White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened

• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

• 1 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 


In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. 

Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Serve and enjoy!

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The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Sandwich

Championship Chicken Sandwich
ESPN Club
Disney's Boardwalk Inn
Orlando, FL

So if I just tell you what is in this sandwich, you will definitely think it is very boring.  But trust me I have dreams about this it was so good!  It is a grilled piece of chicken breast on rosemary focaccia with sun-dried tomato pesto, goat cheese, and arugula.  The chicken breast has some kind of herbs on it like time and rosemary and it perfectly grilled.  I can't even begin to tell you how juicy it was.  It was juicier than any piece of fried chicken I have ever had, yet it was grilled! It was perfectly tender and delicious.  The bread really made this sandwich special because it was lightly toasted and still soft in the middle.  It had the perfect balance of filling to bread and the rosemary wasn't overpowering in the focaccia.  The sun-dried tomato pesto was slathered all over the bread and added a creamy texture that was amazing against the crispness of the bread.  It also added another layer of flavor the the chicken breast.  The arugula was also perfect because it was crispy and peppery, while also lightening up this sandwich.  My favorite part was the smear of goat cheese on top of the chicken.  It was perfectly tangy and creamy and was my favorite part of this sandwich.  You have a choice between cucumber salad and french fries (I obviously got the fries).  I ordered mine extra crispy and they were some of the best fries I ever tasted.  Tender inside, hot, salty, and crispy on the outside.

I know this sandwich's ingredients sounds boring, but trust me you will never taste anything like it!

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The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Pasta

Gnocchi with Pesto and Roasted Vegetables
Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Orlando, FL

Gnocchi has always been one of my favorite pasta dishes because it is made with my favorite ingredient, potatoes, and I absolutely love pesto cause of its strong flavor.  So when I saw this I knew I had to get it! The roasted vegetables I thought would be a little weird, but they were honestly the best part of this dish!

The gnocchi are like little pillows sitting in your dish. Light, airy, and incredibly flavorful.  They are perfectly salted and creamy inside.  The pesto sauce was one of the best I have ever tasted.  It was such a bright green color and wasn't too garlicky.  You could taste every bit of fresh basil put in and the high grade olive oil used. The perfect amount of sauce was used so it wasn't swimming in a pool of sauce.  Now to the vegetables.  It came with plump mushrooms, broccolini, roasted eggplant, and cherry tomatoes.  The mushrooms were probably my favorite because they were so meaty and tender.  The broccolini was perfectly cooked and added an extra layer of flavor to the entire dish.  I usually am not a fan of eggplant, but this eggplant was amazing.  It had a sort of nutty, roasted flavor that I have never tasted before.  Since I hate tomatoes, I was not willing to give them a try, but they looked beautiful!

This dish was everything you could want in a pasta dish and more!

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The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Meat

Braised Lamb Shank with Potato Gateau
The Wave
Disney's Contemporary Resort
Orlando, FL

If you are in Disney World and are looking for a more upscale restaurant without being too fancy, this is definitely the way to go! Everything that is cooked is completely fresh and homemade.  There is hardly any deep frying and definitely no microwaving in this restaurant.  All ingredients are seasonal and some even come from Disney World's own gardens.  Because of this the menu always changes, but it is always fantastic.

Let me get down to the meat though.  When I saw this lamb shank come to my table I felt like a caveman!  It is enormous, I think it may be 14 ounces.  The waiter said it was slow cooked for 9 hours and you can absolutely tell.  I didn't need a knife at all, only a fork to pull away the tender meat from the bone.  The sauce is absolutely delicious because it tastes like its been cooking in meet juices for days! Then the side dish of the potato gateau is one of the best thing I ever ate.  It is tender potatoes mixed with a cream cheese sauce using tangy goat cheese and baked until crispy.  The tanginess of the goat cheese really cuts through the big meaty flavor of the lamb.  If you are in Disney, definitely try this restaurant!!!

