Orchid Melon "Caprese" Salad with Balsamic Grilled Chicken

Oh middle of the week....

This week has been very busy. With friends in town, jury duty and deadlines at work I was worried I may not have a middle of the week post but I made it!!!!! A quick and simple dinner for 5 people on a Wednesday night!!!! I'm delighted.

Orchid Melon "Caprese" Salad with Balsamic Grilled Chicken

I must say there is nothing better than having an outdoor grill. But for those of you who are small apartment dwellers such as myself a kitchen must have is a cast iron stove top grill/griddle. 

If you don't know, now you know :)

Man, I love this thing. We make so many great items on it and they all have that great grilled flavor and those pretty little grill marks.

Now on to the recipe :)

Chicken Marinade Recipe :

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (however many will feed your family I was feeding 5 so this was the perfect amount of marinade)

1 cup Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tbsp. Worscheschire Sauce 

2 Tbsp. Honey 

2 cloves garlic 

1 lemon quartered

1 stem rosemary

Mix all ingredients together (don't worry keep mixing the honey will dissolve) 

place in a plastic container, bowl or plastic zip lock bag

Add chicken, cover and let marinate in the fridge for at least 30 min.

Next for the salad.....my favorite.

You may be wondering about the Orchid Melon. I had no idea what they were either but leave it to a trip to the farmer's market to teach me something new. The orchid melon is a tiny little heirloom watermelon and it is delish! Please buy this melon if it is available to you, but if not a regular mini seedless watermelon would certainly do the trick.

Salad Recipe:                                                              

1 orchid melon

1 bunch fresh basil 

8 ounces fresh mozzarella

2 cups balsamic vinegar                              

Look at how juicy this baby is.

Now for the fun part!!!! The construction of the salad. I thought it was a clever method. I was attempting a new take on an old salad so the point was to turn this melon into "tomatoes"

Cut melon into.  As shown in the picture above.

Try and slice the melon into 10 slices (again I was feeding 5)  Use a toothpick to remove some of the seeds. 

Now let's turn this melon into some "tomatoes"!!!! You will need one mid sized drinking glass. You will use the glass to cut out circles from the melon slices.

I found this part of preparing the meal to be fun. So if you have kids this step may be the one for them.

While the kids are cutting the melon, remove chicken from marinade sprinkle with salt and pepper and place chicken on grill sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Grill chicken 5-6 minutes per side depending on the size of the chicken.

Bring the 2 cups of balsamic to a simmer let it reduce by half.

PADRON PEPPERS!

Look at those grill marks! I love cast iron.

OOOOOOOooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOO I forgot we ate these!!!!!!!!! These little padron peppers make a great appetizer. Put a tiny bit of oil in a pan, blister them and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt. They are not hot and have the best flavor. Mmmmmmmm just like Spain. Or so I hear ;)

Remove basil leaves from stems and slice the mozzarella to match the size of the melon circles.

Begin constructing the salad, I think the fan method I used is nice but you can also stack them for a nice presentation. Get creative with it!!! Drizzle balsamic reduction over salad. (be gentle you are already having balsamic chicken, too)

At this point your chicken should be cooked and rested. Plate it up and eat it up!!!!!!!

Yummy Yummy Yummy

We all made it as members of the clean plate club!!!!!!

Our friends from out of town.

 Matthew (the hubs) David from Britain, Jen and Ben from Asheville, NC ;)

I hope you find this a simple easy meal to make for your family or guests any night of the week.

Bye for now!!!!!!!

Lavender Salt Seared Scallops with Sweet Pea Puree and Pancetta

I made this meal night before last and posted to Facebook. There were so many "likes" and comments that I wanted to let you in on the recipe. The best part about this meal is that the total cost with a bottle of wine was around $17 for 2 people in a restaurant it would have cost around $22 for one scallop entree without the wine.

 

Another great score from the San Francisco Farmer's Market  is Eatwell Farms Lavender Salt. It is so dang delicious I eat it sprinkled on buttered bread. You can also make a body scrub from it. I imagine that if you do not have access to this brand you could incorporate some dried lavender into some course sea salt for a similar flavor. It adds a richness and depth to the dish that I cannot describe.

Lavender Salt Seared Scallops with Sweet Pea Puree and Pancetta

RECIPE :

8 Jumbo scallops rinsed and patted dry ( more or less depending on the size of your family)

1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
3 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic (I love my garlic press)
2 cups frozen peas
1 cup chicken broth
Lavender salt and fresh ground black pepper  

5 thin slices pancetta
1/3 cup chopped fresh salad greens
1-1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tbs butter

Preheat Oven to 375º 

Set aside 1 tbs. of the shallots and put the rest in a saucepan with 2 tbs. of the oil and the garlic
Cook over medium-low heat until the shallots are soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the peas and the broth and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and then reduce the heat to medium low.
Cover the pan and cook about 5-8 min.
Pour the pea mixture in blender and puree until smooth.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Return the puree to the saucepan, cover, and set aside to keep warm.

