I love buttercream on cakes and other desserts. Although, I can't stand all of those complicated buttercream recipes you find online. So I decided to create one myself. I needed a dessert for the big Super Bowl game tomorrow so I made my favorite chocolate cake and I wanted something to top it. A classic flavor combination for desserts is chocolate and orange. So I incorporated fresh orange zest and juice into a simple vanilla buttercream. The result was delicious. I highly encourage everyone to try it. It is a simple and mouth watering recipe that has many uses. Bon Appetit! Orange Buttercream Recipe
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This dish is definitely in my top 15 favorite meals. It is a classic comfort dish to many on my mom's side of the family. Pork and sauerkraut is traditionally served for New Year's, but I like it year round. My mother likes to just throw everything into a crock pot and cook all day long. I prefer to cook and season each item separately, then bring them all together to cook in the oven for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. I start by draining and rinsing a bag of sauerkraut. This all depends on how sour you like the sauerkraut to be. You season the pork chops with salt and pepper then sear them in hot fat in a Dutch oven or oven-proof casserole for a minute or two until nicely browned. You can use olive oil or clarified butter, however, I personally prefer to use rendered bacon fat. I reserve it in the fridge whenever I make bacon. It add a nice depth of flavor to the pork and onions. Then, you saute some onions and garlic for about 5-7 minutes, and deglaze the pan with white wine. Then, you add the drained sauerkraut, some good beef stock, and water to cover by about one inch. Now for an important factor...the seasonings. I like my sauerkraut to be a little more sweet. I add brown sugar, seasoning salt, paprika, thyme, and black pepper. Bury the pork chops in the sauerkraut and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover and bake it for about 1.5-2 hours until the pork chops are tender. You should monitor it after about 30 minutes. You want to make sure that it has enough liquid. It should have enough liquid to cover it. If it goes dry, you can add more water or beef stock. If it goes dry the sauerkraut may burn. I prefer to serve with a nice dollop of creamy mashed potatoes and maybe some stewed apples. This a very warm and comforting dish to have on a nice cold winter night such as this. Bon Appetit.
This is a recipe I thought of when we ran out of ideas on how to use chicken for family meal at my school. I wanted something bold, yet delicious and easy. All you do is grill some chicken until it is almost cooked through. Then you top with bacon, scallions, barbecue sauce and cheddar cheese. Finally you bake it until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and the cheese is bubbly and browned. It is all of the classic cowboy flavors BBQ sauce, bacon, cheese. When it comes to side dishes, you can go full cowboy with some baked beans, corn, and a salad if you wish. Or, you can go with something like french fries or baked potatoes and buttermilk biscuits. The possibilities are endless. It turned out to be a favorite to my friends and family! The recipe for this can be downloaded below or can be found on page 55 of my cookbook, available above! Bon Appetit!
I firmly believe that if you can make a wonderful roast chicken, you can cook anything! This is so deliciously flavored it will trick anyone into thinking that it took you hours, when it really only takes 15 minutes to prepare and about an hour and a half to cook. Once cleaned and dried you stuff the cavity with a whole head of garlic, a whole lemon, and some fresh thyme leaves. Then, you truss it and season with salt, pepper, and more thyme. It is then roasted on a bed of onions, carrots, and potatoes. Once the chicken is done, you remove it and let it rest and return the vegetables to the oven to finish cooking and caramelize. All you have to do now is carve it and serve it with the vegetables. When cooked this way, the chicken has so much wonderful flavor from the garlic, lemon, and all of the vegetables. The recipe for this is available below, as well as on page 49 of my new cookbook (available above on the navigation bar). Bon Appetit!
This is one of my favorite desserts. As many of my friends can tell you, I absolutely love anything raspberry. Besides the whipped cream, this is a great dessert if you want something light. It is an English creation named after Eton College where it was invented. It was and still is served during the annual cricket game between Eton and Harrow schools. It was originally made with strawberries rather than raspberries. This recipe I have provided is courtesy of Ina Garten. She makes a delicious raspberry sauce to go with it. It is infused with wonderful framboise, which is raspberry flavored liqueur. You just take either homemade meringues and crush them and layer them with whipped cream and raspberry sauce. It is best when the ingredients are cold. A great idea for a summer picnic or after a hearty dinner. Once you have the components made it only take a minute to assemble. I implore you to try it and you will always have it in your repertoire for quick desserts. Bon Appetit!
