FALLING IN LOVE WITH ROSEMARY CHICKEN AND WHITE WINE SAUCE

Have you ever had a dish at a restaurant that was so good and so simple that you couldn't wait to go home to try to replicate it? Perhaps a scrumptious farmer's market salad? Seafood pasta? Creamy, savory, bacon-y mac and cheese? Or if you're really ambitious, cracking the code to a restaurant's secret recipe for chocolate chip cookies? I've encountered many meals that have inspired crazy adventures in the kitchen where I tenaciously guess, test and tweak recipes over and over again until I achieve the same inspiring results. Many end in utter failure and a handful so close, it makes all the trials that much more worthwhile. It's kind of like falling in love, and trying to replicate everything that brought you to such a heavenly state. I know, the recipe may not love you back, but you've simply got to try.

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GOING RAW AT ONE LUCKY DUCK

I walked into the carnal red room hearing violent blades whirring against raw vegetables, shredding, grinding and juicing. As I advanced to the counter, I studied the neatly organized shelves of organic vegan food: chia seeds, flax seeds, goji berries and raw carob powder, and stacks of books on living and eating raw.  I was met by a modern day urban hippie standing behind the counter sporting a slouchy hemp beanie, I looked closer and everyone behind the place wearing a hemp beanie. Eerie, like deja-vu. All they needed were tie-dyed shirts and burning incense to fulfill the stereotype, and I would have been completely transported back to my hippie days at Berkeley hanging out and living with hardcore vegans.

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Root Veggie Salad w/Orange Dressing

I've been meaning to tell you about this salad for some time now. It was delicious, involving some of my favorite autumn foods (apples, beets and carrots). It's even raw! Being new to the beet scene, I have come to love them roasted-- I wasn't sure how they would be raw. Turns out there was nothing to be afraid of :) I will definitely be making this again!

the main players

My changes to the recipe for this Root Vegetable Salad w/Cranberries, Pecans and Orange dressing were the following:
-I left out the celery root (didn't have it)
-My ratio of orange juice to oil was a little high (I had a big orange and i'm usually shy on the oil)
-I added in the optional POM arils and toasted pecans.


Here's another trivia question for you... What state leads the United States in SPAM consumption?? Yes, we're talking about the canned meat here, folks!

Make-Your-Own Pinwheels

Do you remember that one of my cooking resolutions is to be more creative in the kitchen? Well, I did it -- sort of. I started in a very small way, but you have to start somewhere, right?

I found a recipe for prosciutto and mozzarella pinwheels in Giada's Kitchen. After glancing at the recipe, which was as simple as rolling up some mozzarella, prosciutto, and spinach in pizza dough, I decided to improvise. My boyfriend doesn't like spinach, so I first considered just putting the spinach on one end for me, but eventually I nixed it completely. I kept the prosciutto and mozzarella and added roasted red peppers, sauteed onions and garlic, and tomato paste. I think the end result was a brand new pinwheel. Okay, maybe that's going a bit far. So I didn't come up with the pinwheel concept myself, but at least I played with the flavors a bit. I actually deviated from a recipe!

Prosciutto, Mozzarella, And Roasted Pepper Pinwheels (adapted from Giada's Kitchen)

Printable version

Ingredients

cornmeal, for dusting
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small onion, sliced into rings
2 cloves garlic, minced
Roasted peppers from 7.25-ounce jar, sliced into strips
1 pound pizza dough, store-bought or homemade
flour, for dusting
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 pound thinly sliced prosciutto
Fresh mozzarella, sliced or grated (I used 10 small balls, but use as much or as little as you like)
Kosher salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and lightly dust it with cornmeal.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in medium pan over medium-high heat. Add onions, and saute until soft. Add garlic. Saute for another minute or two, or until onions begin to brown. Remove to a plate, and set aside.

Toss pepper strips in the pan, and saute just until warmed (optional).

Add to plate with onions and garlic, and set aside.

On lightly floured countertop, roll dough out into a roughly 12- by 18-inch rectangle. Spread tomato paste evenly over dough.

Top with slices of prosciutto.

Top with mozzarella pieces, and then arrange onions, garlic, and peppers over prosciutto and mozzarella.

With the long side in front of you, roll the dough into a cylinder, tucking in the ingredients as you roll.

You will probably have some dough hanging at each end.

Just tuck it under, being sure to close any openings so nothing leaks out.

Transfer the cylinder to prepared baking sheet. Brush all over with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Lightly sprinkle with salt.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until dough is golden brown all over, turning the pan once halfway through.

