Roasted Cauliflower and White Cheddar Soup (Lightened)

The weather may have started warming up in DC, but it's still snowing back home in New Hampshire and that means I get to keep making soup.  Right?  There is something about roasted vegetables pureed into soups that just tickles my fancy (remember this guy?).  I love using my immersion blender and the flavor, so this soup absolutely needed to be tried.



Do you have an immersion blender? They aren't that expensive, but they're so much fun and convenient to use! I felt like a shark attacking cauliflower fishies while I made this soup.  Usually I can just submerge the top of the blender and stir around, but the size of the cauliflower meant I basically had to stab the cauliflower with the blender and rip it to shreds.  Doesn't that sound like a blast?  It really was!



The original recipe called for aged white cheddar and either cream or milk.  I decided to lightened it up with Cabot's 75% reduced fat cheddar and skim milk.  Being a good New England girl, I have always loved Cabot cheese, so it only seemed appropriate to use it here. Despite the lower fat content, this soup was still quite rich and delicious.  The pureed cauliflower made it thick and I think the Monkey Scientist was shocked at how filling it was.  The magic part was that all the low-fat dairy didn't bother my slight lactose intolerance!



We totally loved this recipe.  The Monkey Scientist enjoyed it too, even though I'm not sure he thought he was going to.  Like all pureed soups, it is substantive, filling, and loaded with flavor.  I used smoked salt instead of regular which gave a nice smoky flavor throughout.  If you wanted to use bacon grease instead of oil it would have the same effect.  The roasted cauliflower has a deep complex flavor and is complemented well by the cheese.  This is an easy and delightful pureed soup that you can make any day of the week!



Roasted Cauliflower and White Cheddar Soup (Lightened)
adapted from Closet Cooking

Ingredients
1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
3 tablespoons oil, divided
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups Cabot 75% reduced fat white cheddar, shredded
1 cup fat free milk
salt and pepper to taste (I used smoked salt)

Instructions
1. Toss the cauliflower florets in the oil along with the salt and pepper and arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet.
2. Roast the cauliflower in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
4. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
6. Add the broth and cauliflower, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
7. Puree the soup until it reaches your desired consistency with a stick blender.
8. Mix in the cheese, let it melt and season with salt and pepper.
9. Mix in the milk and remove from heat. Serve immediately.

Thai Beef Tacos

You might have noticed, we aren't big red meat eaters.  I don't have anything in particular against beef, and I'm pretty sure the Monkey Scientist grew up eating loads of steaks (he is from Chicago), but it has some drawbacks.  It really isn't that good for you.  And more importantly, it's expensive.  So when we do have beef, it's a special treat and we usually buy pretty cheap cuts.



The key to enjoying these cheaper cuts is not to eat them in a steak-and-potatoes kind of way.  While the Monkey Scientist does broil a mean teriyaki flank steak, tacos might just be the best way to eat flank steak. Tacos are such a simple recipe to throw together on a weeknight, and I loved the Asian twist in this recipe.  Definitely made for a unique dinner!



The Monkey Scientist did a lot of work to help me put this recipe together.  He made the mango salsa!  Since the mango salsa on our pork tenderloin a few weeks ago was too spicy, we left the jalapeno seeds out  this time around.  I liked it so much better!  The shallots were much milder than onions and the mango brought out the sweetness of the coconut milk in the marinade.  It was a great addition to the tacos.



These were some of the best tacos I've ever made.  The Monkey Scientist said this was one of his favorite dinners - I think he was happy to have some red meat, plus he's a big Chipotle lover.  I think marinading for longer than 2 hours (I should learn to prep ahead of time a little better) would have been a good idea, but it was still great.  I particularly liked the peanuts on top.  They brought out the Asian flavors from the marinade while adding a nice crunch.  This is an easy weeknight meal that you will really enjoy!



Thai Beef Tacos
every so slighty adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients
1-1 1/2 pounds flank steak
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup light (canned) coconut milk
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/3 cup sweet chili sauce
1/2 mango, chopped
1 shallot, diced
1 jalapeno, diced (seeds removed)
a sprinkle each of sugar, salt & pepper
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
8-10 flour tortillas (I used burrito sized, but you could go smaller)
1/2 cup sweet chili sauce or hot salsa
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped

Instructions
1. Sprinkle flank steak with salt and pepper. Combine coconut milk, chili sauce, garlic, ginger, and sugar in a bowl and whisk.
2. Add flank steak to a ziplock bag or a shallow baking dish and pour marinade overtop. Refrigerate and let sit for 6-24 hours. (I only waited about 2 hours because I don't plan ahead well)
3. When ready to prepare, remove steak from fridge and let sit for 20-30 minutes. (Yep, I skipped this)
4. In a bowl, combine mango, shallot, jalapeno, salt, sugar and pepper, mix thoroughly, then set aside.
5. Heat a large oven-safe skillet (like cast iron) over high heat. At the same time, preheat the broiler in your oven. (You can also grill the steak if you wish.)
6. Using a pastry brush, brush oil onto the skillet so there is only a very thin layer. (CAREFUL! The oil may jump when you start to brush it!)
7. Remove steak from marinade with kitchen tongs, placing in the skillet. Sear on both sides for 1-2 minutes per side.
8. Remove skillet and place is the oven directly under the broiler. Cook for 3 minutes, then flip and cook for 3 minutes more. (Less time if you like it rarer, more if you like it more well done.)
9. Remove skillet from over, and place steak on a cutting board to rest for 15-20 minutes.
10. At this time, assemble your tortillas (warm them if desired), salsa, extra chili sauce for drizzling and peanuts. After the steak has rested, slice it into thin strips. Assemble tacos as desired and eat!

Maple Pecan Bars

Last week, my long time friend from summer camp had an Oscar party for the Academy Awards.  It was a blast!  Everyone brought fun treats and we played Oscar Bingo while taking bets on who would win the awards.  It felt like a Super Bowl party!  I loved the competitive aspect of trying to guess all of the winners correctly - it made me want to pay attention even though the only movie nominated for anything that I saw this year was the Muppets. (It's seriously time to play movie-catch-up at my Redbox!)



The snacks were probably the best part! There was everything from mac and cheese to charcuterie and crudites to desserts like chocolate peanut butter bars.  The best treat was cupcakes that one of my friends made - they looked gorgeous from the outside (topped with chocolate covered popcorn) but when you bit in they were filled with something that tasted like the goo in Boston Cream Pie.  So so delicious.



My contribution was a bit less elaborate, although still absolutely scrumptious.  If you have to bring a dessert to a friend's house any time soon, I highly suggest making this recipe. It does take about an hour to make, but 40 minutes of that is baking time.  The assembly is easy as pecan pie bars.



I was pretty excited that this recipe was similar to pecan pie but didn't call for corn syrup.  I don't think it's the worst thing in the world - it's not like I bake with high fructose corn syrup - but there are still a lot of sweeteners I'd choose to add first.  Maple syrup is probably number 1 on that list.  Maple syrup is in my abandoned on a deserted island pack.  I live for this stuff.



The Oscar party was a ton of fun, and the show itself was pretty good this year!  Billy Crystal was funny as usual, and there were some great presenters.  My favorite part was the Cirque de Soleil performance.  It's amazing the stunts they can pull off - like standing with one foot on someone else's head (while eating popcorn). Unbelievable! I'm dying to see one of these shows in real life!



As with most ELR recipes I've reviewed, this one is simple and perfect.  The Monkey Scientist told me he would have eaten the whole pan if I'd made them at home.  You probably have most or even all of these ingredients already.  The sweetness of the maple syrup complements the crunch of the pecans perfectly.  They come out of the oven boiling with syrupy goodness, and then they cool they're gooey and melt in your mouth delicious.  The shortbread is buttery and holds the whole bar together nicely.  These are a great recipe for Thanksgiving, to bring over to a friend's house, or even just to make for a sweet treat after dinner. It's one of the favorite recipes I've made in a long while!

