Kale Chips

So you're sitting at home watching TV and you suddenly have a craving for potato chips. But you know that tomorrow, you will regret eating them. Instead of starchy, greasy potatoes, try making Kale Chips. They are tasty, healthy, and super easy to make.

Basic Kale Chips

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 8-10 min

Total Time: 13-15 min

Serves 4 (1 C each)

Ingredients:

• 1 Bunch of Fresh Kale
• 2 Tbls. Olive Oil
• 1/4 tsp. Course Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wash and thoroughly dry Kale.
3. Tear Kale in small to medium piece away from stem.
4. In a large mixing bowl, toss pieces of Kale with olive oil so that it is minimally dressed. Sprinkle with salt and toss again.
5. Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper and lay Kale pieces in single layer on top. 
6. Bake for 8-10 min, or until Kale is crispy but not charred.
7. Remove from oven, let cool for 1 minute, then devour!

Notes: Be sure to watch them as they will go from perfect to overdone in a matter of just one minute. You can add any seasoning you'd like. Parmesan cheese goes well with them. Once Kale is dark green and crisp to touch, it is done. Army green is overdone and can get a little bitter. 

Nutritional Facts:

• Calories - 127
• Fat - 8g
• Carbs - 13g
• Sodium - 198mg
• Fiber - 3g
• Protein - 4g
• Cholesterol - 0
• Sugar - 0

Be sure to dry the Kale and remove the tough stems.

Tear into bite size pieces.

Lightly dress with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet in a single layer.

Kale should be nice and dark green and crisp to the touch.

Throw into a bowl and enjoy!

Easter Egg Coloring Update

So as you know, I posted about coloring Easter Eggs on my last post. Unfortunately, I did not have time to try the Natural Dye's this year but I thought that I would share on the eggs I received from my father. I explained how he took his time on coloring his eggs and he comes up with some really spectacular looking eggs. Here are 2 of the eggs he brought us for Easter.

My Chef Hawleywood Egg!

He has very fancy handwriting!

Fancy designs.

His interpretation of a "Stained Glass" egg.

Side of "Stained Glass" egg.

Every year, the last eggs to get used usually end up being my dad's. Nobody wants to ruin his creations. Unless of course they have our names on them. In that case, we use them first for our traditional "Easter Soup". I just thought I'd share my dad's eggs and show you what he does every year.

Natural Easter Egg Colors

It's that time of year where everyone is rushing to the store to get egg dye to color Easter Eggs. As a kid, it was a tradition every year. My dad would spend 30 minutes on just one egg creating his masterpieces. I was too excited and would have half the eggs colored while he was doing his first egg. As I got older, I also started to take more time on my eggs. With the creation of sites like Pinterest, new ways of coloring eggs have popped up. One of the sites/blogs that I came across, had some really amazing looking eggs. They were sort of earthy and pleasing. I was intrigued by the colors, and the textures they left on the eggs so I thought I would share this with all my viewers. And it is nice that they are all made with natural ingredients.

For the egg dyes, Click here

Check out her blog too!

International Dinner - Russia

This week's dinner was managed by yours truly and my classmate Nick. Overall, it went great. I had my concerns with presentation as the food had a lot of the same colors. But my team had a great eye and a ton of talent that made each dish look great. I was most concerned by our dessert. It was called Jam Cake which was more like a torte. But it exceeded my expectations!

Blini-Buckwheat Pancake, Cured Salmon, Creme Fraiche, Capers, and Dill

Ukrainian Style Borscht

Shashlyk-Lamb Kabobs with Red Onion and Mushroom Caps, Served over Kasha, garnished with sauce and  green onions.

Jam Cake served with Hazelnut Liquor Creme Chantilly, Sliced Strawberry, and Strawberry Jam Sauce.

Unfortunately, I missed a picture of the Red Cabbage Salad before they all went out. We still have 2 dinners left. So if you haven't attended one, make a reservation today!

Real Ham Salad with "New" Nutritional Facts

It's that time of year when everyone makes those New Year's Resolutions to lose weight, get fit, being healthy, etc. In lieu of those who are watching what they eat, including myself, I will start to put Nutritional Facts on my recipes.

To try it out, I will post a quick Real Ham Salad recipe! I'm sure everyone has had their fill of ham, but if you're a bargain shopper and find a ham marked down after the holidays, make Ham Salad! And freeze the rest of course. Ham and Bean soup... Ham and Scalloped Potatoes... There are just so many things you can do with it!

Real Ham Salad
Prep. Time: 10 Minutes
Cooking Time: None
Total Time: 10 Minutes
Servings: 8 (1/2 Cup Each)

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. Lean Ham
• 3/4 Cup Sweet Relish
• 3/4 Cup Salad Dressing (Such as Miracle Whip)

Direction:

1. Pulse ham in food processor to make small grain size pieces.
2. In a medium bowl, mix with Sweet Relish and Salad Dressing until combined.
3. Serve on bread of choice.

