Spinach Pomegranate Apple Pear Salad

So this salad started out by just using the random things that I had in the house but it turned out really good and is now one of my favorite salads. Sometimes I get tired of eating only vegetables in salads and really like to but fruit in my salads. However it is hard to find sweet strawberries in the winter so this salad is a perfect combination of winter fruits.

Ingredients:

1 bunch spinach, rinsed and chopped

1 apple, diced (I used pink lady)

1 pear diced

1/2 whole pomegranate arils

fresh shaved Parmesan on top

Just put everything in a bowl, mix, top with Parmesan (put on as much as you like, fresh parm is SO good)

I used balsamic vinaigrette for the dressing because I think it goes really well with fruit.

Pomegranate Apple Spice Bread

I love to eat baked goods but can't justify baking them for myself very often because I will just eat all of them. So when I came across this sweet bread recipe I got really excited. It is relatively healthy with very little oil and sugar and by using whole wheat flour. It turned out really well, the pomegranate arils stay intact and add a nice crunch to the bread. I think it would also be good with the addition of walnuts, I might try that next time. Also, it took mine about an hour to bake and was still in my opinion slightly under baked even though in the recipe it says to only cook for 40 minutes so be careful with the cooking time.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground allspice

pinch ground cloves

pinch ground nutmeg

1/4 cup evaporated cane sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar (make sure to break up any clumps)

1 egg, whisked

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. (5/8 cup) milk

2 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce

3/4 cup apples, finely diced (I used part Granny Smith, part Honeycrisp)

1/2-3/4 cup pomegranate arils

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9x5 bread pan with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients (flour through sugars). In a separate bowl, whisk to combine the butter, applesauce, milk, and egg. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients, stirring just until blended. Fold in the apples and pomegranate arils. Pour the batter into the bread pan.

3. Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Makes 1 loaf.

Snickerdoodles

I decided yesterday, that snickerdoodles are the perfect Christmas cookie. I love snickerdoodles and feel like it is a cookie that is pretty hard to dislike- so I made a double batch of these and wrapped them up to give away.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Topping

2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Cream together the butter and sugars with a mixer on high speed.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth
3. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix well.
5. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees while you let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes.
6. In a small bowl, combine the sugar with the cinnamon for the topping.
7. Roll the dough into balls, roll the dough balls in the topping and place on an ungreased cookie sheet (I like to line my cookie sheets with parchment paper- I think the cookies cook more evenly).
8. Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes and no more (this is important- the cookies WILL look underdone but they continue to develop once they are out of the oven).
9. When the cookies have cooled they should be soft and chewy in the middle.

PIZZA

I love pizza. I would eat it every day if I could. I have recently been searching for a good pizza dough recipe instead of buying frozen dough, and I think that this one is a real winner. I came across the recipe on one of my friends blogs and used it tonight for dinner. I was very happy about the result.

Pizza Dough:

this recipe called for using half regular flour and half whole wheat but since I didn't have any whole wheat flour and by the time I decided this is what I wanted for dinner it was dark and therefore cold outside and I couldn't work up the nerve to walk the 16 blocks round trip to the store. So while I am sure it is good with whole wheat flour (and healthier) is was very good with just regular flour too.

Also I used instant yeast instead of normal yeast and it worked just fine. Instant yeast is much less intimidating to me than real yeast.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup warm water (110-120 degrees F, over 120 degrees will kill your yeast)
2 tsp. honey
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 cup all purpose or bread flour (+ up to 1/4 cup more for kneading)
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS
1. In a glass or plastic bowl (metal can negatively affect yeast), dissolve honey in warm water. Add yeast and let sit (at least 10 minutes) until yeast is active and bubbly.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, and salt. Create a well in the center.
3. Once the yeast mixture is ready, pour it into the well in your flour mixture bowl. Add the extra virgin olive oil. Using a spatula and then your fingers, mix the dough until it pulls away from the side of the bowl.
4. Knead the dough on the counter top, adding up to 1/4 cup more flour just until it is no longer sticking to the counter and has a smooth texture. (You can brush a little olive oil onto your fingers for the kneading process.)
5. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled in size, about an hour.
6. Deflate the dough into a ball, and let it rest on your counter for at least 10 minutes before you create the crust.
7. Preheat the oven and pizza stone to 450 degrees F. A scorching hot pizza stone is the key to getting that puffy evenly cooked crust.

8. To shape your crust you will simply use your hands and gravity. DO NOT use a rolling pin- it will press out all of the air that has formed in your dough. Take the ball of dough in your hands and simply begin pulling it around the edges. It should start to stretch easily. Rotate it around your first making sure you are stretching each side evenly, so that you have a round crust. The middle will be fairly thin, and you want to leave the edges thicker so they will puff up.

Pizza Sauce:

Don't use to much sauce, use less than you think you should. I didn't use all that this recipe made.

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
6 fluid ounces warm water
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional- I left it out!)
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, water, garlic, honey, anchovy paste, onion powder, oregano, marjoram, basil, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and salt; mix together, breaking up any clumps of cheese.

2. Sauce should sit for 30 minutes (or longer in the refrigerator) to blend flavors; spread over pizza dough and prepare pizza as desired.

Both recipes make enough for one pizza, then you can top with anything you would like. I used fresh mozzarella, sausage, green peppers, onions and squash (it just happened to be what I had in the fridge). I also like to use spinach and artichoke hearts for pizza. But really you can use whatever you feel like.

I hope you guys enjoy this as much as we did.

