Thanks Adrenaline

It's the eve of the second attempt this spring at a "competition" for me...this one is much more for fun than the last one but being the type-A girl that I am the words sticking in the back of my head are "competition" and "crossfit" not "fun." Last time around I was so excited I couldn't help but be a little nervous.   In my past life nerves was a good thing for me, it usually fueled the competitor within and pushed me, what I learned at the last competition I entered is that those nerves fueled adrenaline and the adrenaline ran out quick...like real quick.  The last competition I did had three separate workouts, during the first one I very clearly remember hearing my boyfriend and my coach each screaming "slow down" over and over as I (apparently) flew through my first 21 deadlifts and burpees, somewhere around the next 15 deadlifts I felt like I'd lost the willpower to even pick my feet up, much less continue rolling through the remainder of that one workout (or two more!).   Let's just say Event 1 wasn't that great for me, not because I wasn't capable or ready for it but because I burned out faster than I even knew possible, thanks adrenaline.

This time I decided that I need to approach the whole thing differently, partly because I don't want to burn out quick this time around (I only get one workout to prove myself tomorrow) and partly because it's a partner workout and my partner is a grade-A badass who I would hate to disappoint.  So instead of spending most of my day today thinking about competition, considering what I need to do in the morning to be ready or even going to bed ridiculously early I decided I will treat tomorrow as a normal workout...none of this crazy build up to something that my nerves get in the way of, nothing to stress about, just another Saturday morning workout with friends.  No idea whether this will pay off or if I'll be knocked to smithereens by some burpees and wall balls tomorrow but I figure it can't be worse than burning out in the first five minutes either.     I don't know what I made for dinner before the last competition but it certainly wasn't this, so that's good too right?

Paleo Thai Shrimp Salad

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup thinly sliced celery
1 large bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 seedless English cucumber (or 2 regular large cucumbers), sliced with a spiral veggie slicer or a julienne slicer
1-2 cups cooked shrimp
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
1-2 tbsp Asian chili garlic sauce or dried chili flakes
1 big clove garlic
A handful of cilantro leaves
Sliced lime, extra cilantro and crushed cashews for garnish
1 small Thai chili and lettuce – optional

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the fish sauce, orange juice, lime juice, garlic, chili garlic sauce and chopped cilantro leaves, set it aside to blend flavors. The dressing should be the balance combination of salty, sweet, tart, and spicy, however, you can adjust it to your own preferred taste
2. In a large bowl, add cucumber, chopped celery, red onion, shredded carrot, and cooked shrimp - Pour the dressing over and mix well. Let stand to mingle the flavors for about 3 minutes before serving on chopped lettuce/cup with a sprinkle of toasted cashews and/or more Thai chili if you like it hot.

Feeding My Inner Book Worm

I'm a book junkie, really I have more books than I could read in a year, have been known to read more than two or three books at a time and in addition to being a die hard lover of actually, physical books am also completely in love with my Nook Color.  So when my sister said she wished she could find a book club I jumped on the bandwagon with her.  Instead of finding one (because it seemed like most in our area were reading crappy romance novels and such) we just started our own.  Now what started as an excuse to read more books is an excuse to spend more time with good friends and snack on tasty treats.  I know, you're shocked that between my love of books and cooking such an event would turn into an excuse to snack :)

This was all well and good for the first few meetings, i.e. pre-paleo challenge time.  Cheese, vino and crackers, sliced fruit and veggies abounded during that time.  This past week was my turn to host and suddenly I was feeling panicked, what do you serve a mix of paleo/non-paleo folks? Well since we're in strict challenge mode I couldn't tempt myself (or my sis) with cheese or wine (sad) and serving a plate of just straight up veggies and deli sliced turkey was too boring for my inner-chef.  So off I went, searching for crowd pleasing, challenge friendly appetizers and snacks.  The results, actually pretty good.  I ended up with two paleo friendly dips (below), sliced fruit and veggies, some olives, plain plantain chips, homemade pickled veggies, nuts, smoked, peppered pork tenderloin and nitrate-free sliced turkey. All in all not too bad, might even make a reprise for some of these things come Super Bowl Sunday!

