Gourmet Grilled Cheese with Arugula Pesto

It's not often that Gavin and I find ourselves at home for lunch on a weekend. We are usually out somewhere together, or  one of us is busy doing something or another. Although I cook most of our dinners, and occasionally a breakfast, for us to enjoy together, I don't often do much for lunch. Lunch is the perfect time to enjoy those leftovers from whatever we have had at recent dinners. But this weekend, with temperatures too cold for the lake and no wedding to plan, we have found ourselves at home with nothing pressing on the agenda. It's a wonderful feeling to have a whole day stretch in front of you, with nothing that absolutely must be done. These moments are few and far between and definitely deserve to be savored.

So in honor of our lazy Saturday afternoon, I decided to see what I could do to put together a lunch worthy of the day. Something warm to compliment the cool fall air but also something that I could make from what I had on hand. With half a container of baby arugula, I decided to make a pesto using the arugula and some walnuts I had left over from some pumpkin muffins I made earlier in the week. I also had some delicious smoked Gouda that I knew would make a simple grilled cheese sandwich taste special. There's something so comforting about grilled cheese sandwiches. The warm, gooey cheese in between crispy toasted bread. It's pretty much the perfect sandwich. And, even though I love a plain grilled cheese with cheddar, it's fun to mix it up and add other ingredients to make it more "gourmet."

This sandwich, with smoked Gouda and arugula pesto, has all the comforting aspects of a great grilled cheese but is just fancy enough to taste special. The arugula pesto would also work well tossed with pasta or spread on pizza, so make extra and use it again for another meal. And if you aren't lucky enough to have a free Saturday afternoon to enjoy lunch with your hubby (or anyone else for that matter), then feel free to make a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner, or breakfast, or a snack, whenever really, just as long as you get to enjoy this delicious comfort food.

Arugula Pesto

• 4-5 cups arugula, loosely packed
• 1/3 cup walnuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Puree arugula, walnuts and Parmesan cheese until they come together and are chopped fine.
Stream in olive oil slowly, incorporating enough to make a thick paste.
Season with salt and pepper.

Grilled Cheese (serves 2)

• 1 tbsp olive oil or butter
• 4 slices of bread, your favorite variety
• 2 tbsp arugula pesto
• 6-8 thin slices of smoked Gouda

Heat olive oil or butter in a saute pan over medium to medium low heat.
Spread 1/2 tablespoon on each slice of bread.
Layer enough cheese to cover one half of each sandwich.
Grill in hot pan till both sides are brown and cheese is melted.
Or you could always use a panini press if you happen to have one.
Eat and enjoy!

For a printable recipe click here

Chicken, Tomato and Ricotta Pasta Sauce

In general, I try to plan my meals. Even if this ends up happening at the store, I like to have an idea of what I'm going to make, and what will go together, ahead of time. This way I don't end up starting a meal only to realize I'm missing the main ingredient, or some crucial component. You don't want to start making macaroni and cheese and realize you have no macaroni, or something along those lines. I also try to buy just enough of perishable items as I'll need for a certain meal so that I don't end up throwing things out because they sat in my refrigerator too long. However, you cannot always buy things in the exact quantity you want. Fruits and vegetables generally come in manageable amounts that can be made smaller or larger, based on your needs. Dairy, on the other hand, comes prepackaged and must be purchased as a whole. I don't think there are any grocery stores that let you take just one cup of buttermilk or two tablespoons of sour cream. Wouldn't that be nice? So when I buy a package of something and don't use all of it, I hate to throw the rest out. But when it is an item that I don't use frequently, I have to get creative.

One night this week, I found myself with a head of broccoli and a package of chicken breasts. I knew that I could use both of these things easily when I bought them so I hadn't really planned what I wanted to do with them. I could always chop them both up and make a stirfry over rice. But I've done that. As I was looking through my refrigerator for inspiration, I realized that I had half a container of part-skim ricotta left over from my pizza making last week. Rather than let it sit in the back of my refrigerator till it was past the point of healthy use, I decided to figure out a way to incorporate into my dinner. What goes better with ricotta cheese than tomatoes, I thought. I didn't want to make an entire lasagna, of course, but I figured I could make a simple pasta sauce with flavors reminiscent of lasagna. Toss the chicken in and boil up some pasta, and I'd have myself a meal. The rest of the ingredients were all things I had on hand so it didn't take long to make this simple dinner. A whole lot easier than making a lasagna from scratch, this sauce could easily be made with ground meat or spinach, depending on what type of lasagna you like. Cutting the chicken into small pieces makes it cook a lot faster so the whole meal is done in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta.

