Roasted Autumn Vegetables

Well, kids….it’s that time of year already.  Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  This year, let’s plan ahead.  This year, let’s be the ones who have our menus planned and ready to go way ahead of time.  Who’s with me?

Is anyone still there?  Ok, good.  Today, let’s talk side dishes.   I think that veggies never really get their due on Thanksgiving, unless you are counting a potato.  I’m not.  Mashed potatoes are a great part of Thanksgiving, but everyone has a recipe for that.  Today I want to talk about real veggies.  Like carrots, squash and Brussels sprouts.

I have a recipe for Roasted Autumn Veggies that everyone will love.  Even non-veggie eaters (like me!).  When veggies are roasted, they get sweet and caramelized.  The taste totally changes.  I combine halved Brussels sprouts, baby carrots, cubed butternut squash and red onion with balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, black pepper and a smidge of sugar.  When these veggies are done roasting, they are super sweet and tender.  To make ‘em even better, I top them with crumbled gorgonzola cheese, dried cranberries and candied pecans.  I never knew vegetables could be so delicious until I had these.

To start, I preheat my oven to 400 degrees, pretty hot really.  Then, I put about three cups of each of the vegetables that I am using into a large bowl.  You can really choose any hearty autumn veggie for this….parsnips, sweet potatoes, turnips, beets, etc.  Just make sure that your veggies are all relatively the same size.  I chopped my onion and halved my Brussels sprouts.  I cheated and opened a bag of already cubed butternut squash and left my baby carrots whole.  If everything is pretty much the same size, it will all cook evenly.

To the bowl, I add about a quarter cup of olive oil, two teaspoons salt and 2 teaspoons black pepper.  I also sprinkle on about a tablespoon of sugar.  Yes, I know I said these veggies get sweet when they are roasted, but the sugar helps a bit too.  Sprouts can be bitter, so the sugar really brings out that hidden sweetness.

Next, I stir together a half of a cup balsamic vinegar with a quarter cup of soy sauce.  I pour a quarter cup of this mixture directly on the veggies.  Once the veggies are mixed, I pour them on a baking sheet and let them roast for about forty minutes.

While the veggies cook, I let the soy/balsamic mixture reduce to a thick syrup.  All I do is let it cook in a small sauce pan over medium high heat for about ten minutes.  If it is at a full boil, it will reduce pretty quickly to a thick delicious syrup.

When the veggies are done roasting they will be a beautiful golden brown and super tender.  I top the veggies with crumbles or gorgonzola, dried cranberries, candied pecans, and then I drizzle on the balsamic syrup.  Perfection. Thanksgiving perfection.

 

If you have any veggies left over, you can make my Harvest salad.  I top greens with the leftover veggies (cold), chopped leftover turkey and a chopped green apple.  Then, I top the salad with my cranberry vinaigrette made with leftover cranberry sauce.  This is the perfect lunch the day after Thanksgiving.  Doesn’t a salad sound good when you are still a little bit full from the day before?

Roasted Autumn Veggies

3 cups Brussels sprouts, cleaned and halved

3 cups baby carrots

3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed

3 cups red onion, chopped

¼ cup olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoon black pepper

1 Tablespoon sugar

½ cup balsamic vinegar

¼ cup soy sauce

1/3 cup candied pecans

1/3 cup dried cranberries

¼ cup gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place veggies in a large bowl.  Add olive oil, salt, pepper and sugar.  Mix well.

Stir together soy sauce and vinegar.  Add ¼ a cup of this mixture to veggies.  Mix well.

Pour veggies onto a sheet pan.  Roast at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until golden brown and tender.

While veggies cook, pour remaining soy/balsamic mixture into a small sauce pan.  Boil over medium high heat for about 10 minutes, or until mixture is reduced to about 2 tablespoons.

Transfer veggies onto serving platter.  Top with candied pecans, dried cranberries and gorgonzola cheese.  Drizzle with balsamic syrup.

