Blackberry Bramble

1/2 ounce simple syrup
1 1/2 ounce blackberry cordial
3 ounces bourbon
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Shake with ice, garnish with fresh blackberries.

My Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

1 bag of Barilla Collezione Cheese and Spinach Tortellini pasta

1 shallot or Onion, diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, pressed (or minced)

4 carrots, sliced

4 stalks of celery, sliced

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1/2 - 1 tablespoon fresh thyme

2-3 cups Spinach (or more, use as much or as little as you like)

4 cups stock (vegetable, chicken, beef-it's up to you!)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1.    In a large Dutch oven, or large pot, cook pasta according to the package. Drain and set aside.

2.    In the same pot add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the shallot, garlic, carrots, celery, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning until vegetables are tender. You will want to keep an eye on the veggies, stirring often, or you risk burning the garlic. Use more olive oil if the bottom of the pot gets too dry.

3.    Once the vegetables are tender add 2 cups of your stock. I bring this up to a simmer and I add the the spinach. Cook just until it's wilted (it doesn't take long).

4.    Add the cooked tortellini, and add enough or the remaining broth to cover. For me, that's usually 2 more cups. The pasta really soaks up the stock. I bring this up to a simmer again just so it's all the same temp, and the pasta is reheated. Taste the broth and see if you need to add additional seasoning, like a little more Italian seasoning or salt and pepper. Then enjoy! 

Chef John's Irish Soda Bread

From Foodwishes, see the video here! And Allrecipes for the recipe here!

Makes 2 loaves of Irish Soda Bread:

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup quick-cooking oatmeal or regular rolled oats
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (make sure it’s fresh)
1 teaspoon baking powder (make sure it’s fresh)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 or 3 tablespoons honey
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 cup dried currants
1/3 cup gold raisins

Directions:

1.    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

2.    Whisk all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal.

3.    Beat buttermilk, egg, honey, and orange zest together in a bowl. Pour buttermilk mixture, currants, and raisins into flour mixture; stir with a wooden spoon until a wet, sticky dough comes together.

4.    Turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface; press dough together into a soft ball of dough and cut into 2 pieces. Form each half into a smooth, round loaf. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and let rest for 15 minutes. Cut a 1/2-inch deep "X" into the top of each loaf with a serrated knife.

5.    Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and fragrant, about 45 minutes. Transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Meatballs version 2

This is a modification of our other meatballs recipe. This is if you only have 2 pounds of meat, or if you'd like to make a meatloaf instead.

Ingredients for the slurry:

1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Ingredients for the meat mixture:
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients for the slurry and set aside.

Combine all the ingredients for the meat mixture until well combined and one good lump. Use your fingers to poke holes in the lump of meat. Take your slurry mixture and put on top of the meat mixtures, using a spatula to spread and smush slurry into the holes you made.

I like my meatballs about golf ball size. I make my ball, and then slightly flatten. I then put them in a sauté pan on medium heat and brown on each side for about 4 minutes per side. Then I transfer to a foil lined, lightly oiled, sheet pan and bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 - 20 minutes until they're nicely browned and cooked through. No need to turn.

Garlic Butter Sheet Pan Salmon & Asparagus from Chrissy Teigen

Please check out her site! The recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:
4 skin-on, center-cut salmon fillets (about 1 ¾ to 2 pounds)
1 bunch asparagus
2 lemons
1 stick unsalted butter, softened (but not melted!)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried parsley 
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1 good drizzle of olive oil (for the pan)
   freshly ground black pepper, for seasoning

Directions:

Make the magic butter:

Zest one of the lemons into a medium bowl (reserve the lemon), then add the softened butter, garlic, parsley, and salt. Mix it up really good and set aside.

For the Sheet Pan:

Preheat the oven to 450°F. 

Cut or snap the whiter ends off the asparagus. Halve both the reserved zested lemon and the second lemon. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. (Makes clean up easier!)

Generously drizzle some olive oil onto the foil. Arrange the salmon, halved lemons, and asparagus so it’s nice and pretty.

Now it’s butter time! Go crazy and schmear most of it on the salmon, but also dot some on the asparagus. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top.

Pop it into the oven for 11–14 minutes or so, depending on how you like your salmon. (Less time in the oven is more tender.)

Once cooked, remove from oven and tilt your pan and spoon more of that melty butter goodness onto your filets. Season with more salt and pepper, if you want. Squeeze the roasted lemon juice all over the top.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes from Foodnework.com

The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter, plus some for frying
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Directions:
1.    In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2.    Beat the eggs with the buttermilk and melted butter. Combine the dry and the wet ingredients into a lumpy batter, being careful not to over mix, see Cook's Note*.

3.    Heat some butter in a skillet over medium heat. Spoon 1/3 cup of batter into the skillet and sprinkle the top with some of the blueberries. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

4.    Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and maple syrup.

*Cook’s Note:
Over mixed batter will result in flat, heavy pancakes.

Dougherty Homemade Beef Stroganoff

This is one of my all time favorite meals that David cooks. It's one of those meals that you can make quick and easy for week-night enjoyment, or you can make it a little more fancy for a nice dinner. It just depends on your mood and what kind of beef you have on hand. Another great thing about this dinner is it can be done in 1 pan (well, 2 if you include the pot to cook the pasta).

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef 
16 oz sliced mushrooms 
10.5 oz cream of mushroom soup (we really like Campbell's Cream of Cremini & Shiitake)
16 oz sour cream (you are only going to use about 3/4 of the container)
Butter (for the mushrooms-trust me)
Salt
Pepper
Egg Noodles

Directions:

First you want to cook up your mushrooms. When I get them I'll get the little boxes from Safeway that are 8 oz each and I will cook each container separately. It takes a little time, but it is worth it because we love mushrooms and it makes them so good. You want to cook them in on a med heat in a sauté pan (the same one you will do your beef in and eventually mix everything together in). I put 2-3 tablespoons of unsalted butter in the hot pan and then add the mushrooms. Gently mix it all up a bit to cover the mushrooms and melt the butter. If the pan seems dry, you can add more butter. Mushrooms and butter are a good thing. When the mushrooms as as tender and browned as you like, I will add a tiny bit of salt before dumping them into a bowl while I get the second container browned. Repeat with the second container (if you did two).

Next you will want to brown your hamburger. Just put it in the same pan you just did the mushrooms in. After you have put your beef in and broken it up a bit you should start your water for your egg noodles. You are going to brown the hamburger, and drain off any excess fat/grease. Leave the meat in the pan.

If your water is boiling, cook those noodles!

You can turn the heat down a bit now. Add the can of cream of mushroom soup to the hamburger and stir that up a bit. Next you are going to add the sour cream. I'd start with about half the container and taste it to see if you want to add more (then answer should be yes) and then add enough to make it more saucy and taste how you like. Then add in the mushrooms. The soup we use is salty and peppery enough that I don't add more, but if you feel like it needs either of those now is the time to add and stir it in.

If you aren't already cooking your noodles now is the time to do so. You can just turn the stroganoff to a low setting and stir it once in awhile to keep it all mixed. You should also keep tasting it to make sure it still tastes good.

Drain your noodles. Put some noodles in a bowl/on a plate and then scoop some stroganoff on top and enjoy!

Variations:

• You can cook an onion or shallot with the meat
• You can use different cuts of meat, great way to use some holiday prime rib
• Different cream of mushroom soup
• Try different pasta
• You could use Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream