Tag Archives: Avocado

June 28, 2011 · 7:38 am

It’s 1 Billion Degrees Outside: Let’s Make Salad for Dinner

Maybe 1 billion degrees is a teeny tiny bit of a stretch… but it’s close.

If you want to get all technical and stuff, I guess we could guestimate that it’s about… say… 1 million degrees.

That sounds about right.

And when it’s that hot outside the LAST thing you want to do is turn the oven on… especially if that oven is tucked into your petite kitchen… unless your into sweating (ferociously) while you cook.  And ya know, that’s really not my thing.

So tonight instead of slaving (and sweating) over my stove I decided to keep dinner cool and make a salad.

A salad I kind of (totally) stole from Sweets’ TV lady friend, Giada De Laurentiis.

Smoked Salmon and Arugula Carpaccio
* Ms. De Laurentiis used Frisee, which is not my favorite leafy green, so I substituted Arugula

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under Cold Dishes, Fish, Healthy, Salad

Tagged as , , ,

June 27, 2011 · 10:04 am

I’ll raise your Guacamole and add Bacon, Blue Cheese & Sage

4th o’ July is right around the corner, which for the kiddos (big & small) means fireworks but for the hungry, means BBQ’s.

And if you’re not hosting one, chances are  you’re attending one.  And if you fall into the latter category, and provided you have manners, you will probably ask the obligatory “can I bring anything” question.

The answer depends on the host but usually falls into a few select categories: more booze, paper goods, chips, dip, more booze… oh and ice.   How come everyone (including myself) always forgets ice?

In any event, this post caters specifically to those asked to bring dip…

If asked to bring booze might I suggest this!

Specifically those who want to make a killer dip.

A dip that happily makes it onto the chin and into the bellies of happy BBQ goers everywhere.

A dip that Sweets and I heard about maybe 10 minutes after we were invited to a BBQ this weekend (before the 4th) on the Food Networks’ “Best Thing I Ever Ate” program.

Iron Chef Michael Symon was boasting on about a guacamole he had at Lopez Southwest Kitchen in Cleveland, Ohio while I was doing a little Sunday afternoon Facebook stalking… when Sweets turned around and suggested we make this.

Guacamole with Bacon (we used Turkey Bacon), Blue Cheese and Sage.

And so we did.

And it was delicious.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Almost Paleo, Appetizer, BBQ

Tagged as , , ,

May 24, 2011 · 9:14 pm

What happens when Sweets decides what’s for dinner…

Dinner is served...

So what happens when Sweets decides what we’re makin’ for dinner?  Magic.  That’s what happens.  Culinary, you’d think you’re at a fancy restaurant, magic.

You see I’m all into comfort food with a healthy twist or two… but for the most part my inventions are pretty simple and usually incorporate beans… if not in the actual dish… then it MUST pair well with beans as a side dish.

But when Sweets decides on dinner… the description generally sounds like something you might read on a menu in some fancy restaurant.  And not just some cheapy lamented menu… we’re talking about those places whose menu actually has a cover and a binding and sometimes it’s even leather.

Recently I was telling a friend what we had for dinner the night before and I actually got winded naming the dish… and mind you… I was telling her through g-chat.  I wasn’t even talking, I was typing.  And I got winded.

Want to know what it was?  Of course you do, that’s why you’re reading this blog.

Grilled New York Steak with a homemade Chimichurri sauce served with a Heirloom Tomato, Avocado and Arugula Salad with a Balsamic Reduction.

I know, that’s a lot of syllables for just one dinner… so let me rephrase it… we had Heaven for dinner.

And as fancy shmancy as this all sounds I have a little secret.

Come here, I’ll tell you, but shhhh.

Don’t tell anyone (cause I kind of enjoy looking so fancy) but…

It was super easy.

Say WHA?

That’s right.

You too can eat like you’re at a fancy restaurant with a leather bound menu in the comforts of you’re very own home.  And probably spend a bajillion times less money doing it too.

So let’s not waste anymore time and get to cooking.. and grilling.

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under Salad, Sauce

Tagged as , , , , ,

May 5, 2011 · 10:55 am

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Chicken Tacos & Calabacitas

Chicken Tacos con Calabacitas

In honor of Cinco de Mayo I encourage you to wear a flower in your hair, create a Mariachi music station on Pandora, make yourself a margarita and plan to spend the night in.

