Free Recipe Friday.....On Saturday???

So sorry for the delay everyone....all twelve of you that read this blog.

I had started off with it just being an apology

for not having a FRF...on Friday....but as my words grew,

I realized, I might as well make it into the full deal - just released a day later :/

We did actually make French Onion Soup last night...

at the end of an emotional, roller coaster week... 

just not enough free time to upload pics and write.

If you have only even seen one newscast this week

you will know of the craziness of which I speak.

We've almost had too many wildfires to count or keep track of. 

Wondering if wildfires can really spread that fast,

realizing they can AND do.

Wondering if our neighborhood will be the next to be evacuated

as you watch those around you that have been.

Wondering what we would grab if we were given one hour to leave

and realizing out of everything we have,

all we really care about could fit in the trunk of our car!

We've been totally blown away by the many firemen, volunteers

and everyday citizens, who have risked and are STILL

risking their lives for so many...and wondering when it will rain...

as we rest in Psalm 91...

...He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust...

He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings

you shall take refuge... 

NOW, THE SOUP



"I’m firmly of the belief that no matter what ails you

in the realm of the kitchen, onion soup can cure it.

Never cooked before?

Don’t think you’ll be able to pull off the kind of cooking you believe you need

to go to a restaurant to experience? Start with onion soup.

Have only $5 to spend on dinner?

Refrigerator is almost bare? Onion soup is your friend.

Want your home to have a transcendent aroma bouncing off every wall,

the kind that’s so distracting that you don’t even know or care
what’s on the stove, only that you must have it now?
Onion soup is waiting for you."

- taken from The Smitten Kitchen

What a perfect way to describe French Onion Soup
and the ease of cooking it. 

SUCH a cheap meal as well, yet so so elegant. 

I beg you not to skimp on the very long caramelization process that is KEY -

and it's the hardest part of the whole deal....
just waiting and not rushing the onions.

There are many recipes out there and all are quite similar...please try one!

All you need are onions, garlic, and some beef stock.

Some call for a little white wine or lemon juice to finish it off,

salt and pepper, and maybe some thyme and/or bay leaf...

then top it off with some crusty croutons
or crunchy bread smothered in cheese. 

I have had this particular recipe since the late 80's...
and children, that would be the 1980's! 

Although our kids never really cared for the onions in this soup
when they were younger,

they knew they had to eat what was on the table or go to bed hungry...

so they would usually slurp up the beef broth

and then fill up on the cheesy, crusty bread! 

Now that we are mostly all grown-ups around here, 

everyone gobbles the soup, onions and all. 

ONION SOUP WITH CHEESE CROUTONS

THE RECIPE

3 onions - peeled, halved and thinly sliced

2-3 Tablespoons oil

(vegetable oil or olive oil)

2-3 Tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

beef stock - appx. 6 cups or more

(homemade, canned (low sodium) or paste in a jar,

but please, no boullion cubes!)

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried

appx. 3 teaspoons salt (will depend on your broth)

ground black pepper to taste

2-3 teaspoons lemon juice

THE HOW TO

Heat together oil and butter in a large,

heavy-bottomed dutch oven or stockpot.

Add onions; stir to coat well.

Reduce heat to medium-low. 

Cover and cook, stirring occasionally,

until onions are very limp and just beginning to color

(about 20 minutes).  Do not rush this.

Stir in chopped garlic. 

Increase heat to medium.

Cook, uncovered, stirring frequently

until onions are amber or caramel colored.

About 30 minutes.

Stir more frequently toward end of cooking time

to prevent sticking. 

Sprinkle onions with the flour.

Stir to thoroughly combine flour with onions.

Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes,

stirring mixture frequently.

Stir in 1 cup of the broth, scraping up browned bits

from the bottom.  Bring to gentle boil;

Cook 1 minute.  Stir in bay leaves, thyme,

remaining broth and salt, if using.

Simmer partially covered, 20-30 minutes.

Before serving, remove bay leaves and add lemon juice.

