Caprese salad is one of my favorite summer salads. It are very light and refreshing, yet simple and delicious. Perfect for a summer dinner out on the back porch. Tomato Napolean takes the classic Caprese and gives it a little twist - fresh tomato dressing. I know it sounds silly to dress a tomato salad with a tomato dressing, but it is to die for. The first time I made this recipe was one of my cooking classes I did with Andrew, Pierce, and Charlotte. The kids did a great job making the dressing and they loved the presentation.

Please note the dressing needs to made about 8 hours before you are going to serve it. (We only let it sit for a couple of hours and it turned out just fine.)

Tomato Napoleon

8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into slices
3/4 C Fresh Tomato Dressing
3 large tomatoes, each cut into 4 slices
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
24 basil leaves, shredded

Place cheese in a shallow dish. Pour Fresh Tomato Dressing over cheese; cover and chill 1 hour. Remove cheese slices, reserving Tomato Dressing marinade.

Sprinkle tomato slices evenly with salt and pepper.

Place 1 tomato slice on each of 4 salad plates; top each with 1 cheese slice and 2 shredded basil leaves. Repeat with remaining tomato slices, cheese, and basil. Drizzle evenly with reserved tomato dressing.

Yield: 4 servings
Prep: 30 mins
Chill: 1 hr

Fresh Tomato Dressing

1 C olive oil
1/2 C balsamic vinegar
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 Tbl sugar
1 Tbl salt
1 tsp pepper
4 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 Tbl fresh thyme leaves or 2 thyme sprigs

Whisk together first 6 ingredients in a large glass bowl. Stir in tomato and fresh thyme. Cover and let stand at room temperature 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Cover and chill 8 hours.

Yield: 4 Cups
Prep: 20 mins
Stand: 1 hr
Chill: 8 hrs

Note: Dressing may be stored in refrigerator up to 1 month. Stir additional fresh chopped tomatoes into dressing after each use.

Southern Living, August 2000

Chocolate chocolate chip cookies
Originally uploaded by jenianddean.

If you are a chocolate chip cookie lover, then this recipe is for you. My friend, Betsey, gave me this recipe 12 years ago when I was going to a family reunion out of town. I wanted to take something homemade but the long distance and staying in a hotel makes this difficult. She told me about these cookies and I thought “well I’ll give them a try.” The cookies were a hit! I have since made them for all kinds of events - bake sales, patient appreciation days at Dean’s office, given them as gifts, taken them to funerals (well to the houses before the funerals).

However, the cookies come with a story. I have since found out it isn’t true, but it doesn’t matter because they are awesome! The chocolate chip cookies are worth every minute in the kitchen. The story is after the recipe….

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

5 C old fashioned rolled oats
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1 lb (4 sticks) butter, softened
2 C sugar
2 C light brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
4 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
24 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Line 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper. (You have to use parchment paper!!)

In a food processor, grind oats into a fine powder. Coarsely chop chocolate and grind with oats. The finer the powder, the better the cookies.

Cream the butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then gradually beat flour mixture into the butter mixture.

Use a HEAVY DUTY MIXER or hands– add oats mixture and beat it in. Use hands to work chocolate chips in the dough.

Make balls of dough about twice the size of golf balls - 12 per sheet (I use professional baking sheets and they are bigger than the average baking sheet. So use your judgment when putting these on the sheets because you don’t want them to touch when they start spreading out.)

Bake one sheet at a time. Bake 11-12 mins reversing the sheet half-way through baking. The cookies will not appear done, but take them out! (Surface will be covered with cracks.)

Let the cookies cool on the sheet rather than racks. If you transfer when hot, they will drip through the racks.

Store in plastic bags or air-tight container.

yields 48 huge cookies.

