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Here's the deal. The cookie dough recipe below is heavily influenced by what's on the back of the Toll House Chocolate Chip bag - that's what I grew up eating!! You could definitely use your fave cookie dough recipe or a healthier/gluten free blah blah cookie dough recipe - just make sure you replace the raw eggs with a liquid like an oil or milk and then bake the flour for 5-7 minutes at 350 F so that there's no raw ingredients that could contain bacteria. You also won't need any baking agents like baking soda because the dough won't be baked in an oven at all.

This recipe makes about 8 bars, or 16 small square bite-sized pieces.

What you need:

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
2 tbsp whole milk
3/4 granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (I love Lily's Sweets)
1 quart of vanilla bean ice cream

What to do:

Take the ice cream out of the freezer and let it sit out in order to soften it.
Pour the flour onto a cookie sheet and spread it around until it's distributed as flat and even as it can lay. Bake for 5-7 minutes at 350 F. This way you won't be consuming anything raw that might contain bacteria.
Use the microwave or stove top to soften the butter. The butter should be 80% melted. Let it return to room temp before the next step or else it could be hot enough to melt the sugars which isn't good for the overall dough texture.
In a large bowl, mix the softened butter with the sugars, vanilla and milk until combined.
Slowly mix the flour into the sugars and butter, 1 cup at a time. *If the batter seems too dry, add canola oil 1 tbsp at a time until you get a cookie dough batter texture.
Mix in the chocolate chips and if you're like me, eat a handful of them while you're doing it lol.
Split the dough in half so that there's two identical sized portions of dough and roll each one out as best you can into a flat 9x9" square shape.
Take a piece of parchment paper and place it in the bottom of a 9x9" square pan so that the edges are sticking up and out of it. (This helps you to easily lift the finished product out of the pan at the end without ruining it.)
Next, fit one of your cookie dough squares as best as you can into the bottom of the pan until it's stretched to the edges and lays evenly. Stick it in the freezer for 20 minutes in order to make it a bit more firm.
Remove the layer of cookie dough from the pan, cover it and put it away in the fridge until later. (Now you have that part ready and sized for the top when the time comes.)
Take the other square of cookie dough that you rolled out and place it in the bottom of the pan on top of the sheet of parchment paper. Press down to make it fit evenly and then freeze for 20 minutes to firm up a little bit.
Add the ice cream on top of the cookie dough layer. The ice cream should be pretty soft and melty, but not totally liquid. Use a spoon or icing spreader to slather it around and make it as even as possible. You want the layer of ice cream to be hard enough to hold up the top layer of cookie dough without it sinking into the melting ice cream. (If the ice cream layer seems too soft, stick the pan in the freezer for 20 minutes and then add the top layer of cookie dough.)
Once the second cookie dough sheet is on top of the ice cream, let the whole thing freeze for 3 hours or overnight.
Before eating, remove from the fridge and let it thaw for 6-8 minutes before removing it from the pan and slicing up!

0 Comments

SUmmer Corn Pasta

6/7/2020

I don't always put veggies into my pasta, but when I do...it's usually fresh summer veggies like corn! I used to make this recipe with rigatoni noodles but I think the sauce pairs better with a semi-wide longer shape like fettuccini, tagliatelle or mafaldine so I adjusted things according to that lil fun fact.

Also, this is optional but I really like when the corn is charred. (I didn't have enough time to char it the day I shot these photos!)

What you need:

1/2 lb of pasta (I prefer mafaldine or tagliatelle)
2 large or 3 small ears of fresh corn on the cob
2 tbsp butter
2 minced garlic cloves (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1/4 cup freshly chopped basil (I put half of it into the pasta and half of it on top)
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp lemon juice + more for topping
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese + more for topping
Black pepper for topping

What to do:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package instructions.
Use a sharp knife to slice the corn off of the cobs. Toss the corn into a non-stick skillet with the butter and cook on medium heat until the corn starts to turn golden or charred depending on what you're going for.
Toss the minced garlic and half of the basil into the hot skillet for a minute or two and then add the cream, lemon juice and parmesan cheese and combine with a whisk.
Turn down the stovetop heat to super low and let the sauce simmer until the pasta is done cooking.
Add the pasta to the skillet with the sauce and mix. I like to add in a couple tbsp of the starchy pasta water here too to loosen up the creamy sauce a bit.
Before serving, top each dish with more parm, fresh basil, black pepper and a lemon wedge or lemon zest.

3 Comments

Chicken on the Grill

5/21/2020

4 Comments

This is hands down my favorite of all time way to grill chicken. You're probably thinking someone who makes pasta as often as I do doesn't know sh*t about how to cook meat on a grill. This is true, except for chicken. I can freaking make some damn good chicken on the grill.

I start off with a salt water brine (at least two hours or overnight) and then I use garlic powder and cayenne pepper and I brush layers of BBQ sauce onto the wings as they cook. If you don't have BBQ sauce they are just as good with the cayenne and garlic powder. You can use any part of the chicken for this recipe. I've done it with breasts, drums, thighs and wings. (Wings and drums are my fave!!)

As far as amount goes: make sure to have enough chicken for the number of people you plan to feed, which is obvious but there's always one person that will ask if I am not SUPER clear, lol. The salt water brine ratio is 1 cup water : 1 tsp salt, so however many cups of water it takes to cover the chicken in an airtight container or ziplock bag + the appropriate amount of salt.

