Citrus Salad with Honey-Tarragon Vinaigrette | #ProgressiveEats

Does your body ever crave something, but you just can't figure out what? You walk through the kitchen, opening the fridge, then the pantry, then the fridge, then the pantry—and still, nothing seems right? When this happens to me, that yearning can usually only be satisfied with one of two things: dark leafy greens or citrus fruit.

Ambrosia Salad | Edward Scissorhands #Burtoween

It's October, which means it's time for all things spooky and kookie. In that spirit, the Fandom Foodies group theme for the month is #Burtoween! Carrie at Witchy Kitchen is our host and she has invited everybody to participate in this spooktacular feast by creating recipes pulled from or inspired by Tim Burton films. Whether he wrote, directed, produced, or did the art work—they are fair game! For more info on how to participate, visit #Burtoween at Witchy Kitchen!

I'd been meaning to do a dish inspired by Edward Scissorhands for months, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to cross that off my list! I didn't go creepy (I know, boring), but who could resist the allure of a retro dish that is somewhat quirky? Not I.

Sopa de Lima | #SoupSwapParty

As a self-proclaimed soup addict, I think the concept of Kathy Gunst's new cookbook Soup Swap is pure genius. Since you often wind up with leftovers when you make soup, you can tire of having the same kind of soup day after day, so why not make a party out of it? Gather a group of friends, family, or colleagues and have each person/couple bring a pot of homemade soup. The host will provide a loaf of crusty bread, a side/salad, and a dessert.

At the party, serve up tasting portions of each kind of soup and then everybody goes home with different soups to enjoy for the rest of the week! You could make it a monthly ritual. You could have themes. You could ask everybody to bring a drink that compliments their soup. You could set it up however you want.

Polvorones de Naranja | Frida #FoodnFlix meets #CooktheBooks

This month, Food 'n Flix meets Cook the Books once again. Both the movie and book selection are stories based on the life of Frida Kahlo, and seeing how Mexican Independence Day falls this month (September 16), it's the perfect time to bring some Mexican and Frida-inspired recipes to the table.

If by some very slim chance you're not familiar with Frida Kahlo, she was a Mexican painter known for her 143 bold and surreal paintings, 55 of which were self-portraits—and also for her unibrow. She was a communist sympathizer, a (bisexual) feminist, and a fiery personality who was married twice—to the same man, fellow Mexican painter Diego Rivera. Although they were separated by more than 20 years in age, and had an infamously tumultuous relationship, both admitted to the fact that they were soul mates.

Orange Crush Oatmeal (for Denise) inspired by The Walking Dead

I swear it seems like I was just talking about the mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead and the season 6 finale is TOMORROW already! TWD always concludes way to fast for me. Fortunately, it's one of the few shows that I can watch endless reruns of and still want more. So, in honor of the close of another amazing season and countless months of waiting for the new season, I'll be sharing a couple of recipes inspired by the show today and tomorrow.

It's always a tough decision deciding which scene and/or character to pull my inspiration from (because I have SO MANY ideas written down), but *SPOILER* I knew I'd be making something for Denise the minute that arrow poked through her beautiful face. Which I'm so bummed about; her character really started to blossom over the second half of season 6 and she was quickly inching her way closer to my favorites list. And who else can't stop thinking about Tara and how she's going to react when she gets back to Alexandria?

Orange Currant Scones inspired by The Jane Austen Book Club | #FoodnFlix

Our December Food 'n Flix pick happens to be a movie that I love (and own), but haven't watched in a while. It's not really a foodie movie, but upon watching it again, I actually noticed a ton of food—in the background. The Jane Austen Book Club is based on the novel by the same name. I haven't read it, but it's on my list...though I have heard that aside from the names of the main characters, they are dramatically different.

But, today we're talking about the movie. I suppose you could call it a chick-flick. But I love chick-flicks, so that's okay with me. It's about a group of women who form a book club as a way of helping another friend through a rough spot in her life. There are four of them, but they find another woman and a guy to join them, so that they have 6 members.

