Dancing in September (like the song!)

Lots going on with The Basil Bee of late…

1. Back on Weight Watchers and back to the gym and after first week, down 5lbs!

Since our wedding in February, I gained about 15 pounds and haven’t been running or going to the gym as much so figured gotta get back on the bandwagon so my clothes aren’t so snug! Plus I have my  best friend Kate’s wedding in January and when we had our dress fitting, let’s just say I’ve had better moments, lol. So I signed up on WW online to help track and so far so good! It’s really a great site, and have you seen the commercials with Jennifer Hudson? She looks amazing! This does not mean I stop cooking or trying my recipes whatsoever, I just watch my portions and eating more fiber filling foods and veggies! So if you have any WW friendly recipes you’d like to share with me, please send them my way!

2.   Went to NYC this past Tuesday for the taping of The Rachael Ray Show 

My girlfriend Christine had just visited The Rachael Ray show (after waiting a year for tickets!), so after hearing her stories of the day she had in NYC, I went on RR’s website and submitted my email for tickets. There’s at least a 200,000 person waitlist and it’s a lottery based system, so figured I had a year to wait but I ended up getting tickets for their 4:30 taping on September 12^th after 2 months so I was ecstatic! I brought along my mom and best friend Kelly. We got into the city around 11:30 am and had a wonderful Caesar salad lunch and vino at AperiTIVO, did some people watching, tromped around the city to Rockefeller Center and Time Square and then headed back towards the studio to stand in line. We ended up being third row on the aisle (to the right of RR in this pic) and it was just amazing! We had such a great time meeting her and seeing the set and of course the guests who were there! But to find out who it is, you’ll have to watch this coming Tuesday’s show on September 20^th! Believe me, you will be surprised!

3. Heading to NC on Sunday for vacation at the beach! 

Cannot wait to sit on the beach or by the pool, with book in hand, sun shining, and cold drink in my hand! Will be with my mom and dad, my sister Erin and Kevin, my hubby, and get to see my best friend from Wilmington, NC, Miss Kellie Hill and her bf Matt! We have a house in Ocean Isle Beach, NC (about 30 minutes north of Myrtle Beach) with 5 bedrooms, huge kitchen, decks galore, private pool and just serenity! Will be nice to relax and cook with the family and run on the beach! Not to worry, my vacation will be WW friendly! At least I can still eat cheese and save points for vino!!!

4.  My hubby finished our family room!

The family room is done! Just had carpet installed and new TV purchased! It has been about a 4-5 month project and seems surreal it’s done! Anthony did an amazing job and I’m so proud of him-I have no idea how he knew how to do half the things he put in the room, especially our homemade bar! Next thing on our list is to have a cocktail party! Wahoo!

Shrimp-n-Sushi in Arlington, VA

Hailey and I took a ride to Arlington, VA (right outside of DC) to visit with my sister and Porter, and to see my parents new house they just settled into that very weekend! Trips to Arlington typically result in lots of great wine, fun food, coffee, and just good times. Friday night when I got in, we met my parents at Clyde’s at Mark Center for late dinner/drinks. They usually frequent there on Wednesdays for their $10 bottle of wines and shrimp from the half price raw bar from 4 – 7 pm and 10 pm – midnight. We had the shrimp cocktail for starters with wine, Erin had the Cream of Crab soup and crab cake dinner that was divine, Dad ordered the bacon cheeseburger, and my mom and I ordered the Stuffed Chicken Breast which was stuffed with spinach, prosciutto, provolone, basil and tomatoes, and placed on top of mashed potatoes! We ended the night on a sweet note with Clyde’s Brownie Sunday-warm chocolate brownie topped with hot fudge sauce, vanilla ice cream and freshly whipped cream. Helped me fall into a food coma slumber as soon as we got back to Erin’s..check out Clyde’s!

  mmm, their Cream of Crab Soup recipe 

CLYDE'S AT MARK CENTER

1700 N. Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311

Phone (703) 820-8300

Saturday night after a fun wine and cheese visit with Erin’s friend Aly and new baby Max, then driving over to see our parentals beautiful new house, we decided to head to Shirlington and have some sushi at PING by Charlie Chiang’s. We started with wine, edamame and coconut shrimp (tempura shrimp in sweet coconut flakes and coconut milk sauce) and then let the sushi ordering begin..it was some of the best sushi I’ve had in a long time and I now love the soft shell crab and blue crab meat sushi rolls-soooo good! Below was some of the other things we had ordered…

 

Spicy salmon

Spicy tuna

Dynamite- white tuna roll, topped w/ spic mayo, blue crab meat, crunchies and then baked

Soft shell crab- jumbo soft shell crab, avocado, scallions, Thai sweet chili sauce

Nigiri-Toro (fatty Tuna Belly)

PING by Charlie Chiang's
4060 Campbell Ave. Arlington, VA 22206

So if you are ever in the Arlington/Alexandria area, I highly recommend visiting/wining/dining at each restaurant. They are about 3 miles away from one another, so why not visit both!

