A Healthy Snack: Rhubarb and Cottage Cheese Crostini

Are you in the mood for a healthy snack? If so, you've come to the right place. Normally, rhubarb would be associated with strawberries or baking. Rhubarb (also known as "pie plant") is a tart vegetable with reddish stalks, acidic/toxic roots, and is edible when cooked or sweetened. I've decided to take these 3 ingredients to form a tasteful snack or festive appetizer for friends and family. Hope you enjoy this recipe!

Rhubarb and Cottage Cheese Crostini
(appetizer or snack) serves: 6

• 2 rhubarb stalks, diced
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 slices baguette bread, cut diagonally 1/2-inch thick
• 1 oz olive oil
• about 5-6 oz cottage cheese

1. In a medium saucepan, add the water and diced rhubarb. Boil, then simmer for 5-6 minutes. Add the sugar; stir, but don't mash the rhubarb.
2. On a baking sheet, lay out the slices of bread and brush it with the olive oil. Bake in a toaster oven for 5-10 minutes (275 degrees) or toasted to your liking.
3. When the bread is toasted, spread cottage cheese on the bread and place a spoonful of sweetened rhubarb on top.

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• Rhubarb is gaining a new rep for its sweet-tart versatility (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Rhubarb can yield sweet or savory creations (sfgate.com)

Chicken Wrap with Blue Cheese Sauce

Everybody loves chicken, right? There are many ways you can cook chicken. You could broil it, grill it, saute it, fry it (pan-fry & deep-fry), and bake it. Well, I have a recipe that you would loooove to try. And its a healty way of eating it. Trust me, you dont' have to enjoy this alone. This recipe is to serve 8 people.

Chicken Wrap w/ Blue Cheese Sauce

• 8 tortilla wraps or bread wraps
• 1 cup shredded american cheese
• 8 lettuce leaves
• 2-1/4 cup whole milk
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 small Spanish onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp all-purposed flour
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 lbs crumbled blue cheese

1. For the sauce; in a small saucepan, bring milk to a simmer over low heat. Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and ook until soft. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
2. Slowly whisk in the warm milk and continue to whisk until thickened. Season with salt and cayenne pepper. Continue cooking for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the blue cheese. If the sauce is too thick, thin it with a little extra milk.
4. Cook the chicken to your preference (bake, grill, saute, and etc). Make sure chicken is cooked thoroughly, the internal temp of 170 degs. When the chicken is done, cut the meat into strips. Set aside.
5. For the wrap (you can warm the bread wrap if you want to), first, put the sauce on the bread wrap, then the lettuce leave, next is the chicken strips, and lastly, the shredded cheese. Fold the bottom of the wrap up, and then fold in both of the sides. Take a big bite. Yummy!

Now on Bloglines.com

Hello all! I just started an account with bloglines.com; in which I blog about foods and have blogrolls that you can check out!



Okay, Labour Day will be hitting the corner pretty soon, so have any of you thought of Labour Day meals or family-styled BBQs? How about some creamy coleslaw with BBQ pulled pork sandwich? A glass of Luizanne Iced Tea? (just remember, don't wear white after Labour Day, lol).

Here's my recipe for creamy coleslaw:

• 2 carrot, shredded
• 1 red onion, medium, shredded
• 1 cup mayo
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 head green cabbage, shredded
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp blk pepper
• 2 tbsp sugar

1. In a large bowl, combine the carrots, onions, and cabbage. In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
2. Add the wet ingredient to the cabbage mix. Toss well, so the cabbage mix is well-coated. Put in refrigerate to chill.

Yummy: Balsamic Glaze

Image by Scorpions and Centaurs via Flickr

I was searching the web for "balsamic vinegar" and tried to figure out a recipe that I could make using it. To be honest, I'm not very familiar with this vinegar. As I found out, it can be used on sweet and savory dishes. Meats (beef, poultry, fish), salads, desserts, and etc.

So, tonight, I figured that I would do a taste test of all the different recipes of balsamic glaze, pick the one I like best and use it to create a unique dish!

Here's a recipe that I found to make basic balsamic glaze:
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
*this recipe makes 2 cups. it takes about 30 minutes of simmering or until the sauce thickens at your liking. remember to keep stirring, so the sauce won't burn.

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• Recipe: Flat Iron Steak with Balsamic Glaze (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

heads up!

Just joined multiply.com (my badge is above) and foodblogs.com (their badge above). I created a second foodie's journal. It also has it where you can set up shop, but i don't know if I'm going to go that route yet. Just wanted to give you all a heads up.

eat.live.be happy!
-erica

Chicken Fever!

If you love chicken, then this is for you! I have come up with two chicken recipes for your tasting. 1. Hot and very spicy chicken for grilling, stove-top grilling, or pan-searing. 2. A sweet and savory glaze to dress the chicken with after cooking it (this glaze is commonly used on steak, but I think it'll work with chicken as well.)

