I'm BACK!

Hi! Wow, it's been a long time. I bet you wondered if I was ever coming back. I didn't even know if I was coming back. But here I am, and I'm here to tell you about my new blog! Please come visit me at Dinner at the Zoo. And please follow me on instagram, pinterest, facebook and twitter, I would love to re-connect with my old blog friends.

On hiatus

I've decided to take a break from blogging for a while. Believe it or not, I haven't been cooking much lately. You know what they say, life gets in the way. If you'd like to be notified when I start posting again, you can sign up for email updates on my sidebar. No spam, I promise, just email notifications of new posts. I hope to be able to share with you the reason for my absence when I return, in the meantime, thanks for your patience and understanding.

Soba noodles with tofu and vegetables

When it's hot outside, the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven. The only cooking required for soba noodles with tofu and vegetables is to boil a pot of water.

The vegetables for this dish include thinly sliced napa cabbage, shredded carrot and bean sprouts.
A soy and sesame based dressing is whisked together to go over the noodles, vegetables and cubed tofu.

After the noodles, vegetables and tofu are thoroughly coated in the dressing, some chopped cilantro adds a finishing touch.

This dish is good warm, at room temperature or cold. I loved the combination of flavors, and especially appreciated the fact that it didn't heat up the kitchen.

Roasted green beans with marcona almonds

This recipe was never supposed to be made. I ripped this particular page out of Bon Appetit for a different recipe that was on the front of the page. One day I was going through my recipe clippings, and the page was turned over so that the picture of these roasted green beans was facing up. I decided to give it a try, and I've made it a few times since then.

This is another really simple recipe that produces unique results. Green beans and onions are roasted at high heat and seasoned with lemon and herbs. Chopped marcona almonds finish the dish.

The first time I made the recipe, I tossed the raw green beans onto the pan and threw them in the oven. It tasted great, but the green beans turned an unattractive shade of drab green. I figured out that blanching the green beans before roasting allows them to keep their vibrant green color.

Chocolate almond spice cookies

One day I felt like baking, but didn't want to run to the store to buy any ingredients. I found this recipe for chocolate spice cookies, and I had just enough chocolate in the house to make a half batch.

The great thing about this recipe is that it's made entirely in the food processor, which means less dishes to wash. The dough is flavored with ground almonds, cocoa powder, bittersweet chocolate and allspice.

This is a slice and bake cookie, so the rolls of dough need to chill for a while before they're ready to bake. I added a sliced almond to the top of each cookie to make them more attractive.

I really liked the cookies - the cocoa and chocolate contribute a rich, complex flavor, and the allspice makes these unique. I put half of the dough in the freezer for another day, so I'll be baking these the next time I need another chocolate fix.

Apple cider brined chicken

I had a chicken in the freezer and was looking for something interesting to do with it. I know that it's not exactly the season to be cooking with apple cider, but trust me here. This apple cider brined chicken is great any time of the year.

The brine ensures a moist end product, and the cider adds just a touch of spice and sweetness. The recipe called for removing the skin partway through cooking time, but that sounded like a lot of mess and hassle, so I left the skin on. The sugar in the cider made for very crisp and browned skin, so I'm glad I didn't remove it.

I think this would also be great on the grill, I would suggest cooking it over indirect heat to prevent burning.

Quesadillas with poblano rajas

There are not many foods simpler than a quesadilla. Tortillas, cheese, heat, eat. Of course there are many variations on the basic version, and I think my favorite happens to be the addition of poblano rajas. Poblano rajas is a mixture of roasted poblano chiles, onion, garlic and Mexican oregano. I adapted this recipe from Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen.

The recipe starts with poblano peppers. These peppers are pretty mild, but there is some heat packed into the seeds and veins, so take caution when removing those. The peppers are roasted until blackened, peeled, and cut into thin strips.

The onions and garlic are cooked separately in a pan. I like to use a red onion in this recipe because it adds a hint of sweetness.

After the onions and garlic are cooked, the pepper strips are added. The whole mixture is seasoned with salt, pepper and mexican oregano. I keep both Mexican and Mediterranean oregano on hand. If you don’t have Mexican oregano, you can substitute a different variety, but the flavor won’t be exactly the same.