Chicken, Tomato and Ricotta Pasta Sauce (serves 4)

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 pound chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 x 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta
• 8-12 oz penne pasta
• Parmesan cheese, for garnish (optional) 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
Saute shallot for a few minutes to soften. Add garlic and cook for another minute.
Add chicken and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Cook until chicken is almost cooked through (it will continue cooking in the sauce).
Add thyme, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes and both cans of tomatoes. Stir to combine.
Simmer until sauce thickens, about 10-12 minutes. Remove thyme stems.
Turn heat off and stir in ricotta cheese. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and toss with hot sauce.
Garnish with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

For a printable recipe click here


Chicken, Tomato and Ricotta Pasta Sauce

Grilled Pork and Roasted Sweet Potatoes: One Spice Rub Two Ways

Getting creative with spices can be tricky if you're not sure what goes with what. Fortunately there are a lot of great spice blends out there. But you have to be careful since some our mostly salt with a few other things thrown into the mix. By making your own spice blends you can control the salt content as well as all of the other flavors based on your own tastes. Some mild spice blends could use some extra heat while others are too spicy for certain dishes. I highly recommend getting a spice grinder. Not only can you make your own spice blends but you can chop up nuts as well. Freshly ground spices are a lot more pungent and, well, fresh tasting than the ground spices you buy at the store. Don't get me wrong, ground spices are great and definitely work well for most things. But if you have a spice grinder, your options for combining flavors are pretty much endless.

If you don't have a spice grinder, the spices for this meal can all be purchased pre-ground and will still taste wonderful together. The blend is based loosely off a recipe I found on Epicurious for roasted sweet potatoes. I decided to make the sweet potatoes and use the remaining spice mix on pork chops. Sweet potatoes and pork taste so different on their own that using the same spice mix only serves to bring the meal together without making everything taste the same. By cooking some pears in with the pork, you can create a sweet sauce to go over the pork in only a few minutes. 

Spice Rubbed Pork and Sweet Potatoes (serves 4)

• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
  
• 1 pound thin-cut boneless pork chops, about 4 chops
  
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, sliced into wedges (about 3 cups)
• 1 pear, cored and diced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 425F.
In a spice grinder, combine first six ingredients.
In a roasting pan or cookie sheet, toss together sweet potato wedges, 1 tbsp olive oil, and about 1 tbsp of spice mixture.
Roast for 30 minutes, tossing halfway through.
Season both sides of each pork chop with the remaining spice mixture.
Heat remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
Place each pork chop in the pan along with the chopped pear and cook, without moving, for about 4-5 minutes to brown.
Flip pork chops over and finish cooking for about another 5 minutes for 1/2 inch pork chops, longer if they are thicker. Cook to about 140F.
Leave pears in the pan and deglaze with white wine. Deglazing picks up the cooked spices from the bottom of the pan and combines them into the sauce.
Stir in honey and let reduce for about 5 more minutes.
Serve pear sauce over grilled pork.

For a printable recipe click here


Spiced Rubbed Pork and Sweet Potatoes

Chicken Sausage, White Bean and Cabbage Soup

Nothing beats spending time with close friends and I got to do just that this weekend in LA. One of my college roommates is getting married in December and just had a bachelorette/ bridal shower weekend. Weddings are a great motivator to get friends together, regardless of where we all live. For this particular weekend, I got to spend time with three of my closest college friends who now live in Texas, San Francisco and LA. Considering the fact I live in North Carolina, we don't get to see each other that often. So hopefully our whole group of friends will just continue to get married so that we can all see each other on a somewhat regular basis. :) But marriages or otherwise, it is always wonderful to spend time with close friends.

This weekend was a great couple of days of relaxing by the pool, catching up and eating great food. But with only two days in LA and two long cross-country flights on either end, I was totally worn out when I got home this morning. After a short nap to try to recover from a red-eye home, I dragged myself out of bed and attempted to start my week as usual. A trip to the grocery store was, of course, in order as was trying to decide what I wanted to make for dinner. The rainy, gray day we had today, combined with being drained from the weekend, made me want something hot and comforting, without too much effort. A hot bowl of soup was exactly what I needed. Something hearty and healthy that I could feel good about eating that would also make me feel better after a long day. This soup combines the protein of chicken and beans with the healthy crunch of green cabbage. The red pepper flakes add a slight touch of heat in the background while the fennel in the sausage adds a subtle sweetness. Served with some toasted bread, it's an entire meal in one bowl that's both satisfying and comforting.

