New Year's Eve Party Time

New Year's Eve is my favorite excuse to try out those "splurge" recipes I collect throughout the year. You know the ones -- sounds delish, but maybe a little more effort or cost than your average Friday night get together warrants.

We have a wonderful tradition of ringing in the New Year with a group of families from our neighborhood. Each year we put the kids in their jammies and head over to the host house (taking turns hosting means each year is a little different... it helps keep it fresh and special). The days leading up today had texts flying back and forth with preparations... should we fry up wings? what dessert are you bringing? do we want to make a punch? I'll bring pepperoni bread... are you making your famous crab dip? Anticipation for a night of fun fills the air.

So here we are on New Year's Eve Day and I still haven't decided what to make. Yes, I'll do the standard pepperoni bread. My kids love it. But what will my "splurge" recipe be? I think I've narrowed down the choices. Hmmm. Now only to make a decision and get cooking!

Option 1: Prosciutto-Wrapped Shrimp w/ Bourbon BBQ Sauce (Food & Wine)

This sounds like my kind of appetizer. Shrimp, prosciutto, bourbon. Ok, really, you had me at bourbon. Yes, bacon-wrapped li'l smokies are always a fan favorite, but this takes it to a whole new, grown up, taste-sensation level.

Option 2:  Whiskey, Caramel, Marshmallow and Bacon Bark (endlesssimmer.com)

Here's a decadent dessert option. I already make what we call "cracker candy" which is saltines, butter, sugar, chocolate and almonds. It's simple, yet amazingly addictive. I am quite intrigued by this version. Will New Year's Eve be my incentive to finally try it out? And, I'm starting to notice a theme here...

Option 3: Bacon Wrapped Dates with Almonds

The other evening, we enjoyed a mini food tour of Philadelphia. The night found us enjoying burgers, frites and beer at Eulogy; tapas and sangria at Amada; and fried plantains and margaritas at El Vez. It was a wonderful night spent with good friends. Each of these restaurants offers "slurge"- worthy inspiration. But in keeping with the bacon/prosciutto theme, I've found this recipe for bacon wrapped dates with almonds. Always a favorite treat when at Amada.

Now, if only I could make a decision. Guess I'd better head to the grocery store and see where that leads me. 

Whatever special foods you enjoy tonight, Happy New Year's! Here's to a happy and healthy 2014!

Summer lovin'

I do enjoy fall. Really. The cooler weather, the trees changing color, homemade soup, Halloween, football... It's a fun time! (Maybe not as much fun as summer, but it's hard to compete with sleeping in, good times with friends at the pool and day trips to the beach).

That being said, this year, I am trying hard to enjoy the moment I'm in and not rush into the next season before it's time. And, right now, that means savoring the simplicity of one of summer's finest offerings. A "jersey tomato" BLT. There is no messing around with this classic and no recipe required!

Taco Tuesday: Citrus-marinated grilled chicken tacos with simple guacamole

In the fall, Colleen had a school project about family traditions. One of the questions she had to answer was "if you could create a new tradition for your family, what would it be?" After a short moment's thought, she smiled and announced..."Taco Tuesday".

I have to admit, some weeks I just have no more inspiration for dinner ideas. Luckily, Tuesdays are figured out. Tacos! Or, some variation that includes nachos...her real goal with this tradition. I guess Nacho Tuesday didn't sound as catchy. 

We've started branching out from the traditional beef tacos. I've used rotisserie chicken from the grocery for chicken tacos. One week I made enchiladas. (See previous post for recipe).

This week I had some chicken breasts in the fridge that I wanted to use. On top of that, the weather is warming up and the days are getting longer, so I feel the need to fire up the grill. Here was my "a-ha" moment...I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Citrus-marinated grilled chicken breasts: tacos tonight and chicken for lunch sandwiches/salads for the week. Even better, I have a ton of limes on hand, so I juiced two for the marinade. And used another one for the accompanying guacamole. Love it when a dish comes together like this!

Citrus-Marinated Grilled Chicken Breasts

Note: I let the chicken marinade over night and had great results... Tender, juicy, tasty chicken.

Another note: I added the cumin on a whim to try and add a little heat and make the chicken more taco-appropriate. It could have used more. Don't know if 1 Tbs would be too much, but will try that next time).

Directions: In a container large enough to hold your meat, combine the following ingredients. Close the lid (be sure it seals!) and shake. Then add your chicken breasts -- or shrimp would probably taste good -- and re-seal. Shake again to coat the meat. Marinade in fridge several hours or overnight. Grill to taste.

Ingredients:
Juice of 2 limes
Splash (approx 1/4 cup) orange juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 sweet onion, minced
1-2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbs white wine or champagne vinegar (I happen to have the champagne vinegar)
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and fresh ground pepper

Simple Guacamole

Mash 2 or 3 avocados with a fork. Add juice from 1/2 lime, 1 clove garlic (minced), 1/2 jalapeño (diced, seeds and ribs optional based on heat preference), 1 handful cilantro (minced), salt to taste. Stir together and serve with tacos, nachos, enchiladas, sandwiches, salads, or whatever!

Grilled Garlic Bread

Grilled Chicken Salad with Garlic Bread

As we ease into the longer days of spring, I find myself stationed in front of the grill at least once a week. Tonight is grilled chicken salad and (for a new twist), grilled garlic bread.