The recipe is only for one sandwich but I doubled it when I made it last week- it took less than 20 minutes start to finish and was a fantastic, easy lunch.

1 (1/2-inch-thick) center slice from a round Italian loaf of bread
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for brushing
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 chicken cutlet (about 1/4 inch thick)
1 plum tomato, halved lengthwise
1/4 teaspoon herbes de Provence/em> or dried thyme
1/4 head romaine (quarter head lengthwise), tough outer leaves removed and root end kept intact
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, halved crosswise
print a shopping list for this recipe


Preparation: Preheat broiler.

Brush both sides of bread with oil, then put bread on a large baking sheet.

Stir together mayonnaise, mustard, cheese, and zest in a small bowl, then coat top of cutlet with about 2 tablespoons sauce, reserving remaining sauce. Transfer chicken to baking sheet.

Brush cut sides of tomato with oil and season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with herbes de Provence. Transfer to baking sheet.

Toss romaine with 1 tablespoon oil, lemon juice, and 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a bowl until coated. Transfer to baking sheet.

Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat until bread is golden-brown, about 2 minutes. Turn bread and continue broiling until browned, about 2 minutes. Remove toast from broiler and continue broiling until romaine is wilted and well browned in spots, chicken is just cooked through, and tomato is lightly browned, 1 to 4 minutes more (remove romaine, chicken, and tomato as done).

Rub toast with cut side of garlic (reserve other 1/2 clove for another use). Top garlic toast with chicken, lettuce, and tomato. Serve with remaining sauce.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Broiled-Chicken-Romaine-and-Tomato-Bruschetta-356052

Easy Apple Crisp

One of my favorite fall recipes is an easy apple crisp (topped with ice cream or whipped cream). Enjoy!

Crust:
2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter (melted)
½ cup sugar (granulated)

Mix graham cracker crumbs and sugar together. Add melted butter. Press mixture onto the bottom of a 9x13 inch glass pan.

Pie Filling:
3 cans apple pie filling (Comstock)
½ cup flour
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Mix the above ingredients in a bowl then pour onto the pie crust.

Crumb topping
1/2 cup flour
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 stick butter (slightly softened)
2 tsp cinnamon

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl with a fork and knife, creating small crumbling dough for the topping. Spread the crumb topping over the pie filling.

Bake the pie at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly. Top with vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, whipped cream, or all of the above.

Pie Recipes, Please

With the Thanksgiving Holiday approaching I have been thinking about pies. I have grown more fond of pies since marrying Chris because he loves pie,

Also, watching the movie Waitress expanded my pie horizons, if there is an eating establishment like that out there I would like to know where it is.

For all of you pie bakers, or beginning pie bakers, please post your favorite pie recipes or those that you hope might become your favorite.

I am going to try my hand at this Chocolate Smore Pie.
















Ingredients

For crust

• 1 graham cracker crumb crust , baked and cooled completely

For chocolate cream filling

• 7 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not more than 70% cacao; not unsweetened), finely chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 large egg, at room temperature for 30 minutes

For marshmallow topping

• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-ounce package)
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• Vegetable oil for greasing

• Special equipment: a candy thermometer

Preparation

Make chocolate cream filling:
Make graham cracker crumb crust and reserve.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Put chocolate in a large bowl. Bring cream just to a boil in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan, then pour hot cream over chocolate. Let stand 1 minute, then gently whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Gently whisk in egg and a pinch of salt until combined and pour into graham cracker crumb crust (crust will be about half full).

Cover edge of pie with a pie shield or foil and bake until filling is softly set and trembles slightly in center when gently shaken, about 25 minutes. Cool pie to room temperature on a rack (filling will firm as it cools), about 1 hour.

Make marshmallow topping:
Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup cold water in a large deep heatproof bowl and let stand until softened, about 1 minute.

Stir together sugar, corn syrup, a pinch of salt, and remaining 1/4 cup water in cleaned 1- to 1 1/4-quart heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then boil until thermometer registers 260°F, about 6 minutes.

Begin beating water and gelatin mixture with an electric mixer at medium speed, then carefully pour in hot syrup in a slow stream, beating (avoid beaters and side of bowl). When all of syrup is added, increase speed to high and continue beating until mixture is tripled in volume and very thick, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla and beat until combined, then immediately spoon topping onto center of pie filling; it will slowly spread to cover top of pie. Chill, uncovered, 1 hour, then cover loosely with lightly oiled plastic wrap (oiled side down) and chill 3 hours more.

Brown topping:
Preheat broiler.

Transfer pie to a baking sheet. Cover edge of pie with pie shield or foil and broil 3 to 4 inches from heat, rotating pie as necessary, until marshmallow topping is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Cool pie on a rack 10 minutes. Slice pie with a large heavy knife dipped in hot water and then dried with a towel before cutting each slice.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Smore-Pie-236387

Molten Chocolate Cakes

I have not had great success lately with the new entrees I have prepared, but I did try out this dessert this week and I love how quickly it came together. For some reason I always thought molten chocolate cakes were time intensive, but they are actually easier than making cookies.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tins
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for muffin tins
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
• Whipped Cream , for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter 6 cups of a standard muffin tin. Dust with granulated sugar, and tap out excess. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour and salt until just combined. Beat in chocolate until just combined. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.
3. Place muffin tin on a baking sheet; bake just until tops of the cakes no longer jiggle when the pan is lightly shaken, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.
4. To serve, turn out cakes, and place on serving plates, bottom sides up. Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve with whipped cream, if desired.

