Tag: Cooking

Long before Danica Patrick rose to fame as an asphalt-ceiling-smashing race-car driver with a Napa wine label to her name, she was a kid growing up in Illinois. She never loved the bone-chilling weather there, but she toughed it out on a Midwesterner’s logic: Life was cold, and the warm and scenic climes that she preferred were just where you went on vacation.

In 2007, she would reject that logic, buying a home in Scottsdale, Ariz. Now, just months into her retirement from a multiple-record-setting career on both the IndyCar and NASCAR circuits—including a win at the Indy Japan 300 in 2008 that made her the first woman ever to win a major-league, open-wheel race in a North American series—she is spending more time at home, making dinner for friends or waffles for her boyfriend, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

But this is not your mama’s retirement. After her final race at the Indianapolis 500 in May 2018, Patrick flew straight to Auction Napa Valley, where a lot including bottles of her wine, Somnium, and a car ride with her sold for $300,000. With the racetrack receding in her rearview, Patrick has shifted her winemaking career into high gear.

Patrick fell into wine in 2006 when, on a trip to Napa, she tasted Quintessa‘s Illumination Sauvignon Blanc. It was love at first sip, and she struck up a friendship with winemaker Aaron Pott. In 2009, she purchased 24 acres on Howell Mountain for Somnium and brought Pott on board as winemaker. They released the inaugural 2014 estate Cabernet in 2017, and the portfolio has since grown to include a saignée-method rosé and a Sauvignon Blanc sourced from Bavarian Lion Vineyard in Knights Valley—a nod to the revelatory glass of Illumination that started it all. She wants to help others have their own wine moments, she says: “You can go to Napa to [do] all that on a high level, or you can do it at home.”

Patrick’s own 400-plus-bottle cellar factors prominently into her entertaining habits. “Usually I go down to the cellar and I grab four or five bottles of red wine,” she says. “That’s the first trip, and if it’s a good night, there’s one or two more trips down there for the group of 12 or so of us that usually get together.” She favors Napa Cabernet, and her collection includes appearances from Harlan, Bond, Abreu, Pott and Quintessa.

Due to the 8,300-square-foot modern house’s unusual, double-disc-shaped exterior, Patrick nicknamed it the Jetsons House when she bought it. “Modern can be very angular,” she says. “This is everything but angular. It looks like flying saucers—everything is very round.”

The kitchen is no exception. With curves of taupe Venetian plaster, a swooping arc of blue- and purple-veined black granite, black leather barstools and brushed-steel appliances, the space evokes the wheels, asphalt and chrome of a racetrack, though Patrick says that wasn’t part of her thinking when she bought the place. At the time, she was more concerned with actual wheels: She needed a home for her cars, in addition to her wine, and the seven-car garage and 1,000-bottle-capacity cellar were just right.

But today, the kitchen gets serious traffic—Danica-style. The title of her 2017 fitness book, Pretty Intense, reportedly describes not only her health regimen, but Patrick herself. She does things her way, and she throws herself into cooking with characteristic focus and swagger. “I eat paleo, which means everyone that comes over eats paleo too, because I don’t cook two meals, I cook one,” she says. “Turns out most of the time, people love it.”

Some cooks follow recipes assiduously; others fly by the seat of their pants. You can guess which one Patrick is: “Yeah, I’m the fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants one,” she laughs. “I don’t really care for baking, but I love to cook, and I’m good on the grill, I’m good searing, good roasting things, you name it.” It’s likely no coincidence that her cooking, with its charred, roasty bent, tends to marry particularly well with a good bottle of Cab.

From her grillside vantage on the patio, Patrick has a stunning view of one of Arizona’s most iconic sights: Camelback Mountain. It’s a fitting backdrop for a woman who just keeps climbing.

Photo Gallery

Photos by Ben & Kelly Photography

Lattice Pie Crust is simple to make and turns any pie into a masterpiece!

