Gone With the Whisk

New England, Good Food & a Propsal

2011-11-07T20:20:00.000-06:00

So much has happend since we last talked. We took a trip to New Hampshire & the New England coast. It was beautiful, I could totally see myself living up there. We drove through White Mountain State Park, that's where that picture you see above was taken. On that drive we stopped at a hiking trail & the Hunk proposed & I said yes. YAH!! Which means now we have alot going on around the GWW household, lots of wedding planning is happening as we are planning for the end of May.
WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!

Also on our little vacation we took a road trip up the coast of Maine (home of the lobster roll) & it too was gorgeous. The beaches are incredible, nothing like our Gulf Coast beaches but just as breathtaking. We said we wouldn't mind taking a summer trip to Maine & try out their beaches for a week or so. The beaches there are very rocky, the sand is almost black but it's just like what you see in movies, we loved it.

On our trip that day we stopped for lunch at Capt'n & Patty's, just south of York, Maine. It was a small little place overlooking the harbor. I was determined to get a lobster roll that day & Capt'n & Patty's did not disappoint. It was a delicious blend of lump lobster meat mixed with a little mayo, maybe some lemon juice & fresh parsley all stuff in a split slice of buttery, toasted french bread. It doesn't sound like much I know but trust me I could have eaten several of these things & for every meal. It came with a side of their home-made onion rings which were equally as good.

We drove further up the coast to the Nubble Lighthouse, it was originally built in 1879 & the house in 1901. It was very picturesque as you can see above. It reminded us of the house in Beetlejuice too. Ha!

The feeling you get when you see this picture, you know where you just look at it & go "ahhhh", that was the feel of that entire area. Absolutley wonderful, easy, breezy & relaxing.

The lighthouse sits on an island of sorts & can only be reached by a bucket that's suspended on a pulley like system. It wasn't open to the public so we only got to see it from the opposite shore, along with about 100 other folks. We didn't realize what we were going to see when we said "let's follow the signs to that lighthouse, that would be neat." And look what we found.

We saw alot of pretty scenery while in New England in addition to Maine & midcentral New Hampshire. We even drove over to Vermont one day to look at covered bridges. We had a pint at some really neat pubs & good food at some really neat restaurants as well.

One of those restaurants was the famous Red Arrow Diner. We had lunch on our last day before we hit the airport. We discovered it when searching cool places to go & found that this was on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, so of course we had to check it out. And let me tell you it was well worth the time, they have a huge menu, almost anything you want plus they have daily specials. I would love to go there for a solid week & have every meal even though I still wouldn't get try everything I wanted.

It was a tiny little L-shaped diner with only about 6 feet between the counter & the wall & only 5 booths on one end. You actually went through the kitchen to get to the bathroom, the Hunk had to go & the cook says to him "hey buddy, that way" & points to the restroom. Ha! We thought that was pretty funny.

Anyway, we sat at a booth & discovered that we were sitting where Adam Sandler sat when he visited the Red Arrow, the name plate above was on the back of the booth. We started looking around & I was sitting where Al Gore had sat, there were several other celebrity notations on the other booths too along with their signed picture of them sitting in said booth. Not a bad end to an awesome trip.

The Red Arrow, & alot of places in New England, are famous for their beans. So of course we had to order a side of them. They were really good, a little sweet, alot like baked beans without the BBQ sauce in them.

And to us they are just baked beans that everyone has at any summer time cookout. But to the folks of New Englad they are a staple. You really can find them on almost every non-specialty restaurant menu.

My actual lunch was a turkey club, you could choose any side & I chose one of my favorites, mac & cheese. The turkey club was very good, it wasn't sliced deli turkey it was freshly sliced turkey from a fturkey fresh cooked that day, you could tell. The bacon was plentiful too & cooked perfectly. The mac & cheese was creamy & delicous & they put an extra spoonful of the cheese sauce on top before they serve it. The Hunk tried one of the specials, a cheeseburger quesadilla & had a side of their famous chicken & rice soup. We wished we could have taken an extra order of both home with us.

But there was one thing that might overshadow the famous beans & soup & specials & sandwiches. And that is their house made twinkies. I ate too much at lunch & couldn't eat it right away. But I did dig in the next day when we got home & it was pretty good. A nice sponge cake with a marshmallowey-icing like filling. You definitley should stop by the Red Arrow & get your own Twinkie next time your in Manchester, New Hampshire.

We had a great trip & I'm so glad I'm finally getting to share it & our good news of the approaching wedding with you.

I'll be back later in the week with a new recipe & a DIY project on the new At Home section of my blog.

Love,
GWW

Caprese Stuffed Chicken with Balsamic Reduction

2011-10-16T10:00:00.016-05:00

Who doesn't love Italy?

Even if you've never been to Italy you love it.

We also love the Italian colors of red, green & white, they are used in everything, flags, food, decorations, furniture. They are everywhere.

We love salad, especially caprese salad which is tomato (red), basil (green) & cheese (white) with balsamic vinegar.

So since we love all those things so much why not stuff them into the meat that we also love so much, chicken & top it with a sauce that everyone loves as well, balsmic vinegar.

I'm always trying to come up with new & different things to do with chicken. We have it alot around the GWW house & it gets boring fixing it the same way all the time. So, I thought I was being brilliant when I came up with this recipe.

Come to find out I'm not the first person to create this.

I was a little disappointed to find out I wasn't as creative as I thought or at least not anymore creative than every other foodie out there.

But I'm okay with it, I think.

Let's see what you think.

I started with 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast. These were of pretty good size too. So I placed them on top of some wax paper & covered them with another sheet of wax paper.

And I beat them to within an inch of there lives. Actually to about 1/2 an inch. It took banging on the chicken on both sides to get them as thin as I wanted. My poor mallet was worn out.

Then I seasoned both sides with seasoned salt, pepper, garlic salt & italian seasoning & set them to the side.

I grabbed 3 roma tomatoes, one for each chicken breast, sliced them in half & got all the seeds out.

I sliced some fresh mozzarella, 2 slices for each chicken breast & I grabbed a basil leaf or 2 (not pictured) for each chicken breast as well.

I layered the tomatoes, basil & cheese on one end of the chicken breast.

And carefully rolled it up, securing it with toothpicks. This is not the neatest chicken rolling job I know, but it's the best I could do. Next time I may beat the chicken out thinner to see if that helps.

I then heated some olive oil over medium high heat & seared the outside of the chicken, again, not an easy task with the toothpicks.

I browned the chicken on each side for about 2-3 mins, just long enough to get a good golden crust on them.

Then they were placed in a greased baking dish & baked on 375 for about 30 mins.

They came out golden & delicious. But as you can see I needed to do a better job of closing up the ends of the chicken as some of the cheese made it's way out. So make that mental note for yourself.

While the chicken baked I prepared a balsamic reduction. I failed to take pictures of that, but it would have been pretty boring because all that consist of is 1 cup of balsamic vinegar brought to a boil then the heat reduced to simmer until it reduces by half, then add 1/4 cup of brown sugar & continue heating until mixture is thick & syrup like.

Slice your chicken & drizzle with the reduction & serve. The balsamic reduction is the key to this chicken, it was a delicious combination.

Try it yourself & let me know how it turns out.

Caprese Stuffed Chicken with Balsamic Reduction
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded to 1/4" thick
Seasoned Salt, Garlic Salt, Black Pepper & Italian Seasoning to taste
3 Roma tomatoes, sliced in half & seeds removed
6 slices 1/4 slices of mozzarella cheese
3-6 fresh basil leaves
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Season both sides of the chicken breast with the salts, pepper & italian seasoning. Place 2 tomato halves, 1 or 2 basil leaves & 2 slices of cheese on one end of chicken breast. Roll chicken, jelly roll style & secure sides & ends with toothpicks. Heat oil over medium high heat, place chicken breast in oil & sear each side, about 3 minutes per side. Place chicken breast in baking dish in greased baking dish & bake for 30 minutes. While chicken bakes heat balsamic vinegar over high heat to boiling, reduce heat & simmer until vinegar has reduced by half. Add brown sugar & continue heating until mixture has thickened & has a syrup like texture. Once chicken is done, slice & drizzle with balsamic reduction to serve.

Creamy Sausage Dip

2011-10-12T17:23:00.000-05:00

Yes, another dip recipe.

As I stated last week, I love finger foods & dips would be included in those & this one is especially yummy. You really don't even need a chip or anything as your finger will work just fine or a spoon for those of you who may be more civilized on occasion.

This recipe came to me from my dear friend Marian. Marian is one of the most even keel people you will ever meet in your life. She always has a smile on her face. It has been questioned however whether that smile is from the her being truly positive all the time & seeing the good in all things or delirium. The jury is still out & I feel sure she will agree with me on that.

Marian also has the sweetest, cutest children you will ever lay eyes on. Her first born Charlie, he's 3, there are no words to describe that child. He's just too adorable & funny.

Her second, Mari Evelyn is only 5 months & as big as her 3 year old brother. Seriously, this kid is one of those chubby babies that has rolls on her arms & legs. I just love to see babies like that they are too cute.

So enough about Marian & her perfect family (her husband is a jewel as well by the way). Let's get back to the dip.

This recipe is a staple for Marian & the rest of her family when it comes to football games, showers of any kind or just when you are in the mood for a good snack. Marian also calls it 1-2-3 dip, but I decided to take the liberty of changing the name to something that sounds a little more appetizing...Creamy Sausage Dip. I'm sure Marian won't mind...she's even keeled remember.

So what's in this dip you ask? Well let's see...

First you'll need 1 pound of ground sausage, browned & drained. This is the 1 in the 1-2-3 & the sausage in the creamy sausage dip. Get it? Good. That's what I'm here for, to state the obvious.

Moving on.

Next you'll place 3 8oz blocks of cream cheese in the same pan you used for the sausage. We are getting out of order here, but this is the 3 in the 1-2-3 & the creamy in the creamy sausage dip.

Heat the cheese over medium-low heat until it is thoroughly melted. You will need to continuously stir this so that it doesn't stick to the pan & scorch.

After the cheese is creamy & smooth add the sausage back in.

Mix that together really well to incorporate the flavors & continue letting the cheese get melty & creamy.

