Monthly Archives: August 2011

August 21, 2011 · 4:41 pm

Strawberry-Almond-Cream-Tart

So, continuing with this past weekend’s trend of using almonds, I found a recipe for a Strawberry-Almond Cream Tart during a recent shopping excursion at the local grocery store. After looking through recipe after recipe in the grocery store magazine aisle, I finally settled upon this one. But, I’m not going to lie, at first glance, I solely wanted to try this recipe because it looked “pretty” and it contained almonds. It wasn’t until after my impulse buy and I was in the car already on the way home that I realized that this would be a perfect dessert for a dinner party: light, summery, and the strawberries I had chosen were actually ripe!

Step 1: Crush Graham Crackers (You
Can Use a Food Processor — I Just Chose
to Smash Them in Bags!)

Step 2: Combine Crushed Graham Cracker
Crumbs With Butter and Sugar

Step 3: Spray Pan With Cooking Spray;
Press Graham Cracker Crumbs Into Pan

Step 4: Mix Cream Cheese With Almond
and Vanilla Extracts Plus Sugar

Step 5: Cut Fresh Strawberries

Step 6: Add Strawberries and
Almonds to Top; Bake and Enjoy!

Although I altered a few things from the original recipe, I’m happy with how it turned out. I really liked implementing nuts into this dessert because I often don’t ever think to add them to desserts. The key for the best flavor is to toast the almonds and the key to the best construction of this dessert is to use enough cooking spray (I didn’t and had some architectural failure when taking it out of the spring form pan). Anyway, all in all, this is a flavorful dessert that is light and doesn’t leave you feeling too full which is just perfect for summertime!

Cheers!

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Tagged as almonds, berries, butter, cake, cheese, cheesecake, Cooking Light, cream, cream cheese, crust, dessert, eating well, food, fruit, graham cracker, graham cracker crust, nuts, pie, strawberries, strawberry-almond cream tart, sugar, tart, vanilla

· 5:33 am

Almond Crusted Chicken Fingers

Lately, I have been doing a lot of cooking with friends which makes the whole experience just that much better. This past weekend was no different. This time, my lovely roommate found a recipe for Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers that she wanted to try. I don’t have them very often, but every now and then I will crave chicken nuggets — so, let’s just say I was more than excited when she mentioned this recipe. Plus, I was intrigued by the fact that the crust contained almonds which happens to be one of my favorite nuts. Did I mention that the recipe called for few ingredients too? Stellar pick by my roommate!

Step 1: Chop Almonds

Step 2: Pulse Almonds, Spices,
Flour & Olive Oil in Food Processor

Step 3: Cut Chicken; Dip in Egg
Batter and Then Almond Mixture

Step 4: Bake Chicken and Enjoy!

This chicken recipe was fantastic and goes well with salad as a side dish. But, don’t forget to add oil or cooking spray to prevent the underside of the chicken from sticking (we accidentally made that mistake — oops!). And, if you are a sauce fiend like me, don’t forget to use a plethora of sauces too!

Cheers!

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Tagged as almond crusted, almonds, breaded chicken, chicken, dinner, food, lunch, nuts, poultry

August 20, 2011 · 4:46 pm

Blog Name Change…

And it’s official… I’ll be changing to “The Sundress Chef”!

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· 5:29 am

Pear Croustade

When most people think of fruit desserts, either apple, blueberry, lemon or strawberry conconctions come to mind. For me, I would classify myself as a bit of an oddball. Don’t get me wrong, I love classic strawberry and lemon-flavored desserts (as seen here and here); however, I love to experiment with new desserts and more uncommon ingredients (as seen here and here). Now, I realize pears are not “out-of-the-ordinary” or “unique” — but, I think it is safe to say that pears are not the usual fruit of choice. So, if you are reading this and you happen to fall into that boat, I strongly urge you to forget about the usual go-to’s and try this dessert with pears. I promise you will not be disappointed!

I have made this Pear Croustade many times (as seen in My Thanksgiving Post) — it has definitely made it into my rotation of desserts. At least for me, I love the fact that it contains pears. Pears are a nice change that pairs (not trying to make a pun, I swear!) well with the nutmeg and lemon juice for a not too sweet, but yet tart and delicious flavor. Plus, among my friends, this is hands-down their favorite crust out of all the desserts that I have ever made.

