Showing posts with label gourmet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gourmet. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Sneak Peek The Weekend Gourmet Is Taking Part in H E Bs 2013 Meal Maker Challenge!
I’m thrilled to share some really fun and exciting news with yall today: The Weekend Gourmet has been selected as one of 10 Texas food blogs to participate in this year’s 4th annual Meal Maker Challenge, sponsored by H-E-B grocery stores and ConAgra Foods. The challenge is to create fast and delicious meals to help combat the back-to-school rush. For the next five Sundays, I’m going to be sharing a big-flavor family-friendly dish that’s centered around a theme ingredient. Each recipe contains only 7 ingredients and can be ready to serve a family of four in 30 minutes or less. I’m delighted to share the recipes that I’ve come up with for this fun contest! Here’s a sneak peek of each of my recipes to whet your appetite.
The weekly featured products include:
· Week 1: H-E-B Salsas
· Week 2: Hunts Tomatoes
· Week 3: H-E-B Natural Chicken Breasts
· Week 4: Egg Beaters
· Week 5: Peter Pan Peanut Butter
Make sure to come back each week to get all these great recipes...starting this Sunday with my Salsarific Taco Skillet, featuring H-E-B Smoky Citrus Salsa. My Texas-based readers can visit their local H-E-B store weekly to receive a Combo Loco coupon to purchase that week’s theme ingredient and try my recipe out in their kitchens. Since this is a contest, I’ll also tell you how you can vote for and Pin my recipes each week. At the end of the contest, the two bloggers with the most votes will receive some pretty cool prizes! Honestly, just being selected to take part in this event is a huge honor…but winning would be pretty cool too!
Disclosure: I am being compensated for participating in this program. However, all opinions expressed are solely mine.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
The Weekend Gourmet Dines Out for October Featuring Bohanans Prime Steaks and Seafood
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| The addition of orange juice and Grand Marnier made this margarita special! |
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| My Crimson Pearl was pretty and tasty... and plenty potent! |
Right about then, our appetizer arrived. We decided to share a Jumbo Lump Crabcake, which we agreed was hands-down the best crabcake wed ever tasted. Imagine huge lumps of sweet crab with just enough binding to hold them together. Then imagine that its perfectly seared and served with slightly spicy remoulade sauce. Simply put, it was perfection.
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| The name doesnt lie: Jumbo Lump Crabcake...jumbo being the operative word! |
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| Rich and delicious Tortilla Soup: Chef Marks famous recipe. |
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| Heirloom Caprese Salad...some of the creamiest fresh mozzarella Ive ever tasted. |
Before we knew it, it was time for the main event: our entrees and side dishes. We decided to try one steak and one seafood entree, and our waiter encouraged us to try the very special bone-in New York Strip that had been dry aged for 45 days. Yes, please! Our mouths were watering before it ever made it to the table. We also ordered the Mesquite-Grilled Snapper Royale topped with lump crab, scallops, and chanterelle mushrooms in a creamy sauce. The fish was cooked very nicely, moist on the inside with just enough spice. The creamy sauce was rich, but not overly so. As much as I enjoyed the fish, I have to admit that the steak was the true star of the show!
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| Seared red snapper topped with more lump crab, scallops, and mushrooms. A little smoky, a little creamy... and all good! |
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| THE best steak Ive ever eaten: a bone-in New York Strip dry-aged for 45 days. Perfection. |
Im a Texas gal...Ive eaten a lot of steaks in my life. I can say without a doubt that is the very best steak Ive ever tasted. Ever. It was juicy, tender, and full of beef flavor. We were both grinning like giddy kids playing hooky from school while we ate this steak. To accompany our steak and fish, we sampled two side dishes from their large selection: Lobster Creamed Corn and White Truffle Oil Steak Fries. Both were rich and totally splurge-worthy. If youve never tried truffle oil fries, do yourself a favor: TRY IT!
By then, we were getting very full. Luckily, Chef Mark stopped by our table to chat with us for a bit...which gave us enough time to digest just enough to share one dessert. After looking over the menu, I asked Michael if we could get a flaming dessert. I absolutely love the theatrical element of leaping flames as its flambeed tableside...so dramatic! We settled on Strawberries Imperial served over vanilla ice cream. We had enjoyed something similar for dessert while on vacation in Cancun years ago, and we loved it!
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| The perfect ending: flambe strawberries served over vanilla ice cream... a show stopper way to end a meal! |
This dessert was delicious: not too sweet and full of fruit flavor. One of the best parts of a flaming dessert is that you get a show with your dinner! We were remarking what a fabulous meal it was, when we received one final surprise: two flutes of champagne were sent to our table to cap off this fabulous meal. There are few things I love more than a glass of good champagne, so it was the perfect ending to a remarkable meal!
Bohanans is a wonderful restaurant thats ideal for any special occasions you may be planning. Ive already requested that we celebrate our anniversary here in December! Attendant service, beautiful and romantic atmosphere, and amazing food. What more could you want?
Disclaimer: Bohanans provided us with a complimentary meal to facilitate this post. The menu items were of our choosing, and the opinions stated mine.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Behind the Scenes of a Television Cooking Segment The Weekend Gourmet Cooks on Great Day SA!
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| Its 15 minutes until the show goes live, so Im busily putting the finishing touches on my prep work in the KENS 5 kitchen set. |
Most of yall dont know this, but I have a background in broadcasting. During college, my undergrad degree was in Radio, Television, and Film. Ive worked for a variety of radio stations...and I dabbled in a bit of TV back in the day as well. I also love public speaking, so its a dream come true to appear on a professional television broadcast!! This time, they asked me to focus on a light and healthy summer meal...so I shared my yummy Pollo Confetti Chef Salad. I thought it might be fun to share some behind-the-scenes pictures that Michael snapped, along with some information about everything that goes into preparing for a 4-to-5-minute television cooking segment.
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| Five minutes before the show starts, the ingredients are laid out...the decor is set up, and a finished salad is on display. |
The alarm goes off at 600...I need time to do full hair and makeup and load up the car before we leave at 730. The show airs live at 900 each morning, and guests are asked to arrive at 800 to set up. Let me tell you, the time goes by QUICKLY!! There are tons of lights, cameras, and monitors on the set...and lots of production staff running around getting ready for the show. As I prep my ingredients and decorate the kitchen set, the producer tells me that Ill be up after the opening segment and first commercial break. Host Paul Mireles stops by to discuss what questions hell ask...and I let him know that Im going to have him help me assemble the salad as we chat.
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| The view of the Great Day SA set from the audience point of view. Notice multiple cameras, monitors, and crew. Ralph, the producer, is in the Spurs Ginobili jersey. His job is to keep this controlled chaos organized! |
The audience is seated about 15 minutes before the show starts. Im mostly set up by then, so its time to go into the production booth to verify the spelling of my name and the blogs url for the pop-ups that will be inserted during my segment. Then, its off to the dressing room to powder my nose, fluff and spray my hair, and put on my apron. Not only does the camera add 15 lbs. (NOT fun, by the way...), but the bright studio lights can really make you look washed out -- especially when youre as fair as I am! That means I have to wear a lot more makeup than usual, and more vibrant colors. Then? Its showtime!! During the opening segment, I make sure that everything is in place...and I just try to relax and have fun. Michael waves at me from the audience and gives me a thumbs up...hes my biggest fan!
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| This is a teleprompter. It is mounted to the top front of the camera, and the text crawls up as the host reads the words. |
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| In the KENS 5 kitchen with host Paul Mireles. There are three cameras and a monitor over my shoulder the entire time! Its really not as scary as it looks. I just try to think of it as hanging out in the kitchen and talking about food...and all the cameras just happen to be there! |
When the show is over, I thank the production crew for their work...chat a bit with the hosts and producer, and leave one of the finished salads for them to enjoy! Michael and I pack up my stuff, load it in the car, and get back to our normal life. Its time to head to my day job for the rest of the day...and I take the other completed salad to the office to share with my co-workers. People ask me if its scary or nerve-wracking to be on live television. I can honestly say that I find it to be a blast...and not the least bit scary. Cooking on television is such fun for me! And now...heres how the final product looked as it aired live. Now that you know what it takes to make this segment happen, tell me what you think!
