THE Best Homemade Soft Pretzels EVAH!

After searching for a recipe, I decided on one courtesy of 2Bleu (Bird&Buddha) (thank you thank you thank you!) at www.recipezaar.com.

I have to say that these are wayyyyyy better than any at the mall. Holy cow. Especially after brushing them with melted butter fresh out of the oven. I didn't even need any dipping sauce. Perfect as is.

Recipe Here

Try This Margarita TONIGHT!

THIS

I like a bit more lime juice than what is in the recipe...but all in all it ROCKS!!

Cheers!

Italian Chicken Salad w/Garlic Croutons

I love being able to use leftovers to make a tasty dinner.

I had on hand (you use whatever it is that you have around):

• Left over grilled chicken (chopped)


• tomato (Roma)


• capers


• a little bit of Romain lettuce


• a little bit of baby spinach


• roasted bell pepper


• fresh bell pepper


• asiago cheese


• sliced yellow onion


• black olives


• stale whole grain baguette

Sounds like the makings of an Italian salad, huh?

So I first mixed together a little dressing:

About 1/2 C red wine vinegar, juice of one whole lemon, 1 T honey, 1/2 t minced garlic, s&p to taste, and about 1/2 C of olive oil (may have been more, I eyed it all).

I then sliced the stale bread into a large crouton size...dipped the bread into a plate drizzled in olive oil and minced garlic and then toasted the bread under the broiler for about 3 minutes (turning once).

I threw all of the chicken, veggies and dressing together and topped the salad with some grated AND shredded asiago cheese and the croutons.

Did that make any sense at all? Either way...it was yum.

Our Annual Valentine's Day Brownies

My mom made a simple yet yummy cake every year for us on Valentine's Day.
When she passed away 3 years ago, I decided to keep the tradition alive for my family. Why the heck not, right?

It is so simple and soooooo very good. Mom always made it in a heart shaped pan, but this year I decided to layer it and switch it up some.

• Make brownies...your choice. I used box mix, but if you feel adventurous by all means..make your own!
• Top with a can of cream cheese frosting (or make your own ya over achievers! hehe).
• Now plop a can of cherry pie filling (jeesh, you aren't going to make your own cherry pie filling now are you?)

Now I switched it up this year because I am wild and crazy like that. I made the brownies in a larger than normal pan, cut them in half...and layered. I also warmed up the frosting so it would would make more of a yummy glaze....and only used a half a can as a result (healthier, right?).

Seriously, make it. It will make you smile.

Have V-Day weekend.

A Sexy Dish

Taken from a sexy cookbook given to me by a great friend titled The New Inter-Courses an aphrodisiac cookbook

Sadly I don't have a picture. It was too dark and Chad and I were too anxious to try it. Haha.
I added one small addition that I felt it needed, that is in italics.


Pasta with asparagus, chicken and Gorgonzola
• 1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed
• 1/2 pound linguine
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 chicken breast, cut into thin strips
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Red pepper flakes to taste
• 2 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
• 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves, plus several whole sprigs for garnish
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
splash of white wine

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the asparagus into 1/2-inch lengths. Blanch the asparagus for 2 to 3 minutes, or until just crisp-tender. Remove the asparagus from the water, and add the linguine to the boiling water. Cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, and drain the noodles.

Melt the butter in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the chicken strips and season with salt and pepper. As the chicken begins to brown, add the shallot. Continue cooking just until the shallot begins to soften. Stir in the cream, scraping the bottom of the pan to release any browned bits.

Stir in the red pepper flakes. Add the Gorgonzola cheese, stirring to melt. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. (this is where I added in a splash or two of white wine...we then drank the rest)

Add the tarragon, cooked asparagus and linguine and toss to coat evenly with the sauce. If the sauce seems too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water and cook until reduced to the desired consistency. Place on a warmed platter and garnish with Parmesan and fresh tarragon.

Makes 2 to 3 servings.

Bobby Flay Does it Again: Grilled Chicken Wings with Spicy Chipotle Hot Sauce and Blue Cheese-Yogurt Dipping Sauce

Oh yum. We haven't been impressed with our local wing place (although I want to find their fry recipes...drool), so we decided to try making them ourselves. Since it was our 1st try, we turned to good ol' Bobby Flay. We were very pleased. The dipping sauce was perfect, although I used sour cream. We both could have used more heat also, so I will kick it up some.

