Jersey Salad

We stopped at a farm stand on our way back from the Shore. The Jersey tomatoes and corn are delicious! Mr. Lawyer made a quick chopped veggie salad of cucumber, red onion, corn, red pepper, and dill with a little oil/vinegar dressing. The salad was served on top of thick slices of Jersey tomatoes. It tasted like summer!

It's veggie time!

I've got the blues!

We are busy, busy, busy! Yesterday we had Buffalo Chicken Cauliflower for dinner....that was it. While Mr. Lawyer was away this past weekend I lived off spinach & cheese ravioli, week old stromboli from my bridal shower, and a bag of trail mix. Last night I went to bed at 8 and netted 10 hours of wondrous sleep, three cheers for summer camp exhaustion! So tonight I was ready to cook. No special recipes tonights: frozen veggies, mexican chicken, and some delicious saffron jasmine rice (a shower gift from the Mother Unit and Grandma Claire, thank you!). I did create a wonderful blue blue "tablescape" for our dinner. There were five different hues of Fiesta blue: Lapis, Peacock, Cobalt, Periwinkle, and Turquoise. 

 The saffron rice really popped against the blue!

I first had Buffalo Cauliflower at Ms. Jackie's house. It was delicious!

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

(from skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp garlic powder
22 oz (6 1/2 cups) cauliflower florets
3/4 cup Franks Hot Sauce
1 tbsp melted unsalted butter

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Lightly spray a large non-stick baking sheet with oil.
2. Combine the water, flour, and garlic powder in a bowl and stir until well combined.
3. Coat the cauliflower pieces with the flour mixture and place on the baking sheet; bake for 20 minutes.
4. While the cauliflower is baking, combine the hot sauce and butter in a small bowl.
5. Pour the hot sauce mixture over the baked cauliflower and continue baking for an additional 5 minutes. Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing.

Shower Time!

This past weekend some very lovely ladies threw me a wonderful bridal shower. Tonight was the first night that I was able to use some of my new goodies! Our first Fiesta tables setting with a special guest appearance by the pasta dish! I picked out a cobalt pasta dish because I thought the color would go really well with the red and white of the saucy pasta. I was not disappointed!

The theme of our dinner was Virginia! The Mother Unit brought us up some salad and tomatoes that she grew in her garden. She also gave us some homegrown onions, garlic, and a ton of fresh herbs that got thrown into my sauce. To top it all off we opened a bottle of Virginia wine she gifted us. Go Virginia and mom's garden!

The Boy Cooks!

We've entered the summer season which means I cook very little. I'm exhausted from camp, it's hot, and we're at the shore almost every weekend. I'll make a big batch of something simple, like veggie pasta, leave it in the fridge and announce it's time to fend for yourself!

Sauteed Summer Veggie Pasta

FEND FOR YOURSELF!!!

Luckily Mr. Lawyer did not have to work last Friday so I asked him to surprise me with dinner. While I was off wrangling small children Mr. Lawyer was slaving away in the kitchen to make one heck of a delicious dinner. When I was presented with a divine looking fish fillet I was a little worried. Mr. Lawyer had gone out fishing that morning and I was worried he was trying to poison me with a fish from the Wissahickon Creek. He assured me the fish was purchased from Whole Foods. The original recipe called for walleye which he swapped out for tilapia. The crunch of the pretzels combined with the spiciness of the mustard was perfect. It's definitely a keeper recipe. The Lemonade Butter for the corn was a bit of a let down so feel free to skip it in favor of the traditional butter/salt/pepper.

Pretzel-Crusted Walleye with "Lemonade Butter" Sweet Corn

(From his Field & Stream Magazine)

Ingredients:
4 walleye fillets, about 6 oz. each (He used tilapia)
1/2 stick butter
Zest of 1⁄2 lemon
1⁄2 teaspoon lemon juice
Scant teaspoon sugar
About 2 cups broken pretzels
1⁄2 cup spicy brown mustard
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil
4 ears sweet corn
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Make the lemonade butter: Let the butter sit at room temperature until it’s soft. Transfer to a small bowl and add the lemon zest, juice, and sugar, as well as salt and pepper. Stir with a fork until combined. Transfer the butter to a length of plastic wrap and form it into a cylinder, twisting the ends of the plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Pulse the pretzels in a food processor until they’re the consistency of breadcrumbs. They might be uneven, but that’s O.K.; bigger shards will add crunch. Transfer the pretzels to a plate and salt and pepper generously, stirring with a fork.
3. Set the fillets on another plate and brush both sides of the fish with the mustard. Place the fillets, one at a time, in the pretzel crumbs, pressing down lightly to help the crumbs adhere. Flip to coat the other side, then transfer to a sheet of parchment or wax paper.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. In the meantime, place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, use a spatula to carefully transfer the walleye fillets to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom, then flip and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until done.
5. While the fish is cooking, add the corn to the boiling water. Boil for about 4 minutes, or slightly longer if the corn is less than perfectly fresh.
6. To serve, place the fish beside the hot corn on a plate. Top each ear of corn with a chunk of the lemonade butter and serve immediately. Serves 4

June Roundup!

