Take Me Out to the Ballgame: Boston Terriers Hot Dogs

Last week, on July 23 to be exact, Americans came together and dutifully celebrated National Hot Dog Day. It's only fitting that this dog gets its day during arguably its most popular season: summer.

Along with many other Americans, hot dogs have been a staple food in my life for at least 3 years (in dog years!). From kid-friendly (yet adult approved) dinners of mini frankfurters, to the simple, steamed hot dogs from the streets in Times Square, to jumbo-size hot dogs on humid nights at the ballpark - I've had a good dog or two in my day.

And frankly, there are numerous ways to arrive at a delicious hot dog. I prefer them simmered on the stove or charred on the grill. Although I'm certainly not a hot dog connoisseur like this guy who founded Hot Dog University, I've been on the hunt for a totally unique and delicious way to enjoy one.

Back before the Red Sox's season took a turn for the worst and we stopped watching baseball this season, Brian found a hot dog recipe called "boston terriers." I have not a clue why they're called that. Hot dogs simmering with white beans in a combination of onion, bacon, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and cider vinegar doesn't exactly remind me of small black and white canines, but let's just go with it.

This hearty bean filling is enough to liberally top on 4-6 hot dogs, with a little bit leftover. The hotdog's most popular topping is mustard - a whopping 87 percent of adults lather their hot dogs with this somewhat pedestrian condiment, but I think the Boston Terriers are giving plain old mustard a run for its money.

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Boston Terriers

• 1 white onion, diced
• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 cup white beans
• ½ cup ketchup
• ½ cup water
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 4-6 all-beef hot dogs
• 4-6 potato style hot dog buns

1. Sauté onion with chopped bacon until cooked.

2. Mix in white beans, ketchup, water, brown sugar, mustard and cider vinegar. Add hot dogs and simmer until thick, about 15-20 minutes. Serve on toasted buns.

Hash It Out: Pimento Cheese Sweet Potato Hash

If there's one thing Richmonders (and Southerners in general) love more than their summers, it's pimento cheese. Known fondly as "the caviar of the South," folks across the region love this simple spread of cheddar cheese, creamy mayonnaise and sweet peppers on pretty much everything - from crunchy crackers or toasted bread to fried green tomatoes or BLTs.

There are brilliant culinary minds out there experimenting with the wide variety of ingredients and variations one can create with simple pimento cheese. I've been to several restaurants in Richmond and nearby Charlottesville where pimento cheese is the standout ingredient in an entree or appetizer.

Last summer, I had the pan-seared sea scallops entree at one of my favorite restaurants —  now closed, unfortunately — and it turned out toe be one of my favorite meals; but not because of the scallops. Well yes, the scallops were fabulous, but what really stood out was the summery, potato hash that was topped with a creamy pimento cheese sauce.

I recreated this hash using sweet potatoes, grilled corn, sweet onions, and smoky bacon and served it as a side with grilled chicken (scallops are next on the list!). If you're a vegetarian, this is pretty hearty and could definitely serve as a meal of its own.

Topping a dish with pimento cheese is like putting the perfect bow on top of a present.

And this might be the prettiest bow on the best present of the summer, y'all.

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Sweet Potato Hash with Corn and Pimento Cheese

• 1 slice of bacon, cooked and chopped into small pieces
• 2 small or 1 large sweet potato
• 1 chopped sweet yellow onion
• 2 ears corn, shucked and cooked
• Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 cup Pimento cheese
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cajun seasoning
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter

1. Chop onion and sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch or 1 inch cubes (the smaller they are, the crispier they get while cooking). Cook two ears of corn however you'd like - I prefer to grill it.

2. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium high heat. Once cooked to desired crispiness, remove bacon from the pan to a paper towel lined plate. Once cooled, chop into very small pieces.

3. Lower heat to medium and add a big swirl of EVOO and 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet. Add the chopped onions and saute until tender and translucent, 4-5 minutes. 

4. Add chopped sweet potatoes and additional oil if necessary. Season to taste with onion powder, garlic powder, salt pepper, and Cajun spices. I usually do 1 teaspoon of each and adjust as necessary. Cook in a single layer for about 7-9 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are tender. Then, increase the heat to medium high and cook, without stirring, until the potatoes are golden and crisp, about 2 more minutes. 

5. Gently add corn to skillet and season with Old Bay.

6. Add spoonfuls of Pimento Cheese spread to different sections of the skillet and stir to combine, melting the cheese into the hash. Add more as necessary. Serve hot, topped with additional Pimento Cheese, if desired.

