Contemplating Deleting

So I'm not a big writer.... I'm a talker!!!! Plus, it seems like there are a million and one food blogs out there. I'd much rather talk about my food and let others write about it. Therefore I'm thinking of deleting my blog and just posting my beautiful pictures on facebook.

.... I'll still have bragging rights there.......... right?!

Chicken Taquitos

So, so, SO, Good y'all! I got this recipe from pinterest. Well, actually I saw the delectable picture of the taquitos on pinterest and then it took me to this awesome blog posting: http://penniesonaplatter.com/2010/02/22/baked-creamy-chicken-taquitos/

One day, I'll have a amazing camera to take those shots.... Anyways...

SERIOUSLY, this is a must try, easy recipe!! Basically combine everything and roll! I contemplated making my own green salsa but I ended up buying a jar at the store-- which turned out well! The cream cheese needs to be soften for sure-- it doesn't take long and it will soften as you mix items in. Of course you can mix and match these ingredients in the taquitos but I love all the flavors in this recipe!

I would follow the suggestion of freezing them because I did try to heat some up at work and they were soggy instead of having the same crispiness of coming directly from the oven. I've baked two batches of these and tried coating them in olive oil to see if they will brown more evenly and it had no effect. So, spraying them with Pam works. And great aspect of this recipe is it's healthier than having taquitos at a restaurant since they are baked and not fried!!

Yummy!!

Goat Cheese and Sun Dried Tomato Profiteroles with Herb Oil

One of my first cooking lessons/ food of the year is a profiterole. I saw this recipe on Giada at home a while ago saved it for an occasion for an appetizer. That occasion came up this past weekend for a wine tasting. I found the recipe and started making it without really knowing what a profiterole was.... Well it's a kind of puffed pastry that's actually simple to make! Seriously, so simple! Use this recipe to impress cause that's what I did!

One of the things that made this recipe was the Parmesan in the dough! Having the goat cheese at room temperature is a must for easy mixing. And the only things I were worried about and proved to be fine were that the dough came together only after 30 seconds and that the dough wouldn't puff up. It did amazingly without much effort!
Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Desserts!

So this year, my mom was in charge of dessert-- that meant I was making dessert for Thanksgiving. I made the time consuming yet best tasting mistake by watching Bobby Flay's Thanksgiving Throw down with Ree Drummond..... that feast looked amazing! So I knew I wanted to make pecan pie (cause that's my favorite) but I didn't know what else. I guess pumpkin pie would have been the other traditional choice but once I saw my mother salivating over the pumpkin bread pudding Bobby Flay made on the throw down, I knew I had to make it. I have never made bread pudding so it was a gamble-- especially since my first and only try was the product to be brought to Thanksgiving dinner. It turned out to be a disaster and then a wonderfully surprising success!

The pecan pie was awesome and simple! You can find the recipe on food network but I like how Ree Drummond explains it on her website better: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/11/pecan-pie/ Then be sure to make the whiskey maple cream sauce because that is what put this dessert over the top!!!! http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/11/whiskey-maple-cream-sauce/ Quick tip: I used the frozen pie crust because I'm not a big connoisseur of pie crust-- I don't think anyone noticed!

Then it was Bobby Flay's turn... oh Bobby... so expensive with ingredients, yet everything I make from him is amazing. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/pumpkin-bread-pudding-with-spicy-caramel-apple-sauce-and-vanilla-bean-creme-anglaise-recipe/index.html I was trying to make the pumpkin bread recipe the night before so I wouldn't have to spend all Thanksgiving morning making this.... well, one of the things I learned.... I'm a disastrous cook after my bedtime!!!! I tried to make the Anglaise and ended up scrambling the eggs and then the bread came out raw even though I tested it with a toothpick. My roommate came out to find a flipped over loaf of bread--half raw/half cooked on the kitchen counter in the morning!! I wanted to succeed at this dish though-- so I attempted it again in the morning. IT TURNED OUT AWESOME!!!!! The pumpkin bread itself is so so moist! I didn't get a chance to try the anglaise sauce again but I did make the caramel sauce. By itself, it taste a little odd with a hint of licorice (because of the star anise) but with the pudding--- oh my geez!!! I recommend if you don't want to spend tons of money on it so use vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean. And if you want to attempt the Anglaise (I will again) to watch a video on it. I didn't think the eggs would scramble and then I watched a video on how to make it and it showed how not to scramble the eggs. If you don't want to make the Anglaise or Caramel Sauce then definitely try the pudding or even just the bread! This is going to be my go to dish to impress for the holidays!

