Perfect Egg Salad

 

 

   Such a classic, nostalgic, simple, delicious salad. Egg salad & tuna salad are probably my 2 favorite sandwiches of all time. But with simplicity can come lots of imperfections or technical errors. Too much of a specific ingredient can ruin the balance of flavors. Over or undercooked eggs, bad quality of ingredients, etc can all make or break such a simple salad. I am a bit of a snob when it comes to these two sandwiches. I ONLY use Best Foods mayo, for instance. (in both salads actually). Not too much mustard, that will take over all the other flavors. Not too much onion, and you HAVE to mince it because you want it to enhance the salad, not make it taste oniony.

 

 You can blame my dad for making me this way...he's such a sandwich master. When my sister Heather & I were kids NO ONE could make a sandwich as well as my dad. His mastery of layering every ingredient so you get everything in every bite. Not a hunk of lettuce (he ALWAYS chiffonaded the lettuce too) and his tomato slices are papery thin and perfect. His recipes for tuna salad & egg salad were not to be compared with. People make things that taste close, but never as perfect in harmony as dad's.

 

 That has turned me into a sandwich perfectionist as well and I can tell I am already passing that ridiculous quirk to my daughter. I know how to assemble any sandwich so it is perfectly layered, doesn't fall apart and you get a bite of everything in each bite. Just like dad. Which does make ordering sandwiches in places a bit of a disappointment from time to time. How can you call yourself a sandwich shop if you throw one thick chunk of tomato in the center of the sandwich and slather the center with mayo so the outside of the sandwich is dry and you have to eat your way to any flavor?? I have "reassembled" quite a few sandwiches in my day. Such a pet peeve!!

 

 But back to the egg salad. It is a great balance of simple & fresh ingredients. And I will share my no fail technique for hard-boiling the perfect egg! (something that comes in VERY handy for many other uses)

 

 

Perfect Egg Salad: Makes about 2 cups (or a tad more...)

 

6 fresh large or X-large eggs

1 stalk celery, minced (about 1/4 cup)

2-3 Tbs onion, minced (about 1/4 of a small onion)

1 Tbs plus 1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 cup mayo (Best Foods is best!! Their olive oil mayo is a great way to cut calories and still get excellent flavor )

Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Sprinkle of Spike Natural Seasoning (optional)

 

 

 

To make PERFECT Hard Boiled Eggs: (this has been a tried & true method for perfectly cooked eggs EVERYTIME! So write this down!)

 

Place eggs in an appropriate sized pot (this works for any quantity of eggs. We are using 6 for this recipe). Fill pot with cold water until just covers all the eggs.

 

Turn heat on high and bring to a boil. Here is the key: Once the water comes to a boil, (not just those tiny little bubbles that start to form around the wall of the pot...a BOIL) set a timer for 8 minutes and let it boil away. After 8 minutes is up, turn off the heat, leave the eggs on the stove and set the timer for 5 minutes.

 

After the 5 minutes are up, immediately run the pot of eggs under cold water. Let run for a few minutes, you just want to stop the cooking process at this point. They don't have to be super COLD, but they should be cool or barely warm to the touch on the outside

 

I find that if you peel all the eggs at this point, the shells just slide right off. Even if I am using some eggs now, and some for later, I still peel them ALL and just store the eggs I don't need yet in a tupperware with a folded paper towel at the bottom of the container to collect moisture. If I stick my extra eggs in the fridge and peel them later, I find that some are easy to peel, and some aren't. But if you peel them right after cooking, they are a dream to peel.

 

 As you can see form the pic below, the egg yolks are PERFECT. Bright yellow, not runny centers (from under cooking), no gray around the yolk (sign of being over cooked). So that's it! Boil 8 minutes, sit for 5 minutes, cool & peel! Follow this and thank me later. ;)

 Now that we have our perfect eggs peeled, chop them up & set aside.

 

 In a med bowl, add your minced celery & onion.

 

 Then add your mayo & mustard. The ratio to me here is key. I usually know just by taste, but once again for the sake of the blog I measured to make sure you can get the same taste that I like. If you LIKE more mustardy flavor in your egg salad, by all means add more. But this is the level I like. It's all about balance and accent flavors to enhance the egg.

 

 Gently fold in your eggs in & season with salt & pepper to taste. I like to add a dash or two of Spike Seasoning. It's just a seasoning blend. Kind of like seasoned salt without the salt. My sister always put it in her deviled eggs and now she's got me hooked. But it's an optional thing. Just add a little zing. That's it!



