Turkey Meatloaf sandwiches!

I've always thought meatloaf was a lazy dinner option for when there was no time or resources for anything else. Then i made my first batch of the stuff....i was in heaven.

I've made this recipe for the past two weeks, last week i came down with a 24 hour stomach bug which hit JUST as i finished chopping the onions. It came on so fast that i could barely get it in the oven before almost passing out while standing upright. Obviously i didn't get to eat any, so i made it again last night and this time i absolutely devoured it.

I always try to use fresh ingredients and with a recipe like this as there aren't a lot of bells and whistles and each ingredient really shows in the final product. I'm VERY loose with my measurements, so feel free to modify this as you go and add or subtract amounts of things based on taste.

Start off by preheating your oven to 375

I use enough for a small batch as that's the only size my grocer sells, so this is for approximately 3/4 lb of ground turkey.

Loosely chop up one jalapeno, 1 small onion, half a bell pepper (i use red), and add them to a bowl.

To that, add one beaten egg, half a cup of bread crumbs, and your ground turkey

chop up a few sprigs of parsley, roughly 1 TBSP, and add that to the mix.

Finally add about a half tsp of cayenne, 1.5 tsp of salt, and 1.5 tsp of pepper (fresh ground if possible)

Mash it all up nicely then turn out into a baking pan, spray with cooking spray if needed. Remember this is for sandwiches so it needs to be nice and uniform in shape. 

Last take about 1/4 cup of ketchup and put it in a tiny bowl. Add 1 tsp of cayenne pepper and mix thoroughly then spread uniformly across the top of the loaf. I would also suggest making more for putting on the sandwiches if your as big a fan of tomato sauce as our family is. 

Then toss in the oven for roughly 35-40 minutes or until the internal temp reads 170 degrees. 

Slice up and serve on a freshly warmed bun with pepper jack cheese (FYI this is almost as important as the meatloaf) as the flavors balance quite nicely.

Tuna with a French twist

We had just finished a walk through downtown Key West in the blistering and unforgiving heat of a late August day when we happened upon a little food stall with a french transplant who made the most delightful sandwiches.  What follows is my adaptation of her recipe as I felt there was no way I would be able to survive without ever tasting the best tuba recipe I had ever tried.

Unfortunately (for the reader) i'm generally not one for measuring so the entire recipe is 'to taste'. Im a seafood junkie and id even go so far to as to call myself a tuna snob....if its not well made i just wont be able to eat it, so i promise you this recipe is well worth your time. 

Begin with canned white albacore tuna, I prefer the type in water as the other additives will have a bit of oil and you don't want oil overload.

Separate the chunks so they're manageable, then chop up some marinated artichokes and add them in. 

Next chop up some capers unless theyre too small, keep in mind the salt content as you add them. If you like it saltier add more and you can even add a bit of the juice. Or if you're a caper addict like me, you can just dump the entire thing in, i'm joking of course....

Or am i? 

Next add some black olives, canned is fine, slice them up if they aren't pre-sliced. I tend to go light on the olives as they can be overpowering. 

And.....

PARMESAN!! Add oodles of it, don't skimp as it really warms up the flavor.And if that wasn't enough lastly add some Mayo and even though it is to taste I would still suggest doing it sparingly. Sometimes i even add it as im putting it on the bread so that i dont have to add it to the mix...it will store better and longer that way.

Finish it off with a sprinkling of fresh lemon juice, freshly cracked pepper, and some Parmesan chips (if you so choose) Serve on toasted sourdough. 

Blueberry Lemon cake with vanilla buttercream frosting

or: Madisons first birthday cake!

First birthdays only come around once a lifetime so i figured what better way to celebrate than to make one from scratch here at home. After all, the store bought ones are so impersonal right? Plus i had been dying to break in my new stand mixer!

How did this lovely piece of heaven come to be you ask? 

Ingredients needed:

3-1/3 cups all purpose flour

.5 teaspoons of kosher salt

.5 teaspoons baking powder

.5 teaspoons baking soda

1.5 sticks of room temperature unsalted butter

2 cups sugar 

1/3 cup of lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest 

4 eggs

1 cup + of buttermilk

2.5 cups of blueberries

Frosting

2 sticks unsalted room temp butter

1 lb confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons whole milk room temperature

.5 teaspoons vanilla extract 

Start by sifting 3-1/3 cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda into a bowl.

Set aside and in a separate bowl cream together 1.5 sticks (3/4 cups) of room temperature unsalted butter and 2 cups of sugar. You'll know its done once it looks light and fluffy and you cant see granules of sugar. 

Grate 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and add to the mixture. Beware, lemon graters and thumbs dont play well together....

Add in 1/3 cup of lemon juice to the wet mixture. To that beat in 4 eggs one at a time, it should be nice and yellow when you're done.

With your mixer set to a very low speed sift in your dry ingredients a bit at a time and 1 cup of buttermilk. Alternate adding in dry and wet about 1/4 of each at a time. 

After its all combined gently fold in (by hand using a spatula) 2 cups of blueberries. 

Next fill an three 8 inch round nonstick cake pans with 1/3 of the mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until its done and a toothpick, inserted into the center comes out clean.I sifted flour on mine to help it come out clean but you can also use cooking spray or nothing at all if you fancy. 

Let cool completely then transfer to a wire rack until you are ready to ice and stack. 

Now, the FROSTING!!!

Cream 2 sticks of room temp unsalted butter in a large bowl then with the mixer on its lowest speed slowly add 1 lb of powdered confectioners sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of room temperature whole milk. 

Once done, place your first layer on a cake tray or plate, ice the top of it, then place the second tier on top. Repeat to the top then ice the sides. Be sure its cooled completely as it will make the icing thin out and drip. 

When done, decorate the top with remaining blueberries and if its your first birthday, oodles of sparkly candles. 

I would say it was a success.

Chicharrones de Pollo aka Dominican style cracklin chicken

There are a few things i will never forget in this lifetime,  the birth of my daughter, my wedding day, the first time i set foot on foreign soil, and the first time i sunk my teeth into Dominican fried chicken. It was a great little Dominican restaurant called El Conuco complete with live dancing, lots of great music and side dishes that made me feel complete. A word of advice for travelling abroad, if you like to cook and enjoy the local cuisine buy spices at the local market to bring back with you....many times you cannot find the same things at home and they often cost little to nothing by comparison when you buy them overseas.

But i digress......CHICKEN!!!

the above served a home, complete with all the fixins'

Since i cant afford to fly to Santo Domingo every time i want to get my fix i decided to make it at home, what follows is the recipe that will turn you into an immediate Chicharrones de Pollo addict.

First you will need to make your marinade, its really the key to the whole conglomeration:


First take some garlic, about 4 cloves should do.

To easily access the garlic press down on it with a knife and it will pop right out of its little shell.

Then mince it or use a garlic press and add to a large bowl. Then get your limes ready, you will need enough lime juice for a cup so i would recommend at least 10-12 depending on how juicy they are. Roll them with the palm of your hand to get them to release their juices before you cut into them.

Cut em, juice em, and add em to the bowl. The add your soy sauce (4 Tbsp) + Worcestershire (2 Tbsp)  

Add your cut up chicken to the marinade, i use both breasts and legs with bone in but you can do whatever type you want. Typically when you go to a restaurant in Dominican republic and order this dish you will get legs that have been fried and chopped into pieces but since my household prefers white meat i add in breast pieces. 

Traditions-shmaditions...

After it has sat for at least a few hours, (not overnight though as you dont want the lime juice to turn the chicken into a ceviche) you can begin to make your dry ingredients which you will dredge the chicken pieces in before tossing them in your fryer (or pot of hot oil).

Combine 2 cups of flour, 2 Tsp of paprika, and Salt and pepper to taste to a paper bag. I only had a leftover diesel bag which, while nice looking in its own right, is absolutely horrible for dredging chicken as it all came out of the sides. If you dont have a paper bag you can just put it in a bowl but the paper bag absorbs some of the moisture and makes for a better even coating. Shake it up in the bag, then grab some tongs.

set your deep fryer to 350, or if your using a pot like me you may have to just do it by eye and check each piece as it comes out.

Drop in 3 or 4 pieces at a time keeping in mind larger pieces and pieces with bones will take longer to cook than boneless breast pieces. 

When its done it should look like this....Serve with tostones a very easy recipe can be found here, and some nice white rice + beans. 

And dont forget your Presidente!!!

Taken from an original recipe by Hector Rodriguez 

Homemade peanut butter

My resolution for this new year is: I will never again buy peanut butter. Ever.

When something is this ridiculously easy to make and to tailor to your personal taste why would you pay for a watered down over processed version? Not to mention the recent recalls due to salmonella.

All you need is a food processor (you can get a decent one for 25 bucks at JC Penney), some peanuts (i chose plain lightly salted), and whatever you want to add. I chose honey as it sweetens it naturally and also adds some needed pliability to the mixture. Depending on your preference also have some oil handy, peanut, vegetable, any type is fine. 

Add the peanuts to the processor and if your processor has an option to grind, select that in order to save your blade from unnecessary wear until it begins to look like this:

 Then switch to regular chop, or whatever your machine does for finer purees.

Eventually it will get thinner and softer releasing the natural peanut oil, if you want it softer and thinner you can add a tiny bit of oil. 1/4 teaspoon at a time as you really don't want to overdo it. Finally add your seasonings, anything you prefer, honey, ginger, chocolate, paprika (if you like a bit of spice!). 

If you have a baby like i do you can use agave sweetener as honey can't be taken by them until their systems can handle it. 1 year of age is the recommendation, also their mouths are more sensitive so any sweetener you DO add you only need a very small amount. 

Lastly, bottle it up and store on the shelf or the fridge. It can last in a tight container for 3 to 4 months, but who keeps peanut butter that long?!?! 

This batch will be lucky to survive the night. 

Baby has a cold....CHICKEN SOUP TIME

This winter has been rough, it seems like every week one of the three of us has a cold or flu. Now the baby AND I have a cold which means lots of runny noses, lots of sneezing, and plenty of tears. The baby cries a bit too...

Looks like a case for my Cure-All Chicken Soup:

I don't do anything particularly special for my variety, the main difference between mine and other peoples is i start by frying the chicken at a medium-high temp  in a pan with a good hefty sprinkling of Adobo seasoning....dont be stingy with it, REALLY load it up as most of the flavor comes from the little flavor bombs aka chicken pieces.

While its cooking i start simmering 2 or 3 cups of chicken broth, to this i add diced carrots, diced celery, 1 large diced onion, 2 bay leaves, oregano, sage, pepper, garlic, and a dash (or more) of powdered chicken bouillon.

Once the chicken is cooked almost all the way and browned on one or both sides i take it out, dice it or shred it by hand then add it to my already stewing pot. Let it stew for a good 30 minutes and if add your noodles, let it stew 7-8 more minutes and your done. Just be sure to toss the bay leaves out, theyre arent fun to discover accidentally when youre in the middle of drinking a nice helping of warm broth.

Oh, and be sure to use your oldest most treasured bowl/utensils for eating, 50% of the part of the cure in this recipe comes from love and care that's put into the process so presentation is EVERYTHING.