Maple Grilled Pork and Autumn Vegetable Salad

Everyone is so gung-ho to jump on the Autumn bandwagon. I get it... ya'll like Pumpkin Spice lattes and leather boots. I like decorative gourds and Honeycrisp apples just as much as the next gal, but I'm a realist. All this leaf-crunching and corduroy are merely symptoms of what's to come. Chicago winter is coming. I feel very Game of Thrones saying that. 

From a food perspective, it's going to be at least seven months until I see a ripe tomato. Knowing this, I usually try to restrain myself from cooking big, warm cozy pots of chili and soup. There is going to be plenty of time for that... so much so that you'll probably stop reading this blog out of sheer boredom. 

Seeking balance, I put together a yummy salad that leant the freshness and grilled flavor of summer, while incorporating some of tastes of Autumn -- like maple, beets, caramelized onions, cider and sweet potatoes -- I find myself craving. 

Isn't my street pretty in fall? My tiny pup has been having a ball playing in the leaves. We even got him a new sweater. 

The marinade is simple.  A basic mix of maple syrup, olive oil and a bit of cider vinegar. Just remember, any good marinade or vinaigrette needs fat, bitterness and sweetness. We got it here. 

I lightly dusted my pork chops with applewood smoke rub, and tossed with the marinade.

One of my most favorite food things in the world... caramelized onion. It's candy. Candy that takes some serious patience, but will make anything better.

Slice as thinly as you can and cook over the lowest flame you can get on your stove. Toss periodically... this will take about 45 minutes. If you start this first and then make the rest of your pork and salad, it won't feel so long.

Sweet potatoes roast in basic olive oil, S&P.

Your onion patience will be rewarded.

Served with sliced beets and sunflower seeds. I just use the pre-roasted beets from Trader Joe's for stuff like this. Canned would work well too.

Maple Grilled Pork with Autumn Vegetable Salad
For pork and marinade
3 pork chops, approx. 1-inch thick
1 tablespoon applewood spice

1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil

For salad

2 sweet potatoes, cubed
5-6 roasted beets, cubed
2 onions, very thinly sliced
1 bag baby spinach
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup

For vinaigrette

3 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil


Heat oven to 425 degrees. Start by thinly slicing onions. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over low heat. Place onions in pan and cook over very low heat, stirring occasionally for 45 minutes.

Toss sweet potatoes in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, S&P. Roast in oven until tender, about 30 minutes depending on the thickness.

Combine marinade ingredients and pour over pork. Allow to rest at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. Grill pork over medium, direct heat for 5 minutes per side. Allow to rest at least 5 minutes before serving.

Arrange spinach on plate and toss with beets, sweet potatoes and caramelized onion. Whisk vinaigrette together and lightly dress salad. Slice pork chop and place on salad. Finish salad with sunflower seeds.

Deviled Eggs

Some party foods are classic for a reason. Every time I make deviled eggs, they're the first thing to disappear. These were apparently popular enough at one time that people bought special plates to serve them. I am not usually one for kitchen uni-taskers (who makes deviled eggs THAT much?), but this vintage find from my Grammie has so much charm.

My Grammie was a pretty fabulous lady; fabulous enough to think that Grandma made her sound too old. And she certainly knew how to set a table. We didn't necessarily share the same place setting taste -- I've yet to spray paint pine cones gold or a place decorative pineapple on an inverted crystal bowl -- but I'd like to think that I get a bit of my love for entertaining from her. I will however spare you from her favorite salad recipe -- a slice of tomato and tablespoon of mayo. The woman was southern after all.

I first made deviled eggs for a Mad Men themed New Year's party and used the fabulous Smitten Kitchen recipe for Caesar Deviled Eggs. I highly recommend this version, but for this party full of pregos I wanted something with a bit milder flavor. Who knows what kind of food aversions I would have set off with (delicious in my opinion) anchovies!

Easy method for deviled eggs... place in pot and cover with water, over high heat. As soon as the water starts to boil, shut off heat and cover for 10 minutes.

Once the 10 minutes is up... plunge into a large bowl of ice water. This will make it much easier to peel all of these eggs.

Zone out for awhile while you peel a bunch of eggs. Get excited because you REALLY love hardboiled eggs. Gently slice and remove the yolks from the whites. Admire how the easy hardboiled egg method ensures there isn't any gray or green in yolks.

This recipe doesn't stray too far from classic deviled eggs, but pops of freshness from parsley, lemon and Worcestershire give that little something extra.

Mix filling and pipe into whites. If you don't have a pastry bag, just cut the tip off of a plastic bag. It will work just fine. I don't even have a pastry bag...thanks mom for letting me borrow yours!

Deviled Eggs

1 dozen eggs

4 tablespoons lowfat mayonnaise

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Juice of one lemon

4 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon butter

1/8 cup breadcrumbs

S&P

Place eggs at the bottom of a large pot and fill with enough water to cover. Turn up stove to high and bring water to boil. Immediately cover and turn off heat. Allow eggs to remain covered in hot pot for 10 minutes. Remove from pot and place in a large bowl filled with ice water. 