Chicken Caliente

• 2 boneless chicken breast
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp Accent flavor enchancer
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• a pinch of butter to oil the stove-top grill pan

1. Oil the grill pan with the butter; set temperature to med-high.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients; spread evenly on the chicken (front and back) and let sit until the rub looks wet.
3. Place the chicken in the pan and cook for 6 minutes on each side.

Shredded Chicken w/Balsamic Glaze

• 1 boneless chicken breast
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

1. Heat oil in fry pan.
2. Season chicken and fry it for 6 minutes on each side; set aside and keep warm.
3. In a saucepan, bring the vinegar to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook until its reduce to 1/4 cup (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat.
4. Take the finished chicken and begin shredding it to pieces.
5. Place the shredded chicken in a small plate and pour or drizzle the balsamic glaze on top.

Eat.Live.Be happy!
-Erica

Don't be afraid to try it!

I consider myself to be a "food scientist/experimentor" (weird, I know). I'm not all about eating the newest trend of food that has come out. I'm all about creating a taste and my own unique style of food (and sharing it with others).

I love coming up with my own recipes (The Flavor Bible is the best investment that I've ever made!) and I love looking at other recipes; conjuring ways of changing it to make it my own.

So, I say this weekend for the 4th, get inventive! Get that grill out and create a BBQ masterpiece.

Eat.Live.Be happy!
-Erica

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New recipes!

Watercress Salmon w/ Argulas

 (serves: 4)

•  4 cooked (pan-fried) salmon fillet
• 2 bunches of watercress
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 chopped shallots
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup of fish stock
• 2/3 cup of dry white wine
• 1 tsp anchovy extract
• 2/3 cup of light cream
• 1 bag of steamed vegetables
• 2 sliced lemon wedges for garnish
• Lemon juice
• Salt and cayenne pepper
• Pieces of argulas leaves

1.  Trim away any bruise leaves and coarse stalks. Blanche in boiling water (5min). Drain, refresh under cold running water. Drain, again, in a sieve or colander.
2. Press leaves against the sides of sieve with a spoon to remove excess moisture. Chop finely and set aside.
3. Melt butter in a pan and fry the shallots over medium heat (3-4 mins) or until soft. Stir in the flour and cook (1-2 mins).
4. Remove pan from heat and gradually stir in the fish stock and wine. Return the pan to heat and bring sauce to boil; stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer gently (2-3mins), stirring occasionally.
5. Strain the sauce into a clean pan, and then stir in the watercress with anchovy extract and cream. Warm over slow heat. Season with salt and cayenne pepper. Sharpen with lemon juice.
6. Serve immediately.

Chili Cheese Fries

(Yield: 4)

 

• 2 medium russet potatoes
• 3-5 cups vegetable oil (fryer filled halfway)
• 3-5 cups peanut oil (fryer filled rest of the way)
• 12 oz lean ground beef
• 1 cup large chopped onion
• ½ cup chopped green sweet pepper
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1-14 ½ oz can diced tomatoes, untrained
• 1-8oz can tomato sauce
• 2-3 tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp crushed dried basil

 

1.Slice potatoes with a mandoline set to ¼-inch thick slices. Hold at angle so that fries are about 2-3 inches in length.

 2.Drop sliced potatoes into a bowl of water to rinse away starch. Pour out water, then fill the bowl again and add some ice. Let potatoes sit for 1 hour in the ice water. Heat oils in fryer to 350°F.

 3.In a large saucepan, cook ground beef, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender; drain fat. Stir in the undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, basil, and black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes.

 4.When the potatoes are done soaking, drain them. Blot fries dry with paper towel. Drop the dry fries into the hot oil and blanch for 2-3 minutes (fries should be soft in the center). Remove fries to towel to cool. When all the fries are blanched, let them sit for about 30 minutes.

 5.When the fries are cool, fry them for the second time for 5-7 minutes or until fries are golden and crispy.

 6.Pour fries onto a rack or towels to drain.

 7.To plate, place generous amount of fries onto a plate top off with chili and sprinkle shredded cheddear cheese.

 

Steamed Turbot w/Passion Fruit puree garnished w/crème fraîche

 (Serves:1)

•  1 turbot filet, undressed
•  ½ passion fruit, peeled and pitted
•  3 tbsp crème fraîche
•  To taste salt and pepper

1. In the steam basket or double broiler, cook the fish for about 10-15 mins (season the fish w/salt to taste before steaming).
2. Put the passion fruit and 2 tbsp of crème fraîche in a small bowl. Blend until smooth.
3. Before plating the fish, pour a dollop of the puree onto the plate. Placed the fish on top (season with pepper to taste).
4. Finishing touch: add the last tbsp of crème fraîche on top of the fish.