Taste and See's Giveaway

Like I mentioned in yesterday's post, today is our wedding anniversary. What better time to share something special with y'all than on a day of celebration! We are giving away a copy of Clive Berkman's cookbook (our friend and chef who prepared all of the food for our rehearsal dinner), Creating Empty Bottle Moments. This cookbook not only has amazing recipes, but it is also is a mini-biography of Clive's life. Clive is inspirational, loving, and a great man of faith. If you love cooking and great stories this is a must have even if you don't win it!!

In order to enter yourself into the giveaway, you can do one of three things....

1. Comment on why you would like to win the cookbook
2. Blog about our giveaway on your blog and leave us the link
3. Become a follower of Taste and See Blog.

Check back on Sunday August 1st when we will announce the winner. 


When you check back on August 1st, if you are the winner email you address to Lbchefs@gmail.com and we will send the cookbook to you!


-The cooks of Taste and See

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

My husband and I are celebrating our one year wedding anniversary tomorrow.  It is hard to believe how  quickly time has gone by. This year has been full of joy, laughter, adjustments, and many blessings. For the rehearsal dinner, Brad asked one of his good friends, Clive Berkman, to cater. In an attempt to reminisce, I have chosen one of his easier recipes, spinach and artichoke dip, to make this week from his cookbook Creating Empty Bottle Moments. Clive is an outstanding chef with a huge passion for food, people, and most importantly Christ. I hope you enjoy.

















Ingredients
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2 10 ounce boxes of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry through a colander
12 ounce jar of artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
2 cups of heavy cream
1/4 cup of sour cream
1/4 cup of chicken broth
2/3 cup of fresh-grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/2 cup of shredded white cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs
Sea salt and pepper

Lightly saute the garlic and onions in half the butter over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the flour and the rest of the butter. Mix well, and continue to cook for 2 minutes.
Add spinach, artichokes, broth, and creams. Cook over medium heat (stirring well) for 5 minutes. Add the cheese, and season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic, and cook them until they're lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Stir in 1.2 cup of panko breadcrumbs, season with sea salt, and cook another minute.
Pour the artichoke-spinach mixture in a well-buttered ceramic or Pyrex dish. Sprinkle it with crumbs, and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until the crumbs turn golden brown.

-Laura

Come back tomorrow for the unveiling of Taste and See's first giveaway!!!

Cherry Clafoutis

I am so excited to share this recipe because it was SOOOO easy and SOOOO good! This was my first attempt at a French recipe and I was impressed. I will say that I have trouble pronouncing this one. It's pronounced CLA-FOO-TEE but I'm pretty sure I said it different each time someone asked me what it was! The only mishap was putting it in the oven which resulted in quite a mess all over the oven and pitting the cherries. I definitely pitted the cherries while watching a little online TV. Didn't realize I was splashing our WHITE computer. SHHH...my husband doesn't know. I cleaned it up quite nicely. So besides those little kinks this recipe is hard to mess up because it is so easy and so good!

Cherry Clafoutis

Adapted from Food Network

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, thinly sliced, plus more to butter the dish
1 pound (2 cups) fresh cherries, pitted**(or one 10-ounce bag frozen cherries, thawed and patted dry)
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup 4% cottage cheese
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 11-inch round baking dish and spread the cherries evenly over the bottom.
2. Whisk the eggs, half-and-half, cottage cheese, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and the flour in a bowl until combined. Pour the batter over the cherries, sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and scatter the sliced butter on top.
3. Bake until puffed and golden around the edges, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly, then dust with confectioners' sugar.

I served it with vanilla ice cream.

Things I used for this recipe:
** Cherry Pitter (works great...I was impressed)
- 11-inch round dish (this is actually 10.5 but its hard to find an 11 inch)

-Brittany

Cuban Black Beans

I must say I am so blessed to have a husband that will eat about almost anything. Not only are his tastebuds easy to please, but they are also cheap! I, on the other hand, prefer bold flavors. The other night he requested rice and beans so I looked for a recipe that would be able to satisfy both of our buds. This recipe from Cooking Light is good and inexpensive. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients
Vegetable cooking spray
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
2 cups no-salt-added tomato juice
3 (15 ounces) can black beans, drained
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can no-salt-added whole tomaotes, undrained and chopped
1 (8 ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimiento, drained
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 cups cooked instant brown rice (cooked without salt or fat)
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Coat a large Dutch over with cooking spray; add oil. Place over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion and green pepper; saute until tender. Add tomato juice and next 7 ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 to 25 minutes or until vegetable are tender.
Place 1 cup rice in each individual bowl. Spoon 1 cup bean mixture over rice, and top each with cheese.
Yields: 8 serving

What I learned:
1. 8 servings will last you a long time and each serving costs less than $2
2. Beans and rice doesn't have to be bland

-Laura


Be sure to come back next week as Brit and I are planning our first giveaway!

Banana Cake

What's the best thing to do with brown bananas? Make banana bread of course. I was a little bored with banana bread and wanted to try something that could pass as dessert. I found this recipe once again on All Recipes and it had great reviews. It turned out really good. It was very moist and honestly tasted pretty similar to banana bread however the sour cream is what made it different. Great recipe that I definitely recommend.

Banana Bread

Adapted from All Recipes

1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sour cream*
1 1/2 cup mashed bananas
1 1/2 cups cake flour **
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light. Add eggs and beat well. Dissolve the baking soda in the sour cream and add it to the butter mixture. Beat well. Add the mashed bananas and mix in. Add cake flour and mix well. Stir in vanilla extract.
3. Pour batter into the bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until done.

* I used fat free sour cream
**I used whole wheat pastry flour which made the cake not taste too sweet

-Brittany