Serves 8-10

Cranberry Vinaigrette

¼ cup cranberry sauce

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

Blend all ingredients together in a blender until well blended.

Makes about 1 cup.

Last Minute Halloween Ideas

Tomorrow is Halloween.  You knew that, right?  Are you ready?  Of course, I’ve been on Pinterest and there is no end to the cute, or spooky, or spooky and cute at the same time, Halloween food.  There are thousands of recipes and ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts and anything else you can think of.  While they are all amazing, all it really does it stress me out because I know there is no way I could make most of it.  And I do this for a living.  As crafty as I am, I just don’t think that I could make Frankenstein cake pops or a cake shaped like a coffin.

I have three last minute Halloween ideas for you today, and I promise, not a one of them is too hard or will add undue stress.  My ideas are cute, or spooky, and ridiculously easy.  You don’t need more than fifteen minutes, and you might already have all the ingredients on hand.  And you know what?  Everyone can be jealous of you for pulling off an effortless Halloween.

My first recipe I want to show you is more of an idea then a recipe.  Every year, I make my little “Cookie Monsters” for my kids and sometimes even for all of the kids in their classes.  I start with already baked chocolate chip cookies, like Chips Ahoy or something similar.  Of course, you can bake your own chocolate chip cookies, but I like that these cookies are all the same shape and size and relatively sturdy. 

I assemble these little monsters by laying down a cookie, bottom side up.  I pipe red and green frosting on to form a tongue and an oozy green monster mouth.  I like to add more frosting towards the back so that the cookie sits open a bit in front when I lay the top cookie on.  I also add candy eyeballs to the top cookie.  I adhere the eyes with either frosting or melted chocolate.  From there, I get creative.  Sometimes I add candy corn for fangs or horns, or licorice strings for hair.  I’ve used sliced almonds for teeth, or even Nerds (the candy) for warts and such.  Basically, whatever you can find, you can use.  Use your imagination.  Sometimes they are funnier, then scary, but that’s ok too.  The bottom line is that kids love them, and they are so easy to put together.

 

My next Halloween treat is actually something that I bust out at most holidays….it really just depends on what cookie cutters I can find.  I like to use my themed cookie cutters to make homemade “strudels”.  They might be more “pop tart” but my kids have always called them strudels.  I use frozen puff pastry as a base for this.  I punch out themed shapes with cookie cutters and I fill these little pockets of goodness with fresh strawberries and chocolate, blueberry jam, mini marshmallows and chocolate chips, pizza sauce and cheese, really whatever I have.

I start by punching out a shape from the defrosted puff pastry.  Two really, because I need a top and bottom.  I lay the bottom piece out on a greased tray (you can’t be too careful!) and I layer on my toppings.  For the pumpkins and ghosts I used fresh thinly sliced strawberries and mini chocolate chips.  Once the filling is on the bottom piece, I use a little bit of water to seal the top piece on.  The water acts as glue. 

Then, I cut slits (for eyes and mouths) that will not only make these super cute, they also keep the puff pastry from puffing up too much.  These bake for about fifteen minutes and when they come out of the oven, they are puffed and golden and really, really delicious.  

 

These are also great for an easy breakfast on Christmas Day or Valentine’s Day.  And it gives me an excuse to use one of millions of cookie cutters. Yep, I have a ton and I very rarely make cut-out cookies.

My last recipe is my “Trick or Treat Cider”.  We never go out on Halloween night without this fantastic, spicy cider.  I make it in my slow cooker so it is ready to go for anyone that might drop by or for refills during those long trick or treating runs.  For this cider, I use apple juice, cranberry juice, pear nectar, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, ginger and a couple of clementines.  You could use regular oranges too, if that is what you have.

This is so easy….I literally just throw everything (ok, not literally…that would make a mess), in the slow cooker and let it go for about 3 hours.  The flavors will all meld together over those 3 hours.  The spices, clemetines and ginger will all release their flavors.  Then, I pull the big chunks out and it is ready to go.   I like to serve my cider with whip cream on the top, but you can skip that if you want.  The adults might want a bit of brandy in it too, especially when faced with a long night of trick or treating.  Either way, this stuff tastes like fall in a glass.

I hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween!  Trick or Treat!

Puffy Pumpkin (or Ghost!) “Strudels”

17.3 ounce box frozen puff pastry sheets, defrosted

8 strawberries, thinly sliced

¼ cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lay defrosted puff pastry sheets on a floured board.  Using cookie cutters, cut out desired shapes.  Make sure you have a top and bottom of each shape.

Lay bottom shape down on a greased cookie sheet.  Top with thinly sliced strawberries and a few mini chocolate chips, leaving a rim.  Using your finger, dab water all the way around the rim.  Press top shape onto bottom, sealing with fingers.

Using a sharp knife, cut slits or shapes on the top shape.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

 

Trick or Treat Cider

 

3 cups apple juice

 

3 cups pear cider

 

3 cups cranberry juice

 

4 cinnamon sticks

 

8 whole cloves

 

3 inch piece of peeled ginger

 

2 clementines, cut in half

 

Place all ingredients in slow cooker.  Cook for 3 hours.  Remove sticks, cloves, ginger and clementines.  Serve warm.

Makes 9 cups cider

Crepes....Actually Easy!

What is your “go-to” meal?  Do you have one?  You know, that meal that you have in your back pocket.  The one you can cook at a moment’s notice because you know the recipe by heart, and you always have all the ingredients.  I have one, and you might think it’s a strange one because some people think they are too fancy, or something you can’t possible make a meal out of, or maybe you think they are only for breakfast.

Have you guessed yet?  My “go-to” is crepes!  Yep, the thin French pancakes.  Why, you ask?  Because they are ridiculously easy, made from pantry ingredients, can transform leftovers and everybody loves them!  I have yet to find anything that I can’t fill crepes with.  Wait, yes I have.  The Spaghetti crepes didn’t go over well, but they really can be stuffed with pretty much anything within reason.

When I need a good breakfast, or when I come home from work and can’t figure out what to make in a pinch….it’s always crepes.  I tend to stuff them with whatever I can find in the fridge or pantry.  I love rotisserie chicken and broccoli rolled in a delicious crepe and topped with a yummy cheese sauce.  Or melty mozzarella rolled in a savory crepe and then topped with pasta sauce.  I’ve done leftover steak and potatoes, meatloaf, taco meat and cheese, and even just plain old butter and garlic.  For breakfast, I like scrambled eggs and ham topped with cheese sauce (again!) or sweetened cream cheese rolled into a sweet crepe and then topped with strawberry jam and homemade chocolate sauce.

Looking for a great holiday breakfast?  How about pumpkin, cream cheese and powdered sugar blended together, rolled in a crepe and topped with maple syrup?  Or how about stuffing your Thanksgiving leftovers into a crepe and then topping with gravy?  See?  The possibilities are endless!

Let’s talk about the crepes.  First off, don’t be intimidated because they are not hard!  Crepes are flour, eggs, milk, melted butter and a smidge of water.  Don’t you have all of that in your pantry and fridge?  You can also make crepes from packaged baking mix.  Really, the batter is just super thin pancake batter, so it makes sense when you think about it.  I tend to grab the baking mix to make my crepes just so I don’t have to melt butter. If I am making sweet crepes, I add a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar to the batter.  Savory crepes?  Try dried herbs.

Once you have your batter mixed, you need to grease your pan really well.  I think that is the most important factor when making crepes.  Not a fancy crepe pan….just gold old fashioned butter and oil.  I use a combination of both.  I like the way oil makes the pan super non-stick, but I prefer the taste of butter.

I ladle in about 1/3 a cup of batter into a large skillet.  Then, I swirl the pan until the entire bottom surface of the pan is coated in a thin layer of batter.  Be careful….these cook quickly!  Once the crepe starts to bubble along the edges and lift up, I know it’s time to flip.  I slide the crepe out onto foil, add more oil and butter to the pan, then flip the crepe back in to cook on the other side.  These cook in less than a minute.

