Name: Chop Chop Salad
Prep time: 30 min
Yield: 4 salads
Ingredients: 1/4 cup Greek yogurt (I like full-fat yogurt); 1/4 cup kalamata olives; 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/2 teaspoon sugar; 1/4 cup olive oil; salt to taste; 4 cups chopped iceberg lettuce (about 1/3 of a head); 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce (about 1 heart of romaine); 4 cups baby spinach; 4 ounces salami, chopped; 1 cucumber, peeled and diced; 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved; 1 14.5 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 1 8-ounce package cremini mushrooms, sliced (optional); 1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives; 1/4 cup sunflower seeds; 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (freezing the mozzarella for about 30 minutes before shredding makes this much easier)

Top Kitchen Tools in My House

April 27, 2016

I have more kitchen gadgets than I can count, but some get more use than others. Here are the top kitchen tools in my house!

I am a kitchen gadget fanatic. Try as I might to cull the ever-growing craziness that flows from my kitchen cabinets, counters, and shelves….it’s a losing battle. I can’t stop, and when I get rid of something, I have to replace it with something else. There are a few that I probably don’t use enough to really justify keeping them around, but when you are DIY-er like I am, you can stand to have a stash of useful tools. Still, there are some I use more than others. Here are the 10 top kitchen tools in my house, including small appliances.

10) KitchenAid food processor. After using a basic, no frills Cuisinart for years, I ran into this one dirt-cheap at Tuesday morning. It has a mini work bowl, a dough blade (that I’ll admit I never use, since I make all my dough in my stand mixer), and shredding/slicing disks. I use it for salsa, pesto, hummus, pastry doughs, etc., etc. Plus when I have a ton of cheese or cabbage to shred it makes my life so much easier.

9) Vitamix. I had a pretty nice KitchenAid blender before, but when Philip came home with this baby I was beside myself. I use it mostly to make smoothies, salsa, and dressings, but you can use it for any number of things…including making soup. Like, from start to finish. That’s how fast the motor runs – it heats the food up eventually. You can even get a special container for grinding grains (I haven’t made it to that point yet). The Vitamix is pricey, but I have heard of people who have owned theirs since the seventies. If you do a lot of blending, this will be your kitchen workhorse.

8) My KitchenAid stand mixer. Not only can I mix things in it…but when I have über thick bread doughs that are too exhausting to stir by hand, I use it for bread dough. I also make ice cream in it, and use it to whip cream. Oh, and I grind meat with it (using a special attachment). I have the grain mill attachment but I’ll admit that I don’t use it much, and one of these days (when I’m a lot wealthier!) I’m going to get the pasta roller attachment. By the way, the one in the link is very similar to mine, but a little bit bigger and a little more expensive.

7) Instant Pot. This is a new one. I got it for Christmas last year and I am pretty much obsessed with it. It’s a pressure cooker, a slow cooker, a rice cooker, a saute pot, a steamer, a yogurt maker….it’s pretty much amazing. I’ve been working on developing some pressure cooker recipes, so I can’t wait to share them with you. I am so glad I asked for this handy-dandy tool…I use it at least twice a week.

6) A kitchen scale. I know a lot of people probably think that I’m crazy, but I use my kitchen scale every single day. I use it for cooking, baking, and weighing out nuts, chips, etc. to pack in my lunch (I’m really not obsessive about portions, but it’s really easy to over-do it).

5) Metal half-sheet pans. I have three and I want more. I buy them for like $9 at the restaurant supply store. They’re strong and sturdy and a much higher quality than the much more flimsy and much more expensive ones that you can purchase at Target, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, etc.

4) I have ten different mixing bowls in nine different sizes and I use them all frequently, sometimes simultaneously. And I need more, to be perfectly honest with you.

3) Wooden spoons and spatulas. Lots and lots of wooden spoons and spatulas. Actually, most of mine are bamboo, which I love because I can stick them in the dishwasher. They’re super sturdy and they’re great for stirring in my nonstick cookware. I use them every single day.

2) My Shun knives. Philip bought me a set for my birthday several years back and completed it with a slicer last year. They are sharp and gorgeous and decorate my wall on the magnetic strip better than any purchased art could. I am totally obsessed with honing them. The odds are good that I’ll never have to purchase another set of knives. They were expensive but totally worth it. If you don’t have good knives, know that they’re worth the cost to have good, sharp knives (dull knives are a real danger in the kitchen!). Do it!

1) Lodge Cast Iron. Lodge is manufactured 50 miles from my house, so I feel like I’m supporting local business when I buy Lodge (and I usually buy it from their factory store, located right by the manufacturing facility, so even better!). I have the skillets in four different sizes, from 6 inches to 12 inches, a 6-quart Dutch oven, and several gratin dishes. It’s the best stuff in the world…indestructible, conducts the heat well, etc. There’s no better vessel for making a burger or a pan of cornbread.

