Pomegranate Pistachio Bark

Happy day after Thanksgiving!

Did everyone have a great holiday? Eat a lot of turkey? Watch a lot of football? Drink a lot of mimosa's and chow down on Mom's Family Famous Clam Dip? Just me? Ok :-)

We had a great holiday around here! Everyone pitched in to bring different dishes, so my stress level was low. The turkey cooked in 3 hours and 15 minutes, instead of the 5 hours we planned on (one of my fears was that the bird wouldn't cook in time, or that people would eat raw turkey). We were pleased with that one. The Pecan Pie turned out just like the one I practiced on. Twas' a good day.

Classic Pecan Pie

-plus tips on making your own pie crust!

Another Thanksgiving recipe!

Pecan Pie is a serious favorite around these Southern parts. People around here, and especially the hubby's family, love anything pecan pie. Anything pecan, really. Pecan Pie Cake? Yes, ma'am. Pecan Pie Shortbread Cookies? Oh, yes. Pecan Pie Milkshakes? Bring it on. So needless to say, I've been working on perfecting my classic pecan pie.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

We are getting so close to Thanksgiving, I thought I would share my holy grail recipe for mashed potatoes. They are made with milk and sour cream, a sprinkle of fresh herbs, and the most important part, a truckload of freshly roasted garlic. Oh yeah. Don't make this recipe for date night, unless of course part of your date entails rebuffing the advances of vampires.

5-Ingredient Vanilla Ice Cream

Well, as always friends, I had the best intentions to blog on Monday. However, the day had other plans. You see, the hubby and I have been having the worst problems with DirecTv. We've been having multiple outages and our box resets every couple of hours. It's been happening more and more often since DirecTv merged with AT&T. Over the weekend, the hubby and I reached our breaking point and scheduled a technician to come out and switch our boxes. And our appointment just happened to be at 8 am yesterday. Prime blogging time for Jessica. I should have known there would be trouble.

Chicken Fajita Casserole

Chicken Fajitas? In casserole form?

You mean, no screaming hot plate of peppers and chicken to burn my hands on? No constructing-every-portion-as-you-go? And, if you aren't constructing fajitas along the way, does that mean no extraneous plates of toppings lying around that you will eventually have to wash later that night?

If all that hasn't convinced you, how about this? Layers of tortilla, Spanish rice, smoky chicken, and sautéed peppers and onions, all tied together with a super-cheesy queso sauce?

Yep. You had me at queso :-)

Autumn in Kentucky: October 2015

Hola! I'm here with a Saturday post to show you some beautiful October leaves here in Kentucky.

This (above) was the view of the road right after leaving my house. That is, until the leftovers of Hurricane Patricia went through the area, viciously taking down those oh-so-gorgeous October leaves we had going on. Well, boo to you Hurricane Patricia. We were having the most beautiful fall that I can remember around here. 

That could be because 2 years ago, we spent October in Oregon and last year we spent the last 2 weeks of October in Mexico... Hmmm...

At any rate, the hillsides have been awash of gold and red, with the occasional evergreen poking out here and there. If I were to go back and take pictures today (these were taken last weekend), everything would look vastly different. Plus, they would all be gloomy and gray and who wants to look at those right??

Chicken, Spinach, and Mushroom Melts

I love sandwiches. Love, love, love them. Before this summer and my guacamole-a-thon, I had been on a sandwich kick for a long time. A long, long time, eating a sandwich every day for lunch. I can't explain this behavior, it just is. I get stuck on something, and then I eat it. And eat it, and eat it, and eat it. Pretty much until I'm sick of it. So happened with my turkey sandwich. Here's the thing about my sandwich kicks- they last a long time and they always come back. When I lived in Oregon, I spent most of 2009 on a sandwich kick. The building I worked at had a cafeteria where I found the most magical turkey sandwich. I ate it almost every day that year. Yep, I'm that weirdo. 

Beer-Battered Fish & Chips

This one's for you Dad! :-)

I cannot tell you how much my family loves fish and chips. When my younger brother and I were little, little kids, I can remember Skippers being a family favorite destination. We would get soooooo excited if my parents said we were going there. I mean, I know we loved the little red jello's that Skippers hands out with every meal, but we also liked the fish. And the chips. While Skippers is kind of a no-go these days, fish and chips is still a classic. It's one of those meals where if it's on a menu at a restaurant I'm currently calling on, I'm likely to choose it. That being said, the selection of fish and chips around these parts is sadly, nonexistent. The hubby and I love to go to our local brewery for pizza and beer, but I expressly avoid their fish and chips. First of all, they use haddock. Not a favorite of mine. Plus, they bread theirs and it doesn't have a lot of flavor. The other restaurants in town? They all seem to order (and serve) exactly the same frozen food, so I can honestly say, there's no where to get fish and chips around here. We'd have to drive an hour to Huntington, and needless to say, we don't do that often. 

Lasagna Soup

Ah, a recipe other than chicken. It warms my heart.

In all seriousness, it does feel like the hubby and I have been on a chicken rampage. We already don't eat a lot of red meat, we rarely eat pork, and all the other animals are not nearly as affordable and easy to buy at the store as chicken. Plus, our local grocery store has a pretty decent selection of organic chicken. The free-range kind with no hormones or antibiotics type of chicken. It's 100% more expensive, which might be why we've cut down on all others meats, but it's better for everyone. 

Except maybe our wallet.

Soy & Citrus Marinated Chicken

I have found THE marinade.

