A Day from Scratch

Concierge cooking - Tailored nutrition

Cheese Wafers

by Filed Under: Recipes, Snacks Leave a Comment

Do y’all get late afternoon snack cravings like I do? It seems like everyday around 3 or 4 o’clock I get a pang for a little snack. Some of my go-to snacks are popcorn, apple with peanut butter, yogurt and granola and now my new favorite…cheese wafers.

Adapted from Southern Living magazine we make these crackers for Fine Home Dining parties all the time. They are so delicious and super easy to make.

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I like to make my own chili powder and keep a batch in my pantry. It’s my go to seasoning so the next time I make a batch I’ll share the recipe with you all.

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Cracker dough is just as exciting as cookie dough, right?

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The only downside is that these aren’t quick crackers so come to the kitchen with some patience.

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But with great patience comes a very tasty and satisfying result.

Ingredients: makes 8 dozen

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 pound block sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (don’t use the bagged junk- it’s essential)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika

2 cups all purpose flour

Recipe:

If you have a stand mixer use that, but I used a hand mixer and it worked just as well. Start by beating the first 5 ingredients on medium speed until everything is incorporated well. Then gradually add the flour mixing well.

Chill dough for 2 hours. Then shape the dough into 2 (8 inch long) logs; wrap each in plastic wrap and chill for another 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut each log into 1/4-inch-thick slices; place on lined baking sheet (I used a silpat sheet but you can also use parchment paper.) Bake at 350° for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

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What’s your favorite thing to snack on?

Thai Chicken Burger and Kale Salad

by Filed Under: Poultry, Recipes 1 Comment

I LOVE a good burger, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I really love a burger salad. Is that weird? I like beef burgers in a spring salad, turkey burgers with caesar salad, veggie burgers in a taco salad. I never caught on to my burger quirk until now.

This weekend I had a hankering for a chicken burger, but instead of craving it on a burger bun with all the fixins, I wanted it on a version of this kale salad.

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I decided to go with some Thai flavorings for the burger because it adds a great savory component to the chicken.

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This burger is very versatile. It would taste great on its own or built up with a bun, cheese, dijon mustard, red onion, lettuce and tomato. Yum, I may even make that with the leftovers.

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Cooking these in a sauté pan is a great way to sear in some flavor, but they would be great on the grill too.

Ingredients: makes 4 burgers

1 lb ground chicken

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped

1 shallot, finely minced

1 teaspoon red chili flake

2 teaspoons fish sauce

2 tablespoon safflower or canola oil, for sautéing

Pinch S&P

Recipe:

In a mixing bowl, add the first 6 ingredients and mix together until incorporated evenly. Form into 4 burgers and hold on parchment paper.

Heat oil in pan over medium high heat. Rub each burger on both sides with a bit of the safflower oil and cook for about 8 minutes on the first side and another 5 minutes on the second, or until nicely browned.

Assemble with kale salad or the burger fixins of your choice.

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Happy eating!

Beef Tenderloin Wedge Salad

by Filed Under: Pork, Beef, Lamb, Recipes Leave a Comment

Happy May Day everyone! I cannot believe it is already May, where in the world is the time going?

My week has been pretty eventful so far this week. Yesterday I had the great opportunity to stage at a local Austin restaurant. Staging is an unpaid internship when a chef works briefly, for free, in another chef’s kitchen to learn and be exposed to new techniques and cuisines. I have staged in a few Austin kitchens and it really is such a fun experience.

Staging can lead to a pretty long day so when I got home last night, cooking something elaborate for dinner was definitely not a priority. Enter the wedge salad.

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I love throwing dinners like this together- some bacon, tomatoes, left over beef tenderloin and voila dinner is served!

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Ingredients

1/4 of full wedge salad

1/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved

2 strips bacon

2-4 oz beef tenderloin (you can also use chicken, or nothing at all)

2 Tbsp blue cheese dressing

Recipe

Wash your lettuce and tomatoes thoroughly. Cook up your bacon, let it rest on a paper towel and then crumble into bits. Assemble salad. Easy peasy!

IMG_2212Then demolish it all together and gobble it up- happy eating my friends!

