Buttermilk Roast Chicken

I have spoken, on occasions prior (here and here come to mind) of my love of Smitten Kitchen (and I am BEYOND STOKED for Deb's cookbook to come out), so when I saw this recipe for Buttermilk Roast Chicken it became immensely obvious that I needed to try it.

I made my own buttermilk and put the chicken in the marinade 24 hours before roasting.  I would've liked to have let it soak for another day, but I literally saw this recipe and made it the next night.

I don't cook with paprika often, and when I do I'm always reminded that that's silly.  I love paprika.  And the combination of it with the garlic and buttermilk in this recipe is DIVINE.

The chicken roasted so perfectly and was so tender and full of flavor that I kicked myself for not making a billion other recipes that I have bookmarked from Smitten Kitchen.  This was a reminder to do just that.  Soon.

Similarly, I also love the B Brian Atwood line and would like to remind myself to purchase each and every pair from the collection.  Including these:

B Brian Atwood via Bergdorf Goodman

Sensible budget (much like sensible eating) be damned.

Quickie Friday: Crockpot Ravioli "Casserole"

I thought I found this recipe and pinned it to my Foodie Finds board, but apparently I'm mistaken and have no idea where I found the recipe on which this dish is based.  Since I change every recipe I ever read, I'll just go ahead and tell you, peeps, how I made this delicious crockpot dish.

Brown one pound of ground beef with one onion, red pepper, a little Italian seasoning, garlic, and a little garlic salt.  Throw it in the crock pot with one big old can of tomatoes (I went with the San Marzanos, which I crushed prior to adding them to the crockpot) and turn it on low for 6 hours or so.  Then add 16 ounces of cooked bowtie pasta, ten ounces of spinach (I used fresh but frozen would work, too), half a cup of mozzarella cheese and a quarter cup of Parmesan.  Let it simmer for another hour or so, then enjoy!

Is it just me, or do cheap shoes keep getting better and better looking?

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I'm sure these are unGODLY uncomfortable and would fall apart after a few jaunts to the beach, but they look pretty good in the meantime, if you ask me.  And, even better, I'd be over 6 feet tall!  A double whammy of awesome!

The Super(ball): Part Three

The final event in the Super(ball) extravaganza occurred thanks to Tasting Table, which arrives in my inbox everyday and delights me to no end (today's recipe was about pork and bourbon.  What's not to love?!).  Typically I am not a lover of these sorts of meatballs, but the title "Have a Ball:  Meatballs get Cheesy" won me over, and I went for it.

This was the first time I'd used fresh bread to make my bread crumbs, and I really do believe it made all the difference (I also used the fresh bread for these balls, too).

These balls did require a bit more work than the last, in that they required a brief stint in my grill pan prior to baking.  But it was well worth it.

The F didn't even think that these balls required sauce, which is saying a great deal as he prefers nearly all foods with sauce.  These were great reheated as well as an appetizer, and would be ideal thrown on top of some spaghetti.

The F is in the throes of planning our honeymoon and telling me enough to make me want to know more but not enough so that I have any idea what he's planning.  I do, however, have reason to believe that it will involve Europe and yours truly rockin' these:

Miu Miu via Barneys

Flat, comfortable-looking, and go with any and everything.  Perfect for a European honeymoon.  Or a beach honeymoon.  Or a safari honeymoon.  Or an Alaskan honeymoon.  Ok, maybe not that.

The Super(ball): Part Two

Because yesterday was simply a part one, today I present to you balls part deux.  Part dos.  Part awesome.

These buffalo chicken meatballs (discovered in the local paper by the F) were wonderfully easy to make, healthy, and delicious.  Get yourself some ground turkey, wing sauce, butter, celery, and bread crumbs and you have the makings of a tasty ball, peeps!

Baked up and served up with a dipping sauce of your choice (bleu cheese for me, ranch for the F) and these make a mean appetizer for a crowd (Yes, there are approximately 53 meatballs in that pan.  Yes, the F and I watched the Superbowl by ourselves.  Yes, sometimes I make too much food because I like to cook and we have no friends.  IS THAT A CRIME?!)

Are these?

Lanvin via Barneys

I want to like them.  I do.  I just . . . I can't.  That leather toe with the espadrille bottom.  Just.  No.

The Super(ball): Part One

I'm not going to lie, my two favorite things about this year's Superbowl were seeing Cee Lo Green dressed as some sort of bedazzled priest, and listening to Gisele complain about the game.  "My husband can not f****ing throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time."  Thanks, Gisele.  I'm sure it eased the pain of the loss for poor Tommy.

My other favorite thing about the Superbowl:  the balls.  And not the balls on TV (take that as you may).  The F and I enjoyed a feast of balls this year, beginning with these deep-fried cheddar cheese balls.  You'll need a one pound block of cheddar diced into half inch cubes (then put in the freezer so they get REALLY cold) and the following:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup beer
• a deep frier or a lot of hot oil in a pan

Mix the first five ingredients together, then dip the cheese cubes in the batter and lay them out on a sheet of wax paper.  Then freeze them for a few hours.

They will look like this when they're frozen (which is to say, weird) but don't fret, all will make sense.  Heat your oil to between 375 and 400 degrees, and drop those suckers in 5 or 6 at a time.  Let them fry until they're golden brown, then drain them on a cooling rack (with ample paper towels underneath).

Eat them hot, and with a vat of ranch dressing if you're so inclined (and we were, if you couldn't tell by the ceramic football full of ranch.  Don't worry, it was light).

Not light:

Edmundo Castillo via Saks

Don't get me wrong, those are some beautiful colors.  But I think they look heavy.  Like peeps on the street might think I fancy bricks as footwear.  What say you, peeps?

