Spinach Strata

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

I found tonight's recipe in an all-natural cookbook that I received from my friend Gail for Christmas. This is one of those cookbooks that has both beautiful photographs and fantastic recipes. I get excited every time I run across this type of book because I appreciate knowing how my final product should appear. The only problem that occurs with a book that is compiled this well, is narrowing my choices down to one recipe. After much deliberation with this cookbook, I settled on Spinach Strata. I have never prepared a strata before and in fact, did not know exactly what a strata entailed. I did some quick research and learned that strata is a layered baked dish of eggs, cheese, bread and often sausage, vegetables and/or herbs. Once I knew what I was getting myself into, I was ready to roll with the following recipe.

Ingredients:

grated zest of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus extra for drizzling

2 tsp Dijon-style mustard

1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups milk

6 large eggs

3 cups day old 1/2-inch whole wheat bread cubes

2 cups finely chopped baby spinach

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 tsp fresh oregano leaves, chopped

Rub a splash of olive oil in a 9-inch square baking dish (or equivalent). Alternatively, line it with parchment paper. Sprinkle baking dish or parchment paper with lemon zest and set aside. In medium bowl, whisk olive oil, mustard, salt and pepper with a splash of milk. Whisk in remainder of milk and eggs.

Put bread in prepared baking dish and top with spinach and half of feta. Gently toss with your hands, just enough that spinach and cheese mix with all pieces of bread. Make sure bread is relatively level in baking dish. Very slowly drizzle egg mixture over bread and sprinkle with remaining feta. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in top third of oven. Bake strata, uncovered, for 45 to 55 minutes, until egg is set in the middle and edges are browned. Cut into center a bit to make sure the strata is well cooked. If desired, brown top more under broiler on low setting. Skip this step if using parchment paper. Serve warm, drizzled with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled with fresh oregano.

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

When all was said and done, this strata was quite delicious. It reminded me of a cross between bread stuffing and frittata. The simplicity of ingredients made the dish fresh and light but still substantial enough to serve for dinner. I particularly liked the finish of fresh oregano but I think I would have liked it even better had half of it been incorporated into the egg portion of the recipe. This dish would have benefited from the oregano flavor melding in with other ingredients as the strata baked.

The only other change I would make is to cut the bread into 1/2-inch cubes as called for in the recipe. I misread the directions and cut my bread into 1-inch cubes. Oops...... clearly my fault but I don't think it made that much of a difference with my final product. The texture would have changed a bit but the flavor would have been very similar or the same.

All in all, this dish was tasty and fun to make. Even better, it has peaked my interest in other types of strata. You may even see another version featured later this year.

Recipe Source:

"Super Natural Every Day" by Heidi Swanson

Page 33

Teriyaki Sauce

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Hello! I am sorry I have been away for so long but sometimes life gets in the way of blogging. Cooking and writing have become such an integral part of my existence that I have missed it dearly. The good news is that I am back and ready to share more recipes.

Today's recipe is Teriyaki Sauce. I decided to prepare Teriyaki Sauce from scratch entirely by accident. Today while I was grocery shopping at PCC, I happened upon a table full of beautiful Maui pineapples. They smelled so sweet, that I decided on the spot to make Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken and Pineapple Teriyaki Salmon for dinner. By the way, I learned how to choose a ripe pineapple while on Maui a few years ago. If the middle pineapple frond pulls out easily when gently tugged, the fruit is ripe. Easy enough, right? I have not chosen a bad pineapple since I learned this trick. Okay, back to my dinner plans. One small problem occurred after I returned home from PCC; I didn't have Teriyaki Sauce in the refrigerator. This of course, led me to my old friend google, which provided the following recipe for Teriyaki Sauce.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 cup water

fresh grated ginger (about 1 Tbsp or to taste)

3 Tbsp brown sugar

1 minced garlic clove

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup water

Combine soy sauce, 1 cup water, ginger, brown sugar and garlic clove in saucepan and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Dissolve cornstarch in 1/2 cup water and add to saucepan. Stir constantly to allow sauce to thicken. If sauce thickens too much, add a bit of water or soy sauce to thin. Serve as marinade or as stir fry sauce. Makes 2 cups.

