Adventures in the Kitchen» Side Dish

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Cheri — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 05:32:37 +0000

I had these yummy, light and healthy new chicken dish I cooked for my friend Laurie’s birthday last week. I realized tonight that in a quick moment at my nephews game yesterday I deleted all my photos. So, no chicken for you today!

My grandmother always made this whipped strawberry jello and cool whip salad for special occasions. For many growing up, the salad was the classic Strawberry Pretzel Salad. When I saw this version I thought it was so cute I wanted to give it a try.

It is salty, sweet, creamy and refreshing all in one bite. Served in little jars it makes this an great dish to bring to picnics or the beach. I am thinking of making a trip to the Hollywood Bowl just so I can bring these along.

This is my favorite tool to forming the crusts. I also use it to form mini pies in mini muffin tins.

This little funnel is also a handy tool in the kitchen. You can fill the jars without a mess. I used mascarpone cheese but you could easily substitute cream cheese. You can easily lighten this dish by making it with light butter spread, sugar free Jello and reduced fat cream cheese.

What was your family go to salad at family dinners? Leave a comment below. Are you on Pinterest? Follow me and see what I am making not only here but for Betty Crocker and Pillsbury.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad adapted from My Baking Addiction

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: PT6 minutesM

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

6 servings

Ingredients

1 cup crushed salted pretzels

2 tablespoons white sugar

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup granulated sugar

8 ounce mascarpone cheese, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup container Cool Whip Light, thawed

1 3 ounce package strawberry flavored gelatin

1 cups boiling water

1 cups strawberries, sliced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the pretzel crumbs, 4 tablespoons sugar and melted butter in a mixing bowl. Stir with a fork until the butter is fully incorporated into the pretzel crumbs.
Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of pretzel crust into the bottom of each of your jars. Press the crumbs gently into the bottom of the jars.
Place the jars onto a baking sheet. Bake for about 6 minutes. Allow the jars and crust to cool completely before layering in the filling.
Beat the sugar, cream cheese and vanilla in a bowl until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon filling into a piping bag with a round tip or simply snip the tip of the bag. Divide the filling between each jar. Place the jars into the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
Stir together the gelatin mix and boiling water in a medium size bowl. Stir in strawberries. Place the bowl into the refrigerator for about ten minutes. This will allow the gelatin to firm up a bit. Evenly spoon the gelatin between each the jars. Place jars back into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Serve chilled. Top with Cool Whip and fresh strawberries.

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Green Chile Meyer Lemon Risotto

Cheri — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:08:44 +0000

I am always happy when I see Meyer Lemons return to the store. I am a lemon fiend but these are a notch above with a sweeter flavor. I traditionally make lemon risotto with them but decided to try a new take on my favorite recipe.

I diced a green chile, several cloves of garlic and shallots. I placed them in a skillet over medium high heat and sauteed for a few minutes. I added the risotto and then a splash of chardonnay. I kept the risotto covered with chicken stock and stirred frequently. At the end I added Parmesan cheese, lemon juice and lemon zest along with a tablespoon of mascarpone cheese.

It is a new favorite here at my house. The creaminess of the cheese plays well against the tart and slightly spicy risotto. I added a handful of corn just before serving.

What are your plans this weekend? I am cooking tomorrow, then taking a much needed photography class. It is going to be in the 80′s here. I probably shouldn’t share that. I try to not take our beautiful weather for granted in them middle of January. I am working on a few new projects and Sunday getting together with relatives from out of town. It will be busy. Hope you have a beautiful weekend!

Green Chile Myer Lemon Risotto

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 shallot, minced

1 green chile, seeded and chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup risotto

1/3 cup white wine

4-5 cups low sodium chicken stock

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1/ teaspoon lemon zest

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon mascarpone cheese

Instructions

Heat oil and butter in a heavy bottom pan over medium high heat and add shallots, chile pepper and garlic. Stir until softened about 3-4 minutes. Add risotto and stir to coat. Add white wine and let absorb. Cover risotto with chicken stock.
Keep adding chicken stock as it absorbs, stirring frequently. When it reaches a firm but cream consistency remove from heat and add remaining ingredients.
To serve, grate parmesan cheese over the top.

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Browned Butter Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Cheri — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 14:43:28 +0000

December is here and Christmas Cookie baking is in progress. I will have lots to share soon but today wanted to share these delicious Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes. They have a nutty butter taste and make for a great side dish.

December really is the month of giving. There are so many great organizations in need during this season. One woman told me how their local food ministry was struggling to provide food to everyone this holiday season. I work with Olive Crest and they have the opportunity for you to Be The Miracle to foster kids this Christmas season.

If you live locally and would like to bake a few dozen undecorated sugar cookies or donate items for a card station or ornament decorating station for this Tuesday night email me and I will give you information. It would provide homemade cookies to each group home. It is a simple thing we could do.

