Liz and Limes

Surprise! No olives OR feta in this recipe. Talk about blog diversification. There is, however, still cheese, so I'm still well within my comfort zone here. This cheese is cocooned in a sticky sweet date and then swaddled in salty bacon - the cheese is totally in its comfort zone, too.

Little did I know that this recipe has an actual name (thanks, Jane!)... "devils on horseback." That's catchy, and sure to raise some eyebrows when you mention to your friends that horse-mounted devils are on the menu for the evening.

These are prrrrretty good, especially if you are a fan of the salty-sweet combo. Or melty-sticky combo. Or bacon-anything combo. I made them for the first time at my housewarming party last winter. And then again for a Christmas eve dinner appetizer. After the high praise they received, I decided I'd make them again (so that I could document them) to bring to a New Year's Eve party at Ruth and Greg's fabulous new home.

These are always a hit, because come on.... you take delicious cheese chunks. And then ya stuff 'em into something delicious. And then ya wrap 'em up in something else delicious and BOOM! Those devils are on the tastiest horseback ride of their lives.

I also ended up with a few extra dates and plenty of extra cheese, and made some manchego-stuffed dates sans bacon, so even my vegetarian friends got some of these devils in their bellies.

Bacon-Wrapped Manchego Dates

(makes about 40 dates)

2 lbs Medjool dates (I got two of the packages from Trader Joe's), pitted

1/4 - 1/2 lb Manchego cheese (depends on how much cheese you want left over... probably a lot), cut into small chunks small enough to fit in the dates (think olive-sized)

about 2 lbs uncooked bacon, each slice cut in half (you want 1/2 slice per date)

Preheat oven to 350. Cover two sheet pans with foil (makes cleaning a lot easier).

Stuff some cheese in each date, pressing date back together around cheese, so you can't see the cheese sticking out (keeps it from melting out).

Wrap each date with 1/2 slice of bacon, then stick that sucker with a toothpick.

Arrange the dates on the sheet pans and bake for about 8 minutes. Take pans out, and turn each date over, then bake for another 10 minutes, until the bacon is fully cooked and crisps up a bit.

Hi, guys. Hey. Hello. I'm back! I apologize for the hiatus. But I assure you it's only been a hiatus in the POSTING of recipes, not in the creating and documenting of recipes. My iPhone and I are super psyched to get these photos off of the camera and into this here blog. So here goes.... making up for lost time!

I'll return with a versatile champ of an appetizer. While the white bean arugula salad is my staple for salads... this is my staple for appetizers. I have taken it everywhere and it never gets old. I love all things olive, and never tire of the tangy punch of feta. However, I'm not the biggest fan of sundried tomatoes, so I was a little skeptical when I first made this. But dammit if these sundried tomatoes (when cloaked in olives, feta, dill, olive oil, and other amazing things) aren't delicious!

The beauty of this dish is that any leftovers can easily be made into an awesome meal - just toss leftover dip with some cooked pasta and you are winning at dinner OR over some eggs and you are champion of breakfast. This recipe is, again, adapted from the blogging genius over at Smitten Kitchen....

Olive Feta Dip

1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 cup kalamata olives, chopped

8 oz block of feta, coarsely chopped or crumbled up (you can also just get 8 oz of pre-crumbled feta in the tub)

1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped (or 1 tsp dried dill weed)

3 scallions, chopped

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Now..... mix all ingredients except olive oil and black pepper together. Then.... add olive oil and pepper and mix up again. And... you're done!

Serve with sliced crusty bread, or crackers/chips of your choice. This is a pretty solid dip, so you want something hefty enough to scoop up and sustain the weight of all of this deliciousness.

Note: for this recipe, this time, I got a block of feta and actually chopped it instead of crumbled it. Of course, it tastes just as good, but I'm all about the aesthetics, and actually preferred the look of crumbled feta. But... to each his/her own!

This is a classic. This one I remember from way back in the day when I was certainly NOT the one making the food, but I was definitely eating it. This is a recipe from my mom, so obviously... it's a good one. This was a classic appetizer for dinner parties - one that I was always especially excited to see on the coffee table. The last time I made this was for my friends Katie and Chris' housewarming party this summer. Katie made her famous margaritas for that party... it was, needless to say, a fun party. Now I’m just thinking about those margaritas...

Back to the recipe. What's better than olives and feta - BAKED olives and feta! The feta transforms into a block of creamy goodness, and the sweetness of the roasted red peppers permeates it all.

Again, very simple to make. And VERY easy to eat.

Baked Feta with Olives and Roasted Red Peppers

Serves 10+ as an appetizer - you can halve it easily for a smaller crowd.

2 8oz. blocks of feta cheese

2 roasted red peppers, chopped

3/4 - 1 cup kalamata olives, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Serve with crackers or bread

Preheat broiler.

Mix together chopped red peppers, olives, and olive oil in a bowl. Place feta blocks in a baking dish (preferably what you will also be serving cheese in as well, but you can transfer to another dish after baking if you'd prefer).

Sprinkle oregano and black pepper over cheese, then spread red pepper/olive mixture on top, with some down around sides as well (this makes a lot of that mix, so be generous).

One word…. Edo’s. Well, two words if you want to get technical… Edo’s Squid. The totally unassuming epicenter of all of the garlicky goodness in this fine city. Edo’s specializes in some of the best local seafood, eggplant parm, lentil soup, lamb sausage, and so many other bests… including this dish - the best white bean and arugula crostini. (Note: Edo’s is also “parent” to the best pizza in town at 8 ½, the best calamari at Dinamo, and the best braised fennel at Mamma Zu. In my humble and blogged opinion.)

Some back story… my ex-office (and office window, which I kept open, weather permitting) shared an alley with Edo’s. Once 11am rolled around, the not so subtle wafts of garlic began their daily descent down the alley and directly into my window, and therefore nostrils, inciting both torture and craving. So basically, we ate lunch at Edo’s quite often in those days. A lot. And after eating the penne with broccoli rabe (WITH the ricotta and parmesan… who orders it without???), I switched to this arugula and white bean crostini as my staple. And no going back! Until I started to make it for myself…

When I talk about my recipe staples, this is at the epicenter of my salad recipes. It’s so simple (a trait of the best recipes), so versatile, so delicious, and chances are you probably have most if not all of the ingredients in your kitchen already.

Edo’s serves this with crostini (toasted bread), and there is always juice left on the plate that you can’t help but sop up with the Billy Bread they serve at the table. My version ensures that there is PLENTY of juice to be sopped up (part of the fun!). You could also up the meal ante with some goat cheese and make this into a pretty fantastic meal in and of itself. Or, you could cut back on the juices (olive oil and lemon), nix the bread and cheese, and serve as a side salad to whatever main course you have on the menu.

A quick note to my dear friends who have put up with me bringing this dish to most every gathering we’ve had in the past few weeks…. I’m done! For the time being. Finally remembered to take the photos. So now I can go back to bringing feta salsa every time ;) …. coming to the blog shortly!

White Bean and Arugula Crostini

Juice of 2 lemons (for extra sopping up juices!)

7 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (for extra sopping up juices!)

Salt and pepper

15 oz can cannellini beans (or Northern white beans), drained and rinsed

¼ red onion, very thinly sliced

Fresh arugula (about 7 oz)

Baguette or crusty bread

Goat cheese (optional. but delicious and highly recommended)

In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. 

Throw in the beans and onion and mix it all up in the dressing, then toss in the arugula.

Serve with crusty bread (onto which you either pile on the salad, and/or with which you sop up all the yummy juices) and goat cheese (to spread on bread, before piling on the salad).

So this guy, I’ve made a few times. The first time was for a brunch at my friend Kate’s house, before I was living a lovely and convenient block away from her. I thought I was being all kinds of sensible in bringing this. And it may have been sensible, except that I decided to do everything but bake it before taking it over… I carted the eggy raw mess over there, and in the process sloshed a fair amount of eggy raw mess all over my rug. So I was late to the party, and my rug was eggy. The dish itself, however, was delicious. A few years have passed since then, and I’ve learned some lessons, like Don’t Attempt to Transport Raw Egg Messes Across Town. The next time I made it was just a couple of weeks ago for my friend Jane’s baby shower. No egg messes were made, and it was soooooo gooooooood. Sweet, caramely goodness. I was doing such a good job of taking photos throughout the process, too. I was bringing my new blogger A game. However. Hostess Elizabeth quickly trumped blogger Elizabeth, and I focused on the serving of the final product and not the documenting of it.

(I’m almost done with the backstory.)

Luckily… shortly thereafter, I had a perfect opportunity to make it (and document it!) again! The next Sunday, my friend Bekah (the lovely heart and mind and human behind Ceremony Yoga) was doing a pop-up yoga class in my backyard. So I tacked brunch on to the yoga experience. Nothing like getting bendy and mindful outside on a hot, hot Sunday morning, and then eating yummy things in air conditioned climes with friends immediately afterwards.

