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what’s ringin’ our belle…round 142

20 Sunday Oct 2019

Posted by theRAREbelle in what's ringin' our belle

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Tags

bacon, beauty tips, Food52, half baked harvest, recipe, the Atlantic

Some great beauty tips we hadn’t heard before …

Via the The Sunday girl

We don’t like burpees …we’re diggin’ these other Options via Popsugar

The devil itself…

Image via Pinterest

The absolute best way to cook bacon…..

Via Food52

How to keep those pesky mosquitoes from biting

Via The Atlantic

Doesn’t this sound delish ?

Via Halfbakedharvest

Have a belle-ringin’ week!

a&a

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croquettes fit for a duchess…

09 Friday Nov 2018

Posted by theRAREbelle in belle-icious, what's ringin' our belle

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cookbook, croquettes, Duchess of Sussex, lamb, Meghan Markle, recipe, Together: Our Community Cookbook

The Duchess of Sussex has scored some major points with us for her involvement in the Hub Community Kitchen’s new cookbook, Together: Our Community Cookbook…

HRH the Duchess actually wrote the forward for the book, recounting her experiences with this community of immigrants who were residents of the Grenfell Tower which tragically burned in London in 2017. The Hubb Community Kitchen idea arose out of the need for these families to feel some sense of normalcy…and the all-important need to come together around a table with a home-cooked meal.

The cookbook came about as a way to raise funds to keep the kitchen in operation…but the rich, authentic, heavenly recipes are the most amazing bonus!

Here is our first score from the book…

Iraqi Lamb Croquettes (Kubba Haleb)

(Makes about 30 Kubba)

For rice “wraps”:

2 c basmati rice – soaked in cold water for 30 min, drained and rinsed

1 T ground turmeric

1 1/4 c water

Salt, generous pinch

Put soaked, drained rice in pan, add turmeric and salt. Add water, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer 20-25 minutes until water has been absorbed. Remove from heat. Set aside for 30 minutes – do not lift lid.

For lamb filling:

1 T olive oil (we use avocado oil for this step…works better with heat)

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 lb ground lamb

2 1/2 T baharat (Lebanese spice mix…see below)

1/4 c raisins, chopped (can sub in dates or dried apricots if raisins aren’t your thing)

3 T pine nuts

3 T chopped fresh parsley

2 T sunflower oil (we use avocado oil again)

Salt & Pepper

Heat oil in large pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to med-high and add lamb, salt and pepper. Stir/chop to break up lamb as it browns, about 5 minutes. Stir in baharat, raisins, and pine nuts. Continue to cook another 5 minutes, remove from heat, and stir in parsley.

Transfer cooked, warm rice to a food processor and pulse to form a tacky dough. (If dough seems a bit dry, gradually add up to 2 T water and pulse again.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Measure out 1 oz portions (about 2 T) of rice dough. With wet hands (this is key…keep them wet!), roll dough into a ball then use thumb to flatten into a disk in the palm of your hand. Place 1/2 oz (1 T) of lamb filling into the center and fold edges of dough around to encase lamb, gently molding into a torpedo shape. Place on baking sheet and repeat. Let rest for 30 minutes.

**croquettes can be frozen at this point and cooked up to a month later! This is a great tip because – although they are slightly labor intensive until this point – they are a piece of cake going forward and are SO worth it!! In preparation for a dinner party, find a day when you have the time to get them made and in the freezer, then pull them out, fully defrost, and continue!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush croquettes with oil (sunflower or avocado…your choice). Bake on the top rack for 20-25 minutes.

Serve immediately (we like to serve with tzatziki!). Voila!

Baharat (Lebanese spice mix)

1 T cinnamon

1 1/2 t each ground cumin, coriander, allspice, paprika, and black pepper

1/4 t each nutmeg and cloves

1/8 t cardamom

Mix all until well-blended. Store in an airtight container

Don’t forget to get your cookbook here! There are so many other wonderful recipes…and it supports a great cause!

