Fettucine with Fresh Corn Pesto

Alright, I have neglected my blog for over a month… I have even wondered if I’d write in it again? But due to my DOGS (Dear old Grandparents) inquiry of where I’ve been, I am now back! People asking me to post another recipe seems to be the only motivating factor these days! In NY, blogging was somewhat therapeutic and I always had an interesting story to share. Nowadays, life is more routine and stable to say in the least, I don’t run into as much crazy weather, crazy people on the subways, or have crazy hours of working late at the restaurant. Now my hours at the store are scheduled which is nice, and I come home in perfect timing to cook dinner.


The only thing I can say is that working at the store has changed my (political) views a bit (hello real world) and made me more ugggghhh annoyed with our government. Now that I’m living at home for a bit, I do get my nightly dose of the news, so I am getting (slowly but surely) a little bit more education about government spending and about our terrible debt. Well now I get it. SO MANY PEOPLE COME IN WITH FOOD STAMPS! It’s shocking, tax payers are paying for these “poor people” to buy Red Bull. Yes, we are paying for them to get super expensive and a super unhealthy energy beverage. As well as paying for them to buy Coca-Cola, Fruit Loops, biscuits, and doughnuts. I mean these people aren’t only spending 20 bucks, they can spend up to 300 dollars at times. I don’t know the policy of food stamps per se, except that the more kiddies you have the more you get. Have you seen what a 300 dollars crap filled cart looks like?! Almost overflowing the first one, sometimes these people need a second cart to get all their junk food. And the biggest kicker is people with buy beer and cigs with cash after their food stamp purchase; I mean these people aren’t trying to save and scrap as I’d like them to be! As well as we cash many welfare checks, heating assistance, and housing assistance. It’s truly awing how much people seek help from the government; I mean I really had NO idea until I started working at the store. I know it hasn’t always been like this and that Obama has had some doing with increasing food stamp benefits and of course our worse than ever debt in the country. So yes I am a little bitter about all this tax money being spent to buy junk. I think some help is necessary, but I think these people have way too much. It fits in perfectly with that saying, “Give him and inch and he’ll take a mile.” So I think the government should back off just a bit with these benefits or at least monitor them more carefully. Anyhow, this is my point of view and I’d like to hear your opinion of all this.

On a happier note, I have a wonderful Fettucine with Fresh Corn Pesto recipe for you. I have made this twice and the second time, it occurred to me I should blog about this. I’m terrible about taking pictures when I cook, culinary school has ingrained in me the ability to multitask, and often I have 3 things going at a time and I simply don’t think of stopping to take pictures of each step. This recipe is so flavorful with the bacon, corn, and basil. This is perfect for a simple dinner at home (hello leftovers!) and I think especially good for a big crowd because it is so simple and impressive.

There are some changes to the recipe I made, which included using whole wheat pasta and upping the garlic to 3 cloves and I just cooked it a bit with the corn. The second time I cooked this, I used toasted walnuts with was phenomenal (pine nuts are incredibly expensive right now!) I added shrimp to the pasta the second time and I think it made it even better, but optional for sure.




Pasta garnished with bacon, toasted walnuts, and grated parmesan


Mother’s Day is coming up and I hope everyone gets to cook their mom a great meal!

Salted Caramel Ice Cream Sandwiches

Time flies when one is busy! Now I understand the value of weekends, it’s the only time I have to catch up on tasks (such as blogging) and visiting friends. I’m currently living with the rents and it’s not too shabby, it’s fun to hang out at home and have people to cook for and dogs to play with. However, I’ve contemplated moving to Raleigh so I would be closer to friends… but the Pig Wig would be about 45 minutes away not a fun commute if I have to be at work at 6 am some mornings! So I might be living with mom and dad until I figure out where I should live when I move out… any help anyone? Should I live where I play or where I work?

Kath came home for spring break last night, but didn’t hesitate to text me before she got home to ask me what I was making for her homecoming dinner. I knew I needed to make something with seafood, make everything light and healthy, but a sinful dessert. I have made this before but made it again because I knew Kath would love it! This is great to make ahead and just make all the ice cream sandwiches and keep them in the freezer. This is my go to dessert and after dinner my dad will have a whole ice cream sandwich and my mom and I will usually split or quarter an ice cream sandwich.

Here are the recipes, one is a Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies that is very crisp and perfect for ice cream sandwiches and the other is a decadent Salted Caramel Ice Cream.  I hope you all get to try this recipe, which is perfect for the warmer weather coming up! 

Gorditas filled with Ground Beef con Mole

I’ve been working at the Piggly Wiggly for the past month or so. For the past 8 years or so, I told myself I’d neeeeeever ever want to work at the stores! But after arriving back from New York and applying to several companies and getting very few answers back made me rethink my options…. Now I realize how darn lucky I am that my family has a business and that I am able to come in and learn everything about how a grocery store operates. I love food and I love business so the grocery store field might just be perfect for me.