Here’s the story…

The Neiman-Marcus Cookie Story
My daughter & I had just finished a salad at Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas & decided to have a small dessert. Because our family are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the “Neiman-Marcus Cookie”. It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe and they said with a small frown, “I’m afraid not.” Well, I said, would you let me buy the recipe? With a cute smile, she said, “Yes.” I asked how much, and she responded, “Two fifty.” I said with approval, just add it to my tab.
Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement from Neiman-Marcus and it was $285.00. I looked again and I remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said, “Cookie Recipe - $250.00.” Boy, was I upset!! I called Neiman’s Accounting Dept. and told them the waitress said it was “two fifty,” and I did not realize she meant $250.00 for a cookie recipe. I asked them to take back the recipe and reduce my bill and they said they were sorry, but because all the recipes were this expensive so not just everyone could duplicate any of our bakery recipes….the bill would stand. I waited, thinking of how I could get even or even try and get any of my money back.
I just said, “Okay, you folks got my $250.00 and now I’m going to have $250.00 worth of fun.” I told her that I was going to see to it that every cookie lover will have a $250.00 cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus for nothing. She replied, “I wish you wouldn’t do this.” I said, “I’m sorry but this is the only way I feel I could get even,” and I will.

So I went to the Neiman Marcus website and this is what they had to say about it.

NM Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

An urban myth is a modern folk tale, its origins unknown, its believability enhanced simply by the frequency with which it is repeated. Our signature chocolate chip cookie is the subject of one such myth. If you haven’t heard the story, we won’t perpetuate it here. If you have, the recipe below should serve to refute it. Copy it, print it out, pass it along to friends and family. It’s a terrific recipe. And it’s absolutely free.

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, slightly crushed
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Cream the butter with the sugars until fluffy.

Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract.

Combine the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by large spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, or 10 to 12 minutes for a crispier cookie. Makes 12 to 15 large cookies.

Dean and love to have brinner (breakfast for dinner = brinner). And I have alway been a fan of The Monte Cristo*, so when I saw this recipe I knew it was some thing I was going to have to try. It was fantastic! I did made a few change to make it little more like the classic Monte Cristo. I used blackberry jam instead of cranberry sauce and I finished it off with some powdered sugar.

*The Monte Cristo is a sandwich of ham, turkey, and swiss cheese between batter-dipped fried bread. Traditionally it is dipped and fried in it’s entirety. It is served with fruit preserves, powder sugar, and/or honey mustard.

Wafflewiches
Recipe from Express Lane Meals - Rachael Ray

Makes 4 sammies

2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
4 tablespoons honey mustard
8 waffles, such as Eggos, lightly toasted
1/2 pound deli-sliced ham
1/2 pound deli-sliced honey roasted turkey
1/2 pound deli-sliced swiss cheese
3/4 cup prepared cranberry sauce

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and melt it. Assemble the sandwiches by spreading honey mustard on 4 of the waffles, then top with equal amounts of ham, turkey, and Swiss cheese. Spread cranberry sauce liberally on the remaining 4 waffles and place them atop the sandwiches. Fry the assembled sandwiches in the melted butter and cook for a few minutes on each side until they are deeply golden in color and the cheese melts.

Gratin Potatoes
Originally uploaded by jenianddean.

I have always been a fan of scalloped potatoes, and when I found this recipe I fell in love with it. It’s the simplicity that I love.

Potatoes, cheese, and cream. Simple.

I originally made these for my friend Lisa on her birthday, and they were to die for. I did a repeat a week later when I had my theatre group over to celebrate our second year as a group and they couldn’t get enough of the potatoes. I even had a gentleman ask for thirds. Then when we were at the beach last month I made them for Dean’s family and they were a hit again. And lastly I made them last weekend when Nikki and Todd were here. Nikki asked “Is this recipe on your blog?” I promised her it would be up this week. I’m a couple of days late, but here you go Nikki! Enjoy! Please let me know how they turn out.

Gratin Potatoes

3 pound russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Pour the olive in a 10-inch non-stick saute pan over medium heat; rub the bottom with the clove of garlic. Disgard clove. Pour 1/2 cup of heavy cream in the saute pan and place over medium-high heat. Season the cream salt and pepper. Slice the potato in 1/4-inch thick circles. As you slice, add them to the heating cream in even layers. After each layer top with Parmesan cheese. Continue layering until you have used all your potatoes. Once all of the potatoes have been added to the bubbling cream, sprinkle grated Parmesan, salt and pepper over the potatoes, then pour the remaining heavy cream over the top. Place in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes. Once baked and all brown on top, remove from the oven and let rest for 2 to 3 minutes. Cut in pie shaped pieces and serve.

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray

Couple of months ago, I was having just a crap day and really needed some comfort and something to feed my soul. Pasta is a great comfort food and it doesn’t take much time or energy to make a huge serving. Within 30 or so minutes Dean and I were enjoying this cheesy, gooey, yummy pasta. It just made me feel all warm inside.

