Stuffed Artichokes!

Hello lovelies! SO, before my dad's grandmother, Nonny as we called her, passed away, she used to make amazing stuffed artichokes. However, she never gave anybody her recipe, so I tried last summer, I believe, to make some, then just kind of forgot about it. Then, this year when I was taking one of my many strolls around the grocery store, I saw some artichokes that looked insanely fresh and in season, so I decided to give it another try. I attempted to make them by picking out ingredients that I thought would meld together well and be able to make the classic italian dish and do it some justice in the process. My dad loved it so much, that he said it was actually better than Nonny's! Therefore, I decided to make them again and show all of you how I did it!

First, you want to wash the artichoke and cut the stem off so it is flush with the bottom. Then, break off the bottom layer of leaves. This will make sure that none of your pieces, or leaves rather, are stringy, because the stem is very stringy and if you don't take the first couple of layers of leaves and the stem off, they will bring some of the stem with them and its just gross. The one of the left has been done, and the one on the left hasn't. You can see the difference in the how they look between the one that has been prepared and the one that hasn't. Also, be careful because on the tips of the leaves, there are little spikes that can actually cut you. A lot of people cut them off of each individual leaf, but personally, I think its a waste of time and its not like you eat that part, so I don't bother. Steam it for about 15 minutes, so its almost fully cooked.

Then, you want to roughly dice up some onion. You wont really feel the texture of these when you eat the artichokes, but I just think it adds some nice flavor to the bread crumbs.

Heat some olive oil in a pan and then add the onion when it gets hot. Cook the onions down and sweat them out until they become almost translucent.

Then you want to mince up some garlic and add it into the pot as well. I used about 2 cloves. Let that cook on low heat until the onions become translucent. Once they become translucent, add some fresh chopped parsley, and let it cook in the oil until it just begins to wilt.

Then, you want to add your bread crumbs. I chose unseasoned because I like to season my own, but you can use italian seasoned if you'd like. Stir in the bread crumbs until they absorb all of the oil and look almost crumbly like in the picture above. Let them cook on medium low heat for a few minutes. If you need to, add a little more olive oil, or a little bit more bread crumbs until it gets to the right consistency. You want then to be able to be shaped so that they don't just fall apart when you put them into the leaves, but not too wet because we'll be adding more liquid later.

Next, whisk up some eggs. This will work as a binding agent for the stuffing.

Then, add about a half of a cup of the bread crumbs into the eggs and whisk that mixture together. This is important because since the bread crumb mixture will be hot, if you add the eggs into the pan, or all of the bread crumbs into the eggs, they will start to cook and you'll end up with scrambled egg chunks in your stuffed artichokes. By tempering the eggs, you can ensure that they reach a proper equilibrium with the bread crumbs so that they don't cook by themselves, and rather help bind the bread crumbs together when they cook. I also added about a cup or a cup and a half of fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Then, you just want to take a little bit of the breadcrumb mixture into each of the leaves.

It should look something like this once you've stuffed every leaf. Then, drizzle it with a little bit of olive oil on top and sprinkle with some more parmesan cheese. Then, steam it for about 5 more minutes, and you're ready to go! If you try this out, let me know how you like it in the comments! 

Until next time,

K

Lemon and Coconut Cupcakes!

Helllllo, everybody! Just a quick post tonight. I made some cupcakes for an event that my grandmother was going to, and figured that I would make a quick post about them, as they were a big hit. The cupcakes were lemon and coconut flavored and the post tonight is actually mainly going to be about the garnish that I used on the cupcakes, but I included a little bit after about how to make the cupcakes in case you were interested.

First, you want to boil about 2 cups of water, and put the lemon peel in the boiling water for about 5 minutes, or until the peel is tender. I shredded mine up in order to use it as a garnish but later found out it was much easier to keep the rind intact and cut it up after it had been candied. The simple syrup we'll be making to candy the lemons in becomes very thick, and its hard to separate the lemon from the syrup; but hey, you live and you learn. I'd just recommend keeping the rind in larger pieces if you decide to try this recipe out. The great thing about this, is that after you candy your peel, you can keep the mixture you candied them in as a lemon infused simple syrup!

