Daily Recipe: Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Thingys

Get ready to have a mind-blowing jalapenobacongasm, people. This one will knock your socks off. First off, I have to give full credit for this recipe to a fabulous blogger called The Pioneer Woman. I think she invented these. Regardless, this recipe calls for three ingredients, are simple to make, and pack a flavor wallop that will bring you to your knees. Best of all, these can be prepared ahead of time and cooked just before your party. TPW (The Pioneer Woman) says they can even be frozen raw and then cooked later. I found it very helpful to look at TPW's website for a play by play on how to easily prepare these. I suggest you do the same. I heart you, TPW. Will you be my goomah?

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Thingys

Ingredients:

• Bacon


• Jalapeno Peppers


• Chive Cream Cheese (or plain is fine but why not chive it up)

Preparation:

Slice the jalapeno peppers down the middle, lengthwise. With a small spoon,  remove all of the white membrane and seeds. This is where all of the heat is.  If you like it HOT, then save some of the white stuff but I like mine mild, so I removed  it all. Once that is done, schmere a liberal amount of cream cheese in the center of the pepper half. Finally, cut up your bacon so each slice is cut in thirds. Take a piece of bacon and wrap it around the pepper. Secure with a tooth pick. I made a little assembly line and first did all of the  deseeding, then did all of the cream cheese, then wrapped the bacon. It was mindless and oddly therapeutic. Yet I digress.....Now, you can either toss them in the fridge if you are  serving them the same day or you can put them in a ziploc bag and freeze them. When you are ready to cook them, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange the peppers on a wire try on a sheet pan or roasting pan. It's important that they be on a rack so the  bacon grease can drip off. Bake for 25-28 minutes depending on how crisp you like your bacon.

I like mine crispy, dude. Now, eat, savor.....jalapenobacongasm.

Daily Recipe: Southwestern Seared Tuna Salad

Feel like upping your mercury level today? Tap into your inner Jeremy Piven and indulge in a healthful dinner option with our Southwestern Seared Tuna Salad. It's easy to prepare and a filling option for those who are trying to watch their carbs at the dinner table.

Dear Carbs, You sit on my hips and make me look fat in my bikini. Therefore, I hate you. F-U Carbs!! Love, WickedGoodFood

Southwestern Seared Tuna Salad - serves two for dinner

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of fresh tuna steak


• Chef Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic Seasoning - at every market in the spice section.


• 1/2 cup garbanzo beans


• 1 cup canned corn


• 1/2 red pepper, diced


• 1/2 yellow pepper diced


• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half


• 1 avocado, diced


• 1/2 cup red onion, diced


• your favorite lettuce. I use romaine or baby greens

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice


• 1 tablespoon mayo. I use Kraft Olive Oil mayo (1/2 the fat as regular mayo)


• 1 tablespoon sour cream


• 1/4 cup olive oil


• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro


• 1 teaspoon finely minced jalapeno


• 1 clove garlic, finely minced


• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder


• 1/2 teaspoon cumin

Preparation:

First, do the dressing. In an airtight tupperware bowl, mix in all of the ingredients, close the lid, and shakey, shakey, shakey until everything is mixed well. Taste and add salt and pepper if you like. Now, get the salad ready. Dump your washed greens into a salad bowl. Top with diced peppers, corn, beans, tomatoes, onion, and avocado. Finally, it's time to sear the tuna. Season the tuna steaks on both sides with the Poultry Magic seasoning. Heat a skillet on high heat with a little bit of olive oil in the pan. When the pan is hot, add the tuna steaks. Sear on one side for 2 minutes and then flip. Sear the other side for 2 minutes. This should yield a tuna that is cooked medium. If you like it more well done, cook for longer. You can't really screw it up. When your tuna is done to your liking, transfer it to a cutting board. Slice the tuna in strips and present artfully on top of your salad. Drizzle with the dressing and yeee haw....Southwestern Salad!

Fathers Day Hit: Grilled Pizza

OK, I'm starting to sense a theme here. Relatively healthy-eating girl goes completely off the wagon on the weekends and falls deep into the "gluttonous fat-ass" abyss. I'd like to share with my two readers the recipe for gluttony, which can be had with a little prep work and a grill. You can put any toppings you like on the pizza. Here is the one that was the biggest hit on Father's Day.

Grilled Whole Wheat Pizza with Caramelized Onions, Sausage, Roasted Tomatoes, and Fontina Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes


• 1 large vidalia or sweet onion


• 1 tablespoon brown sugar


• 1 tablespoon butter


• 2 fresh sausage links, casing removed


• 1 blob of pizza dough. I get Whole Foods whole wheat ready made dough in the freezer section. Works perfectly. You can also get dough at your local pizzeria. Or you can make it.