 I like to chill my egg salad for at least 30 min-1 hr. But you can certainly enjoy it immediately if you are starving. I like it really cold but served on toasted bread and a sprinkling of organic arugula doesn't hurt either!

 

ENJOY!!

 

 

Perfect Egg Salad: Makes about 2 cups (or a tad more...)

 

6 fresh large or X-large eggs

1 stalk celery, minced (about 1/4 cup)

2-3 Tbs onion, minced (about 1/4 of a small onion)

1 Tbs plus 1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 cup mayo (Best Foods is best!! Their olive oil mayo is a great way to cut calories and still get excellent flavor )

Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Sprinkle of Spike Natural Seasoning (optional)

 

 

 

To make PERFECT Hard Boiled Eggs: (this has been a tried & true method for perfectly cooked eggs EVERYTIME! So write this down!)

 

Place eggs in an appropriate sized pot (this works for any quantity of eggs. We are using 6 for this recipe). Fill pot with cold water until just covers all the eggs.

 

Turn heat on high and bring to a boil. Here is the key: Once the water comes to a boil, set a timer for 8 minutes and let it boil away. After 8 minutes is up, turn off the heat, leave the eggs on the stove and set the timer for 5 minutes.

 

After the 5 minutes are up, immediately run the pot of eggs under cold water. Let run for a few minutes, you just want to stop the cooking process at this point. They don't have to be COLD, but they should be cool or barely warm to the touch on the outside

 

I find that if you peel all the eggs at this point, the shells just slide right off. Even if I am using some eggs now, and some for later, I still peel them ALL and just store the eggs I don't need yet in a Tupperware with a folded paper towel at the bottom of the container to collect moisture. If I stick my extra eggs in the fridge and peel them later, I find that some are easy to peel, and some aren't. But if you peel them right after cooking, they are a dream to peel.

 

 The egg yolks are PERFECT. Bright yellow, not runny centers (from under cooking), no gray around the yolk (sign of being over cooked). So that's it! Boil 8 minutes, sit for 5 minutes, cool & peel! Follow this and thank me later. ;)

 Now that we have our perfect eggs peeled, chop them up & set aside. In a med bowl, add your minced celery & onion. Then add your mayo & mustard. The ratio to me here is key. I usually know just by taste, but once again for the sake of the blog I measured to make sure you can get the same taste that I like. If you LIKE more mustardy flavor in your egg salad, by all means add more. But this is the level I like. It's all about balance and accent flavors to enhance the egg. Gently fold in your eggs in & season with salt & pepper to taste. I like to add a dash or two of Spike Seasoning. It's just a seasoning blend. Kind of like seasoned salt without the salt. My sister always put it in her deviled eggs and now she's got me hooked. But it's an optional thing. Just add a little zing. That's it!



 I like to chill my egg salad for at least 30 min-1 hr. But you can certainly enjoy it immediately if you are starving. I like it really cold but served on toasted bread and a sprinkling of organic arugula doesn't hurt either!

Nutella & Salty Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

  They are a mouthful to say, but every word in the title of these little babies peak the ears of EVERYONE that hears it. Neutella, Salty Caramel, Chocolate, Cookie...how could you go wrong?? Seriously. And they live up to the name! You can taste each component of deliciousness.

 These truly are a "Wow!" cookie. They look so simple and unassuming from the outside, but the cookies have a rich chocolate flavor and a fine tender crumb. The filling is luscious and creamy that melts in your mouth. Truly a bomb of decadent, soul satisfying goodness.

 Although the difficulty of these cookies is fairly low, they are a tad time consuming to assemble. But completely worth it. I doubled my recipe because I figured if I was going to make such a special cookie, I may as well have plenty to share & enjoy! So this is a DOUBLE recipe. You can cut it in half, but the double recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies which to me makes them worth all the work.

 This "stuffing" technique is giving me all sorts of ideas of other yummy things to put into cookies. And I love the dough for these cookies. First of all, you make the dough in a saucepot, not a bowl and don't have to wait to soften butter because you melt it in the pot. How cool is that?? The dough is so pliable and easy to work with. It doesn't really stick when you are assembling the cookies, which I love. Overall I love these cookies. Just make them (ASAP) and tell me what you think! ;)

Nutella & Salty Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes about 4 dozen)

adapted from: TopwithCinnamon

1 cup butter

3 cups light brown sugar

1 cup cocoa powder

4 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

4 cups all-purpose flour

7 oz milk or dark chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate because the cookies are already so dark)

flaky salt/ fleur de sel/ maldon salt, for sprinkling

approx. 1 cup nutella

1x recipe for Salted caramel (recipe follows)

Line a baking tray with parchment paper or non-stick foil.