From Great Food Fast, by Martha Stewart

Salmon over Lentils

I'm so glad people are posting recipes again! To continue this wonderful trend, I am posting one of my favorite salmon recipes. I have only recently discovered lentils and am excited to try them in new things through the winter months.

For mustard-herb butter
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives
• 1 teaspoon chopped tarragon
• 2 teaspoons grainy mustard
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

For lentils
• 1 cup French green lentils
• 4 cups water
• 2 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

For salmon
• 4 (6-ounce) pieces skinless salmon fillet
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preparation

Make mustard-herb butter:
Stir together all ingredients with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

Cook lentils:
Bring lentils, water, and 3/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a heavy medium saucepan, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until lentils are just tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid, then drain lentils.

While lentils cook, chop leeks, then wash. Cook leeks in butter in a heavy medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add lentils with reserved cooking liquid to leeks along with 3 tablespoons mustard-herb butter and cook, stirring, until lentils are heated through and butter is melted. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and keep warm, covered.

Sauté salmon while leeks cook:
Pat salmon dry and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper (total).
Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then sauté salmon, turning once, until golden and just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes total.

Serve salmon, topped with remaining mustard-herb butter, over lentils.

(http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salmon-with-Lentils-and-Mustard-Herb-Butter-em-Saumon-aux-Lentilles-em-241768)

Chicken Noodle Soup

Joseph and I love this soup, Joseph requests it on a regular basis. Plus it is very easy and quick. And as it is now freezing in Philadelphia I will be making this more often.

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into small pieces)
3-4 carrots, chopped
1-2 stalks celery, diced
1 onion, diced
2-3 cans chicken broth
1/2 bag of egg noodles
Italian seasonings

Directions:
Chop chicken into bite sized pieces and brown in the pot where you will make the soup with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and italian seasoning to taste. Remove from the pot and reserve on a plate. Add celery, onion, celery and chicken broth to the pot (you can do more or less broth depending on how brothy you like your soup, I like this with a little bit less broth and more noodles but it is up to you). Bring to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender. Season the soup with salt, pepper and more italian seasoning to taste.

Meanwhile in another pot boil the egg noodles according to the package instructions. After the vegetables are tender add the noodles and chicken to the soup. Simmer for a few minutes until the chicken is warm.

Eat and enjoy.

Flourless Chocolate Torte

For all you chocolate lovers out there, this is a fabulous flourless torte. If you are in the mood for something very rich then try this. I made one of these for Chris' birthday a couple of weeks ago and I wondered why I had not made one in so long. This recipe calls for a heart shaped pan, which we happen to have, but any tart type pan with a removable bottom would work.

Ingredients:

• Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting
• 15 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 18 Tbs. (2 1⁄4 sticks) unsalted butter,
  cut into small pieces
• 7 egg yolks
• 9 Tbs. granulated sugar
• 1 1⁄2 Tbs. dark rum or brewed espresso (optional)
• 1 1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 5 egg whites, at room temperature
• 3 cups raspberries
• Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 300ºF. Grease a heart cake pan and dust with cocoa powder.

In the top pan of a double boiler, combine the chocolate and butter. Set the top pan over but not touching barely simmering water in the bottom pan and melt, then whisk until well blended. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the egg yolks, 6 Tbs. of the granulated sugar, the dark rum, vanilla and salt on medium-high speed until pale and very thick, 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually pour in the chocolate mixture and continue beating until well blended.

In a deep, clean bowl, using a mixer fitted with a clean whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add the remaining 3 Tbs. granulated sugar and continue to beat until medium-firm peaks form, about 2 minutes. Scoop half of the egg whites onto the chocolate mixture and fold them in gently. Fold in the remaining whites just until no streaks remain.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly. Bake until the torte puffs slightly and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out very moist but not liquid, about 40 minutes. Do not overcook. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes.

To remove the pan sides, set the pan on a can and let the sides slide down. Let the torte cool completely, then cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Just before serving, garnish the torte with the raspberries and dust with confectioners' sugar. Serves 12 to 14.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Dessert, by Abigail Johnson Dodge (Simon & Schuster, 2002 ).

Baked Brie with Brown Sugar & Almonds

Yesterday I tried out my mom's recipe for a baked brie party appetizer for the first time ever and it turned out very well! (This is not a picture of it. I forgot to take a picture, but you get the idea).

So, for my first post on Les Cuisinieres I thought I would share it with you...

The recipe is pretty simple, yet it ends up looking like you slaved away in the kitchen all day. The only thing that was a bit tricky was finding a relatively inexpensive wheel of brie. Surprisingly, I found one at Whole Foods.

Ingredients:
1 large wheel of brie
Frozen phyllo dough sheets (usually in the freezer section in the grocery store)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter (melted)
Walnuts or Almonds

1. Thaw the phyllo dough in the freezer overnight. Or, you can microwave the dough for 30 seconds on each side and then let it sit out for 30 minutes. My mom forgot to mention the part about thawing the dough, so I had to improvise.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

3. Cover a 13 x 9 pan with foil. Roll out a few phyllo dough sheets and place them in the pan. Brush them with melted butter.

4. Place the round of brie on top of the phyllo dough and then wrap the sheets around the brie like a present, trying to make it look pretty. I wrapped the dough around the brie and then tucked the remaining pieces underneath. You can also create leaves out of the phyllo dough and place them on top of the brie, but I didn't try anything that tricky for my first attempt.

