Thursday, May 31, 2012

2 Course TV Dinner:

Media Break


RUB SOME BACON ON IT! I'm seriously in love with this video, song and principle. Check this video by Rhett & Link out...






ON ANOTHER MEDIA NOTE, MY COUSIN DAVE (The Great Steak Challenge) SENT ME SOMETHING ALL YOU COUPLES SHOULD CHECK OUT--It's your chance to be on TV!
A MAJOR TV NETWORK IS LOOKING FOR EXCITING AND MOTIVATED COUPLES FOR A NEW COMPETITION SHOW!
ARE YOU AND YOUR GIRLFRIEND DYNAMIC, OUTGOING, ADVENTUROUS, SPONTANEOUS & COMPETITIVE?
DO YOU KNOW SHE'S THE ONE?
WOULD YOU LIKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPETE FOR THE ULTIMATE ROMANTIC GETAWAY VACATION?
If this sounds like you and your girlfriend, then we want to hear from you!!
VPE Talent is looking for couples, WHO LIVE SOMEWHAT CLOSE TO NYC / NJ, to compete for an incredible romantic getaway on a new national TV series.
To apply: Send your name, contact info,  current photo and a few sentences describing why you guys are an awesome couple to Jennifer@vpetalent.com


Even though this post has nothing to do with yours truly, you can still share recipes or ask questions at themaniccheater@gmail.com.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012



Baked 'n Chilled Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwich
Mixed Greens w/ Simple Dressing & Romano Pizzelles
(with Healthy Tweaking)




It is HOT out.  I hate heat.  I needed a chilled meal so I picked a really simple thing to make to start: my stand-by salad dressing for a cool mixed green salad and then a hot chicken salad that I tweak to cut out some fat and chill for my own needs.  I also wanted to try something new in lieu of croutons--tried to make a little cheese cracker.

The recipe used to be fatty fatty fatty with tons of mayo and a bunch of cheese.  Not needed for mine....

 
Ingredients:

3 chicken breast cooked and diced to your chunky preference
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 cup mayonnaise 1/4 low-fat cup mayo
1 cup celery chopped 1 large stalk celery chopped
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded 1 handful low-fat shredded cheddar
2/3 cup crushed potato chips 1 handful crushed BAKED potato chips
salt
pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice juice of 1/2 lemon
+ 1/2 cup pesto (recipe follows)  
+ 1 handful bagel chips crushed
rolls, baguettes, pita or bread--your choice for the sandwich
mixed greens (optional: slices of low-fat swiss)

Pesto:
1/4 cup pine nuts
10 cloves garlic
5 cups fresh basil leaves (packed down)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon back pepper
1 1/2 cups olive oil
1 cup pecorino romano

Salad Dressing:
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Pizzelles:
Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 400°


Chicken & Pesto:
Pound and slice your chicken breasts in half and wrap in foil.  Bake for 20 minutes.  While it cooks, put the pine nuts, garlic, basil, salt and pepper into your food processor and "process" on low for about 30 seconds.  While the ingredients break down, stream in the olive oil through that hole thing on the top of the processor.  When the ingredients are pureed, add the romano and puree for another 45 seconds.  Set aside and put the remaining amount,with a layer of olive oil on top, in a tightly sealed container and freeze for later use.
When chicken is done, allow to cool.  Add your celery, cheese, almonds, lemon juice and 2 pinched of salt and pepper to a large bowl and mix.  When the chicken has cooled, chop it up and add to your bowl followed by the mayo and pesto.  Mix and salt and pepper to taste.  Spread out the mixture into a glass baking dish and cover with the bagel chips. Put in the fridge to chill.

Dressing:
Add your ingredients to a dressing mixer and shake (duh) or whisk in a bowl. 

Pizzelles:
Lay parchment paper on a cookie sheet and spoon circles of romano (about a tablespoon each) onto the surface making sure they do not touch.  Cook for about 10 minutes before allowing to cool and peeling them off carefully.

Toast bread, roll, pita (or not) with the swiss and top with some greens and the chicken salad.  Toss the salad with the dressing and serve with the pizzelles.


Notes: I have successfully made this my own by making it a pesto dish.

