Pesto and Grilled Veggie Sandwich

Tidbits:

I’m not typically one who enjoys sandwiches for dinner, but this is an exception for me. It looks complicated but was really easy (took about 25 minutes for the whole thing) I got the main idea of this recipe from here. On the side I had some baked sweet potato fries  with pink dipping sauce found here.

Note: For the pesto, you can use store-bought, but this is a VERY easy and delicious low-fat option with a ton of flavor. This pesto recipe was also used here and here.

Ingredients:

Pesto

1/2 cup part skim ricotta (non-fat won’t be very flavorful)

1-2 oz of fresh basil leaves (start with 1, add more if you prefer)

4 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp salt

Fresh ground pepper

Sandwich (yields 3)

3 small  square Ciabatta rolls (approximately 3×3  inches). Other “sturdy” breads might work also, but I haven’t tried them.

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Dried basil (optional)

1 large or 2 medium zucchinis (or zucchini and squash), sliced (I cut it in half through the diameter so that I have 2 cylinders, and then cut into 1/4 inch slices)

1/2 onion, sliced into 1/2 inch rings

2 plum tomatoes (I prefer these because they are less watery)

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (not from the shaker)(could probably substitute shredded mozzarella if that’s what you have, but I like the saltiness of the parmesan)

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Assemble the pesto ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning if needed
2. Add oil to heated grill pan.
3. Add zucchini to the grill pan and season with salt, pepper, and a dash of dried basil (you can leave out the basil or replace it with something like oregano or Italian seasoning). After about 1:30-2:00 minutes, flip over (there should be light char marks). Season as before, and cook for about 1:00 – 1:30 minutes or until the zucchini is soft, but not mushy. Set zucchini aside.
4. Repeat grilling process for onions (they will take a little less time).
5. While preparing the bottom half of the sandwich, place top half of the buns open side down on the grill pan (heat turned off), just to warm them.
6. Spread 1 tbsp of pesto on the bottom bun.
7. Take the bottom bun and layer the zucchini (4-5 slices), tomato (3-4 slices), and onion on each bun.
8. Top with parmesan cheese. Don’t add the top of the bun yet.
9. Place the sandwich without the top bun under broiler for 3-4  minutes (keep an eye on it because your food can go from yum! to yikes! In a matter of seconds. Meanwhile, spread 1 tbsp pesto on the top bun.
10. Remove from oven and place the top of the bun on the sandwich. If I have extra basil left over, I place a whole leaf on top of the sandwich also.

Note: This method your sandwich will be warm. If you prefer it hot, then before broiling, heat the sandwich at 375 for approximately 5 minutes.

Quinoa, Black Bean, and Avocado Salad

I found this gem on one of my new favorite food blogs eatliverun.com.  It is delightful as a main dish (I ate it every day for lunch for a week!) or as a side dish, perhaps of a Mexican  inspired meal.  The original recipe called for grapefruit which I used, but it was a little too bitter for me.  I also don’t particularly like grapefruit, so I imagine it might be quite good if you love grapefruit.  Next time I am going to make it with some orange but I bet mango would also taste great.  This recipe tastes fresh and delicious.  Good for the heart and the soul

Quinoa, Black Bean, and Avocado Salad

Adapted from http://www.eatliverun.com/black-bean-quinoa-and-citrus-salad

Ingredients:

The Salad:

1 15-oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 red onion, minced

1 large red bell pepper, diced

2 ears fresh corn, kernels chopped off’

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

1 Haas avocado, diced

1/2 bunch cilantro, minced

*optional 1 grapefruit or orange, divided into segments and chopped or a diced mango

The dressing:

juice of 2 limes

1 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/8 tsp sea salt

Directions:

Pour 1/2 cup quinoa into a saucepan and bring to a boil with 1 1/4 cups water.  Then reduced the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes (until all of the water is absorbed).  Turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stove.  Gently fluff the quinoa with a fork.  Allow it to cool to room temperature.

Mix the black beans, red onion, cilantro, bell pepper, avocado, shucked corn kernels, and optional fruit in a large bowl.  For the corn, there is no need to cook the fresh corn.  Just shuck the corn, and cut the kernels off in four slices with a sharp knife.  After finishing cutting off the corn your ear should look like a rectangle.

In a different bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients.

Add quinoa to the salad and mix the dressing in.  Store the salad in the refrigerator and enjoy!

-Bakingbandit

Epic Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

Hi everyone!  This is my first food post.  I’m really excited to share the amazing recipes I’ve found with you.  I decided that my inaugural post would be this most amazing, epic and totally decadent cheesecake.  I made this for myself just for fun, but it is so good that if you make it for an event people will be raving about it all night.  I found the recipe from my favorite baking blog browneyedbaker.com.  I adjusted the baking directions to help the cheesecake cool slow enough to not crack.

