Mashed Potato Perfection

I am WAAY behind on posting. My apologies to anyone unlucky enough to be reading this. I have been intending to post a yummy peanut butter cookie recipe, the best chicken soup of all times, and a few other goodies, but alas, school has taken over my life. So in the meantime, I just wanted to pop in and ask if everyone else is as excited as I am about Thanksgiving?! I'm mucho excited and only a little nervous, since last year I had a small fiasco with one of the apple pies. I might have forgot to add the sugar. Possibly. It's unclear exactly what went wrong but needless to say it was overly tart. Oops! Here's hoping to an error-free Turkey day this time around! Be sure to check out the great decorations here and the delectable recipes here. Okay as long as I'm just linking recipes- here's one for the BEST mashed potatoes ever! We have been using this recipe at our Thanksgiving table for over ten years and it is absolutely fabulous! My mom's to die for gravy certainly helps out as well. Still- give these taters a try- you'll be supremely happy you did! Gobble gobble dear readers!

Sunny

Lemon curd is such a delight. I feel more refined when I eat it, and also more full because I could probably eat about 10,000 pounds of it. Luckily, this sunny, eastery dessert is a cinch to make!

4 eggs
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick butter

Beat eggs lightly. Add beaten eggs, butter, sugar and lemon juice to small sauce pan. Cook over LOW heat (don't be tempted to turn it up here people) stirring constantly until mixture thickens and spoon is coated.

Serve with angel food cake, in individual tart shells, or with fresh strawberries for the perfect spring time treat. And yes, this post should have been written up long ago! :)

Spice Cake

This was one of my absolute most favorite cakes growing up. My mom made it and my sister and I shared pieces because I LOVED the icing and she LOVED the cake. Now I just love both! Yum! (recpie forthcoming- I just need some visual reminders about which recipes I still need to write up! Sorry to keep you waiting!)

Grilled Nectarines

These are the bomb diggity. 'nuff said.

If you can neatly halve your nectarines, the final product would undoubtedly be more pleasing to the eye. But alas, I was not skilled enough to do that, so my nectarines were sliced and then placed into a grill basket. Follow the rest of the recipe here, serve with high quality vanilla ice-cream or greek yogurt if you're into that, and enjoy. This is a recipe that seems impressive, is unique and exceptionally delicious, and is also (happily) exceptionally easy.

Grilled Pizza

I've been reading about how fabulous grilled pizza is for awhile now. I read about this recipe in my August issue of Bon Appetit, then salivated over a few more recipes I found online. Finally, my good friend Carolyne also gave it an unabashed accolade on her blog, so I decided to give it a whirl. The results? Drum roll please...divine! This pizza was scrumptious, and I'm convinced it could be even better if you plan ahead. My inspiration hit me at 5:30 on a Thursday when I was in the middle of the produce section at the grocery store, so the final product was decidedly less gourmet than those I'd read about. Still, it hit the spot, it was easy, it was super HEALTHY and did I mention delicious? Here's exactly what we did. Keep in mind that you could make yours even better (using fresh dough would be preferable I'm sure) by planning ahead, but in a pinch this was still fabulouso!

1 Boboli pre-baked pizza crust
1/2 yellow squash sliced paper thin
1/2 zucchini sliced paper thin
sliced mushrooms (I was craving portabellas but settled for the less expensive baby bellas)
fresh thin sliced tomatoes (from your garden would be heavenly)
fresh spinach
thinly sliced red onion
prosciutto (we were feeling especially bougie at the time- but I'm telling you people, so worth it!)

Ok, light up the grill and get it pretty hot. If you are using a charcoal grill like we do, then smoosh all of your coals over to one side. Spray the Boboli with Olive Oil- thank you pam can- and place on the grill. Grill for approximately three minutes, and then flip it. Grill for another three minutes and then remove the crust from the grill.
Back in the kitchen, top crust with a drizzle of olive oil, the rest of the toppings, and salt and pepper. Return pizza to grill (placing crust directly on grate of the grill, as before).
Cook for 15-18 minutes, or until toppings reach your desired cooked-through level. Because none of our toppings actually needed to be cooked, we just watched it carefully until it suited our tastes. We alternated between indirect heat (on the side with no coals) and medium direct heat (straddling the coals and non-coal section of the grill.)
Remove from grill, cut into slices, and serve!!!
Even with no cheese I give this recipe 4 stars!!

Sloppy Joes

Despite my STRONG aversion to the store-bought, meat-in-a-can version of this dinner, I do love homemade sloppy joes, and to keep up with my recent ode to summer meals, I thought I'd share this recipe with you all! You can find the recipe here. It's originally from Rachel Ray, and love her or hate her, these "sammies" are pretty dang good. Serve them with grilled corn on the cob, watermelon, and fries for an easy summer meal that promises plenty of leftovers throughout the week! Happy eating!

