orange juice

Tequila Sunrise Cocktail and Crushing On Latin Twist Cookbook

September 23, 2015

The vibrant color of this classic Mexican cocktail made with tequila, fresh OJ and grenadine makes for an impressive brunch or evening cocktail.

We’d be lying if we said we weren’t crazy about bloggers’ Vianney Rodriguez and Yvette Marquez’s new book Latin Twist: Traditional and Modern Cocktails. After all, Vianney who blogs at Sweet Life Bakes and Yvette who blogs at Muy Bueno Cooking have devoted entire book devoted to cocktails.

But the love for this book gets personal on my part and goes a few steps deeper than just flipping through it’s pages, because I (Heidi) designed their cookbook.

Latin Twist follows Yvette’s first cookbook collaboration with her mother and sister, Muy Bueno: Three Generations of Authentic Mexican Flavor, in which Yvette designed each page and created every graphic element of the cookbook. Realizing the amount of work that goes into the process, she was ready to have someone take that part over this time around.

That’s when Yvette asked me to design the book for them.

To say I was honored to be considered is an understatement. With Yvette’s keen eye for design and Vianney’s superb flair, I was a little apprehensive about whether I would meet their expectations. But I think I did. And in the end, it was a super fun collaboration to be a part of.

continue to the recipe… about Tequila Sunrise Cocktail and Crushing On Latin Twist Cookbook

Mango Gazpacho with Quick Pickled Shrimp Plus 5 Fruity Recipes

August 14, 2012

He’s on a diet and in his book that means one thing. Soup for dinner. But every night?

Soup is my man’s default meal when he wants to drop a few lbs. and with his band’s final reunion gig just around the corner, he’s definitely made the commitment to come out strong and looking gooood. He’s even switched from his beloved Sierra Nevadas to light beer. HORRORS!

Thus his creativity in the kitchen has taken a nose dive. And since I’m not a big fan of soup in a can I had to take things into my own hands.

A week or so ago Smudge requested that I get her some mangoes. Wow, okay, that’s pretty adventuresome for her since mangoes are a fruit we don’t generally keep in our regular arsenal. I was impressed at the request and shot down to Costco to pick a jumbo size pack.

Why. Did. I. Do. That?

Long story short, it wasn’t fresh mango she wanted. Oh no, she wanted DRIED mango. Ah-ha! Fine then.

So what do I do with all of these mangoes? When life gives you mangoes, make mango gazpacho.continue to the recipe… about Mango Gazpacho with Quick Pickled Shrimp Plus 5 Fruity Recipes

Brined and Grilled Pork Loin Roast with Balsamic and Raspberry Chili Glaze

July 12, 2012

This week has definitely been one for the record books.

Thank you, thank you for all of your amazing support of—and eyeballs on—the launch of the Summer 2012 issue of FoodieCrush magazine. Your comments through the blog, on Twitter and Facebook reinforce my belief that there IS an audience that loves food bloggers, their recipes and photography and you too want to know more about these talents beyond their blogs.

Please don’t stop learning about these bloggers after you click close on the magazine. Visit their blogs and let them know you’re there with a simple comment, a wave or a shout and let them know you like them and their work.

One of the articles I was most excited to share is the Boys of Summer feature, featuring some of the best boy bloggers on the web aka Verses From My Kitchen, The Sophisticated Gourmet, SippitySup, Closet Cooking, A Thought for Food and Eat the Love, to give them some man-love-food props and strut their boy food stuff. I keep thinking they would make an amazing boy band, I’d be a groupie for sure.

There are so many amazing food bloggers on the www. I swear I have enough content to publish a new issue every week. Hey, that might be something to aspire to right?

So getting another issue of FoodieCrush out the door. Whew. That was a big deal.

