It Was An All-Star Week!!!!

Well if you are not a sports fan and don’t live in Cincinnati, then you may not even know what I am talking about 🙂 but for a year the city has been planning for Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game.

Let me say the city was crazy, I did go downtown a couple of days but if you didn’t get down there early to find a parking space, lot or garage it was nuts.  So to say the least I just drove around and then went back across the river 😛

But the Home Run Derby was exciting since Todd Frazier of the Cincinnati Reds won it this year!!!

All and all I think Cincinnati and Northern Ky. did an outstanding job hosting this years All-Star Game.

I did take some pictures, I have some here that friends took as well, but as I say it was an “All-Star Week”

There were are couple birthdays in our family and of course I made a few things, so check out my pictures and enjoy!!!

First of the birthdays was my little niece I made cupcakes 🙂

She likes presents and bubbles 🙂

Around town they made these mustaches statues here are few of them

here is the picture of all of them that they made, pretty cool 🙂

Here are few of my souvenirs

Buskin Bakery made the cookies got to love that!!

Here are some pictures of the Red Carpet Parade,
the players start at their hotel and end at the ball park, all on red carpet 🙂
Grand Marshall – Barry Larkin

 

Mr. Red and Gapper

 

Rosie Red

 

Some other mascots

Todd Frazier and his family

 

You can see on Todd’s hand the blisters from the Home Run Derby 🙂

 

Few other Players 🙂

Some of the city skyline and downtown

yes they had a zipline too

 

My All-Star Pizza, half spinach & garlic
other half was spinach, Gorgonzola cheese,
sliced almonds, sliced strawberries and
balsamic glaze…so so GOOD!!!

 

The other birthday was my Mommy!! 🙂

I made her cookies peanut butter with no flour 🙂

Dinner – Braised Short Ribs, butter noodles and carrots 🙂

Peach Ice Cream (I just scooped some out to take the picture)
she took the Ice Cream, cookies all home 🙂

And for actual dessert I made Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting 😛

I must say I agree is was an All-Star Week 🙂

Blueberry Crumb Bars!!

These Blueberry Crumb Bars turned out so delicious!!!

I was invited to a luncheon and I wanted to bring something for everyone to take home and enjoy!! And I really must say they are very tasty 😛

So I made Blueberry and I made Raspberry, I wrapped them up in this cute matching wax paper and bags along with cute stickers all from Michael’s…don’t you just love Michael’s!! 🙂

I had such a great time visiting with the ladies, one of the ladies “Val” just moved into a new high rise along the river that over looks downtown Cincinnati and her place was just exquisite!!!!

I tried to take a “selfie” I am not very good, but sun was shining and it was hard to see, I was trying to get the Reds Great American Ball Park in the background too 😛

I met these wonderful ladies through a friend of mine Robin, we both used to work for the same company and we remained in touch and good friends.  She had me cater a few parties at her house so that is how I got to know this group of lovely ladies.

So “Thank you Val” for including me and I hope all the ladies enjoyed the bars.  I know I had a great time!!! 🙂

I hope you all make these bars for your friends or family!!

Ingredients

Crust

Blend in processor

Blended, pour into sprayed baking dish

 

press down all over and bake

baked

 

Filling ingredients

jam

since I made both I used this one for the raspberry

spread over top of crust

blueberries and flour

toss together

 

sprinkle on top of jam and crust

Ingredients for topping

pulse

pulsed 🙂

sprinkle over top the blueberries and bake

Done and ready to cool

 

• Servings: 9-16
• Time: 1 hour plus cooling
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Crust

3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. powdered sugar
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces

Filling

1 pint blueberries or “3” 6 oz. containers of raspberries, about 2 cups
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/3 cup blueberry jam or raspberry if using raspberries

Crumb Topping

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces

Preheat over to 375 degrees and spray or grease an 8×8 baking dish.

Crust – combine, flour, powdered sugar, salt and butter, place in a food processor or use a pastry blender until butter is the size of small peas.  Sprinkle mixture into the bottom of the baking dish and press down evenly and bake 12 minutes.

Filling – if the jam you are using is thick and is not spreadable then place into a small sauce pan and heat jam to make spreadable, you can use the microwave as well.  Pour the berries in a large bowl and sprinkle flour over top and gently toss to coat them.

Once the crust is done, spread jam evenly over the crust, crust will be warm so the jam does warm up and makes it easy to spread. Sprinkle berries over top the jam, any left over flour in the bottom of the bowl can be just sprinkle evenly over the berries.

Crumb Topping – in food processor add flour, brown sugar and butter, pulse mixture until crumbly, then sprinkle over top the blueberries and bake 35 – 40 minutes.

Cool completely before cutting. Enjoy!!

This picture when I made both, I used bigger pans and doubled the recipe 🙂

Chicken Fettuccine…On the Lighter side!!

Looking for a healthier lighter Chicken Fettuccine?

I used Almond Breeze unsweetened Coconut Milk. Coconut Milk! I know what some of you’re thinking ~ “What! Really it is good?” and before you ask I’ll answer ~ No it does not taste like coconut! 🙂

When you order this dish in a restaurant or search online a Chicken Fettuccine recipe they usually call for heavy cream, butter and lots of cheese!!Let me just say that 1 cup of Cream is like 800 calories vs. the coconut milk which is only 45 calories and if you noticed I did not use any butter either.

Now don’t get me wrong the stuff made with all the cream, butter and cheese is great, but maybe not so healthy for us, go give this a try I promise you like it 🙂

For the entire month of September, three of our Remke Market locations will have all of these items on sale.  So stop by our Hyde Park, Skytop or Highland area stores in Ohio.  Most of all the other locations may only have some of these one sale. Everyone loves a Great Sale!!

Oh and if you visiting my blog for the first time, please look to right side of this page and see where it says follow me via email, enter your email address in the box and click the “Follow Chef Amy” link to follow me, then every time I post a new recipe or talk about great products or places I might have been, you get an email about the new post.  Once you have added your email address, make sure to go to your email and confirm the link to ensure you will get my posts!!

Ingredients

put pasta on

in skillet add oil and shallots (or onions)

cook until translucent

finely chop your rosemary (my rosemary looks dark because I freeze it, when I buy herbs for recipes if I don’t use them all up, I will just put the container right in the freezer then whenever I need to something for a recipe I am cooking I have some.  I only use the herbs from the freezer when I use them in a cooking recipe not if I need it for fresh recipe like salads or on top of a dish)

I grate my garlic cloves always it is just so easy, so add garlic and rosemary to skillet

using cornstarch will help thicken the sauce (I forgot to add it to my picture above) 🙂

add mixture to skillet and whisk often until it comes to a bubble and thickens

once it bubble and thickens add cheese and whisk

drain pasta (you might want to do this and have ready before you add your cheese to the sauce)

add the sauce to pasta and toss to coat the pasta, pour pasta out onto a big platter or bowl, top with your chicken

you can garnish with fresh chopped Italian parsley and some shredded or grated Parmesan cheese

and done

Lighter Chicken Fettuccine

• Time: 40mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

1 lb. pasta, cooked & drained
1 – 2 large shallots (1/2 cup)
3/4 cup fresh Grated Parmesan
2 1/2 cups Almond Breeze unsweetened Almond Milk or unsweetened Coconut Milk
4 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. olive oil
2-3 cooked chicken breasts,  or grilled chicken thighs sliced
2 tbsp. Italian parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta as directed, meanwhile in a large skillet over medium heat add oil and shallots, cook until onions are translucent; add garlic and rosemary and continue to cook for 1 minute more.

Whisk milk and cornstarch together then add to skillet, whisk mixture until it starts to bubble, once bubbling and begins to thicken whisk in 1/2 cup cheese.

Drain pasta, add pasta to the skillet and toss with the sauce until well coated, plate pasta, add chicken on top and garnish with parsley and extra cheese.

Enjoy!!!  Thank you for coming!!! Chef Amy

 

Opening Day!!!!!!!!! Go Reds!!

It’s “Opening Day” today for our Baseball Team the Cincinnati Reds!!

So everyone around town and here in our office is proudly wearing Red or their Reds gear and I was trying to think up a recipe that I had that you could put together, forget about it and then watch the game.

Here are some of our ladies in the office…proudly supporting the Reds!! 🙂

So I picked Bratwurst Soup, I made this at one of my cooking classes using Sam Adams beer, everyone loved it 🙂

It was using the slow cooker, which will be perfect to have cooking before or during the game and what’s better than Brats, Beer, Baseball and Cheese 😛

But before we get to that here’s video to get you into the baseball mood 😎

 

Bratwurst Soup

• Servings: 6-8
• Time: 4-8hrs
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

1 cup onion, chopped
4 cups potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup carrots, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups chicken broth
2 tsp. dry mustard
12 oz. Beer, whatever your drinking
14-16 oz. Stadium Style Bratwurst
1/2 cup flour
1 cup heavy cream
10 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Add onion, garlic, carrots and potatoes to your slow cooker, sprinkle in the seasonings and give a stir, then add broth and beer.  Cook on High for 4 hours or on Low for 6-8 hours.

Meanwhile if you are using the cooked bratwursts then just slice into 1/2 inch pieces and saute them in a skillet to brown them on both sides.  If you are using fresh you can do 1 or 2 things, cook them whole in the skillet browning them on all sides, or cut the casings off and pinch the meat into bite size pieces and cook them.

Once the done then just put the Bratwurst into the soup and continue to cook.

