Eat, Briefly – Grilled Pork Chops with Brie

Last night’s dinner – grilled pork chops stuffed with Brie, and whipped cauliflower with bacon and cheddar.  So yummy.

I made NONE of it last night.  You know Keri is all about the prep-cooking, and Jr’s evening T-ball schedule is making that prep pay off even more!

Almost every time I get the grill going to cook something, I load it up with extra chicken breasts or pork chops or even burgers, to be cooked until  JUST done. Then I cool them, seal them in zip-locks, and label them for the freezer.

Tossing whatever we will need into the fridge the night before means that we have food ready to be quickly heated and served for maximum taste in minimum time during the busy evening run-around.

For this meal, I cut a pocket in the side of the already-grilled chops and stuffed each with a smear of brie. (But long time readers know that Keri has long been a fan of stuffing a chop – hello 2009 blast from the past.)

Then I just heated it in the oven next to the whipped cauliflower I had steamed, whipped, and mixed with bacon and cheddar on Monday (always my big prep cooking day.)

Add more Vinho Verde and Tah-Dah – dinner on table after 10 minutes in the oven.

Later in the evening during our weekly viewing of Scream, the TV Series (yes, I know that MTv is not age appropriate viewing for our old ass selves, but we love a good Summer thriller,) we shook up some dirty martinis* with blue cheese olives.  Because you have to have a drink to choke on when the killer bumps off his/her next victim, can I get an amen?

*sidenote – we are Tito’s vodka fans now.

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Eat, Briefly – Grilled Chicken Ceasar Salad

I could eat Ceasar Salad every dang day.
It’s so simple and yummy and perfect.

For last night’s dinner I made this dressing, and added a little extra flavor by grilling the romaine for a few minutes.

This is the secret behind the extra yummy grilled shrimp Ceasar salad at one of my absolute favorite local restaurants (shout out to Big Mac and Little Lu’s- Paul and his staff are AH-MAZING at what they do!)

NOT TOO LONG ON THE GRILL!!  Just mark up each side a bit for some extra char-flavor – it is SO GOOD with the dressing!!

Sidenote- if you have leftovers of the salad, it is perfect the next morning with an over easy egg on top. (Sadly we did not have one morsel left last night, so none for me this go around.  ::pout::)

I had a glass of delicious Vinho Verde to go with dinner last night. It’s long been a favorite summer wine for me, and BTW, it’s fairly dry, which = lower carbs!

2 carbs per 5 ounce glass!!

Tonight is a T-ball practice night for Jr, so I rely on my pre-prepped freezer stash of delicious proteins, and a little extra work that I did for a side dish last night – when we come home tonight we have a legit meal that will be on the table in under 10 minutes!

(But we will chat about that tomorrow.)

 

Drink – Low Carb Revolver

Ok look….

It isn’t that there hasn’t been plenty of Eating, drinking, and being Keri of late.

It is that there hasn’t been much writing about it.

Truthfully, new recipes have been few and far between – low carb laziness has set in.

Lots of ginormous slabs of meat grilled or sautéed in butter or coconut oil.  Piles and piles of salads.  Eggs all ways, for days and days.  Zoodles until I fear repetitive motion syndrome might cripple my wrists forever.

Dry white wine, dry white wine, martini….  Repeat.

Not so much with the exciting, blog-worthy meals and drinks.

EXCEPT – that isn’t totally true.

Because let’s face it – ALL FOOD IS AWESOME!!

Andplusalso – WHO DOESN’T LOVE A NICE DRINK?

So, with that in mind – and in horror honor of my last week as a not-40-year-old (DEAR GOD,)  I give you:

KERI’S FINAL WEEK OF PRE-OVER-THE-HILL DINNERS AND DRINKS!!

Excited?  Of course you are not.

We are now officially within 7 days of the actual date, so I figure that I am entitled to get the last week of my 30s started off with a bang.  Keri’s favorite cocktail EVER is, of course, the Revolver. Alas, I will be saving any potential for higher carb cheats for closer to the momentous occasion. (After all, this celebration is a marathon, not a sprint people.)

So to keep my hankerings at bay, I have concocted a handy faux version that shares a lot of the same flavors, without the Kahlua carb bomb.

