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September 16, 2020 Recipes

Anchovy and Herb Compound Butter

Have you guys been making compound butter? Because you need to be! This Anchovy and Herb Compound Butter is the perfect accompaniment to a big juicy steak but can also be used to jazz up (yep, jazz) a variety of different dishes!

What is compound butter, you ask? Compound butter is simply a mixture of butter and other ingredients. I make allll kinds of compound butter with different flavor combinations at home and I decided it's about time I start sharing them on the blog!

Compound butter couldn't be easier to make. You start with a softened stick of unsalted butter, and just add whatever ingredients you're using to it. Sometimes it's as easy as mixing the butter by hand in a bowl, and other times you'll need to use a food processor. Either way, compound butter is always fast, easy and delicious. I'll be sharing a lot more recipes for compound butter from here on out but let's start with this one!

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Don't be turned off by the idea of anchovies, I promise they're delicious! The anchovies melt into the butter and add saltiness and an amazing umami quality. Not fishy at all! (Not that fishiness would be a problem for me... I'll have some fishier butters coming up for my fellow seafood lovers!) Because the anchovies are bringing a lot of salt to the table, it's important to use unsalted butter for this recipe. In fact, using unsalted butter for all compound butters is ideal. That way you can control the saltiness yourself. Remember, you can always add more salt but you can't take it away!

Since the anchovy is taking care of that salty umami flavor and the butter is bringing the creamy fatty goodness, I added lemon zest and fresh parsley for brightness and acid and then finally, green onions for extra flavor.

Of course, the obvious way to enjoy compound butter is with a delicious steak but I just had some on toast with lox and it was incredible. Try using this butter on veggies, in pastas, on a sandwich...whatever!

So this is my inaugural compound butter post and I hope you give it a try! Let me know what you think and I'll be back with more butters.

Anchovy and Herb Compound Butter

This Anchovy and Herb Compound Butter is the perfect accompaniment to a big juicy steak.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 0

For chilling 30

Course Sauces

Ingredients

½ Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened
4 Anchovy filets packed in oil finely chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
1 Tablespoon green onion thinly sliced
1 Teaspoon lemon zest

Instructions

Mix all of the ingredients in a bow until well combined. Transfer to plastic wrap and tightly roll into a log shape.
Freeze for 30 minutes or refrigerate for 1 hour before using.
Slice and enjoy with a juicy steak, veggies, or toast!

Keyword anchovies, compound butter, steak

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September 4, 2020 Main Dishes

Shrimp and Pork Belly Fried Rice

I don't want to play favorites because I really love ALL fried rice but, this shrimp and pork belly combo just might be my favorite! You can forget about ordering in because this recipe is quick, easy and really delicious! Make sure to read through this post for tips to make your best fried rice ever.

Growing up, my family ordered from a place called Little Lan's and would always ask for combination shrimp and pork fried rice. I'm not even sure if that was actually on the menu or if we just asked for that combination special? Who knows! What I do know for sure is that shrimp and pork are a fried rice match made in heaven. Especially if the pork is pork belly! Pork belly has a good amount of fat on it which means two things: you can get it nice and crispy, and you'll be able to render that fat to use for cooking. Fat = flavor, my friends!

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You'll cook the pork belly first until it's golden and crispy and then transfer it to a bowl so it doesn't over cook. Next, cook the shrimp in the pork fat and then transfer them to the bowl with the pork belly. After you've cooked the protein, add in the veggies, then the rice, then you'll cook the eggs, add the protein back in and cover it all in delicious sauce.

I have been able to find pork belly at most grocery stores lately but if you can't find fresh pork belly, there are a couple things you can substitute. Trader Joe's sells cooked pork belly that I have used a couple times before. You'll crisp it up in the pan the same way you would with uncooked pork belly but shave off a few minutes of the cook time. If you can't find pork belly and you don't live by a Trader Joe's, bacon will work! Bacon will definitely change the overall flavor of the dish but, like, not in a bad way! If you can't get to any pork belly—bacon it up! If you are using bacon for this recipe, you will need to adjust the salt accordingly. The bacon will be much saltier than the pork belly.

