Category Archives: Recipe Experimentation

Hatch Chile Beer Can Chicken

September 3, 2010 By in Recipe Experimentation Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

It’s Hatch season…and that means it’s time for spicy goodness at Central Market’s annual Hatch Chile Festival. This is one of my favorite festivals because it signals the “almost” end of summer…AND I get to try a ton of amazing samples, all made with Hatch Chiles.

Hatch Chiles are these delicious creations from Hatch, New Mexico that are in season between August and October. There is so much flavor packed in these tasty peppers that lend so much depth to any dish. They come in different varieties from mild to hot. The hot chiles really can make your brow sweat, which can be surprising considering the size of the pepper (but I’m not complaining).

So what better excuse to try out some new recipes then Hatch season and the Hatch Chile Festival!!! Continue reading →

Summertime and Lobster Rolls

August 5, 2010 By in Recipe Experimentation Tags: , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Ever since my trip to Boston last year I have been craving a lobster roll! Unfortunately, living in Texas you aren’t always thinking lobster for dinner, especially due to the steep price tag. Then every once in a while, like Christmas in August, a local seafood market offers up a fantastic reason to eat lobster for dinner…Lobster Sale!!!

Monday morning I came in to work with a lovely gift in my inbox, Central Market was having a sale on live Main Lobsters for $9.99 a pound. There’s only one thing you do when you get an email like that, you re-plan your meal for that evening, jump in your car, and get some lobster! So with a beautiful 1 3/4 pound live Main Lobster and Canadian Lobster Tail in tow the evening’s meal became crystal clear in my mind!!! Continue reading →

A Taste of Pakistan: Chicken Pilau

March 6, 2010 By in Recipe Experimentation Tags: , , , , , 2 Comments

*Update: My original post referred to this dish as Biryani. I later found out that this is actually Chicken Pilau.

A great thing about my job is that I work for such a diverse company. We have many different cultures that love to share the flavors of their world. One of the girls I work with is from Karachi and I love to sample the food that she makes. I attempted to make one of the signature dishes of her country, Chicken Pilau, and I thought I would share my experience!

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Mushroom Lasagna with Creamy Béchamel

January 10, 2010 By in Recipe Experimentation Tags: , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

It’s been too long since my last post. Once Thanksgiving hit, the last few months of 2009 were just a whirlwind. I must say this holiday season was an exceptionally good one. The food was phenomenal and the family time was really special. The joy of having a large family is the multiple events to attend. Of course that means more holiday food! I ate enough casseroles and desserts to last me through 2010.

With all of the delicious calorific food that was consumed my waist line was not happy with the end result. But what is a girl to do when tempted with such deliciousness?!?! Well, my heavy appetite has yet to subside and the freezing cold weather that Dallas has been seeing has yet to pull me out of hibernation mode. So, now is when I turn to my favorite magazine for scrumptious and healthy good eats…Cooking Light. I can’t say enough good things about this publication…and lovely website as well. Not only do they offer great cooking techniques but the food is healthy and truly delicious.

Since we are in the new year I thought it would be appropriate to share with you my favorite comfort food but with a healthy twist. No, I did not make a health induced resolution this year, but after the over indulgence that was Thanksgiving and Christmas, it is time to get back on track.

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Cheesy Chicken Roll-Ups with Lemon Risotto

November 15, 2009 By in Recipe Experimentation Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

I’m starting to finally get the hang out of building multiple meals using the same ingredients. For so long I’ve just made a list of meals to make, completely different from each other, purchased all of my groceries and ended up wasting most of the leftover ingredients. After re-evaluating how much money I was throwing in the garbage I’ve really tried to focus on pulling my meals together better. This weekend was the perfect time to put this new practice to use. Here are the results! 🙂

Friday Night Dinner:

White Pizzas with Arugula by Ina Garten

This recipe was absolutely delicious! I cut the recipe down a bit so I had plenty of leftover ingredients for another meal. I cooked the pizza a minute or two too long but the crust was crispy and the cheese was gooey and scrumptious. The arugula salad on top really tied everything together. Add a Caesar salad (yes I know more greens…but it’s too good to resist) and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and you’ve got the perfect meal.

Saturday Night Dinner:

Today was one of those perfect lazy Saturdays. When it came time to start thinking about dinner I didn’t have the energy to go back to the grocery store, and facing the busy restaurant crowds didn’t sound appealing at all. So, I opened the pantry and got to thinking. I had some leftover cheese, arugula, and lemon vinaigrette from the night before, a bag of frozen chicken, fresh thyme, a container of Arborio rice, and a little bit of white wine left. After some creative thought, along with a little help from Food Network, this is what I came up with. Continue reading →

Creamy Farfalle with Turkey

November 10, 2009 By in Recipe Experimentation Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

In today’s economic times it’s important to save pennies any way that you can. While preparing my weekly menu I wanted to incorporate as many things from my pantry that I could. I have a tendency to LIVE at the grocery store. Nothing clears my mind like the aisles of a well stocked and diverse foodie heaven, but sometimes I can go a little overboard and tend to spend way too much. Here is what I like to call a pantry recipe, using ingredients that I already have on hand.

