Apple Chutney on Toast

Ever since I last posted to this blog, nearly 8 weeks ago, I've debated whether I had the time and the desire to keep it up. I've posted over 250 times since I started this blog in January 2012.The blog came about a year after I decided to cook one new recipe each week for a year in 2011. It was the first resolution I'd ever kept, and I was determined to dive in head first to food blogging. And I enjoyed it, and I still do, but I found that the perfectionist in me was bound and determined to post twice a week without fail, writing about new recipes, restaurants I've visited and the foods I've eaten during my travels. And I was failing. A transition to a new job as well as sick family members made it nearly impossible to keep up in a way that I felt was adequate.

This doesn't mean I haven't been cooking, I just haven't been writing about it as much. But in the spirit of New Year's resolutions, I'm ready to recommit myself to this blog, but in a smaller way than in years' past. I vow to post once a week without fail, and more if time and the situation calls for it. I'll post about fun food events and restaurants I check out, my travel food adventures, and most importantly, what I cook up in my little kitchen in Columbia Heights.

I also plan to maintain last year's resolution of getting out of town for at least an overnight every quarter, which I'm sure will lend itself to more fun food travel blogging, which has been what I enjoyed most about writing this blog last year.

So here's a dish I made for a holiday party back in December. The recipe comes from my friend Nick's blog, www.macheesmo.com, which continues to be a great resource for when I want to cook something new.

 

Apple Chutney on Toast

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 inch of fresh ginger, grated
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 1/4 cup dried currants
• 2 scallions minced (not the green parts)
• Baguette, sliced and toasted
• 5-6 oz. blue cheese

Directions:

Combine the sugar, red wine vinegar, orange juice, cinnamon and ginger in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar melts, about 2 minutes.

Peel, core, and chop your apples and add them to the chutney.  Stir everything together and cook over low-medium heat until the apples are soft, about 5 minutes.

Add currants and chopped scallions to the chutney at the very end.

Cool the chutney for at least an hour and serve on toasts with blue cheese.

Grilled Peach Salad

Peaches for you, peaches for me.  Truly, at this time of year the farmers' markets are overrun with tomatoes and peaches. I am a big fan of incorporating fruit in a salad. It pairs well with a variety of soft cheeses as well, so I've often used pears or peaches stuffed with goat cheese and then wrapped in prosciutto as an appetizer. But this will be a salad version which incorporates a nice, honey, sticky balsamic to top it off.

While softer peaches are a bit more prevalent at this time, you'll want to try and find a firmer peach for the grill (or in my case, grill pan.)

Grilled Peach Salad (serves 4)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 

2 TB honey

3 peaches, pitted and each cut into 6 wedges

Cooking spray

1 TB extravirgin olive oil

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Dash of kosher salt

10 cups trimmed arugula

2 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 1/4-inch strips

2 TB crumbled goat cheese

Directions:

Bring vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer until vinegar is reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in honey. Cool to room temperature.

Prepare grill to high heat. I used a grill pan because sadly (tear) I have no grill. Place peach wedges on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 30 seconds on each side or until grill marks appear but peaches are still firm. Remove from grill; set aside.

Combine oil, pepper, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add arugula, tossing gently to coat. Arrange arugula mixture on a platter. Top with peach wedges and prosciutto. Drizzle with balsamic glaze; sprinkle with cheese. 

Maple Blueberry Muffins

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Cooking is an art, while baking is a science. I've never been good at science, and while a lot of the draw of science is the ability to experiment to come up with your desired outcome, you have to be prepared for disastrous results.

I'm happy to report that even though I had to experiment a bit with this recipe (namely because I didn't quite have enough of two of the ingredients) my improvisational skills worked out ok. Perhaps the texture of these muffins would be a bit different if I had the exact amounts of Greek yogurt and maple syrup, but I was pleased with the results. And I hope my coworkers who will get to try these tomorrow feel the same way.

I'm posting the recipe as it should be made, courtesy of my friend Nick Evans' blog, www.macheesmo.com. And did I mention that Nick wrote a cookbook? I've received my copy and will be writing about it in the coming weeks, once I've had a chance to cook from it. You should totally check it out.

Maple Blueberry Muffins (makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:
        

• 1 large egg 
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 4 TB unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 6-8 ounces blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl whisk together egg, sugar, syrup, yogurt, melted (and cooled) butter, and milk. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Wash blueberries and toss in with dry ingredients.

