Pizza with Greek Toppings

We always make pizza like this 11/10/09 entry.
Tonight I wanted to try something different! After all, I love feta cheese and we had a half container which needed to be used up. I'm also addicted to peperoncinis, kalamata olives, and garlic.
Don't forget some chopped onions and green pepper.
It turned out much lighter than I'm used to and it was delicious! In the future, I won't be afraid to experiment more....
For this pizza, I'd like to try low fat feta and low fat mayo; I don't think you could tell the difference. The olives? You just can't cut down on those!

Alex's toppings (top part of cutting board), my toppings (lower).
I made 2 pizzas with 1 hunk of store-bought dough.

The feta was dry. I added a glop of mayonnaise and a healthy spoonful of (jarred) chopped garlic and stirred it into a mash.
My helper was very helpful this time. He never resists tasting cheese and olive samples, with the occasional pepper. In fact, I have to guard them. He helped stretch the dough and put all the toppings on (except the feta topping, it's just too messy). Yay!

Chicken Salad

I almost didn't "blog" about this, since after all, it is so basic a recipe. But then I remembered why I write this blog, http://alexandheathereat.blogspot.com/ and the whole point is that I have a point of reference when I run out of ideas for what to cook, and as a personal food diary. The posts then magically appear in my facebook notes, random hours later due to an RSS feed.

Alex and I have long made chicken salad from a leftover roast chicken. In this case, it was even easier since we used a store bought rotisserie bird from Russo's! This birdie was lemony but dry. Perfect for salad.

Pick it apart and toss any tough pieces. Be picky and snack while you pick ;D.
Chop 2 stalks of celery and 1/3 of a sweet onion.
After veggies are chopped, give the shredded chicken a fine chopping. Toss chicken & veggies to desired amount (we left some onion out).
Mix with a decent glop of mayonnaise. Season with fresh ground sea salt & pepper.
This time it was on the tad salty side yet we couldn't help "sampling" it over & over again!
Make sandwiches using Scali bread (has sesame seeds) and lettuce & tomato.

Cheese Tortellini with Sage Mushroom Cream Sauce

Dishes like this are guaranteed to put on the winter weight but they are oh-so-good.
This was easy to put together: store bought fresh tortellini and an easy to prepare sauce.


First, have on hand some fresh sage leaves, green onions (scallions) and mushrooms (I used boring white mushrooms since we had them on hand, feel free to use other varieties).
Melt 2 Tb butter and put in mushrooms, saute a bit until they begin to soften. Add a large sprig of sage leaves, salt & pepper and a spoonful (I just used jarred) of chopped garlic.
Saute on medium heat until the mushrooms are cooked to your liking, slightly browned.
Add a teaspoon of flour and toss it up.
Pour in approximately 1 cup of heavy cream. Allow to simmer and thicken up. Chop some green onion into the mix.
Meanwhile, cook the tortellini to your liking. I found 8 minutes to be a good time.
Remove sage leaves from sauce. Toss amount of desired sauce with pasta and grate fresh parmesan on top. Sprinkle with more snipped green onions.
YUM!
This sauce can be used for all sorts of pasta. Next time I hope to have some better mushrooms on hand, though it was plenty flavorful with what I used.

Birthday Breakfast Casserole

Happy Birthday Alex!

Last night we enjoyed dinner at La Casa De Pedro. Alex is very pleased that you can now buy their fiery hot hot sauce (he used to ask for a container to bring home).
This casserole was definitely enlivened with it.
Also, we used Chip-in-Farm eggs and Niman Ranch ham purchased at Russo's.
This was a new recipe for us to try, adapted from a 1991 Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, "Recipes From Country Inns". Thank you to the Park Row Bed & Breakfast for their Honeymooners' Casseroles recipe (we made it one instead of two). We adapted it to our liking and it's one that we'll definitely make again! It is far better than the make-ahead Country Casserole blogged about last month.

Leftovers were packaged up for Nana!

THE hot sauce of choice! Made with habanero and jalapeño peppers.

