Forty Cloves of Garlic Chicken
We spent the 4th of July weekend up at my parents house in Bear Valley Springs. Their Homeowner’s Association puts together this non-stop action packed weekend for the 4th. There are hot air balloons that take off every morning, a fair, a parade, swimming, live music, movies in the park…it just goes on and on. So, when talking to my dad about all of the guests they would have at the house and how I could help with the cooking, he said, “will you make that garlic chicken thing you made for your mom on her birthday?” So, I did. And he had two helpings (maybe three but who’s counting.) I served it with my mashed potatoes and some crusty french bread to sop up the garlic and sauce.
Hubby’s note: This dish MUST be served with some kind of bread. The chicken is outstanding. But the BEST part of this dish is the melted garlic cognac sauce in the pot. Garlic + Cognac + Chicken + Carbs = Heaven You could even take the chicken out of that equation, but not the carbs. You need the bread to sop up this delicious slice of heaven. I’ve said before that my wife’s cooking has the power to make me levitate. This dish does that. Ridiculously good. I give it Two Thumbs Up with a Snap in Z Formation.
Pizza Toppings Cupcake Tin
My mother-in-law has been in Florida with her family for the last few weeks so we invited my father-in-law for dinner on Friday night. He is a serious pizza lover like Ryan and I so…we made grilled pizzas. As I was preparing all of the toppings, I had an idea. I like to use my cupcake tin for snacks for the kids throughout out the day. Fresh blueberries, strawberries and other fruits, pretzels, Pirate’s Booty…And I just leave it on their little table and they can grab something as their whizzing by playing or tormenting one another. So, I thought to myself, I could use my cupcake tin to display all of my toppings for pizzas. Then you could see all of the delicious little treats to put on top of your yummy pizza. And! I only have to wash one dish! Not 16 ramekins! I swear I felt like I had found a buried little treasure in my kitchen. And now you have a buried treasure in your kitchen too. Yay!
And, here is the link for my homemade pizzas!
http://www.mommybistro.com/homemade-pizza
Flourless Nutella Cake
Oh Nutella, how I love thee…. Growing up we would make these amazing crepes by spreading Nutella on them, rolling them up and chowing them down (don’t worry, the French crepe recipe is coming soon). Recently, my mom and Pixie were out running errands together before the three of us went for pedicures. Don’t judge! It was for my mom’s birthday and Pixie is a GIRLY. GIRL! So, my mom calls me and says, “We got too busy and never got her any lunch. She’s been eating her snacks but will you bring her a sandwich too?” And I’m thinking to myself, “well it is kind of a special occasion so I will make her a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich.” I’ve never seen a kid eat a sandwich so fast. She was covered in Nutella and had this goofy cross eyed look on her face like, “where have you been all of my life Nutella!?!?!? I’m only 3 1/2 but where have you been!?!?!” Anyways, back to this cake. This is my husband’s absolute favorite cake. Well, this one and my Guiness Chocolate Cake. Each year for his birthday I can almost guarantee he will ask for this cake. And then his eyes inevitably end up crossing… and I see where Pixie gets it from.
Hubby’s note: There are two things that my wife does that makes my eyes cross. This is the “G” rated one. And this cake is so good, it may possibly be a substitute for the other one. I like it with Port. Or Tobin James’ Late Harvest Zinfandel. This cake actually melts in your mouth. I don’t mean that as a cliche. It physically melts. No chewing required. Eating this cake is like floating on a warm hazelnut cloud. Um…that made much more sense in my head. And for the record, i’m working on butching up the girly girl.
Cuban Garlic Chicken
I posted a picture of this chicken on Facebook and it got such an amazing response, I felt that I had to get this onto Mommy Bistro for you as soon as possible! If you have ever had real Cuban Garlic Chicken (meaning you have been to Versailles Restaurant in Encino, CA or another location), then you know what I am about to give you. Anyone who has been to this gem of a restaurant, realizes the magnitude of the gift this recipe is. I obviously didn’t steal their recipe (if I only knew how!!), so this is my own version. This is the dish to end all dishes, the-end-of-the-world-what-am-I-going-to-eat-before-I-die Cuban Garlic Chicken. The last time I made this I didn’t have time to go to Jons Market for La Lechorana so I used the Albertsons brand from concentrate orange juice and I used three lemons instead of two. I serve this chicken with cilantro rice and black beans.
Hubby’s Note: If I were on Death Row, this might possibly be my last meal request. But only because you can’t count on the quality of the Filet Mignon in prisons these days. They don’t make them like they used to. Back to the Chicken – it’s amazing. I’ve been known to start speaking in a Cuban dialect while eating this dish and spouting the benefits of communism whilst cursing the capitalist pigs that insist–wait, I digress. Ok, I know it looks nice and neat in the picture, but I highly recommend ripping this dish a new one. I cut all the chicken up first and then ditch the carcass so I can devote 100% of my attention to the delicious mess of Chickeny Citrusy Garlicy Rice-Beansy Oniony goodness before me. Warning – suprisingly, the hottest part of this dish is the raw onion. I asked my wife if she could maybe sweat the onion a little bit to tone it down. She responded by taking my “Man-Card” from me. I had to do masonry work in the yard to earn it back.