After the peel becomes tender from being boiled down, you want to remove it from the water, and then add about 2 cups of sugar to the water mixture. Stir the water and sugar together, and then add the lemon  peel back into the saucepan. Now, the waiting. You want to let this lightly boil for about an hour. The lemon peel will start to curl up, almost, as you can see in the picture above. However, don't try to shorten the time when you think it's done if it hasn't been almost an hour. By letting it cook in this simple syrup, you are allowing all of the sugars from the syrup to break down and enter the peel, which, in turn, makes the lemon rind keep its flavor, but become unbelievably sweet. Once your peel as been boiling in the simple syrup for about an hour, remove it and let it dry. this will let all of the sugars harden and it will become like a hard candy. Be careful, because for sugar to melt down, it needs to reach quite a high temperature, and the lemon will reach an equilibrium with that temperature and become equally as hot. Feel free to leave the candies peel at this point and eat it just like this. I, however, chose to garnish some cupcakes with it.

CUPCAKES:

I make a boxed white cake, and added in about a cup of shredded coconut, as well as about 2 teaspoons of coconut extract. Then, I just followed the directions on the back of the box for baking instructions.

Then, the frosting, I added a couple teaspoons of lemon extract and some food coloring. Pretty simple, but just taste it and add a little bit at a time until it gets to your liking.

Then, I just put the frosting in one of my piping bags and frosted them up. 

These are the toppings I decided to use. Theres shredded coconut, mint leaves, the candied lemon peel, and some lemon candies.

I matched the lemon candies with the mint leaves, and then decided to top the other half of the batch in coconut and the candied lemon peel. If you try this out, definitely let me know how you liked it in the comments!

Until next time,

K

Caribbean Jerk Chicken Pizza!

Hellllllo, everybody! So, as you may or may not know, every February my family and I go back to my brothers homeland: the caribbean. Well, he wishes. However, we really do go and his absolute favorite thing besides the conch fritters is the jerk chicken. Jerked chicken is just chicken that has been extremely seasoned in a bunch of different herbs and spices. So, this year, a few months after we got back from vacation, Mike and I decided we were going to make our own pizza one day. Rather than typical cheese or pepperoni, we decided to venture out of our comfort zones and try something new. Alas, caribbean jerk chicken pizza was born, and has held its spot as Mike's favorite food, and a staple in his diet, since. Here we go! 

First, we're going to start with the sauce. I chose to make a home made sauce, but if you'd like to use pre-made, feel free. I used a can of the hunt's plain sauce and added my own seasonings and herbs. Minced garlic, onion powder, bay leaves, scallions, and fresh cut parsley should get the job done. Let this simmer for about an hour so that the flavors can all be absorbed by the sauce. Below, I show you a simple way to crush garlic rather than just putting minced garlic in, the oils come out more when it's crushed and it becomes way more flavorful. All you have to do is mince the garlic, then sprinke some sea salt on it, which will add traction as you're dragging your knife through the minced garlic. 

While the sauce is simmering, you'll want to work on chopping up all your toppings. Above is some orange bell peppers. I find that using a santoku knife is best for this dish becauce it is so univeral that you'll be able to use it on all of the toppings except the chicken. 

Chop up some red onions next. In the video below, I show you a quick way to chop up onions into a uniform size. Simply chop on side off just enough so that it can rest flat on the cutting board. Then, slice it vertically, but not all the way through so that it is still held together. Then, slice it horizontally, but once again not all the way through. Then you can just slice it and it will be a dice. Hopefully the video below helps you understand more.

Next, the mango. A lot of people actually arent sure what to do with a mango, what parts are edible, and how to cut it. So, I figured id film a video of me cutting it just for reference.

