Sweet Tea Marinade

This last weekend, we celebrated Memorial Day weekend.  This, for my non-USA-living friends, is a patriotic holiday in which we remember fallen soldiers who have fought for our freedom while also praising the hard work of veterans and active duty soldiers as well.

Living near a military base, there are many parades around the area where soldiers are present.  It's a very cool experience to be able to witness the different ceremonies that happen on this holiday.

Memorial day is also considered the kick-off to summer.  Even though our forecast has been littered with 40-degree weather and the threat of snow flurries, we are somehow supposed to be officially in shorts and tank tops for the next three months.  Not likely to happen at this rate.

Memorial Day was cold and cloudy, but that really didn't stop us from enjoying the traditions we've grown accustomed to around here.  Parades, ceremonies, sno-cones, beer, chicken BBQs and rummage sales are just a few of the community-wide activities.  But, there's also a number of backyard barbeques to enjoy, too.

Our house was no different.  In fact, if I close my eyes, I can still smell the steak sizzling on the grill covered in this sweet tea marinade I made.  Now, sweet tea is not something that is typically guzzled in the North, but after some research, I decided that making a jug of sweet tea would be amazing with this sweet marinade.

I had been researching marinades and this caught my eye because the tea is said to be an excellent tenderizer.  The sugar is said to caramelize the outside of the meat for a sweetened sear.  These two points were enough to convince me to give it a try.

The flavors are deep and complex with a delicious sweetness.  The liquid smoke offers a little extra complexity.

This marinade-making has sparked my interest in making up more marinades and sauces for meat.

Any ideas for next weekend?




Sweet Tea Marinade

2 lb. chicken or steak

3 cups brewed sweet tea
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 vidalia onion, sliced
1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp Liquid Smoke
Salt & Pepper to taste



Combine all ingredients of the marinade in a large bowl.  Place the chicken or steak in the marinade.

Marinate overnight.

Cook chicken as desired.  I grilled mine on an outdoor grill.

Greek Pizza

Since going to school in Binghamton, New York, I have been fascinated with Greek culture.  A large portion of the Southern Tier is of Greek heritage, and the food down there is very representative of that.  You have seen, by now, my obsession with Spiedies, as made evident by the fact that I've made them in sandwiches and pizza already. 

I'm also a huge fan of typical Greek ingredients, like those found in a Mediterranean dip.  By the way, I've already made one of those for you, too!

This time, I decided that I wanted to take those lovely Mediterranean ingredients and put them on pizza, if only because everything is better with carbohydrates included.  Plus, as delicious as these foods are on a cold plate, they are intensely better when the vegetables are roasted and everything is cooked together in a hot oven.

I love trying new variations on pizza and trying different foods in pizza-form.  I definitely count this as one of my new favorite pizzas.  It's right up there with my other Greek-inspired pie with chicken and spiedie sauce!

The combination of feta and mozzarella gives this a homey cheesy feeling while the onslaught of different vegetables are both visually and tastily pleasing.  I'm not sure if that's proper grammar, but I know my eyeballs loved it as much as my tastebuds.

It's a bit more work to perfect this pizza than others because of the roasted veggies, but it's totally worth it.  If anybody in your family has a soft spot for Greek cuisine, this pizza is going to be a definite winner in your house!




Greek Pizza

1 batch of Pizza Dough1/2 cup of Speidie Sauce
1 lb. chicken breast
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup diced artichoke hearts
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, diced
1/2 cup diced Kalamata olives
1/2 cup diced roasted tomatoes
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 cup Mozzarella cheese
1 cup crumbled Feta cheese





Preheat oven 375F.

Saute onions  over medium heat in olive oil.  Add chicken and cook thoroughly.

Roll out pizza dough and spread on 1/2 of the Spiedie sauce.  Cover with mozzarella cheese.  Add the chicken and drizzle the rest of the Spiedie sauce over the top.  Top with all of the vegetables and Feta.

Cook for 20-25 minutes.

Almond Joy Macaroons

I'm back.

And I'm back with coconut.

Don't ask me why.  I can't explain my obsession.

Everybody has their vices.  Everybody has that one food that they can't live without.  It doesn't even have to be food.  It could be some activity or television show or cell phone app.  I don't judge what you do.  Don't judge my coconut love.

