Stuffed Jalapenos - The Perfect Cocktail Bite!

Yesterday I used some leftovers, and some things in the fridge that needed to get used before they went bad. At Christmastime I bought back a bunch of groceries, including the remaining bacon and bleu cheese crumbles that were still left. Then I also had some fresh jalapenos left over from football season (peppers stay so nicely in the crisper!). Earlier this week I baked a bunch of chicken, and I had leftovers from that too.

So - I figured, what the heck? Let's make stuffed jalapenos!

I had a whole pound of jalapenos (what? they were on sale!), and I remembered that it is recommended to wear gloves when you cut hot peppers. I didn't have any gloves, but my hands are pretty dry from winter, so I was pretty sure the oil from the jalapenos would sink right in. So, I rubbed olive oil on my hands. If you decided to use this technique, be absolutely sure to be very careful. The oil makes your hands very slippery, and you need to use a sharp knife.

So, I cut the peppers in half lengthwise (making little boats) and deseed them. Then I roasted them for about 25 minutes. I saw this on Guy Fieri's show - pre-baking the peppers you can cook them to taste without overcooking the cheese :)

I made the stuffing like this:

8 oz light cream cheese

1C light sour cream

1C bleu cheese crumbles

2C finely chopped chicken

16 oz bacon cooked crisply and crumbled

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Mix the ingredients together and stuff the pepper boats. This makes ALOT of stuffing, so you may want to cut it down to a quarter or half. Also, the stuffing tastes much better after sitting overnight. Bake the peppers for an additional 25 minutes, let cool 5 minutes and enjoy!

Now to find more things to stuff with the left over stuffing...maybe zucchini boats???

And here is a photo of the lovely snow we are getting today :) Almost March :)

Macaron Cafe - ooh-wee - these are good!

While I was with Kathy and her gang this week, and we were making our way back to the parking garage when I stumbled upon the MacarOn Cafe on 161 West 36th Street. I have been reading about macarons on the Foodbuzz entries lately (just go to Foodbuzz from the ad to the left, and search on macaron for a number of entries).

When I first read about these gorgeous little treats, I was confused. I'd never heard of a macaron. I'd heard of a macaroon - and these are obviously not those. And I thought, I need to find some of these babys - they must be here in the city that doesn't sleep!

So, when I stumbled upon this adorable little shop, I had to sneak in while the valet brought Kathy her car. The case was filled with fluffy gem like cookies, and they are flavors like lavender honey, grapefruit, passion fruit and creme de sal. I could have easily found a couple dozen to take home, but I was able to hold myself back. I bought a box of 6, which were placed in a beautiful see-thought box which lined the cookies up in a pretty row, and the box was placed in a special clear shopping bag which allows anyone walking by you to see your treats (and probably makes them think - oooh! I want some of those!).

When I got home, Rick and I tasted and savored them. The outside is a poof or a light crack as you break the tender outter shell. Then the cookie becomes pleasingly chewy with light sweet filling inside. These are a serious treat!

If you do go to Foodbuzz, you will see entries about how to make these. And, if you don't have a macaron shop near you, I highly recommend you set aside a day to try them. But if you are lucky, really really lucky, and you have a shop near by, go immediately! Macarons are a special treat :)

Girly Shopping with Kathy, Sarah and Michele

Kathy, Sarah and Michele met me at the 32nd Street entrance to Macy's for an afternoon full of shopping! We made our way to the Junior department on 4 - once Sarah and Michele were safely ensconced in the clearance area, Kath and I went up a couple floors to do some of our own shopping! After a few hours, and many cell phone check ins, we took our well won spoils over to Legends for a good shopping day lunch! I had the steak salad, Kath went for the fish and chips, Sarah had the sliders, and Michele had the macaroni and cheese - we ate well, and were thankful to rest our feet!! Next we took a cab over to Times Square so Sarah and Michele could shop more - after a couple stores Sarah kindly treated us to coffee at Starbucks. Kath and I took a seat in the new chairs on Broadway, and the girls shopped even more. We were going to hit Madame Toussauds, but everyone was TOO TIRED from our big game hunting!! What a great day. Hope you drive back to Foxwoods safely Kath!!

Chicken Normandy a la Suzee

After a long nap today, I decided to start cooking something homey. After reading a number of recipes on line, and considering the stuff piled up in my fridge with no future, here is what I whipped up.

2 C low fat low salt chicken stock

1/2 C apple cider vinegar

4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

3 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed (1")

1 large crisp apple, peeled, cored and cubed (1")

5T butter

2 large boneless chicken breasts, cut in 1" pieces

1.5t dried thyme, divided

2T flour

1C corn

1/4C brandy

1/4C heavy cream

Put the chicken broth, vinegar and carrots in a large heavy pot, and simmer until the carrots are tender. Use a slotted spoon to remove the carrots from the liquid, and reserve them in a bowl. Add cubed potatoes and apples to the pot, and simmer covered until very soft, about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat, and remove the apples and potatoes with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Mash them fairly smooth with 3T of butter, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Pour the liquid from the pot to a bowl and reserve.

