Summertime Appetizers: Baked Goat Cheese with Honey & Mango Guacamole

Even though summer technically just started, it feels like it's halfway over with July right around the corner! My birthday is Saturday, and to me, it's always signaled the official start of my summer ;o) Squee!

Another beginning-of-summer event for us is our annual trip to Rehoboth Beach. We had a great time this past week seeing the family and enjoying our favorite traditions like Louie's Subs & Pizza and Royal Treat Breakfast & Ice Cream Parlor. We had big family dinners at the house, complete with apps and happy hour. Needless to say, it was an "off week" from our normal eating/fitness routine, but well worth it.

One of the appetizers we made for the family was essentially my chunky guacamole recipe, except with two additional ingredients: mango and habanero peppers! These additions round out the guacamole and make it a little more sweet, tangy, and add just a bit more spice, making the perfect appetizer for a warm summer day.

The second one was sooo fabulous I decided to call it The North Shore -- warm goat cheese, drizzled with honey, spread over warmed French bread with dressed arugula and sweet, roasted red peppers. 

Perfect for your next summer event!

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The North Shore

baked goat cheese with honey

• 1 log of goat cheese
• 1 baguette or other French bread, sliced 1-inch thick rounds, toasted
• 3-4 cups of arugula
• 1 12 oz jar roasted red peppers
• 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Carefully unwrap goat cheese and place in center of cookie sheet or a large ovenproof plate. Bake for 20 minutes.

2. Using a large spatula or two, carefully slide the cheese onto a plate from the cookie sheet, reshaping as necessary. If an ovenproof plate was used, let it cool for 5 minutes.

3. Arrange arugula, roasted red peppers, and toasted bread around the cheese. Drizzle with a generous amount of honey and top with ground black pepper. Dress the arugula with olive oil and vinegar. 

4. Spread goat cheese on bread, top with arugula and red peppers and enjoy!

Other optional toppings include pine nuts or shaved almonds.

My View This Week & My Favorite Pork Chops

Howdy from Maryland! I'm currently in National Harbor, Maryland for work this week. I'm missing the boys at home but I'll see them soon enough. Until then I plan on enjoying the view...

I've had a small but distinct window of down time, and I wanted to still share with y'all while I can. We're going to Rehoboth Beach, DE for a long weekend so I'll likely be quiet for most of next week!

I've been sitting on this recipe for a long time, and I'm not sure why I was depriving y'all of one of the best, easiest way to make pork chops. I truly apologize, because this recipe makes juicy, tender, flavorful chops that will make you crave another.

But no. That would be bad. Have some more salad instead and give your man the third pork chop.

Without further ado, let's get on with this pan-fried deliciousness.

Since I am almost always cooking for two, I go to the butcher or to Trader Joe's to get dos pork chops, which I like to be about an inch and a half thick. I personally like bone-in pork chops better, they just take a little bit longer to cook than the thin boneless ones.

The ones in this picture happened to be pretty thick, but it was all we could find and we were craving them. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

To begin, place about a half a cup of all-purpose flour on an empty plate and season with dry ingredients including Lawry's Seasoned Salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and cayenne pepper for a nice kick. Dredge each side of the pork chops in the flour mixture, then set aside on a plate.

In a nonstick pan, heat 1/2 cup of canola oil over medium-high heat. I also sometimes use olive oil. Then add 2 tablespoons butter to the oil. This gives the pork chops a beautiful (pork chops can be beautiful) golden brown color and some added flavor. When that's melted, blended, and hot, add the pork chops to the pan.

Depending on the thickness and how hot the oil is, you should cook them for 3 or 4 minutes per side and check them by cutting open the middle slightly, like you would when checking chicken.

Serve 'em up with your favorite potato salad and greens. Enjoy!

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Pan-Fried Pork Chops

• 2 pieces pork chops (very thin, bone-in recommended)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (or to taste)
• 1/2 cup canola or extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter

1. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops.

2. Combine all dry ingredients. Dredge each side of the pork chops in the flour mixture, then set aside on a plate.

3. Heat oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add butter. When butter is melted and butter/oil mixture is hot, add pork chops, no more than three at a time. 

4. Very thin pork chops should cook 2 to 3 minutes on the first side; 1 to 2 minutes on the other side. For anything higher than an inch, cook 3 or 4 minutes per side and make sure no pink juices remain.

