What can I say about hummus… it’s yummy, healthy and now I know, super easy to make at home. There are so many variations to suit your taste buds, the possibilities are almost endless. Sweet potato, pumpkin, black bean, sun-dried tomato, roasted rep pepper… you get the idea. I think this recipe is great as is, but if you’re more of a lime person, feel free to substitute lime juice instead of lemon.
Ingredients
1 can (15 oz.) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 ripe avocado, pitted & roughly chopped
1 cup cilantro leaves
1 1/2 tbsp. Tahini
Juice from 1 lemon
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. sea salt
2-3 tbsp. water
Pinch cayenne pepper, optional
Ground pepper, to taste
Directions
In a food processor, combine garbanzo beans, avocado, cilantro, garlic, Tahini, lemon juice, and salt. Process until smooth.
With machine running, add olive oil through feed tube in a slow steady stream, then add water, 1 tbsp. at a time until oil is incorporated and mixture is very creamy.
Add cayenne, if using, and pepper to taste, and stir well.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope today finds you blessed with an abundance of love, happiness, and of course, food. This year, I’m having a very low-key day by celebrating the holiday at home with just my pet family, but I’m still planning on having a scrumptious dinner with the traditional fixin’s. I always make carrots as one of my side dishes, and usually cook them with some honey, but decided to try them with maple syrup last night. I only taste-tested a couple, as I’m saving them for today’s “big” feast, but they were amazing. And, the fact that there’s only four ingredients and are super easy to make, is an added bonus!
Ingredients
Approximately 25 baby carrots
2 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp. pure maple syrup
Directions
Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add carrots and cook until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain & set aside.
Combine butter, 1/4 cup water, and maple syrup in large skillet over medium-low heat.
When butter is melted, mix in carrots and cover. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer.
Cook until most of liquid evaporates, stirring frequently, approximately 8 minutes.
I made these a while back, and remembered how tasty they were so decided to make them again. Apparently, they’re very similar to those served at Red Lobster, but I haven’t eaten there in years so can’t compare. However, I just informed by a friend, that there’s a Red Lobster very close to me… which I drive by everyday to and from work. Pretty funny that I didn’t remember that. But, now that I know, I will definitely be popping in to check out their infamous biscuits. Anywho, if you like garlic, cheddar & biscuits, then you’ll surely enjoy these.
Ingredients
Biscuits:
1 1/4 cups Bisquick
2 tbsp. cold butter
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Little less than 1/2 cup milk
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
Butter Glaze:
1 1/2 tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease or line one cookie sheet with parchment; set aside.
Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter (or use 2 forks). Don’t worry about mixing too thoroughly; there will be small chunks of butter in the mix about the size of peas.
Add cheddar cheese, milk, garlic powder, and Old Bay.
Mix by hand until combined, but don’t over mix.
Drop 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto cookie sheet.
Bake for 11-13 minutes in preheated oven or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.
While the biscuits are baking, melt butter is a small bowl in the microwave.
Stir in garlic powder and dried parsley flakes.
Use a brush to spread the garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits.
This recipe makes about 6 biscuits. Double the ingredients if you want more.
I loooooove bread and pasta, however, I try to keep my carb intake to a reasonable level. But, when I saw a picture of this recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to try it. The original recipe calls for using frozen bread loaf dough, which I found to be a little difficult (aka sticky) to work with, so alternatively, you could use Pillsbury Crescent Dough Sheets to make it easier and much quicker (and cut down on the carbs a bit). With that being said, after I got the dough loaf thawed (which takes about 2 hours) and rolled out, everything else was a breeze. The end result was a delicious garlic bread filled with spaghetti and mozzarella cheese! So if you’re a carb-lover, you will truly enjoy this recipe.
There are a ton of other things you could do with this if you want to skip the spaghetti… pizza, reuben sandwiches, chili-cheese bread, etc.
Ingredients
1 loaf bread dough, thawed to room temperature, about 2 hours (I used Bridgford, but the original recipe calls for Rhodes)
1. Thaw bread loaf to room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Place loaf on parchment paper (not wax), and spray rolling-pin with cooking spray.
4. Roll into an approximate 12×16-inch rectangle.
5. Cover with plastic wrap, let sit 10-15 minutes, then roll again.
6. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain, cool slightly and mix with marina sauce.
7. Place spaghetti lengthwise in a 4″ strip down the center of the dough and add the cheese cubes.
I added sweet Italian turkey sausage and sautéed onions to the sauce.
