Caprese Salad Skewers

I have some big news to share - we bought a house!!! It actually happened the same week as our "house heart-break." We were able to move past that and ended up finding a great house that suits us well. Within a few hours of making the offer, the sellers had countered, and we had accepted. We were able to get a 60-day escrow so we don't overlap with our current lease, so we close September 17. We are really excited! I waited until after the inspection to announce it, so hopefully we won't have any snags along the way.

Because we are no longer spending every week night house hunting, I've felt a little more up for cooking, so hopefully the pace of my posts will pick up a bit :)

I actually made this fun appetizer to take to a work potluck several weeks ago. I saw the idea on some blogs last summer and have wanted to try it ever since. The concept is so simple that it doesn't really require a recipe, rather just a list of ingredients and basic instructions. So here goes:

Caprese Salad Skewers

Ingredients:

Cherry tomatoes

Fresh mozzarella balls (or cubes)

Fresh basil leaves

4 - 6" wooden skewers

Garlic pepper/salt, optional

Balsamic vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Assemble tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil on skewers. Sprinkle with garlic pepper/salt (I used a McCormick grinder), to taste. Chill until ready to serve. Offer balsamic vinegar and olive oil while serving.

Chinese Slaw

Today is the last day to enter my giveaway - contest ends at 10pm CST!

My mom has been making this slaw for years, and I'm sure there are many versions of it floating around, but we really love it so I thought I'd share ours. This is not your traditional slaw - it has a light-tasting vinaigrette dressing and a nice crunch from the Ramen noodles, sunflower seeds, and almonds (if you use them!). The weather here in Chicago is starting to turn milder, so I figured it was a good time to share this slaw. It always reminds me of barbecues and summer, but it's great any time of year.

Chinese Slaw

Ingredients:

Slaw:

1 pound shredded cabbage (bagged; I like the kind with carrots and green/purple cabbage for color)

2 packages Ramen dry soup mix (beef flavored is traditionally used but I've made it with chicken)

1 bunch green onions, sliced thin

1 small package sliced almonds (about 2/3 cup), toasted (or use roasted Almond Accents)*

1 cup dry roasted sunflower seed kernels

Dressing:

Spices from Ramen noodles

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup salad oil (I used Canola)

1/3 cup cider vinegar

*We eliminate these if I'm eating it because of my nut allergy. No one seems to notice or mind too much :)

Directions:

1. Crush Ramen package before opening to crumble noodles. Remove seasoning packet and prepare dressing. Refrigerate dressing.

2. Layer slaw ingredients in a bowl, cover and refrigerate.

3. Toss slaw with dressing just before serving.

Source: My mom (through family friends)

Roasted Vegetable Orzo

Ina Garten is my hero! Everything I've made of hers has been fantastic and this dish just hammers home that point. I first saw this on Live.Love.Eat., and it looked so fresh and so good. Although it's great for summer, I thought it would be a nice year-round dish. My lab had a holiday potluck lunch and, in addition to the Buche de Noel, I wanted to bring a meatless option for a vegetarian graduate student in the lab (and for my poultry-only self!) This dish was perfect! The awesome roasted vegetable flavors, the tender orzo, the light dressing, the fresh basil - SO SO SO good. I made it the night before and it was perfect - any dish that can be made in advance is a plus in my book.

Last month I was dabbling a bit in reducing my dairy intake, and in the process visited a few vegan cooking blogs, so I'm more aware of vegan dishes. I realized that I am not prepared to give up my precious dairy, but I'm conscious of when I eat it and whether it's absolutely necessary in the dishes I prepare. I actually thought the feta cheese was a little much for this - I may have preferred it without. Don't get me wrong, it does add an interesting flavor and creaminess, but I think this would still be an outstanding dish without it. If any of you out there are vegan or vegetarian, or cooking for someone who is, I highly recommend this dish!

Roasted Vegetable Orzo

Ingredients:

1 small eggplant, peeled and diced into 3/4-inch pieces

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 yellow (or orange) bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/3 cup good olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound (8 ounces - dry) orzo pasta

For the dressing:

1/3 cup good olive oil

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1-2 lemons)

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Finishing touches:

green onions,

feta cheese,

pine nuts (I omitted)

15 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F.

1. Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large baking sheet. Roast for 40 minutes, or until browned, turning once with a spatula.

2. Meanwhile, cook orzo in boiling salted water for 7 to 9 minutes (according to package directions), until tender. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl.

