Grilled Chocolate Sandwich

This is delicious.

Ingredients

2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
4 large slices challah or Italian bread (cut 3/4 inch thick)
4 ounces thin semisweet chocolate bar (chocolate chips also work)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Assembly

1- In a large, shallow dish, whisk together the eggs and milk; set aside.

2- Form two sandwiches with the bread and chocolate (break the chocolate as necessary to cover the bread without extending over the edge); dip both sides of the sandwiches in the egg mixture to coat.

3- Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat; transfer the sandwiches to the skillet. Cook, pressing occasionally with a spatula, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Cut each sandwich in half, and dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

From Great Food Fast

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw

I love trying recipes that turn out better than I expected. We tried this recipe for the first time last night and loved it- the feta tied everything together perfectly. I highly recommend it.

And I love it even more when my meals turns out looking somewhat like the recipe photo. Obviously I will never leave my day job to become a food photographer- but I think you can still get the general idea.



1 15-ounce can black beans, drained
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 cups coleslaw mix
2 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 white or yellow corn tortillas
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
Bottled chipotle hot sauce or other hot sauce

Place beans and cumin in small bowl; partially mash. Mix 2 teaspoons olive oil and lime juice in medium bowl; add coleslaw, green onions, and cilantro and toss to coat. Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat 3 teaspoons olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas in single layer. Spoon 1/4 of bean mixture onto half of each tortilla; cook 1 minute. Fold tacos in half. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Fill tacos with feta and slaw. Pass hot sauce alongside.

(Bon Appetit: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Crispy-Black-Bean-Tacos-with-Feta-and-Cabbage-Slaw-351271)

We had this along side a salad (romaine, diced avacado and jicama, corn, black beans and red peppers) with a creamy lime dressing- very refreshing. You just put all the ingredients in a blender-

• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Caprese Salad aka Tomato Mozzarella Salad

I was debating whether or not to post this, but this is one of my favorite "go to" dishes when I want something other than a sandwich. And I realized that I would want you to post your dishes like this because maybe you all have some fantastic "go to's" that are not on my radar because I prepare what I am familiar with.

The Salad

Tomatoes
Mozzarella- the fresher the better I say
Basil
Balsamic Vinegar
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Slice the tomatoes and the mozzarella- arrange to suit your fancy. Garnish with chopped basil. Drizzle with vinegar and oil. Sometimes I like this with just vinegar and no oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pasta with Pesto, Potatoes, and Green Beans

I had a pasta similar to this in Italy a couple of summers ago, which was amazingly delicious so I decided to try this one. Chris and I are both big pesto fans, and this dish turned out really well. Chris said it was the best dinner that I have ever made.

I feel I should qualify that statement by letting you all know that I have made Chris toast for dinner before- so while this is very good it is not the peak of my culinary expertise which is as yet undiscovered.

This meal is essentially a one pot meal if you have the pesto made before hand or if you use store bought pesto.

Recipe from Great Food Fast- Thank You Martha

The Pasta

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 waxy potatoes
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
8 ounces short tubular pasta- I used penne
8 ounces green beans, trimmed and halved- I used frozen green beans
1/2 cup pesto (see pesto recipe below)

1- Peel and cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes; place in a large pot of water and bring to a boil.

2-Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta; return to a boil and cook for 2 minutes

3- Add the green beans. Return to a boil; cook until the vegetables are tender and the pasta is al dente according to package instructions.

4- Drain; toss with pesto and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The Pesto

1/2 cup pine nuts or walnuts- I used the pine nuts
4 cups fresh basil leaves loosely packed
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove
Salt & Pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spread the pine nuts on a rimmed baking dish/sheet; toast in the oven until golden and fragrant, tossing occasionally, 5 to 8 minutes. Let cool completely. *

2- In a food processor, combine the toasted nuts, basil leaves, Parmesan, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Process until finely chopped. With the machine running pour the olive oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until smooth. **

* I did not actually follow these toasting direction very well- I do not think my nuts were fragrant and I tossed them straight into the mix from the oven. It still turned out well.

**We do not have a food processor so I figured the blender would work- it did, but I would recommend putting the blender on a low setting as you pour in the olive oil-I realized this as I had the blender set to liquefy and pesto started exploding from the hole in the middle of the blender lid as I added the oil.

Chickpeas with Baby Spinach

I don't come home after a long day of work craving a vegetable medley. I'm generally craving something fried or wrapped in bacon... or both. But on those evenings that good sense wins out, this is fast and healthy and uses ingredients you'll likely have on hand anyway.

1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground
Salt, preferably kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (15-oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock, or water
Cayenne to taste
1 6-oz. bag baby spinach

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, tomato paste and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring for one to two minutes, until fragrant and the tomato paste has turned a darker color. Add the chickpeas, the stock or water, and the cayenne, and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer 10 minutes.

2. Stir in the spinach, a handful at a time, stirring until each addition of spinach wilts. Add salt to taste and simmer uncovered, stirring often, for five minutes. Add lots of freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust salt and cayenne, and serve.

I usually serve this over couscous but a thick slice of toasted bread works well too.

Turkey Meatballs and Garlic Bread

I've always considered (somewhat stupidly I admit) replacing beef with turkey a kind of hippiesh/faux vegetarian thing to do and refused to try it. However, as I find myself aging rapidly and eating dinner later at night, compromises have been made to find healthier and lighter meals. This represents my second attempt at the meatballs and we've decided the recipe is a keeper. Some of the ingredients in the original reciple didn't jive with my palate but I've included them in parantheses in case someone else has better luck.

