Cheese, Glorious Cheese - Which ones are on your Charcuterie Board?

 

Before we deep dive into cheeses, can we just review the evolution of appetizers served at home parties and celebrations in no particular order?

Pepperoni and cheese

Cheese and crackers

Fondue

Cheeseballs

Cheesepuffs 

Loaded potato skins

Baked Brie

Caprese Platters drizzled with Balsamic

Cheese-y Nachos

Goat Cheese Canapes

Stromboli

Mozzarella Sticks

Quesadillas

Charcuterie Boards

Yes, Charcuterie Boards seem to be the biggest, and most recent appetizer trend everyone has embraced. Largely because they can be customized to include whatever a person enjoys with as many other components as they choose - but mostly, they have meats and cheeses, as defined by the very name - Charcuterie.

Plus, a Charcuterie Board is generally crowd pleasing, beautiful, and of course, delicious.

Textures, colors, and a range of flavors all combine to create the perfect bite!

How do you decide which are the best cheese to include? Start with one or two of your personal favorites because after all, this is your creation.

For the rest, try to mix up textures and consider what will pair well or taste best when combined with the rest of the components on the board. Bold versus mild, hard or soft textures, and adding in cheeses made with goat or sheep's milk helps keep things interesting and tasty. Click here for more details about choosing the best cheese for your charcuterie board.

During the social restrictions imposed during the pandemic, my immediate family gathered once a week for dinner and adopted a Happy Hour time prior to the main meal. Frequently, charcuterie boards can be found with salami, pepperoni, cheddar, mozzarella, pickles, crackers or grilled garlic bread rounds, sliced tomatoes, olives, grapes, and whatever other treats are on hand that week. We play music in the background and chat while the meal finishes cooking (or take-out is picked up). As life returns to pre-Covid traditions, we actually hope to keep this practice alive. I hope you and yours have found a way to connect during these challenging times and continue to be Fed Well.

Fresh Salad Recipes including a Big M Burger Salad

Nope. I'm not crazy! Turn your burgers and cheeseburgers into a salad!

Think about it. 

Lettuce - check. 

Tomatoes - check. 

Onions - check. 

Cheese - check.

Pickles - check.

Thousand Island dressing - check.

Top with sesame seeds - check.

Trade off the bun for croutons (or leave out the carbs). 

All the key ingredients for that classic double yellow arches, two all beef patty, MacBurger - turned into a salad! This Big M Burger Salad could be scaled up and served in a big platter for pool parties (I'm thinking of bringing one to my son and daughter-in-law's house this summer) and barbecues or as a main meal for one or two!

Why haven't we talked about this before now?

Chop up your lettuce, add diced, fresh tomatoes, chopped onion and pickles, either chunks of cheddar or American cheese, dress with Thousand Island or your own secret sauce, sprinkle on some sesame seeds, add your freshly grilled hamburger on top, and this salad is ready!

Crispy, crunchy, juicy. All the flavor combinations you have come to love and recognize from a class hamburger loaded with fresh toppings.

Yes, you can swap out the burger for grilled chicken. Yes, you could also use grilled steak, or shrimp or whatever protein you like, but really, the idea is to give you all the flavors of that juicy burger with a higher ratio of salad.

Want some more fresh salad ideas? Click here for my recent Zulily post - Top 10 Healthy, Tasty & Quick Salad Ideas with Recipes to try!

I'm looking forward to the warmer weather, safely gathering again with friends and family, and celebrating the longer days and just being together. The restrictions of the pandemic have shown how sweet it really is to be together and Fed Well!

 

Breakfast and Lunch for Dinner!

 

Growing up, the meal formula was typically a protein (which if I'm really honest was only meat - beef, pork, or chicken were always in rotation), a vegetable, and a starch which was either a rice, potato or pasta. Imagine three big wheels, protein, vegetable and starch, that could be spun to create the evening meal. Okay, it wasn't exactly like that, but you could modernize this technique to help keep dinners interesting and fresh!

Proteins have been expanded to include other options like fish including shellfish, cheese or dairy, and even turkey! Turkey is a great option for leanness and can be found in the supermarket section as a ground meat, cutlet, or even tenderloin. Sausage, kielbasa or chorizo, ham, or cold cured meats like salami can also widen your evening meal selection (and they can even be made from turkey).

Guess what else is protein?