I did made a few changes to the recipe. I used rigatoni because that is what I had in the pantry, an 1/8 pound of pancetta and 1 pound of ground sirloin to lighten the meat content a little, low fat ricotta cheese to lighten the fat content, and fresh mozzarella because I don’t really care for smoked mozzarella.

Skillet Lasagna

Whole-Wheat Skillet Lasagna
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray, 2007

Salt
1 pound whole-wheat gemelli or cassarecci
5 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 pound pancetta, chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
1 bay leaf
Ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 onion, grated
4 cloves garlic, grated
4 sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped
1 cup beef stock
1 (28-ounce) can Italian tomatoes
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 ball smoked mozzarella, thinly sliced

Heat a pot of water for pasta, season with salt and cook pasta to al dente.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F or broiler.

While pasta water comes to a boil, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a high sided skillet over medium-high to high heat. When the oil smokes, add the pancetta, sirloin and bay leaf and caramelize the meat, 5 to 6 minutes, season with salt, pepper and allspice. Add grated vegetables and garlic, rosemary. Cook 7 to 8 minutes, stir in stock. Add tomatoes and break up with a spoon. Drain pasta and add to sauce then stir in ricotta. Top pasta with a layer of mozzarella and place in oven. Cook 5 minutes to melt and bubble mozzarella.

Since I’m a huge fan of mushrooms I have recently been making tons of recipes with chicken and mushrooms. When I came across this recipe I was so excited because for the most part it’s pretty healthy. It does have cream in the sauce but it’s only two tablespoons so it gives it just enough cream to make the sauce creamy, but not too much that it’s extremely rich. I served the chicken with mushroom cream sauce with roasted rosemary sweet potatoes.

The only change I made was I used cremini mushrooms (baby portobellas) instead of shiitake mushrooms.

Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Cream Sauce
Makes 2 servings

2 5-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and tenders removed (see Tip)
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium shallot, minced
1 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps
2 tablespoons dry vermouth or dry white wine
¼ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives or scallion greens

Season chicken with pepper and salt on both sides.

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once or twice and adjusting the heat to prevent burning, until brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165°F, 12 to 16 minutes. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

Add shallot to the pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 minutes. Pour in vermouth (or wine); simmer until almost evaporated, scraping up any browned bits, about 1 minute. Pour in broth and cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in cream and chives (or scallions); return to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pan, turn to coat with sauce and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.

Tip: It’s difficult to find an individual chicken breast small enough for one portion. Removing the thin strip of meat from the underside of a 5-ounce breast -the tender- removes about 1 ounce of meat and yields a perfect 4-ounce portion. Wrap and freeze the tenders and when you have gathered enough, use them in a stir-fry or for oven-baked chicken fingers.

Per serving: 275 calories; 15 g fat (5 g sat, 7 g mono); 84 mg cholesterol; 5 g carbohydrate; 25 g protein; 1 g fiber; 373 mg sodium; 370 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Selenium (34% daily value).
0 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 3 lean meat, 2 fat

It’s always good to have one recipe that is your go-to comfort food recipe, and this is mine. Anytime I’m feeling a little down or miss my family or that feeling of being home, I make my grandmother’s banana bread. Not only does it warm my tummy, it warms my heart.

This banana bread is very basic, but it’s delicious. One of the best parts of banana bread is using those leftover, mushy bananas at the end of the week. The ones that are just too mushy to put on your cereal or a little too brown to just eat — those are the perfect ones.

This recipe makes one loaf of moist, delicious bread. I love to slather cream cheese on a slice when it’s still warm!

Enjoy!

Grandma Staker’s Banana Nut Bread
(one loaf)

1 C sugar
1 stick butter*
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C chopped walnuts, lightly toasted

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Butter and flour 9-1/4 x 5 x 2-1/2-inch loaf pan or spray with Pam. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in bananas. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in the flour mixture. Beat until completely combined. Stir in walnuts. Transfer to prepared pan.

Bake 60-70 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely.

Can be prepared two days ahead. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature. Or can be frozen for up to six months.

*The one only change I make to this recipe is I use one stick of butter and the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup Crisco.

pulled chicken
Originally uploaded by jenianddean.

