Spring!

Longer sun time equals waaayyy better pictures. I have been using all my christmas present cookbooks for my meals. This is great b/c all the recipes are new. This is not great b/c I do not have the cookbooks on me when I am blogging. So I have quite a few pictures, but I no recipes until I can get home and I dont want to tease you with my gorgeous pictures of delicious food & no way to recreate them.

But for now, I have a few I can share. We had some friends over for dinner on Saturday and I really wanted to grill. We had to run to Sam's Club to pick up some goodies for the neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. They had fresh salmon seasoned with maple chipotle spices. I grabbed a pack of those. They were delicious!


In addition to that, I made some roasted new potatoes. I make this all the time with various spices. Its so easy & looks very elegant. Half or quarter red potatoes, toss with olive oil. Place on a foil lined baking sheet. Season with whatever you want, for this one I did salt, pepper & parsley. Cook at 425 for about 40-50 minutes. Also, dont touch the potatoes while they cok-they will stick to the pan. Now I cooked them for about 40 minutes, then put them on the grill to get that flavoring as well.


And I made some green beans w/shallots & pancetta & mushrooms. So Good.



I grabbed a skillet & added some olive oil. I heated up the pan to pretty hot & then tossed in the mushrooms. This allows them to keep their firmness. Once cooked, remove & place in a bowl. Now add the pancetta & some sliced shallots. I used 3 shallots for this recipe. Once cooked (pancetta) & softened (shallots) add your green beans. Oh wait. I forgot. You need steam the green beans first. So steam the green beans for about 5-7 minutes, then douse with cold water & pat dry. Back to adding the green beans, toss those around with some tongs to mix up the pancetta & shallots. Then add the mushrooms & toss.

Forever and Day

I have learned not to promise I will post. My job is insane & if i dont have dinner laid out (defrosted) and planned. We eat out. I say this happens once or twice a week. Mike is great at helping but we have a very picky & very hungry toddler. So maybe, I can ask, how do you handle that toddler? Do you make him something else? Because my mennus, espeically diet menus, are not conduscive to a toddler diet.

Toddler diet: Rice, Noodles, Chicken Nuggets
Adult/P90X diet: grilled pork, cous cous & grilled veggies

See the problem?

So Jayson does like cous cous-not that I can blame him-i think they are fun too!
But i had to heat up some noodles so he would eat.


Here is what Mike and I had: Grilled Pork Cutlets w/lemon garlic sauce
c/o America's Test Kitchen Cookbook

1/4 cup EVOO
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 TBSP lemon juice
Parsley
S&P
Pork Tenderloin

Combine oil through garlic and microwave 1 min. Whisk in the lemon juice. Reserve 2 tbsp of the garlic oil as marinade. Add parsely & S&P.

Using a pork tenderion, trim the tenderlion & cut slices. Pound into thin cutlets. Season w/ S&P and drizzle with the garlic oil. Grill until done.

Transfer to plate & drizzle with the sauce.





I amde this with grilled zucchini. Pretty easy recipe
2 zucchini, cut into slices
italian dressing/balsamic dressing etc...

Create a long section of foil,. place this on your grill. Toss zucchini w/dressing & dump onto foil. let it cook and flip often. oh and I added some fresh grated parmesan. Yum! I cannot wait until my garden has zucchini & squash ready for grilling!

Fruit Bars

My son loves fruit. He loved those apple bars I made awhile back & we had some blueberries in the house so I decided to make blueberry bars.

This was a great little treat to whip up pretty quickly. I didn't have any actual lemons so I used just lemon juice and I wished I had used some zest. All in all, pretty tasty!



Blueberry Crumb Bars
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold butter
1 egg
¼ tsp. salt
zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup sugar
4 tsp. cornstarch

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a 9×13” pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, flour and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. The dough will be crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan.

In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Few and Far Between

I start to get on a roll, then my life gets hectic. Oh well. I figure a few posts are better than none at all. So while I sit in Pine Grove, PA tonite for a little business travel (yeah google & see why I am having a hopping night) I thought I would update.

They are both Annie's Eats-shocker I know. I just default to her blog b/c I know the recipe will turn out great. I made some adjustments & have documented those below.



