Apple Brie Spinach Salad

I love salads. I, sadly, turn back to the same old salad on a nightly basis: romaine greens, tomatoes, olives, croutons, sunflower seeds, and cheese. Every night. B-O-R-I-N-G! When I have guests over I really try to pull a new salad recipe out - if I can find on that will match the menu. I mean we all know you can't have a Caesar salad if you're doing Chinese food, right? You do know that right?

Ahem.

So over the weekend I had some lovely girls over for girl talk and food. Other type of food was being brought over, so I opted to make a salad. Simple. I chose the Apple Brie Spinach Salad that I've had in my recipe box forever.

In the end I didn't follow the recipe. I wanted to, but got so caught up in the making of the salad missed some very significant parts. The recipe is still downstairs and will be made correctly over the next couple of days because I have all the ingredients AND because the way I made it was so good, I'm sure the right way would be even better.

Apple Brie Spinach Salad

Serves 6

• 2 large Apples, cut into 1/2 inch wedges
• 2 to 3 tablespoons Maple syrup, divided
• 5 cups Fresh baby spinach
• 1/4 round Brie or Camembert Cheese (8 oz), cubed
• 1/3 cup Pecan halves, toasted
• 1/4 cup Apple cider
• 1/4 cup Vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons Cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 small clove Garlic, minced well

1. Place apples on an ungreased baking sheet; brush with 2T maple syrup. Broil 3-4 minutes. Turn; brush with remaining syrup. Broil 3-5 minutes longer or until crisp-tender.

2. In a large salad bowl, combine spinach, cheese, pecans and apples. In a small sauce pan; combine apple cider, vegetable oil, cider vinegar, Dijon mustard and garlic; bring to a boil. Pour over salad and toss to coat.

3. Serve immediately.

******************

Jenn's Notes:

Right, so that whole step about baking the apples? I completely missed. I simply diced up my apples and tossed them in the salad and THEN read the recipe. Lesson here...READ the RECIPE first! Although I'm not a huge fan of cooked apples, so I wondered how the dressing would taste if I put that maple syrup in it as well. We shall see.

I also didn't use spinach. While I LOVE raw spinach, I felt more like baby spring greens.

The Recipe that Never Was

If you're a long time reader you know that my ability to "follow" a recipe is not one of my strong suits. That's why I cook and not bake. I have mad skills in the kitchen and I know how to swap out ingredients and am relatively confident something good will come out of it.

This last weekend I had some friends over on Sunday. I had a menu and knew what I'd be making. I knew I had all the necessary ingredients and I was all set.

Then I watched the Food Channel. One of the shows the host was making a pasta salad that I just had to make. It didn't seem all that off from the pasta salad I already had on my menu. I ran upstairs and pulled off the recipe.

I started cooking.

Here's roughly what I came up.

Jenn's Somewhat Following A Recipe Pasta Salad

• 1 cup of uncooked small pasta - like small shells, orzo, tiny spaghetti pieces.
• 1/2 cup give or take, grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup give or take sliced black olives
• 1 small can of corn, drained
• A bunch of basil - chiffonade
• 1/2 red onion, diced fine
• A hefty handful of slivered almonds - toasted

Dressing:

• A hefty squirt of Dijon mustard - probably about 1 T
• Juice of one lemon
• A hefty spoon full of sugar
• 2 T give or take of a finely diced shallot (or small white onion)
• Olive oil to emulsify the dressing - probably like 1/2 cup

Toss it all together - chill and serve.

This is literally what I wrote down. As I read it back I laughed at myself and my "give or take" measurements. Still in the end, the salad was outstanding and I'd make it again in a heartbeat.

Now - here's the real recipe.
Gina's Orzo Salad

Only a few common ingredients. Still my point is - I had something to start with, but adding the Jenn touch and ended up with a pretty darn good pasta salad that I'll make again...someday. Maybe today.

Open Face Chicken Burgers with Basil Mayonnaise

I've had this recipe for years and vaguely remember making it at a friends house several years ago. I remembered it being good and light. Yesterday I had PhotoGirl and the Yank for dinner. It had been a hot sunny Saturday and I wanted to make something light and a bit less heavy. So I pulled out this recipe. It's easy. It's light. And it was quite tasty.

