Thirsty Thursday - Garden Mixer

The other day I realized I had officially arrived at adulthood. No, it wasn’t getting married, buying a house or having two children that did it, it was opening up my cupboard and realizing I had such a wide variety of alcohol inside of it that it officially looked like a liquor cabinet. I now have a liquor cabinet, people. This is serious. I am all grown up.

One of the best things about having one of these is that you get to make up drinks on the fly. Like this one, below, which was inspired after a long day of working in the yard. My husband and I both felt like something refreshing, so I got creative and grabbed a few sprigs of mint and rosemary from our yard, muddled them with lime, added some vodka and 7-up and BAM! Garden Mixer. Spritzed in your face. We loved it so much I’ve decided to dub it my summer cocktail. Which is like, the highest honor if you’re alcohol.

The Garden Mixer

Lime
Fresh Rosemary
Fresh Mint
7-up
Vodka

Directions

In the bottom of a glass, add a quarter of a lime, a sprig of fresh rosemary, 4 to 5 mint leaves, and muddle. If you don’t know what muddle means, it’s just a fancy way of saying, “Mash the shit out of it.” Then, add a lot of ice, fill the bottom third of the glass with vodka, and finish off with 7-up. Add a sprig of rosemary for garnish. If you want to be a little more high class, I suppose you could use tonic water and add some simple syrup instead of the 7-up.

My recommendation is that you serve this in a mason jar because it looks more complete that way. It’s a hippie kinda drink so dress it up that way.

Thanksgiving Recipes - Love, BATF

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is upon us, so we thought it would be nice to help you prepare a bit. Whether you’re the one hosting or you’re the one responsible for bringing a side dish, we’ve got all the popular (and some non-traditional) recipes below. All tested and approved!

Here’s wishing you a happy, family-rich holiday full of feasting and drinking!

Love,

Beauties and the Feast

The Traditionals…

1)      The Turkey:

2)      The Stuffing:

3)      The Mashed Potatoes:

4)      The Gravy:

5)      The Cranberry Sauce:

And some non-traditional, vegetarian-friendly side dishes:

6)      Slow-roasted Tomato Tart:

7)      Zucchini Gratin:

 

The Dessert! (we forgot to take a picture...must have eaten it too quickly)

8)      Old Fashioned Apple Crisp

Megan's Big Breakfast Post Part Un: Perfect Hash Browns

I LOVE summer and I have been drooling over all the amazing ingredients that have been featured here each month. I feel bad for my lack of participation, but here's my excuse: 

Update on the life of a girl working on a private yacht: We are currently in Quebec City waiting out Hurricane Leslie. Next on our itinerary will be working our way back through the St. Lawrence seaway on our way to Maine. In case you don't know how living on a yacht works, I have a private chef. Oh wait?  Have I told you that at least 100 times? Okay, there is a chef on board specifically for the guests but I have to eat too, so I get the bonus of sampling all the delicious food. Lucky for me, Chef Michelle is also my roommate, travel buddy, and when we get a chance, drinking buddy. She's an incredible cook, and takes care of us daily with a wide variety of food. Curry is one of her latest specialties that I'm addicted to. Since I no longer get to cook and rarely have the time, I have been dying to get in the galley. I obviously love food and cooking but I also quickly adapted to getting my meals made for me. Spoiled - I know. I promised Michelle I would make her some of my specialties and it turns out I excel in breakfast dishes.

Michelle & Megan. Not only is she pretty, but she can cook too!

 Traveling this summer has brought some unexpected culinary adventures. For example, when we were in Sheboygan, Wisconsin we had the  most amazing meal I have EVER had at a little place called Il Ritrovo .   Being in the service industry, I find that service really sets the stage for an amazing meal.   We met a wonderful bartender who recommended a delicious Italian wine.  The owner sends his staff to Italy.  We started with  Fonduta Al Forno which was wood-fired terracota filled with melted mozzeralla, smoked mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, topped with slices of prosciutto di Parma.   This was followed by the best wood-fired pizza EVER.  I have also had some of the worst meals I've ever had.  It gets a little frustrating when you pull up somewhere and are so ready for an amazing meal and fantastic service and it completely disappoints. The handful of times we have gone out for breakfast have been mediocre- okay I take that back they have been bad.  I have worked in restaurants for over 15 years now (gulp) and even I have been sending food back (which I thought I'd never do)!

