New Orleans Button- Poppin' Beignets

This southern dessert was introduced to me by my roommate my first semester in college and then again by the movie Princess and the Frog. The best thing about this tasty treat is versatility. You can eat it simply with powdered sugar (as is traditional) or you can add caramel (as pictured), honey, chocolate, fruit, cinnamon, cocoa, or really anything that strikes your fancy. This is the best recipe I have found for beignets. It only has to sit in the refrigerator for an hour and puffs up so beautifully when fried. You can make them any shape you want although square is traditional. There is no way you won't love this recipe! Here's what you need.

1 cup water, heated to 110°
6 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp yeast
3 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 tbsp plus 2 quarts vegetable oil
powdered sugar


Mix water and yeast with a tbsp of sugar and let it get foamy for about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the sugar, eggs, and oil. Whisk until combined. Slowly add in the flour and salt. Store in a greased bowl cover with greased plastic wrap. Let it rise in the refrigerator for an hour. This is important. If you don't wait, you won't get the nice puffy dough you really want to see in a beignet. Set wire rack inside rimmed baking sheet. Line second sheet with ­parchment paper and dust heavily with flour. Place half of dough on well-floured counter and pat into rough rectangle with floured hands, flipping to coat with flour. Roll dough into ¼-inch-thick rectangle (roughly 12 by 9 inches). Using pizza wheel, cut dough into twelve 3-inch squares and transfer to floured sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Here is the only way you can really mess these up. In a dutch oven, large skillet, or preferably if you have a temperature controlled skillet heat the oil to 350°. Any hotter it will burn the outside and the inside will stay gooey. Any cooler and by the time it is done cooking it will just be a greasy mess. Use a thermometer if you don't have an electric skillet. It must stay at 350°. Place a few pieces of your sliced dough in the oil cooking them about 2-3 minutes each side or until golden brown. I use tongs, but you can use a slotted spoon or an Asian strainer to flip and fish out of the oil. Set them on the rack to let the oil drip off and coat in powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Baked Eggs in Avocado

As a child of Mexican southern California it's hard for me to believe there is any other way of eating an avocado besides guacamole. So, when I saw this recipe I was like, "Whoa! Hold the phone! This looks delicious!" And it was. The creamy egg yolk and tender avocado played so well together and the bacon and cheese (which wasn't added in the original recipe, but I thought it desperately needed it) gave it a great flavor. Topped with some chives and cayenne pepper, this is a great way to start your day. A super juicy peach doesn't hurt either. Here's what you need.

1 ripe avocado
2 eggs
1 strip of bacon
2 tbsp finely grated cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 425°. Cut your avocado in half and pit it. Dig out enough of the meat so the egg and fixin's will fit nicely. Place your two avocados halves cavity side up in a very small oven safe dish. You want to make sure they aren't going to roll on their side. Salt if you think you need it, although I think the bacon is enough. Sprinkle about a tbsp of cheese in the pit of each of your avocado halves. Cook a strip of bacon and slice into 1/4 inch pieces. Place on top of the cheese. You will most likely have too much. (Mid-cooking snack!) Separate your eggs in small bowls or ramekins. Gently place a yolk in each pit. And I know it's a pain, but now spoon in the egg white into each pit. I say spoon in because if you dump it in, it will most likely overflow and you will have a mess to deal with. Gently place it in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the egg white don't jiggle when you move the pan. Let it cool and top with cayenne and chives. Maybe some hot sauce if you feel up to it.

Enjoy!

Filet Mignon With Balsamic Beurre Noir Sauce and Stuffed Mushrooms

Let's just look at this for a minute. Okay, now after you wipe the drool from your face listen to this story. I had been asked to post about stuffed mushrooms and I cringed. I do not like mushrooms. *GASP* Yea, yea I know. But there is just something about that texture. It's just gross. Anyway, it was the first request I had gotten and I didn't want to say no. So, my adventurous side kicked in and said, "You will make this. It will be awesome. And you will eat it because life it too short to wuss out over mushrooms". Then my mother-in-law gave us Filet Mignon and I was really excited because I wanted to make this sauce so bad and I figured this would be the perfect time to do it. The stars aligned and behold, a delicious meal. And to answer your question, yes the stuffed mushrooms were amazing even to someone who doesn't like them. Not even on pizza where they are smothered in cheese and sauce. Here's what you need.

2 8 oz filet mignon
I cooked mine in the oven at 375° for 20 minutes and they turned out amazing.

For the sauce
2 tsp melted butter
1 slices garlic glove
1/3 cup aged balsamic vinegar
1 tsp minced red chilies
1/2 tsp tomato paste
salt and pepper to tast
2 tbsp unsalted butter


On medium heat melt 2 tsp of butter in a skillet. Once it's melted add the sliced garlic and let it cook until the edges of the garlic start to get some color. Pour in your balsamic vinegar. This will stop the garlic from cooking so don't you worry your pretty little head about burning it. You want this to reduce to about a 1/3. While you are letting that simmer add the chilies, tomato paste, salt and pepper. (I think this is the first time in my life that I haven't added the Oxford comma and ya know what? It feels kinda good). Turn the heat off before you add the cold 2 tbsp unsalted butter and keep stirring until it is complete emulsified into your sauce. When you serve this, make sure the plate is hot or your butter sauce will congeal. Gross.



