Roasting weather

The time has come, finally, that I can turn on the oven without feeling guilty and going outside to take breaks from the ridiculous heat coming from my kitchen. 

In my house, I call this Roasting weather. 

From now until probably May I will be running my oven on about a daily basis. 

This time of year makes me happy! 

Because with cold weather comes amazing food, roasted, baked, broiled, etc.

So I started off this season with some Cornish game hens.

Aren't they adorable? 

I'm not really sure what they are, but they are so tiny, I love tiny things!

They were perfect little personal size birds and I served them with some garlic mashed potatoes.

And while the grapes were odd, they were so delicious, added a great sweet flavor to this otherwise savory recipe.  Loved it!  It was delicious, and very Fall like.

So turn on your ovens and get to roasting!

ENJOY

Roasted Cornish Hens with Grapes

1 1/2 lbs mixed red and green seedless grapes

8 shallots, root end intact halved if large (i diced mine, whoops)

6 sprigs thyme, plus additional leaves for hens

2 T olive oil

S&P

4 cornish game hens (1- 1/4 lbs each)

Preheat oven to 450.  On a rimmed baking sheet, toss grapes and shallots with the thyme, olive oil, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. 

Tie the legs with kitchen twine (i did not do this), nestle hens among the grapes on the baking sheet, breast side up.  Season the hens generously with S&P, sprinkle with thyme leaves.

Roast, basting the hens occasionally with the pan juices, until a thermometer reads 160 degrees, about 35 minutes.  

Serves 4.

Logan Rating: ***

New Feature!!

It is now easier than ever to browse my blog!

I have taken hours and hours to go through all my posts and tag them with labels.

Therefor you can now click on "desserts" under the labels tab and all the posts that are about desserts come up, and then same with all the labels! 

I think it is a HUGE improvement!

Hope you enjoy!

Some serious comfort food

I would have to say that there is nothing I love more than curling up with a big bowl of pasta.

Some people may like books, I like pasta, so what? Sue me!

And although this one is served on a plate (in an attempt to make it pretty for ya'll)

I prefer my pasta in a bowl, so I can swirl it around and get a nice big fork full before shoving it in my mouth.

This pasta didn't disappoint, man was it delicious.

The shrimp was a different addition, but I loved it. 

I used probably one of the last harvests of tomatoes from the garden to really make this pasta extra special.

The basil is an absolute necessity, it really gives it that extra pop, don't leave it out or you'll be sorry!

The sauce was a little runny for my liking, but it was soaked up well by the noodles and shrimp, so I guess it really wasn't a big deal, but next time I might add a little less water to the pot.

Try this one!

ENJOY!

Shrimp, Tomato and Basil Pasta

1 1/2 lbs medium shrimp peeled and deveined

S&P

6 tsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes in juice

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 lb linguine 

1 1/2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

Season the shrimp with S&P.  In a large skillet, heat 4 T of the oil over high heat.  Add the shrimp; cook until opaque throughout, turning occasionally, about 3min.  Transfer to a bowl, set aside.

Make the sauce:  To the same skillet add the remaining 2 tsp oil and garlic, cook over med heat until fragrant about 30 seconds.  Add the canned tomatoes and their juice, along with 2 cups water (less if desired); bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat; simmer stirring occasionally until the tomatoes have softened and are saucy, about 15 min. 

Remove sauce from heat and stir in the cherry tomatoes.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente.  Drain; return the pasta to the pot. Add the tomato sauce, shrimp and basil; season with salt and pepper, and toss.  Serve immediately garnished with more basil leaves if desired. 

LOGAN RATING: ****

Corn Soup, NOT COLD

This is corn soup, it is not cold and it was absolutely delicious.

Logan was not sold, but I seriously sipped it all up and then licked the bowl afterwards. 

It was so simple and yet that's what made it so delicious, it really highlighted the bright natural flavor of corn.

YUM!

