Super Bowl Sunday is just around the corner and this means you're about to be eating all the Super Bowl snacks your little heart could desire.
It's a day to sit around, watch TV, crack open a beer, and forget about those New Year's resolutions--while enjoying all the cheesy, fried, Buffalo-flavored things you can imagine.
Some people think that because I grew up in Buffalo that I am used to the snow and cold, and that it shouldn’t bother me.
When in actuality my patience for such things ran out by the time I was 8, and by 18 I knew that though I had the most wonderful family Buffalo just wasn’t for me.
When I was younger I used to go out of my way to eat at a place called Mighty Taco, famous in the Buffalo area.
At that point I didn’t eat meat or beans, so I thought of myself as innovative for putting iceberg lettuce in my taco.
I ended up with a taco containing lettuce and cheese--and only lettuce and cheese.
Cauliflower is definitely having its moment in the sun.
One of the reasons it’s so popular is that everyone is churning out cauliflower crust pizzas--and loving how tasty an all-veggie crust can be!
Queso with Squash + Cauliflower
Makes 2 cups of queso
½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ large yellow onion, coarsely chopped (about ¾ cups)
2 garlic cloves, sliced
¼ medium head cauliflower, cut into large chunks, (about ½ pound or 1½ cups)
⅛ small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (about ½ pound or 1¼ cups)
1 cup chicken stock
½ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1½ cups)
4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
½ cup jarred salsa
Chips, for dipping
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the cauliflower, squash, chicken stock, and the ½ teaspoon salt. Bring this mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook covered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender—about 20 minutes. This should give you about ¼ cup liquid along with the veggies.
2. Place the mixture in a blender and process it until it is completely smooth. Add more stock or water if there is not enough liquid to blend easily.
3. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan over low heat. Add the cheddar and Monterey Jack and stir until the cheese melts. Add the salsa and stir to combine. Taste the queso; add more salt if necessary and more stock if your mixture is too thick. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy hot!
Homemade Doritos
Makes 56 chips
As the weather warms up you can’t help but think about ice cream.
However, you also can’t help but think about the fact that soon you'll be wearing bikinis and tank tops…oh my!
On my show Junk Food Flip, Bobby Deen and I go around and transform comfort food into delicious dishes that you can actually eat every day.
Recently I was honored to appear on the Food Network television show The Kitchen.
The show includes five amazing co-hosts who introduce viewers to a bunch of awesome recipes, cocktails, and crafts.
Before showing up, I knew I had to bring my A-game—and a recipe that would make people sit up and listen.
Recently (thanks to my new show Junk Food Flip) I have been thinking a lot about how to flip classic dishes, especially the meat heavy dishes.
As you know by now (because I've mentioned it about a million times) I like to cook in a way I call Meat On The Side; the idea is that veggies are the star of the plate, not the meat.
Since the premier of my show Junk Food Flip (Tuesdays, 9pmET on Cooking Channel), people have been asking me a lot about re-making comfort food dishes (probably because that is the premise of the show).
So today I had to share with you one of my absolute favorite recipe flips.
Bunnies are adorable, they are soft, their ears are far too big for their little heads, and they hop! Let’s face it, they are cute; that is as long as we are talking about a small furry animal and not the random guy hopping up and down behind me on the street. He’s not cute, he’s just creepy.
I tend to make the appetizers for Easter dinner and leave the heavy lifting for my father in-law. It’s hard to help him as I barley have a free hand (no, I cannot put the Sauvignon Blanc down. And what about my other hand? Well, it’s usually helping me taste test the cheese, a very important job).
A Horror Story:
Written by: Nikki Dinki
Sue and her date go to a local restaurant for a nice meal out. Sue orders the salmon, her date the steak and each meal comes with a side of vegetables. They chatter, flirt and then...the meal comes...all they can do is stare in horror at their plates.
It’s not the salmon or the steak that get their attention but that sad, mushy, flavorless, over-steamed broccoli thrown haphazardly on the plate. It’s blatantly obvious that no one at this restaurant cares about broccoli. And being advocates for Broccoli’s rights (ABRs they call themselves) they get up and march out of the restaurant.
For they know, as I do, that broccoli should NEVER be treated this way...
The end.
You see, I didn’t always love broccoli, I’ll admit it. The green tree-like vegetable and me had a bumpy relationship at first. But how can anyone fall in love with this green goddess when she is so often treated and dressed, so poorly?!
When your child is young you feed them pureed vegetables. This food is nutritious and easy to eat.
And then, without warning, it goes down hill...fast!! You start trying to give them whole broccoli instead of the pureed stuff.
This seems logical enough until the tree like foreign object is promptly rejected and dumped on the floor...
And there it sits, under their chair, next to the scary carrot and every horrifying brussel sprout.
But why give up the simple idea of eating pureed vegetables??
Hate the texture of a vegetable? Puree it!
Think veggies are too bitter or bland?? Add other more tasty pureed stuff to them!
Before you know it you’re eating a whole head of broccoli in a single serving...
Or maybe a whole eggplant...
Gluten-free is definitely trending--and for good reason.
Of course there are some people who simply can’t have gluten, but there are also many who are realizing that eating less gluten and carbs helps them feel and look their best.