It has an oreo crust, a layer of chocolate fudge, crumbled Reese’s, chocolate ganache topping, and if you feel so inspired you can decorate it with a deliciously creamy peanut butter frosting.    If you love peanut butter and chocolate I highly recommend treating yourself to this delight!  I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Epic Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

Source: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/03/25/chocolate-peanut-butter-cup-cheesecake/

Ingredients

Crust:
32 Oreo cookies, finely crushed or ground in a food processor
5½ Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of salt

Chocolate Fudge:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
20 miniature peanut butter cup candies, unwrapped and roughly chopped

Peanut Butter Cheesecake:
24 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs

Ganache Topping:
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (300 degrees F if you are using a dark or non-stick pan). Butter a 9″ springform pan and set aside.

2. The Crust: Mix the oreo crumbs, melted butter and salt in a bowl until the crumbs are moist.  Then press the crumbs into the bottom and sides of the springform pan.  Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.

3. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a rack and let cool.

4. The fudge: Heat the cream until it simmers over medium heat.  Then pour the cream over the chopped chocolate in a separate bowl.   Let  it stand for 1-2 minutes and then add the vanilla extract and stir until the chocolate cream mixture is smooth and combined. Pour the fudge over the crust and place in the freezer for 10 minutes. Remove it from freezer, sprinkle the chopped Resse’s over the fudge and place the crust back into the freezer for 10 more minutes.

5. The peanut butter cheesecake: Beat the cream cheese and peanut butter together on medium speed until smooth. Then add the sugar and vanilla extract and beat on medium until they are thoroughly combined. Add the eggs one at a time and mix on low.  Beat the eggs just until they are combined with the cream cheese mixture.  Do not overmix or else your cheesecake will have too much volume.

6. Remove the pan from the freezer and pour the cheesecake filling over the crust.  Bake the cheesecake until the sides of the cheesecake are set and the middle just slightly jiggles, about 1 hour.  Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven (this helps the cheesecake shrink slowly to prevent cracking).  Transfer to a wire cooling rack and run a knife around the edge of the crust to slightly separate the crust from the pan. Cool the cheesecake to room temperature (at least 1 hour). Refrigerate the cheesecake at least 4 hours until it is thoroughly chilled. Carefully remove the sides from the springform pan before serving.

7. The ganache topping: place the chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Simmer the heavy cream over medium heat. Immediately pour the simmering cream over the chopped chocolate. Let sit for 1-2 minutes and then stir until the mixture is smooth. Pour the ganache on the top of the cheese and spread evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Return to the refrigerator to set the ganache (~20 minutes).

8.  If you wish decorate it with some creamy peanut butter frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting

Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chocolate-cupcakes-and-peanut-butter-icing-recipe/index.html

Kathleen’s Peanut Butter Icing:

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl  and mix on medium-low speed until creamy.   Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you mix. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.  Apply generously to the cheesecake!

Garlic and Herb Olive Oil Dip

Tidbits:

Here is my rendition of the garlic – spice – herb dip that I get at a popular Italian restaurant that I quite enjoy. It’s the main reason I go there, so I decided I needed to figure out how to make it myself. It may not be an exact replica, but it satisfies my craving

Ingredients: (serves approximately 4)

2 large cloves garlic (3-4 if they are small), minced (passing it through the mincer gets a lot more flavor out of it for this recipe, chopped won’t be the same)

1/2 tsp fresh finely chopped rosemary

1/4 tsp dry basil

1/8 tsp dry oregano

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1/8 tsp sea salt  (and maybe an extra pinch)

Fresh ground pepper

1/3 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil

Loaf of delicious bread (I love an herb Focaccia for this!)

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except for olive oil on to a small plate.

2. Add olive oil on top and mix with a fork in a pressing and swirling motion (you may want more or less olive oil so it’s best to just eyeball it according to your personal preference)

Browned Butter Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Tidbits:

Oops…I ate all the mashed potatoes before I took a picture! Not that my pics are very good but what’s a recipe without a picture? But I couldn’t wait knowing that Thanksgiving was only 3 days away. Yay!

I got the browned butter idea from Food and Wine magazine. I can’t say it overwhelmingly tastes like browned butter (which is probably for the best because I think I used a little less than you “should”). Regardless, there’s a delicious hint of it. You should also know that Scott and I love huge amounts of garlic, so feel free to cut it back if it’s not you’re thing. Another thing I did is that I used my Kitchen-Aid stand mixer. If you prefer to rice your potatoes or use a hand mixer, go for it. If you do have the Kitchen-Aid stand mixer use the timing/method described here (but with your own ingredients)
http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/578636-CREAMY-MASHED-POTATOES
. It worked great!

Just as a note this makes about 5 “side servings.”Using medium sized Yukon Golds or Red Potatoes, I go with the rule of 1 potato per person (or per serving). You can easily double, triple, etc this recipe to get what you need. A little “adding to taste” may be needed just because it’s hard to get the exact amount of potato every time.

One last note, if you’re making this for a big dinner, its good for a “make-ahead.” These can be reheated (covered with aluminum foil) in the oven the next day and they’re still delicious.

