Broiled Mussels

My family loves seafood and this was such a great appetizer for us to snack on while we waited for my mom to finish dinner, they barely lasted 5 minutes!

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds mussels
1 cup white wine (they suggest 1/2 cup but I need more to steam that volume)
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, minced
1 small clove garlic, minced
4 pinches smoked paprika (pimenton)

Clean the mussels- this can be time consuming!-
Boil your wine in a medium pot. Add the mussels, cover and steam them open over high heat until they open. You can start checking at 3 minutes, but it can take up to 6. Once open, let the mussels cool. Twist off and discard one of the shells from each mussels (discard any that didn’t open), making sure that the remaining shell contains the mussel.  Mash butter, parsley, garlic, pimenton and salt to taste in a small bowl and slather each mussel with the compound butter. Arrange them in a broiler-safe tray and chill them in the fridge until the butter is hard. Preheat the broiler  Broil the mussels until the butter is bubbling hot, about 2 minutes (or up to 4 in an oven). Serve immediately, with crusty bread

Meat Pie!

For the last few weeks Alex had been raving about the meat pies he ate in Oz and how he has not eaten once since his trip..... so the great chef I am, I decided to look up recipes online and make some for him.  I was a little weary a meat pie sounded a little odd, maybe not my style, but now I am trying to think of any excuse to eat some when I'm at his house! We found a recipe online that seemed the most authentic and last week while he was at practice I got to cooking! This was so easy and came out so amazing. I think I am definitely going to be making more, and using different recipes and meats as well! But best part of it all was how excited Alex got, they were authentic but American size! BIG! The pie is best eaten with a ton of ketchup on top!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup water, divided
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons plain flour
• 2 puff pastry sheets
• I added truffle salt too!

Pre-heat oven at 450 degrees Celsius.
1. Brown meat and onion.
2. Add 3/4 cup of the water, bouillon cubes, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, pepper, oregano, and nutmeg.
3. Boil and cover for 15 minutes.
4. Blend flour with the remaining 1/4 cup water until it becomes a smooth paste; add to the meat mix.
5. Let cool.
6. Grease a pie dish and line with puff pastry.
7. Add the cooled filling mixture; brush edges of pastry with milk or beaten egg; put the pastry top on; press edges down with a fork.
8. Trim edges and glaze top with milk or beaten egg.


9. Bake in a very hot oven, 450 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.

Merry Monday's Mint

Well this week I am only 2 days late for Merry Mondays.... I made brownies with peppermint icing! these are to die for.  they taste like the mint you get after you finish dinner at a restaurant.  I just used boxed brownie mix for the brownies (they always come out so good)

so just follow the directions on the back of the box- very simple

For the icing-
beat 1/2 cup of unsalted butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract
*I also used green food dye for a holiday look
Allow the brownies to cool completely before icing them

For Chocolate topping-
in the microwave heat 1/2 cup of semi sweet choc chips with 6 tablespoons of butter
heat for 1 1/2 minutes and take out to stir.  Keep heating the chocolate in 30 second intervals until it is fully mixed and melted... allow to cool a bit.  Then spread over the icing, I put my brownies in the freezer for about 45 minutes to make them easier to cut!

these have been a hit already with family, friends, boyfriends and co-workers! I will for sure be making these again!

Sometimes it just takes a spending time with your friends to remind yourself how great everything really is! Oh and that its Christmas! God I love the lights, its my favorite part of the holiday! Amanda and I walked Balboa Island last night, which always does the trick, and we baked cookies (added marshmellows to make them better) and watched Love Actually.. life is good! Happy Holidays! I cant wait for the Xmas parties to start!

Christmasy Feeling

So usually I am the biggest fan of Christmas, I can barely contrain myself once Christmas decorations and music begin to appear after Thanksgiving.. However this year I am feeling very indifferent about it all, maybe because the economy is bad and I feel guilty for my dad? Or maybe because I am so broke I do not get to get all the people I love gifts this year?
I do kind of wish I could fly over to Dallas for just a night and go on a carriage ride to see all the lights (Dallas residents do their lights better than anything I have ever seen!)
It also doesnt help that it is 75 degrees outside! But one thing I do have to look forward to is cooking! This year my mom and I are doing a casual early dinner @ our house with turkey and roast beef sandwiches, everyone will get to build their own.  We are also going to do a bunch of sides so you still get the holiday feel.

My menu: stuffed mushrooms, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and green beans... that sounds pretty amazing to me!

I guess when I need to feel Christmasy I can just go over to Fashion Island and visit the tree, that always does the trick!

And ok I am feeling a bit more cheery after watching glee last night, I need the xmas album!

Cranberry Salsa for Merry Mondays

My best friend Claire is a much better blogger than me, she is hosting something called "Merry Mondays, where we all are given the same ingredient and post our own recipes.  This first week in December was cranberry. Needless  to say I did not have a ton of ideas, but Claire did and  sent me in the direction of cranberry salsa. This was so simple and came out totally delicious. I really think I will make this all the time, only thing I will change for next time is more jalapeno! I like salsa spicey, this did not have quite enough kick to it!

INGREDIENTS:

1 bag of cranberries
juice of 2 limes
2 jalapenos (I like more)
3 green onions
1 bunch of cilantro
1/3 cup of sugar

Combine in food processor!

Oh and this would be so good on top of cream cheese, that will be my route next time.

Peanut Butter Bars

These bars were one of the very first thing that I baked when I started this "spree".  I absolutely love the combo of peanut butter and chocolate and these are the perfect answer! They are probably the easiest thing that I will ever put on this blog as well.. No one can eat just one!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup sweet butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg beaten
1 tspn vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tspn salt
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat 350
2. cream butter, sugars and peanut butter
3. combine flour, oats, soda and salt in different bowl
4. Stir dry and peanut butter mixture
5. Spread in a 9x13 greased pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes