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Family recipes worth fightin’ for #6: Fried squash blossoms.

Mon, 02 Jun 2014 21:54:00 -0400

Growing up, my family always had a vegetable garden bursting with basil, tomatoes, zucchini and the fresh mint that always overran the yard transforming the mundane task of lawn mowing into a minty experience.

Even with all the good things we could make with our summer harvest my favorite garden-fresh item was and still is squash blossoms.

Lightly battered, quick fried and sprinkled with kosher salt these are the perfect bite - crispy, salty and sweet. While some may prefer the blossoms stuffed with a mix of ricotta, mozzarella and herbs, I prefer them unstuffed – the way my grandmother made them.

Although a self-proclaimed traditionalist, I did deviate from my grandmother’s recipe using an IPA mixed with lighted-seasoned flour to make my batter inspired by a recipe on epicurious.

Mac & Cheese Family Foodfight

Mon, 02 Dec 2013 10:00:18 -0500

My cousin Teri hosted a Mac & Cheese themed family foodfight complete with a macaroni adorned trophy. And although the competition was fierce, a winner was chosen, but in the end, we were all winners for sharing a great dinner and spending quality time together laughing and eating.

Uncle Nick’s Mac & Cheese

The first submission was from my Uncle Nick, who believes the best mac & cheese comes from his local Costco!

Aunt Mary’s Creamy, Three-Cheese and Chorizo M&C

One of the creamiest offerings, Aunt Mary really delivered with this rich, blue cheese, roquefort and chorizo M&C.

Nico & Nina’s Crunchy Topped M&C

Nico and Nina made this crunchy, potato chip- and bacon-topped mac & cheese

Joan’s Apple, M&C Pie

Rosemary goat cheese is the base for this apple and rosemary-spiced mac & cheese pie

Jim’s Crispy Mac & Cheese Balls

Ditalini pasta mixed with three cheeses and bacon; chilled and formed into balls; rolled in spiced panko and fried till crisp. While tasty and crispy, these balls would definitely benefit from a sauce – either hot and spicy or extra cheesy creamy. Additional photos are posted on Flickr

Teri’s Spicy Chorizo M&C

Teri took home the trophy with this wonderfully spicy, mac & cheese with cherry tomatoes and lots of chorizo.

Teri and Nico celebrate their victory.

Boozy, Homemade, Bourbon-Bacon Jam

Tue, 09 Jul 2013 02:29:03 -0400

The Independence Day weekend was a great time to cook out with friends and make and share jars of this great, boozy, bacon jam. There are plenty of recipes available online, and I based my jam on Martha Stewart’s slow-cooker recipewith a generous addition of bourbon. Remember, the finished jam is only as good as the ingredients, so make certain to use really good bacon - I choose applewood smoked, thick cut and Woodford Reserve for my bourbon.

Like any good jam, bourbon-bacon jam is best served simply spread on toast.

We saved a jar for ourselves and made Buffalo Burgers with Blue Cheese, Bacon and a healthy slather of our Homemade Bourbon-Bacon Jam.

Pizza topped with homemade bourbon-bacon jam, shredded bbq...

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 22:04:20 -0400

Pizza topped with homemade bourbon-bacon jam, shredded bbq chicken and provolone.

Labor Day Weekend BBQ

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 12:43:00 -0400

Hot dogs and hamburgers are the classic BBQ ‘go to’ for most people, thank goodness we are not 'most’ people.

When invited to a BBQ at our friend’s house this past weekend, Cassie, who doesn’t usually eat hot dogs, suggested we make some Colombian-style hot dogs, or perros caliente. These dogs are typically topped with a pineapple sauce, crushed potato chips, crisped bacon bits and a garlic cilantro mayo. Lots of competing flavors but unanimously enjoyed by all.

And hamburgers, an all-american favorite, took an Asian turn with these Korean BBQ-inspired pulled chicken sliders, with pickled onions, cilantro and jalapeño slices.

Tapas & Shrimp Gazpacho

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 23:46:00 -0400

Having just returned from an awesome family trip to Barcelona, we decided to host a tapas party for some friends.

