Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club- Have a Heart/ Red Food Granny Smith, Radish, and Radicchio Salad

This month's theme for our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club is Have a Heart/ Red Food. Quite a clever theme for the month that gives us Valentines Day, which is a celebration of red and hearts.

The theme was chosen by Val and she has some great information on her blog about why eating red foods is a great way to add valuable nutrition to your diet.
Here is how the menu turned out this month-
Val - More Than Burnt Toast - Bourbon and Brown Sugar Flank Steak w/Garlic-Chive Mashed Potatoes
Jamie - Mom's Cooking Club - Brushetta with Warm Tomatoes

Sandi - Whistlestop Cafe Cooking - Spanish Salad of Oranges, Fennel, Red Onion and Mint with Dressing

Mary Ann (me) - Meet Me in the Kitchen - Granny Smith, Radish and Radicchio Salad

Jerry - Jerry's Thoughts, Musings and Rants - Roasted Sweet and Sour Beets, Carrots and Parsnips

Roz - La Bella Vita - Almond Jelly Roll with Raspberry Filling

I chose to make this Granny Smith, Radish and Radicchio Salad with Orange-Walnut Vinaigrette which caught my eye a couple of months ago in Cooking Light Magazine. I loved the colors in the salad and the combination of these flavors makes a salad that is spicy, crunchy, tart and delicious. The vinaigrette brings it all together, along with the chopped walnuts on top.
The radicchio and radishes were my red foods.

Check out the rest of the menu above- we have two new members joining our Virtual Supper Club this month, Welcome Jerry and Roz!


Recipe for Granny Smith, Radish, and Radicchio Salad

TWD- Cardamom Crumb Cake Muffins

Tuesday's with Dorie is brought to you this week by Jill and you can find the recipe for her choice, Cardamom Crumb Cake, on her blog right here.

This is one of the things that has always caught my eye when I have flipped through Baking: from my home to yours. I have always wanted to make it because I love cardamom, but for some reason I haven't made it until today.

I decided to turn this into muffins, partly because it makes portion control easier and it also makes sharing easier. I subbed low-fat buttermilk for the coffee and the whole milk, so this turned into something that seemed more like a muffin, than a cake. I also added a couple Tablespoons of orange juice to the batter. I omitted the espresso powder from the crumbs.

These muffins were good. I thought the walnuts in the crumb topping were the dominant flavor, but the muffin itself had a nice texture and taste. Slightly tangy from the buttermilk and orange, with a nice spice from the cardamom.

The full recipe makes 12 muffins. I baked them for 18 minutes and they were done.

Go see what the other TWD'er's thought of these recipe and the variations that they made by checking out the leave your link post!

Butternut-Squash Pasta Sauce

I usually prepare butternut squash the same exact way, every time. I peel it, cube it, toss it with olive oil, salt & pepper, and roast it in the oven until tender. Then I mix it with other stuff to make a salad, side or whatever. And I love it that way, but I wanted to try something different.
I somehow found this recipe and thought it looked really delicious, plus it gave me a new way to enjoy butternut squash. I have had butternut squash as a pasta filling, but never as the actual sauce.
We don't eat pasta very often, so for this occasion I bought 2 kinds of refrigerated tortellini- whole wheat 3 cheese and one with a chicken filling (since one of my kids hate cheese).
I was really excited about the sauce. It smelled delicious. It was nice and smooth. It had a delicious flavor.

I used some chicken stock in place of the water called for to smooth and thin out the sauce.
The toppings- fresh sage, walnuts and parmesan cheese- were absolutely perfect.

Now, there were a few family members who were not at all excited about this pasta sauce. They didn't care for it at all. But, being the mean mom and wife that I am- I made them eat it anyway. I loved it.



Recipe for Butternut-Squash Pasta Sauce from Martha Stewart
* I added chicken stock instead of some of the water to the sauce

Lentil Salad with Walnuts and Scallions

The other day I made Lentil Minestrone (recipe to come), even though some people in my family don't really care for soup and definitely don't want to eat soup in the summer.
I made a comment about it on twitter and Nancy sent me the link for this delicious lentil salad as another way to enjoy lentils that doesn't involve soup.

As soon as I looked at the ingredients I knew that I would love it and quickly put it on the menu for the next week.

I absolutely love lentils. You might think I say I love everything, but there are a few things I don't love.
Lentils are definitely a top 5 food for me though.

When I was mixing up the dressing I realized that I was almost out of olive oil, so I only used about 2 Tbls. It still worked out great.
I loved this salad warm and cold.
I enjoyed the leftovers over salad greens.

