Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee

This, my friends, is the holy grail of iced coffee, and most definitely the most complicated recipe on my site...SIKE! The cold brewed method has been all over the internet (thank you NY Times!) and I'm cursing myself for not trying it sooner. Iced coffee has been my BFF this summer. I've had it nearly every day, except for the days when I forgot to prep it the night before. I'm a bitter Brittany those mornings. 

The cold-brewed method is absolutely genius. Instead of being bitter, it's smooth, rich, and luxurious. Iced coffee can be a little tricky when it comes to sweetening it, as regular sugar takes forever to dissolve. Though it's delish unsweetened, but I've found my favorite way to drink it is with sweetened condensed milk. It sweetens it, and I don't need to add milk. Two birds...one stone! It also keeps a while in the fridge. Starting my day off with this coffee makes me happy, and I think it will make you happy too.

Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee

Notes: I've been using the same proportions I like to use when making strong coffee. It gets a little diluted when you add a bunch of ice and of course milk, so give this "recipe" a try first, then make adjustments for future cups to suit your taste. The peeps at the NY Times suggest using a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth. I found it was a lot easier to just use my French press. If you don't have a French press, I have also used my reusable coffee strainer from my coffee pot over a 4-cup measuring cup.

Ingredients

For 2 servings:

1/3 cup ground coffee (medium-course grind is best)

1 1/2 cups water

Sweetened condensed milk (I like roughly 1 tablespoon per serving) or milk of choice

Directions

Fill a french press (no French press? see note above) with water and coffee. Give it a quick stir and refrigerate overnight. The original recipe says to leave it at room temperature, but I didn't notice a difference in taste, and since it's already cold I don't have to add too much ice.

In the morning, press down the press like you would making regular hot coffee. Stir in sweetened condensed milk, regular milk, cream, soy milk, etc. and add ice. 

P.S. I love and use this tumbler to take my coffee with me to work!

Recipe Source: seen on tons of sites, all adapted from the NY Times.

Grilled Lime Coconut Chicken with Coconut Rice

This chicken. This rice. Oh...my...goodness. Not only is the chicken absolutely wonderful, the rice is the perfect side, and both take no time to make! In the amount of time it takes to make the rice, you can have this beautiful and flavorful meal. Take today for example: this afternoon I quickly prepped the chicken and marinade and threw it in the fridge. I went and hung out with friends at the pool, and when I came home, I started the rice. I took a quick shower, then cooked the chicken. Everything was ready at about the same time, and Chris and I had an awesome dinner. Ideal for a week night, or anytime really, there's no excuse not to make it. I'm so glad I stumbled upon this recipe. It will be perfect for this upcoming year, as Chris and I are going to be incredibly busy.  

So get outside, fire up the grill, and make this meal ASAP!!

Grilled Lime Coconut Chicken with Coconut Rice

Ingredients

Chicken

3 tablespoons olive oil

Zest and juice of 1 lime

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons curry powder

Pinch cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup canned coconut milk, light or regular

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs 

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Fresh limes, cut into wedges

Coconut Rice

1 cup jasmine rice

1 cup canned coconut milk

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a medium or large bowl, whisk together the oil, lime zest, lime juice, cumin, coriander, curry powder, cayenne pepper, soy sauce, salt, sugar, and coconut milk. Place chicken in the bowl, and give it a gentle stir until the chicken is coated with the marinade. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours.

Next, prepare the coconut rice. Bring rice, coconut milk, water, and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15-16 minutes until the liquid is mostly evaporated. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork and serving. Alternately, you could just dump the rice ingredients into a rice cooker and let it do it's thang. When it's finished cooking, go ahead and fluff with a fork (this is the route I took).

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Grill the chicken for 6-7 minutes per side (actual time depends on the thickness of the chicken)**. While the chicken is cooking, pour the marinade into a small or medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it thickens too much for your liking, thin it out with a little water or stock. 

To serve, place chicken and rice on a plate. Drizzle with sauce, and sprinkle with fresh cilantro over the top. Serve with lime wedges.

**If you don't have a grill, no worries! You can broil them in the oven, or cook in a heavy skillet.

Recipe Source: adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

A little blog love...

In just a few short weeks, Google Reader will be finito. Since I know I have a few friends out there following this little blog of mine using the Google Reader, I thought I would search for a good alternative. I joined bloglovin' a couple days ago, and am pretty happy with it so far. Bloglovin' let’s you categorize the blogs you read, as well as mark off the posts you are not interested in, and 'like' the posts you read and enjoy.