Once I have all of my crepes cooked, I put some filling down the middle, roll ‘em up and top with a sauce of some sort.  Sometimes I will also pop them under the broiler to get a browned bubbly top.  Dinner, lunch or breakfast is served.

Above I mentioned cheese sauce and chocolate sauce….this brings me to my “go-to” pantry item.  I always have evaporated canned milk on hand.  You can make so many different sauces with evaporated milk.  I have talked about the cheese sauces I make with evaporated milk here before.  You can find those recipes at www.gourmetrooster.blogspot.com.  If you are after a chocolate sauce…again…..grab the evaporated milk.

For my deep dark chocolate sauce, I pour a can of evaporated milk into a sauce pan with about 12 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips.  I whisk the two together as the chocolate melts.  At first, you will think that I am nuts because the sauce won’t be a sauce.  It will be a runny mess.  But keep whisking and keep the faith….as the sauce comes to a boil, it will thicken into a luxurious, rich chocolate sauce.  I also add about a tablespoon of butter and some flavored extract in at the end to really gild the lily.  I usually use vanilla, but rum, mint or orange are also delicious.  You can also stir in peanut butter for a crazy good treat.

This chocolate sauce is great on crepes, but it is also fantastic on ice cream, cake, my finger, a spoon…whatever.

 

What do you stuff crepes with?  I bet you could come up with some great ideas!

Easy Crepes

Butter and Oil for cooking

1 cup baking mix

3 eggs

¾ cup milk

For sweet:

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For savory:

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

 

Mix ingredients in a large bowl until smooth.  Let batter sit for about 10 minutes.

Pre-heat a large flat skillet over medium heat.  Add about 1 teaspoon butter and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to the pan.  Once butter is melted, ladle about 1/3 a cup batter into skillet.  Swirl skillet until batter completely coats the bottom of the pan.  Let crepe cook until edges have large bubbles and start to lift up, about 1 minute.  Loosen edges with a spatula and slide crepe onto a piece of foil.  Add additional butter and oil to the pan.  Flip crepe back into pan to cook second side.  Let second side cook about 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Slide cooked crepe back onto foil.

Repeat with remaining batter.

Makes about 10 crepes.

 

Easy Chocolate Sauce

12 ounces evaporated milk

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon butter

2 teaspoons flavored extract

Heat evaporated milk and chocolate chips in a small skillet over medium heat, whisking as the chocolate melts.  Let sauce come to a boil to thicken, about 4 minutes.  Whisk in butter and extract.

Makes about 2 cups.

Pumpkin Caramel Apple Poke Cake

Ummmmmm……Did I just combine all the best fall flavors into one heavenly slice of cake?  I surely did!  By now, you know…I love fall.  And you probably also know that I love cake.  So when I decided to make a cake to celebrate the first few chilly days of fall, it was a no-brainer.  I knew I had to make my Pumpkin Caramel Apple Poke Cake.

Last year, I was trolling around on Pinterest, like I do every morning, and I realized I was seeing an awful lot of recipes for “poke” cakes.  A “poke” cake is a cake that gets holes punched all over it after it comes out of the oven and cools a bit.  Then, a liquid of some sort is poured over the top and because of the holes, it really sinks in and flavors the cake.  Typically, I would see poke cakes made with Jell-O or pudding.  I knew I had to try it with one of my Gourmet Rooster fruit spreads.  I did, and my Pumpkin Caramel Apple Poke cake was born.  It is a pumpkin spice cake, topped with a mixture of my Gourmet Rooster Whiskey Apple Spread and caramel, then the whole thing gets topped with a rich cream cheese frosting and a drizzle of caramel.  It is ridiculously good and easy too!

I use a box mix for my cake….surprise, surprise.  I use a spice cake mix.  Of course, I doctor it up a bit.  I always use milk instead of water for a box mix, one extra egg and melted butter instead of oil.  This makes for a more tender and richer cake.  It always tastes “homemade”. 

I add about one cup of canned pumpkin to the batter for a good, strong pumpkin flavor.  Don’t use Pumpkin Pie Mix, make sure your can is just pureed pumpkin.  I also added in another tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice, because I feel you can never have too much.  Ok, I am sure you probably can….but I haven’t hit that threshold yet.

Once the cakes bakes in a 9x13 baking pan, I let it cool all the way.  Once it has cooled, I poked holes all over the top with the end of a wooden spoon.  Then, I heat up a jar of Whiskey Apple spread on the stovetop.  You can use any flavor apple butter you can get your hands on.  I will still love you.

I mix the apple spread with about half as much caramel, and let the two heat together.  Once the apple spread and caramel are heated through and thoroughly combined, I pour that over the top of the cake.  I set the cake aside and let it do its cake thing for about half an hour.

If you are wondering….no, I don’t make my own caramel.  I buy a jar of the stuff that is found by the ice cream.   

While the cake is absorbing all the yummy flavors of apple and caramel, I get busy with the frosting, which is really super easy.  I like to use boxed cake mix, but I never use canned frosting.  I don’t like the fake sugary taste.  I always make my own frosting.  Mainly because it is so easy, but it also tastes way better.

My cream cheese frosting is just softened butter blended with softened cream cheese, vanilla extract and powdered sugar.  It all gets blended together in a standing mixer or with a hand mixer.  Sometimes I add a splash of cream if I want to thin it out a bit.  This really is perfect cream cheese frosting.  It isn’t too sweet, or too tangy….It is just right.

I top my cake with all of the yummy frosting.  Then, I drizzle some of the leftover caramel sauce all over the top.  I bet some people would like chopped pecans strewn about too.  I am not one of those people….but have at it if you are.

This cake, oh man, this cake….This cake is warm, spicy, sweet, and rich all at the same time.  You will have visions of playing in a pumpkin patch, or drinking hot chocolate by a roaring bonfire, or jumping in a pile of leaves.  Ok, I exaggerate a bit with that, but I’m not exaggerating about how good this cake is! 

 

Pumpkin Caramel Apple Cake

1 box Spice Cake Mix

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

8 ounces Apple Butter (I used Gourmet Rooster Whiskey Apple Spread)

4 ounces Caramel

Frosting:

½ cup butter (1 stick), softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

Caramel for drizzling

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, beat together cake mix, eggs, milk, melted butter, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice with a hand mixer for two minutes, scraping sides occasionally.  Pour batter into greased 9x13 pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean and cake is pulling away from the sides.

Set cake aside to cool for at least an hour.  Once cooled, poke holes all over the top of the cake with the end of a wooden spoon.

In a small sauce pan, heat together apple butter and ½ cup (4 ounces) caramel over medium heat.  Cook until thoroughly mixed and heated through.  Pour mixture over cake and spread evenly with a spatula.  Let cake cool again and absorb apple mixture for at least 30 minutes.

For frosting:

In a large bowl, blend together with a hand mixer, softened cream cheese and butter until smooth. Slowly blend in vanilla. Finally, blend in powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

Spread frosting over top of cake, evenly.  Drizzle with caramel as desired.

Serves 12

 

Schnitzel with Beer Braised Cabbage

Sprechen sie Deutsch?  Well, I actually don’t.  I was just wondering if you did or not.  One thing I do know, is that every early October, the good people of Germany, specifically Bavaria, celebrate Oktoberfest!  What is Oktoberfest, besides one heck of an excuse to drink beer and wear lederhosen, you might ask?  It started in Munich, Germany as a commemoration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen in 1810.  By 1818, it had morphed into an agricultural festival that celebrated Bavaria.  At some point, beer became a major component of the festival, and it now pulls in about 5 million people each year.  All right, history lesson over.

I look at Oktoberfest as the beginning of Fall.  When I see cities and communities around me celebrating, I know that we are officially in Fall.  I also look at it as a time to enjoy some really good German-esque food.  Win all around. 

Today I have a great recipe for you that makes a perfect Fall dinner.  I am going to show you how to make schnitzel!  Do you love schnitzel?  Especially with noodles, Maria Von Trapp?  I love it too, and I serve mine with cabbage braised in beer and mustard.  I also serve mine with pierogies, which I’m pretty sure aren’t German.  But they are Eastern European (Polish), so that’s cool, right?

My schnitzel starts with thin cut pork chops.  You could totally pound out your own chops, but my grocery store (Scolari’s) sells boneless “thin-cut” pork chops.  I love these because they are very quick cooking.

I dredge my chops in seasoned flour, then Gourmet Rooster Carolina Style BBQ sauce, and finally, panko bread crumbs.  Carolina Style BBQ sauce is the perfect substitute for eggs in this dish.  The purpose of the eggs is really just to help the bread crumbs stick, giving the pork a crunchy coating.  Plus, the BBQ sauce is a combination of mustard, beer, and many other spices.  It works beautifully with pork, and it is mild enough that my kids like it too.

The chops get fried, four minutes on the first side and three on the second, in a large skillet that has already fried up some bacon….leaving all of its precious fat in the pan.  I set aside the bacon, as that will get added to the cabbage later.

Once the chops come out of the pan, I add in one full head of shredded green cabbage.  You can really use any color here, I just prefer green.  I let the cabbage sauté in all of the remaining fat in the skillet.  Once the cabbage has sautéed, I add in more Carolina Style BBQ sauce, and then some beer!  I let the cabbage sizzle away until it is tender.  And don’t worry, the alcohol will cook out of the dish, leaving you with just the flavor of beer.

To serve, I top each schnitzel with the beer braised cabbage and a little sprinkle of bacon.  The pork stays tender and juicy under its crunchy exterior, and you really get a great flavor from the Carolina Style sauce.  If you can’t find Gourmet Rooster (go to www.gourmetrooster.com and hit “where to buy”), you can always sub in your favorite mustard.  Same goes for the cabbage recipe too.

Speaking of the cabbage…the cabbage is tender, yet still a bit crunchy, with tons of flavor from the BBQ sauce and beer.  The beer flavor is so good with cabbage, but you can always substitute chicken stock if you kids don’t like the beer flavor.

Served with pierogies, I think this is the perfect dinner!  Of course, I’ll have to follow it up with a Black Forest Cake or German Chocolate Cake….does anyone have one?

Don’t forget to like my page on Facebook.  Just search “Gourmet Rooster”.

 

 

Schnitzel with Cabbage

½ pound bacon

1 ½ half pounds boneless “thin cut” pork chops

1 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 ¼ cup Gourmet Rooster Carolina Style BBQ Sauce, divided

2 cups panko style bread crumbs

1 small head cabbage, shredded

8 ounces dark beer

Fry bacon over medium heat in a large skillet until brown and crispy on both sides, about 5-7 minutes.  Remove bacon from pan, leaving bacon fat in skillet.  Set bacon on paper towels to drain.

Place flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.  Pour 1 cup of Carolina Style BBQ sauce into another shallow dish.  Finally, place seasoned bread crumbs in a third shallow dish.  Dredge pork chops in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, then Carolina Style BBQ sauce, then bread crumbs.

Fry pork chops over medium heat, in batches so you don’t crowd them, in bacon fat.  Fry each chop for about 4 minutes on the first side and 3 minutes on the second, or until both sides are golden brown and pork is cooked through.  You may need to add additional vegetable oil for frying.

When all of the pork is cooked and out of the pan, place shredded cabbage into same skillet, adding additional oil if needed.  Sauté cabbage over medium high heat for about 2 minutes.  Add remaining Carolina Style BBQ sauce and beer.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.  Let cabbage simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until cabbage is crisp tender and liquid has reduced.  Crumble the cooked bacon over the cabbage.

Serve pork topped with cabbage and bacon with cooked pierogies on the side.

Serves 4.

Nachos-Two Ways!

