Presley's Pantry

Eating fruit at it’s peak in the season is the best gift Mother Nature provides.  This luxury of sweetness can only be found in a piece of fruit at the height of it’s ripe/maturity.  Right now the spotlight is shining brightly on Cherries! Whole Foods Markets are celebrating their 3rd Annual Cherry Fest by bringing the best cherries to their stores for us customers to sink our teeth into. When this type of opportunity is conveniently placed at your fingertips you take it and run.  I bought several bags, around 6 pounds worth.  I thought “I can eat them all by myself or I could be a friend and invite some pals over for a Cherry Social.”  I decided to do the latter.  We enjoyed some in their natural glory and with the other I created a few dishes to serve at my gathering of friends.  The Cherry Menu:  Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding, Chicken Cherry Salad Sandwiches and Cherry Watermelon Sangria!

Run over to Whole Foods Market, grab a few bags of cherries in their peak season sweetness and make these recipes.  I promise you won’t be disappointed.

For the Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding, I bought all the ingredients at Whole Foods Market.  WFM makes my all-time favorite store bought cookie sold in their amazing bulk section, Amaretti Cookie.  I love the flavor sooooo much I incorporated it into the bread pudding thinking Cherry and Amaretto work wonderfully together and boy was I right. Hee-hee!  I also used their chocolate pound cake and Greenlee’s Best Cinnamon Bread (also sold in store).  This Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding was made in a pyrex dish then spooned into cupcake holders to serve individually.  Topped with a fresh cherry.  Enjoy.

Ingredients for Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding:

1o – Amaretti cookies (crushed)

5 – cups chocolate pound cake (cut into 1 inch cubes)

5 – cups Greenlee’s Best Cinnamon Bread (cut into 1 inch cubes)

2 – cups semi sweet chocolate chips

1 – cup sliced almonds

2 – cups fresh cherries (pitted and cut into 4 pieces)

1 1/4 – cups sugar

4 – eggs

1 – teaspoon cinnamon

1 – teaspoon almond extract

1 – teaspoon vanilla

3 – cups half and half

1 – cup whole milk

5 – tablespoons unsalted butter (melted and brought back to room temperature) plus a little extra to butter your dish.

 All photos taken by Nicole Presley

Preheat oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit.

Crush Amaretti cookies and cut pound cake and cinnamon bread into cubes.  Combine all in a big mixing bowl.

Next add in chocolate chips and sliced almonds.  Mix well.  Set to the side.

Wash cherries and pitt them all.  Then slice each cherry into 4 pieces.  Set to the side.

Generously grease a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish, now take 6 cups of  bread cubes and place in baking dish, arrange neatly to make your first layer.  Then add all cherry slices.

Place remaining bread cubes mixture on top of cherries and press down to compact dish. Set to the side.

With a electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs together on high for 4 minutes.  Next add cinnamon, almond extract, vanilla, half and half, milk and butter.  Beat for 2 minutes.  Carefully ladle egg/half and half mixture over prepared bread cubes.

Once egg/half and half mixture is poured in, gently  press down on bread cubes with both hands to make sure they are soaked in egg/half and half mixture.

Now in a large baking dish or roasting pan (15 x 10 inches) fill 1 inch deep with hot water to create a water bath, then place the 9 x 13 inch prepared bread pudding dish in the middle of the 15 x 10 water bath (you want the bath to go halfway up the side of the 9 x 13 inch dish) and place in oven for 1 hour.

As soon as the bread pudding is ready, remove from water bath and and let it cool for 1 hour.

Spoon bread pudding into cupcake holders for individual servings.  Top with a cherry and sprinkle with Amaretti cookie crumbs if you have any left. 🙂  Place in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 hours or overnight.

Scroll down for the Chicken Cherry Salad Sandwiches!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by Whole Foods Market. However all opinions and recipes are my own. I genuinely love Whole Foods Market. 🙂

I’m a big fan of sweet fruit paired with poultry, and love a good salad sandwich.  Bringing cherries and chicken together for a yummy sammie is the best thing you can do in these hot summer months when the kitchen is the last place you want to be.  I used some left over chicken, fresh cherries, red onion and nuts.  Pair this little number with a rindless parrano cheese or cheddar cheese and serve on a multi grain bread.

Ingredients for Chicken Cherry Salad:

2 – cups chicken pieces

1 – cup Whole Foods Market cherries

1/2 – cup thinly sliced red onion

1/4 – cup pecans (coarsely chopped)

2 – tablespoons dijon mustard

1/3 – cup mayo

salt and pepper to taste

2 – tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

choice of bread and cheese

Mix chicken, cherries, red onion, and pecans in a bowl until combined.

Then add mustard, mayo, salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and mix again.

Then spread it on bread and add cheese and or avocado…. whatever you like.  Even enjoy it on crackers or chips.

