Salmorejo- Spanish appetizer

If any of you have ever heard of Gazpacho, a cold tomato soup, Salmorejo (pronounced Sal-mo-ray-hoe) is a similar dish that is a bit thicker. I learned how to make this when I was in Spain and crave it all the time!

Ingredients:

3-4 very ripe, very red tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp spoon vinegar
4 tbsp of virgin olive oil
Salt to taste (sea salt is best)
2 hard boiled eggs
3-4 slices of Serrano ham or Prosciutto ham for garnishing
1 loaf of day old/ stale French bread –It should be very dry (but not moldy)
1 fresh loaf of French bread or Bruschetta to dip in the Salmorejo once it is finished

Preparation:

Slice your French bread up and peel or cut off the crust using a large, serrated knife.Chop the tomatoes up and put them in the blender with the oil, vinegar, garlic and a little salt.
Blend this all together and then start to add the stale bread bit by bit. The mixture will very quickly become thicker and as you add the bread it will take longer for it to mix through. I tend to hold back one tomato so that when the last bit of bread doesn't mix through I can add the tomato to loosen things up. When no more bread will mix through, the Salmorejo is ready. You may not need to add all the bread or you may need a bit more.

Pour the Salmorejo into a bowl and chill it in the fridge.

Lay strips of ham on a cookie sheet covered with foil and bake until crispy. Cool the ham and chop it up.Just before serving garnish with chopped up egg white and Serrano or Prosciutto ham.Serve in individual bowls for a first course to a meal or in a larger bowl surrounded by bread for a party appetizer.

Buen provecho!
(Enjoy)

Ginger-Peanut Chicken Salad Wraps

This is the best wrap I have ever eaten. Ok, so at least the best homemade wrap I have ever eaten and comes pretty close to the Thai Chicken Wrap at World Wraps in Seattle. I will definitely be making these often. It is from the Best of Cooking Light Cookbook. I have just two suggestions when making the wraps though: 1. Don't use as much chicken as it calls for. That is just way too much. Or if you do, add more of everything else. 2. Use flavored tortillas. I'm sure plain ones would be fine but I used Jalapeno & Cilantro tortillas and it was way good.

Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 6 (4-ounce) chicken breast halves
- 1 cup chopped seeded peeled cucumber
- 3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 8 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
- 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce

Preparation
1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove the chicken from pan; cool. Shred or cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Place chicken, cucumber, and bell pepper in a large bowl; set aside.

2. Place sugar and the next 6 ingredients (sugar through garlic) in a blender, and process until smooth. Add peanut butter and water; process until smooth, scraping sides. Add peanut butter mixture to chicken mixture; stir well. Add cilantro, and toss well. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon 1/2 cup chicken mixture onto each tortilla; top each serving with 1/2 cup lettuce, and roll up.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 wrap)

Nutritional Information
Calories: 280 (19% from fat)
Fat: 5.9g (sat 1.1g,mono 2.7g,poly 1.6g)
Protein: 25.8g
Carbohydrate: 30.5g
Fiber: 2.4g
Cholesterol: 49mg
Iron: 2.5mg
Sodium: 572mg
Calcium: 29mg

Herbed Cheese Pizza

We just had these personal pizzas for our Sunday lunch. I simmered the sauce and made the dough in the bread machine before church so it came together quickly after church. I never would have thought of putting paprika and cumin on a pizza but it was tasty! I couldn't find "hot paprika" so I used regular and then added some sprinkles of cayenne pepper. I also splurged and found the kasseri cheese. Sharp Parmesan could probably work in a pinch as a substitute if you can't find it.

Dough:

2 cups bread flour, divided
1 teaspoon sugar
2 packages dry yeast (about 4 1/2 teaspoons)
2 cups warm water (100° to 110°), divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
Cooking spray


Topping:
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot paprika
3/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, divided
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
10 ounce thinly sliced kasseri cheese
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley


To prepare dough, lightly spoon bread flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 1 cup bread flour, sugar, yeast, and 1 cup warm water in a bowl; let stand 15 minutes. Lightly spoon all-purpose flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup bread flour, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Add yeast mixture, 1 cup warm water, and 2 teaspoons oil to flour mixture; stir well. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky). Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; divide dough into 8 equal portions. Cover and let rest 20 minutes.


To prepare topping, combine oregano, cumin, paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; set aside. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic, bay leaf, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 15 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat; discard bay leaf.


Preheat oven to 450°.


Working with one portion at a time (cover remaining dough to keep from drying), roll each portion into a 6-inch circle on a lightly floured surface; place circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining dough portions.