Now add in 2 cans of rotel tomatoes or diced tomatoes with green chilis as some brands call it. You will not drain the tomatoes. The juice helps keep the dip from getting goopey & sticky when it cools down some. And this is the 2 in the 1-2-3.

Mix all that together until it's hot & slightly bubbly. I also added a dash of salt & black pepper & a pinch of cilantro. None of that is necessary however, it's sheer preference.

When it's all heated it is ready to serve. You can keep this in a crock-pot to keep it warm if serving it a party & it's just as good room temperature as it is hot.

I serve this with corn chips scoops, Marian serves it with wheat thin crackers. You may serve it with whatever you like. To keep it low carb it would go well with pork skins or vegetables...or a spoon.

Enjoy!!

Creamy Sausage Dip (aka 1-2-3 Dip)

1lb sausage, browned & drained
2 cans rotel tomatoes, undrained
3-8oz blocks of cream cheese
Salt, Pepper, Cilantro to taste (optional)

After browning & draining your sausage place the cream cheese in a pan over medium-low heat. Stir until cheese is melted & creamy. Add sausage back to cheese, stir well, then add tomatoes. You may add a dash of salt, pepper & cilantro if you prefer. Continue stirring dip until heated through & it just starts to bubble. Serve with corn chip scoops or wheat thins.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

2011-10-07T10:00:00.001-05:00

It's football season & you know what that means.

It's the season of dips, chips, snacks & all things bite size & delicious.

I love finger foods.

I would live on finger foods alone if I could. Like in that movie Mermaids where Cher plays the mom & Winona Ryder is her teenage daughter & Cher makes finger foods for all of their meals.

That would be awesome to me. I would love it.

So now that I've probably upset all the male readers out there by comparing football season to a Cher movie, let's get on with things.

I initially found this recipe when I saw the pinned picture on Pinterest.

Pinterest is my new addiction & it will be yours too if you go there. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I saw the picture of the dip & wanted the recipe. So I navigated my way through Pinterest to get to the link for Closet Cooking's Jalapeno Popper Dip. This is another cooking blog that I now read daily. Kevin has a ton of great recipes, you should check him out.

I printed the recipe & read it over & it got me to thinking.

Where Kevin's recipe called for panko bread crumbs on top to mimic the battered & fried outside of a traditional jalapeno popper I thought I'd substitute that with more cheddar cheese & add bacon. One, this makes it more low-carb friendly & two, if I had to choose I'd choose my jalapeno popper be wrapped in bacon instead of breaded in panko bread crumbs.

That's just my personal preference & again goes back to the low-carb lifestyle I try so desperately to follow.

So here's how it went down...

I fried up some bacon & set it aside to drain on a paper towel. I used about eight slices, you can add more if you think you'd like more, I probably will next time.

Then dice about 1/2 a cup of pickled jalapenos, you know the kind in the jar, they are usually already sliced, but you need to do a rough chop on them. Be sure to take out the seeds for a little less heat if that is your style. Also, this really turned out a little too spicy for my taste so I would either cut the amount of pickled jalapenos in half or use fresh jalapenos with the amount of seeds & membrane removed that I prefer. Kevin's calls for both to be added & that would be waaayyy too much heat for me.

In a large bowl mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, half of the shredded cheddar cheese, a 1/2 cup of the grated parmigiano reggiano & your chopped jalapenos.

Chop your bacon & add about two-thirds of it to the cheese/jalapeno mixture. Mix all of that together really well.

I used a glass pie plate, you can use any type of dish you like, but the more shallow the better. Be sure to grease it with non-stick spray. Dump your dip mixture into your baking dish.

Top it with the remaining cheddar cheese & bacon.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.

I fixed this for a football party & got so busy trying to prepare it for that, that I did not take the action shot which would have included a corn chip scoop being dipped in & pulled out with melty, gooey cheesey jalapeno goodness all over it.

So you'll have to contend with another picture of it coming out of the oven.

Enjoy with your favorite tortilla or corn chip or even crackers. Just a side note, as this cools it gets a little goopey so I would suggest keeping it in or on something that will help it to stay warm.

And as always let me know how it turns out for you.

Jalapeno Popper Dip
8-10 slices of bacon
1-8oz block of cream cheese
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup of parmigiano reggiano
1/2 cup of pickled jalapenos

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Fry bacon & set aside to drain & cool. In a mixing bowl blend together cream cheese, half of the cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup of the parmigiano reggiano & the jalapenos. Give the bacon a rough chop & add about 2/3 of it to the cheese & jalapeno mixture. Grease a shallow baking dish with non-stick spray. Pour in dip mixture & spread evenly across the dish. Top with remaining cheeses & bacon. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly & cheese has melted. Serve warm.

Chicken Spread

2011-10-04T13:24:00.000-05:00

Hey ya'll! I'm back!

I know, I know, it's been too long...for you & me both.

But good news! I'm on the fast track now with my post & blogging so you'll be seeing alot more of me.

As mentioned in my last "I'm still here" post I mentioned new additions & those are on the way, it takes a little work to add new features to your blog. But never fear, they will be here soon.

So let's talk about why we are here today...the chicken spread.

This recipe came to me from my friend & former co-worker Lauren.

That's former on my part not hers. She's still there, I'm not.

I'm blogging...amongst other things.

Anyway.

Lauren brought this to a baby shower a few months back & it was delicious. Addictive in fact. So of course I quickly asked her for the recipe & made it the first opportunity I had. Which was a random Saturday when I was bored & wanted a low-carb snack.

Remember that low-carb lifestyle I try so desperately to follow?

Yeah. Still doing that & this recipe fits the bill for it.

So let's get to the recipe & let me apologize for the lack of step-by-step pictures. This is one of those throw everything in a bowl, mix together & serve deals & not until I got almost done making it did I remember to take pics...I know! I'm sorry. But this is super easy, I promise. I also made a small tweak, Lauren's recipe called for 2-8oz blocks of cream cheese & it made it a little to firm for me, so I substituted mayo & sour cream for one of the blocks of cream cheese & it turned out perfect.

All you do is mix together canned chicken, cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, paprika, dill weed, garlic powder, parsley, diced onion & lemon juice. Chill for at least an hour to let the flavors blend & voila. You have chicken spread or dip or stuff or whatever you wanna call it. You may serve it with crackers of your choice, cheese crisps, it would be really good with celery, carrots, bell pepper, whatever blows your skirt up.

It's delicious. Try it & let me know what you think.

Here's the full recipe with measurements & all that.

Lauren's Chicken Spread

1-8oz block of cream cheese
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 cup of sour cream
1-13oz can of chicken, drained
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 tsp lemon juice

Mix cream cheese, mayonnaise & sour cream together until well blended. Add in chicken & remaining ingredients, mix well. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow flavors to blend. Serve with your favorite crackers or raw vegetables.

Get ready, cuz here I come...

2011-08-30T11:15:00.000-05:00

Hey ya'll!! I know you thought I had forgotten all about you but the truth is I've been getting ready for the explosion of posts that are on the way. It will be an extravaganza of excitement I promise. Soon I will have much more time to dedicate to this blog & I will be adding a new Do-It-Yourself /Decorating portion. I'm very excited about the changes & I hope you are too.

I just wanted to drop you a little note to let you know what's been going on since I haven't been around in almost 2 months. And yes, I'm ashamed, but hold on tight, because the rides about to get really fun.

Thank you all so much for your support during this time of transition & I look forward to entertaining you (hoping that's what you consider it) very, very soon.

Love,
GWW

Country Sausage Gravy

2011-07-09T16:46:00.000-05:00

Mmm, mmm, mmm, I luuuvvv sausage gravy.

The very first time I had this I was about 11 years old & my Grandma Hicks made it for me & she served it over texas toast. It was love at first sight for me & the gravy.

The ironic thing is my family roots grow deep in the country & looking back I can't believe it took me 11 years to have this stuff. The minute it hit my lips I felt I had been deprived.

After all, I knew at a very young age that fried pork chops, rice & gravy, butterbeans cooked with okra & seasoned with bacon grease, silver king corn & fresh tomatoes with biscuits or cornbread should be a staple in any good southern household. (Did your arteries just clog up reading that? Mine did, but my mouth watered too) How was it that country gravy never made it into the mix until 11 years in.

To add to this confusion it's now a breakfast staple at my dad's house on Saturday mornings? It never was when I was growing up.

Why does/did my mother or my Grandma Denmark never fix this delicious gravy? Why did they make me rely on the breakfast buffet at Shoney's to get my country sausage gravy fix?

These are questions I may never know the answer to. But the good news is I'm all grown up now & can fix this any time I want to.

Except when I'm having a "good" week on the low-carb lifestyle I try so desperately to follow.

And except when the hunk puts in a special request for it.

And as far as he's concerned this recipe is the best he's had. Ever since the first time I fixed this for him he refuses to have it anywhere else. And that is a great compliment.

And this is the last sentence I'm starting with the word "and" or else the grammar police are going to come after me.

So how do you fix this country sausage gravy that I keep talking about? Here goes...

Brown 1lb of sausage in a the same skillet you would use to make the gravy.

Remove the sausage to a plate to drain leaving some of the drippings in the skillet.

This next part is not for the faint of heart or the high of cholesterol. Don't say I didn't warn you...

This is bacon grease & were it's not essential to the gravy it sure does make it taste good & rich. Over medium low heat, add about a tablespoon of the bacon grease to the pan.

Let that melt down & scrape the pan to get the little bits of sausage left lingering.

Now add about 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour.

Add a couple tablespoon of butter, 1/4 tsp of salt & a good amount of black pepper. Using a whisk continuously stir your flour, grease & butter mixture.

The butter really should be added to the pan with or instead of the bacon grease, but I was a little late in grabbing it & throwing it in.

Lightly whisk this just until it browns a little, the flour is smooth, the butter is melted & it starts to bubble.

Add about 2 cups of milk to the flour, 1 cup at a time whisking between pours. Again making sure you are continuously whisking this until the flour is fully incorporated with the milk & it starts to thicken just slightly. And when I say whisk I don't mean like your beating an egg, more like just trying to keep the liquid moving so it doesn't burn or stick.

Lack of whisking can cause the flour and milk to scorch & nobody likes scorched milk & flour.

