Pan Seared NY Strip w/ a homemade Fettuccine Alfredo

Can I just pleeeease express to the world my Love (yes, with a big "L") of Steak. S-T-E-A-K. It always amazes me that there are people out there who just don't like a giant piece of barely cooked meat seasoned to perfection. But who am I to judge? 

Luckily for those of us who enjoy the beefy goodness, I have a killer recipe that we use in my house. It's pretty simple, just like most of my other recipes, and in my opinion is a notch above some of your average steakhouse meals. 

• 2 NY Strip 
• McCormick's Spicy Steak Seasoning 
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Olive Oil

1. Take the Steaks out of the fridge and bring them to room temp. 
2. Season both sides of steak liberally and cover lightly with Olive Oil. Let sit for at least half an hour
3. Place your cast iron skillet in the oven and pre heat to 500 degrees. 
4. Once hot, remove from oven and place on a hot eye. 
5. Place your steaks in the middle of the hot skillet and cook unmoved for 1 minute. Flip and cook an additional minute.
6. Remove skillet from eye and place in the pre heated oven for 3 minutes (this recipe is for Medium Rare, cook an additional 2 minutes for well done).
7. Remove from oven and serve immediately

With the wondrous NY Strip I've decided to match it with another tasty dish that could be used as a main course as well. But we are heavy eaters here in the Perez- Pouchprom household, plus you need your carbs to go with all that protein. So the sidekick for today's meal is homemade Fettuccine Alfredo. 

Unlike the jar stuff you usually pick up, try making your own fresh sauce with Heavy Cream & Grated Parmesan. It's tasty, simple and the best part of all, fressssh. You control the seasonings and get to feel like a chef all at the same time... Impressive, eh. 

1. Fettuccine 
2. Heavy Cream 12 oz
3. Grated Parmesan 14 oz
4. 2 Shallots or half an Onion chopped 
5. 2 tablespoon butter
6. A few cloves of garlic chopped *if desired

I usually prepare the pasta before taking the 10 minutes to make the steak. So once removing your steaks from the fridge to bring to room temp, start prepping your side dish!

• Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add salt and a touch of olive oil to prevent sticking. (be sure not to add too much oil, this will keep your pasta from absorbing the sauce you make)
• Add your pasta and boil 10 minutes or until al dente
• Once done, drain and set aside
• Heat your sauce pan and add butter, letting it melt but not become golden
• Then add your shallots and garlic. Cook for a 3 - 5 minutes or until shallots are translucent and the garlic brings aroma.
• Add half of the heavy cream and heat. Stirring constantly.
• Once the cream comes to a bubble, add your Parmesan, continuing to stir.
• Add the rest of the heavy cream and continue to stir.
• ***This recipe requires attention to your sauce, so no leaving to catch some GoT or Dancing with the Stars***
• After 10 minutes or so your sauce should begin to thicken.
• Enjoy the smells <3
• Once the sauce coats the back of a spoon (or reaches desired thickness), add your already cooked pasta. 
  
• Ensure that your pasta is well coated and mixed and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes
• As the sauce and pasta cool, the flavors will settle and the pasta will soak up some of the flavorful goodness! 
• Serve as a main dish or a side dish and enjoy! You're and amazing chef! 

Homemade Carbonara aka BREAKFAST PASTA

I use to think that making Italian food was difficult, but thanks to my boyfriend and a lengthy waitress gig at an authentic Italian pizza bar, I have found out the secret!  It's not a lot of crazy cooking techniques or expensive ingredients, it's mostly just good cheese and well cooked pasta.

Carbonara aka Breakfast pasta is just like heaven~

Warm pasta and crunchy bacon covered in a cheesy coating, mMm.

This recipe calls for only a few ingredients and about half an hour of your day.

Ingredients:

• Half a pack of uncooked bacon- chopped into small strips or cubes
• 1/2 lb. Pasta - I choose Fettuccine, but on other occasions I have used Rotini with great success
• 1 cup of shredded cheese
• 1 egg
• teaspoon of oregano 
• sprinkle of basil

The steps are pretty easy and the real work comes in during the last 5 minutes or so. 