Finish chopping your tomatoes, and dicing up your sun dried tomatoes. Then, you want to filet your chicken breasts and slice them into thin strips. I find that a paring knife works best for this. I then decided to sauté them in order to ensure that they would be fully cooked since the heat from a grill comes from the bottom rather than a convection oven in which the heat is coming from both the top and the bottom. Also, the juices that come out of the chicken will help the jerk seasonings adhere to it.

 

And now, onto the jerk seasoning. Its a blend of thyme, a little bit of sugar, pepper, a little bit of salt, nutmeg, all spice, paprika, cayenne and garlic powder. About a teaspoon to a tablespoon or two of each depending on the potency of the spice.

Once you have all of your toppings laid out, and the chicken has been fileted and mixed with some jerk seasoning, you can start stretching out your pizza dough.

I reccomend using cornmeal rather than flour when rolling out your dough because it doesn't dry it out as much, and when you cook it, you dont get that chalky taste that cooked flour can sometimes cause.

Once it's all rolled out if should look something like this. I smoothed it out a little more before putting it on the grill, but you get the gist of it.

Next, place the rolled out dough on the hot grill and start to assemble your pizza. This makes it so much easier than having to assemble it on a cookie sheet and slide it off onto the grill.

Then, you want to close the lid of the grill and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes.

When its done, it should look something like this. If you try it out, comment below and let me know how you like it!

Until next time,

K

Scratch That Lasagna!

helllllllo my lovely readers! Back with a new post today on home made, almost everything from scratch, lasagna! Although I was able to make the sauce about as home made as it gets, I unfortunately forgot my pasta maker at my other house, so I was stuck buying pre-made lasagna noodles. Anybody who knows me, knows that I am absolutely, ridiculously obsessed with spaghetti-or any pasta for that matter. The only time I ever use boxed pasta though, is when I am making it for myself. Other than that, I get out the semolina, put a little elbow grease into it, and make my own dough and roll it out in my pasta maker, but hey- thats another post. I figured to make up for my nonexistent home made noodle sheets, I should at least take the time to make my own sauce. Therefore, I went out, bought a bunch of tomatoes, and got down to business. Hope you enjoy it! 

First, we're going to start with the sauce since it will need to simmer for a long time. Take a pound of hamburger and brown it up in a medium to large saucepan. Leave all of the juices and grease that comes out of it in the pan. DO NOT DRAIN IT. It may sound gross, but trust me, compared to all of the preservatives and fake chemicals in canned sauce, this is nothing. Plus it will add a ton of flavor that you'll need. 

Then, you want to chop up a medium onion, not quite a dice, but a smaller chop, and add it into the pot. Sweat the onions in the same pot as the hamburger until they become tender and slightly translucent.

Once the onions are translucent, add about 3 cloves of garlic, 4 if they're small, and stir it all together. Let this cook into the meat and onion mixture for another 5 minutes or so. The onions should be almost fully translucent now. However, if they arent, dont hold off on adding the next ingredients until they become translucent because by now, the garlics oils have been released, and you could run the risk of burning the garlic. 

Now, for the aeromatics. I used 4 basil leaves from my garden. They are very large, so if you have smaller ones, use about 6 or 7. I know it seems that we are adding alot of garlic and basil but think about how bland a simmered down tomato would be. We need to add flavor, and aeromatics and garlic are the simplest way. Chop up some parsley and throw that in there, too. I used about 2 or 3 tablespoons.

Quick tip on chopping up basil, if you roll it up, then julienne it, then just do the same vertically, it is way easier to get a more uniform size cut. Hopefully you'll get more of an idea from the video above.

It should look something like this once youve chopped it all up. So, add that to the pot, and let it cook down and release all of its flavors.

Then, you want to take the stems out of about 8 tomatoes. I chose beefsteak because they have way less seeds than most other types of tomatoes, but if you have a garden and would like to use some of those, go for it.