What you need:

Chicken - whatever parts you prefer (bigger parts will take longer to cook than smaller parts)
Salt (read above for brine ratio - it's 1 tsp salt per 1 cup water used)
Garlic powder
Cayenne pepper
Your fave BBQ sauce

What to do:

Create your salt water brine. I place the chicken in a large ziplock bag and then use a measuring cup to add water one cup at a time until the chicken is mostly covered - then add 1 tsp of salt per each cup of water. (You can use Lawry's seasoned salt for even more flavor, I do that if I have it.)
Let the chicken soak in the brine in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
Turn on the grill. I don't pay too much attention to the heat (as long as it's decently hot I start grilling) but the internet says for chicken it should be around 350 degrees F.
Remove the chicken from the salt water brine and season with garlic powder and cayenne pepper (I use it like salt and pepper - a good amount but not a ton.)
Throw the chicken on the grill and DON'T touch it. If you try to flip it and the meat clings to the grill, it isn't ready to flip yet. I usually close the grill and then let 10-15 minutes go by before tying to flip.
Once you can easily flip the chicken to the other side, brush the cooked side with a layer of BBQ sauce and close the grill and let cook for 5-10 minutes. (5 mins for wings, 10 mins for larger pieces like a breast.)
Flip again, brush with BBQ again. Depending on what bbq sauce you're using, there's a chance that cooking the chicken with it on for too long will cause the chicken skin to start to blacken (which is sometimes a good thing!) I would say to coat each side once or twice while flipping (and then you can always brush a little more sauce on it after you've taken off the grill.)
Before removing from the grill, cut through a piece of the chicken to make sure it's cooked all the way through.

4 Comments

Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

5/19/2020

I always hesitate to put the word healthy in my recipe captions because I feel like there will be at least one health nut that will try to call me out saying "that's actually not healthy" but for me, this is a lot cleaner version of any dessert I would normally eat...and it's really freaking good!! Also, I've always been in love with the color of fresh raspberries! It's so perfect.

Let me know if you have questions in the comment section - it makes different amounts depending on if you slice it into squares or rectangles but this recipe is definitely enough to feed a crowd of around 8-10 people.

What you need:
For the crust

8 oz graham crackers (gluten free ones will work too)
1/4 cup melted vegan butter
2 tbsp honey or maple syrup

For the filling

16 oz vegan cream cheese (I used Daiya bc it's nut free)
3/4 cup full fat coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup maple syrup

For the raspberry puree

8 oz chilled raspberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
2 tbsp Vital Proteins collagen powder

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Form the crust by blending the graham crackers, butter and honey or maple syrup in a food processor until it starts to stick together a bit.
Line a deep 8x10 baking pan with parchment paper and spray or rub any exposed edges of the pan with coconut oil. (This recipe also works with a mini 8x4 baking dish - just results in a little thicker layers!)
Press the crust down into the pan so that it's an even flat layer and bake in the oven for 12 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Stick the finished crust in the freezer immediately so that it's cool once you're ready to add the cheesecake filling.
Blend the cheesecake filling ingredients in a food processor or stand mixer with the whisk attachment until smooth. Add the filling to the baking pan on top of the cooled graham cracker crust, spread it out evenly and then put the pan back in the freezer for at least an hour.
Add the chilled raspberries, lemon juice, honey or maple syrup and collagen powder to a blender and blend until combined. Add it on top of the chilled cheesecake and spread it out into an even layer.
Return the whole thing to the freezer for 3 hours or overnight before removing it and slicing to serve! LET IT THAW for at least 15 minutes before slicing it up. Crucial because it breaks apart if it's too hard and frozen. (Learned the hard way lol.)

1 Comment

Tomato Sauce with White Wine, Shallots and Garlic

5/15/2020

Why is alcohol so good? I mean of course having a glass is amazing but I'm also talking about in food...because , some of my most favorite pasta sauces have either wine or vodka in them.

I was making my vodka sauce the other day with white wine (since I was out of vodka) and I was tempted to skip the last step of adding heavy cream to it and eat it how it was in the skillet because it just looked so pretty and smelled so good. So the next day, I did just that and here we are! SO this is basically my vodka sauce minus the cream and butter with wine + fresh garlic and shallots living in the sauce. You could leave the diced garlic and shallot as is in the sauce for texture or puree them like I did for a smoother sauce.

What you need:

1/2 lb pasta
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, diced
2 garlic cloves diced
3/4 cup white wine (I used Kim Crawford Sauv Blanc)
3 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp reserved pasta water

What to do:

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water for as long as the package instructs.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and cook the onions and garlic in it until translucent (around 5 minutes.) Add the tomato paste in halfway through and spread it out over the surface of the skillet.
Once the tomato paste is a brick red color and the onions/garlic are translucent, add the wine and whisk everything to combine. You should see some of the wine evaporate right away or else your heat wasn't high enough.)
Transfer the sauce into a food processor and blend until smooth. Return to skillet. (Not required but suggested for a smoother sauce texture.)
Switch the stovetop heat to its lowest setting and stir the sauce every few minutes until the pasta is done cooking. (If it's thickening up a ton you can add a tablespoon more of wine to it and maybe switch it to another stovetop station that's less powerful.)
Reserve a few tablespoons of the salty/starchy pasta water and add it into the sauce to loosen it up a bit. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce, mix and serve hot.
Note: if you didn't salt your pasta water enough you. may need to season the finished product with a little salt.

3 Comments

Kimchi Noodles

5/14/2020

Korean glass noodles were my first Asian-noodle obsession aside from the more common stuff like lo mein or rice noodles. There used to be a restaurant in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland called BAC and I would go at least once a month to order their spicy kimchi dish. I remember it being so spicy that I could only take a few bites at a time and would have to wait a little before having more lol. So the good thing about making it at home is that you can control the level of heat you put into it.

Anyways, I found glass noodles at a nearby Asian supermarket and they ended up becoming the main ingredient of my Spicy Noodle Soup recipe that won Zoup Soup's National Recipe Contest in 2015! #funfacts

The noodles are made from sweet potato starch so they are naturally gluten free and vegan!! You could add protein to the dish but my favorite way to eat the dish is with veggies, kimchi and spicy sambal oelek. If you've never had sambal oelek, it's a chili paste that gives a pretty hard kick to any dish - I have it listed on my favorite products page on Amazon so tap here if you want to order some! The glass noodle brand I use is also available on Amazon and on my favorite products page, click here to order them!

What you need:

6 oz Korean glass noodles (1/2 of the package on my Amazon page)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 red bell pepper
1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves
2 handfuls of snow peas
3-4 scallion stalks
1/2 cup kimchi
1-2 tbsp sambal oelek

What to do:

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the glass noodles in it for 10 minutes.
De-seed the red pepper and slice it up into long pieces. Cut the onion into long pieces as well.
Cook all of the veggies stir-fry style in a large skillet or wok on medium heat with 2 tbsp vegetable oil for 5 minutes.
Add the kimchi and sambal oelek into the stir fry, I like to add in some of the juice from the kimchi jar as well for more flavor - about 2-3 tablespoons.
Add the cooked noodles to the cooking veggies. Stir until completely mixed together and then serve hot!