Let me start by saying that I will never purchase pre-made Teriyaki sauce again. This homemade sauce was just too good. The consistency was perfect without adding soy sauce or water at the end of preparation. The flavor was spot on and we especially appreciated the fresh ginger. Perhaps the best part however, is that all of the ingredients were already in my pantry and refrigerator. If you don't have fresh ginger on hand, I am confident that dried ginger (from a spice jar) would work just as well. This is now officially my signature Teriyaki Sauce. I love having simple recipes in my back pocket for future use!

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Both the chicken and salmon were delicious. The fresh pineapple partnered perfectly with the Teriyaki Sauce by adding just the right amount of sweetness. I served the chicken and salmon with sauteed broccolini, sushi rice and the remaining fresh pineapple. It was a delicious meal that was enjoyed by all.

Recipe Source:

food.com

Hazelnut-Crusted Halibut with Apple Vinaigrette

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

This recipe was inspired by a cookbook that my mother-in-law gave me this past week. The author is a Seattle-based chef named Kathy Casey that writes a monthly column called "Dishing" for the Seattle times, owns a food and restaurant consulting firm, as well as operating a fresh made food-to-go company and offering a line of retail specialty products. Basically, she is highly accomplished and I now own her sixth cookbook. If only this made me as accomplished by association. :)

Over the past year plus of searching for new recipes, I have developed a routine with cookbooks. When I have a new one, I first leaf through the book to look at the photos and titles of each recipe. I then tag any page that houses a recipe of interest. I immediately go back through the tagged recipes and read the ingredients and directions in detail. If a tagged recipe appeals to me, I stop there and move forward with planning and preparation. Simple, right? I learned quickly that if I choose several recipes at once, I never make any of them.

This Hazelnut-Crusted Halibut with Apple Vinaigrette recipe appealed to me immediately. First of all, my grandparents gift us with a box of hazelnut products from an Oregon-based company called Hazelnut Hill every Christmas. (We highly recommend their Chocolate Covered Hazelnuts and Almonds, Chocolate Covered Razzcherries and Chocolate Hazelnut Toffee). Needless to say, I did not need to purchase hazelnuts in order to prepare this recipe.

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Next, Brad is a big fan of halibut. I try to make it at least every month or two since he appreciates it so much. Finally, I am drawn to recipes that encourage the use of local and/or organic products. I used Oregon hazelnuts, Washington apples and thyme from my own garden for this recipe. I also used organic spices, lemon, shallots and mustard from PCC and served organic zucchini as a side dish.

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

1 unpeeled red apple, halved and cored

3 Tbsp hazelnut oil (walnut oil, almond oil and olive oil are all acceptable substitutes)

2 tsp minced shallot

2 tsp sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tsp minced fresh lemon thyme or regular thyme

1/4 tsp salt

pinch of cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp water

Crust Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (8 oz) hazelnut, lightly toasted and skinned

pinch of dry mustard

1 1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp grated lemon zest

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

4 skinless 1/2-inch-thick halibut fillet portions; 4 to 6 oz each

4 Tbsp butter, melted (I used Canola spread to reduce amount of fat)

fresh lemon thyme or regular thyme sprigs for garnishing

To make vinaigrette, chop half of apple; reserve other half. In small skillet, heat hazelnut oil over medium-low heat and add chopped apple. Cook for 1 minute, then add shallot and sugar. Continue cooking until apple is soft, about 1 minute. Add lemon juice and remove from heat.

Let cool, then puree in blender until smooth. Pour pureed mixture into medium bowl, add mustard, then slowly whisk in olive oil. Add thyme and season with salt and cayenne. If vinaigrette is too thick, add water to thin. Cut remaining apple half into 1/4-inch dice. Toss into dressing. Refrigerate until needed.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease rimmed baking sheet with oil. Dip each piece of fish in melted butter, coating well. Immediately press each piece firmly into crust mixture, turning to coat all sides well. Place coated halibut pieces on baking sheet and bake for about 6 minutes, or until fish is just cooked through. Carefully transfer fish to individual plates and drizzle some of vinaigrette over top. Garnish with thyme sprigs. Pass around extra vinaigrette.

This dish was quite tasty. I was a bit worried about the vinaigrette overpowering the halibut but Kathy Casey knew exactly what she was doing when she wrote this recipe. The acidity of the vinaigrette cut right through the richness of the hazelnuts. In return, the cayenne and thyme in the crust tamed the vinaigrette. Every bite was well balanced and flavorful.

