"Pining" for Greek Salad

This was the first week in a long time where I didn't go to the grocery store on Sunday (two nights in a row of Austin Restaurant Week will do that to you!) Faced with a last minute shopping trip on a Wednesday after work, I wanted to use up some items I knew I had- half a butternut squash, a can of chick peas and pita bread. The resulting salad had a lot of different flavors and textures, my nod to a Greek salad. Everyone went for seconds!

"Pining" for Greek Salad

1/2 butternut squash, peeled and diced
2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/2 cup pine nuts
12 ounces baby spinach leaves
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Salt and pepper to taste
4 pitas, warmed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss diced squash with 1/2 tablespoon oil and roast in the oven 30-40 minutes. While squash cooks, heat a medium-sized non-stick skillet on medium heat and toast chickpeas, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add chickpeas to a large bowl. In the same skillet, heat on low heat and toast the pine nuts, 4-5 minutes, constantly stirring. Add to the salad bowl along with spinach, shredded chicken, feta, lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper to drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Once squash is done add to bowl and toss. Serve with warmed pita bread.

Sweet Butternut Squash Orzo Salad

This past weekend was rainy and dismal in Austin and perfectly divine! The weather got me in the mood for fall (well, that and getting my October cooking magazines in the mail!) I served the orzo with the Panko-Crusted Chicken with Mustard-Maple Pan Sauce from the October issue of Bon Appetit. Such a great pairing!

Sweet Butternut Squash Orzo Salad

2 cups orzo
1 2-lb butter nut squash, diced and roasted
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup shelled pistachios, lightly toasted
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh sage, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook orzo to package instructions. Toss with remaining ingredients. Tastes great the next day too, so make extra.

Hatch Chili Meatballs and Pesto

I love the excitement that hatch chili season creates. If you factor in food bloggers to the situation, excitement increases ten fold. The bloggers threw a hatch chili-themed potluck last month which I was so excited for. The first thing that came to my head was meatballs, so I just went with it.

My roommates were kind enough to be my taste testers. Good thing! The original recipe used sweet Italian sausage instead of hot, and there was less spice. It was a bit bland, so I kicked it up for the bloggers. When it's not hatch season, try this recipe with an assortment of peppers for a slightly different flavor.

Hatch Chili Meatballs and Pesto

Meatballs:
5 hatch chilis, stemmed, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 pound hot Italian sausage
1 pound lean ground sirloin
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Pesto:
4 hatch chilis, roasted, stemmed and partially seeded
1 red bell pepper, roasted, stemmed and seeded
4 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons almonds
3 tablespoons pecan pieces
2 cups fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/3 cup Manchego cheese, shredded
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

24 ounces spaghetti
Additional shredded Manchego cheese

For the meatballs, preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine first 5 ingredients (through sirloin) thoroughly with your hands. Mix in all other ingredients until combined. Form into 1 inch balls and place on greased baking sheet. You should get 3-4 dozen. Bake for about 30 minutes.

While meatballs are cooking, make pesto. In a food processor, add peppers and garlic; pulse. Add nuts and pulse again. Add in cilantro, lime juice and cheese; pulse. Season and pulse once again. With processor running, stream in olive oil until you reach your desired consistency. Serve as a topping to cooked spaghetti, meatballs and with additional Manchego cheese as needed.

On a recent trip home I picked up one of my childhood favorite books- Strega Nona. Long story short, Strega Nona has this awesome pasta pot that she can make as much pasta as she wants. She goes out of town, and silly Anthony tries to use it and ends up flooding the entire village with pasta! Thankfully we didn't have that problem at dinner, but my roommates did enjoy story hour :)

In Your Dreams Brussel Sprouts

Ok, I have an embarrassing food confession. I dream about food - a lot. A few weeks ago I had the most vivid dream about hosting a dinner party where I served a delicious brussel sprouts dish. Mind you I've never actually cooked brussel sprouts. Well, the dream stuck with me, so I decided to recreate my okra masterpiece to see if my dream sprouts held up. It was delicious and simple and made me realize that I actually DO like brussel sprouts!

In Your Dreams Brussel Sprouts

4 pieces bacon
1 package fresh brussel sprouts (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup diced shallots
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large cast iron skillet on medium heat and cook bacon until crisp. Remove from skillet and reserve drippings. When cook, crumble.

While bacon is cooking, remove stems from okra and cut in half if large. Add diced shallots and brussel sprouts to bacon drippings in cast iron skillet and saute 10-12 minutes, until sprouts begin to brown and is no longer crunchy. Stir in vinegar, crumbled bacon and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

I served with a simple pretzel honey crusted chicken and homemade mashed potatoes. For chicken, I bought chicken thighs, coated them in honey then dredged in crushed salted pretzels. Bake at 350 about 30 minutes or until chicken is 180 degrees (170 if using chicken breast).

