Recipes

Spanish Spice-Rubbed Steak with Steak Sauce

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

Today is my husband’s birthday and in his honor I feel compelled to share a steak recipe! This particular one is from his favorite chef, Bobby Flay, and a dish that he prepared. It was quite delicious! We did have to take some liberty with the ingredients due to availability and cooking method due to weather.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Honestly, I almost didn’t blog this recipe. I’m simply not happy with the photographs. (I didn’t even take the time to edit them, there’s simply no hope for them.) Even as I’m typing this I’m second guessing my decision to continue with the post! I think we’ll just have to make it again and update the photos…. oh darn!

Spanish Spice-Rubbed Steak

Ingredients:

  • 3 tbsp paprika
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp ground mustard
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 4 (12 oz) steaks (boneless rib-eye, NY strip, or filet mignon)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Steps:

  1. Make rub: combine paprika, cumin, mustard, S+P.
  2. Bring steaks to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
  3. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
  4. Brush steaks with oil. Season liberally with the spice rub. Cook 5 minutes on each side, or until desired done-ness is reached.
  5. Allow steaks to rest 5 minutes before serving with steak sauce (recipe below).

Steak Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1/4 C red wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp horseradish
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp molasses
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Steps:

  1. Turn on broiler. Brush bell pepper with a little bit of vegetable or canola oil. Place under broiler until charred, rotating to get all sides. Place pepper in a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 15 minutes. Peel the skin, remove the seeds, and rough chop.
  2. Place peppers and remaining ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth. Season to taste with S+P. If too thick, add up to a tablespoon of water. Serve at room temperature.

*These recipes are modified from Bobby Flay’s Grill It!*

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Updated November 2017: This blog post was recently linked to Fuss Free Flavours blog post Quick and Easy Stilton Steak Sauce. I was then reminded of the horrendous photograph shown above. It did bring a laugh though as I told my husband the story and asked if he remembered those photos taken in Ohio at night in the winter. Surprisingly, he did! Immediately, this recipe returned to our menu and I’m so glad it did. The steak sauce doesn’t taste like bell pepper, for which I’m thankful, and it doesn’t taste like horseradish, for which my husband is thankful. It is a perfectly balanced steak sauce that pairs nicely with the smokey Spanish spice rub. Without further ado, here is an improved photograph of a steak dinner.

Spanish-Spice Rubbed Steak with Steak Sauce | Sew You Think You Can Cook

 

#FoodieExtravaganza: Croissants

~ lk529 ~ 22 Comments

foodieextravaganza-300

January 30th is National Croissant day and that’s what the #FoodieExtravaganza crew is celebrating today! This month’s host is Kathleen from Fearlessly Creative Mammas.

I wasn’t going to participate this month due to holiday travels but then there was a sign from the cooking gods that I was indeed intended to party with the foodie crew.

For Christmas my brother gave my husband Bobby Flay’s newest cookbook, Brunch at Bobby’s. We have already made three recipes from this book, if you love breakfast as much as we do I couldn’t recommend adding this one to your collection enough!

Last week as I was getting ready to prepare a jalapeno pesto, my husband flipped open the book to Almond Croissant French Toast. He ogled at the photos and I decided that I (well, actually, my husband ended up being the chef while I kept a hungry 2 month old content) could easily whip up that brunch on Sunday giving me plenty of time to type up this blog post and edit the photos. All I had to do was buy 4 large croissants. An errand that acted as a win-win. I took the boys out of the house and traveled to a market with a wonderful bakery 30 minutes from the house, allowing my husband some peace and quite to work on his thesis.