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Homemade Pasta

Ingredients:
1 pound all-purpose flour
4 whole eggs, plus 1 yolk
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1 to 2 tablespoons water, sometimes more needed

Directions:
Put flour on a clean dry work surface or inside a large bowl.  Make a hole in the center of the flour pile that is about 8 inches wide.  Crack the eggs and the yolk into the hole and add the oil, salt, and water.  Using a fork, beat the eggs together with the oil, water and salt.  Begin to incorporate the flour into the egg mixture, being careful not to break the sides of the well or the egg mixture will run all over the place.

When enough flour had been incorporated into the egg mixture so that it will not run all over the place when the sides of the well are broken, begin to use your hands to really get everything well combined.  If the mixture is dry, wet your hands and begin kneading with wet hands. Once the mixture has come together, you can begin kneading.  Really stretch the dough, but do not tear it using the palms of your hands.  The dough should be very smooth when done.  It typically can take from 8-10 minutes.


Once the pasta is kneaded, wrap in plastic and let rest for 1 hour.  Do not put in refrigerator if using immediately. You can roll and cut into any shape, but I decided to cut the dough into fettuccine.


When cooking fresh pasta, it usually takes much less time than dried pasta.  Probably about 4-5 minutes instead of 8-10.  Then toss it in your favorite sauce. I used my pasta with garlic and oil and basic tomato sauce recipe. 

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Ultimate Chicken Nachos

Ingredients:
Nachos:
shredded chicken
sour cream
guacamole
tortilla chips
queso

Chicken:
2 large chicken breasts
2 cups water
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon salt
4 garlic cloves, smashed
3 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Queso:
1 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup goat cheese
1 jalapeno, seeded and deveined

Guacamole:
1 Haas Avocado
1 lime
1/4 of a red onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and deveined

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

In a small casserole dish, place the chicken breasts and the water.  Put all of the spices and stir around.  Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 90 minutes.

In a saucepan, heat up the oil for the queso.  Finely dice the jalapeno and add to the oil.  Stir and cook until the jalapeno begins to brown.  Whisk in the flour and cook for about 2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.  Slowly whisk in the milk and cook on medium heat to thicken the sauce.  Once its thick add in the goat and mozzarella cheese and stir until it melts.  Taste it to check the salt.  Add salt to taste.  Set aside until the chicken is done.

In a small bowl, put in the flesh of the guacamole.  Do this by slicing it across the midline, removing the pit, and scooping out the inside.  Squeeze in the juice of one lime and stir.  I use a fork to mash the flesh of the avocado.  Stir in the diced red onion and the diced jalapeno.  Sprinkle in a little salt and stir.  Set aside.

Once the chicken is done, allow to cool and begin to shred on a cutting board.  Once all of the chicken is shredded, put it back in the liquid in the casserole dish and stir.

On a large platter, pour the tortilla chips and separate into one layer.  Top with the chicken and spread evenly.  You can drizzle with a little of the cooking liquid if desired.  Then top with the queso, making sure it is still warm.  Dollop with sour cream and guacamole and enjoy!

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Chicken with Pesto, Prosciutto, and Mozzarella

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1 batch of store bought or home made pesto sauce, for my recipe click here.
4 oz prosciutto
4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
salt
pepper
garlic powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

On a large cutting board, slice each chicken breast into 3 separate chicken cutlets lengthwise.  Make sure to use a sharp knife and to make sure the chicken is very dry as to not slip and cut yourself.

Sprinkle each cutlet with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and roll in the majority of the pesto sauce.  I like to reserve a couple tablespoons for topping later on. Now you have a choice of the way to cook these.  You can either put them on a large cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.  Or you can grill them on high heat in a large skillet with oil for 5 minutes on each side.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the prosciutto and mozzarella.  Separate the prosciutto into pieces that will fit right on top of the chicken cutlets.  Thinnly slice the mozzarella and lay on a paper towel to drain any excess liquid.

Once the chicken is complete cooking, transfer to a cookie sheet.  If you baked them on the cookie sheet the chicken can just stay on the sheet.

Lay a piece of prosciutto on each chicken breast.  Then lay a piece of thinnly sliced mozzarella so that it completely covers the prosciutto.  Bake in the oven for another 5-6 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.  Serve with extra pesto on the side and enjoy!

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