Sweet potato and bacon Mac and 5 cheeses

One of my favorite foods is Mac and cheese.  In fact, in my food pyramid, bacon and Mac & cheese are their own food groups! And then there is another group dedicated to mixing these two food groups together in as many ways as possible! Mac and cheese is really just a great vehicle for almost anything.    But anyway enough about how great Mac and cheese is, I'm sure you already know that...

I love sweet potatoes all year round but since fall is sweet potato season, it seemed appropriate to make this delectable dish that I had tried out over the summer.  It is so creamy, with a great spicy kick! And if you'd like it to be even hotter, add some a couple tablespoons of your favorite hot sauce.  Then there's that crunchy, sweet graham cracker topping that really puts it over the edge!  There's no sense in blabbing anymore, this recipe speaks for itself! 

Sweet potato and bacon Mac and cheese

Yield: 1 9x13 baking tray

2 TB olive oil

1/2 medium red onion, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced 

2 cups milk

2 cups sweet potato, cubed

1/2 teaspoon cayenne 

1 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon pure chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup white cheddar, grated

3/4 cup manchego, grated

3/4 cup gruyere, grated

3/4 cup fontina, grated

1/4 cup Parmesan, grated

1 pound of pasta (your choice, I think elbows or pipettes are best for Mac and cheese)

6 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped

1/4 cup scallions

3 graham crackers, crushed

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion and cook for about 4 minutes.  Add garlic and continue to sauté for another 2 minutes.  Add milk and sweet potato cubes and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until sweet potatoes are soft.  Meanwhile, cook pasta according to manufacturer's instructions, drain, and set aside.  Combine salt, cayenne, chili powder, and paprika in a small bowl.  Grate cheeses and set aside.  Preheat oven to 375F.  When sweet potatoes are soft, add contents of saucepan to a blender and pulse until smooth and creamy.  Stir in spice mixture and cheeses.  Pulse mixture until smooth.  Pour over reserved pasta in a baking tray, add chopped bacon, and stir well. Pour crushed graham crackers over top of mixture evenly.  Sprinkle with scallions if desired.  Put tray in oven for 10-15 minutes, until top is crunchy.

Apple pie

It is apple pie season!! I love apple pie! It's one of the few fruit based desserts I live for (carrot cake? Come on seriously, who are you kidding? Carrots don't belong in cake!). Furthermore, for the past few weeks, there have been around 75 apples in a bag in my kitchen.  Nick, Excalibur, and I went apple picking a couple weekends ago and have been slowly making it through these apples.  Don't worry, recipes for apple pie pancakes and apple pie French toast will follow.  I've been rather negligent in my blog posting lately.  I've been doing the cooking, just not the posting.  

Anyway, Nick's great aunt was turning 90 so we decided to bake an apple pie for the party.  It got great reviews.  I'm always a little nervous that I've over spiced it because I prefer more spices and less sugar but others like it sweet.  I guess I finally found the balance!

Amazingly delicious apple pie 

Yield: 1 party-pleasing pie 

6-7 baking apples, peeled and diced 

3 TB flour 

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup sugar (or 1/4 cup Splenda or truvia baking  blend)

2 TB lemon juice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

A pinch ground cloves (unless you have an 1/8 teaspoon measure)

2 pie crusts (I used pillsbury, sure homemade is better but I was lazy...)

~2 TB butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

Extra cinnamon  and sugar to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 375F.  Mix flour, vanilla, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves in a large bowl.  Slowly add apples to mixture, evenly coating apples.  Use one pie crust to line bottom of pie dish.  Add apple mixture to dish.  Dice butter and dot the top of the pie with the pieces evenly.  Using a pizza cutter, cut strips of the other pie crust to form a lattice on top of pie.  Using a basting brush, coat the lattice with the beaten egg.  Finally, sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top (To make cinnamon sugar, mix 2 TB white sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon).  Bake for 50-60 minutes.

I messed up the crust a little bit so it looks a little lopsided but it tasted phenomenal! We even put some Ben and Jerry's vanilla blueberry graham cracker Greek frozen yogurt on top! It was heaven! 

Happiness is breakfast (especially on a football Sunday)

Who doesn't love pancakes on a Sunday morning?! I am especially ecstatic today because it's the first football Sunday of the year! I know I'm not the one actually playing and chances are I will be sitting on my butt all day but I still feel the need to carbo load on Sunday mornings during football season. In college, I had a lot of Sunday afternoon games, so I guess old habits die hard.

Anyway, these pancakes were Nick's idea.  He was set on making dessert for breakfast again and these looked simple enough and had spent too much time on my Pinterest board.  Here is the recipe:

For the cinnamon swirl:

4 TB butter

1/4 cup + 2 TB brown sugar (we used 3 TB Splenda brown sugar blend instead)

1/2 TB cinnamon

1. Melt butter.  Allow to cool slightly.

2. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon.

3. Add mixture to ziplock bag and set aside. Cut tip when ready to add to swirl into pancakes.

For the pancakes:

1 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 TB oil (I used peanut oil)

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg*

1/4 teaspoon allspice*

1. Beat egg in medium bowl. 

2.  Add milk and oil and stir to combine.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.  

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and whisk together.  Do no overheat.  Some lumps are good! 

5. Stir in nutmeg and allspice.

6. Cook on a heated griddle or in a pan, greased with butter. 

7. Swirl in cinnamon mixture prior to flipping eachpancake.

*these are really optional.  I'm a huge fan of my spice cabinet and I like to put nutmeg and allspice in anything that has cinnamon so it's up to you!

For the glaze:

2 ounces cream cheese (we used Greek cream cheese which is nice and tart with am extra bit of protein, I think it helped cut the sweetness a little)

4 TB butter 

3/4 cup powdered sugar (we ended up using a little less than this, probably 2/3 cup)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat

2. Add in cream cheese and reduce heat.  Stir until well combined.

3. Add in powdered sugar a little at a time until smooth and remove from heat.

4. Stir in vanilla.

5. Top a stack of pancakes with some of the glaze.

(Not your average spinach and ricotta) Stuffed chicken (wrapped in bacon)

The first time I made this chicken it was in an attempt to impress a boy whom I had become quite fond of.  Yup, thats right, I'm talking about you Nick. It seemed appropriate to make it again since we have been on quite a cooking spree and we had bought some mouthwatering fresh packed ricotta from the Fairway.  

When I'm cooking Italian, I usually like to spice it up and use every green herb in the cabinet with lots of red pepper but I went sort of easy here.  I also usually just toss these herbs and spices in without any sort of measurement system.  It always bothers my friends and family though, because then I can't tell them an exact recipe.  I always just say, add some oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, sage, marjoram, etc., which usually just makes them say "I'll just google a recipe."  Well I finally decided to measure things out, which actually caused me to hold myself back.  Fear not, it is still delicious and very well flavored (according to the reviews.)

Here it is, in all its exorbitant glory.....

For the stuffing:

1 TB olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups fresh spinach

16 oz. ricotta cheese (I got some fresh packed from Fairway and it was the best ricotta I've ever had but any ricotta will do.)

1/2 cup Parmesan, grated

1 TB fresh parsley (probably closer to a teaspoon if you're using dried)

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon rosemary

3/4 teaspoon red pepper (or less if you're not into that Italian spiciness)

Salt to taste

1.  Heat oil in a frying pan.

2. Add garlic and sauté until aromatic but not browned.

3. Add spinach to pan and cook until wilted. Set aside until ready.

4. Put ricotta in a medium mixing bowl and stir in grated Parmesan.

5. Add your spices next and stir thoroughly. 

6. Add reserved spinach and stir thoroughly.

7. Set filling aside until ready to stuff chicken.

For the chicken:

3 large boneless chicken breasts

"The lady's house seasoning"** to preference

1. Butterfly and tenderize chicken breasts until about 1/2 to a 1/4 inch thick.  

2. Sprinkle each side of each breast with "the lady's house seasoning"**

**the lady's house seasoning is a really simple Paula Deen seasoning containing garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  Do yourself a favor--google it and make a bunch to put on chicken, pork, steak or really any type of meat you're making. It's simple but effective! If you don't feel like making some to keep around, just season this chicken however you want.

Putting it all together:

Now comes the fun but incredibly messy part (which is why I made Nick do it).  Add some stuffing into each of your butterflied chicken breasts.  Realistically, there is enough stuffing in this batch to fill 4 chicken breasts.  We just completely overstuffed ours 3, but another creative option is to save it in the fridge until you're ready and fill some crescent rolls with it to make homemade [Italian] spanakopita for an appetizer tomorrow night.