When I go out to breakfast, this is typically how it goes:

Me:  "Can I please have the hash browns extra crispy?"

Whoever I am dining with - usually the whole table:  "Me too please!"

Waiter:  "Of course!"

How often have I ever gotten nice crispy golden hashbrowns?  I am sure a handful of times but I can only remember once at this little gem in Portland, Oregon: Pine State Biscuits.  Instead, what typically happens, is I get a pile of mushy potatoes with a couple of crispy pieces.  This is unacceptable!  I started cooking breakfast in beautiful Bridgeport, CA at Hunewill Guest Ranch many years ago. I continued this last year as a line cook in Dubois, Wyoming at Crooked Creek Guest Ranch.  I tell you this only to confirm that I have lots of breakfast cooking experience and it is possible to make crispy hash browns for the masses! It is so easy. Here's how it goes:

I often use frozen shredded hash browns. These are easy and organic versions are available too.  If you want fresh, you have to be careful. Potatoes retain a lot of water. One of my favorite food memories is my Aunt Donna shredding leftover dinner potatoes from the garden for hash browns in the morning.  This turns out to be the perfect way to do it and they are so amazing.  If you have the oven on the night before, throw a few potatoes in to cook.  They just need a good start.  Scrub them and throw them right in but no need to wrap them in tinfoil or anything.  Leave them uncovered for the night and shred in the morning.

Heat up your pan and put in a good amount of oil.  I put in a generous amount - about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of vegetable oil.  You aren't eating hash browns to be healthy and for them to get nice and crispy you have to do it. Get over it. Get the oil really nice and hot. This is very important. Once the oil is really hot, put in a thin, even layer of hash browns, fresh or frozen.

Raw, frozen spuds

Here is the  MOST important step of perfect hash browns.  Are you listening?  Okay, here it goes.  DO NOT TOUCH THEM!!!!!!  I am serious. The quickest way to ruin your hash browns is to touch them.  I know as home cooks, chefs, and newbies we all have the urge to move things around in a hot pan.  I know this urge - resist it. You can put the heat on Medium to Medium Hot. If you need to peek to see how they are cooking (so they don't burn), just lift up the corner. This step will ensure a perfect crispy crust. When they are as brown you desire, you should be able to flip the whole amount over in the pan in one or two pieces.

You get extra points if you can flip them all at once!

This is why it is important to use a good amount of oil.  They may seem oily at first but the potatoes will absorb it.  It will also move to the bottom and coat the other side.  Make sure and use a lot of sea salt and pepper. I often like to add fresh, finely chopped Rosemary to them (this counts as my rosemary post!). Get the other side nice and crispy and voila, you have perfect potatoes!  You will never be disappointed again. If you have to keep them warm, put them uncovered in the oven. If you cover, they will steam and you will lose the crispiness.

Perfection!

As I write this, it gets me all worked up. I am obviously passionate about crispy hash browns as seen by the essay I just wrote about them.  I also think EVERYONE loves crispy potatoes as you can see by my conversation above. I think as consumers in this economy we need to demand better quality for our breakfasts when we actually go out to eat.  I go out to eat significantly less than before the recession and I am sure many of you are the same.  That is why eating out should be truly a treat and not a chance to eat crap potatoes and be dissapointed.  I think we should start a movement.  I am calling it "People Against Mushy Potatoes" or PAMP.  Maybe I should do stickers?  Facebook page? We can always slap the stickers on the bill when we get this offensive problem. What do you think? Who is with me?

Rosemary Zucchini Bread

This wasn’t supposed to be a rosemary post.

In fact this had nothing to do with blogging. I had a ton of zucchini in my fridge that needed to be used so I did a simple search for zucchini bread via Food52 and the first recipe I clicked on had rosemary in it! What are the odds? So I stopped browsing because obviously this was the recipe that I was meant to make.

And now this summer, when your garden is overflowing with zucchini and your rosemary bush is huge and fragrent, you will be set. This recipe covers it all.

