Black Bean – Taco Salad Lime Vinaigrette

There are three words that describe this salad — fresh, healthy, and easy. Oh wait, four words – tasty. The night I made this salad it was unseasonably warm and wanted something light for dinner and I remembered this salad. The dressing is incredibly easy to make and it packs a wonderful citrus punch.

The only change I made to the recipe was I added a can of drained corn to the salad and omitted the green pepper.

One change I made the second time I made this salad was to add boiled shrimp instead of chicken. It was fantastic!

Black Bean-Taco Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

With chicken, cheddar cheese, and black beans, this Southwestern-influenced salad needs nothing on the side except some iced tea. Fresh lime gives it a citrusy counterpunch.

Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup chopped seeded tomato
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 garlic clove, peeled

Salad:
8 cups thinly sliced iceberg lettuce
1 1/2 cups chopped ready-to-eat roasted skinned, boned chicken breast (about 2 breasts)
1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup finely diced red onion
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups fat-free baked tortilla chips (about 4 ounces)

To prepare vinaigrette, combine first 11 ingredients in a blender or food processor; process until smooth.

To prepare salad, combine lettuce and remaining ingredients except chips in a large bowl. Add vinaigrette; toss well to coat. Serve with chips.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 2 cups salad and 1 cup chips)
CALORIES 402 (28% from fat); FAT 12.6g (sat 3.2g,mono 6.5g,poly 1.9g); IRON 3.6mg; CHOLESTEROL 35mg; CALCIUM 236mg; CARBOHYDRATE 51.6g; SODIUM 861mg; PROTEIN 24.5g; FIBER 8g
Cooking Light, JULY 2000

IMG_8581

In an effort to eat a little healthier, I started making a few recipes from Cooking Light. But I didn’t want to sacrifice taste for low fat and calories. So I decided that I would like to fix some recipes with a little zip and when I saw the hot turkey sausage in the ingredients, this was the winner. The tomato and basil really give this recipe a fresh taste. This simple and delicious recipe is purely a comfort food. And a bonus is that it makes a ton!

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cheese

1 (1-pound) package uncooked ziti (short tube-shaped pasta)
1 pound hot turkey Italian sausage links
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (14.5-ounce) cans petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350°.
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain the pasta, and set aside.
Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage, onion, and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add the tomato paste, salt, pepper, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Combine cooked pasta, sausage mixture, and basil. Place half of the pasta mixture in a 4-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Repeat layers. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)
CALORIES 413 (26% from fat); FAT 11.8g (sat 6.1g,mono 2.2g,poly 1g); IRON 7.9mg; CHOLESTEROL 49mg; CALCIUM 265mg; CARBOHYDRATE 53g; SODIUM 941mg; PROTEIN 24.1g; FIBER 4.5g

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2003

Creamy Tomato-Balsamic Soup
Originally uploaded by jenianddean.

Second verse, same as the first…Since it’s getting cold again in South Carolina, I thought I would post a yummy soup recipe. Growing up my mom would fix tomato soup and grilled cheeses on cold winter nights. Now tomato soup and grilled cheeses are like a little slice of home (aka comfort food).  I love tomato soup, but I always wanted it to be a little chunky. So when I found this recipe I was really excited because of the fact I could puree some of the tomatoes and leave some chucky. Plus I have an affection for tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. I love the deep flavor of the roasted vegetables. I doubled the recipe and ended up freezing a couple of servings. I’m pretty sure I know what we will be having for dinner tonight.

The only change I made to the recipe is I didn’t drain the liquid off the tomatoes before roasting.

Creamy Tomato-Balsamic Soup

Cooking the vegetables at the high temperature of 500° caramelizes their natural sugars and deepens their flavor; the liquid poured over them ensures they won’t burn. Prepare the soup up to two days ahead; reheat over medium heat before serving.

1 cup less-sodium beef broth, divided
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
5 garlic cloves
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, drained
Cooking spray
3/4 cup half-and-half
Cracked black pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 500°.

Combine 1/2 cup of broth, sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce in a small bowl. Place onion, garlic, and tomatoes in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Pour broth mixture over tomato mixture. Bake at 500° for 50 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned.

Place tomato mixture in a blender. Add remaining 1/2 cup broth and half-and-half, and process until smooth. Strain mixture through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Garnish with cracked black pepper, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1/2 cup)
CALORIES 120 (35% from fat); FAT 4.7g (sat 3g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.1g); IRON 1.7mg; CHOLESTEROL 23mg; CALCIUM 120mg; CARBOHYDRATE 14.9g; SODIUM 452mg; PROTEIN 3.8g; FIBER 1.7g
Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2005

Corn and Fingerling Potato Chowder with Applewood-Smoked Bacon
Originally uploaded by jenianddean.

