Grilled Porkchops topped with Sauteed Mushrooms

As part of my 24x24 dinner party, I had to come up with a main dish that I knew everyone would like. The idea was to make something that could easily be eaten in a Portuguese roll, or could also he eaten with a side like rice. I wanted to stay way from the traditional steak dishes. let's face it a grilled steak is a grilled steak in any type of cuisine. After pondering over this for a few hours, I thought why not make a nice pork chop with some sauteed Mushrooms.

As we all know Pork could at time end up being flavorless and dry. The best way to avoid this is by putting the pork chops into a brine over night and then seasoning them in the morning. Another thing you want to do is make sure that your pan is super hot. You want to make sure that you get a nice sear on your meat. If you put the pork on the grill to early, changes are your are going to end up with an over done dry piece of meat. What I love about this recipe is the fact that the pork chops come out so moist and are packed with flavor. This is by far one of the best pork chop recipe I have ever come up with.

Recipe source: myself

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
1/2 cups dry white wine
1 teaspoon paprika
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cloves garlic minced
4 4-6oz pork chops about (1/2inch)
3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
8oz of chopped mushrooms your choice (we use the white stuffing mushrooms)
Salt and pepper to taste

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

In large bowl, combine wine, paprika, salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes blend well. Add garlic cloves.

Layer pork chops in single layer and then pour marinade to coat chops

Marinate for 6 hours, turning occasionally.

Drain pork; reserve marinade.

Pat pork chops completely dry.

Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in large skillet.

Add pork chops, flipping chops occasionally so that the meat cooks and colors quickly and evenly.

Transfer and let stand.

Pour reserved marinade into skillet and bring to a boil over high heat, scraping off any brown particles clinging to the inside of pan. and let marinade reduced.

Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil; and add mushrooms stirring frequently until mushrooms are soft and tender.

Once cook layer over pork chops and serve hot.

Enjoy!

Kale Soup- Caldo Verde

Here is another one of my favorite Portuguese soup recipes. I made this as a starter dish for my 24x24 meal. Not only is it an easy basic recipe that you can throw together it's also very tasty.

Growing up this was something that my mother would make on a weekly bases, especially on cold winter nights. This soup along with a think slice of crusty bread makes a wonderful meal. I hope you all enjoy it as much as my family and friends have.

Happy Cooking!
Source: My mother's kitchen

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
6 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
2 quarts cold water
6 ounces chorizo sausage, thinly sliced
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
ground black pepper to taste
1 pound kale, rinsed and thinly julienned

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook garlic in 3 tablespoons olive oil for 3 minutes.

Stir in potatoes and cook, in water, bring to a boil, and let boil gently for 20 minutes, until potatoes are mushy.

Puree the potato mixture in food processor.

Stir the sausage, salt and pepper into the soup and return to medium heat.

Cover soup broth and simmer 5 minutes.

Then stir kale into soup and simmer, 5 minutes, until kale is tender and jade green.

Stir in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and serve at once.

Arroz Doce-Portuguese Rice Pudding

During the month of March I took part in the foodbuzz24x24, I have to admit that is was a lot of fun and I look forward to the opportunity to doing it again one day.

One of the many dishes that I made was Arroz Doce. Azzor Doce translates to sweet rice and is a traditional Portuguese rice pudding, while there are many variations they are all very similar. This particular one is very creamy custardy. If you are looking for a good Arroz Doce recipe this is the way to go.

Like always if you do try this recipe please let me know how it came out. I would love your feedback. Happy Baking!

Source: My Mother;s kitchen...sorry I don't know where she got this recipe from, it's one that she has been making for over 30 years.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
2 cup or white rice (I like Carolina rice, for rice pudding)
8 cups water
half of a lemon's peel, and the other half of the lemon peel finely grated
1 tablespoon butter
A pinch of salt
4 cups hot milk (whole milk makes it creamier)
2 cups sugar
5 egg yolks
Cinnamon for garnish

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil with the lemon peel, butter and pinch of salt.

Add the rice and let it simmer for about 20 minutes and add lemon zest.

Stir occasionally. When most of the water has evaporated, add the very hot milk.