Add your cooked sausage & continue stirring, you can switch to a spatula or wooden spoon or utensil of your choice at this point.

Keep stirring until the gravy is thickened to your liking, you may add a little more milk if it gets too thick.

That's it, simple. You have country sausage gravy. Yum, yum. You can make this without the sausage also if you like.

Serve over quick-as-a-wink biscuits & you've got breakfast or lunch or dinner or a snack.

Whatever meal you have this for enjoy it & let me know how it turns out.

Enjoy!!

Country Sausage Gravy
Makes about 4-5 cups of gravy

1lb ground sausage
1 Tbsp of bacon grease (optional)
2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp all purpose-flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cups milk

Brown sausage & set aside leaving some drippings in the skillet. Over medium-low heat melt bacon grease & butter. Add flour, salt & pepper. Continuously whisk flour mixture until just brown & flour has dissolved & starts to bubble. Add milk, 1 cup at a time, gently whisking until flour is fully incorporated with the milk. Just as the gravy starts to barely thicken add sausage. Continue stirring until gravy starts to bubble & is to desired thickness. If gravy gets too thick, add a little milk.

Quick-As-A-Whink Biscuits

2011-06-26T15:46:00.000-05:00

Quick-As-A-Wink biscuits. The name is very intriguing isn't it?

It should be. These biscuits have a secret ingredient that makes them incredibly light & moist. You may turn your nose up when you find out what it is, but as I always say...trust me. I have yet to steer you wrong & I promise I will not this time.

I discovered this recipe one morning in a cookbook I had that was a compilation of recipes printed in the Southern Almanac over the course of a year. I was really craving biscuits & since I'm not usually one for baking, especially when it involves alot of mixing & all that stuff, I wanted something simple that wouldn't take much time. I hit the jackpot with this recipe.

I have used it several times since, one time I mixed in cheddar cheese & crumbled bacon & fresh ground pepper. Another time I added sausage & cheese & yet another I added chives & cheese.

Have I ever mentioned I like cheese? No? Hmmm, funny, because I love it. But this post & recipe doesn't have anything to do with cheese, this time anyway.

Back to the recipe.

I swear you can't get simpler than this & PLEASE do not let the ingredients turn you off, these biscuits are delicious & as the name says quick-as-a-wink.

You'll use 2 cups of self-rising flour. Dump that in your mixing bowl.

You'll also use 1 cup of milk, but the picture I took of that didn't turn out, so you just have to use your imagination as to what that looks like being poured in the bowl.

Here it is...the secret ingredient. Mayonnaise. You'll use 3/4 cups of mayo. Using mayonnaise eliminates using shortening. Plus the mayo is much easier to work with & keeps you from having to work so hard to get really good biscuits.

Add the mayo to the flour & milk.

Stir those ingredients together until they resemble this. The mixture will be sticky & fairly loose. It will not be as firm as normal biscuit mix.

Which is why you will use your muffin tin for this recipe. Be sure to spray the muffin tin with non-stick spray.

I made 6 large biscuits from this recipe, you could probably get 8 out of it if you didn't fill the cups as full as I did. I just like nice big biscuits, but do what you like.

Fill your muffin tins with the biscuit mixture. Again, I over-fill them, it makes a nice almost crunchy top on the biscuit. They will get a little more brown on top too, compared to what biscuits normally do.

You'll bake them at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

When you pull them from the oven you'll have light, fluffy & delicious biscuits that were made quick-as-a-wink.

They go great with country sausage gravy too. Stay tuned for that recipe later in the week.

Hope you enjoy them!

Quick-As-A-Wink Biscuits

makes 6-8 biscuits

2 cups self-rising flour

1 cup milk

3/4 mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix all ingredients until blended well. Grease a muffin tin with non-stick spray. Spoon biscuit mixture into muffin tin. Fill each cup slightly over full for 6 months & just level for 8. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Italian Torta

2011-06-02T20:18:00.000-05:00

Finally! I'm back! Thank goodness! I've been so busy I didn't realize how long it has been since I posted a recipe.

Actually I do know how long I've been away. Everyday that passed & I didn't have time to get a recipe & pictures together I would think, "Blasted, my people need me & my recipes. There's someone out there who needs a torta recipe!"

With that introduction here I am with a new recipe in honor of my friend Natasha who left just today headed to Italy. (Remember I mentioned her in my last post from a couple of weeks ago, she's the science teacher going to teach English to Italian kids. Who da thunk it.)

My recipe...is an Italian Torta.

What is a torta you ask? Well supposedly it means cake in Italian. I guess this could be a cake. I actually though torta was Italian for layered or layers or some form of the word layer. Apparently I was wrong. However this recipe, as most recipes, is a combination of a couple of different recipes & those recipes were also called tortas.

It can be quite confusing I know. But we'll make it through & we'll keep calling this a torta.

I have been making this recipe for at least 6 years. I've already shared it with a few other people & I stopped making it for a while because I got burnt out on it.

But it made an appearance at a recent baby shower I gave. I needed something easy that did not require cooking of any nature & the torta was my answer.

So, to make said torta...

You're going to need pesto, I use prepared, you can make your own & send me the recipe. You also need sun-dried tomatoes in oil & 16oz of whipped cream cheese.

This is embarrassingly easy to make, but you'll love it.

OH! And you need about a Tablespoon of minced garlic & a healthy couple of teaspoons of Italian seasoning. Mix together the garlic & Italian seasoning with your cream cheese. It's great if you can let this sit a couple of hours before making the torta too. That way the flavors have time to meld together.

This is a picture of the flavors melding.

What is melding anyway, it's a weird word, maybe it's not a word at all. Maybe I just made it up years ago. Either way I use it all the time.

What does it really mean? Maybe that's a conversation for a different type of blog.

Now, drain your sun-dried tomatoes & dump them in a food processor & add a pinch of sugar. Pulse that until they are finely chopped.

Grab your dish you want to use for the mold. I've used a loaf pan, a tart pan, a pie plate, you could use a jello mold or bundt pan if you want. Whatever blows your skirt up. But whatever you use, spray it with non-stick spray & lay plastic wrap over it. You'll need to be sure & smooth the plastic wrap as much as possible & get it in mashed down really well all around the pan or plate or mold or whatever. Once that is done spray the top of the plastic wrap. Just trust me & keep reading.

Score your cream cheese to make even halves.

Now plop (which is a very scientific word by the way) half of the cream cheese in your mold.

Very carefully spread the cream cheese around the bottom of your mold. There is a technique to this & it involves repeat spraying of the back of a spoon with non-stick spray & very small spreads.

The cream cheese will want to stick to the plastic wrap. Be patient & keep spreading. Have a fingertip full of cream cheese to make yourself feel better & spread some more.

When you're done with all that it should look like this. Good luck! This is tedious but I know you can do it.

Now add the chopped tomatoes to the top of the cream cheese.

Evenly disperse the tomatoes. The technique I use here is taking a fork & lightly spreading the tomatoes around. I know, it's becoming a bit much with all the fancy "techniques".

Add the pesto, which can also be drained just a little, & spread over the top of the tomatoes. This can be a little tedious too, but not too bad.

Add the remaining cream cheese to the top of the pesto & use the spraying, spreading, slightly frustrating steps listed earlier.

You're pesto & maybe even a little tomato will want to mix in with the cheese. That's okay, this is the bottom of the torta, no one will see it except you & it will be delizioso regardless of how it looks.

Cover with more plastic wrap & place in the fridge for at least 2 hours so that it can set.

Once it's set, remove from fridge, place your serving dish, upside-down, on the top of the pie plate. Grab the whole thing together with your big lobster claw hand...

And flip it over. You may have to jiggle the pie plate a little & pull on the plastic wrap to get it to come out all the way.

It should come out looking something like this. See the pretty layers...they taste good too. Yummm!

Garnish with some fresh basil leaves & sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil) & you have yourself an Italian Torta.

Serve this with crackers or crostini & enjoy!

Italian Torta
16 oz of whipped cream cheese
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup of prepared pesto
8 oz of sun-dried tomatoes in oil
Dry sun-dried tomatoes (for garnish)
3-4 fresh basil leaves (for garnish)

Mix cheese, garlic & Italian seasoning together & set aside. Place tomatoes in a food processor with a pinch of sugar. Pulse until finely chopped. Spray mold with non-stick spray, place plastic wrap in mold, covering all areas well. Spray top of plastic wrap with non-stick spray as well. Using half of the cream cheese mixture, spread evenly in bottom of mold. Spread tomatoes over cream cheese, the layer pesto over the tomatoes. Spread remaining cream cheese mixture over pesto. Cover well & refrigerate at least 2 hours.

To serve, place serving dish on top of mold, invert, remove mold & plastic wrap. Garnish with dry tomatoes & basil leaves if desired.

I haven't forgotten!!!

2011-05-19T15:07:00.000-05:00

Oh what a month it has been!

First, I had to prepare for our 7 day trip to New York & Boston.

Got back from that & our computer got a virus.

Yes, a virus. Not the sneezing, running nose kinda though, the kind that tries to wipe our your hard drive & steal all of your stuff. And yes, is was horrible not having our computer.

So while we were having that fixed & a week after getting back from NYC the woman that I hope, no I know, will soon be my future mother-in-law stayed with us for 10 days & it was truly a joy.

In between all that my Mother decides to get married & needs my help, of course.

So, I've been trying to recoop from all of that over the last 5 days & now I'm preparing for a girls weekend at the beach (Yippee!!) & after that a going away party for one of my best girlfriends. (Yipee!! for the party, sad to see my friend leave us). But good news! She's only leaving us for a month going to Italy to teach English to Italian children. Jealous much?...me too!

Is she an English teacher you ask? Why no, of course not. She's a Science Teacher.

What? That doesn't make sense to you?

Frankly it doesn't to me either. But more power to her, it's a great life experience!

So, with all that said, I think it's clear that my life has been a whirlwind & I have neglected Gone With the Whisk.

I've missed it.

I've missed you.

I can't wait to do a new post.

Fortunately with all my goings on I've collected a few good recipes to share with you & I will be back next week.

So stay tuned!

