Cucumber Rosemary Vodka Lemonade

The name of this recipe suggests that there's an awful lot going on here in this cocktail, doesn't it? The reality of it is that couldn't be further from the truth. OK, OK I guess it could be, say if you mixed Coke Zero and vodka (not that I've ever done that), but it's pretty easy nonetheless. I found this great grocery store brand lemonade with just a hint of carbonation that was delicious for mixing. It was also zero calories, which doesn't hurt when a drink is so good you could have about ten of them. The flavors go together beautifully, with only a hint of rosemary, and a nice little vodka kick. Now, let's address the question you're really asking: the answer is Anthropologie; the napkins are from Anthropologie. You're welcome.

Cucumber Rosemary Vodka Lemonade
Makes 2 cocktails

8 oz. lemonade
4 oz. vodka
2 sprigs rosemary
6 slices of cucumber

Place rosemary and cucumber in a shallow bowl and cover with vodka. Allow to sit for several hours, if time allows. If not, just make the cocktail already.

Add vodka, rosemary and cucumber to a glass over ice. Add lemonade. If your rosemary just isn't perky anymore, just switch it out for a new sprig as garnish.

Southwest Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

I'm always on the hunt for super easy, quick dinners to make throughout the week; if they are a bit healthy as well, then well let's call that a bonus. This simple little recipe ticks all of those boxes perfectly. Everything in this recipe is store-bought, which is a gross departure from my usual recipes, but again it's ease we're going for here. By subbing Greek yogurt for sour cream, using healthful salsa as sauce, and taking it a little easy on the cheese, you can really make a delicious entree that is pretty darn good for you (especially as far as Gingersnaps goes). All this plus hearty, filling, and ready in less than 10 minutes? Winner!

 

 

Southwest Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

1 microwaveable sweet potato (sold ready-to-microwave at grocery stores)
1/2 breast from rotisserie chicken 
Hot sauce, to taste (optional)
Scant 1/4 cup Monterrey Jack cheese
Salsa
Dollop of Greek yogurt
Cilantro, chopped

1. Microwave the sweet potato per package instructions. Allow to cool, and cut in half. Scoop out a small amount of flesh from the potato to create space. (You could also make this more of a potato skin by removing more).

2. Shred rotisserie chicken breast and toss with a bit of hot sauce, if desired. Add to potato halves.

3. Top with shredded cheese. Microwave just until cheese is melted.

4. Top with salsa, Greek yogurt, and cilantro garnish.

White Truffle, Parmesan & Rosemary Popcorn

On a recent trip to Philadelphia, Adam and I stayed in a hotel that had the coolest perk: a free wine and popcorn happy hour! The popcorn was perfectly coated with delicious truffle butter, and I couldn't stop going back for more. I decided to recreate it at home, and add a little something extra with some Parmesan and fresh rosemary. This snack is crazy easy to make, and would be a perfect thing to serve at a party or as a unique treat before dinner. Alternatively, you can just douse popcorn in truffle butter and mop the bowl with each piece (been there, done that), but the added ingredients make it that much more special.

White Truffle, Parmesan & Rosemary Popcorn

6 cups popped unflavored popcorn (1 standard bag)
1.5 T. white truffle butter, melted
1 T. butter, melted
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
2-3 sprigs of rosemary, leaves finely chopped

Pop popcorn according to package directions. Toss with melted butter until evenly distributed. Toss with Parmesan cheese and chopped rosemary. Serve.

Tangerine Sorbet Prosecco Float

When I surprised Adam with this cocktail the other night, upon first taste, his response was, "Now that tastes like summer". He couldn't have been more right; with the Maryland weather refusing to embrace springtime (let alone summer), we just had to create our own sunshine.

After tangerine and prosecco paired so well in a previous cocktail, I decided to give it another go, but with a different spin. I hadn't busted out my trusty ice cream maker yet this year, so I thought I'd dust it off for some homemade tangerine sorbet. Then I thought: why not douse that sorbet in prosecco for an even better treat? I was right, it really was better with alcohol.

You really don't need to make your own sorbet, I just get a little crazy sometimes and can't stop myself. Also, you could serve this the way I intended, as a float, or go for Adam's method of immediately stirring everything together for more of a classic cocktail. Either way, it is so refreshing and satisfying, and really does taste just like summer.

Tangerine Sorbet Prosecco Float

1 ice cream scoop of tangerine sorbet, store-bought or homemade
4 oz. prosecco or champagne (if you fancy)

Do you really need directions? No I did not think so.


Tangerine Sorbet

2 cups fresh tangerine juice (or store-bought)
1/2 cup sugar
2 T. lemon juice

Strain tangerine juice into a large bowl to remove pulp and seeds.
Add lemon juice and sugar to the bowl, stir until dissolved.
Process in ice cream maker.

Steak Enchilada Pizza

One of my favorite recipes on Gingersnaps, a Grilled Steak & Gorgonzola Pizza, came about when I decided to take some of my favorite flavor combinations and throw them onto a pizza. It worked so well the first time that I thought: why not try it again? This time, I went for a Tex-Mex variety, laying the flavors of enchiladas over some dough. Mexican and Italian pair up, and I'm basically a fusion chef now. Okay, maybe not. Either way, the blackened flavor of the meat, the spice and slight sweetness of enchilada sauce, colorful veggies, and a drizzle of cool sour cream come together perfectly on top of a simple pizza crust.

