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roasted shrimp cocktail.

September 1, 2010 in Dinner Party Worthy, Fabulously Simple, Starters with 5 Comments

Everyone loves shrimp cocktail.

It’s just one of those things.

But when you roast those shrimp, that’s where it’s really at. You know, it’s kind of like tomatoes. Magic.

You can serve them warm, or let them get to room temperature. Serve it all up in a pretty plate like this, with lemon slices on the corners, and I guarantee they’ll be gone before you know it.

It’s the perfect thing to add to a menu when you want a little something extra, but don’t have the time for anything complicated. Shrimp cocktail is indeed a classic, but roasting the dish makes it feel more special. Special, and delicious. Oh – and one more thing. Once you see how easy it is to make cocktail sauce yourself, you’ll never go back to bottled. I like to add a little extra horseradish to mine.

Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

Courtesy of Ina Garten

  • 2 pounds (12 to 15-count) shrimp
  • 1 tablespoon good olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the super easy-peasy cocktail sauce:

  • 1/2 cup chili sauce (recommended: Heinz)
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
  • 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place them on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread them in 1 layer. Roast for 8 to10 minutes, just until pink and firm and cooked through. Set aside to cool.

For the sauce, combine the chili sauce, ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Serve as a dip with the shrimp.

gray for days.

August 30, 2010 in Fabulously Simple, Fashion with 4 Comments

Simple can be stunning.

{I think I’ve mentioned this before, no?}

This all-gray ensemble worn by Dree Hemingway sums it up pretty perfectly. I love the idea of pairing a simple cotton tee with a drapey skirt in the same color – not to be outdone by a fabulous pair of neutral shoes. We all know by now that I usually find neutrals to be the chicest choice, and going all-out monochromatic only takes it one step further.

I’m sure many of us are familiar with this particular gray tee from American Apparel. I love the super soft fabric, and I have several of them in both the tee as shown and the v-neck style. This outfit really demonstrates how versatile a tee can be. She actually designed the skirt she’s wearing – I’m impressed – but I did find this version which looks incredibly similar. She also rocked the Loubies, of course, which I love – but you can always find great neutral pumps from sources like Aldo (my personal favorite) or Steve Madden for a much lower price tag.

As far as the bag goes, a black Balenciaga satchel works for any occasion, and she proves that point – but I wouldn’t mind seeing a pop of color here. I think an animal-print would be especially beautiful, and keeping the bag somewhat within the neutral category does solidify the theme she’s working right now.

I also love how she kept her jewelry totally minimal, as well as her hair and makeup. She looks like she could roll right out of bed looking like this – and I think that’s about as sexy as it gets.

What do you think, dolls? Does this type of look do it for you, or do you need a little more to get you going?

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rather rich corn muffins.

August 22, 2010 in Fabulously Simple, Weekend Brunch with 6 Comments

As it turns out, I’m a fan of corn muffins.

I’ve never been a big cornbread person – it’s always seemed a little boring to me. When that basket is passed around on Thanksgiving Day, I’m usually fast to skip it over in favor of a perfectly soft dinner roll spread with butter. Cornbread feels heavy, and I’d rather be filling up on mac and cheese.

But these – these just may be in competition with my precious bread and butter. I may even be willing to compromise a few bites of mac and cheese for one of these corn muffins – and that’s a big statement.

There’s butter. And fresh corn. And heavy cream. A lot of it.

That’s right, they are “rather rich” – the recipe is that of Rebecca Rather, the Pastry Queen herself.

You don’t even need to spread butter on these perfectly lush little muffins, though you certainly can if you’re feeling particularly gluttonous {as I happened to be feeling this morning}. They are rich in every sense of the word, and biting into one tastes like pure buttercream corn heaven.

Yes, I believe that if there were such thing as frosting made from corn and muffins, this is what it would taste like. Creamy, rich, decadent, buttery – and there’s even a little crunch thanks to the sprinkling of cornmeal overtop.

And to top it all off, these are about the easiest and quickest muffins I’ve ever come across. There’s no sifting of ingredients, no mixing dry ingredients in with the wet in steps. You’re just dumping it all in the mixer bowl, and giving it a quick stir. They only take about 15 minutes to bake, so you can be done and done in all of about 30 minutes flat.