Tweaks:
I cut most of the mayo (and substituted low-fat for what little I did use) in favor of Pesto.  I think it gives it something and mayo is just oil and egg really.  I don't think we need that in us.  Pesto has oil and cheese but you can control how much you use if you are being health conscious.
I serve this chilled instead of its intended hot state.
I used reduced-fat cheddar cheese.
I used more lemon for flavor .
I used less celery as the almond gives enough crunch and isn't as wet.
I used baked potato chips instead of fried.

Possible Cheat:
If you are a wuss (or just in a hurry), you can use bottled pesto.

Verdict: Success

Neighbor-worthy. 

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Friday, May 25, 2012



Peanut Butter Cream-Filled
Devil's Food Cupcakes
with Chocolate-Butterfinger Icing





COMFORT FOOD ALERT:  For a bad day when you want indulgent food (and when I don't want to tweak too much and just want to cheat the shit out of a recipe).
I assumed I'd be down with this recipe I found for Peanut Butter Cream-filled Devil's-Food Cupcakes from Bobby Flay, but I felt it could leave the slightest Mark on it (see what I did there again?)


Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups cake flour flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk *see buttermilk cheat at bottom
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup strong coffee
3 2 large eggs (+ egg white)
+ cup whole milk
+ 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Boxed Devil's Food Cake Mix (sugar-free)
+ 2 pinches of nutmeg
+ 1/2 cup canola oil

PASTRY BAG w Medium Tip (just the tip isn't enough for me to get the job done here)

Filling:
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter low-fat creamy peanut butter
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioner's sugar    (like I own a sifter-I can barely open my utensil drawer)

Ganache  What the hell is ganache?  Icing/Topping:
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate roughly chopped (I used Ghirardelli)
1 cup roasted peanuts, chopped 2 Butterfinger candy bars crushed


Preheat oven to 325°

Line a muffin pan with foil cupcake lines (or lay our on a cookie sheet).

Follow directions on your cake mix box and make the batter.  Add the coffee.  Fill the cups half way and bake for 25 minutes.  Set on your cooling rack.

With a hand mixer, beat the butter and peanut butter until blended.  On a slow speed, slowly add the confectioner's sugar.  Crank up the speed some and beat until it's fluffy.  Spoon this mixture into a pastry bag with a medium tip and insert some of that cream in there--DON'T overdo it or it'll just break up.

Crush your Butterfingers in a Ziploc bag or in their wrappers (make it dusty but with some chunks).

Place the chocolate in a medium bowl.  Heat the cream in a small sauce pan until scalding.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for a minute.  Wisk it till it becomes smooth.  Let it chill out and thicken for like 10.  Dip the tops of the cupcakes in the goo and place on your rack individually. Top the soft icing with the crushed candy and allow to set (or don't I don't care, they could be good all hot an gooey).


Notes:
I made this for me not others.  I use nuts sometimes when it's for others but not tonight**.

Tweaks:
I used a sugar-free mix (no healthy tweak as it is negated by everything else here).
I added some nutmeg to sweeten this sugarless mix.
**Nuts and raisins don't belong in food--they belong in a bowl (or occasionally in a crunchy peanut butter) or in a box respectively. I opted for crushed candy for the topping.
I used low-fat peanut butter.  I understand that with this truly fattening dessert that this does not really count as a healthy tweak cut corners when you can. Plus it tastes the same and I had it already.
I cut out one egg and used one egg yolk
I cut out 2 tablespoons of butter out of the recipe for the cupcake.  Isn't 1/2 a cup enough??

Cheats:
*Buttermilk is a waste of money when it's not something already in house and you need so little of it.  One cup whole milk + 1 tablespoons allowed to curdle (15 minutes) is a great quickie homemade ingredient.

I used a box instead of doing cupcakes from scratch this time.

Verdict: Success

Neighbor-worthy.  I gave these to my buddies down at our local (and favorite) place, the Half King.  They have been so great to us over the years and I wanted to share my thanks with a few extra lbs.

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Thursday, May 24, 2012

Personal Note

Cooking is Just Like Sex

A LULL IN THE KITCHEN CAN BE THE SAME AS ONE IN THE BEDROOM  Sometimes you're just not in the mood.  Sometimes you really want to but can't find the time. Sometimes you do it by yourself.

