This is not a FOOD BLOG

This is not a food blog.  This is a blog about our first year of marriage.  But in this marriage, we love food.  We watch a lot of Food Network TV, so we often pretend that we are on a cooking show, Chopped or something, and we have to come up with a recipe using the random ingredients we have on hand.  So, I made this... and it was epic so I must share.  I didn't measure anything (because I was using leftovers) , so, if you decide to make this masterpiece yourself,  use your own judgement regarding the rationing of ingredients.  We found that this dish pairs famously with Chardonnay.  Un-Oaked Chard is my preference, and we try to drink organic or local wine, so I served this with Messina Hof (Texas grown and crafted) Un-Oaked Chardonnay.  Delicious. 

1.  Mix together!

Ground Turkey
1 egg
Crushed Walnuts
BBQ sauce
Grated Parmesan Cheese
3 cloves of minced garlic
salt and pepper

2. Sauce!

Melt some butter
Add crushed garlic
Cook for a minute or so
Add Heavy Cream
Add some blue cheese
Cook over low heat, melting the cheese, stirring and cooking to desired consistency.  Ours was kind of thick and creamy.

3.  Grill the burger, toast the bun, slather BBQ sauce and gorgonzola cheese sauce onto bun, add burger, a slice of avocado, and serve.

P.S.  We grew this tomato, and it was good.

Remember the Alamo

We often make pizzas at home.  Last night we were wanting to top off our lazy weekend with a pizza and wine night, but instead of the usual Mediterranean style that we go for, I wanted to try something new.  I have an obsession with The Alamo Drafthouse's Spicy Bleu Burger.  I crave it weekly and am often convinced  when I am feeling especially lethargic, blue or just simply ravenous, that the spicy bleu burger will cure what ails me.  So, when we were wandering aimlessly around the grocery store last night collecting mushrooms, pizza sauce, mozzerella... I felt bored by our selection and with very little convincing, got Kayla on board to make a pizza inspired by my favorite Alamo menu item.  It was a huge hit!  The act of putting the pizza together even inspired a new dinner party idea.  It will be a series of  parties where one or two other couples bring the ingredients to make their favorite menu item or dish into a pizza!  Kayla brilliantly termed the title of the series "Make it into a Pizza!"  And so it was.

First, I browned my hormone free, grass fed hamburger meat in some canola oil.  I seasoned the beef with some cayenne pepper, lemon pepper, ginger, turmeric and some fresh herbs from the garden (thyme and winter savory).  When it was almost browned, I put in large chunks of fresh garlic, about 3 cloves.  We like garlic around here.

Next I prepare my crust.  We eat gluten free around  so we used Udi's pre made pizza crust.  It comes in a package of two small crusts.  Udi's has a sweeter taste than average pizza crust, which pairs perfectly with the rich and spicy flavors we are about to throw down. 

Organic Barbeque Sauce!  No preservatives!

Next I drizzle extra virgin olive oil on the crusts before putting on the BBQ sauce.  After I took this photo of my pretty BBQ sauce design, I added more sauce and spread it pretty thick over the crust.

After the sauce, I sprinkle a little mozerella cheese, followed by a healthy sprinkle of the browned hamburger.  For this garlic loving household I added two more cloves of freshed minced garlic.  Top it off with BLUE CHEESE and you are ready to put it in the oven! I follow Udi's directions to bake for 7 minutes in a preheated 375 oven.  Afterwards, we slid the pizzas off the baking sheet and baked an additional 3 minutes to get a preferred crispy crust. 

We enjoyed it with a fresh garden salad that my honey made and a glass of Cab.

Peach Chicken Salad

A couple of falls ago, we went to Fredericksburg, TX for a weekend and went on a wine tour. Our last stop was William and Chris Winery, and we fell in love. Everything about the tasting building is rustic and repurposed. The grounds are very quaint, and the people who make it and serve it are great. Their wine is organically made, and they are just one step away from being "certified organic." What's better? The wine is delicious! We joined their wine club right away, which means that every 3 or 4 months we get a shipment of at least 2 bottles. They send recipes to make that pair well with the wine selections that they send. On one of our first shipments we got this recipe (I will share our modified version of it since we hate onions and Kayla hates celery.) It is Texas peach season once again, we just got a fresh shipment of William and Chris, so we made this awesome Peach Chicken Salad. Ingredients 2 chicken breasts, baked or smoked, cubed/ 1 cup seedless grapes, halved/ 6 cloves of garlic/ 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips/ 1 cup slivered almonds/ 3/4 cup to 1 cup mayo/ Cayenne pepper to taste/ 1 cup cubed Texas Peaches (preferably over-ripe) 1. In a large bowl, mix everything together, Chill, and Serve! 2. Enjoy in the middle of the afternoon with an awesome glass of wine!