8. Make cuts 1 1/2-inches apart on long sides of dough to within 1/2-inch of filling (as seen in picture above).
9. Begin braid by folding top and bottom strips toward filling. Then braid strips left over right, right over left. Finish by pulling last strip over and tucking under braid.
10. Brush with egg white, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and parsley, as liberally as you like.
11. Transfer parchment paper to baking sheet and cook for 30-35 minutes.
Surprisingly, I had never tried corn pudding until recently, and am a little sad it took me so many years to discover it. Most of the recipes I found were baked dishes, which I may try at some point, but I wanted something with more of a creamy consistency like I had in July and that was prepared on the stove top. I came across one from McCormick & Schmick’s, which was served with King Salmon and sautéed spinach, and since my first experience with corn pudding was paired with salmon also, I knew this was the one I wanted to make. I adjusted the recipe (and preparation) a bit, and am so pleased with how it turned out. If you’re a fan of corn, then you’ll surely love this.
Corn pudding served with steak and baby potatoes
Ingredients
1 can whole-kernel sweet corn (I would’ve used fresh corn from the cob, but didn’t have any on hand)
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. butter
3 cups milk
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
Directions
In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add drained corn and sugar.
Cook for approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid burning.
Remove corn from pan & place into a bowl, set aside.
Using same pan, add milk and slowly whisk in cornmeal.
Add the cooked corn, jalapeños, and red peppers.
Bring to a boil to thicken, while continuing to stir.
Once thickened to desired consistency, remove from heat and add salt.
If you saw the post on my trip and culinary adventures in NY, then you’ll recognize the name of this dish. If not, I’ll tell you that I had a wonderful meal at a restaurant in SoHo… Slow Cooked Salmon with Corn Pudding and Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette, which was mouth-watering delicious. I decided to make this mostly because I was reminiscing of that dish, and wanted to try making it at home. You might think this recipe is like a traditional salad dressing because of its title, but that simply is not the case. The cherry tomatoes are cut in half, and remain in tact which makes it a nice accompaniment to serve with fish, steak, and chicken, but would also be great in a salad.
Ingredients
1 medium shallot, sliced
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. nonpareil capers (the tiny ones), drained
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Directions
In a medium bowl, stir together the shallot, vinegar, capers, tomatoes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Let that stand about 10 minutes, then stir in the olive and canola oil, parsley, basil, cumin, and pepper.
In a large skillet over medium heat, add the vinaigrette to the pan, and bring just to a simmer, stirring with a wooden spoon.
Cook until the tomatoes soften, about 5 minutes.
Spoon the sauce over desired dish and serve.
Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette w/Marinated Rib-Eye and Polenta
UPDATE: My expert Nordstrom Cafe taste-tester friend came over to my office yesterday to try out the dressing, and after she paused for a minute, I knew something wasn’t right with the vinaigrette . She said it was still very good, but not THE dressing. So, it was back to the drawing board. I did another search last night, and came across a recipe that credited the Nordstrom’s cookbook as the original source. I was fairly confident this was the one, but decided to wait since I was having lunch there today with my friend. We both ordered the same item as mentioned below, so I got to taste the dressing. Yep, it was different. I also decided to purchase the cookbook to be absolutely sure I had the correct recipe 🙂 Both recipes do have all of the same ingredients, but in different quantities. I’ve noted the changes below, with the correct measurements in bold. I just made this again using the updated, official recipe from Nordstrom’s cookbook, and am thrilled to report that this is the real deal and tastes exactly like what is served in the restaurant!
A few months ago, my good friend, Danette, invited me to join her and some other coworkers for lunch at Cafe Nordstrom. My first thought was, whaaaaat… they have a restaurant? Being that I’m a HUGE fan of Nordstrom’s, of course I was going to try it out. We went to the one in the South Bay Galleria mall in Redondo Beach, which ironically, is pretty close to where I live. The way the cafe operates is you place your order and pay at the front counter, sit down at a table of your choice, then a server brings your meal, beverage, etc., and continues to wait on you. It’s pretty cool, in my opinion. Okay, moving on to the food. I ordered their California Grill sandwich, which consists of roast turkey, tomato, bacon, swiss cheese, avocado, and garlic aïoli, on grilled sourdough bread (SO GOOD) and a side salad with… cilantro lime vinaigrette. My friend told me the dressing was amazing and addicting, and she was spot on! So of course, I was on a mission to find the recipe, and after just a little research, I did. Happy happy, joy joy!
