Passion Tea Lemonade

Posted by AmandaCMcNeil

Summer is approaching. And as hot and humid as Florida days have been lately, summer has arrived. Lemonade is a trademark drink, and Starbucks has made it’s own twist on an Arnold Palmer by combining lemonade and Passion tea – an herbal tea by Tazo. Passion tea is officially described as “a magical blend of hibiscus, lemongrass, rose hips, mango & passion fruit flavors.” It is so fruity and delicious, it pairs nicely with lemonade. You can order it at Starbucks, or make your own for fewer bucks.

This is a great drink to make when company calls unexpectedly, for a brunch, or just an afternoon treat.

Passion Tea Lemonade

makes 2 quarts

2-3 bags of Tazo Passion tea

10 lemons

Simple syrup (or sugar) to taste

First of all, I highly recommend keeping simple syrup on hand if you are a flavored coffee drinker. This particular batch I made included the insides of scraped vanilla beans for a vanilla simple syrup. Simple syrup – or “Classic” syrup as Starbucks calls it – is simply sugar water, but the scientific way in which the sugar breaks down makes the same amount of sugar sweeter when in simple syrup form. I use a 1 to 1 ratio of sugar and water, bring to a boil on the stove, then drop to low heat and stir until dissolved. The syrup should be a consistency of just thicker than water.

To start the passion tea lemonade, I brought 1.5 quarts of water to a boil, turned down the temperature, then added 3 tea bags and let sit for 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, I started juicing the lemons. Hubby & I recently become acquainted with Mr. Jack LaLanne. Love him!

Though I used a juicer, you could hand squeeze or use a citrus juicer to extract the juice of the lemons. My 10 lemons yielded about 1.5 cups of fresh lemon juice. Notice the white foam on top of the 1 cup portion – that’s where a ton of nutrition is! (I am a nerd & learn things from food documentaries.)

Once the tea and lemon juice are ready, it is as simple as letting the tea cool slightly, and mixing it with the lemon juice and simple syrup. I ended up using 1/2 cup of simple syrup for my liking.

Garnish with some ice (I had frozen cubes of lemon juice on hand) and freshly cut lemon, and you’re set to serve!

If you are not serving it right away, do not put lemon garnish in the tea mixture as the lemons will stain red. Simply add fresh lemons when ready to serve.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts & Cauliflower

Posted by AmandaCMcNeil

I never had brussel sprouts as a child. And due to everything you hear about them as a child, I determined to never try them if I was given the opportunity. The opportunity never really presented itself until about two years ago, where I tried them at a lovely restaurant called J. Alexander’s. I had never had anything at J’s that I did not like, so I recklessly thought, why not! Well, I don’t know about all brussel sprout preparations, but these are good! I was determined to always make brussel sprouts this way and make vegetable converts of those around me!

My husband liked them the first time I made them, and convinced his father – who claimed to not like brussel sprouts either – try them. Dad liked them. Yes! My veggie revolution had begun! The secret is in the panko breadcrumbs. They’re bigger than usual breadcrumbs and give a crunch to the dish that could otherwise be another pile of limp vegetables. I carefully studied the simple looking recipe and came up with this copy cat version.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts & Cauliflower

a lovely side dish serving 4-6

1 head cauliflower

1 bag of brussel sprouts, I prefer smaller ones

Panko breadbrumbs

Olive oil

Rosemary

Salt & pepper to taste

Parmesan, shaved, shredded, or powdered, optional

I used two types of breadcrumbs this go around, but usually I only use one, the one that makes J. Alexander’s so wonderful. The lovely panko breadcrumbs. You can even get them in whole wheat, so no guilt required!

Preheat the oven to 400 then wash and cut the veggies into bite size chunks.

I sliced the brussel sprouts in half, lengthwise, so they’re bite-size, but don’t fall apart completely. I also chopped any dark end pieces and peeled off any wilty leaves.

Then I threw the vegetables into a bowl that had a lid like so…

added a tablespoon of olive oil, some salt & pepper, and some Italian breadcrumbs. I used these breadcrumbs for the spices it had, but if you’re using plain panko, you could also add italian seasonings, garlic powder, or anything else that you’d like.

Then I put on the lid tightly and shook all the stuff around to evenly coat the vegetables. And dumped them onto a baking sheet with sides.

Shake the rosemary over the whole pan, and add more salt & pepper if you wish.

