Weekly Meals

Tomorrow my newest full-time job adventure begins. By full-time job adventure, I mean my career - weird. I anticipate being home fairly late every day this week. That anticipation had led to worrying about dinner.. that worrying has developed into a plan of attack. A dear friend of mine, Danielle, has recently been posting on Facebook about spending Sunday prepping casseroles and dinner for the week with her 2 adorable girls. We've decided to share some recipes and, in a way, split the planning duties for the week. Because of Valentine's, our menus differ a little bit (she's preparing some fab sounding Maple glazed cornish game hens, but I just anticipate having that time).. Here's what's on the dinner agenda for the week:

Fondue (definitely Monday for Valentine's)
Pizza stuffed Chicken (courtesy of Danielle & Paula Deen mag)
Mix & Match Baked Pasta
Pesto Pasta (That recipe is here)

Other than fondue on Monday, I'm not sure what days we'll have which. The last time I had a full-time job, I used to plan per day, but found ourselves unhappy. I like to buy what we need for these dinners, do as much prep work as possible on Sunday, and then cook whichever we're in the mood for on the day.

I am excited for our Valentine's meal of fondue. We love fondue, but are tired of paying an exorbitant amount for melty cheese, so I've found a few wonderful recipes and am having trouble deciding which to use. I know a lot of people say they aren't fans of V-day because they aren't in relationships, but I'll be honest, I love it... Always have, even when I wasn't in a relationship. I'm not necessarily on board with all of the commercialism hoopla, but I do appreciate that there is a specific day set aside to appreciate love. I believe that love can be any type of love: individual love of oneself, friendship with gal pals, platonic with opposite sex, relationship, and family. I also believe the best way to celebrate whichever type of love you choose to, is to cook (I have a Pavlovian aversion to eating out on Valentine's)! Cook a fabulous meal for yourself or loved one(s) and celebrate the love you have in your life!

Last year's Vday meal:


It was a skinny chicken cacciatore, over veggie tortellini, and a stuffed zucchini.. ya ya ya, we were in a healthy eating phase, but contrary to what you might think about healthy eating, this meal was delicious. Needless to say, fondue this year will be slightly less healthy ;)

My last bit is about the Mix & Match baked pasta. This sounds generic, I understand that. If you don't get the Food Network Mag, I highly, highly suggest you do. It is jam packed with recipes. Are all of them awesome, no. Is there a good amount of fantastic recipes, absolutely. The best part of the magazine is how it inspires me! This month's is an Italian issue and it is chock full of delicious-sounding recipes, paired with amazing photography. I aspire to one day have one of my photographs in this mag. My favorite part of this month's issue is the Mix & Match page. It's broken up into 6 categories: Pick a Pasta, Make the Sauce, Choose your Mix-Ins, Flavor the Sauce, Pick your Cheese, and Bake the Casserole. Between all of these options, the magazine says there's "thousands of possibilities". I'm going to give one of these a shot this week. I'll let you know what combination I pick and how it turns out. In the mean time, have a great St. Valentine's Day; hopefully, you're spending it filled with love ♥.

Wednesday Cooking Adventures

I stopped at Nelson's veggie stand and picked up all sorts of things. The thing I find about having these veggies, is that I'm more inclined to cook with them if I've got them. Every time I go, I try to get something new.. this time I got portabello mushrooms. Right when I got home, I sauteed one in a little EVOO (I dislike Rachael Ray and her annoying phrases, but EVOO is just so much easier than extra virgin olive oil!). I threw on some shredded mozz and a little balsamic and had a delicious, healthy lunch!

For dinner, I wanted to make up a veggie sauce. I sauteed some EVOO, shallots, garlic, basil, s&p, yellow bell pepper, zucchini, broccoli, and roma tomatoes. I let them simmer and it created this delicious sauce. I cooked up some veggie rotini noodles and sauteed some flour-eggwash-breadcrumbed chicken cutlets in a pan. Here's how it came out:



It was delicious and such an easy way to get in a bunch of veggies without any preservatives or anything. I'm not opposed to jarred sauce on nights when I'm exhausted, but I also like to take the time to prepare fresh - when I have the time of course.

Pick up some of your favorite veggies and try something new!

Twice Baked Potatoes

We love 'em in this household, there's no doubt about that. They take a little time, but are generally worth the process. Did I say a little time? Everyone knows, potatoes take forever to cook! Don't have an hour for roasting? Cheat! Par-cook the potatoes in the microwave for a few minutes... this will shave quite a bit of time off the oven process. I decided to use the twice baked potato as a platform for some creativity lately. Here's what I've come up with:

This is my version of a BLT potato. This big guy holds a yummy mixture of spinach, tomatoes, pancetta, and goat cheese.. baked until browned. This was definitely a highlight of this meal.


This, my friends, is one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. This is my buffalo style potato! I followed a recipe I used for buffalo dip and mixed in the potato and loaded it back up. It was, seriously, delicious.

Steven talked about this potato for almost 2 weeks. That's a major accomplishment in my book. Not to self: recreate ASAP.

Use the potato as your basis of creativity. Load it up with your favorite things and enjoy!

Dinner!

I wanted to cook us up a delicious, but low key, healthy dinner. I had about .75lbs of shrimp, a box of couscous and some veggies that needed to be used up. There is no recipe for tonight's dinner. I was totally winging it. The veggies I had were acorn squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots. I generally roast acorn squash with some cinnamon, vanilla extract, sprinkle of brown sugar.. so I wanted to use those flavors, but add in a savory element of some herbs and cayenne. I knew it would be a thin line between delicious and take out, but I gave it a shot. The results were worth the risk! It was the perfect balance of savory and sweet; all of the elements combined in delicious harmony. Here's dinner:

Pesto- Hooray!

Pesto seems fancy. It's something those unexposed are often intimidated by. Last time I brought pesto crostinis to a party, I actually heard someone say, "What's that green stuff?" I of course answered with "...a gift from God." Needless to say, he tried and loved! Shockingly, pesto is simple. This recipe calls for a food processor, but if you don't have one, I'm willing to bet a blender and some spoonage between pulses would work just fine.

So, let's start with the recipe. I use a basic one from Food Network with some alterations:

• 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 cloves garlic *1
  
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese *2

*3 - additions


Directions

Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 1/2 cup of the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

If using immediately, add all the remaining oil and pulse until smooth. Transfer the pesto to a large serving bowl and mix in the cheese. *4

1. I generally start with 2 and taste. Garlic clove size is never consistent. The best way to know if you have enough is to taste!
2. I use parmigiano reggiano. I always have it on hand, so I'm not going out of my way for Pecorino. They're both salty and work well with this recipe.
3. I like to add a squirt of fresh lemon juice to this. I think it makes it taste a little fresher and helps it to keep it's bright green color.
4. I add the cheese right into the food processor. I like to make sure everything is equally blended.

The most important thing to remember, when making basil, is to not over-process it. Just enough so the bits are similar sizes and everything is well blended. After you add something, take a small sample.. this will ensure the best pesto possible!

Here's a couple things I've created with pesto:

This is my pesto crostini.

I sliced that sourdough french bread (I have a small obsession with sourdough) thinly and toasted for a few mins in a 350° oven. I topped with the pesto, a little crumble of goat cheese and a couple chops of sun dried tomato. We are lucky enough to have an amazing vegetable market very close by, which is where I purchase fresh goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes. As I mentioned, we are lucky. Do with what you've got. I know Publix sells goat cheese, that's just fine and I'm sure there's sun dried tomatoes somewhere in those aisles... just remember, if they're in oil.. drain that off before chopping and topping. I served these at a Christmas party, perfect with the red and green! Super easy and very fancy!

Here's my version of a pesto pasta, with parmesan roasted tomatoes and some goat cheese:



Steven loves Pesto, but other than crostini I wasn't sure how to serve it to him... until I saw an episode of Barefoot Contessa in which she prepared a pesto pasta, so I decided to give it a go. I sliced a tomato or 2. Threw them on a baking sheet, topped with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and into a 350° oven while I prepped the rest (keeping an eye on them). Once the toms were ready, I pulled them out, gave them a few mins to cool, and chopped 'em up. I layered penne (not whole wheat, but a healthier blend), the roasted tomatoes, some of the pesto, and finally some goat cheese. After a couple pictures, we mixed this pasta up and divulged. The goat cheese added some tang and creaminess, the tomatoes roasted were a perfect complement to the zesty pesto. This dish was a simple example of flavor layering. It doesn't always have to be difficult to be delicious!

