make this tonight

Do me a favor and stop by the grocery store on your way home to make these Beef & Goat Cheese Enchiladas.

I had a dish of the same name at a restaurant recently and, while I was satisfied, I felt that I could improve upon the dish. By using steak instead of ground beef and by using more goat cheese — because who doesn’t want more goat cheese? — I exceeded even my own expectations.

The other night, my friend Emilie texted me that she had some steak she needed to use and invited me over for dinner. I knew that it was the perfect opportunity to make my dish! I swung by the grocery store and made an impromptu dish that was spicy, comforting, cheesy, and satisfying.

That picture may not be the prettiest, but I promise they’re delicious — even if you’re spatula-impaired.

Beef & Goat Cheese Enchiladas (serves 2-3)
1 cup tomato sauce, canned
3 T sauce from can of chipotle peppers (add the peppers for more spice)
1 tsp garlic powder
6 tortilla shells (I prefer flour!)
1/2 medium white onion
2 sirloin steaks (approximately .75-1 lb in total weight)
salt & pepper
1 T chili powder
1 T olive oil
4 oz fresh goat cheese
Thirty minutes to an hour before cooking, slice steak into bite-sized pieces and marinate with salt, pepper, chili powder, and olive oil. To make the enchilada sauce, mix together canned tomato, sauce from chipotle peppers, and garlic powder. Set aside. Slice the onion into strips. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the onion, stirring occasionally for about 4 minutes or until the onions begin to become tender and more transparent. Add in the marinated steak and stir occasionally, allowing the meat to brown and cook mostly through — it is okay if meat is not all the way cooked as it will finish in the oven. When the onion and meat mixture is done, turn off the heat and set aside. In a baking dish, spread some of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish. laying the tortillas out, spoon out a portion of meat and onions onto the tortillas. Divide the goat cheese among the tortillas, reserving a portion to put on top if desired. Once each tortilla has meat and goat cheese, roll up and place seam-side down onto the enchilada sauce. Repeat with each tortilla. Coat each enchilada with the sauce made earlier. Divide the remaining goat cheese and spread on top of the enchiladas. Bake for 20 minutes at 350* and enjoy!

another date night dinner for 2

I’ve definitely enjoyed having a hungry guy around because I can make real dishes and have someone to help with the leftovers! While big meals, like my lasagna, meatloaf, turkey burgers, and spaghetti and meatballs are delicious, sometimes a simple recipe for two is just what the evening calls for.

In celebration of my new job situation (I got 2nd, really awesome summer job!), I decided to cook us a nice dinner over the weekend, complete with fancy wine. And when looking for inspiration for our meal, I looked no further than the summer I lived in Argentina.

In summer 2009, I headed way down south to work for my undergrad university in Córdoba, Argentina. Of course, it was winter down there… But what most people don’t realize about Argentina is that Argentina is famous for Italian food. Aside from their delicious beef, the huge population of Italian immigrants that has flooded my beloved Argentina have created what is called the best Italian food outside of Italy — in the big cities, Italian is still spoken by a lot of the population!

I thought of one of the best combinations of Argentine cuisine — the merge of beef and pasta — in beef braciole (pronounced “bra-cho-lay”). Rolls of beef stuffed with parmesan, braised in tomato sauce, and served over pasta? Sign me up! And it makes a perfect dinner for two!

Braciole with Mushroom and Pasta (serves 2)
2 slices beef top round, sliced thin and pounded lightly
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 T fresh oregano leaves
salt & pepper
olive oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 T fresh basil, chopped
2 cups diced tomatoes (with their liquid)
1 cup crushed tomato
1/3 cup dry red wine
tooth picks
spaghetti or angel hair pasta
In a sauté pan, sauté the mushroom slices in a drizzle of olive oil until tender. Remove from heat and set aside. Slice the 2 cuts of top round in half, making 4 slices. Pound a few times with a meat mallet (or rolling pin). Using your fingers, rub a small amount of olive oil on one side of the meat as well as a sprinkling of salt and pepper. In a small mixing bowl, combine bread crumbs, parmesan, and oregano together. Using a spoon, divide the mixture evenly onto each slice of the meat, then press it into the olive oil on the meat to help it stick. Roll the meat gently and secure with toothpicks (don’t use broken kebab skewers like me!). Heat a drizzle of olive oil in the same sauté pan that you used for the mushrooms and over medium-high heat, sear the beef rolls, about 2-3 minutes per side. Turn the heat down to medium-low and return the mushrooms to the pan along with the diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, red wine, and basil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let simmer for 35-40 minutes. In the last 10 minutes of cooking, cook the pasta and drain. Serve the braciole along with its sauce on top of the pasta with a generous sprinkling of parmesan cheese!

what I’m into lately

So lately I’ve been into pizza. Like, really into it.

