Braciole Sandwich

My sophomore year of college I was watching an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond and Debra made "braciole" which apparently is the only dish that she ever cooked that was good. So of course, I started to wonder what that was and if I could make it. Since then I've been continually tweaking the recipe to find the best one. Should I use flanksteak or veal? Should I add prosciutto? Should it be one large piece or several small ones? I still haven't decided the best way yet.

Even if I haven't figured out the best recipe for braciole as a meal itself, we did stumble across this sandwich which is awesome. Jeff Mauro was one of our top picks for the 2011 Next Food Network Star and on the last episode this is what he cooked. 

I edited the recipe just a little bit but otherwise it's pretty perfect. Make sure to get soft hero (sub-like) rolls and warm them up. That will help the cheese melt and is just plain delicious. It takes a while to make this since it braises for a couple of hours but once you get it going you can let it be. It's worth it - trust me!

Braciole Sandwich**

1 flanksteak

2 cups breadcrumbs - I usually make my own but you could use store bought too

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup mozzarella, shredded 

1 cup parsley, diced very finely

3 tablespoons garlic, minced

olive oil, as needed

Salt and black pepper

1/4 cup yellow onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

1/2 tablespoon dry Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 tablespoon red wine

28 ounces crushed tomatoes - I highly recommend Hunt's brand, it's worth it not to use generic here

4 soft hero (sub-like) rolls, warmed

Fresh mozzarella, sliced thinly

French fried onions - the kind that goes on green bean casserole

1. Very carefully slice your flanksteak into two thinner steaks. Cover with plastic wrap and pound to about 1/4 inch thickness. This can be tricky so either ask your butcher to do it or be VERY CAREFUL. You don't have to do this but it'll be much easier to roll and cook more evenly if you do. 

2. Mix together breadcrumbs, cheeses, parsley, and 3 tablespoons garlic together. Spread evenly over the steaks and drizzle with olive oil. 

3. Starting with a long edge, roll the flanksteak over the filling to create a roulade. Secure with cooking twice. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. 

4. In a dutch oven (or a heavy pot with a tight fitting lid), heat about 1/4 cup olive oil over medium high heat until almost smoking. Add roulades and sear on all sides until just golden brown but not cooked through. Remove from heat and keep warm. 

5. Turn the heat down to medium. Add onions, garlic, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir continuously to avoid burning. Stir in tomato paste for about 1 minute. Deglaze pan with red wine, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pot. Add crushed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. 

6. Put seared roulades back in the pot and cover in tomato sauce. Cover with lid, turn heat to low, and simmer for about 2 hours, occasionally recovering the roulades with sauce. 

7. Remove from pot and slice into thin slices, removing the twine. Serve immediately on warm rolls with mozzarella and fried onions.

** Original recipe: Jeff Mauro

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pammies-braciole-sandwich-recipe/index.html

Easy to Clean Bacon Grease

 My dad always seems to have a can lying around when it's time to get rid of bacon grease. I never seem to be that lucky so I've found the next best option. I actually think I like this a little bit better.

I know, I know. I'm a southern gal - I'm supposed to keep my bacon grease for cooking. However, I wasn't raised by a southern lady and I don't cook southern food very well. So alas, I turn my back on that southern norm and toss it right in the trash.



Line a small bowl with a piece of foil so that it hangs over the edges.
Pour all that warm grease in there and let it sit until it hardens.

If you live in 100 degree weather and your air conditioner seems to stay at 75 all the time (like mine), it may never harden. So put it in the fridge and you'll get it to solidify.

Curl up all the ends to make a little pouch and you can throw it right in the trash! Since it's hard it won't leak everywhere and it's easy clean up.

Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies

As I have said before, I'm a terrible cookie baker. Just ask Matt. I've done everything wrong: too flat, won't cook all the way, burned them too many times to count, crispy on the bottom and soft on the top, liquidy, lumpy, too salty, etc. I don't know if it's the precision that you have to use with the ingredients for the 8-12 minute bake time. It's not really enough time to do anything else but it's too long to just stand there. Any, if I try to use that time to clean I inevitably will be in the middle of washing a dish when the buzzer goes off. By the time I finish, dry my hands, and get the oven mitt - they're burned.

So last night when I made these Jason came over and said "You made cookies? They look fine. Are they slice and bake?" and as soon as Matt walked in the kitchen he says "oh..... you made cookies (with a frown on his face)." When I pointed out that they weren't burned he asked "have you tried it yet? because that could be the problem." Thanks guys.... and no, I hadn't tried them yet.

Lo and behold, they were delicious and Matt quickly asked if I got more milk. So, try out this recipe - that I got via Pinterest - because they are cakey and sweet and too good to pass up.

Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies

Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies
makes 36 cookies


1/2 cup margarine
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 boxes Jiffy Blueberry Muffin Mix
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips


1. Blend the margarine, cream cheese, and brown sugar until well combined. 
2. Stir in eggs one at a time until well blended.
3. Add muffin mixes and blend well.
4. Fold in white chocolate chips. Refrigerate for at least an hour - this is important as the batter will seem runny. The muffin mix will soak up the liquid and the dough will become fluffy and cake-like.
5. Preheat oven to 325. Drop cookies by the tablespoon about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 14-15 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown. Let cool about 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.