I made tomato-orzo soup today.

Because it's 80 out and I'm crazy.

It looks amazing in a cobalt bowl.

I've got the iced coffee thing down. Sweetened condensed milk is essential.

I made a batch of pico de gallo and then ate the whole thing. 

Food girl problems.

Gnomegang party foul.

Watch out for those little beer gnomes.

I winged a strawberry-blueberry-raspberry tart with leftover fruit from the shore.

Made up a graham cracker and oatmeal crust.

Tasted like breakfast.

The Mother Unit had send some turkey croquettes up with the Dork.

Mr. Lawyer ate all of them.

Drink of the Day!

We have a shore tradition that involves coming off the beach for some appetizers and the drink of the day before dinner. This summer Mr. Lawyer and I have been stepping up to the plate and trying our hand at mixing up the drink of the day. So far we're 2 for 2! The Sunrise Margarita was a big hit (and my favorite so far) and this weekend's Paradise Cocktail wasn't too shabby either. As you can see in the picture, it looked absolutely hideous when we tried to layer it so I just ended up mixing them all up with a spoon which resulted in a purple kool-aid colored drink. Despite looking like rainbow vomit it tasted perfectly fine, kind of like a pina colada. It's definitely on the sweeter side of things so it goes down smoothly, watch out!

Paradise Cocktail

(Pinterest Find!)

Ingredients (for 1 drink):

1/2 ounce grenadine

1 ounce light rum

1 ounce coconut rum

2-3 ounces pineapple juice

1 ounce blue curacao 

Directions:

1. If you want to try to layer them, go ahead! It didn't work out well for us as you can see in the above picture. You could mix it all together for a fun purple colored drink. Serve over ice. 

Creme Brulee Revisted

I decided to take another stab at the creme brulee cocktail. What else am I going to do with a bottle of vanilla vodka (Suggestions?). This one used butterscotch schnapps and a bit of cream. I liked this cocktail better than my original try but the butterscotch still overwhelmed the vanilla flavor just like the hazelnut did. I need to find a way to amp of the vanilla...or maybe my bottle of vanilla vodka is subpar. I also greatly enjoyed the brown sugar rim on this one. I didn't think brown sugar would stick well but it did.

Creme Brulee Cocktail

Ingredients:

1 ounce vanilla vodka

.75 ounce butterscotch schnapps

Splash of cream

Brown sugar for rimming

Directions:

1. Rim glass using schnapps and sugar.

2. Add vodka and schnapps into a shaker with ice and shake, shake, shake!

3. Strain into a glass and top with a splash of cream. Mix gently with a swizzle stick.

Battle of the Jalapeno Soups!

I've decided that I'm kitchen bipolar or something. Oh hey, it's 95 degrees and humid as heck? Why yes I feel compelled to make not one, but two different batches of soup that involve roasting jalapenos and while we're at it why don't we wash all the bedding (two hot dryer loads), clean and rotate the mattress, and hang the comforter out to air. Let's not forget the part where I refuse to turn on the AC for just me. Luckily having the shades drawn and fans blasting kept things pretty cool (except for the kitchen part). Mrs. T loaded me up with a ton of extra jalapenos and cheese at the end of our shore excursion so my mission today was to use them up. Enter....

THE BATTLE OF THE JALAPENO SOUPS!

An overview: both soups were divine. One was a healthier roasted jalapeno soup and the other was billed as a not so healthy jalapeno popper soup. They were both wonderful in their own ways but were significantly different. I served each with an equal amount of shredded cabot cheddar and crumbled bacon. Divine.
Soup #1: Roasted Jalapeno Soup. This one was lighter and did a great job at highlighting the roasted jalapeno flavor. It had a more earthy and vegetable flavor due to the carrot and onion base. The texture was thicker and creamier due to the blending. If you added a bit of cheddar cheese it would be spot on.
Soup #2: Jalapeno Popper Soup. Very decadent and rich. It tasted more like a cheese soup with jalapenos added in. It was very thin and watery to start with so I whisked in some flour and blended it. This improved the texture a lot and helped the cream cheese to incorporate instead of blobbing around.

