Grilled Nectarines with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Grilled fruit is such a light and delicious dessert. It gives you that satisfying sweetness you need at the end of a meal (or at least us girls need it) without going crazy on calories or heaviness. And here’s the bonus! You can give this to kids and they don’t realize they are actually eating something healthy. Shhh…..don’t tell them! It’s our secret. When I made this last, our good friends and my parents were over for Cuban Garlic Chicken. My dad’s nectarine turned out the prettiest for a picture so the poor guy had to wait, staring at it longingly, while I paparazzied his poor dessert.
PS…Serve this with Tobin James Charisma.
PSS….Love ya!
Hubby’s Note: Tobin James is our favorite winery. The Charisma my wife is referring to is a sweet dessert wine they offer. It works really well with the dish. But a nice port or late harvest Zinfandel would go really well too. As for the Grilled Nectarines…mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Is there anything better than something hot and succulent served with cold vanilla ice cream? Actually, yes, there is. There’s a lot that’s better. But it’s still REALLY good. BTW honey, PSS? Post Super Script? Post Spaghetti Script? And I hope it was directed at me.
Chicken Parmigiana Arrabiatta
I LOVE Chicken Parmigiana. I know, I know, I’ve said before that I’m not a fan of chicken breast but seriously? When you bread it, fry it, cover it in delicious arrabiatta sauce and mozzarella; it makes my heart swoon. It’s kind of my standby plan when I’m not exactly sure what to do for dinner. It doesn’t take much time, it’s GREAT for leftovers and my family digs it. Nuff said.
Oh and because we all have busy lives, I’ve also included a shortcut version with store bought sauce.
Hubby’s note: For the record, anything is good when you fry it. Just ask the Chinese. (ducks feet anyone?) I don’t share my wife’s boredom for chicken. Especially when it’s on culinary steroids like this one is. This chicken is REALLY good. I can only guess that “Arrabiatta” is italian for “Kick-Ass”. I’m always the envy of my co-workers come lunch time as my delicious leftovers waft through the air. And this dish gets me more glances than usual.
Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Parmesan Polenta and an Herb Cream Sauce
I go through these kicks where I want to literally empty everything in my fridge and freezer and start anew. By that I mean, cook everything we’ve got. I HATE wasting food – especially produce – so I try to be very conscious of what we have lying around to make. One night I said to Ryan, “Choices are: Potstickers with fried rice, Ramen Pad Thai (I got VERY creative in college) or pork and polenta.” He chose the pork and polenta and… alas! A new recipe was born.
Hubby’s Note: Herb Cream Sauce! Herb Cream Sauce! I want to bathe in it!
Clean My Kitchen!
My brother-in-law is amazing. I love him dearly. Growing up I always wanted a little brother and I got one when I married Ryan. Granted he’s only 4 months younger than me but still. Dream come true! He’s currently down under filming a movie on the Gold Coast of Australia (he’s a producer). I took this picture just for my Seaners. Cause at family get togethers and especially at Thanksgiving, he does all of the dishes. Every single dish. And then he wipes down my counters and I praise him a million times for being the best brother in the world. But he was gone when we had a birthday party for my mother-in-law so this picture is for him. A show of the mess I cleaned up, all by myself. And how much he is missed. Not just for his cleaning kitchen capabilities….
Korozott
Weird name, right? I know! It’s a Hungarian recipe. And it’s one of the best ever cheese spreads you will ever make in your kitchen. It’s simple and so tasty. The original recipe calls for caraway seeds but I think caraway seeds are truly pure yuck so I omit them from my recipe. However, if you like caraway and you are absolutely positively sure that your family and friends who will devour this spread love it as well, add it in to your own taste.
Simon and Garfunkel Chicken Stuffed with Gorgonzola Cheese
Gosh, that’s a mouthful. But I feel like it needed its whole title, ya know? Sing with me – parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme….Here is the deal. I am SO NOT a big fan of chicken breast. It just seems boring. I like it in my salads but honestly, to BBQ chicken breast? It usually comes out dry and yuck. Now, my father-in-law LOVES chicken breast. Being a loving daughter-in-law, when he came over for dinner one night I made him this chicken. On the BBQ. (well, Ryan grilled it. He’s the grill master. Which reminds me, get ready cause I have a Labor Day weekend grilling extravaganza coming your way – time to get your man involved! Okay – back to this chicken now.) When I took the first bite I thought to myself, “Holy Bananas!! That’s YUM!” Add the cilantro corn and fire roasted artichokes on the side and it was a completely yummy meal. I borrowed the seasoning ingredients from my pals at Amazingribs.com and then stepped it up a notch by stuffing this chicken with gorgonzola cheese. Here we go peeps!
Hubby’s Note: Men love fire. Men love food. Thus, men should grill. I learned how to grill about a year ago from Craig “Meathead” Goldwyn on his site www.amazingribs.com. It’s so much more than ribs and if you are a man, you need to check it out. If you have a man in your life, you need to send him there for tokens of wisdom such as “If you boil ribs, the terrorists win”. Anyway, I found this spice rub (and the S&G moniker) on Meathead’s site. And my amazing wife pumped it up a notch. Hubby inspired, hubby approved!