I'm not a fan of ground chicken meat though. It gets way too mushy and feels, well, gross. The mixing of the mayo mixture with the chicken can cause the chicken to have a weird texture after cooking. So do NOT over mix. In fact, if I made this again, I'd skip that part and just cook the chicken with salt and pepper.

Open Face Chicken Burgers with Basil Mayonnaise

Recipe from Food Network.com
Serves 4:

• Olive oil
• 1 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 1/4 cups Chopped fresh basil
• 3 tablespoons Chopped, drained Cornichons or dill pickles
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Brine from pickle jar
• 2 Green onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/4 pounds Ground chicken
• 4 1/2 inch Thick slices country white bread
• 4 1/3 inch Thick slices of tomatoes

1. Brush grill with oil; prepare barbecue (medium heat). Mix mayonnaise, 1 cup chopped basil, cornichons, brine, and onions in small bowl. Season basil mayonnaise with salt and pepper.

2. Mix chicken and 1/2 cup basil mayonnaise in large bowl. Using wet hands, shape chicken mixture into four 1/2-inch-thick patties. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brush bread with oil.

3. Grill bread until crisp and golden, about 1 minute per side. Transfer bread to plates. Grill burgers until firm to touch and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.

4. Spread bread slices thickly with basil mayonnaise. Top each bread slice with tomato, 2 basil leaves, burger, and dollop of basil mayonnaise. Garnish with remaining chopped basil.

Espresso Caramel Bars

I really don't need to explain do I?

I mean, espresso and caramel in a bar. It goes without saying that this is a home run.

It may look like a lot of steps, but they are easy steps. You just have to plan for the cooling off times.

Espresso Caramel Bars

Crust:

• Vegetable cooking spray
• 12 whole (6 ounces) cinnamon graham crackers, crumbled or 2 cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

Caramel:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon water

Chocolate Layer:

• 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 3/4 teaspoons instant espresso powder
• Special equipment: a candy thermometer

For the crust:
Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch round springform pan with parchment or waxed paper. Spray the paper and the sides of the pan with cooking spray.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the graham crackers and sugar. Process until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Add the melted butter and blend until the mixture forms into clumps. Spread the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing gently to form an even layer.

Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the crust is golden. Cool for 15 minutes.

For the caramel:
While the crust is cooling, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of cream, butter, sugar, and water. Stir over medium heat until the mixture is smooth. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 240 degrees F, about 5 to 7 minutes. Carefully pour the caramel over the warm crust. Cool for 20 minutes. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

For the chocolate layer:
Combine the chocolate chips and cream in a small bowl and place over a pan of simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the espresso powder. Remove the springform pan from the freezer. Pour the chocolate mixture over the caramel layer and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle the top with smoked sea salt, if using. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm.

Allow the layers to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Using a warm, slightly wet knife, carefully cut around the edges of the chocolate layer. Release the side of the pan and remove the paper from the bottom. Cut into 1 1/2 by 1/2-inch bars and store airtight in a covered plastic container.

Asian Beef Skewers

I love me some Asian flavor. Usually it involves some ginger, some lime, some rice wine vinegar, some brown sugar...and all that combined is yummy goodness.

This recipe, however, had some unexpected items in it. Not unexpected as in "I don't have them in my pantry" but rather as "really?" The end result was yummy goodness. Which is, in my humble opinion, the reason I cook.

Now if you've a keen eye, you may notice that the photo is of chicken, not beef. Chicken is what I had on hand, and I've gotta say, after doing chicken with this, I now feel the need to try it with beef.

Asian Beef Skewers

• Coarse salt
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 pounds top sirloin beef or shell steak, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

So the recipe calls for mixing all this stuff together and then basting the meat as you go. I decided to take about a quarter cup or so and marinade the chicken in it for 30 minutes or so. Then I didn't baste until I took the chicken off the grill and it was resting.

In a small bowl, whisk together honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons vinegar, curry paste, and 1 tablespoon oil. Reserve half the sauce for serving.

Thread beef, and any vegi types on a skewer. Place on prepared baking sheet, and brush with sauce.

Heat broiler, with rack set 4 inches from heat; line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Soak four 12-inch (or eight 6-inch) wooden skewers in a pan of warm water; set aside. JW Note: I BBQ'd mine. Why broil when you can BBQ.