Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 403

Currently Crushing On.

Hey hey to the weekend! How are things? Man, what a week. What a few weeks. What are your plans since we’re knee (or thigh?) deep in summah?

Are you taking on Picklesburgh if you’re local this weekend? I think we might since I’m a pickle FIEND.

If you’re feeling like an oldie but goodie, try a summer BBQ quinoa salad or this pineapple cashew fried brown rice. or this brown butter garden veg pasta and a fontina + blackberry smash grilled cheese. YES.

or one of these internet faves…

i’m OMG!! dying over this kombucharita punch.

key lime pie mini cones. the cutest!

delish: grilled lemon chicken salad with basil dressing.

this no bake raspberry cheesecake with amaretti crust is a beauty.

lemon tie dye donuts. so neon!

how cool is this chocolate peanut milk?!

asian steak stuffed grilled avocados. what the WHAT.

eeep! rainbow bowls with almond ginger dressing.

a pink citroenade cocktail. this is SO fun, the bend and snap.

i mean, who doesn’t need peanut butter pretzel ice cream pie?

slow cooker chicken corn chowder. mmmmm.

i want about thirty of these rosé fruit pops.

absolutely beautiful is the only way to describe this heirloom tomato galette.

kale salad with bacon and blue cheese. craving it always.

annnnnd i’m dead. matcha s’mores.

Homemade Nutella Soft Serve.

Um yes. You heard me correctly.

Nutella soft serve.

NUTELLA soft serve.

Nutella SOFT SERVE!

Made in your kitchen. At your home. By yourself. With all of your own things. And no dry ice!

Oh yeah, and Nutella dipped cones. With neon spraaankles.

Okay so here’s the deal. You might remember last summer when I LOST MY MIND over this mascarpone soft serve that Mandy from Lady and Pups posted. It is quite possibly my most favorite food photo to ever grace the internet, but that’s neither here nor there. The recipe is to die for.

I love mascarpone.

I don’t have a soft serve machine. The reviews are always so… MEH… that I can’t bite the bullet.

I don’t want to burn my face off with dry ice. Or deal with it because I’m lazy.

To be honest, I’m actually extremely angry at the moment that this recipe is not in my face. That it’s all gone. That we ate it all.  I just want to eat it again. Forever!

So I based the Nutella soft serve off of Mandy’s and changed the recipe only ever so slightly. I kept the mascarpone because I use it frequently in ice cream anyway and find it adds the most fabulous creaminess. It is SO good.

The thing is that this isn’t as easily meltable as it looks – I mean, it totally IS, it is similar to regular soft serve. But it’s manageable to make and serve to others. It was a struggle to photograph, but that’s a whole different ball game, and I just want you to know that it’s certainly doable on a hot summer night. I should have had a team of five people here to pipe it out and hold the cones and make the cones all pretty and what not. These photos here are all I was able to salvage, but since I’m probably going to make this for the third time this weekend, I might go ahead and add more.

To make the swirl, I scooped mine into a piping bag. It’s not necessary unless you’re a millennial food blogger who thrives off of comments that people leave her on the internet. Otherwise, YOU’RE GOOD. It doesn’t change the taste.

But really. Nutella soft serve. !!!!

Nutella Soft Serve

Yield: makes 4 to 6 cones

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole milk
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 (1/4 ounce) envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup nutella
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 sugar cones for serving



Directions:

Place the whole milk and condensed milk in a saucepan and heat over medium heat. Once it's warm and bubbling along the edges, sprinkle the gelatin over top and let it sit for a minute. Whisk until the gelatin dissolves, then remove the mixture from the heat.

Whisk in the mascarpone cheese, nutella and salt until completely melted and combined. Mandy recommends an immersion blender here, but I really loathe my immersion blender so I just continued to whisk and it worked out perfectly.

Pour the mixture into a baking dish (9-inch square works well) and freeze for at least 6 to 8 hours or overnight.

Right before serving, slice the mixture into cubes. Place half of the cubes in the food processor and pulse until they begin to break down, then turn the processor on and blend until creamy and smooth. If you've made banana soft serve with frozen bananas, it's just like that. At this point the ice cream will be slightly melty, so you can pop it back in the fridge or serve it with a spoon, or place it in a piping bag and pipe into cones!