0 Comments

Banana Bread Cookie Bars with Dark chocolate + Sea Salt

5/13/2020

2 Comments

So here's what you can do with all of that quarantine banana bread you've been busy baking. You're welcome. They're also completely gluten-free and nearly vegan besides the egg I used in the banana bread which you could easily sub out for a flax egg. Feel free to change it around to whatever way you prefer to eat!

Layer one: Gluten free graham cracker crust with honey and butter.

Layer two: Mashed gf banana bread + raw banana + coconut butter, maple syrup and collagen power.

Layer three: Melted dark chocolate and flakey sea salt.

If you're looking for a stronger banana flavor to be present amongst all the other flavors and also want the banana bread portion of the bar to more like batter than bread, you can add one mashed banana to the banana bread crumbles.

I used a ton of different products that are my favorite so I'll list them here incase you want to use the same thangs! Pamela's gluten free honey grahams, Melt Organic vegan butter, Vital Proteins unflavored collagen powder, Bob's Red Mill old fashioned rolled oats and then Eating Evolved's coconut butter. (Since I can't eat nuts I love using coconut butter or @avokween's granola butter in place of almond or cashew butter.)

What you need:

8 oz graham crackers (about 12 squares)
1/4 cup organic honey
1 tbsp vegan butter
2 cups crumbled banana bread
1 ripe banana (if you want a more batter-like center)
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut butter
1 tbsp coconut flour
1 tbsp unflavored collagen powder
1 dark chocolate candy bar
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp Flakey sea salt for topping

What to do:

Pulse the honey grahams, honey and butter in a food processor until it starts to stick together a little bit. If it's not sticking, add in an additional 1 tbsp honey.
Transfer the graham cracker mixture to a bowl and mix in 1/3 cup of old fashioned rolled oats.
Line an 8x10 oven safe (deep) dish with parchment paper and spray PAM or rub veg oil on any corners or sides that the paper doesn't cover. (I used my 8x10 Detroit Style Pizza Pan.)
Smoosh and spread the graham cracker crust down into an even layer in your baking dish. (I turned a smooth cup sideways to roll over it like a rolling pin.)
Bake the graham cracker crust at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes until firm and mostly hardened.
If you want the more batter-like center, mash the lone banana in a bowl so that you can mix it into the banana bread crumbs.
Grab some banana bread slices pulse in a food processor until it turns into crumbs. (I used slices from my Gluten Free Banana Bread recipe.)
Transfer the banana bread crumbs to a bowl and mix the coconut flour, banana bread crumbs, maple syrup, coconut butter and collagen powder. Dump the banana bread mixture on top of the cooked graham cracker crust and flatten it into an even layer.
Break a dark chocolate bar into pieces and place in a bowl with the coconut oil. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds and stir again. Once there aren't any chocolate lumps and the chocolate has completely melted, pour it over the top of the banana bread layer and spread it out evenly.
Top with sea salt and then stick it in the freezer to set for at least 15 minutes.
Carefully remove the goods from the dish and then slice into either bar or bite sized pieces before serving. Keep in the fridge for up to a week.

2 Comments

Healthy White Bean Pasta Sauce

5/12/2020

If you told my former self that I would one day be eating a pasta sauce made out of beans I would probably run away. Lol. Jk. BUT, I grew up absolutely hating any and every sort of bean!

Turns out, I love them now. Also turns out, they can add a super creamy texture to sauces once they are pureed. The end result for this dish sort of tastes like alfredo but it's waaaay better for you because even though there's still a decent amount of parmesan cheese in there, there's no heavy cream or dairy besides that. Cannellini beans are full of fiber, folate, iron and magnesium so it's a great way to sneak some good stuff into your diet.

As far as subs, you could replace the parmesan cheese wit nutritional yeast to make it vegan or sub out the wheat pasta for brown rice pasta to make it gluten free!

What you need:

1/2 lb pasta (I used mafaldine)
12 oz cannellini beans (I used Jovial Foods 100% organic - soaked overnight and pressure cooked)
1 large garlic clove (or 2 smaller ones)
1/4 cup oat or rice milk
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 cup reserved pasta water

What to do:

Cook the pasta according to package instructions in salted boiling water.
Blend all the other ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
When the pasta is almost done, scoop out 1/4 cup of the pasta water and add it into the bean sauce.
Pour the sauce over the freshly drained pasta, top with more parm and pepper and eat.

0 Comments

Pad See Ew

5/12/2020

This is hands down my favorite dish to order from any Thai restaurant I visit. Everyone else seems to go straight for the pad thai but not me! It's traditionally made with fresh, flat wide rice noodles but if you're in a pinch and don't feel like heading to a Thai supermarket to find them you can use dried rice noodles too. (That's what I did, click here to see the brand I use on my Amazon shopping page!)

If you're not an Asian food freak like me you probably don't have oyster sauce or dark soy sauce at home. Those can be ordered on Amazon as well, I have the brands I prefer on my Amazon shopping page too!

What you need:

rice noodles
A handful of Leafy greens, I prefer Chinese broccoli or bok choy
1-2 eggs depending on how much you want in your dish

For the sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tbsp sugar

What to do:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the rice noodles according to package instructions.
Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Cook the leafy greens in a skillet until wilted and soft - about 6-7 minutes. Move them to the side and scramble the egg in the empty half of the skillet. Remove the eggs/greens and set aside.
Turn the skillet heat up to high and combine the sauce and noodles in it so that the sauce caramelized over the noodles. Be careful as you toss it because rice noodles break easily.
After a minute of tossing, remove from heat and gently stir back in the greens and egg before serving.