Simmer for 5 more minutes and add the sugar.

In a separate bowl, beat together the egg yolks and add a few spoonfuls of the rice mixture to temperate the egg yolks.

Then add the now warm egg mixture to the saucepan and stir quickly until rice is evenly coated.

Pour arroz doce into a large platter or into individuals servings.

Once rice pudding has settled sprinkle with cinnamon.

Serve cooled.

FoodBuzz 24x24 A Tribute To My Father-in-Law

I can not begin to tell you all how excited I was when Foodbuzz contacted stating that I was one of the 24 bloggers picked to host in the month of March. Once I got the news I started making lists of everything I wanted to make. As the days passed the list of dishes became longer and longer, and I think at one point I had over 30 recipes that I wanted to make.

My theme was a tribute to my father in law. He is one of most amazing, strong, brave, and caring people I have ever met. About a month ago he informed us that he was sick and needed to undergo some surgery, but before he did, he asked that I make him some real traditional Portuguese food. I was honored by my father in law request, and wanted to make sure that I made him the best Portuguese feast possible. We had my in laws over along with some of my husband's other family members and the night was a huge success. Everyone had a wonderful time and enjoyed the food.

I made so many wonderful dishes, and thought I would share few pictures of the many dishes we had. Over the next few weeks I'll be posting all the recipes. I had a great time doing this and I hope that anyone reading this that has ever consider hosting a 24x24 does it! Because it was a great time.

Everything Bagels

OMG! I never thought I would ever, ever try to make bagels. Every time I looked for a bagel recipe, I would get intimidated and run in the other way. I am happy to report that this is no longer the case.

A few months ago I post on one of the broads that I frequent and I asked the ladies how hard it really was to make bagels. Foodie lover Cate from http://catesworldkitchen.com assure me that it wasn't as hard I was making it out to be in fact she shared with me her own recipe for raisin bagels. http://catesworldkitchen.com/2010/09/cinnamon-raisin-bagels/ if it weren't for the simple fact that my husband hates raisins, I would be all over this recipe. =)

HAPPY BAKING!

Recipe source: Emeril Lagasse 2002

What YOU'LL NEED:

2 cups warm water, about 110 degrees F
2 (1/4-ounce) packets active dry yeast
3 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup lightly toasted chopped onions
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 doughnut cutter

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Combine the water, yeast, and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in the bowl of an upright mixer fitted with a dough hook.

Stir and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Gradually add 4 cups of the flour and the salt, and mix until the mixture comes together.

Add 1 cup OF additional flour at a time to make a stiff dough. This is were you will have to work the dough with your hands.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and no longer sticky.

You might not require the whole 6 cups of flour, just add as much flour as needed so that dough is heavier and stiffer than regular yeast bread.

Grease a large bowl with 1 teaspoon of the oil.

Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until almost doubled.

Remove dough from bowl and punch down the dough.

Divide into 12 equal pieces, about 2 to 3 ounces each, it should measuring about 4 inches.

Form each piece of dough into a ball and then either roll each ball into a 4 to 6-inch log or you could do it the cheater way like I did and use a doughnut cutter.

Place on a lightly greased surface, cover with a clean cloth, and let rest until risen but not doubled in a draft-free spot, 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Grease a baking sheet with the remaining teaspoon of oil.

In a large pot, bring 12 cups of water and the remaining tablespoon of sugar to a boil.

In small batches (to avoid over crowding), add bagels to the water and boil, turning, for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Flip bagels onto the prepared sheet pan.

Bake for 5 minutes, turn over Top each bagel with toasted onions, poppy seeds, sesame seeds and salt and cook for another 30 to 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Cinnamon Scones

I can't believe that it's been 3 weeks since my last blog update. It seems as if life is rushing by and I'm just trying to keep up. And now that Spring is upon us, it's only going to get worse. Knowing that we will be spending more time rushing around, it's nice to know that I can make these scones on the weekends and when I need something fast I can just take a scone with be when I'm on the run.

This recipe is fantastic, and has become one of our favorites. I hope that it helps all you busy people that are looking for something quick on the weekdays. I hope you all enjoy as much as we have.

