American Classics

Our All-American girl, Hope, was finally able to make one of our Friday Night Dinners! We let her choose the theme and she went with American Classics. Everything was absolutely delicious.

We had such a great time catching up, laughing, telling stories; this is a seriously wonderful group of people. Hope and Steven even brought out their ukulele and guitar and serenaded us all with some beautiful music.

FNDs in the summertime are the best. We get to takeover local parks enjoying the sunshine and our beautiful city. You can get some pretty good people-watching in too

Drumsticks with Orange Mustard Sauce: 

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds chicken drumsticks
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• Zest of 2 oranges
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground fennel seeds
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. In a large dish arrange the chicken, pricked in several places with a fork, in one layer. Season with salt and pepper and brush with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Cover and refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a small glass bowl, make the sauce by whisking together the remaining 1/4 cup oil, mustard, zest, cumin and fennel.
3. Heat grill. Brush chicken with sauce, arrange on grates over moderate heat and cook, turning it often and brushing it with more of the sauce, for 16 to 18 minutes, or until cooked through.
4. Transfer chicken to a platter as done and garnish with cilantro.

Drumsticks with Orange Mustard Sauce

Southern Biscuits: 

Via

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. shortening
• 1 cup chilled buttermilk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don’t want the fats to melt.)
3. Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.
4. Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting.
5. Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

Southern Biscuits

Western Mac-N-Cheese:

Via

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. mac-n-cheese dinner
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1/2 cup chopped green peppers
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cups whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (6oz.) can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp. salt
• Pepper

Directions:

1. Prepare mac-n-cheese dinner as directed on box.
2. Brown beef, celery, green pepper and onion; cook until tender. Stir in tomato paste, corn, water, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add the mac-n-cheese and mix again. Pour into a 2-quart casserole dish.
3. Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes.

Western Mac-n-Cheese

Pigs in a Blanket: 

Ingredients:

• Little smokies
• Crescent rolls

Directions:

1. Preheat oven according to directions on crescent roll package.
2. Unroll but leave intact 2 triangles of crescent rolls.
3. Pinch seam together and cut lengthwise into 5 strips and then cross-wise to make 10 strips.
4. Roll each strip around one sausage and place in baking pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking oil.
5. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes.

Pigs in a Blanket

Corn on the Cob:

Ingredients:

• Corn!

Directions:

1. Bring a pan of water to the boil. Once boiling, put the corn in the pan. When the water starts boiling again, the corn is cooked. Remove from pan and serve with butter.

Corn on the Cob

Macaroni Salad: 

Via

Ingredients:

Dressing

• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 4 tbsp. vinegar
• 2 tbsp. mustard
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

Salad

• 1 lb. macaroni, cooked and drained
• 2 cups sliced celery
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup chopped red pepper
• 1 cup chopped green onion

Directions:

1. Combine dressing ingredients together.
2. Stir into the salad ingredients.
3. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Macaroni Salad

Baked Beans: 

Via

Ingredients:

• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 15 oz. can navy beans, drained
• 2 tbsp. ketchup
• 2 tbsp. molasses
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
• 2-3 tbsp. pure maple syrup
• Dash cayenne pepper (optional)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Cook onion and garlic in 1/4 cup water over high heat until the onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
3. Once boiling, remove from heat and transfer mixture to a casserole dish, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and let beans rest for 15 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken. Stir to incorporate just before serving.

Apple Pie: 

I haven’t got Hope’s recipe for her fabulous apple pie yet, but I can assure you it was absolutely delicious and I will share the recipe as soon as I get it! In the meantime, try not to drool over your computers while you look at the picture

Apple Pie

Happy eating, everyone!

South American

Mikel’s birthday is on Sunday, so we let him pick our FND theme this week and he went with food from South America! We got inspiration primarily from Brazil and Argentina and had a wonderful dinner full of delicious food.

