Caprese Salad

This is one of my favorite salads. I love to sprinkle a little balsamic vinaigrette over the top right before digging in.

3-4 ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2 in. thick slices
enough fresh basil to cover the tops of each tomato
sliced fresh mozzarella cheese, as many slices as tomatoes
olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper

Set the tomatoes on a plate, top with a basil leave, then a slice of cheese. When they are all finished, arrange them how you prefer, then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before serving to get the tomatoes cold.

Crispy Polenta with Cinnamon and Syrup

I love polenta. I just discovered it recently and I was so bummed that Carl didnt like it at all. I tried it several ways and he wasnt keen on any of it! Bummer! It looks like I have to add Polenta to the growing list of things that I only make when he is gone, or when I am up late at night alone, craving a midnight snack.

I love polenta sliced up and fried in olive oil until its crispy on the outside, but creamy on the inside. Then sprinkled with some cinnamon a pat of butter and some maple syrup....YUMMY!

Crispy Polenta with Cinnamon and Syrup

Sliced cold polenta about 1/2 inch thick
1 Tbsp olive oil
a dash of cinnamon
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

Heat olive oil on medium high heat in a cast iron skillet until hot and almost smoking. Fry polenta slices for several minutes on both sides until golden and crispy. Drizzle syrup onto a plate, top with crispy polenta slices. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top and dab with a pat of butter. Enjoy.

Crispy Chicken Parmesan

I used to work at The Olive Garden and one of my favorite dishes they served was Chicken Parmesan. I loved how crispy it was, but the chicken inside that crispy crust was dry and bland.

This Chicken Parmesan that I made turned out way better than The Olive Garden. The key to a good Chicken Parmesan or other similar dishes like Eggplant Parmesan, or Schnitzel, is a CRISPY crust. Not a soggy greasy crust that falls off before you take the first bite. I think the secret to a crispy crust lies in the temp of the oil when you fry it, and also the way you bread it. I like to dip mine in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. And the oil needs to be almost smoking hot before you put the chicken into the pan. And don't overcrowd the pan. Just a few pieces at a time, or the oil temp goes down and they don't fry and crisp up properly. Keep the finished ones in a warm oven while the rest are frying.

My mother in law came over, unexpectedly tonight and had dinner with us. She said this was Sooo good. I was thinking I kinda slacked since I used a jarred marinara sauce, but I do have to admit, the sauce was yummy and the chicken came out perfectly...it was good!!

Chicken Parmesan

1 lb chicken breast cutlets
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
3 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 eggs
2 tbsp water
enough oil to fill a pan up 1/4 inch
1 jar prepared marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Pound out the chicken breasts so that they are 1/2 inch thick. Salt and pepper both sides.

In a shallow dish, mix flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. In another shallow dish, mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt and pepper. In another shallow dish whisk the eggs with the water.

Heat oil in a pan until hot and almost smoking. Dip the chicken cutlets into the flour, then the egg mixture, then into the bread crumbs...pressing to make the crumbs stick to the chicken. Fry for several minutes on each side. When golden brown and crisp, remove from pan onto a paper towel lined baking dish. Keep hot in a 200 degree oven until all chicken in fried. Increase oven temp to 435. When chicken is cooked, put into a greased baking dish and spoon marinara sauce over the cutlets. Top with cheese. Put back into oven and bake 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and browned. Serve with spaghetti and marinara sauce on the side.

Mahi Mahi with Almond and fresh Thyme crust

What a great dinner this turned out to be. I didnt follow a recipe, just made it up as I went. I loved the almond and thyme in this. Gave it such a great flavor! We like our fish seasoned simply with a little salt and pepper and maybe some lemon or fresh herbs. This was so simple and fresh. For the bread crumbs, I used a slice of Hawaiian Delight bread, by Alpine Valley Bread Co...some of my favorite bread ever. It is white bread with little shreds of coconut and dried pineapple. Perfect for Mahi Mahi. I served this with grilled veggie skewers and Jasmine Rice with Tom Yum sauce, from Trader Joes, and a lemon wedge. It all came together nicely and was a great combo!

Mahi Mahi steaks with Almond and fresh Thyme crust.

2 Mahi Mahi steaks
salt, pepper and olive oil

Almond topping:
1/4 cup finely chopped almonds
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 Tbsp chopped fresh Thyme
1 Tbsp chopped lemon zest
dash of salt and pepper
1-2 tsp butter cut into small pieces

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Put both Mahi Mahi steaks onto baking sheet and season both sides lightly with salt and pepper. Brush the tops with olive oil, or spray with cooking spray.

