Catching Up

Whoa, hey hi there. Remember how I said I would try and blog from Michigan? Well, obviously it didn't exactly pan out that way. But it was pretty and nice (oh yeah and NOT a bazillion degrees):




But now we're back to the "grind". Commuting, emails, and getting back to the gym. Of course, we do have yet ANOTHER trip this week. We're off to the Finger Lakes for even more wine and kayaking. Wish us luck it's going to be tough.

This recipe is like coming back to an old friend. It' equally delicious on salmon, steak, or by itself. I usually put it on salmon/eat it out of the bowl while cooking.

Florentine Topping
Adapted from Self

Half a jar of oil packed sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup of ricotta (whole, part skim, or skim all work well.)
Half a package of frozen spinach, thawed
Garlic salt
About 1 tablespoon of oil from the sun dried tomato jar

Mix it all up and enjoy. It doesn't get any easier than that.

Weekend Round Up + Zucchini Salad

Between the last minute party in the backyard and getting ready to be out of town for a week the weekend flew right on by. But it was full of good food, nice weather, and fun people. A quick picture round up and a delicious raw salad.







Lemony Zucchini Salad
Adapted beyond recognition from Gourmet August 2004


For salad:
2 large zucchini or yellow squash (I used a pint box of mini squashes, they were so cute!)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 thinly sliced sweet onion
4 oz kalamata or other brine cured olives
handful of torn basil leaves
Coarsley grated Parmesan


For dressing
2 tbsps lemon balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice)
4 tbsps olive oil
1 smashed garlic clove
salt


Thinly slice the squash in the food processor using the the slicing blade or with your mandolin slicer. Transfer to bowl and toss with salt. Toss in tomatoes, onions, olives, and anything else you feel like adding.Whisk together the dressing ingredients, dress the salad and serve.

Peachy Grilled Chicken Salad

Sometimes there is nothing worse than a hot week day. The DC area has a quite a few of them coming up and I am just not in the mood to feel the sweat dripping down my back while on the metro at 5pm and preferring to stay in the office instead of getting fresh air. But, speaking of fresh air we leave for the "U.P." (upper peninsula) of Michigan this weekend.  80 degrees! No humidity! Lakes! Beaches! Wineries! In short, fresh air. 
This week at work is going to be crazy and then we have a lot of driving ahead of this weekend. But, I hope to have time to blog from Michigan. I already know there will be some culinary gems happening while we are up there, including an original recipe. However, in the mean time and between time try this easy refreshing salad. Perfect for your hot weeknights.


Peachy Grilled Chicken Salad
Adapted from Bon Appetit August 2006


Chicken
3 chicken breasts
2tbs lime juice
3 tbsp olive oil
salt


Salad
1 bunch Mixed greens
1 ripe avocado, sliced and cubed
1 bunch green onions, sliced
2 ripe peaches, slices and cubed


Dressing
1 tbsp cider vinegar
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp honey
as much or as little olive or vegetable oil as you like. I tend to like a thicker honey mustard so I stay in the 2-3 tablespoon range
garlic powder


Whisk the lime juice, olive oil, and salt together and marinate chicken for about 30 minutes, turning once.



While the chicken marinates whisk together the dressing ingredients until thick (or thin!) depending on your preference.



Light a grill (or preheat your Foreman or Cuisinart pannini press) and grill marinated chicken until done. About 8 minutes a side depending on thickness. Let cool a bit then slice into pieces.

Toss all salad ingredients together and dress. Top with chicken and serve.

Revamped!

New title, new recipes, new pictures, new everything! Welcome to the second incarnation of Kitchen Love. I hope you enjoy the new stuff, but check out the old stuff too! I forgot what great recipes were on here. I'm already working on new posts so get ready internet! I'm back!

Two for the Price of One!

I can multi-task! I swear! Even though I haven't been doing much blogging lately...but what can I say? I have a job, and a husband, and a town house that seems perpetually messy. Excuses! Anyway, for your enjoyment not one, but TWO summery recipes for your eating enjoyment and as a bonus neither of these will heat up your house. Whoo hoo!

