Chicken Caprese Pizza with Balsamic Reduction

This meal uses the flavors of one of my favorite salads; Insalata Caprese to make a fantastic pizza that is flavorful and fresh. I added chicken to make this a little heartier and topped the whole thing with a sweet balsamic reduction. Absolutely delicious! Be sure to watch your balsamic closely as it reduces and make sure your stove top is set to low heat to avoid your liquid reducing too quickly.

I submitting this recipe as well to Joelen's Culinary Adventures' blogging event for recipes using Balsamic Vinegar(I told you I use a lot of Balsamic in my cooking). Make sure you check out Joelen's blog for all the other entries. I know I can't wait to see what awesome dishes everyone has cooked up! Thanks again, Joelen for hosting!


Ingredients:

1 1 lb whole wheat pizza dough (either store bought or homemade- we love Amber's recipe)

2 medium vine ripe tomato(sliced)

4 oz cooked chicken

4 oz. fresh mozzarella (cut into 1-inch pieces)

1/4 cup fresh basil (coarsely chopped)

extra virgin olive oil

Ground pepper

1 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1 1/2 tsp corn starch

Directions:Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll out dough on floured surface making sure to leave at a ½ inch crust all the way around.

Carefully transfer to prepared baking sheet or parchment; top with tomato, chicken, mozzarella , basil and ground pepper(as needed). Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until bottom of crust is lightly browned.

Remove from oven and let sit for five minutes before cutting.

Balsamic Glaze: In a small skillet heat vinegar and cornstarch over low heat stirring occasionally until it turns think and syrupy(about 10 minutes).BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN. Drizzle on top of cooked pizza.

Pasta with Beef and Arugula

I am not a big red meat eater, but over the weekend when I saw Giada make her Penne with Beef and Arugula I was nearly drooling onto my television screen; I couldn't wait to make it for dinner. Well, flash forward to today and 90 degree temps in the forecast... stovetop cooking was the only option for dinner in our house. So Giada's penne it was.


This pasta is outstanding. The balsamic vingarette dressing adds tremendous flavor without making the dish heavy, while the arugula adds a nice freshness to the meal. This is perfect for the summertime, especially since it can be served at room temperature making it ideal for cookouts or picnics.

I am also submitting this recipe to Joelen's Culinary Adventures blogging event for recipes that use Balsamic Vinegar. This event was an easy one for me to enter. Balsamic Vinegar is a staple in my kitchen and I use it frequently in my cooking both in sweet and savory dishes. To see the other entries for this awesome event(or to submit an entry), be sure to check out Joelen's blog! Thanks Joelen for hosting!



Penne with Beef and Arugula
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

1 (1-pound) New York strip steak
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
1 pound penne pasta (I used whole wheat fusilli)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for steak and pasta water
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for steak
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 cups chopped arugula

Directions: Season the steak with salt and freshly ground black pepper, herbs de Provence, and minced garlic. In a skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Cook steak about 7 minutes per side. Remove the meat from pan and let it rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the steak. Set aside.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water.

In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, fresh herbs, and 3/4 cup olive oil. In a large bowl toss the pasta with half of the salad dressing and the reserved pasta water. Add the arugula and steak, more dressing and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, as needed. Toss and serve.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Raspberry Scones

Doug and I really loved the Strawberry Anise Scones I made a few weeks ago. So much so in fact, that once they were gone I was already adding the ingredients to my shopping list to make them again. For this batch, I decided to mix things up a bit. I had two pints of half eaten blueberries and raspberries left in my fridge that I wanted to use. I also played around with the whole wheat/all-purpose flour ratio to make these a little healthier. For added flavor, in place of the anise, I decided to use lemon. I love the combination of lemon/blueberry and thought it would be great in these scones.