Add wet mixture to the dry mixture and fold the batter together. If it's very thick add a bit more milk.

Divide muffin batter between 12 muffin tins that have been lightly buttered or oiled.

Bake muffins for 25-28 minutes at 350 degrees F. Rotate the muffin pan once halfway through cooking.

Remove muffins when they are golden brown on top and around edges. Let cool in pan for a few minutes and then remove and eat while warm or let cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Clementine Spinach Salad with Sugared Almonds

If you're like me, the winter brings a wealth of citrus into your home. In particular, clementines or tangerines, usually whatever you can buy in a crate or in a big bag. I eat them daily throughout the winter but sometimes I want to do a little more with them than just eat them plain. I came across this great, simple side salad recipe and found what may be my new favorite fruity salad. I may even try making this again with a citrus grilled chicken or fish to add a bit of protein. Enjoy!

Clementine Spinach Salad with Sugared Almonds (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Bag of baby spinach
• 4-6 clementines
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bag of dried cranberries
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 TB honey
• 1 1/2 TB sugar

      Dressing

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 TB red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• dash of pepper
• 1 tsp. dried parsley
• 2 TB sugar
• dash of Tabasco

Directions:

To make the sugared almonds, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add almonds, and toast, stirring frequently, until almonds are light brown, about 5 minutes. Toss with sugar, and spread almonds on a plate to cool.

To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake until combined.

Combine the spinach, oranges, onion and cranberries in a large bowl. Toss with the dressing and sprinkle with almonds. Serve immediately.

Pears with Blue Cheese and Prosciutto

Today is Oscar Sunday. Anyone who knows me knows two things. 1) I'm a movie fanatic. 2) I love to have people over for food to watch particular TV events. Such as the Super Bowl. The Oscars. World Cup. You name it. And Oscar Sunday this year is no different. While I will be making my posole for some friends (as you'll recall, I had a bit of pork left over after that debacle, so I froze some large chunks of meat for later), I wanted to share a simple recipe that I made for a party late last year. So if you're going somewhere to watch the Oscars and need to make a simple appetizer, this will do the trick!

Pears with Blue Cheese and Prosciutto (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

• 2 pears, such as Bosc or Bartlett, each cored and sliced into 8 wedges. Toss with lemon juice
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 3 oz. blue cheese, cut into small pieces
• 6 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, cut in half, lengthwise
• 1 cup arugula

Directions:

Roll up an arugula leaf, a piece of pear, and a piece of cheese in the prosciutto. Yep, that's it!

Pomegranate and Spinach Salad

A few weeks back, I was planning a dinner party for two, and since most of the meal was on the heavy side, I wanted a light starter salad. I tapped my go-to "what should I make" resource for when I stopped, Nick of www.macheesmo.com, and he told me to make this salad. I had never worked with pomegranates before, but the instructions in the recipe assured me that it wasn't that tricky to work with. Where I think I struggled most was in deseeding the fruit. I submerged it in a bowl of water, but I think I opted for too shallow of a bowl. This lead to an unflattering splatter of pomegranate juice, staining parts of my kitchen and ironically landing on my knife skills book. I assured my dinner guest that this wasn't in fact the scene of a crime, just my first attempt with pomegranate.

 

The salad was a big hit and I suggest you giving it a shot while pomegranates are still in season.

Pomegranate and Spinach Salad (serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 5-6 ounces baby spinach
• 1 pomegranate, seeded
• 6 oz. goat cheese
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted

For the Dressing:

• 1  cup raspberries
• 3 TB balsamic vinegar
• 2 TB honey
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Pinch of salt 

Directions:

Add raspberries to a small food processor and pulse a few times. Then add other dressing ingredients and process until mostly smooth.

Seed pomegranate by cutting it into quarters and breaking it apart under cold water. The seeds will sink and the pith will float. This might take some manuevering of the pith and the seeds, but overall it was pretty easy. Just watch for splatter!

Toss greens with a few tablespoons of dressing and coat well. Divide greens between a few plates.

Crumble goat cheese on greens and top with pom seeds and toasted walnuts.

 

Raspberry Lemon Muffins

As evidenced by the wide variety of things I make on this blog, I'm not much of a creature of routine when it comes to lunches and dinners throughout the week. I like to mix it up. But when it comes to breakfast, it's rare that I stray too far from the staples, namely Cheerios with the occasional egg-based weekend breakfast.

Last week I made raspberry lemon muffins for a brunch I was hosting with some friends, and took the rest into my always hungry government office. These simple muffins were not only tasty, but also relatively low-fat. They were a hit with everyone and something I plan to add into my somewhat predictable breakfast routine.

Raspberry Lemon  Muffins (makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:

• 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup lowfat buttermilk
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup white whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 large (1/2-cup) muffin cups with paper liners.

Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from the lemon in long strips. Combine the zest and sugar in a food processor; pulse until the zest is very finely chopped into the sugar. Add buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla and pulse until blended.

Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk mixture and fold until almost blended. Gently fold in raspberries. Divide the batter among the muffin cups.

Bake the muffins until the edges and tops are golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Best served warm.:)

An Oldie but a Goodie-Grilled Peach and Prosciutto Salad

A while back I indicated that I was going to employ some strategies to this blog that we use at work. Such as "Throwback Thursdays", or "F-ing Fantastic Food Friday." But in all reality, I'm too busy to keep up with any sort of set schedule like that, I just really try and post twice a week. And I kind of screwed that up last week. But I have been doing a lot of cooking and eating lately, and am building up a stockpile for September as my work schedule gets even nuttier.

Some of what I've been making lately have been repeats on previously successful dishes. This is one of them.  I made this Grilled Peach and Prosciutto Salad a few weeks back when I had a ton of peaches and was looking for something light to eat on a Monday after a weekend of excess (which seems to be every weekend as of late!) Here's the recipe in my original post from last year.You won't be disappointed. Trust me.

Pear and Gorgonzola Salad

One of the benefits to cooking a lot, as well as eating out often, is I've tried all sorts of flavor combinations. This comes particularly in handy when I'm tasked with coming up with a last minute side dish, with little time to prepare. This happened over the weekend and rather than pick up something pre-made at the grocery store, I drew inspiration from a great salad I've had out. So this isn't so much a recipe as a mention of some great things that go well together in a salad. :)

Pear and Gorgonzola Salad (serves 6)

Ingredients:

• Bag of spinach or spring mix
• 2 Anjou Pears
• Glazed Walnuts
• 1/2 medium red onion
• Gorgonzola cheese (I used most of a small container)
• Champagne Vinaigrette salad dressing

Directions:

Place salad mix in bowl with walnuts and cheese. Slice red onion lengthwise and add to the salad. Peel pears and chopped into small cubes, add to salad. Toss with salad dressing and serve.

Watermelon and Cucumber Salad

Summertime just SCREAMS for watermelon salads. I never understood the appeal of putting salt on watermelon until last year when I made a great watermelon with basil salad, which called for a coarse salt and olive oil. Amazing. And something that I likely make again this summer.

This particular watermelon side dish has a few different elements to it, but involves the same general concept:  salt and sweet is always a winning combo in my playbook. So give this salad a whirl the next time you're asked to bring something light to accompany a heavier summer meal.

Watermelon and Cucumber Salad (serves 6 as side dish)

Ingredients:

• 6 cups watermelon, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup coarsely chopped watercress
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced Vidalia onion
• 1 medium English cucumber, sliced (about 3 cups)
• 2 TB chopped fresh mint
• 2 TB chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 TB fresh lime juice
• 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 oz reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)
• Mint sprigs (optional) 

Directions:

Combine watermelon, watercress, onion and cucumber in a large bowl.

Combine mint, cilantro, lime juice and olive oil in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add juice mixture and salt to watermelon mixture; toss gently to coat.

Sprinkle with feta; garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.

Beer-Braised Chicken Tacos with Cabbage Slaw

I present to you the last of the recipes from my taco trifecta.

I know I'm going to garner some criticism for the statement I'm about to make. Any cook, good cook for the most part, will tell you that the dark meat chicken is much better to cook with than the white meat. It's more flavorful and remains moist, even after long amounts of cooking. Chicken breasts can dry out easily and there isn't as much flavor in the meat. 

This is what everyone says but me. Not that I disagree with them, I just don't like the taste of chicken thigh meat. I've tried to cook with it on a few occasions, this being one of them, and I just find the byproduct greasy.  At the end of the day, I'm a breast woman. :)

The flavors in this were great, but I think they would have been just as good with white meat. You be the judge and try it out.

