Fresh Green Salsa

May4

Don't wait for Cinco de Mayo to enjoy this delicious tomatillo-based Fresh Green Salsa. Great with scrambled eggs, grilled meat and even on Mac and Cheese!

Salsas are one of the saviors of the kitchen.

Baptize anything in a little salsa and you’ll up the flavor quotient and make it sing… as well as help stretch a meal. Fresh Green Salsa (also known as salsa verde) and leftover ground beef make a great taco filling. Eggs, salsa and cheese: Breakfast of Champions.

Fresh Green Salsa  is my favorite cooked salsa because the tomatillos (also called husk tomatoes) have such a distinctive flavor. The citrus balances the sharp bite of the Serrano or jalapeño chili peppers and the herbal, grassy flavor of the cilantro.

This recipe makes a big batch… share it, freeze it or grab a big bag of chips and park yourself in front of television! Kidding. Not kidding.

 

Don't wait for Cinco de Mayo to enjoy this delicious tomatillo-based Fresh Green Salsa. Great with scrambled eggs, grilled meat and even on Mac and Cheese!


Butternut Squash & Caramelized Onion Tart

January7


Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion - MHS

How’re you doing with that New Year’s resolution to eat healthier?

Well, I’ve got one last rich dish to offer up before you pitch everything creamy and indulgent that’s still in the fridge:

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Tarts.

My pals at Welcome Home Brands sent me these disposable oven-safe 4-inch ruffled baking cups… just perfect for making individual tarts. They’re great for any fun event (they come in a lot of other colors and shapes). Adds a pop of fun, don’t you think? You can also make this dish in a pie or larger tart pan, as in the recipe below.

So here’s the last blast… full of fat and flavor and, oh, so delicious: Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Tarts.

You’ll need a 2-lb butternut squash for this recipe. If your squash is bigger and you have extra, roast all of it and save it for later in the week… you are going to start eating healthier, right?



 

How To Cook Lobster

June15

Are lobsters only for special occasions? And what exactly is a special occasion, anyway?

How to Cook Lobster

Does it have to be tied to a date on the calendar? Or can a special occasion be any time we get the luxury of being with those we love… unencumbered by deadlines or other demands?

How To Cook LobsterThe lobsterfest we had with GP’s dad, (the kids call him “Papa”), a few weeks ago was one of those occasions. Nothing to celebrate, per se, except for the fact that Papa is 87 years-old (soon to be 88!) and still kicking. Making it to 87 is worthy of a celebration, don’t you think? And there’s nothing he likes to eat more than lobster! (OK, maybe Chinese food.)

Cooking up a live lobster can be intimidating, so first, let me dispel a popular myth:

• Lobsters don’t scream when you drop them in boiling water. The sound you hear is air expanding the shell.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, here are a few buying tips:
• Buy lobsters that are 3 lbs. or less. While there’s novelty in a 10 lb. lobster, the bigger they are, the tougher they are.
• The lobster should spread out its claws and flail around a bit when you pick it up (and eventually, you are going to have to pick it up).

Once you’ve got the lobster home, here a few cooking tips:
• Drop the lobster head first into a pot of seasoned boiling water. It’s more humane and there will be less splashing.
• Drop the lobsters in one at a time so the water can then return to a full boil.

Okay, so here’s how to cook lobster … so what’s your special occasion? You don’t need one! (Papa would certainly agree!)

 

 

How to Cook Lobster

 

 

Easter Egg Cakes + Tutorial!

April18

 A super-sweet Easter treat: Easter Egg Cakes

Okay pals, I’m not going to sugarcoat this… wait, I AM going to sugarcoat this… here’s your super-sweet Easter treat: Easter Egg Cakes!

We don’t sweet-eat like this all the time, so a little indulgence is okay.

Lemon extract gives the crumbly cake filling a bright flavor… but you can pick your favorite flavor (orange? mint?) or just keep it simple. I used Wilton’s Candy Melts (confectionary coating), because when they harden, they wrap the egg-shaped cake in a nice hard shell… just like, hmm… a real egg! Makes decorating super simple.

I’ve included a step-by-step tutorial just below the recipe. Oh, and don’t worry if your eggs aren’t shaped like perfect eggs… put a stick into them and call them cake-pops!

Tutorial: Easter Egg Cakes 

1. Gather your ingredients: For the cakes you’ll need 1 package (16.25 ounce) white cake mix, 1¼ cup water, ⅓ cup vegetable oil, 3 egg whites, 2 teaspoons flavored extract, drops of food coloring, 1 cup (3 ounces) marshmallow cream, 2 bags (12 ounces each) white Wilton’s Candy Melts (confectionary melting wafers). For the Decorating Icing you’ll need ½ cup confectioners’ sugar, 2 teaspoons water.

Ingredients Easter Egg Cakes
2. Place oven rack in middle of oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom only of a 13 x 9-inch pan. I used Betty Crocker Super Moist Cake Mix, so  I mixed the water, oil, egg whites, extract (see below), and food coloring (I used a blue and red combo to make lavender) in a large bowl on low speed for 30-seconds, then on medium speed 2-minutes. Make sure you scrape the bowl occasionally.

Easter Egg Cakes-Extract and Color

3. Pour into the greased pan.

Pour Easter Egg Cakes Mix into pan

4. Bake for 28 to 33 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack. My cake cracked, but it doesn’t matter because I’m going to break it up anyway.

Cool Easter Egg Cakes on wire rack

5. Crumble cooled cake into a large bowl.

Crumble Easter Egg Cakes

6. Fold in marshmallow cream until well blended.

Add Marshmallow Cream and Mix Easter Egg Cakes

7. Shape into 3-inch balls then roll to form an egg shape. My Easter Egg Cakes look like purple potatoes, so don’t worry if yours don’t look like perfect eggs. Refrigerate 2-hours.

Form Easter Egg Cakes

8. Melt Wilton’s Candy Melts (confectionary melting wafers) as directed on package.

Melting Wafers for Easter Egg Cakes

9. Dip Easter Egg Cakes one at a time with a fork, allowing excess to drip off. Place on a wax paper-lined tray to dry completely. I used my Silpat silicone non-stick pan liner because I was out of wax paper.

Dip Easter Egg Cakes in Melted Wafers

10. Mix the confectioners’ sugar and water in a small bowl until well blended.

Mix Decorating Icing for Easter Egg Cakes

11. Make piping bags: I like to use Ziploc® Brand Gallon Size Bags because the sandwich bags always break (I probably squeeze too hard!). On a diagonal, cut off the bottom two corners of one Ziploc® Brand Gallon Size Bag. This will give you two small bags to fill… but make as many bags as you need for the number of colors that you want. Place the “bag,” corner tip down, into a small glass. Fill with the Decorating Icing.

Making Piping Bags for Easter Egg Cakes

12. Place a few drops of the desired food color into each bag; twist the top of the bag to close (or tape closed). Gently knead the bag to mix the colors; set aside. Carefully cut off the tip of the bag. The closer to the tip, the smaller the hole.

Food Coloring in Piping Bags for Easter Egg Cakes

13. Decorate the eggs with the piping bags. Let stand 15 minutes or until hard. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

 A super-sweet Easter treat: Easter Egg Cakes

 

 


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Hi…
I’m Christina Chavez

I was a TV journalist for many years, but with a house full of kids I decided to come off the road, go to culinary school and follow my passion for cooking. Mama’s High Strung is all about food… everything from creative recipe ideas to some really cool kitchen gadgets and cooking tips. I live in Chicago, but I love to travel and write about my food discoveries! You can reach me by email: mamashighstrung@gmail.com