The only alteration I made to this recipe other than substituting olive oil for hazelnut oil, was to cook the halibut for 9 minutes instead of 6 minutes. At 6 minutes, the fish was still a bit raw but the extra 3 minutes finished it perfectly. This difference in timing was more than likely caused by the thickness of the halibut fillets. The only reason I used olive oil instead of hazelnut oil is that I didn't want to spend $13 on hazelnut oil that I would hardly ever use. I googled hazelnut oil substitutions and learned that walnut oil, olive oil and almond oil all work well. I am learning that there are good alternatives for many ingredients. If I don't have a certain spice, oil or other ingredient, I make sure to research possible substitutions before I cross the recipe off my list. This has panned out quite well for me on several occasions.

A special thank you to my little blonde sous chef and to Brad for taking one of the most beautiful photos on my blog for this entry.

Recipe Source:

"Kathy Casey's Northwest Table" by Kathy Casey

Page 107

Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

What better way to get back in the swing of things than to prepare a recipe that uses a few of my favorite ingredients? I have already mentioned my love of sweet potatoes many times but I may not have mentioned my preference for corn tortillas. I have never been a huge fan of soft flour tortillas so every time we go out to a Latin restaurant, I choose corn over flour. I have come to the conclusion that the slightly gritty texture of cornmeal is much more pleasing to me than the smooth texture of flour. Needless to say, Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos, using corn tortillas, was a natural fit. The chipotle sauce was then the icing on the cake.

This recipe requires a method of tortilla preparation called Tortillas Dorado that I was not familiar with prior to today. Tortillas Dorado is a Mexican style of taco that involves toasting cheese-topped tortillas in a skillet before serving. I am always up for a new cooking experience so I was happy to give it a whirl. Before I provide the recipe, I want to tell you that this dish delivered on every level. I highly recommend paying close attention to this one because it is that good!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided

1 large poblano chili or green bell pepper, seeded and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided

1 medium orange sweet potato, cut into 1/2" dice

1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

12 (6") corn tortillas

2 cups (6 oz) shredded Oaxaca or Monterey Jack cheese

chipotle sauce (recipe follows)

Pico de gallo (optional)

Chipotle sauce ingredients:

1 (7 oz) can chipotles in adobo sauce, include sauce

3/4 cup mayonnaise

juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat heavy ovenproof skillet (I used my Le Creuset pot) over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan, then onion and poblano chili or green pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly caramelized. Stir in garlic and 1 teaspoon salt.

In medium bowl, toss sweet potato with remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add to skillet and cook, stirring, one minute, then place in oven and roast for 15 minutes.

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Meanwhile, prepare Tortillas Dorado. Heat frying pan over medium-high heat. Brush one side of tortilla lightly with oil and place oil side down in pan. Scatter generous spoonful of cheese over center of tortilla and cook until cheese is melted and tortilla is lightly golden on underside but still flexible. Place on cookie sheet and repeat with remaining tortillas and cheese.

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

To make chipotle sauce, combine chipotles in adobo sauce, mayonnaise, lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt in blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If sauce is too spicy, add more mayonnaise. Use extra sauce on sandwiches, grilled corn or roasted vegetables.

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Remove skillet from oven and stir in black beans and black pepper (beans will warm through from heat of the pan). Top each tortilla with sweet potato mixture, a drizzle of chipotle sauce and pico de gallo if desired.

Wow, this was delicious! "Wow" was literally the first word to come out of my mouth after taking my first bite and Brad had the same reaction. The onion and peppers were beautifully caramelized, which added a savory quality to the sweetness of the potatoes. Tortillas Dorado is absolutely delicious. The texture of the tortillas was ideal and the melted cheese served as a mild background flavor. The chipotle sauce was divine. It added the perfect level of creaminess and spiciness to the dish. The recipe made a lot of extra sauce so I plan on using it in another dish tomorrow night. Maybe another type of vegetarian taco or chipotle burritos of some sort? Hmmm.......decisions, decisions.

As a side note, I should mention that I added a small diced banana pepper to the dish, just because it seemed like it would be a good idea. I used green pepper instead of poblano so I wanted to add another spicy-sweet layer to the taco filling. There is nothing about this recipe that I would change and I already plan on preparing it again soon; this time for the McCoys. This recipe is right up Natalie and Dave's alley and I know Brad will be happy to eat it again.