Once the poblano rajas is done, it’s time to assemble the quesadillas. The original recipe calls for corn tortillas and Mexican cheese. I typically use flour tortillas with whatever cheese we have on hand. Not exactly traditional, but convenient and still delicious. This time around, I used flour tortillas with white cheddar and mozzarella cheese, and topped each quesadilla with avocado and cilantro.

Poblano rajas

Makes about 2 cups

1 pound poblano peppers, seeded, roasted and peeled
1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium red onion
2 garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican

salt and pepper to taste

Cut the peppers and onion into 1/4 inch slices. Heat the oil at medium heat in a skillet. Add the red onion, cook for 5-7 minutes until translucent and slightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the poblanos and oregano to the pan, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Mini cornbread puddings

I pulled this recipe out of Everyday Food magazine a few years ago, and I haven't made another cornbread recipe since. I find that sometimes cornbread can be dry - not these muffins. They're actually called cornbread puddings because they come out so moist.

The recipe starts out with typical cornbread ingredients - flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt.

The dry ingredients are mixed with an egg and sour cream. The sour cream adds all the moisture, there's no butter involved. I use light sour cream, it works just fine. A generous amount of corn kernels are also stirred into the batter.

The batter is spooned into muffin tins to bake. You can use mini muffin or regular muffin tins. If you go with a regular muffin pan, add a few more minutes to the bake time. Here I used a mini muffin pan, but I almost always go with full sized muffins.

These bake very quickly, and are out of the oven in less than 15 minutes.

I tend to serve the muffins with jam, but they're also great with butter or honey. If you wanted a more savory muffin, you could probably add some minced bell pepper or jalapeno to the recipe.

Brownie pudding cake

This cake recipe has been in my family for a long time. I can’t believe it took me 2 and a half years to write about it – maybe because it’s not the most photogenic of dishes. However, it tastes amazing, I always have all the ingredients in my pantry, and the whole recipe only contains 3 tablespoons of fat. How can you go wrong with that?

So where does the pudding come from? A thick layer of cocoa powder and brown sugar goes on top of the cake batter. Next, a few cups of boiling water are poured over the whole thing.



When the cake bakes, the base layer of batter rises to the top to create a cake topping and the pudding sauce ends up on the bottom.

This cake can be eaten hot, at room temperature, or chilled. The consistency of the pudding sauce will vary depending on what temperature it’s served at. If you serve it right out of the oven, the pudding is more of a thin chocolate sauce. As the cake cools, the pudding layer starts to thicken. The cake is great served with ice cream, or simply eaten as is.

Brownie pudding cake
Serves 4-6

3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 3/4 cups boiling water
powdered sugar, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch square baking dish or round souffle dish. Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and 1/3 cup cocoa in medium bowl. Add milk, butter and vanilla, stir until just blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared dish.

Combine brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa in small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Pour boiling water over entire mixture; do not stir.

Bake 35 to 38 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the top layer comes out clean. Cool at least 10 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Grilled shrimp with mango rice

I chose this recipe because the colorful picture caught my eye, and it sounded like a fun flavor combination. To get started, I prepared the marinade for the shrimp, which is a mixture of soy sauce, garlic, ginger, curry powder and cayenne. I put the shrimp into the marinade and got to work on the rice.

The rice is cooked in coconut milk and water – I went with brown basmati rice, which worked perfectly. After the rice is cooked, it gets tossed with diced mango, red pepper and shredded carrot.

The rice is finished off with lime juice and a combination of fresh herbs – green onion, cilantro and parsley. I know it sounds like a lot of ingredients, but you can cut everything up in advance and simply toss with the rice before serving. I also think you could get away with skipping one or two of the herbs if need be.

The shrimp get threaded onto skewers and grilled. They cook through very quickly, so keep a close eye on them.

For serving, the shrimp skewers are placed on a bed of the mango rice. The slight spiciness of the shrimp goes really well with the sweetness of the mango. I loved the tropical flavors in this dish.

Sauteed morels with white asparagus and fava beans

As soon as spring hits, I keep an eye out for fresh morels at the market. I was lucky enough to find some really nice ones a few weeks ago. I took a cue from Sunday Suppers at Lucques and combined the morels with white asparagus and fava beans to make a delicious spring vegetable dish. The original recipe uses ramps, but I couldn’t find any when I made this, so I used the fava beans instead.