Pie is an easy classic dessert for good reason.  It’s simple to make and uses ingredients most of us already have in the kitchen.  A perfect pie filled with fruit is a dessert perfect for any occasion and it’s incredibly simple to make a beautiful lattice crust!

How To Make A Lattice Pie Crust

This is the only guide on how to make a lattice pie crust you will need. When you think of the perfect pie, you probably picture a fancy lattice crust. It is seriously easy to pull off, and takes your baking to a whole other level!

A lattice crust is created by weaving long strips of pie crust over top of the pie to create a weaved “mesh”. No only does it look gorgeous, it allows the steam to escape and allows all of the beautiful fruits inside to peek through.

It is super important to remember that pie crust is delicate, like any pastry dough. Aim to minimize the time you spend touching the pie crust. If the butter or shortening in the crust melts while you are preparing it, your crust will not be as light and flaky as you might have hoped!

Prepare your pie crust according to your recipe directions (this works with store bought crust too) and line a 9″ pie plate with a bottom crust and fill with your favorite fillings.  Make sure the filling is completely cool before beginning.

For the Lattice Crust

• Roll the dough out to 1/4″ thickness and approximately a 12″ circle on a lightly floured surface.
• Cut the pie crust into long strips about 1/2″ to 3/4″ wide. You can use a knife, a pizza cutter, pasta wheel or a pretty lattice cutter to cut them.
• To begin the lattice pie crust, use every other strip of crust and lay them evenly in one direction across your pie (image #1 above). Use the longer pieces in the centre, and the shorter ones towards the end.
• To begin the lattice pattern, gently fold back every second piece halfway and add one strip of pie crust across the center (image #2 above)
• Repeat this step alternating the pieces you fold back and adding more strips of dough.
• Once the whole pie is covered, trim any extra long pieces and crimp and seal the edges.
• Roll out any extra little dough pieces and cut out shapes to add pretty decoration to the pie, adhere with egg wash.

If you notice the dough becoming sticky, not to worry! Just dust your hands with flour before continuing. Once the lattice pie crust is on the pie, whisk an egg with a splash of water to create an egg wash, and spread it over the lattice pie crust. This helps the crust get a beautiful glossy golden brown color!

Pie Recipes You’ll Love

• Apple Pie Recipe
• Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
• Blueberry Pie
• The Best Apple Crumb Pie
• Praline Pumpkin Pie

There you have it, a pie crust that will impress your friends and family, and doesn’t take too much extra work!

The post How to Make a Lattice Crust appeared first on Spend With Pennies.

In the latest development in Oregon’s burgeoning wine industry, the Great Oregon Wine Company has purchased Duck Pond Cellars, a family-owned winery in the Willamette Valley that is known for Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. The deal includes Duck Pond’s winery and tasting room in the Dundee Hills subappellation, along with 300 acres of estate vineyards in Oregon. Duck Pond’s staff, including winemaker Trevor Chlanda, will remain at the winery. The terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Doug and Jo Ann Fries founded Duck Pond Cellars after moving their family from California’s Central Valley to Oregon in the early 1980s. Longtime farmers and wine enthusiasts, they purchased land along the Willamette River in Dundee and planted a hazelnut orchard as well as a 13-acre vineyard. In 1993, the family launched Duck Pond Cellars, focusing exclusively on Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. The family owns and farms six vineyards in Oregon and makes around 50,000 cases of wine a year.

The Great Oregon Wine Company had been purchasing grapes on and off from the Fries family and decided to acquire Duck Pond because of the quality of its estate vineyards. It was also running out of space at its winery. “Their vineyards are so precise and pristine,” said Ari Walker, CEO of Integrated Beverage Group, Great Oregon Wine Company’s parent company. “[The Fries’] are just in a league of their own.”

The Duck Pond sale includes three estate vineyards in the Willamette and Umpqua valleys. Its facility in the Dundee Hills will help increase the Great Oregon Wine Company’s production capacity to more than 300,000 cases of wine a year, making it a sizable player in Oregon.

The Fries family will no longer be involved in the winery following the transition. “With their extensive experience in Oregon, we’re confident that Great Oregon Wine Company will carry on Duck Pond Cellars’ legacy of quality,” said Greg Fries, president of the Fries family enterprises, in a statement.

The family will continue to make wines at their Desert Wind winery in Washington State. Founded in 2001, the winery works with a range of grapes including Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from three estate vineyards in the Wahluke Slope appellation. They also own a tasting room and inn in Prosser, Wash.

Founded in 2015, Denver, Colo.–based Integrated Beverage Group has a portfolio of nearly a dozen different brands in California and Oregon including Replica, Rascal, Chime and Swing Set. That same year, it purchased the former Stone Wolf Vineyards in McMinnville, Ore., and changed the name to the Great Oregon Wine Company.

The company plans to invest in Duck Pond’s winemaking facility and will grow the wholesale distribution and consumer side of the business. It’s also looking for more opportunities in Oregon. “I think that’s the place that we’ll likely continue to place our bets,” said Walker.

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Salsa Chicken Casserole is a fun dinner option that everyone raves about! We love Chicken Rice Casserole any which way it’s prepared but this Mexican chicken casserole definitely tops our list!

Spanish rice, corn, black beans, chicken, and salsa are topped with with cheddar cheese then baked until hot and bubbly! Top this easy recipe with sour cream, Homemade Salsa, jalapenos and crispy tortilla strips for the perfect meal!

I am so excited to partner with Zatarian’s Rice to create this easy and delicious salsa chicken casserole!

Rice is my 14 year old’s favorite food, she loves it served plain, as fried rice or even garlic butter rice! When she finds out rice is for dinner, she’s always thrilled so it’s a staple in our house! No matter what cuisine we are in the mood for, rice becomes a part of most of our meals.

This month is national rice month, and to celebrate we are eating our fair share of rice at home.  We quite often serve rice as a side dish, but when I need a complete meal, I go straight to a loaded chicken casserole like this one! 

This easy casserole doesn’t require many dishes, can be prepared ahead of time and is comforting and delicious!  I often make make salsa chicken because it has so much flavor so I knew it would be perfect to incorporate those same flavors into this easy casserole!

How To Make Chicken Casserole

This chicken casserole recipe couldn’t be easier since it starts with Zatarian’s Spanish Rice Mix. It’s already loaded with flavor and seasonings makes this casserole a total breeze! 

Combining Zatarian’s Spanish Rice Mix with a bit of onion, beans and some of our favorite veggies makes the perfect base for this dish.

To keep this recipe extra fast, I use rotisserie chicken but any cooked chicken will do. I often make a batch of poached chicken to use in casseroles as it’s easy and always comes out tender!

In a casserole dish simply layer your veggies, chicken, salsa and cheese and bake until golden and bubbly.  So easy and so good!

To serve, top this Salsa Chicken Casserole with your favorite toppings like sour cream, fresh jalapenos, cilantro, tomatoes or green onions, and dig in!

This chicken casserole is easy to make and I know your family is going to love it as much as ours does! Serve this with a fresh Cucumber Avocado Salad, some crusty bread (or 30 Minute Dinner Rolls) or even tortillas for scooping!

Can you Freeze a Chicken Casserole?

If you happen to have leftovers, this recipe reheats very well.

You can also make this ahead of time because this easy chicken casserole recipe freezes perfectly either before or after it has been baked. To bake from frozen, defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Bake at 350°F 30-35 minutes or until heated through.

More Rice Dishes You’ll Love

• Mexican Rice Casserole – Great for leftovers!
• Baked Chinese Chicken and Rice
• Crockpot Chicken and Rice – Reader favorite!
• Chicken Wild Rice Soup (no cream)
• Broccoli Rice Casserole from Scratch – Great side dish!

I have partnered with Zatarain’s Rice to bring you this belly warming recipe. Working with great brands I love allows me to keep bringing you the great recipes you love!

 

 

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The most amazing grilled sausage platter for your next potluck or BBQ! This is easy to prepare and so impressive!

Hosting potlucks and BBQs at home can be super stressful.

I get super type-A about it, making sure every little detail is just perfect. Then the stress just takes over, and I either reschedule or cancel.

It’s not cute.

But this beautiful sausage platter is the answer to all of my problems.

First off, Ben does all the grilling and I do all the cleaning. It’s a win-win. The kitchen inside the house stays perfectly clean while Ben does all the hard work. Thanks, dear!

Plus, we have every variety of sausage here with perfectly grilled baby potatoes and smoky, charred mini bell peppers. It’s basically a platter of dreams coming true.

And it really needs to make an appearance at your next get-together.

The post Grilled Sausages, Peppers and Potatoes appeared first on Damn Delicious.

Everyone’s favorite chicken noodle soup, but made even healthier with zucchini noodles and the most tender chicken meatballs!

It’s September. Which means I can say: Happy almost-Fall!

The season where the leaves start to change colors, and when we have every excuse in the book to order a pumpkin spice latte.

Except. Well. We went to a Dodger game yesterday. And left at the third inning. Because it was so stinking hot.

We then came home, turned on the AC, and had soup.

But not just any kind of soup.

We took a traditional chicken noodle soup, swapped out the noodles for zucchini, and then added my favorite chicken meatballs.

It. is. everything.

It’s warm, it’s cozy, it’s hearty, and there’s so much meatball goodness!

I also developed this bad habit of taking just a tiny bit of zoodles but then loading up on all the meatballs! ​

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From the most amazing white mushroom pizza to the creamiest IP mushroom risotto, these recipes are THE BEST EVER!

1. Sheet Pan Garlic Butter Mushrooms – Simply roast your mushrooms in the most heavenly garlic butter sauce on ONE SINGLE PAN. [GET THE RECIPE.]

2. White Mushroom Pizza – Loaded with two types of cheeses and garlic herb sautéed mushrooms. Yes, please. [GET THE RECIPE.]

3. One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta – An incredibly creamy, hearty pasta dish that you can make in just 20 minutes. Even the pasta gets cooked right in the pot. [GET THE RECIPE.]

4. Garlic Mushroom Quinoa – An easy, healthy side dish that you’ll want to make with every single meal. [GET THE RECIPE.]

5. Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce – Crisp-tender chicken baked to perfection, smothered in the most creamy mushroom sauce easily made from scratch. [GET THE RECIPE.]

6. Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup – Perfectly cozy, hearty, and comforting for any season of the year. Loaded with wild rice, mushrooms, carrots, leeks, and kale. [GET THE RECIPE.]

7. Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto – I promise, this is the EASIEST risotto you will ever make right in your pressure cooker without any stirring or any kind of fuss. [GET THE RECIPE.]

8. Creamy Mushroom Spinach Orzo – This creamy, hearty orzo dish makes for the best vegetarian side dish ever. You can also add chicken and turn this into a main dish. [GET THE RECIPE.]

9. Easy Creamy Mushrooms – So good, you’ll want to skip the main dish and make this a meal instead. [GET THE RECIPE.]

10. Creamy Chicken Mushroom Soup – Such a fun twist to the traditional chicken noodle soup. And it’s so much creamier. Yes and yes. [GET THE RECIPE.]

The post 10 Best Mushroom Recipes for Mushroom Lovers appeared first on Damn Delicious.

Yes, you can make yogurt at home! It’s cheaper and 100x creamier! You’ll never want to buy store-bought yogurt again!

What? Yogurt in an Instant Pot?! Um, yes, 10000 times yes!

The process sounds like it’ll take for-ever, but really, this recipe is so stinking easy with like 4 minutes of hands-on time (legit, 4-5 minutes) – it’s basically effortless. And fool-proof.

Now why bother making homemade yogurt? Well, for starters, it’s 100000x better than store-bought. Seriously. It’s creamier and substantially less tangy. With zero-sweetener.

Plus, you know once you go homemade, you can NEVER go back to the store-bought version. NEVER EVER EVER.

