Sand Tarts - Part 2

In the spirit of Christmas, I hosted a cookie exchange here in Saint Louis.  We enjoyed wine, pizza, and good company at my place!  When I debated what cookie to make, Moe had a melt down that sand tarts were not top of list.  He LOVES these cookies.  In fact, the rules were I had to make an entire tin just for him  (which he ate in less than a few days).  I gave in and called this a part of his "Christmas present" because of how time intensive these cookies are.  I have blogged this recipe in the past.  The only small modification to the recipe is that I used 1/2 dark brown sugar and 1/2 light brown sugar. The flavor of the cookie slightly changes due to the molasses. As always they turned out great.

Sand Tarts Recipe

Walnut Apple Salad with a Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing

While my parents were visiting a few weeks ago, we stumbled into an olive oil and vinegar store in St. Charles called Di Olivas.  You can walk around and taste the various flavors.  Once you land on what you want to purchase, the bottle is poured in front of you and sealed off with a cork.  I decided to get the cranberry pear balsamic vinegar and my mom got the avocado olive oil.  This recipe was my first use of the purchase.  Based on the outcome, I will definitely be making a stop back for some other types in the near future. 

Walnut Apple Salad with a Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing
Source:  Miss J Original
Serves:  2 servings with extra salad dressing to keep

Spring mixed green leaves
1 apple, cored and diced into cubes
dried cranberries (or raisins)
walnuts, toasted
Prairie Breeze Cheese (Milton Creamery)

Dressing
1/8 cup cranberry, pear balsamic vinegar (Di Olivas)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of fat free sour cream
1/8 tsp poppy seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together salad dressing ingredients until mixed very well.  Toss all the salad ingredients together in a bowl.  Toss salad dressing and salad ingredients together and serve immediately. 

Ratings:
Miss J, 10 out of 10
Moe, 9 out of 10

- Miss J

Shrimp Linguine in a Spicy Cream Sauce

This is a modification from a traditional shrimp diablo.  It has a healthy kick to it which is enhanced by the use of Thai spicy pasta that I had bought at the farmers market a month or so ago.  Moe has turned out to be a very tough critic which I find funny because before we met he was living off mac and cheese and canned ravioli.  The first ten was a chicken Parmesan recipe that I made for him the night before his boards.  The second is this recipe.  Enjoy!

Shrimp Linguine in a Spicy Cream Sauce
Source:  Miss J Original
Serves:  4 servings

1 lb of linguine (spicy Thai if available)
1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, minced
20 jump shrimp - thawed, deveined, and tails removed
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper (more if you want it extra spicy like we do)
1/2 can of diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons of butter

Cook pasta al dente according to directions.  Strain and run cold water over pasta to prevent further cooking.  Set aside.  Prepare and brine shrimp (see directions below).

Chop shallots finely. 

In a skillet, heat up butter over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic to the pan and saute until onions are translucent.  Be careful not to burn garlic as it is easily done.  Add shrimp and cook until each side is lightly browned and shrimp is pink. Remove shrimp from the pan and set aside.  In the remaining pan juice, add whipping cream, tomatoes, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper to taste.  Stir while mixture thickens.  If necessary, add thickening agent (water mixed with flour).  Once sauce has reached desired thickness, add linguine and shrimp and lightly toss.  Serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan on top. 

Notes:  I was limited on vegetables in my fridge, but I would consider adding sweet peppers and or/corn to this recipe next time.

Directions for brining shrimp: Dissolve 3 tablespoons of salt in about 1 gallon of cold water. Soak for 20-30 minutes if peeled shrimp and 40-50 minutes for unpeeled shrimp. Remove shrimp and rinse with cold water. Pack with ice until ready to use

Ratings:
Miss J, 10 out of 10
Moe, 10 out of 10

- Miss J

Honey-Walnut Cod with a Balsamic Reduction

This was a quick and easy recipe for a weeknight meal.  Depending on what you have in your fridge, this recipe can be done with any white flaky fish such as Tilapia, Cod, or Orange Roughy. Moe who doesn't even like fish had a clean plate by the end :)

Honey-Walnut Cod with a Balsamic Reduction
Source: Adapted from No Peanuts. No Cilantro.
Serves:  2

2 cod filets
1 tablespoon of honey
4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup panko
3 tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/4 cup of chopped pecans, toasted
salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix honey, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, freshly ground pepper
(to taste), and garlic together.  Place cod filets in a ziplock bag and pour marinade over the fish.  Work marinade into the fish and let sit for 20 minutes.

Combine breadcrumbs, pecans, and Parmesan.  Remove cod from marinade bags and sprinkle with a bit of salt.  Coat cod with breadcrumb mixture and then place on a baking sheet lined with foil or a glass baking dish.  Repeat for second filet. 

Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes depending on thickness of the fish.  Fish will be done once temperature is 140 degrees or fish is flaky and opaque. 