Since it’s freezing today and Columbia, South Carolina actually had snow last week, I thought I would post a yummy soup recipe. Toward the end of the summer I bought 30 ears of corns. I know it sounds crazy, but I cooked the corn, cut it off the cob, and froze it so we could have summer corn all through the winter. This recipe was perfect for the frozen corn. When you puree the soup it really makes the soup super thick and yummy. I love this soup because its flavor is out of this world, it’s low in fat and calories, and you get bacon!

I ended up doubling the recipe and freezing several servings. I thawed it over night in the refrigerator and it reheated wonderfully.

Corn and Fingerling Potato Chowder with Applewood-Smoked Bacon

As the name implies, fingerling potatoes have a narrow shape, similar to a finger. These baby white potatoes contain less starch than russet potatoes; waxy small red potatoes make a good stand-in.

2 slices applewood-smoked bacon
1 3/4 cups diced onion
3 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 7 ears)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1/2 cup half-and-half
8 ounces (1/4-inch-thick) rounds fingerling potato slices
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Thyme sprigs (optional)

Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Add onion to drippings in pan; cook 8 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add corn, chopped thyme, and garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in broth, milk, half-and-half, and potatoes; bring to a simmer. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.

Transfer 2 cups potato mixture to a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth; return pureed mixture to pan. Stir in salt and black pepper; sprinkle with crumbled bacon. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Yield: 5 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)
CALORIES 186 (27% from fat); FAT 5.5g (sat 2.7g,mono 1.2g,poly 0.4g); IRON 1.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 18mg; CALCIUM 84mg; CARBOHYDRATE 27.8g; SODIUM 398mg; PROTEIN 7.6g; FIBER 3.4g
Cooking Light, AUGUST 2007

French-Style Shrimp Salad
Originally uploaded by jenianddean.

The day I made this salad I had been thinking about a shrimp salad all day. I decided to start looking through some old  Cooking Light magazines and this was the recipe that I came up with. And boy oh boy did I make the right choice – it was fantastic. The salad dressing is very refreshing and garlic-y. I did leave out the olives because I’m not really a fan of olives. I also substituted asparagus for the haricots verts because I had asparagus left over from the night before.

This recipe makes a HUGE salad! It would be great for a brunch, lunch, or dinner…yummy anytime!

French-Style Shrimp Salad

Assemble this salad in individual servings, or arrange it on a platter and serve family style. Niçoise olives are a small purplish-black variety; you can substitute kalamata. Serve with crusty French bread. This dish is a twist on the classic salade niçoise with tuna.

Vinaigrette:
6 garlic cloves, halved
2/3 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Salad:
2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
12 small red potatoes (about 3/4 pound)
1/2 pound haricots verts
Cooking spray
5 cups gourmet salad greens
4 cups torn romaine lettuce
1 cup (1/4-inch-thick) slices red bell pepper (about 1 medium)
3 medium tomatoes, each cut into 6 wedges
1 (14-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
3 hard-cooked large eggs, each sliced into quarters
1/2 cup niçoise olives
2 tablespoons capers

To prepare vinaigrette, drop garlic through food chute with food processor on; process until minced. Add broth and next 7 ingredients (through black pepper); process until well blended.

To prepare salad, combine 2 tablespoons vinaigrette and shrimp in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator for 20 minutes, turning bag occasionally to coat shrimp. Place potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook 8 minutes. Add haricots verts to pan; cook 2 additional minutes or until haricots verts are crisp-tender and potatoes are tender. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain. Cut potatoes into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Set aside.

Heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove the shrimp from bag, and discard marinade. Add shrimp to pan. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until the shrimp are done.

Combine potatoes, haricots verts, greens, lettuce, bell pepper, tomatoes, and artichokes in a large bowl. Add remaining vinaigrette, tossing gently to coat. Place lettuce mixture on a serving platter. Arrange shrimp and eggs over lettuce mixture; sprinkle with olives and capers. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 2 1/2 cups salad mixture, 5 ounces shrimp, 2 pieces egg, 4 teaspoons olives, and 1 teaspoon capers)
CALORIES 366 (30% from fat); FAT 12g (sat 2.2g,mono 6g,poly 2.2g); IRON 6.7mg; CHOLESTEROL 336mg; CALCIUM 179mg; CARBOHYDRATE 26.1g; SODIUM 798mg; PROTEIN 39.3g; FIBER 6.4g
Cooking Light, JULY 2006

Devil’s Food Layer Cake with Peppermint Frosting
Originally uploaded by jenianddean.