It’s quite a collection I’ve amassed over the years. These are the things I use daily or weekly…my top kitchen tools.

What are your top kitchen tools?

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Chop Chop Salad with Creamy Kalamata Dressing

April 25, 2016

Chop chop salad with creamy kalamata dressing is my version of the house salad from Crust Pizza, one of my very favorite restaurant salads.

Chopped salads were a big trend a few years ago. Honestly, I can’t really tell you what sets “chopped” salads apart from “regular salads, because essentially all of the salads that I make are chopped salads. I guess the word “chopped” just refers to having a bunch of ingredients in addition to whatever green you are using that are chopped up with a knife. Am I right or am I wrong? Someone help me here.

I remember when I was a teenager reading somewhere that you shouldn’t use a knife to chop lettuce because it would cause the cut edges to turn brown. While that’s true (it has something to do with how the cutting action damages the cells of the lettuce), unless you are going to serve the lettuce a few days later and/or you are really concerned about a little bit of browning, who cares? Personally, I am not down to tear up a huge pile of lettuce. I have better things to do with my time, and I imagine that you guys do too. I’ll use my knife, thank you.

One of my favorite pizza places in town is Crust Pizza (home of the cracker-thin crust…I thought I loved Pizza Hut’s thin crust the best until I ate at Crust). When you go there for their lunch buffet, you get a salad to go with your pizza. Their house salad is one of the best chopped salads I’ve ever eaten, with iceberg lettuce, romaine, spinach, cucumbers, mushrooms, tomatoes, red onion (you guys know I pick that out), garbanzo beans, sunflower seeds, and mozzarella cheese. I always order mine with their creamy kalamata dressing, which I liked long before I had my olive awakening last year. I guess it helped to ease me in. That salad…that salad is art. For a house salad, it’s pretty huge and served in a cute stainless steel bowl (unfortunately I don’t have one that size).

My chop chop salad is my ode to that amazing salad. I tossed together all of the ingredients except, of course, the onions, and the mushrooms because Philip didn’t realize that cremini mushrooms are the same as baby bellas (that’s my fault because I thought about that and forgot to tell him that they were the same thing…I couldn’t remember how Publix labels their creminis. They label them as baby bellas. Oops. I threw in some kalamata olives on top too, because why not?

To top my chop chop salad, I of course whizzed up a creamy kalamata dressing. All of the recipes I found when I was researching kalamata dressing online were vinaigrettes and I WANTED A CREAMY DRESSING, so I had to make this up on my own. It worked out. I am now officially obsessed with this salad and I want to eat it every day. And this past week, that’s just what I did for lunch.

Make this chop chop salad for lunch or dinner this week!

Mary

Yield: 4 salads

Chop Chop Salad

30 minPrep Time:

30 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

For the kalamata dressing

1/4 cup Greek yogurt (I like full-fat yogurt)
1/4 cup kalamata olives
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt to taste

For the salad

4 cups chopped iceberg lettuce (about 1/3 of a head)
4 cups chopped romaine lettuce (about 1 heart of romaine)
4 cups baby spinach
4 ounces salami, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 14.5 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 8-ounce package cremini mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (freezing the mozzarella for about 30 minutes before shredding makes this much easier)

Instructions

In a food processor, process the Greek yogurt, kalamata olives, white wine vinegar, oregano, and sugar on high until mostly smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently. Add the olive oil slowly through the pour spout with the machine running. Salt to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Toss the greens together in a large bowl. Divide between 4 salad bowls or plates. Divide the remaining ingredients among the plates. Drizzle each salad with 2 tablespoons of kalamata dressing. Serve immediately.

https://chattavore.com/chop-chop-salad/

Chop chop salad with creamy kalamata dressing is my version of the house salad from Crust Pizza, one of my very favorite restaurant salads. | recipe from Chattavore.com

Baked Donuts with Nutella Chocolate Gravy

April 22, 2016

Yep, you read that right – baked donuts with NUTELLA chocolate gravy. Chocolate gravy is a Southern classic and it’s great with donuts!

I love baked donuts. I waffled for a little bit on whether or not to buy a donut pan (<–affiliate link), but I’m so glad I did. I certainly don’t have anything against fried donuts – why would I? They’re delicious! Frying, however, is messy and uses a lot of oil, so baking donuts seems to be the right way to go for an average night around my house.

