Thursday, May 29, 2014

Twice Baked Potatoes: My May learning Kelsey Nixon's Kitchen Confidence

One of my favorite things to do with a free evening or Saturday afternoon is to catch up on my weekly DVR'd shows while messing around in my craft room.  Cooking Channel's Kitchen Essentials hosted by Kelsey Nixon is always on my list of TV to watch.  Her approachable style & unique flavor combinations keep me coming back episode after episode.


So, when I saw that she was coming out with a cookbook, Kitchen Confidence, I was really excited.
For the entire month of May, I'm diving in & devouring Kitchen Confidence.  For 31 days, I'll be making dishes from Kelsey Nixon's book & writing about them here.


Twice Baked Potatoes




I really hit the husband jackpot.  I'm not sure how I ended up with such a great guy who always goes along with whatever I decide I want to do.  When I want to make the kitchen the color of a mexican food joint, spend 10 minutes taking photos of trees in San Francisco, or paint flowers on the back fence so I can found our house from the trail, he's always down.  And usually helps me make it happen.

Making meals from Kelsey Nixon's cookbook throughout May has been no acception.  This week Andrew is on vacation from work & yesterday, he made had dinner ready & waiting for me to take photos of practically when I walked through the door.  Lucky girl right here.

He made the decandent, delicious Twice Baked Potatoes.  They were a perfect light supper, alongside oven-roasted asparagus.  These yummy potatoes married the crispy shell of a potato skin with the rich creaminess of loaded mashed potatoes.  Awesome, pure & simple.




Those twice baked beauties had just the right amount of blue cheese, bacon & scallion.  You could taste everything, but weren't overpowered by anything.  And the extra broiled bits on the top of the potato? My favorite part.  Everything bite was so good, & had just enough cruch from baking the skin shells after removing the 'guts' for the filling.   Andrew even ate the skin of the potato, something he never does.      

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Rainy Day Soup: My May learning Kelsey Nixon's Kitchen Confidence

One of my favorite things to do with a free evening or Saturday afternoon is to catch up on my weekly DVR'd shows while messing around in my craft room.  Cooking Channel's Kitchen Essentials hosted by Kelsey Nixon is always on my list of TV to watch.  Her approachable style & unique flavor combinations keep me coming back episode after episode.

Kelsey Nixon's Kitchen Confidence

So, when I saw that she was coming out with a cookbook, Kitchen Confidence, I was really excited.
For the entire month of May, I'm diving in & devouring Kitchen Confidence.  For 31 days, I'll be making dishes from Kelsey Nixon's book & writing about them here.


Roasted Tomato Soup & Cheesy Croutons

Most Memorial Days are sunny, BBQ filled days, but this year ours was rainy.  Like, flood watch rainy.  Ideal for laying low & hanging out at the house, which is just what we did.  And really, it was a great way to spend a long weekend.

For our lazy Memorial Day I decided to try the Roasted Tomato Soup with Cheesy Croutons from Kitchen Confidence, which really hit the spot on the dreary, somewhat cool day.



This cozy soup may have changed my mind on tomatoes never being the star of a meal yall.  I don't hate tomatoes, but I am normally not a big a fan.  For whatever reason, dishes that star tomatoes just don't do much for my taste buds.  But I thought if any recipe could change my mind, it might be this one.  Or maybe I just really wanted to try those cheesy croutons.

Either way, I ended up loving this soup.    And the croutons were nothing but toasty, cheesy goodness.  Andrew & I ate up two bowls of the soup for lunch & polished off the entire tray of croutons.  Yeah, we liked it.  

The soup was creamy enough to keep the tomatoes from overpowering the dish but not too heavy or rich.  Pesto added a zing that kept me going back spoonful after spoonful.  And pilling the crispy, buttery cheddar-filled croutons onto the soup & letting them get a little soppy, oh wow, it was addictive.     



I even had leftover soup today with a ham sammy for lunch, sans croutons & it rocked.  The flavors were more powerful & a much better (and more nutritious!) accompaniment to lunch than chips.  I only wish I had made a double-batch of this tasty soup so that it could be the star of lunch all week long.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Sunday Pot Roast: My May learning Kelsey Nixon's Kitchen Confidence

Kelsey Nixon's Kitchen Confidence

One of my favorite things to do with a free evening or Saturday afternoon is to catch up on my weekly DVR'd shows while messing around in my craft room.  Cooking Channel's Kitchen Essentials hosted by Kelsey Nixon is always on my list of TV to watch.  Her approachable style & unique flavor combinations keep me coming back episode after episode.

So, when I saw that she was coming out with a cookbook, Kitchen Confidence, I was really excited.
For the entire month of May, I'm diving in & devouring Kitchen Confidence.  For 31 days, I'll be making dishes from Kelsey Nixon's book & writing about them here.



Pot Roast


Today, I'm talking about the Pot Roast recipe from Kitchen Confidence.  It was so good.  And comforting.  And flavorful.  And simple.    



Growing up, pot roast was often a Sunday staple of my Mom's, as I imagine is true for most of us.  I know my husband Andrew grew up eating pot roast & in fact, I think even requested a version of it for his birthday!

Now that I have my own kitchen, I don't usually make the same kinds of meals my Mom did.  I enjoy pot roast & it always reminds me of home, but I have only attempted the surprisingly easy meal once or twice.  Which is really too bad for Andrew, who still devours roast & beef stew any time he can get his hands on it.