Mini Chicken Meatball Soup

My mom, since she's so wonderful, sent me a Valentine's Day care package.  I felt like I was at camp again.  It was amazing.  Does everyone else feel totally special when they get a package in the mail?  Even if I order something from Amazon, I get excited when it comes.  But when Mom sends something, that's the absolute best.



This Valentine's Day, she sent heart-shaped Junior Mints, a special pack of Starburst, the adorable red slotted spoon below, and the absolute cutest pasta I have ever seen (above).  Check it out - little hearts!  I've been saving it for a special occasion, and when I saw a recipe that called for small pasta I thought it was just the time to break it out.  Fortunately, this recipe only calls for a little bit of pasta, so I still have some left for a second recipe!



This recipe called to me because of the little meatballs.  Mom absolutely loves Italian Wedding soup, and although the kind that comes in a can just entirely freaks me out, I am a fan myself when it's fresh.  How can you not just love meatballs floating in soup.  It reminds me of matzoh balls, but with more flavor.  Fantastic.



I have to admit, I got a little bit wary adding water into this soup.  When I make soup, I like to use all stock. That's where all the flavor is at!  Next time, I probably would use all stock, but it was still really good.  The broth picked up a lot of flavor from the meatballs and veggies while it was simmering, plus I seasoned it well with Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper.  It was not the spice-fest that the Monkey Scientist loves, but it had a lot of flavor.



The most flavor in this recipe, though, came from the meatballs.  They were jam packed with flavor!  I had a jar of chicken seasoning in my pantry for a while now, and I was excited to get to use it.  It really brought out the meatiness of the chicken and made the meatballs hearty and delicious.  Even though it wasn't a soup day (it was in the mid 60s in DC), I was glad we squeezed this recipe in before soup season ends.  We both thought it was quite delightful.

Biscoff and Marshmallow Crescent Rolls

This is the easiest, most delicious recipe I have made for dessert in a long time.  I understand - major shortcut using crescent rolls - but sometimes we all need a little shortcut in life!  This is your go-to, last minute, throw together dessert.  You'll love it!



I had a TOUGH Stroga class the other night, and thought I really earned a little treat when I got home.  I wasn't quite going as far to bake cookies or brownies, but I wanted an upgrade from a single scoop of biscoff spread.  We threw this whole recipe together in about 10 minutes, and baked it up while we ate (we're fast eaters).



When I was telling Jeff about the amazing dessert we'd had last night, he told me they sounded like Balloon Biscuits.  A quick google search taught me that Balloon Biscuits are regional to the school district he grew up in, and that the school still uses the exact same clip art when sharing the recipe with their students as when he went there.  The recipe is pretty similar, but it lacks the key to this recipe's tastiness - Biscoff Spread.



Have you all tried this?  You can buy it at World Market, some grocery stores, online (here in a multipack) or Trader Joe's has their own version, called Speculoos Cookie Spread.  Either way, man oh man is it good.  It's like peanut butter, but instead of peanuts it tastes like those cookies you get on Delta flights.  I bought it thinking I'd bake with it, but I may or may not have polished off a jar just by eating spoonfuls.  I have to admit, I'm pretty proud that I finally used it to bake instead of eating it plain!



When you need a quick and easy recipe that even your kids could make, the Solon School District had the right idea and Picky Palate perfected it.  Buy crescent rolls.  Fill them with marshmallow and cookie spread.  Cover them in butter and cinnamon sugar.  Devour.  Just make sure you put a Silpat down or you could destroy your cookie sheet! I have a feeling you know just how sweet and fantastic these will be.  Just make sure you get a nice work out in first!





