If you think that bread pudding is just a dessert, I’m about to change your mind in a delicious and surprising way. Imagine a savory soufflé-like bread pudding with a good quality ham (smoked is delightful), the sweet and slightly salty flavor of Gruyère cheese, fresh sautéed spinach and roasted red peppers all baked to perfection. This dish is so appetizing and versatile it can be enjoyed as a main meal or sliced in wedges for the perfect holiday party appetizer. Where did I find this sumptuous selection? In the Sing For Your Supper Cookbook compiled by the Sounds of the Southwest Singers. This 85-plus member non-profit volunteer choir has been singing in the Valley since 2010, performing a variety of music in concerts throughout the year. Members have sung at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City, and by the recipes in this cookbook, it’s apparent that this group can cook as well as they can sing! Make this dish and you’ll be singing for your supper too!
Dijon mustard
Chilled Southwestern Veggie Medley
Picnics, parties, salads and sides. If you’re looking for a new dish that fits in all of those categories, this Chilled Southwestern Veggie Medley is the answer! This tasty, colorful plate of veggies is loaded with Southwest flavors and lots of crunch. It’s perfect for a make-ahead dish, it transports beautifully and couldn’t be easier to make. What makes the flavor? Fresh ears of corn that are grilled in a skillet or on the BBQ, then sliced into niblets of charred goodness. Charring the red peppers before dicing them also adds a great taste. Also, I’ve always cooked with shallots, but these days I’m realizing how much they bring to a dish. (They may be one of the most misunderstood vegetables out there—do they replace onions? Garlic? Can they be used with onions and garlic?) While some folks replace onions with shallots, a shallot has its own flavor profile, and can add so much to a dish! (Try slicing them very thin and frying them to a deep golden brown, then sprinkle them over a salad or potato dish. Wow!! Over the top goodness!) The flavors of the Southwest permeate this salad with the addition of black beans, jicama, avocados and cilantro. The dressing is lively, with the perfect combination of lime juice and zest, Dijon Mustard and a little sweetness to cut the tang. Over all, it’s a great main meal salad for the vegetarian, a tasty side for your grilled burger lover or just spooned into little tortilla cups for a terrific appetizer! Tortilla cups are simple. Just cut 2-3 inch circles out of flour tortillas, tuck them into a greased cupcake tin and bake for about 15 minutes. Done! I love recipes that give you all the flavor and nutrition you need and are pretty darn effortless to create! Here’s to another hat tip to our wonderful flavors of the Southwest!
The Dagwood Sandwich
It’s a throw back from the 1930’s, and it’s just as crazy and delicious… and admittedly, just as hard to eat today as it was back then. But boy, is it fun to build! I’m talking about The Dagwood Sandwich, an insanely layered ginormous sandwich of deli meats, cheeses, pickles and tomatoes named after that silly, bumbling Dagwood Bumstead from the comic strip Blondie, created by American cartoonist Chic Young nearly a century ago. Dagwood was the original foodie, I think; a chow-hound who would raid the refrigerator and devour everything in sight. As the comic strip evolved, so did Dagwood’s sandwiches. They just got bigger and more ridiculous, stacking crazy combinations like sardines, baked beans, onions and horseradish. Blondie became the widest read comic strip of its time, and now I’m wondering if part of the popularity was just to see what Dagwood was dishin’ up this time! While there is no real “official” Dagwood Sandwich, here’s a version that Blondie’s food-crazed hubby would love. I’m certain of it!
Crunchy Dill Pickle Salad
Whoa! This recipe was the surprise of the century! I admit, I initially had the same reaction that most people have when I tell them about Crunchy Dill Pickle Salad. The comments range from “Hmmm, not sure about this one” to “Nah, this just doesn’t sound right.” But once they taste it, and realize how many foods this delicious, refreshing salad goes with, it quickly becomes one of their favorites. Crunchy Dill Pickle Salad was a recipe that I turned into a video for Red Mountain Weight Loss. It’s the perfect salad if you’re trying to get and stay fit, but more than that, it’s a crunchy and flavorful addition to just about every dish from fried chicken, seafood, pork, beef and kabobs, to a great topper for hot dogs and brats! I love this salad so much that I can’t wait to share it with you and I’m hoping you have the same reaction that everyone else does! The Crunchy Pickle Salad has just a few readily available ingredients, and the real stars of the salad are crispy pickles, fresh dill and sliced fresh fennel. I like that it has fennel for several reasons. While there are hundreds of recipes using cooked fennel, it’s harder to find dishes using fresh, thin slices of this versatile bulb. The sweet flavor of fennel gives the salad such a unique flavor, and the crunchy dill pickles are the perfect pairing. Also, fresh dill weed goes so well in the salad, adding more brightness and depth. You may be tempted to use a soggier pickle and dried dill, but don’t! These two ingredients make the recipe! It’s the perfect picnic side as it doesn’t wilt and can be stored and enjoyed for 3 or 4 days after assembling! I mentioned that this salad goes well with kabobs, so I’ve added a very simple and low calorie recipe for you to enjoy with your Crunchy Dill Pickle Salad!
Watch my How to Video for Crunchy Dill Pickle Salad here!
Kebabs and Crunchy Dill Pickle Salad
Crockpot Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Apple Bacon Slaw
Thank you Irving Naxon, for inventing the Crock Pot. Your cooking wonder found a place in our kitchens in 1940 when you won the patent for it, and we’ve never given it up. In fact, slow cooking is as popular as ever, especially when it produces such delicious meals like the Crockpot Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Apple Bacon Slaw. (Perfect for next day pork sandwiches!) Also, if you ever wanted to know a bit about the iconic Crock Pot, here’s an excerpt from a Huffington Post article:
“Naxon called his devise the Naxon Beanery. He said his mother, Tamara Nachumsohn, inspired him. She had told him stories about a bean-based stew she used to make in her village bakery at home in Lithuania. The stew, known as cholent, is a traditional Jewish dish that cooks all day. It’s rooted in the Jewish Sabbath, the day of rest in which observant Jews aren’t supposed to work. The stew goes on the heat before sundown Friday night, when the Sabbath begins, and cook all the way until the end of Saturday services the next day. As the ovens were turned off for the Sabbath, the pot of cholent would be put in the oven, and that slow residual heat over the course of the 24 hours would be enough to cook the cholent.”
Naxon sold his design to Rival Manufacturing the 70’s, which rebranded his Beanery as the Crock Pot. It was marketed toward working mothers with the slogan, “Cooks all day while the cook’s away,”
Check out my How To Video for the Crockpot Glazed Pork Tenderloin here!
