BLUE CHEESE, CREAM CHEESE, AND DATE SPREAD

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For those of us for whom God created blue cheese, this spread is going to be seriously up your alley. It is so delicious, that you might seriously wonder if some benevolent deity didn’t have at least some input into its creation. This spread is just that scrumptious!

So in adhering to my full disclosure policy, this dish is really just my take on an Epicurious recipe for Date & Blue Cheese Ball. The main gist of the recipe is all Epicurious. I just took the liberty of changing a couple of quantities, removed walnuts from the ingredient list, adjusted the preparation instructions, and prefer serving it in a lovely serving dish rather than forming it into a ball. But the thanks and credit still belong to Epicurious.    

Of course, I already knew that I loved the combination of blue cheese and dates because of my recipe for Bacon Wrapped Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates already on this site. But as with every dish, I like to change things up a bit just for the shear fun of it. And creating a creamy blue cheese and date spread held a great deal of appeal. (Plus I am trying to stay away from bacon. I know – good luck with that!)

I whipped this up last Friday to take along to our friends Paul and Vivianna’s home. Great fun that evening sharing wonderful food with wonderful friends. There is just nothing finer than the combination of great friends and great food. Thanks again Vivianna and Paul for another fabulous dinner.

So next time you need an easy to prepare appetizer to serve to family or friends, make this delightful spread. It is just so, so good. And you can make it ahead. In fact, it’s even better if made a day or two ahead. How lovely is that! Enjoy

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

5 oz. blue cheese, roughly crumbled

3 T.  buttermilk

1 T. minced shallots

pinch kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

2 T. minced fresh Italian parsley

8 pitted dates, roughly chopped, plus 2 more chopped for garnish   

 In the bowl of a food processor, whirl the cream cheese, blue cheese, and buttermilk until smooth and creamy. Add the dates, shallots, salt, and pepper and whirl just until the dates are finely chopped. Do not over whirl. Add the lemon zest and pulse a couple of times or until the zest is evenly distributed.

Scoop the mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for several hours or up to 2 days.

Before serving, decorate with remaining 2 chopped dates and minced fresh parsley. Serve with crackers.  

MARINATED FRESH VEGGIE SALAD

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I absolutely love a salad that can be made ahead of time. So a salad that is both delicious and actually requires some quality time in the refrigerator will always rate a five star review from me! So in my estimation, this slightly modified Iowa Girl Eats food site recipe definitely merits the full five stars. If not more!

(Huh, if there can be an A+ given for academic over-achievement, perhaps there should be a 5 star+ category also for exceptional recipes. I ponder this conundrum only because to my thinking, this is a 5 star+, bomb (excuse the slang) of a recipe!)

Plus it couldn’t be easier to prepare. And beautiful? Oh my yes! Gorgeous colors. And, it’s crunchy. (You know – crunchy – that all too elusive “something” missing from way too many American dinner tables.)  

So next time you need a make-ahead salad for your family or invited guests, give this dish a try. You will not be disappointed. And neither will those you choose to bless with your culinary efforts. After all, the salad is gluten free, vegetarian, sugar free, low in fat, high in fiber, not too high in salt – making it therefore eligible to all, except of course for those few poor souls adhering to a vegan diet. (They can’t have Dijon mustard.) But for the remaining 99.5% of us, this dish is about as healthy, while still being totally edible as it gets. Need I say more? Nope!!

1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

1/3 c. red wine vinegar

2 T. minced shallots

1 T. Dijon mustard

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

freshly ground black pepper

2 c. cauliflower florets

1 basket cherry or grape tomatoes  

2 small carrots, chopped  

1 c. sliced celery

1 English cucumber, semi peeled, seeded then chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded then chopped

kosher salt

Combine the olive oil, vinegar, shallots, mustard, Italian seasoning, garlic, and pepper together. (May be made ahead.) In a large covered glass container, pour ¾ of the dressing over the cut veggies and refrigerate overnight. Just before serving toss with remaining dressing and salt to taste.

