Roasted Tomato Soup

This is a very flavorful and versatile tomato soup. It is wonderful with grilled cheese on a rainy day or as an appetizer at a dinner party. You could add crushed red pepper flakes or rosemary for extra flare. Omit the butter and go easy on the olive oil and you have a flavorful low-fat alternative. This is Tyler Florence's, the man of my (food) dreams, recipe. It is pretty much fool proof to make and it is sure to please.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lbs fresh ripe tomatoes (preferably a mix of heirlooms, vine, plum and cherry tomatoes) 
• 1 large or 2 small yellow onions (sliced)
• 6 large whole garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves 
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves (washed & chopped right before adding to soup)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 1 quart of chicken stock
• kosher salt
• fresh cracked pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
• basil leaves (for garnish)
• 
  Yields 4-6 servings

Time: 20 minutes prep and 50 minutes cook time.

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375. Clean, core, remove seeds and half tomatoes. Place tomatoes, sliced onions, garlic cloves on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake until caramelized, about 20-30 minutes.
• Remove baking sheet from oven and transfer contents to a large stock pot over medium high heat. Add  3/4 of the quart of chicken broth, bay leaves and the butter (if using, add fresh rosemary or crushed red pepper to taste).  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes or until liquid is reduced by a third. 
• Add basil to soup. Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth. If using a regular blender, blend half the soup at a time, placing the first blended half in a large bowl then adding both blended halves back to the pot (be careful as blending hot liquid in a regular blender can make the top explode off).
• Return to low heat and adjust to desired consistency by adding the remaining broth. Simmer for 5-10 minutes more. Salt and pepper to taste.
• Portion soup into individual serving bowls. Add a dollop of heavy cream and stir slightly. To garnish place a whole sprig of rosemary (if used in the soup) or basil leaves on top. 

Super Easy Salsa Recipe

I was making a sauce for a margarita chicken recipe the other day and to my surprise I stumbled across an easy way to make salsa. All I had to do was throw in some onions, and lime juice. I never knew that salsa from canned tomatoes could taste just as good as fresh. It had a good kick to it because I used tomatoes with jalapenos but if you want it milder, just use plain canned petite diced tomatoes.

Ingredients:

1 14.5 ounce can of petite diced tomatoes with jalapenos

1/2 cup chopped cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup onion, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Salt to taste

Yields a good size serving of salsa for 4-5

Time: 10 minute prep and 30 minute chill time.

Directions:

Add all ingredients to blender. Blend until desired consistency. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Almond Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates

If you haven't yet tried a bacon wrapped date, I highly recommend that you do. I am not the biggest fan of dates but they pair very well with the crispy bacon. They are easy to make and are not very well known yet so it can be a nice change of pace. The flavor combination reminds me of having pancakes and bacon with maple syrup. When selecting your bacon avoid really thick cuts and maple flavored bacon (its already sweet enough). When selecting the dates try to use small and medium sized ones. The large dates throw off the balance  by making it too sweet. When you bite into them, the bacon should be crisp and salty and the date should be moist. The almond in the center gives it an extra crunch, which is very much needed. You can also stuff the dates with blue cheese, goat cheese, and other types of nuts. The recipe below is my favorite combo. 


Ingredients:


1 package of smoked bacon
1 package (30-35 count) dates, pitted
whole almonds, unsalted (30-35)
Toothpicks


Yields small appetizer for about 6-8 people


Time: 20 minutes prep and 30 minutes cook time.


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Stuff the dates with one almond each. This should be easy since there is a hole where the dates have been pitted. 

Place stuffed date on strip of bacon and wrap until covered. Cut with scissors or knife 

• Try to minimize overlap because it will cause that section to be less cooked then the rest of the bacon. 
• Expect to have left over pieces of bacon.  
• Keep bacon in refrigerator until you need to use it. Warm bacon is hard to cut and handle. 

Using a toothpick pierce the date to keep bacon securely attached.
Make sure to avoid the almond when inserting toothpick.

On a foil lined baking pan, bake in preheated oven for about 15-2o minutes or until bacon looks crispy and dark. 

You don't want the bacon to be under cooked because this appetizer really needs that extra crunch.

 Check to see how well the underside of the dates are cooked. 

If desired, turn and cook for an additional 10 minutes or so. Make sure to keep an eye on them because they can burn quickly. 

Place dates on paper towel lined plate and let cool for about 10 minutes before serving. 

This last batch that I made ended up not being very salty at all. This is a huge problem because the salt is needed to balance the sweet of the date. I think the problem was the brand of bacon that I used. My husband had the great idea of making a salt water solution and lightly spraying the dates with it. The water evaporated and left the dates with the right amount of salt. It worked like a charm and saved the day! 

Baked Ham & Cheese Sandwiches (Ham Babies)

I first tried these delicious little sandwiches at my friend Ashley's house. She is the biggest foodie I know and a great cook. I was surprised how addictive they were. If you are looking for an different appetizer that will impress your friends and be a huge crowd pleaser, give this one a try. What makes it so good are sweetness of the Hawiian rolls, the saltiness of the ham and the creaminess of the butter and cheese. I bet that they will quickly become one of your "go to" recipes. There are many different recipes out there for these sandwiches. I have tried a couple but this recipe is the best by far. 


Ingredients:


12 King's Hawaiian rolls
12 thin slices of ham (I like to get it fresh from the deli, I recommend Black Forest)
12 thin slices of cheddar cheese (sharp Cheddar is really yummy)


For poppy seed sauce:


3/4 stick of unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon yellow mustard 
1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds


Yields 12 sandwiches


Time: 15 minutes prep and 25 minutes cook time.


Directions:

Melt butter in small saucepan (or microwave in small bowl, about 45 seconds), mix in all other ingredients.

 Brush the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan with some of the butter mixture.

Cut the entire package of rolls horizontally and lightly brush the bottom of each roll with some of the butter mixture. 

Place thin layer of ham...

and cheese on the bottom half of each roll. 

(These slices are a little thick)

Top with the top half of roll. Brush tops of sandwiches with the remaining butter mixture. Let some of the mixture drip over the sides.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover tightly with foil and bake for about 25 minutes. 

Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

Ingredients:

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 1/3 cups all purpose flour

Yields 1 large pizza

Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes prep (mostly letting dough rise) and 25 minutes (5 minutes for pre baking) cook time

Directions:

In a large bowl combine yeast, water and brown sugar. Whisk well and let sit for 10 minutes.

Whisk in salt and oil to yeast solution. Mix in flour.

Turn dough out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Knead dough for 5-10 minutes, adding flour as needed until no longer sticking to hands. 

Place dough in well oiled bowl. Make sure the top of the dough is lightly covered with oil. Cover with damp lint free cloth or plastic wrap. 

Let dough rest for 60 minutes or until it has doubled  in size. 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Punch down dough and knead into a tight ball. Let rest for several minutes.

Roll out on lightly floured surface. 

Place on lightly oil pizza pan or cookie sheet and let rise for 15-20 minutes.

Poke several holes in crust with fork and pre bake for 5 minutes. 

Top with favorite toppings and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crust and cheese are golden brown. Make sure to check that the bottom of the pizza is also golden brown. If it isn't, remove from cooking sheet and place directly on oven rack. 

Try stuffing the crust with cheese and garlic and/or make a mixture of butter, dried parsley, salt, and garlic powder and smoother on pizza crust for extra deliciousness.