Roll the chicken pieces in salt, pepper, 1t of thyme, and the flour. Add 2 T of butter to the pot, and brown the chicken in 2 batches - cook it through. Once the chicken is done, put the it in the bottom of the casserole dish. Add the broth mixture back to the pot, and deglaze it, bringing up all the browned bits. Add the brandy and cream to the pot, and simmer until reduced to about a cup.

Layer the carrots and corn over the chicken, and then add the sauce to the casserole. Spread the potato mixture over the top of the casserole. You can refrigerate it at this point, or pop it in a 350 oven for 30 minutes. Once baked, up the temp to 400, and bake for 10 more minutes to crisp up the top.

I was pleasantly surprised by the sauce in this dish - I'll be making this one again :)

Lan Sheng - Yum Yum Yum

Rick called me today and suggested we go out to lunch. He figured he was going to be toast by the end of the day, so why not share a little time while we were both more awake ;) I remembered an entry on Mid Town Lunch that intrigued me enough to email it Rick, thinking to myself, hmmm it's in my email so I'll be able to find it when we do go to lunch. That was January 6th, so I'm pretty impressed I was able to find it!

Lan Sheng is at 60 W 39th Street - the rough area fades away when you step inside and are pleasantly surprised by pretty banquettes and tables, snuggled together as they are everywhere in the city. We were quickly seated, and took Zack's recommendations. Rick had the Lan Sheng Special Chicken, boneless chicken with crispy skin, served on a bed of shredded lettuce, with a nice flavor that I only got a glimpse of....my dish, the Double Sauteed Pork was spicy warm, with a delicious sauce and sauteed spicy warm peppers and scallions, and it was much stronger than Rick's. So after a couple of  bites of mine, his didn't really tast like much. He liked it though :) Rick also liked the positive vibe of the joint :) Lunch dishes here are served with a soup or spring roll to start, and are only $6.95 each.

There are table tents describing specials on every table using only asian symbols and the amount of the dish. As we were finishing up our meal, exclaiming at how much we liked it, a group sat at the banquette near us. They must have been regulars, because the guy immediately exclaims with a chuckle in his voice "Hey, I can't read this - what are the specials??" The waiter laughed and said "I will order for you." Another of the group started looking at the lunch special menus from which Rick and I had ordered. The waiter laughed more and said, "That is no good. I will order for you." I'm dying to know what the waiter brought them! After that I decided I may as well take a photo of our empty plates! I know, silly, but it was too good to take a photo after only one bite!

Valentine's Recipes - Chocolate Cream Pie

Last night we had a great Valentine's dinner. I spread out cooking during the day, so I wasn't tired for the main event. That worked out well - I hate being so tired you can't enjoy or be enjoyed.

I made the chocolate cream pie in the morning. I baked a pillsbury crust in a pyrex pie dish according to the package directions and set it to cool.

The key to this amazing pie is the dark chocolate filling. Here are the ingredients:

3C Whole Milk

1C Granulated Sugar

2T Flour

2T Corn Starch

3 egg yolks

3T butter

2t vanilla

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

First scald the milk - let it sit over medium low heat until small bubbles appear at the edge of the milk's surface (see above).

Next, in a separate heavy pan, stir together the sugar, flour and cornstarch. While you whisk constantly, add the milk to the sugar mixture in a steady stream. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until very thick (see above - the legs on the mixture). Bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 3 yolks. Temper the yolks by gradually whisking in 2 cups of the hot mixture. Next, add the egg mixture back to the pan, and stirring constantly, simmer for 2 - 3 minutes until slightly thicker.

Remove from the heat, and stir in the butter, chocolate and vanilla, continuing to stir until it's all melted.

Pour the pudding into a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap directly on the pudding to prevent a skin from forming (the skin is yucky!). Cool for 30 minutes in the fridge. Once cooled, pour the pudding into the prepared pie crust, and again carefully place the plastic wrap directly on the pudding. Cool for at least 2 hours.

Once the pudding is cooled, whip some heavy cream to top the pie. Don't do this too far ahead as the cream is best fresh. I think I did it about 5 or 6 hours ahead because I had to whip the cream by hand (I will get a small hand mixer soon!). Normally I would do it just before serving. Sweeten the cream with sugar - use more than you usually would - it should be very sweet to contrast with the rich chocolate filling. Add a dash of vanilla to the cream as well.

Top the pie with the cream and store in the fridge until serving time :) This is one pie where the synergy of the ingredient flavors all together means that 1 + 1 + 1 = 10! Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!