Summer Corn

When I first met my husband, the only "vegetable" he would eat was corn. I didn't have the heart to break it to him that corn is a starch. His vegetable spectrum has widened considerably over the years.


One has to get pretty darn creative around here to get people to eat more than tacos and pizza.

My husband and our youngest homegirl love me forever when I make Summer Corn. Even my oldest homegirl gets a little bit excited when I make this because of how it smells while it's cooking. She doesn't do corn, but I think she may come around pretty soon.


This is so easy to make and gives some zip to a regular ol' can of kernel corn. The best part? It smells like popcorn while it's cooking. People will swarm the kitchen while you're cooking this. Try it and see for yourself!

Open 1 can of kernel corn and drain. Place corn in a sauce pan and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Heat over medium-high heat. Stir corn frequently so it won't burn. You want the corn to "cook".

When the "popcorn" smell is strong, and the corn is sizzling, add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream to the pan. Stir to combine. Lower heat to simmer for at least five minutes and up to about 20 minutes.

Serve and enjoy! This will become a regular side in your weekly rotation!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Tuscan Chicken

Tuscan Chicken—ha! What a name. Truth be told, this dish doesn’t even have an official name. I just make it, serve it and listen to my husband and children give their official seal of approval (thumbs up); then I eat it myself. For some strange reason, when I post a recipe, I feel like it's official and needs a name.

I made this last week and had it staged up so pretty for a picture. Well, as pretty as I can stage things up. When I turned on my camera, the battery was dead! I hurriedly grabbed my husband's SLR camera, everything looked great through the viewfinder, but for some some strange reason (that camera hates me) the picture wouldn't snap. This picture is a recreation the next day when my battery was fully charged. I nuked a plate up in the microwave.

Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat in a large high-sided skillet.

Slice three boneless, skinless chicken breasts into hearty chunks. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place 1 cup of flour into a shallow dish. Dredge the chicken through the flour and sear on each side in preheated skillet. You will have to do this in batches. Set the seared chicken aside.

Add 3 slices of chopped pancetta (or bacon) to the pan and saute until crisp and golden brown.

While pancetta is browning, cook 3/4 lb. of pasta to al-dente.

Remove pancetta from pan and add 1/4 cup of chopped shallots to pan and saute for about 2 minutes. Carefully add 1/2 cup of white wine to pan and cook 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium, add 4 tablespoons of butter and allow it to melt. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and about 4 ounces sun-dried tomatoes. Sauté for approximately one minute, stirring frequently (do not brown).

Whisk in 1-1/2 cups of heavy cream and 1/2 milk. Once thoroughly combined, whisk in 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan and 1/2 of grated Gouda cheese. Once cheese melts, add 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary. Bring to a low bubble and add chicken pack to the pan and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add cooked and drained pasta to chicken and sauce and toss until sauce coats pasta.

Served garnished with pancetta and chopped chives.

Toasted Almond & White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today’s offering is one of my all-time favorite cookie recipes: Toasted Almond & White Chocolate Chip Cookies. Oh my goodness! They’re so delightful. Rich, chewy, that luxurious almond flavor…and best of all, when they’re baking, they fill the kitchen with a wonderful aroma.

I’ve made these before with just a splash of Amaretto added to the dough, and it makes them almost too delicious for words. But the basic recipe is wonderful, too—give it a try both ways!

2 sticks melted butter

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons almond extract

1-1/2 teaspoon Amaretto (optional)

2-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup white chocolate chips

3 oz. slivered almonds

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Place almonds in a pan over medium heat. Toast and turn until toasted. Your nose will let you know when they are done. Don't walk away from them, because as soon as you do, they will burn!

Using a stand or hand mixer. beat melted butter and sugars u til thoroughly combined. Slowly beat in egg, egg yolk, almond extract and Amaretto.

Place dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine, then slowly add them to the wet ingredients. When completely blended, fold in chips and toasted almond slivers.

Using a cookie scoop or teaspoon scoop teaspoonfuls of cookie dough onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.

Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until edges start to brown. Allow cookies to cool for about 3 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

The homegrilz love eating these cookies. And you will, too!

Eggplant Parmesan

One of the many wonderful things about Spring and Summer is the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables at the grocery stores and Farmer's Markets. The smells make my head spin and I don't know what I want to cook first. For some reason I associate eggplant with Sundays. While eggplants are very versatile, it’s sometimes hard to know what to do with them beyond just cooking them in a pot of water, mashing them up and seasoning with breadcrumbs and cheese and calling it a day. I love roasting them until they are crisp and adding delicious ingredients, allowing them to bake and absorb all of the wonderful flavors surrounding them. To me, that brings out the natural culinary beauty and taste of the eggplant much more than allowing it to become soggy in a bunch of liquid.

Eggplant Parmesan -

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Peel 2 eggplants and slice them horizontally about 1/4-inch thick. Season the eggplant slices with salt and pepper. Place slices on a cookie sheet lined with foil (for easy clean up) and spray with non stick cooking spray. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over each slice.

Bake eggplant slices in a pre-heated 450 degree oven for about 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven to cool and lower heat to 350 degrees.

In a 8x12 pan place the four largest slices, evenly spaced apart. Over each slice, spread about 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, then sprinkle with a teaspoon of freshly sliced basil. Place a thin slice of fresh mozzarella over each and sprinkle with a little grated parmesan/romano cheese combination. Repeat the layering with the smaller slices until all ingredients are used.

