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Buttermilk Coleslaw

Posted on by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

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The final side dish that The Weekend Chef made with our “Blackened” Catfish and Buttermilk Hush Puppies was this Buttermilk Coleslaw.  As the warmer weather is slowly arriving, it will soon be time for barbecues.  Coleslaw is a barbecue must-have and this recipe here is what I consider a “classic” coleslaw.  While we’ve made plenty of different coleslaws, sometimes simple is better.  The buttermilk in this recipe gives the slightest tang to the dish.  I wasn’t sure if the kids liked coleslaw, but both had seconds of this. 1 reduced the mayonnaise by half because we prefer not to have drippy coleslaw.

Buttermilk Coleslaw
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com courtesy of TCSTEFFEY

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (16 ounce) package shredded coleslaw mix

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, sugar, celery salt and black pepper. Fold in the coleslaw mix, and refrigerate until serving. This tastes best refrigerated for a few hours before serving.

 

 

 

 

 

2

Slow Cooker Garlic Honey Teriyaki Chicken Wings

Posted on by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

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The Mr. and I like chicken wings.  Growing up in high school and college, I remember many of the local bars and pubs having 10 cent wing nights.  Then when the Mr. and I were visiting a friend of his up near his alma mater, Binghamton University, we visited a local restaurant that served all kinds of different flavored wings.  We were in wing heaven!  Nowadays, we don’t eat wings very often and rarely, if ever, do we cook them at home.  I’ve seen many different recipes for slow cooker wings out there on the internet and Pinterest and thought we’d give it a try.  Instead of regular hot wings, I figured these garlic honey teriyaki flavored wings would appeal more to the kids.  Slow cooking definitely beats standing over a deep fryer!  And the kids did enjoy the sweet honey teriyaki sauce.  We are going to need to eat wings more often though and get our son accustomed to the mess of eating them.  He actually asked for a fork and knife to eat the wings with since they were “too messy!”  These are a healthier and easier to cook alternative to fried chicken wings.

Slow Cooker Garlic Honey Teriyaki Chicken Wings
Recipe adapted from The Housewife In Training Files

Ingredients:
  • 2 lbs chicken wings
    Teriyaki Sauce:
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp cold water
  • Garnish: sesame seeds, scallions
 Directions:
  1. Make the teriyaki sauce by combining the water, soy sauce, honey, garlic and garlic powder in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Whisk together the cornstarch and water until dissolved. Add the cornstarch mixture to the saucepan.
  3. Heat the sauce until it thickens. Add more water if the sauce becomes too thick. Set aside to cool.
  4. Layer the wings in the bottom of the slow cooker and pour the sauce over them. Set on high for 3 – 4 hours, depending on size of wings.
  5. Once wings are finished cooking in the slow cooker, remove from the sauce and place on baking sheet.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for fifteen minutes.
  6. While wings are baking, pour sauce from slow cooker into a medium sauce pan and heat over high heat to reduce (approximately 15 minutes), stirring frequently.  Once wings are done baking, toss in the thickened sauce.
  7. Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds and scallions.
4

Simple Clam Chowder

Posted on by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

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Today is National Clam Chowder Day.  My parents have a house in Rhode Island and every summer when we go visit it’s tradition for us to eat a lunch of clam chowder and clam cakes.   While traditional Rhode Island clam chowder has a clear broth, we prefer the New England style, like this one, with a milk base.  Below is a recipe for clam chowder that I have made twice now, and I rarely repeat recipes!

Simple Clam Chowder
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light, January 2008

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 garlic clove, minced
2 (6 1/2 ounce) cans chopped clams, undrained
2 1/2 cups diced, peeled, baking potatoes
2 (8 ounce) bottles clam juice
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup flour

Directions:

1.  Add olive oil to  a Dutch Oven or large pot over medium heat.  Add the onion, salt, thyme and garlic, cooking approximately 4 minutes until tender.

2.  Drain the clams, reserving the liquid.  Add the reserved liquid, potatoes, clam juice and bay leaf to the pot, bringing to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  Discard the bay leaf.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the milk and flour until smooth.  Add the flour mixture to the pot; bringing to a boil.  Stir constantly for approximately 10 – 12 minutes, until thick.  Add the  clams and cook for 2 more minutes.

Manhattan style, New England style, Rhode Island style……what kind of clam chowder do you like best? …..Or do you not like it at all?!!! 

