Guest Post: Moroccan Carrot and Cumin Salad

I'm saved, I'm saved! I have a guest post for you all! I want to eat this like now, iit has two of my favorite things, Morrocan flavor and cumin. If you haven't been to Brigitt's blog you must check it out. She is much more of a foodie than me, plus more gourmet. I love her blog. And I am honored to have her guest posting for me today.

Take it away Brigitt, my angel sent from God to save my blog......

Hi everyone! I'm Brigitt over at Cook With B. When I started blogging about a year ago, Surly Kitchen was one of the first blogs I read so I'm very excited to be guest posting today!

About a month ago, I took a Moroccan cooking class at a great recreational cooking school here in NYC called Haven's Kitchen. Jeff Koehler was in town promoting his new cookbook, Morocco, and highlighted a few cooking techniques (like a 15 minute no-cook couscous) and recipes from the book.

The class was so much fun because it was very laid back (I definitely wasn't sipping wine during my classes in culinary school!), but I still learned a lot from Jeff. Mostly, I was surprised at how simple the recipes he showed us were.

I know in my own kitchen I tend to shy away from exotic cuisines, because I assume the recipes will include a long list of ingredients I don't have on hand, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my two favorite recipes from the evening actually had a rather short list of (mostly) familiar ingredients.

Take this carrot salad for example:

The only thing I had to buy to make this recipe was sweet paprika, and I know that won't go to waste--especially once winter comes and I'm cooking up some soups and stews!

Guest Post: Crab Cakes

Recently, I was contacted by Jenny, a seafood writer, about a guest post opportunity on my blog. I love guests posts;t gives me a day off. I'm open to anyone posting, just contact me. This guest post came at a particularly opportune time; I've been suffering from a severe inner ear infection since Sunday, and I don't see my doctor til wed morning. I can't even articulate my pain.

Anyway, I'm off topic. Like I said Jenny is seafood writer. You can check out her blog here. I was excited when she suggested writing about crab cakes. I'm not a big fan of seafood, but I have a weakness for crab cakes. With the cayenne pepper in Jenny's crab cakes
I'm drooling and thinking about making them as soon as I feel better. And now for Jenny and her wonderful crab cakes....



Now Prepare Crab Cakes in Your Kitchen

Have you ever thought of having yummy sea food without rushing to a sea food restaurant? Have you ever admired of having exotic sea food at your own residence? Seafood is really delicious and the best part is when you can prepare it in your kitchen. It’s quite obvious that you will really get wonder-struck when you see exotic sea food on your dining table and your mouth will definitely start watering when you see lobsters or clams grilled in front of you. Now you can prepare delicious crab cakes with great ease and here I will tell you how to cook zesty crab cakes in your kitchen.

Crab cakes are made of crab meat which is really stimulating and yummy to eat. Your guests can’t help praising you and your skill when you serve them with delicious crab cakes at a party. Crabs are really tasty and instead of restricting yourself to a strict diet, start preparing around 10 crab cakes and satisfy your tastebuds.

So, take a look at this crab cake recipe. You just need to collect the ingredients and have patience in cooking.

Guest Post: Chicken Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette

Alright, here's week two's guest post. Haley has graciously agreed to share this amazing chicken salad recipe with all of you while I'm away, this time in the city of brotherly love. Haley and I have been blogging friends for a long time. She amazes me. She was in college, and now nursing school, and she still finds the time to post more often than I do. Amidst all this, she is training to run a 10K. I wish I had her energy. A bonus of her part time job allowed her to be an assistant instructor at a kid's culinary camp. I loved seeing the creative desserts the students came up with. They were much prettier than any cupcake I've ever made. I urge you to check out her blog if you haven't had the opportunity. You'll find a lot of delicious recipes. And now for Haley and her best chicken salad ever...

Hello!

I'm Haley from The Girly Girl Cooks and I was so honored when I was asked to write a guest post for the fantastic blog, Surly Kitchen!

Summer is all about picnics, weddings and BBQ's, so I thought this recipe for Chicken Salad would be perfect for any three of these occasions. Besides being absolutely delicious, this chicken salad is great for all of us watching what we eat because it's made with a delicious vinaigrette and not loaded with guilty mayonnaise! I have the fantastic job of assisting chef's teach culinary classes at work, and this chicken salad sandwich was a total crowd favorite.The bright flavors, colors and freshness of this salad are unbelievable and the dressing is so light and delicious! I know for a fact that you are going to love it!

Guest Post: Fresh Corn and Chicken Sausage Skillet

I'm delighted to have my first guest contributor, Megan of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, while I'm away on vacation. Have you seen her blog? It's amazing; you must check it out. I don't remember how I discovered it, but I'm glad I did. She has the sweetest finace, cutest dog, and killer recipes. And she can make amazing cakes. I love her blog and she is the friendliest person. She graciously agreed to do this guest post for me while I'm away on vacation. When I saw this recipe for Fresh Corn and Chicken Sausage Skillet I wanted it, and I'm not even a big fan of sausage. But this, this I could handle. Her pictures of the food prep are as amazing as the picture of the finished dish; I wish I had the gumption to take prep pictures; I'm just too lazy to do it. I have one word for this recipe: Stunning. And now, here's Megan.....


Quite possibly the best thing about the blogging community is the warmth and friendliness that emanates from every direction. These inviting groups of people share their zest and passion for any topic that speaks to them – in our particular realm of the digital world, it’s food. When Amy approached me to write a guest post for her, I jumped at the chance (perhaps a little overenthusiastically) to introduce myself to her loyal fan-base and share my love of simple food, and a somewhat country-esque lifestyle while residing in what I call “the big bad city”.

Amy is a kindred spirit with a heart of gold and I am monumentally excited and honored at her guest post proposal. For this little share session, I wanted to bring my A-game with a quick and incredibly healthy (in my eyes, because there is No butter involved) dish that’s a one-skillet supper ready in under 25 minutes. Prepping to plate in under 25 – this is what week night meals were made of.

So, I hope that you enjoy this little dish and thank you so much for indulging me with your time.

Corn straight off the cob is one of the most luxurious experiences of summer. It screams afternoon barbecue surrounded by your closest friends and cheery children tuckering themselves out at the local swimming hole. Bursting those kernels full of sweet nectar between your teeth is what a picnic is all about. When it's so readily available you have to jump on it and gobble up all you can.



For this latest Fresh Food Challenge hosted by America's Test Kitchen the secret ingredient was - corn. Brilliant!

When I got to making this recipe I wanted to ensure that it maintained as fresh of an appearance and taste as possible. And it needed to be quick. After a long weekend or busy day at work, slaving over a hot stove isn't the first thing on your to-do list.

My one requirement - its prepping to plate in 25 minutes or less. And this one achieved all of those pesky parameters.