OPTIONAL:  While fish is cooking, heat up 1 tablespoon of butter in the skillet.  Add 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.  Stirring constantly, reduce balsamic vinegar into a syrup.  Use this to drizzle on top of fish upon serving.  For people who dont' like fish (like Moe), this is helpful because it masks the flavor of the fish a bit

Ratings:
Miss J, 8 out of 10
Moe, 8 out of 10

- Miss J

Brussels Sprouts with a Balsamic Drizzle

Brussels sprouts seem to be a hated vegetables.  I know they smell when they are cooking but if you can get over that, they are a wonderful deviation from the traditional vegetable side dishes.  They are easy to cook and extremely filling.  For those of you that don't know, brussels sprouts are actually a wild cabbage AND are an excellent source of vitamin C.  This is a basic recipe that is quick and easy to throw together for a weeknight meal. 

Brussels Sprouts with a Balsamic Drizzle
Source:  Miss J Original
Serves:  4 (5 sprouts per serving - since cut in half these are big portions so may want to adjust down)

20 brussels sprouts, raw
olive oil
balsamic vinegar of Modena (syrup)
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice brussels sprouts in half. Toss sprouts in a little bit of olive oil and arrange on a baking pan with cut side down.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes until slightly browned.  Remove from oven.  Plate and drizzle with balsamic syrup.  

Note:  If you over cook brussels sprouts they become very very bitter.  They are supposed to be crunchy so pull them from the oven right before you think they are actually done.    

- Miss J

Ratings:
Miss J, 8 out of 10
Moe, 7 out of 10 (He is not a fan of brussels sprouts but I'm slowly working on it. A year ago this would have been rated a 2)

Chicken Salad with Apples and Raisins

Chicken salad is a classic lunch dish in our household.  It is easy, inexpensive, and can be eaten in variation (on a bed of lettuce, on a sandwich, or by itself).  My only rules for chicken salad are absolutely no egg and no raw onion.  Other than that, any ingredient is fair game.  Below is the recipe from this past week.

Chicken Salad with Apples and Raisins
Source:  Miss J Original
Serves:  6 servings

1 cup of cooked chicken breast, cubed (1/2 inch width)
1/3 cup of sour cream, light or fat free
1 tablespoon of sweet honey mustard (Honey Baked Ham brand)
1 apple (any variety) cored and cut into small cubes (1/2 inch width)
I handful of raisins (more or less depending on preference)
1 tablespoon of mayo, light
1 tsp of lemon juice
pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together and use throughout the week on sandwiches or salads.  Easy enough!

- Miss J

Ratings:
Miss J, 9 out of 10
Moe, 8 out of 10

Skyler keeping me company while I blog :) Moe started night float again so Sky and I have to fend for ourselves!

Pecan Cookies

Some people enjoy to bake.  Unfortunately, I am not one of those people.  Majority of people love the preciseness of baking.  The need to measure and add everything at just the right time which would be exactly when the recipe tells you to.  This is exactly why I don't enjoy it.  I like to be creative.  I like to read a recipe, file it in my brain, and then a week later try to recreate it with minor (or sometimes major) adjustments.  If I took this mentality with baking, it would be a disaster.  Regardless, I take up the hobby around the holidays.  I am in two cookie exchanges this year so I thought for one of them I'd try a new recipe.  This recipe is from Cooking Light which is ironic because there is next to nothing that is cooking light about it :)  Either way, the cookies were great.  They were light and crisp.  They could be served after dinner or as a snack with coffee in the morning.  I highly recommend if you need a break from the heavy chocolate cookies that seems to take over the holiday season.

Pecan Cookies
Source:  Cooking Light Magazine, December 2011
Serves:  40 cookies

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
10 tablespoons of butter
2/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup of powdered sugar
3/4 cup of toasted and chopped pecans
1-2 tablespoons of flour to use on surface to roll out dough

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Using a dry measuring cups and spoons to measure ingredients, combine flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and baking powder in bowl and stir with a whisk. 

In a large mixing bowl, place butter (softened to room temperature) and granulated sugar.  Beat with a mixer on high until light and fluffy.  Add egg, and beat until well blended. 

Beat in vanilla extract.  Reduce mixer speed to low.  Add the flour mixture to butter mixture slowly until combined.  Mix in pecans. Shape dough into a 4 inch round and cover with plastic wrap.  Chill for 1 hour.  Roll dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness.  Using cookie cutters, cut out cookies (2 x 3 inch each).  You will need to re-roll the scraps multiple times to get 40 cookies.  Place cookies 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack. 

Dust cooled cookies with 1/3 cup of powdered sugar. This is most easily done by putting the powdered sugar into a sieve and tapping it above the cookies (this also works with a regular small hand held fine strainer). 

Ratings:
Miss J, 9 out of 10
Moe, 8 out of 10 (he doesn't really like pecans)