Every August Central Market fills their stores with fresh hatch chiles, and I am always one of the first customers. We love spicy food in our house and I swear Alex eats a jar of salsa a week. This year I decided to buy some of the fresh-roasted hatch chiles and give homemade salsa a try. A few batches of hatch chile salsa later I finally received the stamp of approval from Alex, followed by the request for a large batch to last until next August. I swapped sugar for agave nectar and cut down the cilantro because it’s not my favorite but both can be altered to your liking. I also used a mixture of mild and hot hatch chilies, but a little bit of hot goes a long way in salsa so it’s always better to start with less. Enjoy! xoxo
11 medium tomatillos – husks removed, cored, and quartered
1 cup roasted Hatch chiles – a mixture of mild and hot
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons pressed garlic
1 tablespoon agave nectar
In a large pot over medium heat, boil tomatillos until tender. Add cilantro, onion, lime juice, garlic, and agave nectar to the food processor and pulse until mixed well. Add hatch chiles and tomatillos to a food processor and pulse until well combined and chiles are all chopped. Can salsa and keep refrigerated, or serve fresh.
There are many things I have missed during quarantine, but I have especially missed the fresh flavor of the shrimp ceviche at Mesero. There are few things better than a light, fresh dish paired with Topo Chico and a beautiful patio in 90-degree heat. This shrimp salad is not exactly like the ceviche, but it is close enough to hold me over until we can dine out again. I buy my shrimp freshly boiled at Central Market and it makes preparing this salad so quick and easy. I have also tried this salad with lime juice instead of lemon juice and love it both ways. Alex seems to prefer the lemon juice version, so I have stuck with that. This shrimp salad is best served cold and pairs well with tortilla chips if you like the extra crunch. Enjoy! xoxo
Combine micro greens, diced shallot, halved cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, and diced shrimp in a bowl. Top with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and mix well. Serve cold.
2020 has been a wild ride so far and with everything happening in the world I felt that this blog just wasn’t important. After a month off I felt that it was time to post again for my personal sanity. I have still been cooking all but one or two (takeout) meals a week at home and that means we are eating way more dessert than normal. I love cobbler of any kind and while peaches, blueberries, and blackberries are delicious, my favorite is a cherry cobbler. After a few trials, I landed on this recipe because it uses less sugar than a traditional cobbler, sometimes I even omit the 1 tablespoon of sugar depending on how sweet the fruit is. You can add more sugar if you would like your cobbler to be sweeter and you can easily swap the cherries for another juicy fruit. Enjoy! xoxo
Pit cherries and line the bottom of a medium casserole dish. In a separate bowl combine flour, sugar, and 3 tablespoons of butter with either a pastry cutter or whisk. Evenly pour flour mixture on top of cherries. Cut the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter into even squares and line the top of the flour mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Best when served warm with ice cream.
What day are we on now? Day 55? I am so thankful that I have a stocked kitchen to keep me sane during quarantine. I have loved spending this extra time testing recipes I would normally claim to be too busy for. Between the wild and fun recipes, I have discovered some great staples. Spaghetti Carbonara has quickly become one of my favorite quarantine meals because it is the perfect way to use leftover vegetables. I easily find myself left with odds and ends in my crisper drawer and hate to throw out produce at the end of the week. My favorite combination is shallot, prosciutto, mushrooms, and English peas (except Alex hates them) but I have also used spinach, broccoli, asparagus, and chicken. Take the extra time this week to create your version of Spaghetti Carbonara using leftover produce in your kitchen. Enjoy! xoxo
Heat 6 qt. water in a large pot over high. When water starts to boil, add spaghetti and salt. In a large skillet or medium dutch oven, heat canola oil over medium. Add the sliced shallot and minced garlic, cooking until fragrant. Add prosciutto and mushrooms, stirring often until prosciutto is crispy, about 4 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, Parmesan, and Italian seasoning. Once the spaghetti is al dente, use tongs to add spaghetti to the prosciutto mixture and remove from heat. Reserve 1/3 cup of spaghetti water. Slowly add the hot water to the egg mixture, and whisk the mixture well while adding water. Pour egg mixture over spaghetti and combine. Add additional Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes to your liking.
We are halfway through the second week of quarantine and it has become increasingly more difficult to spice up our meals! Luckily the rain has stopped in Dallas and we can fire up the grill, but we are repeating the same recipes. I bought an abundance of cauliflower, because there was no broccoli left at Trader Joe’s, and we have invented Buffalo Cauliflower as a result. Actually, we didn’t really invent this recipe, I remembered having buffalo cauliflower bites as an appetizer at Public School 214. This recipe is super simple and pairs well with most protein. You can use any buffalo sauce, but we really like the Wing-Time Medium Sauce (from Whole Foods). Enjoy! xoxo
Images via Alex Phillips.
1 head of cauliflower
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup buffalo sauce
Cut the head of cauliflower into pieces. In a medium bowl, mix cauliflower pieces with canola oil, salt, pepper, and buffalo sauce. Scatter pieces on a lined baking tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees, or until the tops brown. Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing.
This past weekend I posted an Instagram Story poling if you thought chili should include beans. I was shocked at how many of my followers thought that beans belonged in chili! One of the “life rules” my parents instilled in me from a young age was that chili should never include beans. Actually, my dad has claimed that the second you drop a bean in a pot of chili, you start making spicy bean soup. To clear up this great debate I thought I would provide a little history on chili, the official state dish of Texas.
According to the Chili Appreciation Society International, chili spread nationally when a couple from San Antonio set up a Texas-style chili stand at the 1893 Chicago Exposition. During the Great Depression, chili gained popularity because the ingredients were so cheap. The first (recorded) chili contest was held at the State Fair of Texas in 1952. The rules clearly stated that chili-containing beans would be disqualified. Fast forward to the present day, the annual, invitation-only, Terlingua International Chili Championship is hailed as the “granddaddy of all chili cook-offs.” The very first rule listed for the Terlingua Chili Championship reads: “NO FILLERS IN CHILI – Beans, macaroni, rice, hominy, or other similar ingredients are not permitted.”
Considering the history of chili, I think it is pretty clear that beans do not belong, so I am calling my chili recipe “Texas Style Chili”. If you want to add beans, go ahead, just don’t claim your chili to be Texas-style. I also believe that chili should be so spicy that you sweat a little. My Texas Style Chili recipe, listed below, is a little milder, but keep in mind that there is quite a kick. I usually add a few more variations of Chile powder and you can find the best selection at Fiesta or your local Hispanic grocery store. I like to top my chili with a handful of Fritos or warm cornbread. Enjoy! xoxo
In a dutch oven heat vegetable oil. Add onions and garlic, and cook over medium heat until onions are tender and fragrant. Add sirloin steak searing all sides but not cooking the meat all the way through. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, green chilies, cumin, ground cloves, Chile powder, chipotle powder, ancho Chile powder, and cayenne pepper. Mix well, cover, and let cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes. Garnish with shredded sharp cheddar and Fritos.