That is unless of course you like hanging out in over-crowded bars with a bunch of rookies (people who only go out on those designated drinking holidays i.e. St. Patricks Day, New Years Eve, Mardi Gras, Cinco de Mayo and I’m sure a few others I’m forgetting).  And since it’s Cinco de Mayo chances are those rookies are drinking tequila and given their inexperience it’s fair to assume they are going to try to go BIG which means someone’s going to get puked on.

You don’t want to get puked on, right?  No of course not.  Let’s just stay in tonight.

OK take a second to get the above mentioned images out of your head.  Back to flowers, Mariachi music, margaritas (in moderation) and…

You need another minute to forget about the hypothetical bar (Maloneys)… sure… go ahead…

Ready?  Great.

and…

Tacos and Calabacitas! Ole!

Sure, sure I know you already know how to make tacos.  And calaba… what?

Keep reading… we’re not talking ground beef and taco seasoning tacos now.  No.  I would never.  And the calaba… whatchamucallit?  Patience my friends.

This is actually one of the first meals I figured out how to make really well.  It’s what I made to try to win the belly and hearts of boys I liked, all of whom pale in comparison to the “AMAZING how did I get so lucky!?!” Sweets whose heart and belly I won around the same time he won mine.

It was perfect for Mothers Days dinners, Birthday dinners, thank you for letting me crash on your couch dinners and ohhhh look at me I can cook dinners.

The recipe for both dishes has since made it’s way into the kitchens of many of my friends from Los Angeles to New York.  It’s a playa with a passport!  Or maybe a playa with some frequent flyer miles?  Either way it’s kind of my signature dish.

But apparently I’ve gotten carried away with the whole trying new things stuff because last week after posting a post about shrimp tacos a friend of mine asked me if I had featured my “amazing chicken tacos on S&K yet” (her words) and I realized I had not made this so called signature dish in nearly a year… eeck.  Apparently I had lost sight of my roots…

But with a few slaps of a knife, opening of a can and lighting of a stove top… I was back to my roots.

Phew.

Chicken Tacos and Calabacitas (note to my friends & family: there is one very MAJOR and delicious addition I have made to the latter recipe.  Be brazen.  Try it.)

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Black Beans, Sunny Mexico, Veggies

Tagged as , , , , , ,

April 28, 2011 · 7:00 am

Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Strawberry, Mango & Avocado Salsa

shrimp tacos

Ole'!

Every time I go to a restaurant and fish or shrimp tacos are on the menu I order them.

And then I talk about how easy they would be to prepare and tell Sweets how we should really make them for dinner that next week.

Up until last night these grand fishy taco plans have been all talk and no action.

The other night, or maybe it was early morning, I am pretty sure Sweets was talking in his sleep.  He said something about dinner, then something about shrimp quesadillas with strawberry tropical salsa.  Or maybe it was me that was listening in my sleep?  Either way the suggestion, while blurry, stuck with me and so a couple days later when putting together the list for that weeks grocery shop I revisited that sleepy suggestion.

So let’s pair said sleepy suggestion with the previously mentioned “I could make this” proclamation and you get:

Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Strawberry, Mango & Avocado Salsa

Continue reading →

4 Comments

Filed under Fish, Fruits, Healthy, Sunny Mexico

Tagged as , , , , ,

April 14, 2011 · 6:00 am

Chicken Tortilla Soup <3 <3 <3

<3

If there was a googly-eyed emoticon I’d say this was an occasion to use it.

But until someone can figure out an appropriate way to combine symbols, numbers and letters into a dough eyed smiley little guy hearts or <3′s will have to do.

A few days ago Sweets and I made the most delicious Chicken Tortilla Soup… the kind where you can see each and every ingredient (well spices aside) through the broth.  The kind where each bite has so much perfectly melded flavor your mouth nearly explodes.  The kind where you just keep talking about how good it is even though you’ve barely allowed yourself time to take a breath as your primary focus has been to keep that spoon moving… at least until your bowl is empty.

Yeah it was pretty good.

Nah, I’m over that modest crap (clearly – I have a blog dedicated to the delicious meals my Sweets and I make) it was really really effing amazing.

You should make it.  Tomorrow.  No scratch that, you should make it now.  So what if you’re at work?  Pretend you’re sick, go to the store, go home, make it and eat it.

