National Cheese Fondue day.

First off, Happy Manic Monday to everyone out there. Second, let's get to the biz-nass that is cheese.

Today the food of the day is Cheese Fondue.

Not sure how this is actually a food, but I guess since you can consume it, it counts. Here's a site dedicated to the 411 on cheese. Side note: the 411 as in information and 4-11 because April 11th is National Cheese Day. Thought that was catchy.

Do you have any idea how much melted cheese alone the world consumes?

FUN FACT: The U.S. is the top producer of cheese in the world. Wisconsin and California (where Happy Cows come from according to Cali's latest commercial) lead the states in production. In a year, the average American consumed around 31 pounds of cheese, although cheese consumption in the US has tripled since 1970 and continues to increase. Now, that's a lot of hunkin cheese!

I'd like to focus more on getting people who have not had cheese fondue to try it. If you are not a professional chef, home cook, or even small child that can plug in a pot and fill it with cheese, (I kid, I kid), I'd suggest going to The Melting Pot. My gracious this place has awesome food, but buyer beware, melted cheese ain't cheap.

If you are however, the aforementioned foodie like myself, you can purchase a really good fondue kit for a little bit of money. Here's a great set for around $35 at Amazon.com: Rival Electric Fondue Set.

Now, I know that this isn't fondue per say, but the food portion of today is cheese. So, I'd like to share a little recipe my sister taught me (Love her to death!) for making your own homemade Cheeze-itz. No, I'm totally not kidding. They SUPER taste like cheese-itz. I adapted it a little to my taste. Just kidding guys and gals. Seriously the recipe is so easy to make and you might even have the list of ingredients at home right now because there are only TWO!

Homemade Cheeze-its

Ingredients
Kraft Deli Deluxe American Cheese Slices
Cayenne Pepper
Non-stick cooking spray
1. Preheat oven to 375˚.
2. Cut slices of cheese to desired cracker size.
3. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray.
4. Place cheese on cookie sheet.
5. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper (don't over do this step, a little goes a long way).
5. Place in the oven at 375˚ for about 3 minutes, just until the cheese melts. (Since I know that oven temps vary, be sure to check frequently past the 3 minute mark).
6. Let cool and enjoy!

Since this is such a simple recipe (basically two ingredients) you could vary it any way you'd like. Try different cheeses, different spices like smoked paprika. I'm sure if you wanted to really turn up the creativity you could even make a batter and smother the crackers in the cheese and spices or add bacon, or sauces, or sea salt, and .... that's it, now I got a hanker for a hunka cheese. To the store I go!

Buon appetito!

Hooray for National Empanada Day!

Today is one of the best American Food Holidays ever made. EMPANADAS!!! It's one of my new fav foods and I am so glad that today they are getting the well deserved attention of a National Food Day.

The first time I ever had an empanada was when my mother-in-law made them for me. They were so tasty with their crispy outside and warm filling. I ate so many I thought I'd pop.

Since then my love affair with empanadas has varied from place to place. I tried Julia's Empanadas, which are good but don't compare to the yumminess that comes from the DC Empanadas Food Truck.

Below you can find their menu and photos and more information.

Beef

The Traditional – Ground sirloin, Spanish olives, hard boiled eggs, raisins, onions, and seasoning.
The Jersey Shore – Meatballs, Marinara Sauce, and Mozzarella Cheese
WMD (Weapon of Max Deliciousness) – Chili, Beans and Cheddar Cheese
June Cleaver – Ground Sirloin, Potatoes, Peas, Carrots
Executive Order – Bacon Cheeseburger with Grilled Vidalia Onions
The Royal – Beef Wellington (Filet Mignon, Pate, Mushrooms, Shallots, Red Wine Sauce)
South Street – Sliced Ribeye Steak, Wiz, Onions and Sweet Peppers

Pork

El Matador – Chorizo, Potatoes and Spices
Il Paesano – Prosciutto di Parma, Mozzarella di Bufala and Dates
Amazingly Aroi – Pork, Thai Basil, Onion, Thai Peppers, Garlic, and Spices
Lunch Box – Ham and Swiss
Divine Swine – Pulled BBQ Pork

Chicken

The Badass – Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese
Irie Mon – Jerk Chicken – Grilled chicken marinated in a spicy sauce that is traditionally served in Jamaica
La Venganza de Tio Shawn – Chipotle Chicken, Onions, Garlic, Black Beans, Monterrey Jack Cheese, Corn
The Taj Mahal – Chicken Tikka – Chicken marinated in yogurt and spices and then served in a tomato cream sauce

Vegetarian

Ménage à Trois – Brie, Figs and Marcona Almonds
El Greco – Spinach, Feta Cheese and Onions
Tio Shawn – Black Beans, Rice, Monterrey Jack Cheese, Chipotle Peppers and Onions
Veggie Nirvana – Potato, Onions, Garlic, Peas, Tomato, Cilantro, and Indian Spices

Here are a few photos of their deliciousness:

This is the DC Empanada Truck.

Here we have the Il Paesano with Prosciutto di Parma, Mozzarella di Bufala. YUM!

