Friday, June 27, 2014

Citrus Chicken Salad

I had some leftover grilled chicken from dinner a few nights ago. You know how I love to use up leftovers, so here is the chicken salad I threw together for lunch yesterday!

Citrus Chicken Salad

3 cups cooked chicken, cubes
3 tbsp Persian Lime Olive Oil
Pepper Citrus Sea Salt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 white onion, diced
2-4 stalks celery, diced

Whip the mayonnaise and Olive Oil together until smooth. Toss the chicken, onions and celery together with the dressing and add the pepper and citrus sea salt to taste.



Yesterday I had this on a sandwich. Tonight for dinner, I'm topping it with melted cheese on a tortilla. I love leftovers!!

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Strawberry Basil Cookies

I know that this may not be the most natural combination in the world for most people, but I can't recommend this enough. Little do my friends know I'll be bringing these cookies to pretty much every event for the forseeable future.

A note on strawberries. If you are serving these right away, fresh strawberries are fine. If you are storing them, even for a little while, dried will be better. The fresh strawberries are so moist if you put them in a closed container, the cookies get soft and soggy. I am also experimenting with freeze dried strawberries. I'll let you know how that works.

Strawberry Basil Cookies

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup diced strawberries
1 bunch basil, chopped
3/4 cup Basil Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Cream together the olive oil and sugars. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk the baking soda, salt and flour together. Add to wet ingredients in batches, making sure that everything is well combined before adding more. Add the strawberries and the basil.

Drop by tablespoonful on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes. The edges should brown, but not all of it.


Sunday, June 15, 2014

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Solid Potato Salad

This song is a real earworm. For some reason it just sticks. Like glue. So all the time, I'm singing about potato salad. Singing about potatoes is probably a bit odd. It's a good thing that most people already think I'm a bit strange.

Solid (Roasted) Potato Salad

2 lbs potatoes, medium dice
3 tbsp Sun Dried Tomato Parmesan & Garlic Olive Oil
Garlic Sea Salt
1/4 red onion, small dice
2-4 stalks celery, small dice
1 tbsp mustard
2 tbsp White Honey Ginger Balsamic
     or White Jalapeno Lime Balsamic
3 tbsp Mayonnaise
1 small bunch cilantro, 1/4 cup chopped

Preheat the oven to 400°. Toss the potatoes with the oil and salt until well coated and spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 30-40 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Whisk the balsamic, mayonnaise and mustard together. When the potatoes are cool enough, toss with the dressing and stir in the celery, onion and cilantro. Top with a sprinkle of the Garlic Salt if desired.



Your song.

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Chestnut Street Spare Ribs

I have been trying to post 2 to 3 times a week, but as you may have noticed, it hasn't gone very well. Looks like it's going to be a once a week thing until we stop being busy again. If I get extra up, I'm happy for it.

This is my first entry in a line of food inspired by music. We all know that 'Pour Some Sugar on Me' isn't about baking cakes, but there was a time when some songs about food, really were about food. Many of the songs I'm featuring were written during the Depression and the Second World War. People were hungry and homesick during those times. We sing about what we want. And these songs are about wanting food, and home.

A lot of this recipe will have to do with how you prepare your ribs. I like to slow cook them. The slow cooker also makes the sauce really thick. Feel free to use your favorite cooking method.

Chestnut Street Spare Ribs

4 lbs Spare Ribs
2 tbsp White Truffle Garlic Olive Oil
4 tbsp Prime Rub Seasoning
1/2 cup honey
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup Chocolate Balsamic

Rub down the ribs with the seasonings and olive oil. Broil for 5-6 minutes.

Whisk the honey garlic and balsamic together. Nest the ribs at the bottom of your slow cooker and pour the sauce over top. Close the lid tightly and cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 8 hours.





Between 18th &19th and Chestnut Street: Bing Crosby