5. Brush more butter all over the dough that is wrapped around the brie. Then, sprinkle brown sugar and almonds on top. Don't let any brown sugar get on the tin foil or it will start burning and will make the oven smell (I found this out the hard way).

6. Bake the brie until it is browned, for approximately 20 minutes.

7. Serve the brie with crackers, pita chips, or bagel chips and enjoy!

Pasta with Walnut Sauce and Broccoli

This is another success that I stumbled across during my quest for healthier dinner recipes. And it's very fast- we had dinner on the table in less than thirty minutes from start to finish.

1 garlic clove (I would probably add more next time)

3/4 cup shelled walnuts

1 tablespoon bread crumbs

1/3 cup ricotta

2 tablespoons warm water

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus additional for sprinkling

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 bunch broccoli raab, stems trimmed, or chopped broccoli

1 pound pasta

About 1/2 cup pasta cooking water (more as needed)

1. Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and drop in the garlic. When it is chopped and adhering to the sides of the bowl, turn off and scrape down the bowl. Add the walnuts and bread crumbs, and process to a paste. Add the ricotta, 2 tablespoons warm water and Parmesan. Pulse until well blended. Add the olive oil, and process until smooth. Taste and add salt as desired. Transfer to a wide pasta bowl.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the broccoli raab or broccoli. Boil four to five minutes, until tender but still bright. Drain and chop broccoli raab medium-fine (regular broccoli need not be chopped). Set aside.

3. Bring the water back to a boil and cook the pasta al dente, following the timing instructions on the package but checking a minute or two before the indicated cooking time. Before draining the pasta, add 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water to the ricotta mixture and stir until well blended. The sauce should have a creamy consistency (add more of the pasta water if necessary). Just before draining the pasta, add the broccoli raab or broccoli back into the pot with the pasta to heat, then drain. Toss at once with the sauce, and serve, passing Parmesan on the side.

(From NY Times Series: Recipes for Health: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/health/nutrition/29recipehealth.html?ref=health)

Black Bean, Corn and Zucchini Enchiladas

So I may have a thing for enchiladas as well, I know these sound similar to the other Vegetable Enchiladas I posted, but the zucchini and the sauce completely change the dish. I did not actually cook these myself, but I did eat them after one of my friends had made them and I will be making them soon. I recommend everyone do the same.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 2 cups diced zucchini
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole-kernel corn
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 cups Enchilada Sauce, divided
• Cooking spray
• 8 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 cups zucchini and corn; sauté for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat, and stir in beans.

Spread 1 cup Enchilada Sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spoon about 1/2 cup zucchini mixture down center of 1 tortilla; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese, and roll up. Place seam-side down in baking dish. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, zucchini mixture, and 14 tablespoons cheese. Spread remaining 2 cups sauce evenly over enchiladas.

Cover with foil; bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; top with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until cheese melts.

Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, undrained

Preparation

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in broth and remaining ingredients. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Leigh Ann Ross. Recipes from Cooking Light

Birthday Belgian Waffles

I love pancakes and waffles and I am always trying new variations to find the ultimate in homemade breakfast items. For my birthday I really wanted some waffles so Chris, being the great husband that he is, whipped some up- this is the only picture we have of the actual waffles because they were consumed so quickly. Look how perfectly fluffy they are. These are delicious and luckily Chris never looks at this blog so he won't ever see this picture of himself posted for your enjoyment. When you decide to try these out, make sure you have plenty of time as the batter has to rise for an hour (we were hungry so we only let ours rise for half the time and they still turned out great).

A little bit of food history for you all-this was included with the recipe:

When Belgian waffles were introduced to Americans at the 1964 World's Fair in New York City, they were yeast-raised and served with sweetened whipped cream. This recipe is in the spirit of the original Belgian waffle.

Recipe

Whisk together:

1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm (105°F to 110°F) milk

Let stand until the yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Whisk together in a large bowl:

3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup lukewarm milk
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm

Whisk in the yeast mixture along with:

1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons vanilla

Add, in 3 parts:

4 cups all purpose flour

alternating, in 2 parts, with:

2 1/2 cups warm (105 °F to 115 °F) milk

Beat until soft peaks form, then fold into the batter:

3 large egg whites

Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Stir to deflate the batter. Preheat your waffle iron.

Spoon batter onto your waffle iron as you normally would and bake until waffle is golden brown.

We served ours with real maple syrup, berries, and freshly whipped cream.

From the Joy of Cooking's All About Breakfast & Brunch

Not your everyday muffin...

The NY Times has a running series called Recipes for Health and I've really enjoyed some of the recipes I've found there. Not all... but many. This is one of their latest. I was feeling adventurous this morning, and couldn't sleep anyway so I gave these a shot. Not your typical sweet and cakelike muffin, these are heartier and healthier. And, they are quite good warm with a little butter.

Healthy Blueberry Muffins

2/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup low-fat milk
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries (I recommend fresh but frozen would do)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the middle. Oil 12 muffin cups. Combine the oats and milk in a bowl, and let sit for 15 minutes, until the oats have softened.

2. Sift together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, honey, buttermilk, coil and vanilla. Quickly whisk in the flour, then fold in the oats and the blueberries. Combine well.

