Summer Caesar

I'm so behind on posting it's pathetic. And I actually have some recipes to share! So I'm going to challenge myself to post every day during the week this week and try to get caught up.

First up---a summery shrimp Caesar salad.

I found this recipe on Everyday Food's website last week as I was browsing around looking for some quick and easy culinary inspiration. Work has been even more ridiculous than usual lately (last week was HORRIBLE) and I've been on the lookout for super quick and easy meals-- too often recently I come home too late and too tired to spend much time in the kitchen and we end up ordering pizza or going out to eat. Which is not good for my wallet or my waistline. So I'm try to find some easy dishes that take very little effort to put together.

This shrimp Caesar was even easier than I thought it would be. I bought frozen shrimp that had been already been peeled and deveined so all I had to do was thaw, toss with the garlic-lemon zest-olive oil mixture and roast in the oven with cubes of crusty bread. While that was cooking away, I made a quick and easy homemade Caesar dressing with an unlikely ingredient-- hard boiled egg yolk! It sounded so odd, I almost skipped it but I am so glad I didn't. Mashed up and then whisked into a mixture of garlic, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and olive oil, it was the perfect emulsifier. Tossed with a little grated Parmesan and Romaine lettuce and you had a quick, easy, and delicious summer meal.

 

Shrimp Caesar Salad

Adapted slightly from Everyday Food

Ingredients:
3/4 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lemon
1/2 baguette, cut into cubes
1 hard-cooked egg yolk, mashed
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2-3 TBL grated Parmesan (to taste)
2 large hearts Romaine lettuce, chopped
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. In a medium bowl, combine zest from lemon, 1 TBL olive oil, and 1 clove of minced garlic. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Add bread cubes. Cook until shrimp are cooked and bread cubes are golden and crunchy, about 7-8 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine remaining garlic, juice from the lemon, mustard, egg yolk and 2 TBL olive oil. Whisk until smooth. Stir in Parmesan. Add Romaine and toss to coat. Season with salt and lots of pepper.
4. Divide salad among plates and top with shrimp and croutons. Serve! (Makes 2 large main salads or 4 smaller side salads).

It's All Greek to Me

Looking for a quick and easy summer salad that is perfect for throwing together in a hurry after work when you've got other things to do? Have I got the thing for you-- Greek salad! I made this for dinner a few weeks ago after a long day of work (and before I rolled up my sleeves to bake Jason's annual choice of birthday cake)-- it was light and delicious and had me in and out of the kitchen in no time flat.

The nice thing about salads is that it's all about assembly-- so easy, you don't need a recipe! Simply top your favorite salad greens with chopped tomatoes, red onion, olives, cucumber and feta and add a quick and easy balsamic vinaigrette.

And for fun...Jason's cake (this time I did a mini 6 inch cake since it was just the two of us)

In other news, we are having more problems with the US Postal Service. But that's a story for another day. And today we got to walk through our house for the first time-- it's looking more like a house on the outside but there is definitely a ways to go on the inside :)

Strawberry Week, part 2

It was easy to come up with ideas for strawberry sweet treats, but as I much as I would have liked to eat nothing but strawberry crisp, strawberry shortcake, strawberry ice cream, or even strawberry scones, I did not think that would be too good for my waist line (it has a hard enough battle given my current lack of exercise routine). So I came up with an idea for a simple spinach salad topped with strawberries, goat cheese, pecans and balsamic vinaigrette. It may sound odd to top a salad with strawberries (Jason, for one, was skeptical when I told him what we are having for dinner with our chicken kebabs tonight), but it is quite tasty (by the end of the meal he was converted). A no-recipe recipe and a healthy way to eat your summer fruit!

A Taste of Spring

Monday night we celebrated the end of February and the coming of Spring (hey, it's only 3 weeks away!) with a yummy salad from this month's Everyday Food. It was a winner-- light yet filling, easy, and encompassing a variety of flavors (salty, sweet, and spicy). We will definitely be making this one again soon.

