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I know, I know, I haven't been here in a while. Sorry! In the summer, I don't cook as much--it's mainly just easy stuff on the grill (we travel a lot in the summer too, so it's simply a matter of not being here either :-) I had a couple favorite recipes that I wanted to share today. Simple, easy, and uses some of the bounty from the garden :-)



I made grilled chicken tonight--did a dry rub on it and let it set for a half hour, then cooked it and basted it at the end with barbecue sauce. Totally delicious. If I get a chance, I'll post that recipe another day (I forgot to take a picture of it). I served it with this cilantro-lime grilled corn and a tomato salad. The corn is really yummy and super easy, and good even off the cob :-)



Cilantro Lime Corn



1 stick butter (or margarine)

1/2 lime, zested and juiced

1 teaspoon salt

dash cayenne pepper

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

8-10 ears of corn, shucked



Tear off enough pieces of foil for all your corn and either preheat the grill or the oven to 400 degrees F. Mix the butter, lime juice and zest, salt, cayenne and cilantro in a bowl. Reserve a couple tablespoons of the butter for after the corn is done. Take the rest and rub it all over the corn, then wrap each ear tightly in foil and either grill or bake for about 25 minutes. Delish!





Tomato Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette



Dressing:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon oregano



Salad:

1 cup lettuce

3 tomatoes, sliced thin

1/4 cup minced red onion or Vidalia onion

1/4 cup minced fresh basil

1/4 cup feta



Mix all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk. Assemble the salad, then drizzle with the dressing. Serve immediately. Easy and delicious...and super healthy!



Enjoy! Tell me, what's your favorite thing to grill?



Shirley

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! I invited friends over tonight to help celebrate...er, drink margaritas ;-) I love any holiday that's an excuse to have a margarita!

I made this morning, ready to bake tonight (and made a vegetarian version for my daughter with black beans). I tasted the mixture and OMG, they are yummy! I can't wait to have them tonight. The recipe makes a TON so I had enough for two pans--froze one pan and put one in the fridge for tonight.

Are you doing anything special tonight? I'll be raising a glass to all my blog readers (and book readers)! Your support and warm words give me a reason to celebrate every day :-)

Shirley

Join me today on and get a peek inside my newest release, and a look at my writing process!

Shirley

I love cake in all forms, but especially in the form of cupcakes...little bite size pieces of goodness. I mean LOVE cake. Anyone who wants to know the way to my heart and stomach...it's in cake with buttercream frosting. OMG, I'm in heaven.

So when I went to make dessert for Easter dinner, I knew I'd be making cupcakes. I've made several times before with fabulous results. DH absolutely LOVES these carrot cupcakes and ate nearly as many as I did, LOL.

A lot of people in the reviews of complain about the oven temp and have problems, but honestly, I have made these many times and followed the recipe to a T and never had a problem. The only things I do differently is skip the raisins, substitute pecans for the walnuts, and add the shaved, candied carrot on top, which she put in I love the little candied carrot bits on top. Just yummy :-)

This year, I also made her , (pictured above) and decorated them with mini Reese's peanut butter cups. These ones weren't my favorites (that's not to say I didn't eat like three of them though, LOL). The chocolate cupcakes have more of a dark chocolate flavor, and I like my chocolate semi-sweet. They were good...just not my favorites. Judging by the family guests, though, the chocolate was a big hit. They were all gone after Easter dinner :-)

After watching Chris Kimball, from , on the , I wanted to try . I LOVED the cupcakes themselves, but the frosting was too close to the flavor of the one on the carrot cupcakes (almost identical recipes). When I make these again, I'll either do a buttercream frosting or not make the carrot ones at the same time :-)

I definitely need to unearth my pastry bag next time I make some cupcakes so I can make them all fancy like they do on . I love that show and the gorgeous work they do in such a short period of time. Wish I was there to eat the leftovers ;-)

What'd you make for Easter dessert? What's your favorite dessert? I don't make dessert very often (because then I EAT it, LOL) but it really is my favorite part of the meal. I have vowed that when I get old and gray, I'm only going to eat dessert. It worked for my grandma, who lived to 97 :-)

Shirley
PS: If you haven't already "liked" my , stop on by! It lets you keep up to date with my books and my blog posts!

Tonight's dinner was a sort of "what's leftover" creation, with a vegetarian version on the side for my daughter. I had come across a recipe for a cauliflower ham gratin but it had received iffy reviews for the lack of flavor. So I decided to make mine with lots of stuff, which really boosted the flavor.