Next, you want to add the tomatoes to a pot of boiling water. Let them cook in there for a few minutes.

When the skin is cracking like this, you know they are ready to be removed. Some might take longer than others, it just means that the ones that are done first are mature, which in turn gives them a thinner skin. 

Once they are done, scoop them right out of the pot of water into an ice bath. This process is called blanching. The reason you are putting them in the ice bath is to immediately stop the cooking process. If you were to just take them out of the boiling water, they would continue to cook once they were removed. However, this way, the tomatoes will reach and equilibrium between the temperature of the boiling hot water, and the ice cold water bath, and should come out to about room temperature. 

Once they are cool enough to handle, simply take the cracks that the boiling water had caused, and peel the skins off of the tomatoes. Once you have skinned all of them, add them into the pot of hamburg, onions, and garlic. Let them cook down and simmer for a couple hours. If you have a potato masher, you can use that to speed up the process if you'd like. This will just help the tomatoes break down at a quicker rate. You'll still have to it simmer down for a while though.

Once it has been cooking and simmering down for a couple of hours, it should look something like the picture above. If not, take the back of your spoon to crush the tomatoes, to emit more juices and speed up the process, and just let it simmer for longer. If it is a little bit more liquid-y than you think it should be, just simmer it down longer and it will eventually thicken up. Make sure you aren't simmering it covered though, because then all of the evaporation leaving the pot, which will thicken it, is just going to get caught on the lid and drip back in and make it even more liquidy. Low and slow is the best method here. 

While that is simmering, you want to mix together ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, an egg, and some parmesan cheese. Mix that all together, and set it aside until its time to prepare the actual lasagna. 

Once you feel that your sauce is at a good enough consistency to put the lasagna together, boil your noodles. 

Put a little big of sauce in the bottom of your dish; just enough to keep the noodles from sticking when it is baking. Then, layer noodles on top of the sauce.

After you have placed your noodles down, spread some of the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles. Then more sauce, more noodles, and more ricotta. Keep repeating this process until your dish is filled.

Once it is almost filled to the brim, it should look something like this.

Then, you want to sprinkle about a cup and a half of mozarella cheese on top the of the lasagna, and about a cup of parmesan cheese. Then, bake it at 325 degrees, covered with aluminum foil for about 40 minutes. After the fourty minutes is up, you want to remove the tin foil, and bake it for about 15 to 20 more minutes. After youve finished cooking it, remove it from the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes. This way it will cool off a little bit, which will help it get alittle bit firmer, so its easier for you to get a piece out of the dish.

Serve it up on some plates with a side salad, and maybe some crusty italian bread and you're good to go. If you try this, let me know how you like it! Also, let me know int he comments how you like having videos inserted in along with the regular blog entry. It's fairly simple to do, so if you like having them there, I definitely dont have a problem putting a couple in per post.

Until next time,

K

Summer Series: Your Fourth of July Fix!

Hey, everybody! First off, happy fourth of July! This is definitely one of my favorite holidays, so what a great day to start a new summer series! In addition to posting recipies this summer, I have decided to start a new summer series to give my readers ideas for good summer meals that you'll probably know how to make, but will just help freshen your memory with ideas that you probably wouldn't have though of, and that will be a nice change from the typical hot dogs and hamburgers. There will be 3 parts to each entry of this series.

One- A dish that you would not think of right away, but is very convienent to make for the summer months, cookout or not.

Two- A "Rain Check" situation. This part of the entry will consist of an alternative way of preperation, without sacrificing any flavor.

Third- A way to fix the dish incase you burn it or something. This will be a way to not sacrifice the whole meal, for a small issue. This will especially come in handy if you are having a cookout with a lot of guests.

So today: Fourth of July foods!