Do you want to be on the maiing list or have recipes you want to share with me?  Contact me at themaniccheater@gmail.com.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Dammit

There's Meat All Over the Place That Needs Attention

I REALIZED TODAY THAT I HAVE MISSPELLED PROSCIUTTO DURING ANY AND EVERY MENTION OF IT ON THIS BLOG And I've mentioned it a bunch.  I had to search for it outta my posts to make corrections.

I love prosciutto and feel bad for having disrespected it, dumb for not knowing how to spell it and disappointed that my spell-check doesn't speak Italian.

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Personal Note

Misery Loves Company Readers Love My Misery


APPARENTLY FANS (OR ANTI-FANS) GET OFF ON MY SCREWING UP  Yesterday's post of my failure had the quickest growing crescendo of views.  I have a feeling that my failures will be my most popular posts.

Twitter and Pinterest help, but apparently my pout helps grow traffic even more.


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Tuesday, May 15, 2012



Steak with Roasted Tomato Relish





I took what I thought was a slight risk to suit my own shopping experience on this one (which was a Grilled Steak with Tapenade).  I couldn't get my hands on fresh olives and thought I would do a stand-by recipe of mine for roasted tomato bruschetta with ingredients I already had as a tweak.


Ingredients:
2 lbs flank steak
olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
1 medium shallot
1 clove garlic 2 cloves garlic diced
1 sprig rosemary
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon halved
1 pint grape tomatoes
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup fresh basil chopped
kosher salt

Heat grill, grill pan on grill-type appliance (like my adored Griddler).  Preheat oven to 400°

Rub your steak on both sides with a good olive oil and scrub with salt and pepper and let sit for about 5 minutes (or longer if you have the time.) 

In a bowl, add you tomatoes, olive oil to coat and salt, pepper and basil.  Toss and place on foil lined, vegetable sprayed (like PAM) cookie sheet and bake in oven for 20 minutes.
Grill steaks for 5-7 minutes on each side (depending on cut) for Medium Rare and allow to cool. 

When tomatoes are done, place them back in the bowl and smash 'em.  Sliced the steak at a slant into several pieces, plate and smother with the tomato mixture.

Notes:
This was a recipe that I eked out a last minute substitution as my planned shopping was thrown off by lack of obtainable ingredients.

Tweaks:
I swapped out the tapenade recipe for a roasted bruscetta mix.

Verdict: Failure


Not Neighbor-worthy.  What an embarrassment and a huge mistake.  Not to mention I hate anything close to rare (unless it's a tar-tar). The steak coulda been fine and the roasted tomato bruscetta mix was great. I should have just made steak and attempted another way to make it a show-piece.
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Monday, May 14, 2012



Creamy Shrimp Bruschetta




Took a HUGE risk on this one.  T W E A K E D this recipe from Giada Laurentiis, originally for Bruschetta with Shrimp, Tarragon & Arugula.


Ingredients:

Toast:
1 (1 lb) loaf ciabatta bread, trimmed and cut....blah blah.....I got a loaf of bread and sliced it.
Olive oil for drizzling
1 garlic clove

Topping:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large or two small shallots sliced
1 clove garlic chopped 3 garlic cloves diced
1 lb extra-large shrimp peeled and deveined*
Kosher salt and pepper   **I love Kosher salt when I cook, but I'm out
6 roma tomatoes 1 pint grape tomatoes halved
1/4 cup white wine 1/3 cup white wine
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken stock
3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 packed cup arugula chopped
1/2 cup marscarpone cheese at room temperature
+ 1/2 cup basil chopped
+ 4 oz goat cheese at room temperature


START NOTE: *Add some time to your prep if you are not doing a cheat and are peeling and deveining your own shrimp.  It goes slow until you get your rhythm.  While you do it, preheat your oven (400°)

Slice up your bread and lie on a cookie sheet.  Drizzle pieces with a little live oil.  Cook on middle rack for 10 minutes.  When it comes out let it cool for a few minutes while you heat up the olive oil in a skillet on Medium heat. Scrape cooled crostini with a sliced clove of garlic and set aside. 