Barbecue is becoming one of my favorite things to cook. This pulled chicken recipe is incredibly simple and so tasty. I know a lot of people are intimidated by making their own barbecue sauce but it can be very simple. I have used this sauce recipe with pork also. I really enjoy the flavor. I have made this recipe for five or six gathers and I never had leftovers. It is easily doubled or tripled for a big crowd.

The only changes I made are: I use boneless-skinless chicken breast instead of thighs and I sometimes bake the chicken in the oven instead of grilling it. I bake it at 350 F for 20-25 minutes or until the juices run clear.

Enjoy!

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
The chicken and sauce can be made up to two days ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Reheat the mixture in a saucepan before serving.

Chicken:
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Cooking spray

Sauce:
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses

Remaining ingredients:
8 (2-ounce) sandwich rolls, toasted
16 hamburger dill chips

Prepare grill.

To prepare chicken, combine first 7 ingredients in a small bowl. Rub spice mixture evenly over chicken. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; cover and grill 20 minutes or until a thermometer registers 180°, turning occasionally. Let stand for 5 minutes. Shred with 2 forks.

To prepare sauce, heat canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook for 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in 2 tablespoons sugar and next 5 ingredients (through pepper); cook 30 seconds. Stir in ketchup, vinegar, and molasses; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in chicken; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Place about 1/3 cup chicken mixture on bottom halves of sandwich rolls; top each serving with 2 pickle chips and top roll half.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich)

CALORIES 365 (23% from fat); FAT 9.1g (sat 2.8g,mono 2.6g,poly 2.6g); PROTEIN 28.2g; CHOLESTEROL 94mg; CALCIUM 78mg; SODIUM 877mg; FIBER 2g; IRON 3.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 42.8g

Cooking Light, JUNE 2006

Pickled Mostaccioli
Originally uploaded by jenianddean.

Pasta salads are always a good go-to recipe for a barbecue, family reunion, or just a snack. Pickled mostaccioli is a freshing twist on traditional pasta salad. It has a wonderfully zesty taste and perfect for summer because it doesn’t have mayonnaise. Michelle, a friend of mine from Iowa, gave me this recipe. Thanks Michelle!

Pickled Mostaccioli

1 lb Mostaccioli
1 1/2 C white vinegar
1 1/2 C sugar
2 Tbs prepared mustard
1 tsp garlic salt, salt, and pepper
1 Tbs parsley
1 med. onion
1 med cucumber, skin on
1/2 C vegetable oil or olive oil
yellow food coloring

Bring a pot of water up to a rolling boil. Add 6 drops of yellow food coloring and 1 tsp salt; then add pasta. Cook pasta to al dente, about 10 minutes. Rinse well in cold water then drain well. Place pasta in a bowl.

While the pasta is cooking, put all ingredients except pasta and oil in a blender or food processor and puree.

Pour spice mixture and oil over the cooked pasta; stir well. Chill overnight.

**Make sure to stir well before serving.

At the end of the summer, Dean and I hosted a party for the staff at his office. I made tons of barbecued ribs, pulled pork and chicken and all the fixings. We have always have beer and wine, but this year I decided to make sangria. I found this recipe in Bon Appetit (July 07) and wanted to make it all summer. It turned out wonderfully and was very refreshing. Several people asked me for the recipe, so here it is. Enjoy!

This makes a big batch of sangria so I mixed all the ingredient (except the orange juice) together and let it sit overnight. The next day I added the orange juice and ice. I didn’t have a container large enough to make this in and that would fit in my refrigerator.

Zinfandel Sangria with Brandy and Orange
(serves 20 to 24)

3 cups simple syrup*
6 (750 ml) bottles Zinfandel
2 1/4 cups brandy
1 1/2 cups triple sec or other orange liqueur
1 1/2 cups orange juice
6 apples (cored and thinly sliced)
4 nectarines or peaches (pitted and thinly sliced)
4 lemons (cut into thin rounds)

Combine Zinfandel, brandy, triple sec, orange juice, and simple syrup in a very large container. Add apples, nectarines or peaches, and lemons. Refrigerate sangria until cold, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day. Ladle sangria and fruit into pitchers and serve over ice.

*How to make Simple syrup

Stir 2 1/4 cups water and 2 1/4 cups sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Cool simple syrup before adding it to the sangria.