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Gluten Free

Cheesy Potato Pancakes with Jalapeno Sour Cream

I like to throw parties, invite people over and make them feel at home. I like to make more than enough food, and for everyone to leave very full and with a take away bag of goodies. But the last time I had a little gathering at Casa De Dodd, I had overlooked my Gluten Free friends. I had remembered the vegetarians, and the vegans, the people who don’t drink beer, but for the ones who are allergic to gluten there wasn’t much. I felt terrible.

Gluten Free isn’t a fad diet. It isn’t Paleo or Raw or Weight Watchers. It isn’t a choice. It’s a medical condition and a food allergy  that is one of the fasted growing diagnosed food allergies in the United States.

Gluten Free (Celiac’s Disease) people don’t want to give up bread. And regular pizza, or hamburger buns and flour tortillas, they don’t have much of a choice. Eat gluten free or become debilitatingly ill. Have you ever had food poisoning? In away, it’s like that.

And with over 3 million American’s allergic to gluten, chances are your next party may have one. It might even be you, Celiacs is most often diagnosed in adulthood. Because we want everyone who walks into our parties to feel at home, we all need to have a stock pile of appetizers to accommodate. Because unlike other diets, this isn’t a choice.

Because gluten is used as a thickener in tons of processed foods, it can easily hid in obscure places like canned soup, pre-made salad dressing, imitation crab, cheese spread and some brands of soy sauce.

At each party I need to have a few Celiac Friendly dishes that I made from scratch so that I can be sure there isn’t any rogue gluten waiting like a digestive ninja to attach my friends insides. Potatoes are a great place to start. Because who doesn’t love potatoes? It’s like not liking puppies or The Beatles.

So when you come across Gluten Free appetizers and dishes that you love, bookmark for them for gatherings. Because your friends would do it for you.

Cheesy Potato Pancakes with Jalapeno Sour Cream

Ingredients

  • 1 cup red potatoes, grated with a cheese grater
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbs masa (corn flour used to make corn tortillas)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • pinch cayenne
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (if using pre shredded, check to make sure it does not contain gluten)
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 jalapeno, diced, stem and seeds removed
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Instructions

  1. Place grated potatoes between several sheets of paper towels, press to remove some of the moisture. In a bowl, combine the grated potato, egg, masa, salt, pepper, cayenne and onion powder, mix until combined.
  2. Heat olive oil over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Form potatoes into silver dollar sized pancakes about 1/4 inch thick. Add to the pan and cook until browned, about 2 minutes, then flip pancake. Top the pancakes with a small amount of cheddar cheese, cook until cheese is melted and underside of the pancake is browned, about an additional 3 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to drain on a paper towel.
  3. In a bowl, combine the sour cream, jalapenos and smoked paprika, mix. Top the potato pancakes with sour cream. Serve warm.

 

Cucumber Cups Stuffed With Goat Cheese Caprese

 

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

On Friday I fought a culinary chicken battle that ended with a giant foam core check with my name on it. This was my second attempt to win the Semi-Finals of the Foster Farms Chicken Cook Off, last year wasn’t my year. But this year, I won a giant check, a trip to Napa, the opportunity to cook at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone (my favorite prize so far) and the chance to grab another Giant Check worth ten grand.

I’m so excited. Not just because the other dishes I was competing against were incredible and each worthy of their own Big Check, but because, in a way, this Big Check (that currently sits on my bar, in all it’s 4 foot long splendor) serves as a validation for what I do. I’m good at this! See, look, other people picked my recipe out of thousands of other ones!

Maybe that seems silly, I create 3 to 5 recipes a week, post them for you and you seem to like them. You send me emails and post comments telling me that you liked my little creations. That should be enough, right?

But for some reason, that Big Check gave me tangible evidence that my recipes are good. Other people, who don’t even know who wrote that recipe, liked it.

Maybe I have a future here.

;

For this, I’m resurrecting and re-creating one of my most popular posts.

I love these little cucumber cups, so easy, so versatile, the perfect thing to throw together for a party. They take about 5 minutes, and they look so fancy. I used persian cucumber for these, smaller than your standard English cucumbers and the skin is so thin, there is no need to peel them.

Just use a small melon baller to scoop out a good portion of the middle, or use a paring knife to cut a wedge out of the middle and you can fill them with just about anything.

Cucumber Cups Stuffed With Goat Cheese Caprese

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup balsamic
  • 4 Persian Cucubers
  • 2 oz goat cheese
  • 1 large beefsteak tomato, chopped
  • 3 large basil leaves, chopped
  • salt & pepper

Instructions

  1. Place balsamic in a small sauce pan over medium high heat. Cook until reduced by half (you can also by pre-reduced balsamic, called balsamic glaze, in the market near the balsamic vinegar).
  2. Cut the cucubmbers into 1 1/2 inch slices. Use a melon baller to scoop out the middle, leaving the walls and bottom in tact.
  3. In a bowl, add the goat cheese, tomatoes, basil and stir until combined. Salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Fill cups with goat cheese mixture, drizzle with balsamic reduction.

