Prosciutto-Gruyere Strombolis & Harvest Apple Tarts

Continuing on with our Cooking Light series...I decided to make these strombolis last night.  They were so easy to make...about 10 minutes to gather all the ingredients (there are only 5!) and roll them all together.  It was nice to come home after a long day at work and literally just pop these into the oven in minutes.  And...they were yummy too.  Of course, no stromboli is complete without some marinara sauce, so I whipped that out as well.

Prosciutto & Gruyere Strombolis

by Cooking Light

1 (11-ounce) can refrigerated French bread dough

2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto

1 cup trimmed arugula

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

 

Preheat oven to 425°.

Unroll dough onto a baking sheet; pat into a 14 x 11-inch rectangle. Cut dough into quarters to form 4 (7 x 5 1/2-inch) rectangles. Top each rectangle with 1/2 ounce prosciutto, 1/4 cup arugula, 2 tablespoons cheese, and 1 tablespoon parsley.



Beginning at short side of each rectangle, roll up the dough, jelly-roll fashion; pinch seam to seal (do not seal ends of rolls). Arrange rolls 4 inches apart on baking sheet.

Bake at 425° for 10 minutes or until rolls are lightly browned. Serve warm.

Harvest Apple Tart

by Angie at Cocina Diary

Then I decided that we needed a quick dessert.  I've been wanting to try this Harvest Apple Tart recipe that I saw on my friend, Angie's, cooking blog a while back.

Let me just say that if you haven't visited her blog yet, you're missing out.  It's called the Cocina Diary and it's fabulous! 

This recipe is another easy 5-ingredient fix (okay, so it's 6 ingredients) and you should have every ingredient in your pantry already.

Here's what you get:

Complete and utter deliciousness!  Good thing I have some puff pastry and more apples left. I might have to make this again tomorrow evening!

Chicken with Pecan Cream and Mushrooms

I don't know why I never thought to pull recipes from the Cooking Light website a long time ago.  Everything I've tried so far in the last week or so has been fantastic.  Seriously. 

I would never have thought to use pecans as a base for pasta sauce.  Ever.  I was a bit concerned making the sauce as I'd over-toasted the pecans before putting them in my food processor.

By the way, I just got a Cuisinart food processor the other day at JC Penney's.  It was on sale for $99.99.  I've been dying to get one and finally broke down.  So I thought it would get it's debut helping me make this dish.  When I smelled the pecan puree, I worried that the dish would taste burned, but it didn't.  And then adding the mushrooms to the sauce?  It was fabulous--I mean FABULOUS!!!   

Both my husband and I devoured this dish.  I really had to try hard to leave some leftovers to take for lunch today.  And today, I couldn't wait for lunchtime.  Now I'm sad it's all gone.

Chicken with Pecan Cream and Mushrooms

by Cooking Light

3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

1 cup water

1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided

6 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots

1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms

4 cups cooked egg noodles

Chopped parsley (optional)

 

1. Place pecans in a food processor; process until smooth (about 1 minute), scraping sides of bowl once. With processor on, add water and 3/4 teaspoon salt; process until smooth, scraping sides of bowl once.

2.  Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper.

3.  Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken; sauté 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

4.  Add shallots and mushrooms to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Stir in pecan cream; bring to a boil. Cook 1 1/2 minutes. Place 2/3 cup noodles on each of 6 plates. Top each serving with 1 chicken breast half and 1/3 cup sauce. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

I will, without a doubt, be making this pasta dish again and I want to try variations of the recipe...perhaps try a different nut (walnut maybe?) and pair it with rice. Delicious!

Sliders with Shallot Dijon Relish

I decided to keep it simple for dinner on this lazy Sunday evening.  That, and I've been dying to try out the Bella Cucina slider grill that I got on sale at Target the other day.  No joke...I got it for half off--$13.00!  Our friends, Leah and Jay, had purchased a different kind of slider grill that they used a one of their parties a few weeks ago and I vowed then to get one.  Pretty cool, huh?

Anyway, I came across this sliders recipe on the Cooking Light website.  The actual "star" of the recipe is the Shallot-Dijon relish. 

I used Grey Poupon's coarse grain mustard, made with whole mustard seeds and I found that it was a little too overpowering when paired with the shallots.  I'd probably go with the regular dijon mustard the next time and easy on the shallots--this is definitely NOT the relish you'll want to make if you plan on kissing someone for the rest of the evening afterwards.  You know what I mean?