Recipe for Lentil Salad with Walnuts and Scallions

Muhammara Dip (Red Pepper and Walnut Dip)

Here is the fabulous dip I was talking about the other day. This dip is soooo good!

If it went head to head with The Best Dip Ever-Garlicky Red Lentil Dal, it would be a very close battle.

I have been looking for ways to use the Pomegranate Molasses I made a couple of months ago and this dip was calling my name. It was really simple. I just mixed it up in the food processor and then we ate it. Unfortunately, I didn't have any pita chips, so we just used tortilla chips to dip. Not that it really mattered too much- the dip was so good, you probably could've used anything and this dip would have made it taste great.
I was thinking of all the great ways I could use the leftovers, like as a spread in a pita or something, but you guessed it, there weren't any leftovers!


Muhammara (Red Pepper and Walnut Dip) 2006, Ellie Krieger
Ingredients
3/4 cup pomegranate juice or 4 teaspoons of pomegranate molasses
1/2 cup walnuts
3 tablespoons unseasoned bread crumbs
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 (16-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon for garnish
Salt
Pita Toasts, for serving
Directions
Put the pomegranate juice, into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until juice is reduced to about 2 tablespoons, about 6 minutes. Set aside to cool and thicken.
Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over a medium-high heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Put the walnuts and bread crumbs into a food processor and process until finely ground. Add the reduced pomegranate juice or pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, red peppers, cayenne pepper and cumin and process until smooth. With the processor on add the olive oil in a thin stream. Season with salt, to taste. Sprinkle with cumin and olive oil and serve.
Serve with pita toasts.

Coming Tomorrow- Blogging for Babies Event- Mini Layer Cakes

Persian Pomegranate-Walnut Chicken

This is a recipe I came across when I was trying to find something to use my POM juice in. I had 1 bottle left and I wanted to make something savory. This recipe sounded really interesting and pretty easy.
I got scared that my kids wouldn't like it because the combination of ingredients sounded a little strange. I also had a couple of visitors over for dinner, so I didn't know how it was going to go.
The sauce smelled amazing to me, but I didn't know if everyone else would like the cinnamon and other things going on in this dish.
Ok- here is the best part.
Everyone LOVED it!
And I don't just mean they thought it was good or ok or whatever.
My kids, my guests, my family- they all thought it was the best chicken dish we had ever had.
And we have had some really delicious chicken.
I didn't have to bribe anyone to eat it. I even had a couple of people who wanted to lick out the remaining sauce that was in the electric skillet. Kinda embarrassing, but I think someone did get a piece of bread and ate every last smidgen of the sauce.
I made a really delicious Muhammara Dip with this too and I will be posting that in a couple days.
The feedback I got from this dinner was awesome. I love it when that happens.

Persian Pomegranate-Walnut Chicken from Cooking Light
Based on the Persian dish fesenjan, this streamlined entrée features a sweet-tart sauce of pomegranate juice thickened with ground walnuts.
After toasting, cool the nuts completely before grinding.

1 cup walnuts, toasted
8 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
Cooking spray
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (I used chicken stock)
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed (I omitted this because I didn't have any)
Dash of ground cinnamon
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

1. Place walnuts in a food processor; process until finely ground. Set aside.

2. Sprinkle chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add half of chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken.

3. Recoat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, ground walnuts, broth, and the remaining ingredients except cilantro, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to 1 1/2 cups (about 15 minutes), stirring occasionally. Return chicken to pan; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.
Yield: 8 servings

Up Next-2 ways with Quinoa for breakfast

Cookie Carnival-Inside Out Carrot Cake Cookies and the best dish you can make with spaghetti squash or quinoa, (again)!

I have a younger brother who attends a university about 45 minutes away from where I live. Every week my parents make a trip to that city and every week they meet up with my brother for lunch. On many occasions, I send treats, cakes, snacks, or whatever I have made recently with my parents to my brother.
Well, I guess he has come to expect these goodies. This past week he called me and said, "So, what are you making me this week? a cake or something?" I had to laugh for a minute because I really didn't have anything planned, that would be ready for him. I didn't want to disappoint him, so I looked through my need-to-make/want-to-make dessert recipe stack and found this month's recipe for the Cookie Carnival- Inside Out Carrot Cake Cookies. It was fast, it was easy, and it just so happens that my brothers' favorite thing in the whole, wide world is- Carrot Cake!
Can I say that this worked out perfectly to my advantage? Yes.
I have made him carrot cake before-(HERE and HERE) and so I knew these little cookies would be just the right thing. The only difficult part was actually having some left to send to him. These little guys were good. I had to put some in a plastic container and hide them in the fridge.
The cookie batter is super easy and the frosting is just a little cream cheese (I used neufchatel- 1/3 less fat) and honey. Yummy.
His review the next day was that these cookies definitely passed the test.