Saturday, February 14, 2015
The Weekend Gourmet Dines Out for April Featuring Sea Island Shrimp House
Disclosure: Sea Island hosted our visit to facilitate this feature. All opinions expressed are my own, and all photographs are copyrighted by Michael K. Garcia. They may not be copied or otherwise used without prior permission.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Happy Valentines from The Weekend Gourmet Featuring a Tates Bake Shop Giveaway!
Their Cookie Cube Tower and Baking for Friends Cookbook combo arrived on my doorstep on Monday afternoon. Of course, I had to open one of the three mini boxes of their signature chocolate chip cookies right away and sneak a taste! If you love crispy chocolate cookies, these are the gold standard: these cookies are crisp without being hard, and they are perfectly buttery! The three mini cubes of chocolate chip cookies are perfect with sharing for Valentines...or anytime for that matter. As you can see, Tates is currently offering this gift set for 50% off. To purchase, just click on the link above. In addition, theyre offering 20% off on any online order; the code to enter at checkout is BLOG213. You have to act fast, though! Both discounts apply to purchases made before 1159 p.m. on February 14th.
The Baking for Friends cookbook in the gift set is full of amazing baked goods. Ill be featuring my favorite recipe from the cookbook in here before the end of February. In the meantime, Tates is sharing a great Valentines cookie recipe in here today. These cookies look fabulous! Check them out, then read for all the details of the giveaway.
TATES BAKE SHOP LINZER HEART COOKIES
from Baking for Friends
These decorative cookies make beautiful and tasty gifts. An important tip: be sure to chop the nuts and chocolate very fine in a food processor (pulse to chop so the friction doesn’t warm them), or the dough will be too rough-textured to roll out smoothly. You need a graduated set of heart-shaped cookie cutters to make these.
Yield: 20 sandwich cookies
Cookies
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ pound (3 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups toasted, skinned and very finely chopped hazelnuts
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped
- -plus-
- ½ cup seedless raspberry jam
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar for sifting
1. Sift the flour, cornstarch, and salt into a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar with an electric mixer set on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in the egg and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the flour mixture, just until combined. Mix in the hazelnuts and chocolate.
2. Gather up the dough and shape it into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften slightly before rolling.)
3. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a round about ¼-inch thick. Use a 3 ½-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cookies as close as possible to avoid excess scraps. Arrange the hearts about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Gather up the dough scraps and gently knead together, and cut out more cookies. If the dough becomes too soft to roll out, refrigerate until chilled. You should have 40 cookies. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
4. Position the oven racks in the top third and center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F.
5. Use a 1-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the centers of 20 cookies. These will be the cookie tops. (You can bake the mini hearts to nibble on later! Don’t throw away or re-roll.) Bake, switching the position of the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking, until the cookies begin to brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Sift some of the ½ cup of confectioners’ sugar over the hot cut-out cookies Let cool completely on the baking sheets.
6. Spread the jam on the cookie bottoms, leaving an 1/8-inch border around the edges. Add the tops, sugared sides up, and press together gently. Just before serving, sift the remaining confectioners’ sugar over the cookies.
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Tates has generously offered to give one of my readers this fabulous Valentines gift set! To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment below...tell me how youre going to celebrate Valentines. Thats it...how simple is that?!?!? Entries will be accepted until 1159 on February 14th, and the winner will be notified via e-mail the morning of February 15th. Make sure to include your e-mail address so I can find you if youre the winner. Good luck...may the luck of Cupid be with you!!!
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Tates has generously offered to give one of my readers this fabulous Valentines gift set! To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment below...tell me how youre going to celebrate Valentines. Thats it...how simple is that?!?!? Entries will be accepted until 1159 on February 14th, and the winner will be notified via e-mail the morning of February 15th. Make sure to include your e-mail address so I can find you if youre the winner. Good luck...may the luck of Cupid be with you!!!
