Double Chocolate Gluten Free Cookies

On Saturday mornings, I like to sneak downstairs and turn on the Food Network to get some inspiration for the weekend. I see chefs and shows that aren't on weeknights so it's like a special little treat for me to kick off my weekend. This Saturday was even brighter because the theme was 'comfort foods'- isn't that what the weekend is all about?!  For those of you that missed it, Giada De Laurentiis did a little dessert that will now be archived into my index of cooking fame - Double Chocolate and Espresso Cookies.  Keeping on my gluten-free train, I modified the ingredients and baked them up before my husband was even out of bed.  Here's the original recipe and my swaps:

Double Chocolate and Espresso Cookies

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Prep Time:

12 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

19 min

Level:

--

Serves:

10 to 12 cookies

Ingredients

• 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (recommended: Ghirardelli)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate-covered espresso beans (I used a little less than 1/3 cup instant ground coffee)
• 1 cup flour (I used Red Mill's Gluten-free All Purpose Flour)
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (I used Kosher Salt)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (recommended: Nestle Toll House - I used Milk Chocolate)

Directions

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats - my silicone mat worked like a charm for this recipe.  They slid right off with no trace of chocolate behind. 

In a small bowl, combine the chocolate bar and butter. Place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
In the bowl of a food processor, finely chop the chocolate covered espresso beans (or instant coffee). In a medium bowl, whisk together the chopped espresso beans (coffee), flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
In another medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, water, and vanilla extract. Gradually add the dry ingredients and stir until thick and smooth. Fold in the melted chocolate. Stir in the chocolate chips. Using a cookie or ice cream scoop, scoop level 1/4 cupfuls of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets (I used my small cookie dough scoop which yielded slightly smaller cookies, about 22-24 in total). Bake until slightly puffed and the tops begin to crack, 18 to 20 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheets and serve.

Thank you, Giada, for this amazing and simple recipe! 

Fresh Herb & Sunflower Chicken Piccata

Lemon and chicken go naturally together.  Throw in some fresh herbs and it's an end of the summer party.  I really wanted to go alternative on the breading and experiment with anything that would infuse flavor and texture.  Sunflower seeds and oatmeal worked really, really well.  So well in fact, there was no need for the 3 step breading process (flour, eggs, breading), I just pounded the chicken flat and pushed them right into the seed, oatmeal and herb mixture. It was clingy enough to stick and browned up beautifully.  The crunch was perfect and the herbs from the garden perfumed the kitchen and added fresh flavor to the chicken. Here's the new, healthy take on chicken piccata...

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded flat

For 'breading':
1/4 cup roasted, salted sunflower seeds
1 packet instant oatmeal
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 stem (about 8-10 leaves) fresh oregano
4 fresh basil leaves
1 sprig rosemary
3 stems chives
fresh cracked black pepper

For sauce:
1/4 cup chicken broth (may use more for additional sauce)
1 fresh lemon
1 tsp capers
fresh cracked black pepper

Olive oil & butter for cooking. 

Preheat the oven to 350°. 

Remove the stems from the herbs and rough chop.  Add herbs to a food processor and pulse with seeds, oatmeal and a few cracks of black pepper until coarsely ground.  Spread the mixture onto a large prep plate and dredge the pounded chicken through the mixture.  Use your tongs to press the mixture into the chicken to help it stick.  In a non-stick pan, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan and over medium high heat, add 1 tbsp butter. Once melted, add chicken breasts and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.  Transfer to a non-stick baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes.

In the same non-stick pan used to pan-fry the chicken, add chicken broth to deglaze. Use a wooden spoon to loosen up all bits from pan.  Slice one lemon in 1/2 (reserving a few rings to top the finished chicken) and squeeze all juice into the sauce.  Add the lemon halves into the pan while the sauce reduces.  Reduce on med-lo for about 8 minutes and stir in 1/4 tsp corn starch and a few cracks of black pepper. Add 1 tsp capers and keep on low until ready to serve. Add more chicken stock to balance flavor if necessary.

Top cooked chicken breasts with slices of lemon and then spoon sauce over top.  The chicken goes really well with rice or whole wheat pasta and a side of steamed broccoli which can also topped with a spoonful of sauce. Fresh, healthy, full of vitamins and minerals! 

What other breading substitutes have you tried?  Walnuts? Almonds?

