Risk-Taking and Crispy Goat Cheese Salad

Goat cheese.  It's one of those things that I am pretty sure I said at one point, "Bleh.  No thank you!"  Other things that were on that list?  Beets (because they smelled like the earth), dancing (because the rhythm gene was apparently absent upon my conception), and dating a Brazilian boy (because I had no desire to have some Rico Suave sweep me off of my feet just to break my heart a few days later).

Good thing we are willing to take risks, right?

I now love goat cheese and beets, dancing is one of my favorite things (rhythm or no), and that Brazilian boy?  I married him.

Take risks, Friends!  They pay off, trust me.

And if for some reason they don't, well, at least you tried.

So, if you love goat cheese, this salad is for you.  And if you don't, this one's for you.

Recipe from Everyday Food, March/April 2003

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for baking sheet
• 3 large red potatoes (about 1 pound)
• 1 large egg
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 cups plain breadcrumbs (I used Italian)
• 1 twelve-ounce log fresh goat cheese
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon grainy or Dijon mustard (I used regular mustard)
• 8 ounces mesclun or mixed salad greens

Directions

1. Heat the broiler. Brush a baking sheet with oil; set aside. Place potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Simmer until fork-tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Rinse potatoes under cold water until cool enough to handle, and cut into 1-inch chunks.
2. In a shallow bowl, whisk egg with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Place breadcrumbs in another shallow bowl. Slice goat cheese into 8 rounds, and pat each into a disc about 1/2 inch thick. Dip disks in the egg and then in the breadcrumbs, coating evenly. Place on prepared baking sheet.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Slowly add 1/4 cup oil, whisking to emulsify. Set aside.
4. Brush disks lightly with remaining 1/4 cup oil, and broil until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes.
5. Toss mesclun and potatoes in the dressing. Spoon salads onto plates, and top each with two cheese disks.
   
   

   COST: $5.59   COST PER SERVING (4): $1.40

Honey Mustard Roasted Cashews

Cashews + honey + mustard = yum

Don't believe me?  Try it for yourself...

It's quite easy, really.  Mix some honey, add some dried mustard (or if you are like me and don't have any, some dijon), and a little bit of vegetable oil together.  Toss in the cashews and mix until they are coated.  Then you just bake for about 15 minutes.

I told you it was easy.

And the good news?  Totally unprocessed.  (As long as that mustard you use is the real deal.)  This makes it a perfect snack for the month of October, and all of us doing October Unprocessed.  As a friend said, "It's like eating Lay's.  You just can't stop!"  Yes, like Lay's, but healthy.

Imagine that.

Thank you, Joy the Baker!  You have given me a wonderfully delicious treat.  And this is just one of many...

Recipe from the Joy the Baker Cookbook.

COST: $6.43 cents per batch

A Perfect Day... (Honey Mustard Salmon)

Today was one of those days...

No, not 'one of those days' said with an Eeyore voice.

It was truly a perfect day.  You know, one of those days.

Sometimes you sit down at the end of the day and you think, "Nothing too out of the ordinary happened today, but I am more than content."  The sun was out (which, as you know, is possibly my favorite thing), I spent some time at a job that suits me perfectly (and is filled with children who love to give hugs), and then came home to see my man.  Like I said, nothing out of the ordinary, no surprises or big news or adventures... but when I stop and look at it, I realize this is exactly where I want to be.

And then I got to eat honey mustard salmon tonight.  If my day wasn't great to begin with, this would have put it there.

I mean, really, how can life be bad when you have this food in front of you?  Yeah, that's what I thought... it's pretty much impossible.