 

 

Coconut Cornmeal Shrimp With Jalapeno Peach Jam

 

I’ve had a busy week, and my body has decided to request that I slow down.

On Friday, I was asked to do a cooking segment on CBS news in Los Angeles. I’ve spent the week preparing. My husband helped me run through the segment in the evenings, and for an entire week my drive home consisted of me practicing my talking points, out loud, looking like a crazy person, on an LA freeway. It  all seemed to work, the segment went well:

The Beeroness Cooks on CBS

 As soon as I started my drive home from the studio, I started to crash. The next morning I lay in bed as my incredible husband got up with Tater, and I was able to sleep until the late, late hour of 8:45. In Mom Time, that’s pretty close to sleeping until noon. As I lay in bed, trying to pull myself together and trick myself into thinking I’m not actually sick, I watched this, this and this, and laughed so hard I think it worked. Maybe it’s true what they say about laughter and that whole "Best Medicine" thing.

And on Thursday I leave for the Foster Farms Cook-Off. I’ll be competing against 4 other cooks for $1,000 and a trip to Napa for the Cook Off Finals with a prize of $10,000.

Wish me luck! I’ll be posting on twitter and instagram as the contest goes along.

And now, the recipe. I bought a huge bag of Masa to make corn tortillas with, and if you have never made corn tortillas, you really, really need to . They’re so good, nothing like those cardboard disks they sell at the store, and they take about 5 minutes. The flavor is so good, I’ve been throwing the corn flour into everything, I’m totally in love with it. And the Jalapeno Peach Jam I also used on pork chops. So Good.

Coconut Cornmeal Shrimp With Jalapeno Peach Jam

Ingredients

For The Jam:

  • 3 cups peaches, skin removed, chopped
  • 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 jalapeno, stem and seeds removed, diced
  • 1 tsp cornstarch

For The Shrimp:

  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 2 lbs raw shrimp, shell and tail removed
  • 1 cup Masa Harina
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 cup oil

Instructions

  1. Add the raw shrimp and coconut milk to a bowl. Chill in the fridge for about 45 minutes while you make the jam.
  2. In a pot over medium high heat, add all of the jam ingredients. Stirring occasionally, allow to simmer (not boil) until thick, and the peaches have broken down, about 45 minutes. Smash peached with a potato masher until a jam like consistency is reached. Remove from heat and set aside.
  3. In a bowl, combine the masa, coconut, salt, pepper and pinch cayenne. One at a time, remove the shrimp from the coconut milk and allow to drain a bit before adding to the cornmeal mixture. Coat the shrimp well in the corn meal mixture.
  4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the shrimp and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
  5. Remove from heat. You can either top the shrimp with the jam or serve the jam as a dipping sauce.

 

 

Chicken Sliders With Zucchini Buns

 

At the end of the month I have this little cooking on TV gig that I’m incredibly excited about. And as much as I strive to be unique and impervious to social pressure, none of that has been able to penetrate my own vanity. After the initial shock of being asked to cook on CBS, Los Angeles wore off my first very female thoughts went something like this:

"What am I going to wear?"

"The camera adds ten pounds. Awesome."

So here I am, trying to stay as healthy as possible until I can school the Los Angeles metro area on the mid-day news with an introduction to cooking with beer all while still trying to run two food blogs that dazzle you with fun and delicious food. Not as easy for me as I’d like.

I did, however, discovered that if I give up dairy, which I already find skeevey in it’s unmanipulated state, the battle to lose those last few pounds becomes much easier. Butter and goat cheese have been the only real sacrifices, the rest has been easy to ignore or replace.

Don’t forget to come back on Wednesday when I give the best chocolate ice cream I have ever had that happens to be dairy free. It’s insane how creamy it is. You’ll want that recipe.

This recipe, which is dairy and gluten-free, gives you this delicious little mini burgers that are only about 90 calories each. And I am now one step closer to cooking on TV and not crying about it.

Chicken Sliders With Zucchini Buns

Ingredients

For The Patties

  • 1 lb ground lean chicken
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup panko (for GF, use crushed potato chips)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp dry oregano
  • 1/2 tsp dry basil
  • 1 cup fat free chicken broth

Condiments & Toppings

  • 1 to 2 large zucchinis, cut into 1/4 inch rings (buns)
  • Avocado Slices
  • BBQ Sauce
  • Pickled Jalapenos
  • Tomato Slices

Instructions

In a bowl, combine all the the patti ingredients (except the chicken broth) with your hands until well combined.
Spray the inside of a skillet (with a lid) with cooking spray, allow to get hot but not smoking.
Form the chicken mixture into patties about the width of your zucchini slices and about 1/2 inch thick. Cook on one side until browned on the bottom, flip and allow to cook for about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth until about half way up the sides of the chicken patties. Cover with a lid and allow to steam for about 3 to 5 minutes or until chicken patties are cooked through. Because fat is responsible for moist patties, very lean meat becomes dry very easily. This is the method I use to make sure the chicken is cooked through but is not dry.
Remove from pan and allow to drain.
Add the patties to the zucchini slices, top with condiments and serve.

