balsamic broiled citrus

so i'm minding my own business, grabbing lunch at the market,
 and end up in the express checkout lane.

a young man comes and stands right next to me and asks if i am in line.
i look up briefly to tell him that yes (obviously) i am in line
before looking back down at what was likely my instagram feed.

he proceeds to stand there for another minute or so
until he says 'will you go to prom with me?'
(wait, i'm sorry, WHAT???)
i look up and say 'ohhh, uh, are you in high school???'
(didn't know what to say obviously!)
before he says anything else i say 'i'm too old for you...'
he proceeds to ask how old i am - as if that's really the problem (LOL).
then i say 'oh, and i'm married!"
(first time i've used this line! perks of marriage - hello!)

at this point he runs off to some friends standing in the corner
waiting for him while i hear him say 'she's married!!!!!'

totally ridiculous and simultaneously made me feel SO old and SO young all at the same time.

in other news, my mom and i tried these balsamic broiled
grapefruits and oranges alongside our breakfast bake a couple weeks back.

they were decent. definitely had no complaints,
but i can't say they blew my socks off either.
next time i might increase the honey a bit and make sure i'm
drizzling the citrus right before placing them in the oven

recipe via simply real health

for other grapefruit recipes,
click here, here and here

ingredients

1 grapefruit, sliced in half
precut for easy scooping is best!

1 orange, sliced in half

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons honey

directions

1. set oven to broil.

2. add vinegar and honey to a small saucepan over low heat. whisk to combine.

(can also place in a microwave safe container and heat for 30 seconds)

3. place citrus face up on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
drizzle with warmed vinegar and honey mixture.

4. broil until browned and bubbly on top - about 1-2 minutes

after drizzling...

after broiling...

the perfected old fashioned

this guest post via: Benjamin Somoza

An old fashioned is maybe America's oldest and most classic cocktails.
The year round sipper is a staple at my house and for any guy that loves bourbon.

I follow these directions exactly.

recipe via epicurious

ingredients

1 scant teaspoon simple syrup

2 dashes angostura bitters

2oz good quality whiskey

1 marashino cherry

1 twist of an orange

directions

1. in an old fashioned glass, combine simple syrup and bitters.

fill glass with ice and stir a dozen times.

2. squeeze orange peel over glass to extract oils, 

add peel to glass and add whiskey.

stir a dozen more times.

3. garnish with cherry

 

breakfast bake

i'm going to go ahead and say that this is a guest post from my 

beautiful mother since she basically made this entire dish. 

what did i do? take pictures.

i'm an amazing daughter, i know!!!

recipe via my mother's

simply real health cookbook

modified just slightly below

serves 6

a couple notes on this recipe:

i loved the IDEA of this recipe. a breakfast bake that has all the 

fixings of a standard breakfast meal, just baked into one dish. 

both my mom and i would have loved a bit more flavor throughout. 

i would be generous with the fresh herbs as well as the amount and variety of veggies added. 

i also believe the sausage really added a lot - both in flavor and texture.

other ideas for additions: 

use sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes, toss in zucchini, 

serve with salsa and make it more of a mexican dish

ingredients

12 eggs

6 baby potatoes, cut into quarters

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 red pepper, chopped

1 head chard, kale or spinach, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves

1 cup chopped herbs of your choice (chives, basil, tarragon, etc)

we just used basil

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

salt and pepper

we also added 2 cups cooked, crumbled sausage

directions

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. bring medium pot of water to a boil and add quartered potatoes. 

cover and cook for 10-12 minutes until mostly softened.

3. saute chopped garlic and onions in a large frying pan 

with a dollop of butter or olive oil over medium heat.

4. after a few minutes, add mushrooms and peppers. 

5. when veggies are mostly cooked through, 

sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add leafy greens.

6. drain potatoes and add them to the bottom of a greased 9x13" rectangular baking dish.

 add sauteed veggies and sausage (if using) over the potatoes.

i would have seasoned these potatoes a bit before tossing them in the bottom of our dish

7. whisk eggs in a bowl with salt, pepper and chopped herbs. 

pour egg mixture into baking dish, spreading it evenly.