4. Spoon into muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then remove and cool on a rack.

Greek Salad

This is a wonderful summer salad. The recipe actually calls for the salad to be layered in a glass jar... but plates more than suffice.
* 3/4 cup orzo
* 1 (15-ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
* 1 large tomato, diced (1 cup)
* 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
* 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
* 1/2 seedless cucumber, halved lengthwise, cored, and diced (1 cup)
* 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon finely chopped oregano (this can be overpowering)
* 2 to 3 cups coarsely chopped romaine
* 1/2 pound feta, crumbled (1 cup)


Cook and drain orzo, rinse under cold water until cool. Drain well.

Toss black-eyed peas, tomato, and parsley with vinegar, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Marinate, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss together orzo, remaining tablespoon oil, cucumber, onion, lemon zest and juice, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.

Divide black-eyed-pea mixture (with juices) on plates and layer orzo salad, romaine, and feta on top.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Greek-Salad-with-Orzo-and-Black-Eyed-Peas-243207

Burgers

For the 4th of July we decided to celebrate with burgers on the grill. I love a good burger but I also like my burger to be seasoned. I had Chris season mine with this mixture and it was one of the best burgers I have had in a long time. Please feel free to post your burger seasoning secrets as we are always in pursuit of achieving the ultimate burger flavor.

For every 2 pounds of beef:

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt & Pepper

I topped my burger with cheddar, bacon, avocado, sauteed mushrooms, ketchup and mustard. Delicious.

Double Chocolate Cookies

Chris and I were craving something chocolatey this weekend so we decided to make these cookies. I have been hesitant in the past about chocolate cookies because they never seem to meet my expectations, but these were delicious. I fully intended to photograph the ones we made, but once I got the camera out I realized they were all gone.

Ingredients

Makes about 3 dozen

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 pound good-quality chocolate, 4 ounces coarsely chopped and 4 ounces cut into 1/4-inch chunks* I used the Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate bars for this- they were on super sale at our grocery store one day so I stocked up and I prefer this over milk chocolate anyway.
  
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Melt 4 ounces coarsely chopped chocolate with the butter in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; let cool slightly.
2. Put chocolate mixture, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chunks.
3. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are flat and surfaces crack, about 15 minutes (cookies should be soft). Let cool on parchment on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

A New Type of Pesto Pasta

So the other day while I was at Costco I thought it would be a good idea to buy a 3 pound bag of walnuts (they were so cheap in bulk) even though we are moving in 4.5 weeks. Oh well, Costco wins again. So Joseph and I have been trying to think of ways to eat all of these walnuts, he made this delicious pasta for dinner the other night and it was really good. Sorry I forgot to take a picture.

Use some type of short pasta, I used Penne, cook in salted water

okay for the topping, it is a pesto of sorts

1 can kalamata olives
feta cheese
2 cloves garlic
1 onion
walnuts

put these ingredients in a food processor and blend until they form a paste of sorts, you may want to grind the garlic first to make sure it gets ground up really well. Add olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once the noodles are finished top with the olive/walnut/feta pesto and enjoy.

Let them eat quiche

Ham and Asparagus Quiche

This is a fantastic meal with a quick salad. You can probably change around the ingredients.

1 Prebaked pie shell (I wimp out here and buy one in the freezer section, poke some holes in the crust with a fork and bake it at 350 for 15 to 20 minute, until golden brown)

Whisk together:
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
3/4 C whole milk
3/4 heavy cream
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper
pinch of nutmeg



Sprinkle a layer of Parmesan cheese on top.

On the bottom of the warm pie crust scatter 4 oz. deli ham cut into 1/4- 1/2 inch dice and 8 stalks of asparagus that have been cut into one inch pieces and blanched.






Pour the whisked egg mixture on top until filled to an inch or so below the top. Bake for 32-35 minutes until the center is like gelatin but a knife inserted an inch from the border comes out clean. Can be served warm or at room temperature.



Courtesy of the New Best Recipe Book from Cooks Illustrated pp640

Chicken Stir-Fry Wraps

I made these for dinner and they were really good. This is obviously not my picture. I got the recipe from Martha, who I love. I made some rice which Joseph added to his wraps which was also good.

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast halved horizontally and sliced thin
1 large onion, sliced thin
1 large bell pepper, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1 TBSP water
12-16 boston lettuce leaves

Directions

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat. Add half the chicken; cook, stirring constantly, until opaque throughout, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.
2. Add remaining tablespoon oil to pan, along with the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until onion is tender and golden, about 4 minutes (reduce heat if browning too quickly).
3. Reduce heat to medium; add garlic, ginger, and red-pepper flakes; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds.
4. Stir in soy sauce, vinegar, and cornstarch mixture; remove from heat. Add chicken and any accumulated juices; toss to coat. Serve in lettuce cups.

Goat cheese, basil, red pepper delights

I make these everytime I have a chance. It is one of my absolute favorite recipes ever, and I could probably eat these every week and never get sick of them. Seriously you MUST try these. I first tried them at a party and ate like 7. I asked the girl for her recipe and now I make it all the time.

ingredients:

baguette (large or small, doesn't matter)
Red bell peppers
goat cheese
garlic (minced or pureed) (in a pinch you can use powdered garlic)
fresh basil

1. slice the baguette and spread garlic on each piece, place on a cookie sheet.
2. set the oven to BROIL and toast about 2 minutes (watch them, this happens fast)
3. spread goat cheese on each piece.
4. top with a leaf, or pieces of leaves of basil.
5. slice and saute red pepper in a pan.
6. place a slice or two of the red peppers on each slice of toast.
ENJOY!