Love,
GWW

Grits Casserole

2011-04-15T21:09:00.000-05:00

Grits...something Flo told Mel to kiss...yes.

Grits...girls raised in the south...also a yes.

Grits...something The Hunk doesn't like no matter how well I fix them, even when they are mixed with sausage & cheese & garlic...double yes.

The Hunk is not a fan of grits in any shape, form or fashion so when I have an opportunity to make this dish I jump at it.

This recipe comes from my Aunt Mac, her name is really Maxine but we all call her Aunt Mac, people who are not related to her nor her niece or nephew even call her, you guessed it, Aunt Mac.

Aunt Mac made this grits casserole for a Christmas brunch many moons ago.

Then a few years after that I realized that she had entered it in this cookbook I have. The cookbook came from the church that side of my family has gone to for generations. They recently put together a new one & I entered a few of my own recipes this time including some I have featured here on Gone With the Whisk.

So anyway, for the last few years I have been known to pull out Aunt Mac's breakfast casserole recipe, as she calls it.

I made a few tweaks including changing the name to Grits Casserole. I fix it for our birthday breakfast bash at work most often but most recently I took it to our my girls night wine & dine when we had breakfast . But no matter where I take it everyone loves it.

So what it's made up of you ask? Well, right this way...

We have grits (of course), onion, bell pepper, cream of celery soup, sausage & shredded cheese.

First you want to get your water boiling for the grits. For this recipe you'll use 4 cups of water & 1 tsp of salt. I know what you're thinking, that's alot of water for quick grits, but trust me & Aunt Mac when we tell you to use 4 cups.

While you're waiting for the water to come to a boil, dice 1/2 cup of onion & 1/2 cup of bell pepper. That's about half of each vegetable. If you're feeling frisky & really like onion & bell pepper, feel free to chop both of them up & use the whole thing.

Now grab your skillet & toss in the sausage, peppers & onion.

Mix that all up really well & cook until sausage is brown & vegetables are tender. And if you take a picture of it make sure it doesn't turn out as bad as this one did.

While your sausage is browning go ahead & get your grits measured out & cooking in the boiling water.

Stir those well, I like to use a whisk to stir my grits. Stirring them right after putting them in the water ensures there are no lumps. Nothing is worse than lumps in your grits.

So now your sausage & vegetables are ready & so are your grits.

Take the both of those & dump in a mixing bowl. Add in the can of cream of celery soup & sprinkle on some fresh ground black pepper.

Mix that together until it's well blended.

Add in about a cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

And mix that all up. I know you're thinking this looks the same as the picture two up from here, but it's not, you can see the melted cheese in this one...see...it's right there.

Take your baking dish, about an 8x8 or 9x9, spray it with non-stick spray & pour the grits mixture in. Aunt Mac's recipe calls for a 9x13 which you could do too, it's just thinner. Obviously.

This is why I'm here, to point out very obvious things to you. What can I say, I'm a giver.

Spread it out evenly in the dish. You could stop here & let it sit overnight. That's what I do when I take it to the birthday breakfast bash at work. Or you can...

...go ahead & top that baby with another cup of shredded cheese & bake it in the oven at 375 degree for 30-40 minutes.

When it's done it looks like this. Cheesey, melty, gritsy & sausagey.

I like putting y's where they don't belong, I think it's funny & clever.

Don't judge me.

Look at that deliciousness.

Go ahead, have some & let me know how it turns out.

Enjoy!!

Grits Casserole

1 cup of quick grits
4 cups of water
1 tsp of salt
1lb sausage
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 can cream of celery soup
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bring water to a boil, add salt & grits, stir well. Cook grits until done, about 5-7 minutes. Brown sausage with peppers & onions until down. Mix grits, sausage mixture, cream of celery soup, black pepper & 1 cup of the cheese together. Pour into baking dish. to with remaining cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Serve immediately.

Fish Tacos with Chipotle Tartar Sauce

2011-03-29T11:41:00.001-05:00

I know these look a mess & that's because they are. They are super messy, especially if you use larger tortillas.

So, note to self: Use small tortillas for the fish tacos unless you want it in your lap.

I had fish tacos for the first time at a restaurant in Destin, FL. I fell in love with them. I dreamed about them. I liked them so much I decided to re-create them.

So, on with the fish tacos.

For the fish you'll be using the recipe for baked fish here on Gone With the Whisk. So get all that ready.

There are several components to this, so be sure to take notes.

To start, the avocado...

First, grab an avocado. A trick to being able to slice this, is to slice it in half around the seed. Then take a knife & stick in the seed & twist it. Then use a spoon to remove the avocado from the skin. It'll scoop right out.

Dice your avocado. Add a touch of lime juice & a dash of cilantro. Mix well & set aside.

Now we're gonna make the chipotle tartar sauce.

You'll need tartar sauce & chipotle peppers in adobo. I use store-bought tartar but if you would like to make your own, by all means, feel free & send me the recipe.

Chipotles are dried & smoke jalapenos & they are suuuupppper hot. I'm talking clear your sinuses while your mouth is on fire hot. Do they not look hot? Trust me, they are.

They are kinda ugly too. You'll be using two whole peppers from this entire can. If you can stand the heat, use more. But have the fire extinguisher handy. Chop up those peppers.

Add the peppers to just over a cup of the tartar sauce.

Mix that together until it makes this beautifully colored, creamy & spice sauce. Set that aside.

Now for the slaw.

I use pre-packaged, pre-cut cole slaw mix. It's just easier for me that way. You'll use as much as you like, but I used about 3/4 of this bag.

To the slaw add a 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin.

A heaping 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder.

Then a 1/2 teaspoon of canola oil.

Mix all that up & set it aside.

Grab your flour tortillas. I used the low-carb, whole wheat version this time. They were a little larger than taco sized tortillas, usually that's what you need, taco size.

And the assembly begins...

Spread a little of your chipotle tartar sauce on a tortilla.

Then lay your fish on one side of the tortilla. We use one fillet per taco.

This is where The Hunk & I differ. I like to cut my fish fillet in half & place it on the tortilla. He likes to chop his fish up. You do what you like. I personally like the chunks of fish I get when it's cut in half, but I'm not here to persuade you. I'll just leave you with this thought...have I steered you wrong yet?

Thank you.

Moving on.

Spread a little of the sauce on the fish. This is probably what makes it so messy, the double-layering of sauce. But it's also what makes it so tasty.

Throw some slaw on top of the fish.

Top that with the diced avocado.

Fold it over & you've got fish tacos. These are a favorite in our house.

Hope they become one of your favorites too!

Fish Tacos with Chipotle Tartar Sauce
Makes 4 Tacos

4 Baked fish fillets
4 flour tortillas, taco-sized
1 or 2 whole avocados, diced
Dash of lime juice
Dash of cilantro
2 whole chipotle peppers in adobo, finely diced
1 1/4 cup of prepared tartar sauce
1 bag prepared cole slaw mix
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp canola oil

Prepare fish according to the baked fish recipe. Mix diced avocado, lime juice & cilantro together, set aside. For chiptole sauce, blend well, diced peppers & tartar sauce. For slaw stir together cole slaw mix, cumin, chili powder & oil. Heat flour tortilla according to package directions. Spread a little of the chipotle sauce on the tortilla, half fish fillet & lay on tortilla, top with more sauce, slaw & avocado, fold over. Repeat with next 3 tacos. Serve. Delicious!!

New Orleans, Nawlins or New Orleens & Food

2011-03-16T11:25:00.000-05:00

What says New Orleans (or Nawlins or New Orleens, however you prefer to say it) better than Po' Boys? Nothing right? Well, not quite.

I had the pleasure of taking a trip to New Orleans with my best girlfriends to meet one of our displaced best girlfriends this past weekend. (The displaced thing is another story for another time). It's become a tradition for us to make this trip just over 2 hours west for the St. Patrick's Day Parade in good ole Nawlins. The parade is always the Saturday before St. Patty's Day & is at least 4 hours long. There's lots of flowers given to girls by men in kilts & tuxedos, cabbages & beads thrown from floats at lightning speed & plenty of green beer a flowin'. But this post is not about St. Patty's Day. It's about the food I had was able to sample while in our beloved southern city of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Obviously I'm a foodie & even though I've been to alot of restaurants in alot of different places I have yet to go to one by a famous chef I saw on television. This New Orleans tripped marked my first of these experiences & I was very excited.

On our way to the parade we found a cute little spot to have lunch that was connected to a museum named The American Sector &, as the sign states & we discovered, it is one of John Besh's restaurants. John Besh is a well-known chef who is originally from New Orleans & owns seven different restaurants in the city. You may have seen him on Top Chef, Top Chef Masters & The Food Network. My point is, the dude is famous so it was a highlight for me to be eating at one of his restaurants. Onto the food...

After us girls placed our order they brought a little mason jar of homemade pickles to the table. They were very good, a little vinegary for my taste, but good.

As our food arrived at the table I had to click some pictures of it. I went traditional & ordered the shrimp po'boy that you see at the top of the post. It was served on a square wooden cutting board & wrapped in brown paper. As far as po'boys go I've actually had better, but how can you mess up fried shrimp, tartar sauce, lettuce & tomato all on french bread.

And it was served with these fries given to us in these cute tin cans lined with brown paper.

One of the girls ordered the sliders. I know this looks larger than a normal slider, but it was about average size. It was an order of three of these babies served with an onion bacon marmalade which was absolutely delicious.

The star of the table though was this short-rib sloppy joe. I didn't taste any of it because it was too messy to pass down the table to me, but it looked wonderful & my girlfriend reported that it was really good. It was ginormous too, enough for three people, seriously.

A couple of cabbages & several fake flowers (& a few green beers) later we decided to go to dinner in the lobby of the hotel that was around the corner from the hotel we were staying in. Again, as we got there we discovered it was yet another John Besh restaurant named Dominica. It's an italian place. It's very trendy being full of small plankwood tables, leather chairs, crystal chandeliers & black curtains. It was lovely & right up my alley.

After figuring out how to read the menu, it was a touch confusing at first glance, we finally ordered. One of the girls ordered this salad. It was served with very thin sliced apples topped with pecorino cheese, greens, a blood orange vinaigrette & pecans. It was beautiful & vibrant.

Then came the main courses.