If desired, dip your cones into melted nutella and sprinkles before serving. You can do it ahead of time and stick the cones in the fridge too.

[slightly adapted from lady and pups]

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!

p.s. remember when I hated Nutella? Thank god that’s over.

Blueberry Hibiscus Margarita Punch.

Blueberry.freaking.Hibiscus.

I’m in LOVE!

The color. The flavor! The PUNCH. Make a big pitcher of this for your friends on Saturday afternoon because it’s summer and day drinking occasionally beats night drinking. Sun and fun, hello!

Warning: there will be lots of exclamation points.

Fresh blueberry puree is how we start this thang. And then we move on to… hibiscus syrup!

Doesn’t that sound so wonderfully delicious and aromatic?

Even if they do totally look like little octopi.

My mom was over and took one look in that bowl and was all WHAT IS THAT OH MY GOSH WHY ARE YOU STEEPING SQUID.

I wasn’t, thank goodness.

But I was making this most delicious ever margarita punch for YOU.

I am a rocks girl through and through. I ordered my first margarita on the rocks when all of my friends wanted them frozen. I always wanted (and still want) tons of salt on the rim – coarse salt with occasional sugar is okay too – and my favorite thing is the tart flavor mixed with a touch of sweet. Frosty glasses and fruit in the drink is just a bonus.

In this case, I made a salty hibiscus sugar for the rim. Can I eat it by the spoon without judgement? Or diabetes?

Probably not. WAH.

If you’ve been following along with my margarita love over the last seven years, then you know that I also NEED Grand Marnier in my margaritas – always. I can immediately tell if I leave it out and just find that something is… missing. It’s not *too* orange-tasting and I find that it adds an almost rich flavor that brightens the drink.

If you’ve been following along with my margarita love over the last seven years, then you know that I also NEED Grand Marnier in my margaritas – always. I can immediately tell if I leave it out and just find that something is… missing. It’s not *too* orange-tasting and I find that it adds an almost rich flavor that brightens the drink.

You can totally leave it out but I adore every aspect of this drink. Plus it’s pretty! I think that’s excuse enough to sip it. LIKE WE NEED AN EXCUSE.

Really?

Blueberry Hibiscus Margarita Punch

Yield: serves about 6

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

8 ounces hot water
1 cup dried hibiscus flowers
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 lime, juiced
2/3 cup sugar
10 ounces silver tequila
8 ounces grand marnier
8 ounces lime juice
lime wedges for serving
extra flowers for serving

salty hibiscus sugar

1 dried hibiscus flower
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup coarse sea salt



Directions:

Place the hibiscus flowers in a bowl and pour the water over top. Let sit and steep for 30 minutes.

While the flowers are steeping, place the blueberries and juice from 1 lime in a saucepan over low heat. Heat until the blueberries begin to burst and become liquidy and soft. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and blender and puree until smooth.

Take the hibiscus water and place it in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the sugar and bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 2 minutes then remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

In a large pitcher, mix the tequila, grand marnier, lime juice, blueberry puree and half of the hibiscus syrup. At this point, taste the mixture and see if you'd like it sweeter - I like all of the syrup in mine, but make it your own!

Rim each glass with a lime wedge and dunk it in the salty hibiscus sugar. Fill with crushed ice.

Pour the drink over the crushed ice and serve with extra lime wedges.

salty hibiscus sugar

Place the hibiscus flowers and sugar in the food processor and pulse until the hibiscus is in small crumbs. Pour the mixture onto a plate. Stir in the salt.

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!

Those hibiscus tentacles though!

Kalua Pork Sliders with Mango Blueberry Salsa.

Our pulled pork love here knows no bounds.

Please trust me enough to eat blueberries on top of your pork. Puhlease.

So! It’s been super hot this week and for the first time ever (really) I just don’t want to turn on the oven. At all. I could live on big bowls of fruit and tomatoes and basil but the thing is that Eddie deems all of those things to be “snacks” and not dinner. Plus, I guess Max really needs to eat too since he’s, you know, a baby human now.

Since we tend to save eating out for the weekends, I always try to have something for dinner every night that is can give us options and bonus leftovers. I keep tossing things in the slow cooker first thing in the morning because my productivity level is high!