I would like to whisk everyone a very Merry Christmas, and apologize for the five month hiatus.

Back in November, I made this delicious, dreamy, decadent cake for Susan’s birthday. If you love Andes mints, then this is the cake for you. The white chocolate cream and dark chocolate ganache combination is to die for! And the fluffy, marshmallow-y frosting is like heaven. The taste of this cake outweighs the couple of difficulties I had making it.

Some of the mistakes were mine, some were in the recipe. The first problem I had was completely my fault. I didn’t fully read the directions. I used 9″ x 1″ round pans. As I was cleaning up the kitchen I smelled burnt chocolate so I opened the oven to see chocolate overflowing all over the oven. So I had a do over.

The second issue was the cakes stuck to the pans even though I buttered and floured the pans. The cakes ended up being pieced together. Thankfully the dark chocolate ganache held the cakes together. The way I fixed this was to use four 9″X1″ pans to make the four layers instead of making two 2″ layers cutting them in half. I also would parchment paper in the bottom of the pans.

The third issue was the frosting. You are supposed to “whisk constantly with hand whisk until mixture resembles marshmallow creme and ribbons form when whisk is lifted, 8 to 9 minutes.” The first problem is my arm felt like it was going to fall off after 10 minutes of whisking. And the second problem was after 15 minutes the frosting wasn’t even close to being finished. I added some cream of tartar like when I make 7-minute frosting. Boy did that help – within 2 minutes is was ready to go. The next time I make it I will probably use a hand mixer instead of whisk.

The forth issue is the recipe says to chill the dark chocolate ganache until firm. If you make it the day before make sure to let it set out for a couple of hours before you try to spread it. The chocolate ganache turns into a big brick of chocolate when refrigerated.

And just a little hint – after you have built the layers with the ganache and white chocolate cream, put the cake in the refrigerator before frosting the cake. This will help stabilize the cake so the layers don’t slide.

Devil’s Food Layer Cake with Peppermint Frosting
This showstopping cake is layered with dark chocolate ganache and white chocolate cream, then topped with marshmallowy peppermint frosting. To give the final product pastry-shop flair, set a pile of chocolate curls in the center. Or lean chocolate shards against each other, teepee style.

10 to 12 servings

By Claudia Fleming
December 2008

Cake

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
2 cups ice water

Dark Chocolate Ganache

1 1/3 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
14 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

White Chocolate Cream

12 oz high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), finely chopped
3 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons pure peppermint extract

Peppermint Frosting

2 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
3 large egg whites
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
Bittersweet chocolate curls

Cake

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Dust pans with flour; tap out excess. Whisk first 4 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in yolk. Add cocoa and beat until well blended. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with ice water in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating until just blended and smooth after each addition. Divide batter between prepared pans; smooth tops.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 15 minutes. Invert cakes onto racks and cool completely. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in foil; store at room temperature.

Dark Chocolate ganache

Bring cream and corn syrup to simmer in medium saucepan. Remove from heat; add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer to small bowl. Chill until firm enough to spread, about 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Before using, let stand at room temperature until soft enough to spread, about 30 minutes.

White Chocolate Cream

Place white chocolate in large heatproof bowl. Bring 1 cup cream to simmer in saucepan. Pour hot cream over white chocolate. Let stand 1 minute; whisk until smooth. Whisk in extract. Cover; chill until mixture thickens and is cold, at least 4 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill.

Add 2 cups chilled cream to white chocolate cream and beat until smooth and peaks form. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 hours ahead. Cover and chill. Rewhisk to thicken, if necessary, before using.

Using long serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. Place 1 cake layer on platter, cut side up. Spread 1/3 of dark chocolate ganache over cake. Spoon 2 cups white chocolate cream in dollops over cake; spread evenly to edges. Top with second cake layer, cut side down; spread 1/3 of ganache over, then 2 cups white chocolate cream. Repeat with third cake layer, cut side up, remaining ganache, and remaining cream. Cover with fourth cake layer, cut side down. Chill while preparing frosting.

Peppermint Frosting

Combine sugar, 1/2 cup water, egg whites, and corn syrup in large bowl of heavy-duty stand mixer. Whisk by hand to blend well. Set bowl with mixture over saucepan of gently simmering water; whisk constantly with hand whisk until mixture resembles marshmallow creme and ribbons form when whisk is lifted, 8 to 9 minutes. Whisk in peppermint extract. Remove bowl from over water and attach bowl to heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until mixture is barely warm to touch and very thick, 7 to 8 minutes.

Using offset spatula and working quickly, spread frosting over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle chocolate curls over top and sides. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome; chill.

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