Fried rice is a lot easier to make at home than you might think, but there are a couple tricks that will help make your homemade fried rice experience better and those are 1: make sure to prep all of the ingredients before you start cooking. The cooking will go fast, so you need everything chopped and ready to go! And 2: use leftover, cold cooked rice!!

About the rice, it's absolutely, super important to use leftover cold rice. Why, you ask? Because leftover rice gets dried out and separates, which makes it better for frying! If you use rice you made that day, it'll still be wet and steamy and you'll end up with a mushy slop. I promise you, this makes a huge difference! If you absolutely HAVE to make fried rice at once, and you've done zero rice prep, you can use one of those bags of ready rice (you know the ones that you just microwave for a minute?) and use it straight out of the bag without microwaving. This sort of mimics the dry, leftover rice scenario but it is certainly sub par.

My advice is just to cook some rice the day before you plan on making the fried rice. That's it. Just a tiny bit of planning ahead will up your fried rice game by A LOT.

For the veggies and aromatics, I like using garlic, scallion, carrots and snow peas. Scallions are a great for fried rice because you use the white part for cooking, and then the green part as a garnish. I chose carrots and snow peas for my veggies because I like how they add a little crunch to the rice. I'm not the biggest fan of english peas that you typically see in fried rice (too sweet for me!) so I go with snow peas instead. Feel free to use whatever veggies you like, though! If you want to use up some frozen veggies, corn and peas are great choices. You can also add some chopped bell pepper. Whatever you want!

Some fried rice recipes tell you to scramble the eggs first, remove them from the pan, and then add them back in at the end. You can do this if you want, but I prefer to cook the eggs at the end, after you've added your rice to the pan. You just push the rice to the side, add a little butter, scramble the eggs, and then mix them into the rice. Super easy! This recipe calls for 2-3 eggs, depending on how eggy you like your fried rice.

Now about those shrimps, I like using large shrimp for this recipe. After cooking them, I'll chop half of them up into bite sized pieces and leave the other half whole. The bite sized guys are great for when you're shoveling the fried rice into your mouth and the big guys are like a special treat! Sure, you could use small or medium shrimp, but I just don't think they taste as good. You want the shrimp to be plump and juicy!

Last but not least, let's talk about the sauce. It's just soy sauce (I use low sodium) and sesame oil—that's it! If you want to get crazy, you can add a small amount of oyster sauce to the fried rice, but you really only need soy sauce and sesame oil. I kept the soy sauce a little light so that people can add more to their individual servings as they like. I mean, that's just the right thing to do!

Okay, I feel like I've rambled on about the components of fried rice for a little too long and now it's time to get cooking! As long as you're armed with some old ass rice, and you've prepped all of your ingredients before cooking, you're going to nail it. I promise!

P.S. This is my mischievous little (big) son, Lenny, trying to bust onto the photo shoot scene to eat all the ingredients. As you can see, he is carefully calculating how to get from the couch to the step ladder, to reach the food. He was unsuccessful in his attempts.

Shrimp and Pork Belly Fried Rice

You can forget about ordering in because this recipe is quick, easy and really delicious!

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Chinese

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons neutral oil divided
1 Cup pork belly cubed
¼ Pound large raw shrimp peeled and deveined
1 Teaspoon rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter divided
3 Cloves garlic minced
2-3 Scallions white and green parts, thinly sliced
1 Cup carrots roughly chopped
1 Cup snow peas roughly chopped
4 Cups cooked white rice cold
2-3 Large eggs lightly beaten
3 Tablespoons light soy sauce plus more for serving
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat a large non-stick pan or wok over medium heat. Add 1 Tablespoon of the oil and the pork belly to the pan and season with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the pork belly is brown and crispy at the edges; about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pork to a bowl, leaving the fat in the pan. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook, flipping once, until just cooked through; about 3 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to the bowl with the pork. When cooled enough to handle, chop half of the shrimp into bite sized pieces.
Add the rice vinegar to the pan to deglaze, scraping up the brown bits from the pork and shrimp. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the garlic and white parts of the scallion and cook, stirring, until fragrant and garlic is starting to turn golden at the edges; 1 minute. Add the carrots and snow peas, stir, and cook until slightly softened; 3 minutes. Add the rice along with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Fry the rice, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Push the rice to one side of the pan. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the empty side of the pan and pour in the eggs. Scramble the eggs and then when cooked, mix into the rice. Add the pork and shrimp back into the rice. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil and stir to combine. Taste the rice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Garnish with the green parts of the scallions and serve with more soy sauce.
Enjoy!

