This past summer, we attended the 50th anniversary party for our neighbors. Being married for 50 years is a huge accomplishment and they are such a fun couple! It was a potluck and someone brought a brownie trifle with fudge sauce and whipped cream that was to die for. I knew I had to make it one day but I thought I would change the fudge to a salted caramel sauce.

I love working with Land O Lakes and this is my fifth and final post for Kitchen Conversations this year. Since it's all about butter, I had to do it up big. Making my own caramel sauce has been on my bucket list for a long time but I was scared. I know and it was an unreasonable kind of scared but I conquered it! (If you have never made it before, please do. You can do it!) I made the most amazing and simple salted caramel sauce…that I know you'll love! And the best fudgy brownies! Both with Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter.

It's officially the holiday season so I always have tons of Land O Lakes Butter on hand for baking and cooking. I love the Flavor Protect Wrapper® it comes in so it stays fresher longer. And I need to admit I actually get twitchy when I'm down to only one box of butter!

Let's start with the caramel. Cut the butter into cubes and let it sit on the counter to come to room temperature.

Add sugar and water and mix. THEN turn the heat on. Once the heat is on, you do not want to mix or the sugar will crystalize. Swirl the pot a little bit.

You can use a brush with water to break down the crystalized sugar on the sides.

Once it starts turning an amber color, add the butter. Turn the heat down to low.

Be careful when adding the butter and the heavy cream, it does bubble up a little bit.

Whisk vigorously until well blended.

Add the heavy cream.

And whisk again.

Add vanilla extract and sea salt and whisk again.

Caramel! It did take me three times and I finally got it. I didn't whisk the ingredients when I needed to, I thought mixing was good enough. Don't make the same mistake, so make sure you whisk vigorously until well blended.

To make the brownies, chop up bittersweet chocolate.

Save yourself some time by covering your bowl in plastic when melting it in the microwave.

Whisk the cocoa powder, hot water and chocolate until it's completely melted. Add the melted butter and whisk.

Add sugar and whisk. Then, add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula.

Add the dark chocolate chips and mix just to combine.

Pour the batter into a foil lined baking dish that's been sprayed with baking spray.

Once the brownies cool, cut them into bite-sized pieces and layer them with whipped cream and salted caramel.

It's seriously amazing. I pretty much know that I'm going to have homemade caramel sauce in my refrigerator at all times. It's a must-have in my house now!

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Salted Caramel Brownie Trifles with Whipped Cream Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Resting Time 2 hours hours

Ingredients

Salted Caramel Sauce

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup heavy cream room temperature
• One Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter Stick 1/2 cup, cubed, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 to 1 1/2 Tablespoons sea salt

Brownies

• 1/2 cup Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter 1 stick, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee granules
• 1/3 cup hot water
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
• 3 large eggs beaten
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Whipped Cream

• 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 3 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Salted Caramel Sauce

• Add sugar and 1/4 cup water to a stainless steel pot (that has a heavy bottom and high sides). Mix to combine and then turn heat to medium high.
• Swirl the pan but don't stir! Cook until the sugar turns to a caramel color, about 13-14 minutes (watch carefully so it doesn't burn).
• Turn heat down to low. Add butter (it will be really hot so be careful) and whisk until thoroughly combined. Again, being careful, Add heavy cream and whisk thoroughly.
• Remove from heat and add vanilla extract and salt (add more if you like it more salty) and whisk thoroughly. Allow to cool completely before putting into an airtight container and refrigerating.

Brownies

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-inch baking pan with foil. Spray with baking spray and set aside.
• Melt butter and set aside. Whisk flour and salt in a small mixing bowl.
• Add cocoa powder, espresso powder, and chocolate to a large mixing bowl. Add hot water and whisk together until chocolate is melted. Add butter and whisk thoroughly. Add eggs and vanilla extract and whisk until thoroughly combined. Next, add sugar and same, whisk until thoroughly combined. Add dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined. Don't over mix.
• Add chocolate chips and using the rubber spatula, mix in. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Spray an offset spatula with baking spray and spread batter so it's even and the top is smooth. Bake for 35 minutes.
• Remove from oven and place on baking sheet for 10 minutes. Picking up foil on both ends, remove from pan and place on baking sheet and allow to cool for at least 2 hours.
• Cut brownies into square bite-sized pieces.

