Blood Orange & Kale Salad

Hi all! Today we have a really fresh and simple Kale Salad with blood oranges. I love to cook; that’s really no secret, but sometimes I come home exhausted from work and I don’t want to cook, nor do I feel like going out. The results? I usually end up noshing on cheese and crackers or break romaine leaves apart and dip them in dressing. Sad, I know.

Even more depressing, lately I’ve been trying to be “healthy” and well, it sucks. The other day I broke out my new (as of Christmas) Vitamix and tried my hand at home juicing. The juice was actually pretty awesome and I didn’t mind the slightly pulpy texture due to no pulp extractor like in an actual juicer. I took more time to prep and clean then I had hoped which sucked, especially since it was a super busy day for me.

I’ve been eating a lot of wheatberry, kale and quinoa just trying to mix things up all the time and keep me from getting bored. This salad is actually one that’s been on my regular rotation of “healthy meals” and it’s one of my faves! It’s super easy to put together (I’ll usually make this salad and vinaigrette in the morning before work, in two separate containers, so when I come home it’s just pour, cover and shake. It’s so filling and flavorful that I actually don’t crave hot dogs and doughnuts 20 minutes after I’m finishing eating, like most salad make me feel. This salad is seriously awesome anytime. Go try it! Enjoy! xx, Jenny

Simple Blood Orange and Kale Salad with a White Balsamic Vinaigrette
Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:
white balsamic vinaigrette:
½ shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 ½ teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1/3-½ cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

½ head kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
3 blood oranges, cut into supremes
1/3 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Place shallot, garlic, honey, mustard, and vinegar into a small bowl and whisk together.
2. Pour oil into the mixture, while whisking, in a steady stream until fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Place kale and blood orange supreme into a mixing bowl and toss together with the vinaigrette.
4. Top with almonds and goat cheese and adjust seasonings.

Baked Asparagus Fries

Did you all have a good super bowl or puppy bowl? Madonna is scary, no? I’ve been seeing pictures of her from the Super Bowl, and it literally scares me. Nightmare scary. Anyway, asparagus fries are actually pretty neat. They are surprisingly crispy. Asparagus is one of my favorite green things to eat, and this is a new way I have never had them before. Pretty good. These would also make a good side dish. The trio of sauces you can serve with them are pretty bomb. My favorite thing about these are the little asparagus spear tops. Super cute.
♥ Teri

Baked Asparagus Fries with Three Dipping Sauces
Makes 1 pound

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 lb asparagus, ends trimmed and cut in half
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
cooking spray

Dipping Sauces:
sun-dried tomato jam:
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon honey
2 cups sun-dried tomatoes
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon oregano, minced
2 teaspoons thyme, minced
1 teaspoon rosemary, minced
1/2 cup red wine
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
roasted garlic aioli:
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/4 cup salad oil (or a light flavored oil like vegetable oil)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 head roasted garlic, beaten to a paste
salt and pepper to taste
bleu cheese sauce:
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup crumbled bleu cheese
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 tablespoons chives, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Place almonds and panko in a food processor and pulse until the almonds are finely ground and well mixed. Pour mixture into a shallow dish.
3. Dredge cut asparagus spears in flour and shake off excess (not much flour will stick to the waxy spears, but that’s okay).
4. Dip each spear into the egg wash followed by the panko mixture. Cover each spear in the panko mixture until fully coated. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Place coated spears onto a parchment lined baking sheet and spray with a light coating of cooking spray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until crisp and lightly
browned. Season with salt and pepper.
6. For tomato jam: Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Place first 6 ingredients into the pan and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, oregano, thyme, and rosemary and continue to sauté for 3 minutes. Deglaze pan with the wine and vinegar and cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and lower the heat to medium. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the hot mixture into a food processor and pulse 3 times. Allow the mixture to cool.
7. For aioli: Place the egg yolk mustard and lemon juice into a mixing bowl and whisk together. In a measuring cup, stir together the two oils. Pour the blended oil into the yolk mixture, while whisking, until fully emulsified. Whisk the roasted garlic paste into the mixture and season with salt and pepper. Stir.
8. For bleu cheese sauce: Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Serve baked asparagus fries with the trio of dipping sauces.

Cream Puff Doughnuts

Hi All! Hope everyone had a great time at their prospective super bowl parties. Who won? Who was playing again?! Just kidding…sorta. Anyway, now that we’re all rolling ourselves to work this morning, from eating our lives away why not keep going with that just a little longer and indulge in these little guys. Cream Puff Doughnuts! Yea, I know….AAAWWWESOME! Back in December we posted a recipe over at Design Sponge for No-Yeast Cake doughnuts. The recipe is super simple especially since I decided to go the ” no yeast” route which totally simplifies the recipe and cuts down on the prep time. I think doughnuts are like a gift from the Gods…who first decided to start frying sweet dough, dowse it in sugar and eat it? Whoever that person was, I’d like to give them a hug; what a genius. Doughnuts are a sweet treat that I can definitely get on board with all day, everyday. Why split them open and shove pastry cream in them? Cause it’s awesome and cute….really cute! If you want the recipe for our No Yeast Cake Doughnuts don’t forget to hop over here to get the full recipe. I’ve provided the recipe for a basic vanilla pastry cream below. Enjoy! xx, Jenny