Funny story, too! I spent more time in the parking lot than I did inside the market. Both boys had fallen asleep on the drive and because I was trying to keep them out of the house I decided to fuel my Candy Crush addiction while I waited for Firecracker to wake up. (Treat would remain in his car seat so that wasn’t a limiting factor.) Upon returning to the car with our purchases Treat was hungry. When I need to nurse while out and about I allow Firecracker to “drive.” He just LOVES being in the front seat turning the steering wheel and pushing all of the buttons. He was climbing up into the driver’s seat as I was climbing into the back to retrieve Treat from the car seat while an older gentleman was walking by. He gave some funny looks and I got a laugh out of it. When he returned to his vehicle I was up in the passenger seat nursing Treat and Firecracker was happily standing in the driver’s seat doing his thing. The confusion on the gentleman’s face amused me greatly. (He probably thought I was another kid left in a vehicle; he probably couldn’t see the 2 month old.) He sat in his car a while on his phone and I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if the cops arrived having received a report of unattended children in a vehicle.

This French Toast makes for a decadent brunch! One croissant and some fresh fruit is plenty to satisfy. We actually made the Almond Syrup a couple of days earlier for some pancakes and discovered that the almond extract was really strong so we omitted it* from the custard. If you want to serve your French toast with plain syrup do not omit the almond extract; I’ve declared it as “optional” in the ingredient list. Another component of this dish is using clarified butter – a task my husband ambitiously took on. It’s a step I would not skip either. I think if these croissants were fried in regular butter the butter flavor would be too strong; there’s butter in the syrup and croissants are buttery, too!

Almond Croissant French Toast

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 1/4 C heavy cream
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract (optional* – see comment above)
  • 4 fresh large croissants
  • 1 stick butter

Steps:

  1. Make clarified butter: Over low heat, melt butter until a foam forms on the top of the butter. Remove from heat and skim off the foam – discard. Pour the butter into a dish, being sure to leave behind any butter solids -discard those, too.
  2. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. In a wide bowl whisk the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar until smooth. Whisk in the cream, extracts, and a pinch of salt.
  4. Cut the croissants in half lengthwise. If it’ll fit in your skillet, leave the croissants butterflied instead of fully cut.
  5. Heat 2 tbsp clarified butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Soak one croissant in the custard from Step 3 for 10 seconds on each side. Add to the skillet and cook 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Place on the prepared baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.
  6. Repeat Step 5 until all 4 croissants are cooked. Serve with Almond Butter Syrup (recipe below).

Almond Butter Syrup

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 1 C pure grade B maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract
  • 1/4 C almonds, coarsely chopped

Steps:

  1. In a small saucepan over medium heat melt the butter. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until warmed through.
  2. Leftover syrup can be stored in the fridge, the butter will separate so heat again before using.

*These recipes are adapted from Brunch at Bobby’s*

Almond Croissant French Toast for #FoodieExtravaganza from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Be sure to check out more ways to celebrate National Croissant Day on January 30th:

Beefy Green Chile Braid by Fearlessly Creative Mammas

Pain Au Jambon by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Pain Au Chocolat by Making Miracles

Sausage, Egg and Cheese Croissant with Maple Dijon Sauce by Tara’s Multicultural Table

Cinnamon and Apple Croissant Bread Pudding by The Freshman Cook

Chocolate Croissants by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Croque Monsieur Croissants by Caroline’s Cooking

Bacon Fig Dippers for Melty Cheese by Cooking with Carlee

Triple Meat Croissants Breakfast Casserole by Cookin’ and Craftin’

Coronation Chicken Horns by Food Lust People Love

Breakfast Croissant Ring by Our Good Life

Baked Cinnamon Raisin Croissant French Toast from From Gate to Plate

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

#SundaySupper Month Kick-Off

~ lk529 ~ 24 Comments

I mentioned on New Year’s Day that this January is the first ever National Sunday Supper Month. It’s incredible that this movement is making a difference in families all over the country. Take the pledge this year and gather around the table as a family just once a week.

Enjoying dinner together as a family doesn’t have to be reserved for holidays or fancy meals, but I am sharing a show-stopping main course today. This Mustard-Crusted Pork Roast is what we had for Thanksgiving this year instead of turkey.

