Creamy Goat Cheese, Pesto and Burst Tomato Dip

Perfect Pairing:  Crackers

Summer!  It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.  I am soaking up every minute because I am already panicking that it is almost July.  Wait!! I was going to do so much more in June!  

I am lucky enough to live at the lake this summer until we close on our new home at the end of July.  I’m not going to lie, it doesn’t suck living and working here.  I pinch myself daily looking at the beautiful views. 

A TGIF cruise is a favorite summer tradition.  We load up the pontoon with friends, food and drinks.  We set sail (motor) into the sunset with some chill music and enjoy the appetizer buffet in front of us.  Heavenly.

This appetizer is perfect for a TGIF cruise or any appetizer night.  A layer of whipped goat cheese is topped with prepared pesto and finished with burst cherry tomatoes.  Drag a cracker through all of it and you have an incredibly flavorful summer app. 

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Spaghetti Squash Frittata

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Spring Roll Salad

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Raisin Bran Muffins (these are ALWAYS in the fridge in the summer)

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Corn and Avocado Salsa

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Roasted Garlic Herbed White Bean Dip with Basil Tomatoes

Perfect Pairing: Ritz Chips

I am officially in the Christmas mood!  The odd warm weather in Chicago during December has made it difficult to feel that cozy Christmas feel you get in the weeks leading up to the big day.  Over the weekend we headed to my parents’ house, AKA Christmas wonderland.  My mom does a fantastic job of decorating the house, inside and out.  My husband was there for 5 minutes and said, “I am officially in the Christmas spirit!”.  

We did a LOT of cooking over the weekend.  I think we made about 6 dozen cookies, 15 loaves of bread, 2 lasagnas, caramelized bacon (more on this in the future) and 7 batches of homemade noodles.  Every year my dad and I make these homemade egg noodles for chicken and noodles, which we enjoy with our extended family.  We serve chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes, starch on starch.  It is odd, and amazing, and the ultimate comfort food.

We listened to non-stop Christmas music.  We also wrapped presents.  Correction, Chris wrapped presents and I put bows (we call this foof in our house) on them.  My mom is the BEST gift wrapper around.  She truly has a gift.   See what I did there?

We also worked on our menu for the next couple of weeks.  Per usual, there is an appetizer night scheduled.  Who doesn’t love appetizers and a glass of wine?  It is my favorite kind of meal.  Roasted Garlic Herbed White Bean Dip with Basil Tomatoes is the perfect addition.  Not only is it delicious and light, it is quite festive if I do say so myself.  All sorts of red and green happening here.

If you would like a shortcut you could skip making your own hummus (but really don’t skip that) and top store-bought with the tomato and herb mixture.  While you are at it, roast multiple heads of garlic.  They are great to have on hand for salad dressings, mixing in mashed potatoes, or as a straight up spread on crostini.  

This dip was quite tasty served with Ritz Chips.  Those things are too tasty for their own good.  I am not sponsored by them in any way, I'm just a fan.  It would also be great with pita chips or your favorite cracker. 

I hope you all have a blessed Christmas and New Year with your loved ones!  I cherish this time with my family celebrating the birth of our Savior and reflecting on the year.  This one was pretty special me! 

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Mustard Pork Chops

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Fruit Slush

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: German Sugar Cut-Out Cookies (pictured above!)

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Flatbreads with Thyme, Honey, and Sea Salt

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Simple Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Perfect Pairing: Seeded cucumbers (spoon method)

If you are lucky enough to have a garden, or perhaps are just lucky to know someone with a garden who likes to share, you probably have a lot of cucumbers.  In honor of the last day of summer (waaaa!), here is a super simple cucumber salad.

I made this all summer long to serve with anything off the grill, or alongside of my favorite Tomato Pie.  I always use fresh dill, but will throw in fresh basil and mint if I have access to it.

Garden cucumbers often have a thick, sometimes bitter, skin and lots of seeds.  I like to peel the cucumber, slice it lengthwise and scrape out the seeds using a teaspoon.  If you are feeling motivated and have the time you can salt the cucumbers in a strainer for 30-45 minutes to drain off excess water before making the salad, but this is not necessary.

Soak up the last day of summer!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Strawberry and Prosciutto Grilled Bread

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: 7-Up Biscuits

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Candied Bacon, Tomato and Avocado Sandwich

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Grandma Rosie’s Ice Cream Dessert

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Roasted Caprese Salad

Perfect Pairing:  Off-season tomatoes

While I love cold-weather comfort food sometimes I crave something fresh that reminds me of warmer days. Especially with the negative temperatures and dreary, dirty snow outside.

The perfect summer dish is a caprese salad made with garden-grown tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and sweet basil.  Now we are stuck with hothouse tomatoes that barely resemble the summer varieties that you could eat like an apple.   Roasting mediocre tomatoes brings out their natural sweetness and concentrates all of the good tomato flavor. 

I used a variety of grape and Campari tomatoes, but use whatever you have on hand or what is on sale.  

After roasting they are topped with shards of fresh mozzarella, julienned basil, and a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar.  

Park yourself under a heat lamp, pour a glass of sauvignon blanc, turn on some Bob Marley and it is practically summer.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Limoncello Cheesecake Squares

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Arugula and Parmesan Stuffed Potatoes

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Cucumber Sandwiches

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Sausage Caprese Bites

Perfect Pairing:  Marinated mini bocconcini

I am a big fan of pre cooked chicken sausage.  I use them all the time. 

Sometimes just as a quick appetizer.

Or as the protein in a healthy soup.

They come in a ton of flavors like apple and cheddar, cognac and cranberry, or you can keep it simple with spicy or Italian flavored.  They are all pretty healthy.  I like to get the natural varieties.  I am using them here in a quick appetizer.  Even though they are fully cooked I sauté them a bit to give them some caramelization.  Spell-check is telling me that caramelization is not a word.  I do not agree with this.

I drizzled some pesto on top, but you could certainly skip that step.  You could also add a little basil leaf to the skewer.  I used marinated mini bocconcini which were perfect in this recipe.  No need to slice up fresh mozzarella, and they just look really cute.  They are marinated in a seasoned olive oil.  I removed some of the oil by resting them on paper towels before threading them on the toothpicks.

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Lemon Cream Pasta

Perfect Pairing: Grilled Shrimp

I just got back from a wonderful vacation in Mexico.  While I was there I soaked up a lot of sunshine and enjoyed some gorgeous views.  I had a fabulous time and met some great new friends, but it is nice to be home.  

News flash... it still very cold in Chicago.  That apparently did not change while I was out of the country.  It is a good day to be cozy inside!  Which is exactly what I am doing with my boyfriend today. 

Oh goodness, this pasta.  My cousin made this for me a couple of times before I tried it myself.  It is decadent and amazing.  You can always count on the Barefoot Contessa to have fantastic recipes. I am actually making it for my boyfriend for dinner tonight.

The pasta is tossed with slightly crisp broccoli, tomatoes, and greens and coated in a lemony cream sauce.  I followed this recipe with a couple of minor changes.  I substituted half of the cream for half and half, and used mache instead of arugula.  It is truly mouth watering.  We didn’t have any leftovers, but my cousin told me that if you do plan on having some leftover skip adding the whole pieces of lemon at the end.  They tend to make the dish bitter after it sits.

The pasta is fabulous on its own, but I loved the addition of grilled shrimp.  I used my favorite marinade, which is 2 parts Italian dressing to 1 part honey.  Just whisk it up and let the shrimp marinate it in for about 1 hour.  You can brush on the remaining marinade while you grill up the shrimp. 

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Quinoa Produce Salad

Perfect Pairing:  Summer meal

I don’t think you can have too many good quinoa salad recipes.  This Quinoa Produce Salad is perfect for summer. 

It finally feels like summer around here!  I had a wonderful weekend celebrating Father's Day and all things summer.  My dad came home from his week of fishing in Manada (more appropriate than Canada).  Apparently he caught so many fish his hands hurt from reeling and cleaning the fish.  We did all of our favorite warm-weather activities like boating, swimming (more like bobbing on floats), sunset cruises, grilling, and doing everything we can outside.  It was a perfect weekend.

Quinoa Produce Salad is filled with fresh ingredients like multi-colored grape tomatoes, corn, green onions, and basil.  It is simply dressed with a little olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.

You wouldn’t think that something so simple could be so tasty.  I love the slight sweetness from the corn and nuttiness of the quinoa.  You could easily adapt this recipe by adding other favorite produce like roasted asparagus, edamame, roasted peppers, or other fresh herbs like tarragon or thyme.

This healthy and delicious salad is going to be a regular on my summer menu!

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Creamy Spaghetti Squash with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Perfect Pairing:  Pasta Craving… on a diet

Sometimes diet food just tastes so…. diet-y.  I remember years ago a friend of mine was on the Atkins Diet, and was raving about the dessert she had just made.  I think it was a combination of ricotta cheese, artificial sweetener, and cocoa powder.  I have to say, I was not impressed.   It tasted like ricotta cheese, artificial sweetener, and cocoa powder.  I love my friend, but I think her taste buds were a bit warped by that point.

Trust me when I say that this meal does not taste diet-y at all!  It is truly scrumptious.  What puts it over the top is that it is so good for you, and low in fat and calories.  One serving (1/3 of the recipe, which is a big serving) is under 225 calories and 8 grams of fat, and also includes lots of fiber. 

This is the perfect dish for a pasta or Italian food craving when you are watching the waistline.  Another great substitute is this pizza recipe.  It is hard to find many Italian meals with those kinds of stats.

If you have never used spaghetti squash before it might be a little intimidating, but it really is simple to prepare.  The hardest part is cutting it open.  If you are really struggling with cutting it you can poke it a few times, microwave for a couple of minutes, and then try cutting it.  You can roast, boil, or steam spaghetti squash.  I always choose to steam it in the microwave in a shallow dish with a little water.  When it is cooked through it is super simple (and oddly satisfying) to shred with a fork.  It is really hot when it comes out of the microwave so I usually hold on to it with a clean towel and shred it into a bowl. 

 

 

To the squash I added freshly grated parmesan cheese and a dollop of reduced fat spreadable garlic and herb cheese (like Boursin, Rondele, or Aloutte).  If you want to cut the stats on this meal even further you can leave out the cheese, but I think it really adds a lot of flavor and texture to the squash without adding too much fat and calories. 

 

 

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Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna Roll-Ups

Perfect Pairing:  Waxed paper

I have a great lasagna recipe that I will have to share someday.  It is absolutely fantastic, but pretty heavy and rich.  I really like these vegetarian lasagna roll-ups because they are comparatively light.  For some reason I also get a kick out of the perfect rolled up portions. 

The roll-ups look like they might be time consuming but once you get the setup figured out it goes pretty quickly.  Fortunately for you I went through a couple of trial and errors and I have developed a method that keeps the assembly line chugging along.

The Perfect Pairing for the roll-ups is waxed paper.  Weird, right?  See below for an explanation.

After mixing up the ricotta blend and cooking the mushrooms and noodles, I group them all together on the counter.  I lay a large piece of waxed paper on the counter and spray it with cooking spray.  The waxed paper creates a great workspace to lay out the noodles, and the cooking spray keeps them from sticking to the paper.  Of course, the easy clean-up is a bonus.

Spread some ricotta mixture on each noodle and top with the mushroom blend.  Lasagna noodles can be a little fussy so I recommend cooking the entire box even though you will only be using 12 noodles.  You will probably run across a few that have torn in the cooking process.  Better safe than sorry.  No one has ever called me a rebel. 

Roll up each noodle.  I like to leave a little piece of noodle at the end with no filling, it helps it to stick together.

Place all of the roll-ups seam side down in the pan.

 Cover with sauce and cheese.

 Bake until bubbly and delicious!

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Candied Bacon, Tomato and Avocado Sandwich

Perfect Pairing – Summer tomatoes

It is hard to improve on a classic like a BLT, but I think this sandwich knocks the original out of the park. 

I replaced the lettuce with mashed avocado.  Be sure to season the avocado generously with salt and pepper.  You may have to test it out on a chip to make sure the seasoning is just right!

I have found that the best way to cook bacon is in the oven.  I line a baking sheet with foil and top with a cooling rack.  Using the cooking rack ensures that the bacon is not cooking in grease.  Clean-up is easy, just toss the foil away with the drained grease.   I really love the combination of sweet and salty so instead of regular bacon I used candied bacon.  It sounds fancy but it is really just adding a sprinkle of brown sugar before it goes in the oven. 

Speaking of bacon, apparently an actor is trying it out as a new currency.  Who knows, people do love bacon.  I wonder if the value would go up if he candies it.

The Perfect Pairing for this sandwich is summer’s final tomatoes.  Hopefully you can still find some sun-warmed tomatoes at a farmers market or your neighbor’s garden. 

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Un-Recipe Files - Farmers Market Chicken

One of my favorite things about living in a city like Chicago are the random adventures that you just fall into without any planning or research.  Whether it is going for a walk and stopping at a bar for a drink that turns into dinner and a new favorite hangout, or ending up on the end of Navy Pier listening to a live salsa band.  Those are the moments that remind me why I love this city and why I put up with the traffic, costs, and hassle of urban living.

I had one of those experiences a few weeks ago on a Sunday morning.  I was looking for a new brunch spot and saw Jam in Logan Square listed on Yelp.   It had good reviews so we gave it a shot.  The restaurant was a modern gem on a historic boulevard.  It was an amazingly beautiful summer morning and we got a table outside on the sidewalk.  While we enjoyed our mouth-watering brunch we watched vendors setting up a farmers market across the street.  I had already mentally purchased two bags of produce before stepping foot in the market.

We wandered around checking out the stalls and chatting with the vendors.  Everyone was friendly and totally eclectic.  The displays were beautiful.

I walked out with a crazy assortment of treasures including beets, tomatoes, peaches, green beans, herbed cheese, and walnut bread.  I had absolutely no plans for any of it but was pretty pleased with my purchases.

The resulting dinner was fresh and delicious and the chicken was a definite repeat.  This is what I did.

• I marinated chicken breasts in a mixture of Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar (the cheap stuff), garlic, olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper.  I use these ingredients all the time for chicken marinades and it always comes out great.  Someday I will write down exact measurements but that just has not happened yet.
• I brushed thick slices of red onion with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.  I grilled the slices until softened and slightly charred.
• While the chicken and onions were grilling I halved multi-colored grape tomatoes, seasoned with salt and pepper and stirred in sliced fresh basil.  Once the onions were done I chopped them up and added them to the tomatoes.
• Serve the chicken with a healthy spoonful of tomatoes and a drizzle of balsamic (the really good stuff).

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