Sausage, White Bean and Cabbage Soup (Serves 6)

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, small dice (about 2 cups chopped)
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pound mild Italian chicken sausage
• 4-5 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 head green cabbage (I used savoy)

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat.
Saute onions until tender, about 8 minutes.
Add carrots and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
Season with salt, pepper, garlic and red pepper flakes; cook for another minute.
Remove sausage from casing and break into small chunks in the pot.
Toss with vegetables to brown meat, cooking for another 8-10 minutes.
Pour in stock, enough to cover everything; bring to a simmer.
Add white beans and cabbage, stirring to combine.
Simmer, covered, until cabbage is wilted but not mushy, about 10 minutes.
Generally the sausage will contain enough salt for the soup, but check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if needed.

For a printable recipe click here


Chicken Sausage, White Bean and Cabbage Soup

Herb "Chimichurri" Sauce: Dressing Up Dinner

My younger sister started college this fall. She's the last in my family to leave home: a pretty big deal for a family as close as mine. When she comes home for the weekend, we all get together for dinner at my parents' house. She's been home a few weekends, visiting friends, for fall break and, of course, for my wedding. My mom has been cooking big family dinners my entire life but recently she has started deferring to me for recipe ideas and help in the preparation. I always helped my mom cook when I was younger--a lot of what I know about cooking comes from her. But as I've been doing more cooking on my own, I have been able to return the favor and give my mom some pointers and ideas for new things to make.

For my sister's most recent trip home, she requested that I make an herb sauce I had made for a previous family dinner. I hadn't thought much of it the first time as it was basically a way to use up left over fresh herbs before they went bad. The sauce is a nod to the Argentinian green sauce, known as chimichurri, that is generally served over steak. We were grilling steak and shrimp, so the sauce was an easy accompaniment to liven up the meal. I made the sauce the first time as sort of an afterthought but it turned out to be a great alternative to a general steak sauce. The bright green color and fresh taste of the herbs adds a nice touch to any grilled meat. We went with steak and shrimp but chicken or pork would work well too. The vinegar and lime juice gives the sauce a nice acidity that contrasts the richer flavors of the grilled meat.

Chimichurri Sauce

• 1 bunch fresh parsley, stems removed
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced (optional, if you don't like the bite of raw garlic, leave this out)
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup olive oil
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt and pepper

Roughly chop or tear the parsley and cilantro.
Pulse the herbs together in a food processor to break down.
Add in vinegar and combine.
While the motor is running, stream in about 1/2 cup olive oil.
Squeeze in juice of 1 lime, season with salt and pepper.
The sauce should be relatively smooth and not too thick. Add more olive oil if necessary.

For a printable recipe click here

Mushroom, Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

Food allergies are considered by a lot of people to be a devastating blow. Having to give up a food, or even an entire food group, can be really hard, especially if it's an allergy that developed later in life. But even children who are born with food allergies have a hard time saying no to foods that their friends get to enjoy. I cannot imagine a life without shellfish, but there are many people who must avoid shellfish at all cost. Only a few months ago, I would not have been able to imagine a life without bread, or everything with gluten in it, for that matter. But rather than being devastated at all that I am giving up, I have looked at eating gluten free as a challenge to figure out how to make all of the delicious foods that usually contain gluten in new ways that I can eat. Fortunately there are a lot of great blogs and cookbooks out there that have already done the work for me to figure out what flours to combine to make dough that tastes and feels like regular dough.

One thing I hated to even think about giving up was pizza. So when I found a recipe for a gluten free pizza crust, I knew I had to try it. The dough tasted pretty good but I need to do some more practice runs before it's worthy of a post. I will work on the dough recipe and do a post on it in the future for anyone interested in gluten free pizza. In the meantime, I will have to come up with creative pizza toppings for my "research." Poor me! For my first gluten free pizza attempt, I combined sweet caramelized onions with tangy goat cheese, which made for a very different and delicious pizza. Feel free to make this pizza on any kind of crust you like. I love Boboli's Whole Wheat pizza crust, available at most grocery stores. The ricotta cheese replaces a traditional tomato sauce but can still be a healthy option by using part-skim ricotta.