And now…… the recipe! This is adapted from Smitten Kitchen, source of all things scrumptious. The SK recipe calls for 10-12 oz challah, and I found a 16-oz loaf, so I upped some of the quantities to compensate for that. Make this immediately…. to take to a friend’s house (bake it first!), to serve at home for a gathering, or to eat promptly after working out. The balance of life, friends. The balance of life. In any of those scenarios, this recipe wins for brunch and breakfast and all things ooey gooey.

Salted Caramel Overnight French Toast (serves 6-8 as a main course for breakfast/brunch or about 10-12 when there are lots of other offerings on the table)

8 Tbsp butter (1 stick)

¾ cup + 2 Tbsp sugar

¼ tsp sea salt

16 oz. Challah loaf, cut in half lengthwise and then into 1-inch-thick slices

10 large eggs

1 cup mascarpone (maybe get 1 ½ - 2 cups, depending on the tub sizes…. it’s really yummy served alongside!)

1 1/3 cup milk

½ tsp almond extract

Strawberries - slice and serve on side

Heat butter, sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it’s all melted and browned. Then, turn heat down a bit to medium-low and simmer, stirring more often, until it reaches a copper color. I heated mine in a copper saucepan, making the color comparison game a tad easier.

Pour the butter/sugar mixture into the bottom of the baking dish that you’re going to bake the french toast in. Tip the dish around so that it spreads evenly on the bottom. You can even move it around with the back of the spoon… just be sure to spread the caramel love!

Put the dish with the caramel in the bottom in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes until it’s hard. 

While the caramel is cooling, whisk together the eggs and ½ cup mascarpone. It will still be a little clumpy - totally fine. Add milk and almond extract and whisk to mix.

Take the baking dish out of the fridge, and arrange the challah slices in it. Doesn’t need to be a perfect arrangement - don’t stress about it. Just make sure that the bottom is covered with bread (not laying the pieces flat).

Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread, trying to get some on each slice. Once it’s all poured in, you can tip the dish around a bit to make sure that the bottom is all coated. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for the night. Now you can grab a glass of wine, curl up, and relax, knowing that your morning meal is pretty much already taken care of.

In the morning, take the baking dish out of the fridge 1 hour before you put it in the oven (or approximately 1.5 hours before you want to serve it). When I took the pan out, I spread the bigger clumps of mascarpone around more evenly. (You don’t have to do that.)

Heat oven to 375 degrees and stick the dish (uncovered! no one wants plastic in their brunch) on the middle rack. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the bread is soft and moist, but not super wet.

Remove pan from oven, carefully. Run a knife along the edges of the bread to unstick it from the sides. Place a large platter upside down on top of the dish, and then do a flip-a-roo, so that the bread comes out caramel-side-up on the platter. The ooey gooey goodness should now be staring you right in the face, begging you to dig in.

I know what you’re thinking… “Chicken? Really? Way to already play it safe and boring on the blog, Elizabeth.” Just listen for a minute. This chicken recipe is GOOD. Garlic, ginger, curry… smother that on some chicken (or some anything) and it’s hard to go wrong.

The first time I made this recipe (from Food and Wine), I followed instructions to the teaspoon, which I rarely do. And it was delicious. Kind of my go-to chicken dish, especially for a crowd. SO EASY. However… I rarely keep chicken in the fridge and I was craving the vegetables specifically. So I just ditched the chicken part and roasted the vegetables and made myself an (I’m gonna say it) awesome vegan alternative.

The next time that I made the full on chicken version, I prepared the vegetables as I had for the vegan version, and then added the chicken (prepared as instructed in recipe) on top and voilà, double the deliciousness! Genius. I’m a genius. In this one very specific way.

So here you go…. two recipes for the price (blog post) of one! One meaty version, one meat-free version. Both guaranteed to please, and to inspire envy in your office mates when you heat this up in the work microwave. (This really does happen.)

Also, if you're like me and might as well carry hot sauce on your person you use it so much, add a generous squeeze of Sriracha (or your preferred hot sauce)! Takes the flavor factor up a few delicious, lip tinglin' notches.

(Note/amateur blogger confession… I forgot to take photos of the vegetables all tossed up with the ginger, garlic, and curry - sorry!)

Recipe #1: Curried Chicken and VegetablePan Roast (adapted from Food and Wine) Serves 4.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, about 2 lbs (I accidentally bought chicken tenders, hence the skinny pieces. Oops.)

