As a lover of all things Buffalo chicken, I am constantly trying to find new ways to use the flavor combination. You could say that I’m a bit of a Buffalo chicken … freak? But that’s okay. The first step is admitting you have a problem, right?

Well. I might have a big problem now. Buffalo chicken cannoli? One of my favorite things, stuffed inside a fried shell, topped with blue cheese? I cannot take it.

This recipe from TK member Sandy is completely decadent and wonderful and fun. I’m going to tell you all about it, too.

These babies take just a few ingredients: flour tortillas, oil for frying, Buffalo wing sauce, mayo, cooked and cubed chicken, diced celery and blue cheese. Oh, and a little salt and pepper if needed.

Since I didn’t have a thing-a-ma-jig to wrap cannoli, I secured the tortillas with a toothpick. This worked perfectly. After doing that, I began to heat the oil in a large pot.

While the oil is coming to temperature, mix together some mayo and Buffalo wing sauce. You want it to have a little kick!

Once the oil is hot enough, fry the tortillas (just a few at a time) until golden. I found that keeping the toothpick in was fine, just as long as I had enough of it to grab and remove it before filling.

Once each cannoli is done, place on a paper towel to drain and become cool enough to touch.

While the tortillas are cooling, add the chicken and celery to a bowl. Add in the buffalo wing/mayo sauce and mix, mix, mix.

Toss in some crumbled blue cheese. I actually used smoky blue cheese. It is to die for.

Once the tortillas have cooled, use a small spoon and fill each with some of the chicken mixture. A few of the insides may puff up, so simply press down on the bubble gently to make room for the chicken.

Once they are all filled, serve with additional Buffalo wing sauce, blue cheese crumbles and celery.

And to take things over the top, cover each cannoli with a big drizzle of sauce!

Oh, and more blue cheese. Yes. It’s necessary.

These are totally insane in the best way ever. I’ll say it again: I adore all things Buffalo chicken, so it’s safe to say these will make a frequent appearance in my kitchen. They are such a fun twist on two traditional foods and I get giddy just thinking about them. Thanks so much for the recipe Sandy! Be sure to check out her fab blog, Everyday Southwest.

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Spicy Buffalo Chicken Cannoli

by Sandy | Everyday Southwest on January 31, 2013 in Appetizers January 31, 2013 Appetizers

See post on Sandy | Everyday Southwest’s site!

0.00 Mitt(s) 0 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 40 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 6

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Crunchy flour tortilla cannoli shells stuffed with spicy Buffalo chicken salad.

Ingredients

• 20 whole Flour Tortillas
• 24 ounces, fluid Vegetable Oil For Frying, Or Enough To Fill A Frying Pan 1 Inch Deep
• 2-½ cups Cooked Chicken, Diced
• 1 whole Large Celery Stalk, Finely Diced Or Minced
• ¼ cups Mayonnaise
• ¼ cups Prepared Hot Wing Sauce, More If Desired
• ¼ cups Blue Cheese Crumbles
• ½ teaspoons Salt, If Necessary
• ½ teaspoons Black Pepper, If Necessary.

Preparation Instructions

Cut the flour tortillas into 5-inch circles. Loosely wrap the tortilla around a cannoli shell and secure with a toothpick. Or, if you prefer, fold the tortilla around two of your fingers and secure with toothpick. Overlap the tortilla only as much as you need to secure it with a toothpick leaving a nice wide center to fill with chicken mixture.

Use a frying pan or pot that is large enough to fill with 1 to 1 1/2 inches of oil to fry the tortillas. The pan should still have plenty of room so that the oil will not boil over. Heat the oil to 360ºF or until bubbles form when a scrap of tortilla is place in the oil. Place the tortillas in the hot oil with tongs one at a time. Leave the cannoli mold in the tortilla or use the tongs to keep the shape of a cannoli until the tortilla is cooked enough to hold its own shape then continue with the next tortilla. Only fry up to 4 to 5 at a time.