Perfection

There's not really a recipe to go along with this, but I wanted to take a minute and brag about my husband- he cooked this teriyaki chicken on the grill a while ago, and it was almost too beautiful to eat! Luckily, I overcame my hesitation to desecrate his art because this chicken was SO yummy! Way to go Dean!

Pico de Gallo

No, this is not salsa. Yes, it is delicious.Slice up watermelon, jicama, cucumber, mango, pineapple and any other assorted tropical fruits you like (papaya is also excellent). Arrange fruit in large glasses. Pour a few tablespoons of lime juice over the fruit, and top it with a good sprinkling of cayenne pepper. Enjoy the best summer treat ever!

Chicken Tacos

Ingredients
Shredded chicken
Sliced Squash- we used a mix of green and yellow then cooked it for a few minutes with butter on the stove
Corn- fresh would be better, but we used canned and it was fine
Black beans
Whole grain tortillas- something we just recently discovered-inauthentic but so good!
Radishes
Cilantro
Avocado
Limes
Valentina (optional I suppose, but I couldn't imagine these without it)

Limey Dressing, adapted from a salad dressing in ATK Cookbook, p. 78*
5 tablespoons e.v. olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 small jalapenos seeded and minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 pepper

* this could be used as a marinade if you are the kind of person who plans ahead. As I'm not, I just cooked the chicken in half of this and dumped the second half on after cooking.


Mix all dressing ingredients together- cook the chicken on a skillet with half of the dressing mixture until cooked through. Then, shred the chicken and place in serving bowl with rest of dressing poured on top. Spoon chicken, corn, cilantro, radishes, and avocado onto a warmed tortilla. Spinkle Valentina liberally and then squeeze a lime on top for maximum deliciousness. Serve with warm black beans, squash, and fruit on the side.

Ode to Hot Sauce

Hot sauce has got to be one of the best inventions of all time. My world-traveling little brother recently sent me a bottle from Nicaragua (it was excellent by the way) and it got me thinking- how many bottles of hot sauce do we have in our house at any given time? Below, you'll find the answer. I did not go out and purchase anything for this post. These are just what we had on hand in our house on a lazy Saturday morning.

Pretty impressive if I do say so myself.

I also wanted to share a delicious idea that I'm a little embarrassed to have never thought of before. We went over to our friends Joel and April's house for FHE recently and they served us some potato chips (ruffled) with lime and hot sauce. Valentina to be exact. SO GOOD! I don't even like potato chips and I liked it. It could be that the chips only serve as a vehicle to get the lime and hot sauce in my mouth, but still- give it a whirl some time! I promise- you won't be disappointed!

Sweet Chili Glazed Salmon with Sugar Snap Peas

Quick, easy, yummy. Not out-of-this-world, mind-numbingly delicious, but pretty dang good for a weeknight dinner.

I got the original recipe here. I made it without the pea tendrils only because I didn't have anything on hand. The sweet chili sauce is a Thai sauce, and is different than chili paste which is what I thought it was at first. We served it with a mix of brown and jasmine rice to round out the meal. The whole dinner comes together super quickly- especially if you have a microplaner that your exquisitely wonderful husband bought for you. (I'll never mince garlic or ginger again- yahoo!) Give it a try and see what you think!

Coconut Shrimp with Cilantro Coconut Rice and Fiery Mango Sauce

Mmmmm....this dinner was way good. And, since I got the recipe out of Cooking Light Magazine, I feel justified in eating it because it must be healthy right? (Actually it's not as bad for you as I thought it might be, thanks to a few good Cooking Light tips and tricks) Anyway, this dinner comes together pretty fast except for the rice which requires a lot of chopping. I would make this again anytime as it's fairly cheap (esp. if you get frozen shrimp), warm, flavorful and very satisfying! Enjoy!

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 2/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 (12-ounce) can mango nectar
• 1/4 Scotch bonnet pepper, unseeded
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Shrimp:

• 28 jumbo shrimp (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 3 large egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 teaspoons canola oil, divided
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. To prepare sauce, heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, ginger, and garlic; sauté 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add nectar and pepper; bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes or until reduced to 3/4 cup. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Place mixture in a blender; process until smooth. Stir in juice and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cool.

2. Peel and devein shrimp, leaving tails intact; discard shells.

3. Place coconut in a food processor; pulse 6 times or until finely chopped. Add panko; pulse to combine. Place coconut mixture in a shallow dish. Place cornstarch in a shallow dish. Place egg whites in a shallow dish. Sprinkle shrimp evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Working with 1 shrimp at a time, dredge shrimp in cornstarch, shaking off excess. Dip in egg whites; dredge in coconut mixture.

4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add 7 shrimp to pan; coat tops of shrimp with cooking spray. Cook shrimp 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat procedure 3 times with remaining oil and shrimp.

*Notes: You definitely need the Cooking Spray for this recipe, otherwise the coating falls off and you have to use way more oil, negating the healthy factor. Also, we substituted one habanero pepper for the scotch bonnet, and it was very spicy (in a good way) and flavorful. I'm sure the scotch bonnet would be good, I just couldn't find one.

Cilantro Coconut Rice
My mom introduced me to this recipe, and the original can be found here. We've modified it a bit based on others' reviews and our own taste preferences. Be warned: this makes a TON of rice, so invite someone over for dinner or plan a few menus that use it.

• 3 cups basmati rice (20 ounces)
• 3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh jalapeño including seeds (from 1 chile)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups packed fresh cilantro sprigs
• 4 scallions, chopped (1 cup)

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Wash rice in several changes of cold water in a bowl until water is almost clear. Soak rice in cold water 30 minutes, then drain well in a sieve.

Spread coconut in a shallow baking pan and toast in oven, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely.

Cook ginger and jalapeño in 1 tablespoon oil in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until chile is softened, about 2 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in water and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil, covered. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until rice is tender and water is absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork and transfer to a large bowl.

While rice cooks, pulse together coconut, cilantro, scallions, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor until finely chopped.

Add cilantro mixture to cooked rice and stir gently until combined well.

Disclaimers: You'll notice from the picture that our rice is green. Boo. It's because we used the food processor. Ideally, I prefer to chop all the cilantro etc. by hand because that way it doesn't turn your rice green, and instead the rice looks really beautiful because of the contrast between the bright white rice and the green leaves. Still, if you're short on time, the food processor won't affect taste. We also prefer to use about 2 cups (1 can) of coconut milk and only 2 cups of water to cook the rice in. It's more calories, but also more delicious. You decide. As a last note, watch the coconut very carefully while it toasts. (Toaster ovens are ideal for this step because you can see the coconut the whole time.) It browns very quickly; one time Dean and I had to throw away 3 batches of coconut before we got it right because we kept forgetting about it and letting it burn!

Baked Pie Crust

This recipe is easy and delicious. You'll never buy a pre-made pie crust again once you try this one. It's my mom's recipe and I'm proud to say, it rocks.

9" One Crust Pie
1 c. flour
1/3 c plus 1 tbsp. Parkay soft margarine*
½ tsp. salt
2 – 3 tbsp cold water

Combine flour and salt. Cut in margarine with fork until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add cold water 1 tbsp. at a time until mixture clings together. Roll out pastry on wax paper and fit into pie tin. Prick bottom and sides with fork. Bake at 475 for 8 – 10 minutes. Let cool before adding filling.

*(I admit, contrary to my mother's advice I have used generic brands here and the results seem to be okay so far.)

The Happiest Pie in the World

Is there anything happier than lemon meringue pie? The fresh lemony smell, the warm, smooth texture and the sunniest color in the world make it hard to not eat the filling before you top the pie and bake it! I'd never made lemon meringue pie before, and I'll admit I was a little worried about the prospect. It seemed daunting somehow. Turns out I was totally wrong. It was straightforward and FUN to make. (And eat.) My only advice? Don't overbeat the egg whites like I did, so that you'll end up with a beautiful, curlicue top instead of a fluffy mess. Oh and take note that you only need 4 eggs total. So save the egg whites when you crack the eggs the 1st time around. I accidentally used 8. Oops! Oh well, time for you to try it on your own now- remember the picture doesn't do it justice. Enjoy!

Mama Joopsie's Lemon Meringue Pie

1 ½ c. sugar

1 ½ c.water

½ tsp salt

½ c. cornstarch

1/3 c water

Combine sugar, 1 ½ c water, and salt in saucepan; heat to boiling. Mix cornstarch and 1/3 c water to make smooth paste; add to boiling mixture gradually, stirring constantly. Cook until think and clear, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

4 egg yolks, slightly beaten

½ c lemon juice

3 tbsp butter

1 tsp grated lemon peel

Combine egg yolks and lemon juice. Stir into above thickened mixture. Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles again. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and lemon peel. Cool until lukewarm.

4 egg whites

¼ tsp salt

½ c sugar

Add salt to egg whites; beat until frothy in mixer at high speed. Gradually add ½ c sugar, beating until glossy stiff peaks are formed. Stir 2 rounded tbsp of meringue into lukewarm filling.

Pour filling into cool pie shell. Pile meringue on top and spread lightly over filling, spreading evenly to edge of crust.

Bake at 325 about 15 minutes , or until lightly browned. Cool at least 1 hour before cutting.

An update:
I recently made this pie again and it turned out much more beautifully than the last time:

Cucumber Sunomono

Courtesy of Dean's Mom and Obaasan Watanabe

This makes enough for 2 people, but it can easily be doubled, tripled, etc. If you're really a pro you don't measure anything, you just taste it. Don't worry- I'm not there yet either!