Put shallots and garlic into the skillet and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp turn pink.  Use tongs to remove the shrimp and chop into halves or thirds.  Add the tomatoes to the skillet and turn heat to Medium-high.  Add the wine to the skillet and stir with wooden spoon  for 2 minutes.  Add the stock to the skillet and scrape up the brown bits and gooey-goodness up from the bottom of the pan.  Continue to stir until most of the liquid has cooked off. 

Remove the pan from the heat and add the cheese and the basil and mix until the cheese has evenly liquefied and a good mixture has formed.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.   Spread the, well, spread onto your crostini and either serve or chill for serving later.  (Yep--it works both ways!)

 

Notes:
This was my biggest risk as of late.  Shrimp can be expensive and and easily be ruined by a tweak test.

Tweaks:
Read above for a list of changes I made to amounts. 
I hate tarragon and skipped the arugula in favor of basil
I substituted the marscarpone with goat cheese.

(Possible) Cheats:
*Possible cheat for others: buy your shrimp already prepared.

Verdict: Success

Neighbor-worthy.  And in two versions: chilled and warm!

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Just the Tip-Reader Mail

Stay a Cut Above the Rest-Knife Tips

SIMPLE ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ARE OUT THERE My friend Seth wrote to me a couple of weeks back about knives.  He asked about best sharpening techniques and such.  Obviously, as he pointed out, getting them professionally sharpened works.  I cut corners when I cook (see what I did there?), I'm not very likely to actually travel with my knives to get sharpened.  They do however do it not afar at Chelsea Market once a week if the motivation strikes me (Samurai Knife Sharpening Service is located in front of Bowery Kitchen Supplies on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Noon to 6pm.)

A honing rod is the best way to sharpen your knives.  Those things (no ides what to call 'em) that are the size of a harmonica and have the two stones in them, not as good.  From the research I did, the insides can get warped, chipped, etc without you knowing and actually knick your blades and make them worse.  Bad blades lead to bad slicing and cuts to your hands/fingers.  Cutting stones are good too as you can view the quality of the stone and monitor any flaws in the surface--but a good technique is found or lost depending on the user....I personally would be missing fingers.

This video (that also has other non-knife things following the vid--I got sucked into it and watched tons and tons of other tips) shows how to use the rod as well as simple cutting techniques that I know well and you may not.  Check it out.

Side Note: My favorite knife is the Rachel Ray Gusto Grip Santoku knife.

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Sunday, May 13, 2012

Thanks To You: Mom

Happy Mother's Day

I AM SO THANKFUL TO THE BEST MOTHER OUT THERE I'd be a better cook today if I wasn't such a bitch growing up.  I wasn't the easiest kid to have around and probably the world's worst eater so I didn't get to learn all that much about food 'till I was a bit older. 
Ma-I kinda ruined the joy of cooking for you and for that I am sorry. I did however get to enjoy the rest that you had to offer: kindness, generosity and support even when not warranted (re: I was even worse when I grew up some).  Thanks, Ma.  I love you.

My grandmother actually showed me the first cooking tweak ever when I was like 6.  She ran out of breadcrumbs when making chicken cutlets and used oatmeal...I'll never know if it was a success as I was, again, a bitchy kid and my brother and I chose to make the ordeal a family joke for eternity. 
Gram-At 90 you've got more spunk than me (which is odd really--odd, but awesome).  Happy Mother's Day xoxox.

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Wednesday, May 9, 2012



No-Fry Fried Chicken 'n
Cheddar Biscuits
(w/ Built-in Healthy Tweaking)





This recipe is one I've done with great success over time but I am tweaking it just a little to see if I can leave my Mark on it enough to own it.  
This is a really great example of Healthy Tweaking without sacrificing any taste at all.  No frying, no chicken skin, no egg to bind the breading (even the yogurt that you sub the egg for is non-fat) and you still get a great crunch! AND it also has another great home made bread crumb recipe. 

