Friday, September 14, 2018

Cast Iron Skillet Chicken "Pot" Pie with Buttermilk Biscuit Topper



One of the beautiful things about cast iron skillets is their ability to go straight from the stove top into the oven. Initially, I had been very intimidated by cast iron skillets because I didn't know how to care for them. It wasn't until I went to Cape Cod for Memorial Day a few years ago and was made one of the most delicious breakfasts I've ever had did I begin to reconsider.
Two of my best friends picked up on this, somehow read my mind, and gave me mine as a Christmas gift last year (xox thanks D&K).
I am now completely obsessed.

What you'll need: 

  • Frozen buttermilk biscuits 
  • 1 1/2 c. chicken stock 
  • 1 c. whole milk 
  • 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour 
  • 1 1/2 tsp. adobo seasoning 
  • 1 chopped large onion - I prefer the Spanish onions 
  • 2 c. frozen veggies (corn, green beans, carrots, peas, whatever your pleasure) 
  • 3 tbsp. butter 
  • 2 c. shredded chicken (already cooked) You can use rotisserie or leftover roasted chicken 
  • 2 tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 
  • Salt to taste

What you'll do: 

  1. Shred your chicken, set aside 
  2. Preheat your oven according to the directions on your packaged biscuits, for me, this meant 400 degrees. 
  3. Place your burner on medium heat. 
  4. Add the butter to your skillet and once it begins to bubble/froth, but before it browns, add your onions. 
  5. Cook your onions until they begin to turn translucent and then add the rest of your frozen vegetables. I also added about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. 
  6. Allow your vegetables to cook until the onions caramelize, and your vegetables soften, this should take about 2-4 minutes depending on the strength of your burner. 
  7. While the veggies are on the stove top, whisk together your chicken stock, milk, flour, and adobo seasoning. 
  8. Once your vegetables have softened slowly and gently stir in liquid mixture. 
  9. You're going to want to bring your pan to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, until the mixture begins to thicken, which should take about 7 minutes. 
  10. Once your pan begins to reduce, add your shredded chicken and fresh parsley, allow this to cook for about 5 minutes. 
  11. Then add your uncooked biscuits to the top of your pan and pop your skillet into the oven on the middle rack. 
  12. Cook the biscuits according to their package directions, mine took about 12 minutes watching them so that they won't brown too much. 
Remove from the oven and relish in this comfy, cozy, dinner that only takes a little over a half an hour to pull together.

[Serves about 4-5 people]


If you're terrified of owning a cast iron skillet because you also don't know how to care for it, I would check out this great article from Serious Eats that dispels a lot of the myths surrounding Cast Iron skillets: https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/the-truth-about-cast-iron.html

It's totally worth the little bit of extra effort it takes to upkeep it.









Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Dragon Tongue Bean Stir Fry




Crunched for time? Try this recipe. 



I kept my stir fry VERY simple with three principle ingredients, Dragon Tongue beans, Mung bean sprouts and Garlic Chives.




Dragon Tongue beans are pretty long beans, so I cut mine into 1 inch pieces. 

Turn your stove to high heat. Add 1-1 1/2 teaspoons of grape seed oil to your pan. 
Allow it to heat. Add the Dragon Tongue beans. 



Get a good sear on the beans, you'll notice that where visible, the beans will change color to a more vibrant green, this only took me a little over two minutes.  Quickly add the sprouts, sauté for maybe one more minute, add the chives, some salt and pepper, and  you're ready to serve!



Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Caprese salad with kale pesto 



Tomato.

Zucchini.

Eggplant.





Get ready for a whole host of recipes focused on these three delicious veggies. If you're like the majority of people with summer gardens, you'll tend to have more of these than you know what to do with.



While the stars of this dish are clearly the mozzarella and tomato, I wanted to try something a little different and I found this awesome Kale pesto recipe that was absolutely delicious! 



Kale pesto (originally from Epicurious):

2 cups torn kale leaves - remove the stems
1 cup basil leaves (pack them in there) 
1 tsp. salt 
1/4 Cup olive oil 
1/4 Cup toasted walnuts 
4 cloves of garlic 
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese 

Directions: 
- add all the leaves and salt to a food processor and pulse until the leaves are chopped into small pieces 
- drizzle in the olive oil as the processor is running 
- add the walnuts, garlic, and process until it’s all incorporated  
- add the cheese and pulse until combined 


Use the pesto as you like! 

When I use it on pasta I also like to top it off with a tiny bit of lemon zest or hot pepper depending on my mood 

xoxox




Friday, March 16, 2018

Irish Soda Bread




I wish I had photos for you of the bread but unfortunately, it was all gobbled up faster than I expected. So this post will be accompanied by some photos from the Irish pub we stumbled upon in Peru. 

Ingredients 

* 4 cups all-purpose flour
*3/4 cup white sugar 
* 1 tsp salt 
* 1tsp baking powder 
*1 tsp baking soda 
1/2 cup butter at room temperature (I personally like Kerry Gold Butter) 
1 1/2 cups raisins 
1 1/2 cups buttermilk at room temp
3 eggs 


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Grease and flour your baking pan. 

Mix together all your dry ingredients. 

Begin to cut the butter gently into your dry ingredients until they are well combined and then mix in your raisins. 

In another container, whisk together the buttermilk and the eggs. After they are both mixed together, mix this into the flour/butter paste. 

Place the dough into your buttered pan. 

Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour the top of your bread will be golden brown. 

When you remove the pan from the oven, allow it to cool for a little while before removing from the baking pan (10-15 minutes should do it). 

Serve with butter, jam, a Guinness or whatever goodies you have in mind.

Happy St. Patty's to you whatever your altitude!
Have fun! Stay safe!