Pecan Crusted Chicken with Goat Cheese and Lemon Pasta

by Filed Under: Pasta, Poultry, Recipes 3 Comments

Who doesn’t love crispy chicken and creamy pasta? I know I do! This pasta just screams Spring to me so, if you are looking for the perfect spring pasta and chicken dinner, look no further.

I’m definitely not the first to pecan crust chicken and I won’t be the last, but if you haven’t tried it I highly recommend it. IMG_2193

I like to sear the chicken breasts in a little bit of oil to brown the outsides and finish it off in the oven.

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Now let’s talk about this pasta… it is so creamy from the goat cheese but equally crisp from the lemon. I used peas and spinach as some added veg, but you could easily sub some asparagus or kale. Feel free to get inventive!

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Just don’t skimp on the goat cheese!

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Pecan Crusted Chicken, serves 4

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts

2 cups pecans, finely chopped

2 tsp finely chopped rosemary

2 tsp finely chopped thyme

S&P to taste

2 cups flour

3 eggs

Recipe:

First finely chop your pecans and herbs and combine well with a pinch of S&P. Then set up a breading station- one pan with flour, one pan with eggs whisked, one pan with the pecan crust. Start by dredging the chicken with flour, tap off any excess. Then coat with the egg mixture followed by pecan crust and set aside. (You can do this part ahead of time and keep the chicken wrapped in the fridge for a few hours)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat a pan with 2 tbsp oil. Sear each side of the chicken breast for about 3 minutes per side or until golden brown. Then on a baking sheet with a chicken rack bake the chicken for about 20 minutes.

As the chicken bakes get the pasta ready to go.

Goat Cheese and Lemon Pasta, serves 4

Ingredients:

14 oz bow tie pasta

2 cups peas (I used frozen)

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 Tbsp lemon zest

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp olive oil

8 oz goat cheese, crumbled

2 oz fresh spinach

S&P to taste

Recipe:

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water per directions, adding the peas at the last minute. Drain and return to the pan (reserve a little pasta water in case you need to thin out the sauce) Add the garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil and toss to coat. Add the goat cheese, spinach, salt and pepper and mix until combined well. At this point you can add a tablespoon of pasta water if needed.

Top with 1/2 pecan crusted chicken breast and enjoy.

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Happy eating!

Roasted Vegetable Tart

by Filed Under: Pizzas, Flatbreads, Savory tarts, Recipes, Vegetarian 1 Comment

This recipe my friends was a labor of love. I have a love/ hate relationship with baking. I love the end result (when it turns out sans mistakes) but the process is tricky for me because I am so comfortable cooking without measuring out ingredients. The plus side is that I have made this dough a few times and I’m happy to say I’ve got this one down.

The classic French dough, called Påte Brisée is perfect for a savory tart crust. It’s a little bit delicate but I promise this recipe will get you through.

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A key to making this recipe work is to start with very cold ingredients- cube up the butter and portion out your flour and let it sit in the fridge or freezer.

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Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour until the dough is firm.

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The end result yields a rich and buttery flavor and a crumbly texture.

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This may look pretty funny but doing the first bake with beans or pastry weights keeps the crust from burning but allows the edges to get beautifully golden.

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Once I hit this point it was smooth sailing- the crust was done and I was off to create the filling. Starting off with a basil pesto.

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I LOVE pesto! It is so versatile and you can make it with a basil base, a sun-dried tomato base, a ramp base… it’s just so great.

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Roasted veggies make my heart smile!

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Roasted veggies with pesto and goat cheese… my heart is smiling and doing a happy dance!

Påte Brisée

Ingredients: Makes 2 8in crusts

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice cold water

Recipe:

In the bowl of a food processor combine the flour and salt. Add the butter and pulse to combine until the mixture resembles course crumbles (about 10-30 seconds.) Then add the water, just until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Test the dough by squeezing it between your fingers; if it is still to crumbly, add a touch more water. Divide the dough into 2. Turn the dough out onto a countertop over some plastic wrap and fold together into a disk shape. Wrap in the plastic and keep in the fridge for at least an hour. You can also freeze for up to one month.