I love this recipe. It is so versatile, with endless possabilities as far as flavor combinations and the result is always light, moist, flavorful and as far as scones go- healthy. Not to mention pretty. I love the gorgeous prurple color the blueberries nad raspberris gave this batch!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Raspberry Scones

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour

5/6 cup( 1/2 cup + 1/3 cup) all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup bluberries

1/2 cup raspberries

6 oz. container mixed berry yogurt
2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

1 large egg, lightly beaten

sugar(for sprinkling)

Directions:Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

Combine blueberries, raspberries, yogurt, butter, lemon extract, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 4 times with floured hands. Pat into an 8-inch circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray or lined with parchment. Cut into 12 wedges, cutting into but not through dough; sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

Try saying that three times fast ;)

I had some ripe bananas and was craving something sweet. I love the combination of chocolate, peanut butter and banana and while the Chocolate Banana Bread with Peanut Butter Glaze that I made a few months back was fabulous, I was really hoping to make a cookie or bar of some sort. I scoured the Internet for a recipe that included these 'three amigos' of flavors and was shocked when my search provided very few results. So... I started thinking of recipes that I had in my repertoire that I could tweak to include these three ingredients. I thought about adding banana to Al's Famous Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, adding a peanut butter/banana filling to these Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches, or adapting a basic Blondie recipe, but ultimately it was Dorie Greenspan's Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters that caught my eye as the perfect recipe to serve as a starting point for my peanut butter, banana and chocolate chip cookies.

These cookies were good. Like traditional oatmeal cookies, they are not cakey at all and fairly chewy in texture. One banana is plenty and in conjunction with the oatmeal, these cookies have a nice wholesome taste. The peanut butter flavor is subtle while the milk chocolate adds a sinful note to each bite.

These cookies quelled my craving for today, but I am still on the hunt for the perfect banana, chocolate and peanut butter bar/cookie. Next time, I want to make something a little cakier and I think a more traditional cookie recipe as my base would be the way to go to achieve that. I'll keep you posted.

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours

2 cups oatmeal

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup mashed ripe banana(1 banana)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 brown sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup milk chocolate chocolate chips

Directions:In a medium bowl; whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, banana, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and beat for 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, beating only until blended. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Cover and chill the dough for about 1 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop up dough( 2 tbsp worth) and roll between your palms and place them 2 inches apart on the sheets. Press the chilled balls gently with the heel of your hand until they are about ½ inch thick.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 7 minutes. The cookies should be golden and just firm around the edges. Lift the cookies onto cooling racks with a wide metal spatula–they’ll firm as they cool. Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.

Store in air tight container for up 3 days.

Happy Birthday to my Other(Better) Half :)

Today is Doug's birthday. When I asked him a few weeks ago what he wanted for his cake, he responded by saying he wanted homemade Chocolate Chip Ice cream Cookie Sandwiches. I was on track to honor his request, until I saw Beantown Baker's blog update from July 4th for this Giant Layered Cookie Cake. I was totally sold. I decided to give this recipe a whirl, subbing out the frosting for homemade ice cream.

The original recipe comes from Martha Stewart and makes a whopping five layers. Like Jen(Beantown Baker), I decided to halve the recipe. This was perfect(although a little messy). I 'frosted' the cookies with the ice cream after it was done churning, but next time I would freeze the ice cream completely, soften it, and then use it. It was a little too soupy and dripped down the sides. Looks aside though, Doug really enjoyed it. The cookies were soft without being too cakey and held up nicely in the freezer. My homemade Cookies 'n Cream Ice Cream was the perfect frosting. Thanks Jen for the great idea!

And most importantly, Happy Birthday Baby! To top this one, I guess I'll have to start brainstorming for next year's cake soon ;)

Layered Cookie Ice Cream Cake

Adapted from Martha Stewart Online

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cups packed light brown sugar

6 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk

6 Tbsp milk

1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

1 pint ice cream(in the flavor of your choice)

If you have a Silpat mat: Trace an 6 1/2 inch circle on a piece of parchment paper using a marker. Place it face up on a cookie sheet. Place your Silpat mat face up on top of the parchment. You should be able to see the circle you drew peeking beneath the Silpat. If you don't have a Silpat mat, flip the parchment paper face down on the cookie sheet.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

Put butter and brown and granulated sugars into mixer bowl and mix on medium until well combined (it will look very dry and not fluffy at all). Mix in vanilla, eggs, and yolks. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk. Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide the batter evenly into 3 bowls. Drop batter onto center of baking sheet. (Keep unbaked dough refrigerated while the other dough is baking). Using a small offset spatula, spread into a circle, using the drawing on the parchment paper, or as close as you can get it.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, (rotating cookies and reshaping if necessary). DO NOT OVER COOK! Transfer to wire rack; let cool.