Turkey Meatballs:

2 tablespoons olive oil plus 2 additional tablespoons
1 large yellow onion, very finely diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
(2 teaspoons fennel seeds)
coarse sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, pulsed in a food processor with their juice or crushed by hand
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
(zest of 1/2 lemon )
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
(1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary )
1 pound ground turkey (preferably dark meat)
1 egg
1 pound spaghetti, cooked just before serving

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about eight minutes. When it’s soft, add the garlic (and fennel seeds) and season generously with salt and pepper and saute for another minute or two. Remove and reserve half of this onion mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add the tomatoes and their juice to the remaining mixture in the pot, turn the heat to low and simmer while you make the meatballs.

To make the meatballs, combine the breadcrumbs, (lemon zest,) parsley, thyme (and rosemary) with the reserved onion mixture. Add the turkey and egg and mush it all with your hands just until everything is well-combined, don't over mix. Form the mixture into 1-1/2" balls with your hands ). Heat the last two tablespoons of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and brown the meatballs (should take about five minutes). Put the browned meatballs into the simmering tomato sauce and let them cook, shaking the pot occasionally to roll the meatballs around, for at least 20 minutes and up to an hour and a half. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper.


Mike taste testing and being a really good sport... especially given that we didn't start eating until 10 p.m.

Garlic Bread:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) lightly salted butter, room temperature
5 cloves garlic, pushed through a press
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 baguette
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Stir together the butter, garlic, parsley and pepper until well combined. Cut the baguette in half horizontally and spread each cut side with the garlic butter. Sandwich the bread back together, wrap in a sheet of tin foil and put in the oven for 10 minutes. Turn on the broiler, unwrap the bread, evenly sprinkle the parmesan over both sides of the bread and broil until the cheese is melted and browned.

(taken from http://goop.com/newsletter/19)

Pork Chops and Chili Sauce with Rice

While Judd and I were visiting Katie and Frank last weekend they made us this fantastic dinner. I had to share.

I love this recipe because it includes things I usually already have, but it tastes so gourmet.

Chili Sauce

1 generous dose of olive oil in your pan
1 med onion, finely chopped
2 cups seeded and chopped tomatoes
2 dried small red chilies chopped (we used red pepper flakes and it worked great)
2 garlic cloves chopped (or a generous sprinkling of garlic powder)
2 T dry mustard
2 T sugar
1 T red wine vinegar
Salt to taste

Sauté onion and garlic in oil. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to boil then simmer over low about 10 -15 min. Just long enough for the spices to blend.

Marinate pork loin chops or chicken in teriyaki sauce for up to 24 hours before cooking.

Katie did pork and chicken and they were both great. The original recipe owner makes his own teriyaki Sauce, but Katie just used teriyaki sauce from her Trader Joes and it was perfect.

Serve with rice. I think Parboiled rice is the best with this dish. Katie and frank use it all the time and now Judd and I are believers.

Quick and Easy Drop Biscuits

Recipe courtesy the Bride and Groom First and Forever Cookbook

Chris is a biscuit man, I attribute this to his being from the south- yes, Virginia is officially the south. We found this recipe in one of the cookbooks we got for our wedding and we keep coming back to it. We prefer the original biscuit smothered in jam, although the cheddar dill are worth trying out if you prefer something more savory.

Makes 6 Biscuits

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt- the original recipe says kosher salt but we just use regular old salt
1 cup chilled heavy cream, plus more as needed

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the 1 cup cream and stir just until the dough forms. The dough should be slightly sticky. If it seems dry, add a little more cream. Drop 1/4 cup of the batter onto a baking sheet for each biscuit, spacing them about an inch apart. Bake until the biscuits are pale golden on the top and golden brown on the bottom, 18-20 minutes.

Variation: Cheddar cheese- dill biscuits: Add 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese, 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed, and an additional 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (1 1/4 cups total flour) to the batter.

Helpful Hint Courtesy of the Authors: These biscuits freeze beautifully. Drop the biscuit dough onto a baking sheet as directed but do not bake. Instead, place the baking sheet in the freezer, then transfer the frozen biscuits to a sealable plastic bag. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400°F. To prevent the bottoms of the biscuits from browning, put the frozen biscuits on a baking sheet stacked atop another sheet, place in the top third of the oven, and bake for 25-30 minutes.

S'more Cookie Bars

You may have already seen mention of these on Mikey's blog, but I wanted to put them up in any case because they are fantastic and easy and I did not want to forget about them.

Recipe and photo are from Baked Perfection- I promise to upload my own photos in the future.

Recipe

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 7 full graham crackers)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 super-sized (5 oz.) dark chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s, Ghirardelli etc)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)*

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Two 5 oz. Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread marshmallow fluff evenly over the chocolate layer.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. This is most easily done by putting the second half of the dough in a gallon size freezer bag. Use your palms to flatten it out, and then use scissors to cut down both long sides of the bag, so it will open up book-style. Open it up carefully, and the dough will stick on one side of the bag. Then place the bag, dough side down, on the other three layers. From there peel the bag up ad spread the dough where it is uneven.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars

*Sarah's Note: I purchased the small jar of marshmallow creme and put the whole thing in the recipe-it was just a little bit more than suggested but turned out well. I love marshmallow creme.

Makes 16 cookie bars.