Homemade Vanilla and Cherry Garcia Ice Cream

Today is a good day. Introducing...Bevy Ice Cream!



(not to be confused with Bev's Homemade Ice Cream in Carytown)

Who remembers hand-cranking homemade ice cream with their parents growing up? Who remembers thinking, definitively, that the juice was not worth the squeeze, and consequently whining, "can't you just do it, Dad?" Well, homemade ice cream is a whole heck of a lot easier these days than it was then. My mother-in-law received the Cuisanart for Christmas. After breaking it in over Memorial Day, my husband got me the ice cream maker Kitchenaid attachment. Both appliances make delicious ice cream and make making ice cream a breeze. If you happen to have a Kitchenaid, I'd opt for the attachment — simply because it's one less appliance to store in the kitchen.

The secret to simplifying the ice cream making process is starting with a good base — a starter recipe that can be replicated for almost any flavor from butter pecan to vanilla bean. Brian, who's as crazy about ice cream as he is about chocolate chip cookies, set out to craft the perfect base recipe. For days (yes, days), he researched all the greats: Ben & Jerry, David Lebovitz, and Jeni Britton Bauer, and consulted with the New York Times.

Together, we devised what we think is a master ice cream recipe. There are several recipes that call for a couple raw whole eggs and others that call for up to a dozen slightly cooked egg yolks only. We met in the middle: a half dozen pasteurized eggs. These in-shell eggs are pasteurized in order to reduce the risk of food-borne illness in dishes that include eggs that are not cooked or are only lightly cooked (i.e. ice cream, Caesar dressing). To complete the base, they're whisked together with sugar, heavy cream, whole milk, and a pinch of salt.

This being our first foray into homemade ice cream, we kept things simple with a vanilla flavoring and easy add-ins. We added the seeds of one vanilla bean and a little extract as well, then set in the refrigerator to chill for several hours.

When I wasn't totally bratting out and whining about churning my own ice cream, my favorite (store-bought) flavor was — and still is — Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia (sweet cherry flavored ice cream, chunky cherries and chocolate flakes). We made a few adjustments in our version to fit with our vanilla flavored base, so Brian wants to call this "Cherry Seinfeld." We tend to favor comedic legends over rock legends, anyway.

There's probably an easier way, but for the chocolate flakes, we popped a bar of Hershey's Special Dark into the freezer for a spell and cut it in thin chunks with a ridiculously sharp knife.

Then, just follow the easy instructions on your ice cream machine and add in the additions during the last few minutes of churning. (Do I sound like one of those cooking infomercials to anyone else?)

We let it freeze in the freezer overnight before enjoying. And enjoy we did.

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Bevy Ice Cream Base

• 6 pasteurized egg yolks
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• Pinch of salt
• Your choice of flavoring

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks until fluffy and light, about two minutes. Gradually whisk in sugar, then continue until fully blended and sugar has dissolved, about a minute more. Mix in cream, milk, and salt and whisk to blend.

2. Mix in flavoring of choice. Below we've outlined our vanilla flavor, but stay tuned - more flavorings to come! Cover and chill at least four hours, or overnight.

3. Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve directly from the machine for soft serve, or store in freezer until desired consistency is reached. We froze ours for almost 24 hours.

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Bevy Vanilla Ice Cream 

• Bevy Ice Cream Base (above)
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (can substitute vanilla bean with 1 additional teaspoon vanilla extract)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Create ice cream base as directed above.

2. After everything is blended but before refrigeration, scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod into mixing bowl, add the bean pod, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix well with base before chilling. When ready to churn in machine, remove the vanilla pod.

Note 1: Can add up to 2 cups of mix-ins (brownie, fudge, candy, or chocolate chunks or shavings, etc.) during last 1-2 minutes of churning. Use crushed Oreos for Cookies and Cream.

Note 2: For Cherry Garcia, refrigerate in separate bowls up to 1 cup fresh Bing cherries, halved and pitted (you may also use drained canned cherries), and up to 1 cup shaved dark chocolate, and add during last 1-2 minutes of churning. Optional: substitute the vanilla bean with ½ cup cherry juice concentrate or about 6 cups cherries pureed in base to give the ice cream a cherry flavor.

