Platinum Chef Challenge #13

I almost didn't make it for Cookie's version of the Platinum Chef Challenge , hosted at her blog entitled,
Workout Then Cook! . Her five secret ingredients were:
strawberries, garlic, asparagus, cheese and mushrooms. You could pick any variety of each ingredient that you wanted, but you had to make two dishes using the ingredients and use at least two to three of the ingredients in each dish. You can get all the rules on Cookie's website. Here's a pic of my five ingredients:

I used your basic white mushroom and for the cheese I chose peppered goat cheese.

Here are my recipes! Enjoy!

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 cup pecans
1 egg white
2 tablespoons brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup of sliced strawberries
1 package of triple-washed fresh baby spinach leaves
1 4 oz package of peppercorn goat cheese
Aged balsamic vinegar (the sweet, expensive kind if you have it. If not just take some regular balsamic and make a reduction with it to thicken and sweeten it up. Just heat it over the stove in a pot for a while. About 1/4 cup.)
Extra-virgin olive oil (about 1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the pecans, egg white and brown sugar and spread on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with a little salt. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Stir once and just keep an eye on the pecans to make sure they don't burn. Remove and let cool.
In a large bowl, combine your cranberries, sliced strawberries, spinach leaves and crumbled peppercorn goat cheese. Once your pecans are cool, toss those in as well. Then mix together the vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss it with your salad.

Chicken-Asparagus Bundles with a Creamy Marsala Mushroom Sauce

8 stalks of asparagus
2 chicken breasts, pounded thin
your favorite seasoning for sprinkling over the chicken (I used Mrs. Dash - you can easily just use salt and pepper.)
For the sauce:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pint of mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup marsala wine
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 cup of beef or chicken stock, whatever you have on hand
1/2 cup cream

To make the chicken:
Once you've pounded your breasts thin, lay them out on a cutting board. Put four asparagus spears in each one and roll them up. If needed, secure them with a toothpick. Sprinkle the breasts with seasoning of your choice and then drizzle with olive oil so they are well coated, the asparagus too. Brown them in a frying pan on the stove - this helps seal in the juices and also helps keep the roll together - and then put them into a 350 degree oven to finish cooking them. Takes about 20 minutes total. When done remove them and cover with foil to keep warm if your sauce isn't done.

For the sauce:
While the chicken is in the oven, in a large pan saute your garlic in the butter and oil. Once softened, add your mushrooms. Let the mushrooms release their juices and become tender. Then pour in your wine, dijon and stock. Season lightly lightly with salt and then pepper as well. Once it's thickened a bit pour in your cream and allow it to thicken into a saucy consistency. If it gets too thick just add a little bit of water or more stock if you have it. Serve the chicken over some rice and spoon your sauce over the top. Enjoy!

Platinum Chef Challenge #10!

I almost missed this round! I passed the torch on to Amanda at The Missing Ingredient and she came up with some tasty ingredients for the next round.
The chosen elements were:
1. Lemon
2. Lentils
3. Goat Cheese
4. Vinegar
5. Spinach
I had a few things in mind, but went with a goat cheese and lentil bruschetta topped with fresh spinach leaves. It was very good and we even ate the leftover lentil hummus the next day with some celery and carrot sticks. Healthy and delicious. Here's my recipe.

Goat Cheese and Lentil Bruschetta Topped with Fresh Baby Spinach

For the lentil spread:
1 cup lentils
2 sprigs rosemary
2 small bay leaves
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 head of roasted garlic (to roast the garlic cut off the top, brush it with olive oil and place it in a baking dish. Pour water into the dish so it goes about 1/2 way up the head of garlic. Cover with foil. Preheat your oven to 425 and put in the garlic for about an hour or until soft. Remove, let cool and then squeeze out your soft cloves )
juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

For the rest of the bruschetta:
1 bag of baby spinach leaves
1 loaf of French baguette
16 oz of spreadable herbed goat cheese (or any variety of goat cheese you like)

To make the lentil spread, combine your dry lentils, rosemary, bay leaves, chicken stock and water in a pot and place the lid cocked over top to let steam escape. Turn the burner to medium heat and allow the liquid to come to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until lentils are tender.