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F

Make the caramel (see recipe below). Let cool a bit while making the cookies.

 

In a large saucepot, melt the butter. Take off the heat and stir in the brown sugar and eggs.

 

 

Then add the cocoa, salt and baking powder and stir until well combined. Add the flour and stir until no floury patches are left.

 

 

  Lastly stir in the chocolate chips.

 

 

 

Take 1 heaped tbsp of dough, and roll into a slight ball. (doesn't have to be perfect) use your finger make a large indentation the center of the dough.

 

 

Fill the indentation with a small blob of nutella (like 1/2 tsp ish), and top it up with the still-warm salted caramel.

 

 

 Ahhh...Nutella...life just wouldn't be the same without you...

 

 

  I have some mini spoons which made it pretty easy to fill the cookies, but a teaspoon would work just fine. (these cookies are so dark & chocolatey, so the pics are kind of hard to see...but you get the idea.

 

 Take a tablespoon of dough and flatten it like a disc.

 

 

Top each cookie with a flattened disc of dough and seal the edges down the sides.

 

 

Sprinkle with fleur de sel and bake for 8-10 minutes.

 

Balls of heaven ready for the oven!

 

Let cool slightly before transferring to a baking sheet. You HAVE to eat one of these babies after freshly baked. I think that's some sort of rule when baking cookies. (or it should be at least!) Enjoy. I know you will. :)

 

 

 Salty Caramel Recipe:
2/3 cup granulated sugar
 6 tbsp water
1 tbsp. butter
 6 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
scant 1/2 tsp maldon salt

Measure out the butter and cream separately. It makes life a lot easier later.
Put the sugar and water into a medium saucepan. Stir together over a medium-high heat, just until the sugar dissolves. Now put that spoon down, you’re not allowed to use it for a while.

 Tilt and swirl the pan while the mixture boils (no mixing!). You’ll see it start to caramelize, probably in one corner of the pan, keep swirling until it has all reached a yellowish-golden color. TAKE IT OFF THE HEAT IMMEDIATELY. Add in the butter (you may need to step back for a sec, it bubbles up), and swirl it in. Then the cream & salt. Let cool by a window or a cool place until warm but not scalding hot (about 15-20 min)


Nutella & Salty Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes about 4 dozen)

1 cup butter

3 cups light brown sugar

1 cup cocoa powder

4 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

4 cups all-purpose flour

7 oz milk or dark chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate because the cookies are already so dark)

flaky salt/ fleur de sel/ maldon salt, for sprinkling

approx. 1 cup nutella

1x recipe for Salted caramel (recipe follows)

Line a baking tray with parchment paper or non-stick foil.

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F

Make the caramel (see recipe above). Let cool a bit while making the cookies.

 

In a large saucepot, melt the butter. Take off the heat and stir in the brown sugar and eggs. Then add the cocoa, salt and baking powder and stir until well combined. Add the flour and stir until no floury patches are left. Lastly stir in the chocolate chips.

 

Take 1 heaped tbsp of dough, and roll into a slight ball. (doesn't have to be perfect) use your finger make a large indentation the center of the dough. Fill the indentation with a small blob of nutella (like 1/2 tsp ish), and top it up with the still-warm salted caramel.

 

 Take a tablespoon of dough and flatten it like a disc. Top each cookie with a flattened disc of dough and seal the edges down the sides.Sprinkle with fleur de sel and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Brown Butter Fleur de Sel Chocolate Chip Cookies

  Holy smokes!!! These cookies have completely filled the void in my quest for a killer chocolate chip cookie recipe.

 They knocked my socks off and everyone who's tried them. I am so excited to share this recipe with you, they truly are as good as they sound in the description. They are moist & chewy from the dark brown sugar, packed full of 2 types of chocolate chips, a fabulous hit from the salt and you get a hint of nutty goodness from one of my favorite ingredients: brown butter.

  I honestly have been searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie to fit in my repertoire for years. I have been close, but ultimately I've never quite found that "magic" recipe that I can be proud of and want to make for everyone I know.....until this week. These cookies spoke to me and appealed to all my chef side with the brown butter & sea salt. The combination is so simple, it's genius. Why have I never thought of this before???