Would have taken a prettier picture if I wasn't so anxious to try it!

Penne with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese

The BEST fall dish ever!

I've never had butternut squash so I was excited to try it! I know, me try a new food? AND be excited about it??? But since this is one of the few fruits and vegetables in season for the fall that I know of, I was pretty excited. When cut up, it smells like pumpkin and the seeds are similar to pumpkin seeds. Therefore I thought it was going to taste like pumpkin, but it didn't-- to my relief! Roasted, the butternut squash tastes like a sweet potato to me-- yummy! This dish is so delicious and a fall favorite! Keep this recipe in your back pocket! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/penne-with-butternut-squash-and-goat-cheese-recipe/index.html

The other thing I learned with this dish, is how goat cheese can be used as a pasta sauce by itself! I don't know if I've ranted about the wonderfulness about goat cheese before, but it's just soooo great! Plus it's a food I'm sad that I just discovered it's greatness in this past year! Close mindedness kept me from goat cheese....how depressing! It's tangy and creamy and amazing.....mmmmm........ anyways--- with this dish just crumble the goat cheese in the bowl and when the penne is done, the heat from penne and the pasta water will melt the goat cheese to make a fantastic sauce! Someone even asked me what sauce I used.....just goat cheese and pasta water! I only needed a cup of pasta water (and I could've used less), so I don't know why it says put 2 cups aside.

Also, if you don't like onions I would actually recommend leaving them in this dish. Since they are roasted, their flavor and texture are not as strong.

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L

Meatballs a la Pizzaiola

I have to sadly admit that these meatballs were not as amazing as I thought they were going to be....

I know, right?! The first time for me to be slight disappointed with a Giada recipe! But I was just happily imagining an explosion of cheese to happen when you bite into one of the meatballs. Unfortunately there are so many powerful flavors going on in these meatballs that the cheese is overshadowed. Which you know makes me sad, cause I love cheese!

Others that I gave the meatballs to loved them, so try for yourself! And I actually thought they tasted better after a couple of days. They were good from the start but they were not the amazingness I usually enjoy with Giada's recipes: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/meatballs-a-la-pizzaiola-recipe2/index.html You can taste nearly everything you put in this dish-- the basil, tomato paste, the shallots, sun dried tomatoes, and the cheese. So if you like or love those flavors this dish is a must to add to your repertoire!

Before this year I don't think I knew what a shallot was! Kind of embarrassing but I'm glad I'm learning things. Another item in the onion family who I'm learning to love not hate! They don't need to be chopped sine you are putting them in the food processor-- just cut up a few times. And the only other suggestion I have for this dish is to prepare the meatballs before you start cooking them unless you are a great multitasker. I was not in this case!

Pretty picture! (I'm working on that too!)

Southwestern Chicken with Mango-Peach Salsa

Eating healthy is not boring.

That's what everyone thinks, right???

There are many great recipes and foods that are so good for you and taste awesome! Too bad I'm just now figuring this out, but better late than never!

Sandra Lee has created this refreshing recipe. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/southwestern-chicken-with-mango-peach-salsa-recipe/index.html When I decided to make this dish, I was more curious about the taste than the fact that's it is good for you. In fact, she doesn't even advertise how healthy this dish is! Which is crazy since it is sooo yummy, different, and healthy!

I have to admit, when it comes to the seasoning Sandra Lee uses, I usually just try to create my own or just use what I have because I can never find the specific seasoning at the grocery store. So for this recipe, I didn't even look at the chicken part. Therefore I'd prepare the chicken breast however you want with a little bit of spicy seasoning.

It is the salsa that is great in this recipe! I would have never of thought of salsa to be made out of mango and peaches-- but it refreshing and not something you have everyday and that's why I love it! The recipe notes that it is easier to cut the fruit while it is still frozen, but I disagree. I had an easier time cutting it when it was thawed (I zapped it in the microwave to thaw a bit and the fruit was not ruined). Lastly, scrap the jalapeno seeds out if you are not a fan of spicy! Don't eliminate the jalapeno from this recipe because the sweetness of the mango and the peaches combined with the heat from the jalapeno and the cilantro really is what makes this salsa!

Here's to good health!