Like always, happy baking!

Recipe Source www.food.com/recipe/cinnamon-scones-17366 -

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1 cup sour cream (I use lite sour cream)
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups all-purpose flour (works well with wheat flour)
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (unsalted)
1 egg
4 teaspoons cinnamon
For dusting
sugar
cinnamon


WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray/or line with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine sour cream and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside for later.

In another bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt.

Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Combine egg with sour cream mixture, and add cinnamon.

Gently stir into flour mixture until moistened. make sure not to over mix dough do not mix more than 10 times.

Divide dough into two, place on baking sheet and pat into a 3/4 inch think round.

Cut each round into 6 wedge-shaped pieces, but do not separate, let bake as one large piece

Before placing into oven to bake, dust with sugar and cinnamon.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool for 5 minutes and then break pieces apart. If desired, once completely cooled top with sugar glaze.

Vanilla/German Chocolate Cake Cupcakes with Oreo Bottoms (What's Baking Challenge)

Let me first state that this recipe yields a large batch of cupcakes...If I am not mistaken, I made about 35-36 cupcakes with this recipe. Which is why this recipe is great for parties. I hope you all enjoy! And now for a little back history on why I decided to make a vanilla/German cupcake.

For Valentine's day I wanted to make something special for my little guy, and of course my husband. Valentine's day has always been a low key night for us, and to be honest I would much rather stay in, have a nice dinner and treats apposed to going out. Valentine's day/night has long been known for long waits for over priced and less than average meals. Hence one of the many reason we do not go out to dinner on or around that day.

This year for I made Rigatoni Di Gregorio from Annie's Eats (which was really good!) and wanted to try making cupcakes to go along with that. Trying to pick a cupcake to go with that meal was hard in it's self. All I knew was I wanted to make something different and I couldn't make up my mind between vanilla or German chocolate cupcakes. Since I was unable to make up my mind, I decided that I would try to make a combination cupcake.

I was kind of nervous on how it would turn out and if the flavor profiles would work well together. And I am very happy to report that I was so pleased with the way they came out. They were so lite and fluffy. I honestly think they are the best cupcake I've ever made. I really can't wait to make them again for Jonathan's Birthday this spring.

If you try them, please let me know what you think. Happy Baking!

German Chocolate cake recipe inspired by Bobby Flay http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/german-chocolate-cake-with-coconut-pecan-cajeta-frosting-recipe/index.html


***THIS RECIPE YIELDS 36 CUPCAKES***

WHAT YOU'LL NEED FOR THE VANILLA PART OF THE CUP CAKE

2 cups sugar
2 sticks of unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup water
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (like always use the real stuff)
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups cake flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt

WHAT YOU'LL NEED FOR THE GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE:

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature,
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups strong brewed black coffee, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line three 12-cup cupcake tins with paper liners.

In the bottoms of each paper liner add half (one side) of an Oreo cookie.

Process sugar and butter in a food processor until very creamy, scraping sides as needed, for about 2 minutes.

Add the eggs and yolks, one at a time, pulsing after each addition.

Add the milk, water, and vanilla and process to blend.

Whisk both flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

Add the dry ingredients, in 3 batches to the wet, pulsing, and then scraping batter off the sides of the processor as needed after each addition.

Process until the batter is very smooth and pourable like pancake batter, about 2 minutes.

Evenly pour the batter into the prepared cups, filling them 1/2 of the way full.

Put into oven and bake for about 8 minutes (this is the time that it should take to make the second cupcake batter)

**NOW in it's time to mix the German Chocolate cake**

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Whisk in the cocoa powder and cook for 1 minute.

Remove from the heat, add both sugars and whisk until the sugar has dissolved.

Add the coffee, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla extract and continue whisking until smooth and just combined.

Add the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is smooth.

Remove cupcake from oven and now spoon chocolate batter on top very slowly.

Once the cupcake tins have been filled return to oven and allow to bake for another 10-12 (or until fully baked)

Let the cupcakes cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes, and let cool at least 1 hour before frosting.