A New Chef in the Kitchen: Sausage Stuffed Jalapeños

My brother-in-law has been in my life for over half of it. He and my sister have been together for that long, and thinking about that statistic is wonderful, but it also reminds me of how old I am! He’s never been one to join in on the cooking marathons my mom, sister, and I have together, although he’s dabbled in some adventurous cooking, like brewing his own beer and making bacon.

When we gathered last weekend for my mom’s birthday, he showed up with his own contribution to our spread. He made stuffed jalapeños for the first time. While I couldn’t try them myself, the entire batch was devoured by three adults before dinner was ready. He didn’t have any parmesan cheese, and substituted with cheddar (his favorite cheese) instead. I think that I could try making these myself by substituting some sautéed veggies for the sausage. I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next time!

I would like to give a shout out to my friend, Sunny. She and her twins have made it to 37 weeks - full term - with the past couple months spent on bed rest. She is a total rock star, and her mom is an angel for flying across the country to spend the past couple months with her, looking after her 2-year-old son.

Sausage Stuffed Jalapeños
(From AllRecipes)
Ingredients
1 pound ground pork sausage
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (Kate's brother-in-law used cheddar cheese)
1 pound large fresh jalapeño peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 (8 ounce) bottle Ranch dressing (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F.

Place sausage in a skillet over medium heat, and cook until evenly brown. Drain grease.
In a bowl, mix the sausage, cream cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Spoon about 1 tablespoon sausage mixture into each jalapeño half. Arrange stuffed halves in baking dishes.

Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve with Ranch dressing, if desired.

Everything But The Kitchen Sink: Honey Barbecued Salmon

I’m in the middle of another busy week and am still recovering from my baking mishap last week. While my newest batch of chocolate crunch granola bakes in the oven, I’m going to take a few minutes to type up a lengthy recipe that I tried a few weeks ago.

The Main Street Ventures restaurants have their own cookbook on display in a number of restaurants we’ve been frequenting for many years. It is a collection of gourmet recipes from their prized restaurants across the country. I’ve been eyeing the cookbook for quite sometime, but for some reason I never purchased it.

In December my husband and I joined our very good friends (and their darling baby girl) for a fabulous birthday dinner where they generously gave me this cookbook (along and a lovely bottle of wine). Some of our favorite dishes from the restaurants are in this cookbook, and the photographs of the food are beautiful. I’ve already attempted a couple recipes from the book, and the first one that I tried was their Honey Barbecued Salmon.

The ingredient list is lengthy and the recipe has you throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the barbecue sauce. At first it seems like overkill, but all of these ingredients meld into a deliciously sweet and spicy glaze. Mine was particularly spicy, as I used the entire jalapeño. (I recommend only using the jalapeño flesh and discarding the membrane and seeds if you don’t want it too spicy. If you are sensitive to hot peppers, you should also use rubber gloves when handling them). Since it is the middle of winter and our ground outside is still white, I followed their instructions to bake then broil the salmon. As soon as it warms up we’re going to try this on the grill! If you don’t like salmon, try the sauce with with chicken!

Honey Barbecued Salmon
(From Mainstreet Ventures Distinctive Recipes)
For Salmon:
Ingredients
1 ½ lb. Salmon filet, boneless and skinless
1 ½ cup Honey Barbeque Sauce (recipe follows)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 450°F.

Cut salmon filet into 4 equal pieces. Place parchment paper on a 9x12 inch baking sheet pan. Brush both sides of each salmon piece with barbecue sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for 6 minutes, then switch oven dial to broil and cook salmon for 3 more minutes until salmon just flakes.

Brush lightly with sauce prior to serving. Transfer the salmon onto plates and serve with more sauce, if desire.

For Honey Barbecue Sauce:
Ingredients
1 cup ketchup
1 cup honey
¼ cup coarse-grained mustard
¼ cup Jalapeño pepper, minced
2/ Tbs. rice vinegar
½ tsp. Tabasco
3 Tbs. light brown sugar
1 Tbs. curry powder
1 tsp. sweet paprika
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. ground black pepper

Directions
In a heavy saucepan, stir together sauce and dry ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve. Sauce will keep for one week covered and chilled.

Check Out Quinoa: Quinoa with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

We had a great weekend hosting our cousins who were in town for a post-holiday visit. These newlyweds were unable to make it for Christmas, as the snowy roads weren’t safe for them to drive here. But they had a whirlwind weekend trying to stop by and visit with every family member who was available. We were lucky enough to have them overnight, which meant we went out for a great Creole dinner on Saturday (followed by some live Irish music at a nearby pub), and had a homemade brunch on Sunday morning.