(Makes about 8)

Chipotle Corn Chowder

I had this friend once, years ago, who used to live under the Franklin Bridge in Los Angeles. A bridge that is rumored to have been Anthony Kiedis muse for the Red Hot Chili Peppers Under The Bridge. I can’t even remember how I began my friendship with a skinny, old, homeless man named Clarence. A friendship that was unlikely to say the least, but I’ll never forget the last time I saw him. He took up residence on a pile of cardboard on my route home from the gym, and I had a neatly pack care package for him. Socks, a sewing kit, two bananas, a copy of  Sea Biscuit, and a small first aid kit, all packed into a black and white Sephora bag.

I parked at a near by gas station, and met him half way between my car and his make shift bed, his huge smile contagiously lit up my own face. We stood on the corner of Franklin and Cahuenga, talking about the days since I had seen him last.

"Jackie, I’m a blessed man." His dark unwashed skin hung from his boney frame, "I live in the best city in the world! I have friends like you! I found a church that don’t mind me, a place that I can get me some coffee every day and I’m healthy as a horse!" As the sun began to set over LA on an overcast February evening, he went on to detail for me how life had lavishly blessed him. A man who had holes in his shoes, no shower in the foreseeable future and whose worldly possessions I had just double with a small gift bag, was telling me how blessed he was.

This was a conversation that changed my life, and the way I see every situation I’m in. Could I find joy with so little? Why not? A truly happy person can find joy in very little,  an unhappy person will always be that way. Since this conversation I  take time, nearly every day, to find the lavish blessings in my own life.

Maybe you’re dealing with a lot right now, maybe the hardships are outnumber the blessings. But I’ve learned that the thing with counting blessings is that it tends to multiply them, or at the very least amplify them. The same applies to hardships, so be careful.

Taking the time to make some chowder on a lazy summer afternoon, I could not have felt more blessed. At home with my little family, we’re all healthy, I get to cook with fresh ingredients and the chowder turned out amazing. And anyone who spends time developing recipes can tell you that there are days when that feels like noting short of a huge blessing.

Serve this warm, hot or even chilled. I hope you love it as much as I did. And I hope the 30 minutes it takes to makes this will give you time to count all those blessings in your life.

Chipotle Corn Chowder

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of corn kernels cut off fresh ears of corn (about 6 ears, I used sweet white corn)
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 cup shallots, chopped (about 1 to 2 large shallots)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups broth (chicken or vegetable, either will work. Do not use beef broth)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup 2% milk
  • 1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce
  • 1 tbs adobo sauce from chipotle chili can
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Instructions

  1. In a large pot or dutch oven, add the oil, shallots, corn, salt and pepper. Saute over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until shallots are opaque. Add remaining ingredients and adjust heat to maintain a simmer, do not boil. Stir occasionally for about 20 minutes or until the corn kernels are soft. Remove from heat. Using a food processor or blender, puree until smooth. Taste, adding additional salt, pepper or chipotle to desired levels.

*Note: it is impossible to predict the heat level of any chili, including chipotles, since the heat level varies widely from pepper to pepper. Use the smallest chili in the can to start, add additional chilies to raise the heat level at the end.

 

 

 

Bacon, Blue Cheese & Duck Fat Roasted Potato Salad

I’m torn. On one hand, I’ve never been the sort of person to trash a company in public, but on the other hand I want others to be aware of companies that form borderline abusive relationships with clients whose livelihoods they hold in their digital hands.

I will tell you this:

I am so glad to have broken free of blog.com and I am appalled by they way they treat their customers. I didn’t want to leave, but I didn’t have a choice if I wanted to protect my content and my ability to continue to do what I love. I would strongly recommend NOT using them as a host, and instead using wordpress.com or even better, using wordpress.org as a self hosted site. If none of that made sense to you, Julie at Burnt Carrots has a great How To Start A Blog post that can clear some of that up. If you need more evidence, other than my desperate pleas, that blog.com is horrific you can ask this guy or this girl.

I feel better. And I will be eternally grateful to my friend Andrew of Eating Rules who helped me switch both of my blogs to self hosted wordpress sites. He has a company called Blog Tutor who does that sort of thing. A tech guy who is also a food blogger, who else would I have used?

On a lighter note, I booked my first TV gig!

I was contacted through my other blog, The Beeroness to do a live Cooking With Beer demo on TV in Los Angeles on August 31t! I’ll update you will more information once that date gets closer.

I’m so glad you all let me get that off my chest and now we can truly appreciate the magic of roasted potato salad.

