A First Time for Everything

Tonight I prepared lamb for the first time. I've eaten it on several occasions and really enjoyed it, but to be honest it has always scared me a little when it comes to making it at home. I was never really sure what to do with it, plus it is usually pretty expensive. Well, one of my local grocery stores happened to put shoulder blade lamb chops on sale last weekend, so I went on a search for a recipe. I knew I wanted to grill the chops since it's summer and lets just be honest, I really love the grill.

I never found a recipe that struck my fancy, so I decided to just wing it. I ended up making my own Asian marinade and letting it soak all day while I was at work. I LOVED the marinade. It turned out perfectly. I also reduced it to make a glaze for the chops after they came in off the grill.

The only complaint I have is that I think I would have preferred the smaller chops you usually think of when you think lamb chops. These had a fair amount of fat on them and were marbled through out. I am repulsed by fat so it takes quite a while for me to cut the meat off the bone and inspect it for residual fat on the edges. That being said, the meat was fantastic and if they go on sale again it's fair to say I'll be purchasing them. Taylor has only had lamb one other time and he didn't really remember what it tasted like. I think he enjoyed it since I caught him gnawing on the bone when he thought I wasn't looking. Yes, people actually do that in the south. I, however, am not one of those people!

We had roasted potatoes tossed with toasted sesame oil and McCormick's Mediterranean Sea Salt Blend as our side. They went great with the lamb and are super easy. Wash and slice the potatoes, toss with oil and spices and stick in a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes.


Asian Style Lamb Chops
Source: Me

4 shoulder blade lamb chops
1 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp red pepper flakes
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp sugar
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all marinade ingredients in a freezer bag and add the chops. Marinade all day (mine were in the marinade about 10 hours) or a minimum of 2 hours. The longer they soak the more flavor they will absorb. Grill chops about 4-5 minutes (per side) on high heat depending on the thickness of your chops.

Put the marinade in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer until it thickens and makes a syrupy sauce (the glaze). When the chops come off the grill baste with glaze.

When in Rome...

Ok, so we aren't really in Rome but since we had an Italian type meal last night with the fantastico shrimp pasta, I decided to make strawberry gelato for dessert. Taylor and I first had gelato on our honeymoon in Disney World. Our first dinner there was at a restaurant named Spoodles at the Boardwalk Resort. I have to say that it was the best meal we had the entire time! Our dessert that night was a first for us both, hazelnut gelato. It was SO good and creamy; more creamy and less icy than American ice cream. We both fell in love with gelato that night, and while we were in Italy at Epcot we had gelato again! You can find it in the grocery store, but only in about 3 flavors and it is ridiculously expensive.

I decided to make strawberry gelato mostly because there was a pound of strawberries in my fridge that were about to go bad. I really needed to use them up and I happened to find a recipe that called for exactly one pound of strawberries. I think it was fate! ;)

Let me just tell you, this gelato was extremely easy to make. I mixed the ingredients when I got home, stuck them in the fridge while I cooked dinner, and when dinner was done I poured it into my wonderful Cuisinart ice cream maker (this was my first time to use it and it is now one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. It was a wedding gift!). About 30 minutes later, we had gelato!



Strawberry Gelato
Click here for the original recipe

1 lb. fresh strawberries
12 oz. granulated sugar, about 1.5 cups
1.5 cup cold whipping cream
1.5 cup cold water
Dash of lemon juice (only if fruit isn’t “bright” enough)

Clean and cut washed berries into quarters, or just smaller pieces. Put berries, sugar and water into a blender or food processor and blend until liquid and smooth. (This is also where you’ll add lemon juice if necessary.) Whip the cream until slightly thickened - like the consistency of buttermilk. Combine the cream with the strawberry mixture and mix thoroughly until blended.

Freeze as indicated by the manufacturer of your ice cream maker.

Hola!

Well it is Cinco de Mayo and I have no Mexican dish to present you. Sorry, but Mexican food just didn’t make the list this week. I did make that spicy black bean dip Saturday. Go have a look at that recipe if you feel cheated.

