Summer Vegetable Panini

Although the majority of my cooking includes meat or fish, at the request of my sister Kelly, I wanted to create a vegetarian meal that was as satisfying and flavorful as any other and can be turned into a dinner or lunch during the week or on the weekend. With summer coming to a close I thought it would be best to utilize it’s harvest with a quick and easy vegetable panini that can be completed in less than 15 minutes; a recipe cannot get any simpler, I promise! 

To make this flavorful and healthy panini, begin by washing and preparing all of the necessary ingredients: a large eggplant, a summer squash and zucchini, tomato and bell pepper. After washing, slice all of the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. 

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large sauce pan. Add the vegetables and cook until softened. While the vegetables are cooking, pick fresh basil, rinse and set aside. Once the vegetables have begun to soften, add a bit of balsamic vinegar and continue to cook until done. 

Turn the panini maker onto high and allow to warm up. If you do not have a panini maker, you can use a griddle just as easily. 

Begin to assemble your sandwich. For this panini, you will want to select a freshly baked bread such as a focaccia or a sourdough. For today, I decided to go with a whole grain Italian bread; the husband loves Italian bread and I had the satisfaction of knowing it was whole grain and heart healthy. It is soft and flavorful, yet sturdy enough to support the many vegetables. 

Layer the vegetables on your bread: eggplant, squash, zucchini, and tomatoes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and finish off with the fresh basil and a dash of sea salt. Panini the sandwich for 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the bread has turned golden brown and crispy. 

Transfer to a plate, cut and serve with vegetable chips or a side salad. Enjoy this meal outside with a chilled glass of cucumber water. There are only so many days of summer left so take advantage of both the weather and the abundance of fresh veggies available!

Up next some of my favorite quick breads!

1 Year Wedding Anniversary!

This past Sunday my husband and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary. We spent the day reminiscing about our beautiful wedding ceremony and our wonderful family and friends who helped us to celebrate that great moment in our lives. In commemoration of an amazing year together, I wanted to make the husband a special meal of Filet Mignon with a Cognac Cream Sauce, Panzanella Salad and a Kahlua Flour-less Chocolate Cake. These dishes were simple, but had the necessary glamour for any special occasion.

On our wedding day!

Filet Mignon with Cognac Cream Sauce

This is a simple recipe that is a sure hit amongst all beef lovers. The Cognac sauce adds the perfect amount of elegance to the dish.

What you need:

2 Filets

Salt

Ground black, white and green peppercorns

2 shallots

1 tablespoon butter

¼ cup Heavy cream

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons Cognac

Start off by heating up your grill. Salt and pepper your filets and allow to sit out while the grill is heating in order for the beef to warm up a bit. Once heated, grill the filets for about 5 minutes on each side or until medium-rare. While the grill is going, prepare your sauce. Dice up the 2 shallots (this can be done in advance to save you time) and place in a skillet along with the butter. Allow shallots to cook for 3-5 minutes or until tender and aromatic. Add in the heavy cream, Dijon, Cognac and salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook on low for 5 more minutes or until the sauce thickens. Add more salt and pepper if necessary.

Once the filets are cooked to the desired doneness, top with a bit of  the Cognac sauce and serve immediately.

Summer Panzanella Salad

This is an amazing salad that can be prepared entirely in advance. The fresher the ingredients the better the results!

What you need:

Ciabatta loaf

Mozzarella

1 Yellow and 1 Green Bell Pepper

Cherry tomatoes

Fresh Basil leaves

Italian Seasoning

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons water

1/4 cup of White Vinegar

Early in the day, dice up your Ciabatta bread into crouton size pieces. Heat up your broiler and place your oven rack directly beneath it. Broil the Ciabatta for about 5-10 minutes. Be very careful not to burn the bread; to do so, be sure to check on it frequently while cooking. If you look away for too long you may end up with some very burnt pieces!  Once golden and crunchy, remove from oven and allow to cool.

The best part about this recipe is that you can prepare all the components early in the day and then right before serving throw it all into one bowl and mix. Start off by chopping up your bell peppers, cherry tomatoes and mozzarella. Leave the mozzarella in a separate bowl until serving so that it does not water down the other ingredients.

Create your dressing with either a store bought Italian season package or create your own with a mixture of basil, oregano, onion powder, thyme, parsley, celery salt, garlic salt, pepper, sugar and salt. Add white vinegar, water and oil. Mix and keep in refrigerator until serving time.

Once you are ready to serve, combine all your chopped ingredients including the ciabatta and mozzarella into one large bowl. Pick, wash and dry your basil. Chop and add to salad. Add your dressing and serve!

Kahlua Flour-less Chocolate Cake

This cake is for every chocolate lover out there; it's rich, decedent and will not disappoint. I served it to my husband with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and he deemed it restaurant worthy.

What you need:

5 large eggs

1 cup of sugar

1 stick of butter

8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate – chopped and split out into 4 ounces and 4 ounces

1/2 cup Cocoa Powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons Kahlua

1/2 cup of heavy cream

Start of by bring 5 eggs to room temperature. In many countries such as France, eggs are not stored in the refrigerator. A cold egg versus a room temperature egg can bring about a different result. For this recipe, be sure to allow your eggs to sit out before using.