Last Christmas, I made coconut macaroons.  To say that I ate a lot of them at once... well, that's an understatement.  It would also be putting it mildly if I said that there was a slight hiccup when it came to plating the macaroons for others to eat.

They didn't make it.

I didn't have the heart to tell you at the time.

I was a little embarrassed.

And, my mouth was full.

But I'm telling you now that this variation is absolutely to die for.  Maybe not to literally die for, but close.  I'd risk it, if that was the case.

These taste just like the candy bars, and I'm sure that if you dunked the whole macaroon in the ganache, it would be just like making your own homemade bars.  But I like the dollop of ganache on top.  It makes it a lot easier to hold between my fingers while I chow down.

You can do it however you like as long as you go and do it now!




Almond Joy Macaroons

1 batch Coconut Macaroons
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup chopped almonds



Prepare macaroons as directed.

Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler.  Add heavy cream and sugar.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly to thicken.

Spoon chocolate ganache over the macaroons.  

Top with chopped almonds.

Almond Joy Pie

Have I told you how much I love coconut.

Of all of my food obsessions, this one is a top necessity in my life.  Especially when it's accompanied by chocolate.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise (since I've probably mentioned it on here a number of times) that my favorite candy bar is the Almond Joy.  Milk chocolate, flaky coconut and almonds is the ideal dessert.  Anything that tastes like Almond Joys is an immediate hit.

Last summer, I made a cheesecake that featured this irresistible trifecta and the results were sensational.  I could barely keep it on the plate and everybody who took a slice loved it.  There were no negative comments and no unhappy faces to be seen.

This time, I've found a simpler version that requires a lot less work without sacrificing the delicious coconut flavor.

The hardest part is waiting for the pie to cook and cool before biting into it!

Almond Joy Pie

1 cup milk

1 egg

1 1/2 cups flaked coconut

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp flour

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Crust:

1 package chocolate snack cookies, crushed (I used Oreos)

1/2 stick butter, melted

Ganache:

1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp sugar

Preheat oven 350F.

Combine oreos and butter.  Press the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9" pie pan, coating up the sides.

Bake pie crust empty for 10 minutes to set.  Let cool.

In a large bowl, mix all of the filling ingredients until well-combined.  Pour mixture into cookie crust.

Bake for 40 minutes.  Let cool completely.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler.  Add milk and sugar. Let cool slightly to thicken.  Spread over the top of the cooled coconut pie.

Red Velvet Ice Cream

Here is my favorite post in, like, a really long time!

I think I've made my love of all things red velvet pretty clear.  In fact, last year, I made a gelato using raw red velvet cake batter.

That was good.

So, in my second attempt to do up red velvet in frozen form, I went for the baked cake version with more of that indescribably good cream cheese frosting ice cream.

The raw batter version is great in its own way, but if you're looking for something that more closely resembles one of your (and my) favorite desserts, this it it!





Red Velvet Ice Cream

1 pt.  Cream Cheese Frosting ice cream
2 unfrosted Red Velvet cupcakes
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup hot fudge topping


Combine all of the ingredients together as desired.

I mixed mine together with two spatulas (Coldstone Creamery-style), but you could also layer the ingredients like a sundae.

Carrot Cake Ice Cream

Yesterday,  I showed you a killer recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting Ice Cream.

Today, I'm using this ice cream to make a variation that makes me feel like fall even in the middle of spring.

Carrot cake is one of my favorite desserts and it's very rarely ever good for you.  In fact, it's not good for you this time, either.  But, that's not to say that it's not sooooo good!

Cream cheese frosting-flavored ice cream combined with real crumbles of carrot cake.

The consistency is creamy with little bits of cake, raisins and chewy coconut.  And the taste is a total ace when it comes to recreating classic carrot cake flavor.

This is a perfect off-season summer dessert to try when the weather gets warmer.  I can see this coming out on a warm night sitting around a fire pit.

I can hardly wait until then....





Carrot Cake Ice Cream

1 pt.  Cream Cheese Frosting ice cream
2 unfrosted Carrot Cake cupcakes
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans



Combine all of the ingredients together as desired.

