New Year Brunch: charcoal grilled ribeyes, seasoned fried eggs, and parmesan roasted asparagus with garlic-rubbed toast

 

I usually make this on the first weekend of the new year.  By then, you've had time to shake off the haze from New Years Eve and you can turn your attention to the 364 days that remain:  impossible resolutions already discarded for doable ones; possibilities and opportunities abound in front of you.  Time to sit down and contemplate your next move. Let it be brunch.

It’s classic steak and eggs, but so much better:  charcoal grilled ribeyes, seasoned fried eggs, and parmesan roasted asparagus, with garlic-rubbed toast to get every last bit of yolk (and goodness) on your plate.  Serve it with a chilled bottle of bubbly prosecco to usher in your fabulous new year and your 2021 isn’t starting out so bad. 

Stick with me, kid…I know things :)

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

serves 2

2 ribeye steaks 

1 pound asparagus, trimmed

2 eggs

1 baguette

1 garlic clove, peeled and cut flat on one side

1/2 tablespoon butter

grated parmesan cheese

olive oil

salt/pepper/garlic powder

seasoned salt (I use Lawry's)

charcoal (if you want to use a propane grill, that works too!)

Light charcoal and prepare grill.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Rub steaks with a little olive oil, and season with salt/pepper/garlic powder.  Cut baguette into slices and drizzle with olive oil.  Set aside.

Drizzle olive oil on asparagus and toss to coat.  Season with salt and pepper.

Roast in 350 degree oven until crisp tender, approx 25 minutes depending on how thick the stalks are.  When done, sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

roasted asparagus

In the meantime, grill steaks (I like mine medium rare) and bread.  The bread only takes a few minutes, just enough to get nice char marks.   When done, remove and cover the steak to rest while you make the eggs.  Rub one side of the grilled bread with the cut garlic clove. 

Melt butter in non-stick pan.  Make fried eggs.  While eggs are cooking, sprinkle with seasoned salt.

Assemble all on plate, open your chilled prosecco, and serve

NOTE:  If your steaks are nicely marbled like the ones above, the fat that runs throughout them will separate nicely while cooking and melt into gelatin.  OH so good...see?...

Homemade Hot Chocolate with Marshmallow Whipped Cream

 

Hot chocolate by the fire.  Really...is there anything better?

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Hot Chocolate Mix:

Enough non-fat dry milk to make 20 quarts (the box I buy has 10  1-quart packets, so I buy 2 boxes)

1 pound powdered sugar

22 ounces non-dairy creamer

1 pound Nestle Quik 

Mix all together.  Put 1/2 cup in a mug and fill with hot water

(Note:  this mix makes A LOT so use a very large tupperware container to mix and store it in)

Whipped Cream:

1/2 pint heavy cream

7 ounces marshmallow fluff

1 teaspoon powdered sugar

Pour cream in a bowl and sprinkle powdered sugar over the surface.  Whip until you have whipped cream (I use an electric hand mixer).  Fold in marshmallow fluff until incorporated. Can be made a few hours ahead and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use.

fluffy!

Spicy Corn

My son’s favorite side dish in the whole world.  .

It started as a topping for "baked potato night" during Lent when he was little, and it slowly  became a side dish of its own.  He always makes sure it’s on the Thanksgiving menu, and for good reason: it's really good on the same fork with turkey and sweet potatoes.  It’s the one flavor combination that was missing all these years:  we had the saltiness of the turkey and the gravy; the cloying sweet potato puree;  the buttery, creamy, mashed potatoes;  the tartness of the cranberry sauce;  and finally now the spicy heat of the corn.  I kick myself for not thinking of it sooner.