******************************************************************************

Iraqi Lamb Croquettes (Kubba Haleb)

(Makes about 30 Kubba)

For rice “wraps”:

2 c basmati rice – soaked in cold water for 30 min, drained and rinsed

1 T ground turmeric

1 1/4 c water

Salt, generous pinch

Put soaked, drained rice in pan, add turmeric and salt. Add water, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer 20-25 minutes until water has been absorbed. Remove from heat. Set aside for 30 minutes – do not lift lid.

For lamb filling:

1 T olive or avocado oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 lb ground lamb

2 1/2 T baharat (Lebanese spice mix…see above)

1/4 c raisins, chopped (can use dates or dried apricots)

3 T pine nuts

3 T chopped fresh parsley

2 T sunflower or avocado oil

Salt & Pepper

Heat oil in large pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to med-high and add lamb, salt and pepper. Stir/chop to break up lamb as it browns, about 5 minutes. Stir in baharat, raisins, and pine nuts. Continue to cook another 5 minutes, remove from heat, and stir in parsley.

Transfer cooked, warm rice to a food processor and pulse to form a tacky dough. (If dough seems a bit dry, gradually add up to 2 T water and pulse again.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Measure out 1 oz portions (about 2 T) of rice dough. With wet hands (this is key…keep them wet!), roll dough into a ball then use thumb to flatten into a disk in the palm of your hand. Place 1/2 oz (1 T) of lamb filling into the center and fold edges of dough around to encase lamb, gently molding into a torpedo shape. Place on baking sheet and repeat. Let rest for 30 minutes.

**croquettes can be frozen at this point and cooked up to a month later!**

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush croquettes with oil.

Bake on the top rack for 20-25 minutes.

Serve immediately (we like to serve with tzatziki!).

******************************************************************************

a&a

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warm-n-cheesy belle-iciousness…

26 Friday Oct 2018

Posted by theRAREbelle in belle-icious

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appetizer, feta dip, recipe

While we were making our favorite, crowd-pleasin’ feta dip once again, we decided to switch it up a bit…and put some heat to it!

We made a few changes just for the heck of it and came up with this bit of belle-iciouness…

Warm Feta Dip

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

16 oz. crumbled feta

2 T fresh thyme

3 T olive oil

3 T honey

1/2 c chopped marcona almonds

Sliced cucumber, crackers or pita wedges for serving

Combine cream cheese and feta and place in a medium baking dish

Chop thyme and sprinkle over cheese mixture, then drizzle with olive oil and honey

Coarsely chop almonds and sprinkle over dish.

Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly (about 20 minutes)

Serve with cucumber slices and/or crackers or pita triangles.

Enjoy!

a&a

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a belle-icious last minute appetizer…

21 Friday Sep 2018

Posted by theRAREbelle in belle-icious

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appetizer, apricot, recipe

We love it when a belle or two drop in for a visit…or being invited to a last minute get together. Impromptu moments require just a few tricks up your sleeve so you’ll always have a lil something to put out or take along.

This delicious hors d’oeuvres is one we’d forgotten about and are so glad we rediscovered it in our repertoire of easy, tasty recipes. We just brought it along to a spontaneous get together and it was a great hit!

The best part is it can be made with ingredients that you likely will have or can keep for quite some time in your larder.

We also like the fact that it’s easy pick up food, no muss no fuss!

Apricot goat cheese delight

Ingredients:

Dried apricots

Goat cheese

Marcona almonds (preferably salted)

Honey

Fresh thyme (optional)

Take out your platter and lay out your apricots. Top with a dollop of goat cheese. Place an almond on each apricot. Drizzle with honey. Sprinkle with thyme if desired .