When eggs have cooled, lightly crack and remove shells. Slice eggs in half lengthwise and gently remove yolks to a separate bowl. Combine yolks, mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire, lemon juice 3 tablespoons parsley and S&P to taste. Fill plastic or pasty and pipe yolk mixture into egg whites. 

Melt butter over low heat and add bread crumbs. Stir until toasted and mix in remaining parsley. Sprinkle lightly over plated deviled eggs. 

Chicken Salad Skewers

Are ya'll sick of hearing about this shower yet? No... you can't get enough of a party you didn't attend, huh? Good thing I've still got recipes to share. We'll continue livin' the dream together my friends. Livin. The. Dream. 

Okay, I feel like every shower I ever go to -- be it baby or wedding -- there's chicken salad. What is it about this tasty dish on a croissant that makes it scream "ladies who lunch"?? Seriously! I have a vagina and a beautifully wrapped gift... I MUST love chicken salad. Well I'm not one to completely muck with tradition, but I did want to find a new way to enjoy this favorite. Plus I like meat on a stick. 

Enter grilled chicken salad skewers. A creamy yogurt marinade makes it feel chicken salad-y, but grilled chicken and bites on a skewer lend creative freshness. 

The marinade is just a few ingredients -- plain greek yogurt, basil, parsley and lemon juice. You'll reserve at least one cup for your dipping sauce later. This marinade adds flavor and the yogurt really tenderizes the chicken.

How Love and Lemons is this photo? Who knew my Grammie's old kitchen table was so blog-forward.

After marinating overnight, load up the chicken onto pre-soaked skewers. Thank your friends for taking pictures while your hands are covered in raw chicken yogurt.

Grill over medium-high, direct heat until they release easily.

Pop-on a red grape and celery chunk to finish and don't forget the reserved dipping sauce for extra chicken salad flare.

Chicken Salad Skewers
3lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
4 cups plain Greek yogurt
1 bunch parsley, chopped
1 cup basil, chopped
Juice of one lemon
S&P
Red grapes
Celery, but in 1-inch chunks

Rinse and pat dry chicken before slicing into 2-inch strips. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, basil, parsley, lemon and S&P. Reserve 1-1 1/2 cups of marinate for dipping sauce. Toss chicken in remaining marinate and seal in a large zip-top bag. Marinate overnight.

Soak wooden skewers in water for 15 minutes. Skewer chicken, one per stick. Place on a preheated grill and cook over medium-high direct heat for 7-8 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (may depend on how thickly they were sliced).

When ready to serve, skewer red grapes and celery on each stick. Serve with remaining dipping sauce.

Note: Chicken can be grilled one day ahead of serving.

Earl Grey Panna Cotta

Okay... so this is not low fat. Not even a little, but hey, it was for a party. Plus the pregnant ladies needed the calcium in all that whole milk and cream. I came to this recipe because I was looking for something that I could do in individual servings AND that I could make ahead of time.

Panna cotta is almost as simple as dessert comes and a teacup offers baby shower level cuteness. Plus once you learn the basic recipe, there are nearly endless variations of flavors and toppings.

Plus this adorable dessert gave me a chance to use all of my mom's and Grammie's pretty china. If you can't use it for a party, when can you?

It starts with warm milk, cream and gelatin...gently stirred until the gelatin dissolves and steam just starts to rise.

Remove from heat and allow to steep. If Earl Grey's not your thing, you could do vanilla bean or lavender here. Lavender is going to be my next round. It's one of my favorite smells and I'm interested to experiment with it as a flavor.

Gently ladle into tea cups or small bowls. These need to refrigerate at least overnight or you can make two days ahead like I did.

I added a saran wrap on top while the pudding was still warm to avoid pudding skin. Pudding skin reminds me of a cafeteria or an old folks home. Not cute for a party. Say no to pudding skin.

Remove from the fridge for a few minutes before serving to take the cold edge off and remove your skin-preventing saran. There may be a few wrinkles in the panna cotta from the wrap, but nothing a light dusting of cinnamon can't fix. A squeeze of honey would be good too.

Earl Grey Panna Cotta
Makes 24 individual servings

6 cups cream
6 cups whole milk
1 oz unflavored gelatin
2 cups sugar
6 Earl Grey tea bags

Pour milk an cream in large pot and sprinkle gelatin. Turn heat on low and stir until gelatin dissolves completely. Add sugar; stir until dissolved and continue just until milk begins to steam. Remove from heat and steep tea bags for 30 minutes.

Ladle into teacups or small ramekins. Place plastic wrap on the surface of the milk and smooth out wrinkles. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove from refrigerator 15-30 minutes before serving. Remove plastic wrap and lightly dust with cinnamon.


Oh yeah... it the spirit of being transparent, I promote consumption of milk at my job. I was not asked to write this, nor compensated. Secret's out... milk is good for you. Have you heard?

Apple Pomegranate Slaw in Endive

The promise of fall... crisp, sweet apples. A September shower had to include this seasonal sensation. Pomegranate seeds give crunch and tartness. Endive lends bitterness and a sophisticated serving vessel. A balanced fresh salad to counter the saccharin, creamy treats on the dessert table.

Can we note my mother's 80's style Cuisinart? This thing functioned longer than my parent's marriage. Ah... the sarcasm of a child of a divorce. Biting as ever.
Obligatory shout out to Mom and Dad... love you!

This appliance is a lifesaver for a big parties. Two-minute zing in the processor vs. 20 minutes of hand shredding apples.

Toss with pomegranate seeds, vinaigrette, green onions and walnuts. The green onions and pomegranate seeds really make the color pop!

 Spoon into endive leaves and arrange in the prettiest way you can figure out.

Apple Pomegranate Slaw
For Salad
2 honeycrisp or fuji apples, shredded
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup walnuts chopped
3 heads endive, ends removed

For Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Combine apples, green onions, pomegranate seed and walnuts in a large bowl. Whisk together vinaigrette and toss with salad. Lightly spoon apple salad into endive leaves. Serve immediately (this will brown if you prepare too far in advance).

Photographed recipe is a double batch. Recipe inspired by Bon Appetit.

Pink Ombre Cake with Buttercream

You've seen it on Pinterest (by the way, do you follow my boards?)... the adorable pink layer cake. I don't usually fall for the Pinterest fads -- I don't have any wood palette art in my house and I don't knit these -- but this cake was too cute to skip for an It's a Girl Baby Shower.

I didn't have a good white cake recipe up my sleeve, so I checked-in with my baking goddess friends and was recommended the Magnolia Bakery recipe. They've made millions on cupcakes, so I figured they know what they're doing. It took some serious self-control not to improvise, but that's not what baking is about. Focus Carey!

Fresh flour purchased to ensure everything would rise properly. And yes... there is a difference between self-rising flour and cake flour... I googled it.

Okay, I know I talk about my lack of baking ability, but my first real job in high school was at a cookie shop. If I learned one thing, it's that you REALLY need to cream butter in baked goods to get that fluffy texture. Start creaming room-temperature butter and beat until it looks like marshmallow fluff, then you're ready to add eggs and sugar. No eggs until you see the fluff!

Once the batter is prepared, split evenly into four parts. These will soon become the various layers of pink.

Start with the lightest-colored layer. Remember you can always add more, but you can't take it away. I started with one drop in the first bowl, two in the second and so on. I ended up tweaking a bit with two drops in the lightest layer and five in the darkest, but every food coloring is different.

Lovely shades of pink ready to bake.

This batter is a dense and sticky, so you MUST butter and flour your pans. Take care when handling too. Once the cake is fully cooled, prepare the gooey buttercream, following the instructions to reach the perfect texture.

Start with the crumb coat... a thin layer to encapsulate the inevitable errors in your cake.

I like to finish my cakes with a rough coat of frosting. It makes it look homemade and like you can bite right in. When things are too smooth, no one wants to ruin the finish at a party. This puppy looked delectable! And my lovely co-host fashioned the adorable pennant decorations.

Pink Ombre Cake with Buttercream

For cake
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 stick butter (unsalted), softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
Red food coloring

For buttercream frosting
3 sticks butter (unsalted), softened
10 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup milk
3 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour four 9-inch cake pans. Start by combining flours. In a separate bowl cream butter on high speed, using an electric mixer, and gradually add sugar until fluffy. About 3-4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating in each completely. Gradually add dry ingredients, alternating with milk and vanilla. Do not overbeat once the dry ingredients have been added.

Divide batter into four bowls. Start by adding one drop of food coloring into the first bowl, two drops into the second, three into the third and four into the fourth. Lightly mix batters until color is combined. Add more food coloring, if needed, until desired color is reached.

Bake cakes for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Using an electric mixer combine butter, 3 cups powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Start slowly, the sugar will get everywhere. Beat until smooth, about 3-5 minutes. Add remaining sugar two cups at a time, beating well in between (about 2 minutes).

Place darkest layer of cake on cake stand and add an ample layer of frosting. Continue layering cake and place a thin layer of frosting on top and sides to contain crumbs. Then apply frosting in a thick layer to finish.

Party Time -- It's a Girl Finger Foods

When there are extra special people in your life, you want to share extra special celebrations with them. My dear friend Katie can be credited with introducing me to the Husband, so you can bet I wanted to throw her a heck of a party when I learned she was expecting a baby girl.

We reunited in our hometown to celebrate this new life and my mother generously offered her home as a location. There's something personal about an at-home party that you just can't get at a restaurant or club. Welcoming people to your table lets them know you really want them there. I really wanted all of them there, but there wasn't a table for 25 (it's not Downton Abbey after all...jeez). Given this constraint, I developed a menu of delectable finger foods with feminine flair.

It's a Girl Baby Shower Menu

Finger Foods for 25

Goat Cheese Vegetable Tarts Three Ways 

Cremini, Asparagus, Zucchini

Honey Ricotta Crostini

Chicken Salad Skewers

Apple Pomegranate Salad

Served in Endive with Walnut

Deviled Eggs

Earl Grey Panna Cotta

Pink Ombre Cake with Buttercream

French Macarons

For the Road

Rosemary Lemonade

Peach Bellinis

Iced Tea

Oh and there was diaper cake... it was delicious.