Chard, Walnut, and Gorgonzola Risotto

I had some gorgonzola cheese leftover from the Dinner Divas Chicken Cobb Burger, and didn't wait it to go to waste (as some cheese has, in the depths of that not-actually-so-deep cheese drawer). A quick googling brought me right to this amazing recipe. Not only to do I love risotto, but I had some chicken stock waiting to be used and this recipe brought a new challenge: chard. I have never cooked with (heck, eaten) chard, and truthfully didn't know it existed in the non-swiss variety. Thankfully, my local produce store is the BOMB and has everything under the sun. Finding chard was no problem (though now I have to figure out what do with the rest of it!).

This turned out much as I imagined. I couldn't really taste the chard, so I still don't really know what it tastes like, but still got the benefit of some vegetation in my carb heaven. The gorgonzola was a bit strong for someone who doesn't *love* it, but the toasted walnuts were such a wonderful addition. Since it's not really a strict recipe, and more a... handful of this and a hunk of that type recipe, I decided to measure along the way so I could remember how much of what I'd used. We paired it with some chicken breasts marinated in the lemon-rosemary paste from the Barefoot Bloggers Butterflied Chicken. :-)

Chard, Walnut, and Gorgonzola Risotto
from Cookthink

~1 quart (4 cups) of chicken broth
~2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
~1/2 cup diced onion
~1 cup arborio rice
~3/4 cup dry white wine (if you notice were I said my grocery store is the "bomb," I'll give you one guess as to where the rest of the bottle went)
~1 cup of chopped chard, stems removed (I used about 4 good sized leaves to get about 1 cup chopped)
~1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, toasted (I pre-chop mine as soon as I buy them because I use them a lot in baking)
~2 1/2 ounces gorgonzola cheese
~salt and pepper to taste

Heat chicken broth in a saucepan and maintain at a simmer. Meanwhile, head the olive oil in a large saute pan. Add onion and cook to allow to soften, about 5 minutes. Add rice and toast it, while stirring, about 2 minutes. Add the wine, stirring to combine, cook for 2-3 minutes. Add simmering chicken broth, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly with each addition until broth is absorbed. About halfway through the broth addition, add the chopped chard. When all the broth has been incorporated, add the walnut and cheese, stirring an additional minute or so to allow the cheese to soften and melt. Add salt and pepper to taste.

TWD: Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

YAY!! It was finally my turn to select a recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie. I literally went through every single page in the book, and wrote down my favorites. I had 9 possible recipes to choose from. I contemplated using a random number generator (dorky, I know) to pick, but then decided to involve my husband in the decision (so I could make sure he helped me eat it!). Initially, anything without a picture was a no-go for him. But ultimately, the draw of peanut butter was too much, and he chose the Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters (what can I say... the man loves his Skippy!)

Oh, hi! Best.cookie.dough.ever!
True to my own heart, I had to incorporate Dorie's suggestion to make an ice cream sandwich out of them. Since the cookies have so much going on, I just went with plain vanilla.

I hope everyone enjoyed making and eating these cookies - I know I did!


Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters
From Baking, From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan, page 73.
Makes about 60 cookies
Check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers here.

These are three really great cookies rolled into one. They're chubby, crispy, chunky and crackly topped, perfect for dunking into a big glass of milk, dipping into a bowl of ice cream or keeping company with coffee and super for school bags, picnic baskets and kitchen counter cookie jars. The oats and chocolate chips make the cookies plenty crunchy, but if you're like me and think tons of crunchy is only just enough, you'll opt for a peanut butter that's studded with nuts. (I use Skippy Super Chunk.)

~3 cups old fashioned oats
~1 cup all purpose flour
~1 tsp baking soda
~2 tsp ground cinnamon
~1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
~1/4 tsp salt
~2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
~1 cup peanut butter--chunky (my choice) or smooth (but not natural)
~1 cup sugar
~1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
~2 large eggs
~1 tsp pure vanilla extract
~9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 1/2 cups store-bought chocolate chips or chunks

Getting Ready:
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, spices and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, beating only until blended. Mix in the chips. If you have the time, cover and chill the dough for about 2 hours or for up to one day. (Chilling the dough will give you more evenly shaped cookies.)

If the dough is not chilled, drop rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the baking sheets. If the dough is chilled, scoop up rounded tablespoons, roll the balls between your palms and place them 2 inches apart on the sheets. Press the chilled balls gently with the heel of your hand until they are about 1/2 inch thick.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 7 minutes. The cookies should be golden and just firm around the edges. Lift the cookies onto cooling racks with a wide metal spatula - they'll firm as they cool.

Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.

Serving: I can't remember when I actually served these. They're more often plucked from a cookie jar than picked from a platter.