Chicken Salad with Pineapple-Lime Dressing
Adapted slightly from Everyday Food

Ingredients: 
1 teaspoon lime zest
2 TBL lime juice (from 1 lime)
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons minced shallot
1/2 jalapeno, minced
6 TBL olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped pineapple
3 cups baby spinach
1/3 cup toasted cashews (I used a lightly salted variety)
3/4- 1 cup cubed or shredded chicken (I bought a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store which made it nice and easy)

1. In a small bowl whisk together lime zest, lime juice, honey, shallot and jalapeno. Add oil and whisk until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in pineapple.
2. In a large bowl, add spinach, cashews, and chicken. Pour dressing over top and gently toss. Serve with your favorite bread.

The Perfect Pear

For a long time I did not eat pears. At all. I think it stems from all the canned pears I had as a kid-- there is just something about the texture that I could not overcome. So I was convinced that I just didn't like pears--canned, fresh, or otherwise. But as I've gotten older I've started revisiting those foods that used to be on the "do not like" list. For the most part I have outgrown my childhood food prejudices (although a few do still remain-- I still don't really like bananas in anything other than banana bread and I still think crab tastes too fishy. Oh and don't get me started on canned tuna--yuck!) While I probably wouldn't count pears among my favorite fruits of all time, I definitely like them in certain preparations. For example, I love a good roasted pear salad. Come on! Who wouldn't love pear halves stuffed with a combination of cheese, nuts, and dried cherries all of which is then roasted (and steamed) in a shallow bath of balsamic vinegar?! It's easy, it's delicious and versatile. Good enough to make even the pickiest, pear haters in the world convert.

Before going into the oven.

Roasted Pear Salad
Adapted from a couple of recipes

Ingredients:
2 ripe but firm Anjou Pears
Juice from one lemon
3-4 TBL crumbled goat cheese or blue cheese (most recipes call for blue cheese but Jason is not a fan so we use goat cheese-- just as good!)
2 TBL chopped walnuts
2 TBL chopped dried cherries
3 TBL Balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 TBL brown sugar
5 TBL olive oil
Arugula or other salad greens

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Peel pears and cut in half through the core. Use a spoon or melon baller to scoop out the core, making a cavity for the stuffing. Cut a sliver off the back so the pears sit straight. Place pear halves in a baking dish.
2. Pour lemon juice over pear halves to prevent them from turning brown.
3. Mix together goat/blue cheese, walnuts, and dried cherries in a small bowl. Spoon filling into pear cavities, mounding over the top.
4. In the same bowl you used to make the filling, mix together balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, and olive oil. Taste to make sure everything seems in proper proporition. Pour your makeshift vinaigrette over the pears and into the bottom of the dish.
5. Place into the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Remove and cover with aluminum foil. Return to oven and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until pears are tender.
6. Place arugula or other salad greens on to plates. Spoon some of the balsamic vinegar over the greens and top with pears (two for an entree or one as a side).

Not-so-guilty pleasures

Guilty pleasures. We all have them.  I got caught up in one of mine tonight (the season finale of a tv show that I am too embarrassed to name….it’s so good though!) which is why this post is so late.  Fortunately chicken piccata is anything but a guilty pleasure. It is an all-around crowd pleaser.  I have made it countless times for Jason and myself. And it’s just as easy to make for 10 people as it is for 2—I even made it for book club a few months ago!

To make it even easier I like to start with chicken cutlets—it takes the need for pounding the chicken breasts out until they are super thin (although that is good if you have some aggression/anger you need to take out on something). You then coat the chicken in flour, an egg and water mixture, and seasoned bread crumbs. Cook in olive oil a minute or two per side and then finish them off in the oven. While the chicken is finishing you make a quick sauce of butter, white wine, and lemon juice. Top the chicken with sauce and fresh parsley and there you go!

Tonight I decided to make a spinach salad to go with it. Given that we still had a few extremely ripe strawberries left from last week’s trip to the farmers’ market, I threw those in there along with some hearts of palm and walnuts. We were originally going to have chicken picatta last night and I was going to use some of the leftover chicken on this salad as the entrée tonight. But since I was not up to cooking last night and I knew my strawberries wouldn’t be able to last much longer I decided to serve them together. It worked well--  the strawberries in the salad were a nice complement to the lemony chicken.