 Grab a tall glass of milk because you won't be able to wait long once those cookies come out of the oven. And you won't be able to eat just one either...

Brown Butter Fleur de Sel Chocolate Chip Cookies
 Makes about 2 dozen

Adapted by: Monique of AmbitiousKitchen.com

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of fleur de sel (or any type of good sea salt), plus more for sprinkling
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

 Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Keep a close eye on it!

After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom  of the saucepan. Whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

  With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill your dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator, or place in freezer for 30 minutes if you are super eager. (which I am!)
Once the dough is chilled, roll into balls (about 1/4 cup in size). Place dough balls on cookie sheets, 2 inches apart and sprinkle each dough ball with a little bit of sea salt.

Bake the cookies 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven.

Cool the cookies on the sheets and sprinkle with a little extra sea salt if desired. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

 Eat one as soon as you can and try to control your dessert bliss.

 

Brown Butter Fleur de Sel Chocolate Chip Cookies
 Makes about 2 dozen

Adapted by: Monique of AmbitiousKitchen.com

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of fleur de sel (or any type of good sea salt), plus more for sprinkling
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips

   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Keep a close eye on it!
  After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom  of the saucepan. Whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
  With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

  Chill your dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator, or place in freezer for 30 minutes if you are super eager. (which I am!) Once the dough is chilled, roll into balls (about 1/4 cup in size). Place dough balls on cookie sheets, 2 inches apart and sprinkle each dough ball with a little bit of sea salt.
   Bake the cookies 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven.

   Cool the cookies on the sheets and sprinkle with a little extra sea salt if desired. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

 Eat one as soon as you can and try to control your dessert bliss.

Chile Relleno Casserole

    This is for my grandma. She loves Mexican food (who doesn't), but I always think of her when chile relleno is on the menu, it's her absolute favorite Mexican dish and orders it every time we go out to a Mexican restaurant. And it happens to be my favorite too! It's VERY hard for me not to order it when it's on the menu as well. But the unfortunate thing when you become a chile relleno lover is that a lot of Mexican restaurants are a let down. The biggest disappointment is that they usually skimp on the chile, using some tiny little thing that they stuff with a pound of cheese. The other disappointment is the fluffy egg batter can get lost, the whole thing can get get drowned in sauce and it can look like a hot mess that you don't really know what you are eating.

  But when it's made right, YUMMMMM!!!

  I am typically against casseroles. I RARELY make them unless it's a lasagne. This is one of the few cases when my "chefy" snobbiness comes out. I think they are a bit of a "home cook" amateur type of dish. But when I see the magic words: chile relleno....I was intrigued.

 There are so many things I love about this dish. You get chile in EVERY bite, which I LOOOOOOVE (and again, my #1 pet peeve of most Mexican restaurants)! You get that fluffy egg layer that you would from the traditional egg battered relleno. It is baked, not fried which is great. It doesn't skimp on the cheese, yet it's not ooozing all over and taking over the dish. It feeds a small crowd. It's super easy to assemble. It reheats fabulously. And it tastes like a great, traditional chile relleno that you'll love. Enough reasons for you??? It really just hits on every level of chile relleno goodness. I promise. Let me know what you think! :)

Chile Relleno Casserole

Recipe Adapted by Winner Dinners

 Serves 6-8

1 27-oz. cans whole green chiles

16 oz. cheddar cheese, grated

16 oz. jack cheese, grated
4 eggs
1 13-oz. can evaporated milk
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 oz. tomato paste

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Wash the chiles, removing most seeds, and dry with paper towels. Lightly spray a 8x11 casserole dish (9x13 is too big) and lay half the chiles along the bottom of the dish.

  Grate the cheeses. Reserve 1/2 cup of each of the two cheeses, mixing them together in a small bowl. This will go on top of the casserole later, so you can place it in the refrigerator for now. Next layer all of the cheddar cheese, the remaining chiles, then all of the jack cheese. 

 Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks and add the evaporated milk, flour and salt, beating until frothy. Beat the whites separately for about a minute. 

Combine the two egg mixtures and beat for a few seconds longer so that they are well-mixed. Pour the egg mixture over the chiles and cheese.

 

 Bake at 300 for 1 hour. Then spread the tomato paste over the top. (sounds weird, but trust me, it magically works!