First on deck we had a zucchini hummus, many versions of that exist on the web but the one I used was:

Paleo Hummus

3 small or 2 medium zucchini
1/2 cup Tahini
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1. Peel zucchini very well so that no green is visible anymore.  Chop roughly and drop into food processor.
2. Put tahini, garlic and zucchini together in food processor and pulse until smooth.
3. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, cumin and pulse again until well incorporated.


The second recipe was a fruit dip made with coconut butter (yummy), coconut milk, peaches and lime.  I'll be messing with this recipe further as I think the texture could be less grainy (a product of my homemade coconut butter I suspect). 

1 cup Coconut Butter (feel free to buy this but it's pricey, or you can make it easily, instructions here)
1 can Whole Fat Coconut Milk (I believe the cans are appx 14-16 oz)
2 Whole peaches, pitted
1 Lime, peeled and seeded

1. Drop coconut butter, peaches and lime in the food processor. Pulse until well blended.
2. Slowly add coconut milk, I did this in batches so that it became well incorporated.

Coconut is my newest obsession, I warn you now because it'll likely begin appearing here regularly.  Sorry all I have is a pic of the whole spread on Wednesday night, not the individual dips.

Brunch is for Birthdays

Instead of England's early Sunday dinner, a postchurch ordeal of heavy meats and savory pies, why not a new meal, served around noon, that starts with tea or coffee, marmalade and other breakfast fixtures before moving along to the heavier fare? By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday-night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well. Brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting. It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.

- Guy Beringer, "Brunch: A Plea," Hunter's Weekly, 1895

What is brunch? Is it simply a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch, like linner (sorry had to throw that in there)? Is it merely a synonym for buffet, as the Office québécois de la langue française suggests? I prefer the definition wikipedia gives, "A meal cannot be considered brunch if it is started before 10 am, such meals would still be considered breakfast. Typically brunch is had at around 11 am, close to lunch time but still before." Simply stated, brunch is what you make of it...there are no rules surrounding what kind of food must be served at brunch nor is there a prescription for what drinks should be served, only that it should be served sometime after typical breakfast hours and still before lunch.

Brunch is such a great meal for socializing to me, it falls at a time that isn't obscene during the weekends (well for those who can sleep late, of which I'm not one) and it is socially acceptable to have alcoholic beverages with breakfast if you call it lunch....that sounded worse that I meant it to but oh well. No matter how you slice it, brunch is one of my favorite things to host, I regularly have brunch at my house with two of my closest girlfriends. While the particular brunch that I am going to share photos from happened in late August, we regularly have brunch to share our birthdays as my birthday (today, September 16) and my friend Mickey's birthday (September 9) are so close it works out well.

The particulars of brunch change from event to event, but this particular brunch had an elegant flair, with Eggs Florentine in Prosciutto, Roasted and Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Caps and a Dragon Fruit Melon Salad.

Dragon Fruit is something I had never tried before but that I found at our local Asian market, it is actually not just a single fruit but there are many varieties that are the fruit of certain cactus species. Dragon Fruit is native to Mexico, Central and South America and is also cultivated in Asian countries like Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. They bloom only at night, the plant produces a large white flower that is called a 'moonflower' or 'Queen of the Night.' The specific Dragon Fruit I purchased had pink skin (not to be eaten) and a white flesh with tiny black seeds inside.


With the Dragon Fruit cut open and on display I decided it would meld nicely with a simple melon salad.

Dragon Fruit Melon Salad

1 Thai Melon
1 Dragon Fruit
Juice and Zest of One Orange
2 Tbsp Chopped Mint Leaves

Combine all ingredients, stir and allow to chill for at least one hour before serving.



With the fruit ready to go I set to work on the remainder of our brunch. The mushroom recipe that follows is from a cookbook I picked up this summer, Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone.