For the mushrooms
12 whole fresh mushrooms
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 8oz package cream cheese , softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper


 I'm not an advocate for preheating your oven 45 minutes before you need it specially in the summer. That being said, you know your oven so make sure you do give it plenty of time to warm up even if it's not in the very beginning of your process. In any case, preheat your oven to 350°. Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Make sure it's thorough. Nobody want's to eat dirt with their fancy dinner. Carefully break the stems off and discard the tough end of the stems. Place caps cavity side up on a greased baking sheet. Mince the stems and garlic finely and saute them with the oil over medium heat until all the moisture is gone. Set them aside to cool. Stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder, and cayenne pepper.
Use a little spoon to fill each cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Bake for 20 minutes.

 

 Enjoy!

You Will Never Have Normal Breakfast Again Eggs Benedict

Oh, Eggs Benedict, how I dream of thee. No lie. I have had dreams about this incredible dish. This is another recipe that I knew to be popular, but I had never tried. So, on a morning when I woke up at 3am and was clearly not going to make it back to bed, I ran to the store to pick up everything I needed to make this truly underrated dish. And of course this is a Chef John recipe. Here's what you need.

2 super fresh eggs
1/4 cup vinegar 
2 slices Canadian bacon (or, ya know, ham works fine as well)
1 English muffin
1 1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
1/2 lemon
salt to taste
cayenne or tobasco sauce to taste


Here's a demo on how to make Hallandaise sauce

In a deep, wide pan bring 4-6 cups of water to a simmer and pour in 1/4 cups of vinegar. This helps the egg yolks stay together. Crack your two eggs into seperate bowls to make sute there are no shells or a broken yolk. Gently pour the eggs into the water. Now here is where your taste buds do the talking. If you like a runny egg (which is what I recommend) let them cook for just 3-5 minutes. You will be able to check the consistancy by using a wide slotted spoon and fishing it out. Poke the yolk and when it is to your liking, place it (smooth side up) onto your HOT English muffin and Canadian bacon. Pour your sauce over and there you have it. I like to garnish mine with some cayenne pepper and chives. Prepare yourself for a really amazing day.

Enjoy!

Makin' Brunch Fancy Crepes

I honestly never heard of crepes until I got to college and then everyone everywhere was having crepe parties. I am still only at the very tip of learning about these amazing little treats. They are so versatile. They can be sweet, like in my picture, with fruit and chocolate whipped cream or savory with eggs, cheese, and meat. Any way you choose you eat your crepes, they will be amazing. Here's what you need.

Crepe Batter

2 cups milk
1 1/3 cup flour
1 egg
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract


Chocolate Whipped Cream

2 cups heavy cream
3 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cups cocoa powder if you want it to be chocolate


Whisk all the crepe ingredients in a bowl making sure there are no lumps. Heat (on high heat) a frying pan with some butter to fry the crepes. The batter will be very thin and that's good. When you are first trying this, be careful not to pour too much because flipping these thin guys can sometimes be challenging and the less surface area you have to deal with on your first time the better. Cook your crepe for 1-2 minutes on one side (depending on how hot your pan it) and flip it over and cook it for one more minute. Repeat until you are out of batter. I like to brush on a little bit on melted butter between layers on stacked crepes.

With a stand mixer or hand mixer, whisk the heavy cream, vanilla, and sugar (and cocoa for chocolate) on high for 3-4 minutes to form stuff peaks. The end.

I liked the berries in my crepes but you could easily substitute it for any fruit really.

Enjoy!

Mornin' Sunshine! Juice

So, as a fairly regular juicer I am still constantly surprised with the combinations people come up with that are actually really good. This is one of those juices. I do not like grapefruit or red bell peppers all that much, but in this juice, they are so amazing! Here's what you need.

1 red bell pepper
1/2 grapefruit
2 hand fulls baby carrots
2-3 oranges

Juice them together and enjoy.

Enjoy!

A Chicken Salad That Takes Me Back

Back in the day when my sister and I were in junior high and high school, we were in 4-H and raised bull calves. We would adopt these adorable baby bulls for three months and then take them to the fair. On show day, we had our hair done in braids and wear this horrible white outfit that got dirty the second you put it on. Besides having to change in the van and potentially flash a passerby, what I remember most is the chicken salad my mom would make and put on croissants. There are days when I just crave it. This recipe isn't the exact one she used, but it's close. Above, I have it pictured alone and with some lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, and a little bit of feta (because I put feta on everything *yum). Here's what you need.

2 tbsp lemon juice (fresh is best!)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken (skinless)
1 cup finely diced celery (I like mine chunkier so I cut it in 1/4 inch strips)
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup diced red grapes (I kept mine whole)

Combine the chicken, celery, pecans, and grapes in a large bowl. Mix well, but don't squish anything. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, mayo, and salt- mix that into the chicken mixture and refrigerate for no less than 4 hours. It's best over night. Easy Peezy! You can serve this as a sandwich, on top of romaine lettuce, or as a side.

Enjoy!