Give yourself 10 points if you thought - eggs!! Yes! This is where it starts to get fun! Eggs can be the primary focus for any meal! Frittatas, quiches, omelettes are a few great options. OR fry and egg for on top of your burger. OR try baked eggs in tomato sauce, also known as Shakshuka. Voilà  - breakfast for dinner that is not pancakes or French toast and overflowing with carbs or sugar.

Lunch. What comes to mind? No, no fast food choices! Traditionally though, sandwiches are popular choices for lunch, right? BLT, grilled cheese, chicken salad, turkey club, tuna melt, so many options. Or salads. Tossed salad, cobb, Caesar...oooh, why not combine somethings right here and make a grilled chicken, grilled Caesar salad for dinner with a side of grilled garlic toast instead of croutons! What?

Here's how:

1. Grill chicken breast that have simply been marinated in a little Italian dressing, or a splash of olive oil with freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt and pepper.

2. Split romaine lettuce lengthwise and drizzle with olive oil then season with salt and pepper to taste. Then grill until the leaves have hash marks or are a bit wilted.

3. In a small bowl, mix three cloves of crushed garlic with 3/4 cup of olive oil, salt and pepper. Use a pastry brush to spread the mixture on the surface of individual slices of Italian bread, then grill until toasted, turn, and finish grilling on the other side. Sprinkle with chopped parsley if desired.

4. Plate 1 section of romaine, top with your favorite Ceasar dressing, then the sliced, grilled chicken breast and serve with a side of grilled garlic toast. 

This will likely become one of your summer go-to dinners this year!

Try to find ways to mix things up to keep meals interesting for yourself. Make substitutions and swap outs and work with recipes you already know and love.

Looking for more meal inspiration? Check out this blog post by Fed Well on Zulily and try an Instant Pot (R) recipe for dinner! 

Whip up a Whiskey Sour

 

Ever have a cocktail in one bar or restaurant and you love it so you order it again someplace else and the two do not compare? 

For me, a Whiskey Sour can very much vary from location to location. Want to know the secret?

Foamy egg whites must be shaken with the ingredients to give it that little bit of lush, density that truly defines a Whiskey Sour. AND never use commercially prepared cocktail mix. That's not snobbery, it's just better to make your beverages with fresh ingredients - just like your food.

So...here's how I make a Whiskey Sour:

What you need -

• 1/2 shot of Simple Syrup (equal parts water and sugar boiled then cooled)
• 2 shots of Whiskey
• 1 shot of Lemon juice
• 1/2 shot of Egg white
• Ice
• Maraschino cherry in the glass and/or slice of orange for garnish

Yes, I know. I did not mention bitters. Well, please feel free to add your choice of bitters at your discretion.

Otherwise, mix the simply syrup, whiskey, lemon juice, and egg white in a shaker filled with ice. Shake some more. If your fingertips are frozen - go ahead and pour into a short glass. Enjoy.

We enjoyed Whiskey Sours for St. Patrick's Day this year at my house with take-out corned beef dinners. It was a fun night with family as we remembered years past when we would attend a largely celebrated and attended St. Patrick's Day parade. Events are starting to return as the pandemic restrictions are changing. 

Sláinte! And cheers to you and yours - may 2021 be the year you celebrate being Fed Well!

Mom! What's for lunch? Ideas for home and your little one's lunchbox!

 

Maybe you are on spring break this week. Maybe your child is 100% learning remotely or has always been home schooled. Whatever your circumstance - your child needs lunch! The key to being able to prepare a lunch your child will love is not the need for fantastical and whimsical, artfully arranged food that looks as though a professional stylist created a next level masterpiece. Simply have a few well loved ingredients and food items on hand to put together a lunch they will WANT to eat (and never trade)!

Categories

Think in terms of categories - 

proteins, fruits, vegetables, grains, and treats. 

Pairings

Just as we like to eat certain food combinations, your child likely has developed a taste for certain foods together and whether you might never consider traying peanut butter and banana, if that is a combo your child loves - go with it!

Flexibility 

When introducing a new food(s), remember not every swing is a homerun, and have an alternative in mind. It's best to introduce something for the first time when your child is home so they can have another choice. 

Keep in mind the need to substitute ingredients based on allergies as well as preferences.

Try not to focus on strict adherence to nutritional guidelines per meal but rather in making sure your child gets what they need throughout the course of a day.

Menu Ideas

Use classic lunch menus (including those inside prepacked commercial lunch products) as a starting point. The reason manufacturers and marketers make selections like ham and swiss or veggies with humus, is because they have been proven to be purchased and enjoyed. A way to bring these pairings to life is in the presentation - cut meats and cheeses into bite sized cubes, or even fun geometric shapes or package veggies and dips in easy to open, decorative containers.

Veggie Nuggets

Make some veggie nuggets and include their favorite sauce or dip.

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup each boiled or steamed tender carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower, cooled 
• 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs for filling, plus extra for dipping formed nuggets 
• 1 large egg 
• Salt and pepper, to taste 
• Vegetable oil for frying 

Steps: 

1. Combine vegetables, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. 
2. Use a tablespoon or small cookie scoop to portion out veggie mixture into a ball, then flatten into a nugget shape. 
3. Coat nuggets with more breadcrumbs. 
4. Fry nuggets until golden brown or use an air fryer. 
5. Drain and cool. 
6. Nuggets can also be baked in a traditional oven at 400° F for about 15 minutes. 

For more lunch ideas and recipes, check out this post!

Enjoy this time with the children in your life. As many of us already know, the days may seem long, but the years pass quickly - make sure they (and you) are Fed Well!

Chicken Cutlet Perfection - 4 Ingredients

 

Chicken Cutlet 101

A perfectly, golden brown, crispy yet tender and juicy, chicken cutlet is one of the culinary world's greatest offerings. Over the years, I thought I was doing a pretty great job, selecting organic chicken, slicing it into cutlets, pounding it out underneath a layer of plastic wrap, gently heating the oil in a large skillet then dipping the chicken in egg wash before covering it in bread crumbs and frying.

No, that's not a typo. That's how I did it. 

I always thought the flour was an unnecessary, extra step, what-good-does-it do, bit of nonsense. Plus, I thought most of the flour would wash off in the egg mixture. My cutlets were great.

I believed.

Until, one night, my younger son, armed with enthusiasm and a thermometer, took over the cutlet task for me.

He checked the temperature of the oil.

What? 

He dredged the cutlet in flour before the egg wash then finished with panko.

I don't think I have to really tell you - the cutlets were not only beautiful, but that crispness - I can still hear it - ah, perfect.

On a salad. Or next to pasta. Or with vegetables on the side. It doesn't matter. I am not too proud to tell you, he took a good thing and built on it by using the proper technique. THAT does matter.

By the way, he will likely be the cooker of the cutlets from now on because he did such an amazing job. Just like in the workplace, when you show you are good at something, you get to do it more.

Looking forward to the next serving of perfect chicken cutlets and feeling Fed Well!

Sunday Dinner - Burgers and Babies (and a recipe for potato salad)

 

Sunday Dinner.

Does it make you imagine something like this:

I came across this family photo from my husband's family recently and just love it. Three generations. Dressed up for the occasion and knowing it is special enough to have a group photo. I'm assuming Christmas or Christmas Eve based on the tree in the left-hand corner, but just look at them. Joy. Celebration. Family. Together.

I've been missing gathering. And while the current pandemic climate can make gathering tricky, I can feel the change coming and soon I will make it a point to make sure we can all safely enjoy each other's company as well as a wonderful meal in my home again.

A section of my family was able to enjoy Sunday dinner this past week. Burgers from the grill. Yes, on a cold blustery Northeastern March evening, we enjoyed grilled goodness with potato salad, tossed salad, and a selection of simple frozen vegetables. Know what? It was delicious - the Mr. grilled, and I assembled the rest with help from everyone. I was able to hold my new granddaughter and give her a bottle.

AND, she met her great grandmother (my Mommy) for the first time.

Three generations became four just about 18 months ago, but as the family grows, we welcome each new member with celebration. How lucky we are...

Want to know about the potato salad?

• I boiled one pound of small red potatoes with the skins on, cut into chunks, in salted water.
• In a large mixing bowl, I combined some diced onion, two minced stalks of celery, a bit of salt and pepper with a splash of mustard and some mayonnaise. (Sorry, I don't really measure).
• Then, I drained the potatoes really well. Stirred them into the mixing bowl and made sure everything was well coated before sprinkling some paprika on top. Transferred the potato salad to a serving bowl, covered, and chilled in the refrigerator for a few hours.

It was a hit!

So were the burgers.

And the baby.

We are planning a larger gathering for Easter. Nothing too grand. But, I can tell you I am excited and looking forward to sharing food, stories, and create wonderful memories along with feeling Fed Well.