The Womanly Curve

I am excited to announce that BonAppeDee will be the Lifestyle contributor for The Womanly Curve online magazine. YOU'RE INVITED!  "Defining Your Womanly Curve" A Women's History Month Celebration Wednesday March 13th.

The event will highlight 5 influential women in Washington, DC. All of these women have collectively defined their womanly curve through their fields. As women, it is important to celebrate the accomplishments of one another and to support each others dreams.

Honoring:

Health & Fitness- Caroline Jhingory

Entertainment- WPGC's Sunni

Communications- Lauren Wesley Wilson

Style- Jennifer of Comme Coco

Lifestyle- Maadan Eshete

Music will be provided by DJ MIM, with complimentary makeup services by Plush Beautiq.

*The first 25 ladies to RSVP will receive a gift. If you are one of the 25, you will be notified via email*

Official Hash Tag- #YourWomanlyCurve

RSVP Here: www.definingyourwomanlycurve.splashthat.com

Life is Like A Bowl of Chili

As the year comes to an end, I must say this has been an exciting year of new experiences. From beginning a blog, to attending cooking events and meeting people who share the same passion such as myself. I truly felt this was my "do what I’m passionate about year". I've learned so many rewarding things from following my passion. It is not easy to follow your passion with the combination of dealing with everything else in life, but I now understand that doing what your love is one of keys to living a fulfilling life.

It was only right to end with a chili recipe. Look at your passion as a chili; you need quite a few ingredients in order to make the dish complete. All of which are important to make the dish flavorful. However, you are not sure how well the ingredients will blend together in the way you intended. But as you begin to cook, you either add more or less seasoning and taste a little hear and a little there, so that the ingredients & flavors compliment each other.  Whether it's spicy or mild the dish is a component of different flavors; peppers for the kick and seasonings to tone down the heat but the warm, hearty delicious flavor leave you with a satisfied end result. If not, you recreate the dish learning from the last batch of ingredients. Simple!

So with that, I say follow your passion, take risks, face your fears; you only gain by pushing yourself to try different ingredients.  

Ingredients

Seasoning

Chili Powder (2 tbsp) 

Oregano (1/2 tsp)

Coriander (1 1/2 tsp)

Kosher Salt (as much needed)

Black Pepper (as much needed)

Cayenne Pepper (1/4 tsp) 

Ground Cumin (1 1/2 tsp)

Garlic, fresh or Seasoning (2 cloves minced) 

Chili 

Chicken Broth (2-3 cups)

Tomato (2 cans diced)  

Green Pepper (1 diced) 

Habanero (1 diced)

Yellow Onion (1 chopped) 

Cannellini Beans (2 cans) 

Cilantro (1/4 cup tbs fresh chopped)

Jalapeno Pepper (1 medium diced)

Garlic cloves ( 3-4 finely chopped) 
Kidney Beans ( drained and rinsed)
Chicken thighs, boneless skinless (2 1/2 lb) 
Sour Cream for serving

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Directions

Chicken

~Cut boneless skinless chicken breast into 1/2in pieces. 

~Season with salt & pepper.

Chili 

~Drain and rice canned cannellini beans and kidney beans. Set aside for later. 
~In a 4-7 quart crock pot add can diced tomatoes, chicken, both  cannellini & kidney beans, cumin, chili power, coriander, habanero, green peppers, onions,  garlic, cilantro, salt & pepper and add chicken broth then mix together.
~Stir together and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
~Serve in a bowl and topped with sour cream.  

Chicken Chili

Egg Bruschetta

Sundays always seem like that relax but handle things you put off during the weekday day. So while multitasking I created a simple and quick brunch appetizer. Egg Bruschetta.

We all are familiar with the popular Italian appetizer, bruschetta. So why not include eggs! It can be enjoyed practically any time of the year, and with just a few ingredients your mid-day taste buds are satisfied.

Ingredients

Bruschetta

Egg (1)
Baguette ( sliced) 
Garlic (2 cloves) 
Tomato (1 dice)  
Mozzarella (sliced)  
Basil (fresh chopped)
Kosher Salt (1/4 tsp)
Black Pepper ( 1/4 tsp)
Balsamic Vinegar (1/2 tsp)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (1 tsp)

          

Directions

Bruschetta

~Preheat oven to 375 degrees or place oven broiler on high. 
~Cut bruschetta in slices, rub garlic then place on baking sheet and toast in over for 2 minutes or light golden. 
~Take slices of mozzarella and place on the baguette slices until melted. 
~In a food processor add tomatoes, basil, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and pulse.
~Leave mixture slightly chunky
 ~Add salt & pepper and taste. 
~In a small bowl, whisk one egg.
~Place egg in medium heat pan and cook. 
~Place scramble egg and spoon tomato mixture on top of melted mozzarella and Enjoy! 

Egg Bruschetta

Chicken & Stuffing Casserole

With an overload of boneless skinless chicken breast I thought, what can I possibly do with it all. Since I'm not one who typically drools over casserole dishes, I decided to challenge myself. However, I thought adding stuffing, yes one of Thanksgiving classic comfort foods to this dish is the perfect leap into holiday cooking. Besides, who said stuffing was only for turkey?  

