Spicy Carrot and White Bean Hummus

I was inspired to make a version of Spicy Carrot Hummus after I grabbed this small snack from the store one day. (see picture below) I was hungry but didn't want too much to eat and it sounded amazing...Zesty Sriracha Carrot Hummus! What's not to like, right? I was super excited to try it. 
It had great texture and the carrot flavor was prominent but overall it was a bit too sweet for my taste with very little "zest". I wanted more zest from the Sriracha. Anyhoo, all was not lost to the experience because I was inspired to make my own and spice it up.

For my taste, it definitely needed some heat but it also need a strong flavor to complement the sweetness of the carrots so I added Garam Masala to give the carrots some depth and let me tell you it was amazing. 
I've made this a few times now, the first run through was great with layers of flavor, from the carrots, tahini, lime, cilantro and the Garam Masala with a little heat at the finish. My husband LOVED it.  
The next time, I jacked up the heat by not only adding Sriracha, but also cayenne and red pepper flakes. Amazing! The hotter the better I say. This recipe is really great hot but you can adjust to your taste if you prefer it milder.

Spicy Carrot and White Bean Hummus

1- 1 1/2 cup cooked carrots
1- 14 oz can of white beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup Tahini, sesame paste
1 T water
1 clove of garlic, chopped
juice of one lime
1/2 cup of cilantro leaves

1-3 T Sriracha sauce (to taste)
1/8 tsp. Garam Masala
red pepper flakes (to taste, I used about 1/4 t) 
cayenne pepper (to taste, I used about 1/8 t)
kosher salt (to taste)
Garnish with chopped cilantro

In a food processor, combine Tahini, water, garlic, beans, cooked carrots, lime juice and blend on high until smooth. Add Garam Masala, cilantro, Sriracha to boost color and add spiciness, add cayenne, red pepper flakes. Add salt to taste. Garnish and serve with pita chips or fresh veggies. Enjoy!
 
Other Appetizers to try:
Homemade Hummus and Pita Chips           Fried Chickpeas                          Moroccan Carrot Dip

Spicy Carrot and White Bean Hummus would be great on my Veggie Sandwiches too!

Pineapple Chicken with Coconut Rice

 

Summer vacation is finally here, and what better way to kick of the steamy summer months with an amazing grilled chicken dish! This recipe has got to be my new favorite recipe! It's INCREDIBLE tasting and super easy to make.
The chicken is marinated in pineapple juice, lots of garlic and lemon zest/juice and then it's grilled. Which in itself is pretty delicious, but then you top the whole kit and caboodle with big rustic chunks of pineapple and red bell peppers that have been sauteed in...wait for it...brown butter, honey and Dijon mustard! To. Die. For. It is really that delicious!

I love the look of this chicken dish with its rustic chunks of pineapple and red pepper served family style on a big platter! But I imagine this would be equally amazing as kabobs, brushing on the browned butter mixture after grilling, just like BBQ sauce...yummy.  Sounds perfect to me, I'll give the kabobs a try this summer!  Hope you will too, enjoy!

Pineapple Chicken with Coconut Rice (adapted recipe from Diethood)
Serves 4

4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1 20-oz can of pineapple chunks, juice reserved
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
Zest and juice of one lemon
1/4 t paprika
1/8 t cayenne pepper

Topping
3 T Brown butter (from ~4T unsalted butter)
2 T Honey
1 T Dijon mustard
Reserved pineapple chunks
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped into 1-inch pieces

Coconut Rice
1 3/4 cup Jasmine Rice
1-14 oz. can low sodium chicken broth (~1 3/4 c)
1-14 oz. can lite coconut milk (~1 3/4 c)
1-2 T Canola Oil

Marinade: 
Combine pineapple juice, minced garlic, salt & pepper, lemon zest and lemon juice, paprika and cayenne pepper into a Ziplock freezer bag and add chicken breasts. Zip bag closed and allow chicken to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. 

To make Coconut Rice:
Over medium heat, add canola oil into large saucepan and then add Jasmine Rice. Toast rice, stirring often for about 4 minutes taking care not to burn the rice. Then a add coconut milk and chicken broth and stir well. Cover and let cook for about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and then let sit for 15 minutes.

