Jambalaya it's what's for dinner!

On Sunday, before grocery shopping I sat down and came up with a meal plan...somewhere between that moment and Monday trying to figure out what I said I was going to make for dinner I lost the meal plan. On top of that I completely drew a blank, the only meal I could remember from the meal plan is this recipe because I marked it in "The Food You Crave" cookbook by Ellie Krieger as I was searching for "healthy" meals for the week. I had all the ingredients on hand except for two, a can of tomatoes and ham. Thus Monday night became Jambalaya night.  This recipe was super quick to make, I was finished in under an hour and I made some side veggies to go with the jambalaya.  

As I stated, I had all the ingredients on hand except for the cookbook recipe called for one 14.5 can of no salt added diced tomatoes, which I bought but forgot to add when cooking, therefore I omitted from my ingredient list, it was very tasty without but feel free to add if you like tomatoes.  Also I had to buy ham.  I went ahead and bought a small ham so that I could make this dish plus grind some up for ham salad, and I still have some left over!  Anyone have any ham ideas?  I am thinking of incorporating it into some sort of breakfast dish. Maybe a quiche. 

One other major change from cookbook version to mine, Ellie does not recommend using brown rice for this dish, she said it wasn't worth it that you should use a long grain white rice.  Which I understand would make it more authentic. But the husband and myself both agreed my version was excellent.  He didn't even realize it was whole grain brown rice until I told him.  I could tell the difference, maybe because I knew, but I still thought it made the dish very good.  I guess we will have to try it another time with white rice to compare.  But we were both surprised at how good this tasted.  I had to show my  husband the cookbook recipe because he couldn't believe this recipe came from a healthy living cookbook.

This recipe is another reason why I advocate always having chicken stock or other stocks on hand. It makes it so easy for to have go to recipes like this one.

Give this recipe a try or the original recipe from Ellie Krieger. Very tasty and easy which are two great things on a Monday evening!!

Link to Jambalaya Recipe

Richard’s Birthday Lamb

One of my husband’s favorite foods is lamb.  Anytime we are at a restaurant that has a rack of lamb preparation he is ordering it and enjoying every moment of devouring them.  This year for his birthday I wanted to make him something special for dinner since he did not want to go out for the occasion.  I instantly thought of “Rack of Lamb” then I laughed at myself so hard I nearly fell off my chair.  Seriously, the  notion that I could prepare a rack of lamb was absurd to me.

So I thought it was so funny that I thought this that surely my husband would also find it funny so I shared my thought with him.  Before I could get to the punch line he cut me off and said “you would do that for me”.  Seriously, seriously, SERIOUSLY how can you say “Bahahaha I was just kidding, there is no way I am touching a rack of lamb with a 5 foot pole” now?  So the natural response was “yes of course, I can’t wait to give this a whirl”.

Thus began my journey into the culinary preparation of lamb.  Once entering I have now vowed never to go back.

Now I need a recipe.  I tried shouting out to twitter and foodbuzz for some ideas but no luck.  Additionally I did some internet searching of recipes but it wasn’t until I sat down when my new FABULOUS copy of Fiesta at Rick’s by Chef Rick Bayless that I received from entering a twitter recipe contest  that I found the lamb recipe I would tackle for this special occasion.

Grilled Rack of Lamb with Honey Pasilla Glaze

Don’t have a copy of Fiesta at Rick’s, you should pick one up, it is that good.  (Planning to write up my thoughts on it when I finish reading the book – yes I am reading a cookbook cover to cover – first time for me to do this and I couldn’t have picked a better read.)  But if you don’t have a copy the recipe is available at Rick Bayless’ website:  http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/view?recipeID=14

I won’t type up the recipe here because I  produced the lamb exactly as the recipe calls for it to be prepared.  Only two modifications, I sprinkled the rack with a little brown sugar before grilling and this was because of the second thing that was modified which was the rack marinated over night.  NOT BY CHOICE.  But because the electricity in our subdivision decided to go out for just long enough that we gave up on preparing dinner at home and ended up have a birthday dinner of La Madeline.  I know…uber lame.  Sometimes potato soup just makes everything better.  But I digress, I added the brown sugar because I was afraid the chilies might have become too strong overnight in the marinade so I thought the brown sugar might tame it a little…don’t know why…just did.  Additionally in the end we cut the lamb and seared it on all edges, I know a big no no for all you rare, medium rare, extra bloody lovers out there, I just really like things cooked so Richard did this for me in order to encourage me to try some.

