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Creamy Thousand Island Dressing

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Creamy Thousand Island Dressing from Scratch

This simple recipe is my go-to condiment whenever I make a batch of animal style French fries. It has a fresh taste and I usually find the ingredients for it in my fridge before I find a ready-made bottle from the store.

It’s a good stand in for tartar sauce for fish sticks. That finicky kid in your house will love it. This sauce is also a pretty tasty for dip for steamed artichokes.

Creamy Thousand Island Dressing from Scratch
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Creamy Thousand Island Dressing

Fresh Thousand Island Dressing made from scratch. Perfect topping for French fries, fish sticks or steamed artichokes.
Course Condiment
Keyword Dip, Dressing, Salad
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1 cup good mayonnaise Best Foods or Hellmans
  • 3 Tbsp ketchup
  • 1 Tbsp vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 3 Tbsp sweet pickle relish
  • 1 Tbsp yellow onion finely minced
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Use immediately and store the rest in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

Animal Style French Fries (Copy Cat Version)

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Animal Style French Fries (In N Out Copy Cat)

When it comes to making Animal style French fries at home, I might have a slight advantage. My son worked at In-N-Out when he was in high school and possibly, just maybe he shared a few tips with me along the way.

The best tip I leaned to get that unique In-N-Out taste: add a little yellow mustard to the grill before tossing on the burgers. Or in this case, the skillet you saute your onions in.

Animal Style Sauce Ingredients
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Animal Style French Fries (In-N-Out Copy Cat)

When you can't get to In-N-Out Burger to satisfy your craving for Animal Style French Fries, this quick and easy copycat version will make your day. Be sure to make A LOT of extra.
Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Keyword French Fries, Potatoes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4

Equipment

  • Vegetable Spiralizer (optional)

Ingredients

  • 3-4 organic Russet potatoes scrubbed clean and spiralized using thick setting
  • ½ large brown onion finely chopped
  • 1 cup Thousand Island dressing store bought (use your favorite brand)
  • ⅛ cup yellow mustard
  • 2 Tbsp neutral cooking oil canola or peanut
  • 2 cups peanut oil or canola oil
  • Fresh ground pepper to taste
  • grated cheddar cheese for topping optional

Instructions

  • Spiralize the potatoes using the thick setting on your spiralizer. (If you don't have a spiralizer, julienne slice the potatoes with a kitchen knife.)
  • Heat 2 Tbsp oil in skillet and add chopped onions. Saute until soft but not too browned.
  • Add yellow mustard to the onions and saute for another minute.
  • Add Thousand Island dressing to the mix and saute for another minute. Turn heat off and set aside until potatoes are fried.
  • Heat 2 cups of oil in a skillet until shimmering. Make sure oil is very hot or the potatoes will stick to the bottom of the pan.
  • Add potatoes in batches, not over-crowding them so that they move about freely in the skillet.
  • Once the potatoes are browned, remove from oil and set on a paper-towel lined plate or screen to drain.
  • Once potatoes are fried, plate them and spoon the onion/Thousand Island mixture over the top. Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper and grated cheddar cheese if you like that.
  • Put on a bib and enjoy every single crunchy, gooey bite.

Notes

When talking through this recipe with a friend, she asked if she could make her own Thousand Island if she didn't have any on hand. The answer to that is YES!
For fresh Thousand Island Dressing from scratch mix all the ingredients below together in a bowl. Use immediately and store the rest in the fridge for up to 2 months.
1 cup good mayonnaise
3 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp sweet pickle relish
1 Tbsp finely minced onion
Salt and pepper to taste

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

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Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Who doesn’t love a fully loaded baked potato with butter, bacon, sour cream, onions, and, and and? Try a different take and flip the script on all that buttery goodness. Toss all those toppings into a pot and make a crave-worthy soup instead. Serve it with a crunchy piece of bread and a tall glass of beer to satisfy that spuds craving in no time flat.

A note on potatoes: These delicious little tubers are grown in the ground. As in, UNDER the earth. For that reason, potatoes in the field are subject to high levels of pesticides and environmental toxins. Because of this, I highly recommend spending the extra money on certified organic potatoes for all of your potato cooking endeavors.

For potatoes that hold up best in soup, try fingerling, Yukon Gold or long white potatoes. Idahos or russets are definitely not great for soups. They are high in starch and low in moisture and have a mealy texture. 