Whipped Cream

• While the brownies are baking, add whipped cream ingredients to a large glass mixing bowl and mix on medium high speed with an electric hand mixer until cream has stiff peaks, at least 4 to 5 minutes. Store in the refrigerator until needed.

Assembly

• Layer brownies, salted caramel sauce and whipped cream in small trifle bowls or one large one. Refrigerate until ready for serving, up to one day.

Tips:

• Melt butter in a bowl covered with plastic wrap in your microwave. Melt in 8-10 second increments or use melt function.

Disclosure: DualFood has partnered with Land O’Lakes for an exclusive endorsement of Land O Lakes® Butter for their Kitchen Conversation blogger program. This blog post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes.

The post Easy Salted Caramel Brownie Trifles with Whipped Cream Recipe appeared first on DualFood.

Are you like me? Wondering where the year has gone? I can't believe the kidlets in my state are already back at school! I still remember my first Easy Gnocchi with Brown Butter Cream Sauce & Kale Recipe for the Land O'Lakes Kitchen Conversations panel this year! Where has 2014 gone? Soon, we will be thinking about the holidays, can you believe it?

This time around, I wanted to share a baking recipe with you and these chocolate chip scones are perfect for an after school treat or for a weekend brunch. I know you'll love them because they are super creamy and are quick and easy to make. I used one full stick of Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter – a full stick for this recipe. It's perfect!

Side note: have you ever had a dry scone? I have and I was always so scared to try to make them myself because of that! I think the combination of the right butter (Land O Lakes® butter of course!) and the heavy cream make for a light, creamy and nice, textured scone that's not dry!

Scoop flour into the measuring cup, don't shake the cup and don't push the flour into the cup, otherwise you will pack the flour and have too much.

Level off with a butter knife or angled spatula.

I whisk all of the dry ingredients to make sure they are evenly incorporated.

Cut the Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter into cubes.

And then use a fork to cut the butter into the flour. Can you see the pea-sized chunks in the flour?

Add the heavy cream and mix with your fork.

Once it turns into a dough…

you're going to need to start using your hands.

There we go!

Use your hands to incorporate the miniature chocolate chips.

Pat the dough out about a half inch thickness and cut rounds out with a fluted 2.5 inch biscuit cutter. Ball up the excess dough and roll up into a smooth ball before patting back out and cutting more rounds out.

Brush heavy cream on top and then bake them!

Slather on some spreadable butter and enjoy! These are so easy to make, honestly I can't believe I was ever scared to make scones! I know you'll love them!

[Super Creamy] Chocolate Chip Scones - DualFood

Chocolate Chip Scones Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 17 minutes minutes

Total Time 32 minutes minutes

Servings 12 to 14 scones

Ingredients

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• One Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter Stick 1/2 cup, cold, cut into cubes
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream plus more to brush on the tops
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
• sanding sugar for topping
• Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil for topping

Instructions

• Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add butter and use a fork to cut the butter into the flour. Add cream and vanilla extract mix with fork. Once dough starts forming, you'll probably need to start using your hands. Add chocolate chips and mix with your hands.
• Divide dough in half and move to a clean surface and smooth out the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Use a floured 2.5 inch biscuit cutter to cut out scones. Dip biscuit cutter in flour after cutting each scone. Place on baking sheet and brush heavy cream on top.
• Bake for 16 to 17 minutes and sprinkle scones with sanding sugar right after removing from the oven. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Serve with butter.

Notes

from DualFood

Disclosure: DualFood has partnered with Land O’Lakes for an exclusive endorsement of Land O Lakes® Butter for their Kitchen Conversation blogger program. This blog post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes.