Greek Turkey Burger

So this is so good we have made it three times in the past week! It was inspired by a show we saw on the Food Network. It involved a burger cook-off. I was literally salivating when I watched the show, so I went home and made my own version. Sorry the photos aren't very pretty. I kind of didn't think about taking the photo until the last minute. (WAY yummier than it looks.)

ingredients:

hamburger buns (good ones)
ground turkey ( I used Jennie-O)
feta
cucumbers
tzatziki sauce ( bought it pre-made at Trader Joes, but you can get it or something like it--basically greek yogurt sauce- at whole foods and other specialty stores. otherwise look for a recipe on the internet)

1. Cook the turkey burgers in a pan or on the grill, and sprinkle with salt on both sides.
2. When doing the second side, put some feta on top so that it kind of heats up and softens.
3. grill the buns
4. smear some sauce on the buns, place some cucumbers (sliced) on top, then the burger!

(I also put some sauteed onions on mine the second time, and Franc put tomatoes. delicious.)

Grilled fish tacos with green cabbage salad

Mike and I were going through cook books we got for our wedding trying to find a recipe that was easy enough to try. We came across this one in our Williams-Sonoma grilling cook book and it was delicious!

1 lb (500g) skinless halibut or other firm white fish fillets, cut into strips about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide

2 tsp cajun spice mix

2 tsp olive oil

4 cups finely shredded green cabbage

1 tsp sugar

1 small green chile, seeded and minced

2 green (spring) onions, including tender green parts, finely chopped

2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro

4 Tbls (2 fl oz) lime juice

2 avocados, pitted and peeled

8-10 fresh corn or flour tortillas, warmed

Put fish in a bowl, Sprinkle with spice mix, olive oil, and 1/2 tsp salt and turn fish to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 30 min - 4 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 15 min before grilling.

Build a fire in a charcoal grill for cooking over medium heat. If using a gas grill, preheat to high heat (400 degrees and then reduce heat to medium 350 degrees for cooking.

In a bowl, combine cabbage, sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt. Work cabbage between your fingers to soften and moisten. Add chile, green onions, cilantro, 2 Tbls lime juice, and several grindings of pepper and toss to mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside at room temperature to allow flavors to meld.

Mash avocados in a small bowl and stir in remaining 2 Tbsp lime juice. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Arrange fish in an oiled grill basket or on oiled heavy duty aluminum foil. Place basket on or slide foil onto grill. Grill, turning once, until fish just starts to flack when prodded with a fork and is opaque throughout, about 2 min per side. Divide cabbage salad among tortillas and top with fish and a dollop of avocado. Serve at once

ENJOY!

Vegetable Enchiladas

For those of you out there who think I have not been cooking lately, think again. I simply have not been posting much for various reasons, but today is a posting extravaganza of delicious food.

I really liked these enchiladas as is, but you can also add chicken to the mix if you want some extra protein. I served ours with some rice and then some avocado and tomato chunks mixed with the greens of the scallions as a garnish. As I think more about it- I may add a little more cheese on the top next time because I really like cheese.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for baking dishes
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium vegetable broth
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 cups grated pepper Jack cheese (12 ounces)
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 box (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 box (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 6 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
• 16 corn tortillas (6-inch)

Directions:

1. Make sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add 1 teaspoon cumin, flour, and tomato paste; cook, whisking, 1 minute. Whisk in broth and 3/4 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
2. Make filling: In a large bowl, combine 2 cups cheese, beans, spinach, corn, scallion whites, and remaining 1 teaspoon cumin; season with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil two 8-inch square baking dishes or one large baking dish; set aside. Stack tortillas, and wrap in damp paper towels; microwave on high for 1 minute. Or stack and wrap in aluminum foil, and heat in oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Top each tortilla with a heaping 1/3 cup of filling; roll up tightly and arrange, seam side down, in prepared baking dishes.
4. Dividing evenly, sprinkle enchiladas with remaining 1 cup cheese, and top with sauce. Bake, uncovered, until hot and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes; serve garnished with scallion greens.

recipe from Everyday Food

Spaghetti with Three Tomato Sauce

This is a simple and delicious dish. I like to use those small Campari tomatoes from Costco instead of the cherry tomatoes because I like the flavor better. If you have Trader Joe's in your area their sun-dried tomatoes are a much better deal than the typical grocery store. Also, I never needed to add any of the reserved pasta water in, so I just drained the pasta and then add the tomato sauce.

Ingredients

• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato oil, (from oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes with juice
• 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of boiling salted water to a boil.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons tomato oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper; cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add canned tomatoes with juice and sun-dried tomatoes. Simmer gently over medium, stirring occasionally and breaking up canned tomatoes until thick, 15 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes; simmer until soft, 10 minutes.
3. Drain spaghetti, reserving 1 cup pasta water; return pasta to pot. Add tomato mixture; season with salt and pepper. Toss, adding pasta water as desired. Serve immediately.

recipe from Everday Food

Creme Brulee

One day last summer, Chris and I were perusing the isles of Costco and we stumbled upon a package of vanilla beans. For those of you who are familiar with this venerable spice pod it is ridiculously expensive- I believe we paid $20 for two vanilla beans at the grocery store. Anyway, this Costco pack had at least 10 beans in it and it was $20 so we popped it in our cart not even thinking about the fact that we had only really needed one vanilla bean one time in our 3 years of cooking together.

Fast forward to this summer, we are trying to use all these beans in various recipes before they go bad.

The first thing we made was a creme brulee and it was delicious. Chris actually made it, I just torched the sugar on top of the one I ate. There will be more vanilla bean inspired dishes to come in the next few months.

