Jan 29, 2010 Posted by Lisa Milone on Jan 29, 2010 | 8 comments

Southwestern Pulled Brisket

Three years ago I decided to cook my first dinner. I know it’s surprising that I had gone so long without actually cooking, but I typically just prepared foods instead of baking and cooking from scratch. It’s just easier that way. Let’s put it this way, I had no idea what I was doing. My mom had given me a wonderful crock-pot when I moved into my first apartment, but it basically just moved from cabinet to cabinet. One night I decided that I wanted to make a real dinner. It dawned on me that the crock-pot in the cabinet would be the easiest way to make this meal possible. I threw chicken breasts, mushrooms, and onions in a crock-pot with some spice mix and left it to do its thing. It came out delicious! Whoever invented this magical cooking device deserves a hug and a high five.

After that meal, the crock-pot went back in its carrying case and back in the cabinet. I’ve moved seven times since I received this gift of easy cooking. Each time I moved, the crock-pot found itself a new cabinet to call home. FINALLY, the other night I thought I’d give it another try now that I really enjoy cooking. What did I decide to throw in there this time? Brisket! This brisket isn’t just any brisket either; it’s southwestern brisket. You will be blown away by the amazing flavor that is cooking into this meat while you’re working or running errands. It’s truly magical.

I slightly modified this recipe from the Food Network. I’m so glad I stumbled across it and gave it a try. Also, Smitten Kitchen used this recipe to create some tasty brisket tacos! I served this over fried polenta squares and topped with crumbled goat cheese and red peppers.

Ingredients:
3 pounds beef brisket
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cups water
1 (14.5 oz) can whole peeled organic tomatoes, with their juices
2 whole canned chipotle chiles en adobo (not 2 cans!)
2 bay leaves
6 tablespoons molasses

Season the beef generously with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat just until beginning to smoke. Add the meat and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the meat to the slow cooker; leave the skillet on the heat.

Add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, and cumin to drippings in the skillet and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add vinegar and boil until it’s almost gone, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in water and pour the mixture over the brisket. Crush the tomatoes through your fingers into the slow cooker; add the tomato juices, chipotles, bay leaves, and molasses. Cover the cooker, set it on LOW, and cook the brisket until it pulls apart easily with a fork, about 9 hours.

To serve, leave the meat in the slow cooker and use 2 forks to pull it apart and stir it evenly into the sauce; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove and discard bay leaves.

Jan 27, 2010 Posted by Lisa Milone on Jan 27, 2010 | 11 comments

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

I’ve been trying to find time to sit down for days to post this recipe. Is it just me or is life always a little bit crazier at the beginning of the week? Tonight I’m cooking a wonderful dinner for my friend Annie as a birthday gift. I’ll be sure to post the recipe for the meal by the end of the week (I promise). I’ll give you a little hint as to how easy this one is.. two words.. crock pot.

Okay, now for the yummy recipe. This recipe can be used to make a bread or muffins. Since I’m a huge fan of anything I can grab and go, I always choose muffins. These probably aren’t the best choice for breakfast, but I always start my day with them when I make them. I know, I know.. It’s not multi-grain or loaded with protein. They’re also great as a mid-day snack or even a little dessert. I almost forgot to mention an important part! I have had so many family and friends eat these and have no idea they are gluten free, dairy free, or soy free! Truly tasty. Give ‘em a try and see for yourself.

Ingredients:
3 ½ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
1 tsp xantham gum
1 ½ cups turbinado raw cane sugar
1 ½ tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 ½ tsp salt
1 can (15 oz) organic pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup water
1 cup coconut oil (melted and cooled)
2 eggs (beaten)
1 cup allergen free chocolate chips – I use Enjoy Life Foods brand

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a large bowl, combine flour, xantham gum, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, & salt. In a separate bowl, combine oil, water, vanilla, pumpkin and eggs; stir into dry mixture until moistened.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups about three-fourths full. Bake muffins for 25-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for five minutes and then move them to a wire rack to fully cool. Recipe makes 24 muffins.

Jan 24, 2010 Posted by Lisa Milone on Jan 24, 2010 | 8 comments

Hungry For Pizza?

Happy work week eve everyone. This weekend passed by a little too quickly for me. Was it like that for anyone else? I did experiment with a few different recipes and I’m pretty excited to share them with you this week. One of them involves chocolate – my favorite ingredient, of course.

There has been a giant rain cloud hovering over Nashville for days now. I love winter but I have to admit… this cold, dreary weather has left me longing for sunny, happy weather. For now, I’ll just throw a recipe into the mix that is the best summertime meal. It’s pretty much a classic meal, so it could most likely be the right choice for a Super Bowl party too. You can’t go wrong with a delicious homemade pizza and an ice-cold beer. You heard that right – both of these things are gluten-free. Keep reading, you will be happy to hear that gluten-free pizza AND beer exists.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups Namaste Pizza Crust Mix
1 ¼ cups water
1 tsp olive oil (plus oil to coat the pan)

Heat oven to 450° F. Place oven rack at lowest position. Coat a large pizza pan (I used a large baking sheet) with oil or non-stick spray.

Combine 1 ½ cups pizza crust mix with 1 teaspoon oil and 1 ¼ cups water. Beat with an electric mixer for 3 minutes. Batter will be the consistency of cake batter.

Scrape batter onto pizza pan and spread with spatula. It is VERY important to spread batter to at least 14 inches.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes on lowest rack. Pull the crust out and add sauce and toppings.

I used a gluten-free pizza sauce and topped the pizza with goat mozzarella, shredded chicken, two chopped roma tomatoes, a small can of black olive slices, and some spinach. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes.

Slice and enjoy! The gluten-free beer I served with this is made from sorghum. Redbridge can be found in most grocery stores. Click here to read more about it on their website.

Jan 22, 2010 Posted by Lisa Milone on Jan 22, 2010 | 2 comments

Pass the salt.. and the pepper.

Last week my old roommate and wonderful friend Stancy came in town with her friend Lissa. They flew in from Texas on Monday and it was such a treat to have these two at the house for a few days! They are both incredible photographers so be sure to take a look at their work: Stancy Higley Photography & Lissa Anglin Photography. Stancy brought me these adorable salt & pepper shakers. I’m seriously thrilled about them. Yes, that might seem odd that I’m THRILLED about salt & pepper shakers, but I’ve never owned any. There really is something you should know – I don’t really have a ton of kitchen items and baking tools. Little by little, I’m adding things to my drawers and cabinets to help me with this cooking adventure but for now I’m making do with what I have. I think it’s this way for most young people. Fancy kitchen items can be really costly and it’s not always affordable to go out and buy something to make one recipe. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely have a lengthy wish list, but for now I am really happy with my new clear mixing bowls and these fun salt & pepper shakers.

Jan 19, 2010 Posted by Lisa Milone on Jan 19, 2010 | 2 comments

Spice-Rubbed Roasted Salmon with Lemon-Garlic Spinach

I always get really nervous when I cook for a group of people. I’m really not sure why but I think it’s a combination of things – keeping all of the food warm enough until it’s exactly the right time to serve, hoping the meal will be impressive enough, worrying someone will absolutely despise one of the ingredients I decided to use, and so on and so on. I can say that without a doubt, this recipe is PERFECT for impressing guests. It’s simple, quick, and quite spectacular tasting.

The recipe came from Cooking Light. I changed a few of the ingredient measurements, and have one comment about the lemon-garlic spinach. If you aren’t one to like lemon-y things, just eliminate the lemon zest and juice from the spinach to better fit your liking. It still tastes wonderful without the lemon.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did! I was very impressed with how this recipe turned out.

SALMON
Ingredients:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 skinless salmon fillets
1 sliced onion
Olive oil to coat dish

SPINACH
Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (10-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Remaining Ingredients:
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare salmon, combine first 6 ingredients; rub spice mixture evenly over fish. Place onion in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with olive oil. Place fish on top of onion; bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.

To prepare spinach, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute. Add half of spinach; cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add remaining spinach; cook 4 minutes or until wilted, stirring frequently. Sprinkle spinach mixture with rind and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in juice; remove from heat.

Place salmon on a platter. Arrange onions and spinach evenly around salmon. Sprinkle salmon with chopped fresh cilantro. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.