On The Tip Of My Tongue

Whew! We made it through the holidays in one piece and we even got the New Year kicked off in style, New Orleans style to be specific, where my beloved Oklahoma Sooners succeeded in becoming the BCS Sugar Bowl Champions. Now that we made it through all the craziness our lives can return to normal (whatever that is?). Christmas was amazing for me this year, my culinary mind is running on high thanks to a gift from the big jolly fellow himself. Santa brought me a Big Green Egg grill so you guys can look forward to a lot more yummy grilled dishes and homemade pizzas. This grill is seriously one of the "must haves" for anyone that likes to cook out on a grill. I just had a shrimp and black bean pizza in Cabo while vacationing with my family that I can't wait to try to recreate for y'all. In the meantime, I want to chat about a Christmas present for your family for next year. It may feel weird to start planning family Christmas gifts for 2014 but I wanted to give you a head start on a gift that will blow your family away. It is time consuming but well worth the work and well worth the happiness it will bring you and your loved ones for years to come.

I can't stand it! What was the gift?!?  (this is you guys talking.....but in my head)

As a gift to my family on Christmas 2012 I decided to privately publish a cookbook titled, On The Tip Of My Tongue: A Collection of Recipes from My Family of Cooks, Food Lovers and Feast Organizers. I spent 12-14 hours a day for a month. Ofcourse, I had my brilliant idea about 5 weeks before Christmas so I had to cram all of the work into 4 weeks which is why I'm giving you the ENTIRE YEAR to plan and produce! My cookbook is a 240 page collection of old family photos and recipes from both of my great-great-grandmothers on my Dad's side all the way down to my own recipes. And I did not even have time to include half of the recipes! I scanned in hand written recipes and used them as photos in the book as well. 

How in the world did you do it?!?  (again...you guys are full of questions!)

I researched some online publishing companies and came up with Blurb.com. You can privately publish a book, which is what I did, where only you and those that have a link can order the book to be printed. Another option I thought was cool is that you can do a public publish and sell your book on their website. I found a 30% off coupon code for the month I printed the cookbooks so I got each book for around $45 - keep in mind that my book was pretty large (240 pages). You can choose any size book, any number of pages, custom design or use pre-made templates. You can get them for as cheap as $15 or as expensive as $100 or more. I do recommend searching Google for a coupon code because usually you can find a 10% or 15% code and every little discount is a bonus! I think it's important to note that I have no affiliation with Blurb.com, therefore I am not promoting on behalf of the company, I simply did the research and became a customer and my experience worked out great! I hope you will consider doing a book for your family no matter how big or small, if they are anything like my family it will be one of their favorite gifts for years to come. Here are a few pics of my cookbook:

I used old family photos for the cover! That is my dad on the bottom left and my Grannie and Poppa sitting on the couch on the top left. She looked just like Patsy Cline.

When I had a family recipe written out in a family members own hand-writing, I would scan it in and use it as an image on the same page where the type-written recipe is. This is my way of preserving the nostalgia of having it in my loved ones hand-writing and keeping all of the little notes that tend to find their way onto those pages.

Again, I filled some pages with only photos because I wanted it to be as much about the photos and memories as the recipes.

The final touch was actually an after-thought. I knew that finding a specific recipe would be a hard task because I did not alphabetize the recipes in the book. I used an Excel spreadsheet and typed every title and page number in side-by-side columns and then sorted the info A to Z to create an "Index of Recipes" which has proved to be helpful now that I actually use the book. Keep that in mind as you build your book. 

Enjoy! XOXO

Greek Chicken Skewers with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

I just got back from Las Vegas and I am pooped!  In my opinion, you didn't do Vegas right if you have even an ounce of energy when you get back.  I had to sleep an extra 8 hours just to get myself to the point where I could consciously walk around my house without looking like a zombie. Needless to say, dinner last night had to be clean and simple. I needed a detox from all of the incredible food, and just a few drinks if I remember right, that are definitely not allowed on the usual healthy eating wagon. I won't eat just plain old tasteless healthy food though, it has to be delicious. I love the flavors in Greek food so I decided to spice up some chicken and throw them on the barbie (I am aware that barbie is an Australian term, If you know the Greek equivalent...then you get a gold star smarty pants) These Greek chicken skewers were the perfect meal loaded with protein, low in carbohydrates and absolutely delectable. They would be perfect as a meal served with a Greek salad, as a snack, or even an appetizer. 

The Skewers:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (approx 5 oz each)
8 bamboo skewers, soaked for at least 30 minutes in water.
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp each: oregano, onion powder, coriander, tarragon, turmeric, curry, thyme, pepper

The Sauce:
1 cup Greek yogurt (plain, non-fat)
1 cucumber
3/4 tsp dill
1/2 tsp garlic paste
salt and pepper to taste
**You can also find this sauce used on my Greek Burgers

Preheat grill to 375 degrees. Slice each chicken breast into 4 slices, cutting at an angle to make wider, thinner strips. Weave 2 slices of chicken onto each skewer. Spray the front and back side of each skewer with olive oil then sprinkle seasoning blend on both sides. Set aside.

To make the sauce: start by peeling and rough chopping the cucumber. Put it in a blender and blend to a chunky pulp. Remove from blender and pour into a cheese cloth or paper towel. Press out majority of the liquid reserving only the pulp. In a bowl, combine the yogurt, 1/2 cup of cucumber pulp, garlic, dill, salt and pepper. Mix well. Set aside

Place skewers on the grill for about 3 minutes on each side or until chicken is cooked thoroughly*. Remove from the grill and serve along side cucumber sauce.

*Chicken must reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees in order to be considered safe to consume.

Serves 4
Serving Size: 2 skewers with 1/4 cup yogurt sauce
Per Serving: 190 cals / 2g fat / 3g carbs / 39g protein

Tortilla Soup

This incredible tortilla soup is a recipe I got from a cooking class on my honeymoon. We honeymooned at the Four Seasons Resort in Costa Rica and they offered a cooking class with an executive chef. For me this was the best activity the resort offered. For my hubby, not so much. Luckily my new groom was willing to tag along to make the experience even more special. We got into the kitchen and were handed white aprons ::shriek of excitement:: and then handed all of our prepped ingredients. The finished product was so smooth and delicious that I made him go back two days later to learn another dish. The coolest thing that I learned about the Four Seasons Resorts while on this trip is that any dish you eat while staying there (or any Four Seasons Resort), you can ask for a recipe and they gladly offer it up! I don't often stay at the Four Seasons (Because I'm cheap and I like a good Hampton Inn) but for special occasions like a honeymoon, we'll spring for the luxury. I thought this concept was too cool. While lounging poolside, I had the chance to speak with the Executive Chef who was the brains behind the idea of sharing the recipes as well as the cooking classes with guests. He said that he thought that it would be interesting for guests to be able to take a little piece of their trip home with them and it would be a great experience for those of us that love to cook, to cook alongside the talented chef's that were creating the dishes we were enjoying during our stay. So today, I am sharing a little piece of my honeymoon trip to Costa Rice with y'all. I hope that it warms you from the inside out during these winter months of snow, ice and arctic temperatures. 

14 oz whole tomatoes

1 1/3 cup white onions, large diced

1/2 cup celery, large diced

1 Tbsp crushed garlic

2 Tbsp olive oil

6 cups chicken stock

2 cups tomato juice

1 tsp whole cumin seed*

3 handfuls, fried corn tortillas (tortilla chips)

Garnish:

1 1/3 cups ripe avocado, chopped into squares

2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (The cheese thief helped himself to my mozzarella so I used cheddar)

1 1/3 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast**

1 bunch fresh coriander, coarsely chopped

Spread the tomatoes with oil and salt and grill them until they become soft (you could also bake and broil them). Saute the onions, celery and garlic in a large pot over medium-high heat. When the vegetables are caramelized incorporate the cumin seeds then the chicken stock and tomato juice. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes. Add the tortillas to the soup and cook for another 20 minutes or until tortillas are tender. Let the soup cool then add to a blender and puree it until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot with the avocado, cheese, shredded chicken and fresh coriander.

*Note: You can find whole cumin seed at Whole Foods or a similar store. If you can't find them, feel free to use ground cumin. Leaving them whole to puree in the blender brings out more flavor than the pre-ground kind therefore you may use a dash or two extra if using the ground kind.

**Note: You can boil chicken breast in salted water, salt and pepper it when done and then use your stand-mixer with blade attachment to shred the chicken. This is my favorite technique to use. 

Enjoy! XOXO~