Tag Archive for 'yogurt'

Baileys, Banana and Chocolate Frozen Yogurt

Published by mel on September 11, 2009 in dessert, recipe and sides & bites.

Baileys, Banana and Chocolate Frozen Yogurt

What’s better than cold, creamy homemade frozen yogurt? Baileys, Banana and Chocolate Frozen Yogurt. I made some last night and it was good. I mean really, really good. It was all I could do to keep myself from having some for breakfast this morning. Instead, I am impatiently waiting for dessert tonight.

For some reason, bananas have a magical quality that prevents them from getting icy in the freezer. It’s probably why frozen bananas make such delicious delicious smoothies. (Jamba Juice obviously found this out a long while ago.) You can make this frozen yogurt with or without an ice cream maker. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, your frozen yogurt will be a touch icy, but still creamier than you’d expect. It’s the bananas and the Baileys, which keeps it from freezing completely. And some grated chocolate adds a little bit of texture and just the right amount of chocolateyness.

My favorite frozen yogurt to date!

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Mango Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

Published by mel on June 12, 2009 in dessert, recipe and sides & bites.

Mango Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

For the record, I love ice cream, sorbet and frozen yogurt. I probably have Haagen Dazs Wildberry or Vanilla Granola frozen yogurt 5 nights a week. It’s delicious and I can’t say no to a little scoop after dinner. So it’s no surprise that I wanted to try my hand at homemade frozen yogurt.

I made it twice last year, and twice it was terrible. Inedible. Instead of sweet and creamy, it had a distinctly yogurty tang that was really off-putting. I’m not talking about the good kind of yogurty tang, either. Not the plain Greek yogurt kind. Twice we had to throw it out.

I don’t know what made me try again after failing so miserably twice before, but I gave it another shot. This time, instead of draining regular plain yogurt, I used Greek yogurt. The three ripe mangoes in my fruit basket begged to be made into some kind of dessert, so I threw those in with some blueberries.

Finally, finally! This frozen yogurt was just perfect. Smooth, sweet and creamy with just the right amount of yogurt flavor. It’s delicious! Refreshing and summery. The perfect way to use the bountiful berries in the market. Next week – strawberry frozen yogurt. I simply cannot wait!

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Grilled Chicken & Fennel Kebabs w/Tzatziki

Published by mel on March 23, 2009 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

I’m happy that Spring is officially here! For most people, spring means tulips, blossoming trees, warmer weather and the all-clear to finally fish those flip flops out from under a pile of boots. Spring used to mean all of these things to me, but now I live in Miami. Here, Spring means that the perfect weather is almost gone. That the humidity will rise steadily over the next 6 months, and that soon it will downpour every afternoon.

But it also means that some of my favorite ingredients start popping up at the grocery store again! Asparagus and peas, cherries and stone fruits…Cadbury eggs! It’s also the start of the grilling season. This weekend, I was really craving Greek food. And when I have a craving, I must tame it. I made some quick kebabs with chicken, fennel and red onion. Sprinkled on some salt, pepper and dried oregano, then drizzled my meat on a stick with olive oil and lemon juice.

They were exactly what I wanted. Hearty and flavorful, but not at all heavy. I swear I could eat these every day. I served them with some homemade tzatziki sauce. Tzatziki is my favorite Greek condiment and is made from Greek yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, salt and lemon juice. It’s thick and tangy and the perfect compliment to grilled meats. (Well, that and chimichurri.) I also made a thyme-infused flatbread with chickpea flour, which was delicious, but I had some issues with it sticking to my skillet. I’m going to try again this week and post back with details.

If it’s finally warm enough to grill where you are, then these are for you. If not, then bookmark this recipe for summertime. Either way, whip up a batch of Tzatziki this week. It makes a great spread for lamb burgers or vegetarian pitas.

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A Simply Delicious Corn Chowder

Published by mel on October 15, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

A Simply Delicious Corn Chowder

I really love a good soup. A good soup is one that I can throw together in under 10 minutes and let bubble on the stove for as long as I please. A good soup will fill me up for the whole day. A good soup is healthy and makes me feel good all day. This corn chowder is definitely a good soup.