Melt 4 ounces of chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water. Meanwhile chopped your butter into small pieces. Once the chocolate has melted, remove from heat and add the butter; stir until combined. Set aside.

Beat the room temperature eggs until they become thick. Slowly add in the sugar and continue to beat for about 10 minutes or until the mixture turns pale yellow and becomes thick. Carefully dust the cocoa powder and baking powder over the egg mixture. Fold together. Do not mix!

Add the vanilla, a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of Kahlua to the melted chocolate. Add one cup of the egg mixture to the chocolate. Stir together. Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl with the egg mixture. Fold together. Again, do not stir.

Pour the entire mixture into a greased 9” spring-foam pan. To make the removal of the cake even easier, first line the pan with parchment paper and grease the paper on both sides. By doing so, the bottom of the paper sticks to the pan and keeps it from lifting up into your cake. The results are an easy to remove cake with a seamless underside. 

Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees. Once the cake is done, allow to cool completely before trying to remove it from the pan. If you try to move the cake too soon, it could break or crack. 

While the cake is cooling, prepare your ganache. Melt the other 4 ounces of chocolate in a double broiler just as you did before. Add the cream and last tablespoon of Kahlua. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. 

Once the cake is cooled, pour on the ganache and spread until smooth over the top of cake. Do not worry if the ganache runs down the sides -it adds the perfect decor! Refrigerate cake until serving time. Serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. 

These 3 recipes created the perfect first anniversary dinner! Happy 1 year wedding anniversary to my husband - I cannot believe it has been a whole year!

Cockrell Mercantile Company

This past weekend the husband and I went to Kansas City for a weekend at the lake with my family. This included multiple water sports and boating, quality time with our nieces, nephew, my siblings and parents, some wonderful meals including my dad’s famous barbecue ribs (mentioned in earlier posts and shown below) and pork tenderloin, good wine, running, shopping and lots of family games. It was the perfect weekend of sun, relaxation and family bonding. On our last day before we had to head home, the girls left the boys behind and went on a little shopping adventure that ended the weekend on a high note and with an extra heavy suitcase!

 

My oldest sister had discovered, a few weeks prior, 5 little cottages off of Old US Highway 50 that have been turned into a cute little village of home shopping called Cockrell Mercantile Company. These cottages are little gems packed full, in some places floor to ceiling, of every single kitchen item (plus some!) that you could ever desire. You cannot appreciate the wonderfulness of this place unless you were to experience it yourself. I can tell you, however, from the moment I stepped inside I was in heaven. From the outside it looks like a modest little center off an old dirt road, but inside is rows and rows of household treasures. 

The 5 cottages all have a specific purpose. The Main Store holds an array of cooking must haves from spices and sauces, to aprons, Chai latte mixes, decorative plates, cookbooks, pots and pans, grilling tools, bowls, coffee mugs; table runners; the list could go on and on. This is where we did the majority of our shopping. Literally, every corner we turned or isle we disappeared down held a great new find more exciting than the last. I probably could have spent hours and endless amounts of money in just this one store, but there were still 4 more cottages to explore.

Right next to the Main Store is the Cockrell Annex; a quaint little potting shop with various sized and beautifully decorated pots for a variety of gardening needs. Some of the pots would have been perfect for my ever growing tomato plant and numerous pots of herbs, but I had to restrain myself, knowing that there was no way I could get them back home. Maybe next time.

Up next was the perfectly named Morton House. This is a baker's dream store. From sugars, to mixing bowls, baking books, cookie cutters, extracts, baking utensils (in an endless number of colors), cake pans of every shape and size, I could not believe just how much they were able to pack into this little cottage. Again, I could have spent days in there, but we had two more stores to go and only a little bit of time left.

After getting our baking fix, we headed over to the Fiesta Cottage. This cottage literally contains every shape, size and color of the entire Feistaware line. They had the mugs, bowls, cups, plates, flatware, pitchers and every other piece ever manufactured. Room after room we found shelves stacked with the brightly colored dinnerware. If you have any Fiestaware or were hoping to get some, this cottage is calling for you. They even had pieces that I had never seen before at in mainstream department stores.

Finally, we reached our final destination and the one store that was a little different than the previous themes of kitchen items: Cockerell Cottage. This store was a variety of decorative pieces, candles and bags. A single room was dedicated entirely to Vera Bradley. It was the perfect place for gifts or perhaps even a little present for yourself.

I left Cockrell with a few items, a Stonewall cookbook (another one of my favorite kitchen and speciality food companies), grilling planks and 2 on sale Le Creuset pans and even a longer wish list of items! There were numerous sauces, decorative plates, place mats and dinnerware that I would have loved to take home with me, but had to restrain. I am happy to know each time we are able to get away to the lake for additional fun filled weekends we will be able to take advantage of this little paradise of shops. For those of you who are near by you should make you way out there. It is definitely worth the drive!

I am excited to put my new purchases to use to create some great meals to share with you all. Be looking for them in upcoming posts!