Beer-Braised Chicken Tacos with Cabbage Slaw (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 4 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 TB extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 cups brown ale
• 1 tsp all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 4 center-cut bacon slices
• 2 TB cider vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
• 1 cup julienne-cut Granny Smith apple
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas 

Directions:

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Add 2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add chicken to pan, flesh side down; cook 5 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; cook 2 minutes.

Combine beer, flour, and sugar in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Slowly add beer mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 15 minutes or until chicken is done, turning once.

Remove chicken from pan; let stand 5 minutes. Remove chicken from bones; shred. Discard bones. Bring cooking liquid to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 minutes or until reduced to 1/3 cup. Return chicken to pan; toss to coat.

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp (about 8 minutes). Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings. Drain bacon on paper towels; crumble. Add 1 tablespoon drippings to a medium bowl. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, vinegar, and mustard to drippings in bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add bacon, cabbage, and apple; toss to coat.

Working with 1 tortilla at a time, heat tortillas over medium-high heat directly on the eye of a burner for about 15 seconds on each side or until lightly charred. Arrange about 1/4 cup chicken mixture in center of each tortilla, and top with about 1/4 cup cabbage mixture.

Cajun Cooking: Bananas Foster

In Part Two of my Cajun Cooking segment, here is the recipe for Bananas Foster. I'm not normally a fan of bananas in dessert, but I did find this to be pretty good. We might have left the bananas on the heat a bit too long which made them caramelize, but it turned out ok. Or maybe it was the Abita beer talking...

Bananas Fosters (serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1 TB unsalted butter 
• 1/8 cup dark brown sugar 
• 1/8 tsp ground allspice 
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg 
• 1/2 TB banana liqueur 
• 1 under ripe banana, sliced in half lengthwise 
• 1/8 cup dark rum 
• 1/4 tsp finely grated orange zest
• 1 scoop vanilla ice cream (optional)

Directions:

Melt butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over low heat. 

Add brown sugar, allspice and nutmeg and stir until sugar dissolves. 

Add banana liqueur and bring sauce to simmer. 

Add bananas and cook for 1 minute on each side, carefully spooning sauce over bananas 

as they are cooking. Remove bananas from pan to a serving dish. 

Bring sauce to a simmer and carefully add the rum. If the sauce is very hot, the alcohol will 

flame on its own. If not, using stick flame, carefully ignite and continue cooking until flame 

dies out, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. If sauce is too thin, cook for 1 to 2 minutes until it is 

syrupy in consistency. 

Add orange zest and stir to combine. Immediately spoon the sauce over bananas and serve with waffles, crepes, or ice cream

Fennel, Sausage and Caramelized Apple Stuffing

This year, I didn't travel for the holidays and as much as it would have been nice to spend time with my family, I spent the day with people I consider my "DC" family. This is pretty common as I talked over the holidays with others who opted to forego the traffic and spend time with friends locally. This brought on less stress for all, but also brought about a ridiculous amount of carbs.

My mom had always made a basic Stovetop stuffing the holidays, so for the most part, it's the only stuffing I'd ever known. But I've seen recipes for all sorts of stuffings over the years and thought this was my opportunity to give one of them a go. So I settled on this recipe for Fennel, Sausage and Caramelized Apple Stuffing. I opted for spicy sausage from the Farmer's Market in the neighborhood. This had a great kick to it and made a ton. That and it had 10 other side dishes to compete with. But after taking nearly 2 hours to make (there was a lot of chopping involved) I now know why so many people opt for the StoveTop. But I do feel this was better. I've been enjoying it all weekend.

Fennel, Sausage, and Caramelized Apple Stuffing (serves 10-12)

Ingredients:

• 12 oz sourdough bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• cooking spray
• 9 oz Italian sausage
• 5 tsp olive oil, divided
• 4 cups chpped onion
• 1 1/4 cups sliced fennel bulb
• 1 1/4 cups chopped carrot
• 2 TB chopped fresh sage
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 3 cups chpped Golden Delicious apple
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 cups fat-free chicken broth
• 2 large eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for 16 minutes or until golden, stirring after 8 minutes. Place in a large bowl.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage to pan; cook 8 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add sausage to bread.

Return pan to medium-high heat. Add 3 tsp oil to pan, swirl to coat. Add onion and fennel bulb, carrot, sage, fennel seeds and garlic. Add 1/4 tsp pepper, suate 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Add vegetables to sausage mixture.