Bound for Jersey Shore Blueberries

Summer days in South Jersey consist of day trips (or weekly rentals) down the Jersey shore. Whether you’re headed to Atlantic City, Ocean City, Sea Isle, or one of the exits from 7S, you are sure to pass by the farmer market stands alive with fresh, farm grown fruits, vegetables and flowers. This is actually a “secret” favorite part of my trip. Being able to stop at the stands on the way home from bronzing on the beach all day with friends, and picking out delicious fruits/veggies to bring home and cook with for the week!

My wonderful neighbors spent the day in Ocean City last week and brought me back a pint of beautiful NJ blueberries. So yesterday morning, I looked at the berries staring back at me in the fridge and was like “I’ve got to use every single one of them, why not bake some blueberry muffins for my hubby, drop some off to Sue and Gerry’s, and then I can bring some over to Barb’s house who I was going to see later that day.” The berry that keeps on giving! I took a recipe I had used before and added a special ingredient, honey! I also used some of my leftover bananas and made some peanut butter banana muffins too…I hope my muffins made everyone’s day as I think they may have by the smiles I saw on their faces! See below for the recipe…

Yummy Blueberry muffins with a crusty sugar topping. The blueberries and the buttermilk batter are wonderful together... Quick and easy, made with few ingredients. Remember to use paper liners!!!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 pint fresh blueberries - rinsed, drained and patted dry
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 3 tablespoons of honey

Directions

1. Position rack in the middle of oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray the top of a muffin pan with non-stick coating, and line with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, 1 1/4 cups sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix together 1 3/4 cup of the flour and baking powder. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing just until incorporated. Crush 1/4 of the blueberries, and stir into the batter. Stir in the honey. Mix the rest of the whole blueberries with the remaining 1/4 cup of the flour, and fold into the batter. Scoop into muffin cups. Sprinkle tops lightly with sugar.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown, and tops spring back when lightly tapped.

Some blueberry factoids…

The beautiful, wholesome, and healthy berry is the official state fruit of NJ. South Jersey’s fields are alive with blueberries from June through mid-August. Cultivators harvest about 50 million pounds of berries each year, making the Garden State the second-biggest blueberry producer after Michigan. One cup of blueberries contains 14% DV of fiber 2.41 g per 100g Blueberries are a source of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, phenolics, flavonoids, and are very low in fat and sodium!

Some of my favorite local farm markets that I stop at on my way to the AC Expressway…

Stella Farms- 459 New Freedom Road, Berlin, NJ 08009

Mr. Green Jeans-210 S. Route 73, Hammonton, NJ 08037

Gene’s Farm and Garden Center-7317 Black Horse Pike, Mays Landing, NJ 08330

Something for Summer

I have been a busy Basil Bee this summer, trying new recipes for main entrees, sides, and desserts, and using my Le Cresuet grill pan indoors as we have not finished our backyard yet and still no grill. I went to post some of my recent pictures and recipes, but as you know, we got a puppy, and our puppy chewed my camera chord (along with Anthony's Prada reading glasses)! So I'm MIA in attaching some of my recent photos but will see how well my Droid phone camera photos hold up as I still have much to blog about.

I picked up the latest Food Network magazine, and what a great issue! There's an additional insert inside with (50) Potato Salad recipes-one for everyone's tastebuds! I tried the Ranch potato salad recipe and added some crumbled turkey bacon as well and it was delicious! Anthony rated it pretty high too! I've only attempted making a potato salad twice in my life and I have to say that I would make again and again and even bring to a BBQ, that's how confident I was in how it tasted! The recipe is below

#9. Ranch Mix 2/3 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup buttermilk, 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1 minced garlic clove, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 2 chopped scallions, 1 teaspoon sugar, and salt and pepper. Toss with 2 pounds boiled cubed red potatoes.
* I sauteed 4 slices of turkey bacon and crumbled them and also tossed them into the potato salad as well

This issue also had a July calendar of " A month of Basil". Each day of the month they give you a unique and different idea of how to use basil with summer's produce in the kitchen and adds new ideas how to use it to the fullest!
For today-Wednesday, July 20th-"Make spaghetti for dinner: simmer a store bought tomato sauce with a few basil stems for extra flavor."
For tomorrow-Thursday, July 21st-"Treat yourself to a simple weeknight dessert: fold chopped basil into whipped cream, and spoon over blackberries."

