Recipe: Chex Mix with Chex, Cheese-Its, Pretzels and Cashews

I'd been wanting to make some Chex Mix for a while and finally took the time this past weekend.  It wasn't the typical Chex Mix . . .  it had Chex, Cheese-Its, Pretzels and Cashews -- all things I love!  Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 5 cups Chex cereal (Rice or Corn or a combination)
• 5 cups Cheez-It White Cheddar crackers
• 1 1/2 cup pretzels
• 1 cup dry roasted cashews
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon onion salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

Directions

1.  On a large cookie sheet, combine the Chex cereal, Cheez-Its, pretzels and cashews. Set aside.

2. Stir together remaining ingredients. Drizzle over cereal mixture. Stir until evenly coated. 

3. Bake at 250°F about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on paper towels. Cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Memorial Day Party Menu

Memorial Day Party Menu

(This will be helpful as a reminder next year

when we're trying to figure out the menu!)

Homemade Chex Mix

Strawberry, Marshmallow, Blueberry Skewers

Veggie Plate

 

Brisket

Mac & Cheese: America's Test Kitchen Recipe
Roasted Corn with Manchego and Lime

Baked Beans

Pickles

Chips

Bread/rolls

 

Blueberry Cobbler:  America's Test Kitchen Recipe

Spicy Smoky S'mores Bars

 

 

Definition: Soccarat

I learned a new word yesterday when making paella. 

Soccarat is a layer of crusty browned rice that forms on the bottom of the pan (which is a traditional part of paella).  I had no idea there was a word for it!

Have a wonderful Memorial Day!

Recipe: Paella

Want to make paella but don't have a paella pan or think it's too difficult to make?  Try this America's Test Kitchen recipe that uses a Dutch oven and took us about an 1 1/2 total cooking time.  (I love mussels, but we didn't include them in the dish.) 

I highly recommend it!  Easy peasy.

Definition: Herbes de Provence

This week's word is:  Herbes de Provence

I've always wondered. . . what herbs make up Herbes de Provence?

According to Wikipedia.com:
Formerly simply a descriptive term referring to herbs typical of Provence, in the 1970s, commercial blends started to be sold under this name. These mixtures typically contain savory, fennel, basil, thyme, and lavender leaves and other herbs, though lavender was not used in traditional southern French cooking.

Herbes de Provence are used to flavour grilled foods such as fish and meat, as well as vegetable stews. The mixture can be added to foods before or during cooking or mixed with cooking oil prior to cooking so as to infuse the flavour into the cooked food. They are rarely added after cooking is complete.

There are quite a few different recipes for making your own herb mixture that you can find online.

I was just curious to see what herbs some pre-packaged Herbes de Provence contain:

• McCormick's:  rosemary, marjoram, thyme and savory
• Dean & DeLuca's:  rosemary, marjoram, thyme, savory, basil, fennel and lavender

Definition: Gastrique

Thanks to blog contributor FoodFiend for suggesting this week's word of the week:  gastrique

A gastrique is a sauce made by deglazing caramelized sugar with vinegar and then reducing. With its sweet-tart flavor, a gastrique is often used as a fruit sauce for meats like duck and venison.

Source:  BonAppetit.com

Recipe: Spinach Gnocchi with Shaved Ricotta Salata

I had never made gnocchi before (the recipes usually look really long and have a lot of steps), so when I saw the Spinach Gnocchi with Shaved Ricotta Salata recipe in Food & Wine Magazine's April 2013 issue (photo is on p.135, recipe is on p.133), I thought I'd give it a shot because it looked easy. 

It was a disaster!  I don't even want to post a photo of how it turned out because it looked so awful.  A KEY step to the recipe is to wring the daylight out of the spinach before puree-ing it.  I thought I didn't get enough water out of it because I ended up with 2 cups of spinach puree (not one), and while not drying out the spinach enough was probably a big issue . . . more than that, the recipe is apparently flawed because 2 other people had the exact same problems that I did.  (See the comments at the recipe link above.)  I wish I had read their review before making this.

I would not recommend making this recipe, and this is the 2nd time a Food and Wine Magazine recipe has completely failed me. 

I'm not happy.

Definition: Boulevardier

This week's definition is boulevardier.

There's a new French restaurant in Dallas called Boulevardier.  I assumed that the name of the restaurant referenced a boulevard; however, as I was reading Bon Appetit Magazine's May 2013 issue, there was a reference to the drink, a Boulevardier.

Confused, I looked up the word, and it turns out that it's both a term referencing a person walking a boulevard and also a drink.

According to merriam-webster.com, the definition of boulevardier is
: a frequenter of the Parisian boulevards; broadly: man-about-town
The origin is from from the French word "boulevard."

The Boulevardier cocktail is a combination of bourbon, sweet vermouth and Campari. 

Here's a recipe from BonAppetit.com:
Combine 2 ounces bourbon, 1 ounce Campari, and 1 ounce sweet vermouth in a large mixing glass filled with ice. Stir until glass is very cold, about 1 minute. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupe or a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Recipe: Blue Lagoon Pancake

This morning, I woke up and wanted pancakes, but not just any pancakes!  I wanted a Blue Lagoon pancake based on my favorite "Blue Lagoon" crepe from the crepe cart in Breckenridge. 

Here's my recipe:

• Make a pancake (however you make them ~ out of a box or from scratch)
• Drizzle a tablespoon or so of Bailey's Irish Cream over it so that it soaks into the pancake
• Spread (or smother!) the pancake with Nutella
• Sprinkle some brown sugar over it
• Add blueberries on top

It is amazingly delicious!!!!

Recipe: Mustard-Crusted Pork with Farro and Carrot Salad

The Mustard-Crusted Pork with Farro and Carrot Salad recipe in Bon Appetit's April 2012 issue (see p.97 for the recipe, p.95 for the full-page photo) is one of the best and more unique recipes we've made from Bon Appetit Magazine recently.  The mustard crust on the pork is super flavorful, and it nicely complements the interesting mix of flavors in the farro -- carrot, parsley, onion, honey, caraway seeds, apple cider vinegar.  Sounds weird, but it all really works!  I wasn't sure how this would turn out and if I'd like all of the carrots mixed in with the farro, but it was really delicious.

I HIGHLY recommend making this dish.  When we made it this past weekend for dinner, I couldn't wait to eat the leftovers.

Here are some key tips. . .

• Line your baking sheet with aluminum foil so clean-up is easier
• For food safety reasons, I didn't leave the pork out for an hour, but put it in the fridge for a couple of hours
• Use a peeler instead of a mandoline to slice the carrots (it works just as well and is safer)
• I didn't think 2 tbsp of the vinaigrette in the skillet was enough, so I added 4 tbsp to cook the farro and carrots
• Add salt to the farro (to taste)
• Add the red onion to the farro and carrots in the pan to soften and cook them a little bit
• Remember to let the pork rest for at least 10 minutes