Cooking with BS's 2-Year-Anniversary Post!

It's already been 2 years since Katy and I started Cooking with B.S.! Since there's no way we could top last year's anniversary post of Skip's Scramble, so I thought it would be a good idea to host a dinner party and invite a few of our friends over.

For this late-spring dinner I wanted to represent the beginning of summer and meals to come in the summer months. I made Arnold Palmers with mint and bourbon, a fancy beet salad, grilled burgers and angel food cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. 

No those aren't black olives. They're purple potatoes from my garden! Lightly sauteed. 

Bourbon Mint Arnold Palmers

There is something so simply delicious about lemonade and iced tea. Like most things it's more delicious if you add bourbon and mint to it. For these Arnold Palmers I steeped two tea bags in a large mason jar. I used one green tea bag and one black tea. Then I added the lemonade I made earlier in the day.
I then added mint leaves to another mason jar (what up Pinterest?) added ice and then muddled the leaves a bit. Added the bourbon, iced tea and then lemonaid. Then served to some thirsty guests.

Brian's Fancy-Ass Beet Salad

This dish is the crown jewel of this cooking blog in my opinion. It features boiled beets with a herb puree coating, whipped yogurt, chevre, beet foam, dill sprigs, spinach leaves, dandelion petals, and did I mention that all the greens were from my garden? It was light and airy and turned a beet salad into something made for summer.

Garlic Chutes and Cheddars Burger comes with garlic shoots

Obviously this is an ode to Bob's Burgers, writers feel free to use this one next season. This burger was made with spices in the middle, cheddar cheese, grilled garlic shoots, and sriracha mayo all served on a sesame seed bun. I'm not gonna give you any of my burger secrets! Go bug Alton Brown.

Angel Food Cake with Fresh Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Honestly the Joy of Cooking has an amazing Angel Food Cake recipe go look it up! Now! Super simple dessert I just plated it sort of fancy-like.

So there you have a Cooking with B.S. Dinner party! I can't believe it's been two years already! All photos taken by Katy Weaver. Oh by the way, this is our last blog post until fall.

Kimchi Shepherd's Pie

Kimchi. That deliciously aged spicy cabbage, first created in Korean then used to make this unholy fusion. Kimchi tends to scare a lot of people away at least in America. I think it should be embraced and added to recipes that often call for cabbage for some extra spice. I mean what's more boring than shepard's pie? It's just meat and potatoes. That's why I wanted to try this combination and believe me it definitely paid off. The sweetness of the Japanese yams combined with the beef and tangy kimchi works perfectly together. If you're curious about kimchi and want to branch out I recommend starting with this recipe and then exploring more kimchi opportunities until you start putting it on everything.

Kimchi Shepherd's Pie

• 1 lbs. Ground Beef
• 1 lbs Spicy Kimchi
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1/3 cup Onion diced
• 2 cloves Garlic minced
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 2 medium Japanese Yams peeled and cubed
• 1 tablespoon Seaweed or Kombu if you have it
• 1 tablespoon Whole Milk
• 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter

1.  Throw the seaweed into 6 cups of water in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Add the yams. Cook until fork tender.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°
3. In a separate pan add the olive oil and heat over medium. Saute the onions and garlic until caramelized. Add the beef and salt. Stir until all the beef is slightly browned. Dump the kimchi into the beef pan. Reduce to low heat and stir occasionally while preparing the next step.
4. Using a food processor or a potato masher turn the cubed yams into a nice puree consistency. Add the butter and milk continue mashing or blending until all the ingredients are incorporated. 
5. Using a slotted spoon scoop the kimchi beef into a small casserole pan. Try not to add the juices to the pan. Using a rubber spatula evenly spread the yams over the beef and place in the oven. After 5 minutes switch the broiler on high and cook until the edges start to brown. 
6. Enjoy! I served mine with fried pineapple!

Photos by Katy Weaver!

Savory Avocado Cream Puffs

Behold the next level of party snacks! The Savory Avocado Cream Puff stuffed with avocado cream cheese and topped with smoked peanuts and radish sprouts! These creamy puffs of perfection are what party snacks should be. They're filling, but still surprisingly light. Even your vegetarian friends will like them, because unlike most of my dishes these contain no meat! I know! I'm as surprised as you are. Even though I made these look fancy, I recommend taking a page out of The Oatmeal's book and drench these things in Sriracha.

I don't have much to say about these puffs, besides the fact that you need to make them for the next party you attend or throw. I'm just going to let these photos that Katy Weaver took do most of the speaking. 