Biscoff and Marshmallow Crescent Rolls
from Picky Palate

Ingredients
One 8 count roll of Crescent Rolls (I used store brand)
8 tablespoons Biscoff Spread (or Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Spread)
Approximately 80 mini marshmallows
1-2 tablespoons melted butter (I used closer to 1)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a silpat liner or parchment paper. (Please don't skip this step!)
2. Unroll crescent rolls into 8 triangles on prepared baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon of Biscoff spread onto the center of the wide end of the triangle. Top Biscoff with about 10 mini marshmallows then roll crescent up starting at wide biscoff marshmallow end. Space each crescent about 1 1/2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
3. Brush melted butter over each crescent with a pastry brush. Stir together the sugar and cinnamon then sprinkle evenly over crescents.
3. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until golden brown. Marshmallows will ooze everywhere. Once removed from the oven, take a plastic knife and bring warm oozed marshmallow back around each crescent.
4. Let cool for 10 minutes then serve warm.

Cookie Cake

For Valentine's Day, I wanted to make a heart shaped dessert.  It only seemed appropriate.  I have a heart shaped pan that was my grandmother's, and a heart shaped cookie cutter, and I was actually able to use both for this dessert!



I'm going to come right out and be honest here - I got really sick from this dessert.  I tend to get a tummy ache pretty frequently, especially when I have too many sweets, but this one definitely did not make me feel too good.  I have a strong feeling this was from under baking.  My heart shaped pan is ceramic and probably a bit smaller than a 10" round pan, so I think I should have left it in the oven longer than 20 minutes.  The Monkey Scientist was fine though, so maybe I'm just a bit sensitive.  Just make sure it's really done before you take it out of the oven!



The fact that I used incredibly sweet butterscotch chips definitely didn't help my cause here either.  I recommend you go with something like bittersweet chocolate chips or even M & Ms when you make this.  Regardless, it absolutely needs to be topped with ice cream to cut the sweetness.



Despite the toll my tummy took, this was really very delicious.  The Monkey Scientist loved it and continues to stand by the fact that this is a great dessert.  I debated even posting it, but in the true spirit of recipe reviews I have to share the good, bad, and the ugly - and this one was a little bit of all 3.  A good recipe, bad execution, and ugly tummy rumblings.  If you do try it out, let me know how it goes with a metal pan!

Arroz con Pollo

Last week was a big week!  Not only was it Valentine's Day, but it was also the Monkey Scientist's birthday.  We celebrated with lots of delicious food!  This was the start of the week - a romantic and easy-to-pull-together dinner.  Nothing says romance like serious comfort food.



Of course, this dish was just a little bit selfish.  The very short list of things that the Monkey Scientist won't eat includes olives.  I get it - they're super salty and definitely an acquired taste.  Dad despises them too.  But, since the olives are still big, he was able to pick around him and he didn't mind at all.  I liked the flavor they added to the dish, but it wasn't so strong that it ruined it for him.



I did let him add his own touches, though.  Any time you see "salt and pepper" below, you can assume we added a good tablespoon of red pepper flakes as well.  It wouldn't be a good dinner without a little bit of heat around here! I enjoyed this addition, and if you're a spice lover I recommend you make this addition as well.



As for difficulty, this really couldn't be easier to make.  I was worried because the rice wasn't cooking after 30 minutes (it was still quite hard) but I just kept adding 1/2 - 1 cup of broth at a time, putting another 10  minutes on the clock, and eventually it cooked to perfection.  When it was "done" there still appeared to be a little broth that wasn't absorbed, but once I stirred the rice up it soaked right in.  Even though I was adding time on, the chicken was super moist - not a bit overcooked.



When it was finally done, it was super delicious.  The rice was cooked perfectly - warm, tender, and loaded with flavor.  The chicken was perfection.  We don't usually eat thighs but for Valentine's Day this was a special treat and absolutely worth it.  The Monkey Scientist said he thought it was delicious as well (especially because I managed to avoid getting any olives on his plate!).  After we finished, we ate the bits of rice that had become crispy on the bottom of the pan.  It was absolutely the best part!  Valentine's Day might be over this year, but you can make this for your honey any day of the year!