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To know me is to know I love cheese. In fact, my friend Renea sent me this mug a while back and it pretty much sums up my daily life:

So, when I got an email regarding sampling Ile de France cheese, I was all over it. I had my choice between camembert, brie, and goat. Now, even though goat is my favorite of the bunch, I decided to go with the camembert because it's a cheese I don't really eat all that often and, come to think of it, I don't think I have ever bought.
 

Camembert

Camembert is a very mild cheese and it has some nuttiness to it. I would say it is similar to brie in taste and texture (though it has some more punch than brie). It's creamy and, while it's probably "better" to just eat it at room temperature and not necessarily cook with it, there are few things I like better than a nice, melty cheese. Mmm. So, I decided to use it in one uncooked application and 2 cooked dishes (and, of course, I ate some on its own).

Camembert (3)

This Ile de France camembert was delicious! It's got a fabulous texture and just enough flavor that it lends itself to many pairings, but can stand on its own, too. I'm hoping to order some of the goat cheese next!

Now, onto the dishes!

First, I used it in a porcini risotto. I think the slight nutiness of the cheese pairs well with the earthiness of the mushrooms. Plus, I will take any chance I get to make risotto since we don't eat it all that often. This was so good that I think I may make it again next week!

Porcini and camembert risotto

Porcini and Camembert Risotto
Serves 2 as a main dish

1 (1.5 oz.) package dried porcini mushrooms
1.25 cups boiling water
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup arborio rice
2 sprigs thyme
1/3 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth, kept warm on the stove
2 oz. Camembert
1 Tbsp butter
salt and pepper

Place the porcini mushrooms in a bowl and then add the boiling water. Allow the porcinis to reconstitute for about 15 minutes. Strain them, reserving the water you used, and chop the mushrooms.

Heat a large, heavy bottomed pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once shimmering, add the shallot and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds before stirring in the rice, chopped porcini, and thyme. Stir the mixture so that the rice is coated with the oil and begins to toast slightly.

Add the wine and deglaze, allowing nearly all the wine to evaporate. A ladel or so at a time, add the porcini liquid and the broth, alternately, stirring continuously and allowing the rice to absorb most of the liquid before adding the next ladel.

Continue adding the porcini liquid and broth a ladel or so at a time, stirring, until the rice is cooked al dente. It should still be slightly firm to the bite, and it should be a little "loose." You're not looking for a rice type dish that has absorbed ALL its liquid. There should be some liquid still in the pan.

Remove the pan from heat and stir in the camembert and the butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary and serve immediately (as if you could wait!).

Next, I made a simple salad. This is an endive salad with toasted walnuts, room-temp camembert, sliced apples (use your favorite kind) and cider vinaigrette. I like my dressings more acid-y than most, so I do equal parts apple cider vinegar & olive oil. (I also added pressed garlic and salt and pepper, of course.) As  you know, I am working on having the love for fruits with savory dishes and this one won me over. Delicious! To let the apples absorb the flavor, and to keep them from browning, add the sliced apples to the dressing as you prep the rest of the salad.

Endive salad

And, finally, I made some camembert and maple bacon cups because the only thing better than cheese is cheese and bacon. For this I just chopped and cooked some bacon. I mixed just a tiny bit of maple syrup into the cooked/drained bacon and filled pre-made phyllo cups with that and the camembert. Easy and delicious!

Camembert and bacon phyllo cups

White Bean Salad

Fabulous! A perfect balance of Mediterranean flavors. The beans are lemony without being tart and the garlic and herbs add subtle but unmistakable undertones. Excellent with any kind of grilled or broiled red meat, poultry or shrimp. I'm afraid it's one of those dishes that won't last very long, especially once my husband gets to the leftovers tomorrow!

Dinner!

• 3 cups cooked and drained white beans (canned okay). If made from dried beans, save about 1/3 cup of cooking liquid.


• 2 tbs fruity extra-virgin olive oil.


• 2 garlic cloves, minced


• 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary


• 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme


• Scant 1/3 cup bean cooking liquid, water or chicken broth


• 1/2 cup black olives, pitted and chopped (can also use whole)


• 3 tbs chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley


• 4 large fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces or chopped


• 2 - 3 tbs fresh lemon juice


• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste


• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Place the beans in a medium non-stick skillet and set aside.