Salmon Pesto Pasta
Ingredients:
For the pesto:
1/4 cup pine nuts
5 medium cloves garlic, with peels
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves, rinsed thoroughly
2 tbsp. fresh parsley leaves (optional)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Pinch table salt
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

For the pasta:
12 oz. salmon
Slice portabella mushrooms (optional)
Salt and pepper
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
8 oz. pasta
5 oz. evaporated milk
1/2 cup pesto (above)
Grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions:
To make the pesto, toast the pine nuts in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, just until golden and fragrant, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Saute the garlic in the skillet. Tear the basil leaves off and place in the processor. Blend it all up while slowly drizzingly in the olive oil. Transfer to a bowl & stir in the cheese, add salt if necessary.

--> This could also be bypassed by purchasing the premade pesto at the store <--

If your salmon is not filleted do so now. In a skillet, swirl with olive oil & bring to medium heat. Add sliced portabella mushrooms & begin to saute. Season the salmon w/salt & pepper and add to the pan. It will start to flake apart as it cooks.

While the salmon is cooking, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Transfer the cooked pasta to a colander to drain. In the empty pasta pot, heat the evaporated milk over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and reduce to about 1/4 cup. Return the cooked pasta to the pot and stir to combine. Add the salmon to the pasta mixture and stir over medium heat until hot. Remove from the heat and stir in the pesto. Top with grated Parmesan, if desired.


This was so awesome. Not only is it delicious, but I was able to make this on a weeknight in probably 30 mins flat.

Delicious Molten Cake Christmas Eve

Molten Cake
Courtesy of Food Network
Ingredients
Clarified butter
Cocoa powder
7 ounces Valrhona extra-bitter chocolate
7 tablespoons soft butter
6 eggs, separated
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
10 to 12 ounces Valrhona semi-sweet chocolate
Bay leaf sauce (recipe follows
Directions
Gather together 10 to 12 2-inch-high cake rings. Cut strips of parchment paper 1 inch wider than the rings. Brush both sides of parchment strips with clarified butter. Fit inside of cake rings. Coat inside of rings with cocoa powder and set aside on a sheet pan.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


Melt extra-bitter chocolate over double boiler. Whisk softened butter into melted chocolate. Remove chocolate mixture from heat and whisk in egg yolks, 1 at a time. Sift flours together and fold into chocolate mixture.


Beat egg whites to soft peaks and add confectioners' sugar. Whisk 1/3 of egg mixture into chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining whites in 2 additions.


Pipe a 1/2-inch layer of cake batter into the bottom of each cocoa-coated cake ring. Freeze until cake batter becomes stiff. Approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Put a 1-inch piece semi-sweet chocolate in each cake ring atop the stiffened cake batter. Pipe in enough cake batter to cover the chocolate piece. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Afterwards, allow cake to rest for one minute.


Delicious!

No Picture Post

I wanted to post these recipes because they were so good. I had a Stella and Dot jewelry party last Friday. I did a wine & dessert theme, but I didn't get a chance to take any pictures.

Salted Fudge Brownies: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/salted-fudge-brownies
So good! Even better with a glass of red wine

Spiced Pumpkin Cake: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/spiced-pumpkin-cake-00000000044847/index.htmlVery simple to make and pretty when it was all said and done. Great for the fall season.

Not served at the party but something I made for this week. Roasted Tomato Soup. What a great pairing for a panini or grilled cheese!

Sunday Dinner

My work schedule is about to get very hectic with travel so I wanted to follow some advice & roast a chicken on Sunday, then use the leftovers for something else.

Roasting a chicken is so easy and hands off. I just took the chicken, doused it with Italian dressing, put in a dutch oven and let it bake. I want to say at 325 maybe? I have a digital thermometer so I wait until it tells me its done. In addition to the chicken I made roasted red potatoes. These happen to be a favorite of mine from college days. My roommate's mom used to make these for us when we were home for the weekend.



They are so easy. Just quarter some red potatoes & toss them with spices. I use garlic or roasted minced garlic, salt & pepper. Roast at 425 for about 45 minutes until they are crisp. I usually stir them up about half way through.

My leftover recipe. White Chicken Chili! It has gotten cold here and this sounded delicious.

White Chicken Chili (adapted from Paula Deen)
Ingredients
2 cans cannelinni beans
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3/4 cup diced onion
1 1/2 cups chopped green chiles (fresh or canned)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 to 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
Directions
In a saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, and chiles and saute for 5 minutes. Add chile mixture to pot with beans. Add the chicken, cannelini beans, cumin, oregano, pepper, white pepper, red pepper flakes, and cilantro. Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for approximately 1 1/2 hours. Serve with cornbread, if desired



The only thing I would have done differently is saute the onions more. They were a little crunchy as were the peppers.

***on a side note, its dark when I get home now so my pictures are going to suck