You might remember a few weeks ago I made a trio of cupcakes. The first cupcake was a Lemon Cupcake which was fresh and citrusy. These dark chocolate cupcakes comes straight from the blog “Brown Eyed Baker“. They are rich and chocolaty with the density of a brownie and topped with a luscious peanut butter cream frosting. Of course I thought these would go over well because who doesn’t like chocolate and peanut butter. Need I say more!
Ever had a Verde Chicken Pizza? Until recently I hadn’t either but it’s quickly become one of my all time favorite pizza’s. So much so that I’ve made several in the past month. Most pizzas are made with the traditional red tomato sauce, sometimes a white sauce, maybe pesto or even a barbecue sauce, but what I had in mind was something a bit more New Mexican. I decided on a verde sauce with a Mexican melting cheese and cooked seasoned chicken. The dough comes straight out of the “Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day”, which mixes Corn Masa flour in the dough to make the most aromatic dough when baked. Fresh toppings and crumbled Cotija cheese round out this pizza.
Pork tenderloin is one of my favorites meats to grill. Since I’m not able to grill outdoors these days, I’ve found a different way to get the same results. By searing the meat on a cast iron grill pan on top of the stove, then placing in the oven to finish cooking. It tastes almost as if it were grilled outdoors. Chipotle and lime flavors the pork by way of spices and a glaze to finish. I like to save some of the glaze to drizzle over the sliced pork just to add more flavor. Tenderloins are sometimes packed with two inside which is what I have. I’m only making one but the spice blend and glaze are enough to season two loins or about 2 1/2 pounds.
If you’ve ever had the Avocado Club Egg Rolls at California Pizza Kitchen then I don’t need to tell you how yummy they are. We don’t go often but when we do we always order some of these tasty egg rolls to share. I came across a copycat recipe some years ago, don’t remember where I got it, but it seemed to have all the right ingredients. When I mentioned making egg rolls my guys all asked for the avocado egg rolls so I decided to give it a try. I was amazed at how closely they tasted to the egg rolls they serve at CPK. They were a big hit and I’m sure it won’t be long before they start requesting them again. Egg Rolls can seem like a challenge, but they are really easy to make. Once you get into a rhythm it’s easy!
In honor of Fat Tuesday I’m celebrating with a big serving of warm banana bread pudding. I had a loaf of brioche bread that has been sitting around for a few days and some bananas that were starting to turn. The two seemed destined to come together to make a warm melt in your mouth dessert. Although, if you’re counting calories, this isn’t the dessert for you. It’s rich with cream and eggs and caramelized bananas in a buttery rum syrup. All things in moderation, right!
I’m always trying to find ways to get some fresh greens into our diet. Fresh spinach is one thing that we all seem to enjoy and so to dress it up I roasted some onion and red bell pepper and made a warm balsamic vinaigrette. Adding the warm vegetables and dressing tends to wilt the spinach just a touch and makes this salad really delicious. And for my bacon lovers I added a little sprinkle of bacon bits to top it off.
Recently I made a variety of cupcakes for Joe to share at work. One of the choices was this citrusy lemon cupcake which was my personal favorite. I just love the fresh citrus of lemon that shines through this tiny cake. The cupcake was very moist and the lemon cream cheese frosting tasted like a smooth lemon cream. I mixed a little sugar and lemon zest together to make a pretty crystallized topping. I found this recipe on a beautiful blog post by “My Baking Addiction” but scaled it down to make an even dozen cupcakes.
Superbowl is coming up and a very exciting time for those who like to get together and celebrate the game. I must admit I’m not a big fan of football but I do enjoy watching the Superbowl. I usually root for the underdog and enjoy the must see commercials plus the halftime show. But aside from the entertainment I love the game day food that everyone indulges in. Here’s 15 of my favorites for some great game day eats. Wings are always a favorite but I love a salsa bar any day of the week. So tell me, what will you be serving up this Superbowl Sunday?
An Inspired Cook 