Tia's Skinny Girl Guava Margaritas

Since I occasionally am a lush, used to bartend, and have a ton of misc alcohol in my cabinet that I have been trying to use before I move, I have been experimenting with creating new drinks.  Since I am trying to work out, get hot and snag a man, I have been trying to watch what I eat and drink a lot more.

I also don't drink too often, hence why I have so much alcohol in my cabinet. This drink is very light, very refreshing and you can change it up with the type of juices you use. I also use grapefruit, mango or you can leave it plain.

Ingrideients:

Tequila or Vodka (your choice)
Sliced lemons
Sliced limes
Soda Water
Fruit juice of choice
Ice 

Directions:

In a tall glass, fill to the top of the glass with ice. Depending on how strong you like your drinks (I like mine weak), add in the alcohol. I use about a 1 1/2 shots for me, but used 2 1/2 for Wes.  Then add in soda water to about 1/2in to the top of the glass. Squeeze in about 1/4 lemon, 1/4 lime and add a splash of your favorite fruit juice.

So fresh and yummy :)

AB's Creme Brulee

So I came home from work the other night and all of the sudden got a craving for Creme Brulee. You can't imagine what a happy girl I was to find that I had all the ingredients. This is one of the easiest recipes ever! It's also delicious and was so velverty! I don't have a torch so I used my broiler. It works but it makes the custard a bit warm - but the texture and flavor are all there. I also didn't have a vanilla bean on hand so I used pure vanilla extract. I poured the entire custard mixture in to a big measuring cup so that it was easier and less of a mess to pour in to the ramekins. Also, I used the egg whites to make a simple meringue and made cookies to snack on. You must try this recipe - It is simple, easy and super impressive!

Ingredients

• 1 quart heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 1 cup vanilla sugar, divided
• 6 large egg yolks
• 2 quarts hot water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the cream, vanilla bean and its pulp into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve for another use.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. Pour the liquid into 6 (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins. Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. Divide the remaining 1/2 cup vanilla sugar equally among the 6 dishes and spread evenly on top. Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Giada

Giada is going to be in the Dallas area in April! You should go have her sign a cook book Kate! http://www.giadadelaurentiis.com/calendar/
I can't find when she is going to be in California because her calendar isn't updated that far. I think we should plan a trip to meet Giada. A then wait until she's leaving and jump in her car so that we can ride with her and pick her brain about food/cooking and then she can get us all on Food Network together. I'll change my hair back to blond and we can have a show about the 2 short blonds and the two tall brunettes that all cook together. It'll be fabulous!
Or we could Giada-nap her! She's pretty little so I think if we join forces all together we could steal her away. We could take her to a kitchen and make her cook with us and then pitch our a show idea to her about the brunetties and the blondies.
Or we can simply go to meet her and have her sign our cook books. :)
Let's try to plan a Giada Book Signing trip - I think she'd love us and we wouldn't have to Giada-Nap her to have her talk kitchen with us.
xoxoxo

Engagement Party

So a friend of mine is getting engaged this weekend. She doesn't know yet, but her man called me and wants me to cook for the "after" celebration. He has rented a gorgeous house on the beach for this soiree' but I have never see it, or it's kitchen. I will be allowed access to the house all day in preparation for the party that evening. I will be cooking for around 15 people and serving around 6pm. What should I make???

Mel xx

Chicken Bouillabaisse

I watched Ina make this the other day so I decided to make it last night. The chicken turned out really flavorful and moist. Dev loved it. It is a dish from the South of France so it's very herby. I would use less fennel next time.

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1 (4 to 5-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
• Good olive oil
• 1 large head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads
• 1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato puree
• 1 1/2 cups good chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons Pernod
• 1 pound baby Yukon gold potatoes, halved
• Rouille, for serving, recipe follows
• Crusty French bread, for serving

Directions

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season it generously with salt, pepper, and the rosemary. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven and brown the chicken pieces in batches until nicely browned all over, about 5 to 7 minutes per batch. Transfer the browned chicken pieces to a plate and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, saffron, fennel seeds, tomato puree, chicken stock, white wine, Pernod, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper to the pot. Stir and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the garlic is very tender, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Carefully pour the sauce into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Puree until smooth. Return the sauce to the Dutch oven and add the sliced potatoes and browned chicken pieces with their juices. Stir carefully.