Once lentils are cooked, drain them, remove the bay leaves and the rosemary stems (many of the rosemary leaves will have come off the stems, this is fine it will all get pureed in the food processor. You just have to remove any woody stems.) Place the lentils in a food processor, add your lemon juice, garlic and vinegar and process. Stream in the olive oil as the processor is running until you have a creamy spread-like consistency. Add in salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 350. Slice your baguette in half longways, as if you're going to make a sandwich with the entire baguette. Once you've done that then slice it into 4 in pieces. Drizzle olive oil over each piece, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in your oven for about 10 to 15 minutes until bread is toasted. If it's warm out you can grill your bread, or if you have an indoor grill you can grill your bread. It was cold outside and I didn't feel like pulling out my indoor grill pan so I toasted it in the oven. Worked just fine.

Once the bread is toasty, pull it out and spread a layer of goat cheese on each piece.

Then spread a thick layer of lentil spread on each piece.

Finally, top with a handful of baby spinach leaves.

You can place the bruschetta back in the oven for about 3 minutes to wilt the spinach just a bit and warm the spreads. Eat and enjoy!

Platinum Chef Challenge #9 Results!

Well looks like it's about time to wrap this baby up! We had three fabulous submissions for this challenge, not including my creations which are a few posts below (shameless self promotion, I know). I was hoping we'd have a ton of submissions, but I think Fall is just a busy time for everyone. Nonetheless, I had some yummy treats to choose from here from three very talented bloggers and it was definitely a hard decision because I know everyone's dish would be equally delicious. Drum roll please....

The first submission came from Cookie in San Francisco, CA. Her blog,
Workout Then Cook , is great! I wish I was as obsessed with working out as she is. It would make the eating part so much easier. She's definitely an inspiration!

Here are her entries:

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients: (6 muffins)

½ c all-purpose flour
½ quick oats
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1/3 c packed brown sugar
1 tsp dried sage
½ c raisins
½ c yogurt
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 c apple, peeled and shredded (I used a food processor)
½ c raisins

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Lightly grease 6 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
3. Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, sage and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together yogurt, egg and oil. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture just until combined. Fold in apples, raisins and oatmeal.
4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Mushroom Bacon Frittata

Ingredients:

4 large eggs, beaten
5 slices bacon
1 c sliced mushrooms
2 shallots, chopped
½ c sour cream
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 c Mexican cheese blend

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon and reserve 1 Tbsp drippings.
3. Sauté mushrooms and shallots in bacon drippings, stirring occasionally, until shallots are tender and mushroom are lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, sour cream, cheese and seasonings and mix well. Pour egg mixture into small greased baking dish. Stir in onions and mushrooms. Sprinkle evenly with crumbled bacon.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until eggs are completely set.
6. Remove from oven. Allow to cool 5 minutes. Slice in half and serve warm with Apple Oatmeal Muffins.

The second submission came from Stefany of Chicago. Her blog, Proceed With Caution, has always been a favorite of mine. She not only makes beautiful food but takes beautiful pictures as well.
Here's her entry, a dish which used all the ingredients in one fell swoop! Go Stefany!

Apple Pumpkin Chili

1 pound ground turkey or chicken, browned in a skillet
2 cans (15 oz each) white beans, I went for one can northern and one can navy
1.5 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, cleaned, and sliced
4 slices bacon, browned and crumbled or chopped
one medium shallot, diced
1 granny smith apple, diced
1/2 can pumpkin puree
2.5 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon dried sage
2 teaspoons coriander
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon thyme
(optional) equal parts arrowroot or cornstarch and chick broth, for thickening
grated gouda cheese, for topping

Combine all except thickener and cheese in a crockpot. Stir to mix ingredients. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6. Add thickener if desired and heat on high for a few minutes to thicken sauce. Serve, topping with grated gouda.

The final submission came from Amanda in San Jose, CA - with Cookie and Amanda we got California representin' in the Platinum Chef Challenge #9! Love it!
Anyway, her blog, The Missing Ingredient, has some very tasty food in it so be sure to check it out. She also has beautiful presentation with her entrees.

Here are her recipes:

Arugula Fuji Apple Salad

Vinaigrette:

2 Tbs and 1 tsp. red wine vinegar

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 shallot, minced

pinch granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

2 slices turkey bacon

1/2 Tbs. butter

3 large button mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 large fuji apple, thinly sliced cross-wise

Arugula, about 1 cup

Coarsely chopped walnuts


1. Combine first 7 ingredients into a small bowl.

2. Cook bacon on medium-low heat until a small amount of drippings forms in the pan. Push bacon to the side and add butter to the drippings. Once butter has melted, sauce mushrooms until tender, about 4-5 minutes. You may continue to cook bacon until it is crispy if you prefer it crisper.

3. Crumble or chop bacon (depending on if you liked it crispy or soft) and add bacon and mushrooms to the vinaigrette. Save bacon drippings to make Walnut Crusted Pork recipe.

4. Place an apple slice on a plate, top with vinaigrette, then top with arugula. Place an additional apple slice on top of the arugula, followed by vinaigrette and arugula. Top with final apple slice and sprinkle with walnuts. Serve with Walnut Crusted Pork and wild rice.

Walnut Crusted Pork Chops
Adapted from: Cooking Light

4 boneless center-cut pork chops, trimmed

1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1/4 tsp. ground sage

1/3 cup walnuts, finely ground

2 Tbs. bread crumbs

1 shallot, minced

Bacon drippings (from Arugula Fuji salad)

1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth



1. To prepare pork, place chops in a shallow dish; drizzle evenly with Worcestershire. Combine salt, sage, and black pepper in a small bowl. Add walnuts, bread crumbs, and shallots to salt mixture; toss well. Press walnut mixture onto both sides of pork chops. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

2. Using the leftover bacon drippings from the pan in Arugula Fuji salad, add pork chops to drippings in pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Add 1/4 cup chicken broth to pan. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 6 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with arugula fuji apple salad and wild rice.

And the winner is... Amanda of The Missing Ingredient!! Congratulations Amanda! All the recipes look great, but I really love Amanda's presentation and the combo of the tangy salad and the nutty salty pork just sounds Heavenly. I think it would make a great meal for a special occasion - I'm thinking it may be my and my husband's Valentine meal next year! Great job everyone and please keep an eye on Amanda's blog for the next round of the Platinum Chef Challenge #10!

Platinum Chef Challenge #9: My recipes

While I'm not officially "in the running", I still couldn't resist coming up with some new recipe ideas for this challenge's secret ingredients that I chose:
Sage
Apples
Mushrooms
Bacon
Shallots
We've got some really good entries! If anyone still wants to enter let me know either by a comment or an email. I can extend the deadline one last week since I know a lot of people were still interested but ran out of time. Thanks to all those who got their entries in! They all look so tasty. The original post can be found here (includes the "rules"):
Platinum Chef Challenge #9

My two recipes were:
Apple Shallot Couscous with Sage and Toasted Pine Nuts
Spinach and Mushroom Bake with Bacon

Apple Shallot Couscous with Sage and Toasted Pine Nuts
Couscous, following package directions for 2-4 servings, boil in chicken or beef broth
1 apple, I used red delicious, chopped
2 shallots, sliced thinly
1/2 onion, chopped
6 fresh sage leaves, chiffonaded
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
salt and pepper to your taste
1/2 cup chicken or beef broth
3/4 cup pine nuts

Prepare your couscous according to package directions and then set aside, covered to keep warm. In a medium skillet, place your chopped apple, onion, shallots, sage leaves, olive oil and two tablespoons of butter. Cook until the shallots have softened and the apple starts releasing it's juices. Mix in the spices and stir to coat. Add another tablespoon of butter along with your chicken broth. Let the broth come to a simmer and allow it to thicken to a saucy consistency. In a smaller skillet over medium low heat, toast your pine nuts until brown. Be very careful not to burn them! They can burn very easily. Watch them and toss them in the skillet continuously.
Finally combine your prepared couscous with the apple shallot mixture and toss to coat. Add the final tablespoon of butter. Then stir in your toasted pinenuts, season with salt and pepper if needed and serve!