Recipe Source:

Oprah Magazine, February 2012

Our Sweet Valentine's Day

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

This entry has very little to do with cooking and almost everything to do with celebrating Valentine's Day. We had just returned from a week-long trip to the Oregon Coast and had grown weary of eating in restaurants. Olivia and I decided that the best way to celebrate Love Day was to invite Brad (a.k.a. Daddy) to be our Valentine by spending the evening at home. He of course, accepted our invitation so Olivia and I started devising our plan.

We decided that the first thing we needed to concentrate on was decorating. As you can see in the photo above, there was a big commitment to cutting and punching hearts. We even dug out taper candles and crystal candle holders for the centerpiece. Finally, we set the table with great care and set to work preparing dinner.

We decided to make one of Brad's favorite dishes, lasagna. Half of the lasagna was prepared with turkey sausage and half with zucchini, mushrooms and olives. I made the sauce from scratch and my little blonde helper was in charge of assembly. She did a beautiful job concentrating on the task at hand. We also decided to purchase mini heart cookie cutters in order to create heart-shaped red pepper, zucchini and cucumber slices for a spinach salad. Isn't the final result cute? We meant to include heart-shaped beets but forgot about them until after the fact.

Photos Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Finally, we put together a platter of Valentine goodies from the Metropolitan Market bakery because their options never disappoint. Our favorite treat was the Death By Chocolate bite that is located at the top of the platter in the photo below. It was absolutely decadent.

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Brad arrived at 5:30 sharp for our Valentine date with one dozen red roses for me and one dozen coral roses for Olivia. The roses were beautiful and they smelled heavenly. We served our lasagna and salad with a nice bottle of red wine and then proceeded with our sweet Valentine's Day dinner. Brad and I agreed that our evening qualified as one of the best Valentine celebrations of our past ten years together.

Eggplant and Chickpea Tagine

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

For the first time since the beginning of the new year, I was genuinely excited to cook. It was liberating to feel no pressure whatsoever attached to this project. I just wanted to cook for the fun of being in the kitchen. I also had plenty of time on my hands this afternoon so I was able to lollygag and play with Olivia between each step. What could be more perfect?

As I have mentioned in several prior entries, I love a good tagine recipe. When I happened upon this recipe for Eggplant and Chickpea Tagine, I was immediately enamored and couldn't wait to begin preparation.

Ingredients:

1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2" dice

2 zucchini, thickly sliced

4 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 cups brown cap mushrooms, halved

1 Tbsp ground coriander

2 tsp cumin seeds

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground tumeric

8 ounces new potatoes, quartered

2 1/2 cups passata (tomato puree)

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 Tbsp chili sauce

1/3 cup ready-to-eat unsulfured dried apricots

3 cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped, to garnish

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Sprinkle salt over eggplant and zucchini and leave for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry with dish towel. Heat broiler to high. Arrange zucchini and eggplant on baking sheet and toss in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Broil for 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until tender and golden.

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in large heavy-based saucepan and cook onion and garlic for 5 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms and saute for 3 minutes until tender. Add spices and cook for 1 minute more, stirring to allow flavors to mingle.

Add potatoes and cook for 3 minutes, stirring. Pour in passata, tomato paste and 2/3 cup water, cover and cook for 10 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken. Add eggplant, zucchini, chili sauce, apricots and chickpeas. Season and cook, partially covered, for 10-15 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Add a little extra water if tagine becomes too dry. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with cous cous if desired. Serves 4.

I have quite a few comments regarding this recipe. Let me start by saying that it has good bones but needs several tweaks. The first change I would make is to double the amount of zucchini and eggplant. These were two of the most flavorful elements (due to the fact they were salted and roasted in olive oil prior to adding to the tagine) but they seemed to be in short supply compared to other ingredients. The second change I would make is to half the amount of cinnamon. I could taste the cinnamon more than the other spices and I found myself wanting more cumin and tumeric. The next alteration would be to add cilantro to the tagine while the ingredients are simmering. I loved the flavor of cilantro in this dish but found that there wasn't quite enough.