I mixed mine together with two spatulas (Coldstone Creamery-style), but you could also layer the ingredients like a sundae.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ice Cream

It doesn't feel like summer.

Maybe it's because it's only mid-May.

Maybe it's because the forecast actually called for snow and sleet over the weekend... yuck.

Either way, it definitely does not feel like ice cream season seeing as how even drinking water with ice in it makes me shiver and hide under blankets.

But I'm not a quitter.  I am 100% able to persevere through the chill to enjoy some lovely summery icy goodness.

I took my six-month-old Pyrenees puppy out for his 1/2 birthday surprise the other day - a baby cone of vanilla ice cream covered in crushed dog-bone "sprinkles."  Man, was he in heaven!

Not one for willpower, I had to buy myself some ice cream, too.  Naturally.  As I way eyeing down the menu, I came across carrot cake ice cream.

Interesting, I thought.

Disgusting, I found out.

The ice cream I was eating tasted pretty much like vanilla ice cream with cinnamon in it and some cream cheese frosting running through it.  The taste, consistency and aesthetics were less than pleasing.

When that happens, I jump into my computer and scour the web for ideas...

...leading me to today's project.

Cream Cheese Frosting ice cream.

My absolute favorite frosting, now available conveniently in ice cream form.

And check out how I use this ice cream to recreate a few of my favorite desserts for summer!





Cream Cheese Frosting Ice Cream
(adapted from my Hazelnut Gelato)
Makes 1 pt.

1 1/2 cups milk

3 large egg yolks
1/2 brick cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp vanilla

Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat.  As soon as the milk begins to boil, reduce heat to a simmer and thicken the milk.

In a stand mixer, combine sugar, salt and egg yolks.  Beat the mixture on medium for 5 minutes.  Slowly fold in the strained milk mixture.

Transfer the mixture into a double boiler to temper the eggs.  Once the mixture is smooth and thoroughly cooked, remove from heat.  Stir in the cream cheese and vanilla and let the mixture cool.

Chill the mixture and place in an ice cream maker to finish.

Top with sprinkles and whipped cream.

Thai Chili Sauce

In trying to expand my palate, I've been trying an awful lot of fun and exciting dishes from all over the world.  This is especially true when I go out to eat.  In the past month alone, I've tried Thai food and three different kinds of sushi rolls.  I've eaten foods that were way too spicy, way too sweet or just plain perfect. 

Now that I'm on the road to recreating all my favorite foods, I decided to try my hand at a typical Thai staple.

This chili sauce is used on a lot of different foods, including different types of meat as well as on sandwiches and noodles. 

Being that it is such a versatile sauce, I felt compelled to try my hand at making the sauce from scratch.  This sauce is a combination of all the best taste-bud activators.  It's salty, sweet and tangy, all at once.

The options are seemingly endless in making some of my own Thai-inspired dinners.  I can see this coming in handy in a lot of different ways!

Thai Chili Sauce

1/3 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
3 cloves garlic
1 chili pepper, seeded
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water
Salt to taste



Mix cornstarch and 2 tbsp. water together.

Puree the rest of the ingredients together.  

Pour mixture into a saucepan and bring to boil.  Reduce to simmer and cook for 5-7 minutes.  Add cornstarch mixture.

Remove from heat and let cool.

Samoas Cookie Dip

Outrageous.

 

There are not a whole lot of things on the planet that can step in front of my love for Samoas.  In fact, I secretly loathe that time of the year when the Girl Scouts come out because I know that I will spend too much on too many boxes and eat way too many of those cookies.  They are easily my favorite door-to-door cookie and anything that tastes like Samoas makes me equally as happy.

 

Coconut is one of my all-time favorite additions to dessert, and when that coconut is sitting atop a pile of chocolate and caramel...  I mean, seriously, I don't even know how to finish that sentence.  It's too good.  It's dangerously good.  Like the kind of good where you can't stop and the buttons of your jeans pop off at inopportune times. 

 

That good.

 

This dip is worse than that.  It's got everything that makes a Samoa the gift from God I hold it up to be, but with a little extra cream cheese and butter.  Not exactly something your personal trainer is going to be pleased about.   But then again, I always use the same theory,  As long as I don't make it everyday, I will be absolutely fine.  Everything in moderation, right?