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With Treat being less than a month old we had a smaller Thanksgiving than usual. My husband’s parents drove up from Alabama to celebrate with us and the four of us enjoyed a less-than-traditional meal gathered around the table. I decided on pork instead of turkey or some other poultry because Firecracker was willingly and voluntarily eating pork. Unfortunately he wasn’t interested in the beautiful roast – I can’t even remember what he ended up eating that night.

Mustard-Crusted Pork Roast

Ingredients:

  • 1 C Kosher salt
  • 6 tbsp sugar
  • 6 tbsp gin
  • 7 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp peppercorns
  • 1 tsp whole allspice
  • 5 1/2 – 6 1/2 lb pork French rack (I had two separate roasts)
  • 1 C panko
  • 4 tbsp butter, at room temperature
  • 2 tbsp dried parsley
  • 2 tsp dried thyme
  • 3 tbsp Dijon mustard

Steps:

  1. Brine the pork: In a pot large enough for the pork roasts (I used my stock pot) combine salt, sugar, gin, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, and allspice with 4 C water over medium heat, stirring, until both the salt and sugar are dissolved. Add 8 C of ice and stir until brine is cool.
  2. Pierce the pork with a paring knife all over. Place in the cooled brine and refrigerate overnight.
  3. Place a roasting pan on the lowest level in the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry, allow pork to come to room temperature while the oven and roasting pan preheat. Bring 3 C of the brine (and spices) to a boil.
  4. Pour hot brine in the bottom of the preheated roasting pan. Place the pork roast(s) on the roasting rack fat-side up. Roast 40 minutes.
  5. Make the crust: In the bowl of a food processor pulse the panko, butter, parsley, and thyme with a pinch of salt until combined.
  6. Remove the pork from the oven. Brush the roast(s) with the Dijon mustard and top with the panko mixture. Return pork to the oven and roast another 50 minutes.
  7. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and roast until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes. Allow pork to rest 20 minutes before carving.

*This recipe is modified from Food Network Magazine, Dec 2014*

Mustard-Crusted Pork Roast for #SundaySupper from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Appetizers and Soups

Main courses

Side dishes

Desserts

And more

 

Help us celebrate National Sunday Supper Month by entering the Idaho® Potato Let’s Poutine recipe contest, sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission, with prizes of $500, $200 and $100, plus a ticket for each winner to Food and Wine Conference 2016. All the rules and conditions for entry can be found on our Sunday Supper Movement website.

Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on Twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat.

To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Countdown to 2016: Sunday Supper

~ lk529 ~ 6 Comments

countdownto20162016 is finally here and it’s the last day of our countdown. Sarah at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes has left this final day to be a collection of our choosing. To see what other bloggers are celebrating scoot on over her her page.

In early 2015 I joined a fantastic blogging community – Sunday Supper. 2016 is their 5th year and it’s going to be a milestone. This January is the very first National Sunday Supper Month! That is why I am sharing my favorite Sunday Supper recipes of 2015.

If you want to join The Sunday Supper Movement click here: Sunday Supper Movement. And take the pledge to gather around the table with your family.

Buffalo Macaroni Salad

Copy Cat: CPK’s Thai Salad

French Onion Soup Twice Baked Potatoes

Oven Baked Tilapia Tacos

Salmon in Puff Pastry

Sweet Potato Alfredo

Whiskey Bacon Baked Beans

2015 Sunday Supper Countdown.jpg

Countdown to 2016: Most Popular

~ lk529 ~ 11 Comments

countdownto2016We’re polishing off the year with the five best recipes of 2015. This blogging countdown party is hosted by Sarah at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes. Scoot on over to her page to see more round-up recipes.

I was anxiously awaiting my email from WordPress giving me my stats for the year. And the results are in!

I have enjoyed blogging in 2015, and 2016 already has a lot of ideas in the works. Here’s to hoping I can keep up with Sew You Think You Can Cook as much as I want to with two boys under two.