Keyword fried rice, pork belly, rice, seafood

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August 18, 2020 Appetizers

Pan con Tomate

This recipe is meant for summer, when tomatoes are in season and in abundance! These tomato toasts are made with only a few simple ingredients but are one of the most delicious appetizers you'll ever try!

Pan con Tomate (also called Pa amb Tomàquet) is a Spanish tapas dish. As I'm sure you've figured out, the name translates to "bread with tomato" and that's exactly what they are!

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The key to making these simple toasts extra delicious, is making sure you have the best ingredients. You'll need fresh, crusty bread, the ripest tomatoes, good quality olive oil, garlic, and flaky sea salt. Like I said, it's only a few simple ingredients, but once they come together—it's magic!

There are two ways to make the toasts. The first way is by grating the tomatoes into a bowl and spooning them over the bread. The second is to grate the tomatoes directly onto your grilled bread! With the first technique, you'll get more tomato but the second is more traditional. I can never decide which technique I prefer, so I always do both! Serving the pre-grated tomatoes in a bowl, AND a few cut tomatoes together makes it so people can try both ways and see what they like best.

Traditionally, it's just bread, tomato, olive oil and salt, but I like to garnish the toasts with some fresh basil and oregano. Hey, it's summer, I'm taking full advantage of the garden!

Sometimes I like to serve the bread with some Spanish cheeses and jamón, in keeping with the Spanish theme. If you can't find Spanish jamón, prosciutto will be just fine!

Serve these toasts as an appetizer or light meal. I can say one thing for sure, they taste best when eaten outside on a summer day!

Pan con Tomate

These tomato toasts are made with only a few simple ingredients but are one of the most delicious appetizers you’ll ever try!

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 5

Total Time 15

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Spanish

Ingredients

For the Pan con Tomate

6-8 Slices crusty bread
2 Cloves garlic
4 Large, ripe tomatoes
Olive oil
Flaky sea salt such as Maldon

For Serving (optional)

Fresh basil
Fresh oregano
Spanish cheese such as Manchego
Jamón or prosciutto

Instructions

Using the largest holes of a box grater, grate two of the tomatoes into a bowl. Over the sink, pour the grated tomatoes through a sieve to drain the excess water. Transfer the tomatoes back to the bowl and season with salt and pepper. Cut the remaining two tomatoes in half.
Grill or toast the bread until lightly charred. Peel the garlic cloves and cut the woody ends off. Rub each piece of bread with the cut side of the garlic cloves.
Serve the bread with the cut tomatoes, the grated tomato, olive oil and flaky sea salt.
For the first technique, spoon the grated tomato over the bread followed by a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of flaky sea salt.
For the second technique, rub one of the cut tomatoes directly onto the grilled bread, followed by the olive oil and salt.
Garnish with basil and oregano if you want, see which technique you like best, and enjoy!

Keyword Pan con Tomate, Tapas, Tomatoes

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August 14, 2020 Appetizers

Caprese Salad with Prosciutto

Everybody loves a good caprese salad, right? This one is extra special with two types of tomatoes and a layer of prosciutto! This is definitely one of the most delicious ways to celebrate tomato season

The caprese salad originated in Capri, Italy (hence the name) and consisted of tomatoes, cow's milk mozzarella, and oregano. Nowadays, you see this salad all over the world and it's likely made with buffalo mozzarella, sometimes with balsamic vinegar, and definitely with plenty of fresh basil! In Italy today, caprese is usually made with just tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, basil, and olive oil.

Now that you've got a little history on the caprese salad, I'll show you one of my favorite ways to make it!