Anyway, it's a really sophisticated way to serve up these sliders...you know, something other than your ordinary relish, ketchup and mustard.  And did you know that Pepperidge Farms sells buns specifically for sliders?  They're so cute.

Pardon my pictures.  They're not the best quality! And you might want to invest in a slider grill.  What a fun way to serve burgers to your friends at a get-together...especially during football season!

Sliders with Shallot Dijon Relish

by Cooking Light

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound ground sirloin

Cooking spray

3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons butter, softened

8 (1-ounce) Parker House rolls

16 dill pickle chips

 

1. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.

2. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and sirloin. Divide meat mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/4-inch-thick patty. Lightly coat both sides of patties with cooking spray. Place patties on grill rack; grill for 3 minutes on each side or until done.

3. Combine shallots, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and butter in a small bowl, stirring well. Cut rolls in half horizontally. Spread shallot mixture evenly over cut sides of rolls. Layer 1 patty and 2 pickle chips on bottom half of each roll; top with top halves of rolls.

Hope you guys are enjoying the long weekend!

French Fridays with Dorie: Gerard's Mustard Tart

This is my second week participating in the online cooking group, French Fridays with Dorie.  As I mentioned last week, we're taking Dorie Greenspan's new cookbook, Around My French Table, by storm--one recipe at a time.  I've also mentioned before that this group is taking me completely outside my comfort zone as far as being in my kitchen is concerned. I mean, you can't get any more scary than French cooking...Julia Childs style!  And just reading some of the recipes gives me the hee-bee jee-bees.

Lucky for us, we've been given a relatively easy start with last week's gougeres (simple cheese puffs) and now this week's mustard tart.  I didn't realize that mustard is to the French what ketchup is to Americans.  It's the condiment extraordinaire over there.  This particular tart is a recipe of Gerard Jeannin, who owns a bed and breakfast in France called Les Charmilles.  I hope to visit this place one day.

Tons of firsts occurred today (and by the way, I made this first thing this morning.  I've been a little behind all week):

It was my first time (seriously) cutting carrots and leeks into matchsticks (it took me forever)

My first time making tart dough

Shoot...my first time making any kind of tart

What do you think?

Not too bad for my first try, eh?

This is how good the tart is...we ate it for breakfast and we finished the last of it a few hours ago (it's a little past 9:00 p.m.).  It didn't even last the entire day.  It was simply delicious.  I used two different versions of dijon mustard (both Grey Poupon brands and one grainier than the other).  You'd think the mustard flavor would be too overpowering.  Not at all.  And the carrots and leeks not only made for a beautiful presentation of color, they were so tender and tasty. 

The tart was fabulous right out of the oven and (in both my husband's an my opinion) better cold.  No joke!  I am definitely going to make it again.  And it was so simple.  The hardest part for me was making the dough.  I've never really liked dealing with dough...with this tart, pies...it doesn't matter.  I don't think I'll ever be any good at it.

Unfortunately, group members aren't allowed to post recipes on here, but if you're really curious....GET THE BOOK!

Cold Sesame Noodles with Chicken & Cucumber

Because I'm trying to shed some of this postpartum weight, I've been pulling our weekly meals from the Cooking Light website and I've been finding some really cool ones--like this recipe for Cold Sesame Noodles with Chicken & Cucumber. 

My husband eats nothing but chicken so I've been aiming for a lot of chicken dishes.  He was as pleased with this dish as I was.  Although the dish isn't visually appealing, it is cool and refreshing and quite tasty.  I especially love the taste of sesame oil...in any Asian dish. 

I love this dish of my hubby trying to devour his plate.  So give it a whirl. You will be so happy with the results!

Cold Sesame Noodles with Chicken & Cucumber

by Cooking Light

8 ounces uncooked dried udon noodles

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons sambal oelek or chile paste with garlic

1/2 teaspoon bottled ground fresh ginger

2 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast

2 medium cucumbers, halved lengthwise and sliced

6 tablespoons chopped green onions

3 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted peanuts

 

1. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse under cold water; drain.

 

2. Combine rice vinegar and the next 5 ingredients (through ginger) in a large bowl, and stir with a whisk. Add noodles, chicken, and cucumbers to bowl; toss gently to coat. Top with green onions and peanuts.