Photo source: Lori's Adventures in Etsy Land

If you currently use Google Reader, and are interested in joining bloglovin', it's super quick and easy to make the switch:

1. Create a Bloglovin' account at http://www.bloglovin.com/
2. Click on the arrow to the right of your profile name and choose "Settings".
3. Scroll down and click the "Import Blogs" button.
4. Choose "Google Reader" on the next page, and watch all your blogs import. If you have a large amount of subscriptions, it may take several minutes. Easy peasy!

Once all of your blogs have imported, you can click "Following" right above your list of feeds and create groups to arrange them by category. Pretty nifty huh?

There is also a bloglovin' iphone app as well as an app for android users.

Photo source: itunes

If you already use or are interesting in using bloglovin' for all your blogreadin', I added a "follow" button close to the top of the right sidebar for your convenience.

Are there any other blog readers you guys would like me to use? I'm looking into joining Feedly as well, per a friend's recommendation. My goal is to make this blog as accessible as possible to anyone who wants to read it! :)

As always, I appreciate anyone who takes a second out of their day to take a peek at my little space in the blogosphere! Thanks guys!!!

Cajun Jambalaya

That there jambalaya is what I call comfort food. It's warm, spicy, filling, and most importantly, delicious. My sister uses this recipe all the time (hi Becca!), and always sends me pictures, making me incredibly jealous. I'm pretty sure it's one of her favorite things to make, especially when she's trying to impress. I've been wanting to try it for a while, but buying all the ingredients at once (especially the meat and fish) can be pricey for only one meal. As fate would have it, I found a 2 lb. bag of extra large red Argentinian shrimp on sale for $8.99, and almost always have chicken and andouille (so I can make gumbo of course).

Because I was so anxious to dig right in, the bowl I ate was more like a risotto (num), but once it cooled a little bit, the rice absorbed most of the liquid. It made about four servings, so the only thing I would do differently next time is double the recipe!

Cajun Jambalaya

Ingredients

12 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
4 ounces chicken, diced
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning, recipe follows
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce
3/4 cup rice
3 cups chicken stock
5 ounces Andouille sausage, sliced
Salt and pepper

File powder (optional)

Directions

In a medium size bowl combine shrimp, chicken, and Creole seasoning, and work in seasoning well. 

 

In a large saucepan heat oil over high heat with onion, pepper and celery, 3 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, Worcestershire and hot sauces. Stir in rice and slowly add broth. Reduce heat to medium and cook until rice absorbs some of the liquid and becomes tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. When rice is just tender add shrimp and chicken mixture and sausage. Cook until meat is done, about 10 minutes more. Season to taste with salt, pepper and file powder

 

Emerill's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning aka "Bayou Blast"

Ingredients

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

 

Directions

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. 

Yields: 2/3 cup. It's great on fish or chicken, and you can use it in gumbo as well!

Recipe Source: adapted from Emeril Lagasse's recipe via Food Network

Nick Malgieri's Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I know I already have another oatmeal raisin cookie recipe on my site, but one can never have too many oatmeal raisin cookie recipes. Not only are these cookies soft and chewy, they are (get this) low in fat (only 2 tablespoons of butter!), making them perfect for summer when we all need something a little sweet, but don't want to worry about wearing a bikini.

These cookies are one of my faves. I've made them a few times since I first discovered them a few months ago, but they disappeared so quickly I could never get a picture! To change things up this time around, I added some chocolate chips as well as raisins. You could also add nuts or dried fruit. I think in the fall, I'll even try adding pumpkin in place of the applesauce.  

I put in a request at my public library for Nick Malgieri's book: Perfect Light Desserts: Fabulous Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and More Made with Real Butter, Sugar, Flour, and Eggs, All Under 300 Calories Per Generous Serving, the source of these wonderful cookies. I am not a huge fan of adding things like tofu and beans to desserts to make them a little more healthy. I've tried it, and I just don't like it. I'm a butter girl all the way, and I want the real thing, man! This book looks promising, and I can't wait to get my hands on it!

Nick Malgieri's Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups rolled oats (not instant)

1/2 cup dark raisins and/or 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and set the rack on the lower and upper thirds of the oven.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar until smooth. Mix in the brown sugar, then the egg, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients, then the oats and raisins.

Drop the batter by rounded teaspoons 2-inches apart on the baking sheets and use a fork to gently flatten the dough.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they “look dull on the surface but are moist and soft”, according to Nick. Rotate baking sheets during baking for even heating.

Once cool, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. 