And I just wanted to add, that if you can get your hands on a spaghetti squash, you should definitely try one of my favorite dishes ever-Spaghetti Squash and Quinoa Bake, which I found on Artsy-Foodie a couple of months ago. Check out Alexa's post about it HERE or my post HERE, when I made it previously.
Phew- that was a mouthful.

Inside Out Carrot Cake Cookies

Coming Next- Tilapia with Quinoa and Black Beans

TWD-Blueberry Crumb Cake

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, Blueberry Crumb Cake, or in my case Blueberry Crumb Muffins, was chosen by Sihan of Befuddlement. You can find the recipe on her blog.
This recipe was really easy. I decided to cut the recipe in half and make muffins- to make the servings stretch a little bit and also for a quicker baking time.
Dorie says to mix the crumb topping in the food processor, but I didn't feel like getting it dirty, so I just mixed it with my hands.
I replaced half of the flour with whole wheat and added a little more spice than Dorie called for. I got 7 large muffins from a half recipe and you better believe they were gone in a flash.
I would love to try this cake again with some of the other fruits that Dorie suggests. It was easy and delicious. I cooked my muffins for about 23 minutes and they were done.
Go check out the TWD Blogroll to see what the other TWDer's did with this lovely crumb cake!


Coming Tomorrow- S'mores Lava Cakes

Walnut-Crusted Tilapia and Barley Pilaf

My family loves fish, especially tilapia. I saw this healthy recipe in Family Circle magazine and wanted to try it. I love recipes where the fish is coated in nuts and this one topped it off by adding one of my favorite foods-dark greens. The recipe called for Swiss Chard, but it was too expensive, so I substituted Kale. Funny side note- My hubby guessed what greens we were having! I couldn't believe that he correctly identified kale!
This fish was amazing. I was surprise at how much flavor the quick brushing of dijon mustard/fat-free mayo gave this fish, along with the dried basil and walnuts. It was really delicious. We used Tilapia loin filets from Costco, which are thicker then the typical fish filet. I think that added to the tastiness of the fish. I am so glad my kids love fish.
The barley pilaf is a recipe I remember my mom making when I was growing up. I reduced the amount of butter and it brought back some fun memories of being a kid. You can also add cooked chicken to the barley pilaf and turn it into a main dish.
You have got to try this fish- it was really, really good!

Walnut-Crusted Tilapia adapted from Family Circle Magazine
4 servings
Prep: 15 minutes Bake: 15 minutes Cook: 11 minutes
Ingredients
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon fat-free mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 tilapia filets (about 6 ounces each) (I used Tilapia Loin, from Costco)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 bunches kale, stems removed and leaves cut into 1-inch pieces
Directions
1. Heat oven to 425°F. Coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Stir together mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon of the mustard. Finely chop walnuts. Brush tilapia with mustard mixture, then sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon basil and 1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Press 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts onto one side of each fillet.
3. Place tilapia, walnut-side up, on baking sheet; bake at 425°F for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook 4 minutes. Stir kale and season with salt and pepper. Saute for a few minutes and then cover and cook, until tender, about 6-8 minutes.

Barley Pilaf
1 1/3 cup regular barley
1 cup shredded carrot
4 oz. sliced mushroom
1 onion, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
2 Tbls unsalted butter

Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot. Add onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add barley, mushrooms, and shredded carrots, and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add chicken broth and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and Cover. Cook for 45 minutes or until barley is tender and liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.

Coming Tomorrow- Cheesecake Bars, 2 ways

Tuesdays with Dorie- Chocolate Chunkers churned into Dorie's Cinnamon Ice Cream and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Thanks to Claudia over at Fool for Food for picking this week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, Chocolate Chunkers. For the recipe- check out her blog. Not really too similar to last weeks cookie, but I guess just because it was a chocolate cookie these chocolate chunkers seemed similar to the whooper cookies that we made last week. I decided to take Dorie's advice and make some Cinnamon Ice Cream and crumble some of these chunkers into it. I figured that my window of opportunity for making ice cream outside was almost closed, since it is getting colder,so Cinnamon Ice Cream was churned. I am glad I did it. It was glorious. I just happened to have 6 egg yolks in the fridge (from a meringue over the weekend) that needed to be used. Again, I think that these cookies tasted better after they had cooled for quite a few hours. I used peanuts, pecans, walnuts, raisins, white chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and milk chocolate chips. Honestly, I didn't know how these were going to bake into anything, because they was no cookie dough, just stuff with a little chocolate goo inbetween. I also added an extra Tbls of flour to the dough. These cookies tasted so good in the ice cream. Dorie really knew what she was doing when she mixed the two.

