Mulligatawny Soup

Every time I think about Mulligatawny Soup, I think about the "Soup Nazi" episode on Seinfeld, where Elaine starts reading off the recipe to the Soup Nazi.  I've had this recipe since college, and it's one of the first Indian-style recipes I learned to make.  When Mr. Devilish Dish and I were first married I made it often.  Somehow the recipe got tucked away and I hadn't made it in years.  In our attempt to make the Little Devil a well-rounded individual, we've been forcing her to watch some of our favorite movies and television shows before she goes off to college.  You know?  So she's "cultured".  So, we got out the good 'ol Seinfeld DVDs and the "Soup Nazi" episode reminded me that I hadn't made this rich, aromatic soup in a long time.  Thank for the reminder Elaine, it was delicious!

Soup for You!

Don't panic over the number of ingredients.
Everything is done in simple steps!

Brown bacon in a Dutch oven.

Add chicken pieces.

Remove chicken and bacon from the pot.
Pour off any fat.  Return to pot and add chicken broth.

Add in garlic, carrots,  and celery.

Don't forget the green apple!

Add curry powder, all-spice berries and bay leaf.

Season well with salt and pepper.
Heat to boiling.  Cover and simmer over low heat
about 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from pan.  Remove meat from bones
and set aside.  Combine flour and water
to create a slurry.  Combine with soup to thicken.

Add half and half.

Return reserved chicken to pot.

Ladle soup into bowls and top with a mound of rice.

Enjoy a Seinfeld re-run:

Copycat Plaza Cafe Bowl of Chile

Edit: This post was originally published in April 2012, and I decided to give it a little makeover.

Santa Fe, New Mexico is my favorite place on the entire planet.  We try to make one or two trips out there each year, but that's honestly not enough for me.  I send Mr. Devilish Dish links to Santa Fe homes for sale on a daily basis, hoping some day to wear him down.  We love to visit and  soak up the culture, stock up on green chiles, and pretty much just to pig out.   Mind you when I say pig out we pig out.  Crepes or breakfast burritos for breakfast.  Lunch.  Afternoon snacks.  Dinner.  Dessert.  Another snack.  Usually we just hop from one restaurant to another and share an appetizer or entree so we can fit in all of our adored meals.  New Mexican is hands down our favorite type of cuisine.  There is a little cafe in the plaza that has been there since 1905 called The Plaza Cafe.  Not only does it have awesome, classic American diner food, it also features Greek and New Mexican recipes.  Since we visit Santa Fe so frequently, friends often ask my favorite thing to eat in the City Different.  Without a doubt it is their Bowl of Chile.  It's a very simple, but delicious bowl of awesomeness, served with a big piece of Indian Fry Bread.  Beans, green chile, and your choice of calabacitas, carne asada, chicken or carnitas.  We always choose the carne asada.  It comes with a sopapilla on the side to soak up the sauce.  We just stir it together and dive in.  Since we haven't been able to make it to Santa Fe recently, we have  our own version we created  to satisfy us at home.  I serve it at home with my Homemade Indian Fry Bread, AND my Gluten-Free Indian Fry Bread.  We're lucky to locally find a roasted green chile in a jar that is made in Albuquerque using Hatch green chile so we get that authentic New Mexico flavor at home.  While this certainly isn't the same as enjoying a meal at the Famous Plaza Cafe, it does help the homesickness when we are craving Santa Fe flavor!

Homemade Twix Bars

Every once in awhile, someone shares a recipe that becomes a staple at our house.  That's precisely what happened when Michaela, over at An Affair From The Heart gave me this recipe years ago.  It's been a regular at every tailgate, and made an appearance on every platter of Christmas goodies.  It's one of those sweet treats that everyone loves.  So when my Little Devil needed something sweet to sell as a fundraiser for a club at school, these bars immediately came to mind.  They go together quickly, with just a few ingredients we always have on hand.  She wrapped them up in cellophane and tied them with ribbon and sold out of them right away.  Try them for your next bake sale.  Or cookie platter.  Or midnight snack.  Thanks Michaela!

EVERYBODY loves these!

The ingredients

Line a 9x13-inch pan with Club Crackers.

Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar,
brown sugar and milk in a sauce pan.

Boil together for 5 minutes.

Pour boiled mixture over crackers.

Add another layer of crackers.

In another pan, melt together peanut butter
and chocolate chips.

Spread over crackers.

Chill until set.

Wrap up and share (sell) to your friends,
OR eat them all yourself!