Maybe work this into your Thanksgiving menu on Thursday.  You’ll be so glad you did  :)

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WHAT TO BUY:

1  29-ounce can of whole kernel corn, drained
red pepper flakes
butter
cream cheese
Monterey Jack cheese
parmesan cheese (for this recipe, the green can is fine)
salt/pepper
whole milk

This dish takes maybe 5 or 6 minutes to make.  If you're using it as a side dish, start it while your meat is resting...it's that quick!  Also...I only know how to make it, not how to measure it, so bear with me...

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in deep skillet. 

melted butter

Add corn and sauté over medium high heat until heated through.  

sautéed corn

Sprinkle with red pepper flakes--if your jar has the holes in the top, shake ...yes I swear...7 or 8 times into the corn.  Uncap milk and pour a little into the pan, counting to 3 (like:  1, 2, 3, stop pouring...).  Add salt and pepper to taste and saute until heated through.  The more you heat the corn with the red and black pepper in it, the spicier it will become.  

Add 1 tablespoon cream cheese.  Turn heat to medium low and stir into the corn until incorporated and the mixture becomes hot and bubbly.  Let simmer a minute and you should now see it becoming thick.  Pour into your serving dish.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top, and freshly grate Monterey jack over that.  It will melt by the time it gets to the table.  Serve immediately.  (Serves 4)

Manhattan

It’s a gray and rainy Fall day down here in Naples, FL.   Season is in full swing and we're already weary and tired, so for the next six months, here’s what I will be relaxing with after work.

That’s right. I brought back the Manhattan. Don’t say no because yes I did!

A few years ago I told my friend Steve my plan to do so and he didn’t believe me—until he had one with me at lunch.  Now he’s hooked.  Hooked on sweet, smooth, orangey goodness that has just enough bite to take the edge off the day.  Double Old Fashioned glass, extra cherry.

Last year was about testing:  I had 2 really good Manhattan’s in Chicago—at Rebar (awesome round ice cube mold) and at Chicago Cut Steakhouse (made with Rye).  The best one I’ve had here in Naples is at the Grill Room in the Ritz-Carlton (soaked cherries and extra juice).  So I’ve played around with them a little (to my delight tested far too many!) and here’s what I’ve come up with.  Really good!  

It's getting cold in the rest of the country.  I just returned from Chicago where it was 27 and snowing.  Light a fire, cuddle up, and make some Manhattans. You’ll for sure thank me later :) 

 

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(makes 2 drinks with some left over)

WHAT TO BUY:

Note:  I like the juice of regular maraschino cherries and the garnish of luxardo cherries, so I buy both.  The juice is essential to this recipe, but if you like to garnish with the regular marashino cherries, then you've saved yourself some time and money and don't need to buy the luxardos because admittedly, they are a little pricey

Bourbon (I like Makers Mark and Knob Creek)

Sweet Vermouth

Bitters (I like Angostura)

1 jar regular maraschino cherries

1 jar luxardo cherries

1 orange

ice

cocktail shaker

shot glass (approx 1.5 ozs)

In your cocktail shaker, mix:

6 shots bourbon

2 shots sweet vermouth 

3 or 4 dashes Bitters

splash of juice from the marashino cherries (maybe 2 teaspoons)

Shake, and pour over ice.  

With a paring knife, slice off a piece of orange peel about the size of a quarter.  Twist to release the juices, run it around the rim of the glass, and place inside the glass with 2 luxardo cherries. 

Lentil Soup

 Rain rain, go away.  Blah :(

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

hand-held immersion blender

Olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup dried lentils  

1  28-ounce can diced tomatoes, do not drain

4 cups chicken broth

4 cups beef broth

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 or 3 stalks fresh thyme

fresh baby spinach

1 teaspoon ground coriander (dried) 

1 teaspoon ground cumin (dried)

2 small carrots, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces

2 small stalks celery, chopped into bite size piece

course salt/freshly cracked pepper

Drizzle olive oil in soup pot.  Saute carrots, onion, celery, and garlic over medium heat until softened.  Add broth, tomatoes, thyme, and dried spices.  Simmer covered, 10 minutes.