 

Yeah, lets hope I can actually moderate my intake of this creamy, sweet concoction...

 

 

 

 

Samoas Cookie Dip

(adapted from Something Swanky)

 

1 8oz. brick cream cheese, softened

1/2 stick butter, softened

2 cups Confectioner's sugar

1 1/2 cups toasted coconut flakes

1/2 cup Caramel ice-cream topping

1/2 cup Chocolate ice-cream topping

 

 

 

 

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

 

Serve with vanilla wafers or shortbread cookies.

French Onion Casserole

By now, you are probably aware of the fact that I love french onion flavor.  From dips to soups, the combination of onions cooked low and slow to perfection with swiss cheese and beef broth.  The only problem I have with french onion-flavored foods is that it usually comes in a form that doesn't last long enough to satiate my hunger.

 

I'm not somebody who can get full on a bowl of soup.  Or, even a bowl of dip.  I mean, I can try.  And, I often do.  But I need something more to make me feel like I've truly eaten a meal.

 

That's where this casserole comes in.

 

It's a baked casserole that makes you feel like it could be the main dish of your meal, not just an appetizer or side. 

 

This takes just like your favorite French Onion soup with a little bit more substance.

 

If you like french onion flavors as much as I do, you need to try this casserole, like, now!

 

 

 

 

French Onion Casserole

 

 

2 tbsp olive oil
4 yellow onions
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 1/2 cups beef broth

1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 loaf french bread, cubed

Salt & Pepper to taste

 

Saute onions in olive oil over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, or until onions are clear or lightly browned.

Preheat oven 350F.

Combine onions, beef broth, milk and Worcestershire sauce.  Season as desired.  

In a casserole dish, place bread cubes.  Pour the onion mixture over the bread.

Top with swiss cheese.

Bake 30 minutes.

Hasselback Potatoes

It's becoming harder and harder to get excited about carbs.

 

Everytime I turn around, there is a new study or tabloid advertising the benefits of no-carb living.  Every celebrity seems to have a gluten allergy these days.  And, every diabetic and non-diabetic person on the planet is spouting off about how stable their blood sugars are without simple sugars in their diet.

 

Bread... I can live without it.  I mean, the only real reason it is such a staple in my diet is the fact that it's the one thing you can hold onto when eating with your hands.  Think pizza or sandwiches. 

 

Pasta... I'm slightly more dependent.  Although, I don't really feel like pasta has a taste.  I'm more interested in the sauce and the pasta is just the vessel that delicious goo travels on.  Plus, it's more filling.  Without it, marinara is more like chunky tomato soup.

 

Even white sugar, unless it's in my holy milk chocolate, is less than a priority on my food chain.  I like sweets, but nothing too sweet.  And sugary candies don't do anything for me.  Like I said, chocolate is all I need.

 

Potatoes are a gray area for most.  As a vegetable, it's great.  As a starchy veg, not so much.  But potatoes are one carb I really can't resist, no matter what shape or form.  Mashed, smashed, baked, fried and any other way humanly possible to eat potatoes --- I'm in.

 

I've never made Hasselback potatoes before, but they remind me a bit like scalloped potatoes - butter and cheese oozing in between slices of rich, starchy goodness.  And, with the sour cream and chives, it's like a loaded baked potato.  So, it's essentially the two best ways to eat potatoes rolled into one.

 

Genius.

 

 

 

 

Hasselback Potatoes

 

4 Russet Potatoes

1 brick cheddar cheese

1/2 stick butter

Sour cream, for garnish

Diced chives, for garnish

 

 

 

Preheat oven 375F.

 

Clean each potato with a brush.

 

Cut 1/4" slits into the potatoes, careful not to cut completely through the potato.

 

Cut butter into thin slices and do the same with 1/2 of the brick of cheddar.

 

Alternate sliding the cheese and butter into the slits made in the potatoes. 

 

Bake for 45 minutes.

 

Shred the remaining cheddar.  Top the cooked potatoes with the shredded cheese and return to oven for additional 10-15 minutes.

 

Garnish with sour cream and chives.