There were plenty of great items: Sangria, Tortilla Espana, Sangria, Chorizo a la Sidra, Roasted Mushrooms with Goat Cheese, Sangria, Garbanzos with Pepperoni, Patatas Bravas, Grilled Asparagus with Romesco and did I mention Sangria. But the star of the party was this Manchego Bite with Almond-Crusted Guava Paste cubes (adapted from a Tyler Florence recipe). Simply cube pieces of manchego cheese and coat similarly sized pieces of guava paste with crushed, roasted almonds and skewer with a toothpick.

Although the Tapas party was over on Saturday night, the flavors of Spain continued into the work week. I was happily surprised to find gazpacho being served in the office cafeteria this afternoon. And those of you who know me, know that gazpacho is one of my TOP FIVE FAVORITE FOODS. Skewers of lime-marinated, grilled shrimp added the necessary pizzaz to elevate today’s lunchtime gazpacho to a dinner entree.

Manhattan Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 22:14:06 -0400

This is not your mom’s cherry vanilla ice cream, but it might be your new favorite. The Manhattan in the name does not come from my old home town, but rather from theeponymously named cocktail.

Fresh cherries were pitted, vanilla bean and a spring of fresh rosemary were added to the soon to be air tight container.

After a week in the fridge, the manhattan macerated cherries soaked up all the flavors of the bourbon, vermouth, vanilla and rosemary.

Fresh cherries were steeped in heavy cream with sugar a vanilla bean to created the base for our manhattan cherry vanilla ice cream. Once the sugar dissolved and the mixture cooled, I removed the cherries and the vanilla bean; poured the mixture along with 3 tablespoons of the manhattan macerated cherry juice into our ice cream maker for twenty minutes and then added the chopped cherries.

Family recipes worth fightin' for #5: Struffoli

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 16:00:07 -0400

Every Christmas, Nanny would make platters of Struffoli or as we knew them … ‘honey balls’. These crispy balls of fried dough are tossed in honey and sprinkled with multi-colored sprinkles.

Truly a favorite of mine, it was actually one of the desserts at our wedding, along with a Julie’s favorite, a tiered, rice crispy wedding cake!

Julie and I decided to continue the Christmas tradition of making honey balls and made a large batch to share amongst our new neighbors as a simple holiday gift.

I hope they enjoyed them as much as we do.

Nanny’s Honey Balls - Struffoli

2 cup all-purpose flour (plus more for kneading the dough)
½ teaspoon salt
zest of one lemon and one orange
juice of one lemon
4 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange zest
2 cup honey
Multi-colored sprinkle
Oil for frying

1. Combine flour and the salt in a large bowl. Add eggs and lemon/orange zest and stir to form a firm dough.

2. Lightly flour work surface and knead dough until smooth. If the dough seems sticky, add a little more flour. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover, place in the fridge and let it rest for 30 minutes.

3. Remove from the refrigerator and cut golf ball-sized pieces of dough from the main batch. Roll each ball into a ¼-inch thick rope and cut each dowel into ¼-inch pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and continue until finished with all dough.

4. Line a tray with paper towels. Pour about 2 inches of oil into a wide heavy saucepan. Heat the oil until a small bit of the dough dropped into the oil sizzles and turns brown in 1 minute.

5. Being careful not to splash the oil, slip just enough struffoli into the pan to fit without crowding. Cook, stirring once or twice with a slotted spoon, until the struffoli are crisp and evenly golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the struffoli with a slotted spoon or skimmer and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining dough.

6. When all of the struffoli are fried, gently heat the honey, lemon juice, and zest together. Remove from the heat. Add the drained struffoli and toss well. Remove from heat and allow to cool 5 minutes in the pan, stirring regularly. Pile the struffoli onto a serving plate. Decorate with the multicolored sprinkles and serve.

Family recipes worth fightin' for #4: Not your grandpa's 'franks & beans'

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 08:00:06 -0400

Sure there are beans, but the franks in this recipe have been substituted for chicken sausages and the real star of this dish is the escarole.

Simple to make, fresh escarole is sauteed with garlic, pancetta/bacon and olive oil. Stir in a can of canellini beans and enough chicken broth to make a soup. Top with grilled sausages to complete this simple dish. Sprinkle with grated locatelli and serve.

Battle: Atkins

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 23:15:11 -0400

The Our Family Foodfight team is still cooking and eating ~~good~~ great food, albeit with less carbs these days. Our typically quick dinners of pasta 3x a week are being replaced with grilled veggies and meats.

Our veggie garden is thriving and aside from harvesting an abundance of herbs (especially cilantro, scallions, basil, oregano and thyme) we picked our first bell pepper this week as well.