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This caprese starts with a layer of large, ripe heirloom tomatoes, then a layer of prosciutto, then cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. Double tomato action! Top it all off with some flaky sea salt, cracked pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar and of course, tons of fresh basil!

Since there are so few ingredients in this salad, it should be made with the best quality ingredients you can find. Grab some tomatoes from the farmer’s market and spring for the good olive oil!

Most of the time, I prefer to use red wine vinegar on my caprese salads. I like how it's a little lighter than balsamic and you can taste the tomatoes better. When the tomatoes are reeeeally good (and I'm feeling extra Italian) I'll skip vinegar all together and stick with a drizzle of good olive oil.

Don’t forget to grab some delicious, crusty bread while you’re at the market, you’ll need it to sop up all the delicious tomato juices at the bottom of the platter. And while I’m adding to your shopping list, a crisp white wine is perfect with this caprese!

Caprese Salad with Prosciutto

This Caprese is extra special with two types of tomatoes and a layer of prosciutto!

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 0

Total Time 15

Course Appetizer, Salad

Cuisine Italian

Ingredients

3-4 Large tomatoes thickly sliced
6 Slices prosciutto
2 Cups cherry tomatoes halved
Fresh mozzarella torn
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar (optional)
Flaky sea salt such as Maldon
Freshly cracked black pepper
Fresh basil torn
Crusty bread for serving

Instructions

Arrange the sliced tomatoes on a large platter and season lightly with salt and pepper. Lay the prosciutto over the tomato slices. Scatter the cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella over the prosciutto.
Drizzle olive oil and a few splashes of red wine vinegar (if using) and season again with flaky sea salt and pepper. Garnish with plenty of fresh basil and serve at room temperature.
Enjoy!

Keyword Caprese Salad, prosciutto

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July 31, 2020 Recipes

Jalapeño Cheddar Chicken Burgers

Flavorful chicken burgers with all the toppings that take only minutes to make? Sign me up! These Jalapeño Cheddar Chicken Burgers are perfect for an easy (and healthy!) backyard get together.

I was so excited to be able to get a "first taste" package of al fresco's newest product line–chicken burgers! I have been a huge fan of al fresco products for a while and used them in many of my recipes. I love the addition of their new chicken burgers for an easy and healthy take on burger night!

*This post may contain affiliate links. See disclosure for further details.

When I first tasted these burgers, I was surprised by how juicy they were! Let's face it, sometimes chicken or turkey burgers can be a little bit dry and these were not at all. I loved how the Jalapeño Cheddar burgers had just the right amount of flavor. The cheddar is subtle and delicious, and you can taste the jalapeño, but they're not too spicy.

The burgers were a hit with me so I decided to test them out on Larry and a couple friends!

I like to put a bunch of toppings out for people to customize their own burgers, like a burger bar! I decided to keep my toppings in line with the flavor profile of the burgers—some fresh guacamole and mild Queso Fresco were perfect with these chicken burgers and didn't overpower the jalapeño cheddar flavor. Then I added the usual burger suspects, lettuce, tomato and onion. I always like to season the tomatoes with a bit of salt and pepper, and in this case, a squeeze of lime. Delicious!

One of the things I love most about these chicken burgers is that they cut prep time by so much. Since they're already perfectly seasoned and formed into patties, all you have to do is cook them! I don't have an outdoor grill (one day!) so I cooked them in my cast iron grill pan for a similar grilled flavor. They only need about 4 minutes on each side and they're ready to go!

I prepped all of the toppings for the burger bar before cooking the burgers so everything would be ready to go all at once. Then I sprayed my cast iron pan with a light layer of olive oil and cooked the burgers over medium high heat, flipping once. While the burgers cooked, I toasted the buns in the toaster. If you're making your burgers on the grill, you can toast the buns right on the grill when the burgers are almost done. Then I put out the toppings platter and served up the burgers. Spoiler alert: everybody loved them!

Along with the Jalapeño Cheddar, I tried al fresco's Simply Seasoned and Greek Style chicken burgers. The simply seasoned (with sea salt and cracked black pepper) is the perfect base for classic burger toppings or to customize to your liking—it literally goes with anything! The greek style (with oregano, garlic, and feta) were fun and flavorful! Next time I make them, I'm planning on topping them with an arugula salad, tomato and a greek yogurt sauce. Yum! These new chicken burgers will definitely be in the weeknight line up from now on.

