Johnny Marzetti With A Twist

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Andrea

Recently, my friend John, contacted me and a few other local food bloggers about doing a blog post on the Johnny Marzetti dish. We each would create our version of the dish and then all post about it on the same day.

I immediately said I was in! Then I asked what the Johnny Marzetti dish was. Not being a Columbus, or even an Ohio native, this was completely new to me.

John directed me to this link explaining the dish. I knew exactly what it was once I read the description. Where I grew up, it was called Goulash. Some folks, mostly those from the New England area, refer to it as Chop Suey.

It’s elbow pasta with ground beef in a tomato sauce. We had this all the time growing up and it was one of the few ways I would be willing to eat ground beef. I made it for Scott when we started dating and he fell in love with it.

Weekend Grilling Recipes

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Andrea

Are you grilling this weekend? Looking for something a little different to the standard hot dogs and burgers? Want to shake up the summer grilling season for 2011?

Let Food Embrace help! Here’s a few recipes that you can try out this grilling season:

Chardonnay Chicken Burgers

Cranapple Turkey Burgers

Grilling steaks? Try giving those babies a little rub down.

Rather have pork? Beer Brined Pork Chops can be grilled.

Get funky with some chicken, yogurt curry chicken or cocoa-chili rubbed chicken will do the trick nicely.

Then you can wash it down with some super special iced tea.

Have fun this summer and get your grill on!

Chicken Curry Stew

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Andrea

Curry spice is something that I’m still experimenting with. There are many different kinds of curry spice which create different flavor experiences. My current favorite I’ve been using for a while but I just purchased a new flavor to try out.

Kitchen fun! And sometimes I can be a spice dork.

The first time I ever had curry was when I had some of Whole Food’s chicken curry salad. I fell in love with the first bite.

I have been fiddling around with it and using it in different ways to make it a central flavor of a meal. This dish was a total kitchen experiment and ended up not even being close to what I originally had in mind.

However it turned out amazing and I was beyond happy with the results.

I originally thought this was going to be like a rich sauce that some chicken thighs would simmer in then I discovered I didn’t have any chicken thighs but only some bone-in breasts.

2011 Super Bowl Party Foods

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Andrea

Need some party food ideas for your Super Bowl Party? OHC has you covered!

Beer and Bacon Mac ‘N Cheese will definitely be a crowd pleaser!

Spicy Chex Mix is easy to make and even quicker to replenish when the snack attack hits.

Pasta and Lentil salad to get some veggies in on Game Day!

Quick coleslaw, great as a side or as a topping to some pulled pork or a burger!

This Chipotle Glaze would go lovely on some wings!

Chipotle not your style? Try these Garlic Teriykai Wings instead.

Cheddar Beer Bread for carbs so you can party all day long, cheese for staying power!

Just for the Steeler fans, you better get some chipped ham right quick and get a crockpot of Ham BBQ going to make sandwiches. Have some Iron City on ice too while you’re at it!

GO STEELERS!

Chardonnay Chicken Burgers

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Andrea

Finally I can get this post up! I’ve been wanting to post about these gorgeous burgers ever since I made them a few weeks ago. They turned out fab and I’ve been dreaming about them ever since. Of course, true to Columbus’s personality, the weather turned cold again and grill time has not happened.

I love chicken burgers! And turkey burgers! And also burgers made from veggies and beans. I just really like burgers and while I can dig on a beef burger, my heart belongs to poultry or veggies. I had been wanting to make chicken burgers for a while and had an idea running through my head about adding wine to the burgers.

There was the rub.

Ground chicken is already really moist and not “dry” like a ground beef. Ground chicken breast is a little bit “dryer” but not by much and I personally like a mix of white and dark meat ground chicken. Which meant that I already had a really moist base to work with. I knew adding some wine to that would make things sloppy or way too soggy.

Spicy Shrimp and Sausage

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Andrea

Scott and I love seafood. Like LOVE it, in what probably results in something verging on ridiculous. I try to make sure that we have seafood at least twice a week since that is our preferred “animal” protein source. Tuesdays we have fish so that leaves another day free for whatever.

And while I don’t eat a lot of meat, one thing I love is sausage. My love for it would be just a few levels down from seafood. Seafood I would eat everyday if you gave it to me, sausage I have to be in the mood for. I swear I’m not trying to make a joke with that statement.

