Oysters… I love them any which way. Usually we eat them raw, but sometimes I crave a cooked oyster, like Oysters Rockefeller or a really light Oyster Stew. I was in the mood to create something different with the oysters. I opened the fridge and saw that we had 3 pieces of leftover bacon from breakfast, and voila – this recipe was born!

It’s so delectable the way the ingredients all meld together with the oysters and oyster juice. Be sure to get a great loaf of crusty bread to fully enjoy this dish!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 stick unsalted Butter, softened
5 Tbsp Parmesan Reggiano, grated
3 pieces of Bacon, cooked and diced small
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Shallot, minced
1 tsp fresh Parsley, minced
½ tsp Oregano
½ tsp Black Pepper, fresh grated
¼ tsp Paprika
1 dozen Oysters, shucked

Fresh Parsley, as garnish (optional)
Lemon Wedges, as garnish (optional)

METHOD
In a small bowl, mix the butter, parmesan, bacon, garlic, shallot, parsley, oregano, black pepper and paprika.
Set aside
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Shuck the oysters and place on a baking sheet.
Top each oyster with the butter mixture, dividing evenly among the oysters until it is all used.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until bubbly.
Place the oysters on a serving plate and be sure to put all the leftover juice on the plate, as well (for bread dipping!)
Garnish with fresh parsley and lemon wedges, if desired.
Serve with hot crusty bread.
Enjoy immediately.

Ok, let’s take a really healthy salad and cover it in a not so healthy salad dressing. Truthfully, I don’t make this salad often but every time I do I just love it. I don’t even feel guilty when I eat it because it’s so delicious! Sweet and tart, with the flavor of bacon. I mean, I’m buying the healthy bacon ~ no nitrates. That surely must count for something. Also, I didn’t add this into the recipe but I really like to put a dollop of chunky blue cheese dressing (homemade of course) right in the middle. Yep, I’m bad, but there’s something about the creamy cold blue cheese dressing and the hot bacon dressing. Ok, now I may be feeling a little guilty… nothing that an hour walk can’t cure!

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
For Hot Bacon Dressing:
1 lb. Raw Bacon, diced
2 Onions, diced small
2 1/2 cups Cold Water
3/4 cup of Sugar
3 Tbsp Cornstarch
1/4 tsp Pepper
3/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
4 Tbsp fresh Lemon Juice
3/4 tsp Salt

For Salad:
1 lb. of Baby Spinach, washed and patted dry
8 large Mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
4 Eggs, hardboiled, shelled and sliced
4 thin slices of Red onion
20 Cherry Tomatoes

METHOD
For Hot Bacon Dressing:
Brown the bacon until well done; add onions.
Saute until the onions are translucent.
Incorporate the cornstarch into the sugar (you are doing this so the cornstarch doesn’t get lumpy when added to the pan).
Add all the remaining ingredients into the bacon and onions, bring to a boil.
Lower heat to medium low and allow to cook for about 5 minutes, or until somewhat thick.
Makes about 4 cups of dressing.
Be sure to refrigerate the leftover dressing and warm before using again.

For Salad:
Divide the spinach equally onto 4 plates.
Top each salad with 2 sliced mushrooms, 1 hard boiled egg, sliced, one slice of red onion, separated into rings, and 5 tomatoes.
Drizzle with the hot bacon dressing, to taste, and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Eggs Benedict is one of my favorite breakfasts to order out… but it’s also one of those dishes that you can become easily disappointed it. Why?? Because it’s all about the Hollandaise Sauce.

Since I’m such a Hollandaise snob, I now make Eggs Benedict at home, where I know the Hollandaise will be perfection. It’s so easy to make wonderful Hollandaise Sauce.

I served the Eggs Benedict with some potatoes that I fried up with some onions and peppers.

This serves 2 people (2 eggs each) or 4 people (1 egg each).

INGREDIENTS
Hollandaise Sauce (make ahead and set aside)
4 Pieces of Canadian Bacon or Ham, warmed
4 Eggs
2 Tbsp White Vinegar
2 English Muffins, split and lightly toasted

METHOD
Prepare the Hollandaise Sauce and set aside.
Place 4 pieces of Canadian Bacon or Ham in a frying pan on low, just to warm.
Add water to a saucepan (about 4 inches deep, just enough to cover the eggs).
Add in the vinegar and turn on medium to boil.
Once the water boils, turn it on low and carefully add the eggs into the water.
I usually crack the eggs, one by one, into a ramekin, then slide them into the water.
Once all the eggs are in the water, turn the heat back up to medium and allow the water to come to a low boil.
After a few minutes, the eggs are ready to come out of the pan.
You don’t want to overcook them, the yolk should still be runny.

Assembly:
Place the ham onto the lightly toasted (and buttered if you like) English Muffins.
Place the poached eggs on top of the ham.
Stir the Hollandaise Sauce and spoon onto the hot poached eggs.
Sprinkle with a little pepper, if desired, and serve right away.
Enjoy!

Plus, last week, The Daily News Journal interviewed my daughter and I about “The Curious Kitchen” – the recreational cooking school that we’re in the process of opening here in Murfreesboro, and also to announce my column.

Please check out The Curious Kitchen. We will have our classes posted on July 10th.  www.TheCuriousKitchen.net

Click on the picture below if you’d like to read the article from the Sunday paper.

Thank you to all who support Saucy Girls Kitchen and enjoy my recipes & food pictures. It truly is a labor of love.

Stay tuned for more great recipes!

