Singing the Blues

One of the many male vs. female myths that has been debunked during my almost-eight-years of marriage is that the lady of the house isn’t the only one who gets a craving for certain food-type indulgences.

Take, The Husband. I suppose if we were cooking up his Last Meal on Earth, it would most certainly involve: Caesar salad (Boring, I know, but don’t give up on my hubs yet. It gets more interesting.); foie gras, escargot, scallions, shark, roasted pork, margarita pizza, key lime pie, crème brulee, pineapple, chocolate chip cookies, non pareils, a really top-notch bottle of wine and limoncello. He also grooves on blue cheese. Every summer he declares that he wants a big, bad blue cheese burger. So the summer of 2011, the Jersey Girl decided to make his dreams come true.

A blue cheese burger is quite simple to make. Yes, you so can get one at home rather than solely at a dark and smoky pub. Well, I guess they’re not really smoky anymore. The Husband wanted blue cheese stuffed in the middle of it all. So I did that, and then topped the burgers with some blue cheese sauciness. Because I’m from Jersey, and our motto here is, “More is More.”

I cooked the burgers on a grill pan due to the fact that our for-reals grill is swimming with the fishes.

If you do cook these on your outdoorsy grill, I would totally cut down the time to 6-7 minutes per side.

Blue Cheese Stuffed and Topped Burgers
Makes four

1 pound ground sirloin
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ small onion, minced
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Blue cheese crumbles, about 1 Tbsp per burger
Olive oil

In a medium-large bowl, combine sirloin with garlic, onion, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Gently mix with your hands. Once combined, form four patties with the sirloin mixture. Set aside on a platter. Place about 1 Tbsp blue cheese crumbles in the center of each patty. Gently rework patty to cover the cheese.

When ready to cook, brush each side of each burger with a drizzle of olive oil.

Cook on a grill pan over medium-high heat for 7 to 8 minutes per side.

Serve on a roll with Blue Cheese Sauce (see below) and your favorite toppings such as lettuce, tomato and red onion.

Blue Cheese Sauce
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. fresh chives
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ cup blue cheese crumbles
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a hand-mixer until well combined.

Bar Food Without the Bar

So, right. There’s totally a bun in my oven.

It’s a boy bun, which my already rockin’ mother’s intuition told me from the first weeks of being knocked up. (Between The Husband, The Jersey Girl’s Poppa and The Jersey Girl’s Fabulous Mother-in-Law, this kid will totally own every piece of baby Phillies gear that has ever been put on the market. No need to thank me, MLB.)

According to legend, a woman with child craves ice cream and pickles. But, you see dear readers, this Jersey Girl Soon to Be Jersey Momma was a bit of a barfly in her day, and well sometimes a gal needs a little pub fare while memories of Stohli Vanilla and ginger ale dance in her head.

So, I bring to you my Buffalo Chicken Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing.

Salad?!? In a bar?!? You trippin’.

Listen, kids. There’s a reason the Jersey Girl has been a petite kinda gal her whole life: She tries to make wise food choices. Sure, my stomach was most likely sending subliminal messages of hot wings to the brain, but my brain fought back and said, “How about some chicken tenders in a yum yum wing sauce over a salad?”

And, my brain won. But, my stomach was happy.

Interestingly, my pregnancy diet consists of crazy amounts of fruit and vegetables. I actually crave blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, peaches, salad and on and on. I shared this with one of my friends recently, and she thought I was totally loco.

Yes, many formerly pregnant broads tell me how they would eat a whole pizza in one sitting, tubs of ice cream every night, a pound of pasta all at once. But, eating big does not work out for me very well. In the end, feelings of nausea, disgustingness, sloth and guilt overcome the Jersey Girl. And then The Husband deals with my moaning and whimpering and depression. And plus, I so do not want to gain 100 pounds in nine months.

Now, don’t get me wrong, my whole day involves frequent eating and drinking gallons of water. It’s exhausting, actually. But making wise food choices most of the time is working for me. And then, when I eat a bowl of homemade ice cream or a Godiva truffle at the end of the day I don’t feel bad at all. I just feel blessed that there’s a little guy in my belly, who’s been kicking like crazy the past few days. Yay!

Buffalo Chicken Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing
(Makes about four servings)

For the salad:
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
½ red bell pepper, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 rib of celery, chopped
¼ red onion, chopped, (optional)

Place all ingredients in a salad bowl.

Top with Blue Cheese Dressing (recipe below).

Very Manly Blue Cheese Dressing
5 ounces of crumbled blue cheese
¼ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. scallion greens or chives, finely chopped
¼ tsp. black pepper
Pinch of salt

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat the ingredients on medium speed until well combined. The dressing should be thick and very blue cheesy.

For the chicken tenders:

1 pound chicken tenders
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
¼ tsp. salt
2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1/3 cup favorite wing sauce
2 Tbsp. butter

In a wide bowl, place flour, pepper, salt and Cajun seasoning. Mix together with a whisk or fork.

Place each chicken tender in the flour mixture. Toss until coated.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Once skillet is hot, place chicken tenders in sizzling butter. Brown on all sides, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Once chicken is brown, pour in wing sauce. Cook for about 2 to 3 more minutes, until sauce coats the chicken and is heated through. Remove from heat.

To assemble salad platters:

Place salad mixture on dinner plates. Top with two or three chicken tenders. Dollop with Blue Cheese Dressing.