My next two recommendations are changes that I made while preparing the recipe. The first is to add four tablespoons of chili sauce instead of one tablespoon. There are several types of chili sauce and I had the sweet variety on hand. Perhaps if I had used a spicier, less sweet chili sauce, I wouldn't have needed the additional three tablespoons. Finally, I found that for the timing of the potatoes to match the other vegetables, they should be diced into one-inch cubes. I purchased new potatoes but when I cut them into quarters, their scale was too large in comparison to other ingredients.

The end result of this recipe was tasty; I just believe that my recommendations would make it even tastier. With all of this being said, I thoroughly enjoyed both preparation and cooking. There is something about taking a long list of ingredients and turning them into a one-pot wonder. Brad and I both liked this dish, which is a good thing because we have ample leftovers for tomorrow night's dinner.

As a side note, I used all organic ingredients from PCC Natural Market.

Recipe Source:

"Complete Vegetarian", published by Hermes House

Page 263

Spicy Chipotle Turkey Burgers

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

My choice for tonight's dinner was an easy one. A few days ago, I purchased ground turkey for the sole purpose of making turkey burgers. One thing I can openly admit about no longer eating beef is that I miss eating a juicy burger now and then. Although turkey does not make the same type of burger as beef, I have grown to enjoy this substitution.

I didn't know initially what type of turkey burgers I wanted to prepare, but I was excited when I came across the following recipe for Spicy Chipotle Burgers. I was in from the second I saw that chipotle and cilantro were two of the main ingredients. I happen to love the flavor that chipotle brings to a dish and I could eat cilantro every day. As a result, this recipe was a no brainer.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey (I used 99% fat free white ground turkey meat)

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 Tbsp cilantro chopped fresh cilantro

1 chipotle chile pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp seasoned salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

4 slices mozzarella cheese

4 hamburger buns, split and toasted

Preheat outdoor grill on medium heat and lightly oil grate. (I used my Le Creuset panini pan on the stove and it worked beautifully; I even had perfect grill marks). Place ground turkey, onion, cilantro, chipotle chile pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt and black pepper in a mixing bowl; mix well. Form into four patties.

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Cook turkey burgers on heated grill until the turkey is no longer pink; approximately four minutes per side. Place mozzarella slices on patties two minutes before they are ready. Serve on toasted buns.

This recipe was quite tasty but I am not sure it qualifies as being spicy. I highly recommend doubling the amount of chipotle chile pepper to make the burgers truly spicy. Other than this one revision, I wouldn't change a thing. The cilantro was the perfect partner to the chipotle and provided the burgers with a burst of freshness. Because ground white turkey meat can be a bit on the dry side, I poured a few tablespoons of adobo sauce from the chipotles into the patty mixture to add moisture. This worked perfectly and the burgers were anything but dry.

Finally, I turned to my favorite ciabatta rolls from our local Macrina Bakery. I have used these rolls in prior recipes including Turkey Sandwiches with Hoisin Mayonnaise and Tarragon Egg Salad Sandwiches because they always elevate the end result. All in all, this recipe was tasty, easy and pleasing to my family. I would make the burgers again anytime.

Recipe Source: allrecipes.com

Crispy Roasted Cauliflower and Baked Chicken

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

I am sure it has not gone unnoticed that I have been missing in action over the past few weeks. After spending the past year making two or three new recipes per week, I found myself in need of a break. The good news is, I took a break and now I am back. The other news is that entering this new year, I have made an executive decision to cook and post recipes only when I am moved to do so. I figure after a year of diligence, I deserve the luxury of preparing new recipes and writing about them as the mood strikes. I believe this will add a whole new element of fun to an already fulfilling project.

You will also see a change in the type of recipes I am preparing; at least for a while. As you can imagine, a cooking project like mine does nothing for the waistline. So, for the next 13 weeks, I will be featuring recipes that sway toward the healthy, less calorically loaded side. I devoted a good portion of last year to preparing healthy recipes but let's not forget the recipes that depended on butter and bacon to take their tastiness over the top. Much to my chagrin, I will be avoiding these recipes like the plague; bacon and all. Not to worry though. I'm sure these recipes will return to my repertoire in moderation come late spring. With this being said, the two recipes I chose for tonight are Crispy Roasted Cauliflower and Baked Chicken. I, of course, won't be eating the chicken but I will provide Brad and Olivia's feedback. I have put myself in charge of cauliflower feedback and I am looking forward to it.