Basic Vanilla Pastry Cream
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
½ cup heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
½ cup granulated sugar
3½ tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup milk, egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, and cornstarch. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan add remaining milk, cream and sugar. Bring the mixture to a light simmer.
3. Whisk 1/3 cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture and continue to mix to prevent yolks from scrambling.
4. Pour yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining hot liquid and whisk together over medium-low heat. Continue to cook the pastry cream to allow the mixture to thicken.
5. Once the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, stir in the vanilla and butter and whisk until fully incorporated.
6. Strain mixture into a bowl sitting over an ice bath and allow to cool completely.
7. Cover the cooled pastry cream and place it in the refrigerator for at least an hour or until ready to use.

**To assemble: Slice doughnuts in half, pipe a small amount of pastry cream on the bottom half of the doughnuts and sandwich the tops back on. Finish with a light dusting of powdered sugar. Serve

**Tip: If your pastry cream is not as stiff as you would like it you can fold in a 1 1/2 of whipped cream to the mixture to lighten the mixture and allow it to hold its shape.

Korean Fried Chicken

Hi All! We’re ending “Deep-Fry Fest” week over at SFB and leaving you all with this gem of a recipe….Korean.Fried.Chicken. It’s a fun take on the classic buffalo wings that everyone seems to love oh so much (rightfully so)…especially for the super bowl. If you love wings you’ll love this simple and AWESOME take on fried chicken. You would think that battering the wings before frying would leave you with oily and heavy fried chicken, but it’s totally not true…it’s the opposite. The batter actually helps make the chicken super light and extra crispy…crunchy is probably a better word…but not like gross crunchy…just super crisp. You know crunchy sound effects they use on tv? I bet they use Korean fried chicken to make that crunchy food sound effect…Are you all getting that this is super crisp chicken? Have I beaten that into your heads enough? Just a little?

Korean Fried Chicken
Serves 4 to 6

spicy Korean bbq sauce:
¼ cup gochugang (Korean Chile Paste)
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons peeled and minced ginger
1 green onion, thinly sliced
2 ½ tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons sesame oil
honey-soy sauce:
¼ cup honey
2 ½ tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 green onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ tablespoons peeled and minced ginger
classic buffalo wing sauce:
¾ cup Franks red hot sauce
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
garnish:
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

24 chicken wing pieces
1 cup sweet rice flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 ¼ cup cold water
salt and pepper to taste

vegetable oil for frying

Directions:
1. Preheat oil to 350°F.
2. For the spicy Korean bbq sauce: Place all ingredients into a bowl and whisk together until fully incorporated. Set aside.
3. For the honey-soy sauce: Place all ingredients into a bowl and whisk together until fully incorporated. Set aside.
4. For the classic buffalo wing sauce: Place Franks and melted butter into a bowl and stir together. Set aside.
5. Sift together the flour and cornstarch into a mixing bowl. Whisk in water until fully incorporated and no lumps remain.
6. Dip each wing into the batter and shake to remove any excess. Carefully drop each battered wing into the hot oil and fry for 5 to 6 minutes (this will have to be done in batches).
7. Drain onto paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Once all wings have been fried, place wings back into the fryer and fry a second time (double fry) for 5 to 7 minutes or until light golden brown and crispy. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
8. Using a pastry brush, paint each wing with a small amount of the spicy bbq sauce or honey-soy sauce and garnish with the green onions and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

9. **If using the classic wing sauce, place wings into the bowl with the Franks and butter and toss together until fully coated. Serve immediately.

Deep Fried Elvis Raviolis

Hi. Hi. I wanted to thank everyone who left a comment and told me awesome places to go in Seattle. It was fun, and not too cold. I sometimes had a fourth meal. One day I walked around town with the top button of my pants undone. Intentionally, for extra room purposes. It was overall really great. I have never eaten so many oysters in my life. So thanks everyone for leaving me helpful comments! You made my trip better!

In other news, we are still on with fried week. Recipes for Superbowl. Will you guys be watching? I wonder what kind of awesome commercials they will play. This one is my all time favorite. I hope you all enjoy people running into each other and catching balls, and good food, and good people. And maybe these puffy pockets of goodness.
♥ Teri

Deep Fried Elvis Ravioli
Makes 24

Ingredients:
48 round wonton wrappers
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, warmed
1 banana, peeled and thinly sliced
24 mini marshmallows
1/4 cup honey
1 egg, lightly beaten
optional:
powdered sugar

vegetable oil for frying

Directions:
1. Preheat oil to 375°F.
2. Using a 3 inch circle cutter, cut wonton wrappers down.
3. Place a small amount of peanut butter in the center of half the wonton wrappers.
4. Place a slice of banana over each dollop of peanut butter and top with a mini marshmallow and a drizzle of honey.
5. Brush the sides with the egg wash and top with the remaining wrappers, pressing the edges to seal the sides shut.
6. Place the prepared wontons onto a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
7. Fry the ravioli for 2 minutes on each side, in batches, or until golden brown.
8. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with powdered sugar (if using) and serve immediately.

Panko Fried Pickle Chips

I’m kind of a pickle hater. I really only like them when its relish. So these were interesting for me. Let me tell you though, these are good. Even for non pickle fans. They are SUPER crispy, and easy to make, and delicious. The bleu cheese in my opinion is the best part. You should make them for Superbowl. Duh. This is why this week we are just posting artery clogging food. Then next week, we can all go to us magazine and search for the latest celebrity liquid cleanse (just kidding). Ok, so yay football, yay fried foods. Go Lakers! (bad joke, I know)
♥ Teri

**Just a quick note: Totally not trying to whore around on Teri’s post, but pressing the pickle chips between paper towels before dredging and placing them in the freezer before frying are two VERY important step to ensure light and crispy pickle chips! No one likes a soggy pickle chip..no one. xx, Jenny

Panko Fried Pickle Chips
Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:
2 cups ridge cut pickle chips, pressed between paper towels
1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups seasoned panko breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
bleu cheese dipping sauce:
½ cup light mayonnaise
¼ cup light sour cream
¼ cup crumbled bleu cheese
2 tablespoons milk
1 ½ tablespoons chives, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

2 quarts vegetable oil for frying

Directions:
1. Preheat oil to 350°F.
2. Place flour, eggs and panko in three separate shallow dishes.
3. Dredge pickle chips in flour, shaking off any excess, followed by the egg and finally in the panko until fully coated. Set coated pickle chips onto a baking sheet lined with parchment and place in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
4. While the chips are in the freezer make the dipping sauce: Place all the sauce ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together. Set aside covered in plastic wrap until ready to use.
5. Remove pickle chips from freezer and fry in batches, for about 5 to 6 minutes.
6. Drain onto paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Repeat until all the pickle chips have been fried. Serve immediately with bleu cheese dipping sauce.

Baby Chimichangas

It’s Friday…yay!  So I know I said that we would be jumping into our Super Bowl fry fest next week, but we got a little excited and couldn’t resist starting a little early….enter baby chimichangas. These little beauties are pretty great; small pockets of fried goodness with a creamy Sriracha-lime dipping sauce. Why are these chimichangas so special? Two reasons: 1) You can actually taste the filling! It’s not just a piece of fried flour tortilla which I’ve often feel I’ve been served when ordering chimichangas. 2) They’re little and cute; and the rule is that the smaller the food is, the more you can eat. Well, that’s my rule as least

These little guys are filled with large chunks of chicken, diced poblanos, fresh corn, sharp cheddar…yea, they’re awesome me thinks. You can make this quick and easy recipe even faster by buying a roasted chicken and shredding it up. Just a thought So as everyone gets their menus together for “Binge Eating Day” (lets be serious, most of us care about the food way more then the “big game”) I urge you all to stick these on your menu this year. You won’t regret it…..I promise!

xx Jenny

Baby Chimichangas
Makes 16

Ingredients:
filling:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ red onion, diced
½ poblano pepper, seeded and diced
1 corn on the cob, kernels removed from cob
2 medium, cooked chicken breasts, shredded
¼ cup prepared salsa (of your choice)
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

16 (5 inch) flour tortillas
2 quarts vegetable oil for frying
sriracha dipping sauce:
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons Sriracha
1 lime, zested and juiced
¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oil to 375°F.
2. Pour olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Sauté garlic, onion and poblano for 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add corn kernels and continue to sauté for 3 minutes.
3. Pour mixture over chicken and toss together. Add the prepared salsa and cheese and fold together until fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Place a small amount of the filling into the center of each tortilla and fold up like a burrito and place onto a baking sheet, seam side down.
5. Holding the chimichangas together with tongs, carefully place and hold in the oil, for 2 minutes. Gently release the chimichanga from the tongs and continue to fry for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
6. For sauce: Place the ingredients into a small bowl and whisk together until fully incorporated. Serve with hot chimichangas.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Hi All! So today we have some pretty chicken lettuce wraps for you. We’re trying to keep things a little lighter this week (okay, so chicken lettuce wraps might not be the most healthy thing, but since its wrapped in cups of lettuce, it’s pretty much considered healthy to me). Anyway, back to trying to be healthy…we’re doing this for one reason…because next week we’re jumping into a deep fry fest of sorts to prep for the big game…and lets be serious, game day is ALL about the food and booze!

Again, these lettuce cups are great. Don’t let the long list of ingredients intimidate you. This dish is actually very easy and doesn’t take much time to throw together. We opted for butter lettuce, bc maybe there was an incident of me forcing Teri to help me in the kitchen by breaking apart a head of iceberg to make lettuce cups and maybe instead we ended up with a chopped salad of iceberg instead of the cups..…just maybe You take your pick, both totally work great for this dish. Enjoy!
xx Jenny

Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
cooking sauce:
2 ½ tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon sesame oil

6 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ginger, peeled and minced
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and diced
½ cup bamboo shoots, drained and diced
½ cup water chestnuts