Morocco was bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S! (recipe 156)

But before there is the quintet of places and the quintet of recipes, there will be the Morocco pictures! And since Morocco was bananas, there will also be a recipe featuring bananas...

Hello Marrakesh!

Moroccan mint tea experience in the souk!

photo bomb!

Sahara Desert! (15 miles from the Algerian border)

Those are camels!

Sahara sunset!

Legit (and totally spontaneous) magic carpet ride in the dunes of the Sahara!

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!! The recipe for Bananas Foster is inspired by the famous Brennan's in New Orleans http://www.brennansneworleans.com/r_bananasfoster.html.

BANANAS FOSTER
Ingredients:
-2 bananas, cut lengthwise
-1/4 stick butter
-1/2 c brown sugar
-the teeniest sprinkle of cinnamon (we all know how I feel about cinnamon- dislike!)
-1/4 c banana liqueur
-1/4 c rum
-vanilla ice cream

Instructions:
1) combine butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a skillet and cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved
2) stir in the banana liqueur and put the bananas in the pan
3) slowly add the rum when the bananas start to soften

4) cook the sauce until the rum is hot and then..... LIGHT IT ON FIRE! (So fun, oh my goodness, so fun!)

NOTE: this picture is blurry because I was literally jumping away from the flame while taking the picture!

5) divide the bananas and serve over vanilla ice cream!

I didn't disappear...

Oh hi!

Hello!

I didn't disappear! Stay tuned for a quintet of places and a quintet of recipes...

recipes 154 and 155: weekend waffles!

My bracket is totally dunzo. We shall never speak of March Madness 2013 again. Frown face. Tear. Resignation. Still, my kitchen table looks like a very intricate bracket scoring center. And that's because since both Tristan and I have no chance of winning the pool at this point, we're still in a very intense competition among ourselves. Loser makes winner dinner. Winner dinner! 

Moving along.... to... Weekend Waffles! Here are two totally delicious waffle recipes, both adapted ever-so-slightly from Joy the Baker: http://joythebaker.com/2009/05/brown-sugar-bacon-waffles/ and http://joythebaker.com/2012/01/savory-cornmeal-and-chive-waffles-with-salsa-and-eggs/.

BROWN SUGAR CANDIED BACON WAFFLES WITH FRESH STRAWBERRIES
Ingredients:
-8 slices bacon
-1/3 c brown sugar
-water
-1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
-1/2 T baking powder
-1/2 t baking soda
-1/2 t salt
-2 t vanilla
-1/8 c additional brown sugar
-2 eggs
-1 1/4 c buttermilk
-fresh sliced strawberries, butter, and maple syrup
-1/3 c grapeseed oil or cooking spray for the waffle iron

Instructions:
1) cook the bacon using this candied bacon recipe minus the cumin: http://cookingmywaytothe365.blogspot.com/2012/04/recipes-23-and-24-chunkey-monkey.html
2) whisk together all remaining ingredients except the strawberries, butter, maple syrup, grapeseed oil/cooking spray (whisk until just blended); crumble the cooked bacon and stir it in
3) cook according to your waffle maker instructions and serve with butter, maple syrup, and fresh strawberries... YUM!

CORNMEAL/CHIVE/SALSA/EGGS/CHEESE WAFFLES (What? Yup!)
Ingredients:
-1 c flour
-1/2 c cornmeal
-1 1/2 t baking powder
-1/2 t baking soda
-1/3 c melted butter
-1 1/4 c buttermilk
-parsely
-sprinkle of sugar and sprinkle of pepper
-1/2 t salt
-3 T fresh snipped chives
-toppings: salsa, fried eggs, melted cheese, hot sauce, extra chives, etc.
-for the waffle iron: grapeseed oil or cooking spray

Instructions:
1) whisk all ingredients except the chives,toppings, and grapeseed oil/cooking spray just until mixed
2) stir in the chives