Whole Roasted Duck

Aside from my love of cooking, do you want to know two things that inspire me in the kitchen? Beautiful ingredients and beautiful cookware. Today I'm sharing a recipe that is special enough to grace any holiday table, yet simple enough to prepare on any given Sunday. Plus, when it's in the oven, it fills your house with scents of warmth and comfort. I had to run to the store while it was in the oven and opening the door to the scent of this and freshly cut pine was intoxicating.

Let's start with the ingredients. I've been in the mood for duck lately. I used some duck sausage to make sausage rolls a few days ago, but I had a Maple Leaf Farms All-Natural duck raised without antibiotics just calling to me from the fridge. The duck, some sunny orange clementines and some fresh green herbs were just the ingredients that I needed to inspire me.

Maple-Orange Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Orange Butter

It's hard for me to believe that there was a time when I didn't like sweet potatoes. Much like cranberry sauce, I only saw them once a year—on the Thanksgiving table. As was the fashion, they smooshed up in a casserole dish and topped with marshmallows. I think there was also brown sugar or something added to the sweet potatoes themselves. Bleck! They were so ridiculously sweet that I just couldn't stomach them.

I'd always give them a little nibble...because I really wanted to like them. So until I was in my 20's, I thought that I didn't like sweet potatoes. Turns out, I just didn't like that sweet potato casserole. One day, while planning what I wanted to contribute to Thanksgiving dinner that year (pretty much everything), I found a recipe in a magazine that used half sweet potatoes and half white potatoes. I can't remember which magazine it was, but that recipe changed my life.

When I slid that first tentative spoonful into my mouth, I realized that I actually did like sweet potatoes. As a matter of fact, I kind of loved them. This was that recipe, only slightly changed over the many years since. I use a mix of sweet potatoes and Yukon Golds instead of Russets now and changed the seasoning a bit, but it was near perfect as written.

And guess what? I don't even mind sticking a few marshmallows on top anymore since the potatoes themselves aren't sickly sweet. Don't even get me started on the first time I made (and tasted) a roasted sweet potato...

Speaking of roasted sweet potatoes, next on my list to try are these Melting Sweet Potatoes. Heck, maybe I'll just make it a sweet potato buffet by adding these Whipped Sweet Potatoes and Bananas with Pecan Streusel, these Mexican Candied Sweet Potatoes, these Brown Butter Garam Masala Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and these Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries to the menu!

Maple-Orange Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Orange Butter

This is the dish that will turn sweet potato haters into sweet potato lovers!


by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Keywords: side vegetarian sweet potatoes maple syrup orange Thanksgiving American fall

Ingredients (serves 12)

for the orange butter:

• 2 ounces (1/4 cup / 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at soft room temperature
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• big pinch of fine sea salt

for the maple-orange sweet potatoes:

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 1/4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 2-inch chunks (peel if you wish)
• 2 ounces (1/4 cup / 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at soft room temperature
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Instructions

make the orange butter:

Stir the butter, orange zest, and salt together until thoroughly combined. Put into a small dish or a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper and roll into a log; refrigerate.

Bring to room temperature before using. Can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for a few days, or freeze for longer.

make the mashers:

Combine both types of potatoes in a large pot and cover with water by an inch. Bring to a boil and cook until they are just tender, 12-15 minutes; drain. Return them to the same pot set over low heat until the potatoes are dry, about 5 minutes.

Mash the potatoes until they are slightly chunky—you can do this by hand with a potato masher or you can use a hand-mixer. Add the butter, orange juice, maple syrup, salt and pepper to the pot, mashing and mixing until combined.

Serve potatoes warm, each serving topped with a pat of the orange butter.