Italian Chicken Orzo Soup Featuring a Gourmet Garden Refrigerated Herb Giveaway
After weeks of holiday-related indulgence, we’re really enjoying Lighten Up Month’s lighter, fresher menus. We’ve even decided to incorporate 1 or 2 meat-free days per week for our 2014 health-related change…we don’t use the word resolution in our house! We’re starting with Meatless Mondays in January and adding one more day in February. We couldn’t be vegetarian 100% of the time, but this seems like a great change to us. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes during the year and maybe even share some of our favorite veg-friendly recipes!
One of our favorite Lighten Up meals in Winter is soup…they’re a hearty, warming meal-in-a-bowl. One thing I refuse to compromise on is flavor, which can sometimes happen when you reduce fat and calories in your dishes. I find that using lots of herbs and spices really helps fill the void left by using lower-fat products. One easy way to use more herbs in your cooking is with Gourmet Garden tubed herbs and garlic. They recently sent me a package containing 11 of their most popular varieties, including garlic, parsley, chili peppers, Italian herbs and basil. As soon as I saw this grouping, an Italian-inspired soup immediately came to mind. If you’ve never used Gourmet Garden products, you simply must…I am now hooked on them and plan to keep them in my fridge at all times! They use organic herbs...within 24 hours of being picked, they chop them just like you would yourself. Then, theyre packaged in handy squeeze tubes that allow you to use just what you need. They even stay fresh in the fridge for up to 3 months!Gourmet Garden herbs and garlic worked perfectly in my Italian Chicken-Orzo Soup. It’s chock full of fiber-rich veggies: onion, celery, zucchini, mushrooms and tomatoes…for protein, I used lean chicken breast. The convenient Gourmet Garden herbs saved me so much chopping time, and they provided the Italian flavor that I wanted for this soup. You can use any pasta you like, but I opted for tri-color orzo. It cooks quickly and is an easy-to-spoon pasta. This was a hearty, healthy dinner that we enjoyed on a cold Texas night. It makes 4-6 servings and tastes even better after an overnight rest in the fridge.
Italian Chicken-Orzo Soup
a Weekend Gourmet Original
Ingredients:
- 1 tbs. olive oil
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 cup chopped zucchini
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 tbs. Gourmet Garden Chunky Garlic
- 1 tbs. Gourmet Garden Parsley
- 1 tbs. Gourmet Garden Italian Herbs
- 1 tsp. Gourmet Garden Chili Peppers
- 1 tbs. tomato paste
- 1 can petite diced tomatoes
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 lb. chicken breast, cut in bite-sized pieces
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 cup tri-color orzo
Directions:
Step 1: Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over med-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until the onion is translucent. Toss the chopped chicken with a bit of salt & pepper, then add to the pan. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink. Add the Gourmet Garden Ingredients and stir well to combine.
Step 2: Add the diced tomatoes – juice and all – to the pot. Add the zucchini and mushrooms, then stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to med-low. Cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
Step 3: After the initial simmer, add the orzo. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes longer, until the orzo is tender. To serve, ladle into deep serving bowls. If desired, top each serving with a spoon of grated parmesan. This soup is hearty and filling on its own, but a simple green salad would pair nicely with it.
This soup is very comforting and filling…a healthy complete meal in a bowl! We loved the rich broth, the juicy chunks of chicken breast and the healthy veggies. The Gourmet Garden products provided the perfect Italian seasoning to the soup, and they were a snap to use. You can find Gourmet Garden products in the refrigerated section of the Produce department of many large grocery stores, near the bagged salads.
So...how would you like to try out Gourmet Gardens wide variety of fresh herbs in your kitchen? Well...youre in luck! The nice folks at Gourmet Garden are going to give one lucky Weekend Gourmet reader an insulated cooler thats filled with ELEVEN of their most popular products: Basil, Chili Pepper, Cilantro, Chunky Garlic, Dill, Garlic, Ginger, Lemon Grass, Oregano, Italian Herbs and Parsley. Just think of the amazing culinary creations youll be able to make! These herbs are perfect for saving time in the kitchen, and their flavor is fresh and bright. To enter the giveaway, simply follow the instructions below. Ill accept entries until 1159 p.m. CST this Friday, and Ill notify the winner this weekend. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveawayDisclosure: Gourmet Garden provided me with a selection of their herbs to facilitate the feature. I received no further compensation, and all opinions expressed are my own.
