Warm Blue Cheese, Bacon, & Garlic Dip

Source: Stop and Smell the Rosemary

7 slices bacon, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup half and half

4 oz. blue cheese, crumbled (equals 1 cup)

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives

Cook bacon in large skillet over medium-high for about 7  minutes. Drain excess fat & add garlic. Cook additional 3 minutes, until bacon is crisp.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add half and half. Mix until combined. Stir in bacon, blue cheese, and chives. Mix well. Transfer to oven-proof dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake 30 minutes, until thoroughly heated.

I like to serve this dip with thinly sliced apples. You can also serve with pita chips or french bread.

Basil Pesto

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp. pine nuts

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cups basil, tightly packed

salt

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

2 Tbsp. romano cheese, grated

2 Tbsp. butter (at room temperature)

Place olive oil, basil, pine nuts, garlic, & salt into bowl of food processor. Pulse until creamy consistency is achieved. You may need to stir mixture and pulse again to make sure all the basil leaves become finely chopped. Spoon basil mixture from food processor into a separate bowl. Stir in cheeses and mix well. Stir in room temperature butter.

If you plan to use the pesto as a pasta sauce, save 1-2 Tbsp. of pasta water after cooking the pasta. Add pasta water to pesto to dilute into a sauce-like consistency.

If you plan on making a large batch of pesto, it can be easily frozen. However, it is best to freeze the basil mixture before the cheese or butter are added. When you’re ready to use it, thaw the basil mixture then add the cheeses and butter just before you plan on serving it.

Fish Pockets 

fish of your choice (I had 4 tilapia filets)

garlic lemon basil compound butter (recipe follows…)

aluminum foil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (you may want to up it to 400 for a thicker type of fish, like salmon). Lay out 1 piece of foil for each filet of fish that you have. Place a small sliver (about 1/3 tbsp) of compound butter in the center of each piece of foil. Top with fish filet, then top filet with another small piece of butter. Bring opposite sides of foil together and fold them over. Then roll the remaining sides of the foil to enclose fish in a little pocket. Place pockets on a baking sheet and bake 8-12 minutes, depending on thickness of fish. I chose to serve the fish still partially enclosed in the foil to keep the lovely butter sauce from getting away. 

Garlic Lemon Basil Compound Butter 

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

1 stick unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1/4 cup fresh basil chiffonade, loosely packed
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp lemon zest
pinch of salt

Stir together the butter, basil, garlic, lemon zest, and salt until well combined. Spoon the butter onto plastic wrap and gently roll into a cylinder. Carefully twist the ends to seal. Refrigerate until firm.

Green Bean Salad with Dijon Dressing

Adapted from: Real Simple Magazine, March 2002

Ingredients:

2 pounds thin green beans cut into 2-inch pieces (about 4 cups)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp sherry vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 pound cherry tomatoes, halved (about 2 cups)

2 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled (I add a little extra)

2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts

salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

Lightly salt a large saucepan of water and bring to a boil. Cook green bean for 7-8 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold (ice) water.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine olive oil, vinegar, dijon mustard, & salt. Pour dressing over cooked green beans. Fold in tomatoes & goat cheese. Add salt & pepper, to taste. Top with toasted pine nuts.

Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. baking sode

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup softened margarine

1 cup white sugar (plus a little extra to roll the cookies in)

1 egg

1 Tbsp. water

1/4 cup molasses

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together ginger, flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, & salt.  Set aside.

Cream together margarine and sugar (1 cup) until light & fluffy. Beat in the egg. Stir in the water & molasses. Slowly add the dry ingredients while stirring continuously. 

Allow dough to chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, then roll each ball in sugar. Place balls on cookie sheet and flatten with the bottom of a drinking glass. It helps to get the bottom of the glass wet & dip in sugar before flattening the balls so they won’t stick to the glass. 

Bake for 7-9 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for 5-7 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.

How do you win a dental school cupcake contest? Simple. Red Velvet.

Too bad my dental school class never actually took a vote or even declared a winner. Either way, watching all my friends stuff their faces with cupcakes was victory enough for me. 

