5:01 Dinner Club

This salsa also makes a great appetizer when served with chips!

At first, I paired this recipe for salsa with a nut coated chicken breast and it didn’t take me long to realize after I began to eat this light & lively dish that the salsa was the super star-that really just about any grilled meat would make a great summer time companion for the salsa. 

For the fastest preparation, pair with a rotisserie chicken and canned black beans.  If you do choose to grill your meat at home, grill it simply with olive oil, salt & pepper-just make sure the grill is hot -400+ degrees, don’t overcook, and allow the meat to rest before cutting into it-

Mojo Chicken & Pineapple Salsa

Serves 4 people in 10 minutes

• 1 (2 if you have all white meat loving guests) Store bought “Mojo” rotisserie chicken (or 4 pieces of grilled chicken, 4 grilled tilapia fliets, 2 lbs grilled shrimp, 1.5 lbs of grilled pork tenderloin…)
• 2 C Fresh pineapple, cut into ¼ “cubes
• ½ C Sweet onion, chopped fine
• 3 Jalapenos, seeded & chopped
• ¼ C Fresh cilantro, chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste

1.  In a medium bowl, mix last 5 ingredients
2. Arrange chicken on platter and garnish with salsa

Plain wheat bread becomes fancy toast with no crusts and a brush of olive oil!

This is another recipe that utilizes one of every last minute cook’s best friends:  the rotisserie chicken!  It is so easy and so delicious when fresh- and even better when left over.  Use is as an appetizer on toast points (as I have pictured above) or on the end of an endive leave for a fresh serving tool that will leave you virtually carb free!  Or serve it up on the bread of your choice for a lunch, brunch, or dinner sandwich.

 Makes 4-6 sandwiches or appetizers for 6-8 adults in about 10 minutes

•  1 Rotisserie chicken cut into cubes
• ½ Medium sweet onion, chopped fine
• Heaping 1/3 C Mayo
• ¼ C Sour cream
• 2 Tsp Dried tarragon
• Salt & Pepper to taste (I use very little salt and a ton of fresh cracked pepper)

 In a large bowl, mix all ingredients and serve!

In the meantime, here’s an ultra quick appetizer suggestion that my husband & I just love:

•  Buy a cute jar (If you can’t find a cute jar just put the preserves in a cute little serving dish with a little spoon) of fig preserves, open the jar and stick a little spoon in the jar.
• Buy a block of bleu cheese, unwrap and put on a serving dish with a cheese knife.
• Serve these sweet & savory partners with crackers and on each cracker, get a little fig preserve and a little cheese.

 It’s a sophisticated solution to the need for a quickie appetizer and it is so delicious!

Falsa!

Nice consistency, flecks of fresh cilantro…This definitely has the look of home-made salsa but it’s not.  We took a jar of the least expensive brand of store bought salsa and threw it in the food processor with fresh cilantro (1/4 C), half of a fresh sweet onion (rough chopped), a clove of garlic (rough chopped), and a few drops of “chipotle” hot sauce  and pulsed until it was the consistency that we like.  This is so easy, so tasty and about $2 less than the jar of our favorite jar of “gourmet salsa”!

My basic hummus with kalamata olives mixed in and paprika on top...

This is for my awesome sister in law, Shana.  I have never developed a specific hummus recipe before but I was telling Shana that it’s basically 5 ingredients and  aside from a specific amount of chick peas, I change mine every time depending on what flavors I am most in the mood for.  So in the spirit of the number one thing I learned from Michael Symon, here’s my hummus ‘guide”-the recipe will be yours:

Serves 4

•  1 Can of chick peas/garbanzo beans, drained
• Tahini (I would guess that I use about ¼ C) Tahini is a pureed sesame seed mixture found-in my store near kalamata olives & peppers…
• Lemon, juice & zest (I use 1)
• Olive Oil (I would guess that I use 1/3 C)
• Salt
• Crushed Garlic
• Honey (that’s my special thing-I add about 1 tsp)

1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
2. Serve with pita chips, carrots, or grilled flatbread…

Your Own Little Fall Festival In a Bowl

 

