Weekly Menu - 8/4 -8/8

This week's menu was completely created by Matt, well except the BLT Bread Salad, that was my idea. I usually spend Sunday morning pondering cookbooks & bookmarked recipes to come up with the menu before we head to the grocery store. It was a nice treat to have him present me with a menu on Friday evening!


Menu Planning Monday

Pesto Fusilli with Corn, Zucchini & Bacon - From Serious Eats - We have lots of basil in the garden so this will be a great use for it. - RESULT - This was really quite good, better than I even expected & making it was a breeze.

Grilled Lobster Tails with red potatoes & corn - My sister's family gave Matt & I a gift certificate to order some lobster for our birthdays & we'll finally use it this week, yum!

Turkey Burgers with coleslaw & sweet potatoes or perhaps squash

Peanut Noodles - We'll be messing around with this dish to make it suit our tastes.

BLT Bread Salad - I've got bacon & lots of cherry tomatoes in the garden. - RESULT - A really good salad, how can anything with bacon be bad?!

We got a large bag of carrots from the farm last time so I've decided to do a Carrot Cupcake. We love carrot cake so I'm looking forward to these.

Pizza Night

Matt & I were talking today about how since we've started making our own pizza at home we couldn't imagine buying frozen pizza anymore. We don't even send out for pizza these days. The homemade version is just so wonderful & we can make it with any topping we want. I would guess we make pizza every other week or so & the topping are often decided by what is in the fridge. Last nights pizza was one of those.

We started with our favorite homemade crust to which I added 1/2 t of garlic powder. I didn't have any pizza sauce in the house but I did have fresh cherry tomatoes in the garden so I turned them into a fresh tomato sauce. The sauce was then topped but a layer of grated fontina, one of our favorite pizza cheeses. Then I added a thinly sliced sweet onion & some arugula from our recent CSA delivery. Finally I tore two slices of prosciutto over the top.

Into the oven for 15 minutes at 450 F & dinner is ready. This was one good pizza. We loved the sweetness of the fresh tomato sauce with the saltiness of the cheese & prosciutto. Only thing I would change is next time I'd add more arugula, it looks like a lot when you put it on before cooking but it wilts down quite a bit.

Fresh Cherry Tomato Sauce

1 brimming cup of sweet cherry tomatoes (I'm growing Sweet 100s)
1 T of red wine
pinch of dried oregano
pinch of dried basil
salt & pepper

In a small food processor or chopper, process the tomatoes to a chunky sauce. Stir in the remaining ingredients.

This makes just enough for one pizza with a thin layer of sauce.

Chicken with Fennel Salad Sandwiches

The other night Matt was flying back from the Bay Area right around dinner time & I had to work at the library until right before picking him up. I had a feeling he wouldn't want to go out for dinner after lots of meals out for the past couple of days. I decided the best thing to do was have something that was ready to eat when we got home that was fresh & light. Chicken salad seemed like a perfect solution, I could make it before I went to the library & let it chill until we got home.

We make lots of variations of chicken salad based on what's in the refrigerator; leftover rice & beans - Mexican chicken salad, leftover chile rub - southwestern chicken salad, leftover grilled vegetables - vegetable chicken salad. It's the type of dish that can be a spring board for many flavors. I wanted to use one of the fennel bulbs we got from our CSA so I went for a Chicken & Fennel Salad this time. I was just going to wing it but I found what sounded like a great recipe from Gourmet June 2006 on Epicurious. The only issue with the recipe is that it was huge, it used 3 whole chickens! So here I give it to you sized down to make 4 sandwiches.

Chicken and Fennel Salad

3 - 4 c cooked chicken, chopped or shredded (I didn't have any cooked chicken around so I just poached two breasts)
5 T mayonnaise
2 T plain yogurt
zest from 1/2 lemon
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 t fennel seeds, toasted & crushed
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/4 c fresh basil, chopped
1 fennel bulb, stems discarded & chopped

Mix everything but the basil together. Cover & chill until ready to serve. Before serving mix in the fresh basil.

Makes 4 servings.

We served this as sandwiches on homemade rolls & ate the leftovers inside a tortilla wrap the next day. It would also be very goo just serves on salad greens. The lemon really brighten this recipe & I've upped it compared to the original. The fennel provides a nice crunch & a slight licorice flavor but is not overpowering at all, though the flavor was slightly more intense the second day.

