Date Night In: Gumbo Edition

I have a problem.  I go to the grocery and I either start snatching and grabbing everything is sight or I am completely dumbfounded and can't seem to remember what I went for.  A few weeks ago, I was a victim of the former.  I just couldn't stop filling the cart up with all these wonderful items for recipes I was going to make for him when he came back from a work trip.  Life gets in the way and subsequently I'm still working through all of the delights I purchased.  One of the lonely lost ingredients I realized was still in my fridge from all of the unmade delectables was andouille sausage.

This weekend I had promised him a weekend of nothing planned.  And I delivered on that promise but that did mean I needed to whip something up with what was on hand without making unnecessary errands.  Therefore, andouille sausage and Pinterest to the rescue! Or should I say Little Spice Jar to the rescue!!!

I have made a few of Little Spice Jar's recipes before and they have all turned out well so I knew I could rely on her for this gumbo recipe.  She goes into great detail about what a roux consists of, the stages of a roux, and tips to getting a great roux (and when to throw it out).

I had to throw out my first roux.  I blame the electric coil stove thingys!!!  You never know how hot those things are!

The second roux was a success and the rest was easy as pie.  Just dump, let it simmer, dump, and let it simmer.  I didn't edit these photos at all because I wanted to show the stages of my roux, how dark I let my roux get, and how deep of a color my gumbo actually became from said roux.  It seems that people who make gumbo often are very passionate about how deep of a color the roux becomes which will then yield a very deep, dark gumbo.  

Here is where I stopped cooking my roux and added my vegetables.  I think I could have let it go a little longer but I did have some anxiety in letting it go further and possibly burning the roux again and having start all over for the third time.  It took about 20 minutes to get to this stage (exactly what it says in the recipe).

From here on out, all you have to do it dump some ingredients in and let it simmer at two separate stages.  

Ingredient dump #1

Ingredient dump #2

Serve over rice and enjoy!!!

Simple Steak Recipe - #weddingdietwannbe

I found this recipe while on a pretty intense diet called the Fast Metabolism Diet.  The recipe called for lime juice and rosemary as a steak seasoning.  Weird.  But let me tell you, it's tasty!!!!  I have tried this marinade on filet mignon as well and it was delish!

Tonight, I added garlic salt and a little bit of butter to the pan as well.

Steak Marinade:

Steak (we used ribeye)

Salt

Pepper

Juice of 2 limes

Two sprigs of rosemary, chopped

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1-2 tbsp butter

After letting the steaks marinate for about 3 hours, I heated up a cast iron skillet.  The steaks don't have to marinate very long at all, at least 10 min but up to 12 hours.  Searing both sides of the steak on a high heat, the steaks did not take long to cook (about 10 min).  I let the steaks rest for a few minutes so the juices could redistribute and served them with Twice Bake Potatoes.... :-)

Let me know if you have any steak marinades that you use!

'Neath the Mississippi Moon - The Blind Pig

The Blind Pig is tucked away down stairs on the corner of Monroe Ave. and N. Lamar Blvd. in Oxford, MS.  You will miss it if you aren't looking.  Or think that its just too hipster for you to take part in.  I thought the same at first.  But once the waiter brings you the fresh out of the fryer pork rinds still sizzling, popping, and cracking all you can focus on is the delicious BBQ seasoning and how it just melts away in your mouth, along with your problems (see below).

No need to dress up fancy, it's all just fun, games, and drinking down here.  An ATM is located outside just to the left of the front door and pool tables are located in the back room as soon as you descend the stairs.  I'm not brave enough to partake but there are always student and/or locals playing a game or two.  You can always get some of the local craft brews or stick with the classics.

Usually, I'll get a sandwich which comes with some of their house made chips.  Thick and hearty potato slices fried and seasoned with greek or BBQ seasoning.  Delicious either way!  I have tried the salads and must say that they are hearty as well.  It not just iceberg lettuce with dressing.  The toppings are plentiful.  

My first experience at The Blind Pig was with my father on mov-in/move-out day.  I think we shared the BBQ nachos and between two hungry movers, we couldn't finish them all.  I had second dinner later that night.  

This time, it was sunny, the waiter brought me a cold Blue Moon fresh from the tap with an orange wedge, the music and arts festival was in full swing, and the burger just seemed to be the obvious choice.  It was perfect.  Juicy, flavorful, cooked perfectly.  "Yum yum in the tum tum" as my mother would say.  

My man usually keeps it consistent with the club and greek seasoned chips and polishes it off every time.  Ten times out of ten their specials are on point.  

The Blind Pig is not a large space but is perfect of getting away from the typical Oxford Square crowds.  The food is great and the atmosphere is relaxed.  

#weddingdietwannabe - BBQ Chicken Pizza and Pesto Prosciutto Pizza

Pinspiration strikes again!  Nightly surfs through my Pinterest feed can spark the best weekend treats.

After finding this post...Honest & Tasty Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe....it all became clear as day that I had a perfect use for my new food processor.  Pizza dough!!

My excuse for making pizzas (really just using my food processor) in the first place was to celebrate a friend's engagement.  They had prior plans but ours never wavered.  Pizza here we come!!

To begin, I whipped out my new food processor.  While most people have the Kitchen Aid food processor, I have a Braun food processor.  So far, its been great!  It has made dough effortlessly, shredded carrots, kale, and cabbage without a problem.  AND, its quiet, which is a huge plus for me!

Here is the recipe I used - Williams Sonoma Pizza Dough.  The reviews were right.  It makes the best, simple, pizza dough.  I might have over beat my dough and made it a little tough but other than that it was great! It was so simple.  

