side dishes

Game Day Food!

February 5, 2017 By alexkatzman No Comments

Hey! Well we made it through January, and here we are at Super Bowl Sunday! I’ve compiled a few of my favorite game day food recipes that would be a perfect addition to your spread today!

Ok first, candied bacon. Need I say more? Next, I can’t talk up these chicken wings enough. They are amazing, and I’m about to start prepping mine now. Then, yes, these carnitas take some time, but you could start them now and have delicious, fall- apart pork for a taco bar later today. We also have these easy naan bread pizzas. They are a quick fix that will satisfy both your adult and kid guests, and, of course, we can’t forget about mac and cheese!

Make any of these today and you will undoubtedly take your super bowl party to the next level. Game on!

Candied Bacon

January 17, 2017 By alexkatzman No Comments

Seems excessive, you say? Trust me, you need this. This just might be the best thing you’ve ever put in your mouth. I never knew how much I needed candied bacon in my life until I made some this weekend and now, I might not be able to stop. 3 ingredients and 20 minutes stand between you and this crispy, crunchy, caramelized confection that is affectionately known as candied bacon, or even ‘bacon candy’, if you just want to call it like it is. I suppose it should come as no surprise though that slathering bacon with sugar yields a delicious result.

Ingredients

1 package of bacon

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp chili powder

First, mix together the brown sugar and chili powder and set aside. This gives it a tiny kick that even my kids could deal with, and expands the flavor exponentially.

sugar and spice

I like to use Applegate’s uncured Sunday bacon.

This is a small pack of 9 slices. You honestly can’t make enough of this stuff, so you could probably go ahead and double this recipe for more bacon slices. Depending on how many slices you make, you may have some left over sugar mixture. That’s totally ok, as long as you coat all of your pieces sufficiently.

Arrange the bacon on a foil lined baking sheet.

Liberally coat the top with the sugar mixture ( I spread it around each slice with a small spatula thing).

somebody cant wait!

Stick it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Turn the slices over about halfway through. Depending on your preference, and oven, you may want to leave the bacon in a little longer, but just watch it towards the end and take it out before it gets charred. Bacon can be tricky that way.

Immediately move the bacon slices to a drying rack to cool and let the sugar harden a bit. The candied bacon will crisp up as it sits and will stay good at room temperature for around 2 days. Although, it never had a chance of lasting that long in our house.

uh…yeah.

Go ahead and eat this on its own, stick it in a bloody Mary, or add it to an egg sandwich on homemade dutch oven bread. That’s what I did…for dinner.

You can’t go wrong with this one. It will be the hit of your next cocktail party…or Sunday morning breakfast…or weekday snack. We won’t judge.

Easy Buttermilk Biscuits

November 29, 2015 By alexkatzman No Comments

Tired of turkey? Even if the answer is no, you should make these anyway. I made these easy buttermilk biscuits for Thanksgiving and I have to say that I will never try another biscuit recipe again. There is a reason Deb from Smitten Kitchen calls these her favorites…they are unbelievable. I have tried so many recipes and they were NEVER, EVER flaky or buttery enough for my high biscuit standards, but these are the pinnacle of a perfect biscuit. They don’t require any rise time or chill time, they can be made in one bowl, and they can be frozen and baked right out of the freezer. Perfection.

I served these up with some crispy bacon and a fried egg and they did not disappoint. By the way, are you making your bacon in the oven? I only discovered that you could do this like a year ago and it is a game changer. No mess on the stove and it gets super crispy in 10-15 minutes.

Heat the oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

Lay the bacon out on the pan and cook for 10-15 minutes depending on how crispy you like it. Flip the bacon over once halfway through cooking. Remove from the oven and drain on a paper towel. So simple!

Ok, so back to the biscuits…

Like I said, I adapted these from Smitten Kitchen’s ‘my favorite buttermilk biscuit recipe‘. I doubled the recipe and it made about 18 3″ biscuits. I cooked 12 and froze 6 (wrapping them individually in plastic wrap like below) for whenever we might need a biscuit in a pinch.

I also used 1 cup of bread flour in place of all all-purpose flour, really only because I ran out of all purpose while I was making these. The result was so good though, and since I have no idea whether or not the addition of bread flour was the thing that made these so amazing, I’m going with it! The original recipe uses only all purpose flour however, and I’m sure they will still be great with that if that’s all you have on hand!

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup bread flour

4 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

18 Tbsp cold, unsalted butter (cubed)

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

First of all, I never have buttermilk in my fridge, so the first thing I do is make some and set it aside to get all buttermilk-y. Pour 1 1/2 cups of milk and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of vinegar to the milk. Let it sit, and in 5-10 minutes you have buttermilk ready to go.

when its looks curdled on the top, it’s ready!

Next, preheat the oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a big bowl.

Add the chunks of butter and cut it in with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture looks crumbly and coarse. Stir in the buttermilk and knead by hand until the dough starts to come together. The mixture should look shaggy.

Dump it out onto a floured surface and pat it down so it’s about 1/2″ thick. Using a cutter, cut your biscuits out until you’ve used up all of the dough. When cutting them, be sure to press straight down rather than twisting, as Deb says this makes for fluffier, more layered biscuits on the sides…and I believe her! Place the biscuits on the prepared pan.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. FYI you can also freeze them on the pan until you’re ready to cook and then just cook them straight out of the freezer for a little bit longer (about 15-18 minutes)

So easy! Add an egg, some bacon, some cheese and avocado, or whatever suits your mood.

This breakfast is just what you need to take you out of your turkey haze and prepare you for the week ahead. Yum.

The World’s Greatest Macaroni and Cheese

November 24, 2015 By alexkatzman No Comments

I know that’s a lofty title to live up to, but in our house, this is the world’s greatest macaroni and cheese. This is my most requested recipe from friends, and this dish is present at most of our holidays, family gatherings, and bbq’s, This recipe comes straight from my husband’s childhood on Long Island. His across the street neighbor, Gloria, would make this mac and cheese often, and he had such fond memories of it, that he got her to share the recipe with him long ago. Now, full disclosure…this uses… (gasp) Velveeta. Yes, this goes against my very being and the tenets of this organic cooking blog, but there are times when we need to make exceptions people! It’s all about balance, right? I even foolishly tried to make my own Velveeta so that I could stay true to my doctrine, but you know what? It sucked. It was no where near as creamy, melty, and gooey, so I took that a sign not to mess with greatness, and so I won’t.

For the pasta, I usually like to use shells or elbows, but I have tried many different types of pasta for this dish, so whatever you like will work fine! Here, I used casarece just because that’s what I had on hand.

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk

2 Tbsp salted butter

2 Tbsp flour

dash of salt and pepper

12 oz. of Velveeta cheese

8-10 oz. of pasta

sprinkling of breadcrumbs

(Serves about 6)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pour the milk, butter, flour, salt and pepper into a medium sized heavy bottom saucepan. Heat over medium on the stove until everything is dissolved and combined.

milk, flour, butter, salt and pepper

*You have to be really careful not to make it too hot because the bottom of the pan/milk burns really easily. I cannot tell you how many times I have burnt the bottom of the pan and it sits in the sink soaking…for days… until I can get it clean.

Next add the Velveeta. You can break it up a little bit so it melts faster. Stir the milk and cheese mixture over low-medium heat, stirring often, until the cheese is completely melted.

cheesy, melty goodness

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions. I use a little over half of a 16oz box/bag of pasta (about10 oz.) Drain and rinse the pasta and spread it into a square baking dish (8″x8″ approximately)

Next, pour the cheese sauce over the pasta. Mix lightly to incorporate the cheese sauce and sprinkle the top with some breadcrumbs. (panko and italian work equally well)

Cook for 30 minutes at 350 and you’re done! If like the top extra crispy, turn the oven to broil for a few minutes at the end to brown the breadcrumbs a bit more.

There you have it! Include this in your thanksgiving feast, and it will quickly become a part of your holiday tradition, as it has in our house.

salivating!

