Kale & Bacon Stuffed Flank Steak with a Red Wine Reduction

Last month I was fortunate enough to go to an amazing dinner hosted by Jessica - the founder and CEO of Philly Cow Share or as she likes to call herself  "The Chief Wrangler" of Philly Cow Share, lol!

The fabulously talented Chef Linda of New Jersey's Highview Farms (and a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier Philadelphia)  cooked Philly Cow Share meat for 5 of us lucky local bloggers. We had, great conversation, delicious food and wine and really learned some interesting information when it comes to something that I know graces my table a couple times a week - beef.

Check out the menu from that night:

Everything was delicious!  Linda's short ribs were seriously out-of-this-world (I could have kept eating them allll night) and the asparagus were picked at her farm just that morning...it doesn't get any better than that!

Are you ready for a good story??  

Jessica moved Philadelphia from the midwest to attend the University of Pennsylvania for her Masters Degree.  Shortly after moving here, she went to her local butcher asking about buying a quarter a cow - something that "back home" was routine thing to do...everyone has a chest freezer and they stock it up she explained to me when I asked her about that.  The butcher just looked at her and was like..."what?"  Right then and there Jessica decided she would find a way to get her growing family the good quality meats she was accustomed to.  And she did.  Her new Philadelphia friends were curious about this practice and for 6 years Jessica organized the buying and distributing of meats for her friends and neighbors.

"At Philly Cow Share We challenge the consumer to eat meat more mindfully. Eat healthy meat. Eat less meat. Eat all the cuts from the animals and not just the high-end steaks. Some of the best beef dishes are made with less popular cuts. Using the whole animal reduces waste, simplifies the logistics of getting beef to you, and returns more money to the farmer and butcher. We make sure the farmer and butcher are paid fairly and the animals are raised in accordance with their nature and in harmony with the land."

While pursuing her Doctorate at U Penn, the lightbulb went off and she thought, why am I still in school?? THIS could be the thing I am meant to do, so she decided to get to know local beef farmers and their practices as well as look for more people interested in quality meats and in 2010 Philly Cow Share was born!

I am no stranger to the practice of friends or groups of people buying a half or quarter cow.  One of my brothers has been doing just that for years through a co-worker who on the side did as Jessica did back in the beginning.  Every BBQ, we ask my brother Ed to bring the meat for the burgers - because it is head and shoulders above anything you will get at your local food store.

You can order an 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 or a whole cow - ordering a whole cow with some friends saves you a good bit of money, which is fantastic in my book!  They have begun selling pigs as well and soon hope to sell lamb!  Another way you can get some of this meat is by stopping at Williams Sonoma in Philly (at the Bellevue, 200 S Broad St)  - they are so smart...they have teamed up with Philly Cow Share so that on weekends as you head to the beach, mountains or plan for a BBQ - you can grab a few packs of certain cuts and be good to go!  Brilliant and convenient!
Click here for pricing as well as what you get with each order.

I soaked up the information we learned that night and decided then and there that I am getting a cow!  Then a pig!  I have already spoken with some of my friends and we are placing our order - we actually might need 2 cows!

Here's the top 3 reasons I am super-sold on this:

1.  The meats come from 8 local PA/NJ farms - so I know where my meat is coming from and at the same time I feel really, really good supporting my  local farmers.  You can read about each Farm/farmer here.

2. With all the negative talk and speculation about GMO's and how in the dark we truly are when it comes to being told/disclosed what the full impact of those modified seeds/foods are or could be and feeling "kept in the dark" about truths that we as citizens and consumers should be told.  I feel good that the beef I give my kids will be grass-fed and not corn fed.  That is all I am going to say about that.  Do your own research and see how you feel.

3. It's easy - you put your order in and BAM, you get your delivery and split it up. Less trips to the store - gotta love that!

I have to say, I did have a concern about frozen meats.  I don't freeze meats, I buy what I need as I need it.  After tasting all the meats last month, then trying the 3 sample packs I was sent home with.  I didn't taste a difference.

We each went home with various cuts of meat - I went home with ground beef, chipped beef and flank steak.  My family and I have eaten all three and they were delicious!  The chipped steak made incredible cheesesteaks!  I could absolutely taste the difference in that cheesesteak meat from a typical "take out" cheesesteak.