Here are a few other organizations that could use your help this Christmas season:

Horizon Pregnancy Center works with young women facing an unexpected pregnancy providing them medical services, parenting education and one on one mentoring throughout their pregnancy. Just this week one of our clients gave birth with no family or friends around to support her. Our mentor was able to be there with her at the hospital. Donations are needed to provide parenting education and to purchase medical equipment for the new exam room.

Fristers is an organization that provided education and support to teen moms. Each week they meet at two locations in Orange County to provide practical life skills and education. Their goal is to prevent young moms from becoming another statistic and prevent their children from becoming victims of child abuse or repeating the same cycle of poverty and teen parenting,

They share a meal together and celebrate birthdays each month. They have a Give A Gift Change A Life Campaign going on right now.

Back to the Brown Butter Parmesan Mashed Potatoes. I love potatoes so I had to try these when I saw them several places around the web.

They are easy to make you boil your potatoes and while that is going on take out a small saucepan and let the butter melt and simmer over medium low heat until it turns a nutty brown color.

When the potatoes are done place them in a bowl and add in the butter, parmesan cheese and milk. Mix until they are fluffy. I drizzled a bit more of the butter over the top when I was ready to serve.

Brown Butter Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

3 1/2 pounds white potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

Salt

Pepper

2 cloves garlic

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1/2 cup - 1 cup low fat milk

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Instructions

Place potatoes and garlic in a pan and cover with water. Add one teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain and put the pan back on the burner for a minute to dry out the potatoes. Put through a rice or in a bowl to mash.
While potatoes are cooking melt the butter in a saucepan and cook over medium low heat until the butter turns a brown nutty color. Remove from heat

Notes

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Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Meringue

Cheri — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:12:30 +0000

I know that most of you will have chosen your Thanksgiving dishes by now but I wanted to share a few more recipes with you. Today it is Sweet Potato Casserole with Cinnamon Meringue.

It was only a few years ago that I started to like sweet potatoes. I started with the old school yams with marshmallows and graduated to sweet potatoes with sauteed apples. Last year I tried Ruth Chris Sweet Potatoes. I have been making up for lost time.

I started seeing different versions of sweet potatoes with a meringue. I ended up creating a mashup of several recipes. It’s like a sweet potato meringue pie. I made this for 4 servings. Sometimes you need smaller quantity recipes for a more intimate Thanksgiving.

So tomorrow is the big day. My nephews and I were talking about Thanksgiving and we might play games after dinner. What do you do? One is already petitioning his mom to take out all the Christmas decorations after we leave. Funny, I was thinking that just yesterday. It is already beginning to feel like Christmas is coming.

Check out my new print capability for the recipe. After numerous attempts to get a print button I found this plug in for recipes. If you push the print next to the recipe title you get a nice clean copy of the recipe to print!

Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Meringue

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup cream

2 egg whites, room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

Pinch of cream of tartar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 F. Pierce potatoes a few times with a fork. Roast in the oven until tender, about 45-50 minutes. Let cool enough to handle, then scoop out the potatoes into a mixing bowl.
Add salt, sugar and half the cream. Whip until smooth and add the additional cream. Place in a baking dish and set aside until 1/2 hour before serving.
1/2 hour before serving
Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake sweet potatoes until warm, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven.
In the bowl of an electric mixer combine egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar; set bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot, about 3 min.
Transfer to mixer and whip on high until stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes. Stir in cinnamon.
Top sweet potatoes with meringue and place under broiler or with a kitchen torch.

Notes

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Southwestern Corn and Bacon Stuffing

Cheri — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:30:23 +0000

I spent the weekend in beautiful Napa. It was a weekend of delicious food, film and wine! I can’t wait to share about my trip but that will have to wait. I do have to say Bottega is my new favorite restaurant. But more about that later. Today we are talking Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is next week so it is time to whip out some side dish ideas. While the turkey is the main course the side dishes really add to the meal. This Southwestern Corn Dressing is a perennial favoite that I love to serve, especially with a spicier turkey.

The dressing has layers of corn flavors and then several types of peppers including poblano, jalapeno and red peppers.

This time I added crumbled smoked apple bacon which paired perfectly with the corn.

You can make it in a big casserole dish or bake in individual souffle dishes.

Each bite is bold, crisp and just a little spicy! If you try it out for Thanksgiving, let me know in the comments below!

Southwestern Corn and Bacon Stuffing
adapted from Bon Appetit/November 1994

Buttermilk cornbread

4 slices smoked applewood bacon
4 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped red bell peppers
4 large poblano chilies, stemmed, seeded, chopped
3 large jalapeño chilies, stemmed, seeded, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage or 4 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 cups crushed corn chips (such as Fritos)
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
3 large eggs, beaten to blend

1 1/4 cups (about) canned cream-style corn

Preheat oven to 325°F. Cut corn bread into 4 equal pieces. Crumble 3 pieces onto large baking sheet (reserve remaining piece for another use). Bake until slightly dry, about 20 minutes. Transfer to very large bowl.

Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove bacon onto a paper towel and drain all but one tablespoon of the bacon drippings. Add butter and melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell peppers, all chilies, sage and oregano and sauté until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to bowl with corn bread. Mix in bacon, cilantro, corn chips and corn kernels. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Mix eggs into stuffing.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Mix in 1 1/4 cups cream-style corn into stuffing. Transfer to prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil and bake until heated through, about 45 minutes. Uncover and bake until beginning to brown, about 20 minutes.

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Apple Hazelnut Radicchio Salad Recipe

Cheri — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 04:35:01 +0000

It is the weekend. Who else is doing the happy dance? In a sea of Halloween candy and sweets I thought I would serve up a delicious and light salad. I have lots of fall baking on calendar this weekend along with a few crafts I have put together for the Creating Memorable Holidays Seminar.

My latest obsession is the hazelnut. I have been working my way through a few new recipes highlighting this nut. Wait until I share the caramel corn I added it to last night. This salad has crisp apples, radicchio and endive, sweet dates and toasted hazelnuts tossed in a light lemony vinaigrette.

If you live in Southern California and would like to win a two tickets to the Creating Memorable Holidays Seminar share one timesaving tip you utilize for the holidays in the comments below. The seminar will take place Saturday, November 19 at Crossline Community Church.

For additional entries tweet about the Seminar and or like the Adventures In The Kitchen Facebook page.

Apple Hazelnut Radicchio Salad
Serves 4

2 apples, peeled and sliced
2 cups radicchio, torn
2 cups endive, torn into pieces
1/4 cup dates, chopped
1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped

Toss all ingredients with the lemon vinaigrette in a bowl.

Lemon Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
salt
pepper

Whisk together in a small bowl.

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Twice Baked Potatoes with Hatch Chiles

Cheri — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 06:10:47 +0000

When I was little special family dinners included twice baked potatoes. They were a little crunchy on top and creamy, like mashed potatoes on the inside. When I knew Mom was making them I would look forward with anticipation all day.

Just last week when I asked a friend of mine what he had for his birthday he said twice baked potatoes. A few days later, a box of Melissa’s Hatch Chiles arrived and I immediately thought about trying to remake them with the chilies. I turned on the grill and roasted all of them. I removed the skins and seeds and promptly froze a bunch for future use. I chopped up a bunch and threw them into the potato mixture.

I discovered Hatch Chilies two years ago. They are from New Mexico and are only available for a brief period each September. I have some hot one’s I am looking forward to trying this week but I used the mild ones for this. They add a smooth mild heat to the dish. I made this hatch potato casserole last year and it was gobbled up by my guests at a Labor Day barbecue.

Now to decide what to try next… Don’t forget to enter to win two books by Karen Ehman.

I promised some quick and easy meals. We’ll talk more about it later but here are few ideas:

•   Grill a package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
•   Take the basic twice baked potato and leave out chilies if the kids do not like the spice. Top with Grilled Chicken tossed with a little barbecue sauce.
•   Place chopped grilled chicken in a bowl and stir in salsa until just coated. Serve with tortillas and grilled peppers and onions for fajita’s.
•   Make chicken tortillas adding grated cheese, vegetables and grilled chicken
•   Make Lime Chipotle Tostada’s

Twice Baked Potatoes with Hatch Chilies
4 baked potatoes
1/3 cup low fat milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
Salt
Pepper
1/3 cup hatch chilies, roasted, skinned and chopped
2/3 cup cheddar cheese
4 slices bacon, crisp and crumbled
1/2 cup corn, roasted

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bake potatoes for 45 minutes to 1 hour. A fork should easily go in the potato,

Scoop out the potato and place in mixing bowl. Add butter and then half the milk. Stir until well mixed. Add remaining milk until the consistency is that off mashed potatoes. Salt and pepper before stirring in the hatch chilies.

Place the potato back into the skins and top with cheese and bacon. Bake 20 minutes. Cook until the top is just starting to brown. Spoon the corn over the top of the potato. Serve 1 half of potato with the your meal.

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Carmelized Corn, Mango and Bacon

Cheri — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 04:30:12 +0000

I found a new way to make corn yesterday! If you are a regular reader here you know I have made my share of corn recipes. This week’s special is Carmelized Corn, Mango and Bacon. Yes, I said mango and it was delicious.

Last night I came home determined to use up food in my refrigerator. Sometimes my eyes are much bigger than my schedule when grocery shopping and I hate wasting food. I had opened up this cookbook Spur of the Moment Cook. It was a book my friend Deanna first discovered when we were both honing our cooking and entertaining skills. The recipes are easy to put together and she has interesting flavor combinations.

