Fajitas Night!!

Put on your Sombreros because tonight is Fajita night, one of my family's favorites. It's fun, everyone gets to make their own, put what they like onto their warm tortillas...lime...cilantro...juicy chicken... mmm my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

I just made my Guacamole (half of it already devoured), a champagne glass in my hand, table is set, I am ready to rumble!

Cooking and Champagne with pomegranate seeds. Heaven.

Here is what you'll need:

Marinade:

• 2 limes, juiced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 sachets of fajitas seasoning (I usually make my own seasoning, but I'm lazy right now)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound chicken tenderloins (or skirt/flank steak), trimmed of fat cut into strips
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced

Other Ingredients:

• 2 red or green bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 5 tablespoons of fresh chopped cilantro
• 12 flour tortillas, warm
• Guacamole (Check out my recipe)
• Good quality store bought salsa
• Sour cream
• Shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 
  

In a bowl, put all the meat with the marinade ingredients (onions, lime juice, cilantro, etc) and let it sit for 2-4 hours in the fridge. This will tenderize the meat and make it oh-so juicy and delicious. 

Heat up a pan medium-high with a teaspoon of olive oil. Place all your bell peppers and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the marinade and your meat into the pan and add 1 tablespoons of water, stir.

Lower the heat to a medium flame and stir occasionally, this will take about 10-15 minutes. The chicken will be fully cooked and the vegetables will be barely limp. When everything is ready, sprinkle the rest of your cilantro on top, or have it in a separate serving bowl.

mmmm cilantro

You can heat up all the tortillas and have the guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and shredded cheese on the table. 

To serve, I personally like to place the pan in the middle of the table with serving utensils so everyone can take what they want.

I know I know, we drink wine with fajitas...we're french...wine goes with everything.

Spread some guacamole on a tortilla, top with a few slices of chicken, peppers and onions, and salsa. Roll up the tortilla to enclose the filling.

Dig in! But have spare napkins, it tends to get messy.

Fajita number...3

-Chef Cat

Butternut Squash Velouté

This the season to eat SQUASH! One of my favorite is the butternut. It is great, just roasted, pureed, or in soups! And what is better than a warm cup of soup when it's cold outside? Okay, maybe a nice chimney fire and someone rubbing your feet while you drink some hot cocoa, but that's besides the point. 

We're talking about food here...

I make this velouté in many ways, and it always varies depending on what I have in the fridge and pantry. Velouté is French for a "velvety" soup/sauce where all the ingredients are heated and blended together to make a melt-in-your-mouth texture. I usually don't use beer, but in this one I figured, Why not? I realized using a dark beer gives it a bit of a smoky tang which I enjoyed. You can also add carrots, or other vegetables. Explore with your taste buds, cooking is suppose to be fun!

Here's what you'll need:

2 tablespoon butter

1 beer (preferably a dark beer)

1 butternut squash

1 teaspoon sage

1 Coriander leaf

salt and pepper

2 medium onions, chopped

1 large garlic glove

1 cup chicken stock (you can also just use water)

1/4 cup of heavy cream

1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

1/4 cup parmesan

Cut off and discard the ends of each butternut squash. Peel the squash, cut them in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into 1 1/4 to 1 1/2-inch cubes and place them on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil,

salt and pepper, and pop in the oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. While that is roasting in the oven, in an 8-quart stockpot, add the butter melt over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. When the squash is fully roasted, add it in, along with the beer, coriander leaf, and chicken stock. 

Bring the mixture to a boil and add the sage. Continue to boil until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Take out the coriander, and turn off the heat.

Take out the Coriander leaf

Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until smooth and thick (you can also use a blender, and then pour the mixture back into the pot when done). 

Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Keep the soup warm over low heat. Add the heavy cream, Dijon mustard, and parmesan to the mixture and stir. 

Butternut Squash Veloute

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a cheese or garlic crostini or a touch of heavy cream on top.

Enjoy that warm cup of soup, and don't be afraid to ask for a foot rub in front of the fireplace.