Pizza with prosciutto & arugula, mozzarella & tomato sauce.

Then a margherita pizza, the girls added mushrooms to half of it. It was very good, the sauce was perfect.

I ordered the Gnocchi with mushrooms, pancetta & thyme. It was so delicious I could have swam in the sauce. It was a great, rich comfort food.

Later, we're sitting there sipping our wine & deciding where to go or what to do next when we decide to sample dessert or should I say desserts. They were as delicious as the rest of our dinner had been. First up was the Banana Zuppa Inglese which was a moist banana cake layered with butterscotch mousse & topped with peanut brittle. Absolutely scrumptious!

Then we ordered the Gianduja Budino, chocolate & hazelnut pudding topped with whipped cream & candied hazelnuts. It's fancier that it sounds, this was not your average pudding, more like a mousse. Devine!

The last dessert we settled on was the Frittele Di Mele, apple & ricotta fritters served with a ginger zabaione. The displaced girlfriend wasn't big on any of the desserts but she wanted to drink the zabaione with a straw. It was very sweet & rich but when you dipped the fritters in it there was a perfect balance. I loved this one but it was so sweet & rich you couldn't eat much. We actually left one fritter on the plate....we should be ashamed of ourselves, I know.

On our way out of town we did stop at the famous Mother's Restaurant. I forgot to take my camera in for those pictures which was just as well because I had breakfast instead of one of their famous sandwiches loaded with ham & turkey & dripping with debris & their cabbage & creole mustard concoction. You'll have to imagine that yourself & drool over it later.

That's the brief of my food adventures in New Orleans. It was much better than the usual stopping at the closest place you can find & it's good but nothing to write home about. This trip was much different on that level.

If you find yourself in New Orleans stop by John Besh's place & tell him Gone With The Whisk said hi & she loved the gnocchi.

Until next time!

Mexican Breakfast Cups

2011-03-11T13:01:00.000-06:00

Hey ya'll!!

Before we start this new recipe let me apologize for being out of touch for so long. Of course I'm saying that assuming you all have missed me & my recipes.

I certainly hope that's the case anyway.

So what's been going on to keep me from my peeps you ask? I've been busy, lots going on. Wedding showers, Mardi Gras (the city closes down for that), a trip with my girlfriends to prepare for & on top of it all I got sick. I had the crud, still trying to shake it as a matter of fact.

Some good things came of it though, the time off that is. I finally watched Julie & Julia & I have been inspired to cook Burgundy Beef or as Julia calls it Beouf Bourguignon. It's very french, not at all southern & doesn't include bacon grease...how good can it really be? We will see. It is on the list to make.

Also, I've stock piled some recipes to share with you & since it's been 2 weeks since we talked I will be posting every 3 days or so for the next couple of weeks.

Now enough about me & my goings on.

Let's talk about these breakfast cups & there goings on.

We're south of the border again folks. I created this recipe totally on the fly & made it up as I went along & it turned out fabulous.

So make it already!

First for prep work you need to do a rough chop on some fresh cilantro. I used alot, about 1/4 cup. Feel free to use less.

Dice up some tomatoes. I used cherry tomatoes because that's all we had in the fridge. Again I used about 1/4 cup.

Set the veggies to the side.

Grab your handy skillet & brown a pound of sausage.

As the sausage starts to brown add your tomatoes.

Toss in the cilantro.

Now grab a small can of green chilis & add those to the sausage mixture as well.

Stir all that until it's well blended & the sausage is cooked through.

Set that aside.

Using a large or burrito size flour tortilla, you'll actually be using two of these. Cut it in thirds.

Then cut it in the thirds in the other direction. You'll end up with odd shapes but that's okay, you can use most of them.

Grab your muffin tin, a regular size muffin tin & spray the cups with non-stick spray. Place tortillas in the cups being sure to cover as much of the bottom & sides of the cups as you can. You may have to place two pieces of the tortilla in one cup.

Fill each cup with a sprinkle of cheese. I used cotija which is like a Mexican feta but not as tart as feta. You can use mozzarella, queso fresco or even cheddar. Whatever blows your skirt up.

I also advise you to munch on the cheese while you prepare the tortilla cups because we all love cheese & why not. You gotta sample your creation right?

Set that aside. We're about to get to the good stuff so you can use all these things you've set aside.

Now grab a bowl & crack 4 eggs. I know you only see 3 in the picture, but you should use 4. I used 3 because it was trial & error & once I tried the finished product my first thought was use 4 eggs & less milk.

Add a 1/4 cup of milk to the eggs. I used a 1/2 cup, but use a 1/4. (refer to my note above)

Add a sprinkle of salt & pepper to your taste. Then add 1/4 tsp of chili powder & cumin. I use a touch of season salt in my scrambled eggs so I tossed it in this too.

Whisk all that together until it's well blended & bubbly. The more bubbles in the eggs, the more air there is & the fluffier they will be.

Grab your muffin tin & your sausage mixture. Fill each tortilla cup with the sausage mixture. You may not use all of the sausage, I had about a cup leftover. But feel free to fill the cups more than I did.

Pour enough of the egg mixture into each tortilla cup to almost fill the cup. The egg will rise when it's cooked so be mindful of that when filling up the cups.

Now top each cup with more cheese. Again, use your own discretion.

Place the breakfast cups in a 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the eggs are set.

When they are ready you have slightly spicy & savory Mexican breakfast cups.

Cut one open & enjoy.

Mexican Breakfast Cups

2 Large Flour Tortillas
1lb ground sausage
1/4 cup diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 4oz can green chilis
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
Salt & Pepper to Taste
1/2 cup grated cotija cheese (or other cheese of your choice)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Start browning sausage, half way through add the tomatoes, cilantro & chilis. Stir well & continue cooking until sausage is done. Set aside. Cut each tortilla into thirds, then in thirds across to make squares. Grease a muffin tin with non-stick spray. Place tortilla pieces in each muffin cup covering the bottom & as much of the sides as possible. Sprinkle a little cheese in the bottom of each tortilla cup. Whisk together eggs, milk, chili powder, cumin, salt & pepper. Divide the sausage mixture among the tortilla cups, about 1 1/2 Tbsp per cup. Then add egg mixture to the tortilla cups filling them just over 3/4 of the way. Top each cup with remaining cheese. Bake cups for 20-25 minutes or until the eggs are set. Serve immediately.

Note: For a low-carb version you can "86" the tortilla.

Rice Pilaf (aka Rice-A-Roni)

2011-02-24T09:56:00.001-06:00

I know what you're saying. Rice-A-Roni? Really Lesley?

Feel free to call it Rice Pilaf if it makes you feel better. That's what I call it when I fix it for someone so that they too aren't turned off (without reason) by the name Rice-A-Roni.

I probably shouldn't be calling it that anyway, I'm sure it's a licensed trademark something or other. So let me say this is, by no means is this meant to be the original Rice-A-Roni brand or lead anyone to believe that it is. No Roni's were harmed in the making of this dish, except the tender one's. (Insert gong here...hello, is this thing on?) You probably only understand that if you are a child of the early 90's & were a Bobby Brown fan.

Rice Pilaf, aka Rice-A-Roni, the southern Alabama treat used to be one of my favorite things my Grandma fixed. She was the only person that would fix it & she usually did this because she knew I liked it so much. My sweet Grandma was a jewel & I miss her terribly. I also miss Rice-A-Roni which is one of the reasons why I came up with this recipe. The other reason is because I try to stay away from boxed, semi-prepared food. From scratch can be just as easy & taste much better.

So here we go.

Pour a little canola oil & a healthy tablespoon of butter into a pan over medium-high heat.

Chop a medium-sized onion & add to the butter & oil.

Saute onion until it's just transluscent & almost done.

Throw in a cup of Arborio rice & a cup of broken up vermicelli. Arborio works really well for this recipe. It has a great texture & flavor & can be found with the long grain rice in any grocery store. For the vermicelli I literally broke it up into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces. It didn't take as long as it sounds like it would & trying to cut it with a knife or kitchen shears doesn't work & makes a mess. Just bite the bullet & start breaking.

You're going to saute the rice & pasta for about 8 minutes or until the vermicelli starts turning slightly golden brown. Some pieces may get more brown, that's okay it will taste just as good. The longer you saute it the less likely it will get starchy when you add the liquid to simmer it.

Now add about 2 cups of chicken broth & stir well. Cover this, reduce your heat & let this simmer for 20 minutes. I start with 2 cups & often times have to add more until the rice & pasta are done.

While your rice is simmering grab some italian parsley or flat-leaf parsley. Italian parsley has a ton more flavor than regular parsley & gives anything you add it to alot of fresh herby (is that a word?) flavor.

Give the parsley a rough chop.

Check your rice & pasta, it should be done but not sticky. If it's not to your desired doneness but the liquid is absorbed add a little more broth, cover & simmer a little longer. Be sure to keep an eye on it, again it should not be sticky or starchy but done.

Add your parsley & stir well. This is where I realized I did not take a picture of it after I stirred it up.

Just imagine this same picture but with the rice pilaf aka rice-a-roni mixed up. Mmmm, doesn't it look delicious?

So now you get the finished product where I garnished it with more parsley.

This makes a great side dish for almost anything. Hope you enjoy!

Rice Pilaf

1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 med. onion, diced
1 cup of arborio rice
1 cup of vermicelli broken into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces
2-3 cups of chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh chopped italian parsley

Heat oil & butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once butter has melted add onion & cook until transculcent. Add rice & pasta. Saute until pasta becomes golden brown, continuously stirring. Add broth, stir, reduce heat, cover & simmer for about 20 minutes. If broth is absorbed before rice & pasta is done, simply add more broth, re-cover & continue simmering. After your rice pilaf is done toss in your chopped parsley, mix well & serve immediatley.

Note: You can saute mushrooms and/or green peppers with your onion to add a different flavor. You may also substitute beef broth or vegetable broth if it compliments the rest of your meal better.

Beef & Bean Burrito Enchiladas

2011-02-18T11:08:00.000-06:00

I love Mexican food!!

I do...& I don't care who knows. I'll scream it from the rooftops!

I LOOOOVE MEXICAN FOOOOOD!!

See...that's me, screaming from rooftops.