I paired it with BBQ chicken and some sliced and pan fried potatoes. Can't get any better than this. 

Do you like that BBQ sauce smear on the plate? 

That's how fancy I am.   Well only with my plate, because that's the one I photograph.

Logan's plate usually just looks like one large pile of food. I never claimed to be perfect. :)

I added some Chile powder to this recipe, gave it a nice extra bite, loved it.

Top this with scallions and scoop it up with tortilla chips, you will thank me with every bite that you take!

ENJOY!

Creamy Corn Soup

16 ears yellow corn

4 T butter, cut into small pieces

salt (I used pepper and chile powder as well)

garnishes:

scallions

tortilla chips

lime wedges

Remove the husks and silks from the corn. 

Holding the ears in a large bowl, slice off the kernals.

In two batches puree the kernals and accumulated juices with a total of 2 cups water until chunky.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the pureed corn, butter and 4 cups water and 1 T salt until butter is melted and soup is heated through, about 5 min.

Serve hot with suggested garnishes as desired.  Or you can let it cool and freeze it in individual servings; reheat over med-low or in the microwave.

Serves 8.

YUM BBQ Chicken!

LOGAN RATING: ***

Cold Soup

It looks beautiful doesn't it??

Well...I just couldn't do it.

Cold soup

Its just not my thang.

The flavor was amazing, but I couldn't get myself to eat an entire bowl of cold soup.

Which is a bummer, because Gazpacho is something that I've always wanted to try.

I ended up passing the rest of the gazpacho onto a friend who loved it!

So I guess that's the next best thing :)

Logan didn't get a chance to try it, he was out on a fire.

I don't think he's too bummed about it.

Ok more recipes coming soon I promise!

ENJOY!

Shrimp Gazpacho

1 T olive oil

1 lb med shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed

S&P

6 plum tomatoes chopped

1/2 small red onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cucumber peeled and chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped jarred roasted bell peppers

1 1/2 cups tomato juice

2 T red wine vinegar

In a large nonstick skillet heat the oil over high heat, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan.  Season the shrimp with salt and pepper.  Add half the shrimp cook until browned on both sides and opaque in the center, 3-4 min.  Transfer to a plate; repeat with the remaining shrimp.

In a food processor, combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, cucumber and half the roasted peppers.

Process until smooth, season with S&P.

To serve, divide the tomato mixture among the bowls; top with the shri*mp and the remaining roasted peppers.

Serves 4.

PAIGE RATING: *

Introducing my new LOVE...

QUINOA!

I am totally obsessed with this healthy, sort of crunchy, cool looking, tiny circular grain!

I may replace every other grain in my diet with this...ok that might be a tad brash. 

Well anyway you get my point...I love it. 

So I've been making it, a lot. 

Here is an example of one of the meals I made.

You can find the simplified recipe here.

I added fresh veggies from our garden...

as well as some roasted bell peppers and red pepper flakes.

It was DELICIOUS!

In fact...I'm going to go have a bowl. 

ENJOY!

Bad Blogger

The last few weeks have been hectic to say the least.

I started a new job, made 2 trips to MN, have been wedding planning, knitting and cooking, but I have NOT been BLOGGING.
And I'm so sorry for that. 

I took a little break from the blog, made some stuff from other cookbooks and websites.

It was divine, I must say.  To cook from any recipe and without the constant  click click of my camera. 

As much as I love these 2 cookbooks...I feel stifled sometimes, smothered by my commitment to finishing my challenge. 

But I am re energized and have begun to slowly but surely ease back into food photography and blogging.

SO SORRY about my absence and PLEASE continue to follow my adventure! 

Here is a delicious healthy baked mac n cheese recipe that I made the other week.

It was heavenly, and low fat....amazing.

Is it possible to be in love with a pot?

I don't care what you say...it is possible...I do love that pot!

How could I not? 

Its green and beautiful and can go from the stovetop to the oven...I've wanted one for years!