Spinach Mushroom Bake with Bacon
Adapted from the Costco cookbook's Spinach Bake

1 16-oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of excess water
3 portobello mushroom caps, sliced
1 small onion, minced
6 slices of bacon, chopped
5 fresh sage leaves, chiffonaded
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/4 cups of swiss cheese, grated
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 eggs
splash of half and half or milk
1 1/2 cups of cream of mushroom soup (this was PERFECT! I used leftovers from this Barefoot Bloggers recipe that I had in the fridge)
paprika for sprinkling on the top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set your spinach aside. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet saute your mushrooms, onions, chopped bacon and sage in olive oil until all elements are slightly cooked. Turn off heat and mix the ingredients with your prepared spinach. Once the mixture has cooled slightly you can then mix in a cup of your grated swiss cheese and a 1/4 cup of your grated parmesan cheese. In a small bowl, whisk together your eggs with a splash of half and half or milk. Pour into your spinach mixture and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Finally mix in your creamy mushroom soup and lay the mixture out into a baking pan. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup of swiss and 1/4 cup of parmesan. Sprinkle lightly with paprika and pop in the oven. Bake for 35 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly. Serve.


I served this with grilled tuna topped with a dijon rosemary white wine sauce .

For the sauce I combined the following:
3 shallots, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup beef broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste

Saute your shallots in olive oil and about halfway through add your rosemary. Saute until the rosemary begins to soften then deglaze the pan with your beef broth and wine. Bring to a simmer, add the dijon mustard and butter and allow the sauce to thicken a bit. Season with salt and pepper and then pour over your grilled chicken, fish or meat.

Platinum Chef Challenge #9!

It's truly the little victories and joys in life that encourage you to keep on trying new things! That said, I was completely honored to have my dish chosen as the winner of the Platinum Chef Challenge #8 by Stefany of the Proceed with Caution blog. There were some really creative and unique entries this time around, and I was just happy to find out about the contest and participate. So now it's my turn to host and hopefully I've come up with some ingredients that inspire the creative juices in everyone!
Here is a review of the rules (from the challenge's creative leader, Cara of Cara’s Cravings ):
"Platinum Chef Challenge started as an activity on a cooking message board to encourage members to create a meal out of 5 selected ingredients. You might think they go together, and you might not. You might have used them before, or maybe not. Maybe you will have a recipe in mind, and maybe you will create a new one. Most likely, you'll put on your creative (chef's) hat and whip out something new and exciting.

To play, just create a meal using the five given ingredients and blog about it. Please link back to this post, and feel free to include the event logo in your blog. The meal can consist of 1 or 2 dishes - so you can use all the ingredients in one recipe, or make two. Example: main dish + side, appetizer + main dish, main dish + dessert, etc. But, if more than one dish is created, each dish must use at least two of the ingredients (and, any ingredient may be repeated and used in both dishes if desired). You can add whatever other ingredients you like."

To participate, please post your dishes on your blog (linking back to this post), and send an email to scoops78@comcast.net by midnight (PST) on Sunday, October 5th (so that gives you about a month to complete your recipes), with the following information:
Name
Location
Name of your dish(es) and your blog
Pictures you want in the Round-up
Link to the PCC8 post in your blog

(If you don't have a blog, send recipes and photos in your email and I will include you in the Round-up that way!)

So....drumroll please!!!!!! Here are your five challenge ingredients (as you can see I was inspired by the upcoming Fall season):
Sage
Bacon
Apples (any variety you want)
Shallots
Mushrooms (again, any variety, fresh or dried)


Have fun! And please pass it on to your friends and fellow bloggers. I even have a prize in store for this round's winner :P) Can't wait to see all the entries!!!