Zesty Grilled Ham Steaks

We are already a week into July, and that means we're deep into grilling season. So, it's only natural that for this month's edition of #bloggerCLUE, our theme is Summer BBQ/Grilling! From the moment I had my assignment, I knew I'd hit the jackpot; Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch has no shortage of recipes that are made on the grill. I wasn't only stoked that I was assigned to Lea Ann's blog because I know she can use a grill, but because she and I have known each other for a number of years (I want to say about 6 years) through this amazing world of food blogging...way back when her blog name was Mangos, Chili and Z.

Aside from cooking up great food on a regular basis, she's an incredibly kind person, as well. When she had the chance to meet Rick Bayless, she actually got a signed copy of his (then) new cookbook for me since she knew he was (is) my favorite chef. I was blown away. Still am each and every time I open the cover of Fiesta at Rick's. I just realized that was in October of 2010. Time flies!

But anyway, the hardest part was narrowing down the choices of what I wanted to throw on the grill this month. A few things I contemplated were Sriracha Chicken Mushroom Kabobs, Honey Butter Grilled Chicken Wings with Parsley Sauce, Grilled Salmon with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce, and Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Southwestern Zinfandel Glaze. See? Almost impossible to narrow it down just from those few!

Sunrise Rum Punch

This post is sponsored by CAPTAIN MORGAN®.

I've been fantasizing about a tropical vacation for as long as I can remember. In my mind, it's white sand beaches, turquoise blue water, and palm trees. It's brilliant sunshine, fresh fish and seafood, tropical fruit out the wazoo, and cocktails from dusk 'til dawn...'til dusk again. It's not worrying about bills or schedules or deadlines. Who's with me?

So, when the Captain Morgan team challenged me to create an original Rum Punch recipe using one of the three new Captain Morgan Flavors – Grapefruit, Pineapple and Coconut, as part of their #SunsOutRumsOut campaign, I'll bet you can guess which direction I headed. Mmm hmm—to those white sand beaches.

Sparkling Pineapple Mojitos

Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks that brunch and cocktails go hand-in-hand. I usually wind up with a full plate in one hand, a sweaty glass in the other, and all eyes peeled for a good place to lay out my bounty. I don't mind (at all) the usual brunch drink offerings. I'm all in for a Bloody Mary, several Mimosas, or a Bellini bar. But it's kind of fun to switch things up every now and again.

Last week, I shared a lovely Mother's Day brunch cocktail option that spoke to me of spring. Today I'm thinking warm and sunny with a pitcher of sparkling, grapefruit and mint-infused pitcher of mojitos! Why yes, I am in need of a vacation, thank you very much. I think I've earned a week of brunch on the beach. At least a day.

Soda Chanh (Vietnamese Lime Soda)

I'm sure that every household has at least a few must-haves sitting in their fridge at all times. Among a few other things, in my house, limeade is one of those things. We love lemonade, too—but it's limeade in some form or another that takes the cake. I try to make different forms to liven things up a bit, but for the most part, limeade is limeade. Freshly squeezed lime juice, sweetener, and water.

Whether it's a fizzy version like Neebu ka Sharbat (Indian Sparkling Fresh Limeade) or a flat one like Fresh Limeade with Chia Seeds, they all go quickly. This Vietnamese Lime Soda (or Soda Chanh) has sparkles and mint, which makes it extra refreshing. When researching it a little, it seems that some people use mint, some don't...some people rim the glass in salt, some don't. I chose to include both. You know, to add a little variety to our limeade routine.

As written, this recipe is particularly tart. We liked it, but if you want it a little sweeter, then simply make (and add) more simple syrup, or stir in some superfine sugar, honey, agave, what-have-you. I enjoyed the salted rim, but the kids said they'd rather have it without. In her book, Steamy Kitchen's Healthy Asian Favorites, Jaden Hair says that Gin makes a nice addition if you want to booze it up (my words, of course). I didn't try it...meant to, but I turned around and it was gone. But I squeezed an extra cup of juice to make another batch. This time, adult-style.