I cooked the bacon and drained all but 1 teaspoon of it and then added the butter.

With half a jalapeno left, I diced and threw that in which was a smart choice. A few minutes later I added the fresh corn and maple syrup and cooked a few minutes more. I topped with mango and it was done. It is sweet, savory and crunchy all at the same time. This would be great with grilled fish or chicken. I think the kids will love it as well, maybe without the jalapeno.

This week our giveaway is week’s worth of meal coaching and a copy of Mary de Muth’sbook 150 Quick Questions To Get Your Kids Talking.

Do you need help with menu planning?

Have a picky eater and want tips?

Want to incorporate healthier recipes?

Want to learn how to cook one meal and end up with 3?

I will coach you for one week via email and provide a meal plan for one week for you and your family. So here is how to enter – you can enter once or up to four times. It is your choice! Thank you all for playing here at Adventures In The Kitchen

To enter leave a comment saying why you want the meal coaching.

For a second entry Sign up for Adventures In The Kitchen newsletter

For a third entry like my Facebook page.

The final way to enter is to send an email to friends and family you feel might enjoy the show or this site! Copy me on the email (cheri@adventuresinthekitchen.com). Then share that you did!

Caramelized Corn, Mango and Bacon
adapted from Spur of the Moment Cook by Perla Myers

4 cups fresh corn
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon bacon fat
1/3 cup bacon, cooked and diced
1 medium onion, peeled and finely minced
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 large mango, peeled and finely cubed
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat with one tablespoon bacon fat. Add the onion and jalapeno; cook until soft but not browned. Add the ban, corn and maple syrup and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper, and fold in the cilantro and mango. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Roasted Garlic Potatoes

cheri — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 02:51:47 +0000

Roasted potatoes are so easy and a great side for barbecues. You put them in the oven and forget out about them until the timer goes off. I served them with this Peach Chicken at a outdoor shindig.

My first week at work was halted when I came down with some horrid virus. I don’t think I have ever called in sick on day 3 of a new job! Have any of you?

Back to potatoes, one of my favorite foods. These are versatile, throw in different herbs, squeeze some lemon, play around. If there are left overs, fry them up for breakfast.

Remember to enter the weekly giveaway!

This week you can enter to win a $25 gift certificate to the Tom Kat Studios and a copy of one of Cathe Laurie’s favorite books, The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer.

Sign up for my new Adventures In The Kitchen newsletter for one entry. For a second entry like my Facebook page and leave a comment here. Share “Check on the Tomkat Studio giveway and listen to Adventures In The Kitchen on KKLA 99.5″ on twitter or Facebook for a third one and leave a comment.

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Strawberry Chopped Salad & A Giveaway

cheri — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:46:15 +0000

On a hot summer day I think many of us are reticent to turn on the oven or even heat up the barbecue. I know I go for easy and refreshing food. One of my good friends was visiting last week and we went to True Foods, a restaurant by. I had their Summer Chopped Salad and knew I would be home trying to recreate it.

The salad has strawberries, snap peas and fennel topped with a little cheese, toasty almonds and light white balsamic vinaigrette. I have been loving snap peas this summer. They are tasty raw or cooked.

This Sunday Adventures In The Kitchen launches on KKLA 99.5 here in Southern California so I thought it was time for a celebration which means a Giveaway! Cuisinart ICE-21 Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker along with an ice cream scoop and a California Milk ice cream freezer container. If you live in Southern California I’d love your help in sharing with your friends. The show will air on KKLA 99.5 FM.

This week’s guest is Cathe Laurie from Harvest Fellowship Church and her daughter-in-law Brittany. We’ll be talking about cooking with family, establishing family traditions with your kids and Cathe will share a favorite recipe with us! I would love to have you tune in.

To enter to win all you need to do is like Adventures In The Kitchen on Facebook and leave a comment below. For additional entries Tweet “I just entered Adventures in The Kitchen Radio http://ow.ly/5OJ0z giveaway” After you tweet, come back here and leave a comment letting me know you did. The contest will close Sunday at 3 pm PST.

For a third entry place “Check out Adventures In The Kitchen Radio on KKLA 99.5 and enter to win the giveaway at http://ow.ly/5ON2R ” on your Facebook status. Good luck!

Strawberry Chopped Salad

1 bag mixed greens
1 cup chopped strawberries
1 cup snap peas, cut in thirds
1/4 cup fennel, chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
Freshly ground pepper

Toss the mixed greens, strawberries, snap peas and fennel together in a bowl. Sprinkle the cheese and almonds on top and serve with White Balsamic Vinaigrette.

White Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 cup olive oil

Whisk together in a bowl. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

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