Soba Salad with Chicken and Cabbage

I've known my best friend since I was eight years old. That makes 22 years now that we've been best friends. Wow. Just typing it makes me realize how long that really is. When Kristin and I were little we were as thick as thieves - inseparable. We did everything together, dressed alike, rode a two-seater bicycle, I even did her homework for her sometimes. She was and still is the sister I never had. Over the years, we've gotten married, started families, developed careers and all that other adult-ish stuff. But, it never fails, when we get together we revert back to those silly girls we once were, giggling and laughing up a storm.

A few weeks ago I went over to Kristin's house for a sleepover-just us, no kids. We spent the day lounging at the beach and relaxed all evening in her comfortable home. I've always loved her homes. So cozy and inviting. We flipped through cookbooks and magazines trying to decide what to make for dinner and settled on this recipe. She cooked, I video taped. Yes. You read that right. I video taped her cooking as if I was producing a cooking show and she was the star chef. Go ahead, call a spade a spade, we're nerds. But it was SO fun! Kristin is one of those dramatic types. She's very low key and can fly under the radar pretty well, but don't let that deceive you. This woman is quite the story teller and shines bright when the spotlight is on her! She whipped up this meal like she'd been cooking on a TV show for years! It was a hoot! The funny part, in hindsight, was how serious we were about our little cooking video! It definitely gave us quite a laugh at the end of the night.

When we sat down to eat this meal, I couldn't get over how yummy it was and happily helped myself to seconds and maybe thirds. It is a very simple and straightforward recipe. Simple flavors that compliment each other well to produce a light, yet filling dinner. When Kristin made it for me, she substituted shallots for the scallions which added a slightly sweeter flavor. I made it with the scallions and loved that too. She used the fresh ginger, I left it out (just out of laziness). Both ways are great. My husband, a lover of all things hot and spicy (food that is wink, wink), added Sriracha sauce, a common Thai hot sauce, to his plate and he loved it. Leftovers are even better! All the flavors combine over night and is a great cold lunch. I'm taking mine to the beach today!

Every time I think of this meal I think of my best friend. I love how cooking does that. Love you Kris!!

Soba Salad With Chicken and Cabbage
Serves 4-5

1 ½ pounds chicken cutlets (I used 4 chicken breasts)

Canola oil

8 ounces Soba Noodles (found in the Asian aisle of your supermarket-I used the whole bag-12 oz)

2 cups shredded cabbage

6 sliced scallions

3 TB canola oil

3 TB rice vinegar

3 TB soy sauce

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

Season 8 thin chicken cutlets (1½ pounds total) with salt. In batches, cook in canola oil over medium-high heat until golden; slice.

Cook 8 ounces soba noodles, cool, and toss with the chicken, 2 cups shredded cabbage, 6 sliced scallions, 3 tablespoons each canola oil, rice vinegar, and soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger.

Grilled Steak with Tomatoes and Scallions

Grilled steak and veggies just screams summer to me. I love the taste of a bite of steak with a burst of fresh vegetable mixed in. Mmm mmm good.

I receive a featured recipe emailed to me daily from Martha Stewart's Dinner Tonight segment. It's a great tool for when you don't have time to seek out a recipe and don't have any inspiration for what you want to cook later on.

This recipe is super simple, I wouldn't really call it a recipe at all. Basically just salt and pepper your steak and veggies and grill! The grilled tomatoes were so-so but the grilled scallions tasted amazing with the steak! I will continue to do that over and over again for sure.

Grilled Steak with Tomatoes and Scallions

serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for grates

4 flat-iron steaks (about 6 ounces each)

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 pints cherry tomatoes

2 bunches scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Heat grill to high. Clean and lightly oil hot grates. Season steaks with salt and pepper and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer steaks to a plate, tent with foil, and let rest.

Meanwhile, place a double layer of foil or a grill topper on grill. Top with tomatoes and scallions; drizzle with oil. Grill until tender and lightly charred, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a bowl, toss with vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Top steaks with vegetables.

grilling indoors

blueberry cobbler

Remember that cookbook I wrote about a little while ago? You know, the one I had been coveting for a long time? Yes, that's the one. Well a friend of mine told me how amazing the cobbler was, so I thanked her kindly for letting me know and made it immediately.

She wasn't kidding about this cobbler. Not only was it amazing it was uh-mazing. It has a cake-like batter instead of the traditional biscuit topping. It's not too blueberry-ey and the cake topping is perfectly sweet, but not too sweet. I loved it. And so the did the family.

Blueberry Cobbler

taken from ad hoc at home

serves 6

Topping:

1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp each: baking powder, baking soda

6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

Filling:

8 cups blueberries

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Cinnamon sugar:

1 tbsp granulated sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

For topping, in medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and baking soda.

