A Dinner with DRY + Lemony Roasted Chicken Legs with Garlic and Rosemary

I did something fun and rad and I've been keeping it a secret! Picture this: a bunch of your favorite people, a sunny warm spring evening, twinkly candles, and vases full of colorful flowers. A record playing lightly in the background, a well-rounded cocktail in one hand, a crostini in the other, and an enormous cheese plate in front of you. This is basically the PERFECT evening for me. You guys, I am SO almost 30. And I love it.

Hatch Chile Rellenos

Some like it hot.

And some run to the kitchen to ice their flaming lips and cry like little babies and soak their burning hot hands/faces/mouths in olive oil and ice cream and butter and baking soda.

Guys… I’ll admit it, I’m not a major heat seeker. I mean, I’m a 2 star kinda gal. But really, these peppers were hot. Blazing, blistering, freakin’ hot.

So, everyone knows that Hatch Chiles from New Mexico are like, the bees knees, right? Well, when I saw that Whole Foods had fresh NM Hatch Chiles, I went a little crazy with excitement. I love a good (mild-to-medium) green chile. And Amanda’s boyfriend Pete’s family lives in NM and has a chile farm (ranch?) for crying out loud. With visions of chile rellenos dancing in my head, I tweeted Whole Foods to find out which store had the goods, then sent Amanda to pick up our loot.

Well, unknowingly, Amanda selected peppers from the HOT side of the bin… not the mild-to-medium side. So we made these super beautiful chile rellenos—stuffed peppers that even Pete’s peck-of-pepper-picking (er, growing) mom would be proud of—took a bite, and… holy effing hell. HOOOboy.

Oh. My. Bejeezus. those peppers were hot. I think only 2 in the whole batch were edible! Yowza! Amanda’s hands were on fire from peeling the peppers, my lips felt like they were melting off my face from ONE FREAKING BITE!

The two not-hots that made it into Amanda’s basket were actually really, really delicious. So, you should definitely make this recipe. Tasty green chile peppers wrapped around melty jack cheese, battered and fried up all golden… it’s a winner. But make sure you choose from the mild bin. Or have sour cream/ice/ice cream/fire extinguishers on hand.

Good luck.

Chile Rellenos

Adapted from this recipe 

There are a few steps involved, so be sure to read through the whole recipe before getting started!

10 large whole green chiles, with stems

1 lb jack cheese, cut into strips

1 cup flour                        

3/4 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder           

1/2 teaspoon salt                    

1 cup milk

2 eggs, slightly beaten

Oil for frying       

Optional for serving:

Cotija cheese

Sour cream

Red or green chile sauce     

First, you need to blister the peppers and remove the skin: Roast the peppers, either on the grill, under the broiler, or on a gas burner, turning occasionally, until blackened and blistered on all sides.

Put hot blistered peppers in a paper bag, and roll tightly to seal. Let the chiles steam until cool, about 15 minutes. Gently scrape away and discard the skins, slit the peppers open lengthwise on one side (below the stem), and gently remove the seeds.

While the peppers are steaming in the bag, prepare your batter: Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Stir in eggs and milk until smooth.

To assemble and cook: Heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy bottomed pan on medium-high heat. Fill peeled peppers with cheese strips, being careful not to rip pepper, and roll closed. Dip in batter. Fry, turning once, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Pesto Shrimp Quesadillas

So, you know that no-fish-and-cheese rule? The one that says not to mix fish and cheese? Well, it’s a thing. And sometimes I agree with it. I mean, fish is so fresh and light and…fishy. And from the sea. Well, from water. And cheese is heavy and creamy and rich, and from the land. From a cow. There are plenty of times where I would say absolutely no seafood and cheese together.

But I mean, rules are made to be broken. Right? Right. Case in point: smoked salmon and cream cheese. Classic combo. And how about clams on pizza? I’ve had that plenty of times, and ps. it’s awesome. Also, the good old fashioned tuna melt…ammiright!? These reasons, and many more, are why I’m perfectly comfortable sharing shrimp quesadillas with you.