 

   Sprinkle with the reserved cheese you placed in the refrigerator. Bake an additional 25-30 min. 

      

    Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Mmmmmmm.....hello deliciousness....

Chile Relleno Casserole

Adapted by Winner Dinners
Serves 6-8

1 27-oz. cans whole green chiles

16 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
 16 oz. jack cheese, grated
4 eggs
1 13-oz. can evaporated milk
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 oz. tomato paste

   Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Wash the chiles, removing most seeds, and dry with paper towels. Lightly spray a 8x11 casserole dish (9x13 is too big) and lay half the chiles along the bottom of the dish.

  Grate the cheeses. Reserve 1/2 cup of each of the two cheeses, mixing them together in a small bowl. This will go on top of the casserole later, so you can place it in the refrigerator for now. Next layer all of the cheddar cheese, the remaining chiles, then all of the jack cheese. 

 Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks and add the evaporated milk, flour and salt, beating until frothy. Beat the whites separately for about a minute. 

Combine the two egg mixtures and beat for a few seconds longer so that they are well-mixed. Pour the egg mixture over the chiles and cheese. Bake at 300 for 1 hour. Then spread the tomato paste over the top. (sounds weird, but trust me, it magically works! Sprinkle with the reserved cheese you placed in the refrigerator. Bake an additional 25-30 min. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!!!

Creamy Dreamy Coconut Paletas

  This is another variation on one of my favorite summer treats, the paleta. Paletas (if you haven't seen my very 1st blog on Spiced Peachy Paletas) are mexican ice pops. There are countless variations that you can have fun with. Coconut is one of my FAVORITE flavors ever. It's a magic ingredient that will get me to buy anything from lotion, to flan just by mentioning the word.

 These are hands down the best ice pop I have ever had. HANDS DOWN, people. That's a very strong statement for a person like me. And they are so easy to make it seems almost too good to be true! Such fabulous creamy coconut flavor, the right balance of sweetness, and the killer chew from the toasted coconut puts it over the top. I don't recommend using light coconut milk, at least the 1st time you make them otherwise you don't get the full effect of flavor & texture. Sometimes you have to get over your "diet" and enjoy whole foods. Sooo worth every bite. I'm for sure making another batch because the ones in my freezer will not last long. It almost makes me mad at myself for getting dessert at the restaurant on date night tonight because I am too full to have one right now!! Oh well.. until tomorrow. Life's rough, huh? ;)


Creamy Dreamy Coconut Paletas
Adapted from Fany Gerson

Makes about 10 ice pops

1 (13.5 oz) can whole coconut milk
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup half & half
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 c toasted coconut, lightly toasted

Place all ingredients except toasted coconut into a bowl and whisk until smooth. Stir in the toasted coconut.

  

Carefully pour into your popcicle molds (leave a timy bit of room at the top because they expand as they freeze.

 After about 30-45 minutes, when they start to partially freeze, you can insert sticks and freeze until solid, about 4-5 hours. (I had a bit of drama when I was making these. It was 8pm and I didn't realize that I tossed all my popsicle sticks before we moved, so I improvised and found some cake dowels that worked in a pinch! Sometimes you have to be creative) 

Dip your molds into a bath of hot water for a few seconds and gently pull out the popsicles. Then close your eyes and envision yourself lying on the beach in Maui eating this with the wind blowing through your hair...ooooooohh yeah. 

 My toughest critic thoroughly approved ;)

Creamy Dreamy Coconut Paletas
Adapted from Fany Gerson

Makes about 10 ice pops

1 (13.5 oz) can whole coconut milk
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup half & half
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 c toasted coconut, lightly toasted

Place all ingredients except toasted coconut into a bowl and whisk until smooth. Stir in the toasted coconut. Carefully pour into your popcicle molds (leave a timy bit of room at the top because they expand as they freeze.

 After about 30-45 minutes, when they start to partially freeze, you can insert sticks and freeze until solid, about 4-5 hours. Dip your molds into a bath of hot water for a few seconds and gently pull out the popsicles. Enjoy!!