They’re also pretty versatile – we’ve been munching on them all morning, and I’m sure they’d be just sinful with a little spread of jam. The batter can sit in the refrigerator for up to three days, and as we’re having a couple over for dinner tonight, I’ve saved a good amount of batter so that I can drop it in a muffin pan upon their arrival.

Because everyone should be able to taste these golden corn nuggets fresh and hot from the oven.

For the recipe, be sure to check out Amanda’s post over at her blog, Fake Ginger.

Happy Sunday!

artichoke + olive tapenade.

August 19, 2010 in Fabulously Simple, Starters with 6 Comments

If there’s one thing I could always use more of, it’s another quick appetizer I can pull out of my back pocket in a crunch.

In other words, something I can make from ingredients I have in my pantry. Like white bean dip. Hummus. Have I not posted on these things yet? Well, I should. Soon. These are important things.

Artichoke hearts, capers, olives, garlic, and olive oil. I always have these favorites on hand, no matter what. It’s all pureéd into a delicious tapenade, and although it’s not the prettiest of appetizers – I can assure you, it’s good. So good, that you may find yourself eating half the bowl before your guests even arrive.

If you want to make the crostini, you’ll need a baguette or a nice loaf of crusty bread to toast – which you may or may not have on hand. I usually keep a half-baguette in the freezer for emergency situations, but keep in mind that you then must remember to defrost it in time. And emergencies don’t usually involve extra time for defrosting, do they?

You can also serve this over crackers. Or with veggies. Or tossed with a bowl of pasta. I’m sure you have something in your kitchen that will work. If all else fails, you can always just grab a spoon. Not that I’ve ever done that, or anything.

Artichoke + Olive Crostini

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen + Mario Batali

3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 cup large green or black pitted olives {I used a mixture}
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
1 15-ounce can of artichoke hearts, drained
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 large slices of crusty bread

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a food processor, process the garlic, olives, capers, artichoke hearts and olive oil to a coarse paste.

Lightly brush the bread slices with olive oil and toast on the oven rack for 6 minutes, or until crisp and browned. Spread the olive paste thickly over the toasts and serve.

{DO AHEAD: The tapenade can be refrigerated for 2 days – let it return to room temperature before serving}

the salad bar: grilled chicken BLT salad.

July 18, 2010 in Fabulously Simple, Healthy Eats, Salad Bar with 7 Comments

You will love this salad. Trust.

I mean, it has bacon. And tomatoes… But not just any tomatoes. Roasted cherry tomatoes.

Something magic happens when you roast tomatoes; in fact, I think it was this salad that got Daniel to first warm up to the little red guys. I know, it’s hard to believe there are people out there {and lots of them} who hate tomatoes. Well, there are. And they probably just haven’t tried them roasted.

And then there’s the dressing. It’s a buttermilk dressing (a lower-fat version, of course) with these little bits of chopped green onion swimming throughout it. It’s creamy, tangy, and the perfect match for this salad.

BLT Salad with Grilled Chicken and Buttermilk Dressing

Recipe adapted from Steamy Kitchen: Fresh Flavors Fast Cookbook from Martha Stewart Everyday Food

6 slices bacon
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
1-2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 green onion, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 bag romaine lettuce (or 1 pound romaine hearts, coarsely chopped), or other salad greens of your choice
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 grilled chicken breasts, sliced

Preheat oven to 400°. Arrange bacon in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Arrange cherry tomatoes on another sheet pan; drizzle olive oil overtop and season with salt and pepper. After 12-15 minutes, the bacon should be crisp; after about 10 minutes, the tomatoes should be done. Take them out accordingly, crumbling or cutting the bacon into large pieces.

In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, vinegar, and green onions. Season with salt and pepper. Fill a bowl with the lettuce, adding the tomatoes, bacon, and chicken; add dressing and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

antipasti.

June 29, 2010 in Dinner Party Worthy, Fabulously Simple, Starters with 4 Comments

Entertaining doesn’t have to be difficult.

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Here is the proof.

I mean, how could your guests not be totally thrilled if you welcomed them with this beautiful antipasti platter? You could serve me this for dinner alone and I’d be happy.

Antipasti is absolutely my favorite thing to enjoy with the people I love. This extra-special arrangement was introduced to me by Meg {Daniel’s wonderful mom}. If you look closely, she made cups from radicchio leaves to hold smaller items like marinated olives, artichokes, and mozzarella.

