Grilled Romain with Toasted Hazelnuts

After my recent excitement over caesar salad, my boyfriend shared with me that at a restaurant he used to work at they would grill the romaine lettuce for their caesar salads. So on a Sunday night I decided to make a fancy caesar salad, kicking it up a notch if you will. This salad, while an improvisation on the ingredient front, tasted delicious and is definitely a good accompaniment for any meat dish or hearty soup. We had ours with a green lentil soup and a chewy fresh loaf of garlic bread. This salad is fancy tasting, elegant looking and very easy to make. The toasted hazelnuts have a smoky flavor, the blue cheese has a pungent creamy flavor, and the marinated artichoke has a delicious salty flavor. All of these are tied together with the grilled romaine and creamy dressing for a fantastic salad. I use one of those indoor grills that spans over two stove top burners. For the most part, it works great, except it smokes up the entire apartment and requires opening up most the windows and the front door! All for a little grilled romaine.

Ingredients:
Whole romaine lettuce leaves
Marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
Blue cheese, crumbled
Hazelnuts
Caesar dressing
Olive oil
Ground pepper
Dried chili flakes

Directions:
1. Heat up a grill. Place the romaine lettuce leaves in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, ground pepper and dried chili flakes. Toss to get the leaves evenly seasoned.
2. Broil the hazelnuts in the oven for about 4 minutes. Set aside
3. Spray the grill with a little bit of cooking spray. Place the leaves on the grill and grill for about 30 seconds per a side. You want to see grill marks on the romaine but you don't want the leaves to wilt and loose their crispness.

4. Set the grilled romaine aside in a bowl. Top with the chopped artichoke hearts, toasted hazelnuts, crumbled blue cheese and drizzle the caesar dressing over the whole lot. Gently toss to incorporate.

Ginger Pear Upside Down Cake

Over the holidays I took a little trip back to California and we all went to my Aunt Amy's for a Christmas dinner. There were 11 people total and 5 different desserts. This is typical for my family and explains some things. Somehow, all the desserts were different! My Aunt Amy made a pumpkin pie and a chocolate cake that was rich and delicious. My Aunt Sue made an incredible chocolate orange bunt cake. My mom made a pavlov with fresh fruit and I made an upside down ginger pear cake. Like most our family gatherings, it ended with everyone in a food coma on the floor. One of my favorite things to do when I have some time is to stroll through the cookbook section of bookstores and scribble down recipes in my journal. I found this recipe in Leslie Mackie’s Macrina Bakery & Café Cookbook and I instantly knew this is what I wanted to make. I changed it up slightly from the original recipe; I like to think I made it a tad healthier. This dessert is great for the cold weather and I recommend having it a la mode, or a la milk.

Ginger Pear Upside Down Cake
Adapted from Leslie Mackie’s Macrina Bakery & Café Cookbook

Ingredients:
For the topping:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
4-5 medium pears, cut into sixths lengthwise

For the cake:
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons peeled, grated ginger
3/4 cups fake eggs (3 eggs)
2/3 cup molasses
3 cups  flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups soymilk

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9 inch spring form pan.
2. In a bowl combine the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Mix in the pear slices and toss until they are evenly coated. Place the pear slices on the bottom of the pan in a circular form.
3. In a separate bowl mix together the butter, brown sugar, ginger, eggs and molasses. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Alternate folding in the flour mixture and the soymilk to he molasses mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and do not over mix. Pour the batter over the pears in the pan and smooth out with a spatula.
5. Place the cake in the center rack of the oven and bake for about one hour and 45 minutes, or until a toothpick skewer comes out clean. Let cake cool for about 10 minutes before carefully flipping upside down and gently lift the pan's base off the cake. Serve with whipped cream, ice cream or milk!

Thyme Roasted Carrots

I just got a spice canister of dried Thyme and the first thing I decided to make with it was roasted carrots. This dish is easy, flavorful, healthy, and adds a ton of color to your plate! See picture of carrots with pecan crusted salmon and edamame mash:

                           

Thyme Roasted Carrots

Ingredients:
Whole carrots, sliced into quarters
Olive oil
Fresh ground pepper
Dried thyme
Chives, sliced for garnish

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spread the carrots on a baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil and generously sprinkle with ground pepper and thyme. Gently toss on the pan to evenly coat.
3. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, when carrots are starting to get a golden hue and the thyme is starting to crisp. Sprinkle with chives and serve warm.