Usually, doughnuts have glaze. Or maybe a powdered sugar (or cinnamon sugar) coating. You don’t usually see doughnuts served with a dipping sauce. We don’t always do things the traditional way around here; you guys know that by now. When we ate our anniversary dinner at Hennen’s last summer, we ordered beignets that were served with a mocha creme, which was delicious. However, I was a little disappointed because they were not served with a chocolate dipping sauce, which is how they were served to a friend of ours when we ate there once. I have dreamed about those beignets since.

What better way, then, to put a Southern spin on that idea than to serve my vanilla bean baked donuts (adapted from a recipe in Laura Ferroni’s book Real Snacks <–affiliate link) with chocolate gravy? Apparently, some people think that the term “chocolate gravy” sounds gross, but those people have obviously not eaten it before. It’s not like we’re stirring chocolate into sawmill gravy, people. But I digress. I started my chocolate gravy using my friend Christy Jordan‘s recipe from her book Southern Plate (<–affiliate link), but to give it an extra special touch I stirred some Nutella in. I did not regret this decision.

If you’ve never had chocolate gravy, try my recipe with these baked donuts ASAP!

Mary

Yield: 12 donuts and about 2 cups Nutella chocolate gravy

Baked Donuts with Nutella Chocolate Gravy

10 minPrep Time:

20 minCook Time:

30 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

For the Donuts

1 cup all-purpose flour (like I did, you can use up to half whole wheat flour - I use King Arthur White Whole Wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk or buttermilk
seeds scraped from one vanilla bean, or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for buttering the pan

For the Nutella chocolate gravy

1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup Nutella or other hazelnut-chocolate spread

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush a 12-cup mini donut pan with melted butter or spray it with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Set aside.In a measuring cup, whisk together the milk/buttermilk, vanilla beans or vanilla, and the egg.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add the butter. Stir together until all ingredients are just moistened. It's okay if some lump remains.
Carefully portion the donut batter into the prepared pan. You can use a spoon or a piping bag for this; I used a small cookie scoop, placing one scoop into each cup then repeating to make sure that I evenly divided the mixture.
Bake the donuts for 6-10 minutes, until they bounce back when touched. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving.
When you are ready to serve, make the Nutella chocolate gravy. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, flour, and cocoa powder. Set over medium heat and gradually whisk in the milk to reduce lumps. Cook, whisking constantly, until bubbly and thickened. Whisk in the tablespoon of butter and the Nutella. Pour into a bowl and serve on the side with the donuts.

Notes

The recipe for donuts is adapted from the book Real Snacks by Lara Ferroni. The Nutella chocolate gravy is adapted from the book Southern Plate by Christy Jordan.

https://chattavore.com/baked-donuts-with-nutella-chocolate-gravy/

For other great recipes, check out the Meal Plan Monday Link-up on Southern Plate!

Merv’s Burgers Soddy-Daisy

April 20, 2016

Merv’s Burgers recently opened a new location in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee. The burgers definitely lived up to the expectations set by the original location!

If you’ve lived in Chattanooga for a while now, chances are that you have heard of Merv’s Burgers on Mountain Creek Road. They claim to have the best burgers in Tennessee and a lot of people contend that they have the best burgers in Chattanooga. While you probably know who tops my burger list, Merv’s is on there with their classic burgers. So when it got out that Merv’s was opening in Soddy-Daisy, just about ten minutes from my house, I was pretty excited.

The new Merv’s location opened in February in a location that, unfortunately, has seen a lot of turnover in the past several years. It was a classic meat and three, Ronnie’s Restaurant, for years and years before Ronnie decided to hang up his hat and move on. Since then it’s been two different Mexican restaurants, an Italian restaurant, and a couple of other things. The location seems cursed, which is odd because Home Folks across the street has been there since I was a kid. We decided to go and check it out for lunch with my brother on his birthday.

They’ve done a lot of work inside. It’s been painted and metal panels have been installed on the walls, which is a nod to the Mountain Creek Road location. There’s a dining space and a pool hall space. They have a “seat yourself” sign, which I appreciate because you guys know I can’t stand when I walk in to a restaurant and I’m not sure if I should seat myself or wait to be seated. Our server, Shana, approached us immediately to get our drink orders while we perused the menu (we all went with water).

The menu at Merv’s Burgers is pretty basic: appetizers, salads and wraps, burgers and sandwiches, sides, and entrees. Philip’s eyes lit on the pork rinds on the appetizer menu, and at $2.99 it seems like we couldn’t possibly pass up freshly made pork rinds. For those of you who don’t know, yes, pork rinds are pieces of fried pig skin. These were fresh out of the fryer when they came to our table, still crackling and popping like crazy. They tasted like porky salted air. I honestly have never been much of a pork rind fan, but then I’ve never had them freshly made. These were delicious.

