Potato skins are something I generally associate with the fall or winter. I’m not really sure why that is, but when they are grilled, instead of baked and broiled, they just seem more “summery”. These were a huge hit on the last day of summer kids classes! Speaking of which, ever wonder what the kitchen looks like before and during classes? A few photos are at the end of the recipe… I wasn’t brave enough to put up any “after” pics!  Tomorrow I’ll share a few photos of what my fridge looks like after a shopping “spree” before a week of classes – it’s scary – I’ll tell you that!

Grilled Potato Skins with Spiced Chipotle Sour Cream

Seasoned Sour Cream
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons minced green onion
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh dill
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon dill weed, finely diced
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 small chipotle chile, finely minced

Potatoes
6 russet potatoes, scrubbed
6 slices bacon
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped chives

Seasoned Sour Cream: Mix sour cream and mayonnaise in a large bowl.  Add remaining seasonings, spices, and chipotle, one at a time, mixing after each addition.  Chill until ready to serve.

Potatoes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake potatoes on middle rack for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let sit until cool. Meanwhile, cut the bacon into 1-inch pieces. Fry bacon in skillet until crisp, drain on paper towels and set aside.

Preheat the grill to medium heat. Cut potatoes lengthwise, and spoon out most of the flesh, leaving a half inch shell. Melt the butter in microwave and add the minced garlic. Brush the potatoes with the mixture. Use tongs to turn over and butter bottoms of potatoes.

Place potatoes on the grill and cook until crisp, about 4 minutes on each side. Remove from heat.  Divide the cheese up among the potatoes while they are still hot. Top the potatoes with the seasoned sour cream, and chives.

Serves 12

There really is nothing more refreshing in the heat of the summer than tropical fruit. A couple days ago it was mango, today pineapple. The directions for cutting, peeling, and coring a fresh pineapple are at the bottom. But first you shall find a recipe for a wonderful and seasonally bright salad. To make it more of a main course salad, just add grilled chicken or pork.

Caribbean Salad with Pineapple Vinaigrette

8 slices bacon, chopped
1/4 cup pineapple juice
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cup diced fresh pineapple (directions below)
1/2 cup chopped and toasted macadamia nuts
3 green onions, white and green portions, minced
1/4 cup flaked coconut, toasted

Place chopped bacon in a large skillet.  Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown, stirring often.  Drain and paper towels and set aside.

In a jar with a lid, combine pineapple juice, red wine vinegar, and oil.  Cover and shake well.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, toss together the lettuce, pineapple, macadamia nuts, green onions and bacon.  Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat.  Garnish with toasted coconut. Serve immediately.

Serves 8

To cut, peel, and core a fresh pineapple:

Set the pineapple down on its side.

Cut off the leafy crown.

Cut off the bottom of the fruit.

Stand the pineapple up on its base.  Slice the pineapple skin off around the edges from top to bottom. Leave as much of the pineapple flesh intact as possible by following the curved shape of the fruit. Once the majority of the skin is off, go back with a paring knife and remove the brown “eyes” in the sides of the flesh.

Now cut straight down through the center of the pineapple core , cutting the pineapple in half.

Next cut each half in half through the core, creating four equal sections.

Place each quarter section on its side with core side up. Slice across the section just under the core to remove it.

There, now you have a cleaned up peeled and cored pineapple ready to dice for the recipe or just slice into wedges and enjoy.

Apps are all the rage these days, so I’ve decided to create one of my own! OK, so not the sort of app that you’re thinking of, although that would be terribly cool of me too. No, “apps” – as in appetizers.

On the Friday of each summer “teen week”  class, the students help to create the menu they will cook and serve to their guests. Three of the ten students requested mashed potatoes this past week.  Mashed potatoes in June? Hey, I love mashed potatoes, after all, I’m 100% Irish!  But in the 100+ degree heat of the summer – not so much. The potatoes would generally be the side dish to something t0o heavy and hot for such sweltering temps. On the other hand, how can I ignore the request of 30% of the class? How could I get the mashed potatoes stand on their own?Turn them into an appetizer, of course … brilliant!