Originally posted on:
http://the-inspiration-cafe.blogspot.com/2012/04/blueberry-cheesecake-cookies.html

How to Chiffonade

The best smelling things in the kitchen are garlic simmering in olive oil and fresh basil. We grow basil every summer because it's easy to grow and it is one of our favorite herbs. Plus, if a plant is only $3 how in the world does the grocery store charge $2 per package?? Robbery I tell ya...

So, I thought that if I was going to talk about fresh basil and use it in so many recipes, that maybe I go over what in the world "chiffonade" is - because I surely had to google that one day!

If you have ever tried to "chop" basil you've probably realized that it doesn't work that well. I think that too much pressure and repetitive motion bruises the leaves and it just it kills the look, the scent, and you lose some flavor. So, let's chiffonade instead (that may be one of my favorite cooking words - I feel smart when I say it and it sounds pretty).

So, first stack up your basil leaves like in the picture above.

Next you should try and roll up that stack as much as you can. It doesn't have to be perfect - it just makes it easier.

Now use a sharp knife to quickly slice through the rolled up basil creating thin shreds.   

Toss these in toward the end of your cooking process so that they don't cook down and loose too much of the freshness. 

Beautiful basil that has kept all of its aroma and flavor!

Clams with Chorizo and Corn

If you've ever been to northern Spain you ate chorizo with crusty bread and cheese everyday. We loved it - breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizer, whatever. Luckily this dish puts that beautiful chorizo on the main stage and you get to eat as much of it as you like. Since you're likely to have some chorizo left over you should serve it with freshly warmed bread slices and some gouda cheese. Matt thinks that we're in love with this dish just because it immediately took us back there.

The corn is sweet and crunchy, the clam is meaty, and the chorizo is smoky with a perfect heat to it. Just make sure that you get Spanish style chorizo which is smoked so it is firm and you have to slice it. If you use Mexican style chorizo it will be crumbly and soft like an Italian sausage which isn't what you want here.

Clams with Chorizo and Corn

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 pound Spanish-style chorizo, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 cup dry white wine

40 clams, rinsed of any dirt

1 cup fresh corn kernals

Salt and pepper

1. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a heavy pot that has a tight fitting lid. Add the chorizo slices and saute until warm, about 2 minutes. Remove and keep warm.

2. Add the onion to the pot and saute, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and continue sauteing until the onion is soft. 

3. Add the white wine and reduce almost completely. 

4. Add the clams to the pot and cover with the lid. Simmer over low heat until they just begin to open, about 8 minutes.

5. Add the corn and cooked chorizo slices, cover with the lid again, and continue to cook about 5 more minutes. 

6. Remove lid and discard any clams that do not open as these shouldn't be eaten. Season with salt and pepper. Serve in a bowl with the broth and crusty french bread.

Sweet Potato and Plantain Puree with Cinnamon and Maple

This may just replace sweet potato casserole in this family. I haven't gotten the official word from Matt yet but I know he loved it too. He actually ate it cold the next day and suggested that we put it in a pie crust for dessert. It's very silky and just sweet enough.

Unfortunately the picture isn't going to make you just have to try this dish but you should. As I was taking my 6th picture - trying to make it look so good that you just had to make it tonight - I realized that mashed potatoes, of any kind, are never going to photograph particularly well. So, you'll just have to take my word for it! 

Sweet Potato and Plantain Puree with Cinnamon and Maple Syrup **
Serves 8


3 large sweet potatoes
1 very ripe plantain
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into cubes
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup maple syrup, plus more for drizzling
1 cup heavy cream, plus more to make it creamier if desired


1. Preheat the oven to 400 and bake the sweet potatoes until almost tender, about 50 minutes. Put the plantain (peel on) on the baking sheet and cook another 15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender and the plantain looks black. 
2. Once cool enough to handle, cut the sweet potatoes lengthwise and scrape the flesh into a food processor . Also, cut open the plantain and add the flesh to the sweet potatoes. Pulse in a food processor until creamy.
3. Add the butter, cinnamon, 1/4 cup maple syrup, and heavy cream to the food processor and pulse until combined. You can add more heavy cream to make it creamier if you'd like. 
4. Spoon the puree into a baking dish and heat in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until hot all the way through. Drizzle with a little more maple syrup. Serve on warmed plates. 


** Bobby Flay

Watermelon Basil Martinis

We started with Bobby Flay's Frozen Watermelon Martini but to be perfectly honest - it was terrible. I didn't even take a second sip. Luckily, Matt was determined to drink it since we had made an ENTIRE pitcher and bought melon liqueur just for this. So, he doctored it up and the result was fabulous! . It's not too sweet and the fresh basil it in is surprisingly delicious!

Watermelon Basil Martinis
Makes 1 pitcher


5 cups watermelon, seedless is best
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 - 2 cups vodka, depending on taste
2 ounces melon liqueur, optional
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice
                                        10-15 fresh basil leaves


1. Blend the watermelon until smooth and freeze until slushie-like.
2. To make the simple syrup, bring sugar and water to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. Blend together the frozen watermelon, the simple syrup, lemon juice, vodka, melon liqueur, orange juice, lime juice, and basil together. Served in a chilled glass and enjoy!