See how easy it is?  Enjoy!

Salmon with Strawberry Salsa

In the week that followed the delivery of our beautiful baby girl (she's officially two months old tomorrow!), our good friends got together and brought us dinner every night.  Our friends, the Finches, brought us this fabulous salmon and strawberry salsa dish, which became my absolute favorite fish dish. 

At first glance, you see all this pink (of the salmon) and red (of the salsa) and wonder if it could taste any good.  Well, it is a taste like no other.  The dish is simply divine.  And I don't know why I was so surprised...after all, strawberries are my favorite fruit.  But the sweetness of the berries and cherry tomatoes in the salsa (with the balsamic vinegar, honey and everything else) pairs so nicely with the salmon and the dish is aesthetically pleasing to boot.

I'd craved this dish for a month before I finally had enough and went to get all of the ingredients.  It turns out that the recipe was taken from a blog called called Annie's Eats--a simply fantastic blog filled with all kinds of recipes that I am dying to try.  And you should too!

Salmon with Strawberry Salsa

adapted from Annie's Eats

For the salsa:

2 cups fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and diced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

4 scallions, white and green portions, sliced thin

1 tsp. fresh parsley, minced

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Drizzle of olive oil

Drizzle of honey

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 salmon fillets (about 6 oz. each)

Freshly squeezed lemon juice

Salt and pepper, to taste

1.  To make the salsa, combine the strawberries, tomatoes, scallions, parsley, vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Mix well to blend, then cover and refrigerate while you prepare the salmon.

2.  Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place the salmon fillets on the foil. Squeeze a bit of fresh lemon juice over each fillet, and season with salt and pepper. Broil about 6-8 inches away from heat source (in my oven, this is upper middle rack). Cook about 10-12 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of the fillets, checking for doneness. Transfer the salmon to serving plates and top with strawberry salsa. Serve warm.

I served this dish with some rice.  I mixed some minced parsley into the rice.  Tastes even better as leftover.  I had mine for lunch at work today!  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do and that it becomes a fave in your house too!

French Fridays with Dorie: Gougeres

Happy Friday everyone!  I just joined the cooking group, French Fridays with Dorie and we're collectively cooking our way through her cookbook, Around My French Table.  I was a part of the baking group, Tuesdays with Dorie a while back, but I had to quit when I moved to El Paso. I couldn't find the time to do it with work.  By the time things had died down here, the group had closed to new membership and I couldn't wait for another group to start.

I have to admit, when you flip through Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan, it can be a little intimidating especially to someone who spends more time baking then cooking.  And French recipes at that?  Totally out of my comfort zone.  But that's exactly what I want this experience to be.  I want it to challenge me!  And the recipes in the book are just downright tantalizing and I can't wait to try them and share them with my family and friends.

Dorie Greenspan herself chose this entire month's worth of recipes--and what a great and easy start with the Gougeres, which are essentially cheesepuffs.  Honestly, the cheese rolls at Red Lobster don't stand a chance against these guys.  They are fantastic, light and fluffy, especially right out of the oven.  They were so easy to make.  Just a few ingredients and in and out of the oven in just under an hour. 

The recipe calls for Gruyere or cheddar cheese.  I was sorely disappointed that I didn't get the Gruyere this time around.  I used what I had around the house, which was cheddar.  I can't wait to do it with Gruyere and do try several variations--perhaps putting in some garlic!  Yum!

Supposedly, you can find these all over France.  My best friend, Chrissy, and I visited France for a day during our R&R from Iraq.  I guess we didn't look hard enough because it would have been fabulous to try these out over there.

Dorie recommended enjoying these with a glass of white wine, champagne or kir.  I served ours up with a white wine and a pasta dish.  She was right-on!  Because it's just the hubby and me, I baked us half a dozen.  I froze the rest on the pans, waited for them to get solid and put them in plastic freezer bags.  Now they'll be instantly ready to enjoy whenever I feel like treating myself again.  I have about 1 1/2 dozen in the freezer.

Unfortunately, the cooking group doesn't allow us to post the recipes, so you'll have to go out and get the cookbook yourself.  Not only is it a spectacular compilation of recipes, but Dorie tells such wonderful stories about her experiences.  Definitely recommend it!