Cooking Method: Baking

Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Rice Casserole

Over the years, I have had many personal chef clients. I cook many different meals and package them up for the freezer. This Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Rice Casserole is something I made recently. This can also be made in one large casserole and it freezes really well.

By Leslie Blythe

Orange Muffins

These Orange Muffins a super simple, but really lovely and easy to make. There is a subtle sprinkling of cinnamon sugar on top.

By Leslie Blythe

Crabbies

Last month we spent the weekend in La Quinta, California and had a lovely time seeing our friends at their home in Palm Desert. Judie made wonderful hors d’oeuvres, which included these Crabbies. She was kind enough to send me the recipe. The recipe has been around for years, though no one seems to know where it originated. It calls for a jar of Kraft Old English Cheese, which is a key ingredient. If you can’t find it at your local market, you can buy it online. The beauty of this recipe is that it makes a large amount that you can keep in your freezer and pull as many out as needed and bake until golden.

I make a similar hors d’oeuvres called Curried Shrimp Croustades.

By Leslie Blythe

Indian-Spiced Salmon

This Indian-Spiced Salmon roasts in the oven on a bed of onions. The aromatic spice mixture pairs perfectly with the richness of the salmon.

By Leslie Blythe

Cheesy Ham & Potato Casserole

I have a terrible habit of putting food in my freezer and then not using it. They other day, we had "nothing" in the fridge to eat, so after rummaging through my freezer I found some ham and made this Cheesy Ham & Potato Casserole. You could make it your own by adding any vegetables you have on hand.

Note to self - I really need to have a running list of what's in my freezer with a use by date!

By Leslie Blythe

Bittersweet Chocolate Pound Cake

My friend Chris gave me an 11 pound slab of Callebaut Belgium dark chocolate. I decided to make this Bittersweet Chocolate Pound Cake for a friend. It's drizzled with a silky chocolate ganache. I also made a mini cake in a small ramekin so that I could taste it! Now to try to figure out what else to make...

By Leslie Blythe

New Mexico Stacked Enchiladas

Jessica here, guest-blogging for Leslie.

This is a photo of our tasty New Mexico-style stacked enchilada. It’s a family favorite, especially during this dark pandemic winter.

How to make it? Well, as we lawyers say, it depends. There’s an easy way and a hard way.

The easy way? Buy everything: shred a roast chicken, open a can of refried beans and another of enchilada sauce; layer it all evenly between three corn tortillas, bake at 400° F for 10-15 minutes, top with a fried egg – and there you have it.

The hard way is what you see in this photo. But it was actually a collaborative effort. My husband made green chile using Hatch chiles that he’d roasted, frozen, and defrosted.

I poached chicken breasts in white wine, water, and some aromatics (black and pink peppercorns, chile powder) and shredded them.

Then, I realized I had no canned refried beans. What to do? Well, I had a can of pinto beans, so I made my own. And may never use canned ones again, because these were so delicious.

By Leslie Blythe

Cloud Eggs

My brother David made these Cloud Eggs, which my mother used to make. Because he lives over 2,400 miles away, I didn't have these lovely eggs. Though, I do not happen to like runny yolk eggs. I remember as a kid being horrified and deeply disappointed that the egg whites didn't taste like whipped cream!

Cloud eggs got their start in 17th century France. The recipe for oeufs a la Neige, translated to “eggs in the snow,” was published in Le Cuisinier Francois in 1651.

By Leslie Blythe

Hot Brown Turkey Casserole

My Dad grew up in Pittsburgh and one of his favorite things a called The Turkey Devonshire Sandwich, which is a hot open-faced sandwich on toasted bread with hot turkey, bacon, tomatoes, and a cheese sauce. This sandwich was first served at The Stratford Club in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood in 1930.
I decided to make him (actually, I had my husband make it!) a Hot Brown Turkey Casserole. This also originated as a sandwich called the Hot Brown and was invented in 1926 at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky to absorb the bourbon that guests had the night before. The 2 sandwiches are very similar, though I think the chef in Pittsburgh obviously copied it and changed the name!. Anyway, this is the casserole version, which is much easier to make and feeds a hungry or hungover crowd!

By Leslie Blythe

Bourbon Orange Ham Glaze

This Bourbon Orange Ham Glaze has orange marmalade, maple syrup, Dijon, Lemon Juice, and of course, Bourbon.

By Leslie Blythe