Once cookies have cooled, remove ice cream from freezer and allow to soften for ten minutes or so. Divide ice cream in half spread onto 2 cookies. Stack cookies onto a cake board or platter, with a plain cookie on top. Freeze overnight. Let sit out for 10 minutes before serving.

Cookies 'n Cream Ice Cream

I love ice cream and after saying I was going to get the ice cream attachment for months, Monday, I finally did. Wohoo! Since his birthday is tomorrow, I let Doug choose the first homemade ice cream we would make. He decided on Cookies 'n Cream. While the attachment comes with a recipe booklet, I have seen so many delicious recipes floating around on blogs I frequent, that I decided to look for a recipe there instead. Unfortunately, I did not find one for Cookies 'n Cream, but I did find this mouthwatering recipe for Vanilla Bean Ice Cream on Annie's Eats that looked perfect as the base for my Cookies 'n Cream. The original recipe comes from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, 10 Speed Press, 2007. Like Annie, I used a cream/milk blend as opposed to all cream. This can be made either way.

The vanilla base is just perfect...rich, creamy and incredibly flavorful. Typically, I am of the 'load my ice cream up with everything under the sun' school, but really this vanilla is just perfect and could easily satisfy me on its own. Of course, Doug's request for Oreos did make it a little better ;)

Cookies 'n Cream Ice Cream
Adapted from: The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup 1% milk
¾ cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
¾ tsp. vanilla extract
16 Oreos, crushed

Directions:
Pour 1 cup of the cream into a medium saucepan and add the sugar and salt. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the saucepan and add the pod to the pot. Warm over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved.

Remove from the heat and add the remaining 1 cup cream and 1 cup milk and the vanilla extract.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions; adding the oreos to the ice cream in the last 2-3 minutes or churning.

Barefoot Bloggers:Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

The first of July's Barefoot Bloggers' recipes was chosen by Sabrina and Alexander of Cooking with the Kids. For their choice, Sabrina and Alexander went with Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread. While I was excited to try this recipe having been on the hunt for a great cornbread recipe for quite some time, I was also a little apprehensive. Sure, cornbread and spicy food go together like peas and carrots but while I love jalapeno...I really don't love green onion. That said, after reading the great reviews from fellow BBers as well as on Foodnetwork.com, I decided to dive in and give this recipe a try.

Since it's only me and Doug, I made 1/3 of the original recipe and baked this in a 5x9 loaf pan. What I liked most about this recipe was the texture of the bread. As other reviews suggest, it is incredibly soft and almost cake-like in texture. I really enjoy that in a cornbread. For me, there is nothing worse than grainy or mealy cornbread. The corn flavor, while present is subtle, so if you are expecting a corn explosion in your mouth, you would probably want to play with the cornmeal/flour ratio a bit. I enjoyed the kick of the jalapenos(because of the current salmonella scare, I used jarred as opposed to fresh) paired with the flavor of the cheddar. I slightly reduced the amount of green onion(using about 3/4 of one onion for my third of the original recipe) and I found it's flavor tolerable and not overpowering(as I usually do with green onion). As with the other BB recipes, I am glad I gave this one a try despite my initial hesitation. Next time I make this, I may try playing with the flavor combinations....perhaps using roasted red peppers and basil or roasted tomato with Parmesan.

Thanks Sabrina and Alexander for choosing this week's recipe. You can check out how all the other Barefoot Bloggers did with this recipe here.

Next up is Smoked Salmon Spread chosen by Ashley at The Spicy Skillet.

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Barefoot Contessa at Home, page 154

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 cups milk

3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan

8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated, divided

1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts, plus extra for garnish, 3 scallions

3 tablespoons seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers

Directions:Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter. With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don't overmix! Mix in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar, the scallions and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and extra chopped scallions.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.