The BEST Dill Pickles

 So sorry! It's been far too long getting back to my blog. I am currently pregnant with my 2nd girl, and the 1st trimester completely took me out! I didn't have the energy to cook at all, let alone upload photos and write about it. Then we moved from West LA to Encinitas (San Diego- North County) and my husband being consumed with work left me to pack 95% of our home on top of running my business and raising a 2 year old. Finally we had the move (been here a month now) and it's been an exhausting rollercoaster. Filled with ups & downs. And I mean that in every aspect of our lives. Physically, emotionally, financially....but we are so happy to finally be pretty settled in this big, beautiful home and I'm still feeling good entering my 3rd trimester. I may in fact be getting my cooking mojo back! (at least until the baby gets here) ;)  So let's talk about the food.

Who doesn't love a great pickle? I wouldn't call myself a pickle "lover", but when I get a bite of an excellent pickle, I am soo happy. Soggy, cucumbers soaked in a neon yellowy green brine is not my thing. My husband & I went to a great little burger joint and they served some great homemade pickles and they inspired me!

   On Memorial Day every year for the last 6 years, my family throws a Burger Battle and it's become very competitive, but very fun. A great day for everyone involved. Well this year I entered a Texas BBQ inspired burger and everything but the bread was made from scratch. I made these pickles to serve on the burger as well as some extra on the side. During the judging, I set out my jar of pickles for the spectators to munch on and they were such a huge hit! I unfortunately didn't take home the 1st place trophy (my mom did, actually). But when I went home I immediately made more for family & friends.

 They are awesome on burgers, sandwiches, hotdogs, BBQ, or just a snack. So addicting. Not too salty, perfect dill flavor and a great, fresh crunch. The wonderful thing about pickle making is that you can alter it to fit your personal tastes. Garlic lover? Add a few extra cloves. Spicy food fan? Throw in some red pepper flakes. But in my opinion, these are perfect just the way they are. Did I mention they are delicious just after sitting an hour??  A huge bonus! But of course, the longer they sit, the more the flavor infuses. Thank you, Bobby Flay for showing me the way to what every dill pickle should aspire to be! Enjoy :)

The BEST Dill Pickles
Adapted from Bobby Flay

Makes about 1 quart

4 Kirby (or Persian) cucumbers
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup packed, fresh dill, chopped
2 Tbs. sugar
3 cloves garlic, rough chopped
1 Tbs kosher salt
3/4 tsp dill seeds
1 tsp whole mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
 Nice  size pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

 Start by slicing the cucumbers. I like mine about 1/4 inch thick, but you can make them the thickness you prefer. (the thicker the pickle, the longer they may just need to infuse with the brine flavor). And stick them in your jar(s) or a glass bowl with a fitting lid. You can stuff them pretty tight into the jars if you need to. (pardon the toddler cheese snacks in the background)

 

 

In a small, non-reactive pan combine 1 cup water with the vinegar, fresh dill, sugar, garlic, red pepper flakes and all the seeds. Bring to a boil. Cook until the sugar & salt are fully dissolved (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool to room temp.

 

 

Pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumbers. (you may need to shove and evenly distribute all the seeds & dill if you are putting them in jars. Yum these are so good!!

 

 

Cover and let sit for at least an hour, but they are best if they sit 24 hours. They will last for a few weeks in the fridge. To serve: I remove the aromatics and liquid and place them in a bowl to make them easier to eat. Consume at will. LOOOOOOVE them!

 

 

 

The BEST Dill Pickles
Adapted from Bobby Flay

Makes about 1 quart

4 Kirby (or Persian) cucumbers
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup packed, fresh dill, chopped
2 Tbs. sugar
3 cloves garlic, rough chopped
1 Tbs kosher salt
3/4 tsp dill seeds
1 tsp whole mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
 Nice  size pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Start by slicing the cucumbers. I like mine about 1/4 inch thick, but you can make them the thickness you prefer. (the thicker the pickle, the longer they may just need to infuse with the brine flavor). And stick them in your jar(s) or a glass bowl with a fitting lid. You can stuff them pretty tight into the jars if you need to. (pardon the toddler cheese snacks in the background)

 

In a small, non-reactive pan combine 1 cup water with the vinegar, fresh dill, sugar, garlic, red pepper flakes and all the seeds. Bring to a boil. Cook until the sugar & salt are fully dissolved (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool to room temp.

 

Pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumbers. (you may need to shove and evenly distribute all the seeds & dill if you are putting them in jars. Yum these are so good!

 

Cover and let sit for at least an hour, but they are best if they sit 24 hours. They will last for a few weeks in the fridge. To serve: I remove the aromatics and liquid and place them in a bowl to make them easier to eat. Consume at will. LOOOOOOVE them!