2 cucumbers, peeled (if you want/care) halved, cored and sliced.
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vinegar (I use apple cider but Obaasan insists that all vinegar is the same)
salt

Prepare cucumbers. Sprinkle with salt (not too much here people). Leave alone for about 15 minutes. Combine sugar and vinegar until completely mixed. Drain cucumbers and squeeze out water. Combine with vinegar mixture and serve.

Okay so that's the official recipe, but the gaijin girl is here to tell you that I've completely skipped the salt step (and the draining cucumbers etc.) and I've also added the vinegar and sugar directly to the cukes without mixing first and there have been little to no discernible differences- so for a weeknight dinner, save yourself the time and throw it all together. Just don't tell Obaasan or Julie I said so.

Thai Chicken Satay

So, we've been trying a lot of new recipes around here lately. Many of them have been "quick" week-night type recipes (or at least they've been advertised as such) but we've had mixed results. No dinners that were gross, but only a few that were truly memorable. I don't know about you, but no matter how easy or quick it is, I don't like eating meals that are just "okay." (So I'm a bit of a food elitist- is that such a crime?) Why put any effort in for only mediocre results? Luckily for all of the non-existent people who read this blog, I've sorted out the weak recipes from the culinary gems! And this one here is a gem my friends. It meets on all counts. It's relatively quick (okay the chopping does take some time, but that can easily be done the night before) and exceptionally yummy. This meal can be used during the week, but is fun/impressive enough to use when company comes for dinner-something I feel makes this recipe unique. Not too many dishes can fit both bills but this one does and does so without disappointing. But enough intro- try it for yourself and see what you think!

This recipe came from Williams Sonoma's Food Made Fast series, in the Weeknight cookbook. You can buy this cookbook here if you're interested. The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients
2 large limes
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon minced ginger (fresh is best)
3 cloves minced garlic
3 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 1/2lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or tenderloins

Directions

Marinate the Chicken
1) Soak bamboo skewers in cold water until ready to use.
2) Grate 1 teaspoon zest from lines and squeeze 1/4 cup juice. Whisk together lime zest and juice, vinegar, and peanut butter until smooth. Stir in the cilantro, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar and sesame oil. Reserve 1/2 cup of this mixture to use as dipping sauce. Use the rest to marinate the chicken.
3) Marinate the chicken for 10 minutes at room temperature or cover and refrigerate for up to two hours. (I bet you could actually marinate it overnight to save time)

Cook the Chicken
4) Preheat the broiler. (You could grill this too, we just happened to broil ours)
5) Remove chicken from marinade and skewer the chicken
6) Brush the chicken with extra marinade before putting in the oven, then discard marinade
7) Place skewers on cookie sheet and place under the broiler
8) Cook, turning once until seared on the outside and opaque throughout. The recipe says this took 6 minutes, but it took us more like 12....my only guess is because our rack was very low in the oven. Just watch the chicken and cook it until done but not rubbery.
9) Serve with Jasmine Rice and Cucumber Sunomono

Red Potato, Green Bean, and Cherry Tomato Salad

YUM! This is my new favorite salad. It is easy to make, delicious, and very Summery. Okay I do realize that it's only January but it has been so nice out lately that I feel like Summer or at least Spring has come early. Ahh, the delights of living in Arizona. But I digress...Back to this salad. It's crunchy, fresh and the colors look beautiful together. It goes well with practically anything you can grill and comes together very quickly, so it's easy even for a quick weeknight dinner. Try it once and I'm confident that you'll like it as much as I do! You can find the original recipe here.
In my version I quartered the potatoes so that they'd be easier to eat, added a bit more mustard than was called for, noticed that you need a little less olive oil, and my best idea was to add a smallish bag of cherry tomatoes carefully sliced in half. In my humble opinion the tomatoes make the salad. They taste great, don't get me wrong, but I think the color is what really makes the salad pop! See for yourself...happy cooking!

Hmm...as I was eating leftovers, I had a sudden inspiration for this recipe. Maybe too much though...I'll have to try it in a scant amount and report back. The proposed addition? Bacon. Oh yeah. :)

2010!

Happy New Year! As is customary in January, I'm resolving to eat healthier and work out more this year. Eating healthy is the easy part- I like food. It's the exercising that'll take some work! Maybe these, easy yummy recipes will inspire you too!

5 Ingredient Chicken Recipes

Quick and Easy Vegetarian Recipes (We're trying to eat meat free once a week)

Go here for some good tips on how to stock your pantry- since sometimes eating healthfully is more about forming good habits than obsessing over any one meal.

Enjoy these tips for now- I'll hopefully be back soon with some new recipes and updates. I've been inspired my good friend Rachel's Fashion Blog, so it's possible I might actually get serious about this cooking one after all. Until next time!