Spicy-Lime-Cilantro Sauce (or One Awesomely Versatile Sauce)

With the cilantro from last week's CSA share beginning the end of it's journey, I needed to find a way to use up the large untouched bunch sitting on my counter. In most culinary dishes I've made involving cilantro, a large bunch is way too much. I was about to settle on mixing up a cilantro pesto, and throwing it in a pan of pasta and shrimp when I came across a recipe on All Recipes for a Flank Steak Marinade. Hmm... Fajitas? I always buy bulk flank steak, wrap and freeze it, so I had that in the freezer... I had peppers I needed to use, and Boy Wonder (my 8yo)  loves fajitas. Sold!

I mixed up the ingredients in my Cuisinart mini-food processor...

And marinated the steak for twelve hours, making sure to reserve part of the puree as instructed...

As grillin' time grew closer, and I was digging out the fajita ingredients, I came across the CSA lettuce, onion, and squashes I'd been avoiding since picked up from the farm. Hmm... A fajita salad with a side of squash? Well, ok...

So the squashes were sliced and seasoned with a little kosher salt and homemade chili powder.  DH usually grills the steak, and I stay inside (where it's cool *insert devious laugh*), and sauté the onion and peppers for fajitas, but why not grill them too?

While the steak and veggies were grilling, I prepped the salad. Lettuce... arugula... What else? What dressing goes well with fajita meat? Oh yeah! The reserved puree! Why not just make a dinner salad out of everything? And so, another dinner salad was created...

The lime-cilantro puree was perfect as a marinade. It was perfect--PERFECT as a salad dressing. The boys even loved dipping their squash in it, so it was also perfect as a veggie "dip." How much more of a versatile sauce can you get?!?!

The original sauce/marinade is here, and my changes are below. I really only left out the thyme because I didn't have it, and after making it too spicy (for the kids) using canned hot diced chili's, added a little extra honey to offset the spice.

Awesomely Versitile Spicy-Lime-Cilantro Sauce
This makes just under two cups of sauce


6 cloves garlic
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 limes juiced OR 4 Tbs lime juice
1 Tbs canned hot diced chili's
1 heaping cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
3 Tbs honey
kosher salt to taste

Throw everything in a food processor or blender, and puree.
***
7/15/10
Made this again tonight, but didn't have enough onion. Threw in a little onion powder, and still tasted great. I marinated a few chicken breasts then grilled, and also coated Magda squash rounds before grilling. Served them up with a plain ol' wild rice. Oh, and of course, we had more sauce on the side for dipping. Magnifique!

Green Dinner Salad with Pecan Chicken, Goat Cheese and Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Two weeks ago I shared this picture of a salad I'd made with my garden blog readers, and promised to share the recipe...

Since then I've been pondering how to present it here. I've gone back and forth, deleted and restarted this post... I've wondered whether I can call this recipe my own creation, or to give you all three recipes that I've combined into one... When is a recipe changed enough to be considered a new recipe with a new creator? So I did what I always do when I have a question... I Googled it. har. "When is a recipe considered original?" My first result was thorough enough in answering the question, and I didn't feel the need to look further. I love Google... Anyway. An article in Washington Post titled, "Can a Recipe Be Stolen?" states...

 International Association of Culinary Professionals focus on giving proper attribution to recipes that are published or taught. The association advises using the words "adapted from," "based on" or "inspired by," depending on how much a recipe has been revised.... The only time a recipe should be printed without attribution, the association contends, is when it has been changed so substantially that it no longer resembles its source.

But what about combining parts of three different dishes that weren't significantly changed into one new dish? And so, I've decided to share the original recipe links with you, but I'm callin' the final result mine, unless someone says otherwise.

This salad has been adapted from Simply Recipe's Mixed Green Salad with Pecans, Goat Cheese, and Honey Mustard Vinaigrette recipe, Martha Stewart's Crisp Goat-Cheese Salad, and Laura G's Baked Honey Nut Chicken. I may not be great at creating new and original recipes, but I love modifying other's...

Green Dinner Salad with Pecan Chicken, Goat Cheese and Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
This can be made well in advance, actually I recommend making it in advance to allow time for the flavors to blend. The dressing also makes enough for several salads/meals.

2 Tbs honey mustard*
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar (or regular if you can't find white)
3/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together honey mustard, garlic, red pepper flakes, and vinegar. Slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture, whisking constantly until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper.

*If you're like me and don't keep several different varieties of mustard in your fridge, here's an excellent honey mustard recipe: 1/2 Tbs yellow mustard, 1/2 Tbs honey, 1 Tbs mayo (or equal parts mustard and honey, double that amount of mayo).

Pecan Chicken
Marinating the chicken in the egg/honey mix isn't necessary, but it adds a sweetness to the chicken that simply coating the chicken won't provide.