*Disclaimer: I didn’t measure the ingredients so these will be estimated to the best of my ability 🙂

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Homemade Pizza and Pesto Pasta

October 28, 2009 By in Recipe Experimentation Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Last week my husband and I spent a wonderful evening celebrating our wedding anniversary! I decided to utilize the new skills that I learned at Central Market’s “Italian Fresh Pasta” class, and make some Pasta with Pesto and homemade pizza. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the wonderful Kitchen Aid attachments that I used in the class, so my trusty hands and rolling pin were the tools I had to work with.

Since I already made the pasta dough in class there were just a few steps I had to take before the pasta was ready for the pot.

**Side Note: You can use these same techniques with store bought frozen dough.

  • Take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit until it reaches room temperature
  • Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until slightly soft
  • Cut the dough into fourths and roll out the pieces until sheet thin
  • Cut each large piece in half to make it easier to work with
  • Using a pizza cutter, cut the pasta sheets into thin strips, the size of Fettuccine

Once I finished cutting the pasta it was time to finish my pizza! I have to say everything turned out wonderful. We topped off the meal with a delicious Caesar Salad and a bottle of Pinot Noir. Give these recipes a try…they are delish! Continue reading →

Fall, football, and tons of delicious food!

October 22, 2009 By in Recipe Experimentation Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Fall is my favorite time of the year. Especially living in Texas, it’s so nice when the cool weather starts to give you a break from the heat. From Halloween to Thanksgiving, Fall is the time for parties, friends, family, and FOOD! To kick off this festive time of year, football definitely gets the party started.

I love football food! Chips, dips, hamburgers, and hotdogs are just a few things that make Saturday afternoons a joy. This past weekend was a pretty big game for all of us Okies and Texans. The Red River Shootout (OU vs. TX to be exact) didn’t turn out the way my household wanted it to, but we still had tons of food and fun.

My husband was in charge of the grill and I was in charge of the dips. Give our creations a try at your next football party! They are DELISH! Continue reading →

Adventures in Shell Fish: Lobster Tails & Crab Claws

October 11, 2009 By in Recipe Experimentation Tags: , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Tonight’s Inspiration: Weekend special at Central Market – Lobster Tails $4.99 a piece (4oz); Snow Crab Clusters $4.99 a pound

Tonight’s Mission: Don’t overcook the Lobster!

Last Friday I was going about my everyday work routine when a lovely little email popped into my mail box – Central Market was having a weekend only special on seafood. But not just any seafood, Lobster and Crab! I am a lover of shell fish, but most of all, I am a lover of Lobster, especially Lobster tail. Unfortunately, I don’t usually cook, well I’ve never cooked, with said ingredient because of the expensive price tag. So when I saw the golden opportunity to try my hand at one of my favorite foods…I jumped.

The Menu:

  • Four 4 oz Lobster Tails, Steamed
  • Two Crab clusters, Pre-Cooked
  • Boiled New Potatoes & Green Beans
  • Sourdough Baguette with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar
  • Delicious White Wine

When I started to prep everything I have to admit, I was pretty nervous. This was my first chance to really show off to my hubby in the kitchen, and make him his FAVORITE food for the first time. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. The first question was, how do I cook it? After conversing with Matt we decided that the potential for failure was greater with the grill, I would probably most definitely overcook it in the oven, and boiling just didn’t seem that sexy. So the verdict was STEAMING. Second question, these lovely little creatures look so nice and snug in their shells. Do I just drop them in to the steam basic as is, or do I have to cut into something? I have one very trusty friend that I turn to in times of need in the kitchen…Google.

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Life is better with Tex-Mex

September 12, 2009 By in Recipe Experimentation Tags: , , , , , , , , , 10 Comments

Tex-MexI can’t have a food blog and not talk about my favorite food in the world! Well, as the title says, life gets a whole lot better with a little bit of Tex-Mex. It makes me happy just typing the name. 🙂

I have to preface this blog by saying that I love ALL types of mexican food and, in my personal opinion, it doesn’t get any better than the Mexican food in Texas. Since I can remember I have always been drawn to chips, salsa, and of course…Queso! I mean what’s not to love about a big pot of melted cheese with some spicy beef, hot peppers, and roasted tomatoes thrown into the mix. My obsession started young and I have to blame my Okie/Texan family for introducing it to me early on. Half of my family is from Oklahoma and half from Texas..it makes for a fun football season let me tell ya!

My first real memory of Mexican food started with my grandfather’s salsa. Anytime I would ever go over to see my grandparents the first thing I would do is go to the fridge and pull out the salsa. He would even hide it sometimes because, once the boys found where it was hidden, it would be gone in a matter of minutes. For years I couldn’t find a salsa as good as his until I finally tasted my big brother’s recipe.

Side Note: As I mentioned in the “This is Me” section, my father is an amazing cook, but he’s not the only one. My grandfather and brother can really hold their own in the kitchen.

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