And another big deal happened for me too, something some of you may have seen a mention of on Twitter or Facebook.continue to the recipe… about Brined and Grilled Pork Loin Roast with Balsamic and Raspberry Chili Glaze

Savory to Sweet: 6 Quick Breads and Cranberry Nut Bread

December 27, 2011

Food gifts are always a highlight of my gift giving holiday regimen. Is it because I like to cook? Or maybe because I like to eat (!).

This year I was inspired by Jaclyn of Food + Words’ article about homemade gifts in the debut issue of FoodieCrush magazine (page 18) and planned on making one of my favorite quick breads, a recipe given to me years ago by a dear co-worker.

But once I baked my loaves of Cranberry Nut Bread, my distribution intention gears changed toot sweet.

I just had to have one slice. And then another. And maybe just clean up those little old crumbs over there.The combo of tart cranberries and sweet bread with the nuts were just too good to share.

It was Christmas. I deserved a treat too, right? Right?

So instead of receiving the breads, my neighbors found my mom’s awesomest fudge in my cake-crumbed hands, standing at their doors, with a delicious holiday food gift substitute.

Today I found there were just a few slices left, so I used them in a sweet, cakey version of french toast for my daughter and her sleepover friend. Um, yeah. They licked the plates clean.

continue to the recipe… about Savory to Sweet: 6 Quick Breads and Cranberry Nut Bread

Craving > 5 Updated Chicken Salad Recipes

June 22, 2011

Chicken Salad. It can so easily go so wrong and seem trite, the catch-all recipe for the catered office lunch or duty-calls bridal shower. But by adding an unexpected and flavorful ingredient, chicken salad can be oh-so-divine.

photo > foodiecrush

Here’s my take on Chicken Salad, crunchy with celery and toasted almonds then sweetened up with sliced grapes and earthed up with curry and tarragon. Served on big old slices of hearty wheat bread, this is one version that has full-fledged-flavored. I add a lot more celery to this recipe than listed below because I like the crunch, so follow the recipe as is or adapt to your own cravings.

Curried Chicken Salad with Toasted Almonds and Grapes

Ingredients

4 bone-in chicken breasts with skin
1/3 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup red seedless grapes halved
1/3 cup almond slivers toasted
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 T orange juice
1 1/2 T curry powder
1 1/2 T fresh tarragon chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub chicken with olive oil and generous amounts of salt and pepper. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until juice of chicken runs clear. When chicken has cooled, remove skin from breasts and shred chicken meat, discarding bones and skin. Mix in large bowl with onion, celery, grapes and almond slivers and set aside.
In a medium size bowl, combine mayonnaise, yogurt, orange juice, curry power, salt and pepper.
Add mayonnaise mixture to chicken mixture and gently combine. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Serve on a bed of spring or butter lettuce or hearty wheat bread with lettuce.

photo > Plum Pie

Plum Pie’s crunchy –thanks to the pecans and apple– and sweetly tart –thanks to the cranberries and tangy Greek yogurt— Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad is light and even healthy, and is a hit with the savory twist thanks to Brooke’s addition of rosemary.

photo > Skinny Gourmet

Studded with some of cooking’s most under-used herbs of caraway (one of my favorites when sauteed with cabbage) and anise seeds and a touch of cumin, Skinny Gourmet‘s Irish Chicken Salad Sandwich on Soda Bread is deliciously sandwiched between slices of her husband’s family recipe for Irish Soda Bread. Looks like she now has another family recipe to hand down.

photo > Heat Oven to 350

Adapted from a Southern recipe for pimento cheese sandwiches, Nicole geniusly added shredded chicken to create a cheesey-chicken-wonderland-on-toast with Heaven to 350 ‘s recipe for Pimento Cheese Chicken Salad Sandwiches.

photo > Closet Cooking

You knew we had to highlight at least one recipe that has some serious spice and is far and above the expected chicken salad. Meet Kevin’s Kimchi Chicken Salad Sandwich. Kimchi sauteed in bacon grease? Woo-hoo, a new favorite is born in the kitchen of Closet Cooking.

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