Pesto shrimp quesadillas. Yep. Sweet little shrimpies, super herby homemade pesto, melty mozzarella, and salty crumbled cotija. Inside a crispy tortilla. If you ever doubted the shrimp + cheese combo, this will change your mind.

Also, did you know that you can throw pretty much anything in pesto? It’s not just basil and pine nuts anymore, my friends.  Parsley? Yes, please. Pumpkin Seeds? Do it. Garlic scapes? Yessiree. Carrot tops? Yep, throw those green carrot tops in there! Chocolate cake? Ok, now maybe we’ve gone too far. But maybe… ok, maybe not.

Pesto Shrimp Quesadillas

Tortillas

Peeled and deveined shrimp, cooked

Fresh mozzarella, grated

Fresh cotija, crumbled

Parsley & carrot top pesto (recipe below)

Oil for cooking

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add a drizzle of oil, and place the tortilla in the skillet. Flip a few times until the tortilla is warm (but not crispy) on both sides. Spread a thick layer of pesto all over the inside of the tortilla, sprinkle mozzarella on one side, top with shrimp, and top with cotija. Fold tortilla over, and cook on both sides until tortilla is crispy and cheese is melty.

Parsley & Carrot Top Pesto

Adapted loosely from this recipe

A little variety gives the pesto a fresh, less over-bearing flavor. And using garlic scapes definitely mellows out the garlic taste. If you can’t get your hands on scapes, I would recommend just starting out with one clove of garlic, see how you like it. Then add more if you really have some vampires to scare off.

3/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds, shelled and lightly toasted)

2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley (about 1 bunch)

2 cups carrot tops (from one large bunch of carrots)

4-5 large basil leaves

4-5 garlic scapes, chopped

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more to thin if necessary

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Juice from 1 lemon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Additional salt and pepper, to taste

Blend pepitas in a food processor until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth. Add more olive oil, salt, and pepper, as needed.

St. Paddy's Cheese Plate

When Amanda and I were little kids we always tried to find the end of the rainbow. We seriously hunted for it every time. I think we were actually more excited at the prospect of finding a leprechaun than we were about finding the pot of gold. There was one place on our property where we found some treasures once, goldish buttons or something. We always thought the rainbow would end there, it just seemed like a leprechaun habitat, and those treasures were definitely left behind by those tricky little green-clad men. Those guys were good though, sneaky little buggers. 

Do you need a last minute dish to take to a St. Paddy's dinner? Well, I'm here to help you class it up a bit this St. Patrick's day. No green beer for you, my friends! You'll be the one showing up to the party with a fancy schmancy salmon and cheese plate, even if you are just looking for something to nosh on before hitting up the pub crawl and downing pints of Guinness. 

Apparently the Irish are known for their smoked salmon. That's what Gourmet tells me. And I listen to pretty much everything Gourmet tells me. Except for the part about using cold-smoked salmon, like lox. Because I much prefer the hot-smoked variety. Especially with some creamy Irish cheese, rye bread toasts, peppery arugula (because it's green!), and sweet-tangy malt vinegar syrup. 

 

Irish Cheese Plate

What you'll need:

Irish cheese: Dubliner and an Irish Cheddar (mine had swirls of stout beer!)

Smoked salmon

Rye bread, thinly sliced and toasted

Malt vinegar syrup (recipe from Gourmet)

Arugula

What you'll do: 

Either arrange on a cheese place and let people build their own snacks, or pre-make little salmon crostinis. Pair with Guinness or some sort of Irish Whiskey drink. Follow with stout floats.

Ham & Cheese Waffles

It's March! And it looks like spring out there! I've learned not to pack up my sweaters too soon, though. We've had snow in May. But, I'm definitely excited for spring to hurry up and get here, I'm ready for asparagus! In other news, here are some things I've been digging lately. 