There were lots of laughs, ridiculous stories and reminiscing along with some quality singing along to some classic Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys. It was quite the entertaining evening

Fried Bananas with Cinnamon Sugar & Crushed Brazil Nuts: 

Ingredients:

• Bananas, cut in half then sliced
• 1 tbsp. butter
• Cinnamon sugar
• Brazil nuts, crushed

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a skillet. Add bananas and cook until golden brown on both sides. Remove from skillet and top with cinnamon sugar and Brazil nuts.

Fried Bananas

Fried Plantains: 

Via

Ingredients:

• 2 very ripe plantains, peeled and sliced on the diagonal into 1/2 inch thick pieces
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat until very hot.
2. Add plantain slices to hot oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Fry for about 2 minutes until golden brown, then flip.
4. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper and fry for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
5. Drain on a paper towel.

Fried Plantains

We ate the plantains with a coconut-peanut butter sauce that Mary made. Amazing.

Coconut-Peanut Butter Sauce: 

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 3 tbsp. peanut butter
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tbsp. honey

Directions:

1. Heat the coconut milk in a small saucepan over low heat. When warm, add the peanut butter and stir until incorporated into the coconut milk. Stir in the ground cinnamon, then add the honey and stir until dissolved. Continue to simmer at a low heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.

Coconut-Peanut Butter Sauce

Black Beans a la Olla: 

We cooked up some quinoa and wild rice and topped it with this stuff. It was great.

Via

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 large onions, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat; cook the onions and garlic in the oil until the onions are translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the black beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, cumin, and cayenne pepper; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 5 minutes. Add 3/4 cup cilantro and simmer another 2 minutes. Stir in the green onions and remove from heat. Garnish with 1/4 cup cilantro.

Black Bean a la Olla

Chimichurri Chicken: 

Ingredients:

Chicken and Peppers: 

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper
• 1 poblano pepper
• 1 small onion
• 3 chicken breasts (about 2 pounds), skinned and boned

Chimichurri Sauce:

• 1 small onion
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 jalapeño, seeds removed
• 1 1/2 cups packed cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup packed parsley leaves
• 1 tsp. fresh oregano leaves
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. For the chicken and peppers, position rack about 4 inches from heat element and preheat broiler to high. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, salt and black pepper. Remove seeds from peppers, cut into 2-inch pieces and transfer to a medium bowl. Cut onions into 2-inch pieces and combine with peppers. Drizzle half the oil mixture over the vegetables and toss to coat.
2. Cut chicken breasts in half horizontally to make 6 thin cutlets and brush with remaining olive oil mixture. Position cutlets on the center of a large baking sheet and arrange vegetables around chicken. Place under broiler and cook 8 to 12 minutes, until chicken is tender and no longer pink and vegetables are slightly charred.
3. Meanwhile, make the chimichurri sauce. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse onion, almonds, garlic and jalapeño until roughly chopped. Add cilantro, parsley, oregano, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime juice and salt. Pulse until finely chopped. Chimichurri should be processed into a thick paste but not liquefied. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt, pepper, jalapeño and lime juice if needed.
4. To serve, divide chicken and peppers among plates and top chicken with almond chimichurri.

Chimichurri Chicken

Brigadeiro: 

Via

Ingredients:

• 1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. cocoa
• Chocolate sprinkles

Directions:

1. Over medium-low heat, stir vigorously the three ingredients.
2. Cook the mixture until it thickens enough to show the pan bottom during stirring (it will be firm enough to stay together and not spread) Pour into a greased dish and let cool to room temperature (or chill a few minutes in the fridge) Grease your hands with butter and take small amounts of candy and form into 1 1/2 inch balls.
3. Roll the balls in chocolate jimmies to decorate.

Brigadeiros

Happy eating, everyone!

Girls Night!

This week we decided we’d do a dinner just for the girls and it was so much fun. We ate some great food, drank some delicious drinks, laughed, watched a movie and some New Girl. It was a pretty fantastic night. Mary, Annie, my sister (Charlotte) and I even came up with “Don’t Date Guys Who…” list. It’s actually the greatest list ever. Maybe I’ll share it with you all sometime — we got some good laughs out of it

While we had our girls night, the guys in the group had a guys night. Which they spent watching softball. Boring. Our night kicked their night’s ass. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching sports but softball/baseball bore me to tears.