The challenge this week was to make great food that fits our new healthier lifestyle. Julie lead off this week’s challenge with a Low-Carb Pepperoni ‘Pizza Bite’ Duo inspired by a recipe she found on Health-Bent. Packed with flavor, and served on a slice of pepperoni, I challenge you to notice the lack of crust.

Julie’s ’Supreme Pizza Bite’ uses parmesan crisps as a base for diced pepperoni, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomato sauce and shredded cheeses.

Next up, my mom, Joan of Foodalogue, prepared this Butternut Squash Cheesecake with broccoli rabe and chorizo.

I followed with a turkey kofta kebabs seasoned with scallions, mint, garlic, syrian pepper, lemon and S&P. I served this with some sour cream-based leban (cucumbers, mint, lemon zest and garlic).

And for dessert,

Cass made chocolate chip cookies! What’s healthy about cookies? Everything, these were made with half the sugar of regular cookies and she added peanut butter for flavor and whole oats for texture and health benefits of whole grains.

Hot and warm from the oven, i couldn’t help myself – so I had one (alright two) but that was my limit!

Buttered Pecan, Bacon-Brittle Ice Cream

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:00:06 -0500

This Christmas, I received an ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid from my mom (Joan of Foodalogue). The first batch of ice cream pictured above, was a huge success.

I started by making buttered pecans, then combined the pecans and crispy bacon with sugar to a make a brittle which was crushed to make a praline brittle.

Fresh vanilla bean, added to heavy cream and half & half served as a deliciously rich base for this buttered pecan ice cream.

Jules sneaks a taste while the ice cream ‘sets’ in the freezer

A Tale of Two Valentine's Day Dinner Dates

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:45:00 -0500

Valentine’s day dinner at Red Lobster is a longstanding tradition for me and Cass. Our order is the same every year: a caesar salad, 1 lb of snow crab legs with a half-pound side of king crab legs and french fries. Part of our yearly tradition are the following photos, a great reminder of another wonderful year.

Jules and I started a new tradition of Valentine’s Day Brunch. We celebrated with a couple of bottles of prosecco, mixed up some tropical mimosas and enjoyed a traditional southern breakfast with biscuits and gravy, ham and eggs.

For dinner on Valentine’s Day, I made one of Julie’s favorite dishes - shrimp scampi. This version included scallops (my fav) as well as fresh parsley, wine and fresh spinach pasta.

Back to Basics - Steak and Potatoes

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 22:20:00 -0500

To say it’s been a busy year would be a huge understatement. In the past year, we were asked to shoot a demo for a possible TV adaption of our blog; were hired by a nationally-distributed magazine to develop food articles for their revamped food section; Julie and I closed on our new home and three months later were married in a backyard ceremony. As busy as the year has been, we still spend as much time together cooking as possible but finding time for ‘official’ our family foodfights has been challenging.

This doesn’t mean we aren’t cooking, plating, photographing and eating great food and this is the first of one of those simple but great dinners we want to share with you.

Back to Basics - Steak and Potatoes

We started with quality boneless ribeye steaks and the largest potato I’ve ever seen from Joseph’s Classic Market. The potato was sliced into one inch thick pieces, wrapped with bacon, then roasted in the oven until the bacon was crisp and the taters were tender and brown.

We seasoned the ribeyes liberally with salt and pepper, and studded the fat line with slivers of garlic and fresh rosemary.

While the potatoes were roasting, the steaks were seared on the grill and Vidalia onions were sauteed with garlic and fresh herbs.

Simply delicious!

The results are in!

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 01:19:00 -0500

The competition was strong (five competitors) which included good friends, Montana and Jeremy, who brought their favorite chili recipes. Jer (left) made a short rib chili with double-smoked bacon and white beans with pickled onions and a horseradish creme while Montana (right) carved team logos in cheese and made a smokey old-style chili, with a slew of condiments.

Judges were selected and the results were based on taste tests of five independent judges, on five different categories. Apparently we were off the charts in creativity (not a scored category) but lacked aroma. You can see all the judges comments by clicking on the final tally below. I was contestant #5.

How can chili lack aroma, but have a perfect score in aftertaste? It’s easy when your chili is ice cream! That’s right, we made a dark chocolate, chili-flavored ice cream, with toasted cumin seeds, smokey spanish paprika, chipotle peppers and a candied jalapeno bacon brittle.