I’ve been making up my pizza dough and dividing it up into portions (personal pizzas, strombolis, and pizzas for 2). Once the dough is ready, it is so easy and simple to throw together a pizza for a quick dinner. Keep some sauce, cheese, and your favorite toppings on hand and voilà — pizza!

This has been my favorite combination so far: fresh basil, sun-dried tomatoes, and Italian sausage! The sun-dried tomatoes burned a bit, but it made them crispy and delicious. So yummy! I’m also partial to onions and goat cheese.

Pizza is great at all times of the year, but I find I want it most during the early summer because of all the fresh herbs and toppings. There is never a bad time for pizza, y’all! What are some of your favorite pizza toppings?

bacon at the end of the world

So apparently Saturday was supposed to be the apocalypse. Well, I’m still here so either Heaven is exactly like earth, complete with rainstorms and cupcakes, or the world didn’t end.

But Saturday night, just in case, I made preparations for the end of the world the best way I know how: wrapping something in bacon.

Previously, I’ve had dates stuffed with goat cheese. And recently, Emilie had dates wrapped in bacon. Saturday, I was inspired to combine them all into one delicious appetizer. Because really, anything stuffed with goat cheese AND wrapped in bacon has to be good. And signify the end of days. Or any diet.

My friend Emilie and her new beau came over to hang out with me and Rahul and make these yummy appetizers. And then, in the event that the world didn’t end (which, clearly, it didn’t), we had plans to eat dinner at Buenos Aires Café Este (which was fabulous!). The night turned out to be great, despite the continuance of human existence.

Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese (serves 4-6)
16-20 medjool dates, pitted and sliced to open
2-3 ounces soft goat cheese
4-5 slices of bacon, cut into quarter strips
If the dates are not pre-pitted, slice them open to remove the pit. If they come without pits, make a small slice into one side of the date to create a pocket. Using a spoon, scoop a small amount of the soft goat cheese and put it in the pocket created in the date (should be about a teaspoon worth of cheese). Repeat until all of the dates are filled. Next, slice bacon strips into 4 pieces. (Tip: Put the bacon in the freezer for 20 minutes before slicing so it is a bit easier & less slippery!). Wrap each date with a piece of the bacon and place on a cooking sheet. Once all dates are wrapped, bake at 400* for 10 minutes then set to broil for another 4-5 minutes until the tops are crispy but not over-done. Remove dates from the sheet and place on paper towels to absorb some of the grease. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes, then serve!

an Austin barbecue secret

I’m going to let y’all in on an Austin barbecue secret. Sure, Salt Lick is amazing and the experience of driving out in hill country and seeing the meat smoked on the open pit is one not to be missed. I plan on taking all of my out of town visitors to Salt Lick still. But if you’d rather stay in Austin and eat the best barbecue I’ve ever eaten, you’re going to go to Franklin’s.

Yes, Franklin’s BBQ. The one that used to be the trailer on the side of the highway. It is now a proper restaurant that just so happens to be nextdoor to my boyfriend’s apartment.

The wonderful thing about Franklin’s is the ritual involved. It is open “11am-sold out” and they mean it. I’ve been twice now and each time, upon getting in line at 10:30am along with several other die-hards, it still took over an hour to get through line. There is nothing like waiting outside in the Austin sun for over an hour and then finally getting inside the restaurant and smelling the food. 

We chose to take the food back to his place to eat this time, but when the weather is nice I recommend sitting outside and soaking in the barbecue. Rahul and I actually went on our second date to Franklin’s so it is his fault I’m so obsessed.

(sorry for the blurry photo!)