*btw I’m absolutely in love with these gorgeous plates from Suite One Studio. Thank you Lindsay!

Mushroom and Bacon Quiche

October 25, 2015 By alexkatzman No Comments

I love quiche. It’s one of my favorite things. It’s the perfect breakfast meal…savory, cheesy, eggy, crusty perfection. I often find, though, that it is sub-par at restaurants and bakeries alike. This always annoys me, because I think that making a really good quiche is amazingly simple. You can alter the veggies and meats, and as long as you have a good base, it will always turn out well! Quiche makes a great brunch dish, and is a great dish to bring over somewhere. You can make it the night before and reheat it in a pinch. You can even eat it for lunch or dinner. It also serves as a sneaky vessel for getting 5 year olds to eat veggies they might not otherwise consider.

My favorite combination for this quiche is swiss cheese, bacon, mushrooms, and shallots, but you can easily leave the bacon out and change everything else around. The key is to sautée and season those veggies first, since so much of the quiche’s flavor will be coming from them. I’ve substituted chopped spinach, red and yellow onions, and tried different variations of cheese and had equal success. Experiment! But this combo is savory, rich, and hearty, and provides you with everything a quiche (in my humble opinion) should be.

You can make the crust or use a pre made one- just make sure to “blind bake” it which just means cooking the pie shell unfilled (with pie weights or uncooked beans in it to hold it down in the center) at 375 for 15-20 minutes at so that the pastry crisps up and provides a crunchy base for your quiche. Otherwise, you will have a soggy bottom quiche, and no one wants that. Set the cooked pie crust aside until ready to fill.

cast of characters

Ingredients

8 oz container of sliced mushrooms

2-3 shallots chopped (or about a 1/4 of an onion chopped)

splash of sherry/brandy

4 slices of bacon

5 eggs

8 oz shredded cheese

3 oz cream cheese (softened)

1/3 cup heavy cream

olive oil

salt and pepper

pinch of thyme

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Heat 2 Tbsp. of oil in a pan and then sauté the chopped mushrooms and onions for about 10 minutes. The mushrooms should be getting nicely browned and the onions should be translucent. During this time, you should add the thyme and a little salt and pepper to taste. I usually add a few more drizzles of olive oil as this cooks. At the 10 minute mark, add the splash of sherry or brandy. Let the mushrooms and onions cook for about 3-5 more minutes to soak up all that flavor. Once done, set this aside to cool.

sautéing the mushrooms and onions

Next, cook the bacon until crispy and then crumble it up into small pieces.

mmm bacon

Now that you have your bacon and mushroom mixture ready to go, crack 5 eggs into a bowl, add the softened cream cheese, 1/3 cup of heavy cream, and the shredded cheese. Then add the cooled mushroom mixture. Mix everything together and pour into you pre-baked pie shell.

before cooking

Cook at 375 for 35-40 minutes and serve up slices once the quiche has cooled a little.

couldn’t get a shot before we started digging in

Go ahead and spoil yourself! Make this mushroom bacon quiche today for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or linner!

Rosemary Focaccia Bread

August 5, 2015 By alexkatzman No Comments

LIVE FROM NEW YORK, IT’S ME!…and bread.

Whenever I am visiting my family in New York, it’s pretty safe to assume that we will be consuming large amounts of Italian food, and of course, this means a whole lotta bread. Any plans for eating healthy, low carb, paleo, gluten free, are most definitely out of the question the moment that plane touches down on the tarmac at JFK. So, basically I have to resign myself to that fact for the week this is how it is, rather than spend my time fighting it. Plus, it’s delicious. So, all of this bread up here reminded me of a favorite Focaccia bread recipe that my friend shared with me. It’s a great addition to any meal, especially an Italian one. It’s simple enough for a novice baker, can be made ahead, and really tastes great.