Ingredients:

chicken:
6 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs or halved bone in breasts
1 1/3 cups 1 cup Rice Krispies
2 1/4 cups bagel chips or Melba toasts  2 cups plain bagel chips crushed
olive oil
3/4 teaspoons paprika
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt 1/2 cup plain fat free Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon 1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 bunches a few scallions
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
+ 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
+ 1/4 garlic powder

biscuits:
cupcake liners
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
2 handfuls of reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese


(Start with the biscuits)
Preheat oven to 400°

Line a cupcake pan with liners (or lay them out on a cookie sheet).

Mix the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the (Veg) oil, egg and milk.  Stir until the batter becomes smooth.  Sticky, but smooth.  Fold in your cheese.  Fill the cups about 2/3 full and put in the oven for about 18 minutes.  Top with a little more cheese for effect if you like.

Increase and Preheat oven to 475°

Grind your bagel chips and Krispies in a food processor along with your salt and pepper(s), paprika and garlic powder.  Throw the crumbs into a large Ziploc bag and add 3 teaspoons of olive oil.
Mix your yogurt and mustard in a small bowl.  Run your chicken pieces through the mixture and them to your crumby Ziploc bag and shake till all pieces are coated with the crumbs.

Spray a cooking rack (preferably a drip tray with slats that comes as a two piece kitchen staple) with vegetable spray (like PAM) and lie your pieces on it and some of the scallions (whole) and spray with more vegetable spray.  *If you don't have a "two piece kitchen staple", I have no idea what it is called, it won't be the worst to put it on a foil lined cookie sheet.  Bake 35 minutes.
 
Notes:
This is the best of healthy tweaking out there....a fried food without frying....I tweak things all the time using the basis of the recipe I took from on this meal.

Tweaks:
Read above for a list of changes I made to ingredients and amounts including the use of fat free yogurt. 

Verdict: Success

Surely Neighbor-worthy-but we rip through this so fast, there is NEVER any to share.

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Just the Tip

Screwed By The Cashier?  Spread it Out and Get Yours--More Bang for Your Buck


GET THE MOST OUT OF A PURCHASE THAT LEAVES YOU WITH MORE UNUSED INGREDIENT THAN YOU ACTUALLY USED We've all been there...you need to buy a bushel when all you need is a pinch to make your meal. This REALLY pisses me off.  Such a waste of food and cash.

A Super Mom (or a freak) can plan meals and menus a week at a time.  Us "normals" don't do that....at least the NYC "normals"-we don't know what we are doing while we are doing it yet alone tomorrow night or 3 nights away.  Planning multiple meals with overlapping ingredients that you practically buy in bulk is not something we are likely to do.  Planning afterward may be doable though....

Use what you have to cook and plan to cook what you already have.  For example, the other night I had 10 times the leftover cilantro I had bought to make a guacamole.  So, to come out a winner, I used a large chunk of the extras to make my homemade salsa into Cilantro Salsa.  Tonight I am going to do the same.....I have leftover cheese from the Flautas I made the other night and my recent Sausage Biscuit recipe fresh in my head....I can work them into as a cheesy morsel.....

Don't get taken advantage of at the market....the shopper should come first.  Make sure you come out on top.


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--
Posted By Mark Patrick Spiecher to Tweaking in the Kitchen (The Manic Cheater) at 5/09/2012 02:35:00 PM

Monday, May 7, 2012



Chicken Flautas





This post includes another of my favorite recipes, tweaked just enough to fit my taste and apparently everyone else's too--I think this is my most popular sharing dish.


Ingredients:
vegetable oil (either enough to fill your deep fryer or to submerge a few at a time in a deep pan)
1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon fake butter
1/2 red onion diced
1 jalapeño peppers 2 jalapeño peppers seeds removed, diced
1 garlic clove 3 large garlic cloves diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup salsa*
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (*if you used my cilantro salsa you can skip the cilantro)
1 cup shredded cheddar 1 handful reduced fat shredded cheddar
juice of 1 lime
16 (5-6") flour tortillas 8 (6") flour tortillas
11lb rotisserie chicken skin removed, meat stripped from bone
salt
I use my favorite appliance, my deep fryer, to do this recipe but I understand not everyone gets cooking things for Christmas and birthdays :) If you have a fryer and have been responsible and saved your oil, use your poultry stock and turn up to 375°. If not, use a deep pan with vegetable oil and heat to 375°

Heat a medium skillet on Medium heat and melt your (fake) butter.  Add your peppers and onion and cook until onion has become translucent.  Add your cumin, cayenne and garlic and mix it while cooking with a wooden spoon for a minute.  Add your chicken and your salsa (and cilantro if using another salsa than listed above) and mix with the other ingredients for a minute.  Take off your range and add cheese and lime juice and mix. Let cool a bit.