It is very possible that I am one of the only people in this world that has issues with boiled potatoes. Most of the time I seem to over boil them into a near mushy state with my lack of long term attention abilities. And the water washes away a lot of that great starch that we love so much about potates. Roasting helps me to fix both of those issues, it’s more forgiving with the time and it expands the flavors instead of removing them.

And I added duck fat. I bough it at Sur La Table and a little goes a long way.

I made this twice in one week, it’s really great. By far the best potato salad I have ever made.


Bacon, Blue Cheese & Duck Fat Roasted Potato Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs red potatoes, diced
  • 3 tbs duck fat, warmed
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup pepper
  • 1/3 cup green onions
  • 6 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped
  • 2/3 cup blue cheese dressing (some dressings contain gluten, check package if needed)
  • 1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425.
  2. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet, toss with duck fat. Roast in the oven at 425 for 10 minutes, toss/stir potatoes and roast for an additional 8-10 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender, remove from the oven.
  3. In a bowl add the remaining ingredients, add the potatoes and toss to coat. Serve warm.

Goat Cheese Stuffed Apricots With Honey

I have a message for that guy who decides what day holidays are on. It’s awesome when he picks a day of the week, rather than a date of the month. He did a great job deciding on Thanksgiving and Easter, but a spectacularly awful job for Halloween and the 4th of July.

So I have some changes to propose to…that guy. Whoever he is.

The 4th of July should be celebrated on the first Friday in July, so that the 5th of July never has me sitting in an office trying to participated in work related functions with the remnants of my "casual get together turned late night party" still hanging onto me like a overly tired toddler. I do realize that if you name a holiday after a date, then it really messes people up if it doesn’t occur on that date, as in, "Are you coming over for The 4th of July on the 6th of July?" But, Holiday Naming Guy is to blame for that.

So my suggestion is that Independence Friday is now to  replace (or rather move) Mid Week 4th of July celebrations. All the same patriotic fun with out the comprehensive country wide lack of productivity the following day. I might have to start lobbying for this as soon as I can beat the crap out of who ever invented Day Light Saving time, that Guy is a real A-Hole. 


Goat Cheese Stuffed Apricots

12 apricots

6 to 8 ounces goat cheese

3 tbs raw honey

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Cut the apricots in half and remove the pits. Grab a small piece of goat cheese, about the size of the pit you just removed and roll it into a ball. Place it in the center of the apricot. Drizzle with honey, sprinkle with pecans.

I also cut these in half again before serving, but that’s your call.

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Crab Stuffed Baked Avocado

There is something about the raw exposure that blogging brings that forces you to face and deal with emotional handicaps that you didn’t even know that you have.

It may be the contrast between complete strangers showering you with compliments and adorations, and other complete strangers raining down harsh criticism. When in reality, neither is wholly accurate. You are, to one degree or another, somewhere in the middle.

And as harsh and those nasty comments can be, the overly positive ones have always been more difficult for me to deal with. Those readers who send compliment saturated emails about how much they love my recipes, or how great my life must be, are with no doubt a highlight of blogging. But I am always left with the fear that the pedestal will crumble and I will be exposed as the ordinary person that I truly am.

Self worth is supposed to be an isolated container, unaffected by the thoughts of others. But I’m not sure anyone has really figure out how to do that, and if he does, I’m not sure I want to meet that guy.

The truth is, sometimes we need a mirror of honesty to see how great we are, and place that value in our container of worth. And to really start to believe it.

Take a second to think back on your life and write down all the best compliments that you have ever received.

And then take the rest of your life to truly believe them.

Crab Stuffed Baked Avocado

4 oz cream cheese, softened

6 oz crab meat (drain well if using canned meat)

1/4 cup tomatoes, chopped

1 tbs scallions

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

pinch cayenne pepper

3 large ripe avocados,cut in half, pits removed

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400.

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except the avocados and the parmesan, mix until well combined.

Fit the hole in the avocado with crab mixture, top with generous amounts of cheese. Place avocados in the wells of a muffin tin, bake at 400 until the cheese has melted about 8-10 minutes.

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Parchment Paper Red Snapper

I worked at a little cafe in college. It was a run by an odd man, who was largely absent, with questionable ethics and strange business practices. Which all ended up working to my benefit. I was young and slightly lazy, as long as I showed up for my shift and turned in the appropriate amount of money every day, I was lavishly ignored. There were no comment cards, focus on customer service, or unnecessary protocol, I did what I wanted. And what I wanted, other than giving out free muffins every time I forgot to ring in an order, was to spend time in the kitchen.

It was a small, poorly run brunch spot in Old Town Pasadena, right on the Rose Parade route. Our biggest draws were Granola French Toast with Vanilla Bean Sauce, Sour Dough Toads in A Hole With Chorizo Gravy, Pumpkin Pancakes year round and fantastic cappuccinos as well as a kitchen expertly managed by our overworked chefs Nacho & Sergio.

I take pride in the fact that I was one of the few waitresses that they liked. I brought them "water" when we were busy, made runs to our inappropriately far away walk-in and took the blame for spoiled food when the boss would eventually show his face. The cooks, after all, were the heart of the place. I could be replaced in a heartbeat, but the entire restaurant pulsed through Nacho & Sergio.