I decided to do something special with the flank steak and saved it for Father's Day.  I marinated it, stuffed it with Kale and Bacon, grilled it and made a finishing sauce for it.  It was spectacular!  See below for the recipe.

Soon, Philly Cow Share may be offering franchise opportunities across the country (love that).  Already a childhood  friend of mine in Ohio (who lives on 100+ acre farm) is very interested.  At the end of the day, I just think this is a really good thing for all involved.  I hope you do too!

Disclosure: I was not compensated to write this post, I felt that what I learned, I really wanted to share both by talking about it and writing about it, I really do love to share what I think are great things - all opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Spicy Watermelon Salsa

Last weekend I attended the 3rd Annual Eat, Write, Retreat hosted by Casey Benedict of Kitchen Play and cookbook author Robyn Webb.  I had attended the first one in DC 2 years ago and really enjoyed myself. I learned a few things, made a few new friends and took in some of the sights of DC.  So when I heard it was coming to my birthplace, I immediately thought about registering.  Just before I did register, I saw that Tuscan Fields Farro was offering to send one lucky food blogger to EWR and I decided to try and go for it...why not?  Maybe I would be lucky and win.

So, I made a dish using Tuscan Fields delicious and easy to prepare farro and win I did!  I was so stinking excited when I found out!!  If you have never tried farro, you should!  Check out my recipe for Farro with Feta, Radishes, Peas & Chives - It makes a great lunch, side dish or dish to bring to a BBQ.

And THAT my friends is where my luck started!  Yup, I said started!! 

The dish above, in the photo, was inspired both by the gorgeous watermelons we were surrounded by all weekend at EWR and my friend Joe.  Joe loves to challenge himself in the kitchen.  He always shows up at neighborhood parties with something yummy in tow - who doesn't love a man that cooks...am I right?  Memorial Day Weekend, he showed up with a watermelon salsa, something I had never seen before.  I immediately popped a scoopful into my mouth then one into my husband's mouth and it was fantastic!  It was refreshing, light and flavorful all at once!  I knew I had to try my hand at it.  I am not sure what he put in his, but I mimicked this one after pico de gallo.  Thanks Joe!

Two really cool challenges were a part of this years EWR.  One was the Amazing Apps Culinary Challenge hosted by California Figs, US Potatoes, California Ripe Olives and California Raisins - Each attendee was going to receive in the mail a box containing a secret ingredient that we needed to use in an appetizer - you would get either figs, potatoes, olives or raisins, I received potatoes.  One winner would be chosen based on a set criteria for judging and they would each win an iPad, an iTunes gift card, a cool  OXO Cookbook Holder and a $500.00 gift certificate to OXO!!  How cool was that??

The second challenge came from In The Raw - They send each of us a big bakers bag of their brand new Monk Fruit In The Raw along with their sugar cookie recipe.  They asked us to decorate the cookies anyway we chose.  They then would select their favorite as well as a second random winner and each would receive In The Raw products for a year and a beautiful Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer!

Saturday was in full swing with some fantastic speakers on everything from writing, to photography to learning all about the growing of mushrooms in the mushroom capital of the world - Kennett Square, PA (yup, store that one in your head for the day you just might need it in a trivia game).  Throughout the weekend Casey & Robyn were picking names out of a hat for random prizes...everything from baskets of baked goods to OXO tools & gadgets to a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer!  All of a sudden, they called my friend Heather's name...she won a $500.00 gift card to Calphalon!!  I was like "Oh!! Yeah Heather!!!" I turned around to catch her eye and give her a crazy wave when I heard my name called for the same thing!! AAAH!  That was so awesome!!! Just after that, In The Raw was there to announce the winners of the cookie contest and yup...you guessed it, I won that too!  I was seriously freaking out at that point!  They always say good/bad things happen in 3's.  Well "they" were right on the money for me! 1-2-3!

Check out the winning artistic cookie from Sherron, gorgeous!!

After we finished our sessions for the day, my roomie Renee and I headed to our room, where we had exactly 20 minutes before we needed to be back downstairs to head to the awards gala at the trendy Philadelphia restaurant in the sky - R2L.  I must have been a bit lightheaded from all the excitement because I decided to take a shower - yup...I had exactly 17 minutes to get showered, dry my hair, throw some makeup on and slip into a dress!  I actually did it!  I broke one of my fingers in the process (who knows) but I did it! lol!

