www.PerfectingThePairing.com!

Well it only took me 15 months but I finally changed the official address of my site to www.PerfectingThePairing.com instead of www.PerfectingThePairing.blogspot.com.  No more pesky extra words and dots!  If you have grown attached to original address it will still bring you here, but you may just want to try the new sleek URL.  Not exactly big news, but I am pretty pleased with myself.

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Garlic and Onion Biscuit Ring

Perfect Pairing:  Quick side dish

This is a dish my mom and I have been making for years.  It takes just minutes to make and the result is quite pretty, if I do say so.  I usually serve it alongside an entrée salad.

Biscuits are dipped into a mixture of melted butter, onion, garlic, and poppy seeds and then arranged in a bundt pan. 

 

Once the top is golden brown and the biscuits are cooked through it can be flipped onto a platter to serve.  I would recommend pulling the biscuits apart with a fork to make sure they are cooked in the center.

The Perfect Pairing for this recipe is to use it as a quick side dish.  Biscuits last for a long time in the fridge and pantries are usually stocked with onions and garlic.  It is great to have the ingredients on hand for a delicious side dish that is done in minutes.

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Pork Loin (or Turkey) Crostini with Green Apple, Mango Chutney, and Brie

Perfect Pairing:  Leftover Turkey

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I had a fabulous time with my family filled with lots of good food and laughs.  My mom and I spent the last couple of days getting a jump start on the Christmas baking.  We decided to try our hand at truffles, three different varieties.  At times the kitchen felt a little like Willy Wonka's, but they turned out great.  I will definitely be posting about them!

The internet is flooded with ideas on what to do with your leftover turkey.  In fact, CoolMaterial.com (a website dedicated to "stuff guys want") did a feature on how to use your leftovers, and included a link to my recipe for customized bread bowl breakfasts!  It is hard to beat a turkey sandwich with a little mayo and cranberry sauce, but if even that is getting a little old, try out this crostini.  When I made them I used leftover pork loin, but I think it would be lovely with turkey. 

If you don’t happen to have mango chutney on hand, or if you are not a fan, orange marmalade or apricot preserves would work well.  The tart green apple adds crunch and melted brie makes anything better.

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Pumpkin Pecan Shortbread

Perfect Pairing:  Caramel Sauce

Most families have Thanksgiving dinner down to a science and the menu does not vary much from year to year.  I think this is especially true for desserts.  Obviously, pumpkin pie is always on the menu and in my family we always have pecan pie as well.  I went my entire childhood thinking I did not like pecan pie.  I took a bite a few years ago and realized I was really missing out. 

Pumpkin Pecan Shortbread is like the bar-cookie-child of pumpkin and pecan pie.  I absolutely love shortbread, so I was crazy about this dessert.  If you are not the pie-baking type bring this would be the perfect dessert to bring to Thanksgiving.  It is super simple to make and very tasty.

The Perfect Pairing for this dessert is store bought caramel sauce.  I am not a fan of super sweet desserts, so I prefer just a tiny drizzle but it definitely adds something to the bar cookie.  I recommend serving the caramel on the side so everyone gets just the right amount for their tastes.

I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving! 

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Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tahini Salad

Perfect Pairing:  Thanksgiving

How is it almost Thanksgiving?  Seriously, where did the last few months go?  It seems like everyone I talk to feels the same way.  What kind of weird time warp are we in right now?

Weird time warp aside, I live for this time of year.  Gathering with family and friends is my favorite thing in the entire world. Add in great food, good wine, games, laughter, and you pretty much have perfection.  My family kicked off the holiday season a little early this year.  We had a “pre-Thanksgiving” celebration since we could not all be together on the actual holiday.  It was a great time! 

 My mom and I have it pretty easy for the actual Thanksgiving dinner.  We have been tasked with dessert and stuffing.  I actually insisted that we make the stuffing, because my mom’s stuffing is without a doubt the highlight of the Thanksgiving meal.  She does not really follow a recipe, but it includes sausage and dried cherries.  Amazing.