I've got the flu!

Yes, it's true. I'm 3 days deep into the flu and I am miserable. I know that one day (probably in about 3 weeks) I will regret saying this, but I am beyond tired of resting. I managed to get myself off the couch today and cook some dinner. Prior to doing so, I did a little recipe hunting. I think that finding a decent recipe that includes ingredients I like and either have or can easily get (read: Steven picks up on his way home), is half the battle. Once I found something that fits all of these requirements, I think about recipe alterations: what substitutions I'll make, what ingredients I'll omit, what procedures I'll skip/add.

Today I wanted to make a soup... like soul food for the flu-ridden gal. With this congestion, I knew it couldn't be anything creamy. I've yet to make a Paula Deen recipe that disappoints, so I generally start there. If I want to make something that she doesn't have, I move to the Food Network website, and from there, just to the general internet-google search, if I can't find anything there, I make it up! I headed to www.pauladeen.com and typed in soup in her recipe search. I weeded through the creamy and weird sounding soups and came across one that I had most of the ingredients for - I decided to give it a shot. I picked Tastes Like Lasagna Soup - the Bobby lightens up version. In all honesty, it's been Christina Lightens Up for years. Anyone who knows me in the kitchen, knows I always take little shortcuts to lighten things up.. low fat here, light there.. it all adds up to a lot of saved calories, so I'm on board with Bobby's versions of Paula's dishes. The recipe is as follows (the asterisks and numbers will indicate changes I made):

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound Italian turkey sausage, casings removed *1
1 onion, chopped *2
1 green bell pepper, chopped *3
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 ounces broken whole-wheat lasagna noodles (about 4 noodles) *4
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil *5
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese
8 Whole-wheat breadsticks or grissini (optional) *6
additions *7

1. I had ground turkey, so I used that instead. I actually liked being in control of the seasoning, instead of at the mercy of whatever was added to the sausage.
2. I used 2 shallots. I love 'em and they're basically the only onion I use!
3. I (even we) dislike how overpowering green peppers are. I used a yellow one for this recipe.
4. I didn't have lasagna noodles.. what I did have was manicotti, so I crushed those up and used them instead!
5. My basil plant is still recovering from my last batch of pesto - worth it! I have an Italian seasoning mixture from good ole Publix. I substituted a couple shakes of this for the basil. Would fresh basil have been nice? Probably. Did Steven eat this and say, "Hmm could use some fresh basil"? No.
6. Whole wheat breadsticks aren't something I want to spend money on. What we do have is a sourdough french bread loaf. We used a couple thin slices with a little butter.
7. What I added in was a zucchini, some banana peppers (from the jar) chopped, and about a tbl of lemon juice. I had a zucc and I knew it wouldn't be good for much longer, so I decided to add it in - what could it hurt? We could use the extra veggies anyways. I chopped it the same size as the shallots and bell pepper and cooked it right along with those guys, since they were all cut the same size, they cooked nice and evenly. I threw the banana peppers and lemon juice in after I sampled it and thought it was missing a little zing. They gave it the perfect little tang.

Here's the directions:

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick saucepot or Dutch oven. Add the sausage, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is crumbled and browned, 8 – 10 minutes.

Add the broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 20 minutes. Add the noodles; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens slightly and the noodles are tender, 10 – 12 minutes. Serve with the breadsticks, if using. (whole-wheat lasagna noodles take a little longer to cook.)

I followed these directions, minus the breadstick stuff.

Here's how mine came out, ooey-gooey melty cheese topping and all:




The original recipe, in its entirety, can be found here: http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/bobbys_lighter_tastes_like_lasagna_soup/



Quite a few of my friends have been expressing how hesitant they are to cook. I wanted to break down this recipe in a way that reflected the things I modified. Recipes are nothing more than starting points.. and if you mess up, there's always take-out!

I have recently really dreaded writing recipes, which is the reason for my lack of posting. It's difficult for me to keep track while I cook and the anxiety of someone preparing a dish based off a recipe I created and having it be unsuccessful because I forgot something was too much, so I've decided to try out a new format. I'm going to review places we eat and recipes I (we) try. Along the way, I'll post some of the things I've made up on my own and if you'd like the recipe, I'd be more than happy to type it up for you. So, expect more blogs, but in a new format. Yay!