Crispy Roasted Cauliflower-

Ingredients:

1/2 head cauliflower florets

1 Tbsp olive oil

coarse salt

red chili flakes

Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle cauliflower with olive oil. Season with coarse salt. Roast, turning occasionally, until golden brown and tender, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with red chile flakes. Serves 2.

Healthy Baked Chicken-

Ingredients:

2 boneless or bone-in chicken breasts, skinned

2 thin slices of butter

onion flakes

garlic salt

parsley

paprika (optional)

Place chicken breasts in baking pan. Place a thin slice of butter (I used very thin slices as to stick with my plan) on each piece of chicken. Sprinkle with onion flakes, garlic salt, parsley and paprika (if desired).

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Bake at 425 degrees for 35 minutes. Serves 2.

I will first address the cauliflower. I should preface my reaction by saying that I can't remember the last time I purchased and prepared cauliflower. Maybe 10 years ago. What a shame! Cauliflower is quite tasty, especially prepared in this manner. The minimal use of olive oil kept the cauliflower flavor clean while helping it crisp up in the oven. I also liked the addition of red chili flakes. I used just enough to add a bit of spiciness without overpowering the dish. Brad gave the cauliflower two thumbs up and Olivia gave the "flower part, not the stem part" two thumbs up.

The chicken also went over well with both Brad and Olivia. Without becoming overly verbose, I will just say that they both really liked the flavor and texture. I will also state for the record that this dish was easy and quick to prepare. Finally, I roasted a handful of cherry tomatoes to add color to the plate but they ended up being delicious, not just pretty. I am learning that I can't really go wrong with roasted vegetables of any type. Just throw them in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil and bake for 25 to 40 minutes. Delicious!

Recipe Sources:

Crispy Roasted Cauliflower- Whole Living Magazine, January/February 2012

Baked Chicken- cooks.com

Potato-Leek Soup with Kale and My One Year Blog Anniversary

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Happy one-year blog anniversary to me! What a ride this first year has been. I have prepared approximately 130 new recipes and I can honestly say that less than ten of the recipes were flops. Pretty amazing for a girl that came into this project with only a few cooking skills. Before I move on to today's recipe, I would like to thank my wonderful husband for his support and beautiful photography. This cooking project ended up being consuming at times but Brad always took time to encourage me and to taste the finished products. I'm not saying that the tasting was torture, but he did have a lot of patience with me during some of my hectic recipe preparations. I would also like to thank my little blonde sous chef. Thank you, Honeys. :)

To commemorate my one-year mark in this culinary adventure, I decided to take a leap by creating my own recipe. I was inspired to do so when I was in my vegetable garden today and found that I had a bounty of potatoes in one of my pots. I wrote off the potatoes about four months ago so imagine my surprise when I realized that the pot was full of mature baby potatoes. I then looked around to find several stems of dark green kale, two leeks, one Walla Walla Sweet onion and fresh thyme.

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

I examined my winter garden haul and decided that I should use these ingredients to create a soup recipe for dinner. The following is my first original recipe.

Ingredients:

2 leeks, white parts only, thinly sliced

1 small Walla Walla Sweet onion, thinly sliced

1 tsp fresh thyme plus one thyme sprig

1 bay leaf

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup water

3/4 Tbsp kosher salt plus one pinch

5 cracks black pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

4 cups kale, chopped into 1-inch pieces

4 cups potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes

3 tsp white wine vinegar

In dutch oven or large soup pot, combine leeks, onion, garlic, one teaspoon thyme, one pinch kosher salt and olive oil. Saute for two minutes on low heat. Leeks will take on a burnt flavor if sauteed for too long. Add chicken broth, water, potatoes, thyme sprig, bay leaf, 3/4 tablespoon kosher salt and black pepper. Simmer on medium-low for 25 minutes. Stir in 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar. Remove from heat. Blend soup with immersion blender, leaving several small chunks of potato.

Place kale and one teaspoon vinegar in medium saute pan. Heat until kale is slightly wilted while maintaining crisp texture. Add kale to soup and stir. Serve immediately.