0 Comments

Vegan Mac And Cheese (Healthier Version)

5/3/2020

Okay so I now have two vegan mac and cheese recipes on my website. This one is more nutritious because of the pureed veggie ingredient + the nutritional yeast factor but it still remains nut free just like the other one! A creamy vegan mac and cheese recipe without cashews?? YEP. It might not be as beautiful as my other recipe but it's really good, better for you and WAY easier to make. If you're looking for my other recipe with actual vegan cheese in it, tap this link! Both are super good despite the fact that there's no dairy in either of them!

I also love how flex this recipe is. You could sub out the potato puree that I used for a number of things like butternut squash, sweet potato, carrots or cauliflower puree. As long as you turn whatever veggie you use soft enough via steaming or boiling to make sure that they completely blend into the sauce! I honestly considered adding some baby food to my next grocery list so I don't have to puree whatever veggies I plan to add in, LOL.

I prefer to use potato because of the starch content in it - when using less starchy vegetables like BNS I add in a teaspoon of arrowroot starch to help it thicken better. (Also, be careful if you use frozen veggies because they have a bit more water content then fresh veggies do.)

This recipe makes enough for two but it can easily be cut in half for a personal version! I like making it for myself and saving half of it for another day.

What you need:

1/2 lb pasta (I used brown rice pasta)
3 tbsp vegan butter
1/2 cup oat creamer (I used nut pods)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp celtic sea salt
1/2 cup pureed potato or butternut squash (or other similar veg - see suggestions above.)
1 tsp arrowroot starch if needed. (See note above.)

What to do:

Peel and cut a decent sized russet potato into cubes (1 potato will give you what you need for 1/2 cup potato puree) and boil in water for 10 minutes or until you can easily cut through it. Cook the pasta at the same time.
Blend everything together in a food processor until smooth and creamy before pouring it over the finished pasta.

1 Comment

Chicken Po Boys + Homemade Cajun Aioli

4/30/2020

I've never actually been to NOLA but I do love most Cajun-inspired dishes and I always order a po boy sandwich when I see it on a menu. I usually see shrimp or chicken options, but this would honestly be really good with my crispy cauliflower recipe as well if you're a vegetarian!

Seeing that we are going on over a month of Covid-19 quarantine, I had to get creative with what I had on hand at home so don't judge if this isn't exactly the po boy you once ate in Nola. I used some chicken I had in the freezer from Butcher Box and then some fresh steak rolls from my local grocery store's bakery. Traditionally, po boys are served on New Orleans French bread - which is a similar shape but softer than an actual French baguette and very light and airy. I feel like that would probably make a big difference in the overall sandwich quality but the steak roll wasn't too bad.

If you don't want to make the aioli completely from scratch you could just add some Cajun seasoning to some mayo. (Also if you don't have Cajun seasoning it is really easy to make from scratch...just google it.) For aioli shortcuts, I've also done half mayo and half greek yogurt with cajun seasoning to make a healthier option and it's just as good!!

What you need:
For the homemade aioli

1 egg
1 cup neutral oil - I used vegetable oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tbsp salt

For the rest

Boneless skinless chicken thighs or breast meat
Flour, garlic powder and seasoned salt (or cajun seasoning in it's place) for the breading
A few cups of canola oil for frying the chicken
New Orleans fresh baked French bread rolls (steak rolls will work too as long as they are soft and sort of flakey)
About 1/2 head of shaved or thinly chopped iceberg lettuce
Pickles (I used Tony Packos Sweet & Spicy)
Optional: sliced tomatoes

What to do:

Make the aioli. Add all the ingredients + only 2 tbsp of the cup of oil into a food processor. While blending, slowly pour in the cup of oil - the pour should be a tiny stream and it should take you about a minute to do so. You should notice the aioli forming and things thickening in there. Once the oil is all poured in you can stop blending and turn off the processor. Set the aioli aside until it's time to use later.
Fry the chicken. Use my boneless wing recipe to prep and fry the chicken, but instead of chicken nugget size pieces, cut them up a bit smaller so they can fit better onto the sandwich. I like to add a tsp of cajun seasoning to the flour batter too in place of the seasoned salt since we're going for Cajun vibes here.
Prep your bread by slicing it open - Bryant LOVES his toasted so you could do that here if you want. I usually stick his loaf in the oven under the broiler until the edges of the bread get crispy - just a minute or two.
Line the bottom of the bread with a handful of the shaved iceberg lettuce and some pickles. If you are adding tomato slices too those will go on here now as well.
Layer the hot fried chicken on top of the veggies and slather the chicken/top half of the sandwich with the cajun aioli before closing it up to eat!

1 Comment

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Sauce

4/21/2020

I LOVE the color of this sauce just as much as I love the taste! The best part is is that it's relatively healthy since it's made out of pureed roasted red peppers with just a touch of either heavy cream or coconut milk depending on your dairy preference.

Since the sauce is mostly roasted red peppers, you'll want to use a good brand for higher quality. My favorite is DeLallo Foods! You can purchase either their Whole Roasted Red Peppers or Roasted Red Pepper Strips. I paired the red peppers with DeLallo's shellbow pasta shape which is the most perfect vehicle for transporting more of this delicious sauce into your mouth.

What you need:

1/2 lb DeLallo Shellbows
1 15 oz jar DeLallo Roasted Red Pepper Strips
3 tbsp white wine (can be omitted but I love the extra flavor)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp heavy cream (can be swapped out for coconut milk or cream for a dairy-free version)
Pasta water - be sure to save some!!
Optional: burrata cheese for topping

What to do:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the shellbow pasta according to package instructions.
Sauté the roasted red pepper strips (or cut the whole roasted red pepper into strips) in a skillet on medium heat with the olive oil and white wine for 6-8 minutes.
Puree the roasted red pepper and any leftover drippings of white wine/oil in a food processor until very smooth.
Add the roasted red pepper puree back to the large skillet and then add the garlic powder and splash of either the heavy cream or coconut milk or cream and stir.
Transfer the cooked shellbows to the sauce directly from the boiling water - this will transfer over some of the starchy/salty pasta water.
Add an additional tablespoon or two of pasta water and mix before serving to loosen up the sauce so that it gets nice and silky.