HONEY, THYME, AND BALSAMIC GLAZE DRESSED BEETS WITH FETA CHEESE

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There is just something about beets. I love them. Well, I love them now. Not so much when I was a kid. Because when I was a child, beets came one way only – pickled. And as much as I loved dill pickles, I hated pickled beets. I still hate pickled beets, even though I haven’t tasted one since I was old enough to cause a horrific scene at the dinner table! But I know for certain, I still hate them. And if they haven’t passed my lips in 70 some years, it simply ain’t going to happen! (And don’t be concerned. That sound you thought you just heard, was just me stomping my foot emphatically on the floor!)

But beets when featured in recipes such as Russian Borscht, Beets in a Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette, or Remolacha (Argentine Beet Salad) (recipes already on this site) are absolutely divine.

So when I wanted a new beet recipe to serve recently, I went on line and stole a few ideas from the several cooking sites I visited. And this recipe is the result.

So next time you want a veggie side dish that is healthy, beautiful, tasty, and easy to prepare, give this recipe a try. (And yes I know. As a rational (mostly), mature (most of the time), reasonable (again, most of the time) adult, I should give pickled beets another chance. But I don’t want to. I don’t have to. And I’m not going to. End of subject!)

3-4 lbs. fresh beets, as evenly sized as possible

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 T. honey

1 T. balsamic glaze

2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves

1 tsp. seasoned salt

freshly ground black pepper

½-¾ c. crumbled feta cheese

Wash the beets, but don’t peel or even remove either end of the beet. (If the greens are still attached, cut them off about 1-inch from the beet.)

Place the beets in a steamer and steam until they are fork tender, 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile, while the beets are steaming, whisk the olive oil, honey, balsamic glaze, thyme, seasoned salt, and pepper together in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.

When the beets are tender, carefully remove them to a cutting board and let cool about 10 minutes before cutting off both ends, peeling, and cutting into ¾ inch pieces. Add beet pieces to the dressing as you cut them. The warmer they are when they hit the dressing, the better the flavor of this dish. Toss until the pieces are well covered with the dressing.

Allow to cool to slightly warm, then stir in the crumbled feta cheese. (You don’t really want the feta to melt. You want the small crumbles to add a color contrast as well as a complimentary flavor to the dish.) Taste and add additional olive oil, balsamic glaze, or kosher salt if needed. Serve either slightly warm or at room temperature.

Note: If making ahead, refrigerate the dressed beets before adding the feta. Remove from the refrigerator ahead of when you plan to serve so that the beets can come to room temperature. Add the feta just before serving.  

GRAPE AND PECAN SALAD

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This recipe is a spin off combination from a salad our dear friends Mark and Vicki introduced us to. And also from a simple brown sugar and sour cream sauce I make to top fresh strawberries. So keeping both dishes in mind, I whipped up this delicious salad to serve yesterday for a family dinner.

Now granted, there are many recipes out there for grape salad and they were my inspiration for this recipe. (Thanks to Vicki, that is!) And my recipe is not that different from all the others out there. Except, that I have greatly reduced the amount of sugar used in this dish. I have also used both granulated and brown sugar in the dressing itself.  And frankly, I think the combination of sugars makes for a much tastier flavor than using granulated sugar alone. The granulated sugar gives the salad the sweetness it requires, while the brown sugar gives the dressing an almost caramel richness.

So instead of sprinkling brown sugar on top as a garnish, which seems to be regarded as the proper way to use brown sugar in this salad, I decided to add it in with the other dressing ingredients. (I’ve always been a bit avant-garde when it comes to culinary integrity, so why change now?) Suffice it to say, the salad was well received yesterday and I am happy to share the recipe with you today.

And before I release you to continue browsing the internet or in some way perform a task much more beneficial than reading my ramblings, I must tell you, even though you can quickly glean the information by simply reading the recipe below, this dish is way easy to make. Nuff said!