I recommend getting the two-meat plate (which we split) and some extra meat on the side to share as well. The pork ribs are my personal favorite, being a Virginia gal, but the brisket (lean and fatty) is out of this world. The pulled pork is good by Texas standards (but not by Virginia standards) and I have yet to try the sausage but it looks great. The pies look delectable, too.

So get your butt to Franklin’s BBQ around 10:30am, prepared to stand in line for a while, and earn yourself the best barbecue I’ve ever eaten.

meet-a-balls

All week I’ve been hearing about “pasketi and meet-a-balls” since they appeared at a meal on some random TV show I was watching with Rahul (my gentleman friend). I believe both of us made a comment about wanting spaghetti and meatballs. Only he chooses to pronounce “spaghetti” like a 3 year old and “meatballs” with a hand gesture like a mobster.

I’m not the biggest fan of Italian restaurants. They always sound good in theory but then I end up leaving with too many breadsticks in my tummy and too much cheesy, saucy leftovers in a box. Once I was certain the craving for spaghetti and meet-a-balls was not going to pass, I figured I’d rather try my hand at them in the kitchen than go to a restaurant and risk the breadstick situation.

They were really easy to make and made his whole apartment smell intoxicating. Choosing to mix the lean beef with the fatty pork made the meatballs just moist enough but I didn’t feel like a greaseball eating them. And you can easily use a pre-made sauce instead and still get delicious results. This makes a decent amount of food so you’ll have plenty of leftovers. Or, you could be social and invite over other people. But I’m far too protective of cold spaghetti leftovers to do that.

I was quite impressed with my first batch of homemade pasketi and meet-a-balls. I’m definitely going to be making this again and freezing it when I have room in my freezer!

Homemade Spaghetti & Meatballs (serves 4-6)
1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb mild pork sausage (Italian spices)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
olive oil
salt & pepper
1/2 large white onion, diced
1-28 oz. can crushed tomatoes with Italian spices (or regular with 1 T Italian spices added by you)
1-15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
spaghetti
In a large bowl, combine pork, beef, parmesan, breadcrumbs, and egg with your hands until well incorporated. Roll tightly into balls, approximately 1-1/2 inches thick — this will yield 18-22 meatballs. In a sauce pot or Dutch oven with a thick bottom, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. When oil is glistening, turn down the heat and carefully place several of the meatballs in bottom of the pot, being careful not to overcrowd them. Brown the meatballs on both sides, but do not cook through. Remove to a plate and repeat until all the meatballs are browned on the outside. Add a bit more olive oil to the pot as well as salt and pepper. Add the diced onion to the pot and stir, letting cook for a few minutes. Next, add the cans of crushed and diced tomato to the onions and stir. Allow the sauce to bubble and stir in the red wine. Turn the heat to medium-low and add in your meatballs. Stir to coat all the balls in sauce and cover the pot. Simmer for 20-30 minutes and the meatballs should be fully cooked. In the mean time, boil some spaghetti noodles. Serve the meatballs and sauce over spaghetti and garnish with parmesan cheese.

I know my pig

Down here in the blessed land of Texas, beef brisket is king. And while it is delicious, we can’t deny my Virginia roots where the pig rules. Barbecue in Virginia is pork ribs and pulled pork, the stuff I’ve been loving my whole life. In the Old Dominion state, we know a little something about our pigs.

And lest we forget, Virginia is considered the birth place of bacon.

Texas is sorely lacking in pulled pork. They have Tex-Mex carnitas which comes from the same cut of meat, but the spices just aren’t the same. So I embarked on a long journey to perfect my own recipe for pulled pork.

After a few attempts, I finally got it right to just the way I like it. I hope you try this, love it, and make it over and over again! Tip: it freezes well!

You could make this in a crock pot, but I don’t actually own one so I can’t give you directions. But the lower and slower the better when it comes to pulled pork.