The marinade above all marinades, the one that will make your toes curl and your mouth do the happy dance. It adds flavor. Saltiness. Moisture. And, it's oh-so pretty.

This happened on a typical weekend day for me and the hubby. True to form, we'd gone for a run and come home to collapse on the couch. Normally, we grab something while we are out to eat (usually beer and pizza, ahem), but we had decided to come home instead. I have a habit of always asking the hubby what he wants me to make for dinner. He has a habit of telling me to make whatever. He's notoriously non-committal when I needle him for suggestions. Not that day.

Creme Brûlée Cake

You knew it was coming. I warned you. 

And now it's here. It was a smashing, delightful success that I must share. Soooooo good.

First, I must admit this is a decidedly untraditional cake. It's light, moist, creamy, and dreamy. It is the opposite of rich. Which is just crazy, because I was afraid the cake was going to be insanely rich. Not so. The cake is just perfect, airy but moist. The pastry cream is also surprisingly light. Together, they make a delicious combination. This is a very un-Southern cake, meaning when the hubby's Southern relatives tell me this cake would go excellent with coffee, I know it's a low-sugar cake. 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic Butter

What?!

It's Friday, and I'm going to talk about Brussels sprouts? That most odiferous, often chucked-through-the-air-by-a-toddler, root-type vegetable that everyone seems to hate?

Yep. I sure am. Because Brussels Sprouts are one of my favorite things. I'm one of those weird people that has always liked Brussels sprouts. Especially when crispy from the oven with a smidge of salt and melty garlic butter for dipping.

I even got the hubby to eat these. He is one of those aforementioned vegetable-throwing people. We've been together almost 10 years, and I can count on two fingers the amount of times I've seen him eat Brussels sprouts. One of those fingers was this recipe.

Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cookies

Please forgive me. I'm all about the cookie lately. There's something about fall that makes me want to break out the pumpkin, the cinnamon, the spicy spices that make Spice Cake magical... so when I saw Pumpkin Spice Oreo's at the grocery store, I jumped. I grabbed 2 packages to put in the cart as the hubby rolled his eyes.

"More truffles?" He said, eyeing the cream cheese that was also in the cart.

"No," I said, nose in air. "I'll make something else."

In my head, I racked my brain. I had been planning on truffles. Now what?

Apple Pie Cookies

It's 5 am.

I'm up early, because the rest of the day is kind of busy. Yesterday, a girlfriend asked if I wanted to meet at the local Mexican restaurant for margaritas and lunch. Not the kind of girl to turn down tequila, I said hell yeah! Which means the hubby and I need to get out of the house and to the gym early today. 

So, yeah, it's 5 am on Friday, one of my bigger post days, and I'm just staring at multiple recipe posts I've got finished and ready to go. I can't pick one. I can't even think of what I'm going to write. One of those kind of days.

Metamorphosis

What? Another Sunday post? Are you guys lucky or what?? :)

Truth be told, something magical happened at the homestead this summer that I just had to share. I introduced milkweed to my garden for the first time this year, and I was rewarded with butterflies. 

Lots and lots of butterflies.

Recipe Redux: Pasta e Fagioli with Kale

Time for this month's Recipe Redux! I think the soup was in dire need of updated pictures-

That's the funny thing about photography. The more you progress, the more you look back and think, "Why didn't I change this one little thing?" or "Why didn't I add some color to that shot?" or "For the love, just blur that background!". Even while I bemoan the state of my early food photography, I also realize it's a wonderful thing. I shared so many recipes in the early days that are the hubby and I's absolute favorites. I'm enjoying these Redux's, if only to compare how far my photography has come. 

Lately: Fall 2015

Oh my gosh y'all. It's been forever, 2 months, 3 weeks, and 5 days since I did a Sunday post. In fact, my last "Lately" post was February 1st. Holy Superbowl Sunday Batman! I've got lots of pictures to share, you know, cause I haven't in a million years. Let's dive right in-

Oh, and if you don't like pictures of things like puppies and Chihuahuas, you may want to skip this post :)

Mini Blackberry Swirl Cheesecakes

I was looking through my picture portfolio the other day when I realized some peculiar...

There isn't a single blackberry recipe on my blog. Not. Even. One.

It's time to remedy that in the best possible way!

Chicken Guacamole Taquitos

I have a confession:

I've been hitting the guacamole hard this summer. Hard. It's been a serious craving for a good 2 months, and a couple times a week I find myself picking up yet another 2 avocados. 2 avocados makes a perfect amount of guacamole for me to eat in about 3 days (I know I've uttered that sentence before!). I've been snacking on the guac with tortilla chips, stuffing it into burritos, and baking it into these tasty little taquitos. 

Kentucky Hot Browns

If you want me to be completely honest with you, I will. I'd never heard of Kentucky Hot Browns until I moved to Kentucky. Seriously. I'd lived here a year and a half before I even heard the term. I was perusing FaceBook when I saw an article about The Brown Hotel, birthplace of the Kentucky Hot Brown. The story is, in the 1920's, upper class citizens used to come to The Brown Hotel to dance until the wee hours of the morning. After dancing away the night, they would make their bleary way to the kitchen where they would request a breakfast-y type dish. Wanting to serve his patrons something more upper-crust then eggs and bacon, the chef at The Brown Hotel devised an open-face turkey sandwich slathered in Mornay (that's CHEESE!) sauce. The Kentucky Hot Brown was born.