Then it tanks after noon. Can I just make every dinner at 8am?

Want to know something HORRIFYING?

Years ago when people mentioned “kalua pork” I thought they were saying “kahlua” pork – like pork made with the coffee liqueur. I liked to think in my secret brain that everyone who was talking about this was legitimately insane.

INSANE.

Don’t worry. I eventually realized it was a method of cooking and not coffee liqueur flavored pork. Whomp whomp.

I still hadn’t tried the recipe though! At least, as close to the recipe as I could get, without an underground oven. Then, last year at one of my cooking classes, a participant was telling me how delicious the slow cooker recipe was and that I just HAD to get the red Hawaiian sea salt. So I did just that.

I don’t take much convincing, FYI.

BUT. You know I’ve rambled for years about how all food that comes out of the slow cooker tastes like “slow cooker,” – however in recent months I’ve found myself circling back around to using it because sometimes it’s struggle to make dinner. Especially in the summer when we want to be out in the sun and swimming. Especially when Max is dumping four boxes of crackers on my feet while I’m trying to sear chicken. He adds a couple bottles of water for moisture too. He’s smart.

Anyhoo. I make this pork now all the time. I alternate between this and the sweet and spicy pork shoulder I made last winter. You need no other recipe.

And I turned it into adorable little sliders and went.to.town.

Do they need a sauce? Part of me feels like they need a sauce, but the microgreens and salsa keep it rather fresh and light. Not LIGHT light, I mean it’s pulled pork. But you know what I’m saying. It’s not like there is mayo dripping out of the sides or anything.

(Perhaps there should be though.)

The pork is juicy and flavorful and melts in your mouth. The spicy microgreens, yes, are my obvious current obsession but also add the perfect touch of oh-so slight heat and a little crunch too. The salsa!

What can I say about the salsa.

You might remember that I’ve been a massive massive fruit salsa fan for almost my entire life, or at least since I first had it when I was, like, fifteen. This version uses ripe and sweet blueberries, the best mango I’ve found in months, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime and salt.

The combination of flavors may SEEM odd, but they taste fantastic. You’ll want to eat more than one.

And guess what! Since they are mini and cute, you totally CAN.

Kalua Pork Sliders with Mango Blueberry Salsa

Yield: serves 6

Total Time: 8 hours

Ingredients:

1 (4-pound) pork shoulder roast
1 tablespoon coarse Hawaiian red sea salt
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
4 garlic cloves, minced
slider buns for serving
spicy microgreens for topping

blueberry mango salsa

1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
2/3 cup diced mango
2/3 cup halved blueberries
1/3 cup torn fresh cilantro
1 lime, juiced
pinch of salt and pepper



Directions:

Place the pork shoulder in the slow cooker and cover it with the salt and liquid smoke, turning a few times to coat. Add the minced garlic cloves. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. After 8 to 10 hours, the pork will easily shred with a fork. Shred it and mix with the juice in the slow cooker. I like to turn my slow cooker on high and let it sit with the lid off for 15 minutes or so - I find that if it's extra liquidy, some of the liquid will be absorbed.

To serve, top the slider buns with a few handfuls of shredded pork, a few handfuls of spicy microgreens and a big spoonful of the salsa. DEVOUR.

blueberry mango salsa

Stir everything together in a large bowl to combine. This can be made ahead of time or right before serving - and can be in the fridge for a few days. It is excellent with tortilla chips too!

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 beer is yours.

Tuesday Things.

1. Pesto and pools is the name of the game this summer.

2. I just found what I want to eat everyday for the rest of July: hibiscus yogurt with warm peaches.

3. That time I tried to pay at Target with my Starbucks card. Like, actually put my Starbucks card into the chip reader. Tell me the definition of basic.

4. Did you watch the Olympics gymnastics trials?! I was on edge the entire time. Getting chills with every event. I am so freaking excited for the games! If you’re into it, we need to talk about Marta Karolyi. I also can’t stop youtube-ing all of the floor routines.

5. Last year I was super excited for amazon prime day but thought it was a huge bust. Now that it’s here again, are you into it?

6. It’s almost the best time of the year: school supply season. Only the best time since I don’t have to go. And can buy all the notebooks!

