I can never be one of those bloggers that plans out their content with a calendar, and get it all figured out weeks or months in advance. I tend to not know what I’m making up until the last minute. This is mainly due to the fact that I usually shoot and post whatever I feel like eating at the moment. It’s the same reason why I can’t go to the grocery store at the beginning of the week and buy several days worth of dinners. I feel like I would buy whatever I feel like eating on that particular day, but then when it comes down to it, on the actual day of cooking, I’d be bored and wouldn’t want it anymore. So because of this I end up going to the grocery store every single day. It’s a real hassle but a burden I’ve caused myself. These Millionaire Shortbread Bars are here for us today because of the fact that I was really craving them last week when I shot them. The addition of cashews is because I really like chocolate and caramel and cashews together; it’s a winning combination. Millionaire Shortbread is so easy to make with such few ingredients and that’s what makes them a classic recipe that everyone should know how to make. I just have to warn you though, they can be quite dangerous to have on hand. I suggest making a batch and sharing with as many people as possible, or else you’ll end up like me…eating them all yourself. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I guess it depends on how you look at things. 
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the classics
The Classics: Loaded Beef Nachos
I love me some nachos. I’ll rephrase that though and say that I love me some really good nachos. You might think I don’t have much to say about the subject—because how much can a person really talk about chips loaded with cheese and topped with everything—but you’d be surprised. I have many opinions when it comes to this dish. I’d like to think they are very valid opinions, mostly about what it takes to make a really good nacho. There are multiple components that must be checked off in order to meet my high nacho expectations. The first most important step is homemade tortilla chips. You want a good firm tortilla chip that will hold up to all of the toppings. Jules and I once went to a “nice” bar where they had their “famous” nachos on the menu and so we ordered them, but before we did we asked the waitress how they were, and she said they were absolutely delicious and one of her favorites on the menu. So we ordered them and out comes this sad looking pile of chips (on a paper boat plate thing) and the chips, I kid you not, were those store-bought round bright yellow Mission tortilla chips, but probably not even Mission brand at a all and just some bootleg version of them. It was the saddest sight I’ve ever seen in my life. I went from being very excited to extremely disappointed in a split of a second, all because of the chips. Like I said, chips are very important. P.S. I was hesitant to order anything else, and before I ordered the chicken croquettes I asked her again what she thought of them and she responded with “they’re just like the nachos, SO GOOD.” Just like the nachos.
The second most important step is the cheese. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER give me nachos with shredded cheese on top that has been melted with like lightly burned chips because they’ve been placed under a broiler to melt the cheese. Which by way, the cheese never gets fully melted and it upsets me very much. Nachos should always be made with a queso sauce. Plain and simple, and I don’t want to hear anything else about it. The cheese sauce coats the chips better and holds up to the toppings. The next statement is fully subjective, but I believe that nachos should always be made with a seasoned ground beef. Steak nachos are good yes, but I find that sometimes the steak is hard to chew on a chip (unless it’s carne asada that has been chopped up). Chicken is good too but I find it too boring. As for the toppings my rule is simple, there should be many and there should be plenty.
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The Classics: Sour Cream Coffee Cake
My thought is that you can never have too many coffee cake recipes. It’s that ultimate breakfast cake that you can get away with eating first thing in the morning. It always reminds me of elementary school. Getting a giant square slice of crumb cake with a carton of milk. It’s what dreams are made of, really. If you’re looking for some inspiration, this Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake is a mash-up of cinnamon roll with coffee cake in one giant loaf. Speaking of school, this PB&J Coffee Cake is what you should be sending your kids off to school with every day. Perhaps Chocolate Coffee Cake is your weakness? That’s only a handful of what I’ve shared on this blog throughout the years. I’ve come to realize though that the most basic, most classic, variation was missing. Enter this Sour Cream Coffee Cake. It’s simple, yet complex. Super moist (I’m sorry) and incredibly delicious. If you’re a fan of Starbucks coffee cake, then you’re going to die over this recipe because it’s 100% better than that factory made dry stuff. It’s the epitome of what “The Classics” segment is on this blog; a reliable recipe to make time and time again.