If you really want to go wild, as you can see we have done here, you'll need some strips of bacon or prosciutto.  In our case, we utilized both because we tend to be a bit excessive.  If you want to get even more extreme (now I know what you're thinking, how can it be more extreme?!), you'll want to add some pepperoni into the filling.  It is a crazy decadent, epic stuffed chicken, but it really is worth it.

So back to recap the assembly process:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheet with foil or parchment paper (for easy cleanup).

2. Fill chicken with spinach ricotta filling.

3. Layer pepperoni on top of filling. (Optional)

4. Close chicken breasts with toothpicks to the best of your ability.

5. Wrap in chicken, prosciutto, or some of both. (Optional)

6. Add more toothpicks to hold together if necessary.

7. Pop in the oven and cook for 45-60 minutes.

I actually just went over to the oven, turned the light on, and stared at them cooking for a little while, soaked in bacon fat and happiness.  So next time you're thinking you'd like to do away with side dishes and eat some meat wrapped in meat wrapped in meat, give this recipe a try.  I promise it will not disappoint!

Green risotto topped with prosciutto-wrapped scallops

I (literally) just finished eating what tasted like a meal of the finest restaurant quality.  If I closed my eyes (and disregarded the fact that I had just spent an hour or so cooking this meal), I would have thought I was at a 5-star restaurant eating the Chef's special.  I honestly don't even feel like I'm exaggerating.  

Yesterday, Nick and I went to the local Fairway and I decided I wanted to buy some scallops.  I figured we could wrap the scallops in bacon and sauté them with some asparagus, and make some sort of creamy sauce to drizzle on top. I was already thinking decadent but this morning in my foggy haze on the train into the city for work, it hit me.  I really wanted to make my first risotto.  I had always wanted to make risotto but I knew it was so time consuming.  I had to go for it.

I found a great recipe for a spinach asparagus risotto with plain scallops and I decided to take it a step further and wrap my scallops in prosciutto.  That's right, I said it, prosciutto-wrapped scallops.  B prepared though, this recipe is easier made with 2 people.  If you're going it alone, make sure you prepare all the ingredients before you start cooking anything and wrap the scallops in the prosciutto and store them in the fridge until the risotto is almost finished. 

Here's the recipe, adapted from Cooking Yummies.

Make 4-5 servings

For the risotto:

6 cups chicken broth (I used reduced sodium with no MSG)

2 TB olive oil

1 lb. asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 TB minced shallot (this wasn't even a full bulb so don't prepare too much)

2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 cloves)

1.5 cups uncooked arborio rice

1/2 cup white cooking wine

1.5 cups fresh spinach, chopped

2 TB chopped scallions

1/2 cup shredded or grated Parmesan

Sea salt to taste

For the scallops:

1 pound fresh sea scallops

1/3 pound prosciutto

2 TB olive oil

1 TB lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Pour chicken broth into a saucepan over medium heat.

2. Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to large frying pan over medium heat.  Add asparagus, sea salt, and pepper and sauté for about 7 minutes until tender.

3. Reserve asparagus in bowl and set aside.

4. In the same frying pan, add second TB olive oil over medium heat.  Add minced shallot and garlic.  Cook about 4 minutes until soft but not browned.  

5. Add rice and thoroughly coat with oil.

6. Gently heat white wine (in the microwave is fine) so it is as hot as the pan (this is so the rice absorbs this liquid rather than it just boiling off.) Add white wine to pan and stir until rice absorbs all liquid.

7. Begin to add hit chicken broth 1/2 cup or so at a time.  Simmer and stir regularly until liquid is nearly absorbed and the proceed with adding another 1/2 cup increment.  Continue until all broth is gone. It will take about 30-45 minutes. 

8. If you have not done so already, begin wrapping scallops in prosciutto when risotto is about 3/4 of the way done.  If you are working alone, it is suggested that you wrap and reserve scallops prior to beginning risotto.  To wrap, slice prosciutto length wise, then fold each strip lengthwise.  Wrap around circumference of scallops and keep in place with a toothpick.