1 Comment

Dirty Martini Pasta

4/21/2020

If you know me, you know that my all time favorite cocktail is a dirty martini. You should also know that my favorite food of all time is pasta. That said, I present you with my latest recipe creation: dirty martini pasta.

I recently partnered with DeLallo Foods in order to showcase some of their amazing specialty items and I've been snacking on these Italian Pitted Castelvetrano Olives non-stop. They're super plump and have the best briney-buttery taste to them. The flavor of DeLallo's Italian olives and their brine really shines through and is the perfect compliment to the subtle boozy hint of white wine.

What you need:

1 5.3 oz jar of DeLallo Castelvetrano Pitted Olives
3 garlic cloves
1/2 lb DeLallo pappardelle or fettuccine
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp olive brine from the jar
1/2 cup white wine (I use chardonnay)
1 tsp black pepper

What to do:

Cut the olives in half sideways and then mince the garlic cloves, set aside.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package instructions.
Melt the butter in a large sauce pan on high heat and add the garlic and olives.
Once the butter starts to bubble a little (about 3 minutes - def before it turns brown) add in the olive brine and white wine. Whisk together and turn the heat setting to low/simmer.
Continue to whisk the sauce on and off until the pasta is done cooking - about 10 minutes. It should reduce and turn a little thicker and should look silky.
Transfer the pasta straight from the boiling water (in order to carry over a little pasta water) into the sauce pan and toss it with the olives, garlic and sauce. Mix the pepper in while tossing.
Serve hot with a pat of butter and more pepper on top.

1 Comment

Detroit Style Pizza

4/18/2020

My husband Bryant and I are absolutely obsessed with Jet's Pizza - we love the fluffiness and how crispy and buttery the crust is. This is the closest I've ever come to making something that tastes similar at home!!

Full disclosure I used this recipe from Serious Eats to learn how to do this. I made a few adjustments based off what worked for me!

What you need:

2 cups bread flour
1 tsp dry active yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup room temp water
1 tbsp butter for greasing the pan
1 cup plain tomato or your fave pizza sauce
8 oz of shredded brick cheese (on my Amazon shop) or high fat mozzarella
Pepperoni (optional)

What to do:

Add the flour, yeast and salt to a stand mixer and combine with a few turns of the dough hook. Add the water and mix on the lowest setting with the dough hook until a ball forms. Let that rest for 10 minutes.
On the lowest speed setting, knead the dough with the dough hook for 10 additional minutes - the dough shouldn’t be sticking to the sides, only the bottom of the bowl.
It should be kinda sticky unlike pasta dough, and silky. Remove the hook from the kneaded dough and set the dough in the bottom of the stand mixer bowl. Cover tightly and let rest for 2 hours in a warm place.
Spread a tablespoon-ish of room temp butter all over a 9x13 baking sheet. Then spread out the dough. (It shouldn’t stretch all the way to the edges just yet so cover the dough in the baking sheet with saran wrap and let it rest for 30 more minutes.
Preheat your oven to 550° F or as high as it can go. (Mine only goes to 525° F)
After the dough relaxes for the 30 extra mins, spread it all the way to the edges and make sure it’s evenly distributed.
Coat the pizza dough with a thin layer of your fave pizza or marinara sauce. Cover with cheese, all the way to the edges. (All the way to the edges is important for crisping the crust because the cheese melts and seeps down to crisp it all the way to the bottom of the pan.)
Add additional dollops of the sauce to the pizza on-top of the cheese. I love the bites of pizza that have the sauce cooked on top of the cheese!!
Cook the pizza on the very bottom of the oven (not the rack, the actual oven) for 6 minutes. This achieves a crispy bottom crust! After the 6 minutes, move it up to the next level and lowest rack of your oven. This will finish off the melty cheese and prevent the bottom of the pizza crust from blackening.
Slice up and serve hot!

3 Comments

Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies

4/1/2020

26 Comments

I'm truly at a loss for words. Banana bread meets oatmeal cookie meets chocolate chips?? These are the best cookies I have ever made and believe it or not, I actually guessed the amounts of each ingredient as opposed to using another cookie recipe as a base and it freaking worked. That almost never happens when I try and bake!! Ah! My very own and first ever original FOJ cookie recipe!

FYI, this recipe made 16 cookies. You'll want to pay close attention to the consistency of your finished dough since it's super hard to measure flour properly for baking without weighing it. Since baking measurements are way more sensitive than cooking measurements, I bet even the size of the banana you use compared to the one I used could make a difference in the texture! The finished cookie dough should be firm enough to hold a somewhat of scoop shape and def shouldn't start spreading out onto the cookie sheet before baking. If your dough is too wet and looks like pancake batter, I would add in flour, 1 teaspoon at a time and then mix it in until it seems thick enough to scoop. Also, throwing the dough into the fridge for twenty minutes helps to make things more solid for scooping as well.

If you're one of those people (guilty!) that skip through the beginning text of a recipe here's what you need to know before making these: have 1/4 cup of extra flour handy to add to the dough if you need to. Sometimes, the size of the banana you use can throw things off and the dough will need more flour to prevent flat and completely melted cookies from coming out of the oven.

What you need:

1 cup oat flour
1/4 cup oats
1 cup AP or GF flour (an additional 1/4 cup flour might be needed - see the bold note above.)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1 mashed banana (must be ripe)
1 egg
1 stick melted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cane or regular sugar
3/4 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips or chunks

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and set out a cookie sheet and a piece of parchment paper.
Combine the oat flour, oats, all purpose or gluten free flour, cinnamon, baking soda, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, mash the banana and mix in the egg, butter, olive oil, vanilla extract, and both sugars.
Slowly add in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and then mix in the chocolate chips. If the dough looks more like cake batter than cookie dough here, add in that additional 1/4 cup of flour.
Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours before baking. (You can skip this step but your cookies will be more flat than fluffy.)
I used an ice cream scooper to place each cookie dough ball onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (Pro tip - spray the ice cream scooper with pam and add a few chocolate chips into it before scooping the dough to ensure they get to be on top of the cookie, prettier that way!!
Bake for 11-13 minutes. (I did 11 mins bc I prefer more undercooked cookies.) They won't look done in the center but that's where the gooey part comes in once they take their final form while cooling off. The edges of the cookie should be more firm than the center.
Smack the cookie sheet against the counter top gently in order to create that wrinkled-cookie texture on top of your cookies and let them set and cool for 15 minutes before eating.