Lay out all of your tortillas on a work space--it's better to do all of them at the same time to ensure they all get equal filling (you don't want a runt of the litter).  Spread your chicken mixture onto your tortillas, a little toward one side.  Roll your tortillas up tight and toothpick 'em so they don't unroll in the oil.

Fry those suckers (3 at a time) until they are golden brown--toward a burnt sienna color but not charred.


Notes:
Be careful with frying anything.  Use tongs. 
I'm pretty much burn-proof from years of using the wing fryers at Pontillo's so, unless you're a relative, you most likely are not....be mindful.

Tweaks:
Read above for a list of changes I made to ingredients and amounts. 
*I dropped the cilantro as I had enough cilantro in my salsa that I used here.

Cheats:
Does the cilantro tweak count as a cheat

Verdict: Success

Probably the most Neighbor-worthy thing I can make.

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Sunday, May 6, 2012


Cilantro Salsa and Guacamole




This post shows my take on a salsa that I have made for 5 years (with the necessary use of an over abundant cilantro) and a staple guacamole.


Ingredients:

Salsa:
3-4 cloves garlic
3 jalapeño peppers
1 handful fat leaf parsley chopped
2 tablespoons fresh mint chopped tablespoons dried mint
2 large tomatoes
juice of 1 lemon
salt

Dice garlic and jalapeños on a large cutting board.  Add parsley and cilantro and further chop your ingredients. Chop your tomatoes, adding to the pile and using the flat part of your knife, "flip" or turn your salsa over like a pancake.  When tomatoes are done being added, douse with juice and salt to taste and continue to chop and "flip" until your salsa is very wet.

1 handful cilantro chopped

2 Hass Avocados
1/2 small red onion
1 jalapeño pepper chopped
1 handful cilantro
juice of one lime
salt

Guacamole:
Scoop out your avocado and set your pits aside.  Put half in a bowl or mortar.  Add cilantro, onion, juice and jalapeño.  Top with the other half of avocado and start mashing with either a fork (bowl) or pestle (mortar).  Salt to taste.  Mash until desired creaminess.

Tip:  Put your reserved pits into the finished product to keep the guacamole from browning too quickly. 

Notes:
These recipes are two staples that I do...except for the "cilantro" part of my salsa...I hate wasting ingredients and I hate over-buying: I needed only a little cilantro and because you sometimes HAVE TO buy enough of an ingredient to last a month but only need a little, I thought I'd use the leftover from my guac and tweak my own salsa by making use of the excess.

Tweaks:
Read above for the big tweak based on unfair purchasing sizes/quantities

Cheats:
I couldn't get my hands on a year's worth of fresh mint (or any for that matter), so I had to use dried.

Verdict: Success

Definitely Neighbor-worthy

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Just the Tip

Save Your Avocado Pits


AVOCADO PITS KEEP YOUR GUACAMOLE FROM BROWNING My cousin, Ignacio, taught me a GREAT tip regarding guacamole.  If you put the pits into the finished product, it keeps it from getting that brown that ruins the appeal after a surprisingly quick amount of time.

Simple and surprising.  Love having real Mexicans in my fam as opposed to those of them who just look like they are when they are tan....Ang, Jerry....

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Thursday, May 3, 2012

Street Fair Italian Sausage Biscuits




Anyone in NYC that has ever been to the street fairs (you know the ones with the cheap sunglasses, sheets and t-shirts) has probably tasted the Sausage and Peppers they make there.  In short: Amazing!  I took a standing recipe for pizza cupcakes and tweaked it some to be more of a biscuit and slipped in some sausage.