There’s not much that's better than fresh morels with butter. The asparagus and fava beans complemented the morels nicely. I served this over polenta as a main course, but it would also work well as a side dish.

Soba noodles with chicken and vegetables

I pulled this recipe out of one of my cookbooks because I thought it looked like an interesting way to serve chicken. I had every intention of (mostly) following the recipe, but my plans changed. That day, my mom brought me a large container of snow pea shoots and some oyster mushrooms. At that point, it didn’t make any sense for me to go out and buy the vegetables specified in the recipe, so I used the pea shoots and oyster mushrooms instead.

The vegetables are cooked with chicken and tossed with soba noodles. A soy and sake based sauce completes the dish. I don’t cook with soba noodles that often, but I should; they cook quickly and have a great texture.

Although I strayed from the recipe, I think the original combination of broccoli, button mushrooms and red peppers would also be great in this dish.

Almond jam bars

I'm still trying to use up almonds over here. I am happy to report that I am down to the bottom of the can, I only have about a cup left. These almond jam bars helped to make a dent in my supply.

The dough for these bar cookies is very simple; it's a standard flour-butter-sugar combination with the addition of cinnamon and sliced almonds.

Half of the dough is pressed into the bottom of a pan. I lined the pan with foil to make for easier removal of the bars. A layer of jam goes on top of the dough. I went with a mixed berry jam, but you can use whatever type you have on hand.

The other half of the dough is gently pressed on top of the jam to form the top layer. The bars are then baked until golden brown.

I loved these bars - they're not the most unique creation I've ever made, but they were quite delicious and so simple to make.

Adobo pork tenderloin with grilled pineapple salsa

Some of the most unexpected ingredients come to life on the grill. Ever tried grilled lettuce? If you haven’t, you should; trust me on that one. In this recipe, pineapple is tossed on the grill to create a unique and delicious salsa for pork tenderloin.

The pork tenderloin is marinated in a mixture of lime juice, garlic and spices. While the pork marinates, the pineapple and some vegetables go onto the grill. The original recipe called for grilling the pineapple with red and yellow bell peppers, and left the red onion and jalapeno raw. I figured that I might as well throw everything onto the grill; I prefer cooked onion over raw onion anyways.

The pineapple only needs a few minutes to cook through – the grilling process really intensifies the flavor of the fruit.

Once the pineapple and vegetables are done, they’re coarsely chopped and mixed with lime juice and cilantro to create a salsa.

After the salsa is made, the pork goes onto the grill. I tend to cook pork until it’s just slightly pink on the inside.

The pork and pineapple salsa is a great flavor combination, but I could also see this salsa being great on chicken or fish.

Cheddar pecan flowers

Most people don’t think to make their own crackers. If you haven’t tried it before, you should. The process is fairly simple, and the results are so much better than store bought. I combined extra sharp white cheddar cheese with ground pecans to get a cracker with a bold flavor.

The ingredient list is minimal for this recipe, and the dough comes together quickly in the food processor. I added some chipotle powder for a touch of heat and a smoky flavor.

The dough is rolled out and cut into shapes. I used a 2.5 inch flower cookie cutter. You can use a different shape, but the cutter should be at least 2 inches. Otherwise, you can simply cut the dough into squares. The crackers are sprinkled with fleur de sel before heading into the oven.

The crackers bake until crisp and golden brown. These crackers are great on their own, but could also be served as an accompaniment to dips and spreads.

Cheddar pecan flowers
Makes about 2 dozen
Adapted from the Martha Stewart Living Cookbook

½ cup all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
¾ cup pecans, toasted and finely ground
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons cold water
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
fleur de sel for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour, pecans, kosher salt, black pepper and chipotle powder. Add the butter, pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the cheese, pulse until the cheese is thoroughly incorporated into the mixture. With the machine running, gradually add 2 tablespoons of cold water; process until the dough comes together.

Gather the dough into a ball, dust with flour. Put the dough on a plate and cover; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Roll the dough to ¼ inch thickness. Cut the dough into shapes using the cookie cutter. Place the crackers onto a baking sheet lined with a silpat. Sprinkle a little fleur de sel over the tops of the crackers; lightly press the salt into the dough.

Bake for 17-20 minutes, until the centers are firm and the crackers are lightly browned. Transfer to a rack to cool.