-Chef Cat

Michele's Pear Tart

Michele's Pear Tart

Delicious and easy!!

RENTED in Columbia Heights!!

Time was ticking yet again during the Holidays and right before Thanksgiving, we found a wonderful apartment for rent in Columbia Heights, near U street Corridor, shopping, entertainment, Metro, etc, for our client who needed to move in ASAP.

1427 Chapin St NW, Washington, DC, 20009

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend!

My Almost-Famous Guacamole!

My favorite part of Mexican night? The Guacamole!! I used to make it before fajitas night and have people dig in, with a margarita in their hand, thinking a big batch would be more than enough for them to enjoy prior to dinner, and on top of their fajitas or tacos... so wrong. After 30 minutes of margaritas and nibbling, no more avocado goodness. Once, someone actually grabbed a spoon, took the dish, and starting devouring 1/3 of the bowl (no, they were not drunk), leaving none for everyone else. 

Lesson learned, I make 2 batches now!

Cat's Almost-Famous Guacamole
Mole mole mole

My guacamole isn't the typical recipe most people or restaurants make, it's much simpler. I want the avocado taste to stand out more, so no tomatoes, jalapenos/chili, cumin, whatever you put in it. Rarely I put a few drops of green Tabasco to spice it up a bit. Simplicity is key in my Guacamole.

Here're what I use to make one batch:

4 Ripped Avocados

2 Cloves of Garlic, finely minced

1/4 Cup of Onions, finely minced

A Handful of Cilantro, coarsely chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

I add my creamy avocados, onion, and garlic in a bowl, then with a fork start mashing it all together to get the desired consistency (you can mix until it's like a paste, but I prefer roughly mashed with some avocado pieces still intact). Then I add all my cilantro, salt and pepper, mix together and you're ready to eat!

I love cilantro so I tend to put a lot, but it's up to you how much you use.

OLE!

-Chef Cat

Cointreau Lemon Funfetti Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting!

It's 6am, coffee's brewing, and I'm craving pancakes...mmm... but instead what do I see in the pantry? Halloween themed funfetti cake mix that I have yet to use!!! Naturally, I change my course of action and pick it up to make myself some funfetti pancakes (too much sugar in the morning was a bad choice), and decide to share the wealth (and the sugar high) by making my coworkers and friends some cupcakes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The box asks to add 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, 1 cup of water, and three eggs to the cake mix and stir together until there are no lumps, then add the FUN-fetti. I added 1 lemon's zest and 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract to the batter to give it more flavor. Pour the batter into the cupcake wrappers about 2/3 of the way full and pop it in the oven for about 20-22 minutes.
While they're puffing up in there, you can make the Nutella frosting. I personally don't like a lot of frosting, so I made a little bit to put on top of half of the cupcakes (12). I used 1 tablespoon of butter (room temperature), 1/2 teaspoon of powered sugar, and 2 big tablespoons of Nutella, mix well together and voila!!! If it's a little too thick, add a tiny bit of milk or cream until it's at your ideal consistency. It's slightly disturbing how much I love incorporating that chocolate hazelnut yumminess in the little baking I do.
Already one cup of Joe down, and the cupcakes are perfectly golden brown. While they are still slightly warm, I've got my Cointreau liquor ready (I know, it's 6:30AM!), and a bamboo skewer to poke in the middle of my cupcakes so I can pour a little bit of the Cointreau inside each one of them. I used one of those mini bottles for all 24 cupcakes, so don't go crazy with the alcohol here. If you don't know what Cointreau is, it's a brand of triple sec from France, delicious by itself as an aperitif or digestif (a.k.a. before or after a meal drink), or in cocktails (cosmopolitan, margaritas, etc).

And now the waiting game...cool down so I can lather you up in frosting...and eat you!!

TADA!

Cointreau infused Lemon Funfetti Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting.

Hope you enjoy!

- Chef Cat

SOLD in Kensington!

Congratulations to my buyer on this great home in Kensington Maryland!!!!

Asking Price $399,000