26 Comments

Garlic Chicken + Broccoli

3/25/2020

I've been making my husband Bryant this garlicky, soy sauce flavored chicken and broccoli for a long time now and it's one of his all time faves. It's come along way since the first time I made it back in college and it's gotten to the point where it's so damn good that I wanted everyone to be able to try it!!

A few tips:

You don't have to, but if you want to go above and beyond, soaking the chicken in a 1 cup water:1 tbsp salt solution (it's called a brine) for an hour or two up to overnight makes the flavor and texture exceptionally amazing and juicy.
Coating the chicken slices in a few tbsp of cornstarch before cooking them in the skillet with oil makes a huge difference in flavor and texture. The chicken is more soft and browns easier on the edges. It kind of reminds me of the teriyaki chicken I grew up eating and loving from fast food stands at the mall, except this is homemade so it's better for you!
In order to get the crunchiest broccoli possible, I like to buy a fresh head of broccoli instead of using frozen florets and I barely steam them towards the end so that they don't get soggy.

What you need:

2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp minced garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp neutral oil (I used vegetable oil)
2-3 tbsp soy sauce
2 cups fresh broccoli florets (use more if you want it's up to you!)
Optional: rice noodles or rice

What do to:

Slice the chicken breasts into very thin (1/4-1/2 inch thick) nugget sized pieces.
If you're doing a brine, soak the slices in 1 cup of water and 1 tbsp salt for at least 2 hours or longer.
Next, coat the chicken breast slices in the cornstarch and either minced garlic or garlic powder. Mix until combined and let it rest for a few minutes.
Heat up the neutral oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Once it's been warmed, add the chicken slices and cook for 2-3 minutes before flipping to the other side.
Once you flip the chicken, add in the soy sauce and continue to stir around the chicken until it's been coated with the soy sauce and it turns a pretty brown color. (Should look like mall chicken here.)
Turn the heat from medium-high to low-medium and add the broccoli right on top of the chicken in the skillet. Cover with a lid for 3-5 minutes. (This steams the broccoli!)
Remove the lid and mix the broccoli around with the chicken in order to get some of the soy/garlic flavor on the broccoli. Sometimes if there's not a ton of sauce left here I add in a little butter and or soy sauce.
Serve it hot as is or with rice or rice noodles.

3 Comments

Vegan Mac & CHeese

3/2/2020

There are so many different ways to make macaroni and cheese. I typically don't like starting off with a roux (which is a flour and butter mixture that acts as a thickener) but in this case, since the recipe is vegan and it'll need all the thickness it can get. Also, if you don't eat gluten, you could easily use brown rice pasta and then arrowroot or cornstarch in the roux instead of flour. (I used arrowroot starch but I feel like most people don't have that at home so flour is fine.)

For the butter, I used Melt Organic Butter but Miyoko's organic vegan butter is really good too. The brand of cheddar cheese will make a big difference for sure. I would recommend Daiya Foods or Follow Your Heart. I'm sure any dairy-free milk would work but I really like rice milk because it has the least flavor and is super neutral.

The sauce in this recipe is enough to feed four people decent-sized portions and pairs with an entire box of pasta (around 1 lb.) When I make this recipe, I make a half box of pasta with it (enough for two) an then I save half of the sauce in the fridge so that I can make it again in a few days without all hassle. To reheat it - just pour the cheese on top of cooked pasta in a pot on the stove and let it re-melt. Adding a little splash of rice milk can help the sauce loosen up a little better.

What you need:

3 tbsp flour (or arrowroot or corn starch for GF version)
3 tbsp vegan butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups rice milk
2 cups grated vegan cheddar cheese (Daiya or Follow Your Heart)
1/2 box of pasta (brown rice pasta for GF version)

What to do:

Melt the vegan butter in a large skillet on medium heat and whisk in either the flour or starch depending on what your gluten preference is.
Once it's combined into a paste (roux), season it with the garlic powder and salt.
Slowly pour in half of the rice milk and whisk until the sauce starts to bubble. Slowly add in the other half and whisk again until it bubbles again.
It's ready for the cheese! Fake cheese takes longer to melt into the sauce so give it some time while stirring. Also, depending on what brand of cheese you used, you might want to add a little more salt so I would taste test it.
Once all the cheese is melted, let the cheese sauce simmer on low until the pasta is ready.
Add the cheese to the cooked pasta in a mixing bowl and combine before serving. (Any leftover cheese can be saved in the fridge for up to a week!)

1 Comment

Gluten Free Banana Bread

2/26/2020

2 Comments

I've been trying to find the best way to make a healthier banana bread without gluten or dairy and after tons of awful, grainy and tasteless test runs, I finally did it! The best part is that you only need 2 bananas - that's usually the amount we have leftover and over-ripening in our house anyways so it always works out perfectly. It makes enough for a smaller size loaf, but if you want a big loaf and maybe a few muffins on the side you can double the recipe!

The recipe below is just for basic banana bread. When I'm feeing fancy I like to add in a few tablespoons of oatmeal and or a few tablespoons of chocolate chips.

What you need:

2 ripened bananas - should be speckled and brown
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp celtic salt
1/3 cup grape seed or coconut oil
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup oat flour
1/2 cup your fave gf flour - I used Pamela's
1 tsp baking soda
Optional (oats for topping & choc chips)

What to do:

Grease a bread pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the mashed bananas, sugar, honey, cinnamon and salt.
Beat in the oil, eggs and vanilla.
Next, add in the flour and baking soda. Gently stir to combine, you don't want to over-mix bc it will result in a flatter loaf.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes. If you want to dress the loaf with oats and chocolate chips, do that here.
Remove the baking pan from the oven, cover and seal it with tinfoil in order to prevent the top from burning.
Bake for 15 more minutes and then let it cool outside of the oven for 15 more minutes before slicing and serving.

