Epicurious Events!

Hey folks.  I apologize for another week of nary a post.  I thought that I was feeling better, but turns out, not so much.  So I haven't really done a ton of cooking.  I did put together a few items for the graduation party this weekend, and I will share those recipes with you, hopefully tomorrow.  And also share the copy-cat Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich recipe that I mentioned.

I did, however, want to give you all a head's up that Epicurious is going to hold the 3rd Annual Epicurious Farmers' Market Tour from July 30-August 21st in different cities around the country.  It doesn't look like there are any close enough for me to make it, but I would love to hear about your experiences if any of you get to go (especially if you go to the one in Boston; one of my favorite cities)!

Here is the lineup:
San Francisco - Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market - July 20th & 24th
Chicago - Daley Plaza Farmers' Market - July 29th
Minneapolis - Farmers' Market Annex - July 31st & August 1st
Boston - Copley Square Farmers' Market - August 6th
Boston - City Hall Farmers' Market - August 9th
New York City - Union Square Greenmarket - August 16th, 20th & 21st

Patriotic Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

I haven't been feeling 100% for the past few days which has kept me from doing much cooking (hence an entire week without a recipe and nary a post, for which I apologize).  We did make the copycat recipe of Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwiches for dinner Friday night, and I will be sharing the recipe and results hopefully tomorrow.  I had plans for a few different Fourth of July-inspired foods to make over the weekend, and due to whatever bug I picked up, I just couldn't talk myself into it.  I did want to do something, however.  I ran across this idea for Red, White & Blue Strawberries over at Oopsey Daisy.  They're really easy and very cute!

I poured some "4th of July Blue" colored sugar (picked up in the Dollar Spot at Target) in a small bowl, and then inserted toothpicks into the cap-end of about 1 pint of fresh, clean strawberries.  Then I melted half a bag of Ghirardelli white chocolate chips and 1/2 T. of shortening in the microwave, stirring at 30 second intervals.  I dipped the strawberries 2/3-3/4 of the way in the melted chocolate, and then set them on waxed paper to set.  Once set, I used the back of a small spoon to smooth a very thin coat of chocolate on the bottom 1/4-1/3 of the strawberries, and then dipped that in the colored sugar.  Originally, I dipped straight from the chocolate to the sugar, but it was causing a little "bubble" or roll around the middle where the sugar stopped.  This worked out a lot better asthetically.  Taste-wise - run wild however you want!

Aloha Friday!

Aloha Friday everyone! And a long-weekend Friday, at that!  I have a fun question for you to kick off the Fourth of July weekend.  If you'd like to join in the fun, as well, post a question on your own blog and then leave the link over on the Aloha Friday page at An Island Life.  It's a great way to find some new favorite blogs!

My question for you:

What is your favorite meal or dessert to cook or bake for the 4th of July?

My answers: 

Grilled pizza; a Red, White and Blue Trifle; and Taco Salad!

Leave your answer in the comment section below and have a great weekend! :)

Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops & Crash Hot Potatoes

"MMmm, pig" is a phrase that gets uttered around here quite often (other related phrase: Everything's better with bacon!). I hadn't catered to the pork craving in awhile, so last night I made Parmesan-Crusted pork chops and served crash hot potatoes on the side.

I've had the pork chop recipe for years, and don't remember where it came from, though I think it might have been featured on a Food Network show at some point. The crash hot potatoes come from The Pioneer Woman Cooks (Ree Drummond); you will find lots of lovely, tasty, hearty recipes over there - take some time to browse around.

I started the potatoes first, since they take a little longer than the chops.  I boiled some baby red potatoes; while they were doing their thing, I prepared the baking sheet by liberally drizzling it with some olive oil (you will want to be very liberal; it keeps them from sticking)

Once the potatoes were ready, I set them on the baking sheet

From there, I used a metal potato masher to squish the potatoes down a little bit (not all the way), and then turned the masher 90 degrees and pressed down again.  You don't want to mash them, but make them look a little bit like a potato cookie

Then I brushed the tops with some more olive oil, sprinkled them with some kosher salt, black pepper, and fresh herbs (I had chives and rosemary growing in my container garden, so those are the ones I used; feel free to use whatever you have on hand)

Those get put on the top rack of a 450 degree oven.