However, tonight we did have an awesome meal even if does fall more on the Italian side of the culinary spectrum. It comes from the Pioneer Woman and if you’ve never read her blog go there now. Stop reading and click the link. She is hilarious and her recipes are amazing. I’ve yet to try one I didn’t like.

What first drew me to this recipe was the picture on the left hand side of her page. She features different recipes there and if they strike my fancy, I usually check them out. This one happens to be for a shrimp pasta with a tomato cream sauce. I am beginning to love tomato cream sauces. They work great for my family because Taylor would rather have a tomato based sauce and I would rather have a cream based sauce. Now we have the best of both worlds!

Shrimp Farfalle in a Tomato Cream Sauce

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman’s Penne a la Betsy

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. Shrimp, peeled and de-veined
3/4 lb. Farfalle pasta (otherwise known as bow tie pasta)
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken stock
8 oz. Tomato sauce
1 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp basil
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Put a pot of water on the stove to boil (for the pasta). Heat 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet. Add shrimp and cook until opaque. Remove to a plate. Add the pasta to the now boiling water. Add 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil to the skillet from earlier and add the shallot and garlic, stirring occasionally. Chop shrimp into bite size pieces (remember to remove the tails if yours still have them on). Add chicken stock, tomato sauce and cream to the pan with the onions and garlic, one at a time and stir to combine before adding the next liquid. Add shrimp to tomato cream sauce and salt and black pepper to taste. Add herbs and stir together. Drain pasta and add to sauce. Serve hot with fresh grated parmesan cheese on top!

Bragging Rights

I usually use this term when talking about football. More specifically SEC football. And even more specifically Auburn vs. Alabama football. WAR EAGLE baby! Anyway, this post is not about tossing around the pigskin and who gets bragging rights for the year. It is about me bragging about my sister. My baby shower was this weekend and she did an amazing job of coordinating it. She made several of the hors devours and she made the cake. It was her first time, as far as I know, to make a cake for an event like this and I think she did a WONDERFUL job! You all know my experience with baking so there is no way I could have pulled this off. Plus she has my 20 month old nephew to chase around and another little boy she keeps during the week. Anyway, this is simply a post to brag on her and show off her cake. I forgot to use the flash on my camera so the picture is a little fuzzy. Sorry, I had a lot going on that day. ;)

Spicy Black Bean Dip

If you are in a need of a quick dip to take to a party, or serve at your own party, this one is a hit! I used a chipotle pepper in adobo instead of a jalapeno since I had some readily available. The chipotle isn't as hot and I thought that might appeal to more people. It still had a kick and the chipotle added a nice smoky flavor. I think next time I will do it in a smaller dish because the corn layer kind of got lost in all those beans so the presentation wasn't as pretty as it could have been. It was really good though! I also put mine in the oven to melt the cheese.

Spicy Black Bean Dip
Source: Amber's Delectable Delights -my additions/changes in italics

1 can whole kernel corn, drained
4 cloves minced garlic, separated
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 oz cream cheese
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeds removed - I used a chipotle in adobo
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
S&P to taste
Cheese for topping - I used a pre-packaged mexican blend

1) Saute' corn and 2 cloves of garlic until the corn is slightly browned. Set aside to cool
2) Add 2 cloves garlic, beans, cream cheese, jalapeno and the seasonings into a food processor and process until smooth.
3) Place 1/2 of bean mixture into bottom of serving dish, then 1/2 the corn; repeat with remaining beans and corn. Top with cheese, if desired. Serve with tortilla chips.

Graduation Day!

Are you humming pomp and circumstance in your head yet? I think I hummed that song the entire last semester of college because I was so excited to finally be done with school. And now every time I hear the word "graduation" that song just starts playing in my head. Today what began as tiny seeds pressed into a little bag of dirt found themselves transported into the big outside world. Yes, my little seedlings from Garden in a Bag get to spread their roots in large, colorful pots on my back deck. I was so proud! Mostly because I managed to keep them alive this long. Now the true test begins. Hopefully they will flourish in the outside world.