Storing: Wrapped airtight or piled into a cookie jar, the cookies will keep at room temperature for about 4 days. Wrapped and frozen, they'll be good for 2 months.

Playing Around: You can substitute soft, moist raisins for the chocolate chunks or just stir in some raisins along with them. If you're really looking for crunch, toss in chopped peanuts too (salted or not). With or without the chocolate chunks, raisins, and nuts, these cookies are great with ice cream or around ice cream - think about them the next time you want a chipwich-ish ice cream sandwich.

Harry and David Chicken Enchilada Soup

One of my lovely gifts from the recent What's Cooking Summer Gift Swap was a jar of Harry and David Pepper and Onion Relish. Thankfully, it came with a host of recipe ideas! As soon as I saw the Chicken Enchilada Soup, I knew that is what we'd be having.
To add more flavor, we grilled the chicken using an Emeril's Essence spice rub before cutting up for the soup. Also, to cut down on the fat a little, I used one can of evaporated milk in place of the cream. It certainly isn't the prettiest soup, but wow, the flavors are great! The relish has a sweet heat to it that really makes the soup dance. I'm actually a little sad now, because I increased the recipe to use up the whole jar of relish (and to ensure there'd be leftovers!), and now I don't know how to make this without the relish. It definitely took the soup to a different level. I suppose this is where I am supposed to put my thinking cap on and start experimenting!

Chicken Enchilada Soup
Source: Harry and David

~1 Tbsp vegetable oil
~1/4 cup chopped onion
~1 clove garlic (if you read my blog with any frequency, you know I tripled that)
~3/4 cup Pepper and Onion Relish
~1 1/2 cup chicken broth
~1/2 cup cream (or one 5 oz can evaporated milk)
~salt to taste (I used about a tablespoon of tomato/chicken bouillon)
~3/4 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
~1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced
~1 plum tomato, diced (my addition)

Heat oil in pot over medium heat and saute onion and garlic. Add relish and chicken broth and cook with pot covered for 15 minutes over low heat. Add cream, salt, (tomato) and chicken and simmer another 8-10 minutes over low heat. Stir in cheese and serve hot.

Lime-Cilantro Chicken

I've had this recipe starred in my google reader for a while now. I needed something easy for grilled chicken the other day, and this fit the bill! It certainly helped that I happened to have a bunch of fresh cilantro in the fridge waiting to be used. I only marinated it for a few hours instead of overnight, and it still turned out GREAT with tons of flavor! We loved it and will certainly be making it again!

Lime-Cilantro Chicken
From The Deen Bros. Cookbook - Recipes from the Road, seen on My Baking Heart.

~1-1/2 limes
~1/2 c fresh cilantro leaves
~1/4 c vegetable oil
~2 tbsp honey
~1-2 jalapeno peppers, trimmed and sliced (remove seeds)
~2 tsp tomato paste
~4 cloves garlic, chopped
~Pinch of salt
~5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Finely grate the zest and squeeze the juice from the limes. In a blender, combine the zest and juice with remaining marinade ingredients. Puree until smooth. Pour marinade over chicken and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

After the chicken has marinated, preheat the oven to 375. Place chicken breasts on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes or until juices run clear. (We grilled them instead - yum!)

Round Up: Platinum Chef Challenge 8!

I must apologize for the delay in getting the round-up together. I have no real excuse other than I forgot!

This round of the Platinum Chef Challenge had us creating dishes tofu, eggplant, olives, plums and oats. (You can see mine here.) We had three great entries, and as host of this round I get to select the next host.

First up, we have Cara of Cara's Cravings. I think of Cara as incredibly creative and talented in the kitchen, so I was excited to see that tofu was a new ingredient in her own cooking. Taking inspiration from a favorite seafood dish, she created a mouthwatering Pan-roasted Tofu with Capers, Tomatoes and Olives. The flavor combination here sounds amazing!
For the remaining ingredients, Cara devised what seems to be one of her favorite healthy-meal tricks - turning vegetables into fries! Her Eggplant Fries with Sweet and Spicy Plum Sauce look just like huge steak fries, and the sauce sounds wonderful.

Next we have Catherine of Fresh From Cate's Kitchen. This was her first time participating in Platinum Chef and we are so glad to have her! Cate created a wonderful looking Herbed Eggplant Salad with Creamy Garlic Dressing. I've never ventured farther than vinaigrettes when it comes to homemade salad dressing, so her use of tofu to create a healthy version of a creamy dressing is genius to me! This looks so good, I'm ready to dig right in!
For her second recipe, Cate went straight to my heart - I love all things frozen! And let's be honest, a little alcohol makes it that much more enticing! Her Plum and Port Sorbet in Oatmeal-Almond Buttercrunch Cups are SO cute! That sorbet recipe is so simple and looks so good - I can't wait to try it! The cups sound like a very versatile base for adorable little desserts.
The third entry comes from Lisa of Lime in the Coconut. Lisa is another first time participant! I am so excited to see new bloggers joining in. My typical PCC experience is much like Lisa described... as soon as the ingredients are posted, they are ALL I can think about until I settle on my recipes. Lisa also drew inspiration from seafood, using tofu in place of scallops for her Vegetarian Surf & Turf: Grilled Eggplant Steaks served with Panko-Encrusted Tofu "Scallops", Kalamata olive tapenade and a grilled tomato coulis. I love that she grilled the tomatoes and eggplant - making it a great summertime meal. Her presentation is stunning and the flavor combination sounds incredible. (and really, I love panko-crusted-just-about-anything!)
For her second recipe, Lisa chose a Rustic Plum Tart with Ricotta Cheese and Crumb Topping. I love the additions of the ricotta and topping to a traditional simple fruit galette. It really looks like it gives the tart some substance, and what could be better than a cream cheese pie crust! This was a VERY tough decision, but I have chosen Lisa of Lime in the Coconut as the winner of Round 8! I just can't stop staring at that surf and turf - it looks amazing! Congratulations Lisa! Look for the next round appearing in her blog soon.

Mandarin Orange Chicken

I made this dish as a part of the new No Rules cooking group, Dinner Divas. This recipe pick instantly appealed to me, as it was selected from Cooking Light. I loved everything about this recipe - it was quick and easy to throw together, and very flavorful! I served it with white rice (for my husband) and steamed snow peas and broccoli. Yum!

Orange Mandarin Chicken
from: Robin Vitetta-Miller, Cooking Light, JULY 2002
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and 6 tablespoons sauce)

~2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
~4 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
~1/2 teaspoon salt
~1/4 teaspoon black pepper
~1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges in light syrup, undrained
~1/2 cup chopped green onions
~1 tablespoon finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
~1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
~1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
~1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
~2 teaspoons cornstarch

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned.

While chicken cooks, drain oranges in a colander over a bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons liquid. Add oranges, 2 tablespoons liquid, onions, jalapeño, and garlic to pan. Reduce heat; simmer 2 minutes. Combine broth, soy sauce, and cornstarch; add to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until slightly thickened.

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 212(16% from fat); FAT 3.8g (sat 0.7g,mono 1.3g,poly 1.3g); IRON 1.9mg; CHOLESTEROL 66mg; CALCIUM 27mg; CARBOHYDRATE 15.2g; SODIUM 562mg; PROTEIN 27.2g; FIBER 0.7g

BB: Ina's Butterflied Chicken

(sorry for the delay, everyone!)

So this week's recipe pick came from... me! I look to these blogging events as a way to challenge myself in the kitchen, hopefully doing new things and learning new skills. When I started looking for recipes, I knew I wanted something with chicken (as my husband doesn't eat pork or red meat, so we are always looking for new ways to serve chicken). I came across this recipe and pretty much stopped looking! I had never butterflied or deboned a whole chicken before, so I definitely would be setting up a challenge. As an added bonus, I have an overgrown rosemary plant on our balcony and this was a great way to use some up!

First, I needed to learn how to debone and butterfly a chicken. I went off to youtube, where I found plenty of deboning videos and plenty of butterflied videos, but none that showed how to debone AND butterfly while keeping the remainder intact. This site here described it with a few pictures, but that was definitely not good enough for my novice hands. With enough googling I eventually found a decent video, enough to get my started (regretfully, it seems I did not bookmark it and I can't find it again).

I set out with my paring knife and whole chicken, but given the fact that I was home alone and was, well, working with raw chicken, I didn't take any middle of the road pictures... but here is my finished product (before cooking):


No, it isn't the prettiest butterflied chicken (please try not to laugh), but I was dang proud of myself! I wasn't quite sure what to do with those legs, though. Cut them open? Probably. I just left them as is. I added the rub and wrapped it up.

Hot off the grill... I swear these are the best grill marks I've ever made!

We served atop a salad. YUM! I hope everyone that got to make it enjoyed it. We certainly did.
Butterflied Chicken
Check out the other Barefoot Bloggers here!

~1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves, plus 2 sprigs
~3 garlic cloves, chopped
~1 teaspoon lemon zest
~1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
~Good olive oil
~Kosher salt
~Freshly ground black pepper
~2 roasting chickens (2 1/2 to 3 pounds each), deboned and butterflied
~1/2 lemon, thinly sliced

Mix the chopped rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in a small bowl to make a paste.

Place the chickens on a sheet pan, skin side up, and loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers. Place 1/2 of the paste under the skin of each chicken. Rub any remaining paste on the outside and underside of the chickens.