• 1 cup of grated fontina cheese


• 1 cup of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thin (not the shredded crap)

Preparation:

Up to a day in advance, prep your toppings. I did mine the day before and it made the pizza making process more fun and super easy. So, the day before, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Toss the cherry tomatoes in some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast them on a sheet pan for 15 minutes. Transfer to a glass bowl or tupperware, cover, and refrigerate. Now, cut the vidalia onion in thin rings and toss them with olive oil. Spread on a sheet pan and sprinkle with brown sugar and some kosher salt. Take the butter and break off little pieces and sprinkle on top of the onions. Roast in the 450 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until the onions become a little charred. You can roast the onions and the tomatoes at the same time. Transfer the onions to a glass bowl or tupperware, cover, and refrigerate. Now for the sausage. Remove the sausage from the casings, crumble them up into little pieces, and saute in a skillet over high heat until the sausage is browned. When done, transfer to a glass bowl or tupperware, cover, and refrigerate. Ok, so now your prep work is done. Go have a glass of wine and dream about the pizza you are going to have tomorrow.

Now, for the fun part. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees again. Get your dough and roll it out onto a wooden pizza paddle. I find that using a floured rolling pin helps. Also, I hand-stretch the dough to get it into the shape I want. Know that the shape will not be perfect, it will be more of a circular rectangle. It's fine, nobody cares. Brush olive oil onto both sides of the dough and then put some flour on the pizza paddle. Your oiled dough should now be on the floured pizza paddle. Now, heat your grill to high. Using the pizza paddle, transfer the dough onto the hot grill, right onto the grates. Listen, this takes a bit of practice and having 2 people helps. I made five pizzas yesterday and three looked, shall we say, a little special. Two looked gorgeous. All tasted amazing so who cares? Ok, back to the grilling. Shut the grill and let the dough cook for about 1 minute. Don't walk away, the shit will burn!! Take a peek under the dough and if there are grate marks and it's starting to blacken, then flip. Leave the lid open for cooking the other side. Cook for about 2 minutes. Take your dough off the grill, transfer it to a baking sheet, and top it with the grated fontina cheese, sliced mozzarella cheese, sausage, onions, and tomatoes. Finish it in the oven by cooking for 10 minutes or until all the cheese has melted. This was my method. Some people, after flipping the pizza dough the first time, will put their toppings on and let them melt while still on the grill. I found that I had more control over the final product if I concentrated on grilling the dough first and then dealing with building in the toppings later using the oven. Anyway, 7 adults polished off 5 huge pizzas last night. Happy freakin' Father's Day!

Daily Recipe: Wicked Healthy Veggie Chili

OK, so it's been raining here for about a month and I've been making all sorts of soups to help mentally deal with the weather. The thing about nasty weather is that I tend to nest which is code for eat. So, to counterbalance the 3 Reeces Peanut Butter Cups I had after lunch yesterday, I decided to make something healthy for dinner. This chili is super easy to prepare and you can add any veggies that make you happy. I use Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes because the guy with the weird name who wrote Eat This, Not That told me that they were the healthiest on the market and since I believe everything I read, I bought them. They are tasty.

Wicked Healthy Veggie Chili - Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 28 oz. can Muir Glen fire roasted crushed tomatoes


• 2 14 oz. cans Muir Glen fire roasted diced tomatoes


• 1 14 oz can of garbanzo beans


• 1 can of corn


• 1 zucchini, diced


• 1 big white onion, diced


• 1 red pepper, diced (large pieces)


• 1 yellow pepper, diced (large pieces)


• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and finely minced (more if you like it spicy)


• 3 tablespoons chili powder (or more to taste)


• 3 tablespoons cumin (or more to taste)


• 1 tablespoon kosher salt (or more to taste)


• 1 tablespoon garlic powder


• black pepper


• Garnishes: shredded jack cheese, cilantro, diced green onions, sour cream

Preparation:

In a large pot, heat a little olive oil over high heat. Add the onions and saute until they are translucent. Add in the peppers and saute until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add in the garbanzo beans, corn, and all of the tomatoes and give it a nice stir. Finally, start to season. Add in all the cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder. Taste the seasonings. You might want it spicier. If so, add in more of what you like. Some folks add in hot sauce or more jalapenos. Go nuts. Once you have the seasoning where you like it, plop the lid on the pot, turn it down to simmer, and let it cook for 3o minutes. Finally, put some in a bowl and garnish it. I like to dump on liberal amounts of sour cream, cheese, cilantro, and green onions. Frankly, the garnish makes this dish sort of unhealthy but whatever, it tastes good. If you are a total neurotic, do low-fat sour cream and cheese. But remember, if you get hit by a bus tomorrow and you didn't eat the full-fat dairy, you might be sorry. I'm just sayin....

Oprah's Favorite BBQ Chicken

OK, Oprah has never tasted this chicken. Nor does she know anything about it. I saw the back of Gayle's head once though. Does that count? Anyway, barbequing chicken is not as easy as it looks. It's taken a few tries to get this recipe down and now that it's well, down, I'm passing it along. If you've got a bit of time to spare and a killer BBQ sauce, you too can make juicy, crispy chicken.

Oprah's Favorite BBQ Chicken

Ingredients:

• Chicken parts on the bone. As many as you want. Any part you desire. Go crazy.


• Apple Juice


• Your favorite BBQ spice rub - I use Dinosaur BBQ rub


• Your favorite BBQ sauce - I use either Hickory House, Sweet Baby Ray's, or KC Masterpiece

Preparation:

Dip the chicken into the apple juice and place into a pyrex dish. Sprinkle your rub onto the chicken, covering both sides. Now, it's awesome if you can let the chicken sit in the fridge overnight and let the rub really permeate the meat. If not, no biggie. Just let the rub sit on the chicken for as long as you can. Even 1 hour is good. Set your grill on low, to about 200-225 degrees. We put ours on low and keep the lid open. Place the chicken skin side down on the grill, leave the lid open, and go do your nails or take a nap. The chicken should be left alone, untouched for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Flip the chicken being careful not to leave the skin on the grill. I use a spatula for this. Let the chicken cook another 15 minutes on the other side. Now for the fun bit. Slather your BBQ sauce all over the chicken, both sides. Then crank up the grill to medium and shut the lid. Cook on both sides for about 10 minutes each, until the skin gets all blackened and saucy. Flip once so that the sauce can carmelize on both sides. Feel free to baste with more sauce to build on the flavor. I am a firm believer in 0ver-saucing when it comes to BBQ chicken. Pare this chicken with some cole slaw, corn bread*, and a bottle of beer and you are stoked.

*BTW I tried the Williams-Sonoma jalapeno cheddar cornbread mix and it's awesome. While a total rip at $12, it was really moist, spicy, and cheesy and fed a crowd. I can't find it online but they have it in the stores. How 1996.

Daily Recipe: Fancy Nancy's Walnut Brownies

Ladies - Is Aunt Red coming to visit soon? Feeling a little cranky-pants? If so, this recipe is for you! Fancy Nancy, aka my fabulous mother, has perfected a rich, fudgy, nutty, chewy, fast to make brownie recipe that has been hand tested and proven to cure all symptoms of PMS! Forget the Midol. Here's what you do: get rid of the boyfriend/husband/man-servant/valet/bitchboy, turn on the Real Housewives of New Jersey, tuck into one or five of these babies, and you're cured! I swear it works. Thanks are not necessary. Just send $5 bucks to my house.

Fancy Nancy's Walnut Brownies

 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar


• 2 cups flour


• 2 squares unsweetened baking chocolate


• 6 eggs


• 12 oz. bag of semi sweet chocolate bits


• 1/2 lb salted butter ( 2 sticks) softened


• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts - or more if you love nuts


• 1 tsp vanilla

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the baking chocolate and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Nuke em' for about 2-3 minutes until everything is melted together but be careful not to burn the chocolate. Stir it around until you have a silky consistency. Meanwhile in a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla together. Beat the eggs and add them to the butter and sugar mixture. Now, start adding your chocolate and flour to the butter and sugar mixture, alternating and adding a little at a time. Finally when everything is mixed in, add your walnuts. Pour the chocolate love mix into a greased and floured 9x13 brownie pan or pyrex. Bake for 30 minutes.

 

Daily Recipe: Cape Cod Chicken Salad

 

Jews love salads - egg salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, whitefish salad, salmon salad, Israeli salad. I could go on and on about salads like Bubba Gump yammers on about shrimp. Anyway, since I come from a long, not-so-distinguished line of Cape Cod Jews, I thought I'd post a recipe for Cape Cod Chicken Salad. By using shortcuts like a store bought rotisserie chicken, this salad is fast to prepare and loved by Jews and Gentiles the world over. Shalom!