This isn’t traditional … it has yogurt in it, olive oil, orange juice, pecans and pine nuts. I’d call it hearty. And I always add chocolate chips to my banana or zucchini bread but I wasn’t sure if this savory combo of ingredients would work with chocolate or just be weird.

But those who know me best, know I can’t pass up chocolate, so I went for it!

I had an orange in my house. Just one. And I ate it yesterday. So instead of zest and fresh juice (which I’m sure would have been amazing) I poured just a splash of O.J. in.

As I was getting all the ingredients out, I pulled my Costco-size bag of chocolate chips down from the top shelf of the pantry, ate a few (of course) and set the bag, wide open on the table (dumb move). As I walked away, it promptly tipped over with half the bag ending up on the floor. Maybe it’s a sign from God I should be staying out of the chocolate chips?

The verdict? This doesn’t taste like cake or dessert like many banana and zuchhini breads do, but it’s really good. I’m not sure I get much of the rosemary flavor, but I think it gives it a unique little kick and the chocolate and nuts sure are delicious. I cut both loaves up into big fat slices, froze them and plan to grab them for breakfast on the days I commute.

There is one more rosemary recipe I really want to make. It’s the whole reason why I chose this ingredient for June, just so I could make this specific recipe. Amber ran across it too. But alas it’s not going to happen this month, so I may be posting one more, belated rosemary post in July. Stay tuned.

Rosemary Zucchini Bread

Recipe from Food52

Makes 2 loaves

3 Large eggs

1/2 cup of plain yogurt

1/2 cup of olive oil

1 3/4 cup of sugar

2 cups of zucchini; shredded

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary; finely minced

Zest of one orange (wish I had this!)

Juice from 1/2 of the orange (I used a splash of O.J.)

3 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of toasted pecans; chopped, or pine nuts (I used both, I like my bread nutty!)

Chocolate Chips (optional)


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease two loaf pans and set them aside.

In a large bowl beat the eggs. Mix in the yogurt, oil, and sugar. Then mix in the shredded zucchini, rosemary, orange zest, and orange juice. Set aside.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and toasted nuts.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add a few big handfuls of chocolate chips.

Once the batter is well combined divide it evenly between the two loaf pans (I lined ‘em with parchment paper and sprinkled extra chocolate chips on top.)

Bake the loaves for one hour, give or take a few minutes, until a tester inserted comes out clean. My loaves took exactly one hour and were perfect.

Remove the loaves from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes inside the loaf pan before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Slice and eat!

Rosemary Salt French Bread

When I was growing up, some of my fondest memories are of my mother baking French bread in the kitchen, her purple and white flowered apron tied loosely around her neck and waist, a kitchen towel draped over her shoulder. I would wait patiently for the bread to rise in a bowl, and when it was time, I got the joy of punching it with my little fist. Even though my parents no longer live in Nevada where I grew up, I swear it feels just like home when I walk into their Tucson house, my mother never failing to make a couple of warm aromatic loaves on the day I arrive. (I usually request it with a side of Swiss cheese fondue…)

I’ve always been a little intimidated to try baking the bread myself; after all, no one will ever make it as good as my mother. But when Emily proclaimed June as Rosemary month, I thought this was as good a time as ever. You see, I love Rosemary in bread and if I could incorporate the fragrant, pine-like herb into my mother’s famous french bread recipe (just like Jolie added it to her bread), it just might make it different enough that I wouldn’t be disappointed if it didn’t turn out the same, and creative enough to go on Beauties and the Feast.

The thing about this bread is that there are very few ingredients and it is actually easy to make but by the time I finished it I felt like I had birthed a bread baby. It took lots of patience and nurturing. But it was fun, too, and the perfect thing to do on a Saturday. I called my mom about 15 times during the process and even sent her a picture I took with my phone of the yeast to make sure I didn’t kill it.

Before you read any farther, I must warn you that if you plan to make this bread, start the process 5 hours before projected dinner time. I hope I didn't scare you off, it is just that this bread takes a lot of time sitting and rising, just go and do other things while it does.