Loaded Baked Potato Soup
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Loaded Baked Potato Soup

This simple and delicious potato soup recipe can be made in just one pot!  Loaded with bacon, sour cream and all that potato goodness. Add this one to your list of go-to comfort food recipes.
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Keyword Potatoes, Soup
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 6 slices bacon
  • 2 pounds Fingerling or Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
  • 1 bunch scallions (about 6-8) thinly sliced with white parts separated from green
  • 1 small shallot minced
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • ⅛ tsp red pepper flakes
  • 6 cups whole milk
  • ¾ cup sour cream plus more for serving
  • ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese plus more for serving
  • ¼ tsp onion powder
  • 2-3 tsp Kosher salt to taste

Instructions

  • In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove cooked bacon and set aside on a paper-towel lined plate.
  • Using the same pot with bacon fat remaining in the bottom, saute the white parts of the scallions (reserving the green parts for topping), shallots and the 4 cloves of minced garlic and red pepper flakes. Heat till just golden brown, about 2 minutes, stirring frequently so that the garlic does not burn. (To make this recipe vegetarian, omit the bacon and saute vegetables in 3 Tbsp butter.)
  • Add the diced potatoes, milk, onion powder and Kosher salt. Bring to a boil over medium to medium-high heat. As soon as it starts to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
  • Once potatoes are tender, remove from heat and briefly pulse mixture in batches in a blender or food processor. (Remember to keep the lid slightly opened on blender to avoid steam building up inside the blender cup.) You can also do this entire process right in the pot with a potato masher, if you prefer.
  • Stir in the sour cream, ¼ of the bacon (reserving the rest for topping) and cheddar cheese. Stir until combined.
  • Serve in bowls topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream and chopped scallion greens.

Simply Delicious Guacamole

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Simply Delicious Guacamole

When I was a kid, growing up in Southern California, my best friend lived on an avocado ranch. During the day we would climb the trees to escape her head-butting pet goats. At night we would sleep in a tree house that her dad had built up in the high branches. A few times a year her dad would deliver a harvest of avocados, piled in the bed of a trailer, to the local Mexican restaurant in town. We would hide under the mounds of avocados as he drove to the restaurant. Then we would jump out, laughing crazily, as soon as he would stop in the parking lot of the place.

Easy Guacamole
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Deliciously Easy Guacamole

Simple 6 ingredient guacamole recipe. Made with basic panty ingredients you probably already have available in your kitchen.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Plant-based
Keyword Avocado, Condiment
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 3 medium large ripe avocados firmly ripe but not too soft
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 3 - 4 Tbsp green taco sauce Pico Pica or La Victoria
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  • This recipe is a simple base for basic guacamole. Add to it as many ingredients that you like. Fresh diced red onion, fresh cilantro, jalapeno peppers...whatever floats your boat, toss it in there.
  • Remove pit from avocado and scoop the fruit out into a medium bowl.
  • Add all the ingredients to avocado and mash together. NOTE: It is important to use green taco sauce or salsa because red sauces will give your guacamole a kind of unappetizing brown color. Use the green, trust me.
  • Do not over mash. There's nothing better that fat chunks of avocado to load onto your chip, plus your dip won't break down and become watery if it's chunky.
  • Serve in tacos, scooped up with tortilla chips, on scrambled eggs.

Cinnamon Sour Cream Coffee Cake

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Cinnamon Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I baked up a pan of this cinnamon sour cream coffee cake on a rainy afternoon when I wanted…needed a sweet bite to nosh with my afternoon coffee. This cake is perfect for a quick afternoon baking sesh but it’s also ideal for brunch or an after-dinner treat.

Think of this cake as crumb cake meets quick bread. It’s a tender, not-too-sweet version of that little golden cinnamon cake that’s in the bakery case at Starbucks. This coffee cake is MUCH better and it’s always in stock. The cinnamon crumb topping is sprinkled inside and over the top, so it’s loaded with flavor and spice. There is  more than a cup of sour cream in this cake which makes it perfectly tender and moist. This cake will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. In my kitchen, it was gone before it had even completely cooled.

Cinnamon Sour Cream Coffee Cake
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Cinnamon Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Make this tender and easy cinnamon sour cream coffee cake. Topped with pecans and cinnamon and blended with sour cream for a super moist, delicious cake.
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Keyword Cake, Coffee, Sweet
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

Coffee Cake

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1¼ cups sour cream at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup salted butter (1 stick) at room temperature
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Cinnamon & Pecan Crumb Topping

  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar very lighted packed
  • 1½ cup pecan pieces chopped or crushed with rolling pin
  • 2 Tbsp butter VERY soft
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ⅛ tsp cardamom

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350º.
    Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside for later.
    In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk; set aside.
  • In a small bowl toss together the brown sugar, ¼ cup of granulated sugar, pecans, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cardamom and melted butter. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk. Set aside.
  • In a mixer beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.
    Add the eggs one at a time, fully mixing before adding the next egg. Add the vanilla.
    Mix on medium-low, and add one-third of the flour mixture. Combine well, then add half of the sour cream. Alternate dry ingredients and sour cream blending well between each, adding another one-third of the flour mixture. Add the remaining sour cream, and finally the last portion of the flour mixture. Batter will be quite thick.
  • Spoon about half of the batter into the prepared baking dish.
    Then sprinkle half of the set aside cinnamon pecan mixture evenly over the batter.
    Drop the remaining cake batter in dollops over the cinnamon pecan mixture and carefully spread to cover.
    Sprinkle remaining cinnamon pecan mixture on top of the cake batter.
  • Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out without any wet cake batter.
    Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool before slicing and serving.

