If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be potatoes. Hands down. No need for discussion. Potatoes are so versatile and so comforting. The neatniks of the world say “cleanliness is next to Godliness.” I say a mouthful of scrumptious potatoes is as close to heaven on earth as you can get (with food).
What I like about rustic cooking is that it’s simple. There’s no fuss. And this recipe uses a slow cooker, which makes it almost effortless. The only work you have to do is quarter the potatoes and turn on your slow cooker. And as slow cooker recipes go, it’s relatively fast to cook. This is a great side dish for a pot roast or chicken. You could even cut up some oven-roasted turkey breast or chicken and add it to the mixture for a one-pot meal.
Baked potatoes with sour cream, crunchy tater tots, hash browns with scrambled eggs, au gratin potatoes with anything – I luv ’em all! So now you know just how much I love potatoes. Which kind of potatoes is your favorite?
4 slices thick-cut bacon, crispy and crumbled for garnish
Instructions
In a 4-quart slow cooker, add the edamame and potatoes. In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Drizzle the oil mixture over the potatoes and toss to coat.
Cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours, or until potatoes are fully cooked. Garnish with crispy, crumbled bacon and serve warm.
Have you ever bought an ingredient in bulk at Sam’s Club or Costco only to wonder weeks later just how you’re going to use it all? Yep, me too. More often than I care to admit. My latest “bulk buy” was a mega-huge-monster-sized bag of Pecorino Romano cheese. Luckily, I love the taste of Pecorino Romano and it lasts a long time in the fridge or freezer. But because this mammoth-sized container of CHEESE has been staring at me every time I open the refrigerator, I’ve been challenged to come up with new recipes worthy of this great ingredient.
When I heard that today was National Pistachio Day (and I LOVE me some pistachios), I decided I’d whip up some pistachio-pecorino flatbread for lunch. I had some leftover turkey breast that I could shred for protein and some delicious sun-dried tomatoes that would be a great accent flavor. It was only 9:30 am but already I was psyched for lunch!
I used a package of Pillsbury® Original Crescents. Just unroll the dough on a prepared baking sheet. Brush with extra virgin olive oil and season with parsley flakes and Italian seasoning. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Then remove from the oven and cover with shredded turkey breast, diced sun-dried tomatoes and generous amounts of shredded Pecorino Romano cheese. Note: in the photographs, you’ll notice I used grated Pecorino Romano cheese, which was fine but tended to fall off the flatbread. I’d recommend using shredded Pecorino instead so it has a chance to “hang on” to the flatbread better.
Pop it back in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Then sprinkle with chopped pistachio and you’ve got a great lunch for 2 to 3 — or apps for 4 to 6 folks. This would also be a great (and super quick) Academy Awards viewing party appetizer. Just saying. Enjoy!
Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unroll the dough and arrange the crescent dinner rolls on the baking sheet so they are lying flat.
Drizzle each with olive oil. Using the back of a spoon, spread the olive oil to cover the tops. Sprinkle lightly with Italian seasoning and chopped parsley. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove from oven.
Place shredded turkey breast evenly on each flatbread piece. Sprinkle with diced sun-dried tomatoes and cover generously with cheese. Bake for another 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Serve immediately.
What’s better than making banana bread on National Banana Bread Day? Having someone else make it for you! And when that someone is Aussie Guy Turland of Bondi Harvest, you know it’s going to be spiffy!
My friends over at The Underground in Chicago’s River North neighborhood have kindly shared the recipe for one of their special margaritas: the Salted Caramel Margarita. The Underground was named “Hottest Club” by Entertainment Weekly and “Best in the U.S.” by Nightclub and Bar Magazine, in part because it attracts red-hot performers like Katy Perry, John Mayer, and Kanye West.
Salted Caramel Margarita
Ingredients
• 1.5 oz avion reposado
• 1 oz mariposa
• 1 oz lime
• 2 caps vanilla
• 1.5 oz salted caramel
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake well. Serve in a Pilsner glass and garnish with caramel salt.
