Buttermilk Biscuits

Trying to mix up our dinners, with adding some different types of bread. We typically stick to our go to of Focaccia, but we had some buttermilk in the fridge (a new staple I'm trying to keep on hand because...well it's amazing in pancakes, waffles and buttermilk chicken). So we attempted our take on a biscuit. I can tell you we should have doubled the recipe because they were gone so fast, but I can also say I plan to make breakfast ones soon with cinnamon and sugar because these were so good.

Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp fresh rosemary (optional)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, cut into cubes (then place in freezer for 2-5 minutes before using)
3/4 cup - 1 cup cold buttermilk

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees, place parchment paper on cookie sheet (or use cooking spray)
2) In food processor with blade attachment, add flour, sugar, 1 tsp rosemary, baking powder and baking soda. Pulse a few times
3) Add in cold cubes of butter. Pulse until mixture resembles pea sized shapes within the flour
4) Add flour mixture to a bowl and add buttermilk, stir until just combined
5) Pour mixture onto a lightly floured board and knead a few times to finish incorporating the buttermilk into the flour.
6) Press down with your hands to create a round dough about 1/2" thick
7) Cut dough into circles with a floured round cutter (I used a ramekin). ***When cutting try not to twist/wiggle the round cutter as this will not allow your biscuits to fully rise***
8) Brush the top of the biscuit with buttermilk (option to add rosemary sprigs, herbs de provence on the top)
9) Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown
Serve warm
Mangia!

The BEST BBQ sauce

I love a good BBQ sauce, and have made many of my own over the years never quite perfecting it. Well. I have gone and perfected it. This is without fail, the easiest and tastiest BBQ sauce I have ever made. We've had it on wings, three different times now and it is our new favorite.

BBQ Sauce
1 1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup molasses
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt

That's it. That's all. Mix it altogether spread it on whatever you like. It's so easy! It's so good!
Mangia! Mangia!

Smoked Paprika Buttermilk Baked Chicken

My kids have named the table on our back patio "FIG the Restaurant" on nice nights that's where we eat. Seeing that we have spent the last 63 days at home it's nice to be able to mix up the scenery even if it's just eating out front instead of inside. Last night was my 7 year olds cooking night. Each kid has their own cooking night, they pick the meal. The only time my husband and I add input is if they are going to add a seasoning that absolutely would ruin the meal, otherwise it's 100% kid planned, executed and cooked. We've been doing this now for going on 4 years and it's been amazing to see them change throughout the years in the kitchen, not only their knife skills but their meal planning. Sometimes they'll have a "meat" in mind but want to cook it different so we look up a new recipe. This is what happened last night. Torrey wanted to do wings, but not how we typically do (BBQ, which is also a really good recipe I should share) so we looked at a few options and we happened to have buttermilk in the fridge so this is what she decided on. Honestly they were some of the best wings we've ever had. So now I share her recipe with you.

Smoked Paprika Buttermilk Baked Chicken
2 1/2 cups flour
3 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
2 lbs chicken wings (or cut you like)
1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika
2 Tbsp garlic salt

1) Set oven to 450 degrees, line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper
2)Soak chicken in buttermilk, place in fridge for at least 1 hour (next time we are going to try it overnight)
3) In bowl mix flour, smoked paprika, and garlic salt. Mix thoroughly set aside
4) Crack eggs into a separate bowl and beat
5) Remove chicken from buttermilk one at a time. Dredge in flour, then in egg, then back into flour. 6) Place on cookie sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown and internal temperature of 165

Mangia!

Garlic Noodles

In an attempt to find a new recipe once a week for the family, my daughter stumbled upon this one and it has quickly become a family favorite. So much that we've had it 4 times in the last 2 weeks. One thing I love about this recipe is how easily you can diversify it, from the vegetable to the protein. We've done chicken wings, pork belly and a pork loin. We've done broccoli, bok choy and green beans. All of them turn out amazing.

Garlic Noodles
8 oz Noodles (my favorite are a brand called Thin Kan-To Noodles)
8 garlic cloves, minced 

1 inch of ginger grated
6 stems of green onions, finely chopped
4 Tbsp butter
4 tsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
4 Tbsp oyster sauce

1) Add the oyster sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil into a bowl and stir until combined.
2) Bring pot of water to boil, and cook noodles according to package
3) Melt the butter in a large skillet, once melted add garlic, ginger and 1/2 of the green onions (save other 1/2 for garnish)
4) Remove skillet from heat, add drained noodles and 1/2 oyster sauce to skillet and stir to coat the pasta.
5) We use the same sauce on the meat and the vegetables, (in essence the sauce recipe is double). So cook your vegetable and protein and then cover with remaining sauce.
6) Serve together in a bowl
7) Eat, Repeat and Enjoy!