2 lb brussels sprouts, bottoms trimmed and cut in half lengthwise

2 lb butternut squash, chopped into 1-inch pieces (I used bagged, pre-chopped squash - cause who has the time and upper body strength to battle a butternut?)

1 medium red onion, cut into thin strips (this looks like a lot of onion, but you’ll want every single bit of it in the end, I promise)

4 large garlic cloves, minced

3 Tbsp fresh minced ginger

3 tsp curry powder

salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place rack in middle position.

Mix chopped sprouts, butternut squash, red onion, half of minced garlic, 2 Tbsp ginger, 1 ½ tsp curry powder, ¼ cup olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread the vegetables out on a large rimmed baking sheet.

In the same bowl, mix together the remaining garlic and ginger with the yogurt, 1 ½ tsp curry powder, ¼ cup olive oil, salt and pepper. It will look a little funky. Totally normal, even if a little aesthetically off-putting. Then… toss the chicken in the yogurt mix, making sure that it’s all coated with that gingery garlicy goodness.

Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the pan. Don’t waste the rest of the yogurt mix! Throw that on the vegetables as well.

Roast for 40 minutes. Check if there is any liquid in the pan, and if so, pour that out. That will ensure that you get that delicious caramel-y, crispy char on the vegetables. Rotate the pan and return to the oven. Roast for an additional 20-30 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your vegetables. I like ‘em crispy.

Serve with yogurt and naan. Done!

Recipe #2: Curried Vegetable Pan Roast - Vegan! (adapted from Food and Wine)

2 lb brussels sprouts, bottoms trimmed and cut in half lengthwise

2 lb butternut squash, chopped into 1-inch cubes (I used bagged, pre-chopped squash here)

1 medium red onion, cut into thin strips (this looks like a lot of onion, but you’ll want every single bit of it, I promise)

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced

2 tsp curry powder

salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place rack in middle position. Mix everything together in one large bowl. Spread vegetables out onto a large rimmed baking sheet.

Pop baking sheet in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Check pan for juices and pour out if there are some. Rotate the pan and return to the oven. Roast for another 20-30 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your vegetables.

Richmond is a great place to eat some damned good food. A lot of it. Two of those places are represented in this dish, which has become my summer lunchtime staple of late. I have the tendency to eat the same thing for awhile, every day, day in, day out, and love every bite of it. This is one of those meals that I just can’t get sick of. Impossible!

The background.. 8 ½ is a small Italian takeout spot located in the heart of the Fan. It has what I consider to be THE BEST pizza in town (and this is coming from a girl who lived in Italy for a year and ate a whole whooooole lot of pizza). 8 1/2′s red pizza with green peppers is perfection in pizza form. The green peppers are charred, sliced, and spread out to luxuriate in the zesty tomato sauce on top of that crispy, salty dough. Ahhhh so good, but I digress… One evening, I was at 8 ½, salivating as I waited for my perfect pizza and I noticed small tubs of lentil salad in their fridge case. I got myself a tub. Imagine my (I won’t say “horror”)… sadness at putting that first spoonful into my mouth and tasting cucumbers. Bleh. Sneaky. However! The salad was so delicious that I was able to look past my cucumber aversion and appreciate the overall flavor… briny and vinegary with the slightly sweet and creamy lentils and crunchy celery and onions… so good. This is my take on that lentil salad.

The lentil salad and all the other accoutrements listed below are part of a concoction that is reminiscent of a favorite food truck - Goatocado. They roll around the city, and sometimes even pop up in area shops, dishing up quality vegetarian fare that consists basically of multi-textural, multi-layered, nutrient-packed, yet still indulgently scrumptious, salad experiences.

The salad experience that I’m sharing with you here is made of a rice mixture, topped with spinach and arugula, lentil salad, a super simple guacamole, and some feta cheese. And BAM! Lunch is served. And it is delicious. And you could eat it every day. Like I do. And love it every day. Like I do.

CHILLED LENTIL SALAD AND SIMPLE GUACAMOLE LUNCH BOWL

For the lentil salad…

2 lb. cooked, chilled lentils (I use 2 17.6-oz packages of Trader Joe’s steamed prepared lentils)

1 bunch celery, chopped (about 3 cups)

¼ of a red onion, finely chopped (about 1.5 cups)

½ cup red wine vinegar

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste (I use about ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper)

- Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl. C’est tout.

