Chin Deep

Strawberries, peaches and pineapple are the stars of the show in this refreshing, good for you, summer salad!

Strawberry Dressing:

12 oz Yoplait Original Strawberry Yogurt

1 Cup fresh strawberries

2 Tablespoons white or red wine vinegar

Salad:

6 cups torn romaine lettuce or mixed salad greens

2 large, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked completely and cut into strips

1 cup sliced fresh strawberries

4 pineapple rings

1 medium peach, peeled, pitted and sliced

2 medium green onions, sliced (use some of the tops for color)

Place dressing ingredients in a food processor. Zip on high speed for 15 seconds, or until smooth. Arrange fruit on top of salad greens on 4 plates. Drizzle with dressing. Enjoy!

“It’s certain that fine women eat a crazy salad with their meat.” ~William Butler Yeats

These little lettuce wraps are every bit as wonderful as the ones you can get at upscale Chinese restaurants. They make a perfect lunch, appetizer, or light dinner.

• 16 butter lettuce leaves
• 1 pound lean ground bison
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 large, sweet Maui onion or Vidalia onion, chopped fine
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons minced pickled ginger
• 1 tablespoon seasoned rice wine vinegar
• Asian chile pepper sauce (optional)
• 1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons Asian (dark) sesame oil

1. Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet over medium- high heat, brown the ground bison in 1 tablespoon of oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain, and set aside and allow to cool. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, and chile pepper sauce to the onions. Stir. Add the chopped water chestnuts, green onions, and sesame oil, and continue cooking until the onions become translucent, about 2 minutes.
3. Place lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large, pretty serving platter. Place meat mixture in the center. To serve: allow each person to spoon a some of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Fold like a taco, and enjoy!

“I learned early on that setting a table is so much more than just laying down knives and forks. It is creating a setting for food and conversation, setting a mood and an aura that lingers long after what was served and who said what was forgotten.”

-Peri Wolfman

This is a delicious, easy and healthful Indian style meal that tastes fantastic paired with a gewurztraminer wine. Marinating chicken in yogurt for 24 hours makes the meat very tender and flavorful.

Easy Tandoori Chicken for the Grill:

4 large, boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup curry powder

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon Tony Cachare’s Cajun Seasoning

1/2 cup toasted coconut

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Combine yogurt, curry, lemon juice and Cajun seasoning together in a mixing bowl. Make 3 long slits lengthwise that go half way through each chicken breast. Place chicken breasts in a rectangular cake pan or a large casserole pan. Pour the yogurt sauce over each breast, making sure you get yogurt inside all the slits. Cover tightly and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Grill on high heat 10 to 12 minutes per side. Garnish with toasted coconut, raisins and slivered almonds.

Hello everyone! It’s been a couple weeks since I last wrote. The girls are now officially on summer vacation, and we are back from our week in Door County. I’m ready to do some more blogging!

Here’s the recipe for what I made tonight for dinner while chatting with my friend Chantelle on the phone This is an easy recipe, but not your usual boring Monday night fare. Enjoy.

Latin Beef Picadillo

Serves 4

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

1 pound extra lean organic ground beef or bison

1/4 cup orange juice

2 Tablespoons mild chili powder

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 cup raisins

3/4 cup slivered almonds

1 cup Spanish olives with pimentos, chopped

Juice of 1/2 lemon or lime

1 teaspoon “Tony Chachere’s” Original Creole Seasoning

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and ground beef/bison, stirring until onion becomes translucent (about 5 minutes.) Add juice, chili powder, cinnamon, raisins, almonds, olives and lemon/lime juice. Cook until the liquid has been reduced by half (about 2 minutes.) Season with Creole seasoning. Serve over warm brown rice, whole wheat noodles, or in whole grain pita bread.

This dish is fantastic when paired with Wyncroft Gewurztraminer.

This is a beautiful pasta dish that is light enough to serve in the summer. Fantastic when tossed with fresh cooked crab meat or shrimp. If you want a lovely company dish that won’t have you fussing in the kitchen all day, this is the ticket.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add 1 pound of linguine. Cook until al dente. Drain and transfer to a large pasta bowl. Zest one lemon into a small bowl. Juice 4 lemons and add it to the bowl, discarding seeds. Add 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley, and 1/3 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese. Toss the lemon juice mixture with the noodles until well incorporated. Add a little salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

If you like seafood and want to make this dish a little more special, saute a pound of fresh crabmeat or raw, peeled and deveined shrimp in 3 Tablespoons butter. Just before removing from pan add 1/4 cup white wine to the seafood. Pour on top of pasta and serve immediately. Pour yourself a glass of your favorite white wine. This is the epitome of la dolce vita (The sweet joy of everyday life). Enjoy!

(Joey is making marinara sauce and filling every container possible with it. Chandler enters the room:)

Chandler: “Whoa, whoa, so I’m guessing you didn’t get the part… or Italy called and said it was hungry.”

-Friends

This is one of our favorite sandwich spreads and dips to serve at a party.

Toasted Sesame Hummus:

In a food processor, combine:

2 cans chickpeas (drained)

2 Tablespoons tahini sauce

2 fresh cloves of garlic, peeled

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and cayenne pepper to taste

Puree until very smooth adding a bit more lemon juice or olive oil if the mixture seems to thick.

Enjoy!

xo,

Melissa