Mexican Caesar Salad

This salad recipe serves approx. 4 (with plenty of dressing leftover)

Cilantro Pepita Dressing:

2 medium Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled and seeded

1/3 cup roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

12 ounces salad oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

5 tablespoons grated Cotija cheese (see note)

2 small bunches cilantro, stemmed

1 1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup water

Salad:

2 corn tortillas

Vegetable oil

1 large head romaine lettuce, rinsed and spun dry

1/3 cup finely grated Cotija cheese

Roasted red bell pepper, peeled and cut into julienne strips

1/2 cup pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds)

Directions:
Place all dressing ingredients except cilantro, mayonnaise and water in a blender or food processor. Blend approximately 10 seconds, and then add cilantro little by little until blended smooth. Place mayonnaise and water in a large stainless steel bowl, and mix with a wire whip until smooth. Add the blended ingredients to the mayonnaise mixture, and mix thoroughly. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate. Will keep for three days. Yields 1 quart.

To assemble salad: Cut corn tortillas into matchstick-size strips. Heat oil in sauté pan; fry tortilla strips until crisp. Remove with slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Set aside. Tear romaine into bite-size pieces. Place greens on salad plates and ladle approximately 2 ounces of cilantro pepita dressing on each salad. Sprinkle each dish with Cotija cheese and tortilla strips. Arrange four red pepper strips like spokes on the top of each salad, and garnish with whole pepitas.

Note: Cotija cheese is a hard cheese, similar to Parmesan. It is available at some grocery stores and most Mexican markets.

As you can see in the picture above, we made tacos with the same ingredients above and added taco meat. They were delicious and I would highly recommend making them as well. This recipe comes from the restaurant El Torito's.

"C is for Cookie, That's good enough for me"

My second batch of these cookies has been devoured by all my little C's this week! It's the Blue Bonnet that does the trick. My neighbor gave me the recipe and I would always do all butter despite her telling me to use Blue Bonnet. Well, I decided to do both a couple of weeks ago and the results were awesome. Go figure.

1 cup butter
1 cup Blue Bonnet
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
4 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp. vanilla
4 cups chocolate chips

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes

addicting competition

78 words

Speedtest

This is what Jim considers "game night" with me. He still has my 78 words beat... Maybe I should put laundry and dishes on hold for the evening to improve my skills.

Go ahead and click on the green letters, if you're ready to waste a few minutes of your day away, too...

What do you think this bouquet costs?

Did you guess $159? That doesn't include shipping, mind you. If you need it in a larger size, the price goes up to $209, if you pick it up yourself. It's cute, but I still find that amazing. Click here to see all the arrangements available on the web site.

Wolfgang Puck's Butternut Squash Soup

On our trip to San Francisco we had some yummy things that I looked up the recipes for. I had this twice on the trip. It was so delicious!

Wolfgang Puck's Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients

3 C Butternut Squash, Chopped
1/2 C Orange Juice
1/3 C Dark Brown Sugar
1 Cinnamon Stick
1/4 C Sweet Butter
1 C Leek, Chopped
1/2 C Onion, Chopped
1 Granny Smith Apple, Chopped
4 C Chicken Stock
1/3 C Heavy Cream (Optional)
Salt
Freshly Ground White Pepper
1/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 C Butternut Squash, Diced
1/4 C Sage Leaves
1/8 C Italian Parsley
1/2 C Canola Oil
6 Sage Leaves

Directions

In a large bowl, toss 3 cups of butternut squash, peeled and seeded, cut into large chunks. Add 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, and 1 cinnamon stick. Pour into roasting pan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 1 hour or until tender. Discard cinnamon stick, drain and set juice aside.

In a heavy bottom stock pot place 1/4 cup sweet butter, 1 cup leeks, white part only - rough chopped, 1/2 cup onion and 1 granny smith apple - peeled, cored and chopped. Cook slowly over a medium flame, stirring frequently until very tender. Do not allow to color. Add 4 C chicken stock or vegetable bouillon. Bring to a low boil. Add squash, but not the squash juice. Cook for five minutes and add the optional 1/3 cup heavy cream and simmer for about 5 minutes. Cool and puree with a hand blender till very smooth.