Caramelized Grapefruit Margarita

Guess what day it is! No, not hump day. It's National Margarita Day! Since it's always more fun to raise your glass with friends, that's exactly what I'm doing. I've once again asked some of my food-blogging friends to conjure up a little margarita magic to share. It's selfish, really. I'm always looking for new cocktail inspiration, be it in the glass or on a plate, and this delivers that straight to my door, so to speak.

So, when I was trying to decide what kind of margarita I wanted to celebrate with, I started by looking around the kitchen. I really didn't want to brave the blindingly white outdoors. Fortunately, I had a huge pile of grapefruit just begging to be turned into that (unfrozen) concoction that helps me hang on.

Since I'd originally thought I was going to coat them in sugar and stick them under the broiler anyway, I figured I still would. A little deep caramel flavor never hurt anybody. So, brown sugar, a flame, and a few minutes later, I had some lovely grapefruit juice that was sweetened to taste like that popular breakfast treat.

Sparkling Mojitos

What girl doesn't love a little sparkle in their life every now and again? On her finger, in her glass, in the eye of a dreamy guy. You can't deny the lure of sparkly things. Therefore, you'll totally understand when I tell you that I'm sharing not one, but two #bloggerCLUE posts this month. Our theme, afterall, is SPARKLY!

I've been talking lately about things that warm my bones, like soups and stews, comforting roasts, basically anything that cooks low and slow. But sometimes, it even works to just sit back, close my eyes, and sip a cocktail. A sunny burst of lime...the freshness of mint...the rum (oh yeah, totally the rum)...combined they are instant transport to a hot Miami beach via a cocktail—specifically a Mojito.

But I'll do you one better, thanks to Aly of Cooking in Stilettos. She made it easy, really. I knew within just a few moments of rummaging through her "kitchen" what sparkly thing I'd be making. That sunshine-conjuring Mojito I mentioned? She topped it off with sparkles in the form of fizzy Prosecco!

Vassilopitta (New Year Wish Cake)

I love hearing people's new year traditions. Whether a tradition between a small family unit, or something native to a region or country, it's so fascinating to get that glimpse into what makes people tick. Growing up, we didn't really have many traditions revolving around welcoming a new year. Unless you count watching Dick Clark, counting down with the ball, and yelling "Happy New Year" as the hour changed, hugs and kisses all around. Okay, I guess that is a tradition in itself. But I'm thinking something beyond that.

A few years ago, I started with the twelve grapes at the twelve strokes of midnight thing. I always prepare five cups of twelve grapes and we try to gobble quickly as the year changes. It's a pretty fun tradition, but I don't like that it takes away from the kissing and hugging. I mean, giggles and gagging are always a good time, but I miss kisses and hugs with loved ones on the hour.

One tradition that I started myself when the kids were young is drinking mimosas all day on New Year's day. I used to pop the cork at midnight—and then I had kids. I just couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to enjoy a whole bottle of champagne before passing out (from exhaustion). So, I'd wait and the hubs and I would pop the cork as soon as we woke up...full bottles of orange juice (and maybe some other fun juices and additions) ready in the fridge. Don't worry (I know you were), I buy sparkling juices for the kids.

Roast Crispy-Skin Turkey (w/ Citrus Herb Brine)

Fourteen years ago, I was in charge of the Thanksgiving turkey for the first time. I was 25 and finally ready to join the ranks of my grandmas, mom, and aunts; I was finally going to be hosting the meal that I look forward to for an entire year. I'd been training for that day my whole life by helping choose how we were going to flavor the bird when my mom hosted...by researching the pros and cons of brining...by reading up on wild vs frozen. I was a master baster. Go ahead, snicker. I was ready.

So, I set about my normal routine of figuring out how I could make the best turkey my family had ever eaten. Visions of breast meat so juicy that it garnered involuntary whimpers from the hungry mouths of my guests. Skin so burnished and crispy that I'd have to fend off sneaky fingers with the tines of my carving fork. Turkey that elicited a satisfied smile when looked back on throughout the year.