12A Buoy

12A Buoy used to be this to locals:


A couple years ago, locals' idea of 12A Buoy changed. A new place opened in what was the ghost of restaurants past: Ramp Raw Bar (they moved on the island), Black Pearl (which we affectionately called Yak Hurl), etc. The new place was called 12A Buoy:


This is a locals' kinda place. Its owners and workers are all locals (I attended school with a couple of the employees and we're friends with another couple). One of our friends, Ben Lewis, is the chef there. He is, of course, not the only chef, but I know for certain that he the chef who creates my favorite thing to order: THE SPECIAL! The special is nothing specific, it changes twice a day, everyday! It is always a culinary display of Ben's skills. The dishes come to the table as first a treat to the eyes and then to the taste buds. Here are a couple samples of things we've had that I've photographed:

This is a grilled swordfish filet, atop creamed spinach and a potato pancake in a beurre blanc sauce, topped with a roasted red pepper. Hands down one of the best seafood dishes of my life (and Steven's as well!)


What you're looking at here is Chilean sea bass cheeks prepared coconut crusted and served with atop a pineapple salsa, drizzled with cilantro sour cream and a sweet chili sauce. Chilean sea bass is not very common, let alone the cheeks. Probably seems odd to those unaccustomed to seafood, but the cheeks are one of the most tender parts of a bigger fish and generally a rarity on menus so I jumped at the opportunity to order!



Here is a traditional southern fish fry, complete with collards and slaw (peeking in the background). The fish was flaky and complemented perfectly by the caribbean sauce served with it.


This is the beautifully plated ahi tuna served with pickled ginger, soy sauce, and a wonderful wasabi sauce. The best part of this dish is it tasted as amazing as it looked!


This was a special I ordered at lunch. Talk about a hearty entrée! What you're looking at here is a roasted vegetable couscous, serving as a delectable bed for a healthy cut of grouper, prepared blackened.


I try my best to end every meal at 12A with a slice of their key lime pie. This tall, white slice is, in fact, key lime pie. I know it's not the traditional, but it has changed my life. It is always sold out, so I take it when I can get it.. even if I'm stuffed full, if a slice is available, I'm taking it to go!


I have had several opportunities to try their other dishes, and have yet to try one I didn't tell everyone about. They have a new addition to the menu, fried shrimp served smothered in a sweet chile sauce. An old favorite is a lobster mac and cheese served in a personal cast iron skillet with big chunks of lobster - the perfect ratio of noodles to cheese to lobster - which I often order as my entrée. Their clam chowder is in fact a thick chowder, which several unmentioned restaurants have been lacking lately. They also have a roasted vegetable flatbread pizza, which offers the tang of goat cheese amongst the veggies.

Prior to writing this post, I poked around the internet and did some review reading. It is blatantly obvious to me that several people, who are not locals and/or are pretentious diners, took the time to write how they feel. Does 12 A have the best service? Not always, but I'll admit attending school with a waitress or 2 and knowing a chef doesn't hurt. Does 12A run out of things? Absolutely, all restaurants do. Do I blame them? No! I know how small that kitchen is and I know the capabilities for keeping fresh seafood in stock, especially in questionable weather. Also, I've been there during an hour and a half wait - you can't predict that sort of rush and always stocking enough for that kind of thing would probably mean a lot of food goes to waste.

If you are a servers in ties, martini with dinner, and/or eat in a rush kinda person then this is not the place for you. Server wear t-shirts. They only serves beer and wine. The atmosphere is relaxed and I can guarantee you will not be able to enjoy it if you are not also relaxed.

12A is located at 22 Fishermans Wharf Fort Pierce, FL 34950 and can be reached at (772) 672-4524. When I say that they are located at fisherman's wharf, it is in fact, fisherman's warf. 12A shares a parking lot with a local boat ramp. This makes it one of the ideal lunch spots for post-boating - we'll fish early, pull the boat out and park right back in our spot to grab lunch. As a local, my only request is that if you eat here PLEASE do NOT park in the long parking spots; they are intended for trucks with boat trailers! Also, 12A is closed on Tuesday - random, but true!

If you're on the Treasure Coast and interested in delicious seafood and a relaxed atmosphere, definitely give 12A a try.