2. Prepare herb mixture. Combine olive oil and garlic in a small skillet and cook on low heat until garlic is soft, about 3 minutes.


3. Increase heat slightly and add rosemary and thyme. Cook until the herbs begin to sizzle and little bubbles dance around them - do not let garlic burn.


4. Add the bean cooking liquid (or other stock) and olives, increase heat and boil for two minutes. Remove from heat.


5. Scatter the parsley and basil over the beans in the other skillet. Pour the dressing over them and cook over medium-high heat until the liquid is almost all absorbed by the beans.


6. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, salt and pepper.


7. Serve warm or at room temperature.


8. Recipe from "A New Way To Cook," by Sally Schneider

It's hot, hot, hot in Boston! It's so hot we even put in the bedroom air conditioners and, for two anti-AC types such as my husband and I, that's a sure sign of high-temp weather.

Well, cooking and eating something hot was out of the question, so I did a little quick thinking and came up with the following recipe for a tasty chicken pasta salad. Yum! My husband polished most of it off - a huge bowlful!

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil


• 3 tbs red wine vinegar


• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp dried oregano


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper


• 1/4 tsp sugar


• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts


• 1 tsp Penzey's Old World Seasoning, plus 1/4 tsp dried thyme (or use a seasoning rub of your choice)


• Salt and pepper, to taste


• 4 cups rotini pasta


• 4 large white mushrooms, split and quartered


• 1 large carrot, peeled and grated


• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes


• 4 - 5 leaves romaine lettuce, torn

1. Prepare vinaigrette by combining olive oil, vinegar, oregano, salt, pepper and sugar. Set aside.


2. Prepare broiler. Combine seasonings of choice, salt and pepper. Rub mixture on chicken breasts. Broil for 5 - 7 minutes per side, or until just cooked. Remove from heat and cut into bite-sized pieces


3. Boil pasta while chicken breasts are broiling. When finished, run under cool water to stop them from cooking and to cool them down.


4. In a large salad bowl, combine cut and cooled chicken breasts with cooled pasta. Pour a little bit of the dressing over the mixture and stir to combine. Add mushrooms, carrot, cherry tomatoes and romaine lettuce. Mix thoroughly.


5. Serve at room temperature.

::tap tap tap:: Is this thing on?

Yikes, it's been a while since I've updated. Between the extreme heat, going out of town, eating already-blogged things, going out to dinner and...well, you get the point, poor little vox has been neglected. And, so have the blogs I read because at last check, my google reader had well over 300 new items. Oops!

So with all that said, I knew it was time for an update, and not just an update but a healthy update because of all the bad-for-you food I've been eating lately. I decided to make some healthy chicken burgers. The're good for you, and totally hit the spot. These burgers are reminiscent of chicken shawarma, which is one of my favorite meals on the planet (as the staff at the nearby Lebanese knows all too well).

And, because this burger  is some good eats, I am submitting this over to Ivy and Ben who are hosting Fat Chefs or Skinny Gourmets. This meal is packed with protein and lots of nutrition but is low in fat and calories. Like Ivy says, eating healthy doesn't have to be boring or difficult. In fact, that's one of the reasons I made this blog and post nutritional information for the majority of my recipes. I promise you, Tom and I don't eat boring food day in and day out. :)

Lebanese chicken burgers

Lebanese-Inspired Chicken Burgers
Makes 4 burgers

1 lb. ground chicken
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 heaping Tbsp. fat free plain yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2  heaping tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. ground sumac
salt and pepper
4 mini whole wheat pitas, split and warmed

Tahini Yogurt Sauce
1/4 cup plain fat free yogurt (Greek is best because you don't sacrafice creaminess)
1 Tbsp. tahini
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely minced/pressed
salt and a just a little pepper

Make the sauce by combining all the ingredients. Allow the sauce to sit as you prepare and cook the burgers, so the flavors can marry.

To make the burgers, combine all ingredients and mix--but don't overmix. Form into 4 patties. Spray your grill or grill pan with some olive oil and grill the burgers for about 5 minutes per side, or until done.

Place the cooked patties in the pita pocket, along with any garnishes you'd like and top with the tahini-yogurt sauce. 

Nutritional Information Per Burger (using a combo of white and dark meat will increase the calories by about 100 and the fat by about 10g): Calories: 240 / Fat: 3.3g / Carbs: 23g / Protein: 31g

Some food tastes good but it doesn't look pretty. In fact, I don't think it's meant to look pretty. It's just meant to comfort you. Oh and fill you up :) Tonight was one of those meals.  I think Giada calls things "rustic" when they are homey and not picture perfect. So we'll call this our rustic Greekfest.

Yesterday Tom went to the butcher and surprised me by bringing home lamb! So, we had saganaki/lamb kabobs today, with some tzatziki, pita, Greek style peas and potatoes (which I make like my green beans but with dill instead of parsley), and saganaki. All the recipes are already on my blog with the exception of saganaki (not much of a recipe but I will post it below).

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Mmm tzatziki! It came out damn good this time because there was Greek yogurt at the store (last time I settled for regular and it didn't strain as well as I would have liked).

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And saganaki!

DSC01977

1. Cut about a 1/2" slice of kefalotyri or kasseri cheese.

2. Dip the cheese in a beaten egg (I also add a little lemon juice).

3. Dredge in flour seasoned with some fresh pepper.

4. Melt butter in a skillet.

5. Cook cheese in butter until it is browned and melty.

6. Splash with brandy.

7. Flame the brandy (shake pan a little).

8. Say "OPA!"

9. Squirt with fresh lemon.

10. Eat on pita and say "mmmm."

Kefalotyri=le yum.

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I'm a bit of a Kashi fanatic. At about 10:50 nearly every weekday morning, I eat a Kashi granola bar. I love the TLC crackers and I especially love the party crackers. Go Lean Crunch with fruit and Greek yogurt is a fantasic snack. Even the frozen dinners are good, and I hate most frozen dinners (though it's rare for me to buy a Kashi dinner because they are really expensive). The only thing I haven't really been enamored with are the cookies, but then, who wants a healthy cookie? If I am going to eat a packaged cookie, sign me up for Oreos or Girl Scout cookies.

I'm sure you already know, but Kashi products all contain their 7 whole grain blend, plus sesame seeds. One of my favorite Kashi products is the pilaf--the 7 grains in their simplest form. "Pilaf" is a little misleading because you'd think it had some sort of flavoring in it, but it doesn't. It's just the grains. I love it but for some reason, I have a really hard time finding it. It's been ages since we've had it and when I finally saw it in the store the other day, I knew I had to pick up a box.

Like rice or any other grain, you can jazz Kashi pilaf up any way you want, of course. I will say that I increase both the cooking time and the amount of liquid slightly from the box instructions. I don't think brown rice can cook in 25 minutes. At any rate, this application of the pilaf was basically just to use up some swiss chard and mushrooms that were on the verge of going bad. Combined with the sage and the nuttiness of the pilaf, this is a really earthy, yummy side.

Kashi pilaf

Kashi Pilaf
Serves 4

1 Tbsp. butter
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 envelope (1 cup) Kashi pilaf
2.5 cups (scant) chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 cups swiss chard, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Stir in the garlic and mushrooms and cook an aditional 2 minutes or so, so they mushrooms begin to lose their moisture. Stir in the pilaf and coat it with the butter.

Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes or until the grains are just about cooked. Stir in the swiss chard and finish cooking, uncovered, an additional couple minutes until the grains are tender and the chard has wilted. Stir in the sage and salt & pepper to taste, if necessary.

I decided to use the last of the "poultry rub" herbs I bought the other day on some bread that I thought would go well with our meal of--you guessed it--soup! This bread turned out great! It was nice and crusty and very flavorful--though I'd probably up the amount of fresh herbs a little to 1/4 cup next time.

Garlic herb bread

Bread Machine Garlic Herb Bread
Makes 1.5lb. loaf

1 cup + 2 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
3 cups bread flour
3 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh herbs (I used rosemary, thyme, sage and marjoram)
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
3 Tbsp. nonfat dry milk
1.5 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1.5 tsp. bread machine yeast

Place the ingredients in your bread machine in the order listed above (or as required by your bread machine). Set to the white bread cycle, and put the crust on light or medium.