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add your pasta and a few drops of olive oil to prevent sticking. 
2. Cook your pasta 10 min. or until al dente. Remove from heat and drain.
3. Dry the same pot or a new one and add bacon to cook.
4. Cook bacon until brown and crisp, draining most of the collected oil. 
5. Remove pot from heat and add pasta to the cooked bacon, tossing in the oil quickly.
6. Add half of the shredded cheese and continue to stir constantly *add butter if you'd like
7. Add egg to the mixture and mix in the hot pasta (this will cook the egg)
8. Be sure NOT to scramble the egg, simply mix into the pasta
9. Add remaining cheese and spices and continue to stir until the egg appears cooked and cheese melted. 
10. Serve and Enjoy! 

Crock Pot Brown Sugar Pork Loin Recipe

Good Morning & Happy Day! 

It's Sunday and I wanted to make something for a great Sunday dinner. After looking in my freezer and finding only a large chunk of pork loin I think "what the hell am i going to do with this thing?". Luckily last month during a visit from the "in-laws", Ari's wonderful mother bought us a crock pot! A wondrous modern machine which enables me to throw a bunch of random stuff in a big pot and leave it to cook itself. 

So let's start with the ingredients I found in my kitchen to toss in:

1. 1.3 lb. Pork loin 
2. Red Onion chopped 
3. 2 Large Yellow Potatoes chopped - I like these b.c they have a buttery taste 
4. 5 Garlic Teeth Minced
5. **I wish I had some Carrots to throw in too! Perhaps some Celery.
6. 1 1/2 cup Chicken Stock1/2 cup Brown Sugar 
7. Salt - I love salt so ... do your own thing
8. Pepper 
9. Dash of Coriander
10. Dash of Rosemary 
11. Vegetable Oil
12. 2 tablespoon Dijon Mustard 

I like to keep a full spice rack! So throw your own assortment in to suit your taste:) 


After looking up a few other recipes I put together my own one pot meal.

----------- 1. Be sure you have a fully defrosted Pork Loin before beginning, wash and dry on paper towels. 

2. Season your Pork with Salt, Pepper and Brown Sugar. Rub deeply and set aside. 

3. Heat skillet and pour Veggie oil in to heat. 

4. Place Seasoned Pork Loin onto hot skillet and brown all sides (about2 minutes on each side). This will help seal in juices and give the loin a beautiful crust. **add some minced garlic if you'd like**

5. Remove from skillet and place the Loin onto a bed of chopped onions and potatoes (this is will help flavor the veggies as they cook).

6. In a separate bowl whisk together your Glaze: Chicken Stock, Brown Sugar, Salt, Pepper, Coriander and remaining Garlic.

7. In the same heated skillet pour in your Glaze and cook on high. Stirring constantly. You will notice the mixture getting thicker and bubbling. After about 10 minutes your glaze should be thick and coat a spoon lightly. Remove from heat. 

8. Pour Glaze on top of your veggies and pork. Cover Crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours.

OMG the smells 

9. After 4 hours check your meal and reduce heat to low.

10. Cover and cook an additional 2 hours. 
11. Check for done-ness 
12. Pull or cut apart pork and serve over Jasmine rice with cooked veggies.

Hope it turns out as tasty for you as for me! 

Happy Cooking! 

Bonne Maman = Swanky French Preserves you should try!

Jams, Preserves and Jellies are so much joy! 

A sweet and simple spread to make bread a dessert like treat.

It sounds intense, right? Well if you feel a tenth of this passionate about fruit preserves then you have to try this brand on your next slice of toast.

  

What does Bonne Maman mean?
Bonne Maman translates to mean “Grandmother” or “Granny”. The brand is aptly named as the preserves and jellies are made from the best natural ingredients found in your (or your Grandmother’s) kitchen, using the same traditional recipe since the brand began.

