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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Spaghetti Squash Pizza Casserole

Perfect Pairing: New Year’s Resolution Diet

I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season!  Mine was absolutely wonderful.  It was my first Christmas with my fiancé and his family, so that made it extra special.  

We loved spending time with all of our adorable nieces and nephews.  They make Christmas so fun!

We also had lots of good food!  No surprise there.  One of our family traditions is a meal of homemade chicken and noodles (my dad and I make the noodles) over mashed potatoes.  Starch on starch.  Then a dessert of cookies.  Why not?  Every meal on Christmas break seems to have dessert.

I always look forward to getting back into my healthy routine after the new year.  This year it is especially important since I have a wedding to prepare for!  Yikes!

Each year I post a healthy New Year’s resolution recipe.  

2012 - Berries n’ Cream

2013 - Chicken Vegetable Barley Soup

2014 - Sweet Sesame Green Beans

This year it is a delicious Spaghetti Squash Pizza Casserole.  I adore spaghetti squash.  It is such a great pasta alternative that is full of fiber and nutrients.  Here it is combined with my favorite pizza toppings, sausage (I used turkey), green pepper, onion, and mushrooms.  

Use your favorite spaghetti sauce.  I like Mario Batali’s spicy arrabbiata sauce.

I baked mine in two dishes so I could put one directly in the freezer for a healthy meal that is ready to go when I am short on time.

You can feel so good about this dish.  Health food.

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Mustard Pork Chops

Perfect Pairing:  Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries and Pecans

When I ran across Nigella Lawson’s Mustard Pork Chops recipe I knew I needed to make it pronto.  It is a great cold weather dish with few ingredients that comes together in minutes.  

I made just a few changes to the original recipe.  I used three pork chops instead of two, and seasoned them with salt and pepper before searing in the pan.  Before deglazing the pan I added one sliced onion and cooked until soft and caramelized, then added the sauce ingredients (hard cider, mustard, and a touch of cream).  I bumped up the amounts of mustard and cider to make a little more sauce.

Nigella recommended serving the chops with gnocchi.  Of course you could keep the prep super simple and use store-bought gnocchi, or you could make your own!  I had always wanted to make gnocchi so this seemed like the perfect time.  I used this sweet potato gnocchi recipe from Richard Blais (Top Chef and Food Network fame).  I followed the gnocchi prep only and used the pork chop sauce to top it off.  I will definitely make these again and use the full recipe with the brown butter sauce because that sounds fantastic. 

They ended up being pretty easy to make and kind of fun!  I found that a bench scraper was the best tool for the job.

To round out the meal I roasted brussels sprouts (using this method, minus the vinegar) and tossed in handfuls of pecans and dried cranberries for the last few minutes in the oven.  Pretty and yummy.

It was a pretty fantastic meal!

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Wheat Berry Chicken Salad

Perfect Pairing:  Diet and Leftover Sage

If your Thanksgiving was as delicious as mine was you might be looking to detox a bit.  This salad is the perfect way to jump start that healthy kick!

Last year I wrote a post for Trail Mix Wheat Berry Salad with Chicken, Goat Cheese, and Orange Vinaigrette where I talked about my first introduction to wheat berries. 

 

My mom had a wheat berry salad at a friend’s house and later made it for me.  This Wheat Berry Chicken Salad is that original recipe.  It is simple, healthy, filling, and delicious.  I think it is the mix of textures that make it special, chewy berries are mixed with crunchy celery and apples. 

Wheat berries are combined with rotisserie chicken, dried cranberries, fresh herbs, veggies, and tossed in a light dressing.  This calls for fresh sage which might just be in your refrigerator after making that Thanksgiving stuffing!

If you are new to wheat berries you can usually find them in the organic aisle or with the other grains.

 

If you are on a diet this is a great “go-to” meal/snack.  One serving of this salad (recipe makes 14 servings) is four points.  If you know much about diets, you know which one uses points!  

Wheat berries are full of fiber, vitamins and minerals.  Totes diet food!  My mom will make a batch and keep it in the fridge to have on hand for a quick and satisfying meal.  It keeps really well for over a week.

 

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Thanksgiving Menu

I can hardly believe it has already been a month since I got engaged!  The month has been full of fun wedding planning.  We have our date, church, reception venue, band, photographer, rehearsal dinner venue, my dress, and my bridesmaid dresses.  I call that a success!  Next up is the food.  You KNOW I am looking forward to that part!

Now let’s focus on the ultimate food holiday, Thanksgiving.  Last year I shared a few of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes.  They absolutely must be on our table every single year.  If you are looking for some new recipes for your Thanksgiving table, look no further!

Sausage and Dried Cherry Stuffing

This is my favorite part of the meal. You will never want to make another stuffing.  The tart cherries and savory sausage make it the most delicious stuffing ever.  We always make it outside of the bird so the top has a little crunch.

Sweet Potato Casserole

No marshmallows here!  Instead it is topped with a pecan streusel.  The best.

Corn Casserole

This shows up at every major family meal.  It will be the easiest thing you make at Thanksgiving and probably the most popular.  Always a crowd pleaser!

Those three are our staples.  Every year we change up the other dishes.  Here are some great options!

Citrus and Herbs de Provence Rotisserie Turkey Breast

This is a great recipe for a small group since it is not an entire bird.  Using the rotisserie on the grill is a great way to free up the oven for the all-important side dishes!

Citrus and Sherry Cranberry Sauce

Love the combination of sherry and citrus.

Pecan Pie Bars

I might like these more than traditional pecan pie.  Amazing.

Pumpkin Roll

A fun alternative for your dessert table!

Pumpkin Pecan Shortbread

It combines the traditional pumpkin pie and pecan pie in one tasty bite!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I know I am personally overwhelmed with blessings and I can't wait to celebrate with my loved ones.

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Pumpkin Cranberry Petite Scones with Orange Glaze

Perfect Pairing: Tea and coffee

My love of scones came from having high tea with my mom on girls trips to Chicago.  We would wind down from our shopping/sightseeing weekends with a truly luxurious and relaxing high tea at a fancy hotel.  I was thrilled to have my very own teapot and delicate china.  Everything felt so feminine and grown up.  Tea always included dainty sandwiches, like these cucumber sandwiches, pastries, and of course, scones with clotted cream and jam. 

I have tried a few different scone recipes through the years.  These Pumpkin Cranberry Petite Scones with Orange Glaze are one of my favorites.  

The pumpkin is not overpowering and the cranberries add a little tang.  I also used a small amount of cinnamon chips.  If you cannot find cinnamon chips it would be ok without them.  The sweet orange glaze is the proverbial icing on the cake.  Don’t skip that!

Often scones are quite large so I took a cue from Starbucks and made these “petite”.  

One is perfect as an afternoon snack with tea and two are perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee.   

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Grandma Rosie's Applesauce

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Caramelized Onion Dip

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