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Tomato Sofrito

November 5, 2015 By Julie 2 Comments

Today I thought that I would share a versatile and easy recipe for my take on sofrito. Now before all the experts out there tell me I’m doing it wrong, I will throw out the disclaimer that this is not traditional and yes I took some liberties to make it my own. Love it or leave it I say. I do hope you decide to love it though because this stuff is pretty darn good.

What is sofrito you ask? Look it up and you’ll see that it’s a Caribbean (particularly Puerto Rican) and Latin American sauce that is used to flavor anything from stews, to soups to beans and more. This stuff can take an ordinary dish and kick it up to a whole new level. I’ve spread it on sandwiches, added it to soup and mixed it into my chili base. It’s just that good. If you really want to have fun, I could see italian, indian and even cajun versions of this. Just sub the spices and voila.

You ready to get cooking? Here’s the scoop for how to whip up a tasty batch of your own.
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Family Friendly Fridays: A Review of 400 Best Sandwich Recipes

May 13, 2011 By Julie 21 Comments

Who loves a good sandwich? I know I sure do. That’s why I was delighted when Alison Lewis asked me to review her newly published cookbook; 400 Best Sandwich Recipes. As soon as I received it, I knew it would become one of my go-to kitchen favorites. With everything from the classic club and sloppy joe, to international flavors you might not have thought to put together on your own (think Banh Mi, a Vietnamese sandwich containing pork, radishes and pickled carrots), to an extensive list of condiment recipes, this book has it all. She even throws in a handful of dessert sandwiches that are guaranteed to get your sweet tooth dancing. The best part is that the majority of recipes are quick, easy and healthy. Definitely my variety of cookbook.

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Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Strawberry Mango Salsa

May 10, 2011 By Julie 18 Comments

Now that I’m a mom I look forward to Mother’s day. This year the boys and my husband went all out to make sure I was taken care of on the special day. It began with a leisurely stroll on our local greenway. I enjoyed the pitch perfect weather and my boys (with the exception of Alex) enjoyed the fact that the cicadas have pretty much taken claim over the entire city. It’s a once every thirteen year phenomenon and we’re smack in the middle of it. Nick, being all boy, found joy in grabbing them by the wings and letting them go to fly away once again. Drew just chased them up and down the walking bridge laughing the entire time. Only Alex had no desire to jump into the bug fray. In fact, I think he was a little “bugged out” by the time we finished the adventure. That’s my boy.

We followed up the walk with a stop at the local yogurt shop and an afternoon nap for me. That’s right a nap. I don’t think I’ve had one of those since I was three years old and it.felt.great. When I got back up and joined the land of the living, this is what I came down to witness:

My husband, who hasn’t set foot in the kitchen more than twice in our married lives to cook a full on meal, was doing just that. I tell ya, I could get used to this. It’s too bad Mother’s day is only once a year.

It’s back to normal life today and back to the dinner grind. If you’d like to get your husband cooking, this meal is a great segway into the kitchen. It involves the grill (the manly aspect of the meal) and a simple yet flavorful salsa that seriously makes the dish (the almighty segway).

To whip up the marinade, you’ll grab up a gallon sized ziplock and add in some balsamic, olive oil, cumin, coriander, lime juice, garlic, and salt. Add in your pork, close er up, and let it rest in the fridge for a couple hours.

When you’re ready to cook up a delicious grill inspired dinner, heat it up and get that gorgeous loin cooking. And I do mean gorgeous.

Once it’s cooked through and the temperature registers 145 degrees in the thickest part of the loin, remove and cover it with foil for about 5 minutes.

Now’s the time to put together that gorgeous salsa. I’m seeing some mango, strawberries, mint, cilantro, avocado along a few other surprises in that bowl. Trust me, they all belong there.

Mix it together, slice up that tantalizing loin, and drop a heaping spoonful (or three) of that gorgeous salsa over the top. A feast fit for a kitchen loving husband. I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s day!

Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Strawberry Mango Salsa

Total Time: 2 hour 30 min

Ingredients:

For the Marinade:

1-2 Pound Pork Tenderloin
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Coriander
1 Lime, Juiced
1/2 tsp Salt

For the Salsa:

2 Cups Strawberries, Chopped
5-10 Mint Leaves, Chopped
2 Tbsp Cilantro, Chopped
1 Small Avocado, Chopped
1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 Cup Yellow Pepper, Chopped (about 1/3 of the pepper)
1/2 Mango, Chopped
1/2 Lime, Juiced
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Honey

Directions:

Mix together all the marinade ingredients with the exception of the pork loin in a gallon sized ziploc bag.

Add the pork to the bag, seal and let marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

When you're ready to cook up the pork, fire up the grill on medium-high heat (around 425 degrees).

Place the pork loin on the grill and cook for about 10-15 minutes, flipping once. The pork will be done when the temperature in the thickest part of the loin reaches 145 degrees.

Remove the loin from the grill and cover with aluminum foil. Let sit for 5 minutes.

While the loin is sitting, grab up the ingredients for your salsa, drop them into a bowl and toss them up.

Slice up the finished pork and serve the strawberry mango salsa over the top.

Asian Salmon Burgers with Tangy Ginger Lime Sauce

April 26, 2011 By Julie 36 Comments

We’re back! Disney was scorching hot, utterly enchanting, completely over-crowded, and positively thrilling all rolled up into one fabulously magical package. Next time we’ll pick a ~~much~~ slightly less popular week to experience the house of the mouse; even if it means pulling the kids out of school for a couple days (shhh… don’t tell Nick’s teacher I said that). That being said, watching the younger set experience the wonder of it all was well worth the trouble. Especially the little ones. When my one year old niece, Taylor, met Snow White for the first time, you would have thought she’d died and gone to heaven. She ran full on into her arms and just sank into pure joy. It was enough to make the entire over-heated, impatient line of Disney goers let out a collective “awwww.” I guarantee you’ve never witnessed sheer bliss like this.

All in all it was a fun week. I have to say, though, that I am happy to be back home and back to the blog. I really missed you guys! To kick off the week I’m popping up a killer Asian Salmon burger that’s easy on the palate and doesn’t take much effort in the kitchen. The dipping sauce is the real gem in this one. Pour a little over the top of the burger and then serve a little more on the side for extra dipping. It’s as close to “one year old meets childhood idol” bliss as you can get.

To cook up a batch of burgers, you’ll first grab a pound of salmon and cut it into manageable chunks. Throw it into your food processor and pulse until you are left with no big pieces.

Next up you’ll add some Asian inspiration and mix it in by hand (or spoon if you don’t like to get your hands dirty).

Form it into four large patties and get ready to cook these beauties up. Heat a little sesame oil over an open flame and when it’s good and hot, cook up your patties until they’re a beautiful golden brown on both sides. Yum yum.

While your patties are cooking, grab up a few sauce ingredients; some mayo, sour cream, lime juice, soy sauce, ginger, and green onions. Mix it all together.

You ready for this? Toast up a bun, pop one of those beautiful salmon burgers on top, spoon a little sauce over the seafood ensemble and bite into pure bliss. Snow White would be oh so proud.

Asian Salmon Burgers with Tangy Ginger Lime Sauce

Total Time: 30 min

Ingredients:

For the Salmon Burgers:

1 Pound Salmon
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Clove Garlic
1 tsp Powdered Ginger
1 tsp Oyster Sauce
1 Green Onion, Chopped
1 Tbsp Fresh Basil, Chopped (about 5 leaves worth)
11/2 Tbsp Sesame Oil

For the Ginger Lime Sauce:

1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp Sour Cream
1/2 tsp Powdered Ginger
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Green Onion, Chopped
1/4 Lime, Juiced

Directions:

Cut the salmon into large hunks and pulse it in a food processor until no large pieces remain.

Add to the salmon the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, green onion, and basil.