1 1/2 cups refrigerated or frozen loose-pack hash brown potatoes
1/2 cup shredded (or 1/2 bar Cabot) Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers
4 slices of your favorite ham
3 slices of your favorite baby Swiss cheese
2 beaten eggs (we happened to use 2 medium and 1 large)
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce
Chopped chives or green onions and parsley

Thaw potatoes, if frozen. Use paper towels to press out excess moisture.
Grease (we used Pam) a small 1 qt. (4 cups) capacity baking dish.
Arrange potatoes evenly in the bottom of the dish and bake at 400° for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, shred cheese and chop ham (we used ham slices but next time we'll chop it).
Remove potatoes from oven and let stand about 10 minutes to cool slightly.
Reduce oven temperature to 350°.
On top of the potatoes, layer Monteray Jack cheese, ham, and Swiss cheese.
Sprinkle on chives and parsley to your liking (we didn't do this but will, next time).
In a small bowl whisk together eggs, half & half and hot sauce. Pour into the casserole.
Bake, uncovered, for 17 minutes or until the center appears set.
Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.
Makes 2-3 delicious servings.

Beet Soup

Today while shopping at Whole Foods, I discovered these little gems, "Love Beets".
I do love beets, especially when they're pickled!
The variety I bought was "dipped in a fine mild vinegar".
I didn't have any plans other than snacking on them, but when I got home I noticed the cashier never rang up my sushi and it wasn't in the bag! Dang.
This got me thinking, I can use these beets to make soup!

First saute up 1 Tb chopped onion (I used red) in 1 Tb butter. Check the heat, you don't want to brown them.
Once softened after 5 minutes, add the 8oz package of beets. I used a knife to slice them in half once they were in the pot.
Add 2 cups of chicken broth and 1 bay leaf. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Turn off heat, remove bay leaf.
Add a sprinkle of dried marjoram leaves (or thyme), a grind of pepper, a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar, and 2 Tb of heavy cream.

Pull out the immersion blender and blend away! (Or a regular blender.)

Serve with a grilled cheese sandwich off the panini press.
Taste and adjust seasoning. Optionally put on a dollop of sour cream and some snipped chives.
Serves 2.

Penne with Tomato Vodka Cream Sauce and Chicken Tenders

This is an easy and delicious dinner. Only missing is some greenery (like a nice salad with Italian dressing) and maybe some garlic bread.
Cook your pasta (I chose penne), and saute some minced garlic and onion or shallot, in butter with a spot of olive oil, for 3-5 minutes (don't brown it).

Add a good dose of vodka and reduce it down, almost in half.

Add some diced or crushed tomatoes and around the same volume of chicken broth (these were microwave thawed from the freezer).
I microwave thawed (on lowest setting) a frozen chicken breast, then cut it up and breaded it.
To bread, salt & pepper the chicken then dust to lightly coat it in flour. Dip in a beaten egg then dip it in bread crumbs (I used Panko with grated parmesan).
Fry over medium high heat, in olive oil (to coat the bottom of the pan) and a tablespoon or so of butter. Flip them with tongs once the first side gets brown like this (4 min?). The second side cooks quickly (maybe 2 min) so keep an eye on them. Remove them to some paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Once your sauce has reduced down to the consistency you like, and it's almost time to eat, remove from heat and add a spot (2 Tb) of heavy cream and mix in. Taste and add more if you'd like.

Taster approved! Topped with kalamata olives.

5-Layer Greek Dip

This dip will contribute to wait gain easily; it's THAT good!

We had two parties to make it for, otherwise you do not need the "party" size tub of hummus.

Spread in an appealing bowl or plate or platter.

Top with crumbled Feta, then chopped tomatoes.

I tried using fresh tomatoes but they were SO mealy and gross! Instead I went with a can of Hunt's diced tomatoes (recently won Cook's Illustrated top honors), drained. They were sweet.

To end, I used peeled, chopped cucumber and sliced, pitted kalamata olives from the supermarket olive bar. Yummy!

Spicy Mustard

Alex and I tasted some homemade mustard this weekend and loved it.
I suggested, why don't we try making it ourselves? I knew we had some mustard stashed away...
The result is something that is a start, but needs some refinement.
Alex's thoughts on the finished product: "I like it! A LOT! Sure, it's hot enough, it's good!"
This is a real sinus-clearing mustard.
The key ingredients are brown mustard seed and dry mustard powder.
My favorite fresh, affordable spice supplier is Penzey's which happens to be a 15 minute car ride away, in Arlington.



In a small bowl, combine mustard seed and dry mustard.

• 1/4 cup brown mustard seed
• 3/4 cup dry mustard powder

In a stainless steel or nonreactive saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients.

