Lump Crab and Pumpkin Flatbread

Pin It Now! Remember when I said I was on a flatbread kick?

Yeup. ShopRite got some of my flatbread lovin' too.

Check out my latest submission!

Three Bean and Veggie Chili

Pin It Now! Want an inexpensive and easy dinner? Check out my recent submission for ShopRite's blog!



Three Bean and Veggie Chili

Coffee Tables

Pin It Now! Aside from the most important room in the house, which would, of course, be the kitchen, which I have aptly nicknamed "my office"... the living room is truly a wonderful gathering place.

One of the main focal points in this room is the coffee table. There are countless styles to choose from: ottoman, cocktail, trunk, round, rectangular, wood, the possibilities are endless!

DapperDan and I have been keeping our eye out for a neat coffee table for our living room! Fortunately, CSN Stores has endless coffee table selections for those in need!

What are you favorite kinds of coffee tables?


This one is pretty cute!

Alexandra Noelle Hane

Pin It Now!

I am so honored and blessed to announce that yesterday, January 24, 2011 at 9:47AM, my niece, Alexandra Noelle Hane was born.

She was born at a perfect 7lbs 14oz and 20inches.

She is absolutely beautiful. Auntie Em and Uncle Tim (aka DapperDan) are so in love.

Congratulations to my beautiful sister Kristin and brother-in-law Jason.

Breakfast for Dinner Flatbread

Pin It Now! You were all right.

Yeup. You. ...And you.

...And yes, that guy behind you, also. He was right, too... Oh, you don't know him? Whoops!

I am hooked. Totally hooked on making flatbreads for dinner. You were right, I did get addicted as many of you warned!

It's such an easy way to create a filling meal without a whole lot of fuss. I mean, it's like I'm on the sauce. Truly!

Fortunately, DapperDan doesn't mind. Nope, he hasn't minded one bit.

I do need to exercise some self control, though, before I try to make a Peanut Butter and Jelly flatbread. But as we know, that may end up being DapperDan's favorite.

Hmm.. well, that could be good... No! Self control is a must.

Buttttt, I may try a Hazelnut and Banana Flatbread. Holy Moses.

... No, no, no... that'll be too much of a good thing.


Breakfast Flatbread
Inspired by: Tyler Florence


Ingredients for the dough:
1 cups spelt flour
1 cup whole wheat flour + extra flour for kneading
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
2 tsps Kosher salt
1 cup hot water

Ingredients for the topping:
1 cup skim milk
3 TBS salted butter
3 TBS all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 TBS Paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
5 large eggs
1 cup bell peppers, chopped
1 cup baby spinach, rinsed
3 pieces of Maple smoked bacon, chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven (hopefully equipped with a pizza stone) to 500 degrees. Allow the oven to preheat with the stone in there. And allow it to heat for about 30 minutes.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine all of the dough ingredients. Knead for about 5 minutes until well combined. Allow the dough to rest for about 15 minutes.
3. In a large sauce pan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour until well combined. Add the milk while whisking and bring to a boil. Add the cheese and stir until melted and combined. Add Paprika, salt and pepper.
4. Roll out the dough, place onto a prepared pizza peel (using cornmeal or whole wheat flour), place fork holes throughout the dough and top with 1 to 2 cups of the Parmesan sauce.
5. Place onto the pizza stone, turn down the heat in the oven to 375 and bake for approximately 5 to 7 minutes.
6. Then, top with spinach, peppers, bacon, and carefully crack eggs on top.
7. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

Turkey, Broccoli, and Brussels Sprouts Flatbread

Pin It Now! When I was fortunate enough to have ShopRite send me to the Food Network's New York City Wine & Food Festival back in October, we got to have a private Tyler Florence book signing cocktail hour. It rocked. The book signing was for his new cookbook Family Meal. It is a wonderful cookbook full of great recipes. What struck me most when I first opened this book was on the inside cover. There are BEAUTIFUL pictures of flatbreads. I mean they look like absolute perfection. Almost makes you want to eat the page.

Even Iron Chef Jose Garces' restaurants have incredible flatbreads on the menu. And trust me, I've eaten just about every one of the flatbreads his restaurants offer. Love it.

What I cannot understand about myself is that it has taken me until this week to actually think of making my own flatbread. What am I crazy? ...Don't answer that.

This was a spur of the moment dinner creation that turned out 90 billion times better than I could have ever dreamed of! Tyler and Jose, eat your heart out!

..Okay, just kidding, Tyler and Jose.. Can we be friends? ...I mean, really?

Turkey, Broccoli, and Brussels Sprouts Flatbread
Yields: 2 to 3 servings


Ingredients for the dough:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 cup hot water

Directions for the dough:
1. Combine 2 cups of the flour, and the remaining ingredients.
2. Knead for approximately 5 minutes and allow the dough to rest for about 30-45 minutes.
3. After the dough has rested, knead in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour, so that the dough isn't sticky.
4. Roll out into a rectangular shape. Top with below ingredients.

Ingredients for the topping:
1 and 1/2 turkey breasts, cubed
1 and 1/2 cups Brussels Sprouts, quartered and ends cut off
1 and 1/2 cups of broccoli, chopped
1 cup barbecue sauce, try the homemade version!
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 TBS fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions for topping and assembly of flatbread:
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a saute pan, heat olive oil over medium, adding the turkey, and vegetables. Cook for approximately 4 to 5 minutes (don't worry, the turkey will fully cook in the oven)
3. Place the barbecue sauce over the dough, and evenly spread the turkey/veggie mixture over top.
4. Lightly sprinkle with cheese and parsley
5. Bake for approximately 20 minutes.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Pin It Now! This post is short and sweet as it is merely a part of a much larger and cooler post (see above):

In my quest to quench my thirst for making everything from scratch, I decided to make barbecue sauce from scratch.

It was yummy and a breeze to make!

I really wanted to make the ketchup that goes into barbecue sauce from scratch, but I didn't have all of those ingredients, unfortunately!

...For another day!

Basic Barbecue Sauce
Courtesy: Mark Bittman
Makes About 2 cups
Time: 20 minutes


Ingredients
2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup wine vinegar or rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. "Combine all the ingredients except the salt and pepper in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors have a chance to blend, about 10 minutes.
2. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. Use immediately or cool, cover, and refrigerate for up to a week."

Brown Jasmati Rice with Pomegranate Seeds and Crushed Mint

Pin It Now! Sometimes, in life, we need just a little something different, something out of the ordinary.... To put a pep in our step. Or give us something to look forward to.

For some people, that's going on a weekend getaway, a new hair cut, or a week's trip to a day spa! ("Uhh.. Earth to Matilda, I was at a day spa. Day, D-A-I-Y-E. Okay?" -Zoolander)

For yours truly, I derive a great amount of pleasure out of cooking new recipes. To be honest, it's really just eating those newly cooked recipes that makes me so happy, but I do achieve a massive amount of happiness in the process of cooking.

(Although, a spa and vacation totally trump my notion of something out of the ordinary, however, I digress..)

My husband, however, derives an amazing amount of happiness out of eating the same lunch everyday. Two (sometimes three) PB&Js on homemade whole wheat bread. The monotony brings him comfort. Monotony is not my thing when it comes to food. Nosireebob. Love you tons, DapperDan, but I suppose this is where you and I are yin and yang! ....Or is it your love for Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson that makes us yin and yang...

This side dish will do just that! It will break up the monotony of a plain ole rice side dish. It sure did put a pep in my step (mostly because I went out on a limb throwing this together and I was so excited that it was delicious!). It also gave me something to look forward to (namely the leftovers for lunch the next day).

I always share leftovers from my wacky creations with people at work. It serves as a great sounding board to see if these are recipes worth posting. At first bite, they said it was "different and not in a bad way", but after they took more bites, and let the flavors sink in, they really liked it!

The consistency of the pomegranate seeds, when added to rice, creates a depth of crunch not normally found in a normal rice dish, unless you've undercooked your rice, which is bad, but belieeeeve me I have! At the moment of this dish's crunch, the juice within the pomegranate seeds are released, and consequently introduced to the crushed mint and dill. Ooo! Such a fun time for the taste buds!

And.. it's healthy! Woohoo! That's always the best part- when you can eat it, and feel good about it.


Brown Jasmati Rice with Pomegranate Seeds and Crushed Mint
Inspired by: Eating Well
Yields 3 to 4 servings


Ingredients
1 cup uncooked brown jasmati rice
2 cups of chicken broth
2 TBS crushed mint
2 TBS dill
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Cook the rice, using chicken broth instead of water to the packaging's instructions.
2. When finished, fluff with a fork and add the seeds, herbs, and salt and pepper.
3. Yes, it's really that easy.
4. Go on and eat it, already!

Antipasto Pasta

Pin It Now! Want something super yummy that is low maintenance but sure to wow?!

Pop on over to my recent post at ShopRite's Potluck blog and check my submission of Antipasto Pasta

Broiled Broccoli

Pin It Now! "Newman, you wouldn't eat broccoli if it was deep-fried in chocolate sauce."
Jerry Seinfeld in Seinfeld.

Unlike Newman of Seinfeld, we Malloys are broccoli junkies. No really, we eat broccoli almost every night. It's so yummy and so good for you! And, fortunately, inexpensive.

Sometimes cooking broccoli for dinner requires that the chef-in-residence a.k.a ME becomes creative with how this lovely little side dish is prepared.

For a while I used to simply just throw prepared broccoli into an 350 degree oven and cook until it was just how I wanted it. One day, I was in a pinch with time and wanted to speed things up, so I placed it under the broiler.

What a difference that has made.

Not necessarily the most practical way of cooking broccoli.. However, DapperDan now requests that I only broil the broccoli. That is proof enough.

Throwing it under the broiler for 10 minutes results in a crispy, delightful broccoli. Sure, it may not be as lovely to present, but when it tastes great, who cares how it looks?!?!

Try it, I command you! If I had a wand I would wave it, but seeing as I do not, my Sharpie will have to suffice. ....And I now realize that, of course, you cannot see me waving my Sharpie and, of course, I look a tad silly. Well, hey, it's Friday! Who the heck cares!

Broiled Broccoli


Ingredients
4 to 5 cups broccoli, chopped
2 to 3 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Lemon pepper (optional)

Directions:
1. Turn on the broiler in your oven.
2. Place the broccoli into a very shallow roasting pan or baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over the broccoli, grouping them into the center of the pan, close together. Top with salt and lemon pepper (optional).
3. Broil for 10 minutes, but keep an eye on it during the final 2 to 3 minutes. You want your broccoli browned and crunchy, but not burnt!

Potluck! ShopRite Blog Now Launched!!

Pin It Now! I am so very pleased and excited to announce that ShopRite's blog has officially launched!

Do me a favor, whydontcha, and pop on over to check out my submission for my re-do of my old post of Hazelnut Marinated Steaks!

Crab Cakes

Pin It Now! Crab cakes. There's nothin' like 'em.

They are delicious, mysterious, and full of intrigue.

The way that they.... umm... and-and how they... err... and-and-and when they... mmm..

Alright, so perhaps they're not so mysterious after all, and probably not so full of intrigue as I had portrayed, but they are, nevertheless, delicious.

What separates a good crab cake from a great one? The amount of filling. The less amount of filling you use, the more crab meat you get, and the healthier it is (because of the less breadcrumbs you are putting in), therefore the better the crab cake. Unfortunately, you can't go completely without the breadcrumbs, you need it to stick together somehow!

Thanks to Mark Bittman, the king of all recipes, this recipe is a keeper.

Crab Cakes
Adapted from: Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything
Yields: 4 servings


Ingredients
1 pound fresh lump crabmeat, picked over for cartilage
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped scallion
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons bread crumbs, preferably fresh), or cracker crumbs, or as needed
About 1 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
2 tablespoons peanut, extra virgin olive, or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter or more oil
Lemon wedges

Directions:
1. "Mix together the crabmeat, egg, bell pepper, scallion, mayonnaise, mustard, and some salt and pepper. Add enough bread crumbs to bind the mixture just enough to form into cakes; start with 2 tablespoons and use more if you need it.
2. Refrigerate the mixture until you're ready to cook (it will be easier to shape if you refrigerate it for 30 minutes or more, but it’s ready to go when you finish mixing.
3. Season the flour with salt and pepper and add some curry powder if you like. Heat a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the oil and butter and heat until the butter foam subsides. Shape the crabmeat mixture into 1-inch-thick cakes, dredge each in the flour, and cook, adjusting the heat as necessary and turning once (very gently), until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Serve with lemon wedges and/or tartar sauce."