2015 stats

Sew You Think You Can Cook was viewed 37,000 times – that’s 9,000 more times than last year! I’m sure there are sophisticated bloggers who achieve those numbers in as little as a month, but I’m happy to see that my little corner of the internet is reaching out to a few people. My most popular referrer this year was Foodgawker, which means my photography skills have improved since 2014! Quite exciting. Facebook has been a big help this year, too. In 2015 my Facebook page reached almost 580 followers; if you’re one of them I thank you – keep clicking and keep sharing!

My busiest day of the year was June 5th – my Salmon in Puff Pastry was to blame. It’s one of my favorite recipes: less than 5 ingredients and beautifully impressive.

One of the top five most popular posts was actually from 2013 – it’s crazy to see how some of my very first recipes had staying power. (My Key Lime Pie is holding steady at number 1.)

And now for the top five recipes of 2015, these are in ranking order:

Whiskey Bacon Baked Beans

Lemon Buttermilk Bundt with Tart Lemon Glaze

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Salmon in Puff Pastry

Cracked Sugar Cookies

2015 Best Recipes.jpg

Countdown to 2016: Crockpot

~ lk529 ~ 5 Comments

countdownto2016We’re continuing the countdown to 2016 with a round-up of my favorite slow cooker recipes from 2015.

Turns out that was a much easier search than last year. I only shared 5 slow cooker dishes over the course of the year! I’m pretty sure I’ve used my CrockPot more than five times! Usually I run into a problem of the food not looking photogenic and decide to give up on posting. More often than not though I’m simply making a repeat recipe or just tossing some pork or chicken in with a bottle of barbecue sauce or salsa.

This blogging countdown party is hosted by Sarah at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes. Scoot on over to her page to see more round-up recipes. I know I’ll be looking forward to seeing the recipes other bloggers have collected as the Best Crockpot recipes of 2015.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

Slow Cooker Jalapeno Lime Chicken

Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken with Apple Cider Vinegar BBQ Sauce

2015 Slow Cooker Round-Up

#MuffinMonday: Lemon Ricotta Muffins

~ lk529 ~ 15 Comments

Muffin Monday

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins to brighten their Mondays. And I’ve decided to join in the fun! I’ve been a part of this group for a couple of months now but today is the first day I am able to post with the gang. There isn’t a theme to #MuffinMonday posts so anything goes, as long as it’s a muffin!

We went through a spell with Firecracker where the only thing he’d eat was a waffle. I became creative in adding some extra nutrition to the breakfast item through apples, sweet potatoes, and Greek yogurt. The waffle obsession has slowed if not died and I’m happy to report the adventurous eater is slowly reemerging. I’m looking forward to continuing to post with this group once a month as it seems muffins offer another food medium to sneak in some good nutrition.

Today’s muffins are filled with ricotta cheese and lemon. The ricotta cheese provides extra protein and calcium and yields perfectly light and fluffy muffins.

I’ve had this recipe on my radar for 11 months and finally had some leftover ricotta (from Thanksgiving) to make it! (I’ve been using my leftover ricotta for pasta instead.) Tara’s muffins are much prettier than mine because she put coarse sugar over the top.

This recipe makes 1 dozen kid-approved muffins.

Lemon Ricotta Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 1 C flour
  • 3/4 C cake flour
  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 3/4 C ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 C water
  • 1/4 C canola oil
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (I used Nielsen-Massey)

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with liners.
  2. In a large bowl whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  3. In an other bowl fold together the egg, ricotta, water, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla.
  4. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. DO NOT OVER MIX.
  5. Divide batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake 16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out cleanly. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

*This recipe is adapted from Tara at http://tarasmulticulturaltable.com/lemon-ricotta-muffins/*

lemon ricotta muffins for #MuffinMonday from Sew You Think You Can Cook

And don’t forget to check out these other muffin recipes:

Bacon Cheddar Corn Muffins from Making Miracles

Banana Cranberry Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Banana Streusel Muffins from All Roads from Lead to the Kitchen

Healthy Morning Glory Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts

Lemon Ricotta Muffins from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Savory Corn Bread Muffins from Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Sticky Toffee Bran Muffins from Food Lust People Love

You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page. 

