Sasha's Kitchen: Beef Tacos with Charred Tomatillo Pepper Relish

I made this delicious recipe for tacos from star chef Sam Talbot's cookbook, The Sweet Life.  The flavoring for these beef tacos is excellent, and pairs well with the roasted tomatillo pepper relish, as I just love tomatillos.  I substituted pimentos for jalapenos so there would be just a slight bit of heat, rather than a fiery taco.  The end result was delicious.  Also, I doubled the recipe for the relish and recommend doing the same, so I wrote it up as I actually made it.

Tomatillo-Pepper Relish (adapted from Sam Talbot)
1 cup diced tomatillos
8 jarred pepperoncini peppers, drained and seeded, thinly sliced
4 pimentos, sliced
juice of two limes
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Beef (adapted from Sam Talbot)
2 T canola oil
1 small vidalia onion, diced
3 celery ribs, diced
6 garlic cloves, diced
1 T cumin
1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
1 1/2 tsp old bay seasoning
1 1/2 tsp chile powder
1 1/2 tsp turmeric
1 lb lean ground beef
2 T crushed canned tomatoes
salt and pepper

Tacos
corn tortillas (6 inch)
shredded iceberg lettuce
1/2 cup diced tomato
2 lime wedges
sour cream
jack or cheddar cheese, shredded

To make the salsa, roast the peppers for 30 minutes at 450 and combine with the other ingredients.  Prepare the meat by sautéing the onion and celery for about five minutes until soft in canola oil.  Add the spices, garlic and canned tomato and saute another minute.  Then add the ground beef and cook through. 

Sasha's Kitchen: Beef Tacos with Charred Tomatillo Pepper Relish

Sasha's Kitchen: Southern Pimento Deviled Eggs

I made these southern-style deviled eggs a couple weeks ago as an appetizer for some southern roasted peanut soup (which was amazing, I might add).  The pimento was a lovely touch.  I used this snazzy gadget that one of my co-workers got me a few months ago as part of a secret santa to determine when they eggs were hard boiled (it also tells you when they are soft boiled and medium boiled as well).  At any rate, I absolutely love peppadew (pimento) peppers and love using them in different recipes from these deviled eggs to mac and cheese.

Sasha's Pimento Deviled Eggs
6 large organic eggs, hard boiled
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper
1 T chopped scallions
1/4 cup lowfat mayonnaise
8 sliced peppadew peppers

To make these deviled eggs, hard boil the eggs and allow to cool.  Peel the shells (which I always find tricky and not so much fun) and slice lengthwise.  Scoop out the yolks.  Combine the yolks with the mayonnaise, mustard, scallions and cayenne, and season with salt and pepper.  Using a fluted pastry tip (the same kind you would use to pipe cupcake icing) pipe the mixture back into the center of each egg white.  Top with sliced peppadew peppers.

Sasha's Kitchen: Southern Pimento Deviled Eggs

Sasha's Kitchen: Spectacular White Pizza Variations

I've long prided myself on my pizzas, but lately my pizza making has really taken it up a notch. I have a crust that is absolutely to die for and have perfected my technique with shaping the pizza crusts to get them just the way I love my pizza. Lately, I've tried a couple different variations on white pizza, both of which I will share here. I used a combination of lowfat mozzarella, monterey jack and cheddar shredded cheese which are my favorite for white pizzas (I personally don't care for ricotta on my pizza, and neither does Brad, my husband). These variations include the use of ShopRite's new basting oil, which is filled with a delicious blend of herbs, a great new product that I received for free to review. Initially i was skeptical about using this on pizza, rather than to, say, baste a turkey. But it was spectacular. I mixed it in with the shredded cheeses and it added a lovely blend of herbs to the pizza, kind of like a garlic bread feel. So, I tried that on one of the pizzas below. Also, I found that pimentos are not just for southern cheese, they are absolutely perfect on a white pizza!

Sasha's Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water
2 packages dry active yeast
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 T extra virgin olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt

Sasha's White Pizza Variation One

two red onions, sliced into rings

organic turkey bacon from Applegate Farms (best turkey bacon ever!), cooked before adding to pizza

Fresh/dried Oregano and Basil to season

1 package shredded part skim milk mozzarella cheese

1 package shredded cheddar/Monterey Jack mix

Sasha's White Pizza Variation Two

two red onions, sliced into rings

3 T ShopRite basting oil

pimento peppers

1 package shredded part skim milk mozzarella cheese

1 package shredded cheddar/Monterey Jack mix

To prepare the dough, combine the warm water, dry active yeast and sugar in a bowl.  Allow to sit for about ten minutes until the yeast mixture is bubbly and frothy.  This indicates that the yeast has activated.  Combine in bowl, or in your stand mixer (I used my mixer for this) with the olive oil, flour and salt, until it forms a dough.  Place in an oiled bowl (sprayed with PAM, for example) and cover with a damp cloth.  Allow to rise in a warm place for one hour. I used to let it go longer, but I found that one hour makes a better crust that is not over-puffy.

Cook the bacon, or prepare the other toppings depending on which variation you are making. If you do the second variation, mix in the basing oil with the cheeses.

Stretch the pizza dough onto a pizza stone which is lightly coated with cornstarch. Top with the cheeses or cheeses with basing oil mixed in and add the other ingredients to top.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. If there's any excess oil, you can get rid of it using a paper towel.

Sasha's Kitchen: Spectacular White Pizza Variations

Sasha's Kitchen: Southern Pimento Mac & Cheese

Mac & cheese is that perfect comfort food when the rest of life seems just too complicated and too much of a mess, at times. I have my own signature mac & cheese that I love, but could not resist a recipe that I came across in Bon Appetit for some southern style pimento mac & cheese.  Pimento cheese is a southern style cheese made with cheddar and pimento-type peppers, basically blended into a paste. More or less, that is the basis behind the flavor of this mac & cheese recipe. I adapted the proportions a bit from the original recipe to get things to my liking, but this is adapted from the recipe in this month's Bon Appetit.  I used some lower fat cheeses and a bit larger proportion of pasta so my version is perhaps just a tad bit healthier. Still tastes amazing! I had pimento for the first time  few months ago when I was in Atlanta, and this dish is really true to taste.

Southern Pimento Mac & Cheese
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
3 T butter
2/3 cup parmesan cheese
3/4 cup drained peppadew peppers in brine, 1 T brine reserved
1/4 tsp ancho chili powder
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups light cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/4 cups whole milk mozzarella
1 box (16 oz) mini-shell pasta

Bring 1/2 of a cup of water, 1 1/2 cloves of garlic and the bell pepper to boil. Then lower heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Toss the panko in a skillet and brown lightly over medium heat (about 5 minutes). Transfer to a bowl and combine with 1 T of butter, and 1/4 cup of parmesan, and set aside.

Put the bell pepper/ water mixture in a blender. Add the peppadew peppers and one tablespoon of the brine, and also the rest of the garlic, ancho chili powder, grated cheddar and remaining parmesan.  Blend until smooth, and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 400 and butter an 8 cup baking dish. I used one of my lovely Emile Henry ones.  Cook the pasta until al dente. Stir the pimento sauce in, and add the shredded mozzarella, stirring to combine. Spoon into baking dish and top with the breadcrumb mixture. Bake about 25 minutes until the topping is crisp.

In the mood for more Southern Food? I made some Mardi Gras cupcakes today . . .

Sasha's Kitchen: Southern Pimento Mac & Cheese