7. The secrets of people who stick to habit changes.

8. Big summer cheese plates: yes or no for it counting as dinner? I say yes, always.

9. Can somebody tell me about this whole Pokemon thing? I’m totally clueless, aka, too lazy to really figure it out. But Pokemon wasn’t around when I was a kid (at least I don’t think) so I’m extra ignorant.

10. Um hi. I need to be in this POOL OF SPRINKLES!

Salmon with Thai Curry Peanut Sauce and Coconut Cilantro Rice.

You know when you really, really, really love something and you want to shout it from the rooftops?

THIS IS ME SHOUTING IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS over here.

I always end up making a recipe every few weeks that I think is my most favorite thing ever and better than anything else I’ve ever made. Always.

This is one of those.

The flavor! The flavor is intensely delicious. The salmon is buttery and flakey, the sauce is simple, rich but sort of light at the same time and the peanuts and shredded coconut give the best bite of crunchy texture at the end when you’re least expecting it. It has a touch of heat but is also creamy – and the cilantro lends a nice bright finish.

Paired with the coconut rice, I can barely stand it. I want to eat it FOR.EV.ERrrr, Sandlot style.

This is my absolute live-or-die meal of the moment and I could eat it at least once a week with leftovers for days. It’s satisfying but still feels summery enough to keep dinner light when the days are super hot. You can skip the rice and throw the salmon on top of salads or in a summer rolls – or heck even on top of some bread with grilled vegetables.

Wait. Did somebody say grilled bread?

This past weekend, one of my closest friends got married. It was SO much fun. Seriously one of the most fun and lovely weddings I’ve ever been to, if not the best. A few weeks ago to prepare, we had a spa day and left after six glorious hours of every spa service known to man – feeling like a big puddle of relaxed mush.

It was like all of our energy, sanity and brain power was massaged and exfoliated out of our body. We drove to a late lunch practically in silence and ordered a fantastic smoked salmon platter that I’ve truly been dreaming of ever since. The combination of flavors worked so well. Each bite was incredible and I could have ordered another platter for my lunch alone.

To continue rambling, there was a peanutty-curry like coconut sauce with shredded coconut on top of one of the pieces of salmon and we nearly fought over it. Major flavor overload. I’m not even going to humiliate myself and tell you that I kept eating it with truffle fries (because when there are truffle fries, you always get truffle fries, life law even if it is from 2007) but I definitely just told you that I kept eating it with truffle fries.

That’s neither here nor there, except it’s Monday so I want truffle fries for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Especially since I took a carbcation the last three days.

I didn’t smoke this salmon because, well, I have a toddler. The flavor is still outrageously great but smoking it first would kick it up so much. If you have the time, go for it! If you don’t, try it this way and prepare to want to eat the entire filet of salmon. Even Max loved it. I might make it ten more times this week. Or at least five. Maybe three?

Either way, it’s HAPPENING.

Salmon with Thai Curry Peanut Sauce and Coconut Cilantro Rice

Yield: serves 4

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

coconut cilantro rice

1 1/2 cups white jasmine rice
1 cup canned coconut milk
1 cup water
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

salmon with peanut curry

1 (2 pound) salmon filet
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon coconut oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons red curry paste
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
3 tablespoons unsweetened, shredded coconut
fresh cilantro for topping



Directions:

coconut cilantro rice

Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat and add rice, coconut milk, water and salt. Stir, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and let cook for 15-18 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork, then stir in coconut oil. Stir in the cilantro and serve. (My favorite jasmine rice is the brown jasmine rice from Trader Joe's - all brands may have different cook times. Adjust the liquid and cook time according to your directions.)

salmon with peanut curry

Preheat the broiler in your oven.

Whisk together the salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder. Rub it all over the salmon and place it on a baking sheet.

Broil the salmon for 6 to 8 minutes, or until just opaque and flakey with a fork.

To make the sauce (while the salmon is cooking, or ahead of time!), heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the coconut oil and once it's hot, add the garlic, stirring for 30 seconds. Stir in the curry paste for another minute or so, until it slightly deepens in color. Add in the sugar, peanut butter coconut milk and sesame oil and whisk to combine. Bring the mixture. Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Serve the sauce over top of the salmon. Serve with the rice and sprinkle peanuts, coconut and cilantro over top.