 

2

Pineapple Banana Bread

Posted on by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

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Today is National Banana Bread Day!  If you are like our family, you always have ripened bananas sitting on your counter.  We have made countless banana breads and muffins with these too ripe to eat bananas.  I saw this recipe and thought it was different with the addition of the pineapple.  The pineapple helped moisten the bread and added an additional sweetness.  The kids enjoyed this bread for breakfast with some yogurt and fruit.

Pineapple Banana Bread
Recipe adapted from Jam Hands which sourced the recipe from Taste of Home.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
  • 1/3 cup drained crushed pineapple
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly spray or grease 8x 4 inch loaf pan.

2.  In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the banana and pineapple. In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients.    Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed butter and sugar mixture until just combined.

3.  Pour into the loaf pan and bake at for 65-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clear.

4.  Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

 

7

Awesome Egg Rolls

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Awesome Egg Rolls

Today is the first day of Chinese New Year.  In honor of the holiday we had an early celebration last weekend and made a feast of different dishes.  The first we are sharing are these Awesome Egg Rolls.  Believe it or not, but we had never made egg rolls prior to this.  We’ve made dumplings before, but never egg rolls.  This was a fun activity for the whole family to get involved in.  We deep fried these egg rolls.  However, with the kids helping with the filling and sealing of these, they may not have sealed the wrappers as tightly as they should have.  As a result, the egg rolls may have turned out a little greasier than we had wanted.  The filling and flavor was great though and we enjoyed these as part of our feast!

Awesome Egg Rolls
 Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com courtesy of ROUVER

Ingredients:
 6 cups green cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
 2 tablespoons chopped onion 
4 ounces cooked, frozen baby salad shrimp, defrosted
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
black pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
cornstarch
20 egg roll wrappers
vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, and onion. Stir in the shrimp, soy sauce, garlic powder, and black pepper.

2. Heat a small skillet over medium heat.  Pour the beaten egg into the pan, flipping once, until done. Remove from the skillet and let cool.  Once
cooled chop finely and stir into the cabbage mixture. Sprinkle the cabbage mixture with approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch.  Mix and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of  cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water. Set aside.

4. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the cabbage mixture into the center of each egg roll skin. Dip a spoon into the water/cornstarch mixture, and moisten all corners but the bottom corner. Fold the egg roll skin from the bottom over the mixture, making a tight tube. Fold the corners in from the sides, and press to stick against the folded roll. Finish rolling the rest of the way. Repeat with remaining egg roll wrappers.

5. Fill deep fryer with vegetable, using the manufacturer’s recommendations.  Heat to 350 degrees F.  If not using a deep fryer, pour vegetable oil into a deep frying pan to a depth of 3 or 4 inches, and heat oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Carefully place egg rolls into hot oil, and fry until golden brown. (approximately 4-5 minutes in the deep fryer).  Remove to paper towels.

6

In Honor of Mardi Gras – “Blackened” Catfish

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To help celebrate Mardi Gras this year with the kids, we made an interpretation of blackened catfish. This is a dish usually associated with  the deep south and especially Louisiana. The basic recipe calls for coating the fish with butter and a variety of spices which are darkened through cooking to become almost black. The original recipes often call for quite a bit of cayenne, which we wanted to tame for the benefit of the kids while maintaining some of the essential flavors.. We also opted to soften the cooking style a bit to get the fish crispy without heading toward black and possibly burnt. The following is our take on “blackened” catfish.  Our only mistake was not buying more fish.  We all enjoyed this a lot!

“Blackened” Catfish
Recipe by NY Foodie Family

Ingredients:
1 Lb Catfish Fillets (approximately 3 pieces)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp Penzey’s Pasta Sprinkle blend
1/2 tsp Penzey’s Ruth Ann’s Muskego Chicken & Fish seasoning blend
1 Tbsp melted butter
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

2. Mix all the dry seasonings (salt through Penzey’s Ruth Ann’s Muskego Chicken & Fish seasoning blend) together in a small bowl and set aside.

3. Heat an oven-safe nonstick skillet over medium heat, and add the olive oil and solid butter to the pan. Brush both sides of the catfish fillets with the melted butter and then coat the top sides with the spice mixture. Add the fish to the pan, spice side up. Cook for 5 minutes and carefully turn the fish over.

4. Place the whole pan into the preheated oven and bake for another 15 minutes or until the edges become crispy and the top looks golden. Remove the fish from the pan and serve immediately.

3

Friday Favorites #3

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Friday Favorites

It’s Friday and what a cold one it is.  The temperature this morning was 1 degree F!!  Spring cannot come soon enough.  Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.  We are expecting a few snow showers….again.  The kids will be leaving to spend a few days with their grandparents in Rhode Island, which means the Mr. and I will have a few days to spend some quality time together.  Minus getting our taxes done and that thing called work that we have to do, of course!  Now, on to our favorites of the week!

