Erica

Whole Pear Parfait with Goat Cheese, Chocolate and Granola

January 18, 2013 by Erica

Yesterday’s post was all about clean eating. So obviously, today I bring you a dessert with goat cheese and chocolate.

How hypocritical of me.

Let’s just acknowledge that this is a treat, and move on.

This is not the first time I’ve made you a pear with cheese on top. So I guess you could call this a variation on a theme.

Pears are so pretty, though. I can’t help making them into desserts.

I was inspired to make these pears by The Novice Chef’s Vertical Pear Salad, which has been circulating on Pinterest. Naturally, my train of thought was as follows:

Oooh, that’s pretty. I should do that.

You know what’s more fun than a salad, though? A dessert!

But maybe I could still leave the cheese on?

So, there you have it. I started with a salad and turned it into a dessert. This should surprise just about no one.

Have you ever had chocolate and goat cheese before, like in chocolate goat cheesecake (one of the best desserts I’ve ever had)?

You might think it sounds like an odd combination, and maybe it is, but in the best way possible. Together they are tangy, sweet, and extremely rich.

Now that I’m thinking about that chocolate goat cheesecake, I’m realizing that I’m going to have to make that sometime. Put it on the list.

Try these out if you like rich desserts! They are super easy and quick to assemble; melting the chocolate is what takes the longest.

Speaking of the chocolate, next time I might add more milk to make it even drizzle-ier, and pour it all over the top instead. As it is, this dessert isn’t too gooey… and I will always opt for gooey.

Have a good weekend, friends!

Whole Pear Parfait with Goat Cheese, Chocolate and Granola

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 pears (I used Bosc)

5 oz dark chocolate chips

1/4 cup milk or cream (I used almond milk)

5-6 oz. goat cheese

1/2 cup granola

Instructions:

Cut a tiny slice off of the bottom of each pear, so that it will stand up straight. Then slice each pear into 3 horizontal pieces.

In a heat-proof dish, microwave the chocolate chips and milk together. As noted above, you could increase the amount of milk (to 1 cup or so) to make it more of a sauce that you could drizzle over the whole dessert. Once chocolate is melted, whisk together. If you find that the milk is making the chocolate seize up, try adding a bit more milk and microwaving it for another 30 seconds, then whisk again.

Spread a layer of goat cheese onto the top of each pear base. Sprinkle with a small handful of granola, and give it a dollop of chocolate. Place the second pear layer on and repeat. Top with the last piece of pear!

These are prettiest if served in the hour or so after assembly. They do keep in the fridge for about 24 hours, but the chocolate will not be melted, of course, and the edges of the pear layers will look a tiny bit shriveled. However, I found that the chocolate was soft enough to be eaten after being refrigerated overnight, if you have leftovers!

Time:

10 minutes

Thursday Book Review: Food Rules by Michael Pollan

January 17, 2013 by Erica

I read this book cover to cover this weekend, and just had to share it with you.

Several months ago, I read another Michael Pollan book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma. It was one of the most insightful books I’ve read in a long time, and changed the way I think about the food I’m putting into my body. So I was kind of surprised to find that I’ve owned Food Rules for about 2 years and never read it! I found it sitting on my bookshelf the other day when I was moving things around.

It’s a short, simple book, giving 64 “food rules” to help you move away from the typical, unhealthy “Western diet” towards one focused more on natural, whole foods. All the rules center around Pollan’s main thesis (which he also discusses in other books and articles):

Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.

Clearly, this hits home with me.

The rules, many hailing from cultures with a healthier diet than ours, are grouped into three sections, one for each part of Pollan’s thesis above. Many are just similar ways of remembering the same basic concept. Pollan’s hope is to make at least a few of these rules “sticky” enough to stay with the reader at the grocery store, dinner table, etc.

So here are the rules that stuck with me the most:

– Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle. (You’ve probably heard this before. So true, though – all the packaged, processed stuff lives in the middle.)

– Avoid food products that make health claims and, similarly, Avoid foods you see advertised on television. (If the company making this food has a big enough marketing budget to secure FDA-approved health claims or place TV ads, this food is probably heavily processed. You never see spinach advertised on television, and unpackaged foods literally can’t make health claims on the box or bag.)

– Buy your snacks at the farmer’s market. (This is so you’ll snack on fresh food, not the high-calorie processed stuff marketed as snacks.)

– Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food. (Many of the rules in the book are about the benefits of eating plants, especially leaves. It’s OK to eat meat sometimes, in small quantities – just make sure the meal is centered around fruits and veggies.)

– Eat your colors. (To eat a number of different antioxidants! This lines up so nicely with my obsession with colorful food.)

– Eat all the junk food you want, as long as you cook it yourself. (It’s difficult and time-consuming to make fried chicken, donuts, cakes, etc. And it should be. It’s OK to indulge once in a while – as often as you’re willing to put in all the effort that goes toward these treats. Unfortunately, I’m a little more willing than most to spend an hour making a pan of brownies… but you get the picture. Never buy unhealthy pre-made foods!)