Cover the pot and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is done. Check the seasonings and serve hot in shallow bowls with big dollops of Rouille and slices of crusty bread.

Rouille:

nocoupons

• 4 large garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• *1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cup good olive oil

Place the garlic and salt on a cutting board and mince together. Transfer the mixture to a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the egg yolk, lemon juice, saffron, and red pepper flakes. Process until smooth.

With the machine running, pour the olive oil in a thin, steady stream through the feed tube to make a thick mayonnaise emulsion. Transfer the rouille to a serving bowl and store it in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Yield: 1 cup

Lamb Shanks

I had a package of lamb shanks in the freezer that I needed to get rid of. I planned on simply grilling them with salt and pepper on my indoor grill pan and serving with some mint jelly. But then I realized I could do better than that and remember the lamb chops Kate made with balsamic and honey so I decided to do something like that. I am so happy I did because they ended up coming out beautifully with so much flavor. I’m not sure what Kate’s recipe was so I just sort of made something up - here's what I came up with:

Lamb Shanks

1 package lamb shanks, this one came with 6

1 1/2 cups Balsamic Vinegar

1/4 cup Honey

1/4 cup Dijon Mustard

4 springs Rosemary, minced

4 cloves Garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the balsamic, honey, dijon, rosemary and garlic together. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour half of the mixture over the lamb to marinate. Set aside the other half. Marinate lamb for 30 minutes. Grill the lamb on an indoor grill pan for 5-7 minutes on each side, depending on how well you like you lamb cooked.

While grilling, pour the rest of the balsamic mixture in to a small sauce pan over medium heat. Let reduce until you have a thick, syrupy glaze. After pulling the lamb off the grill, let rest for 5 minutes to let the juices redistribute.

Serve with glaze on the side.

I served rosemary roasted potatoes with the lamb and it was a great compliment - easy but still tasty.

Easy Sunday Brunch

I just made this dish for a last minute brunch when we found out Wes was coming through town this morning. I saw it on Food Network yesterday and it impressed me, which was surprising because it's from a Food Network host that I don't like. I used ground beef and chorizo but for you girls that are not eating red meat, you should definitely try it using ground turkey and turkey sausage. I believe chorizo is pork so I think you could probably still use it if you want. I served with a couple simple buttermilk pancakes.

Brunch Skillet

1/2 lb ground beef, or ground turkey

1/2 lb fresh Chorizo, or turkey sausage

2 medium red potatoes, chunked

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 springs fresh rosemary

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4-6 eggs, depending on size

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley for garnish

In a medium skillet over medium/high heat, add ground beef and chorizo in enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Cook until brown, breaking it up as it cooks. Add in the onion, garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let that cook down until your potatoes are fork tender. At this point, you add your eggs straight in to the skillet on top of the hash. Season with salt and pepper and cover with the lid. Let the eggs cook until desired doneness. Sprinkle over your parsley and serve.

I like my eggs over easy but I accidentally overcooked them. It was still delish though. I was happy with the way it turned out, aside from that. This is a super easy, low stress dish because it’s an all in one pan - easy clean up!

Buttermilk Pancake Batter

2 cups Flour

2 teaspoons Sugar

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 egg

2 cups Buttermilk

pinch of salt to taste

I measured everything in to a big, glass measuring cup with a little pouring spout so I could use that to pour the batter on to my nonstick pan with less of a mess. I let the batter rest for about 30 minutes in the fridge and it thickened up a bit. I also didn’t have any buttermilk so I used the old regular milk plus a few teaspoons of white vinegar trick. You could also add a few tablespoons of sour cream to your milk now that I think about it. I found that using a cooking spray on my nonstick pan over medium heat works the best with pancakes, spraying in between each batch. The pancakes aren’t super thick and fluffy but they were still tasty with butter and real maple syrup.