In the meantime...HOW TO MAKE THE CROUTONS

1 loaf french bread - sliced diagonally, 3/4 inch thick

chopped garlic

enough cheese to cover your slices of bread

(this recipe calls for Gruyere cheese - we used Mozzarella)
Parmesan cheese

Place bread slices on a cookie sheet.

(Trim if needed, so slices will fit into soup bowls.)

Place in 350 degree oven until golden brown and crispy

(about 15 minutes).  The bread needs a good crunch

to it so it won't get soggy in your soup bowl.

Remove from oven and increase oven temp to 375.

Dab each of the croutons (bread slices) with crushed garlic.

Place cheese on each slice to cover and sprinkle each

with about 1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese.

Return to 375 oven and bake until

cheese is melted and golden brown. 

TO SERVE

Ladle the soup into soup crocks or bowls.

With a spatula, transfer one 'crouton' to each bowl of onion soup.

Serve immediately! Mmm.

Free Recipe Friday. . .Uhhh

Hello Friday...it's time for another installment of Free Recipe Friday. 

What on earth will be revealed this week??? 

Oh let's see....ummm, Eggs Benedict anyone??? (with a twist, of course!)

Don't worry about the old fashioned, fancy name....

there's a reason this recipe has never been forgotten!

This Free Recipe Friday installment will consist of

not only one, but two, yes two free recipes....

first, we will learn how to make hollandaise sauce and

THEN how to poach an egg (without any fancy pans)!

I will start off by saying I have never EVER made hollandaise sauce before

nor have I poached an egg in this fashion...SO, no excuses people!!!

Secondly, I will state for the record that after this meal,

I can STILL say that I have never made hollandaise sauce

or poached an egg in this fashion.

How can she do this you say???

Well, you see, we happen to have a resident Sous Chef around here.

And she cooked this whole meal!  Kids are great aren't they?!???

If you ever get flustered because all your kids want to watch on tv

is the Food Network, DON'T!!!! It will pay off! ;)

Thank you Shelby!

What an amazing treat!!!  Especially because life here is so crazy.

But your life doesn't have to be crazy

just to enjoy this recipe!

It makes a great breakfast, lunch, dinner or meal on the fly!

THE HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

*This recipe is from none other than Tyler Florence*

(a Food Network 'founding father').
This is the yummiest sauce EVER.

For a family of four, we doubled the recipe below. 

We prefer more than a spoonful of sauce,

so by doubling the recipe, it was just barely enough

for the quantity that we prefer....

so adjust according to your needs!

4 egg yolks

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)

Pinch cayenne

Pinch salt

WHAT TO DO...

Vigorously whisk the egg yolks and lemon juice together

in a stainless steel bowl until the mixture is thickened and doubled in volume.

Place the bowl over a large saucepan (or stockpot, as we did here)

containing barely simmering water (or use a double boiler)

the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl.

Continue to whisk rapidly and continuously! 

Be careful not to let the eggs get too hot or they will scramble.

Slowly drizzle in the melted butter and continue to whisk

until the sauce is thickened and doubled in volume.

Remove from heat, whisk in cayenne and salt.

Cover and place in a warm spot until ready to use for the eggs benedict.

If the sauce gets too thick, whisk in a few drops of warm water before serving.

POACHED EGGS

The Poaching Water:

2 Tbsp vinegar in about 10-12 cups of simmering water.

Bring to a boil

Add salt to taste (about 3 tsp or more)

Bring back down to gentle simmer
(*salt and water ratios are just as you would do for boiling pasta)

 

The Poaching Process:

Crack egg into a small bowl, then pour into a ladle

Gently plop (technical term) egg into the water.

Poach for approx 5 mins each

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Eggs Benedict, traditionally call for a poached egg,

 a slice of ham/canadian bacon and a toasted split english muffin...

with a spoonful of hollandaise sauce on top.

Our Eggs Benedict meal was done with a twist...because

WE just so happened to have some left over chicken AND bagels.