Recipe adapted from Everyday Food, September 2012 (Not up on the website YET)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 Tablespoon honey
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 Tablespoons champagne vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced and rounds separated
• 1 lb. salmon, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1 lb. green beans, ends trimmed off

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.  Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Mix honey, mustard, vinegar, olive oil, and some salt and pepper together to create a vinaigrette.  Mix 1/3 of the vinaigrette with the onions and spread on baking sheet.  Bake for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, remove 1 Tablespoon of remaining vinaigrette and set aside in medium bowl (to mix with green beans later).  Mix bread crumbs with the rest of the vinaigrette.  
4. Pull onions out of oven when five minutes is up, and place salmon pieces on top of onions.  Then, cover with the breadcrumb mixture.  Place baking tray back into oven and bake for seven minutes until fish is cooked.  Bread crumbs should be lightly golden brown.
5. Meanwhile, boil salted water and drop green beans in, cooking for about four minutes.  Drain green beans and mix with the vinaigrette that was set aside in the medium bowl.
6. Serve onions and green beans together, and salmon on the side.  Enjoy!

COST: $11.55   Cost per serving (says 4, but we got 3): $3.85

A Week of New Recipes -- Day 3: Steak-and-Potato Salad with Mustard Dressing

I spent over an hour yesterday cleaning up after the asparagus explosion.  I was finding pieces of green everywhere, and I probably will be for days (or weeks... but hopefully not months!).  After spending so long in the kitchen I didn't know if I would be excited to try a brand-new recipe and spend more time in the kitchen (the first time going through a recipe is always much longer than the subsequent times, you know how it goes).  But I plowed through, and boy, am I glad I did!

Day three found me working with the freshest of ingredients once again.  I had potatoes, spinach, a lemon, an onion, tons of garlic, tomatoes, some steak, and a loaf of bread in front of me.  I love fresh ingredients.  They make me feel like I am doing a magic trick... taking a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and I get something (hopefully) amazing in the end.  THIS is the kind of stuff our bodies were meant to have!  I have come a long way from Kraft Mac n' Cheese and Rice-a-Roni ;)

And look at what I did with all that!

Once again, we loved this meal.  This week is having quite the success rate!  My husband loved it because it had steak, something I rarely cook -- who am I kidding?  I never cook steak.  Usually if we are eating red meat it is coming off the grill, and I have done nothing to make that happen.  I just enjoy it -- and let me tell you, I really do enjoy it.  (If you want good BBQ find a Brazilian to make it for you, you will not be disappointed.  Lucky for me to have married such a man, huh?) 

A view of our typical meat eating experience -- top sirloin
surrounded by veggie meat.  What can I say?  I like both!

While he was enjoying the steak-iness of it, I was amazed at how good my own made-from-scratch dressing was.  WOW!  I have made dressing before, but this was on par with the stuff from the pros, and a lot lighter feeling.  Again, we must give this meal a ten.  (Now before you think we are too easy here, last time I did a Weekly Meal Plan from Rachael Ray I think we gave almost everything a score in the 7-9 range, with only one 10, so this really means something.  Take our word, try it and see for yourself.)

The only change this time was I added some tomatoes to it.  It was something like Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 pound small red-skinned potatoes
• 6 cloves garlic—3 thinly sliced, 2 crushed and 1 finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
• Grated peel and juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 whole wheat country loaf, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
• 1 pound skirt steak, cut crosswise into 2 or 3 pieces, at room temperature
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• One 6-ounce bag baby spinach

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a saucepan, combine the potatoes and crushed garlic with enough cold water to cover by 1 inch; season with salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the potatoes are just tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain; set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons olive oil, the mustard, lemon peel, lemon juice and finely chopped garlic; season with salt and pepper.
3. In a large cast-iron skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat; add the sliced garlic and cook until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic to paper towels to drain. Add the bread cubes to the pan, season with salt and pepper and toast, tossing occasionally, until golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
4. Wipe out the skillet. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Season the steak with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook, turning once, for 6 to 8 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before thinly slicing against the grain.
5. Quarter the potatoes and add to the vinaigrette, tossing well. Add the onion and spinach, season with salt and pepper and toss again. Divide the salad among plates and top with the steak, garlic slices and croutons.

COST = $13.75        PER SERVING (3) = $4.59
(Recipe from rachaelray.com)