Recipes

Copy Cat: Steak ‘n’ Shake Frisco Melt

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Today is National Fast Food Day. I’m not sure who comes up with these random days and better yet, why fast food needs to be celebrated. With the attempted health push in America this one seems particularly out of place. That being said, I am a very guilty connoisseur of fast food establishments – we have Chick-fil-A at least once a week. And I have a love for McDonald’s, although I don’t indulge in it quite as often.

My absolute favorite road trip stop is Steak ‘n’ Shake. I am addicted to their Frisco Melt. Two super thin patties topped with melted cheese on grilled toast with their magical Frisco sauce. I always order extra sauce on the side for dunking my fries. I found a Copy Cat recipe on Pinterest and very happily recreated it.

Even though burgers are my favorite food I haven’t mastered the art of making one at home. This patty-making mystery alluded me in this attempt too. My patties were not Steak ‘n’ Shake thin, they were more mini slider size. Which also decreased the amount of cheese I needed! I followed the recipe’s steps of forming the ground beef into a golf ball and then pressing them flat. But pressing burgers flat means losing all of the juice and therefore flavor! Next time I’ll form the meat into thin disks instead. But it’s the magic sauce that’s important, and my recreation was pretty darn close. I couldn’t find Russian dressing at my store so I substituted with Catalina dressing; the 2:1 ratio needed to be adjusted slightly.

Copy Cat: Steak ‘n’ Shake Frisco Melt

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 4 slices American cheese
  • 4 slices Swiss cheese
  • 8 slices white bread
  • butter for spreading
  • 2 tbsp Thousand Island dressing
  • 1 tbsp + 2 tsp Catalina dressing

Steps:

  1. Divide ground beef into 8 patties. Cook in a very hot skillet. Note: Add butter to the pan if your fat % is low.
  2. After flipping the meat place the cheese on top of each patty. Each sandwich will get one patty covered in Swiss and one patty covered in American. Note: Swiss takes longer to melt so apply first.
  3. Spread butter on each slice of bread and toast either under the broiler, in a toaster oven, or in a clean skillet.
  4. Assemble sandwiches by spread both pieces of bread (non buttered side) with Friso sauce, one patty each of American and Swiss.

Frisco Melt

Pumpkin Spice Latte

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Pumpkin Spice Latte ecardI would be willing to bet that Starbucks’ earnings increase in the fall. With pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin Frappuccinos on the menu, everyone gets the craving for fancy coffee beverages. (My personal favorite is the Gingerbread Latte)

But with fame comes imitation, and there are countless Pumpkin Latte recipes floating around the internet. I settled on this version because I had everything on hand!

I whipped up some heavy cream with a little bit of powdered sugar to present a gourmet mugful of PSL.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Ingredients:

  • 1 C milk
  • 1 tbsp pumpkin puree
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 C brewed coffee

Steps:

  1. Heat milk, pumpkin, and sugar until hot but not boiling.
  2. Remove milk from heat and add in vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and coffee.
  3. Top with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice. (Optional)

*This recipe is modified from Joanne at http://www.inspiredtaste.net/8419/pumpkin-spice-latte-at-home-recipe/*

PSL

Chicken Tortilla Soup

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Now that the weather is getting cooler I thought it’s time for another soup recipe. And this Chicken Tortilla Soup fits in nicely with Mexican Monday!

I made the chicken stock on Sunday so that my weeknight prep time would be shorter. If you want to shred your chicken instead of cubing it, it’s best to do while it’s hot out of the poaching liquid. Because I cooked the chicken/stock the night before I simply cubed it before adding it to the soup Monday evening. Even though my prep time was much shorter, the soup cook time was longer than the original recipe declared, I left the soup on the stove for about an hour and a half. But with soup, the longer it stews the better!

I also left the heat factor out of the soup because I was making this for childhood taste buds. I provided hot sauce on the table for the adults to flavor our soups.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients for stock:

  • 3 large chicken breasts
  • 8 C water
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 onion, left whole
  • 1 jalapeno, left whole
  • 1 tsp pepper

Ingredients for soup:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can corn, drained
  • 1 can diced roasted tomatoes
  • 1/4 C cilantro (I used 2 ice cubes)

Steps:

  1. Make stock by combining all ingredients in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken and shred/cube. Strain and reserve the broth.
  2. In a large pot over medium-high heat saute onion and bell pepper in olive oil. When translucent add in garlic until fragrant. Stir in spices. Pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a gentle simmer and add in the cooked chicken, beans, corn, tomatoes, and cilantro. Allow soup to cook for at least 20 minutes for the flavors to combine and chicken to be warmed through.
  3. Serve with shredded cheese and tortilla chips for garnish.