After an hour preheat the oven to 400 degrees and gently roll out the dough. Transfer to a pie tin. Line the inside with parchment paper and fill with beans or pie weights. Make sure the edges of the crust are visible so they bake. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until the crust is a light golden color.

Let sit on the counter and cool before removing from the tin.

Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh basil

2 Tbsp toasted slivered almonds

1 garlic clove

1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

S&P to taste

Recipe:

In a food processor add the ingredients and pulse to desired consistency. Easy enough, right?

Roasted Vegetables + Sautéed Spinach

Ingredients:

4 vine ripe tomatoes- deseeded and sliced

1 1/2 cup artichoke hearts, sliced in half

2 shallots, diced into chunks

3 cups spinach

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On a greased baking sheet lay out veggies and bake for 25-30 minutes.

At the same time heat a sauteed pan and with some olive oil sauté the spinach just to wilted.

Assembly time

First remove the cooled crust from the pie tin. Spread a layer of pesto at the base. Sprinkle about 3 tablespoons of goat cheese on top of the pesto. Layer roasted veggies and sautéed  spinach. Add more goat cheese if you are feeling rebellious and dive in!

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It may seem like a great deal of work, but the end result was so worth it!

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Happy eating!

Spaghetti Squash Bolognese

by Filed Under: Pork, Beef, Lamb, Recipes Leave a Comment

Happy Monday friends! How was your weekend?

My Sunday Funday was very similar to Frank’s Saturday from Old School “Actually pretty nice little Saturday. We’re going to Home Depot. Yeah buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed Bath and Beyond… I don’t know! I don’t know if we’ll have enough time!”

My roomie, Jenzy, and I had a busy day with home decor projects yesterday, ran a bunch of errands and got pretty much everything we need to finish getting our house together. When days like that come along I like to make a quick dinner that doesn’t require a lot of hands-on time. So I made some pasta sauce, and spaghetti squash and whipped up this Spaghetti Squash Bolognese.

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In the midst of hanging mirrors and paintings the spaghetti squash was baking up in the oven.

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I like to take a classic bolognese recipe and make it my own- so naturally I added some yummy spinach.

Recipe:

Start by getting your spaghetti squash going.

Then in a sauté pan over medium high heat, brown 1lb grass fed beef. Once all of the beef is browned drain out the excess fat. Add your pasta sauce and bring so a strong simmer, turn the heat down to low and let this cook together for about 30 minutes. Then add about 2 cups of spinach to the pan and let it wilt down.

Remove spaghetti squash from the oven and scrape out the “noodles.” Plate up your spaghetti and bolognese sauce, topped with a little parmesan cheese.

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Happy eating my friends!

Mahi Mahi with Corn and Blackberry Relish

by Filed Under: Recipes, Seafood Leave a Comment

One of my favorite things to do in my free time is to grab a new cookbook and read it cover to cover. It inspires me to be creative in the kitchen and drives me to be a better writer and photographer.

I adapted this corn relish from the Sprouted Kitchen cookbook, changing up a few things to make it my own. Sara and Hugh Forte from Sprouted Kitchen are extremely talented and their cookbook highlights a beautiful array of recipes and food photography. I highly recommend checking out their site and cookbook.

For my recipe I added blackberries and used a honey ginger balsamic vinegar. I also decided to serve it with some Mahi Mahi as dinner for my new roomie, Jenzy, and I.

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I love to use fresh seasonal vegetables as often as possible and springtime veggies like corn and asparagus are two of my superstars.

IMG_2122The sweet corn and tart blackberries were such a great pairing with this Mahi.

Ingredients: serves 2

2 ears of corn, kernels removed

1/2 jalapeño, deseeded and diced

1 cup fresh blackberries, halved

4 Tbsp olive oil (2 for relish and 2 for fish)

1 Tbsp rice vinegar (I used a specialty honey ginger balsamic, but red wine vinegar would be good too)

2 Mahi Mahi filets

Ground coriander

S&P to taste.

Recipe:

Start by shucking your corn. In a large mixing bowl slice the kernels off the cob. Add sliced blackberries and diced jalapeño into the bowl. Mix well with oil and vinegar and S&P to taste. This can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge until you are ready to use.