4 oz. cream cheese, room temp.

½ c. sour cream

1 T. granulated sugar

1 T. brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 lb. seedless red grapes (cut in half if really large)

1 lb. seedless green grapes (cut in half if really large)

½ c. toasted roughly chopped pecan pieces

In a medium mixing bowl, blend the cream cheese, sour cream, sugars, and vanilla together until creamy and smooth. Add the grapes and carefully stir until the grapes are evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Just before serving stir in ¾ of the pecans and transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle remaining pecan pieces on top for garnish.   

GRILLED ASIAN MARINATED FLANK STEAK

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Yesterday was a swell day. I made a few more reservations for our upcoming trip to Eastern Europe, got caught up on my “to do” list, and tried a new recipe featuring flank steak. (How could a day be more perfect than that?) Well – the only thing that would have made it even better is if I’d remembered to take a picture of the flank steak before we gobbled it down! But hey! I’m kind of out of the habit since I haven’t been posting recipes as regularly as usual. (Four weeks on a trailer trip and then two weeks of planning our next trip, is my only excuse!)

But I’m back now and eager to share exciting new recipes with you like this one I modified from the Skinny Taste site.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I have been on an Asian food kick for months now. So when it came time to think about last evenings’ dinner, I went searching for an Asian inspired marinade for the flank steak that was thawing in my sink. And I found this marvelous and simple recipe.

Mr. C. grilled the steak to perfection, and along with purchased frozen pot stickers “fried” in my air fryer and Sunomono Salad (on this site), we supped royally last evening.

So next time you want a simple and delicious flank steak for dinner, give this recipe a try. And if you have never cooked a flank steak, you are in for even more of a treat. So easy to prepare and the taste is simply marvelous. Just don’t cook the pickles out of it! If you don’t like your beef steak on the rare side, walk away from this recipe. Flank steak will get tough if you cook it too long. It will also loose flavor.

But, I would encourage you not to go to the other extreme either. Not with flank steak. Flank steak is at its best when medium rare. If you like your steak truly rare or even blue rare, then grill a flatiron or top sirloin steak instead. (And yes, I love rare steak as much as the next gal. Moo….) But different cuts of steak are simply tastier when cooked properly. And flank steak is no exception. Medium rare. Repeat after me – medium rare! Thank you. (And enjoy!)

¼ c. reduced sodium soy sauce or Tamari  

1 T. vegetable oil

2 T. honey

1 tsp. sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. minced fresh ginger

freshly ground black pepper

pinch crushed red pepper flakes

4 thinly minced green onions, divided

1 tsp. seasoned or regular rice vinegar

1 lb. flank steak, trimmed of all fat and silver skin

In a medium-size bowl, combine the soy sauce, vegetable oil, honey, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and half of the minced green onions. Remove 3 tablespoons of the marinade and combine it with the rice vinegar in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate.   

Place remaining marinade and steak in a 1-gallon re-sealable bag (remove as much air as possible) or in the bottom of a small shallow container (cover the pan with plastic wrap).  Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or for up to 12 hours. Turn the steak every hour or so during this time. Remove from refrigerator about 45 minutes before you plan to grill the meat.

Remove the steak from the bag or pan and discard the marinade. 

Set the grill to high heat. Carefully grease the grill with some oil. Once the grill is hot, add the steak.

Cover and cook the steak until well browned, about 3 to 4 minutes, then flip and cook until desired doneness, about 3 to 4 minutes. Use a thermometer to make certain the temperature doesn’t surpass 122 degrees for a perfect medium rare steak. (If you cook flank steak until no pink is showing, it will be tough.)

Remove from grill, and tent with aluminum foil for about 10 minutes before slicing very thinly against the grain and on a diagonal. Garnish with the remaining green onions. Serve immediately. Pass the reserved marinade as a sauce.

GF PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

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One of the amazing spots we were lucky enough to snag on our recent trailer trip. KOA in Placerville, CA
Another view of this site plus Mr. C. enjoying a drink and his book before dinner.
The island on the pond.