Birthday Weekend Cocktails

I think I may have mentioned before that I have three very best friends from college that I love to get together with.  I recently celebrated a "milestone" birthday, so even though the four of us do not live in the same state, we really wanted to celebrate.  So we planned a little weekend trip to get away and have some laughs.  Not that we need any libations to have fun, but it was a good excuse to try out some ideas for upcoming summer parties.  Since it was my birthday, I totally was not thinking, "Hey I should take pictures of this for The Devilish Dish" so I don't have step by step pictures, but I did snap a quick pic with my phone.    It's only three ingredients so I think you'll get the idea without seeing all of the steps.  Not only was it yummy, it's a perfect drink for any girl's night, bunco night or summer party.  I'm thinking it may be my new signature summer cocktail.  Invite some of your friends over and enjoy.  And don't wait for a birthday as an excuse to get together!

My new favorite cocktail for summer!
I can't wait to make these again!

GIANT Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recently, Little Devil needed an idea for a fundraiser.  One of the clubs she belongs to at high school is raising money to attend a national event.  Obviously we thought of baking something.  Other kids might be washing cars or mowing lawns.  Little Devil headed straight for the kitchen.  I had seen the idea of making giant cookies and packaging them in CD envelopes before on the internet.  Since she's a marketing genius, we thought this cute packaging might make a delicious, home baked chocolate chip cookie seem even better.  We found the recipe and adorable packaging idea on the Intimate Weddings blog.  (How cute is that to give away cookies as a wedding favor???)  I've lost count on how many batches of these we have made to date.  They are a really good seller.  And it makes a damn good cookie dough.  Not that I've eaten any or anything.  Let's just say that one batch mysteriously made 17 cookies instead of 18 cookies.

It doesn't get any better than this!

The ingredient line-up

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt.
Set aside.

Cream together melted butter,
brown sugar and white sugar.

Add vanilla.

Add egg and egg yolk.
Beat until light and creamy.

Mix in dry ingredients just until blended.

Stir in chocolate chips by hand with a wooden spoon.

Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to drop dough onto
lightly greased cookie sheets.
(6 per sheet)

Remove to wire racks to cool.

If you're going to package the
cookies in CD envelopes,
wrap each one well with plastic wrap.
(This helps keep the cookie fresh,
and prevents the envelope
from getting grease spots.)

Make a fun little label using sticker paper
and seal up the envelope.

Here's the finished product after Little Devil
wrapped and labeled them.
No wonder she raised so much money!  YUM!

Green Pea Salad

I'll admit it.  My name is Candi and I hate peas.  Canned peas, frozen peas, fresh peas.  Ewww...But my hubby and our Little Devil like them.  So occasionally I throw them a bone and actually fix something they like.  It's a simple salad, with lots of good flavors (except the peas) but those are disguised easily enough by lots of Parmesan cheese and bacon.  For those of you that like peas, the flavor isn't disguised.  By disguised I meant I pushed them to the other side of my plate and left them there for the dog.  Never fear Pea Lovers, you will enjoy this salad very much!  Don't let my disdain for peas discourage you.

Crisp and Delicious.  And full of peas. 
Which is great if you LIKE them.

The line up

Combine lettuce, peas, celery and red onion.

Don't forget the Parmesan. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together
Miracle Whip and sugar.

Add the bacon which has been cooked and
crumbled.  Toss all ingredients to combine.
Add salad dressing and toss until well coated.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Spring Break Cupcakes

Most of the time when I'm baking, it's because of a special occasion.  A birthday or anniversary where the dessert needs to special.  Perfectly matched cupcake liners, fillings, buttercream and toppings.  A lot of thought put into it.  But when you think about it, the cupcakes that turn out to be the most fun are the ones where you just act like a kid and go for it.  That's what I did this week with my Devilish Dish Assistant.  She was out of school for Spring Break, and as usual she wanted to BAKE!  So I said, "How about we come up with our own special Spring Break Cupcake recipe?  We can make them any way you want."  And what we wound up with were fun, wacky, spring-like, tye dyed cupcakes with vanilla buttercream, sprinkles, cherries and gummy worms.  We just kept piling on the fun.  A super simple recipe that only makes 12 cupcakes.  Just the right amount to enjoy over Spring Break.  You can flavor and decorate them any way you want, and the best part is just making them with someone you love!

Time for some Spring Break Baking Fun!

For a tye-dyed effect, spoon batter
into liners randomly.

Allow to cool completely on wire racks.

Frost with vanilla buttercream frosting
and decorate with anything and everything!

Let your Spring Break Baking Assistant choose
the toppings and do the decorating.

Here's a dissected cupcake so you
can fully see the tye-dyed look.

Here's my Devilish Dish Assistant, Emily.
She's proudly showing off our concoction!

Bake up some fun with someone you love!