Supper Club Apps - Grits Toast with Soy Chorizo & Tomatillo Topping

So if I had access to Trader Joe's Vegan Soy Chorizo everyday, I may seriously consider going vegan or at least vegetarian.  I promise you, you would be hard pressed to taste the difference between this plant based product and it's piggy counterpart.  It would be delicious in breakfast burritos or maybe even somehow formed into a pattie for a new take on a spicy burger.  For last night's Supper Club Surprise, we had it atop grits toast, mashed with roasted tomatillos and topped with a little dollop of my favorite - 2% plain Greek yogurt. Grits toast is a cinch and fun to do.  Here's how it came together:


Quick Fix Grits - 3/4 cup
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp of salt (can be omitted, chicken broth is plenty flavorful)
1/3 link of Trader Joe's vegan soy chorizo (or 1/2 cup when crumbled and cooked) or your favorite chorizo
8 tomatillos
1/4 hot pepper
olive oil
garlic salt
pepper
1 tbsp lite cream cheese
1 tbsp olive oil mayo
2 tbsp shredded monterey jack/cheddar blend and more for topping
2% plain Greek yogurt

Start by fixing the grits...and as Paula always says, stir your little heart out in the beginning or you'll end up with lumpy grits. Once the broth comes to a boil, it should take about 5 minutes to get them to a creamy consistency.  They should pour easily into a jellyroll pan and smooth out evenly.  Too long and they'll be one big, pasty lump.  The grits then go into the fridge for at least 30 minutes. I would have liked for the final 'toast' to be a little thicker, so next time I will either use a smaller pan (I used a 9"x13") or make more grits.  Here's the jellyroll pan shot:

While the grits are chillin', move on to the topping and try not to eat it all before you can put the final product together (I struggled a little with this step).  Cook up the chorizo in a fry pan and roast the tomatillos and hot pepper with some olive oil, garlic salt and pepper at 400° for about 10-15 minutes until you have a little char (flip on the broiler if you need to).  If you haven't had tomatillos, they add a cool green color and a little tartness to a sauce or salsa.  You'll usually find them near the tomatoes, look for a smaller fruit in an earthy green husk.  The husk comes off and they need a good rinse to remove the stickiness.  I think the insides look like an eggplant which is confusing but who cares?  They are very cool and tasty. So, after the roasting is done, give them all a rough chop and then transfer the veggies and the chorizo to a mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients (except for the Greek yogurt, that's for the top).  Give them all a stir to combine.

Crumbled Chorizo

Now, take the chilled grits from the fridge and use a medium sized cookie cutter to form the toast rounds.  Transfer to another non-stick cookie sheet and bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes, flipping once.  The grits will get a little browned around the edges...delicious.  Now they are ready to be topped with the chorizo blend, a few shreds of cheese and baked again until heated through and the cheese is melted.  Top with the yogurt and serve it up warm!  The chorizo and pepper give it a hit of spiciness, the tomatillos a little tartness and the yogurt cools it right off.  These were a supper club hit!

Aren't they cute on Woo's pretty polka plate?

Zucchini with Arugula Pesto and Summertime Tomatoes

Summer Beauty!

Summer veggies everywhere!  SOTJ Farmer's Market provided me with a big bag of arugula this past weekend so I, being the lover of pesto that I am, decided to blend it up and make a little peppery delight.  Here's what I did:

Into my Cuisinart food processor, I added two handfuls of arugula, a handful of walnuts, 2 cloves of garlic and a generous heaping of parmigiano reggiano.  The arugula is peppery enough and the cheese is plenty salty so really there is no need for extra seasoning.  While pulsing away, I drizzled in some extra virgin olive oil until it was a beautiful, vibrant green paste.  I could use this on anything (who am I kidding, I could eat it by the spoonful) but this time I decided to add it to the side dish. I topped the hot sauté of summer tomatoes and ribbons of zucchini that had their turn in a hot pan with a couple of turns of olive oil.   While the blend was still piping hot, I added a dollop of the pesto until it lightly coated each bite.  Finished with a sprinkle of the cheese and deliciousness was served!