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!

P.S. please tell me how to stop eating blueberry pie. K thanks bye.

Currently Crushing On.

{via}

HAPPY WEEKEND!

I’m so excited because one of my best friends is getting married today! It’s going to be super lovely so be sure to follow along on instagram and snapchat (howsweeteats) for more details. What are you into this weekend?

P.S. I also added a few of my favorite older summer recipes down below. I was going back a few years trying to find something to make for the 4th of July and forgot about some that I super loved.

xoxoxoxo

internet FAVES

homemade rosé gummy bears. GUYS! you know there is like a thousand+ person waiting list for the store-bought ones? best thing I’ve seen all week.

it’s a homemade in-n-out burger. OMG.

is this not the ultimate s’mores bar?! wowza.

mouth watering: creamy honey mustard chicken. eeeep.

how fun is this DIY rainbow tie die hammock? i need a few trees.

this corn, cucumber, peach and avocado salad is a serious dream. so fresh!

i am totally going to make these spicy refrigerator pickled peppers.

the prettiest chocolate chip cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

a beautiful cantaloupe panzanella.

crab dip with galicky gougeres. whoa.

always looking for 5 ways to improve my next batch of cookies.

rosé watermelon slushies because SUMMER.

oldies but goodies from old-school howsweeteats

roasted basil butter shrimp

slow cooker brown sugar + garlic pot roast sandwiches

crispy zucchini grilled cheese

peach blueberry basil crisp

White Pizza with Garlic Sauce and Garden Herbs.

I made you a doughy round of cheese!

Because I like you a lot. And I like pizza a lot. But I like you more, for sure. Can we eat pizza together and drink rosé together and instagram it like it happened completely on accident?

I think we should.

We’ve been getting pizza from a new place lately and since Eddie thinks that his weekends should resemble the eating habits of The Rock (seriously, look at that instagram), he always needs his own pizza.

Like his entire own large pizza.

What’s funny is that one night a few weeks ago he had already eaten but ordered a pizza for my mom, Max and me – and got us a SMALL pizza with four slices.

I was like, um, hello – because you aren’t hungry you don’t know how to order pizza for other people? What the heck. That’s life though, for real. Now you know why I do the cooking.

SO anyhoooo – when we do get pizza, we tend to get two. He also likes a lot of meat on his pizza (I don’t) so he gets one with whatever HE wants and then I get another and lately it’s been a garlic sauce pizza. So freaking good.

Let’s take a break and look at that golden, bubbly semi-burnt melty cheese. I want to swan dive into it.

I’ve made a couple of white pizzas in the past for one main reason: I don’t like tomato sauce! At least, I never used to like tomato sauce. These days I’m sort of into it, but not like how crazy tomato sauce people are into it. Twice a month, max. You’ll never find it weekly in my meals and you’ll really never find me order it out at a restaurant.

But on pizza, of course!

We’ve (read: I’ve) rambled at length about how there’s fancy pizza and then there is, well… PIZZA pizza. If we make a fancy pizza during the week, Eddie still always wants a “real” pizza one other night. I can go either way – just last week I made him and Max pepperoni pizza, but for myself I threw tons of mushrooms, arugula, blue cheese and balsamic on top.

And it was GOOD. Sort of like this one I made a million years ago.

But you know what else is good? This pizza. It has GARLIC sauce. Meaning a creamy, dreamy garlicky rich sauce that blankets the pizza right before your rainfall of cheese.

Word to the wise: make sure your dough doesn’t overtake your pizza stone so all of your sauce and cheese run off onto the bottom of your 475 degrees F oven floor and smoke out the house.

I don’t know anything about that. Nothing at allllll.

While I really love a simple white pizza – just plain – and don’t find that I want it covered in tomatoes or spinach or anything, I do love something about these fresh garden herbs on top. Since they are just sprinkled on, they are completely noncommittal. I mean, the moment Eddie took a piece of this pizza, he pulled all the rosemary sprigs off and the really big basil leaves.

So you can have your herbs or you can toss ‘em! They add color but also flavor and freshness to what is otherwise a super rich plate.

What are you guys cooking this weekend? I mean, after this pizza of course.

White Pizza with Garlic Sauce and Herbs

Yield: serves about 4

Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

dough

1 1/8 cups warm water
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

pizza

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup half and half
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup freshly grated provolone cheese
1 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated fontina cheese
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for sprinkling
2 balls burrata
a bunch of fresh herbs for topping: oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme



Directions:

In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, honey and olive oil. Mix with a spoon, then let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add in 2 1/2 cups flour and salt, stirring with a spoon until the dough comes together but is still sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball and work in the additional 1/2 cup flour, kneading it on a floured surface for a few minutes. Rub the same bowl with olive oil then place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 1-1 1/2 hours.

After the dough has risen, punch it down and place it back on the floured surface. Using a rolling pin or your hands, form it into your desired shape (sometimes I use baking sheets and do rectangles or free form pizzas - this specific dough will yield one pizza large enough to feed about 3-4 people) and place on a baking sheet or pizza pan. Place the towel back over the dough and let sit in the warm place for 10 minutes.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. (If I use my pizza stone, I heat my oven to 475 degrees and bake for 15 minutes. If you're just using a baking sheet, follow the directions below for baking and set to 425 degrees.)

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan heat the butter over medium heat. Once it's sizzling, whisk in the flour to create and roux and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until golden and fragrant. Very slowly pour in the half and half while whisking the entire time as the mixture thickens. Stir in the garlic cloves. Cooking, stirring often, until the mixture thickens, about 5 to 6 minutes.  Stir in the salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Spread the sauce all over the pizza. Top with the provolone, mozzarella, fontina and parmesan. Place the balls of burrata right in the center and pull them apart towards the edges.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (or around 15 to 20 minutes if using the pizza stone) until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Remove and top with the herbs and extra parm. Slice and 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!

Ah that’s heaven.

Black Raspberry Pie Milkshakes with Black Raspberry Fudge.

I might have done something terrible.

And by terrible, I mean really, really fantastic.

I don’t know. You might think it’s bad. Did I disgrace a piece of pie by tossing it in a blender? Or did I just make the most incredible treat to ever grace my kitchen?!

You decide.

That’s a really bold statement, I know. To say it’s the greatest treat is just absurd considering how many things I make daily. BUT. This one is special for a really crazy reason.

It made me love the pie.

Yes. You read that correctly. The shake made me love the pie.

You’d think it would be the other way around. No?

I’m super weird about berry seeds. I love all fruit. I freaking love ALL fruit. I adore it, I could eat it for every single meal. It’s where my sweet teeth originate. I was born with a strong adoration for all things fruit and no things veg.

The only thing I don’t love are the berry seeds in my teeth. Which is weird, since I love seeds that pop in figs and things like quinoa and what not. But berry seeds just, like, disappear into your mouth only to reappear later and do nothing good.

So my mom’s been super into these berry pies (the best are found here) and we had a whole heck of a lot of them over the 4th of July weekend. I didn’t even taste them because pie is not my poison of choice AND the seeds – it was like a double whammy. There were so many other treats that I wanted to splurge on that I ignored the pie.

For the most part.

Maybe minus a bite.

I mean I couldn’t help it.

But then! We ended up with lots of pie and I wondered… just for a moment…. what would happen if I actually THREW a slice into the blender. The idea was fleeting. Instead of trying to recreate the whole “berry pie milkshake” thing by adding different fruit and flavor and textures, I figured I’d make it easy on us and just add the pie itself… to the blender.

No recipe development here! Have pie. Will add to blender.

I took one sip and was BLOWN AWAY. Holy cow, you guys. I could not believe how delicious this was – I was not expecting it. The filling lends the sweet, fruity touch to the shake but the crust adds that cookie-like flavor with a hint of nutmeg and practically makes the drink taste like cookie dough. And then of course I HAD to taste the pie. And I died.

On top of that, I didn’t want to be as embarrassingly simple as I was already, so I made a chocolate ganache fudge with black raspberries and then slathered it inside and on the outside of the glass. I tossed some graham cracker crumbs on the fudge just for fun. And topped it with MORE PIE.

That’s always the answer. To any question you need, from here on out. More pie.

Black Raspberry Pie Milkshakes with Black Raspberry Fudge

Yield: serves 2

Ingredients:

1/3 cup black raspberries
1/2 cup heavy cream
6 ounces high-quality dark chocolate, chopped
graham cracker crumbs for sprinkling
1 slice of black raspberry pie
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 1/2 cups milk



Directions:

Place the black raspberries in a bowl and microwave until warm and some juice is released. Mash the berries with a fork as much as you can.

To make the fudge, heat the heavy cream in a saucepan over low heat until the edges just bubble and the cream is warm. Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Pour the warm cream over top and let sit for 30 seconds, then stir until the chocolate melts. This will take a few minutes! Once the chocolate is melted, stir in the black raspberries and any juice. Stir stir stir to make it come all together.

Rim the insides of the glasses with the chocolate. Spread a bit on the outside of the glasses too. Sprinkle graham crumbs on the chocolate.

Place the pie, ice cream and milk in the blender. Blend until pureed then pour in the glasses. Serve!

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Lesson learned.

Rosemary Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Salad.

You are looking at one major flavor bomb.

Some days I love a super simple, satisfying and incredible bowl of give-me-that-right-now over top of vegetables.

Oh what the heck – that’s all the days. Minus the vegetable part.

The excellent news is that today is also that day so I’m telling you allllll about it.

Want to know something crazy?

I’ve never really cared for rosemary. Never ever.

Then last year, I grew it so I sort of got into it. It really is true that when you grow your own food (err… herbs), you want to eat it more. This is my plan for Max and why I love to have him help me in the kitchen so much. I’m trying to embrace the mess.

It’s difficult! And messy. And fun.

After last summer though, my newfound rosemary love took a backseat and I sort of reverted to my old self. When picking out herbs to plant earlier this spring, I grabbed a rosemary seedling because I found that I was actually MISSING the flavor. Super unlike me.

And then! It was fate. I’ve been ooogling over a certain recipe with tons of bacon and rosemary and I knew it was the first thing I needed to make this summer.

This recipe is from Heather Christo’s newest cookbook, Pure Delicious, and it is fan-freaking-tastic. One of the most wonderful salads I’ve had in a long time and I’m sure you know exactly what it’s like to be in a salad rut. 

COME ON. I know you know it. We’re likethis.

First, I adore Heather. She’s hilarious, so kind and lovely, an entertaining QUEEN (this is no joke, I’ve witnessed it), a wonderful cook (um, hello, salad with FRIED PEACHES) and – not to mention she has the most impeccable fashion taste EVER ever. She’s one class act.

Second, I loved her food and recipes before her foodie lifestyle changed due to her girls’ allergies and if possible, I love her newer recipes even MORE. Her dishes are always vibrant and fresh. She makes the most mouth-watering combinations that I get lost in her site and the book is no different. Two weeks ago we had her mango corn salad with shrimp for dinner and we could not stop eating it. Eeeep so good.

This salad is not only packed with flavor – it’s packed with texture too! You know I love it.

And guess what? That rosemary chicken miiiiiiight be cooked in bacon grease. I swear it’s the best way to make chicken. So flavorful and rich on the outside.

I bet this is how all restaurants make their chicken in salads taste so phenomenal. It has to be. I mean, it’s either that or a few ladles of melted butter. Waaaaah.

Creamy avocado, crispy bacon, chicken that is to.die.for – lots of spring greens and butter lettuce, some sweet cherry tomatoes, watercress and a rosemary vinaigrette that is so wonderful I had to stop myself from drinking it.

This is the best meal ever.

Rosemary Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Salad

Yield: serves 2

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

4 slices thick-cut bacon
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
6 cups spring greens and/or butter lettuce
1 bunch watercress
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large avocado, thinly sliced

rosemary vinaigrette 

2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
salt and pepper



Directions:

Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the bacon. Cook until it's crispy and the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon and place it on a paper towel to drain any excess grease.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Cover with the rosemary. In the same skillet, over medium-high heat, add the chicken and cook until golden and crisp on both sides, about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and let sit for a moment while you assemble the salad, then slice it.

Toss the greens with the watercress and the tomatoes. Top with the sliced chicken, the bacon and the avocado. Drizzle with the rosemary vinaigrette!

rosemary vinaigrette 

Whisk together the mustard, oil and vinegar. Whisk in the rosemary and a pinch of salt and pepper.

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Forever ever.