9. When there is about 1 cup of broth remaining to stir into rice, begin cooking prosciutto-wrapped scallops.  In a separate frying pan, heat olive oil over medium.  Add scallops to pan and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper as well as half the lemon juice.  After about 3 minutes, flip scallops and again sprinkle with sea salt and pepper as well as remaining lemon juice.  After about 2 minutes, turn up heat to sear outside of scallop for about 2 minutes.  Repeat on the other side.

10. Once all broth has been absorbed by rice, add asparagus, spinach, scallions, and Parmesan over low heat and stir thoroughly.  

11. Remove risotto and scallops from heat and serve!

Nick and I are hungry hungry hippos when it comes to eating and we were both stuffed after 3 scallops and about 1.5 cups of risotto so now we have plenty leftover for tomorrow's lunch!

Blueberry BBQ Baby Back Ribs

My boyfriend and I bought baby back ribs about a month ago with high ambitions and they have been sitting in the freezer ever since.  It was a lazy Labor Day and we finally decided it was time to make them.  At this point, though, these ribs had been built up in my mind and we knew we needed to go wild and find a superior BBQ sauce.  I consulted my handy "Marinades & Sauces" Pinterest board and found a blueberry BBQ sauce that looked like it was going to change my world.  Oh boy, was I right!  I could have eaten this sauce with a spoon straight out of the blender! The best part is it can be saved in the fridge for quite some time once prepared so we still have a ton leftover!

Here's the recipe, adapted from Rock Recipes.

Blueberry BBQ sauce

Yield: about 3 cups

2 TB olive oil

3/4 red onion, finely chopped

1 shallot, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large red apple, diced

3.5 fresh blueberries (could also use frozen)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 balsamic vinegar

1 cup ketchup

1 cup apple juice (could substitute 1/2 cup of bourbon and 1/2 cup apple juice)

1/4 cup brown sugar ( I used 2 TB Splenda brown sugar blend)

3 TB Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup strong black coffee

1 TB fresh ground ginger (could probably use bottled ground ginger but I've always wanted to buy a fresh ginger root and it did not disappoint)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chipotle chile pepper

1 TB smoked Spanish paprika

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, shallot, and garlic and sauté until soft and aromatic.  Don't let them brown.  Reduce heat, add all remaining ingredients and let simmer for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, and allow sauce to thicken.  Remove from heat, let cool, and purée in blender for a couple minutes until smooth.  Now your sauce is ready to go!

We marinated the ribs in this sauce for about half an hour, then put them on the grill at around 300F for  about 35 or 40 minutes.  Ideally, we would have slow cooked these for about 2 hours but the BBQ didn't want to stay at a low temp and we were hungry.  

Here is the finished product, in all its glory (with some corn on the cob).  I was licking my fingers after these bad boys, and we still have plenty of sauce left, for chicken, steak, whatever!  Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

S'mores French Toast

Oh my, was it a good Saturday morning. My boyfriend, Nick, and I decided to sleep in and make a delicious brunch, complete with mimosas.  We were craving French toast and had leftover s'mores ingredients from the previous night.  It was quite decadent but 100% worth the insane amount of calories.  This truly was dessert for breakfast.  

I used my classic French toast batter for dunking the Challah bread, then crusted the bread in crushed graham crackers and let it sit on the grill for a few minutes.  In the meantime, Nick roasted some marshmallows on the stovetop.  Then we just put some Hershey's chocolate and the marshmallows in between the two pieces of bread on the grill.  It was perfection.

Here is a more precise recipe:

1/2 loaf Challah bread

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 cup milk 

6 full graham cracker sheets, crushed

6-8 marshmallows

1-2 classic Hershey milk chocolate bars

Heat a griddle to 400 degrees F.  Slice Challah bead.  Beat eggs and milk then stir in vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon.  Dunk slices if bread in egg batter then in graham crackers, coating both sides of slice. Place bread on grill.  Meanwhile, roast marshmallows over stovetop.  When halfway roasted, flip bread slices and place 2-3 squares of chocolate on one of the slices.  Once marshmallow is roasted, sandwich between 2 slices of bread. Leave on grill until melted in middle.  It is helpful to cover sandwich with a small pot while it is on the grill to make it extra melty.  Repeat the process for the remaining bread.  Then the only thing left to do is enjoy!