium hight heat until bacon is crisp. I believe it took about 10 minutes. At this point while the bacon is cooking you can go ahead and get out your dethawed puff pastry and take a fluted cookie cutter (about 2.75 inches round) and cut out your dough. I cut out about 18 pieces. Drain your bacon and onion mixture onto a paper towel or into a colander. Now, take a bowl and mix your mashed pumpkin (or pumpkin puree like I used) cheese, milk, nutmeg, and egg. Once the bacon mixture has cooled add it to your pumpkin mixture. I fried up about 3 more pieces of bacon. Take your dough and add it to your little mini quiche pans (or shallow patty pans). Take a small spoonful of the pumpkin mixture and place in the dough. Add a small bacon strip on top of the dough. Bake for 30 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden brown.

(Click here for printable recipe)

Giada's Nutella Cookies

Giada de Laurentis is the Queen of all things Nutella. I, on the other hand, have just started experimenting with recipes that involve Nutella. So, one evening I figured I should look for some Giada recipes to try. Afterall she loooooves Nutella so her recipes have to be good, right? Right. I am in serious heaven with this versatile ingredient. And, Giada's cookies are seriously yummy. If you are craving chocolate give this recipe a try. You will not be disappointed.

Ingredients
1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c nutella
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven @ 375 degrees
The first thing I always do when making cookies, brownies, or cake is to combine all the dry ingredients (unless specified otherwise). So, go ahead and get a small bowl and combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a standing mixer, add the sugars, the nutella, and butter. Stir until the ingredients are fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and stir until incorporated. Gradually add in the dry ingredients at low speed just so the flour doesn't spray all over. Once the dry ingredients are incorporated in the batter add in the chocolate chips and stir. Add the dough to the cookie sheets and bake from 6-10 minutes. The first time I made these cookies I had to throw away the majority of them because I overbaked them. This time I baked them for 8 minutes, and it was still a minute too long. But, I didn't have to throw these cookies away. They were just a tad crisp.

(Click here for printable recipe)

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Tonight was an expedition, a cooking quest. Why? I have no idea! This was a simple and straight forward recipe, one that promised amazingly delicious rewards, one that I’ve been excited about since I heard that someone still needed to take on the mac & cheese for Thanksgiving. Maybe it was just the anticipation that caused the chaos.

But somehow I found myself running around the kitchen, annoyed why my sauce wasn’t thickening when apparently some ghost (or myself accidentally) turned off my burner, mixing breadcrumbs in butter for a topping and splattering them across my stove-top, convinced that this amazing recipe, this wonderfully cheesy delectable meal was going to be a total flop.

However, somewhere in the madness, mouth-watering exquisiteness arose. Thanksgiving will be amazing, but wow am I happy I did a trial run!

Ingredients: 
1 pound elbow macaroni
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp powdered mustard (I know, this is me who doesn’t like mustard! I was scared!)
3 cups milk
½ cup yellow onion (finely diced)
½ tsp paprika
1 large egg
8 ounces shredded cheddar

Topping: 
3 tbsp. butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350.

Boil pasta. While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Once melted, whisk in the flour and mustard, and keep it moving until it is smooth and free of lumps. Stir in milk, onion, and paprika. (Of course, I did this in too small of a pot, so think ahead!) Simmer for about ten minutes.

Temper* the egg. Stir in ¾ of the cheese. After it has melted fold the macaroni into the mix. When thoroughly mixed, pour into a casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the remaining butter and toss with bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Lessons learned:

*To temper means to adds ingredients gradually of different temperatures. In this case, adding cold egg to a simmering sauce might cause scrambling, rather than an even blended texture.

When a recipe says prep time 15 minutes, cook time 30 minutes, be wary. Sometimes they lie.

I also ended up adding in cubed ham here. While easy and a good addition, this won't be part of the Thanksgiving recipe, so I didn't include it here.

Happy cooking!

-KSP


(Click here for printable recipe)

Chicken Pot Pie

I promised one of my fellow bloggers that I would make my favorite chicken pot pie recipe and post it. Well, here it is. I have never thought of myself as a chicken pot pie lover. Maybe it has something to do with working for Applebee's for several years when I was in highschool. You see they served a chicken pot pie and while it was popular, I didn't like it. I thought it basically tasted like your average frozen pot pie dish. Not that I really knew what a chicken pot pie frozen dinner tasted like, but I'm sure it tasted something like Applebee's version. Anyway, so I never really cared for pot pies. Until I tried this recipe from my favorite cookbook The New Best Recipe. Wow. It's super delicious and the pie crust topping is very flaky. I don't add peas to this recipe because I can't stand peas. But, I do boil a couple potatoes and crumble it up into the chicken and veggie mixture. I hope you like it!