Ingredients:

5 medium Yukon Gold or Red Potatoes

1/3 cup whole milk (warm this up a bit to keep your potatoes hotter)

1/3 cup sour cream

2 tbsp butter (Add another tbsp if you want a buttery flavor)

5 cloves chopped garlic (or roasted garlic) (Reduce amount to 2 if you don’t like a strong garlic taste)

1.5 tsp salt plus more for boiling potatoes (or to taste)

1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)

Directions:

1. Washed mashed potatoes well and place in a large empty pot.

2. Add water until potatoes are covered and add a few pinches of salt.

3. Bring to a boil, uncovered, and boil for ~ 20-25 minutes. When you stick a fork in the potato, it should be soft, but offer some slight resistance (as in they shouldn’t be super mushy)

4. Drain the potatoes and place back in pot (removed from cooking surface) to dry them out.

5. In the meantime, melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Once melted, allow to sit for approximately 4 minutes (until the butter is a nice golden color).

6. Mash up your potatoes without anything in them until fairly smooth (it’s ok to still have a few chunks at this point)

7. Add the browned butter, and remaining ingredients (sour cream, milk, garlic, salt, pepper).

8. Continue mixing until they have reached desired consistency

The Hummus I’ve Been Waiting For

Click on me ^ for a better view

Tidbits:

There are a few foods that I’ve always wanted to be able to make at home, but have yet to find the perfect recipe (i.e. ice cream, queso, and hummus!). Alas, I have what I consider to be the perfect hummus. Hummus is one of those subjective things so I don’t claim that this will be your perfect hummus. For example, to me Sabra is too creamy and Athenos is too grainy. I feel like Goldilocks when it comes to this stuff.

Then a few days ago I went to a potluck and my Jewish friend from Turkey made AMAZING hummus. I asked for the recipe and realized the main thing I was always missing. The use of the water from the canned garbanzo beans! Duh! So this is the method he told me to follow (with just a few modifications to the proportions). Now that I have a great base I’m excited to try some flavored kinds! Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 16 oz. cans garbanzo beans (chick peas)

2 tbsp lemon juice (I  usually need 1-2 lemons depending on their juiciness)

1 tbsp tahini

4 cloves garlic (minced)

2 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp kosher salt

Optional:
Extra virgin olive oil

Paprika

Directions:

1. Drain the cans of garbanzo beans BUT RESERVE THE LIQUID IN A BOWL!
2. Place the garbanzo beans in a food processor with 1 cup of the reserved liquid (don’t throw the rest out yet!) and blend until fairly smooth (it will still be a bit grainy)
3. Add the minced garlic (yup, I found thanks to my friend that mincing makes a difference)
4. Add the lemon juice, tahini, salt, and cumin and blend again
5. At this point, if you like your hummus pretty thick and grainy it will be done. Otherwise, add 1/4 cup of the reserved liquid and blend again until smooth
6. Repeat step 5 until it reaches your desired consistency (I stopped at 1/4 cup though)
7. Serve with some extra virgin olive oil and paprika sprinkled on top

Whole Wheat ‘Oh Crap I Don’t Have Buttermilk’ Biscuits

Click on me ^ for a better view

Tidbits:

I got excited about making biscuits for breakfast this morning (mostly because I had nothing else to eat). I’m doing my thing and I get to the last ingredient, buttermilk. Who normally has buttermilk on hand? Not me…so I was going to just substitute with some regular milk and see what happened, until Scott saw the sour cream. He was like, “why don’t we use this instead?” Genius! I didn’t think it would be a good idea to use only sour cream, so I replaced some of the milk with sour cream. And that’s now these biscuit were born. From now on I think I’ll pass on buying the buttermilk !

The recipe is now adapted from one of my favorite cook books that I got from a restaurant I ate at in New York (mentioned here).They had the best biscuits ever and while I feel like mine don’t come out AS good, they are still pretty darn tasty! So a couple things…

1. Make sure your shortening are butter are cold. I’ve gotten away with doing it with room temperature shortening though
2. You can fool around with the flour proportions. As in, if you don’t want wheat biscuits (but you should because they are really good this way) you can use only all purpose flour. Alternatively you can use only wheat flour also, but it might get just a tad too crumbly.

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp. baking powder

1 1/2 Tbsp sugar

3 tbsp cold butter

3 tbsp cold vegetable shortening

1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)

1/4 cup light sour cream

(for the buttermilk biscuits replace the milk and sour cream with buttermilk)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and stir
3. In your stand mixer (or with an electric mixer),  on slow speed, add the butter and shortening and mix until the butter and shortening are approximately the size of a pea (the dough is still very loose at this point)
4. Add the milk and sour cream (or 3/4 cup buttermilk if you happen to have it) and stir just until combined (don’t over mix!)
5. Knead the dough on a well floured surface 2-3 times
6. Flatten the dough out so that it is about 1/2 – 3/4 of an inch thick
7. Cut with biscuit cutter (or I just use a cookie cutter). I heard its important not to “twist” the cutter when your making them, but I don’t actually know why. So push down and pull straight up. I usually get about 4 biscuits from the first “flattening”
8. Recombine the dough and repeat until you’ve used it all
9. Lay the biscuits on a baking sheet with parchment paper that has been lightly floured
10. Bake for 15-16 minutes
11. Serve with honey, jam, or whatever you fancy