2 Comments

Vegan "cacio e pepe"

2/15/2020

I've been trying to eat a little less dairy lately and I wanted to see if I could recreate one of my all time favorite cheesy dishes without real cheese. Okay, so I'll admit it, it's not the same as the original dish that Italian grandmothers have been whipping up in Rome for years. But it's GOOD! It's just missing that sharp sharp taste that pecorino romano cheese gives off. Also, butter isn't a typical ingredient of cacio e pepe but since this is a vegan version, the (vegan) butter helps to add more of that silky texture that melting real cheese into the pasta water creates in the traditional non-vegan version.

Originally, I wanted to use this vegan parmesan cheese I've had in my fridge for a while (Follow Your Heart brand) but at the last second I realized that there are chickpeas on the ingredient list so I had to abandon ship and just use nutritional yeast. If you can eat chickpeas, I might try half nutritional yeast and half the vegan parm - it might taste more cacio e pepe-ish and cheesy that way.

What you need:

1/2 lb pasta (I used Jovial Foods gf bowtie)
2 tbsp vegan butter
2 tsp black pepper (freshly cracked peppercorns are best)
1/4 cup pasta water
1 tbsp nutritional yeast

What to do:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions. (1/2 lb of pasta is usually 1/2 of a standard size box btw - enough for two people or three side dishes.)
Melt the vegan butter in a skillet and toast the peppercorns in it - heat should be closer to low than medium. Toasting the pepper brings out its flavor more which is an essential step in making traditional cacio e pepe.
Once the pasta only has a few more minutes to go, scoop out the 1/4 cup of water and add it to the skillet with the butter and pepper and turn the heat up so that it's hot enough to cause the mixture to start to bubble.
Add the cooked pasta and the nutritional yeast to the bubbling sauce mixture and stir. If you're using the vegan parmesan cheese I mentioned in the intro, add that in here too and stir.
Once the pasta is mixed with the sauce it's ready for serving. I always top with a little more black pepper too!

3 Comments

Bolognese

1/28/2020

2 Comments

I actually call this one Marcy's bolognese because the mom of a family that I used to babysit for would ALWAYS make this and it was always soooo different and good.

It makes a pretty decent portion, I would say enough for a family of 4-6 but you can freeze the leftovers and reheat in a pot anytime!

What you need:

2 tbsp butter
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
2 minced garlic cloves or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg (powder form is fine)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup whole milk (optional)
1 lb ground beef (the less lean the better tasting IMO!)
8 oz tomato sauce
12 oz whole tomatoes (I use the juice they come in too - whole jar)

What to do:

Add the butter, onion, celery, and carrots, garlic and nutmeg into a large and deep skillet or sauce pot and cook them until fragrant - about 10 minutes on med-high heat.
Break apart the beef to the size you would like the chunks to be in the sauce and cook in a skillet with a little salt, pepper and olive oil. Once it's cooked through, add it to the veggies.
With the heat still on med-high, add in the wine and let the alcohol evaporate and reduce until there isn't a ton of liquid accompanying the veggies and meat.
Optional, add in 1/2 cup whole milk and let simmer while it reduces by half the portion. I don't think the recipe needs it but sometimes that's how Marcy made it.
Next, add the tomato sauce to the veg/meat and then crush the whole tomatoes (I use my hands and leave them super chunky because I love the big pieces) and then add that in as well.
Season with salt and pepper, you could add in Italian herbs here too but I like it plain because I for some reason love the sort of tart flavor that the nutmeg gives off.
Let the sauce simmer for a half hour or so (with a lid off if you want the sauce to be more thick and meat heavy) and with a lid on if you want it to be a little more thin and saucey.

2 Comments

Cauliflower Gnocchi

1/23/2020

Just like the rest of the world, I'm in love with Trader Joe's cauliflower gnocchi. I love carbs, but if it's possible to eat a little healthier without noticing that carbs are missing, I'm game. I know there's a handful of you that don't have access to a Trader Joes or if you do, you live in an area where it's constantly sold out so I wanted to try and make a copycat recipe from scratch at home!

So the ingredients on the back of the TJ's package say cauliflower, cassava flour, potato starch, olive oil and salt. I actually had everything I needed at home to get started on recipe testing! Pamela's Products sent me a box full of goods so I had their cassava flour which is 100% yucca root so gluten free, paleo, non-GMO and vegan. I also have a lot of tapioca starch at home because I use it to make steamed rice noodle rolls so I subbed that for the potato starch that's in the TJ's recipe - Bob's Red Mill has tapioca starch so it isn't too hard to find in stores, unlike the Asian brand I have and use at home.

I decided to boil the cauliflower vs use it raw. I just felt like the moisture from boiling it (even though I removed most of it) was needed in order to create a softer texture gnocchi.

DON'T SKIP READING THIS PART!!
Every cauliflower head is a different size. The one I used was fairly large so keep that in mind. (I would say that once riced, the head I used produced somewhere between 2-3 cups of cauliflower and it make like 3 batches of 20 gnocchi pieces.) The best way to figure out if you have the right ratio of flour/starch to cauliflower would be to make one little gnocchi and sear it on both sides in a skillet with oil and then taste-test it and adjust the ratio from there. I found that adding in more flour or starch makes the gnocchi more firm so if your results are soggy - add more of the flour/starch in small equal amounts and taste test again.

A few cauli gnocchi life hacks:
If you don't have a food processor or want to save time, you could probably purchase pre riced cauliflower and use that - just make sure if it's frozen, you try and get most of the liquid out of the cauliflower so that it's easier to combine with the flour and mold into pieces.

Also, for more flavor, you could add parmesan cheese or (vegan) nutritional yeast. I would say a a couple of tablespoons. Also not against the idea of seasoning the cauliflower with garlic powder or herbs like oregano, parsley and basil.

You can either fry or bake them. I fried them in a skillet with olive oil and fresh sage but the trick to frying and keeping the shape in tact would be popping them in the freezer for 15 minutes before adding them to the skillet! No need to freeze with baking since they sit still on the baking sheet the whole time. I also bet you could air fry them but I don't own an air fryer so I would check other bloggers recommendations for temperatures and settings.

