Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Spicy Brined Chicken and Pork

May 14, 2014 by Mary 24 Comments

The wonderful bottle of brine from Sweetwater Spice Company, included in the MARY’s secret ingredients spring box, makes for a super easy way to tenderize and flavor meats. You would have either received the Tres Chilies Fajita Bath or the Pineapple Habanero Jerk BBQ Bath Brine. Both of these flavors are great to make spicy brined chicken and pork or even seafood. If you didn’t order a spring box, you can click on their ad on the right rail here and go directly to their website and order some bottles.

We have received amazing positive and enthusiastic comments and reviews on the box. Such excitement! You can see those reviews here:

http://subscriptionboxmania.weebly.com/1/post/2014/05/marys-secret-ingredients-april-2014.html
http://www.hangingoffthewire.com/2014/05/marys-secret-ingredients-box-may-2014.html
http://www.subscriptionboxmom.com/2014/05/marys-secret-ingredients.html
http://shouldibuythisbox.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/marys-secret-ingredient-spring-2014/
http://2littlerosebuds.com/2014/05/06/marys-secret-ingredients-msi-culinary-box-review-discount-code/
http://www.ramblingsofasuburbanmom.com/2014/05/spring-2014-marys-secret-ingredients-review/
http://modernmommyfiles.com/2014/05/marys-secret-ingredients-box-may-2104/

Best of all, sales of boxes help to feed hungry children worldwide as 10% of our annual profits will be donated to Feed The Children. Because of these great reviews, the summer box is selling fast, as well as the other seasons too, so if you want to get in on the fun, place your order now. Use the promo code 4LOVE when checking out for $4.00 off for a total cost of $21.95.

Using the Austin, Texas, Sweetwater Spice Company brines, I created this wonderful dinner salad by marinating skinless, boneless chicken breasts in the Pineapple Habanero Jerk Brine and then grilling them. The beauty of this product is that the brining time (30 minutes) is quick and the results produce really juicy flavorful meat. This is not a sweet dish, don’t let the pineapple in the name fool you. It is spicy with just a hint of pineapple on the back end. Here’s the recipe, super easy – use any leftover vegetables you have or grill some fresh.

PINEAPPLE HABANERO JERK GRILLED CHICKEN ON A SALAD – serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, washed, dried and trimmed of all fat
Sweetwater Spice Company Pineapple Habanero Jerk BBQ Bath Brine – follow instructions on the bottle to dilute the brine and marinate for 30 minutes or more. Do not strain the spices and add on unless you like things super firey hot!
Boston lettuce, washed and air dried
Radicchio leaves, washed and air dried
2 vine ripened tomatoes, cored and washed
16 asparagus spears, washed and trimmed of woody stem parts
1/2 lb. okra, washed and tops trimmed
2 tbs. olive oil
Vidalia or other sweet onion, very thinly sliced
Croutons – homemade preferably
Sherry vinaigrette salad dressing

Marinate chicken in the brine for 30 minutes or more – up to 2 hours.

Wash and dry the lettuce and radicchio. Toss asparagus and okra in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cut the tomatoes into wedges. Make the salad dressing. Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry. Discard brine. Grill the chicken until just done. Let rest for 5 -10 minutes before slicing on an angle. While the chicken is resting, grill the vegetables until nicely done.

Arrange the lettuce and radicchio on the plates. Place the grilled vegetables, tomatoes and the sliced onions on the sides, leaving the center area clear for the chicken. Slice the chicken breasts and place in the middle. Scatter croutons on top. Drizzle dressing overall to taste. Serve with LOVE.

Enjoy!

Just look at how juicy that chicken is!

I also used the Tres Chilies Fajita Bath to brine big thick pork chops and they turned out divine! I brined them for 3 hours and grilled them – really wonderful!