Just before leaving on a trailer trip, I always make granola, a couple of main dish entrees for the trailer freezer, and cookies. (One simply can’t go on holiday without cookies!) But this time my right foot was giving me trouble, so standing too long was painful. I remembered that I had been wanting to try a gluten free peanut butter cookie, so no time better than the present to see what I could come up with.

And because I needed enough cookies to make it through 4 weeks, I made certain that the recipe I glommed together from several recipes posted on the internet would be large enough to accommodate my needs. And oh am I glad I did! These were the best peanut butter cookies I ever made, or tasted for that matter. They were so crunchy and so flavorful. And ever so simple and quick to fix. I didn’t even need my mixer. So not only was my foot happier, my mouth was seriously pleased with the results.

So next time you want a simple and perfect cookie, and don’t have the time or energy to spend getting out your mixer, creaming the butter and sugar, etc. etc., this is the recipe for you.

Mr. C’s only comment: “I think they would be great with chocolate chips in them too!” So next time, there will be mini chocolate chips in the mix. Still only 6 ingredients! Can’t be much simpler than that!

2 c. chunky peanut butter (not the old fashioned or freshly ground kind)

1 c. brown sugar, firmly packed

2 tsp. baking soda

2 lg. eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Stir the peanut butter, brown sugar, and baking soda together in a medium sized bowl. (I use a regular table knife for this process. Works great!)  

In a small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla together. Add the egg mixture to the peanut butter mixture and stir until well blended.

Drop balls of dough using a small ice cream scoop onto prepared baking sheet 2-inches apart. Press down lightly with your fingers to flatten cookies a bit. Bake for 14-17 minutes or until edges and tops start to brown. If you prefer crunchier cookies, bake a minute or two longer. 

Remove pan from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Note: For chocolate chip peanut butter cookies, add ½ cup mini chocolate chips to the batter.

And sorry about no picture of these cookies. Just too busy getting ready to leave on our trip to even think about snapping a picture. That, and my camera was already at the trailer anyway!

BAKED TERIYAKI HALIBUT

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OK, I am never going to buy bottled teriyaki sauce again. (Of course I might have to if I’m traveling, but if I’m at home, there is no reason to spend the money or to settle for a product that is less than perfect.) Because in making this dish the other evening, I was blown away by the complex flavor in this simple recipe for teriyaki sauce.

Now one thing you should know. This is an Emeril Lagasse recipe. And if I had the opportunity, I would kiss his toes. He really understands food. So after saying that, I need to give full disclosure. I changed his recipe to fit my way of preparing food. (Now there’s a new concept, right?!?!)

But truly, any way you look at it, this is a dish fit for the Gods. It’s simple. It’s delicious. It’s NW cuisine at its finest. (Well NW with an inspired Asian (via New Orleans) influence.) Just make it soon. It is over the top amazing. Thank you dear Emeril.

1/3 c. mirin or rice wine

½ c. soy sauce

1 T. sugar

2 tsp. minced gingerroot

1 garlic clove, minced

pinch cayenne

2 (6-7-oz.) halibut fillets

minced green onions, as garnish

Combine the mirin, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, and cayenne in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until reduced to a syrup like consistency, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat. (Don’t reduce too much.)

Pour a thin layer of the sauce/syrup in the bottom of a lightly greased baking pan. Place the halibut fillets skin side up in the sauce. Marinate for 1 hour.

After an hour bake the halibut in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until the flesh is opaque and the internal temperature has reached 140 degrees. Remove from oven and serve flesh side up garnished with green onions. Pass the remaining teriyaki sauce. Great with Asian Flavored Steamed Rice (on this site) and a steamed green veggie.

All I can say is – don’t be daft! Make the sauce, but at least double the recipe. This is truly the teriyaki sauce you have always dreamed of. But if you are like me, never quite achieved!

So Emeril, you Asian (not) darling – thank you. I shall forever be in your debt. And if you ever desire a Camano Island experience, we (Mr. C. and I) are here for you! Mi casa es tu casa!

ASIAN FLAVORED STEAMED RICE

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Some days, the most difficult decision I have to make is what side dish to serve for dinner. Now, realizing that my life before retirement was a bit more hectic and fraught with adventure (raising children), careful consideration (I worked in human resources), and all the other plethora of daily life associated with being alive, I truly cherish my lack of real and meaningful responsibility at this stage of my life. Like deciding to prepare a rice dish rather than a potato dish.

Now of course I’m not intimating that on occasion I don’t have resolutions to make of greater importance then what side dish to fix. Of course I do. But they come fewer and further between now, not to mention they don’t resonate with me the way they did when I was younger. Advancing age and a whole lot of life experience really does have its benefits. But it also doesn’t mean that on those days when my main concern is menu planning, that I don’t appreciate the heck out of the beautiful life I am living.

So in order for you to also live a life full of simple and beautiful things, I offer up this recipe. It is absolutely delicious, and perfect with almost any kind of simply prepared meat or seafood. With its slightly Asian flavor, of course it goes well with any Asian dish. And your kids will love it.

So if you are at that stage in your life when you have so many more important things to worry about than what side dish to serve, or don’t want to be bothered thinking about it at all, let me recommend this fast, easy, and flavorful recipe. Enjoy!

2 c. chicken stock

1 c. white rice

1 scant T. low sodium soy sauce

1 scant T. toasted sesame oil

2 green onions, very thinly sliced, opt.

3 T. toasted slivered almonds, opt.

Combine the stock and rice in your rice cooker. Hit the cook button and walk away. When the rice cooker turns off, stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onions. Keep covered and on warm setting until ready to serve. If using, stir in the toasted almonds just before serving.

SMOKED SALMON, ASPARAGUS, AND CAPER PASTA

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Yesterday morning when I asked Mr. C. what he would like for dinner his immediate response was pasta. Big surprise! And since it was Valentine’s Day and I was receptive to the idea, I decided to honor my dear husbands request and a pasta dish would be on our dinner table that evening. But what kind of pasta? Then I remembered that I had a package of smoked salmon in the refrigerator. So then – smoked salmon pasta seemed the likely choice with some grilled or baked asparagus on the side. But wait! How about adding asparagus to the pasta and serving a nice green salad on the side? So to the internet I proceeded.

And what do you know! I was not the first person to think of adding asparagus to a pasta dish. So taking hints from several posted recipes, and borrowing ingredient ideas from a smoked salmon tortellini recipe I had on file, I came up with this dish.

Now, the first thing I liked about this dish when I dug into it last evening was the creaminess. Then the little bit of tang from the lemon zest, lemon juice, white wine, and capers hit my palate. And finally, the smoky and savory flavor of the salmon caught up. The result was a quite complex and satisfying blend of yumminess.

So if you too love smoked salmon and like to feature it as an ingredient, I recommend that you give this recipe a try. It’s very easy to prepare and can easily be assembled even on a work night. And good enough for company? You bet. Serve it with a crunchy green salad and Garlic Toast (recipe on site) and your guests will forever thank you for all the effort you went to on their behalf. (You need not tell them the ease of preparation on this dish. That can just be our little secret.) Cheers!

2 T. olive oil

1 lg. shallot, finely chopped

10 asparagus spears, bottom ends trimmed off; top ends cut on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces   

2 lg. cloves garlic, minced

¼ c. dry white wine

1 small lemon, zested and juiced

¼ tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper  

1 c. whole milk   

8 oz. (lg. pkg.) cream cheese, room temp., cut into large chunks

2 T. drained capers

2 T. minced fresh parsley

8 oz. smoked salmon, roughly chopped or torn into bite sized pieces

8 oz. linguini, fettucine, or spaghetti cooked al dente (save some of the cooking water)

2 T. chopped fresh chives, opt.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and asparagus; sauté until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the wine and cook until all the moisture is evaporated. Add the lemon zest and juice, salt, and pepper.