Tea with Lemon Cupcakes

This week I was struggling with coming up with a cupcake flavor, everything that came to mind sounded so much better for fall or winter. So, I started to think about what do people like to eat & drink in the summer. The first thing that came to mind was Matt & the glass after glass of ice tea he drinks & there was my flavor idea.

This cupcake is flavored with tea by brewing tea bags in the milk which gets used in the batter. I would suggest using a black tea instead of an herbal for this because the flavors are a little stronger. I used Republic of Tea's Blackberry & Sage blend because I thought a fruit tea would suit a cupcake well. The smell of the blackberry in the tea really came through in the baking. I used two tea bags & the flavor is good but subtle. Next time I would try using even more for a stronger tea flavor & I've noted that in the recipe.

The cupcakes are decorated with a slice of candied lemon peel which was so easy to make & added such a nice touch of color.

Tea with Lemon Cupcakes

Tea Flavored Cupcake

1/4 c milk
2 - 4 tea bags (use 2 for a subtle flavor & more for a stronger tea flavor)
3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
6 T unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 c + 1 T sugar
1/2 t vanilla
2 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare 7 muffin tins.
Bring the milk just to a boil, remove from heat & add the tea bags. Allow the tea to steep until you are ready to add the milk to the batter, it should be a medium brown color. Squeeze any liquid from the tea bags before adding milk to the batter.

In a small bowl mix together the flour, baking powder & salt. In a large bowl cream together butter & sugar until light & fluffy. Add vanilla & beat. On low speed add half the flour mixture until just blended. Add tea flavored milk until blended. Add remaining flour & mix until just blended.

In another bowl beat the egg whites until stiff, glossy peaks appear, about 2 minutes. Gently fold 1/3 of the egg into the batter until combined. Add remaining egg & fold until combined.

Divided equally among the muffin tins. Bake for 20 - 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool before icing.

Makes 7 cupcakes

Lemon Milk Icing

1/2 c powdered sugar
1 t lemon juice
milk

Mix sugar,& lemon juice together. Add milk 1/2 t at a time until desired consistency is reached. Glaze cupcakes & let them sit until glaze has set.

Makes enough glaze for 6 - 7 cupcakes

Candied Lemon Peel

1/2 lemon
1/3 c water
1/3 c sugar

Using a peeler carefully peel off thin strips of lemon peel trying to only get the yellow & very little if any white. Trim the strips into desired width & length.

In a small saucepan bring the water to a boil. Add the lemon peels & allow them to boil for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the peels from the water.

Stir the sugar into the water & bring it back to a boil. Return the lemon peels to the pan & cook until translucent.

Take the peels from the sugar water (I would recommend using tongs at this point) & place on a silicone mat. Allow to cool & dry completely.

Makes about 10 pieces of candied peel depending on size & width.

Swiss Chard with Caramelized Onions, Pine Nuts & Sultanas

Another single girl dinner here at chez Good Appetite. I almost broke down & went to the store for a prepared meal but I'm so glad I didn't, this meal was a lot better than I expected. I don't believe I've ever eaten Swiss Chard before & was a little worried about it being bitter, when I found out it was part of the beet family & I was sold. This dish ended up having a mellow sweetness from the caramelized onions, sultanas & balsamic vinegar that would totally make up for any bitterness from the greens. The toasted pine nuts added a great nutty flavor & crunch.


I served this over couscous for a really satisfying main dish, brown rice would work well too. Alone, it would make a wonderful side dish especially with red meat.

Swiss Chard with Caramelized Onions, Pine Nuts & Sultanas
Adapted for 1 from seattlepi.com

1 T pine nuts
1/2 T olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, sliced thin
7 stalks of Swiss chard, stems & leaves
1 T sultanas
1 T balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper

In a large saucepan over medium heat, toast the pine nuts until brown & fragrant. Set aside.

In the same pan heat the oil & add the onion. Allow to cook until soft & golden brown, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.

While the onions are cooking, separate the stems from the chard leaves. Chop the chard stems into 2 inch pieces & the leaves into 2 inch strip. Once the onions have cooked add the chard stems & sultanas to the pan & cook for another 10-15 minutes until the stems are tender.

Add the chard leaves & cook until wilted down, about 5 minutes. In the last minute or so of cooking stir in the vinegar.

Serves 1 as a main dish, 2 as a side