Whenever I make these, it takes everything I have to resist eating them all in one sitting! They are flaky, gooey, and sweet. They are crunchy, chewy, and sticky! There is absolutely nothing wrong with these. The only thing is that the recipe doesn't make enough of them. You start out with room temperature butter, brown sugar and pecans. You combine the butter and sugar and drop a tablespoon into 12 wells of a muffin tin. Top with some pecans. Then you take thawed puff pastry and spread brown sugar, cinnamon and rains over it. Roll it up like a jelly roll and slice into 1 1/2 inch thick slices. Then you place one in each of the muffin tins. Bake them until golden brown and be careful because they are extremely hot. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and invert onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Take a spoon and ease out the pecan mixture that may have remained in the tins. CAUTION: Keep the vultures at bay until you have had at least three! I will be serving these on Christmas morning! They are way better than breaking your back making a big Christmas breakfast when you will have a huge Christmas dinner later. Bon Appetit!
This is the result of not having been to the grocery store in a while...and what a delicious way to use up what you have in the fridge. This is also a take on a menu item we had in my final semester at Allegany College of MD. You have to love lemon to fully enjoy this. You start out with one boneless, skinless chicken breast. You make a dredge of flour, salt, pepper, granulated garlic,fresh rosemary, and lemon zest. Coat the chicken breasts in this and saute in oil and clarified butter. You then place the saute pan in the oven and finish it in the oven. Once the chicken is done, you allow it to rest in a covered plate and make the sauce. To the drippings in the pan you add fresh garlic, more lemon zest, lemon juice, white wine and rosemary. You finish the sauce by swirling in some softened butter. This gives the sauce a velvety texture. Pour over chicken and serve with some good roasted potatoes. I can't believe how delicious this was for a first time making it. If you want to mix up your usual cooking or if you need to clean out you fridge, this is a great thing to make. It serves two and takes only about 20 minutes. Bon Appetit! P.S. The picture above is the closest I could find to what my final result looked like.
I adore sweet potatoes. Every year it is mashed sweet potato casserole with a pecan topping. It is delicious, but this year I wanted to try something else. I was watching a Thanksgiving episode of Iron Chef America, and Bobby Flay made this for the judges. It looked simple and delicious. So I thought I would give it a try. It is basically sweet potatoes sliced thin on a mandolin and layered in a baking dish. Then, you mix heavy cream with maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and salt and pepper. You pour this over the potatoes. Cover and bake for about 30 minutes, and then you uncover and continue to bake until browned on top. The cream mixture gets absorbed into the potatoes and becomes a wonderful casserole. Delicious!!
I have my wonderful cousin Lauren to thank for this recipe. She made this for my Grandmother's birthday and I begged her for the recipe. The flavors are unbelievable. This was my first time trying butternut squash. I see now why it is Ina Garten's favorite vegetable. When cooked it is just like sweet potatoes. I have always loved brussel sprouts, unfortunately whenever I make them at Thanksgiving I am the only one who eats them. This year, I brought these out and everyone loved them. they are so easy to do. You just toss the sprouts, squash, and apples on a sheet pan with olive oil, maple syrup and brown sugar, salt and pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes and toss in some pecans and cranberries at the end. They can be served straight from the oven or reheated in a baking dish in the oven before dinner. This is a great dish for those who say they hate brussel sprouts. Try it and love it!!!
What would Thanksgiving be like without a recipe from Ina Garten. She is a master with her Lemon and Garlic Roast Chicken. This turkey is cooked in almost the same way. It is very simple. You just remove the giblets and anything inside of the bird. Season the inside with salt and pepper and stuff with lemon, garlic, and herbs. Then you dry the outside with paper towels and brush with a mixture of butter, lemon and herbs. You then truss is and roast for about 2 1/2 hours until the juices run clear. Then, you simply let it rest and carve. This is absolutely delicious with some good old gravy and sides. If you are in need of a solution to all of those three day brine and cook turkey jobs, this is the one for you. Happy Thanksgiving!!!
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