-
Ultimate Chicken + Avocado Caprese Salad
It’s that time of year when we are inundated with images of summer-readiness attire + activities + dietary regimen. It can be so stressful getting back on track after the holidays in preparation for the nearly naked time of year. (Seriously, have you seen how tiny bikinis are nowadays?) But there is no stress at all with preparing or eating this delightfully light yet satisfying Ultimate Chicken + Avocado Caprese Salad! I’d go so far as to say this salad is crazy easy to prepare. Simply do a sweep through the produce aisle of the market, grab a rotisserie chicken, and throw together some dressing fixins and you’re set! This…
-
Panang Curry Noodle Bowl
Get ready to eat the rainbow. I hope you are holding your fork because this vibrant recipe will be on your table in about 20 quick minutes! Boil some noodles. Throw all the sauce ingredients in the blender, then heat in a pan. Add noddles and garnish with your favorite crunchy + sweet + savory + herby condiments. That is it! If you don’t already know it, I love Thai food. I LOVE THAI FOOD. I mean, I crave it at least once a week. There is something about its combination of sweet + robust + salty + piquant flavors that work me into a frenzy. By the time I…
You May Also Like
Curried Chicken Wings + Mango Chutney-Yogurt Dipping Sauce
-
Sweet Georgia Peach Ice Cream Sandwiches
Masters Week has come and gone, y’all. Didn’t make it to the tournament to grab one of those delicious Georgia Peach Ice Cream Sandwiches? Or perhaps you can’t help reminiscing about those quintessentially southern treats you noshed on last week? No worries. I gotcha. Let me be clear, however: this is NOT the sugar cookie recipe used by Nashville’s Christie Cookie Company. Like most things that concern the Augusta National, that recipe is veiled in secrecy. But chances are these will hold you over till next year’s tournament. The recipes for these cool confections are oh, so easy: simply bake up a batch of sugar cookies and sandwich a big…
-
Seared Sea Scallops with Caramelized Corn + Tomatoes
Of all shellfish, my very favorite is scallops. Their porcelain creaminess is so pure and elegant, their bouquet an intoxicatingly sweet brininess. I imagine it to be like mermaid’s breath. For this recipe, I nestle those succulent pillows of goodness on a bed of fresh corn sautéed with bacon, shallots, and thyme. I have three words to describe these scallops–Mmm, mmm, mmm! Seared Sea Scallops with Caramelized Corn + Tomatoes is the first meal I made for The Man. It was back in the flirting stages of things. Apparently it blew his mind because all these years later he is still around. The key to the deliciousness of this dish…
-
Bourbon + Pecan Sweets
Serving these at your Kentucky Derby party? Don’t blink! They will be gone as quickly as the horses make their way around the track. Rich + buttery + sugary + crunchy + addictive. Next thing you know, half of these have mysteriously disappeared. These sweets require very few ingredients, very little time, very little skill yet are indubitably delicious.They combine the best of both worlds: candy + bourbon. But fear not the spirits: when cooking bourbon, the alcohol evaporates, leaving you with the deliciously distinct bourbon flavor without the alcohol. If alcohol is not your thing but you like the flavor of bourbon, you can use bourbon flavored vanilla. If…
-
(no longer a secret) Pimento Cheese Sandwich
Would you think me crazy if I told you a sandwich that costs $1.50 is legendary? ‘Tis true. It’s a sandwich that’s as Southern as Magnolia trees and sweet ice tea. People from all over the world flock to the concession stands of the Augusta National Golf Course to procure one of these sandwiches of piquant cheese slathered between two pillowy pieces of white bread. It’s the famous Pimento Cheese sandwich, and its ingredients are TOP SECRET. Much like the Augusta National itself, the recipe for pimento cheese is veiled in mystery. In fact, the recipe is the subject of quite a few contentious debates, including many proprietors taking the…
-
Chipotle + Lime Flank Steak Sheet Pan Dinner
Lately we have been on the Sheet Pan Dinner Recipes Diet because, well, sheet pan dinners tick all the boxes. They are delicious + easy + quick + tidy (there is barely any cleanup). I made this Chipotle + Lime Flank Steak with The Man in mind ‘cause he loves him some spice. I watched as his eyes fixed on the sizzling, colorful sheet pan. Then for a full 10 seconds he savored it–nose and mouth–wafting the steaming plate under his nose and sweeping the food across his tongue…and then it was gone. Just like that. He made it quite obvious that savoring is a time suck when a dish…
You May Also Like
Guinness Braised Short Ribs
-
Curried Chicken Wings + Mango Chutney-Yogurt Dipping Sauce
Does anyone out there in Bloglandia remember when chicken wings were practically free at the grocery store? I mean, back in the day. Prior to their popularity, prior to their ubiquity. Before they became the uber-staple on sports bar menus worldwide (right below the uber-staple nachos). Seriously, if you didn’t know it, once upon a time, chicken wings weren’t “a thing” on a menu. They were scoffed at. They were looked down upon. They had no street cred, per se. After all, wings are merely skin and bones. But wait…isn’t that actually part of their allure? There is the bone that is full of flavorful marrow and insulates that wing…
-
Curly Kale + Tandoori Chickpea Salad (and a lecture on massaging the Queen)
Do you enjoy a really good massage? If you answered yes, you know how revitalizing a massage can be. Relaxing yet invigorating; a bit painful at times but always worth all the tissue manipulation. Right? Now apply these same principles to your kale. No, I am not kidding. You are going to give your kale a massage. Massaging your kale will break down her cellulose or woodiness. Kale is the Queen of Greens, after all. She deserves it! You know why? She is the OG of superfood cred. For the price of a 2 minute massage, she has a lot to offer in return: 5 grams of fiber per…
-
Fakes (Greek Lentils)
Sometimes a girl just wants some beans and rice. Or beans and pasta, as the case may be. Pronounced fa-KEE and sometimes called fakorizo, THIS is my comfort food. I absolutely begged for it as a child. It’s a security blanket in a bowl, like chicken noodle soup. Eating comfort food is my class of self-medicating. It soothes me physiologically. So when I am feeling blue, I reach for my drug of choice: comfort food. Hello, I’m Naked Epicurean, and I am a comfort food addict. My drug must meet requisite standards. For example: Is it easy to make? Check. Does it evoke nostalgia? Check. Is it loaded with calories?…
You May Also Like
Panang Curry Noodle Bowl