Ingredients

Chicken

Salt (1/4 tsp)
Black Pepper ( 1/4 tsp)
Garlic (1 tsp minced)
Yellow Onions (1 cup chopped)

Boneless skinless chicken (1 1/4 pound (1/2 pieces)

Stuffing

Bread (Whole wheat cut into cubes)

Carrots ( 1/2 cup chopped)

Celery (1 cup chopped)

Chicken stock (2 cups)
Thyme (1 sprig )

Sage ( 1 tsp chopped)

Salt (1 tsp)
Asparagus ( cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
Olive Oil ( 1 tbsp) 
Black Pepper ( 1tsp)

Rosemary (1 tsp)

Ground Pepper (1 teaspoon)

Casserole

Sour Cream (1 cup)

Parmesan (1/2 cup shredded)

Salt (1/4 tsp)
Butter (4 tbsp)

          

Directions

Stuffing

~Cut bread into cubes.

~Place bread cubes on baking sheet, drizzle olive oil over & pinch of salt for 10-12 minutes until crusted.

~Cool and transfer to large mixing bowl.

~Over medium-low heat in a skillet, drizzle olive oil, include garlic, onions until it is a gold color add  celery, carrots, sage & thyme.

~Remove skillet from heat and combine in large mixing bowl with toasted bread cubes.

~Pour 2 cups of low sodium turkey stock over stuffing mixture until the bread is moist.

~Add chicken and mix together.

~Add salt & pepper and taste, include more if needed.

 

Chicken

~Pre-heat oven 350 degrees. 

~Remove soaking asparagus and cut into 1/2 inch pieces.

~Cut boneless skinless chicken breast into 1/2inch pieces.

~In a large skillet over med heat, drizzle olive oil in pan & add chicken, garlic, rosemary, salt & pepper. 

~Add asparagus
~Stir frequently for 6-8 minutes or until chicken is done. 

~Combine with bread cubes when done. 

Casserole 
~In a middle size-baking dish, coat with butter or cooking spray.
~Place mixture into baking dish, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
~Bake for 30-40 minutes or until heated through
~Serve hot!

Metropolitan Cooking & Entertainment Show

From the moment I attended the Metropolitan Cooking Preview Show at Cuba Libre, I anticipated going to the actual show a month later. This event was such a tease! An El Fiesta de Sanguches sandwich menu with a variety of sandwich options were featured during the event. Food Network winner, Jeff Mauro "Sandwich King" was the special guest of the evening. But not in physical form, Jeff was Skype into answer a few questions and to discuss the sandwich, which was sent to him via FedEx by Guillermo Pernot, Chef-Partner, Cuba Libre for his special appearance. At the end of night, a swag bag was given to attendees including over 200 products from a few participating food exhibitors who were going to be at the Metro Cooking Entertainment Show.

The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show is one of those events that should be on your must attend list. How could one possibly missed out on 300 + vendors selling specialty food products, kitchen gadgets and top celebrities chefs providing cooking demonstrations? The first show took place in Washington, D.C. in 2006; the show expanded in other cities such as: Houston and Dallas. The biggest names in the culinary world were at this event for booking signings and cook demonstrations. 

This year the show was held on November 3rd & 4th at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. This year's show included Giada De Laurentiis, Top Chef judges Tom Coliccho & Gail Simmons, The Chew's Michael Symon & Carla Hall and Food Network Star winner "Sandwich King" Jeff Mauro, and father daughter duo Jacques Pepin & Claudine.

Celebrity Cooking Corner with Giada De Laurentiis

The 2 day food lovers event featured tastings from over many different food exhibitors, cooking demo stage, tasting, workshops, beer, wine & spirits pavilion and celebrity book signings with top culinary stars. Admission tickets were sold a month in advance ranging from general admission, VIP, special event and Celebrity Theater tickets. The tickets could be purchased from the Metropolitan Cooking website or social deal sites such as Living Social, Groupon, or Capitol Deal. 

Origen Oil, "Mango Mango" Mango Preserves, Bonfatto's Spice Ice Cream

Furthermore, with the show presenting many food exhibitors it also included many grocers and specialty markets, ethnic foods, Kitchen appliances and designers, food manufactures, online and catalog retailers, Beverages, coffee, tea specialty, travel destinations, cookware, culinary & cooking schools restaurants & caterers, brad promotions and even a chance to test drive the new Buick Regal no-hands parking feature.  

This event was the perfect leap into the holiday season. Everything from the various food vendors was simply delicious, however I could not leave empty handed. I purchased as much as I could from several food exhibitors. From the celebrity cooking demonstrations to the The Gourmet Cooking Show it was truly a food lover’s heaven. I look forward to attending the next event and is oh so exciting about using my purchased items in a dish.

Huerto Azul, Herlocher's Dipping Mustard, Dee's Gourmet Pretzels