We all three decided to go with burgers – no big surprise there. I’d like to know how many meals a day that Merv’s serves that are not burgers. I had a L’il Merv with American cheese and no onion, Philip had the L’il Merv with cheddar and bacon, and my brother went for the gusto with a regular Merv burger with American cheese, grilled onions, and bacon. Here’s the thing about a Merv’s burger…they’re so simple that it almost seems too simple. There’s no fancy bun, no special sauce, no out-of-the-ordinary toppings, no swanky meat. And it’s it that simplicity that the Merv’s burger shines. With their irregular shape, they’re obviously hand-patted, cooked up just to doneness on the flat-top, cheese melted on top, and toppings judiciously done (i.e. the condiments and toppings don’t slip and slide all over the place).

We split a large order of fries ($4.99) and the basket was more than big enough for the three of us. Merv’s seems like the kind of place where the fries would be an afterthought, just a necessary but neglected menu item, something that goes beside the burger. That’s not the case, though…the fries are hand-cut, skin-on, and perfectly cooked and seasoned. I have a love affair with hand-cut fries, for those of you who don’t know.

I read some reviews on the Facebook page, and some of them were a little negative, not so much about the food but about the service. However, those reviews were all posted within the first couple of weeks that this location was open, so I have to guess that they were probably really busy and they were probably just getting their sea legs. Our food came out very quickly and Shana was very attentive.

To cap it all off, the three of us ate burgers, fries, and pork rinds (we drank water) for $29.31 pre-tip. That’s three adults eating in a non-fast food restaurant for under $30, and that’s not bad. There was a steady flow of diners coming in to eat lunch, with others coming in to shoot pool. I don’t drive that way often, but I’m guessing that they’re doing a pretty good business at night too. I guess it’s too early to tell, but I’m thinking that Merv’s might break the curse of that location.

Merv’s Burgers is located at 8968 Dayton Pike, Soddy Daisy, TN 37379. They are open Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. They do not have a website, but you can follow Merv’s Burgers on Facebook.

Ham Biscuit with Eggs and Cheese

April 18, 2016

How can you go wrong with a giant ham biscuit? Country ham, scrambled eggs, and cheddar cheese make an out of this world breakfast sandwich!

Biscuits are an institution around my house. I make them almost every Saturday…sometimes with gravy, other times with jam. If I can find an excuse to make them during the week, I make them then too. In my mind, there’s only one right answer to the question “biscuits or cornbread?” a la Cracker Barrel. Unless you’re eating beans, of course.

In some areas of the country, a typical breakfast sandwich might be served on toast, an English muffin, or even a bun. Here in the South (or at least at my house) eating a breakfast sandwich on any of those above choices is not wrong per se, but it’s something that only happens when there are no biscuits to be had. Fast food restaurants serve McMuffins and Croissan’wiches, but I always wonder how many of those get sold in comparison to breakfast sandwiches made on biscuits. My guess? Not a very high ratio.

To me, there are a few important things about a ham biscuit. (1) The ham on a ham biscuit should be country ham, as if there was any question about that. No sliced deli ham, please! (2) Cheese is a must on a country ham biscuit, preferably cheddar or American. (3) Your biscuits must be big and sturdy to stand up to the chew of country ham! I made my regular biscuit recipe, but instead of cutting the dough into twelve biscuits, I cut it into four (yes, they were huge. We couldn’t finish them. There are worse things in life than a gigantic country ham biscuit).

What’s your idea of a perfect breakfast sandwich? No matter what it is, I bet you’ll love this country ham biscuit!

Mary

Yield: 4 servings

Ham Biscuit with Eggs and Cheese

10 minPrep Time:

10 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

8 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons milk
one batch baking powder biscuit dough - prepared through step 4 and divided into 4 portions
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
4 ounces country ham, soaked in water for at least 5 minutes and drained
4 ounces sliced cheddar cheese (I used sandwich slices)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Whisk the eggs with the salt and the milk in a large bowl. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Place the biscuits in the oven on a sheet pan and bake for 12 minutes.
While the biscuits are baking, melt one tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the ham until brown on both sides.
Reduce the heat in the pan to medium-low and melt the remaining butter. Re-whisk the rested eggs and pour them into the pan. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or a spatula, until cooked through but still a little wet. Remove from the heat.
Divide the biscuits and immediately place 1 ounce of cheese on the bottom half of each biscuit. Top with the ham. Divide the eggs among the biscuits. Top with the top half of the biscuit and serve immediately.

https://chattavore.com/ham-biscuit-eggs-cheese/

Get other great recipes on the Weekend Potluck Link-up on Served Up With Love!

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