Many moons ago, I attempted to make this steak for my now-husband (back then new-ish boyfriend). I was just out of college, in my first “real job”, and while I had cooked quite a bit in my days, I hadn’t made up recipes on the fly much. Maybe I should back peddle a bit and explain why I was attempting to cook a palomilla steak…

Cuban food was not something that was easy to come by growing up in northeast Tennessee. Black beans and plantains weren’t in the grocery. I had never even heard of a Cuban sandwich. This all changed on a trip to Tampa. My mom and I ate at Columbia restaurant. I had my first taste of black beans and rice and plantains, served on the side of this magical, flavorful thin steak which I’ve for years referred to as Cuban steak, but I’ve learned after many Google searches is actually called a palomilla steak. Initially I always slid the onions to the side, preferring the light flavoring left behind. But as I grew up, I learned to love onions, and the green stuff they mixed in with them, and this became my go-to dish at any Cuban restaurant.

Back to the attempt to recreate this dish in the early 2000s. (more…)

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Caribbean, Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Lunch, Quick and Easy, Side Dish, Sunday Suppers, Wine pairings, World traveller by Courtney

Thai curries might be one of my favorite quick meals to pull together. While one can make their own curry paste, I find the pre-made Thai Kitchen curry pastes to be pretty good. When making a bowl of curry I will usually add some extra Thai peppers and ginger to the pan, but for a quick, weeknight meal like this salmon, I keep the extra flavors minimal. This is about being quick and easy after all!

If you haven’t baked in parchment before, it might look at first glance to be complicated, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Simply make up your packets of meat, add some sort of liquid and seasoning, crimp the edges, and bake! The crimping is simply folding edges of paper over on top of each other to hold. Or in my case, not so much folding as cramming paper together quickly and hoping it holds (it always does, knock on wood!). (more…)

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Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Quick and Easy, Thai by Courtney

When I saw this recipe, it just screamed “Spring!!!” at me. Fresh artichokes, veal, carrots, citrus, and a bit of cream. Just heavy enough to break the chill of a spring evening, but light enough to not weigh you down as you’re moving into the warmer months. With Easter just around the corner, I thought it would be the perfect time to post this special meal that takes a little bit of time, but shines so beautifully on the dinner table and is the perfect meal to serve family style that it is worth it! (more…)

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Dinner, Gluten free, Gourmet, Italian, Sunday Suppers, Wine pairings by Courtney

I’m not much of a slow cooker girl. It’s rare that I get my act together early enough in the day to plan ahead for dinner, having all the ingredients I need on hand, readying them for that slow cooking pot. However, this recipe, only needing to cook for 6 hours, means I can be my procrastinative self and put this on later in the day if need be. It’s the perfect meal to cook on a lazy Sunday.

Most of the ingredients in this list are pantry items for me, which lessens the need to go to the store. I kept this recipe simple, with just two flavorful items going into my tortilla – pork and pickled onions. The pork is juicy and melt-in-your-mouth tender, with a nice heat, while the pickled red onions bring a little sharpness and crispness to the meal, cutting through the fat while adding a gorgeous jewel-like color to each bite.

Since I kept the ingredients on the tacos minimal, I decided to get my traditional taco toppings (read: veggies!) via a salad on the side. (more…)

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Comfort food, Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Mexican by Courtney

Cinnamon-dusted roasted blueberries. Slivers of ginger crisped by the oven. White peaches just slightly warmed. Sometimes the best recipes are born of the random ingredients one has in hand. My husband has a love of blueberries that always leads him to pick up a pint at the grocery store, but then they end up forgotten, stashed in the produce drawer. I’m not a fan of the remnant bud on them, so they’re the last thing I want to snack on, and thus, they stay in the drawer. Until this week, wanting something light, I decided to make a salad. I figured roasted grapes are good, so why not roasted blueberries? Where on earth I had the idea to dust them with cinnamon I’ll never know. But I’m happy it did. (more…)

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Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Quick and Easy, Salad by Courtney