I liked this pizza so much that I made it one night for dinner, then drove to the store the next day to buy more steak so I could make it again. So, if you're using 1/2 a bell pepper or only a portion of the corn, enchilada sauce, etc... why not just double it up and make two pizzas? You could substitute chicken for the steak, or go all veggie if you wanted, but those are just silly thoughts in our household, and I won't speak of it here. Just make sure you buy enough to not make a return grocery trip the very next day.

Steak Enchilada Pizza

Steak

   10 oz. strip steak
   Marinade, see below (optional)
   2 T. Olive oil

Pizza

   1/2 lb. pizza dough

   Flour (and cornmeal if available), for work surface

   Red enchilada sauce, approximately 1/3 cup

   1/2 red bell pepper, sliced

   1/2 green bell pepper, sliced

   1/4 small onion, sliced thin

   1/3 cup corn

   1/3 cup black beans

   1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese

   1/2 cup Monterrey Jack cheese

   Olive oil, for brushing crust

 

Directions

1.  If using marinade, mix ingredients marinate steak in refrigerator that morning. 

 

2.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

 

3.  Roll pizza dough to a thin crust on a floured work surface (add cornmeal if you have it). Brush perimeter with olive oil, transfer to cookie sheet or pizza stone, and bake in oven until slightly golden, about 10 minutes. 

 

4. While crust is baking, heat 2 T. olive oil in saute pan over medium-high heat. Add steak and cook 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Remove from heat, tent with foil, and allow to rest while making pizza.

 

5. In steak pan or new pan, saute peppers and onions until just slightly soft.

6. Remove crust from oven, add enchilada sauce, cheeses, and vegetables. Return to oven and bake until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Meanwhile, slice the steak.

 

7.  Remove from oven, add sliced steak, and serve.

  

Southwest Steak Marinade

2 T. olive oil
2 T. Worcestershire sauce

2 T. chipotles in adobo sauce
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 T. minced garlic

Tangerine, Pomegranate & Prosecco Cocktails

When warm weather finally hits Baltimore, there's not much that makes me happier than sitting in the sunshine with a refreshing cocktail in hand. And if Prosecco is involved, it's basically divine. This cocktail is wildly refreshing, and entirely too easy to drink. They were very easy to make, but would be even easier if you grab a bottle of tangerine juice in lieu of squeezing your own. Please do make this cocktail on a warm, sunny day, close your eyes, take a sip, and feel the sun on your skin. You won't be disappointed, wherever you are.

Tangerine, Pomegranate & Prosecco Cocktails
Makes one 8 oz. cocktail

4 oz. Prosecco
2 oz. tangerine juice
1 oz. pomegranate juice
1 oz. Cointreau

Mix all ingredients, shake with ice, and serve on the rocks. This cocktail can be made ahead of time by mixing all ingredients except the Prosecco and storing in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, add the Prosecco and pour over ice.

Miniature Deep Dish Pizzas

Let me start by saying that this post is 100% dedicated to two of my best friends and our 4(+) years of late nights at Penn State: Lauren and Kelly. Their love of Bagel Bites is both inspirational and contagious. Now, sometimes there's just no reason to reinvent the wheel, and I get that, but I still wanted to try. And actually, I think I managed to improve upon a true dorm room staple. 

This recipe is infinitely adaptable, and can be as straightforward or interesting as you want it to be. For example, you could go straight cheese and pepperoni (nothing wrong with that), or get a little fancy with roasted red peppers, goat cheese, pine nuts, balsamic... now I'm just drooling. I went with mushroom, sausage and Parmesan, and it was delicious. The best part is that these are crazy easy, and you can make a ton, freeze them, and reheat later! So go out and make some, or just eat some Bagel Bites.

Miniature Deep Dish Pizzas
Makes 6 Miniature Pizzas

Flour, for rolling surface
2 T. olive oil
Garlic salt
1/2 lb. ball of pizza dough

Small handful of sliced mushrooms
Approx six 1/4" slices of a sausage link (I used a garlic chicken variety)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
3 T. marinara sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush six cups of a muffin tin lightly with 1 T. olive oil. Sprinkle the oiled tin lightly with garlic salt. 

2. Sprinkle flour over clean work surface. Separate dough into 6 pieces, and spread or roll into rough 4" circles. No need to be perfect. Press each dough round into the muffin tin, forming a cup.

3. Add 1 T. olive oil to a saute pan over medium heat. Add sausage and mushrooms, cook until browned. Remove from heat.

4. Add 1/2 T. marinara to each cup of dough. Add mushroom, sausage, and Parmesan to each.

5. Optional: If desired, brush edges of dough with some olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning (garlic powder and Italian seasoning here, but anything goes).

6. Bake approximately 12 minutes. Allow to cool slightly. If desired, dip in additional marinara.