Finished it off with a tasty sauvignon blanc :)

Mushroom Risotto

Do you ever have those nights where you are just dying for an excuse to spend a long time in the kitchen? Ok, maybe you're not all crazy like me, but having an excuse to sit there stirring while drinking a glass of wine is pretty relaxing too! I love the creamy comfort of a risotto, and using some summer vegetables I had along with some crisp Sauvingon Blanc seemed like the perfect reason to make one. Bon Appetit!

Mushroom Risotto

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup diced shallots
3 cups arborito rice
1/2 cup dry white wine, warm
5 cups chicken broth, warm
2 large portabello caps, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 large zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large heirloom tomato, diced
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Heat a large pot on medium heat and warm 1 tablespoon oil. Saute shallots 2 minutes, then add rice. Stir together so that oil and shallots thoroughly coat rice and let toast until rice begins to glisten, about 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the warmed wine (warning, if the wine is cold, it'll shock the rice and the risotto won't turn out right). Keep stirring until rice absorbs wine, then begin adding chicken broth. Add broth about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until absorbed before you add more. You should stir almost constantly throughout the process, which can take around 30 minutes. Keep adding broth until the rice is not absorbing it as well, the mixture should be very creamy at this point.

In the meantime, heat oil in a large skillet. Saute mushrooms until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add in zucchini and saute about 3 minutes. Stir in diced tomato and simmer about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and finish off with balsamic vinegar.

Add mushroom mixture to risotto. Stir in parmesan and goat cheese and add additional salt and pepper as needed. Enjoy!

The Best Salad You'll Ever Have

If you haven't purchased the September issue of Bon Appetit, stop what you're doing now and RUN to the magazine stand. I'm absolutely obsessed with this issue, filled with bacon, figs and goat cheese, and have made probably 6 recipes (and actually following them too!) already.

My absolute favorite has to be the Warm Escarole Salad with Goat Cheese, Hard-Boiled Eggs and Bacon, which I actually made twice this week. A sort of spin on cobb salad, this salad is SUCH a treat. If you can't find escarole, substitute any leafy green of your liking. For the exact recipe, check the link above. My version includes more bacon than what Bon App called for :) Because of that, I reduced the amount of oil added to the dressing since there were additional bacon drippings.

Warm Escarole Salad with Goat Cheese, Hard-Boiled Eggs and Bacon

2 heads of escarole, torn into large bite-sized pieces (about 8 cups)
5 bacon slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 5.5-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Divide escarole among 6 plates. Cook bacon in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain; reserve skillet with bacon drippings. Finely chop bacon; set aside.

Whisk olive oil and vinegar in small bowl to blend. Heat bacon drippings in skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; sauté until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add olive oil mixture and whisk just until heated through, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle vinaigrette over escarole. Sprinkle with eggs, goat cheese, and bacon.

I served the salad as a side to the Pineapple-Glazed Pork with Chiles and Lime- also delicious! Another recipe that I followed, two in one night- crazy!

Pineapple-Glazed Pork with Chiles and Lime

1 cup pineapple juice, divided
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped seeded red jalapeño chiles
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 3/4-pound pork tenderloins
Chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 500°F. Bring 3/4 cup pineapple juice and sugar to boil in heavy large saucepan over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cover; boil until syrup is deep brown, checking frequently to prevent burning, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Immediately swirl in remaining 1/4 cup pineapple juice, chiles, and allspice. When bubbling stops, whisk in lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Pour 1/4 cup glaze into small bowl and reserve.

Line baking sheet with foil; place rack in center of sheet. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper; place on rack. Brush with glaze from saucepan. Roast until thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 145°F, brushing occasionally with glaze from saucepan, about 15 minutes. Slice pork. Drizzle with reserved glaze and sprinkle with cilantro.

Orange Mustard Glazed Pork Chops

Apron is back! my apologies for being MIA, the past few weeks have been filled with work, travel, tennis, fun and of course, cooking! This was a meal that I whipped up after a night of tennis in no time. It's simple, but the flavors really pop.

Orange Mustard Glazed Pork Chops

4 boneless pork chops, 1 inch thick
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup shallots, diced
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Warm olive oil in pan, then place pork chops in skillet, cooking 4 to 5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Remove from heat and keep warm.

Heat butter in skillet and saute shallots about 3 minutes. Add orange juice, mustard and salt and pepper to taste to deglaze plan. Place pork chops back in pan for another minute, then serve with sauce

I served this with a simple side salad dressed with some of the marinade from my Fresh Fig and Brie Stuffed Pork Tenderloin. I tossed the figs with spring greens, the marinade and pistachios. Yum!