Someday I will have another one, a bigger one, maybe a yellow or orange one!

I can't wait!
Until then, I will cook anything and everything in this beaut! 

Pictured above is turkey taco chili, recipe found here

Skinny Taste is one of my favorite websites, it has lightened up versions of all of my fave foods.

However, even if you aren't looking for lightened up food...this is a DELICIOUS recipe. 

We ate it two nights in a row and still have plenty leftover

Logan gives it a ****, even though it is not a challenge recipe.

Gotta mix it up a little.

ENJOY!

I shall leave you with more pics of my new love.

Serves 9.  In my opinion 6.

MN State Fair

Hello lovely followers!  

I have returned from the land of 10,000 lakes and am re-learning how to endure the smoke filled valley that we live in.  It wasn't a very nice homecoming.  Hopefully the fires will be contained soon!

While home, of course we went to the fair.

If you don't already know (embarrassing) the MN state fair is known for not only fried food, but everything is on a stick.  Things like fried twinkies, bacon, fried candy bars, beer, cheese, beef, chicken, corn...all on a stick.  I have a few photos from the fair and I thought I would share them with you all.

For the most part things were eaten before I remembered to take a picture, but I did manage to snap a few things before they were devoured.  

ENJOY!

I will resume cooking NOW!

First stop was cheese curds...no surprise there.

Wouldn't be a MN fair without curds!

We then saw this stand...but refrained from indulging.  

BEST CORN YOU WILL EVER HAVE!

Healthy Choice?  Well yes, minus the vat of butter each cob is dipped in! ;)

We then saw this!

A huge slab of bacon a stick.

While my dad and I both felt the vortex pulling us in...we did not succumb to this one either.

Did not try this, but the line was long and the sign was cool.  WAY too full at this point!

Of course had to end the evening with Sweet Martha's cookies and milk!

If you've never tried these hot out of the oven delicacies...you have never lived.

Yes we got a bucket...for 3 people...don't judge!

And don't worry either...there was LOTS leftover!

Beautiful MN sunset! 

LOVE LOVE LOVE that state!

PROMISE...home cooked food to come...stay tuned!

Steak with Poblano Sauce

So I'm leaving for MN in about 2 hours.  I thought I would leave you with a recipe before I go, because I will be honest with you all and say that I doubt I will be posting while I'm there.  I will try to post at least once, hopefully we will be doing some cooking, but I'm not making any promises.

This was actually fairly quick and easy.  Besides the roasting of the peppers, this took less than 20 min.

It had a nice bite to it, but the roasting helped to mellow out the heat a bit. 

I served this over orzo, because we are a carb kind of household.

Try this one, its delicious!

ENJOY!

Skirt Steak with Poblano Sauce

1 1/2 lbs skirt steak 

1 T canola oil, plus more for rubbing steak

S&P

1 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 plum tomato, chopped

2 poblano chiles, roasted and thinly sliced

1 lime, 1/2 juiced, 1/2 cut into wedges

Roast the pepper over an open flame until charred on all sides (you can roast directly over gas burner or put int on the grill).  Fold a paper towel around the chile and let it steam for 15-20 min.  

Using the paper towel to protect your fingers, rub the charred skin off the chile.  With a fresh paper towel, split the pepper open lengthwise; remove and discard the seeds and ribs.  If your fingers come in contact with the seeds or ribs, wash hands immediately.  

Heat the grill to high.  Rub the steak with some canola oil; season with S&P.  Grill 3-5 min per side for med rare.  Heat the 1 T canola oil in a medium skillet over med heat.  Add the onion and garlic; cook stirring often until golden and fragrant, 3-4 min.

(fresh onion from the garden)

Add tomato, sliced chiles, lime juice and 1/2-3/4 cup water; season with salt.

Reduce heat; simmer until thickened and saucy, 3-5 min.

Slice the meat; serve with the sauce and lime wedges.

Serves 4.

Logan Rating: ***