You will need a total of 2 cups of your favorite spaghetti or tomato sauce, 1 lb. of fresh mozzarella, 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil and about 1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese mixed with 1/4 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese.

Sprinkle the top with about 1 cup of seasoned Italian bread crumbs and a little parmsesan and romano cheese and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes until the bread crumbs look toasty and the sauce is bubbly.

All I can say is, you will be speechless!

Chicken in Plum Sauce and Pad Thai Noodles

Cook some Thai food tonight! It’s easy, versatile, quick, and so dang tasty. You can throw in whatever veggies you have on hand—that’s exactly what I did and tweak the flavors to suit your style. I love cooking Asian food. Makes you feel like you're having take-out at home.

Chicken in Plum Sauce -

Normally, we cook this on the grill but since Mother Nature didn't cooperate, we cooked it in the oven and tasted incredible.

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 small onion coarsely chopped and 5 cloves of garlic coarsely chopped and cook until wilted. Add 1 tablespoons of coarsely chopped ginger, 1 Thai chile pepper coarsely chopped, 1/2 teaspoon of Chinese Five Spice Powder and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1 8 ounce jar of plum sauce, 1/4 cup of honey, 1/4 cup of soy sauce and juice from one lime. Cook until mixture has thickened. Place entire contents of sauce pan into a food processor and mix until smooth. Let cool.

Grill - Preheat grill Season 5 chicken thighs and 5 dumsticks, bone in, skin on with salt and pepper to taste. Grill, on 1 side for 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn the chicken over, brush with the sauce and continue grilling for 3 to 4 minutes, turn over and brush with sauce. Continue grilling and brushing with the sauce until the chicken is cooked through.

Oven - Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Season same quantity of chicken as in grilling method with salt and pepper. Place chicken in a 9 x 13 oven safe dish and cook for 30 minutes. Brush with plum sauce and cook for 15 minutes longer. Continue baking and brushing with sauce until chicken is cooked through.


Pad Thai Noodles -

Soak 8 ounces of the dried wide rice noodles in warm water for 30 minutes. Drain the noodles thoroughly in a colander and set aside.

Heat a wok or large high sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the skillet and scramble 2 eggs. Remove eggs from skillet and set aside. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of Hoisin sauce, 2 tablespoons of tamari sauce or regular soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of water and set aside. Add 1 more tablespoon of vegetable oil to the skill and add one package of frozen stir fry vegetables. Cook vegetables for about 3 minutes, then add the softened rice noodles. Stir fry for about 4 minutes and a a drizzle (About 1 teaspoon) of sesame oil. Stir to combine. Add Hoisin sauce mixture and keep stirring to thoroughly combine. Add scrambled egg and 2 shallots, roughly chopped, give it a quick stir, squeeze a lime over the top and serve.

One more thing - have a great weekend!

Orange & Coconut Scones

Thank all of you so very much for your prayers and well wishes. Keep those prayers coming! I'll be on tonight commenting. Today has been crazy, I am posting REALLY late for me.

Let's eat some scones!

This scone recipe was adapted from Tyler Florence. Talk about good and easy! There is one thing I found very confusing, are these for breakfast, snack or dessert? Guess I shouldn't compartmentalize my life so much. Anyway, let's not argue about them let's just make them and eat them!

Orange & Coconut Scones -

Sift together 2 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Using a pastry cutter or a food processor cut in 5 tablespoons of cold butter cut into small cubes. The butter should look like small peas in the flour.

Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in 1 cup of heavy cream. Fold everything in to incorporate but be careful not to overwork the dough. Fold in 1/2 cup of shredded coconut and zest from one orange.

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape.

Place the scones on a cookie sheet line with parchment paper or a silplat and brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown.

Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.

In a double boiler (i.e. over a pot of simmering water with a heatproof bowl set on top), mix the juice from one orange and 2 cups of confectioners' sugar together in a heat-safe bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add 1 teaspoon of orange zest and 1 tablespoon of butter. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps.

Drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving. Ok, who wants to argue about when is the right time to eat these?

Mexican Sundae

This sundae is difficult to explain, but it has become a Cinco de Mayo tradition in our house since about 2004. Imagine a warm, crunchy, buttery tortilla with a hint of cinnamon with slightly melted dulce de leche ice cream topped with a caramel sauce with the slightest hint of bang...it’s difficult to explain.

So let's just make and eat it.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, warm 1 jar of caramel sauce over low heat and season with 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Yes cayenne, trust me it will knock your socks off. Then add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Gently combine and allow to warm.

Place 4 flour tortillas on a cookie sheet and brush liberally with melted butter. Sprinkle each tortilla with sugar and a pinch of cinnamon and bake in preheated 400 degree oven until crispy and sugar has melted on the tortillas, 5 minutes. Remove tortillas from oven, let cool to harden and break into large, uneven pieces. Just make funky shapes out of the tortillas.

Arrange the pieces of 1 tortilla in a sundae dish or on a dessert plate. Top with 2 large scoops dulce de leche ice cream. Drizzle the warm caramel sauce over each sundae using a spatula or wooden spoon.

See, you really can explain this, you just have to eat it.

Note to my readers. The company I worked for closed and I was laid off from my job yesterday. I am going to expend my energies trying to find employment...I'm just not a live off the government type of person and am too restless to stay home. My commenting may be light for the time being. Thanks for understanding!