Grill the chicken, wrap with foil to keep warm. 

To make browned butter: (or substitute with regular melted butter)
In a small skillet, heat 1/4 cup butter and allow the milk solids to brown to a dark golden color. Pour off the liquid portion of the browned butter into a clean large skillet, leaving behind the browned solids in the smaller skillet to discard.

Stir the Dijon mustard and honey into the melted browned butter and then add the pineapple chunks and red bell peppers. 
Over medium high heat, saute until bubbly and fragrant about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Pour the sauteed pineapple over your grilled chicken and serve with Coconut Rice. 
Garnish with sliced green onions.

Other Chicken recipes:
Chicken Florentine                            Easy Ranch Chicken                      Honey Butter Chicken

Baked Ravioli with Red Pepper Marinara

When I'm in the kitchen and I don't have anything in particular in mind to cook, inspiration usually comes from the necessity of needing to cook something for dinner. Trying to make something out of nothing or in this case what I had on hand. This red pepper marinara sauce is one of those creations that came about from a bag of frozen peppers and onions in the absence of fresh produce and jarred tomato sauce.
I've made this sauce numerous times since then and each time I marvel at how delicious it is. It varies just a bit depending on weather I have Anaheim chilies or not but it is basically the same with a solid base of bell peppers and onions and the natural sweetness from the carrots and stewed tomatoes. Yum!

The idea for the Baked Ravioli however, came after I spent a Sunday with girlfriends wine tasting at a few local wine bars. Our first stop was a wine bar that also served small plate appetizers and I ordered a delicious fried ravioli appetizer with a red pepper cream sauce. It was delicious but the ravioli were very deeply fried. It was great to curb my hunger after a glass of wine but I felt like it was a bit too fried, so I decided to try my own version of it here at home. Especially since I already had the perfect sauce for it. So here is my lighter version of Baked Ravioli with Red Pepper Marinara. Enjoy!

Baked Ravioli with Red Pepper Marinara Sauce

Red Pepper Marinara
1 bag of frozen Peppers and Onions
2 Anaheim chiles seeded and chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 14 oz. can stewed tomatoes with Italian Seasonings
2 T olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp marjoram, dried
red chili flakes (to taste, I like it spicy)
salt and pepper (to taste)

If you don't have frozen peppers and onions, by all means use fresh ingredients. This is just what I used because it's what I had on hand. The beautiful thing about this sauce is that you literally throw all the ingredients in a large skillet, cover, and simmer for about 30-35 minutes. Once the carrots are soft, transfer the cooked veggies to a food processor and blend on high until smooth. Add the blended sauce back into the skillet and heat, uncovered for an additional 20-30 minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce. Salt and pepper to taste and set aside as you prepare the ravioli.  

This sauce is made more decadent when you add a touch of cream to it. It's great tossed with some Penne Pasta and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Yummy!
Baked Ravioli

1 bag of frozen ravioli
1 egg, beaten with 1 T milk
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 t dried basil
salt and pepper
non-stick olive oil cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Thaw ravioli.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and then generously coat parchment paper with non-stick cooking spray.
 
In shallow dish, add egg and milk and beat until incorporated and set aside. In another shallow dish, mix Panko flakes, Parmesan cheese, basil, salt and pepper. Dip thawed ravioli in egg mixture first then the bread crumb mixture. 

Place coated ravioli onto the prepared parchment in a single layer. Generously spray the top of each ravioli with cooking spray. This is an important step to ensure the coating crisps up. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with warm Red Pepper Marinara and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan Cheese. Enjoy!