20-Minute Baked Salmon with Dill

I hope everyone had a great weekend! School is out for summer here in Richmond, and I can already tell that we're going to have a busy summer. This past weekend, we took a white water rafting trip down the James and had the best time going through some class IV and V rapids. The water level was about 8 1/2 feet which made for great rapids and waves, from Pony Pasture down to Rockett's Landing. We also saw The Bayside Tigers, a 90's cover band from NYC, play at The National. More on both of these Monday-morning exhaustion-inducing activities later. :o) And our yesterday was filled with food, family and Father's Day fun. 

I'm ready to get back on track this week, in terms of regular exercise and eating well. I think it's important to eat fish as a meal at least twice a week, more if you can. Salmon is one of my favorites since it not only tastes great, it has powerful health benefits. With only a few simple ingredients, this salmon recipe is easy to prepare and the perfect under 20-minute weeknight dinner.

If I can find them, Kroger sometimes has two fresh six ounce fillets prepacked so there's no waiting at the counter. If they don't have them, just ask your fish butcher (what is the proper term for this person..?) for two six ounce salmon fillets with the skin removed.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take a baking pan and spread a tablespoon of olive oil on the bottom. I melted a bit of butter, added in the juice of a lemon, and poured it on the salmon, letting it soak in to get that melt in your mouth taste. You could just rub a tablespoon of olive oil on it, too.

Place the salmon in the pan and season with garlic powder, sea salt, ground black pepper, and fresh dill. I didn't have fresh dill here but a seasoning packet works just as well! I like to bake it for about 15 minutes for a medium rare salmon. If you aren't sure how you like yours, after ten of fifteen minutes in the oven, check the fish for flakiness with a fork...if it flakes easily, this is an indication that the center is cooked through. 

Has anyone had the Mediterranean Salmon yet? I also have been wanting to try out this Salmon with Dijon Dill sauce - yum!

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20- Minute Baked Salmon with Dill

Ingredients

• 2 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin removed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Sea salt and black pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Fresh Dill
• Juice of 1 lemon

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2.  In a small baking pan, spread a tablespoon of olive oil on the bottom. Place salmon fillets in pan. Melt about 1 tablespoon of butter and mix it with the juice of one lemon. Pour slowly over the fillets.

3. Season the fillets to your liking with garlic powder, salt, ground black pepper, and fresh dill.

4. For medium rare salmon, bake for about 15 minutes. Check the flakiness of the fish with a fork to be sure the center is cooked.

DIY Beaded Cake Toppers

Is anyone planning on making dear old Dad a delicious treat this Father's Day? Perhaps the best cake you didn't bake? Here's an easy way to make that cake (or any cake) extra special: beaded letter cake toppers.

This took me all of one night of catching up on DVR-ed episodes of Nashville to complete. I made them for Mother's Day (clearly). They were super simple and they make the cake look awesome!

What you'll need:

• Lollipop sticks
• Hot glue gun 
• Your choice of decorative beads
• Wooden craft letters

Hitting up Michael's on a Saturday morning has become almost routine for me. While there, I picked out two-inch black wooden letters, different-sized, multicolored pearl beads, and lollipop sticks from the baking section.

I started in one corner of the letters where I placed a little bit of hot glue, sticking beads on top of that carefully. I slowly worked my way around the letters, gluing first then beading. Once the beads were dry, I put down a large blob of glue on the back of the letter, inserted the lollipop stick, and covered it with more hot glue. The "O" needed two sticks for more support.

I'm thinking some of these words would be cute, too (and applicable to life these days): BRIDE, BABY, LOVE...

Happy crafting!

The Best Cake You Didn't Bake

Everyone has a favorite dessert from childhood, one requested for birthdays, graduations, other special occasions. My mom makes the most amazing chocolate cream icing that I used to eat by the spoonful. Wait...I still do. 

Warning: there may be fights over the end piece of this cake...since its covered in a high amount of  creamy delicious chocolate icing. Made with chocolate chips and piping hot coffee, it tastes best iced on a simple pound cake you can buy at the store. 

The icing is fully made in a food processor (no expensive Kitchen Aid stand-mixer necessary) with the simplest of ingredients.

Add 1 cup of chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet, but milk chocolate works well, too) into the food processor and pulse until powdery.

 

Add ¼ cup boiling coffee and mix again, scraping the sides to use all chocolate goodness.

Add ¼ cup confectioners (powdered) sugar, 1 egg, ½ cup softened butter, and a dash of vanilla extract.

Process until well mixed. Then, flip the pound cake on its side and in half lengthwise, so you have two halves. Place the bottom half on an elongated plate and ice with a spatula until well covered. Refrigerate for 10 minutes until the icing hardens a bit. This will help the second half of the cake not slip around as you ice it.

Place the second half on top and continue to frost until well covered. Refrigerate for at least an hour and serve.

