Apple, Cranberry, Feta Salad with Candied Pecans

We put up our Christmas tree this weekend.  It's a fake tree.  My first fake tree.  Turns out Hubby is allergic to real trees and was pretty much miserable last year.  I was kind of bummed that we had to go the artificial route.  I've had real trees my whole life.

But you know what? 

Our fake tree is AWESOME. 

It's easy to assemble.
It's pre-lit with 500 lights so no need for me to spend hours stringing lights.
It fits perfectly into the small space we have to put a tree. 
It doesn't make a mess leaving dead needles everywhere. 
It doesn't need to be watered.
The branches bend so you can arrange your ornaments to hang just how you like them.
And, it looks real!

Now all I have to do is get a Christmas tree scented candle and I'll have my tree smell too.  A small trade off.

Even though we already have our tree up, I'm a bit discombobulated with the timing of the holidays this year.  Thanksgiving felt like it came early which has subsequently thrown everything else off.  This is definitely the earliest we've had a tree up and running.  And I felt a totally panicked last week that we hadn't even thought about holiday shopping, even though it's completely normal for us to wait until early December to start.  But it's all good and I'm going with the flow and enjoying the season. 

In the spirit of the holidays, I've embraced an ingredient somewhat new to me this year.  The cranberry.  Cranberries have an extreme tartness that has turned me off in the past.  The turning point started with the Can It Up challenge for November--where I had the task to can something using cranberries.  It was my first time using fresh cranberries and I made these cranberry orange preserves.  It was a big success.  And it seems like it's been a flurry of cranberry ever since. 

Starting with this salad.  I'm loving this salad.  Normally when I make salad at home, 99% of the time it's the basic garden variety type--lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, peppers, maybe a mushroom or two.  But when I go to a restaurant, I always order the non garden variety type.   Like salad with fruit, nuts, beets, a little goat cheese or blue cheese.  I'm not really sure why I rarely make this type of salad at home.  No need to dwell in the past though.  I've made this salad no less than 3 times in a week.  Even Hubby is eating it (a modified version anyway).  It's sweet, it's tart, it's crunchy, it's salty.  It's yummy.  It's fall on a plate.



This salad would be a great side dish to a holiday meal, or to savor any day of the week as your lunch.  This is more of an ingredient list than a recipe.  Tweak it and make it your own. 

Happy holidays!

Enjoy!

Apple, Cranberry, Feta Salad with Candied Pecans

Lettuce (such as spring mix, butter lettuce or romaine)
Apples, thinly sliced (I used honey crisp)
Dried cranberries
Feta cheese
Green onions, thinly sliced
Salted candied pecans
Your favorite vinaigrette (such as balsamic)

Put it all together and voila!

Guacamole

My Husband is from the midwest, the Chicago suburbs to be more specific.  Apparently Mexican food wasn't one of the food genres that his family ate.  It was more of a meat, potato, veg situation.  And the veg did not include avocados (though technically a fruit).  Hubby moved to Southern California to finish out his college years in the late 90's.  A place where you can find an abundence of little taco stands and Mexican restaurants.  We first met during my last semester of college, his second to last.  When I found out that Hubs didn't really do Mexican food, I took it as a personal challenge to introduce him to some of my favorite local Mexican inspired flavors, including guacamole. 

I have a funny story to share that really doesn't have anything to do with guac, but recalling the humble beginnings of Hubs and my relationship reminded me of this.  The first time I met my Hubby's family (including Mom, Dad, sister, aunts, cousins, etc.) was when Hubs and I were graduating from college(even though we finished school a semester apart, they only hold one walking ceremony per year).  His whole family came to town for the graduation and one evening we were planning to have dinner with his Dad. I suggested we go to a steak house.  His Dad with a surprised expression said, "You eat steak?".  With a somewhat puzzled look I said, "Yes, of course!"  He replied something to the effect of, "oh I thought most California girls were vegetarians."  Ha! Stereotypes run the gamut I guess with all us granola crunching, liberal, veg heads in So Cal.  Which couldn't be further from the way I grew up.

But let's get back to stereotyping my Hubs with his midwestern meat and potato ways.  For the record, he doesn't eat that much meat, but he is a total carb junkie, namely pasta and bread.  Over the years, I've gotten Hubs to eat at Mexican restaurants and he always orders the same thing, fajitas.  Okay, it's a start.  He does venture into the occasional burrito if we are more of casual dining place.  But Mexican food is by no means his favorite.

I cannot pinpoin where and when it happened, but my avocado hating husband magically started eating and enjoying guacamole.  First at family events (guac has always been a popular dip).  Then even at restaurants.  He actually asks me to make guacamole.  Which I'm more than happy to do.  But please note, despite is fondness of guac, he still stands strong on not liking avocados that are not mashed up with onions, spices and herbs.  When I tried to serve him an avocado cup salad in place of a side salad for dinner one night, he ate everything off the avocado and handed me his naked avocado.

Small victories though.  Maybe in the next decade he will embrace the avocado in all its creamy rich goodness.  In the meantime, we'll keep eating guac!

As the heat indexes continues to soar across the nation, I wanted to share something requiring no cooking or baking.  This guacamole is easy to make and very tasty.  It's a mild version, so if you like to heat things up add in half (or whole if your're really brave) finely diced jalapeno and/or a few dashes of hot sauce.

Enjoy!

