It’s the time of the year to jazz up everything we love for the holidays! If you’re serving salad for the family or a festive gathering, this is a spectacular and delicious way to serve it up! These parmesan cups (also called Frico cups) are so incredibly easy to make. All you need is a sheet pan and two types of cheeses. (The parmesan is for flavor and the jack cheese is what glues or holds the cheese together.) The tricky part is the short window of time you have in lifting the parmesan rounds from the sheet pan to the muffin tin. Once you drape the cheese over the bottom of the tin, it will set up and harden pretty quickly. You want the cheese rounds to be golden and bubbly in the oven, but take care not to burn the cheese. Once you’ve mastered the technique, you will have created a gorgeous edible cup for any salad you like. Let the holidays begin!
brown sugar
Tomato Basil Bisque and Homemade Cheese-Its
It’s truly the most delicious tomato soup I’ve ever tasted! With cooler weather finally here, this soup will warm your tummy and your heart. Kids love tomato soup and I think they will really enjoy this more “adult” version of one of America’s favorite soups! The homemade Cheeze-Its are the perfect accompaniment. They’re fun to make and completely addicting! Dive in to a bowl of goodness!
Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Thai Peanut Sauce
There are certain foods that I can eat every day, and a good Thai lettuce wrap is one of them! The ingredient that always wins me over is the full fat coconut milk. Add a smooth peanut butter and some acid and spices like soy sauce, cider vinegar and red curry paste, and you’ve pretty much checked all the boxes for great flavor! Another ingredient used often in Thai cuisine is ginger. They can be a bit tricky to peel, and the very best way to do that is to take a teaspoon and simply scrape the skin off. You won’t lose a single bit of ginger! Enjoy this light and easy dish for lunch or dinner this week!
Shrimp Spring Roll Bowls with Sweet Garlic Lime Sauce
Now this is my kind of meal! All of the great flavors of an Asian Shrimp Spring Roll made much easier by combining these wonderful ingredients in a bowl rather than a wonton rapper or rice paper. We featured this delicious dish in my Cool Down Dinners cooking class recently and there were many empty bowls and lots of happy tummies!
The Sweet Garlic Lime Sauce is the perfect flavor enhancer and my technique for pre-cooking the shrimp was the added special touch for this memorable meal. If you haven’t cooked shrimp this way, you really should give it a try for flavor that bursts in your mouth. Just add some Old Bay seasoning and the juice of a lemon in a small pot of water. Bring it to a boil and then turn off the heat. Add your shrimp, cover the pot and let the shrimp steep for 5 minutes. That’s it! Drain the shrimp and then add them to all the rest of the great flavors in this bowl and you have a light and savory meal in minutes!
Korean Pulled Pork Tacos
With this recipe, you have the delicious flavor explosion of Far East meets the Southwest. If you’re after an out-of-the-ordinary variation of our favorite Mexican-style taco, the Korean Pulled Pork Tacos provide a scrumptious change of pace. So, let me start with a suggestion to avoid the 8-10 hours of slow-roasted pork. If you don’t have the time or desire to cook the roast that long, simply slice the roast in 2 inch strips. Add them to a hot skillet with a diced onion and sear them to a deep brown. Either way, you’ll be asked to make these again and again. It’s just another example of thinking outside the tortilla!
Chicken Caprese Skillet
The Chicken Caprese Skillet answers that age-old question; How can I create new ways to cook chicken? Well, maybe I can help you at least for this week. You see, a beautiful plate of sliced tomatoes, Buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil drizzled with a rich balsamic reduction was always a mainstay on our Italian table growing up. Now let’s add chicken.
You have come to know and love it as Caprese or Insalata Caprese. (Have you ever noticed that this dish reflects the colors of the Italian flag?) Besides being a delicious and light salad or appetizer, Caprese is as versatile as a dish gets. So much so, that you’ll now find it in many variations and combinations with other foods. The Marinated Chicken Caprese is the perfect example and is sure to be a new favorite for you and your family! You can make the pesto and balsamic reduction from scratch or use store bought. For me, scratch always wins the day!