Click here for more unique margarita recipes from The Underground’s sister restaurant ¡AY CHIWOWA!.
When I lived in Houston about 10 years ago – my first time living in the Southwest – I was surprised by how pervasive Tex – Mex cuisine was from the grocery store to the fast food restaurant or from the fine dining restaurant to the vending machines. It took me a while to understand and appreciate just how special and tasty Mexican-inspired foods can be. Part of the reason I didn’t take right away is because I’m not someone who loves spicy, spicy foods. I like bold flavors but only with mild heat. One of my favorite dishes to make – and with which I could control how much heat to add – is this Texas-inspired queso sausage dip.
Many queso dip recipes will add green chiles or other spicy chili peppers. Mine is perfect (for me) without that. And truth be told, you could switch out almost any of the ingredients in this dish with what you have on hand. Don’t have white American cheese, use Velveeta. Don’t have Mozzarella cheese, how about a Monterey Jack. When these ingredients are hot and melted together, it’s the flavor of the combination that sings rather than any single ingredient.
And nothing is more savory than warm queso sausage dip on top of a restaurant-style tortilla chip. Yum! What’s your favorite “dipper” when you make queso dip?
1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup black olives, chopped
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a 4-quart slow cooker. Cook on LOW heat for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally to combine. When mixture is completely melted and hot, it is ready to serve.
No amount of thunder snow, polar plunge or sub-zero arctic blasts will stop me from enjoying the premier of The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon tonight. Yes, TONIGHT!
I’ve been a fan of Jimmy Fallon from his early days on Saturday Night Live. And he just keeps getting better and funnier. Witness this hilarious spoof of the “Evolution of Mom Dancing” with (Chicago’s very own) First Lady Michelle Obama. Just brilliant!
So I’m whipping up a batch of my Pecorino Romano Peppered Popcorn, with Butter, Balsamic and Bacon. How’s that for alliteration! There’s enough to share with the family, if you so choose!
The butter and raspberry balsamic blend beautifully to add some subtle notes to the strength of the Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper.
And what can I say about the bacon? The hickory-smoked bacon is perfect with the balsamic. So good that I have to admit that I doubled up the amount of bacon, cause you can’t ever have too much bacon, right!
Pecorino Romano Peppered Popcorn, with Butter, Balsamic & Bacon
Rating: 51
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
8 cups popcorn, popped
4 slices thick-cut hickory-smoked bacon, crispy and crumbled (or cut in 1/4-inch strips)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons raspberry balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
Instructions
Cook bacon in the microwave on a microwave safe plate. I put the bacon strips on 5 sheets of paper towels on a large plate, then top it with 3 sheets of paper towels. Cook on high until crispy (about 6 to 8 minutes for thick-cut bacon). Let cool before crumbling or cutting into 1/4-inch strips.
In a small bowl, stir together Pecorino Romano grated cheese and ground black pepper for even seasoning. Set aside.
Pop a standard-sized bag of microwave popcorn according to package directions, yielding about 8 cups. Pour the popped corn in a large mixing bowl; set aside.
In a microwave safe medium-sized bowl, melt butter and balsamic together (2 to 3 minutes). Cover bowl to avoid making a mess in your microwave as the butter starts to get hot.
Drizzle about half the butter mixture over the popped corn, followed by about half the cheese/pepper mixture. Toss gently to combine and coat. Drizzle the remaining butter and cheese/pepper mixtures over the popcorn. Toss to coat evenly and serve immediately.
Notes
By drizzling only half the butter and a time, followed by sprinkling half the cheese mixture, will allow the popcorn to slowly absorb the butter. If you put too much on at once, the popcorn will become overly clumpy and the cheese mixture won't blend well.
Aw, nuts! It’s National Almond Day. Almonds are one of my favorite baking ingredients because they’re so versatile. They play well with other nuts but can also stand alone. And isn’t that all you really want from a nut!?!
With over 500 recipes on Baked Chicago, I decided to go through the “archives” [e.g. Google site search] to find some of my favorite almond dessert recipes to share with you on this nut-tastic day.
What’s your favorite dish to make with almonds? Post your comments below and let’s see how nutty it gets.
This Valentine’s Day you don’t have to choose between sweet and savory. You can have both in this delicious recipe mashup featuring Garrett Popcorn’s The Chicago Mix in a decadent brownie cookie.
Click on the image below to get the recipe, which first appeared on the Gapers Block Drive-Thru.
Valentine’s Day isn’t just for lovers anymore. It’s evolved to where we’re encouraged to also show those closest to us how much we care. That might include your mom and dad, brothers and sisters, and sometimes your best girlfriend or even your pet. But don’t forget the ‘littlest Valentines’ living under your roof – aka the kids! They’ll greatly appreciate even a small gesture of how much you love them. This recipe for Chocolate-Raspberry Heart Tarts is a perfect Valentine’s Day breakfast or after-school treat for your rug rats. It’s so easy to make and you can change-up the ingredients to reflect your favorite flavor combinations.
I love the combination of chocolate and raspberry, so I used my favorite raspberry preserves and a new chocolate spread product from Hershey’s. But you could use peanut butter and jelly, banana and chocolate, or just about any flavor combo that your kids will love. And if you go the non-chocolate route, like peanut butter and banana, you could even share a heart tart with your furry, four-legged kids. My four pugs LOVE banana and peanut butter, so I’m going to make one special heart tart for them to share (remembering portion control for my svelte puggies!). That comes down to one heart chamber per pug!
Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter (about 3.5- to 4-inches wide) to cut out your hearts from store-bought pie crust. Arrange them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Put 1 level teaspoon each of preserves and chocolate spread in the center of each heart. Don’t overfill, or the contents will just burst out during the baking process giving your heart tart a heart attack. Not pretty. Use egg wash to seal the hearts, and crimp the edges with a fork. Brush the egg wash on top of each heart and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake for about 16 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. What a great way for you and your kids to start off Valentine’s Day!
Influencer Disclosure: I was given a free sample of Hershey’s spreads chocolate because I’m a Klout influencer. I am under no obligation to receive this sample or talk about this company. I get no additional benefits for talking about this product or company. All opinions about this product are 100% my own.
Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
Beat the egg in a small bowl. Unroll 2 sheets of store-bought pie dough. Using a 3.5-inch heart cookie cutter, cut out about 8 heart shapes from each sheet of pie dough.
Arrange half of the hearts on the prepared baking sheet. Fill the center of each heart with 1 level teaspoon of raspberry preserves and 1 level teaspoon of chocolate spread.
Moisten the edges of the remaining hearts with the beaten egg. Align each heart on top of a heart on the baking sheet. Press firmly around all edges to seal the fillings inside each tart. Crimp the edges with a fork.
Brush the tops with the remaining egg and sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar.
Bake until golden brown and puffed, about 16 to 18 minutes. Do not overbake or the turbinado sugar will burn.
For the last several weeks, we’ve been hearing from the hard-working weather teams and meteorologists around the country just how cold it has been, including:
It’s the 3rd coldest winter ever
Over 80% of the Great Lakes is covered in ice, the most ever
In Chicago, we’ve had 285% more snow than the average and we may break the all-time record for most snow in a single season EVER
With over half of the country in a historic, prolonged blast of sub-zero cold, you don’t need another statistic or a “most ever” dramatic statement to know it’s damn cold out there.
One way to fight back the cold is to think warm and tropical. One of the warmest, tropical locations I’ve yet to visit is Brazil so when I learned about this contest launched by Fogo de Chão I thought I would share it in case Brazil was on your list of warm destinations to visit.