Gardening for Gastronomic Delights – Project Garden Grow, Phase I

With a break in the heat, my husband and I set out to begin Phase I of a major overhaul of our yard. We have the perfect urban yard for gardening but not always the perfect soil, so we've decided to start fresh in a few areas. The first phase began yesterday and involved a deconstruction of an area we refer to as the 'Tea Garden'. It's a great portion of our yard that is off to the side of our house and, thankfully, fenced off from our dogs constant trampling. You step down into a level yard that is walled-in with ivy, hostas and spring flowers. There is a sidewalk that runs the length of our house which sits atop a stone wall that I am sure was built decades (if not almost a century!) ago. The wall is in great shape, the perennials, however, were not. So, we ripped, we tore, we dug, we raked and we kept a close eye out for snakes. Surprisingly, there were none to be seen. After 5 hours of digging and sifting, we stood back and admired what will soon be our new herb garden. Of course, all of this work is a little late in the season, but we are looking forward to having everything prepped and ready for the spring. Phase II is slated for next weekend and involves a second area of the yard, a rented cultivator and some serious tools. Or it may involve hiring a professional, we'll see where the week takes us....

The purpose of all of this labor intensive and back-breaking work is twofold. One, our yard needs a little love and two, I want to be able to cook with foods that I've grown. While my family didn't farm when I was growing up, we were in the country and surrounded by wild blackberries, apple orchards and area farmers. We had some tomato plants in the yard, cucumbers hanging from the back fence and a neighbor that plotted out a healthy sized garden of corn, tomatoes, peppers, etc. and usually delivered a basketful each summer. This is the great reward I am seeking... to work diligently on something that I (and my neighbors) can benefit from directly!

So, that's our goal. I am looking for advice on what to plant in a central Virginia climate and advice on how to keep the garden healthy and environmentally (and economically) friendly...all comments will be greatly appreciated and taken into full consideration!

Frothy Goodness paired with a Breezy Day

Sometimes you just have to write about things you enjoy, things you love. Today's entry is one of those times. Coffee is a connector, a mediator, a meeting maker. It's become a daily indulgence for lots of us and life long passion for many. I'm sitting outside on this beautiful, 'after the storm' summer day, at a place that I would love to call my own, Ellwood's Coffee. How many of you have thought about how great it would be to own and operate a coffee/wine bar/social gathering spot/community based business? I have. Many, many times...starting in college when I lived in a sleepy little Virginia town that tried to balance community and an ever-growing college population. Ellwood's has done it right, from the organic coffee right down to the energy efficient bathrooms.

And let me tell you, this latte I'm working on (my second) couldn't be better. Thank you, Ellwood's...Bellissimo!

Balsamic Glaze Take 2 - Eggplant Topping

I can see this eggplant topping off grilled bread, whole wheat pasta, sticky rice...so many possibilities! Since I had some of the glaze leftover from dessert last night, I took a look in the fridge for a veggie combination that could stand up to the intensity of the vinegar reduction. Only needed 4 fresh ingredients to make this one work and here's what I did:

1 whole eggplant diced

1/2 yellow onion sliced into thin rings

2 garlic cloves minced

1/4 mexibell pepper diced (a medium hot bell pepper to counter the sweetness in the sauce)

salt and pepper

1/2 cup to 1 cup balsamic reduction from last night's recipe

olive oil

In a cast iron skillet, add a few turns of olive oil over medium heat. Start by sauteing the onions until translucent. Next add the diced pepper, garlic cloves and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add in the eggplant and the balsamic reduction, stirring frequently until the eggplant is broken down and the liquid is absorbed.

I topped it off with sweet basil and had a few bites already - sweet and delicious! I can see spooning this over grilled bread with a little prosciutto and gorgonzola later today. My mouth is watering!

Grilled White Peaches with Balsamic Glaze

Supper Club! We grilled and we grilled, and then we grilled dessert. The glaze is a make ahead so the dessert goes from grill to plate in a matter of minutes. Here's what you do:
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp honey
Pinch of salt
Few twists of black peppercorn
Bring it up in a boil on the stovetop or grill, stirring to blend the sugar, honey and liquid. Turn back the heat to a simmer and let it reduce down to about 1/2. Once this is done, pull it off the heat and add a little to the bottom of a baking dish. 1/2 the peaches, remove the pit and place them (cut-side) into the glaze. Let them soak up the flavor for at least 10 minutes, more if you have time.
Take them to the grill, place them on the grates cut-side up first. Flip after about 2-3 minutes, then grill cut-side until you see those caramelized tracks. Serve it up with a scoop of vanilla and top it with as much of the balsamic reduction as you can handle!

