Butter Pecan Cake

Use real butter,
then there is no margarine for error.

First off- I am no baker.  I am sure some of you pastry chefs out there can make a more straighter, better iced version of this very tasty Butter Pecan Cake.

This cake was made in honor of my grandmother's 94th! birthday.  She's an eater (like most of our family) and one of her favorite ice cream flavors is butter pecan, so, I thought this would be a perfect flavor for a very southern style birthday cake.

Here's what you need for the cake:
1 tablespoon of butter, melted
1 lb pecan halves
10 1/2 tablespoons, or 2/3 cup of butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup of milk
Filling: butter cream frosting and butterscotch caramel 
For the frosting:
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Greek Style Veggie Pasta Salad

Why are radishes so smart?
Because, they are well-red!

Get your picnic on already!  Nothing says summer like a hearty pasta salad.  We currently have a fridge waaaaaaaaaaaay too packed, so I have been trying to come up with creative dishes that use up all the ingredients.

Going slightly overboard on my last grocery shopping trip, I want to try and incorporate all these veggies before they have the chance to go bad.  They greatest thing about pasta salad, its just like regular salad- you can put almost anything into it.  I once read a magazine article about an actress who has "garbage omelettes" , where she puts almost whatever she finds in her fridge into an omelette.  Three cheers to meals made of "garbage" (not really)!

Here's what you need:
1 box of pasta salad
2 cups of cherry tomatoes, we used 2 different colors
5 large radishes
1 cup of black pitted olives
1 green pepper
1/4 cup of olive oil
spices to taste (we used 1-2 teaspoons of Mediterranean Seasoning, which contained: Chili flakes, garlic, lemon peel, dill weed, dill seed, oregano, cinnamon, mace, and spearmint leaf.  Use whatever you have on hand, mostly get some garlic powder, lemon peel, and oregano in there.)
balsamic vinegar to taste
feta for topping

Tropical Grill Chop Salad

When is an apple not an apple?
When it's a pineapple!

The grill-outs continue.  This salad is packed full of crunchy-sweet summer tastyness.  We had some jumbo frozen shrimp in the freezer, which makes for a quick de-thaw under cold water and a delicious dinner.

Here's what you need:
12 or so large shrimp
2 tablespoons of pepper jelly
chopped Pineapple
sliced and seeded sweet peppers
2 handfuls of chopped red and green cabbage (or other crunchy lettuce)
2 tablespoons of tomato basil feta (or plain, whatever you have on hand)
1 vine tomato
2 spoonfuls of balsamic vinegar
2 spoonfuls of extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper to taste
drizzle of canola or vegetable oil
1-2 tablespoons of toasted silvered almonds and ramen noodles (take un cooked ramen noodles, break into pieces and toast with almonds until slightly brown)

Grilled Steak Salad with Feta and Mustard Vinaigrette

What is a cow's favorite moosical note?
Beef-flat.

Summer, oh how I adore thee....just man....it's HOT.  When it gets like this we turn to lots of salads for dinner, topped with grilled veggies, meat, or poultry.  This Grilled Steak Salad with Feta and Mustard Vinaigrette was the perfect meal last night.

Last week, we hit up a great local restaurant called Muss and Turners (white cheddar poblano pimento cheese to die for!) and they had the most wonderful brand of mustard (we tend to fall in love with condiments quite easily) called Maille 1747 Fine de Dijion (very French, no?).  The husband's parents were nice enough to track some down for us, and I thought it would make into a great vinaigrette to pair with this hearty salad.

Here's what you need:
1 steak, per two people
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
spinach
chopped red and green cabbage
1 vine tomato
2-4 tablespoons of crumbled feta cheese, we used tomato and basil flavored feta
2 teaspoons of Maille 1747 Fine de Dijion mustard, or another Dijion of your choosing
5 teaspoons of Balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil

Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Peppers

Knock, Knock.  Who's there?
Bacon.
Bacon, who?
I'm bacon a cake for your birthday...


Over the weekend, I threw a birthday party for the husband.  Main ingredients: Meat, Bourbon, Bacon, Friends, Family, Giant Tissue Paper Flowers, etc. etc.    We made many small plates to snack on and this was one of the favorites.  This is an easy, quick and great appetizer for your favorite bacon lover.