No english muffins or ham at all, but, we had SMOKED chicken!

A rottisserie chicken would be SO easy and perfect for this

if you wanted chicken.  We used chicken because we

do not usually have canadian bacon on hand...do you?!?

This is one of those recipes that is perfect for using up those

leftover meats from Sunday lunch as we did....

just as the variations listed below show...the sky is the limit!

So, toast your bagel, english muffin or whatever you decide to use.

Place toasted bread on a serving plate and layer your ham

or whatever meat you choose to use, top with your

poached egg, then top with some hollandaise sauce...voila!

ENJOY!

Variations of Eggs Benedict you might like to try...

---Eggs Florentine - replace the ham or bacon with spinach.

---Eggs Maryland - remove the ham and serve poached eggs

    drizzled with Hollandaise sauce on top of crab cakes.

---Waldorf Style Eggs - replace the English muffin with toast

     and serve with poached eggs, sautéed mushrooms and mushroom sauce.

---Norwegian Eggs - replace the ham or bacon with thin slices of smoked salmon.

---Artichoke Eggs - replace the English muffin with cooked artichoke hearts.

---Eggs Blackstone - use streaky bacon (regular bacon)

     instead of back bacon (canadian bacon) and add a slice of tomato.

---Asparagus Eggs - substitute the ham with asparagus spears.

---Country Eggs Benedict - Replace the bacon or ham with sausage slices

     and cover with sausage gravy instead of Hollandaise sauce.

Free Friday Recipe.....Pulled Pork



It's Friday...school is back in session

and that means football is kicking off in many East Texas towns.  

 And if you have kids, that means your schedules
are getting crazy ridiculous again as well.
Crazy schedules call for easy meals...and there's nothing more relaxing
than coming home to dinner that is already cooked.
So go drag out that crock pot, sit down and print out this recipe!    

You can get it started in the a.m. before you head out or on your lunch break - 

and while you are back at work, going to a pep rally or running errands all day,

this little piggy is simmering away for your evening pleasure!

Now first things first...you need some pork for this recipe. 

You can seriously use many different pork cuts for this. 

In the 'crumbs' household, we have used pork roasts,

blade roasts/steaks or boston butt roasts and picnic roasts.

Find what is convenient, on sale and/or cheap.
 

Remember, cooking shouldn't stress you by making you feel as if

you need to follow instructions down to the grain of salt. 

This is where owning the recipe comes in -  and YOU,

at some point, need to make it your own!

It's totally okay to experiment with different cuts of meat,
omit an ingredient, change up a spice, etc.

to fit your likes/dislikes.

Sometimes I hear people say, 'ooh, it has onions in it -

I could never make that for my family' - - - HELLO,

guess what??? You can OMIT the ONIONS!  Genius!

(*Baking on the other hand, requires much more precision!)

There are several little parts to this meal, but if you take them

one step at a time, they can easily be done well in advance.

Getting started - first, I had to dust off my crock pot

and gave the inside of it a quick spray with non-stick cooking spray. 

If you are preparing this before

you head out of the house in the morning,

turn your crockpot on low.  If you are not starting this until lunchtime,

I would turn my crockpot on med/high to high.

HERE IS WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
appx. 4 lbs. untrimmed pork shoulder blade roast (Boston butt)
2 Tbsp. paprika (or smoked paprika if you happen to have)
1 Tbsp. mustard powder
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar (kept seperately)
1 tsp. salt (for rub)
1 tsp. salt (for coleslaw/cooking liquid)
1 tsp. pepper (for rub)
1 tsp. pepper (for coleslaw/cooking liquid)
1 c. cider vinegar
1/2 c. catsup
2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (we only use 1 tsp.)
1 c. water
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
3-4 cups finely shredded cabbage (or 2 - 14 oz. bags/coleslaw mix)
8 or more hamburger buns - toasted

Now it's time to make the dry rub for the pork.
Combine paprika, mustard powder, 1/4 cup of the brown sugar
and salt and pepper and make into a paste or rub.

