Lauren's Kitchen

Dried Apricot, Date & Lamb Stuffed Peppers

on Apr 10 in Entrees, Featured Post, Lamb tagged All, Lamb, Mediterranean, Vegetables by Lauren

I can’t believe it’s already April!  The plants in the greenhouse are doing incredibly well.  A variety of herbs; two types of thyme, rosemary, cilantro, our curry plant, tarragon, chives, purple basil, sweet Italian basil, sage, parsley, oregano, dill, lettuce and cilantro seedlings, three types of tomatoes, poblano, bell, and jalapeño peppers.  Even our grapevine is going insane and starting crazy production.  It’s going to be a great spring and summer!

On another (happy-sad) front, my very best friend, Renee, is moving to Australia NEXT Sunday.  I’m not sure what I’ll do without her (probably cooking a whole lot more than I have been), but many of my coming recipes will be dedicated to Renee and her new adventure in Australia with the love of her life, Matt!  W and I couldn’t be happier for her, and I hope that chronicling my recipes will help inspire her in her new town of 1,000 inhabitants. <3  Stay tuned; next weekend is the big send-off, so I should have some photos/recipes from Renee’s Big Going Away Bash.

On a happier note, this year is simply flying by, and it won’t be too long before W and I are relaxing in the middle of the Mediterranean.  First stop?  Italy.  More specifically, Sardegna on the Costa Smerelda, for the 2011 Rally D’Italia and after that?  Capri!  Late last year, right around my birthday, W and I were informed that we had won 5 nights at any hotel from Small Luxury Hotels of the World.  We agonized for weeks over where we might like to go, and finally decided on JK Place Capri.  Returning to Italy is an amazing opportunity that we could never have dreamed of so soon after our unforgettable vacation last May.  I always find that my interest in cooking and experimenting tends to spike before and after our overseas vacations, so I’m looking forward to what inspiration we can derive after this very seafood-centric journey.

Now, onto the Dried Apricot, Date & Lamb Stuffed Peppers.  My love affair with dates in meat dishes began with these Date and Olive Braised Chicken Thighs.  It’s been quite a while since I made these particular stuffed peppers, but I’ve really been thinking about them quite often lately. They have just the right amount of sweetness and spice, and the sweeter the peppers, the better the stuffing ends up tasting.  If you try these and like them, please do let me know!

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Chicken, Bacon & Cannellini Bean Chowder

on Mar 23 in Featured Post, Soup tagged All, beans, Chicken, Pork, Soup, Vegetables by Lauren

This week has been a bit of a bust in our household.  I’ve been sick since last Tuesday/Wednesday, and just when I’m finally feeling a bit better, poor W has come down with the same icky cold that started my sinus infection and bronchitis.

So, last night  I was in a total comfort food mode and wanted to channel this Tiger vs. Dragon Soup from Aarti’s (yes, the Food Network’s Star’s former blog, Aartilla the Fun that I made a few weeks ago).  But, I wanted it to taste more homey and rich, so based it on a chicken and cannellini bean soup I had made in the past, with the addition of some bacon . . . and some creamed corn.  The creamed corn gives it a delightfully sweet touch that contrasts nicely with the savory comforting richness of chicken paired with bacon.  I’m feeling better now.  But, I’ll probably have to make a new batch to get W through his sickness.   Bless his heart.  <3

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Corned Beef Hash and Eggs

on Mar 20 in Beef & Veal, Breakfast, Featured Post tagged All, Beef, Breakfast, Eggs, Potatoes by Lauren

Happy Belated St. Patty’s Day!

I’ve recently been chatting with a dear friend who lives in Ireland, and she mentioned to me that March 18th of this year was the first time she had ever heard of all of the “pinching and wearing green” malarkey that us Americans go on and on about every March 17th.  I was a bit ashamed to admit that I didn’t even know of the origins of the holiday as I have Irish Catholic roots; have we really translated a holiday meant to mark the arrival of Christianity in Ireland into a green beer drinking, corned-beef eating good time?   We have?  I mean, sign me up, but let’s not forget to take a moment to bow our heads and thank Saint Patrick for finding that 4 leaf clover on March 17th.

I’m celebrating late because I have been sick the last week, and only just felt up to cooking something this morning.  One of my favourite uses of Corned Beef is as a hash.  If you have already cooked leftover potatoes from another dish, this is a fantastic way to utilize them.  Meat and potatoes with a fried egg = a pretty delicious breakfast.

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Sweet Buttery Cornbread

on Feb 17 in Baked Goods, Bread, and Muffins, Featured Post, General tagged All, Appetizers, Autumn, Breads, Side Dishes, Southern Food by Lauren

Now that it’s in the high 70s in Dallas, I had originally intended this post to focus on reveling in the cold and icy weather we had been dealing with and suggesting cornbread and chili as the perfect comfort food; well, it just seems poorly timed now that we’re entering summer-time temperatures.  But, it is still February, the weather in other parts of the country could still be worthy of a nice hot bowl of chili, so I’m just going to roll with this post today.  Those of you that are still wearing your snow boots and shoveling driveways; you’ll be pointing your fingers and laughing when I’m complaining about the immense heat come August.

So, my big weakness is bread.  Living in the South, I have had so many versions of cornbread with additions like bacon and jalapenos and cheese.  While they are always delicious in their own right, nothing really tastes better to me than a nice buttery piece of sweet cornbread; plain.  I emphasize the plain-ness of the cornbread because it’s so much more versatile; as a base for a good chili, crumbled the next day in a stuffing, and drizzled with honey as dessert.  I found a version of this recipe online at AllRecipes.com, and made a couple of tweaks with ingredient levels.  The recipe I found had 1/4 cup more sugar, but I worried it would be overly sweet, and found this to be a great happy medium.  It makes quite a bit, so leftovers can be easily used for a couple of days.  Hope you enjoy this recipe!

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Orange-Maple Glazed Chicken Thighs

on Feb 04 in Featured Post, Poultry tagged All, Chicken, Citrus, Herbs by Lauren

It’s Super Bowl week, and there has been an overwhelming smell of apathy in the air for the upcoming game.  Compounding the lack of any real excitement coming from surrounding Cowboys fans, we have had some incredibly cold, treacherous weather here in the Dallas area recently.  Beginning on Tuesday morning with an ice storm that shut down the entire city coating each and every street along my commute with slippery sheets of ice.  The temperature has not ventured above freezing since Monday,  so the ice has stuck around, much to my (and my boss’) chagrin.   Last night, we were rewarded with another 6″-8″ of snow on top of that inch of ice.  As a native Las Vegan living in the South, let’s just say that this is exactly why I DIDN’T move to Chicago when I had the opportunity.

Needless to say, I’ve become a bit stir crazy, and we decided to break out the camera equipment, lights, and “fancy” dishes for a dinner photo shoot.  This is an adapted Bobby Flay recipe that I came across recipe was a delicious combination of sweet and savory, and when I suggest using real maple syrup, I’m using grade A medium amber maple syrup.   No Mrs. Butterworth’s, please.   The chicken was moist and tender.  I left the skin on the thighs, and after broiling with a nice amount of seasoning, added a lovely crispy texture to the rest of the meal.  This is a definite “make again”, and after serving with some very simple steamed broccoli, the sauce makes plain old broccoli a delicious veggie that your kids might even happily eat!

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