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Here’s a closer look at the cups. It’s such an easy thing to do and it not only looks pretty, but it serves an actual purpose. You could use these to hold so many different things – it would be a great way to present a spread of tuna, chicken, and crab salads, for instance.

First, start with a bed of greens. Cut the end of a head of radicchio, and place a couple of large leaves to form cups on top of the lettuce. Meg gave me a good tip here: always buy extra radicchio, because you want to make sure you have enough nice leaves to make as many cups as you’d like.

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Then fill your cups with whatever goodness you’d like. Things that are marinated work great here, because the cups prevent any of the moisture from getting to the lettuce and turning into a soggy mess. It’s beautiful on its own at this point; if you wanted, you could have several platters of antipasti, and you could leave this one alone with just the cups. We chose to put all of our meats, veggies, and cheeses on the same plate.

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And this was the final product.

Simply arrange all of your Italian cured meats, cheeses, and veggies however you’d like. The rolling and arranging takes a little bit of time, but it’s so worth it. I also love serving broken chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a nice bread paired with good olive oil, balsamic, and herbs for dipping. Your options are really limitless – I recommend just going to your local Whole Foods or favorite little specialty shop and picking out what looks good.

Just don’t forget the most important part – good friends {or family} and lots of wine.

Buon appetito!

national {vodka} iced tea day.

June 10, 2010 in Cocktails, Fabulously Simple with 13 Comments

I like my iced tea nice and strong.

And by strong, I mean lots of vodka.

Luckily, there are others out there who apparently agreed – and thus created Firefly Vodka Infused with American Tea.

If you’re new to this, you may be thinking of the Long Island variety the second you hear “vodka” and “tea” in the same sentence. But that is SO not what this stuff is. It tastes like a pure mixture of vodka and freshly-brewed sweet tea. I find it to be very sweet; you can mix it with water and it tastes just like sweet tea. I love to add water and fresh-squeezed lemon juice for a lower-calorie Arnold Palmer, but you can also definitely add some straight-up lemonade for the real deal. Another low-calorie option would be to add Crystal Light – anything from the lemonade flavor, to one of their flavored iced teas.

I love to serve it in a highball glass with lemon slices and mint sprigs. Doesn’t it look like the perfect summer cocktail?

I must warn you, though – this beverage can be very dangerous. It goes down oh-so-easy, and on a hot summer day, you may just forget about the heavy dose of vodka in your glass.

Are any of you fabulous babies out there as obsessed with this stuff as I am? And if you haven’t tried it yet, I’m thinking today’s the day – give National Iced Tea Day a run for its money!

*Image via Gourmet, courtesy of Stylee PR

easiest sticky buns.

June 3, 2010 in Fabulously Simple, Weekend Brunch with 3 Comments

Sticky buns are one of those things that just get people excited.

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I’ll admit – I feel that way about many breakfast foods, and especially so when we’re talking pastries. Freshly-baked muffins, croissants, scones, coffee cakes, doughnuts…I mean, who’s not with me on this?

Anything involving cinnamon just takes it to the next level – there’s nothing quite like that warm, delicious scent baking in the oven to spice up your morning. These sticky buns in particular are so super-easy because they’re made from frozen puff pastry sheets – no dough-making required. And because you know I’m a fan of everything in moderation, I cut this recipe from 12 sticky buns to 6. I also use Smart Balance butter, and use a little less than the original recipe calls for; trust me – these babies are so rich and buttery, you won’t miss it a bit.

Easy Sticky Buns

Adapted from Ina Garten

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces
  • 1 sheet (1/2 package) frozen puff pastry, defrosted

For the filling:

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 4 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in 6 of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 6 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture. This is going to serve as your “sticky” topping; when you flip your buns over at the end, this will be on top.

Now, for the fun part. {It’s the simple things in life, right?} Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2-inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in the 6 muffin cups.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Be careful – they’re hot! Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon) and cool completely.

Yields 6 sticky buns.

the salad bar: goat cheese + grapes.

June 1, 2010 in Fabulously Simple, Healthy Eats, Main Dishes, Salad Bar with 3 Comments

Goat cheese makes everything better.

