Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 371

Cheesy Chipotle Bacon Guacamole.

I’m doing it again!

Putting bacon and cheese in your guacamole. AGAIN..

It was one of the best decisions I made before soooo… why not repeat that behavior?

It probably comes as no surprise that this is one of my favorite times of the year.

And yes, I feel like I find myself saying that CONSTANTLY, but there are really a lot of times that I love and as cliché as it is, some seasons are just so much more fun now that Max is in our lives!

Enjoying a plethora of Mexican food isn’t necessarily one of those times… I mean, yes I love the week or two before Cinco de Mayo when I can share an obnoxious amount of tex-mex recipes, many of which bastardize my favorite traditional recipes… but Max isn’t really into eating all this yet. He does love tortilla chips… and he actually likes traditional guacamole.

And I’m pretty sure I passed on my penchant for cheese quesadillas, so there is that.

So this is super cheesy, as in, filled with lots of crumbled queso fresco cheese. I can’t really do cheddar or something like that in my guacamole. Unless it’s grilled cheese.

Goat cheese is okay, but for awhile now I’ve been loading ours up with the crumbly white cheese that is so freaking good. It’s mild and FRESH but creamy and cheesy.

I’ve been doing this ever since we had the tableside guac at Oyamel in DC a few years ago, because it was the first time that Eddie ate guacamole like he couldn’t stop. He LOVED it.

And while I’m sad to say that it might have had to do with the multiple mojitos he drank while we waited two hours for a table, that hasn’t stopped me from throwing the cheese in it and on top in hopes that maaaaaaybe he will decide he loves it again.

Trickery. You know.

I cannot get OVER how delicious this combination is. I love traditional guacamole the most. I really do. I make it more than any other trashed up version I have on this site. But sometimes my millennial brain craves a change – a smoky, crispy bacon change.

This guac is spicy and smoky, filled with crunchy bacon and creamy cheese, but also some of the regular old guacamole flavors that we love: lime, sweet onion and cilantro. I just want to dive in there with a big old spoon.

Cheesy Chipotle Bacon Guacamole

Yield: serves 4, is easily multiplied

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 ripe avocados
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, diced
1/3 cup crumbled queso fresco cheese, plus extra for topping
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons diced sweet onion
2 teaspoons adobo sauce from the can of chipotles in adobo
1 lime, juiced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
tortilla chips for serving



Directions:

Cook and crumble the bacon first to get it out of the way!

Place the avocados, chipotle peppers, about 3/4 of the bacon, the cheese, cilantro, onion, adobo sauce, lime juice, salt and pepper to a bowl and mash it! Mash and stir until everything is combined. Make it as smooth or as chunky as you'd like! Taste and season with additional salt, pepper or lime juice if needed.

Scoop the guac into a bowl and top it with the remaining crumbled bacon, some extra crumbled queso fresco and a drizzle of adobo sauce (if you'd like!). Serve immediately with chips.

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Pass me all the chips!

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Tuesday Things.

1. I can’t get enough of these fun trail mix pancakes.

2. Let’s just say this is how I’m feeling about the kitchen remodel: every year I want to get my act together to have a kentucky derby party and I was sort of into it this year but… won’t be happening. Blame the kitchen!

3. Okay so tell me about the unicorn frapp if you tried it! Surprisingly the whole thing was so unappealing to me because the flavors seemed weird, so I didn’t even attempt it.

4. BUT. I might actually be semi-interested in this unicorn lemonade. Maybe. I don’t know.

5. I’m in a major downward spiral of chips and guac. I guess if there is ever a downward spiral to be in, it would be this one.

6. So the only thing left on TV that we are watching at the moment is Billions! AH. Damien Lewis is such a great actor. I just love it. Oh and I did attempt to watch The Leftovers (if you’re new, we watched the first season but after that it was like whaaaat) – what is up with the theme song and I just don’t get it at ALLLLL. I can’t.

7. Seven ways to fight imposter syndrome. I have major imposter syndrome often, it’s something I struggle with constantly. I loved this article!

8. This is the time of year when I think OMG my mom would never let me wear a crop top to the prom. You know?

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Green Goddess Salmon Burgers.

Let’s make it a burger Monday!

I mean look at this thing. A stack of burger beauty. How can we resist?

