I was just reading DCFoodies blog and saw that they mentioned my blog in their Weekly Blog Round Up!!! So psyched :)
6/26/08
Awesome muffin
Last night I was testing a few recipes for Robyn Webb, and this carrot apricot power muffin was absolutely fantastic! The complete recipe will appear in the Diabetes Forecast next issue, but here's a sneak preview.
Some of the ingredients: carrots, dried apricots and sunflower seeds.
This is really great hot out of the oven, or cold the next morning. The muffin is moist, sweet, and flavorful. That's why I'm labeling it as both breakfast and dessert.
6/23/08
Asian Flavored Chicken Burgers
This recipe came about as many others from the availability of the ingredients mixed with my creativity.
For dinner I was making Mark Bittman's corn salad. What to go with it? Stacey suggested fish or shrimp or scallops, but the fish department of my grocery store stank!!! I decided to go with chicken. Ground chicken breast was on sale for $3.99/pound, and I put it in my cart. But then, I saw chicken breasts for $1.99/pound and ended up buying that.
My handy dandy food processor was able to "ground" the chicken breasts (I first cut the chicken breasts into cubes because did not want to overheat the motor).
To the chicken I added a minced garlic clove, a can of diced water chestnuts, an egg, a one inch piece of minced ginger, soy sauce, chopped cilantro and pepper.
I then divided the mixture into 6 equal parts to make 6 burgers.
It would have been ideal to taste the mixture, and I could have done it by cooking up a mini "meatball," but I was running out of time before going dancing. I cooked the chicken burgers uncovered for about 5 minutes per side, and then 3 more minutes covered.
6/21/08
Quilted Phyllo with Salmon and Brie
After submitting my Smoked Salmon with Brie and Roasted Peppers on a Ciabata sandwich to Marx Foods contest, I had some of the ingredients left over. What to do? A few days in a row I had smoked salmon with brie on Wasa crackers, but that got a bit old. I was then inspired by Phyllo Wrapped Salmon with Herbed Goat Cheese by Bella Lately and decided to recreate Bella's recipe using what I had on hand.
Unfortunately, my phyllo dough looked like a mess: it's been in the freezer for a while and I did not let it defrost in enough time (patience is not a word I'm familiar with). That's where the name quilted comes from (because I had to piece together broken phyllo)!
On a parchment paper, alternate 6 layers of phyllo with melted butter
Top the 6th layer of phyllo with smoked salmon
Spread roasted red pepper/caper concoction on top of the salmon (I made the spread for the original sandwich) and sprinkle with sliced green scallions
Top with slices of brie (I took the rind off)
Top with another 4 layers of phyllo alternating with melted butter
Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, until the phyllo is golden brown.
As hard as it will be, let the final product stand for about 10 minutes before cutting and eating it, to make sure the brie will not ooze out and you will not burn yourself!
IMPORTANT: do NOT add any salt! There is plenty of salt in the smoked salmon, brie and capers. And I also used salted butter to brush the phyllo.
6/19/08
Rustic Bread Salad
What's for dinner? A quick salad using leftover sundried tomato ciabata and some fresh vegetables.
Ingredients
2 tomatoes, cubed
1 yellow pepper, cubed
2 green scallions, sliced
1/2 sundried ciabata, cubed, and toasted at 375 for 15 minutes
2 T capers
2 T chopped red onion
olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt & pepper
Directions
1) In a bowl combine tomatoes, yellow pepper and green scallions
2) In a small bowl mix together olive oil, red wine vinegar, capers and red onions
3) Add the dressing to the vegetables
4) Add ciabata cubes, mix everything and serve
Note on seasoning: because I used a sundried tomato ciabata, I did not need to add too much salt and pepper to my salad (ciabata itself was seasoned well with a variety of herbs). Depending on your bread, season as you go. Feel free to add fresh herbs! Other additions can be olives, cucumbers, and feta.
Note on bread: Usually this salad is made with a day old bread that you add into the salad without toasting. I followed Robyn Webb's suggestion and toasted mine first. It's a good contrast to softer tomatoes. However, by the time I had a second helping of the salad, the bread has softened, and gave the salad a more comforting feel: less chewing :)
6/18/08
Fat Free Sweetness
This is not really a recipe, but a quick idea for a sweet treat, that's not going to add any pounds to your (or my) thighs:* one orange, peeled and segmented
* a handful of cherries, halved and seeds removed
* one cup of fat free plain yogurt
Combine and enjoy!
P.S. No picture of the final product, because once you mix it all together, things get lost :)
Chicken in Indian Marinade
I don't buy whole chickens or chicken thighs or legs (to my mom's disappointment). I really only buy chicken breasts. This week, split chicken breasts (with skin and bones) were on sale. I bought them and decided to try out an Indian-styled marinade.
Marinade: yogurt, curry powder, sliced white onion, minced garlic, minced jalapeno pepper, salt & pepper
Directions: remove the skin from the chicken and marinade for a day in the refrigerator. Heat oil in a pan and cook chicken breasts (void of any marinade) for 5 minutes on the first side (boneless) and 3 minutes on the second side. Bake chicken breasts in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes (time varies on the size of your chicken: use the thermometer to make sure the temperature reaches 165). Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes before cutting.
Note: discard any remaining marinade!!! (This was really hard b/c it looked and smelled amazing.)
Marinade: yogurt, curry powder, sliced white onion, minced garlic, minced jalapeno pepper, salt & pepper
Directions: remove the skin from the chicken and marinade for a day in the refrigerator. Heat oil in a pan and cook chicken breasts (void of any marinade) for 5 minutes on the first side (boneless) and 3 minutes on the second side. Bake chicken breasts in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes (time varies on the size of your chicken: use the thermometer to make sure the temperature reaches 165). Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes before cutting.
Note: discard any remaining marinade!!! (This was really hard b/c it looked and smelled amazing.)
marinade
seared on both sides and ready for the oven
the final product
What can I say? I'm pretty impressed with myself. The chicken turned out super juicy, flavorful and it looks pretty darn good too!
Marx Foods Salmon Contest
Marx Foods is having a Salmon Recipe Contest. While at the grocery store yesterday I was suddenly inspired by smoked salmon on sale, and decided to submit my recipe.
I'm Jewish, and one of my favorite sandwiches is bagel with cream cheese and lox. For the contest, I decided to give this classic a bit of a twist.
Ingredients and Directions
1) In a food processor puree a roasted red pepper, a tablespoon of capers and a drizzle of olive oil
2) Split a sundried tomato ciabata in half and smear the roasted red pepper spread on the bottom
3) Top with thinly sliced red onion, layers of smoked salmon, slices of brie cheese, and top with the other half of ciabata
Enjoy! This could not have been easier.
Note: originally I was planning on using slices of roasted peppers instead of a puree, but Jenny thought the sandwich will not hold together. I thought that sounded reasonable, and went with the puree. Having done so, I think my original idea was better. Try it whichever way you like: the taste is fabulous!
FYI
I figured out that I can copy some of the recipes from my original blog to include them here! Including the pictures! Thus, for you who are new to this blog, you can scroll down and see some of the things I've cooked in the past.
For those of you who have been with me from the beginning, no need to scroll :)
6/17/08
Can you find me?
I submitted one of my food photos to Tartlette's Does My Blog Look Good in This content. Can you find mine in the gallery??
Good luck!
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