Scroll down for Cherry Watermelon Sangria!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by Whole Foods Market. However all opinions and recipes are my own. I genuinely love Whole Foods Market. 🙂

Summertime goes hand in hand with Sangria.  They meet up year after year like best friends on holiday.  A crony of mine told me Beringer White Zinfandel on ice was his favorite way to enjoy a summer night.  I invited him over for my Cherry Social, and wanted to make sure he really enjoyed his White Zinfandel that evening, so decided to take it up a notch and make it into a Sangria.  I might as well have served him liquid gold…. He loved it.  Everyone else at the gathering loved the Sangria as well.  The cherries sweet-tart flavor and the White Zinfandel blend together perfectly, and the candied sweetness of watermelon pushes this Sangria to a new height.  Enjoy it this evening for a taste of summer on holiday.

Ingredients for Cherry Watermelon Sangria:

3 – cups of chopped watermelon

2 – cups Whole Foods Market cherries (pitted and sliced in half)

2 – liters of lemon lime soda

4.5 – liters of Beringer White Zinfandel

In a large jug add watermelon and cherries.

Then pour in lemon lime soda.  Top with White Zinfandel.  Mix well.

Pour over ice and enjoy

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by Whole Foods Market. However all opinions and recipes are my own. I genuinely love Whole Foods Market. 🙂

I’ve been known to sing silly songs.  I make up my own lyrics and improvise where my mind draws a blank….  isn’t that part of the creative process?  Either way I think of David Bowie’s song “Changes” everytime I eat or make Chinese Chicken Salad….  I like to say “Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Chinese Chicken Salad” in the same way he sings “Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes.”  Anything to get my Bowie fix for the day.  Picture me on this hot day in a pair of cut off Levi’s (very 70’s) with the little strings hanging, an old Ziggy Stardust t-shirt eating my Chinese Chicken Salad filled with mandarin oranges, ramen and almonds!

Ingredients for Chinese Chicken Salad:

1 – head of green cabbage (chopped)

1 – bunch of cilantro (just the leaves are needed)

7 – stalks of Dole green onion

1 1/2 – cups sliced almonds

1 – cup of Dole mandarin oranges

3/4 – cup grated carrot

Favorite Chinese Chicken Salad dressing

1 – package of instant ramen noodles (crushed and uncooked)

Left over grilled or rotisserie chicken pieces (2 to 3 cups)

Cut cabbage in half then slice cabbage very thinly, until all is sliced. Add to a big bowl. Wash cilantro and add leaves to the cabbage bowl.

Next cut off the stringy ends of the green onions and a small portion of the green ends. Then thinly slice and add to the cabbage bowl. Pour almonds on top of green onion. Mix well.

Add mandarin oranges, carrots, and salad dressing. Mix well.

Then top with ramen, and chicken and give it a final mix.

All photos taken by: Mando Lopez

This post is sponsored by got milk? in partnership with local California organizations that educate kids about the importance of proper nutrition and healthy lifestyle.

CMPB (California Milk Processors Board) needs a round of applause. I love this organization, not only do they talk the talk they walk the walk. I know you’re thinking I’m throwing confetti on CMPB because this is a sponsored post, but let’s be real here, that is not the case. They really are supporting causes that speak to my heart and inner child. Recently they have partnered up with 3 different Golden State community based organizations: Think Together, The Bay Area Community, and Central Valley Afterschool foundation. CMPB will help raise money for these organizations which support afterschool and summer programs offering families wholesome real simple food options to encourage a healthy lifestyle.   They hope to raise a total of $50,000 from July 9, 2012 to August 5 , 2012.  Here’s the awesome part, they don’t just expect that you will donate, they have come up with a clever idea of making these irresistibly cute vintage looking glasses and selling the pair for $15 dollars (Click here to order your own), that includes shipping and handling. That’s an unheard of price for such stylish glassware. These uber cool glasses coincide with the GOT MILK “Science of Imitation Milk” campaign they have going on, where they compare REAL MILK to the imitation stuff. You will see on the glass a laundry list of all the ingredients that go into imitation milk vs. the two that go into real milk. It’s not pretty by comparision.

What to pour in my new milk glasses? I made caramel cinnamon milk to sip on a warm day and to show off my new glassware. 🙂 Enjoy!

Ingredients for Caramel Cinnamon Milk:

3 – cinnamon sticks

2 – cups water

3 – tablespoons spreadable caramel ( I like to use cajeta)

1 – glass of cold milk

In a medium saucepan over a high flame add cinnamon sticks and water. Bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 10 minutes. Remove from flame and pour cinnamon tea into a bowl. Then mix caramel into cinnamon tea. Mix until completely dissolved.

Then pour into a popsicle mold and freeze over night.

Remove from freezer and slowly pull a caramel cinnamon popsicle from tray. Pour a nice big glass of cold milk and place popsicle in milk and allow to melt for about 20 minutes. Then take a sip of a refreshing cold caramel cinnamon milk.