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter

1 3/4 sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup red food coloring

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups cake flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup sour cream

1 Tbsp white vinegar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins w/ baking liners. 

Cream butter and sugar in stand mixer on medium-high. Mix in one egg at a time and beat until incorporated. Turn off mixer to add food coloring & cocoa powder. Turn on low until just incorporated, then beat on medium for 4 minutes.

Sift together the flours, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. In a separate bowl, stir buttermilk & vanilla together. Add dry ingredients and buttermilk mixture to bowl, alternating between each. Start and end with the dry ingredients. Add sour cream and vinegar. Beat on low until combined.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cupcakes cool in pan for 5 minutes, then cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese

5 Tbsp. butter (softened)

2 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Cream cream cheese, butter, & vanilla on medium-high. Sift the powdered sugar after measuring. Add powdered sugar to the cream cheese in batches. Beat to desired consistency. Add more powdered sugar for stiffer icing.

Pumpkin Pie Balls

Ingredients:

Pumpkin cake mix 

1 egg

1 cup canned pumpkin

16 oz. canned cream cheese frosting

20 oz. white almond bark coating

1 tsp. vegetable oil

Directions:

Prepare and bake the pumpkin cake mix according to package instructions.  While still warm, crumble the cake in a stand mixer.  Mix in frosting to make a paste, using a 3/4 to a full can of frosting. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

After mixture is chilled, form into 1 1/2 inch balls.  Place the balls on wax paper and freeze for at least 6 hours.

Melt 20 ounce package white almond bark over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Melt bark until there are no more lump. Stir in 1 tsp. vegetable oil. 

Working in small batches, remove the balls from the freezer and flip the balls into warm, melted almond bark. Using toothpicks or forks, completely coat the balls in almond bark.  Remove the balls and place them back on wax paper to harden for 10-15 minutes. Refrigerate uneaten balls.

On a lighter note, I made a failed attempt to have Peyton dress up for Halloween. He wasn’t amused.

Well, it sure was a good thing that I had most of the ingredients on hand. I made some crafty substitutions for the few ingredients I lacked. No last minute trip to the grocery store for me!

Paired with a nice little salad, or even some green beans, this is a wonderful light meal. And since I make a habit of making a little extra portion for my lunch box, I can tell you that the left overs are tasty as well.

Chicken Piccata

Adapted from Everyday Italian (Giada De Laurentiis)

Ingredients:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (butterflied, then cut in half)

Salt & Pepper

All-purpose flour (about a cup or so…)

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter

6 Tbsp. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 package sliced mushrooms

Directions:

Season chicken with salt & pepper. Dredge in flour & shake off the excess so you have a light flour coating on all your chicken pieces.

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp. of olive oil & mushrooms. Saute under tender.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Melt 2 Tbsp. of butter with 3 Tbsp. of olive oil. When butter & oil begin to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken. Brown chicken on each side (about 3 minutes per side will do). Remove chicken to a plate. Add 2 more Tbsp. of butter with 2 more Tbsp. of oil to the skillet. Repeat chicken cooking process with other 2 pieces of chicken. Add chicken to the plate.

Do not clean out the skillet! Add the lemon juice & chicken broth to the skillet. Bring to a boil. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan as you go. Add salt & pepper as needed. Return all the chicken pieces to the skillet and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to the plate (yes, again). Add last 2 Tbsp. of butter & whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over mushrooms & chicken.

I served this over angel hair pasta…

One story on the new this morning was particularly shocking and very sad. For the past several years, birthday and special occasions have been made that much more meaningful by an incredibly delicious and wonderfully classy dinner (or brunch!) at Brennan’s of Houston. This midtown restaurant has been in Houston for over 40 years. It’s known for its creole-type dishes, and for me, its absolutely amazing bananas foster. Oh, and their pralines aren’t bad either!

Sadly, about midnight last night Brennan’s caught on fire from a blown transformer. The rain & winds from Hurricane Ike, aside from causing the transformer problem, made it almost impossible for firefighters to put out the flames. It’s hard to believe that one of my most favorite restaurants is gone. Of course, I’m sure they’ll rebuild, but the charm of the restaurant will never be the same.

Thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated for family and friends in Houston…

More on the Brennan’s story: http://www.click2houston.com/news/17464987/detail.html