I recently had the chance to do a small catering job for my Mom, Lydia Williams who is an amazing photographer. She had many of her award winning photographs on metal and also featured on puzzles, Christmas cards, calendars, magazines and pamphlets at an exhibit held at our local library. One of the dishes I made was a goat cheese whip. It was a huge hit; everyone enjoyed this and it was a fabulous addition to my cheese board! So next time you are putting together a cheese board add this you will not be disappointed !

INGREDIENTS
5 ounces of goat cheese, softened
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 Tablespoon honey, more for garnish
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup pomegranate arias, plus more for garnish

Serve with crackers or toasted baguette slices.

DIRECTIONS
In the bottom of a stand mixer bowl add goat cheese and cream cheese. Using the whisk attachment, whisk on high until light and fluffy, this takes a couple minutes. Add honey, salt and pepper. Whip again about 30 more seconds.  Add pomegranates and fold into the mixture. Transfer to your serving container, sprinkle with additional pomegranate, drizzle with a bit more honey and serve with crackers or baguette slices.

If you would like to see some beautiful photographs please feel free to visit my Mom’s website at http://www.lydiawilliamsphotography.com

Enjoy!

 

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This recipe comes from Chef Alex Guarnaschelli and it is so easy, moist and delicious! This will be making it on my dinner table many, many more times! The herb butter really keeps the chicken moist and gives such a nice flavor…not over powering at all! This is such a nice change from the usual chicken dishes! I should also mention our dog was going crazy while this was cooking and let me tell you she was dancing when it came out of the oven! She too enjoyed this dish!

INGREDIENTS
1 3 to 3 1/2 pound whole chicken
1 stick of butter
1 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped tarragon

DIRECTIONS
Bring your butter to room temperature. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix the butter, parsley and tarragon together until well incorporated. Using your hand slightly push the top of the skin away from the meat of the chicken and add all of the butter under the skin patting it down to make an even layer of butter under the skin. Place chicken on a roasting pan and roast at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes turn the oven down to 350 degrees and continue to roast for another 35-45 minutes until cooked through. Remove from oven and serve warm.

Enjoy!

 

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This is my last recipe from “The Chew” for this week, but it’s also my favorite. This recipe comes from Clinton Kelly. I can’t begin to tell you how much we loved this bread! This entire loaf was gone in less than 24 hours. I know the title calls it a health bread and it is definitely much healthier than most breads but you would never know it just by tasting it. You really don’t miss anything in the flavor. We loved it so much I already went back to the store for more ingredients to make it again! It really is that good. If you are looking to cut calories but still want something tasty this is it!

NOTE: I used golden raisins instead of dried cranberries as that’s what I had on hand! Either ingredient will work perfectly!

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 medium zucchini, grated
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 Orange, zested
1/2 cup dried cranberries or golden raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with baking spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl add both flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine. Place the grated zucchini in a towel placed inside a colander and squeeze to release excess moisture. Set aside.
In a bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, add the oil, sugar, vanilla extract and eggs. Beat until combined. Add the Greek yogurt, mix to combine. Add the flour mixture into the wet mixture, a little bit at a time until combined. Remove from the stand mixture, stir in zucchini, orange zest, cranberries (or raisins) and walnuts. Once combined add the batter to the prepared loaf pan and bake 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Remove from the oven to a baking rack and allow to cool in the pan for at least ten minutes. When cooled slightly turn the loaf pan to remove the bread. Let finish cooling on baking rack. Slice and serve.

Enjoy!

 

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If you have followed me only for a short time you know how much I love the show “The Chew” with Clinton Kelly, Daphne Oz and celebrity chefs Michael Symon, Mario Batali and Carla Hall. I have this show on my DVR so I don’t miss it!! Over the holiday I made three recipes that I saw on the show and I have to say, I loved all of them! This particular recipe comes from chef Michael Symon and we just loved these meatballs! I served them over egg noodles, but you could also serve them as is, with mashed potatoes.  If you are entertaining after you cook them and make the sauce, place in a slow cooker and serve as an appetizer. This became a family favorite after just one bite!

INGREDIENTS
2 Tablespoons butter
1 small yellow onion, peeled and minced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups white bread, finely diced
1/2 cup of milk
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt
Pepper

SAUCE INGREDIENTS
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cups mixed mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed (shiitake and cremini, thinly sliced)
1/3 cup all purpose flour
3 cups low sodium beef broth
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup sour cream
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Preheat a sauté pan over medium heat and add the butter, onions and garlic.  Cook stirring occasionally until the onions have softened and start to brown slightly. Season with salt. Pour into a large mixing bowl and allow to cool. In another bowl add the bread and pour the milk over the bread, soaking the bread. When the bread has soaked up the milk strain the liquid out of the bread and set aside. When onions are cooled, add the ground beef, ground pork, soaked bread, bread crumbs, nutmeg, eggs and salt. Stir to combine and season with pepper. Roll about 2 Tablespoons of the meat mixture into round balls and place on a foil lined baking sheet. When you have rolled all of the meat mixture, place in the oven and bake until almost cooked through about 20 minutes.

For the sauce-
Preheat a large sauté pan over medium high heat, add the olive oil and 1 Tablespoon of butter. Add the mushrooms and cook until golden and crisp. Add the remaining butter and once that has melted add the flour and stir to combine. Slowly whisk in the beef stock trying not to break up the mushrooms too much. Bring the mushroom mixture to a gentle boil, reduce heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally and cook for about 20 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper add the Worcestershire sauce and whisk in the sour cream. When the meatballs are done baking add them to the gravy to finish cooking, just a few minutes.
Serve warm.

Enjoy!

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img_7980I have told you all week about how much I love this new Taste of Home cookbook but you did not think that’s all I had to tell you, did you? Not even close, there really is so much to love about this book! Another one of my many favorite things in this book is that for so many of the recipes you also get ideas of what else would go well with that particular dish.  That’s not all, this book also gives you substitution ideas for example if you don’t have chicken thighs you can use chicken breasts! How great is that! This book puts all the great things about cooking in one easy place! It is fabulous for any home cook and just as great for kids and teens! This has become an instant favorite of mine! I have so many recipes that I can’t wait to make! The recipe I’m sharing with you today comes from the SWEET SURPRISES chapter and also has that great fast fix icon, oh and it’s also under 200 calories! Yes please! We loved this recipe and found they are best served warm!

img_7964

DATE-WALNUT PINWHEELS

INGREDIENTS
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 refrigerated pie pastry
1 Tablespoon apricot preserves
2/3 cup finely chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugar and cinnamon. On a lightly floured surface unroll pastry sheet, roll  pastry into a 12 inch square. Spread the preserves over the top, sprinkle with dates, walnuts and cinnamon sugar. Roll up jelly roll style, pinch the seam to seal. Cut crosswise into 12 slices about inch thick. Place the slices 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

This recipe makes 12 but can easily be doubled.

PER SERVING– 1 pastry equals 155 cal., 8g fat (2g sat. Fat),
3mg chol., 68mg sodium, 21g carb (11g sugars 1g fiber), 2g pro

Enjoy!

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