Chocolate Pot de Creme

There's nothing better then a silky smooth chocolate dessert. This recipe took me about 10 minutes to make and a few hours to setup in the fridge. This would be a great make ahead dessert for a dinner party. It can be dressed up to make it fancy with some crunchy toffee or pecans as well as some chocolate shavings. 

Ingredients: 
9 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
5 tbsp. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup whipped cream

Directions:

1. Place the chocolate in a blender. Whisk the milk, 1 cup cream, egg yolks, granulated sugar and salt in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula and almost boiling, 5 to 6 minutes.

2. Immediately pour the milk mixture over the chocolate in the blender. Cover and hold the lid with a thick kitchen towel; blend until combined and smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender as needed. Divide the chocolate mixture among ramekins or small cups and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

3. Whip the remaining 1/2 cup cream and the confectioners' sugar with a mixer or in the blender until soft peaks form. Top the chilled pots de creme with whipped cream.

Champagne Beurre Blanc

 A beurre blanc sauce is a fancy French way to say a white wine butter sauce. Instead of white wine I decided to be a bit more decadent and use champagne. When selecting the champagne use a cheap bottle for cooking and save a good bottle for drinking with this dish. This is great with lobster or any other shellfish. 

 

Ingredients:
1 cup champagne or prosecco
1 shallot, finely diced
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 tbsp. butter, cut into cubes, keep butter super cold until ready to use

 

Directions:

1. Add 1 tsp. of butter to a pan and cook shallots over medium low for about 2 minutes, until shallots are soft. Add champagne, lemon juice, thyme, salt, and pepper. Allow this to cook and reduce until there are about 2-3 tablespoons left. This step can be done up to 3 hours in advance but leave it out at room temp. 

2. To finish off sauce take stick of butter and cut into small cubes. Add 1-2 cubes at a time and stir into reduced sauce over low heat whisking continuously. Allow each addition to melt before adding the next one. Incorporate all butter then leave pan on the lowest setting to keep warm. 

 

Ricotta Pasta

I'm always looking for new ways to make a creamy pasta. Usually I will start my sauce with heavy cream but when I saw this ricotta based sauce I knew I had to try it. It came out both rich and saucy but not too heavy, a great pasta dish for summer! 

 Ingredients:
2 clove of garlic, crushed
6 tbsp. ricotta
4 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. lemon zest
2 tbsp. grated parmesan 
2 tbsp. mixed fresh herbs like basil, chives, and parsley

1/2 pound rotini

Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta cooks make sauce. 

2. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a pot over medium low heat. Add the clove of crushed garlic and allow to cook for 1 minute until fragrant. 

3. Turn off the heat on the pan. Add the ricotta, lemon juice, and lemon zest to pan with the garlic and oil. Whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper. 

4. Turn heat back on to medium low heat. Add in drained cooked pasta and 1/4 cup of pasta water to sauce. Stir to combine. Add in parmesan and fresh herbs. Serve warm. 

Shawarma Chicken

This marinade is a great way to add flavor without too many calories! It can be grilled outside in the summer or broiled inside for the winter. If this is for a weeknight meal you can make the marinade up to 3 days in advance. 

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Breasts or Thighs 

Marinade:
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp. curry powder
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
4 tbsp. lemon juice
6 tbsp. olive oil

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients of the marinade in a small jar and shake to combine. 

2. Add chicken pieces to a plastic bag. Add marinade to bag with chicken. Toss chicken around in the marinade and place in the fridge for 1-3 hours. 

3. When ready to serve preheat a grill to 400 degrees. Grill chicken over medium high heat until internal temperature reaches 155. Remove from grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes. 

4. Slice chicken and serve with your side of choice. I recommend my Greek quinoa or pitas with my Tzatziki Sauce. 

Greek Quinoa

This dish just gets better as it sits in the fridge so it's a great make ahead side for a weeknight dinner or party. If you have any other fresh herbs like chives, parsley, or basil you could add those as well but the dill is essential. It really takes the dish to a Mediterranean place. You could also use cous cous instead of the quinoa if you can't find it at the local store. 

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked quinoa

1/4 cup chopped bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped cucumber

1/8 cup chopped red onion

Feta cheese crumbles

Dressing:

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely grated

1/2 tsp. dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. fresh dill, minced

Directions:

1. Cook quinoa to package directions. 

2. While the quinoa is cooking, start making the dressing. Combine all dressing ingredients together in a small jar and shake well until the dressing is combined. Set aside. 

3. Add cooked quinoa to a bowl and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Add in chopped bell pepper, cucumber, and red onion. Stir to combine.

4. Add half of the dressing mix to the quinoa and fold to combine. Taste and see if more dressing is needed. 

5. Top the quinoa with the feta crumbles and serve.