In a medium sautée pan heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Pat halibut filets with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and about 1/2 Tbsp ground coriander. The coriander will act as a little bit of a crust so make sure it is dispersed evenly. Place fish in the pan- skin side up and cook about 4 minutes. Flip fish and cook another 3-5 minutes.

Serve on top of the corn and blackberry relish.

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Happy eating!

Muchos Mangos

by Filed Under: Recipes, Seafood 3 Comments

Last night I had some friends over for a fun mango themed fiesta.

My friend Rachel works for Whole Foods (Hi Rach!) and recently turned me on to the Ataulfo mangos that are currently in season. I was so excited because luck would have it that last Friday they were on super sale so I scooped up 15 mangos and started planning my fun fiesta menu.

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Some fun facts about Ataulfo mangos: they are sweet, creamy in texture and free of stringy fibers. They are great for blending into drinks, sauces or desserts- perfect for a spring fiesta. They can be found throughout the year, but peak availability is from March to June when they are grown in Mexico.

For our mango fiesta we enjoyed mango margaritas, mango guacamole and salsa, tilapia fish tacos with mango salsa and rice pilaf. It was fun, it was tasty, it was mango filled!

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The Mangorita everyone! It was my first time making a mango margarita and I will say- a few of these are gonna get ya!

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Mango guacamole, salsa and my favorite fiesta chips- Julio’s.

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Fresh mango salsa for the tacos.

Mangorita:

About 3/4 cup silver tequila, juice of 1 lemon, 2 tbsp agave nectar, 4 cups fresh mango- peeled, and ice.

In a blender add your tequila, 1/2 mango serving, agave, and lemon. Blend a bit to puree the mango then add about 1 cup of ice. Add more mango and more ice until it is the consistency you like.

Mango Guacamole:

2-3 Medium sized avocado, 1/2 fresh jalapeño- deseeded and chopped, 2 scallions-minced, 1 tbsp chile powder, 3 tbsp cilantro chopped, 1 cup peeled and diced fresh mango, and juice of about 4 limes, 4 tbsp (I fresh squeezed limes, but you could also get some lime juice from whole foods to use)

In a mixing bowl add diced jalapeño, scallions, and mango.

In a separate bowl add lime juice, then dice avocado into the bowl- tossing in juice as you go. (tip: be generous with the lime juice to prevent the avocados from browning- you really can’t add too much.) Lightly mash the avocado leaving a few small chunks, then fold in your other bowl of ingredients. Season with salt, cilantro and chile powder and serve with some tortilla chips.

Mango Salsa:

I-2 cups mango- chopped, 2 tbsp diced red onion, 1/2 fresh jalapeño- deseeded and chopped, 2 tbsp cilantro chopped, juice of 1 fresh lime (1-2 tbsp)

Mix together all ingredients in a bowl and hold in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Rice Pilaf:

2 tbsp butter, 1 cup orzo, 1/2 cup diced onion, 2 cloves garlic minced, 2 cups chicken broth (or water)

Melt the butter in a pot over medium-low heat. Stir in orzo pasta until golden brown. Stir in onion and cook until onion becomes translucent, then add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Mix in the chicken broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

Tilapia Fish Tacos:

1 lb tilapia fish filets (about 1 filet for each person) 1/2 cup flour, 6 tbsp fresh sliced kale, 2 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp chile powder, 3 tbsp safflower oil, corn tortillas.

In a shallow dish add the flower, salt and chile powder. Dip tilapia filets in the flour lightly coating all sides. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat and add fish. Cook fish about 3 minutes on each side or until outside is lightly brown and fish is flaky. Heat corn tortillas for 20 seconds in the microwave or wrapped in foil in the oven. Fill each tortilla with rice, 2 to 3 strips of tilapia, mango salsa and kale.

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It was so fun having friends over for a mango filled fiesta! I hope you have fun making some or all of these recipes for your own mango filled party.

Happy eating!

Sweet Potato, Black Bean & Kale Bowl

by Filed Under: Recipes, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

Have you jumped on the kale train? I LOVE kale! I add it to smoothies, bake it like chips, use it in salads and today I used it as the base for this healthy lunch bowl.

