New Years Bubbly!

 What is the best way to kick off the new years? With a special glass of Champagne! It really has become a tradition for most people, Champagne, food, friends, loved ones, all synonymous with ringing in the New Year. Rather than settling for your average glass of Champagne, why not make it extra special this year by just adding a couple ingredients to make a not so expensive glass of Champagne taste like you just ordered it at a 5 star restaurant! Pomegranate is a unique, slightly tart and sweet flavor that you wouldn’t normally gravitate to but it works amazing in this drink.

 I love to pair drinks with food and I also know that Champagne can be difficult to pair with food. Personally, I would stick with something simple and not too complex. First, we all know we don’t want to have bad breath before that mid-night kiss, so I would suggest putting out some fruit such as, raspberries, strawberries, pineapple, etc. Also, if you choose Chocolate, choose white chocolate. White chocolate is creamier, sweeter, and less complex than other kinds of chocolate, it makes a far better match with Champagne and wine.

Well, there you have it! I hope you all have an amazing New Years!!

 

 Pomegranate Champagne

 

Ingredients:

6 tbsp Pomegranate syrup

1 bottle brute Champagne

6 lemon twists

 

Directions:

Place one teaspoon of syrup at the bottom of each champagne flute or glass. Gently pour in champagne and garnish with a lemon twist Pomegranate syrup can be found in the international food section of your supermarket or at a local Middle Eastern foods market.

Serves 6 

No bake - Peace of cake!

 I LOVE desserts! And I also love baking, but when I am cooking a big meal in a little kitchen with limited oven space, it makes dessert difficult to fit in to your dinner plans. I could just go to the grocery store and buy a dessert, but where is the fun in that!

I have emphasized in previous entries that I LOVE the holidays and I am always looking to create delicious and easy recipes to bring to your friends holiday parties. When you want to be with family and friends, you don’t want to be slaving away in the kitchen. With minimal ingredients and no baking, this recipe is perfect! This is also a really fun recipe to make with kids, or to let them do themselves! Just set out all the ingredients on the kitchen table with a mixer and give them direction. It’s that easy and pretty fool proof. Plus, it’s much safer than having them running around you in the kitchen with the hot oven and stove.

In addition, for all my anti-sugar friends out there, you can replace the sugar with splenda or a sugar substitute. You could use a reduced fat cream cheese as well, but I really do think that it compromises the flavor and texture of the cheesecake. So I would stick with the regular cream cheese, it will make for a creamier, more decedent finished product.

 

 No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened 


1 cup canned pumpkin 


1/2-cup sugar 


1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice


1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed, divided 


1 Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.) 


Directions 


Beat cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar and pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently fold in 2-1/2 cups of the whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate remaining whipped topping for later use.

Spoon cream cheese mixture into crust.

Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Serve topped with remaining whipped topping. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator

Wholesome and Healthy for the Holidays

So Thanksgiving is over, but more holidays are right around the corner! And if you are like me, its not just Christmas dinner you have to worry about, there are many different dinners and parties through the month of December with friends and family. Perfect! That gives you an opportunity to try out delicious new recipes on your friends!

To me, there are a few factors that make a dish great, and I think my Roasted Butternut Squash soup fits pretty much all of them. Its affordable, fresh, minimal ingredients, healthy, and delicious!! Now I could go buy Butternut squash at the store, but if you look at the ingredients on the back, there are words I can’t even pronounce! That’s usually not a good sign. Lol. Not to mention store bought soups contain WAY more calories than MY soup. I don’t understand why people always think that soups are so difficult to make from scratch! And why people always think I’m such a culinary genius for making them!!?? (Even though I am.. lol, jk) They can really be easy if you find the right recipes.

All in all, this is a great soup for the wintertime. Whether for lunch, as an appetizer or dinner, this Butternut squash soup will have everyone coming back for seconds, so you may want to think about doubling this recipe! 