The First Attempt
Ingredients
1/41/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 tsp.1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp.2 tsp. chipotle purée *
32 tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 big bunch1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped, most stems removed (I used approx. a little over a cup)stems & leaves
3/4 cup canola oil
* Making the chipolte purée is super simple. I purchased a can of La Costena chipolte peppers in adobo sauce (pictured below), and simply put the contents of the can in a food processor (can use a blender), and voila, you have purée! You can also buy the purée already made, which comes in a jar.
Directions
In a blender or food processor, combine lime juice, rice wine vinegar, garlic, purée, honey, and salt. Blend together well until thoroughly processed and smooth.
With the machine running, gradually add the oil in a thin steady stream to form an emulsion. (I found this difficult using my blender as it splattered a bit, so I added a little oil at a time, pulsed, then repeated until the oil was gone)
Add the cilantro, and pulse or process to combine.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Whisk well before tossing the dressing with the salad.
If you like cranberries and ketchup, you will love this condiment. I just tried it for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and knew right then, I would be making it very soon. As I mentioned in my previous post, it was on a turkey burger I had, and added tremendous flavor. My recipe isn’t an identical replica of what I tried in New York, but I am really very pleased with how it turned out! I’ve already been enjoying it with some sweet potato fries. YUM!
Cranberry ketchup and sweet potato fries
Ingredients
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 can (14 oz.) jellied or whole berry cranberries sauce (I had this on hand – next time will use 1 bag (12 oz.) cranberries)
Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes. If using cranberries, make sure to mash them while stirring.
Spoon ketchup into jar or bowl (it will thicken a bit as it cools), cover and refrigerate until chilled.
* If you don’t have allspice, you can make your own by using 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ground cloves and 1/4 tsp. ginger. Mix well. This will give you one teaspoon of the equivalent of allspice.
I’m a huge fan of veggies, and always looking for new ways to prepare them. Just recently, I made a ginormous salad to bring to a party and had a ton of leftover vegetables. My first thought was to simply make a salad, but then I decided that cooking them in some fashion was more appealing. Obviously with all of the cooking/baking I do, I have a pantry-full of herbs and spices, so I took a look to see which ones I wanted to use, and ran across my Herbs de Provence, containing rosemary, thyme, marjoram, basil, sage and lavender. If you haven’t tried them, I highly recommend you do! This recipe is super easy, healthy, delicious and can be varied to suit your taste or what you have on hand. If you’re not a balsamic fan, you can substitute lemon juice.
Ingredients
Approximately 12 cups vegetables, chopped * (I used broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, peeled garlic cloves, red potatoes, cucumber and grape tomatoes)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3 tsp. Herbs de Provence
Salt & pepper, to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine all of the vegetables, set aside.
In a small bowl, stir together the oil, vinegar, herbs, salt and pepper.
Toss together with the veggies to coat well.
Lightly grease a large roasting pan with cooking spray and spread evenly, in a single layer.
Roast for approximately 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked through and browned.
* I chopped the potatoes and carrots smaller so they wouldn’t require additional cooking time. However, if using larger pieces of root veggies, you can roast them first in the oven for a few minutes to ensure even cooking.
Hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July holiday! I went to an amazing party with out-of-this-world food, and zoned in on a goat cheese appetizer that was insanely delicious… which I made a significant dent in since I wholeheartedly love the combination of goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar!!! Fortunately, I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely woman, Alicia, who brought the dish and quite ironically, after I attempted to recreate it last night, she contacted me on here. So I now have THE recipe for this incredible appetizer, which she kindly shared with me. She’s also a blogger, so check out her site by clicking on her name or going to my Blogs I Like page, and clicking on What Manhattan Beach Needs Is link.
Enjoy!
Shown here with roasted pecans.
Ingredients
8-10 oz. goat cheese log
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp. honey
5 whole sun-dried tomatoes, diced
3 fresh basil leaves, chopped finely
Roasted pine nuts
Directions
Place goat cheese in a bowl, set aside.
In a separate bowl, add balsamic and honey, and warm in microwave just enough to stir.
Add sun-dried tomatoes and basil to balsamic mixture.
Pour over cheese and top with pine nuts.
Marinate for about an hour. *
Serve with crackers (I like Trader Joe’s sesame thins) or thinly sliced bread.
* If you marinate in the fridge, make sure to let stand at room temperature for approximately 30 minutes.
Cooking For Love 
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