Combine ingredients well and form 4 large patties from mixture.

Heat up the sesame oil in a large frying pan on medium high heat and add in the patties. Cook for about 10 minutes flipping once half way through.

To make the sauce, add together all the above listed ingredients and stir to combine.

Pour a spoonful of sauce over the top of the finished salmon burger and serve inside a toasted bun.

Penne alla Vodka – A guest post from Christy at Fudge Ripple

April 18, 2011 By Julie 21 Comments

I’m thrilled to have Christy from Fudge Ripple as a guest poster for Mommie Cooks today! Her unique writing style drew me instantly into her blog and the delicious recipes keep me coming back for more. I hope you enjoy reading and tasting her delicious creations as much as I do. When you’re finished here, be sure to stop over and check out her blog. I promise you won’t be disappointed. On with the show!

when i received Julie’s kind invitation

to share a recipe with all of you

i got so excited

i had so many ideas about what i should share

and this one stuck

a recipe

that brings back memories of my wonderful

grandma

today

i share with you

spaghetti alla vodka

made with vodka soaked tomatoes

this is really simple. peel tomatoes and cram into a jar, use a skewer to secure tomatoes if they start to float to the top. fill the jar with vodka and store in the refrigerator for at least 5 days. i make several jars because i like to use the tomatoes and the vodka for my sauce. leftover vodka is really great for a bloody mary pick me up.

spaghetti alla vodka

(printable recipe)

1 lb spaghetti or pasta of choice

olive oil

1/2 of small onion–finely diced

2 garlic cloves–finely diced

6-8 basil leaves–chiffonade

1 large tin peeled whole tomatoes or combination of vodka soaked tomatoes and tinned tomatoes to equal about 4 cups whole

1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup tomato soaked vodka (or other vodka you have on hand)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup grated parmesan plus more for serving

cook pasta in salted water, according to package instructions. cook onions and garlic in olive oil over low heat. meanwhile, place the tomatoes in a food processor or blender and pulse until it is smooth. do not allow the onions and garlic to brown, but let them begin to soften and become translucent. at this point, add the tomatoes and vodka and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes. add the basil, red pepper flakes and heavy cream and allow to heat through. stir in parmesan, then toss drained pasta in. if the sauce seems too thick, use a bit of the pasta water. shave a bit of parmesan on top of each individual serving, along with additional crushed red pepper, if you like spicy.

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Mushroom Sauce

April 13, 2011 By Julie 30 Comments

The voting over at the Rice Krispies Facebook page is officially up and running! If you have a minute head over and cast a vote for Team Asheville’s entries. We’re the top four pictures listed. Thanks so much and I’ll let you know the results as soon as they’re announced.

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Cordon Bleu is one of those dishes that instantly takes me back to my childhood days. My family spent all their vacations up in Northern Wisconsin at my grandparents cottage on Rest Lake. We enjoyed summers frolicking in the water and digging never-ending holes to China, and winters planting our tip-ups on the iced over lake in the hopes of catching that one lucky fish. I still remember venturing out on the boat one warm summer morning with my grandfather on a hunt for muskies; one of the biggest and baddest lake fish there is, and the exact moment that one actually started to follow my line towards the boat. I began to reel faster and faster; there was no way I was going to let that fish actually catch my line!

When we arrived home from our fishing expedition, my grandmother had put together a lunch for us of cordon bleu with mushroom sauce. She was a big fan of the Schwan man (still is) and would always have a pack of their cordon bleu on hand. Oh how I loved those chicken filled treats. I used to look forward to visiting my grandma Mimi just so I could get my hands on one of them.

Today my grandmother lives in Arizona and we don’t get out to visit her and my grandfather nearly as much as we’d like. My grandfather’s 87th birthday was a few weeks back and it reminded me of those younger times up at the cottage. This dish is a way to bring back those cherished moments and to say thank you to my grandparents for all the wonderful memories and love they continue to pour over me to this day.

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