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Chonky Boys: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches that Scream Summer!

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Featuring my thick and nuggy Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookies, these ice cream sandwiches are the stuff that summer dreams are made of.  If you've ever had the Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich at Disneyland , you are going to LOVE these!  These big and bold chocolate chip cookies are based on a recipe from my culinary school studies at Auguste Escoffier, but with a few modifications to give them that Jennuine touch.  They make the perfectas book for a fat slice of real vanilla bean ice cream.  And those mini chips?  You just gotta have that extra cronch! Thank goodness this recipe only makes 8 sandwiches, otherwise I would be eating them for breakfast lunch and dinner.  This way, my big family can help save me from my inner child diet-saboteur.   Print With Image Without Image Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches Yield: 8 Author: Jenn Erickson Loaded with chocolate chips and buttery, brown-sugary vanilla flavor, these mall-sized cookies form a perfect partnership with a

My Family's Favorite Soup: Chicken Corn Chowder with Wild Rice

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  Soupety, Soup, Soup Soup! It's a comfort food for all seasons. This soup is  a cozy sweater, a warm blanket, a hug. This soup is what happens when  mom's homemade chicken pot pie kicks off its crusty exterior and gets comfortable in a bowl. Make it! Chicken Corn Chowder with Wild Rice Prep time: 15 minutes Total time: 1 hour Yield: 6-8 servings 1/2 Tablespoon Onion powder 1/2 Tablespoon Garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon Dried thyme 1/2 Tablespoon Dried parsley 1/2 Tablespoon Seasoned Salt (like Lawry's or Penzey's) Pinch of Smoked Paprika 1/2 Tablespoon Kosher Salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2/3 cup long grain rice 1/3 cup wild rice 6 cups chicken stock or broth 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, ¼” dice 10 Tablespoons salted butter 1 cup peeled and diced (¼”) carrot 1 cup diced (¼”) celery 1 cup diced (¼”) onion 1 can (approx. 15 oz.) corn, drained 3 cups whole milk Step 1: In a small bowl, combi

Recipe: How to Make Your Own Citrus Cured #Salmon

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Hello there, friends! I know, I know. It's been a while. My job as a high school  Culinary Arts instructor has kept me very busy. Best Job Ever! But I do missing sharing my recipes and creative endeavors here. Yesterday I branched out from teaching high school students and taught a 5-hour Holiday Appetizer Class in my classroom through our local Adult School.  I'm happy to announce that over the next two weeks, I'll be sharing some of my favorite recipes! I'm starting with one of my all-time favorite recipes:  Citrus Cured Salmon.  I love smoked salmon, lox and gravlax, but it' so expensive.  Last year I started experimenting with making my own house-cured salmon.  I started with a recipe from Martha Stewart by way of Michael Ruhlman.  Over time I've adapted the recipe and have come up with a formula that comes out amazing every time. This cured salmon takes just two days to complete and is a million times better t

Recipe: Kawasaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps #GlutenFree #Sriracha

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Light, healthy,and absolutely delicious -- our Kawasaki Chicken Lettuce wraps were inspired by a sushi specialty at one of our favorite (now defunct) Japanese restaurants in Carmel, CA.  The Kawasaki roll featured a tempura fried prawn with sushi rice, fresh avocado and spicy mayo, wrapped in a butter lettuce leaf.   Our version features a crispy, oven baked chicken strip with an almond meal crust -- lots of protein, no gluten.  It's become a family favorite that we've enjoyed weekly over the summer.  We serve it up taco-bar style:  all the components plated separately so everyone can build their own to their liking. Kawasaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2" strips (approx. 16) 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1/2 Tablespoon sriracha 1  1/4 cups almond meal 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder a few cranks of freshly ground pepper 3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 2 Tablespoons olive oil 2 ripe av

How to Host a Family Camp-In {Making Memories with #DarkForDinner} #ad

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dixie for IZEA . All opinions are 100% mine. #DarkForDinner Lights off Phones exiled No TV You, me, Family Talk, listen, Be Camp Out (Inside) Camp In? Fire Crackling Candles Flicker Faces light up Smiles Laughter Time moves slowly Unplugged Unencumbered No expense High Yield Investment Family Time #DarkForDinner     This past Sunday, July 5, my family fulfilled their promise to go #DarkForDinner with Dixie. We didn't spend a dime. Our labors amounted to moving the coffee table off to the side of our living room and firing up the BBQ. Sounds simple, right? Yet this Sunday dinner turned out to be a really big deal. A new summer family tradition was born -- The Camp-In. As I anticipated, there were moans and groans when I presented four kids, ages 10-18 with the idea of turning off the lights and all electronics for dinner. But something sort of magical happened once we powered

Family Camp-In Recipe: S'more Kisses For the Dixie
#DarkForDinner Movement #ad

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dixie for IZEA . All opinions are 100% mine. Last weekend, my youngest daughter and I spent some one-on-one time in the kitchen coming up with a new cookie recipe inspired by the classic summer camping treat -- S'mores. There is nothing in this world more important to me than family time. How about you? It's summertime, and we hear a lot about grand summer road trips, traveling by air or by sea to explore other lands and cultures, and lazy days on a river or lake followed by nights under the stars in inside a tent. These summer family getaways are no doubt memorable, but not always within our grasp. Fortunately, it doesn't take a lot of money, a week off of work, or even a tank of gas to make special family memories with those you love most. All it takes is a little imagination, and that's why on Sunday, July 6, we're going #DarkForDinner with an indoor camp-out -- a Camp-In . On Sunday, June 14

Recipe: The Perfect Peach Cobbler

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Continuing along on my peach-fueled trajectory... ...today I bring you one of my all-time favorite desserts:  Peach Cobbler! Forget pie.  That's right.  You heard me.  Forget pie.  This cobbler is so buttery, crispy-crumby, cakey, ooey-gooey and profoundly peachy that you can forget about that old Plain Jane . Just try it.  Thank me later.     Perfect Peach Cobbler For the peaches 4 cups fresh, ripe peaches (peeled, sliced and diced) 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3 Tablespoons cornstarch For the cobbler topping 1 cup unsalted butter (that's 2 sticks), softened (plus a TB butter for buttering the pan) 2 cups granulated sugar 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 2.5 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 Tablespoons raw or organic sugar (slightly larger grain that regular) Vanilla bean ice cream  Preheat oven to 350°F Butter a 9"x9" baking dish and set aside

Recipe: Heavenly Fresh Peach Fritters

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Well, isn't this peachy? Finally -- a post that's not a throwback project or made from squid!  Right? Summer is definitely my favorite time of year for fruit.  In a word, PEACHES!  I'd be hard-pressed to find anything more ambrosial than a perfect summer peach.  When the peaches are at the peak of their season, I become a sticky-fingered, nectar-chinned, peach-perfumed glutton.  Those few fuzzy Venus of botanica that make it past my greedy grasp are reborn in cobblers, pies and cocktails.  This year, on National Doughnut Day, I decided to pay homage to the fairest of fruits by making peach fritters. These fritters are ethereally light.  The nectar of the peaches intensifies inside the pillow of cinnamon kissed dough as it develops a golden, crispy exterior in the hot oil.  The warm fritters are blanketed in a buttery glaze that will have you lusting after a second before finishing your first.   Heavenly Peach Fritters (Yield 8-10) (adapted from About.c