Laura's Salad

My family went out to eat maybe a handful of times every year, so eating out was a BIG deal for my brothers and I. The "almost never" trip to every kids favorite, McDonalds, was particularly special. So what did I order, you ask? Not a Happy Meal, if that's what you were assuming. I ordered....(drum roll please!!)....a chef salad. Yep...a salad...My parents thought there was something wrong with me, and would triple and quadruple check to make sure that's what I really wanted before placing my order. I was as happy as a clam with my salad, while my brothers ate chicken nuggets and cheeseburgers. I do, and always have, love salad.

About a year and a half ago we had some friends over for dinner, and decided to make it a pot luck style meal. Our friends, Laura and Doug, brought the salad. I found myself only wanting to eat salad, instead of whatever else was being served. I decided to get the recipe, and add chicken and bacon to make it into a meal. I would easily order this salad in a restaurant, it is that good!!


What you'll need:

-Package of butter lettuce
-Chicken (I cut corners and use the Just Chicken from Trader Joe's, in regular or teriyaki)
-Bacon cooked and chopped up (as much as you'd like...after all, bacon makes everything better =)
-Candied walnuts, chopped
-Green apple, sliced into bite sized pieces
-Blue cheese (optional, I don't use it)
-1/2 cup of Mayo
-1/4 cup of Extra virgin olive oil
-1/4 cup of white vinegar
-1-2 cloves of chopped garlic
-Salt and pepper, pinch of each


Whisk together the mayo, extra virgin olive oil, white vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Your dressing is done.

Place desired amount of lettuce onto a plate or bowl,  drizzle salad dressing over the lettuce, top with the desired amount of chicken, bacon, apple, and walnuts.

And you're done...easy, right?

A Classic...only better

I thought that for my first recipe I should make something that everyone loves. Brownies. But don't be fooled, these aren't your typical brownies, and they definitely do not come from a box. These are browned butter brownies. Trust me on this one...you can taste the difference. Browning the butter first makes the brownies taste slightly nutty, without even adding nuts. This recipe produces fudgy, smooth brownies with a slightly crusty top. In a word: AMAZING. Best part is, there's a really good chance that you already have all of these ingredients in your kitchen.

What you'll need:

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (spooned into cup to measure, then leveled)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, chilled
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 cup walnut pieces, or chopped up smoked almonds     

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325°F. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 2-inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt. Stir to blend. Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot). Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Stir in nuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs attached), about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan.

I got this recipe out of my Bon Appetit magazine, and will never make brownies out of a box again, not when they're this easy and this delicious!! 

 

 

Suggestion: Don't be nervous when browning the butter. The saying "Your nose knows" applies to this. The butter should be golden brown, and smell nice and nutty/toasty(/amazing). 

I decided a few months ago that I wanted to start keeping a log of sorts of things I cook/bake, so I could have all my recipes and ideas stored in one place, instead of being randomly kept in various locations ie, saved to different food websites, the notepad on my phone, or even worse, locked up in my head where the possibility of forgetting a recipe or idea is highly possible. Then something quite unexpected happened...friends started suggesting that I start a blog, so that THEY could view my recipes to try them out at home. After multiple requests, I have finally gotten a page (and the nerve) together, and am ready (and quite nervous) to share away! So, starting tomorrow, I will post my first recipe blog, hopefully for your viewing pleasure *fingers crossed...and toes*. I hope that my posts will encourage you to get in the kitchen and have fun with your food!

~Angela