Leek & Gruyere Pastries

I made these pastries twice this week. I made it twice because it was delicious. J really liked it and sent me this email while he was at work today:

Subject: Thinking about...
Message: ..my breakfast pastry w/ bacon thingy.  Can't wait to eat it tonight.  Haha.. ;)

Yeah. He already had breakfast with his mom when I pulled these out of the oven this morning. Needless to say he had two after work today.

This recipe is also from Food & Wine Fast. Which, I love - because the recipes really are fast and don't take much effort and will turn out delicious.

Ingredients:
Frozen Puff Pastry (thawed)
1 Leek
Shredded Gruyere cheese
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto (in my case, cubed ham - it's what I had in the fridge)
1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry puff. Cut into 4 equal squares. Fold the corners and edges.
2.  In a skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the leeks and thyme, season with salt & pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring until softened (about 5 minutes).
3. Sprinkle half the gruyere cheese over the pastry, spread the leeks over the cheese. Cover with proscuitto (or ham, whatever); sprinkle the remaining cheese. Season with s&p.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden or bubbling. Blot any excess fat with a paper towel. Enjoy!

Quick & Easy Salad

I've been eating lots of salad for lunch. My favorite and it's so easy:

Baby Spinach
Heart of Palm
Roasted Beets
Sweet Corn Kernals
Cherry Tomatoes
Blackberries
Almonds

I just throw what I have on top of a handful of spinach in a bowl. I love beets so I usually roast 2-3 beets slice them up and keep them in the fridge. 

Fully Loaded Bloody Mary

I had a craving for a Bloody Mary this weekend. So, I made one and it was delicious.

Ingredients:
Tomato Juice
Vodka
Celery Stalk
Beef Jerky (spicy)
Olives
Tabasco Sauce
Worcheshire Sauce
Cayenne Pepper
Salt
Freshly grounded pepper
Ice

Chicken & Bulgur Salad With Avocado

This salad is healthy, filling and easy. You can pretty much use any veggies you have on hand/like to eat.
Ingredients:
1 cup bulgar
1 cup boiling water
2 pieces of boneless chicken breasts (I used thighs) with skin removed
1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
Salt & freshly grounded pepper
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup shredded basil
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 avocados
1 fennel bulb
1 cup cherry tomatoes

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
2. Cook bulgur. In a heatproof bowl, cover the bulgur with boiling water. Cover the bowl with a plate and let stand until the water has been absorbed and the bulgur is tender (about 30 minutes).
3. Roast the chicken. Coat the chicken with the grapeseed oil. Season with salt & pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, until golden; let cool. Slice the chicken into 1/4 inch thick pieces.
4. Make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, whisk the orange juice with the basil, lemon juice, scallions and the remaining grapeseed oil season the vinaigrette with salt & pepper.
5. Toss it all up. In a bowl, toss the bulgur, chicken, avocados, fennel and tomatoes in the vinagrette. Season with with salt & pepper. Plate it up and serve.  

From Food & Wine Fast

Caramelized Onion & Mushroom Stuffed Chicken

This was a cheaper version of the stuffed beef tenderloin dinner I made for Christmas (sorry, no photos). Stuffing is caramelized onion & mushrooms cooked in a sweet red wine. Let the stuffing cool down to room temperature and lay on a butterflied piece of chicken and top with spinach. Roll it up and tie everything together with butcher's twine.  The sauce was a dijon herbed butter sauce. 

Mango Chicken Curry

I had some chicken thawed in the fridge, but I really didn't know what to make. I had some coconut milk and mango, so I made mango chicken curry. It's a basic recipe I found online. I added more pepper to it because we like things spicy around here. It was a satisfying meal :)

Quick & Easy Shrimp Scampi

My Oversized Whoopie Pies

I made these red velvet whoopie pies to ring in the new year. J and I went out to a nice NYE dinner and then celebrated the new year by stuffing our face with these.