Add lentils.  Salt and pepper to taste. Stir together.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer covered for 40 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir, and puree the soup lightly--pulsing, approx 8 seconds.  YOU ONLY WANT TO THICKEN THE SOUP slightly, you do not want a smooth soup.  If you think it's thick enough, you can skip this step but I never do because it gives it body.

Drop 2 large handfuls of spinach into the soup and stir in.

Ladle into bowls and finish with kosher salt and cracked pepper.

Fry Sauce

When I was growing up, my mom made this to dip baked chicken in, and my dad called it “sloppy sauce.”  My daughter calls it “fry sauce”.  As the name suggests, she uses it to dip french fries in yes, but also burgers and chicken tenders, and anything else that needs general deliciousness  :)

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup ketchup

1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

pinch black pepper

Mix together and chill in refrigerator until ready to use.

Blackberry Cobbler

The freshest fruits of summer come together to make this delicious cobbler.  You can make it with raspberries, blackberries, plums, or peaches, and once it cools down and the fall weather arrives—apples!  Then it becomes the Apple Crisp I posted here in 2016.

They say August is the Sunday of Summer and here we are already, in the waning days of the season.  Pretty soon we’ll be breaking out the Yankee candles and cinnamon brooms.  This is the perfect way to hold onto summer just a little bit longer :)

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(WHAT YOU'LL NEED)

4 small containers blackberries

Fresh lemon juice

1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup butter (plus a little extra to grease the pan)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
cinnamon
vanilla ice cream

Grease the pan (I use a ceramic pie pan) with a little butter.  Add berries and lightly squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over them.

In mixing bowl, add sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt.
Break egg into a separate cup then add to sugar mixture.  Use fork to mix together until crumbly.  You'll think there's no way that one egg will make a crumbly mixture but just keep working at it.  By the time your wrist is sore, you'll have equal size crumbs.

Sprinkle crumbs over the blackberries.

Melt butter, then drizzle over the crumb mixture in pan.  Sprinkle a little cinnamon over the top.

Bake uncovered for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Serve hot with vanilla ice cream.

Cold Asian Noodles

Talk about versatile and easy: they’re cold, so all the preparation is done in advance (ideally the day before)--and it does triple duty as a vegetarian lunch, add poached shrimp and it's a nice light dinner on a summer night; leave out the peanuts and it's a good side dish for  grilled meats and sandwiches.  My favorite way to eat it is to add cooked, shredded chicken before you chill it so that you end up with an Asian chicken salad that pairs REALLY NICELY with a cold, crisp pinot grigio.  Tomato Tom-ah-to...   :)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

ps:  this is always better the next day, when the sauce has had a chance to soak in

8 ounces thin spaghetti
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 tablespoons sesame oil
juice of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 green onions, sliced
roasted, salted peanuts - chopped
optional:  cooked & shredded chicken or poached shrimp

Make pasta according to package directions. 
Mix remainder of ingredients (except peanuts) in a large mixing cup.

When pasta is done, drain and place in large bowl.
Pour sauce over while noodles are still hot and mix.  If adding chicken or shrimp, do so here.
Refrigerate until the next day so sauce has a chance to soak into the pasta.

Take out of refrigerator 15-20 minutes before serving.
Mix well, and serve with chopped peanuts sprinkled over the top.

Blueberry Jalapeno Muffins with Homemade Honey Butter

When you eat a muffin at 11 am on a lazy Sunday morning with your family, I’m sure you’re calling it breakfast.  But if you call it BRUNCH, you can have a carafe of Costa Rican fresh roast, pitchers of bloody mary’s, and some loud festive music.  Boom, just like that, it’s a party!  All because you said brunch.  Then you can go back to bed and take a nap.  You’re welcome :)

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

1 box of your favorite blueberry muffin mix & whatever ingredients it takes to make them

(I use Jiffy, and it calls for 1 egg and ¼ cup milk)

1 whole jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

½ stick salted butter, softened

Honey

Muffin tin and paper muffin cups

Note:  these go really well with ham.  Just sayin’…

Prepare muffin mix according to the directions on the box and add the jalapeno pepper.