Try it. You won't be sorry.

And for those of you with kids, we left out the hot sauce mixture and just let them dip the chicken and veggies in the blue cheese dipping sauce.

Grilled Chicken Wings with Spicy Chipotle Hot Sauce and Blue Cheese-Yogurt Dipping Sauce

46 chicken wings

Vegetable oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Chipotle Hot Sauce, recipe follows

Blue Cheese-Yogurt Dip, recipe follows

Heat grill to high. Toss wings in a few tablespoons of oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on the grill in single layers and grill until golden brown on both sides and just cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes per side.

Chipotle Hot Sauce:
1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 to 3 tablespoons chipotle pepper puree (depending on how spicy you like it)

3 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 tablespoons ancho chile powder

Whisk together the vinegar, Dijon mustard, chipotle puree, honey, and oil in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Melt butter in a large skillet or a large pot on the grates of the grill. Add the hot sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Whisk in the ancho chile powder and season with salt, to taste. Add the wings and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with Blue Cheese-Yogurt Dip

Blue Cheese-Yogurt Dip:
1 pint thick Greek yogurt

3/4 cup crumbled domestic blue cheese

2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion

3 tablespoons finely sliced scallions

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Puff Pastry Bites with Feta, Tomatoes and Pesto

One of my fave food blogs is My Easy Cooking. She has simple yet tasty recipes and beyond beautiful food photography! Drool!

I didn't have time to get the thyme (snort) so I left that out. I also didn't photograph my puffs with the pesto, because as good as the combination is, my pesto looked like bird poop. For real.

Here is her recipe...I had flavored feta and it was crumbled, worked out just as good.

By the way, I ate way too many of these. Haha.

Cindy McCain's Oatmeal-Butterscotch Cookies

These were a hit! I saw the recipe in Family Circle Magazine and anything with Butterscotch I love. So I made them to take to a friend's birthday party. Yum!

Ingredients
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1-2/3 cups butterscotch chips
Directions
1. Heat oven to 375F.
2. In a large bowl beat the butter or margarine, granulated sugar and brown sugar together. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well.
3. In a medium-size bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; stir until blended. Stir in oats and butterscotch chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Cranberry Ginger Tea

I saw this recipe in Better Homes and Gardens and HAD to try it. It is yummy!

I used white tea and I did have to strain the tea before drinking because it looked a bit gritty to me. And next time, more ginger for sure!

Ingredients
4 cups water
4 bags red rooibos tea, white tea, or green tea
2 thin slices fresh ginger
1/2 cup sweet cranberry sauce or 1/2 cup canned whole berry cranberry sauce
Directions
1. In medium saucepan bring water just to boiling. Remove from heat; add tea bags and ginger. Steep tea for 3 to 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place cranberry sauce in blender; cover and blend until almost smooth.
2. Remove tea bags and ginger from water; discard bags and ginger. Stir blended cranberry mixture into tea until well combined. Serve hot, or cover and refrigerate to serve cold. Stir before serving. Makes 4 servings.

A Hello Strangers and Lettuce Wraps!

Hello all. I have been MIA for a while now. My photography has kind of taken over again and I haven't had time to break out the camera for food. But I have a lovely lens that I rented and I wanted to use it before I sent it back.

I got the recipe from Whole Foods. The only difference was that I used romaine lettuce. The sauces I used were peanut sauce, Hoisin sauce and sesame ginger.
YUMMY!

Serves 4
Surround your serving platter with plenty of whole lettuce leaves. Your guests will wrap each leaf with their choice of fillings, then dip in the sweet and spicy Hoisin sauce.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive, peanut or sesame oil 1 pound ground turkey or chicken 2 tablespoons minced garlic 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger 2/3 cup Teriyaki Sauce Vegetables for filling: grated carrots, mung bean sprouts,julienned cucumber Boston lettuce leaves, rinsed and dried Hoisin Sauce
Method
Heat oil in a large skillet and brown ground turkey. Add garlic and ginger and saute briefly. Add teriyaki sauce and simmer for 10 minutes while preparing vegetables. Place filling and vegetables in center of a large platter, then surround with lettuce leaves. Serve with Hoisin sauce for dipping.