Mashed Potato-Stuffed Peppers

3 pounds baking potatoes, peeled, cut into
1 – inch cubes
1/2 cup half and half
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4-ounces cream cheese, room temperature
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced, divided
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
6 slices bacon, chopped and cooked crisp
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced green onion

2-pound package mini sweet peppers
(found at Costco in the cold produce section)
Additional olive oil, for drizzling

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, bring the half and half and butter to low simmer in small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Remove from heat.

Drain potatoes and return to pot.  Add the hot half and half mixture and mash.  Add cream cheese and mash until well blended.  Taste and then season with plenty of salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.

In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and two thirds of the garlic and cook until softened, about 3 minutes, season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, combine the mashed potatoes with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and the parsley.   Stir in the onion mixture and crumbled bacon and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs and green onion with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the remaining one third of the garlic, and the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

Lay a mini pepper on its side on a cutting board and cut a thin slice from the side edge of each of the peppers.  Carefully remove and discard the seeds and white membranes from the inside. Repeat with the remaining peppers. Safe the sliced off portions of peppers for either crudités or to dice for another recipe.

With either a pastry bag or a small spoon, stuff each pepper with the potato mixture, dividing evenly between them.  Place stuffed peppers on baking sheet and top each with the bread crumbs and drizzle very lightly with olive oil.  Roast the peppers in the preheated oven until tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.   Serve hot or at room temperature.

Serves a crowd

This recipe was requested by the mother of one of my former (all grown-up now) students to be placed on the blog. We made this fresh and full-flavored bruschetta during a summer session several years ago. It thrills me when people put in requests for specific posts. Moms, you know what I mean, every night you have to think of something to feed your family, sometimes it comes to you easily and other times, you struggle. Same here! The people who request items most often, are my own two darling kids. Marissa usually asks for something specific and Connor… well Connor usually wants chocolate or bacon! So to appease him, you have the option of garnishing these tasty toasts with crumbled bacon… there you go Connor, your request was not denied! Oh, and that gorgeous yellow tomato in the picture below… from my garden…I’m just a little proud of it!

Tomato & Fennel Bruschetta

4 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and diced, fonds reserved for garnish
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
16 slices baguette or Italian bread, cut 3/4-inch-thick
3 garlic cloves, peeled and flattened
4 slices crisply cooked and crumbled bacon (optional)

Preheat broiler.  Toss tomatoes, fennel, onion, olive oil, vinegar, and basil together in a large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.

Place bread slices on baking sheet.  Broil until golden brown on both sides.  Transfer bread to serving plate.  Rub garlic onto hot bread on one side.  Mount tomato mixture atop bread slices, sprinkle each with fennel fonds and bacon, if desired.

Serves 8

For whatever reason, it seems that most kids really like pineapple on their pizza, so let’s give them what they want! An easy thin-crust pizza with fresh pineapple, barbeque sauce, mozzarella, and bits of bacon.

If you make pizza (or bake frozen pizza) often at home, it would be wise to invest in a pizza stone.  The stones are available at all kitchen stores and produce the best “restaurant quality” crisp, thin or thick crust pizza. Without a stone, just bake on a pizza pan or cookie sheet, sprinkled with a little cornmeal to prevent the pizza from sticking.

When using a stone be sure to preheat your oven, with the stone inside, at the highest temperature your oven can be set at for at 30 minutes. I made one with and another without the bacon, delicious both ways, so go vegetarian, if you choose. Buon appetito or (E ‘ai ka-kou, in Hawaiian)!

oops, I forgot to sprinkle with the basil before snapping this picture!

Pineapple Pizza

Prepared or homemade whole-wheat pizza dough
2 tablespoons barbeque sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
Very thin slices fresh pineapple
2 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
Very thin slices red onion
4 –6 large fresh basil leaves cut into chiffonade, for garnish

Place pizza stone in oven and preheat oven to 500 – 550 degrees for 30 minutes.

Shape crust onto a sheet of parchment paper.

Spread the barbeque sauce out evenly to the edges of the crust. Scatter half of the cheese, pineapple, bacon and onions and then top with remaining cheese.

Slide a pizza peel or a cookie sheet under the parchment and slide pizza, (along with parchment paper) onto the hot pizza stone.

Bake 10 to15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly or brown. Garnish with fresh basil.

Serves 2 hungry kids

I barely have a second to get this post up today.  So this is all I have to say, “If you know of a more delicious deviled egg in the entire world, please send me the recipe.”  In my humble opinion, these cannot be beat!