Cool for about 5 minutes. Cut into approx. 1-inch wide slices using a serrated knife.

Have leftovers? Arrange slices on a cooling rack set in a baking sheet. Reheat in a 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes. Turn slices over, and pop them back in the oven. Turn oven up to 425 degrees, and heat for about another 10 minutes, or until slices reach your desired crispness (we liked them crispy).

After I made these, I consulted The Flavor Bible to see how I did with my flavor combinations. Prosciutto works well with tomatoes and olive oil, but a cheese like Fontina or Gruyere might have been better than the mozzarella. I can see that. I love the sharp and salty bite of Gruyere. Onions have an affinity for garlic, tomatoes, bell peppers, and olive oil. But again, mozzarella's not on the list. However, bell peppers and mozzarella have a strong connection, so incredibly, I managed to connect the flavors of all the ingredients.

We had this for dinner with Caesar salad, but it would also make a good party appetizer -- think Superbowl Party! The whole thing can even be prepared and baked the day before and then rewarmed (as in my suggestion for leftovers above) for the party.

I think a tomato, broccoli, cheddar one would be fabulous. Pepperoni, provolone, and sauce would be tasty too. And Gruyere, spinach, and prosciutto could really pack some intense flavor.

What would be in your pinwheel?

Light Banana Bread

I love my mom's banana bread. I really, really do BUT it's not the most healthy recipe out there, even though I try to convince myself that if it has fruit, it's healthy. I had some bananas that were too overripe to put in my cereal so I googled "Light Banana Bread Recipes" and I came across this one at Cheap Healthy Good.  She found the recipe at cooking light and she made some adjustments.  I followed her changes but did add about 1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips and I used a bundt pan instead.  Not sure how that works with the suggested portion sizes and all but I am okay with that.  Anway, let me get to the taste.  I tasted this when it was warm and I thought it was a little weird tasting but when I tasted it the next day it was fine.  The flavor is good, it's just the consistency that is different which I'm guessing is from using egg whites.  Bottom line, for a low fat recipe, it's great, I'll make it again.  When I fall of the healthy eating bandwagon....I'm going back to Mom's.

Light Banana Bread
Adapted from Cooking Light by Cheap Healthy Good

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2/3 cup sugar
2-1/2 T butter, softened
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 4 bananas)
3 T skim milk
3 T fat-free sour cream or vanilla yogurt
2 large egg whites
½ t vanilla extract
Cooking spray


Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat loaf pan with cooking spray.

2) In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

3) In a different large mixing bowl OR stand mixer bowl, combine sugar and butter. "Beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended." Stop beater. Add banana, milk, sour cream, and egg whites. Resume beating until well combined.

4) Pour flour mixture into banana mixture and beat until everything is well-blended.

5) Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake 60 or 70 minutes, or until loaf passes the toothpick test. (Insert a toothpick in the middle of the bread. If it comes out clean, you're golden.) Remove from oven. (SEE NOTE BELOW) Let sit for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Pry bread from pan and let it cool totally on that same wire rack. For best flavor, wrap in tin foil and let sit overnight.

Note: If using a bundt pan - bake for approx 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool and invert. 

Click here for a printable recipe for Light Banana Bread.

CRAZY DAY WITH HAGAN AND FISHERS OF MEN II

It's five minutes to ten o'clock Tuesday morning and I'm crossing Wall Street to meet with food blogger, Hagan Blount of Wandering Foodie, who is spearheading the 93 Plates project. For the entire month of January, Hagan is eating and blogging his way through three meals a day of food experiences. So far he is more than two-thirds of the way to completion, has gained ten pounds and is feeling good about it.

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Spring It!

I've got a special announcement today... I have partnered with Springpad!


What is Springpad? A FREE personal organizer. Use it to collect and organize recipes (from my site and anywhere in the world wide web, plan meals for the week and generate grocery lists! How cool is that?? It's not just for recipes, either-- use it to plan trips and date nights, track restaurants or receipts, or even keep notes about wines you've tried.

(Spring It button under recipe, Springpad banner in middle of page)

How do you get started? Register for an account with springpad (or Logon if you're already a member). When you see a recipe you want to try, Spring it by clicking the button you can now find in my recipe posts!! (see above image) If you want to take a look at all the recipes in my account, click the banner on the right. Once you've saved a few recipes, you can organize them and generate a shopping list from recipes you want to cook that week.

saved recipe in Springpad

I think this will become a great tool to help organize all of the recipes I want to try (I won't even attempt to put a number on it!), and I hope you find it useful as well :)