Presenting, the Low-carb Revolver.

WHAT YOU NEED AND DO:

3 ounces Bulleit (or bourbon of your choice)

1 tablespoon sugar free caramel flavored syrup

1 dash bitters

1 or 2 tablespoons cold coffee (optional)

Combine all ingredients into shaker filled with ice and shake well to mix and chill.  Pour into a chilled martini glass.

mmmmmmm.

That gets things started right, I’d say.  Tomorrow I will fill you in on what I am whipping up for dinner tonight.

 

Drink- Grown Up Cocoa

I love cocoa.
I have always loved cocoa.

There is nothing more satisfying to the soul than a good snowman building  session followed by a big cup of steaming, rich cocoa.

Well, there is ONE thing that’s  better:
Cocoa that’s been doctored up with some booze and other add-ins!

A recent cocoa spread

This isn’t so much of a recipe as it is a jumping off point, so here are a few of my favorite add ins:
-Peppermint Schnapps & Whipped cream– I’ve heard this called a “Snuggler.”  Call it what you want, it is GOOD.  So good.
-Butterscotch Schnapps — rich rich rich. Perfection.
– Kahlua– It’s flavored like booze and coffee. It pluses a piping hot cup o’ cocoa in EPIC fashion.  FYI, my new BFF Julie, (who doesn’t know it yet,)  has informed me that there is a Peppermint Mocha flavored Kahlua.
Just let that marinate for a sec… because holy crap, that is the one true ring of booze in cocoa, fo’ sho’.
-Baileys– It tastes like a hot version of a mudslide people. Nothing wrong with that.
-Whiskey — my cocoa of choice this season has actually been of the sugar free variety (big fat bummer, Ker,) with a shot of Bullitt Bourbon or Jameson Whiskey and some liquid Peppermint with stevia. So evidently my ketogenic nutrition obsession has turned me into the dreaded grandma with a purse full of sugar free candy that no one wants.
But it works for me, so pfthhhhhhh!
HOWEVER – Whiskey works great in sugarFULL cocoa as well. Especially the vanilla white chocolate version of these cocoa on a spoon thingys we were gifted. YUM!

Hording these... if you come to my house, you probably can't have one.

AND Of course all of the whipped cream and jimmies and marshmallows and shaved chocolates and candy canes for stirring and all the other yummy add ins.

What am I missing? What should I be dumping in my cocoa that I’m not?
You guide me, my good and drunken readers. Let’s share.

Drink – The Vesper

The Hub and I LOVE us some James Bond. Like MAD love.
We love all things 007 – and at least twice a year we are sucked into a viewing marathon (I know I know, the kids now days call it a “binge.” Po-tay-to, Po-tah-to.) The early movies are our favorites, The Mr’s love for Goldfinger is matched only by my adoration for Thunderball, and the fastest way to get kicked out of The Casa would be to turn off Dr No.
We have our favorites from the newer ones as well, and I have no complaints about Daniel Craig’s current brooding, shadowy incarnation. Seriously ladies… I…. (oh, lost my train of thought there for a second… Bond Blackouts – the struggle is real.) With Specter topping the box office this week, we are back in Bond frenzy mode around here.
I am also a big lover Ian Flemming’s novels – which brings me to The Vesper.
In Flemming’s novel Casino Royale, our favorite spy requested “Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?”
Yep James, we got it. Now we want to try it.
(Kina Lillet is no more, but Lillet Blanc seems to be the accepted substitute.)
WHAT YOU NEED:

3 oz Vodka
1 oz Gin
.5 oz Lillet Blanc
Lemon

WHAT YOU DO:
Chill your glass!!! While you are mixing all this, fill your martini glass with ice water so it will be nice and cold for your drink.

Add the liquids to a shaker filled with ice, and shake until icy cold, to stay truest to what 007 himself ordered.

HOWEVER, most connoisseurs agree that stirring this instead of shaking will result in less dilution, blah blah blah –SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED because that’s what James ALWAYS says.

Empty the chilly water out of your martini glass (unless you have an old school champagne goblet – that is actually what he requests in the book,) use a knife or a zester to get a good slice of lemon peel off the fruit, rub the peel around the glass rim, give it a,good squeeze and then drop it in.

