Emily, Author at Nerds with Knives

Pizza Chicken (with Pepperoni and Basil)

June 15, 2024February 26, 2016 by Emily

Chicken dinner, meet pizza night. Chicken sautéed until golden brown and baked with marinara sauce, gooey mozzarella cheese, spicy pepperoni and fresh basil.

For the sake of clarity and because I really, really like you guys, I want to acknowledge that this title might be a little misleading.

Say you were googling “chicken pizza,” this post might show up (probably on page 35, but whatevs) and I wouldn’t want you to get halfway through reading it before you realized that this recipe is not, in fact, for pizza with chicken on top of it.

This recipe is for chicken cooked in the style of a pizza. And it’s frigging delicious. It’s cheesy and salty and tangy. Exactly the flavors your tongue expects when your brain has told it you’re having pizza for dinner. It also happens to be gluten free and ready in about 20 minutes.

Pizza Chicken (with Pepperoni and Basil) — The flavors that make pizza so delicious

Seared Scallops with Chili-Lime Butter, Pea Purée and Crispy Pancetta

June 10, 2024February 12, 2016 by Emily

Seared Scallops with Jalapeno-Lime Butter, Pea Purée and Crispy Pancetta

Britain is a big old seaside with a few towns in the middle, and while we were there, we often had excellent seared scallops when we ate out. This is our attempt to recreate this dish, served over pureed peas with crisped pancetta.

In the spirit of curmudgeonliness, here’s the real history of Valentine’s Day.

On February 14 around the year 278 A.D., a Roman priest named Valentine was executed.

A little background: Emperor Claudius II (not the stuttering one) had a problem. He was having trouble maintaining a strong… military (not a euphemism, for once). For some reason the men of Rome were reluctant to join an army led by a man whose nickname was ‘Claudius the Cruel’. Go figure.

Claudius presumed it was because of their strong attachment to their wives and families, so he did what any reasonable ruler would do. He banned all marriages and engagements in Rome.

Valentine, hoping his name would one day be synonymous with chalky chocolates and teddy bears holding roses, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.

That is until he was arrested and beaten to death with clubs. And then his head was cut off.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Sweet and Spicy Korean Cocktail Meatballs

June 15, 2024January 29, 2016 by Emily

Sweet and Spicy Korean-Style Cocktail Meatballs

These Korean cocktail meatballs, sweet and spicy, are so tiny and cute and delicious you might forget there’s even a game on.

It’s no secret that I’m not really a sports person. I’m the type of nerd who avoids sports bars at all costs. And if I was forced to go to one, I would probably hide in a corner with a book and a set of earplugs.

Luckily for me I married a man that hates watching sports even more than I do. Other than the World Cup and the occasional Wimbledon match, our house is a strictly sports-free zone (unless you consider marathon-watching season 2 of Fargo a sport, which I do).

But there’s one aspect of Superbowl madness I can unequivocally get behind. Game day snacks.

Blood Orange Salad with Shaved Fennel and Pistachios

June 15, 2024January 22, 2016 by Emily

Blood orange salad is a colorful, tangy and healthy way to remind yourself that winter will not last forever. As a bonus, it also wards off scurvy!

This is the salad to make when you can barely remember what a real garden tomato tastes like. When you’re so deep in winter that the summer abundance of a few months ago seems like a fever dream.

This is the salad that reminds us that, even in the dead of winter, there are still wonderful things to be found if you know where to look.

Thai Peanut Noodles with Grilled Chicken

June 15, 2024January 15, 2016 by Emily

Thai Peanut Noodles with Grilled Chicken

These peanut noodles might be one of the most delicious and easiest recipes we’ve ever created. It’s basically the love child of Chinese cold sesame noodles and Thai chicken satay. If you like those kinds of flavors, I think you’re going to be pretty happy with your dinner.

It’s also happens to be very adaptable. You can make a vegan version with tofu. You could grill shrimp instead of chicken. You could add pretty much any vegetable you would throw into a stir fry (I’ve listed some options with the recipe below).

We found these fresh noodles at our local Asian market but dried spaghetti works equally well. I’ve also seen fresh Chinese egg noodles for sale at our grocery store and those would be great too. Whatever style you decide on, cook them until they’re al dente (but don’t undercook them either).

Roasted Delicata Squash with Miso-Maple Butter

June 15, 2024January 8, 2016 by Emily

I love butternut squash to bits but even I, an admitted squash fiend, sometimes just can’t deal with the work of prepping it. Those suckers are big and can be a pain in the butternut to peel, chop and seed.

That’s why, if you haven’t yet, you should expand your vegetal horizons to include the lovely and thin-skinned Delicata.