But back to our dinner. We went super simple and had a taco bar with cheese, beans, lettuce, salsa and my sister’s fantastic guacamole.

Expert avocado dispensing

Guacamole

We also made Pimms, the classic summer drink in good ol’ England. It’s so, so easy to make. All you need is Pimms, Sprite, fruit (I like to use oranges, strawberries and cucumber), some sprigs of mint and ice cubes.

Pimms Cup: 

Ingredients:

• 300ml Pimms
• 600ml Sprite
• fruit of your choice
• mint sprigs
• ice cubes

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a large bowl/pitcher, mix and serve.

Pimms Cup

For dessert I made a simple vanilla cupcake and dressed it up so it looked ‘girly’. Charlotte made some chocolate hearts to stick on top of them to give them a little more girlish charm

Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcake Recipe:

(I slightly adapted a recipe from the Magnolia Bakery, found on the Food Network website)

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

• 3/4 cup self-rising flour
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Frosting: 

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 4-6 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Red food colouring

Directions:

Cupcake: 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake papers.
3. In a small bowl, combine the flours, set aside.
4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
5. Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Frosting: 

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly.
2. Spread frosting over top of cupcakes.

Pretty pink cupcakes

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We made sure Mary and Annie drank lots of water while they were consuming their alcoholic beverages (I was drinking lots of water anyways because I’m on meds for my knee that I can’t have much alcohol with).

.

Properly hydrating!

Happy eating, everyone!!

30 Minutes or Less!

This week was all about fast, easy, efficient dishes. With Taylor leaving for LA early this morning, we wanted to have a dinner that took no time at all. Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals have nothing on us!

Over conversations about our most embarrassing moments, quality vs. quantity and plans for our dinner next week we enjoyed a “garbage” salad, spinach & tortellini soup and double chocolate cookies. Everything was delicious. Obviously.

“Garbage” Salad:

Ingredients:

• Mixed greens
• Avocado, sliced
• Cherry tomatoes, halved
• Black beans
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Salt
• Black pepper

Directions:

1. Place mixed greens, avocado, tomatoes and black beans in a large bowl.
2. Combine enough olive oil and balsamic vinegar to make a dressing and add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Drizzle dressing over salad and mix to combine.

Garbage Salad

Tortellini and Spinach Soup: 

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 4 (14 1/2 oz.) cans chicken broth
• 1 package refrigerated cheese tortellini
• 3 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat until hot. Add onions; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and mushrooms; cook and stir 2 minutes.
2. Add broth; bring to a boil. Add tortellini; return to a boil. Boil 5 to 7 minutes or until tortellini are of desired doneness.
3. Stir in spinach; cook 1 to 2 minutes or just until wilted. To serve, spoon soup into individual soup bowls. Top each serving with cheese.

Tortellini & Spinach Soup

Double Chocolate Cookies: 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Double Chocolate Cookies

30 Minutes or Less

Next week is girls night (and guys night) so be sure to stay tuned for that. It’s going to be crazy ridiculous amounts of fun!

Happy eating, everyone!

Food Revolution Day

To say we had fun at this week’s dinner would be the understatement of the year. This week was all about celebrating Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution movement. Food Revolution Day is about eating good, healthy, locally grown foods, improving cooking skills, and raising awareness about how important both good food and food education are. We used three recipes posted on the Food Rev website, which can be found here and two of our own.

Our day started off at the PSU farmer’s market. If you live in Portland and you’ve never been to this farmer’s market, I highly recommend it. So much delicious, fresh, locally sourced fruits and vegetables, meats, cheeses. The list goes on and on. For the dishes we were making we picked up strawberries, asparagus, mushrooms, spinach, some sprigs of mint, cheese, flowers and a monstrous garlic leek. I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to leave the market empty-handed.