I'm sure most people would agree with me because I haven't met many people that do not enjoy meat & cheese rolled up in a tortilla. Mexican food is mostly some version of that right? I know for a fact everyone likes cheese dip & tortilla chips. If you don't, I don't think this relationship between you & I is going to work out. That's just crazy talk, not liking cheese dip, pssshhhh!

Anyway, cheese dip does not have a single thing to do with this recipe. I kind of got off on a tangent.

Back to the task at hand.

Burritos! Not just any burritos, burrito enchiladas. Why the two names you ask? It's pretty simple, they are just burritos covered in enchilada sauce & they are delicious.

And here's how ya make 'em...

Use about 1lb of ground beef, I used ground chuck, it has a better fat to meat ratio & cooks up really flavorful. Also, we have green onions, taco seasoning, shredded cheese (I used the mexican blend), enchilada sauce, refried beans, black olives, diced tomatoes with green chilis or rotel tomatoes as they are most often called & of course, flour tortillas. This will make eight burritos, I only made five stuffed to the gills burritos & still had plenty left over to make a few more. I would suggest going a little easier on the meat filling if you plan to make the eight.

Place your ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat & add the taco seasoning...

...and the tomatoes with green chilis. Mix this all together really well.

Cook until beef is browned & looks this delicious.

Yes, I could just stop here & eat this & be happy. But there is so much more to come that makes it even more tasty.

While your beef is browning you can go ahead & chop your green onions. Or you can wait until the meat is finished, set it aside & chop your onions. You will use about 4 green onions. You can do more or less depending on your taste.

Next, grab your baking dish. This one only fit 3 burritos so I had to add an extra dish for the other two. I'm sure you're much smarter than me & will just go ahead & start with one large baking dish. Whatever you use, I suggest spraying it with some non-stick spray. I didn't & my burritos stuck to the pan a little bit.

Spread about 2 Tbsp of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of your dish.

Now get your flour tortillas. You'll need to use the large-burrito sized ones.

Lay your tortilla out & spread about 2 Tbsp or so of refried beans over it. I didn't spread this right down the center, I kind of spread it to one side. This will help when you are rolling it up.

Then take a good spoonful or three of your ground beef mixture & spread that over the beans.

Now sprinkle your cheese over that. This part is entirely up to you, meaning you can put as much as you like. If I had to guess I would say I used a couple of heaping tablespoons.

Sprinkle a few of the green onions over the cheese.

Here comes the fun part.

On the short ends of your mixture you've spread over the tortilla in a somewhat rectangular shape, fold up the sides.

Then fold the shorter part over the those two ends. The short part being the side the rectangular bean/meat/cheese/onion formation is closer to.

Now roll that all the way over keeping the rolled over part tucked in as tight as you can & keeping the sides tucked in as well.

Roll it over one more time until it looks something like this.

I'm no tortilla rolling expert, but this was a pretty good attempt if I do say so myself. I cannot promise however, that the other four turned out as nicely as this one did. Just sayin'.

Place that nicely rolled up burrito in your baking dish & repeat the filling & rolling steps with your remaining burritos-to-be.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the burritos. Be sure to cover each one as much as you can. I ended up using about a can & a half of the sauce, but again, it's entirely up to you & your taste buds.

Now sprinkle the tops with shredded cheese, again, as much as you like.

Dot the burritos with black olives.

Place them in the oven at 400 degrees & bake for about 20 minutes to get the inside as melty & delicious as the outside. You may choose to bake them a little longer or a little less, it's up to you.

When they are done they come out looking like this. There is one missing from this dish, they smelled & looked so delicious that the minute they came out of the oven I yelled "there done!!!" & my boyfriend immediately snagged one. I then realized I had not snapped the picture & the record stopped when I then yelled "crap!". So that's the story behind the missing burrito.

Garnish with sour cream & a few more green onions & serve.

Note: I know that I often say you can add or take away or basically do what you want with my recipes. That's because I want you to try them but I want you to adapt them to your taste. If your taste is the same as mine & you want to follow the directions to a tee, then please do so, I'm flattered that you might kinda wanna be like me. But if you change it up that's great. That's what cooking is all about experimenting & preparing delicious food & what is delicious to me may not be the same for you & vice versa. I just want us all to get along & cook good food.

Beef & Bean Burrito Enchiladas

1 1/2 lbs ground chuck

1 can diced tomatoes & green chilis

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 package of burrito (large) sized flour tortillas

4 green onions, sliced

1 can of refried beans

2 cups of shredded mexican blend cheese

2 cans of enchilada sauce

1 small can of sliced black olives

Sour cream to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Brown ground beef with taco seasoning & diced tomatoes until done. Set aside. Chop green onions. Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray & spread about 2 Tbsp of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of dish. Place one tortilla on your work surface. Spread 1-2 Tbsp of beans just off-center on tortilla. Layer 2-3 Tbsp of your beef mixture over beans, then sprinkle about 1 Tbsp of shredded cheese over beef & top with a few green onions. Fold & roll up tortilla (see instructions above). Place burrito in baking dish. Repeat layering of ingredients with each tortilla, rolling each & placing in baking dish. Once complete, pour remaining enchilada sauce over burritos being sure to cover as much of each burrito as you can. Sprinkle the tops with the shredded cheese & dot with black olives. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve with sour cream & garnish with remaining green onion.

French Toast

2011-02-13T21:18:00.000-06:00

Mmmmmm, french toast. We at the Gone With the Whisk household love french toast in general, but especially this french toast.

My boyfriends niece, who I might as well call my niece too, told me not so long ago that it was the best french toast she'd ever had.

And I believe her.

That's quite a compliment coming from her because she's 8 years old & 8 year olds know good french toast. Plus, this eight year old speaks her mind, no holds barred. She also told me, her dad & his girlfriend once that she knew why we liked to hang out with her...because she's a fun girl.

See, she knows what she's talking about. I love that kid!

Here's my french toast story. When I was a wee-little thing it was always a special treat to have french toast. I think it made me feel fancy. So when we would go out for breakfast I would usually order french toast...because I like to look fancy.

I remember one time in particular we took our first trip to Disney World, I was about 17 & my brother & I went with my dad & my stepmother. Our last full day there, the boys (my dad & brother) and the girls (me & my stepmom) went our separate ways. Us girls decided to go eat breakfast somewhere nice which happened to be a cute little restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. We looked over the menu & I immediately saw french toast & knew this was what I wanted. When it arrived at the table, it looked beautiful & delicious & all fancy with it's powdered sugar, strawberry slices & mint leaves. Ever since that moment every time I eat french toast whether it's in my pajamas from a paper plate, french toast sticks from Burger King or somewhere really nice, I think about that.

Okay, I've bored you enough with personal stories. I know all you're really interested in is what happened this time.

So here we go.

Oh wait! One more quick story. My boyfriend, the Hunk (my mother actually gave him that name) loves french toast too, it reminds him of his childhood as well. But he said it didn't make him feel fancy, he just liked it & still does.

Men...boys...gotta love their simplicity.

Okay, french toast here we come.

I use french bread for this. I find it holds up better to the soaking up of the eggs & milk. It also just taste really good & looks a little fancier, especially cut on the diagonal. In addition I also used eggs, milk, cinnamon, vanilla extract & just a pinch of salt. Sorry I forgot to include the pinch of salt in the picture.

The salt really makes a difference, trust me on this, I'm a professional. Well, okay, not quite, but almost. Okay, not even almost. Just trust me.

First, in a shallow dish, whisk your eggs fairly well.

Then add your milk, cinnamon, vanilla & salt & whisk some more.

Your mixture should look something like this. The cinnamon has a tendency to settle so I suggest whisking between bread dips.

Using a frying pan or skillet or griddle, whatever blows your skirt up, melt a good pat of butter over medium heat. While that is melting...

Take a slice of your bread & lay it in the egg & milk mixture, press it down a little to help soak up the liquid & move it around some to kind of get the sides coated.

Then flip it over & do the same press down, move it around thing again. Lift it out of the liquid mixture & let just a little of the egg & milk drain off, just so it doesn't drip too much when you...

...transfer it to the skillet. Repeat these steps with all, in this case, four slices of bread.

Brown each slice for about 2-3 mins.

Flip the bread over & brown the other side for 2-3 mins. Each side should be a golden brown.

I will admit that sometimes I get wrapped up in the pressing down, moving around & transferring to the skillet & forget to flip the slices I put in first. If you do that too it's okay, they'll be a little more brown but will taste just fine.

When you are done you have lovely, delicious french toast.

Garnish with your favorite syrup & a little powdered sugar if you like. Serve this to your honey on Valentine's Day morning for breakfast in bed.

French Toast

4 Slices French Bread, cut almost an inch thick & sliced on the diagnol

2 Eggs

1/2 cup of millk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

Melt a pat of butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk eggs in a shallow dish. Add milk, vanilla, cinnamon & salt whisking until well blended. Dredge one slice of bread in the egg mixture, being sure the bread is completely coated. Flip bread over & coat the other side. Remove bread from egg mixture allowing just a little of the liquid to drain from the bread. Place bread in skillet. Repeat the dredging with each slice of bread. Brown for 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve hot with syrup.

Apple Cobbler with Cinnamon-Vanilla Cream

2011-02-02T20:27:00.003-06:00

OMG! She bakes!! I baked! Can you believe it?!?

I only baked because of the simplicity of this recipe. I was inspired one cool Sunday morning as I was paroozing through a couple of cookbooks & sipping my coffee. I saw a couple of different recipes
for cobbler & thought it sounded like just what I needed that day.

I decided to make individual sizes so that I wouldn't overindulge for the next three days because I made a cobbler large enough for a family of 8.

I also decided to make apple cobbler & this thing is chock-full of them. I know this may not be everyone's cobbler of choice but I love apple anything. Most people prefer peach or blueberry or blackberry, not me, I'm an apple girl.

So how do you make these delectable sweet treats you say? Simple, dice about 2 cups of granny smith apple. I don't peel the apples, but you can if you like.

Granny Smith is the best for making apple desserts, they hold up well to the cooking process & are tart enough to allow for the extra sweetness desserts have.

Toss the apple chunks with a 1 cup of sugar & a 1 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil & simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring often & making sure sugar is completely dissolved.