Sometimes those two wants just happen to collide with each other.

I will tell you that because I love food so much, I am constantly thinking about it. I would guess this is the way most foodies behave. Wondering about your next meal, when you can get in the kitchen and create. Or maybe that’s just me?

Read more on Spicy Shrimp and Sausage…

Tuesday Tip Thanksgiving Edition: More tips on Brining

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Andrea

It’s November gang and that means that Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Last year, OHC brought you Thanksgiving related Tuesday Tips all the way up till the week of Thanksgiving. It was so fun that I think we should do it again! Last year we discussed the benefits of brining your bird and if you are still not on the brining bandwagon, what are you waiting for?! Get it!

Today’s tip is also about brining because there’s always more to learn!

The basic base for a brine is water right? But brining liquid doesn’t have to be just water based, oh no friends, you can use anything. A list of things I’ve used in brining include:

Wine
Beer (hellz yeah!)
Apple Cider
Unsweetened cranberry juice

All that sounds pretty tasty right? And it totally is! A brine consists of:

Liquid
Salt
Sugar
Seasonings and miscellaneous veggies

Some people don’t use sugar when they brine but that’s not a practice I subscribe to, so for the purposes of this post, we will be talking about a sugar and salt brine. I typically will use just a touch less sugar in my brine than salt. If it’s a straight-on even amount, I find that the meat becomes too sweet and you lose some of the savory components of a lovely roast or grilled dinner.

Cocoa-Chili Rubbed Chicken Thighs

Posted on May 17, 2009 by Andrea

Cocoa-Chili Rub

I have seen people use cocoa powder before in savory recipes and it always interested me. However, I’ve never been inspired enough nor had that spark of creativity to come up with a use for it till now. I was watching some Food TV one Sunday morning and at the same time thinking about what I can make for dinner that evening. I like to create sort of traditional Sunday Suppers for us and when the warm weather arrives, both of us love when Sunday Supper includes grilling.

I started going through the inventory sheet in my mind of things I had on hand that I could use with cocoa powder. One of my favorite combinations is dark chocolate and dried cranberries. Normally I’m not much of a fruit + chocolate person but there is just something about the slight bitterness of dark chocolate paired with the sweet tartness of cranberry that makes me sigh with delight.

Chili Rubbed Beer Can Chicken

Posted on March 29, 2009 by Andrea

Substitute

I have been intrigued by the beer can chicken technique ever since I first saw it done. At first I thought it seemed a little silly and then I realized that perhaps those folks were on to something. Just maybe this would be an awesome idea. However, when I saw it done it typically involved a smoker or using a grill for hours on end.

Those things did not appeal to me. I just sort of stored the concept in the back of my mind. Time had passed and if this were a video blog I would insert some sort of musical montage at this point but since it’s not a video blog, you’ll have to imagine one. Be sure to include jazz hands, headbands, and 80s music.

Trust me it’s fitting because the person who brought the beer can chicken concept back to the forefront of my mind was Guy Fieri. Bling, bling! I saw him make beer can chicken in his oven. “Oh snap, I can totally do that too!” Cue me busting around the house gathering ingredients.

Pita Pizzas

Posted on January 18, 2009 by Andrea

Just like old times

When I was in middle school it was the 80s. Hair bands and mall teen pop queens were in their prime. And the thing to do back then was hit up the skating rink on Friday night. Especially when you lived in a super small town and there was nothing else for you to do at that age. The skating rink was a happening place and I taught myself how to skate. And backwards skate. And skate going around the corners with my feet turned out, heels touching. My favorite thing to do was skate backwards and stop with my stoppers coming to a sliding halt. My skates were white with blue wheels and a blue stopper. And Velcro because when you are at the skating rink, it is all about the skating and not about wasting time lacing up your skates. Oh and secretly crushing on the boys who preferred video games until the couples skate was announced. Eventually I out grew my Velcro skates and moved on to bigger, more “adult” skates that I did have to lace up. I figured out a way to do it quickly with flair and grace. I was still sporting blue wheels and a blue stopper though. And, no, never pom-poms on my skates. I preferred the smooth classic chic look.