– Have a glass of wine with dinner. (Just did, thank you very much. Love this rule.)

– Pay more, eat less. (You get what you pay for with expensive, high-quality produce. This is a hard one for me to remember at the grocery store!)

– Cook. (By cooking your own meals, you take control over what you put into your body, rather than handing that control over to a corporation that doesn’t care about your health. This is my favorite rule by far!)

You could call this a clean eating book, and that’s what I’m trying to do lately. I think anyone who already eats this way – or wants some inspiration to clean up their act in the new year – would enjoy this book! Like I said, it’s super short and simple – it took me an hour or two to read it cover to cover.

Aaaand I just requested another Michael Pollan book, In Defense of Food, from the library. When I’m not cooking, eating, or writing about food, I like to be reading about it.

Healthy Leek and Gruyere Sweet Potato Skins

January 16, 2013 by Erica

Potato skins are kind of my new thing.

You’ll see what I mean next week when I post another potato skin recipe!

But in the meantime, let’s focus on these guys.

I want to call these football food, because I think you should make them this weekend (when you’re rooting for the Patriots, obviously). But you could make them for dinner just any old night.

Also, unlike most football food (“gameday bucket go boom,” anyone?), these are so good for you!

There’s nothing like some beautiful winter produce to get me excited to get in the kitchen.

These potato skins have just a handful of ingredients, and most of them are vegetables. But then, of course, I added some cheese. That’s how you get football fans to eat their veggies, you know.

A word of caution about the cheese, though: Gruyere is kind of stinky. It doesn’t actually taste at all stinky, it just smells kind of funky when these are being prepared and cooked. I didn’t mind it, but if you think you will, try using another sharp cheese, like white cheddar.

These totally hit the spot – perfect for a side dish or light veggie entree. Or a football game!

Healthy Leek and Gruyere Sweet Potato Skins

Serves 6 as an entree or 12 as a side

Ingredients:

6 small sweet potatoes

2 Tbsp olive oil + extra for baking the skins

3 leeks

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups finely chopped cauliflower (a bit less than half a head)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup whipped cream cheese (or regular would work, too)

1 1/2 cups grated gruyere (the hunk I bought was 0.22 lbs)

Instructions:

First, cook the sweet potatoes. Preheat oven to 375. Bake sweet potatoes until slightly squishy when squeezed with an oven mitt, about 75 minutes.

If you have time, I recommend refrigerating the sweet potatoes for an hour or two at this point, as they are easier to scoop out neatly when cold. If you don’t have the time, simply let cool for 10-15 minutes before proceeding.

Cut sweet potatoes in half and scoop out the insides out into a large bowl, leaving a small layer of sweet potato attached to each skin. I find that the easiest way to do this is to go around the sweet potato, marking a line about 1/4 inch from the skin with a spoon. Then I continue to scoop it out inside the lines. If you accidentally scoop all the way down to the bottom on part of your sweet potato, it’s no big deal – you can mush some sweet potato to cover it up with the back of your spoon. Set the bowl of sweet potato flesh aside.

Turn oven up to 450. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray it with cooking spray. (That part is important so your potato skins won’t stick!) Place the skins on the baking sheet, brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes to get the skins crispier. (The insides of the potato will not get crispy like an Idaho potato would, though.)

In the meantime, prepare the filling. Trim leeks to just the white parts. Leeks collect lots of dirt in between the layers, so cut each leek in half the long way, and rinse thoroughly. Slice thinly.

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Once hot, add the leeks and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, saute for another minute, then add the cauliflower. Saute, stirring occasionally, until leeks and cauliflower soften, about 7 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.

Mash together the sweet potato flesh and cream cheese. The sweet potato should be soft enough that you can do this with the back of a spoon. Add the leek and cauliflower mixture to the bowl and mix until well combined.

Time to assemble the potato skins! Scoop some of the sweet potato and leek mixture into each skin. Top with about 2 Tbsp of grated gruyere per skin.

Finally, return the skins to the oven at 450 for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Serve hot!

Time:

2 hours

Wilted Spinach, Brussels Sprout and Citrus Salad

January 14, 2013 by Erica

I’m feeling like my love of green things is slightly underrepresented on this blog.

It’s also slightly underrepresented in my life lately, despite the fact that it’s January.

But let’s face it, it is January, and nothing about freezing temps (high of 17 today) makes me want to eat cold, crunchy vegetables.

And that’s why this salad has a warm dressing poured over it, wilting the spinach and making me feel slightly happier about eating raw veggies in the dead of winter.

I came up with this salad the other morning before work, when I went to pack my lunch and realized that we had NO leftovers. That is not a common occurrence around here, because I’m pretty careful to make enormous dinners so that I can bring lunch all week.

So, boooooo, salad it was. Plus some frozen soup I found in the freezer. I was kind of bummed about it… until lunch kept me full all afternoon. That is definitely a rare occurrence.