I'm super excited about this new al fresco's new chicken burger line so be on the look out for them in stores so you can try them yourself! In the meantime, I've linked some of my other recipes using al fresco products below!

Thank you, al fresco, for sponsoring this post and supporting Carolyn’s Cooking! As always, recipe, photos and opinions are my own.

Jalapeño Cheddar Chicken Burgers

These Jalapeño Cheddar Chicken Burgers are perfect for an easy (and healthy!) backyard get together.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Course Main Course

Servings

Ingredients

For the burgers

Olive oil spray
4 al fresco Jalapeno Cheddar Chicken Burgers
4 Buns lightly toasted

Topping ideas

Tomato sliced
Red onion sliced into rings
Lettuce
Guacamole
Queso Fresco crumbled
Lime wedges
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Prep the toppings for the burger bar and arrange on a platter.
Heat a cast iron grill pan or grill to medium high heat and spray lightly with olive oil. Cook the burgers for 4-5 minutes on each side or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
While the burgers are cooking, toast the buns.
Use the toppings to customize the burgers to your liking.
Enjoy!

Keyword Burger, ground chicken

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July 20, 2020 Appetizers

Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

Zucchini flowers are one of my favorite summer foods! They have a very delicate zucchini flavor and can be stuffed, fried, stuffed and fried, added to pastas and pizzas, tossed in a salad—the possibilities are endless!

One of my favorite ways to prepare zucchini flowers is by stuffing them with herbed ricotta, dipping them in a light batter and frying them. The perfect summer bite!

*This post may contain affiliate links. See disclosure for further details.

What are zucchini flowers?

Zucchini flowers grow on (you guessed it!) the zucchini plant and can be harvested throughout the growing season. But what do you do if you don't grow zucchini? You're in luck! You can find zucchini flowers at farmer's markets and even some grocery stores. You may even be able to score some from a zucchini growing friend!

Once you do get your hands on some of these delicious flowers, be sure to cook them the same day, or maaaaybe the next. They're delicate little guys and can get wilted if not used right away. That shouldn't be a problem though, you'll want to make these stuffed zucchini flowers ASAP.

How do I prepare zucchini flowers?

Before cooking, take a peek inside the flower to check for bugs. There probably won't be any in there but checking can't hurt. Once you're in the clear on the bug front, 86 those stamens! Stamens are those little stem like things that are poking up inside the flower and you can just rip them off. Now you're ready to cook!

This is a simple recipe with just a few easy steps. First you'll make the ricotta mixture. I usually end up adding chives, lemon zest and parsley but mint and basil are great choices as well. Feel free to customize to your liking! Next, you'll make a batter from just flour, salt and club soda. I love this batter because it's super light and doesn't overwhelm the flavor of the zucchini flowers.

How do I cook zucchini flowers?

The cooking is easy—the flowers go into the batter and then some hot oil for a quick fry. Once in the oil, you'll flip them once to make sure they're perfectly golden and crispy on both sides, then transfer them to a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle a little flaky salt on each flower while they're hot out of the oil, that way the salt will stick. I like to fry 3-4 flowers at a time to make sure the pot doesn't get overcrowded. Repeat the steps until all the flowers are fried and serve them up with more chives and a lemon wedge or two.

These zucchini flowers make the perfect appetizer, preferably eaten outside and with a glass of wine!

Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

One of my favorite ways to prepare zucchini flowers is by stuffing them with herbed ricotta, dipping them in a light batter and frying them. The perfect summer bite!