Are Bonne Maman Preserves and Jellies 100% natural?
YES! All of our preserves are made with the following 100% natural ingredients: fruit, sugar, cane sugar, concentrated lemon juice and fruit pectin. Bonne Maman has no preservatives, no additives, no corn syrup, is sulfite-free and non-GMO.

What’s the difference between Preserves, Jelly and Jam?

• Preserves are made from cooking whole fruits. Each of Bonne Maman’s recipes in its 14 flavors of preserves ensures that pieces of fruit are present in each jar. Preserves feature a fuller fruit flavor compared to jams.

• Jellies are made from only the juices of fruits. Jellies offer a uniform texture, are clear, and firm compared to preserves and jams. Bonne Maman produces an assortment of 4 jelly flavors.

• Jams are made from crushed fruit and fruit puree, not whole fruit. Bonne Maman does not make jams.

Reference: http://www.bonnemaman.us/faqs/

Happy Eating! 

LeftOvers Meal: Saute'd Brats with Onion and Peppers

As I sit here thinking about the yummy 8 hour Pork Loin I have going in the crock pot for dinner, I remember.... I'm hungry right now! And it's lunch time. So I decided to whip up something quick.

After Ari's BBQ fest the other day we had some leftover bratwurst YUMYUM, along with that leftover onions and peppers from our kebabs. Cold rice in the ricecooker and it's all the makings for a meal. 

Leftover sausage is always easy to gt rid of, either on a piece of bread or in a stir fry <3
*reminds me of a silly sign I saw for an amusement park
"you never sausage a place" 

Ha*

Let's list the ingredients:

Brats - chopped into pieces 
onion - chopped
green pepper - chopped into small pieces 
Dijon Mustard - OPTIONAL 
Veggie Oil to coat pan
salt & pepper to taste



Meals like this couldn't be easier!

Prep Time!:

1. Chopped all veggies and set aside

2. Heat a pan and add veggie oil. Allow to heat 

3. Add onions first to the hot pan and saute. Once halfway done, add chopped brats and stir. Ensure that you coat all ingredients well with hot oil. 

4. Once the onions are limp, add green peppers and continue to cook for 5 minutes. 

5. Then add mustard and a tablespoon of water. Stir into hot ingredients. Heat 3-5 more minutes. 

6. Remove from heat and Serve over room temperature jasmine rice.

Enjoy!  

Cooking is so Fun!: Chicken Kebabs

Okay Folks, it's that time of the summer! The hours are long and luxurious, the weather is perfect for a fun day out on the patio with a cold beer and the grill :) At least that's what I'll be doing this Labor Day. In honor of Summer soon coming to an end I wanted to make something fun and easy to eat. A classic item that is the Chicken Kebab *glorious music in the background here*.

I don't know about you but I absolutely love pineapple with- well pretty much everything. And I think it will add a refreshing sweetness to today's dish. Let's take a look at the ingredients list:
________________
Skewers (soaked in water for at least an hour prior to grilling)
Grill (oven works too)

Chicken Breast- sliced into 1 or 2 inch cubes
Pineapple - I buy mine pre-chopped
Red Onion
Green Pepper

Marinade - La Choy Orange Ginger is my weapon of choice
2 Tablespoons Soy sauce
**for an extra kick you can add some chilies or saracha to the mix

1. Defrost an chop your chicken into cubes and set aside
2. Mix your marinade, soy and spices of your choice. Mix until well blended
3. Toss chicken in marinade and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour.

Prep Time!:

4. Get your grill going
5. Wash and chop your remaining veggies into bite sized cubes
6. SKEWER AWAY! Make your own yummy creations, stick by stick!

7.Place on the grill and let cook 10-15 min

8.Ensure your meat is cook through and Carefully remove from grill. enjoy! The best part of cooking is sitting around afterwards munching on your very own food creation!

In this situation we didn't let our sticks soak long enough and end up burning them :( which made them not so pretty. But they still turned out tasting amazing!


I'm so happy to have finally made the first step in my cooking blog! I will post a few recipes now and then. Esp. the ones I find to be the most tasty :) Please feel free to leave comments on how anything can be improved or your take on the recipe and the results.


Cooking is so fun!