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Feeding the Frat: Noodle Bowls



So I decided to try my hand at a "Ramen" bowl. But, since I didn't have any ramen noodles on hand, I substituted with glass noodles. 

Bowl composition: 
Ground pork - pan fried with ginger and garlic 
Scallions 
Slivered Fresno Peppers
Soft boiled eggs 
Glass Noodles in a  Curry Coconut Sauce
(Optional) Cilantro 

Ground Pork: 

Pan fry the ground pork (2.5 lbs) with 1 teaspoon of garlic, and 1 teaspoon of ginger, in 1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil. 
Add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce.
Add 1 handful of cut scallions.
Add Salt and Pepper to taste. 

Glass Noodles: 

Boil salted water. 
When water reaches a boil, add your glass noodles. 
Cook for 5-6 minutes. 
Remove noodles and place in an ice bath immediately to stop them from continuing to cook. 

Curry Coconut Sauce: 

Take 1 1/2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil. 
Add 1 teaspoon of ginger, 1 teaspoon of garlic and 1 cut small onion, cook over low heat until the onions caramelize. 
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
Add Beef Broth (2x 32 oz. boxes).
Add 3 teaspoons of curry powder.
Add one can of coconut milk.
Bring to a low boil and allow to cook at least 30 minutes or until you are ready to plate your noodle bowl. 



The boys liked the bowls and as with most successful sibling evenings, dinner ended with sports, relaxation and a lot of laughter.



Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Wishlist Wednesday

President's Week has me thinking about how quickly spring and summer are creeping up on us and I have to tell you, I can not wait. 

Last year I saw all the different fashion bloggers I follow carrying this AWESOME  architectural bag that looked like a combination of a basket, bird cage, and watermelon slice. Intriguing description? Don't quite believe that it's accurate? 

Judge for yourself because I finally found it! 


 I found this bag by Cult Gaia along with a myriad of variations of it on this website I'd never heard of before "Moda Operandi."

The brands it carries are outside of my frame of reference and super pricey. 
But, there is no harm in looking :) 

So take a peek at the other things I thought were inspiring for summer: 



Jonathan Simkhai was the only designer name that I was vaguely familiar with. I had previously heard of JS from the lovely Lydia Elise Millen's blog/youtube channel.  I've never met Lydia but she has impeccable style and you should absolutely check her out.  



Woven watermelon slice basket has me feeling all sorts of ways... 








I just love this dress. 

It has a comma in the price, 
and I have issues about purchasing clothing with commas, so it's not meant to be but
this is absolutely darling. 
I love the off the shoulder draping and the asymmetrical hemline. 

It's such a feminine dress that the juxtaposition of the football print tickles me immensely. 




Love the draping on this top. Super simple, super chic. 






This basket-bag is made of wicker, with an optional shoulder strap so it can be worn multiple ways. 





Chic and easy, these rose gold flats are so tempting. I love rose gold, it's flattering to most skin tones and is a softer option to other metallics. I love how the silver straps give this a pop of contrast. 



These too... 













Tell me these shoes don't scream Amalfi Coast, styled with a cute little eyelet crop top, a "Gloria hat"  and some light jeans or pencil pants? You can't.

Bye lovelies
xox G 





Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Jet Lag: sleepytime shop with me

After traveling last week I've been battling a lingering case of jet lag and since I'm up at 3:00 what else is there to do but dream browse the internet and try to get additional inspiration for my apartment.

Right now I'm almost completely happy with how everything looks and aside from some finishing touches and some major reorganization, I'm almost completely done decorating.

The real problem is that when I browse I come up with ideas for almost every item I see. I create a whole little narrative for each piece in my head, "Oh and I could do this with it..." meanwhile the next morning I wake up and I'm abruptly met with my new reality and the plastic giraffe I've bought myself in a sleep-deprived stupor.

I'm kidding of course, well mostly kidding,
so I've given myself a new rule that I have to go back to the item over three times to purchase it.

So to give life to my dreams stay tuned to see all the fabulous items I'm loving at the moment:

CB2's Liquid Metal Basket



I mean, I want about ten of these, everywhere, at all times.
Who doesn't want a little extra gold glow in their lives?


Tulip White Marble Table

Yeahhhh I'm not allowed to get this because my very, very, clumsy self would knock it over in a matter of minutes,
but that doesn't stop me from lusting after it...



Ayda Bed

I am obsessed with the clean lines of this bed.

So out of everything on this list, a bed is probably going to be the next large home decor item I purchase.

I've had my current bed since the third grade, a few mattresses and MANY coats of spray paint later its' little wire frame has valiantly traveled from bedroom to bedroom and I'm finally ready to buy one.

I was originally looking to get something with some built-in storage but I love the simplicity of this particular bed.

It may be worthy of a repeat visit- we shall see...



Emmaline Gold Teapot




I've been reading more and more about metallic accents being used as a neutral and this teapot I feel is versatile enough to be used in pretty much any table setting.

The temptation is growing...

Boat Hobe



Wooly Hobe



Instagram has been presenting me with maybe a thousand ads for flats in the past month and Hobes have caught my eye especially these little wooly darlings because they just look super comfy.

More realistically I think that I would purchase the Boat Hobe just because spring/summer are just around the corner and I don't believe that I would get enough use out of them before the end of the winter.




Sia Studs


Aside from the fact that these remind me of pizza and Pac-Man at the same time, which obviously is HUGE points in their favor, these earrings are super chic and look amazing on.

The 'infinity' wrap illusion is awesome and I feel like I'll be making my way back to these guys soon.




Chanel Flap Bag

Sweet dreams are made of these... 
I'm surprised by how much I like the contrasting leather trim and have finally tuckered myself out. 



'Night my lovelies
xox G