Here's what you need:
Some small sweet peppers, halved and seeded
plain cream cheese
bacon, center cut
small tooth picks
(that's it, how easy!)

Welcome!!! The Dirty Floor has a new sister...

The Dirty Floor has a brand new baby (be gentle) sister site called The Dirty Floor Decor.

Take a stumble over and check out the garden tour.

Grilled Chicken Spinach Salad with Apples and Bacon

What day do chickens hate the most?
Fry-days.

Although not fried, this Grilled Chicken is sure to make your mouth happy.

Finally, the rain stopped and the sun abated enough for a good grill out on the back porch Thursday night.  This Grilled Chicken Spinach Salad with Apples and Bacon was a quick and tasty dinner (it would also be also a really good lunch or brunch option).  We served ours up with a simple tomato rice.

Here's what you need:
2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (we only used 1 for 2 people and saved the other for the next day)
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1-2 teaspoons of paprika
salt and pepper to taste
2 carrots, chopped
6 radishes, chopped
1 apple (we used fuji)
1 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 large handfuls of spinach
3 slices of bacon, cooked and diced

Birthday BLTE

Age is a question of mind over matter.
If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.

If you can't already tell by the candle (and The Carte Blanche Old Fashioned from last night), the husband's birthday celebrations have begun!  We started off the morning with a requested, Birthday BLTE.

Bacon, bacon and more bacon (it was his birthday, why not.), a variety of greens from our garden (tour of the garden to come soon!), vine tomato, and two slightly runny fried eggs.  Since he is not a fan of mayo, I made up a quick and dirty basil oil to use to wet the toast.  All and all, he had a big smile on his face and lots of crumbs on his shirt.

Here's what you need:
2 slices of bread, toasted
8 or so leavese of basil
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 vine tomato
a variety of mixed greens
center cut bacon, bacon, and more bacon (at least 6 slices)
2 eggs, fried and slightly runny

The Carte Blanche Old Fashioned

Some of you may be familiar with what is known as airport fiction, books written primarily for men that are as disposable as the latest teen starlet.  The themes are almost always the same: one part MacGuffin, two parts of a femme fatale, and 2 giant brass parts of a protagonist.  Common examples of the perpetrators may include: Tom Clancy, Andy McDermott, Richard Castle (He really is ruggedly handsome), and Jeffery Deaver.

Deaver had the honor of writing one of the latest James Bond novels, Carte Blanche, and took the liberty of concocting a beverage for Bond-a noted bourbon fan in the original books-that was a variant of the excellent Old Fashioned.

Side note: The Old Fashioned is one of the earliest cocktails and primarily consists of whiskey, bitters muddled with sugar, and a citrus rind.  Modern bartenders often put in a garnish cherry in lieu of the rind which is just savagery writ large.

Since we're not savages, but instead fans of delicious flavor, we'll omit the cherry and do things the proper way with:
Bourbon (Rye is also acceptable)
Triple Sec
Sugar
Orange Peel
Bitters
Ice

Maple Veggie Sandwich with Avocado, Goat Cheese and Arugula

What did the yeast say to the bag of flour?
Come on, we knead to be serious.

I love, love, love when friends introduce me to new food.  My buddy Sarah recently showed me frozen maple flavored veggie sausage patties.  They are by Morning Star Farms, take 1 minute to cook and are full of protein.  I have been eating them for breakfast for the past week.

For lunch today, I got a little crazy and made a sandwich out of one.  This is one of those sandwiches you will either love or hate.  I mean, it's maple flavored-ish.  Weird? I enjoyed it.  Morning Star Farms also makes a bunch of different kinds of patties, so you can find which flavor suits you.

Here's what you need( or knead....he he he):
1 sandwich bun, I used whole wheat
1-2 tablespoons of plain goat cheese
2 slices of tomato
salt and pepper to taste
a handful of arugula
2-3 tablespoons of guacamole, or slices of fresh avocado
1 maple flavored veggie sausage patty (Morning Star Farms)

Tomato Basil Pearl Couscous Salad

If you had 10 tomatoes in one hand and 15 radishes in the other hand, what would you have?
Massive hands.