When thumbing through the pages of Kitchen Confidence, deciding which dishes I wanted to try, this pot roast was one of the first ones to get a little neon green stickie.  With this recipe combining the comfortable flavors of slow roasted beef, carrots & potatoes freshened up with fresh thyme & red wine, I knew I couldn't go wrong.

And I am so glad I went for it.  The beef came out perfectly tender & the wine added a great depth of flavor.  The vegetables melted in my mouth, but were far from mushy.  And the thyme really gave a pop of freshness & color.




All in all, I loved the ease & flavor of this recipe.  It even got Andrew's stamp of approval.  After a quick prep & browning of the meat & veggies, all I had to do was kick back & wait.  I was even able to finish up a springtime wreath while a delicious, Sunday-worthy dinner roasted away.

   

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Charred Corn Salad: My May learning Kelsey Nixon's Kitchen Confidence

One of my favorite things to do with a free evening or Saturday afternoon is to catch up on my weekly DVR'd shows while messing around in my craft room.  Cooking Channel's Kitchen Essentials hosted by Kelsey Nixon is always on my list of TV to watch.  Her approachable style & unique flavor combinations keep me coming back episode after episode.

Kelsey Nixon's Kitchen Confidence

So, when I saw that she was coming out with a cookbook, Kitchen Confidence, I was really excited.
For the entire month of May, I'm diving in & devouring Kitchen Confidence.  For 31 days, I'll be making dishes from Kelsey Nixon's book & writing about them here.


Charred Corn Salad


To kick off my May learning Kelsey Nixon's Kitchen Confidence, I couldn't have picked a better recipe, the Charred Corn Salad.  Wow, it had everything going for it: amazingly tasty, easy enough for a weeknight, not too many ingredients, super-fresh flavors and it got us excited for Summer.  Which lets face it, for those of us in Texas, is already here.  



First, let's talk about this simple but delicious ingredient list.  Corn, red onion, heirloom tomatoes.  Yeah, that's it other than fresh basil & a few other basics I can almost guarantee you have sitting in your pantry right now.  Nothing fancy or expensive. In fact, these fresh goodies were on-sale for very cheap when I made this week's trip to the grocery store.



Now, for a shot of the grilled corn being taken off the cob by Andrew.  Do you see that beautiful color & carmalization?  Drool.



And the fragrant, basil vinegrette that pulls this whole salad together?  Perfect.  It's not too sweet, not too pungent, just, perfect.  And a breeze to make.  I threw everything in my ninja for a few seconds & ended up with this pretty little sauce.




I'm really thrilled with how much Andrew & I both loved this Charred Corn Salad.  I even ate all of the red onion & tomato in my serving, which if you know me is saying a lot.  I am not a huge fan of raw tomato or onion, but with the combo of the sweet charred corn & the bright vinegrette there was no 'bite' from the red onion to worry about or mushy tomato to deal with.  It was Summer in a bowl.  We are already talking about making this again next week & throughout the rest of the season.  I think it would be a stunner for dinner parties, BBQs or potlucks.




Kelsey Nixon's Charred Corn Salad was such a hit, I can't wait to try another dish from Kitchen Confidence & tell you all about it!     

Thursday, May 1, 2014

My May learning Kelsey Nixon's Kitchen Confidence

My husband, Andrew & I generally agree on television shows.  We both enjoy Law & Order on Netflix, ChicagoPD & watching The Simpsons on a daily basis, & he tolerates my love of Two Broke Girls, while I join him on the couch while he gets in every minute of the Spurs playoff games that he can.  But when it comes to cooking shows, I'm on my own.  

My husband is no slouch in the kitchen, but for whatever reason, he doesn't like watching someone cook on TV.  So, catching up on the latest episodes of my favorite Food Network & Cooking Channel shows is what I enjoy doing most when I have 'alone time.'  And that is a-ok with me.  I learn a few things, get ideas for flavor combinations & renew my excitement for trying new recipes.  Even if you love to cook, you still need a little motivation now & then to keep getting dinner on the table night after night.   

Near the top of my list of TV chefs is Cooking Channel's Kelsey Nixon.  I've been a fan of hers for a while now & watching Kitchen Essentials on the Cooking Channel is one of my favorite ways to wind down in the evening.  I think my DVR is storing at least 25 episodes of her show right now, if that's any indication of my fandom.

Her friendly demeanor & laid-back style is something I strive for in my own food writing.  Even if she's making a dish I've never made, or even tasted, her approach makes me feel like I could pull it off without a kitchen panic attack.  I also love how adaptable her recipes are.  Using her technique, you can often swap a few main ingredients to create a completely different dish; and Nixon encourages you to do just that, often offering up variations.

Kelsey Nixon's Kitchen Confidence

So, when I saw that she was coming out with a cookbook, Kitchen Confidence, I was really excited.  I picked myself up a copy a few weeks ago.  I've been thumbing through the pages & flagging things I want to try, but, just like I did with the latest edition of Trailer Food Diaries Austin Cookbook,  I wanted to take reading Kelsey Nixon's cookbook a step further.  

For the entire month of May, I'm diving in & devouring Kitchen Confidence.  For 31 days, I'll be making dishes from Kelsey Nixon's book & writing about them here.


I'm bound & determined not to let this be a cookbook that's only browsed through.  We've all been there; admired all the delicious photos, excited to try all the recipes of a new book, only to put it on the shelf & never make a dish.  Well, not this time!  May is going to be fun & I can't wait to share all of the tasty details with you!