Step 1: Zest Lemon; Cut
Butter Into Small Pieces

Step 2: Mix Dry Ingredients Together

Step 3: Mix Butter Into Dry Ingredients;
Use Hands to Crumble into Fine Mixture

Step 4: Stir in Cream With Fork

Step 5: Gather Dough Into Disk;
Refrigerate for One Hour

Step 6: Toss Dry Ingredients Together

Step 7: Cut Pears

Step 8: Toss Pears With Dry
Ingredients and Lemon Juice

Step 9: Arrange Pear Slices on Dough; Bake

This is a fun recipe that I will definitely love continuing to make. The key is finding ripe pears at the grocery store. I lucked out this past time, but I am glad that pears are soon coming into “season”. I will be on the hunt to find a good poached pear recipe in the near future – stay tuned!

Cheers!

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Tagged as croustade, crust, dessert, Epicurious, flaky, flour, food, fruit, lemon juice, lemon zest, lemons, nutmeg, pear, pear tart, pears, pie, sugar, tart, whipping cream

August 7, 2011 · 3:19 pm

Baked Macaroni & Cheese With Garlic Bread Crumbs

“It tastes so good, it must be bad.” This thought kept reverberating through my mind while both making this dish (no judgments — I had to sample!) and during consumption. Sometimes, I just get the itch to make comfort food and this past Saturday was no different.

The idea to make macaroni and cheese dawned on me when I happened to peruse down the aisles of the grocery store and spotted one of my childhood favorites in a box: Macaroni & Cheese. Although some of the boxed kinds of Macaroni & Cheese are too die for, I decided to forgo the powdered cheese and unknown-mysterious-overly-processed-can’t pronounce ingredient combination in order to try the “real deal”. However, in making this decision, I knew I would be consuming exorbitant amounts of butter, cream, milk, and cheese in order to delight my taste buds. But, every now and then, I truly believe these types of good (but, oh-so-bad) foods are just absolutely necessary. My final response? Dig in!

Macaroni & Cheese With Garlic Bread Crumbs.

Step 1: Grate Cheeses; Chop Garlic

Step 2: Melt Butter; Whisk Flour &
Mustard; Pour in Cream & Milk

Step 3: Add Sauce to Noodles and Cheese

Step 4: Melt Butter; Add to Olive Oil,
Bread Crumbs and Chopped Garlic

Step 5: Add Bread Crumbs to the Top
of Macaroni; Bake and Enjoy!

“It tastes so good, it must be bad.” Wait, I have a correction: “It tastes so good, it must be bad – but, I’m going to enjoy it anyway!”

The moral of the story: indulge every now and then — it’s a good thing!

Cheers!

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Tagged as American, baked macaroni and cheese, Baking, bread crumbs, cheddar cheese, cheese, comfort food, cooking, croutons, dinner, Epicurious, food, garlic, italian, lunch, Macaroni and cheese, noodles, pasta, salad, white cheddar cheese

August 6, 2011 · 6:44 pm

New blog name…

So, to make a long story short… awhile back, when I had the itch to start a blog, I just wanted to start it. I didn’t have a good name for my blog and just went with the first thing that came to mind. Unfortunately, that was not the smartest decision… because, months later, I was still unhappy with my blog’s name and realized I couldn’t just easily change it.

However, after much pondering for a few months, I’ve come up with a few blog titles that I really like and have narrowed it down to these:

1. Tidbites

2. Bites of Wisdom

3. The Food Life

4. Foodie in the City

5. Cooking Therapy

6. See Lex Cook

7. The Sundress Chef

I do realize that some of these blog names are NOT original and might already be taken, but if that is the case, then I’ll just keep pondering for a new one!

But, I’m leaning towards the last one as my new blog name! The decision will be made tonight and tomorrow I’ll buy my URL! Exciting!

Cheers!

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Tagged as bake, blog name, blogs, chef, cook, finding a blog title, food blog name, food blogs

August 2, 2011 · 2:09 am

Stuffed Tomatoes

Whether in sauce, on a burger, in salads, sundried or whatever other combination, I absolutely love tomatoes. Just think about it, tomatoes already exist in endless combinations of recipes and food concoctions. At least for me, I deem the esteemed tomato to be a staple. But, it seems like I’ve just gotten used to the same tomato-based recipes for the last few months. Plus, in many of my dishes, the tomato was just a side ingredient and not the main hero. So, I decided to find a recipe that was both different and featured the tomato as the main deal: Stuffed Tomatoes (Sunny Anderson from the Food Network).