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1.  Food Network 5 1/2 quart enamel Dutch Oven – We had requested and received a Dutch Oven a couple of years ago for Christmas.  If you do not own one, we highly recommend getting one.  We use this to cook at least once a week, but usually more. You get a lot of the benefits of a cast iron skillet such a durability, heat retention, and frying ability. You also get a vessel that’s much easier to clean with the enameling, higher side walls to cook large batches, and a lid to hold all the moisture in.

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2. Simply 7 Pomegranate Chips – Sea Salt flavored.  We found these at Marshalls. They satisfy my salty, crunchy snack requirements and have no artificial flavors or preservatives.  I like the slightly sweet pomegranate flavor that the chips had.

3.  Favorite Bookmarked Recipe of The Week:   Not a recipe per se, but Girl Scout cookie season is quickly approaching.  Our daughter is a Brownie girl scout and we will be stocking up on cookies soon.  Megan from The Housewife in Training Files posted “36 Drool Worthy Girl Scout Cookie Inspired Desserts.”  I haven’t had a chance yet to check out most of the recipes, since it’s a compilation of recipes from around the web.  However, it looks like some use actual girl scout cookies and others are meant to mimic the flavors of your favorite cookies.  Regardless, some of these recipes will be made in our kitchen!

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4.  Grapefruit Season! There are very few things that make NY winters less awful, but cheap and plentiful grapefruit helps during the chilly season. They’re sweet and tart and juicy. And despite the cold outside, they’re great right out of the fridge.

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5. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery –Namaste beer. We’ve been trying new beers this year to expand our beer repertoire. Namaste is described as a white beer brewed with orange slices, lemongrass, coriander & peppercorns. There’s a lot of flavors there that we didn’t associate with beer, but the overall taste was not overwhelming. It has a light and refreshing flavor that goes well with many foods.

This post contains affiliate links.  By making purchases through these links you help support this blog.

We are linking up with Amanda from Meet @ the Barre, Andrea from Momfessionals, Tif from Bright on a Budget and Michael from Rattlebridge Farm.

4

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Posted on by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

 

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I love making homemade cookies.  They are usually really easy to make and often make a lot!  I can send some into work with the Mr., store some in the freezer and still have plenty for us to snack on throughout the week.  We feel so much better giving the kids homemade cookies versus the packaged kind….not that we don’t buy a package of cookies from the grocery store every now and then!  I love that I can take cookies out of the freezer, put them in the kids’ lunch bags, and by lunchtime they are defrosted for them to enjoy.  I had a bag of peanut butter chips sitting in the pantry for way too long.  I was on a mission to use them and found this recipe.  These cookies were really good..nice and soft and chewy.  You can’t go wrong with the combination of chocolate and peanut butter!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
Recipe adapted from My Mommy Style

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1  1/2 cups peanut butter chips

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
  3. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time mixing until combined.  Add vanilla and continue mixing.
  4. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating well. Stir in the peanut butter chips.
  5. Drop rounded teaspoons of cookie dough onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-9 minutes (cookies will be soft, do not overbake).
  6. Cool on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes before removing and adding to wire rack to cool completely.

February is National Chocolate Lover’s Month!

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Chocolate

Are you a chocolate lover?  If you are, February is your month.  To celebrate National Chocolate Lover’s Month (and just a reminder that Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching!) I have rounded up a collection of gift ideas for you or the chocolate lovers in your life!

How about joining a chocolate of the month club? Godiva, The Gourmet Chocolate of the Month Club, Lake Champlain Chocolates and many other companies offer monthly subscriptions.

If you want something on a smaller scale, gourmet candy bars are always a hit.  Chocolate bars are being made with all types of ingredients including  chilies, ginger, quinoa, wasabi, espresso beans, bacon, berries, and much more!  We recently reviewed the Prestat Pink Equatorial Dark Chocolate with Pink Himalayan Sea Salt bar here.

Many people love chocolate covered strawberries.  They can be ordered online from companies like Edible Arrangements and Shari’s Berries.  Or they can be easily made at home.  Check out Martha Stewart’s recipe for Chocolate Covered Strawberries here.

For those who like to cook how about silicone chocolate molds to make your own chocolates?  And maybe a chocolate dessert cookbook to go along with it?

Do you like wine?  How about the best of both worlds with a chocolate-infused wine?  Blog Chocolate Wine gives a comprehensive review of the chocolate wine market, explaining the different types of chocolate wines and descriptions of the different wines available.