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Italian

Ingredients

10 Zucchini flowers
1 Cup all purpose flour
1 Cup club soda
¼ Teaspoon kosher salt
Oil for frying
Flaky sea salt for serving
Chives for serving
Lemon wedges for serving

Herbed Ricotta

⅓ Cup ricotta
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh chives finely chopped
½ Teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, parsley, chives and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Carefully open the blossoms and remove the stamens inside. Using your fingers or a small spoon, fill the blossoms with the ricotta mixture.
Make the batter. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, salt and club soda together until well combined. The batter should be slightly foamy.
In a large pot or skillet, heat 2 inches of oil to 350 degrees. Dip each ricotta stuffed zucchini flower into the batter and add them to the hot oil, one at a time, making sure not to crowd the pot. Fry the flowers for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. With a slotted spoon or spider, transfer the flowers to a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with sea salt. Repeat with the remaining flowers.
Serve right away with more chives and lemon wedges.
Enjoy summer!

Keyword ricotta, zucchini blossoms, zucchini flowers

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June 19, 2020 Classic Italian

Pasta alla Gricia

Guanciale, pecorino, pepper, pasta. These are the ingredients for one of Rome's cornerstone pastas, Pasta alla Gricia. If you haven't tried Pasta alla Gricia yet, get ready to fall in love! There may only be a few ingredients, but they come together to make pasta magic!

Pasta alla Gricia comes from the Lazio region of Italy where Rome is. Rome is known for it's four pastas, carbonara, amatriciana, cacio e Pepe and gricia. For some reason, gricia seems to be the least known of the four. Somebody get gricia a PR person, pronto!

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Traditionally, this pasta would be made with guanciale which is cured pork jowl. Since guanciale can be pretty hard to find, substituting cubed pancetta works just fine! If you happen to have access to some Italian guanciale, by all means, go for it!

If you're using pancetta, try to find some that has a good amount of fat on it. You'll need that fat to create the silky sauce! I included olive oil in the recipe but only to use as necessary. If you're using guanciale, you'll be able to render enough fat that you won't need the oil. If you're using pancetta, however, I find that it usually needs a little extra fat. You shouldn't need more than a tablespoon of olive oil to supplement the pancetta fat.

Cooking the pork over medium low heat for 15 minutes or so will ensure that you've rendered enough fat for the sauce but kept the pork tender and crisp. If you see the pork starting to crisp up too fast, lower the heat a bit. Once you've gotten all of that delicious fat from the pork, you'll transfer it to a bowl with a slotted spoon so that it doesn't get overcooked.

You want to start cooking the pasta when the pork is about halfway done, so make sure to have a big pot of water boiling. Usually I'd tell you to salt your pasta water heavily, but since the pork and cheese are already salty, go easy on the salt this time. Since you need that starchy pasta water to create the sauce, I like using a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the pasta straight from the water to the skillet. That way, you don't have to go through the trouble of draining the pasta and you're left with a pot of pasta water to use for the sauce.

Speaking of the sauce (it's really more of an emulsion than a sauce if I'm being technical) it really is magical! You are combining pork fat and pasta water to create a creamy, glossy sauce that coats the pasta perfectly. Then you add in the cheese, pepper and crispy pork and WHOA.

Pasta alla Gricia can be made with spaghetti, bucatini, or rigatoni but I like using rigatoni best. Pieces of the pork will get inside the rigatoni and make the perfect bite!

It's amazing how just a few ingredients can create such a rich and flavorful dish in no time. You'll have one of Rome's classic dishes on your plate in under 30 minutes!

Pasta alla Gricia

Guanciale, pecorino, pepper, pasta. These are the ingredients for one of Rome’s cornerstone pastas, Pasta alla Gricia.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Total Time 25

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings

Ingredients

¾ Pound rigatoni
1 4 Ounce Package pancetta or guanciale cubed
1 Tablespoon olive oil (if necessary)
½ Teaspoon freshly cracked pepper plus more for serving
½ Cup Pecorino Romano cheese grated, plus more for serving
kosher salt

Instructions

In a large skillet over medium low heat, cook the pork (and olive oil if using), stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the pork is crispy but still tender; about 15 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the pork to a bowl and set aside. Add the pepper to the pan and stir.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta to 3 minutes less than package directions for al dente.
With a spider or slotted spoon, transfer the pasta to the skillet along with 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Stir until the pork fat and starchy pasta water emulsify into a glossy sauce and the pasta has finished cooking; about 2 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted through. Add the pork back to the pan and give it a final stir.
Serve right away with more pepper and pecorino.
Get every pasta lover you know on the horn and tell them that Pasta alla Gricia deserves their attention!

Keyword Alla Gricia, Guanciale, Rigatoni, Roman pastas

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June 10, 2020 Recipes

Easy Caramelized Onions

Caramelized onions are that special element that can transform ordinary dishes into magically delicious flavor bombs. Okay maybe that was a bit dramatic, but they are indeed very delicious.

Caramelized onions will keep in the refrigerator for about a week so whip up a batch and upgrade your sandwich, pizza, pasta, egg, and burger game!

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They are also easy to make! Something that stopped me from making caramelized onions earlier in my cooking career was that I thought they would be difficult to make. In actuality, they are incredibly easy to make and only need 4 ingredients, one of which is water!!

Easy and simple, yes, but one thing caramelized onions do need is time. Some recipes will try to tell you that you can make them in 10 or 15 minutes. That is...a lie. You might get some fried onions in that time, but caramelized? No. For the onions to truly caramelize, they'll need about 45 minutes to an hour. But remember, the effort involved is very minimal and the reward is rich, sweet, almost jammy onions. The best!

You want to end up with onions that are a rich brown color. See how dark they get? When they're truly caramelized, they'll be dark in color, and will have shrunk to about a third of their original size. This is a small batch recipe so if you're cooking for a larger group, double, triple or quadruple the recipe!

This recipe is for very basic, simple caramelized onions but if you want to jazz them up a bit, there are a couple add-ins that'll do the trick! At the very end of cooking, you can add a splash of balsamic vinegar, a splash of fish sauce, some sugar, or some smoked paprika. Feel free to play around with different flavors—go wild!

So if you have onions, butter, water, salt and about an hour, do yourself a favor and whip up a batch of caramelized onions! Then proceed to put them on everything.

Easy Caramelized Onions

If you have onions, butter, water, salt and about an hour, do yourself a favor and whip up a batch of caramelized onions! Then proceed to put them on everything.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 45

Total Time 50

Course Side Dish

Ingredients

2 Large yellow onions thinly sliced
1 Tablespoons unsalted butter
½ Cup water
kosher salt

Instructions

In a large stainless steel skillet, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and stir until evenly coated with the butter. Cook the onions, stirring every 5 minutes, for 20 minutes. Be careful not to burn the onions.
Add the water, stir, and continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes; stirring occasionally. Season with kosher salt to taste.
Enjoy on your favorite dishes!

Keyword caramelized onions, easy recipe

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May 22, 2020 Recipes

Sweet Apple Sausage and Gouda Sandwich

I love a good sandwich and I'm always looking to create new and exciting ways to eat them. This combination of Sweet Apple Sausage, smoked gouda and a tangy, crunchy slaw all piled onto a big bakery roll is a winner!

*This post may contain affiliate links. See disclosure for further details.

I'm using al fresco's Sweet Apple Chicken Sausages for this recipe—they may be my new obsession! I'm a big fan of al fresco's sausages because they always have great flavor and can be used in such a variety of ways. Since I used their Smoked Andouille Sausage in this Cajun Pasta Salad, I decided to go in a different direction this time and try the Sweet Apple Sausage. It was perfect!

Sausage and gouda are delicious together, but what takes it to the next level is the slaw! This slaw is light and tangy with a little kick from a bit of ginger. It balances the other ingredients and gives the sandwich a healthy crunch. When you're making the slaw, you might think there's not enough dressing but just give it some time! As the slaw sits in the dressing, it'll shrink a bit and you'll see, it'll be perfectly dressed. The last thing you want is soggy slaw!

You'll most likely have some slaw leftover after you've made this sandwich. I like eating a bit with my eggs and avocado in the morning or adding it to salads, sandwiches and tacos!

Since this is meant to be a big sandwich, you'll need to find a big roll! There's no specific bread that needs to be used here, just take a look in the bakery section of your grocery store and see what's available. I found a HUGE Vienna loaf and it worked perfectly but there were lots of other options too. You want to look for bread that is soft on the inside and a little crusty on the outside. If you can't find one big roll to house all of this deliciousness, buy a pack of sausage buns and make the sandwiches individually!