We headed to R2L and when we got there there were tables of food hosted by the 4 sponsors of the Amazing Apps Culinary Challenge.  We had some great bites of potato, fig, raisin and olives apps!  I was so excited to see fresh figs - they haven't hit stores in my area yet and my fig tree is months away from bearing fruit, so I have to confess I ate at least 5 of them plain - they were stunningly de-lic-ious, I could have stayed and ate them forever!!  At the bar they were serving one of my favorite wines - Mirassou and they had my absolute favorite Mirassou Riesling, it was shaping up to be a great night! *Clink*

The moment arrived - they were about to announce the winners of the Amazing Apps Culinary Challenge, someone joked and said that I was going to win my category...I said "no way"!  A new friend Roxana said "come here Colleen, I want to rub you for luck"...and she did!  I was standing next to Carolyn of All Day I Dream About Food  (who was also a speaker on photography AND SEO - talk about talented) and she said "I swear if you win I am going to fall at your feet", she was so funny!

Potatoes were up first...then BAM!  They said my name.  I was like WHAT...ME???  The sweat came pouring down me, I started shaking like crazy.  I. Could. Not. Believe. It.  I was waiting for Aston Kutcher to pop his pretty little head out and let me in on the joke!

I really don't remember much...I was awestruck.  Carolyn really did drop down in front of me (it was hilarious) and then they called Roxanna's name for raisins - the girl who rubbed me for luck!  I thought I entered The Twilight Zone.  The next thing I remember was the doors opening and waiters filling the room.  They were serving trays and trays of the 4 winning dishes- my dish was being served at R2L.  How crazy is that!  Check out my winning recipe - Potato & Caramelized Onion Flatbread

I think I finally stopped shaking 90 minutes later.  I mean, I was actually embarrassed of my good fortune that day - so happy, grateful  and excited but in disbelief and somehow embarrassed that I won a bunch of stuff!  In life I am more of a giver than a getter if you know what I mean, so this was topsy-turvy!  I gathered my wits - congratulated the other winners, then headed out for a celebratory drink at DelFrisco's with my friend Lisa, who I hadn't gotten to chat with yet that weekend and we had a great time!

Here's the thing...I started my blog as a way for me to both leave a piece of myself behind for my kids and a way for me to do something a little creative when it came to my passion - cooking.  Doing "this" is mostly something I do alone.  Sure my daughter cooks with me a ton and my son does too from time to time and yes, we get to enjoy the fruits of my labor as a family - BUT nobody around me really "gets it" except funny enough my 8 year old daughter, so to win something in front of my peers for something I made, THAT was and is really something!  I am sure the 3 other winners felt exactly the same!  The excitement and joy on my kids faces once I got home (my hubs kept the secret) was priceless and somehow the iPad instantly became "the family iPad", hmmmm.  I'm still trying to figure that one out!

Check out the other winning dishes (and I have to say...I did in fact visit every website after all the app recipes went up, there were so many fantastic offerings!  Everyone did such a  great job!)

Figs - Heather's Phyllo Cups with Fig Compote, Goat Cheese Mousse & Pistachios
Olives - Joanne's  Black Olive Gougeres with Smokey Red Lentil Dip
Raisins - Roxana and her Raisin Cheese Crackers

Stay tuned...since I was so lucky last weekend, I am sharing the wealth so to speak!  I did a few crazy random acts of kindness following my wins and now it's your turn.  Next week I will have another installment of "Guess the Dish" and we will see which one of YOU get's lucky!! 

Sorry for the super-long post!  I had so much to tell!!  Click below for the delicious Watermelon Salsa Recipe!

Oh wait...one more thing to share...it's so funny...I just have to!  Sunday morning as we were about to begin with the lineup of speakers...all of a sudden I hear "Colleen Kennedy...could you please come to the stage?" I was like..OMGosh what now??  The whole room began talking...I think they were all wondering the same thing!! Lol!

And then THIS happened:

Casey & Robyn decided to crown me "The Queen of Eat Write Retreat"  It-was-hilarious!!  You have to love that about people - the creativity, they funniness and the good feelings for others that they have!  Casey & Robyn have that in spades!  Thanks for the memories (as well as all that I learned and all the new friends I met)!!!  Thanks for sending me this photo Lauren!