Tea and Honey Marinated Chicken Breasts

May 11, 2014 by Mary 24 Comments

The Calmer Sutra Peppermyntle Tea and Ginger Infused Honey from Australia, which were in the spring box of MARY’s secret ingredients are, of course, divine as a cup of tea with honey. Lovely before going to bed at night, the peppermint is a digestive aid as is the ginger in their ginger infused honey. Add the lemon kick from the myrtle and you’ve got a flavor explosion in your cup. I LOVE the ginger honey! The ginger adds a kick of heat perfectly combined with the sweet honey, the combo is quite nice! (Please remember to refrigerate your honey after you’ve opened it.) With the myrtle being indigenous to Australia, a little research came up with a lot of dessert recipes for this herb. So of course I could have followed in that direction which would also work well with the honey, but I chose to go the savory way instead with this Tea and Honey Marinated Chicken Breasts recipe.

This is my first time marinating with tea and this resulting dish was just delicious! Besides the chicken being juicy, tender and subtly flavored, the browning was beautiful and I do believe that was because of the tea and honey!

Here’s the recipe:

TEA AND HONEY MARINATED CHICKEN BREASTS – serves 4

3/4 cup of water
1 tbs. Calmer Sutra Peppermyntle Tea
4 scallions, white and pale green only, chopped
3 tbs. canola oil, divided
Zest of one lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbs. low salt soy sauce
1 tbs. Calmer Sutra Ginger Infused Honey
1 tbs. chopped fresh ginger root
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Heat the water over high heat to a simmer. Pour over the tea leaves and steep for 5 minutes. Strain the tea mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, and discard the tea leaves. Add the scallions, 2 tbs. canola oil, lemon zest and juice, soy sauce, honey, ginger and garlic. Stir to combine and place over a bowl of ice water to cool. Make 4 to 5 diagonal cuts 1/4” deep across each chicken breast half. Pour marinade into a zip lock bag, add chicken and massage the chicken with the sauce, turning occasionally and refrigerate overnight.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

Remove the breasts from the marinade and pat dry. Place the marinade in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer. Add the chicken to the skillet without crowding and cook until browned, 3 – 4 minutes.

Turn the breast and continue cooking until the juices run clear when pierced with a knife, an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside on a platter to rest for 5 minutes. Serve the chicken topped with the sauce.

I served this with fluffy Jasmine rice, topped with the sauce and a side of the Eggplant Tomato Yum.

Eggplant Tomato Layered YUM! with Greek Oregano

May 9, 2014 by Mary 8 Comments

There is oregano and then there’s Greek OREGANO! The oregano in our spring box from Harmonian, straight from Greece, is so fragrant, so flavorful and unlike any store bought oregano you’ll find in grocery stores here. Now of course you can use this just like you would use oregano in any recipe, but I have 2 suggestions for it here, one with a nod to Greece using lemon, as my memories of Greece and Greek food always include lemon. The main recipe, Eggplant Tomato Layered Yum! is a go-to meal for us on our meatless nights. I have another version posted before, but since I have noticed that this is an often searched-for recipe, I thought I’d spice up your repertoire and add this version as well!

EGGPLANT TOMATO LAYERED YUM! with GREEK OREGANO – serves 6

4 small Italian eggplants, trimmed and cut into 1/4” slices
5 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 bunch of scallions (with large bulbs if you can find) or 2 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 tsp. Harmonium Greek oregano
1/2 of a ball of mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
8 slices of provolone cheese, torn to fit
6 plum tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4”slices
Salt
Pepper
1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 tbs. chopped chives

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slick a 15” x10” glass Pyrex pan with olive oil. Lay eggplant slices to cover the bottom. Sprinkle on sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Spread out garlic and sliced scallions or shallots to cover. Then sprinkle on the Greek oregano and take a moment to breathe in the wonderful aroma. Lay on top any leftover extra eggplant slices. Swirl a little bit of olive oil all over the top.

Lay on the mozzarella,

then cover with the Provolone, tearing slices to make a nice even covering. Spread out tomatoes on the top. Lightly salt and pepper the tomatoes.

In a small bowl, mix together with a fork, the panko, olive oil, Pecorino Romano, chives and salt and pepper to taste.

Spread crumb mixture on top. Bake in the oven, uncovered, for 35 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before cutting up to serve.

Cut into 6 rectangles and serve on top of whole wheat pasta for a delicious vegetarian meal!!