For the simple guacamole…

1 ripe avocado

Juice of ½ lime (about 1-2 Tbsp, depending on how much lime you like in your guac. I like mine super limey, as my blog name would imply.)

½ jalapeño, finely chopped (or more if you want some more zing! This was a particularly zingy jalapeño)

1/8 tsp cumin

¼ tsp salt

I also added some more chopped red onion to my guac - optional

- Cut the avocado in ½ lengthwise, around the pit. Carefully(!) slam the knife, using gravity, not brute force, into the pit, then twist the knife and pull out the pit. Score each avocado half with your knife (again - carefully!). I score in pretty much every direction to basically chop the avocado in the skin. That way, you don’t have to worry about mushing it in the bowl - just mix. Scoop each avocado half out with a spoon and add to medium mixing bowl.

- To juice the lime, roll the whole uncut lime on a hard surface with your palm. Bear down on the lime to release juices on the inside - makes it easier to squeeze when cut. Cut lime in half and juice. Add lime juice to guacamole, along with chopped jalapeño, chopped red onion (if using), salt, and cumin. Mix that up to whatever consistency you prefer. I like mine a little chunky.

For salad assembly…

1 cup rice or grain (I use Trader Joe’s frozen Multigrain Blend)

1 cup fresh spinach, chopped (or another green of your choosing)

1 cup fresh arugula, chopped (or another green of your choosing)

2 Tbsp Feta (optional. you can also mix the feta in with the lentil salad

- Put the rice in the bottom of the bowl and layer from there, first with chopped greens, then lentil salad (about 1 cup), then guacamole (about ¼ cup), then feta cheese (about 2 Tbsp). Note: this makes for a large salad, that I tend to eat throughout the afternoon, and need it to last me til pretty late at night. You can of course make it smaller.

It’s happening. This THING that I’ve been talking about.. this blog. Please note, I have never blogged before, so please bear with me as I work out the kinks.

The name… it’s simple. My name is Elizabeth, which is a blog mouthful, hence “Liz.” And I love me some limes. In my drinks. On my foods. I also love alliteration, so that worked out well.

FOOD, guys. Food. The thing that sustains us and nourishes us and sates us and delights us and torments us and knocks the mother effing (keeping it PG, folks) socks off us. The thing that, perhaps more than any other activity, brings us together. Food. That’s the thing. In my world, it’s not necessarily about the preparation or the presentation. It’s about the experience. The partaking. The community. The enjoyment. Y'all, I will mess some stuff up here. It’s not going to be perfect, and sometimes it’s not going to be pretty (I dare you to keep your guacamole perfectly green.). But it’s going to be a whole lot of fun, a whole lot of adventure (and occasional misadventure), and hopefully, simply, full of delicious things that are not a pain in the derrière to make.

Some of these recipes are of my own creation. Some are inspired by dishes I love. Some are my attempts at working with new flavors and techniques. Some are just my go-to favorites. I rarely stick to the letter of the recipe, but I will always give credit where credit is due. (Thank you, all you amazing people, making all that amazing food!)

I don’t get too elaborate in my preparations. I don’t have “gadgets.” I don’t have a stand mixer, so anything that needs to be mixed will be mixed with these here arms! No gimmicks or trickery or science experiments in my kitchen. The fanciest thing I have is a potato ricer. I got it hmmmmm 3 years ago? Was aspiring to make gnocchi. Those aspirations are still tucked into that drawer with the ricer, getting no action whatsoever. One day, though! One day. That will be a big blog day.

You won’t see cucumbers here, because YUCK. You will see a lot of garlic and hot peppers and avocados and limes and olive oil and olives and a fair amount of cheese. There will also be so much wine. Usually being sloshed around in a glass in my non-chopping hand. Also being splashed (deliberately and accidentally - because of the sloshing) into the dishes. Only enhances the flavor profile, no? Also a lot of parentheses and asides and ellipses… if that isn’t already abundantly clear.

You will hear (read? … this is how much I don’t blog.) references to my friends and my family, who are an enormous part of that whole “experience” thing I mentioned above. More than anyone else, you will hear references to my mom, the extraordinary Carol, the baddest of all badasses in the kitchen, and in numerous other arenas. She is the inspiration. She (and my charmer of a father!) provided the nightly experience of sitting, together, around a table, very often joined by friends of all ages and backgrounds, sharing food. Sharing company. Sharing lives. She showed me the work, the intention, the love, the community, and the gosh-darned fun that goes into cooking, and into creating and sharing all… this… food.