They also include an August calendar, "A month of Tomato"! These calendars are both on my fridge! The magazine also has lean beef flavor boosters to inspire new spices and recieps for your beef as you grill this summer! So pick up a copy quickly and enjoy!

Stumbling across Nutella Lava Cookies

An absolute must of a website to sign up for that I am a total fan of thanks to Miss Kelly, is www.stumbleupon.com. You select things of interest to you and then you select the STUMBLE button and it finds websites of things you may like that you may have never journeyed to while perusing on the world wide web. I’ve found so many great new recipes, blog, and baking sites that I haven’t looked at yet! It’s great! Check it out and add me as a stumbler (my screen name is UNCWkrissyg)

So let’s get to the cookies that my titled  blog post is all about today! If you love chocolate, there’s no doubt in my mind that you love chocolate lava cakes too. You know, the ooey gooey dessert you have to order at a restaurant when you order your dinner so they have enough time to prepare/bake it with the gooey lava chocolaty center? I found this great recipe online at Kirbie’s Cravings , using Stumbleupon, and decided to try them out on Sunday after a stressful weekend of handling Anthony’s car accident he was in. Cookies always make insurance calls, claims, and bumps and  bruises that much better J

These cookies are very easy to make, especially if you have a Kitchen Aid mixer handy. The dough will seem a bit tough when rolling into the ball shapes but believe me when I say they are the most richest and choclatey cookies you will ever taste! Next time I may add some peanut butter and/or Fluff  for the filling so I have a variety of my favorites!

Chocolate Nutella Lava Cookies

§  1 cup butter

§  1¼ cup sugar

§  2 large eggs

§  ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

§  2¼ cups all-purpose flour

§  ¼ tsp. salt

§  1 tsp. baking powder

§  1 1/2 cups large semi-sweet chocolate chips

§  nutella for filling

1.       Preheat the oven to 350F.

2.       Line baking sheets with parchment paper ( or silicone baking mat). Cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Blend in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix in the cocoa powder at low speed until well blended.

3.       Add the flour, salt and baking powder to the bowl and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4.       Scoop up about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball in the palm of your hand and put in about 1/2 tbsp of nutella in the middle of the dough. Then wrap the edges around to form a ball and to cover the nutella completely. Place on the prepared baking sheets, and repeat process, placing balls about 2 inches apart. Bake about 13-16 minutes, until cookies are cooked and slide easily off of parchment paper. Serve while warm.

  

Blog source: Kirbie's Cravings

Chocolate cookie recipe source: Annie's Eats 

...and guess who joined in the kitchen with the Basil Bee as sous chef/baker while baking these cookies? Miss Hailey Bee!!!

Double Peanut Butter Paisley Brownies

Happy Summer my fellow Basil Bee bloggers! So circa this past Christmas, I received a chocolate lovers recipe book from my Director, Davina at work… Hershey's Recipe Collection in 5-Ring Binder

I have been so busy with our wedding back in February and renovation of our home that I just haven’t had much time to bake, but the time came the week of Allison’s Bridal shower! We (the Bridesmaids) needed something a little extra to go with her bridal shower cake so I volunteered to make these brownie bars. When I went to reach up for the book off my new shelf in the kitchen I swear the book talked and signed ‘Ahhhhh finally!” …The recipe was really easy and if you have a Kitchen Aid mixer, even easier! The chocolate syrup added the gooeyness to it and they were a huge hit at the party! Add a glass of milk with this and you’re in for a real treat! Enjoy!

Skill Level: Intermediate

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Ingredients

·         1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened

·         1/4 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter

·         1 cup granulated sugar

·         1 cup packed light brown sugar

·         3 eggs

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         2 teaspoons baking powder

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips

·         1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Syrup

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan. 

2.       Beat butter and peanut butter in large bowl. Add sugar and brown sugar; beat well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in vanilla. 

3.        Stir together flour, baking powder and salt; mix into peanut butter mixture, blending well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Spread half of batter into prepared pan; spoon syrup over top. Carefully top with remaining batter; swirl with metal spatula or knife for marbled effect. 

4.       Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares. About 36 brownies.