Jennifer Guerrero

Jen’s Rock Star Jalapeño Roast Chicken & Vegetables! The Twine Swine be Thine!

jenniferguerrero1 December 27, 2017

Twine Swine. It may be the perfect gift. You can hand it to your friend, and in your best Shakespearian theatrical style, loudly proclaim, “The Twine Swine be Thine!” as you thrust your arm skyward. Yeah, I know. That’s a picture from Braveheart, but my attention span wavered a bit looking for just the right Henry V shot. Or you could treat yoself. In that case, it would be more like Montgomery Burns drumming his fingers together and declaring quietly and creepily, “The Twine Swine is mine.” Either way, people will be happy.

Really, I think Twine Swine might have been invented by pigs who were sick of bacon trending, wanting to see people eat more chicken. They might have been inspired by the Chick-fil-a cows. I love roast chicken. Ina Garten makes a perfect roast chicken in Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients. It’s lickable. Then I got Marcela Valodolid’s Casa Marcela: Recipes and Food Stories of My Life in the Californias. She sticks jalapeños under the skin of the roast chicken and it’s a total game changer. It’s not really spicy, just insanely flavorful. I played with their ideas, and it was like Ina’s chicken and Marcela’s chicken had a delicious, delicious baby. Here’s my Rock Star Jalapeño Roast Chicken and Vegetables.

Jen’s Garlic and Basil Fondue

jenniferguerrero1 December 15, 2017

It’s cold outside! I’ve lived in Texas for 10 years now, but I grew up in Wisconsin, and chilly air is like Pavlov’s bell to this Cheesehead. I start craving melted cheese.

My favorite fondue method is a little unorthodox. Rather than heating wine and tossing corn starch coated cheese into the pool, I love to start by making a roux and building a lovely béchamel. The resulting texture is velvety. I like to use a combination of both milk and wine, like you would in a wine cream sauce. It’s a bit less boozy which is nice for family fondue night. This uber-garlicky fondue is just as nice for roasted veggies as it is for bread. Really. I know that that’s not generally true, but you need to trust me here.

It is of utmost importance that you cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces. Your guests will be armed with nothing but a fondue fork, and will not be singing your praises if you make them feel like a moose, trying to navigate a ginormous piece of broccoli into their mouth. Seriously. No one feels attractive with an overstuffed broccoli mouth. My husband, the physics major – I’ll call him Nerd Boy for my purposes here – would have you scale down the size of all objects to be dipped for a different reason. It increases the surface area that cheese can adhere to, resulting in a higher cheese to bread ratio.

Hope you love it! I’ll talk about my favorite cheese books and my favorite fondue pot after the recipe…. Read More

Jen’s Bacon, Berry, Brie, and Caramel Apple Waffle with Warm Maple Syrup

jenniferguerrero1 December 9, 2017

We have a glorious brunch place in Fort Worth, Texas, that I adore. It’s called Bird Café. It’s a wonderful place, and you must go if you’re ever in town. Their brunch cocktail menu is inspiring. My husband’s favorite thing there is called the Mother and Child Reunion. It’s fried chicken, a poached egg, and jalapeno gravy on a bed of grits. <I know!> But you will forgive their sick sense of humor the second you taste it. My favorite is called The Badass Waffle. It’s a waffle covered in berries, caramel apples, bacon, brie fondue, and maple syrup. It’s why I have a mouth.

I should probably explain why I’m telling you about that amazing waffle. We’re doing a traditional Texas Christmas Eve this year. That’s tamales, queso, and margaritas. I thought it would be super fun to decorate in an understated cowboy glam. Then I wondered to myself what the best Texas Christmas Eve breakfast would be. Well, migas are my favorite, but I make them constantly. We’ve always cracked up at the Texas shaped waffles that you see in hotels all over the state. I have a killer double waffle maker, so I couldn’t justify buying The Texas Waffle Maker. Well, I can think of no better excuse than Christmas Eve morning! Now for a waffle that’s special enough. I had to try to recreate that Bacon, Berry, Brie, and Caramel Apple Waffle with Warm Maple Syrup. Sounds like a delicious challenge to me! Giddy up!

I love yeasty waffles with a bit of exterior crunch from Belgian pearl sugar. I adapted a King Arthur waffle recipe as my jumping off point.

Vegetarian friends, go ahead and skip the bacon, and go to your happy place. Swine-enthusiasts –scale up the bacon as needed. You do you.

My Amazon affiliate links to the waffle irons are below the recipe if you need one.

Milk Street’s recipes for Israeli Hummus with Spiced Beef Topping and Lebanese-Style Tabbouleh and Cookbook Review: Milk Street: The New Home Cooking by Christopher Kimball

jenniferguerrero1 December 7, 2017

I adore PBS cooking shows, don’t you? Christopher Kimball has a new one, Milk Street, that’s just fantastic. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the book, Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street: The New Home Cooking. I’ve edited this to the current copy that includes all 4 years! I need this one! 😀

A huge thanks to Milk Street for letting me share their recipes for Israeli Hummus with Spiced Beef Topping and Tabbouleh with you! I was wowed by it! Vegetarian friends, skip the spiced beef topping, and go to your happy place. Omnivores, wait til you try that hummus!