Alright, fine wait till tomorrow – or whenever – but if there is one recipe you take away from this blog take this one.

You ready?  You should be.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under Black Beans, Chicken, Chile, Soup, Sunny Mexico

Tagged as , , , ,

April 11, 2011 · 7:00 am

Some of the Best Things in Life are EASY!

Cobb Salad

I am gonna eat you

There are probably a bajillion different ways to make a Cobb Salad.  This is Sweets and my way.

It’s simple, tasty, healthy, filling, perfect for dinner, perfect for lunch, keeps great for leftovers oh and did I mention easy?

For lunch Sweets and I ate at a place best reserved for late nights involving too much alcohol – but we decided to give it a try sober during daylight.  It wasn’t the worst idea we ever had but driving home with what felt like a brick in both our tummies we decided to have salad for dinner.

Cobb Salads are really a to each their own kind of recipe – but assuming you want to know what Sweets and I consider our own – keep on reading.

Cobb Salad: Sweetie & The Kitchen Style

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under Chicken, Cold Dishes, Healthy, Hearty, Salad

Tagged as , ,

March 23, 2011 · 12:41 pm

Frito Pride (headline courtesy: Isa DB)

frito pie

The finished product.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Frito Pies are probably one of the most delicious meals out there.

Are they the healthiest? Well, no.  But I like to think that my little play on the dish is a bit friendlier around the gut than the traditional take.

I don’t believe the exact origin of this magical dish is carved in stone anywhere, but some say the first Frito Pie originated at a Downtown Santa Fe lunch-counter.

I remember stopping by that lunch-counter inside the Woolworths with my Dad where we’d get our pies to go and eat them outside on the Plaza when the weather was nice.

original

The assembly line

Sadly, Woolworths shut its Santa Fe doors in 1997 but those little bags full of Fritos, red chile, pintos, onions and cheese continue to live on in many locals hearts, minds and bellies.

Recently a friend of mine from New York was visiting and wanted to try some authentic New Mexican.

Now as those of us from these parts know New Mexican food is typically pretty heavy. Ahhh to live in the land of pork carnitas, fried corn chips, refrijoles made with lard, delicious little fried papas all the while almost every dish is covered in mountains of cheese. Don’t get me wrong it’s delicious but in lieu of my friends visit I thought I might give her a taste of something still authentic but maybe a tad bit more nutritious and most importantly, homemade.

This friend now wants to move to New Mexico and I’m pretty sure it’s at least in part (just in tiny part) due to my delicious Frito Pies.

Continue reading →

10 Comments

Filed under Black Beans, Hearty, Party Dishes, Sunny Mexico

Tagged as , , ,

March 1, 2011 · 5:10 am

Salmon BLT’s & Simple Red Potato Salad

Salmon BLT & Red Potatoe Salad

Open face for girls and regular for boys

While Sweets only has eyes for one special lady, yours truly, from time to time his eyes might veer on over to the television.

Especially if the Food Networks Giada De Laurentiis is on the screen which works for me, especially if she’s cooking up something delicious that will lend itself to suggestion the following Sunday when I’m asking for ideas for dinners that week.

Earlier this week Sweets was talking about Giada’s Smoked Salmon BLT’s with a twinkle in his eye and a hop to his step so it was no surprise that a few days later when I asked what we should make for dinner that week he nearly tripped over his words reciting his onscreen Sweetheart’s sandwich.

True to form we changed things up a bit based on our own little preferences, all of which I highly recommend!

Salmon, Turkey Bacon, Avocado, Spinach and Tomato Sandwiches with Chipolte Aioli

Continue reading →

4 Comments

Filed under Cold Dishes, Fish, Salad, Sandwich, Side Dishes

Tagged as , , ,

February 24, 2011 · 5:39 am

Tart & Buttery Salad

Tart & Buttery Salad

Sadly the accompanying sandwich really isn't worth mentioning

For better or worse folks in my family likes their salt.

And while plenty of kids enjoyed sugar sprinkled strawberries this little brown eyed girl preferred her salt sprinkled grapefruit.

A little trick I picked up from my late Grandma Carmen.

The grapefruit trick came in handy with my latest salad.

A dish so simple it’s silly to write about but maybe that’s the selling point?

Continue reading →

Leave a Comment

Filed under Fruits, Healthy, Salad

Tagged as , ,