Category: Cook’s Treat from Caridad

We always put out meats and cheeses as appetizers when we have friends coming over. Now it’s the hot thing to make a fancy “Charcuterie Board.” Charcuterie actually refers to the cured and cold meats and not the rest, but what the heck? It can be a tasty treat! Food Network has some suggestions on how to build the perfect board at https://bit.ly/3xQ6YxR. For me, a perfect charcuterie board has a mix of meats, different kinds of cheeses, fruits, and veggies. I like to have a soft cheese like goat cheese or brie together with my fav cheddar and then something sharper, like grana or aged provolone. Harry and David has a great list of cheeses with explanations at https://bit.ly/41qXwyr. As for the fruits, a combo of fresh and dried is great, like dried figs with grapes or strawberries. Fresh figs are also tasty if you can get them. Finally, something fun to drizzle on the cheeses, like honey or a nice jelly. There are some great wine-flavored jellies, but my fav is a great fig nectar that pairs wonderfully with the sharper cheeses.

I’m doing really well with my lifestyle change. I try to get up and move during my hours-long writing sprints. I’m also taking a nice walk every day in addition to going to the gym to do the elliptical. I’ve also started lifting some weights! Yeah! Last but not least, I’m eating healthier. Unlike some past diets where I eliminated carbs almost entirely, I’m not doing that this time. I’m allowing myself some carbs because I don’t want to put the weight back on once I have carbs in my diet again. To date I’ve lost 15 pounds in about 6 weeks or so. One of the breads I recently made was this Cast Iron Beer Cheese Quick Bread from America’s Test Kitchen. It’s versatile since you can change up what cheese to use (I had cheddar!) and even though the recipe calls for chives, I didn’t have any and used scallions instead and it worked! So here’s the recipe for you. It’s quick, easy, and tasty!

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups All-Purpose flour
2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
1 1/4 cups beer (no hoppy IPAs, just plain beer)
1/2 cup minced fresh chives (or scallions)
4 tsp baking powder
3 Tbsp melted unsalted butter
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions

Place rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Mix all the dry ingredients. Add half of the cheese and toss it together. Add the chives/scallions and the butter. Mix.

Grease a 10 inch cast iron skillet. Put the bread mix into the skillet and flatten the dough. Top with the remaining half of the cheese.

Bake for about 30-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean. Let rest for at least 15 minutes in the skillet and then remove from the skillet onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

As you may know from following me on Facebook and here, I’ve been trying to eat better and also wanted to do my part to eliminate food waste. Because of that, I signed up for Misfits Market. I’ve gotten two orders using a 40% off the first $25 coupon so that made it easier to buy more to meet the $35 dollar minimum (now $39 due to an increase). But there was also a $6.99 shipping fee (now $7.99). I still have one more coupon order to go and have to make a decision whether to continue at what will be a higher price. Because of that, I headed off to my local Aldi’s and purchased $35 dollars worth of produce to see how it would compare (see below). My impression was that I got a little more at Aldi’s and didn’t have to pay for the shipping (which was more than the cost of gas to Aldi’s). Also, once the coupon goes away, I’ll get less produce for the same price. So what’s my decision? After I use this last coupon, I’ll just be shopping locally and come June 4, I’ll be getting a delivery every week from a local farm as part of a CSA I joined. What’s a CSA? It’s Community Supported Agriculture and by joining that group, I’m helping a local NJ farm and buying produce that doesn’t need to get shipped all across the country (or world!). That’s a win-win. As soon as the CSA starts, I’ll share how that’s going.

Yesterday was National Pizza Day! How did I not know that since pizza is one of my favorite foods. I love pizza in all forms from the typical Brooklyn-style pizza to thick Sicilian pie and even the thin crust pizza that’s so popular along my neck of the Jersey Shore. My favorite toppings? Onion and mushroom! How about you? What’s your fave kind of pizza and topping? By the way, if you’re ever in Monmouth County, don’t miss Vic’s in Bradley Beach for their fabulous thin crust pie. Delorenzo’s in Robbinesville also makes a great thin crust pie. All around the best pizza ever: Pete’s in the Columbus Farmer’s Market in Columbus. Even my Brooklyn-born and bred hubby says it’s the best he’s ever had. Pete’s calls their pizzas “tomato pie” and so does Vic’s, but the two pies couldn’t be more different. What’s a tomato pie? Well, some say it’s because the cheese goes first and then the sauce. I think that it’s because tomato pies originally started in local bakeries and not your typical pizzeria. I also find that the term tomato pie seems to be more prevalent in South Jersey and Philly than in other areas.

Mojitos have become a staple in many bars and restaurants, but it’s also easy to make these at home. They are a refreshing cocktail, especially on a hot summer night or if you’re down in Miami, like the Gonzalez family from the South Beach Security series. The key is to make a simple syrup which is aptly named since you make it by boiling equal parts of sugar and water until the sugar dissolves. Simple syrup is great to have around for iced tea as well since sugar doesn’t really dissolve in cold liquids.

Ingredients

1 oz simple syrup
1 oz fresh lime juice
1.5 oz rum
1.5 oz club soda
lime slices to garnish
5 or so mint leaves
sprigs of mint

Directions

Muddle (another word for mush) mint leaves in the bottom of a glass. Add simple syrup, rum, club soda and stir. Garnish with a lime slice and sprig of mint.

Most people use a white rum for mojitos. You can change up the flavor by using a golden rum which will be sweeter. A dark rum will be the sweetest. Spiced rums, like Kraken (my fav) are also an alternative.

Like fruity drinks? Try adding an ounce or so of mango puree, blackberry or pomegrante syrup. You can also muddle some strawberries in the glass!

P.S. – If you haven’t already checked out the South Beach Security series, you can learn more about it at https://amzn.to/3GYWSAo. P.S. – The SBS K-9 Division spinoff will be out back-to-back in Summer 2024!

I was making a steak the other day and needed a sauce to go with it. Since I had some parsley in the fridge I decided to try and do a chimichurri sauce. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough parsley for that so I decided to tweak the recipe myself for a chimichurri-style dressing. It worked great with the steak and we used it as a salad dressing the next day. This is a bright sauce with herbal overtones (boy doesn’t that sound chefy! LOL!) If you try it, let me know what you think! I could totally see the crew of South Beach Security using this on a steak instead of a usual Cuban mojo. If you’d like to check out some recipes and free reads, try out Recipes for the Romantic Soul which is free on KU at https://amzn.to/3vwT6FJ.

Ingredients

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 red wine vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
4 garlic cloves, loosely chopped
Handful of parsley

Directions

Mix oil, vinegar, dried spices, and garlic and pulse with an immersion blender (or in your blender or food processor). Add parsley and lightly pulse.

Voila! That’s it! Hope you enjoyed this recipe. P.S. – for a full chimichurri you’ll need at least two handfuls of parsley!