After the potatoes were in the oven, I turned my attention to the pork chops.  First, they get pressed into grated Parmesan cheese

Then they get a dip in an egg bath

Then they finally get pressed into some Italian bread crumbs

Swirl some EVOO into a skillet and brown on each side for about 6 minutes per side, or until a golden brown (mine are a teeny bit past golden.  Oops.)

Transfer them to a pan and finish them in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or so. At this point, there were only about 15 minutes left on the potatoes, so I turned the oven down from 450 to 400 and put the chops in the stove with the potatoes.  When done, I pulled out the pork chops and put the potatoes under the broiler for just a minute or so to compensate for the turn-down in temp.  You don't necessarily have to do that if you find yourself in the same situation; we just happen to like crunchy.

They turned out great (I will be honest; looking at the picture above is making my stomach rumble a little growl ravenously) - crunchy on the outside (I'm a firm believer in the crunchy texture and using it liberally in your food) and soft inside.  So did the chops.  A really nice pairing, to be honest.  The pork chops have been in my mix for a few years, and will continue to be so; the potatoes have now joined the list and will be made at least once or twice a month.

Recipes are below:

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Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons

I was looking for something just a little different to make as an after-dinner bite/evening snack.  Since any time I ask "What would you like for a sweet?" the invariable response is "peanut butter cookies!" or "brownies!".  And I love both of them - I really do - but I also like the chance to try something a little new once in awhile.  Especially since I've collected an entire box and binder full of recipes I want to try, and the pile is only getting bigger, not smaller.  So PBCs and brownies got vetoed last night, and I decided to make some of the Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons that I had stumbled across over at Brown Eyed Baker.

Not only are these fairly easy to make, the vote handed down was that they are tasted something like a grilled Almond Joy candy bar, which basically is saying "two thumbs up" (anything hailing from or reminiscent of the Hershey family scores highly around here).

The ones I made are tasty, but not overly beautiful, I will admit.  I'm chalking it up to the fact that they were my initial attempt at homemade macaroons.  The next time around, I will probably make them a little smaller; I think that will help with the over-all shape, as well as how they look after they've been dipped.

All you need to do is mix the sweetened condensed milk, salt, egg white, and vanilla together in a bowl.  Once blended, stir in the coconut until well-combined.

Next, you will want to line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Using a tablespoon or small scoop, drop the batter in small mounds about 2" apart on the baking sheet.  Wet your fingers, and use your fingertips to loosely form the mounds into haystacks or volcanoes.  Wet your fingers as necessary if they start to get sticky or hard to shape.

After they come out of the oven, they need to briefly cool on the pan, then finish cooling on a wire rack.  Once cooled, they can be dipped in chocolate.  Of course, waiting for them to cool before the dipping was proving to be a long wait, so one may have been sampled naked.  And may have been really, really good.

After they were cooled, they got the dip.  And they were really good, too.  You can never go wrong adding chocolate.  I bet they would also be good dipped in dark chocolate (or even tinted white chocolate, but I will have to try that out to see if it would also be visually appealing).

Here's the recipe, again from originally found on Brown Eyed Baker:

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 lg. egg white

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. salt

3 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

10 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1) Preheat oven to 325; line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2) In large bowl, stir together the sweetened condensed milk, egg white, vanilla and salt.  Stir in the coconut until well-combined.

3) Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto the parchment-lined baking sheets.  Space the macaroons about 2" apart.  With wet fingers, shape the dough into haystacks.  Continue to wet fingers as necessary if they start to get sticky or hard to shape.

4) Bake one sheet at a time for 15-20 minutes, until they turn a light golden brown.

5) Cool on cookie sheet for about 2 minutes, until starting to set.  Use a metal spatula to move the macaroons to a wire cooling rack.  Cool for an additional 30 minutes, until they reach room temperature.

6) Melt 8 ounces of the chopped semi-sweet chocolate.  I did mine in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between.  You can also melt it in a heat-proof bowl set over a bowl of barely-simmering water.  Once melted and smooth, add in the remaining 2 ounces of chopped chocolate, and stir until smooth.

7) Holding the tips of the macaroons, dip the bottoms and 1/2" up the sides of the macaroons.  Scrape off excess chocolate, and set back on the parchment-lined baking sheets to set.

Makes 24-36, depending on how big you make them.