Guacamole
from The Ginger Snap Girl

4 ripe medium avocados
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
Juice from 1 1/2 limes
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use fine sea salt)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup of finely chopped tomato, seeded (I use grape tomatoes and squeeze out the excess juice and seeds)
1 tablespoon of finely chopped cilantro

To cut your avocado, hold the avocado standing on its long end and run your knife through the top middle cutting lengthwise around the pit until you come full circle.  Place the avocado in both hands and twist to reveal two halves.  To remove the pit, hold the avocado pit side up on your cutting board and take the fat end of a chef's knife and give it a little whack it into the dead center of the pit.  Be careful here! You don't want  to lose any digits! Once the knife is in the pit, twist the knife around to release the pit. 

Scoop out avocado with a spoon or peel away the skin.  Place the peeled, pitted, avocado halves in a medium bowl.  Using a fork lightly mash the avocado until you have large chunks.  I like to keep my guac somewhat chunky.  Stir in remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning.  You may need to add more lime juice or salt and pepper depending on your preferece.  Serve immediately with chips or fresh veggies. 

If you want make your guacamole ahead, I recommend doing so the day you want to serve it, a few hours ahead.  Take your finished guacamole and place plastic wrap directly on the surface on the guac, pressing down so that no air is between the plastic and the dip.  Air makes guac turn brown pretty quick.  Place another sheet of plastic over the top of the bowl (or close with a lid if you have one).

No-Fuss Risotto

My risotto always turns out crunchy.  Every time.  Well all 5 or 6 times I've made it.  No matter how much broth I stir in or slowly I incorporate it, it comes out much more al dente than I prefer.  I think risotto is some kind of art that the right side of my brain has never been able to master.  Lucky for me the brilliant testers at Cook's Illustrated created a paint by numbers version.  Don't assume because it's "no-fuss," that it is any less fabulous than risotto made via the traditional method (I've had some excellent ones in restaurants).  This unique method of cooking the risotto covered in a dutch oven produces a creamy, velvety rice perfumed with wine and Parmesan cheese.  Ahhhhh!  And it's just right.  Not crunchy in the slightest (and also not mushy). 

This is cause for serious celebration!  Okay, maybe not that serious.  But I was a little impressed with myself for making a risotto that I would be proud to serve to guests.  Finally!

Oh, see that bread in the background?  That's Hubby's handiwork on his quest to master the baguette.  :) Go Hubby!  This is one of his early works where he forgot to score the bread...but that didn't deter us from gobbling it all up.  He's gotten quite good at it and can whip out a baguette in no time these days.

To the folks at Cooks Illustrated: I'm fairly certain you guys and gals are cooking geniuses.  

The only comment I have on the risotto, other than the heavenly heartwarming thoughts I have when thinking about it, is the teaspoon of lemon juice called for in the recipe was unnecessary in my opinion.  Hubby agreed as well...it's tasted too lemony.  If you want a lemony risotto, keep it in.  The recipe calls for a cup of white wine so there is already a fair amount of acid to balance the rich, creamy, Parmesan cheesy goodness.

Risotto is comfort food akin to a good homemade macaroni cheese.  The variations and flavor profiles are vast.  And I'll be trying several of them out now that I've been introduced to this no-fuss method.

Here's to easy (non crunchy) risotto!

Enjoy!

No-Fuss Risotto
from Cook's Illustrated Cookbook

5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, finely grated (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (I will omit next time)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat broth and water in a large saucepan on high until it reaches a boil, then reduce to a simmer. 

In a dutch oven over medium heat,  melt two tablespoons of butter.  Add in onions and 3/4 teaspoon of salt and cook until the onion is soft about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often.  Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in Arborio rice and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is translucent around the edges, about 3 minutes.  Add the wine, stirring continually, and cook until fully absorbed, about 2 to 3 minutes. 

Stir in 5 cups of broth/water mixture and reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 16 to 19 minutes, until nearly all the liquid has been absorbed, stirring twice during that time.  Add 3/4 cup of broth/water mixture and stir gently and continuously about 3 minutes until the risotto is creamy.  Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Remove from heat and cover.  Allow the risotto to stand for 5 minutes.  To finish, stir in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, parsley, chives and lemon juice.  If you want a looser consistency, add additional remaining broth/water mixture.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Avocado Cup Salad

From the looks of my blog it might appear like I eat desserts for every meal with an occasional shrimp dish or salad tossed in here and there.  It's true I have been known to eat a dessert or two as my breakfast.  And when I'm not eating desserts, I'm not always eating the most healthy thing I can get my hands on.  A girl likes homemade nachos after all!  But.  In order to eat the number of desserts I do, I try to eat somewhat healthy meals most of the time.  If I didn't, I would have to buy a new wardrobe.  And that would be expensive.  So in the spirit of continuing to fit into my current wardrobe, I bring you a healthy recipe. 

I came across this salad at Corner Bakery a few weeks ago.  It's one of their trio side salads called the Southwest Avocado Wedge.  I'm not sure if it's new to their menu or I just never paid attention before.  Regardless, I'm glad I discovered it.  Actually the thanks go to my friend Crystal who ordered this little beauty and was kind enough to extend me a bite.  I immediately knew I wanted to recreate it at home.

What drew me into this salad was how refreshing, bright, creamy and crunchy it was.  And did I mention, healthy?  Plus I adore avocados and the avocado is the main centerpiece in this one. 

The first layer of this salad is a crisp, tangy, jicama slaw dressed simply with fresh lime juice and minced cilantro. 

A half of an avocado sits atop the slaw and fresh roasted sweet corn salsa...

...fills up the avocado cup and spills over the sides.  The final touch is a crumble of tortilla chips for a little salty crunch and sliced green onions.

This is a nice alternative to a lettuce based side salad.  I have made it a couple times, once as an accompaniment to shrimp with mango salsa for dinner and another time as lunch.  For lunch it was on the light side so you may want to add some grilled chicken or shrimp on the side to round out your meal.

