Chicken and Artichoke Hearts Casserole

This was one of my first and favorite recipes just after college (straight from my Paul Newman "Newman's Own Cookbook" circa 1986) --- and I made it with some regularity way back then. Just found the recipe and tried it again tonight. Still pretty darn tasty!! I served it over steamed broccoli this evening, instead of egg noodles, just to minimize carbs and it was very very good. Will definitely make again.

Ingredients

2 cups drained canned artichoke hearts
½ bottle Newman's Own® Balsamic or Light Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
3 cups diced chicken breasts
2 Tbsp butter
¼ cup vermouth, dry sherry, or dry white wine
salt and pepper
1 ½ cups grated medium-sharp cheddar
4 Tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

•Marinate artichoke hearts in salad dressing for 1 hour prior to preparation of dish. Then drain and quarter the artichokes.
•Sauté diced chicken in butter for 3 minutes. Add wine and salt and pepper to taste. Continue cooking until chicken pieces are barely white all over.
•Place chicken in a baking dish along with artichoke hearts and cover with cheeses. Put in preheated 350° oven for 30 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly. Serve on buttered spinach noodles or egg noodles.

Artichoke Parmesan Dip

Tried out a few artichoke dip recipes in anticipation of holiday parties. Yum. This first recipe is mighty good (and ridiculously easy):

Artichoke Parmesan Dip --- EASY

Ingredients

1 part mayonnaise
1 part grated parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped canned artichoke hearts

Directions

Combine all ingredients and bake at 400°F until bubbly.

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And this recipe is even better:

Artichoke Parmesan Dip --- BETTER

Ingredients

Two 15 oz cans artichoke hearts in water
1/8 cup green onion --- chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated (good) parmesan cheese
Pepper
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Topping

1/3 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh oregano --- chopped

Directions

Drain artichokes, and chop with the green onion and olive oil. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate for up to 48 hours at this point, until ready to heat.

Heat oven to 400. Put mixture in pan, top with crumbs and bake aproximately 22 minutes, till topping is brown. Serve with pita chips, crackers or bread.

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And I think this is my new favorite. :-)

Artichoke Parmesan Dip --- BEST

Ingredients

2 cans artichoke hearts (chopped)
1 large package goat cheese (I used a goat feta)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup good quality parmesan cheese (grated)

Directions

Combine first three ingredients, place in a baking dish and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Bake at 375 for approximately 22 minutes or until top is starting to brown.

Serve with celery sticks or pita wedges or crackers.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Hooray for Ina Garten. I don't even like Brussel Sprouts --- or at least I didn't until this recipe. I found the recipe here (on the advice of my mother) and boingggg...they have jumped to the top of my favorite vegetable list. I just LOVE this recipe (both for the results and its simplicity) and I agree completely about adding plenty of salt at the end. Enjoy!!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts (from Ina Garten)

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
3 tablespoons good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt ( I like these salty like French fries), and serve immediately.

Pumpkin Cheesecake in a Gingersnap Crust

This recipe is (and was) just plain delicious. I made it for Thanksgiving 2010 --- and it was definitely a big hit. Just glad that I noticed at the very last possible minute (and readers should note) that it needs to be made the day before you plan to serve it.

Pumpkin Cheesecake in a Gingersnap Crust I found the allrecipes.com recipe here.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (ordered these from amazon.com)
3/4 cup ground hazelnuts
3 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups canned solid pack pumpkin
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
4 eggs

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch springform pan.
2.Using a fork, combine gingersnaps, hazelnuts, 3 tablespoons brown sugar and melted butter. Press mixture onto the bottom and two inches up the sides of the pan to form the crust.
3.With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the pumpkin. Mix in the cream, maple syrup, cinnamon, allspice and vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing until smooth.
4.Pour batter into prepared crust. Bake in the preheated oven for 90 minutes, or until center of cheesecake is set. Allow to cool in pan for 30 minutes, then refrigerate overnight.

Chipotle and Rosemary Roasted Nuts

Okay --- here is another success story. This recipe is from Ina Garten 's new book, but I found it here. Made these twice over the 2010 Thanksgiving holiday and they were GREAT and easy as can be to make, which is a good thing. Didn't have vegetable oil the second time and substituted butter --- which worked just fine. I promise to get better about taking photographs when I make things in the future.

Chipotle and Rosemary Roasted Nuts
(from How Easy is That? by Ina Garten)

Ingredients

Vegetable Oil
3 cups whole roasted unsalted cashews
2 cups whole walnut halves
2 cups whole pecan halves
1/2 cup whole almonds (I didn't use almonds...but not for any particular reason)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (I used a little more...)
2 teaspoons ground chipotle powder (I used a little less...)
4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves, divided
Kosher salt

Directions

Preheat the over to 350°F.
Brush a sheet pan generously with the vegetable oil. Combine cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, the maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice, and chipotle powder on the sheet pan. Toss to coat the nuts evenly. Add 2 tablespoons of the rosemary and 2 teaspoons of salt and toss again.

Spread the nuts in one layer. Roast the nuts for 25 minutes, stirring twice with a large spatula, until the nuts are glazed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with 2 more teaspoons of salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons of rosemary. Toss well and set aside at room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking as they cool. Taste for seasoning. Serve warm or cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Blue Chocolate Chili

This recipe was my entry in the first ever D's of DBB Chili Cookoff in November 2010 --- and (proud to report) it was also the winner in the vegetarian and overall categories. Much fun. The addition of the blue cheese dressing was totally an accident, although a fortunate one. I made an early batch of the chili and used the blue cheese dressing when I couldn't find any sour cream in my fridge. Presto. My first original recipe. :-)

Blue Chocolate Chili
(Sarah’s variation on a recipe from Real Simple magazine)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 yellow or orange bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 16-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped (or buy already chopped)
• 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 15-ounce cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• Marie’s Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing (or equivalent)
• Blue tortilla chips

Directions

1. In a large pot, over medium heat, cook the olive oil, garlic, onion, and red/yellow peppers until slightly softened, stirring gently, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, vegetable broth, cumin, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
4. Before serving, stir in the chocolate until melted.
5. Garnish with a dollop of blue cheese dressing and crumbled blue tortilla chips.
6. Enjoy!