For this delicious LEMON OREGANO ROAST CHICKEN, refer to this recipe, but instead of shoving garlic and thyme sprigs under the skin, cover lemon slices with oregano and slide underneath the skin, oregano side down.

Use 2 slices for each breast and one slice for each back side of the thighs. Also use the parmesan cheese rinds in the cavity and you’ll have a delicious roast chicken!

I served this on top of fusilli with sautéed broccoli rabe.

Smoked Tomato Soup with Nueske’s Sausages and Flathaus Cheese Straw Croutons

May 7, 2014 by Mary Frances 20 Comments

Here are two matches made in heaven to go with the first review of ingredients from our MARY’s secret ingredients box!

For those of you who ordered a box, I know you dug into the cheese straws as your first or second thing, right? They are great directly out of the box! Before discovering these, I was actually convinced that no one could make a cheese straw as good as the ones I made one Christmas, but I was promptly proven wrong by these cheese straws from Mississippi made by the husband and wife team at Flathaus. These are super! Full of cheddar, crisp and light, with a hint of chipotle, these are going to be a staple in my house.

Serve up a bowl of these Flathaus Cheese Straws with some delicious Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Landjaeger Sausages for a quick and terrific appetizer with cocktails. All you need is a pretty little bowl for the cheese straws and juice glass for the sausages. Cut the sausages in long strips and stand them upright in the glass for a handsome presentation. Stand back and watch your guests delight in these two taste treats!

And then I’d like for you to try this smoked tomato soup recipe with some of those lean Nueske’s sausages, diced, and topped with the Flathaus Cheddar Cheese Straws broken into a crouton size — ooh la la – isn’t this to die for? It’s brilliant! Popping with flavor layers and OMG moments, run to the kitchen and make this. If you didn’t get a box, go to these sites and order the sausages and cheese straws now!

SMOKED TOMATO SOUP – serves 6 to 8

13 vine ripened tomatoes, (or 16 plum) cored and tops sliced off
1/4 cup plus 4 tbsp olive oil, divided
2.25 cups diced leeks (white and light green parts), split in half, washed thoroughly & dried
1 heaping cup chopped yellow onions
1 cup dry red wine
2 thick slices diced smoked bacon, preferably no nitrates & remove and discard really fatty areas
5 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. fine sea salt
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Landjaeger Sausages, diced
12 Flathaus Cheddar Cheese Straws, each one broken into 3 pieces

Preheat the grill to medium. Arrange the tomatoes in an aluminum pan. Sprinkle the cut tops with 4 tablespoons of the olive oil, some salt and fresh ground pepper. Cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil and grill for 20 minutes. Remove from grill, uncover and cool for 15 minutes. Remove and discard the tomato skins.

Meanwhile, place 1/4 cup of the olive oil, as well as the leeks, onions, and bacon in a soup pot. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Crush or roughly chop the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes and all the juices and olive oil from the roasting pan, wine, garlic, salt, vinegar, pepper, and cayenne to the pot. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes.

Add the parsley. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup (or cool slightly and puree in a regular blender in small batches). Add the diced sausages and stir for 5 minutes to warm them up. Divide evenly among warm soup bowls and float cheddar cheese stick croutons on top. Serve immediately.

You have just entered heaven!

Snow Peas with Ginger, Garlic, Shallots, Lemon and Mint

May 4, 2014 by Mary 18 Comments

snow peas, ginger, garlic, shallots Photo from Apr 12, 2014

For a vegetable dish bursting with flavors, and a perfect springtime meal accompaniment, try this Snow Peas with Ginger, Garlic, Shallots, Lemon and Mint recipe. Our oldest son’s girlfriend made this for dinner a couple of weeks ago and it was delicious! They paired this with braised short ribs and some good French bread. It was a fresh, crisp antithesis to the tender, melty short ribs.