Ingredients

½ cup good olive oil

2 minced garlic cloves

1 Tbsp. thyme (fresh or dried)

1 Tbsp. chopped rosemary (fresh or dried)

¼ tsp. pepper

1 cup warm water

2 ¼ tsp yeast (this was less than one whole envelope for me, but they might come in different sizes)

¼ tsp honey

2 ½ cups flour

1 ½ tsp salt

generous amount of sea salt for sprinkling on top

First combine the oil, garlic, herbs, and pepper in a small saucepan and heat over low for 5-10 minutes. You are just warming this oil mixture so you start to smell the garlic and herbs, but be careful not to let the garlic brown. Set aside. I am lucky to have an amazing rosemary plant in my garden, so I love when I find recipes to actually make use of it.

Next combine and lightly stir the warm water, yeast, and honey. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes. Next add 1 cup of the flour and 1/4 cup of your warm oil mixture. Stir to incorporate the flour and let sit for 5 more minutes.

Now stir in the remaining flour (1 1/2 cups) and the salt. When everything comes together, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead a few times until its smooth and combined. Move the dough to an oiled bowl (I use a drop of the garlic oil mixture for the bowl for even more flavor) and cover with a damp dish towel. Let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Oil a 9×13 baking dish with a little of the garlic oil mixture and press the dough down into the dish. Poke the dough with your fingers to make small craters in the top of the dough, then drizzle the remaining garlic oil mix on top and sprinkle with sea salt.

ready for the oven

Let the dough rise in the pan for 20 minutes and then bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Let cool on a rack and cut into squares/slices to serve.

crunchy on top and soft inside

The best part is, in the unlikely event of leftovers, this focaccia bread makes an awesome pizza crust.

Mangia!

Cake-y Corn bread

February 25, 2015 By alexkatzman 2 Comments

I know some people go crazy for corn bread. My son is one of them. Personally, I can take it or leave it, but when I leave it, it’s usually because the texture is too crumbly and it’s too dry, and I’m left feeling wanting more. I like corn bread that is more like cake. I also like actual bits of corn in it. I’ve adapted the recipe from this one here. Now, I am not from the south so I realize I could be way off with my corn bread specifications, but this is what I like y’all! It is moist, sweet, and dense like a cake and cooks up nice and brown on top while remaining soft on the inside.

This makes a large tray of cornbread and is super simple! I would halve the recipe if you just want a small amount for a family dinner, but the whole tray is great for a BBQ or party. The best part is, it can be made a day ahead so it’s one less thing to do the day of.

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter and flour a 9″x13″ glass dish.

1 cup cornmeal

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/3 cups of sugar

2 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup melted butter (salted)

2 Tbsp. honey

4 eggs (beaten)

2 1/2 cups whole milk

8 oz. frozen sweet white corn kernels

Combine the dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt). Next add the wet ingredients (vegetable oil, melted butter, honey, beaten eggs, and milk) Stir until everything is just combined. Add the corn kernels and stir together but don’t over mix.

Pour into your prepared dish and bake for 45 minuets at 350. The top will turn golden brown and get some cracks and this is what we want to see.

you can see how moist it is…like a cupcake!

gold and delicious

Quick Kale Chips

February 19, 2015 By alexkatzman No Comments

Today my daughter came home with this little bounty from her garden club at school. Gorgeous organic kale and this teeny tiny baby carrot. My kids love kale chips and they eat them like potato chips. I am very lucky. They beg for kale in the supermarket like its candy! Don’t get me wrong, they also beg for the candy, but I’ll take what I can get!

I used to be afraid of making kale chips because a lot of recipes seem to take the low and slow method to dry them out, but I go with hot and fast and its works great! Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. After washing the kale, I tear the leaves into small pieces and drizzle them with some olive oil and add a pinch or two of sea salt. Toss that together so the leaves are coated and you’re all set! As you see, we need the industrial sea salt. Cook for 10-15 minutes depending on your oven and your desired level of crispness. They can turn brown and bitter fast so you really need to keep an eye on them. A whole big bunch of kale shrinks down quite a bit after cooking and these kale chips don’t last long in my house. They work well though as a fast appetizer while the kids are waiting for dinner to be ready so they don’t grab anything too unhealthy. It quiets the whining for a little at least!

healthy alternative to a “bowl of chips!”

Main navigation

side dishes

Footer