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I know, this isn't a menu, but I had to give a nod to a new cookbook by the great Alice Medrich (of Berkeley's Cocolat fame).  Her new cookbook is called "Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy".  Isn't that the best title!  If you like your Snickerdoodle cookies crisp & crunchy these cookies are for you.  Perfect for dunking too!  I also have a recipe for a softer Snickerdoodle, but I thought her recipe was a good one to take to share with my co-workers as they hold up really well.  See the cookbook cover and my cookies cooling on a rack:

Summer Menu

Hi!  I decided I wanted to make a summer menu that would take advantage of my cherry tomatoes and basil from my little garden only to find that the deer had totally chomped up all my tomatoes!  Oh well, off to the grocery store.  I still made the menu:

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Basil from the "Bon Appetit" Cookbook
Giada's Summer Orzo Salad (which I was reminded of from Stacey Snacks food blog)
Blueberry Ricotta Cake (also from Stacey Snacks' food blog)
Add some nice Pinot Grigio and you've got a nice, light summer meal

I had to make the ricotta myself---it's so easy using Michael Chiarello's recipe from Napa Style! 

I've included some pictures; please be kind about the cell phone photo quality, but at least you'll get the idea!

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Basil

From:  The Bon Appetit Cookbook (with a few of my own notes)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

½ cup soft, fresh goat cheese, about 4 ounces

2 green onions, thinly sliced

3 tbsp. thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

1 large egg, beaten to blend

½ cup dry, plain bread crumbs

Approximately 2 tablespoons melted butter

Using a meat mallet, pound chicken between 2 sheets of waxed paper until about ¼” thickness.  Pat chicken dry.

Mix cheese, green onions, and basil in a small bowl until combined.  Season to taste with salt & pepper. 

Spread cheese mixture lengthwise on half of chicken piece.  Tuck short ends in.  Starting a long side, roll chicken into tight bundles (reminds me of a burrito).  Tile ends with kitchen string (I wrapped them tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated about ½ hour).

Dip chicken “logs” into beaten egg allowing excess egg to drop back into bowl (I used two glass pie plates; one for the egg and one for the crumbs).  Roll in bread crumbs.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place chicken into lightly greased (I use Pam) baking dish (don’t crowd chicken).  Pour 2 tbsp. melted butter over top.  Bake until cooked through about 20 to 30 minutes.

Giada’s Easy Summer Orzo Salad

4 cups chicken broth

1 ½ cups orzo pasta

1 (15-oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 ½ cups red and yellow cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved

¾ cup finely chopped red onion

½ cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves (I used even less as I just wanted a hint of mint)

About ¾ cup Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows

Salt and pepper to taste

Pour the broth into a heavy large saucepan.  Cover the pan and bring the broth to a boil over high heat.  Stir in the orzo.  Cover partially and cook until the orzo is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes.

Drain the orzo through a strainer.  Transfer the orzo to a large wide bowl and toss until the orzo cools slightly.  Set aside to cool completely.

Toss the orzo with the beans, tomatoes, onion, basil, mint, and enough vinaigrette to coat.  Season the salad, to taste, with the salt and pepper, and serve at room temperature.

Red Wine Vinaigrette

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons salt

¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Blueberry Ricotta Cake

From Stacey Snacks Blog, she says she adapted it from King Arthur Flour (with a few tweaks of my own)

Batter:

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup sugar

1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup milk

¼ cup butter, softened

1 large egg

½ teaspoon vanilla

Zest of a lemon

¾ cup fresh blueberries

Topping:

2 large eggs

1 ¼ cups ricotta cheese

1/3 cup sugar

¼ teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease (or spray with Pam) a 9 x 9 x 2 inch springform pan (or use a regular pan if you don’t have a springform pan).

For the batter:  In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients and and beat until smooth.  Spoon the batter into the greased pan.  Sprinkle the blueberries over the batter (I waited until I made the topping to sprinkle the blueberries so they wouldn’t “bleed” into the batter).

For the topping:  In a small bowl, beat the eggs until frothy, then beat in the cheese, sugar and vanilla.  Spread this mixture evenly over the blueberries.

Bake the cake 55-60 minutes (I baked 60 minutes), or until its golden brown around the edges.  Remove from the oven and cool to lukewarm before serving.  Tastes just as good the next day (but put into the refrigerator overnight).  I bet this would make a good breakfast coffee cake as well.  It isn’t very tall, around 1 ½”.

Breads!

I'm a somewhat, O.K., obsessive, cookbook collector.  I can also be a snob when it comes to taking shortcuts in cooking---in other words, do everything by hand.  However, I came across this fabulous cookbook called "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" that produces great bread without kneading.  Impossible I said, but while the five minutes is a little bit misleading, it really does make nice bread in a short amount of time.  And since any meal looks impressive when paired with a nice loaf of homemade artisan bread, I had to share this book.

First post!

Wow!  As Ina would say, "how easy is that!"  I'm really setting this up for myself, as a way to track menus I've made and would make again.  However, it might also work out as a way to share my successes (and failures) with others.  I'm just a modest home cook, but I love a good meal and am excited when it can be enjoyed with friends.  So, I don't know how often I'll actually post, but, we'll see how it works out!