2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup Panko crumbs
4 chicken breats halves, thick part pounded slightly
salt and pepper to taste (optional)
olive oil (I use a spray)

1. In a bowl or ziploc bag, beat eggs and honey together until blended. Add chicken and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3. In a seperate bowl, toss together pecans bread crumbs, and salt and pepper.
4. Dredge the egg/honey soaked chicken with the pecan mixture, thoroughly coating. Place on a sprayed pan. Lightly drizzle or spray oil over tops of chicken.
5. Bake approximately 30 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink, and coating is lightly crisp.
6. Let rest for 5 minutes. Slice into thin slices.

Crisp Goat-Cheese Rounds

I like making these in the toaster oven at the last five minutes the chicken is cooking. You can also make them in your oven while your chicken is resting.

1 egg

1 cup Panko crumbs

8 ounces goat cheese, in a log shape

salt and pepper to taste (optional)

olive oil (I use a spray)

1. Preheat your broiler. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

2. In a small bowl whisk the egg, salt and pepper. Place the breadcrumbs in a second bowl.

3. Slice the goat cheese into 6-8 rounds. Shape each into a disk. Separate each disk with wax paper or foil to prevent sticking.

4. Dip each disk first in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs, coating evenly. Place on prepared baking sheet.

5. Brush (or spray) disks lightly with olive oil, and broil until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes.

Salad Assembly

Salads, in my opinion, are open to interpretation, and personal preferences. I've always liked carrots, celery, and bell peppers in mine, but hate cucumbers (though I enjoy them overall). So, feel free to add or replace what you like to the ingredients listed below.

1 lb mixed salad greens. I recommend a bitter or bold green like arugula, endive, and/or raddichio, mixed with your favorite lettuce.

1/4 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup chopped baby carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 red or yellow bell pepper cored, seeded, and cut into 1 inches pieces

Place lettuces in a large bowl or dinner plate, and top with desired salad ingredients. Add approximately half of a chicken breast halve to each salad, and goat cheese. Sprinkle with dried cherries, and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Plum and Loquat Crumble

Another successful way to serve plums! I used baby plums and sweet and sour plums that were a part of two CSA shares, and threw in sliced loquats that were picked from a friend's tree.

This was my first try at working with loquats. They stayed nice and firm, and had a great mild sweetness to them.

The original recipe isn't mine, and didn't include the loquats. I quickly jotted it on a scrap piece of paper, and now can't remember where I found it... I do so many searches for food, and too many recently on plum recipes to count. I try to give credit where due, and don't claim this as my own...

Plum and Loquat Crumble
Makes enough for 3 to 4 single-serve ramekins (depends on your ramekin size)

1 2/3 cup pitted baby plums

roughly 8 loquats, skinned and seeds removed

2 to 3 Tbs packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp almond extract

6 to 10 gingersnaps

Mix the fruit with brown sugar and almond extract. Distribute evenly into small ramekins. Crush the gingersnaps with a rolling pin and top the fruit.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Plum and Ginger Soda

With so many plums (and stone fruits in general) coming into our home by way of our Santa Rosa plum tree and CSA shares, I've been trying to come up with original ways to serve them to the family. When this Plum and Ginger Soda came up in one of my online hunting sessions, I had to give it a try...

The combination of sweet plums and spicy ginger is so delicious. Throw in a little bit of pear vodka, and you have yourself a cocktail!

These were our "red, white & blue" drinks for the 4th of July.

Before we get to the recipe, I'm going to dissect it a little bit. The recipe states it will make 2 drinks but doesn't state what size glasses to serve them in. As I cook/bake more and more with fresh produce, a specified weight is much easier to work with than a quantity since size varies in nature. I also found it slightly annoying that it didn't say how much plum syrup there should be once completed. That said, I doubled the recipe, adding additional plums since mine were on the small side, and to increase the plum flavor. I then cooked down to 1/2 to 3/4 the original amount. Alternately, you could just use less water...

This will most certainly be made again, and I'll take notes next time on recipe adjustments. For now, here's the original...

Plum and Ginger Soda, from Diana at Appetite for China 

Makes 2 drinks

2 ripe plums, skin on, chopped
2 cups water
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1 can club soda

Bring water to a boil. Toss in chopped plums, reduce heat, and simmer until plums are cooked and mushy, and liquid is bright red, about 15 to 20 minutes. In the last 5 minutes of simmering, toss in ginger slices.

Turn off heat and stir in sugar until fully dissolved. Let Cool. Strain liquid and discard solids.

Add ice cubes to each glass and fill with plum syrup to two thirds of the way. Top with club soda, give each glass a stir, and serve.

Farro and Vegetables

I've been coming across a lot of recipes as of late that include farro. Farro cooks much the same way as rice does, with semi-pearled cooking twice as fast as the whole-grain variety. I haven't been able to find it in any of the stores around here (I'm told Whole Foods usually has it, but there isn't one close enough for me to bother), so I ordered some online.

Since I've never cooked or eaten it before, I went with a simple recipe. It's a great grain to cook in a large quantity because it stores well in the refrigerator and freezer. In fact, I reheated the leftovers from the recipe below then added steamed broccoli and green beans to switch it up a little...