Caprese Salad
Everyone has made or probably has a Caprese Salad recipe, right? So, I’m not going to say this is the end all be all recipe on my site. But it’s so tasty. And perfect for summer. If you have a farmer’s market in your town, go there. Get fresh locally grown tomatoes. Or even better heirloom tomatoes (my favorite!). But if you can’t get to a farmer’s market, I get the Trader Joe’s pack of mini heirloom tomatoes. They’re fabulous. 😉
Pollo Borracho…. Spaghetti
I have no idea how I came up with this recipe. All I know is that some kind of chicken pasta with tequila and peppers sounded REALLY good one day. Though now that I think about it, is there any kind of alcohol that chicken does not taste good with? I think not. And as I was cooking it, I added a bit of this here and a bit more tequila there. Borracho means “drunk” in spanish. And I like to get this chicken good and borracho. I am really not pleased with the picture I took cause the chicken looks funky in it? But I assure you, the drunk ass chicken pasta is downright delicious.
Hubby’s Note: Tequila? Check. Meat? Check. Carbs? Check. Tequila in a glass over rocks for Daddy? Check. All systems are go.
Recipes Headed Your Way
I am trying to release three recipes a week. I wish I could release one everyday but who am I kidding? I’ve got two kids and its summer! Lots of things to do before Pixie heads off to preschool in the fall…. ah! Gonna cry thinking about it.
Okay so here is a list of the recipes headed your way in the next few weeks. If you want to see something added to the list, post a comment! I’m totally down to take on your challenge. Let’s do this people:
Mango Chicken Salad
Because I love her and she asked for this recipe to be released next and because she’s carrying baby Jane in her tummy and because she’s all around fabulous, this recipe is for Jessica Waters (and Alisha cause this will always remind me of her!)
I started making this salad about 8 years ago. One of my coworkers, Alisha, was obsessed with it. We always joked about eating S#!& salad that we brought from home for lunch because if we ate the food at our restaurant everyday, we’d be large and in charge. My office was the first office as you came into the corporate offices and everyday, Alisha would peek in to see what I brought or, more importantly, to see if I brought this ridiculously yummy salad. I’m not sure if I ever gave this recipe to Alisha but I know she will be on here printing this one out! Shout out to S. S.!!
Hubby’s note: We’re doing shout outs now? Is this a morning radio show? If I were to shout something it would be…I LOVE THIS SALAD…AND I LOVE USING ELLIPSES! Seriously, this salad is so light and so good at the same time. I’m a man (I’m relatively sure about this). We generally don’t eat salad. But this one is amazing. It actually feels substantial. Like I’m eating a meal, instead of grazing on foliage. Peace out dog, word to ya mutha.
And the winners are!
Buggies is sitting in my lap and she just helped me go to random.org to find our winners of the Silpat giveaway. And the winners are:
(Drum roll please! Oh who am I kidding…I want a whole freaking rock band playing for this!)
Post #5: Heather: Ok….I over boiled water. Or I burnt the toast. Ha ha!!!!! I really enjoyed your new blog. Love it!!! Can’t wait to try out the recipes.
Post #9: Shannon: I would have to say mine would be when I was making coffee cake at my moms for Christmas morning. Apparentely I didn’t bake the coffee cake long enough so the inside was all gooey! Oh well, we could still eat the outside:) I love your blog Jess and can’t wait to make some of those yummy dishes. Love ya!
Post #13: Ginger: Ah, I love silpats!
My biggest kitchen disaster in recent memory was when I misread a recipe and whipped egg whites with the sugar instead of by themselves for a big baking project. I didn’t want to risk messing up the whole thing so I ended up dividing four more eggs and starting over.
Aside from the waste in yolks, it turned out ok cause I baked the original egg whites/sugar into meringues!
CONGRATULATIONS LADIES! You’re my first ever giveaway winners. Sheesh, I’ve got a tear in my eye….
Morning Glory
So, being a parent is one of the most exhausting (but totally rewarding) jobs on the planet. There are times when I am watching the clock like a crazy person counting down the minutes until Ryan walks in the door. And other days? It’s smooth sailing. You moms out there know what I’m talking about, right? Well, on weekends we love to be lazy. Like, grab the kids, bring them into our bed and turn on Tinkerbell (their FAVORITE!) while we catch a blissful 10-15 minutes more of sleep. But once that 10-15 minutes is over, Buggies is climbing all over us. “Mommy? I wannanack.” Translation? Mommy I want a snack. So, I head to the kitchen to start on….Morning Glory. It’s the end all, be all sandwich that keeps evolving and getting better. I had no idea it could do that.
Hubby’s note: The title of this sandwhich says it all. I’m not a morning person. And if it’s Saturday or Sunday morning, you can bet your ass that i’m dragging mine as Friday and Saturday nights are No Holds Barred in our house. For some reason my body/mind didn’t get the memo that once you have kids, there is no such thing a sleeping in. So i stay up late, and pay the price then next morning. This sandwhich saves me. It fills my taste buds, mouth, stomach, and head with all that is good in the world, and soaks up all that bad stuff from the night before. Best breakfast ever!