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The Classics: Chicken Paillard
There are a few very important things for us to discuss in regards to this post. The first thing is that THE CLASSICS are back!!! Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, or you’re new here, I have two ongoing segments on the blog that I like to alternate between, and that’s my Cheers to the Weekend posts on Fridays and The Classics. The Classics were on hiatus lately but they’re back and better than ever. As a little refresher course, The Classics are posts that are simple, straightforward kitchen staples that we should all have up our sleeves. Recipes that we could easily make time and time again, no fuss no muss. This one here is very special to me because it’s the first thing I cooked for my husband when we first started dating. I chose this dish to make for him because it was simple, delicious and stress free. Also because he had nothing in his kitchen. Literally one bowl, one skillet and some salt and pepper. The powdery pre-ground stuff that no one should have. That’s it. The man only ate hummus before he met me. I still make this chicken all the time for him because it reminds us of that first I cooked for him.
So full disclaimer is that this isn’t traditional chicken paillard. I’m acknowledging this from the get go so that I don’t get angry emails or comments on how this isn’t the way it’s made. There are various different takes on this dish and although this isn’t the most authentic, it’s my version and I know you’ll love it regardless. Traditionally it’s not breaded and lightly fried like mine is, but I do love that crispiness from the chicken because it offsets the salad so well. This is the easiest dish you’ll ever make, and you’ll be so glad you did.
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Sausage Egg and Cheese English Muffins
When I was a kid, I would BEG my mother for a sausage egg mcmuffin (from you know where) because they were, and I’m sure still are if we’re honest with ourselves, very delicious. Every now and then she’d give in and let me have one and I swear I never wanted it to end. I haven’t eaten one in years, I can’t even remember when was the last time, but what I do know is that I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to recreate it at home. The best thing about these sausage egg and cheese english muffins is that you can make them ahead of time and keep them in the fridge for breakfast throughout the week; just reheat, grab and go! The homemade breakfast sausage really takes them over the edge, and they’re not complicated at all to make. In the same time it would take you to get in your car, drive to the drive-through and order a breakfast sandwich you could make it for yourself from scratch, feel good about it, and not have just one but actually four of them. Its a win-win situation no matter how you slice it.
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The Classics: Fried Chicken Sandwich
It’s been a very long time since I shared a “Classics” recipe on here, and I think there’s no time like the present to get back to the groove of it. The last classics was earlier this year when I shared these Orange Brown Butter Madeleines, just in case you needed a refresher course because I know I needed it. It’s been too long. The reason why I haven’t shared one in a while was because I simply didn’t have any great ideas in mind for the series. I’ve been devoting my time to the “Cheers to the Weekend” segment so classics sort of took a back seat. That all changed recently one night last week, when I was working on another post. I tend to edit and write my posts on the couch at night, after a long day of shooting, usually in front of some trash TV. Lately it has been Real Housewives of New Jersey because I’ve only ever watched New York and Beverly Hills, and I have zero regrets about these life decisions I’m making. Okay, maybe a little because it’s literal actual trash I’m watching. I typically put something on that I don’t really have to pay attention to, because the whole point is finishing my work. New Jersey though has been testing my multi-tasking skills, let me tell you. I’m on season 6 now and I haven’t decided if I like Amber or not. I also don’t know how I feel about Dina being on. Anyhow, why am I talking about this, and what does Teresa and the gang have to do with the best fried chicken sandwich? All this to say that I was watching it and on comes this commercial for a fast food fried chicken sandwich with pickles and shredded lettuce and it looked GOOD. I mean good enough that I had just finished eating dinner and I was like, I need this sandwich in my life right now, and so it hit me that I needed to share a classics post and it needed to be a classic fried chicken sandwich. So here we are. Basically we all have Real Housewives of New Jersey to thank for it. It’s all full circle.
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