Savory Avocado Cream Puffs

I've decided not to include a traditional recipe on this post. This dish is basically built out of three parts, the choux paste, avocado cream cheese, and the peanuts.

Choux Paste (The Puffs)

Honestly The Joy of Cooking has an amazing recipe that I used to make the puffs. If you don't have a copy of The Joy of Cooking then get off the internet and stop reading "12 easy crockpot recipes" on Pinterest and get yourself a real cookbook.  You'll thank yourself. 

Whipped Avocado Cream Cheese

In a large mixing bowl whip together a diced avocado, a thing of cream cheese, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, and 1 tablespoon of whole milk until it becomes fluffy. Be sure the avocado becomes fully incorporated. Thats it. Simple.

Smoked Peanuts

I used my charcoal grill and some mesquite wood chips to smoke my peanuts. Then I used a coffee grinder to make a peanut dust, I also stirred in some paprika and cayenne pepper to give it some heat. After these three steps I just assembled the puffs and impressed my friends. 

Spicy Maple Gruyere Stuffed Chicken Breasts

The thing about Asian fusion is that as soon as lime juice and ginger comes into play it turns any dish into Asian fusion. I didn't set out to make this Spicy Maple Gruyere Stuffed Chicken Breast an Asian fusion dish, but I needed something to contrast the sweet chicken. An acidic slaw seemed like the obvious counterpart, and I happened to have lime and ginger. Next thing you know a delicious pear and ginger slaw appeared. Okay, it did take a little work, but every part seemed to work beautifully together just like a 90's boy band. I recommend making this dish if you like delicious food and want a little bit of a challenge. 

Spicy Maple Gruyere Stuffed Chicken Breasts

2 servings

• 2 Chicken Breasts
• 4 oz. Gruyere sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup Maple Syrup
• 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon Olive Oil
• Pinch of Sea Salt
• 6 Toothpicks

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Tear off about 3' of plastic wrap and lay it on a clean countertop.
3. Take your chicken breast and lay them out as flat as possible on the plastic wrap. Using the sharpest knife you have cut the breast so it becomes as flat as possible. To do this, make cuts vertically perpendicular to the connective tissue. Do not cut all the way through the breast! Be sure the skin is still in tact. 
4. Place the slices of gruyere in the chicken breast. Roll the chicken up like it's a sushi roll. Make sure the meat is nice and tight and stick three toothpicks in each breast. These will ensure the chicken stays in tact throughout the cooking process. 
5. After each breast is prepped. Place the breasts in a cooking vessel, most likely a small casserole pan. Drizzle the olive oil on top of each breast. Sprinkle the salt on. Then drench it in the maple syrup. Split the red pepper flakes between the two breasts.
6. Place in the oven for 25 minutes. Every 5 minutes scoop the excess syrup in the pan and drizzle over the breasts. Once the inside of the breasts have reached a temperature of 165° take out of the oven and serve with the Pear & Ginger Slaw. 
7. Enjoy!

Pear & Ginger Slaw

• 1 Pear diced
• 1 Carrot grated
• 1 tablespoon Fresh Ginger grated
• 1 tablespoon Lime Juice
• 5 Baby Rainbow Chard Leaves cheffinated
• 4 leaves of Mint cheffinated
• 6 leaves Cilantro cheffinated
• 1 1/2 tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds
• 1 tablespoon Sugar

1. Toss everything together in a large mixing bowl and let sit for at least 30 minutes. 
2. Yup that's it.

Photos by Katy Weaver

Capri Sun Vodka Cooler

If you're looking for the perfect summer drink this is it. The Capri Sun Vodka Cooler is refreshing, light and crisp. Most importantly though it taste like getting drunk off your childhood. Here's a tip for any soccer moms out there, these Capri Sun Coolers make the pain of losing the big game hurt, a little less. So I suggest handing these out after the next soccer match. 

Capri Sun Vodka Cooler

Yields two drinks or one double

• 1 Pouch of Capri Sun Pacific Cooler is my personal choice
• 2 shots of Vodka
• 1 squeeze of Grapefruit
• a splash of Club Soda
• Ice

1. Add the ice to a cocktail shaker. Pour in all the ingredients. Shake for 10 seconds. 
2. Pour into a champagne glass. Garnish with a twist of grapefruit rind. Serve with that little yellow Capri Sun straw.
3. Enjoy!

 Cooking with B.S. does not endorse childhood drinking.

Photos by Katy Weaver!