Grilled Sausage & Pepper Panzanella

Bread, meat, hardy cheeses, spring time, and good friends can make a salad a meal. But mostly the bread.  This panzanella was delicious and filling - perfect for a sunday lunch and even better with a glass of wine (not that I would know).  Invite lots of friends because it makes a lot and it's not good left over.  It's also not good to photograph.

Grilled Sausage & Pepper Panzanella
Serves 6  adults, a 1 year old, and 2 unborn babies

For the vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon dired oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

For the Grill:

• 8 slices french baguette, 1 inch thick
• 1 1/2 lbs sweet italian sausage links
• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 yellow bell peppers
• 1 large red onion, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, halved

For the salad:

• 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 1/2 cup fontina cheese, cubed

Preheat grill: one side medium-high and one side medium-low.

Puree all the ingredients for the vinaigrette.

Brush all the ingredients to be grilled down to with the olive oil.  

Grill peppers over medium-high heat, covered, until softened and charred on all sides (about 15 minutes). Transfer peppers to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let steam for 10/15 minutes. Peel, seed, and chop.

Meanwhile, grill sausage over medium-low heat until lightly charred on all sides and reaches an internal temp of 155 (about 10-15 minutes). Let rest 5-10 minutes then slice into bite size pieces.

Grill red onions and sliced baguette over medium-high heat until onions soften (about 5 minutes per side), and baguette toasts (about 2 minutes per side).  Rub both sides of the baguette with the garlic cloves. Cube baguette and chop onions.

Toss all ingredients - I had to use two big bowls.

Spinach Pesto and Pesto Chicken Salad

God, knows I love a good chicken salad. It's easy to make a big batch, the leftovers are even better and it's the perfect lunch food. Plus, I love me some mayo.

This one uses greek yogurt as well as mayo. I was 'spicious but it turned out really well. And you can never go wrong with homemade basil.

Protip- you can get a basil plant for the same price as a packet of basil at traders joes. But the plant keeps on giving.

Spinach Pesto
Adapted from Simply Whisked
Makes about 3/4 of a cup

• 1 cup basil
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/3 cup grated pecorino romano cheese

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Next time: need to make enough to freeze for when the basil plant is done.

Pesto Chicken Salad
Adapted from Simply Whisked

• 4 1/2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded (about 3 chicken breasts)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons spinach basil pesto sauce (above)
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium/large bowl. Stir.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

Pecan Crusted Salmon

Man, it has been slow around here.  I don't feel like cooking, or looking at food blogs, or writing in my food blog, or taking pictures of food, or even eating food. I mostly feel like napping.  So it's with a boring salmon post (although still really delicious, A+, you should try) that I announce there will be a new mouth to feed at the end of October! 

We are very excited and hopefully, we will soon be very hungry.

Pecan Crusted Salmon

Adapted from Simply Whisked

• 3 tablespoons chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 pound salmon fillets
• salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl.

Season salmon with salt and pepper. Spread the toppings evenly over salmon.

Bake on parchment paper for 20 minutes.

Baked Chicken Basics and Asian Chicken Wraps

I usually start any cooking prep for "30 minute meals" about 29 minutes before dinner should be ready.  I like the pressure.  I scanned down the ingredient list and saw "chicken breast, cooked" ....sonofabitch. That should not be allowed to be an ingredient. Chicken breast is the ingredient and cooking it should be part of the instructions!

Regardless, here is my favorite way to cook basic chicken breast for any recipe that calls for cooked chicken breast or, my favorite cop-out, rotisserie chicken.

Basic Baked Chicken Breast

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven
It's seriously juicy.

• chicken breast, defrosted or raw
• salt water (1 quart water to 1/4 cup kosher salt ratio)
• olive oil
• salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika (or any spices)

Place the raw chicken breast in the salt water for 15 minutes (or refrigerate for up to 6 hours). Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.

Remove chicken from water and pat dry with a paper towel. Rub olive oil over and under each piece of chicken and place on a baking dish. Salt, pepper, and season.

Bake for 18 minutes (or until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F.

Remove from oven, loosely cover with foil, and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Slice parallel from the pointy tip. 

Asian Chicken Wraps

Serves 4

Adapted from Simply Whisked

Sauce:

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy suace
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 large garlic clove, minced

Wraps:

• 2 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 green onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 3 cooked chicken breasts (see above), thinly sliced
• 4 burrito tortillas

In a medium bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients.

In a large bowl mix the cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, onion, peanuts, cilantro. Pour the sauce over, mix, and let sit. (If you are planning on having left over cabbage mixture, don't mix that portion with the sauce.)

Nook the tortillas for 10 seconds in the microwaves.

Lay tortillas flat, layer chicken, then sauced cabbage mixture. Roll up like a burrito, toothpick it to stay, and slice in half deli-style.

Lemon Cookies

These are definitely cheating if we go by the 'made from scratch' standard, but they are stupid-easy and crazy-delicious. 

Oh, and did I mention they take less than 20 minutes? And that 20 minutes includes having Henry "help" AND I burnt them a little bit.  You can get these done in 15 minutes flat on a good day.

Lemon Cookies

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Makes 30 tiny cookies (1 serving if you're determined)

• 1 box of lemon cake mix (I think mine was 15 ounces and it was betty crocker)
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (about half a lemon)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (about a whole lemon's worth)
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.

Mix all ingredients except the powdered sugar in a large bowl. 

Form dough into small balls then roll the balls in the powdered sugar and place on baking sheet.

Bake 6 to 9 minutes in the oven. They don't look done from the top, but flip one over and it should be golden brown.

next time: I'll plan ahead slightly and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes before baking. Also I am just going to keep a box of lemon cake mix in the pantry for dessert emergencies. These were that easy.