Red Pepper And Walnut Pesto

Red Pepper And Walnut Pesto
A rustic accompaniment that showcases the  
flavors of sun-dried tomatoes and basil, ideal for 
tossing hot pasta or serving with crusty bread.

Ingredients
1 cup (150 g) red bell pepper, seeded, stemmed, diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled
¾ cup (75 g) walnuts, toasted
½ cup (70 g) sun-dried tomatoes, oil drained
1½ Tablespoon (20 g) fresh basil leaves, chopped
½ cup (60 g) grated Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon salt, optional
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup (120 ml) olive oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 °f (200° C). Halve and trim red pepper, place skin side down on oven rack. Roast 15 to 20 minutes or until skin is well shriveled but not blackened. Place in plastic bag for 15 minutes to steam.

Place garlic cloves in medium-sized saucepan, add cold water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until soft enough to pierce with a fork. Remove using a slotted spoon and set aside to drain.

Place all ingredients into the blender container in the order listed and secure lid.

Turn machine on and slowly increase speed. Blend for 30 seconds or until desired consistency is reached.

Christmas Cheese Log

Ingredients

Cheese Log:
1 lb cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp each thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary, black 

    pepper or 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp EACH garlic powder, salt, red pepper/chili  

    flakes, adjust to taste
2 cup cheddar or other cheese, freshly grated
9 oz roasted peppers, drained and finely chopped
6 oz salami, finely chopped
3/4 cup green olives, finely chopped
1/3 cup green onion, finely minced

TOPPING/SERVING:
7 oz sun-dried tomato strips with oil, rough chopped
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped (or chives)
Rosemary sprigs (decoration)Crackers, for serving

Directions:

Spray a loaf pan with oil then line with cling wrap with overhang.
Mix Cheese Log ingredients together. Taste and adjust salt if needed (bear in mind saltiness of crackers you are serving with).
Scrape into loaf pan and level surface, pressing to remove air pockets. Smaller pan = taller loaf.
Cover with cling wrap overhang and refrigerate for 4 hours+ (up to 1 week).
Turn out onto a platter, peel off cling wrap.
Top with sun-dried tomato and pour over the oil. Garnish with parsley and rosemary sprigs to give it a festive look.
Best to serve closer to room temp than fridge cold. Serve with crackers! Knives for smearing optional - it's soft enough to scoop with crackers.

Talami

Talami  Lebanese Bread

Danny Talami

This is a recipe from a favorite blog, "Rose Water and Orange Blossom". Maureen Abood is Lebanese by ethnicity and employs the dishes of her family in her diet as well as her new cookbook. Winter is a good time to bake bread.  It not only heats up the house but gets the wonderful aroma wafting throughout the house stimulating appetites. Nothing is better on a cold day than a slice of freshly baked bread with butter. The story associated with this bread is Maureen was researching the recipe for Talami. While on a photo shoot in Philadelphia she met a priest of her religion who showed her his techniques. She came home all excited to make this for her husband of six months who actually showed her his bread making skills. This is his family recipe thus it is called Danny Talami

*

Danny Talami
The egg in the dough makes this bread extra-tender and special. Dan likes to combine the olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and capers to top the talami.
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons sugar
1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (about 110° F), plus another 1/4 cup or so
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola or safflower
2 teaspoons salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Optional toppings such as chopped olives, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, za’atar mixed with olive oil (1:1), or sesame seeds

*

Directions:

In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar and yeast in 2 cups of the warm water. Let it rest for about 5 minutes, until the yeast is creamy and slightly bubbly. Stir in the oil, salt, and egg. Mix in the flour, a cup at a time, until there are no lumps and a wet, sticky dough has formed. Add about 1/4 cup more water as you go as well.

Rub the dough and the sides of the bowl with a tablespoon of the oil, reach under the droopy dough to rub oil underneath it as well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (without letting it touch the dough) and drape a kitchen towel over the top. Let the dough rest in a warm spot for about 45 minutes.

Heat the oven to 450° F. Rub a tablespoon or so of oil on two rimmed sheet pans. Divide the dough in quarters and form each one into a round, 2 on each pan. Rub more oil over the tops of the dough and let them rest for another 15 minutes.

If you’re using toppings, push them into the top of each loaf, making dimples with the tips of your fingers. Make the dimples even if you’re not using toppings.

Bake the bread, one pan at a time, for about 10 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cut or tear off pieces and eat warm; the bread is best right now. To store the bread, wrap room temperature bread in plastic and aluminum foil for a day or so.

Chicken Breasts Suffed With Feta, Spinach, Mushrooms, Basil And Sun Dried Tomatoes In Panko Crust

Chicken Breasts Stuffed With Feta, Spinach, Mushrooms, Basil, and Sun Dried Tomatoes 

In Panko Crust.

Ingredients:

Filling:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons minced shallots

1 clove garlic, minced

4 oz. crimini mushrooms, coarsely chopped

1/4 dry white wine or vermouth

1/2 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, 

      thawed and squeezed dry

1/4 cup chopped drained oil packed sun 

     dried tomatoes

2 oz. sheep's milk feta cheese

2 tsp. minced fresh oregano

*

Chicken:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs beaten with 1 tablespoon water

2 cups panko crumbs

1 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley

2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

*

Directions:

For filling heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add shallots, garlic and mushrooms and cook until tender and most of the liquid has cooked away.  Add wine and stir to scrape up any browned bits from bottom of pan.  Remove to a bowl and cool completely.  Stir in spinach, sun dried tomatoes, feta and oregano.

*

Peheat oven to 400 degrees.  Trim chicken and cut a pocket in the thick edge of each breast by holding knife parallel and slicing to create about a 4 inch opening.  Season inside of pockets with salt and pepper to taste.  Stuff 1/4 of the filling into each chicken pocket, squeezing the edges together.

*

Whisk eggs and water in a shallow bowl or pie plate.  Combine panko, oregano and parsley in another shallow dish.  Dip chicken in egg mixture and then coat well with the bread crumb mixture.

*

Melt butter with olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Add chicken breasts and cook 2 minutes per side to brown-do not burn.  Transfer chicken to a greased rack set over a baking sheet.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.