The post [Super Creamy] Chocolate Chip Scones - DualFood appeared first on DualFood.

Summer’s here and I’m so happy! I love the long nights and the bright days. It can get a little hot down here in Florida, but I try not to complain too much.

Here’s another recipe for Land O'Lakes Kitchen Conversations Panel. We’re making summery recipes that highlight the simple goodness of fresh, seasonal ingredients. It’s the perfect time of year to start using ingredients from your garden, local farmer’s market or grocery store. Cooking your favorite seasonal veggies (squash, tomatoes, asparagus!!!) with Land O Lakes® Butter takes those fresh summer flavors to a whole other level.

I’m making a summery vegetable pasta. What’s awesome about this recipe? It’s super easy and you can use whatever vegetables you want in your dish. Just make sure you have Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt Half Sticks, white wine and a fresh lemon on hand.

It’s basically summer in a bowl—it’s flavorful with the butter sauce, but light enough for a summer lunch or dinner. And even better, it takes only 30 minutes to put together!

Last week, I flew to Minneapolis to visit a dairy farm and the Land O'Lakes headquarters! What a fun trip it was filled with eating, learning, eating and baking!

First thing we did was go to dinner at Pizzeria Lola. This place was amazing…seriously super inventive pizza pies that are baked in a wood fired oven. We had potato pizza, Korean short rib pizza (pictured above and my favorite!) and Kimchi pizza! Seriously, it was amazing. Next time I'm in Minneapolis, I will have to stop by and see Ann and her crew again! By the way, Lola is their dog's name. What's not to love?

The next day, we visited Sadie and her family on their dairy farm. Sadie is a wife, mother, blogger and a dairy farmer! Her and her husband run their farm and work long hours but hearing them speak about the cows and their farm, you can hear the passion in their voice. It was truly an honor to visit her farm and meet her family!

And there's Ree photographing one of Sadie and Glen's cows…she's a cow whisperer! She sat down in the cow pasture and mooed and Misty the cow walked right up to her!

The following day, we headed over the Land O'Lakes headquarters. This was so fun! Every. single. employee we met was so excited about their job, what they do and where they work. It was completely inspiring.

You know what I'm talking about, we all have worked jobs where our heart isn't all there. That's not true for the employees I met at LOL HQ. It was beautiful! And the amount of quality control and work they put into developing and testing products, it's awesome. They have 22 full-time taste testers that are fully trained…umm, raise your hand if you want that job?

And once again, we got to taste the Kitchen Conversation recipes! And they were amazing! You need to check them out!!

Above is Bridget's Stone Fruit and Raspberry Cobbler and we also had Joanne's Grilled Peaches with Bourbon Brown Butter Sauce, Jenny's Cheesy Mediterranean Bacon Quesadilla, Brenda's Miso-Butter Grilled Veggies with Basil-Mint Pesto, Maria's Cheese Ravioli with Lemon Basil Butter Sauce, Sommer's Pink Lemonade Cupcakes and Jessica's Pineapple Coconut Bundt Cake.

Check them out and print them and make them!!

We then went into the Land O'Lakes test kitchen! This was so exciting! They have a commercial kitchen that is certified by the Department of Health. Land O'Lakes has a lot of foodservice (think restaurants, hotels, school cafeterias) customers and they wanted to make sure they set up their kitchens just like their customers' set ups and also follow the same protocols their customers have to with the Health Department.

We got to try chocolate chip cookies made with margarine, spreads and butter. My favorite of course were the ones made with butter (in the middle).

And then they told us we were going to bake pie pops in the kitchens set up like home cooks' kitchens. Kitchens like you and I would cook in. And they gave us tons of fun supplies!

I got to bake with these pretty ladies: Maria and Brenda!

And there's me rolling out the pie crust. Seriously, I'm smiling so big because I was in heaven. That silicone baking mat and the rolling pin made it so easy to roll out the pie crust! Someone made a comment, Julie has made pie crust before! And honestly, it was the best pie crust I had rolled out. I can't wait for these goodies to arrive, I will be a pie making fool this summer and during the holidays!

Working it! That's Maria and I putting together these fun pie pops!

We chose strawberries and rhubarb for our pie filling with a little bit of lemon zest. So so good! I can't believe this is my first time trying rhubarb!

Such a fun trip, thrilled I got to experience it and I feel so lucky to get to work with a wonderful company and their people! Back to the recipe…

Bring a big pot of water (with salt) to a boil and start prepping your veggies.

Besides lemons, nothing else says summer like tomatoes. Dice them up and we'll top our pasta with fresh tomatoes.

My mise en place, get all of your ingredients prepped and ready.

Melt the Land O Lakes® Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt in a pan on medium heat.

Cook the squash and asparagus for 3 to 4 minutes in the butter.

Add spinach, cook for almost 2 minutes, the spinach won't be all the way wilted. Add white wine and cook for longer. Squeeze in the lemon and add pasta and mix.

You can use whatever pasta shape you want, you can use angel hair or spaghetti too! Sub out your favorite vegetables or whatever you can find fresh and you have this easy-peasy pasta dish that has a wonderful flavor from the Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt, the white wine and a hint of lemon!

Easy Summer Vegetable Pasta Recipe

Summer Vegetable Pasta Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 1 pound pasta your choice
• 1 Land O Lakes® Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt Half Stick 4 Tablespoons
• 1/2 pound asparagus trimmed and cut into quarters
• 2 yellow squash chopped
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 cups packed fresh spinach rinsed
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 to mato diced
• grated Parmesan cheese
• Italian parsley chopped

Instructions

• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Prep the vegetables. Make the pasta and drain it while cooking the rest.
• In a stainless steel pan, add Land O Lakes® butter with olive oil & sea salt. Melt on medium heat. Add asparagus and squash and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Season with pepper. Add spinach and cook for 90 seconds, until partially wilted. Add the white wine, increase heat to medium high and allow to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off heat and remove pan from heat. Squeeze the half lemon and mix. Add pasta and mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve on plates topped with chopped tomatoes, Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Disclosure: DualFood has partnered with Land O’Lakes for an exclusive endorsement of Land O Lakes® Butter for their Kitchen Conversation blogger program. This blog post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes. There's an affiliate link in this post.

The post Easy Summer Vegetable Pasta Recipe appeared first on DualFood.

The other day I received a card in the mail that contained some sad news. Someone very special to me passed away in February. It was his daughter writing me to give me the news. He was very special to my family and me. And so was his wife, she passed away seven years ago. Growing up in Florida, with grandparents living in California, this couple were my surrogate grandparents. We actually called them Grandma and Grandpa. They would proudly show strangers and friends alike photos of our family declaring, “look at my grandkids!” They were Caucasian and we're not (I'm Vietnamese-American). I think a couple of times, someone said they don't look anything like you. And I think she put them in their place. You had to know her, I'm writing this right now and it makes me laugh out loud.

It took me a while to sit down and write a card back to their daughter. I found myself getting really emotional when I first received the card and when I was writing her back.

How do you put into words…your parents had a profound effect on my childhood. They played a crucial role in my upbringing and are a huge part of who I am today. I told her my only regret is that I didn't go visit him in Pittsburgh before he passed on (they moved back to Pennsylvania when Grandma was declining in health about eight years ago). I really wish I did. But I know they know how special they were to me. There was a period in time when my mom was a single mom, with six children, it was a struggle. Grandma and Grandpa sometimes brought over bags and bags of groceries. My mom didn't ask them to, they just did it.

Grandma took me on shopping trips to TJ Maxx and Marshalls, I have fond memories of her telling us not to touch anything. LOL And to pick out just one thing, she gave us a budget and it had to be under that amount and she would buy it for us. As a child, this meant so much to me. In high school, they took us to softball practice and picked us up. I remember them spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with us even.