Easy, delicious...and no baking! 

What's your favorite dessert from childhood? I hope this will become part of your family traditions, too!

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Chocolate Cream Icing
will frost the top and middle of 8 or 9 inch cake

• 1 cup chocolate chips
• ¼ cup coffee, boiling
• ¼ cup confectioners sugar 
• 1 egg
• ½ cup butter, softened 
• Dash of vanilla extract

1. Process chocolate chips in food processor until powdery. 

2. Add boiling coffee and mix, scraping sides to use all chocolate. 

3. Add remaining ingredients and process until well mixed.

4. If frosting is too soft to spread, refrigerate for a half hour to firm. Icing will frost the top and middle of 8 or 9 inch layer cake. Double recipe for larger cakes.

Money in the Banana Stand

It's always there.

It's been over a week since the new Arrested Development episodes became available on Netflix, and I've only watched three. Three. This is pretty sad for us, but we've been keeping busy and having a lot on our "personal plate" - one birthday (three celebration dinners and one celebration lunch), two summer colds, one fever, one new job, one new car - in no particular order. Yikes!

I've never had a Bluth frozen banana, or any frozen banana for that matter, so we decided to celebrate the return of one of our favorite shows by making some. I love reading the adventures of Hither and Thither, and particularly loved the post where they showed how to make Homemade Magic Shell...that also doubles as an easy topping to frozen bananas.

Here's how you make it, adapted from H&T.

Frozen Bananas

• 2 bananas, cut in half (ripe but firm)
• Roughly 1 cup of chocolate chips 
• 2 Tbsp of coconut or vegetable oil (I used vegetable)
• Sprinkles, nuts, coconut, other assorted toppings  
• Popsicle or lollipop sticks

1. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each banana half and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Freeze for at least 15 minutes.

2. Melt the chocolate with the oil in a microwaveable bowl (checking and stirring it every 30 seconds) and stir until smooth. Roll each banana half in the chocolate until it's covered; quickly sprinkle with topping, if using.

3. Place back onto parchment paper and keep in freezer for 10-20 minutes for the chocolate to set.  If storing for later, move to an airtight container in the freezer.

The "frozen" banana was actually cool and soft, like ice cream. The nutty topping we used is a combination of peanuts, walnuts, and pecans crunched up that I found in the baking section. Highly.recommend. A perfect summertime treat.

PS - 90 Seconds of Buster Bluth.

A Black Sheep Birthday

I love a good birthday. Who doesn't? Anybody and everybody can celebrate Christmas, Valentine's Day, or New Year's, but your birthday is your day. Most importantly because you get first pick on where to go out to eat, and no one can say anything at all cause...it's ya birthday (go shorty).

To celebrate Brian's birthday this past Sunday, we had lunch at The Black Sheep, a sandwich shop in the VCU area. Well, it's more than just a sandwich shop, it's pretty unique - amongst other things, they serve two foot long, oversized battleship sandwiches that even Adam Richman of Man v. Food couldn't handle.

...and now you see why!

We came in around noon and got a table for three right away in their small, but cozy and eclectically-decorated place. I'm a sucker for some good-looking exposed brick. I ordered a delicious iced coffee that I sipped on while perusing the menu, attempting to make a decision. Did I want the bacon/avocado/pimento cheese on Texas Toast? Yes. Biscuits and gravy? Never say never. Scrambled ggs with avocado salsa over a jalepeno gritcake? I just couldn't choose. And the menu isn't online, so I couldn't stalk my choices beforehand. :o(

I love when I don't have dissonance about what I order. This was one of those times.

It was one of the best brunches I've ever had, called Green Eggs and Lamb. It was a frittata with potato chunks, spinach, creamy pesto, and melted swiss cheese topped with a lamb and pork sausage.  I ate half there, a quarter of the second half for breakfast this week...and I still have leftovers.

The boys ordered the USS Saltana and USS Congress sandwiches. They came on their own individual cutting boards and our waitress asked if we knew they were this big. We said no, and were embarrassed. C'est la vie.

I can't remember everything, but one was pork and the other a lamb/beef combo. What's so great about that? Well, the devil is in the details. Banana ketchup. Peach chutney. Thick, rippled bacon. Etcetera. Etcetera. A crispy French baguette that's crunchy, yet still edible. Considering they both came close to finishing them, I think they liked it.

I mean...the subs pretty much span an arms length of a full grown man. It's an animal.

The Black Sheep has creative dishes, a great space, and quality food. It's clear they care about what they serve, and people (aka me) appreciate that! Take an out of towner. Take it to go. Take it however you'd like, just make sure you get here soon.