Portobello Mushrooms with Ricotta, Tomatoes and Basil

3 Medium Heirloom Tomatoes, halved and cored
1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, halved
3 Tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
3-4 Springs of Thyme
4 Portobello Mushrooms, stems removed
4 oz Fresh Ricotta Cheese
2 Tbsp Small Fresh Basil Leaves

1. Position an oven rack about 8 inches below the heating element and preheat the broiler to low heat. Arrange the tomatoes cut side up on a large heavy baking sheet. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil over the tomatoes and sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme. Broil for 5-7 minutes.
2. Arrange the mushrooms, grill side down, on the same baking sheet with the tomatoes, and drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Broil the mushrooms and tomatoes for 5 minutes.
3. Turn the mushrooms gill side up and spoon ricotta onto the mushrooms. Continue broiling for another 5 minutes, or until the ricotta is heated through and beginning to brown on the top. At the point the tomatoes and mushrooms should be just tender and the tomatoes should be lightly browned on top. Transfer them to a platter, sprinkle with basil and serve.


Baked Eggs Florentine in Prosciutto Cups

16 Slices Prosciutto
8 Large Eggs
6 Cups Fresh Spinach Leaves
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1/8 Tsp Freshly Ground Nutmeg
1/8 Tsp White Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Layering two pieces of prosciutto per cup, lay prosciutto into a muffin tin so that cups are formed. Once oven is hot, bake cups for 18 minutes.
2. Remove cups from oven, turn heat up to 450F. In a small bowl mix spices and parmesan cheese, set aside.
3. Distribute spinach equally among the cups and then place one egg inside of each cup. Sprinkle spice/cheese mixture over eggs and put in oven.
4. Bake 10-15 minutes, until eggs are just set. Serve hot.



As an aside (and to explain posts you may see soon), I have entered the Foodbuzz Project Food Blog competition, there will be a series of ten challenges I will need to complete (read as: there will be ten posts will be focused on challenge topics) running from September 19 through December 13. During this time I plan to continue to post my typical posts but I wanted to make sure to call attention to the other items as a special thing that will not last forever nor will they detract (hopefully) from the normal topics I write about. In advance I'd like to point anyone who is interested in reading about the contest, checking out the participants and hopefully voting for me ;) to the contest homepage.

Birthday Brunch Redux

This past week was a little light on activity for me because I was completely distracted by my birthday! That's right, my birthday was this past Wednesday, September 16. In celebration of my birthday and the birthday of a dear friend (Mickey), I hosted brunch at my house last Sunday. A week later (today) I'm finally getting a chance to post pics of the tasty treats that went with some bottomless mimosas :)


Me, Mickey and Jenn a while back - two of my close friends!


Turkey Sausage & Cheese Strata

* 1 large (20 ounce) loaf Italian or French bread, cubed
* 1 cup cooked turkey breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled
* 1/2 large onion, chopped
* 1 Tablespoon minced garlic, or 1 garlic clove
* 1 cup sauteed mushrooms and red bell pepper
* 3 Tablespoons butter
* 3 1/2 cups skim fat milk
* 12 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
* 2-3 Tablespoons spicy grain prepared mustard
* 2 cups total shredded cheese; combination of gouda and smoked cheddar
* Sprinkle of Herbs de Provonce
* 1/4 c. of Panko

How To Make Strata Breakfast Casserole

1. Spray a 9" X 13" baking dish with vegetable spray. Set aside.
2. Cook sausage until done. Drain on paper towels.
3. Saute the onion and garlic together in butter.
4. Saute mushrooms and red bell peppers until just tender.
5. Place half the cubed bread in the prepared baking dish.
6. In a large mixing bowl, whisk or beat cream, half & half or milk, eggs, salt, pepper and mustard until foamy and blended well. Remove from mixer and add cheese.
7. Layer half the onions, veggies if using them and bacon or ham on top of the bread.
8. Pour half the milk and egg mixture over the bread. Repeat with another layer of bread and all the toppings, finishing off with the remaining milk and egg mixture.
9. Press the mixture down with clean hands until all the bread is soaked. Sprinkle with herbs. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the top, press again, and refrigerate the strata at least 8 hours or overnight.
10. In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 65 - 80 minutes, or until knife comes out clean. During the last five minutes, sprinkle the top with panko. Let cool about 15 minutes before serving. Be careful, the strata will be hot.
**Serves 8 - 10 main size portions, or 15 -20 brunch size servings.




This recipe is an old one my mother has made many holiday mornings, it's tasty with ham instead of the sausage and you could sub just about any veggie you can think of for the mushrooms and bell peppers, same for the cheese. It was a huge hit. We enjoyed the strata and our mimosas and then later had a sweet treat with these delicious chocolate coconut macaroons.