Ingredients
-1 Package Active dry yeast (1 tablespoon)
-1 cup warm water
-1/2 cup scalded milk
-1 tablespoon sugar
-1 1/2 teaspoons salt
-1 tablespoon oil
-4 cups flour
* 1 heaping tablespoon of chopped, fresh rosemary, and a couple of pinches of sea salt if you'd like to make Klaire Pirtle's traditionally delicious recipe turn into Rosemary Salt French Bread.

Directions
1) Sprinkle yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water (not too hot or you'll kill the yeast).

2) Scald the 1/2 cup of milk by putting it in a microwavable bowl or cup and heating it in the microwave until a film forms at the top. Stick it in the refrigerator or freezer to cool for a few minutes.

3) In a large bowl dissolve sugar, salt and oil in remaining water and add cooled milk.

4) Add yeast mixture and rosemary and mix well.

5) Add flour a little at a time. Knead dough until it is workable and comes off the side of the bowl.

6) Cover with a towel and let it rise in a greased, warm bowl until double in size. (aprx. 1.5 hours), then the fun part: punch it!

7) Turn dough on lightly floured board, divide in half and let balls stand 10 minutes.

8) Roll each ball into a long loaf, place on greased cookie sheet and score 6 times.

9) Sprinkle sea salt on the top of the loaves.

10) Cover with a towel and let the loaves rise 1.5 hours or until double in size.

11) Bake 425 degrees for the first 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour. Right before it is ready to come out of the oven, brush bread with butter. Bake 3 minutes longer.

Behold the bread babies. They are twins. I am so proud.

I made some spaghetti with homemade meatballs to go with the bread. This was a very wise choice. I want to eat this all over again and it is only 9:00 in the morning.

Asher loved his bread and by the time he was done eating, he looked like any self-respecting two year old would: covered head to toe in spaghetti noodles AND sauce. I proclaimed it bath night.

When my mother was visiting us a couple of years ago while we awaited the birth of baby Asher, she and I did a lot of cooking. Here she is with a then 2 1/2 year old Ansen making M'nM cookies with her signature towel over her shoulder. Lucky Ansen that he got to do so much cooking with Buggie and lucky me that I got to do so much eating. I was 15 months pregnant after-all.

Go-To Rosemary Salmon and Veggies

I was not going to post this. I have another rosemary recipe I want to try that is going to be a little more work and if it works out I'm going to be ready for some serious accolades (so be ready to dish them out).

Then I started thinking if there's anyone out there like me, you want that 3-5 ingredient weeknight dinner idea. Don't you? Don't lie. We can't all be Martha all the time. I don't care how bomb you are. So here you go: My go-to rosemary meal. 

Lemon Rosemary Salmon and Veggies

Salmon filet

Lawry's Lemon Marinade

Lemon sea salt flakes

Rosemary, chopped

Combine all ingredients over top of salmon filet (in a little foil boat) and cook at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Way more awesome if you let it marinate for a few hours in advance. Optional: lemon pepper. Or if you're not super gourmet like me and you don't have lemon sea salt flakes on hand, try the lemon pepper and regular sea salt instead. PS: I'm not super gourmet; I don't even know how I ended up with lemon sea salt flakes in my cupboard. Seriously. Do those expire?

For this meal, I just happened to cut up some potato and green beans, spread them out on a pan with garlic oil, salt, pepper and a little butter. Topped with more chopped rosemary and let those suckers bake with the salmon. Open a package salad, dress it up with almonds, avocado and carrot shavings -- you have yourself a winner winner salmon dinner!

Not even Instagram could fix this ghetto photo to make it look more appetizing. Dammit. I swear it's good.

Behold...the child went in for salad. I almost fainted.

~ Posted by Missy

Thirsty Thursday: Sparkling Rosemary Lime Cocktail

Here’s how this cocktail came to be:

1. June is rosemary month, so obviously a rosemary cocktail was the way to go
2. We have not one, but two Costco bags of  limes on hand (not really sure what we were thinking)

3. As of June 1, in Washington state you can buy liquor at the grocery store vs. a liquor store, which means we can buy our beloved Kirkland Signature Vodka at our local Costco!

4. A soda stream sits on our counter so we can whip up club soda, aqua con gas, sparkling water, whatever you like to call it, any time we want … which is really nice when cocktail hour hits and I’m thirsty!