You know, a turkey that was no less than amazing—an A++++++++.....

Tequila Sunrise Ice Pops

Who says popsicles are just for kids? Not me! I dabble in the art of ice pop making year-round, but come summertime, my friends and family tell me I'm a force to be reckoned with. As soon as the air ceases to drop below 70 degrees or so, no liquid is exempt from the freezer.

Over the years, I've built up quite the collection of popsicle molds - a girl needs options. People always ask me where I get my molds. Some I've purchased online from Amazon, some I've received as gifts (friends, you know me so well), but most are ones that I've spotted in supermarkets and dollar stores over the years.

Keep your eyes peeled for seasonal end caps. When summer draws near, you'll find all sorts of fun props and tools, including popsicle molds. If I see a popsicle mold for a dollar or two or three, I'll pick up a couple. Not only is it fun to have a variety of shapes and sizes of molds at home to choose from, it also allows you to make more at once!

Lemon Icebox "Pie"

A few weeks ago, somebody on twitter asked me if I had a good Lemon Icebox Pie recipe. I had to say that I didn't, but that I would ask around. We found some absolutely tempting suggestions, and I decided that it was time to make one for myself. I don't know why I hadn't before now...I love lemon desserts. If I'm being completely honest, I don't think that I'd ever even eaten a slice before. That changed last weekend.

I wound up slightly adapting a recipe by my favorite cookbook author, Tessa Kiros. In her latest absolutely gorgeous as usual book, Recipes and Dreams from an Italian Life, she shares a pie that her sister has made for so many years that she could make it with her eyes closed. Not knowing the definite origins, she guesses that it probably came from a condensed milk can of old. I figured that "pie" (I'm air-quoting because can you really call it a pie if it's made in a rectangular pan? I suppose so, but for some reason, my fingers automatically raise...) was as good a place to start as any.

And guess what? YUM! So good. It's light an fluffy with that perfect lemon tang. I'm sort of in love with the simple filling. I think I'm going to stuff it an Angel Food Swiss Roll later on today. It also fits in perfectly at your Easter or Spring table.

Orange-Fennel Cake Doughnuts

This month's theme for #TwelveLoaves is ORANGES. The first place my mind went was to Orange Rolls. They're a family favorite and Christmas morning tradition around our house. I thought maybe I'd toy with a new recipe or put them in a different form like monkey bread (Iwasthisclosetomakingmonkeybread,really), pull-apart bread, or a swirled loaf. I went back and forth trying to make up my mind.

And then I shifted directions entirely.

You see, I found something that I'd been looking for forEVER. Sugar-coated fennel seeds. Seriously, I should have bought the small pack that I saw in the candy section when I staked temporary residence at Eataly in January. But there were just so many other things beckoning me from all around, that I forgot about them.

Lemon Cornmeal Sandwich Cookies

There's just something about those hints of green appearing in the trees and poking through the ground that puts me in a light mood. Birds gossping in the yard as they rifle around for loose bits to build their nests. Warmer mornings and the promise (threat) of shedded layers. Scooting the chocolate to the back shelf and reaching for those sunny lemons instead. That means Spring must really be here!

Don't get me wrong, I don't shun chocolate once Spring finally chases away the snow, but there is something about the change that just makes me crave lemons (or coconut - but that's a whole 'nother story).  So, when Dixie Crystals challenged the Sunday Supper crew to make some Springtime Sweets featuring their sugar, I immediately saw yellow.

Although I would have liked nothing better than to make a batch of my favorite Lemon Bars (or my other favorite Lavender Lemon Bars) or whip up a Lemon Meringue Pie, I steered myself in another direction. I was in the mood for cookies. Some sort of cookie that could be set out with the desserts at Easter and not passed over for the pies, tarts, and meringues that surrounded it.