Sweet Irish Soda Bread

I have been making (and eating) Irish Soda Bread for as long as I can remember.  I remember it being available from time to time in my house growing up and I remember my Grammy making it when I was a kid as well.  I am not sure if I ever helped her make it or not, I would like to think that I did.

It seemed that every get together had some version of Irish Soda Bread floating around that either a relative or friend of the family brought.  It wasn't until my 2nd cousin Rosanne came for a visit to my Grammy's (after she had married and moved to Boston) that I tasted the one Irish Soda Bread that I had to have over and over!

At family gatherings, I ate the obligatory slice. To my developing palate, the bread was dry and not that flavorful...so I would pile on the butter - after all butter like bacon, makes everything better lol!  But THAT bread....the one made Roseanne's Italian husbands mother - That bread, was one to remember!  It was almost cake-like.  Sweet and light and all I knew was that I wanted more...I needed more!! So, after I polished off about 4 slices, I soon replicated it and have been making it that way ever since!

Can you see in the above photo, how much more moist the actual bread looks than what you might typically come across??  And the sugar on the top?  Oh yeah! Let me tell you...there is almost nothing on this earth as good as a slice of this just out of the oven, almost too hot to handle, smeared with butter.  Goodness!!  If you ever need a Calgon moment and you don't feel like getting wet to do it....make this and a cup of tea, then sit with a good book.  You are welcome!

If you follow along with this site, you will know that I am a part of The Leftover's Club - a group of us food bloggers send something edible here and there across the country once a month to whomever we happen to be paired with.

This month I struggled - I thought...what the heck can I send in the mail that can go a few states away and NOT melt??  And you guessed it - I sent a loaf of this.  I figured my family and I like it all year round - maybe someone else will too!  This is one of my go to items to either welcome someone to the neighborhood  or thank someone.  I just love it and I hope you do too!!

This month I was paired with Elizabeth from Food Ramblings who sent me a batch of her White Chocolate Pudding Cookies, which I have to say was a first for me...pudding in a cookie?  Who knew!  They were moist and delicious!  If you stop by Elizabeths' site you will see, like I did, that she loves to bake - check out these Pretzel Salted Caramel Blondies - Yumm!  I would love the crunch the pretzels give these bars. They are on my must try list!

Check out all the other goodies that were shipped around the country last week as a part of The Leftovers Club:






Sweet Irish Soda Bread with Raisins

4 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups raisins
2  cups buttermilk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

To make 1 large loaf, use a 10-12 inch cast iron pan or ovenproof skillet with 2-inch or better sides or to make 2 loaves use 2 smaller cast iron skillets, oven proof pans or 2 cake pans.
Cut a big enough circle of parchment paper out to line both the bottom and the sides of your pan(s).
Whisk the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl until blended, add in the butter and raisins and stir well.
Add buttermilk, heavy cream and egg to the dry ingredients and stir until incorporated - do not over mix.
Pour mixture into pan(s) and cook for one hour or until toothpick or skewer inserted comes out dry. For smaller loaves, check after 45 minutes. Cool a bit then flip out of the pan(s), peel off parchment paper and allow the bead to cool on a cooling rack, that is if you don't just dig right in like my family and I do!

Colleen's Notes:
Since this recipe yields a large loaf, often when I am making this for someone, I set aside 25-30% of the batter to make my family a small one....which we eat almost instantly!  Depending on it's size I start checking the smaller loaf after 35 minutes or so - the large one usually still takes an hour.

This is wonderful for days after you make it as long as you have had it wrapped up tight.  just pop a slice in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to warm it through and smear it with butter.

You do not have to use the heavy cream...you can actually use 2 1/2 cups of buttermilk if you choose.  I was lucky enough to spend some time last year with Darina Allen (Ireland's long-time favorite chef and owner of the world famous Ballymaloe Cookery School and Restaurant) and she mentioned to me that U.S. milk is does not have enough fat content to do Irish scones the way they do in Ireland...since then I have taken to adding some heavy cream to both scones and this bread and I really like the result.  Thanks Darina!!

Enjoy this...it's one of my favorite recipes!

10 Minute Tapenade

How about a light appetizer that can stand up to the heat on a summer's day, can travel easily AND only take 10 minutes to whip up??

I've got you covered!

