Sarah: Iron Chef Blogger Challenge Nutmeg

Spinach-and-Cheese Puff

Ingredients:

- Butter for baking dish

- 3 packages of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)

- 1 1/2 cups half-and-half

- 3 large eggs

- 1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyere cheese

- Coarse salt and pepper

- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.

1. Preheat oven t0 350. Butter a shallow 1 quart baking dish.

2. In a large bowl combine spinach, half-and-half, eggs, 1 cup cheese, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and nutmeg. Stir to combine.

3. Spread evenly in baking dish. Top with remaining cheese.

4. Bake until set and top is golden, 30-35 minutes.

---Review---

Have you even had Gruyere cheese? It's like heaven in your mouth. While cooking this my sister Samantha and I must have eaten at least a handful each. I know it is pricey, but buy it, and buy lots of it, because you're going to need to eat at least a cup before you even start on cooking.

When I heard that nutmeg was a secret ingredient, my inner baker jumped up and down and did a back flip. Thoughts of cookies danced through my head and I smiled for three days straight.

Then I met up with Becky, who had picked the secret ingredient and she told me she was planning to make A REAL DINNER using nutmeg. I was completely floored. You can do that?

I did some searching and came up with the above recipe. I am the happiest clam that my household has discovered this SUPER easy, SUPER tasty dish. Even my extreme workout and dieting sister ate thirds.

Recipe from Martha Stewart Living magazine.

Soy-Glazed Salmon Steaks with Sesame Green Beans

Soy-Glazed Salmon Steaks

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

4 salmon steaks

1. Heat broiler with rack set 4 inches from heat. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil. In small bowl whisk soy sauce, honey and ginger.

2. Place salmon on baking sheet. Brush with mixture. Broil till brown on top and opaque throughout (about 5-6 minutes). You will need to flip salmon to cook throughly, brush bottom side (as top) with mixture to fully saturate.

Sesame Green Beans

1 lb fresh green beans

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

coarse salt and ground pepper

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1. Set steamer basket in large pot. Fill with enough water to come just to below basket. Bring water to a boil. Add green beans to basket. Reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook till beans are crisp-tender (15-20 minutes).

2. In medium bowl whisk together vinegar and oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add green beans and sesame seeds. Season with salt and pepper and toss.

---Review---

This was my first time cooking fish, of any kind, and it turned out quite well. The original recipe didn't say that you would need to flip the fish, which you will, so I didn't reserve any of the marinade, which would have been good to flavor the fish more. Still, it tasted quite good.

For the green beans I subbed olive oil as opposed to sesame oil, and don't think we really missed out on anything. They were quite good.

A good family dinner to share with Sam and B.

Pear Pancakes

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup pear nectar

2 medium Anjou or Bosc pears, thinly sliced lengthwise

1 cup half and half

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Confectioners sugar for serving

1. Preheat oven to 435. In a saucepan combine 1/3 cup granulated sugar, pear nectar and pear slices. Sprinkle pears with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Cook on medium-high until sugar caramelizes (about 10 minutes).

2. In a blender combine half and half, eggs and vanilla. Add flour, salt and remaining granulated sugar. Blend for 30 seconds on high. Scrape the sides of the blender and go for 10 more seconds.

3. Move pears to a glass or cast iron baking "bowl" (like a Pyrex container), pour batter over top of pears. Bake until light brown (about 15 minutes). Lower heat to 350 and bake until an inserted skewer comes out clean (about 10 more minutes).

4. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar before serving.

---Review---

Maybe it was because it was snowing outside when I made this for a Saturday breakfast, but this was one of the best breakfasts I have had at home. Brandon really liked it as well, and went for seconds (and thirds I believe).

Next time I am going to branch out and try some different fruits, perhaps apple or guava.

Here's a hint- you don't have to but a large jar of nectar for this recipe. You can buy individual cans of fruit nectar (usually found in the "Hispanic Foods" section) and you'll have more than enough!

Penne with Two Tomatoes and Mozzarella

6 oz fresh Mozarella, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

coarse Salt and ground Pepper

12 oz Penne Rigate

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 pint Cherry or Grape Tomatoes

1/2 cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes, sliced

2 Garlic Cloves, sliced

1/4 cup snipped Chives

1. Place cheese in freezer. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta and set aside.

2. In pasta pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and pasta water. Cook until cherry tomatoes soften, 2-4 minutes.

3.  Add pasta, chilled cheese and chives to pot, season with salt and pepper, toss to combine.

---Review---

I used to think that Brandon and I carried all available pastas on our cupboard shelves. I have learned that this is not even a little correct. The closest thing that I had when making this recipe was whole wheat Rotini, which is similar to Penne because... it is also a grain. Not that big of a change, but next time I'll probably use Penne as I think it will better hold onto the garlic.

Speaking of garlic, I would recommend dicing it for this recipe. The slicing really made me feel as if I only got about 3 bites of dinner with garlic in it, which was quite sad for me as I love garlic.

I wasn't really sure what the recipe meant when it said that the tomatoes would soften until the first one popped and squirted it's boiling insides at my face. Keep an eye out, once a couple of the tomatoes start to soften they all do very quickly.

All in all this was a really easy, very tasty recipe. I even enjoyed it cold for lunch today.

Cayenne-Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

4 boneless skinless Chicken breasts

2 tablespoons EVOO

1 medium Red Onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons Lime Juice

1 Hass Avocado pitted and cut into chunks

1. In a small bowl combine 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and Cayenne. Rub on chicken.

2. In a large skillet, heat EVOO over a medium heat. Add chicken and cook 8-10 minutes, until done.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine onion and lime juice; set aside. Just before serving, fold in avocado. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over chicken.

---Review---

This is a go to meal for B and I. Usually we serve it with Mac and Cheese, but in an effort to eat better, we served it this time with a spring salad (I say Balsamic Vinaigrette is best) and pasta (with lots of spices that B added randomly). 

This is a good spring time recipe. I think it would go great on a porch with a Sangria.