Sarah: Iron Chef Blogger Challenge Bacon

Remember that EPIC fail? (OF COURSE you do! It's right below this post!) I think it would be very correct to say that I have bounced back with a vengeance.

I was excited about this challenge but also a little worried. I rekindled my Pesca-tarinism at the beginning of January, so regular bacon was out of the competition for me. Luckily Brandon and I have discovered a pretty good like of "fake" meat products that has rather yummy tasting bacon.

I usually shy away from Rachel Ray recipes for the simple fact that I cannot afford to stock a pantry like she does. 24 ingredients for make one dinner? YEAH RIGHT.

I got her magazine for about 2 years while living in LA and while I collected and ogled many of the recipes she has put together, I rarely attempted.

This salmon recipe was part of one of her mag's features called "5 Ingredients", and as you have gathered only had 5 ingredients. Well, 6.

Salmon, Bacon and Tomato Packets.

4 Salmon fillets

3 cooked strips of Bacon, broken into small pieces

1/2 cup of Ranch dressing

1/2 cup of Feta cheese ( I don't like Feta, so I used Queso Fresco)

1/2 cup of diced tomatoes

Pepper for seasoning

1. Fire up your grill. It needs to be really hot when you start to cook (I heated mine for like 15 minutes).

2. Grab 4 pieces of tin foil and put one salmon filet on each piece. Fold up the sides of the tin foil so it looks like a box without a lid.

3. Put 2 tablespoons of Ranch dressing on each filet, try to cover evenly. Distribute bacon evenly over filets. Do the same with the cheese.

4. Put the packets on your grill and close the hood. Let cook for 8-11 minutes, until opaque all the way through.

5. Take off grill, top each filet with 2 tbs of tomatoes.

---Review---

I served this with Uncle Ben rice pilaf (the kind that you microwave for 90 seconds in the bag) and roasted asparagus (put asparagus on some tinfoil, douse with some olive oil, season with salt, pepper and Italian seasonings, cover with more tinfoil, put on the grill for about 15 minutes, top with a little more salt and pepper, serve).

To say the least, this fish was delicious. Seriously, I don't even like fish that much and I would eat this everyday.

The recipe was super easy to follow, and everyone (we had my sister and our fried Dan over) loved it.

Make it now.

Pizza Night

I threw a cocktail party as a belated birthday party for my sister last weekend, and for dinner I made an assortment of pizzas. I love buying pizza dough from Trader Joe's; it's just so cheap and makes the perfect-sized pizza. And, it comes in plain, whole wheat, and garlic-herb. I made a regular cheese pizza; Rachael Ray's sundried tomato, chicken and broccoli; and a tomato, garlic, and feta from For the love cooking. As you can see, I adapted the last recipe a little bit and omitted the basil. All were pretty delicious and the party was a big success.

Balsamic Chicken with Pesto Gravy and Bitter Greens

2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

4 tablespoons EVOO

Salt and Black Pepper

4 small chicken breasts

6 cups of Arugula, washed and dried

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 cups Chicken Stock

1/3 cup Heavy Cream

1/4 cup store bought Pesto

Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings for show

1. Combine vinegar, 2 tablespoons EVOO and Salt and Pepper to taste. Coat chicken.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of EVOO. Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes on each side.

3. While chicken is cooking, in a large bowl combine the arugula, lemon juice, remaining EVOO. Salt and pepper to taste.

4. Remove chicken from pan and put on a cutting board. Add the butter to the skillet, when it is melted add flour and cook for a minute or so. Whisk in chicken stock and cream. Bring to a simmer to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in pesto.

5. Cut chicken and arrange on a dinner plate. Pour on pesto gravy, then top with arugula and cheese shavings.

---Review---

Awesome.

Chicken, Sun-dried Tomato, and Broccoli Pizza

A few days ago I found this Rachael Ray pizza recipe on the Food Network website and decided immediately that I had to make it. So I had a few friends over for dinner tonight and we made the pizza, minus the basil and Parmigiano-Reggiano, mostly because I don't care for basil and I didn't realize the recipe called for Parmigiano-Reggiano. Don't worry, you won't miss it. I was incredibly satisfied with this pizza, everyone else liked it, and it even felt fairly healthy for you. The prep also went by really quickly.

My adapted recipe:
1 16-oz whole wheat pizza dough
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 chicken breast
handful of broccoli florets
handful of sliced sun-dried tomatoes, packed in olive oil
skim ricotta cheese
shredded mozzarella
minced garlic
salt and pepper

Preheat over to 500 degrees.
Bring small pot of water to a boil, salt the water, and cook broccoli florets for a couple minutes. Drain.
Heat olive oil in small frying pan, add garlic and chicken, season with salt and pepper, and brown.
Roll out pizza dough. Spread ricotta cheese, then top with broccoli, chicken, and sun dried tomatoes, then finish with mozzarella. Lower oven to 450 degrees and bake 12-14 minutes.