The leading authority on basketball cupcakes and Basil-Lime martinis…
Absolutely delicious spread (recipe here). I did substitute pecans for the walnuts, because they’re just so much better! The spread would be fantastic in the tea sandwiches, as specified, but was also wonderful on crackers. Would also be good on apples or celery sticks.
This snapper (recipe here) was super easy and a hit with all of the seafood-eaters in the house.
This potato salad (recipe here) is one from Ina Garten. Every single one of her recipes that I’ve ever made has turned out beautifully and was delicious; that chick knows her stuff! I made this batch with Yukon Gold potatoes, because that’s what I had on hand today, but it really is better with new potatoes.
Recipe here. This stuff is flat-out delicious. It tastes exactly like Boursin or Alouette. Fantastic with crackers or spread onto your favorite veggies. Also great as a sandwich spread. I add a tiny bit of dried parsley and a bit of celery salt to the specified recipe.
It has come to my attention that the link posted in this recipe is no longer working, so I decided to post the whole recipe.
Cream Cheese Herb Spread
1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese (softened)
1 cup butter (softened)
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried dill weed
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground black peper
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp dried parsley
Stir all ingredients together until smooth (the softer your cream cheese and butter are, the easier this will be.) Adjust seasonings accordingly. Sometimes I up the herb amounts just a little and/or add a little sprinkle of paprika. Cheese mixture may be refrigerated for up to one week or frozen up to three months.
Makes 3 cups.
Black Bean Salsa
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1 16 ounce bag frozen sweet corn, thawed to room temperature and drained
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained (or 2 cups dried black beans, soaked overnight, cooked until tender and drained)
1 large (or 2 small) white onion, finely chopped
one 10-ounce package cherry or grape tomatoes, coarsely chopped
leaves from 1 large bunch cilantro, chopped
3 large jalapeño peppers, minced (Remove seeds from 1 or 2 of the peppers before chopping to control the spiciness; the “heat” is in the ribs and seeds.)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
salt to taste (start with about 3/4 tsp)
Heat the butter over high heat in a large sauté pan until foamy. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until corn is browned and very fragrant.
Place corn in a very large mixing bowl and add all remaining ingredients. Toss gently to combine. Adjust seasonings to taste. Feel free to add a little cumin or a minced garlic clove or a little Adobo seasoning or chili powder, if that suits your taste. Of course, you can always adjust the proportions if you prefer less onion, more
tomato, etc.
Serve with tortilla chips (these are fun and hold lots of chunky salsa) or use
in quesadillas, soft tacos or nachos.
This recipe makes a HUGE batch, fit for a large BBQ or potluck, but it keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days or the quantities are easy to adjust, if you’d prefer to make a smaller batch.
Saag Paneer
Recipe here. Saag paneer is one of our favorites dishes when we go out for Indian food, but this is the first time that I’ve made it at home.
This recipe was really easy and quite yummy. I skipped the step of chopping the spinach beforehand and just gave the mixture a few pulses with the immersion blender, instead, after adding the buttermilk and yogurt.
I added a bit more seasoning than the recipe called for, because we really love the Indian spice palette.
I forgot to buy some naan, so just served it over rice, instead. Very nice.
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse’s recipe
2 Tbsp dried savory
2 Tbsp dried rosemary
2 Tbsp dried thyme
2 Tbsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp dried basil
2 Tbsp dried marjoram
2 Tbsp fennel seed
1 Tbsp dried lavender flowers
1 Tbsp dried tarragon
1 Tbsp dried dill weed
1 Tbsp dried chervil
Stir together and store in an airtight container. I usually make a half-batch, because I don’t go through this stuff super quickly. FYI – half of a Tbsp is equal to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons.
I made this fantastic ice cream after reading David Lebovitz’s fantastic article, “Scooped” (an interactive online version can be found here) in the June/July 2009 issue of Fine Cooking (it had been tucked away in my files for a while.) It is a “Create Your Own Ice Cream” guide and gives a basic custard recipe, with several possible variations and additions. I added some high quality melted dark chocolate and cocoa and crushed candy canes (leftover from our Christmas tree.) This was delicious stuff and is definitely something I will be making again.
Recipe here.
I served ours over rice, with crispy kale, rather than with bread, as was suggested in the recipe.
This was fantastic and made the house smell amazing as it was cooking. I made it with 4 drumsticks and 4 thighs, because I had 4 whole legs on hand that I just cut in half. Yummy.
Recipe here.
These have been a post-Thanksgiving tradition in our house for the past couple of years. Quite simple, since the sauce starts with canned enchilada sauce, but then is doctored up to make it taste fresh and yummy.