Return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 tsp oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add apple and sugar, saute 5 minutes or until apple caramelizes, stirring occasionally. Add to the sausage mixture.

Combine broth and eggs in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add broth mixture and reamining 1/4 tsp pepper to sausage mixture, toss well to combine.

Spoon sausage mixture into a 13 x 9 inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover with foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover dish; bake for another 20 minutes or until browned and crisp.

Warm Lemon Chicken Sandwich with Arugula and Pears

I love meals that can be repurposed and presented in different ways for later iterations. For instance, since most times I'm cooking for myself, I'll end up with four or more meals' worth of leftovers but let's admit, eating the same leftovers day after day get old. Sometimes I freeze some of it to be brought out at a later date, and other times I try a simple repurpose. For this recipe, which is a Rachel Ray recipe I tried last year during my year of new recipes, is great on a bun, but also works without it on a salad. I also put this in a pita at one point. So it's been the same basic meal for a week, but the small variations made it a little less boring, but equally tasty!

Warm Lemon Chicken Sandwich with Arugula and Pears (makes 4 sandwiches)

 

 

Ingredients:

2 lemons

2 TB fresh thyme leaves, chopped

salt

fresh ground pepper

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1 TB Dijon mustard

2 TB white wine vinegar

5 TB extra virgin olive oil

3 TB grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

4 kaiser rolls, split

1 garlic cloves, crushed

1 ripe bartlett pear ( Anjou or Bosc)

8 slices prosciutto di Parma

2 -2 1/2 cups arugula, cleaned and trimmed

 

Directions:

In a shallow bowl, combine the juice of 1 ½ lemons, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add in the chicken breasts; toss to coat; marinate chicken 5-10 minutes.

 

In a small bowl, mix the dijon mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper together; whisk in 3 tablespoons oil, then the Parmigiano.

 

Toast the rolls; rub the toasted cut sides with the garlic clove.

 

Preheat a big nonstick skillet over med-high heat; add remaining 2 tablespoons oil.

Cook the chicken for 5-6 minutes on each side.

 

Thinly slice the pear and toss in a salad bowl with the juice of the remaining ½ lemon.

 

Slice the prosciutto into strips; add the arugula leaves and prosciutto to the salad bowl; toss with the vinaigrette (dijon mixture).

 

Thinly slice the cooked chicken; layer half of the chicken slices onto the rolls and top with the arugula-pear salad; add remaining chicken and roll tops.

Or screw the bun and just mix everything else together. :)

Peach and Gorgonzola Chicken Pizza

One of my greatest food weaknesses is pizza. In fact, it's my go-to stress food. So since work has been nutty (to put it mildly) for a few weeks now, I found myself going to the local pizza by the slice place in my neighborhood way to much. But for the cost of two of those slices, I could be making a small pizza at home, which lasts a good 3 meals. So here is my attempt at being economical.  Also, it uses my favorite in season fruit of right now...peaches.

Peach and Gorgonzola Chicken Pizza (serves 3)

Ingredients:

• 1 (10-oz) prebaked thin pizza crust (such as Boboli)
• Cooking spray
• 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 cup shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 1 medium unpeeled peach, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place pizza crust on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Brush 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil evenly over crust. Top evenly with 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, chicken, Gorgonzola cheese, and peach slices. Top with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 11 minutes or until crust browns.

Place vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until reduced to 2 TB (about 5 minutes). Drizzle balsamic reduction evenly over pizza. Cut pizza into 8 wedges.

 

Watermelon and Basil Salad

This weekend I attended a baby shower for my old roommate Amanda and was asked to bring a watermelon. Since I can't just simply bring a watermelon AND justify a blog post out of it, I decided to make a simple watermelon basil salad. While there were a lot of recipes that included these simple ingredients with the addition of feta (which I'm filing away in my memory for another time), in respect for the mama-to-be, I decided to forego the feta. And it's hard for me to say no to cheese. The rest of the menu included some great barbecue so on a hot DC day, this was refreshing and right on point.

This recipe, courtesy of Marcus Samuelsson, proves that you don't need to overload with a bunch of ingredients in order to make a tastefully complex dish. Though I'm guessing the fresh basil I picked up didn't hurt.