3) cook according to your waffle maker instructions
4) while the waffles are cooking, fry some eggs and melt cheese on top of the eggs if desired
5) top the cooked waffles with your choice of desired toppings

"The Tiffany": crispy fried egg with melted cheese, salsa, hot sauce, and chives

"The Tristan": runny fried egg with chives

recipes 152 and 153: "jeudi jambon" (and... also the polite way to eat March Madness crow)

Serves. Me. Right. I brag, brag, bragged about my March Madness abilities and specifically cited to Oklahoma. And then Oklahoma State lost. And I am now near the bottom of my pool because I made that pick with my heart instead of my head. This year, I am a March Madness bottom feeder. My bracket is so bad that I just tried to trick two of my friends into buying it from me for 60% off. No dice. Perhaps a bigger lesson was learned in all of this. That lesson is: "Use your brain." Oh, good idea! With that, I will probably gracefully silence myself and will stop yip-yapping away about March Madness. Crow = eaten.

So it is Thursday. Which means that it is time to refer back to the French days of the week song and post a couple of ham recipes in the spirit of "Jeudi Jambon." Ham reminds me of Easter. Easter is coming up. I need a distraction from March Madness, so here you go. The first recipe is slightly altered from Ina Garten's Food Network recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/croque-monsieur-recipe/index.html. I think I adapted the second recipe from Skinny Taste but I am not 100% sure if it came from here or somewhere else: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/03/chicken-cordon-bleu.html.

LE CROQUE MONSIEUR
Ingredients:
-2 T butter
-1 c hot milk
-1 c light cream (the original recipe says to use 2 cups of milk and no cream but I prefer the sauce a little bit thicker)
-1/2 c grated parmesan
-12 oz Gruyere cheese (in a block), grated
-salt, pepper, and the tiniest pinch of nutmeg
-Dijon mustard, to taste
-8 oz good ham
-3 T flour
-16 slices of good sourdough bread

Instructions:
1) preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2) melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour, stirring for about 2 minutes
3) slowly pour the milk and cream into the flour, whisking until the sauce is thickened
4) take the sauce off the heat and add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, parmesan, and half of the Gruyere (stir until melted)
5) place the slices of bread on baking sheets and toast in the oven for 5 minutes, flip over, and toast in the oven for 2 more minutes
6) brush each slice of bread with the desired amount of mustard, add ham, sprinkle with Gruyere
7) top with another piece of toasted bread, slather the tops with the cheese sauce, and divide the remaining Gruyere among the remaining sandwiches (sprinkling it on the top)

action shot!

8) bake the sandwiches for 5 more minutes, turn on the broiler and broil for 3-5 minutes until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned

serve with some salad... trust me, you'll feel better about yourself!

LE CHICKEN CORDON BLEU
Ingredients:
-4 chicken breast cutlets
-4 thin slices of ham or prosciutto
-1/2 lb Gruyere, grated
-1/4 c flour
-salt and freshly ground pepper
-1 c panko breadcrumbs
-4 sprigs of rosemary
-1 garlic clove, minced
-2 T butter, melted
-2 eggs
-olive oil (or, I suppose, cooking spray)

Instructions:
1) preheat the oven to 450 degrees
2) prep three bowls filled with the following: (a) flour, salt, and pepper (mixed together), (b) breadcrumbs, rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper, and melted butter (mixed together), and (c) whisked eggs, salt, and pepper
3) layer on top of each cutlet: 1 slice of ham and 1/4 of the Gruyere
4) roll each cutlet combo and dip into bowls (a), (b), and (c)
5) lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil or cooking spray and transfer the chicken onto the baking sheet
6) bake for 20-25 minutes until browned and cooked through

Literally the worst picture ever! I think I took it with my old blackberry! But alas, I promised a picture with every recipe...

Back to the March Madness scores... deep breath, deep breath...

recipes 150 and 151: the first day of spring equals brackets and peas!