A perfect meal to (almost) end the week on!

Chicken Piccata
Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:
1 package of chicken cutlets (or chicken breasts, pounded thin)
½ cup of all-purpose flour
1 egg
½ cup of seasoned bread crumbs
2 TBL butter
½ cup dry white wine
2 lemons
4 TBL fresh chopped parsley
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1.Preheat oven to 400. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil lightly coated with cooking spray.
2.Mix the egg with 1 TBL of water and beat lightly. Place the flour, egg mixture, and bread crumbs in separate containers (a plate or shallow bowl would work best). Season flour with salt and pepper.
3.Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet (you want a thin layer to completely cover the bottom of the pan) over medium heat. Meanwhile, dredge the chicken pieces first in the flour, then in the egg mixture, and finally in the bread crumbs (be sure both sides are covered).
4.In a couple of batches, cook chicken in olive oil 2 minutes per side until golden brown. Place on baking sheet. You may need to add additional oil to the pan between batches. Once the chicken is browned, place baking sheet in the oven to finish cooking about 6-8 minutes.
5.Meanwhile, wipe the skillet clean and return to heat. Melt butter and add white wine and juice from the two lemons. Add lemons to the skillet. Simmer until sauce has slightly reduced.
6.Spoon sauce over chicken and serve with fresh parsley.

Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Hearts of Palm
Inspired by a recipe from Paula Deen

Ingredients:
2-3 cups baby spinach
½ cup sliced strawberries
¼ cup chopped walnuts
2 whole hearts of palm, sliced (I used the canned variety)
1 teaspoon Grey Poupon mustard
2 TBL lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1.Add spinach, strawberries, walnuts, and hearts of palm to a bowl.
2.In a small bowl, mix mustard and lemon juice together. Slowly whisk in olive oil until emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste
3.Toss salad with vinaigrette and serve.

What a Good Day Looks Like

Yesterday, something amazing happened-- I woke up in my own bed!  I had a busy (but not overwhelmingly so) and productive day at work. I worked out. I made dinner (more on that in a minute). And I watched Glee.

It was a good day.

I decided to give myself a little bit of time to ease back into full blown cooking mode by making an easy dish that also happens to be a tried and true favorite—Thai Beef Salad.  This salad is something that Jason and I have made numerous times over the years; it is so familiar I barely need the recipe anymore!

You start by making a marinade/dressing from lime juice, soy sauce, canola oil, brown sugar, fresh ginger, and garlic-chili paste. Half of the mixture is poured over London broil which is then set aside to marinate for a couple of hours. The other half is reserved to be used as a salad dressing. It is a really flavorful mix that has just the right combination of salty, sweet, and spicy (if you like that sort of thing which we definitely do).

The salad part is even easier--- salad greens are tossed with fresh basil, cilantro, shallots and the reserved dressing.  In the past I have also included red or yellow pepper which can be a nice addition if you feel like jazzing things up. But it is pretty darn good on its own. Try it….I’ll bet you like it :)

Thai Beef Salad
Adapted from Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:
1 (1lb) piece of London broil (could also use flank steak)
3 TBL lime juice
3 TBL low-sodium soy sauce
3 TBL canola oil
2 TBL firmly packed brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons minced or ground fresh ginger (since we make this salad fairly often, I tend to buy a jar of ground fresh ginger and keep it in the fridge—you can find it in the produce section).
1 ¼ teaspoons garlic-chili sauce (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
Salad greens
1-2 shallots, thinly sliced (quantity depends on size…I had an enormous one yesterday so only used one)
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons

1.Make the marinade/dressing. Combine lime juice, soy sauce, canola oil, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic-chili sauce together in a small bowl. Place meat in a sealable bag and add half the mixture to the bag. Seal bag and marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour (the longer the better—you could even do overnight). Cover the remaining mixture and stick in the fridge for later.
2.Preheat the oven to broil and line the bottom of the broiling tray with aluminum foil (it will help with clean up).  Place meat on the grated top of the broiling tray and broil about 8 minutes per side for medium (for medium rare, the recipe suggests 5 minutes per side; if you want it more like medium-well I’d go with 10 minutes). Let the meat rest for about 5 minutes and then slice thinly.
3.While the meat is cooking, combine the lettuce, shallots, cilantro and basil in a large bowl. Add the reserved dressing and toss to coat. Top with beef and serve.