They were special to me because they were there for us when our biological grandparents couldn't physically be there for us. Never asking for anything in return, they gave their time, money and love to us as if we deserved it and then some. They taught me unconditional love and that love does not have to come from blood relatives to be true. My grandpa taught me patience (I'm still working on it haha) but he was so patient with grandma, no matter what. Grandma taught me not to take crap from anyone. I love them and I miss them. I feel so grateful and lucky to have them as a part of my family.

Prep the shrimp and toss with dijon mustard.

It just so happened that I just enough spreadable butter left in the tub so I used the tub to make the spicy sriracha butter for the shrimp.

Curtis is literally obsessed with Land O Lakes® Butter spreadable butter, we can't keep enough of it in the house. It makes it really easy to make a spicy butter or a compound butter…and no more torn bread/toast!

When I went to make these amazing grits from the Ravenous Pig cookbook, I realized I didn't have any chicken broth. So I substituted it with water and butter. These grits came out amazing…so that's how I will make these grits from now on…with heavy cream, water and butter.

The grits are done and ready for…

Olive oil and goat cheese. I changed up their recipe to use olive oil instead of bacon fat…you can use bacon fat if you want.

Done and creamy. And guess what? It reheats fairly nicely too. Just add a few drops of water and microwave. Same thing if you left it sitting for too long before serving, add some water, mix thoroughly and reheat. You're good to go.

Cook the shrimp in a cast iron skillet and brush on the spicy sriracha butter.

Grandma and Grandpa weren't true southerners since they were from Pennsylvania but I think they would have gotten a kick out of this recipe.

This is now my go to shrimp & grits recipe…I know you'll love it. If you're completely against goat cheese, try sharp cheddar instead.

Print

Spicy Shrimp and Goat Cheese Grits Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

Goat Cheese Grits

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup corn grits I used Bob's Red Mill yellow corn grits
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil use a really good tasting one
• 2 Tablespoons goat cheese
• kosher salt and pepper

Spicy Shrimp

• 2 teaspoons sriracha chili sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil
• 1/2 pound shrimp peeled and deveined (about 10 to 12 shrimp)
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• fresh parsley chopped
• cooked bacon chopped (optional)

Instructions

• Prep the butter (mix spreadable Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil with the sriracha chili sauce in a small bowl. Peel and devein the shrimp (I left the tails on). Add dijon mustard to shrimp and toss to coat.

Goat Cheese Grits

• Add cream, 1 cup water and butter to a small saucepan and bring to boil.
• Add grits, lower heat to medium and cook until grits are tender, about 8 to 9 minutes (be sure to whisk occasionally so that don't stick and cook evenly).
• Turn off heat. Add olive oil and goat cheese and mix. Season with salt and pepper. Remove saucepan from heat.

Cook the shrimp

• Heat a cast iron skillet on medium high for 3 to 4 minutes. Add shrimp to skillet and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until shrimp is cooked. After turning shrimp, brush sriracha butter mixture onto the shrimp.
• Add grits to a soup bowl, top with shrimp, parsley and bacon.

Just a note, I do have an ongoing relationship with Land O'Lakes and have done sponsored posts with them but this one is not a sponsored post. I always like to share with you my favorite products and brands. And pssst there are affiliate links in this post. Thanks!

The post Easy Spicy Shrimp and Goat Cheese Grits Recipe appeared first on DualFood.

I'm having more fun working with Land O'Lakes (Kitchen Conversations) on this recipe! I'm a huge fan of butter, let's face it: I love all kinds of butter. And brown butter? I'm an even bigger fan. Brown butter gives dishes a nutty AND buttery flavor. I have been wanting to make a dish with gnocchi for a while now. So why not combine brown butter and gnocchi? I'm still scared to make it from scratch so store-bought for now and huge bonus is this dish only takes less  than 30 minutes to put together!

I’m so excited about being a part of the Land O’Lakes Pin a Meal. Give a Meal. campaign for Feeding America®. Feeding America® does such amazing and important work, and I’m thrilled that Land O’Lakes asked me to be a part of helping to bring awareness to hunger in America and help donate meals.