Watermelon and Basil Salad

Ingredients:

• 4 cups watermelon, cut into cubes
• Handful basil leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt, I like the coarse, crystal variety to give it some texture
• Black pepper

Directions:

Place watermelon and basil in a salad bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to combine thoroughly.


Grilled Peach, Prosciutto, and Goat Cheese Salad

Peaches are in season right now and should be for the next few weeks. The markets in my neighborhood are overrun with them, so I plan to take advantage over the next few weeks and try to cook with peaches. And in an effort to try and stay health, a peach cobbler will not be one of my endeavors. This salad was very easy to make and the sweetness of the peaches was a perfect blend with the saltiness of the prosciutto and goat cheese.

Grilled Peach, Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Salad (serves 4)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 TB honey

3 peaches, pitted and each cut into 6 wedges

Cooking spray

1 TB extravirgin olive oil

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Dash of kosher salt

10 cups trimmed arugula (about 10 oz)

2 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 1/4-inch strips

2 TB crumbled goat cheese

Directions:

Bring vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer until vinegar is reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in honey. Cool to room temperature.

Prepare grill to high heat. I used a grill pan because sadly (tear) I have no grill. Place peach wedges on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 30 seconds on each side or until grill marks appear but peaches are still firm. Remove from grill; set aside.

Combine oil, pepper, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add arugula, tossing gently to coat. Arrange arugula mixture on a platter. Top with peach wedges and prosciutto. Drizzle with balsamic syrup; sprinkle with cheese.

Chopped Cherry Chicken Salad

As I mentioned earlier this week, I wanted to keep things simple this week. My refrigerator/freezer crapped out on me a week ago so I lost a lot of my pre-made meals and other goodies when my freezer thawed out. Fortuantely it has since been repaired, but this is the type of week I would have relied on my pre-cooked meals to get through. Lots of work, social events and travel make it hard to commit to cooking as much as usual. So in the spirit of my friend Nick's cookbook (available for sale on Amazon...check out www.macheesmo.com for more information), I took a rotisserie chicken and repurposed it another way. This recipe is one of four chicken salad variations that Nick includes in his book. My apologies for the less than appetizing photo, but I swear it was very tasty! :)

Chopped Cherry Chicken Salad (serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups shredded chicken
• 2/3 cup of greek yogurt (Nick used mayo, this was my variation)
• 1 cup dried cherries, chopped
• 1 cup walnut or pecans, chopped
• 1/4 cup shallot, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 TB fresh tarragon or thyme
• 2 TB apple cider vinegar
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Toss everything together and taste. Seriously, chicken salad is ridiculously easy.

Tacos Al Pastor with Pineapple Salsa

A very sad thing happened this weekend. My refrigerator stopped working. It started with the ice-maker not quite working as it should and before I knew it, all the food in my freezer (including a stockpile of pork tenderloin) had thawed. My parents were in town this weekend and I had planned to use some of the pork for this recipe, but I then found myself sending them home with a pound of loin for themselves since one can only eat so much pork in one week (and believe me, I test that theory on a regular basis). So fortunately I was able to fix this dish before things went downhill in my kitchen. I served the tacos with an avocado salad.

Tacos Al Pastor with Pineapple Salsa (makes 8-10 tacos)

Ingredients:

Pork:

• 1 chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed
• 1 TB chopped fresh oregano
• 2 tsp ancho chile powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray

Salsa:

• 4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices fresh pineapple
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 3 TB thinly sliced red onion
• 3 TB fresh lime juice
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 jalapeño, thinly sliced

Remaining ingredients:

• 10  (6-inch) corn tortillas

Directions:

To prepare pork, preheat the grill to high heat.

Mince chipotle chile. Combine chipotle and oil in a small bowl; rub evenly over pork. Combine oregano and the next 4 ingredients (through black pepper). Sprinkle spice mixture evenly over pork, and let stand for 30 minutes. Place the pork on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill for 6 minutes on each side or until a thermometer registers 145°. This may take longer depending on the thickness of your meat (that's what she said). Remove pork from grill; let stand 5 minutes. Coarsely chop pork; keep warm.

To prepare salsa, place pineapple on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill for 5 minutes on each side. Coarsely chop pineapple, and place in a medium bowl. Add cilantro and next 4 ingredients (through jalapeño); toss to combine.

Warm the tortillas according to package directions. Place 2 tortillas on each of 4 plates, and divide pork evenly among tortillas. Top each taco with about 3 tablespoons salsa.