Salmon burgers are not a new thing in our house. They are one of the ways that Eddie really loves salmon because he isn’t the hugest fan of it grilled or broiled. He prefers a milder white fish or something like shrimp and scallops. But burgers?

Hello. Obviously he is in.

Now the green goddess sauce? And avocado? That might take some work.

But.

This green goddess sauce! AHHHH.

So, I made a version of this for my next book a few months ago and have just been dying over it over since. I cannot even WAIT for you to see what that full recipe entails, but in the meantime, I figured we could use some green goddess sauce on salmon burgers. Because they always need SOMETHING in my opinion.

With lots of avocado. Naturally.

Actually, there is double the avocado because the green goddess sauce also has avocado.

I have an avocado addiction and I don’t care who knows it!

Shocking. I’m sure.

I find that salmon burgers can be a little tricky – especially with the avocado! – because there can be a lot of texture-less food in one bite. You know what I mean? The best salmon burgers I ever made were these crispy tortilla-crusted ones (omg, so good, you must try!)… the crunch is just incredible. And since I’m still a giant proponent of putting chips ON your sandwiches, I don’t think it would be a terrible idea to add a few chips here if you were feeling it.

I’m always feeling it.

What I love most about these, besides the serious avocado OD, is the way that the green goddess sauce makes them taste so FRESH. So bright and lovely. And it also makes them seem a bit indulgent, even though the sauce isn’t horrible for you.

Plus, it’s GREEN. So seriously. It’s full of health.

Green Goddess Salmon Burgers

Yield: makes 4 burgers or 8 sliders

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

green goddess sauce

1 avocado
2/3 cup plain greek yogurt (I like full fat or 2%)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 garlic cloves
¼ cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped basil
2 tablespoons snipped chives
½ lemon juiced
salt and pepper

salmon burgers

1 pound boneless salmon filet
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
sliced avocado for topping
butter lettuce for garnish
buns (whichever size to fit your burgers!), toasted if desired



Directions:

green goddess sauce

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until combined.

salmon burgers

Add the salmon filet (I cut mine into 4 pieces) to the food processor. Pulse until it is in small pieces but not completely ground up. Remove the salmon and put it in a large bowl. Add the shallot, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, paprika, salt and pepper, basil and parsley to the bowl. Stir with a large spoon to combine then bring the mixture together with your hands. Form the mixture into 4 burgers or 8 sliders that are slightly less than 1 inch in diameter - or however many you want so they fit the size of your buns!

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the burgers (I do it in two batches) and cook on both sides until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. You want the insides of the burger to be opaque, so I usually turn the heat down to low and cover the skillet for another minute or two to ensure that they are cooked.

To assemble the burgers, add the greens on the bottom of the bun. Place the burger on top, followed by the avocado and green goddess sauce. Serve immediately!

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

That’s just the cutest little bite.

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48 Hours in NYC!

We just got back from our quickie trip to NYC this weekend, and I wanted to share some photos before I get propelled into the busy week!

We came for the MacKenzie-Childs meetup that I had at their Manhattan store and reallllly wanted to make it a longer trip, but with our kitchen still in pieces, it just wasn’t in the cards. Totally okay because I have to come back soon anyway! So of course, the eats.

On Friday, we went to Franny’s in Brooklyn JUST for the white clam pizza. Holy cow. That pizza was one of the best flavors I’ve ever had and you can be sure I’m already recreating it. It was AMAZING – caps lock necessary. We also got the pizza with meatballs (I don’t love meatballs, but everyone else loved this one!) and the margherita. So, so good.

Annnnd since we were so close, a quick little late night trip to Doughnut Plant. I was so full from the pizza that I only tasted the pistachio yeasted (which was to die for) and the tres leches (also incredible) but everyone was dying over every doughnut.

Especially Max. Of course.

Eddie said the red velvet was great and my friend Natalie said the peanut butter and jelly was perfect.

It was SO chilly and rainy and generally miserable on Friday and Saturday, which was such a bummer because this is the first time Max has been here since he can walk – and we love walking and exploring! I was so poorly prepared wardrobe wise that on Friday night I wore a lululemon windbreaker OVER a denim jacket because I was so cold. I seriously looked like an idiot. But I was warm. How can I pack all the seasons for Max, but not for myself?!