Ingredients:
cupcake liners
1 1/2 cups flour
2 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup mini pepperonis 

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
+ 1/2 green bell pepper diced

+ 1/2 yellow bell pepper
+ 1/2 vidalia onion
+ 1/3 lb italian sausage removed from casings
+ 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400°


Line a cupcake pan with liners (or lay them out on a cookie sheet).

Heat a large skillet on Medium heat and add olive oil.  When it smokes add the sausage and brown for 5 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.  Add peppers and onions and continue to break up and brown the sausage, scraping up the goodness on the bottom of the skillet.  When the onions become translucent and liquid has filled your pan, add the vinegar.  Lower heat and allow to cook off the moisture/liquid.  When "cooked off" add to a plate with paper towels to soak up unwanted grease.

Mix the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the (Veg) oil, egg and milk.  Stir until the batter becomes smooth.  Sticky, but smooth.  Fold in about 2/3 of the of the sausage and pepper mixture. 

Fill the cups about 2/3 full and put in the oven for about 18 minutes.  Top with a little more sausage/pepper crumbs for effect if you like.

Notes:
One of my staple meals at home is sausage and peppers, but the real way--with links and slices of the peppers and onion.  So good--but for the sake of making a muffin filling, I diced everything up while keeping the essence.


Tweaks:
I took some of the oil and the sugar out of the recipe to make for a drier, more bicuity taste and texture.
I removed the pepperoni and cheese and replaced with a dicey (see what I did there?)sausage and peppers recipe that I do.


Verdict: Success

This recipe is deemed Neighbor-worthy.

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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Margarita Cheesecake



This post shows a different tweak: I took the original recipe and made it more complicated....
(What was supposed to be a no-bake pie into a bake-bake cheesecake proper.)

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 1/2  2 cups pretzels finely crushed
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter melted  *unsalted

Pie Filling:
2 3 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese (I used 1 "regular", 1 "low-fat" and 1 "fat-free")
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons 1 shot tequila  (don't be cheap, use a good one)
2 tablespoons 1 shot triple sec
2 3 limes (with the zest of one)
2 drops green food coloring (optional)
1 (8 oz) container whipped topping
+ 3 eggs and 1 yolk
+ 1/4 cup sour cream
+ 1 1/2 cups sugar
+ 2 tablespoons flour

 
Preheat the oven to 350°.

Put the pretzels in a large Ziploc bag (let as much air out as possible) and break them down into fine crumbs using a rolling pin.  Put crumbs into a bowl with the melted butter and the sugar and mix till they all stick together.  Line a 9" spring pan and pressing down tightly.  I use my flat-bottomed 1-cup measuring utensil to get a flat, even surface.  Set aside.

Beat your cream cheese with with a hand mixer and add your eggs one at a time adding some sugar in between.  Add the extra yolk while you continue beating until smooth.  Add your zest, juice, liquor and sour cream.  Follow up by adding the flour.

Spoon the mixture into your pie crust and smooth it out.  Put your pan into the center rack of your oven and bake for 1 hour.

Remove your pan and place on a cooling rack.

Allow to cool and settle some (about 20 minutes) and pop the tin.  Wrap in plastic wrap and pop in the fridge over night.

Sleep.  Eat later.

Notes:
This recipe is, as motioned above, cranked up in the effort department.  I've never been a "non-bake" or "instant" kinda guy.  I took the essence of a no-bake pie recipe and merged it with a stand-by cheesecake recipe I do.

Tweaks:
I took made this from a pie and no-bake recipe to an actual cheesecake and baked it.
I swapped regular salt with unsalted---I mean, c'mon...isn't there enough salt in the pretzels?
I upped the amounts of cream cheese, liquor and limes because there is more stuff in a cheesecake that a pie...and I wanted to taste the tequila.
I got rid of the condensed milk, and whipped topping-I think this is for the "no bake"ness
And food coloring.  Really??
I added eggs, sour cream, sugar and flour for true cheesecake-ness.

Possible Cheats for you:
You can use a food processor to break up the pretzels for the crust.  It would probably have been simpler but, again, I drank while I made this.


Verdict: Success

Definitely Neighbor-worthy

Do you want to be on the mailing list or have recipes you want to share with me?  Contact me at themaniccheater@gmail.com.