Ordinarily Extraordinary

Melissa D'Arabian's Potato Bacon Torte

One of my favorite shows of the season for the past few years has been The Next Food Network Star. Well, this year the one I was pulling for won. So I have been religiously watching Melissa D'Arabian's show since it started a few weeks ago. The first thing she made on her new show was a Potato Bacon Torte. I finally found the time to try it. And it did not disapoint. Delicious.

You can find the recipe here. And since I was so proud of myself for trying something new I had to take a photo and thus my photo for Tuesday, September 8, 2009. It's not very pretty, but it was yummy. (Hey, I've never made a pie or a torte and have never made homemade pie crust so I think I did pretty good for a first try, right?) Next time I'm thinking of trying a different herb than thyme and a different cheese rather than Gruyere. It was delicious with those though and Squirt even loved it! So for him to try something so different it was worth all the time I put into it.  The next time I will make a few adjustments, err...fix a couple of mistakes I made. :) I think I layered on too many potatoes so next time not quite as many.

A Monday Holiday & Recipe Share

Monday, September 11, 2009 - A photo of our old cat. He's around 10 years old, maybe 11. I'd have to search back through the scrapbooks to determine his exact age.

 

I kept pretty busy on Labor Day. Photo business stuff, walked (boy could I tell how out of shape I've let myself get), bought groceries, made my stamping projects for my upcoming workshops,  I did some cooking too.  I made a homemade pie crust for the torte I planned to make on Tuesday. Made hummus and then made some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, from scratch. Seriously. I'm always a bit amazed that I can bake something from scratch (not from a box) and it turn out well.

Tomorrow I'll post the link for the torte I made with that homemade crust.

Head over to Tasty Kitchen for the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe. Seriously so good.

And because a special teacher asked for my hummus recipe today here you go. I can't really claim it as mine though. I did find it on the internet, Food Network maybe,  but I forgot to write down where.  I don't think I have shared it here before.

Hummus:

1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained

1/4 cup tahini

1 lg clove garlic

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp plain yogurt

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup water

Garnish: olive oil, paprika, 1-2 Tbsp parsley

Place all ingrendients except for garnish in food processor and blend well until smooth, adding more water if needed to reach a desired consistency. Taste for spices and adjust as needed. Place in a large serving bowl and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with paprika and parsley. Serve with warm pita, pita chips or vegetables.

Recipe share

Chicken Packets

 

2 cups chicken, cooked and chopped (I usually use a little more).

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 Tbsp chives, chopped

2 Tbsp milk

1/2 cup seasoned crouton crumbs, crushed (a food processor makes crushing much easier).

2 packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1/4 cup butter melted

salt to taste

any other seasonings or herbs you think would work

Mix chicken, cream cheese, chives, milk and salt in a medium bowl (mixing with hands works best) to make filling. At this point you can put the mixture in a ziploc bag and freeze for later use.  The crouton crumbs can also be crushed and frozen also. Just put in another bag and tape to bag with chicken mixture. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll each can of crescent rolls and pinch perforations together to make 4 rectangles from each can. Place about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture in the center of each rectangle. Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges to seal. Dip each packet in melted butter and then coat with the crouton crumbs. Place packets on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Packets are good hot or cold and are also really good as leftovers. Makes 4 servings.

These make a great addition to your favorite salad. Enjoy!