Garlic Bread is my go-to use for leftover crusty French bread. We love fresh bread with dinner, especially a spaghetti dinner, but I am often left with 1/2 a loaf at the end of the night. Now here's a fun use for old bread!

To prepare, I simply sliced the bread lengthwise and placed it on the hot grill, cut side down. After about 3 minutes, I removed the bread, spread on some chopped garlic, drizzled it with olive oil and topped with a little mozzarella. Then returned it to the top rack of the grill to toast a little more and melt the cheese. A very simple presentation, but tasty in it's simplicity. This surely could be dressed up with some fresh basil and maybe a little chopped tomato? I think I will continue to experiment this grilling season.

Salsa, salsa, salsa

Back in my college days we used to crowd around a tv in the common room of our dorm to enjoy weekly episodes of Seinfeld.

Yes, this was long ago. Before the time of a tv in every room. Before the time of On Demand, Netflix and streaming. We are talking the early days of email and listserves. We thought our phone was "smart" if it had caller id. But, I digress....

The point here is that those Thursday evenings in the common room were a sacred, social event. Watching shows such as Seinfeld as a group, we developed our own language -- much as today's college students' language is influenced by texting and tweeting, ours was colored by "Seinfeld-isms." No soup for you! It's really quite refreshing. Vandelay Industries. The list goes on, but one of my favorites is "salsa, salsa, salsa." Saying this one little phrase just makes my mouth happy. So does one bite of this roasted tomato and black bean salsa.

Roasted Tomato and Black Bean Salsa
This is a forgiving recipe.  Love bell peppers? Chop one up and throw it in there! Don't like beans? Leave them out. Want a little extra heat? Add a splash or two or two of hot sauce (I have at least three different types in my fridge at all times) or more diced jalapeño. If you are in the mood for sweet crunch, add some corn. I'm looking forward to the summer, when we can roast up an ear of fresh corn on the grill and add that into the mix.

1 can diced, fire roasted tomatoes, drained
1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 or 4 plum tomatoes, diced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 jalepeno, seeded and finely diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
juice from 1/2 lime
1 tsp. ground cumin
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

If you don't want soupy salsa, take the time to pour your canned tomatoes into a mesh sieve to drain excess liquid. Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

Summer Dining Continued: Mrs. Young's Shishkabob

Keeping with the same theme of "sometimes simpler is better," this weekend we enjoyed one of our favorite summer dinners: shishkabob. This feast requires a commitment to prep work, but the ingredients are simple and most of the effort is needed the day before your barbeque, freeing up your day-of-event for cooking other dishes, or cleaning, or relaxing.

The Young's have been family friends for ages and Linda traditionally served this dish every Independence Day. She developed the marinade while living in Greece and was kind enough to share the recipe with me several years back. It's another instance where it seems like there should be more involved, because the result is guaranteed to please. The beef kabobs are served with grilled veggies, pita bread and tzatziki sauce. We also usually cook up a bowl of rice pilaf as a side dish.

Since we were entertaining family from out of state that we haven't seen in nearly two years, I wanted to really make this afternoon's meal special. So, I decided to try some shrimp in the same marinade, in addition to the traditional beef. I started marinating the shrimp about three hours before grilling (rather than the 24 hours that I give the beef). The result was outstanding. I will definitely include shrimp again in the future as I am undecided as to which I like better -- the beef or shrimp.

Marinade (for 2 lbs. of beef, cubed)
1 T. minced onion (I find that grating the onion provides great onion flavor throughout the marinade without a bunch of little chunks of onion)
2 T. olive oil

Splash red wine vinegar (see note below)
Juice from 1/2 a lemon (see note below)
2 T. fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Note: through the years I’ve strayed from the original and added a splash of red wine vinegar and juice of half a lemon. Both of these allow for a shorter marinade time, if needed, and add good flavor. 

For best results, marinade beef for 24 hours. And, if using wooden skewers, make sure you soak them 30 minutes before use.

Tzatziki Sauce
1 cucumber (chopped and seeded)
1/2 onion, minced (again, I grated the onion and only needed 1/4 onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 c. sour cream or plain, greek yogurt

Combine ingredients and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving to allow flavors to marry. I sometimes add a little fresh parsley since I have it on hand for the marinade.

A Summer Staple: Potato Salad

Why is it that we always like our mom's potato salad the best? More so than any other dish that I can think of, there seems to be a consensus that for this summer staple, mom's version is the one to which all others are measured.

I have not done any scientific research on this, of course, but every summer I seem to hear the refrain, "this is almost as good as my mom's." How often do you hear that said about baked beans? Maybe because most moms pop open a can for that!

I think the magic is in the dressing. Any dish that requires "from scratch" dressing seems to take on a special quality from the chef. (Even if that dressing is simply a combination of Hellmann's mayo and Catalina salad dressing.)

I once asked my mom to share her recipe for potato salad and this is what I got...

boil potatoes, peel, chop
4-5 hard boiled eggs
green onions (2 bunches)
celery seed (1 1/2 tsp.)

dressing: Hellmann's mayo mixed with Catalina. (approx. 1/2 c. mayo and 1/4 c. red dressing)

My response: that's it? There is no special, magic ingredient? No. Sometimes simpler is better.