A Taste of Summer (What Happened to Spring?)

As I write this, the temperature outside is 87 degrees. I had a meeting in DC today and was pretty much covered in sweat by the time I got off the crowded rush hour metro. It’s so hot, I broke down and turned on the AC (which I usually try to avoid doing for as long as possible). Which begs the question….what happened to spring?!  I hope it makes a comeback soon because I am not ready for summer quite yet.

Good thing I was planning to make Barefoot Contessa’s Roasted Shrimp and Orzo Salad for dinner tonight. Full of fresh herbs (dill!), veggies (scallions, red onion, and cucumbers…oh my!), shrimp, and topped with a lemon vinaigrette, it is the ideal warm weather meal. It just tastes like summer…seriously!

It’s easy to make too—in the time it takes to cook the orzo you can pretty much have everything else ready to go. The key to the dish, though, is to make it at least an hour or so ahead of time so all the flavors have a chance to mingle and meld. I actually made this during my lunch hour (a definite benefit of working from home) so there was plenty of time for everything to come together. (It also makes for delicious leftovers which is good for Jason since I’m heading off tomorrow for yet another business trip.)

Mmm summer on a plate…even if it is two months too soon!

Roasted Shrimp and Orzo Salad
Adapted slightly from Ina Garten

Ingredients:
½ pound orzo
¼ cup lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
¼ cup plus 1 TBL olive oil
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 bunch scallions, minced (white and green parts)
1 cup chopped fresh dill
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ cucumber, seeded and diced
½ cup red onion, diced
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

1.Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add orzo and cook according to package directions (usually about 9-10 minutes) until done.  While pasta cooks, whisk together lemon juice, ¼ cup olive oil, salt and pepper.
2.Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking pan with aluminum foil. Place shrimp on pan, drizzle with 1 TBL olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to combine and spread out in a single layer. Roast for about 6 minutes until shrimp are cooked through.
3.When pasta is done, drain and pour into a large bowl. Pour vinaigrette over hot pasta and stir well.
4.Add shrimp to the orzo and then add scallions, dill, parsley, cucumber, onion, and salt/pepper to taste. Toss well. Add feta and stir carefully.
5.Set aside at room temperature for at least 1 hour (more if you can do it!) or you can also refrigerate overnight. If refrigerated, bring back to room temperature before serving.

Battling the Newlywed Nine

When Jason and I got married last fall I was in decent shape. Not the best shape of my life, but certainly not the worst. I was eating pretty healthy, working out 4-5 times a week and feeling pretty good about myself. Unfortunately, once the wedding was over I fell off the wagon to a certain degree and have experienced some newlywed weight gain.  This is not terribly unusual, from what I can tell. According to research, individuals in long-term relationships are more likely to gain weight than their single counterparts. This can be for a variety of reasons—complacency, eating more (when cooking for two or eating out more often than when you were solo), staying in instead of going out, etc.  The biggest issue for me, I think, is that I have completely lost my exercise routine (which even more recent research has shown is critical to preventing weight gain in women as we age).  And early on in our marriage I was so excited about cooking for my new husband on a regular basis I tended to go overboard, making more luxurious dishes and desserts than were necessary. So my goals for the second half of our year as newlyweds are to 1) get back into a good workout routine, 2) incorporate more vegetarian/salad based meals into our diets,  and 3) eat smaller portion sizes (because Jason and I should not be eating the same amount of food!) Hopefully by putting it out there, you all will help keep me accountable—if you see too many decadent dishes on this blog, feel free to call me out!