8. dollop with ricotta cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until middle is no longer gooey. 

broil for another minute or two, if desired, for a crispier crust.

i found that broiling ours made it set up just a tad bit more than i wanted 

and didn't add much texture or flavor BUT totally personal preference.

honey beer chicken

 have i mentioned that my parents have fake grand kids?

well... i got to hang out with them yesterday and they are the cutest ever.

you can follow their adventures here.

last night my mom was our guest chef and as these kids were

running around being adorable, we cooked up some of this honey beer chicken.

i thought it was great.

my mom said she would do the following things differently:

1. use smaller chicken slices, to better coat them with flavor

2. reduce the sauce down more before serving

recipe via cooking light

ingredients

2 teaspoons canola oil

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots

1/2 cup beer

2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon whole-grain dijon mustard

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

directions

1. heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.

add oil to pan; swirl to coat.

sprinkle chicken evenly with pepper and salt.

add chicken to pan; sauté 6 minutes on each side or until done.

remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

2. add shallots to pan; cook 1 minute or until translucent.

3. combine beer and next 3 ingredients (through honey)

in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.

3. add beer mixture to pan; bring to a boil,

scraping pan to loosen browned bits.

cook 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup.

4. return chicken to pan; turn to coat with sauce.

sprinkle evenly with parsley.

(the side by side comparison) :)

enjoy!

pizookie

my lovely friend emily is our guest chef today.

you should consider yourselves VERY lucky.

here's why:

she is gorgeous,

super talented,

an amazing cook,

a wonderful friend,

a professional traveler,

and all around awesome.

you may remember her from here or here :)

she made this amazing pizookie last weekend.

here's how...

ingredients

1 package pre-made cookie dough

ice cream

directions

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. press the dough into a small buttered pie pan, cake pan or 6" cast iron skillet

3. bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until cookie begins to brown around the edges.

(it should still be softer in the middle)

4. cool for a 2-3 minutes. top with 2-3 scoops of your favorite ice cream.

5. find your 10 favorite people, give 'em all spoons & dig in! :)

crazy delicious. this will change your life.

 

grilled salmon with corn & avocado salad

{recipe via whole foods}

ingredients
4 ears fresh corn, kernels removed from cob
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1/2 small ripe avocado, diced
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 (4-6 ounce) salmon fillets
cooking spray
salt & pepper

lemon wedge (optional)

directions

1. for the salad, put corn, tomatoes, avocado, onion, cilantro, oil, vinegars,

salt and pepper into a large bowl and toss gently to combine. set aside.

2. for the salmon, preheat grill.

spray fillets all over with cooking spray, then season with salt and pepper.

place salmon, skin-side up, on grill.

after about 2 minutes, turn salmon a quarter turn and cook 2 minutes longer.

flip salmon and grill until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes more.

3. remove salmon from grill and serve immediately, topped with corn and avocado salad.

4. enjoy!

challah french toast

last weekend i made this amazing challah french toast

strait from the pages of my father's daughter.

and seriously, i think this is maybe the best french toast i've ever had.

it was that good. try it :)

ingredients

1 vanilla bean

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

8 1" slices challah bread

(this bread makes the dish, don't substitute!)

directions

unsalted butter

1 teaspoon coarse sugar

(we used sugar in the raw)

2 bananas (for topping)

powdered sugar (for dusting)

real vermont maple syrup (for serving)

this recipe serves 4

directions

1. slice vanilla bean and scrape seeds

2. place seeds in a bowl with a teaspoon of hot water and mix

3. whisk in eggs and milk

4. dip bread into the egg mixture, coating each slice on both sides

5. meanwhile, melt butter in large frying pan over medium-high heat.

add as many pieces of challah as can fit comfortably.

6. sprinkle the top of each piece with a tiny bit of coarse sugar

7. cook for about 2 minutes, or until underside is golden brown

and the coating is crisp and lacy. flip and sprinkle the cooked side with another

sprinkle of sugar. cook for about 2 minutes more, or until second side is browned.

8. repeat process until all pieces are cooked.

top with thinly sliced banana and dusts with powdered sugar.

9. YUM!