I think it’s the Brussels sprouts that added the fullness factor? Whatever it was, it made me realize that this is a January salad I can handle.

If you are not a fan of Brussels sprouts… please give them a second chance?

They are pretty delightful when sliced into thin ribbons like this. Plus there’s none of that skunky flavor that you might associate with overcooked Brussels.

I used cara cara navel oranges in my salad, because I love their beautiful color and sweetness. But you could use regular navel oranges, grapefruit, or any other citrus.

You do have to supreme it – sorry! I mean I guess you don’t have to, but that’s really the only way I like my citrus salads, because I can’t stand the pith – yuck. But totally your choice, and if you’d like to supreme it but aren’t sure how, just google it and you can find some great video tutorials.

You’ll want to adjust the vinegar in the dressing for the sourness of the citrus you choose… I could have added another tablespoon of vinegar with these oranges, but if you use a grapefruit, you may not want any vinegar at all.

And sprinkle with some pepitas for a beautiful mid-winter salad. Enjoy!

Wilted Spinach, Brussels Sprout and Citrus Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

5 oz baby spinach (about 8 loose cups)

12-15 Brussels sprouts, thinly sliced

2 oranges or other citrus fruit (I used cara cara navel oranges for their pretty color!)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Instructions:

Add spinach and sliced Brussels sprouts to a large bowl.

Supreme the oranges and set aside the segments. Squeeze the juice from the remaining parts of the oranges into a small heat-proof dish. (I got about 1/4 cup of juice out of mine.)

Add the oil, vinegar, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper to the orange juice. Adjust the vinegar to get the acidity that you like. Microwave until hot, about a minute.

Pour hot dressing over the spinach and Brussels sprouts and toss to coat. Top with orange segments (I like to add them after tossing so they don’t get torn up after I’ve so carefully supremed them!) and pepitas.

This salad is best when served immediately. It will keep in the fridge up to 24 hours, although the spinach will become more wilted.

Time:

10 minutes

Chai Spiced Hot Chocolate

January 11, 2013 by Erica

Have you ever had a “dirty” chai latte?

Well, this is not that.

But a dirty chai latte, I learned the day after Christmas, is a chai latte with a shot of espresso, and is an “off-the-menu” item at Starbucks. I tried a friend’s recently and it was delicious. Not sure I’ll be ordering it any time soon, though, because how awkward would it be to include the word “dirty” in your Starbucks order? What if the cashier didn’t know what you were talking about? Or… misinterpreted it? I feel like Utah is a place where that would happen.

Anyway, chai spiced hot chocolate is kind of the inverse of a dirty chai latte, and for chocolate lovers, but just as brilliant. Also, it contains no potentially confusing adjectives, which is key when you’re ordering it/telling other people about it.

This is inspired by the Williams-Sonoma chai-spiced hot chocolate that my aunt and uncle (hi Aunt Kathy!) got me for Christmas. It was just the perfect thing to warm up with after skiing! It had never occurred to me that two seemingly distinct hot beverages, tea and hot chocolate, could be combined. Two of your favorite things, right?

But I suspect that not everyone will run out to Williams-Sonoma to buy this “premium” (quoting from the website now), “mellow-bodied,” “perfectly balanced” hot chocolate. So I came up with a semi-homemade version (Sandra Lee-style) to share with you.

And despite my pictures here with fancy spices, none of those are necessary. A chai tea bag and some Hershey’s cocoa powder, people. Semi-homemade. I was just so proud that I had so many whole spices sitting around that I had to include them.

I feel obliged here to link to something hysterical, if you haven’t seen it already: The Hater’s Guide To The Williams-Sonoma Catalog. It had me hunched over my desk squeaking I was laughing so hard. This “world-class” hot chocolate is not even in the same category as the absurd Williams-Sonoma products and descriptions featured there. If you’ve ever looked at their catalog and shouted at your roommate “who the hell BUYS this stuff?!” you should check it out. Although if you are intrigued by and end up purchasing the “reclaimed rustic chicken coop” for $759.95, I’m sure your roommate will understand.

Chai Spiced Hot Chocolate

Makes 2 1-cup servings

Inspired by Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients:

2 cups plain unsweetened almond milk

1 chai tea bag (I used Tazo)

1/4 cup Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder

2 Tbsp sugar

1/8 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

In a heat-proof dish (such as a Pyrex glass measuring cup), microwave almond milk until hot, about 4 minutes, stopping and stirring every minute or so.

Remove from microwave and steep the chai tea bag in the almond milk for about 2 minutes. Discard tea bag.

Stir in cocoa powder, sugar, and vanilla. If necessary, microwave for an additional minute to dissolve sugar.

Whisk or blend to get it nice and frothy, being careful not to spill. (You may have to transfer to a different dish/bowl for this.) Pour into two small mugs to serve.

Enjoy!

Time:

6 minutes

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