The backstory here is that earlier in the week I had met my father at Whole Foods for lunch and we got some chocolate coconut macaroons for dessert, they were so good that I became slightly obsessed with finding a comparable homemade version. I've got a few recipes I'd like to try other than this one but this was really tasty and so easy I'll definitely make it again.

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons
*4 ounces semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
*3 large egg whites
*1/4 cup cocoa powder
*3/4 cup granulated white sugar
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
*2 1/2 cups sweetened coconut

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a stainless steel bowl, over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Stir in the coconut and melted chocolate, making sure the coconut is well coated. If the mixture is too soft, refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
4. Place small mounds (about 1 tablespoon) of the dough on the parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing several inches apart.
5. Bake for about 15 or until the macaroons are shiny. Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes and then place on a wire rack to cool.
**Makes about 20 Macaroons

Sunday Brunch

Last week passed so quickly I can barely think about where it went and how it got away! Life has been hectic and will only continue at this pace I fear, my family is going to be crossing the border and moving back to Texas (yea!!) come Saturday, work is crazy as usual and then the typical drama that life in general brings seems to have kept me from blogging and really doing much else. My apologies, hopefully my massive brunch post here will makeup for my lax posting this past week :)

Sunday morning I had two of my closest friends and my baby sis over for brunch, for me that would usually be stuff I can make ahead (banana bread, muffins, fruit, easy stuff) so I can spend time hanging out instead of attempting to cook....well thanks to my sisters' request of Eggs Benedict I ended up trying to multi-task....you can be the judge on whether it turned out okay (photo wise), taste-wise it was pretty darn good! Besides the eggs benedict (including home made english muffins and hollandaise sauce), there was a fresh fruit spread, mimosas and fresh raspberry-rhubarb muffins. Now for the details:

Raspberry-Rhubarb Muffins
3 1/2 Cups All-purpose Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Salt
8 Tbsp Butter, softened
1 Cup Sugar
3 Large Eggs
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 1/2 Cups Pureed Raspberries
1 1/2 Cups Pureed Rhubarb

1. Preheat oven to 400 F and line muffin pan with liners.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream th ebutter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides to make sure everything is incorporated.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add vanilla and sour cream, mix until well incorporated.
6. Slowly add dry ingredients, mix until smooth.
7. Fil muffin cups and bake 30 minutes, until cake tester comes out clean.
8. After baking let muffins cool in pan for a few minutes then remove to rack to avoid having them become tough.




These muffins will probably be the completion of my rhubarb obsession for right now (although I've seen some really tasty rhubarb recipes lately)...but we'll see! With this we had eggs benedict, I got to play short order cook, which takes a bit more concentration than I gave it (as the eggs in my benedict attest to) so the eggs didn't look as pretty as I would've liked, but we'll probably be giving these a shot again soon (maybe Mothers Day?) so I'll have more opportunity to practice.

English Muffins

Starter:
1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 Cups Water
1/8 Tsp Instant Yeast

Dough:
1 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
1 Tsp Instant Yeast
1 Tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tsp Baking Powder
2 Tbsp Butter, Melted
3/4 Cup Milk, warm

1. Mix the flour, water and yeast for the starter in a medium-sized bowl to form a smooth batter. Cover and leave at room temperature for at least 4 hours or up to 16 hours. The starter should be puffy and full of holes when it's ready to use.
2. After the starter is ready, you'll want to mix the dough up. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the starter and all the dough ingredients to form a smooth batter. The batter needs to be beaten for 5-8 minutes. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm spot until the batter had doubled in size 1 1/2 hours.
3. After batter has rested for 1 1/2 hours, preheat a griddle to 325 F. Lightly grease your English Muffin Rings (I don't have any and didn't have time to get any so I cut the bottom/top off of cleaned tuna cans). Place the rings on the griddle. Lightly stir the batter, then use a 1/4 cup measure or muffin scoop to fill each ring about a third full. If you're not using muffin rings, drop about 1/4 cupfuls of the batter onto the griddle as the muffins cook.
4. Dry-fry (without grease) the muffins for 10-12 minutes on the first side before turning them over to cook on the other side. You'll know they are ready to turn when a dry skin has formed over the top of the uncooked side. Cook them for about 1/2 the time you cooked the first side one.





These are best made a day or so ahead so they have time to sit and dry out - they are a little gummier than a regular English muffin the day they are made.

So my Sunday Spring Brunch went off without a hitch - and with a few mimosas too!

Operation Jalapeno is in full effect!!!

Operation rid myself of a pound of jalapenos is in full effect! Thank you to all who commented on my earlier post about things to do with these beauties! For two consecutive nights jalapenos got stuffed with some kind of cheese and wrapped in some flavor of bacon...truth is it's a combination I never tire of and since there were two different audiences no one but me was wiser for it! The first night it was jalapeno - manchego (or irish sharp cheddar) - maple bacon....man those were good stuff! The second night it was jalapeno - cheddar (which i was unfortunate enough to buy at Wal-Mart....don't ask, it wasn't because I love the place or their food selection!) - and plain smoked bacon. Either way, it's a winner, and there's a good chance I'll do that again since I've got twelve of them left and plans to hang out with some friends tomorrow night who haven't been part of the jalapeno/cheese/bacon fest that has been this week.

Since the last few nights have involved some not so healthy fare and since I pushed myself pretty hard at the gym this morning I wanted a healthier way to eat my hot peppers tonight...so four of them joined a roasted salsa.

Easy Roasted Pepper Salsa

1 Large Red Bell Pepper
4 Large Jalapenos
4 Medium to Large Ripe Tomatos
1/2 Medium Red Onion, Quartered
3 Small Cloves of Garlic
1/2 Cup Coarsly Chopped Cilantro
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Place peppers, tomatoes, onion and garlic on a foil lined broiler pan. Crank your broiler up to HIGH - once it is heated to the correct temperature, place the pan about four inches from the heat.
2. Allow the peppers to char all the way around, you'll need to turn the peppers four times (so all sides get charred), each time you turn the peppers, turn the onions. Every other time you turn the peppers, turn the garlic and the tomatoes.
3. Once everything is sufficiently charred, allow it to cool outside the oven.
4. Chop the tomatoes into quarters - put in a blender. separate the onion and garlic (so you don't have chunks of onion) and drop into blender on top of tomatoes.
5. Seed the bell and jalapeno peppers. Half the jalapenos and quarter the bell pepper - drop into blender. Season with salt and pepper then add the cilantro.
6. Blend until your salsa reaches the desired consistency - season more if you'd like to.


My mother's version of this recipe involves a grill pan and/or skillet on the stove and time standing up making it all roast properly, I wanted the salsa tonight but didn't want to hassle with that (yup I'm lazy) because I've been busy since I got home with work stuff...so my answer, the BROILER! My friend the broiler helped me immensly and gave a great flavor to it all!

Valenties Sweets

My posts have been a little sporadic lately, work has been crazy and I seem to see less of my usual life and more of my desk than usual, so my apologies! Anyway, last Friday my best friend and I got together to make Valentines sweet treats, she dipped chocolate covered strawberries and I made chocolate cut out cookies.


The strawberries were very easy and delicious, Jenn melted a bag of Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave (slowly, 30 seconds at a time to avoid burning), then dipped the berries and some were then rolled in either coconut (the white) or crushed pistachios (the yellow). Then they were laid on wax paper to harden.

The chocolate cut out cookies I made were also easy, and very tasty!


Chocolate Cut-out Cookies
1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup (plus 2 tbsp) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/8 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
3/4 Cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 Cup sifted Powdered Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
1/2 Tsp Vanilla extract

1. Sift together dry ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Put butter and sugar into a bowl and cream together. Mix in egg and vanilla. Gradually add in dry ingredient mixture.
3. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill at least one hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to desired thickness.
6. Quickly cut out cookies from dough, if it gets too soft, put it in the freezer for a few minutes.
7. Bake until crisp, for a thinner cookie (1/8 of an inch) this is about 8 minutes.
8. Decorate & Enjoy!

Super Bowl Sunday Fiesta!