There are some things that remind me of the beginning of spring- peas, asparagus, lemons, eggs (Maybe because of Easter? Who knows what goes on inside my head!), and MARCH MADNESS BRACKET PRESSURE. Or for short, since I've said this so many times in the past 24 hours and feel the need to abbreviate in the spirit of word economy, March Madness bressure. I am unsure whether the stray blog reader is aware of my March Madness prowess and so I will discuss that for a minute. I came in first in a big pool in 2011 (and yes, a printout of my winning bracket is still in my purse and is a go-to document when solace is needed). Last year, I came in third in the same large pool, missing the second place cash money prize by only a hair. I heard today that people were complaining about my participation in my beloved March Madness pool of choice because I am that good. All of this being said, I make my picks with my heart and not my brain. I say things like: "Oh Oklahoma, you have a special place in my heart [mind wanders for about 10-12 minutes about why Oklahoma has a special place in  my heart] and I would like you to advance to the next round. Done." I pick like such the stereotypical girl! And then I win. March Madness is really anyone's game! So as it stands, I am really stressing out about Gonzaga v. Ohio State and Georgetown v. Indiana. I have an image to maintain, people! The choices are much tougher when I have to resort to logical analysis over intuitive emotion. So I'll take a little break from that and move on to peas! Spring peas! Happy first day of spring! Good luck with your bracket picks! And please get your winter coats dry-cleaned asap, it is time (oh wait, that last note was just a reminder to me). The first recipe is adapted from the Food Network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/spring-peas-with-dates-and-walnuts-recipe/index.html and the second recipe is from a printout that my mom sent me awhile ago (source otherwise unknown). Both recipes are delicious if I do say so myself.

SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH DATES AND WALNUTS
Ingredients:
-1 lb sugar snap peas
-a handful of frozen peas and a handful of snow peas (in your discretion; they can be eliminated entirely as they were the last time I made this- see picture below- and it was just as delicious)
-1/2 T - 1 T olive oil (depending on whether you use extra peas)
-1 shallot, sliced
-1/3 c chopped walnuts
-1/3 c chopped dates (believe it or not, but you can actually buy finely chopped dates, which I did)
-pinch of salt and pepper (or to taste)
-2 t walnut or peanut oil

Instructions:
1) boil the water, blanch the peas, and drain them
2) heat the olive oil in a pan, add the shallots, and cook for two minutes
3) add the walnuts and dates and cook for one more minute
4) add the peas, salt, and pepper and cook for about 3-5 minutes depending on how al dente you would like the peas

I don't think I used shallots this time. C'est la vie! Still delish!

5) remove the peas from the heat and toss with the walnut or peanut oil

PAN-FRIED GNOCCHI WITH BACON, ONIONS, AND PEAS
Ingredients:
-1 lb frozen gnocchi
-5 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
-4 T olive oil
-one small red onion, sliced
-1/2 c frozen peas
-a handful of chopped fresh parsley
-2 T parmesan cheese
-salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1) cook the gnocchi according to package instructions, drain, but reserve 1/2 c of the pasta water
2) cook onions in 2 T olive oil; add the peas, parsley, salt, and pepper
3) remove the onion mix from the pan, add the remaining 2 T olive oil to the pan, and add the gnocchi
4) when the gnocchi has lightly browned, add the onion mix, pasta water, and cheese
5) stir, remove from heat, and serve

this is very, very, very yummy

recipe 149: the only successful recipe of St. Patrick's weekend

Dear corned beef- it's not you, it's me. Dear boiled cabbage- it's not me, it's definitely you, no matter what concoction of deliciousness in which I boil you. Dear Guinness- I don't succeed when I try to cook with you. I will stick to drinking you. Dear self- the luck of the Irish wasn't with you this year, but good trying! Better luck next St. Patrick's Day. Heart, Tiffany

Here- two pictures of wild St. Patrick's unsuccess (is that a word?):

I didn't like this meal as a child and I still don't like it. I should have known better! Gag!

These Guinness cupcakes looked good but weren't good. More beer than chocolate in a cupcake = disaster.

 

 

 

Lesson learned! From now on, on St. Patrick's Days of the future, I will stick to dressing up with green props because that is always a success. But despite all of this unsuccess, St. Patrick's Day was saved by a very social weekend and these potatoes (Potatoes are Irish, right? Right!), only slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/

CRISPY SMASHED POTATOES
Ingredients:
-16 small red potatoes
-olive oil
-salt
-cracked pepper
-fresh rosemary

Instructions:
1) preheat the oven to 450 degrees
2) boil the potatoes until they are fork tender
3) lightly drizzle oil on two cookie sheets and shake the sheets around
4) drain the potatoes, spread them out on the cookie sheets, smush them with a potato masher, drizzle with a little more olive oil, and top with salt, pepper, and fresh rosemary

5) bake for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are starting to look crispy

Thank you, Crispy Smashed Potatoes, for saving St. Patrick's Day 2013!

THE BLOG TURNS ONE! And recipe 148: the yummiest meatloaf ever!

Since you last heard from me, the blog turned one! Happy first birthday, Bloggy!

A lot happens in a year! My tried-and-true recipes skyrocketed from 133 to 201! I still have 54 tried-and-true recipes to post. And I have a list of 104 recipes left to try and make, a list that is forever expanding and simultaneously being edited. The first post incorporating a Venn diagram is 10-fold the most viewed post (because of the Venn and not the beans or caprese). The next most-viewed post is the post on chunky monkey pancakes: http://cookingmywaytothe365.blogspot.com/2012/04/recipes-23-and-24-chunkey-monkey.html. The things people search for that lead them to my blog still crack me up, such as this recent search: "made my own dirndl." In the past year, I've been on trips to Jamaica, Bermuda, Florida (twice), Vegas, California, Montana, New Orleans, DC, Maine, the Poconos, and Vermont. I've read a ton of books. I've moved. I've switched offices. I've weathered a hurricane. I've done A LOT of things at work that I can't write about. I've so far made it through over three weeks of Lent-with-no-Diet-Coke. I've brought the wedding count up to 43 weddings of non-relatives. I've semi-committed to hot yoga. I've come to terms with the fact that Tristan makes better tomato sauce than me. I've grown to like Hoboken a tad bit better, which is good because there are no plans to move away from here anytime soon. I've become a better cook! We shall see what Year Two of Bloggy brings. I can promise that it will bring pictures with every recipe. I can also promise that Bloggy will lay off the Venns a little bit. And other than that, who knows! We'll see!

So lately, Tristan and I are both loving this meatloaf recipe. In fact, it's what we ate for dinner on Valentine's Day. This is an interesting turn of events, because I absolutely abhorred meatloaf as a child. Meatloaf nights were nights when wee Tiff would beg to peace out and eat dinner at a friend's house (or even a neighbor's house). The times have changed because I love, love, love this recipe. It comes to you adapted from The Pioneer Woman: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/09/my-favorite-meatloaf/

THE YUMMIEST MEATLOAF EVER!
Ingredients:
-breadcrumbs (maybe about 3/4 c) and enough milk to just moisten them
-1 lb ground beef
-1/2 c grated parm
-salt and pepper
-1/3 c minced parsely
-2 eggs, beaten
-5, 6, or 7 slices of bacon
-3/4 c ketchup
-1/4 c brown sugar
-squirt of mustard
-squirt of hot sauce or sriracha

Instructions:
1) preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2) mix the ingredients from the breadcrumbs through the eggs just until combined
3) form into a loaf on a cookie sheet lined with foil
4) lay the bacon slices on top and tuck the ends of the bacon underneath the meatloaf
5) make the sauce by stirring together the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and hot sauce
6) pour 1/3 of the sauce over the bacon and spread on top

 7) bake for 45 minutes and pour another 1/3 of the sauce on top, spread, and bake for an additional 15 minutes

 8) remove from the oven, slice the meatloaf and serve with the remaining sauce

YUM!!