• La Roux! I may be late to this discovery, but I've become completely obsessed with La Roux and lead singer Elly Jackson! Their music is really far from my typical taste, but I'm loving it so much right now. I pretty much watched every video on You Tube. Watch this one. And this one.   
• Speaking of music, on a totally other different end of the spectrum, I saw my friend Kimber's band Della Mae perform at Wintergrass bluegrass festival last night. Those ladies are incredible! 
• My grocery store started carrying Midnight Moon moonshine! I bought the apple pie flavor and I loooove it! I really want the blackberry next!
• Did you guys read this article about the guy who found a baby in a train station, adopted the baby, and now, 10 or so years later, got the judge who did the adoption to do the marriage of him and his partner? Gah, it's incredible. I cried a little bit.
• Shutterbean's fig balsamic dressing. OMG. I've made it like three times in the last week. I also used it on a really tasty roasted chicken salad I'll share with you soon! 
• Have you ever shopped at Zulily? I have a friend who works there, and the other day she posted that they were having a TOMS sale. I bought two pairs. Plus a laptop sleeve. Plus a hat. 
• Along with everyone else on the internet, I'm in love with Jennifer Lawrence right now. But, I fell in a love a little bit before that, when I read this article.
• Amanda brought me this can o' maple syrup from her recent trip to Montreal. It's so good (and how cute is that can!?). Perfect for ham and cheese waffles!

Ham and Cheese Waffles

This is the perfect breakfast for someone who can't choose between savory and sweet breakfast. The salty ham and cheese goes so well with the tangy waffles (from the sour cream!) and sweet maple syrup. 

Serves 2 (makes 4 thin waffles)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large egg

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup diced ham

For serving:

Fried eggs

Warm or room temperature pure maple syrup

Combine flour through salt in a large bowl, and whisk together. In a glass measuring cup, combine the sour cream and water, and whisk until combine. Add to dry mixture, add egg, and stir until well blended. The batter will be a tad thicker than you may be used to for waffles. Gently fold in the cheese and ham. Preheat waffle maker, and add a fourth of the batter to the center, close, and cook until golden. Repeat until you have four crispy, cheesy waffles. Serve topped with syrup and fried egg. 

Summer Squash Toasties

When I moved into the dorms my freshman year of college, I felt a little lost. It wasn't so much the big city that intimidated me, it was the people. More specifically, the people I would be sharing intimate quarters with for the next year of my life. Growing up in a tiny, rural town, I had the same friends pretty much my entire life. Saw the same faces every day from preschool until high school graduation. I didn't really know how to start over and make new friends, and the thought of being forced into friendship with a group of strangers terrified me. 

I was placed in a 'cluster' (like a suite), so I had my roommate, plus 6 other cluster-mates. That first day after the awkward, nervous introductions, we all headed off to the freshman assembly. My roommate, Kristy, claimed she didn't have friends at UW either. That she was also a little fish in the big sea. I believed her… until every five seconds she ran into another friend from high school. By the time we got to the assembly, Kristy had an entourage that was basically the size of my high school graduating class, and I was left in the dust. Luckily, another girl from our cluster was also a small-town country girl, and was right there next to me in the wake of Kristy's posse. Vanessa (whom I fondly refer to on this blog as V, of pizza-party fame), quickly became one of my best friends, ever. Some of my favorite college and post-college memories are with V—skipping class to watch Blink 182 music video countdowns on VH1, partying it up (and meeting Roseanne Bar) in Vegas, watching countless hours of Sex & the City in her tiny bed in her tiny-scary basement bedroom in the house we shared, and rocking out to karaoke jams (either Bonnie Raitt or Gangsters Paradise). I love this girl. And this weekend, she's marrying an awesome, awesome guy. Not only does her fiancé, Ben, have an amazing kitchen and wine cellar (I die), but he's an absolute doll. 