*This recipe is modified from Patricia at http://www.patriciaspatticakes.com/2013/10/spicy-chicken-tortilla-soup.html*

Chicken Tortilla Soup 2

Chicken Tortilla Soup 1

Buffalo Chicken Dip

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Last week we were invited to a friend’s surprise birthday party. I knew I was going to bring something edible to the table, but had to decide on what that was going to be. I thought about doing my Corn and Black-Eyed Pea Dip but as it’s fall decided to go with something heartier.

I decided to do some recon on the birthday girl’s Pinterest boards and saw that she had posted a Buffalo Chicken Dip. I stopped searching there and decided on this recipe.

Every Christmas Eve my brother’s fiance’s family has a party. My future sister-in-law makes this dip every year and it’s a crowd favorite. Two years ago for Christmas she gave me a fantastic cooking gift basket filled with Giada DeLaurentiis products as well as a recipe box, including her Buffalo Chicken Dip.

Unfortunately this food post does not have a photograph to accompany it as I forgot to snap a picture before the party. We were running late and it completely slipped my mind. Next time I make it I’ll add it to this post.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients:

  • Approx 3 lb chicken, cooked and shredded (Kelli boils hers, I baked mine)
  • 12 oz hot sauce (Kelli uses Crystal and so did I)
  • 16 oz cream cheese
  • 16 oz blue cheese dressing (I used Ranch)
  • 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine cream cheese and dressing. Stir until the mixture is smooth and cream cheese is melted.
  3. In a large bowl combine cooked chicken, hot sauce, and the cream cheese mixture. Pour into a casserole dish.
  4. Cover the casserole with the shredded cheese.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes until the mixture is bubbly and cheese is golden.

Sugar and Spiced Nuts

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

Have you ever been to a carnival or amusement park and had the purple paper cone filled with candied nuts? For my husband, it’s a not-to-be-missed treat.

We spent our first anniversary at Universal Studios, where I conquered my fear of rollercoasters. I have a slight obsession with Harry Potter and was so excited to step into Hogwarts and shop the streets of Hogsmeade. I highly recommend a trip… or two! (We went again the following year for my birthday http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Omfiz0c1I0) I could go fly with Harry on The Forbidden Journey all day. Stuart’s favorite ride is still The Incredible Hulk.

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Sorry, I got a little carried away there. Before we left the park on our last day, Stuart was determined to find these magical candied almonds. We finally found them in Seuss Landing.

This recipe for sugar and spiced nuts isn’t an exact replica, but they are delicious. Like Stuart said, “It’s like Christmas in my mouth!”

Image

Sugar and Spiced Nuts

Ingredients:

  • 1 C almonds
  • 1 C walnuts
  • 1/2 C sugar
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

  1. In a bowl, combine sugar, salt, and spices.
  2. In a separate bowl whisk together egg white, 1 tbsp water, and vanilla until it foams.
  3. Toss nuts in the egg white mixture. Strain nuts and toss in the sugar mixture. (I forgot to strain the nuts, they still turned out great, but instead of individual nuts they turned out more like balls of candied nuts.)
  4. Spread nuts on a foil lined cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. Toss and roast another 15 minutes.

*This recipe is modified from Kristi at http://www.30poundsofapples.com/2012/09/sugar-n-spiced-pecans/*

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And here’s a bonus recipe idea – I reserved 1/8 C of the sugar and we sprinkled it over buttered bagels before putting them in the toaster oven.

Coffee Ice Cream

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

I’m not really much of a coffee drinker. I do not rely on it to get me moving in the morning, and I’ve done my best to not become addicted. So far, so good.

Coffee ice cream is one of my favorite flavors and I’ve been wanting to try making my own for quite some time now. And then we went to Hawaii, and we came back with a lot of Kona Coffee. I just knew I had to make my ice cream with the world’s best coffee.

But I had to wait. I had to wait until Stuart finished “this crap coffee so I can open the good stuff.” But it finally happened, that “crap coffee” was gone and a perfect bag of Onouli coffee grounds was opened.

This recipe does require the use of an ice cream maker. I borrowed my friend’s KitchenAid attachment. So… if you want to see more ice cream recipes on Sew You Think You Can Cook feel free to send one my way! 😉

When it came time to strain the custard I ran into a slight problem. Without a cheese cloth I thought I’d use a coffee filter, but the custard was just too thick. So I just went with a mesh strainer. It was able to catch most of the coffee grounds, but not all of them so there are flecks of coffee deliciousness throughout the ice cream. As coffee grounds are edible, I left them in my frozen treat; they provide a little texture to each bite. Stuart really enjoyed the addition of the coffee grounds. If you don’t want the texture, I might suggest straining the custard before letting to cool completely in the fridge. I don’t know if that would help, but my engineering brain thinks it would.

Coffee Ice Cream

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 C whole milk
  • 1 1/2 C heavy cream
  • 3/4 C sugar, divided
  • 1/2 C coffee grounds
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 large egg yolks

Steps:

  1. In a saucepan over medium heat combine the milk, cream, coffee, 1/2 C sugar, salt, and vanilla. Heat, stirring occasionally, to 175 degrees.
  2. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining 1/4 C sugar.
  3. Temper the egg yolks by whisking in 1/4 C of the hot milk mixture. Add 1/4 C at a time until you’ve added 1 C of cream. Continuously whisking. You can now pour the yolks into the milk mixture. Whisk until the custard reaches 185 degrees, without bubbling.
  4. Set a bowl over top a larger bowl of ice water. Pour the custard into the iced bowl. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Cover custard and put in the refrigerator for 4-24 hours.
  6. Strain the cooled custard through a cheesecloth to remove the coffee grounds.
  7. Follow your ice cream maker’s instructions to churn the custard into a beautiful homemade ice cream.

*This recipe was adapted from Christina at http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2013/05/mocha-chip-ice-cream/*

Coffee Ice Cream 2Coffee Ice Cream 1Coffee Ice Cream 3 Coffee Ice Cream 4

Mexican Risetti

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

For Mexican Monday I am happy and proud to share with you one of my original recipes.

Food Network challenge... acceptedIn January of 2011 Food Network magazine had an Iron Chef type challenge using the secret ingredient Spaghetti. I had an idea, I made it, and I submitted my recipe to Food Network. I didn’t win, or at least I don’t think I won, it’s been over two years and I still haven’t seen the winner announced!

I decided to break up the spaghetti and make a mock risotto. To add even more of a twist I opted to use Mexican flavors instead of Italian. I used a Mexican beer in place of white wine, chorizo as my meat, and Mexican blend cheese instead of Parmesan.

Mexican Risetti Steps

An Original Recipe

Mexican Risetti

Makes 2-3 Servings

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 lb spaghetti, broken
  • 2 links Mexican chorizo, casings removed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 Spanish onion, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, deseeded
  • 3/4 bottle light Mexican beer
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 C chicken broth
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • handful fresh cilantro, chopped (plus more for garnish)
  • 3/4 – 1 C shredded Mexican-blend cheese
  • zest of 1/2 lime

Steps:

  1. In a non-stick skillet over medium heat, brown chorizo in olive oil. When cooked, remove from the pan and set aside on a paper towel lined plate. Leave the drippings in the skillet.
  2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add in the butter. Add garlic once butter is melted. After 30 seconds add in the broken spaghetti. Toast for 2 minutes. Add onion and jalapeno. Saute until onions are translucent.
  3. Deglaze the pan with the beer. Add in oregano. When beer is absorbed, add chicken broth in about four stages, allowing the broth to be absorbed before each addition of liquid.
  4. After pasta is al dente add in diced tomato, cilantro, and the cooked chorizo. Let warm through and melt in the cheese. Garnish with lime zest and cilantro.

Mexican Risetti

Thanksgiving Brussels Sprouts

~ lk529 ~ 6 Comments

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday – I love the tradition. Unlike the Hollywood American Family, I love gathering with family. And, I love the food!