 
 

Other pasta recipes to try:
Turkey Sausage and Peppers Pasta





 

Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter Sauce

Confetti Salad with Honey Champagne Vinaigrette

After a bumpy start to the new year, Spring has come just in time to give me some much needed peace and time for renewal. Friday was my first day off and I was in the kitchen ready to make something delicious. I'd planned to make some Picadillo Stuffed Pobano Peppers with a  Tomatillo Cream Sauce...which sounded like a great plan if it hadn't been 90 degrees. It was crazy 'summer hot' here in Southern California last Friday!  
Instead, I opted for this delicious and decidedly cooler, Confetti Salad with the amazing Honey Champagne Vinaigrette. I know a salad is far cry from a satisfying main dish but you'll see the stuffed Poblanos in the near future. I promise. I made this salad dressing and salad a few weeks ago for a friend and I loved the dressing so much I decided to blog it. The recipe is actually an adaptation of the dressing I had at the Chef Tech Blogger/Cooking Workshop event back in February. I took their basic vinaigrette recipe and changed it up a bit. This salad is not only delicious but festive and beautiful. Use any vegetables you like, just cut them up real small so that the dressing coats every nook and cranny.  I especially like this salad because it's perfect to use up those bags of mini bell peppers. Most of the time it's hard to find uses for all those mini peppers before they get mushy. There is a limit on how many bell peppers one can eat in a week.
Anyway, chop up your veggies and whip up a batch of this delicious Honey Champagne Vinaigrette. You'll end up putting it on everything! Enjoy!

Confetti Salad with Honey Champagne Vinaigrette

Mixed greens (I used romaine, spinach and kale)
Red, yellow and orange baby bell peppers, small dice
3 mini Persian cucumbers, quartered and sliced
1 cup shredded carrots 
1/4 cup green onions, sliced

Chop, rinse and spin salad greens.
Cut mini bell peppers into thin match sticks and then dice.
Cut Persian cucumbers in half and then into quarters lengthwise. Then slice into small pieces. Finely slice green onions. I used pre-shredded carrots but if you have whole carrots, finely dice them or shred them with a box grater.

Add all vegetables to the salad greens and set aside. Prepare Vinaigrette.

Honey Champagne Vinaigrette
1/2 cup Champagne Vinegar (can substitute with white wine vinegar)
1/3 cup honey
3 T shallots, finely minced
2 T Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup Canola oil
3/4 cup Sunflower oil
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste


Finely mince a small shallot and add 3T to food processor. Add 1/2 cup champagne vinegar, honey, and Dijon mustard to the shallots. Process on high until fully incorporated. In a measuring cup, combine the oils and set aside. 
With your food processor on high, add the oil to the round insert in the lid of your processor. The round insert has a small hole at the bottom of it that will slowly add the oil so that it is emulsified. This will be good for about a week in the refrigerator. 

I didn't toss the dressing with the salad in these pictures, so that the lettuce would keep for dinner later that night. Normally, toss with the vinaigrette before serving. :) Enjoy!

Other salad recipes to try:
Caprese Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette
Sunflower Sprout Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
Roasted Baby Carrot Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing

Wilted Brussels Sprout Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

Some people see salad as a side dish, merely something they grudgingly eat to get to the main course. But this is a salad that you'll be hard pressed to just want to 'get' through. Even those who don't like Brussels Sprouts or vegetables for that matter, will enjoy this salad. It's surprisingly light but packed full of flavor. The sweet, sour and salty bacon dressing goes perfectly with the warm Brussels Sprouts and crispy bacon bits. The slightly wilted Brussels Sprouts are still crunchy and have the taste and texture similar to sauted cabbage. It's like a really good coleslaw, but better because it has bacon in it. 
Now that I think of it, this salad would be amazing on a burger, just like coleslaw. Hmm... I'm going to whip up a batch for our next BBQ and pile it high on a burger with extra pickles. Absolutely delicious! Give this recipe a whirl.

Wilted Brussels Sprout Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
(recipe from Cuisine at Home, Nov/Dec 2014)
Makes 12 servings

1 1/2 pounds Brussels Sprouts, ends trimmed, shredded
8 oz. thick sliced bacon, diced
1/4 cup shallots, diced
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 T light brown sugar (I added an extra Tbsp of sugar)
1 T stone ground mustard (I used a Country Dijon)
salt and pepper, to taste

Shred Brussels Sprouts in a food processor or using a slicing blade.
Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Drain all but 2T of bacon drippings.
Add shallots to the skillet. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Deglaze skillet with vinegar, and whisk in brown sugar and mustard. Add Brussels Sprouts and bacon. Toss to wilt brussels sprouts, 2-3 minutes. Serve warm.