I see many more avocado cup salads in my future. 

And don't worry.  The desserts aren't going anywhere.

Enjoy!

Avocado Cup Salad
by The Ginger Snap Girl, inspired from Corner Bakery

This side dish starts with a bed of jicama cilantro slaw.  A half of an avocado is nestled on the slaw and topped with roasted corn salsa, finished with crushed tortilla chips.  Easy.  Simple.  Refreshing.

Serves 4 side salads
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup fresh or frozen sweet corn (if fresh corn is not available I use C&W frozen petite white sweet corn)
1/2 red, yellow or orange pepper, diced
2 roma or plum tomatoes, cut in half, seeded and diced
1/4 cup red onion finely diced
1 teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon cilantro
1/2 anaheim green chile or jalapeno (if you like spicy), finely diced
2 limes
1 small jicama, peeled and cut into matchstick size strips (about 2 cups)
2 small to medium sized ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced in half lengthwise
2 green onions, thinly sliced at an angle
12 round tortilla chips broken into small pieces

Start by making the corn salsa.  Heat a small non stick skillet on medium high heat and add the olive oil frozen corn, red, yellow or orange pepper, and the chile.  Saute stirring occasionally until the corn, pepper and chile begin to take on roasted appearance, about 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool.
Once mixture is cool, add tomato, red onion, 1 teaspoon of cilantro, the roasted corn, pepper and chile mixture to a medium bowl and stir together.  Squeeze the juice of one lime on the salsa and season with salt and pepper if desired and stir.

Next make the jicama slaw by combining the jicama, juice of one lime and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of cilantro in a small bowl.  Stir to combine.

Assemble by diving the jicama slaw amongst 4 plates.  Create a well in the center of the slaw and place a half of avocado cup on top, nestled in the well.  Top the avocado generously with corn salsa, allowing it flow over the sides.  Finish each salad with 3 crushed tortilla chips and a sprinkle of green onions.

Serve immediately.

Barbecue Chicken Salad

Have you ever had barbecue chicken salad at California Pizza Kitchen?  It's one of my favorite entree salads to order out a restaurant.  I've had it at other restaurants and I think the CPK salad is hands down the best version.  All the flavors complement each other...sweet, tangy, crunchy, cheesy.  It's a filling (a half order is plenty for me or if Hubby wants to share we get the full order) and oh so delicious meal.

Hubs and I eat salads for dinner (as our entree) at least 1 or 2 times a week.  Most of the time it's a basic salad with romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, red pepper, sometimes mushrooms, topped with grilled shrimp or chicken.  I sometimes add a sprinkle of feta or cheddar cheese and or some croutons if I have them.  Our favorite salad dressing is one I get in the produce section at my grocery store by Litehouse.  They have a lite ranch dressing that is low in calories and doesn't taste like a "light" ranch dressing.  I was getting a little bored with our basic salads so I started thinking about alternative options...

I had ranch dressing and barbecue sauce in the fridge and chicken in the freezer and thought why not make barbecue chicken salad at home?  I didn't consult a recipe for this one.  I went from memory and crossed my fingers. 

You start by baking the chicken in barbecue sauce.  Once it's cooled, chop it and toss it in more barbecue sauce.  There is one other cooking component to this recipe.  I like to roast sweet corn and it's easy to do right on the stove top.  I keep frozen white sweet corn on hand at all times (I have found the C&W brand to be the sweetest).  To roast, drizzle a little olive oil in a non stick pan and throw in the frozen corn (don't thaw) and cook about 10 minutes on medium high heat, stirring once in a while until the corn takes on a roasted, caramelized color on some of the kernels.  If fresh corn is in season that would be even better, just toss your husked corn cob right on the grill and turn every couple of minutes until that charred color starts to appear (also about 10 minutes).

The rest comes together easily.  While your chicken and corn are cooking, prep the rest of the ingredients. 

Tip of the day - Freeze Your Chips!

One of the ingredients in the salad is crushed tortilla chips.  I have a tip to share for storing chips.  Once you've opened the bag, use a chip clip to close the bag and store it in your freezer.  This works great for both tortilla chips and potato chips.  In our two person household it can take a while for us to eat up a bag of chips before they go stale.  The chips will keep nicely in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

*****

So how did my version of barbecue chicken salad compare?  Both Hubby and I gave it two big thumbs up.  In fact I've made it twice already and it's officially been added to our salad rotation.  I'm loving it! 

The salad is very similar to my beloved CPK version.  I just went to the CPK website to compare ingredients and I came pretty darn close.  The only thing my version didn't have was jicama and basil (which I didn't really miss).  At CPK avocado is an add on ingredient for extra money.  Since avocados were on sale at the market, they were a definite add in my version of the salad. 

Oh, and I can't forget to tell you, the squeeze of lime takes this salad up a level.  It gives it a little tang that goes nicely with the creamy ranch and sweet barbecue sauce from the chicken.  Don't skip the lime!

Enjoy!

Barbecue Chicken Salad
from The Ginger Snap Girl, inspired from California Pizza Kitchen

Serves 4 entree portions

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup barbecue sauce (I used Lucille's)
1 large head of romaine lettuce, washed, air dried, and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon of finely chopped cilantro (optional)
1 cup frozen petite white corn
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large avocado, peeled and sliced into chunks
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
4 green onions, thinly sliced on the bias (at an angle)
1/2 cup grated monterey jack cheese
12 round tortilla chips, crushed
Ranch dressing, about 1 cup (I used Litehouse lite ranch dressing, found in the refrigerator section of the produce section)
1 lime cut into 4 wedges

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray an 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread half of the 1/4 cup of barbecue sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.  Place chicken breasts on top of the sauce and spread the remainder of 1/4 cup of sauce on top of the chicken breasts.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until cooked through and clear juices run out of the chicken.  Transfer chicken from the baking dish to a cutting board and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes.  Once chicken is cooled, cut into 1 inch chunks and place in a medium bowl.  Toss the cut chicken with 1/3 cup barbecue sauce.