Here’s what she did:

SNOW PEAS WITH GINGER, GARLIC, SHALLOTS, LEMON AND MINT

2 tbs. olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
2 tbs. minced ginger
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb. of snow peas, strings removed
Pinch of sugar
Salt
Pepper
1/2 of a lemon, juiced
Grated zest of a whole lemon
3 tbs. chopped mint

Heat a large sauté pan on high heat for 1 minute. Add the olive oil, shallots and ginger to the hot pan and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the snow peas to the pan, the pinch of sugar, salt and pepper and toss and cook for another 1.5 – 2 minutes. Then add the lemon juice and zest and cook for 30 seconds more. Off heat, fold in the mint and serve.

We have had so much going on here at LOVE. As perhaps you’ve noticed, we’ve redesigned this site so that you can see more posts at a glance on the home page. This makes more recipes immediately accessible and hopefully will provide additional inspiration for you to cook clean, healthy, delicious food, with LOVE.

Our MARY’s secret ingredients boxes were all mailed on the 25^th of April, as scheduled! They should be in everyone’s hands, including those of you on the west coast, by tomorrow. There has been so much excitement surrounding them! Many of you have already posted your very enthusiastic comments and shared photos on Twitter and Pinterest. I will reveal everything here tomorrow and post recipes and serving suggestions for all of the ingredients in the coming two weeks. I’m very excited about that!

We’ve also had a rush of people coming back and ordering more boxes after receiving this spring box. So if you are interested, I urge you to place your order now for the other seasons as they are selling fast and we will only have 100 boxes each season.

So stayed tuned and visit often or sign up for an email notification (on the right rail here) when I post a new recipe, and remember to cook with LOVE. Your food will always taste better!

Our Easter Dinner

April 24, 2014 by Mary 35 Comments

This year was unusual for us.

We celebrated a lovely Easter Sunday dinner on . . . Saturday night! I was originally planning on having a Sunday dinner, but then my sister-in-law pointed out that people would have to leave so early, or couldn’t be there at all due to the travel time needed to be back home for work on Monday morning. I thought this solution was genius. It accommodated some of our guests and worked out so well. I think I might do this every year! Last year I complained about Easter Monday not being a true holiday so I’ll just go at it from the other end and celebrate our Easter dinner on Saturday!

An added benefit for us hosts was that this left Sunday to be truly a day to relax, take a walk in the park, and enjoy leisure time. It was a gift!

The dinner I made, I must say, turned out really, really well. After a workout in the gym on Saturday, I got started on prepping all the vegetables, enlisting my husband to help. As long as I didn’t balk at listening to the baseball game, he was willing to be an able sous chef.

Vegetables that cooked with the elephant beans.

There were 10 of us. We started with an asparagus soup topped with crème fraiche and snipped chives – a recipe from the HayDay Country Market cookbook. This soup was delicious, however I must confess that when I was pureeing it, I had my doubts, as it smelled just awful – like Del Monte canned asparagus – eew! I was near gagging and then thinking, how could I possibly serve this? And by that time, it was too late to throw it out and make something new. Fortunately, the smell didn’t last and the soup tasted delicious – whew!

Our main course was a delicious 10 lb. organic, free range, no nitrate ham from Herondale Farms in upstate New York and it was amazing!! Just look at this beauty. My glaze was a homemade mustard, honey, rum and cloves number, no sticky pineapple and awful cherries for me! This type of ham almost looks like a fresh ham, because there are no dyes to make it pink, but it is smoked. It is so different and so good!!

Here’s the full dinner plate: the ham, chrzan (our Polish red beets and horseradish dish), Greek elephant beans baked in a tomato sauce that were so creamy and good (I’ll have to make that again and measure, so I can give you the recipe) and sauteed spinach with garlic. It was certainly colorful!

We ended the meal with this totally yummy sour cream topped cheesecake – an Amanda Hesser recipe that was in the New York Times years ago, with fresh figs and raspberries on the side.

A totally satisfying, delicious dinner! But what always happens at these big dinner parties is that I’m rushing and take crappy pictures or forget to take them at all! With all the excitement and all the people, it’s just not foremost in my mind, so I apologize for that.

As I said before, our big bonus was a totally enjoyable, lazy Sunday with a walk down to Central Park drinking in the sunshine and sights.

Aren’t they just so cute?