Notice I did not have dry mustard for this recipe, so I

improvised.  (Which happens often around our household.)

I used regular French's mustard - in a squirt bottle...a perfectly fine substitute.

It just means the 'dry rub' is no longer dry...and that's okay...
no one will ever know.

Mix your dry rub ingredients together and rub/smear it

all over the pork then place in the crockpot.

In another small bowl whisk together
your cider vinegar, catsup, red pepper flakes, 1 tsp. salt,
1 tsp. pepper and the 1 Tbsp. of brown sugar. 
Remove 1/3 c. of this mixture and set aside.
(this will be used for your coleslaw later on)
 Add the remaining mixture along with 1 c. water
to the crock pot with your pork in it.
Now put the lid on your crock pot and let it do it's thing.

This next step can be done immediately
or done later on while your pork roast is cooling
and waiting to be chopped!

Combine the reserved 1/3 cup of liquid you set aside earlier
and add in 1 c. mayo - whisk well.
This will then be tossed with your shredded cabbage.

Cover and refrigerate your coleslaw

until you are ready to assemble your pulled pork sandwiches.

After your sweet little pork has been cooking all day,

 it should be fork-tender, and most likely falling apart...

gently transfer it to a large bowl;

remove fat and skin and discard. 

Using two forks, shred meat or chop meat with a good knife.

Carefully pour some of the sauce from your
crock pot onto the meat. That is a must.

Now it is time to assemble!!!
Toast you some buns and add a layer of coleslaw
and then some shredded pork - umm delicious!

Enjoy this after a long day at work or on a lazy Saturday.

The pork really doesn't care what day it is.

And while we are 'recipe-ing' here,

I see you eyeing those yummy potatoes

sitting beside that yummy pulled pork sandwich...

so out of the kindness of my heart,

I will toss you the recipe for those too!

After all, it's Free Recipe Friday AND

the beginning of football season as well. Geez.

Grab a bag of red potatoes and give them a good scrubbing.

Do you need the whole bag?

Most likely not, so just figure a couple of small-medium

potatoes per person.

Slice potatoes into wedges, cubes or slices.

Lay them in a single layer on a good heavy baking pan.
(I prefer a metal one - although you can easily

cook them on the stovetop in a heavy skillet.)

Drizzle (heavy handedly) with olive oil, salt, pepper and chopped garlic.

If you are really feeling zippy, toss some dry Ranch Dressing powder

all over these puppies and/or add some sliced onions.

Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes...tossing a few times

to 'unstick' any 'stuck' potatoes and to distribute the oil.

ENjoy! 

Now go relax, enjoy and have fun cheering on your favorite team!



Free Recipe Friday? Meet Chocolate.

Well, it just seems perfectly fitting that our first dessert for Free Recipe Friday

is none other than CHOCOLATE!

But first, a few chocolate facts!  Did you know?

-- Dark chocolate stored under perfect conditions will last for 10 years.
-- The United States produces more chocolate than any other country.
-- The Swiss eat more chocolate than any other country.
-- On average, the Swiss eat twenty-one pounds
of chocolate every day. (England is second.)
-- On average, every American eats
ten to twelve pounds of chocolate each year.
-- Cocoa is harvested twice a year.
-- The anti-oxidants in chocolate lower your risk of heart disease.
-- In North America, more people crave chocolate than any other food.
-- White chocolate contains no chocolate.
-- The very first recipe for chocolate brownies
appeared in 1896 in the Fanny Farmer cookbook.

Now you know!
 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Now, from time to time, new recipes come across your path

and you make a mental note saying 'I am going to try that sometime' -

knowing full well you have no intention of doing so,

unless some freak life circumstances occur

and you have no access to recipes anymore.

This recipe was baked and eaten by our family in a similar way...
...without the freaky life circumstances part.
(Well, actually the following story is kind of a freaky life circumstance.)