The winner?!

My Vote: Roasted Jalapeno!

Mr. Lawyer's Vote: Jalapeno Popper!

As I said they were both delicious. I felt the roasted did a better job highlighting the jalapeno flavor but Mr. Lawyer thought it was a little on the bland side. The jalapeno popper was a decadent treat that should be used as a fondue side dish. There is no way I could have eaten a whole bowl of the jalapeno popper soup (Mr. Lawyer said he could which is probably why his cholesterol was not so hot).

Jalapeno Popper on the left and Roasted Jalapeno on the right.

Roasted Jalapeno Soup

(Adapted from chocolatemoosey.com)

Ingredients:
4 green jalapeno peppers
1/2 cup carrots, peeled and chopped (about 2 carrots)
1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp butter, softened
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F.  Cut each jalapeno in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and membrane. Place them face down onto the cookie sheet. Roast for 10-15 minutes or until slightly darkened. When cool enough to handle, chop.
2. In a medium sauce pot, heat the olive oil. When hot, saute the carrots, onion, and garlic for about 5 minutes or until the carrots and onions start to soften.
3. Add in the butter. Once the butter has melted, stir in the flour until everything is coated. Stir in the chopped jalapenos. Slowly stir in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Then stir in the heavy cream and bring back to a boil. Turn the heat down to simmer and cook until the soup has thickened, about 5-7 minutes.
4. When the soup has thickened, turn off the heat. If using an immersion blender, blend the soup directly in the pan. If using a regular blender, add about half the mixture then puree until smooth. Add the rest of the soup then puree until smooth. Pour back into the sauce pan.

Jalapeno Popper Soup

(Adapted from ibreatheimhungry.com)

Ingredients:
4 slices raw bacon
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups water or chicken broth
2 tablespoons salsa verde (I subbed onions)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
4 large jalapeno peppers
Directions:
1. Cook the bacon in a medium saucepan until crisp – remove and chop for garnish and set aside. 

2. In the same pan, along with the bacon grease, add the heavy cream, water or broth, and cream cheese. Simmer gently, stirring often, until the cream cheese and butter have melted and the liquid is smooth. 

3. Whisk in the garlic powder, salsa verde and shredded cheeses until completely incorporated. 4. Meanwhile, wash the jalapenos and broil or grill them until softened and charred. Remove the skins and seeds and chop finely. Add to the soup and cook for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and serve garnished with chopped bacon.

Now go make some homemade soup! It's super easy.

Creme Brulee Cocktail!

I've been a huge creme brulee kick this school year. Every time we go out and it's on the menu it must be mine. A couple of weeks ago I had a particularly rough day and Mr. Lawyer surprised me with this delicious Ben & Jerry's Creme Brulee Ice Cream...a vanilla custard flavored ice cream with burnt sugar swirls? I was in heaven. When I saw this creme brulee inspired cocktail I was excited. I was also super excited to use my new stemless martini/cocktail glasses (Thanks Aunt Sandy!). The glasses did not dissapoint: they have good heft and are going to be super awesome for drinks, desserts, and serving shrimp cocktails. I need a dinner party ASAP so come on over!

The drink fell a little flat. It tasted perfectly fine but it did not taste like a creme brulee. The hazelnut was a tad overpowering. I've seen other versions that used butterscotch which might be a better bet, others had splashes of cream. I will continue to tinker with the idea of a creme brulee cocktail...it just has so much potential! Plus it was fun to finally use my vanilla sugar for something!

Creme Brulee Cocktail

(From the Food Network)

Ingredients:
1 ounce vanilla-flavored vodka
1 ounce Frangelico
1/2 ounce Cointreau or Triple Sec

Vanilla sugar or brown sugar
Directions:
1.Rim glass using Frangelico and vanilla sugar or brown sugar.

2. Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Stir gently and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Key Lime Pie

Kitchen guest time! Except not actually in my kitchen. I have had this pie several times now and Mrs. T made it in front of me this weekend at the shore. The boys love this pie because it's all tart and citrusy but it's still sweet enough for the girls. It's super quick and easy to make.

Fun Fact: I have a stuffed manatee named Key Lime.

Key Lime Pie

(From Mrs. T)

Ingredients:
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
3 cups sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup key lime juice
1 tablespoon grated lime zest
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice, and lime rind. Mix well and pour into graham cracker crust.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes, until tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface of pie. DO NOT BROWN! Chill pie thoroughly before serving. Garnish with lime slices and whipped cream if desired.