Spinach and Chickpea Soup

With that recent cold snap (down from triple digits), I figured it was time for a hot lunch. We just got back from a long weekend away and I had a bag of fresh spinach that needed to be used up quickly. I didn't feel like having a salad so the next best thing was a quick and super simple soup! The base of this soup is really tasty and the add in's can be changed up. However, I really liked the combination of the leafy, green spinach and the protein-packed peas. It comes together in about 10 minutes so its a good one if you are in a hurry. Here's what I put together:

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

1/2 lemon (zest and juice)

1 piece of parmagiano reggiano rind leftover from some other fantastic meal

2 cups fresh spinach

1/3 cup chickpeas

4 basil leaves

Start by bringing the stock, water, lemon juice, zest and rind up to a simmer. The rind adds a nice saltiness to the soup and gets every, last bit of flavor out of that pricey block of cheese. Add in the spinach, peas and, at the very end, the shredded basil. Told you it was easy!

Sesame Pretzel Chicken with a Sweet Heat Sauce

I am always looking for new things to use as 'breading' for poultry or pork and, in my pantry, I had just the fix. When we went on vacation, I went a little crazy on the snack aisle, stocking up for the long plane ride and days on the beach. I happened to pick up sesame pretzels at Trader Joe's thinking they were peanut butter pretzels on sale. Wrong! No matter, they turned out to be tasty. With so many leftover though, I was looking for an innovative use and scored with a 'breaded' chicken dinner. These pretzels were multi-grain and packed quite a crunch so I pulsed them in the food processor until they were mostly crumbs, leaving a few larger pieces that aided in texture that resembled southern fried chicken. To pair with the sesame flavor, I opted for an Asian inspired sauce made from mustard, honey, crushed red peppers flakes and rice wine vinegar. Atop snow peas and mushrooms finished in sesame oil, this was a meal not soon forgotten. Here's the fix:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups sesame pretzel nuggets

3 tbsp sesame seeds

1 cup all purpose flour

1 egg

salt and pepper

Sauce:

1 tbsp whole grain mustard

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1/2 cup raw honey

3-4 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp red pepper flakes (less for less heat)

fresh cracked black pepper

Side:

canola oil

garlic clove

2 cups snow peas

5 baby bella mushrooms, quartered

sesame oil

toasted sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 375° and start by using a basic breading technique for the chicken. First set up your breading stations with one plate for the ground pretzels mixed with the sesame seeds, one plate for flour seasoned with s & p and one bowl for the egg (beaten). When you are ready to go, pat the chicken breasts dry, season with salt and pepper and then start by dredging in the flour. Shake excess flour off and pull the chicken breast through the beaten egg. The last step is to lay the chicken breast in the pretzel mixture, pressing the crumbs over the entire surface on both sides. I wanted to retain the crunch of the larger pretzels pieces and simplify this dinner so I transferred the chicken breasts to an lightly oiled baking dish and baked them off for about 25-30 minutes.

The rest of the meal came together easily. All the sauce ingredients listed above go into a sauce pan on low heat and simmer away while the chicken cooks, stirring to help incorporate the honey with the mustard. About 5 minutes before the chicken is done, grab a sauté pan, add a little canola oil and a broken garlic clove. Over low to medium heat, add in the mushrooms and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the snow peas to gently warm. To finish, add a touch of sesame oil (a little goes a long way), a pinch of red pepper flakes and top with toasted sesame seeds. Plate the snow peas and mushrooms first, add the chicken on top and then smother in the sauce. Yum!

Macerated Melon and Basil

One more great summer recipe this week from the SOTJ market!  Love this one and it couldn't be any simpler.  We picked up a seedless Vanessa melon which yielded about 3-4 cups of melon balls. To that, I added 2 tbsp of granulated sugar and 1 tsp salt.  A chiffonade cut of basil really added depth and a refreshing flavor. The taste only gets better as the melon continues to macerate in the sugary fruit juice and because of that, I will be enjoying it for dessert again tonight!

Salsa Me This

This is a quick one and provided by Amy's Garden at our favorite Farmer's Market, South of the James. They sell salsa baskets complete with onion, tomato varietals, peppers and garlic. We like to kick up the heat so they threw in a hotter pepper (wish I could remember the name of) that had a great finish that packed the heat but didn't leave you running for the milk jug. When I got home, I first diced the onion (small, white) and 3 cloves of garlic. The mixture went into a glass prep bowl and I doused it with a hit of Merlot, salt and pepper. Then I went to work on the tomatoes - chopping, slicing, dicing. I pulled it all together with about half a tbsp of cumin, salt and a generous helping of black pepper.

This one is easy and tasty but the best part is talking with the folks at Amy's Garden booth during the market. They are friendly and helpful and provided info on the produce and tips on the recipes. Definitely one to hit up next time you are in town.

Grilled Caesar! You've been wondering...

Now I know why everywhere I turn I see claims for 'a traditional Caesar turned up,' it's taste is over the top! This meal came together in about 20 minutes but the flavors were all intensified by the char from the grill.

While the grill was heating up, I prepared bread to make croutons and on hand, we had a most delicious selection to stand up to a grilled salad. Of course we headed over to the SOTJ Farmer's Market Saturday morning and saw THE bread man of Norwood Cottage Bakery. We slept in this weekend so we missed his Black Bean bread premier, however, we scored with a half loaf of Garlic Clove. Perfect for croutons for a Caesar Salad! I took 1/4 of the loaf and chopped it up into large square pieces, tossed them in olive oil, salt and pepper and put them into a 350° oven for about 10 minutes and then shifted the oven to the 'warm' setting to allow them to continue to crisp while I put dinner on the grill.

For the remainder, I seasoned a boneless, skinless chicken breast with canola oil, salt & pepper. Since it takes the longest to cook, I put that on the grill first for about 5 minutes on each side. My grill was topping the 400° mark so it went pretty fast. While that was grilling away, I sliced a large head of romaine lettuce in half vertically so that the root was still in place to hold the leaves together. It was also seasoned with oil, salt and pepper but this time I used garlic salt, it is a Caesar Salad after all. I also cut two lemons in half to place on the grill with the lettuce (on lowered heat) when the chicken was almost done.

It all came off the grill with beautiful grill marks. We each got a half of the lettuce head topped with sliced chicken, the Garlic Clove croutons, parmesan cheese and a drizzle of classic Caesar dressing (if I am only having it every so often, I like Kraft's traditional dressing & dip), and two of the lemon pieces. Now, the biggest kick to this salad is the squeeze of the grilled lemon right before serving. The char from the grill adds a depth of flavor that is hard to explain but it is smoky & tart and because of the heat, you end up getting every drop of juice.

And just a heads up...when I went to get another napkin from the kitchen, my husband took about 1/2 of my croutons off of my plate and added them to what was left of his salad. Needless to say, the bread is that good! For those of you that don't live in Richmond, you may want to visit just for the bread.

A Bellini for Everyone!

It's the perfect summer cocktail...or winter...or Sunday brunch...or special occasion...or, I feel like having a drink, Drink. I started by putting 3 fresh peaches in the freezer over night so they would be nice and cold for blending. I also had on hand some of the basil simple syrup from the Lime-Basil Sorbet recipe. I peeled the peaches, gave them a quick chop and popped them into my blender with the simple syrup (about a cup, maybe a little more). I blended until I just couldn't blend anymore and then I added the mixture to a nice, chilled Prosecco, equal parts of both. It is sweet and sinful and something I will be enjoying throughout the weekend!

Comforting Calzones

[caption id="attachment_171" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="After."]

Before the bake...

Chilled Gazpacho Soup

Remember the marinated and grilled veggies post from the other weekend? I recently had an opportunity to make it again when we had some friends over to welcome them back to town (yahoo!). While at our favorite farmer's market Saturday, we bought a brown bag full of summer squash and baby zucchini so we threw those on the grill with spring onions, mushrooms and a baby eggplant. We used the same balsamic marinade and they came out just as tasty as the first time.