Blue Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes
Adapted from Bon Appetite July 2008

This recipe can be infinitely doubled, tripled, or quartered. Below are (very) approximate measurements for two people. Put them on top of simple grilled steaks and love it.

2 or 3 ripe beefsteak tomatoes
2-3 ounces crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp olive oil

Mix the cheese, oil, and bread crumbs in a small bowl to blend. (I have added a splash of balsamic vinegar and a clove of garlic to this with excellent results). Cut about a a half inch off the top of the tomatoes and stuff the tomatoes with the cheese mixture. Put the tomatoes on a hot grill until cheese is melty and delicious looking. (Don't you love my precise grilling directions? Mmm, I thought so.)


Bobby Flay's Green Onion Slaw

A must bring to your next bbq invite, they will think you're a genius. Also, it's ridiculously easy.

1 bunch big green onions
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 serrano chilies
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1/2 cup olive oil
1 small red onion chopped
1 head purple cabbage shredded (this can be done with the disk on your food processor)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Put the first five ingredients in the food processor and blend until emulsified. Put the cabbage and red onion in a bowl. Toss the dressing with cabbage and onion and gently add cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chipotle Chicken Sandwiches

Best. Sandwich. Ever. Sweet peppers, spicy mayo, crisp greens. Everything I would want in a sandwich. Why did my husband love it? Easy. Chipotle mayo. Without a doubt his favorite condiment, and without a doubt the easiest yet fanciest-sounding condiment to make. In other words, a win-win situation. They kept really well and I think the flavors came together just about perfectly after sitting in the cooler for a few hours.

I mention the cooler because this sandwich was part of our lunch during our lovely trip to the Northern Neck. We visited wineries and took in some lovely views. As far as wineries we found two that we really liked. Ingleside Winery http://www.ipwine.com/--in the business for 30 years (!) which is practically unheard of in Virginia. Their wine is great, definitely worth the trip. The other winery we liked has only been open a few years but their wine was also great and they have a beautiful property. http://www.thehaguewinery.com/ So nice to find a few options outside of our normal Northern Virginia Routes.

Chipotle Chicken Sandwiches

Adapted from Bon Appétite June 1997

Makes 4 sandwiches

2-3 (or more depending on how much chipotle you like) chipotle chilies in adobo, chopped

1/4 cup of mayo

1/2 pound sliced deli chicken

1/4 pound Montery Jack cheese

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 sliced tomato

1 bunch of your favorite greens

4 whole wheat rolls toasted if you like

Brush the peppers with olive oil. Either in the oven or on the grill roast the peppers until they have black blisters and are soft. Let them cool in a paper bag then peel, seed, and cut into slices. Whisk together the chipotle chilies and mayo until incorporated.

Spread mayo on the bottom of the roll and stack chicken, greens, cheese, tomato, and peppers (or whatever way you want to stack!) Spread mayo on top of the roll, smush together and love it.

Cranberry Almond Granola

What initially drew me to this recipe was: nuts! shredded coconut! dried cranberries! Then I realized: hey there's not an obscene amount of sugar in this, and hey there's no butter in this granola....awesome! Also, Ken kept talking about trying to find granola at one of the "winter" farmer's market and I thought to myself, "Well why don't I just make it!" So, I did and it was pretty good, but next time I think I would add more "stuff".

Cranberry Almond Granola

Adapted from Bon Appetite June 2003

I'm not going to include measurements with this one because it really depends on what you like. Maybe you like less coconut, maybe you want more pecans, or maybe you would rather have dried blueberries instead of cranberries...whatever! However, I will note that I did use 2 cups of oats as a base for this. Anyway without further ado:

2 cups of oats

pecans

almonds

shredded coconut

dried cranberries

cinnamon

all spice

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup frozen cranberry juice concentrate

vegetable oil spray

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine the cinnamon, all spice, sugar, and juice in a medium sauce pan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour hot syrup over oats mixtures and stir to coat. Spread mixture onto prepared baking sheet and bake 20 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Stir the granola and bake another 12 minutes, until granola begins to dry. Granola will keep up to a week.