Top each crust with 1/4 cup tomato mixture, 1 1/4 ounces cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon oregano mixture. Bake at 450° for 12 minutes or until crusts are lightly browned. Sprinkle evenly with minced parsley.


Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 6-inch pizza)

CALORIES 434 (28% from fat); FAT 13.4g (sat 6.6g,mono 1.3g,poly 0.2g); IRON 5.6mg; CHOLESTEROL 35mg; CALCIUM 308mg; CARBOHYDRATE 62.6g; SODIUM 934mg; PROTEIN 19.7g; FIBER 4.6g


Cooking Light, APRIL 2002

Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

My most favorite soup ever is creamy chicken and wild rice soup. I just love it. Sadly, my favorite place to get it is back home in Oregon and since I'm in Utah, I miss it a lot. So I decided to make my own and try to make it as good (and healthy) as possible (creamy soup usually = not so healthy soup). So I found a bunch of different chicken and wild rice soup recipes, took what I liked and cut out what I didn't, and came up with this. I made it for dinner tonight and it was quite good (I swear it tastes better than this picture looks). Still not the healthiest soup ever but hey, its better than it was!

Ingredients:

- 1 T. Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 c. chopped celery

- 1 c. chopped carrots

- 1/4 c. all purpose flour

- 1/4 c. chopped shallots

- 1/4 t. salt

- 1/4 t. freshly ground pepper

- 1/4 t. thyme

- 2 bay leaves

- dash of garlic powder

- 4 c. reduced sodium chicken broth

- 1 c. quick cooking or instant wild rice

- 2c. - 3 c. cooked chicken (cubed or shredded, whatever you like)

- 1/2 c. reduced fat sour cream

- 1 T. parsley

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add celery, carrots & shallots and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add flour, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

2. Add broth, thyme, bay leaves and garlic powder and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add rice and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until the rice in tender, 7-10 minutes. Stir in chicken, sour cream, and parsley and cook until heated through.

Yield: 6 servings. Serving size, 1 3/4 cups

Nutritional Information: (as best as I could figure out)

Calories: 360

Fat: 9g

Chol: 90mg

Protein: 36g

Sodium: 380

Classic Caprese Sandwich

For a fast & easy sandwich that comes across with a fancy flare, look no further. This is especially perfect on a summer evening & pairs well with a salad or steamed veggie.

Ingredients
-Loaf of crusty bread (I prefer ciabatta or baguette)
-Mozzarella
-Ham
-Tomatoes
-Fresh basil
-Olive oil & balsamic vinegar
-Minced garlic
-Salt & pepper

Preparation
-Marinade sliced tomatoes in oil, vinegar, salt & pepper...set aside
-Cut bread in half
-Drizzle olive oil & balsamic vinegar & rub minced garlic on both slices
-Arrange sliced mozzarella & ham on one side
-Broil in toaster oven or conventional oven until cheese melts & bread is slightly toasted
-Arrange basil & marinaded sliced tomatoes on top

Additional Tips
-Have extra oil & vinegar on hand for dipping
-Grow your own basil & tomatoes...they are two of the easiest things to grow & are perfect for homemade pizza & caprese sandwiches all summer (this is coming from a very elementary gardener)

Chicken & Cashews

(photo by Randy Mayor and courtesy of cookinglight.com)

I'm a sucker for all Asian food and tend to make quite a bit of it at home. My pantry is now stocked with most of the Asian dish essentials like sesame oil, fish sauce, hoisen sauce and red curry paste so I'm ready to cook up some Asian flare at any time. This Chicken and Cashew dish is from the May 2009 issue of Cooking Light and is definitely a favorite ours. We just gobble it up and I hope you do too!

Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, divided
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry (if you don't have sherry, use apple juice)
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
- 3/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions (about 3 green onions)
- 1/4 cup chopped unsalted dry-roasted cashews

Preparation
1. Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sherry, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, and chicken in a large bowl; toss well to coat. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, remaining 2 teaspoons cornstarch, broth, oyster sauce, and honey in a small bowl.

2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken mixture to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Remove from pan. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Add ginger and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Return chicken mixture to pan; sauté 1 minute. Stir in broth mixture. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with green onions and cashews. Serve over a simple rice pilaf like the one listed below.

Rice pilaf: Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 cup chopped onion and 2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in 1 cup water, 1/2 cup long-grain rice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat; stir in 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro.

Nutritional Information (not including rice pilaf)
Calories: 257
Fat: 9g (sat 1.9g,mono 4.2g,poly 2.3g)
Protein: 26g
Carbohydrate: 17g
Fiber: 1.9g
Cholesterol: 63mg
Iron: 2mg
Sodium: 584mg
Calcium: 45mg