I love nachos.  Anytime, anyplace, anywhere….I love ‘em.  I like the orangey fake cheese sauce, grated cheese, topped with chili, topped with jalapenos, you name it….I’ll eat it.  My kids are huge fans of nachos too.  But really, who isn’t? 

When I make nachos at home, I like to make my own cheese sauce.  But I like to make it with freshly grated cheese, not cheese product.  Like I said above, I like a good processed cheese, but nachos with freshly grated cheese sauce is oh so good, and obviously better for you.  And a cheese sauce is so easy to make.  It uses three ingredients and it is quick!  Let me walk you through it.

I start with eight ounces of freshly grated cheddar cheese.  You can use whatever flavor cheese you like, as long as it is a good melting cheese like cheddar, mozzarella, jack or Fontina.  But you must grate it yourself.  This is very important.  The bags of grated cheese sometimes have added stabilizers that will not work in this recipe.

I mix my grated cheese with one tablespoon of corn starch in a small sauce pan that is not on the heat yet.  Once the cheese has been tossed with the corn starch, I stir in a twelve ounce can of evaporated milk and turn the heat on medium low-ish.

The mixture needs to get whisked continuously for about five minutes now over medium heat.  At first nothing will happen, and you will think I’m crazy.  Then, the cheese will start to melt but the mixture will get very stringy, and you will for sure think I’ve lost my mind.  Hang in there.  Finally, after you have cursed my name and decided I shouldn’t ever be allowed to cook….the sauce will come together.  It will thicken and melt into a beautiful, silky cheese sauce.  You will apologize for all the nasty things you’ve said about me.  You just have to be patient!

This sauce is good for nachos, of course, but it is also great over veggies, as a dip for French fries, or straight out of the pot if you are like me.

If you serving adults, and looking for something a bit more fancy pants….I’ve got a version of “grown-up” nachos that you have to try.  These nachos are made with sweet potato chips, topped with a Gruyere and blue cheese sauce, and then drizzled with a balsamic reduction that is too die for.  You may have had a similar version at the Cadillac Ranch that used to be at Legends in Sparks.  I used to be addicted to their version of this and I knew I had to replicate it.

I make this cheese sauce this same way.  I start with four ounces of freshly grated Gruyere cheese.  Gruyere is a nutty cheese that is similar to Swiss cheese.  It is available virtually everywhere.  I mix the Gruyere with four ounces of crumbled blue cheese.  I stir my tablespoon of corn starch in and add a can of evaporated milk just like my basic version.  Same process now….stirring and waiting.

While the cheese sauce cooks, I also reduce balsamic vinegar on the stovetop until it is thick and syrupy.  Open the windows for this….your family might not appreciate the smell, even if they are vinegar lovers.

This cheese sauce gets poured over a layer of sweet potato chips, but thick ruffled potato chips are great with this too.  I drizzle the whole thing with my balsamic syrup, and I also sprinkle more blue cheese over the top.  Heaven on a plate.  A very large plate.  The adults in your life will thank you for this.

 

Huge news on the Gourmet Rooster front…..my products are now available at all Scolari’s and Sak and Save stores.  Stop by and get some!

Basic Cheese Sauce

8 ounces freshly grated cheese, such as cheddar or Jack

1 tablespoon corn starch

12 ounces evaporated milk (one can)

Toss cheese with corn starch.  Add to small sauce pan.  Whisk in evaporated milk and heat over medium, stirring frequently.

Cook over medium heat for at least 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened and cheese has melted.

Makes 2 cups

 

Gruyere and Blue Cheese Nachos

4 ounces freshly grated Gruyere Cheese

6 ounces crumbled blue cheese, divided

1 tablespoon corn starch

12 ounces evaporated milk

½ cup balsamic vinegar

6 ounce bag Sweet Potato Chips (Terra brand)

Toss Gruyere and 4 ounces blue cheese with corn starch.  Add to small sauce pan.  Whisk in evaporated milk and heat over medium, stirring frequently.