While the chicken is baking, heat a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil to the pan.  Add the frozen corn (do not thaw) to the pan and stir.  Allow corn to cook over medium heat for about 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.  You want to allow the corn to roast and get lightly browned.  You can also grill fresh corn on the cob if it's available.  Remove corn from heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl toss the lettuce with the ranch dressing.  Add cilantro and toss to evenly distribute.  Divide lettuce amongst 4 entree portion bowls.  Top lettuce with tomatoes, black beans, roasted corn, avocados, cheese and green onions.  Divide barbecue chicken amongst the 4 bowls and sprinkle each evenly with crushed tortilla chips.  To finish place a lime wedge in each bowl.  Don't forget to squeeze the lime over the salad....it's what makes it!

Parmesan and Black Pepper Biscotti

I missed my kitchen while we were away in Chicago last week.  And I'm already missing my kitchen this coming week knowing I will be in New Jersey for work Monday through Thursday.  I do enjoy eating out, but it can get old.  Since I knew that I would be home for just a few days before hitting the road again, I was anxious to jump into the kitchen and getting cooking. 

One of the recipes I made was for Secret Recipe Club (to learn about SRC pop over to their website).  You may have noticed it's been awhile since you've seen a Secret Recipe Club post.  That's because the group went on hiatus during the month of January to undergo a few changes.  Nothing major, just some logistical fine tuning.  Amanda, the founder of SRC is always looking for ways to enhance the group.  If you're interested you can now follow SRC on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.  Though a little break was nice, I am glad we are back in business.

This month I was assigned Erin's blog, A Tale of One Foodies Culinary Adventures.  From the minute I started browsing her blog, I knew I would have a hard time choosing what recipe to make.  With a nice variety of sweet and savory recipes, everything was making me hungry.  Some of the front runners were chocolate tea cakes with earl grey icing, cranberry oat scones, lemon cheesecake mousse tart, gingerbread biscotti, roasted garlic and feta walnut dip, ultimate spaghetti and meatballs and Parmesan and black pepper biscotti.  They all looked delicious.  It's evident that Erin loves food and cooking and I'm thrilled to have a new blog to follow in my Google Reader.

It was a tough decision, but in the end I decided the Parmesan and black pepper biscotti would be "the one."  I wanted something Hubby would enjoy and as a bonus it would be the perfect accompaniment to a creamy mushroom soup I was also planning to make.  And I was intrigued by the idea of a savory biscotti.  Somehow I had never thought of biscotti being savory, but it's genius really!  Erin makes this recipe on a regular basis, so I was pretty confident it would be a hit here. 

I wasn't disappointed.  The Parmesan and black pepper are both prominent flavors.  The biscotti have a firm crunch, but crumble nicely when you bite into them (no teeth breaking here!).  These savory biscuits pair well with soup (next time I'd like to make them to go alongside creamy tomato soup) or salad.  You could cut them into small chunks and use them as croutons on your favorite salad.  Or just eat them straight up.   This is good stuff!  Thanks to Erin for sharing this tasty recipe!  I'm already envisioning several repeat appearances at our house.



Parmesan and Black Pepper Biscotti
from Food & Whine via A Tale of One Foodies Culinary Adventures

2 cups flour
1 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese (use highly quality, such as Parmigiano Regiano)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coarse black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
Additional Parmesan cheese and black pepper for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degree F and line large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Combine flour, Parmesan, baking powder, black pepper, salt and cayenne pepper in the bowl of a large food processor and pulse until mixed.  Add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

In a small whisk together eggs and milk.  Turn food processor on and stream egg and milk mixture into he bowl through the feeder tube until a sticky dough forms.  Divide dough in half and roll out each half on a lightly floured surface into a 10 inch log.  Place each log on the baking sheet and pat down to slightly flatten.  Brush each log with additional milk and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and black pepper.  Bake for 30 minutes until golden and slightly firm.  Remove from oven and place the baking sheet on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes.

Transfer each log to a cutting and board and cut 1/2 inch slices at a 45 degree angle using a serrated knife.  Place slices back on the baking sheet 1/2 inch apart, cut side up.  Return to oven and cook for 10 minutes.  Flip biscotti, exposing the other cut side and cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool completely on a cooling rack.

Biscotti can be stored in an airtight container between layers of waxed paper for up to a week or frozen up to a month.

Quinoa Tabouli Salad

Have you tried quinoa?  Do you know how to pronounce quinoa?  Cause I sure didn't.  I've been calling it "quin-noah" in my head for a while now.  But apparently I've been saying it all wrong in my head.  It's actually pronounced "keen-wah." 

Keen-wah. 
Keen-wah. 
Keen-wah. 

I just keep saying it over and over hoping that it will stick.  But I really want to keep saying it the way it's spelled. Oh well, any way you say it, I'm glad I finally gave "keen-wah" a try.     

What is keen-wah anyway?  It looks like a grain.  But it's not, technically.  It's a seed.  But you can call it a grain if you want.  I plan to.  It's a little weird to say you are going to eat seeds for dinner.  This funny sounding little grain-like seed originates from South America according to Wikipedia.  It cooks a lot like rice, using a ratio of 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water (or chicken or vegetable stock). It puffs up into fluffy little bits that have a slightly chewy texture and mildly nutty flavor.  It looks super healthy.  And apparently it is.  It is rich in nutrients, like essential amino acids, phosphorus and iron.  It also boasts a high protein content, making it a healthier alternative to rice or couscous. 

One of my goals this year is to incorporate some new foods into our household.  Not like new candy bars or ice cream flavors (though there are plenty of flavors out there I wouldn't mind trying).  New foods, like healthy stuff.  Healthy stuff that still tastes good, like a candy bar.  Okay, quinoa does not taste like a candy bar.  But it is a great substitute for couscous or rice.  And it does taste good!

I've cooked quinoa 3 times now.  The first time was a bit of a disaster.  We ended up with quinoa mush.  The liquids did not absorb properly.  I'm certain it was operator failure.  The other 2 times have gone much better and the quinoa fluffed up just like it was supposed to.  It can be served hot or cold.  It serves as a blank canvas for whatever flavors you want to combine with it. 

I didn't want to get too crazy in my first attempts cooking with quinoa, so I substituted it in a recipe that I make all the time and normally has couscous as the base.  Tabouli salad.  The funny thing is I actually like the salad even better with my new best friend, "keen-wah." 

I am looking forward to more quinoa experimentation. 

Enjoy!
 

Quinoa Tabouli Salad
adapted from Central Coast Outdoors

For the salad:
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed well
3 cups water
1 bunch of green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 bunch of fresh mint, finely chopped
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 english cucumber, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 15 ounce can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
8 ounces crumbled feta cheese

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste (I usually add 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper)

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a 2 quart saucepan.  Add quinoa and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium/low and cover pan and simmer for 12 minutes, or until the water is absorbed.  Let stand covered for 10 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and set quinoa aside until you are ready to assemble the salad.

In a large mixing bowl add quinoa, green onions, mint, parsley, cucumber, tomatoes and garbanzo beans and stir to combine.  Pour dressing over salad and stir until evenly distributed.  Lastly, top with feta cheese.

Baked Turkey Meatball Bites

This past weekend we watched 3 of 4 NFL playoff games.  I'm not a sports girl.  Normally there is very little sports going on in our household unless the Chicago Bears or Cubs (from Hubby's home town) are in some kind of playoff or final game.  Chicago was not in any of the games we watched. But Hubby's Dad was in town and he follows football.  I won't lie, I have zero interest in the game of football.  What does interest me is an occasion to cook and bake.  And football watching is perfect for whipping up some finger foods.  Seems like we've been on an appetizer kick lately.  Our New Years Eve eve was an appetizer feast.  And so was day 1 of football watching.  I tried out two new recipes, roasted red pepper crostini and these baked turkey meatballs.  Both were a hit with Hubby and his Dad. 

As I was getting everything together for the game, Hubby came into the kitchen and grabbed a finished meatball hot off the baking sheet.  He said, "these are really good!"  Score!  Hubby is a big fan of turkey as an alternative to beef.  It's been a slow conversion for me, but I am finally getting to a place where I don't mind using ground turkey in place of beef.  And in many cases I'm really starting to like it. 

These meatballs fall into that category.  They pack a lot of flavor with onions, garlic and Parmesan cheese.  I really like using fresh herbs in meatballs because they bring a bright flavor that you don't get with dried herbs.  In this recipe I used fresh Italian parsley.  Next time I will add basil in too. 

What I like about this recipe is it's a good base recipe and you can add flavors to suit your tastes.  I served them with barbecue sauce, but I think they would also be great with your favorite marinara sauce or even a basil pesto.  I also like that these meatballs are baked and not fried, making them a fairly healthy option.

The meatballs are easy to put together once you get the chopping out of the way.  If you have a small cookie scoop it's a cinch to portion out equal size meatballs.  Basting the meatballs with sauce for the final 5 minutes of baking gives them a nice color and a lightly glazed crust.  You can serve them straight from the oven with some extra sauce on the side.  Or you can throw them in a small crock pot or a medium saucepan with some extra sauce to keep them nice and warm until your party starts.  Stick a toothpick in them and these bite size meatballs are ready to go.

Our appetizer trend continued on day 2 of the football bonanza.  However they came from the restaurant/bar where we set up camp for the last of the 4 games.  Apparently none of the teams my father-in-law picked to win, won.  Sorry Jerry!

At least we were well fed. 

Enjoy!

Baked Turkey Meatball Bites
adapted from bakespace.com

Yields about 42 small meatballs

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground turkey
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup breadcrumbs (plain or seasoned)
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup finely diced white or sweet onions
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat leaf (Italian) parsley
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce, divided into 1/4 and 3/4 cups.  You could also use marinara sauce in place of barbecue sauce.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 baking sheets with foil and spray with non stick cooking spray. 

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except barbecue sauce and gently mix together until fully combined.  Using a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon, portion out 1 1/2 inch size meatballs and gently roll them between your hands to round them out.  Place on baking sheets about 1 inch apart.  Bake for 8 minutes and turn meatballs using a metal spatula.  Return to the oven and cook for an additional 6 minutes.  Remove sheets from oven and lightly brush each meat ball with 1/4 cup of the barbecue sauce.  Return to oven and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Warm the remaining 3/4 cup of barbecue sauce in small saucepan or in a small bowl in the microwave.  Serve immediately.  Or you can add the sauce along with 1/4 cup water to a small crock pot and add the meatballs to keep warm for a party.


For other healthy Super Bowl snacks check out the round up on Eat Yourself Skinny.