Countdown to 2016: Breakfast

~ lk529 ~ 8 Comments

countdownto2016It’s day two of the Countdown to 2016 and it’s my favorite day – breakfast!

The amount of breakfast recipes had to have doubled over this past year. I know our consumption of waffles and pancakes had a serious spike in stats! My Firecracker went through a picky eating phase where he’d only eat breakfast foods, and I’m not talking eggs and sausage. I found ways to up the nutritional value of those much loved waffles and pancakes to make myself feel better about it. He’s clearly my son because I could eat waffles for every meal of the day (and I’m not ashamed to admit it’s definitely been done.) I’ll be expanding the breakfast repertoire next year though with #MuffinMonday!

This blogging countdown party is hosted by Sarah at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes. Scoot on over to her page to see more round-up recipes.

Apple Pie Waffles

Blueberry Cherry Coffee Cake with Walnut Streusel

Buttermilk Whole Wheat Waffles

Cherry Coffee Cake

Maple Blueberry Pancakes

Oatmeal Pancakes

Poppy Seed Muffins with Dried Cherries

Strawberries and Cream Muffins

Vanilla Orange Scones

2015 Breakfast Round-Up

Countdown to 2016: Appetizers & Snacks

~ lk529 ~ 13 Comments

countdownto2016Last year I participated in a Countdown to 2015 and it’s that time of year to start the countdown again. This time to 2016!

Sarah, blogger at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes, is hosting the countdown again this year and I’m so glad she is. I stumbled upon her invitation at the perfect time, too! I was looking at my planner and trying to figure out what recipes to share the last week of the year. Instead of sharing new recipes I get to look back on 2015 and share yours and my favorite recipes and posts. I hope you join me on this ride.

Today we’re talking Appetizers & Snacks. I hope you find something to fit your New Year’s Eve celebrations and to munch on during the College Football Playoffs and bowl games.

Black Bean and Beer Queso

Brussels Sprout Crostini

Black Bean Dip

Hummus and Pita

Orange Rosemary Roasted Almonds

Spanish Chorizo Croquetas

2015 Appetizers & Snacks Round-Up v2

Roasted Pears and Parsnips

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

I have to brag a moment about how amazing my husband is. One night a couple of weeks ago I got close to no sleep between the two babies of ours. My husband came home from work early to take our Firecracker (little man) out of the house. They went to the mall to blow off some energy at the play area and then went to the grocery store. That allowed me to get 2 hours of sleep while Treat (baby boy) napped. He even took over the kitchen that night and prepared dinner!

I was very impressed with the recipes he decided on; he didn’t pick something easy. Our main course was a steak recipe from Bobby Flay’s Grill It! along with a homemade steak sauce. Alongside he’d selected a roasted pears and parsnips recipe with brown butter and hazelnuts.

The brown butter over top the roasted parsnips and the toasted hazelnuts tasted like popcorn! The hazelnuts provided a great crunch alongside the tender sweet pears and peppery parsnips.

We will definitely be making this recipe again. If you’re looking for something new to add to your holiday spread, I encourage you to give this recipe a try.

This recipe makes 2-3 servings.

Roasted Pears and Parsnips

Ingredients:

  • 1 large parsnip, peeled, cored, and quartered
  • 1 Bosc pear, quartered
  • 1 – 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp chopped toasted hazelnuts

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Toss the parsnips and pears in olive oil. Season with salt. Place on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer. Roast 30-40 minutes, until golden and tender.
  3. In a small skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Swirl the pan until the butter turns brown, but not burnt. Add the hazelnuts to the brown butter. Add to the roasted parsnips and pears and serve immediately.

*This recipe is adapted from Cooking from the Farmers’ Market*

Roasted Pears and Parsnips Sew You Think You Can Cook

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.