My sister and her family joined us for brunch and I made one of our cousins’ favorites, and my mom provided some pumpkin bread for us to serve them. While the men tinkered outside with an unfortunate flat tire, the women sipped mimosas inside and looked after the kids. (My nephew is always entertained at his “Auntie” and “Unc”’s house with our one and only "toy", the “Big Red Ball”.)

Prior to our guests arriving on Saturday, I spent the day stocking up on the necessary groceries. While in the checkout line at Trader Joe’s (home of ever-friendly employees), my cashier commented on the quinoa I was buying like it was being discontinued in bulk. She mentioned that she liked quinoa but didn’t know what to do with it. I started rattling off several recipe ideas, and as her eyes widened, I tore off some paper from my grocery list, and scribbled down the URL for my blog. This is one of the recipes I mentioned to her, and while I made it a week ago, in the event that she is joining us here online looking for ways to use her quinoa, I must deliver!

I love tomatoes (in any form) and quinoa. I recently did a search for some ideas of how to incorporate sun-dried tomatoes, and found a recipe which I then slightly adapted. This is delicious, and also has a spicy kick! (You could avoid the spice by substituting the Jalapeño with a green bell pepper, and omitting the cayenne.)

Quinoa with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
(Adapted from Lisa's Kitchen)
Ingredients
1 cup of quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 cups low sodium vegetable stock
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 large Jalapeño pepper, chopped
1 cup of corn
½ teaspoon of ground cumin
½ teaspoon of ground coriander
½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon of kosher salt
¼ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Directions
Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. When hot, add the shallots and garlic and sauté for a few minutes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and Jalapeño to the pot, and stir cook for 4-5 minutes.

Add spices, corn, quinoa, and vegetable sock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

Add parsley and Parmigiano Reggiano, stir, and serve.

California Dreamin': Kate's Chunky Guacamole

Our friend, Trent, posted a comment the other day saying that my blog reminded him of the fresh produce we’re able to enjoy in this geographic region during this time of the year. (He’s currently living abroad, and has been for quite some time now.) I think that one of the interesting things about being in other cities is not only seeing what different kinds of cuisines people enjoy, but also what local produce they have access to. This can create a little jealousy, while also making you grateful for what you have.


Whenever possible, I enjoy visiting farmers’ markets in other cities. California, in particular. I am still so amazed that they can walk to the market and purchase fresh lemons, limes, oranges, and avocados that are straight from the farm (that haven’t rolled around in the back of a truck for a week). When I was talking with a colleague about this, he informed me that when he lived in Miami, he had an avocado tree in his backyard. He had so many avocados he didn’t know what to do with them! (If he had shipped them up here, he would have made a lot money!)

Being that they aren’t grown locally, avocados can be a little pricey in these parts, but they are oh, so worth it! I love putting avocados on a sandwich, a salad, and making everyone’s favorite dip – guacamole!

I have spent several years experimenting, and fine-tuning my recipe. We’ve eaten at several restaurants where the guacamole is delicious (Lime in Denver, Dos Caminos in NYC), however my husband and I think that my version holds up to those quite well. (And ordering tableside guacamole is always interesting because you can actually see what they are putting in to the dip!) What’s fun about guacamole is that you can add or omit ingredients based on your own taste buds. If I’m serving to a crowd at a party, I go easy on the garlic. If children are going to be trying it, I omit the jalapeño.

Kate’s Chunky Guacamole
Ingredients
4 Ripe Haas avocados
1 Roma tomato, diced
1 Garlic clove, minced (optional)
¼ Cup Onion, diced
¼ Cup Cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 Lime, juice and zest
½ tsp. chili powder
1 Jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp. kosher or sea salt

Directions
Zest lime, set aside, and juice lime.

Cut the avocados in 1/2, remove the pits, and scoop the flesh out of their shells into a large bowl. Pour lime juice over avocados. Using a potato masher, mash the avocados with the lime juice, chili powder, garlic powder, pepper, and salt, leaving them partially chunky. With a spoon or spatula, fold in tomato, onion, minced garlic, jalapeño, lime zest, and cilantro. Serve immediately, or press a piece of plastic warp down on guacamole and refrigerate until serving.

Serve with tortilla chips, or to accompany an entrée.