We had almost a pound of the grilled vegetables leftover so last night I decided to try making Gazpacho which, surprisingly enough, I've only ever tried once. We'll be changing that this summer! Here's how it came together:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 raw white onion, diced

1/2 large green bell pepper, diced

2 garlic cloves

leftover grilled, balsamic-marinated summer vegetables

1-26 oz can crushed tomatoes with basil

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 cups low sodium chicken stock

2 cups water (or more if you want to thin it out)

fresh chopped herbs - I had basil, oregano and thyme on hand

crushed red pepper flakes

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper

I started by sautéing the onion and green pepper in the olive oil with a little S & P in my Martha Stewart Collection Enameled Cast Iron Casserole Pot until the onions were translucent . Next I turned up the heat on the stove a bit and added the crushed garlic, grilled vegetables, tomatoes, tomato paste and chicken stock. I broke out my trusty Cuisinart cordless hand blender and blended all the veggie bits together until there were no big bite-sized pieces left (although I left it a little chunky because I like that texture). Next I added the water, the fresh herbs, the bay leaves (these will come out before serving), a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and a pinch more black pepper. I brought the soup up to a boil and then put the lid on and took it off the heat to simmer for about 30 minutes.

From there the whole pot went into the fridge overnight and then the chilled soup went into my belly over lunch. With these 100° days, I've been craving ice-cold lunches and this one hit the spot. It's a great way to help meet your veggie quota for the day and enjoy a refreshing, cool meal.

Rick Bayless recipe for Chorizo Verde

In keeping with the 'green' theme, I wanted to try a new recipe that uses fresh herbs, peppers, greens and pork...Chorizo Verde. I saw Rick Bayless making this on his PBS show.  The finished product turns to a queso like tortilla filling and is a slightly spicy treat.  I also put together a roasted tomatillo salsa that is super easy and adds a sweet element to contrast the heat.

Chorizo Verde:

1 lb pork

1/2 onion

2 medium poblano chilis

1-2 serranos

cilantro

beer

1 cup to 1.5 cup manchego cheese

2 cups raw spinach

Start by roasting the poblanos over a grill flame until charred. Remove charred skin by running under cool water and peeling off with your fingers. Poblanos then go into a food processor with the serranos and a medium bunch of cilantro.  Pulse until pureed.

In a large skillet, brown pork and then add the 'verde'.  Saute for a bit and add a pinch of salt and the onions.  Onto the queso!   Give the skillet 1 to 2 full turns of beer, enough to almost cover the pork mixture.  Add the shredded cheese and spinach.  Turn the mixture until the cheese melts and the spinach wilts - that's it!

Tomatillo salsa:

In the same food processor used for the poblano mixture (a little flavor will be left over), blend a roasted tomatillo, half to a full jalapeno, 1/4 cup onion, 1/2 pint grape tomatoes, handful of fresh cilantro.  Pinch of garlic salt, cumin and cayenne pepper and the juice of 1/2 a lime.  Pulse, pulse, pulse until it's the texture you like.  I like this one pretty thin.

Put it all together! Warm tortilla, scoop full of the chorizo verde, a few leaves of raw spinach and a couple of slices of avocado.  Yum!  Add the salsa to the tortilla, enjoy the salsa with chips or over some shredded lettuce.  Do whatcha like.  A margarita on the side never hurt anyone either...

Homemade Ravioli…What what??

I having been itching to make homemade pasta for some time now but kept putting it off because I thought it would be too complicated.  Um, hello?  Can you say easy and scrumptious?  Fuhgettaboudit.

Tonight's dinner:  whole wheat ravioli stuffed with a blend of italian sausage, roasted asparagus and cheeses and topped with homemade marinara.

Pasta first:

In a food processor, blend 2 cups whole wheat flour and 2 cups white flour.  In a separate bowl, blend 6 eggs and 3 tbsp olive oil.  With the processor on, slowly pour in the egg mixture and process until a ball is formed.   Add a little bit of room temperature water if needed.  Once the dough ball is formed, transfer to a greased bowl and cover with a clean dishtowel.  Let rest for 30-60 minutes.

While the pasta dough is doin' its thing, get your filling going - my filling tonight was a mild italian sausage with cheese and roasted asparagus.  I started by sauteing one minced shallot in a little bit of olive oil and then added the italian sausage to brown (be sure not to overcook since it will be boiled with the pasta). I drained the sausage on a paper towel and then transferred to a mixing bowl, added about 5 ounces of marscapone cheese and 3 ounces shredded parmesan. I had leftover roasted asparagus so I chopped the stalks and added that in also.

Let the fun begin! To make the dough manageable, cut into quarters.  Dust your countertop with flour, grab your rolling-pin and have at it.  As Ina says, "Always keep the dough moving on your board."  I found out the hard way when I tried to move my first batch of cut ravioli and it wouldn't budge off of my counter.  Roll the dough out pretty thin but still thick enough to handle a stuffing.  To stuff the pasta, mound spoonfuls of the mixture onto the dough a few inches apart.  You can either then fold the dough over to seal or add a 2nd rolled out pasta sheet over the first.  Once covered, push down around each mound to remove as much air as possible.  I used a Pampered Chef sandwich cutter/sealer to make large ravioli but you can always cut each piece out and then use a fork to seal the edges.

Once you have formed your pasta, let it rest for about 10 minutes.  Bring water to a boil, salt it up and drop a few in at a time.  They only need about 4-6 minutes to cook depending on how thick you rolled out the dough.  The ravioli will start to float to the top when they are about ready.

Tonight's ravioli was topped with homemade marinara which is also as easy as 1-2-3:

1 diced shallot

2 cloves garlic minced

1 can San Marzano tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato paste

fresh herbs - thyme, oregano, parsley, basil

1 large bay leaf

red pepper flakes

s & p

Start by sweating out the onion and garlic in a sauce pan with a little extra virgin olive oil and over medium heat.  Add the can tomatoes, tomato paste, chopped herbs, red pepper flakes and season with s & p.  I use my Cuisinart hand blender to mash the tomatoes and blend everything right in the sauce pan.  Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for at least 30 minutes with the bay leaf.  That's it!

The whole wheat pasta is very hardy with a slightly nutty flavor.  I reserved the other half of our dough to try a stuffing of sautéed mushrooms or roasted butternut squash...I think I'll be dreaming of stuffed pillows of pasta tonight!

What to do with that dijon mustard clinging to the jar…

Don't toss the jar or rinse the mustard down the drain.  Add in olive oil, red wine vinegar, a few drops of red wine and salt and pepper to flavor.  Fresh herbs from the garden?  Throw 'em in! Give it a shake and you've got fresh mustard vinaigrette for a salad or sandwich dressing. Doesn't it feel good to get every last penny's worth?!

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Sage Butter Sauce

New York City is definitely the place to be for delicious food and trying new things.  We got back a few hours ago from a trip to celebrate our 1 year anniversary and I can't stop thinking about all the tastes of NYC.  Hoping to extend the celebration for just a little longer, I thought I would try my hand at a special dinner.  Here's what I came up with:

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Sage Butter Sauce and Pomme Frites

1 large chicken breast halved lengthwise

1/2 cup raw broccoli florets

1 shallot

1/4 cup chopped mushrooms

1/4 cup marscapone cheese

2 tbsp shredded mozzarella

olive oil

2 tbsp butter

6 sage leaves

chicken broth

1 tbsp dijon mustard

s & p

1 baking potato

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Slice potato in half, lengthwise, then slice each half into 4-5 strips.  Coat in olive oil, s & p and put into oven for about 20-25 minutes, flipping once.

Bring salted water to boil to blanch broccoli (boil for about a minute, then soak in ice bath to stop cooking).  In a separate sauce pan, saute shallots and mushrooms in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, butter and season with s & p.  Drain the broccoli and transfer to a mixing bowl.  Add shallots and mushrooms and mix in marscapone and mozzarella cheese.  This will be your stuffing for the chicken.

Pound both pieces of chicken flat, salt and pepper both sides.  Next spoon the mixture over one entire side of both pieces of chicken.  Roll the chicken from top to bottom and secure with toothpicks.  

Brown the chicken breasts in a little EVOO and 1 tbsp of butter on the stove top in a saute pan that can be transferred to the oven.  Start with the seam side up and brown for about 3 minutes on each side or until a good caramel color develops.  Once both sides have browned,  transfer the entire pan to the oven for approximately 10 minutes.

Sage Butter Sauce

Once you pull the pan out of the oven, transfer the chicken breasts to the serving plates.  I plated ours over arugula for an extra bite.  On low heat on the stove top, add 1 tbsp butter to the saute pan used for to cook the chicken breast.  Add chicken broth (about 1/4 cup) to sauce and use a whisk to work all of the brown bits off of the bottom.  Next whisk in a tbsp of dijon mustard and finish with the chopped sage.  Let the sauce simmer a bit and s & p to taste.

Spoon the sauce over the chicken, plate the fries and you are done! Don't forget to remove the toothpicks before serving...sauteed splinters tend to be a little chewy. ;)