Late one afternoon, as our new and overly ambitious new manager-of-the-moment decided to dust off the chalkboard sign to institute a Daily Specials program, I begged Nacho to teach me something. He laughed. And then put me to work making Red Snapper packets with parchment paper, butter and some vegetables. To this day, I still make these. Easy, healthy and ready to adapt to in-season produce.

I’m guest posting for Claire of The Realistic Nutritionist today. You can get the recipe on her site.

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Sauteed Brussels Sprouts With Goat Cheese

Every foodie mom wants to raise an eater. A kid with a profound appreciation for food who can tell you the difference between a Béarnaise and a Hollandaise. 

I love that my two year old’s favorite food is bacon, that she’ll pick the carcass of roast chicken clean if I let her, that she prefers to snack on roasted Nori sheets over Oreos if given the option, but it’s not my biggest focus. I want her to respect food, but I want her to respect people more.

I’m grateful that I have the ability to buy organic whole produce, spend the extra five bucks for the organic free range eggs, that I always make cakes, frosting, ricotta cheese, bread and pasta from scratch, and I’m thrilled that I get to be that type of mom. But I wasn’t that type of kid.

I was the kid who’s family lived pay check to paycheck, who once sorted through boxes of canned food sent over from the local Mission when the funds ran really low, who waited in the 12 passenger van while mom ran into the bakery to buy twenty-cent day old bread so our family of ten could make it through the month. And I never had a friend who made me feel bad about it.

When my seven sisters and I would have friends over on a friday night, and mom would make Bisquick pancakes for dinner, it was seen as charming, not as a cheap way to feed the fifteen mouths that were now at the table.

That’s what I want for Tater. To be able to sit at anyones table and see the food as what it is, a gesture of care and affection. I don’t want her to ask for aged Reggiano to add to the Rice-A-Roni that her friends mom served. I don’t want to raise a kid who wants to add a honey balsamic reduction to ice berg salad mix she is given by the next door neighbor.

I want her to eat what she is served, and feel grateful that someone took the time to offer her food from their home.

I want to raise a kid who would eat boxed macaroni and cheese if that what she is served, and clean her plate, without ever pointing out that her mom makes it from scratch.

And if she is at summer camp and a group of weary, under paid cooks serve her chicken nuggets and tater tots that only made a brief stop in the kitchen after a long ride on a Sysco truck, I hope she is able to see warm food that people took time away from their families to make for her. 

And if someday her mother in law serves her a burnt lasagna that is still frozen in the middle, with Kool-Aid out of plastic tumblers, I hope she say thank you. And I hope she means it.

Food is more than just an experience of taste and the pleasures that it brings, it’s about a respect for those who serve it. Everyone has different abilities, concerns and limitations but we all bring food to those we love with the same motivation, and no amount of foodie intolerance should ever diminish that.

I have the privilege  of spending time and money on the food that I want to serve, but the love I bring to my table is no different than the busy, over worked mother or 5 who serves spaghetti from a jar and a box twice a week.

I want her to be gracious and appreciative, no matter what is put in front of her, thanking her hosts, because others did that for me.

That’s what food is about.

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts With Goat Cheese

3 tbs olive oil

3 cups Brussels sprouts, cut into quarters

1/2 tsp course salt

1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper

small pinch of cayenne pepper

2 oz goat cheese, crumbled 

(makes 4 side dish portions)

In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat until hot and shimmery. Add the Brussels sprouts, tossing frequently until browned and fork tender. Turn off heat, add the salt pepper and cayenne, toss to coat. Add to a plate and top with goat cheese. 

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Boozy (or not) Watermelon Stars

I have a confession to make. 

I stole this idea from my friend Tori. She is the genius behind The Shiksa In The Kitchen. And if you watch the morning news, anywhere in America, there is a chance she cooked up something special on your TV. She is a big hit in New York and San Francisco especially, but can you blame them? She’s gorgeous, smart and nicer than you could ever expect. 

Even when the inevitable day comes when she gets her own cooking or travel show, she will be the girl who sits in the airport terminals between flights and answers your cooking question via twitter, because she’s that nice. 

We met over crayons and wide ruled paper in Mrs. Newets 4th grade class room. We lost touch when I moved to Eastern Washington, because we are both older than the internet, but met up again through blogging. Which is one of the reasons I love blogging. And why I love when my friends in the computer, become real life humans who call me on the phone and invite me to have lunch with Mario Batali. 

I’m going to show you how to make these watermelons into stars for that I Heart America holiday that is rapidly approaching, but you’ll have to go over to her blog to find out how to put booze in them

Make sure you do, because whats more American than produce and booze? Good Bless the USA. 

Go check out: Tori’s Watermelon Mojito Pops!