I think Thanksgiving as turned into my favorite holiday because after getting married, I’ve become the hostess for this family oriented holiday. Stuart’s family and my family converge on our home for not only Thanksgiving, but also for the Iron Bowl!

I am presenting a Thanksgiving side dish early so that I can participate in the Thanksgiving Side Dishes Link Party hosted by Let’s Dish. (Don’t worry, I’ll still do my week of Thanksgiving sides closer to the holiday.)Image

In combining our two families, there have been merging of traditions and additions to Thursday’s menu.

This dish is one of those that were introduced to my family by my mother-in-law. And each year, there’s never enough! I think this year a double recipe will need to be prepared.

Thanksgiving Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 oz pancetta, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 C chicken broth

Steps:

  1. Cook Brussels sprouts in salted boiling water for 4 minutes. Drain.
  2. Crisp up the pancetta in a large skillet in the olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Toss in the sprouts 5 minutes. Season with S+P.
  3. Pour the broth into the skillet and simmer for 3 minutes, or until the broth reduces so that it coats the Brussels sprouts.

*This recipe is adapted from Giada at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/brussels-sprouts-with-pancetta-recipe/index.html*

Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta Sew You Think You Can Cook

Turkey Sloppy Joes

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

Happy Halloween!

Halloween in my house means Sloppy Joes. I don’t know if it really was an annual Halloween supper or not, but my brain connects Halloween with Sloppy Joes.

Halloween Collage

Sloppy Joes make for a great sandwich night. The ingredients are pantry staples and it’s quick to come together. The meat mixture reheats beautifully and your lunchbox the next morning is more appetizing than the typical deli meat and cheese.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Vidalia onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1/4 C ketchup
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

Steps:

  1. In a large sided skillet saute onion in olive oil. When translucent add the garlic and turkey. Break up the turkey as it cooks.
  2. Meanwhile, in a bowl whisk together ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, vinegar, and tomato sauce.
  3. After turkey is cooked through, stir in the tomato paste. After 45-60 seconds add in the sauce. Stir and warm through for 3 minutes.
  4. Spoon Sloppy Joe mixture onto hamburger buns. Eat and trick-or-treat!

*This recipe is modified from Jessica at http://www.thenovicechefblog.com/2012/04/turkey-sloppy-joes/*

Turkey Sloppy Joes

Candy Corn Pizza

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

Here is another Pinterest recreation for my final candy corn presentation. When you slice a round pizza into triangles, you will find yourself staring at a delicious slice of candy corn pizza. Assemble the pizza by first rolling out your dough into a circle. Put shredded mozzarella cheese in the center and surround that with shredded cheddar. The yellow bottom of the candy corn is represented by the crust, so brush it with olive oil. If you wanted to you could dye the pizza dough with yellow food coloring.

Below are recipes for homemade pizza dough and homemade pizza sauce, but for a busy Halloween night feel free to take advantage of the grocery store with a jarred sauce and refrigerated dough – I will not judge.

Candy Corn Pizza

Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

  • 1 pkg dry active yeast
  • 1 C warm water
  • 3 1/2 C flour
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • cornmeal

Steps:

  1. Dissolve yeast in the water, 10 minutes.
  2. In a stand mixer combine flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour and add half of the yeast. Mix in with your fingers. Add in the olive oil and remaining yeast.
  3. Knead dough with the dough hook of your stand mixer for 7 minutes. (Or by hand on a floured surface for 10 minutes.)
  4. Shape dough into a ball and put in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
  5. Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 475 degrees F. Divide dough into 4 separate pieces and roll out on a floured surface.
  6. Sprinkle cornmeal onto a pizza paddle (or edgeless cookie sheet). Place pizza dough on the paddle and assemble.
  7. Bake pizzas on pizza stone 20 minutes until pizza crust is crispy and cooked through.

*This pizza crust recipe is adapted from a recipe that came with a friend’s pizza stone*

Pizza Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (28 oz) tomato puree
  • 1 1/2 C water
  • 1/4 C olive oil
  • 1/4 C red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp dried parsley
  • 2 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp salt

Steps:

  1. Combine all ingredients.

*This pizza sauce recipe is adapted from Lynn at http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2009/01/homemade-pizza-sauce.html*