Saturday was the meetup!!! IT WAS SO FUN! Thank you guys so much for coming! I loved meeting everyone and the minute I walked into the store, I died… how adorable was this setup?!

Aside from the miserable rain, Max was having a major toddler day. We tried to get about 50 pictures throughout the day with the 3 of us and he wouldn’t have any of it. He refused to take off his coat and kept yelling “walk outside!” He was just so excited about the city, so Eddie walked him back and forth for the four hours of the meetup, in the rain, mostly to watch construction and so he could see as many buses as possible. HAHAHAHA. It was too cute.

This was essentially his attitude the entire time. He wanted to color in all the books! And refused all photos and smiles.

After the event, we did a quick shake shack run (we don’t have shake shack and we were in an almost 2-year withdrawal!) in the rain and then had a wild and crazy toddler night in the hotel with Max crashing at 5:45. He refused to nap all day, but he ended up sleeping for 14 hours straight!

Thankfully this morning we got to take him out and explore a little bit. Eddie and I have been to NYC a million times together pre-Max, so we didn’t care about making organized plans. But we wanted to walk Max through Central park and show him a few other fun things!

And that was our quickie trip!

It ended with Eddie getting two sandwiches and grabbing me an almond croissant from Bouchon for the road… which was an excellent idea. Of course!

Hope you had a great weekend! xo

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Mini Strawberry Pistachio Turnovers.

[Guys! Don’t forget! Tomorrow, April 22, is the NYC meetup at MacKenzie-Childs!]

I’ve made us the happiest little turnovers today!

Annnnd my puff pastry obsession continues.

Big major huge important question: are these breakfast or dessert?

I’m going to go with dessert, but you certainly wouldn’t have to twist my arm if you made them for breakfast. For us! That would be lovely, now wouldn’t it.

That is what I love about our little corner of the internet over here! Every day, it’s sort of like we’re having breakfast or lunch or let’s be real COCKTAILS together and it’s fun and I wish it could happen in real life.

Preferably on a beach or something.

These are embarrassingly easy, as is everything I make with puff pastry. Some chopped fresh strawberries take a nap in a sugar shower and get stuffed inside buttery, flakey puff pastry. Then we make a strawberry glaze and drizzle it on top.

THEN!

Some crushed pistachios for crunch. Oh man, oh man, how I love pistachios. I mean, technically I love pistachio flavor more than actual pistachios (I know that some of you get me), but the pistachios on here are superb. Especially if they are roasted and salted. Do the roasted and salted kind please. Puhlease. For our friendship.

As most other things with puff pastry, these are best served right after they are made. I know that’s sort of a bummer, because it doesn’t really allow you to make them ahead successfully. But my answer to that is to make them with a bunch of friends who you’re so close with that it doesn’t even matter if you are cooking while you are talking. I’m sure you have those friends!

Also, is it just us, or does everyone convene in the kitchen always, no matter where else you have snacks set up or how comfy the couch is or what the heck is on the big TV downstairs. Everyone hangs in the kitchen anyway, so they may as well help make dessert! Fun fun fun.

Now if you are just OVER my obsession with strawberries, you can use another delicious fruit. Apples? PEACHES!! Mixed berries. All sorts of things. Just still invite me over!

Mini Strawberry Pistachio Turnovers

Yield: makes 18 turnovers

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 pound strawberries, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 egg + 1 teaspoon water
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup roasted, salted pistachios, chopped



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the chopped strawberries in a bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar, cornstarch and salt, tossing well. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the berries have released some juice!

Slice both sheets of puff pastry into 9 squares, like a tic-tac-toe board. Use a slotted spoon (so you don't get TONS of juice) and add about a tablespoon of the strawberries to each square. Fold one corner to meet the other (so you have a triangle) and press the edges together with a fork to seal them. Repeat with remaining squares.

Whisk together the egg and water and brush it on the pastry triangles. Place the sheet in the oven and bake the triangles for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes.

While the turnovers are baking, take 2 to 3 tablespoons of the remaining strawberry juice in the bowl and whisk it with the powdered sugar to create a glaze. If the glaze is too thin, add more juice 1 teaspoon at a time. If it's too thick, add more sugar 1/4 cup at a time.

After 5 to 10 minutes, drizzle the turnovers with the strawberry glaze. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios on top. Serve immediately!