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

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Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

I love roasted cauliflower florets. Especially when they come out of the oven with those golden brown caramelized edges. I could pop a hundred of those little guys into my mouth in one sitting. Yum!

I also love spice. The more I cook, the more I seem to love the heat. So combining two favorite flavors to make one delicious snack seemed like a no-brainer.

There are hundreds of recipes out there for Buffalo cauliflower. Seem cauliflower is all the rage these days. This recipe is pretty darn delicious and insanely simple so it’s easy to throw together last minute when everybody is on their way over for Game Day.

This snack is totally plant based; not your typical Buffalo chicken wing thing or a tofu substitute. Just an honest to goodness spicy baked treat. And it only calls for 5 simple ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen right now.

So, grab a knife and a baking dish and let’s do this!

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
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Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Course Appetizer, Snack
Keyword plant based, Vegetarian
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 2

Ingredients

  • 1 medium head, cauliflower
  • 1 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • ⅓ cup hot sauce Cholula, Frank's RedHot or Crystal
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Pre-heat oven to 475°
  • Cut cauliflower into bite-sized florets. (Compost leaves and stem or save then for later to make homemade vegetable broth)
  • Place florets on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper and toss to combine.
  • Arrange florets in an even layer and roast for 15 minutes.
  • While florets are baking, combine butter, fresh garlic cloves and hot sauce in a small sauce pan. Melt ingredients together over medium low heat and set aside.
  • After 15 minutes remove cauliflower from the oven and toss with the melted butter and hot sauce mixture. Still very well to completely coat the cauliflower.
  • Roast in the oven for another 15 minutes until edges are crisp.
  • Serve hot out of the oven just as it is or with blue cheese dressing as a dip on the side.

Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread

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Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread

Chipotle chiles in adobo, fresh jalapeno peppers and sharp cheddar cheese combine to shine in this savory, slightly sweet, cornbread. Pair it with a pot of  homemade pork and beans or a platter of BBQ ribs and corn on the cob.

If you’re not a fan of chipotle, leave them out, up the amount of jalapeno and add a pinch more sugar. The recipe is totally adaptable to just about anything you want to toss into the batter. Fresh corn kernals? Yep. Diced red onion? For sure. Cilantro & cumin? I think I’ll try that. 

Adjust the recipe to your personal tastes. And maybe make a second batch to freeze for later. You’ll be glad you did.

The trick I learned when first making cornbread is to have a very light hand in mixing.  Be sure to only stir ingredients until they are just combined. There is no need to beat the lumps to death. Just leave em in and you’ll have a lighter, airy cornbread or muffin.

Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread
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Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread

Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread. Make it in a baking dish, loaf pan or muffin pan.
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Keyword Baking, Cornbread
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 6

Equipment

  • 8 x 8 glass baking dish or muffin pan

Ingredients

  • 1¼ cups medium ground cornmeal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ⅙ cup organic granulated sugar
  • 2½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt
  • ⅔ cup milk
  • ½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 Tbsp fresh chives finely chopped
  • 3 Tbsp fresh jalapeno pepper seeded and minced plus extra thin sliced rounds for garnish
  • 2 Tbsp chiles in adobo seeded and minced
  • 1½ cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
  • extra butter fo greasing the pan
  • honey and whipped butter, for serving

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 400°. Generously grease the bottom and sides of an 8 x 8 glass baking dish or cups of a 12-cup muffin pan.
  • In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients. Cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pepper and salt.
  • In a small saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter over low heat. Set aside to cool slightly for a few minutes. In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, sour cream, eggs. Add the melted butter and the minced chipotle chiles.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until almost combined but with some lumps. Fold in the Cheddar and scallions, and stir slightly until just combined.
  • Spoon the batter in 1/4-cup portions into the prepared muffin pan or pour into greased 8 x 8 glass baking dish. Top each muffin with a jalapeño slice for garnish, and bake until the tops are golden and the muffins are cooked through, about 18 minutes. If baking cornbread, allow to bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, with butter and honey.

Baked Irish Oats with Cream

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Oatmeal Steel Cut Oats

Adapted from NYT Cooking recipe contributor, Melissa Clark, this baked Irish oatmeal is a serious home run. The aroma and creamy texture are like a southern-style rice pudding. For that reason this oatmeal is almost like eating dessert for breakfast.