 

 

 

Roasted Butternut Squash soup

 

 

Ingredients

 

1 (2-3 lb) Butternut squash, seeded and chopped into 2 inch pieces

1 medium onion, large rough chop

6 cups vegetable or chicken stock (reduced sodium)

3 tbsp extra virgin Olive Oil

1/3 tsp Nutmeg

Salt and pepper

 

 

Directions

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

On a large sheet pan, arrange squash and onion evenly, drizzle olive oil over top along with a heavy pinch or salt and pepper, making sure everything has been seasoned.

Roast for about 40 minutes until the squashes edges turn golden brown. Remove and let cool slightly.

Pour squash mixture into a large pot over medium-high heat, add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

Take off heat, and using an emulation blender in the pot, blend ingredients until smooth. (You can use any sort or processor or blender you like) stir in Nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

Holiday Indulgence

The Holidays are all about indulgence. Many delicious dishes come to mind including one of my favorite indulgent desserts, Pecan pie! In my family growing up we always cooked all the main course dishes and got store bought pies and cakes for dessert. It wasn’t until I really became interested cooking that I wanted to figure out how to bake, and what was so difficult about it? In my cooking I tend to not use exact measurements, but with baking you typically have to or else your finished product will not turn out the way you want it.

Unlike cake and other baked goods, pecan pie is one of my favorites because the measurements don’t have to be exact, and its pretty fool proof, just how I like it!  Buying a store bought crust for your pie cuts your prep time in half, and the filling is made over the stove, so it’s a lot like cooking.

There is something that is just so rewarding about baking your own desserts for the holidays, and this one is so delicious and fun to make with the family!

 

 

 

Chocolate pecan pie

 

Ingredients

 2 pie crusts, store bought already in baking dish.

 Filling:

5 tbsp unsalted butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4-cup light corn syrup 

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups chopped toasted pecans

1 to 2 tbsp bourbon 

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup Dark chocolate chips

 

 

 

Directions

Set separate racks in the center and lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Put a piece of parchment paper or foil over the pie shell and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake on a baking sheet on the center rack until the dough is set, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and lift sides of the parchment paper to remove the beans. Continue baking until the pie shell is lightly golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

While the crust is baking make the filling: In medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and stirring constantly, continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts, bourbon, and the vanilla. Set the mixture aside to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.  Whisk the beaten eggs into the filling until smooth. Put the pie shell on a sheet pan and pour the filling into the hot crust, sprinkle chocolate chips over top of filling.

Bake on the lower oven rack until the edges are set but the center is still slightly loose, about 40 to 45 minutes. (If the edges get very dark, cover them with aluminum foil half way during baking.) Cool on a rack. Serve slightly warm or room temperature.

Steaming 101

Fish recipes can often be tricky for some people. Unless you are familiar with how to cook different types of fish and what pairs well with them, it’s hard to find recipes that will always turn out delicious no matter what. An “En Papillote” fish dish lets you make a delicious French style dinner quick and easy. "En Papillote" simply means that the fish is wrapped in parchment paper before you cook it. This is an awesome way to cook fish and vegetables simultaneously and the fish comes out tender and delicious every time. The paper seals in all the flavor and aroma, which is why this cooking method is so popular. For an outdoor grilling day, you can also replace the parchment paper for foil.

I use this cooking method with fish ALL the time. It is one of my favorite ways of steaming which I learned in culinary school. Usually the foods that taste the best are also the easiest to make with minimal ingredients. So that makes this dish pretty cost efficient as well!

In addition to the fish, you can add pretty much any vegetables you like. You might like to add some diced tomatoes, sliced carrots, peppers, capers, lemon juice, or lime juice to the package, as well as the butter or oil and the seasonings. Halibut, tilapia, salmon, and red snapper are all suitable fish for cooking En Papillote because this cooking method works best with firm, meaty fish.