Also amazing?  Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tahini Salad.  I ran across this recipe on Smitten Kitchen while searching for recipes that used tahini, and thought it looked unique and healthy.  I had only used tahini in hummus and had a jar hanging out in my pantry begging to be used.  I am so glad I ran across the salad recipe, it is absolutely delicious.  The roasted squash is slightly sweet and pairs nicely with the nutty tahini and fresh cilantro and red onion. 

The Perfect Pairing for Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tahini Salad is Thanksgiving.  If you are looking for a great side dish to bring to your family’s table, this just might be it.  I found that I can make the dressing and roast the squash the day before and then assemble before the meal.

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Apple Cake with Warm Caramel Sauce

Perfect Pairing: Whipped cream

I think it is fair to say that some of the best recipes come from our grandmas and grandma’s friends.  Am I right?  My mom got this recipe from her mother’s friend years and years ago.  The recipe card is yellowed with age.   I think that this might be the best fall dessert ever.  Seriously.  It is amazing.  You know the famous book, How to Win Friends & Influence People?  You don’t need that book, just this recipe. 

I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is a week away!  This apple cake would be a perfect way to round out your holiday dessert table.

When the first fall weather hit my mom wanted to make apple cake.  My parents were in the process of moving and she had no idea where her recipe cards were, probably in a storage unit somewhere miles away.  She decided to make a cake that she saw made on the Food Network by a certain gorgeous Italian vixen.  Well it didn’t go over well.  Apparently it was not good at all and my dad told her to throw away the recipe.  This coming from the man who could win the eating section on Fear Factor meant it was really not good.  He likes everything!  Lesson learned, stick with the original family recipe. 

I learned another lesson with this dessert.  The original sauce recipe said to use cream or milk.  When I went to make the sauce I figured I could use evaporated milk instead of normal milk, and if that worked why not use fat free evaporated milk?  BAD idea.  It still tasted great but was not pretty.  After a little experimenting with an immersion blender it was just right, but not worth the work.  Just use whole milk or cream. Mmmm K?  Trust me.

 The Perfect Pairing for this apple cake with warm caramel sauce is whipped cream.  Why not?  Just do it. 

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Chicken and Pineapple “Fried” Quinoa, not Rice

Perfect Pairing: Pre-rinsed quinoa

Since my parents just moved my mom has had an opportunity to analyze all of her kitchen tools before storing them in their new home.  She ran across a lot of duplicates, and superfluous gadgets that did not make the cut.  She called me the other day as she was organizing her pantry and asked if I could think of any reason for her to keep the electric skillet.  We went over what we have used it for in the last few years and pretty much came up with one thing, fried rice.  We both agreed that this was not a good enough reason to keep a bulky piece of equipment and into the trash it went.

That discussion got me thinking about the fried rice she used to make.  I loved it.  It was salty from the soy sauce, filling, and about as ethnic as we got growing up.  I decided I was going to make my own variation of fried rice.  My recipe is very different from that original.  I guess they both had peas, soy sauce and eggs in.  That is where the similarities end!

Instead of rice I decided to use quinoa.  I LOVE that stuff.  Side note: If you are a fellow lover of the grain you may want to try this Spicy Quinoa, Tomato, Spinach and Chicken Sausage Soup and this Quinoa, Shrimp, Asparagus and Goat Cheese Salad.  Quinoa's health benefits far outweigh even brown rice.

To keep it extra healthy I used lots of vegetables like broccoli, mushrooms, peas, and edamame.  Fried rice from the local restaurant is going to be full of oil; this recipe uses only two teaspoons.  It is spicy, slightly sweet from the pineapple, filling, and delicious.  Most importantly, it is good for you!   

The Perfect Pairing for this recipe is pre-rinsed quinoa.  I made the mistake of buying un-rinsed quinoa once, and will not be doing that again.  I didn’t have a colander small enough to rinse it and had to come up with alternate methods.  I tried coffee filters, paper towels and draining through my fingers.  Long story short, I had a bit of a mess on my hands (literally) and a lot of wasted quinoa.  Do yourself a favor and buy the pre-rinsed variety!

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