Put the pancetta on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown and crisp, 10 to 14 minutes.


Gremolata : In a small bowl combine the salad greens, lemon zest, and the 1 tbs. shallots you set aside earlier and set aside.

Chopped shallot, lemon zest and garlic.

Fresh salad greens from Happy Boy Farms. I love them because they add  little edible flowers to the mix that make it so pretty. The people at their stand are always sooooo nice, too.

Pat the scallops dry and season them generously with lavender salt and pepper.

Heat the butter and the remaining 1 Tbs. oil in the very best non-stick skillet you have over medium-high heat until very hot. 

Add the scallops and cook, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides about 2 to 4 minutes per side. Place on plate with paper towel.

Seared scallops with crumbled baked pancetta.

*** Green Note : Matthew and me stopped using paper towels a long time ago so the scallops are on a linen. Think about it less waste, less $$$$. Ahhh, Semi Green Living :)

Place the scallops on the puree and crumble the pancetta on top. Sprinkle the Gremolata on top.

Let's look at it again. It's just so pretty!!! The flavor is something I can never explain. (that is why I'm not a writer) DELICIOUS! The End.

Enjoy!!!!!! 

 

Fennel Sausage Cornbread with Rosemary / Tomato White Beans

Hello Everyone!!!!!!

I finally have a FOOD BLOG. As does almost everyone nowadays :)

I hope that you enjoy.

The following recipe was my dad's, I've made it a few times but decided to take it to the foodie level and make some changes. I will list both the original recipe and the "jazzed" up one and let you decide.

   

Recipe:


Rosemary / Tomato White Beans

These really could not be any easier. Matthew (the hubs) loves this dish because of the fresh herb-y flavor and I love it because it is so simple to put together.

2-3 cans of white beans ( any kind you like, I also say 2-3 cans depending on the size of your family)
4 large fresh juicy tomatoes
3-4 stems fresh rosemary ( check your neighbor's yard LOL)
1 white onion
3 gloves garlic
1 cup chicken broth
olive oil

Chop onion and garlic saute in 1 tbsp olive oil in crock pot on high for 5-7 min
Cut tomatoes into large chunks and add to pot
Add all other ingredients turn pot to low and simmer.
Add salt and pepper to taste

** If the beans are a bit "loose" or they are not as thick as you would like them you may add a small slurry of cornstarch to thicken them up.

****The amount of flavor in this dish depends on how long you can let the crock pot go, the longer the better :) We usually let them go overnight. But the time it takes to make the cornbread would suffice.

We got these funny looking guys at the Berkeley Farmer's Market from Happy Boy Farms. They packed so much amazing flavor into the beans. Matthew says that ugly maters are the best maters.


Now for the main event!!!!!!

Glenn's Sausage Cornbread

As explained earlier there are two recipes here you can use either one but if you have access to fresh local ingredients I say please do.

ORIGINAL RECIPE ( I must have written this down 100 years ago my handwriting doesn't even look like this anymore)

The ORIGINAL Recipe:
1 lb. Sausage
1 onion, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups self rising cornmeal
1 can cream corn
3/4 cups milk
1/4 vegetable oil
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425º
Grease cast iron skillet
Brown sausage and onion, drain grease
Combine eggs, corn and meal
Add milk and oil
Pour 1/2 mixture into skillet
Layer sausage onion mixture and top with cheese
Layer on remaining batter
Bake for 30-40 min

Now the adjusted recipe comes from my desire to turn my favorite southern dishes into a more California friendly meal.

Our weekend trip to the Farmer's Market turned up some lovely local sausages. My inspiration for this meal.

Sicilian Fennel Sausages from Dopo/Adesso Restaurants  Oakland , CA (River Dog Farms Pork) These restaurants bring in two pigs each week from River Dog Farms and come up with so many imaginative creations from pate to bacon and sausage. So fresh!






www.dopoadesso.com


The NEW and IMPROVED  Recipe:
1 lb. Fennel Sausage
1 onion, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
5 tsp. baking soda 
1 tsp. salt
1 can corn
3/4 cups milk
1/4 vegetable oil
2 cups shredded dutch Havarti cheese

Preheat oven to 425º
Grease cast iron skillet
Brown sausage and onion, drain grease
Combine eggs, corn, baking soda, salt and meal
Add milk and oil
Pour 1/2 mixture into skillet
Layer sausage onion mixture and top with cheese
Layer on remaining batter
Bake for 30-40 min

I think my Dad would be proud of the new version of his recipe. After all his Dad's name was Fennel :)

Until Next Time

Enjoy!!!