Is it summer yet?  Seems like it is threatening to be...I can feel the humidity seeping in.  Summer for us is filled with BBQs, cocktails, and cold food (did I mention we're in the south, it's HOOOOOTTTT).  Rather than eat popsicles constantly (or boozy popsicles for that matter....hmmm....boozy popsicles....now, there's an idea...), we try to come up with some variations on the ho-hum pasta salad.

There was still some leftover pearl whole wheat couscous in the pantry, so we picked up some tomato-basil feta from the store and went to work.  This dish was super quick to make (like 10 minutes!)We ended up serving this as a side dish to some pulled pork sandwiches, but it also works great on its own for lunch.

Here's what you need for Tomato Basil Pearl Couscous Salad:
1 1/4 cup of water, boiling
1 cup of pearl whole wheat couscous
1/2 teaspoon of Kosher or coarse salt
1 vine tomato, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of olive oil
8 or so radishes. sliced or diced
1/2 cup of tomato basil feta cheese crumbles
1 lemon, juiced
handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped

Chicken Fajitas

What's the difference between a viola and an onion?
No one cries when you cut up a viola.

Yet another silly word, that was dancing about on my tongue last night: Fajitas.  FAH-he-taaaaaaa, Fajita, anyway you say it, this is one easy tasty meal.  My husband's mother made some extra tortillas (from scratch!...reminder, take pictures next time and add to post....), and so we made some fillings.

After BBQ'ing the other day, I wanted to try out a dry rub on the boneless, skinless organic chicken I picked up earlier this week from Publix.  As you can tell from the picture above, the chicken had a great crust to it.  Very juicy and flavorful.  I will be experimenting more with this rubbing down of meat and poultry.....hmmm....dry rubbed shrimp?  The possibilities are endless.....

Here's what you need (for two):

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 teaspoon of Kosher or coarse salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of onion powder

1-2 teaspoons of olive oil or bacon fat

1 yellow onion

2 green peppers

1 clove of garlic

1 avocado

1 lime, juiced

salt and pepper to taste

1 vine tomato

1 cup of finely shredded cheese, either colby of 4 cheese mexican blend

2-3 tortillas per person 

BBQ Pork Spare Ribs

I just got poked by Chuck Norris on Facebook.
Now, I have three broken ribs.

Let get serious for a minute...and talk about BBQ Pork Spare Ribs.  I mean.  Delicious.  Fall off the bone, mouth-watering, make you feel like you're barefoot outside and you don't even care that sauce is all over your face delicious. Those kind of ribs.

Being a rib virgin (cooking, not eating), I of course committed the cardinal sin of forgetting about removing the membrane, or back bone skin, but luckily caught it before they went in the oven and was able to get it off before the roasting commenced.  For those, like me, who have never made ribs before:  Get some St. Louis style cut ribs and google how to remove the membrane, or back bone skin.  There are experts all over the place with different ways.  I used the "stick a knife in-between the skin and bones on the ribby side and then pull with all your might" method.  Experiment, find what works for you.

For these ribs, I massaged in a dry rub and let them sit in the fridge for an hour before roasting in the oven.  My leftover dry rub (that never touched the raw meat) was used to build my BBQ sauce.  Get excited.  Here we go on another meaty adventure.

Here's what you need (1 rack can totally feed 4 people if you have sides):
1 rack of St. Louis style pork spare ribs
rack cookie sheet
foil

For the dry rub:
1 cup of light brown sugar
1/2 cup of Hungarian paprika
2 tablespoons of Kosher or coarse salt
1 tablespoon of black pepper
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 tablespoon of onion powder
1 tablespoon of garlic powder

For the BBQ sauce:
reserve 3/4 cup of dry rub from above
1/2 cup of ketchup
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of liquid smoke
8 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

Make your own Pinata Cookie Cutters

What kind of cookie makes you rich?
A fortune cookie.

Although these cookie cutters don't tell your fortune, they are still pretty cool.  The donkey or burro shape, helps make the adorable Pinata Cookies seen in the post right before this.

Pinata cookies unfortunately require a particular type of cookie cutter.  You can buy them here: AMAZON ...or, if you are feelin' super industrious (slash you need them day of), you can make your very own, like the husband did.  Requires a quick trip to Home Depot (the husband's favorite place to venture, like a kid at a playground) and some old fashioned labor.

The following as narrated by the husband:

Here's what you need:
1 14 inch piece of z-flashing
tin snips
safety goggles

Pinata Cookies

Did you hear the joke about the pinata?
Yeah, I didn't either.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  

Yesterday we had horrible, gross, rainy, yucky, no good, very bad weather.  Trying not to get too stir crazy, we decided to try our hand at some Pinata Cookies.  These cute cookies are filled with mini M&M's chocolate candies!  How freakin' fun are these?  I never heard of them before a year or so ago, when my husband's mother showed me this super adorable Mexican-style treat.  

Make sure you have plenty of time to devote to these, perhaps a helper, and some extra arm muscles (mine are still tired....).  Although, they take forever, the result is absolutely worth it.  They even make noise when you shake them.

You can make your own sugar cookie dough (like I did) or save some time with store  bought.  I think the homemade dough tastes better, but whatever you are feelin' up to.  

Here's what you need:

For the sugar cookie dough:

1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature

2 cups of sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

5 cups of flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

For the Pinata Cookies:

a variety of food coloring

1 loaf pan

plastic wrap/tin foil

a burro cookie cutter (see additional post for how to make your own)

a small square cookie cutter (see additional post for how to make your own)

1 16oz container of vanilla frosting (or make your own)

Mini M&M's

Silpat mat (optional, but makes life easier)

pastry cutter (optional, but makes it easier)

Shrimp Fried Rice with Veggies and Bacon

Quick and easy weeknight meal using...dun-dun-na-doooooon: Leftovers!

Earlier this week we broke down an ordered some takeout Chinese food.  Per usual we were left with a box of rice.  What to do....what to do.... Shrimp Fried Rice with Veggies and Bacon!  Fried rice is great because you can take almost anything that is in your fridge and use it up in this dish.

Here's what we used (feel free to tweak with what you have):
Frozen shrimp, peas, and broccoli
2 carrots, chopped
6 radishes, chopped
1 teaspoon of bacon fat, or 1-2 teaspoon of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1 carton of leftover Chinese food rice
1/4 teaspoon of five spice seasoning
1/2 a teaspoon of sesame oil
1-2 tablespoons of chopped up cooked bacon
1-2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil

Chicken Puttanesca

Two olives were on a table hanging out, and one fell on the floor.
The one on the table asked, "Are you ok?"
The one that fell said, "Ol-live."

Puttanesca...it sounds a lil dirty when you say it; what a silly word.  For those of you not familiar, puttanesca is a style of salty sauce usually containing: garlic, tomatoes, peppers, capers, olives, and anchovies.  Puttanesca, Pu-tta-nes-ca....it is just fun to say....

So, I was feelin' quite salty yesterday and Publix had some beautiful organic split chicken breast on sale.  We usually opt for the boneless skinless variety, but sometimes you just need crispy skin?! Am I right?  So much flavor!  I am not a fan of anchovies, so I skipped that ingredient, but feel free to add it to your Chicken Puttanesca.

We served ours up with a side salad and some mini shells, but spaghetti would be good....or crusty garlic bread to soak up sauce with? etc. etc. etc. etc.

Here's what you need (for two people, and leftovers!):
2 split chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
2-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 red onion, diced
2 vine tomatoes, diced
1 cup of chicken stock
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
6 oz of black olives, sliced
1-2 tablespoons of capers

Beet and Basil Toast

What does a slice of toast wear to bed?
Jammies.

In the morning, sometimes I crave something really earthy.  We recently planted our front herb garden and back vegetable garden, and I had some great basil to use.  I decided to make a quick and healthy Beet and Basil Toast.  The sweetness of the beets really compliments the basil....and who doesn't love goat cheese?!  This also would probably make a yummy appetizer.

Here's what you need (for 1 toast):
1 slice of whole grain toast
1-2 tablespoons of goat cheese
5-6 fresh basil leaves, sliced
2-3 roasted beets, sliced