Cajun Fettuccine

So I had the Landlords over on Friday night to celebrate our one year since we all went on the Alaska cruise. You'd think I'd do something like salmon, but instead I had this fantastic recipe I had made once before in my mind. This one. Only I didn't realize that was the name of it and made the recipe below instead.  BIG DIFFERENCE.

This recipe wasn't as flavorful at all. In fact, lacked a great deal in flavor. I'm bummed that I got confused because I think the Landlords and Blueberry would have really liked the other one.

I made one almost pizza ordering mistake. The recipe calls to add an egg yolk to the heavy cream and chicken broth. I added the whole egg on accident. When I added that mixture to the hot pan, I had scrambled eggs. I'm sure it would have tasted fine, but it looked gross.  I dumped, well strained, the whole thing. Cleaned off the sausage and started all over again.

On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being AWESOME. This was a one.

Cajun Fettuccine
Serves 6

• 3/4 lb fettuccine
• 3/4 lb kielbasa, sliced (I used linguisa sausage instead)
• 1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
• 1 T garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp cayenne, or to taste
• 1/4 c sherry
• 1 c heavy cream
• 1/3 c chicken broth
• 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 1 c frozen peas
• 1/3 c Parmesan, grated
• 1 T unsalted butter
• Sliced scallions

Cook fettuccine according to package directions; drain.

Sauté kielbasa in oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat until brown. Add the shrimp and cook just until pink, about 1 minute. Stir in garlic and cayenne; cook for 30 seconds.

Deglaze with sherry and simmer until nearly evaporated.  Whisk cream, broth and yolk together. Add it to the pan along with pasta and peas. Bring to a simmer, stir in the Parmesan, and cook until thick.

Finish with butter and scallions.

Holy Crap These are Amazing Cookies

I'm not sure how I stumbled on to this blog, but I'm so glad I did. Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy is it's name. It's an awesome cooking site.  Anyhow, these cookies were one of her recipes and I decided to make them for a dinner party I had on Friday night. Turns out these are AMAZING cookies. Amazingly delicious, and amazingly easy.

Make them. You won't regret it.

The only change to the recipe I made was I didn't drizzle with chocolate. I had some chocolate issues that weren't good, so I decided to pass on that action.

Photo by Sticky, Gooey,
Creamy, Chewy

Holy Crap These are Amazing Cookies
Recipe from Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

• 1 c sugar
• 1 c corn syrup
• 1 jar (18 oz ounce) peanut butter, crunchy or smooth (I like creamy.)
• 6 c corn flakes
• 3 ounces good quality chocolate of your choice (I used Scharffen Berger Semisweet 62%.)

Combine sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and stir until the mixture comes to a full boil.

Remove from heat and stir in the whole jar of peanut butter. Mix well.

Add corn flakes to a large bowl. Pour peanut butter mixture over corn flakes and mix well, taking care to coat all of the corn flakes.

With a tablespoon or cookie scoop, scoop out and form into 1-2 inch balls, depending on your preference, and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.

Put the chocolate in a small bowl and melt in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir until smooth.

Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies.

When cooled, eat these cookies with reckless abandon. Be careful, though. We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt!

Hungarian Style Shepherd's Pie

Every once in awhile a super easy and super delicious recipe falls across my desk. THIS is one of those recipes.  A great complex depth of flavor in the gravy of the beef mixture. It had me almost licking the plate it was that good. 

I didn't use parsnips in this recipe either. I didn't have them on my grocery list, so just went with mashed potatoes.

The recipe says it serves 4 - but I think it could easily serve 6 if you had other sides.

If you do nothing else in your life...make. this. recipe.

Hungarian Style Shepherd's Pie
Recipe from Rachael Ray
Serves 4

• 1 large red bell pepper
• 2 pounds top sirloin or sirloin tips cut into bite-size pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Flour, for dredging
• 1/4 c  extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion or 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 to 3 medium carrot, small dice
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• About 1/4 cup sweet paprika (I used about 3 T and it was a good amount)
• 1/2 T caraway seeds, half a palmful
• A couple sprigs fresh marjoram, leaves picked and chopped or about 2 teaspoons dried
• 1/4 c  tomato paste
• 3 c  beef stock
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• 2 pounds starchy potatoes, peeled and cubed or sliced 1-inch thick
• 2 to 3 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 T butter
• 2/3 to 1 cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• A handful fresh dill, parsley or chives, finely chopped

Char the bell pepper over an open burner flame or under the broiler with the oven door slightly cracked for the steam to escape until black, turning frequently. Place the charred pepper in a bowl until cool enough to handle, then peel the pepper, chop, and reserve.