As part of the Foodbuzz Featured Publisher Program, I received a stipend and got milk? glassware in exchange for my participation in this program.

There’s something very reassuring about eating kale salad.  Number 1, you know you made the right choice for your body that day.  Number 2, this leafy green is high in fiber and has zero fat.  Number 3, Kale is high in Calcium, Vitamin A, C and K, and has more Iron than beef.  Number 4, Kale is an anti-inflammatory packed with powerful antioxidents!  These are reasons enough for me to want to eat this salad again and again.

I always shake up my Kale salad by making different dressings.  Remember to make your kale salad a few hours in advance and allow it to sit in the dressing just to soften the roughage up a bit.

Kale Salad in Tahini Dressing:

1- bundle Kale

2 – large lemons (juiced) 

1/2 – cup Joyva sesame tahini puree

2 – garlic cloves (minced)

3- tablespoons of lime flavored soy sauce

1/4 – cup water

1/2 – cup pine nuts ( I like to toast mine)

Start by rinsing your Kale well.

Then place on a cutting board and cut into bit size shreds.  Place in a big bowl.

In a mixing bowl add lemon juice, tahini sesame puree, minced garlic, soy sauce and water.  Mix well.  At first the mixture will curdle then as you continue mixing it will go smooth.

Pour over chopped Kale and mix well to combine.

Next add pine nuts and cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for a few hours or over night. Enjoy!

 All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Chile Colorado brings the familiar taste of my childhood rushing back to me. Flooding my mouth with my heritage and reminding me of my Mexican-American upbringing.  My Grandfather made it for our dinner time and time again.  He cooked his chile colorado in a cast iron pan and made his chile from scratch.  To this day he loves his steak chopped into cubes and drenched in red chile.  This dish had become so sacred in my mind that I had never even attempted to make it myself.  I wanted to leave it perfect in my memory  the way my Grandfather had always prepared it.  Well last week I was craving a plate of Chile Colorado and with my Grandfather now being 88 years old, I didn’t have the audacity to request he make it for me, knowing darn well that I would be able to get in the kitchen myself and bust it out.  That was it, I made Chile Colorado for the first time with the few tidbits I remember from my Grandfather and I was so proud of my final product.  It tasted just like I remember and maybe even a little better.  Is that awful of me to say?  Sorry Grandpa.

Ingredients for Chile Colorado:

1 – onion (peeled)

1 – package of New Mexico Chile (use entire bag 2oz.)

1 – package of California Chile (use entire bag 2oz.)

2 – dried pasilla chiles (reserve the rest for the next time you make this)

4 – garlic cloves (peeled)

1 – tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 – teaspoon dried oregano

1 – teaspoon garlic salt

salt and pepper to your liking

vegetable oil

4 – tenderlion steaks (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1 – heaping tablespoon of flour

garlic powder

3 – large Idaho Potatoes

Let’s start by making the chile.  Fill a large pot half way with water and add 3 tablespoons of salt and the entire onion.  Then place over a medium high flame and bring to a boil.  Once boiling add New Mexico Chile, California Chile and Pasilla Chile to water and cover with a lid.  Let boil for 30 minutes.

Then remove from flame. DO NOT DISCARD the water.  Save it.  Take all the chiles and place in a blender.  Remove stems from chiles.  You may have to do this in two batches.  Pour a cup and a half  –  two cups of the water (use the water you boiled the chiles in) into the blender along with garlic cloves, red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Blend on high till smooth.

   It will be a bright red color.

Then place a sieve over a bowl and pour chile in.  This step will collect all the skin and seeds. Mix with a spoon till there is no liquid in the sieve.  Collect chile in bowl and set to the side.

Next take your steak.  Trim any fat (you may want to leave a little bit) and cube into 1 1/2 inch cubes.  Then in a dutch oven or cast iron pan over a medium flame pour a 1/2 of tablespoon of oil and allow to heat to hot.  Then add in steak cubes.

Cook just until browned.  About 3 to 5 minutes.  Then add a little salt, pepper, garlic powder…. Mix well.  Lastly add in flour and mix well to absorb any moisture in pan.

Next add in chile. You should have about 2 to 3 cups.

Lower the flame to low, cover with a lid and let chile and meat cook for about 45 minutes to an hour. Stir every 10 to 15 minutes.

While chile and meat are cooking….  Peel potatoes and cut into 2 inch cubes.  Boil some water in a medium pan and add potatoes.  Boil for 10 minutes.  Then remove from water.  In a large frying pan add a tablespoon and a half of vegetable oil and allow to get hot. Then add potatoes and fry on both sides for 7 minutes or until crisp. Then remove from flame and set to the side.

Once the chile and meat are almost done ( the sauce should look a little on the thick side) add the fried potatoes in.  Mmmmmm, my mouth just watered.

Mix well, serve in a bowl or plate.  Heat a side of corn or flour tortillas and shake your head in disbelief at how good your food is!  🙂  Enjoy!