This is the Executive Order: Bacon Cheeseburger with Grilled Vidalia Onions.

And last but not least a desert feast of Brie and Fig. O...M...Goodness! Fried heaven!

You can find LOTS of articles, reviews and other info about DC Empanadas on the net. Here are a few locations on the net to find them:

1. DC Empanadas Website


2. DC Empanadas on Twitter


3. DC Empanadas on Facebook

So, next time you come around to the DMV, make sure to check them out. Simply put, they are AWESOME, a foodies dream come true!

National Coffee Cake Day

 

(Photo courtesy of The Pioneer Woman)

Welcome to my planet, the one where you seek new things to try, cook and eat. Nom Nom..happy me!

In honor of today's highlighted food (and no, I am not making this stuff up), here's the BEST coffee cake recipe I've EVER had...here's to you Ree.

Best Coffee Cake Ever***

Ingredients

• FOR THE CAKE:
• 1-½ stick Butter, Softened
• 2 cups Scant Sugar
• 3 cups Flour, Sifted
• 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1-¼ cup Whole Milk
• 3 whole Egg Whites, Beaten Until Stiff
• _____
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• 1-½ stick Butter, Softened
• ¾ cups Flour
• 1-½ cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
• 1-½ cup Pecans, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat egg whites and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until combined. Don’t overbeat. Fold in beaten egg whites with a rubber spatula. Spread in a well-greased 9 x 13 (or LARGER!) baking pan. A cake pan with higher sides would be best.
In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Sprinkle all over the top.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until no longer jiggly. Serve warm—delicious!
***Recipe from The Pioneer Woman. Can be found HERE***

Buon appetito!

National Caramel Popcorn day

So, in honor of National Caramel Popcorn day, I thought I'd search out the yummiest looking, sounding and tasting recipe for Caramel popcorn on the web for several reasons. 1) I have not made caramel popcorn myself, 2) I don't have a recipe for caramel popcorn and 3) my mother always told me to share.

So, here's my "share" and hopefully good deed for the day. Maybe I'll post a new recipe each day for national food holidays. There is always one, you'd be totally surprised how many and what weird foods are out there that have a "national day". Who makes this stuff up anyway?

Cracker Jacks Caramel Corn Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernels

1-12oz can of Spanish Peanuts

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 large cookie sheet, greased

Directions:

In an air popper, pop the kernels according to your machine’s manual. My machine only allows you to pop 1/3 cups at a time, so make sure you follow your machine’s capacity instructions. You should have almost 4 quarts of popped popcorn using 1/2 cup of kernels. Dump the popcorn and the Spanish peanuts in a clean tall paper grocery bag. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In a medium sauce pan, combine brown sugar, corn syrup, butter,and salt over medium heat and allow to gently boil for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Carefully and immediately pour caramel sauce into the paper grocery bag and stir the sauce, popcorn, and nuts with a wooden spoon until the sauce is evenly distributed. Take the popcorn mixture and evenly scatter it between both greased cookie sheets. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring the popcorn every 15 minutes. Allow to cool and break up the pieces (if desired). Store in zip lock bags or airtight containers. Enjoy! *

*Side note, I changed the recipe to be for 1/2 cup of kernel from the original of 1 cup. I found 1/2 a cup to be ideal. But for a lighter recipe, use a whole cup of kernels and it will not be as sweet.

You can view the entire recipe WITH PHOTOS (yay, love photos) at Savory Sweet Life's blog.

Buon appetito!

Brown Sugar Grilled Salmon

Brown Sugar Grilled Salmon

Monday was a glorious weather day FINALLY. So the hubby and I decided to grill some salmon since 1) it's the only fish I usually will eat, 2) it's the only fish my kids will eat with the exception of gorton's fish sticks (ewww), and 3) it's the only fish I usually will eat.

We bought a lovely slab o' farm raised salmon at the store and took it home. Such a pretty piece of fish it was. I decided to marinate the little bugger even though I've never marinated fish before. I usually reserve marinating for items that come from land lovin' creatures (i.e., pigs, cows, chickens).

Here's the recipe I used and you can adapt this in any manner to suit your tastes. It's super easy, cheap and does NOT need to be marinated for hours on end.


Ingredients

1 Lg. Salmon fillet
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 tbsp. lime juice
Garlic powder to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together well. Make sure to taste as you go along, adding more ingredients or other options as you may like. The recipe as I am posting it is sweet with a salty tang at the end of the bite.

Cut the fillet into serving sized pieces. About 3 x 4 inches each. Lay all of the pieces in a dish with at least 3 inch high sides.

Mix all of your ingredients together and pour the marinade over the fish.

Put in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. Take out and flip over and return to the refrigerator for another 15-20 minutes.

Preheat your grill on a low heat setting and make sure that you either cover it with aluminum foil or use a griddle insert so that the fish does not flake and fall into the grill.


Once the grill is heated, place the fillets on the grill (or griddle) and cook for approximately 10 minutes per side, checking to make sure the pink color of fillets has turned to a light pinkish white color and the marinade starts to caramelize.

Let me know if you have tried this recipe and leave comments. With future posts I hope to have step by step photos for each recipe.

Buon appetito!