Sweet Pepper Soup and Herb Parmesan Crostini

I have not been a huge soup person in the past and have only made soup at home once in a while.  The weather has officially turned cool and I've been craving soup lately. I have made three soups in the last three weeks.  The first was a butternut squash soup from Cooking Light.  It was ok, but I didn't deem it blogworthy.  The second soup was chicken noodle from Cook's Illustrated.  A good solid soup, but I forgot to photograph it.  Guess that means I have to make it again.  And the third soup was this sweet pepper soup.  You will notice that I didn't reference a recipe source for this one, because it was really an amalgmation of a few recipes I came across and I'm going to deem this one my own since it was vastly different from any of the individual recipes.   

What I love about all this soup making is how easy it is.  Especially since I am not making my own stock and using store bought stock or chicken base and water.  I've been making the soup the night before we want to have it for dinner.  I have noticed this extra time allows the soup flavors to develop overnight making it even better the next day. 

I created this soup out of necessity of not wanting to waste 6 sweet bell peppers sitting in my fridge for over a week.  I was very happy with the result.  Hubby said this soup would be great with a grilled cheese sandwich and I have to agree.  We had the soup with herb parmesan crusted crostini which is great to dip in and soak up all the sweet pepper goodness.

Enjoy!


Sweet Pepper Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped into a medium dice
2 small carrots, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (about 1/2 cup)
4 large garlic cloves, cut in quarters
1/4 cup dry white wine
6 sweet bell peppers, seeds and stems removed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
3 cups water
4 teaspoons chicken base (if you are using chicken broth instead, use 3 cups of low sodium broth)
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
8 large basil leaves plus extra for garnish
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream and feta cheese to top soup

In a dutch oven or large pot, heat olive oil on medium high heat and saute the onion, carrots and garlic until the onions are cooked, about 8 minutes.  Add wine and cook on high until only about a tablespoon of wine remains.  Add peppers, water, chicken base, red pepper flakes, basil and tomato paste.  Season generously with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes until peppers are tender.  Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.  Alternatively, use a blender or food processor to puree the soup in batches.  Strain soup into a large bowl using a fine mesh strainer.  Don't skip this step if you like a smooth soup to strain out the skin from the peppers.  Serve with a small dollop of sour cream, a sprinkle of feta and freshly torn basil. 


Herb Parmesan Crostini

Ingredients:

1 baguettte
1/2 cup coarsely grated or chopped parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoon fresh chives, minced (optional)
fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Preheat  oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment. 

Cut baguette on the diagonal crosswise into 1/4 thick slices.  Mix all ingredients together and lightly spread cheese mixture onto the slices and place face up on the baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Turn the oven to broil and bake for an additional 2-3 minutes until crostini is golden brown.

Red Rice Salad and A Photography Workshop

I've missed you guys!  It's been a crazy, busy week. 

Remember the photography workshop I gushed about last month?  The one that I won a spot in?  It happened on October 15th and I've been dying to tell you about it all week.  Work and a mishap with deleting all my red rice photos from my memory chip before they made it onto my computer delayed this post a bit.  I finally have some quiet time to get it all down (and I squeezed some time in yesterday to re-shoot the red rice).  Right now I'm sitting in the quiet of my living room, with a cup of hot tea and the cats snoozing nearby while Hubs is still sleeping upstairs.  Ahhhh.

From Left to Right: Shawnda of Foodie Bride, Katie of Epicurean Mom, Nancy of A Communal Table (in the black), Lori of Lemons and Lavender and Diane of White on Rice Couple

A week ago today at this time I was driving to spend the day with the White on Rice Couple and several other talented bloggers for an all all day food photography and food styling workshop.  I have to say, I had a few butterflies in my stomach during the car ride there.  And the night before...I felt kind of like a kid, too excited and restless to sleep in anticipation of going to Disneyland the next day.  I was also a little nervous to meet everyone in person for some reason.  This was my first time meeting any other food blogger in the flesh.  Going from cyberspace to real life is kind of surreal.  But my butterflies disappeared seconds after I walked into Todd and Diane's beautiful studio and I was warmly greeted with a big hug from Diane, followed by a greeting from their sweet dog, Sierra. 

Though it was only 8 am, the studio was buzzing with energy.  Nancy from A Communal Table was serving her delicious egg bake with salsa and Alex from Dishin' it Out with Alex was plating her bounty of gluten free sweets, including cinnamon chocolate chip cookies, banana peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and mixed berry mini muffins.  Todd was setting up the audio/video.  And Diane was being the hostess with the mostess! 

The workshop participants trickled in and we all talked and got to know each other.  And we ate. There was A LOT of eating going on throughout the day!  Though many of us were from various reaching parts of Southern California from Santa Barbara to San Diego, we had a few from out of state as well, Brooklyn, Houston and Portland.  Everyone was there to learn, have fun and support a great cause. 

The workshop was a fund raiser for Jennifer Perillo of In Jennie's Kitchen who's husband, Mikey, passed away unexpectedly just over 2 months ago.  To learn more about Jennie's story click here.  Jennie attended the workshop with us and it was great getting to know her.  She is an amazingly strong and inspirational woman.  She is real and down to earth.  I encourage you to check out her blog. It's about food.  It's about life.  It's inspiring. 

Diane walking us through her styling process step by step

After the breakfast meet and greet, we got down to business and Todd and Diane began sharing their knowledge about photography, food styling and community.  They have an incredible passion for what they do and you can see that it is not a "job" for them.  It's an integral part of their life. 

We got the opportunity to do our own hands on photography and styling, with full access to their drool worthy "prop room".  I have to figure out how to get one of those....or maybe a prop closet to start?  

My first attempt at styling...was not much of success

Diane showing her approach to styling the lemons...she lost the bulk and broke it up with lemon slices.  See the difference?