To make the topping for the crust, take a slice of fresh white bread and toast it, then process it in the food processor to make crumbs. Use 1/4 cup of the crumbs and mix with almonds, cheese, thyme, lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste. Press 1/2 of the topping onto the tops of each Mahi Mahi steak. Top the crust with little pats of butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork and the crust is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Peach Crisp

A couple days ago, my neighbor gave me a bunch of peaches that she had shipped in from Utah. I was so excited to have something to inspire me to try a new recipe. Ive been so busy lately, I just havent had time to try out new stuff that is blog worthy. We've been eating the usual standby's, and as good as they are, I get antsy to try new recipes when its been awhile. I found this recipe for Peach Crisp in my mom's America's Test Kitchen cookbook. I like the ingredients of a crisp more than a cobbler. Im not for such a huge floury crust. So I added some granola to the topping to crunch it up even more. This was so sweet and yummy. I thought it would be hard to core and peel the peaches, but it was a cinch. This definitely would mark my first "Fall" recipe. My house smelled beautiful today...all spicy and fruity, like Fall should smell! I am so happy the weather is cooling down and my kitchen wont be so hot...I cant wait to cook more fall stuff!

From The America's Test Kitchen Cookbook

Peach Crisp

Topping:
6 Tbsp Flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
(I added 1/2 cup granola to this)

Filling:
3 lbs peaches (7-9)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (or to taste based on sweetness of peaches)
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest (I omitted)
2 tsp corn starch

1. For the topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and granola together. Add the butter and toss to coat. Pinch the butter chunks and dry mixture between your fingertips until the mixture looks like crumbly wet sand. Add the nuts and toss to incorporate, Refrigerate the topping for at least 15 minutes before baking.

2. For the filling: Adjust an oven rack to the lower middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the peaches, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and corn starch together and place in a 9 inch pie plate. Distribute the chilled topping evenly over the fruit.

3. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is deep golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.

Creamy Ziti with Peas and Ham

My mom came over the other day and left one of her cookbooks here for me to look at. The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. Its a compilation of 1200 recipes that have been tested with different and sometimes mediocre kitchen equipment, and even wrong ingredients, to come up with tried and true recipes that work the first time.

I was flipping through it with Sam and every single page, he would point to pictures and ask, "whats that?" And I would lovingly answer his questions. Well, you can imagine that after a few chapters of that, it was time to be done with looking through cook books. I did make it through the pasta section and I came across this recipe that I had almost everything on hand, so I tried it for dinner tonight.

This recipe took less than the 25 minutes it says it takes. It was easy and actually pretty light compared to other creamy pasta dishes Ive made. Carl even went back for 2nds, and he normally hated creamy pasta dishes. The pic just doesnt do this justice. It looked and tasted great!

Creamy Ziti with Peas and Ham
(adapted from America's Test Kitchen)

1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter, cut into 8 pieces
4 ounces thick sliced ham, diced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb small pasta (I used mini ziti, the recipe called for mini shells)
2 cups frozen peas
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (half of one lemon squeezed)

1. Bring 4 quarts of water to boil for the pasta.

2. Combine the ricotta, Parmesan, butter, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, in a serving bowl large enough to hold the pasta.

3. Cook the ham in the oil in a 12 inch skillet until the ham is cooked through and browned. Drain onto a plate lined with paper towels, reserving the oil.

4. Cook the onions in the oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Remove from heat and add to the ricotta mixture, stir to mix well.

5. When the water is boiling, stir in 1 tbsp salt and the pasta. Cook stirring often, until the pasta is almost tender, but still a little firm to the bite. Add the peas during the final 30 seconds of the pasta cooking.

6. Reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking water and then drain the shells and peas. Whisk the lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water into the ricotta mixture until smooth. Add the shells and peas and toss to coat. Add the reserved ham, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Save the remaining 1/4 cup pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce before serving.

Yummy Grilled Veggie Skewers

This is a really easy, healthy way to eat veggies with grilled meats. In a little while, our neighbors are coming over to swim and grill and I'm making the Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon that I recently posted about. I want to tell you how I make these wonderful veggie skewers. Its so easy and so yummy! A delicious way of getting more fresh veggies into our diets.

1/2 cup olive oil
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 cloves of garlic
veggies chopped into 1 inch pieces such as onions, bell peppers, whole cherry tomatoes, zucchini, whole mushrooms.
bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

Just wash the rosemary and set aside, you don't need to chop it up or anything. Smash the garlic cloves and peel off the outside layer and discard. Don't chop the cloves, just leave them smashed. Heat the olive oil on low heat and add the rosemary sprigs and garlic cloves. When it gets hot enough for the herbs to start sizzling, remove from heat and stir a bit to cool it down then just let it sit and cool for several hrs, letting all that fragrant rosemary and garlic infuse into the oil

When you're ready to make your veggie skewers, assemble the skewers with all the veggies, then brush them with the rosemary garlic infused oil on all sides. Season with plenty of salt and fresh ground pepper. They are ready to go on the grill. You can also cover them and let them sit and marinate for up to 2 hrs before grilling.