Now, the other ice cream came about because I was unhappy with Dorie's Chocolate Chip Cookies that I made last week (they were too thin and crispy, for us), so I froze about 1 cup of the dough and froze it. I decided I was going to thaw it a little and stir it into a container of Dreyer's/Edy's Slow Churned Rich and Creamy Vanilla Bean ice cream. I broke the dough into little pieces and softened the ice cream and there you go. We had these two ice creams side by side and loved them both! I can't wait for next week's Dimply Cake. I loved it when I made it in May and there are tons of fresh nectarines and peaches waiting to be used!

Dorie's Cinnamon Ice Cream from Baking- my home to yours

2 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cinnamon sticks (or 1 Tbls ground cinnamon)

6 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

Bring the milk and cream to a boil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. If you are using cinnamon sticks, put them in the pan, cover and set aside for 30 minutes, then bring the milk and cream back to a boil before continuing. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar together until well blended and just slightly thickened. If you are using ground cinnamon, whisk it into the yolk-sugar mixture. While still whisking, drizzle in about one third of the hot liquid-this will temper, or warm the eggs so they don't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remaining liquid.

Pour the custard back into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring without stopping, until the custard thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon; if you run your finger down the bowl of the spoon, the custard should not run into the track. The custard should reach at least 170 degrees F but no more than 180 degrees F, on an instant-read thermometer. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and strain the custard into a 2-quart liquid measuring cup or clean heatproof bowl. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Refrigerate the custard until chilled before churning it into ice cream. Scrape the chilled custard into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. If churning in cookies, break them up or crumble them into the ice cream, right before it is done churning. ( I used 4 or 5 cookies). Pack the ice cream into a container and freeze it for at least 2 hours, until it is firm enough to scoop.

Tuesday's With Dorie-Granola Grabbers with Homemade Maple-Pecan Peach Granola

It has been a long weekend- lots of cake baking and ice cream making. That being said, yes, I waited until the very last moment to make these cookies. I wanted to use homemade granola because I think some other kinds can be too sweet and I like knowing what exactly is in my granola. Someone posted a link to an easy, basic granola recipe from Cooking Light, so I thought I would try it. I had some peach nectar sitting on the counter from a cake I made this weekend and instead of letting it go to waste, I decided it had to go into the granola somehow. I ended up doubling the granola, reducing the oil, adding peach nectar, wheat germ and flaxseed meal, but you aren't really here for the granola? Are you? Well, if you are, it was a hit. And it tasted great in these cookies. I think I am making more granola tomorrow. I still have a little peach nectar left in that can.Now, onto this little cookie. Or should I say, onto this large bar cookie. I used golden raisins, but only put half of them in and added mini m&m baking bits for the rest of the raisins. Everything else was pretty much as called for in the recipe, but I made it into bars. I just couldn't bring myself to make out all the little cookies today. And, I wanted to make sure they were chewy.

I patted the cookie dough into a 9x13-inch pan that had a large piece of parchment fit into it- it was pretty thick, all pressed down in that pan. I reduced the oven temp to 350 and just keep an eye on em, I lost track of the exact time, but I knew when they looked done. It was probably around 35 or 40 minutes. They were perfect. Golden on top, chewy in the middle, and I got to cut them into large bars, which means we ate 1 and didn't have to feel bad, because we were full! I really liked this recipe and so did everyone else over here. It seemed more like a trail mix cookie by the time I got done with it, but whatever you want to call it- It was good!

This recipe was chosen by Michelle of Bad Girl Baking, so go to her blog to get the recipe and don't forget to check out the TWD Blogroll to see everyone else's Granola

Grabbers!

Maple-Pecan Peach Granola heavily adapted from a basic recipe from Cooking Light

4 cups regular oats

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

1 cup pecan and walnut pieces

1 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup peach nectar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoons canola oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 300°.
Combine oats and all ingredients in a large bowl. Spread on a large jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 300° for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely.
Note: Store in an airtight container for up to one week.