And for that, I’m truly sorry.

Well, not really.

The post How to Make Yogurt in an Instant Pot appeared first on Damn Delicious.

A great conversation starter is the restaurant “jollof Ecetera.” This tiny but large shack is located in Annapolis Maryland. You know the saying “good things come in small packages?” Jolloff Ecetera is one of those good things.

The fact that I have nothing plenty to say about this place is because they “killed” everything with their awesome food. Have you ever tasted a meal so good, you constantly replay how you ate it and it’s taste in your mouth?

I walked into Jollof Ecetera not knowing what to expect. It looks like a “to go” kind of restaurant. What that means is that, you simply make an order and pick up your food or have it delivered once it’s prepared.

Even as small as the space for the restaurant is, there are a few chairs and tables for patrons who wish to dine in. I dined in.

Ambiance: There is really none but for the soft gospel music playing from the tv set. The place was crowded with people and it just seemed so little to navigate through.

Make over: Jolloff Ecetera needs a total make over. a least some new chairs with tables that fit the space. Nothing more or less.

Apart from the ambiance and the need for a make over, I liked the little notes that sat on the table. The notes had scriptures on them. Oh, I forgot to tell you that the restaurant is owned by a Christian who doesn’t ever settle. He doesn’t even serve alcohol in his restaurant. Drink your Schweppes or water and enjoy your meal or nothing.

One thing I liked about Jolloff ecetera, was the sink they had in the restaurant for patrons to wash their hands; and beside the sink was a motion censored trash bin. A great feature if you’re a germaphobe.

The good stuff: Now to the good stuff. The food! With all the delicious photos on their Instagram’s page @jolloffetcetera, it was even better in person. I ordered a plate of rice and fish stew to make up for all the meat from the previous day. Along with the rice, I ordered a side of spinach and plantains. My hosts ordered Eba, onugbu and vegetable soups respectively.

Before our food was brought to the table, the restaurant owner gave my hosts and I a complimentary bowl of Chinchin. A little stale it was but it was really good. Our food came without a waste of time and the portions were huge. Mere looking at my bowl and that of my hosts, I was full. I didn’t even know how to start spooning the stew into the rice. And the fish, it filled the bowl and eating it was orgasmic to experience. The side of spinach, it was melt in your mouth good. I am here writing and trying to describe how delicious my food was, but I can’t even begin to find the words. My hosts ate theirs so quickly, you could tell they enjoyed their food with the way they cleaned their bowls. There were no traces of eba or soup in sight And with a cool bottle of Schweppes, everything hit the spot.

food for thought: Sometimes, it’s not always about having nice restaurant furniture, it’s about having mind blowing meals, meals that would make you not want to eat anything else. Now, if one restaurant can fix their furnishing, have working and clean bathrooms and cook really good food like Jolloff Etcetera.

In the beautiful DMV area is the restaurant 5 sisters that caters to the gastronomical needs of the African people who live around the area. When you hear the word “5 sisters,” the first question that comes to mind is “is it a music group of some sort?” Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but it’s an African restaurant owned by a Cameroonian lady with 5 daughters. I didn’t get the full history but I know they are 5 and they even own a boutique too.

Walking into the restaurant, it was like walking into a club in broad day light. Not that people don’t club during the day, but na those day time clubbers sabi. I have been to restaurants that double as event halls or clubs but this one was lit from the afternoon when my host and I got there until we left at almost midnight. I actually thought there was a party going on because of the loud music but I guess the DJ was just too excited to be at work that day. While this restaurant seems like a great place to sit and have “life changing” conversations, I don’t want to listen to very loud music in the early evening, shouting on the top of my lungs while trying to eat and have a “meaningful” conversation with my friends.

The Ambiance at the 5 sisters restaurant was a little mixed and confusing. They had ‘bluish’ disco lights on in the night time and close to the bar with the restaurant part on both ends of the hall; the Dj and his loud jockey set was right by the door. I can’t explain the whole restaurant’s set up, but the entire character of the place screamed “make me over!”

