Batter Licker

grilled herbed shrimp

Kristen — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:00:29 +0000

Sometimes, in my kitchen, at our friends' home using their grill, and in the food blogging world, things just don't go as planned. Recipes go horribly awry; pictures turn out blurry; fluorescent lighting makes food appear greenish, blueish or just plain blah.

Or the incredibly simple but WOW shrimp recipe I've loved and made for years - with Beautiful Grill Marks Every Single Time - ends up having Zero Grill Marks, Whatsoever the one time I finally remembered to take photographs.

Thankfully, despite a few snafus during the cooking process, the shrimp still tasted pretty freakin' great.

Snafus?? Well, let's just say that, if a man walking around in an Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat offers to grill the shrimp you've so carefully and beautifully marinated ...

... Read the rest of grilled herbed shrimp on BatterLicker.com!

bacon fat pan-fried brussels sprouts

Kristen — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:04:35 +0000

Unless it's boiled to death, I absolutely adore cabbage. The same adoration does not apply equally to Brussels sprouts.

Although, like bananas, I keep trying to like them, I just haven't had much success. Then I experienced a duck fat fried epiphany at Perbacco. The sprouts had been cooked until tender on the inside and fried to crisp, browned perfection. I couldn't get enough of them.

So when I saw some Brussels sprouts on sale, I recalled the bacon fat I had lingering in my freezer and thought I'd try something similar - but much cheaper than an evening at Perbacco.

A couple tablespoons of bacon fat, a few pinches of salt and pepper, a sprinkling of Parmesan, and about 7 minutes later, these pan-fried Brussels sprouts came together as a decadent, quick, and easy little side dish for a date-night-at-home dinner with Jay.

Jay even gobbled them up too. Take that, tongue. I've finally tallied a point in favor of the little green cabbages in my ongoing battle against my taste buds.

... Read the rest of bacon fat pan-fried brussels sprouts on BatterLicker.com!

zucchini, onion and potato latkes with chive sour cream

Kristen — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:19:01 +0000

Too late for latkes now that Chanukah is about a month behind us? Nonsense! That would be like saying it's too late for baked potatoes - or soup.

Seeing as frigid, rainy winter weather is just starting to renew itself after a dry heat spell here in San Francisco, I can't believe any of those could possibly be out of season just yet.

... Read the rest of zucchini, onion and potato latkes on BatterLicker.com!

we do

Kristen — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:43:06 +0000

On October 14, 2011 ...

... Jay and I prepared to exchange rings and formalize what we had already felt in our hearts since moving to San Francisco together in 2005.

... we arrived at the Julia Morgan Ballroom quite early, and spent a few hours snooping around while everything got set up; ordering two insanely large platters of Mediterranean salads, hummus, falafel, gyros, and shawarma wraps for friends and family who intended to stop by; running around downtown San Francisco in search of pita bread once we realized it had been omitted from our order by mistake; and spending a wonderfully private lunchtime together.

... I kicked Jay out once my mom arrived with my dress in tow, and sent him back to his parents and grandmother at the Omni Hotel across the street.

... the scene was set with flickering candlelight, plush couches, roaring fireplaces, and a colorful assortment of fall elements, ranging from purple and green artichokes to fiery calla lilies to Brussels sprouts, gourds, squashes, chili peppers, pumpkins, and berries.

Yes, those are artichokes in my bouquet; it was utterly fabulous.

... Read the rest of we do on BatterLicker.com!

roasted chicken, cabbage and bosc pear

Kristen — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:25:52 +0000

This might be the easiest dinner ever. Prep takes mmmmmmmm ... maybe five minutes, involving only a little basic slicing and the rubbing and sprinkling of spices. Then the oven works its magic for 45 minutes or so while the scent of roasted chicken wafts through the air, tickling noses and taste buds alike.

And have you ever had roasted cabbage before? It's heavenly. You should try it. Especially if you think you don't like cabbage. The sweet cabbage develops this nutty, charred flavor and crispy edges that drive me so absolutely bonkers that I make brilliant decisions. Like roasting an entire, giant cabbage for just two people's dinner. Operation Super Awesome Lunch Leftovers: Complete.

... Read the rest of roasted chicken, cabbage and bosc pear on BatterLicker.com!

project wedding dessert bar: part 14 (moroccan-spiced crispy chickpeas)

Kristen — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:48:27 +0000

I'm a crispy chickpea addict. A year and a half ago, this snack ushered me through weeks of studying for the bar exam during Summer 2010, and (especially after passing the exam) I've felt indebted to it ever since.

So in some weird way, it made sense to include this snack - which stood ~~by my side~~ in my mouth during some of my more miserable moments - in the dessert bar I created for family and friends to enjoy on an evening celebrating one of the consistent sources of happiness during the past decade of my life: my relationship with Jay. But the inclusion of chickpeas also made sense from another perspective.

In retrospect, I realized that the desserts I chose to serve at my wedding very much reflected a sugary timeline of my life and development.

... Read the rest of project wedding dessert bar: part 14 (moroccan-spiced crispy chickpeas) on BatterLicker.com!

bacon fat-roasted fingerling potatoes stuffed with beet horseradish ricotta

Kristen — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:42:33 +0000

I realize stuffing fingerling potatoes sounds a little ... crazy. And it totally is. I admit it. But don't freak out and leave yet! I have a solution. Just because I'm nuts doesn't mean you can't maintain your sanity while still enjoying the delicious benefits of this recipe.

... Read the rest of bacon fat-roasted fingerling potatoes stuffed with beet horseradish ricotta on BatterLicker.com!

candy cane snowtini

Kristen — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:01:13 +0000

I admit it. I finally succumbed to the infusing-vodka-with-candy madness that's been going around. I'm not proud, but it was too easy not to do it. There were a few stray candy canes, some lonely vodka and a clean glass jar hanging around, begging for attention.

I justified it by arguing - in my head, of course - that I wouldn't have gotten around to eating those last few candy canes anyway; the vodka would have sat untouched for another 6 months; the jar needed to serve a practical function or else get tossed into the recycling bin; and a candy cane vodka would really just be peppermint vodka, which wasn't too bizarre (ahem, candy corn vodka) had to taste great in some sort of cocktail.

And it did taste fantastic in this one. Like a grownup peppermint milkshake of sorts. Except then I had to go and name it a "snowtini," which sounds so frou-frou I'm not sure I'd ever order it off a cocktail menu.

... Read the rest of candy cane snowtini on BatterLicker.com!

sausage and spinach stuffed mushrooms

Kristen — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:37:46 +0000

Do you know anyone who doesn't like stuffed mushrooms? I don't. Even self-proclaimed mushroom-avoiders dig in eagerly when the mushrooms are stuffed with ingredients they love.

Sausage. Greens. Bacon. Cheese. Bread crumbs. Whatever you have on hand or know your friends and family love to eat generally works as a stuffing.

/p>

My favorite thing about stuffing mushrooms, besides the endless flexibility with stuffing ingredients, is that the natural size of mushrooms is appetizer-friendly: one or two bites' worth of food. No time-consuming prep required, as it often is when I'm trying to convert something larger to small, bite-sized, nibble-appropriate portions.

I also love that the mushrooms themselves are naturally shaped as cups, which allows them to act as fairly mess-free, self-contained vessels. This makes them easy to serve with or sans toothpicks, which is key because I often forget to pick up toothpicks anyway.

... Read the rest of sausage and spinach stuffed mushrooms on BatterLicker.com!

check me out on BlogHer!

Kristen — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:08:42 +0000

Remember this Project Wedding Dessert Bar Series post on bourbon spice and fleur de sel caramels? I am thrilled and honored that BlogHer asked me to share my caramel recipes with the millions of BlogHer Food readers! Please head on over to BlogHer.com and check out my post, in addition to the many other fabulous recipe- [...]