Chocolate Chip Muffins

I found this recipe in my Cooking Light Magazine.  Each one of these muffins has only 191 calories.  I may add a little cayenne to the recipe for some extra kick.  I love the way cayenne tastes with chocolate.

1 3/4 C. all purpose flour
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
1/4 C. unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C. warm water
1/4 C. canola oil
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 C. semi sweet mini chips, divided
Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Make a well in the center of the mixture.  Combine 1 C. water and next 4 ingredients (through egg) in a bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Stir in 1/4 C. mini chips.  Add oil mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just moist.

Place 12 muffin cup liners in muffin cups and coat liners with cooking spray.  Divide batter evely among prepared muffin cups.  Spinkle remaining chips evenly over batter.  Bake 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on wire rack.

Foodie Weekend

Chris and I didn't take a spring vacation this year.  We remodeled our living room and dining room instead.  See below for a view of the finished product.  Those who have visited my house, do you miss the dark wood paneling?  Neither do I!

It got the point though that Chris and I needed a break from the daily grind.  So, we picked a weekend and decided to do touristy things in the city.  We had some tickets for a chocolate tour so I booked that for Saturday afternoon.  We also had some gift cards to the Chopping Block so we booked a class at the Lincoln Square location for Friday night.  The rest of the weekend just kind of fell into place even if Mother Nature didn't get the message that it is the middle of April, not the middle of February.

Friday night we took the Date Night Greek Taverna at the Chopping Block.  This is the first hands on class we have taken there.  I will be posting the recipes from this class soon.  What we made was amazing.

That's the main dish; Lemon Grilled Chicken and Orzo Salad.  The chicken was marinated with garlic, fresh herbs and lemon juice.  The orzo salad had sun dried tomatoes, cucumbers and feta cheese.  We also made Shrimp Santorini and a cake made with orange rind and Greek yogurt.  Chris liked it even if it wasn't chocolate.

Saturday morning we woke up and had very gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made with English muffins.  Seriously, it was just Skippy and some jelly on the English muffins and while they were tasty, they were fairly run of the mill.

Our chocolate tour was at 12:45pm so we had some time to kill once we found our way to 900 North Michigan Ave from the hotel.  We found a little cafe called Oak Tree in the mall.  They had about a dozen "Epicurean Cheese Sandwiches".  You cannot go wrong with a cheese sandwich.  The one I chose had cheddar and fontina cheese, asparagus, grilled spinach and ham on sourdough bread, cooked panini style.  It was like spring, with cheese, on bread!  The asparagus was light sauteed so it still had crunch and the spinach was barely wilted so it wasn't slimy.  The cheeses complimented the ham and veggies beautifully.  It was quite possibly the best cheese sandwich I have had!  Chris had a turkey rueben that had a Thousand Island dressing that was to die for and a great dipping sauce for the fresh cut fries that came with our sandwiches.  It was a whole new taste sensation!

After lunch we met up with the chocolate tour which took us on a walking tour of  Chicago's Gold Coast.  If you ever want a great place to people watch, come to the Gold Coast.  You'll know what I mean in about 8 seconds.  We started at a Swiss chocolate shop in 900 North Michigan.  They are famous for Champagne  truffles with are made with fine Swiss chocolate and Dom Perignon.  Do I need to say anything further??

Our next stop was More Cupcakes which is this dinky shop that you can squeeze about 3965840 cupcake lovers into.  We sampled these lovely mini chocolate chocolate cupcakes and I could have eaten 20 of them.

It was starting to mist and get really cold when we walked over to Hendrickx Belgian Bread Crafters.  Inside it was warm and we just about melted like fine Belgian chocolate as we watched the demo inside the bakery's kitchen.  Watching the baker work croissant dough to create the hundreds of layers found in a properly made croissant.  Spending time in this bakery took me back to the days I worked in a bakery for my first job.  If you're ever in Brussels, ask for a liege waffle from a street vendor.  They're not made with chocolate but you won't be disappointed.

The rain was becoming steadier as we made our way to Sarah's Pastries and Candies on Oak Street.  It is a tiny shop where candies are made by hand.  They have clusters of nuts that are covered with dark, milk or white chocolate.  They also have large squares of chocolate covered peanut butter with crispy rice.  They are SO RICH!

Our last stop (and by now it was pouring and some precip was slushy) was Argo which is a tea shop.  They make several tea drinks that have chocolate in them including an iced chai tea with chocolate.  I am not a huge chai fan but add a little chocolate and it is delish!  Before venturing out into the gale and pelting rain/sleet mixture, Chris and I ordered hot tea drinks...Chris got a mocha and I got a chocolate mint.  I am not sure how people drink hot drinks from the Argo's and Starbucks of the world.  Half the world must walk through life with scalded tongues!  My hot tea with chocolate and mint was finally cool enough for me to drink after a brisk walk of about 5 blocks in the pouring rain!

Chris and I had originally planned to have dinner at a little Italian place known for tapas type dishes.  However after walking more than a mile in the rain and sleet we decided to stay a little closer to the hotel.  Lucky for us, Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse was across the street.  I had a chicken breast stuffed with smoked mozzarella, prosciutto and red peppers.  Chris had chicken Parmesan which is outstanding.  We also grabbed a piece of key lime pie to go to accompany the bottle of wine we had chilling at the hotel.  The key lime pie at Harry Caray's is one of the best I have had.

This morning we decided to skip the free breakfast buffet at the hotel and we walked over to Meli Juice Bar and Cafe.  I found it online and was amazed at all of the choices.  If you are an eggs Benedict lover, they make it no fewer than 6 different ways.  They have omelets, frittatas, crepes, French toast, and pancakes.  If you like breakfast, you're going to have to visit this place more than once so that you can try many different things.  I chose an omelet with sun dried tomatoes, goat cheese, shallots and pancetta.  It was served with red potatoes and I chose rye toast.  Chris had a skillet that included onions, peppers, potatoes, and andouille sausage with fried eggs on top.  He opted not to have the mushrooms.  The more things I try with goat cheese, the more I realize the goat cheese belongs everywhere!

We finished the weekend with a tiny corned beef I cooked in the crockpot this afternoon and sliced for sandwiches and I whipped up a batch of Santa Fe stew for tomorrow's supper. 

So, on a weekend where Chris and I didn't leave our hometown, we travelled round the world using our taste buds. 

Roasted Peppers

I made a Santa Fe Stew today that required roasting chili peppers.  I had never roasted chilis before so I went to the internet.  What did we do before the internet??  I looked at several different recipes and came up with this.

Turn broiler on high.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Brush peppers with olive oil.  Place peppers on the baking sheet and put them under the broiler.  Keep a fairly close eye on the peppers so they do not over-char.  A word to the wise...it is not advisable to start the pepper roasting process during the last 15 laps of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talledega...you'll spend the whole time running back and forth between the oven and the TV.  Not that I would know or anything.

When the peppers start to blister, turn them slightly.  Keep turning until all sides are blistered and slightly charred.  Remove from under broiler and place peppers in a heat proof bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.  The steam created will make skin removal very easy.  After about 20 minutes, the peppers will be cool enough to handle.  Pull out the stems and peel and seed the peppers.

Santa Fe Stew

I have a pot of this on my stove as we speak.  If it tastes half as good as it smells, tomorrow's dinner is going to be amazing!  I roasted some green chilis to add to this stew.  I'll post that recipe next.

Fry 3 of 4 strips of bacon in a heavy pan.  Remove and reserve crisp bacon.  Brown 1lb cubed pork, beef, or other meat in the bacon fat.  Add 5 cloves of garlic, diced and 2 onions chopped.  Saute until onion browns a bit.

Add 1 can stale beer, 5 bay leaves, a dash of vinegar, 1/2 to 1 tsp. cumin, 1 to 2 tbsp. leaf oregano, freshly ground black pepper to taste, water to cover everything in the pan.

Simmer until meat is getting tender, probably an hour or two.

Then add 3 potatoes, cubed, salt to taste and 1 tsp. sugar.  Add enough water or stock to cover well. 

Simmer until potatoes are beginning to get a bit tender.  Stir occasionally, but gently so that you don't break up the potatoes.  When potatoes are getting tender, add a cup or two of roasted and peeled green chilis cut into rather large pieces.

Simmer a few more minutes until the potatoes are nice and tender.  The recipe says to garnish with the bacon but I added it to the stew right at the end.

Serve with warm tortillas.

Mozzarella Sticks

This is a pretty dangerous recipe for me to post.  I know how much people in my family love mozzarella sticks (Mom!).  It's not a surprise to me that this recipe does not have the nutritional info attached to it. 

12pc string cheese
12 egg roll wrappers
Oil for deep far frying
Marinara or spaghetti sauce, warmed

Place a piece of string cheese  near the bottom corner of one egg roll wrapper (keep remaining wrappers covered with a damp paper towel until ready to use).  Fold bottom corner over cheese.  Roll up halfway; fold sides toward center over cheese.  Moisten remaining corner with water; roll up tightly to seal.  Repeat with remaining wrappers and cheese.

In an electric skillet, heat 1/2 inch of oil to 375 degrees.  Fry sticks, a few at a time, for 30-60 seconds on each side or until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels.  Serve with marinara sauce.

Fire Roasted Salsa

I have tried fire roasted salsa that you buy in a jar but I have never made it from scratch.  This looks like a pretty easy recipe.  I think we'll see a lot of it as we go throw the summer months.  This recipe has 13 calories per 2 tbsp.  If I go easy on the chips, it's a worthwhile snack.

1 14.5oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 C. sliced onion
1/3 C. fresh cilantro leaves
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

In a food processor, combine the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime juice, sugat and salt. COver and process until desired consistency.

Philly Cheesesteaks

Chris and I spent some time in Philly last spring and we enjoyed some cheesesteaks.  I enjoyed them far more than I thought they would.  We tried some tonight.  We caramelized some onions and sweet peppers in butter.  While they were cooking we put some Italian rolls in the oven @ 225 degrees with provolone cheese slices on them; just long enough to melt the cheese.  Then we took sandwick steaks and cooked them on our flat top griddle with a little salt and pepper. The finished product looks like this.

They were yummy!

The Pizza and Egg Sandwich Tutorial Continues...

Check out the round crust!

That's the chunk of dough I had to cut to make my crust round!

Fried egg with Creole seasoning over a slice of Canadien bacon and some smoked gouda on a baguette.  Chris' had celery seed added as well. 

Tomato Basil Bisque

I looked at this recipe and noticed there isn't any fresh basil in this recipe and I was really surprised.  Once my herb garden gets planted, I will add some fresh basil to this dish.  It will much up what will already be something yummy.

1 24oz. can diced tomatoes with basil
1/2 C. 1% milk or fat free half and half
4oz reduced fat or non fat cream cheese

Place tomatoes in blender and pulse until almost smooth.  Pour into large saucepan and heat over medium heat until hot but not boiling.  Stir in milk; add cream cheese and cook until heated through.  Serve with crusty bread if desired.

Hot Black Bean and Corn Dip

This looks like a spin on the basic chili dip (you know, chili beans, cream cheese, shredded cheddar, toss it in the oven and then eat 305,385,667 tortilla chips with it).  This has a little more substance with the veggies.  As you can see, I am trying to justify the gazillion chips I am going to eat with this dip.

1 15oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained
1 10oz. can chopped tomatoes with jalapeno
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground cumin juice of 1/2 lime
dash hot pepper sauce
1-8oz. pkg. cream cheese, cubed

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine beans, corn, tomatoes, spices, lime juice and hot sauce in a large bowl.  Gently fold in cream cheese.  Pour mixture into 13X9 inch baking dish and bake 25 to 30 minutes.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan Garlic Crumbs

I think I found the asparagus dish I want to serve on Easter.  Spring is here and the asparagus is getting better every week.  I just not sure I can roast the asparagus at 450 degrees while I have a turkey and a ham in.  Hmmm, maybe we adapt and make this sauteed asparagus with Parmesan garlic crumbs.  We'll have to see.  The Easter plot thickens!

1/4 C. panko
1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. plus 1 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 small garlic clove, minced
Dash cayenne pepper
1 1/2lbs asparagus
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine panko, cheese, 2 tsp. of the oil, garlic and cayenne pepper in a shallow baking dish or pie pan.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown and crisp, stirring several times and watching closely.  Place in a small bowl.  Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees.

Place asparagus on large rimmed baking sheet in single layer; sprinkle with remaining oil, salt and pepper.  Roll asparagus to coat.  Bake at 450 for 7 to 12 minutes or until tender, turning once or twice.  Sprinkle with panko mixture.