I am absolutely loving my new gig where I get to travel...a lot!!! However, one of the first things I crave when I get home is my kitchen. There is something just nurturing and relaxing about being in the kitchen...cooking. And so far the last few weeks one of the first things I do when I get home is to cook. Don't get me wrong I am loving exploring new restaurants, bars and experiences on my travels, however at the end of the week I just want home cooking. This weekend I continued this tradition by making Huevos Rancheros in Tortilla Cups.



The first part of this recipe consisted of the construction of the tortilla cups. When I read the recipe I thought this was brilliant...take a muffin tin and invert it, drape the tortillas over the cups and mold into a bowl and bake....until I tried it...and it looked like this.


The tortillas decided to break on me, they continued to move on me and not drape or shape and I was pretty sure I was going to bake these and they were going to look like tostadas. I was already envisioning putting my pictures on Pinterest as an epic fail, when I pulled them out of the oven, only to find that they looked pretty darn good!! This was cause for a kitchen celebration of sorts, also known as a kitchen happy dance!!


From that point on I was pretty cocky about this recipe. I combined the diced tomatoes, black beans, chiles, cilantro, cumin and red hot sauce in a pan and brought to a boil. I simmered the mixture for 4 minutes and it started to make my house smell so good!!


Next I cracked the eggs into the pan and placed the entire pan in the oven for 6-8 minutes. If you like your eggs over hard like I do, go the full 8 minutes. And oh yeah please remember to use an oven proof pan otherwise you may have a potential hazardous materials spill on your hands...not fun!!




Sprinkle cheese on the eggs and bake for another 1-2 minutes, just so the cheese melts.


Fill your tortilla cup with the bean mixture and the egg, sprinkling the top with leftover cilantro.


This recipe had a lot of good flavor. It was a little spicy from the red hot sauce and the chiles and the cilantro and cumin gave it some nice earthy flavors. It was also packed full of protein and it was healthy, which is always a good thing after a week of eating in restaurants.

Here is the actual recipe:

 4 medium corn tortilla(s), 6 inches  
 14 oz canned diced tomatoes, with green pepper, celery, and onion  
 15 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained  
 1/2 cup(s) canned green chili peppers, mild, diced  
 3 Tbsp hot pepper sauce, or to taste  
 3/4 tsp ground cumin  
 3 Tbsp cilantro, chopped  
 4 large egg(s)  
 1/4 cup(s) low fat shredded cheddar cheese

Place the oven rack in the center of the oven; preheat the oven to 425ºF. Lightly spray both sides of the tortillas with nonstick spray. Place 4 inverted custard cups on a baking sheet, and drape a tortilla over each to give it a bowl shape. (You may also use an inverted 12-cup muffin pan, placing the tortillas over alternate cups.) Bake until the tortillas are crisped and lightly golden around the edges, 10 minutes. Remove the tortillas and set them on a rack to cool.

Combine the diced tomatoes, beans, chiles, pepper sauce, cumin, and 2 tablespoons of the cilantro in an ovenproof skillet. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the flavors are blended, 4 minutes. Break the eggs one at a time, on top of the sauce, spacing them evenly apart.

Immediately place the pan in the oven and bake until the eggs are almost set, 6–8 minutes. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the eggs and bake until melted, 1 minute. To serve, place the tortilla cups on serving plates and spoon the eggs and sauce into the tortilla cups. Garnish with the remaining tablespoon of chopped cilantro and serve immediately. Yields 1 filled tortilla cup.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Cheers!

I was pretty excited when I got invited to a Summer BBQ and I was asked to bring dessert. For me, there is nothing that feels more like summer than peaches. I remember being so excited during peach season as a kid and I would always eat the super hard ones and just love every second from the taste to the crunch to the fuzz on the skin.

I used organic peaches

However, although I have always loved peaches, for some weird reason I had never tried to make a peach cobbler. I quickly found a recipe at www.allrecipes.com for a Southern Peach Cobbler and decided this was the direction I was going to go.


The hardest part of this recipe truly was peeling the peaches. Dang peaches can be slippery suckers!! I had a few try to escape my grasp as I squeezed them with the peeler and I had one actually try and make a run for it, coating my entire kitchen in peach juice and moosh (yes, that is totally a technical term).

However, one you have peeled the peaches, slice them into thin wedges. Just as a reminder, try to make them uniform in size so they cook at about the same rate.

Before baking

Toss the peaches with the white and brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and cornstarch. Bake the mixture in a 425 degree oven for 10 minutes. I had never seen this technique in a recipe before, but it really helped cook the peaches to perfection without over browning the crust.

