August 14 – One Year Blog Anniversary

14 Aug

Today is a very special day!  It marks one year since I began Sweet Southern Comfort!  This blog was originally started as a way for me to keep track of my favorite recipes and try out new ones for D, but it’s definitely evolved into something much more special to me.  I’ve learned so much from the other bloggers I follow on Word Press and have been inspired by each and every one of you!  So much so, that my stack of recipes to try/adapt/create has probably tripled in size from a year ago!  Here is a link to my very first post: Sunday Supper-Lemon Spaghetti.  This recipe remains one of my go-to comfort foods and I encourage you to try it out sometime.  It’s very easy!  While I may not always have been the most consistent blogger, I did manage to publish 48 posts during my first year of blogging!  Next year, I hope to become more consistent about blogging and bring you all more Southern-focused content.  Here’s a little blog-related re-cap for you:

Top Posts
1. Caramel Cake – My ultimate favorite dessert.  I haven’t tried to make this again since last February as it took me HOURS to make the caramel icing, and I’m still not sure I perfected it.  This might be one of those treats I will stick with having when I’m home with my family and we can buy it from Cindy Lou.
2. Christmas Treat: Peppermint White Chocolate Macarons – Another dessert that was a true labor of love.  I want to take a macaron pastry class at the ICE sometime this year so keep an eye out for future macaron recipes!
3. Fried Red Tomatoes? – My first attempt at frying and a big hit!  Hopefully this year, I can tackle fried chicken!
4. Sunday Supper: Low Sodium Chicken Tortilla Soup – My go-to weekday winter dinner.  Healthy and delicious!
5. Special Valentine’s Day Steak Dinner – Filet Mignon with Cognac Cream Sauce – Hands down the yummiest sauce for your filet.  Great for special occasions (or just any occasion)!  D and I learned how to make this on our first Valentine’s Day together and try to make it a couple of times every year since.

Least Popular Posts – They’re all still awesome so what are you waiting for, check one of these pages out! 🙂
1. Christmas Dinner: Christmas Crostini – This is a really cute, festive and easy appetizer to make at your next holiday get-together.  I would serve it with the Pear Bellinis (better known as Christmas in a Cup)!
2. Oregon Coast Fresh Vegetable Salad – The key to this recipe is having super fresh vegetables and dicing everything immediately before serving.  My pictures definitely did not do our meal at Anna’s by the Sea justice.
3. Sunday Supper: End of Winter Pasta with Cabbage, Speck and Grappa – I make this recipe once a year at the tail-end of winter.  That one meal leaves me with lunches/dinners for a few days and is rich and hearty enough that I’m more than satisfied not to make it again until the next year.

My Personal Favorite Posts – it was hard to pick just three, but here are my favorite recipes I’ve made over the past year
1. Christmas Dinner: Dad’s Cream of Chestnut Soup – This recipe always reminds me of family and the holidays.  It’s so unique and different.  And delicious!
2. Sunday Supper: Hearty & Healthy Borscht – Soups are easy weeknight meals and this one is low-sodium and it’s main ingredient is beets, which are really good for you!
3. Homemade Momofuku Milk Bar Crack Pie – It’s always flattering when people compliment your cooking/baking, but I was especially flattered when someone told me that this was better than the original!  The best part is the ingredients that go into this pie are quite cheap and it is incredibly easy to make.

Thank you for reading during the past year!  Looking forward to many more years to come!

Outdoor Dining: Campari Citrus Popsicles

5 Aug

It feels like a million degrees in NYC right now.  The only way to beat the heat is to stay inside blasting my AC (which is already on it’s last legs) or toughing it out in the heat outside.  I’ve been opting for the latter recently and having a lot of ice water and popsicles/ice cream/etc. on hand has helped me survive.  The only thing I like more than an icy cold popsicle is an icy cold popsicle that also has my favorite apertif Campari in it!  I found this recipe at The Kitchn.  If you have any leftover from the mix, you can combine it with club soda and lots of ice and enjoy an afternoon cocktail while your popsicles are freezing.  Instant gratification never tasted so good!

Campari Citrus Popsicles 
Recipe found here

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 cups grapefruit juice
1/2 cup Campari

Directions
1. Mix water and sugar together in a small pan over low heat.  Bring to a boil until the sugar dissolves.  Now you have made “simple syrup”!
2. Allow the simple syrup to boil for 4 minutes then remove from heat and cool.
3. Combine the citrus juice and Campari and 1 cup of the cooled simple syrup (you might have a little extra, keep this in case you want to sweeten).  Adjust to taste.  The mixture will be VERY sweet – it will get less sweet in popsicle form.  If you want a LESS tart popsicles, add 1-2 more tbsp of simple syrup.  If you want LESS sweet popsicles, add 1-2 tbsp of PLAIN water to the mix.
4. Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze at least 8 hours to overnight.  Enjoy your grapefruit-Campari-club soda cocktail while you are waiting. 🙂

Outdoor Dining: Grilled Fish Tacos

31 Jul
Grilled Fish Tacos

stock photo because I was so hungry I forgot my camera!!

I found a recipe for grilled fish tacos here and I couldn’t wait to make these for a dinner al fresco one night this summer.  Unlike most fish tacos that are battered, fried and salted, these fish tacos are grilled, lightly seasoned and very healthy.  We served these with a corn and tomato salad and margaritas (decidedly not healthy, but a great complement to the meal).  For those of you like me who HATE cilantro, you can omit it from the recipe.  However, I included a little bit because D loves it and I couldn’t taste it in the final product.  I have no idea why, but I only took a picture of the fish pre-cooking so there’s no “finished” product photo to share here.  D remembers that I was so hungry when I made these that I refused to let him take any pictures before diving in.  Lesson learned for next time around!

Grilled Fish Taco Marinade

Grilled Fish Tacos
Serves 4
Adapted from recipe found here

Ingredients
1 red onion, chopped, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided (optional)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
5 tbsp fresh lime juice, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 pound tilapia (note: you can also use striped bass, sturgeon or mahi mahi.  I prefer tilapia because it’s the flakiest and does well in a marinade)
Soft flour tortillas
1-2 avocados, diced
1-2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 small head of cabbage, cored, thinly sliced
Shredded cheese
Lime wedges
Jalapenos (optional)

Directions
1. Stir 1/2 chopped onion, 1/2 of the cilantro, lime juice, garlic and oregano in a medium bowl.  Spread half of the mixture over bottom of a glass baking dish.
2. Season fish with pepper.  (No need for salt with this lime-y marinade!)
3. Arrange fish atop onion mixture and spoon remaining mixture over fish.
4. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour (flip fish halfway through so both sides marinate evenly).
5. Using a grill pan or a grill, brush lightly with oil and turn heat to medium-high.  Grill fish with some marinade still clinging to it until just opaque in center, 3 to 5 minutes per side.
6. Coarsely chop fish and place on platter.
7. Grill tortillas (about 10 seconds per side) or warm them in the over (5 minutes at 300 degrees).
8. Serve fish with warm tortillas, remaining onion and cilantro, along with avocado, lime wedges, cheese, cabbage, tomatoes, jalapenos and any other garnishes you have in your kitchen!