Gluten Free Polenta with Rosemary and Parmesan

  I am a fan of this recipe and it is one that you can easily tweak to make it your own.  You can add more cornmeal if you like your polenta dryer or try using different types of cheeses (brie, goat, ricotta, etc).  I am a lactard, so I try to go easy on the cheese and use Lataid instead of milk.  I also put Cavendars Greek Spice on EVERYTHING. It is the most amazing spice ever.  Since you girls all have men who like meat, it can be served with baked chicken. 

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, or more if desired
• salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a saucepan, bring to a boil the chicken broth, water, milk, garlic, rosemary, and salt. Gradually whisk in cornmeal, set heat to medium-low, and simmer the cornmeal mixture until thick and creamy, stirring often to prevent lumps, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the Parmesan cheese until well combined.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart casserole. Spoon the polenta into the prepared casserole, adding more Parmesan cheese if desired. Sprinkle the top with salt and pepper.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the polenta is bubbling and golden brown on top, about 30 minutes.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

This is a Tyler Florence recipe for a flourless chocolate cake. It is absolutely

delicious! It's one of JP's favorites and makes me feel like I can bake!

Ingredients

• 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
• 1 stick unsalted butter*
• 9 large eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 2 cups heavy cream, cold
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Put the chocolate and butter into the top of a double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl) and heat over (but not touching) about 1 inch of simmering water until melted. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color. Whisk a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs - this will keep the eggs from scrambling from the heat of the chocolate - then whisk in the rest of the chocolate mixture.

Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form and fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan.

While the cake is cooking, whip the cream until it becomes light and fluffy.

Serve at room temperature dusted with confectioners' sugar and topped with whipped cream.

Flourless Chocolate Cake or Red Velvet Cake?

Hey girlies... I am loving everyones posts! This a so fun :)  I made a super simple yummy salad today that I will post a little bit later.

Anyone have a good recipe for a flourless cake or a red velvet cake?  I am also open for other yummy sweat ideas too.  I have a birthday dinner for a girlfriend this weekend and I am in charge of doing the cake. I don't want to be lame and bake a boxed cake.

xoxo

Hi Loves!

I have been attempting gluten free recipes so if you find any good ones let me know. I'm going to try one tonight when I have some girlfriends over. I'll let you know how it goes.

I found out this morning that not only am I gluten intolerant, but red meat & dairy gotta go too.

Tianna-I'll be sure to post lots of recipes here so we can both try to follow our no meat no dairy diet. ; )

LOVE YOU LADIES! xxoo

Shrimps!

This is one of my favorite “go-to” dinners on week nights when I come home from work. I almost always have a bag of frozen, uncooked shrimp in my freezer, and while I generally like to use jumbo shrimp, the medium sized ones were on sale this week so that’s what I had and thats used. And I almost always have the rest of the ingredients on hand too which makes this dinner so easy and fuss free.

And honestly, these are rough estimates for the amount of each ingredient used. I am just a pourer, shaker and taster when it comes to cooking... this is why I have to try so damn hard when I bake :) I’m also a firm believer in making whatever recipe you’re using your own. You can add fresh diced tomatoes to scampi, leave out the capers if they’re too salty for you, add a little red pepper flake for heat, whatever gives it your own flare. Recipes are simply suggestions not guidelines.