Cape Cod Chicken Salad - serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 store bought (or home made) rotisserie chicken


• 1/2 cup scallions, diced


• 1/4 cup celery, diced


• 1/3 cup dried cranberries


• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts


• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise


• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar


• 1 teaspoon of honey


• 1 teaspoon of salt

Preparation:

Take your little chicky and remove the skin. Take off all of the good looking white meat and cut it into chunks. Proceed to eat the drumstick as a little mid-cooking snack. Now, back to the salad....dice up your scallions and celery and toss it into the bowl with the chicken. Add the cranberries and walnuts. In a separate little bowl, mix together the mayo, vinegar, honey, and salt. Add the dressing to the chicken mixture and stir until everything is incorporated. Now if this salad doesn't bring world peace, I don't know what will frankly.

Daily Recipe: "Raw" Fettuccini with Pesto

Ok folks. I was officially a gluttonous fat-ass this weekend. I drank enough margaritas and ate enough red meat to sink myself into a tubby oblivion. Mondays always offer us a fresh start and as such, I am doing a veggie cleanse today. No, I am not doing a beet colonic. I'm simply eating veggies today. This recipe is an adaptation from a "raw" cooking class I took. "Raw" cooking only uses vegan ingredients (nothing that moos or can look at you). The food is never heated beyond 118 degrees so that none of the vital nutrients are lost. Blah, blah. As I sat in class mentally rolling my eyes, I was turned on to a few things. One of which was zucchini "pasta" which is actually just cute little strips of zucchini acting as pasta. It's refreshing, crisp, and satisfying. Now, let's not kid ourselves...it's not real pasta. But if you are craving a fresh sauce and something healthy to put it on, this will do the trick. A few notes: 1) This is not true vegan food because I am using real Parmesan in my sauce. 2) I skipped the garlic this time because I am allergic to my husband after he eats it. Ok, so let your freak flag fly and cook some raw food today!

"Raw" Fettuccine with Basil Pesto Sauce - serves 6

Ingredients:

• 4 whole raw zucchini, peeled


• 3 cloves garlic


• 4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed


• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


• 1/2 cup good olive oil


• 1/2 cup pine nuts

Preparation:

In a food processor, combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts - pulse a few times. Slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream while the food processor is on. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then add in the Parmesan cheese and pulse again until blended. Add salt and pepper to taste. Now, for the zucchini. Cut off the ends of the zucchini and peel them. With the vegetable peeler, peel the zucchini lengthwise so you have long, thin, fat strips that should resemble fettuccine. Peel lenghwise until you see seeds and then turn it over and peel the other sides. Stop peeling when you see seeds. When you have a nice bowl of zucchini strips, dress it with the pesto and voila - fettuccine with pesto! Super healthy and delish.

Daily Recipe: Vanilla Ice Cream with Strawberries and Balsamic Reduction

Ah, the perfect ripe strawberry. Summer's gift to us humans. Red, juicy, succulent, and they look sensuous as you are eating them. Unless of course you are a total yutz and drop one on your white tank top while trying to look cool, which I did last night. Regardless, here is an easy, elegant dessert that can be made ahead and assembled later.

Vanilla Ice Cream with Strawberries and Balsamic Reduction - serves 4

 

Ingredients:

• 1 pint of strawberries, washed, stems removed, and quartered


• 1 pint of high quality vanilla ice cream


• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Preparation:

In a small saucepan, bring balsamic to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down to low and reduce even further, until you have about 1/4 cup of liquid in the pan. Turn the heat off and the balsamic will get thicker. Let it cool or store in an airtight container in the fridge until you are ready to use. Meanwhile, scoop the vanilla ice cream into frosted wine glasses or desert glasses, top with the strawberries, and finally, drizzle with the balsamic reduction. Don't know how to frost a glass? Dude, get your head out of your tuchus. Ok, fine....take a wine glass and wet it. Put it into the freezer. 20 minutes later, presto, you have a frosted glass.

Daily Recipe: Balsamic Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Nothing says summer like a bad sunburn and sand in your crotch. I mean, nothing says summer like a perfectly ripe and juicy tomato. Yah, that's the ticket! I made these little babies to accompany a perfectly grilled New York strip steak. The tomatoes were so juicy and had a little tang on the tongue from the balsamic. They took all of 30 seconds to prepare.