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
8 large egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pour sugar into the egg yolks and beat the yolks until smooth. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean.

Heat the heavy cream until almost simmering. Gradually add the heavy cream to the egg yolks while whisking vigorously. This will temper the eggs so that they do not curdle. Once all of the heavy cream has been added into the yolks, pour the mixture into 6-8 ramekins depending on size.

Place the ramekins in a baking pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until the custard is set, but still jiggles in the center, approximately 40-45 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours prior to serving.

Before serving, pour about a teaspoon of sugar on the top of each custard. Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy delicious caramelized sugar top.

recipe from vanilla bean packaging www.rodellevanilla.com

Spring Wraps

We recently had dinner with some friends who introduced us to these lovely wraps. I'm sure there is a better name for them but I have no idea what it is.



The wrap is basically a translucent rice tortilla. Before using- submerge it in water for a minute or so until soft (use a shallow dish large enough to cover the whole wrap).



Then fill with a variety of thinly sliced vegetables and fruit (we used carrots, cucumbers, apple, cilantro), vermicelli noodles, scrambled egg and some chopped peanuts. Then you top it off with peanut sauce and wrap the whole thing up. Easy n'est pas? I'm excited to try some variations with the fillings and make my own peanut sauce but delicious regardless.

PS- I found everything I needed at my regular grocery store so this shouldn't require tracking down specialty items which is always a pain.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce

These pancakes are some of my favorite- we make them a lot, but do not photograph them. The only photo I could find was one from our Christmas morning breakfast where we tried the pancakes in the original form and with blueberries, but it did not really highlight the food so I had to borrow this one from Williams Sonoma. We also had these yesterday for our Mother's Day breakfast which reminded me I need to share them with all of you.

Try them, you will not be sorry. You have to make the raspberry sauce to go with them- I have never eaten one with syrup, so I do not recommend it.

Ingredients:

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 cup milk

3 eggs, separated

1/4 cup sugar

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta, milk, egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and juice until smooth. Sift together the flour, baking powder and 1/8 tsp. of the salt over the ricotta mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.

In another large bowl, using a whisk, beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the remaining 1/8 tsp. salt and continue beating until soft peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold one-third of the egg whites into the ricotta mixture, then gently fold in the remaining whites.

Preheat a griddle over medium heat. Spray the griddle with nonstick cooking spray. Ladle 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook until bubbles form on top and the pancakes are golden underneath, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer to a warmed plate. Repeat with the remaining batter. Makes 12 to 14 pancakes.

I just wing it with the Raspberry Sauce:

Sauce

Raspberries- fresh or frozen but thawed
Sugar
Grand Marnier (optional)

Put the raspberries in a blender or food processor, add sugar to taste by the tablespoonful. Add Grand Marnier to taste as well starting with teaspoonfuls. Blend to desired consistency.

Lemony Risotto with Asparagus

We had this for dinner last night- I expected it to be okay but it was fantastic. Quick, light and summery. The recipe also recommends adding 3/4 lb. of shrimp if you'd like (per the photo).

* 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
* 2 cups water
* 3/4 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1 small onion, finely chopped
* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
* 1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
* 1/4 cup white wine (or reduced sodium chicken broth)
* 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
* 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley


Bring broth and water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Add asparagus and simmer, uncovered, until just tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer asparagus with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to stop cooking, then drain. Keep broth at a bare simmer, covered.

Cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 4-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add wine and simmer, stirring constantly, until absorbed.

Stir in 1/2 cup broth mixture and briskly simmer, stirring frequently, until absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until rice is creamy and tender but still al dente (it should be the consistency of a thick soup), about 18 minutes. (There will be leftover broth mixture.)

Stir in asparagus, zest, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, Parmesan, parsley, and pepper to taste. (Thin risotto with some of remaining broth if necessary.)

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lemony-Risotto-with-Asparagus-and-Shrimp-352773

Cream Cheese Brownies

I love brownies, I love cheesecake- and I love them even more together. Enjoy!

Brownie Base
2/3 C. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
8 Tbsp. butter cut into quarters
1 C. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Cream Cheese filling
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8-inch baking pan with foil and coat with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water- melt the chocolate and butter. Remove from heat, whisk in vanilla and sugar. Whisk in eggs one at a time. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until just incorporated.

For the cream cheese filling: beat the ingredients together in a small bowl until evenly blended.

Pour half the batter in the pan, drop half the cream cheese mixture, by spoonfuls, over the batter. Repeat, layering the remaining batter and cream cheese filling. Use the blade of a knife to gently swirl the brownie batter and cream cheese for a marbling effect.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the brownies have puffed slightly and a toothpick comes out with fudgy crumbs. Cool on a wire rack and in the refrigerator until chilled (probably about hours).

Courtesy of "The New Best Recipe"/Cooks Illustrated
photo: We had nine dinner guests last night and the brownies were gone well before I thought to take a picture. So I have borrowed one: dinneranddessert.wordpress.com

Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

I love cookies. Chris loves cookies, and these are some of our favorites. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with coconut and pecans. When I make these I have to give them away or I will end up eating all of them. This time I decided to make these jumbo sized and they turned out just as well as regular sized- in fact I think they turned out better.














Recipe

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 ºF. Spray your baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper (I always just line mine with parchment paper because we have a "vintage" oven and it cooks unevenly- the parchment paper seems to help with that).

Stir together the flour, baking soda, kosher salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.