Hello sparkling rosemary lime cocktail!

This was really light and refreshing, similar to a mojito and would be awesome on a hot sunny day. Of course we made it on a rainy day, but now we’ll be ready when the sun comes out. And since I  had the rosemary simple syrup already made up, later in the week I mixed it with a little lime juice and added club soda for a fun mocktail.

ROSEMARY LIME SPARKLING COCKTAIL 
Recipe from joythebaker.com

 Make ahead: Rosemary Simple Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 sprigs fresh rosemary

Combine all three ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and allow the sugar to dissolve. Remove from the heat, cover, and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Remove the springs of rosemary and allow to cool. Store in an airtight jar in the fridge.

To make the cocktail you’ll need: 
Vodka
Lime wedges
Ice cubes
Rosemary simple syrup
Sparkling water

Fill a glass with ice cubes. Squeeze some lime in. Pour a few tablespoons of rosemary syrup. Pour in a few tablespoons of vodka. Top with sparkling water. Garnish with a lime wedge and sprig of rosemary. Cheers!

Cherry, Brie, Caramelized Onion & Rosemary Flat Bread

When we do pizza night I like to experiment so I usually balance out one non-traditional pizza with a regular ol’ pepperoni just in case pizza number one isn’t amazing. Friday night I went out on a limb and made a pizza fitting for my rosemary post and another to enter into Whole Food’s berry recipe contest... and these weren't your ordinary pizzas!

Then I got nervous that Curtis would turn up his nose at both, so I did a third pepperoni, just to be safe. Yes, three pizzas for two people. That's how we roll. Then we voted and here were the results:

Curtis: 
3rd choice: Smoked Salmon, Blueberry & Arugula (this is the recipe I'm entering in the berry contest)

2nd choice: Cherry, Brie, Rosemary & Caramelized Onion
The Winner: Pepperoni (are you surprised?) 

Emily:
3rd choice: Smoked Salmon, Blueberry & Arugula
2nd choice: Pepperoni
The Winner: Cherry, Brie, Rosemary & Caramelized Onion

I wish the cherry, brie & rosemary pizza would have made a clean sweep, but I’m happy Curtis liked it much better than he anticipated and gave it his number two vote! It was not only pretty, but a really incredible flavor combination and the rosemary shined. I can’t wait to make this again!

We ate this pizza / flat bread for dinner (obviously) but it would also make a fun appetizer. Or you could take the same concept and make a pretty simple bruschetta: sliced and toasted baguette topped with brie, ½ a cherry and a sprinkle of rosemary and then broiled for a few seconds.

What are your favorite pizza toppings?

Roasted Cherry and Brie Pizza
Adapted From The Little Yellow Kitchen

Ingredients
Cooking spray & cornmeal
Olive oil
Garlic salt
Brie cheese, 8-10 slices
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and halved
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced and caramelized
Pine nuts, lightly toasted
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Pizza dough, store bought or homemade, here’s my favorite recipe

Directions
Preheat your oven to 500 degrees (with a pizza stone or tile inside, if you have one).

Meanwhile, melt butter in a skillet and add onions. Cook on low for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Onions should be a deep brown and caramelized but not crispy when finished (If you want to cheat, add a little brown sugar, salt and red pepper flakes… and you’ll have perfectly caramelized onions!)

Simmer balsamic on medium heat for 3-4 minutes until it is a syrup consistency. Set aside. (I just used aged balsamic and forgot to drizzle it on until after Curtis took the pictures, but it was a delicious addition!)

Take a piece of foil and spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with cornmeal (to keep the crust from sticking). Spread the pizza dough out by pushing it with your fingers, no need to use a rolling pin. Brush olive oil over dough and sprinkle with a little garlic salt. Put the crust (still on the foil) on the pizza stone and bake for 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and lay the slices of brie over the dough. Pile on cherries, caramelized onions, pine nuts and sprinkle with fresh rosemary. Bake an additional 8 minutes or until the crust is golden and the brie is bubbly.

Remove from the oven and garnish with extra rosemary and drizzle aged or reduced balsamic on it. Delish!

~ Posted by Emily