Calories-148

Fat-7

Carbs-9

Protein-10

You could lighten this recipe up even more by using Lite or Fat Free Salad Dressing. Keep in mind though that usually Lite and Fat Free items have more salt and/or sugar in them.

If you need a recipe's Nutritional Facts, let me know and I will try and get them for you.

Puerco Pibil

My buddy Joe introduced me to a dish called Puerco Pibil. Ever since the first time I experienced it, I fell in love with it. It is a slow roasted pork that is so succulent and packed full of tastebud tickling flavor! There are a few shortcuts you can take with this dish but I guarantee you, it's worth the effort to make it this way for maximum flavor. It can be served over rice or in tortilla shells. I usually use the latter and top it with cheddar cheese and sour cream. I use and tweak a recipe from The Spice House Website.

Ingredients

• 5 lbs. Boneless Pork Butt, cut into 1"-2" cubes
• 5 Tbls. Annato Seeds
• 2 tsp. Cumin Seeds
• 1 Tbls. Whole Black Peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp. Whole Cloves
• 8 Whole Allspice Berries
• 2 Fresh Habanero Peppers, cleaned and minced
• 1/2 C. Fresh Orange Juice
• 1/2 C. White Vinegar
• 8 Garlic Cloves
• 2 Tbls. Salt
• 5 Lemons, juiced (Limes can also be used instead)
• 1 Shot of Tequila
• Banana Leaves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. In a spice grinder, add Annato, Cumin, Peppercorns, Cloves, and Allspice Berries and grind until very fine. It's important to grind it fine as the Annato Seeds are like tiny rocks and will give it a gritty texture if left too large. Set aside.
3. In a blender, add Habaneros, Orange Juice, Garlic, Salt, Lemon Juice, Tequila, and ground spices. Blend until smooth.
4. In a large marinating bag or non-reactive bowl, pour mixture over cubed pork and coat evenly. Secure or cover and place in fridge for 3-4 hours. 
5. In a 9x13x2 pan, lay banana leaves down one at a time so that it is draped over the pan and enough is leftover to drape back on top. Refer to pictures for details.
6. Pour Pork and all marinade in the pan on the banana leaves. 
7. One at a time and alternating leaves, drape them back over the the top of the pork like you are wrapping a package.
8. Once all leaves are folded back on top, cover with foil. It may help to wrap the entire pan in foil. Place on or above a cookie sheet and put in oven. Roast for 4 hours. 
9. After 4 hours, take out of oven. Pull the foil off and carefully "unfold" the banana leaves to reveal the pork. With tongs, break up pork so it "shreds". 
10. Serve over rice or on tortilla shells with Cheddar Cheese and Sour Cream!

Notes:

• Banana leaves are usually frozen and you can find them in specialty stores. They are not absolutely necessary but it does help add an extra flavor element you can't get without. The leaves are inexpensive and worth using.
• You can easily turn this into a crockpot meal. Simply add everything to the crockpot and I would cook it on low for 8 hours. 
• The habaneros are hot. However, by removing the seeds and ribs, it tones them down. The habaneros give the dish extra flavor and don't add that much heat. I am not a fan of "hot" food and I usually add just one and it comes out pretty mild. If you like spicy, add more habaneros.
• You can use limes instead of lemons. 

Puerco Pibil will make your house smell so wonderful. It is absolutely one of my favorite dishes. Please leave comments! If you have any questions, just ask! 

Pork Butt

All the spices

Habaneros and Garlic

Squeezing the Lemon Juice

Adding the Tequila

Adding the marinade

Banana Leaves

Lining the pan with the leaves

Adding the pork and maninade

Wrapping the pork and marinade with the leaves

All wrapped and ready for foil

Wrapped and ready for oven

Unwrapping

"Shredding" the pork

This is my favorite way to eat Puerco Pibil.

Need an excellent baker?

If you don't know already, I'm NOT a baker. I can make any kind of food you want, unless it is a bakery item. I burn store bought cookie dough. BUT, if anyone ever needs baked items, please check out my friend Molly!

Molly does fantastic work. She specializes in cupcake featuring unique flavors and decorations. Flavors like  Maple Bacon, Quadruple Chocolate Bypass, Triple Salted Caramel, Strawberries and Cream are just a few of the unique masterpieces she has created. Molly doesn't do just cupcakes though. She also makes cakes, cookies, pastries, and any other kind of custom made bake good you may need. Molly is located in Northeast, PA. You can check out her Facebook page and become a fan!

Here are just a few of her masterpieces:

These are AWESOME!!

Strawberries and Cream

Beer Cupcake sprinkled with Hops

Fancy Sugar Cookies

Fondant Cake

Rose Cupcake

Creamsicle Cupcake

Triple Salted Caramel Cupcakes

These are just a few of Molly's creations. For more pictures, descriptions, or to contact her, go to her Facebook page HERE!! Her contact information will be on there and she will be happy to answer questions and take orders! Let her bake you  a few spectacular treats for your holiday season.