First, I worked in the meat department and spent about two weeks wrapping meat. The butchers cut everything from pigs feet to rib eyes and ground their own hamburger meat. I was impressed how smoothly everything ran even though sometimes the work seemed endless. On top of all the cutting the butchers had to do, the customers made several requests, they often wanted their whole chickens cut, whole short ribs cut into steaks, even their sirloin steaks to be ground up in the grinder. Now I‘m out of the cold refrigerated meat room and in the office learning how to cash checks, do Western Unions, and pay bills for customers. In the office there is always something to be done, such as counting the safe, adding up checks to make sure they match our figures on the spreadsheets, rolling up coins, and the list goes on! I was very surprised to learn how quickly we go through money. My dad will often go to the bank and pick up at least 20 grand and we will sometimes have to go to the bank 3 or 4 more times that same day. So sometimes (especially Thursday and Friday when all the paychecks come in) we are cashing out over $100,000 in payroll and tax checks. Good thing for us, we charge a small fee to cash checks (1% for payroll checks and 2% for tax checks) so the office does make money, which most offices don’t. Often, I feel like I’m back into accounting class when I’m looking at the spreadsheets and having to record multiple figures to make sure the cashier’s tills and all the money balances out. I’m glad all the accounting classes I took in college are finally paying off! Next, I’m supposed to be working in the deli/bakery and then the produce department.

After working real working hours from 8-5 Monday to Friday, I understand the concept of simple weeknight meals. After working all day, who wants to spend hours cooking? I made “gorditas” which were sooo good but not super authentic but tasted fabulous so who cares. I tore out a recipe called ground beef con mole out of a magazine. Any recipe with “mole” in it is bound to catch my eye. These are two separate recipes but soo good and worked perfectly together. Now the gorditas could be filled with anything from shredded chicken to refried beans. The ground beef con mole could be used to fill up tacos or empanadas. Both of these recipes are incredibly versatile but work very well together.

I found the gordita recipe on epicurious.com and here it is Gorditas Recipe.

Ground Beef con Mole

1 red bell pepper, chopped

½ cup finely chopped onion
1 lb lean ground beef

6 garlic cloves, minced

3 TB dark chocolate

2 TB sesame seeds

1 TB chili powder

2 tsp. paprika

2 tsp. dried oregano

2 tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp cayenne pepper

½ cup canned tomato sauce

½ cup hominy

½ cup fresh cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

1) In skillet, cook onion and red bell pepper until slightly softened. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Add the garlic.

2) Reduce heat to low, add in the chocolate, sesame seeds, chili powder, paprika, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes.

3) Add the tomato sauce and hominy. Let simmer for about 5 minutes until mixture is combined and thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pecan Molasses Bundt Cake with Bourbon Glaze

My dear old Granny’s birthday is coming up! I knew I had to send her something… it took me a while to figure out what to make her. First I though of chocolate, then coffee, then it hit me right on the head it’s gonna be BOURBON! I’ll admit this cake is sinful as hell but oh so good, and the only reason I know is because the first cake turned into a disaster and it was deemed unsendable to Granny. Not a disaster taste-wise, but appearance wise. When I flipped the bundt cake over, half came out and the top part of the cake stayed in the pan, and I tried to salvage the other half but it became sort of a big crumbly mess. Lesson learned. Now I’m going to explain the bundt cake making rules to you.

1) Butter and flour the pan. (I PAMed the first one) – if you try to mix PAM and flour it becomes a giant goopy mess- so butter it is

2) When cake comes of oven- put on wire rack, air needs to circulate around the entire cake so the bottom doesn’t become moist laden with steam

3) After about 15 minutes- take a sharp knife and go around edge and make sure nothing is sticking too much. Then put plate on top of cake and FLIP and pray to cake gods that it turns out ok!

The good news is that my dad ate the ugly cake for breakfast and dessert and I gave about half of it to my friends to relief my dad of some the cholesterol. And I made another big mistake; I used SCOTCH instead of bourbon. I looked in our liquor cabinet and didn’t see anything that said bourbon, but I knew bourbon is a type of whiskey… so I smelled the whiskey that we had and thought it smelled similar to bourbon. Boy was I wrong, now I know scotch ¹ bourbon, but it still turned out SO GOOD with scotch, this cake would taste good with any liquor as a matter of fact.

So messing up this cake was a blessing in disguise, we got to sample the Pecan Molasses Bundt Cake with Bourbon Glaze and god forbid I could not send Granny her birthday cake made with Scotch!  Happy Birthday Granny, I love you!   

Green Chili

Hey all! It’s sooo nice to be back in N.C., I’ve been catching up with old friends and really thought I had forgotten how to be social. In NY my social life was zilch and spent my evenings watching TV (sad really), but now I’m making up for it for sure thank god. I’m also making up on my cooking and baking… much more fun to cook for family and friends than just myself! I’ve cooked several things already, but this is the best thing I’ve made yet. With the Super bowl coming up so soon, what’s more appropriate than chili?! I am hoping that one of the teams in the Super bowl wears the colors green…. and do I know who has what color… most definitely not. Anyhow, I’m not normally a fan of chili, but this rocked my boat.

