Prosciutto Wrapped, Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates

A long weekend featuring Galentine's Day (love this new holiday!) and Valentine's Day followed by Fat Tuesday means food, wine and celebrations galore. I don't know about you, but after this weekend, I'm going to need at least a week of clean eating. Since the weekend is still in full swing, however, here is a bite size appetizer that is super easy to make. This one will work for formal occasions or casual get togethers, and you can prep them ahead of time and pop them in the oven when guests begin to arrive so you can actually relax and enjoy your friends. Using prosciutto instead of bacon means you get that great salty flavor without quite so much grease. For the blue cheese, I prefer Gorgonzola for it's mild flavor, but you can use any blue cheese you like. This recipe is so versatile - you make as many or as few as you like, so they work for intimate dinner dates or large group cocktail parties.

Prosciutto Wrapped, Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates
Serves 2-3

• 8 dried dates
• 2 oz crumbled blue cheese (I prefer Gorgonzola)
• 4 strips prosciutto
• honey (optional)

Slice the dates in half lengthwise and remove the large pit in the middle. 

Stuff each date with 1/4 oz blue cheese. 

Slice prosciutto in half lengthwise. Wrap each date with a half strip of prosciutto. If preparing in advance, you can stick them in the fridge for several hours. Just before serving, set the oven to broil. 

Place the dates on a greased baking sheet, and broil for approximately 4 minutes, until cheese starts to ooze and prosciutto begins to crisp and brown. Drizzle with honey, if desired. 

Pork Tacos with Cabbage, Fennel and Fried Onions

While planning dinner yesterday, I got an enthusiastic "yes!" when I suggested tacos. However, when I looked at our taco filling options available, I realized we didn't have either beef or chicken. We did, however, have some ground pork. I did a bit of googling and realized that there aren't many recipes for ground pork tacos out there. There are several options for shredded or BBQ pork tacos, but ground pork just didn't seem to be that popular, but I figured I would try it out anyway. I'm so glad I did. They were absolutely delicious! The sweetness of the fennel pairs really nicely with the salty fried onions, and the taco shell and cabbage slaw give each bite a great crunch. My only word of warning is that, as with most crunchy taco shells, these are super messy to eat! I would definitely try these with soft corn tortillas or even flour tortillas in the future for a little less mess.

Pork Tacos with Cabbage, Fennel and Fried Onions
Serves 4

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds, crushed
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp oregano
• salt
• 1/4 c BBQ sauce (I prefer Hot Bone Suckin' Sauce)
• 1/2 head cabbage
• 1/3 c ranch dressing (I use Bolthouse Farms Yogurt Dressing)
• 1 bulb fennel
• 1/4 c shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 c fried onions
• 8 taco shells

In a large skillet or saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add pork, fennel seeds, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, oregano and 1 tsp salt. Brown meat, stirring and breaking apart. At this point, if there is a lot of grease in the pan, you could pour some off. 

While meat is browning, slice and chop cabbage. Add to a bowl and mix with ranch dressing until it is lightly coated.

Chop fennel. 

When meat is thoroughly browned, assemble tacos in shells with meat, cabbage slaw, fennel, and shredded cheese and top with a sprinkle of fried onions.

Family Dinner Party - Fennel Apple Spinach Salad with Blue Cheese, Cherries and Pecans

I've spent the past few days in Atlanta for some meetings and to spend some time with my family and friends. I am fortunate to have a close relationship with my grandmother, who is one of the most amazing women I know. She raised seven (!) children and is kind, patient and still adventurous. When I was in high school, my family took a trip to Ireland with my Grandma. She and I were supposed to be roommates for the first portion of the trip, and then each of my sisters was to take a turn as her roommate later in the trip, but when my Grandma and I realized that we shared the same schedule (we're both early birds who love an afternoon tea) and the same sense of humor, we ended up as roommates who got along famously for the whole two weeks. Fortunately, my Grandma also shares my love of good food, so, this weekend, I volunteered to cook dinner for my parents, Grandma and one of my mom's sisters who was also visiting for the weekend.

My mom loves spinach, which, for better or worse, is just not one of my favorite greens, but since it was her only request for the meal, I figured I should find a way to work it in. My compromise was to put it in a salad filled with other flavors and textures so that it was buried beneath the salty blue cheese and sweet apples and cherries. The fennel added a really nice mild but unexpected flavor, and the chopped toasted pecans added a really great crunch. I added some fresh thyme to the salad. I was also using it in roasted potatoes and a blue cheese sauce I was serving with chicken for the main course, so it was nice to have just a hint of the flavor in the salad. With this much flavor going on in the salad itself, I kept the dressing was super simple to let all of the flavors shine.

Fennel Apple Spinach Salad with Blue Cheese, Cherries and Pecans
Serves 4-6

• 1 large bulb fennel
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, chopped
• 1/2 c dried cherries
• 1/3 c crumbled blue cheese
• 2 tsp fresh thyme 
• 1/4 c toasted, chopped pecans
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• salt

Add spinach to a large bowl. Slice fennel in half. Remove core. Slice crosswise, starting at the bottom into thin strips. You could use a mandoline if desired. Then chop long strips into thirds. Add to bowl.