Assembling this sandwich is super easy! So that the flavors have time to meld, you'll make the slaw first and set it aside while you're preparing the rest of the sandwich. Since the sausages are fully cooked, you'll just need to brown them a bit in a cast iron pan. Split the sausages and open them up like a book before adding them to your cast iron pan or griddle. This way, there will be more surface area for browning and they'll fit better in the roll. While the sausages are browning, slather a generous amount of salted butter and whole grain mustard on the inside of your roll.

When the sausages are done, line them up diagonally on the roll and cover them with the smoked gouda slices. Pop the whole thing in the oven to get the gouda nice and melted. Finally, load up the sandwich with plenty of slaw and slice to serve!

This sandwich is just as delicious at room temperature as it is hot out of the oven, making it the perfect picnic sandwich!

Thank you, al fresco, for sponsoring this post and supporting Carolyn's Cooking! As always, recipe, photos and opinions are my own.

Sweet Apple Sausage and Gouda Sandwich

This combination of Sweet Apple Sausage, smoked gouda and a tangy, crunchy slaw all piled onto a big bakery roll is a winner!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Course Lunch, Main Course

Ingredients

For the slaw

1 Head green cabbage thinly sliced
2 Cups shredded carrots
½ White onion thinly sliced
2 Scallions thinly sliced, light green and green parts only
½ Teaspoon fresh ginger grated
¼ Cup apple cider vinegar
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard
2 Teaspoons granulated sugar
¾ Teaspoon kosher salt

For the sandwich

1 Large bakery loaf or baguette
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3-4 al fresco Sweet Apple Chicken Sausages split
3-4 Slices smoked gouda cheese
Salted butter at room temperature
Whole grain mustard

Instructions

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the slaw. In a large bowl, toss the cabbage, carrot, onion, scallion, and ginger together. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, oil, mustard, sugar and salt together. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss until well coated. Set aside until ready to use.
Without cutting all the way through, slice the roll longways and open it like a book. Spread a generous amount of butter followed by mustard on the inside of the roll.
Heat a cast iron pan or griddle over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and swirl to coat. Add the split sausages to the pan and cook until browned and warmed through; 2-3 minutes on each side.
Line the sausages up on the roll diagonally and cover with the gouda slices. Transfer the roll to the parchment lined baking sheet and bake, open, until the cheese has melted; 7-10 minutes. Pile the slaw on top of the melted gouda and close the roll.
Slice and serve hot or at room temperature!

Keyword chicken sausage, sandwich, slaw

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May 18, 2020 Recipes

Simple Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Open my refrigerator and you're almost guaranteed to find a container of roasted cherry tomatoes. Roasted tomatoes can be added to so many different dishes and they are so easy to make!

*This post may contain affiliate links. See disclosure for further details.

You can roast different types of tomatoes (I used Roma here) but more often than not, I choose the little guys—cherry or grape.

My favorite way to roast tomatoes is simply with sliced garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. These are ingredients that I always have around and you can never go wrong with those flavors! If you want to jazz up the tomatoes a bit, you can add in some hearty herbs like rosemary, oregano or thyme. Or if you're feeling fancy, try adding a pinch of saffron like I did for this pasta!

Once you've roasted your tomatoes, you can eat them all immediately, or store them in the fridge for up to a week. These tomatoes are great on sandwiches, avocado toast and eggs, mixed into pasta or soup, and spooned over meat and fish. I promise, once you get into roasting tomatoes on the reg, you'll be so happy you did!

Simple Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Roasted tomatoes can be added to so many different dishes and they are so easy to make!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Total Time 25

Course Side Dish

Ingredients

2 Pints cherry or grape tomatoes halved
4 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Cloves garlic thinly sliced
¾ Teaspoon kosher salt
½ Teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.
In large bowl, toss the tomatoes with the olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper until evenly coated. In a large baking dish or rimmed baking sheet, spread the tomatoes out in an even layer. Roast the tomatoes until shriveled and bursting; about 20 minutes.
Enjoy on everything and anything!

Keyword cherry tomatoes, easy recipe, roasted tomatoes

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