Stir in the milk and bring to a simmer. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted. Add the capers, parsley, and salmon. Bring to just under a boil. Add the cooked pasta and some of the pasta water if needed to reach desired consistency. (I used about a cup last evening.) Serve sprinkled with chives.

 

 

SHIRRED EGGS à la NERO WOLFE

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It has been quite the winter, at least the past week or so. With unprecedented low temperatures and heavy precipitation, we have had several snow storms the last few days resulting in 10-12 inches of snow here on Camano Island.

For us that means – we ain’t goin’ nowhere! We live on a hill, with a steep drive way, and even though Mr. C. shovels the snow off the driveway daily, there is no way we are going to risk life and limb just to fishtail to the grocery store, or wherever, even for the sake of a vast amount of bragging rights!

So what to do with the time? Of course we could have done some deep cleaning on our house. Right, like that’s going to happen! (We didn’t want to set some kind of snowy weather precedent, after all!) Or we could spend our time recovering from surgery (me), recovering from the horrible cold/flu that’s going around (both of us), reading books (both of us), researching recipes (that would be me) or working on Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert piano sonatas (Mr. C. for sure). So that’s what we did.

For me, it was re-reading for the umpteenth time, many of the Rex Stout books featuring my favorite detective Nero Wolfe. I love Nero. And I know. I shouldn’t presume to call him by his first name. But since I feel that I know him better than most, thanks to Archie Goodwin, and share a couple of his most characteristic traits (being round and worshipping excellent food), that he would forgive me this tiny indiscretion. All of which brings me to this recipe.

I have known for a long time that there are really no subjects that haven’t in some way been covered on the internet. But even so, I was quite surprised when I decided that I would like to try preparing a couple of Nero’s favorite dishes. (Like a fictional character is going to be the author of gourmet recipes!) But on my first search, right there in print, was an invitation to purchase the Nero Wolfe cookbook. Holy cow. And I must say, I was sorely tempted.

But then the practical side of me took over (pfui) and I realized that as much as I admire haute cuisine and love hearing Nero and Fritz (his cook/chef) discuss dishes like Bacalhau (Portugese Salt Cod), the chances of me ever preparing most of the dishes in the cookbook was somewhere between slim and nil! So I tucked my credit card back where it belonged, and searched other posts for simpler and more modest recipes from the cookbook. Which of course I found. And this is one of them. Hopefully, more to follow.

Since it’s Valentine’s Day, and both of us long ago decided we would not celebrate Hallmark holidays (no gifts or cards exchanged), I never-the-less fixed this recipe for breakfast this morning. (OK, I still have a bit of romance in my soul.) But you can bet your bottom dollar, I’m not going to wait for a special occasion to serve it again.

So next time you feel like a little something fancy would brighten your otherwise normal first meal of the day, give this recipe a try. It truly is delicious and very easy to prepare.

And just for Mr. C. because he asked, shirred eggs, also known as baked eggs, are eggs that have traditionally been baked in a flat-bottomed dish (shirrer) which is another name for a ceramic or porcelain ramekin.  

unsalted butter

4 breakfast link  sausages, fully cooked

2 T. half & half

4 tsp. dry sherry

4 lg. eggs

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

paprika

1 tsp. chopped fresh chives

Generously butter 2 shallow baking dishes. (I use small oblong Corningware French White dishes.)

Place 2 cooked sausages in each dish. Add 1 tablespoons half & half and 2 teaspoons dry sherry to each dish. Carefully add 2 eggs to each dish (don’t let the yolks break), then sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper, paprika, and chives.

Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven for 14 to 17 minutes or until the egg white is set and the yolk is still runny (or cooked to desired firmness). (I used convection the last 3 minutes.) Remove from oven and serve immediately with toast.

Enjoy the dish.