A business owner that I highly admire

(who shall remain nameless and who also may or may not live in Florida!)

happened to email me (since I made cakes) asking if I knew of any

eggless chocolate cake recipes.  She and her husband

had a house guest that was highly allergic to eggs, but

had tried many eggless recipes that ended up

going into the trash.  I pushed my sleeves up,

dug thru some recipes and sent a few of them for her to try...

truly not knowing if they would taste as good as the

pictures looked or not.  It was a total shot in the dark.

But, low and behold, I received an email

from 'her' WITH PICS, stating this was THE BEST

chocolate cake they ever had and would

continue to make this cake forever - if they had an

egg allergy guest or not!  So then we HAD to try it.

We just HAD TO!   And so should YOU!

You will truly wonder why cakes need eggs at all

after you try this one!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups All Purpose Flour
3/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 and 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Salt

3/4 cup Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup Granulated Sugar

3/4 cup Brown Sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup Unsweetened Applesauce

1/2 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

1 and 1/2 cups Buttermilk

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

INGREDIENTS for FROSTING

1 cup Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

2-4 oz. bars Bitter-Sweet Chocolate, chopped and melted

(we used Ghirardelli-60% Cacao)

1 tablespoon Vanilla

1/4 teaspoon Salt

6 cups Powdered Sugar

1/2 cup Milk

1/4 cup water/Milk/Strong Coffee - optional, if frosting needs to be thinned

PROCEDURE
1.  Preheat oven to 325 F.  Spray two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans
with non stick cooking spray.

2.  Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt
in a medium sized bowl. Stir until mixed.  Set aside.

3.  Beat butter with both sugars in a large bowl,
using an electric mixer on medium for about 3 minutes.

4.   Add the applesauce in two additions, beating well -
scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
Mix in the vinegar too. The mixture will look curdled but don’t worry.

5.  Beat in vanilla.

6.  Reduce speed and beat one third of flour mixture into the buttery mixture,
then add half the buttermilk.

7.  Repeat additions, scraping down sides until all is well mixed.

8.  Divide batter evenly between pans and
tap the pans lightly to remove air pockets if any.

9.  Bake on the center racks of your oven until a tooth pick inserted
in the center of cakes comes out clean, 25 to 30 min.

10.  Remove cakes/pans from the oven and place on a wire rack. 

***Free tip - immediately cover both cakes with a piece of wax paper. 

This will keep all of the moisture from evaporating out of your cakes. 
You're welcome! :) 

11.  Cool cakes in their cake pans on a rack for 8-10 minutes.

12.  Run a knife around inside edge of each pan
and then turn cakes out onto rack.

13.  Cover the exposed, bottoms of each cake
with another piece of wax paper.

14.  Let cool completely, about 1 hour. 
Or place in the fridge to speed up the process -

a process you will definitely be wanting to speed up!

This also will help firm up the cake a bit as it is a tad more fragile

than a cake baked with eggs. 
You can create the frosting while the cakes are cooling!

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

PREPARING the ICING:

1.  Beat butter for icing in a large bowl, using an electric mixer/hand beater

on medium, until creamy, 1 min.

2.  Add melted chocolate, vanilla, salt and 1 cup icing sugar. Beat for 1 minute.

3.  With mixer on medium-low, add remaining sugar in 3 parts,

alternating remaining liquids (milk and optional coffee) and ending with sugar.

4.  Beat on medium-high, scraping down sides of bowl as needed,

until fluffy and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.

 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .



FINISHING:

When the cakes are all nice and ready to be frosted,

you can use a long, serrated knife (we used a bread knife)

to slice the 2 cakes into 4. 

Don't be scared, you can do it! 

Spread each layer with the yummy frosting, layering up as you go. 

Delicious-ness!

Now grab a plate, put you a slice of this amazing cake on it 

and fill a big ol' glass with ice cold milk...and you might just have to go slap somebody,

it's THAT good!

*Disclaimer: Please do not go slap anybody...
unless they try to take your cake ;)

It's Friday...Free Recipe Time!

An Ode to Rosemary

(and Chicken)

Rose·mar·y [rohz-mair-ee, -muh-ree] noun, plural -mar·ies.

An evergreen shrub, Rosmarinus officinalis, of the mint family,

native to the Mediterranean region, having leathery, narrow leaves

and pale-blue, bell-shaped flowers, used as a seasoning

and in perfumery and medicine: a traditional symbol of remembrance.

Ahh, doesn't that sound heavenly?

And a day of remembrance we had preparing for this!

Memory Number Uno - we have recently returned from

what our family deems, the most beautiful place in America -

the beautiful beaches along Scenic Highway 30A

in the Florida panhandle (between Destin and Panama City).

WHERE, I might add, we visited one of our favorite spots,

ROSEMARY beach!

Memory Number Dos - as we were shopping for ingredients

for this recipe, we were reminded of the fragrance

that was on our hands and that was filling our car.

We had just returned from the home of some

dear friends gathering a bucketful of said ROSEMARY!

Mmm, heavenly.

and Memory Number Tres - a rather strange memory,

our check out girl's NAME was ROSEMARY!

How freaky is that?!?

Okay, so, enough rambling and reminiscing...

we've got some cookin' to do.

Today's recipe may not even count as a 'recipe'

but more of an 'idea' - so, use it up!

I recently had the privilege of cooking this Rosemary Chicken

for the Singing Men of East Texas led by

my amazing boss and my awesome husband

gets to be a part of!!!  What a treat!

(So do not be alarmed by the mass quantities of

chicken shown in these photos - over 200 pieces).

This is sooo easy, you could do it with your eyes closed!

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

Fresh Rosemary

Chicken Pieces - raw, thawed

Chopped/Diced Garlic

Salt/Pepper

Cooking Spray

Olive Oil/Butter

Roasting Pan/Casserole Dish

Oven  :)

First off, you must find a friend that has loads of rosemary

and wouldn't mind you snipping a handful of.

Nextly, you need chicken.  What kind of chicken?

Any kind you would like.  How's that?!

At home, for this particular recipe,

we prefer chicken thighs - skin on, bone in.

But for this particular night and group of people

we were feeding, we chose a mixture of

chicken thighs, breasts, and drumsticks.

You decide how many mouths to feed and purchase

whatever variation you need!

With me so far?

Now it's time to season the thawed, raw chicken.

First off, I understand that there are some people out there

that are on a very limited sodium diet, but if you are not,

please, please, please do not be afraid of

salt and pepper in your food!

I believe the reason some foods don't taste as good as they should

is rarely because someone is a bad cook,

but simply because it lacks enough of this simple ingredient - salt.

I'm not saying be a salt hog, but you would be surprised

how much better your food would be if you added salt

DURING the cooking process, NOT after.

There's just something about adding salt WHILE

you are cooking chili, spaghetti sauce, soups, and meats

that you just cannot reach the same level of goodness

if you add salt after cooking.  In fact, I believe

 it takes MORE salt afterwards and the flavor is still

never quite there. 

SO, spray a nice baking dish

(preferably some type of metal roasting pan -

however, glass would work as well)

with cooking spray liberally OR

if you are using chicken breasts,

drizzle your pan with olive oil and

a few tablespoons of butter.

Those boneless, skinless chicken breasts

will need a little fat in the pan!

NOW, apply salt and pepper on ALL sides of your raw chicken.

Don't be scared.

Place seasoned chicken pieces in the baking dish

Now, liberally sprinkle, dab, drop or spread

diced/chopped garlic all over the chicken.

Again, do not be afraid. 

Do you know how good garlic is for you???

NOW, your kitchen is a bout to go over the top

with some amazing smells.  As if the garlic wasn't amazing enough!

Take your gently washed/rinsed rosemary stems/branches

and either cut them into 2-3 inch pieces or hold the

rosemary over your baking dish and snip, snip, snip

the rosemary randomly all over the chicken.