Tapenade is a Provencal dish hailing from the South of France.  There, is is most commonly enjoyed spread onto crusty slices of various breads.  The French make it in more of a paste form and include olives, capers and anchovies.  The name tapenade actually comes from the Provencal word for capers - tapenas.

If you ever end up on Jeopardy and that question arises...you can thank me with cookies!

Long before I ever knew what tapenade was my sister was crazy for those flavors...and still is!

Sure you can buy a jar of tapenade for about $7.00 - but why not make it and customize it to your palate?
Me, I like to make it chunkier, I love the textures and flavors that way and I truly do have a slight addiction to capers - do I ever!

My 8 year old has whipped this up on her own as well - when helping me in the kitchen.  She always wants to man either the stand mixer or the food processor, lol!  Easy-peasy!

Tomato Mozzarella Bruschetta with Balsamic Glaze

What are your top 5 favorite foods?

THAT my friends is a hard question to answer and I am sure that if you are anything like me, it's more of a top 10 list with the foods on the list jockeying for position depending on your mood or the time of year.

Come spring & summer, tomatoes definitely make my list.  My friends and family cringe when I am out at a restaurant and ask "how do the tomatoes look?"  Followed by one or 2 more clarifying questions.  My husband just chuckles, he's used to it!  Other than that, I am the easiest customer.  Just don't give me unripe or icky tomatoes...especially when the tomatoes are the star of the dish.  Can you relate to that?

I do not remember bruschetta in any form  my life as a child or even early teen.  I think I was a young adult when I first had it, I seem to remember a restaurant or two that my  family frequented always giving a complimentary plate to the table to start things off.  My husband reminds me from time to time that on one of our earliest dinner dates, I said "who would PAY for bruschetta??", when I saw it on a menu.  It is so easy to make.  Maybe I hadn't yet had life altering bruschetta.

My brother Ed makes a mean bruschetta heavy on the garlic, with all ingredients coming right out of his garden.  Mmmm, SO good!

Once you can get your hands on some perfectly ripe tomatoes make this! THIS bruschetta is simply a-mazing!  The addition of chopped (almost minced) Mozzarella is a game-changer!  Serve it on plain bread slices, grilled slices of your favorite bread, with chips or whatever vehicle you enjoy most and you will soon be hugging the bowl and scooping it up as fast as you can! Or if you are like me you just might whip
this up to eat as a salad as I often do - no bread necessary, just a fork!  Often after I eat this I still literally want to lick the plate!  The addition of the balsamic glaze drizzle truly takes this to another level - so I strongly suggest making a small batch or picking up a pre-made bottle of it to keep in your fridge - you will soon see that you will use it more than you would have ever thought.

Spicy Shrimp Salsa

Memorial day weekend is upon us.  In my neck of the woods this weekend really kicks off the outdoor fun and it will keep on going until the leaves begin to fall and it drops below 50 once again.  Good times ahead!

This weekend we have a couple of BBQ's to attend and I'm thinking about what dishes to whip up.  This easy, light and delicious Spicy Shrimp Salsa will definitely make an appearance!  It is always a hit and it makes a shrimp offering go a long way.

Where I am it will be a cooler weekend than we usually have, so I have no worries about this holding up.  If it is warmer out, just set your bowl of Spicy Shrimp Salsa on top of a bowl filled with ice and replace the ice as necessary.  Toss the salsa every so often to keep it evenly cool.  You can also place small baggies of ice in the bowl beneath the salsa keeping the water at bay as the ice melts :)

This is one of those guilt free app in my mind, after one scoop...you always go back for more!

For more recipes and ideas, you can click here for my Pinterest board for Backyard BBQ Recipes & Ideas 

If you are not on Pinterest, here are some of my favorite BBQ foods:

For the kids - These Mini Ice Cream Pies are SO fun, so is this Ice Cream Sandwich Cake.  The kids go crazy for these Apple Nachos...be sure to serve them outside!
Summer Salads - Love this Watermelon, Goat Cheese & Bacon Salad  , this meatless Summertime Orzo Salad and this Tomato, Caper & Basil Salad
Apps - This Hot Corn Dip is dangerously good and this White Bean & Tomato Bruschetta is one of my favorite Summertime foods!
Cocktails!! Can't forget those, lol!  These are dangerously good and can be prepared ahead of time - Frozen Chambord Margarita's, this is my favorite Sangria - Blackberry Sangria and these Cosmo Shooters are just adorable!!