Cheeseball

Who said Cheeseball? I did. We actually have a Cheeseball season in our family, and that season has begun. It usually runs from November 1st to January 1st, and we make sure to fill that season with as many cheeseballs as we can. This is a recipe I grew up with from my Grandmother and we made a few tweaks to it (like adding green onion) to make it even better

Cheeseball

8oz block of cream cheese

1 large block sharp cheddar, about 8oz (shredded)

1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire

1 large chopped green onion 

1 Tbsp pimento (finely chopped)

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans (finely chopped)

Mix all ingredients together (except nuts)

Roll into ball and roll in nuts

*I use KitchenAid mix if you have one, makes it much easier

Focaccia Bread

I am not ashamed at all to admit my family has eaten not 1, not 2 but 4 of these this week. First we had it with my Butternut Squash soup recipe, because HELLO FALL.  But we loved it so much that night we decided to make it again last night to have with our homemade Cioppino, because honestly there is nothing better than fresh bread and butter. This Focaccia turns out perfectly every time and is so easy....TBH I'm drooling a little just thinking about it right now. Don't tell but it's on our menu again this week, so please do yourself a favor and make it for yourself. You will not be disappointed.

Focaccia Bread

 2 1/4 tsp Quick Rise Instant Yeast*

1 1/3 cup warm water (about 110-120 degrees)

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus more for drizzling)

2 tsp Pink Himalayan salt from grinder

2 scoops Herbs de Provence (or to taste)

1) Add flour, olive oil, yeast and water into mixer and blend on medium for 5 minutes

2) Remove from mixing bowl, and move to another bowl (greased with olive oil all over sides and bottom) cover with a damp towel place in a warm location. 

3) Let sit for 60 minutes or until dough has nearly doubled in size

4) Turn dough out onto floured surface and roll into large circle or rectangle 1/2 inch thick the size of the pan you intend to cook it in. (I love using my pie pans for this, this recipe makes 2 perfect pie pan Focaccia). Use olive oil to grease cooking vessels.  Put dough in the desired cooking vessel and cover with greased plastic wrap. Set aside for 20 minutes to rise again

4) Set oven to 400 degrees, remove plastic wrap and use your fingers to poke deep holes into the Focaccia.  Drizzle olive oil evenly over the top of Focaccia as well as sprinkling the Herbs de Provence. Lastly grind Pink Himalayan salt over top of Focaccia

5) Bake for 20 minutes or until dough is slightly golden and cooked all the way through.

6) Mangia!

*Trust me, use the quick rise Instant yeast, it works 100% of the time without fail and without effort!

Creamy Lemon Pappardelle with Bay Scallops

We're trying to add one new dish to our weekly menu to mix things up a bit, I've found that for the last little bit we were rotating our favorites, which is great, however I needed something new. As each kid has a cooking night I decided to rotate who gets to look for a new recipe for the week. This first week was my Chef Anella. She had planned Linguine and Clams for her meal so when I proposed the idea of a new recipe she knew she wanted to stick to seafood. We haven't cooked with scallops in a bit, and I had just seen them at the store and was inspired. We looked at a few different recipes and then combined what we like/dislike to make the following recipe. This was a favorite we are going to need to have it again soon. What I loved most about it was although it was creamy, it wasn't heavy at all and the flavors came together bright and beautiful.

Creamy Lemon Pappardelle with Bay Scallops
1 lb Pappardelle
Lemon, zest lemon (keeping zest)
4 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
garlic, minced
4 oz marscarpone cheese
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp basil chopped
Bay Scallops



Make sure the scallops are super dry. I use paper towels to pat them down and know they are ready when the paper towels are dry.
Season with pepper on both sides (only pepper, salt will come later).
Heat nonstick skillet over medium-high heat
Add a small drizzle of olive oil and the 2 Tbsp butter.
Once melted, wipe out the pan so only a thin layer of oil and butter remain (we want to sear, not fry the scallops)
Sear scallops on one side, about 1-2 minutes or until golden brown
Flip and sear other side until just cooked through
Season with salt and squeeze of lemon
Boil pasta water with a generous amount of salt, add Pappardelle and cook until al dente
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat
Add 2 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil
Once melted and hot, add garlic and sauce until fragrant
Add 1/3 cup pasta water (from the Pappardelle) stir in marscarpone, ricotta, parmesan and lemon zest, stir until melted and creamy.
Add the pasta and toss until coated
Serve in bowls, topped with Bay Scallops and basil.