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

I PROMISE I’M DONE WITH STRAWBERRIES.

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Strawberry Gin Lemonades.

This is the way that we can bring in sunshine with styyyyle.

I SWEAR. I am almost finished with strawberry overload. There may be one tomorrow (eep) but after that, a slight break for my favorite berry. They are just so good! I’m currently sitting here eating them out of a grocery-store-bought container as we remain kitchenless, and I will never get over the beauty of GOOD strawberries. You know what I mean?

If this cocktail feels a bit summery, it’s because it TOTALLY IS. Guys, I am super ready for summer. Granted that not much changes in my work schedule or life, but for some reason I will forever have the “summer vacation” mode set in my brain after years of school. Sort of like how I must go to bed early on “school nights” but can still stay up late on Friday and Saturday.

Because I’m still 12, of course.

There are so many things I’m looking forward to this summer with Max, of course, but one thing in general is just sitting on our back patio and eating dinner or enjoying a little happy hour. Some days the temperature has reached the high 70s or 80s already, so I think it’s perfectly acceptable to serve boozy lemonade now. Plus, it gives you a head start on Memorial Day! Or Mother’s Day? I mean… I’m a mom and I’d like this for Mother’s Day. Just sayin’.

Also, I’m in the midst of making a 2017 summer playlist. It’s huuuuuge.

In full disclosure, I suggest that you BUY your lemonade for recipes like this, especially since you will probably be making a few of them for friends. Yesss. I’m being that person.

I really like to make homemade lemonade and limeade – in fact, I already made a strawberry mint lemonade recipe here that you could go off of! Limeade is my all-time fave, probably because it reminds me of margaritas, but I don’t always have ten thousand limes to juice for said beverage.

You already have to make the strawberry puree and “juice” for the lemonade, so buying some good high-quality, legit lemonade is perfectly fine. And we’re adding booze, so there’s that.

Also! LOTS and LOTS of ice is key too. Crushed if you can (I know, aren’t I so obnoxious with the crushed ice?) but if not, just a bunch of cubes. The super cold lemonade and gin are so good together.

I cannot even tell you how refreshing this tastes! And of course, if gin isn’t your thing (I understand, for years I got Pine Sol vibes too), switch it up with vodka. Totally okay with that too.

Strawberry Gin Lemonades

Yield: serves 2, is easily multiplied

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 to 3 tablespoons strawberry puree
1 to 2 ounces gin
3 ounces strawberry juice
4 ounces lemonade
sliced strawberries and lemons for garnish

strawberry puree

2 cups quartered strawberries
1/2 cup water



Directions:

Fill each glass with a few spoonfuls of the strawberry puree. Fill the glass with ice. Add 1 to 2 ounces of gin over the ice and stir it into the strawberry puree. Pour a few ounces of the strawberry juice in next, then finish filling the rest of the glass up with the lemonade. Garnish with a few lemon slices and strawberries. Add a straw and serve!

strawberry puree

Blend together the strawberries and water until smooth and blended. Pour half of the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to strain any solids. You have your strawberry juice! Keep the other half of the puree to fill up the bottom of the glasses. This will leave you with extra, so you can store it in the fridge in a sealed container for a few days!

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Now I just need a pool.

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Asparagus Grilled Cheese with Brown Butter and Dijon.

If we put asparagus in our grilled cheese, does that turn it into a superfood?

That is the question.

But I probably really don’t want to hear your answer, unless it’s OH HECK YES.

This sandwich might look a little plain or boring, but I can assure you that it is anything BUT.

This grilled cheese gets bonus points because it’s toasted with brown butter and spread with a bit of Dijon before grilling. The flavor seems simple but it is crazy insane! The brown butter and Dijon give it a caramely kick that it wouldn’t have otherwise.

The funny thing is that we really love asparagus over here! 99% of the time, we don’t trash it up in any way. We either roast it or grill it. I don’t even add bacon! Sometimes I drizzle on balsamic glaze or use a touch of parmesan cheese, but other times it’s just olive oil, salt and pepper. That’s how much we enjoy it.

So WHY must I go do things that make me love it even more? Like stick it inside a grilled cheese? Seems very unfair to the poor little asparagus who just want to be part of a healthy meal.

Orrrr… maybe they don’t. Maybe they secretly love being blanketed in melty cheese and crunchy toast.