Watermelon Stars

Materials:

1 medium sized watermelon

14-18 large blueberries

6 inch wooden skewers

Cap to a Chapstick tube


Step One:

Slice the watermelon into 1 inch rings. 

Step Two:

Lay the rings on a flat surface and cut out as many stars as you can with a Star shaped cookie cutter. You should be able to get two or three stars out of each ring. If the stars are too fat, cut them in half width wise to make two thinner stars. Be sure to reserve the watermelon "scraps."

Step Three:

I know this is a little skeevey, but bear with me, use the cap to a Chapstick tube to cut out a hole in the center of your star. It’s odd that I’m asking you to go find a tube of Chapstick to add to your kitchen equipment, but if you are anything like me, you have handfuls of those things in every drawer and purse in your house. 

Just push the cap all the way through the center of the star. The hole is the perfect size for a large blueberry. 

Step Four:

Place a blueberry in the hole in the center of the star. 

Step Five:

Press a six inch skewer into the watermelon and through the blueberry. 


watermelon stars5

Step Six:

Go to Tori’s site and she will tell you how to turn these suckers into boozy treats!

What to do with all those leftover Watermelon scarps:

Grilled Watermelon and Cotija Salad

Watermelon Ceviche 

Watermelon Jalapeno Margarita 

Watermelon Feta Mint Salad 


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Baked Brown Sugar Chicken Wings With Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce

People always ask what I prefer: sweet or savory. The truth is I have a strong pull to mix them together, blur the lines. I add savory ingredients to my baked good and sweet ingredients to my savory dinners.

The best fried or baked chicken recipes there are have a touch of sugar. It’s this magic secret ingredient that just seems way to simple to make such a huge impact. If you already have a baked or fried or even grilled chicken recipe that you are perfecting, add a tsp of brown sugar and see how it gives an entirely new dimension to the flavor. 

And the sauce combines two of my favorite kitchen staples: roasted red peppers and goat cheese. Both are savory ingredients with a touch of sweetness. 

I baked these, more or less because it was easier. But they would also lend themselves well to frying, if you are brave enough. 

Brown Sugar Chili Chicken

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp onion powder

2 tsp dried minced garlic

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp black pepper

2 tbs olive oil

8 chicken legs or wings

1/3 cup roasted red pepper, chopped

2 oz goat cheese

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbs sour cream

Preheat oven to 425.

In a plastic bag, or a bowl,  combine the first 7 ingredients. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and rub to coat. Add the chicken to the bag (or bowl) and toss or shake bag until well coated.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, turn the chicken over, and continue to bake until cooked through, about 10-15 additional minutes (depending on the thickness of your chicken).

In a food processor, add the roasted red pepper, goat cheese salt and sour cream, process until well combined.

 

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Mango Wrapped Mozzarella


I’m back. Sort of. When I say that I’m move into my new place, all that means is that my stuff is physically there. 

In boxes. Lots and lots of boxes. But the gas isn’t on yet, so I can’t cook, and showers have been very cold. 

Like this mango.

So the theme for this week is about food you can cook without a stove.

Which can be tricky. But when you are so sick of take out and pizza and all you want to do is cook a meal for your family and the stove is gas which hasn’t been turned on yet and the new place doesn’t have a microwave and your old place had a built in one that had to stay and you can’t figure out which of the billion boxes holds the cord to the electric griddle, you have to make do.  

So this is what I made for breakfast for my first morning in the new house:

Scrambled eggs in the waffle maker. Totally works. 

Bacon cooked on an electric crepes maker. 

Toast. 

It may have been my most creative use of heating elements, but it wasn’t the most delicious breakfast ever to be made by my hands. 

In keeping with the motto of my life: Figure out what is great about the situation that you are in and enjoy the crap out of it, I decided to give you a tasty treat that requires no cooking. It only has three ingredients and the only tricky part is shaving the mango with the vegetable peeler. But even if you need two of three strips of mango to go around the mozzarella ball, who cares. Its easy and tasty and looks fancy. Don’t sweat it. 

I hope to bring you pictures of my new place soon, right now the mess isn’t nearly charming enough to be photogrpahed. Except Taters room, it’s her perfect little sanctuary in the midst of the chaos, even the pictures are hung and every box has been unpacked. Other than that, the rest can wait. 

Mango Wrapped Mozzarella

1 large mango

12 Bocconcini or Ciliegine sized mozzarella balls

2 tbs balsamic vinegar 

Peel the mango with a vegetable peeler. once the peel has been removed, shave thin slices of the mango with the vegetable peeler until you have enough to cover the mozzarella balls. 

Wrap the mozzarella balls with the mango slices and secure with a toothpick. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar. 

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Chipotle Béarnaise

Check out the interview I did over at Cravings of A Lunatic! Kim reveals my secret, I have ANOTHER blog. 

We had this little talk last week about Chipotle, and how much I adore it. I gave you a list of really great things you can make once you open an entire can. 

And you all give me a bit of a sideways glance and said, "Or, you could just freeze it."