Someone else set this up and I played around with the positioning and lighting

Another perspective on the same scene

Alex shooting her peanut butter banana chocolate chip cookies with Sierra standing guard

Diane putting her styling touches on Alex's cookies.

My attempt at shooting Alex's cookies.  Diane added the ribbon to break up the dark colors and add movement to the shot.

Playing around with pears and light and shadow

Aren't figs pretty?

Todd took the time to help me take the first baby step in using my camera on manual settings.  Not an easy thing! Though I have relied on the food setting on my camera for the past year and a half, I realized that my control is very limited.  It will take some time and a lot of practice, but I plan to ween myself off my beloved food setting.  This week I have been taking some pictures with food setting and an equal amount of photos the manual setting...I'm not quite ready to take the training wheels off, but I'm working on it! 

This is the second hands on styling session where I tried my hand at styling baked goods leftover from a cookbook shoot.

Shooting more cookies

We shared breakfast, lunch and dinner together on Saturday and the food was homemade, healthy and delicious.  At lunch we had tender pulled pork with crisp sesame rice crackers (asian nachos as Diane called them) and a trio of salads - kale salad with pine nuts, edamame salad and my personal favorite, red rice salad.  Don't get me wrong, they were all mouthwatering, but the red rice salad had me going back for seconds.  I knew I wanted to make it at home.

Lastly, I want to tell you about the culmination of our day with Todd and Diane.  Dinner was a family style Vietnamese feast of spring rolls where we got to cook own own shrimp, beef and veggies on tabletop grills.   The rolls are filled with your choice of ingredients...lettuce, fresh herbs, veggies, pineapple, beef and shrimp, dipped in a fish sauce or peanut sauce. 

Todd and Diane doing some pre-dinner prep

Jennie helping set the dinner table

It was fun, fresh and healthy.  And of course, like everything else we ate, it was delicious!  Another inspirational dish that I hope to make at home very soon.  Hubs and I might even venture to Little Saigon to try out some other Vietnamese cuisine.  

See all those fresh herbs and lettuce?  Marinated shrimp and beef and fresh veggies are under the plastic wrap.  The rice paper wrappers are on top of the plates.  You dip the wrapper in the red rimmed bowl filled with warm water to soften the wrappers.  All you have to do is cook your food, fill your wrapper and dip in one of the sauces.  Good stuff!

I want to extend my thanks to the White on Rice Couple and everyone who was at the workshop for a fabulous day!  I met some amazing people, learned a ton and walked away with my mind racing with thoughts about how to incorporate all that I learned into my blog and into my life. 

Check out these posts from fellow workshop participants recounting their experiences last Saturday.

Lemons and Lavender

Epicurean Mom

Confections of Foodie Bride

Scaling Back

Now, let's get into the nitty gritty details of this unique rice.

I love the exotic look of the red rice

I had never heard of red rice before last Saturday.  I took Diane's advice and went to a local asian market to find it at an affordable price. It's a slightly chewy grain of rice with a nutty flavor. The texture is similar to brown rice, but not quite as chewy. The rice is dressed in a magical caramelized shallot vinaigrette. Fresh parsley and mint give it a nice bright flavor and diced cucumbers provide a refreshing crunch. It makes a great side dish, or you could turn it into a main dish with some grilled shrimp on top.

The salad is easy to make. If you can figure out how to cook red rice. The package I bought from 99 Ranch Market had no cooking instructions. So I turned to the web for help. Apparently there are wildly different thoughts on how to cook this uncommon grain. One recipe recommended soaking the rice overnight, while another said to soak it for an hour and another said just rinse it to remove the excess starch. In Diane's recipe she mentions that red rice takes a bit more water than standard rice and recommends using a rice cooker for more even cooking. Basically I took an amalgamation of suggested techniques and just gave it a go. I rinsed the rice to remove excess starch and used a rice cooker. The first go round turned out very sticky. I think I had too much water. I tossed it in the garbage and started again. This time I used less water, added a spot of butter (to prevent sticking). After nearly 2 hours in the rice cooker, it turned out pretty darn good.

The shallot vinaigrette is fantastic. It would be great on any salad, from couscous to kale. I will be making it again to experiment with other uses for this tasty goodness.

The red rice salad kept well in the fridge and fed me for lunch for several days. This recipe is going into the keeper file. Now I have 3 1/2 pounds of red rice to use up and will be trying out some other recipes with this pretty little grain.

Red Rice Salad
from White on Rice Couple

Serves: 3-4 (yields 4 cups of cooked rice)

Ingredients:

1 cup raw red rice, cooked according to the package instructions (I used a rice cooker used a ratio of 2:1, 2 parts water, 1 part rice)
1 cup diced cucumbers
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/4 cup fresh chopped mint

Shallot Vinaigrette:
3 large shallots, minced
3 medium cloves of garlic minced and crushed with side of a kitchen knife (use a sprinkle of salt to help crush the garlic)
4 tablespoons of olive oil or grapeseed oil
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Cook the rice and allow to cool.  In small non stick skillet add 2 tablespoons of oil and heat on low.  Add shallots and garlic and cook until the mixture is a light golden brown (about 15 minutes).  Remove from heat and add remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, the sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, vinegar, lemon juice and black pepper.  Stir until the ingredient are well incorporated and the sugar is dissolved.  Set the vinaigrette aside and chopped the cucumbers and herbs.

Once rice is completely cooled, stir in cucumbers, herbs and the shallot vinaigrette.  You can serve it room temperature or chill it in the refrigerator.

The dish can also be served warm.  Toss in cucumbers and herbs while rice is still warm and then serve.