On the Wings of Love

The Husband grooves on Buffalo Wings.

So, I made him a batch very recently.

Help came from Harry and David’s Hot and Spicy Buffalo Wing Sauce.

Oh, hell's yeah. The sauce is awesome.

You can just use your fav hot wing sauce if you don’t have Harry and David’s on hand. But, I gots to say that those fellas Dave and Har sure know how to concoct a mighty fine wing sauce.

And this comes from a gal who lived in Pittsburgh for four years. They make awesome wings in the Burgh. And they put French fries in everything for some crazy Yinzer reason: salads, sandwiches, cereal.

No, not cereal.

But fries are a main component to so much food in the Burgh. It’s very trippy/fattening/really awesome when you’re drunk and starving at 2 a.m. and have the metabolism of a 19-year-old because you are a 19-year-old.

I tried finding you guys more deets on the Harry and David sauce, but it was an epic fail. I provided you the link to the Web site above, but it doesn't look like it is sold on the Web site.

On the QT: The sales associates at a nearby store informed me one fine day that Harry and David carries way more merchandise in the store as opposed to online. So, it looks like this item is available in store only. I bought it back during the season to be jolly so that The Husband had a nice thang or two in his stocking. But lucky for you, I am a saver of receipts come hell or highwater. The 13 oz. bottle cost $7.95. It is really very delish. The flavors are spicy and interesting. The Husband gave it 2 thumbs up.

To make Buffalo Wings, all you need is some flour, some butter and some hot sauce. Seriously. That’s all folks.

I added Cajun seasoning as my secret ingredient.

We bake the wings in a feeble attempt to be less unhealthy.

And with the wings I serve some veggies – your standard carrots and celery – with red peppers because The Husband loves red peppers.

Am I forgetting something?

Oh right. Blue cheese dressing.

I make it. It’s awesome. You need to try it. For reals.

Despite my stint in Pittsburgh, I don’t eat wings very often. That’s because they’re super messy and well, I’m high maintenance and I rock a lot of bling and lip gloss so eating with my hands doesn’t always work out.

Plus, two wings like completely fill me up.

And beer NEVER caught on with me.

Beer and wings are like soul mates.

So, I was destined to not be one with wings. But, when I make them, they really are very yummy. Messy wing fingers aside.

Buffalo Wings - Shaken Not Stirred ... I Mean Baked Not Fried
12 to 14 wings
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
½ cup flour
1 tsp. Cajun season.
¼ tsp. black pepper
Pinch of salt
1 cup your favorite hot wing sauce

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, Cajun seasoning, black pepper and salt. Toss the wings in the flour mixture.

Place butter in a large Pyrex rectangular baking dish. Place dish in oven to melt the butter.

Once butter is melted, remove Pyrex dish from oven. Place coated chicken wings in dish. Return baking dish to oven. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove baking dish from oven.

Pour hot wing sauce over wings. Carefully coat the wings by tossing them with tongs.

Return baking dish to oven for 10 more minutes.

Serve with Very Manly Blue Cheese Dressing (see recipe below) and cut up veggies.

Very Manly Blue Cheese Dressing
5 ounces of crumbled blue cheese
¼ mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. milk
1tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. dried chives
¼ tsp. black pepper
Pinch of salt.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat the ingredients on medium speed until well combined. The dressing should be thick and very blue cheesy.

Serve with wings and cut up vegetables such as carrots, celery, cucumbers, bell peppers and scallions.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

So blogging this time of year is tres difficult with all the holiday duties that go with being the lady of the house.


Plus, everyday is like a total battle with my evil Christmas lights, which seem to go out randomly despite being brand, spankin’ new. In the battle of twinkly lights vs. Susan, the twinkly lights win. But I am so that person who needs to switch burnt-out Christmas lights despite hailing wind and rain and freakin’ coldness. I totally think I’m OCD.

So, I’ve been posting like once a week.

Yes, I am the world’s lamest blogger.

Hee.

Last week was the rockin’ Hammonton Christmas Parade.

My familia has an annual party on this festive night, since the parade totally crosses paths with my parents’ hood.

To get the party started, I made my mom’s Blue Cheese Stuffed Shrooms. Mark and I also bestowed upon the fam the world’s best cannolis from Isgro’s. (See previous post.)

Blue cheese is so retro to me. It holds a place in my heart with iceburg lettuce, Jell-O molds and deviled eggs. I just get that old-school vibe from anything with blue cheese.
The shrooms were a trial run for Christmas Eve, during which we have the Seven Fishes. Or in the case of my family, 700 Fishes. We thought, that perhaps, it would be good move to have a non-seafood-like app.

The Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms totally win out.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
From the “Great American Brand Name Cookbook”

2 pounds medium mushrooms
6 Tbsp. margarine
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup crumbled blue cheese
2 Tbsp. chopped onion

Remove mushroom stems. Chop enough stems to measure ½ cup. Cook half the mushroom caps in three Tbsp. margarine over medium heat for five minutes. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat with remaining mushrooms and margarine. Combine blue cheese and cream cheese, mixing until well blended. Stir in chopped stems and onions. Fill mushroom caps. Place on cookie sheet. Broil until golden brown.


Please note: The Jersey Girl cooks the mushrooms in 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, not 3 Tbsp. margarine as the recipe calls for.