Friday, March 28, 2014

Buttered Beans

This is ridiculously simple, but ridiculously good, too. We did this all winter with our frozen beans, and they were as good as fresh, but if all you have is fresh beans, why, they are as good as fresh too.

4 servings
20 minutes prep time

Buttered Beans
500 grams (1 pound) green or yellow wax beans
1 tablespoon butter
salt & pepper to taste

Wash and trim the beans, and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Put them in a pot with water to cover, and bring them to a boil. Boil for 5 to 8 minutes, until just short of desired level of doneness.

Drain the beans very thoroughly, and return them to the stovetop. Add the butter and continue to cook the beans for 3 to 5 minutes longer, until you can smell the butter just beginning to brown. Stir frequently. Season with salt and pepper, and serve at once.




Last year at this time I made Bean & Potato Skillet.
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Hereford Sirloin Steak from Heggies of Hereford

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I was incredibly pleased when I was offered the chance to review some beef from Heggies of Hereford.  Heggies first opened its doors in 1956 by Charles Heggie and has grown ever since; based in the rural city of Hereford they are able to source our products from some of the very best suppliers in the county of Herefordshire.
From the lush green pastures to the welsh borders  Heggies has been providing the finest quality meats for over 50 years  taking extra  special care when choosing their suppliers so that traceability from farm to table can be assured


Although I received three different cuts of beef, I have only had the chance to cook one of them.  I seized upon the sirloin steaks last weekend, and as you can see it is labelled with all the details of the provenance of beef including the name of the farmer.


Look at the beautiful marbling through the meat and the creamy white fat, both signs of great flavour.

Usually I would cover my steak with crushed black pepper, but I wanted the flavour of the meat to really come through, so I used just a little of the Sel de Camargue I brought back from Provence in the spring.  Sel de Camargue contains sea salt, black pepper, pink pepper and coriander.

I crushed a couple of teaspoons of the Sel de Camargue in a mortar and pestle, covered the steaks with a little olive oil and rubbed on the salt and pepper mix.  I then left it to marinade for about four hours, three in the fridge and the last hour out of the fridge so the meat was at room temperature when it ws cooked.
I grilled the steaks, but you could fry them if you prefer or cook on the barbeque.  We like our steak a little bit pink and the steaks cooked pretty quickly. 

The verdict?  Oh my goodness, probably the best steak Ive ever tasted, there was nothing chewy about this piece of meat as there often is with sirloin, it was easy to eat and was full of flavour.  Im not a huge fan of fat but grilled crisp, as it was, I ate the whole lot, it was just so good.

Two 12oz Sirloin Steaks can be bought online from Heggies of Hereford for £17.00.  Although that does seem expensive, I would have to say that is is completely worth it.  If you wanted to be a bit more frugal, you could slice the steaks after cooking and make them stretch to four people.

Many thanks to James Heggie and Tariq Mohammed for the opportunity to review these steaks.  I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own.
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SANDRA’S BROCCOLI PESTO SAUCE

A superbly healthy pesto
that you can prepare in 5 minutes
(see *Tip below for various options)...
Yields: (2 cups)
Prep: 5 Mins.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups organic broccoli florets
½ cup crumbled walnuts
2 organic garlic cloves
½ cup grated Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheese
1 teaspoon fine-grained sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ cup fresh organic lemon juice
1/3 cup organic olive oil
1/3 cup organic canola oil

METHOD

In a food processor, pulse broccoli, walnuts, cloves, cheese, sea salt, and pepper until finely chopped.  Mix the oils and lemon juice in a 2-cup glass measuring cup, and slowly drizzle through spout of food processor while pulsing until smooth.

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*Tip:  A great pesto sauce to serve over hot pasta (reserve ½ cup pasta water for a creamier sauce), as a spread on bagels or crusty slices of bread, over omelets, or spreading on hot fillets of salmon.

Sandras Tri-Color Rotini with Broccoli Pesto Sauce

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Thursday, March 27, 2014

I Can Haz Cheezburger Cupcake

If youve ever used a computer, chances are pretty good youve seen some kind of internet meme. Dont know what a "meme" is, you say? Well look it up!!! This isnt DefinitionsofwordsyoushouldknowbynowOMG! (I like this definition, btw)

Whether you know what it means or not, youve seen them. One of my favorites is a lil ol site called www.icanhascheezburger.com. Its basically pictures of cats, begging if they might be rewarded for their cuteness with a juicy bite of cheeseburger.