Shrimp Scampi

1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp

1/2 cup white wine (I happen to have a bottle of sauv blanc open so I used that, whatever you’ve got open)

1 shallot, roughly chopped

4-5 cloves minced garlic

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of zested lemon

Tablespoon capers (if you’ve got them)

Handful of Italian Flat Leaf Parsley chopped

Salt and pepper

In a mixing bowl, toss your shrimp with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper, set aside. Pour enough olive oil in a sauté pan to cover the bottom, and heat over medium/high heat. Toss in your seasoned shrimp on one side until they begin to curl and turn pink. Flip to the other side and cook for about another minute. Take them out of the pan and set aside (but not in the same dish they were in before they were cooked :) ). With your pan back over medium/low heat, toss in the shallot, garlic and capers and sauté until the shallots become soft and translucent. Be care not to let your garlic turn brown or it will taste bitter. When vegetables are soft and translucent, pour in your wine, capers, lemon juice & zest and let reduce for a few minutes. Toss the shrimp (and any juices from the plate or bowl) just to heat through. Take off the heat, sprinkle in the parsley and serve. *Shrimp have a tendency to overcook and become rubbery and only take about 5 minutes to cook - you’ll know they’re done when they are curled, pink and no longer translucent. (I like that word tonight and cannot for the life of me remember the opposite of translucent. Opaque? Well whatever it is, you’ll know when you can’t see through the shrimp anymore)*

I grew up having scampi over pasta but when I started making scampi for JP, I served it over rice because he grew up with two scoops of rice with EVERYTHING he ate, and I actually prefer it over rice now too.

Figs and Pigs

After reading Tianna’s Herb goat cheese stuffed dates

it reminded me of one of my

all time favorite sweet/salty bites.

Not only is this inexpensive and incredibly

easy but it’s a

serious crowd pleaser when you have guests.

Figs & Pigs (Hoooow Clever)

Small Mission Figs halved lengthwise (I’ve found the perfect small size at Trader Joe's. The picture to the right is perfect size just take the little stem off)

Brie, sliced and cut in to small, skinny bite size

Thin strips of Prosciutto

Preheat your oven to 400-425 º

Lay your fig halves out over a baking sheet, with the seed side up and place one slice of brie on top. Wrap each fig and brie with a strip of prosciutto. Bake for about 10 minutes until the brie begins to melt.

White Pizzzzaaa

Hey Ladies! Chris and I are doing dinner & a movie (Across the Universe) I'm making a white pizza tonight. It's a Rachael Ray recipe, so easy & delish...here it is:::



Ingredients...
1 store bought pizza dough - or pick one up from your favorite pizzeria
Extra- virgin olive oil, for drizzling
2 cups whole or part skim ricotta
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 cups shredded mozzarella or provolone, 1 pouch
10 fresh basil leaves, 1/2 cup, shredded



Directions
Preheat a pizza stone if you use one along with the oven to 425 degrees F.

Stretch dough to form a pie and transfer to stone or pizza baking tray. Pierce the dough with the tines of a fork in several places. Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil around the crust. Mix the ricotta cheese with garlic and parsley and season it with salt and black pepper. Spread the ricotta across the dough. Top the pizza with mozzarella or provolone. Bake until crispy, 20 minutes. Top the white pizza pie with the shredded basil leaves, cut and serve.



...xxoo

Herb-Goat Cheese Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Dates!

I made these last night with a friend. SO Yummo! Like a good orgasm in your mouth! :)

Ingredients:

1. 1 Package of Dates or figs
2. About 1 cup of fresh Goat cheese
3. Cavendars Greek Spice (garlic salt and pepper also work)
4. 1 Small container of store-bought pre-made pesto
5. 1 Package of Bacon

What to do:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Pit the dates
3. Mix about 1 cup of goat cheese with about 1 teaspoon of the Greek spice and 2 tablespoons of the pesto.
4. Stuff the dates
5. Slice bacon strips in half (so they are twice as long)
6. Wrap stuffed dates in 1/2 a strip of bacon.
7. Place on a cooking sheet and place in oven for about 10 mins. Check them occasionally and turn when browned. Drain oil from bacon as needed.
8. Once both sides of the bacon are fully cooked, take them out of the oven and place the cooked dates on a paper towel to drain.
9. Eat and have an orgasm in your mouth :)

Let me know how they turn out for you girls.  Can't wait to see what you girls post.

xoxo

Welcome Bitches!

So I figured that we could not only keep in touch, but also have some fun sharing recipes with eachother. Since we each have a different cooking style but all love to cook, thought we could have some fun together even when we are separated by miles :(