In the last 30 minutes of the cooking, remove 2 cups of the soup liquid a large saucepan over medium heat, sprinkle in the flour whisking the whole time, whisk in cream, then whisk in cheese adding a handful at a time until smooth.  Stir cheese mixture into the soup stirring well to fully combine, cover and finish cooking.

Enjoy!!

Sorry no pictures, usually when I have classes I don’t have time to take pictures 😦

 

 

Super Bowl 2014!! Seahawks Win!!!!

Congratulations Seattle Seahawks on your 2014 Super Bowl Win!!!!

I must say I am happy that Seattle won, they really controlled the entire game, which was a lot easier to watch then sitting on the edge of your seat with the score going back and forward 🙂

So I was able to enjoy the commercial’s (which some fell short) and I do have my favorites 🙂

And talk about an AMAZING Halftime Show!! Bruno Mars is such an amazingly talented man, I have  always enjoyed seeing him preform on “Award” shows 🙂

But before we get to all of that, I did a Super Bowl snacking spot for one of our local news channels, guacamole and Bean and Corn salsa along with Endive Taco Boats.
Here is the link if you would like to watch the spot 🙂

http://www.local12.com/health/features/medical-edge-reports/stories/medical-edge-super-bowl-snacking-175.shtml

Bean and Corn Salsa recipes are a plenty as well as guacamole recipes but this is how I make mine 🙂

Bean and Corn Salsa Recipe

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 can corn with peppers, drained
1 can chunky tomatoes with green chilies (mild or Hot you choose), drained
1 1/4 cup fresh pico de gallo (salsa) you mostly can find this in the produce dept. or you can just add 1/2 cup diced onion
1 tsp. garlic salt and black pepper
1 cup Zesty Italian dressing
zest of 1 – 2 limes

Mix all together, chill overnight for best flavor, you can also add and diced jalapeno for more heat.
Serve with Tortilla Chips and Endive leaves.  (can size 14.5 – 15.5)

Guacamole

3 ripe avocados
1/2 cup fresh pico de gallo or you can use your favorite salsa
1/4 – 1/2 tsp. garlic salt, to taste
juice from 1/2 or 1 lime, also to taste

Mix together and serve with Tortilla Chips and Endive leaves
You can add fresh cilantro or diced jalapeno, really you can make this your own.

Taco Endive Boats

Breast meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
4-5 tsp. taco seasoning, from powder packet

Toss chicken and seasoning together
You can place chicken in a bowl, Salsa in a bowl and guacamole in a bowl have a platter of Endive Leaves and let your guest make their own Taco Boats, chicken then salsa topped with a little guacamole.

These recipes were a big hit with everyone back at the station along with everyone at the office that got to have all the leftovers 🙂

These were my favorite commercials 🙂 

1. Volkswagon (this one made me giggle)

2. Mcdonalds (this one was funny too)

They removed this one from youtube, but if you search around you’ll find it 🙂

3. Budweiser –  A Soldier’s return (this one so touching and I had tears)

– this link is the full story – get your tissues ready!!!

Below is the Commerical 🙂

4. Another cute Budweiser – Puppy Adoption

5. Audi – Doberhuahua – this one you just have to watch 😛

Of course there were more that were good but these were my top picks!! 🙂

And here is one of the BEST SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOWS EVER!!!  (not a fan of the RHCP, so I would have left them out and just kept more of Bruno!!!)  Turn your speakers up!!! and get ready to Dance!!!

Hope you enjoyed!!!!  Have a great day!!

Wine Dinner on September 20th

Attention anyone living in the Northern Kentucky or Greater Cincinnati area 🙂

We will be having a Wine Dinner at the Hyde Park Remke bigg’s, tomorrow Friday September 20^th at 6 pm.

Wines from Washington State and Oregon will be featured

Menu will include the following:

Mini Lump Crab Cakes with Corn Salsa paired with
Sokol Blosser Evolution White

Steamed Mussels in white wine paired with
Acrobat Pinot Gris

Endive and Apple Salad paired with
A to Z Chardonnay

Crab Stuffed Tilapia with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, served with a Lemon, Asparagus Orzo Pasta with Goat Cheese paired with
Erath Pinot Noir

Grand Tiered Mousse paired with
Willamette Valley Vineyards Riesling

$25 per person

Come and enjoy a lovely evening with great wine and fantastic food!!

Hope you can join us, to make reservations please call 513-619-5454  🙂

Cinco de mayo

Happy Cinco de mayo!!!  I have been very busy coming up with recipes for my class today, we will also be pairing my recipes with Corona, Pacifico and Modelo.  I will be posting those recipes one each day starting on Monday.  Have a great day everyone, and if you live in Cincinnati…come and see me!!!

Cooking Class with Guinness Beer

If your in the Cincinnati area come on by its going to be lots of fun!!!!