Strain that elixir into the prepared glass, lean mysteriously on the edge of your kitchen island, and drink.
Insert your own witty comment and give a wink to the hottie across the room. (Or the dog… work with what you’ve got.)

Drink- Palisade Peach Citrus Fizz

It’s peach season – YAAAAAYYYYY!!!
I love peaches.   Peach was my favorite color in childhood.  Peach was Jr’s first “favorite food” (well, peach puree, but still. )  Peach ice cream and peach cobbler are both long-standing family obsessions traditions on my mom’s side.
Peach is the reason that boring no-carb Keri has been tamped out, releasing EAT-ALL-THE-THINGS Keri back into the kitchen to whip up more deliciousness to share with you.
Peach is just Peachy to me.

So are adult beverages.
Put them together and you have sure-fire Keri Bait… and something that is sure perk up your waning days of summer.

WHAT YOU NEED

– 2 ounces vodka
– 1 very ripe peach
– 1 lemon wedge
– sparkling water (I like the lemon lime variety )

WHAT YOU DO
-Peel and slice the peach into a shaker (or other sturdy container)
-Add vodka and squeeze lemon wedge to release the juice into the cup as well. (You can muddle with the lemon in the shaker for extra lemon flavor if you’d like)
-muddle like crazy (seriously – Searching for that perfect gift for Keri? Get her a muddler!)

– pour into ice-filled glass and top with the fizzy water – you can strain it if you like, but I wouldn’t dream of wasting those fabulous peachy bits!!
*Some optional additions or variations, should the mood strike you: a sprig of mint or or a drizzle of honey before muddling; substituting lime for the lemon; or switching out the vodka for bourbon (mmmm, peach and bourbon – yes please! )

Cheers to squeezing the last bright, glorious, beautiful bits out of summer!!

 

Drink – The CLASSIC Daiquiri

Disclaimer – I am not (much to the chagrin of my Southern-raised husband,) refering to the sugary frozen booze bombs served at the Daiquiri Shacks of his fresh-from-college Louisianna memories.

No – this is not the daiquiri you over-indulged in last winter while on the run from the snow south-of-the-boarder on vacay.

This is the real, true, original.

A true and perfect classic.  Like Sinatra.  Or Ford Mustangs.  Or Keri.  (A-ha.  ha ha. ha ha.)

Simple simple simple.

What You Need:

1 oz lime juice

1 teaspoon simple syurp* (or super fine sugar if you would like, but I can never get that to truly blend)

2 oz white rum

What You Do:

Put all of the ingredients in an ice-filled shaker, and shake to blend and chill.

Strain into Cocktail glass

Enjoy the sweet, pucker-y perfection.  Just enough of everything – perfectly balenced.

 

Drink – The Riffolver

Sometimes a household runs low on important pantry staples.

Like bourbon.

Sometimes, also, members of that household don’t communicate effectively about plans to remedy that situation before they leave the house in the morning; and then this happens:

His and Hers Bulleit bottles. (Cute couple, aren’t they?)

Time for some new burbon cocktails, but where to go for ideas?

Hello, Google – thank you for bein’ a friend.

The Revolver was born at Bourbon and Branch in San Francisco, and it is (of course,) fantastic and totally worth making, The Booze Guru has the recipe here.

Having said that, we all know how Keri likes to completely disregard tinker with recipes.

So with apologies to the creative geniuses at Bourbon and Branch, I present the jacked up Keri version I like to call the “Riffolver” (It’s a riff on the Revolver. Get it? Well I thought it was clever, so there.)

It is bigger than the original (because that is just how we roll around here,) and the orange flavor is a bit stronger.   It is good. Like “being requested every cocktail hour by The Hub” good.

What You Need:

3 oz Bulleit Bourbon (seriously – if this isn’t your go-to bourbon, give it a try. Lovey love love this stuff.)

1 oz Kahlua

1 capful (or tea spoon) Tripple Sec

 

What You Do:

Add the ingredients to a shaker filled with ice and shake until cold.

Strain into a cocktail glass.

Mmmmmmm.