Other salad recipes to try:
Brussels Sprout Salad with Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette
Green Goddess Primavera Salad
Kale Salad with Strawberry Mango Salsa

Slice of Life: Chef Tech Cooking School

Recently, I had a chance to step out of the kitchen and away from my computer to take part in a networking event for food bloggers in my area.  Small Chicks Big Eats partnered with Chef Tech Cooking School here in Long Beach and held a Bloggers Networking and Cooking Workshop last month.

I found out about the event by chance after having a glass of wine one night with my friend Gina at the Willmore Wine Bar, which happens to be a few doors down. Chef Tech Cooking School's bright lights flooded the dark sidewalk and the smell of baked bread peaked our curiosity. We peered in through the storefront window and what a sight it was. It was about 8:30 at night and the baking class students were taking their glorious breads, muffins and rolls out of the oven. Perfect timing.
Chef Teri waved us in. She let us try some of the warm potato rolls with butter. Yum! As we talked, Gina mentioned that I had a food blog and Chef Teri asked if I was coming to their food bloggers event that coming Sunday. In short, I rushed home, signed up and cleared my Sunday plans so I could make the event. 

It was an amazing day filled with learning, eating, and meeting some amazing fellow food bloggers. We had bakers, home cooks, teachers, business owners, caterers, food editors and YouTube bloggers each demonstrating our love of food. 
 
Let's take a look at the wonderful food, Chef Teri prepared for us.

MENU

Grilled Chicken Breasts

Shaved Fennel Parmesan Salad

Strawberry Rhubarb Quick Stir Cake

Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Here are some the pictures from the event. Beginning with homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. What's the saying? "Life is short. Eat dessert first."
This was unbelievably smooth and decadent.

Next up, the Strawberry Rhubarb Quick Stir Cake. (I would of posted in process pics but the pics were blurry and all around not good...so let's jump to the finished product! Ta Da! Beautiful!)

Now it's time to get those Chicken Breasts in the brine and get them ready for grilling. I've only brined chicken a handful of times and usually it wasn't chicken breasts. It was legs and thighs that kind of thing. Well... I learned that you shouldn't brine legs and thighs of chicken because they have built in fat between the muscle fibers that naturally keep them moist. Brining meat serves to not just flavor the meat but seal in juices. I have yet to do this at home with chicken breasts but believe me, this will be my 'go to' way to prep chicken breasts because they were delicious. 
I didn't get any shots of these lovely ladies soaking in salt water but I did get a post-spa day picture of these hot chicks sunbathing on the grill. :)

AND NOW ON TO MY FAVORITE FOOD...SALAD!

Not only did I get to eat this delicious salad, I learned a few things along the way. I learned the difference between Vinaigrette and Dressing and I learned what that little hole at the bottom of the insert at the top of my Food Processor is used for. It was a full day of salad learning for me! :) 
I'll share what I learned when I blog this recipe in an upcoming blog.
 
Here's a picture of Chef Teri emulsifying by hand with a whisk. Later, she added the vinaigrette to the food processor and emulsified it further. Easy breezy.

Here's Chef Teri demonstrating her knife skills. I plan on taking Chef Tech's Knife Skills class!

(Stay tuned, I will be blogging this salad recipe in the very near future...As you know, I love salad and I love fennel. It's my new favorite ingredient...check out another great recipe with fennel with my Rustic Minestrone Soup with Butternut Squash and Fennel)

At the end of this amazing experience, the one thing I know for certain is that I need to take the Knife skills class. It's a given. I also want to take the Professional Chef 1:Foundation classes at Chef Tech Cooking School in September. Now I just have to save up for it and enroll. :) 

Thank you to Small Chicks Big Eats for organizing this wonderful event and to Chef Teri at Chef Tech Cooking School for opening your doors to this home cook with a blog.  

For more information about classes and workshops at Chef Tech Cooking School visit their website for their calendar of events. 

Check out these amazing ladies:
smallchicksbigeats.com 
figsontop.com
Tanayastable.com
FloriCooks.com
Lacooquette.com
Bakingwithmelissa.com
Instagram@juliegoeshealthy
Instagram@cremedelacroom
Instagram@Kel_Shiroma (thefoodcritique.com)