(In my pic, 2/3 of the spiced beef topping is at the bottom of the serving bowl, then the hummus, then the other 1/3. The dish is about the hummus, so I didn’t want that covered up by its topping.)

My review of the book with my pics and thoughts of the dishes I tried is below the recipes.

Road trip! Jen’s Salami and Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich with Garlicky Mayo recipe. Hiking in Big Bend National Park.

jenniferguerrero1 November 29, 2017

We put 29 miles on our hiking boots over Thanksgiving week down in Big Bend National Park in west Texas. Just what the doctor ordered. Whenever we go on a road trip, I pack our family favorite, Salami and Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich with Garlicky Mayo. Holy yum, batman! All it needs is some strawberries and grapes to go with it. And if you’re a hiker, stick around after the recipe, and I’ll tell you all about Big Bend. Read More

Bäco’s recipe for Bäco Bread with Creamy Poblano Feta Dressing and Cookbook Review: Bäco: Vivid Recipes from the Heart of Los Angeles by Josef Centeno

jenniferguerrero1 November 20, 2017

Baco: Vivid Recipes from the Heart of Los Angeles is an amazing foodie book for when you want to pull out all the stops to make incredible dishes.

I am absolutely in love with the Bäco Bread with Creamy Poblano Feta Dressing. The smell of the fresh flatbreads baking fills the house and the dressing is lickable. A huge thanks to Chronicle Books for letting me share it with you! The picture is mine. The photographs in Bäco are beautiful.

My review with my pics and thoughts on all the dishes I tried is below the recipe. Read More

Ree Drummond’s recipe for Meatball Tortilla Soup and Cookbook Reviw: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It!

jenniferguerrero1 November 17, 2017

I love Pioneer Woman’s new book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It!: Simple, Scrumptious Recipes for Crazy Busy Lives Well, I love all of her books. This one has the most wonderful Meatball Tortilla Soup in it. My youngest daughter had a second bowl right away, then asked me to make another pot of it for her thermos for school lunches. Yeah, we all thought it was *that* good. A huge thank you to Ree Drummond for letting me share the recipe with you! I added in the underlines where I drew lines in my book, showing which ingredients are grouped together when they’re thrown into the pool. You don’t write in your books?! But it makes cooking more relaxing. Turn that radio up!

If you love the aesthetics of the cover, she’s got a cookbook stand at Walmart (I think it was around $20), that coordinates with it. Dark wood covered in flowers with a lacey, turquoise metal bar to hold your book. Turquoise, orange, and floral are all of my favorites, so I don’t think I’ll be able to resist much longer.

My review of the book with my pics and thoughts on the dishes I tried is below the recipe. I’ve attached my reviews of her other books below that so you can see the pics and get a feel for what each book promises. Now, back to that delicious soup! Read More

Kristen Kish Cooking. Fantastic recipes from the Top Chef.

jenniferguerrero1 November 15, 2017

Here’s a fantastic total foodie book for when you want to knock it out of the kitchen! My review with my pics and thoughts on the dishes I tried is below. Here’s a link to the recipe for Kristen’s Dead-of-Winter Vegetable Rosti with Saffron Aioli so you can taste the book. I just noticed that all of the measurements are twice as big in the book and fit my 12″ skillet perfectly. There are four of us and my youngest wanted a second piece. If you have anyone who likes extra when delicious and healthy collide, you might want to double this. And someone will have a lovely lunch the next day.

Sous vide. Food jacuzzi. Foodcuzzi. Perfect foodie gift.

jenniferguerrero1 November 14, 2017

We have a beautiful wrought iron, propane fire pit with glass marbles in the back yard. And in the house we have a gas fireplace with a switch on the wall. I love the thing. Last year, we vacationed in Taos, New Mexico. Killer trip. The ranch where Georgia O’Keeffe’s home is, and where City Slickers was filmed, is about an hour from there, and they give horseback tours of it all. It’s absolutely idyllic. There are charming museums, stores that sell fun metal sculptures from Mexico, the scenic Rio Grande Gorge Bridge where you can see goats playing, some neat restaurants, and it’s about an hour from skiing in Red River. The hotel we stayed at had a bocce court, and we could see prairie dogs playing all over out the back window. The room had an adobe fireplace in the corner that was amazingly efficient. My husband was in love with that thing. A year later, still having that urge to burn wood, he had to get a chiminea. That means I get to spend the same on a no reason kitchen toy. Awesome. Read More

Beatiful Mess’ recipe for Zoodles and Noodles Teriyaki Stir-Fry and Cookbook Review: A Beautiful Mess Weekday Weekend by Emma Chapman and Elsie Larson

jenniferguerrero1 November 8, 2017

Looking for a little healthy vegetarian fare to balance out the upcoming holidays? A Beautiful Mess Weekday Weekend: How to live a healthy veggie life . . . and still eat treats is delicious, nutrition-packed, easy, pretty, and it’s in the category I lovingly refer to as butt-reducers.

A big thanks to Chronicle Books for letting me share the recipe for Zoodle and Noodles Teriyaki Stir Fry with you so that you can taste the book. Yum!

My review with my pics and thoughts on the dishes I tried is below the recipe. Read More