Recipe Source: as seen on David Lebovitz, who adapted it from Nick Malgieri's book, Perfect Light Desserts: Fabulous Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and More Made with Real Butter, Sugar, Flour, and Eggs, All Under 300 Calories Per Generous Serving

Nectarine Pizza with Fresh Basil and Reduced Balsamic

Nectarines!! Apricots!! Peaches!! I've been swimming in these glorious fruits all week, and am totally okay with that. It's still a little early in the season, so the best is yet to come! I'm thinking a peach pie is in my near future. Mmm...

Anyhoo...today I whipped up this great little pizza for lunch. It was definitely out of my comfort zone, with the addition of nectarines and the balsamic reduction (just an FYI: my favorite pizza is mushroom and zucchini). The end result was a welcome surprise. My only regret is that I wish I added more cheese! Especially the goat cheese. Next time I think I'll add arugula as well. Ah, sweet peppery arugula. 

Like a previous pizza recipe I've blogged about, the following isn't much of a recipe, rather suggestions. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did! Mmmm.

Nectarine Pizza with Fresh Basil and Reduced Balsamic

Ingredients

Toppings for one pizza:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Olive oil for greasing

Cheese: I used mozzarella and goat cheese. You could also use ricotta, mascarpone, blue cheese, etc.

One nectarine, thinly sliced (not paper thin)

Fresh Parmigianno Reggiano, shaved or grated. (I used the stuff from the shaker, the fresher stuff would be incredible with the sweet nectarine and balsamic!)

Fresh basil or arugula

Favorite pizza dough (might I suggest using the one used in this pizza to save time!)

Directions

Place balsamic vinegar in a small saute pan. Turn heat to medium high and simmer until reduced and noticeably thick (mine took about 7 minutes). Watch like a hawk so it doesn't burn. If it does burn, it's trash. Err on the side of underdone, it will reduce more as it cools.

Preheat oven to 500F. Line a sheet pan with parchment or grease lightly with olive oil. Place dough on pan and drizzle with a little olive oil, and spread with your hands to coat evenly.

Cover the dough with a layer of cheese, then the nectarines, and top with Parmigianno Reggiano. Place pizza in very hot oven, and bake for 10 minutes until slightly brown and cheese is melted.

Remove from oven, and top with fresh basil/arugula. Drizzle with balsamic and dig in! Num.

Recipe Source: adapted from Alexandra Cooks

Apricot Breakfast Crisp

Another wonderful recipe from one of my new favorite cookbooks. As I mentioned before, I will slowly but surely cook my way through this beautiful book! 

I grew up eating my mom's peach cobbler for breakfast, and didn't know until recently that it's normally considered a dessert (thanks mom for letting me have "dessert" for breakfast!). Cobbler can be breakfast food, and so can crisps! 

I was very excited to see apricots on sale for $.99/pound at the store (along with peaches and nectarines...I think I may need a peach pie..mmm), and knew this was how I would use them. I love that this recipe doesn't yield a huge amount, maybe 2-3 cups of cobbler, which is ideal when your baking for only one or two people. You could also use different fruits depending on what's in season (fruits like apples and pears should be cut into smaller pieces, and baked for maybe 45 minutes or so...cover with foil to prevent overcooking the topping). Olive oil or coconut oil can be used in place of the butter, different nuts can be used, and I think I may even add ground flax seed next time to add a little o-mega 3's! For now though, I'll enjoy this apricot version. After my first bite, I literally said out loud "oh yeah...going on the blog." I was on the phone with my bestie...she can confirm this. Be warned however, if your apricots aren't ripe this will be super tart. I *ahem* had two servings, and while the first was perfect, the second was on the tart side (which I didn't mind). Served with plain Greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey, it made a wonderful breakfast! I'm also thinking about trying it for dessert later with a little butter pecan ice cream. I love summer...sigh.

Apricot Breakfast Crisp

Ingredients

Fruit

1 pound apricots

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Pinch of nutmeg

Topping

4 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup sugar (I used light brown sugar..num!)

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or a mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat)

Good pinch of salt

2 tablespoons sliced or chopped almonds

Yogurt of choice to serve (I used plain Greek yogurt with a little honey)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F, and prepare the fruit. Pull apart the apricots at their seam, remove the pits, and tear them on e more time into quarters (so fun!). Place the fruit in a small baking dish (Deb suggests a 1-quart gratin dish, I just used a small casserole pan). Stir in the sugar, flour, and nutmeg.

Now, make the topping. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, and stir in first the sugar, then the oats, then the flour, and finally the salt and almonds, until large clumps form. Sprinkle the mixture over the fruit. Bake for about 30 minutes. Eat warm or chilled, with a scoop of your favorite yogurt. Maybe even ice cream? :)

**Update: a sprinkle of cinnamon on top of the yogurt is simply divine!

Recipe Source: adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.