double stack

i want a hamburger for dinner every friday night.  and i usually have one. i just love them.  i recently went to a burger joint and they made their burgers with two thin patties.  it was fantastic.  so, i replicated it and this is what i came up with.  i added grilled onions, pepper jack cheese, and fresh jalapenos.  it was out of this world.  i used my cast iron skillet to cook the beef, instead of my grill pan.  it acted somewhat like a griddle (i guess).  it seared the meat perfectly on the outside, and left the middle super juicy and pink.  after i took the burgers out of the skillet, i toasted the buns.  maximum flavor!  if you are ever at whole foods, make sure to pick up harris family beef (white oak pastures).  it surpasses all the others.  here is a little clip about his farm if you have not seen it.  it's worth watching.

fall salad

this salad is always a hit.  how could it not be?  toasted pecans, blue cheese...
it has great texture and all the flavors work beautifully together.  i use a mix of radicchio and endive as the base and throw in diced asian pear (with a squeeze of lemon juice to keep it from browning), toasted pecans and blue cheese.  i make a maple vinaigrette that is ridiculously good.  like all of my dressing, they have the same standard ingredients.  vinegar, dijon mustard, a sweetener (honey, agave), but for this i used maple syrup.  good maple syrup.  don't even think about using aunt jemima.  buy some grade "a" maple syrup.  i like to use whole foods 365 brand, pure, organic syrup.  i also like to use white balsamic vinegar.  it has a much more milder flavor than balsamic vinegar.  also, when i am making a salad that has light colors, i don't like to use balsamic - it colors the lettuce brown, which is unappealing, to me at least.  actually, the only time i use balsamic vinegar is with mixed greens now that i think about it.  anyway, make this salad for a special occasion - all of the ingredients are a bit expensive in terms of a salad.  but i promise, you will "fall" in love with it.

homemade chicken stock

this is a big pot of chicken broth in the making.  i just recently started making my own, and let me tell you, store bought broth can't touch this stuff.  it is fantastic, and easy to make.  i use a lot of rotisserie chicken's, for either tacos, enchiladas, stuffed peppers, chicken salad, etc., and i have started saving the carcasses for broth.  here's how you make it.  i used 3 carcasses for this big pot.  put the chickens in, fill with water to cover.  add 4 carrots, 4 celery stalks, 2 onions, 6 gloves of garlic, a big handful of fresh parsley, about 8 thyme sprigs, salt, and black pepper.  don't over salt, the chickens have a good bit of sodium in them.  bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce for 4 hours.  remove all the large pieces and then strain the broth.  keep in the fridge for 5 days or freeze.  next time you have some leftover bones, make your own broth - you will love it!

chicken orecchiette soup

i'm going crazy!! i have not cooked for my clients in 4 days!  the weather in atlanta is still so icy.  it is unbelievable what the storm has done to this city.  it has absolutely crippled it.  there have been so many of the interstates that have been completely shut down, and the secondary streets are like skating rinks.  so, i have been stuck inside trying to come up with things to pass the time.  and no, cleaning is not one of those things.  so, i have been taking walks up to the grocery store and returning with bags of food to pass the time.  i made a big pot of chicken noodle soup that was so delicious.  i used orecchiette pasta for the noodle instead of the traditional egg noodle.  it was perfect in this soup.  instead of using an egg noodle that slides off the spoon with every bite, the orecchiette captured  drops of broth, and peas, and carrots.  and the orecchiette almost has a texture close to a dumpling.  i just loved it.  try a smaller pasta next time you make chicken noodle soup, you'll be glad you did!

pesto and roasted tomato crostini

 boy, has atlanta seen some weather!  i love it!  not often do we get snow, but we got about 5 inches on sunday night and it has all iced over, leaving everyone in their homes.  i have made so much food that i have stored away in my freezer for a later date.  cabin fever has set in.  big time.  i have cleared out my pantry and fridge and have made soups, pesto with leftover basil from last week, homemade pizzas that i stored away in the freezer (there is a story behind that - needless to say, i won't be ordering pizza out anytime soon), chicken pot pies, shepherds pie, tomato sauce, and salsa.  i made these crostinis one night with the pesto i made and roasted some grape tomatoes to go on top.  absolutely delicious!  pesto is so darn easy to make and it tastes out of this world.  you simply put fresh basil, garlic, generally toasted pine nuts, but i used walnuts in a food processor and give it a whirl.  drizzle some olive oil until you reach the consistency you want and then add in a handful of parmesan, salt, and pepper.  it takes 2 minutes to make.   for the roasted tomatoes, just line a baking sheet with foil and drizzle the grape tomatoes with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  pop into a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes and you will have the best tasting tomatoes.  they are so flavorful this way.  only thing i don't like are all the seeds that pop out - i have a thing about tomato seeds.  so, i just closed my eyes when i took a bite and pretended they weren't there.  take whatever bread you have and toast it in the oven, smear some pesto on top and lay a few roasted tomatoes around.  this would be a  great appetizer to serve at a dinner party - the colors are really pretty on a white plate.

nachos locos

i made a big plate of loaded nachos one day over the holidays when the day was filled with college football bowl games. i just love to make food that can be grazed on for hours at a time.  i generally make nachos where each individual chip has all of the ingredients on it.  i will top each chip with an olive slice, a jalapeno slice, avocado, a sprinkle of cheese, a dusting of cilantro, etc.  you get the point.  i hate when i have ordered nachos out and there is this huge mountain of chips and all the toppings have just been dumped on top.  by the time you get to the bottom, your left with just chips.  very frustrating.  these however, were made that way, sorta - i didn't mound the chips up, i used a larger plate so the chips with essentially in a single layer.  i made the mistake of buying tortilla chips that where in long slivers, not the traditional triangle.  but, i topped them with so many ingredients, it worked out well.  i placed the chips on an oven safe platter, topped with re-fried beans, grilled onions, ground beef, and cheese.  popped it in the oven to melt the cheese, and then topped it with black olives, diced tomatoes, jalapeno, avocado, and cilantro. yummy.  i'm gonna miss football season. 

winter soup

i gotta say, i am glad the holidays are over - and so is my scale.  i don't think it can handle me right now.  it's not use to the extra pounds it has been forced to deal with every morning.  why is it that the "holidays"  don't just consist of thanksgiving and christmas, but that it is a whole darn month of festivity.  don't get me wrong, i am not complaining, this is absolutely my most favorite time of year.  but good lord i over eat.  so, today i made this wonderful soup.  it came together quickly because the ingredients i used were left over from meals i made my clients.  i love it when that happens.  this is a very hearty, healthy, somewhat sweet soup. i loved it.  the base is homemade chicken stock - which i will share my recipe for that at a later post.  i will say this, i don't think store bought stock can touch the real, homemade stuff.  and it is so darn easy to make (it's just hard to store it all).  anyway, i simply dumped all the ingredients into a pot and walked away.  i tossed in cubed sweet potatoes, collard greens, cannellini beans, diced carrots, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  once it all came to a soft boil, i reduced it and let it simmer for about an hour.  that is the beauty about soups, you can really just throw anything in a pot and in a hour you have a big batch of soup that will last for days.