Stir together the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. In another large bowl beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until creamy and blended. Add the egg mixture in two additions and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Reduce the speed to low, slowly add the dry ingredients, and beat until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Stir in the oatmeal, chocolate chips, coconut, and pecans.

Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheets (when I did the jumbo sized cookies I fit 6 on a sheet- normally I could fit 12).

Bake until the edges of the cookies are golden and the centers are barely cooked, about 10 minutes. (Even with the jumbo cookies they will still be ready in about 10 minutes). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 to 3 minutes then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Recipe makes 4 dozen regular cookies or 2 dozen jumbo.

Adapted from Bride and Groom First and Forever Cookbook

Strawberry Scones

Sometimes I get a little carried away when I'm in the fruit section of Costco- everything looks so appealing that sometimes I forget that we can only consume so many servings of fruit per day. Take last weekend for example- I saw a tray of delicious red strawberries calling my name. We got them home; snacked on them, sliced them over cereal, made smoothies... and last night I realized that I still had half of this ginormous tray of strawberries to do something with before they went bad. So I made these. And they were delicious.


Strawberry Scones
(Courtesy of: http://confessionsoftart.blogspot.com/2009/03/strawberry-scones.html)

1 cup strawberries
3 tablespoons sugar
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, in cubes, slightly softened
2/3 cup half-and-half or cream or cold buttermilk -- I used cream
(I also added about a tablespoon of orange zest and it was a great addition)

Topping:1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
Sprinkle fruit with1/2 tablespoon sugar; set aside (be sure to make the pieces small).
Combine remaining sugar with flour, baking powder (and 1/4 tsp of salt if you're using unsalted butter). Add butter, using a pastry cutter or 2 knives to cut in butter. Stir in fruit; then add cream/half-and-half/buttermilk. Use spatula to gently stir dough until it holds together.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to incorporate dry ingredients. Be gentle so you don't break up the berries and don't overwork the dough.

Pat the dough into a circle 3/4 inch thick. Cut circle into 6-8 wedges, then transfer wedges to the cookie sheet, leaving at least 1/2 inch ofspace between them. Bake 15 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and bake 5-10 more minutes or until the tops are beginning to brown and spring back when you push them.

I had a difficult time getting the dough together and not mashing the berries-- I'm going to try making these with chocolate chips next time.

(this is obviously not my photo but, minus the floral arrangement, they looked the same)

Caesar Lite Salad

I had this salad at a dinner party a few months ago and have been making it ever since.


Croutons:
1 loaf of French bread- crust trimmed and cut into smallish cubes
1/3 C. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic

Blend olive oil and garlic in food processor or blender. Toss with bread cubes. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes, until lightly browned.


Dressing:
2 Tbs. white wine vinegar
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. lemon zest (finely chopped lemon peel)
1 tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2/3 C. olive oil
Blend all ingredients except olive oil. Slowly whisk in olive oil.

Chop 1-2 heads of romaine lettuce and wash thoroughly. Toss with dressing and croutons. Top with grated parmesan cheese. (www.foodnetwork.com)

Crab Cakes

So I got this recipe from Paula Deen and was surprised to learn you did not have to use 100 sticks of butter to make it. I was a little nervous of these but they turned out really good and were really easy to make. I would highly recommend them. Sorry I don't have a picture but they look like your standard crab cake.
Ingredients

• 1 pound crabmeat, picked free of shells
  
• 1/3 cup crushed crackers (I used ritz)
  
• 3 green onions (green and white parts), finely chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper (I used a red bell pepper)
  
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard (I just used regular grey pupoun because I didn't have any dry)
  
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Dash cayenne pepper
• Flour, for dusting
• olive oil (for frying)
  
• Favorite dipping sauce, for serving

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients, except for the flour and olive. Shape into patties and dust with flour.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, carefully place crab cakes, in batches, in pan and fry until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip crab cakes and fry on other side until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Serve warm with preferred sauce.

To make these a little bit more budget friendly (if you are worried about that) I used imitation crab meat and I couldn't tell the difference. I put the crab meat in the food processor so that it got shredded up and was not in big chunks. Also, I added extra crackers (between 8-10) because it was really saucy so that the patties would stick together better.

I hope this makes sense. Enjoy!

Parchment Paper Salmon

Maybe everyone else is already familiar with this method of cooking but it was a new and wonderful discovery for me. You layer the ingredients in a large folded piece of parchment paper, fold the edges over and let it steam away in the oven. Mike and I absolutely love this recipe. And it's from Martha Stewart so it has to be good, right?


1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon salt-packed capers, rinsed well and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 large russet potato, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 shallots, thinly sliced
3 ounces baby spinach
2 (6 ounce) fillets salmon, 1 1/2-inch thick, skinned
1 lemon, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a rimmed baking sheet in oven to heat. Cut parchment to size.
2. Stir together butter, capers, parsley, and garlic in a small bowl;
3. Divide potato slices between parchment rectangles, layering them in stacks to form a bed.
4. Top each bed of potatoes with one quarter of the shallots followed by half the spinach. Place salmon fillets on top of spinach. Divide remaining shallots evenly between packets. Top each salmon fillet with 2 lemon slices Dot with caper butter; season with salt and pepper.
5 Fold parchment paper over ingredients, at the crease. Starting with one end of the paper and keeping edges together, make small overlapping pleats the length of the paper, creasing tightly as you go and shaping the edge into an arc.

6. Bake until packets have puffed, 15 to 18 minutes.



I'll admit this doesn't look beautiful but it is delicious.