If you would rather not have little flecks of rosemary

all in your chicken, I would suggest tucking

a 2-3 inch piece of cut rosemary underneath

each piece of chicken.  So far so good right?!

Now, pause for a minute and just breathe in the yumminess! Ahh!

Okay, back to reality.

Place chicken in your preheated 375 degree oven

for about 40 minutes -  if they are nicely spread apart.

We usually have to cook ours an hour or so (for our family)

because we usually cook 15-20 thighs.

You will know they are done when the skin-on chicken

is nice and golden and crispy! Mmm.

Please note that if you are baking this using chicken breasts,

you must flip them several times during the cooking process

to keep them from drying out.  It's not a bad idea

to keep an eye on the thighs as well and you may

want to flip those once or twice...

stirring the rosemary around as well so that it will not dry out.

And there you have it!

Although we were not responsible for any side dishes for our chicken,

it goes great with most any side dish

because the flavor is not at all overpowering.

Now, go ye therefore....and EAT!

Free Recipe Friday

Welcome back to FREE RECIPE FRIDAY,
where you can pop in and pick up a recipe at no charge :) 
Today's recipe is brought to you by "HeatWave 2011!" 

On this Free Friday, we are servin' up GAZPACHO.
Gazpacho with Shrimp and Corn to be exact. 

Say it with me...guh-SPAH-cho...

OR, if you're from East Texas...guz-POCH-ohhh). 

Raise your hand if you've ever tried it!? 

Raise your hand if you've never heard of it!? 

Okay, so, quick foodie lesson. 

Gazpacho is a cold, tomato-based raw vegetable soup,
mostly consumed in the summer months

due to it's cold temperature and acidic bite.
There are many versions and variations,
but generally they all keep with a tomato base,
along with cucumbers, red onions, garlic, olive oil
and some type of vinegar or lemon juice....and most often
accompanied by some crusty bread or croutons. 

Lesson is over.

Let me first start off by saying that I have never actually had any desire
to eat COLD SOUP.  I can handle most all foods
at room temperature, even coffee...
but COLD SOUP?  Not so much.
But when I came across a blog with a recipe for Gazpacho on it,
the pictures made me want to try it instantly. 
And in case you didn't know,
the temperatures outside are definitely screaming 'summer months!'
So it was time to venture out and give it a try...and WOW!
This is also a great, simple, 'do ahead' meal -
and looks and sounds so fancy and bistro-ish! 

Gazpacho is also deceivingly filling,
especially with a few shrimp in your bowl!
It is SO yummy and fresh tasting,
I believe I will go eat some leftovers now!

Follow along and you too can learn how to create this very easy,
make ahead 'liquid salad.'

Gazpacho with Grilled Shrimp and Corn

4 med. ripe tomatoes | diced (we used grape tomatoes)

2 med. red bell peppers | seeded, deribbed and finely chopped

(we used one large orange one)

2 med. cucumbers | peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 med. red onion | coursely chopped

2 cloves garlic | minced

2 cups chicken broth

Side Note:
(we used 'Better Than Boullion' paste for ours - a very good product 
and is also available in beef, ham and tomato!  
If you are not using homemade broth,
please look for products that do not list salt as the first ingredient -
did you know that the ingredients
on products are listed in order of quantity in the product?)

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

dash of Tabasco

pinch of cayenne pepper

2 Tablespoons capers, drained

salt and pepper to taste
- - - - -

1/2 lb. (about 18 large shrimp) | peeled and deveined

2 ears fresh corn | peeled

olive oil for brushing corn

1/4 chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Place the first 11 ingredients in a large bowl and stir to mix well.

Transfer half of the mixture to a blender or food processor and process until smooth.

Return mixture to the bowl and mix well.
Taste for seasonings and adjust if necessary. 
Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight
(Great to make ahead!).

For cooking the shrimp and corn, you can grill them both or saute in a very hot pan as we did. 

We even used CANNED CORN!  We drained it, and sauted it in a very hot skillet with a little butter and salt and pepper until some of the corn started turning golden brown. Add to the gazpacho.