Your mouth will water when you pull these oats hot from the oven. Farm fresh butter, golden cream and caramelized sugar make this is a decadent breakfast or brunch treat.  The recipe calls for toasting the oats in butter before baking them. This gives them a wonderful nutty flavor and aroma. Vanilla, fresh-grated nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon add flavor and depth making this baked oatmeal a true crowd-pleaser

Oatmeal Steel Cut Oats
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Baked Steel Cut Irish Oats with Cream

Baked Steel Cut Irish Oats with Cream
Course Breakfast, Side Dish
Keyword Baking, Cereal, Oatmeal
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 4

Equipment

  • 3 Quart Baking Dish

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 Tbsp salted butter or vegan butter (I like Miyoko's and Earth Balance) plus extra for greasing baking dish
  • 3 1/4 cups boiling water
  • 1 cup steel-cut oats
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream or coconut cream for a scrumptious vegan alternative plus more for serving
  • 1/2 cup coarse Demerara sugar or brown sugar
  • 1 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
  • 1 tsp cardamom
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart round or square baking dish.
  • Cut 1 Tbsp butter into small cubes, and put them in the refrigerator until needed.
  • In a large skillet, melt remaining 2 1/2 Tbsp butter. Add the oats and sauté until they smell nutty and toasted, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in the nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon, and sauté for another minute, until fragrant. Spoon oats into the buttered baking pan and stir in the boiling water, cream and salt. The mixture will be very soupy.
  • Bake oats for 40 minutes, then give them a stir. They should still be a bit soupy. Sprinkle sugar all over the top of the oats. Toss in cubed butter pieces. Continue to bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer, until the top is glazed and bubbling.
  • Sprinkle oatmeal with toasted pecans, bananas or flaky sea salt, if you like. Serve oats with cream and sugar on the side.

Notes

I assembled these oats the night before, mixing all of the ingredients together up through step 3.
Refrigerate oat and cream mixture overnight. In the morning put baking dish of oats in 375 degree oven and bake for an extra 10 minutes than the recipe says.

Thai Inspired Shrimp Curry Soup

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Soup Cook Food Recipe

The results of this Thai Shrimp Curry Soup delighted the heck out of me. It was the first Asian inspired soup I had ever made and I had no idea how the ingredients would blend together. The combination of lemongrass, coconut milk and red curry paste marry together to create a soup that is pure comfort.

If you haven’t cooked with lemongrass it is a little different to work with. There are a few ways to prepare it and many traditional Thai cooks have a way that is uniquely theirs. I will explain the way I prepare this unusually delicious and aromatic plant to use in this recipe.

Traditionally this soup is make with rice but I chose to substitute riced cauliflower to add crunch and sweet nuttiness to the dish.

Soup Cook Food Recipe
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Thai Shrimp Curry Soup

Coconut, Lemongrass and Red Curry combine with riced cauliflower to deliver a soup that is warm, spicy and delicious.
Course Dinner, Lunch
Keyword Soup, Vegetarian
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 8 oz 26-30 count shrimp peeled and tails removed
  • 2 stalks lemongrass, one smashed, one finely minced You can find lemongrass in most modern grocery store produce departments
  • 1 13.5 can coconut milk unsweetened
  • 6 oz vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup riced cauliflower
  • 2 clove garlic minced
  • 1 fresh ginger 1 inch piece
  • 1 lime
  • 1 sweet red pepper
  • 2 green onion/scallion
  • 2 Tbsp Red Curry Paste You can find this in the Asian food section of most grocery stores and Sprouts
  • 2 tsp coconut palm sugar or brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil

Garnish

  • 1 bunch cilantro washed well
  • 5 florets baby bok choy
  • 1/4 cup mung bean sprouts

Instructions

  • Saute shrimp in coconut or olive oil until just pink. Set aside.
    Using the back of a large knife or a kitchen mallet, smash 1 stalk lemongrass to release the aromatics. Lemongrass is very tough, so you will have to give it some muscle.
    In a medium-sized pot, bring the vegetable stock, coconut milk, riced cauliflower, minced garlic, ginger and smashed lemongrass to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and simmer 10 minutes.
    Remove root end and green tops of remaining lemongrass stalk and chop.
    Tips to prepare lemongrass
    Saute red pepper, chopped lemongrass and green onion in the pan used to saute shrimp. Add red curry paste and brown sugar or coconut palm sugar to completely coat vegetables.
    Add sauteed red pepper, onion, and shrimp to simmering vegetable broth and continue to simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Adjust taste of red curry paste if desired.
    Pour into bowls. Garnish with green onions, cilantro, baby bok choy or mung bean sprouts