Don't you hate it when you plan something only to have those plans thwarted? In an effort to keep grocery shopping and eating out costs down, I try to plan meals for about 7-10 days in advance. I don't necessarily plan things day by day, but just shop for all the ingredients I need at one time (save for fresh produce which I tend to buy every 4 or 5 days). I had planned on making a big batch of pesto and using it once this week for chicken pasta with pesto cream sauce and another night for pesto potatoes. Of course neither Jewel nor Trader Joe's had fresh basil. So, those ideas were out.

What I did see at Trader Joe's was a package of fresh mixed herbs dubbed "poultry rub." The herbs were marjoram, sage, rosemary and thyme. I decided to go ahead and pick some up and decide later what to do with it. I've never seen this before, but it's such a good deal when cooking for two because I always have problems using up fresh herbs before they go bad. This way, you get small doses of different herbs.

I decided to make a really easy, quick dish: chicken with some herbed pan sauce. Some people are always stunned when you tell them you cook dinner, from scratch, most nights. I think a lot of people have the misconception that when something is from scratch, it has to take at least an hour to make, and it has to be a pain to prep after a long day of work. But, 99% of the time, my weeknight meals take 30-45 minutes tops, and that includes cook time.

Chicken with pan sauce is one of those really easy meals that you can modify 100 times over but it's always simple and flavorful. It comes together, cook time and all, in way under 30 minutes (and this is a real-deal 30 minutes, not Rachael Ray's 30 minutes which are only true if you have a sous chef and an oven that preheats in 45 seconds).

Chicken and pan sauce

Chicken with Herbed Pan Sauce
Serves 2

1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 chicken breast halves, pounded to about 1/3" thick
1 small shallot, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh marjoram, thyme, rosemary & sage (or whatever herbs you want!)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 Tbsp. butter (optional but well...it's butter :)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil until shimmering. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and then cook in the oil, about 4 minutes per side or until done. Remove the chicken and keep warm.

Add the shallots to the pan and saute until tender. Add the garlic and herbs and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Pour in the white wine and cook it down by half. Add the chicken broth and do the same. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper, and add the butter in to melt. Serve sauce over chicken.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (5 oz. chicken and half the pan sauce): Calories: 293 / Fat: 14.5g /  Carbs: 0.3g / Protein: 33g

sundried tomato pesto chicken

I had a decent amount of fresh sage that I wanted to use up before we went out of town for the weekend. Rather than adding a leaf or two to a meal, I decided to go with a pesto so that I could use up more of the sage.

To put a slight twist on the traditional pesto, I made it with fontina and added sundried tomatoes. Then I stuffed it into chicken. We had this with some Kashi pilaf with mushrooms and peas. I really love the Kashi pilaf and recommend it. However, they claim it takes 25 minutes to cook, which makes no sense to me since brown rice is one of the grains in there, and it takes longer than 25 minutes. So, I tend to add a little more liquid (chicken broth in this case) and cook it for 10 or sometimes 15 minutes longer than directed.

I didn't really measure the pesto, but what's below is probably close. Obviously this doesn't make a whole lot, since I was only using it to stuff 2 chicken breasts. But it does use up a lot of sage if you have some around!

Sundried tomato and sage pesto

1 garlic clove
2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts
2 Tbsp sundried tomatoes
handful of fresh sage
3 Tbsp fontina cheese
EVOO (I used some regular EVOO and some oil from the sundried tomatoes; use as much as you want depending on the consistency you are going for)
salt and pepper to taste.

Stick everything in a food processor. Process and you're done :)

For the chicken, I stuffed it with the pesto and seasoned it simply with salt and pepper. I just pan fried it in a little olive oil to brown it and then finished cooking it in a 350 degree oven. Right before I put it in the oven (in the same pan I pan-fried it in), I added a few splashes of chicken broth to make more of a pan sauce, which I spooned over at the end.

sundried tomato pesto chicken 2

Nutritional info for the chicken (using a 5 oz piece of chicken breast and .75 Tbsp EVOO per serving which could be cut down if you don't pan fry it): Calories: 389 / Fat: 23g / Carbs: 6.3g / Protein: 39g