I am quite proud of the end result. The soup was smooth and creamy but the kale provided a contrasting texture that kept the dish interesting. I tasted the soup as I created the recipe and somehow, I knew what to add at each step. My proudest moment was when I realized that the soup needed some type of acidity and I chose to add white wine vinegar, which was the perfect choice. If you had asked me what to add to this recipe a year ago, I would have looked at you with a blank expression. Oh, what a year can do!

The only aspect of the recipe I would alter is to crisp up a half cup of kale in the oven to use as a topping for the soup. This would add another contrasting texture and it would spice the dish up aesthetically. Other than this one addition, I would definitely make the soup as-is again. The best part, of course, is that all of the main ingredients were found in my garden...... in January. What a beautiful surprise.

Recipe Source:

Kiersten Lovejoy

Barbecue Pulled Chicken Sliders and Barbecue Pulled Pork Sliders with Reeni's Cole Slaw

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

It was time to host the annual Lovejoy New Year's party and I needed to come up with a menu of hearty food to serve to our guests. If you have attended our New Year's karaoke and pinball extravaganza, you know that the party tends to last for 10 to 12 hours. Because of the longevity, we need food with staying power. Last year Natalie and I chose to serve Greek cuisine but this year we decided that Barbecue Pork Sliders and Barbecue Chicken Sliders would be the highlight of our hour d 'oeuvre-heavy menu. I took the sliders on as my project and was able to locate this fabulous recipe via google. The original recipe was for full-sized chicken sandwiches but after a few tweaks, I turned it into a slider recipe. I also opted to prepare a pork version and cole slaw as well as the original chicken version.

Barbecue Chicken Sliders-

Ingredients:

2 cups ketchup

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp molasses

1 Tbsp yellow mustard

1 Tbsp chile powder

1 Tbsp smoked paprika

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp Tabasco sauce

1 large onion, thinly sliced in half moons

3 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in half or 1 rotisserie chicken

1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

24 slider buns or rolls

In medium mixing bowl, whisk ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire, brown sugar, molasses, mustard, chile powder, salt, pepper and Tabasco together until well combined.

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Pour into crock pot, add onions and chicken.

If using chicken breasts, cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours. Remove chicken to large plate or cutting board and cool to the touch. Keep barbecue sauce warm in crock pot. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred by pulling apart by hand. Return to crock pot and mix with sauce. If using rotisserie chicken, heat sauce in crock pot on low for one hour (the original recipe said to cook on low for 20 minutes but I found that the onions needed an hour to become tender). Add shredded chicken and heat through. Serve on buns with sharp cheddar.

If preparing pork sliders, use 3 to 4 thick pork cutlets in place of 3 to 4 chicken breasts and follow the above recipe for chicken sliders.

Reeni's Cole Slaw-

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 Tbsp vinegar

2 tsp honey

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp thyme

pinch or two of celery seed

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 cracks fresh black pepper

4-5 cups cole slaw mix or shredded cabbage/carrot mix

In large mixing bowl, whisk together everything with exception of cabbage. Start by mixing in four cups of cabbage and add more if needed. Refrigerate until serving. Serve as side or use as topping for sandwiches.

These sliders were absolutely delicious and they went over like gangbusters with our guests! I chose to prepare the chicken sliders with rotisserie chicken, which I highly recommend due to the ease of preparation. Although I don't eat chicken, Brad and several guests commented that they preferred chicken sliders to pork. I happened to love the pork sliders so the chicken sliders must have been amazing.

The best part of this recipe for sure was the sauce. I was quite impressed with the deep flavors created by a from-scratch sauce. The only change I would make is to use 1/2 tablespoon chile powder instead of 1 tablespoon and to add another tablespoon of Tabasco. This is just a personal preference and it would only make a minimal difference to the final outcome.

The cole slaw was also tasty. I loved the combination of Dijon, thyme and apple cider vinegar with mayonnaise. The cole slaw was the perfect mix of tangy, creamy and acidic. I liked it so much that this may end up being my go-to cole slaw recipe. Most of us chose to add the cole slaw to our sandwiches but I took a few bites of it on the side as well and felt that it worked both ways. The slider and cole slaw recipes were such a success that I may end up preparing it for our 2013 New Year's party. Well, maybe I had better focus on 2012 before I start thinking about next year. :) Happy New Year to all!

Recipe Source:

adapted from cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com