Spinach Deviled Eggs

12  eggs,  3 to 5 days home from the store*
8 bacon strips, finely chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

Place eggs in a large pot, cover with cold water that covers eggs by serveral inches.  Bring to a boil.  Take off heat and cover pan.  Allow to sit covered and off heat for 30 minutes.  Gently remove eggs from hot water and place in a large bowl of ice water.  Allow to sit in ice water for 10 minutes.

While eggs are cooking and cooling, prepare the bacon.  Fry chopped bacon in large skillet until crisp, drain on paper towels and set aside.

Remove eggs from ice water and peel eggs.  Slice eggs in half lengthwise; remove yolks and set whites aside.

In a small bowl, mash yolks with a fork.  Stir in the mayonnaise, vinegar, butter, sugar, pepper and salt.  Add spinach and mix well.

Spoon or use a pastry bag to pipe the yolk mixture into egg whites.  Top with two or three pieces of crumbled bacon.  Serve immediately.

Makes 24

*It is important to NOT use fresh eggs, as they are nearly impossible to peel! Take it from me, I made these for my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday party a couple years back.  I flew into Chicago a day early to do the cooking. My brother-in-law, Tom,  picked me up from the O’Hare and we drove directly to Costco.  We went to his home and I hard-boiled  3 dozen eggs. Now just picture me peeling 36 eggs where the shells just won’t come off cleanly and ending up with nasty torn and ragged eggs – after hours of cursing, crying and wanting to scream!  P.S. Thanks for hearing my cries and coming upstairs from your work to help me Tom!

As stated in yesterday’s post, this bacon is a Christmas and Easter breakfast tradition in our house. It’s basically “Bacon Candy”.  So sweet, crispy, and decadent! And it couldn’t be easier to make. It is pictured above with our other Christmas breakfast tradition – Cinnamon-Pecan Rolls. That recipe is on yesterday’s post. Also pictured here today, is Connor and the five mini-oil paintings he made as gifts for the family. Nothing better than beautiful and heart-felt homemade gifts from a talented person. Thanks, Con!

Brown Sugar Bacon

2 pounds thickly sliced bacon
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking pan with foil or parchment paper.

Lay the bacon on the pan tightly together, just touching, but not overlapping.

Sprinkle the brown sugar generously over the bacon, then use a spatula to spread it completely and evenly over the bacon. Place the pan into the oven, and bake for 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, and carefully drain off the fat into a heat-proof container (I use a coffee cup, set it aside and let it solidify, then wipe it out into the garbage can later).

Return to pan to the oven, and bake until the bacon is crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes more.

Transfer the bacon immediately to a platter and serve.

Serves 6 to 8

Connor with his paintings; hummingbird for me, barn and silo for Grandpa Otter, flower for Grandma Hopkins (visiting from Illinois!), golf ball for Dave, and Eiffel Tower for Marissa.

Quiche is such a versatile dish. It is perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner. It’s wonderful on it’s own or alongside a salad, drizzled with a vinaigrette. Delicious served hot from the oven or at room temperature… No wonder real men not only eat, but love quiche! Bake this the day ahead, reheat and enjoy on Christmas morning as gifts are being opened.

Believe it or not, I’ve never used a frozen piecrust before. I really enjoy making crust from scratch, but a friend told me that the new pie crusts at Trader Joe’s were as good as homemade, so thought I’d give them a try with a quiche recipe.  Here’s what I’ve discovered; the frozen crusts look great, you can see the little bits of real butter in the dough, just as with a homemade dough, a good start! After reading the ingredients, found there is palm oil… not good… but it is the third to the last ingredient listed with only water and salt after it, so I’m hopeful there isn’t too much in there. The crust shrunk quite a bit more than a homemade one would during the blind bake, but the real test – the taste? Pretty darn good, I’d give it about an 8 out 0f 10, with homemade crust being a perfect 10.

So what exactly is blind baking? It is when you bake and brown a crust without the filling. Blind baking a crust is necessary when it will be filled with an unbaked filling or when the filling has a shorter baking time than the crust needs to become cooked through.  Blind baking also helps prevent the crust from becoming soggy from its filling. To accomplish this you can either poke the uncooked pastry with a fork, or line the pastry shell with foil or parchment paper and weight it down with ceramic or metal pie weights. This allows the steam created by the butter to escape in the case of poking, or prevents the crust from puffing up, when weighted. If you do not want to invest in pie weights, no problem, just weigh down the shell with dry beans or raw rice.  You can use the beans or rice a couple times for this purpose, but after that, toss them in the trash. As they bake over and over, they will loose their natural moisture and no longer be heavy enough to be effective.