What you need:

1 medium sized head of cauliflower (makes 3 batches of about 20 gnocchi)
1/3 cup cassava flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional for flavor)
1/2 tsp celtic salt (regular is fine too, cetlic is just healthier and more natural.)
1/2 tbsp olive or grape seed oil
1 additional tbsp of olive or grape seed oil if cooking them via skillet
Parchment paper or non-stick spray if cooking via oven

What to do:

Cut the head of cauliflower into florets and boil for 6-8 minutes or until you can cut through it easily with a butter knife.
Use a food processor to blend the florets until you have a cauliflower rice texture.
Remove the rice from the processor and set on a dish that's lined with a few paper towels and then press down with more paper towels repeatedly in order to remove as much liquid as possible.
Combine the cauliflower, cassava flour, starch, garlic powder and salt in a large bowl.
Use your hands to grab teaspoon sized scoops and squish them into a ball with the palm of your hand. Press on them to get them to shape like a gnocchi and then lay it flat.
If frying in a skillet with olive oil, stick the tray in the freezer for 15 minutes before searing for a few minutes on each side in oil. If baking, put some parchment paper on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12ish minutes on each side at 400 F.
Store any leftovers in the freezer and use whenever! I froze them on the cookie sheets first overnight and then added them all into the same ziplock bag once they were firm to keep them from sticking together.

1 Comment

Grandma's Pierogies

1/22/2020

4 Comments

I grew up eating these delicious little dough pockets every single year on Christmas Eve! They're a family staple from my dad's side. My Grandma learned how to make them from her mom (who I was lucky enough to have around for a lot longer than most people can say about their great grandparents!) This recipe has been passed down for generations from Polish roots so it's v authentic and v special to lots of people in my family.

My Grandma's recipe makes about 30-50 pierogies depending on how big you make them and how much of the dough you repurpose as you go along. (The key to making the most out of the dough scraps is covering them so that nothing dries out!) I really love how there's milk, butter and sour cream in the dough recipe - it makes it so much more stretchy and playable compared to a basic flour/water/egg dough mixture.

What you need:
(Dough)

5 cups flour
1/4 cup melted butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 pint sour cream

(Potato filling)

5 lbs yukon gold or russet potatoes
8 oz cream cheese
1 tsp salt

What to do:

Peel the potatoes and cut them in half. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the potatoes until they are soft and can be sliced easily down the middle. (About 25 minutes - larger potatoes will take longer.)
Combine all of the dough ingredients by hand and knead until smooth for about 15 minutes. Let the dough rest covered for 10 minutes.
While the dough rests, mash the cream cheese and salt into the potatoes until smooth. Lumps are okay, just not huge lumps. (If your potatoes are too lumpy and you accidentally overcooked them, add a few tablespoons of milk and try mixing them in a blender or stand mixer.)
Split the dough in half or into fourths and cover whatever portions you don't plan on immediately working with in order to prevent the extra dough from drying out.
Roll the dough out until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Use a cup or a circle cookie cutter to cut out the individual pierogi wrappers. They should be around 2-3 inches in diameter.
Important! The side of the wrapper that's underneath and touching the surface you're working on is the side you want to put 1 tbsp of potato filling onto. Since it hasn't been exposed to the air like the top side has, it will stick together better when you go to seal it.
Since the dough is very playable, so feel free to stretch it around when you're getting ready to wrap and seal the flattened dough around the potato filling in order to not have anything bursting out the seems. You can pinch the edges to seal, or use a fork. Sometimes I like to use the end of a chopstick because I like the look and texture of it when things are more spread out.
Melt some butter and add diced onion to a large skillet and cook on medium heat until they start to caramelize. (This will be the bath for the pierogies once they are done cooking.)
Boil the pierogies in a large pot of salted water for about 8 minutes, they should float once they're done.
Transfer the peirogies to the onion and butter mixture and cook for a few minutes. If you like crispy pierogies - cook and flip them longer than a few minutes until the sides start to crisp up and brown a little bit.
Serve with sour cream. My family loves to eat them with salt, pepper and hot sauce too!

4 Comments

Fried CHicken with Garlic sauce

1/13/2020

This totally looks like a normal fried chicken sandwich but what you can't tell from the photo is that it's not just any old fried chicken sandwich - it's a buttery, garlicky fried chicken sandwich. That's right. I roasted garlic and then mashed and combined that with melted butter in order to create the best non-buffalo tasting fried-chicken sauce I've ever had.

What you need:

6 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
2 tbsp seasoned salt (Lawry's)
1 head of garlic (use 6-8 cloves depending on how strong you like your garlic)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 stick of salted butter
3 cups veg oil for frying the chicken
2 cups flour
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
6 brioche buns
lettuce
pickles
mayo

What to do:

Brine the chicken thighs in 4 cups of cold water with the seasoned salt for at least two hours. (Overnight at the most and I find that a gallon ziplock bag works perfect.)
Roast the garlic. Slice off the top part of a head of garlic, place it on a sheet of tinfoil and pour about 1 tbsp good quality olive oil over the top. Wrap the tinfoil around the garlic head and make sure it's completely covered. I roasted my garlic head for 25 minutes at 400 F.
After the garlic has been roasted, the cloves should easily slide out and should be super soft so that you can mash with a fork. I prefer to blend them with the melted butter in a food processor - if you don't have them a whisk should work too!
Heat 3 cups of vegetable oil in a large pot. Every stove is different but I crank mine 3/4 of the way to as high as it can go. (If you're normal and own a thermometer, the oil should be around 350 degrees F.)
Combine the flour, garlic powder and salt in a large bowl and dredge each piece of chicken in it before dropping into the oil and frying until golden brown. (About 8-10 min)
Spread a little of the garlic butter onto each brioche bun piece and toast in the oven for 6-8 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Brush a generous amount of the garlic butter onto the fried chicken pieces before assembling the sandwiches.
I did bun, lettuce, pickles chicken, mayo and then top bun. Serve and eat while they're hot!

1 Comment

Cinnamon & Oatmeal Pancakes

12/16/2019