Green Chili (can serve 4 people)
-1 onion
-1 lb ground beef (I used lean)
-3-4 cloves garlic chopped
-6 tomatillos
-4 poblanos
-2 jalapenos
-1 Tb cumin
-1 Tb honey
-1 tsp. Salt
-1 small can black beans (rinsed)

Preheat oven to 450° Put tomatillos, poblanos, jalapenos on baking sheet and roast until brown in spots. Watch poblanos and turn a couple of times.

While the vegetables are roasting in oven, chop up the onion. Sauté the onion until translucent; add the meat and cook all the way, add 3-4 cloves of chopped garlic.

Peel the poblanos. Blend up the tomatillos, poblanos, and jalapenos in blender until salsa consistency. Add to meat mixture. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cumin, honey, salt, and black beans.

Top with sharp cheddar and sliced avocados.

This recipe is pretty darn easy. After culinary school, I think people expected me to be whipping up rabbit or lamb chops. But no I still like to use good ol hamburger meat… Try this for dinner soon or a Super bowl party!

Grain with Seasonal Vegetables and Cilantro Dressing

Last night, we had a winter storm warning and was supposed to snow all night and throughout the day today.  I was expecting to wake up with a couple of feet of snow, but thankfully when I opened my window I saw it only had snowed about 8 inches.  I don’t want to get snowed in the city!  I only have six more days in NYC, so with food I am just trying to use up everything I’ve already got. 

I don’t really know what to name this dish, because I have made many versions of this dish.  I’m going to name it Grain with Seasonal Vegetables and Cilantro Dressing.  I often crave it because it is sooo good; it is definitely the cilantro dressing that makes it!  If I know I will have a busy week ahead of me, I will make a batch of this, and leftovers are perfect for packing for lunches or dinner. 

This time I used wheat berries, because that’s what I had on hand.  Wheat berries have an incredibly hearty texture and is very filling.  Wheat berries are a great source of protein and dietary fiber, so if you have never tried this grain, I encourage you to do so!  I have made this dish using brown rice and quinoa, both resulting in delicious dishes as well. 

Grain with Seasonal Vegetables and Cilantro Dressing

1)      Cook about 1 cup (dried) of grain (wheat berries, brown rice, or quinoa) according to the package instructions.

2)      Roast favorite seasonal veggies in oven with olive oil and salt at 400° until nicely caramelized - For this dish I used red onion, sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts. 

3)      Make cilantro dressing- In blender, blend about 1 heaping cup of cilantro (almost an entire bunch), 2 cloves garlic, 1 lemon juiced, ½ tsp salt, and 1 TB honey.  Blend and slowly add about ¼ cup olive oil until resembles a dressing.  Taste! Add more seasoning or lemon if needed. 

4)      Toss together the grain, vegetables, and cilantro dressing, and reserved chopped cilantro in a large bowl. 

5)      Optional: Top with toasted walnuts if desired. 

Maple- Glazed Salmon

Maple- Glazed Salmon with sauteed kale on the side

Exciting news! I’m moving back to N.C.; I can’t wait to see green again, drive my car, and do laundry in my own house…all the things that are the pain in the ass parts about living in NYC. The first 7 months (while in culinary school and working) was such an exciting and new time, but for the past non-busy 2 months I have been dreaming about being back in Raleigh. I would fantasize about having dinner and wine parties with good friends, which I haven’t been able to do for so long! A few days ago my desire to move back just became overwhelming that I just decided to go for it. I mean it’s not like I have a job here yet…. Thank goodness because the only jobs I got interviews for had such long commutes (one was over a 2 hr commute one way)!

Anyways, I’ve never been more thrilled to move back

home to be near friends and family!

Now for dreaming about future dinner parties in Raleigh, this dish was the one that sparked it. This is so easy and non fussy and would be perfect for a dinner party. Now salmon isn’t particularly cheap, so I’d recommend it be for a small group unless you got oodles of money. I got this from The Raw Food Diet Detox book by Natalia Rose, which has some healthy recipes. The recipes in Natalia’s book stress the use of all-natural ingredients. I made her recipe with a few modifications, so here is my version.

Maple Glazed Salmon (Serves 4)
1 cup soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic (coarsely chopped)
2 TB ginger (coarsely chopped)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 cup pure maple syrup
4 fresh salmon fillets

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a blender. Marinate fish in maple mixture for 1 to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 450° and bake fish for about 8-10 minutes. Time is never accurate with fish! The only way to tell if the salmon is ready is if it flakes easily with a fork.

While the salmon is in the oven, pour the marinade in a small saucepan and boil over medium heat until it is slightly reduced. Be careful and watch the sauce, it can easily burn! Use the reduced marinade as the sauce for the salmon and sautéed veggies on the side if you would like!

The reduced sauce for this dish is yuuuum! This dish would also taste phenomenal with a side of brown rice and it’d soak up the wonderful sauce. I hope everyone gets to try this; it’s a great quick recipe to have on hand.