"My Favorite Salad" Panini

a.k.a. My New Favorite Sandwich

{recipe from Tasty Kitchen}

• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• ½ cups pecans
• ½ cups dried cranberries
• ½ cups blue cheese crumbles
• ¼ cups reduced fat mayonnaise
• 8 slices focaccia bread (I used 12 grain hazelnut bread from Kneaders–swoon!)
  
• 2 whole seasoned and grilled boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• 1 whole apple, cored and thinly sliced

Process the spinach, pecans, dried cranberries, blue cheese and mayonnaise in a food processor until uniformly smooth. (I tried my blender, and it didn't work at all. I had to transfer it to my little food processor. Worked like a dream.)

Spread mixture on each slice of bread.

Top one slice of bread (per sandwich) with grilled chicken slices and apple slices. Place sandwich halves together.

Grill on a panini press or grill pan until bread is toasted. (I used my George Foreman grill. No butter on the bread necessary.)

**In the picture above, I was having leftovers for lunch the next day. I was out of apples, so I had it without. I was also too lazy to get out the grill. It was still delicious, but better with the apple and grilled.

Gratin of Beets with Walnuts and Roquefort Cheese

I found this recipe years ago in a little tiny Bon Appetit cookbook. Marc and I love it and I still make it lo these many years later. (With my passion for trying new things, not that many recipes stay in rotation.) If you think you don't like beets, it may be that you've only tried pickled beets. Roasted beets are a different thing completely -- earthy, delicately sweet -- and if you're lucky enough to have garden-fresh beets, well... you're just really lucky. This is delightful alongside a steak.

2 medium beets, stems trimmed to 1 inch
2 t. balsamic vinegar
1/2 t. sugar
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 T. butter
3/4 c. fresh breadcrumbs
3 T. chopped walnuts
1 1/2 T. snipped chives or minced green onions
2 oz. Roquefort, crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap beets in foil. Place in baking pan and cook until tender, about 1 hour. Maintain oven temperature. Cool beets slightly. Peel and cut into 1/2" dice. Mix with vinegar and sugar. Season with salt and pepper, spoon into a buttered gratin dish.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs and stir until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Mix in walnuts and chives. Season with salt and pepper. Add Roquefort and crumbs to beets and mix gently to distribute evenly. Return to oven and bake until hot, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Serves 2, but can easily be doubled or tripled.

Flank Steak and Blue Cheese Quesadilla Salad

vinaigrette:
3 T. Dijon-lemon vinaigrette
1 1/2 T. sugar
1 1/2 T. red wine vinegar
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 t. chopped fresh thyme (optional)

quesadillas:
1/2 lb. flank steak
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
cooking spray
1/2 c. (2 oz.) crumbled blue cheese
4 8" flour tortillas

remaining ingredients:
1 head torn red leaf lettuce
1 c. vertically sliced red onion
2 large tomatoes, each cut into 8 wedges

1. Prepare grill.

2. Combine vinaigrette ingredients; set aside.

3. To prepare quesadillas, sprinkle steak with salt and pepper. Place steak on grill rack and grill 4 minutes on each side or until done. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices.

Sprinkle cheese evenly over 2 tortillas. Divide steak evenly over cheese, and top with remaining tortillas.

4. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over med. heat. Cook quesadillas 4 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan and cut each quesadilla into 8 wedges.

Combine vinaigrette, lettuce, onion, and tomato in a large bowl; toss well. Divide salad evenly among 4 plates; top each serving with 4 quesadilla wedges.

{Dijon-lemon vinaigrette:
3 T. vegetable broth or water
2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. Dijon mustard
2 t. minced garlic
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. black pepper
1/4 t. salt

Combine all ingredients in a jar; cover tightly and shake vigorously. Store in refrigerator.}

Rustic Turkey Tart

My sister-in-law Michelle passed this recipe on from Cook's Country magazine.

**Marc made it with chicken, because that's what we had. He then informed me that he doesn't like turkey in things, only plain. Well, alright, then.

1 9" prepared pie dough (they recommend Pillsbury Just Unroll crust)
1 1/2 c. cooked turkey (or chicken) breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
3/4 c. crumbled blue cheese
2 firm pears, peeled, cored and diced
1/4 c. pecans, toasted and chopped
1/4 c. dried cranberries
1 c. sour cream
3 T. heavy cream
1 T. minced fresh thyme (or 1 t. dried)
salt and pepper

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Gently press pie crust into 9" tart pan and trim excess dough with a knife. Prick bottom of dough all over with fork tines. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes; cool.

Combine turkey, 1/2 c. cheese, pears, pecans, cranberries, sour cream, heavy cream, and thyme in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Transfer turkey mixture to cooled pie crust, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Let cool 10-15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Tart can be refrigerated for 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

Broccoli with Blue Cheese

2 T. butter
2 T. flour
1 c. milk
4 oz. cream cheese
1/3 c. crumbled blue cheese
1 1/2 pounds broccoli, steamed

In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in flour and heat until bubbly. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat until mixture thickens. Add cream cheese and blue cheese to sauce. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Pour over broccoli and serve.

(Arrange broccoli spears on a platter, alternating stems and tops. Pour the sauce down though the middle of the stalks.) Serve with rice.

Pasta with Grilled Vegetables

10 oz. short pasta (I used whole wheat penne -- Target makes ww pasta that is both inexpensive and tasty)
2 bell peppers (I used yellow and orange), cut in large chunks
1-2 c. cherry tomatoes, halved
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1" pieces
3 t. crumbled blue cheese (I used 3 tablespoons!)
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
1 t. sugar
1/2 t. minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

The recipe calls for grilling the vegetables, but since we still have snow, I just sautéed them in a little olive oil. Either way, cook the peppers and asparagus while the pasta is cooking.

In a medium bowl, mix the vinegar, garlic, sugar, salt, pepper, blue cheese, and tomatoes. Add the drained pasta and the cooked vegetables and mix well. Add a little of the pasta cooking water if necessary.

Fast, easy, good. Enjoy!

CPK-style Cobb Salad

Serves 2

1 head romaine lettuce, sliced
1 cooked chicken breast, diced
3-4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1 large or 2 small tomatoes, diced
2 roasted beets (canned in a pinch, NOT pickled)
1 avocado, diced
crumbled blue cheese
blue cheese dressing

Divide lettuce among two plates. Arrange diced ingredients in separate piles and drizzle all with dressing. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Gratin w/Blue Cheese and Sage

6 servings

2 lbs. cubed, peeled butternut squash
1-2 slices bread
4 t. olive oil
2 c. thinly sliced onion
1 T. chopped fresh sage
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Steam squash, covered, until tender.

Pulse bread in food processor until it forms coarse crumbs. Place crumbs in a bowl and add 2 t. oil, toss with a fork.

Heat remaining oil over medium high heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Transfer onion to a bowl and add squash, sage, and salt and pepper.

Spoon into a 7x11 dish and bake for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle blue cheese and bread crumbs on top and bake an additional 10 minutes.