Indulge In {Caprese Grilled Cheese}

Thursday means two things to me, one more day till Friday and another mouth watering recipe. With the sharing of yesterday's build your own grilled cheese bar, I figured I'd share one of my favorite grilled cheese recipes of all time. There is nothing that speaks of comfort quite like a golden brown, buttery grilled cheese. This is stuffed with your average American cheese though. Filled with fresh mozzarella, chopped basil, and ripe tomatoes, this is the ultimate grown up grilled cheese. Here's the recipe…

:: Ingredients ::
2 Tablespoon Butter, divided
2 Slices Thick Bakery Bread
4 oz Fresh Mozzarella
2 Slices Vine Ripe Tomato
4 Basil Leaves, sliced

:: Directions ::
1. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a pan over medium high heat. Spread 1/2 tablespoon of butter on each slice of bread.
2. Layer mozzarella, tomato and basil between the two slices of bread. Cook on each side until golden brown.

Indulge In {Loaded Fiesta Salad}

It may not by taco Tuesday or fiesta Friday, but it is Thursday and time to share another crowd pleasing recipe with you. It's no secret we are huge fans of Mexican food and we've been trying to eat more salads recently. So, for dinner the other night, I decided to combine the two and it turned out amazing. I roasted corn, chopped up some fresh tomato and avocado and threw it all over a bed of lettuce with grilled chicken, jalapeno lime vinaigrette and crispy tortilla pieces. Even the non-salad eater (Rob!) went back for seconds. It was full of flavor combining the right amount of citrus and spice. To be honest, I could have just eaten the roasted corn, tomato, and avocado portion all on it's own! This salad has made it into the regular rotation and I know it will make a great item to serve at summer gatherings too. Here's the recipe...

:: For the Roasted Corn Salad ::
(2) Ears Corn on the Cobb, shucked
Olive Oil
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder
(2) Tomatoes On The Vine, diced
(1) Haas Avocado, diced
Salt
1/8 Cup Lime Juice

1. Drizzle olive oil over corn, dust with garlic powder and chili powder. Grill over medium high heat approximate 3-4 minutes on each side or until slightly charred. Remove from grill. Slice of kernels.
2. In a bowl, combine corn kernels, diced tomato, avocado, salt and lime juice. Set aside.

:: For the Chicken ::
(6) Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 Cup Worcestershire
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper

1. Combine worcestershire, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large bag with chicken. Let marinade for 1 hour.
2. Grill over medium high until good throughly. Remove from heat and let stand for 3-5 minutes. Slice and set aside.

:: For the Jalapeno Lime Vinaigrette ::
(1) Jalapeno Pepper, seeded and sliced
(1) Clove Garlic
1/4 Cup Lime Juice
1/3 Cup Honey
2 Teaspoons Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 Cup Packed Cilantro Leaves
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
Salt to Taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth.

:: For the Crispy Tortilla Pieces ::
(4) Flour Tortillas

1. In a 450 degree oven, place tortillas on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden and crisp. Let cool and crumble by hand.

:: Assembly ::
1. Over a bed of lettuce, place serving of roasted corn salad, sliced chicken and crispy tortilla. Drizzle with jalapeno lime vinaigrette and serve!


Have a delicious Thursday!

Indulge In {Homemade Guacamole}

For Christmas this year, I got an amazing lava stone pestal and mortal set. It's perfect for muddling fruit for cocktails, herbs for cooking, and most importantly making fresh guacamole! Guacamole is one of my favorite snacks especially for large gatherings. It's simple to make and makes a big impact. It doesn't really require a lot of work and is almost impossible to mess up. Here's my recipe for party perfect guacamole.

:: Ingredients ::
3 Ripe Haas Avocados
1 Small Slicing Tomato, diced
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Lime, juiced
1 Teaspoon Hot Sauce
Salt & Pepper

:: Directions ::
1. Slice and pit the avocados into a large bowl.
2. Add the tomato, garlic, lime juice, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Muddle or mash with a fork to combine.
3. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!

Indulge In {Baked Caprese Bread}

I am a big believer in easy entertaining. It should be simple, fun, and delicious. A party should look you spent hours and hours throwing it together to make a big impact without actually taking all of that time out of your busy schedule. One of my favorite ways to do this is by planning a meal based on simply impressive hearty hors d'oeuvres. In most situations, they take less time to make, but everybody enjoys them more because they can nosh their way through the evening. My latest favorite to throw together is a bake caprese bread. It's simple, fast, and utterly delicious. Here's the recipe...

:: Ingredients ::
1 Loaf Fresh French Bread
4 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Jar Basil Pesto
2 Vine Ripe Tomatoes, sliced

:: Directions ::
(1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees and cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
(2) Slice bread in half horizontally and place on cookie sheet.
(3) Spread 1/4 of the jar of pesto on each half of bread.
(4) Sprinkle 2 cups of shredded mozzarella on each half placing slices of one tomato on each piece.
(5) Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.
(6) Remove from oven, top each slice of tomato with a dollop of pesto, slice and serve.

Indulge In {Caprese Grilled Cheese}

It's Thursday which means I'm back with another indulgence. Today it's not a sweet indulgence (my favorite!) but a savory one. This past weekend, I decided to be inspired by the food truck inventions I've been loving lately. With grilled cheeses planned for a rainy Memorial Day, I figured why not kick it up a notch and grilling my favorite salad between two buttery slices of bread. Complete with fresh basil, juicy tomatoes, creamy mozzarella and savory balsamic vinegar, this is not your mama's grilled cheese. Pressed between two slices of buttery Italian bread, I couldn't ask for a tastier sandwich, and frankly I think I'm starting to catch up with those food truck treats. Here's the recipe...

:: Ingredients (Makes 1 Sandwich) ::

3 Leaves Fresh Basil

2 Slices Vine Ripe Tomatoes

1/2 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella

Salt and Pepper to Taste

2 Slices Italian Bread

2 Tablespoons Butter

:: Directions ::

1. Spray a medium sized pan with non-stick spray and turn to medium-high heat.

2. Butter each piece of bread placing the first piece butter side down in the pan. 

3. Sprinkle half the cheese on the bread in the pan, cover till partially melted.

4. Drizzle with balsamic, salt and pepper. Place basil, tomatoes and the remaining cheese and cover with the other piece of bread.

5. Flip sandwich and cook until bread is golden and cheese is melted. Slice.

Enjoy!

Dining Uncorked {Fresh Tomato Pasta}

While in Italy a couple of years ago, my dad made this out of this world pasta dish. It was the freshest I had ever tasted! I'm partially chalking the taste up to the environment in which I ate it, and partially to the freshness of the ingredients. I have been on a mission to recreate it ever since we got back and this weekend I think I got as close as I will ever get to the original. Walking around the farmers market this weekend, R. kept asking what I wanted to make for dinner.  All of a sudden I saw the freshest tomatoes I've seen in a while and was inspired! Here's the recipe for the sauce. Once it's done, throw it over what ever noodle you like (I used spaghetti because it's what I had on hand.) and enjoy!

Sauce: 

1/2 onion, diced

Olive oil

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

3 large tomatoes, chunky

4 basil leaves (Leave whole) 

Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Coat the pan in olive oil

2. Cook the onions on high until clear

3. Turn the heat down to medium and add the garlic, cook till fragrant.

4. Add in the tomato and basil leaves 

5. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and let cook till the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has thickened, approximately 30-45 minutes.

6. Serve over pasta and enjoy!