Pizza #1 - BBQ Chicken Pizza

Half of the pizza dough

BBQ sauce (we used Rendevouz Hot BBQ sauce, it was HOT)

Shredded chicken

Shredded mozzarella

Red onion

Cilantro

Use the BBQ sauce as a substitute for the tomato/pizza sauce (the base) and assemble the pizza from there.

All of these ingredients are to taste.  If you like a lot of sauce, pour it on! If you want to load on the chicken, go for it!

Pizza #2 - Pesto Prosciutto Pizza

Half of the pizza dough

Pesto (we used store bought)

Prosciutto

Shredded cheese, pizza mix

sliced tomatoes (optional)

Again, add whatever amount of what you want to the pizzas, but be careful, the pesto and prosciutto are salty so be careful to not add too much of both! 

We were eating on pizza for about four days.  And it was delightful!

Also, I was feeling ambitious and made prosciutto twists!  I have made these once before for my Waffle girls (Sisterhood of the Traveling Apron besties).  Our yearly "conference" meetings consist of a meal, theme based, selected by the hostess.  One year, I decided to do an 8 course Christmas Italian meal and these were part of the antipasti dish (course #2, I believe).  

Prosciutto

Pastry dough, store bought

Butter

Italian seasoning  

Preheat the oven according to the pastry dough box directions.  After letting your pastry dough thaw in the fridge, lay it out and cut into one inch strips.  Lay out the proscuitto and cut into one inch strips.  Lay the prosciutto on top of one piece of pastry dough strip and twist.  You might need to pinch the ends to keep the twist twisted but just see how you pastry dough behaves!  Melt the butter and add the italian seasoning.  Brush the italian seasoning on the twists and bake for 15- 20 min.  

Viola! A delicious salty snack!  Try them dipped in honey..... mmm, mmm, good!  What can I say, we both have a salty tooth :-)

#weddingdietwannabes - Wings, fries, and juicing?!

After my visit to Memphis last week, my groom had the idea of trying out juicing.  I had seen recipe ideas on Pinterest and tried smoothie versions of juicing recipes but was skeptical of juicing itself.  I had heard that certain juicers don't leave all the vitamins and minerals in the juice, they are all taken out during the juicing process, not to mention there is a mess to clean up after and the amount of produce you need to buy is impressive.  

He had a very successful first week juicing (minus the mess).  He made a "green machine" juice with kale, cucumber, lemon, ginger, and celery.  As a guy that has coffee for breakfast every morning, I think the juice has quite a few benefits for him.  He gets all his vegetables in for the day and he has something to get him through to lunch other than what might be offered in the break room at work.  

He convinced me to try it and this past weekend we went to Kroger and stocked up for week two of juicing (week one for me).  My goal was to aim for a sweeter juice and I think I was successful.  First, I chose green grapes.  Surely they would be super juicy!  Then strawberries, cantaloupe and pears.  He stuck with his lean green machine recipe of kale, carrots, lemon, cucumber, celery, apples and pears.  

Juicing was a success and might be something that we are able to keep up on a weekly basis.  I have felt sustained after having my juice in the morning.  Its not something to keep me full until lunch but I feel energized and refreshed to start the day.  We both juice at the same time so there is only one mess made and we have enough for the five day work week.  Im excited to see where week 3 goes from here!

#wannabes

This, is where we fell off the bandwagon....

A cheap dinner idea on the fly while you are heading out the door to Kroger - I give you buffalo chicken wings.  We try so hard to keep up with being healthy but then the Pioneer Woman makes chicken wings on the Food Network.  *sigh*  Ree Drummond lures us in every time...

We rounded off the meal with Double Beer Battered Cajun Fries.  It was a labor of love.  I love potatoes in any shape or form and I love cooking.  But these took forever.  Making two batters, then frying them twice, and multiple paper towels used to drain the fat.  Believe me, they were delicious! Just make sure you have the time to dedicate to making them and have hungry humans to shower you with gratitude once you present them with a mound of double fried fries! 

Life is all about balance right?! #weddingdietwannabes

Walking In Memphis: City Silo Table + Pantry

#weddingdietwannabe

As I've said before, we are getting hitched soon.  Although, the post just before this one was a post about a burger place that probably still uses the same oil to fry bacon today that they first poured into the fryer the day they opened their doors, I am now on a mission for something healthier.

I stumbled upon City Silo Table + Pantry on Instagram (and had recently been to The Sear Shack located in the same shopping center) and decided it would be on my list of places to hit in Memphis.

Hoping that maybe it would spark a health kick. Maybe?!

From Instagram, I knew City Silo had a super cute, crisp, and clean atmosphere and found out that the food was just the same!  I was worried about the band to buck ratio but was pleasantly surprised!  We got in and out of there for about $26 and this is what we had....

My man was feeling a little bold and ordered a wheatgrass shot.  He enjoyed it!  Apparently, he has had one before (who knew?!) so he did have something to compare to.  He was happy to report that this was a little sweeter than what he has had in the past.

I had the kale caesar salad with grilled farm raised chicken.  It was great.  Just enough crunch, caesar flavor, and chicken to fill me up.  

He had the El Goodo hearty bowl with a fried egg and avocado and polished it off.

Be sure to go check them out on Instagram and Facebook.  Or even better, go visit them in Memphis! We will for sure be going back to try the smoothies, smoothie bowls, lattes, and other healthy, hearty concoctions. 

We finished the night meetings some friends at The Cheese Cake Corner.  We were not expecting a place so romantic to get a slice of cheesecake.  Glass table tops, wine selection, decadent cheesecake selection, cheesecake topping selection, candlelit ambiance - it was so nice, yummy, and not at all in line with the wedding diets!

Sorry, no cheesecake pictures, it was too dark at the table.  See....