Pulled Pork (serves 10-12)
1 bone-in pork shoulder, 4-5 lbs.
1 T olive oil
1/2 cup ketchup
2 T red wine vinegar
1/2 T chili powder
2 T brown sugar
1/2 T ground cumin
1/2 T garlic powder
1 cup water
salt & pepper to taste
In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients together into a sauce (except the pork and water). Using your hands, rub the sauce into every nook and cranny of the pork shoulder. When all of the pork shoulder is covered in the sauce, place it in the bottom of a Dutch oven or crock pot. Pour any remaining sauce over the meat. Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of the pot and cover. Cook on 300* for 4 hours, turning the meat over once or twice while it cooks. Remove from the oven and move the meat to a large bowl or serving platter — this is a bit messy! Using two forks, shred the pork and remove from the bone. Discard the bone and continue to shred the meat. Spoon some of the liquid left in the pot over the pork until it reaches your desired taste — use as little or as much as you like. Serve on buns with coleslaw for a Southern dish or with tortillas, onion, and lime for a Tex-Mex flare.

I can’t be trusted around olives

It is true. I cannot be trusted around olives. I love them all so much. In fact, I do embarrassing things like stick them on my (sausage) fingers in public. You can’t take me anywhere.

This was a lot easier when I was 10.

I think it is the salty, briny taste of the olives that get me. Green, black, kalamata… I have yet to meet an olive I don’t like. And what, my friends, goes perfectly with olives? Goat cheese.

And then I got the idea to put the olives and goat cheese in a burger and the world exploded.

I will also show you how to make these fabulous buns, but that is for another post.

Black Olive & Goat Cheese Turkey Burgers (makes 4 burgers)
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup black olives, chopped
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
salt and pepper
In a large mixing bowl, combine ground turkey, olives, goat cheese, the beaten egg, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix gently with your hands, trying not to over-mix but being sure to distribute the egg, olives, and cheese evenly. Break into 4 equal parts and gently roll into balls then flatten, setting aside. Heat a cast iron or heavy-bottomed skillet to high heat with cooking spray until hot (test by splashing a bit of water off your fingers into the skillet — it should sizzle when ready). Turn heat down to medium-high and place the burger patties in the skillet with space between. Cook for 10 minutes, flip, and cook for another 10 minutes. Use a meat thermometer if you’re worried about them not being done enough after 20 minutes (use the guidelines for poultry — 170* means done!)

2 ingredients, 1 kickin’ appetizer

This recipe is one of the easiest, quickest appetizer recipes that you can make almost last minute and they’re a huge crowd pleaser. I don’t know if it was my grandma or my Aunt Linda (hey y’all!) who came up with this first, but everyone loves them.

Book club? Take these. Pot luck? You’ll be popular. For your (in)significant other? He/She’ll put a ring on it.

Okay that last one was probably exaggerating. But if anyone does get engaged after making these, I need to know immediately so I can pass them out to all male suitors in a 5 mile radius.

But seriously. 2 ingredients.

And the leftovers taste really good cold for breakfast. Just sayin’.

Sausage Pinwheels (makes 30-35 pieces)
2 9” pie crusts (store bought or homemade)
1 tube pork sausage (I like sage-flavored, but maple would be great at brunch)
Roll the pie crust to as much of a rectangular shape as you possibly can. Spread half the tube of sausage onto one pie crust and roll up into a log. Cut into slices gently using a serrated knife. Reshape the pinwheels if necessary. Repeat with the second pie crust and the remaining sausage. Bake at 375* for 25 minutes or until the sausage is cooked and the crust is light brown.

Yeah, it really is that simple.

in retrospect

2010 has been a big year for me, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. I started the year by graduating from the University of Richmond (diploma says December 2009, received it May 2010) and moving in with my best friends’ parents and working for them. I also ran my first races and achieved some pretty good times (for me!). This summer, I traveled to France (read here, here, here, and here) to stay with my family on their vineyard in the Champagne region. I then kissed Virginia goodbye and headed west. I moved to Austin, TX where an apartment and graduate school were waiting for me. I revoked my short-lived vegetarian ways to welcome meat back into my life joyously. I fell in love with Texas. I ended the year hosting a FoodBuzz sponsored Thanksgiving feast from some Virginians down in Austin and finally a trip back east where I am currently spending hours sitting on my butt and catching up with my Mama. Throughout the year, I’ve discovered a passion for cooking and real food and I’ve started figuring out who I really am and what I really want out of life.

It has certainly been the year of greatest change in my life, but I look forward to the changes that 2011 will bring.

May your life bring you moments of happiness, delicious food, and epic changes. Happy New Year!