First on the list: Grilled Chicken Legs

A: I feel like when most people think of chicken, depending on their age, they either think of it in nugget form, or in the form of a grilled chicken breast. However, there are so many more things that you can do with chicken than what first comes to mind. Its such a simple meal, and for entertaining a large group of people, especially if you're having some sort of cookout, its extremely cost effective. This is because this cut mainly consists of dark, and less tender pieces of meat, therefore bringing the price down from the more expensive all tender white meat chicken breast. All you have to do is sprinkle this with a little bit of seasoned salt, or your own mix of herbs and spices, and cook it on medium heat. Make sure you cook them skin side up, especially at the beginning. You do this beacuse since the skin is essentially just fat in the sense of the purpose that it serves, and chicken is a very lean meat, as the juices come out of the skin, they will drip onto the chicken legs before they hit the drip pan, rather than just straight into the drip pan. This way the chicken legs will be basted all throughout the cooking process. Anyway, these are great because you can serve them either hot, or cold, meaning that if most of your dishes are based off of the grill that day, you can make them ahead of time and not have to worry about heating them up.

B: "Rain Check" If you don't have a grill, or would rather choose to serve them hot and have too many other foods on the grill, you can also bake them. However, I wouldn't recommend using a seasoning if you're going to bake this. Some type of breadcrumbs, such as "Shake 'n Bake" will work great for them. You can also serve them cold if you choose to prepare them this way. However, I prefer them served hot when they have been made this way.

C: Finally, I know that during the summer, people tend to be busier than usual. The great thing about chicken legs, is if you get carried away during a cookout preapring other foods, every single leg you buy will have the skin still intact, so if you happen to accidently burn them, the skin will be the first thing to burn. Therefore, if you burn them, simply peel the skin off, season the meat, and flip it so that the new seasonings cook into the meat in which they have been sprinkled on. Problem solved, and nobody will ever notice.

Until next time,
K

Chicken, Broccoli, and Fettuccine Alfredo!

Chicken, broccoli, and fettuccine alfredo is the dish tonight, everyone. A simple, home made alfredo sauce puts a new twist on the dish from your ragu canned sauce...(please stop using that, by the way.)

First, you want to mince up some garlic. This will help add some flavor to the realtively bland cheeses we'll be adding to make the alfredo sauce. 

Melt a stick of butter down. When it's all melted, this will be used to bring out the flavors in the garlic.

Add the garlic to the butter and let it simmer for a bit until the minced garlic pieces start to shrink down, right before they turn golden brown. Once they've shrunken down, you know they've released their inner oils into the butter. If they turn golden brown, you've over cooked them and I suggest starting again because over cooked garlic has a very bitter flavor that could overpower the entire dish.

Cream cheese is going to be one of the main cheeses used in the alfredo sauce. Although bland, other cheeses we add will make up for it with their sharpness, leaving the cream cheese to give the sauce a creamy, and soft texture and flavor. 

I seperated the cream cheese into smaller pieces so it would melt faster. Then, just add it to the pan of garlic and butter and let it melt down.

Then, add about a cup of heavy cream. This will help thin out the sauce, which in turn will keep it hot longer while youre eating it since it will be thinner. 

Whisk it all together until it looks something like the above.

Then, I decided to mix in a slice of brie just to add to the different types of flavors and cheeses that are being melded together.

Add about 1/2 of a cup to a cup of parmesan cheese. This will take a little bit longer to melt down than the brie or the cream cheese will but just be patient and keep whisking and eventually it will melt down, and the sharpness of the parmesan will be a nice accompaniment to the the soft flavors of the cream cheese and brie.

Next, you want to take some chicken breasts and slice them into small tenders like the picture above.

Toss the chicken into a frying pan, season with a little salt and pepper, and just stir it occasionally until it's cooked through.

Then, once the chickens cooked through, add it into the saucepan that you had the alfredo sauce in, and add some broccoli into the pan as well. Mix it all together and let it simemr for a few minutes just to make sure everything is the same temperature and that the flavors have had a chance to blend with eachother.

Add it to your fettuccine and mix it all together. It should look something like the picture above. Try it out and let me know how you like it!

Until next time, 

K