While your apples are simmering mix together a 1/2 cup of self-rising flour, 1/2 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of sugar & 4 Tbps of melted butter.

Whisk until well blended.

Spray a ramekin with non-stick spray (you can never be too careful about making sure things don't stick). My ramekins are about 4" in diameter & 2" deep. Pour your whisked batter into the ramekin.

Tap the full ramekin on the counter a little to help it settle & smooth out.

Once the apples are done simmering in the simple syrup (that would be the water & sugar mixture), pour them into the batter with most of the simple syrup distributing evenly between two ramekins.

Place in a larger baking pan & fill that pan with a little water. Sprinkle just a touch more of sugar on top.

And yes, before you ask that is a blueberry cobbler you see in the background. I made one for my boyfriend, The Hunk, using frozen blueberries. I don't care for blueberry anything.

I know I'm weird, it's the berry that makes the world go 'round & is everyone's favorite, except mine.

I'm not a fan.

I'm sorry.

Back to the apple cobbler.

You'll bake these at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes. I baked mine for around 35 minutes because it will continue to cook a little once it's removed from the oven. If you like your cobbler gooier then I suggest you only bake it for the 30 minutes.

When you remove the cobbler from the oven it will look something like this. Golden brown on top with a little crunch, sweet & delicious.

Now for the cream, this is even easier to fix, if that's possible...& it is.

For this recipe I used about a cup of prepared whipped cream or Kool Whip.

Add about a 1/2 teaspoon each of vanilla & cinnamon.

Mix until well blended. See all the little flecks of cinnamon. This stuff is great on any dessert or straight off a spoon or your finger. The vanilla & cinnamon just add a little something special to regular 'ole whipped cream.

Place a dollop of the whipped cream on your apple cobbler while it's still warm...

...and watch the whole thing disappear. Mmmmmm, my mouth is watering again just thinking about how good this was.

Apple Cobbler with Cinnamon-Vanilla Cream

2 cups chopped Granny Smith apple
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups of sugar
4 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup milk
1 cup whipped cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

For Cobbler:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place apple chunks, 1 cup of sugar & water in small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then lower heat & simmer for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together remaining sugar, milk, flour & butter until well blended. Spray 2 small baking dishes with non-stick spray & distribute batter evenly between the two dishes. Do not stir. Tap dish on hard surface just enough to help it settle & smooth out. Pour fruit & most of simple syrup on top of batter, again distributing evenly between the two servings. Still do not stir, the batter will rise to the top while baking. Sprinkle each cobbler with a pinch of sugar. Bake for 30-45 minutes.

For Cinnamon-Vanilla Cream:
In a small bowl mix whipped cream, vanilla & cinnamon together until blended well.

Top cobbler with whipped cream & serve.

You can double all of the ingredients & prepare one large cobbler in about an 8x8 baking dish. The cooking time & temperature would remain the same as mentioned above. You can also make this with any fresh or frozen fruit you look, just clean, peel & core.

Roasted Vegetables with Couscous

2011-01-26T21:54:00.006-06:00

These vegetables are soon to become world famous, I swear. When I take them to work (yes, I have an actual 8-5, Monday thru Friday job) & someone sees me eating them they say "is that your famous vegetables?" I say groaning "yes", cover my food & quickly turn the other way, I don't like an audience when I eat at work, plus I'm stingy with my food & don't like to share.

My mother requests them every time I cook for her. My boyfriend gets very excited when he finds out I'm cooking them so I make sure to fix enough so he (we) can have leftovers. But he rarely if ever eats them for leftovers.

That's a whole 'nother talk-show, the boyfriend vs. the leftovers.

Here I have mixed the vegetables with couscous. For those of you who aren't sure what couscous is, it's actually a pasta, some think it's a grain but it's not. It's a finely ground semolina pasta. You see it more in Indian & Middle Eastern dishes. I love the stuff & do not eat it that often because the boyfriend doesn't care for it either. He's a sweet guy though, he'll eat couscous when I fix it but certainly not more than the one time & I love him for that.

Enough about him, why am I talking about his food quirks, although I love his food quirks. But this is not about him, it's about the food. So on to the food.

The vegetables of choice are zucchini, white mushrooms, yellow squash, red bell pepper & red (I call it purple) onion. This is great in the summer because all of these vegetables are super fresh, but it's just as easy to find them any other time of the year too.

And don't you love my artsy vegetable picture? I do, I was experimenting with the light, whatcha think?

You'll chop all the vegetables, except the mushrooms. Be sure to chop them all as close to the same size as you can. This will help them cook evenly so things like you're peppers getting done before your zucchini will not happen.

You're going to be using my house seasoning on this, like we did with the baked fish. So you're gonna need your seasoned salt, black pepper, italian seasoning & garlic powder. No table salt is in this as the amount of seasoned salt you use is sufficient.

Aren't the colors beautiful, that's the other reason I love this recipe so much, it's just plain purdy, that's pretty for all you non-southern/country folks. I don't really say it that way either, not that there's anything wrong with it if you did. Just sayin'.

I digress.

Sprinkle all of the seasonings on the vegetables with some olive oil & mix them up really well. I use the same pan that I will be cooking in to mix, that way the oil will grease the pan for you a little bit. Feel free to use some non-stick cooking spray though if you don't trust your pan. Also, be sure they are as close to being in a single layer as you can get them. You can use a broiling pan too if you like. Using the broiler pan just helps them to get a little more crisp.

Next roast them in a 450 degree oven, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, give or take.

They will come out looking like this. Delicious, nutritious & beautiful. Now you can stop here if you like & just have the vegetables, we do that most often, again because the BF doesn't care so much for couscous. Or you can continue for an extra special treat...

While you're vegetables are roasting you may prepare the couscous.

This is the brand I prefer & it's the most readily available. I usually use the pine nut flavored couscous, it has a lovely nutty flavor & just mixes well with the vegetables. But as you can see this time I used Garlic & Olive Oil because they did not have my beloved pine nut at my local grocer.

Big sigh, sad face, I miss the pine nut.

So just follow the directions on the back of the box, it's really simple, 5-10 minutes & you've got couscous. I do use chicken broth instead of water though & I usually 86 the oil too.

Now toss the vegetables & couscous together & there you have it. How simple is that?!?

Note: I used just less than half of the vegetables to mix with the couscous. I like to keep the amount of each equal. I just kept adding spoonfuls until I reached my desired amount. You may use all or less of the vegetables, whatever you choose is perfectly fine.

Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetables with Couscous
2 yellow squash
2 small zucchini
1 large red onion
1 large red bell pepper
1 large container fresh white mushrooms
2 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp italian seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 box of flavored couscous

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Spray a baking pan (I used a 9x13) with non-stick cooking spray. Chop the squash, zucchini, pepper & onion being sure to make them a fairly substantial size, a chunk if you will, and of equal size. Place vegetables in baking pan. Sprinkle with the season salt, pepper, italian seasoning, garlic & oil. Toss well but be gentle as the mushrooms may break easily. Spread vegetables in a single layer. Place in middle rack of oven & roast for 30-40 mins.

Prepare couscous according to package directions using chicken broth in place of water & omitting the oil.

Once vegetables & couscous are done, mix chosen amount of vegetables with the couscous & serve.

Garlic Sesame Green Beans

2011-01-17T20:44:00.005-06:00

This recipe is a true, "all me" creation that came about out of necessity for variety. You see, I follow an eating plan that is low carb...except on weekends sometimes & when I get lazy, but most of the time I try to follow it. Eating low carb requires you to be creative with your food, because you can be limited as to what you can eat. I love green beans, but plain ole green beans can get boring. The creative juices started flowing as they often do & I came up with this. It's simple, see for yourself.

And the ingredients are...

Frozen whole green beans, sesame oil (one of my many favorites), soy sauce & minced garlic. Yep, that's it & it's gets easier...

On a side note: Sesame oil is fantastic & it smells great when you cook with it. Just be sure not to do what I do, get carried away with how great it smells & taste & end up making your green beans to oily.

The frozen green beans are steamers & can be thrown in the microwave following the directions, but only for about half the time it calls for. In this case I steamed them for about 4 minutes.

Whiles the beans are steaming, heat your pan. You'll use a skillet or frying pan or whatever you prefer to call it, cooking over medium heat. Add about 1 Tablespoon of the sesame oil, heat for about a minute. This is my first action shot by the way, I know, it didn't turn out great, got some work to do in that area. I promise it will be better next time.

Then add about a teaspoon of the minced garlic & cook for no more than 2 minutes or so.

The oil will be fairly hot & cooking the garlic too long will cause it to burn & take away the flavor.

Toss in the beans & stir. Personally I like to use tongs for, it just makes it easier. Keep tossing the beans around for a minute or two, then add the soy sauce. Keep tossing the beans around until most of the soy sauce seems to be absorbed. At this point you can add a little more sesame oil & garlic if you like it garlicy. I add a little more sesame oil, again because I love it so.

Also feel free to add a little regular salt if you're not a big fan of soy & some black pepper. Whatever your taste buds are calling for.

You'll want the beans to still have a little bit of a crunch to them, not be mushy & not lose their vibrant color. This will not require alot of time so after about 8 minutes or so you are done.

You end up with tasty green beans that will compliment anything.

Bon appetite!

Garlic Sesame Green Beans

1 pkg steamer pack frozen whole green beans
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp soy sauce

Prepare green beans according to package directions but only cooking about half of the specified time. Warm a pan over medium heat, add the oil & heat for about 1 minute. Add the garlic & heat 1-2 minutes. Toss in the green beans cooking for about 2-3 minutes. Add the soy sauce, tossing well & cooking for another 3-4 minutes or until green beans have reached desired tenderness & soy sauce has been absorbed. These beans are great when they still have some vibrant color & a little crunch.

Roast Beef In It's Own Gravy

2011-01-12T21:35:00.003-06:00

This recipe is one that I grew up with, it's my Mother's recipe. I never really knew roast could be fixed any other way nor did I think it would be as good if it was. To me this was the best. (Apologies to all those whose roast I hate that wasn't fixed like this, I know yours was delicious as well, just in a different way).

Every time I fix this, until now, I have to call my mother to check the type of roast that's the tastiest & to find out about how long it should cook, other than that it is a snap to prepare. Actually those parts aren't hard either, I just can't always quite remember the answers to those questions. I did use a different type of roast once & it wasn't near as good, so I encourage you to take my advice on this, use a chuck roast.

At this point I feel it's my duty to inform you that I did add my own little touch to this one & this is where the southern portion of this whole blog thing I'm doing comes in. With that introduction I shall present to you...drum roll please...bacon grease. (Insert dramatic music here) Yes, I said bacon grease. Call yourself fortunate that I'm NOT including a picture of the small jelly jar of cold bacon grease I keep in my fridge. I thought I would spare you that...this time.

I know this sounds gross but you shouldn't be afraid, just trust me when I tell you bacon grease is the best seasoning, next to seasoned salt, for almost anything. It adds a ton of flavor. It's what makes southern food, southern. It puts the soul in soul food & it puts the calories in all of the above, but you must try it. Run out now, fry a ton of bacon & save the grease. Use it in this recipe or on any vegetables you are cooking on the stove or any meats you need to sear or eggs you need to fry. I challenge you to tell me it's not fantastic.

Now with that said let's get on with it, shall we?

The cast of characters is...

Per Mother you will use a 2-3lb chuck roast. As mentioned earlier, this part is very important, so pay close attention. The chuck roast is the most tender & will fall apart when it's cooked, no knife needed. It is well marbled which lends to the tenderness. You certainly can use any roast you like, but don't call me when it's not completely falling apart & melting in your mouth. You will also use minced garlic, seasoned salt, black pepper, bacon grease (not shown), cream of celery soup & golden mushroom soup. Campbell's is the only brand that sells the golden mushroom soup, as far as I know.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees & pull out a baking dish, I used a 9x13. You'll also need a skillet big enough for the roast. Drop about a teaspoon or so of bacon grease in the skillet over high heat. Keep an eye on it so you don't burn it. If it's getting too hot too quick, just pull the skillet off the stove for a minute.

Now you will rinse the roast off with water. I don't know why, my grandfather was a butcher & he told us too, so that's what we do. Pat it dry & begin your seasoning.

Excuse my oh so delicate hands being in this picture, I was trying to demonstrate. Rub her down with the seasoned salt, pepper & garlic.

Be sure to season all sides of the roast, head to toe, front to back.

Now flop her down in the hot skillet. She's gonna be heavy so you may need to use the tongs or a heavy duty spatula.

Why am I calling the roast a she?

Let that sear for about 2-3 minutes. Until it looks like this-

Then flip it over & sear for another 2-3 minutes on the other side.

Searing helps seal in the juices & ensures you get that nice caramelized crust on it, plus it just adds alot of flavor. Especially with the bacon grease. Challenge me...remember!

Now while that finishes searing grab your cans of soup & a small mixing bowl.

Pour both soups in the bowl & mix them together really good.

You're probably needing to pull that skillet off the stove about now so do that.

Grab your baking dish for the roast.

Spread a couple of tablespoons of the soup mixture in the bottom of the baking dish. There's that oh so delicate hand again, be prepared, you're gonna see it alot.

Now place the roast in the dish on top of the soup. See how nice & brown that gets after a good sear in bacon grease. Amazing!

Take the soup mixture & pour over the top of the roast.

Be sure to cover the entire thing, the whole head to toe, front to back thing again.

Cover with foil & put her in the oven & do not pay attention to how dirty my oven is or the oh so delicate hand, again, or the fact that I'm still calling the roast a she.

This will bake about 2 1/2-3 hours, probably closer to 3. Just be sure to use your meat thermometer to check he internal temperature which should reach 170 degrees.

Use this time to rest from all the hard work you've done preparing this wonderful meal & to get "all the fixins" ready.

Once it's done pull it out of the oven, leave it covered & let it rest for about 8-10 mins.

Letting meat rest helps to redistribute the juices & helps prevent it from becoming dry. The rule of thumb is at least 10 minutes but due to the way we've prepared this with the gravy, a little less time will do.

Isn't she beautiful, swimming in all that gravy goodness. The juice from the roast cooks out & mixes with the soup to make an absolutely delicious gravy. The meat will be tender & juicy & will truly fall apart with the touch of a fork. Well, maybe not quite that tender, but it'll be close.

Mother usually served this with rice, it's a great compliment to the gravy. But by special request of my boyfriend, who we will affectionately refer to as The Hunk, I fixed mashed potatoes. They were almost as good as the rice, but that's personal preference. Since this recipe brings me back home a little bit, rice would be my first choice simply due to the nostalgia of the whole thing.

That's it, hope you enjoy & as always, I would love to hear from you!

Roast Beef In It's Own Gravy

1 2-3lb Chuck Roast
1/8 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp bacon grease (may be substituted with vegetable or canola oil)
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can golden mushroom soup

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Place bacon grease in skillet over high heat.

Rub roast on all sides with garlic, salt & pepper. Place roast in skillet to sear, 2-3 minutes. Flip roast over & sear another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. In a separate bowl, combine soups. Spread about 2 Tbsp of soup mixture in bottom of a 9x13 baking dish, (a smaller baking dish is fine too). Place roast in baking dish. Pour remaining soup mixture over roast. Cover & bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until internal temperature reaches 170 degrees. Remove from oven & let rest for 8-10 minutes. Roast should be fork tender. Uncover & serve.

Simple Baked Fish with House Seasoning

2011-01-05T21:37:00.005-06:00

My first post!!! Are you as excited as I am...don't answer that!

Okay, so first let me say that in my introductory post I never promised that the "southern" part of my cooking & the "twist" part of my cooking would ever collide in one post. I just promised that they each would be there at some point in time. I also never promised that either or both would always make an appearance. So when you read through this recipe please keep those things in mind.

What I did say is that I would share my original recipes with you.

Don't get excited, it's not as big of a secret as the Colonel's Original Recipe, not anymore anyway. Not to mention, I don't fry alot of things, if anything. So, there you go.

I digress.

Back to the food.

Okay, the seasoning I use has become a staple in my house. It goes on fish, chicken, shrimp, vegetables, you name it, it's great on it. So I strongly suggest you try it on something besides fish, you'll love it, I promise. Here goes...

The line up:

You'll be using non-stick spray, Lawry's seasoned salt (I really do not know how anyone cooks without the stuff, it's wonderful), italian seasoning, lemon pepper, regular salt & black pepper, butter & your fish.

I use the individually frozen fillets of tilapia. You can find them in any grocery store, the brands vary, but the fish taste the same. It's tilapia, everyone loves it, even non-fish eating people. It really is the perfect fish & my house seasoning just adds to it's perfection, or so I think. In this particular recipe I used 2 fillets because that's all we had left in the freezer. You can use any fish you like as well, I'm not going to chase you down & interrogate you if you choose to use something else.

Next...

Liberally spray a baking dish, I prefer glass, with non-stick spray. Place the fish in the baking dish & begin to season.

Here's where it gets tricky for me. I have always eye-balled my seasoning & because I used a smaller amount of fish this time the amount of seasoning was obviously reduced as well. So please keep that in mind when you prepare this. Feel free to put as little or as much of each seasoning element as you would like too. Remember you are working with two different salts & two different peppers, so be cautious or liberal with the distribution, whatever floats your boat. Be sure to season both sides of the fillet. Once you've done that you'll spray each fillet with the non-stick cooking spray. Trust me on this, it helps give it just a little crispness. I also prefer to bake the fish skin side up which with tilapia is the pink side, these fillets don't actually have skin on them, I was trying to make it easy to follow. Anyway. Then top each fillet with a small pat or two of butter depending on how rich you think you might like it. You can 86 the butter too if you're trying to cut back on that sort of thing.

You'll bake this for about 15 mins at 375 degrees.

When you remove it from the oven it should look something like this.

TA-DA! The rich butter helps all the spices melt together & into the fish & it is delicious. Like I said before even non-fish eaters have raved about this fish.

So good luck & feel free to ask any questions.

Your feedback is much appreciated, as long as it doesn't hurt my feelings too much.

Simple Baked Fish with House Seasoning

2 - 4oz. tilapia fillets (if using frozen, thaw first for best results)
1/4 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt (Lawry's is my preference, your own preference is perfectly fine)
1/8-1/4 tsp of Lemon Pepper
1/4 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/8 tsp salt, approx
1/8 tsp black pepper, approx
2-3 small pats of butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a baking dish, preferably glass, with non-stick cooking spray. Place fillets in dish. Sprinkle with seasoned salt, lemon pepper, italian seasoning, salt & pepper. Spray the top of each fillet with the non-stick spray. Place a pat of butter on each fillet. Put dish in oven.

Bake for about 15 mins or until desired doneness.

Just the beginning...

2011-01-03T13:23:00.004-06:00

Hi there! Thank you for visiting & welcome to Gone With the Whisk. My name is Lesley, I'm from the south & embrace that in every way I can. I love to cook & this blog will be the story of my cooking adventures. The name of my blog comes from my style of cooking, which is southern (surprise, surprise) with a twist, & I don't bake much...yet. You'll find out more about the twist part & maybe the southern part & the part about me not baking much as you follow.

Like most folks that do this type of thing, cooking is one of my passions. I am self-taught through much trial & error & want to share that with the world! I know that sounds quite dramatic, but it's true. I started cooking on my own about 16 years ago & through the years I have watched my family members & friends, collected cookbooks (which I read as if it's a novel. if you don't believe me, ask my mother she does it too), watched many a cooking show & absorbed everything I possibly could to help me learn what I have. I'm certainly no expert & still have alot to learn but I'm here to share what I know with you & learn from you as well.

I follow several other blogs & one day the light went off & I thought "I can do that". So here I am. Here to share my Les'd-up recipes with you. Les'd-up is a term you may hear often. My boyfriend calls my food Les'd-up because I never can follow a recipe exactly. I always have to do something to make it my own, but I'm proud of that, it doesn't get me many complaints & in fact I get quite a bit of praise for my food. Not to mention, it has led me to this blog & I'm very excited to see where this goes.

Okay, enough about me, let's get to the food. You will soon see my first post. So stay tuned, there's lots more to come, this is just the beginning!