New Year! A Big Mess 'o' Untested Recipes

Happy 2008! I'm hoping that 2008 will bring about lots of changes for me, not least of them being a big change in my bloggings about food. Here's what's bound to happen, sooner or later:

• Healthy food blog and "unhealthy" food blog will no longer be separate
• Food will not be blogged! A website is in the works. Yippee!
• Did someone say "cookbook"?
• More personal recipes, follow-up reviews, and more pix

In the meantime, I've been gathering recipes to try out!

Cubano Pork Chops with Pickle-and-Pepper Relish and Char-Grilled Corn (Rachael Ray 30-min meal)

Grilled Chicken and Eggplant Stacks with Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce (Rachael Ray 30-min meal)

Pasta Arrabbiata with Eggplant (Rachael Ray 30-min meal)

Parmesan Flats


Also from Rachael Ray Everyday Mag (Feb 2008 issue - recipes not yet listed on website:

• Sun-dried-tomato chicken rollups
• Too-tasty-to-be-good-for-you Cauliflower Mac 'n' Cheese
• Mashed-Potato-stuffed Chicken Breasts
• Little Dumpings (ricotta, cream cheese, parmesan, nutmeg)
• Chickadee wings
• Roasted Garlic Flatbread with Tangy Chutney

Argentinian Chimichurri Steak
alternate chimichurri recipe

BLUE CHEESE & ROASTED RED PEPPER SPREAD

Cheesy Artichoke Tarts

Roasted Beets with Walnut Gorgonzola Dressing

Tom Yam Goong (Vietnamese Prawn Soup)

Moroccan Olive Flatbread

Smokey Black Bean Soup (vegetarian) with Lime Cream







Indian Recipes
Butter Chicken
Daal Gohst (Lamb with Lentils)
Maharashtian Chicken Curry
Cashew Chicken
Roasted Red Lentil Soup
Naan
Vegetable Korma

I have no idea where I found this recipe, but it sounds good:

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Spinach, Cranberries and Goat Cheese
from David Farnsworth, Dover, NH

Ingredients:
2 whole chicken breasts, boned, skin on
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups red wine
2 teaspoons salt, divided
2 teaspoons pepper, divided
4 ounces baby spinach leaves
4 ounces goat cheese
1 jar (13 oz.) hot pepper jelly
4 orange slices
4 sprigs parsley


Directions:
In medium bowl, place cranberries; add wine and set aside. Place
chicken breasts, skin side down, between layers of plastic wrap and
pound to flatten. Sprinkle inside each chicken breast with 1/2
teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Place spinach to cover inside
of breast. Top with 2 tablespoons of the cranberries and 2 ounces of
goat cheese. Cover cranberries and goat cheese with spinach leaves and
fold sides and ends of chicken breast. Repeat with second chicken
breast and sprinkle chicken skin with remaining salt and pepper. Place
chicken in 400 degree F. oven and bake for about 1 hour. While chicken
is cooking, put wine in sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium
heat. Add hot pepper jelly and whisk until blended. Stir in
cranberries and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Slice
chicken, front to back, and arrange on serving dish with cranberry
sauce under and around the chicken. Garnish with orange slices and
parsley. Makes 4 servings.


Tried'n'True Recipes

This one is courtesy of my friend Denise who is a FABULOUS cook:

Carmelized Onion Tartlets

1 1/3 lbs onions, chopped fairly finely
tbsp balsamic vinegar
6 oz blue cheese, gorgonzola or stilton
50g walnut pieces
ready-made one-inch tart shells (frozen section of market for the time-impaired)

Preheat oven to 350

Peel onions and thinly slice. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in large frying pan. Add onions and fry until softened and lightly browned. Add balsamic, salt and pepper to taste. Cook 5 min til lightly carmelized. Remove from heat.

Scoop by teaspoon into tartlet shells. Sprinkle with cheese and walnuts.

Bake 15-20 min til tartlet shell is golden and cheese is melted.

Optional: Top with dried cranberry

Creme Brulee Cheesecake

I heard that one of my readers found her creme brulee torch, so I thought it was definitely time to post this, my favorite cheesecake recipe EVER. For those of you who don't have a torch, never fear, it can be made using your oven broiler instead.

This cheesecake (my grandmother's recipe) is lighter and more custard-y than many cheesecakes. It also has quite a few less calories. Huzzah!

Crust:
1 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/2 stick butter, melted
2 T. white sugar
dash of nutmeg
dash of cinnamon

Melt butter and mix in dry ingredients. Grease springform pan and press crumb mixture onto bottom, and partly up sides. Set aside.

Filling:
1 lb. neufchatel (reduced calorie) cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. white sugar
1/2 c. skim milk
1/2 c. whole milk
3 Tbsp. flour
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt

Mix cream cheese, sugar, salt and flour and beat very well. Add egg YOLKS, then milk and vanilla. When smooth, gently fold in beaten egg whites.

Turn on oven 5 minutes before baking at 325. Pour cheese mixture into crust. Bake 1 hour. * Leave in oven for one hour more WITH OVEN DOOR OPEN AND OVEN TURNED OFF.

Remove cake. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until completely chilled.

Creme Brulee topping:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. water

Mix in small bowl to form slightly loose "paste." Spread over top of COLD cheesecake.

Torch: Use creme brulee torch to cook/harden the topping. If using a torch, you may choose to cut the cheesecake into slices, then cover the top AND sides of each slice, and then use the torch, creating a shell of (yum) sugar over the whole slice. Or you can do just the top.

Broiler: Turn oven to broil (high) but leave rack in middle position. Place cheesecake on middle rack and WATCH CAREFULLY until brown sugar mixture caramelizes. Remove from broiler and let sit one minute, until topping hardens, before carefully slicing. Serve with fresh berries.


* To prevent cheesecake from cracking, bake in a water bath: wrap the bottom of your springform pan in aluminum foil and place it in a larger pan with water in it, just halfway up the outside of the springform pan. This will allow the cheesecake to cook more slowly and evenly. Remove foil after completely chilled.