So, now you're wondering how I'm going to tie this in with that tasty toasty there? Well, I'm not. V is getting married, and on a totally unrelated note, I love summer squash! People who hate summer squash are no friend of mine, I mean...seriously, what's not to like? I love it so much I want to marry it. Not really, but that would at least be a good tie in... right? No?

Oh well, I made some super delicious and simple summer squash toasties! 

Enjoy! 

Summer Squash Toasties

2  medium-sized summer squash (zucchini, yellow squash, etc), sliced in thin rounds

1 garlic clove, chopped

olive oil

pinch of cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

salt & pepper

4 slices of good hearty bread (like an artisan loaf)

Mayonnaise

1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese

Heat a large skillet over medium, and add a drizzle of olive oil (to coat bottom). Add cumin seeds, and heat a minute or so, until fragrant. Add squash, and cook for a few minutes, until just getting soft. Add garlic, ground cumin, a hearty sprinkle of salt, and pepper to taste (this is the part where you can sample a bite and see if it's seasoned enough). Cook a few minutes longer, until squash just cooked through and soft (but not soggy). Turn on broiler, and line bread up on baking sheet, toast for a minute or so on each side until juuuust starting to brown (watch closely to not burn or over toast). Spread each slice with a thin layer of mayonnaise, and distribute squash evenly amongst bread. Top with cheese, and put back under broiler until bubbly and melty. 

Everything Good

That's a pumpkin. It's stuffed with everything good. But before we get into that, are you ready for some heartbreaking news? Are you sitting down? Here it is...I bailed on Halloween.

Amanda and I are kinda legends in these parts when it comes to Halloween, and we both skipped it this year… much to the shock and dismay of everyone in Seattle. Ok, so maybe we're not that big of a deal, but for reals… we're really, really good at Halloween. We put together amazing costumes (not to brag or anything, but I mean, prizes have been won). We don't mess around with the store bought costumes or the slutty pandas.

No, we spend hours making our costumes...and the gnarlier, the better. Read: zombie 1950s housewife, roadkill, Bonnie & Clyde after getting shot up (with a cameo appearance by Evan), and the gal from The Birds after the bird attack. We also aim for total realism, because we're real serious about Halloween like that. Last year I was Mrs. Lovett (with meat pies), and I guess everyone hadn't seen Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, but everyone did say "let me guess… you're Helena Bonham Carter?" And Amanda was Edward Scissorhands. I don't mean she dressed like him… I mean, I think she really was him. She may have actually been JD's stunt double (and trust me, I know Johnny Depp, I was writing the man love letters in crayon on Lisa Frank stationary back in the Cry Baby days). She looked so much like him, that I almost had a crush on her that night. Is that weird to say? 

This year, however, we chose to skip it. This is my first weekend home since… August? And Amanda has grad school midterms coming up. We're exhausted. In our 20s, and no energy for the best holiday of the year. I'm tellin' ya, it's a fat shame. Instead of lazily pulling together half-assed costumes, we stayed in. When it comes to Halloween, we go big or we don't go at all. So this year, as swarms of inquiries about our costumes came in, we had to tell the disappointed masses "sorry, we're not doing Halloween this year." Rob Zombie himself may have shed a tear over the news. 

We ended up having our own Halloween party, and dressed up like couch potatoes (read: stayed in, cooked, watched a movie… and wore sweat pants). Costumery aside, we had a great night…with lots of pumpkin. We cooked a very unbalanced meal of really heavy pumpkin dishes, for just the two of us. Including something geniously named "Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good."

I like pumpkins, and I like "everything good" so it was a given that I would jump all over a recipe for Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good. How could you not fall head over heels for a dish with a name like that!? Oh man. Dorie Greenspan isn't lying… her pumpkin really is stuffed with everything good: bacon, cheese, bread, and cream. The filling bakes up like a gooey stuffing, and the pumpkin gets all soft and delicious, and practically melts into the filling. And it looks pretty impressive.