Farro with veggies adapted from Marx Foods, "Simple Farro"
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 cups Farro
4 cups chicken stock (I used homemade)
2-3 zucchini, cut into chunks
1-2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon oil
a pinch of salt

1. Rinse the farro and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion until translucent, adding a pinch of salt a few minutes into cooking to "sweat" the onion.
3. Add the farro and toast for a minute or so, stirring frequently.
4. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to low.
5. Simmer for 25 minutes, or until farro is as tender as you prefer. Stir occasionally.
6. During the last 10-15 minutes, add the chunks of zucchini and chopped parsley
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste

Pecan Squares

I've been trying to branch out in my recipe sources, trying to get away from All Recipes as my main source, so I stopped by the library last week and picked up a copy of Barefoot Contessa's Back to Basics. I tabbed so many pages, I went out a few days later and borrowed her first book, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I've read both of these books like novels, trying not to drool on each page...

The recipe on page 188 of The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook stopped me in my tracks. Pecan squares. Ina says they're "like pecan pie with a shortbread crust." I saw they're like a nutty, gooey, melt-in-your-mouth explosion of deliciousness.

Perhaps I should clarify my post title a little bit... These are To. Die. For. Pecan Squares. They're like Thanksgiving dessert, any day of the year. My favorite day-after-Thanksgiving tradition is eating a slice of pecan pie for breakfast, and these squares are no exception. I'm sure my cholesterol and blood pressure have spiked from eating too many of these delicacies, but I don't care. They're so stinkin' good!

I enjoy altering recipes to suit my taste preferences, and items I have on hand, but these were made exactly as stated. Boy, I'm glad I didn't tinker with perfection. Well, ok, I think there is one thing I will tinker with next time I make these, and that's cutting the recipe in half. This makes a lot of dessert which is perfect for serving to guests, but with only DH and I eating them, there are just too many...

You can make the shortbread two days before serving to break up the large chunk of time in the kitchen, and the filling a day before serving to give it plenty of time to set. I don't recommend serving these straight out of the fridge. They taste perfect and are easier to chew when barely heated in the microwave. They also taste awesome warmed up and topped with vanilla ice cream.

To Die For Pecan Squares
Shortbread crust
1 1/4 pounds unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Beat butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Press the dough evenly into an ungreased 18x12x1-inch baking sheet, making an edge around the outside. It will be very sticky; sprinkle the dough and your hands with flour. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Allow to cool.

Pecan Topping
1 pound unsalted butter
1 cup honey
3 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 pounds pecans, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine butter, honey, brown sugar, and zests in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan (my 4 quart pot was almost too small). Cook over low heat until the butter is melted. Raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the heavy cream and pecans. Pour over the crust, trying not to get the filling between the crust and the pan (now worries if this happens. That part tastes awesome). *Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling has set. Allow to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Cut into bars and serve.

*Be sure to protect your oven from drippy overflows.

Southwestern Egg Rolls

We had some friends over this weekend which, of course, is cause for pulling out the fun recipes I am only willing to put in the time for to share with guests. LOL

Ever since we moved to California, I've been eying these Southwestern Egg Rolls on All Recipes. You see, in Virginia, there is a small chain restaurant, Sweetwater Tavern, that serves to-die-for Tex Mex Eggrolls. These were a must-have item for every visit. What better opportunity to try replicating them than when guests are over?

I served the egg rolls with a Cilantro Cream Sauce. An avocado dipping sauce would taste wonderful with these egg rolls too. I also served chips, salsa, and guacamole on the side.

Alas, I'm missing pictures of these delicious eats, but will be sure to update this post when I make them again.

Since I served chicken with dinner, I left it out of the egg rolls which made them vegetarian...


2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup minced onion
1/3 cup red bell pepper
1 cup unsalted canned corn kernels
3/4 cup low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained OR fresh spinach, trimmed and chopped
1/3 cup diced jalapeño peppers*
1.5 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
1.5 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 pinches cayenne pepper*
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1-2 packages of egg roll wrappers (depends on how much filling you add to each wrapper)
1/4 cup water

*These ingredient amounts will vary depending on your spicy-heat tolerance. I make my chili powder a little spicy, so one jalapeño was perfect for us. Also, you can use the pepper membrane and/or seeds to add more spice. Be sure to use gloves when working with spicy peppers!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

1. Rub 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over chicken breasts. In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook chicken until no longer pink, and juices run clear. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Stir in minced onion and red pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until tender.
3. Dice chicken and mix into the onion and red pepper. Mix in remaining ingredients except cheese. Cook and stir 5 minutes until well blended and tender. Remove from heat and stir in Monterey Jack cheese until melted.
4. Remove one egg roll wrapper at a time from package (to prevent the awaiting wrappers from drying out). Use a small amount of water on your fingers or a paint brush, and moisten each side of the wrapper. Spoon a small amount of filling into the wrapper, and roll like this:

5. Place the wrapped egg rolls on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Lightly spray the egg rolls with oil before baking.
6. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

I was able to squeeze 23 egg rolls out of the above filling.