• 1 small onion, chopped fine
• 2 Tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 garlic gloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/8 tsp. turmeric
• 1 Tbsp. prepared horseradish
• 2/3 cup favorite dry white wine (Cavit pinot grigio)
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar

Simmer for 10-15 minutes, until reduced by half. Incorporate the mustard mixture. Let the mix stand, covered, at room temperature for 1 day.
Process to blend a bit (or not, but I liked using my stick mixer aka Emeril's boat motor).
Ours was still thin; we reduced it further over low heat in a sauce pan.
Scrape the finished product into a mason jar (or whatever you have, preferably glass).
Age at least 3 days in the refrigerator before using. If thinning is required, use cider vinegar.

Panko crusted chicken with pesto Rotini

This is an easy dinner and, in it's various forms, never fails to satisfy!

Slice a thick chicken breast in two (or three), or buy thin cut portions, salt & pepper it then dust with flour to coat (no excess).

Whisk up an egg in a bowl and pour some panko bread crumbs on a plate.
Dip the chicken to coat, in the egg, then place on the panko. Coat all sides with crumbs. Leave on the same plate unless preparing more than the plate can hold.
Heat a nonstick skillet on medium and add a good douse of olive oil. Once heated add chicken and fry/cook for 4-5 minutes on first side (check for browning), flip, then another 4 minutes or so on the second side. If your crust is looking dry, add more oil.
Food continues to cook once off the heat; if you are unfamiliar, just cut into the chicken and see if it's done (no longer pink). The usual mistake is to overcook chicken which makes it rubbery.

Cook up 1/4 lb rotini pasta (or any preferred pasta).
I combined the rotini with previously prepped pesto, then topped with the crusted chicken, tomatoes (poured into hot skillet once chicken was out, both to heat up and reduce the juice), and grated parmesan.
The taster could not wait for the completed meal; his appetite was sated by 2 bowls of pesto rotini (with lots of grated cheese). "Mom, I want more!"

Basil Pesto

We always have an abundance of basil in our garden. It is a nice companion herb to plant between the tomato plants, it really seems to help deter pests.
Now that a frost is probably in our near future, I am becoming more determined to stock the freezer with some pesto. For some reason, I crave it more in the cooler months (probably since I tend to avoid pasta in the summer).
Pine nuts are expensive. The least expensive source I have come across is at Trader Joe's. Don't be afraid to try an alternative nut, such as pecans. Who knows, it may even taste better!
This is made without cheese. You can add the cheese but flavor-wise I prefer fresh grated, rather than frozen cheese.
In the past I have frozen the pesto in ice cube trays (pop out into baggies once frozen) but this time I didn't want to fuss, and just used freezer bags.

• 1 colander of fresh basil leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup or more or less pine nuts, toasted 3 minutes in 400º oven
  
• extra-virgin olive oil
  
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• freshly grated Parmesan, to taste
  

Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the oil gradually and process until incorporated. Use the amount of oil to your liking. Season with salt and pepper, pulse to combine. Taste and adjust if necessary.

Chermoula Sauce

We had an unexpected crop of cilantro with our latest batch of lettuce seeds!
How I love cilantro (it's a love or hate relationship for most people). I'll never forget the first time I tasted it, at a "gourmet" produce shop in Portland, Maine when I was in my first year of college, 14 years ago. I was hooked and bought this mysterious herb, not knowing what I'd do with it other than savor it's bright flavor.
I discovered this sauce, or a dip version of it, at the Government Center farmer's market when I worked in downtown Boston, about 5 years ago. The lady who made this sauce added chickpeas and served it with Trader Joe's rice crackers.
This sauce is truly divine and lends itself to many applications. The recipe is also very adaptable. You can add fresh grated ginger and saffron to it.
When making it, I used approximate amounts (no real measuring).
I froze 2 packets and will likely use it over fish, maybe swordfish, or a toss for cooked chicken in quesedillas. I may even try to blend it with chickpeas for a dip, who knows. It freezes quite nicely. Use within 3 months once frozen (I say use anything from the freezer within 3 months).

Chermoula Sauce

* 1 bunch of cilantro, leaves and tender stems
* 1 small handful flat-leaf parsley leaves
* 3 cloves garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
* 1/2 teaspoon cumin power
* 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* juice of 1/2 lemon and it's zest
* salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor.