Banana Colada Plus A Big THANK YOU to Yummly & KitchenAid

One of the awesome perks of being a food blogger (besides eating, playing in the kitchen and meeting so many nice people like all of you) is networking with folks to share recipes.  This includes sites that share recipe content and companies with awesome kitchen products both big and small.  Recently the Yummly platform partnered with KitchenAid to reward some of their content creators with the wonderful gift of a blender! I'm so delighted they chose little old me here at The Devilish Dish.  All of this just in time to share a new cocktail with you: The Banana Colada.  If you aren't familiar with Yummly, it is the smartest and most helpful food platform in existence, and I'm proud they share several of my recipes.  You can choose recipes based on your personal preferences, tastes, allergies and more.  As part of the Yummly Pro community you can learn to cook with some of the world's best chefs.  There is even assistance in scheduling meal calendars and creating grocery shopping lists, all from the ease of their website or app available for IOS, Ipad and Android.  It's a very helpful foodie community to be a part of, so you can see how overjoyed I was to receive a new blender.  I'm sure you are familiar with the quality of Kitchen Aid products (I have been in love with their stand mixer for years!) so I so excited about the new K4000 Blender.  Designed to deliver the perfect taste, this variable speed blender easily blends even the toughest ingredients from kale to almonds and more!  The Ice Crush, Icy Drinks and Smoothie setting are absolutely perfect for the Banana Colada!  Do you like Pina Coladas? (Yes now that will be stuck in your head too.  Sorry!) You'll love them even more with the creamy addition of a fresh banana.  This is of course a terrific Summer drink, but it's delicious anytime, especially since Fall and Winter weather are upon us and we're all dreaming of somewhere warm and tropical for the holidays. A great way to entertain AND knock out those holiday fruit baskets at the same time. so enjoy: 

An old favorite gets an update from
a fresh banana!

Thank you again to Yummly and KitchenAid
for this awesome blender.
I'm so grateful for their support.

Braised Beef Ragu with Parmesan Polenta

Braised beef is simply beef that has been browned, and then allowed to stew slowly in a closed container.  It is the ideal one pot meal, making serving and clean up a breeze.  This Braised Beef Ragu combines a few simple ingredients for a rich, hearty, elegant meal.  Served over a pile of cheesy, creamy polenta you'll have a simple but sophisticated meal that is worthy of any Sunday Supper or dinner party.  Last holiday season when I was busy sewing away on scarves and pillows, I tasked Mr. Devilish Dish with preparing this meal.  We had made it once before and I knew with some tweaks it was something I wanted to share with you.  The first time he made it, he left out the tomatoes.  Oops.  They are a pretty integral part of the dish.  We added them at the end, and although we didn't get to experience them completely cooked down with full flavor, it was still delicious.  The second time he made this (unsupervised again) he accidentally added the water that is used to cook the polenta.  We able to rescue it with extra wine, tomatoes and tomato paste.  It was still delicious.  See where I'm going with this?  It is foolproof.  Recently, I decided that I would make this without his assistance so it would be perfectly blog worthy for you, and here it is: 

This hearty flavorful meal cooks slowly
and comes together for a rich,
elegant meal worthy of any guests.

Allow the beef to braise at a low temperature
until it is falling apart tender.

Serve over creamy Parmesan Polenta.
Where I live they're normally called "GRITS"
but doesn't Polenta sound fancier?

{Copy Cat} Ghirardelli Sea Salt Hot Chocolate

Every time we visit San Francisco we hit the Ghirardelli shop and my favorite treat there is the Sea Salt Hot Chocolate.  I actually love the location in Monterrey because it's like a little second floor ice cream parlor.  You can take your treats outside and sit on the balcony overlooking the Pacific.  How delightful is that?  Last year we decided to have our Valentine's Day dinner at home.  Changing things up from the usual steak and salad we opted to make breakfast for dinner.  That's kind of romantic right?  We enjoyed Monte Cristo Crepes (since I have a great Gluten-Free Crepe recipe) and my Mom's Fruit Salad.  All the great flavors of my Monte Cristo Sandwich recipe, but gluten-free this time.  I was trying to come up with a clever dessert to go along with our "breakfast" theme.  Since I haven't mastered gluten-free donuts yet, and I didn't think something like Creme Brulee was an appropriate breakfast-type dessert (Is there such a thing as a breakfast dessert? There should be!) this hot chocolate came to mind.  It was thick, rich, and over the top.  Make sure you use lots of caramel and whipped cream.  Splurge like you're on vacation.  Or having breakfast.  Or celebrating Valentine's Day.  Yes to all!

Here's my Valentine's Day Version

Here is the one I ALWAYS enjoy when in the bay area!