Instead of loading the chowder up with cream and flour and other heavy chowder staples, I used fingerling potatoes to give the chowder its rich creaminess. I also added some slow-cooking polenta to thicken it up and add another layer of corn-y-ness. Some stock, frozen corn, lemon, crushed red pepper and a little bit of cream finish up this super simple chowder.

A Simply Delicious Corn Chowder

I topped it all off with cheese, herbs and dollop of plain yogurt for one of the best soups I’ve made in awhile. I could probably eat this every day and be a happy woman. Next time, I might add some crumbled bacon or sausage, or maybe even a poached or fried egg to top it off. It’s a simple, affordable and delicious lunch or weeknight dinner. In fact, I wish I had some in my lunchbox right now, but I suppose I’ll settle for Turkey & Pumpkin Lasagna.

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Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Published by mel on September 29, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

It’s officially Sports Food season. Baseball playoffs are coming soon (go Red Sox!), college football is in full swing (go Eagles!) and the NFL is taking over Sundays and Mondays (go…uh…). This means lots of nachos, 7-layer dip, pizza, buffalo wings, blue cheese and other assorted Sporty Foods.

I happen to love Sporty foods. Last year, I made delicious chorizo nachos and boneless (organic and whole wheat) buffalo fingers for the Super Bowl. It’s all about bold, hearty food that pairs nicely with a beer, or two, or three… But soup? Can soup be a Sporty Food? Why yes, yes it can. This weekend, I made Loaded Baked Potato soup. Thick, creamy, topped with bacon, cheese and hot peppers, this soup can definitely hold its weight during the baseball playoffs or a football tailgating session.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

You can set your soup station up like you would a taco or baked potato station: a big pot of soup, bowls and toppings. Begin with your potato soup and layer on as many toppings as you’d like. Go crazy here – anything goes. Personally, I’m all about bacon bits, cheddar cheese, chopped spinach, sour cream and jalapenos. It’s a fun, Sunday kind of soup, even if you’d rather curl up with a good book or episode of Gossip Girl (What? Everyone has their guilty pleasures…) than a football team.

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merguez dumplings w/mint yogurt dipping sauce

Published by mel on April 30, 2008 in recipe and sides & bites.

merguez dumplings w/mint yogurt dipping sauce

It’s like everything I make lately is stuffed into a wonton wrapper! I actually made these dumplings last week, but the new steaming method I used didn’t quite work out so I didn’t want to post the recipe. I thought about it a little more and decided that didn’t matter because the stuffing and sauce were a hit.

Where did I go wrong? Well, my new microwave has a “steam” button and even came with a special dish for steaming. I thought that would be better than the pan-steaming I usually do. Nope. Wrong. The wrappers dried out and became too chewy, which was really sad!

For the stuffing, I browned Merguez sausage (no casing) with some green onions, then added some raisins and pine nuts. Dumplings are no fun without a dipping sauce, so I blended some greek yogurt with mint leaves, garlic cloves and pinch of salt because lamb and mint are a match made in heaven.

They had a great Middle Eastern flavor, and if you’re not into mass-producing dumplings, the sausage stuffing would be perfect tossed with pasta. If you go that route, I’d skip the yogurt and sprinkle some mint leaves over the top right before serving.

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grown-up grilled cheese

Published by mel on March 4, 2008 in entree and recipe.

grilled cheese

Lately, paninis are everywhere I look. On the cover of Gourmet, inside Food & Wine, on the internet. Last night, I felt the need to satisfy the grilled sandwich craving. Since I don’t have a panini maker or grilling device, I’ll just call it a grilled cheese. Mine was stuffed with thinly sliced green apple, red onion, Jarlsberg & Cheddar cheeses and crisp watercress.

I also thought it would be fun to make some dipping sauces. I always love to dip my sandwich triangles in something tasty, so I made two yogurt sauces: super spicy Sriracha and curry. I was partial to the Sriracha (because I’m obsessed with it), but they were both tasty and complemented the sandwiches well.

I also made a nice green salad with fennel, arugula and walnuts, simply dressed with olive oil, a splash of sherry vinegar, salt and pepper. It was a lovely light meal for a weeknight that really inspires experimentation with different sandwich fillings and dipping sauces.

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