The technique for caramelizing the onions for this quiche is different than the methods I’ve posted here before. Adding water and bringing the onions to a boil, allows the onions to completely soften without a chance of burning. Once the water has dissipated, the onions caramelize evenly and easily.

Caramelized Onion, Swiss, and Bacon Quiche

Two 9-inch frozen pastry shells, thawed
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 large onion, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1  1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese
1  1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Line two 9-inch pie, quiche, or tart pans with thawed pastry shells, press up sides to fit.  Line the shells with aluminum foil and place pie weights, dry beans, or uncooked rice on top of foil to weight down crust.  Place the quiche pans on a cookie sheet, and blind bake the for 15 minutes.  Carefully remove the weights and foil, and cook another 5 minutes, or until crusts are lightly browned.  Remove from oven and spread 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard evenly over bottom of each crust with the back of a spoon. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.

onions boiling in water

Meanwhile, place the onions, garlic, oil and water in a skillet, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Boil, uncovered, for about 5 minutes, until the water has evaporated and the onions are soft.

water has evaporated

Add the thyme leaves and cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently until onions are browned and caramelized, about 10 to 12 minutes.  Set aside to cool to room temperature.

caramelized onions

Beat the eggs in a bowl until smooth.  Stir in the salt, pepper, cheese, milk, and cream.  Mix in the caramelized onions and bacon.

Pour the filling into the shells.  Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling is completely set and  browned on top.  Let the quiches cool for about 10 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve.

Makes 2 quiche, each serves 8

The bonus? From now through Christmas I’m going to put up pictures of my favorite kitchen Christmas ornaments at the bottom of each post. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. :)

Ramen and Broccoli Salad – there are so many versions of this salad around, that I was wondering if I should even post my take on it. But after looking at some of the others, I decided mine did have something unique – the dressing.  Most of the others call for between 3/4 to one full cup of oil and between 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar.  That’s a whole lot of fat and calories ruining a big bowl of healthy vegetables!  This still isn’t a diet worthy recipe; what with the bacon, mayo, and the sodium in the ramen flavor packet, but an improvement just the same. Add cooked shrimp, grilled flank steak, or shredded chicken to easily make it into a main course salad.

Broccoli-Ramen Slaw

1/2 cup Fage 0% Greek yogurt
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (3 ounce) packages oriental-flavor instant ramen noodles
12 ounce package broccoli slaw mix (readily available in most produce sections)
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
3 green onion, sliced on the diagonal
3 slices bacon, chopped, cooked crisp, drained
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 small orange or yellow bell pepper, stemmed and seed and cut into julienne

Whisk together the yogurt, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar and the packet of the seasoning mix from the ramen noodles until smooth, season to taste with freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.

Crush the ramen noodles in the package. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet and very lightly brown the ramen noodles, remove from heat, pour onto a paper towel to drain and cool.

Place broccoli slaw in large bowl; add the noodles, almonds, green onion, bacon, cranberries and bell pepper.  Toss with dressing and serve.

Serves 6

Panini are the perfect weekend late lunch or dinner while watching my Arizona Cardinals in Sunday Night Football.  The word “panino” is Italian for small bread roll; its plural form is panini. Many Americans use the word paninis, which is incorrect.  I’m using panettone as the bread for my panini. Panettone is a sweet bread of Milan, it is usually prepared for Christmas and New Year all around Italy and is one of the symbols of Milan.  It is readily available in markets now and throughout the holidays.  I found two flavors at Cost Plus World Market, the traditional which is studded with candied orange, citron, lemon zest and raisins. The other is a Cranberry Panettone and has dried cranberries in place of the raisins.

To make panini, you can use an electric panini press, a cast-iron stove-top press, a waffle iron, or even a George Forman grill.  Just be sure to preheat whatever you use. I have a well seasoned stove top cast-iron press, so I do not butter my bread first, but you certainly can if you so chose.