Eat well, live happy ~
Helena

Hello Readers of Saucy Girl’s blog! I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer so far. I’ve been MIA for a while… but I have been in action. Some of you may already know, via Facebook, that I am in the process of opening a small recreational cooking school with my daughter – Rachel, called “The Curious Kitchen“. We’re super excited, and hoping for an open date of August 1st. We’d love it if you’d give us a like and follow along with our progress on Facebook.

We’ve also started a Kickstarter Campaign. We only have 14 backers so far. If you want to read about our campaign and help out, click here.

I was feeling badly for neglecting my blog/website, because I really enjoy my food blog & love my readers! So, since the crazy hectic month of June is almost over, I will be doing weekly posts. No matter how busy I am, I’m still always cooking. I have lots of recipes and pictures to share with you all… like this Easy French Toast recipe.

I don’t know about you, but at our house, breakfast is not a meal shared during the week, but the weekend is a totally different story. On Saturday and Sunday I like a hearty breakfast, and I like to enjoy it leisurely. This easy French Toast recipe is delicious and quick. For this recipe I used a small French Sourdough loaf, but I also love making it with a nutty, multi-grain bread. The beauty of it is that you can use whatever bread you have on hand!

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
1 cup Milk or Half & Half
2 Eggs
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
4 Slices of Bread of your choice (stale or day old bread works best)
2 Tbsp Butter

Best served with warm Maple Syrup and fresh fruit.

METHOD
Whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla in a large bowl.
Place bread (2 pieces at a time) into the mixture, turning once, and then allow it to soak up the liquid for a minute.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat.
Place the soaked bread into the frying pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until golden brown and lightly puffed.
Remove from pan.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve right away with warm Maple Syrup.
Enjoy!

Note: If you are not serving it right away you can keep the French Toast warm in a 250 degree oven.

I’m super excited to share some news… My daughter and I are opening a recreational cooking school here in Murfreesboro, TN called “The Curious Kitchen”. That’s why I haven’t posted in a little while. I’ve been super busy getting some of the new business things in line, like signing the lease, designing the space, website, creating the calendar of classes, business licenses, tax licenses, resale numbers, etc. Looking forward to choosing the color theme, picking out the tables & chairs, selecting dishes, and so on. We’ve already started a Facebook page for The Curious Kitchen and would love for you to stop by and give us a “like” if you haven’t already. We’ll be posting progress updates on the page as we go along and hope to be open soon!

Even more exciting (to me) than the cooking school, is that my daughter, Rachel, is moving from Los Angeles to Nashville! We will be working together and she’ll be living just a half an hour away!! I’ve missed her so much since I moved to Tennessee 3 years ago. The move was hard, but the most difficult part was leaving my daughter in California. At that time, she was attending Cal State Northridge, plus being a California native, she had no desire to move to Tennessee. Since that time, she has graduated from college, and fallen in love with a Georgia man. So, although I’m not the total reason for her move to Tennessee, I’m extremely happy that she will be here. And she and her boyfriend are only a 2 hour drive apart.  

I’m sharing these corn muffins with you because not only do I love these muffins, they’re one of my favorite recipes to make. Super easy & super delicious! They’re basically cornbread, in muffin form. If you’d like, you can bake them in a baking pan or cast iron skillet, just butter the pan before you put the batter in.

These go perfectly with salad, soup, and or course… BBQ!

To make them even more special you can add some diced jalapeno into the batter… or top them with shredded cheddar & jack cheeses a minute or two before you take them out of the oven. Yum!

Makes 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS
1 cup Sugar
2 sticks Butter, room temperature
2 Eggs
1 1/2 cups Milk
1 cup fresh Corn
3 cups Flour
1 cup Cornmeal
2 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Parsley or Cilantro, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp Salt

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
In the bowl of your electric mixer beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.
Add in the eggs.
Mix in the milk and the corn.
Stop the mixer and add in the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, herbs and salt.
With the mixer on low combine just until they are blended.
Spoon the batter into the baking cups.
Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool and remove from the pan.
Enjoy ~ I love mine with butter!

I was in the mood for something different. It’s fun to create interesting flavor combinations. That’s definitely what we have going on with this rice dish. The zesty flavor of the mint and lemon, combined with the sweet flavors of mango and coconut is incredible. Lots of different textures, as well. I used two different types of rice –  jasmine and brown. The brown rice has a nice chewy nutty texture, while the jasmine is mild, with a floral flavor. They are perfect together and carry this dish nicely.

I served it as our entree, so I topped it with lobster to make it a little more substantial. Shrimp or Scallops would be a wonderful substitute for the lobster. I hope you give my recipe a try. It makes an incredible summer dinner!

Makes 2 entrée portions, or 4 appetizers

INGREDIENTS
2 cups cooked Jasmine Rice, room temperature
2 cups cooked Brown Rice, room temperature
1 large Mango, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced
3 Green Onions, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp fresh Mint, rough chopped
3 Tbsp Cilantro, rough chopped
Zest of 1 Lemon
Juice of 1 Lemon
1/4 cup Almond Slivers
1/3 cup flaked Coconut
pinch of Sea Salt

2 cups of cooked Lobster Meat, cut into bite sized pieces

METHOD
Start by cooking both of the rices (separately) according to the package directions.
Cool rice down by allowing to come to room temperature, or rinse rice with cold water and drain.
Place rice in a large bowl.
Add the mango, bell pepper, green onion, mint, cilantro, lemon zest and juice, almond slivers, coconut and salt.
Gently mix to combine, you don’t want to mash the mango.
Plate rice and top with lobster pieces.
Enjoy!