To help get things started on the right foot, I decided to make a big salad for dinner last night. This particular salad happens to be a family favorite. It includes roasted beets (which we happen to eat a lot of around here despite that fact that apparently the public does not), pecans, and goat cheese (which tends to be lower in fat and calories than cow’s milk cheese).  To round it out, I added some left over roast chicken from last night’s dinner and a quick mustard/white balsamic vinaigrette. Healthy and delicious!

 Served with crescent rolls because you gotta have a little bit of carbs (plus they're Jason's favorites!)

Roasted Beet Salad with Pecans and Goat Cheese

Ingredients:
3 golden or red beets or combination thereof (I used golden this time because they don’t bleed as much as the red beets do)
Salad greens
2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
¼ cup of chopped pecans (more or less depending on your own taste, can also use walnuts or pine nuts)
3 cups of salad greens (we used baby romaine)
1/3 cup of shredded roast chicken (optional)
2 Teaspoons of Dijon mustard
1 TBL white balsamic vinegar
3 TBL olive oil
Salt and pepper

1.To roast your beets, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wrap each beet individually with aluminum foil and place on rimmed baking sheet. Roast until beets are tender, about 45 minutes. Open aluminum foil and let beets cool until able to handle. Rub the beet between the aluminum foil to remove skins. Cut into chunks.
2.Place salad greens in large serving bowl. Add beets, pecans, crumbled goat cheese, and chicken if using.
3.Make dressing by whisking vinegar and mustard together. Slowly stream in olive oil and whisk until emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4.Toss dressing (as much as you like) with salad and serve.

Super Salad

Back when Jason used to occasionally make dinner for me, he stumbled upon what happens to be one of the best salad recipes there is: Avocado Salad with Tomatoes, Lime, and Toasted Cumin Vinaigrette. It is one of our go-to meals at any time of the year but is a particularly good choice now that Spring has sprung.  Also we are in detox mode after spending the better part of the last week overindulging in tasty (and mostly fried) seafood while on vacation in South Carolina, so salad seemed an appropriate choice.

The salad itself is nothing terribly unusual/special—salad greens, tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, and avocado. But the dressing! The dressing is what makes this the best salad ever. It brings all the flavors together in delicious harmony.  It does require a couple of “specialized ingredients” (e.g., things that you may not have just hanging out in your pantry on a regular basis—I know I didn’t until we discovered this salad): cumin seeds and rice wine vinegar. But they are pretty easy to find and last a good while so you will be able to make this salad again and again and again.

Even better-- it is a breeze to make. This is a good thing when you are still adjusting to post-vacation life and need to make your apartment spotless for the in-laws who are coming by tomorrow.

Avocado Salad with Tomatoes, Lime, and Toasted Cumin Vinaigrette
Adapted, just barely, from Bobby Flay

Ingredients:
¼ cup fresh lime juice (about 3 juicy limes)
2 TBL rice wine vinegar
1 TBL honey
1 TBL cumin seeds, lightly toasted*
½  cup chopped cilantro**
¼ cup olive oil
¼ vegetable oil
2-3 medium tomatoes, cut into chunks (can also use cherry tomatoes, halved)
1-2 ripe avocados (depending on how many people you are feeding and how much you like avocados), cut into chunks
1 small or ½ large red onion, thinly sliced
2 cups of salad greens (we either use arugula or baby romaine depending on how we’re feeling)
1 teaspoon ground cumin

*To toast the cumin seeds, pour into a dry pan and heat over low. Give them a shake every now and then until you can start to smell the cumin aroma.

**A note about cilantro-- it can be very sandy/gritty, so I find that the best way to get it thoroughly clean is to use my leek washing method: fill a bowl with cool water, add cilantro leaves, and stir it around a time or two. The sand/grit will fall to the bottom.

1.Make the vinaigrette. Whisk together the lime juice, vinegar, honey, cumin, and half the cilantro in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the oils until emulsified. Or you can do what we do and put everything into a mason jar and give a good shake. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
2.Toss the salad greens, tomatoes, onions, and avocado with half of the vinaigrette. Check for seasoning. Sprinkle with ground cumin and the remaining cilantro. Serve, adding remaining vinaigrette as necessary. You can also add some diced chicken to the mix like we did if you want to give it a little more substance!