Coconut Oil Coffee?

My friends at Allrecipes.com posted this very intriguing video for what they’re calling “Coconut Oil Coffee.” As some of you may know, I’ve recently admitted to having a coconut oil and coconut milk obsession, so I really want to try this, but before I do, I thought I’d find out if any of you have tried this strange brew yet. Well, have you? If so, I’d love to hear what you thought. I’ll probably try it anyway, but thought it’d be fun get some of your opinions first. Thanks in advance!

Mancakes! A Father’s Day Brunch Classic

This amazing bacon, green onion, and cheddar corn pancakes recipe was originally planned as a “breakfast for dinner” post, but when I tasted how incredible they came out, I decided to do them as a Father’s Day brunch special instead. 

I realize Father’s Day Brunch isn’t actually a thing, but just in case it becomes a great tradition someday, I figured I’d get this into the search engines nice and early. Plus, I really wanted to call them “mancakes.”

Sweet/savory hybrids can be tricky sometimes, but I think this worked beautifully. We are talking about bacon, cheese, and onions after all, so it wasn't that big a shock. And the way the chipotle-spiced maple syrup brought everything together was a risk well rewarded.

As far as the texture goes, these were surprisingly tender, and fairly light for corn pancakes. My only regret is not cooking extra bacon to top these with. So, why not surprise the man in your life, and whip up a batch of these soon? Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 12 Mancakes:

8 oz bacon

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cornmeal

1 tbsp baking powder

pinch freshly ground black pepper

pinch cayenne

3/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs, beaten

2 tbsp melted butter

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/3 cups milk

2 oz grated sharp cheddar (about 1/2 cup)

serve with warm maple syrup spiked with chipotle to taste

Savory Ricotta Tart – Thin to Win

I got a food wish for a ricotta cheesecake recently, which sounded fantastic, but with bikini season rapidly approaching, my love handles and I thought we’d compromise and do a savory, sugar-free version instead.

I love the simple combination of really good ricotta and fresh herbs, baked with just enough eggs to hold things together. I was in the mood for some heat, but things like pepper and cayenne are totally optional. 

As I alluded to in the video, I usually do this as a pie, which comes out about twice as thick, but I wanted to try it in tart-form and the pan I used was clearly too large. Next time I’ll simply double the ingredients, and add about 10 or 15 minutes to the cooking time, and I recommend you do the same.

Keep this humble pie in mind when the “way too many vegetables” part of summer rolls around. This could be a great base for using up leftover veggies in a very fritatta-like way. I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 thin portions:

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs, toasted in some olive oil

olive oil to coat pan

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

cayenne or other hot peppers to taste

1/4 cup fresh chopped or torn basil

1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley

tiny pinch nutmeg

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1 oz finely greated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 1/2 cup if the real stuff, otherwise 1/4 cup packed of the fake “stuff”)

*Bake at 325 for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until set.

Chorizo & Chicken Skewers – Make Some For Your Buddy

At some point this summer, you’ll get tired of grilled chicken. Any grilled chicken. No matter the marinade, or the delivery system, you will have simply reached your limit, and that’s when you need to reach for the chorizo. 

Impale a few slices of this famously delicious, Spanish sausage in between your chunks of chicken, and as it grills, it will splatter its spicy, smoky fat all over its much blander skewermate, and once again, you and grilled chicken will be good buddies...just like Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte.

That reference will make a lot more sense once you watch the beginning of the video. Anyway, this is nothing more than a suggestion to help cure grilled chicken fatigue, and as usual, I expect you to tailor this concept to your own strange and exotic tastes. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Skewers:

8 oz chorizo sausage, cut in 16 pieces

2 large chicken breasts, cut in 10 pieces each

1/2 red onion

1 red bell pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp smoked paprika

cayenne to taste

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp minced fresh oregano

Next Up: Chorizo Chicken Skewers