Monster Garlic Leek

Farmer’s Market Flowers

After we’d gone to the farmer’s market, we headed over to Trader Joe’s to pick up some pizza dough, avocados and walnuts. Then, we went over to Annie’s house to get cooking! Antonio made his famous guacamole, while the rest of us chopped, squeezed, poured, baked, sautéed and whipped everything else.

Pondering how to prepare the mint

Wine break!

Gettin’ down to Mary’s height

Love!

Pomegranate Drink: 

Ingredients:

• Ice cubes
• Sprigs of mint
• A lemon
• 1 pomegranate
• 1 bottle sparkling water

Directions:

1. Half-fill a large jug with ice. Then, scrunch up a few sprigs of fresh mint and add to the jug, squeezing in the juice from a lemon.
2. Place a sieve over the jug, then cut the pomegranates in half and squeeze each half so all the capsules break and the juice pours into the jug.
3. Discard what’s left behind in the sieve. Top the jug up with sparkling water, stir with a wooden spoon and serve.

Pomegranate

Pomegranate Drink

Guacamole: 

Antonio won’t share his top secret recipe for us, but I can tell you his guac is delicious! Who knows, maybe if I get really desperate for the recipe I’ll bring out the video of him dancing to “I’m Sexy and I Know It”

Guacamole

Harley wanted in on the fun!

Spinach & Strawberry Salad: 

Ingredients:

• Spinach leaves, washed & pat dried
• Strawberries, cut in round slices
• Walnuts
• Goat cheese, crumbled
• Balsamic vinegar
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Place spinach leaves in large bowl and add the strawberry slices and walnuts.
2. Drizzle balsamic vinegar and EVOO. Top with crumbled goat cheese. Toss and serve.

Spinach & Strawberry Salad

Pepperoni & Red Pepper Pizza: 

Ingredients:

• 1 bag plain Trader Joe’s pizza dough
• Pizza sauce
• Grated mozzarella cheese
• Pepperoni slices
• Red bell pepper, sliced
• Grated Irish cheddar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 420°F.
2. Roll out pizza dough and spread pizza sauce on top. Sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese and top with pepperoni slices and bell pepper. Sprinkle a combination of mozzarella and Irish cheddar on top and place in oven for 20 minutes.

Irish Cheddar

Before

After

Asparagus, Mushroom, Garlic Leek Pizza: 

Ingredients:

• 1 bag Trader Joe’s garlic & herb pizza dough
• Olive oil
• Grated mozzarella cheese
• Mushrooms, sliced and sautéed
• Garlic leek, sliced and sautéed
• Asparagus, blanched
• Grated Irish cheddar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 420°F.
2. Roll out pizza dough and spread olive oil on top. Place grated mozzarella on the dough and top with mushrooms, garlic leek and asparagus. Sprinkle with grated Irish cheddar and bake for 20 minutes.

Before

After

Strawberry Shortcake: 

Ingredients:

• Melted butter, for greasing
• 1 1/4 cups plain flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 550ml double (heavy) cream, plus more for brushing
• 2 cups strawberries, sliced
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. icing (powdered) sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet with butter.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and pinch of salt in a bowl. Add 300ml cream and mix into a dough. Gently knead on a lightly floured surface. Pat the dough into a 25cm round, about 7mm thick. Cut out into 4 rounds with a lightly floured cutter and place rounds on a baking sheet. Gather together the scraps of dough and pat out again. Cut out the two remaining rounds.
3. Brush the tops of the shortcakes with cream and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a rack to cool.
4. Add the strawberries to a bowl with the sugar, powdered sugar and vanilla extract, stirring to combine or mashing slightly. Beat remaining cream in bowl until its just holding stiff peaks.
5. Split the shortcakes in half and dollop with whipped cream, then add some of the strawberry mixture and sandwich together. Serve with any remaining cream and strawberries.

Shortcakes

Whipped cream

Strawberries

Strawberry Shortcake

After dinner, we played a ridiculous game of charades. I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a long, long time. Big thank you to Annie and her family for letting us take over their house for the day!

Happy eating, everyone!!