Tivo Alert!

First things first. Before I forget, for fans of Guy Fieri, his new Food Network show premieres tomorrow at 10 am/EST. On the menu is Bloody Mary Flank Steak, Grilled Romaine with Blue Cheese-Bacon Vinaigrette and Parmesan Taters – sounds delish! I love his personality and zest for life, and have anxiously been awaiting this premiere. Looks like he’s off with a bang!

Now onto what’s been going on in the Sweetnicks’ Kitchen today. Lots of cooking! I woke up this morning to hear Nicholas shrieking for pancakes. I had a recipe for Strawberry Pancakes from Rachael Ray, and figured with Nicholas’ love for strawberries, this was the perfect opportunity to try out the recipe. So I start working in the kitchen and Nicholas comes over to look at the batter. He wrinkles up his nose and asks, “What is THAT?” “Pancakes,” I say, although I thought it was pretty obvious. “No, I don’t want THOSE pancakes, I want the ones from the freezer.” Yup. Forget the delicious, homemade Strawberry Pancakes just coming off the heat, my kid wants those premade, precooked frozen kind. Sigh. Given his love for smoked salmon, Kalamata olives and Feta, I guess I can’t complain, but he sure did miss out. The pancakes were a breeze to make and delicious. Nice, light dough with pieces of warm, juicy strawberries throughout. Definitely one to make again.

Good food can quickly take you to your happy place. Since we did Father’s Day at my parents last weekend, I owed The Husband a few of his favorite foods to celebrate HIS Father’s Day. The Neighbors came over for their weekend dinner tonight, and since The Neighbor Husband put in a request for wings, I figured I could make everyone happy, since The Husband loves wings too. So, as a side munchie, we had Bleu Cheese Chips (love these!), then Asian Sticky Wings, Mega Meatball Pizza and a Greek Salad. Dessert was one of The Husband’s favorites, Paula Deen’s Gooey Butter Cakes (the original version).

Now for the breakdown. The Bleu Cheese Chips, the Greek Salad (vinaigrette recipe from Party Line with the Hearty Boys) and the Gooey Butter Cakes are all tried-and-trues. The Asian Sticky Wings is a new recipe (a Sweetnicks Original, thank you very much) and was a snap to make. Considering all 2 pounds were gone, I think it’s safe they were a hit. The Mega Meatball Pizza is a Rachael Ray recipe and another new one. Recipe below includes some slight modifications I made along the way. It was quick to make (as are all her recipes) and was very good; a great alternative to greasy, take-out pizza. Ooops – almost forgot the cocktail tonight, another new recipe – Green Vodka Cooler, a new one from Emeril. It was very cool and refreshing. It reminded us of the Frozen Lemonade Cocktail we’ve adopted as our Summer Drink 2006, but different enough that it will go into rotation.

OK folks, that’s a wrap for tonight. Tune in tomorrow for Weekend Dog Blogging. Also, don’t forget to send in your pictures of your spice cabinet/shelf/drawer/wall for the You Show Me Yours, I’ll Show You Mine Round-Up #2 (entries with your permalinks due by 6/30, round-up to be posted 7/1).

Until tomorrow…

A year ago today… Fuddruckers, Fast Food and Fat City.

Strawberry Pancakes
MAKES 12 TO 14 PANCAKES

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, plus more for serving
2 cups sliced strawberries
Pure maple syrup, for serving

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and vanilla. Preheat a nonstick griddle over medium heat.

Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir in the melted butter. The batter should be thick and smooth. Fold in the strawberries.

Spoon the batter onto the griddle 1/4 cup at a time. Cook the pancakes until set and thoroughly bubbly, about 3 minutes. Flip them with a spatula and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Green Vodka Cooler
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, Show: The Essence of Emeril
Episode: Summer Entertaining

Yield: 8 servings

2 cups fresh lime juice
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups vodka
8 cups crushed ice
Lime slices, for garnish

Combine lime juice and sugar in a bowl, and whisk to dissolve the sugar. Pour half of this mixture into a blender. Add 1 cup vodka and 4 cups ice, and blend until smooth. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Serve immediately, garnished with lime slices.

Asian Sticky Wings
A Sweetnicks Original
Yield: 6 servings

1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2-1/2 tablespoons tamari sauce
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 pounds chicken wings

Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Grease large baking pan. Combine green onion, honey, soy sauce, tamari sauce, sesame oil, ginger, brown sugar and garlic in large bowl. Add wings; toss to coat. Place wings with sauce in single layer in prepared baking pan. Bake, turning occasionally, 25 minutes or until chicken is evenly browned.

Increase oven temperature to broil. Broil wings 6 inches from heat, turning occasionally, for 8 minutes or until sauce is thick enough to coat back of spoon. Remove wings to platter; spoon sauce over.

Mega Meatball Pizza
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
Yield: 4 servings

1 pizza dough, store bought or from your favorite pizza shop
A palm full all-purpose flour or cornmeal (I skipped)
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling, plus 2 tablespoons (I skipped the EVOO in the pan)2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary leaves, a couple of sprigs
Coarse salt
1-1/2 pounds ground sirloin
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 to 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Black pepper
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
A handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 pound fresh mozzarella or brick mozzarella, sliced or grated (I used 1 lb)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. On a round pizza stone or pan or on a rectangular baking sheet, using flour or cornmeal to dust the dough, spread out the dough to form your crust. If you are using a baking sheet, drizzle pan with extra-virgin olive oil then set crust in place. Poke the pizza dough in several areas with the tines of a fork. Drizzle the dough with extra-virgin olive oil then season it with finely chopped rosemary and a little salt. Place in oven 10 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, then the meat. Brown and crumble meat a couple of minutes, then add onions and garlic. Season the meat with salt and pepper then work in the tomato paste using the back of a wooden spoon to combine. Stir in the cheese, parsley and oregano.

Remove pizza crust from oven and top with meat. Arrange cheese over the pizza, working to edges. Return the pizza to the oven and bake until cheese is golden, another 10 to 12 minutes.

Sweetnicks’ Notes: I did not use olive oil in the pan with the ground beef. The ground beef gives off so much liquid on its own, I didn’t want any more. The recipe didn’t indicate draining the ground beef, but I did. When I added the tomato paste, I added about 1-1/2 tablespoons of water to give it the proper consistency.

Tonight’s Dinner in Review
Asian Sticky Wings