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Not only is it delicious, but it’s naturally lower in fat and calories – yet higher in calcium – than cheese produced from cow’s milk. It also averages about 5 grams of protein per 1 ounce serving – which you know I’m a fan of! (And if not, you can read about my obsession with protein here.) Another fun fact of the day is that it’s easier to digest – many who are lactose-intolerant are able to happily eat cheese produced from goat’s milk.

Now that we’re all schooled up on the benefits of goat cheese, let’s get back to the salad. Goat cheese is one of my favorite things to add to a salad because it just deposits that rich, tangy flavor all throughout the dish. It goes great with so many different types of fruits and veggies, but here I added red seedless grapes – which was a perfect complement. I also paired it with a dill vinaigrette which was delicious, healthy, and most importantly – easy.

Chicken Salad with Goat Cheese and Grapes

Adapted from BHG

  • 1 package salad greens
  • 2 chicken breast halves (either grilled or Rotisserie)
  • 1 cup red seedless grapes, halved
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
  • 1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled

For the dill vinaigrette:

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced (or you can use 1 tablespoon dried)
  • Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste

First, make your dressing. This is a very simple vinaigrette – so I forgo my Magic Bullet and just whisk my vinegar and seasonings together, and then add the olive oil in a slow stream. You could also easily shake it all together in a small jar. And as for the chicken, I went with a pre-purchased Rotisserie from the deli. It makes life that much easier. You can also grill your chicken on a grill pan, Foreman, or – if you’re lucky enough to have one – an outdoor grill.

Toast your pine nuts by tossing them in a pan (dry pan – not nonstick) over medium heat for a few minutes, or throwing them on a sheet pan into the oven (set to 350 degrees) for 5-10 minutes. Be careful they don’t burn! You just want to lightly brown them to bring out their flavor – but it’s definitely not a necessity if you’re feeling lazy – you can always throw them in raw.

Now just grab your salad bowl and add your greens. You can use whatever you like – I think I used a Romaine mix here, but spring greens would be especially good. Slice up your chicken and add it to the bowl, along with the grapes, pine nuts, and goat cheese. Pour some of your freshly-made dill vinaigrette over the salad and enjoy.

Serves 2.

the salad bar: parmesan chicken + arugula.

May 25, 2010 in Fabulously Simple, Healthy Eats, Main Dishes, Salad Bar with 7 Comments

I love arugula.

And I love to enjoy it paired with a super-easy lemon vinaigrette. There’s something so perfect about the peppery flavor of the greens combined with the tartness of the fresh lemon juice.

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It’s perfect alone as a simple side or starter salad, but here I’ve used it as a base for {yet another} chicken salad. Only this time, I’ve baked the chicken in the oven rather than grilling it or a using a purchased Rotisserie from the deli. And let me just tell you – when I baked the chicken just as described in the below recipe, I ended up with the most perfectly cooked chicken breasts. Ever. So incredibly juicy – and the mustard/thyme/Parmesan coating gave such great flavor.

As far as the Parmesan shavings go, adding them just seemed like the right thing to do – but it’s totally optional. The original recipe called for halved cherry tomatoes, so you could also try that – it would be  a great way to add some more color to your plate.

Parmesan Chicken + Arugula Salad

{Roughly} adapted from Food & Wine

  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped thyme
  • 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 package arugula leaves
  • Shavings of Parmesan cheese

    • For the lemon vinaigrette:

  • Juice from half a lemon
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

    • Preheat the oven to 475°. In a small bowl, combine the mustard with the olive oil and thyme. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then brush them all over with the mustard mixture. Pat the grated Parmesan all over each breast. Transfer the chicken breasts to a rimmed baking sheet (I cover mine with foil for easy clean-up).

    Bake the chicken on the top shelf of the oven for about 15 minutes, or until just cooked through and nicely browned.

    For the dressing, just whisk the mustard and lemon juice together in a small bowl and add the olive oil in a slow stream as you’re mixing. That’s it – now you have your lemon vinaigrette! How easy is that? Pour it over the arugula and mix well. Season with salt and lots of freshly-ground pepper.

    For the Parmesan shavings, just take a block of Parmesan (I buy a huge one at Costco because I like the good Parmigiano-Reggiano and it’s a little pricey), and create thin shavings along its side using a vegetable peeler. Place your chicken breasts and Parmesan shavings on top of your salad and enjoy.

    Serves 2.

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