Soul Food Sunday: Mama J's Kitchen

I have a categorized list on my iPhone of different restaurants in Richmond that I'm constantly updating with places I want to try. (Someone please tell me I'm not crazy? This is normal, right? I'm not a "Type A" person, but I definitely am when it comes to this list. The places that are on The List range from special occasion restaurants or perfect patio dining to"always good" restaurants I know I love yet tend to forget.

Mama J's Kitchen, a small, family-run restaurant in Jackson Ward has been on that list for a long time.

If the name didn't give it away, Mama J's serves up true Southern comfort food in a friendly style that makes you feel right at home. The interior is rather small, with about a dozen or so tables and a few seats at the bar, but the food is definitely worth the wait. Patience is not an issue, but a virtue, when I'm waiting on a meal I know I'll love. To avoid crowds, arrive early.

The atmosphere is as if you're eating at your family's dinner table. We were seated at the bar and the bartender said she could tell we were first-timers at the restaurant, but that didn't stop her from offering suggestions, describing certain entrees, and checking in on us.

The food coming out of the kitchen might as well be what your own Mama makes, if you have one that can cook like J does. 

We were both in the mood for fried chicken; Brian got white meat and I got dark. We started with Catfish Nuggets, which are essentially the restaurant's highly-recommended catfish entree divided up into smaller pieces; so we were getting the best of both worlds. The hot, cornmeal-coated catfish melting in our mouths was cooled off a degree or two when dipped in the creamy homemade tartar sauce. The fried chicken was juicy but crispy - as it should be. The sweet candied yams could be a dessert on their own and the mac & cheese was cheesy enough to put me in a coma-like state. In case that isn't enough, each entree comes with a homemade corn muffin.

I'll be back to try the crab cakes, baked chicken, seafood salad (below), a face-sized slice of chocolate cake...I pretty much won't be happy until I've had everything on the menu.

I left the restaurant in a serious food coma - but it was perhaps one of the best I've ever experienced. And as we've heard...mama said there'll be days like this.

Mama J's Kitchen
415 N. First St.
(804) 225-7449
Tuesday-Friday - 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.
Saturday - 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sunday - Noon-7 p.m.

Three-Cheese White Pizza

We recently had a homemade pizza night. It's been quite a while since I made pizza and even longer since I've had a dreamy white pizza. So when it came down to picking toppings, instead of reaching for the pepperonis like usual, I reached for cheeses. Three kinds of white, tasty cheeses to be exact: ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan.

I did some research on how best to make my own white pie. It turns out the best method does not include throwing cheese on to dough and baking it - that would be called Pokey Sticks and may they rest in peace (at least in Virginia).

I found a great White Sauce recipe that I adjusted slightly, slathered it on dough from Pizza Tonight, and topped with cheese and herbs before baking it to bubbly perfection. It turned out delicious, but I feel as if I owe its success to the quality of the cheeses that I used. I went to Ellwood Thompson's and picked up freshly made, fluffy ricotta (the exact opposite of the kind found in a sealed white tub at Kroger). I also bought fresh mozzarella that was made locally. Pizza Tonight is great because I get that homemade dough taste without having to do all the work myself! If I were to use, say, Trader Joe's pizza dough, I might double the White Sauce recipe since they can make a decent size pie.

Although I'm pretty traditional in my pizza toppings (veggies/cheeses/meats), this White Sauce would be a great base for a seafood pizza, if you're into that - bay scallops, tiny shrimp, Old Bay seasoning... or even a pesto chicken pizza... *drools on keyboard*

In the spirit of delicious White Pizzas, I've listed out a few of my favorites below. Where does your favorite White Pizza come from?

Five50 Pizza, Aria Resort, Las Vegas: "The Truffle" truffle salami, bechamel, parmesan cheese, fresh thyme, shaved truffles. Eaten daily during a recent four-day Vegas trip.

8 1/2, Richmond: Crispy, simple, and spicy. Made with fontina cheese. The same people own Mamma Zu, so you can bet their white pie is perfection, too.
















Stuzzi, Richmond: super cheesy (four types - can you say heavenly?), EVOO, and garlic.

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Three-Cheese White Pizza

• 1 ½ cups ricotta cheese
• Fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into ¼-inch slices
• Grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Garlic powder
• Few pieces of freshly torn basil leaves
• Fresh flat leaf parsley
• White Sauce (recipe follows)
• Homemade or store bought pizza dough

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Place a baking stone on the middle shelf of the oven while preheating. 