Mix and bake.

While they’re baking, make the honey butter:

Place softened butter in a small dish and squeeze a nice amount of honey on top.  Mix it with a spoon until it’s incorporated. 

Serve muffins hot from the oven:  break open and spread with honey butter

Barbecue Chicken Wings

Memorial Day is the unofficial beginning of summer, and we're so excited to leave the dreary weather behind that we drag it out over a whole weekend:  barbecues, grilling, igloo coolers, jello shots, wait what?...  And if you're lucky enough to live in the Midwest or on the Eastern Seaboard, you're already in Celebration Central!  

This is one of my favorite things to grill on the outdoor holidays--chicken wings.  Mine are a little spicy, kinda sticky, and totally delicious.  Paired with your favorite sides and some ice cold drinks, you really can't go wrong.  So get out your sparklers and put up the bunting--summer's here!! :)

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(WHAT YOU’LL NEED)

As many chicken wings as you'd like
Your favorite barbecue sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's)
Cajun seasoning (I use Tony Chacheri's)
1-2 teaspoons honey
1 lemon, quartered
Cayenne Pepper
Garlic Powder
Salt/Pepper


Mix sauce:
How much sauce you make will depend on how many wings you make.  Start with this and add more ingredients if needed:
In bowl, place 2 cups barbecue sauce, juice of 1/4 lemon, 1 teaspoon honey, and some sprinkles of cayenne pepper.  Mix and taste.  Adjust as needed.

Heat grill

Place wings on cookie sheet and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. 
Tip:  do not add the sauce until the wings are almost done.  Otherwise the honey and sugars in the sauce will crystallize and burn before the chicken is cooked.

Grill wings, turning as needed.  When almost cooked through, start basting with the sauce.  Continue doing this until the sauce has had time to heat up nicely and thicken on the wings, and the chicken is cooked all the way through.  The wings should be a little sticky.  Remove to platter and serve with your favorite side dishes.

radishes, cauliflower, celery, sugar snap peas, and carrots with a buttermilk ranch dip

I made these wings for dinner last week and I served them with a fresh vegetable platter.  Two actually, as there's a picky eater in my family who only eats carrots and celery...grrrrrrr

the picky eater vegetable platter

Naples Daily News Article 4/17/20

Thank you to the Naples Daily News for featuring me in this article that appears in print today, 4/17/20.  The link is below, and as always, you can check out more of my recipes and crazy ideas here on my blog at dishingmemories.com 

https://www.naplesnews.com/story/life/2020/04/15/less-dining-more-cooking-how-6-florida-food-bloggers-adapted-covid-19/5129532002/?fbclid=IwAR1KdotynxMtHZBMdY0zn1JzCkllAMIJA9m5sObPldfTuX2PuVuvojeEos4

Ham Biscuits with Red Pepper Jelly

When I would spend the holidays with my boyfriend's family in Louisville KY,  I would fly in late on Christmas night and always arrive excited and hungry.  His sister-in-law, Beth, would have the leftovers wrapped and put away in the refrigerator, but I'd go in the kitchen and make myself a ham biscuit right away, every time.  On those nights it was an easy one:  ham with mayonnaise on a tiny beaten biscuit...heaven.

The way I make them today takes no more effort, they're so easy.  Ham...biscuit...the name says it all.  My favorite is ham and red pepper jelly...mmmmm...savory, spicy, and sweet at the same time. But the combinations are endless:  I also like ham, white cheddar, and apricot preserves,  and ham with a drizzle of hot honey.