Turn the chicken skin side down and scatter the lemon slices and sprigs of rosemary over each chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Roll each chicken up, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Heat a grill with coals. Spread the coals out in 1 dense layer and brush the grill with oil. Unroll the chickens, place them on the grill and cook for 12 minutes on each side.

Chicken Cobb Burger

I made this as a part of Dinner Divas (though I am apparently a little late). I am *always* looking for new burger ideas, as we don't eat red meat and grilled chicken gets a little old after a while! Though the burgers themselves were barely seasoned, the combination of all the other flavors was great! I will definitely keep this recipe around. :-) One word of caution... these are TALL! I handed them to my husband and said, "good luck!"

Chicken Cobb Burgers
from Bobby Flay

For the burgers:
~8 (1/2- thick) strips bacon (we omitted)
~1 1/2 pounds ground chicken, 90 percent lean (we used one pound of ground turkey)
~2 tablespoons canola oil (we omitted)
~Salt, Freshly ground black pepper
~1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (we used gorgonzola)
~4 burger buns, split
~1 large ripe beefsteak tomato, cut into 4 slices
~1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into 8 slices

For the vinaigrette:
~2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
~1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
~1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
~1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
~1 clove garlic, finely chopped
~1/4 teaspoon sugar
~1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
~1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
~3 tablespoons olive oil (we used 2 tbsp)
~1 cup finely shredded romaine lettuce

For the burgers: Heat the grill to medium. Place the strips of bacon on the grill (lay them across the grate so they don't fall through) and grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and slightly crispy. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. Increase the heat of the grill to high. Form the meat into 4 (8-ounce) burgers, brush with the oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill the burgers until golden brown on both sides and cooked completely through, about 5 minutes per side. Top the burgers with the blue cheese, close the cover, and continue cooking until the cheese begins to melt, about 1 minute longer. Place the burgers on the bottom half of each bun and top with a slice of tomato, 2 slices of avocado, 2 slices of bacon and some of the dressed romaine. Cover each burger with the bun tops and serve.

For the vinaigrette: Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire, garlic, sugar, salt, pepper and oil in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using to allow the flavors to meld. Just before assembling the burgers, place the romaine in a medium bowl and toss with the vinaigrette.

TWD - Chocolate Banded Torte

I had SO much fun making this! Maybe it's my love for ice cream, or cool looking desserts, but I had noooo problem with the waiting game that some people weren't crazy about. I loved making my layers! Of course, I loved digging in even more, so the pictures were quick and therefore not so stellar. I didn't bother re-freezing it after the unmolding, so it got a little messy. My chocolate layers really started to melt down.

I halved the recipe and filled 3 (7 oz) ramekins with plenty of ice cream and ganache leftover. I used the saran warp method, which resulted in less than desirable wrinkling, but the parchment paper was not playing nice that day. I used my homemade vanilla ice cream, combined with mixed berries instead of just raspberries. My ice cream is designed to be lower in fat, and I think that contributed to the crystallization from all the freeze-thawing that took place. For the best texture, you really need a full fat ice cream. Taste-wise, this can't be beat. The strawberries really came through in the ice cream, and the ganache was like a great hot fudge. Next time, I think mint ice cream would be great in this! YUM!

Chocolate Banded Torte
From Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan
Chosen by Amy of Food, Family and Fun.
Check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers here.

Cherry Limeade Sour Cream Ice Cream

As promised, I played around with the idea of making cherry sour cream ice cream. It took a few trials to get right, because I decided... what would be better than cherry sour cream ice cream? Cherry LIMEADE Sour Cream Ice Cream! The amount of lime juice/zest took some tweaking, but thanks to the goddess, I got it figured out.
Cherry Limeade Sour Cream Ice Cream
Adapted from Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream, Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

~20 cherries, pitted and halved
~1/3 cup sugar
~pinch of salt
~grated zest of 1 lime
~juice of 1.5 limes
~3/4 cup heavy cream (or, if you are like me and trying to slim things down, 1/4 cup heavy cream and 1/2 cup fat free half and half)
~1/2 cup sour cream

Put the cherries, sugar, salt and lime zest and juice into a medium nonreactive saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture boils and the cherries soften, about 4 minutes. Turn the cherries into a blender and whir until you have a fairly homogeneous puree, about one minute. (It will never be completely smooth, and that's just fine.) Add the heavy cream and sour cream and pulse just to blend. Pour the custard into a bowl and refrigerate until it is chilled before churning it into ice cream. (I recommend at least 4 hours) Scrape the chilled custard into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Pack the ice cream into a container and freeze for at least 2 hours, until it is firm enough to scoop.