Fry the tortillas until golden brown and crispy; they will continue to brown a little when removed from the oil. Drain on paper towels. While the tortilla is hot, push down any of the bubbles that my have formed on the inside of the cannoli shell so that the center is open for the filling.

In a mixing bowl, toss together the diced chicken and diced celery.

in a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and hot wing sauce in a small bowl. Add more hot wing sauce slowly and taste as you go for the desired flavor. The sauce mixture should be hotter than you expect because you will be adding it to the chicken and filling the tortilla with it, which will dilute the flavor of the sauce.

Fold the hot wing sauce mixture into the chicken a little at a time to achieve the desired consistency. Stir in the desired amount of blue cheese crumbles and save the remaining for garnish. Salt and pepper to taste. If you add the blue cheese to the mixture, you may not need salt so be sure to taste.

Fill the cannoli shells with chicken from both ends with a small spoon. Use the end of the spoon to push the filling into the middle of the cannoli.

Serve with hot wing sauce and blue cheese crumbles.

 
 
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Jessica Merchant is a personal trainer turned food writer and blogger. Her blog, How Sweet Eats, is where she proclaims her love for all things sweet, all things bacon, and everything else in between. She works her magic in her Pittsburgh kitchen, which she shares with her husband of 2 years.

 
I’m a kale fanatic and I like it any which way. This Protein-Packed Massaged Kale Salad recipe from TK member KGracie71 caught my eye because it is totally raw, relying on the acid from the vinaigrette to tenderize the kale. Keeping it raw means it has a great texture and maximum nutrition in each bite. It also has great color! It is a heavenly kale concoction.

To make this you will need: kale, cooked quinoa, dried cranberries, apple, walnuts, lime, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey.

Start by making your vinaigrette in a bowl. Pour in the olive oil …

Followed by the balsamic vinegar …

Followed by the lime juice and crushed garlic clove.

Then add the honey. I used less honey than the recipe called for and it was sweet enough for me, so add it in batches and taste to see what suits your fancy.

Give it a stir and let the garlic infuse for a few minutes.

Add the kale to a large bowl and pour the dressing all over. Stir it well.

Give the kale a massage with your hands for about 5 minutes. This will help it break down and tenderize nicely.

Next add your quinoa. Toss it in and stir. I like to make quinoa in large batches and toss it into salads throughout the week. It’s a great source of protein. So feel free to make extra and save the rest.

Toss in your apple…

Then the walnuts…

And the cranberries.

Stir it all together. This can be made in advance and stored covered in the refrigerator. It will tenderize further with time and the flavors will blend nicely.

You will feel very, very healthy after a big plate of this; it is very satisfying. Thank you to Karla for sharing this recipe with us! Check out her website Forty Cakes for other delicious treats.

Printable Recipe

Protein Packed Massaged Kale Salad

by Karla @ FortyCakes on January 15, 2013 in Main Dish Salads, Salads January 15, 2013 Main Dish SaladsSalads

See post on Karla @ FortyCakes’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 3 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 1 hr

Cook Time: -

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

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So much protein! So much taste! So much health!

Ingredients

• FOR THE SALAD:
• 1-½ cup Cooked And Cooled Quinoa
• 5 cups Kale
• ½ cups Walnuts
• ¼ cups Dried Cranberries
• 1  Apple, Chopped
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• FOR THE VINAIGRETTE:
• ¼ cups Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Balsalmic Vinegar
• 1  Lime, Juiced
• 1 clove Garlic
• 3 Tablespoons Honey

Preparation Instructions

Prepare quinoa according to package directions. Let cool.

For the vinaigrette:
Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, juice from the lime, garlic and the honey. Set aside while you prepare the salad.

For the salad:
Put chopped kale in a large bowl and pour the vinaigrette over the beautiful leaves. Massage the vinaigrette into the kale for about 5 minutes. The size of the kale will decrease significantly and you should be able to feel the kale becoming more tender.

After the massage, add in the quinoa. Toss together with the kale.

Once those are well combined, toss in the walnuts, cranberries and chopped apples. Season with a bit of salt and pepper, to taste.

It would be great served with goat cheese or some other kind of cheese but was excellent without it as well.

 
 
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There’s so much to say about Georgia, we don’t know where to start. Leaving Wall Street for the French Culinary Institute, followed by a stint at the Gramercy Tavern and La Chassagnette in France, her passion for food and food traditions are evident and inspiring. Visit her site at Georgia Pellegrini, where you’ll find more recipes, photos, learn all about her wonderful books Girl Hunter and Food Heroes, and enjoy her latest adventures.

 
Have you ever been to Cincinnati? If so, you’ve probably had their very unique chili. It’s like eating chicken wings in Buffalo or lobster in Maine—if you want to experience a regional favorite, it’s a must-try!

A couple years ago I had Cincinnati chili while visiting a friend in Cincinnati. Since then, I’ve only dreamt of having it again. For a while now, I’ve been looking for what looked like an authentic version; that is, a bean-less version (you can serve it with beans on the top if you go five-way, but I’ll get to that in a second) that has chocolate. I was pretty excited when I found Tasty Kitchen member Dax Phillips’ recipe for Cincinnati Chili!

First things first, a little bit about how they do chili in Cincinnati. It starts with a complex, rich-flavored, warmly-spiced meat sauce that has a touch of chocolate added, usually in the form of unsweetened cocoa powder. Then that incredible sauce is served one of the following “ways”: two-way (chili over spaghetti noodles); three-way (chili over spaghetti noodles topped with shredded cheese); four-way (chili over spaghetti noodles topped with shredded cheese and diced onion); five-way (chili over spaghetti noodles topped with shredded cheese, diced onion, and kidney beans). And there you have it. Deliciousness in chili form, Cincinnati-style.

Ready to get started?

There is minimal prep work required for this recipe! Just dice 2 cups of onion (which is about 2 medium-large onions).

Then get out all your ingredients. Here we have: a plate of spices (cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, cumin, salt, and bay leaves), ground beef (I used 90% lean, but 95% lean would be even better), unsweetened cocoa powder, diced onion, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, honey, chili powder (the original recipe calls for 5 tablespoons of chili powder, but I will only use 4 tablespoons next time), crushed tomatoes, and water. I only have 4 cups of water pictured, but I actually did use another 1 cup to make it 5 cups total, like the recipe says, so that the beef was fully covered. Oh, and next time I will add 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice as well.

The first cooking step is the initial boiling of the beef. This is the most hands-on part of the cooking process, since it requires you to skim off the fat/other stuff that floats to the top. Not to worry, the chili is worth this extra work!

Here’s how the beef looks after boiling uncovered (and skimming off the fat) for about 45 minutes.

Now you can add all the other chili ingredients …

And give it a good stir.

Bring the chili to a boil, cover the pot, turn the heat down, and simmer for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, stirring every so often.

Here it is after cooking for 90 minutes.

And here it is after cooking for 3 hours. Mine was super thick and just starting to stick on the bottom at that point, so I knew it was done. (Yours might need to go for the full 3 1/2 hours, like the recipe says.) It cooks down a lot; the total volume I had after cooking was 6 cups of chili.

Here’s where the recipe gets a little time-consuming: Dax recommends letting the chili cool to room temperature and refrigerating it overnight so you can remove the fat that rises to the top the next day. This is what my chili looked light the next day—about 2 tablespoons of liquid fat that had pooled on the top that I was able to remove (and that was with using 90% lean ground beef and being very diligent about skimming the fat off during the boiling process). Even though it doesn’t seem like a lot of fat to skim off, I also recommend this step. The flavors of the spices mingle beautifully overnight.

The next day, when you’re ready to serve, heat up the chili (you can add a splash of water if necessary, if it’s too thick). If you’re planning to serve this four-way (chili over spaghetti noodles topped with shredded cheese and diced onion) like Dax and I did, cook and drain your pasta to al dente according to the package directions.