We need your help! For each recipe pinned or repinned, Land O’Lakes will donate nine meals to Feeding America®. You can pin this recipe right here on DualFood to donate. It’s that simple. To help even more, pin or repin any recipe from Land O’Lakes between now and May 31, 2014. If you love Pinterest as much as I do, this program makes it so easy to help a good cause.

Here’s how to make this delicious Gnocchi with Brown Butter Cream Sauce & Kale.

First, let me show you how to brown butter. Melt a Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter Half Stick on medium heat in a nonstick skillet.

It will start foaming. Don't walk away!

A few minutes later, you have brown butter. Butter can burn easily so watch it carefully.

Remove from the skillet and set aside. Don't put that skillet away, you're going to use it to cook the veggies.

Remove the stems from the kale and chop the leaves.

Chop the red pepper.

I chose mini gnocchi for this recipe. Aren't they cute?

Remove the gills from the portobella mushrooms.

And then slice them.

Return the skillet to the stove and add 1 teaspoon of the brown butter, the chopped peppers and sliced mushrooms.

Cook for a few minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked down.

Add the kale.

I love that kale is bright green!

Add the cream and the brown butter and allow it to simmer for a couple of minutes.

All done!

This is definitely a version of really fast comfort food. I love the gnocchi paired with the nuttiness of the brown butter and the cream makes it a teeny bit rich…but the rich flavors are are balanced out by the kale, mushrooms and the peppers. And even better, it tastes great reheated the next day!

And remember, by pinning this recipe, you donate 9 meals to Feeding America^®. For every Land O'Lakes recipe that is pinned or repinned between March 28 and May 31, 2014, the Land O'Lakes Foundation will donate $1 to Feeding America^®. Help us reach the goal to donate of 2.7 million meals.  Visit landolakes.com/Pinameal.

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Gnocchi with Brown Butter Cream Sauce & Kale Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 2 to 3

Ingredients

• 1 Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter Half Stick 4 Tablespoons
• 2 fresh portobella mushrooms washed and sliced
• 1/2 red pepper chopped
• 1 cup chopped kale washed & stems removed first
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• salt & pepper
• 1 pound package of mini or regular-sized gnocchi prepared according to package instructions
• grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

• In a nonstick skillet, melt butter on medium heat. Then cook for 3 to 4 minutes until brown. Remove from pan.
• Return skillet to stove and add 1 teaspoon brown butter. Add mushrooms and red peppers. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes (stir occasionally), until mushrooms are cooked down. Add kale and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes, until the kale is bright green.
• Add cream and the remaining brown butter back to the pan and stir. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Serve sauce with gnocchi and topped with Parmesan cheese.

$1 helps provide 9 meals* secured by Feeding America^® on behalf of local member food banks. The Land O’Lakes Foundation guarantees a minimum of 2.7 million meals* (monetary equivalent of $300,000.00) to Feeding America and member food banks from March 28 through May 31, 2014

Disclosure: DualFood has partnered with Land O’Lakes for an exclusive endorsement of Land O Lakes® Butter for their Kitchen Conversation blogger program. This blog post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes.

The post Easy Gnocchi with Brown Butter Cream Sauce & Kale Recipe appeared first on DualFood.

I'm excited to announce again to be partnering this year with Land O'Lakes on the Kitchen Conversations panel to bring you wonderful recipes with what else…my favorite ingredient: butter!

Raise your hand if you like steak as much as I do? I love grilled steak so much! I used the opportunity to make a fun AND easy recipe with Land O Lakes® Butter with Olive Oil. The marinade for this beef flank steak is a little sweet, a little salty and a teeny bit spicy. Then, I topped it off with the herb butter mixture I made with Land O Lakes® Butter with Olive Oil that I call Chimichurri Butter. I call it that because there's fresh parsley and oregano in the compound butter. It's heaven. Seriously. Serve this steak with mashed potatoes, your favorite vegetable and a salad. Dinner will be amazing. I know you'll love it!