Another baking disaster...

I broke my cardinal rule for baking. Do not do it on a weeknight, especially when you are also cooking dinner. But did I listen to that little voice in my head that said I was over doing it? Nope, I barreled through the caution barrier and tumbled down the cliff on the other side. Some rules are NOT meant to be broken.


It actually started out ok. I got dinner cooked and under aluminum foil tents waiting on Taylor to get home from work. I pre-heated the oven and got to work on the batter for these scrumptious looking strawberry cupcakes from Annie's Eats. My trusty kitchen aid stand mixer didn't let me down and the batter came together beautifully. Then disaster #1 struck. I did not pay close enough attention to the directions and I "might" have overfilled the cups. Nevertheless, I stick those babies in the oven just in time for Taylor to walk in the door and we sit down to dinner.


The timer goes off and I take my first peek at what now appears to be the tops of all my cupcakes fused together since I "might" have overfilled the cups. They have of course bubbled over the top of the liners like mini volcanos. To make matters worse, the tops are already brown and crunchy (because they've run out of the liners) but the centers aren't done. Yes, I am sighing loudly now. I leave them in a few more minutes and set out my cream cheese and butter for the icing so that it can get to room temperature.


Disaster #2 begins when I start to make the icing. Did you know you really shouldn't freeze cream cheese? Yeah, well I didn't. The texture is no longer nice and creamy. It is now lumpy and no amount of mixing makes it smooth and creamy again. But I press on toward my goal of yummy strawberry cream cheese icing because now I am going to have to trim off the edges of my volcano cupcakes and pretty icing could me my saving grace. Nope. Not tonight. I find I have JUST enough powdered sugar and the icing is coming together, but then I again do not pay close enough attention to the recipe. (Side note: This is why I hate baking! You have to pay too much attention!!!) I dump all the pureed strawberries into the icing, but the recipe says just to add it until you get the desired consistency. So now my icing is runny and I don't have any more powdered sugar to add to it. GREAT!


I look around my kitchen at the huge mess I have made with nothing show for it other than sad looking cupcakes and runny icing. At this point I am done. I decide to stick the icing in the fridge praying it will firm up enough to ice the cupcakes before my girl's night Thursday night.


Well, as luck would have it girl's night got cancelled and I had a little more time to think about what to do. I decided to try and ice a few cupcakes to see what would happen. Yeah, the icing was still too runny to sit for any length of time. Here is my attempt to "fix" the cupcakes:


They tasted really good, but basically fell apart when you tried to eat them. So, on to plan B. What do you do with leftover cake? Make a trifle of course! I got out my smaller trifle bowl and tore the cupcakes into small pieces and then layered with the icing. Since I added all of the strawberry puree to the icing, it wasn't overly sweet and had a nice tartness to go with the cake. This was far from the perfect result I had in mind when I envisioned making strawberry cupcakes, but it turned out ok and tasting pretty darn good if I do say so myself.


If you'd like to try these cupcakes for yourself, and by all means PLEASE follow all the directions, I've listed the recipe below. Good luck!!

Strawberry Cupcakes

Source: Annie’s Eats

Yield: about 18 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

2 ½ cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup unsalted butter
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup buttermilk
¼ cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups chopped strawberries

For the frosting:

½ c. strawberries
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ¾ cups powdered sugar, sifted
½ tsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Sift flour, salt and baking soda into a medium bowl. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until combined. Add buttermilk, oil and vanilla and beat until combined. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in chopped strawberries. Fill cupcake wells ¾ full with batter. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

For the frosting, puree strawberries in food processor. Strain through a mesh sieve to remove seeds, and set aside. Beat the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add lemon juice, vanilla and strawberry puree. Adjust the amount of puree to achieve your desired consistency. Frost cupcakes when completely cool.