44-Clove Garlic Soup

Hubby and I started a monthly tradition last month that we are calling "Mystery Dinner".  Around the first weekend of each month, one of us is responsible for choosing a menu.  That person is the "executive chef" and the other is "sous chef".  It's a way for us to explore new dishes we've never made while working together in the kitchen (something that doesn't happen very often). It's fun, it's relaxing and there's a payoff where we get to enjoy a delicious meal along with good company at the end of the evening. 

Mystery Dinner has a few rules.

1. The spouse choosing the menu has to get approval on all menu items from the other spouse before moving forward.
2. The meal must have at least 2 courses.
3. Each component should be something we've never made before or should have some level of complexity (i.e., no hamburger helper).
4. And most importantly, a bottle of wine must be consumed during the making and eating of the meal along with good music playing in the background.

Hubby hosted our September dinner.  He's so cute, he has this box of recipe cards that he acquired when he was just out of high school.  The kind where you subscribe and they send you cards in the mail once a month.  I think his aunt actually signed him up for the cards, but Hubs got into them. He started cooking for his dad and he's been toting the box around ever since.  His recipe box is one of the few items that survived the merging of our stuff when we moved in together back in the day.  So for Hubby's first Mystery Dinner, he broke out his trusty recipe box from the back of the cupboard and dusted it off (literally). 

He picked out a chicken dish with sauteed orange and yellow peppers and a delicious white wine sauce, cream cheese popovers and brownies for dessert.  Overall the meal was a success...but it was not without a few mishaps.  We had to make the popover batter twice because the first time it was separated and kind of gross looking.  And as our brownie batter was waiting to go in the oven I suddenly realized we never added any butter.  Whoops!  So I melted the butter and stirred it in.  The brownies fared pretty well despite the almost flub.  Actually, the flubs made it fun.  We got to have a few laughs, some wine and we were in no hurry, so we just meandered through making the meal until it was done. 

Here's a peek at our first Mystery Dinner.

This month was my turn to plan the menu and we made 44-clove garlic soup with Parmesan cheese, fillet of beef tenderloin with horseradish cream, homemade dinner rolls (that didn't get baked until the next day) and creme brulee for dessert.  With the exception of the dinner rolls, the  meal was a big hit! 

Let's talk soup.

No joke, this soup indeed has 44 cloves of garlic (which is about 3 heads of garlic).  Two-thirds of the garlic gets roasted until soft and sweet and the remaining garlic gets simmered in the soup.  Once it all comes together, it gets pureed into a smooth silky deliciousness.  We used an immersion blender to do the pureeing--a pretty cool kitchen tool, by the way. Even though this soup has an insane amount of garlic, it has a mild, almost sweet garlic flavor.  I absolutely loved it.  And so did Hubby.  The only thing I would add is a nice crisp Parmesan herb crusted crostada to float on top to slowly drink in all that amazing garlic heaven.   Good stuff!

44-Clove Garlic Soup with Parmesan Cheese
adapted from Bon Appetit via Smitten Kitchen

Serves 4

26 garlic cloves unpeeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter (1/4 stick)
2 1/4 cups sliced onions (about 1 large onion)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
18 garlic cloves peeled
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
4 lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place the 26 cloves of garlic in small baking dish.  Toss the garlic with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for about 45 or until garlic is soft and golden brown.  Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle the garlic.  Squeeze each garlic clove to release the garlic and place in a small bowl.

Heat a heavy bottom large saucepan over medium-high heat and melt 2 tablespoons butter.  Saute the onions and thyme and cook until the onions are soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the roasted garlic, 18 cloves of raw garlic and cook for an additional 3 minutes.  Add chicken stock and cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the garlic is tender.  Use an immersion blener to puree the soup until smooth or transfer in batches to a blender.  Return the soup to the saucepan and add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer.  Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Divide the grated Parmesan cheese equally into 4 bowls and ladle in soup.  Squeeze lemon juice into each bowl and serve.  Garnish with fresh thyme or chopped chives.

Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins

This marks the 7th recipe for the Club: Baked online baking group.  We are making our way though Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.  The group started on July 1st and we are baking twice a month, on the 1st and 15th.  Every 2 weeks or so one participant chooses a recipe for the entire group to make and post about.   It's a great way to learn new things and learn from each others experiences with a particular recipe.  This week, Billie of Chocolate and Chakra was our hostess and she selected pumpkin cheddar muffins.

Pumpkin and cheddar cheese in a muffin?  

I have to admit I was skeptical.

I love pumpkin and I love cheddar...but together?  What I have learned is I really shouldn't knock a recipe until I try it.  This recipe surprised me.  Though this muffin technically falls into the savory category, it still has a slightly sweet component.  Kind of like cornbread is savory and sweet.  The pumpkin and cheddar are both very mild and the muffin has just a hint of fall flavor.  It has a nice soft and moist interior with a slightly chewy texture on the outside with the crisp bits of cheese.  And it pairs nicely with soup.

I made half the recipe and ended up with 6 muffins which was perfect for Hubby and me.  The muffins are best served warm.  You can pop them into a 200 degree oven while you are getting the rest of your meal together. 

Hubby and I both enjoyed the muffins, but it wasn't love at first sight.  I probably won't be making them again anytime soon.  There are too many other recipes out in the world that I want to try.  But I'm glad I now know how pumpkin and cheddar work together.  It's not such a crazy idea afterall.  Thanks to Billie for hosting this week.  If pumpkin cheddar muffins sound intriguing you can head over to Billie's blog to get the recipe.

To join our baking adventure head over to the Club: Baked site and get in touch with Karen.  The next recipe up on the roster is Sawdust Pie on October 15th.