While I’m loving these for lunch or dinner with a salad or soup, I’m really into the idea of making mini baguette versions and serving them for appetizers while entertaining friends! How cute would that be?

So here’s the deal. You want to make the brown butter first – even ahead of time so it’s on hand and solidified! It will look sort of funky. Maybe like bacon grease. But it is LOADED with flavor.

The asparagus is pan-roasted first, super quick, just so we’re not eating raw asparagus and all that. In the same pan, we cook the grilled cheese that has been spread with the brown butter outside and some dijon mustard inside. Tons of cheese stuffed inside, the most meltiest (yep, it’s a new word) havarti ever. Then finished with a parmesan sprinkle. Because the only thing a grilled cheese needs is more cheese.

Asparagus Grilled Cheese with Brown Butter and Dijon

Yield: serves 2

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, browned
12 asparagus spears, woody stems removed
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 garlic clove
pinch of salt and pepper
4 slices bread
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
6 ounces havarti cheese, freshly grated
finely grated parmesan cheese for sprinkling



Directions:

To make the brown butter, follow these directions and allow the butter to solidify. You can stick it in the fridge to help it along!

Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the olive oil. Toss in the asparagus and garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper, stirring often, until the asparagus has softened and looks a bit roasted. Remove it and set it on a plate.

To assemble the grilled cheeses, spread the insides of the bread with the dijon mustard. Spread the outsides with the browned butter. Fill the insides of the bread with the grated cheese, placing the asparagus spears in the middle. I find it imperative to have cheese on both sides to act like "glue" and hold the sandwich together!

Once golden, toasty and the cheese is melted, remove the sandwich from the heat and sprinkle with parmesan. Slice and serve!

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Bonus points for green stuff too!

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Tuesday Things.

1. Kitchen remodel update: we will never be remodeling anything again in our lifetime. HAHAHAHA.

2. Are we over macarons yet? Because I will never be! They are a texture lover’s dream.

3. How awesome are these 15 minute healthy-ish easy lunches/dinners? Adrianna is my forever girl crush.

4. I think I’ve said it every year, but coachella is my worst nightmare. Keep in mind I am generally very boring, old and have the music tastes of a baby boomer. So there’s that.

5. Currently reading Alec Baldwin’s memoir since I have that weirdo crush on him ever since It’s Complicated, aka one of my favorite movies. Seriously, am I just secretly a baby boomer inside? I mean, even his character in that movie shouldn’t exactly make me like him. Anyhoooo, spoiler alert: I’m still in the first third of the book and it’s a bit confusing and wordy to me. And if I’m saying that? Oh boy.

6. Are the rumors true that Starbucks is really releasing a unicorn frappuccino this month? While I want to be excited, if it contains any raspberry or cotton candy flavors… I’m totally out.

7. What the HECK with the GIRLS finale. Right? What did you guys think? I get the whole “this is regular life” thing but it was so uneventful for me and like an excuse to use the nudity warning as much as they could, ha. Last week should have been the real finale. And ooooh Billions? Based on the previews for next week, I can’t wait to see what happens. P.S. did anyone stay up and watch the entire Ten Commandments on Saturday night? I used to love doing this when I was a kid.

8. My favorite Easter present that Max received might just be the 64 pack of crayola chalk from Target. He has really gone through the 48 pack from last year, and like the excessive millennial that I am, I figured WHY NOT a 68 pack!? I don’t know how we survived without violet-red on our driveway.

9. Super interesting: instagram still isn’t snapchat. I still prefer snapchat, but never use it because (I forget and) instagram is so easy all in one app.

10. Magazine junkies unite! I’m in need of new subscriptions and wondering what your favorites are? Food and others.

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Easter Weekend.

Some snaps from one of my favorite times of year!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

p.s. remember this flashback from max + the puppy last year? we had to recreate it.

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Don’t Forget! NYC Meetup This Weekend with MacKenzie-Childs!

Hi guys! Just popping in to remind you that this coming Saturday, April 22 is the meetup at MacKenzie-Childs from 11 to 3! I’ll be signing copies of Seriously Delish and all flower enamel and courtly check cookware will be 20% off in store! Plus, SNACKS!

Be back with a new recipe on Wednesday! In the meantime, you can check out our Easter weekend here. xoxo

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