Turns out, you all are much more brilliant than I will ever be. And that lead me to wonder what other things I let go to waste when, had I asked you all, I would have know that I could just freeze it and use it when I need it. So here is a list, you probably can tell that I love lists. Quick, organized, and to the point. LISTS! Here is another one for you:

Things You Didn’t Even Know You Can Freeze

(and by YOU, I really mean ME)

1. Fresh herbs. Seriously, who have even thought? Oh, that’s right, you. Not me, I never would have thought to chop a few chives, make sure the rest was dry, put it in a ziplock bag and then freeze it for later use. Brilliant. 

2. Citrus. Why didn’t I think about this durring my love affair with blood orange season?  You need to break the citrus down, but you can freeze the juice in ice cube trays and then freeze the cubes in zip lock bags. You can also freeze the zest in zip lock bags. I would love to have a bag of juice when I make more of these.
3. Tomato Paste. This will come in handy. I only need about a tbs at a time, and freezing the rest will help me avoid the "do I toss the rest now, or put it in the fridge and then toss it when it inevitably goes bad?" Mental debate that goes on in my head. 
4. Strawberries! I knew that one. or more accuratly: I’ve seen them frozen at the grocery store, and I know how quickly fresh ones go bad so WHY have I never just put those berries on the verge of going bad into freezer bags and store them in the freezer?? I will now. 
5. Rice & Grains. Make one huge batch of rice or quinoa at the beginning of the month and then portion them out into small containers or zip lock bags for use through out the month. Such a time saver. 
So please, if there are any "You Can Freeze That??!" Foods that you want to add to my list, just let me know. 
This sauce went on nearly everything I ate for about 3 days. Including, steamed artichokes, grilled chicken, mexican quinoa salad and tacos. There would have been more had I not run out. 

Chipotle Blender Béarnaise 

2 tbs chopped cilantro

¼ cup chopped shallots

¼ cup champagne vinegar

¼ cup white wine

3 egg yolks

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, canned

2 tsp adobo sauce from can

Add the cilantro, shallots, vinegar, and wine to a pan over medium heat. Allow to simmer and reduce until about 2 tbs of liquid remain, about ten minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a food processor add the reduction, egg yolks, chipotle and adobo sauce, process until well combined. Melt the butter until very hot and just starting to bubble. Remove the stopper from the top of the food processor lid. Turn on the food processor, allowing to process for a few seconds before beginning to slowly pour the melted butter into the food processor while it is still running. Allow to process until well combined and frothy, about 3 minutes.

Serve over every possible savory substance in your kitchen, chicken, steak, vegetables, shrimp, a spoon. 

Crab Guacamole

I try to eat a healthy balanced diet. Most days, my daily meal planner looks like this:

Breakfast: 2 slices of high fiber wheat toast with 1 tbs of peanut butter each and coffee. Lots of coffee.

Lunch: Quinoa salad or leftover dinner from the night before.

Dinner: Some arrangement of lean protien (mostly chicken or fish), vegetables, and either rice or quinoa

But sometimes I just want to use the gorgeous avocados that were delivered to my door from a local produce delivery service. I want to mix it up with crab and sour cream and eat it over the sink while Tater plays in the back yard. So that’s what I did.

I added fresh jalapenos, and removing the seeds removes most of the heat so you get the flavor, a little crunch and just a bit of heat.

Crab Guacamole

 3 large ripe avocados

1 tbs chopped shallots

2 tbs chopped fresh jalapeno, stem and seeds removed

1/2 cup full fat sour cream

3 ounces crab meat

2 tbs lemon juice

2 tbs chopped cilantro

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp chili powder

cut the avocados in half, remove the pit and scoop the flesh into a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and smash it all together until well combined, but some chunks of avocado still remain.

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Jalapeno & Blood Orange Whiskey Cocktail

I don’t have a name for this drink. I like names. I love this cocktail. So you can see what type of conundrum this has created in my life. I’ve even gone against suit and made this three times since it’s invention two weeks ago. 

If you have a creative, fun name for this cocktail, let me have it. I’ll give you full credit and I will finally be able to refer to this properly when I make it for guest.

Update: This drink now has a name: Hot Blooded

I’ve also learned a few things about drink making with peppers, something I am completely and whole heartedly in love with. Spicy drinks have even lured me away from my one try love of the drink world: Craft Beer. While beer will still hold the number one rank in my drinking life, spicy cocktails have snuck into a close second spot. But there are rules when concocting libations from such unpredictable ingredients. Here are some rules to keep in mind:

1. Most of the heat from pepper are in the seeds. The more seeds you leave in, the hotter it will become. Exponentially.

2. When peppers sit in alcohol it only takes seconds for the heat level to go from hot to way too hot. It happens faster than you would expect.

3. No two peppers are the same and there is no way to predict how hot the ones you have chosen will be. 

4. Alcohol intensifies heat. I learned this when writing an article about How To Pair Food & Wine, high alcohol beverages increase the heat level in food. The same rule applies to making cocktails with peppers. 

