Chipotle and Date Chutney

I have been so badly neglecting my blog; it has been on my to-do list for the past week. I have been in the city for a little over a week now and this is the first morning I haven’t left my apartment before 10 am to go explore. Today I am making myself do everything on my to-do list, including putting sheets on my bed. Bad, I know, but the city is calling my name and there is so much to see!

I am in food heaven; the grocery stores here offer such an abundance of produce at such a GREAT price. I expected everything to be marked up ridiculously high, but cooking here is cheaper than cooking back home I say. My area is predominantly Greek and Italian, so there is no shortage of beautiful cheeses or olives. On the way home, I’ll often stop by the wine shop and pick up a bottle of wine, or stop at the European market and get some cheese. Walking everywhere is a great way to see the whole city, and an even better way to get distracted from your final destination.

I have primarily been making tons of brown rice and throwing it together with veggies and a dressing so I can picnic it at the park. I love eating outside by Central Park or the Union Square enjoying the outdoors (if it’s nice, NY has such wacky weather). I bought a beautiful cookbook the other day at a discount book store, and I’ve been obsessed with it. The first thing I made in it was the Chipotle and Date Chutney, and it’s DELICIOUS! It is spicy, a bit sweet, smoky and wonderful!

Chipotle and Date Chutney

10 dried dates, pitted, cut into chunks
4 plum tomatoes, seeded, with the juice squeezed from them
7 oz pickled chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. course sea salt

In a blender or processor, combine all the ingredients and blend until it makes a thick paste. Pour into a saucepan, and cook over medium-low for about 5 minutes, adding ¼ cup water halfway through and stirring. Cool and then store in the fridge.

This is a very versatile sauce and I have been adding this to my eggs for breakfast, spooning over my “picnic” rice dishes, and I’ve used this to baste chicken. This sits in my fridge and just a bit adds a good amount of spice to my dishes, but it’s well balanced out with the sweetness of the dates and honey, so it’s not straight up unbearable heat.

I will keep you posted on my adventures in NYC and culinary school!

Brownies I've been craving my whole life

These are the “work of the devil” according to my roommate. Needless to say, these are absolutely sinful with chocolate, peanut butter, more chocolate, tons of marshmallows, and the rice krispy treats add a wonderful crunch. One of my friends said “Omg! This is what I’ve been craving my whole life!” so I call these Brownies I've been craving my whole life. I made these and cut them into giant size hunk of pieces and gave them as gifts.

Here is the recipe: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/10/05/marshmallow-crunch-brownie-bars/


I used to dream of owning a bakery and just having brownies everywhere. How fun would that be to have as a job? If only life were that simple! I’ve been on a brownie kick lately. Last week I made chocolate brownies with dates and today I made bacon chocolate brownies…. EWW some people might say… but chocolate and bacon is now such a hot combination in the food world… we shall see how that one goes and I’ll keep you posted on my brownie endeavors.

Chicken Taco Soup

One day, my mom convinced me to enter in a cream cheese cooking contest. At first, I was like nahh because I rarely ever cook with cream cheese. But as the day went on I thought about my favorite recipes and how cream cheese could be incorporated…. So I gave in and entered the cooking competition. The winner wins $25,000, so there are bajillion competitors. I know my chances of winning are super low but the, “You can’t win anything unless you try” quote from my mama made sense. So what the heck. I am trying. This recipe is for my main entrée submission. This is mighty delicious, and I encourage you all to try this.

Mexican Chicken Taco Soup

-1 onion (chopped)
-1 bell pepper (chopped)
-4 tomatillos (chopped)
-2 cloves garlic (minced)
-1 packet taco seasoning mix
-1 cup salsa
-1 can pinto beans
-1 can hominy
-16 oz frozen corn
-3 cans chicken broth
-4 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce (chopped)
-1 6 oz can tomato paste
-Rotisserie chicken (shredded)
-4 oz cream cheese (can be low fat if you want to!)
-cilantro
-shredded Mexican style cheese

Sautee the onion, bell pepper, and tomatillos in a large pan for about 5 minutes until softened over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for a minute. Add the taco seasoning mix, salsa, beans, hominy, corn, chicken broth, chipotle chilies, and tomato paste into the pot. Cook until everything is heated up (about 10 minutes). Add the shredded chicken. Add the 4 oz of cream cheese. Top the soup with cilantro and shredded cheese.

I had a cream cheese dinner party last week so I could test out my cream cheese skills and I made an entrée, side dish, and dessert all using cream cheese. My test testers approved this recipe so I’m sharing it with you guys. This can be served with margaritas and corn bread and this is so easy and my friends still remember this dinner to this day and ask when I will make this for them again. Remember, Cinco de Mayo is coming up!