Makes 16 Large or 32 Small Potato Skins

Get ready for Kickoff with two varieties of my delicious potato skins, Chilli and Cheese and Bacon and Blue Cheese, two fun twists on the classic appetizer.

Ingredients

• 8 large or 16 small russet potatoes, washed
• 7 slices of bacon
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 cups mascarpone
• 1 cup blue cheese, crumbled
• 2 cups chili, canned
• 2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/3 cup Sour cream
• 1/4 cup Chives

Directions

1. Pre heat your oven to 375°.
2. Pierce potatoes with a fork and bake on a baking sheet for 1-1 1/2 hours or until easily pierced with a fork.
3. Remove from the oven and set- aside until cool enough to handle.
4. Lay bacon strips on a baking sheet lined with Sil Pat or parchment paper.
5. Mix together brown sugar and cayenne.
6. Sprinkle brown sugar over bacon.
7. Bake for 12-16 minutes or until crispy. Remove from the oven and set-aside.
8. Once the potatoes have cooled, slice each one in half length-wise.
9. With a spoon scoop out most of the inside, leaving a 1/4inch rim left with the skin, reserve the scooped out potato for later mashed potatoes.
10. Remove from the oven and fill each one with 1 Tablespoon mascarpone (1 1/2 tablespoons for large potatoes).
11. Top half of them evenly with blue cheese and cut up the bacon and crumble the cooked bacon over the blue cheese.
12. Evenly fill the remaining potatoes with the chili and top with cheddar cheese.
13. Place filled potatoes back in the 375° oven and allow the cheese to melt, about 5-7 minutes.
14. Remove from the oven top both with scallions  and the chili ones with sour cream.

Serves 6

What I love about this recipe is that it is perfect all year round.  It really comes out beautifully when cooked on the grill or stove top.  I like to make extra and top my salad with it for lunch or a quick dinner later in the week. Your extra cooked steak will last for up to 3 days in your refrigerator.

*Make Ahead Tip: You can start up to 8 hours in advance.  In a very hot skillet sear both sides of the meat (about 2-3 min on each side).  Set seared meat on a plate and refrigerate until 30 minutes before serving.  Bake in a 375° oven until desired doneness.  Check after 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let the steak rest before slicing.

You can make the sauce out of the marinade after you sear the meat and then keep it in the fridge and warm when you are ready to serve.

Ingredients

• 1 cup  Soy sauce
• 2  teaspoons  Lime juice
• 1 teaspoon  Ginger (fresh, zested)
• 1/2  cup  Brown sugar (packed firmly)
• 1 + 2/3 cups  White wine (dry like chardonnay)
• 1/2 teaspoon  Tabasco
• 1/3 cup  Balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon  Garlic (minced)
• 1 1/2 – 2 Pounds  Flank steak
• 2 teaspoon  Water (cold)
• 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
• Bunch of Cilantro (roughly chopped)

Directions

In a large bowl whisk together soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, brown sugar, white wine, Tabasco, balsamic vinegar and garlic. Remove 1 cup of marinade and reserve. Submerge steak in marinade. Marinate for at least 2 hours.

Pre-heat the grill on medium/ high for a minimum 10 minutes. If you don’t want to grill, heat a sauté pan over medium/high heat.  Remove steak from marinade and reserve marinade.  Place steak on hot grill or sauté pan and allow to cook for 5-7 minutes. Once a nice crust has formed one side of the meat turn it over to finish cooking about 5 minutes.  Allow to cook until a thermometer inserted horizontally into the meat reads 140 degrees for med-rare, 155 degrees medium.  Remove from grill or sauté pan and allow to rest for 10 minutes under foil before slicing, the meat will continue to cook about 5 degrees.

In a medium sauce pan bring reserved marinade to a  simmer.  In small bowl whisk cold water and cornstarch together.  Once marinade has simmered for about 5-7 minutes whisk in the cornstarch mixture.  Allow to simmer until slightly thickened about 5 minutes.

Slice rested steak 1/2 inch thick against the grain.

Drizzle sauce over top and garnish with cilantro.

What is against the grain?  Meats have what are called grains, they are the fibers running horizontally through the meat. You want to cut your meat “through the grain” because those tough fibers are broken and in turn it creates a more tender slice of meat. Try to cut all you meats this way.

Ricotta Prosciutto Chicken with Pink Penne Pasta Recipe

Serves 4

Make Ahead Tip: Assemble the chicken finishing with the prosciutto, but don’t bake. Keep covered in the fridge for up to 1 day.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breast cutlets
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme, dried
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 4 slices proscuitto
• 3 cups marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 of pound of penne pasta
• 2 Tablespoons basil, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
• Parmesan

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375°.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
3. Lay chicken out on a baking sheet lined with a sil-pat or parchment paper.
4. Sprinkle each breast with salt, pepper and thyme.
5. Spread 2 Tablespoon of ricotta cheese on top of the seasoned breasts. Top with procuitto.  Bake for 10-14 minutes or until internal temperature reaches165°.
6. Meanwhile cook pasta according to your package instructions.
7. In a medium pot stir together the marinara sauce and cream bring to a light simmer.
8. When pasta is cooked toss with pink sauce, basil and parsley.
9. Serve the chicken on top of the pasta and finish with parmesan cheese.

Happy New Year Q13 Visitors!

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year, 2009 has been an exciting year for me and I’m looking forward to 2010!

I’ve created some fun New Year’s Day appetizers that are simple to make and will look and taste delicious.  To top off things off, I’ve got three different Champagne drinks that will help you ring in the New Year!

Sweet Dishes!

Recipe Quick Links

This recipe is perfect for a Thanksgiving menu or a quick meal a home. Make sure to taste your potatoes before you stuff them to make sure the texture and flavor is to your liking, if you have larger potatoes you might want to add a tablespoon more of butter or milk.

Quick Tip: Make the potatoes up to a day ahead, keep in the fridge and bake about 25 minutes before you want to serve.

Click here to read more and get the recipe.

Jill shows Lilly on Fox Q13 morning news some “ghostly” Halloween recipes including Mummy Mashed Potatoes, Monster Meatloaf, Cyclops Deviled Eggs, and some family fun Caramel Apples for desert.  The fun Halloween themed wine for the adults is from Giant Wines in Woodinville, WA and included Sinner’s Red and Ghost 413 Red and Reisling.  Here are links to the Jill’s recipes from this mornings segment:

• Monster Meatloaf

• Vampire Veggies

• Mummy Mashed Potatoes

• Cyclops Deviled Eggs

• Ghostly Caramel Apples

This recipe was inspired by a wonderful mom who “stirred” me to start cooking.  When I was about 16 years old, I would go over to her house to see my friend and she would always have homemade croutons to snack on, a soy latte to sip or a wonderful dinner in the oven.   This recipe is the perfect quick and easy recipe for entertaining or eating “al fresco”.

Tip – If your salmon has not been de-boned, rub your fingers up and down the flesh side of the salmon, if you feel anything prickly, using cleaned tweezers or pliers to pull out each bone.

Click here to read more and get the recipe.

You can make your own dough or buy it from grocery stores like Trader Joe’s or from your local pizza parlor.  Make sure to get prosciutto di parma, its texture and flavor make all the difference. You can add more or less to each pizza based on your preference.

Click here to read more and get the recipe.

Jill shows how to create some delicious Blueberry recipes on Fox Q13 Morning News in Seattle.