2. Take the dough and flatten it with your hands on a slightly floured work surface (I used a cookie sheet). Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to ½-inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough until it will not stretch further.

3. Remove the baking stone from the oven. Lightly dust it with flour, then carefully transfer the dough from the working area to the stone.

4. Moving quickly, spread the white sauce over the surface of the dough, leaving a ¼-inch border uncovered. Loosely scatter mozzarella cheese on top of white sauce, without packing it too tight (the cheese will spread when it melts). Crumble the ricotta mixture evenly over the White Sauce and mozzarella. 

5. Sprinkle entire pizza with a dash of garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and a tablespoon or so more of grated Parmesan.

6. Bake for 11-14 minutes, watching closely. The crust should be crisp and slightly browned or charred on the edge and the cheese should be bubbling and just beginning to caramelize. Let the pizza cool on a baking rack for about 3 minutes before slicing. 

7. Garnish with additional basil and parsley and serve.

For the White Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 hand-grated block Parmesan cheese (or pre-grated if necessary)
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme 
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 or 6 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute longer. 

2. Add the cream, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the cream thickens and reduces slightly.

3. Add in grated Parmesan cheese and stir until dissolved. 

4. Remove from the heat, stir in the thyme, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Let cool completely before using.

Aruba: Green Iguana Cocktails

In my original post recounting the PG details of our honeymoon in Aruba, I commented on our snorkel tour with Red Sail Sports:

"During our snorkel tour, which began at 8 in the morning and included an open bar, we fell in love with their signature drink called the 'Green Iguana' (aptly named since we saw probably hundreds of iguanas roaming the island and our resort all week). Needless to say, it was a sleepy afternoon on the beach. I need to find this drink recipe. Need to."

More than two years later, I received the ingredient list from Red Sail and somehow miraculously recreated it. It's pineappley, coconutty goodness makes the perfect cocktail for lounging poolside or happy hour after a long, hot day on the beach.

^ ^ my sister-in-law may have a future career in hand modeling :o)

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Green Iguana Cocktail

makes 1 drink

• 3 ounces pineapple juice
• 1 ounce orange juice
• 1 ounce cream of coconut*
• 1 ounce rum
• 1 ounce vodka
• ½ ounce creme de banana
• ½ ounce Blue Curaçao or blue grenadine
• 1 splash triple sec

1. Combine all ingredients over ice in cocktail shaker and shake.

2. Pour into glass over ice.

Note: 1 ounce = 1 shotglass 
*Available in the cocktail mixer aisle at your grocery store (not found in liquor stores)

Red, White, and Bleu Deviled Eggs

With the long July 4th holiday around the corner, my Pinterest is blowing up with patriotic, color-coordinated recipe suggestions to create for the summer season's best holiday. What's on your menu this weekend? Burgers? Brats? Pasta salad? Deviled eggs? Is it possible to keep any classic cookout foods in patriotic theme?

As it turns out, it is!

Deviled eggs: the ever-popular, crowd-pleasing cornerstone of summer cookouts and gatherings. I'm willing to bet a lot of you have probably enjoyed them a few times already this summer. I'm also willing to bet that you might not have tried these Red, White, and Bleu Deviled Eggs.

Instead of neatly skewering blueberries and strawberries, you can easily show your USA pride by adding red chipotle peppers and to the yolk mix (which goes inside the hollow of a white hard-boiled egg) and topping with bleu cheese and red bacon.

Alright, so I'm probably maybe definitely stretching it with the colors. :o) But, trust me when I say these are a delicious break from traditional, creamy deviled eggs.

Happy Independence Day, friends!

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Chipotle Deviled Eggs with Bacon and Bleu Cheese

• 6 hard-boiled eggs
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1-2 teaspoons adobo sauce from can (add more to reach desired taste)
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 slice bacon, roughly chopped
• Smoked paprika for garnish
• Crumbled gorgonzola or bleu cheese for garnish

1. Cut hard-boiled eggs in half.  Remove yolks and add to a small mixing bowl and arrange egg whites hollow side up on a serving plate.

2. Mash yolks into a fine crumble with a fork. Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, chipotle peppers/sauce, lemon juice, and garlic powder and mix well. Add salt and pepper to mixture if desired.

3. Evenly disperse the yolk mixture into the egg whites, filling the hollows as much as possible. Top with cheese and small bacon piece.

4. Sprinkle with smoked paprika. Allow to chill for an hour in the refrigerator before serving.