Leah's favorites from the places she's been!

Nashville hot fried chicken dip 

*Tennessee

 INGREDIENTS 

• 1 8 oz block of cream cheese,softened
• 1/4 cup butter milk
• 2 cups shredded chicken, cooked
• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 - 3 tsp ground cayenne pepper(use only 1 tsp if you prefer a milder version)
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup bread and butter pickles,diced

INSTRUCTIONS

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  
• Mix together cream cheese and buttermilk until creamy. Add in half of the spice mixture and mix until well combined. Fold in shredded chicken.
• Place bread crumbs, melted butter, and remaining spice mixture in a bowl and combine. Spread bread crumbs evenly over top of the dip.
  
• Bake for 20 minutes or until the dip is heated through.
• Top with diced pickles and serve while warm.

Served with my homemade sourdough toasted. 

Mexican Brussel salad 

*New Zealand 

Ingredients: 

• Brussels Sprouts: 1 lb. of Brussels sprouts, shredded. 
• Cotija Cheese: 1 bag. 
• Avocado: Look for an avocado that’s ripe enough to peel and slice, but not too soft. You want the chunks of avocado to stay whole in the salad, and mush into oblivion.
• Almonds: I sprinkled half a bag. 
• Corn: Feel free to use fresh, canned, or frozen corn. My go-to is Trader Joe’s frozen fire-roastedcorn, which adds a hint of smoky flavor to the salad.
• Pickled Red Onion: Quick-pickled red onion only requires four ingredients: thinly sliced red onion, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and salt. (Ok, and water, but that doesn’t count!) 
• Tomatillo Dressing: This creamy dressing is like the love child of green goddess dressing and ranch.
  3 tomatillos, husked and rinsed
  1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves and stems
  1/4 cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt, sour cream, or mayonnaise
  3 Tbsp. neutral oil (such as avocado, canola, or grapeseed oil)
  1/2 fresh jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed
  1/2 tsp. onion powder
  1/2 tsp. each salt and black pepper
  1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  1/4 tsp. ground cumin

Pistachio Shortbread

Ingredients:

• 16 tablespoons (227g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 box (3.4 ounces) instant pistachio pudding mix, Jell-O preferred for best color
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon pistachio flavor, optional*
• 2 cups (240g) all purpose flour. 
• 2/3 cup (85g) shelled, finely chopped pistachio nuts

*Use this flavor sparingly; it's strong, and a little goes a long way.

Instructions: 

• Preheat the oven to 300°F. Lightly grease two round 8" or 9" cake pans. If you worry about the shortbread possibly sticking in your particular pans, line them with parchment, and grease the parchment.
• In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, pistachio pudding mix, sugar, salt, and pistachio flavor, then beat in the flour. The mixture may seem a little dry at first; keep beating till it comes together. If it absolutely won't come together, dribble in up to 1 tablespoon of water, until it does. This is a stiff dough.
• Divide the dough in half. Press each half into one of the prepared pans, smoothing the surface with your fingers, or with a mini rolling pin.
• Use a fork to prick the dough all over; this allows any steam to escape, and prevents the shortbread from bubbling as it bakes. Divide the chopped pistachios between the two pans, spreading them evenly and gently pressing them down onto the surface of the dough.
  
• Bake the shortbread until it's a deep golden brown around the edges, about 35 to 40 minutes.
• Remove the pans from the oven, and immediately turn each shortbread round out onto a clean work surface.
• Using a pizza wheel or sharp knife, cut each round into 12 wedges. (Do this while the shortbread is still warm; if you wait until it's cool, it won't cut easily.) Transfer the shortbread wedges to a rack to cool.
• Store shortbread, well wrapped, for up to a week; freeze for longer storage. The flavor improves as the shortbread ages.

Jalapeño peach chicken 

*Georgia 

2 peaches, 1 jalapeño 

Peach Glaze
½ cup (160 g) peach preserves
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon garlic, minced
½ teaspoon kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Chicken
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced

Instructions

Peach Glaze

To a medium bowl, add the glaze ingredients. Mix until incorporated. Set aside.

Chicken

Pat chicken dry.

In a small bowl, combine salt, black pepper, and chili powder.
Apply the seasoning mixture to the chicken.
To a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, add oil. Once hot, add chicken thighs. Cook chicken for 5 minutes. Then, flip over the chicken, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Remove from heat. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Tent to keep warm.

To the same skillet and raising the heat back up to medium, add jalapeno peppers. Cook for 3 minutes. Then, add the peaches in with the jalapenos. Cook for an additional 3 minutes, or until the peaches have softened.
Pour peach glaze into the skillet with the peaches and jalapenos. Stir to make sure every jalapeno and peach is evenly coated in the peach glaze.

Add chicken back to the skillet. Spoon glaze over the top of the chicken and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the chicken is hot again.

Mint ice cream with salted watermelon  Granita. 

*Texas 

Ingredients:

fresh mint ice cream

• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups mint leaves
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 5 egg yolks
• a pinch salt

salted watermelon granita

• 3 cups watermelon 
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 teaspoon flaked sea salt

salted watermelon granita: 

Add watermelon, sugar and lemon juice to the bowl of a food processor/blender and puree until smooth. 

Add the mixture to a shallow freezer proof dish such as a glass or metal 9 by 13 baking dish and place in the freezer. 

After 30 minutes, scrape the mixture with a fork moving any ice crystals from the edges to the middle and breaking up any large pieces. Continue to scrape every 30 minutes until the mixture is fully frozen (about 3-4 hours). 

Sprinkle the granita with sea salt before serving. 

Fresh Mint Ice Cream:

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk, sugar and 1 cup of heavy cream until it just begins to bubble on the edges. Remove from heat, then add mint leaves. Cover and let steep for 1 - 2 hours. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks until smooth.

Reheat the mint mixture. Then, Drizzle 1/3 of the warm mixture into the bowl with egg yolks in a thin stream while continuously mixing. Pour the tempered egg yolks to the saucepan, and slowly heat until thicken and the mixture coats the back of the spoon. 

Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl and mix in the remaining cup of heavy cream. 

Chill completely, then follow the instructions on your ice maker to churn. 

I have a ninja creami so I just did an overnight freeze.

Assembly:

Layer scoops of granita and ice cream in a small dish.