If you grill the corn, brush with butter or olive oil while you turn the corn.  When the corn is cool enough to handle, scrape the corn from the cob and add to the gazpacho.

The same goes for the peeled, deveined shrimp.  You can grill it or saute in a hot skillet.
After we removed the corn from our hot skillet, we added the shrimp with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.  Either way is fine.

NOW, to serve, ladle the gazpacho soup into shallow bowls,
top with some shrimp (grilled or sauteed)
and sprinkle with some cilantro. 
Serve with some warm crusty bread such as ciabatta.

Enjoy this Free Recipe Friday!

Free Recipe Friday

  Welcome, welcome, welcome...to the new weekly series we are calling Free Recipe Friday, where we share free recipes with you!  Some new, some old, some tried and true.  We will give you, hopefully, easy to follow instructions with some enticing pics taken by
Shelby Taylor Photography! 

(On a side note, food styling/photography
is way harder than it looks!!!!)

 

  The first recipe out of the bag is one I had to re-create because I was craving it.  Before you boo and hiss because it's 'just a salad' - please remember it is 893 degrees outside, we haven't had substantial rain here since, well, I can't remember - springtime???
So, recipes that require turning the oven on
have kind of been on the back burner (no pun intended, ha). 

  On our recent vacation to the amazing Florida panhandle, we had dinner with some friends at Wild Olives, a little bistro/market in the Seacrest/Rosemary Beach area.  They had some really neat things on their menu and I ordered the Mediterranean Salad.  Probably not a new creation by any means, but to this East Texas gal it was!  The entire time I am eating the salad I am dissecting it and thinking,
'I am making this when we get home'...so...VOILA! Enjoy! 

DISCLAIMER: I would like to remind you that I am not much of a 'measurer' when it comes to cooking - some of you know this...and I'm sorry if it drives you insane. 
When I was watching an old cooking show on PBS recently
(an authentic italian cooking show with Lidia Bastianich)
her quote really struck a chord with me. 
I thought, 'ahhh, YES, that's IT...that's ME!' - so here it is...
to encourage YOU to get comfortable in the kitchen...
and 'let go' sometimes!

"Cooking is...yes, about following a recipe...but at some point, you gotta let go of the recipe
...you got to be in control"
- Lidia Bastianich (in her thick italian accent!)

So, henceforth, please be understanding in my recipe 'guestimates'
it'll be okay, really...I promise...be brave!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
Mixed Greens - WHATEVER YOU LIKE (we used the Spring Mix, sold in a plastic container)
Grape Tomatoes - halved - we would have preferred homegrown, but the next best store bought thing with flavor is either Grape or Roma Tomatoes
Kalamata Olives - pitted, sold in a jar
Feta Cheese - crumbled
Diced Red Onion - (sadly we had to omit, because we didn't have any)
Diced Cucumber - cut in half lengthwise and seeds scraped out (this keeps your salad crispier)
Shrimp - about 1 lb. - (peeled) grilled, sauteed, steamed, baked, however you'd like them quite frankly!

Dressing ingredients:  The icing on the cake for this salad!
     (Believe it or not, I DID measure these ingredients)

    Whisk the following ingredients together in a medium size bowl -

     this made PLENTY for 6 adults with a cup or more leftover.

1 1/2 cups good olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar, plus
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons oregano
        (I used way less, only because I do not care much for oregano - remember, make it your own!)
1 1/2 tablespoons basil
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic clove (or to taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/2-1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (or to taste)

Taste for saltiness and pour into a bottle or container.

For our salads, we kept the different ingredients in small bowls

and then placed a handful of greens on our plate 

and topped each individual salad with our fav ingredients,

swirled the yummy dressing on it

and ate it up along with some crunchy garlic bread.

YUM!



Now, see?  That wasn't so hard was it?! 

Try it, your taste buds will thank you!

Mmm, delicious! 

See ya next week!