It was easy, and quick and used up a lot of that ham from Easter :-)




Cauliflower Ham Gratin

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, diced
2-3 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 8 ounce package button mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
dash nutmeg
1 16 ounce bag frozen cauliflower
1/2 cup gruyere or Swiss cheese, shredded, divided
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded (I don't use the can stuff), divided
1-2 cups cooked ham, diced

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cook the cauliflower in the microwave, then drain well and chop it into one-inch pieces. In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onions, garlic, shallots and peppers and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until vegetables are softened. Add mushrooms and cook another 3-5 minutes, until mushrooms are softened. Sprinkle with flour and add about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Stir until flour coats the vegetables. Add milk and broth a little at a time, stirring well after each addition, until it's all incorporated. Add nutmeg. Bring sauce to a boil and cook 1-2 minutes, until thick. Add 1/4 cup Swiss and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and cauliflower, and stir.

(at this point, I divided out one-quarter of the mixture and put it in a small baking dish, topped with some of the reserved cheddar cheese and set it aside...that was the vegetarian version for my daughter).

Add the ham, then pour the mixture into a Pam coated baking dish. Top with reserved cheese. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and melted. This one was a big hit with everyone in the family. They even had seconds :-)


Shirley

I had a long and busy day today, and wasn't going to be home till after 5:30, so it was definitely a crock-pot dinner night :-) This one was an easy one--I love those dump and walk away type recipes. It's a variation on Chicken and Dumplings (I made a last week and then have this that is a stand-by favorite in my house).

I didn't make this quite the way the recipe said, at least the dumpling part. They said to put biscuits or dumplings in the bottom of the bowl and pour the stew over it, which would be okay, but I'm more of a tear-my-bread-and-dip person, so I did it that way instead. And I only had four Grands type biscuits left (hmm...I suspect the family is sneaking them!) so I used these whole grain rolls instead.

Easy Crockpot Chicken Stew

3 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour
8 chicken thighs (or breasts cut into small pieces)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
To add at the end:
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a 4 or 6-quart crockpot, mix the carrots, celery and onions with the flour. Layer the chicken on top, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Pour the wine and broth over it all, then cover and cook on low for 5 1/2 to 6 hours (or 3 hours on high). Remove the lid, stir in the frozen peas and cream and cook 5-10 more minutes, or until heated through. Serve with biscuits or rolls.

That's it! My family liked it, so it'll go on my list of dinners-for-a-busy-day. I'd love to do dumplings on it, and I might try that next time.

Shirley

My son has turned into a big fan of Tilapia. I had another recipe I made a few weeks ago that was quick and easy, and basically just consisted of a sauce that got drizzled over pan-fried Tilapia. He liked it so much, we had it twice that week and a couple times since. I didn't put that one on the blog, but next time I make it, I will. :-)

So tonight I wanted to have Tilapia, but have a different recipe from the one I'd made before. My son was NOT happy--he wanted the one he already knew he liked. So I enlisted his help in making the Tilapia Milanese because I knew if I did that, he'd be more invested in the meal. So I had him running the food processor while I was peeling potatoes for mashed potatoes.

This one was in a recent issue of . I love that magazine--nearly every issue has a dozen or more recipes I can't wait to make.

Tilapia Milanese

4 6-ounce tilapia fillets
1 1/2 cups milk (I used fat-free/lactose-free)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
3 large eggs
6 slices white bread, torn into pieces (I used whole grain white)
1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves
grated zest of 1/2 lemon (reserve the wedgest for serving)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Place the fish in a bowl with the milk and 2 cups of ice. Let marinate for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 F.

In a shallow bowl (I always use pie plates for dredging), mix flour with salt and pepper. In pie plate #2, beat the eggs lightly. Reserve a third pie plate for breading.

In a food processor, pulse the bread, parsley, lemon zest and salt, until crumbs form. Pour into pie plate #3. Remove the fillets from the milk, dredge in flour (shaking off excess), then into eggs, then into bread crumbs. Press bread crumbs onto fish to coat it well. Put the fillets on a large plate.

In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add two fillets, and cook, 3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet. Add another tablespoon or two each of butter and olive oil (I only needed one more of each) and cook remaining two fillets. Transfer to the baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 8 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve with lemon wedges.

My son had seconds--an entire fillet and then half of another. For a pre-teen, that's a whole lot of fish ;-). It was a great dinner, and definitely on the list to make again.

Shirley

I haven't canned a whole lot so far (my first big experiment was my ) so I'm still a bit nervous when I try it. Not that it's especially hard, but there are a lot of variables to worry about.

The other day, I made the marmalade carrots...and didn't realize until after I started that I didn't have any marmalade. Since the chicken has quite an extended cooking time, I figured I could make some marmalade. Not too hard, right? Well, it wasn't. And IMO, it turned out pretty good. A bit too sweet, but I think that was because I was trying to halve and I was a little rushed.

Here's what I did:
Orange Marmalade
3 medium oranges
1/2 lemon, zest finely grated and juiced
3 cups water
1.75 pounds sugar

Slice the oranges into 1/8-inch slices. (A mandoline is recommended but I couldn't find mine, so I just took my time with a very sharp knife). Stack the orange slices and cut them into quarters. Put them into an 8-quart stainless steel pot, add lemon zest, juice and water. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes.

