Cauliflower Leek Soup

We are officially moved into our new home, which means back to grocery shopping and back to cooking more "me" foods.

Here's one of my first creations: Cauliflower Leek Soup

(because apparently Dan likes to pick up produce that I've never cooked with before). Leeks? Really?

Well, leeks are delicious!

I sauteed one bunch of leeks with one head of cauliflower (both roughly chopped) with garlic in olive oil until they were soft. Added 1 cup of chicken broth and 1 cup of white wine and let it simmer until it came to a boil. I used my new favorite thing ever, the immersion blender, and pureed until it was smooth and creamy.

Voila!

Very tasty, and a beautiful color! I imagine it would be even better if I Paula Deen'ed the damn thing and added a ton of cream and butter.

Weekend Eats!

A good friend's wedding made for a jam packed weekend of eating. Sorry, no pictures from the wedding itself; the food, especially the cocktail hour was amazing, but I was too busy dancing (ok, drinking) to take pictures.


The day before the wedding we arrived at the hotel, to find that it doesn't serve lunch. We set out searching for a generic pizza place, but couldn't find it. We spotted a deli, and were making our way towards it when we noticed a bar across the street. We picked the bar (duh!), which turned out to be The Stanhope House! Score, a blues club, and legendary BBQ joint.

I had the The BBQ Chicken Sandwich, and Dan the Smoked Brisket Sandwich

Oh yeah, fries, coleslaw and HUSH PUPPIES!

Sorry, I got excited. I hate that this place is so far from us, cause I could eat here every farkin week.

After our amazing lunch, we basically partied all weekend, and topped it off by finally trying the new(to us) Sonic on the way home.

Now it doesn't really seem fair to complain about fast food, because it is, well, fast food. But this was a major let down.

I don't know how service can suck at a drive-through, but it did. Service aside, the food was just meh.

I had the Grilled Chicken Sandwich (for someone who doesn't really eat red meat, this was the only option. The website lists veggie burgers, but they weren't on the menu here.)

Which was at least a true (albeit tasteless) chicken breast.




And a side of "Ched R Peppers". Ok, these were pretty good in a greasy, eat after a weekend of hard drinking way, as evidenced by my eating three before taking the picture.

Dan had a Double Cheeseburger, which looked pretty fancy, but tasted exactly like a McDonald's Burger.



I did enjoy the drinks, Dan had a super-thick vanilla milkshake, and I had an Ocean Water (Sprite + Blue Coconut flavor).

So, in sum, Stanhope house--worth the forty minute drive; Sonic--not worth the five minute drive.

"40" Clove Chicken

Confession, I didn't make this. My mother did. But if fits my newfound love for all things crockpot. It is super simple, and suprisingly tasty.

3-4 pounds chicken
1 large onion sliced
20-40 garlic cloves, peeled, but intact
Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice the onion and layer it on the bottom of the crock pot. Top with chicken pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the garlic cloves (we definately used closer to 20 than 40). Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve on egg noodles, with plenty of bread to sop of the sauce.

Pizza Party, Second Attempt

You may remember my first attempt at homemade pizza here. Which I was pretty darn proud of.

Well, I tried again, this time using my cousin's suggestion of using way more flour. Success!

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

Dan and I both recently turned 30, and some friends of ours took us out to dinner to celebrate. We went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Weehawken. (If you're interested in the wonky name, a woman named Ruth bought Chris Steak House in New Orleans, with the requirement that the Chris name remained...hence Ruth's Chris).


Anyways, I'm not the biggest fan of red meat, but they have a killer chicken dish so I was more than happy with the choice.

Orange Citrus Mojito

Stuffed Chicken Breast

(Oven roasted free-range double chicken breast stuffed

with garlic herb cheese and served with lemon butter)

And Dan had some big hunk of steak.

I didn't get pictures of the sides, but are served "family style", so we ordered a bunch to share: mashed potatos, asparagus, sweet potato casserole and creamed spinach. I'm sure everything here is prepared following some Paula Deen recipe, because they tasted way too good to be healthy at all, but hey, it's a splurge!

And a pretty view to end the night.

You win some, you lose some

I had a total craving for Shepherd's Pie, but alas had no meat. I figured lentils make a good stand-in in meatloafs, so why not?

I sauteed an onion and pepper until soft, added lentils and water and cooked until the lentils were soft. Tossed in a ton of seasonings, topped with some mixed veggies, and some mixed mashed potatoes and spinach.

Covered the whole thing with lots of cheese and baked until it looked delicious.

But, unfortunately....

It didn't hold together. At all.

Meat Muffins

Oh wow, that sounds disgusting. Meat muffins. Hey lady, maybe try the next size up, I can see your meat muffins.

Anyways.....Here's one of my absolutely favorite, blow your mind with its simplicity, cooking tips.

Instead of the typical meat loaf, make them tiny in muffin tins. I'm sure the regular kind will work nicely, but I use the silicone type, and the mini loafs pop out like perfect little spaceships.

These is my basic turkey meatloaf recipe. I start with Ground turkey, and beef it up (lol) with black beans and dry oatmeal. Add an egg, garlic, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes and oregano, and mix well. I like to top it with the classic ketchup/mustard mix, with a little Sriracha thrown in if I'm feeling spicy.

Add mashed sweet potatoes and sauteed spinach and voici, you have dinner!