Meanwhile, pat the meat dry and season liberally with salt and pepper, dredge in flour. Heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the meat and brown on both sides. Remove the browned meat to a plate and add the remaining olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Add the onions, carrots, garlic, paprika, caraway, marjoram and cook to soften 5 to 6 minutes. Add in the tomato paste and stir 1 minute. Stir in the beef stock and Worcestershire and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and slide the meat and peppers into the pot. Cook 30 minutes, until beef is just tender.

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes and parsnips until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and return to the hot pot and mash with salt, pepper, butter, sour cream, egg, and herb of choice.

Place the goulash into a casserole dish and top with potatoes. Cool the dish completely and store for make-ahead meal.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Reheat and bake until heated through and potatoes are brown on top, 45 to 60 minutes. If you do not make this dish as a make ahead meal then brown potatoes under hot broiler on the middle rack of the oven 5 to 7 minutes until golden at edges.

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies

I'm not a person who has a sweet tooth, mostly. I'm more the carb, bread, cheese, deep fried craver.  Once in a great while though I like to make cookies.  I only make them when I can take them somewhere otherwise I'll have two or three the first day and be done with them.  I had an occasion to make some cookies this week and opted for these Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies.

Interesting cookies. Flavor wise, they're delicious.  Texture wise they were odd.  The photo shows the cookies more flat which makes them more crunchy type of cookie, which I love. My cookies turned out a bit more puffier and had a consistency of meringue. Which is fine, just not what I was expecting. Still they're good cookies and quick and easy to make.

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies
Makes 3 dozen

• 1 c flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 c butter
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 c chocolate chips
• 1/2 c chopped hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350F.

Sift dry ingredients into a small bowl; set aside.

Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture on low speed. Once combined add the chocolate chips and half the hazelnuts.

Drop tsp size balls of the dough onto a prepared cookie sheet. Flatten each with a fork or your hand and top with remaining hazelnuts and press lightly into the surface.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Japanese Beef Stew

I know. I know. Stew in August? Seems odd, I know. But the snifter of recipes spoke and the beef stew is what it said. Besides its been chillier than normal the last couple of days.

This stew was interesting to me. I'm used to stews being savory and this stew was sweet.  It's called Nikujaga in Japanese and is a classic home-cooked winter dish for the Japanese.  It consists of meat and potatoes in a sweetened soy based broth.  Strangely delicious.

Japanese Beef Stew
Serves 6

• 2 lb boneless beef chuck roast, cut into large chunks
• 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and halved
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped on a bias
• 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1 oz dried shitake mushrooms, rinsed (I don't like shitakes so I used button mushrooms)
• 1 c water
• 1/2 c sake or dry white wine
• 1/3 c low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 c sugar
• 2 T mirin or rice wine
• 2 T fish sauce
• 1 T minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 c minced scallions (which I forgot)

Combine everything but the scallions in a slow cooker.  Cook on high heat for 3-4 hours or low heat 7-8 hours. I cooked it on slow heat to make sure the meat was nice and tender.

To serve, use a fork and pull the meat and potatoes into bite size pieces. Skim the fat off the broth (which I didn't have a lot). Garnish with scallions.

Super easy and quite good.

Beer Marinated Skirt Steak

I've never actually used beer to marinate anything. I've used beer in stews and soups and such, but never to marinate.  I saw this recipe on Mexican Made Easy and thought it would be a fun, out of the box, marinade for me.

I chose to marinate the flat iron steak for a good portion of the day. The store didn't have skirt steaks, so flat iron or flank is a good substitute.  I followed this recipe to the T and boy was it worth it.

The beer flavor really came through from the marinade. The orange in the marinade left just a hint of the citrus flavor. Enough for you to realize there was something else in the marinade. 

