Carolina Crab Cakes - Biltmore Estate

***Recently, Brad and I were able to visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. That was the second time that I've visited the estate, but it was the first time Brad has ever been. It was just as beautiful as I remember it...one word - Incredible! I can't even imagine living in a house that size. It has everything from a bowling alley to a swimming pool...wow! Is it any surprise that my favorite part of the whole tour was the kitchen???

Anyway, we were browsing through the gift shop and I spotted this cookbook. I was so excited. It's really got some wonderful recipes, and I'll certainly post them here as I work my way through the cookbook. These crab cakes were a great place to start...enjoy!***

Ingredients:
2 pounds crab meat

2 eggs

1/4 cup Japanese-style bread crumbs

2 tbsp. minced chives

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/3 C mayonnaise

1 1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tbsp. whole grain mustard

1 tbsp. Old Bay seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp. mild olive oil or butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pick through the crab meat to remove any bits of shell. Combine with eggs, bread crumbs, and chives in a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, Old Bay seasoning, salt, and pepper; mix well with a wood spoon or gloved hands. Shape tightly into balls and flatten gently to form cakes, placing on a baking parchment-lined pan sprinkled with additional bread crumbs.

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the crab cakes in batches of 4 or 5 and cook until golden brown on the bottom. Turn the cakes and cook for one minute longer. Remove to a baking pan lined with parchment. Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Makes 6-8 crab cakes.

Source: Biltmore - Our Table to Yours Cookbook - The Biltmore Estate; Asheville, NC

Penne with Steak, Chicken & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

***This was one of those dinners that I did not want to end! It combined all of my favorites...sun-dried tomatoes, chicken, steak, and pasta! I had 1/2 of a left-over rib-eye steak from Longhorn Steakhouse that I was able to incorporate into this dish. I was glad that it didn't go to waste.

As you can probably tell by reading my blog, pasta is probably my favorite thing to cook. After being away from home last week, I was especially inspired to get in the kitchen this week. This pasta dish is one of those that I got a little creative with...no recipe required!***

Ingredients:

1 pkg. penne pasta (I only used 1/2 of the package)

10 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced into thin strips

1 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 rib-eye steak, grilled or cooked to your liking

2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 white boiler onions, chopped (these look like small, miniature onions...you could substitute with 1 regular-sized onion, instead)
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

1 cup white wine

1/2 cup chicken broth

2/3 cup heavy cream

Italian seasoning, your choice (I used Alexander's 4 in 1 Gourmet Selections - "Tuscany Blend")

Parmigiana-reggiano cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken in an oven-safe dish. Drizzle with a little EVOO and season with your choice of Italian seasoning. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes, or until juices run clear.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Season liberally with salt, and add pasta. Cook until al dente. Strain pasta, reserving the pasta water.

Meanwhile, heat EVOO in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for 4 - 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 1 - 2 minutes. Reduce heat to a simmer. Next, add white wine, broth, sun-dried tomatoes, and heavy cream. Stir well.

Add pasta to cream sauce mixture. Add pasta water, a little at a time, to the sauce mixture if needed. The pasta water contains starches, which will help create a better sauce. Stir well.

Remove chicken from oven. Let cool for a few minutes and then chop into small pieces. Next, chop steak into similar, small pieces. Add chicken and steak to cream sauce mixture. Add parsley and a dash more of the Italian seasoning...stir well. Simmer for just a few minutes...just until heated through.

Place on platter or plate and top with freshly grated parmigiana-reggiano cheese.

Serve hot.

Pan-Seared Grouper with Cherry Tomatoes & Asparagus

Okay, I have seriously been having withdrawals...cooking withdrawals, that is. Brad and I were traveling for business last week, so I haven't really been able to cook or blog about anything. However, we did get to see 7 states in 4 days...a total of 23 hours round-trip...talk about exhausting! We managed to have a ton of fun though. We made it from Alabama to Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and finally back home to Alabama. I'll add more about our trip later...hopefully. Now that we're back, my posting should get back to normal after a quick grocery run this week.

But now on to the topic at-hand...FOOD! Since we've been on the road so much, I was determined to cook tonight. I need to go grocery shopping, but I was able to throw together something pretty yummy. Brad mentioned that this dish had a Cajun feel to it, without being spicy...perfect! I am proud to say that this recipe is completely from my own noggin'. I didn't use a recipe. I was scared that it might not turn out good, but we were pleasantly surprised with the result.

I served this with cornbread and rice. I used the cornbread to soak up the extra tomato sauce on my plate, which was fabulous! I don't think this dish would be the same without the cornbread.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

6 Grouper fillets

Salt & Pepper, to taste

2 tbsp. butter

1 red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup white wine

1 cup chicken broth

3 oz. tomato paste

1 package cherry tomatoes, halved

2 - 3 tbsp. fresh parsley, minced

About 15 stalks asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Rinse grouper fillets with water and pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt & pepper. Heat EVOO in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sear grouper fillets until golden on each side (this should only take a few minutes). Remove from heat and place in an oven-safe dish. Finish baking in the oven until cooked through (15 - 20 minutes).

While grouper cooks in the oven, melt the butter in same skillet, scrapping bottom of pan. Add onion and saute for about 5 minutes. Next, add garlic. Cook for an additional few minutes until garlic is fragrant. Reduce heat to low-medium. Add white wine, chicken broth, and tomato paste. Mix together until well blended. Add asparagus pieces and cherry tomatoes. Season with a little more salt & pepper. Continue to simmer while grouper is baking.

Remove grouper from oven. Place grouper fillets on top of mixture in skillet. Sprinkle fresh parsley on top and let simmer 1 - 2 minutes.

Serve!

Cheesecake Pops!

This month's Daring Bakers Challenge was the fabulous Cheesecake Pops from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor. Our gracious hosts were Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms and Deborah from Taste and Tell. I had so much fun with this month's challenge. I was a little worried at first, because Brad is not a big fan of cheesecake. So, I didn't know if I'd get a chance to make them. But luckily, 2 of my best friends gave me the perfect reasons to try them out!

Ashley's birthday was April 15th, and she LOVES cheesecake...so of course I made her a batch! Then, Jessica had her Bachelorette Party this month. Her wedding colors were purple and green, so I made a second batch to coordinate with her colors. I think they turned out really cute!

Cheesecake Pops
Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey

Makes 30 – 40 Pops

* 5   8-oz packages cream cheese at room temperature
* 2 cups sugar
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 5 large eggs
* 2 egg yolks
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* ¼ cup heavy cream
* Boiling water as needed
* Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks
* 1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)
* 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)
* Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) - Optional

Directions:
Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

**************************************************

TIPS:
By the last batch, I realized a few things:

1. If you chill the entire cheesecake in the freezer overnight, it makes it much easier to form it into balls the next day. The cheesecake never really got frozen all the way through, so it was still perfectly easy to work with.

2. If you lightly spray your hands with cooking spray (like Pam), it helps to keep your hands from getting too goopy during the ball-forming process. I did have to wash my hands several times and re-apply before the entire batch was formed into balls.

3. I think I heated the first batch of chocolate too quickly. I was more patient with the second batch, and it was much easier to dip. I also found that the chocolate morsels...instead of the chocolate blocks...made for easier dipping and prettier pops in the end.

For the second month in a row, I've posted my Daring Baker's Challenge late...I'm sorry! For some reason, I had it in my head that the last day of the month was the post day. I'll try to be on time next time!

I'm looking forward to next month's challenge...can't wait to see what it is!

Ashley's Birthday Pops...

An assortment....

Jessica's Wedding Pops...

Before dipping...

Herbed Chicken with Spring Vegetables

***You probably all know by now that I love Giada's recipes...this one is certainly no exception. I recently saw her make this on the "Spring Forward" episode of Everyday Italian. It's the perfect time of year for this dish - Spring! I especially liked using the smaller, boiler onions that this recipe calls for. I've never used them until now...I didn't even know they existed! I only wish that the grocery store had had bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts available...I had to use leg quarters. I think the chicken breasts would have been even better. Nonetheless, this dish looked really pretty on the platter and was absolutely delish! This is definitely a keeper.***

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped fresh thyme leaves

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 boneless, skin-on chicken breasts

3 bone-in, skin-on thighs (I used 2 bone-in, skin-on leg quarters)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

6 cipollini onions, trimmed and peeled

8 ounces baby carrots, peeled and trimmed, but leaving on a bit of green tip

1 cup chicken broth

6 ounces snap peas, trimmed

4 ounces morel mushrooms (I left off the mushrooms)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a small bowl combine the thyme, parsley, garlic, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the chicken pieces on a work surface. Gently loosen the skin of the chicken and push the herb mixture under the skin. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper.

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the pan, skin side down, when the oil is hot. Cook until the skin is crispy and golden, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken and cook the same way on the other side. Turn the heat off the pan and reserve. Transfer the chicken to a baking dish, skin side up again, and finish cooking in the oven, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile return the same pan to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter. When the butter has melted add the cipollini onions and carrots. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until tender and golden in places, about 7 minutes. Add the chicken broth and scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the snap peas and mushrooms. Simmer over low heat until the vegetables are tender and the liquid has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Remove the chicken from the oven. Spoon the vegetables onto a serving platter along with the chicken. Spoon the sauce over the chicken. Serve immediately.

Source: Giada De Laurentiis - Everyday Italian