Ingredients
1 recipe Savory Pie Dough (see below)
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium-large onion, chopped fine
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 small celery ribs, chopped
Salt and ground pepper
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c milk
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3 tbsp sherry
3/4 c frozen peas, thawed (optional)
3 tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves (optional)

Savory Pie Dough Ingredients
1 1/2 c unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
3-4 tbsp ice water

Pie Dough Recipe
First you need to make the savory pie dough, and set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
You will need to mix the flour and salt into a food processor and pulse several times until mixed. Put the shortening into the processor and gently coat the flour over the shortening. Pulse with five 1 second pulses. Now, add the butter and continue pulsing until the flour is a pale-yellow and the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Turn the mixture into a medium bowl. Sprinkle 3 tbsp of the ice water into the mixture. Take a rubber spatula, and stir the mixture together while pressing with the back of the spatula to flatten the dough. If you need to add the additional tablespoon of water because it seems to flaky then go ahead. I only needed the 3 tbsp of water. Now, take the dough and form it into a shape of a ball. Then flatten it onto a floured surface and from a 4 inch disk. Wrap with plastic and place in fridge.

Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
The recipe indicates that you need to put the chicken and 2 cups of the chicken broth into a stock pot and cook until the chicken is done. I had already cooked the chicken, so I just set aside the chicken and the chicken broth for later. If you cook the chicken in the broth, when you remove the chicken set aside the broth for later.

Chop up your veggies, and set aside.
Take your stockpot and place the oil in the pan and turn up the heat to medium-high. Once the pan is nice and hot add the onion, carrots, and celery. Sautee until tender. It says to sautee for 5 minutes, but I sauteed for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. I transferred the veggies to a medium sized bowl and then I shredded/chopped the chicken and placed in the veggie bowl. I also added the potatoes I had boiled earlier and broke them into little pieces. Take the same pot, and heat the 4 tbsp of butter over medium heat. When the foam subsides, add the flour and cook for about a minute. The flour and butter will look like a large lumpy lump. Just go with it.

Now, add the reserved chicken broth, milk, and thyme. Bring it to a simmer, and keep stirring until thickened about a minute or two. Season with salt and pepper till it tastes right to you and then add in the sherry. I only used about 1 tbsp and a half of the sherry. That's just my preference. Now, I take the chicken mixture and pour it into the pot, and stir to combine it together. If you like peas and parsely add it now. Adjust the seasonings if needed. Pour the mixture into a 13x9 baking dish or 6 12-oz ovenproof dishes. I use a round casserole dish. And, yes, the mixture comes up all the way to the rim of the dish.

Now, take your pie dough from the fridge and placed it on a floured surface and roll it with rolling pin till it's 15 by 11 inch rectangle. In my case, I just rolled it so that it would cover the round casserole dish. Transfer the dough to your dish, and you may need to trim the sides of the dough if it hangs 1/2 inch on the side of the dish. I do trim it some and then I stick the trimmed parts on top of the dough. Tuck the overhanging dough back under itself so the folded edge is flush with the pan lip. At this point you can get creative and flute the edges, or you can just leave it as is like I do. Make sure you gently slice four 1 inch slits in the dough, so steam can escape in the oven. Bake until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Around 25-30 minutes for large pot pie. Or 20 to 25 minutes for smaller pies.

(Click here for printable recipe)

Seared Chicken Breast with Quick Pan Sauce

Some nights I really don't want to cook. Or, it would be really nice to make something that is super easy and quick. Especially on those nights when I'm just too exhausted to put in the effort of making something homemade. But, homemade is always better, right? Right. So, I went searching for a quick chicken recipe, and came across this one. The nice thing about this particular recipe is that the site includes several different pan sauces you can make. I chose a Rosemary and Dijon sauce. Seriously, this recipe was very easy and very quick. Just how I like it on those nights when you just want to kick back and take it easy. Hope you like it!

Ingredients:
4 skinless chicken breasts
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
flour for dredging
Ingredients for pan sauce (See below)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil

Pan Sauce
1/2 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 Tablespoon brown sugar

First thing I did was wrap the chicken breast in plastic wrap and pounded the chicken with a meat tenderizer. I wanted to thin it out a bit before searing it.
Next, take some salt and freshly ground pepper and sprinkle it onto the chicken (both sides) generously. Take about 1/2 cup of flour and put it onto a plate. At this point, you can go ahead and combine your ingredients for the pan sauce. Set aside.
Now, go ahead and take a skillet and heat 2 tbsp of the butter and the oil over medium heat. Dredge the chicken breast in the flour and shake off any excess flour. Go ahead and turn up the heat to medium-high. When the pan is good and hot, add the chicken breast. Go ahead and flour however many more breasts you are making and add to the pan. Let cook for about 4-5 minutes. Do not touch it. Then, beginning with the first breast you had added to the pan turn it over and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes.
At this point, I turned on the oven to about 125 degrees and I took my chicken breast and placed it on a plate. I placed the plate into the oven so that the chicken would stay warm. Now is the time, to prepare the pan sauce. You will add the ingredients for the pan sauce directly to the skillet and bring it to a boil. Keep stirring while scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan until the sauce thickens. Go ahead and add the last tablespoon of butter. Spoon the sauce over the chicken. Serve immediately.

(Click here for printable recipe)