After baking

Next, combine the flour, white and brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a pastry blender and mix in the butter. Finally, add the boiling water and combine just until mixed.


When the peaches come out of the oven, drop spoonfuls of the dough mixture on the peaches. Remember it does not have to look pretty as it is all going to blend together and create it's own abstract art with or without you.


Top the dough and peaches with cinnamon and sugar. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Ingredients:
 8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges
 1/4 cup white sugar
 1/4 cup brown sugar
 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
 2 teaspoons cornstarch

 1 cup all-purpose flour
 1/4 cup white sugar
 1/4 cup brown sugar
 1 teaspoon baking powder
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
 1/4 cup boiling water

MIX TOGETHER:
 3 tablespoons white sugar
 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.
Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes.

I really hate to brag, but I am pretty sure I knocked it out of the park with this recipe. It tasted fresh and the peaches were juicy and sweet without being too syrupy. The cobbler mixture was light and flaky and buttery and the cinnamon/sugar concoction on the top gave it a nice spice. It also helped that this recipe was easy and effortless and it is just a genuine crowd pleaser. It would also be amazing with vanilla ice cream or a Moscato dessert wine. Cheers!!

As many of you know I now have a job that actually pays me to travel. This past week was my first week and I was pretty darn excited about...well...everything! However, being able to eat in random places is one of the biggest highlights for me. The first thing I did when I landed in Chesapeake, Virginia was to eat crab and although it was heaven with melted butter it was at a cheesy chain type restaurant. So I started to ask the locals (thank you Don) for good restaurant recommendations and although I got several I decided to try a seafood restaurant that has been open for a little over a year.



Off the Hook definitely lives up to its name as it is...well...Off the Hook! I love when I walk into seafood restaurants and they are also seafood markets. In my mind, that is an indication that the fish is especially fresh and I don't know if it is psychological or the actual truth, but this restaurant did have really good fresh fish. So it seemed to validate my belief system.


From the outside, this restaurant does not look like anything special as it is in a strip mall location. However, the inside is modern, welcoming and inviting. It is truly the type of place that you could sit at for hours and drink wine and eat oysters. The first thing you see when you walk in is the fish market, however the dining room and bar are out of sight of the market. The bar has colored blown glass lights, TVs to watch sporting events and a well rounded cocktail/wine list.

I was enamored by the cork menus in this restaurant and I couldn't stop touching them. They had a well rounded menu that obviously specialized in seafood and they also had several specials that capitalized on their catch of the day.


I was bound and determined to try the blue crab, which is the local specialty, and so I was pretty excited that I had several options in my exploration. They had fried crabs and 2 different kinds of crab soup. I opted for the She Crab Soup, however I was a little disappointed when I learned that the "She" was referring to the sherry in the soup and not the gender of the crabs. Ok sure I had no idea how to tell the gender of a crab, but I thought maybe the female crabs were sweeter or something and hence made better soup. Don't even ask just shake your head. Anyway the She Crab Soup was incredibly rich, decadent and delicious. It reminded me of lobster bisque, however with crab meat, and it was incredible!

Earlier in the day, I was talking to some locals about their childhood memories of catching crabs on the beach. I learned that you can take chicken necks, yes I said chicken necks, and lure the crabs into nets with them. I briefly considered trying out this practice, however I was at a loss for where to find chicken necks, so I opted to just eat the crabs at a restaurant instead.

I was overwhelmed with options at this restaurant and since my soup was so rich I decided to try their salad with grilled shrimp and it was perfect. It had blue cheese crumbles and the shrimp were grilled perfectly!

My partner in crime was a little more adventurous and tried the whole red snapper, which was beautiful and huge and I absolutely loved the presentation...my photo truly did not do it justice. She said it was cooked perfectly and she was thrilled with her choice!

This pic does not do it justice!

During dinner we were talking about how to memorialize our travels in the form of souvenirs. I am not one to collect thimbles or silver spoons or post cards, however when I saw a crab wine glass and some hot sauce from the restaurant I decided to capture my trip to Chesapeake with these mementos. The hot sauce is awesome and I put it on eggs so far and it made me happy. And well you can never have too many wine glasses, right?


Off the Hook does not have a web page and their menu is not posted on-line. They do have a Facebook page if you want to follow them, however they are located at: 500 S Battlefield Blvd S in Chesapeake and their phone number is 757-421-3313. It is definitely worth the visit and if you are looking for something that is not touristy and just good food I completely recommend this place. Cheers!