It's also fun, because you can adapt it any way you like. Want sausage instead of bacon? Do it. Have a hankering for sautéed mushrooms? Stuff 'em in there. Want to go sweet instead of savory? Get it, girl! Amanda and I even talked about goin' all southwest on our pumpkin, and using rice, ground beef, tomatoes, and peppers. Go wild, people! Stuff that pumpkin! 

Dorie's recipe can be found at Epicurious. But you should also buy her book… it's full of everything good—page after page of everything good.

Tummy Ache

Ugh. I woke up sick to my stomach this morning. And... I loathe the term ‘tummy ache’ when used by anyone over the age of five. It gives me said ache. When I was 17, too cool for school, and on a flight to Arizona with Mel and Amanda, I was terribly nauseated. Mel, loving mother that she is, asked the 20-something male flight attendant for extra crackers, because I had a ‘tummy ache.’ I. was. mortified. I’ve spent my teenage and adult life trying to convince people that I am, in fact, over the age of 12… a ‘tummy’ reference from my ‘mommy’ when I was a teenager totally derailed the train. Ever since then I cringe when I hear ‘tummy ache’. (Sorry Mel).

Which is too bad, because I have them regularly, and ‘tummy ache’ sounds way cuter and more charming and appropriate than ‘morning sickness.’ I’ve always been prone to morning sickness, long before that kind of morning sickness was even an option. Waking up nauseous has always been a standard occurrence in my world, often times for no particular reason at all. You probably wouldn’t peg a food lover such as myself for someone with a weak stomach, but I was always the kid that threw up at birthday parties from too much cake and sugar. My stomach is a wreck on vacations, I get nauseous and faint if I don’t eat regular meals, and sometimes I just get stomach aches from the silliest things, like taking vitamins.

This morning was one of those mornings. I was planning on telling you all about the delicious mussels and chicken sausage in tomato, basil, and garlic broth that I made for dinner last night, but after this morning, I don’t really want to think about shellfish for awhile. And don’t worry, it was by no means the seafood that made me sick… I can tell when it’s ‘just one of those mornings.’ Needless to say, I ended up working from home today, which gave me an opportunity to make one of my all-time favorite comforting childhood lunches. Ham and cheese quesadillas—easy on the stomach, quick, and delicious.

Quesadillas, whether simple or complex, are one of my favorite things ever. In college, I lived off of quesadillas—either with bbq sauce and black bean salsa or with a bowl of chili and sour cream. In high school, Amanda and I microwaved tortillas and American cheese for afterschool snacks. In elementary school on snow days, sick days, no-school days, and weekend days, Mel would pull out a cast iron skillet and make quesadillas on the stove top. We always got excited for the blackened charred bubbles on the tortillas, and the crispy edges where the cheese sizzled when it met the hot skillet…these were the ones that only Mel could make. And, when we were really good, we would get the special treat of ham and cheese ‘dillas.

And even now, there’s really nothing better than crisp but chewy tortillas, melted gooey cheddar cheese, and sweet, salty thin sliced deli ham… a sure fire cure for whatever ails ya… even tummy aches.

Ham and Cheese ‘Dillas
I don't think these 'dillas really require a recipe, but just in case...

2 flour tortillas (if you don’t have homemade, I like Guerrero brand)
5-6 slices cheddar cheese (maybe more, depending)
2 thin slices deli ham
Oil or cooking spray

Heat skillet to medium, and lightly coat with oil or spray. Lay one tortilla in skillet, and cover with a single layer of cheddar cheese and both slices of ham. Take remaining one or two slices of cheese, and break into small pieces and layer on top of ham—I don’t like it too cheesy, so this is essentially the glue that holds the ham to the second tortilla. Cook for a few minutes on each side (I like to brush the top half with oil or spray before flipping) until cheese is melted and tortilla is charred and bubbly, but not burnt.