For edible, non-candy chocolate food items, maybe try some chocolate pasta, dark chocolate infused balsamic vinegar or chocolate and fruit jelly?

For those who want to be pampered, there are chocolate face masks, chocolate body scrubs, chocolate hair conditioner, chocolate lip balm and even chocolate perfumes!

And finally, there are tons of kitschy, as well as classy, chocolate lover themed aprons, shirts, mugs, wine glasses, etc. with quotes like “Just hand over the chocolate and no one gets hurt” and “Chocolate:  it’s cheaper than THERAPY and you don’t need an appointment.”  Are you looking for a chocolate bar key chain calculator or messenger bag?  They make it!

Amazon.com sells all of the items mentioned above and more!  Specialty and gourmet stores may sell many of these products as well.

Please share some of your favorite chocolate gift recommendations! 

February Food Festivals

Posted on by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

 February 2015 Food Festivals
New York is filled with lots of good eating and drinking!  Here’s a list of this month’s food and beverage festivals going on around the state.  Please check the websites for additional information.  Please note that this listing is for informational purposes only.  We are not affiliated with any of these festivals, nor have we attended any of them.

February 6, 2015 – Oswego County Wing Fest (Oswego County)
6 PM – Lake Ontario Conference Center, Oswego, New York
Benefitting the Child Advocacy Center of Oswego County, restaurants will be offering samples of their signature wings.  Eagle Beverages of Oswego will be offering a selection of micro-brews as well.
Price:  SOLD OUT
Check the official site here for additional information.

February 8, 2015 – Hudson Valley Wine & Chocolate Festival (Putnam County)
11 AM – 5 PM, Putnam Golf Course, Mahopac, New York
Hosted by Putnam ARC (PARC), this event will feature wineries and distilleries throughout the Hudson Valley and more as well as chocolate tastings and craft vendors.
Price:  $25 pre-event, $30 day of, $10 designated driver
Check the official site here for additional information and to purchase tickets.

February 12, 2015 – French Institute Alliance Francaise (FIAF) Truffles and Bubbles (New York City)
7 PM at FIAF, Le Skyroom New York, New York
Part of their “Talk & Wine Tasting” series, guests will taste some of the world’s greatest champagnes and sample chocolates from chocolatier Jacques Torres
Price:  $95 for FIAF members, $115 for non-members
Check the official site here for additional information and to purchase tickets.

February 15, 2015 – Revolving Dansk’s Winter Hot Dog Championship (New York City)
1-5 PM, Jimmy’s No. 43, New York, New York
Revolving Dank’s mission is to bring Copenhagen street food to New York.  Ticket includes three gourmet hot dog creations, the classic rode polse hot dog and the opportunity to vote for the ultimate hot dog creation.  Beverages are not included in the ticket price.
Price:  $15-$20 pre-event,  $25 day of
Check the official site here for additional information and to purchase tickets.

February 20 – March 1, 2015 – New York City Beer Week (New York City)
10 day celebration of craft beer throughout New York City.  Check out the website here for a listing of all events.

February 20- 21, 2015 – Binghamton On Tap (Broome County)
Friday:  6-9 PM, Saturday: 1-4 PM/5-8 PM, DoubleTree Hilton, Binghamton, New York
Enjoy unlimited sampling from over 100 different releases from craft breweries throughout the country while listening to live music.
Price: Saturday sessions SOLD OUT, Friday session available $35
Check the official site here for additional information and to purchase tickets.

February 25, 2015 – Whiskey Live (New York City)
6:30 -10 PM, Pier 60 Chelsea Piers,  New York, New York
Sample more than 300 scotches, bourbons and whiskies from around the world.
Price:  $119 which includes souvenir tasting glass, buffet dinner from 6-9 pm, live entertainment, access to whiskey tasting
$149 for VIP tickets which include 5:30 entrance
Check the NYC official site here for additional information and to purchase tickets.

February 26-28 – New York Farm Show (Syracuse)
New York State Fairgrounds, Syracuse, New York
Over 400 exhibitors showcasing beef, dairy, goat, ham, and cheese related products.
Price:  $5 at the door, children under 18 free.
Check the official site here for additional information.

February 28-March 1 – Kids Food Festival (New York City)
10 AM – 4 PM, Bryant Park, New York, New York
Learn about food and healthy eating while participating in hands-on activities, sampling snacks and listening to a variety of live entertainment.
Price:  Admission is free; tickets to cooking classes are available for $25 a ticket
Check the official site here for additional information and to purchase cooking class tickets.

Please share any additional food festivals that are taking place in New York State in February!