Last week, I traveled to Oklahoma with Land O'Lakes and the rest of the Kitchen Conversations panel, we had a little cooking retreat. We cooked together, chatted, learned ALL about butter, even had a butter tasting and had tons of fun!

We had a friendly cooking competition, Chopped-style, and my cooking partner was Sommer. Our secret ingredients were harissa butter and chia seed (I need to make it again at home so I can share with you our wonderful recipe!) I cooked in Ree's kitchen at the Lodge (weeeee!). I made quinoa for the first time and loved it! We used almost an entire tub of Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil for our recipe and it was amazing!

It was a blast! Ree gave us a tour of her ranch, the amazing building she's working on remodeling, we ate tons of good food and met Puppy Love #2!

Be sure to check out the other panelists' recipes…I can say that they are all amazing because I got to taste each and every one of them!! Best-Loved Blueberry Muffins from Becky of Land O'Lakes, Chicken and Brie Grilled Cheese from Fifteen Spatulas, Roasted Mexican Cauliflower with Pepitas from A Farmgirl's Dabbles, Lemon Chia Seed Pancakes with Roasted Strawberries from Two Peas and Their Pod, Cheesy Green Chile and Buttermilk Biscuits from Picky Palate, Chocolate Baguette Sandwiches with Orange and Sea Salt from Bake at 350, Savory Waffle Sandwiches from A Spicy Perspective and from Rosemary Hasselback Potatoes The Novice Chef!

Here's the step by step for making the grilled steak.

Put the marinade together. It takes seconds.

Add the beef flank steak. I cut it in half because I was afraid it wouldn't fit on my grill pan. (But of course it did fit.) If you're going to cook this right away, leave the baking dish on the counter for 20 minutes. This gives the beef a chance to get closer to room temperature.

If you're not cooking this dish for a few hours, cover it and put it back in the refrigerator.

Making the Chimichurri Butter, it takes just a couple of minutes. First, chop up the herbs and garlic.

Add half of the tub of Land O Lakes® Butter with Olive Oil. I love that it's made from simple ingredients, ingredients that you can pronounce: sweet cream, olive oil and salt.

Mix together thoroughly and place in the refrigerator. The butter with olive oil is spreadable, so it makes making a compound butter so super fast!

Heat the grill pan for 5 minutes and add oil, if needed.

Allow the steak to rest before slicing. This is very important!

This dish is super simple…which is my favorite kind of dish to cook. The level of flavors from the marinade and the Chimichurri Butter play nicely together. The compound butter is necessary for this dish. The freshness of the herbs and the butter go really well with the steak!

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Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri Butter Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Resting Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4 to 6

Ingredients

Steak and Marinade

• 2 Tablespoons vegetable canola or grape seed oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons or 1 1/2 teaspoons packed light brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 pounds beef flank steak

Chimchurri Butter

• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1/2 tub Land O Lakes® Butter with Olive Oil

Instructions

• Mix oil, salt, brown sugar, soy sauce, red wine vinegar and red pepper flakes with a whisk in a large baking dish or bowl. Trim any excess fat off of the flank steak and cut into two if necessary. Add steak to the bowl and allow to marinate on the counter for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cut up herbs and garlic and mix in a small bowl with 1/2 of a tub of Land O Lakes® Butter with Olive Oil. Place in the refrigerator.
• Heat grill pan on medium high (oil pan if necessary) for 5 minutes. Add steaks to the grill pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Turn again and cook about 1 minute on each side. Remove from pan and place on a clean plate and allow meat to rest for about 5 to 6 minutes before slicing. (Make sure to slice against the grain at an angle.) Serve topped with Chimchurri Butter.
• Serve with mashed potatoes, vegetables and a salad if you wish.

Disclosure: DualFood has partnered with Land O’Lakes for an exclusive endorsement of Land O Lakes® Butter for their Kitchen Conversation blogger program. This blog post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes.

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