 

Halibut En Papillote

 

Ingredients:

 

2 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

4 (6 ounce) Halibut fillets

Salt and pepper to taste

1 lemon, thinly sliced

½ lb grape tomatoes, sliced in half

2 heads bok Choy, leaves removed

½ cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons olive oil

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut four large rectangles of parchment paper and fold in half; unfold. (about 25 inches)

Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil in the center of one of the parchment paper folds, place fish filets over oil so not to stick when baking.  Dab a bit of butter over top of the fish and season with salt and pepper.  Place about 2 lemon slices over seasoned fish. Divide garlic tomatoes and Bok Choy evenly over fish.

Fold top half of parchment paper over fish and crimp to seal; place on two baking sheets. Once everything is in place, open paper a tiny bit and evenly distribute wine into all of the paper pouches, re-cover.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 12-16 minutes, switching baking sheets halfway through cooking time, until fish flakes easily when tested with fork. Serve immediately.

Flavor of Fall

Well, it's fall and that means holiday meals to come, my favorite time of the year!  The flavors of fall and winter are inherently warm flavors that make us feel cozy in the cold. Apples, pumpkin, cranberries, squash, and cinnamon are a few of foods synonymous with this time of the year. More forgotten than not when it comes to fall and winter meals, is breakfast, and it’s the most important meal of the day! Now this recipe isn’t the healthiest type of breakfast, but ya know, it's not bikini season right now people so chill out! If you wanted, you could substitute the sugar with Splenda or Agave nectar, and the flour with whole-wheat flour to make it a little more figure friendly. But really, in my opinion it’s all about portion control and you can eat whatever you want.

This is a great recipe to get the kids and the family involved in the baking process on a cold and snowy day. Great paired with a cup of Joe, or just as a mid-day snack, your family and friends are sure to love these creamy, moist, pumpkin cream cheese muffins!

 

 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

 

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp brown sugar

 

4 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour

5 tbsp white sugar

3/4 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp chopped pecans

 

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin

1/3 cup canola oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour 18 muffin cups, or use paper liners.

To make the filling: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add egg, vanilla and brown sugar. Beat until smooth, and then set aside.

For the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.

For the muffin batter: In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add eggs, pumpkin, canola oil and vanilla. Beat together until smooth.

Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups about 1/2 full. Then add one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter. Try to keep cream cheese from touching the paper cup. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes

Funny Food

This is one of those feel good, comforting dishes that I love to make for my guests, and when I am catering. It’s easy to make ahead, the ingredients are mostly items that you would find in your refrigerator anyways, so it makes it pretty cost efficient and it will totally impress whomever you are serving it to.

I originally came up with this dish a couple years ago for comedian/actor Garret Morris. Garret Morris is one of the original cast members of “Saturday Night Live” and continues making people laugh with appearances in many different commercials and TV shows. He lived in my former apartment building so I would always see him around. Currently I was filming for my show “Dishing With Celebs” and invited him to come on and share his favorite foods and recipes with me. He told me he knew nothing about cooking, but he loved shrimp and Louisiana cooking so he would leave it up to me.

Now, I’m no expert on Louisiana style cooking, but after trying out a few different recipes of my own I decided on this one, and he agreed that it reminded him of home. Garret and I ate these by themselves, but you can serve them as appetizers, over a salad, over grits, and pretty much anything! So I hope you enjoy them!

 

Stuffed Shrimp Wrapped in Prosciutto

 

2 cans crab meat (drained)

1-cup Italian breadcrumbs

1/3-cup mayonnaise

1/4-cup ketchup

2 tbsp prepared mustard

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

10 jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined

10 slices prosciutto

Directions

Combine first six ingredients; mix well and set aside.

Butterfly shrimp with a knife. Stuff shrimp with about 2 tablespoons of crab filling.

 Wrap entire shrimp with sliced prosciutto.

 Place bundles in a 13x9x2 baking dish.

 Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. (Any extra crab stuffing may be spooned into a greased 1/2 quart casserole and baked at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.) Serves 5.