So delicious….just sayin

Bon appétit, belles!!

a&a

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what’s ringin’ our belle…round 121

06 Wednesday Sep 2017

Posted by theRAREbelle in what's ringin' our belle

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a beautiful mess, banquette, berries, Fringe, gluten-free, Intermix, pants, Papa Johns, pizza, recipe, smitten kitchen

Papa John’s is gluten free….

photo by Nicole Maroon


Loooove these pants

Via Intermix
Coffee naps…. just sayin’…

Love this DIY banquette


Via Abeautifulmess

Delish …

 Via Smitten Kitchen

Enjoy!!

a&a

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spaghetti without the obligatory guilt…

21 Friday Jul 2017

Posted by theRAREbelle in belle-icious

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recipe, Savoring Today, spaghetti squash, squash

While we do occasionally throw caution to the wind and consume pasta (gasp!), we try to avoid such a carb-load for the most part.  So…to get the “feel” of spaghetti, we often turn to spaghetti squash.  We’ve talked about this brilliant mind-game of a veggie before (click here to see our previous post), but this version is perfect for a hot summer night…

With inspiration from this recipe from Savoring Today, we created a belle-ringin’ meal one recent evening (yep…one of us cooked again…shocker!)



Spaghetti Squash with Tomato, Basil & Feta (from Savoring Today)


The ingredients:


In progress:


The shortcut…available at Costco:


All done!!  Serve alongside chicken, beef, whatever you choose.  Stir in shrimp or chopped lobster for a delicious variation. 

Bon Appetit!

a&a

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pie for dinner…right up a belle’s alley!

13 Thursday Jul 2017

Posted by theRAREbelle in belle-icious

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Nancy, recipe, tomato, tomato pie

We’ve talked about tomato pie before (click here to be reminded), but we thought it was time to call your attention to this old southern classic once again!  

On a recent evening, one of us cranked up the oven (a rare event these days) to prepare a bonafide home-cooked meal.  (Disclaimer – she actually picked up a rotisserie chicken at Publix…Mojo flavor to be exact…and needed a good side to go with it.  That’s still “home-cooked” in our opinion)

She went with Nancy’s Tomato Pie recipe with one little twist…the addition of onion!  Here ya go…


Nancy’s Tomato Pie

Preheat oven to 400
1 prepared refrigerated pie crust dough. Fit and trim into a 9 inch pie pan. Prick with fork all over. 
Bake crust for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle 2 cups of shredded mozzarella evenly over crust.
Sprinkle generously with chopped fresh basil.

Slice 1/2 of a medium onion and arrange over the basil

Slice about 3 medium tomatoes or a basket of the baby sweet heirlooms (use what you have!). Arrange over the onion (we added a bit of onion on top, too)

Drizzle with 1 1/2 T good olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Return to oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Let rest briefly, then sprinkle with additional fresh basil and serve! 


With prime tomato season upon us, let’s not forget to schedule a few meals with this fruit of the vine in mind.

Bon appétit!

a&a

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that’s a wrap…some Friday belleiciousness 

30 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by theRAREbelle in belle-icious

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chicken, healthy, lettuce wrap, nutritionist, recipe, Thai

Although our kitchens aren’t getting much use lately (summer, travel, renovations…), we do occasionally crank it up to produce a home-cooked meal.  On a recent, rare, at-home evening, one of us decided to put together a “nutritionist-approved” feast…(yes, we have both been seeing a nutritionist for a while now, and we are trying our very best to avoid grains and sugar – among other delightful morsels!) 

Here’s what we came up with on this particular night…


Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

2 lb assorted mushrooms, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

1 lb ground chicken breasts

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 t minced ginger

2 t Thai Kitchen red curry paste (the ingredients are super-simple in this brand)

1 t salt

1/2 c cashews, chopped

1/2 c cilantro, chopped

1 package lettuce leaves or one head romaine (or your preferred lettuce), washed and separated 

The step-by-step:

Chop mushrooms and onion…


Sauté in coconut oil…


Remove mushroom mixture and add chicken, garlic and ginger to pan.  Chop and stir chicken until thoroughly cooked.

Stir in red curry paste…


Season with salt and keep warm.

Crush cashews and chop cilantro to be served as garnish…


Assemble and enjoy!!


#belleicious…and healthy to boot!

a&a

 

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A cauliflower recipe we were bowled over by…belleicious!

27 Friday Jan 2017

Posted by theRAREbelle in belle-icious

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cauliflower, Fine Cooking, recipe

Here’s a scrumptious cauliflower dish that will keep y’all coming back for more. Packed with flavor, easy and satisfying, it’s a total belle-ringer!  Inspired by this recipe from FineCooking.com…

   
    
   


Now…of course, we did some tweaking.  Instead of doing the prep on the stove-top, we tossed the cauliflower in the oil (and we have used coconut oil with excellent results), popped it on a baking sheet and roasted it in the oven at 425 degrees. Then, when nice and browned, we tossed it in the other seasonings, and stirred in the lemon juice and zest.

Voila…belleiciousness!!

a&a

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boozy stew…a fall/winter belle staple 

11 Friday Nov 2016

Posted by theRAREbelle in belle-icious

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

bacon, Beef, beer, dutch oven, guinness, Guinness Stew, kale salad, mushrooms, recipe, shallots, slow cooker

Although the temps seem to have been on a roller coaster (mostly uphill) across the south this fall, we like to pretend we have cooler weather to warrant the classic fall/winter recipes we have up our sleeves.  Case in point…this Guinness Stew we decided to make for a football-watchin’ crowd a couple of weeks ago…when it was 75 and sunny!  It was belleicious anyway…just sayin’. We served it alongside this kale and quinoa salad, courtesy of a dear belle-friend.  An-delicious (that’s Irish for very delicious!)

We found the original recipe from Clodagh McKenna via the Today show, but made some tweaks (as we do) to make it ours.


The Belles’ Boozy Guinness Stew

2 T butter

1 T olive oil

12 slices bacon, cut into 1″ bits

12 shallots, peeled but left whole

2 1/2 lb cubed stewing beef

2 lb mixed mushrooms, sliced (we used shiitake and baby bella)

1 qt Guinnesss

1 bouquet garni (we used bay leaf, thyme and tarragon)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper


We like to gather ingredients and do the prep so that all goes smoothly

 The assembly of the bouquet garni. (We actually only used 2 of those bay leaves)

Now for the cookin’…


Start by melting butter in a large dutch oven or cast iron skillet.  Add a swirl of olive oil and heat.  Add bacon and brown


Add shallots and allow to cook with bacon for a couple of minutes.  Transfer bacon and shallots to another dish


Sear beef, seasoned with salt and pepper, in the same dutch oven (scraping up the bacon bits for flavor).  After a quick 2 minute sear, remove beef…


…and add mushrooms.  Sauté 1-2 minutes.  (We added a bit of olive oil to the shrooms after a bit)

Add bacon, shallots, and beef back to mushrooms (if using dutch oven).  Otherwise, place all in a covered casserole, pouring pan juices on top.  Add the bouquet garni.

Now for the booze…


Drop in the bouquet garni and add the Guinness…


Ready for the oven!!

Cover and place in the oven at 325 degrees for 2 hours.


Ready for the table…belleicious!!

***Slow cooker tip #1…if you can start earlier in the day, pop all of this in your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours…or high for 4.

***Slow cooker tip #2…you could even do this one day, allow to cool, pop in the fridge, and slow cook it for a couple of hours on low the next day.  Voila!  A belle-ringin’ dinner on a busy day!

And here’s the recipe all-together (screenshot-able perhaps)…

***********************************************************************

The Belles’ Boozy Guinness Stew

2 T butter
1 T olive oil
12 slices bacon, cut into 1” bits
12 shallots, peeled but left whole
2 1⁄2 lb cubed stewing beef
2 lb mixed mushrooms, sliced
1 qt Guinness
1 bouquet garni
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Melt butter in large dutch oven.  Add a swirl of olive oil
Add bacon and brown.  Add shallots and saute 1-2 minutes

Transfer bacon and shallots to another dish.

Add beef, season with salt and pepper, and sear, scraping up bacon bits from pan.  

Remove beef.

Add mushrooms and saute 1-2 minutes.

Place all ingredients back together in dutch oven (or any large, covered casserole)
Add bouquet garni
Add Guinness

Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours

***********************************************************************

Serving suggestions:  

– Although we chose to skip the carbs with the salad, this would be excellent (and authentic) served with mashed potatoes…or add bite-sized potatoes to the stew before baking

Ithe go maith! (that’s Irish for good eatin’)

a&a

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