I was drinking a chai tea latte while I was making these and just before I was going to caramelize the apple slices, I decided to use the chai tea concentrate instead of water to caramelize the sugar… turned out great!  I love the TAZO brand, but you can easily use 1/4 cup water in it’s place.

Sunday Night Football Panini

1 purchased Panettone

Roquefort, Pear, Walnut, and Honey Panini
2 ounces Roqufort cheese, room temperature
1/4 pear, cored and thinly sliced
4-5 walnut halves
1 tablespoon honey

Bacon, White Cheddar, Apple Panini
3 slices bacon, cooked crisp and drained
6-8 slices sharp white cheddar cheese
1/4 apple, cored and thinly sliced

Brie, Chai Tea Caramelized Apple, and Pecan Panini
6-8 slices brie cheese
1/4 cup chai tea latte concentrate
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 apple, cored and thinly sliced
4-5 pecan halves

Preheat the panini grill pan to medium-high heat.

For each sandwich: Starting at the bottom side of the panattone, cut a slice 1/2- inch thick and cut the slice in half, forming two 1/2 moon shapes.

For Roquefort, Pear, Walnut, and Honey Panini: Spread 1 slice of  bread  with  softened cheese. Top with pear slices, sprinkle with walnuts and drizzle with honey.  Lightly spread the other slice of bread with cheese and place that slice on top of sandwich, cheese side down. Use a metal spatula to transfer sandwich to grill pan and place top down on the sandwich for 3 to 4 minutes until warmed through and panini has grill marks.

For White Cheddar, Bacon, and Apple Panini: Cover 1 slice of bread with cheddar cheese slices. Top with crisp bacon and apple slices. Cover apple slices with more cheddar cheese slices. Use a metal spatula to transfer sandwich to grill pan and place top down on the sandwich for 3 to 4 minutes until cheese is melted and panini has grill marks.

For Brie, Chai Tea Caramelized Apples, and Pecan Panini: Pour Chai Tea Latte Concentrate and sugar in a small skillet, over high heat.  Bring to a boil without stirring.  When large bubbles form, most of the liquid has cooked off and the sugar is beginning to caramelize, add the apple slices and reduce heat to medium, stir occasionally until apples soften, about 4 minutes.  Remove from heat.

chai and sugar, ready for apples, caramelized apples

Cover 1 slice of bread with brie cheese slices. Top with apple slices and sprinkle with pecans.  Cover apple slices with more brie cheese slices. Use a metal spatula to transfer sandwich to grill pan and place top down on the sandwich for 3 to 4 minutes until cheese is melted and panini has grill marks.

Makes 1 sandwich of each flavor

the sandwich on the left served on whole-grain bread and crusty homemade bread on the right - equally delicious!

Two fortuitous events happened a few minutes apart today to bring about the creation of this recipe.  First, I discovered a pound of hickory smoked bacon in my freezer from a The Pork Shop. Next, my dad dropped by with a bag of green and ripe tomatoes given to him by my cousin Diane, who has a big garden.  I’ll have no problem using up all the lovely ripe red tomatoes, but what to make with those green tomatoes?  Well, fried green tomatoes, of course!

Barbara Fenzl, Kim Howard, and I took a “field trip” in late spring to the Queen Creek Olive Mill and The Pork Shop, two fabulous places that are more than worth the 100 mile round- trip from my house! And that is saying something! They are both located in Queen Creek, Arizona and only about 2 miles from each other, so local foodies, arrange your own “field trip” at lunch time and thank me later. Go to the Queen Creek Olive Mill website for directions, hours, and tour times.  The Pork Shop does not have a website but I found this great article at BaconUnwrapped that tells all about the store and products. The Pork shop is located at 3359 E Combs Road, Queen Creek Arizona. Call them at 480-987-0101 for information or hours.  (since writing this post, The Pork Shop has created a website, check it out HERE.)

Since we are frying, the time is right for a few important frying tips: 1. Once the oil or fat is up to temperature and just before you start to fry the food, sprinkle a couple pinches of coarse kosher salt into the oil to keep it from splattering.  2. Use a splatter screen to keep yourself safe and keep your kitchen cleaner. 3. Work in small batches, the temperature of the oil decreases as soon as you add food to it, so in this case, less is more.  4. Lower food gently into hot oil; never just drop it in.  5. Use tongs, not a fork, when turning food. Be sure to keep the tongs pointed downward when handling to prevent hot oil from dripping down the handles and onto you!  6. To help minimize odors, boil cinnamon sticks or a bay leaf in an small pot of boiling water before, during and a little while after frying plus turn your stove vent on and open the kitchen window when weather permits. 7. Paper towels are fine for draining bacon, but brown paper bags are the best to drain food on because they retain more crispiness. A metal cooking rack placed over a paper towel-lined baking sheet does a good job too.

bacon and tomatoes draining on brown paper bag

Fried-Green Tomato BLT’s

1 cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 pound sliced bacon
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 egg
1 pound green tomatoes ,cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
4 slices whole grain or crusty homemade bread
1/4 pound brie with rind removed, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
12 arugual leaves
Blend basil, mayonnaise and butter in processor until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using.

In large heavy skillet cook bacon until crisp, drain on a brown paper bag or paper towels and reserve 1/4 cup drippings.

Combine the cornmeal and paprika on a plate. In a shallow bowl, beat the egg.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved bacon drippings in the same skillet over medium heat until hot but not smoking.

Sprinkle the tomato slices with the salt and pepper. Coat 5 of the tomato slices in the egg, then dredge them in the cornmeal mixture.

Cook tomatoes until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes, transferring as cooked to a brown paper bag to drain.  Coat and cook remaining tomatoes in same manner, using additional drippings as necessary.

Toast the bread slices and spread one side of each slice with basil mayo.

Make sandwiches by layering 2 slices of the bread with brie, arugula,  tomatoes, and bacon. Top with remaining bread slices.  Slice in diagonally in half and serve.

Makes 2 sandwiches

Kim's beautiful salad - October 2008

In late October of last year, Barbara Fenzl of Les Gourmettes Cooking School celebrated the school’s 25^th anniversary. As her proud assistants at the school, Kim Howard and I threw an Anniversary Brunch and invited all the teachers who had taught there those past 25 years. I prepared the breakfast side of the meal and Kim handled the lunch side. One of the salads Kim made was so delicious and so beautiful to look at, that I am going to make a version of it for a brunch I am doing this Wednesday. Kim’s salad was inspired by a Tyler Florence recipe…and since this recipe was inspired by Kim – I think that it is about 2 degrees of separation from the original…right?  There are two ingredients in the vinaigrette that you may or may not have in your pantry.  Agave nectar comes from the agave plant just as tequila does, the carbohydrate in agave nectar has a low glycemic index, which provides sweetness without the unpleasant “sugar rush” and unhealthful blood sugar spike caused by many other sugars.  It can be found at Trader Joe’s. And sherry vinegar is one of my favorites, it lends a unique and wonderful tone to dressings, it can be found at Cost Plus World Market. Both of these fabulous staples are worth adding to your inventory.  But if you need to substitute – use honey in place of the nectar and red wine vinegar in place of the sherry vinegar.

Spinach, Fig, Bacon and Egg Brunch Salad

Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons agave nectar
1 shallot, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
Zest of one lemon
Juice of 1/2 of the same lemon
2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salad
1 rotisserie chicken, meat only, skin and bones discarded
1/2 maple bacon, chopped
12 ounces baby spinach leaves
12 to 16 small mission figs, stemmed and quartered
1/4 pound Brie cheese, rind removed and cubed
3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 bunch tarragon leaves, for garnish

Vinaigrette:  In a medium bowl, whisk together agave nectar, shallot, sherry vinegar, lemon zest and juice, and tarragon until well blended. While continuing to whisk, slowly drizzle in olive oil until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper and set it aside.

Salad: Shred the chicken into bite-size pieces.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chopped bacon and cooked until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to drain on paper towels.

Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the drippings from the pan. Add the chicken and pan fry 3 minutes, stirring to just heat through. Use slotted spoon to remove the chicken to the paper towels with the bacon. Add the vinaigrette to the sauté pan and heat for one or two minutes, stirring, to deglaze the bits of bacon and chicken from the bottom of the pan; pour dressing back into the bowl and allow to return to room temperature.

To serve, arrange the spinach on a platter. Scatter the chicken, bacon, figs, Brie and eggs over top. Drizzle the dressing on and garnish with the tarragon leaves.

Serves 8