In the South they're traditionally made with beaten biscuits (New England calls them sea biscuits)--tiny, hard, flat biscuits that are kind of like a fluffy cracker--but use whatever kind you like.  Again, it's just ham on a biscuit--you really can't screw it up :)

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 YOU WILL NEED:

leftover ham, cut off the bone

red pepper jelly (kept chilled until ready to use) or hot honey

frozen biscuits

Cook biscuits according to package directions.  When done, split biscuit and place ham on bottom half.  Then, either spread top half liberally with jelly OR drizzle ham with hot honey.   Close biscuit, and serve warm. 

baked biscuits

Mango Salsa

Right now it's hit or miss at the grocery store.  They don't have what I want so I buy something else, and then tomorrow there it is.  That's kinda the story of my life...
But what I AM seeing is lots of produce.  Perfect.  This refreshing mango salsa goes with all the grilled meats, so no matter what they have today, you're covered :)

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

2 or 3 mangos, diced
1/4 of a red onion, diced
1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
juice of 1 lime (plus another lime reserved for later)
1 red bell pepper, chopped

 my jalapeno plant

Stir all in bowl and chill in refrigerator.  Before eating, stir and season with a little salt and pepper to taste, and another squeeze of fresh lime juice. 

Last night I served it with grilled fish

Clam Chowder

My friend Kathy is from coastal New England.

One summer, she was headed to Cape Cod for vacation and I was very jealous because of the delicious food I knew she’d be eating.  “It’s different than you think, Christine”, she kept saying…a phrase she still uses with me to this day.  NO, I told her, I LOVE clam chowder and fried clams.  Then she advised:  "it’s not the Chunky clam chowder you love from the can, and it’s not the clam strips you’ve been eating in diners all your life. It's real".  I wouldn’t believe her.

As fate would have it, I got to see for myself just a few years later, when I was on Martha's Vineyard..

I went to a little place upstairs from a bigger place and had some fried clams.  They smelled DELICIOUS and they were so fresh and hot that I could barely touch them.  Couldn’t wait…I threw one in my mouth and what the hell…it was like eating a gigantic booger!  Didn’t wanna swallow it but had to, couldn’t drink enough Corona to get rid of it.  I checked the menu again “whole belly fried clams”.  It says fried clams, so what was THIS??  She laughed for 5 minutes.  Kathy, where can I get the fried clams THAT I LIKE and she said “rubber bands with breading?? Publix, aisle 6, frozen food section, Mrs. Pauls”. 

About the fried clams she was right, but I still love clam chowder any way I can get it, and I think you’ll like this recipe, too.  It’s not too thick, has fresh thyme, and big chunks of potato.  The clams are chopped though…the clams are definitely chopped…  :)

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WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

* make this the night before you want to serve it.  It always tastes better the next day.

1 can chopped clams, drained

4 tablespoons butter

5 pieces thick-cut bacon, chopped

1 leek (slice through the white part a few times to clean inside it, then slice all the white part and approx 1/2 inch into the green part).  Discard the remainder of the green part as it can be fibrous and tough

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces

1 bay leaf, broken in half

oyster crackers

1 1/2 cups cream

1/2 cup whole milk

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup clam juice

1/2 cup white wine

2 springs of fresh thyme

salt/pepper

1 large handful chopped fresh parsley

optional:  oyster crackers or saltines

In a large Dutch Oven, saute bacon until crisp.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease.

Add butter to pan and saute leeks over medium heat until soft.  Add potatoes and wine and cook for a few minutes, then add clam juice, chicken broth, thyme, and bay leaf.  Simmer until potatoes are soft, approx 20 min.  

Drain clams

When potatoes are soft, add clams, bacon, cream, and milk.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  The clams can be briny, so be careful.  Let simmer on low briefly to heat all and meld the flavors.  When done, remove and discard thyme and bay leaf (the stalk of thyme should be bare) and take soup off the heat. Set aside and let cool before putting in the refrigerator, covered.

The next day:

Reheat soup on low until hot (do not let it boil).  Garnish with parsley and serve with crackers.