Chop apple, with peel on. (If you're preparing the salad ahead, just put the chopped apple into a bowl with lemon juice and water to prevent browning.)

Add apples, cherries, thyme and crumbed blue cheese to the bowl.

Add vinegar, olive oil and salt to taste. Toss. 

Top with toasted pecans.

Blood Orange Avocado Pico with Chili Lime Shrimp Quinoa Salad

What a weather week this has been! Last week started with the Blizzard of 2015, which ended up being less than a foot of snow (a manageable amount) here in NYC. It has stayed cold the rest of the week and ended today with more snow. We've been beaten down with highs in the teens.

Whenever the winter weather gets really miserable, I crave either comfort food or tropical flavors that take my taste buds right to summer. Fortunately, the depths of winter are also blood orange season, and, with the beauty of a global economy, we can get avocados and tomatoes in NY even in January.

Blood Orange Avocado Pico
Serves 4-6

• 2 blood oranges, segmented and chopped
• 1 large yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 dry pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp fresh mint, chopped

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl. Taste and add more salt if necessary.

Chili Lime Shrimp Quinoa Salad
Serves 4

• 1 cup red quinoa
• 1 tsp plus 1 heaping tsp garlic salt, separated
• 3/4 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails removed
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 8 c arugula

Add quinoa, 1 tsp garlic salt and 2 c water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for approximately 15 minutes, until water is evaporated and quinoa is cooked. Allow to cool.

Add shrimp, chili powder, lime juice, olive oil and remaining garlic salt to a bowl. 

Mix and allow to marinate 1-2 hours.

Heat griddle or large saute pan to medium high heat. Cook shrimp 7 to 9 minutes, turning once, until pink and cooked through.

Add 2 c arugula to each bowl. Top with 1/2 c. cooked quinoa, several shrimp and a healthy serving of Blood Orange Avocado Pico.

Warm Roasted Scallop Salad

This recipe is a riff on a Tyler Florence recipe that was originally made for me by my good friend, the talented and beautiful Britt Conway. Whenever I'm craving comfort food without the heavy weight of cheese and guilt, this is my go-to recipe. It's like a giant snuggle for your belly on those cold winter days - really perfect for today - the Blizzard of 2015...that turned out to be way over-hyped here in NYC. We had enough snow for a fun romp in the park with our dog this morning, but the 7 or so inches we ended up with is significantly less than the forecasted 2 feet. I was really looking forward to some snowshoeing in the park, but the snow just isn't quite deep enough to make it really fun.

I love how versatile this recipe is. The original recipe calls for shrimp, but I often make it with scallops instead. (We have some shrimp allergies in my family, so this swap is very useful!) I couldn't find arugula at the store, so I used watercress. You could also substitute spinach in a pinch, but I think the peppery flavor of arugula or watercress really adds to the appeal. The vinegar is also flexible. It's great with red wine vinegar, but since I didn't have enough, I used apple cider vinegar - still delicious. You can also make this without the bacon for your pescetarian friends, but I think the bacon really adds great depth.

Warm Roasted Scallop Salad
Serves 2-4

• 1 lb sea scallops (or peeled, deveined shrimp)
• 4 slices bacon
• extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 8-10 fresh sage leaves
• 1 pint tomatoes (grape or cherry whole, but chopped if larger)
• 1 - 14 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbs apple cider vinegar
• 10 oz watercress (or arugula)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Arrange the scallops in a single layer on half of a large baking sheet. Drizzle the scallops with olive oil, and season them with salt and pepper. Spread the bacon slices on the other half of the baking sheet and layer the sage leaves over the bacon.

On another baking sheet, drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place both baking sheets in the oven. Roast the tomatoes about 12 minutes and the scallops and bacon for 12, flipping once. Remove the tomatoes. Finish the scallops and bacon under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes, until scallops are done and bacon is crispy.  

In a large bowl, mix cannellini beans with red wine vinegar and a big drizzle of olive oil and season to with salt and pepper. 

Scrape the tomatoes and juices in the bowl and toss to mix with the beans. Crumble bacon and sage and scrape into the bowl. Cut the scallops into bite size pieces and add to the bowl.

Add the watercress and toss. Season with additional salt, pepper and olive oil as needed. 

Serve with crusty bread.

New Year's Eve Feast - Broiled Lobster Tail, Truffled Cauliflower Mash, & Kale "Wedge" Salad

I can't quite believe 2014 is coming to a close. My family and I had a really whirlwind year. We had two engagements, two weddings, and a baby born this year! I married an incredible man and left my job at Nestle to pursue a new career. I do believe this calls for a celebration.