Serves 4

Takes About 1 Hour Total

Costs About $3/person

•  2 Medium size butternut squashes, peeled, seeded and cut into ½ “cubes
• 2 Small (or 1 very large) sweet onions, peeled and chopped into ½ “ pieces
• 2 Tbs Olive oil
• 2 Tbs Fresh rosemary, chopped fine
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 5 Pieces bacon
• 4-5 C Chicken stock (depending on how thick you want the soup to be)
• 1 Green apple, diced
• ½ C Sour cream
• 1 Tbs milk

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Mix 1^st 5 ingredients together in a large bowl until well combined
3. Pour mixture out onto a lightly greased jelly roll pan (baking sheet with raised sides) and roast for 30 minutes-until edges of onions and squash are golden-brown
4. While squash is roasting, brown bacon in a large, heavy pot/Dutch oven-remove bacon and crumble
5. Remove all but about 1 Tbs of the bacon grease
6. Over medium-high heat, add the chicken stock to the pot and whisk until all of the brown bacon bits have been pulled off the bottom of the pot
7. Now add squash mixture to the pot and stir
8. Using a hand blender, a blender, or food processor, puree mixture until smooth (if using blender or food processor, may have to puree soup in batches and then reheat in pot)
9. Taste and add salt & pepper if desired
10. Mix sour cream and milk and then place mixture in a zip sandwich bag
11. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with diced apple, bacon and sour cream (cut corner out of the bag and drizzle over soup in any artful design that you wish!)

Too Easy To Not Make This A Summer Fave!

Time to pay some respect to one of the easiest, most beautiful salads you will ever throw together.  I know this is another one for the “no duh” department when it comes to preparing so I am confident that all of you can (if you don’t already) throw an insalata caprese together in a flash to impress family & friends.  I felt compelled to mention this salad this week because if you are one of those people with an abundance of Summer tomatoes and you are not making this, you are soooo missing out! 

I always lay the tomatoes out first and salt & pepper them on their own.  Tomatoes take on a whole new world of flavor when lightly salted and, if your dealing with a homegrown tomato, they might just taste so good that you make an obscene sound and the tomato hits your palate.  After the tomatoes are seasoned, you weave in buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil in any matter that you see fit.  Another wonderful thing about this salad- it will be stunning no matter how you arrange things.  Now drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and boom-you are done!

Score!  This recipe went from imagination to plate quickly this week and I liked it on the 1^st try-which is rare.  I think it’s a perfect 5:01 recipe for a couple of reasons: 

1. It’s quick:  To prepare, it’s just a matter of mixing a few things together in a bowl and the chicken is pounded thin so is cooks fast
2. It’s light:  For those of us who are carb & fat counting (me), you have lean protein wrapped around vegetables-if you used light mayo-even better…
3. It’s versatile:  You could use the “stuffing” (as I did last night) as an appetizer.  I just put the spinach stuffing in an oven safe dish, topped it with a little grated parmesan and baked it at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes (broiled it at the very end for just a sec).  I served mine with tortilla chips but I think it would be equally good with flat bread.
4. It’s a no sweat company dish:  You could assemble everything early in the day and then pop in the oven once company arrives.  Serve with a salad or make ahead mashed potatoes and you are enjoying your company and the food instead of sweating in the kitchen!
5. Oh-almost forgot-it doesn’t cost much!

Pesto is really just some ingredient (herbs, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes…) combined with olive oil and seasonings to form a sauce that really concentrated flavors.  So although I am posting my recipe for basil pesto today, you could use a wide variety of ingredients including pizza, pasta, bread, roasted/grilled meats or vegetables-you could even use it as a spread or a dip.

Serves 4

Takes about 10 minutes to prepare

Costs less than $3/person

4 Large multi-grain wraps (you could use tortillas)

1 6.5 oz. Container soft, spreadable herb cheese (like “Alouette”)

**2 C Arugula, washed & dried (Tracy uses spinach which would be equally delicious!)

20 Thin (lunch meat) sliced turkey (or ham or make it vegetarian and leave the meat off)

Spread about 1/3 C of cheese onto each tortilla

Layer the arugula and then turkey over cheese

Roll up wraps and then slice at an angle

Serve with some sliced fruit to make it as healthy as it is easy

**Arugula is a very hearty, flavorful salad green.  You find where you find all of the other salad supplies at the grocery store.  I love it but it does have a stronger flavor than other greens, so you may want to taste it before you commit.