And to further push the envelope, we served the ice cream on Fritos Corn chip scoops.

Scores were tallied and our chili recipe was ranked first runner-up with a score of 145.

Although we did not win the coveted Lombardo Chili Cup, we did receive a great silver trophy to commemorate our win.

You can see all the judges comments by clicking on the play button below. I was contestant #5.

The Our Family Foodfight team was invited to participate in the...

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 07:16:37 -0500

The Our Family Foodfight team was invited to participate in the annual Lombardo Invitational Chili Cook Off.

The event was held during halftime of the super bowl with the results of the judging posted at the end of the game.

Results will be posted this evening!

Family Recipes Worth Fightin' For #3: Lasagne Roll-Ups

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 08:00:06 -0500

This is the latest in our family recipe collection. When pressed for time, but craving lasagne, this has been a sure-fire crowd pleaser.

Step One. Under cook lasagne noodles, drain. Don’t worry about the pasta being too al dente, since it continues to cook while baking, under cooking it to begin with will help keep the pasta from turning to mush.

Step Two. Spread the cheese mixture (ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, and spinach) evenly on the pasta, then roll.

Step Three. Once all the pasta has been filled and roll, bake and serve with fresh tomato sauce.

Rock out with your crock out!

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 22:00:24 -0500

Although not officially a foodfight, this crock pot recipe rocks! My good friend and fellow blogger Chalie of Mug of Saint Arnold is posting a Sunday Snack Series, combining two of my favorite activities - drinking and eating! I decided to join in with Our Family Foodfight Team’s Sunday dinner – pot roast.

This recipe began with some winter veggies, fennel, green onions, parsnips, carrots, fresh herbs and a braising liquid made of Blue Moon’s Winter Abbey Ale.

After browning the meat, I added it to the veggies, herbs and braising liquid to slow cook in the crock pot.

While the roast was “getting crocked” we whipped up some homemade horseradish smashed potatoes and pralined green beans.

This was a huge success! We all loved the hearty meal especially since this has been a chilly Florida winter.

Getting ‘crocked’ with Winter Abbey Ale from Blue...

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 09:37:12 -0500

Getting ‘crocked’ with Winter Abbey Ale from Blue Moon.

bacon brownie bites

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 18:47:32 -0500

We celebrated Thanksgiving a week early with a department pot-luck. Amidst the crock pots, pies, spiral ham and a wickedly-delicious sweet potato praline mash was my contribution – bacon brownie bites.

Surprisingly, a whole year has passed since we successfully baked our first batch of salt-n-pepper brownies. Trying to come up with something new and unique to be ‘thankful’ for at this year’s luncheon, I mixed two of my favorite flavors – bacon and chocolate.

These sinful brownie bites started with Ghiradelli Ultra Fudge Brownie mix. Bacon was fried crisp, crumbled, and 2 tablespoons of the rendered fat were substituted for vegetable oil in the brownie mix.

Aside from the rendered bacon fat, the mix was prepared and baked according to instructions on the box. Once removed from the oven and cooled, the bites were removed from the pan, inverted and topped with fudge that was carefully applied via impromptu piping bag (small corner cut off) and crisped bacon crumbles.

Notes: Although tasty, I would like to increase the bacon flavor by experimenting with the ratio of bacon fat-to-vegetable oil. Additionally, I would also add:

rendered bacon fat or bourbon or both to the fudge icing
a touch of smoked-finishing salt or course-ground black pepper to the topping
bacon into the mix itself.

What would you try?

Meatloaf Monday

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:53:42 -0400

Not sure what to do with the last of summer’s veggies and herbs? We took our last two zucchini and a handful of our fresh herbs (basil and rosemary) and chopped them with bell pepper, carrots and onion and mixed it with ground turkey for a ‘healthy’ meatloaf.

Shredded zucchini, carrots, bell pepper, onion and garlic are mixed with garden fresh herbs, toasted bread and ground turkey for this delicious 'healthy’ meatloaf.

We formed the ingredients into mini-meatloafs perfectly sized for individual meals/lunches that were moist and delicious and as well as a few bacon-wrapped ones that were decadent!

We served our meatloaf with some roasted broccoli, baby bella mushrooms and red potatoes.

We hope to make this a monthly feature and hope you share your fav meatloaf recipe with us.