Shred your sharp cheddar cheese. I wanted a little bit of a finer shred for this (I like how it melts that way), so I didn’t use the side with the biggest holes on my box grater.

Then assemble the toppings you’ll need to serve: cooked spaghetti noodles, shredded cheese, oyster crackers, diced onion, and hot sauce.

To serve, line a shallow bowl with spaghetti noodles, top with a ladle of chili, a handful of diced onion, and a sprinkle of shredded cheese. Add a few oyster crackers and a dash of hot sauce! (If you decide you want to go five-way, you can add kidney beans on top.)

Cincinnati Chili is the perfect dish for a new twist on an old favorite, and this recipe is incredible—definitely restaurant quality! A huge thanks to Dax for a great recipe; I know it will become a cold-month regular in my kitchen. Be sure to check out his blog Simple Comfort Food for more comforting classics and fresh new flavors with a comfort spin!

Printable Recipe

Cincinnati Chili

by Dax Phillips on October 9, 2011 in Chili, Soups October 9, 2011 ChiliSoups

See post on Dax Phillips’s site!

4.56 Mitt(s) 9 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 4 hrs

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 12

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A simple twist on a chili con carne, this classic Cincinnati chili will warm you from your head to your toes.

Ingredients

• FOR THE CHILI:
• 2 pounds Ground Beef
• 5 cups Water, Enough To Cover The Ground Beef
• 28 ounces, weight Crushed Tomatoes
• 2 cups Onion, Finely Diced
• 2 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Cloves
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 5 Tablespoons Chili Powder
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
• ½ Tablespoons Cumin Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Cider Vinegar
• 2 whole Bay Leaves
• 1 Tablespoon Honey
• 1 Tablespoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Cracked Black Pepper
• ¼ cups Red Kidney Beans, Cooked (optional)
• TO SERVE:
• ½ pounds Spaghetti Noodles, Cooked According To Package Instructions
• 1 cup Onion, Finely Diced
• 1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Grated
• ½ cups Oyster Crackers
• 1 dash Hot Sauce

Preparation Instructions

Begin by getting a large pot on the stove. Add the ground beef and water, and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to medium, and begin stirring the beef, breaking it up as you stir. Continue this process for about 45 minutes. Skim off any of the crud that might float to the top and discard it.

Next, add all of the remaining chili ingredients on the above list, giving a good stir. Bring this mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let it cook for approximately 3 1/2 hours, stirring from time to time. When done, remove bay leaves.

Now if you are living on the edge and like that fatty flavor, you could go ahead and serve this right now, but instead, I recommend that you take it off of the stove, let it cool, then place it in the refrigerator overnight. The reason you will probably want to do this is that when you remove the chili the next day, the fat that was cooked off from boiling the ground beef will rise to the top, allowing you to remove all of that fat. So do just that, and remove that thin layer of fat from the chili.

Once you have removed the fat, put it back onto the stove, bringing it up to a boil and heat throughout, then get ready to serve.

Remember now, I went four-way, which means, spaghetti, chili, onions, and cheese.

To serve, add a layer of the cooked spaghetti on the bottom of your bowl. Ladle a generous amount of the chili on top of the spaghetti. Top with onions, and a lot of grated cheese. Place a small handful of oyster crackers on the side, and dig in!

You will be surprised not only with the awesome texture of this chili, but more importantly, the flavor. You get the richness from the cocoa powder, and the clove and cinnamon really stand out. But it is also the texture you get from the onion and cheese that make this chili just melt in your mouth.

Give it a shot, and I hope you enjoy the recipe!

 
 
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Faith Gorsky is the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind the blog An Edible Mosaic. She lives in Upstate New York and loves to travel, especially to places steeped in rich culture and history. She also enjoys reading, vintage shopping, watching movies, and is enamored with ancient cultures. She just released her first cookbook, “An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair” (Tuttle Publishing), a collection of authentic Middle Eastern recipes handed down to her from her husband’s family.

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