What does this have to do with cupcakes, you ask? Boy, you sure do ask a lot of questions!!! Well, if you must know, the folks over at Bake it in a Cake have taken it to whole nuther level:

 
Photo via Bake it in a Cake
Whoaaaaa, whats this....?

 

OMG, cheezeburger cupcake?!?!

And this, kids, is how another internet meme was born.

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Marilyn Mon Role Model

How would you answer the question, "if you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?" The first person who always come to mind for me is Marilyn Monroe. I want to ask her how she really died (was it an accidental overdose, was it a murder, was it a suicide). I want to know how tall she is in real life (Im guessing shes actually quite small). I want to know how she feels about being an icon to the likes of Madonna, Lindsay Lohan, Anna Nicole Smith, me, and other embarrassments to society. But mostly, I just want to know what she would wear!
Maybe its because Ive lived in D.C. for 6 years, but I feel like most chicks I know are all about Jackie O. with her helmet hair, pillbox hats, and waspy accent. I dont mean to be rude (sure I do), but I think she is snoozeville USA. I mean, hair that doesnt move and barely-there-make-up? No. Absolutely not. 
Of course, Marilyn oozes sex and glamour, but for me, she also exudes humor (most of her roles were comedic and everyone she worked with spoke of her impeccable sense of timing) and intelligence (she wasnt formally educated, but she was incredibly well-read and left behind a legacy of brilliant quotes), highly unusual pairings when you think about the dichotomy of, say, Courtney Stodden and Amy Farrah Fowler, for example.
So yeah, she was a sexpot, gorgeous, funny, and smart. I mean, of COURSE I idolize her!
When I was visiting my parents last week, my mom (who is also a huge Marilyn fan) and I watched "My Week with Marilyn," which inspired our own mini Marilyn movie marathon, including "The Prince & Me" (the movie she was filming in My Week with Marilyn) and "The Seven Year Itch." 
I dont care how superficial this sounds, but I was so taken with her beauty that I decided to just Google and Pin a bunch of pictures of her in a simple-minded attempt to absorb some of her good looks through internet osmosis...or something. I told you it was simple-minded. I was especially delighted to find this magazine feature where she talks about her eating habits, which is pretty much a Paleo diet, minus the random ice cream sundaes.
It pretty much proves were soul mates. It also proves that we really WOULD be the perfect dinner companions. 
So, if you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would YOU choose? And what would you eat?!

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Baked ziti

You will need cream cheese and this.....
So EASY! ( I use everything walmart brand...way cheap, just as yummy)
Boil 1 box of ziti noodles
in another pot, brown some ground beef (or ground turkey if you prefer)
once beef is brown, drain excess oil then add one jar spaghetti sauce, one can diced tomatoes and 1/2 stick of cream cheese. mix on med heat until cram cheese is dissolved.

Mix noodles and sauce together and put in a 9x13 dish, top with Italian cheese blend or mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 for 15 minutes, feel free to add a dash of dry basil to the top


ps....give away start Monday!
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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

SANDRAS AWESOME SKILLET POTATO AND ONION PIE

You cannot go wrong with this side or main dish...
Servings: 4
Prep: 5 mins. |
Cook: About 20 mins.

Posted by Sandra

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large russet potatoes, peeled, and grated
½ onion, finely julienned
1 clove of garlic, minced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Fine grain kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves

METHOD

In a nonstick 10” saute pan, heat the vegetable oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent, and add garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, grate the potatoes, squeeze excess moisture and add them to a medium bowl, and pour the skillet mixture over the potatoes, then gently toss to combine. Season with kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste, and add the chopped parsley and fold to combine.

Press grated potato mixture into heated nonstick skillet with back of spatula. Let cook undisturbed over medium heat, until crisp on bottom for about 8 to 10 minutes. Gently flip onto a plate, and then slide other side into nonstick skillet to finish cooking undisturbed for another 8 to 10 minutes.

To serve, slide onto a cutting board, and slice into four wedges. – Enjoy!
With sunny-side up eggs...


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Tip: This is excellent with eggs for breakfast, or a nice accompaniment with any meat, poultry, etc.


Note:  During the last 5 minutes, I like to make four indentations, and add one egg into each, then loosely tent skillet with foil -- This way your potatoes and eggs are perfectly cooked all in one skillet (See photo to the right).



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