The Pantry Goat was over to help me sample this dinner and agreed, the meat was fantastic.

Super easy and delicious. What more could you want?

Beer Marinated Skirt Steak
Recipe from Mexican Made Easy, Food Network
Serves 4

• 1 orange, thinly sliced with peel
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, halved and smashed
• 2 1/2 pounds Skirt steak
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup light colored beer (preferably lager style)
• 1/2 cup soy sauce

In a wide, shallow glass baking dish, scatter half of the orange slices, half of the onion slices and half of the garlic pieces on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the steak all over with salt and pepper and put in the dish on top of the orange and onion slices. Scatter the remaining orange, onion and garlic over the steak and pour in the beer and soy sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for 1 hour at room temperature or up to overnight in the refrigerator.

Prepare a barbeque on medium-high heat or preheat a broiler. Remove the meat from the marinade and discard the marinade. Grill the steak to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Serve as desired.

Jenn Note: So in adding this recipe I realized I didn't include the soy sauce in the marinade...that could explain what the beer taste was so prevalent. I'm just sayin'.

Cookie Cupcakes with Raspberry Fluff Frosting

I am a big fan of cupcakes. They're simple, little, delicious, single serving treats.  I make them often for just about any occasion.

Yesterday was Sunday dinner. The 1st Anniversary of the Sunday Dinner tradition. I was going to have a small crowd here so figured a nice simple cupcake would do the trick.

Then I got my Every Day Food Magazine and flipped to discover a cupcake with frosting that has MARSHMALLOW cream.  OMG.  Really? I had to make it.

Super simple recipe, BIG flavor and worth the calories.

Photo by Jenn Wraspir

Cookie Cupcakes with Raspberry Fluff Frosting
Recipe from Everyday Food
Makes 12 - 15

• 1 cup (2 sticks) plus 2 T unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 c all purpose flour
• 1 c granulated sugar
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 c buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 12 cream filled chocolate sandwich cookies (I used Oreo's)
• 3T seedless raspberry jam
• 3 cups marshmallow topping
• 1/3 c confectioners' sugar

Preheat your oven to 350F. Line 12 standard cupcake muffin cups with paper liners. Melt 2 T butter; let cool.  In a large bowl whisk together: cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Lightly beat the egg and egg yolk. Add the eggs, melted butter, buttermilk, vanilla and 1/2 c hot water; whisk until smooth.

Spoon 1 T of batter into each lined cupcake. Top each with an Oreo.  Top each with 1T of batter.

Bake until cupcakes are puffed and set, 15 minutes, rotating pan half way through. Let cupcakes cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat 1 c butter and raspberry jam on medium-high heat until smooth. Add marshmallow topping and confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth.

Transfer mixture to a quart size zip top bag. With scissors cut a small hole on one corner. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and serve immediately. 

Sherrie's Most Delicious Salad Ever

My cousin Blueberry often asks what she can bring when I invite her to dinner.  I often tell her nothing.  Though I've gotten better about letting her, and others, bring things to dinner.  Sometime in the last couple of months Blueberry brought this salad.

I almost licked the bowl.

I like salads.  I especially like viddles in my salad.  My salads are about all that can be put in them over the lettuce that's in it.  There's something about the combination of the viddles in this salad that just set my taste buds off on an adventure they don't want to return on. I hope you enjoy it too.

Sherrie's Most Delicious Salad Ever
Serves 6 (if people don't get addicted to it like me)

• romaine lettuce, enough to feed 6 people
• 1 handful red grapes, sliced in half
• 1 handful craisins
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

DRESSING

• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/4 c apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 c red wine vinegar
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1 tsp poppy seeds

CANDIED ALMONDS

• 1/2 c slivered almonds
• 1/4 c sugar

Put 1/2 cup slivered almonds and 1/4 cup sugar into a pan. Cook until sugar is melted and bubbling. Coating the almonds.  Watch them carefully as they can burn really quickly. Pour them on to a piece of parchment paper and let cool (you're essentially making sugared almonds).

Put lettuce, red grapes, craisins and cheese in a bowl.  

Mix the dressing ingredients together and let sit.

Add the sugared almonds.  Dress the salad just before serving.