Now to the good stuff! The drinks! My favorite drink in the world is “sex on the beach.” If you don’t have that, give me some Tequila silver with salt and lime and I’m good to go. My host ordered a glass of sex on the beach for me and when I received my drink from Riley the bar tender, it didn’t quite look the part as he pointed that they were out of an ingredient, but for some reason he made it work and I couldn’t even tell the difference. If Riley hadn’t told me of the missing ingredient, I wouldn’t have been able to distinguish what was missing. He worked with what he had and created something so tastily beautiful that I couldn’t even tell the difference.

Don’t mess up a good meal: If there’s one thing you shouldn’t mess up as a restaurant that caters to Africans; especially West Africans, it is Suya. Mba, you can make your Ogbono soup a little watery and add a little too much oil in your Egusi soup, but the small chop that is suya must NEVER be tampered with. I have two rules to follow when making suya regardless of the cut of meat you use.

Rule1. Always cut out the fat before/after grilling. I understand that cooking with a little fat gives food/meat a little flavor, but I don’t want my food drowned in it. And no, I’m not on the Keto diet.

Rule2. If you catch yourself making Suya, always have some suya pepper or Yaji! That’s what makes it suya. I don’t want to eat chopped steak with onions and peppered sauce as Suya. Don’t play with my Suya. If your Mai Suya is a little confused or doesn’t know how to make suya, Google is your friend. There are hundreds of Nigerian/West African food blogs with Suya recipes and basic Yaji recipes which you can tweak to fit your customers.

Basically, we ordered for some Suya and what came to the table was chopped steak with sweet onions, fried plantains and peppered sauce. If I wanted Asun, I for tell you na. I’m not someone who eats a lot of meat, so when I order anything that looks like meat, it better be good like that goat meat from Kings way. Now that’s another story to tell The plantain was an added plus but the Suya kind of spoilt it for me.

Asun: My host’s friends ordered peppered goat meat(Asun) and Nkwobi and what came to our table were two bowls full of bones; not literally, but that bowl of Asun had more bones than the goat that was killed for it’s purpose. When the waitress came to the table with the bowl of Asun, I looked at the bowl and I had nothing to say. I don’t want to go into any restaurant to wrestle with bones. While I understand that you have to make your money, you don’t have to serve your patrons a bowl full of bones. Peel out as much of the bones as you can and just price the dish a little more. Let the Asun be worth traveling for. When you pay attention to detail in your kitchen and you make good food, people will come by the droves and they will eat to their fill and even recommend your restaurant to their friends. Ask the owners of Fo go De Chao how they have survived the restaurant business with no bones

Nkwobi….Two meals I take personal when not done right is Isi ewu and Nkwobi. Nkwobi is pretty much a casserole made with cow foot. Yes, the cow foot is boney, but there’s plenty of flesh in it too and it takes just a minute to debone the meat after cooking until soft. I don’t know how my hosts friends ate those bones. Just like the Asun, the Nkwobi was bony and I guess the Guinness they were drinking kind of helped them adjust to the bony situation.

While I’m not sure how African restaurants prepare their oil for Abacha, Nkwobi and Isi ewu, there are healthier options used these days instead of potash. You could thicken your oil with palm nut ash, baking soda and cold water. With my favorite being the palm nut ash and baking soda, the cold water option comes in very handy. Some people say the oil breaks down when they use the healthier options. I’d advice that when using the options I have listed, it would help to let your meat cool down before mixing with the oil. this way, your oil stays thick and your belly thanks you.

Food for thought: I love African food, especially when it is done right. There is really nothing to it when it is your passion; knowing that you want your customers to ultimately enjoy their African food experience. These days people would rather pay for good service and comfort. Some days, I like to shop at Walmart, other days, I prefer Publix because you get great service at Publix. If I cannot find something, there is always someone to help. When my bags are too heavy to carry out side, there’s always someone to help. Running a business is not always about the money. It is sometimes about the length you go to please your patrons; which keeps them coming back and adds money to your pocket.