Kale Chips

Posted on 04.21.2012
Kale Chips

We’ve been playing a lot of croquet lately. This year is the first time we’ve had a yard (we’ve been apartment dwellers until now), and recently busted out a croquet set some friends gave us for a wedding gift. It’s perfect for lazy Sunday afternoon. Last Sunday, we played croquet and happily snacked on kale chips and sipped our homebrew. If you don’t know about kale chips, let us introduce you!

Kale is packed with nutritional value and has been trending as a “superfood” lately. Of course whenever you bake something, it will lose some of that nutrition, but we figure these guys are waaay better for you than potato chips, so we gladly help ourselves to additional handfuls. Before you turn up your nose on these, please give them a try! Even the toughest health food critic (aka Neil) will approve. Oh, and Neil won the croquet match last week. This calls for a rematch! And more kale chips!

Ingredients:

1 big bunch of kale, destalked and torn into bite sized pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven for 350°.

Wash and dry kale.  Place in a large bowl. You should have about this much:

Toss kale and olive oil together until the kale is evenly coated. Sprinkle in the celery salt and pepper, and continue to toss.

Transfer kale onto two baking sheets, making sure pieces aren’t overlapping.

Bake for about 12 minutes, or until kale has crispy and brown edges, but green centers. When in doubt, test one. You should get a nice crunch and think “OMG…KALE CHIPS….WHO KNEW!?”

*Reminder: Our giveaway ends THIS SUNDAY night! Enter to win!*

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Party Potatoes

Posted on 04.18.2012
Party Potatoes

Also known as Party Potatoes, Funeral Potatoes, or Hashbrown Casserole, our family serves this wonderful side at all holiday gatherings. It is the ultimate comfort food. The creamy, cheesy, velvety, buttery goodness of this dish with it’s crunchy topping makes me literally CRAVE it a few days before Christmas Eve and Easter. It’s delicious and feeds a hungry crowd. You can easily dress up the dish by adding sun-dried tomatoes, chives, bacon, fancy cheese, peppers, and more. We threw in some green onions this time around because it’s what we had around. It’s not the healthiest food, but hey- it’s about portions, people! (right?) Not so sure about the source of this recipe. Dad says it’s so old, it was around when the Dead Sea was sick.

Ingredients:

2 lb. bag frozen cubed hash browns (Southern style)
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup chopped white onions
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pint (16oz) sour cream
10 oz. + shredded sharp cheddar
4 cups corn flakes and another 1/2 cup melted butter

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix all in a large bowl. Transfer to a casserole dish. Melt butter in a medium sized bowl and toss in corn flakes to coat. Spread buttered corn flakes atop the top potatoes and cover with foil.

Bake covered with foil for 30 minutes, then remove foil and cook for another 15 minutes.

Serve hot and enjoy!

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Ice Tray Giveaway!

Posted on 04.08.2012

The Easter bunny stopped by our blog and left a little something for one of you! These fun ice trays from Ikea add pizzaz to any drink. The black one is shaped in long sticks that will form ice cubes to drop in a water bottle. The others are perfect for the coming warm weather and kids of all ages are sure to love them! To enter, simply post a comment on this post answering the following question:

What beverage will you drop these ice cubes in? Lemonade? Diet coke? Milk? (ew… does anyone do that?)

To earn extra entries, post additional separate comments after you do the following:

1. Follow us on Twitter @newlywedchefs

2. Like us on Facebook

3. Mention us somewhere on your own blog. If you don’t have your own, mention us on someone else’s blog and let us know where to find the mention!

Comment must be posted by 11pm EST on 4/22/12. Winner will be selected at random and announced on this blog, our Facebook page, and Twitter (@newlywedchefs). Winner must contact us at thenewlywedchefs@gmail.com within 48 hours of winning to claim prize, or a new winner will be selected (who also will have 48 hours, etc.).

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Caesar Salad: A Guest Post by Steve Haines

Posted on 03.28.2012
Caesar Salad

We are thrilled to feature our dear friend Steve on the blog today. He’s a professional jazz bassist, teacher, hockey player, and has mad cooking skillz. Steve had us over for dinner a couple weeks ago and served this salad with the meal. It knocked our socks off and we immediately requested the recipe. He is so kind to share it with us! The flavor of this caesar is out of this world. It’s better than any restaurant or store bought dressing we’ve had. Take it away, Steve!

MacIsaac Caesar Salad, from Steve Haines

Taught to me from Canadian sailor Captain David MacIsaac, this Caesar salad is extremely rich and can stand alone as a meal in itself. I like this recipe because it doesn’t have anchovies, usually a staple in Caesar salad.