Honestly, the ingredients I thought were pretty weird…truly I spent the whole time the lamb was being grilled apologizing for the dinner the husband was getting for his birthday.

But Chef Bayless you haven’t failed me yet.  This recipe is EXTRODINARY.  I don’t care for lamb, Richard has made me try his at restaurants several times so I took a “courtesy” chop to try.  Amazing, I am big fan of lamb now.  Richard literally said he couldn’t imagine ordering lamb in a restaurant again after having these, that nothing will ever top them.  I was so happy.  Richard gave me a truly amazing birthday this year and I wanted to return the gesture and thanks to this recipe I feel I did.

So, for all you lamb naysayers, try this recipe.  I know lamb can be a little pricey but it is well worth it, so give it a try.

Let me know if you need any suggestions on finding ingredients, we did so pretty easily at Central Market in Austin but I bet a Whole Foods or any terrific grocer would have them all.

Mexican Grilled Corn

This recipe is super simple, and takes corn to a whole new level.  

On a family farm earlier this summer there was corn growing, before they came to harvest the corn we enjoyed some on the grill.  This corn was a field corn or "horse" corn that is raised to feed to animals. Not the typical sweet corn you find at the grocer.  

The below recipe is especially good with "field or horse" corn because those ears can be very bland and tasteless although most super markets sell "sweet corn" you sometimes come across this bland corn mixed in there additionally sometimes they have this bland corn at a cheaper price.  This is a great way to dress up that corn and give it flavor.

Mexican-Style Grilled Corn

INGREDIENTS

Vegetable oil for cooking grate

1/3 cup Mexican Crema

3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves

1 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 teaspoons juice from 1 lime

1 ounce queso fresco , crumbled (about 1/2 cup)

4 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

6 large ears corn , husks and silk removed

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Get your grill started and heat grate until hot, about 5 minutes; scrape grate clean with grill brush. Dip wad of paper towels in vegetable oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe cooking grate.

2. While grill is heating, combine crema, cilantro, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder, black pepper, cayenne (if using), lime juice, and cheese in large bowl; set aside. In second large bowl, combine oil, salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon chili powder; add corn and toss until coated evenly.

3. Grill corn over coals, turning occasionally, until lightly charred on all sides, 7 to 12 minutes total. Remove from grill and place in bowl with crema mixture; toss to coat evenly. Serve immediately.

Serves 6 

Recipe adapted from America's Test Kitchen

Notes from preparation:

Substitutions: The original recipe calls for a combination of Mayo and Sour Cream, I substitute these with Mexican Crema.  Additionally the original recipe uses Pecorino Romano cheese of which I substituted Queso Fresco.  You can use your favorite cheese here, we find the queso fresco to be very mild and thus taking the seasoning flavors well.

Creamy Taco Mac thanks to Delish

No, this is not a picture of our dinner...these are some the flowers from the wedding of @delishfood.

Her bridal bouquet was beautiful, personally I am not a big fan of pink, but I loved everything we got to work with for her wedding.  It came together so well and smelled amazing.

Additionally I thought the bridesmaids' bouquets complimented nicely.  There are amazing shots from her wedding, personally one of my favorites as far as wedding photography and capturing all the "moments" but I felt I would just tease with some floral since it was her wedding.  But again beautiful!