Once fruit is soft, return heat to a boil, add the sugar and cook until it reaches the "jelly" stage on a candy thermometer--about 222 degrees F. This will take another 15 to 20 minutes, Then it's ready to use or can :-)

I got two pint jars out of my halving experiment. Enough, because I'm the only one who really eats marmalade around here. I've got those tiny canning jars on my list, so I can start canning more fruits and jams and hopefully a lot of spaghetti sauce when tomatoes are everywhere this summer (I still have high hopes of planting a garden...every year, I say I will and then don't, LOL).

Speaking of Alton, I wanted to mention his "I'm Just Here for the Food" book. I think I've mentioned it before, but it's really one of my go-to books for basics. He explains the science behind WHY brining works well, etc., and I like that aspect. It's kind of like his show, "Good Eats," but on paper ;-) I also picked up the latest Food Network recipe book (the one that's the collection from the magazine) and Ina Garten's "How Easy is That?" I LOVE all of Ina's cookbooks--foolproof, easy recipes that are great for entertaining.

For Easter, I'm planning on making a cherry chipolte barbecue sauce to serve with the ham. If I have time, I'll make extra to can, too. I'm also going to be baking cupcakes this week...and trying to resist the temptation to eat them all before Easter, LOL.

Shirley

I'm a huge fan of the show . It's on PBS and is filmed in a kitchen in Vermont. Kind of quirky people, who test everything to death, ensuring you get a pretty darn foolproof recipe in the end.


I've made this twice now and I have to say, it's one of my favorite chicken recipes. My mouth waters just thinking about it, no kidding. It's made with chicken thighs, which makes it economical, too :-)


It uses a technique called braising--which is basically searing, then simmering in the oven in a sauce. The chicken stays tender, the sauce gets thick and everything gets all yummy. (and has a video and everything). One of the things the recipe doesn't tell you is total cooking time. It usually takes me a little over 2 hours (there's an hour and 15 in there of in-oven time). So don't start this one late in the day ;-) It makes a great presentation, so it's on my guest menu, too.


You do need to have a Dutch Oven for this one. I have the Martha Stewart one, which is okay and cheaper than the Le Creuset, which I covet ;-).


Registering for America's Test Kitchen is free, and I definitely recommend that. Also, try to catch the show on your local PBS channel. Mine runs on either Saturday or Sunday mornings (I forget; the DVR just tapes it automatically for me). I have bought a few things they recommended on the show--a chef's knife, a vegetable peeler, a garlic press. Love them all.


When I made this tonight, I used center cut bacon since I was out of prosciutto. I never seem to have whole cloves on hand, so I use ground. I've been growing rosemary in my kitchen (I truly have no green thumb, but have yet to kill the rosemary) so I had that fresh. It does make a difference to use the fresh ingredients, particularly things like garlic--chopping your own is a HUGE difference in taste over using the jarred stuff. I served it with Marmalade Carrots with Candied Pecans, which were delicious. :-)


Marmalade Carrots with Candied Pecans

For the pecans:

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon white sugar

dash salt

For the carrots:

2 pounds baby carrots

4 tablespoons butter, divided

3/4 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons orange marmalade (I made my own today; look for it in a future blog post)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

dash kosher salt

In a small saucepan, prepare the pecans. Melt the butter and add the sugars. When the sugar melts, stir in the pecans and cook until syrupy, stirring often, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool in a dish or on a plate.

In a separate large saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add orange juice, marmalade, brown sugar, salt and carrots. Cook 12-15 minutes or until carrots begin to soften. Remove from heat, toss with pecans and serve.

This one was a huge hit with the whole family (my son calls it his favorite chicken). The vegetarian teen only had the carrots and liked those :-) So it's all on my keeper list! :-)


Shirley

My daughter has become a vegetarian, which has made for alittle bit of a challenge in cooking. For a lot of my recipes for her, I've been using the Cooking Light Vegetarian cookbook. (Except for tonight's recipe, which came from Rachael Ray's magazine...more on that recipe in a minute).


I love the Cooking Light cookbook because it not only has the "what is it" info (like what is tempeh) but also step-by-step directions that go straight back to the basics of cooking. It shows you how to prepare tofu, what to do with lentils, even slicing tomatoes (perfect for my child, who needed help making a three-ingredient panini, LOL). When she goes off to college, I'm packing this for her...and hoping she cooks from this instead opening a can of raviolis ;-)


Anyway, before the vegetarian days, her favorite soup was Chicken and Dumpling. I couldn't do that, so when I saw a vegetarian version in , I had to try it.


I followed to a T...except I mixed in a mixture of parsley and this new (have you tried these? They're nearly as good as fresh, better than dried) into the dumplings. I also made double the amount of dumplings because I knew my family would love them.


Verdict--EVERYONE in the family loved it and no one noticed the chicken wasn't there. My daughter had the biggest bowl of soup I've ever seen her eat, LOL.

Shirley