At this point, liberally shake the panko breadcrumbs onto the veggies, and drizzle with more olive oil to coat the breadcrumbs.

I make this recipe a lot and have to switch it up now and then. Though J. Alexander’s does not do this, sometimes I’ll add some freshly grated Parmesan before popping them in the oven.

Place on the top rack in the oven and roast for about 15-18 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Then, broil for 3-5 minutes. You’ll need to watch the broiling process carefully as seconds too long could scorch the entire pan. You want some outer leaves of the brussel sprouts to be crispy, and some cauliflower pieces to have browned, but what you don’t want is vegetables that taste like coal. Bleck!

Serve immediately!

You, too, can prove that brussel sprouts are good! Enjoy!

Crispy Oven Fries & Bistro Sauce

Posted by AmandaCMcNeil

This is the sequel to last week’s post! The delicious, crispy, herb drenched fries and the sauce that cannot be described, only consumed. This sauce is inspired by Nordstrom’s Cafe Bistro, who serves it with their own crispy, herb drenched fries. My husband and I were introduced to Cafe Bistro years ago and have fallen in love with it. They have great salads, sandwiches, pizzas, and desserts! We seriously refer to this pink dip as “Heaven Sauce” in our household, and it has caught on with friends who love the Cafe as much as we do.

I loved this sauce so much I once asked for the recipe and though they sell cookbooks with their recipes, they so generously jotted it down for me. Now, that was quite a while ago, so I’ve long forgotten where that little receipt has ended up. Thankfully, my somewhat functional memory and my culinary instincts could reproduce it! It’s amazing! Also, I’ve learned a lot about baking fries since my last fry post. From soaking the potatoes in water to cooking them on a rack with air circulation, it’s all good things I’ve learned. I’m excited to share this recipe with you!

Crispy Oven Fries & ~~Heaven~~ Bistro Sauce

Serves 2-3, Fries inspired by thetalkingkitchen.com

3 small/medium potatoes

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t onion powder

1 small bunch of parsley, I used Italian flat leaf

4-6T mayonnaise, I used Vegenaise

2-3T Greek yogurt (optional)

2-3 cloves fresh garlic

8-12 Kalamata olives

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

4T olive oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

First, I washed and cut the potatoes to desired fry size. I wanted skinny fries in the attempt to make them nice and crispy. I also left the skin on and was not disappointed.

Then soaked them in ice water for about 5 minutes to let some starch out. At this point, I pre-heated the oven to 400 degrees.

I then rinsed and drained the potatoes, and dried them out on a towel. I rubbed the towel back & forth over them to ensure they were fully dry.

I then mixed the powders, salt, & pepper together.

Side note: I used a chimichurri sea salt that I picked up at a farmer’s market recently. Bless the Lord, it’s good! Recipes like this are a fun time to experiment with new seasonings or different flavored salt & peppers. Also, if you’ve never had chimichurri sauce…get on that. It will change your world.

Then added the olive oil.

And added the fries. At first I tried to toss them with a spatula, but they weren’t getting sufficiently coated, so prepare to get your hands a little dirty.

I lined a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, just to make clean up a little easier. And since I don’t own a cooking rack, I used an all metal cookie cooling rack to put the fries on. Apparently, air circulation makes the fries crispier, and you don’t need to flip them half way through the cook time. I’m not sure how I feel about that since I got some crispy fries, and some softer ones. Good thing I like both kinds.

I made so many I had to cook them in two batches because they didn’t all fit on the pan!

I baked them for 30-35 minutes, or until nicely browned. Meanwhile, time to roll up your sleeves, bust out the food processor and make the sauce of Heaven!!!

I first tossed in 4T mayo. I subbed out some mayo for Greek yogurt to cut down the fat and up the protein in this dip. This is optional of course. You could go mayo all the way if you’re not as vain as I am. I use Greek yogurt as a sub for mayo and sour cream often in recipes. The kind I buy by Fage has 0 fat and 20ish grams of protein per serving. This is fantastic news to my heart!

Then added the garlic.

Oh, yes, I used my mini food processor since I’m not making but 1.5 cups of this goodness.

Then added the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and some salt & pepper.

Add the olives.

And blend it! This would be the time to adjust seasonings to taste. You’ll know when it’s right for your taste buds. The consistency you’re looking for will be slightly more runny than mayonnaise. Place in the fridge until the fries are ready.

While the fries are finishing in the oven, chop the parsley finely.