3. Add roasted vegetables to the orzo, scraping all the liquid and seasoning from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl.

4. For the dressing, combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and pour on orzo/vegetable mixture. Cool to room temperature.

5. Add the scallions, feta, pine nuts, and basil, if using. Check the seasonings and adjust with salt and pepper if necessary (not necessary for my taste). Serve at room temperature.

Makes 6 servings.

Source: Adapted from Live.Love.Eat., originally from the Barefoot Contessa

Panzanella

My boss served a wonderful Panzanella at a party several years ago, and I've always wanted to make it. She roughly followed a recipe she saw Giada De Laurentiis make, so I did the same. Giada's recipes are always great! I made this for a family dinner back in March, and it was a huge hit! Everyone LOVED it! We had it with grilled chicken, basil orzo, and grilled asparagus. It was such a delicious dinner and a great way to welcome spring!

Giada's recipe calls for kalamata olives and roasted red bell peppers, both of which I love, but I had to omit due to other family members' pickiness :) I also added some red onion because I thought it sounded good. See the original recipe linked below if the olives and peppers appeal to you!



Panzanella

Ingredients:
1/4 cup drained capers
2 Tablespoons plus 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
12 ounces dense crusty bread
2 1/4 pounds ripe tomatoes, scored on the bottom
2 Tablespoons plus 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves (or basil puree to taste)
1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
Fresh basil sprigs, for garnish

Directions:
1. Soak the capers in 2 tablespoons of vinegar in a small bowl for 10 minutes. Drain.

2. Cut the bottom crust off of the bread if it's tough. Cut bread into 2-inch slices, evenly brush the slices with 2 tablespoons olive oil, distributing the oil among the slices and on both sides. Grill both sides of the bread in a grill pan until golden. Transfer bread to plate to cool briefly. Cut bread into 1-inch cubes and set aside.

3. Submerge the tomatoes into a large saucepan of boiling water for 10 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatoes to a bowl of ice water to cool slightly. Using a small sharp paring knife, peel off the tomato skins. If you have difficulty, place the tomato back in the boiling water briefly, then into ice water, and try again. Cut the tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut the tomatoes into 1-inch cubes and set aside.

4. In a large bowl, whisk 2/3 cup of oil, 1/4 cup of vinegar, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the bread cubes, tomatoes, basil, capers, and red onion; toss to combine.

5. Cover the salad and let stand at room temperature for flavors to blend, at least 1 hour if possible.

Source: Adapted from a recipe by Giada De Laurentiis

Don't get me wrong, I'm a Giada fan - just thought this was funny!

In case you're looking for an easy dinner idea, we thought the combination of the Panzanella, orzo, chicken, and asparagus was great. For super easy grilled chicken, marinate chicken breasts in fat-free or light Italian dressing for 8 hours in the fridge, then grill. (An article in Cook's Illustrated that I read recently does not recommend marinating in Italian dressing, but we like it!) You can brush on the extra marinade after boiling it for several minutes so it's safe to eat. One of my favorite ways to make asparagus is to lightly coat a grill pan in olive oil, place the cleaned spears in the pan, season with salt and pepper, then grill over medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes, or until asparagus has reached desired doneness.

Chicken Caesar Salad

My mother in law passed along this Cooking Light recipe a few weeks ago. I thought it looked really good, and Bob and I love to have dinner salads in the spring and summer. I've been inspired by Kerstin's recipes using turkey bacon, so I thought I'd throw some of that in. I had tried turkey bacon a few times over the years, and I never thought it was that great - it didn't crisp up like traditional bacon. But Oscar Mayer brand turkey bacon was on sale this time, and it is SO good! It becomes crispy and has a very similar texture to bacon. I'm so excited to start substituting it in recipes that call for bacon and pancetta!

This salad is so delicious! We both loved it. I'm not sure how necessary the pasta is, so the second time I made it, I omitted the pasta, upped the amount of bacon, and used red onion instead of green since it was all we had. I think I like the green onion best though. I've included my changes below.
Chicken Caesar Salad

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, diced (I used a rotisserie chicken)
2-4 slices of turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 container grape tomatoes, halved
half a bunch of green onions, sliced
2 ounces feta cheese
1 bunch of Romaine lettuce
3 Tablespoons fat-free Caesar dressing (more or less to taste)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat penne (3 ounces uncooked)
1/2 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil (or a small amount of basil puree)
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Top with freshly ground pepper and freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Source: Adapted from Cooking Light