In honor of the Super Bowl tonight, my best friend is hosting a small get-together, she's doing fajitas and since I've been lucky enough to get to review a forthcoming cookbook featuring Tex-Mex, I offered to do some sides/appetizer dishes...I was asked to test and blog about some recipes from the upcoming cookbook "Foods and Flavors of San Antonio" - I am thrilled about this as it's a book full of some of my favorite cuisine. Today I'm posting two of the items from this book and two items from me/my family.

First off, a delicious Black Bean Caviar featured in the "Foods and Flavors of San Antonio," some of you may be familiar with Texas Caviar, a very similar item made with black-eyed peas instead of the black beans found in this dish.

"Foods and Flavors of San Antonio" Black Bean Caviar:

2 15oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 10oz can diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
3 green onions, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
Tortilla Chips or crackers to serve

In a medium bowl, combine the black beans, tomatoes with green chiles, garlic, onion, olive oil, lime juice, salt and cumin. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Spread the softened cream cheese onto a serving platter. Spook the bean mixture evenly over the cream cheese.

Sprinkle the chopped green onions, tomatoes and cilantro over the top.

Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.

Serves 12.



I think this is a delicious twist on the traditional Texas Caviar that is typically served as a salad...this dip will be a perfect, slightly healthier twist on Super Bowl food than the typical Seven Layer Dip. I love the flavors in this and would like to try this as a salad, leaving out the cream cheese and adding a cup or so of sweet corn to the mix!

After putting this together I decided to try and maximize my time and whip up some flan for desert, for flan, I used my mothers recipe for Flan Napolitano, which you can find on her blog Texas To Mexico. I love custards and flan is no exception. Unfortunately because I've got to drive everything over to Jenn's house I did not want to flip the flan out of the pan before I left, therefor you'll only get photos of the flan in a pan....but it's a neat flan pan direct from Mexico (yea, I didn't know they made those until my parents moved down there).

Done, stuck the flan in the fridge and now off to make Chicken Empanadas, another tasty find in the "Foods and Flavors of San Antonio."











"Foods and Flavors of San Antonio" Chicken Empanadas:
1 15oz box refrigerated pie crusts, containing 2 11" rounds
1 cup water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, coarsely chopped
1 4oz package cream cheese
2 tbsp freshly chopped cilantro
4 tbsp salsa
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 medium egg, beaten
Additional salsa for serving

Remove the pie crust pouches from box. Let stand at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes.

Heat the water and bullion cube in a saucepan to boiling. Add the chicken. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for 10 minutes to poach. Remove the chicken to a plate and finely chop. Set aside.

Heat the cream cheese in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until melted.

Add the cilantro, salsa, cumin, salt and garlic powder. Stir until smooth.

Stir in the chicken and remove the pan from heat.

Unfold the pie crusts and remove the plastic film. Roll out slightly on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 3" rounds using a biscuit cutter. Reroll the pie crust scraps to make additional rounds.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Place about 2tsp of the chicken mixture in the center of each round. Brush the edges lightly with water. Pull one side of the dough over the filling to form a half circle. Pinch the edges to seal them or press them together with the tines of a fork.

Place the empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Brush lightly with the beaten egg. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve with salsa.

Serves 12

This was so easy and they were so tasty I will absolutely make these again...plus the look like something that took hours to make! The majority of my time was spent waiting on them to come out of the oven and I'm sure they'll be a Super Bowl Sunday hit!


My final recipe for the day (yea I feel like I'm on a roll posting yesterday's dinner today and these four items) is for a favorite twist on the margarita....ok, fair warning these are brutally strong, but man are they good!

Beer Margaritas

1 can limeade
1 12oz bottle Corona, or other light Mexican beer
Tequila, enough to fill the can of limeade
1 can Sprite, 7up, Mountain Dew or generic brand of these

Pull limeade directly from freezer, do not thaw, pour into pitcher. Pour beer and soda into pitcher as well. Fill limeade can with tequila and mix into pitcher. Enjoy!

Originally these were a joke from college for us, but frankly they are so good that my friends and I continue to make them and will for many more years I'm sure.

Just a quick word of thanks to Gloria Chadwick and her publishers for the advanced viewing copy of her cookbook, check out her blog Foods and Flavors of San Antonio for more delicious recipes and check out her upcoming cookbook! Enjoy Super Bowl Sunday!