5. Sugar mellows heat. Adding more sugar can lower the heat level a bit.

6. Use gloves. For the LOVE. You only have to forget once, and then try to take your contacts out a few hours later to NEVER do that again. If you do forget, the best way to remove the peppers evilness from your fingers is to rub copious amounts of olive oil into your hands for about 5 minutes, and then wash the olive oil off with very warm water and dish soap. 

Hot Blooded:

Jalapeno, Blood Orange & Whiskey

(Named by Seth)

1 cup fresh squeezed blood orange juice

2 tbs Agave

1/2 cup whiskey

1 medium sized jalapeno, chopped, stem removed (about 2 tbs)

In a cocktail shaker, add the blood orange juice, agave and whiskey, stir until combined. Add the jalapenos, replace the shaker cap and shake three times, immediately pour through a strainer into highball glasses filled with ice, straining out the jalapenos. Discard the jalapenos. 

*I made this cocktail three times. The first time I made it with hand squeezed blood oranges, by far the best choice. Knowing that blood orange season is on it’s last legs, I wanted an alternative. I made it with regular orange juice and it just wasn’t as good. I also made it with Tropicana Trop50 Red Orange, while not as good as hand squeezed blood oranges,it was much better than regular orange juice, a fine substitute. And you can buy it in most grocery stores.  

Update: I think we have a name. I had so much suggestions sent to me via email, Facebook, twitter and comments, but the one I can’t get out of my head is: Hot Blooded. Thanks in no small part to Foreigner. I also LOVED the idea of a TrueBlood name, since I am shamelessly addicted to that show, Bon Temp Sunrise?? Maybe not. Thank you to Seth for the new name! I can now get some rest. 

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Skinny Potato Skins: 62 Calories

I’m not going to sit here and pretend that these are as good as the real thing. Those potato skins loaded up with bacon, sour cream and cheese that are somewhere around 62 calories per bite. But these make a great lunch durring my "I am GOING to lose those final 3 pounds" week. And they reheat really well, so you can make a batch on Sunday, and reheat them through out the week for lunch. With a side of this salad.

I’ve run the numbers and have come up with 62 calories each potato half, but that completely depends on the size of your potato and the amount of flesh you scoop out of it.  

My Husband added fat free sour cream and shredded cheese. If you add a tbs of fat free sour cream and a tsp of shredded part skim mozzarella cheese, it will about double the calories in the potato. But, if you like it more and that will make you eat less, it may be worth it. 

Also, this dish is:

Gluten Free

Vegan

Kosher for Passover

Skinny jeans friendly 

Skinny Potato Skins

4 large red potatoes

1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced, stem removed

1 large yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced, stem removed 

2 cups sliced crimini mushrooms

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

olive oil cooking spray

2 tbs Smart Balance Light, melted

1 1/2 tbs or Fajita Seasonings

(Or: 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp chili powder)

1/2 cup Pico De Gallo (or you fav salsa)

Preheat oven to 400. 

Pierce the potatoes a few times with a fork and microwave on high for 5-7 minutes or until cooked through. Remove and allow to cool until enough to handle. Cut in half and scoop out most of the insides, leaving about 1/4 inch of the walls in tact. You can save the potato middles for mashed potatoes or potato cakes.

Place thinly sliced bell peppers, mushrooms, and garlic on a baking sheet. Spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray and sprinkle with fajita seasoning (or the homemade blend) and toss to coat. 

Roast the vegetables in the oven for 15 minutes or until soft and the mushrooms have browned, tossing every 5-8 minutes with a heat safe spatula. 

Place the skins on a baking sheet and brush the insides with melted smart balance light, sprinkle with salt. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, allow to cool slightly. 

Fill each potato skin with fajita veggies and top with Pico De Gallo. 

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Passover Risotto: Quinoa & Roasted Mushrooms

I’m over at a Passover Potluck today with Tori at The Shiksa In the Kitchen! Check it out, if you are Jewish or a Shiksa (non-jewish girl) I think you are gonna love it. Tori and I have acctualy known each other since the 4th grade and reconnect as adults through blogging.

She is one of the most genuine people I have ever known, sweet, smart and generous with her talents and knowledge.

Tori recently interviewed a man I know, Michael, who is an 81 year old Holocaust survivor who was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp when he was 13. His story is incredible and Tori even got is World Famous Tiramisu recipe! The interview is inspiring, you should read it (Click here).

The recipe I created today for the Potluck is one of my favorite dishes, risotto, that I have re-made using the rules of Kosher cooking, which Tori was sweet enough to walk me through! I love Risotto, which is traditionally made with rice, but during passover, it isn’t considered Kosher. You all know my love for quinoa, so this was a fabulous stand in when rice is not an option! Roasting the mushrooms was so quick, and developed a rich flavor quickly.

Check it out over at The Shiksa!

Roasted Mushroom Quinoa Risotto For Passover