In large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Using hand mixer, mix on low speed, then beat on medium until mixture is light and creamy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides as needed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk in 2 batches. Scrape down sides; mix again to ensure all ingredients are combined.

For filling, in medium bowl, toss blueberries with sugar, flour and zest. Spread in 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Spoon mounds of batter over berries, leaving space between mounds. (Makes about 12 mounds.)

For cinnamon sugar, stir together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over batter. Bake in preheated 350F oven 40 minutes or until juices are bubbling and topping is golden and cooked through.

Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving. (Refrigerate leftovers up to 2 days.)

I cut the recipe in half and it was a great amount.

Pesto Macaroni Salad with Tomatoes, Corn and Fresh Mozzarella

How was your 4th of July? Hopefully it was great and full of the 3 F's: Family, Friends, and Food! I know that's all I need for a relaxing and enjoyable holiday. I was busy eating, drinking and laughing all day, just how a typical 4th should be spent.

The 4th of July is a classic BBQ day. My brother and sister-in-law hosted a get together at their house & made some delicious BBQ'd burgers, chicken and ribs - yum! I offered to bring a couple side dishes and this salad was one of them. I really liked it... and so did everyone else! I polished off the leftovers today and mixed it with cubes of cooked chicken breast - yummy lunch.

Pesto Macaroni Salad with Tomatoes,

Corn and Fresh Mozzarella

taken from Former Chef

1 lb salad macaroni (small, short cut, uncooked)

3 ears of fresh corn, cooked and cut off the cob (I opted to leave the corn out)

1 pint grape tomatoes (the smaller, the better)

3 stalks of celery, small dice

2 shallots, minced

6 oz basil pesto

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

8 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2" cubes

salt and pepper to taste

Cook and cool the salad macaroni. Toss it with a tablespoon of olive oil to keep it from sticking together while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Boil the corn for about 5 minutes and then shock in ice water to halt the cooking. When cold, cut the corn kernals off the cob. Dice the celery and mince the shallots.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked macaroni, fresh corn, tomatoes, diced celery, and shallots. Fold in the pesto, mayonnaise and red wine vinegar. Fold in the diced mozzarella and season with salt and pepper to taste.

omelet for two...or two and a half

Good morning. Good morning. I slept last night. Like most people did. But I slept reallllly good. That doesn't happen very often. My husband and I are normally visited by one, or two...or sometimes three kids throughout the night. And, on occasion, some of these visits extend until the morning. Thus, the hubby and I are pushed to the edges of the bed while the little ones lay sprawled out in the middle, happily dreaming in the magical safe zone that only a parent can create.

I remember that when I was little. My Dad wasn't particularly fond of having any of his five kids in the bed, but my Mom wouldn't turn us away. I would sneak into my parents' room if I had a bad dream and my mom would quietly let me hop onto her side of the bed. So long as I didn't move a muscle or muster a word, I could sleep the rest of the night tucked into the safe little crack between my Mom and the edge of the water bed. Yep, a water bed. Remember when those were cool? Anyway, thanks Mom.

So, after a beautiful night of sleep and sleeping in, I offer you this de-lic-ious Good Morning recipe. Honestly, it was sooo good. I can't wait to make it for friends, it was that good. Maybe because I had all the ingredients on hand, maybe because it was super simple to prepare, maybe because it doesn't really even remind me of an omelet at all. Or maybe just because it was the bomb. I don't know, you decide and let me know.

Good Morning and Good Day my friends.

Omelet for two

taken from barefoot contessa at home

serves 2 generous portions

1/4 pound good thick-cut bacon

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 cup medium-diced Yukon gold potato (I didn’t have any potatoes, oddly, so I substituted 1 cup of frozen Potatoes O’Brien-worked perfectly!)

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

1 tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper (didn’t have any, so I left it out-still so YUM)

5 extra-large eggs

2 tablespoons milk or cream

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts

4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, diced, plus extra grated cheese, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the bacon crosswise in 1-inch slices. Cook the bacon in an 8-inch ovenproof sauté pan over medium-low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned. Drain the bacon on paper towels and discard the fat from the pan. Add the butter to the pan, and then add the potato and yellow onion. Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the onion starts to brown and the potato is tender but firm. Add the jalapeno pepper and cook for 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper together with a fork. Stir in the scallions and diced Cheddar. When the potato is cooked, add the bacon to the pan and pour over the egg mixture. Place the pan in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the omelet puffs and the eggs are almost cooked in the center. Sprinkle with a handful of grated Cheddar and bake for another minute. Serve hot directly from the pan.

I realized I probably overcooked the eggs a little. I should have checked it at 14-15 minutes to get a softer, less-cooked egg.