Steak Frites

We made this before Jay left, but I forgot to post it! We absolutely loved this meal and I hope to make it again soon! A lot of fun!

Ingredients for steak:

1 1/2 pounds bone in rib eye steak

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon oil

Spicy Red Pepper Sauce (recipe below)

2 tablespoons minced fresh flat leaf parsley

The recipe calls to cook the steak in the oven for a little and then transfer to skillet and back to oven and serve medium rare - this is not the way that we wanted to make it so we grilled it instead! Go ahead and make the steak however you want, but you MUST make the sauce and fries!

Ingredients for Fries:

1 head garlic, loose skin rubbed off, halved horizontally

6 cups vegetable oil

1 1/2 pounds large boiling or baking potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning

Lemon wedges for garnish

Put garlic halves and oil in a deep, heavy bottomed pot and heat over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 320 degrees. Line a pan with paper towels. Use a slotted spoon to transfer garlic to prepared pan and heat oil to 360 degrees.

While oil heats, slice potatoes into shoestring fries. Make sure they are dry.

Increase heat to medium high and working in batches add the potatoes to the oil and fry until brown and crispy. Scoop fries from oil with slotted spoon and drain on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining potatoes making sure the oil returns to 360 degrees before each batch.

Squeeze cloves from of the garlic halves and mince; reserve other half for garnish. Toss minced garlic with parsley, lemon zest, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Dump fries on top and toss. Mound fries on a platter, season with salt to taste and serve.

Ingredients for Spicy Red Pepper Sauce:

1/2 cup piquillo peppers (we used roasted red peppers)

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley

3 tablespoons mayonaisse

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Puree peppers, parsley, mayonnaise, olive oil, hot pepper sauce, mustard, garlic, and salt in a blender until smooth. (I used a food processor) Pour sauce into a bowl and set aside. Cover and refrigerate if storing, up to 2 days. Bring sauce to room temperature before serving.

Great meal!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Thumbprints

These are cute little cookies that are great for anything!

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 teaspoon corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, confectioners' sugar, salt and vanilla on medium speed until smooth. Beat in flour, beginning on low speed and increasing to medium until combined.

Form balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each; place balls 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes, remove from oven, and press thumb into cookies to make deep, wide indentations. Rotate pan and return to oven; bake until light brown on the edges, 7 to 9 minutes more. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Combine chocolate, the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and the corn syrup in a small heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water; stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Allow to cool a bit until slightly thickened. Fill thumb prints with the chocolate mixture, and set aside to firm up.

Enjoy!

Gingerbread-White Chocolate Blondies

Just catching up on all of my old recipes that I never was able to post! These were great and super easy to make!

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup unsulfured molasses

1 3/4 cups coarsely chopped white chocolate (10 ounces)

Nonstick vegetable spray

Preheat oven to 250 degress. Coat a 12 by 17 inch rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper and set aside.

Whisk together flour, soda, salt, and spices in a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars on medium high speed until creamy and pale. Add eggs and yolk one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla and molasses and mix on medium speed until combined. Add flour mixture on low speed. Stir in white chocolate.

Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and bake until golden on edges, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan, cut into 2 inch squares.

Enjoy!

Grammy's Chocolate Cookies

These are simply amazing! If you have ever eaten Archway Dutch Cocoa cookies, these are just like them! I absolutely loved them and could have eaten the whole batch on my own!

Ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Sanding sugar, for rolling (I used Sugar in the RAW packets)

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add flour mixture; beat to combine. Form dough into a flattened disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1 1/4 balls. Roll each ball in sanding sugar. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, 10 - 12 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer to a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies from baking sheet to wire rack.

Enjoy!

*Sorry, still no pictures! Will take pictures ASAP! :)*

Carrot Cake Cookies

Great Cookies! We ABSOLUTELY loved them! :)

Camera is still not working...

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for flattening cookies

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots

1 cup raisins

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat on medium speed until well combined.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; stir to combine. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; mix on low speed until just blended. Mix in oats, carrots, and raisins. Chill until firm, atleast 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape tablespoons of dough into balls, and place on prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake until browned and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Spread 2 teaspoons of frosting onto flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich together with remaining cookies.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Place cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add butter and continue beating until smooth and well blended. Sift in confectioners' sugar and continue beating until smooth. Add vanilla and stir to combine.

Enjoy! :)

Grilled Tuna with Artichokes, Peppers and Tomatoes

This was a fantastic light summer kind of meal! I would definitely make this again! :)

Still no camera....

Ingredients:

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup dry white wine

8 baby artichokes (we could not find these...so we used canned artichoke hearts)

1 lemon halved

1 yellow bell pepper

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus additional for fish

1 shallot, sliced

4 cloves garlic, smashed

4 sprigs fresh thyme, plus 1 teaspoon finely chopped

2 sprigs fresh flat leaf parsley, plus 1 tablespoon finely chopped

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoons coriander seeds

8 oven dried tomatoes (recipe is in my mac and cheese recipe)

1 1/2 pound center cut tuna (we used 2 tuna steaks)

Freshly ground black pepper

Put 1 cup water, olive oil, and wine in a medium saucepan. Trim the artichokes' stems, snap off their leaves, and halve, rubbing the cut surface with the lemon half. Stem, seed and cut the bell pepper into large squares and add to the pan. Add the 2 teaspoons salt, shallot, garlic, herb sprigs, bay leaf, and coriander. Simmer over medium heat until the artichokes are just tender. Add the tomatoes and cook a little bit longer. Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon and set aside. Increase the heat under the saucepan and simmer the cooking liquid to thicken slightly.

Heat a grill pan over medium high heat or prepare an outdoor grill. Season the tuna generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Grill the tuna until there are distinct grill marks on both sides. Remove from grill and let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

Stir the chopped thyme and parsley into the artichoke mixture. Cut the tuna into slices or chunks. Spoon the vegetables into bowls and arrange the tuna on top.

Pan Seared Shrimp with Romesco Sauce

Great dip and awesome meal!

My camera has started to act weird so I have no pictures!

Ingredients for sauce:

1 small ancho chile, stemmed and seeded (we used a poblano chile)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup whole blanched almonds

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, smashed

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning

Freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

3/4 cup roughly chopped jarred, drained piquillo peppers (we used roasted red peppers)

1/2 slice stale bread

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Toast the ancho chile in a small dry skillet over medium high heat, turning and flattening with a spatula, until fragrant. Put the chile in a medium bowl, cover with very hot water, and set aside until soft.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the almonds and cook, stirring until toasted. Transfer the almonds to a plate, leaving the oil in the skillet. Add the softened chile, the onion, garlic, the 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, until onions are lightly browned. Add paprika and cook until fragrant. Scrape onion mixture into a sieve set over a bowl; reserve 3 tablespoons strained oil.

Pulse the onion mixture, almonds, piquillo peppers, bread and vinegar in a food processor until coarse. With the motor running, drizzle in the reserved oil. Scrape the sauce into a bowl and set in a warm place until shrimp is cooked.

Ingredients for Shrimp:

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and patted dry

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Spread shrimp on a pan or a piece of aluminum foil. Heat 2 large skillets over medium heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the shrimp. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to each skillet and increase the heat to high. Add the shrimp seasoned side down, taking care not to crowd them. Cook the shrimp until they turn golden brown on the bottom.

Dip Shrimp in Sauce and Enjoy!