Though my husband and I are going out to a neighborhood restaurant for dinner this year, I firmly believe that you don't have to leave the house to celebrate on New Year's Eve. An intimate night with close friends and family, great food, and a television set for the count down are really all I need. It's also much easier on the wallet - especially now! Whole Foods is having their once a year sale on lobster tails. Instead of $9.99 each, they are $12 for two - such a good deal! I bought 6 and am keeping 4 in the freezer.

Like many other folks out there, we are planning to kick 2015 off with a healthy mindset. To get that mindset started a little early, I decided to make cauliflower mash instead of potatoes. With the richness of the lobster and the truffles, there just wasn't any need to pack on the indulgence of white potatoes. I got this recipe for lobster tails from my dad. He usually cooks them on a grill, but, since I live in a NYC condo, the broiler is my best option.

Broiled Lobster Tails
Serves 2

• 2 lobster tails
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt 
• pepper
• 2 tbsp butter, melted for dipping

Preheat broiler. Sprinkle lobster tails with salt and pepper and rub with olive oil until coated. Broil hard shell side up for approximately 5 minutes, until tails turn bright red and start to brown. 

Flip and broil for an additional 3-5 minutes, until visible meat is white and shell begins to curve and brown. Serve with melted butter for dipping.

Truffled Cauliflower Mash

Serves 2-4 depending on hunger level and size of lobster tails!

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1/3 c reduced fat sour cream
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 tsp black truffle salt, more or less to taste
• 2 tsp black truffle oil

Chop cauliflower into medium sized pieces. Add to a medium saucepan with 2 inches of water at the bottom. Cover and steam until very soft, approximately 20 minutes, ensuring that there is always water in the pan. 

Add more if water boils off. Drain. Add sour cream, butter, and black truffle salt. Mash. 

Blend with a hand blender for smoother consistency if desired. 

Plate and drizzle with a small amount of black truffle oil.

Kale "Wedge" Salad

Serves 2

• 3 c chopped kale, large stems removed
• 3 slices prosciutto
• 2 oz blue cheese, chopped
• 1/c c blue cheese dressing (I use yogurt blue cheese dressing - only 35 calories per serving!)
• 4 cherry tomatoes

Broil proscuitto for 3-4 minutes per side, until crispy. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn! 

In a large bowl, mix kale and dressing. 

Toss to coat. Separate into 2 serving bowls. Crumble half of one of the prosciutto slices over each bowl. Sprinkle 1 oz chopped blue cheese in each bowl. 

Slice tomatoes in quarters and add 2 tomatoes to each bowl. 

Top with a whole crisped prosciutto slice for presentation.

Steak House Dinner at Home

I took the month of November off from posting to get married! I'm now (mostly) officially Meghan Stevens. It turns out that it takes a couple of months to make that name change, but I can officially use the name now! My new husband has been working super hard to catch up after taking some time off for our wedding and mini-moon, so I decided to treat him to a weeknight date night with a Steak House Dinner at Home. This one includes a few elements, but each of them are really very easy: blue cheese crusted steak, grilled asparagus and truffled mashed potatoes. Most of the prep work can be done in advance, so the dinner will come together quickly at the end of a long work day.

Blue Cheese Crusted Steak

• 2 oz Gorgonzola cheese, sliced
• 2 steaks (tenderloin, filets or any steaks will do)
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Rub steaks with salt and pepper. Allow to rest at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.

Preheat cast iron skillet under broiler. Rub steak with a small amount of olive oil.

Place steak on skillet and broil approximately 4-5 minutes. Flip steaks and broil 4-5 minutes more, topping with sliced cheese for the last minute, until steaks have reached desired temperature. Allow to rest at least 4 minutes before serving.

Grilled Asparagus

• bunch of fresh asparagus
• salt
• olive oil

Cut off the bottoms of the asparagus.

To prepare the asparagus in advance, bring a large pan of water to a boil. Add a tsp of salt to the water. Add asparagus and cook until bright green, approximately five minutes.

Remove asparagus from water, drain and cool. Set aside to grill later.

To prepare the asparagus just before the meal, you can skip the boiling step. Toss asparagus in olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Preheat grill to high.

Cook asparagus on the grill until charred on the outside and tender in the middle just before serving.

Truffled Mashed Potatoes

• 2 medium Idaho potatoes
• 1 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1/3 c reduced fat sour cream
• 3 tsp truffle salt, more or less to taste

Peel and chop potatoes. (Usually, I leave the peels on, but I find that the skin can interfere with the experience in truffled potatoes.)

Add chopped potatoes and 1 1/2 tsp truffle salt to a medium pot of water. Bring to a boil with potatoes in the water. Boil for 20 minutes, until potatoes are soft.

Drain potatoes and return to pot. Add butter, sour cream and 1/2 tsp truffle salt.

Mash and add more salt to taste.

This whole recipe can be made in advance and reheated on the stove or in the oven just before dinner. If reheating, mix in another two tbsp of sour cream or 1 tbsp milk prior to reheating to avoid drying out the potatoes.