Monday, February 9, 2015
The Weekend Gourmet Dines Out for December Boiler House Texas Grill Wine Garden
We then shared two entrees from the Boiler Cuts section of the menu, one seafood and one venison. First out of the kitchen was the delicious Pan Roasted Salmon with Creamed Bacon Spinach and Pickled Asparagus. It was followed by Texas Hill Country Axis Venison Loin with a Wild Berry Demi Glaze and Whipped Potatoes.
We opted to share dessert and were thrilled when a gorgeous dish of White Chocolate Peach Bread Pudding with Kraken Run Butterscotch Sauce, Sea Salt and Candied Pecans came out from the kitchen. We love bread pudding, and this is one of the best weve had in ages! It was rich and moist, with tons of fresh peaches and a sinful salted caramel sauce.
Our fruity bread pudding was perfectly paired with a delicious and slightly sweet Lietz "Dragonstone" Riesling from Germany. It was the perfect ending to a fabulous meal! As you can see, we enjoyed all of the wines that we sampled with our meal that evening -- everything from bubbly prosecco to a robust Syrah.
Disclosure: We were provided with a complimentary dinner and wine pairings to facilitate this feature. We received no further compensation, and all opinions are my own. Photographs are copyrighted by Michael K. Garcia and may not be copied or otherwise used without prior permission.
Weekend Gourmet Flashback Featuring Refreshing Chunky Shrimp Salsa
This chunky salsa is full of flavors and textures, with just a bit of heat from a seeded Serrano pepper. Its a great party dish, because it can made the morning of your party and hang out in the fridge until time to serve. Its great served with crispy tortilla chips, but I also love to spoon it over cream cheese and serve with sturdy crackers. Seafood lovers will go crazy for this salsa...and you might find yourself putting it in heavy rotation the rest of the Summer. Dont say I didnt warn you!
Refreshing Chunky Shrimp Salsa
a Weekend Gourmet Original
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. medium or large shrimp
- 1 packet shrimp boil seasoning
- 1 tbs. + 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 Serrano pepper, seeded and finely minced
- 1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced
- 1 small mango, peeled and diced
- 1-2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 small shallot, finely diced
- 1 small avocado, peeled and diced
- The juice of one lime
- 1 tbs. finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbs. honey
Directions:
Step 1: Boil the shrimp with Cajun shrimp boil and 1 tbs. sea salt in a large pot of water -- this infuses the shrimp with LOTS of spicy flavor! Cool, peel, devein, and chop the shrimp into bite-sized pieces. You should have just over 1 cup of diced shrimp when youre done. Add the shrimp to a large mixing bowl, along with the Serrano pepper, Roma tomato, mango, green onion, shallot, and avocado.
Step 2: Add the lime juice, 1 tsp. sea salt, pepper, honey, and chopped cilantro. Cilantro is a polarizing herb -- feel free to use more or less than 1 tbs., depending on how much you love its flavor. Stir to evenly coat the salsa with the seasoning ingredients...but be gentle so you dont break up the avocado.
Step 3: Place the salsa in the fridge to chill for an hour or so before serving. When youre ready to eat, spoon the salsa into a festive serving bowl. Serve with sturdy corn chips for dipping...or spoon it on top of a cheese quesadilla...or heck, just eat it with a spoon if you want!
Seriously...this pico de gallo-inspired salsa is downright addictive! Its a little spicy, a little sweet, and a little tangy...and the avocado cools the heat perfectly with its creamy goodness. Every bite of this salsa is subtly different, depending on which ingredients end up on your chip. This salsa also has great eye appeal thanks to all of its colorful ingredients. Bottom line: its a great recipe to have in your culinary bag of tricks.
I hope that youll whip up a batch of this fun appetizer over the upcoming holiday weekend...or just because. Its literally ready for the fridge in less than 30 minutes...including boiling time for the shrimp. To save even more time, simply pick up some boiled shrimp from the seafood section of the grocery store. Talk about instant gratification!
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