Hi Everyone. Welcome to my little cooking corner. I love to savor the simple things in life and that has inspired my approach to cooking. I love cooking and sharing simple recipes for savory dishes. Join me as I share my triumphs, and occasional troubles, in the kitchen.
Grill mates are amazing inventions. God bless the man or woman who invented them. Pork tenderloin is another miracle of the grill. The more I cook the more I realize just how picky i can be.
The thing about grill mates is that you can combine them to make your own spice rub,
For me, I like the following combinations:
Spicy+ sweet
Smokey+ sweet
Tangy+ sweet
Spicy+ smokey
The combinations are endless. But don't limit yourself by using only one pack when grilling. Experiment!
Also give pork tenderloin a try. I know everyone thinks steaks are the stars of the grill, but trust me, you might be surprised to find that pork tenderloin is your new favorite grilling meat.
So occassionally, I screw up in the kitchen. This weekend was no exception.
Mission: make Mushroom Salad
Mission Status: Reassigned
I was half-way through making my Mushroom Salad when I realized the I didn't have Red Wine Vinegar like I thought; the vinegar in the cabinet was actually Balsamic Vinegar. I know I know - not the end of the world... however, it was in that moment I poured Honey into the mushrooms instead of the olive oil I meant to reach for - that's what I get for not having only what I needed infront of me (btw, in magical chef-land, they call that mise en place - literally "putting in place")
The great thing about Olive Oil is it won't ruin most cooking too terribly if you mess up - Honey.... that's another story.
So, I made a quick pivot and twist - Mushrooms aren't cheap and I wasn't about to throw out 2 lbs of it!
I decided to do Marinated Mushrooms instead. There are four ingredients that I find I have routinely combined in different pairings to make dressings, marinades, and sauces throughout the years: Garlic, Balsamic Vinegar, Mustard, and Honey. It sounds odd. But it works!
Incidentally, these are all very good things to have on hand if you are trying to lose weight.
So, I'll share my (rather imprecise) recipe for the marinade with you:
2 cups Balsamic Vinegar
2 tbsp (tablespoons) Garlic (less if you find it offensive)
1/4 cup of Mustard (use any you like, though if you use honey mustard, don't add any honey later on)
1-2 tbsp of Honey
Salt and Pepper to taste
*hint, to make it a proper vinaigrette, just add a bit of oil
Whisk it all together in a bowl with a fork.
That's how I like it. If you find balsamic vinegar too strong a flavor for you, add more honey or mustard (depending on what mustard you choose)
Play around with it. Marinades and vinaigrettes are a great place for beginners to play around and experiment in the kitchen.
See the video below if Vinaigrettes are more your speed.
Watch this video to learn about my favorite of the 5 basic tastes - Umami. Given the soft spot in my heart for savoriness, this is right up my alley. Hope you enjoy.
I'm not 100% sure if it's a southern thing, but I love casseroles They're so easy - little clean-up, little fuss. Above is a picture of my hot chicken salad at the messiest point.
This recipe below comes from www.deepsouthdish.com . It's their "Hot Chicken Salad Casserole" recipe and I swear by it. I've also included some edits in red that are short cuts I take to make it easier. Interesting story - hot chicken salad was the what I ate on my first birthday and has been a favorite of mine ever since.
Recipe:
Ingredients
1 cup of mayonnaise
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon of lemon pepper (Trader Joe's has a Lemon Pepper Mill that is phenomenal)
Pinch of dried thyme and rosemary, crushed
4 cups of diced cooked chicken
4eggs, boiled and chopped, optional (you can buy these already boiled at the grocery store)
1/2 cup of minced celery*
1/3 cup of finely minced onion*
1green onion, sliced
1/2 cup of sliced almonds
Topping (below)
* you can buy these already minced in shrink wrap or container at most grocery stores such as Giant, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. In a bowl combine the mayonnaise and soup; blend well. Stir in the cheddar cheese, lemon pepper, thyme and rosemary. Add the chicken, eggs, celery, onion, green onion and almonds; mix. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding salt only as needed, then transfer to prepared baking dish. Bake 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven, add topping, and bake an additional 5 minutes. Can also add toppings at the beginning cooking time if desired.
Follow the instructions on the back for cornbread.
For the BCS Cornbread, mince the scallion and follow the instructions on the package for mixing. Then, stir all the shredded cheddar cheese and other ingredients into the mix. For the bacon, I used the real bacon crumbles for salad that you can buy in almost any grocery store (hint, don't use facon). The ingredients are light enough that they will be suspended in the mix so don't worry about it sinking to the bottom.
For Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread, I used shredded cheddar cheese and jalapenos from a jar. Follow the same steps you did the for BCS Cornbread.
Jalapeno on left, BCS on right; watch out, the jalapeno is extra
spicy when it's hot.
Before I get to what I'm sharing with you today, you might wonder why I'm focusing on savory dishes. There's actually a very simple reason for that (aside from the play on words); I don't like sweets - and with good reason. I have an aspartame sensitivity (allergy, though scientist debate if such an allergy exists). So diet soda, sugar-free gum, and any other foods containing artificial sweeteners give me horrible headaches and muscle aches. So overtime I've grown to avoid sweets altogether.
Today I'm sharing with you a homemade discovery of mine that has no real recipe because this is more of a switch and swap recipe. It's super easy - even a kitchen clutz like myself can pull it off. It's called the Breakfast Cup aka Breakfast Muffin (my version of a muffin, not a big muffin fan).
Here are the ingredients I use:
1 Container of Turkey Sausage
Smoked Sea Salt (from Trader Joe's) - to taste
Cracked Black Pepper - to taste
12 Free Range Eggs
Pre-washed Spinach - as little or as much as you like
1 Onion - minced
It's pretty simple, isn't it? Wait till you hear the cooking instructions - you'll love how easy this is.
1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Brown the turkey sausage in a pan over medium heat. Remove to a plate lined with paper towel when the meat is done. This will help you remove the grease. You really want as little grease as possible in this.
3. Next, spray a 12 cup muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
4. Crack your eggs one at a time - placing the contents of one egg in each cup.
5. Mince your onion, and tear up or cut up your spinach.
6. Take your sausage that you drained earlier and drop however much or little you desire into each cup. Remember, you'll also need to leave room for the spinach and onion. Next, place the desired amount of onion and spinach in each cup.
7. Put a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper in each cup.
8. Place in the oven and let it bake for 20 minutes. After you pull it out of the oven, let it rest for about 10 minutes and then use a fork around the edges to loosen the Breakfast Cup out of the pan.
That's pretty much it folks. And it's a switch and swap recipe. So, if you don't want egg yolks, take them out. If you don't like sausage then pop some bacon in the microwave and use that instead. There are 100's of ways to mix this recipe up. I love it because I'm not a morning person and the last thing i want to do in the morning is make anything. I figure, reheating one of these in the microwave for 15 seconds isn't too bad for 7AM.
I recently took a trip to Cumblerland Gap, TN. If you love nature at all - I highly recommend making a trip down there. There's a lot of Colonial American Frontier history there and tons of beautiful scenery to look at. Also, there's a really quaint bed & breakfast there, Olde Mill Inn B&B, run by the two sweetest ladies I've ever met. It's an olde Watermill that has been converted into a B&B. If you need to escape civilization for a bit, this is a great choice. I leave you with one more picture:
