The Kitchen Whisperer

Archive for the ‘Vegetarian’ Category

These Candied Sweet Potato Wedges are a great twist on the classic candied sweet potatoes we make for Thanksgiving. Bathed in brown sugar, cinnamon and butter, it’s the perfect side dish to your next roast, chicken or pork dish.

I always have sweet potatoes in my house though that wasn’t always the case. For years I refused to eat these things as they were ‘odd’ and fugly looking with their orange skin and weird sweet taste. But then Mr. Fantabulous walked into my life with this nasty gold velvet crushed sectional couch and a sack of sweet potatoes.

He was a bachelor whose whole life was pretty much work, school, working out and his guitar. Food was just sustenance. It didn’t have to taste good let alone look good; it just had to do its job, sustain him.

And in walks me – this oddly shaped chubby girl who thinks a brown shirt and black pants can work in an ensemble, that can create a 5-star meal out of canned goods and could write code in her sleep. On the surface we didn’t look like a couple but I knew he was the one. He was (is) my splitapart.

Take your sweet potatoes to a whole new level with this recipe!

This is a new spin on a classic broccoli slaw. Crispy and packed with veggies, seeds, cranberries, and bacon topped with my Grandma’s amazing old fashioned boiled dressing. Every cookout needs this dish!

I debated on what to call this dish. It is Broccoli Slaw? Is it Broccoli Salad?  I struggled with it as it has well both broccoli florets and broccoli slaw. So I went with a Slaw Salad. Sure I could have shortened it to Broccoli Slawlad but then again that just like I fat fingered it really, really bad. Trust me, spell-check is screaming at me right now with that word.

This dish I literally had 2 women in their 60’s get into a fist fight over. Well okay technically only one punch was thrown but seriously for me, it was a HUGE compliment. To have people go to the level that they actually fight over your dish… I know I did something good. You can read that story here.

Let’s just focus on getting this in your belly, k?

Whether you’re a veggie-loving beast or full on meat-craving carnivore these Veggie Sweet Potato Garden Burgers will definitely please! Meatless Monday never tasted so delicious!

Veggie burgers are not a ‘new’ thing yet in the past 3 or so years they’ve become a menu regular. Heck, there are some restaurants that only serve veggie burgers. It’s funny how I actually more often will order a veggie burger than a regular burger these days. I’m not a vegetarian and still love meat but there’s just something intriguing about these things. You wouldn’t expect a veggie burger to be juicy or packed with so much flavor yet they are.

I mean just look at my Chunky Portabello veggie burger. That single burger recipe has bridged the gap between salad heads and meat beasts; both teams love them. Vegetarians absolutely love the fact that you have a burger that is hearty, packed with a bajillion veggies and that is seriously the “best damn veggie burger” out there. And meat lovers…don’t get me started!  Their minds are blown by the fact that they are eating a burger that tastes so much like beef (or a real burger as they’d say) but is made with all veggies. I mean I had some guy argue til he was blue in the face that there was no way anyone could make a veggie burger taste delicious let alone tastes like a ‘real burger’. One bite and I shut him up.

Now before I go any further I should disclose that there is one person that doesn’t like this – Mr. Fantabulous. He doesn’t quite “get” the whole non-meat thing and swears if I try to turn him vegetarian he’s moving out.  For him, honestly, it’s a textural thing I thing as most veggie burgers are a tad more ‘creamy’ in the center. Sure you’ll have chunks of veggies but you never get that same texture as you would with meat. Challenge for me? Perhaps but honestly it’s not that big of a deal and hey if he doesn’t like it, it’s just more for me.

Get your deliciousness on!

Step outside of the traditional pizza box with this flaky Roasted Vegetable Phyllo Dough Pizza. Razor-thin layers of crispy phyllo dough are topped with herb roasted vegetables, grated parmesan, and fresh mozzarella cheeses. This recipe is a serious game changer in the world of pizza.

Now you guys know me when it comes to my undeniable love for pizza.  It is that single food that in all of my *covers mouth and coughs <insert age here>* years that I have never grown tired of.  I literally make this every single week, sometimes more than once a week.  I’ve made it a million and 7 ways and have had a bajillion different toppings, sauces and yes even crusts.  There’s not a single thing I don’t like about pizza. That being said, after having a family pizza shop for 17 years I consider myself to be an expert when it comes to taste, texture, and well, what makes a good pizza.  Is it the sauce?  Is it the dough?  Is it the cheese?

The answer is simple… yes! It’s all 3 to be honest.  You can have a killer sauce and awesome dough but if you put on the wrong cheese it will ruin the pizza.  Same thing with the dough – you have fresh burrata, basil that is as pristine as can be and that sauce… you’d sell your grandmother for another batch of it but then you get the dough. It tastes like that pizza that you found under your bed, covered in dust bunnies and a rogue penny embedded in it that you lost in your room when you were 13.

So know this folks, when I post a pizza recipe, it’s good.  No I mean it’s GOOD!  If I won’t eat it I would never post about it. I’m a HUUUUUUUUUUGE pizza snob and this girl does not play when it comes to pizza!

And today, that’s where this pizza comes into play.  I teamed up with my SoFabFood.com Family to share one of my killer pizza recipes. This recipe, yeah it’s definitely going to be outside of your pizza comfort zone because this is definitely not a standard pizza shop pie but dear lord it needs to be!  If I didn’t know how to make this and I found someone who could I’d be their best customer!
Taking your pizza to the next level!

Your boring baked potato just got all kinds of sexy with this Bloomin’ Loaded Baked Potatoes recipe!  Crispy skinned potato wedges all covered in melty cheese and crispy bacon.  Yeah, life just got a whole lot tastier!

For all of you newbies that found your way recently to the TKW Family, WELCOME!  Now there are a few things you need to know about me and my personality.  The way I write my posts and describe my recipes is I envision you’re sitting with me in my kitchen either watching me cook/bake or you’re helping me.  We’re chatting and laughing like we’ve been friends for decades – like the kind of friends who don’t judge you if you wear your sweats pants on inside out, your hair is a hot mess or if you trip will laugh til they cry all the while helping you up. When I write I open up my home and life as I want you guys to relate to me and to feel like you’re with me as I’m cooking or doing something. You feel at home here, even if you’re half way across the world, you still feel like family.

Something else you need to know about me – my husband is Mr. Fantabulous who has the metabolism of 967 people.  No seriously it’s unreal. I, on the other hand, have a negative metabolism (if there’s such a thing) meaning I don’t even have to eat food to gain jiggle.  I’m obsessed with pigs but I love bacon.  My logic is simply this – bacon is made from ugly pigs, not the uber cutsie ones that are dressed up.  I want a mini teacup pig, a cat and a dog but since our house is still being remodeled (9+ years now – we’re doing it ourselves) it’s not safe to have pets. I loathe anything cherries – I mean we’re talking not even cherry lip gloss. Pizza is my all time favorite food and my favorite veggie is the potato.   Thus this recipe… an ode to the glorious spud.

I’m sure at some point in your lives you’ve had some facet of a “Bloomin’ Onion” either from Outback Steakhouse or some other restaurant.  And even if you haven’t, you’ve had to have heard of them. Right? So these bloomin’ onions were cut in a way that, when batter dipped and deep fried would ‘bloom’ in the hot oil thus making the onion to look like a blooming flower.
These potatoes will dress up any dish. Turn a bland tater into something mouth watering!