So why are flowers on this post relating to food?  As I thought about writing up this post and how excited I was to be in contact with the very talented @delishfood again, it made me want to look at her wedding flowers again.  Then I thought I should share them with the world.  If you want details of what flowers were used go here: 

Onto what my husband referred to as "the BEST Monday night dinner in a long time" Creamy Taco Mac.

This recipe was so yummy, I now understand why @delishfood refers to it as one of her favorites. Although I want to apologize to her because I feel like I butchered the recipe when I went to make it because the ingredients I thought I had, I did not.  On the plus size, the recipe takes a beating well!  IT was so good, all I heard from the dinner tables were mmmms and yumms.  I was very excited because when she refers to it as her version of "hamburger helper" I was a little worried that my diners were going to think I just threw something together.  It was the opposite though.  This recipe is SUPER simple to make and my husband thought I spent a lot time and effort to make dinner.  What could be better than that?  I was being praised all night long!

Here is the amazing recipe thanks to @delishfood

Creamy Taco Mac

1.25 lbs ground turkey
8 oz dry pasta + 1 cup reserved pasta water
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes
4 Tbsp mild taco seasoning
3 oz cream cheese *
1/2 cup sour cream *
salt & pepper
cheddar cheese (optional)

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta per directions. Reserve one cup of pasta water.

Over medium heat, brown ground turkey until no longer pink. Add taco seasoning and diced tomatoes. Allow to simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Add cooked pasta, reserved water, cream cheese and sour cream. Give it a good stir until cheeses are melty and incorporated.  Simmer over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt & pepper, as desired. Top off with cheddar cheese for extra cheesy goodness.

Source: Delish  Creamy Taco Mac

Now here is my adaption:

Creamy Taco Mac

1.25 lbs Ground Turkey

8oz Dry Pasta + 1 cup Reserved Pasta Water*

14.5 oz Fresh Tomatoes Diced

4 Tbsp Mild Taco Seasoning

7 oz Mexican Crema

Salt & Pepper

Cheddar Cheese

Cilantro

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta per directions. Reserve one cup of pasta water.

Over medium heat, brown ground turkey until no longer pink. Add taco seasoning and diced tomatoes. Allow to simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Add cooked pasta, crema, and reserved water. Give it a good stir until crema is incorporated.  Simmer over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt & pepper, as desired. Top off with cheddar cheese for extra cheesy goodness.

*Since Mexican Crema is thinner then the sour cream/cream cheese combo in the original recipe, I would add the pasta water until you have your desired creaminess.

Source: Adapted from Delish

Looking at the picture makes me want to attack the leftovers!

Here was our dinner plate:

Notes:  

I think the Mexican Crema worked well, I added to much pasta water and it became running.  I think using Crema instead of sour cream with Cream Cheese would also be tasty.  Basically I did not have Cream Cheese like I thought I did, but I had Crema left over from the Enchiladas I made so I thought why not?  Additionally, I used the random sampling of leftover dry pasta I have, it was perfect and fun! Finally my last change were the tomatoes, I did not have a big enough jar of diced tomatoes so I used the tomatoes from our garden, which I can't believe we are still getting tomatoes.

Okay, my apologizes again for butchering your recipe, but it was so good still.  I can't wait to try it the way it is suppose to be! 

I won!

Let me just say, I NEVER win ANYTHING...ever.  I am the person when scratch off tickets are given as Christmas gifts ends up with the penny as a consolation prize.  So yes, I am overly excited about this but I can't help it....I think it is so freaking cool! 

I won the @Rick_Bayless Twitter Recipe Challenge for week 2....I am getting a personalized copy of his new cookbook Fiesta at Rick's

You can see my Enchiladas posted on the Rick Bayless Blog (6th picture down).  

Additionally you can see my blog post about making the Enchiladas Here.

There was also a blog about buying the ingredients Here. 

Thanks for all your kind words on twitter, etc... I am very excited to get cooking with the new cookbook!