Forty Cloves of Garlic Chicken
We spent the 4th of July weekend up at my parents house in Bear Valley Springs. Their Homeowner’s Association puts together this non-stop action packed weekend for the 4th. There are hot air balloons that take off every morning, a fair, a parade, swimming, live music, movies in the park…it just goes on and on. So, when talking to my dad about all of the guests they would have at the house and how I could help with the cooking, he said, “will you make that garlic chicken thing you made for your mom on her birthday?” So, I did. And he had two helpings (maybe three but who’s counting.) I served it with my mashed potatoes and some crusty french bread to sop up the garlic and sauce.
Hubby’s note: This dish MUST be served with some kind of bread. The chicken is outstanding. But the BEST part of this dish is the melted garlic cognac sauce in the pot. Garlic + Cognac + Chicken + Carbs = Heaven You could even take the chicken out of that equation, but not the carbs. You need the bread to sop up this delicious slice of heaven. I’ve said before that my wife’s cooking has the power to make me levitate. This dish does that. Ridiculously good. I give it Two Thumbs Up with a Snap in Z Formation.
Pizza Toppings Cupcake Tin
My mother-in-law has been in Florida with her family for the last few weeks so we invited my father-in-law for dinner on Friday night. He is a serious pizza lover like Ryan and I so…we made grilled pizzas. As I was preparing all of the toppings, I had an idea. I like to use my cupcake tin for snacks for the kids throughout out the day. Fresh blueberries, strawberries and other fruits, pretzels, Pirate’s Booty…And I just leave it on their little table and they can grab something as their whizzing by playing or tormenting one another. So, I thought to myself, I could use my cupcake tin to display all of my toppings for pizzas. Then you could see all of the delicious little treats to put on top of your yummy pizza. And! I only have to wash one dish! Not 16 ramekins! I swear I felt like I had found a buried little treasure in my kitchen. And now you have a buried treasure in your kitchen too. Yay!
And, here is the link for my homemade pizzas!
http://www.mommybistro.com/homemade-pizza
Flourless Nutella Cake
Oh Nutella, how I love thee…. Growing up we would make these amazing crepes by spreading Nutella on them, rolling them up and chowing them down (don’t worry, the French crepe recipe is coming soon). Recently, my mom and Pixie were out running errands together before the three of us went for pedicures. Don’t judge! It was for my mom’s birthday and Pixie is a GIRLY. GIRL! So, my mom calls me and says, “We got too busy and never got her any lunch. She’s been eating her snacks but will you bring her a sandwich too?” And I’m thinking to myself, “well it is kind of a special occasion so I will make her a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich.” I’ve never seen a kid eat a sandwich so fast. She was covered in Nutella and had this goofy cross eyed look on her face like, “where have you been all of my life Nutella!?!?!? I’m only 3 1/2 but where have you been!?!?!” Anyways, back to this cake. This is my husband’s absolute favorite cake. Well, this one and my Guiness Chocolate Cake. Each year for his birthday I can almost guarantee he will ask for this cake. And then his eyes inevitably end up crossing… and I see where Pixie gets it from.
Hubby’s note: There are two things that my wife does that makes my eyes cross. This is the “G” rated one. And this cake is so good, it may possibly be a substitute for the other one. I like it with Port. Or Tobin James’ Late Harvest Zinfandel. This cake actually melts in your mouth. I don’t mean that as a cliche. It physically melts. No chewing required. Eating this cake is like floating on a warm hazelnut cloud. Um…that made much more sense in my head. And for the record, i’m working on butching up the girly girl.
Cuban Garlic Chicken
I posted a picture of this chicken on Facebook and it got such an amazing response, I felt that I had to get this onto Mommy Bistro for you as soon as possible! If you have ever had real Cuban Garlic Chicken (meaning you have been to Versailles Restaurant in Encino, CA or another location), then you know what I am about to give you. Anyone who has been to this gem of a restaurant, realizes the magnitude of the gift this recipe is. I obviously didn’t steal their recipe (if I only knew how!!), so this is my own version. This is the dish to end all dishes, the-end-of-the-world-what-am-I-going-to-eat-before-I-die Cuban Garlic Chicken. The last time I made this I didn’t have time to go to Jons Market for La Lechorana so I used the Albertsons brand from concentrate orange juice and I used three lemons instead of two. I serve this chicken with cilantro rice and black beans.
Hubby’s Note: If I were on Death Row, this might possibly be my last meal request. But only because you can’t count on the quality of the Filet Mignon in prisons these days. They don’t make them like they used to. Back to the Chicken – it’s amazing. I’ve been known to start speaking in a Cuban dialect while eating this dish and spouting the benefits of communism whilst cursing the capitalist pigs that insist–wait, I digress. Ok, I know it looks nice and neat in the picture, but I highly recommend ripping this dish a new one. I cut all the chicken up first and then ditch the carcass so I can devote 100% of my attention to the delicious mess of Chickeny Citrusy Garlicy Rice-Beansy Oniony goodness before me. Warning – suprisingly, the hottest part of this dish is the raw onion. I asked my wife if she could maybe sweat the onion a little bit to tone it down. She responded by taking my “Man-Card” from me. I had to do masonry work in the yard to earn it back.