Cook over medium heat for at least 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened and cheeses have melted.

For balsamic reduction:

Heat vinegar in a small sauce pan over medium/high heat.  Boil until vinegar has reduced by half, about 3 minutes at a full boil.

Layer potato chips on a large plate.  Top with cheese sauce, remaining blue cheese and balsamic reduction.

Serves 6

Zucchini Bread-Two Ways

 

A four pound zucchini.  Yes, you read that right.  My friend gave me a four pound zucchini last week.  She said, “Can you do anything with a really large zucchini?”  I said “of course!”  I figured I could make some roasted zucchini for dinner.  And then I saw it.  I realized I could make roasted zucchini, fried zucchini, zucchini frittata, zucchini pasta….pretty much everything with zucchini.

The first thing I did with my extra-large zucchini was grate half of it.  Now I have zucchini for quick breads, muffins, scrambled eggs, pasta sauce, etc.  Quick tip, if adding it to bread….squeeze it dry in paper towels to get rid of the excess moisture.

My favorite way to use up zucchini is to make quick bread with it and then pass it out to friends and neighbors.  People always like to get baked goods, right?  I think so.  And with a four pound zucchini, pretty much everyone that knows me can be sure that they will receive a loaf of quick bread.

I like to make quick breads because quick breads don’t contain any yeast.  They are very cake like. There is no kneading, no rising, no hard stuff basically.   It is perfect for breakfast, or a quick snack.  You can make quick breads sweet or savory.  Today I am going to show you my two favorite quick breads containing zucchini.  That way, if you happen to have too much zucchini laying around because your backyard just flat out produced too much….you can give friends and neighbors bread.  You don’t have to sneak over to their house in the middle of the night and leave zucchini on their porch (I swear I’ve known people that did that with peaches)…..make bread.

My first bread is a savory bread.  It is a cornbread actually but I bake it in a loaf pan.  I use a package of cornbread mix to start.  Yep, there I go using packages again.  But this won’t taste anything but homemade, I promise.  Beyond the cornbread mix, I also use grated zucchini (duh), gruyere cheese, and thyme.  And whatever else the package calls for.

The zucchini gives this bread a fresh almost sweet flavor.  The gruyere is nutty and works perfectly with the sweet corn flavors.  This bread is perfect with soup, salad, even pasta.  I’ve even caught my husband making sandwiches with it.

My second quick bread happens to be my favorite.  Because it is chocolate.  Chocolate Zucchini Banana to be exact.  I start this one with a box of Banana Bread mix.  I add more grated zucchini, unsweetened cocoa powder, mini chocolate chips and vanilla Greek yogurt to this one.  The Greek yogurt gives this bread great moisture and it adds protein to it.  It also allows be to use half the amount of oil.  To me, that makes it health food.

 

One of the greatest things about quick bread, besides what I mentioned above, is that you can easily mix your batter together in one bowl, with no mixers.  You basically mix with a spoon until everything is blended.  I swear it is easier to make then cookies.

If you have a surplus of zucchini, you must make one or both of these breads.  You can give them out, you can freeze them, or you can eat them all at one sitting like I do with the chocolate version.  Don’t laugh….there is zucchini in there so it is super good for me.  Right?

 

Zucchini and Gruyere Cornbread

2 cups Marie Callender’s Cornbread mix

1 cup milk

¼ cup melted butter

1 egg

1 cup zucchini, grated and squeezed dry

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

1 cup gruyere cheese, grated

1 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray loaf pan (8x4x2 ½) with cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, stir together all ingredients until just blended.  Pour batter into loaf pan.

Bake at 425 for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown on top a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Serves 8

 

Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread

14 ounce box Pillsbury Banana Quick Bread Mix

½ cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt

½ cup water

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 cup zucchini, grated and squeezed dry

2 eggs

1/8 cup vegetable oil

½ cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a loaf pan (8x4x2 ½) with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, gently stir together all ingredients.  Pour batter into loaf pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until brown on top and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Serves 8