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I love the sweet potato in this dish, but I think butternut squash would be great too.

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My secret ingredient for this bowl is the Ras El Hanout seasoning.

Ras El Hanout is an aromatic Moroccan spice blend. Most recipes include cardamom, nutmeg, anise, mace, cinnamon, ginger, pepper and turmeric, and up to 30 or more ingredients could be used. We made a batch in culinary school and since then I have kept some on hand in my pantry.

Ingredients: makes 1 bowl

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

1/2 can black beans

2 hearty handfuls kale, torn into bite-size pieces

1/2 lime

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp ras el hanout

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel and dice the sweet potato into pieces about 1 inch big. On a greased sheet pan coat the sweet potato in olive oil, S&P and bake for about 45 minutes.

After the potatoes have been in the oven for about 40 minutes place a large sauté pan over medium high heat and drizzle with olive oil.

Add black beans and add the ras el hanout seasoning. Let this mix for about 1 minute. Add kale, season with salt and pepper and let it cook for 2-3 minutes as the kale wilts (If it’s feeling a bit too dry at this point, drizzle a little more olive oil.) Cook for another minute or so until kale is cooked to your liking. Once the sweet potato is done add it to the pan to mix together.

Drizzle with lime and serve. You could also wrap it up in a tortilla or put it on top of some rice or quinoa, and it’s great on it’s own too.

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Enchilada Bake

by Filed Under: Pork, Beef, Lamb, Recipes 1 Comment

Even though Cinco de Mayo is just over a month away- I embrace Mexican food as a regular staple in my repertoire. However, I don’t usually cook it at home since I live in Texas where some of the best (in my opinion) Mexican food is made. So I usually treat myself to a Mexican restaurant when the craving strikes… and a crisp margarita.

Last night I set out to make some beef enchiladas, but after my corn tortillas cracked as I was rolling them up I had to change my approach. Yes, even classically trained chefs make mistakes in the kitchen. I have to admit though- I was more excited about what came as a result. I’d like to call this dish the enchilada lasagna, but that doesn’t sound very appetizing to me for some reason so we’ll just go with an enchilada bake.

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Sticking to my “from scratch” nature I even made my own enchilada sauce. I was a little skeptical because let’s be honest- dumping a can is super quick and efficient, but this homemade version was simple and so worth it.

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I also added some diced zucchini to my grass fed beef.

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Layering it up like lasagna starting with sauce, tortilla, sauce, meat, cheese, and repeat it came together in a snap. This may be my favorite result from a kitchen mistake yet.

Ingredients: 

For sauce: 

1/4 cup safflower oil (you can also use vegetable or canola)
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the bake:

1 pound lean ground beef (I used grass fed beef)
1 1/2 cups diced onion
1 1/2 cups diced zucchini
About 6-8 corn tortillas
2 1/2 cups homemade enchilada sauce
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Serve with: avocado, cilantro, sour cream or whatever else your tummy desires

Recipe:

For sauce:

Heat oil in a large skillet to medium heat. Start to whisk in flour and chili powder. Then reduce heat to medium and continue to whisk until lightly browned. Gradually whisk in tomato sauce, chicken broth, cumin, garlic salt, onion powder and salt. Stir it up until smooth, and continue simmering over medium heat about 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

For the bake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×6-inch pan with nonstick spray.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add ground beef; break apart with a spoon or spatula to crumble the meat. Sauté the meat on medium heat until browned (about 5 minutes). Tilt the pan and drain out the excess fat from the pan, then remove cooked meat to a bowl.

Return pan to medium heat and add onion and zucchini. Saute until just softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the pan and add to the meat mixture; set aside.

Add 1/2 cup of sauce to the sprayed pan. Spread it around so it coats the entire bottom of the pan. Then we start to layer. Add tortillas to cover the bottom of the pan, add more sauce, top with the meat mixture, add cheese. Repeat with sauce, tortilla, sauce, meat and cheese.

Cover the pan with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and take off the foil. Sprinkle a little more cheese on top; return to the oven and let the cheese melt (about 5 minutes)

Serve immediately with desired condiments.

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Have you ever made a mistake in the kitchen that turned into something better than expected?

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Happy eating!