Quickie Friday: Cheesy Asparagus

I try and use asparagus in my cooking as much as possible, because I find it delicious and word on the street is that it's good for you, too (don't tell the F).

This time around, I steamed my asparagus, topped it with hickory-smoked gruyere and a drizzle of olive oil, then popped it under the broiler until the cheese was nice and toasty.  It was wonderful as a side dish to some buttermilk-roasted chicken (more on that later).

I have a question, peeps, and it relates to these:

via

How are we feeling about the cork?  I remember my first pair of cork platform sandals:  they were denim on top and I could stick pushpins into the platform.  I'm not sure if that's a fond memory or a frightening one, so I require further input from the masses.  Yay or nay?

And Today I Bring You . . .

Arnie.

Up close and adorable.  Because her fans miss her.

A V-Day Treat

Because I love you all, I am popping in on this, the most sacred of holidays (if you can't sense the sarcasm, leave now) to let ya'll know that this blog is now COMPLETELY CONNECTED to, well, everything!  Check out the updated twitter, bloglovin, and pinterest links to the right and below each post!  And share the Cookin' in Heels love with all your peeps!

Oh yea, and Happy Valentine's Day.


*image via

Grilled Cheese and Bacon Sandwiches

I am of the opinion that sometimes there is no better meal than a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup.  I am also of the (humble as it may be) opinion that I make a mean grilled cheese sandwich, because mine includes bacon.  And cheese with bacon flavor.  I am a grilled cheese and bacon master.

The perfect grilled cheese sandwich begins with sourdough bread (thinly sliced) and a layer of sharp, yellow cheddar cheese, followed by a thinly sliced layer of hickory smoked gruyere cheese (which tastes like a heavenly cheese and bacon hybrid), then another layer of cheddar, and then a slice or two of crispy, delicious bacon.  Then more cheese (of course), then another slice of sourdough.  And toasted to perfection.

Also important to this, the most divine of simplistic meals:  jazzed up soup.  Shock of all shocks, this soup is canned, BUT I added some things to it.  Campbell's tomato soup + sauteed, minced garlic + canellini beans + parmesan cheese and fresh cracked black pepper = THE PERFECT ACCOMPANIMENT TO THE SOUP.

As I said, I'm a master (even if part of my mastery involves canned foods).

And speaking of masters . . .

Christian Louboutin via Barneys

That is one helluva shoe.  I believe, of course, that you can never go wrong with Loubs.  So much so that I'm debating ordering a pair to wear in my engagement pictures.  If only it could be these . . .

Quickie Friday: Mexican Casserole

There is nothing I love more than a casserole.  Particularly one with a crispy element.

The crispy element of this casserole comes from a layer of crushed (whole wheat) tortilla chips in the bottom.  The next layer involves a mixture of fat free refried beans (1 can), salsa (a cup and a half), and Mexican blend cheese (half a cup).  Then, top that off with a layer of taco meat (I used ground beef, a taco seasoning packet, plus additional white and cayenne pepper).  THEN top it off with cheese (another half a cup) and sliced green onions, and bake the whole thing at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes.  THEN top it some more with tomatoes.

Yum.

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I'm not sure if these are yum or not.  On the one hand . . . SPARKLES!  On the other . . . meh.  What say you, peeps?

Crockpot Chicken a la Criolla

I stumbled upon this recipe during one of my long evenings at work (long evenings which are particularly wonderful for recipe-searching).  I only managed to snap one picture, but suffice it to say that the recipe was tasty and, for anybody who uses Weight Watchers, low in points!

My pictures are improving slightly, no?  Wait until you see some that I snapped during my Superbowl cooking festivities; things are getting better, peeps!

Also improving:  my shoe options for the wedding.

Giuseppe Zanotti via Neiman Marcus

The light blue color isn't even remotely on my radar, color-wise, but I LOVE the colors together.  And the swirling kind of looks like ocean waves, right?  Right?!

Quickie Friday: Puffy Breakfast

Ahh the potato puff.  Once something I never thought I would prepare, now prepared and re-purposed for breakfast.

(I apologize for the crappy photo.  Again.)  That, peeps, is a lightly fried egg atop said puff, prepared for the F's breakfast pleasure.  (Another of my [many] food quirks is that I do not like to eat egg yolks, unless they are thoroughly mixed with a greater number of egg whites [scrambled eggs with a 3 egg-white-to-one-egg-yolk ratio are acceptable]).  Because I am a bizarre-ly picky eater, the F benefits.  And he LOVED this.  It's nice to know I am a good cook, even when preparing things I will not eat.  Ha!

This week is obviously (and unintentionally) t-strap week:

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Since there is no way that I can afford the Guccis I posted earlier this week, these will certainly suffice.

Easy Bistro Chicken

This recipe had been in my purse for ages before I finally remembered why I printed it off (because it sounded delicious) and made it (incorrectly).

It's pretty rare that I'm multi-tasking whilst cooking.  I normally like to focus my energy on the deliciousness in front of me, and not other things.  My excitement about my new job and all of the changes in my life, however, distracted me from making this dish correctly.

I am happy to report, however, that leaving the red wine vinegar out of this recipe and adding an extra (15 oz) can of red-pepper seasoned tomatoes does not make it taste bad.  In fact, it makes it taste wonderful, and I didn't even realize that I had messed it up until I started to write this post!!!  (As an added fyi:  I served this over whole wheat pasta for me, and over mashed potatoes for the F.  And I didn't brown my chicken quite enough . . . distractions are a b*tch).

Speaking of distractions:

Fendi via Neiman Marcus

I know, I know, I have posted these before, but I seriously cannot stop thinking about them.  They are constantly on my mind, and I know it seems to early to buy shoes for my wedding, but when I am dreaming about a pair of shoes, that can't be a bad sign, right?  RIGHT?!