The contest, called “Expedition Brazil,” invites adventure-seekers (Fogo de Chão call these individuals “culture-vores”) a chance to get an insider’s look into the beautiful country of Brazil. One winner and their guest will win one of four (4) 7-day travel expeditions. Entries, accepted through February 16, 2014, will be judged on creativity in describing why they are perfect to win an exciting journey to Brazil. You’ll find complete details and the entry form at http://www.fogo.com/expedition.
Expedition Brazil was launched in conjunction with “The Gaucho Way,” a short 3-minute film that tells the Fogo story through the eyes of one of their gauchos. The majority of the video was shot on location in Southern Brazil and represents the many gauchos that have traveled to the U.S. with Fogo to share their culture here in America.
If you win the contest and go to Brazil – or if you just pretend you’re in Brazil to escape the polar vortex – you’ll need something sweet to celebrate. I asked the folks at Fogo de Chão if they would share a recipe from one of their signature dishes and they kindly provided the recipe for their most popular dessert, Papaya Cream. Enjoy!
Readers of Baked Chicago know I have a slight obsession with brownies. Baked Chicago was named in homage to a city known for innovation. One of those innovations is the brownie!
The brownie was created at the Palmer House Hotel (now the Palmer House Hilton) during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (the official shortened name for the World’s Fair: Columbian Exposition, aka The Chicago World’s Fair). Bertha Palmer, wife of hotelier Potter Palmer, asked the hotel’s chef to make a ‘ladies dessert’ that could be easily carried in a boxed lunch at the World’s Fair. The first brownies featured an apricot glaze with walnuts. The Palmer House Hilton still makes brownies according to the original recipe.
I’ve been baking uniquely decadent brownies since high school. In November of 2012, filled with years of “brownie wisdom” and support from readers, I published my first cookbook: Baked Chicago’s Simply Decadent Brownies Cookbook. With over 50,000 copies in circulation, it’s been consistently Amazon’s top-rated chocolate dessert making cookbook since December, 2012, and 100% of all proceeds have gone to the Greater Chicago Food Depository and PAWS Chicago.
Many readers have asked when the next cookbook might arrive and have suggested some great ideas for new decadent brownie recipes. So to honor National “Have a Brownie” Day 2014, I’m running a very special, limited-time contest. Enter by:
Voting for your favorite brownie recipe from among the most popular in Simply Decadent Brownies Cookbook
Submitting an idea for a new brownie recipe (in the comments section below) to be featured in the next brownies cookbook, Simply Decadent Brownies, Too
Subscribing to Baked Chicago email alerts
I’ll randomly select one winner to get a Baked Chicago Simply Decadent Brownies gift package that will include an autographed copy of Baked Chicago’s Simply Decadent Brownies Cookbookand ahome-baked batch of brownies (baked by me based on your vote for your favorite recipe) delivered to your door.
Love is in the air! It’s almost Valentine’s Day when you show-and-tell the one you love how much they mean to you. But when it comes to chocolate, just one day won’t do justice to the depth and breadth of our passion for chocolate. That’s why Baked Chicago is celebrating National Chocolate Lovers Month all month long. Enter our contest for the chance to win some decadent chocolate prizes.
Most people have a strong preference. Many lean toward milk chocolate, but the ranks of the dark chocolate lovers are growing. And don’t forget those that adore white chocolate. Some argue that white chocolate is not chocolate at all. This is a judgment-free chocolate zone, embracing all flavors and forms of chocolate. Chocolate just makes the world a better place, right?
Enter Baked Chicago’s National Chocolate Lovers Month Giveaway and share the chocolate love!
MARCH 1 UPDATE: Winners have been selected and are being notified via email. Once confirmations have been received, we’ll publish the winners’ names. If you did not win a prize in this giveaway, don’t fret. Watch for Baked Chicago’s next giveaway (coming this week), which will feature a brand new flavor of Eli’s Cheesecake!
No amount of thunder snow, polar plunge or sub-zero arctic blasts will stop me from enjoying the premier of 
