Happy Chef Mama

These pork chops are not only delicious, but simple. They are fancy enough for a dinner party and simple enough for any weeknight meal. These are best with bone in chops to keep them moist and juicy. They are started on the stove and finished in the oven just to cook through. You can most certainly enjoy pork pink, which most people do not realize. It is not like chicken, you can cook it to medium or medium well. This will ensure a juicy and flavorful chop  every time. However, if you are not comfortable with that, these chops can remain juicy even cooked all the way through. Chef’s Tips You will want…

For me, cream soups are some of my favorites. This one in particular takes me back to high school. We used to go to this mom and pop restaurant in town whenever we had early days or days off and get cream of chicken rice soup. It was so perfect and comforting. What makes this soup so silky? I use evaporated milk in this recipe versus heavy cream. I have made it and had it with heavy cream and it is still cream and delicious. Yet, the evaporated milk adds a certain silkiness that you cannot mimic. It also has a super clean mouth feel. How can you speed this up for a…

In the Fall especially I cannot get enough of some great Homemade soups. I have some other amazing soups on the blog, but these are all classic Italian soups. Three of them are similar in flavor profiles, but don’t let that fool you. They are similar in ingredients, but all very different in end result. The last one is completely different in flavor profile and ingredients. It is the only lusciously, creamy of the four and it finishes with a beautiful white truffle oil. Special Ingredients So, in three of these four recipes I use an ingredient that really sets these soups a part. It will add depth of flavor and a salty,…

I truly love fried calamari. Probably I could eat it every day. Just pop it like popcorn for a snack! Yet, I don’t make it that often. Most people do not make it at home at all. It is one of those things you get as an appetizer at a restaurant. Well, here at home, I like to pair it with some crunchy fried shrimp and homemade fries and BOOM… it’s dinner. Here is the amazing crunchy fried shrimp recipe. These are the easiest, most flavorful fried shrimp you will ever make. They can also be made ahead and frozen in a large batch. That way you can pull out as many as…