Healthy Fat Deliciousness!

I’ve been mowing down on these healthy appetizers since I saw them in Bon Appetit a couple of weeks ago.  Simple to throw together and full of healthy fats, avocado is the perfect topping for grilled sourdough – just don’t forget the copious amounts of large flake sea salt, red pepper flakes and EVOO!  Enjoy!

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Watermelon + Feta Deliciousness!

I’m not so sure this one even needs a recipe.  It’s simple to throw together, refreshing in the heat and the pretty presentation always wows guests!  Just cube up fresh seedless watermelon, top with a piece of feta and a mini basil leaf, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and voila!  Now the only trick is keeping everyone’s fingers out of them until company arrives!

Low and Slow in the Kitchen

With the sweltering heat that DC’s been melting under, there isn’t much incentive to turning on the oven, but I promise, this recipe will make it worth it!  And you can cook a whole large fillet at a time and have plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day.  Add a farro, wheat berry or similar salad as a side, top with tzatziki sauce got a light and protein-filled dinner without too much effort!

Slow Roasted Salmon with Tomatoes and Herbs

• 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 bunch dill fronds
• 1/2 bunch thyme sprigs
• 1 3-pound piece center-cut skin-on salmon or steelhead trout fillet, pin bones removed
• Sea salt
• 8 ounces small cherry tomatoes on the vine

Preheat oven to 325°. Pour 4 Tbsp. oil in a roasting pan just large enough to fit the salmon. Make a bed of herbs in bottom of pan; top with salmon, skin side down. Drizzle salmon with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil and season with salt. Top with tomatoes, if using. Bake until salmon is just cooked through in the center (a small knife will slide easily through flesh), 25–30 minutes.  Use a large spoon or fork to serve salmon, leaving skin in pan. Serve with yogurt sauce and couscous.

The original recipe, with sauce and salad can be found on Bon Appetit here.

Roast Tomato & Goat Cheese Toast

This is one of my favorite summer recipes. It’s delicious and looks fussier than it is!

Here’s how to make these delightful little bites…

1. Take a log of goat cheese out of the fridge and let it warm on the counter while you’re cooking away.

2. Roast the tomatoes… If you’ve never roasted tomatoes, it’s easy. Read this.

3. While the tomatoes are roasting, slice a baguette as thinly as possible. Place on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Place cookie sheet in the oven with the tomatoes and toast until lightly golden, about 10-15 minutes. Then remove from the oven and place on a platter for serving.

4. Spread the room temperature goat cheese on the toasts.

5. When the tomatoes are done, remove from oven and place one or two on top of each piece of toast. Press gently so the juicy insides squeeze out onto the cheese.

6. Drizzle plate with olive oil, garnish with micro-basil or thinly sliced basil.

7. Enjoy!!!

Happy Fourth!

Make-It Monday goes to the kitchen this week for a Fourth of July tart! It’s just perfect (go figure, it’s from Martha)!  Have a happy and safe holiday weekend!

For the crust:
5 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons sugar
2 cup (4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup ice water

For the creme fraiche filling:
2 packages cream cheese (8 ounces each), room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 ounces creme fraiche
1 cup confectioner’s sugar

For the tart:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup apricot jam, for glazing blueberries
1/2 cup raspberry jam, for glazing raspberries
2 tablespoons water
2 pints red raspberries
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
1 pint blueberries, picked over

Healthy Crab Summer Rolls

Fresh Crab Summer Rolls with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

2 cups Phillips Back Fin Crab Meat
1 cup diced mango
1 cup julianned cucumber
1 cup diced avocado
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1/4 cup slivered red onion
8 spring roll wrappers, rehydrated
1 cup sweet chili sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar

The Daring Bakers: Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding

The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800’s in England.

Bakewell tarts…er…puddings combine a number of dessert elements but still let you show off your area’s seasonal fruits.

Like many regional dishes there’s no “one way” to make a Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding, but most of today’s versions fall within one of two types. The first is the “pudding” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry. The second is the “tart” where a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling.

The version we’re daring you to make is a combination of the two: a sweet almond-flavored shortcrust pastry, frangipane and jam.

Recipe after the jump.

The Way to a Man’s Heart

According to my husband, it’s with homemade fried chicken that one can steal a man’s heart.  After a month of eating out in St. Louis while thinking about this incredible meal that we had at Jackson 20 (see photo),  he came home on Friday, begging for a dinner of nothing but fried chicken.

Here’s my how to…

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

4 tbsp Kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
2-3 pounds of chicken drumsticks and thighs
3 cups nonfat buttermilk
3 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Oil for frying (I like to throw some bacon fat in the mix)

Tres Leches Cake

These are so good they don’t need an explanation… Make them often – your guests will love you for it.

Tres Leches Cake

For the cake
1 2/3 cups of flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 oz. butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Borscht (or Chilled Beet Soup for the English Speaking)

For dinner last night whipped up a refreshing chilled beet soup last night to cool off from the humidity and “oven-ness” of swampy DC. I pulled the beets fresh from the garden and quickly turned them into soup!

Chilled Beet Soup
adapted from Martha Stewart Living

1 1/2 pounds red beets, scrubbed and stalks trimmed to 1/2 inch
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 carrots
1 leek, trimmed of tough green ends and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/4 cup fresh dill, loosely packed
1/4 cup white wine
1 3/4 cups chicken stock
1/2 small cucumber, peeled and seeded