First, mash together the following with a fork:

8-14 cloves of garlic (bring it! The more you add, the more it burns. Ohhh yes)

10-12 capers

ground pepper

Then, add:

Juice from one lemon (a little more if the lemon is young)

1 teaspoon red malt vinegar

2 egg yolks

2 heaping tablespoons Dijon mustard

Once this is mixed up, use ¾ of a cup of extra virgin olive oil… pour 2 tablespoons in with the mixture, then use a an egg beater to froth up the dressing as best you can. The process of beating all of the oil into the mixture should take about 20-30 minutes, if it’s done correctly (There is a foofy name for this process, but I don’t remember it!) If you don’t have time, you can use a hand beater and do it all at once, but it won’t quite be the same. The result should be a thick, somewhat pasty dressing.

From there, add the dressing to Romaine lettuce, destalked and torn into bite sized pieces. You will probably use about half of the dressing for one head of romaine, and all of it for two. The dressing should be liberally added to the lettuce. Add lots of parmesan cheese, and big whole made bread croutons, if you like. I avoid the bacon. As good as it tastes, the new photos and videos out on how pigs are treated at farms have seriously turned me off to pork.

David was out at sea a great deal, but when he came home, his two vices were the Tavern, and this Caesar. It’s not for the faint of heart! I hope you all enjoy it!

P.S.- I had some sauce leftover from the recipe, and used it to top chicken and rice, which was delicious!

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Cookbook Corner: Pioneer Woman Review

Posted on 03.18.2012

“It’s here! It’s here! It’s here! It’s here!!” -My words yesterday at about 5:45pm. Jumping up and down and with my heart going pitter patter, I struggled to rip open the tightly sealed cardboard like a three-year-old on Christmas morning. With the help of some kitchen scissors, I managed to open the package and was greeted by Ree Drummond smiling at me. Her second cookbook had arrived!

Folks, you have GOT to get this one. The photography, writing, and delicious recipes are an essential addition to your cookbook collection. I can not believe how many recipes there are! They are all mouth-watering but some that I am especially looking forward to making are:

-Knock You Naked Brownies

-Whisky-Mustard Meatballs

-Buttered Rosemary Rolls

-Drip Beef

-Blackberry Chip Ice Cream

-Homemade Glazed Doughnuts

Whew! Can’t wait!  There are plenty of photos of the ranch, notes about Ree’s darling family and friends, and step-by-step instructions for the recipes. Ree’s quirky writing style made me literally laugh out loud while reading. It’s $29.99, but if you order online from Barnes & Noble, you can buy it new for only $16.98.

Let’s talk about cookbook corner. Well, in the corner of our kitchen we have a breakfast table. It’s kind of the landing pad of the kitchen. We fling groceries there right when we get back from the store, we keep our vitamins there so we remember to take them in the morning, we put bills there to pay that need to go out, we write reminders and cute notes to each other there, and it acts as extra prep space while cooking or packing lunches. Also on this multifunctional table is a cookbook stand which displays a seasonal cookbook or one that is currently inspiring our meals. Can you guess which book is currently in cookbook corner?

 

 

Good guess.

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Nanaimo Bars

Posted on 03.08.2012
Nanaimo Bars

Neil was born in Canada. Although he moved to the states while he was still young and doesn’t remember living there, it’s still neat that he COULD be Canadian, eh? Just like Neil, this dessert was born in Canada. It is originally from the city of Nanaimo, British Columbia. This bar is relatively simple to make, but the rich chocolate flavor is so deep it will take your breath away.  If you don’t like coconut or chopped nuts in your desserts (like Neil), just sub more graham cracker crumbs to give the bottom layer additional texture. These elegant bars are great to make for your friends, co-workers, and favorite food bloggers (that’s right- if you make these, we’d be happy to sample your version…)  Oh, and sorry for posting this during Lent.

Bottom Layer Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or almonds (optional)

1 cup unsweetened coconut  (optional)

Bottom Layer Preparation:

Melt butter, sugar, and cocoa powder in a medium-sized saucepan over low heat. Once well combined but not too hot, whisk in egg. Continue to whisk until mixture is thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in nuts and coconut. Finally, add the graham cracker crumbs about 1/2 cup at a time. Add enough so that the mixture sticks well together but is still moist. Remember, if you don’t add the coconut and nuts, just add more graham cracker crumbs. Press mixture evenly into an 8″x 8″ pan lined with wax paper. Chill for 1 hour.

Second Layer Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 tablespoons heavy cream

2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding mix

2 cups powdered sugar

Second Layer Preparation:

Beat all ingredients using a stand mixer or hand mixer until light and creamy. Spread evenly over the chocolate layer (we recommend using an offset spatula) and chill for another hour.

Third Layer Ingredients:

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Third Layer Preparation:

Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan over low heat. Add the chocolate and stir continuously until smooth. Remove from heat. Pour cooled chocolate atop the second layer and distribute evenly with an offset spatula. Chill for about 45 minutes.

Slice into 2″ bars when chocolate has set. Store in refrigerator. Makes 32 bars.

 

 

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