Balsamic Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

 

Ingredients:

• Vine cherry tomatoes - as many as you want


• Olive Oil


• Balsamic Vinegar


• Fresh Basil - julienned


• Salt & Pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place pre-washed tomatoes on a sheet pan and drizzle with lots of good olive oil. Then, drizzle with some balsamic vinegar. Finish with a generous sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes for 17-20 minutes until they start to blacken just a little bit. You might need to broil them for the last minute if you like them charred, which I do. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with a little more kosher salt and the julienned basil. Welcome to Tomato Heaven.

 

Daily Recipe: Gloomy Weather = Hot Soup For Dinner

The raw, rainy weather of late has inspired me to dig out some winter recipes. Here's a lunch or dinner idea that is sure to warm you up and not make you totally bloated. Unless of course you pair it with a beautiful Cabernet like I did. Then, you might be a little bloated. But it hurts so good, people. Enjoy!

Menu:

Sausage, Kale, and Lentil Soup

Whole Wheat Crostini with Truffle Butter

Sausage, Kale, and Lentil Soup - yields 6 generous servings

Ingredients:

1 cup dried lentils

3 cups low sodium organic chicken stock

1 large white onion, diced

6 fresh sausages, casings removed

1 bunch of green kale, stems removed and cut into small pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

In a large soup pot, brown crumbled sausage on high heat until all sausage is cooked. Remove sausage from pot with a slotted spoon and set aside on paper towels to drain. Add olive oil to the hot pot and saute the onions. When they are done, add back in the sausage and add in the lentils and chicken stock. Simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, add the kale and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the kale is tender. Adjust seasonings - I like to add a bit of kosher salt and some red pepper flakes. Serve in bowls with generous helpings of grated Parmesan cheese and a whole wheat truffled crostini for dunking.

Whole Wheat Crostini with Truffle Butter

Ingredients:

1 Whole Wheat baguette or ciabatta bread

Truffle butter (you can find this in most Whole Foods or markets in the gourmet section. If you can't find it, substitute with fresh, salted butter and white truffle oil)

Kosher Salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350. Split baguette or ciabatta down the middle, lengthwise. Schmere with truffle butter or regular butter + truffle oil. Add a dash of kosher salt. Wrap in tin foil and throw it into the oven for 10 minutes. After minute 8, open the foil and let the bread get crispy. Slice and enjoy a bit of heaven.

Daily Recipe: Jacked Up Egg Salad

Admit it, folks. You love egg salad even though it smells like farts. The creamy texture and tangy taste is too much to resist sometimes. Here is Wicked Good Food's version of a Jacked Up Egg Salad. Start with farm fresh, organic eggs. Slather it on a toasted whole grain bread or pile it high on some greens and voila...lunch!

Jacked Up Egg Salad - serves 4

Ingredients:

• 8 farm fresh, organic eggs, hard boiled


• 1/2 cup red onion, finely diced


• 1/2 cup celery finely diced


• 1 scallion, diced


• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard


• 1 1/2 tablespoons real mayonnaise


• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar


• salt & pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a medium sized bowl, mush up your hard boiled eggs. I use a potato masher or a fork. Whatever you have on hand that will get the eggs down to a nice small dice. To the eggs, mix mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar. Finally, mix in the onion, celery, scallion. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you like your eggy salad super creamy, add a bit more mayonnaise. Slather on whole grain bread, crackers, or top on a salad. Lunch is served!

Daily Recipe: Kickin' It Old School with Chocolate Chipwiches

I have to give a shout out to my friend, Elaine for bringing back an old school favorite. We were at a very chic pot luck dinner party and for dessert, Elaine and her hubby busted out an old school fave - Chocolate Chipwiches! Everyone devoured them and we were all over the age of 35. They are super easy to make and everyone will worship you for them. They can also be made ahead and stay good in the freezer for at least a week.

Chocolate Chipwiches

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 eggs

• 1 12 oz. package of semi sweet chocolate bits

• 1 quart of fabulous vanilla ice cream, softened a little

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, vanilla. In another mixing bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry mixture into the wet mixture until your batter is formed. Finally, add the chocolate chips and mix. Proceed to stick a small amount of the cookie dough into your pie hole. Then, when you've gotten that out of your system, drop the dough by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. You want the cookies to be medium sized, so the balls should be about 1 1/2 inches in diameter uncooked. Leave some room between the cookies for expansion while baking. Bake at 375 for 9-11 minutes until the cookies are slightly golden brown. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and when they are cooled, put them in a freezer ziploc and plop them in the freezer. Freeze cookies for 2 hours. Finally, take your frozen cookies and slather them with softened vanilla ice cream. Put the sandwiches back in the freezer until you are ready to devour them. Good luck holding out!