In a non-stick saute pan, over a high flame place 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil. When it begins to smoke, add 1 cup of butternut squash, diced into small pieces. Stir until slightly colored. Add the reserved "juice" from the squash that was made earlier. Cook until all the liquid evaporates and the squash is lightly glazed. Reserve in a warm place.

Place 1/4 cup sage leaves, 1/8 cup Italian parsley and 1/2 cup Canola oil in a blender with a few ice cubes. Blend at high speed till very smooth. Pour into a cup and refrigerate.

In a small pan with a little peanut oil, fry 6 large sage leaves till crispy and drain on paper towels.

Ladle squash soup puree into six warm bowls. Sprinkle glazed, diced squash evenly over bowls, and drizzle about one teaspoon sage oil over each, and lay one sage leaf on each soup. Serve immediately.

Salmon and Asparagus Frittata

1 pound thin asparagus, tough ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch diagonal pieces

8 large eggs

3 ounces cream cheese, diced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon, julienned

2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup chopped yellow onions

1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese

Capers, preferably whole caperberries with stem, for garnish, if desired

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the asparagus until crisp-tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Drain asparagus and immediately plunge into an ice-water bath. Chill completely, remove asparagus from the ice water and pat dry.

Whisk together eggs, cream cheese, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. (The cream cheese will remain in pieces.) Stir in the smoked salmon, dill, and blanched asparagus.
In a 12-inch, nonstick, ovenproof skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Add onions and saute until softened, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and pour the beaten egg mixture over the onions. Cover and cook until the bottom and sides are set but not too brown, about 15 minutes.

Uncover the frittata and bake for about 13 minutes. Remove the frittata from the oven and sprinkle the cheese over the top. Bake for an additional 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the eggs are cooked through. Allow frittata to rest for 3 to 5 minutes, before unmolding.

To remove the frittata from the skillet, run a heatproof rubber spatula around the edges of the frittata to loosen it from the pan. Gently slip the frittata from the skillet to a large plate or serving dish. Slice frittata into wedges and serve with capers if desired.

Darin and I loved this. Great as leftovers the next day too. I did not have any luck "unmolding" it. So we just served it straight from the pan. Oh well. Also, I used salmon fillets instead of smoked salmon. I substituted dried dill for fresh dill. And used parmesean cheese instead of asiago, and finally omitted the capers.

Carnival

 

Isaac's school holds it's annual fundraiser called Carnival. I compare it to my elementary fundraiser Bronco Days when I was Isaac's age. I thought it was so awesome. Now I wonder if it was that great or if I was just too young to know better.

Sweet-Potato Ravioli With Sage Butter Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

Ravioli

2 1-pound red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams)

2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar2

tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, room temperature

1 12-ounce package wonton wrappers

1 large egg, beaten to blend

Fried shallots and sauce

1 cup vegetable oil

4 large shallots, cut crosswise into thin rounds, separated into rings

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter

8 large fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

PreparationFor ravioli: Preheat oven to 400°F. Oil rimmed baking sheet. Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise; place cut side down on baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 35 minutes; cool. Scoop potato pulp out of skins into small bowl. Spoon 11/3 cups pulp into medium bowl. (Reserve any remaining potato pulp for another use.) Add sugar and butter; mash well. Season filling with salt and pepper.

Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place wonton wrappers on work surface. Using pastry brush, brush wrappers with beaten egg. Place 1/2 tablespoon sweet-potato filling in center of each. Fold each wrapper diagonally over filling, forming triangle. Seal edges. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet. Let stand at room temperature while preparing fried shallots and sauce. (Can be made up to 5 days ahead. Freeze, then cover and keep frozen. Do not thaw before cooking.)

For fried shallots and sauce: Heat vegetable oil in heavy small saucepan over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, fry shallots until crisp and dark brown, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer shallots to paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Cook butter in large pot over medium heat until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add sage and red pepper.

Meanwhile, working in batches, cook ravioli in pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain well. Add ravioli to pot with butter sauce; toss to coat. Transfer to plates, drizzling any sauce from pot over ravioli. Top with fried shallots and pine nuts; serve immediately.

**Both times we've made this recipe, we have made our own ravioli dough. But we have a pasta maker, so it's not that difficult. The wonton wrappers are probably easier, but I just can't promise it's the same delicious result. Also we have reduced the amount of oil and butter in the sauce. Delicious every time Darin makes it!!