Mangia! Enjoy

Béchamel Shrimp Gnocchi with Basil

We started a tradition where each one of our kids gets a night to cook. They're in charge of everything from the recipe all the way through cooking and serving. On Wednesday our oldest daughter who is 9, looked at all our proteins and decided she wanted to use Shrimp. Then she looked in the pantry and decided on Gnocchi. Last she decided she wanted a Béchamel sauce. So off she went to cook. Now either my husband and I help them, mainly to make sure they're safe and aren't burning things or adding too much salt, etc. This recipe was not only easy but it turned out SO GOOD that we didn't have enough. Next time we need 3 packages of Gnocchi. She was really excited for me to share her recipe on my blog, so here it is!



Béchamel Shrimp Gnocchi with Basil
1 lb shrimp
1/2 cup Parmesan
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp butter
6 cloves of garlic, minced
Basil leaves (for garnish)
Olive oil
Gnocchi (we need 3 packages, I buy off the shelf at Trader Joes)

Heat olive oil in pan, once hot add Shrimp.
Cook for one minute, remove from pan and set aside.
Add butter and melt, add garlic and cook on low
Add heavy cream and Parmesan
Cook until thick
If the sauce gets too thick add 1/4 cup of the water the Gnocchi cooked in.
Put Shrimp and Gnocchi in sauce once it's to the consistency you want and cook a few more minutes.
Garnish with Basil
Enjoy! Serve seconds! Enjoy more!

Honey Shrimp Rice Bowls

We've started a tradition in our family where each school age child gets to cook once a week. That includes choosing what we eat that night. Last night was Orion's turn to cook and so we started by looking at what meat he wanted to cook, he chose shrimp. He knew he wanted to serve it on a bed of rice with Asparagus. I asked what type of seasoning he wanted on the shrimp, I for the most part let them choose all of the ingredients however I will stop them if they wanted to add say 'cinnamon' to shrimp. He said he wanted to use Honey, Garlic, Ginger and Soy sauce. So we started to get the ingredients all out. He used a microplane to grate the ginger and a garlic press for the garlic. It is so fun seeing the kids take charge and be so excited for what they're making, also being the Chef for the night allows them to pick different sous-chef duties for the other kids in the family. 

Honey Shrimp

1 lb shrimp

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp grated ginger 

1 head of garlic pressed

In medium bowl whisk together your sauce ingredients. 

Add shrimp to the bowl coating them well and refrigerate and let marinate for 20+ minutes.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat, add the shrimp to the skillet.
Reserve the leftover sauce

Cook on both sides about 2 to 3 minutes per side until shrimp turns pink and is cooked.

Remove shrimp and set aside

Pour the leftover sauce back into the skillet and cook a couple minutes until sauce reduces and thickens, this makes an excellent dip for the shrimp or you can drizzle over top of your shrimp. 

Tom Kah----Instant Pot

Recently we ventured to a Thai restaurant that served Tom Kah, we'd never had it before so we gave it a try and fell immediately in love. We had also ordered Pho and my kids let me know right away that my Pho was better (swoon), so I then made it my mission to make my own Tom Kah. I've literally perfected my Pho recipe. So I made it a goal to now perfect my Tom Kah. Now I'm not going to lie, having never made it before I wasn't sure what to think, but for the very first time I knocked it out of the park. A few minor tweaks next time and I'm pretty sure we'll have another all time favorite soup in our repertoire. I love how easy this soup was to put together and lets be honest, the Instant Pot....what more can I say!!

Tom Kah

2 (13.5 oz) cans coconut milk (full fat)

6 cups chicken bone broth

2  stalks fresh lemongrass, remove tough outer layer and roughly chop into 1/2 inch pieces

2 large slices of ginger (skin on)

5 garlic cloves crushed (skin on)

2 limes squeezed

4 green onions, sliced (separate green from white)

8 oz mushrooms (I used shiitake, but any type will do)

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tsp sugar

*for toppings: the green part of the green onion, Thai red chilies, fresh cilantro, more lime juice

1.)  Turn IP on to Saute on high. Add lemongrass, ginger, white part of green onion, garlic and saute until fragrant. 

2.)Add chicken broth, and lime juice. Close, turn on soup mode to medium (20-25 minutes)

3.) When done vent and strain broth. 

4.) Add broth back to IP, then add coconut milk, mushrooms, fish sauce and sugar. Close and turn on soup mode to low (10-15 minutes)

5.) Serve immediately garnished with your favorite toppings

Enjoy and Repeat!