Mushroom, Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

• 1 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 small white onion, thinly sliced, about 2 cups
• 1 12" pizza crust
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon)
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• 4-5 oz mushrooms, sliced (I used shiitake)
• 4 oz goat cheese
• Salt and pepper

Heat about 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
Saute onion slices, seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper, until lightly brown and very soft, about 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425F (check pizza crust instructions).
In a small bowl, combine ricotta, lemon zest and juice, and thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper.
Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the pizza crust.
Spread ricotta mixture to about 1/2 inch from edge.
Layer mushroom slices and caramelized onions all over the pizza.
Crumble goat cheese over everything.
Cook for about 10-12 minutes, based on dough being used.

For a printable recipe click here


Mushroom, Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

Apricot-Corn Chutney and Cilantro Sauce: Two Sauces Make a Great Meal

Gavin and I are looking to buy our first house together. A fun, but somewhat overwhelming, process. We want something that's in a great neighborhood, reasonablely priced and will accommodate the family we want to have. But most importantly, it must have a good kitchen. Not only do I spend, what feels like, most of my life in the kitchen, but a kitchen is truly the heart of any home. No matter how nice your dining room or living room, people always end up in the kitchen. We love to have people over for dinner or drinks and we always congregate around the bar area in our apartment's kitchen. This works out great for me since I'm usually making something or putting the finishing touches on appetizers or dinner for my friends. This way I get to hang out with everyone while I'm cooking. So for us, an open kitchen with plenty of space for sitting, gathering, talking is a must.

Because I spend so much time in the kitchen, I try to keep things interesting by making new things. For one, new recipes give me something to write about. And for another, no matter how much I love to cook, I get bored by doing the same things over and over. Since we try not to eat a lot of red meat and stick with leaner proteins like fish, pork and chicken, I have to get even more creative with how I prepare them. Chicken is a great, lean protein as it acts like a blank sheet with endless possibilities for preparation.

However, there are times when breading, or spice-crusting, a piece of chicken just isn't enough. Most people consider chicken a staple of their weekly dinners. It's healthy and can be made in so many ways that it can be made more often than most meats. However, even with a ton of recipe options, chicken can get boring. Sometimes, the best thing to do is focus on the things surrounding the chicken and use it as merely a base for other unique flavors. This apricot and corn chutney does just that. It's sweet and savory at the same time and takes a plain piece of baked chicken to a whole new level. This chutney is good enough to use one day over chicken and the next day spread on a turkey sandwich: think turkey with cranberry sauce, a classic combo. This chutney would also work well with pork tenderloin or a firm, white fish like grouper or cod. If you want to get even more creative, you can also make this simple cilantro sauce. The two sauces compliment each other wonderfully and make for a unique meal, even if it is the third time you've had chicken that week.

Apricot and Corn Chutney

• 8 oz dried apricots
• 1 tsp canola oil
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 2 cups corn kernels, from about 4 ears of corn
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp champagne vinegar (apple cider vinegar would also work)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
• Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425F. Rub canola oil onto bell pepper.
Roast pepper on a cookie sheet or in a small pan for about 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until skin begins to blister.
Place the pepper in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit until it cools enough to handle.
Remove skin and seeds from pepper and roughly chop.
Soak apricots in a bowl of hot water for about 10 minutes. Drain and thinly slice.
Blanch the corn kernels in boiling salted water for one minute. Shock in ice water to stop the cooking.
Drain corn and mix together with roasted pepper and apricots.
Stir in olive oil and vinegar.
Puree about 1/4 of the mixture in a food processor.
Add the pureed mixture back into the chutney. Mix in parsley and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Can be made a few hours ahead of time; cover and chill until ready to use.

For a printable recipe click here

Cilantro Sauce

• 1 bunch parsley, stems removed (less 1 tbsp for chutney)
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• 3 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
• 3/4 - 1 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper

In a food processor, combine parsley, cilantro, pine nuts, lemon zest and 1 tbsp lemon juice.
Puree for a few minutes to let everything combine.
With the processor running, stream in olive oil until it reaches the desired consistency: not a thick pesto but not runny.
Add remaining lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

For a printable recipe click here

Recipes adapted from the Gluten Free Girl's cookbook